Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or any of the characters mentioned in the story. They are trademarks of Hasbro and the other companies responsible for their creation. So pleeez don't sue me.

I raised the rating for this chapter because of drunkenness, and bad language.

When We Were Young

Chapter5 - Celebrations

Perception Circuits:

Online

He awoke.

Audio Receptors:

Online

He heard voices. They were close. Skywarp? Astrotrain?

Optic Receptors:

Online

His optics sharpened into focus, and the shadows took the shape of his teammates, Blitzwing included.

"Hey TC!" Skywarp's head popped into view. "Welcome back to the land of moving parts."

"Where am I?"

"In the Academy Medic Center."

"How ya' feeling?" Astrotrain smiled.

Thundercracker slowly sat up. All of his joints and ligaments felt like they had been rusting for eons. "Ugh. Remind me never to use my Sonic Boom Boost when I'm still in robot form. So how did the rest of the game go?"

"You don't---! That's right you blacked out after using your special ability." A smirk began to form on Skywarp's face. He leaned in close to his brother's audio receptor and whispered. "You caught the ball and we won the game…"

Thundercracker's optics widened. "I…I caught it?"

His fellow team members nodded and they all had big smiles on their faces.

Thundercracker just sat there for a few seconds in silence trying to fully comprehend what this meant. However the silence did not last long.

"YEAHOO! I did it! I did it! I am the perfect goalkeeper!"

Thundercracker jumped to his feet and proceeded to do a little victory dance. His stiff ligaments were no match for his happiness, and his teammates, feeling his happiness joined him in stomping and cheering.

"BOYS! BOYS! Stop your dancing this instant! This is a med center not a stadium!" The team turned to face the head medic.

"Sorry about that." Astrotrain stepped forward to answer for the team. "It's just that our teammate here reached goalkeeping perfection."

"Yes, Yes, I well aware of Thundercracker's accomplishment. By all means celebrate, but please do it someplace else."

The team nodded their heads and quickly exited the med center.

"Well, with this new found glory, you know what we have to do." Smirked Blitzwing.

"Yes." Skywarp smirked back at Blitzwing, then turned to Thundercracker. "We have to get you cratered immediately!"

"Oh, Primus no." Thundercracker looked wearily at his teammates. All now had mischievous smiles on their faces. "Come on guys, I just got out of the med lab."

"It's tradition." Thrust stated as the War Ball team's smiles grew wider.

"Whose tradition?"

"OUR TRADITION!" announced Ramjet.

"Right…" Thundercracker shook his head in defeat. "Ah, what the hell, let's go."

"ALL RIGHT!" They all shouted.

"Well, look at it this way, we will be killing two petro-rabbits with one blast. We will get Thundercracker properly cratered and be able to give Megatron a tour of the hottest club on campus." Astrotrain said in a "matter of fact" voice.

"Sounds good to me." Said Megatron.

"WHERE IS MEGATRON?" Maxima fumed as paced up and down the hallway. "I told him to be back by at 2400 hours, and it is now 0100 hours!"

Maxima stopped pacing and made her way to the door. "That's it! I'm going to go down to that club and drag Megatron home by the audio receptor! A little humiliation does wonders for getting young Decepticons to follow the rules!"

Maxima was just about to step out the door when…

BUZZ!

Maxima walked over to a giant screen on the left side of the hallway. She pressed a button on the control panel just below the screen. The screen image flickered to life and revealed the identity of the caller. It was the Headmaster himself…!

Soundwave felt a shudder run through his body as his sensors jolted him awake. He felt the sensation of being shaken. His audio receptors came online.

"Soundwave! Soundwave!" called a familiar voice barely above a whisper.

Soundwave's optics came online. "Maxima?"

"I'm sorry to wake you at this hour Soundwave, but I need you to run an important errand for me." Maxima began to unplug Soundwave from the recharge bed. "I need you to go over to the Academy Nightclub and bring Megatron home. The Headmaster has called me so I cannot go myself."

Soundwave unplugged the last recharge bed cable and stood up. "Mission to retrieve Megatron, accepted."

"Good." Maxima handed Soundwave a hand-sized computer. "Show this to the guys at the door, just in case they give you any trouble. Please get home as quick as you can."

Soundwave nodded. "Certify."

If there was one place to party after a Metal War Ball game, the Academy Clubhouse was it. Particularly this game, being the biggest triumph ever, there was extra celebration. This also made it especially hard to gain access. Basically you had be a popular student on the "in" crowd or a Metal War Ball team member in order to be granted passage into the club. So, under any other circumstance, Soundwave would not have been allowed two inches into Clubhouse. However, with the hand-held computer authorization Maxima had given him and the fact that he explained he would only be there for a few minutes to pick-up his housemate, Soundwave was permitted into the Clubhouse without a hitch.

"Oh Primus, what the hell is he doing here?" snarled Blitzwing as he watched Soundwave cautiously make his way across the crowded dancing floor toward the Metal War Ball team's table. The teammates turned in the direction of Blitzwing's attention, with the exception of Thrust, Ramjet and Dirge who were on the dancing floor, and Thundercracker who was surrounded by once filled "Heavy Energon" glasses and had his head down on the table and optics closed trying to stop the world from spinning.

Soundwave slowly approached the team's table. Fear began to fill every circuit in his body when he saw the glare of hatred in Blitzwing's optics. They both remembered the incident that had taken place between them only days ago. Soundwave's visual sensors shifted from Blitzwing to Megatron who was sitting in between Thundercracker and Astrotrain.

"Megatron, Maxima has sent me to bring you back to the house." Soundwave's voice, like always, was cool and emotionless, with neither anger nor happiness resounding in it.

"Why, she said I had to be home by 2400 hours, but my timekeeper only says 2200."

"You heard him Soundwave, now do use us all a favor and go home!" sneered Blitzwing.

Soundwave ignored Blitzwing's remark. "Megatron, your timekeeper is off, it is now 0130 hours."

"That's what mine says." Astrotrain drowsily answered as he took another drink of 'Heavy Energon.'

"Aw, hell!" Megatron slammed his hands down on the table. At the same time Thundercracker's head popped up and his optics snapped open.

"WHAT? I'M UP! I'M UP!" Then all of the energon that Thundercracker had ingested seemed to rush to his head, and the world spun around once more. "Ughhhh. Moved to fast. Shouldna' done that."

"What ails Thundercracker?" Soundwave inquired.

"Nothin'!" Skywarp laughed patting Thundercracker on the back. "TC just drank one to many 'Heavy Energon'"

"One too many? More like fifty too many, and don't pat me on the back, it makes it worse. Whoa, head spin." Then Thundercracker seemed to take notice of Soundwave for the first time. "Oh, hey there Soundwave, uh wanna drink?"

"You're offering him a drink! What the hell is wrong with you Thundercracker?" Blitzwing's face contorted in rage.

"Hey, Blitzwing!" Thundercracker shouted back equally angry. "Sit your aft down! And shut the hell up!"

"But Thundercracker he---"

"I said shut up! This is my party dammit! For my perfection in the game, that you weren't even in, because of your stupid pranks! And we're doin' what I want! And if Soundwave wants a drink! He can damned have one! So shut the hole in your face and SIT DOWN!"

Everybody, including Thrust, Ramjet and Dirge, who had just arrived back from the dancing floor, stood in shock at Thundercracker's sudden outburst, particularly a very stunned Blitzwing. Usually Thundercracker was the mature one of the group. Then as if the previous flare-up had not happened Thundercracker turned to Soundwave.

"Here Soundwave."Thundercracker held up a glass of 'Heavy Energon' to Soundwave. Soundwave was startled at first by the gesture, but quickly regained his composure.

"My gratitude, goalkeeper Thundercracker, however I must decline. 'Heavy Energon' would impede my mission."

"Mission? Is it time for class already!" Thundercracker worriedly looked at his timekeeper.

"No Thunder, it's time to get you home before the 'Heavy Energon' makes you do something really stupid?" Said Astrotrain.

"Whadya' talkin' 'bout Astro!" Thundercracker jumped up from his seat. "I'm just fin---WWHAAOOOOOHHHHH!"

Suddenly the world took another spin, downward. Down, down, down….

THUNK!

Thundercracker lay face down on the floor.

"You okay there TC!" Called Skywarp casually.

"Astrotrain." Came a small, half whimpering, voice from the Clubhouse floor.

"Yeah?" Astrotrain kneeled down next to Thundercracker.

"I wanna go home."

Astrotrain smiled and patted his teammate on the shoulder, then began to help him to his feet. "Don't worry Thunder, we'll get ya' home."

"Hey, I've got an idea." Megatron spoke up. "Since we're heading out anyway, how about Soundwave and I take him home. That way you guys could stay on and party."

"I like that idea!" said Ramjet holding up his glass, the others nodded in agreement.

Megatron and Soundwave helped support Thundercracker as they made their way to the door.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Astrotrain called after them.

"We'll be fine." Answered Megatron. "Plus you need to stay here and keep the others in line."

"Good point…"

As it turns out the residual effects of a 'Heavy Energon' overdose, and bumping into various objects was more than Thundercracker's body could handle. After a run in with a lamp pole, Thundercracker fell on to his back and didn't get up again, in fact he didn't even move. Soundwave did a quick life scan on Thundercracker, and assured Megatron that the Metal War Ball team's goalkeeper was still functioning. Since Soundwave was the soberest of the two conscience robots, he took on the task of carrying the cratered Seeker.

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry him?" Asked Megatron.

"Negative, in your current condition you may fall over. Causing more injury to you both."

"Oh, yeah hmmm…." Megatron absently looked up at the stars and buildings as they walked.

"Well what do we have here, here." A scratchy speech impeded voice came from behind Soundwave and Megatron.

"Damn," whispered Soundwave, as he and Megatron turned around to meet the owner of the voice. They saw three figures walking casually toward them.

"What's wrong? Who are they?" Megatron whispered to Soundwave.

"Shrapnel, Bombshell, and Kickback." Soundwave answered with an unusually harsh tone to his voice. "Beware, they are bad company…"

To my beloved readers and reviewers,

I am soooooo sorry for the delay in bringing out this chapter. I just wanted to make sure that everything was well written and that I had a nice long chapter for you. I know I'm evil to leave the chapter off like this, but I had to put in some suspense somewhere. Don't worry I'll have the next up very soon! Please keep the reviews coming! Tell me your thoughts and opinions on how I'm portraying the characters and what you would like to see happen in the story. Till next time!