The silence between the two sides was deafening as they stared at each other. Yes, they all read the letter that said both sides would be involved, but it was still a surprise to see them after being with their own sides the whole morning. Everyone wondered who was going to say the first word, but no one would speak. There may have been peace between the two sides, but that didn't mean they have to mingle with each other.
"Oh, boy," the voice on the speakers said. "I figure this would happen. Listen up! I want you to mingle. This isn't a suggestion, it's a command. I can't do this properly if you two won't interact with each other! Now, mingle!" the voice ended, getting off again. With that done, both sides went back to staring at each other. Whatever happens next was going to be awkward. Mirage, acting the ambassador he was, stands up and got in the middle of them.
"Okay, now I know that both sides are actively suspicious of the other sides, I'm sure. I don't blame you, but we have to work together. We here because of one person and none of us know who they are, so teamwork is key. Now, each of us take a member of the opposing side and talk to them for a little while, alright?" he asked of them. "Blast Off, we're old buddies from before the war. You want to help me demonstrate to them?" he asked. Blast Off gave a shrug of his shoulders before complying.
"Fine, if it keeps things going. I recommend everyone else does the same if you want to figure out who holds us captive," he said to everyone else, getting up and taking a seat next Mirage. Slowly, everyone got up and got together with another person.
"So, what's your opinion on who's got us captive?" Mirage asked Blast Off.
"I don't know. Whoever he is, he's filthy rich if he can afford all this," Blast Off said, waving his hand around the room.
"Exactly, which limits the suspect pool by quite a bit, but I don't know of many neutrals who could afford all this," Mirage contemplated. "Do you know of any?" he asked.
"No, I don't," Blast Off replied, crossing his arm. The two sat there, Mirage trying to think of something to say. "You're trying to figure out why I join the Decepticons?" Blast Off asked.
"No, well yes," Mirage said nervously. "I never quite got it."
"Well then, let me put it simply. The Decepticons suit me a lot more than the Autobots. Far too stuffy for me," Blast Off answered.
"Is that all?" Mirage asked.
"Yes, it is," Blast Off said, continuing to lean back in his chair.
"What are you doing here?" Ratchet gruffly asked Knock Out, who was mourning his ruined paint job.
"Do you see all of these scratches on me?" Knock Out asked.
"Yes, but I hardly see how it has to do with my question," Ratchet said.
"It's going to take forever to get these out," Knock Out complained. Ratchet rolled his optics at that.
"No, they won't. They look mesh deep, at best," Ratchet tried to soothe.
"Maybe, but for the next while, I'll look imperfect. I'll look like… you," Knock Out languished.
"Still as vain as ever, I see," Ratchet commented. Knock Out didn't pay any attention to him, still looking at the scratches Wildrider defile him with, muttering comments about how to clean them and how he was going to kill Wildrider. Ratchet gave a groan and leaned back in his seat, letting him suffer in his own vanity.
"So, do you practice the art of Metallikato as well?" Bludgeon asked Drift, noticing his empty scabbards.
"No, but I do use swords and quite well, may I add," he replied. "I wondered where they went. I came here with them, but when I woke up, they were gone."
"It appears I wasn't the only one who had his weapon confiscated by our warden," Bludgeon mused, rubbing his chin.
"It makes sense. They wouldn't want us wrecking the building with them. I mean, Hound had a giant missile launcher on his shoulder at all times, but it's missing now," Drift pointed out, pointing at Hound.
"Huh, how duplicitous of them," Bludgeon said, thinking it through. "When we get out swords back, we're going to rip this being apart, you understand that?"
"Absolutely," Drift said with a smile.
"Hmm, Shockwave. Interesting seeing you here," Perceptor said to the big, hulking form looking down at him.
"As it is seeing you, Perceptor," Shockwave agreed.
"I didn't think you would be interested in teaching the future generations. You seem like a very solitary type," Perceptor mentioned.
"I'm doing this as an obligation to Starscream," Shockwave replied. "He gave Soundwave and me orders to make sure Skywarp doesn't do anything to damage the Decepticon reputation while he's here," Shockwave informed him.
"Ah, makes sense. Skywarp has a habit of acting up," Perceptor muttered. "Of course, the academy invited him because of him doing just that."
"Extremely odd."
"There is something oddly adorable about you two," Wildrider said to Chromedome and Rewind.
"I don't get it," Dead End muttered behind him. "Why would you want to be conjunx enduras in this life?"
"Because we have a special bond," Rewind said, taking a lead of the conversation. "Haven't either of you had a significant other that you felt a close attachment?" he asked them.
"No," Dead End immediately answered. Surprisingly, Wildrider was a little more thoughtful.
"Tell me, does high-explosives count as a significant other?" he asked them. The two stared at him.
"Uh," Rewind mumble, unable to answer that question.
"No," Chromedome muttered behind him.
"Yeah, no," Rewind agreed. "It has to be another Cybertronian," Rewind said.
"What if it was a K-class?" Wildrider asked again. "They're explosives but Cybertronian, right?
"Uh, correct, but it would be a really short relationship if that was true," Rewind replied.
"Short, but, oh, I bet the fragging would be glorious," Wildrider, drifting off into his imagination. The three of them all looked at him oddly before continuing the conversation without him.
"Someone's been using syk quite a bit," Nightbeat observed.
"What do you mean?" Mixmaster asked, indignantly.
"You know using syk over an extended amount of time is bad for your help. I've seen more than a few people on the streets that had overdosed on them," Nightbeat continued, unperturbed.
"Keep saying those things and you're going to end up with a rearranged face," Mixmaster said, getting ready to unleash his fist.
"And yet, despite all of your faults, you are extremely good chemist," Nightbeat complimented. "I wonder how you do it with your mind so fogged up all the time."
"I'm the Ultimate Chemist. I can cook in my sleep, much less when I'm using syk. Besides, mostly distribute," Mixmaster defended.
"Ah, so you prey on other people's weakness. How nice," Nightbeat sarcastically said.
"Just when I thought we were past insults…" Mixmaster grumbled.
"Smokescreen."
"Swindle."
The two glared at each other in a cold silence, waiting for the other to make the first move. Their faces hinted at nothing and their firm stances betray no emotion. This was a stand-off between two equal forces. Finally Swindle made a moved…
He stuck his hand out, with a smirk on his face. "It's good to meet former partners," Swindle said with a trace of satisfaction." Smokescreen raised an eyebrow before smiling and shaking his hand.
"It's good to see an old partner as well," Smokescreen said.
"Why the frag did you join the Autobots?"Swindle asked.
"Because, unlike you, I don't sell myself out to the one who's most likely to win," Smokescreen mocked.
"Oh, you wound me," Swindle said melodramatically, raising the back of his hand to his head in fake hurt.
"Oh, cut it out," Smokescreen said, giving Swindle a smack on the shoulder.
Onslaught gazed over at Swindle, who was obviously having a good time. He would absolutely love it if the 'bot he was talking to was someone he knew. "Dude, are you okay?" Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, he thought as he lowered his gazed down to Beachcomber.
"I'm fine," Onslaught said, barely containing his rage at being partner with Beachcomber. Why couldn't he be partner up with Bumblebee or Jazz? At least they were important.
"No, you're not fine," Beachcomber accused. Onslaught stared down at the small 'bot.
"And what makes you think that?" Onslaught asked, sounding intrigued.
"It's not that hard. I can tell by the way you glaring at Swindle just a few moments ago, and how you keep flicking your few over to Jazz and Bumblebee. So, why do you not want to talk to me?" Beachcomber asked again.
"You want me to be frank?" Onslaught asked. Beachcomber gave a nod. "It's because you're not useful in the grand scheme of things. Jazz, Bumblebee, Prowl, Ratchet, Ironhide… those are the, to use a human term, 'big dogs.' Tell me, how do you stack up when compared to them?" Onslaught bluntly asked. Beachcomber stated at Onslaught, figuring out what he was saying before answering.
"Not very well," Beachcomber admitted, his head hanged in a bit if shame.
"Exactly," Onslaught said, wondering his gaze over to Jazz real quickly as he was conversing with Soundwave.
"I got a question," Beachcomber interrupted his thoughts, making him look down at the 'bot again.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Can you give me any tips?" Onslaught was rather shocked by that question, but thought it through. The war was over and now they had a new enemy to worry about. Along with that, there was a determination in his eye that he didn't see often. It couldn't hurt to instruct someone in how to be good, especially if it's to use against the slagger that put them in here.
"Alright," Onslaught conceded. "Tip number one…"
"You're telling me you're unable to get any transmission from the outside world?" Jazz asked.
"Confirm," Soundwave affirmed.
"So, they're using jammers that keep us from contacting the outside world," Jazz mused.
"Most likely," Soundwave contributed.
"Most likely? You're hinting that there might be another way they're blocking it," Jazz asked.
"Most likely not. It's probable that the jammer is just more difficult to detect than others. There is no noticeable interference on the line, which indicates that there is no active transmission outside the building or something is blocking it. However, blocking usually has a static that goes along with it. There is nothing right now," Soundwave informed him.
Hmm, that's very odd. Anything else?" Jazz asked.
"Nothing at this time."
"Scrap," Jazz cursed, thinking this through. "What should we do?" Jazz asked.
"It is best to wait until the headmaster comes before we think of what to do," Soundwave suggested.
"Alright," Jazz agreed, putting the subject to the back of his mind for now. "So, why are you here? I doubt you're here just to teach the future generations of Cybertronians," Jazz asked.
"Under orders from Starscream to watch over Skywarp. Wanted to make sure Skywarp didn't do anything to embarrass the Decepticons," Soundwave answered.
"Did he now?" Jazz asked. "Tell me; can Skywarp teleport out of here?" Jazz asked. It was a stupid question, as Jazz figured if he could, he would've been gone by now.
"No. Tried earlier, but ended up running into a wall," Soundwave answered. "It was very loud. Able to hear it from the halls."
"Ouch. Sucks to be him," Jazz said, with a good laugh. "Thanks for telling me that, Sounders. I needed something to cheer me up."
"You look nervous," Hoist immediately pointed out as Scavenger took a seat next to him.
"Well, when you wake up to find you're trap in a academy with no way out, all your weapons offline, and forced to talk to people who you spent almost 10 million years trying to kill, you're naturally a little nervous," Scavenger defended, looking around the room in paranoia. "I came to talk to you because you look like you won't kill me," Scavenger said.
"Only if you try to kill me," Hoist said simply, looking at the rest of the groups talking.
"Yeah, I figure. Anyway," Scavenger said, "I wonder how everybody's outside right now. You know, trying to find a way to get us out of here."
"I'm sure they're doing fine," Hoist comforted.
"It's just that, I'm sure the others are worried sick about Mixmaster," Scavenger said.
"What about you?"
"I'm sure they don't care about me," Scavenger gloomily said. "I'm not that useful when compared to Mix over there," he said, shrugging his shoulders to his general direction. "I mean, what do I do? I dig. That's about it," Scavenger said. "That and be Hook's medical assistance, but he only needs me to give him stuff," Scavenger recounted.
"Well, you're good enough at scrounging for supplies to be label the Ultimate Scavenger, right. You're not useless," Hoist tried to comfort him. "Look, some people may not have an immediate effect on the war effort, or reconstruction effort, but in the long run, prove to be invaluable due to how long they had been working. I think that describes both me and you, Scavenger," Hoist said. "All I do is repair stuff. Not exactly a very showy job."
"Yeah, I guess you got a point," Scavenger said, looking at Hoist. "You know, when we get out of here, I'll get you a high-grade."
"Fine by me."
"I forgot how much of a shrimp you are," Skywarp mocked, looking down at Bumblebee.
"Doesn't stop me from kicking your aft half the time," Bumblebee strike backed.
"Hmm, point taken," Skywarp conceded, crossing his arm. "So, oh magnanimous member of the Autobot, why did you decide to waste my time," Skywarp asked. "I mean, look! There are two people all by themselves with no one to talk to sense someone did their math wrong and put 14 Autobots with 16 Decepticons!" Skywarp complained out loud.
"Wait, what?" Bumblebee asked before taking a headcount to make sure. "You're right, the numbers are uneven. Now why is that?" Bumblebee asked.
"What so strange about it? It's not like it's currently helping our situation. It's probably because there are more genuinely talented Decepticons than there are Autobots," Skywarp said.
"That big blue mech sitting by himself in the corner; what's his skill?" Bumblebee asked.
"I don't know. I looked up everybody before we came here and I don't remember him."
"Nor do I remember him," Bumblebee said, before looking at the other con by himself. "And him?" he asked.
"Got in through a lottery," Skywarp said.
"A lottery?"
"Yeah. They randomly choose someone to go and it picked Nautilator," Skywarp explained.
"That's a very odd way of choosing some to teach at the academy," Bumblebee mused.
"Yeah, well, I don't decide how they're picked. I just came here to get away from Starscream," Skywarp explained.
"Things not good between you two?"
"He's no Megatron."
"Alright, they lump me with a psychopath. Woo," Blurr cheered as he met Vortex.
"Hey," Vortex said with his arms outstretched, "what's wrong with talking to someone who knows how to cut you up into really tiny pieces?" Vortex asked.
"I think that's rhetorical," Blurr said, really wishing he was away from this creep.
"Aw, Blurr baby, don't act like that. If you want, I can make way for some special time with you," Vortex offered. Blurr's spinal strut shuddered at how he said that.
"No thank you. The last time someone gave me special time, I ended up without a hand and a gearbox for a few weeks," Blurr rebutted.
"Aw, you're no fun," Vortex whined. "Can't you at least pretend you're interested?" Vortex asked.
"NO!"
Brawl and Hound looked at each other, trying to figure out what to say.
"So," Brawl began, "nice color."
"Same to you."
Silence.
"Don't you usually have a missile launcher?"
"I do, but someone took it."
"Ah."
Silence.
"This is an interesting conversation we're having.
"Very."
More awkward silence.
"I'm gonna go."
"Good idea."
Nautilator took a seat next to Counterpunch. "So, nice weather we're having."
"Say one more sentence to me and I'll make you eat your circuitry."
"Right, lovely conversation. I'll be over there, where's it safe."
Eventually, the couples got together in bigger groups, talking to each other about similar things. The crowd had to begrudgingly admit that some of them were starting to get close. Perceptor and Shockwave were getting in-depth in their science conversation, with Soundwave and Hound joining in. The Combaticons tried to get Onslaught, only to have him shoo them off so he can continue to teach Beachcomber, leaving them to go hang with Chromedome and his group, along with Smokescreen, Drift, and Nautilator. Scavenger and Hoist stuck together, with Blurr coming to join them to get away from the 'psychopathic helicopter.' Jazz, Mirage, Ratchet, and Bumblebee talked to Skywarp, Knockout, and Bludgeon, who were discussing ways out of the facility. Counterpunch ignored everybody, choosing to stay by himself. There was a peace among them.
"Attention teachers!" Until that shrill, obnoxious voice came back. "It seems like you are all bonding with each other, which means it's time for me to make my entrance. Yay!" the voiced said.
"Finally!" Brawl yelled out, cracking his knuckles. "Come out here so I can crush you," he commended.
"Don't worry, I'm coming. Get ready!" the voice said. The group waited in anticipation for the figure to come out. Suddenly the voiced started up again. "Here I come. The great, magnificent Headmaster Monobear!" the voice said, coming out from behind the podium. The anxious and angry looks from everybody soon turned way to confusion at the sight of the Headmaster. The creature looked like a stuffed teddy bear that could only reached to their ankles. His fur was colored white on the left side and black on the other, with a black eye on the left and what looked like a red wound for the right. The response from everybody to this unlikely foe was summarize quite effectively by Skywarp.
"Wat."