Rule # 221: Dreadwing is the most loyal Decepticon you'll ever come across. Don't question it. (By WingedWolfAlari)

(He doesn't take it well.)

(To be honest, I didn't really question his loyalty at all. I just wanted to see his face.)

(... I am an idiot.)

(Unlike Starscream, who gets violent when irritated, Dreadwing becomes - er, how in the world am I supposed to phrase this? - rather... um, well... intentionally insulting.)

(He will purposely mention something you did wrong and proceed to tell you exactly what you could have done instead and why it would have been so much better than what you did and what an idiot you are for even thinking of such a stupid idea in the first place. At least, that's what he did to Frenzy when he decided to follow my lead and question where his loyalty lies: with Lord Megatron or with Skyquake?)

(All he said to me was that I was one to talk and reminded me of precisely why I was even with the 'cons in the first place.)

(Frenzy's reaction to this: "Primus, Dreadwing, Knock Out's going to kill you for bringing that up. You made her cry!")

(No, I don't want to explain what he brought up. It's personal, and I get depressed just thinking about it.)

Rule # 222: Mentioning Skyquake is only ever acceptable in one situation. (*)

(Everyone on the Nemesis has a berzerk button. Dreadwing's is Skyquake.)

(If you even say the departed Seeker's name within the audio range of Dreadwing, most will agree you deserve to be shot by him. Pit, even I agree, and I was the one getting shot at.)

(Because if there's one thing I can sympathize with Dreadwing on, it's Skyquake. I know exactly how he feels on this subject. Losing someone you love that much can really push you over the edge.)

(But there is one time when you can mention him. Sometimes Dreadwing will go to the upper deck at sunset, when it's peaceful and he's had a pretty good day. That only happens maybe once every two months, so don't get your hopes up.)

(If you phrase it right, he'll tell you about Skyquake.)

(When he talks about his twin, his voice grows lighter, almost fond, and his optics turn soft. He clearly misses the days when they were together and didn't have to worry about loyalty to anyone but each other. As strange as it may sound, he almost sounds human when he recalls the days he spent with Skyquake before the war.)

(It's a side of him I wouldn't mind seeing more often.)

Rule # 223: Explosives are Dreadwing's forte - no one else's. (By WingedWolfAlari)

(He's so good at blowing things up that it's practically an art.)

(I'm not joking. When he makes something explode, it does so with a sense of grace and fluidity to it that you can't find anywhere else. Even Knock Out will admit that it's awesome, though not when Dreadwing is around to hear it. They'll both walk off huffing in opposite directions.)

(Anyways, don't encourage anyone to try their servo at explosives, no matter how well you think they'd do the job. That's Dreadwing's secondary job; no one can even begin to be as good at it as he is.)

(It's a proven fact. Just ask Screamer.)

Rule # 224: It is imperitive Dreadwing remain in the dark about the ultimate fate of his twin. (By WingedWolfAlari)

(In case you didn't know, Starscream stole a shard of Dark Energon a while back and used it to bring Skyquake back from the dead as his 'servant.' Well, I'm no warrior, but even I know that you don't disturb the resting place of those fallen in battle. It's disgraceful and frankly, it's pathetic.)

(The reason Dreadwing can't know about it is because it would cause him to question his loyalty to the Decepticon cause. We can't afford that. We have barely enough competent officers here to run the warship; we can't afford to lose even one.)

(Not my words, by the way. I was quoting Lord Megatron.)

(Personally, I think he deserves to know what happened to his twin. Even if it means we- what I meant to say was that I think he deserves to know even if it means I lose one of the few Decepticons I can actually get along with.)

(The poor mech doesn't know he's been living with a lie for years now.)

Rule # 225: Regardless of what anyone says, Dreadwing is nothing like Rainbow Dash. (By WingedWolfAlari)

(My fault for introducing Frenzy to My Little Pony to get him to leave me alone in the first place.)

(He introduced the rest of the crew, and somehow everyone randomly decided that Dreadwing was Rainbow Dash. Not only was that extremely weird, it made no sense.)

(At least it was better than what Breakdown did after watching a couple episodes.)

(My nickname is Shy... and then there's the pony called Fluttershy. I'll let you figure out the rest yourself.)

(Back to what I was saying before. When Dreadwing caught wind of this, he was just as amused as one would expect. For the first time since I got here, I was not one of the ones locked in the Brig!)

(And as sad as that sounds, yes, I'm kind of proud of it.)

Rule # 226: He's a sucker for Military reunion videos. (By WingedWolfAlari)

(Yeah, yeah, I know it's a cliche. The big old warrior whose a secret softie, but that's not exactly correct. He's not soft, and he's not secretive about it.)

(The reason the videos get to him is because he is a warrior and he knows what it's like to be separated from someone you care about because of war. Just remember that Skyquake was put in stasis here on Earth for centuries, leaving his twin to eagerly anticipate their reunion.)

(I know that's how he felt back then because I asked Soundwave to give me a quick run-down of the history of the Seeker twins.)

(As I was saying, Dreadwing's a sucker for these videos, especially if they're between a soldier and his dog, weird as it may seem. It's one of the few instances of obvious human emotion in any Decepticon aside from contempt and other negative feelings.)

Rule # 227: His bombs are called his for a reason; don't steal them, and don't play recording of explosions to 'throw him off.' (By Undiscovered Poet)

(This can all be explained in a series of quotes.)

"Shiloh, Rumble, I know you took them, and I know you're hiding in here!"

"Okay, you take the bombs and go that way, I'll go this way and distract him."

"I don't know, Shy, he sounds pretty mad. Maybe I should distract him."

"I can handle it, now go!"

"Come out, you two!"

(At this point I played a video of an explosion lifted from a Mythbusters episode, and well... I'll just continue with the story.)

"There you are. Did you really think you could trick me with such an obvious ploy?"

"Maybe I did. Or are you too dumb to notice the fact that you haven't found Rumble or your bombs?"

"I don't need to find him. He'll come to me."

"What makes you think that?"

"I have you."

"Oh."

Rule # 228: In light of Item # 227, don't steal anything of his. (By Undiscovered Poet)

(Seekers in general are defensive of what's theirs. They're not as obsessive about it as Knock Out - granted, KO was a Seeker for most of his life - but they come close.)

(With Dreadwing, it's sort of a "Not yours, don't touch it" situation, but with a "Touch it without permission and I'll kill you" undertone.)

(Whatever the case, you don't want to steal anything that belongs to him because he'll get very angry and you'll either find yourself stuck with the most annoying tasks on the Nemesis for weeks or you'll end up explaining to Knock Out exactly why you're in the medical bay again.)

Rule # 229: He is Second-in-Command of the Decepticon forces; he doesn't have time to 'play' with you. (By Undiscovered Poet)

(To be fair, I never used the word play. I asked if he wanted to hang out because I was bored and everyone else was busy.)

(Heh. Biggest mistake I made the entire month.)

(... Again, I am an idiot.)

(I should have known what was going to come next. Honestly, I should have. It should have been obvious, given his general disposition and his reactions every single time I've accidentally - or perhaps purposely - annoyed him.)

(Another lecture.)

(Long lecture summarized in a few words as possible: "I am the First Lieutenant, Shiloh, I have neither time nor desire to amuse you simply because you lack the drive to find a Vehicon to play with.")

(I was at the same time insulted and relieved.)

(On one hand, Dreadwing's a stiff and no fun. On the other... it's a bad idea to leave me alone when I'm bored.)

Rule # 230: Gorilla Glue is useful for many things, but not for pranking Dreadwing with. (By Undiscovered Poet)

(Do you by chance remember the agreement Dreadwing and I have? The one where if I leave him alone, I get to hide in his quarters if I piss of KO and Patchy?)

(Oh, that's good. I didn't want to have to explain it again.)

(Okay, here's how this ended up happening. Frenzy and Rumble had been sent on a mission to retrieve a Predacon fossin in - was it Russia? No, it was the one close by, the one where Chernobly happened. Belarus? No, not that one. Ukraine? Yeah, it was Ukraine! They were on a retrieval mission in Ukraine, Breakdown was assisting Starscream in handling Predaking down on the surface, Knock Out was monitoring for locator beacons and couldn't be bothered, Soundwave, Dreadwing, and Lord Megatron were in the middle of a very important meeting, and Shockwave was free, but he scares me. So as you can see, I was by myself. I wasn't even allowed to go on missions because Knock Out suddenly cited them as too dangerous!)

(What was I supposed to do, sit there all day and wait for something to happen?!)

(Pit no! If nothing fun's happening, I just have to create my own fun.)

(Which is bad news for anyone in the general area.)

(Well, to say I crossed a line by spreading Gorilla Glue on Dreadwing's berth is putting it mildly. I regret it greatly, and I really hope he knows I'm sorry for getting him stuck. I went too far in that prank, and again, I'm really, really sorry for it.)

There were way too many names to list up there, so I'm going to list them here. Rule # 222 was suggested by WingedWolfAlari, Undiscovered Poet, inkdragon13, and Pyxo. Each contributed a part of the rule, so each gets credit for suggesting it.

Next Chapter: Interactions with Dreadwing - II