AN: During the month of October, I attempted a 31 Days of Halloween challenge over on Tumblr. I didn't write on every prompt, but here are a few of the fics I wrote during the challenge. (There was also one I wrote for Rebirth, but because I've already uploaded it in that story, I won't be reposting it again.)
Halloween 1/3 Sets
Day 2: Crow
Universe: G1
Characters: Skywarp, Thundercracker
Skywarp sighed…or kind of sighed. He found it difficult to perform such a human act when he was currently sitting in his alt-mode. But such was his current predicament.
Curse Starscream for "volunteering" him for scouting! He didn't want to sit here, at the edge of this military airfield with this bland grey paint slapped on him in "disguise". Just to watch these stupid humans deal with this super-secret, Megatron attracting form of energy. Or was it a weapon? Whatever—Skywarp didn't really pay attention to little details like that.
Where had Thundercracker flown off to? That jerk had promised to come back when he had their well-deserved rations. Skywarp twitched on his wheels. He wondered what would happen if he activated his warp generator the next time a human came along to inspect him…
The disguised Decepticon flinched at a loud, unusual cry, and he almost stuttered when a tiny organic landed on the tip of his nose cone. The sleek black feathers on its tiny body practically gleamed in the sunlight, and the tiny head tilted towards the orange dome of his cockpit.
Skywarp froze, fighting the urge to break cover and knock the bird away. Those beady black eyes and the sharp gleam they possessed stared straight through him, and he had the uncomfortable sensation that this animal knew he wasn't some ordinary machine.
…so Skywarp expanded his EM field to give the nasty creature a shock it wouldn't forget. He snickered when the bird released a startled cry, and his form trembled when it lost its footing and fell to the ground. "Scram, ya winged rodent."
Skywarp ignored the indignant cry he received and felt absolutely no remorse to see the bird wobble through the air when it was finally able to take off. He actually snickered a little more when the black bird was unable to fly in a straight line before settling once more into the boredom he had been submitted to.
It was only a few minutes later that Skywarp felt the first rock. It pinged off his tinted cockpit, and he sat in confusion as it slid over his form to land on the ground. Then another fell from the sky, rattling down the edge of his wing, then another. Skywarp yelped as the pelting rocks fell in a steady stream and tensed when the loud, mocking cries of the bird from earlier echoed through the airfield.
By the time his alt-mode had accumulated enough tiny dents to become noticeable, scraping away small patches of the cheap paint that had been applied to him, Skywarp was on the very edge of transforming and blasting all the black birds circling above him from the sky.
Of course, the birds had to then land on every available surface…on him. He trembled in response to the talons that scraped against his wings, gripped his tailfins, screeched down his sleek cockpit as they searched for something to grip.
The final bird landed on his nosecone, fluffing its ebony wings. It stared straight at him, and Skywarp felt his plating heat up. The bird cawed, sparking the other dozen birds on him to mimic the cry. Skywarp swore they began to do a little tribal dance, and the only thing that kept him from taking off was the sudden reappearance of the partner that had abandoned him.
Thundercracker rolled up to sit beside him, and the birds simultaneously turned to stare at the blue-grey jet. Skywarp waited, and his trine mate didn't disappoint. "Skywarp…I see you made some friends while I was gone."
"Shut up."
"Told you some of the organics on this rock were actually smart."
"I said shut up!"
Day 7: Stars
Universe: A New Version of Reality
Notes: Takes place during time skip in chapter 1 of ANVoR
Characters: Victoria, Bluestreak
A cool, crisp wind flowed through the empty field, and the sparse leaves that still clung to the spindly branches of the trees fluttered in its wake, reaching out in an attempt to join their brethren blanketing the ground below. The faint light from the full moon cast shadows across the field as insects filled the small area with a calming song from the brush enclosing the open area.
The natural calm of the forest was broken by the loud crunch of broken limbs. Artificial light filtered through the trees, and voices soon began to overpower the chirping chorus. "I know it was around here somewhere…oh! Here we go."
The bushes surrounding the area parted, and a young girl stumbled through them. She shook her entire body, dislodging a leaf that had become stuck in her short, black hair and the tiny branches that had snagged on her baggy sweater, and turned to address the loud footsteps that quickly followed. "It's cold."
"Yeah, I probably should have thought of that. But this is the best place to see!" The girl stepped aside when a large, metallic foot landed beside her. The blinding light that flooded the field dimmed, and the human child looked up at the silver and dark grey metal giant with a small frown. "It looks a little difference since the last time I was here, but I guess that's because of the seasons changing. Sometimes I forget that Earth's weather actually changes like that."
"You've been on Earth for over ten years and you still forget?" A sudden gush of wind bombarded the pair, and the pre-teen wrapped her arms around herself. "You just had to choose the first night the temperature fell below seventy degrees, didn't you?"
"I'm sorry, Vi." A pair of doors fluttered on the mechanical giant's shoulders. "I thought your sweater would be enough to keep you warm. That is why you wore it."
"Yeah, but if I'd known that we'd be coming out to the middle of nowhere and I wasn't going to be sitting snug in your heater, I would have worn something a little thicker." Vi—or better known as Victoria—untangled herself long enough to stretch out the thin fabric of the flannel pants she wore. "Plus, I wouldn't have come out in my pajama pants. You do know that sleep overs and camping are two completely different things, right?"
"Of course! But the stars aren't nearly as clear back at the house…and Wheeljack was doing something with the chemicals he snuck out of his class. Last time that happened, we got a huge hole in the floor that went straight through the house's foundation. It reminded me of this one time back in Iacon—"
Victoria shook her head at how her companion easily shifted to an entirely new topic, but his short attention made her smile. Over the past few years, she had come to learn that a Cybertronian's designation often reflected their personality or skills. Her friend was no different, and "Bluestreak" certainly captured his most prominent trait.
While Bluestreak went on to explain one of Wheeljack's infinite number of hazardous exploits, Victoria tilted her head back to examine the clear night sky. Her dark grey eyes minutely widened, and her mouth partly opened at the sight of the twinkling dots above them. There was rarely a time when they ever appeared so clear or close—and so numerous! Where was this amazing display back in the suburbs?
"—and Prowl never again let Wheeljack hold his acid pellets." Bluestreak firmly nodded at the conclusion of his tale before tilting his head to see Victoria. He chuckled at the gaping expression he found on the pre-teen's face, and his chuckles grew louder when she jumped at the sound of him collapsing onto the ground. The mech attempted to use a small patch of the trees surrounding them as a backrest before simply propping himself up with his arm. "I was pretty sure you'd like this. You always seemed really interested when me and Wheeljack talk about Cybertron."
Victoria vigorously shook her head and moved to climb up on to the top of Bluestreak's foot. She slipped once on the smooth metal, and a large hand reached out to gently lift her up. "I can't help it. Who else has a chance to grow up with two—three if you count turd my brother's attached himself to—giant aliens from another planet? I'm stuck with you, so I might as well make the best of it."
The young girl smiled at the laugh her statement inspired and turned to stare up at the sky once more. Bluestreak did the same after dimming the headlights embedded his chest armor and waited for the main reason he had chosen to bring his human companion all the way out into the unpopulated area.
The gasp he heard when the first streak of light cut through the dark sky had his grin returning full force, and he unconsciously mimicked the way Victoria leaned further back to catch the perfect angle of the meteor shower. "You know, back on Cybertron meteor showers were a pretty common thing. I used to watch them all the time when I could, and I remember the first time—"
Victoria leaned further back to rest against Bluestreak's leg, muscles relaxing at the familiar drone of the mech's voice and the streaks of light that danced across the sky.
Day 8: Black Cat
Universe: G1
Characters: Ravage, Stunticons
There was one, well-known fact around the Decepticon base—the Stunticons, while being very brutal, were a very impressionable set of mechs. Motormaster could be convinced to do anything if he thought Megatron would perform the same action; a few flattering words would have Drag Strip thinking anything (good or not) was his idea; Dead End would simply shrug and comment about dying; Wildrider had enough screws loose to go along with anything; and once paranoid Breakdown was forced out of the corner he hid in, he would do anything to get back into it.
Knowing all of this, Ravage didn't think twice of them as he prowled through the Victory's rec-room. The feline Cassette rarely had a moment to himself, and he wasn't about to waste it on attempting to figure out what Drag Strip and Wildrider were fervently whispering about, or why Breakdown was actually sitting in the middle of the rec-room with his team. Motormaster only got a second glance because Ravage knew the large mech had a tendency to try to step on the little Cassettes that roamed the base, but as soon as the feline was out of reach, the Stunticon's leader was of no interest.
Ravage yawned, uncaring for the way Breakdown flinched back as he passed or Dead End's droning tone insisting that they were all going to die at some point anyway. A giggle from Wildrider caused an ear to flick, but only because the sound was unfamiliar. Decepticons did notgiggle.
"Hey, pussycat!" Rumble snickered at the snarl that answered him while Frenzy gulped down a cube of Energon that was larger than both of them. Laserbeak twittered and danced to the side to make space for Ravage in their secluded booth. "Boss was saying we actually gotta day off today. We're thinking about going topside and roughing up a few of the meatbags before he locks us up again. Wanna join?"
The feline tilted its head from across the table, flexible ears twitching once more as they picked up the subtle nuances of giggles above the rest of the ruckus the rec-room was known for. After a moment, Ravage finally shook his head and pawed the cube Laserbeak had offered. Rumble shrugged while Frenzy teased Laserbeak with a laser pointer he had "found". "Suit yourself, pussycat. Don't be getting all jealous when you're stuck down here doing nothing."
Ravage yawned as a sign of his lack of concern and trained his ruby optics on Frenzy attempting to escape a good pecking. The spy's ears continued to flick in time with the giggles coming from Wildrider across the room.
It wasn't until much later that Ravage began to regret his decision of ignoring the Stunticons and their oddly familiar ways. As he usually did on his own time, Ravage prowled down the long, violet hallways of the Victory, searching for gossip—otherwise known as juicy blackmail—to relate back to Soundwave.
Unfortunately, there was a severe lack of fellow Decepticons to actually eavesdrop on, and Ravage was beginning to get a little twitchy. The few mechs he had come across during his earlier prowls had been the Stunticons, who had strangely refused to come anywhere near him. Normally, he had to at least fend off Wildrider, who had the strange notion that Soundwave's animal Cassettes were pets. But no—all of the members of the youngest gestalt had gone to extreme pains to avoid his path.
Perhaps he should have taken Rumble up on his earlier offer…
The Cassette instantly froze. With ears flattened against his head and ruby optics scouring what appeared to be an empty hallway, Ravage sunk to the floor, his belly nearly scraping against the ground as he slithered into the familiar shadows near him. He silently crept further down the hallway, and the quiet noise that had caught his attention before prompted him to emit a silent growl.
Ravage stayed completely still as Wildrider turned the corner in front of him. The black Stunticon froze as well before suddenly turning and dashing back in the direction he had come. After a brief internal debate, Ravage slunk down the hallway to follow. He could still hear the strange mech giggling, and he forced his cautious pace to go a little faster.
As they traveled further into the base, Ravage's dormant sense of curiosity began to rise. While it wasn't often that the feline allowed the emotion to overcome his usual job-oriented focus and attentiveness, Ravage was beginning to grow tired of the gestalt's strange behavior. They were up to something, and he knew that his Cassette deck and Megatron would want to know whether it was detrimental to the cause.
He paused at the entrance of the storage room he had followed Wildrider to, allowing his intake systems to catalogue the various scents that wafted through the door. The feline snorted at the overwhelming smell of the cheap waxes Drag Strip and Wildrider preferred and adopted a little more caution when stepping through the doorway.
Of course, Ravage was soon reminded of why he usually kept his intense curiosity locked away.
"Now!"
A yowl echoed through the Victory as Ravage was blinded by a liquid that fell from above. He pawed at his optics, slipping when what had fallen on him coated the floor, until he was able to see through a thin layer of purple. He snarled when three forms stepped out from behind the storage containers they were hidden behind. Ravage nearly gave in to the urge to pounce on one of them and gauge their optics out when Drag Strip appeared from behind the box beside him, widely grinning as he held the dripping barrel of paint he had dumped on the Cassette.
"I told you it would work! Now who's the smartest in the gestalt?"
Dead End sighed. "You are, Drag Strip."
"That's right, and nobody forget about it." Wildrider giggled when Ravage slipped in the blue paint pooling on the floor. Breakdown's optics gained a new level of brightness as the feline viciously snarled at them. "We can tell Motormaster the whole thing was a success, thanks tomy genius thinking, and he'll be sure to tell Megatron. Our luck's gonna be turning around real quick now that everyone's not getting bad luck from a black cat crossing their path."
Ravage shook his head, splattering drops of blue paint, and stalked out of the storage room without another glance at the young gestalt.
"Hey, pussycat, why you looking so…blue?"
Ravage's snarl was only contained by the soothing strokes along his back. That didn't keep him from snapping at Rumble when the younger Cassette climbed up on the berth to sit beside him, and the little troublemaker was lucky that their master was taking care of the awful paintjob because Ravage was in one his rare foul moods now. The firm hand not only scrubbed away the paint, it kept the feline in place.
"Rumble: teasing ill-advised." Soundwave's voice modulator created an instant calming effect, and Ravage's tense cables loosened. He still reached out to swat Frenzy when the other twin attempted to touch him, though. "Ravage currently in unstable state."
"Awe, he can't be that upset." Ravage stared through optics that thankfully no longer possessed the purple tint from the blue paint. Even if he had still been blinded, he would have been able to see straight through the fake smile on Rumble's face. "At least it's a shade of blue that matches your optics."
Soundwave sighed as he grabbed his normally calm Cassette to keep him from mauling the others. He would need to pay closer attention to the Stunticons the next time they accessed the internet to research human superstitions...
…because he wasn't about to have another confrontation with Motormaster about being a witch.
