AN: The chapter title will make more sense when you read on. (I am fully aware of how the characters have been acting in the first place; that has been done intentionally.) Some Cybertronian time units you might need: klik = 1.2 minutes, cycle = 1.25 hours (note: IDW definition of a cycle), solar cycle = 1 day, nanoklik = 1 second, breem = 8.3 minutes.
"I have an idea about that…" Dreadwing started to tell the rest of them.
"Alright then; what is your idea?" Starscream asked; happy that attention was no longer on him.
"Remember our final group dare last time?" Dreadwing asked. The shivers he got in response told him that yes, they did.
"Why don't we do the opposite?" Now he received confused looks.
"What do you mean by that?" Skyquake asked.
"Instead of looking like someone else, why don't we act like someone else?" Dreadwing saw the realisation appearing in the other five's optics.
"How are we deciding who should act like who?" Starscream asked.
"I actually know how we could do that. I'll just fetch some electrical tape…" Knock Out told them before wandering off. About half a klik later, he returned with the bucket of wires.
"Right, allow me to explain how this will work. Each of these wires represents someone different now. As I know which is which; I am going to go last. If you draw out the wire that represents you, I will tell you to put it back. If not; I will tell you who you are going to be acting like for the next three and a half cycles." Knock Out smirked before holding out the bucket.
"Airachnid; you can go first." He held the bucket towards her.
"Why?" Starscream asked, sounding a tiny bit annoyed.
"Haven't you ever heard of femmes first?" Breakdown looked surprised by this fact. Starscream then scratched the back of his head and motioned for Airachnid to move forward. She did so, and grabbed one of the wires. It had a bit of red electrical tape wrapped around the bottom of it.
"That's… interesting." Knock Out sniggered. Airachnid looked confused.
"You will be acting like… me." He told her. She then changed her stance and answered him.
"That will be just fabulous darling!" She answered, making four of them laugh.
"I do not act like that!" Knock Out glared at her. She sniggered, before telling him to continue with a wave of her hand.
"Breakdown; you're next." Knock Out ground out angrily. Breakdown stopped laughing and moved towards the bucket. He grabbed a wire; it had a yellow bit of tape wrapped around it.
"Put that one back." Knock Out told him. Breakdown did so.
"Why am I yellow?"
"Matches your optics, and Dreadwing was blue so…" Knock Out explained away while mixing up the wires. Breakdown then grabbed another wire, this time it had black tape wrapped around it.
"I think I like this one!" Knock Out sniggered.
"You have to act like… Airachnid." Breakdown looked shocked; surely it would be better for Starscream to act like her? But he then had an idea.
"Does this mean I have to walk like this?" He asked, before proceeding to walk away from the group; purposefully wiggling his aft.
"I don't do…"
"Yes you do." Starscream interrupted her. Airachnid continued to grumble that she didn't, but the rest of them ignored her; Starscream was right.
"Starscream, you can draw next." Starscream didn't get Knock Out's logic, but did so anyway. The wire he'd grabbed had a green strip of tape wrapped around it.
"That is… too perfect!" Knock Out was trying very hard not to laugh at the irony.
"You need to act like… Skyquake." Everyone else worked out why this was funny now. Skyquake and Starscream were opposites in terms of how they acted around Megatron.
"So… I have to kiss up to Megatron for the rest of the solar cycle then?" Skyquake's cheeks turned a little pale blue at the suggestion.
"Possibly… Skyquake, you can choose next." Knock Out shrugged. Skyquake chose a wire and knew who he would have to act like.
"So… Do I need to help Airachnid in here? Or am I supposed to wander the halls and chatter to the Vehicons?" Skyquake asked. Knock Out now realised something and had to try very hard not to laugh at it. Dreadwing was going to be the last one with a choice. And because of who was left; it wasn't really a choice!
"I'll pick this wire, and you can have the one that is left." Dreadwing told Knock Out before grabbing the wire. It had a blue bit of tape attached to it.
"Actually, you have the remaining wire in the bucket. Knock Out lifted it out and swapped wires with Dreadwing. This wire had a bit of white tape on it.
"So I will be acting like…" Knock Out started to snigger at the look of confusion on Dreadwing's face.
"Starscream!" Again; the two had opposite opinions on their lord and master. Dreadwing raised his head, before smirking at the rest of them.
"Well… at least I get to act like the best one of us." He also adopted a more stuck up tone to his voice.
"I do not sound like that!" Starscream complained. Knock Out then began his act.
"I suppose that means I'll have to kneel at our lord's feet, and behave more… honourably." He said, sounding like he was nervous about this for some reason.
"Do we actually do our normal duties, or the duties of the mech or femme we are acting like?" Breakdown asked, hoping he didn't have to train the Insecticons. Dreadwing was the one to answer.
"You do your normal duties; this is the opposite of last time." The others seemed to agree. Four of them headed for the door, leaving Knock Out and Breakdown to try and work out how they were going to act when those three Vehicons inevitably turned up.
XxX
"You are making a habit of turning up late." Megatron did not sound happy.
"Master, I have had confidential reports to fill out. I think you would rather that someone who wasn't supposed to read them didn't." Starscream told Megatron, making sure to bow respectfully at the end. I suppose not. Megatron found himself thinking. Hang on…
"What are you up to now, Starscream?"
"I am merely doing as you ordered, master." Starscream bowed again. This didn't reassure Megatron; it only made him more suspicious. Starscream is up to something… I can feel it. Megatron decided there was little he could do at the moment, and turned to Airachnid.
"What's your excuse?" While he was asking her, Starscream had moved over to the jobs board; found his and gone over to the monitors. Without complaint. Megatron was sure something was up now; Starscream always complained about monitor duty!
"I have to make myself presentable, lord Megatron." She told him with a flourish, bowing rather flamboyantly.
"Alright; what are you up to?" Megatron looked annoyed and confused, one of them acting strange was a coincidence; two was a pattern.
"I will have to find that out lord Megatron." She then moved over to the board, and found out what it was she would be doing.
"Surely monitor duty is a waste of my talents?"
"In that case, go and train that unruly pack of Insecticons!" Megatron growled. Airachnid shuddered. She looked like she was going to argue, but then saw the look in Megatron's optics.
"V…Very well, lord Megatron." She then walked off out of the door.
"A good leader wouldn't intimidate his troops like that." Megatron glanced at Starscream, expecting him to have said that, but saw Starscream looking at the monitor. He doesn't look like he is paying attention…
"Starscream!" Megatron still shouted at him.
"What is it, my one true master?" Starscream turned to look at him. Megatron was glaring at him for some reason. Dreadwing… you better not get me into trouble! I know that was you! He thought before wincing at Megatron's words.
"What is it I have told you about making comments about my leadership?"
"I would only be telling you how right your leadership methods are, master." Starscream inclined his head, as he couldn't exactly bow when sitting down.
"That is not what I just heard!" Megatron glared at him.
"Why would I say something against your leadership? You are my one true master, no other could compare." Who are you and what have you done with Starscream?! Megatron thought to himself; no way was he going to give Starscream the satisfaction of knowing he'd rattled him.
"A good leader would remain calm in situations like this and listen to what his troops had to say." Megatron this time glanced at the other two that hadn't spoken yet; Dreadwing and Skyquake.
"At least… that's what I'd do." Megatron now realised who it was and glared at him.
"You'd best keep your opinions to yourself Dreadwing. Unless you'd like to find out first-hand what happens to traitors!" Dreadwing visibly stiffened.
"I was only giving my opinion, just because it doesn't agree with yours doesn't make it wrong." Dreadwing then saw Megatron's fusion cannon pointed at him.
"Did I not just tell you to keep your opinions to yourself? Do I have to show you why you should?" Dreadwing heard the fusion cannon powering up and reacted exactly how Starscream would.
"Please, master! Don't fire at me! I'll be quiet and behave!" Some of the Vehicons were trying very hard not to laugh; what had gotten into the higher ranks? Commander Dreadwing cowering on the ground was too funny!
"Then be silent and get out of my sight!" Megatron growled. Dreadwing quickly checked what the board was asking him to do this solar cycle and then ran out of the door; not wanting to test Megatron's patience further. Skyquake nervously shuffled his feet; realising Megatron's attention was on him now.
"Uh… I'll just find out what I'm meant to be doing and leave you alone, master." Skyquake nervously wandered towards the jobs board, everyone was looking at him! He saw what he was meant to be doing and went out of the door, shivering at everyone's optics being on him. Is there something in the energon this solar cycle? Megatron pondered, before adjusting his position in his throne. Must be… was his last thought before dozing off.
XxX
Seriously… No one has been injured, all solar cycle? Impossible! Knock Out thought, before pondering about whether that meant that those three Vehicons were going to be turning up shortly.
"Maybe our three admirers will be along shortly." Breakdown suggested.
"I hope so; it does get boring standing in here when there is no one to look after." Knock Out silently prayed for someone to turn up at the door. His prayers were seemingly answered in the next few nanokliks, when both he and Breakdown heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." He answered; knowing that wasn't what he usually said. He wasn't surprised to see three Vehicons coming through the door. What did surprise him was what Breakdown was doing. The Vehicons seemed just as shocked as he was. Breakdown was lying on one of the berths, with his arms up behind his head and one of his legs crossed over the other. It looked… unprofessional to say the least. It also is something that Airachnid would probably do to rile mechs up! Knock Out realised.
"Breakdown; that is not how a medic's assistant should act." Knock Out told him off.
"Do you really mind?" Breakdown adjusted his legs, so the other one was now on the top. The Vehicons shivered, what was with the commanders today?
"It is unprofessional!" Knock Out told him, looking somewhat ashamed. The Vehicons seemed disappointed when Breakdown climbed off the berth and stood beside Knock Out.
"You ruin all my fun!" Breakdown pouted. Knock Out had try very hard not to break character and laugh; Breakdown was doing a very good job of acting like Airachnid.
"What was it you three wanted?" Knock Out asked, acting as though he was ignoring Breakdown.
"Uh… we got hurt when trying to clean the engines again…" The one who was stood in the middle told him, showing Knock Out her scratches. He looked over them with a disapproving optic.
"You three should really be more careful!" He told her off.
"Aren't you going to kiss me better?" The Vehicon looked hopefully at him. Knock Out shuddered; remembering the last time these three came into his med-bay all too well.
"Such contact will not heal up these scratches. Nor is it acceptable behaviour. I am your commander after all." Knock Out told her. The Vehicon pondered what was with Knock Out; the last few times she had come in here, he had been all too eager.
"If you'd like…" The Vehicon jumped; she hadn't realised that Breakdown was beside her.
"I can kiss you better." She stiffened; this wasn't what she'd had in mind, at all.
"Breakdown; that sort of behaviour between the ranks is not tolerated." Knock Out told him. The Vehicons looked shocked. Who was this red mech, and what had he done with Knock Out? The mech and the femme in the group then almost squealed at what happened next.
"Surely, you can make an exception Knocks. After all, these three do seem to like your attentions..." Breakdown had put one of his fingers under Knock Out's chin and tilted his face up to look at him while he was speaking. Knock Out shivered. He also silently hoped that he was blushing; it would help keep up the illusion that he and Breakdown seemed to have concocted.
"Inter-rank fraternisation is banned. It is one of the rules. These three are no exception." Knock Out answered. Breakdown seemed to take this as his answer for a few nanokliks, before speaking again.
"You didn't seem to mind when it was me and you that broke the rules." Knock Out knew he was blushing now; he only hoped these three Vehicons hadn't heard about, or saw the evidence of, Knock Out and Breakdown kissing in the med-bay. This time, the Vehicons did squeal and collapse on the floor. They remembered what Breakdown was getting at all too well.
"Did you have to bring that up?" Knock Out asked Breakdown.
"It stopped it getting more awkward in here for both of us didn't it?" Knock Out didn't answer. Breakdown then moved over to where the three Vehicons had collapsed, pulling out his buffer.
"We'd better get the scratches off these three, and then leave them outside." Knock Out shrugged, before fishing out another buffer and helping his assistant. A couple of kliks later, the Vehicons were free of scratches and being carried out of the door.
"So… now that these three are fixed, can I go for a wander?" Breakdown asked, having come back inside the med-bay.
"I don't see why not; it is one of the only things Airachnid seems to do after all." Knock Out told him quietly, he was sure Dreadwing wouldn't say something like that. Breakdown shrugged and then headed for the door.
"Well then, I'll see you later…" Breakdown paused, making Knock Out worry a little bit.
"Handsome…" Breakdown! That isn't even funny! Knock Out shivered, hoping that no Vehicons heard that. He seriously hoped that Breakdown was just speaking in character when he said that.
XxX
Ugh… Why is it that Megatron always puts me on monitor duty? Maybe, if he sat at these monitors for a couple of cycles without going into recharge he would actually understand my complaints about it. Starscream complained in his head; knowing that Skyquake wouldn't complain.
"If I were leader, this duty would be left to Soundwave. He is the best one at it after all." Dreadwing told all of them who were listening.
"Soundwave has to attempt to decode the Iacon database; that is more important than surveillance at this time." Starscream told Dreadwing, purposefully avoiding what he really didn't want to say; it was hard enough saying it earlier this solar cycle!
"Surely he is capable of doing both; my time would be better used elsewhere." Dreadwing complained, purposefully lowering his wings like Starscream did when he was frustrated.
"Soundwave is doing as he was ordered by lord Megatron; you would be wise to do the same." The Vehicons sniggered, had Dreadwing and Starscream swapped looks again? Dreadwing was acting like Starscream and vice versa.
"Do you think that they are doing the dare club again?" One of the Vehicons asked the others.
"Maybe." Another answered him.
"It would explain why they've been acting weird these past few solar cycles!" A third said.
"It's not just the original four of them either…" The first one spoke again.
"Oh! Skyquake and Breakdown have been acting strange too!" The second one said.
"Don't remind me… I'm friends with one of the four who first spotted Skyquake when he was wandering the halls and she won't shut up about how attractive he is…" Complained the third one, laying his head on the desk.
"What do you mean?" All three of the Vehicons turned around in shock; they hadn't noticed their lord had woken up and had, apparently, snuck up on them.
"Uh… nothing lord Megatron." The first one quickly answered.
"I don't think so! If I find out that those four have started up the dare club again… I'll have their heads!" Megatron growled. The Vehicons shivered; they really didn't mind if they had started up the dare club again; it made working on the Nemesis a lot more interesting! Luckily for both Dreadwing and Starscream, Soundwave came through the doors at that moment; before Megatron could query about the dare club.
"What is it Soundwave?" Megatron asked, seeming to calm down. Soundwave walked closer, to make sure that Megatron could see the line of code written on his screen.
"Another relic?" Soundwave nodded in response to his leader.
"Decepticons, Soundwave has located another relic! You have three breems to prepare yourselves for the mission and go to the ground bridge room, if you decide you would like to go on this mission." Megatron then stormed out; clearly not happy with what he had overheard the Vehicons talking about. Starscream and Dreadwing both stood up and headed for the door as well.
"I suppose this mission may require my assistance." Dreadwing shrugged.
"You heard our lord and master! He requires our assistance in retrieving the relic!" Starscream shouted at the Vehicons.
"We must go to assist him!" Starscream then followed Dreadwing. The Vehicons looked confused but some of them decided they would go on this mission; their favourite of the officers was going, so they would too!
:: Brother, Soundwave has decoded another relic. :: Skyquake jumped; he was busy on ground bridge duty and wasn't expecting his twin to contact him.
:: Are we all going to assist him?:: Skyquake realised what his twin was getting at.
:: We might be, when we tell the others.:: Dreadwing answered. Skyquake could swear he could hear his twin smirking.
:: Do you think that we will confuse the Autobots?:: Dreadwing asked.
:: Or weird them out. :: Skyquake smirked, deciding that he was going to go on this mission.
A couple of breems later, all of the group who were playing truth or dare were stood around in the ground bridge room.
"So, is our fearless leader going to join us some time this solar cycle?" Dreadwing pointedly crossed his arms and tapped one of his feet on the ground.
"He should be along soon." Skyquake spoke next. Both he and the other three were trying to convince Starscream to argue about Megatron.
:: No. Way.:: All of them sniggered at his response.
"What is it you all find so funny?!" The three of them that were facing away from the door; Knock Out, Breakdown and Starscream, jumped and turned around. The other three sniggered, Megatron had frightened them.
"Lord Megatron, we are pleased you could join us." Both Knock Out and Starscream bowed and spoke to Megatron. Megatron looked surprised. What are they up to now?
"I see you finally decided to grace us with your presence, lord Megatron." Dreadwing smirked. Megatron growled in response.
"Do not test my patience Dreadwing!"
"Lord Megatron can choose whether or not to show up for a mission." Starscream started to say, feeling a little embarrassed at all of the Vehicons that were looking at him.
"And at what time he feels like showing up. He does not require yours or anyone else's authorisation, Dreadwing." Megatron was certain they were up to something; he was being criticized by Dreadwing and defended by Starscream and Knock Out!
"Our lord should probably learn to be here earlier than the rest of us then!" Breakdown smirked. Megatron decided he must have been imaging that Breakdown wiggled his hips when he spoke.
"He has to look presentable for his troops, Breakdown. I know I wouldn't want to be appearing before them looking less than my best!" Megatron really was wondering what was up with the rest of his officers. Airachnid sounded more like… Knock Out.
"What are you up to?" Megatron glared at them, sure they were up to something.
"Awaiting your orders, master!" Both Knock Out and Starscream shouted, bowing before him. Most of the Vehicons were trying very hard not to laugh. One of them thankfully saved his lord from having to answer by opening a ground bridge. Megatron decided he could try and work out what his officers were playing at later, after he had the relic in his possession. He headed through the ground bridge, leaving his officers to realise that he'd gone and follow. And they'd better follow promptly… He thought, a few different wicked punishments coming to mind.
:: We'd better follow our lord, before he decides we are purposefully ignoring him…::
:: You don't need to act 'in character' over the coms, Knock Out.:: Airachnid sniggered, not noticing the Vehicons all walking through the ground bridge.
:: I'm not acting in character; I'm being worried about what Megatron might do to my finish!:: Knock Out told her, making the others laugh when they heard his reason. Dreadwing was the first one of them to glance around and notice that they were the only six Decepticons stood in the ground bridge room.
"Scrap. We'd better get through the ground bridge before our lord decides to have all our heads!" Starscream told the rest, running towards the ground bridge portal. The others followed, not wanting to be on the receiving end of their lord's wrath either! They quickly realised they were needed, all of the Vehicons either were or were playing offline and Megatron was having to fight all of the Autobots on his own to try and stop them from getting the capsule.
"About time!" Megatron growled at them, just managing to dodge a shot.
:: Usual opponents?:: Breakdown asked.
:: Or the opponents of the one we're pretending to be? :: Knock Out smirked; it meant he could possibly take on Arcee, since Dreadwing and Skyquake sometimes battled her and Cliffjumper.
:: Usual opponents; we don't want Megatron to realise something is up. :: Starscream shuddered, before running towards Ratchet. Why Optimus had decided to bring Ratchet along this time was anyone's guess. The others shrugged, before running after their usual opponents. It didn't take long for Bulkhead to spot his rival, and run towards him. Bulkhead is probably going to run away when who I'm pretending to be ends up saying something that brings his mind to our past encounters. Breakdown also recalled something that Airachnid had said the solar cycle both of them returned to Nemesis stuck together. Something about him being Arcee's new partner?
"Ah, if it isn't Arcee's latest partner." Breakdown's way of speaking confused Bulkhead a little.
"Did you get hit over the head Breakdown?" Breakdown was trying very hard not to smirk at the reply.
"Not recently. You and I haven't fought recently."
"Allow me to change that." Bulkhead told him, before turning his hand into one of his wrecking balls and swinging it at Breakdown.
"Why would you want to fight me? After all, haven't I been acting differently recently?" Breakdown still had that unusual way of speaking. He almost started laughing when Bulkhead froze.
"You had to have been playing some sort of trick! No way would you feel like that for me!" Bulkhead had unwillingly just walked right into the perfect set up. Airachnid definitely flirts with her opponents; he walked right into that one!
"Of course I would… I do quite like it when your big, powerful body is grappling with mine…" Bulkhead looked somewhere between shocked and disgusted. Breakdown was trying very hard not to laugh.
"You mean that fighting me… it…" Bulkhead didn't want to say it; it would make what he was thinking a possibility and the thought was… completely wrong in his head. Unfortunately, Breakdown had realised what he was trying to say. It definitely doesn't, but…
"Turns me on?" Breakdown then paused and shivered, as though recalling events that were doing just that.
"Of course it does… I think I like it best when you're using your weight to pin me down…" Breakdown shivered again, trying not to laugh when he caught the disgusted look on Bulkhead's face.
"You mean… you've been enjoying this the whole time?" Bulkhead shivered now, in revulsion. You don't know when to stop digging yourself into a hole do you? Breakdown thought before answering.
"Oh… yes… So, come and wrestle with me Bulky…" Breakdown bit down on his tongue when Bulkhead screamed and ran off, clearly disturbed by what had just been shared. If I started laughing right now, it would be really inappropriate. Breakdown thought to himself.
Meanwhile, Arcee had spotted her rival as well.
"Not like you to hide from me for this long Airachnid!" She shouted, knowing that her rival would hear and possibly come out of wherever she'd hidden. Airachnid did come out of where she was hiding, but Arcee pondered what was with her. She was acting… strange. Arcee shrugged; deciding that whatever was with her rival wouldn't affect her will to fight. Arcee drew both of her arm blades and ran at Airachnid. She attempted to attack, but all of her attacks were blocked by Airachnid's spider legs. Arcee realised what was with her when she saw the look in Airachnid's optics afterwards.
"Watch the paint!" Airachnid shouted, now growling at Arcee. Arcee couldn't help thinking that she'd heard someone else say that before. Airachnid began to swing her additional limbs more aggressively now. Arcee dodged all of them, before striking Airachnid from behind. Airachnid had decided to stay down after that hit; she'd had enough pretending to dislike all the scratches as much as Knock Out would have done. How did I beat her so quickly? Airachnid never falls that easily! Arcee then glanced down at her rival. Airachnid wasn't even twitching. Must have caught a reset switch or something… She thought before trying to find her partner. She spotted him, being bared down upon by Dreadwing and Skyquake. She quickly ran over to assist, glaring at both twins.
"Stop staring at me!" Skyquake shivered and turned away. What is with these Cons today? Arcee pondered. One acting strange was a coincidence. Two was a pattern, and she had feeling this might have happened before. While she was pondering this, she got knocked down by a punch from…
"What's the matter Arcee? Incapable of defending yourself from superior attacks?" That sounded like Dreadwing's voice, but what he was saying sounded like Starscream.
"No, but sneak attacks aren't your style Dreadwing." She told him, getting back up to her feet.
"Oh, but they are now. They are rather efficient for downing Autobots that aren't paying attention." He smirked, before swinging a fist at her again. She dodged, and swung back with her wrist blades. Dreadwing quickly dodged and then swapped places with his twin. Skyquake swung his fists at her. One connected, and Arcee fell down.
"I really hate to do this, but you shouldn't have been staring at me like that!" Skyquake told her before lifting his other fist and swinging for her. Arcee quickly squirmed out of the way.
"If I was in that position, brother; she would be unable to fight back right now." Dreadwing commented while attempting to knock down Cliffjumper.
"You'd be wise to shut up, brother. I'm stronger than you are!" Skyquake shouted back, purposefully not looking.
:: What is with these two? :: Cliffjumper queried.
:: Primus knows. Maybe the same thing as what happened last time? :: Arcee responded. Both she and Cliffjumper were surprised when both Skyquake and Dreadwing started to back off.
"Grr… Curse you Autobots! We will get you next time!" Dreadwing growled at them before running off. Skyquake followed, still shivering.
"I think I know why those two fled." Cliffjumper told her. She then smiled at him. She'd just received the same com as he had.
Meanwhile, Ratchet had been trying to fend off blows from Starscream. Ratchet reckoned he probably should have been attacked from behind or something equally devious by now; but so far Starscream hadn't done anything like that. It had him wondering what was with him.
"What is with you?" Ratchet's curiosity finally got the better of him.
"What do you mean? I am serving my lord and master by acting as an opponent for you." Starscream answered. Ratchet's curiosity was definitely roused now.
"Lord and master? You never serve Megatron! You attempt to overthrow him!" Ratchet snorted.
"I always serve my lord and master to the best of my ability. Why would I want Decepticon leadership? Megatron is my one true master." Ratchet couldn't believe what he was hearing. Starscream was known to tell everyone who would listen how much of a better leader he would be than Megatron.
"What are you going on about? Did somebody finally give in to the urge to reprogram you, or is this the result of your latest beating from Megatron?" Ratchet smirked; unable to believe that Starscream would be like this of his own free will.
"Why would I need reprograming? I am a loyal soldier to the Decepticon cause. Megatron would not have cause to beat me for anything I had done. I only do what Megatron asks of me." Ratchet couldn't help a bark of laughter when Starscream said he was a loyal soldier.
"You? Loyal? It clearly means something different to you than does to me!"
"It means I obey lord Megatron's command, regardless of my own feelings towards it." Starscream had heard about Ratchet using Synth-En on himself. He'd been somewhat impressed; not even he had the nerve to punch Megatron in the face!
"Does obeying his commands mean you attempt to prove yourself better than him?" Ratchet didn't rise to the bait.
"It means I do what he tells me." Starscream then stiffened hearing a familiar com.
"And right now, that is to return to base." Ratchet hadn't yet received a com from Optimus, but he expected one since Starscream had ran off.
Meanwhile, Bumblebee was silently pondering why Knock Out wasn't using that lance of his. He was attempting to grapple with him instead. He decided to ask his opponent.
"Why am I not using my lance? Because it is much more honourable to fight my opponent using the same weapons as he is." Knock Out answered. Bumblebee whirred in confusion.
"What do you mean, 'I'm not acting like myself.'?" Knock Out looked confusedly back. He then looked affronted at what Bumblebee said next.
" 'I usually try dirty tricks.' But that is dishonourable! I would never do anything like that!" Bumblebee's optics widened; unable to believe what he was hearing. He nearly ended up tripping over and being pinned down because of that comment. He then told Knock Out exactly what he thought about said comment.
"I wouldn't; it would be dishonourable!" Bumblebee now pondered what exactly his rival was playing at; he always used tricks to win his battles. He ended up falling over when Knock Out let go of his hands. He was expecting to be attacked, and that all of Knock Out's preaching was a ruse. What he didn't expect was Knock Out to back off. He made a noise of confusion.
"What we were fighting over is lost, and as such; there is no need for us to continue fighting." Knock Out told Bumblebee before running off; presumably back to the ground bridge coordinates. Bumblebee then heard his com-link.
:: I have obtained the relic Autobots, return to base. :: Optimus told him and the other Autobots over the coms. Bumblebee chirped happily, before running back towards the ground bridge coordinates he'd used. The Decepticons were going to have to explain themselves to their leader; and Bumblebee was happy he didn't have to deal with any of that.
XxX
Meanwhile, all of the Decepticons had met back up at their ground bridge and headed back to the Nemesis. Megatron looked… very annoyed.
"If all of you had come through the ground bridge promptly like you were supposed to, we might have actually secured the relic!" Megatron growled. All of the Vehicons who were in the ground bridge room shivered. The six subjects of his ire all reacted differently. In the cases of Starscream and Knock Out, this meant they knelt down and spoke to Megatron.
"I will offer no excuses master. I should have reacted sooner, and for this I apologise." Starscream told Megatron. Megatron looked confused; why would Starscream and Knock Out both be saying things like that?
"If I were leader, my troops would have went through the portal first, and I would have followed. Then I could be sure that they had gone on the mission."
"Nobody asked you, Dreadwing! And you would be wise to keep such opinions to yourself!" Megatron didn't hit him; which made Starscream inwardly seethe with anger. If I had said something like that, I would have been hit for it! Why doesn't Megatron hit Dreadwing? He pondered, silently hoping that Dreadwing said something else.
"Did you see what that femme did to me?" Airachnid pointed at a few scratches on her body. Megatron growled at her.
"You shouldn't be worried about that! You should be more worried about what our master is going to do to us!" Knock Out shouted at her. The Vehicons were trying very hard not to laugh; he was the exact mech who would be having a temper tantrum if he had a few scratches.
"All of you are dismissed. And I had better not see any of you until tomorrow morning or I will punish you for this failure!" All of the Vehicons thought that Megatron had let them off remarkably lightly. Megatron stormed off, leaving the other six of his hierarchy to breathe sighs of relief.
"I thought he was going to make this worse!" Airachnid shivered; as though the thought of more scratches was a nightmare.
"Shall we go to our quarters?" Starscream asked out loud, but over the coms he said.
:: Let's head to the med-bay, since it is nearly the end of the solar cycle; the time must be up. :: All five of the others agreed with him and headed off out of the door. A short while later, all of them were in the med-bay; discussing what had happened with the Autobots.
"Fighting Arcee was horrible; I had to react outraged every time she caught me with one of her wrist blades."
"I don't react like that every time I get scratched… do I?" Knock Out looked worried at what Airachnid had suggested.
"Yeah you do. I've had to deal with you in one of your moods on more than one occasion." Breakdown told him.
"So I decided to pretend she'd knocked me out."
"That would explain why she came to fight the both of us." Dreadwing turned to his twin.
"She really needs to learn to not glare at her foes. It was unnerving being stared at like that." Skyquake received a confused look from Breakdown.
"Where did you get the idea from? I don't act that bothered about people staring at me."
"I have seen you stiffen a few times when there are lot of people looking at you." Knock Out told Breakdown.
"Skyquake must have seen me do that too. But he over-played it a little." Breakdown shrugged.
"Why did Megatron not hit you? If I'd come out with half of the things you did this solar cycle; Megatron would have beat me up!"
"Did you not see he was going to, on the bridge? Or were you too busy with monitor duty to notice?" Dreadwing glared at Starscream.
"I did see that; but Megatron would have shot me." That made all of them pause to think for a moment.
"Maybe, he thought that I had some sort of glitch and didn't want to hit me and make it worse." The others decided to take Dreadwing's suggestion; they didn't want to think about what else it might mean.
"It was… interesting having a discussion with Ratchet about loyalties. And obeying commands." Starscream sniggered.
"Are you referring to the reason we have an unusual green fluid sample in storage?" Knock Out smirked; Ratchet had ran off on his own into a mine. Knock Out remembered rather well what happened in that mine; Starscream wished he'd been there to see it!
"Yes. Unfortunately he didn't react to my mentioning of it." Starscream shrugged.
"My rival seemed convinced I was up to something; he also… accused me of always resorting to dirty tricks." Knock Out smirked; Bumblebee was exactly right.
"You behaving as I would must have surprised him."
"Oh, definitely. He looked terrified when I let him go to answer Megatron's com; he must have thought I was going to try something!" Dreadwing looked confused; he didn't grapple with opponents that often; but he supposed Bumblebee didn't really have any other weapons.
"I wish all of you could have seen the look on Bulkhead's face!" Breakdown laughed.
"We did hear a high pitched noise coming from the direction you ran off in. Was that…?" Airachnid hoped so.
"It was. I did the flirting with the enemy thing you do." Breakdown tried not to laugh at the annoyed look on Airachnid's face.
"I don't flirt with the Autobots!"
"You do. You might not do so with your rival, but do with the mechs!" Starscream told her.
"I also flirt with all of you though…" She smirked at them, taking particular notice to the possessive glint in Starscream's optics.
"Well, since it seems we still haven't been caught by our lord…" Knock Out looked hopefully at the other five.
"Shall we meet up in here tomorrow morning for another round?" Starscream asked, receiving nods and yeses from the others.
XxX
Megatron had suspicions about the way his hierarchy was acting. He had noticed them acting strangely; and one of the Vehicons on the bridge earlier had said something about them starting up the dare club again. He knew there was only one way to be sure if they had.
"Soundwave, show me the footage from outside the med-bay." Megatron asked, surprisingly calm considering that the previous mission had ended in failure. Soundwave nodded, before bringing up the requested footage. It remained still for a couple of kliks, but then both he and his lord saw the other six members of the hierarchy go through the door. Megatron didn't think they looked that injured after that battle.
"The footage seems to suggest they are up to something." Megatron looked like he was contemplating something; Soundwave didn't want to guess what. Megatron then grinned.
"I shall have to see if they all convene in the med-bay again tomorrow morning." Megatron stood up and headed towards the door.
"Meet me here tomorrow morning Soundwave. I must find out if they have restarted the dare club; and if they have, there will be dire consequences!" Megatron said over his shoulder, before heading off to his quarters. Soundwave didn't answer, and went back to attempting to decode the Iacon database. He thought he might be able to get somewhere with it before he had to go recharge.
The next morning, as asked, Soundwave had gone back to the bridge. It didn't surprise him that Megatron was not there yet. Soundwave got back on with his work on the Iacon database; he still had a lot to do. About cycle later, earlier than normal Soundwave noted, Megatron came through the doors.
"I have sent the wakeup call, so I expect that everyone will be up shortly. I would like to see the footage from outside the med-bay again Soundwave." Megatron stood beside him, a pleased look crossing his features when he saw that Soundwave was working on the Iacon database at this time in the morning. Soundwave nodded, bringing up the footage from outside the med-bay again. It was still for a few kliks, but Megatron did see Breakdown head inside. Over the space of the next couple of breems, he also saw Airachnid, Starscream and the twins head inside the med-bay. Megatron grinned; he knew what he was going to do now.
"Soundwave, come with me. We are going to go and remind the rest of my hierarchy about my rules." Megatron walked towards the door and few nanokliks later Soundwave followed him. Megatron had one destination in mind; the med-bay to speak to his errant underlings. A couple of kliks later, both he and Soundwave were stood outside the door. He could hear Knock Out speaking; reinforcing the idea he had in his head. They forget that I am fully capable of overriding any lock they have put on this door. Megatron smirked. He checked the door and was surprised to discover it wasn't locked. You mean that anyone could have walked in on them? He decided to give all of them a fright.
"I dare you to…"
"Do nothing!" Megatron shouted at the gathered group. Knock Out instantly went silent. All of the rest of them looked petrified; they'd been caught.
"Would any of you care to explain what it is you are doing?" Megatron savoured the frightened expressions all of his underlings had on their faces. No one dared to speak.
AN: I think I'll just leave that there for now. You will all rage about it, but this isn't the end! I will resolve this issue; hopefully in a way no one could predict or see coming! Skyquake's characterisation in this is more like G1 Breakdown than Prime, but it kind of works… Bulkhead is definitely completely freaked out from Breakdown's actions!