Well, folks, it's me again, just to tell you that Chapter Nine is finally up—also known as the Halloween Special! (I decided to write a Halloween Special for this story since Halloween was only a few days ago.) Enjoy!
…
"So, I was doing a little research on the humans," Microdigit was saying, "and I learned they have this holiday in late October called Halloween."
"Halloween?" asked Fireblast. "What's that?"
"Well, it's where the humans put on costumes, then go to different humans' houses and get treats," explained Microdigit. "So I decided we should do the exact same thing—if you want to, that is."
"Oh sure!" Fireblast told him. "I'll have to watch a little more TV, though."
"I've got a great costume." Microdigit smiled, a little shyly. "You'll have to wait a few more solar cycles until Halloween night, though. It's a surprise."
"Well, I'm sure I'll love your costume." Fireblast patted him on the back then left to the TV room to monitor the human channels. Usually she didn't watch TV that much at all, since they didn't get any of the Decepticon stations, but now…well, maybe she could stand to study the humans a little more.
"Halloween Special!" the announcer human was saying. "Every year we tell a scary story that's absolutely true…just listen."
"I'm listening!" yelled Fireblast, grasping the TV.
"You might have heard of something called ghosts," the announcer continued. "If you haven't, they are poor souls caught between this world and the next—often because they have unfinished business on Earth, like never admitting their love for someone or not avenging someone's death…
"So every Halloween night," the announcer continued, "the ghosts fly all over town to wreak their horrible vengeance. Beware, for ghosts can haunt you, possess you, spy on you, and who knows what else?"
"Oh no!" cried Fireblast. "We can't go out on Halloween night! Ghosts might possess us!"
"Ghosts aren't going to possess you," said Microdigit, sitting down next to her. "That's just a stupid Halloween special. Those humans are so weird. You can dress up like a ghost if you want to."
"I'm not dressing like a stupid ghost," Fireblast snapped.
"There's something even worse, though," said the announcer, lowering his voice. "There are other beings who like to show themselves on Halloween night—like vampires. Vampires like to suck your blood. Once they do, you turn into a vampire yourself…FOREVER!"
"What's blood?" asked Fireblast.
"Well…you know how when you get cut, you leak raw energon?" explained Microdigit. "Humans do the same thing, only instead of energon it's this red liquid called blood and I guess vampires like to drink it."
"Woah, that is scary," said Fireblast. "You know…I sort of don't want to go trick-or-treating on Halloween night now."
"But!" cried the announcer. "There is a way to keep the vampires from getting you! All you need to do is carry a bag of garlic and they won't come near you."
"What in Primus is garlic?" asked Fireblast.
"I don't know but if it keeps the vampires away, I'm willing to find out," Microdigit replied. "I guess we could go to the store and get some."
"And I kind of want to dress up like a vampiress," added Fireblast. "The garlic—whatever it is—won't keep me away, because I'm not a real vampire. I don't know what they look like, but they'll probably show a picture on this TV show."`
They did—vampires had pointy teeth (for sucking blood), a cape, and apparently they liked wearing all dark clothing. That wasn't a problem for Fireblast, since her color scheme was already black and dark green. She could drape a scary vampire cape over her wings, get some fake pointy teeth, and she would instantly be a vampiress. (Of course, she would need garlic to keep the real vampires away from her.)
The solar cycle before Halloween…
"Hey guys, check out my new Halloween costume!" said Sentinel Prime (he was dressed up as a human).
"Who in Primus are you supposed to be, Sentinel?" asked Fireblast, crossing her arms.
"I'm Jay Leno," Sentinel explained. "I saw him on TV—on one of the human channels—and his chin is almost as big as mine! So I decided to make him my Halloween costume this stellar cycle! Pretty good, huh?"
"Um…sure," said Microdigit to Sentinel, and then, turning to Fireblast, "Wanna go see what the Jettwins are doing for Halloween?"
"I'm a little afraid but…okay," Fireblast replied.
Jetfire and Jetstorm were both painted red. Jetfire was wearing a sticker that said "Thing One", and Jetstorm was wearing a sticker that said "Thing Two".
"I knew you guys would do a group costume," said Microdigit, shaking his head. "Thing One and Thing Two? What does that mean?"
"Well, we saw this movie called 'The Cat in the Hat' on one of the human channels," Jetfire began.
"So we decided to dress up as Thing One and Thing Two!" Jetstorm finished.
"Okay, you two have fun with that," said Microdigit. "Now why don't we go see—"
"I AM THOR, GOD OF THUNDER!" they heard someone yell, and it was…Ultra Magnus.
And…he was dressed as Thor, God of Thunder. It was actually a fitting costume, considering he could summon lightning with the Magus Hammer.
"Erm, good costume, sir," said Fireblast. "I really like it."
"Thank you," said Ultra Magnus. "Now, Jazz's costume is from another human movie we saw earlier. Would you care to see it?"
"Um…sure," Microdigit replied, and Jazz came into the room, dressed as a human.
"My name's Shaft!" he told them happily. "It's from a movie I saw on TV called Shaft."
"O-kay, but I never watched that movie," said Fireblast. "I watched a show on vampires so I got some garlic to keep them away, even though I'm actually dressing up as one myself."
"You know, I don't think vampires bite robots," Ultra Magnus told her. "If they even exist at all, which I don't think they do. That was just a stupid Halloween special. You shouldn't have believed it."
"So I wasted my money on this garlic for nothing?" yelled Fireblast. "Those glitch-heads!"
"Either way, did you get a vampire cape and some teeth?" asked Microdigit.
"Yeah, I did," Fireblast told him. "I'm going to be extra scary."
Finally, on Halloween night…
"You still haven't showed me what your costume is," Fireblast told Microdigit as she tied the vampire cape around her green-and-black wings. "It's making me crazy."
"Well, since it's Halloween night, I guess I could tell you now…" Microdigit smiled and then, to Fireblast's surprise, called, "Perceptor!"
Percy was dressed as a human too, someone Fireblast had never seen before. Microdigit left the room for a few cycles and when he came back, he was dressed as a human too and he said, "Guess who we are."
"I give up."
"Percy's Jango Fett, and I'm his son, Boba Fett," Microdigit replied cheerfully. "They're characters from a series Percy and I have been watching called Star Wars—we both are totally obsessed with it so we decided to use the characters as our Halloween costumes."
"It was between that and Obiwan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker…" Percy said pensively. "And of course Microdigit wanted you to go as Mara Jade."
"Why?" asked Fireblast. "Did she do anything particularly special?"
"No, no," said Percy. "Luke just married her."
"I don't think she needed to KNOW that, Percy," hissed Microdigit, glaring.
"Don't CALL me that!" yelled Percy.
"Okay, Percy," Microdigit replied.
"Keep it up, mister, and the paid internship is off!" Percy was scowling.
"Oh, I know you'll forgive me just like you always do, Jango Fett."
"But anyway, you two decided to go with Jango Fett and Boba Fett?" Fireblast continued, still confused.
Microdigit nodded. "Good idea, right?"
Fireblast shrugged. "I guess, even though I don't watch that show so I don't really get it…I don't really understand human pop culture at all, actually. Anyway, are you all ready to go trick-or-treating?"
"We are!" Thing One and Thing Two cried happily, flying into the room.
"I'm going along, just to supervise," said Ultra Magnus (Thor, God of Thunder). "I don't want any of you getting into trouble in downtown Detroit, understand?"
Later, in downtown Detroit…
Ultra Magnus, Sentinel Prime, Jazz, Percy, Microdigit, Fireblast and the Jettwins headed along the streets of downtown Detroit, carrying their trick-or-treat bags, hoping to get some loot this stellar cycle. It was the first time any of them had ever been trick-or-treating, but it wasn't that hard a concept to grasp.
Fireblast (the vampiress) shyly grabbed Boba Fett's servo as they walked up to the first house. He audibly gasped in surprise but since Fireblast didn't let go, he just squeezed a little and held on. Fireblast looked over, and he was looking down at the ground, blushing furiously. Will he ever stop being so shy? she found herself wondering. Since he probably wouldn't, she just squeezed back and they continued up the walk…together.
Meanwhile, Microdigit was thinking, Fireblast held my servo! She LIKES me! Of course, he was incredibly nervous, and he wondered if she remembered how he had gotten in a huge fight with Percy about how she should dress up as Star Wars character Mara Jade (it was true), but he was enjoying the moment at the same time. And there were no (real) vampires yet!
"Trick or treat!" said Fireblast and Microdigit.
"Why, if it isn't some more robots!" said the woman at the door. "Why don't you take some candy, my dears?"
"Thank you," they said, and reached into the candy bowl…even though technically, robots can't eat candy. (The point is to have fun, right?) Boba Fett and the vampiress were just walking back from the house when Fireblast saw something that almost made her spark stop beating.
There was Megatron with his crew, all dressed up for Halloween and trick-or-treating too.
"Hide!" Fireblast squealed, grabbing Microdigit's servo and dragging him into a rosebush. He yelled out in shock, but she paid no heed.
"What are we doing in a rosebush?" asked Microdigit. "Did you see a vampire? I told you leaving the garlic on the ship was a bad idea."
"No, of course I didn't see a vampire, Boba Fett," Fireblast snapped. "I saw something worse. Megatron is trick-or-treating with the Decepticons! If he sees me, I'll be brought back for sure and he'll probably think of a terribly creative punishment for me. Nope, it won't be just Monitor Duty this time!"
The two of them stuck their heads out of the rosebush to spy on Megatron's team. It was a little surprising at first that ol' Megsy would dress up, but then again, it was Halloween, so he kind of had to dress up, right? He was dressed as a purple T-Rex, and Lugnut was following close behind, dressed as—wait a minute—a yellow rubber ducky?
"Okay, why is Lugnut dressed as a yellow rubber ducky?" asked Fireblast incredulously. "I mean, I know he'll do anything—and I mean anything—for Megatron…but seriously…"
"Don't ask me," said Microdigit. "I hardly even know who any of these Decepticons are."
"I want to see what everybody else is dressed up as, especially my sister," said Fireblast, pushing Boba Fett's head down. "So keep down or they'll see you."
"Anyway, Starscream, I still like my idea better," Megatron was saying.
"Your idea was the dumbest idea I've ever heard," Starscream snapped back. "I am so not dressing up as a jester while you dress up as a king. NO way. I might be second-in-command but I'm not your fragging slave."
"I think your idea is stupid," Megatron told him. "I still don't understand what you all are supposed to be."
"We're being the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, you glitch-head," Starscream told him.
"Don't you call me a glitch-head, Starscream, unless you would like some special Halloween aft-kicking," Megatron growled back. "You're already on strike zero, you know."
"What is my dad dressing up as?" asked Fireblast.
"OHHHH, they're dressing up as the Power Rangers, I get it!" Microdigit laughed. "That's why Starscream is painted white, because the white Power Ranger is the leader, starting in Season Two of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers."
"That's so embarrassing," Fireblast muttered. "And…it looks like Slipstream is dressing up as the pink one, my sister Skydive is dressing up as the yellow one…and ALL the other Seekers are being Power Rangers too."
"What about your mom?" asked Microdigit.
"She's the one dressed like…oh dear Primus, a singer from last century?" Fireblast shook her head. "Well, I should have known she'd do something having to do with music. And it looks like my sparkling-brother is dressed like…a bat? Okay then…"
Spaceflower was carrying the sparkling, whose miniature wings were covered in black cloth, made to resemble bat wings. It actually looked kind of cute, but he was an adorable sparkling, after all.
"Who's that mech dressed up like Jason Voorhees?" whispered Microdigit.
"Um…I don't know who Jason Voorhees is, but you're pointing to Skydive's husband, also known as Swordslash," Fireblast told him. "See the giant sword? He's a Decepticon trooper and tough as nails. They got married while I was gone."
"Jason Voorhees is from this movie called Friday the Thirteenth," Microdigit explained. "I guess Swordslash wanted to copy his costume…but why is he feeding Skydive candied cyberberries?"
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." Fireblast scowled. "Skydive is literally addicted to candied cyberberries. They're her weakness. It's actually kind of pathetic when you get right down to it."
"What about that one right next to the rubber ducky?" Microdigit continued. "The one with the three faces? I can never remember his name."
"That's just my uncle Blitzwing," Fireblast replied nonchalantly. "Looks like he has three costumes going on…you watch more TV than I do, so maybe you can—"
"Hey, yeah, I definitely recognize him!" Microdigit said happily. (Right now, Blitzwing had his "Hothead" face on.) "He's dressed as T-800 from a movie I saw recently, Terminator, played by someone named Arnold Schwarzenegger, I think."
"Whatever." Fireblast shrugged. "Uh-oh, his face just switched. That's his Icy face, the only face that's capable of being calm."
"I know that costume, too." Microdigit was laughing by now. "He's dressed as someone named Colonel Wilhelm Klink, from a show called Hogan's Heroes. Wow, not everybody can wear more than one costume at once!"
"My uncle Blitzwing is crazy, you know," Fireblast reminded Microdigit matter-of-factly. "I don't care how good his costume is, it's true. Besides, I don't watch any of those human TV shows—oh joy, looks like Random's back. Who's he dressed as?"
"That one's easy," Microdigit replied. "He's dressed as the Joker from the Batman series."
"I guess Blitzwing would have to have a different costume for all three of his faces," said Fireblast, shrugging.
"Blitzwing seems like an interesting companion," Microdigit commented thoughtfully. "I'd like to meet him someday."
"Trust me, you don't want to meet him." Fireblast stuck out one servo and shook her head.
"Who's the mech dressed as the reindeer?" asked Microdigit, sounding incredulous.
"That's Shockwave," Fireblast giggled. "He looks like a reindeer anyway, so I guess that's why he dressed up like one for Halloween!"
"You're right," said Microdigit. "With those antlers, he does look like a reindeer."
"Well, that's everyone…" Fireblast was still spying. "Just our luck that the Decepticons would go trick-or-treating right here, right now. That was a close call."
They watched as the "Power Rangers" (or, the Seekers) went to the house where they had just been. The woman said, "Why, some Power Rangers? I love it!"
"Don't forget the purple T-Rex," said Megatron.
"And the yellow rubber ducky," added Lugnut.
"Why, how darling!" said the woman. "I think I'll give you extra candy!"
"Robots don't eat candy, you know," Megatron reminded her.
"Just go with it, dinosaur," Starscream muttered.
"You're just jealous, like usual," Megatron replied. "You're jealous that my costume is so much better than your stupid Power Ranger costume."
"What?" yelled Starscream. "I'll have you know I am not jealous and was NEVER jealous of you…ever!"
"Now I see where Ramjet got his lying skills…"
"I never lie!" Ramjet said.
"Would you please stop fighting for one solar cycle?" asked Spaceflower, sounding exasperated. "I know you hate each other and all but…come on, this is Halloween! You don't want to ruin it for everyone else, do you?"
"I hate you, Starscream," said Megatron.
"I hate you more," Starscream said back.
"I SAID STOP IT ALREADY!" hollered Spaceflower. "Are you two deaf?"
"Stop fighting!" cried Skywarp, and he started sobbing. "Fighting is scary!"
"Whoever that one is, he is unfit to be a Power Ranger," Microdigit said sadly.
"That's just Skywarp," Fireblast told him. "He's literally scared of everything."
"Halloween must be pretty hard on him, then," Microdigit observed.
Through his tears, poor Skywarp screamed again. They were at another house with VERY scary Halloween decorations…what a terrible holiday this was!
"Don't forget what we saw on the news last night, Skywarp," said Thundercracker. "Tonight is when the vampires and the ghosts like to visit. And remember, they especially like to feast on Seekers."
"They do?" Skywarp whimpered, trembling.
"Of course!" Thundercracker grinned wickedly. "And don't forget the gorillas…"
"NOT GORILLAS!" Skywarp screeched, making both Microdigit and Fireblast jump, and he burst into tears all over again.
"What in Primus was that?" asked Microdigit.
"Skywarp has this stupid phobia of gorillas," Fireblast replied, rolling her optics. "Don't ask me why. It's like he thinks one's hiding in our lair ready to devour him or something. It's really weird."
"I hate Halloween," Skywarp was saying tearfully. "All this candy is going to make me feel bloated! And the gorillas will eat me! And the vampires will bite me! And the ghosts will possess me! And I…"
CLUNK!
"Yep…" Fireblast whispered. "Skywarp fainted out of fear."
"What a wimp," said Thundercracker. "Of course there are no gorillas."
"I wish you would stop messing with Skywarp, Thundercracker," said Starscream, with an irritated look on his face. "Now I have to carry him until he wakes up. And you know I hate doing that."
"Nothing doing, pal," Thundercracker replied haughtily. "Messing with Skywarp is fun. He believes every single thing I tell him. It's hilarious!"
"Then maybe YOU should carry him!" Starscream yelled.
"Why, because you're too weak?" asked Thundercracker. "I knew you should've let me be the leader of the Power Rangers for our Halloween costume."
"OVER MY OFFLINE BODY!" hollered Starscream.
"Obviously you are too defected to be Tommy," Thundercracker said.
"Can we please just leave?" asked Spaceflower. "I'll carry Skywarp, if it will make you two stop fighting."
"That's not what they're fighting over, but okay, let's go to the next neighborhood," said Megatron, looking harried. "Come along, Rubber Ducky."
"Yes, my liege!" said Lugnut happily.
"You suck, Starscream," whispered Thundercracker.
"Shut up," Starscream whispered back, and with that, the Decepticons were gone.
Fireblast jumped out of the rosebush, sighing in relief. "Oh, thank Primus. I thought I was a goner."
"I liked the Power Rangers idea, though," said Microdigit. "Anyway, we should probably—"
"HEY, YOU ROBOTS!" some old man hollered. "GET AWAY FROM MY ROSEBUSH! I HAVE HEDGE CLIPPERS AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO USE THEM!"
"Right away, sir!" Fireblast replied nervously. She grabbed Boba Fett's servo again and the two of them ran until they found the rest of the Elite Guard waiting by the curb.
"Where were you two?" asked Ultra Magnus. "We were looking all over."
"We were hiding from Decepticons," Microdigit explained.
"Megatron was out trick-or-treating?" asked Percy, looking shocked.
"Yeah, Percy, you're lucky we aren't offline," Fireblast replied.
"DON'T CALL ME PERCY!" Percy hollered. "I hate that nickname!"
"Please, will everyone just calm down?" said Ultra Magnus. "The point is that they are safe."
…
Many houses later, all of the Elite Guard members had filled up their trick-or-treat bags so heavy that they had to keep switching them from servo to servo. It was pitch-black out, and finally, Ultra Magnus decreed that they best be heading back to the ship.
"I hope we don't run into Megatron again on the way back," said Fireblast, feeling scared again, and Microdigit shyly clutched her servo.
"Are you afraid you'll get captured or killed?" asked Ultra Magnus.
"Well, I ran away from home…so I figured if they found me here, they would bring me right back, and I don't even want to think about what would happen if they did," Fireblast explained. "Because I just want to stay here with you."
"Glad to hear it," said Microdigit. "I'm happy to have you in my science lab."
"You mean my science lab, Boba Fett?" asked Percy flatly.
"Okay, Jango Fett, your science lab," Microdigit muttered. "But still, I'm perfectly happy to let her use it to experiment."
Percy sighed audibly, but didn't say anything more.
The Elite Guard walked in silence back to the ship—Fireblast was about to go inside with the others when Microdigit grabbed her arm.
"What is it?" she asked, looking startled.
Microdigit cleared his throat. This was it. All the time they had been walking home, he had been thinking that most likely, his Halloween alter-ego (Boba Fett) would be courageous enough to kiss his girlfriend. Right? And Fireblast wasn't Microdigit's girlfriend just yet, but if he didn't kiss her, then she never would be.
And he was going to kiss her, tonight. On the LIPS. No matter HOW nervous he was.
Fireblast was thinking, I knew it. He's going to try and kiss me. FINALLY!
"I just wanted to say that, um, I had a really fun time tonight," Microdigit said nervously. "I hope we can go out again soon."
"Go out where?" Fireblast whispered, stroking his faceplates.
"Oh, I-I don't know…" Microdigit was getting more panicked by the second. "Wherever you want. I don't care."
"Maybe I will and maybe I won't," Fireblast teased, moving her servos a little lower down his body—not too low, just chestplate area, basically. "It all depends…"
"Depends on what?" asked Microdigit.
"Why, on how good a kisser you are, of course," Fireblast replied, placing her servos on his shoulders. She was through messing around—for now, anyway.
"Well, I must warn you, I'm not very…experienced…"
"Neither am I," Fireblast told him, grinning wickedly—and then, lowering her voice, "So I guess we will just have to help each other."
"You…you really are beautiful, Fireblast," Microdigit whispered, almost unknowingly.
"Just shut up, sucker," Fireblast cooed. "Shut up and kiss."
Microdigit's optics grew wide in shock at first, but then he gently closed them, and finally obliged. Softly, passionately, Fireblast took the young mech into her arms and pressed her lips against his.
I should've known I'd be the one initiating it, she thought to herself. And I can tell he's never kissed anyone before…
The only thought racing through Microdigit's CPU was—IT'S HAPPENING! IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING! I'M FINALLY BEING KISSED!
It was true that Microdigit was inexperienced—but Fireblast realized she couldn't have asked for a more heartfelt and meaningful kiss. She grasped his faceplates and continued the kiss, optics still shut (which made it all the more romantic). Shy as he was, Microdigit's servos were still on Fireblast's shoulders, but Fireblast subtly moved them down to her waist—she had been forced to watch Skydive make out with Swordslash too many times, and she knew what it was supposed to look like.
With his new grasp on her waist, Microdigit gently pulled Fireblast closer and kissed her lovingly—the feeling began at his lips but spread throughout his entire body, sort of a tingly feeling yet warm and extremely pleasurable, all at the same time. Either way, it felt nothing short of wonderful.
This mech is so sweet, even if he IS a bit awkward, Fireblast was thinking. I don't think I would mind being his girlfriend.
I know this femme is my spark-mate, thought Microdigit. I love her.
As the kiss continued, both of them…stopped thinking so much, and lost themselves in the beauty of a first kiss—a memory that never fades away.