First and foremost, I'd like to give my kudos to my readers. In these next two chapters, the focus will be centered mainly on Soundwave and Blaster.

Please read and review!

I don't own any Transformer characters except Frequency.

Chapter Seventeen

"Oi, boss! Care ta give us some more credits?" asked Rumble as he bound up towards the navy mech with his twin closely behind.

Soundwave looked down from the slot he was currently playing at, tilting his helm slightly, "Query: Where are the credits previously given?"

Rumble raised his servos with a ballot, showing his maker with his winnings as Frenzy followed his example. Soundwave took note of their winning amounts before giving them each 20 credits. Eject huffed as he and his twin approached Blaster, "I hate going to casinos..."

"O' course ya do, ya dunno how to gamble." said Rumble as he received his credits after tucking away his ballot into subspace.

Eject growled, "I don't gamble on a daily basis."

Frenzy frowned, "An' who says we do?"

"Boys, settle down. This is hardly tha place to cause ah stirrup." Blaster intervened before they could further dispute. "An' Eject, Ah gave ya tha choice to stay back wit' Steeljaw an' watch over Frequency."

The cassette huffed, "I know, but I thought I could win at something here."

Blaster stroked his symbiote's helm, "It's alright. Ah can't give ya an' Rewind much though." He passed them 20 credits each, "Now try to at least have fun, okay?"

Eject nodded as he parted the credits between him and his twin before they bound off after Soundwave's cassettes. Blaster sighed as he returned to his slot game, putting in one credit at a time after each end.

"Query: Is Blaster alright?" asked Soundwave, turning towards his mate for a brief moment before going back to his game.

Blaster nodded slightly, "Ah'm fine, just thinking."

"What of?"

The orange cassette player watched the slots spin as he replied, "What if we win ah game? Of ah large quantity of credits?"

Soundwave silently wished for it to happen; they really needed the credits, especially for the new addition to their family. Sparklings needed more than their cassettes and with both of their weekly incomes, they were barely reaching it. The navy mech spoke, "Chances of winning a large amount of credits: one in several million."

"Well, that game ya had wit' Smokescreen, weh won an entire cy-week o' earnings." half of that was to go to their savings that he and Soundwave had been pulling out of gradually to pay the sparkling's medical bill, the other half went to restock their nourishment supply. "That was good enough o' luck right there."

Soundwave nodded in agreement. He had known the gambling mech was bluffing since the beginning, yet Soundwave could tell from the beginning Smokescreen had a bad hand. Soundwave had the advantage of a visor and facemask to hide his entire emotion. Despite that they were slightly tight on credits, they somehow managed to get by with minimal fighting from the cassettes.

They did not regret bonding because each orn was another that went by surpassed.

"Who knows," said Blaster as he pulled the lever and watched the slot spin, "perhaps weh may-" Blaster's game began to beep as the slots came to a halt with a picture of a mountain of credit chips across the board and JACKPOT blinked above on the small screen. The orange cassette player sputtered as he saw the numbers on the screen go up past the tens and hundreds, past the ten thousands and climb into the high hundred thousands to stop at 1.5 million.

He stared at the machine as the jackpot amount continued to flash and the sound of his mate's voice kept the mech from crashing. "Blaster... you have won jackpot."

"Th-This-This is r-real. Tell meh it's real!"

Soundwave took a swift moment to hack into the machine before pulling out, "Affirmative: this is real."

The machine spit out a ballot and Blaster took it into his servo, staring at the large amount of credits valid on it, tears welling up in his optics. Blaster stood up from the chair, hugging his mate tightly, "Ah can't believe this happened! Weh can finally have that home we've been lookin' at an' so much more! Frequency's medical bill can be paid off an' our pantry will be full 'round tha clock!"

Soundwave's facemask retracted, showing a brilliant smile before pressing his lips to Blaster's pair. Blaster tucked the ballot into his subspace as he returned the kiss with one of his own; he pulled back after a moment, staring into Soundwave's visor as tears streaked his cheeks. Soundwave's thumbs brushed the droplets away, "Much more can be afforded, yet we must take caution of what is spent."

Blaster nodded.

"Query: Shall we gather cassettes and return home? It is rather late and Frequency's feeding cycle is approaching." asked Soundwave.

"Sure," Blaster sent out a ping to his cassettes to return to him.

Both sets of twins, Laserbeak, Ravage, and Ramhorn returned to their respective carriers, turning in their winning ballots, and transformed, retiring into their chest compartments.

{Why so cheery?} asked Eject as he sensed his carrier's excitement.

Blaster smiled as he took his mate's servo and began to head of in the direction of the entrance. {Y'all see soon.}

There was anticipation from the cassettes, making guesses amongst themselves as to what made Blaster extremely happy. He and Soundwave arrived at the exchange box, turning in their ballots and receiving the credits in chips.

"Is that all for tonight sirs?" asked the femme attendant.

Blaster pulled out his jackpot ballot, "One last one."

The femme took it and looked at the amount, her optics lighting up, "Looks like you two had a lucky night tonight. The last jackpot was about a groon ago with about two million. One point five mil must have surprised you. Plan on taking an expensive vacation with this credit?" she smiled as she tinkered around behind the counter, locating a large quantity credit chip and transferring the credits from the ballot to the chip.

"Nah, more on savings, food an' fuel, an' ah medical bill." replied Blaster as he received the chip and secured it in the far reaches of his subspace where he kept his blaster and other weapons safely tucked away. He smiled at the femme as she nodded. "Thank ya, dear."

The femme dipped her helm bashfully, "No problem and have a pleasant night."

As soon as the cassette players stepped out from the casino, their symbiotes began a large chatter and their makers simply smiled.

{One point five million?!}

{We're filthy rich!}

{Why couldn't you have told us earlier?!}

{Can I have that hoverboard now?}

{AHAHAHA YES!}

{We should seriously take a vacation and tour Cybertron first class!}

Soundwave and Blaster said nothing throughout the duration of the way home. Upon arrival, they all immediately wanted out.

"Now, remember ta keep it down. Frequency's recharging." said Blaster before he opened up his compartment and released his cassettes; Soundwave's cassettes followed suit. The cassette players heard their unspoken words through their links.

Soundwave was first to raise his voice, a mere whisper, "We shall discuss this in the morning."

"That's right, kiddos. Now, c'mon. Off ta berth." nodded Blaster. Instead of the grumbles they had expected, they all retreated into their shared room-expect Ravage who slunk off into a shadow- without dispute. Blaster turned to his mate, "Ah'll go tuck 'em in, ya check on our lil bit?"

Soundwave nodded.

The navy mech entered their room, finding his way towards the crib in the corner. He recognized the small figure curled in her blanket, pacifier in her mouth.

"Query: Did she remain asleep?" he quietly asked Steeljaw.

The lion cassette was seated on the foot of the berth, ruffling his mane, "Yes. She fidgeted for a moment, but a quick soothing calmed her down."

Soundwave dipped his servos underneath Frequency's small frame, scooping her up and cradling her closely to his chest. The sparkling flailed momentarily before settling down, recognizing the spark signature of her Sire. Soundwave smiled beneath his mask, allowing it to retract as he leaned down to kiss her helm. As Blaster had put it, she was a "honeymoon baby," surprising the two mechs when they had discovered a tag-along on Blaster's spark a groon after they bonded.

"What is this talk I hear about winning jackpot? The link with my brethren have been talking non-stop; is it true?" asked Steeljaw.

"Answer: It is true. Blaster won 1.5 million credits on jackpot." replied Soundwave as he took a step back to sit on the berth.

Steeljaw smiled softly, "Looks like we will be having a much better lifestyle from here on out, won't we?"

"Affirmative."

The symbiote gave a stretch before jumping down the the floor, "I'm off to rest. Recharge well, Soundwave."

"Likewise, Steeljaw." nodded the cassette player. It was past that transition where Soundwave would be slightly awkward to engage with Blaster's symbiotes and vice versa, but Soundwave felt a little uneasy. It would take much more time to develop a full trust bond with the other minis. Steeljaw had his trust, along with Ramhorn's, but he had work to do with Eject and Rewind.

"She still rechargin'?" asked Blaster as he entered their berthroom.

Soundwave pivoted in his seat to look at his mate before nodding; Blaster took his seat next to the other mech, leaning his helm against Soundwave's shoulder. The orange mech sighed softly as he gently touched the femme's cheek, gazing at her chubby facial features.

The silence was temporary as Blaster said softly, "Weh made ah fine little femme."

Soundwave smiled, turning his helm a fraction to press a soft kiss to his mate's helm, "Affirmative."

Blaster carefully lifted the sparkling from Soundwave's arms, taking her into his own and cradled her closely to his chest. Instinctively, the sparkling nestled closer to her Carrier's spark chamber, listening to its thrumming.

"Wit' all that credit, she can afford whateva she needs." commented Blaster as he stroked her cheeks. Before that night, Blaster and Soundwave were worried for their sparkling's future, whether or not they could afford sending her to school once she came of age or to a higher education. With their weekly income's combined, it was just enough to supply their cassettes with fuel and proper care. When Blaster found out about their honeymoon baby, he was hit with concerns. Soundwave's apartment barely held them all, credits were tight, and everything was shared; with the sparkling came the need for more space, more fuel, more credits. Now, with their stroke of luck, Frequency would have everything she needed.

"Spending of credits must be monitored. We cannot spend all of winnings too rapidly on items we cannot afford." stated the navy mech.

Blaster nodded, but before he could give his mate a response, the sparkling shifted in his arms and began to whimper. The orange mech turned his attention towards the bitlet, shushing her gently as he stroked her cheek. Frequency's mouth opened and she mouthed Blaster's palm, wanting to be fed. The fuel line within Blaster's forearm slithered out and nudged her cheek, the sparkling's helm turning to capture the fuel line into her mouth. Pale pink energon began to flow from it and Frequency suckled, her yellow optics onlined dimly. Soundwave reached over, lifting the blanket to cover up the sparkling as the air conditioning came to life, preventing the air flow from hitting her chest.

"When should weh go see about that house?" asked Blaster as he kept his gaze on their sparkling.

"Preferably tomorrow upon opening business cycles. House of our choice is on first come, first serve." replied Soundwave.

"Then, let's go get it."