Lesson in Living
Chapter 5
By Starath
Author's Note: Good grief this took a long time to kick out. Slaggin school, encroaching on writing time… But! I have prevailed! Thankies to Crab again for proofreading and suggestions. I blame some insanity on him. :P Transformers belong to HASBRO, but I have Megatron's shoes so there! xD
Megatron hit the ground and raised his cannon. "I've got you now, Prime!"
Optimus Prime drew his rifle. "You wish, Megatron. You will never defeat me!"
"We'll see about that!"
A gunfight erupted. The two of them ducked and dodged, trying to gain an upper hand. Optimus dove for cover and peeked out to blast at his mortal enemy. Suddenly Starscream landed behind him.
"Hey Megatron, I have an idea!" he snatched Optimus' rifle and ran away cackling. "Let's play "Keep Away" from the Autobot!"
"Hey, give that back!" whined Optimus.
Megatron ran beside Starscream. "Ahahaha! Keep away, keep away from the Autobot!" he did a merry little dance on the floor.
A large hand reached down and snatched the Classics Megatron toy from Frenzy. "Stop this nonsense. I don't talk like that."
"Aww, but Boss…" Frenzy pouted, watching Megatron set the toy in a regal pose on the end table. "We were just playing. I won your toy fair and square."
"Yeah Boss, that ain't fair." Rumble let the Classics Optimus Prime toy fall face-first onto the carpet. "Who's Prime gunna fight now?"
"He can fight ME!" Starscream walked his Classics namesake over to the Prime toy and aimed the missile launcher on one arm. The plastic projectile bounced off of Prime's head. "Ha! Take that, Autobot!"
Instantly Rumble stood Prime up. "Oh yeah? Little did you know I have extra special head armour! Take this!" The two toys started into a miniature fist fight.
Megatron sighed. "We are the most powerful Decepticons and you're playing with toys on the floor like children. You are a pathetic lot."
"Oh, let them play. They're not hurting anything."
In the kitchen Casey scrubbed the last plate from their afternoon meal. Luckily pizza grease was easily removed, and she thanked her lucky stars it was something they would willingly eat. Dinner was going to be interesting if she made something else for variety.
After they had eaten and put all the stuff from WalMart away, the Decepticons had demanded to see her Transformers toys. She had relinquished a few of them to be played with when they promised to treat the toys nicely. Even though Megatron had completely disagreed with the entire notion of Transformers being toys, she could tell by the way he fussed with his namesake that they were growing on him. Starscream, Rumble and Frenzy couldn't resist putting the Classics toys to war on the carpet. Their shoes provided cover during battle and the beanbag chairs were the Autobot and Decepticon headquarters. In the recliner Soundwave had Tigerhawk, Emissary of the Vok in his lap, half-transformed. Casey dried her hands on a towel, taking in the scene from behind them all. The irony was staggering but it was so… cute.
"Need help with Tigerhawk?"
"Negative." Soundwave replied, turning the toy over. He had refused reading the directions for transforming the toy, fascinated by it. "Transformation from robot to beast is much more creative. The idea of Transformers as Earth creatures is astounding in of itself."
"Ha. It would never work," grumbled Megatron.
Starscream's toy was bowled over by an onslaught of invisible gunfire. "Nooo! You cannot defeat me!" cried Starscream, miraculously reviving his smaller self to enter battle once again.
"I'm the good guy! I'm supposed to win for some reason!" declared Rumble, bringing Optimus Prime nose-to-nose with Starscream. Another toy-sized fistfight ensued.
"Boys, if you're going to play rough I'll take them away," warned Casey as she strolled into the living room. They gave her a look of pleading and separated the toys.
"Fine Prime, I'll just shoot you from here!" Starscream let loose both toy missiles.
"Aw, no fair! My ammo is invisible!"
Frenzy chose a flat blue and silver toy shaped like a manta ray out of the toy pile. He read the name printed on its head. "Depth Charge. Eh, doesn't look like much. Is he cool?"
"Oh yes, he's very cool. Be careful with him, he's one of my favorites."
"Transformation complete." announced Soundwave, looking pleased. He set the tiger/bird fusion on his knee.
"Good job. He's a hard one without the instructions."
Rumble started transforming Optimus Prime back into truck mode so he could run Starscream's toy over. "What are we gunna do now, Star?"
Megatron ground his teeth together. He was really, really getting tired of hearing that. He grudgingly scooted over when Casey sat next to him on the couch.
"I've had enough excitement for one day. I have to settle down and do some homework, then after dinner I should go to bed early since I work tomorrow."
"You do? Why?"
" 'Cause money has to come from somewhere or none of us will eat. It's a fact of life."
"We will be on our own tomorrow, then." said Megatron thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
"Since I work from 10 til 5, yeah. But I'll be sure to tell you as much as I can before sleeping tonight."
"I can't imagine what else there is. You've already told us what the items you bought for us are for."
Casey sat back and let out a long breath. "I know, but I don't want to forget anything. There's a lot you boys couldn't know about being human."
A sudden stillness fell in the room. She looked up to find all five of them glaring at her. Megatron's expression scared her the most and she retreated to the opposite end of the couch.
"I… I'm sorry, I know that was really stupid to say—"
"Don't worry about it, Star. It's just that we know." Frenzy set his toy down on the end table and smiled sadly. "We know."
"Which is why we shall have to get to the bottom of this whole…'experience' as soon as possible," said Megatron gravely.
Rumble nodded. "Just give the orders, Boss, we'll get to it."
"I'm thinking about it."
"Oh, it'll be awhile then." Muttered Starscream. He didn't see the pillow whipped at him until it hit him in the face.
That evening Casey finished up cleaning the supper dishes and stood in the kitchen watching the Decepticons. Rumble and Frenzy still played war with the toys, only much quieter now. Megatron sat on the couch staring into space, no doubt contemplating the universe's destruction. Oddly Starscream was quiet too, having retired from the toy war. He kept his small namesake nearby and gazed at nothing with distant eyes. Soundwave sat on the windowsill watching the darkening city below, silent as usual. Casey was grateful they had settled down voluntarily, but it was quiet. Too quiet. She had to go to bed soon since she worked the next day, but it was time to stir things up again.
"You guys need to shower," she announced.
This brought all plotting and horseplay to a grinding halt. Five heads cranked in her direction. What new and disgusting thing did they have to learn now?
"Er, whad you say?" asked Frenzy cautiously.
Casey glanced up at the ceiling for inspiration and strength. "You heard me. Each of you need to shower. And don't argue. It's part of being human. You have to keep clean to avoid sickness and maintain hygiene. If you recall, I described to you what shampoo and soap are for earlier today."
Starscream huffed. "Sure, but who said we'd actually use it?"
"I do. You boys are getting pretty smelly after two days of being human, and if you plan on staying here with me you WILL keep clean."
By some miracle none of them protested, although Megatron did not look extremely thrilled. "Very well Starflight, you will show us how to "shower"."
They watched her face light up to a nice dark red. "No… I will describe it to you and you'll have to learn by doing it yourselves."
Megatron tilted his head, amusement replacing displeasure on his face. "And why is this?"
"Because… because showers involve…" Her blush blossomed. "In order to bathe you have to take all your clothes off."
"And that is a problem?"
"YES! It's…. I have no interest in seeing… things."
"Oh, I see. Is this another one of your decency concerns?"
Casey relaxed. "Yes. Exactly. So I'll tell you how to do everything and you'll do it on your own."
"But then how will we know if we're doing as you instructed properly?"
"MEGATRON!"
The Cassetticon twins burst into giggles while Starscream nudged his leader. "She turns funny colors when you make her mad."
He grinned. "I know."
Soundwave slid off the windowsill. "Give me the instructions. I know how it is done. I will show the others."
Casey blinked. "Wait, you do?"
So did everyone else. "Since when?" snapped Starscream.
"Since not too long ago. Starflight, your instructions."
Thoroughly confused, she led Soundwave into the bathroom and educated him in the mechanics of taking a shower. One by one they each had their first shower and all went smoothly…. Except when they discovered getting soap in one's eyes was a very bad idea.
The Decepticons shooed Casey to bed after making promises not to get into anything explosive the next day. Yes, they knew where the phone was, yes, they knew where her cell phone number was posted, no, they would not put silverware into the microwave again. But that was an honest mistake the first time anyway. When she disappeared into her room they settled in for the night. Predictably a few pillows and shoes had to go flying before everyone took the hint.
Rumble and Frenzy were the first to awaken that morning, dragging their shared blanket with them into the kitchen. They sat at the table for awhile, rubbing sleep from their eyes. Frenzy scratched behind his ear, listening to Megatron's loud snoring, Starscream giggling in his sleep, and Soundwave's heavy breathing from the floor where he was stretched out on his sleeping bag. Something was missing.
"Hey, where's Star?"
They looked at each other, panic seeping in through the cracks of sleepiness. Rumble blinked rapidly.
"She… Oh, she had to work." He read the clock on the stove. "It's 10:30. She's at work now, I think."
"Yeah… yeah, you're right." Frenzy yawned widely. He snapped his jaw shut and reached for a piece of paper. "What's this?"
"Hmm? Oh. Let me see." Rumble took it from him and tried to read the curly writing. "It's from Star. It says 'Running late, had to hurry to work. Remember about the phone, and please don't destroy the house.'"
Frenzy grinned sleepily. "Who, us?"
"She knows us too well already." His brother got up hesitantly and left the warmth of the blanket. "Let's see if I can make toast while the fuzz is still in my head."
"Hey bro, make me some too?"
"No way. Make your own."
"The toaster makes two pieces!"
Soundwave awoke to his "sons" squabbling about toast. He jerked upright and glared at them both. The twins yelped in unison and hugged each other for protection.
"You will have toast jammed in your ears if you do not resume silence." Their father rumbled.
"Eh… sorry Dad! He started it!"
"Nuh uh, you did!"
They cried out in fear again when Soundwave stood up and they scurried to the opposite end of the apartment. Soundwave made an effort to follow but ended up staring at the kitchen sink, trying to shake off the effects of sleep. Rumble and Frenzy's frantic scramble woke Starscream and Megatron up. The Decepticon leader sat up and stared at the twins huddled by the front door.
About an hour later the Decepticons assembled in the living room for their reconnaissance mission briefings. Megatron paced in front of them stiffly with his hands behind his back. It forced him not to tear apart yet another set of new clothes, even if he had picked them out himself. They were itchy.
"Decepticons, it is past due for us to know why we are here. Each of you are to go back to the places where you appeared in this accursed world. Inspect it thoroughly. Look for anything unusual or anything that might have importance. Afterwards explore the city in your immediate vicinity. We must know everything we can about this place." He paused. "Starflight seems strained on the issue of money. She may not be able to sustain us for long. Find a job if possible. Return here in four megacycles. I have the spare key, so if you return before me wait for my arrival. Is this understood?"
Rumble and Frenzy threw twin salutes. "You got it!"
"As you command, Megatron." droned Soundwave.
"It's not like it's THAT difficult," grumbled Starscream, who wasn't terribly awake yet.
Megatron transferred his sharp glare to the Air Commander. "That's why I kept it simple just for you, Starscream."
With parting shots delivered, the Decepticons went their separate ways.
Rumble and Frenzy went back to the city park where they had entered this world. Trees and shrubs shrouded the area, so they hadn't been immediately seen. They wandered in and out of the spot, taking note of the tree placement and surrounding objects. They searched everything thoroughly so they could say they did, then decided to explore the street that led the way to WalMart.
Starscream didn't bother walking all the way to his landing site. He teleported there since he remembered the place clearly. It's not like he could forget it, it wasn't every day he found himself falling towards a giant water fountain. Luckily he'd angled himself right and bounced on the top rim before hitting the ground that day. He ignored the panicked screams around him when he popped into existence beside the fountain and straightened his black jacket. Let the Humans panic. I am no mere Human. Wearing a devilish smile he walked around the structure and found a little girl there. The girl made a wish and tossed a penny into the water. An odd custom. Did it work? Is that why he was here? The idea was far-fetched but he made note of it.
Soundwave found nothing of great importance when he returned to the place where he'd crossed realities. The lack of evidence to anything troubled him. There had to be some reason why they were here. Although he had no proof he had suspicions. He trudged down the sidewalk, unaware of everything around him until he heard music thumping at the walls of a nearby building. His interest instantly piqued, he went to the entrance and read the sign: Josie's Night Club. When the large man at the front door did not let him enter, he settled the matter by throwing the human into the street.
Megatron circled the University parking lot several times, fighting to contain increasing frustration. This place was exactly the same as it had been two days ago, when he'd gone inside the school building and met Casey. He halted in his tracks. That had only been two days ago? It felt like an age, and it was far too long to be human. Even as he accepted it he loathed it, and took his anger out on the concrete wall beside him. It crumbled like Styrofoam under the impact of his fist. He withdrew his hand and wiped off the concrete dust, hissing between his teeth. Maybe the others had found something he hadn't.
Hugging her small purse to her chest, Casey followed her weary feet home from work. She didn't look up until she was at the apartment building's front door and rested her forehead on the cool glass. For awhile she contemplated staying there for the rest of eternity. Home was her safe haven from the world. It didn't feel so safe anymore. Not with five humanized Decepticons crammed into her apartment. It wasn't that they were unruly; they'd actually been behaving themselves. It was just so… tiring to deal with them continuously. Casey could never let her guard down. Transformer or not, they were a team of seasoned warriors, led by the most ruthless warrior of all. Megatron was several handfuls by himself. She could tell he still thought he was in charge, which was understandable, but she was well aware he didn't appreciate it when the others looked to her for guidance. His face always went taunt, his eyes narrowed, that curl of contempt swept across his lips…
Work wasn't safe from them either. Earlier that day the little doorbell of the pet store tinkled merrily, announcing new customers. Casey had looked up from the cash register and nearly had a heart attack. Grinning mischievously with Soundwave behind them, Rumble and Frenzy waved at her from the doorway.
"Hi Baby!" called Frenzy, wearing the biggest smile of them both.
Casey had never wanted to crawl into the cash register drawer before. She wanted to then. With shaking hands she finished counting change for the little boy in front of her.
"There you go Ben, seventy-three cents. Hope your fish enjoy that food."
"Oh, they will! Thank you Casey!" Ben left the check-out aisle and circled around the Decepticons-in-disguise, gazing at Soundwave with wide eyes. He pulled on his shirt.
"Hey Mister, are you a hit man?"
Soundwave stared down at the boy. "Negative."
"Yeah, WE'RE the hit men!" Frenzy pointed at himself and his brother.
Rumble patted the boy's back a little too hard, sending him stumbling towards the door. "So beat it kid, it's not nice staring at people."
The doorbell tinkled again, this time with some alarm. Casey watched Ben run down the sidewalk before glancing back at her new "friends". She checked behind her. Today's coworker was nowhere to be seen like usual. And it was too late to disappear into the register drawer.
"Hi guys, what brings you here?"
Frenzy bounced up to the counter. "We're done with our reconnaissance mission so we wanted to come see you!"
"He wouldn't shut up about it," grumbled Rumble, jerking a thumb at his brother.
Frenzy blew a raspberry at him. "Nyah. So babe, do I get a hug?"
She stepped back so there was plenty of counter between them. "No."
"Aww, but Baby…"
"Stop calling me that!"
Soundwave ignored the imminent chase-and-capture routine and explored the pet store. Casey made a valiant effort to reach him after Frenzy jumped over the counter but he snagged her in a hug before she could get halfway across the room.
"Gotcha!"
"Gaaah! Sound-wave!"
Her cry of aggravation failed to seize his attention. A row of kennels along one wall meowed at him when he approached them. Several paws reached out to beckon him, but it was the white paw he was draw to. Inside, a black cat with one white paw and green eyes pulled his foot back in and offered the other. Soundwave tipped his glasses up to see and stroked the pink pads with a finger. He heaved a massive sigh.
"What's the mater, Dad?" Rumble went to his side, frowning.
"I miss Ravage."
"Yeah, me too. But I bet he's alright."
Casey hobbled over to them, free after sustaining a "long enough hug" from Frenzy. "Aw, he's my favorite one. Do you like him too?"
"Affirmative."
"If you like him Star, why don't you get him?" asked Rumble.
"I don't have $45 to spare on him and all the supplies he'd need. But I would if I could." She dodged around Frenzy's new attempt to hug her and fended him off with her foot. "You've had your hug for today."
"But—"
"No buts or I'll kick yours."
Frenzy had laughed at that and told her he'd be glad to let her try, but she'd declined. Fighting with potential customers wouldn't go over well with her boss, not to mention—
"Dearie, are you going to stand there all day? That door won't open itself, you know."
Casey snapped back to the present, startled. Whirling around she found Mrs. Peony standing behind her, smiling.
"Oh, hi. Didn't hear you coming, you scared me."
"I seem to be doing that a lot lately. My, that's a big mark you've left on the door. What's the matter dear? You look tired."
Casey wiped the smudge clean with the sleeve of her shirt. "I am. Dead tired."
"What from?"
"School. Work. …Stuff," she added in afterthought of the five Decepticons awaiting her return.
Mrs. Peony chuckled softly. "Are those young men giving you trouble? Don't let them shake you, dear."
"Even when one of them thinks he's king of the universe?"
"Especially then."
Casey's shoulders sagged as she let out a long breath. "I'll try." She pulled the door open and let the elder woman pass through first. Mrs. Peony shuffled to her apartment next to the stairs and unlocked her door.
"Any of those boys give you trouble, send them to me and I'll set them straight."
"Okay, I will." She giggled at the thought of Megatron or Starscream being told off by a little old lady. Boy, that would humiliate them for life.
In better spirits she hiked up the stairs, heading for the top floor. At the second floor she eyed the door of #204 at the end, hoping to slip past without being noticed. Instantly furious little yip-yaps erupted from the other side of the door. She froze and cursed under her breath. A man's voice cussed at the dog but the noise didn't stop. Sharp doggy nails scraped at the floor and the high-pitched barking only became louder.
"Dammit Sprat, SHUT UP!" The doorknob turned. "Here, you wanna go out and get them?" The door jerked open. "Go get them!"
A tiny miniature pinser/chihuahua mix raced out like a dart and headed straight for Casey's feet. Sprat circled her, growling and sniffing at her shoes. Sprat's owner, an overweight man wearing a shirt a size too small and green sandals stood in the doorway. He scowled at the young woman.
"Hey Miss Panzer, you mind coming up the stairs a little more quietly? I'm missing "COPS" for this."
Casey edged away from the dog, more annoyed than afraid. Sprat was not going to relieve himself on her leg again. "Sorry Mr. Mortimer."
"Yeah yeah. You know your rent's due in a week, right? You might be in school but late bills don't fly, you hear me?"
She sighed, suddenly feeling utterly tired all over again. How this guy ended up being the landlord she'll never know. "Yes, I know. You'll get my rent on time."
"Good. Hey Sprat, you gunna sniff that chick's shoes all day? Hurry up and piss if you need to. She'll move. Get in here now ya crazy mutt. I'll give you a drink of my beer."
As if by magic the little rat yipped one last time and ran back into the apartment. Immediately the front door slammed shut. Casey stared at it for a moment before turning away, disgusted. One of these days she was going to haul off and punt that dog down the hall. Both of them were absolutely infuriating. He always made it sound like it was her fault, but Mr. Mortimer used any excuse to remind her when the rent was due. Briefly, she wondered if the man would be so impossible while talking to one of the Decepticons.
On the third floor she came to apartment #348 and paused before going in. No one was screaming and no smoke poured out from under the door. At most she heard low conversational tones and a guitar playing. She leaned back, smiling. So they managed to behave themselves after all.
She found most of the Decepticons gathered around the kitchen table. Rumble and Frenzy sat on the living room floor with a guitar between them, separate but obviously attentive to the main group. Everyone looked up at her at once with serious, concentrated expressions. Wow, I must have walked into the group meeting. She started unlacing her shoes by the hallway closet.
"Hi guys." A sudden thought struck her. "Boys, what are you doing with my brother's guitar?"
Predictably Frenzy was the first to brighten. "Hi Baby! We found it in the closet where you have us put our shoes. That case makes a funny noise when it falls over."
"We wanted to see what was inside it," added Rumble, balancing the guitar on his lap.
"Oh. Well, I wish you two would have asked me first. That's special to me so please be careful with it. I'm holding it until Keith comes back from Iraq."
"We will." They chorused together, somehow sounding innocent and sincere. Rumble adjusted the strap on his shoulder. "It's weird, but I think I know how to play this thing even though I've never handled a guitar before." He plucked a string. "Wanna hear me play something?"
Casey grinned and sat down beside them. "Sure."
With a little sliver of his tongue poking out, he wrapped his left hand around the guitar's neck and played a short tune. He fumbled a few notes, playing it several times before he was convinced he had it right. "Well?"
Casey rocked back a little and stared at him. "That's the theme from "Rawhide". You picked it up from The Blues Brothers movie after seeing it only once. Wow."
It was his turn to look amazed. "I thought I had made it up. How could I remember it so well?"
Frenzy shook his head, wearing a very knowing face. "C'mon bro, think about it. We're cassettes in alternate mode. We could probably play back anything we hear. At least you could anyway, I don't know how to do what you just did."
"You think so? Hmm…" He scratched his chin in thought. "Star, do you have a music collection?"
"Yes, of course. I'll sort out some CDs for you two. Who knows? You guys could be your own band!"
Both of them lit up at the thought. Casey went to her room to change clothes and reappeared with a battered portable CD player and a stack of CDs. She suggested a few songs and bands for them to listen to, then left the living room and cautiously approached the kitchen. Megatron, Starscream and Soundwave were deep in conversation and it took a few moments for them to acknowledge her.
"Hi. Whatcha talking about?"
Megatron let out an exasperated sigh that sounded more like a growl. "We are discussing our findings from today's reconnaissance excursions. Unfortunately there is not much to explain why we are here. If there is any reason at all."
"Oh." She leaned on the short wall bordering the kitchen. "May I listen in?"
Automatically the other two Decepticons turned to their leader in askance. He indicated the seat across from Soundwave. "It would be advantageous for you to do so. You are just as much a part of this as we are."
"Well, not necessarily by choice but I know what you mean." She sat down and pinned her hands in her lap, enjoying a short fan-girl moment. Oh boy I get to sit in on a REAL Decepticon meeting! She steadied herself. "What were your recon findings?"
Starscream shook his head. "Nothing much. We were dropped in random places across the city and there seems to be no significance in the locations. Save for Rumble and Frenzy's dropsite there was no cover for our abrupt appearance. We were dumped here and had to immediately deal with the situation. We were given clothing, even primitive chronometer devices. That's it. The only reason we found each other is because Soundwave can still sense familiar energy signatures." He took a breath. "If Megatron had not found you we wouldn't even have any guidance in this situation."
"So you have no idea why the five of you were brought here."
"Right. We don't know HOW we got there either. The transition was made when we were unguarded. I was pulled straight out of the sky while on my way to the Nemesis. Soundwave was taken while walking to one of our storage rooms, but Ravage and Buzzsaw were left behind even though he was carrying them. Like Megatron, the Cassetticon twins were taken while in recharge."
Casey rested her chin on her palm. "Well, that shows some intelligent purpose. You were taken while no one else was around and when you weren't in the middle of something." She glanced at Soundwave and looked past her reflection in his sunglasses. "It's like I told you, maybe Primus got bored?"
"That conclusion is still highly unlikely."
"Maybe we really are on a mission from God?" piped up Frenzy, grinning. "Like TheBlues Brothers movie said."
"Primus has nothing to do with this, or that ridiculous movie." snarled Megatron, making a visible effort to keep his temper in control. "All we know that we are here. We know what we have. But we have no directive or purpose as I can see. How we got here remains unknown as well."
"As well as how we're supposed to go back," said Rumble quietly.
"You guys would be a Transformer fan's dream, but I doubt someone wished hard enough for you to be here. Otherwise you'd be with a squeaking fan-girl or drooling fan-boy right now." Casey pointed out.
They shifted uncomfortably at the thought. Megatron voiced their shared feelings. "It is fortunate we found a fellow Decepticon, albeit a nontraditional one."
Soundwave and Starscream nodded in agreement. Bored with watching his brother pick at the guitar strings, Frenzy came into the kitchen and leaned his chin onto Soundwave's shoulder. "Hey Dad, did you tell Star about your new job yet?"
Her eyes widened. "What?"
The large man brushed his son off. "I have acquired an employment position."
She leaned forward. "I kinda figured that. How? Where?"
"Approximately six blocks from here there is an establishment called Josie's Night Club. The human at the entrance did not let me enter without an ID, and so I removed him."
"You… threw him out?"
"Affirmative. Inside the bartender spoke to me because I was not familiar to him. After telling him how I had entered he hired me instantly. I am a bouncer for the Club and my first shift is tonight."
Casey fell against the chair, stunned. "Wow. You have a job just like that. It took me forever to find work around here. That's not fair."
Soundwave shrugged, indifferent. Megatron cleared his throat, still upset, but not as much as before. "This additional income will aid you while we're here, at least."
"Yeah, it will. Congratulations Soundwave." Casey thought for a minute. "Did you tell them what you told me the other night regarding your purpose here?"
He hesitated. The others rounded on him.
"Tell us what?" demanded Starscream.
"Now is not the time to withhold information," warned Megatron in a low voice.
In the living room Rumble set the guitar aside and stood next to Frenzy. "Well Dad?"
Soundwave folded his hands together. "I did not want to voice speculation without verification." Even though she couldn't see his eyes Casey felt them on her. "But your point is valid."
She squirmed. "Sorry. I thought you would have told them already."
He gathered his thoughts before speaking again. "We were made human. We were given the essentials for survival: First clothing, then shelter, fuel, and someone to guide us. Although vastly different in some ways, the basics of human behavior are the same to the Cybertronian. We can adapt quickly. We know what we must know already to function properly. The key lies in what we do not know. We are here to gain something additional. Something we could not acquire in our home reality."
Silence fell while everyone contemplated this. "So… we're here to learn something," said Rumble slowly.
"Affirmative."
"And maybe we can't go back until we do?" asked Frenzy, looking pale.
"That is the logical conclusion."
Starscream studied the wood patterns of the table. "But what are we supposed to learn together? Why the five of us?"
"Maybe you were chosen specifically."
The Air Commander eyed Casey. "Why would you say that?"
"Yeah, what makes us so special?" asked Frenzy.
She shrugged. "You guys are the most important Decepticons, aren't you? Maybe you were chosen for a reason."
"But why?" Megatron asked, his frustration increasing again. "What could we possibly need to know, from here of all places? We are perfectly efficient at what we do and we have lived for millennia. We have experience and knowledge of all things."
Casey measured her words carefully, but there wasn't a gentle way to say it. "That doesn't mean you know everything."
The Decepticons jerked in response. Megatron growled. "What are you saying, Starflight? Please do elaborate before I give in to the urge to kill."
She swallowed and scooted her chair away from him. "Look, I'm just saying nobody's perfect. Each one of you have your faults and weaknesses, I'm sure."
He scoffed at the thought. "I have no weaknesses."
"Oh, I could think of a few." quipped Starscream, but his smirk gave way to seriousness. "Starflight, are you proposing that our… lessons are individual, based on our flaws? And we are here to learn these lessons?"
"I… guess so. Do you guys have any better explanations?"
Megatron sucked air in between his teeth and ground them together. This was hardly any explanation at all! Complete nonsense! I don't like this. I don't like it at all. There MUST be something better than this! Despite his mental ranting he had to admit, "No."
"It is the best analysis and conclusion for now," said Soundwave, ignoring a hate-filled glare from his leader.
Once again silence overtook the group while they pondered this new development. What could my lesson possibly be? They thought, along with is THAT really why we're here? Isn't there anything better? Will I ever get home? Finally, when Frenzy nearly hurt himself thinking too hard he threw up his hands.
"Great. Now what?"
The others looked as happy as Frenzy had sounded. Casey swept a glance over them, noting expressions of those contemplating doom. "We can think about it later. Anybody hungry?"
The concept of food brightened everyone's outlook on life. As it turned out, the Decepticons hadn't eaten anything since breakfast anyway. To appease them, and Megatron specifically, Casey gathered up the appropriate ingredients for making spaghetti. At first they were cautious of this new foodstuff since all they knew was pizza, toast and cold cereal. Of course, learning how to eat spaghetti included a lesson in correct silverware use and the importance of napkins. Lots of napkins. Rumble and Frenzy nearly began a food war by catapulting meatballs across the table with their forks until the others threatened to tie them up with the spaghetti noodles.
About thirty minutes before 8 o'clock Soundwave departed to attend to his new job. Casey gave him the spare key so he could get inside later that night and tried giving him bus fare. Soundwave refused it, and although her concern was noted he would be fine walking home after work.
-- -- -- -- -- -- --
"Hey, who's the new guy?"
"I don't know. He just started tonight and won't let me in."
"Where's TJ? He said he'd be working tonight, not this Paul Sr. wannabe."
"Hell if I know man, but this new guy's got to go. We can't bribe him. He turned down fifty bucks. All he did was stare at me."
"Maybe we should jump him. He can't take all three of us at once."
Avery checked around the corner of the building. The entrance to Josie's Night Club was still there like the last time he looked, and the new behemoth still guarded the door like a trained soldier. He turned back to his friends Grant and Russell, standing in the shadows away from the streetlights.
"I don't think that would go so cool, dude. He'd break us like toothpicks. And we ARE underage."
Russell spat on the ground and kicked a rock in Avery's direction. "No duh. I didn't mean literally, genius. We gotta get in there. School night be damned, I wanna see some action tonight."
Avery kicked the rock back at Russell, who booted it at Grant. Grant watched it ping off his shoe and went at it like a miniature soccer ball. "He wouldn't even say anything after refusing to let me in. I say we mess with him like those dumb English soldiers with the furry hats. If we do it right we could slip in. I bet he moves like a brick, so like hell he'd catch us. Just let me do the talking."
Soundwave watched the approach of three young men with some anticipation. None of it showed. So far this evening had been uneventful, but each of these humans had already bothered him individually. He was a little rusty due to the war with the Autobots, but he had job experience from long ago. He folded his arms across his chest. Let them test their luck as a group.
"'Sup dude?" called the kid with red hair, obviously the ringleader.
"Evening. Found your IDs?"
"Um, yeeeah, about that. We've been here before, man. You can ask around. This is our nightly hangout."
"Without IDs you are not permitted entrance. You are required to prove your age."
The guy laughed and turned to his buddies. "Listen to him! What are you dude, a robot?"
Soundwave said nothing.
"See, now he's just gunna stand there," Grant snapped his fingers in Soundwave's face. He didn't flinch. "C'mon tough guy, do something!"
Avery and Russell got on either side of the new bouncer chanting "do something, do something!" while trying to make him react to fake kicks and punches. He didn't move. Avery swung a little too close and connected a solid punch into Soundwave's upper arm. With a pained yelp he jumped back, cradling his fist.
"OW! Damn! What the hell are you MADE of?" He flapped his hand, convinced something was broken.
Their companion down for the count, Grant and Russell picked up their "Do something" chant and stayed on course to achieving their goal. Russell stepped up to Soundwave's face, or rather, chest, since he was too short.
"Man, what a lame hat! Had it since you were in kin-dee-garten?" he jeered, poking at the raggedy blue baseball hat. "Are you wearing it backwards to be cool?"
He managed to jump up high enough to knock the hat from Soundwave's head. The three friends watched it descend in slow motion until it hit the ground with a sharp thwack. They hastily stepped back when Soundwave moved. Slowly, with measured motions, he took off his sunglasses, revealing unnaturally red-brown eyes.
And he glared at them.
The wayward teenagers quickly made themselves scarce.
-- -- -- -- -- -- --
Only Casey heard Soundwave come home around two-thirty in the morning. Wrapping herself up in a bathrobe she rubbed sleep from her eyes and spotted him in the kitchen. Dim city lights gave her just enough to see him opening and closing cupboards.
"Hey…" she came up beside him. With his sunglasses perched on top of his head, she saw him blink several times. "How was work?"
"Tolerable."
"Looking for something to eat?"
"Uh huh." He let out an enormous yawn while opening the last cupboard. She noticed he hadn't bothered to put back the items he pulled off the other shelves. He rocked backward and grabbed the counter for stability, shaking his head in a forced effort to stay awake.
"Are you okay?"
"I am functioning… fine." Soundwave yawned again. She wondered how the other Decepticons didn't hear it. But then, not much was audible over Megatron's snoring.
"If you say so. Oh, I wanted to ask you something,"
"Hmm?" he reached into the cupboard and removed a box of crackers. Unsatisfied, he let the box hit the countertop.
"How… How did you already know how humans take a shower?"
"Easy. I watched one do it."
Casey tried not to shriek. "You what?"
"Across the street from your window. The curtains were open."
"You didn't…"
"Yup." He rummaged towards the back of the dark cupboard until he found a squishy-feeling bag.
"Um, are you sure you're okay?"
He withdrew an already opened bag of marshmallows and fought to undo the twist-tie. "Hungry. I'm gunna, like, totally consume these now, mm-kay? Thanks…" Stumbling over to his sleeping bag he disappeared below the wall when he sat down. Casey heard the bag crinkle followed by spongy eating sounds. "Mmmm marshmallows…"
She could only blink, her sleepy mind completely confused. "I'm going back to bed now…"
To be continued!
--
So! We know why they're here, but what are their lessons? Will they ever get home? What's up with Soundwave and marshmallows? Stay tuned to find out, and thanks for reading!