Welcome back everyone. Hope you enjoyed the holidays. Okay, full disclosure, I have never played truth or dare in my life. That said, if this came out a little off, I apologize. Please enjoy. Note: edited 3/15/22
"Miko, I WILL get you back for this." Jack called down from Bulkheads' raised arms as the bots laughed and the other Maximals struggled not to. His words however, had little effect on his girlfriend as she was doubled over laughing at their dare inspired recreation of the Circle of Life from The Lion King. As the other Maximals bowed down in beast mode, Miko provided the soundtrack via a customized, or 'Maximized' as Miko put it, music player. Jack and Bulkhead ended up playing the roles of Simba and Rafiki respectively, or more accurately Miko dared Jack to do it and roped Bulkhead into his role.
Jack grimaced, he knew playing truth or dare would be a mistake. But after the mortification of physicals with Ratchet and him mom, he was more than agreeable to a sleepover style welcome party for the newer members of the Maximals to break the tension brought on by their collective embarrassment. After retrieving Maximal portioned snacks, they gathered in the den accompanied by Arcee, Bumblebee, Smokescreen, and Bulkhead. After explaining what they were doing and Miko explained the rules of the game they began. His mother would be unable to join them as she was now sorting the boxes of things from their house that had arrived while the exams were taking place.
It started simply enough. Miko first dared Raf to take a hit of hot sauce and wait five minutes before eating or drinking.
After he put his mouth out, Raf asked Allison what the biggest thing she got in trouble for in school was. Everyone broke out laughing when she admitted to putting super glue on the toilet seat in the teachers' lounge bathroom. She ended up with two weeks of detention because the principal had been the one to fall victim to it. Miko, Vince, and Sierra gave her a standing ovation for that.
From there they got the bots involved in the game. Allison had asked Arcee if she had any current crushes. She shook her head and replied that she was putting relationships of any kind on hold until she'd avenged Cliffjumper and Tailgate. This led to a brief explanation of Arcees' history with partners which created an uneasy silence among the group.
Arcee broke that by daring Vince to try and hang upside down like a real bat. This was only successful for about five seconds before he lost his grip on the beam and fell. Thankfully smokescreen was able to catch him before he hit the floor.
Once he'd calmed down; he asked Bulkhead what his biggest mishap was during his time as a construction worker. Reluctantly, Bulkhead admitted that he caused a domino effect with some stacks of supplies that ended up injuring a senator by the name of Ratbat. Arcee replied that since he'd turned out to be both corrupt, and a Decepticon, the real blunder was that he survived.
Bulkhead then dared Smokescreen to rev his engine next to a sleeping agent Fowler who'd dozed off shortly before the game began. This, after some cussing led to the new rule that the game was to stay in the den.
From there, not wanting to irritate Fowler further, Smokescreen asked Bumblebee why after all his time as a scout he hadn't accepted the promotion to warrior yet. Bumblebee simply beeped that he wanted to have it on Cybertron, as opposed to Earth.
Afterwards he asked Sierra why she was a vegetarian. She shivered and explained that she walked in on a pig being butchered when she was twelve and had been one ever since.
Shaking her head to dispel the memory, Sierra brought the game back around to Miko. "Alright Chickadee, truth or dare?" She asked with a wicked grin.
Miko grimaced, she hoped that nickname didn't catch on. "Alright side salad, dare." She wasn't afraid of what 'Little Miss Cheerleader' could come up with.
Sierra cocked an eyebrow at her reply. She wasn't surprised that Miko picked dare. "Alright then." She looked around, trying to figure out a suitable dare. "I dare you to." She paused. 'Let one of us tickle you for one minute while blindfolded." She threw a long towel for her to use as a blindfold.
Miko smirked as she folded and tied the towel in place. "Dare accepted, you never said I had to laugh though." A moment of muttering later she heard Sierra start the count. She'd been expecting fingers, or maybe one of her own feathers is someone was bold enough to pluck one. What she got was what felt like a brush across the side of her neck, making her jerk. This left the other side of her neck open for the mystery assailant to dig it into the other side.
From there she felt the brush leave her neck and go to her feet, causing her to kick out as her assailant went from foot to foot for twenty seconds. The last thirty seconds were spent writhing on the floor with her jaw clenched shut as the brush moved to her stomach, seemingly tracing random patterns.
When Sierra called time; she heaved a few breaths before sitting up and ripping the blindfold off her eyes. Focusing on the group she saw Jacks' hands move a little too quickly behind his back and Bulkhead looking a little too innocent for her liking as everyone else tried not to laugh.
Thinking for a moment she looked for the brush they'd used on her. Turning her eyes back to Jack, trying to look innocent it hit her. "I see." She commented, turning to Bulkhead, who cringed. "YOU tickled me, using the brush part of Jacks' whip. The one that becomes the end of his tail in beast mode." She turned back, scowling at Jack who recoiled at the glare.
Miko Smirked, increasing her glare on Jack. "Alright Jackie boy, truth or dare?" She already had a dare in mind and the look she was giving him would leave no room for him to take the easy way out.
Jack gulped. "Dare." He replied nervously. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like this.
Miko nodded, never breaking eye contact. "Alright. I've been wanting to do this for a while, and now I have a good reason." She looked over at bulkhead. "Since you were so helpful for the last dare, you can help me with this one."
She went over to the 'maximized' music player and typed in the song. "You might wanna switch to beast mode for this Jack. Because for your dare, you'll be playing the role of Simba for this song." With that she hit play and the song Circle of Life played over the speakers. "And Bulkie is going to do the honor of playing Rafiki in it."
Jack groaned and switched to his lion mode; he thought something might happen, but he wasn't expecting this. Looking around he saw Vince smirking as Raf, Sierra, and Allison switch to their beast modes as well, deciding to get in on the act.
When the appropriate part of the song came up, Bulkhead gently lifted up like Rafiki of old, the other Maximals bowing and Miko cracking up along with Arcee, Smokescreen, and Bumblebee. Upon closer inspection he saw that Sierra had a camera in one of her tendrils and had snaped a picture of the scene, causing him to shout that he'd get even with Miko.
After the song ended and Bulkhead sat Jack back on the ground. Transforming back, he looked around at the Maximals who were changing back to their bot forms as well. Deciding for a minute to get payback on Miko later he decided to go for a different target. "Allison, truth or dare?"
"Dare, Simba." She replied smugly, causing a fresh bout of laughter from the others.
'Alright'. Jack thought. 'Two could play at that game.' "Very well, Twilight Sparkle." He said, causing Allisons jaw to drop and everyone else to laugh. It didn't help that her Maximal symbol in beast mode was where a ponies 'cutie mark' would be. "I dare you to kiss the person in the room you think is the cutest."
This caused a chorus of 'oohs' from the other Maximals, but Jack had an idea. He'd seen the way that Raf and Allison had been hanging near each other a lot before and after their exams. He wondered if the feelings were more than just friendship after the trauma they'd been through. This would be a way to see if she and his pseudo brother had any feelings for each other. Although, looking to his left, he was now curious as to why Sierra was now chewing back a laugh.
Allison smirked at Jack and stood up. She went part way to the middle of the room and made a sudden turn and walked up to Miko. "I know your taken, but a dare's a dare." With that she leaned forward and planted a kiss on Mikos' lips.
This caused almost everyone else to stare wide eyed as she made her way back to her seat. The sole exception being Sierra who'd busted out laughing at the looks on their faces. Looking around the room she shrugged her shoulders. "What, I like girls." She said nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders.
Arcee looked at her partner. "I guess you got payback on Miko after all." She commented. Silently enjoying the look of panic blossoming across Jacks' face.
This caused Miko to glare at Jack who held his hands up in defense. "Miko, I swear I didn't know."
Allison cut off any further arguing. "Stand down Nakadai, he really didn't. I've known I was lesbian since I was eleven, and I've only been around Jack a handful of times since then, so he wouldn't've known." She smirked. "Besides, Sierras' my sister and hot as she is." She said pointing to Arcee. "I think she might take my attempt to kiss her the wrong way." This caused Arcee to look at her wide opticed then look away. Allison then turned to Raf. "So Raf, truth or dare?"
Raf shook his head. "After those last two dares, I'm sticking to truth." He replied, ignoring Mikos' comment of 'wimp'.
"Alright then." Allison nodded. "I know how we ended up like this." She said indicating herself, Sierra, and Vince. "But how did you three end up this way?"
Raf shrugged his shoulders, it was a fair question. "The day they evacuated Jasper we were kidnapped by the same guys that kidnapped you. We woke up in their doctors' lab and after taunting us a bit, I think they used the same process on us as they did you. Vector Sigma, the computer that you heard yesterday, took over the process and gave us these bodies. Unlike you guys, we got our beast modes later." Seeing that Allison was satisfied, Raf turned to Vince." Vince, truth or dare?"
Vince shook his head. "After my last dare? Truth." He didn't want to nearly end up going splat on the floor again.
Raf gave Vince a smirk that made him wish he'd picked dare. "Alright Vince." He grinned. "Did you ever apologize to Arcee or Bumblebee for insulting them?" Judging by Vinces' confused look, he already knew the answer.
"Why would I need to apologize?" He asked. "I never met them before this week." At Rafs' nod to them the bots in question transformed, causing Vince to go wide eyed. "Are you shittin' me? The girl was Jacks' bike and." He cut himself off realizing what Raf was talking about.
Taking a breath, he walked over to the two Autobots. "I'm sorry about what I said to you two." He said lamely. He just wasn't used to apologizing. "It may have been trash talk but it was still wrong." The two then changed back to bot form with a simple "Apology accepted."
Returning to his seat his mind was swirling about the last time he'd seen Bumblebee. There was something that happened at that race he still didn't know. Turning to Jack, he cocked a brow. "Jack, truth or dare?"
Jack sighed. He had a feeling that Rafs' question might bring up one of his own. "Truth." He replied. Better to get this over with.
"What really happened at that race I raced against you?" Vince asked. Most of that race was a blur, a jumble of sounds and sensations that ended with him waking up on the side of the road.
Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. "You were captured by a Decepticon named Knockout." He answered, spitting said cons' name. "He's the Decepticons' doctor and he wasn't after you specifically, he was after Bumblebee. I'm guessing he thought you were a friend."
Vince paled a bit as he looked down at the floor. He'd been captured by the bots that did this to them. "I'm guessing you're the ones that saved me that day?"
Jack shook his head. "No. That Was Optimus. He rescued you and handled Knockout. After that we took you back to your car." He looked down, not liking the memory of the dressing down he'd received from Optimus or his mother later that night.
Giving a nod, Vince replied. "Alright, I can accept that." With that he took his seat. He was still a bit shaken at the implications, but he would be alright. He also made a note to thank Optimus next time he saw him.
Realizing it was his turn again Jack smirked. "Miko, truth or dare?" Hopefully she picked dare. The idea of her doing the chicken dance in beast mode was far too appealing.
Miko wasn't stupid however. "Truth." She answered. She had a feeling that Jack was bidding his time to get her back for the Lion King dare. A feeling that proved to be correct by his brief look of frustration.
Jack thought a minute. "Alright Miko, I'm curious. When you fought Starscream and those Vehicons back at the car dealership? Where did you learn to fight like that?"
Miko blushed a little bit. She hadn't been expecting that. "Well, when I was little and left alone a lot." She began with a grimace, thinking about her lonely childhood. "I watched a lot of tokusatsu shows and movies and would try to follow along with the actors. I think I remembered more than I thought and Vector Sigma may have built on that." At their blank looks she explained further. "Y'know like Kamen rider and Super Sentai."
Raf jumped in. "Wait, don't they make Power Rangers out of Super Sentai?" He thought that franchise sounded familiar.
Vince laughed a little. "That makes so much sense." He smirked at Jack. "You two really are made for each other." Ignoring Jacks look of warning he turned back to Miko. "When Jack was a kid, he used to watch old VHS tapes of Power Ranger and follow along too." He said with a laugh.
Jack blushed heavily at Mikos' amused look. "You were following along with me half the time there, 'Tommy'." Jack sniped back. This caused Sierra to bust out laughing, making Vince blush too.
Miko took control back. "Well, remind me to introduce you to the good stuff some time." Looking at the clock she realized they had time for one more turn before the June imposed bedtime of 10:00. Looking around she chose her victim. "Arcee, truth or dare."
Arcee smirked at Miko. "Truth." She wasn't going to let Miko pull something this close to bed.
Pouting a bit, Miko thought. "Alright, do you have any regrets from before the war?" She only asked this because she wasn't able to come up with anything else. She didn't expect Arcee to suddenly look uncomfortable. "You okay?"
"Sort of Miko, it's just, this is kind of personal." Arcee responded. "The honest truth is, my biggest regret is not making up with my twin brother before the war broke out." The Maximals eyes widened at this revelation. Jack didn't even know she had a brother.
Raf was curious. "How does the sibling thing work for Cybertronians? I thought you all came from the well of all sparks or other hot spots?"
Arcee shifted into what the others started calling her 'teacher mode'. "Often times, if two or more sparks are close enough while the body forms, the sparks bond partially and influence one another. These often result in the bodies having similarities and considering themselves siblings. However sometimes that can be problematic depending on how they develop."
She took a deep breath. "I won't go into specifics but my brother and I had a massive falling out over some life choices I'd made. We lost contact and I haven't seen or heard from him since." Another heavy silence fell over the room.
Miko got up and walked over to Arcee, Jack following close behind. Arcee crouched down as the two wrapped their arms around her middle in a hug. "I'm sorry." Miko whispered. She hadn't meant to bring up something painful.
Arcee choked up a little bit. "It's alright." Taking a deep breath, she looked at the clock. "It's also time for you all to turn in." There was some minor grumbling but the Maximals all headed toward their berths.
Before climbing into his berth, Jack gave Miko a peck on the lips. "Goodnight, Pretty Bird." He said, hoping she liked the nickname for her.
Miko scowled playfully a little bit before smiling. "Alright, I'll give you that one. But if you start calling me any other cutesy names, I'll give you a shave you won't soon forget." She replied, hinting to where her blades were.
Jack smirked at her. He knew she really didn't mean it but would respect her wishes. "What, going to shave my tail?"
Miko looked at him, the corner of her mouth twitching. Deciding to run with the joke, she gave her widest grin. "Why now, that would be weird." She said with a bad British accent and putting emphasis on the last word.
There was a moments silence before they and the other Maximals broke out laughing as the Autobots looked at each other, not getting the joke. Once the laughter died down the six clambered into their bunks and drifted off to sleep. Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee stayed nearby in case of Nightmares until June finished sorting out the boxes from the move.
As the group slept, they were looked in on by Optimus and Ultra Magnus. Seeing them all sleeping soundly for the moment, Optimus turned to Magnus. "This is what I was referring to the other day commander."
Magnus shot him a confused look. "Sir?"
"One thing that has proven stronger than an army, is a family." Optimus stated. "The bonds between members of a family are far deeper than those of any military unit." With that he walked off, leaving his second in command to ponder this new information.
With the trials to come, hopefully Magnus would be able to understand this new concept, and from there become a better officer. Ultimately though, only time would tell.
A/N- That's it for this chapter. Hope you liked my Courage the Cowardly Dog reference towards the end there. In regard to the sibling aspect of Cybertronians, my explanation is more headcannon than anything so please, take it with a grain of salt. Next chapter will be devoted to catching up with the Decepticons and setting the stage for the next part of the story.