Chapter 1: Seekers Gone Wild

The Nemesis was quiet.

Too quiet.

Megatron did not trust quiet. Especially when it involved Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker.

The Seeker trine had been granted—no, ordered—a day off. After countless skirmishes, failed plans, and Starscream's most recent attempt at backstabbing him (which had been both embarrassingly convoluted and an absolute failure), Megatron decided it was safer for his sanity to have them out of the way rather than causing chaos under the guise of being useful. He had thought they would spend the time recharging or flying somewhere far away from his sight.

He was wrong.

"I'm just saying," Starscream drawled, lounging across a cargo crate in the Nemesis' hangar bay, "this ship is dreadfully dull when we're not busy conquering something." He gestured dramatically with one clawed finger, optics gleaming with mischief. "And when it's dull, certain minds—" he tapped his helm, "—start to wander. Do you know what my wandering mind has realized?"

Thundercracker sighed, already regretting being within earshot. "I don't know, Screamer. That Megatron's still going to blast you into scrap one day?"

Skywarp cackled, his wings twitching in amusement. "That, or that he has the worst taste in interior design. Honestly, this place is all 'doom fortress' and no style."

Starscream scoffed. "That's beside the point! No, I've realized we don't take enough advantage of our… unique position within the Decepticons."

Thundercracker crossed his arms. "What unique position?"

Skywarp grinned. "The 'we can get away with a lot of slag because Megatron's too tired to deal with us' position?"

"Exactly!" Starscream pointed at him, optics bright with devious intent. "And I say we celebrate our day off with a little fun. We have an entire Nemesis full of unsuspecting Decepticons just waiting to be… entertained."

Thundercracker sighed. "Here we go…"

Skywarp clapped his servos together. "Prank war?"

Starscream smirked. "Prank war."

Their first victim was Soundwave. Mostly because Starscream knew it would take the most effort, and he liked a challenge. Also, because Soundwave was always creeping around like a silent specter, and that was just unsettling.

The plan was simple: Skywarp would 'accidentally' spill highly adhesive lubricant across the comms console, forcing Soundwave to deal with a sticky, malfunctioning mess. Meanwhile, Starscream would 'innocently' swap out all his cassettes for decoys, while Thundercracker stood guard in case things went south.

It should have gone perfectly.

It did not.

Soundwave had apparently anticipated their antics (as he always did) and had already set a countermeasure in place. As soon as Skywarp spilled the lubricant, the console released an electrical shock, sending the teleporting Seeker flying backward into a storage wall. Starscream had just lifted a decoy cassette when a containment field trapped him mid-motion, and Thundercracker—who had wisely decided to loiter outside the door—watched in resigned amusement as Soundwave turned to regard his captive targets.

"Probability of success: 0%," Soundwave droned, his visor glinting menacingly.

Skywarp groaned from his crumpled heap. "I hate math."

The next prank was simpler. More classic. Less likely to backfire.

That was the idea, at least.

Starscream, having dusted himself off, decided it was time for something juvenile yet effective: removing all of Shockwave's lab tools and replacing them with party supplies. Nothing says 'scientific progress' like confetti grenades, right?

Skywarp was in charge of swapping out Shockwave's carefully calibrated formulas for neon-colored, bubbling goo of dubious origin. Thundercracker, ever the reluctant accomplice, was the getaway flyer.

When Shockwave returned to his lab, he spent exactly three point five seconds processing the sight of party streamers hanging from the ceiling, beakers foaming in unnatural hues, and his usually sterile workspace covered in glittering nonsense.

Then he turned.

Then he fired.

Starscream barely dodged the plasma blast as they took off laughing through the corridors.

"SCIENCE DEMANDS ORDER," Shockwave bellowed after them, very angrily.

Thundercracker sighed. "We're going to regret this later."

Starscream smirked. "Probably. But it'll be worth it."

As the cycle continued, their antics escalated. Skywarp, thrilled by the sheer ridiculousness of it all, teleported into the command room and swapped Megatron's usual energon ration with a concoction so potent it nearly melted the dispenser. Thundercracker, despite his better judgment, agreed to help reprogram the door controls so that every time someone walked past a sensor, the Nemesis' speakers blasted a pre-recorded, ear-piercing "I AM STARSCREAM, MIGHTIEST OF ALL SEEKERS!"

Megatron nearly scrapped them all on the spot.

And then there was the grand finale.

It was, of course, Starscream's idea.

"Picture this," he declared, optics gleaming. "We steal Megatron's fusion cannon."

Skywarp choked on his energon. Thundercracker just stared at him in pure disbelief.

"You're insane," Thundercracker muttered. "Even for you."

"Oh, come on," Starscream waved a servo dismissively. "We won't fire it! We'll just… relocate it. Maybe give it a festive paint job."

Skywarp grinned. "Neon pink?"

Starscream beamed. "Now you're getting it!"

Thundercracker groaned. "We are so dead."

They were, in fact, almost dead.

But it was, arguably, the best day off they ever had.