Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays, have a chapter that I planned for the summer but I am unbelievably slow.. for which I'm really sorry!

Hope you enjoy it though!

The next morning all ex-Cybertronians were seated on the couch, waiting for Prime, who has gathered them there, to finally speak. Megatron had his muscled arms crossed in front of his chest and was wearing a deep frown on his face. Next to him, Starscream, had also crossed his arms but he was visibly uncomfortable and irritated, constantly twitching in his seat and trying his best to keep his hip from touching Knock Out's who was next to him. But the couch was far too small.

Knock Out, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice Starscream. His own legs were jittering madly and the coffee in his mug was shaking way too much to be normal. Breakdown has introduced him to coffee that morning, thinking the redhead would love it. And he has been absolutely correct. Knock Out loved it. Too much actually.

Breakdown, who was standing next to the couch, reached for the hot mug in Knock Out's hands and snatched it away, receiving a very vocal disappointment from the redhead.

Prime chose that moment to address the new unwilling 'guests'.

"I have gathered you all here to inform you that Ratchet has made progress on the prototype. He-"

"What's the catch?" Megatron's deep and skeptical voice cut Prime's sentence. "I can't imagine you would just allow us to regain our true forms and walk away."

Prime's opticbrows furrowed slightly but he wasn't all that surprised by Megatron's doubts. He had good reasons to doubt after all.

"There is no catch, Megatron. Only requirements. And they are not set by me or the Autobots. There is little I could do to stop the reverse transformation if you decide to follow those requirements."

The explanation has successfully intrigued not only Megatron but the rest of his fellow Decepticons as well. All four sets of eyes were intently staring at the Prime, expectant and hopeful but also cautious.

Seeing no further questions arising from the Decepticons, Prime continued in a steady and somewhat calming voice.

"Ratchet has found the prototype's origin and purpose. It has been constructed by a Cybertronian scientists' group which aim has been to explore alien civilizations to an extreme point. According to them, learning about a specific group, be it a whole specie or ethnicity, was best achieved when they were one with that group. The prototype's purpose is precisely that – to turn Cybertronians into the life forms they wish to explore further."

Megatron's frown has deepened during Prime's explanation and he was about to voice yet another question when Starscream took the words right out of his mouth and voiced them with a considerably more screeching than Megatron would have.

"We didn't wish to explore those filthy vermin!"

"Unfortunately, the prototype doesn't work that way. It is manually operated and if no specific group is being selected - it changes Cybertronians into the dominant specie on the planet by default. In your case – the humans.

Megatron had no interest in history lessons though.

"What are the requirements we have to fulfill to return to our rightful forms?"

Prime could clearly see the tension and expectation in The Decepticons' new organic bodies and he could equally clearly feel said tension in the air. Making difficult decisions was an enormous part of his responsibilities and he has already made this one.

"The requirements are that you experience all Primary and Secondary emotions as humans."

He turned towards the console behind him and his fingers run over the keyboard before a list of said emotions came to life on the huge screen.

Four set of eyes scanned the writing on the screen. Loud whining and rude cursing followed.

"The good news is," Prime continued. "that you do not need to experience them all individually but instead – as a group."

"That's little consolation! The piece of scrap is a prototype for a reason. Nobody can be certain if it would actually work even if we do fulfill the requirements. Did you find no other way?!" Megatron said, his voice raising. "Or do you truly mean to tell me this is conveniently the only way?!"

To be completely honest, Prime has expected a violent reaction out of Megatron. But there was little he could do about it.

"I have told you all we found out, Megatron. There is no more."

Megatron was far from happy but there was nothing he could possibly do in his puny new form that could help him get more information out of the Prime.

What happened next didn't improve his mood either.

"Integration into human society is advisable. Agent Fowler informed me he has an idea about how this process is best to begin." Optimus spoke calmly, activating the ground bridge in the meantime. Ryan and Leon emerged from it seconds after with luggage in hands.

"Apparently we did good job looking after you at the mall so we got assigned again." Ryan said and Leon grumbled beside him.

"Pack your stuff – we're going someplace warm."

The ground bridge took them to a small forest on the seaside. The place looked desolate but the sea view was amazing. The sun was beaming down and the grumble of the crashing waves could be heard from the shore below.

The brothers didn't enjoy the scenery for long and soon lead the ex-Cybertronians on a small path through the woods until they reached the other end. Apparently the small forest was in close proximity to a camping site. Numerous caravans, tents, bungalows, and hotels adorned the bay's shore from side to side.

The Decepticons were confused when Ryan welcomed them to the camping site with an exciting grin. When his enthusiasm was clearly not shared by the others, he sighed tiredly and rolled his eyes before taking his first step on the new even smaller path down the rocky slope.

All followed him carefully down and later – through half the beach and towards the center of the bay's shore where small patches of grass and briar could be seen. Ryan took them to a big caravan with a huge canopy in front of it and a smaller one in front of the first one.

Ryan left his own luggage on the floor inside the big canopy and turned towards his brother and the rest of the company.

"Agent Fowler deems it necessary for you all to start… intergrading into human society. And given the fact we have already… dealt with you once-"

Ryan's speech was interrupted by a murmured 'Unfortunately' from his brother. Ryan gave Leon a side glance before continuing.

"Since we have already dealt with you guys once and might I add - successfully, Fowler decided we would be suitable… I'm not sure what word to use.. teachers, caretakers.. Nevermind. Your integration into human society starts here and now – on the beach, where every dumb and weird thing you might do due to lack of knowledge about humans would be a bit.. um.. less noticeable."

"But that doesn't mean you're free to do whatever you like." All four set of eyes turned towards Leon. "The only thing keeping you out of jail or possibly death is that Prime wishes you be given a chance. You're walking on a thin wire."

Megatron was particularly irritated that apparently his 'freedom' was all because his biggest enemy wished it so. To give him a chance. He gritted his teeth loudly enough to gain a questionable glance from Starscream.

Meanwhile, Ryan has unlocked the small padlock and opened the caravan's door.

"Make yourself comfortable. There should be enough room for all of you."

All ex-Cybertronians waited for Megatron to enter first, already sensing his anger and not wishing to bring it upon themselves by showing disrespect. Megatron didn't take long to enter the caravan. He threw his luggage on the first bed, directly on the left of the entrance. The bed itself was quite large but so was Megatron. Even if there has been enough space for someone else – nobody would have liked to risk being in too close proximity to Megatron.

Breakdown glanced towards Knock Out and Starscream in question why they weren't going in after Megatron and was met by a pair of expectant eyes. Apparently they wanted him to go in first. What's with his size and all, he'd take an eventual punch from Megatron far better than they would.

Entering the caravan, Breakdown was left with no choice but to turn right, passing by a couple of bunk beds that were fat too small for him and reaching the other side of the caravan and a bed that would suit him just fine. He tucked his bag under the bed.

Starscream and Knock Out entered soon after, assured that they wouldn't be caught in Megatron's anger. Starscream, being the first inside, quickly noticed the only two available beds left and was quick to reserve the upper one without realizing its closeness to the ceiling and how that would affect him later. He was too determined not to let the upper bed get taken again, just like Megatron has taken the one at the Autobot base. The beds were quite small. Not terribly small but still smaller than those at the base.

Knock Out didn't mind taking the lower bed. It seemed like a far more logical choice, given the caravan's interior and the hot weather outside. The redhead shoved his bag near that of Starscream under his bed.

"Well, seems we're settled."

The interior of the caravan could be seen in a glance. Having being under lock and not been opened for some times, the air inside was too hot for comfort. They didn't need to stay in long though as Ryan called them all outside to explain things further.

Pointing towards a small construction made of six wooden columns stuck into the ground and a sheet of cloth going around them, he spoke. "This is the outside shower. The one inside is not connected and if you've noticed – there's simply not enough room for some of you to take a shower." His eyes jumped from Megatron to Breakdown before continuing, pointing over a building several dozen meters away from the caravan. "And those are the shared toilets. Now let's get you some swimsuits."

The choice for a swimwear on the camping site was quite limited. Megatron was first to decide, picking a classical pair of black swim briefs. It was the only type that didn't come in weird colours or pictures. Although a pair of black speedos with human skulls on it was awfully tempting.

Starscream was getting really tired of all the heat and was far from the mood for shopping. He grabbed a sky blue swimsuit shorts and refused to think of what made him chose those exactly. He tried hard not to think about flying and how he craved it more and more each day.

Breakdown has taken a liking into a swimsuit short as well. His, however, were of whole scenery of a tropical beach – the ocean, the palm trees, and the fine sand.

For a second he thought that perhaps choosing a plain pair of swimsuit would be better and would attract less attention but that thought left his mind after seeing what Knock Out has chosen – a deep red shorts with fiery red and yellow flames 'engulfing' them from the bottom. Breakdown shook his head a little. He should've totally seen that one coming. Starscream, on the other hand, had a priceless "are you serious" look on his face.

After introducing the ex-Cybertronians to the very important, especially for some of them, sunscreen cream, a couple of advices on what to do and what not to do and a very basic lesson about swimming, Ryan and Leon finally decided they could more or less 'release' the Decepticons on the beach. They still wore their tracking bracelets after all. Besides, they couldn't go far without money anyway.

Leon couldn't wait to go harpooning. It was his most favourite activity while on the seaside and he has put up through the ridiculous day with only one thing motivating him. But no matter how much he wanted to ditch the Cybertronians and go enjoy some killing, he still didn't want to leave his brother to deal with them all alone. Not that Ryan seemed all that troubled, considering how his eyes were wandering over the ex-Cybertronians' bodies. And suddenly Leon didn't feel guilty at all. The lewd stare Ryan was giving Knock Out's behind made him want to harpoon the redhead's ass.

While he has been looking at his brother and his inability to keep it in his pants, Leon hasn't paid attention to how Megatron has picked one of the other scuba diving harpoons up and was trying to figure out what it was.

Leon's blood run cold when he finally noticed the Decepticon's ruthless leader armed with a lethal weapon. There was no way to predict whether Megatron wouldn't just take a shot for the fun of it. Maybe go on a little killing spree after he's done with his two 'babysitters'. Leon gritted his teeth, cursing himself for letting his guard down.

"Put the harpoon down. Now!"

The distress and tension in Leon's voice was quick to snap his brother's attention to the far more serious matter at hand.

It took Megatron a very short time to figure out how the harpoon worked. The slight panic in the humans was delicious and he smirked wickedly. He placed his index finger on the trigger and lifted the weapon.

"Oh, and why would I do that? Judging by your reaction, I draw the conclusion that this can easily kill you if I fire it into the right spot."

Nobody dared to move. The Cons knew better than to accidentally put themselves between Megatron and whoever he wanted to maim. And Ryan was too afraid that if he tried to disarm Megatron, the big Con would fire just to spite him.

Tension and fear filled the air and Megatron thrived in the power he once again was having. He truly missed being feared. But he was far from stupid. He knew crystal clearly that they wouldn't manage to get away from the humans. And even if they did, they still had no way of contacting Soundwave or returning to their normal frames. It was a better plan to just go along with the humans' plans, no matter how taking order from them and the Autobots enraged him and went against everything he stood for.

He removed his finger from the trigger and lowered the harpoon so it pointed towards the sand. He thrust the weapon into the sand and it stood erected, lodged into the ground.

"Relax, human. If I wanted to kill you, you'd be already dead. But I couldn't pass the opportunity to enjoy your priceless reaction."

Leon was skeptical and with a good reason. But a quick look towards the others Cons made him realize that Megatron was indeed not interest in shooting anyone. Or more likely – he realized it wouldn't do him any good. His fellow Decepticons have returned to their normal behaviour, not a trace of their previous nervousness and tension present.

"Don't pull stunts like that again or I'll shoot you next time. Understood?!" Regardless of Megatron's actual intentions, Leon despised to be toyed with.

He received no reply from Megatron, just an amused quirk of the bigger man's lip. What came next caught Leon completely by surprise.

"I'm coming with you." Megatron said dead seriously. "Wherever you're going, I can only assume it involves killing. I'm in."

Leon groaned internally. He unintentionally got stuck with the most difficult Con to deal with. He was about to try and squirm out of that situation when his brother dug him deeper in.

"Of course Leon will take you with him!" Ryan cheerfully patted Megatron on the back. "He'll teach you all about scuba diving since you don't really need to know more about killing. Off you go!" He gave a bright smile to his brother and it took all of Leon's self-control not to harpoon his brother in the foot.

Unwillingly and grumpily he supplied the Decepticon leader with all that he needed for their scuba diving lesson. He hoped the weird looking equipment would be enough to gross out Megatron but the Con didn't even lift an eyebrow.

Leon sighed in defeat before collecting all the things they needed and gestured Megatron to follow him into the sea.

Out of the rest of the Decepticons, Knock Out was the first to find entertainment when he noticed the water scooter and a second later – the dune buggy. Even thought Ryan has bought him rides on both vehicles, Knock Out was still torn which one to try first and he just stood excited in the middle of the beach before running to the water scooter, being lured in by the sheer speed superiority of the machine. With an overjoyed scream, the red head speeded into the sea, adrenalin pumping through his body.

"Well, seem your friend's settled for the day. Anyone else want a ride?"

"No." was the collective answer.

On their way back to the caravan Breakdown noticed a group of humans playing with a ball on both side of a huge net. Further to the side was another group of fit males lifting weights. This intrigued Breakdown. He has always enjoyed group sports and games and has played with the Vehicons as often as he could, considering their responsibilities. But he was unsure of whether the human would let him join them.

"Say, Ryan, do ya think they'll let me play with 'em?" he asked and pointed towards the volleyball players with his thumb.

Ryan's eyes followed the direction the digit was pointing at and nodded.

"Yeah, I think they will. You can just ask them. Anyone is free to use the net and with your height and body, I'm positive they'd want you on their team."

Breakdown's face was a picture of confusion. He wasn't sure how his height or body would be of any advantage but he thanked Ryan and went straight to the humans.

"Well, what would you like to do, Starscream?"

The ex-seeker grumbled and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Nothing."

Ryan did his best not to sigh at Starscream's stubbornness. He was also tempted to just leave the brunet be and not bother but he was also a stubborn man and would not rest until he has found enjoyable activities for all of those placed under his care.

"How about an ice cream, Starscream?"

He didn't manage to stifle his chuckle at his own words. He ignored the flat and unamused look he received from the Con. Instead, he placed his hand on the seeker's back and guided the brunet towards the nearest shop with an ice cream fridge.

Ryan purchased them both ice creams of his choice since Starscream has refused to even look at the selection. Shoving a chocolate flavoured ice cream on a stick onto the seeker's hands earned him a stubborn reply of "I don't want it!"

Regardless of Starscream's lack of any enthusiasm or interest whatsoever, Ryan unwrapped his own ice-cream and nibbled at the tip.

"Mhm, delicious. You should really try it, Starscream." Ryan has seen parents trying to trick their kids into eating something by showing them how delicious it was but he had no idea it would work even remotely as well as it did.

He could clearly see Starscream's stubborn refusal slightly crumble until the seeker finally unwrapped his ice-cream as well, merely half a minute later. He bit into the creamy substance before Ryan had time to warn him not to do that. Starscream winced when his teeth sunk in enough to feel the freezing coldness of the ice cream.

He hastily removed the ice-cream from his mouth and turned his face towards his 'caretaker', his expression a mix of anger and betrayal.

Ryan gave him a sympathetic smile. "Don't bite it. Just lick." As to demonstrate, he licked his growingly smaller ice-cream and then urged Starscream to do the same.

"Do you like it?"

Starscream did. He liked it a lot. The sweet and creamy texture was absolutely delicious and the way it melted in his mouth was heavenly. Not to mention how well it cooled him in that horribly hot day. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't find a single thing to complain about. His eyes shifted and he turned his whole head to the opposite direction of where Ryan was.

"No. It's horrible."

What a blatant lie.

"Okay. Then you won't mind me if I eat it, right?" Ryan said and reached to take Starscream's ice-cream from the other's hand. But the ex-seeker snatched it away in a flash. Realizing what he has done and what that meant, Starscream puffed his cheeks. Ryan could really only compare him to a stubborn kid.

"Maybe I like it a little. Besides, it's mine!"

Ryan looked with amusement as Starscream devoured his ice-cream quickly before anyone tried to take it away from him again. Shortly after the seeker was done licking the last bits of cream from the stick, his attention was drawn towards the sky again. He envied how Knock Out has found a way to satisfy his own need for speed unlike Starscream, whose hunger for the sky was only growing stronger and stronger with every day.

A curious thing in the sky made him squint his eyes, trying to see it better. Ryan noticed that but kept silent. He has finally found an activity the seeker would be interested in.

Starscream's sky hunger and the possibility of a chance to be in the sky again won over his stubbornness.

"What is that flying in the sky?"

"A powered paraglider. A type of aircraft. I've rode one before. It's really enjoyable."

The way Starscream's eyes brightened at the mentioning of aircrafts was almost enough for Ryan to offer Starscream a ride but he wanted the seeker to ask for it personally. And the frantic way Starscream kept looking between the paraglider in the sky and Ryan was enough to reassure the blonde he wouldn't have to wait long. The seeker balled his hands into fists.

"May I… ride one of those? Flying is essential for seekers."

Who knew Starscream could be so polite when he wanted something.

"Sure! I know here to go. Come."

Starscream quickly followed Ryan behind the caravan where the blonde uncovered a sleek black motorbike. He unlocked the chain and pushed it to the road before getting on it. He turned towards Starscream and petted the seat behind him.

"Hop on!"

Starscream, on the other hand, was giving him a ridiculous look - a mixture of "are you insane" and "no fucking way I'm climbing into that death-trap!".

"Come on, I've driven a motorbike for 7 years and never had an accident. You want to fly right?"

Starscream's lips thinned before he climbed onto the bike, his body stiff as a board. Ryan barely waited for the seeker to sit comfortably before powering the bike's engine and taking off, causing a distressed Starscream to embrace him from behind with enough strength to shorten his breath.

If Starscream could've heard anything at that time, it would've been Ryan's amused chuckle.

It didn't take them long to arrive at their destination. And Starscream didn't have time to enjoy the scenery before Ryan called him to get on a paraglider. The man responsible for the paragliders secured Starscream's belts swiftly before doing the same for Ryan who sat behind the seeker.

Starscream didn't even notice the pair of arms that sneaked around his waist. He was just so excited to finally be in the air again. The strong wind at the place where the paragliders were was already blowing in his face and has ruffled his hair. And he absolutely loved it.

The human that secured him said something but Starscream ignored him. A couple of seconds later am engine began to roar and they were airborne. Starscream couldn't help it when an excited squeak left his lips and he would've been embarrassed in any other situation if he wasn't having so much fun.

Flying with the paraglider was ages away from the joy of flying in his own jet alt mode but for now – it was more than Starscream could hope for.

Ten minutes into the flight, Ryan and Starscream were flying low over the bay where they were camping. Low enough to be able to hear Knock Out's excited yells and quite clearly see the reckless way he was driving the water scooter. When they neared him even more, the redhead finally noticed who the men flying the paraglider were. He was amused by the fact that Starscream, oh Lord of the Skies, would fly what he would consider an inferior flying machine. With the aid of a human no less.

Speaking of that human… The way Ryan has embraced Starscream so closely from behind, the way his arms were so tightly circled around the ex-seeker's waist, and the way his chin was propped on Starscream's shoulder were irking Knock Out to no end. He felt his hands tighten around the water scooter's wheel.

What made his stomach clench with a nasty feeling was the ecstatic expression Starscream was wearing on his face.

He did try to enjoy the rest of the day but it just wasn't the same. He tried not to think about it but the more he tried – the more he thought about it.

While Knock Out was sulking beside the caravan, Breakdown has managed to befriend the humans he was playing with. He has also won a small competition of lifting weights and has gotten followed back to the caravan by a couple of young females that Knock Out's glare has been quick to scatter.

Leon and Megatron were next to come back, carrying a net full of fish. Knock Out couldn't believe it – even Lord Megatron looked like he has had fun hunting and killing the weird organic animals. But he had to admit that when they fried and ate the fish that evening – it was indeed delicious. And it would've been even more delicious if Knock Out didn't feel like gagging at the way Ryan has nested himself near Starscream.

The night came and went and Knock Out woke up with a strange weight over his body and warmth engulfing the left side of his neck. He soon realized the weight was actually a body and it fit so nicely against his. The way a thigh was pressing down against his intimate region was more than nice actually. The fact it was Starscream's thigh that was pressing down was a hundred times better. Knock Out's reaction to it was almost instantaneous – his underwear feeling slightly too tight all of a sudden.

One of Knock Out's hands pressed against the small of Starscream's back, pushing the seeker even closer to Knock Out. And the other found its way to the back of Starscream's right thigh, just below the curve of his behind.

The warmth alongside his neck was Starscream's breath. Knock Out turned his head towards the seeker's face and the other's soft looking lips were so close. So teasingly close! He could just—

"Doc?"

Thanks for reading!