Vaughan and her friends gathered around at the front of the Julliard school after the Opening Ceremony of the Battle Of The Bands ended.
"This doesn't make any sense! There's no doubt about it that those three boys are Decepticons, but I couldn't use my power to stop them. That's how it worked before when we busted up Megatron!" Vaughan rambled, pacing back and fourth, while her friends sat on the front stairs.
"But to defeat them, you drew power from us when we went in to shield you. The Mesmerizer's power comes from their music, so maybe you have to use the same type of power to defeat them." Spike suggested.
Vaughan's eyes widened as she gasped, turning around and looking at her cousin. "I think you're on to something Spike!"
"Really?" He asked, looking hopeful.
"It's when we play music we transform now, right?" Vaughan reminded.
"Yeah. Metal armour, the helmuts, the whole deal!" Jazz replied.
"So maybe the only way to use that power to defeat the Mesmerizers, is by counter attacking them with our own music." Vaughan thought a loud.
"You mean, like playing a song?" Andrew suggested.
"Most likely, and if we're going to free everyone who's under their spell, we'll need everyone to hear it." Vaughan explained.
Daphine tapped her chin, thinking, then she gasped sharply, springing up to her feet so quickly that she almost toppled down the stairs. "The band competition! That's the only way we'll know when everyone is at the same place at the same time."
"Then it looks like The Music Nation is the band to beat!" Blaster exclaimed with a grin.
"So how are you going to create this 'Counter Attack' song exactly? You doing it as the lead singer like last time?" Raoul asked, placing a gentle hang on Vaughan's shoulder. "With this being my band and all—"
"It's OUR band Raoul." Jazz corrected, shooting the boy a glare before he too layed a hand on Vaughan's other shoulder, smiling at her. "Of course as lead singer. She's the one with the know-how to pull this thing off!"
Raoul raised his hands in defense. "Okay, okay, that's cool! Gives me more time to hone in my already insanely, great guitar skills." Raoul smirked, playing some air guitar.
"And the great thing about this plan is that we technically don't have to win the Battle Of The Bands. We just have to perform it during the first round of the competition." Vaughan explained.
"Then let's get to work on using that 'Counter Attack' song!" Raoul cheered.
"Well, that's just it." Vaughan shrugged. "I don't know any."
Everyone slouched, whining. It appeared that they didn't like that answer very much.
"But! I'm sure I can write one." Vaughan reasoned with a cheap smile.
"Why not? You've written Dubstep songs like it's no tomorrow. You should be a natural at this." Josh replied.
"... You're right." Vaughan nodded in agreement. "I got this."
Jazz's holoform seemed to look a bit puzzled as Vaughan began walking away from the group, towards the crosswalk. "Hey Vaughan!" He called, he and the others running after her. "Where are you going?"
"I'm heading back to my apartment to get my laptop. I always use it when I write new songs." She explained.
"Are you kidding?" Andrew yelled with happiness, swooping in between them. "We're all besties!" He smiled, bear hugging Vaughan as he lifted her off the sidewalk. "Slumber party at the Music Shop!"
******
Later that night, everyone was clustered in Josh and Andrew's room back at Josh's uncle's apartment.
Raoul, Blaster, and Jazz were facing off in Super Smash Bros on the Wii U, Daphine, Spike, and Andrew were taking some selfies with the red heads phone, and Josh was checking his emails on his laptop, while Vaughan sat on Josh's bed, working on writing a song in a notebook.
"Hey! We were about to beat you!" Jazz complained.
"I doubt it." Raoul smirked, twirling the gaming controller in his hand. "Hey Vaughan! How's the 'Counter Attack' song coming?"
Vaughan looked up, startled by the sudden call of her name. "Oh, uh, great!" She chuckled nervously before looking over at Andrew. "Thanks again for letting me use your notebook Andrew. I like the song you wrote for the band."
"Thanks." Andrew sighed. "If only we'd get a chance to play it."
Suddenly there was a chime noise, coming from downstairs, followed by a door opening.
"Kids! Pizza's here!" Josh's uncle called.
"Pizza!" Andrew cheered.
The group bounced to their feet, taking off out of the room.
Meanwhile, Vaughan stayed behind in the boys room, watching them take off down the stairs. She sat up in her spot on the bed, looking down at the pages of the notebook.
Words were crossed out, X's were everywhere, arrows and scribbles. Why was this so hard for her? She should be a natural at this! She wrote plenty of songs for her Dubstep career! Although, the majority hardly had any words in them to begin with. She really only wrote one song, and some were just Dubstep remixes of previously made hits.
Vaughan sighed at the piece of paper.
There was a knock at the door as she turned her head to see Josh standing at the door, a piece of pizza stuffed in his mouth.
"You want any pizza?" He asked with a muffle.
Vaughan slowly smiled at the boy, nodding her head as Josh smiled back, walking back down the stairs.
Vaughan looked back at the notebook, taking one more glance at the pages before she closed the book and placed it back inside the boys desk.
*****
Later that night when everyone was done with their pizza, everyone was fast asleep.
Well, all except Vaughan.
She tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, but she could never relax and fall asleep. Not with the 'Counter Attack' song mocking at her inside her brain. She had to get it done, and she had to get it done right.
So she pushed herself up from her sleeping bag, quietly tip toeing across the room as she made her way back to the desk. She opened the door, pulling Andrew's notebook back out as she grabbed the pencil and quickly made her way out of the room and sneaked downstairs into the kitchen.
She turned the overhead light on, sitting on a stool at the kitchen counter. She didn't know how long she sat in that chair, writing down everything she could come up with. Minutes, maybe even hours.
She wrote down a sentence, looked at it, then shook her head, scribbling it out before tossing the pencil to the side.
"No, that's not going to work either." She grumbled.
"Hey Vaughan."
She nearly screamed, covering her mouth as she looked over at the entrance of the kitchen. She sighed with relief, seeing it was Jazz, but when she looked at him again, she did a double take.
He was wearing sweat pants and a white tank top, the muscles of his arms and shoulders showing off as he leaned against the archway, grinning at her.
She could have sworn her heart skipped a beat.
"Stop it!" She thought to herself. "You said it yourself, you didn't choose either of them!"
But she couldn't help but think of her friendship with Jazz during her life on Cybertron, and the friendship they made here on Earth. Was their really room for something more? Had she really made the right choice?
She shrugged it off, quickly leaving her train of thought as she cursed silently, just realizing that Jazz was talking to her and she didn't notice.
The holoform had walked over to the fridge, opening the compartment and pulling out a soda can as he spoke. But she only caught the last little bit. "—come to you for solutions for their problems."
She paused, searching for an answer so it seemed like she was paying attention to him the entire time. "Well... just because you know something, doesn't mean you can solve everything."
"True that." He sighed, taking a seat in front of her as he gulped down a large portion of his drink. "Cause the last thing you want to do is..."
"Let everybody down."
Vaughan's eyes widened, gasping quietly as she looked up and the two of them locked eyes with each other, and it was in that moment that Vaughan realized that the two of them spoke in unison.
Vaughan's cheeks flushed as she quietly chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck as Jazz displayed a small smile, rubbing his arm as his head turned slightly to the side.
"But, hey. Don't worry." he spoke, looking back at her as he patted her on the head. "You can do it. I know you can."
He stood up from his seat, dunking the can into the trash can after he finished his drink.
As Jazz began walking away, Vaughan looked down at the paper again. Should she tell him that he was having trouble? Should she ask for help from her friend?
"Jazz?" she called quietly.
Jazz stopped, the head of his holoform turning to face the girl. A look of concern on his face.
She locked eyes with him again, trying to speak out the words, but instead she said; "Nevermind... it's not important."
Jazz gave the girl a smile before waving at her. "Don't stay up all night Little Lady." he replied before exiting the room.
Right when he left, her head face slammed into the book. She groaned, her voice muffled from the book. She lifted her head up, taking one more look at the paper and writing. She shook her head quickly, a look of determination on her face.
"No. My friends are counting on me. I have to be able to do this. I have to."