Winnie slowly gets up as her alarm goes off.
"Good morning," she mumbles, sleepy-eyed.
After stretching, she hops up and changes out of her pajamas into jeans and a purple Batman t-shirt. Winnie walks out of her room, and starts the morning chores. She wanders around outside with King, checking for any disturbances in the shops or out buildings, but as the morning wears on, she notices something wrong.
Lifeflight would be up by now. Where was he? Winnie plods over to the side door into the bay, instructing King to stay outside. She pokes her head into the still dark room.
"Lifeflight? Are you in here?" she calls softly.
"W-W-Winnie!" comes a quiet, distressed cry, emanating from his berth.
Winnie opens the door wider, light flooding the bay. Lifelight's blanket is on the bed, rumpled, but he's not there.
"What?" she asks, looking around the room.
"Wh-where are you?" he whimpers. "I-I'm on the berth."
"Lifeflight?" Winnie says anxiously. "I'm right here. Is this...a game or something?"
"I-I-It's so dark," he says, and the blanket shifts on the berth. Is...is he ^ital^ under ^ital^ the blanket?
Winnie throws on the light and rushes over to the berth. The blanket rustles again and a tiny helm pops from between the folds. Lifeflight's tiny helm.
Winnie steps back in surprise.
"P-Please-se d-don't leave," he cries, tears glistening in his eyes. "W-Winnie...I'm f-frightened."
Winnie stops. "No-no, I'm not going anywhere, Lifeflight. Don't be afraid. Do you know what...what happened?" She bends down closer to the little bot.
"I-It w-was so-o dark-k," Lifeflight whispers, looking up at Winnie with wide eyes. "I-I was a-about-t to get up t-to overload and th-then I g-got covered-d by my b-blanket."
Winnie bites her lip. "Okay, then." She puts an elbow on the berth and bumps against a metal bracer. "Lifeflight...y-your armor didn't happen to...to shrink with you did it?"
"N-No," he whimpers. "B-But I th-think I-I h-had an accident."
His tears begin to run over, and he looks up at Winnie, beginning to tremble.
"Hush, Lifeflight, shh. It's gonna be okay. Here's what we're gonna do." She picks up Lifeflight, still wrapped in the giant blanket. "We'll find you some...clothes, I guess, get you cleaned up, and then we'll call G." She smiles at the mech in the blanket. "That sound good?"
"O-O-Okay," he says, clinging tightly to the blanket, "p-please don't-t drop m-me."
"It's okay, I won't."
She holds him a little tighter and turns to walk into the house. When she reaches the kitchen, she sets the slightly damp blanket on the counter. "I need to get you some clothes. Do you want to watch some TV?"
"N-No," Lifeflight murmurs, "b-but I'll-l listen."
Winnie clicks on the TV to old "The Smurfs" reruns, and rushes into her room. She rifles through a box in her closet until she finds what she was looking for.
Returning with a tiny, blue, plaid button up shirt, and a pair of small cargo pants she holds them up for Lifeflight's inspection. "Will these do? It's not armor, but..." She hands the clothes to Lifeflight.
"Y-Yes," he mumbles, still shivering. "D-do you have-ve a d-damp r-rag I can-n wash w-with?"
"Yep." Winnie runs a cloth through the sink and sets it beside Lifeflight. Turning around, she coms G via earpiece. "Gil? You up yet?"
"Good morning, Winnifred," a mech's voice on the line rumbles. "Are you looking for G?"
Lifeflight picks up the rag, and steps out of the blanket, beginning to clean up.
Winnie leans against the opposite countertop. "Sorry to bother you, but yes," she says.
"Hmm, no bother. All com lines are diverted to mine through the night and early morning. G is up and about downstairs, I got bath duty. Let me put you through."
"Thank you."
"Yo, what's up?"
"Mornin', Gil. Uh, I have a...predicament over here...it isn't normal for bots to shrink to half a foot overnight, right?"
"Oh jeez. Nope. Come right now. Forget eating, I've got breakfast on the table."
"Thank you, G I'll be there in ten."
"Alright, see you then."
She hangs up and turns to Lifeflight who is looking down at the baggy "Barbie" Ken clothes. "Uhh..I'm really sorry about that, but we need to go over to Gilli's."
"O-Okay," Lifeflight says, trying to figure out how the pants go on. "C-Can I use you-ou as a reference?"
"Guh, um..." Winnie quickly closes her eyes when she notices he is still unclothed. "S-Sure."
She pulls at her shirt nervously. Casting a glance over his shoulder, Lifeflight puts one leg, then another into the jeans, pulling them on according to Winnie's example. Studying the zipper and button, he fastens them together and turns around, looking at her expectantly.
"Are...are you done?" Winnie asks, eyes still closed.
"I-I think so," Lifeflight says. "Th-the shirt did-dn't fit."
Winnie opens her eyes and relaxes. "I'm sorry I don't have anything better, but we need to get over to G's."
"I-It's okay," he murmurs, beginning to shiver again. "But I-I'm f-f-freezing."
"I'm sorry, Barbie clothes aren't designed to be functional. Hmm...I'll be right back." Winnie runs into her room and returns wearing a shirt with a pocket on the front.
Lifeflight looks up at Winnie. Why did she change her shirt?
"You can sit in my pocket, so you won't fall. I'm gonna have to ride Brawny though, is that ok?"
"Uh..." Lifeflight whines. "I w-welcome the pocket-t, but the Pa'li..."
"I swear I'll go slow...but if you're really opposed to it, then I'll go on foot."
"N-No...I-I will do it."
"Okay, then." Winnie sets her hand on the table, palm up, for Lifeflight to stand on.
Walking over to her hand, Lifeflight looks up at her. "I-I don't want to hurt-t you," he says.
"You won't," she says, smiling.
Slowly stepping onto her hand, Lifeflight wobbles, sitting down roughly on her hand, hanging onto her wrist.
Winnie laughs and lifts her hand up to the pocket, sliding the bot into it. "How's that?"
"W-Warm," Lifeflight says softly, snuggling down into the pocket. "You're warm-m."
"I certainly don't get cold." Winnie walks smoothly over to the door and slides on her cloak and boots.
Lifeflight is able to look through the fibers of the shirt to the outside, and watches as Winnie walks outside, then back around to the stable. Winnie readies Brawny and stands on the railing to climb on, instead of swinging on.
"Are you alright?" she asks, looking down into the pocket.
"Y-yeah," Lifeflight says, curling up against her chest. "Y-you are warm."
"Thanks." She looks up, and nudges Brawny into a brisk walk. "Tell me if I go too fast."
"I w-will," Lifeflight says.
Winnie urges Brawny onto the main road, the trees passing swiftly overhead. As they pass by the village she waves and calls to a few people before continuing. Within four minutes she stops Brawny at the door to Base.
She slides off the Pa'li's back and feeds him a sugar cube. The horse nickers and turns to dash home. Winnie walks through the doorway of the mainbay, and skirts around the tall bots coming and going through the halls. Finally she stumbles into the medbay.
"Ratchet? Are you here?"
"Winnifred. What can I help you with?"
"Hi Ratchet! I need to get over to G's house, quickly."
"You needn't ask me," Ratchet says. "The warp pad filters out unknown or unwanted signatures."
"Thank you. But still, I thought I should ask. I'll see ya later!" she calls, jogging over to the warp pad.
"C-Careful," Lifeflight calls, hanging onto the inside of Winnie's pocket.
...
"Sorry," Winnie says, slowing to a walk as she boards the pad.
Appearing on the other side of the warp pad, Winnie arrives in the kitchen.
"Gil?" Winnie calls out.
"Here," G calls from in the living room. "C'mon in."
Winnie reaches into her pocket and pulls out Lifeflight, cupped in her hand. She walks out of the kitchen, looking for the source of her friend's voice.
"Winnie!" G exclaims, finally seeing the huntress. "Oh dear..."
Lifeflight hangs onto Winnie's hand, and G pats the counter. "You can be on the counter, Lifeflight. Are you feeling alright? Are you hungry?"
"Hungry," Lifeflight says quietly. "Thank you f-for carrying me, Winnie."
"You're welcome," she says, smiling and lowering her hand to the counter.
Hopping off, Lifeflight steadies himself, and sits down.
Winnie walks over to Gilli. "What...what happened to him? Do you know?"
"No," G says, "except that whatever happened will revert in a week. One week tiny, and then he changes back. Bumblebee went through a similar stage."
"What did I do?" Bee asks, walking downstairs with Raybeam in one arm.
"Hi, Bee!" Winnie waves at him, then turns to Gilli. "Does Ratchet know anything about this? I met him in the medbay, but thought I should talk to you first."
"He didn't know what happened. This is all we know," G says. "I see you have found some...clothing...for him."
Winnie face turns pink. "Well, it was all I had and...yeah...not the best decision."
"You made do," G says. "Would you like some armor, Lifeflight?"
"Just one," he says. "Th-the rest w-will just get in the way."
"Alright. Do you mind if I carry you?"
"N-No."
"I'll be right back, Dub," G says, picking Lifeflight up and heading for the stairs.
When she leaves Winnie fidgets with the edge of her cloak. "Good crimany."
"Are you hungry?" Bumblebee asks, setting Raybeam down.
"A little, but it's alright, I can eat at the compound." She smiles at Raybeam.
"You're here for breakfast, G said," Bumblebee rumbles, looking down at Raybeam, who has his hands raised to be picked up. "I can make you something."
"Hungry!" Raybeam cries, doorwings flicking to gain Bumblebee's attention.
"Of course you are," Bumblebee says, smiling and picking up the sparkling, setting him on the counter. "Energon?"
"Yah!"
Pouring a toddler's cup of energon, Bee hands it to him and sets Raybeam back down on the floor. "I'm not going to poison you," he says to Winnie, with a hint of humor.
"No, you would do something much worse to me," she laughs.
"What would I do?" Bumblebee asks, setting down the pitcher of energon and leaning across the counter to look into Winnie's eyes, searching for the meaning. "Do you think I blame you for what happened?"
"Well, I blame myself. So..." She looks down and plays peek-a-boo with Raybeam.
"Why?" Bumblebee asks.
"Well...it was my fault, my fail, therefore, it's my turn for the 'blame'."
"How is it your fault?" Bumblebee asks, "You acted upon instinct. It was the right thing to do at the time."
Raybeam drops his cup, picks it up again, and takes a drink.
"Anyhow, you like eggs or pancakes?" Bumblebee asks.
"It's alright, Bee. You don't have to go to the trouble." She taps Raybeam on the shoulder and then spins around pretending nothing happened.
"I have five mouths to feed, not including my own. One more, two more, five, won't be any problem," Bumblebee says. "You weren't here for the reunion."
"The reunion?"
"All of our sparklings came home one year to meet each other, since their births were so spaced out. Scorpion and Spider dropped by too...we don't have any issue feeding large numbers of people."
"Cool. How'd it go?"
"Fine...it was kinda crowded in here. Pancakes or eggs?"
"Pancakes, please." She taps Raybeam on his other shoulder, continuing the game.
"Alright," Bumblebee says with a smile, turning to a cupboard to pull out the ingredients.
"What's it like being small? Like Lifeflight is now."
"Frightening," Bumblebee says, shoulders shuddering. "Everything... everyone are always so much bigger than you. And it's very cold. Somehow, being so small decreases your body temperature and it's constantly very cold."
"I wondered why that was. I thought it was just the lack of armor."
"Nope...I thought that until Ratchet explained what little he hypothesized to us. I was always hungry, and terribly cold."
"I'll remember that. Thank you." She plays with Raybeam, making the toddler giggle.
Footsteps are heard coming down the stairs, and Shield walks into the kitchen. Nodding to Winnie, he walks into the living room and sits on the couch, reading. Blade follows, coming down the stairs noisily and walking into the kitchen, glaring at Winnie before pulling himself up into a bar chair.
"Nice to see you too," Winnie smiles at the red sparkling.
Blade huffs and slides down, walking out into the living room, opening up the porch and stepping outside, shutting the door, and sitting down.
"Sorry," Winnie calls after him.
"He's been in a foul mood as of late," Bumblebee says, mixing the pancake batter. "You like blueberry pancakes?"
"Absolutely!"