Small Problems
Day 3: What Blaster Did
"Yes!" Slag announced with gusto as he stomped in, trailed by the three other Dinobots. "It us!"
"We come looking for leader Grimlock," Snarl said. "We no see him for long time."
"Grimlock is in New York," Ratchet informed them curtly, turning back to his instruments. "He went there on a mission with Optimus Prime."
The Dinobots looked crestfallen.
"What?" Ratchet asked, glancing over his shoulder at them.
"Dinobots play Hide and Seek," Swoop told him. "Grimlock it. Supposed to find Dinobots. But Grimlock forget and leave us. We hide for two days."
"Really?" Ratchet demanded, wondering how they didn't have the brains to get up after twenty minutes.
"This him second time he do this," Sludge said sadly.
"Where Grimlock?" Slag demanded, angry at the disappointment of his fellow Dinobots. "Where New York? Me Slag go there and stomp stupid leader for forgetting Dinobots!"
"It's clear across the country, Slag," Ratchet said tiredly. "It will take you more than a week to walk over there."
"When Grimlock come back?" Sludge asked innocently, no malice in his voice.
"I don't know," Ratchet admitted. "We've lost radio contact with them for two days now."
"Maybe Grimlock turn to hide now?" Sludge suggested.
"Not him turn!" Slag barked, punching the wall. "Him no play no more! Dinobots play without Grimlock now!"
"That's fine with me," Ratchet said as he watched Teletraan's screens. "Just don't do it anywhere around here."
It was then the doors opened for a second time.
Three more sets of feet came in- one in particular more energetic than the other two.
"Ratchet!" Sideswipe greeted as he paraded in, arms wide in greeting. "¡Hemos vuelto de la Argentina!"
Ratchet leveled a gaze at him that told fading tolerance. "You were supposed to be back from Argentina yesterday."
"We would have if Sideswipe hadn't wanted to soak up some local atmosphere." Brawn glared at him.
"They wanted us to stay," Bluestreak tried to help. "They insisted on throwing us a party for saving their town. It would have been rude to just leave."
"Miramos un juego del fútbol," Sideswipe explained. "Did you know they call it football everywhere else but this country?"
"I don't care, Sideswipe," Ratchet sighed.
"¡Tenían las muchachas más hermosas y bailamos hasta anochecer!" Sideswipe continued wistfully. "Ratchet, I want to learn to Samba Dance."
"I said I don't care."
"Slag, what Sideswipe say?" Sludge asked. "Him broken?"
Slag scratched his head. "Me not know. Good thing Ratchet here to fix him."
"Stuff it, Sideswipe," Brawn grouched, pushing past the much taller Autobot. His tone told he had had enough of Samba and of Sideswipe to last him a while. "So what's the big emergency, Ratchet? Why is it so quiet around here? And why are we reporting to you?"
"Prime put me in charge. We had heavy Decepticon movement on the East Coast. Prime took Skyfire and everyone available on the base. When they got close, Prime reported Skyfire down and the rest of them were driving into New York City. That was two days ago and that was the last I've heard from anyone."
"Prowl went with them?" Bluestreak asked in a small, worried voice.
"Prowl, Jazz, Wheeljack, Ironhide, and Grimlock. They've all gone missing along with Optimus Prime. And I haven't been able to send anyone after them. You are the first Autobots to show up."
Brawn frowned. He glanced over at Sideswipe and Bluestreak. After spending a two week mission with them, he was getting tired of seeing their faces. "Just send me, Ratchet, I'll take care if it."
Ratchet looked dubious at the request. "I don't think that's going to work. You can't do this by yourself. At least one Autobot needs to retrieve Skyfire and others should check out the city."
"I can do it all, no sweat. Just give me a break from the crackerjack crew." Brawn threw his thumb at Bluestreak and Sideswipe. "Or even better, why don't you go, Ratchet? You could fix Skyfire on the spot. Give me your job. There's no one else here. Any idiot could be able to do what you're doing. I bet it's easy."
Ratchet's face darkened and Brawn realized he may have misspoken.
Twenty minutes later, Brawn found himself on the interstate heading east and pulling a large, white trailer. Sideswipe and Bluestreak's bumpers were in front of him and he was not enjoying the view.
"Man, you really got under Ratchet's gears good, Brawn," Bluestreak said.
"Yeah," Sideswipe put in. "Even I know to keep my mouth shut when he's in that mood. Solamente un tonto empujará un toro enojado."
They went over a bump and there was audible thump in the trailer. "Did he have to send the Dinobots with us?" Brawn grouched. "They're going to slow us down more than anything else."
"Oh, come on Brawn, lighten up!" Sideswipe urged as he revved his engine. "It's another adventure! This will be fun!"
Crystal awoke to the shrill cry of the window blinds as they were sharply pulled up, allowing sunlight to spill over her face. She groaned and rolled over.
"Hey!" Grimlock's voice barked at her. "It time to get up! Me Grimlock bored!"
"No," Crystal's voice moaned into her pillow. "It's not time yet."
The chirping of her alarm clock begged to differ and Crystal groaned again. She groped blindly at the floor, searching for it. A white hand beat her to it as Prowl nimbly turned it off. Crystal cracked an eye at him and then rolled over to see Grimlock perched on her window sill.
"Jazz want to watch Jersey Girl," Grimlock told her. "If me Grimlock see 'nother Ben Affleck movie, me Grimlock blow chunks. Get up so me Grimlock can go outside!"
With that, the Dinobot jumped off the window and onto her stomach. Crystal made an "umph!" noise as he rebounded to the floor and ran out of the room. She lurched vengefully after him, but got tangled in the blankets and only succeeded in falling off the bed face first.
"Are you okay?" Prowl asked, hovering over her.
Crystal grimaced again and then looked up at Prowl. "I don't have that many Ben Affleck movies!"
In the kitchen, evidence that Prowl had finished his book and moved on to something else was on the table. The map covered it, red marks notating where they had already searched. A notebook was filled with scribbles on possibilities and places to look.
It made Crystal feel bad for them. They had been working so hard and worrying about their missing friends without any results. She really hoped things would look better for them today.
"You should be able to find your way around the city now, right?" she asked as she poured herself a bowl of cereal. She never could get herself up early enough to make a hot breakfast.
"Affirmative," Prowl said. "There's no need to worry, I've plotted out everything. We'll be able to find our way back."
"Good," Crystal nodded, satisfied. She went to open the door while Prowl gathered his map and his notes.
Grimlock happily threw himself outside the second the door was open. Jazz slowly turned off his beloved TV and tromped after him, slouching slightly. Yesterday's search had robbed him of his enthusiasm. Crystal playfully pushed his helmet as if ruffling the hair of a child. Jazz brushed her hand away, but seemed to be in higher spirits.
"Wish us luck," he grinned.
Crystal gave him a thumbs up. "You got it. And be careful out there."
Prowl was the last one through the door.
"Good luck down the rabbit hole, Alice," Crystal told him.
Prowl opened his mouth to argue the new nickname, but Crystal had already closed the door in his face.
"Okay, that's it, I've got to pull over," Brawn radioed to his travel companions.
They had been driving for about six hours and were now going through a mountain range headed south from Idaho into Utah. Brawn pulled off the interstate and turned down a mountain road to get away from the mainstream traffic. Sideswipe and Bluestreak followed him, taking a bit more care down the bumpy dirt road.
Once within the safety of the trees, Brawn unhitched himself from the trailer and transformed, stalking to the back of it and flinging the doors open.
"Will you lummoxes knock it off?! Just sit still! I can't haul a trailer that's bouncing all over the road!"
Four metal dinosaurs looked at him.
"When we Dinobots get there?" Slag, the triceratops, demanded. "It small in here."
"Too small for Dinobots," Snarl, the stegosaurus, agreed. "We in here long time."
"Want out," Sludge, the brontosaurus, announced and stomped out of the trailer.
Brawn was quick to grab his tail and despite the smaller bot's size, was able to halt Sludge in his tracks.
"Where do you think you're going? We're not even half way there yet!"
A metal Pteranodon flew out. "Swoop free! Swoop free!"
That was the sign for all the Dinobots to stampede over Brawn and into the forest.
"Hey! Get back here!"
Bluestreak and Sideswipe transformed into their robot modes and peered into the trailer. Dinobot dents were peppered all over the interior.
"It's like taking human children on a car trip," Sideswipe speculated.
Bluestreak went to help Brawn up. "Maybe you should let them run around for a bit.
Then they won't be as restless when we get them back in the trailer."
Brawn sighed as he sat on a large rock. "If we have to do this every couple of hours, this will take forever."
The day went slow for the three miniature Autobots. Even though Prowl kept them plowing ahead, the task was daunting. They were very little robots in a very big world; only being able to cover a fraction of what they could have done in their real size. The more they looked, the more hopeless it seemed.
"Prowl," Jazz said. "What are we going to do if we don't find Prime and the others soon? We have to let the base know what happened to us at some point. We can't hang around here looking forever. We need to ask for back up."
The frown on Prowl's face plate etched itself deeper. "You are right. I thought we could locate them by now, but we are running out of time. We may have to make contacting the base our top priority."
Jazz could hear it in Prowl's voice. He was not looking forward to calling Ratchet in his current condition, and without their leader. It was just one failure after another.
Although the day felt slow, it was dark before they knew it. They had covered miles and miles around the city, circling the original site in wider arcs until it felt like they had searched all there was to search. But every time one of them felt that way, all they had to do was look behind them to the miles of uncharted city still stretching out around them.
An entire day of looking brought forth nothing. Prowl's map was littered with red marks and they were all exhausted. Slowly, they made their way back to the apartment, spirits down and Grimlock grumbling every step. Even though they were looking forward to being back in the apartment, they didn't enjoy the feeling of returning empty handed.
When they arrived at the building, there was a group of teenagers hanging out in the stairwell. Prowl thought it best they not be seen. He led them back out to the balcony and Jazz fired a grappling hook from his wrist. The light was on inside and they could see Crystal dancing through the glass door. Prowl knocked, hoping she could hear him above the music.
Sure enough, Crystal, in shorts and T-shirt, turned from cleaning the kitchen to glide over and unlock the balcony.
"Hey guys!" she greeted, her mood bright. She swept up Grimlock as her song kicked into the chorus.
"Cecilia, you're breaking my heart. You're shaking my confidence daily. Oh, Cecilia, I'm down on my knees, I'm begging you please to come home. Oh, oh, oh." She sang as she spun him around.
"Me Grimlock not Cecilia!" he complained. "Me Grimlock!"
Crystal laughed but then put him down when she saw Jazz and Prowl's long faces. "Tough day guys?"
"Tell me about it," Jazz said as he climbed up on the couch and slumped there dejectedly. "We didn't find a slaggin' thing."
Crystal leaned over the arm of the couch so she was almost eye to eye with him. "Maybe you just need a little more luck is all." She smiled secretively.
Jazz frowned at her. For once, he wasn't willing to reflect her good mood. She treated this thing like it was a game, just because they were little. She didn't understand that all their lives were in danger; that this was serious.
There was a thump from the closet space in the kitchen where the washer and dryer were stored. A robot just their size came around the kitchen counter and into the living room. The others just stared.
"Hey Crystal, I was only able to find this screw driver and these pliers. You got anything else?" asked the robot, lights on his head flashing with every word.
"Sorry," Crystal replied, though she was still smiling. "That's probably all I have."
"Wheeljack!"
The inventor looked up. "Oh, hey guys."
Jazz launched himself off the couch and tackled the inventor.
"Wheeljack, man! Where have you been?"
"Would you believe a fifth floor apartment overlooking Central Park?"
Prowl stared at Wheeljack and then up at Crystal.
"H... how?"
"Me tell you!" Grimlock crowed. "You never listed to me Grimlock! Her can find missing Autobots!" He pointed an indignant finger at Crystal and the others all stared at her.
"What?" Crystal said. "It was coincidence. I just felt like going home through Central Park and I happened to notice these kids were playing with these weird high-tech toys. So I asked one of them where they got it from and he said he had a little robot that made them for him."
"So you've been hanging with some little kids?" Jazz asked. "How was that?"
"Sticky," Wheeljack instantly responded. "I had no idea how messy prepubescent humans were until I got a hands on experience."
"I felt guilty for taking you home, though," Crystal told Wheeljack. "They looked sad to see you go."
"They'll survive. I left them plenty of things to play with. We have more important things to do, don't we?"
Prowl nodded.
"First thing I'm going to do is fix Blaster," Wheeljack said. "He may be the key to helping us locate the other Autobots. And if he can transform, he'll be a big help to us- no pun intended."
"Then you can fix my dryer!" Crystal chimed in.
"Sweet!" Jazz grinned. "Things are finally looking up! We'll find Prime and Ironhide in no time!"
"Oh!" Crystal announced as she just remembered something and pulled a stack off the table and presented it to Prowl.
"Wheeljack went to the library with me and we got you more books since you've already read all of mine."
Prowl looked dubiously at the stack and then at Wheeljack.
"I just helped her carry them," he insisted.
"Thanks..." Prowl said as Crystal set them by his feet.
She picked the top one and displayed the copy of Catch 22. "Read this first, I think you'll like it. I got some for you, too, Grimlock." She pulled some thinner, larger books from the pile and presented the children's picture books to the Dinobot leader. "Dinosaurs, see?" She opened one to a picture of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. "Look, it's you!"
Grimlock made a grunt of intrigue and took the books from her, curiously flipping through the pages.
"What about me?" Jazz asked eagerly, hands out. "Give me something to do!"
Crystal took a moment to think.
"Hm...oh! I know!" She ran off into her room and came back a while later, sitting herself cross legged in the middle of the living room.
"Sit here, Jazz. I'm going to tell you your future."
"For real?" Jazz sat across from her, staring at the deck of cards she had in her hands.
"Tarot cards?" Wheeljack said, looking up from where he was fiddling with Blaster's internal wiring. "That's just nonsense. No one can read a person's future-especially not with cards. It's impossible."
"Oh, a realist?" Crystal observed.
"I'm a scientist. There's no physical evidence to prove those things work."
"It's just for fun, anyways," Crystal defended. She asked Jazz to shuffle the cards and then arranged ten of them face down in a curious pattern. Then she pointed to the card in the middle.
"Okay, this one is the Jazz card. It represents you as a whole; how you are right now."
She flipped the card over to reveal the Fool card right side up.
"Hey!" Jazz protested.
"Wow, this is pretty accurate," Wheeljack said. Thought he didn't believe in it, he had moved closer with Blaster so he could watch the card reading.
"No, no, no," Crystal insisted. "The Fool card means change or the beginning of something. So Jazz, this means you adapt easily when different things come your way. You also enjoy being spontaneous and surprises. You roll easily with the punches when they come your way."
"Cool!" Jazz praised. "This is pretty neat! Do another one."
"Okay." Crystal grinned, grabbing the next card on the spread. "This card represents what's going on in your life right now. And it looks like we have the Death card. This one means there have been abrupt changes in your life as of very recently."
"You could say that!" Jazz laughed.
"Yeah, doesn't quite take a deck of cards to see that," Wheeljack muttered, not impressed.
Crystal ignored him. "These changes aren't necessarily bad. Especially in light of the Fool card we already drew. With this change, just like any you've had, you'll adapt easily and keep on going without letting it slow you down.
"Now this card represents your distant past." She flipped over the card to reveal the Magician. The picture upside down. "With this picture like it is, this means there was a time in your past, Jazz, where you were unsure of what you were doing in your life. You were just floating around. I feel this is another aspect of your personality; you've never been good at making decisions for yourself. You prefer to let the people and events around you control what you do instead of working to build your own path in life."
Jazz didn't say anything to confirm or deny and Crystal turned over the next card.
"This one is your more recent past: the Temperance card." She paused to think about the meaning. "I would suspect this indicates that you are currently content with where you are. Though you've wandered for a long time, you eventually found what you believe to be your niche in life. You have surrounded yourself with those you work well with and who bring out the best qualities in you and you in them."
By then, Jazz was dead quiet and his visor was completely glued to the spread. He was listening to every word.
"And your best outcome for the problems in your life right now is..." she turned over the Three of Cups. "Oh this one definitely means a positive ending and also, it means something new will come of it. Maybe you'll get a new perspective from your experience or new friendships."
She winked at Jazz who shared with her a silly grin. Wheeljack shook his head and went back to fixing Blaster.
"Next comes your immediate future; something that is probably going to happen to you within the next few days." She turned over the Five of Wands. "Well Jazz, it looks like things aren't going to get easier from here."
"What's that mean?" Jazz asked. "You just said in the last card everything would be okay. That should mean we'll be able to get back home and go back to normal, right?"
"Yes, but that's not all. Everything has the potential to turn out okay, but that doesn't mean there won't be a few obstacles in the way. This is a reminder that you still need to work hard and don't slack off if you want everything to go as planned."
"Hey Prowl!" Jazz called. "Come see this! I think Crystal just channeled you through these things."
Prowl just grumbled something from his place at the table among his maps and didn't look up.
"Be nice to Prowl," Crystal informed him. "We're not done yet over here. We've still got four more cards. This one– The Judgement Card- is how you see yourself. It's upside down Jazz. It seems you may not think too highly of yourself."
Jazz slumped his shoulders.
"Don't worry about it. We are always our biggest critics, right?" she said. "Basically what this is saying is that you sometimes feel guilty that, from your perspective, you don't have anything worth while to bring to your circle of friends who, in your opinion, are all more capable than you are.
"However," Crystal added as she turned the next card, revealing the Knight of Wands, "others think of you as very energetic and confident. Those who meet you usually find you likable, if a bit odd. But they are usually willing to stick around until they figure you out."
Jazz threw another glance in Prowl's direction, this one a bit curious. Prowl was still making a valiant effort to pretend he wasn't listening.
"This second to last one tells us about your hopes and fears as far as the future is concerned." Crystal turned over the Star card and she couldn't help but smile at it.
"Well, it seems despite any personal doubt you may have, you stay very positive about the future. You hope for nothing but good things for those you care about and are willing to work hard for them. And your final outcome is..."
She flipped over the last card, revealing the Wheel of Fortune card.
"Wow, you're pretty much ruler of the universe, Jazz."
"Yes!"
"No matter what you decide to do with yourself, it appears everything is aligned cosmically to help you out and always leave you on top."
An ear-splitting squeal from the boombox ripped through the room. Crystal covered her ears in pain while the Autobots winced at the sound. Right after the scream, Blaster's voice boomed at them going a hundred miles a minute.
"Finally! It's about fragging time you guys fixed me! How dare you leave me on the counter all day! I was going out of my mind! Slag! What's wrong with all of you?! How can you just forget me? Just because I can't say anything doesn't me you can-"
"Sorry everyone," Wheeljack said when he turned off Blaster's tirade. "I should have left him that way. Now Blaster, I'm not going to turn your vocal processor back on until you calm down, alright?"
He turned it on and for a moment, the radio was quiet.
"I hate you guys," Blaster said.
"Well we're just glad you're still fully functioning in there," Jazz laughed. "Sorry we forgot you, man. It's been crazy around here."
"I guess," Blaster grumbled. "So how about getting me to transform, Wheeljack?"
"Sorry Blaster, your transformation cog is melted solid. I'd need the equipment back at the base to fix it."
"Frag it."
"Blaster," Prowl said as he came over. "Are you able to emit any kind of signal to the base that won't be noticed by the Decepticons?"
"No can do Prowl. Not while they've got Soundwave constantly combing every channel for a single peep from us. I can almost feel him daring me to send one microbit of information."
"Then we need to go to the base ourselves. We've been wasting valuable time here. No one knows what happened to us, or do they know about Megatron's plans. Right now his weapon only shrinks things. But if he can fix it again..."
"I don't think that will be a problem, Prowl," Blaster said.
Prowl paused. "Why not?"
Megatron was in a foul mood. Worse than it had been the day before when he was merely testy. Now it was nearing a venomous boil. From the beginning, nothing had worked. From his glorious ultimate weapon, to losing every Autobot, to now where his troops were stagnating in failure and restlessness.
The Autobots continued to elude them. One would think their new size would make them easy prey. But the Decepticons soon found that the minuscule size actually helped to hide them in the bustling city. And the longer it took, the colder their trail went. Certain members of his troops, mainly Starscream, were getting aggravated and demanding some course of action.
Megatron refused to leave. Optimus Prime was still in this city, he could feel it in every tube and microchip in his body. The Autobots were scattered. Optimus was not going to leave them behind. Megatron's best trackers were now hunting the Autobot leader exclusively. Every once in a while the trail would pick up and then disappear again. But Megatron would not give up. Optimus Prime had to be getting tired by now.
In truth, hunting the Autobot leader in secret was all Megatron could do. If he made his presence known, more Autobots would respond far faster and from all over the world. Not to mention the United States military would be on his back as well. The reality was the Decepticons just didn't have the energy to fend them all off. Which was why they had gone this route-trying to systematically take out small groups of Autobots one by one.
Megatron stalked down the underground tunnels. He still needed Soundwave to repair his weapon.
At the end of the tunnel was Soundwave's make-shift work shop. It was where he was supposed to be repairing the death ray. Instead, he currently had Frenzy laying on a table while he meticulously fixed the wiring in the tiny cassette's back.
"Hurry up, Soundwave," Rumble nagged as he wandered impatiently. "Fix Frenzy's fragile femme parts so we can get back out there."
Frenzy, who had one arm stuck in pile driver mode, swung at his twin with his good arm. "Shut up Rumble! I'll kick your slaggin' can!"
"Ha! In your dreams! Let me see you do it!"
Frenzy growled as he scrambled to his feet for a fight.
Soundwave, with the patience and precise discipline of a mother lion, effectively pinned Frenzy down with one hand while giving Rumble a good swat upside his head with the other.
Megatron waited as Soundwave finished his task. Once done, Frenzy sat up and was able to transforms his pile-driver back to his arm. Without so much as a thankful glance, he ran off with Rumble close behind.
"What is your command, Megatron?" Soundwave garbled as soon as his task was done.
Megatron glanced over to see the large cannon Soundwave invented still sitting against the wall. He picked it up, stroking its silver surface.
"Soundwave, I'm assuming since you've found time for menial repair duty then you have finished repairing my cannon?"
Soundwave paused. Megatron could send him searching his data banks for an answer. It was odd that it took him so long to process the question.
"Negative. No weapons have been repaired."
Megatron frowned as he gripped the weapon. "You mean my magnificent death beam is still just a–"
Starscream strolled casually by the doorway just in time to hear his leader call out "Shrink ray?!" and the seeker screamed shrilly as it was fired at him. He stumbled back from the blast, brushing off blue light particles as if they were cooties. Nothing happened.
"Arg! Now it's just useless!" Megatron barked, slamming a fist into the wall.
"How DARE you point that thing at me, Megatron!" Starscream shrieked.
He was ignored.
"Soundwave! Get to work repairing this thing immediately! I want it in proper working order by sun up tomorrow! Do you understand me?!"
"As you command, Megatron," Soundwave said. He turned toward the table to begin his task; paused, and then turned back to acknowledge his leader as if he had just entered for the first time.
"What is your command, Megatron?"
Megatron stood in complete bafflement and then he clenched his shaking fists in rage when he realized what was going on.
"You erased his files?" Prowl asked. "That time during the fight–"
Blaster's laughter rang through the living room. "I erased them good! I downloaded the plans for the weapon and then deleted every bit of memory Ol' Soundwave had relating to it. With any luck, that thing is so damaged, no one will be able to repair it."
"Great job, B!" Jazz slapped the boombox on the back.
Blaster promptly fell forward on his speakers with a "Hey!"
"Whoops! Sorry, man."
"Well done, Blaster," Prowl said. "It definitely buys us some time. It's probably the reason the Decepticons haven't moved on. We're certainly no threat to them as we are now. But if they don't have a working weapon, Megatron's plans are at a standstill."
"Then that gives us time to find Prime and Ironhide," Jazz put in.
"It also means the Decepticons aren't doing anything else right now but looking for us," Prowl said.
That statement sobered them up a bit.
"Pessimist," Crystal accused playfully as she knocked Prowl's shoulder with her fist.
"Hey, if we're watching movies again tonight, can you at least point me towards the TV this time?" Blaster asked.
"I want to watch a movie with you guys," Crystal announced. "Let's put one in."
As she flipped through her collection, with Jazz's instructions on to what he had already watched, Wheeljack looks skeptical.
"So, we're just going to settle in for the night just like that?" he asked.
"Yeah," Blaster confirmed, "it seems to have become the routine. I'm just glad I'm finally a part of it."
He then muttered something bitter to himself and Wheeljack shrugged. At least he wasn't forced to recite Dr. Seuss to children tonight. It was a step up for him.
So Crystal spent the night eating popcorn she couldn't share among her ever growing group of miniature robots. The movie they watched was full of explosions, danger, and true love. All things that made life exciting. Which was probably why Grimlock put down his dinosaur books and climbed up onto the couch, squeezing his tyrannosaur form between Crystal's thigh and the arm rest. He rested on his stomach with just his head poking out like a skulking lizard.
Wheeljack threw Grimlock a curious glance. When Grimlock was his normal size, he stomped around and fussed about himself like he was a prom princess. Altogether, making himself a general pain in the rear. But now he seemed content to play the role of the quiet house pet. Was it merely the size that brought about this change? Wheeljack wondered.
Half-way through, Crystal noticed Prowl was still in the dining area, sitting at the table and going over his maps and notes. She stood –Grimlock instantly moving to the warm spot she left behind– and sat down at the table. Prowl didn't acknowledge her arrival.
"So Prowl," Crystal said softly as to not go above the sound of the movie. "Would you like me to tell your future?"
Prowl slowly looked up at her.
"Why do you ask that?"
Crystal pulled out her deck. "Out of everyone, you seem the most concerned with the future right now. So shuffle these."
Prowl did so; his expression clear that he was humoring her and really just wanted to get back to work. He gave them back as almost a challenge for her to present something worth his while.
"Do you have any questions you want answered?"
Prowl gave her a look. "There's only one thing I need to know right now."
Crystal grinned. "Are you sure you aren't interested to know about your love life?"
"No."
"I know I am."
"Crystal..."
"Alright party pooper. We'll ask how we can find your friends."
"Optimus Prime and Ironhide."
"Yes."
Crystal lay seven cards face down in a row; a different spread than she had used for Jazz.
"This first card represents your past."
If Prowl had eyes to roll, he probably would have. Looking into the past, as far as he was concerned, was not going to help answer his questions.
"You've got the Justice card, Prowl. But it's upside down. I would imagine it means there was a time in your past, where you were unsure of where you stood from a political or legal stand point. I'm assuming this is sometime before you joined the Autobots. Maybe you had some personal moral issues going on. Though possibly, you've overcome them by now and they are no longer issues for you any more."
She turned over the next one, the King of Swords. "This is you now, this is the Prowl card. You are an advocate for making rules and sticking to them. You are of rational and alert mind with a great attention to detail and devotion to getting things done in a timely manner. You are dependable and have a high success rate at finishing what you've started.
"This next card represents your future." Crystal stopped and examined the revealed Tower card on the table. "In your future there is going to be a sudden change–"
"But in Jazz's reading, you read the sudden change going on right now," Prowl argued. "Why is mine different?"
"So you were listening," Crystal grinned.
"This doesn't work."
"Oh come on, just let me finish. You get a different reading because you have different questions than he does. And also because you're a different person. That's just the way it is. Now, this isn't something in your immediate future; but more like say, in the next six months or so. There's going to be a big, unexpected change in your life, or maybe a really large decision you'll have to make. And it's really going to throw off your normal routines and possibly not affect only your life, but those around you. In the beginning, it may feel like it was not a positive aspect in your life, but in the end, you'll find it happened for the better."
Prowl's expression grew serious as he considered all the possibilities of what this thing could be.
"You're making this up."
"I am not!" Crystal blurted and was quickly shushed by Jazz, to which she repeated quieter. "I am not. I'm just reading what the cards say. If you don't want me to do the rest then–"
"No, no. It's fine," Prowl sighed. "Just hurry and finish it."
Though not encouraged by his attitude, Crystal went to the next card.
"This one is going to tell us what you should do about your current situation."
She flipped over the Fool card and Prowl frowned again.
"Isn't that the card you drew for Jazz? Does that mean I should ask him what to do?"
Crystal snorted. "No, it doesn't mean to ask Jazz. The Fool card represents beginnings, changes and important decisions. Though in this instance, I feel it's telling you to consider different ways of searching for your friends and to keep your options open."
She flipped over the next card.
"The Eight of Wands tells me that now is a good time for you to continue to take charge and whatever you do decide to do, your friends will follow you. However," she turned the next card to reveal the Hermit card face down, "you worry that your position separates you from your comrades. That they rely on you too heavily and in turn, cause you to be inclined to rely only on yourself. But the previous card states they are behind you so you shouldn't hesitate to ask them if you want their advice.
"And lastly, your final outcome is..." She turned over the Death Card.
Prowl stared at her.
"Oh, don't you even jump to conclusions," Crystal quickly said. "The Death Card just represents changes. It's probably saying what's going on now is going to lead to some life changes. Possibly a different out look on life, or changes in your usual routine."
"Or a permanent change in size," Prowl grumbled. "You know these cards never told me whether or not I would find my comrades."
"Well maybe they thought there was something more important coming that needed to be brought to your attention."
Prowl shook his head. "You put your faith in odd things."
"It's just a game, Prowl. You don't have to take it seriously."
"Speaking of which," Prowl recalled. "Jazz told me something interesting about you making a bet with fate about getting us home."
"Jazz tells you everything, does he?
"He does. So explain this wager to me."
Crystal held up her fingers. "Two days," she said cryptically. "I have a car that's in the shop. It's going to cost me 600 bucks to get it out. I've got a little venture going on where I may get this money by then. If I can get the money and if I can find the rest of you by the time that car is ready, then maybe I can accept that not all of this is just coincidence."
"So you really do believe in fate," Prowl surmised.
"I'm trying not to."
"I don't."
Crystal looked amused. "I didn't ask if you did."
"And I certainly don't believe you can control the future with a deck of cards."
Crystal rested her head on her folded arms. "Controlling the future and predicting it are two different things. Cards don't have the power to make the future; cards aren't fate."
"There are no forces driving the universe," Prowl insisted. "The future is what you make it. There is nothing else."
Crystal gave a soft sigh. "If only it were that easy."