Author's Note (Mini-Story): Mr. Mailman- "Here you go, Allora."

Allora- "Thank you. *Turns to Cliff and Thought* Guys, the mail is here."

Both of them- "Coming."

Cliff plopped down on Allora's lap after she sat down on Thought's.

Cliff- "Anything from Lancer? How many this time around?"

Allora- "It doesn't look like anything from Lancer but we've got seven letters today. And one of them is from a past chapter.

Thought- "Start with the earlier chapter first."

Allora- "Ok, Hi KnightForHigher245. Glad to have you onboard. I think Hannah is a pretty cool character too.

Mywinx14, Ratchet will wrench anyone if he has a good reason. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker have been leaving hints about a prank that they are planning. Not totally sure when they will actually strike.

CybertronianDefense and Stooge kuo, I know. I feel so bad for Prowler. That's way too much work for one being, which is probably why Ratchet wrenched Op. :P I only had to type the summaries but that was exhausting by itself. I don't know how Karen could read them all and not break out of character.

dreamholicme, Hi welcome to the story. Glad to know that my research is paying off. I love figuring how the Transformers' world works.

CMDOBlitzin, we'll see. Karen just might overrule me on that one.

This last one is from Giddy."

Cliff- "Giddy! Isn't she the one that helped you name me?"

Allora- "Yep, hi Giddy. You're not a bad reader. We are just glad to welcome you back. Wheeljack sure is funny isn't he? Prime can carry a lot of stuff in his subspace. I wonder how. Guess that's a question for Ratchet. Ok, guess that's the last of the letters. You two ready to hit the tracks?"

Both the Boys- "Yes."

As everyone is getting up to go, Cliffhanger notices a piece of paper Allora dropped.

Cliff- "Hey, Allora. You missed one."

Allora- "I did? *Quickly reads it.* Guys! We gotta get moving now."

Thought- "Why, what's going on?"

Allora- "It's a surprise."

Ch.37 It Keeps Piling Up.

Jazz came waltzing into my office with Steeljaw in tow. Poor Steeljaw still had that lingering fog following him due to the medication Ratchet had us both on.

Jazz- "Hello, my mechs. Prowler, Seaspray. How are you two doing?"

Seaspray- "Hi, Jazz, Steeljaw."

The trio paused, waiting for my traditional reply of, "Prowl." Steeljaw glanced up at me, but we didn't make optic contact. My doorwings were my optics for the goings on in my office at that moment.

Jazz- "Um? What's wrong with you, Prowllleeerrrr?"

Still no response from me. I didn't even let my wings twitch.

Using a stylus to write on one of my overstocked blank datapads, I worked on reports. I could use my computer to type up the reports, but Seaspray was using it. I would have to send a request form to Huffer for a computer with the same programs installed on it for Seaspray. I could also use the keyboard program on the datapad to type the reports, but I had never liked tablet keypads. They just never felt right.

Thankfully, the program for writing with a stylus was far superior to any on Earth. There was no delay when writing with the stylus. You could fill up the whole page displayed on the pad. Whenever I needed a new page, I just used a button on the side of the pad that saved the current page and then wiped it blank for writing on again.

It was just like writing in one of my college notebooks, but there was an added bonus. The datapad had the best autocorrect system ever. Even if I horrendously misspelled a word on the pad, if I thought of what word I was trying to spell, the pad would correct it to that word. It had something to do with the stylus connecting to nanosensors in my hand. Since my processor was sending signals to write, the stylus, while connected, could trace those signals back and find the word I was thinking nearly instantaneously.

With that information in hand, the stylus sent a signal to the pad letting it know what the word was that I actually wanted to write. Over time, the stylus would be able to correct mistakes before I even made them. That is why, according to the document that popped up in my vision screen after grabbing said stylus, it was taboo to borrow another bot's stylus. It was also why bots tended to have a favorite stylus and datapad.

It was thanks to these items that I was currently able to work on a report on Sideswipe's refusal to follow my orders on Thursday. They were also the reason why I wasn't responding to the other bots in the room. The stylus could take my conversation as what should be going onto the pad instead of what I was currently writing down.

Seaspray- "Optimus came in here earlier and took all of the reports Prowl was working on, including the ones he hadn't reviewed yet."

Jazz- "So, Prowler's pouting."

Prowl- "Prowl, and I'm not pouting.*Puffs*"

The word I was writing transformed on the datapad.

POUTING

Sigh. I erased the word with the back side of the stylus and started again.

Jazz shared a glance with Seaspray and Steeljaw.

Jazz and Seaspray- "Pouting."

Steeljaw nodded his helm in agreement.

Thinking to myself, 'I'm not pouting.' The word I was writing again transformed.

POUTING

Steeljaw stalked behind my desk and put his helm on my lap. His stare was not the puppy-eyed, "Please take a break and play with us." It was the cat's, "You know that you can't ignore us, so you might as well stop."

Okay. I put down my stylus and turned the datapad over so Jazz wouldn't be able to read what I had written. Steeljaw jumped onto my desk and lay down so that the pad was covered. Guess he didn't want me to get distracted and go back to it.

Prowl- "Steeljaw, would you please get off my desk. I need it.*Puffs*"

Steeljaw snorted and pulled out a cube from his subspace. Well, fine, be that way.

Seaspray laughed, "He knows you too well, Commander."

Jazz offered both Seaspray and me a cube. "He knows that as soon as he is off, you'll go back to being a workaholic."

Taking the cube, I put in my per-meal dose of medication. "I'm not a workaholic. I was merely finishing off reports that should have been done days ago."

Jazz feigned surprise, "Oh no. Prowler, behind on reports. How unlike him."

Seaspray- "You haven't had time to do your reports, sir?"

Prowl- "I may have had the time but I lacked the foresight to use that time for writing up reports. So much has happened these past five days. I now see that reports should be completed within 24 hours of the event, and be reviewed by superior officers within 48 hours. That way, the information on them doesn't become obsolete with time.*Puffs*"

I glanced at Jazz, sharply. I wasn't sure, since my wings weren't at full strength, but I believe that his optics looked off to the side to avoid contact.

Prowl- "Speaking of reports.*Puffs and stares at Jazz*"

Jazz's grin widened. "Who, me?"

Prowl- "Yes, you. You haven't turned in any reports about Special Ops' training progress, or of any locations your team has discovered that could be vital.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "You didn't ask."

Prowl- "And that was a mistake on my part. I apologize."

Jazz- "We're cool. Do you want reports for the whole week? That's going to take awhile."

Prowl- "Understandable. Preferably, the reports for this week should all be done by Sunday evening. Since I incorrectly assumed that everyone would have done their reports for this week, I'll ask that you have this week's reports done two weeks from now. Any reports after today should be turned in on time. I'll be sending out an email on this policy after I confer with Optimus. *Puffs*"

Seaspray chuckled. "You're going to hold him to his word that he will start helping out with reports?"

Prowl- "Yes, and he needs to write makeup reports for this week as well. He has been volunteering to help clear the Main Door in time for Monday, and I would like to see his perspective on the process.*Puffs*"

Steeljaw chuckled along with Jazz.

Jazz- "So, what's the report that you were working on before Steeljaw decided to take a nap on it?"

Prowl- "Sideswipe's insubordination, and the punishment he should receive."

Seaspray- "So, Sideswipe is finally in trouble. I thought that would happen sooner. What's he in for?"

Prowl- "Needless use of a commanding officer's comlink.*Puffs*"

Jazz- "He still hasn't been punished for that?"

Prowl- "I've been busy. And, unfortunately, I will not be the one to see that he carries through his punishment. There isn't enough time in my shift to get everything done.*Puffs*"

Seaspray- "Why don't you log in during your free time like everyone else?"

Steeljaw paused his drinking to shoot me a hard glare that screamed, you'd better give the correct answer.

Prowl- "I have other duties to attend to Earthside, and Ratchet has me on medical watch.*Puffs*"

That, and my free time was my free time. I didn't want to spend it working as Prowl.

Seaspray's grin turned uneasy. "Right, don't make the Doc Bot mad. Got it."

Prowl- "Angry.*Puffs*"

Seaspray- "Whaa?"

Prowl- "The word you're thinking of is 'angry.' 'Mad' means mentally ill or crazy. To make Ratchet mad is to make him crazy, which may be the case if the Terror Twins are involved, but I doubt that about you and me.*Puffs*"

And why am I correcting him, when I do the exact same thing? Hypocrite, that's me.

Seaspray finished off his cube and stood. "Okay, then. Am I excused, Prowl? I've got people waiting for me Earthside for lunch."

Prowl- "Yes, you are. Just exit out of the program before you go. Also, could you write a report on your experience regarding our training session? I want to know if there is anything that needs to be changed so that it works for the both of us.*Puffs*"

Seaspray- "Sure thing. I should have that done by Dinner Cube Time. Do you want that as a datapad or an email?"

Prowl- "Datapad. *Notices the expression on Seaspray's face but can't quite place it* Why?"

Seaspray- "Umm... Your email box just popped up on your computer stating that you have quite a few emails received. Big emails, by the looks of it, judging by the megabyte sizes on them."

Oh, dear. I extended my hand for the offered computer and saw that Seaspray was correct. Joy. I'll have to add, "The Proper Way To Turn In Reports," to that future email, but that will have to wait 'til after lunch, talking to Op, finishing off my reports, and finding someone to make sure Sideswipe doesn't bail on his punishment.

Great. I will have to spend my precious free time finishing off my duties as Second in Command. Go, Prowler.

Jazz, Steeljaw, and I finished off our cubes after Seaspray left. Jazz made himself comfortable and logged off for lunch. Steeljaw acted like he was offline, but my wings told me otherwise. Still, there was nothing I could do to get the metallic lion off my desk, so I just locked my door and logged out in my office chair.

Hannah- "Hey, Karen, you made it. We thought you got lost in there."

Karen- "Nope, training just took longer."

I sat down with my simple PB&J, chips, an apple, a cookie, and milk. Sometimes I just want the simple things.

Kyle, Brandon, Kaylie, and Hannah were already sitting at the table, but Kaylie stood up as I was sitting down.

Kaylie- "Sorry, guys. Hate to eat and run, but Doctor Raphael wants me to look at a report Sciences sent to the medbay Gameside. I guess we have some crystals on the base that can be used for medical purposes."

Kyle- "That's cool. You tell Doc we said hi."

Hannah- "You should go talk to Prowl about that. I think he might have a datapad on that subject. "

Kaylie- "I'll ask him. Thanks."

Everyone at the table- "Bye."

I had just taken a huge bite of my sandwhich when a hand landed heavily on my left shoulder.

"Boo."

I swallowed and let a grin grace my face. "Hi, David."

Nice try. I'm the ninja master in my house for a reason, bub. For my whole life, I've found it easy to sneak up on people. Most times, it was by accident. My brothers were always trying to get me back. But, like with David, it never worked.

The only, and I mean only, time someone could ever sneak-scare me was when I was really out of it, A.K.A., dead on my feet.

Now, granted, I didn't know that David had been sneaking up on me. My eagerness for lunch had blinded me to his ninja attack. The attack didn't scare me because I recognized his voice right away.

It's hard to be scared when you know who it is and that they are being playful.

David sat down next to me with his pizza.

David- "Drat. I thought I had you."

I shrugged. "You snooze, you loose."

Brandon- "What took you so long, David?"

David- "I had to finish something before logging out. Took longer than I thought it would."

Kyle- "I think that's going to happen more often as we get more into our character's roles."

Hannah- "I know, right? I've been having to sneak on to play during my free time in order to get to the fun part of the game. Training is taking too long."

Karen- "Same. I've been aiming to use my free time for only Earthside stuff, but I have to go back in today during free time. There's just not enough time in the schedule Prowl sent out."

Brandon- "If you're worried about Doc Raf, I don't think he cares how long you're in the game as long as you keep up with your daily exercise requirement."

Karen- "I'd rather not test my luck. Did anyone see Op's helm before lunch?"

Hannah- "Sure did. It had a big old dent in it."

Karen- "You know why?"

Hannah- "I didn't ask."

Brandon- "I saw something hilarious today."

Kyle- "Twins finally pull a prank?"

Brandon- "Nope. Beachcomber."

Karen- "Beachcomber?"

Brandon- "Yep. Mirage tried to get out of helping clear the door today by turning invisible. Right as Mirage was turning invisible, Beachcomber pretended to sneeze a cloud of rock dust at him. Mirage turned visible again with the most affronted look on his face. Priceless. Then Beachcomber said, 'Sorry, bud, I didn't see you there.'"

Hannah- "If you think that's funny, wait 'til you hear this. I was visiting the gun range for some extra practice. Ironhide was working with Cliffjumper. Ironhide has this selection of small guns for Cliff to try out. He goes, 'Now, Cliffjumper, I think it's best that we start you out with something more your size.' Cliffjumper is having none of that and pulls this huge gun out of his subspace and fires the thing."

Karen- "No."

Hannah- "Yes. Not only does it blast Cliff backward, it gets Ironhide, too. Both bots make a huge dent in the wall, and Cliff ends up sitting in Ironhide's lap. Cliff just looked up and asked Santa."

Everyone- "Bwahahaha."

David wiped a tear away from his eye. "And then, what? Did he hit the target?"

Hannah- "Like, it was gone, with three others. Ironhide was so mad. He grabbed the gun, saying, 'Mine now.' And Cliff was, like, *mimics cute puppy-dog eyes* 'Okay.'"

Brandon- "I wish I was there for that. You get any good pics?"

Hannah- "Yes, but I can't show them to you. They're stuck in my helm."

Brandon- "Aww."

Karen- "Too bad. I would have loved to see them."

David- "Isn't there a way to download those onto a datapad or something?"

Hannah- "Probably, but I wouldn't know. I think that's a question for Ratchet."

Kyle- "Speaking of, I wonder how Prowl took the news today during his check up."

Karen- "Surprised, no doubt."

Brandon- "I'd say. Did Doc Raf threaten everyone with three days grounded from the Game if you talked about the anti-virus program at all, even Earthside?"

Everyone said yes, but I was a second behind.

So, that's why I didn't hear a whisper about it Earthside. Very tricky, Doc.

Hannah got up from the table. "I'm going to the greenhouse. Karen, will you be able to make it today?"

Karen- "I don't know. Like I said earlier, I've got stuff to catch up on today Gameside."

Hannah- "Text me when you know. See you guys."

Everyone said goodbye and broke off separate ways. I snuck off to the power room before logging back into the Game.

Steeljaw was still lying on top of my datapad.

Author's Note (Mini-Story): Deep Thought pulls up to a stop in front of a village's station. Allora jumps out with Cliff in tow. Allora is scanning the crowd while Cliff looks on in confusion.

Cliff- "Allora, what's going on?"

Allora- "There's someone I what you to meet."

Cliff- "Whowaaa!"

A girl runs into Cliffhanger, picking him up into a spinning hug.

Giddy- "Ohmygosh, you have to be Cliffhanger! I must be, like, your godmother or something!

Cliff- "Giddy?"

Giddy- "Yes indeedy-do! I'm so glad to finally meet y'all in person!

Allora- "Glad to see your train wasn't late, Giddy. Did you get to read the new chapter on the way here?"

Giddy- "Yes, and it's a hoot!

Allora- "Glad to hear it. *Turns to Thought and Cliff* Guys, Giddy has offered to be our new Beta reader, a.k.a our new conductor. What do you guys think?"

Cliff- "Yes."

Thought- "Same here. I'm sure Giddy will do a great job."

Allora turned to Giddy and offered a Conductor's hat she had been hiding behind her back.

Allora- "It's been settled."

Giddy took the hat and put it on with a smile.

Giddy- "All aboard, baby."