"Heatwave? Heatwave!" Razor said as she clacked her stylus against her tablet, getting Heatwave's attention.
"Huh? Whu-what?" Heatwave asked.
"You spaced out. What's going on?"
"I've just had some trouble recharging. Probably nothing serious."
"Do you think it's because of your assault?"
"No. No. I'm fine. I'm over it."
"Spark rape and rape are very traumatizing. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I told you."
"Are you having trouble from the miscarriage?"
"Uh... um... uh..." Heatwave looked at his feet.
"Still not ready to talk about that. How has your team been since your sleep-fighting incident?"
"Pretty good, well, considering I caused all the bots to miss a week of December."
"What did you miss?"
"Just some Yulefest. Can I go now?"
"Not yet. How is yours and First Aid's relationship going?"
"W-we've been thinking of moving in together," Heatwave blushed.
"Have you been intimate?"
"No! well... we almost were last night."
"What happened?"
"I had a panic attack. Gave him a black eye. the others had to pin me down while Blades gave me something to calm down."
"How often are these panic attacks?"
"It's the first one. Look, can I go now?"
"One more question; Do the humans know?"
"Jackie blabbed about it."
"Okay, Heatwave, you can go," Razor handed Heatwave a blank data pad and stylus. "I want you to use this to write down as a journal. I'll see you next week."
"Yeah," Heatwave got up to leave.
"Would you like a ground bridge to the island?"
"Sure."
xxx
The next day, at the firehouse, Heatwave was writing in his journal as the rest of the bots did their morning routines: Blades watching TV; Boulder sketching; Chase and Chroma doing exercises; and First Aid studying.
"Woo-hoo!" Cody slid down the fire pole. "Snow day!"
"Now they tell us!" Jackie and Abby exited the elevator.
"What's a 'snow day'?" Boulder asked.
"There's so much snow that they canceled school," Jackie said.
"Which means we can hang out today. It's not safe to travel," Cody said.
"Team, a rocket skier is stranded on Mount Griffin!" Chief Burns said.
"Rescue Bots, roll to the rescue!"
"Am I the only one who hear-"
"Blades, you're with Jackie. Dani has to 'drive' First Aid."
"Good luck," Chroma said.
"You're coming, too."
"Ugh!"
xxx
"Jackie, what do you see?" Chief asked.
Jackie swallowed a special transmutate gummy from a package Ratchet had sent her. Her dragon eyes activated and she looked through the binoculars. "I see a guy who didn't think his invention all the way through."
"Y-you th-think?!" Chroma shivered.
Jackie saw him fall.
"Oh, no!" Blades shouted.
"Oh, relax. He's just out cold," Jackie said.
"I got this!" Heatwave said as he transformed.
"Whoa! Oof! I guess I got it, too," Chroma had lost her grip on the winch.
A rumble came from the mountain.
"Gee, Kade, what did you eat for breakfast?" Heatwave asked.
"Dudes, there's an avalanche," Jackie said.
"Aw, great!" Chroma said when they saw the avalanche coming right at them.
Heatwave grabbed the skier and reached for Blades' hook. Blades panicked and pulled away.
"Dammit, Blades!" Heatwave shouted.
The avalanche swept the two bots off their feet.
"Hang on, Heatwave!" Chroma activated her blaster/grappling hook and grabbed Heatwave's hose. She shot her hook at Blades' winch.
Blades let out a high-pitched yelp and dropped 20 feet before rising very quickly.
First Aid used his force fields to protect the others.
Heatwave screamed and Kade almost hurled when Chroma lost her grip on Heatwave's hose. He quickly grabbed her ankle.
First Aid and Dani rushed the skier to the hospital when the three bots and humans landed.
"That was awesome! I wouldn't do it again, but it was awesome!" Kade said as Jackie exited Blades. "Awesome move, Blades!"
"That wasn't me..." Blades groaned as he transformed onto his hands and knees. "I got a grappling hook to the winch..."
"Oh, mech up!" Chroma struggled to retrieve her hook. She yanked her arm several times.
Blades shrieked when the hook pulled out his winch and started to leak energon. He passed out.
"Cody, contact Razor, please," Chroma commed.
xxx
The ground bridge opened and Air Raid carried in a sleepy Blades.
"Blades is pretty doped up, so he might sound drunk or on drugs," he said before leaving.
"I can't believe Blades chickened out!" Heatwave said. "He wouldn't have gotten hurt if he stuck to the plan."
"I think he made a good choice," Jackie said as she looked at the various board and video games.
Blades muttered something, but no one knew what he said.
"How about we play a few games for now?" Chroma asked as she pulled out a board game.
Everyone thought it was a good idea.
xxx
Heatwave rolled the dice as they played the game Chroma choose.
"Double sixes," Cody said, "sorry, Heatwave, you have to move four spaces back."
Heatwave muttered Cybertronian curse words as he walked away.
"Why is he so mad?" Jackie asked.
"Probably a few things going on, lately," First Aid said as he got up to follow Heatwave.
Chase checked on the harbor via comm for the tenth time.
"Here we go again," Chroma got up to turn off his comm.
"I have to help Graham with his homework," Boulder said.
"Who wants to play something else?" Jackie asked.
"We could play one of those video games you have, Cody," Blades said as he stood up.
"I beat them all," Cody said, "but there's a new game we can play."
"Is it here? Why can't we replay an old game?" Jackie asked.
xxx
"Doc Greene's made a virtual reality chamber in the Hall of Inspiration," Cody said as the three traveled through the tunnels. Blades was walking, Jackie was on her horse, and Cody was on his hoverboard. "He said Frankie and I could use it, but they're on the mainland. I don't think he'll mind if we use it."
"Okay, but as soon as we get there, I'm going to do something," Jackie said.
"Why?" Blades asked.
"None of your business!"
xxx
"Chroma! Give me that comm blocker!" Chase ran after the femme. "I need it for insuring the people's safety!"
"You're annoying the people, BAE!" Chroma said as she ran into Chase's room.
"Wait, what did you call me?" Chase asked as soon as he closed the door after he entered.
"'BAE', as in 'Before Anyone Else'," Chroma put two fingers on his chest.
Chase blushed a bit. "W-we're that far along in our relationship? W-we've just been romantic interests for two months."
"Well, maybe it's time we go steady," Chroma started to pull him to the bed.
"Do we have to tell the others?"
"Jackie and K-9 caught a whiff of our pheromones. I think the others know."
"Yes, you're probably right. What do people who date do?"
Chroma smirked before kissing him on the lips.
"Whoa!" Chase took a couple of steps back. "Cybertronians don't really do that! As a fellow member of our species, you should know that."
"Cybertronians do kiss, just in private."
"Yes, but they are conjuex."
"Well, not all abide by those rules."
"Like Gyps!"
Chroma's jaw dropped. "You did not just say that!"
"Yes I did!" Chase crossed his arms. "They break a lot of rules. Why are you so shocked?"
"I'm half Gypsy!"
"On what side?" Chase asked more calm.
"My dad's."
"I didn't mean to offend you," Chase held her in his arms.
"Well, purebreds like you can be very by the book when it comes to love."
Chase nuzzled her neck. "I don't have to be. I'll even procreate with you right now."
"Wait? Now, now?"
"No. I don't even know why I said that!"
"We'll do baby steps," Chroma kissed his lips and Chase tightened his embrace and kissed back a little.
xxx
Blades, Cody, and Jackie stood outside the open VR chambers.
"They look like the boxes for that 80's mecha anime I told you about," Jackie said.
The trio walked into each chamber and the door closed.
Blades yelped when a holographic helmet went on his head.
Everything went fuzzy, dark, pixelated, and then they were in the game.
"We're chibi!" Jackie threw her arms up in excitement.
"Where's the snow? How did we get outside? Why are we so shiny?" Blades asked.
"We're in the game," Cody said, "all of this is virtual."
Blades tried to transform. "Something's wrong!"
"I think the game limits what we do," Jackie said.
"Oh. Hey, do you think you can go dragon?"
Jackie shrugged her shoulders. "I'll try if I have to."
"Hello," a purple cat with glasses appeared.
Jackie and Blades screamed, and Jackie went dragon.
"Hm, guess I can. Wait! I can talk?! My vocal cords usually change when this happens! What's going on, Kitty?" Jackie asked.
"My name is C.A.T. Computer assist technology. Your unique biology has been scanned by the program and allows you to transmutate. In the game, you can communicate with other players. The game is called 'Element Quest 1.0'. There are three levels: water, earth, and fire-" the map showed up "- you will start at Level One: Water. If you wish to stop, say 'end game'. Good luck!" C.A.T. went away.
Jackie breathed a little fire ring. "Never done that before."
xxx
Chase was sitting on his bed with Chroma.
"So if we kiss for 10 minutes, you'll turn off the jammer?" he asked.
"Yep," Chroma said. "10 minutes. Minimal breaks."
"I got knots and butterflies in my belly."
"They'll go away soon," Chroma straddled him, put her arms around his neck and shoulders, and kissed him.
Chase got really nervous. "I-I've never had a femme do this to me before!"
"Do you want to use your comm or not?"
Chase closed his eyes and kissed her back. He put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. He got feelings in a new way for her.
xxx
Dani opened her laptop to video chat with the twins and Ally.
"Hi, Dani," Ally said. "Are we waiting for the twins?"
"Yep," Dani said.
"Hi, Dani! Hi, Ally!" the twins said in unison.
"How's everyone doing?"
A little kid shrieked and threw a snowball at Ally. "Hey! Man, I hate family reunions. Well, I'm mostly okay. Stuck babysitting, though."
"Yeah, our family went overboard with Christmas décor," Raychel said.
"Train set's awesome, right?" T.J. turned the computer to show the elaborate set.
"That is pretty cool," Dani said. "So, are you helping take down the decorations?"
"Yep," the twins said.
"Hey, you didn't ask me how Christmas was," Ally said.
"Because you're Muslim," T.J. said.
"We had a mini Christmas. We only bought each other what we needed. I got snow tires for Chroma from my uncle, the one that owns the auto shop," Ally said.
"Oh," T.J. said.
"WHOA!" a man fell off the roof of the house the twins were at.
"What was that?" Dani asked.
"Uncle Murr," Raychel said.
"We'll talk later!" T.J. said before they signed off.
"Yeah, I better sign off, too. My cousins are getting restless," Ally said.
xxx
"Level One: Water," C.A.T. said.
The trio pixelated on a boat.
"Wow, I un-transmutated fast!" Jackie said.
"Aw, dolphins!" Blades reached out to pet what he thought was a sea mammal.
"That's a shark."
Blades yelped and brought his hand back.
"Don't worry, Blades, we can't get hurt in the game," Cody said.
"Oh, but I'm not gonna risk it," Blades said.
"Comin' in hot!" Jackie pointed at the barrels flying right at them before turning on the boat engine.
Cody took over the driving.
"Jackie, can you use your dragon vision to look for more barrels and power ups?" he asked.
"It'll take about 30 hours before it's completely out of my system. "I'm sure I can," Jackie said.
"Is that a 'power up'?" Blades asked as he pointed an exclamation point.
"Get it!"
Blades grabbed and it gave them a force field. The barrels bounced right off.
"This won't be permanent," Jackie said. "Blades, reach to the right of the boat and up!"
Blades caught another power up. A handheld object.
"Yay! I got-" the power up was some sort of air cannon. "- blow drying?"
"Air cannon. Quick, use it!" Jackie pointed at the barrels.
Blades used it and the barrels flew away. "Blow drying!"
"AIR CANNON!"
"Why do you think it's an air cannon?" Cody asked.
"Brains helped make the game. He told me about some of the power ups."
"Uh, is that the boss?" Blades pointed at the squid throwing the barrels.
Jackie yelped and got under the seat she was standing on. "Kill it!"
Blades looked at the air cannon, then the bulls eye by the squid. He aimed carefully and blew one of the barrels at the bull's eye. It made contact and defeated the boss.
The trio got the blue flag the boss was guarding.
"Level complete. You win!" C.A.T. said.
xxx
Heatwave was in his bed, cuddling and talking with First Aid.
"I just don't understand why Blades is such a wuss all the time. If he can't handle an emergency, then why did he become a Rescue Bot?" Heatwave said.
"Well, you're still traumatized about your assault, but you're not a wuss. Maybe Blades is as tough as you are in here," First Aid put a hand on Heatwave's chest.
"I am NOT traumatized! I'm just a bit jumpy these days. And, besides, it was over two months ago!"
"Giving me a black eye may be more than just 'jumpy'. We don't know why Blades is the way he is, but he's still a good medic."
"A human could have died!"
"Blades' instinct was to pull back. I've seen members of my team rely on their instincts all the time. I've even done so myself."
"You're not telling me you agree with Jackie," Heatwave said as he sat up.
"Just let it go," First Aid began to kiss Heatwave. "and since today is our day off, why don't we have some fun?"
"Uhh, interface one or two?" Heatwave blushed.
"Whichever one you're most comfortable with."
"Th-then, two, I guess. I don't think I can spark bond right now."
"You can do me, if you're gentile."
"Trust me, I don't want to hurt you."
First Aid got up and dimmed the lights while Heatwave got the bed and himself ready.
xxx
"Level two: Fire," C.A.T. said.
"I thought the next was earth," Blades said.
"I'm still in the testing phase."
xxx
K-9 was hiding under the kitchen table.
"Hey, K-9," Chief said. "What are you doing under there?"
"The thunder," K-9 tried to cover his ears.
"Thunder?" Chief looked out the window to see a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder.
K-9 yelped.
"The bots will want to see this," Chief said.
"Is the guy from the Weather Channel here or what?!" K-9 said.
xxx
Heatwave and Chase were watching a show called '1000 Ways to Die'.
"Why are we watching this?" Chase asked.
"Jackie said it was a good way to learn about the human body," Heatwave said.
"Oh, thank Primus! It went to commercial!"
"So what do you want to talk about?"
"Well, Chroma and I are a couple now."
"What? No, way!"
"It's true. She's teaching me couple things."
Heatwave laughed.
"What about you and First Aid?" Chase asked.
Heatwave stopped laughing. "We were almost intimate again. I ruined the moment."
"You didn't hit him again, did you?"
"No, I said something really, really weird."
"What did you say?"
"Chase," Chief said, "Cody, Jackie, and Blades are in the Hall of Inspiration, which was just struck by lightning."
"I understand," Chase stood up. "Heatwave, do you want to finish our conversation later?"
"No, I'm done talking," Heatwave laid down on the couch.
xxx
"We're back where we started," Jackie said. "I bet we gotta get a red flag."
"Did anyone just feel tingly?" Blades asked.
"It was probably nothing," Cody reassured.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
The boss showed up. A huge dragon with teeny weeny wings.
It breathed fire right by them.
"Am I the only one who felt the heat?" Jackie asked.
The dragon breathed fire at them again.
Blades protected the humans and got burned.
"You're burnt!" Cody shouted.
"It hurts more than it looks," Blades said.
"The flag's at the stage! You guys get it and I'll distract Godzuzu!" Jackie went dragon.
"What the heck is 'Godzuzu'?" Blades asked.
"We'll look it up later!" Cody said as they ran to the stage.
"C.A.T., please end the game!"
"S-system e-error!" C.A.T. said.
"Why didn't we replay your old games!?" Blades asked Cody.
"Oh, no! The flag's all the way up there!" Cody pointed at the flag in midair.
"Pull the sword!" Jackie shouted before she stuck the enemy's head in her mouth.
"Wow," Blades said.
Cody and Blades pulled the sword in the middle of the stage and rose to the level of the other three platforms. The flag was at the other end.
"Phew! Take that, mean dragon!" Blades said.
Cody noticed bits of their platform furthest from the flag disappearing. "We have to jump to the next one!"
"What?! No!"
"Come on, I'll go first!" Cody leapt to the second platform.
Jackie spat out the other dragon's head. "I don't know how long I can keep this up!"
"I don't want to jump!" Blades protested.
"Then FALL!"
"Fine! I'll do it!" Blades jumped and landed on the second platform. "Yay! I made it! We're safe!"
"We have to keep going," Cody said.
Blades groaned.
xxx
Chase forced the doors of the Hall of Inspiration, so he and Chief Burns could enter.
Some of the machines were sparking.
"Looks like the storm shorted them out," Chief said. "Let's see if the kids and Blades are here."
The two walked over to the VR chambers and saw Chroma looking around.
"Chroma!" Chase yelped. "W-what are you doing here?!"
"I was checking the cameras when I saw lighting hit the building. I sent a text to Brains since the comms can't really get past the storm very well," she said, "and the kids are here." She held up the commtab.
Chief knocked on the VR door. "All right, guys, come out!"
"I tried it already. They can't hear us."
"If I may," Chase went to open the doors, but got a huge electric shock. "Apparently, I may not..." he passed out.
Blades and Cody jumped onto the last platform and the flag caught fire and went up one story.
"Now what?" Blades asked.
"We have to figure it out. That's what makes games so fun," Cody said.
"Pay attention!" Jackie yelled.
Cody yelped when the platform under him dissolved.
Blades grabbed Cody's leg.
"Blades, let me go," Cody said.
"No! If you fall, I fall!" Blades got serious.
"You'll get invincibility!" Jackie shouted.
The entire platform dissolved and the boys fell.
Jackie shot up and caught the two in midair. "You guys okay?"
"You got bigger!" Cody said wide eyed.
"Huh? Well, what do you? I did! Get ready to grab the flag, Blades!"
"He's out cold!"
A Rescue Bot in training Blades yawned in his bed as he woke up. he turned to his then femmefriend, who was still recharging. He kissed her cheek before getting ready for class.
"It looks like the game is connected to their minds," Graham said.
"What if we turn it off?" Kade asked.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Brains ran in.
"Wow, that's the fastest I've seen him run," Wheelie said.
"If we turn off the game, we could short out their brains! They have to complete the game!" Brains fainted.
"Cody and Jackie can handle themselves, but Blades is probably frozen in fear. Is there a way I can get in the game?" Heatwave asked.
"Boulder and I will build the console," Graham said.
There was a power surge.
"The snow is damaging the power lines!" Boulder said.
"You guys get the snow off the lines, I'll create a charge in case we need it!" First Aid said.
"I'll help!" Chroma adjusted her Taser.
"Brains, wake up!" Wheelie slapped Brains awake. "Help Graham, Chroma, and First Aid with the game!"
"All right!" Brains plugged into the game and Kept track of the trio.
"Level Three: Earth."
"C'mon, Jackie, this way!" Cody said.
"I am. And stop hiding your puberty," she said.
"Hey!"
"Look, I'm just glad we have some peace," Blades said. He yelled and fell off dragon Jackie. "Ow! I took an arrow to the knee!"
Jackie picked him up and ran with Cody behind a large boulder.
"All the trees are booby trapped!" Cody said.
"No, just this first third," Jackie said after she took off Blades' arrow. "We can use that shield," still, dragon, she stood up. "Climb on."
The boys mounted her. [like a horse]
Jackie grabbed the shield.
"Hi-yo, Jackie!" Blades said.
"Really, dude?"
"Sorry."
Jackie took off galloping. "Anyone else hear the Lone Ranger theme?"
"Yep," the boys said.
The snow removal was going good... until a branch fell and broke the power lines.
Graham gasped. "We're losing power!"
"Chroma! First Aid! Now!" Brains said.
"Should we step back?" K-9 asked.
"Way back!"
"Wait, what?" Chroma asked.
"It's just a precaution," First Aid said.
They used their electric units to power the game, but also got a huge electric feedback.
Jackie saw the boulder rolling at them and ran the other way.
"I feel slow!" she said.
"It's barely working!" Graham shouted.
"Key word 'working'," Brains said.
"We need the power back!"
Heatwave kicked Kade out, grabbed the wires, and put the ends together.
"Power's back up! You two can stop!" Brains told Chroma and First Aid.
The two bots screamed as a jolt of electricity shot them back.
The speed got back to normal.
Jackie dodged to the left. "Phew!"
"This game has some giant bugs!" Cody said.
"There's gonna be bugs?!" Blades exclaimed.
"No! There was a power outage!" Brains said. "You guys okay?"
"We are," Jackie said.
Chase fused the power line back together.
Heatwave groaned and fell.
"Nice going, Heatwave!" Kade offered his fist.
Heatwave returned the fist bump and accidently shocked Kade.
Kade yelped as he fell.
"I wouldn't touch him for a few minutes," Boulder said.
"Heatwave, we got the console ready!" Graham said. "It's not pretty, but it will connect you to the game!"
Heatwave pounded his fists. "I'm ready to play!"
"Yay! The last flag!" Blades jumped off Jackie.
"Wait! This is where the 'Wizard of Oz' reference is!" Jackie said.
A bunch of tree monsters surrounded them.
"Cody, can you let me know if any trees sneak up on me while I attack the others?" Jackie asked.
"I will," Cody said.
Blades and Jackie fought the trees.
Heatwave pixelated in. "What the-? Blades?! You're okay!"
"Yeah," Blades said. "Aren't you afraid?"
"A-afraid? I came to help!"
A tree monster slammed him.
"This game simulates pain?!" he exclaimed.
"The games glitching!" Jackie said. "Cody get the flag!"
"On it!" Cody jumped off.
The other three fought for a good two minutes before the heard Cody scream.
"The griffin's the final boss?!" Blades exclaimed.
"Cool, right?" Brains asked.
"No!" everyone said.
"Blades, climb up!" Jackie said. "Heatwave, can you handle these trees?"
"Yep," Heatwave said.
Jackie flew Blades to the mountain, let him off, and distracted the boss.
Blades ran to the flag, but the boss got in front of him. The flag was in between them.
Blades quickly grabbed the flag as the boss attacked.
The boss pixelated away as the others pixelated in.
"Element Quest complete,"C.A.T. said. "A winner is you!"
Heatwave took off the helmet as the other three walked out of the VR chambers.
"Cody, you're okay!" Chief said as he hugged his son.
"I am now!" Cody said.
"Virtual reality is more dangerous that real reality!" Blades said.
"Anyone else smell sulfur?" K-9 asked.
Heatwave finished telling the team how Blades fought the tree monsters.
"Weren't you scared?" First Aid asked.
"I was TERRIFIED!" Blades said. "But Cody and Jackie needed help."
"Is that not the definition of courage?" Chase asked Heatwave.
"Yeah," First Aid crossed his arms.
"Well, if Blades is as scared as often he says he is, he may be the bravest of us all," Heatwave said.
"There is one thing I still don't understand, why do humans like snow days?" Chase asked.
"You'll find out once we go sledding down Breakneck Slope," Cody said.
Everyone said 'no'.
"Didn't someone die there?" Chroma asked.
"I got Just Dance!" Jackie said.