"I am a Lad Pioneer!" Blades cheered as he reached the top of the cliff.
"Technically, you are neither," Chase said.
"(And you look stupid,)" First Aid added.
"He is now," Cody said. "He's our new mascot."
"To be honest, I kinda liked Jackie's suggestion better," Boulder said. "She worked hard on it."
"Yeah, a griffin costume for a horse is better than just using a robot," Emerald said.
"Buzzkill," Blades said.
"Unfortunately, Dad's vote was the tie breaker," Cody said.
"But, why were we dragged out here, too?" Heatwave asked.
"For the nature hike. Graham said everyone's invited," Boulder said.
"And for security," Jackie said as she led Abby and Rifle, a friend's horse, over to them.
"We'll get animal spotting patches, rock climbing patches, and singing patches," Blades sang a few notes.
"Primus, help us," First Aid said.
"Let's work on your silence patch," Heatwave said.
Chroma and Ally showed up. Chroma turned on her lights and sirens.
"Please step away from the cliff, Timmy. It's for your own safety," Ally said into the intercom.
"Alright, everyone, gather around. Today is the Lad Pioneer's annual Friends and Family Hike," Chief Burns said. "Thanks for-."
"Ow! Kade, watch it!" Dani said.
"Did someone have Grumpy-O's for breakfast?" Kade joked.
Chief continued. "For today's trek, we'll be using the buddy system. That way we can be sure no one gets lost or hurt." He opened a box and got out two bracelets. "Today we'll use these Buddy Bracelets to stay together. Can I get two volunteers?"
"How about me and Blades, Dad?" Cody asked.
"I wasn't planning on pairing up the bots, but I'll make an exception since he's our mascot." He put a bracelet on both of them. "Once they're on, they'll magnetically sync with each other. So if you get too far away from your partner you'll be pulled back together."
Blades and Cody demonstrated.
"I think I know who my partner's gonna be," Kade said to Hayley.
"In honor of the Lad Pioneer tradition of making new friends our buddies will be randomly picked," Chief said.
In the end, Kade was partnered with Dani, Frankie with Hayley, Graham with Mrs. Neederlander, Jackie with Ally, and Chief with Carin, a new resident.
Carin and Chief were talking and Chase was confused about Chief's body language.
"Hey, remember when you met me?" Chroma asked trying to help him out.
"Chief Burns, I don't have a partner," Mr. Apler said.
"Funny, I thought we had an even number of people," Chief said.
"My brother Jerry's on the way. He's usually late, but he has a great story why," Carin said.
Jackie got a pair of jeans and boots out of her saddle bag and gave then to Ally to put on.
"I'm riding that?!" Ally's eyes widened as she looked at Rifle.
"I'll teach you as we go; it's just a walk," Jackie said.
Chase and Chroma were a little bit away from the group, out of earshot.
"Shouldn't you be back at the firehouse?" Chase asked. "You are with our child."
"Razor said it's okay for the first couple of months to transform, and she took another energon test from me to make sure it wasn't a false positive," Chroma said.
"False positive? But we all saw it."
"She said that the test could have had a glitch on it. And even if it is false we can try again when the time's right."
"I suppose you are—."
"Gah! Fu—mrff!" Jackie's mouth was covered by Ally after Jerry ran over the keys for the bracelets.
"This is why we pay attention to the road, kids!" Ally said.
"Sorry, sis, looks like bonding time's over," Jerry said.
"Think we should go to the tech kill zone to get these off of everyone, Chief?" T.J. asked.
"I'll see if we have something to slip them off," Raychel said as First Aid transformed.
"Chief, can we go to the EMP zone? I know it's for emergencies, but we'll still do our Buddy Hike," Jackie said.
Kade and Dani started bickering and Jackie's skin went scaly.
"Uhm, is she okay?" Carin asked.
"She does that when she's stressed out," Chief said before telling the group about the route change.
Xxx
"Uh, what do I do now?" Ally asked Jackie five minutes into the hike.
"You're bringing up the rear and horses are herd animals, so you just let me lead and pull back on the reins when you get too close to us and stand in the stirrups when he goes number one," Jackie said.
"Nice…" Ally tried the stirrups thing.
"Frankie walked up to Cody. "Hayley and I have nothing in common!" she complained again.
Graham yelped when his bracelet dragged him around a tree with Mrs. Neederlander, accidently spooking Rifle.
"AAAH!" Ally screamed as the pendex galloped ahead.
"Pull on the reins and keep your heels pointed down!" Jackie shouted after her.
Ally was thrown off, but First Aid used his EMP's to catch her.
"You okay?" Raychel asked.
"I wanna go home!" Ally groaned
"Okay," Jackie said as she slid her bracelet off.
"How?!" T.J. asked.
"I have stick figure wrists."
Chase noticed that Chief's face was red. "Are you developing a sunburn?"
"It's called blushing and it's none of your business," Chief said.
"I do not have a business or a permit to own one," Chase said.
"I can't believe this," Chroma said as she pinched the bridge of her nose and Chief slowly shook his head.
Chief then answered the emergency comm. He turned to Kade. "Kade, I need you to do a ladder rescue downtown. A window washer fell off his rig."
"Yes! On my way, Dad!" Kade said. Then he started arguing with Dani because they were still cuffed together.
"Remind me why your father thinks this is a good idea again?" Heatwave asked.
"It's not!" the bickering siblings said in unison.
"Oh. Well at least you agree on something."
Jackie ran up to them. "I'll help keep the peace."
All three went inside Heatwave.
"Oh! Heatwave, can you lower your window?" Jackie asked.
"Sure," Heatwave did so and Jackie stuck her head out the window.
"ABBY! RIFLE! DON'T EAT ANYTHING THAT CAN KILL YOU!"
"Loud!" Kade said.
"Oh, gee, something else we can agree on," Dani said.
Xxx
All the Lad Pioneers were looking at what caused Abby to rear and stomp.
"Whoa! It's head's totaled!"
"How is it still moving?"
The adults herded the kids away while Graham and T.J. got the horses.
Raychel turned on Skype to contact Lindsy. "Lindsy, we have a dead, uh, snake?" she pointed her phone at the corpse.
"Can you open the mouth with a stick?"
Chief carefully opened what was left of the mouth with two long sticks.
"You're lucky Abby stomped on it. That's a Black Mamba, one of the deadliest snakes on earth! Where did it come from?"
Jerry slowly backed away.
Xxx
"Why are snakes that big?!" Kade yelled as the large constrictor escaped after Jackie fought with it.
"Maybe Jackie can tell us once she's out of dragon mode," Heatwave said as he rubbed her on and between the wings to calm her down.
Kade and Dani started arguing again.
Heatwave and Jackie heard a rattling.
Jackie laid down. Yeah, earn the Darwin Award.
"Kade, back away," Heatwave warned.
"Oh, now you bossing me around, too," Kade asked.
"Dani, stay still."
"Is Jackie getting—"
Then the siblings heard the rattling and saw a rattlesnake getting ready to strike.
Jackie hit her tail against the ground, distracting it. Heatwave quickly grabbed it.
"Thanks guys," Dani said.
"You can thank me after you tell me where to put this thing! It feels—ugh!" Heatwave said as the snake wriggled in his hand.
"Wait, wait, wait, are you telling me that giant alien robots are afraid of snakes?" Kade asked.
"I'm not afraid! I just don't like the way they grate on my metal—ugh!" Heatwave shuttered.
"There should be some heavy duty bags in the emergency kit," Dani said.
Mr. Sharma the passed on a hover scooter bike screaming about his snake hitch hiker.
Jackie let out a low frequency growl and the snake leapt out of the basket and coiled around her horn
Xxx
"A giant attack of snakes? It wasn't just the one?" Chief said into the comm.
"Normally, I'd do an aerial recon or ask Jackie, but she's in dragon mode—"
"And your robot is with us. Cody, your sister needs her bot, and since you two come as a set…"
"Got it, Dad," Cody turned to Blades. "Robot, transform."
Blades did so and let Cody in.
"Don't forget to use the auto-rescue setting!" Ally said before they took off.
"Great, not I really have no one to talk to," Frankie said.
Xxx
"Cody, keep an eye out for anymore snakes. We'll pick them up," Dani said.
"We will?" Heatwave did not like that idea.
"Blades what's wrong?" Cody asked.
"I can't believe I'm missing my first Lad Pioneer hike," Blades said. "I was really—"
"Gah! It's out!"
"Chill, Heatwave. I'm just giving him a nugget," Jackie turned to Cody and Blades. "The two we have so far said they were being transported, so check the zoo and maybe a few pet stores. Maybe after this you'll get some animal patches."
"Put the snake back in the fragging bag!"
Xxx
"We need to pull over! It's in my engine!" Heatwave screamed.
"Whoa, dude, chill," Kade said.
"What's in your engine?" Dani asked.
"A snake! A snake! S-screw this mission!" Heatwave yelled. "It feels so wrong! So, so wrong! I think I'm gonna transform!"
"Pull over. I'll help," Jackie said.
"Please," Heatwave whimpered as he pulled over and the humans got out.
"Hang on," Jackie opened the other two snakes' bags and put in some warn nuggets for them to eat and retied them. "Where can you feel it?"
Kade removed Heatwave's grill.
"It's in deep!" Heatwave whimpered.
"That's what she said," Kade muttered, earning his sister elbowing him in the stomach. "Yeah, I deserved that."
"This might feel a bit weird," Jackie said as she used her powers to coax out the corn snake.
"Eyewwugh!" Heatwave shuttered as the snake slithered through his engine and around Jackie's right forearm. "Definitely in my top three worst experiences ever."
"This guy's just a constrictor, he won't need a bag. He most likely went inside you for warmth."
"Ack!"
Xxx
Hayley had taken over the hike after the team went to handle the serpent epidemic.
"Those flowers sure are pretty?" Frankie asked as Abby and Rifle ate some grass around said flowers.
"I've always loved Lupinus Perennis—uh, wild lupus, and so do butterflies," Hayley said. "Some even eat this when they're caterpillars."
"Whoa, how do you know that?"
"I have a degree in botany. Oh! Watch out for the Toxicodendron Pubescens!"
"I thought only my dad spoke in random Latin."
"Sorry, poison oak. I learned plants by their scientific names. I hope I'm not a boring hiking partner."
"Are you kidding? You can be my private tour guide! Oh! What's this?"
Xxx
"BRB!" Jackie yelled as she went T1 and out of Heatwave's window.
Heatwave made an odd noise as the corn snake slithered under his seat.
Jackie went mild dragon when she saw the boa crushing Chase. She went full on dragon, grabbed the snake by the head with her mouth, and slurped it into her second stomach.
"Oh, my God!" Carin exclaimed.
"Jackie, spit that out!" Chief shouted.
Jackie just flew off.
Xxx
Everyone on the hike flinched when Jackie landed behind them with a thwmp!
"Hi, Jackie. How's the snake recall doing?" Frankie asked.
"Gud," Jackie said.
Xxx
Graham and Boulder were looking for the King Cobra when Jackie's uncle walked over.
"You guys looking for that snake?" he asked.
"Yes, did you see it?" Graham asked.
"I killed it because it was too close to my grandkids."
"How?"
"With a shovel. C'mon, I'll get it out of the trash for you."
Xxx
The Lad Pioneers dragged Jackie away from the boa she threw up and to some wild garlic.
"What was that thing doing in your stomach?!" Hayley exclaimed.
"I thought I could keep him safe in there until we got a big enough bag," Jackie said. "Ugh! Now I know how Heatwave felt when that corn snake got in his engine."
Then the rest of the team arrived.
"Yeah, a giant glass cage will help," Jackie muttered as the twins took her First Aid.
When Blades transformed his Buddy Bracelet fell off and the snake ate it, dragging Cody towards him.
"No!" Jackie said as her hair and eyes glowed in an Avatar State way.
The snake looked at her, his eyes glowing the same way. He slithered into the EMP zone and fainted while Jackie collapsed to her knees.
"What the heck was that?!" Kade exclaimed.
"I-I think I … took control of him," Jackie said was First Aid checked her vitals.
The bots put the snake in the cage as everyone else went in to deactivate their brace lets.
Xxx
Chroma entered her and Chase's shared room to find him hiding under the blankets.
"Honey, what's wrong?" she sat down next to him.
He showed her a message on a datapad.
She got under the blankets with him. "It's alright, we can try again when the time's ready."
Chase whimpered. "Why do I feel like I failed?"
Xxx
"Evening, Heatwave," First Aid said as he entered the mech's room.
"Hey, First Aid," Heatwave said. "Did you hate the snakes, too?"
"No. I had relative ease with them."
"Ugh! One got onto my engine! I can still feel it..."
"Maybe it's still in there. Or another one is," First Aid gently put his fingers under Heatwave's grill.
"H-hey! What are you-?!" Heatwave started to squirm. "Stop!"
"Can it and take it!"
"No!" Heatwave slapped him off. "Wh-what's wrong with you?"
"You know what I'm doing!"
Heatwave just stared at him. "Control? You want control in your life by... doing that?! You are sick!"
"No. That bastard Rotors is."
"Primus, help him," Heatwave said after First Aid left.