.
Small Problems
Day Four: Comes the Rain
"Jazz. Jazz, what are you doing?" Prowl hissed in a hushed tone.
Jazz turned to look at him. He was standing Crystal's room, only a foot or two away from where the human was sleeping peacefully. Jazz had Blaster's radio form perched mischievously on his head.
"Just offering a complimentary wake up call," Jazz grinned.
"Jazz," Prowl spat again. "Blaster, don't you dare."
Blaster was lifted high out of his hands and Jazz looked up just in time to be smothered by a pillow roughly his size.
Crystal sat on the pillow, and Jazz, yawning as she placed Blaster in her lap.
"Hey, it wasn't my idea, alright?" Blaster insisted. "I didn't really have a choice."
Crystal scratched at her bedraggled hair.
Jazz squirmed beneath her. "Hey! Your fat body is crushing me! Get off!"
"Oh hush," Crystal said, shoving a smaller pillow in his face. She yawned hugely as she hunched over Blaster, resting her forehead on him.
"This serves you right," Prowl told Jazz. "You deserve it."
"I'm not complaining," Blaster said within Crystal's embrace. "This is kinda nice."
"Oh, you guys don't ever let me sleep. It's like having children," Crystal moaned.
She put Blaster down and staggered blearily out of the room. What she found in the bathroom, however, woke her right up.
"Argh! What is this?!"
Wheeljack and Grimlock looked up amidst the mess they made on the bathroom floor. All the contents from under the sink were spilled out everywhere.
"Tell me the purpose of this," Wheeljack requested without guilt as he held up pieces of cotton and plastic.
"No... my tampons," Crystal groaned. "Why did you– Grimlock!"
The Dinobot paused from violently chewing a part of a box as he crouched beneath the sink. Crystal dove to inspect the ruined contents.
"Those were my contacts you dumb lizard! These are expensive! What were you thinking?"
"Crystal book say me Grimlock car-ni-vore. So me Grimlock hunt for prey."
Crystal whimpered as she sank to the ground. "You guys can't keep tearing up my stuff like this." She looked over at Prowl who was now standing next to her. "Aren't you in charge? Why don't you stop them from doing this?"
"He's been hiding in your room at night," Jazz snickered behind her back.
Crystal gave a suspicious look to Prowl, who just turned and walked out. Then she set about cleaning up all the torn and ruined items and put them in the trash.
Flush.
"Now what are you doing?"
"This must be a human waste disposal unit," Wheeljack said in awe. "Organics have so many body functions."
"Stop playing with that." Crystal grabbed Wheeljack's hand and pulled him away from the toilet.
"Honestly, I'm beginning to feel like I'm running a kindergarten– AHH!" Crystal suddenly screamed and flung herself to the opposite side of the room, pressing herself against the wall; eyes wide open.
Wheeljack was on full alert, weapons ready. "What? What happened?"
Shaking, Crystal pointed to the shower curtain.
Wheeljack looked up at the patterned drape of plastic. His sensors picked up a life form among the colors. He climbed up on the toilet lid and pointed to the large spider.
"This?"
The spider lurched higher and Crystal jumped back with a squeal.
"Get rid of it!"
Wheeljack reached out to grab the animal. "You're scared of this spider?"
"Oh gross, Wheeljack! Don't touch it! Kill it!"
The inventor hopped to the floor, letting the spider walk on his hand, causing Crystal to squirm.
"But it's so small."
"Don't bring it over here!"
"According to my data banks, it's not even a venomous species."
"I said kill it!"
Wheeljack took a step forward. "But-"
"PROWL!"
Prowl was instantly in the bathroom, ready to deal out justice where justice was needed.
"Make him take that thing far away from here!" Crystal ordered.
"But I've never been able to study a species this small before," Wheeljack protested as he was escorted out by the arm. "This is a chance of a lifetime!" He continued arguing his case until Crystal heard the front door open and shut.
Grimlock, who had witnessed the whole thing, transformed into robot mode and stood over the girl, hands on hips.
"What you scared for? When you big, you no fear things smaller than you."
Crystal sighed. "Just check to make sure there aren't any more, Grim."
He stood there for a moment. "Fine." Grimlock stomped over to the tub and thoroughly checked everything over.
"It safe now to do...whatever." There was a certain tone of disgust in his voice as Grimlock left the room.
Crystal poked her head back into the bedroom.
"Hey Blaster."
"Yo."
"You get left behind again?"
"Don't I always?"
"Want to shower with me?"
"Are you kidding? That would make my whole day!"
From behind the locked bathroom door, Blaster found himself in a place the others weren't allowed to go.
"Play me something good," Crystal said as she undressed behind the shower curtain.
"Good as in good? Or good as in what you like to listen to?"
Crystal tossed her clothes on the floor. "Play me what I like and I'll let you tell your friends I undressed in front of you."
"Done deal."
"Well that's new." Jazz looked up as he heard Crystal's voice merrily sing along to Hooked on a Feeling. "I'm feeling left out."
"I'll never understand the human's urge to vocalize while they're washing themselves." Wheeljack shook his head.
When Crystal stepped out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around herself, Prowl was waiting for her.
"I do it because I just need a break from them sometimes," he informed her.
"You mean come into my room at night?"
"I just wanted a place where it's quiet."
"I don't mind." Crystal smiled, dropping a steam covered Blaster in Prowl's hands. She closed the bedroom door behind her.
"She undressed in front of me," Blaster informed him. "It was hot."
Sideswipe and Bluestreak sat among a nest of boulders and trees, both agreeing they were getting sick of seeing boulders and trees. They stopped for a break in open farmland once, but the response of the sleepy country folk to their presence was not a positive one. The shot gun hole in Bluestreak's trunk attested to that.
From then on they stuck only to the woodlands for the numerous breaks in travel the Dinobots demanded. In which it was now customary for them to, every couple of hours, run helter-skelter through the woods with an angry Brawn yelling and chasing behind them.
Sideswipe and Bluestreak had found it extremely amusing– the first couple of times. Now it was getting quite routine and the two were starting to tire of it.
"Do you think we should help him?" Bluestreak asked in a bored tone.
"Nah," Sideswipe assured him. "I don't wish to interrupt their bonding time. Es bueno para el alma."
Bluestreak's internal communication system beeped. It was Ratchet.
"Bluestreak, what's your status? Where are you?"
The gunner paused. "Um... hey Sideswipe, where are we?"
The red Lamborghini shrugged. "Do any of us know where we really are?"
Ratchet sighed. "Can you at least tell me how long it will be until you reach New York state?"
"Well, the Dinobots are kind of slowing us down, Ratchet."
"The Dinobots? Bluestreak, put Brawn on the line!"
Bluestreak lifted his head to hear Brawn yelling every obscenity he could think of through the wilderness. The Dinobots, for their part, had no idea what any of it meant and were not offended. Hence, they continued to tromp merrily around and cause Brawn to yell louder.
"Uh, he's busy right now Ratchet. Has any one else shown up at the base? Or have you heard anything from Prime or the other missing Autobots?"
"No. So far you're still all we've got. So you and Sideswipe stop playing around and get up there!"
Ratchet cut the connection shrilly in Blustreak's audio.
"Well?" the gray Datsun sighed. "Any ideas?"
"Give me some time to think. El genio no puede ser apresurado," Sideswipe assured him.
Bluestreak slouched. "If you say so."
The summer days had been hot lately. But today, the unrest of a pressure change could be felt in the air. Despite the clear sky, clouds huddled on the horizon, silently plotting a new course in the weather.
Parading through the summer bustle of the city was a tall, thin young woman with coppery hair pulled back into a long braid and wearing jeans under a faded summer dress. In one hand she carried a gray and orange radio. The other arm held a metal dinosaur. Behind her followed three small robots.
"Me Grimlock no understand why you need these," Grimlock said as he reached for the glasses perched on Crystal's nose with his small forearms.
Crystal tipped her head away from his grasp. "I have to wear them because you destroyed all my contacts."
"Me Grimlock say they make you look funny."
Crystal glanced back at the other three Autobots to confirm. All of them avoided her gaze.
"Well I'm sorry, but I have to use them so I can see."
"You optics no work?" Grimlock demanded. "Have Wheeljack fix!"
"It's not that easy, Grim. I doubt Wheeljack is familiar with that kind of surgery."
"Well actually, I've always been curious about-"
"No," Prowl and Jazz cut him off at the same time.
That time, Grimlock successfully plucked the glasses off her face. "Ha! Now you no see me!"
"I see you just fine. And now you're walking." She plopped the dinosaur none-too-gently on the sidewalk, stealing back her glasses before marching on ahead.
"I think you look cute in them," Blaster put in.
Crystal raised the radio so she could face him. "You think so?"
"Oh yeah, you've got that sexy librarian thing going on."
She gave Blaster a dubious look. "Do you talk that way to all girls or do you want something from me?"
Blaster laughed. "I'm just glad anyone is talking to me. So do have a boyfriend or what?"
This time, Crystal laughed. "Oh man, let me tell you, if a talking radio did it for me, Blaster, I'd be all set."
"I think I'll carry Blaster for a while," Jazz announced, frowning in disapproval.
"Yo Crys! Don't let him touch me!" the radio protested. "Why would I want to be handled by a mech when a lovely lady can hold me? By the way, feel free to hold me tighter. I don't mind at all."
Jazz ran in front of them, stopping Crystal in her tracks. "Give him to me now."
Crystal grinned. "I don't mind carrying him. I'll carry you too if you want, Jazz."
Jazz stopped to consider. But Prowl was already pushing him forward.
"He's fine."
"Okay guys," Crystal then announced, "so what is your plan for today?"
"Same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the– ouch!"
Prowl hit Jazz one more time for good measure.
"We will pick up where we left off in our search."
"Anything you want me to do Prowl?" Crystal wondered.
"No, I'd rather you stayed out of it. I don't want you to run into any more Decepticons. But if you could possibly take Blaster... and maybe Grimlock..."
"Me Grimlock no need to be-"
"For her protection."
"Me Grimlock do it. Her helpless against small things. Need protection from me Grimlock."
"Now wait a minute! I'm not that helpless!"
"And her blind."
"I'm not blind!"
Prowl sighed. He was already tired and the day had barely begun. "Is it okay if you took them with you, Crystal?"
"Yeah, that's fine. And Jazz knows how to reach me on my cell when you guys are done."
Prowl nodded. "Don't wait out for us if it starts to get dark."
Crystal set Blaster down and crouched next to Prowl. The little Autobot looked surprised as she grabbed his hand.
"Hey," she said gently, "it's okay if you don't push so hard. No one expects miracles and you can't force these things to happen."
Prowl gazed down at the human hand holding his and then raised his optics to meet her. "I can't give up on them."
"I know." She tugged him closer and pulled him into a hug. "It will be okay."
Prowl's expression looked regretfully unswayed by her assurance, but his optics widened when she kissed the side of his face.
"Hey, Prowl's not the only one who's been looking all this time," Jazz insisted.
"Of course." Crystal smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek.
Jazz was beaming long after it was over.
"That should keep your batteries charged." Crystal laughed and lightly pushed his helmet. "Dork."
She looked over at Wheeljack who signaled he needed no such luxury for himself. Then Crystal wished them all luck and waved them off before she, Grimlock, and Blaster went their own way.
It was Wheeljack's idea to go by the roofs. It allowed them to survey more ground and kept them from getting underfoot of pedestrians. Jazz was quick to point out that it still wouldn't do them any good if the Autobots they were looking for were inside or underground.
Prowl's door panels seems to sag as he peered over the city streets below him. Even he was beginning to be affected by their lack of results.
"I don't know what else to do," Prowl found himself admitting softly.
"The smart thing to do is leave behind some kind of clues to help the others locate us," Wheeljack offered. "But-"
"But," Prowl finished, "we have Laserbeak and Ravage to worry about. If the Autobots can find it, the Cassetticons can find it."
"I think we need to face the facts that the chances of finding Prime and Ironhide are slim to none," Wheeljack stated.
"We found you, didn't we?" Prowl shot back.
"No, that girl found me. And it was a lucky coincidence. But would it really be a bad thing if we left to get help? Those two can take care of themselves. We would have better luck with assistance from the other Autobots- normal sized Autobots. Then we wouldn't be afraid to use our radios and locating equipment."
"I don't leave mechs behind," Prowl insisted.
"Well what does Jazz think of all this?"
The two looked over to see Jazz gazing over the edge of the roof at the city.
"Jazz," Prowl said. "Your input."
He glanced over at them and shrugged. "Whatever you guys want to do is fine."
Prowl raised a suspicious optic ridge at his friend's unusual melancholy.
Jazz gave him a weak smile. "I really am bad at making my own decisions aren't I? Not a good trait for a second in command to have."
"Don't do this just because of a few cards," Prowl frowned. "I've seen you lead troops in battle. Don't tell me you're not good at making decisions."
Jazz didn't have a response for that and Prowl found himself going back to his own card reading from the night before.
"Isn't that the card you drew for Jazz? Does that mean I should ask him what to do?"
A stubborn look crossed Prowl's face.
"What exactly do you want to do, Jazz?"
Crystal dug out her cell phone when it rang, curious of who would be calling her. The number was not listed but she answered it anyway.
"Hello?"
"Hey Crys, where are you?"
"Hey Four, I'm over at Central Park." She paused. "Do you want to come play with us?"
"Yes!" came almost a plaintive voice. "We'll be right down!"
A while later, three small Autobots could be seen strolling through Cental Park. They were given a few odd stares from various park attendees, but hardly bothered. It was, after all, New York City.
Crystal was spotted under a tree, Blaster sitting next to her and she happily waved them over. As they approached, they noticed she wasn't alone. Two young human children, a girl and a boy, were hanging around her. The little girl was in a white summer dress with curly blonde hair pulled up in pig tails. She looked hardly older than three or four Earth years. Her blue eyes widened at the sight of them. She hurried over as quickly as her short, young legs could carry her. She rushed right past Jazz and Prowl toward their companion who had been hanging back since he first spotted her.
"Jack-Jack!" she squealed as she threw her arms around him clumsily.
"Hey Molly," Wheeljack responded, not returning the embrace or the enthusiasm. "How are you?"
"I have a red popsicle!" the little girl grinned.
"I noticed." Wheeljack inspected his back where the popsicle had left a smear. Further evidence was in her hand and dribbling down her chin on her white dress.
Molly then turned her attention to the other two Autobots who regarded her cautiously. This was the first time in their lives they had encountered a human the same size they were.
"You are Jack-Jack's friends?"
"Yeah, Molly. They're my friends. That's Jazz and Prowl."
Molly grabbed Prowl's door panel with a sticky hand and pushed on it.
"You change into car, too?"
"Yes."
"Wanna see! Change! Change!"
Prowl's answer was obviously no before he even opened his mouth.
Jazz decided he was game to take one for the team. "Sure, lil lady! Check this out!" He sprinted a few steps and then dove forward, landing into car mode and racing around the little girl who squealed with glee and started chasing him.
While Molly was properly distracted, Crystal came over to lead Wheeljack to a drinking fountain to help him wash off the red hand prints.
"Yuck," Wheeljack said as Crystal helped to rinse his back. "At exactly what age do humans stop drooling all over everything?"
Crystal laughed. "I think that depends on who you ask." She moved to wash the hand print off Prowl's door next.
"Wow! More of them!" Another young voice exclaimed. A boy of about seven ran over to them. "How many of you are there, Wheeljack?"
"Miniature size in New York? A couple more. Full size and looking for us? Hopefully a lot."
"Cool! Can I meet the big ones?"
"We'll see Trevor. It could be dangerous. It'd rather not put you or your sister in that kind of situation."
"Aww..."
"Sorry, kid."
"Well at least I got to meet a robot dinosaur! He's the coolest ever!"
"Yes! Me Grimlock coolest ever!" announced the Dinobot as he approached.
"Cooler than anything you built us, Wheeljack," Trevor agreed.
"I did build him! And other Dinobots as well, I'll have you know."
"There's more? Woah!"
Prowl looked at Wheeljack. "So these are the children you were staying with?"
"Yeah, Molly and Trevor. Their parents are out of town for the week and their nanny spent most of the time trying to pretend I didn't exist."
"Who is over there reading a book while I do her job for free," Crystal grumbled while glaring at a brunette about her age sitting under a tree. She looked as though she had never had a day's worth of real work in her life.
Then Crystal's expression turned lighthearted. "Hey Trev, show Wheeljack what you've been working on."
The boy's eyes brightened and he grandly turned to Grimlock.
"Grimock, sit."
The Dinobot sat on his haunches.
"Grimlock, roll over."
He rolled.
"Grimlock, dance!"
Grimlock started with the Hustle which melted into some moves from the Macarena.
Wheeljack slapped a palm to his face. "He's not a dog! He's a massive battle machine! You can't just-"
"Me dance if me want to, Wheeljack," Grimlock informed him.
Right then, Jazz drove up and transformed into his robot mode.
"Yeah cuz your friends don't dance and if they don't dance, they're no friends of mine."
"Yes! Not friend of me Grimlock!"
"Gotchoo!" Molly cried, jumping on Jazz's back and taking her turn to get him sticky.
"Hey hey!" Blaster called from where he was sitting on the grass. "If you're going to dance, do it over here! I'm lonely."
The group migrated over to be closer to Blaster's company. Crystal sat herself next to him while Jazz and Grimlock played with the children. Wheeljack wandered around to inspect his surroundings. Prowl stood next to Crystal, arms folded and silently watched Jazz run around.
"He's got quite a bit of energy, even for a robot, doesn't he?" Crystal commented as she followed Prowl's gaze.
"He does," Prowl agreed. "This sort of thing suits him better than battle."
"So you guys weren't gone too long. How did he persuade you to come back here anyway?"
Prowl's door panels wilted a bit. "I... don't know."
"Well since you're here why don't you come sit by me and relax?" Crystal patted the grass next to her and, after a moment's thought, Prowl complied. Though he still didn't look too agreeable with it.
"Come on," Crystal urged, patting the top of his helmet. "This is good for you. You need a break. If you don't, you'll burn yourself out. Besides, they say sometimes the best solutions come when you're not thinking about them."
It took a while, but Prowl slowly submitted to Crystal's coaxing. Even he had to admit it was peaceful out here. The sounds of the Saturday park goers mixed with the hum of the traffic in the background was not entirely unpleasant. That combined with the soft grass and the lazy breeze seemed to calm the uptight mech. Before long, Prowl was laying in the grass, his head on Crystal's leg, optics off. Every once in a while Crystal would ghost her fingers over his helmet or back in a comforting gesture. She wondered, with his metal skin, if he felt her touch at all. At least he didn't seem to mind.
Eventually, the nanny of the two children decided to do her job and gathered them up to go home for dinner. Once again never acknowledging the robots they had played with all day. It was only mid-afternoon, but the park was shadowed due to a blanket heavy clouds floating overhead. With the children gone, Jazz wandered back to his friends.
"So, now what do you want to do?" he greeted loudly.
Crystal put a finger to her lips and indicated to the still form of Prowl lying beside her.
"I thought you said you guys don't sleep," she said quietly.
"We don't," Jazz confirmed, squatting next to her. "That's different. He's just turned off a few of his functions to conserve energy. Probably just trying to kill time until we do something worth his attention."
"He's resting," Crystal insisted.
"Not Prowl," Jazz argued. "He won't really rest until this is all over."
Wheeljack approached next, cupping something in his hands.
"Hey 'Jack," Jazz greeted. "Where ya been?"
"Just looking around." Wheeljack came in close and opened his hands, revealing a large monarch butterfly. "This world is so small and intricate. At the size we were, we could never see these kind of things up close. Even in vehicle mode, we're closer to their level, but it's still not the same."
The butterfly fluttered away and Wheeljack sat down, stretching his legs in the grass. Despite his lack of facial features, there was still something about the inventor that seemed serene, almost content.
"It's just... different down here."
A young man in shorts and a sporty top approached them and Crystal's eyes widened.
"Excuse me," he said. "I noticed you have a collection there. I thought maybe this was
yours." He had Grimlock in his hands.
Crystal popped right up, disturbing Prowl and hardly noticing he startled reaction.
"Uh, yeah. I guess," she said in a nervous voice, reaching for Grimlock. "Sorry if he got in your way."
"Nah," the man smiled. "My friends and I were just playing soccer when he wandered in."
"Heh, I know," Crystal grinned stupidly. Boy, that guy was cute.
The young man paused. "Wait, you were watching us?"
Crystal froze. "Uh..."
Grimlock looked up at her. "You tell me Grimlock you want boyfriend. Me Grimlock get."
The young man raised his arms. "Woah, I'm sorry. I already have a girlfriend."
"Too bad for her," Grimlock informed him. "You date this one now. Me Grimlock not going out to look for other boyfriend."
"Grimlock!" Crystal grabbed his jaws, clamping his mouth shut before he said anything else.
The guy gave her a suspicious look. "You ask the dinosaur to pick up guys for you?"
Crystal was appalled. "I do no such thing!"
"Crystal," Wheeljack said as he tugged on her dress. "My sensors indicate a rise in temperature and your face is an odd color. What does this mean?"
"It means we are going. Someone grab Blaster, quickly."
She hastened away from them, one hand at the side of her face in a weak attempt to mask her mortification.
The guy continued to watch her leave, unimpressed. "You named your radio, too?" he called after her.
"Screw you, Jack! I like my name," Blaster said as Prowl carried him off.
Surprised, the young man jumped at the expected retort and watched the parade of mini robots follow the young woman away.
"Oh, I have never been that embarrassed in all my young adult life," Crystal groaned.
Right then, the clouds that had been looming over the city for some time finally broke open and spilled heavy rain. Though the July weather was warm enough that the rain wasn't entirely unpleasant, Crystal still sighed.
"Of course this would happen now."
Jazz grabbed her hand and led her across the street and under an awning, out of the weather.
"Think it's going to slow up soon?" Blaster asked.
A peel of thunder racer overhead.
"Probably not," Prowl frowned.
"Pessimist," Jazz jeered, repeating Crystal's tease from the night before.
Another boom of thunder rocked the sky. The rain fell harder.
Crystal sighed. "Let's just go home."
The streets were becoming less crowded as pedestrians ran for cover or hailed taxis. Likewise, the buses were overcrowded with people from the weather. Crystal decided not to bother and just make it home the old fashioned way. They were close enough to the apartments to be home in twenty minutes.
Prowl was leading the pack, confident of the way to go and comfortable in the position. He held Blaster up high as he attempted to jump a large puddle of water gathered at the curb. The rain hardly bothered him, but Prowl was looking forward to calling it a day, even though their efforts had not born any results. He hated it, but the odds had always been stacked against them. Continuing the same thing day after day did nothing but waste precious energy.
"Hey, stop Prowl," Wheeljack called.
Prowl paused and looked behind him. Wheeljack and Grimlock were a few steps back and even further behind was Jazz holding onto Crystal's hand, trying to move her forward. But the human was looking in a completely different direction.
"Hey, come on," Jazz urged.
Crystal waved him off. "Wait. I heard it."
"Heard what, Crys?"
"That sound. You know, that sound you guys make when you transform."
All Autobots tensed and followed her gaze. It was hard to hear anything above the pouring rain. Jazz raised his audio input and combed the area with his visor. The rain was disguising everything– if anything was even out there. He couldn't pick up a trace.
"Come on, let's just-" He reached up to grab her hand, but it was already gone.
Crystal was already half way across the street. She splashed once into a large puddle before hopping upon the curb.
"I'm going to check it out," she called over the traffic.
Jazz was still holding an arm aloof as if trying to summon her back to him. He watched helplessly as she disappeared into an alley. Prowl and Wheeljack came up behind him.
"What do you guys want to do?" Wheeljack asked. "If she's off on a wild goose chase, is it really worth the energy? She'll be right back when she doesn't find anything."
"What if she did hear something?" Prowl countered. "It's not impossible for there to be Decepticons in the area."
"If there's Decepticons and we're found, well we just made their jobs a whole lot easier," Wheeljack said. "Might as well put a bow on us because we're no match for them."
Still, every Autobot knew they had to go. Once the walk light turned green, they all quickly crossed in front of a surprised cab driver. Upon arriving, all they saw was a dilapidated building. Their human companion was nowhere to be found.
"We will proceed with caution," Prowl informed them. "We'll split into two teams. Grimlock is with me. If you don't find anything, meet back here in no less than twenty minutes. If something does happen, run. Try to get back to the apartment if you can without being followed. If that is not an option, get out of the city. Everyone understand?"
Even though they all knew the feeling of being lost in such a big world and were not looking to experience it again, they nodded.
"Blaster, you have to stay behind."
"No way Prowl! Don't leave me here, man! That ain't cool!"
"I'm sorry, it's too dangerous." Prowl took one last look at Blaster before covering the radio with debris. "Keep silent. We will be back for you."
The group of four Autobots split up into their two parties and slipped into the darkness, the rain disguising their trail.
Jazz led the way with Wheeljack close behind. Every sensor he dared to use was open. Even with his extra sensory however, it was difficult in the rain. The water pelted hard on his metal frame, the sound drowning out everything else. But he felt the ground tremble beneath them and that was something even the weather couldn't disguise.
"Did you feel that, Wheeljack?" Jazz whispered.
"Yeah, Crystal's hunch was right. I'd bet my transistors that Rumble or Frenzy are around here somewhere."
"Hopefully, not both," Jazz added.
"And hopefully nowhere near that girl."
The two proceeded cautiously. The area was old and run down. Though once apartment homes to many families and college students, now only home to rats and alley cats.
Wheeljack pointed to a dark brown building that still had most of its windows intact.
"Over there, Jazz."
Jazz looked. At first he didn't see anything. But then flashes of light flickered inside the bottom level of the building.
Laser fire.
They climbed in through a broken window and took cover in the lobby behind a moldy desk. Jazz's sensitive audios told him there was definitely movement in the building. He motioned for Wheeljack to move to the next room.
Past the lobby the place had been entirely gutted. Only thick support beams were standing in rows throughout the building. The rest was empty. From the floor below, both Autobots could pick up loud shuffling and the high squeal of laser rifles. They nodded to each other, realizing they would have to find a way to the basement.
Their search revealed a stairwell with the door hanging off its hinges. Carefully they descended into the darkness of the building's basement. There were no windows below and it was pitch black. There were sounds of a battle below them and every once in a while a streak of laser fire lit up the area like lightning.
Then, as they reached the bottom, silence.
Wheeljack and Jazz hunched on the bottom step, on the precipice of utter darkness. When nothing else happened, Jazz slowly slipped off the last step and peeked around the corner. It was utter blackness in the room and still no sound. He took a few steps with Wheeljack close behind him.
Once in the darkness, Jazz picked up the sound of heavy metallic feet walking around. He switched on his night vision and saw both Rumble and Frenzy pacing around what looked to be a gaping hole in the floor. They brandished their weapons, taking potshots of whatever was in there. Jazz surged in fear, that better not be Crystal down there.
He raced toward the Decepticons, but something grabbed him, lifting him off the ground and clutching him tight. A hand went over his optics and Jazz could instantly tell the body he was being pressed against was not made of metal.
"The light," a shaky voice breathed in his audios, "they can see it."
Jazz realized his mistake. In the pitch any optic light would give his position away instantly. He switched off his optic band, keeping just the night vision radar active. The person holding him had to be Crystal. That meant someone else was in the hole- most likely some other bot. Though it was hard to hear what the Decepticons were doing now over Crystal's wildly beating heart pounding into his back
Jazz could feel the human girl's body shaking as she carefully put him down. He was about to suggest she get out of there when Crystal was no longer next to him. In the darkness there was the sickening sound of flesh hitting metal— heavy and dull against the pillar's sharp twang. There was a scraping sound and another thud on a pillar further down.
"Hey Frenzy, I thought I heard another Autobot, but it's this human! What do you think I should do with it?"
Jazz's fuel pump was racing. Even with his night vision, he was afraid to peer out for the Decepticon's positions. He had to help her, but he didn't have a plan- especially one that had a chance of them all living through this.
"Make it scream, Rumble," Frenzy's voice cackled further away. "I like it when they do that."
That was it. Jazz had to do something. He had to save her life even if it cost him his own. He jumped out from behind the pillar, weapon ready. With his night vision, he saw Rumble just in time for the Decepticon to drop his victim and arch backward in pain. Rumble shrieked, smoke rising from his back.
"What'sa matter now?" Frenzy demanded.
"Acid!" Rumble cried in pain. "It's eating through my armor!"
He flopped on the floor among the dust and grime and tried to rub it off while Frenzy broke into high pitched laughter.
Jazz felt a glimmer of hope. Acid pellets meant…
Yes, there he was. Prowl was crouched behind a pillar close to the two Decepticons.
A heavy hand fell on his shoulder and Jazz turned to see Grimlock with Wheeljack next to him.
"Do as me Grimlock say. Him Prowl have plan."
"Shut up Frenzy! Slag, this really hurts!" Rumble barked at his laughing brother.
But Frenzy wasn't showing any sign of letting up. That is, until his chest started hissing smoke and he, too, began yelping in pain.
Prowl, Jazz, and Grimlock came out of their hiding places, weapons firing at full force. Blinded by pain, rage, and the opportunity to slag them some mini Autobots, the two Cassetticons took the bait. They thundered after the fleeing Autobots, tearing up the door way and the walls as they clamored up the stairs and out of the building.
The pitch dark of the basement fell silent, save for a strained, shaky breathing somewhere near the wall. A pair of light blue optics came out of the darkness and up to the curled figure on the floor.
"Crystal, are you okay?" Wheeljack asked. The light fins on his head blinked with each word, lighting up the blackness.
She was conscious, but clearly shaken; laying with her knees pulled up to her chest.
Wheeljack had to touch her to get a response. "Crystal, talk to me. Are you damaged?"
She shifted, trying to sit up with shaky arms. "I'll be okay. Just give me a moment."
"Okay, stay here. I have to check something out."
Wheeljack ventured towards the corner where Rumble and Frenzy had huddled earlier. There, the floor had rotted away, exposing the building's foundation several feet below. Wheeljack peered over the edge.
"Anybody-"
A laser blast shot out, nearly taking Wheeljack's head off. He ducked out of the way in time, but was still able to see who shot at him.
"Darn it, Ironhide! It's me!"
The hole was quiet for a moment.
"Wheeljack?"
Wheeljack dared to peer over the edge again. "Yeah, it's me! Who did you think it was with these?" He pointed to his head fins.
"Sorry Wheeljack. I get a little trigger happy when Decepticons twice as big as me are after my life."
"Well it's not over yet," Wheeljack told him. "We need to get out of here now. Can you get out?"
Ironhide climbed over the debris littering the ground. "I'll see what I can do."
Unfortunately, there wasn't much to climb on. As high as Ironhide could go was still a few feet short of Wheeljack's hand.
"Hold on Ironhide, I'll find some rope or-"
Crystal crawled up next to him and, laying on her stomach, stretched a thin arm out to Ironhide.
"Jump," she commanded.
He jumped. She caught his hand and pulled him up.
"Now let's get out of here," Wheeljack said.
"I can't see anything," Crystal admitted. "Unless Wheeljack is talking."
There was a chuckle from Ironhide.
"Come on." Wheeljack grabbed her hand and led her toward the stairs. Only a few steps in told them they could not get out that way. The door way had collapsed from Rumble and Frenzy's exit. They had torn up everything on their way out, probably to keep their captive from escaping while they were gone.
Wheeljack could hear Crystal's breathing pick up as she pawed the barricade. She was beginning to panic. He grabbed her hand again and pulled her back down the stairs.
"Come on, I think this place has an elevator."
Not far from the stairs, there it was; though it had long since been out of commission. The two Autobots pried the doors open. The elevator car had either been removed or was somewhere above them. Roaches and a large rat scattered from the shaft, causing Crystal to jump. But then she stepped forward and grabbed the cord hanging in the middle and began to climb. She wanted out of there now.
Her progress was slow, but the Autobots didn't push her. Wheeljack started to wonder if maybe she had been hurt. She had gotten so quiet.
"Crystal, are you doing okay up there?"
"You better not be looking up my dress," came the smart remark.
"Why would I want to?" Wheeljack retorted. "Plus you're wearing pants underneath. I think it's more than just your eyes that are broken."
"I'm not broken! Hey, I see light!"
Below him, Ironhide climbed over Wheeljack, with a few protests from the inventor, and grabbed Crystal's leg.
"Swing me over there, darlin' and I'll open it for ya."
Crystal grabbed his hand and carefully helped him swing to the ledge of the elevator door. It was rusted open about an inch, allowing the sparse light from outside to spill into the shaft. Ironhide wedged his fingers in the crack and pried the doors apart with a shrill hiss of metal.
Wheeljack was grabbed next and tossed onto the main floor before Crystal reached a foot out and gingerly balanced herself on the ledge. Wheeljack and Ironhide pulled her in.
"Now, we've got to get Blaster and get out of here as fast as we can," Wheeljack said. "They won't be able to keep Rumble and Frenzy busy for long."
"Ya'll got Blaster, too?" Ionhide asked as they ran out of the building.
"Blaster, Prowl, Jazz, and Grimlock," Wheeljack confirmed. "The only one we haven't found is Prime."
"Well melt me down fer a toaster, you boys have been busy!"
Wheeljack led them to where Blaster had been stashed and Crystal pulled him out, hastily brushing the dirt off.
"Blaster, are ya stuck that way?" Ironhide asked incredulously.
"I don't want to talk about it," the radio retorted.
"Where to now?" Crystal asked. "How do we help the others?"
"We don't," Wheeljack told her. "Prowl's orders were to get you home."
Crystal dug in her heels as Wheeljack pushed her forward. "But-"
"But nothing. Those are my orders. If we show ourselves to the Decepticons now, everything will have been for nothing."
Wheeljack grabbed her hand, looking up at her. "They will meet us back at the apartment if they can. If they can't do it without being followed, they're to leave the city. And we're supposed to continue on schedule whether they come back or not. Those are our orders and we follow them."
Crystal took one last look back the way they came and allowed herself to be led home. It was a miserable trek with the rain still pouring and all of them covered with mud and filth.
"So what have you been doing all this time Ironhide?" Wheeljack asked to make small talk.
Ironhide grunted. "Runnin' from Decepticons, what else? Don't tell me you all have been attendin' tea parties while I've been trying not to get my aft shot off!"
"Well, I don't think we've had quite as much trouble as that," Wheeljack admitted. "Not until today. Though it should be smoother sailing from now on. All we have to do is find Prime and this girl really has a knack for discovering Autobots. She'll find Prime for us."
Ironhide looked up at the rain soaked girl, optics wide. "No kidding."
"It's a coincidence," Crystal muttered darkly, hugging herself. Her soaked hair plastered her face. "I'm not an Autobot tracker. It's just been blind luck."
Ironhide looked to Wheeljack, who shrugged.
As they shuffled into the apartment, Crystal immediately herded them to the bathroom. All of them were caked in gunk from the old building. The rain had only turned it to mud.
"I'm not sure if this is entirely appropriate, ma'am," Ironhide said as Crystal climbed into the tub with him and Wheeljack.
"It's appropriate for the sake of my carpet and furniture," Crystal retorted. Still fully dressed, she reached up to turn the shower head on them all.
Wheeljack was thankful for the group shower. As Crystal washed off the grime, he could get a better look at her skin for any cuts or blood. Crystal had insisted she was fine, but Wheeljack assumed she wasn't one of those people who admitted that sort of thing. And he was sure Prowl would want a full damage report on all of them if he was able to make it back.
The human girl seemed to be fine. Though Wheeljack found it a bit unlikely she survived an encounter with Rumble completely unscathed, he had to accept it.
Once they were clean, Crystal kicked the Autobots out of the tub so she could slip out of her soaked clothes and continue with a real shower. Once done, she peeked out of the shower curtain and immediately found Wheeljack sitting on the bathroom floor with her bra in his hand. He was pulling out the wires.
"What are you doing?!" she demanded, wishing she had a towel within reach so she could punt him across the room.
As usual, Wheeljack had no sense of the trouble he was in, nor did he sound the least bit remorseful as he held up the article of clothing.
"Tell me the purpose of this apparatus."
Jazz waited. He waited and waited, just as he had learned to do. There was no taking chances with this one. No doubt Rumble and Frenzy had called Ravage and Laserbeak in on the hunt. With trackers as good as those two were, Jazz would have to pull every trick he knew to get them off his tail.
The rain helped immensely to hide his trail. For hours Jazz doubled back and hid in different places to make sure he wasn't followed. His flight took him further around the city than he had ever been before.
He had been running since mid afternoon and Jazz was still running well past dark. When he was finally satisfied that any pursuers were good and lost, he started back for Crystal's apartment. Exhausted, Jazz fought to not drop his guard as he found his way back. Stumbling up the steps, he hardly put an effort to knocking on the door.
There was thumping on the other side and then the door flew wide open.
"Jazz!"
Crystal swept him up as if he were a long lost child and happily carried him inside. Jazz didn't mind one bit. He was finally home.
Grimlock showed up sometime later, caked in filth and smelling foul. He insisted it helped him hide, but Crystal rushed him to the tub nonetheless.
Long after that, there was still no sign of Prowl. Crystal wandered around her apartment in agitation which was, Wheeljack informed Jazz, what she had been doing the entire time he and Grimlock were missing, too. Jazz attempted to talk to her and persuade her that Prowl could take care of himself and that pacing around wasn't going to bring him back sooner.
Crystal then resigned to sitting out on the balcony with a blanket and watched the city lights in the distance. Thought it was summer, the rain had significantly reduced the temperature and it was now after 10 PM. The Autobots were starting to worry about the human sitting outside in the chill but weren't certain what to do about it.
Finally, Ironhide popped his head out the door.
"Alright, yer're done out here," he informed her with his usual gruff voice. "Get yer can back inside before ya freeze it off!"
At first, Crystal looked surprised at the tone used toward her. But she quickly seemed to understand that it was Ironhide's way and allowed him to pull her inside. She opted to curl up on the couch next to Jazz, who was in the middle of his nightly movie marathon.
Ironhide and Wheeljack, who were not as interested in movies, sat around Blaster and discussed in low tones what their next course of action would be if Prowl didn't come back.
Grimlock wandered to the couch and looked up at Crystal. "You not watch movie?"
Crystal tore her gaze from the window. "Huh?"
Though in dinosaur mode, Grimlock attempted to climb up on the couch with his small forearms. Crystal helped him up and he settled in her lap.
"Prowl not lose to stupid Decepticons," Grimlock told her. "Him smart. Him strong. Not strong like me Grimlock, but him Prowl know what he doing. Him come back."
Crystal smiled at him. "If you say so, Grim."
"Me Grimlock say so!"
Crystal pulled her blanket tighter around the two of them and settled in.
"Hey, I want in, too," Jazz pleaded, tugging on the blanket. He burrowed under it and came up on the other side to snuggle against the human body and contentedly continued to watch his movies.
"That girls' gonna sissify all of us if we're not careful," Ironhide mumbled as he watched Jazz and Grimlock with disapproval.
"We won't be here much longer," Wheeljack assured him. "Plus I think this has been good for Grimlock. Crystal constantly interacts with him. It's making him more social. I've also noticed he's been easier to deal with while Prowl's been calling the shots."
Ironhide scratched his chin in thought. "Ya know, I don't think I've ever seen the Dinobots give Prowl any lip. They sure don't listen ta Prime and I've even seen them chase off Jazz a couple 'a times. But they listen ta Prowl, don't they? I wonder how he pulls that off."
"I'm sure he has his ways."
"Dude, Prowl's one scary motha' when he wants to be," Blaster informed them. "I wouldn't be surprised if they just don't want to be on his bad side."
"Maybe," was all Wheeljack said. He picked up a screwdriver.
"Where ya goin' with that?" Ironhide asked.
"I promised Crystal I would fix her dryer."
Ironhide huffed. "Shoot. Ya'll gonna be doin' her hair and paintin' her nails before ya know it."
It was so late that the birds were chirping at the first sign of light over the horizon. The apartment door was quietly unlocked and eased open as Prowl came in.
"Hey Prowl, what's doin'?" Blaster asked. He was stationed next to the couch so he could watch the TV.
Up on the couch, Crystal was sleeping. On top of her was Grimlock, laying on his stomach, tail by her shoulder and nose on her hip. He looked something akin to a large lizard sunning himself on a rock.
"She tried to stay up for you."
Prowl jumped as Jazz seemed to come out of nowhere.
"I see. And where are Wheeljack and...?"
"Ironhide? They're somewhere else. Didn't want to watch Pretty in Pink with me."
"Ah. So we still need to locate Optimus Prime." Prowl paused as he noticed an unmarked video tape in Jazz's hand. "What's that?"
Jazz grinned. "We're going to find out."
He had just finished hooking up the VCR and popped the tape in. The screen was instantly filled with a fuzzy amateur picture and faded sound. It was someone's backyard, in which a largely built man was play-fighting his daughter. Her boxing gloves were impossibly too big for her and her hair was an unusual shade of apricot.
"Come on, Crys. Go for the knock out!" the man on the tape encouraged. He stuck out his chin and the girl awkwardly bumped it with her large glove. He pretended to fall over in a dead faint.
"Ha ha. Did you beat up Daddy?" came a feminine voice from the person holding the camera.
"Yeah, I beat Daddy!" the little girl cheered.
Jazz looked at Prowl. "Must be her parents."
"I wonder where they are," Prowl mused.
Jazz shook his head as Prowl gave him a questioning look.
"Children don't keep the home movies if their parents are still around, Prowl," he whispered.
A hand reached out and clapped itself on Prowl's helmet. He turned around to see Crystal was awake.
"Hey, glad you're alright," she said softly. "I was worried."
Prowl gave her a tight smile. Crystal's gaze wandered over to the TV. "They went skiing and the roads were bad. They took a turn too tight and slid off the road into a tree. I was nineteen when it happened so I knew how to take care of myself. Still, it's hard sometimes going at it when it's just you."
She sat up carefully as not to disturb Grimlock. "So we've almost got everyone now."
Prowl nodded. "Yes. And if we hadn't come back to spend time at the park, we may not have found him."
Crystal just shrugged. "It happens. There's been stranger coincidences."
Prowl looked suspicious. "I suppose."
Crystal grinned at him and he looked even more suspicious.
"What?"
"I'm going to hug you," she warned.
Prowl took a step back as Crystal pounced.
As he heard Prowl struggle against more affection than he was used to, Jazz went to turn off the movie.
"I'm gonna be a fighter like Daddy!" announced the little girl on screen.
"Are you sure?" asked her mother's voice. "There are so many other things you could do, too. Don't you want to look around and see what else there is?"
"Nu uh! I'm gonna fight!"
Jazz pushed stop on the VCR and gazed back at the group. Prowl was trying to squirm out of Crystal's embrace while Grimlock had rousted himself and was clamoring over both of them saying "Me Grimlock tell you so!"
It was countless years before Jazz could remember a time when he was not surrounded by others. Especially after he had joined the Autobots and even more so when they had crashed in the Ark. That crew had become his family. What would it feel like to have that family suddenly taken away and have to start all over again? How lonely those walls would feel if it only heard the sound of his own voice every day.
He ran and jumped into the midst of his friends earning laughter and protests from everyone. Their stay here was coming to an end but Jazz wanted to fill these walls with noise just a little bit longer.