While Sideswipe and Sunstreaker spent the next few days in the brig, things slowed down around the Ark. Without one of the main power houses behind the pranking, others weren't as motivated to continue the war. Not to say that everything stopped, several random pranks that appeared around the Ark were enough to keep the 'Bots on their toes. For example, Ironhide threw a chair across the room when an air horn that had been placed under it went off very loudly after he sat down. Red Alert nearly went insane when he was pestered with laser pointers during one of his presentations. And several 'Bots woke up with paint packets somehow shoved into their joints, all of which immediately broke when they moved and oozed onto their armor with colorful paint. Nobody fessed up to the pranks, but of course the two main sides blamed the other for them.
For those who had been affected by the subspace swap, including himself, Prowl had determinedly gotten to the bottom of the case. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had been unwilling to give up any information, so the tactician went straight to the source: Wheeljack, who then directed him to Perceptor. Upon questioning, the scientist had immediately spilled the beans of what had happened, but luckily for him, Prowl took pity and didn't see fit to punish him as he had done to the twins. Perceptor had been assigned some monitor duty as a light slap on the wrist, and ordered to reverse the effects of the swap, which he did so gladly. Now with subspace addresses restored to their original owners, everything seemed to be back to normal; at least, as normal as things could be at this time. But of course, that wasn't going to last that long.
This lull lasted for about three days, which gave Wheeljack enough time to finish his latest commission. As soon as it was done, the engineer informed Prowl, who passed the information along to Jazz much to the saboteur's delight. The night after he received the good to go for the plan, he gathered his special ops team and set out to get it all put together.
"Alright guys," Jazz said when they arrived at their destination. "Sides and Sunny get out tomorrow mornin', an' we've gotta get this set up by then!"
"The entire hallway?" Mirage practically whined as they stood by the entrance, looking in.
"Yup, let's get crackin'!" Jazz said enthusiastically as he headed into the hallway. It was a relatively short hallway, its only purpose was to connect two main passageways, and there were no rooms connected to it. Earlier, Prowl had sent out a notice saying that this certain hall in sector 1C was under maintenance and nobody was allowed in that area. Of course, nearly everybody could guess the real reason why Prowl would block off an area at this time, but most mechs weren't willing, or didn't really care, to go against an order from Prowl. It helped that it was 11 o'clock at night and most 'Bots were recharging or relaxing in the rec room at the moment. Thus, Jazz, Mirage, and Bumblebee had the entire hallway to themselves for the night.
"Um, what exactly are we doing, anyway?" Bumblebee spoke up as Jazz began to inspect the hallway.
The saboteur turned around and pulled out a data pad from subspace. He handed the pad over to Bumblebee with a grin and a "check this out!"
The minibot accepted the pad and began to look over its contents. Mirage leaned over to inspect it too, but with a cool and uncaring air about him. As he read through it, Bumblebee chuckled and then looked up with a grin. "Sounds like fun!" he said.
Mirage didn't appear so impressed. "And where are we going to get all the materials for this?"
"Don' worry, I got it all on me, thanks ta Wheeljack!" Jazz reassured.
"You got all of this stuff in your subspace?" Bumblebee asked unbelievably.
"Yuppers!" Jazz grinned. "When Percy got our subspaces switched back, I got 'im ta give me a bit o' an expansion pack, figured I'd need it," he said, and clearly winked behind his visor. Bumblebee rolled his optics, still somewhat skeptical. "But, enough o' that, we've gotta get started!" Jazz said, and with that pulled out several odd looking objects and passed them out to the two 'Bots in front of him.
Mirage practically sighed as he was handed the item. "There are so many other things I could be doing with my time right now," he grumbled.
"Come on, Mirage, this'll be fun!" Bumblebee said cheerily.
The high tower mech responded only with a skeptical look and another grumble. But, he really didn't have any choice in the matter, as Jazz pulled out instructions from Wheeljack and began directing the two 'Bots around the hallway.
o~o~o
The contraption they were installing was quite extensive, and two hours later, the ops team was still going at it. They already had over half the individual constructions put together and installed, but there were still several more to put up. Mirage, who was taking a "break" from helping the others, was leaning against the wall, sipping from a cube of high grade and inspecting their work so far. "You know," he said. "Those things aren't very inconspicuous. How do you plan on getting people to fall for this trap?" Indeed, the contraptions they had set up so far, which strongly resembled small, spring loaded catapults, lined the wall of the hallway near the ceiling, and weren't hidden from view in any way.
"Don' worry 'bout it," Jazz said from where he was hanging from the ceiling. "'Jack's modified some hologram projectors so that they'll be hidden when we're done."
Mirage only nodded somewhat in understanding before returning to his cube. Meanwhile, Bumblebee was doing his best to read off of a data pad, but he was having some trouble. "Geez, I can't read Wheeljack's handwriting. What does this word say?" he asked and handed the data pad up to Jazz.
Hanging upside down, Jazz accepted the pad and scrutinized it closely. "I think it says 'circular,'" he said and handed the device back down to the minibot.
"Oh," Bumblebee said as he looked at the pad again. "Why can't he just type up his stuff? That'd make our lives so much easier!"
"Ya know how 'Jack is," Jazz said as he continued to fiddle with the object he was currently installing. Glancing up, he caught sight of Mirage who was still sipping at his high grade. "Come on, Raj, ya've been takin' tha' break for fifteen minutes! Come over here an' help us get tha' other catapult ready ta install!"
Shoulders slumping slightly, Mirage pushed off of the wall and reluctantly walked over to where the part for another contraption was lying on the floor.
"Don' look so glum, Raj! It's for a good cause!" Jazz said cheerily.
"A good cause? Really?" Mirage returned. "And I suppose that cause is getting Sideswipe and Sunstreaker pranked?"
"Of course it is!" Jazz snickered.
It took another hour and a half before the three were finally finished with their task. And so, in the early hours of the morning, they stood at the entrance of the hallway and gazed upon their handiwork.
"Boys," Jazz said as he placed a hand on Mirage and Bumblebee's shoulders. "It's beautiful!"
Bumblebee also looked pleased with their work, but as usual Mirage wasn't so impressed. "Question," he said flatly. "If Optimus Prime isn't supposed to know about this war thing, then how do you explain this set up if he goes down this hallway and gets pranked?"
"Easy," Jazz reassured. "There's a spark detector installed at each end of this hall, and if it detects his presence nearby it won't trigger the prank."
"Hm," was Mirage's response.
"It also detects anyone who's on our side, so they won't get pranked either," Jazz finished.
Bumblebee nodded in approval. "Oh," he said. "Just curious, but why this hallway?"
Jazz grinned smugly. "Ya know who lives in tha' section o' th' Ark, don'chya?"
The minibot frowned in thought. "Um, a lot of people?"
"Anyone in specific?" Jazz prompted.
"Sideswipe and Sunstreaker," Mirage answered in an uncaring voice.
"Bingo!" Jazz exclaimed. "An' ya know what's special abou' this here hallway?"
Now Bumblebee was grinning in understanding. "If they don't take this hallway to get to their room, they have to go all the way around the Ark!"
"Tha's right!" Jazz grinned enthusiastically. "Now," he said as he held up a small handheld device and pressed a button on it. All of the catapult contraptions that now lined the wall immediately disappeared with the faintest of a shimmer from the hologram projections. "All we gotta do is wait and watch!"
o~o~o
The next morning, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were finally released from the brig by Ironhide. "Naow don't ya'll go gettin' into more trouble, ya hear?" Ironhide ordered sternly as the two walked past.
"Oh yeah. We'll be sure to do that," Sideswipe said sarcastically. He and his brother then promptly left the brig without a backward glance. Ironhide shook his head, knowing the advice had been useless on those two.
As the twins made their way through the Ark, Sideswipe punched his brother in the arm. "So, when should we start working on our next move?" he asked.
Sunstreaker gave his twin a demeaning look. "Aren't you through with this?"
"What?!" Sideswipe exclaimed in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"How long will it take for you to realize that Prowl's never going to give in? I personally don't plan on going back to the brig anytime soon because of your stupid antics." The golden mech then pulled out a buffing rag and began to polish the part of his arm that Sideswipe had touched.
Glowering, Sideswipe ripped the cloth from his brother's hand, which earned him a dangerous glare. "You're just going to bail on me? Just like that? What about all the planning we did in the brig just now?"
"I never said a word while we were in the brig!" Sunstreaker retorted and snatched his cloth back.
"I thought you were just being gloomy!" Sideswipe returned and attempted to grab the cloth again, but Sunstreaker held fast to it. The two then played a brief game of tug-o'-war before Sunstreaker finally reclaimed his rag.
"I thought you enjoyed doing all the pranks before!" Sideswipe said.
Sunstreaker gave a shrug. "I was just going along with it. But I have better things to do with my life than play your childish game." After saying that, he turned and started to walk away, polishing his armor as he went.
"So you're okay with just letting Prowl win, huh?" Sideswipe shouted. When his brother didn't turn around, Sideswipe scowled. "Fine, who needs you?! Keep walking!" And that's just what Sunstreaker did. Frustrated with his turncoat brother, Sideswipe folded his arms and continued to scowl for a moment. Finally he turned in the opposite direction to head down the hallway, but was halted by sudden, loud splattering sounds coming from the way Sunstreaker had gone, followed by a cry of surprise. Sideswipe turned and ran back, and came across a bewildering scene. Sunstreaker was stumbling out of the hallway that led to their room, covered in what appeared to be whipped cream. Sideswipe could only gape as his brother stomped past. Sunstreaker didn't say a word, but instead threw an equally whipped cream-coated cloth at Sideswipe's chest, and then kept walking.
With a look of disgust, Sideswipe peeled the cloth off his armor, and then glanced back at the hallway where his brother had just come from. The floors and walls near the entrance were similarly splattered with whipped cream, but the source of the stuff wasn't so apparent. Curious, Sideswipe entered the hallway, looking around for the source of the mess. That's when he heard a faint, *click*, and he was suddenly assaulted from the ceiling by dozens of whipped cream pies!
*SPLAT SPLATTER SPLATTER SPLAT SPLAT!*
"WAOH!" Sideswipe cried and raced out of the hallway. The flying pies chased him out, and he had to duck for cover. Once he was out, he looked back, but still couldn't see where the pies had come from. The hallway looked innocent enough, except for the fact that a splattering of whipped cream now covered the walls and floor. Then he looked down at himself, he was just as covered with the stuff as his brother now was.
"Upping the ante, are we?" he growled. "Very well then." And with that he marched off towards the wash racks, scheming new plots as he went and leaving a trail of whipped cream foot prints along the way.
He met up with his brother in the wash racks. The two cleaned themselves off in silence, and then traveled to the rec room, also in silence. It was about 9 o'clock in the morning, and the room was fairly bustling with mechs waking up and preparing to start their day shifts. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker found an empty table and sat down to take their energon, still in silence. For a while they just sat there and sipped from their cubes, watching the other mechs around them going about their business. Then Sideswipe turned to face his brother.
"So Halloween's coming up," he said.
Sunstreaker simply nodded.
"I've got a pretty good plan to get back at Jazz and Prowl."
Sunstreaker turned and stared at his brother.
"Oh that's right," Sideswipe said. "You've given up pranking, haven't you?" He leaned back in his chair. "So you don't get to hear about my plan, then."
Sunstreaker's optics narrowed. He glared at his brother for the longest time, while Sideswipe just sat there and stared at his cube of energon with intense interest. Finally Sunstreaker stood up, so violently that his chair screeched and almost fell over backwards. He walked around the table, grabbed Sideswipe by the arm, and half dragged him out the door. Sideswipe just grinned with victory; he knew he had won his brother back over.
o~o~o
Over the next few days more 'Bots fell victim to what was quickly dubbed "The Pieway." Anyone who was on Sideswipe's side who entered that hallway would come running out, dripping whipped cream. After a while, the targeted mechs started to catch on and began avoiding the accursed hallway, much to their inconvenience since by avoiding that hall, they had to take a detour that took minutes longer to get them to their destination. However, occasionally somebody would forget, usually in the early hours of the morning or very late at night, and they would be forced to travel to the wash racks covered in the white stuff.
For a while the presence of the Pieway caused a bit of a stir among the 'Bots. They all got a good laugh when somebody forgot about the prank and fell for it. But after a few days, it just became part of the norm. But of course, there was one mech who wasn't aware of the Pieway yet, but this time around, Optimus Prime had an idea as to why there was a stir among the Autobots. Ever since he found and read that data pad in the rec room several days ago, he'd looked upon his crew with a new light. He still wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but whatever it was it looked ridiculous, and it was being kept from him. He knew that he could confront Prowl about it and get all the details, but where was the fun in that? Instead, he decided to sit back and observe.
And as he observed over the last few days, Optimus couldn't help but have noticed the random smatterings of white substance, which he identified as whipped cream, around the Ark. On occasion he would even came across a mech or two actually covered in the stuff, but upon seeing him, the afflicted mechs had quickly scurried out of view before he could question them. And now as he walked through the Ark towards his office, things were no different. He'd decided to take a different and longer route today, he wasn't sure why, but perhaps maybe so that he could find some more clues as to what exactly was going on now among his crew.
As he walked along, occasionally noticing a smudge of whipped cream here and there, he suddenly heard a cry of shock and a strange splattering sound come from just down the hallway. He was about to rush forward, but a sudden sense of déjà vu kept him from doing so and instead he crept forward towards the noise. Eventually he reached a corner and peered around it into the next hallway. He was just in time to spy Blades stalking out of a side passageway, absolutely covered in whipped cream. The copter 'Bot was grumbling and growling and looking about ready to murder somebody. Optimus, in all his dignity as a Prime, nearly laughed out loud at the coincidence. Poor Blades seemed to always be in the wrong spot at the right time for Optimus. This time Optimus chose to not confront the Protectobot, and instead waited for him to move out of the area before rounding the corner.
Optimus approached the hall that Blades had come out of and immediately saw that this must be the source of all that whipped cream, judging by the amount of the stuff all over the floor and walls. Rubbing his chin in thought, he entered the hallway and looked around. How very interesting, now what could possibly be going on here?
o~o~o
"Prowl, please meet me in conference room 3 immediately." Prowl's doorwings twitched at the sudden comm. from the Prime, but he was quick to respond.
"I'll be there right away, sir," he said. Prowl had just been conducting a routine inspection around the Ark, but he cut it short as he turned around and headed down the hall. He wondered what the Prime wanted him for, especially in conference room 3. That room was hardly ever used as it was set a bit further back in the Ark. Perhaps this was something classified? But Optimus usually called him to his office for stuff like that. Prowl wondered this as he made his way towards his destination.
As he walked, Prowl eventually met up with Jazz, who seemed to be going in the same direction. The two greeted each other, and when they made two different turns together, Jazz gave Prowl an odd look. "Do ya happen ta be goin' ta conference room 3?" he asked.
"I am," Prowl confirmed.
"An' did Optimus call ya there?" The saboteur continued.
"Yes he did," the tactician said.
"Ya got any idea what this's 'bout?"
"I do not."
"Hm." This was the second time in the last week that the Prime had called them both to a mysterious meeting, and Jazz was beginning to get suspicious.
The two officers walked on together, Jazz chatting casually and Prowl only half listening. On their journey, they eventually came across the now infamous Pieway. It was the shortest way to the conference room and they entered the passageway unconcerned, because they knew that they would be safe from the prank.
That's what they thought at least. They'd only made it a short distance into the hall when they both heard the faint *click*. But by the time they heard that it was too late.
*SPLATTERY SPLAT SPLAT SPLATTER SPLAT*!
"YEAOW!" Both Jazz and Prowl jumped nearly out of their armor and immediately rushed back into the main hallway. Both were now absolutely covered in fluffy whipped cream.
Jazz attempted to flick as much of the stuff off of himself, while Prowl glared at him. "I thought that wasn't supposed to trigger on us?" he asked.
"Well, uh, yeah, no it's not supposed ta!" Jazz said. "Th' spark detector mus' be malfunctionin' or somethin'!"
"I'll have to talk to Wheeljack about that," Prowl nearly growled as discretely flicked cream from his doorwings.
Jazz was about to say something when he was cut off by an approaching figure. They both looked up, and then came to attention when they saw that it was Optimus Prime himself.
The Prime approached the two, apparently engrossed in something that was on his data pad. He finally looked up upon noticing their presences, and cocked an optic ridge at their appearance. "Are... you two alright?" he said apparently in confusion.
"Oh, yeah we're fine!" Jazz immediately spoke up. "Just... a lil' mishap. Nothin' ta worry 'bout, we've got it covered!"
Jazz grinned easily while Prowl simply tried to appear somewhat dignified. Optimus observed them for a moment, before apparently accepting the excuse. "Well, I am sorry for calling you out this far, but I was in the area and thought I might as well call you down to where I was. Prowl, Jazz, here are your daily reports to review." The Prime then pulled out two data pads and offered one to each officer.
After a moment's hesitation, Jazz took his. Prowl, on the other hand, very slowly reached up to take the pad, all the while giving Optimus a strange look. The Prime appeared unconcerned, and when both data pads had been delivered, he nodded to them. "You two have a good day," he said and then walked around them and proceeded to go down the Pieway.
Prowl and Jazz both nearly yelled at Optimus to stop and come back, but didn't when... nothing happened. The Prime continued on his way and was eventually out of sight. Prowl and Jazz looked at each other, both now very suspicious.
"Tha' was a weird coincidence," Jazz remarked. "D'ya think..." he pointed his thumb down the Pieway as his sentence trailed off.
Prowl gave Jazz a queer look. "What? That Optimus could be responsible for this?" He shook his head. "Absolutely not, he wouldn't."
"Hmm," was all Jazz said as he stared off after Optimus. He knew what Prowl was saying, but he just couldn't shake that suspicious feeling. But maybe that was just his special ops instincts kicking in.
In the meantime, Prowl pulled a rag out of subspace and carefully wiped his hands clean with it. He then cleaned off the whipped cream that had gotten onto the data pad and subspaced that along with the rag. He then set off down the hall without another word.
After one final curious glance down the Pieway, Jazz followed his fellow officer. Prowl was right, Optimus wouldn't do anything like that. Either the spark detector was malfunctioning, or the twins tampered with it. They were just going to have find out which of the two had occurred and deal with it then.