Chapter 3
Prowl's wings shifted in a way that was not at all compliant as Rail Gauge moved toward him; he was plenty displeased with the tall mech, and he wasn't about to back down about it.
Then the tall mech stepped halfway past him and picked him up around the waist the next moment. Prowl's first instinct was to struggle, but his sense kicked in swiftly, and he yielded, relaxing his frame even as his spark-pulse sped up in fear. He could handle himself in a verbal altercation, but he knew he couldn't fight a big mech like this, and he knew better than to try, especially when he was in the perfect position for the big mech to spank his aft for being such a brat. And he had asked for it. Hindsight came rushing in, and he knew. He had certainly asked for it.
Rail Gauge lowered him gently to the ground. "Twenty-five pushups, Prowl," he said firmly, raising the number.
"Yes, sir," Prowl said quietly. He trembled with relief that he hadn't gotten licked in front of everybody, but he still burned with shame. Red-Lead moved over so Rail Gauge could stand next to Prowl. Today was in fact worse than yesterday, Prowl decided. He counted silently as he did the pushups and listened to Rail Gauge lay out the rest of the game details.
Sideswipe would be the fugitive. Prowl would be the lead Enforcer. Everyone else was backup, Rail Gauge excluded. Sides would have a big head start since he'd never been on the obstacle course before. Prowl would also have a head start. Nobody but Prowl was allow to physically touch or capture Sideswipe, but if they got and stayed within about ten paces of him with him in their sight for five seconds, they could yell "taze" and he would be considered caught at that point. A number of paint bombs had been scattered across the obstacle course, and if anyone aside from Sideswipe triggered one, they would be "frozen" for twenty seconds or until someone came and tapped them on the shoulder.
Prowl finished his pushups and very reluctantly started to pick himself up. He didn't know how he could face the other bots. Rail Gauge offered him a hand, and he accepted the help up. He stood at attention but with his helm deeply bowed and his wings tucked, his face burning.
Rail Gauge laid out the score system for the chase. Points won for certain actions, points lost for others.
Prowl felt like he already had negative three-thousand points, and it was mostly his fault. He still thought Rail Gauge was somewhat unfair, but he knew he'd been unfair himself in expecting the worst from these bots. They hadn't done a mean thing to Sideswipe the entire time, but he had still regarded them with suspicion. He should have been more mindful of his thoughts and reevaluated his opinion before letting them take over his instincts and his mouth. He had a lot of self-discipline when it came to many things, but he hadn't showed much of it at all to these bots. They probably thought he was a spoiled rotten brat at this point.
Frustration welled up his spark, and tears welled up in his optics. He hadn't been trying to be difficult. But he hadn't tried to be cooperative either, and that was the problem. Uncooperative, disrespectful scraplet unworthy of becoming an Enforcer—that's probably what they all thought he was at this point. They'd never let him back, and he'd never make any friends once they told the other Enforcer students what a rust-stuck little glitch he was. All because he hadn't been cooperative. How many times had Ironhide told him that he needed to be more cooperative and not try to be the boss of everything?
Some of the tears that had welled up in his optics spilled and trickled down his cheek, and he tried to blink the rest back.
"Aw, no," Nimbus said softly. She stepped over and put her hand on his shoulder, and the tender gesture made him choke back a sob and hide his optics in both hands.
Sideswipe bolted over and wrapped him in a hug as his wings trembled with grief. "Aw, Prowl!"
"Poor mechling," Nimbus said, rubbing his arm gently as the bots broke their circle to gather around him.
Rail Gauge put a hand cautiously on Prowl's shoulder. "Hey…" he said softly. "I wouldn't have… I would have handled things differently if I'd known that would bring you to tears, Prowl. I'm sorry."
Prowl snuffled. "Na- That- Y-you didna make me cry," he explained, his cooling system hitching as he tried not to sob. "I- I was- I'm sorry! I was an uncooperative brat, an- I- I-"
"Awww, there, shushhhh," StayBar said, reaching over Sides to rub Prowl's helm in a motherly way. "You don't have to explain while you're still so upset."
"Usually it's Ingot who makes people cry," Barricade commented drily. "That's a new one for you, Rail Gauge."
"I don't think you were trying to be an uncooperative brat," Red-Lead stated quietly.
"I agree," Rail Gauge said. "If we'd gotten the impression that you were trying to be difficult, we would have called you out and probably sent you on your way. You were just accidently difficult, and that's quite a different thing."
"Exactly," Nimbus chimed, and Barricade agreed with, "Indeed."
"Your motive—to look out for Sideswipe—wasn't bad," Ingot put in with a fair tone. "But your inability to put aside your preconceived notions and unfair assumptions about us-"
"Aw, hush, Gottie," Nimbus rebuked as Prowl's wings trembled again. "I think he knows what he did wrong. Don't you, Prowl?"
"I do," Prowl said softly. The bots' reactions and words had helped calm and reassure him; they didn't appear to hate him or even think the worst of him. He sniffled and leaned out of Sides' hug. He shifted and then dipped his wings. "I apologize for being difficult, and I deeply hope you will all forgive me. I will try to do better. I… being in such a different place with completely different bots has been very hard for me, and I have not… it has been hard to… acclimate. But I promise I will try."
"He's the homesickest bot I've ever met," Sides added, trying to be helpful.
Barricade reached around Nimbus and gave Prowl a pat on the shoulder. "Coming here was quite a change for me, too. I know it's not easy. All's forgiven."
The squad members all voiced their forgiveness as well, so ready and kindly that Prowl had to put his hand on his optics again. Nimbus offered him a cloth, and he remembered had he had one of his own stored in subspace. He retrieved it and dried his optics and rubbed the tears from his cheeks and settled his cooling system with a sigh.
"Did they even let the varnish cure on your new big-bot armor before sending you here?" Barricade asked with sympathy in his tone, tilting his helm.
Prowl halfway laughed. "I wanted to come." He sighed. "I wanted so badly to be here. My guardians hinted that I should wait a little bit, but they were not going to hold me back. I think now, though, I probably should have waited."
"I'm glad you didn't, though!" Sides said, optics widening. "We wouldn't have met you, and I wouldn't have any friends!"
This response melted Prowl's spark. "You are right, Sides. That would be sorry."
Sides hugged him again and then stepped back. "Can I be the fugitive now, sir?" he asked Rail Gauge.
The big mech nodded. "Go get your head start."
"Yes, sir!" Sides answered smartly, but then followed with "Scree-wooo! Eat my rust, glitch-fraggers!" as he bolted away from the group.
"Well!" said Ingot as Barricade chuckled.
Prowl halfway smiled.
Nimbus bounced on her pedes in anticipation.
"Prowl," Rail Gauge said as the other bots moved away to give them some privacy.
"Yes, sir?" Prowl answered, meeting his optics, his wings at a respectful, humble angle.
"Are you sure I didn't make you cry?"
Prowl halfway smiled as he nodded. "I am sure. I was not distressed by what you did, only by what I did. You jogged my conscience, and my conscience made me cry. The pushups did not make me cry."
Rail Gauge looked at him. "And picking you up? It's not an action I intend to repeat, nor did I think about it first, but I want to apologize for doing so. I felt your spark surge, and I realize I must have terrified you. I am sorry for that."
"Oh-" Prowl blushed slightly, embarrassed. "No. I- I thought I was going to get… well… spanked."
"Poor youngling!" Rail Gauge exclaimed with a sympathetic chuckle. "That is a horrifying prospect. I wouldn't do that to any of you."
"I appreciate that," Prowl said. He paused. "I appreciate your patience and leniency as well. I was a bit of a brat."
"Your motive wasn't bad, like Ingot said," Rail Gauge answered. "You'll just have to get used to not calling all the shots, though, unless it's your turn to be the squad commander."
Prowl peeked up at the tall mech. "I will work on it, sir."
"Good mech." Rail Gauge smiled down on him. "I think Sideswipe has about enough of a head start, if you want to go after him now."
Prowl hesitated.
"You're the lead cop on this chase, so you get to set the chase pace as you see fit," Rail Gauge told him and then added, "Sideswipe assured me that he was pretty sure he could handle the course but wouldn't take it hard if he got caught too easily or early."
Prowl thought this over. "Thank you," he said humbly as he realized that Rail Gauge had checked with Sides before making him the fugitive of their chase.
Rail Gauge patted him on the shoulder. "Go on now."
"Yes, sir." Prowl gave him a small salute and then headed after Sides.
He found that the obstacle course had been changed slightly since last time he'd visited it. And there were the paint bombs, too. It wasn't overly difficult at this point, though. He climbed over a few fences and ducked under and through some bars, climbed a cable ladder to get over a wall. The course was made to accommodate all sizes of bots, which made it interesting in some aspects. There was a slick of oil that a big bot could step over carefully, but a small bot would have to make a leap over it. And there were places where Prowl could slip between barriers that tall bots would have to climb over.
He moved quickly enough that he made a good gain on Sideswipe until he came to a wall with no easily perceptible way over. It had the tiniest slant, but not enough to climb, and it was perfectly smooth. There weren't any loose items around that Prowl could move over to use for a step up. There had to be a way over, though, for Sides had gotten over it. Or he had been allowed to cheat and go around it. Prowl tilted a wing as he tried to remember if Rail Gauge had said anything about using items from subspace, he'd been too busy being ashamed of his behavior to listen to all the rules.
He looked around more carefully. He had walked right under a set of bars, rather like a gymnast's high bars. He gazed calculatingly up at them and then scooted over to climb the one closer to the wall. He got up and balanced on his belly, legs dangling. He really hated heights, but this wasn't too much. And he could see over the wall. There was a rope attached at the top, but it had been pulled over so anyone approaching from Prowl's side of the wall couldn't access it unless they were quite tall and able to reach the top of the wall with their hands, which Prowl wasn't.
He gripped the bar and pushed himself up and then let himself down so he was hanging from the bar. He was about to drop down when he thought of something. Maybe he could reach the wall with his pedes from here.
He swung himself gently. The wall was annoyingly close and far at the same time. He brushed it with the tip of one pede and then, stretching just a little more on the next swing, he caught both pedes on the wall. It was just enough that he was suspended between the bar and the wall, but the distance was too far for him to actually be able to accomplish anything. It crossed his processor that a bot could swing and then jump onto the wall, but he dismissed it instantly, knowing that that was far, far too risky.
"What are you doing?" Rail Gauge asked, almost directly beneath him.
Prowl flinched in surprise. His grip tightened, but he lost the slight toehold he had on the wall, and his pedes swung down, leaving him hanging and swaying and feeling a bit silly.
"Trying to figure out how to get over this wall, sir," he answered. "Without injuring myself," he added, seeing a guardian look in the tall mech's expression. He dropped down, landing neatly with a slight flare of his wings. "I… I was too upset with myself while you were speaking the rules, so I cannot remember if I am allowed to use items from subspace."
"They are allowed, but they deduct points."
Prowl frowned slightly.
"Delays also deduct points," Rail Gauge added.
"So I pick whichever deducts fewer points."
"You get points for seeking assistance, though."
Prowl's wings twitched slightly. "You said you were not backup. Did you… say what role you were taking?"
Rail Gauge chuckled. "Just ask me for help, Prowl."
"Would you kindly flip the rope over the wall so I can reach it, please?"
"Certainly." Rail Gauge flicked the rope over, and Prowl caught it quickly.
"Thank you!" he called back as he scrambled up. The wall had a pit on the other side, he found, he paused. He'd meant to leave the rope for the other bots, but it was much farther to the ground on this side. Jumping down was riskier, meaning he should climb down with the rope.
He decided to lose points. He pulled a cable from subspace, looped it around the anchor that the rope was tied to, and then let himself down on the cable, leaving the rope for the other bots. He left the cable, too, and hurried to climb out of the pit.
Then he came to the web and twitched a wing. Both wings. He'd avoided this obstacle when he'd explored the course on his own. Cables stretched and twined between sets of poles, crossing each other, catching on each other. It was a big tangled mess to Prowl's optics, and he hadn't seen any clear way through. Wriggling his way through and getting his wings caught on the cables a hundred times didn't make sense, but that was all he could see happening. Sideswipe had gotten through, but he didn't have wings to catch on cables.
Prowl looked up because if "through" wasn't the answer, then "up" probably was. He could climb up the side cables and then crawl across the top of the tangle. He'd have to be careful, but it seemed like it would work.
The climbing up part ended up being trickier than he'd thought because the cables weren't as tight as he'd thought. They had more play in them than he'd realized. Annoying.
He got to the top, though. The cables were stretched tightly enough that he felt semi-secure for a few moments, but then, as he shifted his weight and put his hand on the next cable, he found himself falling. And getting caught. And slipping. And getting more badly caught.
He was stuck at an odd angle now, his helm lower than his pedes. There was a cable under his arm, one across his shoulder, one in his hand that he'd grabbed, and others caught up around his wings, crossed near his belly, around his calf, around his ankle, hitched up in his thigh armor… more cables than he could figure out.
He tried to shift, but that pulled one of the cables under his left wing, and it pulled in such a way that he squawked in discomfort.
"Ooooh, Prowl!" Nimbus said, starting to climb into the web. "You tried to go across the top, didn't you?"
"Yes." He felt it was rather obvious and didn't need to be commented on.
"I tried that out of curiosity once," she said. "I figured out the trick after several times. You can get across the top, but you have to know the trick." She paused and looked at him as if suddenly realizing that he wasn't trying to free himself. "Do you need help getting down?"
"I think I might. Some of the cables got caught on my wings and at least one will hurt my wing-connector if I move."
"Oh, no! I see now." She started making her way toward him. "You really are caught. Let's see…" she hummed, eyeing the cables around Prowl. "Cade?"
Barricade peered through the web up at him. "Best we wait for a tall bot, I think," the red-optic mech answered. "He'll need support from below, and we're both too short to reach him. If you climb up there, you could pull on a cable the wrong way and cause him more discomfort," he added as Nimbus started to climb.
"I'm being careful," she answered, laying a finger on a cable and then tracing where it ran with her optics. She frowned slightly and touched a different cable.
"Aw, no, Prowl," StayBar said, coming up to the web. "I did the same thing my first try."
"I'm sure it'll be easier to get a small bot out than a large one, though," Ingot said. "Rail GAUGE!" she called. "Prowl is stuck!"
"Right, yell it for everyone to hear," Barricade said drily, shaking his helm. "Sorry, mech. She has very little tact."
"She has a kind spark, though," Nimbus said as Red-Lead and Rail Gauge came hurrying over.
Surely all six of them didn't need to be on hand, Prowl thought, but he decided to be grateful for their concern.
"Nimbus, stay put," Rail Gauge told her.
"Yes, sir," she answered. "I think it would be best if you crawled under and then stood up so you can support him from below (which Cade mentioned earlier), and then StayBar crawl under and stand up next to you and give me a boost up so I can help untangle Prowl."
"That does seem the best course of action," StayBar said, studying the web below and around Prowl.
Rail Gauge nodded. "I think so, too."
Prowl watched the two big bots crawl under the web and then carefully stand up, nudging at cables around them. He flinched, hissing softly, as Rail Gauge inadvertently shifted one cable that pulled at one of the cables on his wings.
"Ow!" he yelped a moment later.
"Sorry!" Nimbus called. "Ingot, can you come in and give me a boost up to the point where StayBar can give me a boost up?"
"Yep."
"Watch that cable that runs up past Stay's left hip-plate," Red-Lead said, moving around with his optics on the cables. Barricade moved the opposite direction and pointed out a different cable to watch out for as well.
"I am so much trouble this morning," Prowl said apologetically. "I really am sorry."
"You didn't mean to," Nimbus said comfortingly.
"And at least it's not your mouth that caused the trouble this time," Ingot added frankly.
"Ingot!" Rail Gauge and Nimbus both reproached, but Prowl found himself laughing at the sentiment as well as the response.
"That is just the sort of thing Ironhide would say," Prowl said, smiling in reflection.
"Who's Ironhide?" Nimbus asked as she climbed up her friends.
"My mech guardian," he said. He looked to Rail Gauge and met his optics. "He's about your height and build," he told the big mech and saw an understanding twinkle appear in his optics.
"Alrighty," Nimbus said, standing, her pedes on StayBar's shoulders, one hand hanging onto a cable. "Imma get your pedes and legs loose first, Prowl. And then you can stand on Gauge's shoulder so he doesn't have to hold you up with his arms the whole time. –Big and strong as they are-" she added with a teasing tap of her pede on the tall mech's bicep.
"Whatever works best," Prowl said meekly.
Rail Gauge put one hand on Prowl's chest and the other near his waist and boosted him up so the cables were no longer tight on him. Then Nimbus leaned in and carefully pulled at and shifted the cables, keeping up a rather steady communication with Barricade and Red-Lead about which cables went where. Prowl kept himself as yielding as a plushie she took one of his pedes and moved his leg, moved his other knee. At one point, she wrapped an arm around his thigh and put a pede on Rail Gauge's shoulder to better reach a different part of one of the cables.
"S'cuse me," she said lightly, reaching around him some more. She pulled a cable around and moved back. "Alrighty." She patted his pede. "Your legs and pedes are free. Let's have you shift upright in a moment. Gauge, balance him on your hand at his waist, and then bring the other hand to his waist as well so you can get a firm hold on him."
Prowl felt a bit of fear jump into his spark at the thought of slipping and falling and getting his wings wrenched by the cables that still held them.
"It's okay, Prowl," Rail Gauge said soothingly, not moving his hands yet. "Stay relaxed and trust me. I won't let you fall."
"And if you do start to slip, he'll catch you before you go very far," Ingot added.
"Ready?" Nimbus asked. Prowl nodded. Rail Gauge shifted his support of Prowl, and Prowl shifted his weight, Nimbus guiding him with both her voice and her hands. He felt the cables pulling and shifting, but none of them hurt his wings, and moments later, he was upright, standing on his knees on Rail Gauge's shoulders. "Good job!" Nimbus said. "Now, let's see…"
She put a hand on one of his wings, and her arm brushed his other wing as she reached. His whole frame stiffened as his wings flicked up. His entire expression spoke of objection.
"Stay relaxed," she advised lightly, patting his wing in what she meant to be a comforting way. The touch wasn't comforting in the least, though; it was an egregious offence against all Praxians.
Prowl cycled some cooler air through his system and looked for the right words to use. She clearly had no understanding of Praxian wings or how to treat them. He knew she would have to touch them to get them loose, but-
He choked back a sharp involuntary snarl of protest as she touched too much.
"Sorry," she said.
"Back off, please," he said firmly.
"I know it's uncomfortable, but-
"I dinna think yh'fully understand," Prowl responded, trying to keep his voice calm but there was underlying force in his words.
Nimbus took her hands off him, and his wings settled. All the bots were looking at him more specifically now.
"Praxian wings are verr- verra sensitive," he explained, stumbling over his Praxian accent. "They have all sorts of sensors, which is wonderful for many things, but it does make them sensitive, especially toward their bases (an-and on the connectors, too), where there is a high concentration of nerve-wires. You… Touching wings, Praxian wings, is a very, very nuanced body language; one cannot just touch them anywhere or in any way. I know you have to touch them to get the cables off, Nimbus, but please touch as little as possible. It was less uncomfortable when… Just… please touch as little as possible."
"I'll do my best, Prowl," Nimbus said humbly. "And you're right. I didn't fully understand, and I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable. I didn't mean to, you know."
"I do know. It is okay."
"Alrighty. Imma try again, touching the wings less."
"Thank you," Prowl said softly, cycling cool air through his system.
It took a few more minutes, and some unavoidable contact with his wings and wing-cons, but finally he was ducking out from the last couple cables and sitting on Rail Gauge's shoulders.
"Success!" Nimbus said, swinging down, spinning around a cable, and then dropping neatly to the ground amid the web.
"Not success yet; I am still up here," Prowl said, looking down from his perch.
"Put your hands on my shoulders," Rail Gauge said. "And I'll put my hands behind my back for you to step down to while StayBar holds back the cables that could catch you on the way down."
Prowl complied, climbing down the big mech's back partway. Then, holding back cables with her frame, StayBar put her hands around his waist and hopped him down to the ground. Prowl sighed with relief and then crawled out of the web.
"Success, now!" Nimbus said, tossing her arms up in victory once everyone was out of the tangle.
"Yes," Prowl agreed, rather abashed. "Thank you, all of you."
"Poor wings," Nimbus said with sympathy.
"You didn't know the team building exercise was going to be so physical, did you?" Barricade teased, dropping an arm across Prowl's shoulders.
"I did not," Prowl said, halfway laughing.
"I think you did pretty good," Red-Lead said, giving him a light poke on the arm before moving back. "Staying calm and all that."
"Staying calm with Nimbus all up in your stuff, no less," Ingot said, moving in and giving his backside a light slap. "Quite impressive."
"Ingot," Nimbus reproached, seeing the somewhat disconcerted look on Prowl's face.
"She does that to everybody, sooner or later," Red-Lead told Prowl with a shrug.
"Oh," Prowl said, looking less disconcerted and feeling oddly somewhat accepted.
"Bet Sideswipe's wondering what happened to all of us," Nimbus said, starting for the web with a chuckle.
"Hold up," Rail Gauge said. "In the interest of time, everybody will skip the web and the next obstacle. And instead of Prowl capturing Sides, someone just has to hit him with a paint bomb. Not on the helm or in the face, mind you," he added with a warning tone with a look slightly pointed at Ingot. "Understood?"
"Understood, sir!" all the bots answered, Prowl with them despite a hesitant and suppressed look on his face.
Rail Gauge handed Prowl three paint bombs. "Three tries for everyone. If Sideswipe can avoid all that, then he wins. You all wait here a couple minutes while I go up ahead and let him know the change of game. Prowl?"
"Sir?"
"Do you have a problem with that?"
The wings dipped. "No, sir. I was concerned about changing the game without informing him, but then you said you would let him know."
Rail Gauge patted his shoulder and then headed up the smooth path beside the obstacle course.
Nimbus and Barricade discussed tactics while Red-Lead studied the web and Ingot rubbed at a paint-bomb spatter on her shoulder. Prowl had avoided all the paint bombs thus far. StayBar had evidently triggered several.
"Gauge says go now," Ingot said presently, and Nimbus and Barricade bolted. Red-Lead sprinted after them, and Prowl followed with Ingot and StayBar close behind. They dashed up the path and moved back into the obstacle course.
When they came to a wall like the earlier one that Prowl had had troubles with, the squad bots didn't hesitate. Barricade boosted Nimbus and then Red-Lead up onto the wall, and then they reached down and pulled him up. At the same time, StayBar practically scooped Ingot off her pedes and perched her up on the wall.
Prowl hesitated.
"C'mon," StayBar said, and he hurried up to her. She evidently meant to scoop and perch him, too, but she hadn't practiced with him and didn't know his weight, so she didn't quite get him to the top of the wall at first. Ingot grabbed his arm, and StayBar resorted to giving him a boost from behind.
"Sorry about that," she said, hoisting herself onto and over the wall. She had too much momentum to stop from dropping down on the other side as the pit exploded with paint bombs. "Scrap." She looked at Barricade, who dropped into the pit seconds before her.
"Adds a nice pop of color to your deep dark paintjobs," Ingot said.
"I can do a handspring from here and bounce off your shoulders if you stand still," Nimbus said to Barricade.
Prowl thought that sounded slightly dangerous, but nobody raised a warning, and Nimbus stood and did her handspring.
"Tag!" she sang as she pushed off Barricade's shoulders. She landed neatly on the other side of the pit. Barricade quickly tagged StayBar, and then the tall femme got the bots off the wall.
They entered an area with numerous pillars next, moving with caution.
"Wait," Prowl said. He turned sideways. "Tripwires everywhere."
"Your wings tell you that?" Nimbus asked.
Prowl nodded.
"You wanna lead the way?" Ingot offered.
"Sure…" Prowl said slowly, eyeing the landscape. He then looked at StayBar, measuring her speculatively.
"I can fit more places than small bots think," she said with a chuckle. "Go on through. And I can find my own path if need be."
"Yes, ma'am." Prowl dipped his helm respectfully and then started into the pillared area, crouching halfway over to put his wings a better angle to detect the lightweight wires around them. Nimbus followed at his heels, and he pointed out different wires to her, which she pointed out to Ingot behind her, as did Ingot to Barricade, Barricade to Red-Lead, and Red-Lead to StayBar.
They were all about in the middle when a paint bomb went off, followed by a huge chain reaction that left all six bots utterly spattered with every color and shade and paint.
"Oddly enough, I don't think I triggered that," StayBar said, looking baffled. "Usually, I feel the tripwire a split second too late to reverse, but this time I didn't feel anything."
"I didn't feel anything either," Barricade said.
"Nor did I," Prowl said, and Red-Lead and Ingot added similar statements.
"Same," Nimbus said. "But someone had to have tripped something…"
Prowl shook his helm. "The tripwires might not have been the only threat. There could have been a proximity trigger or there could have been a delayed reaction detonator."
"OR MAYBE IT WAS A BOOBY TRAP!" Sideswipes yelled, popping out from behind a pillar at the far end of the area. He burst into laughter at their surprised looks. "Your faces!" he hooted. "Not to mention your paint jobs!"
"We are a sight indeed," StayBar said with a chuckle.
"Given how much paint we all have on ourselves, and that we're froze and can't tag each other to unfreeze each other…" Nimbus started.
"We're probably dead," Barricade snickered as Red-Lead drew an X in the paint on his chest.
"You're officially dead," Rail Gauge said with a gentle chuckle. "Sideswipe won."
"Yee-hoo!" Sideswipe said, coming over with his face alight with amusement as the paint-spattered bots picked their way out of the tripwires and puddles of color. "This place just begged to be booby-trapped, and you guys took so long that I came back and rigged it," he explained with a youngling's exuberance. Then, with sudden concern, he looked to Rail Gauge. "I- uh- Was that okay, sir?"
"I would have preferred it if you'd checked with me first, but it's okay," Rail Gauge said with a reassuring smile. "The unexpected element was a good touch, and it's not bad to be reminded that we're not always going to win as Enforcers. Sometimes the bad guy will win."
"It's easy-wash paint, right?" Sides asked hopefully.
StayBar patted Sides on the helm, leaving a multicolored handprint. "You'll find out," she said, optics twinkling as she moved away, and Barricade gave Sides a friendly slap on the back before moving after her.
"It is," Nimbus said with a giggle as she tapped his upper arm with her first. "No worries."
"No hard feelings either," Ingot added. "But you should probably think up and ask questions like that before you do something that could get you in trouble, you know. Not after." She smacked him lightly on the aft and then moved away as they started to follow Rail Gauge away from the obstacle course.
Sides chuckled and fell into step with Prowl as they trailed behind the other bots.
"I like these bots," he said.
Prowl smiled in reflection over how kind and patient they'd been with him. "I like them, too," he said softly.
Sides looked over at him. "I'm glad."
"Circle UP," Rail Gauge called, settling down in a cross-legged position. "Sideswipe, on my right. Prowl, you can sit by Sideswipe if you choose."
Prowl sat down between Sides and Nimbus, and the little femme reached over to pat his shoulder before settling down. She paused.
"Is it okay if I touch your shoulder?" she asked.
"Yes," Prowl said, and she patted his shoulder.
Then Rail Gauge guided the bots to do simple and cooling poses, each held for an extended amount of time before the next. Sideswipe found these pleasantly relaxing and enjoyable. The mindful discussion that followed was more of a challenge for him. Rail Gauge wanted them to each focus in on a single feeling in their sparks or a character trait that would be good to meditate on, but Sides had so many feelings that pinning down just one was hard. And he had about three minutes to do it, and he actually had to do it (and not just pretend to) because they were each going to share a few thoughts on their chosen feelings or traits.
Should he pick the hopefulness that he felt about getting to be a part of their group? Or the fear that Sunny's attitude would glitch things up so they would lose their patron and have to leave university? The eagerness to learn new things? The apprehension that he wouldn't do well enough? The delight of finding friendship with Prowl and Jazz? Determination? Apprehension? Curiosity? Grief? Shyness? Awe? Inadequacy? A dozen others?
"Ready?" Rail Gauge asked.
"What? No!" Sides yelped. "-Sir." He shifted as all the bots looked him. "I mean… I haven't picked one yet. I was tryin. Honest, I was. There are just so many. I haven't done this sort of thing before, so I'm not real sure how. If the other bots would go first so I could learn from their example, perhaps I could do better."
Rail Gauge's optics twinkled. "I wasn't going to have you first, Sideswipe."
"Ohhh, you… Oh, when you said 'ready?' you meant the bots in general, not me specifically," Sides realized with a chuckle. "Gotcha- I mean, understood, sir."
"Ingot," Rail Gauge said.
Sides listened carefully while Ingot talked about camaraderie and its positive aspects that she'd reflected on in regards to their group today. Red-Lead provided a brief discourse on fortitude; it was a word Sideswipe honestly hadn't heard before, that he could remember, but as Red-Lead discussed it, Sides realized that it was something he knew about. StayBar talked about amusement and its relationship with perspective and how they could choose between being cross about something or finding ways to appreciate it. Barricade talked about smugness, admitting that it was a flaw he had from time to time and expressing the understanding that proper perspective helped counteract it. Nimbus gave a sweet little lecture on loyalty, and Sides peeked at Prowl a couple times.
Prowl hesitated when it was his turn.
"Go on," Nimbus encouraged.
"My spark is full of gratitude right now," Prowl said, his wings dipping shyly. "I am grateful for your patience with my behavior earlier… and grateful for your forgiveness, too. I am grateful that all of you were patient with me, and I am deeply grateful for the kind care you all showed when you were helping me out of the web. It is a warm and tender feeling, and it feels good. It would not be with me if you had been ungenerous in your sparks or intolerant in nature; I… I guess I want to say thank for so much kindness… it makes a vast difference in a positive way. If you had shut me and sent me away when I was being a brat, I would have left mad and eventually cooled down and been ashamed of myself and cried alone. But you gave me a chance and treated me with the kindness you treat each other with, and that drew me in and set my spark in the right direction. That sort of kindness is key to making an Enforcer a good Enforcer, so hold onto that. Thank you." He dipped his helm, and then he smiled at Sideswipe. "Now, it is your turn, Sides."
In listening to the other bots, Sides had forgotten that he'd be speaking at some point. He still hadn't pinned down a topic.
"Oh-" He squirmed and looked down.
"What's one thing you're feeling?" Nimbus prompted.
"Uh… hope? Hope. But… I don't know how to make a little speech on it."
"What do you hope or are hopeful about?" Barricade asked.
Sides shifted. "Well… I hope my brother Sunstreaker won't mess things up for us here, and I hope we get to stay because I like learnin new things. I know let Sunny's anger and bad attitude rub off on me, and sometimes I really do hate bein here, but… in my spark, I do like learnin new things. And I hope I'll do well enough in my classes that I'll be allowed to stay… I'm not… brilliant. I'm hopin you'll really be friends with me. I'm hopin I'll find someplace I fit… Prowl's got his Enforcer studies, and Jazz is double-majorin in music and engineerin, and Sunny is up to his audio-tips in art. But I'm just tryin to get through some general ed classes."
"And there's your little speech," Rail Gauge told him.
Sides paused. "I didn't wrap it up with some cute takeaway point."
"I think that's fine for your first time," the big mech reassured him.
"Ok- er, thank you, sir." Sides smiled, pleased that he'd done well enough.
"Are you proud of yourself?" Rail Gauge asked him.
"Uh…" Sides halfway shrugged. "I don't know if I would say 'proud'… more like happy that I did okay."
"There's a pride akin to the smugness Barricade talked about, but there is also a pride that is rightful happiness in something done well. I'm feeling the latter in regards to all of you," Rail Gauge said, looking around at the bots. He praised them in general for the kindness that Prowl had spoken of, their positive attitudes, and their teamwork, and he had praise for them individually as well.
Sides listened, nodding slightly now and then in agreement with the things he had to say about Ingot, Barricade, Red-Lead, StayBar, and Nimbus.
"I'm proud of Prowl, too," Rail Gauge said.
"But I was the worst!" Prowl protested, abashed, his wings twitching up and then down.
"Yes, you were," Rail Gauge said with a bit of humor. "But you showed improvement quickly once you got your processor straight, and you were humble enough to admit that you were wrong, and you made an effort to cooperate better, even when it was difficult. I know it's not easy to do that, but you did it."
Prowl dipped his helm and wings humbly and then halfway smiled.
"And I'm very proud of Sideswipe," Rail Gauge said next, surprising Sides greatly.
Sides had, quite naturally, been hoping that he'd done okay enough to get a scrap of praise, but he hadn't expected anyone to be very proud of him. He looked up at the big mech with wonder.
Rail Gauge smiled at him. "We've never had someone so unprepared for the squad join us; you didn't know much for the warm up stretches, or the kicks we practiced, or the drills, or these mini speeches. But you gave it your absolute best try. You watched, you listened, you had a cooperative and teachable attitude. You really put your spark into it and showed that you wanted to do well, and that counts for a great deal. If that's how you approach your classes, I think you'll do just fine. And I think it's an attitude we should all seek to have."
Sides stared at the ground with awe in his expression.
They did some more yoga and talked less formally, but Sides was too amazed to say much.
"Alright, we're done here for the day," Rail Gauge said presently. "Good work, all of you. Go out and do well today. See you at lunch, Prowl?"
"I… was going to lunch in my dorm," Prowl said, cheeks warming.
"Aw, come, you should sit with us," Nimbus said.
Prowl hesitated. "I will think about it."
"Okay." Nimbus tapped Sides lightly on the arm. "And you should come sit with us once your suspension is over. Definitely."
"I will," Sides said with a small gasp of wonder.
"Fabulous!" Nimbus skipped off after Rail Gauge then, calling a farewell to them all.
Ingot put a hand on Prowl's shoulder and a hand on Sides' shoulder. "Mechlings, you're gonna join us here tomorrow morning, right?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Sides said, pleased that they were welcome.
"Yes, ma'am," Prowl said with an abashed smile.
"Good," she said with a firm nod. "Sideswipe, if you have classes that are being difficult for you, there is a tutoring center on campus that you can visit, but you're welcome to let any of us know, and we'll see what we can do to help you."
"Absolutely," StayBar added.
"Thank you," Sides said softly, touched.
"Prowl," Ingot paused as Prowl's wings flitted downward slightly. "Hang in there, mech. You're having a hard time adjusting, but you're not alone."
"We're here for you," Barricade said, tilting his helm. "And I'm sure Kaon and Praxus are plenty different, but if you want to vent about culture shock and Iaconians, I'll happily listen and empathize. And we can have a Praxian day for you, where you teach us a few things about Praxian customs and things to help us better interact with you," he added. "They had a Kaonite day for me back when I joined, and it was helpful for all of us."
"That sounds good," Prowl said. "Thank you."
Barricade nodded. "See you later."
"Bye!" Sides said as the red-optic mech headed away.
"Don't go kicking anyone," Red-Lead told Sides with a smile, giving him a light tap on the chest with the back of his hand.
"I won't," Sides chuckled. Then, after farewells from Ingot and StayBar, he and Prowl started back toward the dorms. "Hang on," Sides said. He got a polishing cloth and scrubbed Ingot's handprint off his aft-plating. "Sunny would glitch if he saw that. I know she didn't mean it in an inappropriate way, but I don't think Sunny would be convinced very easily."
"Indeed," Prowl said. "Red-Lead said she smacks everyone sooner or later."
"There." Sides put the cloth away, and they resumed walking. "We really are joinin them tomorrow, right?" he asked Prowl eagerly.
Prowl looked at him with surprise. "Yes. We both said we were."
"I know we did, but…. Well, never mind. I'm glad we are! I like them. A lot. Even just Rail Gauge alone is amazing! He- No one has ever taken a single moment to be very proud of me, and he did!" Sideswipe chattered on with delight about all the bots the entire way back to the housing area, and Prowl listened, his spark quite melted.
When they reached the door to Prowl and Jazz's dorm, Prowl paused with his hand on the door. "Hey,"
"Yeah?" Sides said.
"I'm proud of you, too. You did verra well."
Sides beamed. "Thank you, Prowl."
Prowl opened the door to the sounds of Track 3 of Glitch-Riff's latest album and Jazz and Sunny halfway arguing in a good-natured way about the influence of Teal-Fin's artistry on her contemporaries and the resulting impression left on the architecture of that era.
"I get what ya saying, but have ya considered the rococo elements that-" Jazz broke off in a chuckle as he saw Prowl and Sides.
"We're back," Sides announced happily as Prowl shut the door.
Sunny looked over at them and flicked the music volume down. "What happened?" he asked, looking at them critically.
"We made new friends!" Sides said. "They're all in the Enforcer program, and they have like this sort of squad, and they're lettin me in, too, even though I don't know anything because they are all fantastic."
Jazz laughed. "Sides, mech, I think he means about the paint."
"Oooh-! There was an obstacle course with paint bombs, and I booby trapped it."
"Did ya punch anybody?" Jazz asked his brother with twinkling optics.
"I did na!" Prowl said honestly but too quickly, and his warm cheeks betrayed that some incident had occurred. "I- Jazz," he reproved. "Nao. C'mon, Sides, we've t'wash up."
"You make friends weirdly, Prowl," Sunny called after him as Prowl hurried Sides out of the room.
"But he makes really good ones when he does," Sides called back. "He really does."
