I got inspired for this monster when I read Jacqueline Walker's "Cat Attack", it's funny, you should read it. She's in the reviews on my other pieces, go find her. :)
Yeah... I don't know. R&R. I think I was tired. It IS two AM in New York, after all. -dies from lack of sleep-
Aquariums.
Tons of them, all over the room. Small glass tanks filled with water, sand, gravel, sea plants, fake coral and castles, and varying numbers of assorted random fish.
Why are there... where did they... who could've... how did... when did this happen?
Prowl tried to reason why these aquatic creatures were here, in his office, and what exactly they were called. His knowledge of Eath fauna was minimal. What were these creatures?
**
All though the base, which was unusually quiet, everyone heard the thunk as the Second-In-Command hit the floor, locked up.
**
"What happened in here?" Ratchet panicked, opening Prowl's office door, which had closed on the tactician's wing. Optimus, Wheeljack, and Ironhide were close behind. The black and white mechs picked up and supported the tactician to the Medbay.
Ratchet looked around. "Why is Prowl's office filled with fish?"
"Not sure."
A datapad hit Ratchet in the back of the head. He turned around furiously to discover a pair of females. One blue, one black.
The black one signed something, and the blue one rolled her optics. "Em, they're called 'fish'. She wants to know why there are 'aquatic creatures' in Prowl's office."
"No one knows."
"... No, someone does." Everyone looked at Optimus. "Ratchet, go unlock Prowl. Ember and Chromia, come with me."
**
"Someone erased footage for the entire Intel/Tactics and Command hallway, sir! I've got nothing from your office to Prowl's!" Red Alert reported. "Who could've done that? I've been in here all night!"
Ember's optics narrowed. She signed again and Chromia looked afraid. "Ember, we do not kill other Autobots. That's bad. And how do you plan to do that?"
"Do what?" Optimus asked.
"Recover the deleted footage."
Ember merely pushed Red Alert out of her way and set to work on the computer console.
"Can't we have Sudo..."
"Sudo'sonAssignmentsir," Blurr said, entering. "."
"Good to know."
"And Ember's just as good with computers, it just happens to be Sudo's function."
"Okay. Let's go check on Prowl and let Em work."
**
They walked in to find Prowl sitting up with a cube of Energon, sipping it while Ratchet watched. He waved at them.
"How are you feeling, Prowl?"
"Alright now, thank you, Chromia." Prowl set his cube down. "So, have you figured out why my office was filled with..." He looked at Ratchet.
"Fish."
"Thank you. Have you figured out why my office was filled with fish?"
"Not as of yet. Someone erased the security camera footage for the timeframe of the action, Ember's trying to recover it now, and she has Cosmos, Blurr, and Elita asking around."
"... Elita's not in Intel."
"She'll do anything for her precious niece."
"Ah."
**
"Still nothing?" Chromia asked Cosmos.
"Nothing. Everyone just laughs and says 'someone did what?'. It's getting annoying."
Jolt and Blaster entered the Rec. Room, laughing about something.
"Did you see the look on her faceplates?" Blaster cheered.
"P-Priceless!" Jolt agreed.
"The look on whose faceplates?" Chromia inquired.
They jumped. "Um, no one," Blaster covered. "Uh, we've gotta go."
**
Ember knocked on the doorframe of her superior's office. "Sir?" her AutoVoice asked.
"You know you're not supposed to be using that function, Ember," Optimus said sternly.
Prowl looked up from where he had been sorting reports. He was killing time while Perceptor and the human soldiers removed the fishtanks from his office.
"I know, but you need to see this."
**
The trio entered the Monitor Room minutes later, with Red Alert standing by. "Am I going to be allowed my job back anytime soon?" he demanded tensely.
"After we finish with it," Prowl responded. "This is an ongoing Core Command investigation."
Red Alert sat down in a spare chair and let his head hit the wall. "Argh!"
Ember rolled her optics and sent her thoughts to Prowl over their bond for the latter to convey to Optimus.
"Apparently, Em managed to recover the lost footage through extensive system restoration."
The female called their attention to the screen and hit the "play" button. Two figures slipped down the hallway with several large containers.
"Well, there's our culprits. But who are they?"
Ember held up a finger. Prowl looked to their superior. "She was getting to that."
Ember paused and enhanced the image.
"Son of a-" Prowl snarled, looking over the pair of mechs. He recieved a comm. from Ratchet before he could complete his statement.
'Prowl, your office is completely fish-free.'
'Thank you, Ratchet. We caught the culprits. Have the Medbay ready.'
'Will do.'
'Thank you.' Prowl hung up on Ratchet. "Em, bring these two to my office. Take Chromia with you"
**
Jolt and Blaster were shoved roughly into the tactician's office, looking guilty. Ember and Chromia followed them in.
"Thank you. Have a seat," Prowl ordered harshly.
The captured mechs sat down in the two chairs in front of Prowl's desk. Chromia perched herself on a file cabinet. Ember sat down on the floor.
"Jolt. Blaster. Do you know what the consequence is for the stunt you two pulled?"
"Uh..."
"W-Well..."
"Punishment is to fit the crime at the discretion of the affected officer. Now, if I hadn't locked up and collapsed, I might be willing to tone it down, but..."
"Ah, c'mon, Prowl! We been pals since we was younglin's!" Blaster pleaded.
"Save it for someone else, Blaster. After some dicussion with a few fellow officers-"
"R-Ratchet, Em and Optimus, p-probably," Jolt mumbled.
"And Ironhide. And I decided that you'll be cleaning."
"Pfft, that ain't that bad."
Prowl smirked, something he'd learned from hanging around the humans. "You're cleaning everything. Medbay, Science Wing, Soldier's Barracks, Firing Range... the entire base. I'll have Perceptor and Ember check over with scans. One of Em's pet peeves is dirt in corners, and Perceptor enjoys tracing particles. You two will have to do an impeccable job."
"Wait, what happened to the fish?" Blaster asked.
"... We removed them to the Science Wing Storage Unit, pending further instruction. I'm not sure what will happen to them."