Tinman: The Untold Chapters

Wee Surprises

Set shortly after the last chapter...

Annabelle was crying in her room. Ironhide could hear it all the way across the farm yard. It was a pitiful sound, one the guardian never wanted to hear. He set down his cleaning tools and exited his shed to determine what the child was upset about. As he drew closer he could hear Will comforting her in a soft voice. But this cry wasn't from the scraping of a knee or being told "no" by her parents, this was a forlorn sobbing of worry.

Ironhide peeked in the window, "What is wrong?"

Will, holding his daughter in his lap, turned to the Autobot, "Well...we can't find Sprinkles."

The Autobot frowned, "I haven't seen the rodent."

To be perfectly honest, Ironhide never looked for Annabelle's cat unless to make sure he wasn't going to run over it. He'd already had a close shave once and if something had happened to the fuzzy pet he didn't want to be to blame.

"None of us have for awhile." Will rocked his daughter. "Shh. Shh. It's all right Annie."

"NO!" the child cried out, "Sprinkles..." Her watery blue eyes met Ironhide's, "Ironhide can you find Sprinkles?"

"Umm..."

"Please?" she begged, "You can find anything."

The Autobot set his jaw. It was true he had very sensitive scanning devices but the cat could be anywhere. Often times it could elude his sensors and Ironhide still had no idea how. Not to mention the cat could get into an infinite number of tight, hard to reach places. He'd pretty much have to do an in-depth scan of the entire property to have much success. But, Annabelle had great faith in his abilities.

"I will try." he conceded.

Like a soldier on a mission Ironhide began to his scans of the property. For hours he tried infrared, deep thermal imaging, DNA-based scans, and several others but the farm hid no kitty. All he found was the cat's fur in the west window of the garage, some fuzzy mouse toys scattered through the yard, and more fur in various places. But no Sprinkles.

He growled to himself, "Where could that little fuzzy pest be?"

As the sun began to set, Ironhide returned to the Lennox house to report on his fruitless search. Annabelle and Sara were waiting for him on the porch.

"Ironhide? You find Sprinkles?" Annabelle asked with hope.

He knelt down, "I'm afraid not, Annabelle. I searched the entire perimeter."

The little girl lowered her head and sniffed sadly.

"We'll look for Sprinkles tomorrow. Let's go to bed." Sara put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

Very sad, Annabelle was guided back into the house by her mother. Ironhide didn't give two bolts about the cat, but he cared about Annabelle's feelings. He didn't want to see her sad and worrying—even if it was for a rodent. Tomorrow he would widen his search and he swore he would find Annabelle's kitty after a nice long recharge.

...

Later in the early dawn...

The Cybertronian sky was dark and clear, devoid of warships or smoking rubble. It was pristine and unshaken by the ravages of war. He viewed the spires of the metal cities, towering above the glistening metal roadways. And then he saw her.

Chromia.

Her silver and blue armor shown so wondrously in the artificial lights, illuminating her frame like a celestial deity. She held a plasma pistol in her hand, a large one. Her radiant blue optics lowered their shutters in an amorous 'come hither' expression. Ironhide obeyed the look and took her slender hand, shocking it suavely. She smiled at him and embraced his neck. He could feel her pistol tickling his back as he dipped her forward.