Ring of Fire

|5| - I Hate You

You thought you had arrived early, only to be disappointed that Heatwave had beaten you. The shit-eating grin on his face just fueled the urge to clobber him, but you managed to keep your cool. Besides, you would have plenty of time to get back at him later when the Chief wasn't watching.

It was somewhat of a surprise to you when Cody walked into the room since you had been expecting Chief Burns. After giving it some thought, you decided that it was a good thing. Maybe he wouldn't be so hard on you.

"Alright, guys!" Cody spoke up as he climbed the stairs to a platform off to your right. "Welcome to the first partner training session! Today, you'll be working on teamwork."

"Isn't all of this about teamwork?" Heatwave questioned with a snort, folding his arms over his chassis.

"Technically, yes, but some of the exercises will focus on specific things. Today's exercise will test your teamwork skills." Cody replied with a smile, gesturing to the numerous platforms and walls in front of him. "In order to successfully complete the training exercise, both of you have to reach the top. Any questions?"

You raised an optic ridge, not liking where this was going. "Yeah, um... how are we supposed to get all the way up there without falling?"

"You have to figure that one out, Y/N. Sorry!"

You rolled your optics and cursed to yourself, casting Heatwave a side-glare. "Don't mess this up. I don't want to be stuck here all day."

"If anyone's gonna mess this up, it's you!" Heatwave growled, returning the glare.

"Ready, set, go!"

Cody's voice interrupted your quarrel and brought your attention back to the task at hand. You turned towards the platforms ahead of you, trying to calculate the best way to get up to the top. Some of the walls looked too tall for you to just jump and pull yourself up, so how in the world were you going to get up there?

"Y/N! Get over here!" Heatwave yelled at you. He was over by the first wall having some difficulty climbing it.

You smirked, strolling over to him. "Too short to climb the wall, huh?" You said with a laugh.

Heatwave glared at you for that. "Shut up and give me a boost." He muttered.

You were about to just leave him behind when Cody's voice echoed in your processor.

"In order to successfully complete the training exercise, both of you have to reach the top."

Grumbling to yourself, you reluctantly knelt down and held out your servos so Heatwave could use them as a step. You lifted him up to the top in one motion, then hoisted yourself up there afterwards. Heatwave was already leaping from platform to platform, quickly approaching the next wall. You went after him, your longer legs giving you a slight advantage.

When you reached the next wall, you did the same thing and lifted Heatwave up. This time, however, the wall was too tall for you to climb up on your own. "Heatwave, help me up. I can't reach the edge." You said, extending your servo for the red mech to take.

"Why should I? All you've done is mess things up!" Heatwave retorted, glaring down at you once he had gotten to his pedes.

"Did you even hear what Cody said? Both of us have to make it to the top!" You growled, stretching your arm out. A beep got your attention and you spotted a blinking red light with three dots. One was already gone. "Heatwave, come on! There's a timer on this!"

Time was running short. The third and final beep soon rang in your audio receptor and you gave Heatwave a deadpan glare.

"I hate you." You muttered. The platform then gave way underneath you and sent you crashing to the floor. You growled in frustration. "You're such an idiot!" 

"How was I supposed to know it was timed?!"

"Because I told you it was!"

Meanwhile, Cody was shaking his head in dismay. This was going to be harder than he thought...