Title: Burning in the Skies

Rating: T for future violence, may rise

Summary: Takes place after the conclusion of Forevermore. With most bots curious about their newest allie's past, Jazz finally gets the nerve to ask; and gets more than he bargained for.

Author's Note: I started writing this a while back, and couldn't help but post it now. I knew that Forevermore isn't finished yet, but I knew that it wouldn't hurt to start posting this stuff as well, seeing as how I already got, like, nine chapters down. Hope you all enjoy. I really don't have much of a plot for this, and hope to see where it leads. If you want to know when Aquajet shows up, check chapter 12 of Forevermore. The song this story is named after and also the lyrics below is Burning in the Skies by Linkin Park.

Disclaimer: I Do not make profit out of this. If I did, Linkin Park would be mine and Transformers would be turned into a porno. xD Aquajet, Blackbird, Raven, and Nightwing belong to me. So do Morphicons.


I Use The Dead Wood To Make A Fire Rise

The Blood of Innocence Burning in the Skies

I Fill My Cup With The Rising of the Sea

And Pour It Out In An Ocean of Debris

Oh, I'm Swimming in the Smoke

Of Bridges I Have Burned

So Don't Apologize

I'm Loosing What I Don't Deserve

What I Don't Deserve

Silently the blue-green mech sat alone at one of the two tables in the rec room; thanking Primus that everyone else had other things to do that didn't involve talking to him. Blue optics gazed around the room in silence; Skidz and Mudflap had challenged Blackbird and Raven to some sort of two on two battle on some shooting game that hooked onto the TV, which he never got in the first place; some other mechs whose designation didn't come to processor, yet he knew their faces, were sitting at the other table having a chat; everyone else - although few - were standing around either watching the two sets of twins playing their video games or talking to one another. The only one that didn't seem to be having a conversation was himself; then again, Aquajet was content on simply sitting back and watching everyone else busying themselves whistle leaving him the hell alone. AJ was a nice mech like that, wasn't he?

Quietly taking another sip of his mid-grade Energon, Aquajet relaxed a little in his chair, which at first had surprised him; most of the supplies that the Autobots had here at base usually were not from their home world, and instead created from resources found on Planet Earth. He often wondered how they could make things such as chairs and berths their size without screwing up something, but them again, if it was nice enough, AJ rarely complained on it; at least they got anything in the first place. He was used to running around without slag that was his own, and not even big enough for him to use; therefore, he tried not to take for granted anything that he was given here on Earth while the war slowly subsided within itself. Aquajet was strangely proud of being able to say that he had personally helped out in that; although not in it, he at least played his part, and might be mentioned here or there during old war stories creators tell to their young.

The light colored mech was contemplating on weather or not he should simply leave the rec room, seeing as he was just wasting space sitting there and thinking the day away rather than working like he should have been - he didn't yet had an assigned post because he was originally a neutral upon arriving on Earth, and not yet counted as a soldier - when the chair across from him pulled away from the table with an annoying screech only he seemed to hear; he looked over with a scowl to see Jazz, happily plopping himself in said chair, looking a little too over-confident in AJ's optics.

"What'chu doin' all over here bein' all alone n' pouty, mech?" asked the silver mech with hints of curiosity and some sort of joy, of which Aquajet didn't know why he heard the later to begin with. "Thought a mech like you might be at th' firin' range at this time ah' day. Why ain't cha?" Jazz took a drink - and actual drink, which could have been more counted as a gulp - of the Energon that he had brought to the table with him, positioning himself to face the other mech as he waited for his answer. Seeing as how he knew that he couldn't get away from the conversation, Aquajet turned to face Jazz, placing his own drink over to the side.

"'S too noisy at the range," informed the light colored mech, "'specially when Ironhide's there havin' the time of his life. You'd swear, he's actually still killin' 'cons out there." Jazz laughed at the thought, having to cover the bottom of his drink as he drank it; nearly spitting some on the table.

"Aw, well don' take it personally," said Jazz, placing the cube on the table. "He's like that with everyone, trust me."

"What? You mean grouchy, gruff, and 'ill blow your helm off in a spark-beat if you give 'im the wrong look?" retorted Aquajet with a raise optic ridge. Again, Jazz laughed at the comment. The only good thing about talking with Jazz, it seemed - at least to Aquajet - was the fact that he got most all types of jokes and remarks that you put out there.

"Touché," Jazz said with a smirk, taking another drink of Energon before putting it back down on the table as to make sure he wouldn't spill it because of any more of the other mech's comments. "Ya sure ya haven't met anyone 'ere, mech, 'cause I could swear that ya know just about everyone 'nough 'round here, I really could." Aquajet shrugged at that comment.

"Hey, what can I say?" the light-colored mech said, resting his arms on the table in front of him. "I ain't the kinda guy to be all out there and stuff like you; I'd rather sit back and watch everyone else do what they gotta do unless I'm needed, ya know?" Jazz nodded at that.

"Know what'cha mean," he said in a slightly serious tone, now taking the time to look around the room. "Ya know, sometimes ah wish I could do stuff like that; not be noticed or go into my own little corner. Or maybe turn invisible like 'Raj." There was an added chuckle at the last part as he looked back to the mech sitting across from him. "But ah guess ah'd get bored after a while with not gettin' noticed an' all, or at least havin' mech who didn't notice me when ah was down an' all, ya know?"

"Yeah," chuckled the other bot, now taking his turn to examine the other bots around the room, optics landing on the black-painted twins who each sat on one side of the couch playing video games; shouting as they seemed to be winning whatever game they were playing. "But," Aquajet finally sighed as he now looked down to the cube before him, "I guess when ya grow up th' way I did, ya kinda want nothin' more than t' not be stared at all the time."

"Oh yeah?" asked the silver mech curiously, pushing his cube to the side and leaning forever, folding his arms on the table. "And 'ow's that?" Although he had his eye visor on, Aquajet could tell that the other mech was genuily interested in what he was saying. "Ah mean, not t' intrude or anythin'," Jazz went on when the light colored mech stared at him with untrusting optics, "but ya know, we really don't that much 'bout you an' yer three, erm, younglin's and stuff 'side from what you told us you could do… What'd Prime call ya'll again?"

"Morphicons," muttered the other mech, gazing back down to his drink; looking at his small reflection in it as he thought.

"Yeah," breathed the Special Ops mech, seeming still astonished at the fact that there had once been a race of Cybertronians that he knew little to nothing about until AJ and group came to Earth nearly a vorn ago. "An' tha' thing ya can do, turn inta' one ah' them cougars. What can Blackbird turn into? A Panther, right?" Aquajet nodded. "An' Nightwing can turn inta them really nice planes, right? Primus! How'd a feller like yerself an' those younglin's get t' be like one ah' them to be experimented on and all? Ah knew experiments like those were illegal back on Cybertron an' all, and even it were consensual and all…"

"I really don' like t' talk about it, mind you," grumbled Aquajet as Jazz trailed off, not taking his optics off of his drink; what seemed more interesting about it than the conversation, he really didn't know. But it did preserve as a distraction for their current topic.

"Well ah don't mean t' gripe about it er nothin'," said the silver mech innocently, shifting in his chair while raising one arm up so he could rest his chin in his servo, "but'cha know that someone'll ask ya 'bout it sooner 'er later. Will save ya alotta trouble if ya can jus' have me summarize it or somethin'. Or better yet, you could just say slag off and send 'em t' me, right? I wouldn't tell 'em any terrible details that ya'd rather keep t' yerself, promise!"

Aquajet finally caught the nerve to look up at the other mech; although he couldn't see his optics, Jazz's posture showed that he was telling the truth, and was truly interested; relaxed, leaned forward, and a small twitch of a promising smile on his face if Aquajet said that he would tell him his story. The light colored mech stared at the other mech for a long while, noise raging on around them. Finally, Aquajet leaned back in his chair, folding his servos over his mid section.

"Al'ight, al'ight," he sighed, shuttering his optics for a moment before looking back at the other mech. "But ya gotta promise that ya won't go spreading slag 'bout me an' family, got it?" He had never really called the twins - his twins, Blackbird or Raven - and Nightwing family very often, seeing as how he wasn't either of their creators in the first place, nor were the twins and Nightwing related as far as Aquajet actually knew, however he always meant it when he did.

"Yippie!" said Jazz happily, switching to the chair next to Aquajet so he could heard the mech speaking better. Aquajet gave the silver mech a long stare; this was going to be a long story, wasn't it?