Greetings, everyone! I thought it was time I did another oneshot.
I've actually had this one swirling around in my head for quite some time, but I only just now got around to getting it written.
Its rather dark, just a warning. I haven't written a purely dark fic, ever. So...hopefully this isn't bad for a first attempt. But, I've wanted to write a ruthless Jazz for AGES. Yes, I love fanfiction-Jazz, with his bubbliness and pure awesome, but, just once, I wanted something different.
So here it is.
Inspired by "This Moment" by Disturbed.
Disclaimer: I don't own the song or Transformers. Obviously.
You will remember this moment as you dig into me
And from your smile now it seems as if you liked it
You'd better cherish this moment as you dig into me
You'll never get another chance at this
I won't stand another minute of your questioning me
You hear me, bitch, stop the interrogation's over
I can't handle the feeling of your pestering me
How would you like to meet my favorite fist
Jazz gritted his dental plates as the metal spike dug into his shoulder joint, targeting a sensitive bunch of wires.
"Had enough yet, Autobot?"
The saboteur swore if Shockwave had a face, he'd be smiling right now.
"Not even close, Cyclops."
A laugh escaped from the mech's hidden vocalizer.
"Now, is that any way to speak to your former teammate?" Shockwave asked, forcing the metal spike further into Jazz's shoulder.
Jazz winced as the pain shot through his system. But this was only the beginning; he had been through a lot, but there was so much more to go.
He had no family, so those threats were useless against him. Blunt force was easy enough for the mech to handle. This didn't mean it was painless; oh no, he felt it alright. But his armor was stronger than the average mech's and was able to take more of a beating with less denting and pain. Laser scalpels were almost laughable to him. It took a lot more than cutting out bits of armor and wiring to crack the elite spy. It was always the viruses that started to get to him, though. Even Ratchet's latest anti-virus program couldn't stop them all. But he survived, and kept every last bit of information out of Decepticon hands. Not that it was something to be proud of. Jazz was a top Autobot spy. The top Autobot spy.
To give out now would be disgraceful.
The saboteur pulled himself together and continued to take whatever was thrown at him. If he could just make it a little longer, he could put his plan into action.
Unfortunately Shockwave was getting bored with the saboteur's less than satisfactory reactions, meaning greater pain was on its way.
It wasn't that the purple mech was that surprised; he knew in the back of his processor that Jazz wouldn't crack completely from such pathetic attempts.
The Decepticon sighed. He wanted to see that mech squirm. Time to bring out the acid.
Jazz almost groaned as he saw the large syringes laid out before him, but managed to hold it back. He couldn't let anyone know exactly how much he was dreading the next vorn. Yes, he could have prevented this by giving Shockwave what he wanted...but the Autobot's pride stopped him from giving in.
Shockwave said delicately picked up a syringe. "I'm going to like this part," he said, an evil glint shining in his optic.
"Enjoy it while you can," Jazz retorted, "You'll regret it soon enough."
"Somehow," the Deception said, stabbing the syringe into Jazz's chest and injecting the acid, "I doubt that."
Jazz again managed to hold back his scream of pain and released only a growl, tensing his entire body as the acid slowly ate away at his armor and wiring. He twisted his wrists in a futile attempt to escape the pain, and his legs struggled against the restraints on his ankles to no avail.
He knew it would be bad...but he hadn't expected the acid to be this bad.
Damnit.
This would make it a lot harder to concentrate.
"Pull yourself together, Jazz. You have a job to do. You have to get this information to Optimus. You can't give in. Especially not to Shockwave. He can't take your pride away from you."
Though the Autobot saboteur continued to struggle and pull at the restraints holding him down as Shockwave administered more acid. The pain was nearly blinding now, and it just kept coming with no end in sight.
Shockwave picked up the last syringe and headed back to Jazz. The mech may have been battered and broken, but he still managed to send a seething glare through his chipped visor.
"Now, where to put this last syringe," the Decepticon asked, almost playfully. "Ah, yes...why not here?" he answered himself, resting the tip of the needle right on one of Jazz's neck cables.
Jazz couldn't help but smirk.
"What are you smiling for, Autobot?" Shockwave asked.
Jazz coughed up some energon before replying. "I've been waiting for this moment."
"Oh, now...Sorry to disappoint you, though this will be painful, I doubt it will kill you."
"That's not what I meant," Jazz replied, his smirk getting wider.
"Fine, I'll humor you," Shockwave said, bored. "What do you mean?"
"This."
With a final twist of his hands and feet, several extremely sharp blades ejected from his wrists and ankles, severing the restraints that bound him to the table. The next instant, Jazz kicked out at his captor and pushed him backwards several feet. While the Decepticon regained his balance, Jazz finished running his diagnostic on his condition. Vitals were pretty low, but not quite critical. Good. Though his weapons and communications systems were shut down. No time to repair both of those...and he really needed to get in touch with Prowl. So the blades on his wrists and ankles would have to do. "Thank Primus I had those installed on a hidden system...just wish it didn't take so long to prepare," Jazz thought, preparing to attack. "Looks like I'll be doing this the old fashioned way."
Shockwave was not expecting this. He knew without a doubt that Jazz was a ruthless fighter, and in his current surroundings he would not be able to take on the saboteur and win. The Decepticon looked for a means of escape, and upon spying a vent in the ceiling, threw the acid syringe at it. The glass shattered upon impact and the metal was quickly compromised. Thick white smoke filled the room, allowing Shockwave to escape unseen.
No you can't reneg
I'd love to see you beg now
Dream this moment as you run away
You would only separate me from what I believe
This moment in brutality
You're the one who kept on pushing til I made you bleed
Jazz snarled in frustration and quickly headed for the door after Shockwave. A split second later an alarm sounded, signaled by his escape.
"Great. Just what I needed," Jazz growled, taking off down the corridor. "More mechs to get in my way."
Sure enough, low-level Decepticon soldiers began pouring out into the corridor and headed straight for the escaped prisoner. Jazz flew past the first few, who didn't have enough time to register what was going on. But the saboteur still didn't slow down as more mechs started to appear. He was going to get to the other side. Even if it meant going through them.
Jazz gritted his dental plates. This wasn't going to be pretty.
The Autobot tackled the first mech, quickly slicing open his neck cables with his wrist blades before expertly flipping around and slicing his ankle blades across the optics of two more mechs, rendering them blind. Four more Decepticons were down before they knew what hit them. But the mechs kept coming...and Jazz kept going.
The saboteur moved like a well oiled machine. A deadly, pissed off machine.
"Wanna know why you're all being taken down?" Jazz asked, slicing both wrist blades through a mech's arm, severing it. "Well, besides the fact that you're all stupid," he grunted, taking down three more mechs with blades to their chests, "You can blame this on Shockwave." Jazz threw a solid punch at the next mech, cracking his chest armor, stunning the mech enough for Jazz to land another strong punch to the unfortunate mech's face with so much force, the Decepticon's neck snapped in half. "Shockwave," Jazz continued, still brutally fighting his way through the mechs, "Is the one who betrayed me and didn't have the guts," Jazz went on, slicing open a mech's abdomen, "To face the consequences. That's right," the saboteur said, "High-And-Mighty Shockwave is a coward."
The sea of never-ending Decepticons continued attempts to subdue the lone Autobot, but Jazz was an unstoppable force.
It seems your pride has been stolen since you stood up to me
I'll tell you now you know I think I really like it
So learn a lesson from someone who will never repeat
The many tragic mistakes of his past
I hope you savor this moment as you're still on your feet
So keep it quiet now I think you're gonna like it
Words have their consequences when they're spoken to me
That's what you get for when you're writing checks
Now, the Decepticons were starting to lose their nerve. Jazz could sense it. He smirked, wiping away the energon that had splashed across his face. They were scared of him.
And they had every right to be.
"This'll teach those pathetic excuses for mechs to stand in my way."
Jazz continued to make his way towards an exit, this time chasing the Decepticons, who were now fleeing him. He leapt in the air and threw a strong kick to the retreating mech in front of him, landing hard on the fallen Con. He continued with a spin kick to the next closest mech, blade slicing through his throat.
Jazz was hit by a laser blast before he could move on to the next mech.
"Got him!"
Jazz snarled in fury and tackled the mech who shot him. "Congratulations, you're the first mech to hit me," the saboteur growled humorlessly. "Allow me to give you your prize." Jazz clenched a fist and drove it straight through the center of the Decepticon's chest, crushing his Spark chamber and killing him instantly.
The saboteur knew, in the back of his processor, that he could have easily avoided the mass of Decepticons, and probably escape much faster. But something was keeping him in the middle of the action. Something kept him fighting. Killing.
It was the thrill. The high he got every time he took down a Decepticon. It was infectious, taking control of the mech's very being, making him want more. He always had to have more.
Its what made him the Autobot's top spy.
Its also what made him the most feared and ruthless fighter on the planet.
Just as Jazz was about to move on to the next victim, a familiar voice came through on his comm link, meaning his communications system was back online
/Jazz, are you there? Please answer us!/
"Lucky fraggers," Jazz growled, leaving the Decepticons to find a relatively quiet place to speak with Prowl. The saboteur expertly flipped around a corner and into an abandoned room. He didn't have to try too hard...it wasn't like those pathetic Cons were trying to find him, anyway. But he still had to work fast...the elite squad was sure to be here soon. Now they would bring some entertainment.
/Prowl, you there? Its Jazz./
The reply came instantly. /Thank Primus! We've been hailing you for vorns. What happened? Is everything okay?/
/Cons got me, comm link was damaged,/ Jazz replied, seething. /Oh, and Shockwave's a traitor./
A split second of stunned silence. /Are you sure?/
/As sure as I am that he's the one that tried to torture the info outta me./
Jazz could tell Prowl was frantically typing away at a computer and yelling out instructions to other Autobots.
/Send your coordinates,/ the tactician ordered. /We'll come for you as soon as we can./
Jazz complied, and a few seconds later got a reply.
/I'll be there in about a vorn. Can you hold out until then?/
Jazz laughed humorlessly. /No problem, Prowl./
/And Jazz?/
/What, Prowl?/ the silver mech groaned.
/Behave yourself,/ the tactician said sternly.
The saboteur gave a mock salute to the air before he closed his comm link. He took the brief moment of rest to look himself over, discovering a mirror in the abandoned room. He stared at himself, detached. The mech he saw staring back at him was almost unrecognizable. His armor was dented and scratched beyond repair...it would all have to be replaced. Energon covered most of his body, some of it his own, but most of it from the countless mechs he'd killed. Drops of the bright blue life-giving liquid fell from his hands to the floor below, creating small puddles. Remnants of the acid were still slowly burning through his armor and wires were disconnected and sparking from time to time, sending sharp, stabbing pains throughout his body. But the mech Jazz was staring at showed no signs of pain or suffering or any emotion at all. Behind the chipped and energon-splashed visor were cold, merciless optics. The optics of a killer.
Jazz grinned and tilted his head slightly. "Killer" was such a harsh word.
He had the optics of an assassin.
Soon, Jazz's audio sensors picked up the sound of incoming soldiers.
The "elite" squad, he presumed.
The saboteur didn't move an inch when the soldiers came crashing through the door, surrounding him. But Jazz simply continued to stare at the mirror, apparently unconcerned with the eight Decepticons with guns aimed at his chest.
"You will surrender now, Autobot," one of them said, apparently their leader. "We have you surrounded."
Jazz remained silent and still.
"If you do not comply, we will kill you."
At this, Jazz let lose a loud bark of laughter before turning slowly to face the mech.
"And what makes you think," the spy said slowly, "that you can kill me?"
"We have you surrounded! You're outnumbered! We are far more of a challenge than those other soldiers you've fought. Taking us on would be suicide."
"Well, it would be suicide, but I wouldn't be the one dying, if you catch my drift," Jazz answered calmly, holding himself back. He wanted to get on with it, to feel the rush of the kill, but there was more satisfaction to be had. He wanted to watch their confidence melt away first.
Then, and only then, would he strike.
Don't you question how
I stand above you now I'm
Dream this moment as you run away
You would only separate me from what I believe
This moment in brutality
You're the one who kept on pushing til I made you bleed
"Something's not right," Prowl said cautiously, landing the rescue ship. "Surely the Decepticons have sensed us in the area by now...but where are they?"
"I agree, Prowl. Something feels...different," Ironhide replied, cannons rotating uneasily.
Ratchet joined the two on the main deck. "Its quiet. Too quiet," the medic added, looking around outside of the ship. "Have you gotten ahold of Jazz yet?"
"No, he's not answering his comm link. It may still be damaged. But, I'm picking up some sort of sound coming from the Decepticon base," Prowl mentioned, enhancing the audio. "It...sounds like an alarm."
"Must have been from Jazz's escape."
"But why hasn't it been turned off yet? Wouldn't every Decepticon know he's out by now?"
"That's what bothers me," Prowl said gravely. He stood and faced the others. "I'm going to find him. Stay with the ship, I'll call you if I require assistance."
"Are you sure you should be going alone?" Ratchet asked.
"I doubt there will be many Decepticons to take care of."
"Its not the Decepticons I'm worried about," the medic replied warily.
Prowl closed his optics briefly before speaking again. "I need you and Ironhide to stay behind and watch the ship, and protect it in the event it needs protecting."
Ironhide and Ratchet nodded. The three mechs shared a knowing look before Prowl took off.
The tactician made it across the open field and deep into the base without encountering a single Decepticon.
Well...that wasn't entirely true.
He made it without encountering any live Decepticons.
Once he got into the base, Prowl had to force his way through a sea of dead soldiers. Some had their neck cables slit, some were missing limbs, a few were missing heads, and some were beyond recognition as mechs.
"Oh, Jazz..." Prowl whispered, rubbing his chevron lightly. He looked up and sighed. "Where are you?"
Everywhere the tactician went was paved with the bodies of dead Decepticons. The alarm rang eerily throughout the base, echoing through the corridors like some sort of sick funeral march. Prowl slowly made his way through every hallway he found, looking in every room for Jazz.
Finally, in the last wing of the base, Prowl found him.
"Jazz?" he said quietly, slowly opening the door further.
"I-I can't stop it this time, Prowl," the saboteur replied, voice wavering. "Its worse this time. Its n-not going away."
"You can do it, Jazz," the tactician said, entering the room. "I know you can."
"But what if I can't?" Jazz asked frantically, turning to face Prowl. The mech tried not to wince as he saw the damage on Jazz's body...and the thick coating of energon that splashed across his armor.
"You can," Prowl repeated, stepping closer to the frightened Jazz. "You've done it before, and you can do it now."
"But..." the saboteur said, dropping to his knees. "But what if its keeping me alive? What if...what if this urge to kill is the only reason I'm alive?"
Prowl knelt down beside him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine-"
"Its coming back..." Jazz said, scared. "It's coming back! Prowl, please..." he pleaded, looking up at the tactician, "Help me!"
Prowl moved so he was facing Jazz and put both his hands on the saboteur's shoulders. "Fight it, Jazz. You can do it," he encouraged. "You're strong."
"Don't lie to me!" Jazz yelled suddenly, pushing Prowl away. "I saw the look on your face when you saw me! You know how damaged I am!"
"Ratchet can help you. We all can," Prowl said, keeping his voice calm despite the fears swirling in his processor.
"You can't help! You didn't see what happened to me! You didn't feel what happened to me!" Jazz shouted, getting up and pacing around. "And what if I don't want help? What if I want to feel like this?"
"This isn't you, Jazz," Prowl said warily. He slowly stood up. "That's the obsession talking, not you."
"The obsession to kill is me," the saboteur growled, still pacing. "We are the same thing! Why can't you accept that?"
"Listen to yourself, Jazz," Prowl said, holding his hands out to try to placate the increasingly violent mech. "This is not you."
Jazz suddenly leapt over and shoved Prowl into a wall, wrist blade at his neck.
"This is me," he growled dangerously, "And you better get used to it."
A split second later Jazz was sprawled out on the floor, 20 feet away. "You're forgetting that I know you better than any of the mechs you fought today, Jazz," Prowl said firmly, dusting his hands. "So I know exactly what your weaknesses are."
"The Jazz you knew is dead," he snarled back. "And I've taken over!"
"He isn't gone," Prowl replied, regarding this "new" mech coldly. "You're just suppressing him."
"Because he's too weak to defeat me."
"I guess we'll see about that." Prowl glared at Jazz. "So is still my turn, or your move?"
The saboteur growled as he leapt forward to attack. Prowl dodged him and awaited Jazz's next move, which he deflected. The fight continued like this for several minutes...with Jazz always attacking, and Prowl always defending, and nothing more.
"What, aren't you going to attack me?" Jazz taunted, grinning wildly. "Afraid you're going to lose?"
The tactician didn't get a chance to reply as Jazz immediately attacked him again, first knocking him off balance and then slicing through Prowl's right arm and severing vital energon cables.
Prowl fell to the floor with a grunt. "Jazz," he said quietly.
"That would be me," Jazz replied with a sadistic smile, leaping on the injured mech and pinning him to the floor.
"Look at me, Jazz."
"I already am."
"I mean with your visor up."
"What for?" Jazz spat. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"Hah," Prowl laughed humorlessly. "Are you scared to?"
Growling in fury, Jazz punched the mech below him in the jaw. "Of course I'm not scared!"
Spitting out bits of metal and energon, the tactician replied quietly, "Then why don't you do it?"
"Because I know what you're trying to do!" Jazz shouted. "You're trying to get the old Jazz back! You think if you can get me to retract my visor the old Jazz will come back! But it isn't going to work!"
"Take control, Jazz! Don't let this obsession rule over you!" Prowl spluttered, desperately, energon starting to pool in his mouth.
Jazz balled his fists up in rage.
"Shut UP!"
Now you know the answer, save yourself from danger
I cannot forget how all of this began
I know you know the answer, save yourself from danger
Beaten by a stranger, blood still on his hands now
Dream this moment as you run away
You would only separate me from what I believe
This moment in brutality
You're the one who kept on pushing til I made you bleed
Jazz was in shock.
The last thing he remembered was struggling for control over his own body.
And now...
he looked down at Prowl.
There was a fist that drove straight through the tactician's chest.
It took Jazz a few moments to realize it was his fist.
"P-Prowl...?" Jazz asked tentatively after removing his arm and releasing him from the pin. He stared at the lifeless form lying in a pool of energon, optics closed. "Prowl, can you hear me?"
Prowl replied with a groan before coughing up more energon.
"Oh, Primus..." Jazz whispered, gently holding Prowl's head still. He retracted his visor. "Prowl, I...I'm so sorry..."
The tactician managed a weak smile. "Good to have you back, Jazz."
"Hold on, I'm calling Ratchet."
/Ratchet? Can you hear me?/
Startled, the medic replied, /Jazz...? Where are you? Has Prowl found you yet?/
/Yeah, he's with me,/ the saboteur answered quickly. /You need to get over here now!/
/What happened?/ Ratchet asked urgently.
/He's hurt bad...I'm sending our exact location, please hurry!/
Ratchet turned to Ironhide, who was already powering up the ship. "You locked on to those cooridnates?"
"Slag right I am," he replied, taking off.
The Weapons Specialist landed the ship right in the middle of the Decepticon base, just a few feet away from where Jazz was holding Prowl.
Ratchet emerged from the ship, having already prepared his medbay, and ran over to the two mechs.
"I killed him..." Jazz whimpered, holding Prowl close to himself. Lubricant was flowing freely through his optics. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to!"
The medic's own Spark stopped momentarily when he saw them close up. Primary scans told him what he feared...he didn't detect any signs of life withing Prowl. But something made him scan again, more thorough this time.
"Jazz, let go of him," Ratchet said urgently, voice low. "You have to let me see him-"
"But I killed him!"
"No you didn't!" he replied, grabbing both of Jazz's shoulders. "He's still alive, Jazz!"
"What?" the saboteur asked, dumbfounded, as Ratchet hastily picked up the fallen tactician from his arms and rushed him into the medbay.
"Let's go, Jazz," Ironhide said, startling the mech as he didn't hear the Weapons Specialist approach. He pulled Jazz to his feet. "Make sure you get to the medbay so Ratchet can look over you when he's done with Prowl."
The silver mech slowly wandered down to the medical wing, collapsing beside the door. He waited for what seemed like orns for news on Prowl until, finally, Ratchet emerged.
The medic looked down at Jazz harshly, but his glare soon softened upon seeing the desperate face looking back up at him. "He'll be fine."
Jazz sighed in relief, and slowly pulled himself to his feet. "Thank Primus..."
"Thank Primus Prowl's one tough bot," Ratchet agreed. "And Thank Primus something stopped you from completely crushing his Spark chamber."
Ratchet gave Jazz a once-over. "And you're in pretty bad shape yourself."
"I'll be fine. My automatic repair has already started."
Ratchet nodded his acknowledgment, and said, "You should still let me help you, though."
Jazz glanced up at the medic before offering a small smile. "Thanks, Ratchet."
"No problem," he replied, giving the smaller mech a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder. "I can't pretend to know what you went through today, but I can tell you you're alive, and Prowl's alive, because you're one of the strongest mechs I've ever met. Not many could overcome what you did today."
And with that encouragement, Ratchet left Jazz to his own thoughts.
"I was just lucky," Jazz said quietly. "Lucky Prowl managed to get through to me just in time to stop me from completely crushing him."
The saboteur's thoughts turned to Shockwave.
"This is all his fault," he said, forcing back his feelings of rage. "He caused all this. He tortured me and then he ran...all those soldiers, and Prowl..."
Jazz turned to a window and stared intently out of it, as Ironhide prepared to launch.
"I will find you someday, Shockwave," the saboteur promised. " And when I do..." Jazz's voice trailed off, and his optics flashed brightly before he finished.
"You'll wish it really was me you had to deal with."
So...was it okay? :P
Please, please PLEASE review. I don't like to fish for reviews, but reviews are the best motivation you can give an author here. And more motivation = more writing.
Yes, favorites do make us feel appreciated...
But REVIEWS. Now THERE'S some hardcore, genuine appreciation right there.
But anyway, thank you for reading (and hopefully reviewing!)