Author's Notes: I really thought I would never write anything else in the Bayverse again, but then a new plot bunny popped into my head and I just had to write it! Stupid plot bunnies! Anyway, I hope you guys like this sad little oneshot I wrote. Oneshots are a good way to relax and reprogram your brain when there are a lot of big stories that need attention. Please review if you feel like it :)
I Never Told You
Earth had some of the strangest looking skies Barricade had ever seen. Their orns, or days as humans called them, were so short and the sky constantly changed colors and consistencies. Sometimes the sky was blue with white clouds. Sometimes it was as grey and volatile as Megatron had been, and sometimes on evenings like this one it was a panorama of oranges, pinks, yellows, and reds. Sunsets only lasted for a few precious moments, but they were quite a sight to behold. Perhaps had it been an ordinary day Barricade could have enjoyed this glorious sunset.
Not tonight though. Tonight was the evening of a crushing defeat for the Decepticons. Barricade had barely escaped Mission City alive, Megatron had been killed by a mere human child, and his partner Frenzy had been beheaded by his own weapon rebounding on him. Barricade didn't really know Frenzy that well. This had been their first mission together, and he found the illogical ramblings of the tiny mech annoying, but he knew Soundwave would not be happy that one of his creations had offlined. No, Barricade was not looking forward to telling him that at all.
It wasn't as though the Autobots had not suffered, though. Megatron had ripped apart their saboteur Jazz as if it were nothing. The silver Autobot didn't even have time to register the pain.
Barricade sighed and sat down on the sand of the beach where he now found himself. It was just like Jazz. He knew he had no chance of winning, but he went after Megatron anyway just to give his teammates time to recover the Allspark. It was such a pointless sacrifice, and it wasn't even the first time Jazz had tried something like that.
It had been back on Cybertron, during the battle of Tyger Pax. Blackout held a lab full of scientists hostage and threatened to set off a bomb and kill everyone in the building if the Autobots didn't surrender the original blueprints for their latest warship; the Defender.
"He really thinks we're just gonna roll over and give him those plans? Pfft! Yeah right!" Jazz had scoffed, "I say we storm in there and create a distraction. Then the scientists can escape."
"That is ridiculous," Prowl replied, "The odds of success are only 12%. Our best hope is negotiation. Give him something of lesser value in exchange for 2 of the scientists. Once we have a rapport going we can negotiate for the others."
"Rapport? I wanna rescue the scientists, not take Blackout on a date!" Jazz retorted, "Okay, how 'bout this? We start shooting the outside of the building to keep him busy, and then send someone in the back way to get the hostages out?"
"If we start shooting Blackout will activate the bomb," Prowl pointed out.
"Naw, I think he's bluffin' 'bout that," Jazz replied with a sly smirk, "Ten energon cubes says there's no bomb."
Prowl scowled for a second, but then with a smirk of his own said "You're on. However, we don't shoot him. I'll get his attention, and you sneak inside and grab the hostages."
"Aw mech, you always get the fun jobs!" Jazz complained, but then hopped over the wall they were hiding behind to begin his part of the plan.
Jazz walked into Blackout's line of vision, and then started waggling his aft and waving his servos to goad Blackout out of the building. Blackout took the bait, and started chasing Jazz and firing upon him! Jazz drove for several mechano-miles, and Prowl had plenty of time to save every scientist. Jazz eventually lost Blackout in the Sea of Rust.
Barricade stared out at the ocean without really seeing it. That mission seemed like an eternity ago. To the humans it would've been an eternity ago, since they didn't exist back then. Back when this planet was full of giant brain-dead lizards Jazz was flitting from one mission to another. If Barricade offlined his optics, he could still see that friendly smile, that casual walk, and hear Jazz hollering "Hey, Prowler!"
"I just can't believe you're really gone," Barricade whispered into the cool evening air, "Strange as this must sound, it always seemed like nothing could kill you. You'd just dance around danger like it was nothing. Smile when everyone else wanted to crawl into a hole and die. I never told you this Jazz, and I'm pretty sure you can't hear me say it now, but there were times I envied you. No matter how hopeless the Autobot cause seemed, you never gave up. No matter how illogical victory seemed, you believed. No matter how many times you were hurt, you would still put your trust in a stranger in the hopes they were a new friend. You were everything I wasn't, and I think that's why we worked so well together. Goodbye Jazz. I'm sorry I never told you that. I'm sorry for...everything."
Barricade polished the decal on his arm that read "To Punish and Enslave" and for the first time in a while really looked at it. It had made so much sense so long ago. The Allspark was gone, their people were dying in a senseless war over pride, and it was all but assured that Megatron would win. It seemed logical to change his name, to abandon the Autobot cause in favor of the Decepticons, and to ensure the survival of their species by any means necessary.
He still remembered when he met Jazz on the battlefield for the first time after his defection. So much of his armor had been changed to fit in with the 'Cons. Even his optics had been changed. Jazz fought Barricade with all his might and never once recognized his best friend Prowl beneath the claws and fangs. In that moment Prowl had truly died, and Barricade had truly been born. Survival was all that mattered, and the cost was irrelevant.
Now though, Barricade understood the foolishness in his decision. The Decepticons were getting closer to defeat, the Autobots had gained powerful if foolish allies in the humans, and now Barricade had nothing but his rank to fall back on. He wouldn't go back to the Autobots now though. He couldn't. They would either kill or arrest him, and he would deserve it. That was what justice was, after all. Punish the guilty, and enslave the weak-willed. That was all he had now.
He stood up. The sky was dark now. He knew somewhere out in that ocean was where the humans had placed Jazz's remains; down too deep to ever be retrieved or discovered. Yes, he had made a bad choice, and he had to live with it now. To live was all that mattered. He had nothing else.
"Goodbye Jazz," Barricade bowed his helm before turning around to leave, "In case the Well of Allsparks is real, I just want you to know...you were the only real friend I ever had, and I'm sorry I never told you."
The End