Tanoura's Music

by allseer15

Can you hear her?

So I remember I asked a question way long ago in one of my other fanfics and I wanted to encourage reader feedback, so I offered to write a oneshot for whoever answered correctly first. That person happened to be Galem and when I asked her what she wanted written, she asked for an OC to be brought to life. So this story is a series of oneshots in key points through this OCs life in the G1 universe. Maybe I'll come back and write more, idk. Hope you guys like and fall in love with this character like I did.

Tanoura's Music

I came online with a hum and melody from my systems onlining for the first time ever. I came online with my optics blurry and frame heavy and lethargic. I came online away from the warm and loving sun that had held me so close for so long. I came online with someone quickly and jerkily moving my frame. All of those things should have sent me into a fit, demanding that my world be fixed and made right once more.

But I came online with Music in my audios.

How could I be upset when such a beautiful and wonderful song was serenading me?

It was impossible to determine where it was coming from, but I could care less when the incredible notes and rifts seemed to flow right through my spark with a strength that made me worry that it would carry my spark away.

Then the servos holding me and moving me in a not-so-nice way disappeared and were replaced with warm servos and a surface that thrummed and beat with a spark. I don't know how I knew it was a spark under the living metal or how I knew that spark, but when I blinked up at the bright band of gold I just…knew this mech.

I clicked up at him in confusion. How did I know him if he wasn't the loving sun—spark—that had held me?

Something moved under the bright and pretty gold and something in me—my processor?—told me it was the dermas that had moved into a smile and that a smile was good. Oh, okay. I mimicked it as best as I could, reaching up to touch his smile when I felt I didn't do it well enough.

Then his dermas were moving again, but sound came this time! It was so much like the Music! And, now that I was paying attention, the spark beat I could feel so clearly, both through the living metal and in my spark, was in tune to the Music as well. My optics spun wide as I stared up at this mech I knew but didn't know. Did he hear the Music too?

He had to! He was singing right along with it.

I blinked as he began to rock side to side, moving even if he never took his optics off of me. My processor struggled to make sense of the words even as it began to slow down, notifications popping up on my HUD to tell me I needed 'recharge'.

Uh, no! I needed to listen to the Music!

But I couldn't help it as the lullaby slowly shut down my systems despite my desire to stay online. And before I fell into recharge, frame thrumming with the beat and audios ringing with the notes, I was able to decipher one word in the song my brother was singing.

"Tanoura."

Jazz sat in the mess that was what used to be the main room of his family unit's habitation suite. He didn't mind the mess of thin metal sheeting that once hid his presents from view. He didn't mind the collapsible aluminum boxes that carried his gifts until he gleefully freed them from their prison. In fact, he liked the colorful array of thin metal wrapping.

But, while he usually would've indulged in his childish desire to bury himself in paper or tear it up into the tiniest pieces ever, the mechling's entire focus was on the tiny creature currently sitting in his lap. He smiled as he bobbed his helm to the beat of the Music, patting out the percussion on his leg plating with one servo and crinkling paper with the other as his darling sparkling sister "bah" and "tah"ed in her own addition to the Music, waving and flexing her absolutely tiny servos for emphasis.

She was still so young, barely able to stand, but he could tell she was going to be a spark breaker. Tanoura already had the beautiful symmetric look that would attract every bot on Cybertron before they even heard about her personality. Even though most of her delicate sparkling protoform was still dark grey Jazz could see splotches of color coming in, mainly white and silver, though the part he absolutely loved about his sister was her tiny visor and audio horns that were a perfect match for his. Even with only basic emotions and needs being communicated at the time over the bond between them, Jazz knew he was going to love and live with his sister his entire life cycle.

"Here it comes, sweet spark," Jazz said as he heard the oncoming percussion solo in the Music. Tan squealed before they both broke out in patting-percussion. The black and white mechling was keeping a better pace with the rapid percussion, but he found himself literally melting as he listened and watched his sparkling sister do her best and think she was doing the best.

Out of the corner of his optics, Jazz could see his creators looking at them with smiles, content that their creations were having the time of their life streams even if they didn't know the source. Sometimes, Jazz forgot his creators couldn't Hear, but they never made a big deal out of something only he and, now, Tanoura could only hear.

As the percussion solo came to an end, Jazz started up his new speakers, sending them a signal to power on as well as a datapackage with the song he wanted played. It was a song of his own making with various sounds spliced and warped to make the music pleasing to the audio.

He grinned as Tanoura froze, staring at the speakers sitting by his leg strut. Jazz laughed as Tanoura's arms started shaking and her dermas opened to let her half-learned laugh out, though it sounded more like hurried gasps. She looked up at him for confirmation, patting the surface of the speakers and he nodded. "Yeah, Tan! Music is coming from there. Cool, huh?"

She squealed again, bouncing on her rear and waving her arms. Jazz laughed and imitated her before she put her servos on Jazz's thighs and struggling to stand up. She didn't leave her older brother wondering for long what she was doing when she started hopping in place, shaking her skidplate in jerky movements. Jazz swore his grin nearly split his faceplates in two, before he whooped and swooped his sparkling sister up, standing up and spinning in place.

"You're dancing, lil femme!" he cried, tickling her side plating to get her laughing and shrieking until he set her down on her peds, holding her tiny servos in his own. "Dance with me!" he exclaimed, shaking and jumping to encourage his little sister in his hunched over position. She smiled that beautiful smile and danced with him.

Jazz couldn't be any happier. Even with all his wonderful presents on his creation day, the best present he got today was his little sister's first dance.

Yeah. She was going to be a spark breaker. She already had his in her tiny, curious servos.

I scowled as I stared out the window of the room, watching the other younglings run around the playground, before turning back to my sound recorder.

I Did Not Want To Be Here.

Yes, I would capitalize all those glyphs even though the big bots would tell me that that is the wrong way to write and say them, but I needed them to understand how important that sentence was.

I Did Not Want To Be Here.

Why couldn't they get that?

I told my Carrier and Creator that I didn't like coming to the "Youth Centers" where other new adults watched and talked with me and other new younglings tried to play and talk with me.

They were all stupid. All of them. Even the big bots. They just didn't understand. It wasn't because I was 'really smart' or 'well beyond my age' like my parental units said, but they were Deaf.

They couldn't Hear the Music.

At first, I thought it was because I was 'really smart' and wasn't saying the right words, so I dumbed it down for everyone I tried to talk to about the Music, but they either got this dumb look on their face or said something dumb.

It was so frustrating!

How could they not hear the wonderful and all-encompassing Music that I was listening to even now? For some reason, they couldn't.

So I stayed inside while the others played. I stayed inside and worked on my sound recorder, which was a gift from my big brother, Jazz. It allowed me to catch some sounds and play with them, turning them into Songs.

I sighed and twirled a dial before wincing at the ugly waving tone I got in response, deleting the sound. It was in times like these that I wished Jazzy could come and take me home so we could play and Listen to the Music. But Jazz was a mechling now and had to go to the "Academy" whatever that was. I hated it because it took my Jazzy away from me when we could be playing all day. And since Carri' and 'Tor worked during the day I had to come here with these Deaf, dumb bots.

Stupid.

I Did Not Want To Be Here.

Why couldn't Jazzy come home from the "Academy" already?

… A-Ca-De-Mee. A-Ca-Da-Mee. Huh. That actually sounds like a simple note rift.

I was still playing with that rift for the next few joors, ignoring the stupid younglings and whispering big bots until I was suddenly swooped up into familiar arms. I squealed happily, hugging my big brother as he smothered me in kisses and hugs before taking me from the Youth Sectors.

"So why didn't you play with the other younglings today?" Jazzy asked, placing a servo over my legs where I sat perched on his shoulder.

My good mood went down instantly and I huffed, looking away. "They're stupid," I muttered. "They can't Hear."

Jazzy heard the special emphasis on the last glyph and hummed a melodic note of understanding before smiling. "Then you're just going to have to show it to them."

I looked at him curiously. Show? How could I show the Music to the Deaf bots? "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, the Music is too good to keep to ourselves, right?" I nodded hesitantly. "Well, we'll just have to record the Music and let the others hear it. Do you think you can do that?"

My processor turned the idea over in my helm for a moment before I grumbled and nodded. I supposed I could help the Deaf, dumb bots Listen. Who knows? Maybe it'll make them smarter.

Jazz hummed and skipped down the metal path of the park, servos held up to cradle the oilcakes he'd just purchased. It was a nice orn to be out and about and he and his sister were spending it together, mixing and recording in the park. They'd been at it long enough that Jazz felt that they deserved the reward of hot, melting oilcake.

But, at that moment, he felt like he needed to just look at his sister. He came to a stop and smiled as he regarded the oblivious form of his younger sister. She'd grown up so much so fast. She was almost to her final upgrades and she looked stunning. To Jazz's optics, biased or not, she was every mech's dream for a spark mate. A lithe and curved frame, perfectly accented with white and silver with a gold visor and audial horns that added a bit of mystery and depth to her image. It was a running joke between them that Tanoura was actually Jazz's twin, just a little late in coming into the world.

But, despite looking so similar, they couldn't be any different. Tan was pursuing a function as a soundboard technician, working backstage, while Jazz had already graduated in the function of a performer, singing and dancing in front of the crowds. Where he was social she was anti-social. Where he was looking for the next party she was looking for the next quiet spot to work. Where he was looking for the next adventure in mischief she was right there with him.

Jazz smiled, probably looking ridiculous staring at his sister with his grin while holding two oil cakes, but he didn't care. He loved his sister to deactivation and showed everyone that whenever he could. He'd even written a few songs about it, though she didn't know about it.

Tanoura helped him make songs most times, giving them that boost that made the songs so popular. Jazz thought it was because she heard something different in the Music than he did, but he didn't really ask. She was just so at home behind her trusty sound recorder.

In fact, he was watching her work her tool now, seamlessly twisting dials and pressing buttons before reaching up and messing with her own sensitive audios to catch a sound the recorder couldn't. She was a professional whether the Academy recognized it or not and the nanosecond she graduated they were working together in their functions, taking Cybertron by storm with their Music.

Jazz's smile faded a bit as he watched a mech with drab black paint approach his sister, standing much too close for his liking. The mech said something as Tanoura looked up in disinterest and Jazz began walking to them, protocols and coding telling him to get that ugly, tasteless mech away from his little sister.

Tanoura said something he couldn't hear before turning back to her sound recorder, leaving herself open. Jazz got there in time to stop the mech from touching his sister. He rumbled his engine threateningly at the mech, curling his derma in disgust. "Get away from her," he snarled, glaring death as the mech obligingly backed up and hurried away. He only relaxed when the mech was out of sight and Tanoura plucked the waiting oil cake from his servo with an appreciative sound.

"Thank you," she chirped, tweaking a toggle switch on her recorder.

Jazz frowned as he took his seat beside his sister on the bench. "Why'd you leave yourself open like that?" he asked, taking a bit of his own oil cake.

Tanoura shrugged nonchalantly, smiling faintly at her older brother, teaking mischief in her field. "I knew he was going to try something," she admitted. "But I also knew my big brother would stop him."

Jazz couldn't stop the smile even if he tried, which he didn't. He wrapped an arm around his sister. "Love you too, sis."

I sat in the private room at the concert hall, watching the vid screen closely as I absently give commands to the staff working to close everything down now that Jazz had finished his encore. I'd been out of the Academy for three decavorn now, working all of that time with my big brother. He was the face of our business, going on stage and performing while I help come up with the songs and tweak them until they are perfect. I also manage all the venues and staff to make sure everything goes off without a hitch.

And we'd been doing such a good job that Jazz was now a minor celebrity, which was an achievement for anybot on Cybertron.

But that was the furthest from my processor at the moment. I frowned as the vid screen kept playing the recording of one Megatron giving a speech on equality and freedom, calling others to join his cause. One servo came up and touched my audial horns. The Music was getting darker, quieter.

Jazz came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, silently joining me in watching the vid. When it switched to something else a couple of kliks later I broke the silence. "The Music…" I murmured quietly, feeling Jazz nod against my shoulder.

"I can Hear it too," he replied, releasing me and going to drop onto the couch, grabbing a cube of energon. "Generally, when a song goes quiet the big bang is coming," he points out, sending a signal to offline the vid screen.

I nod in agreement. It was a basic rule for emphasis, switching between volume levels. "I'm not sure I'm going to like this 'bang'," I muse before pointing at the dark vid screen. "What do you make of all that? You believe it?"

My older brother hummed noncommittally, taking a swig of his energon before motioning me to come over. I oblige and snuggle my frame to his with long familiarity. "I believe in the freedom and equality," he finally answered. "I don't like being better or worse than somebody. I'm just the same as everybot else."

"Do you want to join the 'Decepticons'?" I asked, thinking on the possibilities of such a move.

"No." I ended my thought three and tilted my helm to look at my brother, sending a questioning pulse down our bond. "There's always something else going on under these 'movements'," the black-and-white explained. "And there's definitely something fishy going on with Megs and his crew. I don't want nothing to do with them."

I said nothing for a moment before setting upon a solution. "I hear Iacon wants to hear you perform." Iacon: the furthest city from Kaon and Megatron as we could possibly get. And, of course, my brother sees what I'm getting at.

"I'll pack my bags."

"I don't like it."

I stand in our rented habitation suite, grimly watching the holocast with my arms crossed. Jazz is silent as he watches the latest news feed with me.

The war was heating up. And it was a War now. A couple of vorns ago Kaon had been completely 'freed' from Council control and was now in anarchy with Megatron ruling over it. He was even pressuring the neighboring city of Helix to pick between the Decepticons or the Autobots of the Council despite the fact that Helix had already declared its neutrality in any conflict.

It was madness. The Council wasn't able to do anything to get Kaon back under control or take Megatron down from power. All that was happening was the increase in Megatron's power and influence. Even now we were watching yet another one of Megatron's infamous speeches about equality and how the Council needed to be removed entirely. He never mentioned the mechs, both soldiers and civilians, who were being killed upon his command.

"I don't understand how anybot can kill another just to get what they want," Jazz said, tapping his servo to the very faint sound of the Music in our audios. "It's just…wrong. What's Sentinel Prime doing about this?"

I snort and roll my optics, "Hiding away in the Vault and sending others to do his dirty work. No wonder so many bots are going to Megatron."

"I get the feeling that all this is going to blow up soon," Jazz drawled unhappily and a sour note rang through the Music, making me twitch.

"You and me both, big bro," I mumbled, rubbing my audios to rid myself of that horrid note.

The atmosphere was still and somber. The Music was practically nonexistent now, barely a whisper in my audios. Normally, this would send me into a state of twitchy nervousness or outright panic, but seeing how it had been this way for two decavorns now meant that it didn't surprise me. I'm sure I would glitch if the Music did suddenly come back the atmosphere became cheery and lively once more.

A small sigh escaped my vents as I leaned down and peered into the insides of the scanner, looking over the nest of wires and circuits I had made from servo. Sadly, after three vorns the scanner was in need of a tune up or it would give up altogether, so here I was, kneeling by the door to the bar Jazz and I owned.

As I reached for a welder I thought back on the past two and a half decavorns. The war had taken a brutal turn. Iacon itself was attacked and bombed. Thousands of civilians had been killed, including Sentinel Prime. Iacon would've been completely overrun if it hadn't been for the sudden arrival of the new Prime, Optimus Prime. Autobot forces had rallied and pushed the Decepticons back entirely, signaling the first real victory in the Autobots' name.

The excitement and celebration was weighed down by the fact that the council was dead and so were over ten thousand civilians.

Needless to say that Jazz and I's musical careers had come to an end. We were lucky that we had enough credits to buy a business so we could support ourselves while many other mecha fell into poverty and disrepair.

Our bar was a little off from the main area of the city where the Autobots had set up base, but not far enough to have thieves and criminals think they had a chance raiding our bar.

But just to be sure I made this little scanner to keep any and all weapons out of the bar. If a mech refused to relinquish their weapons, well, we had a good friend named Blast Shield to take care of them. Plus whatever Autobots came all the way out here to have a drink.

Jazz and I weren't too enthusiastic about either faction. Megatron had gone and destroyed our home city of Kalis a decavorn ago. We haven't heard a single word from our creators since then, though the mournful wail of the Music when Kalis was destroyed gave us some measure of certainty on what happened. The only reason we hadn't joined up with the Autobots or associated ourselves with them more is because they didn't seem to be doing anything. All they've ever done since Iacon's attack was defend and react to the Decepticons. Even I knew they needed a change in tactics.

I muttered curse words quietly as I welded the last wire in place, jerking my servos away as power was restored and the scanner came to life, nearly shocking my servos. "Stupid machine," I mumbled, getting to my peds and gathering my tools.

As I go behind the counter Jazz comes into view, crouching down and counting the cube of energon placed for easy reach. I set my tool box down into its customary place and grab a cube of high grade when a mech at the counter waves at me. After giving it and marking the price onto the mech's tab, I go back to my older brother. How are we doing? I ask over the bond so as to avoid drawing the attention of our customers.

Jazz smiles and reaches up to pat my cheek plating before blowing a soft sigh through his vents. Another one of our suppliers fell through, he reported somberly. Megatron's work.

I grit my denta and look away briefly. The Decepticons have been looking to commandeer any and all energon they can get their greedy servos on. For the greater good, they say. It's for the army that's trying to protect you, they say. I snort softly. Yeah, right. And I'm Primus.

Losing our supplier wasn't good. We made it one of our goals when we opened up to always keep our stock up and our prices low to accommodate the failing economy. Credits were just hard to come by nowadays, so we tried to be accepting. But when another one of our suppliers was sent back to the Well it made me wonder why we bothered when nothing else in this world wasn't nearly as kind.

Jazz sensed my worry and darker thoughts and stood up before affectionately rubbing one of my audial horns. Don't worry, Tan. I'll find a new supplier or renegotiate with one of our regulars.

I rolled my optics, but smiled and returned the nice gesture by tapping lightly on his golden visor. Go play, I order shortly even as I pulse love down the bond. I'll take the counter.

I reset my vents in a loud snort when my darling older brother smirked and planted a sloppy kiss on my cheek, hugging me tightly. I knew you were the best little sister, he sang over the bond before skipping up onto the makeshift stage across the room.

I'm your only little sister, making me your worst little sister as well.

Sh. Just Sh. Don't be so noisy.

Glitch.

Love you too.

I start cleaning up behind the counter and organizing the energon as my older brother picks up one of our few remaining instruments and starts playing. The whole bar settles down for the next joor with hardly any change until loud and constant beeping breaks us from our trance.

All optics swing to the door where a bulky red mech stands just beyond my scanner, looking bewildered as to why the machine hated him. My optics immediately found the Autobot symbol on his chassis and, after the scanner quieted, when the mech continued to look confused, I called out, "Your weapons." Blue optics snapped to mine and I pointed to a table that was placed just before the scanner. "No weapons allowed in here. You've got to remove them."

The mech huffed and didn't look too pleased, but he seemed weary above all else and just obeyed, going back through the scanner, setting it off again, and removing ever weapon he owned. Which was a lot. His weapons took up a majority of the table space and that's even when they were piled up on each other. When he stepped through the scanner again it was silent.

Jazz picked up a jaunty tune as the mech came to the counter and I went over to him. "So what'll it be?" I ask.

"Thermal high grade," he replies in a low and gruff voice.

"Coming right up." I take a moment to fish under the counter and come up with the appropriate cube. "Here you go."

"Thank you," he says before taking a drink.

"What's an Autobot doing all the way out here?" I ask as I go back to cleaning.

The mech shrugs. "Just needed a change of scenery. Same old faces and same old places get old."

I smile slightly at the play on words, wondering if I could turn those into song lyrics. "You don't say," I drawled.

Blue optics move around the bar. "This is a nice place you've got here." I nod my thanks. "What's a pretty little femme like you doing working here? Shouldn't you be in the Youth Centers?"

My opinion of the mech went down a little and I gave him a small glower. "Youth Centers," I mutter in slight disgust before shaking my helm. "No. My brother and I have to make a living somehow, so we own this place. And don't let my brother hear you call me that. He'll kick you out."

The large red mech snorted and smirked playfully. "I'd like to see him try." And I believed him to a degree. An Autobot that casually carried around so many weapons knew his way in a fight. I let the comment go and continue working, listening and watching my customers for anything they needed and listening to the music my brother was making. And, for a moment, the Music played a little louder than a whisper. It was only for a moment, but a moment was all Jazz and I needed to hear. I watched as Jazz physically twitched before changing his jaunty tune to an old ballad of happiness to match the brief impression we had gotten from the sound only we could hear. For once, it was a happy Music.

I played the short happy note and the red mech's play on words over in my processor as I worked. When the red mech waved for another cube I went over to him and obliged him.

"That your brother?" he asked conversationally, nodding over to where Jazz was playing.

I nod. "Yeah."

The red mech hummed thoughtfully, watching my brother before switching his gaze to mine. "How would you two like to come work for the Autobots?"

A startled laugh left me and I turned it into a snort, muffling it with my servo. "Are you kidding?" I demanded with a smile. "My brother and I aren't soldiers."

"You wouldn't have to fight," the mech assured me before waving a servo around the room. "We just need a place like this. A place where we can relax and have fun."

"And you want us to open our bar in Autobot headquarters?" I asked, still smiling incredulously as I wiped my servos.

"Yes." My smile fell a bit at the confident answer. "I do."

I was quiet, thinking over the offer and my response. "I never did catch your designation."

The red mech smiled a bit. "I'm Ironhide."

What the hell were Jazz and I doing with our lives? We couldn't seem to make up our processors at all.

First we wanted to be the next big name in the music industry, then, when the War really started picking up and that was no longer an option, we opened up a bar, determined not to get involved with either side of the war. We wanted to be neutrals.

Then a certain red weapons specialist offered us a safe place to work with the Autobots.

We'd been apprehensive at first, debating it for hours over the bond before accepting.

Imagine our surprise when we didn't find sparkless soldiers and killers. We found mechs who laughed and cried, partied and mourned, and lived and died just like everyone else.

And we found friends. Friends that both Jazz and I liked. For the first time in vorns we were actually close to mechs outside of our bond. I smirked as I saw Jazz lean across our bar and smile flirtatiously with a certain black and white Praxian. It was hilarious to see my energetic and happy brother try and hit up the stoic SIC of the Autobot army, but it was also curious that Prowl let him try.

"'Nother round, bar femme!"

"Call me a bar femme again and you'll be kicked out on your shiny aft!" I called back to Sunstreaker even as I reached down and grabbed another cube, sliding it down the surface to a scowling frontliner's servo.

It didn't matter how much we hesitated before coming to the Autobots for business. This was a good choice. Even the Music was playing again, a happy and upbeat tune that I was bouncing along to as I started to gather the large order for a certain table.

Everyone came to our bar. From the lowest and greenest grunts to the highest and strongest leaders. Optimus Prime himself had come for a drink once and wasn't that a sight to remember. Everyone had been buying him drinks that night. And even Prowl seemed to be coming in more often. Jazz was very happy with that fact.

My brother sent a faint chastising pulse when he picked up my amused thoughts about him and Prowl and I smiled, returning obnoxious, smothering love pulses.

And then an holy shriek filled my audios. The cubes in my servos fell to the ground as I reached up and desperately clutched my audial horns. It was the worst sound I'd ever heard. It was a combination of metal on metal, shattering explosions, screaming, and discordant notes wrapped up in one package and sawing at my audios.

I stumbled, leaning against a wall before slumping to the ground as I bit my dermas to keep from screaming in pain.

"Tanoura!" A mech dropped into my field of vision, fear and concern written on his face. His designation escaped me as I writhed, clawing the paint of my audial horns in an attempt to stop the horrible Music. "Tanoura, what's wrong?" I could barely hear his question over the Music and all I could do was just shake my helm, hunching and rocking as I ran through every protocol I knew to try and turn my audios off. But the Music had always come through my spark, not my audios. There was no stopping it.

"Someone call Ratchet!"

"NO!" I screamed. "Something…Something's wrong with—"

I barely twitched at the sound of the base wide klaxon going on. That actually sounded tolerable compared to the Music still tearing my processor apart. Before I knew it the bar was cleared and Jazz was deposited next to me. We clung to each other for an indeterminate amount of time before the Music finally quieted down to a manageable angry bass.

My brother and I sat in silence for a long time in our empty bar before Jazz spoke. "Praxus has been bombed," reporting what he'd picked up from our given Autobot frequency.

I was quiet for a moment, processor thinking a thousand thoughts at once. "We should help the Autobots."

"I know."

"We should join the Autobots."

"I know."

We joined the next day.

The door opened behind me and I didn't bother to turn and see who it was for three reasons. One, I saw everything on my monitors. Two, the Music played a quiet familiar tune I'd known since I emerged. Three, my bond told me my brother was here.

"Two orn you've been back on base and only now you come see me?" I demand hotly, optics flicking systematically between all the monitors while my processor combed repeatedly through coding and alarms for any changes.

A rolling chuckle came from behind me just as my big brother draped his arms over my shoulders, propping his chin in between my audial horns. "Good to see you too, sis."

My optics narrowed behind my blue visor. "Oh, I've seen you, alright. Skulking about and trying to avoid my cameras and being seen by me." My engine growled as the bond was filled with apologetic love and Jazz began to obnoxiously press kisses all over my helm. "No. I don't care. You obviously didn't want to see me after three whole groon so I don't want to see you. Good bye. Door's that way."

"Sis!" Jazz drawled out piteously. "I'm sorry! I swear! I just had to…work out some things."

I read between the lines in our bond and the slight discordant note in the Music. I spun my chair around, forcing my brother to step back or be tipped over. I watched my frozen brother with narrow optics for a moment before frowning. "More coding glitches?" I asked quietly. Jazz's sudden charming grin was all the answer I needed. "Jazz, I love you, so I'm obligated to tell you that I don't approve of you being a Spec Ops agent."

The grin turned into a smirk as he sauntered forward and plopped his fat aft in my lap, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. "Good thing I'm the older brother then. You can't tell me what to do."

A small smile quirked my dermas. "You're seriously pulling the big brother card?"

"Yup." He popped his 'p'.

"Nope." I popped my 'p', but I had the emphasis of pushing him off my lap and turning back to my monitors. I didn't care if I'd just pushed one of the most dangerous Autobots to the floor. He was irritating me and I had work to do. At least I did until Jazz practically dove into my lap again and lounged, doing his impersonation of a cybercat. I heaved a quiet sigh and patted his helm. "Love ya, bro."

I got a surprise peck on the dermas. "Love you too, sis."

I worked in silence for a little bit and my glitched brother rested in one of the most secure rooms on all of Cybertron for quite a while before I caught sight of a familiar Praxian leaving his office well after his shift had ended. That reminded me.

"How are things going with Prowl?"

Jazz groaned, but nonetheless popped up at my nudge and watched as the object of his affection walked towards the rec room to get some energon. "What can I say, Tanoura?" he sighed, swooning over my legs. "It's not easy."

A small smirk touched my dermas. "Don't tell me that the Jazz-man has lost his charm on a single Praxian," I teased.

Jazz scowled and swatted half-sparkedly at my helm, claws clicking together threateningly. "It's kind of hard when said Praxian has no definition or inclination of socializing let alone a definition of flirtation."

"So show him," I told him, watching warily as Sideswipe casually carried a box of something from his quarters. "Take some energon with him. Drag him to some parties. Show him the Music." My smirk grew at the grumbles of "know-it-all little sisters", but my smirk fell when a small alert popped up on my HUD. I did a double take at the text before freezing when the Music suddenly…disappeared. Jazz stiffened and I knew he heard nothing for the first time since he emerged, but I couldn't focus on him.

I haphazardly pushed him off of me and stumbled from my chair, reading the information from the physical console myself. My spark crumbled even as I opened the faction wide comm and screamed, "THE YOUTH SECTORS AND BEING BOMBED!"

Jazz shoves his sister down under the cover of an abandoned shop, covering her frame with his own even as he throws a cluster bomb in the direction of the Decepticons.

"Jazz?" his little sister murmured worriedly.

"It's okay," he assured her before he even knew what she'd said let alone what he was saying. His processor was on other things. "We're almost there." He gritted his denta as he looked at the launch countdown once more. They had mere breems until the engines would ignite and leave them here on Cybertron. They needed to be on the Ark or they would be as good as offline.

Fear and anxiety clawed at his spark and he couldn't take the time to try and keep it from his sister as he straightened up and fired at the approaching Decepticons with his pistol, trying to plot a way through the battlefield to the Ark. He growled when he saw no safe path, only ones that would be suicidal. But his options were all suicidal right now. He needed to get Tanoura to safety.

Jazz ducked back down and roughly grabbed his sister, probably denting her plating, but he'd apologize later. "You stay on my aft, got it?" he growled and Tan nodded, readjusting her hold on her pistol.

"Yeah," she said tightly before lightly hooking her claws on Jazz's back plating in order to stay that much closer to her older brother.

Jazz nodded and turned, looking over the battlefield where 'Con and 'Bot alike were falling by the second. Their chance to move came not an astrosecond later and Jazz exploded into movement, Tanoura moving with him by using their bond to anticipate his moves and mimic them. The few 'Cons to even look in their direction were gunned down by the brother and sister before Jazz folded down into his sleek alt mode and raced as fast as his engine would allow him, skidding and sliding around bots, debris, and explosions alike as he aimed for a ruptured sewage entrance that would take them right underneath the Ark in record time.

The mech was hyperaware of his sister practically welding her front bumper to his rear bumper as she matched him move for move. The distance between them and the protection of the sewage access was shrinking rapidly and Jazz allowed a glimmer of hope to slip into his spark. They were going to make it.

Then the world exploded.

Jazz cursed as he was forced out of his alt mode, flipping and flying ungracefully through the heated air until he crashed to the ground. His Spec Ops training had him on his peds and blasting the source of the explosion before his processor could even fully understand what had happened. When his processor did finally catch up there was only one thought on it.

Tanoura.

"Tanoura!" he shouted, trying to see through the cloud of smoke and debris. His vents rattled with everything that was getting caught in his filters, making him roughly reset his vents in order to get air to cool his frame. "Tanoura, answer me!"

He couldn't feel her. It was like she was suddenly across the universe from him with how distant she felt. But audios heard something. A mournful warble from the Music, something he hadn't heard in so long. It nearly made his spark break, but he refused to think of what it could mean.

"TANOURA!" he screamed, blindly rushing in a direction, hoping to spot her before freezing.

There was the sound of choked ventilations and a whimper.

"No, no, no, no, no," he found himself chanting as he ran towards the sound, praying to every deity he knew that it was just a random bot he was hearing. But when he was the dim blue visor and the black and white plating, he knew.

He fell to his knees next to his little sister's frame, processor and spark nearly glitching as he took in the sight before him. Tanoura…Tanoura's leg and side was gone. He could see her spark faintly flickering from in between the torrents of energon and electrical sparks.

"Tan," he breathed quietly, before shaking off his shocked daze. "Just hang in there, Tan. I'm getting you out of here." As gently as possible, he moved his arms under his sister's frame and picked her up only for her to cry out brokenly in agony. His brother-coding forced him to set her back down. He literally could not cause her more harm. "Tan, just…just stay with me," Jazz commanded hoarsely before opening a line directly to the medics of the Autobot army. ::I need a medic at my coordinates now!:: he shouted before turning his attention back to his sister.

Tanoura tried desperately to clear her vents, but they were already compromised with her energon. "'azz," she mumbled before whimpering when another explosion goes off near them.

Jazz roars in unholy fury as he unleashes his full arsenal on the nearby Decepticons. No one was going to hurt his sister with him here. No one! It was Tanoura's quiet and desperate begging that finally had him stopping.

"You're going to be alright, Tan, just stay with me. Focus on me."

If at all possible, his little sister's blue visor becomes even more dim and her dermas move to say something he almost misses. "Can hear the Music."

Jazz's spark nearly freezes in his chest. No, no, no, no she wasn't leaving him! "Tanoura, look at me! You stay with me. Don't you dare leave me!" He switches to his comms again. ::MEDIC!::

Tanoura's smile would normally be beautiful, but covered in energon made it the ugliest, spark-wrenching thing Jazz had seen in his life stream. She relaxes from where she lays partially in his lap and arms. "The Music is back, B'Bro."

Even though he didn't want to believe it, he'd seen plenty of dying bots to know when it was hopeless. "Tanoura," he begged softly, trying to keep from outright breaking down even as a few coolant tears leak out from underneath his white visor. "Please stay with me. Please. I need you. I love you. Please stay with me. I can't live without you, baby sister."

The servo Tanoura lifted to touch his faceplates was shaky and weak, but she gently pet her energon stained servo to his black faceplate. "Won't be," she promised. "Music here…I'm here."

"But I can't hear the Music, Tan!" Jazz shouted brokenly, ignoring the battle going on around them. "I can't! I need you! Please!"

"My…big…bro," she whispered, looking to continue speaking before Jaz felt her spark finally gutter and fade from this world.

Jazz's spark writhed in pain as he held Tanoura's offline frame closer, rocking as he screamed and wailed, begging her to come back and cursing Primus for taking her. She couldn't be gone. She was his little sister. His trouble maker and savior. His light. She couldn't be gone.

When arms suddenly pulled him away from his sister, he fought with everything he had, fighting to get back to his sister. He couldn't leave her! He couldn't. He was her big brother!

But then he was on the Ark and Prowl was trying to calm him down, having dragged him to the ship just in time to forever take him from his sister. Prowl was the only wounded sent to Med Bay who didn't get those injuries on the battlefield that orn. Jazz wouldn't forgive anyone for not even letting him give his sister her last rites. He had nothing left. He had failed in his one function.

And he would forever where Tanoura's visor as a reminder that she would never be using it again.

Jazz lay on his berth, warm, safe, content. His spark spun happily in his chassis, feeding the connected tiny spark. Prowl hummed a small tune as they lounged, relaxing on their day off.

Nothing could ruin Jazz's good mood. He had his spark mate, his sparkling, and his faction safe and sound. His life was the best. He could hardly remember a time when he'd been happier.

Then a sound tickled at his audios. At first, he thought it was Prowl singing a different tune or melody, but after a moment he recognized what he'd been born hearing.

He shot upright, gasping in surprise as the Music filled his audios, trilling and whistling softly and gently in a happy and calm song.

"Jazz?" Prowl exclaimed in surprise to the sudden movement. "Jazz, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

But the minibots could only listen to the warm and happy song, wrapping around him and his spark, making more tears slide down from underneath his blue visor. "It's her," he murmured, a gasp turning into a laugh. "It's her, Prowl. I can hear Her."

"Who? Do you need Ratchet?"

Jazz shook his head and turned to smile at his spark mate. "The Music. I can hear the Music and Tanoura. I can finally hear Her."