Author's Notes: Well, I'm not dead. Yay! Also, this oneshot is a prequel to my previous fic "I Never Told You". I got this idea when I realized after watching clips from the first Transformers movie that Jazz was introduced as Prime's First Lieutenant and I thought "There's gotta be a story behind that". So, here is that story, and it's in the same AU as another depressing fic I wrote. Typical. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this story, and please don't forget to review :)
His Good Name
Jazz and Prowl were hot on the trail of a Decepticon spy; the infamous minicon Wheelie. Polyhex's highways were dark and abandoned due to the Decepticons pillaging the area a mere two deca-cycles ago. Optimus had sent Prowl and Jazz because together they were the very best stealth team Prime had at his disposal. Jazz was a master saboteur, and Prowl was the efficient and borderline ruthless second in command of the Autobot army. Together they were unstoppable.
Normally their drives together were filled with idle chatter or a companionable silence, but this time the tension could be cut with a vibroblade. Jazz knew why, too. Optimus had been forced to send the Allspark into outer space to keep Megatron from getting his grimy claws on it; despite Prowl's objections.
"You've doomed our entire race, Optimus," Prowl had said at the staff meeting the orn before, "Without the cube there is no way to repopulate our world. There are few femmes, energon is in short supply, and most of Cybertron's most cherished relics have been scattered in the chaos of the war. Now you throw away the only thing left that could save our people? I hardly see what your reasoning behind this could be. Is slow extinction really better than living under Megatron's thumb?"
"Prowl, you know why I had to do this," Optimus replied somberly, "Megatron will not stop with this world, with our people. He would subjugate every sentient race in the galaxy. It is better to go down fighting for our honor and for the freedom of all sentient beings rather than allow the name Cybertron to be forever cursed by the known universe. Would you rather survive and become a member of a race of monsters, or fight for the chance to free Cybertron of Megatron's tyranny?"
Prowl hadn't answered the Prime that night. In fact, Prowl hadn't spoken a word since the meeting. Jazz could tell his best friend was still upset. The thought of the Allspark being lost forever weighed heavily on all of their sparks. Jazz also knew though that sulking only drained one's limited energy supply, and that the best cure for hopelessness was positivity and being reminded of the joy in life.
Soon their target was in sight, and Jazz got a devilish idea to cure Prowl of his depression.
/Yo Prowler, wanna have some fun with that little Decepticreep?/ Jazz asked mischievously over the comm.
No response.
/Come on, this'll be fun,/ Jazz prodded, /We'll play a little game of Herd Mentality./
/Jazz, that is one of Soundwave's loyal minicons, and a threat to Autobot security,/ Prowl reminded him, /Could you at least pretend to take this job seriously?/
/I do take it seriously, but I also know that two of us versus one of him is no challenge,/ Jazz replied nonchalantly, /C'mon. Just for a little bit. I'll even let you be the herder. Whaddya say, Prowler? One game./
/Oh, alright,/ Prowl relented; the slightest hint of amusement in his voice, /Drive around the back. I'm going to make him lubricate himself./
/That's more like it,/ Jazz replied approvingly as he drove around a back alley to get into position.
Prowl then drove a little ways, revving his engine loudly to mimic an injured Autobot. Wheelie noticed immediately as the black and white Autobot sputtered a few times and tried to drive, only for his engine to die and his lights to deactivate.
"An Autobot! Heh heh heh," Wheelie chuckled malevolently as he looked at the downed vehicle, "He looks important too, with that fancy paint job. I'll bet Sounders'll promote me for sure if I bring this mech back to base."
Wheelie, barely able to contain his excitement, rushed over to the front of the Autobot to inspect the damage. If he was lucky it was already dead and he could claim the kill for himself.
Once Wheelie got over to the Autobot, however, the engine suddenly roared to life and every light simultaneously turned on again! Wheelie yelped in surprise, and surprise gave way to fear as the Autobot drove close to him as if to run him over! The Autobot pushed Wheelie, then stopped. Pushed again harder, then stopped again. The engine continued to rev as the Autobot kept pushing Wheelie again and again to toy with him. Wheelie was equal parts angry and afraid as he at first tried backing away and then just straight up running away from the crazy police car.
Wheelie ran backwards until he bumped into something, and then saw a silver Autobot in vehicle mode behind him. The silver vehicle pushed, and Wheelie was forced into the black and white car, which then pushed him back onto the silver car. They were passing Wheelie back and forth like a beach ball, and the flustered minibot was starting to get dizzy.
Finally, after a couple breems, the Autobots transformed into robot mode and the silver one grabbed Wheelie and tied him up with energy restraints.
"Aww, did the poor minicon get sick?" Jazz cooed mockingly.
"Get welded, you fragging shards of scrap!" Wheelie cursed furiously.
"I don't think he likes our game, Prowler," Jazz remarked as he dangled Wheelie in front of his friend's face plate.
Prowl smirked but didn't reply. In an instant however Prowl's serious face was back and Jazz knew that meant they had to return to base with their prisoner. They took a few steps and were about to transform when suddenly they heard an explosion in the distance! It was coming from a skyscraper full of vacated office buildings.
While Jazz and Prowl were distracted Wheelie bit Jazz's fingers; causing Jazz to drop the little twerp who then proceeded to hop away from them; still tied up.
"Go after the prisoner. I'll investigate the explosion," Prowl ordered.
Jazz nodded and gave chase to the fleeing minicon. Wheelie didn't get very far before Jazz grabbed him and struggled to hold on as Wheelie writhed and spun in his grip.
"Lemme go you slagging Autobot scum!" Wheelie snapped even as he continued to struggle, "I mean it! I'll bite you again!"
"Then I'll tie you to the road and run you over," Jazz drawled half-jokingly.
Wheelie gulped and then took a moment to really look at Jazz. He suddenly realized that the saboteur was more than capable of crushing him with his bare servos, and suddenly the little Decepticon felt even smaller than he already was.
"Alright. You win. I won't bite you," Wheelie said in defeat, "If you let me go though, I'll tell you a secret."
"Yeah right, like you know anythin' I don't," Jazz scoffed.
"Oh, but I do! This is a really good secret. Let me go back to Soundwave and I'll tell you. I promise, it'll be worth your while."
"Tell me first, then we'll see if it's worth my while," Jazz demanded as he held the minibot closer to his face, "Well?"
"Okay, okay! I'll tell you," Wheelie relented, "The secret is..." Wheelie leaned in further to Jazz and stage whispered, "I'm only out here as a distraction. We knew you'd be out here, and Prowl was the target all along. By the time you reach Prowl, he will be dead."
Jazz's visor widened for a fraction of a second, but then he schooled his features back into an unreadable expression. He threw Wheelie away as if he was something foul, and the minicon used his chance to escape before Jazz changed his processor.
Prowl stalked up to the office building where he knew Laserbeak was waiting for him. This was the most difficult decision Prowl had ever made in his entire life, but the more he thought about the Allspark being gone and Cybertronians dying right and left he knew he was making the right choice. If the Cybertronian race was to survive, then as many of its individual members as possible would need to survive. He would need to survive. This plan gave him 32.5% greater odds of survival, so he had to do it.
Laserbeak stood on the windowsill and eyed Prowl suspiciously with his glowing red optics. The minicon's sharp silver features were barely hinted at in the starlight, leaving a ghastly metallic silhouette.
"Megatron got your message, Prowl," Laserbeak hissed, "You must think we are fools to believe your lies."
"No, Optimus Prime was the fool, and I believe you cannot afford to turn down my offer," Prowl stated blankly; unwilling to give away any signs of emotion.
"You want to join the Decepticons? You? Prime's golden boy?" Laserbeak asked skeptically.
"You know my terms. I want to disappear," Prowl replied stonily, "Oh...I hear Jazz coming. Make this convincing enough and your faction will have the keys to Cybertron."
"My my, aren't we full of ourselves?" Laserbeak preened, "I don't know how you can hear that saboteur, but whatever. Let's get this over with."
Prowl waited until the exact moment he knew Jazz was turning the corner before he stormed into the room where Laserbeak was.
Jazz had hurried the whole way to where the ambush was waiting for Prowl. If those Decepticons hurt his friend he was going to bust some helms. He just had to get there in time and everything would be alright. After all, nobody could beat the best team in the Autobot ranks. All he had to do was get there!
"Laserbeak, you are under arrest," He heard Prowl saying from down the hall, "By order of the Autobot forces, I demand that you to surrender your weapon."
"Surrender this, Autobot!" Laserbeak shouted before he opened fire.
Jazz could see the glow of the plasma bursts and hear the struggle of the combatants from down the hall. He ran as quickly as he could to get to the room. When he got there he saw Laserbeak clawing at Prowl's helm and pecking at his optics while the Autobot SIC stumbled around trying to get the beast-former off of him.
"Prowler! Don't worry mech, I got this!" Jazz shouted as he readied his cannons.
"In your dreams, slag pile," Laserbeak growled menacingly.
Then, with one final push, Laserbeak dug deeper into Prowl's optics and threw the Praxian officer out the window!
"PROWL!" Jazz screamed as he rushed to the window; hoping his friend found something to hang onto.
He looked down and saw that Prowl was several mechano-meters below him hanging onto a flagpole; the Turboflux Oil River rushing below him.
"Prowl, hang on! I'm comin'!" Jazz shouted as he started to climb out the window.
"No...Too late," Prowl croaked out before his arms gave out and he plummeted down into the black river below.
Jazz looked on helplessly as Prowl fell and then was washed away for good. He was gone, just like that...Jazz couldn't save him.
Anger boiling inside of him, he turned around to take out his revenge on Laserbeak, only to find the sneaky bird-bot was already gone with no trace of him ever being there at all. Jazz was angry, he was grief stricken, and he was confused. He didn't know what to do about how he felt, so he left the scene never to return to it again.
Telling the rest of the Autobots about Prowl's demise had been one of the hardest moments of Jazz's life. His own pain was still so fresh, and yet he was still the one that had to inflict that pain on everyone else. Everyone was upset, and the younger 'Bots like Bumblebee and Bluestreak took it especially hard. They weren't even old enough for their final frames, and yet they had to learn at such a tender age that one of their mentors was dead.
Sorrow soon gave way to pragmatism however as the subject of Prowl's replacement was brought up. No one really wanted to have this conversation, but the Autobots were still being attacked on all sides and Optimus Prime still needed a 'Bot he could trust to be his second in command.
Jazz just assumed that the new SIC would be Ironhide. He was already the weapons specialist so it only made sense that he would be the best selection. If not him then it might be Ratchet. He was one of the oldest Autobots on the team and their resident medic, so he practically outranked Prime already.
"Do you know who you want to be your new First Lieutenant?" Ratchet asked Prime, "It's an important job that requires diligence, cunning, and tenacity. Choose carefully, Optimus."
"I already made my decision long ago," Optimus replied solemnly, "Prowl and I have had this discussion before, and we agreed that if anything ever happened to him that Jazz would be the best logical choice for my new second in command."
"What? Me?" Jazz asked; truly surprised by Optimus's decision, "Look, I know Prowl probably put in a good word for me and all, but I ain't SIC material. Ironhide would be a much better choice, or Ratchet, or Ultra Magnus, or-"
"Jazz," Optimus cut him off, "This is not an arbitrary ruling on my part. You are already the head of my special ops team, and you know the inner workings of the Autobots better than anyone. Moreover, you are someone that I know I can trust to give me honest advice and act in the best interests of the Autobot cause."
"I know I got style, but let's be honest Prime. I ain't no Prowl," Jazz pointed out humbly.
"I know, but I also know that you will do what is best for Cybertron and live up to Prowl's good name," Optimus replied encouragingly.
Jazz wasn't ready to smile just yet, but he was still touched by Optimus's kind words and belief in him. Jazz knew he would have to work hard to become what was needed to help save his people. He would do whatever it took to stop Megatron from destroying the galaxy. He would live up to the legacy his best friend left behind, and he knew he would smile and laugh again someday. He had to, because all sorrow did was rob him of much needed energy and resolve.
Hook and Scavenger worked tirelessly on the new recruit in their medbay. The place was covered in soot and rubble from a recent Autobot attack, and they hadn't had time to clean up. That was why this room was currently only being used to treat the injuries of prisoners, or in this case, reconstruct a former Autobot into a Decepticon. They had finished the body and were currently inscribing the Decepticon insignia on the new 'Con.
"So, have you considered what name you want to give yourself?" Scavenger asked in an effort to make small talk with the former Prowl.
"I have," Prowl replied stoically, "Call me Barricade."
Prowl had thought over each choice in his helm until he came up with a logical new name. His old name had been Prowl, which was a form of movement. Movement involved going forward, which could also signify having hope. He no longer held hope for the future, but rather had decided to stop trying to change things and surrender to the new world order. Not only had he stopped believing in the future, but the future of their race was literally halted by the loss of the Allspark. Therefore, it only made sense that his new designation should be Barricade.
The End