TITLE: Lost World
SERIES: Imperfection, part 11
AUTHOR: Macx
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belong to me, sadly. They are owned by people with a lot more money
Author's Voice of Warning (aka Author's Note):
English is not my first language; it's German. This is the best I can do. Any mistakes you find in here, collect them and you might win a prize The spell-checker said everything's okay, but you know how trustworthy those thingies are...
FEEDBACK: Loved

Like all the places where they could be themselves, this one was abandoned and humans didn't really come here any more. It was an old dump site, filled with rusting carcasses of human vehicles and Barricade found it fitting. Heaps of metal, torn apart, disassembled, or just dumped in whole were around him, shielding him from curious eyes. There were dozens of lonely places in the area, sometimes remote in the desert, sometimes in the city as such, sometimes even right under the humans' noses, where the transforming robots interacted like they would on their home planet.

Here, he was alone with Jazz. He usually was. Keeping company wasn't like Barricade, and the other Autobots really weren't all that keen on his either.

"What is it that fascinates you so about these creatures?"

Jazz looked at his companion and smiled. "Everything. Their languages, their cultures, their cities, their writings and plays and television. Their evolution is incredible."

"They are weak."

"Compared to who? Us? Barricade, we're bigger, true, but we're not really stronger. They took out the Decepticons in Mission City, almost destroyed Scorponok, maybe even offed him for good, and one of them killed Megatron. Their smaller size doesn't make them weaker."

Barricade grunted.

"We were built for a different purpose," Jazz added. "And that's the huge difference. They evolved. They are born like a blank slate and have to learn. We receive a spark and have a basic programming. Weapons included," he chuckled.

"I find them nothing but bothersome."

"We might be stuck here for a very long time," the silver Autobot said. "You better get used to them. And don't tell me you don't enjoy mingling."

"I don't mingle," he growled.

"You drive around the city, you listen in to the police radio, you even saved Sam and took some pretty neat revenge."

Barricade rumbled deep in his chest. "There's nothing fascinating about them," he persisted.

"How many languages do we have?" Jazz wanted to know.

Red optics narrowed. "One."

"Exactly. They have hundreds! And their planet is incredible. The ecosystems alone…"

"You are gushing," Barricade stated evenly.

Jazz grinned. "Yep."

"It's embarrassing."

"I stand by it. I love this planet." His radio went on, hip hop blaring from the speakers, and Jazz moved to the rhythm. "Isn't this great?"

"It's loud."

"Hooo-yeah!"

"And it makes absolutely no sense."

Jazz switched stations and rock music could be heard. Barricade grimaced, but his claws twitched a little. His companion smirked.

"Have you ever logged yourself onto one of their music internet sites? Millions of downloadable songs and they have fantastic quality!"

"It's illegal."

The Autobot laughed. "Now you're talkin' like a cop! Your vehicle mode gettin' to ya?"

Barricade suppressed a groan of annoyance.

"Confess it, 'Cade. You like it here, too."

"It's bearable."

"Which is as good as 'I love it' in your language." He plopped down on an old wreck of a car. "Do you miss Cybertron?"

Barricade stiffened, surprised by the sudden change of topic. He looked into the blue optics, saw the serious expression.

"Yes," Barricade answered.

"Me, too. I know it's a dying world, maybe even dead now, but it was our planet."

"You think we will stay here." It wasn't a question.

Jazz shrugged. "Without the Allspark, we have no home to return to. I don't want to look at my dead home and then leave again. I want to remember it as it was when it was still prospering and peaceful."

Barricade nodded. "It was a beautiful world."

"In my mind it still is. I love Earth. If I have to remain here, I won't regret it. Humans have an incredible potential and I want to be here to watch them develop. Prime was right when he said that they're a young species and not so much different from us."

The black mech next to him looked up into the bright blue sky. "They tortured one of your own."

"And we are so innocent? Barricade, we've been at war for millennia. We destroyed our home, our kin fled into all corners of the universe. Yes, they did terrible things to us, but I don't judge them all by the deed of a few."

"They might destroy us one day."

"So you want to destroy them first?"

"No."

Silence settled between them and Jazz leaned back on his hands, gazing at the clouds. "What do you miss the most? Me, it's the freedom. Before the war. Racing down the Diba Highway, top speed, nothing but me and the road and everyone behind me."

Barricade smirked. "You always liked to show off. Still do."

Jazz chuckled. "Hey, I am the fastest there is."

No argument there.

"And the Red Moon. Wow, what a sight. Each year it amazed me."

Barricade nodded. With the destruction of one of their moons, that spectacle had disappeared. Megatron had probably never wanted to annihilate the smaller moon, but he had. It had been the beginning of the war.

"I also miss the ease of being with you," Jazz continued.

That brought the former Decepticon's head up sharp.

"There were no factions, no spies, no fights to the death. There was just Cybertron. When you joined Megatron, it hurt, 'Cade. But it was still you."

"I had made a promise," Barricade said, voice softening a little. "I would never break that in my life – for anything."

Jazz smiled a little. "Yeah. I know. You never did. And you're here now. Megatron's dead, but so's our world. Our kind is torn apart and still fighting. I don't want this to happen to this world. Prime's right. We will stay here and hide among these people, but we will rise and defend them against any threat."

Barricade was silent, not looking at his silver counterpart. "To serve and protect?" he suddenly quoted, some sarcasm bleeding into his words.

Jazz shrugged. "That's more for you, but something like it."

"I do not serve humans."

"But you protect them."

The red optics flared, a clear warning.

"Want to mingle?" Jazz asked and got up, smiling.

"I'm not a people person."

"Haven't I noticed! How about a drive along the coast? All the way north. It's beautiful."

"It's salt water and rocks."

"Spoilsport."

Barricade snorted. "I've been on this world for four years."

"And you haven't seen the sights. C'mon. Let's go rockin'!"

Jazz transformed and his speakers blared Bon Jovi.

Hey, hey, I finally found my way
Say goodbye to yesterday
Hit the gas there ain't no brakes
on the lost highway
Yeah I'm busting loose, I'm letting go
Out on this open road
It's independence day
on this lost highway

Barricade shook his head, a smile briefly visible on his features. He transformed and followed the Solstice as Jazz put the pedal to the metal and tore across the empty road.

Yes, he missed Cybertron, too, but he had come to accept this organic little world more than he would ever tell anyone. Jazz probably knew it anyway. Humans were a factor he had to get used to, but they came into the equation and somehow they fit.

Barricade let his sirens 'whoo-whoop' briefly and overtook the Pontiac, playfully flashing his lights. Jazz laughed and accelerated even more. Barricade had no illusion about winning this race; Jazz was the fastest car on this road, but it was fun while he was in lead.