Disclaimer: Transformers and the song Check yes or No belong to their respective owners, and no infringement was intended.
Check Yes or No
Part 2
"Jazz."
Prowl was elated to see Jazz at first, but it quickly faded to confusion as he tried to decide what to do. Before he'd fallen into recharge he had given the current situation a lot of thought. Allowing his processor and Battle Computer to work in tandem to come up with the best ways to deal with it. But something such as this couldn't be dealt with by logic and tactics alone.
He had known everything there had been to know about Rio. And he found himself at somewhat of a loss to realize that he had known Jazz much longer then Rio, and knew hardly anything about him. The mech was his friend, it was unforgivable.
"How do you feel?"
Concerned optics met his for a moment. Remaining silent, Prowl picked up the old datapad and passed it over to Jazz, watching with curiosity as the mech powered it on and shifted through the contents. Jazz paused on the last page, running a finger gently over the checked box at the bottom.
"How long have you known?" Jazz's voice shook slightly, betraying the calm he portrayed.
"Not long. Ratchet was right, you knew all along." Prowls own voice held a slight accusation.
Jazz shifted, his armor creaking slightly. He knew this could go badly, perhaps ending their friendship and putting a strain on their ability to work together. With all that at stake, his spark pulsed painfully. But he would not lie to Prowl.
"I've known who you were, where you were and what you were doing every day since I reached my youngling stage."
"Why didn't you tell me? You knew I didn't recognize your adult frame. You knew I was searching for Rio. You even pretended to help me look for him. Has this all been some sort of game for you? Sharpening your skills or something?" Prowls voice had taken on a quality that neither of them had heard in it before.
"No!" Jazz retracted his visor to gaze pleadingly at Prowl. "I promise-"
But Prowl wasn't done. He'd held so many emotions back over the vorns and they were starting to break free and overwhelm him. He straightened on the edge of the berth, his doorwings vibrating with hurt and betrayal.
"It was game wasn't it? See how long it took for me to figure it out? Or was it because you were embarrassed by the idea of being seen with me? The uptight, sparkless commander that only cares about rules and regulations?"
Something snapped in Jazz, and he jerked forward into Prowls personal space, placing a hand on either side of his hips and leaning forward until their faces were inches apart. "You know me better then that! If I was embarrassed by you, why would I have been flirting with you all these vorns? The day your creator took you into hiding, he made me promise that I would never tell you who I was, that if you ever tried to contact me, I would not respond. I don't break promises, Prowl. Ever."
Prowl scooted back on the med-berth, attempting to put some space between them, only to have Jazz lean in again.
"I loved you, Prowl. Don't ever doubt that."
Prowl stared at Jazz, his spark pulsing hard in his chest. Confusion spread across his faceplates. He ignored the last for now, concentrating on the more illogical aspects of Jazz's words. His voice lowered almost to a whisper.
"Why would you make such a promise?"
"Your creator believed it would keep you safe. That if you had any contact with anyone that knew you, that it would lead to the decepticons discovering who you were. I was a sparkling, Prowl. I only understood that you were in trouble and that by making such a promise it would keep you safe. Did you know that barely an orn after you left that 'cons came to the school looking for you and your brothers?"
Prowl shook his head, and when he spoke next, Jazz's spark fell. All emotion was gone from the bot infront of him. The mask was back firmly in place. "That was vorns ago, Jazz. I'm Second in Command of the Autobot army. I've been a visible threat to the decepticons for ages. They know where I am, have even tried to capture me multiple times. My creator is dead. There was no need for you to keep that promise."
Jazz pulled back, putting space between him and Prowl. His visor snapped back into place over his optics. "It's who I am, Prowl. Whether or not its logical to you, keeping my word is one of the few things about myself that I am proud of. If you can't handle that, then maybe I was wrong, maybe there isn't anything between us."
Before Prowl could respond, Jazz turned and walked briskly out the door, nearly colliding with it before it opened fully. He dropped his helm into his hands, a soft whimper emitting from his vocalizer. Had he just lost the one mech that had ever meant anything to him? His doorwings drooping to lay flat against his back, the emotions he had been trying to hold back suddenly flooded through him and he broke down completely. Deep whimpers escaping as his frame shuddered.
Alarms began to sound on the monitor next to his berth, though he didn't hear them. A spark deep sadness washed over him and his frame began to overheat with the force of the emotion. The whimpers turned into a loud keening as his spark clenched in on itself. Errors began to scroll across his vision. He ignored them, delving deeper into the depression that had seized him.
Ratchet entered the room at a run, a line of curses spitting from his vocalizer. Checking the monitors next to the med-berth, he quickly administered a sedative. As it began to take effect, he gently maneuvered Prowl until he was laying on his side on the berth. The shaking and rattling of his frame dieing away until he drifted off into recharge.
Running scans on the bot infront of him, he sighed as he began to repair circuits that had only just been replaced. Damage sustained in the battle had required that a good number of systems and circuits be replaced. Whatever had caused the emotional outburst in the SIC had caused his systems to begin rejecting the new additions. It wasn't a big problem he could repair it, it just meant that Prowl would not be going back on duty as soon as he would have liked. Stepping back, he made a note in the medical files then contacted the Prime to report on Prowls extended medical leave. That done, he pulled up a chair. Prowl would need to talk when he woke, and Ratchet wanted to be certain he would be there. He didn't really need the bot messing up all his work again.
Sparkles drifted. Blackness swirled around him. His spark told him something was wrong, something was happening that he didn't want to happen, but he couldn't move, couldn't focus on his surroundings, couldn't see past the darkness. He could hear whispers that drifted around, most of them too soft to actually make out. His spark calmed, pulsing softly in a manner that he had come to understand that meant that Rio was nearby. He felt a touch ghost over his helm. He wanted to lean into the touch, let it comfort him, but he couldn't move.
"I promise." Rio's voice, sad and yet determined.
He drifted again for a moment, or a eon, he wasn't sure which. Another touch, this one on his cheek, and much softer then before. Rio was there, just out of reach and it annoyed him that he couldn't move. A growl drifted through the darkness, never making it to his vocalizer. And then more soft words. Meant for him alone.
"I love you. Ill find you, and when I do, I'll never leave you again."
The words echoed through Prowls memories as he slowly pushed past the sedative induced darkness. He finished booting up, words he had once thought to be imagined still swirling around in his processor. They had been a promise hadn't they? And if Jazz kept his promises, then why had he left? His internal systems began to overheat again as emotions once again swamped him.
"I swear to Primus, if you melt another circuit im going to reformat you!"
Ratchets voice jerked his attention to the outside world, his temperature lowering as his fans kicked on to counter it. He attempted to squirm away from the imposing bulk of the medic leaning over him, only to have said medic restrain him. He struggled for a moment, then began to relax slowly. Refusing to meet the medics optics, he allowed himself to be pulled upright. He took the offered cube of med-grade energon and drank from it slowly. Relaxing slightly as Ratchet moved away from him to sit in a chair nearby.
"Alright, what happened? I want to know what you did that caused your frame to begin rejecting its new components." Contrary to his words, Ratchets voice was soft, non-judgmental.
"Jazz was here. I showed him the data-pad." Panic set in for a moment and his gaze shot around the area before landing on the discarded pad laying beside his berth. Ratchet retrieved it, and Prowl clutched it to him, much as he had as a sparkling. "It didn't go very well."
"I could have guessed that much." Ratchet snorted.
Prowl swirled the contents of his cube. "He said he promised my creator. But where is the logic to keeping a promise like that? My creator is dead, the cons know where I am and im a bigger target now then I ever was back then."
"Love is rarely logical, Prowl. And you know Jazz. He is a dedicated autobot that is fun loving and fiercely loyal to any he deems a friend. He prides himself on keeping his word. He has done so much that he isn't proud of in this war, that I believe its one of the few things true to himself that he refuses to let go of. Its an admirable trait."
Ratchets words echoed Jazz's, and Prowl found himself wondering just what he had done. Jazz's personality had been what had drawn him close, encouraging him to forge a friendship with the bot. He had known that special ops often required the mech to do things that went against his own programing. Prowl had even on several occasions, been witness to the mechs breakdown after a particularly nasty mission. Had been there to offer his friendship and understanding. He glanced up at the patiently waiting Ratchet.
"I need to speak with him."
"Ill release you from med-bay, but your still off duty until the new components align themselves with your systems completely. Try to avoid causing them to be rejected again. And make certain you keep your energy levels above 90%." Ratchet stood and began to remove the wires connecting Prowl to the monitors. "Should you need to talk, ill be here."
"Thanks, Ratchet." Standing, Prowl tossed a small smile at the medic before stretching to allow his armor to settle back into place. Giving his doorwings a gentle shake, he raised them to their normal position on his back. He glanced at Rio's picture on the data-pad before turning it off and subspacing it. It was time to the leave the past behind and look towards the future.
Leaving med-bay behind he made his way to his office. He knew better then to work, least he bring Ratchets wrath down on him, but the office was safe, secure. The one place he could relax completely. Sighing softly, he connected to Teletran and requested Jazz's location. The computers response had him collapsing back into his chair.
Blasters quarters. He knew the two were close friends, closer then he and Jazz had been. But if rumor had it right, lately they'd become more then friends. Though he didn't normally listen to rumors, Jazz had been talking about the comms-mech more lately. He wasn't sure how to handle this new change. Jazz had went straight from him to Blaster. Even if it wasn't what it seemed, it still stung. Perhaps it would do him well to wait, decide what he truly wanted before he faced Jazz again.
With that thought firmly in mind, he made his way to the Arks entrance and folded down into his car mode. Clicking on the stealth mod he carried, he vanished from sensors. He could still be seen, but any instrumentation scanning his area would not pick up his systems or spark signature. Revving his engine he took off across the desert, no destination in mind. Only the need to move, drive while he figured things out. He became lost in thoughts of the past, present and what the future could bring. He thought about Jazz, what he wanted from the mech, and if he would be willing to fight for it.
So lost in his thoughts, he completely missed the comm. signal from Ratchet. He continued on, drifting across the desert, unconsciously circling slowly back towards the Ark. Another comm. request came in, this time pinging with the Primes id. Startled, he quickly answered it.
"Prowl here, sir." He glanced around at his surroundings, only a few miles from the Ark, surprised to see darkness beginning to fall. It had been early morning when he had left.
A voice quite clearly not the Primes shouted over the open line. "Where the frag are you?! I released you from med-bay, but I did not give you permission to exit the ship!"
There was a murmur in the background, and then the Primes voice came over the comm. line. "Prowl, what is your location?"
"Tell him to get his aft back here so I can weld it to a berth!"
He shuddered, Ratchets voice carried far more venom then normal. Silently he sent his location across the line, already turning towards the Ark. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Get out, clear his processor, figure out what he truly wanted. But now that he was going to be facing an angry medic, he wasn't so sure it had been a good idea after all.
"Prowl, hold your position. Jazz is nearly there. He will escort you back to base. Once Ratchet releases you again, we will meet to discuss a disciplinary action suitable to your leaving without permission."
"Yes, sir." He slid to a halt, waiting for the white form of the saboteur to materialize from the growing darkness.
As the nearly silent car pulled up to him, he sighed. Jazz did not greet him, and that did not bode well. It was rare that the mech didn't speak.
"I did not require an escort. I could have made it back to base on my own." Prowl couldn't help snapping as they got under way.
"Prime and Ratchets orders."
The drive back to base was silent and heavily charged with tension. Prowl not speaking because he simply did not know what to say, and Jazz seemingly refusing to. As they neared the Ark, he could see the lights of mechs returning from searching for him. He winced. It had never occurred that they would start a search party for him. He had left before for much longer periods without anyone freaking out about it. Granted, he had always informed the Prime that he was going, and had never been recovering from battle wounds.
As they neared the ships entrance he slowed with the intention of saying something, anything to Jazz, only to have the mech speed up and enter the Ark. He moved to follow, transforming once inside, only to have his arm grabbed and restrained securely by Ratchet. He turned to face the medic and flinched at the absolute fury evident in his face. Meekly, he allowed himself to be marched to the med-bay, ignoring the looks his fellow autobots sent his way.
Once the rooms doors closed behind them, Ratchet shoved Prowl on to a med-berth before disappearing into his office. He returned a moment later with a cube of energon and several scanners. The cube was shoved at him and he took it eagerly, only then realizing his energy levels had dropped below 50%.
"I told you to keep your energy levels above 90%. What the frag did you think you were doing, driving off across the desert? Or were you even thinking?" Ratchets voice had turned calm, soft even. And it was more frightening then his normal caustic attitude.
"That's exactly what I was doing. Thinking. Clearing my processor." He jerked at the biting tingle that ran through his doorwings caused by the scan Ratchet was running over them.
"You were supposed to be talking to Jazz, not off thinking." Ratchets gears whirled as his hand shifted into a tool and began to tweak wires in Prowls shoulder.
"He was with Blaster." Prowl couldn't keep the soft tremor of hurt from his voice.
"Perhaps you should have interrupted them. Might have saved me from having to put Blaster back together after Jazz turned him into scrap metal."
Ratchet nodded towards a berth off to the side, and Prowl noticed for the first time that Blaster was there, recharging softly. Shock rolled off him. Jazz had never, ever attacked a fellow bot unless it was in a training session.
"What happened?"
"Don't know. Neither bot will talk about it. Apparently Jazz told Prime, but he is the only one. When you were discovered missing, Jazz was allowed to go out and search for you. But when he got back he was sent right back to the brig." Ratchet shifted, putting away his medical tools and scanners, satisfied that Prowl had not undone his previous work.
"Can I speak with him?" Prowl sent a brief scan over Blasters frame, stunned at the amount of work that had recently been done to the bot.
"Afraid not. He has been ordered to solitary confinement for the period of two earth weeks. However you do have an appointment with Prime as soon as I release you." Ratchet smirked as Prowl winced again. He had disappointed their Prime, and that was almost more severe then any punishment he could hand out.
Solitary confinement. Two earth weeks, one of their orns, wasn't that much of a punishment. Specially for beating a fellow officer into scrap, but he knew Jazz. Knew that the social, music loving bot would be climbing the walls before the first week was up. The Prime had chosen wisely in his disciplinary action. Which made him wonder what was in store for him.