Part 4

There was little time for recharge that night, no one felt safe enough to rest anyway.

Wheeljack, Jazz and Sideswipe left the safety of their hiding place. They had decided that Hound's Autobot insignias would draw unwanted attention so he had been left behind.

They stuck to the back streets and alleys as much as they could as they warily followed Sideswipe, after barely dodging two Decepticon patrols Jazz came up with the idea of travelling by roof-top instead, which meant that they were only in danger of Seekers seeing them, but the airborne forces were louder, and with Jazz's excellent hearing they were easily avoided.

"I'm picking up the comms signal," Jazz informed them happily.

"Can you use it without being discovered?" Wheeljack asked.

The musician grinned. "Even if the Decepticons did find my message, they wouldn't know what it meant or who sent it, charm and good looks only get you so far, you know?"

Wheeljack nodded in agreement, I guess he is smarter than he looks, he thought as he and Sideswipe waited for Jazz to do what he had to.

It wasn't long after that when Sideswipe pointed down into the street, "There he is," he grinned.

"Which one?" asked Wheeljack. "There are three of them down there,"

"The yellow one," Sideswipe answered. "You'd think even have the sense to hide though."

"Let's get a little closer," Jazz suggested.

"He's my brother, he won't hurt me," the red mech snapped.

"But we don't know who the others are," Jazz pointed out. "You've told me that he doesn't always choose his friends wisely."

The small group snuck closer, until Jazz pulled them up short with a whispered, "Oh no."

"What is it?" Wheeljack asked.

Sideswipe peered down and studied his brother, his spark dimmed as he saw the cruel purple insignia of the Decepticons on his twin's chest plate, for a moment he couldn't move or think, he felt completely detached from everything except the dread that filled his spark. "Sunny what have you done?" he whispered fearfully.

It was Jazz who pulled him back into reality, the singer laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We'll get him back," he said gently, "And teach him to chose his friends more carefully in the future."

"That's defiantly a lesson he needs," Sideswipe agreed.

"So what do we do?" Wheeljack asked.

"I need to talk to him," Sideswipe answered, "We've got to get down there."

"Let's just hope he listens," Wheeljack mumbled as the three mechs clambered back down to street level. "Or this could get really ugly."

Sideswipe stepped out first. "Hey Sunstreaker!" he called to get his brothers attention.

"A neutral," one of the other Decepticons barked. "Get him!"

"Three neutrals actually," Jazz informed him coolly, somehow he managed to sound confident even though he had never felt so scared in his life. "But we don't want any trouble, just a few moments with your yellow friend."

"I've got nothing to say to you," Sunstreaker snarled. "Except that it would be a lot easier if you didn't put up a fight."

"Would you listen to yourself?" Sideswipe exclaimed in exasperation. "You're no 'Con Sunny, you've just spent so much time with Storm that you don't know what you believe anymore."

"It's better than being a neutral," Sunstreaker said haughtily. "I've been promised glory, what have you got Sides? Hope that this war will just pass us by? Use your optics Sideswipe, or your processor for once, refusing to chose a side will only get you deactivated."

"I've chosen," Sideswipe said coldly. "In the last cycle I've seen courage and loyalty like we've never known Sunny, and as soon as we get out of here I'm signing up to the Autobots."

"Fool," one of the other Decepticons hissed.

"Shut up," Wheeljack snapped. Usually he was a tolerant mech, he was quiet, thoughtful and had spent most of the last few vorns in his lab, but all that was gone. The Decepticons had defiled his city, demolished his lively-hood, and he didn't really have much left to lose.

"Why should I take orders from some helpless neutral?" the Decepticon barked.

"Neutral doesn't mean helpless," Jazz put in. "He's already taken care of a few of your comrades, and has no misgivings about adding to that number."

Wheeljack hid his embarrassment as best he could, his face-mask helped. Jazz had made him sound so brave, but the fire-fight he'd managed to get into the cycle before had been one of the most horrendous moments of his life, and the result of a stupid mistake that he had made while he and Hound had been looking for somewhere to hide.

"So you're the group that's been giving us so much trouble," another Decepticon smirked. "We'll be rewarded for bringing them in, get them!"

Jazz was thankful that he didn't have time to think as he drew the laser-knife that Wheeljack had made for him and the Decepticons pounced, and that Sideswipe and Hound had given him the benefit of their experience as he had never been in a fight for his life before. He hated violence, and had spent several vorns keeping away from the troubles, but he had realised in the last cycle that running and hiding wouldn't keep him safe forever.

For about a breem the fight seemed to be going in their favour, Jazz got the feeling that Sunstreaker was holding back, maybe he didn't really want to hurt his brother, but as two more 'Cons arrived the musicians spark sank. They were hopelessly outnumbered, and it wasn't long before energy bonds were snapped around his torso as he was thrown roughly to the ground.

"Looks like you should have chosen your friends more carefully," Sunstreaker sneered as he looked down at the three beaten mechs.

Wheeljack and Sideswipe glowered at the golden mech, but Jazz looked more closely at one of the new arrivals and smiled mirthlessly. "Sunstreaker, how can you say that when you're fighting shoulder to shoulder with one of the mechs that tried to deactivate your brother?" he asked in a calm tone.

"What?" the golden warrior demanded.

"I was there, remember?" the black and white continued. "And I'm telling that the blue mech at your side was one those who attacked Sideswipe."

Sunstreaker turned to the unfortunate mech with a menacing glint in his optics, he didn't ask whether or not what Jazz had said was true, there was no mercy or hesitation in his movements, and before anyone else realised what was going on the mech was lying in a pool of his own energon as sparks spluttered sickeningly from a gaping hole in his chest plate.

"No one hurts my brother," he snarled as he took a protective stance over his twin.

Jazz felt Wheeljack shift a little closer to him and all at once the bonds disappeared. Thank you Primus, Jazz thought quickly. Of all the mechs I could have been lumped with in this disaster you gave me the genius that is Wheeljack. You must actually want me to get out of this. Jazz had never really thought of himself as a religious mech, but he was starting to wonder.

Sideswipe was the first to move, taking his place next to his twin and proving that he was almost as fearsome as Sunstreaker. Jazz bounced to his feet and struck out hard at the nearest Decepticon, with Wheeljack close behind him, but it was the twins fighting together that made the difference, and it wasn't long before their enemies were vanquished.

Sunstreaker stood over the barely online bodies of the fallen with a disgusted scowl on his handsome faceplates. Sideswipe clapped him on the shoulder to get him moving, "I say we get Hound and get gone, sound good to you?"

"Who's Hound?" the golden twin asked.

"A good mech," Sideswipe answered. "Now move, it won't be long before more 'Cons come along."

The four mechs raced through the streets, and were joined by Hound a few breems later. "Thought I heard you coming," he said in explanation of his appearance. "But did you have to bring them with you?" he asked urgently pointing up at a group of Seekers on the horizon.

"It's not like we sent them an invitation," Jazz retorted. "But killing mechs tends to frag other mechs off," he winced inwardly at how casual he sounded. Less than two cycles ago he never would have thought about harming another Cybertronian, but his world had been turned on its head since then. He'd been hurt, almost deactivated, every system he had had been pushed to its limit and worst of all his nice, safe life had been utterly destroyed.

He forced his processor to focus on the present, something was wrong, he was sure of it, the Seekers followed them relentlessly, but they weren't attacking, why? Jazz wondered, are they afraid? Unlikely, we're outmatched and out-gunned, so why don't they move in? Unless…

"Jazz what are you doing?" Wheeljack demanded to know as the black and white transformed back into his robotic mode and stopped dead.

Jazz didn't answer. As a musician he had spent his life listening to the world around him, finding the patterns, learning that one note in the right place could mean the difference between a masterpiece and a cacophony, and in that moment he thanked Primus that he had been gifted with a pair of the most sensitive audio receptors on his planet, because something ahead of them sounded wrong.

"There," he whispered, and in the same astro-second he snatched the laser-knife out of his sub-space again, and threw it into the shadows with all his strength. A cry of agony and shock answered the dull thud of the weapon hitting its target.

Wheeljacks optics flickered in surprise, "How…?" he asked in a baffled tone.

"This cycles lesson seems to be that if something seems to easy it's probably because someone's a step ahead of you," Jazz replied in a tight voice, he couldn't admit it but he was about ready to purge his tanks; the mech was dead and he had caused it. "Keep going but be careful. There's probably more where he came from."

The words of warning had barely left his vocaliser when Sunstreaker swerved violently, transformed and opened fire with a feral snarl. His twin was right behind him and the two Decepticons that were waiting for them never stood a chance.

Jazz cast one last glance at the Decepticon that he had killed. "Primus, forgive me," he whispered sorrowfully before he looked back to the twins and the remains for their opponents. "Forgive us all," he added before they transformed again and sped off as if the Unmaker himself was right behind them.

A.n. So glad that some of you seem to be enjoying this so far. The chapters will start getting longer soon, and some of the relationships will start around the same time, and that means I will have to up the rating, I'm not segregating it like I did last time as I don't think the story will make sense if I do. You have been warned, and I hope you keep reading. Until next time, take care, FB.