MoonWallker has found another of my weaknesses oooh dear

As requested~!

(Little Red also got its own story, also as requested. All updates for it will be going there instead!)

"He's doing it again."

"Who?"

"Prowl."

The two femmes looked over to where a winged mech was standing, silently watching something in a large mirror. They were completely still, not even twitching when the two femmes moved to stand either side of him.

"You know you can't." One quietly said, moving to place her hand over Prowls forearm.

"You'll get hurt again. You know you will, yet you still continue." The other said, copying the others action on the opposite side.

"I know." Prowl quietly replied, still not tearing his optics away from what he was looking at.

"I don't understand why you continue. He is just a simple mortal-"

Prowl immediately shrugged the two off, striding away. "We've been through this." He growled, not turning back to look at them. "I am not repeating myself."

"Whatever you say, Mr. Justice."

"Do not call me that."

Both femmes looked at each other and shrugged. They had warned him, and he knew the consequences very well. Nothing like first hand experience.

Jazz couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

But it was ridiculous. He was alone in his apartment, blinds all drawn and door locked up tight. Nobody could be snooping on him.

Sighing when the feeling finally faded away, Jazz allowed himself to offline the data pad he had been entertaining himself with and relax back onto his berth, quickly falling into recharge.

When he woke up, the feeling was back, and he could have sworn he saw someone standing in the mirror. They were gone in a blink.

Strange.

Deciding it was simply the remains of a recharge cycle still trying to catch up, Jazz elected to ignore it and hit the wash rack. After all, he couldn't look sloppy today. Today was an important day; he'd even marked it in his Calendar!

Yes, it was the day Jazz played his 100th gig. Hold your applause, my dear friends, for it gets better. Not only was it his 100th gig, but it was also his most important. His entire career rested on the outcome. He hoped Blaster felt up to the challenge.

While he was nervous - incredibly nervous - he couldn't help but feel something big was going to happen today. A part of him insisted that it was because it was going to go amazingly and he'd finally get his big break, but another was telling him he was going to fail & it was better to quit while he was ahead. One, smaller part of him whispered it was something else that was going to make this say special.

As to what though, Jazz didn't know.

They couldn't find Prowl.

He wasn't standing at the mirror, gazing into it at his current fixation, nor was he assisting with the judgment of the dead like he usually was. The two femmes were at their wits end trying to find him. They hadn't seen him since he has stormed off the night before.

They had a sneaking suspicion that he had opened a portal and descended to the mortal realms without telling anyone. It wasn't something he had done before, but they wouldn't put it past him.

Their suspicions were confirmed to be correct when they opened the door to his private quarters to see a swirling green mass in the middle of the room.

"He's an absolute idiot." A femme grumbled.

"I have to agree there, Ariel."

"Elita, what should we do? If we followed him he'd kill us."

"I suppose we can only wait for him to see how foolish he's being."

"I hope he comes around soon."

"As do I. We should probably inform Primus of this. He may know what to do."

Ariel and Elita quickly left and made their way towards the well, knowing that was where Primus would be. Unlike some people, he could stay put.

The mortal world smelled different to how Prowl had imagined. It felt different, sounded different and even looked different. Then again, it wasn't surprising considering that he could only watch this world through mirrors. A lot was missed out.

He was glad that he knew the layout of the city; down to the little drain covers in the mode secluded alleys. He knew who lived where, how long, who their friends were, where the shops were, where the bars and clubs were- you name it, he knew where to find it.

Including the exact location of his current fixation, a mech who went by the designation of Jazz.

He knew he liked his music loud and with a good beat. He hated waking up before the stars rose. He took his energon warm, and if he was allowed the luxury, with copper sulphate crystals. He worked as a musician, and he had the voice of an angel. There were many people who would stop at nothing to have him, and Prowl hoped that he would suit Jazz's fancy.

He'd feel like a fool if he didn't. Ariel and Elita would never let him hear the end of it!

It was a risk he was willing to take, however. He'd been presented the opportunity before and didn't risk it, and it was a decision he'd regretted ever since.

People were staring at him.

Prowl guessed it was because he was standing stock still, not even twitching. He'd been so engrossed with what he was seeing he'd forgotten the social norms.

So be began to walk.

His first thought for a destination was the club Jazz would be preforming at, but he wasn't due to start for a few joor. It'd be weird if he just silently sat there. Maybe he could pay the poorer districts a visit?

His body made his mind up for him as he changed directions and walked towards the slums. He may have been in the mortal world, but he was still a God. His temporary body was sturdy and could take a beating – he couldn't die. Besides, what harm would it do? They did need to know what was happening, after all.

As it turned out, he didn't need to enter the slums to hear the screaming. Quickening his pace, eventually breaking out into a run, Prowl ran towards the source of the noise to find a youngling being chased by mechs much, much bigger than them.

The moment they saw Prowl, they immediately hid behind his legs, hugging himself close to them and nervously peering around. Prowl quickly saw why. He was much taller than the ones who were chasing them, and looked stronger. Slowly, he raised an optic ridge at them.

"Why were you chasing them?" He asked. The other two immediately cocked their helms, looking very confused.

"Th' frag he sayin'?" One asked the other, not bothering to be discrete.

"Not a clue."

Prowl quickly realized that he was speaking a much older dialect that must have died out. He tried again.

"Why were you chasing them?"

"Ah, ya do speak normal. Tha' lil' cretin behind ya stole somthin' of ours."

"Is that so?" Prowl asked, shifting to reveal the youngling more and to get a better look at them. They didn't know how to use their subspace, that much was certain, and their hands were empty. "They're not holding anything."

"The glitch probably subspaced it."

Prowl knelt down, the youngling trembling, optics wide. "Did you subspace it?" He gently asked. The youngling shook their head, optics flicking between Prowl and the two mechs who were slowly edging closer.

"Lair!"

"They don't know how to use it." Prowl snapped back, hefting the youngling into his arms. He ignored how the action smeared dirt and grime onto his plating, especially as the youngling moved to cling onto him and hide their face in his shoulder. "What is it that they supposedly stole? I'm sure if you look hard enough you'll find it."

"The waste a'space probably ate it." One grumbled, slowly moving away and ambling back the way they came. "Come on, let's go. Got bigger fish ta fry."

Prowl didn't ask what a fish was.

"Where do you live?" Prowl asked the youngling once the two mechs were out of hearing range. The youngling didn't reply, gripping onto Prowl tighter. Sighing, Prowl decided that it was best to not keep up his act, and simply began walking deeper into the slums. He knew where they lived, and who with. The youngling wasn't a thief either, but they very nearly were. Prowl didn't know if he was glad or not. On one hand, it would mean he wouldn't be as harshly judged, but on the other, this youngling was starving. He made a mental note to speak to Primus about this when he returned.

The youngling's house was close to not even being considered one. It was simply pieces of scrap metal arranged to form three walls and a leaky roof, one piece of smaller metal functioning as a door. It looked cold and uncomfortable, even more so for the four others that shared it with him.

They were already there, all curled up inside, some clutching their abdomens.

Prowl silently placed the youngling back down onto their feet before turning around and leaving.

"Uhm-Sir?" The youngling nervously started, quickly skittering after him. Prowl paused.

"Thank you."

Prowl simply nodded and continued on his way.

Jazz felt energized and more excited than he had in vorn.

He could practically see the energy in the air, crackling over anything that moved. Of course, he was probably just imagining it, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen, and that it would be quite spectacular.

He sung to himself as he descended the stairs in his apartment, taking two at a time.

The street outside was busy, the noise making it difficult to make out individual conversations. But Jazz had no interest in poking his nose into other peoples business today! He had one goal on his mind, and one goal only – get to the club without being hit by anything today.

It had happened. Twice. The doctor had not been happy.

Jazz had made it to the venue without much more than a scratch.

There were still two joor until he was due to perform, and Blaster was busy chatting up the barmaid, so Jazz thought that there was no harm in mingling with other customers. Besides, they may be watching him perform!

He left backstage, and the feeling of being watched washed over him again, the crackle in the air much more potent. Apprehensively looking around, his visor fell on a mech sitting in a corner by himself, silently sipping on a softly glowing blue drink while reading a datapad. And his jaw dropped.

They were as sculpted as Adonis with huge doorwings sweeping across his back, held up proudly either side of his shoulders. Their colouration was simple – black and white with a golden crest and a red chevron. It was easy to see that the mech was a Praxian. Quite an exotic frame for Polyhex.

And Jazz noticed with a start that they were staring straight back at him.

It was too late to pretend that he hadn't been gawping at him, and he nervously grinned at the mech, face rapidly heating up as he rubbed the back of his neck while bowing his head, trying to break eye contact.

Yet when he glanced back up the mech was still watching him, helm tilted slightly and a curious expression on his face.

Well, here goes nothing. Jazz swallowed and made his way over to the mech, sliding into the seat opposite.

The doorwinged mech watched him with polite interest, optics considerably brighter than before, and it was here that Jazz noticed just how detailed they were, and the different shades of blue that glittered in them. From afar, they looked as cold as ice, but now he was closer, they looked like a mosaic.

"Can I help you?" They asked, and Jazz nearly melted at the gravelly voice the mech possessed.

"Jus' with one lil' thing." Jazz began, flashing his most charming smile. "What's ya name?"

"Prowl. And yours?"

"Jazz" Jazz replied without hesitation. "Ah'm gunna be playing here tonight, ya stayin' much longer?"

"I have nowhere else to be, so yes." Prowl replied, allowing a small smile.

"Great, can Ah talk ta ya after?"

"Certainly."

Jazz nodded with a grin before jumping up and going back to his dressing room, grabbing the coldest thing to him and pressing his face into it. Primus, his face felt so hot! He could only imagine how stupid he had looked! The mech was probably taking pity on him!

But he had agreed. If he wasn't there after, Jazz would have to resign to the fact he had looked idiotic and had scared the mech away.

Prowl was not going anywhere any time soon.

Jazz was everything he had expected and hoped for. He remained where he was, silently reading his datapad and sipping on his drink. Any offers others made to 'go somewhere more private' were politely declined. Once it was made clear that he wasn't interested, he wasn't bothered by anyone.

The moment Jazz was on stage, Prowl had put down his datapad and paid attention, not willing to miss a single moment. He knew he was going to be in a lot of trouble when he got back, and he was surprised that there weren't two nagging voices now, but he decided that he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth and accepted the blessing for what it was.

And Prowl was glad he had decided to pay Jazz a visit on this day. He enjoyed listening to him sing, his voice easy on the audials and he was most certainly easy on the optics. But truth be told, he didn't think that Jazz would notice him or give him a shred of consideration, and he hadn't planned ahead for this. He was driving blind.

Much too soon for Prowls liking, Jazz's time slot was over and he gracefully left the stage, emerging from backstage fifteen klicks later. He looked around, searching for Prowl, and his face visibly lit up when he saw that Prowl was still there, true to his word.

"So? How was Ah?" Jazz asked, plopping himself down into the seat next to Prowl. While Prowl was surprised that Jazz had chosen to sit there other than opposite him, he wasn't about to complain.

"You were amazing." Prowl replied, reveling in the dazzling smile that brought forth from Jazz.

"Thank ya. Ah was nervous that Ah'd mess up!" He nervously replied, twiddling his fingers. "Ah've never played here before."

"You were a natural at it."

Jazz shuffled in his seat, feigning extreme embarrassment. "Oh, stop it!" He pled, swatting at Prowls shoulder. "Ya embarrassin' me."

"What with? The truth?"

"It ain't an' ya know it."

"I'm afraid I don't, you're going to have to enlighten me."

Jazz simply laughed, leaning forwards to lean against the table. "So, where are ya from? Ah don't recognize ya accent."

"I come from somewhere very far away from here. It's not easy to get to."

"An' what brought ya all the way here? Usually the tourists stick to the better parts of town."

"I thought I'd come and see why. It's a shame, really. They're missing out."

Whatever Jazz said in reply was drowned out by the shouting and cheering from the table next to them, the mechs obviously overcharged. Jazz frowned at them.

"Did ya wanna go somewhere a lil' more quiet?"

"Where did you have in mind?"

For months, Prowl kept up the façade. Every night, he would return back to his Godly realm, and almost every day he would return to Jazz's side. Ariel and Elita were beginning to get worried. They knew he couldn't keep doing this, that someone was going to get hurt. Whether or not it would be Prowl they didn't know. In the past, mortals got scared when they learned that a God had a fixation on them, and they pushed the other away.

It never ended well.

God or not, Prowl was not able to shrug off emotional pain easily.

And then, one night, he didn't return.

Nor did he the next.

Nor the next.

It was finally a decacycle later that he returned, frantically searching for something in his quarters. He wasn't back for long before he had jumped back through the portal, leaving Ariel to stare into a once more empty room.

She gritted her teeth and clenched her fist. Prowl was beginning to test her patience.

While herself and Elita had been instructed to let it play out by itself, and only step in if deemed to be absolutely necessary, she desperately wanted to go back and haul Prowl back by his doorwings. He was being ridiculous, allowing himself to believe that it could last forever.

The mortals were called mortal for a reason. Jazz's life would pass in the blink of an eye, be over before Prowl even knew it.

The firm grip of Elita stopped her from doing so. She must not meddle, but she wanted to.

Especially when she uncovered the mirror to see that Prowl was fast asleep, curled up around Jazz, and was undisguised. The mech was playing a dangerous game, and Ariel didn't like it.

As it turned out, she was too late. Prowl already had plans tucked away under his plating, and the next time Ariel looked in the mirror she saw Jazz backed up against a wall, face pale with his knees knocking together. Prowl was out of sight, obviously out of range for the mirror that hung on Jazz's wall, but judging on where Jazz was looking, he was on the other side of the room.

And Jazz was shouting and trembling hard, voice shaking with his body.

Exactly what he was saying Ariel didn't know, but she knew that he was terrified.

It was the usual reaction.

She silently covered the mirror over, and waited for Prowl to return.

The mirror didn't last a single second against Prowl.

The moment they had set foot through the portal, he snapped it shut and kicked the device that had kept it in place away. He wouldn't be using it again. Not for a long time, at least.

The moment he had seen the covered mirror, he stormed up to it and ripped the covering away, pausing for just a moment to look into it and see that Jazz was no longer there before snarling and immediately punching the glass, shattering it in a spider-web pattern before kicking the mirror down, glass shattering further on the floor.

And he stormed away again.

Ariel silently watched the scene unfold, unsure of what to do. She could try and comfort Prowl, or leave him to calm down by himself before she got involved. She decided that was for the best – Prowl was temperamental, and she didn't want to find herself on the receiving end of the fist that just shattered the mirror.

Instead, she silently padded forwards and plucked a shard from the ground, it easily fitting in her hand and slowly turning black. Prowl was many things, but he was rarely violent. It clouded his judgment, made others wary of him. Things he did not want nor need.

Just… one visit couldn't hurt, could it?

She picked another piece from the ground and subspaced both of them before rushing to Prowls Private quarters, not surprised that he wasn't there, and taking his portal stabilizer. The last coordinates should still have been stored in it. Deciding against setting it up in Prowls quarters, she set it up in her own before jumping through.

Jazz slowly sunk down to the floor against his firmly shut door. Just moments ago, Prowl had stormed through it.

And he was scared.

More scared than he ever remembered being before.

Prowl was not who he thought he was. For months he'd believed that Prowl was a simple mech who had come to live in another city to experience it. He couldn't bear to look at his berth, vivid memories of that previous night playing in his head. The way Prowl had kissed him, had arched into his hands as they played with his doorwings-

Jazz hugged himself tighter, trying to control his breathing.

He didn't want to believe it. Prowl wasn't a lair! He was telling the truth the entire time, he was just dreaming! Yeah, just dreaming. In a few moments, he'd wake up and Prowl would still be there and he could look forward to just lazing around with him-

Jazz released an unmechly shriek as his mirror suddenly shattered, fragments spurting away from the wall like it had exploded. He slowly stood, cautiously padding towards the largest fragments before kneeling down next to them, picking them up. What Prowl had told him before about the mirrors and their connection to the other realms played in his head, and he allowed the pieces to fall through his fingers.

He'd definitely fragged up.

Now that the mirror was gone, Prowl could no longer see Jazz. Out of sight, out of mind, after all. The mech probably wanted nothing to do with him anymore. And Jazz didn't blame him, with some of the things he had said.

Jazz didn't realize that he was crying until coolant splashed down onto his thighs, and he quickly went to wipe at his optics. He was being stupid, he knew he was and he hated it, but he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of regret that ate away at him from the inside.

A whirring sound in the other room made him jump, and he quickly stood. It was the same noise that he heard when Prowl had left.

Nervously opening the door, he peeked in to see a lavender femme looking around before her optics finally settled on Jazz.

"Jazz." She said, approaching him. Jazz slowly opened the door wider, silently berating himself that he had been caught. He absently noticed that she had the same accent Prowl did. "I am sorry about Prowl. He can be a little temperamental, but he means well."

"Who are ya?" He asked, frowning at her. He didn't feel the same energy from her. Was she a Goddess? Or something else?

"I am Ariel, Goddess of the future and of writing." She said, giving a small bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"He never spoke of anyone else." Jazz quietly replied, wondering why he didn't think it strange or pick up on it before.

"I didn't think he would. None of us agreed with him coming here." Ariel replied, taking a black mirror fragment out of her subspace. "I think you now know why."

"Yeah, Ah think Ah do."

"None the less, I'd like you to have this." Ariel handed the piece to Jazz. "It's a fragment of Prowls mirror. I know you probably don't want anything to do with him right now, but if you ever change your mind, this will help guide you."

Jazz silently looked at the black glass that shined like it was liquid. He looked up to ask Ariel what she meant, but the femme was gone.

Nothing was being reflected in the mirror anymore. It was useless.

Jazz couldn't bring himself to throw it away, instead bringing it closer to his chest. If he concentrated hard enough, he could feel the energy that he had come to associate with Prowl radiating from it.

Slowly plodding back into his room, Jazz picked up a fragment of his own mirror. It still reflected his image.

"Don't say we didn't warn you, Prowl. You knew this would happen, you just can't help yourself can you?" Elita scolded, carefully picking pieces of the black mirror out of Prowls hand. "And don't you dare say 'we've had this conversation'!" Elita quickly added, poorly mimicking Prowls voice. Prowl just sighed and rested his chin in the palm of his hand.

"Are you done yet? I think that's enough salt already." He grumbled, not looking her in the optic.

"No, I am most certainly not. Ariel's run off and is probably doing something stupid again, you're just feeling overly sorry for yourself – and you're getting no sympathy from me, Prowl-"

Prowl had stopped listening to her when she mentioned Ariel.

"What do you mean Ariel's run off?" He demanded. He was not going to be happy if Ariel got herself into trouble because she was trying to fix things.

"I don't know where she is, I can't find her. There's a portal stabilizer that's active in her room, so I presume she's meddling."

"Stupid femme. Finish my hand later, I'll go get her." Prowl growled, standing up and going towards Ariel's room.

Only to find it empty, no portal stabilizer in sight.

Strange.

He walked back to where Elita was, about to take his seat and allow her to continue again when he noticed that Ariel was now also in the room.

"Where did you go?" He demanded, not in the mood to deal with Ariel's misbehavior.

"Nowhere important. Just dropping something off." She replied, kicking back in the chair she had claimed for herself. "We're going to have to get you another mirror, you do know."

"Don't care. You two can man it now, I want no part in it."

"We'll see how you feel when it's finished, hmm?" Ariel said, taking the second black fragment from her subspace. "For now, just keep this with you, okay? As a reminder."

Prowl reluctantly accepted it, immediately tucking it into his subspace.

This is one of the reasons why I'm glad I took Archaeology. The religion and ritual unit actually helped so much with this xD If you have any questions regarding that aspect of it, feel free to ask. I'll explain as best as I can.

I also based their roles on Egyptian mythology. Have fun guessing who's who!

~Llama