Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Only the plot and OCs.
Writer's block is awful, but I finally got this one done.
Chapter 53
Fault Lines
This . . . .
This . . . was something of a . . . problem.
Sitting in a cross legged slouch at the edge of the twins' berth in the middle of the night the little white ball of thin plating that was Jynx was at the present moment trying to figure out when this had become her life.
This being the problem she currently found herself facing.
Which in greater detail was something she was as of yet still too terrified to think too much about but in the short of it could at least be describe as the present dilemma she found herself stuck in the middle of.
That dilemma being that she couldn't recharge.
At all.
Not one slaggin' nano.
Now, that in itself over the course of her rather miserable existence was not that odd of a problem. She'd been dealing with that particular issue for a long time. However, all those normal reasons for the problem that had come before were not the cause of this new problem.
No.
Because this new problem was not just that she couldn't recharge. It was why.
Which was why she was currently on the perch she found herself.
That is, the twins' berth in the middle of the night staring at the two of them lost in the safety of rest.
It had not escaped her notice that not all that long ago she had been in this very spot with very different thoughts in her helm. In fact, she could recall quite clearly and plainly how she had then been trying to decide whether or not to gut the two of them while they recharged.
That, fortunately or unfortunately—at the moment she could not yet be sure which—was not her currently problem. No matter how much she would like it to be. However, that wanting it to be might have just been her lying to herself again.
She . . . wasn't all that sure.
Anyway, that wasn't the problem.
No, the problem was that she couldn't recharge . . . without them.
It was quite the pressing and odd dilemma if she did say so herself. The fact that it had taken her the eight orns they'd been back in New Iacon to figure it out did not in the slightest seem in anyway unwarranted to her.
Because really, who the frag would have see this coming!?
She didn't.
She still didn't get it.
What was it that made her want to be with them? Recharge had never been an easy concept for her, but what did they have to do with it now?
The first few nights back she really hadn't noticed. She'd go to her little room eventually, curl up under her red blanket and try for recharge but it wouldn't come. She'd chalked it up to there being too much in her processor. Which really wasn't all that hard to believe. All that had been said and done about getting the Inhibitor was a reasonable excuse for rest to be out of reach for a few orns. It was warranted and she didn't question it.
However, it kept on.
Not because of dreams or nightmares or even the memories born from the photos she'd taken from the box Nook made her take with her that she had spent that first restless night mixing into the photo album. It was because of something else.
It wasn't until she'd started faking recharge last night on the twins' couch that she realized her thoughts and her spark calmed down when she stayed near them.
And that horrifyingly real thought was what lead to her cross legged on the corner of their berth this night staring at them as they recharged. Watching their big, powerful frames relaxed and calm. Tucked against each other in a tangle of two halves fitting back into place.
She couldn't even find it in her to be jealous of it now, and believe her, she'd tried.
When she'd realized she couldn't rest because her idiot frame and her stupid spark for some damn reason wanted to be near them she'd been pissed. Because anger had been easier to deal with.
However, she couldn't keep it long. No matter how hard she tried. It faded away and left her with a longing pull she didn't know what to do with. Let alone what to do about it.
So here she was.
Sitting quietly in the middle of the night watching them recharge as she tried to figure out why her spark was pulling toward them. She wasn't getting much of anywhere though. Which was fraggin' stupid because she was trying. She was actually trying to figure it out. That was better then what she normally did.
Though she wasn't even sure why she was doing that this time.
Her mind was a jumbled place at the moment and all she really wanted was some freaking recharge. She'd even broke down this morning while they went down to the medical bay to get another round of that nasty slag she was having to take to build up her systems and asked Arcee if she could have some more of that stuff that had helped her recharge before.
She'd known the moment those pale blue optics saddened that she wouldn't get it, but still she'd tried. Apparently drugging up her systems now would only slow down the process of being able to get the Inhibitor. So she'd decided to just suck it up and deal with it.
It wasn't like this was the first time she'd gone without recharge in her life.
However, this time it was easier said than done. Because this time it wasn't a mind and frame wide awake from pain and memories. Oh no. Her frame was tired. Her mind was tired. They both wanted rest, but getting it required something she was afraid to define and do.
After the freaking out she'd woken up in on the ship from crawling up in between the two of them she was scared to try to do it again. She was even more scared that they'd get mad at her for it.
Puffing out a long breath Jynx leaned her elbows forward on her knees, chin held up by laced fingers, staring more intently at the twins.
What was it?
What was it about them now?
What had changed?
When had carefully given trust and slowly lowering walls become the need to be close?
More so then that, when had close become a thing she wasn't scared of?
She had so many fraggin' questions and no way to answer them.
It wasn't helping anything that she was so tired she could barely see straight. Chasing puppies around this huge fraggin' place with Bumblebee all damn orn was exhausting.
A low sound drew her to straighten up, silver optics fixing more pointedly on the twins as Sideswipe shifted in his recharge. Strong frame bending in an arch of lean muscle cabling, thick armor, and long limbs. Her optics followed the twist of frame as he rumbled in his dreams, shifting around deeper into both the covers and his pillow.
Neither of them were wrapped up as tightly together as they sometimes were, there was a bit of space left between them as there had been on the ship a few orns ago, but Jynx was doing her very best to ignore the way her spark leaned toward it.
Safe. It whispered as it had been doing for orns.
She gave the stupid ball of life inside her a growl in return.
It just went on pulsing happily. Right.
"What the frag does that even mean!?" She whisper hissed to herself. Hands pulling apart so that she could rub her claws against the center seam of her chest. Rubbing at it didn't do any good. It just went right on pulsing away in this content pulling toward them.
When she tried to go off and do something else the tugging got worse. Pain leaking into it like a cold burn. Digging and pressing away inside her until she came within reaching distance again and then it would calm back down to this happy little hum.
She felt kind of like tearing it out just to make it shut up with the things she didn't know what meant.
Squeezing her optic tight Jynx rubbing absently at the hidden seam between tightly locked together plating over her chest wondering what was happening to her.
Sideswipe shifted again, drawing her attention back to him. He rolled a bit closer to his bondmate, ending up getting the covers off of the both of them as he wiggled. Legs stretching out until they draped over Sunstreaker's. Then they tensed back up to link them up. He shifted a little closer with his upper body as well so that their helms pressed together by their forehelms.
Jynx looked away.
What was she doing?
She didn't belong here.
A heavy sigh rolled through her vents as she slowly picked herself up onto her knees. Pulsing and pulling spark or not she wasn't going to just sit here and . . . well . . . she wasn't sure what but she wasn't going to.
Pushing upright she was halfway through crawling off the berth and going back to hers to do nothing else but stare at the ceiling only for a hard, hot, angry flare through her spark to send her sprawling down onto her front with a hiss of pain.
"Gah!" She swallowed the loudness of the cry as well as she could while twisting into a ball. Claws latching into the grooves of her chest plating and pushing hard as if somehow that would be enough to stop the sudden burn.
It wasn't.
A cold fire slid through her until she rolling back to the middle of the end of the berth and tried to breath. Then it cooled. Slowly fading away leaving her gasping and shaking sprawled out there on the end of the berth staring through slightly watery optics at the ceiling.
Panting, optics blown wide, she lay there trying to catch her breath as her spark calmed back down. Well, that is until she rolled herself upright, focus turning inward with a silent snarl.
Because, what the frag was that!?
Her spark just gave another hum and a tug.
She hissed at it.
Her optics drifted back to the resting mechs then though only to narrow as they stared.
Fine. She growled. Have it your way, but you do realize this is gonna get us nothing but hurt, don't you?
Then she paused before snarling silently again.
"Great." She whispered. "Now I'm having an argument with my own damn spark. I really am a fraggin' psychopath."
Her spark hummed happily in amusement, swaying contently back and forth in its chamber while she slowly picked her way up the berth.
Rolling her optics she scooted forward on her hands and knees until she reached where the twins' long legs were hooked together. Pushing herself up slightly she leaned just enough that she could lightly tap at Sideswipe's calf. The soft ting, ting, ting of her claw tip against his armor seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet berthroom and she was half expecting to get kicked off the berth for her trouble, but neither of them moved. Leaving her to crouch there on the other side of their pulled together legs until in exasperation she rolled her optics and tried again. Tapping a little harder and a lot firmer as she quietly called.
"Sides,"
Followed by another round of tapping.
The plating she was touching gave a ripple. Flexing against the protoform underneath making her yank her hand back and her gaze fly up just in time to see Sideswipe blink himself awake. With a snort those dark blue optics flashed open and he was glanced around.
"Sides," She called again making him shift up enough to balance on an elbow and crane his neck. Either the movement or that little thing about twins woke Sunstreaker as well. A low groan rolling through his chest as his own optics flashed open and wakefulness came to be in his processor.
Jynx then found herself staring back into the dark glow of both sets of mirror optics. She shrank a little bit under it. Helm lowering slightly as she stared back at them under the upper rim of her visor.
"Wild Cat?" Sideswipe's voice was husky with recharge. Even deeper than usual holding more of a grate to the normal smooth.
It sent a harsh shiver down her main backstrut and smacked hard down in her gut. Optics flashing slightly in shock she gave herself a good shake internally cursing the way her spark spend up in its content swirling.
The shiver and the shake was read far differently between the twins though and they were slowly pushing themselves upright on the berth. Optics fixed on her as she sank a little lower backward.
"What's the matter?" Sideswipe asked those deep blue optics watching her closely but not reaching out for her. Somehow knowing that wouldn't be a good idea. She silently thanked him for it as she desperately searched for some kind of answer.
A processor muddled with lack of recharge and swirling thoughts wasn't helping much. It left her grasping at straws for something, anything, to say now that she actually had their attention.
The thought accrued that she could tell them the truth that she didn't get. That her spark wanted to be near them. That she found rest wouldn't come unless she was close to them, but that she didn't know why.
And then of courses the notion of that freaked her the frag out and she sank a little lower on her knees before whispering half a truth.
"I can't recharge."
They both tensed a little at that, but she didn't give them time to start asking questions. To say they would ask Arcee again to give her something. To wonder if it was all because of what was going to happen in the morning.
Instead she pulled herself up, crawled over their legs, wiggled down into the space between them, curled into a ball, and went still. Trying hard not to notice the shock that rippled through the pair of them for a long moment as they sat perfectly still staring down at her there tucked between them.
The longer it went on the more uneasy Jynx became, but her spark was purring happily so with a roll of her optics she muttered.
"Can I stay here?"
There was a moment of fear in which she was oh so very afraid they'd scoff at her and tell her to get her aft back to her own berth, but they didn't. They simply shared a look between themselves before slowly laying back down around her. Both of them were careful not to touch her. Large frames tucking around, close, but not touching as they settled down into the softness of the berth.
Sideswipe reached down after another nano or two and pulled the covers back over them. Quiet and careful. Jynx silently thanked him for that as well.
Laying there between the warmth and strength, the slight brushing of their content fields all three of them lapsed back into quiet for a long time. Leaving Jynx to sink deeper and deeper into the pull of recharge and calm until softly Sunstreaker's voice drifted through her audios.
"Are you scared about in the morning?"
It didn't jolt her awake per say but it roused her enough to roll over and turned herself into Sunstreaker's chest. She felt the roll through Sunstreaker's energy as well as Sideswipe's but she refused to acknowledge what she was doing as she burrowed into the golden twins' strength.
"No." She said quietly. "It's not that."
Sunstreaker was still for a nano longer then carefully he shifted enough to allow her more wiggle room even if he draped his arm over her back. At first she stilled a little, but when the instinct to bolt didn't flare she went lax again.
Somehow she knew Sideswipe would come closer so she was not at all surprised when his bulk and his warmth pressed closer behind her. It was another klick before he dared the arm around her that Sunstreaker had but within a few klicks she found herself snuggled in tightly and wrapped up safely between the two of them.
Pressed together in more ways then she every thought she'd be comfortable with as she slowly drifted off to recharge.
The last coherent thought inside her was her spark's soft whisper.
Belong.
Morning rolled around too soon. However, at least this time there was no hissing freak out when she woke up curled between them. Instead there was just a lot of yawning and stretching as she wiggled her way back out of their strong grip. The action waking them with their own yawns and though letting her go seemed harder than they thought it would be. Their movements were hesitant and slow, but they didn't put up any residence when crawled out of berth and padded to the wash racks.
They had a breem before they had to be down in medical and though she wasn't lying when she said last night that she wasn't afraid that didn't mean it wasn't daunting. Over the last eight orns Soundwave had explained as much as he could. Walking her though the step by step of what all it was alongside Ratchet.
Because while the Inhibitor would be put in by Ratchet and Arcee it was Soundwave that designed it according to the readings and measurements he and Preceptor had been taking on her spark.
They'd yet to venture into her helm, for her processor didn't make much to do with this part of all they had started planning, but she wasn't stupid enough not to know that the reason she met the scientist and why he and Soundwave were in on all her stuff with Ratchet and Arcee now was because they were trying to slowly make her okay with step two of all their planning.
It was Preceptor and Soundwave that would do the work on rebuilding her firewalls and looking all the other lacking aspects of her processor. She was yet to become completely okay with that, that fear of what they may find buried in there still burning in the back of her mind.
But to have something that would mean she'd never kindle again . . . .
Jynx was willing to at least try. If she backed out of all the other stuff Soundwave and Preceptor wanted to do, well she knew the twins were back her up on it. They would not let even Ratchet do something to her that she didn't want.
She knew because the second orn back after she'd spooked to Preceptor's questions and ran Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had herded her back to the safety of their room and told her so.
It was why after a wash, and that nasty slaggin' supplemented energon, as they walked down to the bay for her surgery she found she wasn't quaking in her plating. Because if she ran they would let her. They would let her change her mind. They will follow her, but they would let her be the judge of what happened to her own frame.
She wondered if the two of them knew how much that simple concept meant to her.
The bay doors slid away with a hiss to the glow of overly bright lights. This early in the morning Jynx couldn't help but flinch a little at their brightness, and if she blamed that on the reason as to why she leaned into Sides' right hip as they made their way inside well the mech didn't argue with her.
Arcee looked up from the prepping she was doing beside the surgery berth at the back of the bay to smile brightly at the sight of the three of them.
"Ah," She grinned. "Right on time."
"I'm not gonna be late for this." Jynx smiled back at her. Even if the fear was growing slightly as she looked at all that was laid out around that berth she swallowed it down with a harsh swallow.
Because this was for the best.
One little surgery and it would never have to happen again. She'd never feel that again.
Besides, it was Arcee and Ratchet and she . . . she trusted them.
"Morning, Cee." Sideswipe greeted her warmly with a smile of his own while they followed Jynx across the bay watching her pull herself up to plop down on the middle of the berth Arcee tipped her helm to.
"Good morning," She nodded to all of them. "You did take everything this morning, correct, Jynx?"
Making a face Jynx nodded. "Yeah, the nasty slag was taken."
Sideswipe chuckled while Sunstreaker rolled his optics with a fond twitch of his lips. Jynx didn't notice as she was too busy staring at all the tools laid out beside the berth, but Arcee did. There hadn't been much time over the last few orns with all they were prepping for with hurrying this surgery to question them any further.
But half a decacycle to give Jynx want she wanted turned out to be possible the more test they run. Soundwave assured Ratchet that will all the stuff they'd already been giving her and with her healthy enough to take the splicing of her new visor that this was do able in that amount of time.
Having his and Preceptor's help on the matter had sped things up as well. After Jynx stopped spooking around the red mech and letting him as close as she let the medics and Soundwave they had all their information and readings ready far ahead of schedule. They had also been pretty sure getting Jynx mentally ready for surgery would take a whole lot longer then this. At least that was what they were counting on. It didn't turn out that way.
The little femme was doing rather well these last few orns.
If she wasn't chasing puppies around the compound with Bumblebee and Bluestreak she was down in the hanger playing with the twins. And then there was that little aspect of Skywarp figuring out she was home somewhere around midnight the first night back and warping into the twins' room with balloons and rust sticks.
After the rather obvious freak out that went on and the yelling the twins did because somehow the seeker managed to end up dead center of their berth that eventually all leveled out too.
Jynx had been pretty busy and pretty happy since they all came back. Which was something none saw coming. Especially Jazz and Prowl. They'd been convinced leaving Nook back on the shores of the Sea was going to have some serious consciences but for the most part it seemed that Jynx was fine.
The fact that she was refusing to let herself think too hard about Nook and was instead focused on getting that Inhibitor had everything to do with that though. Jazz and Prowl wouldn't let her in on the scheming about what was happening with Nebulous—Optimus backing the choice made matters worse—so really the only thing she had to do was make herself well enough to have this surgery and then deal with what came next. The distractions Bumblebee, Skywarp, Bluestreak, the puppies, and the twins made were just an added bonus.
The door of the medics' office sliding open pulled Jynx's focus leaving her to look up to find Ratchet strolling into the main bay. His dark optics catching sight of her as he smiled while he walked over to them.
"Ready Jynx?" He questioned.
She couldn't help the sharp glance to the tools that lay behind Arcee but with a deep breath and a lift of her chin she nodded.
She wanted this and she'd do whatever she had to do to get it.
Leaning back in his chair twisted away from the table and the meeting Megatron sat with his chin cupped in his long, sharp claws staring out at the mid orn busy streets. To be perfectly honest he wasn't much listening to the talk going on behind him. Though considering they'd been having the same talk for half a decacycle he couldn't really see any harm in that.
There was only so much logical hashing out the eldest prince could take before he eventually just glazed over. After all, there was a very good reason Soundwave had been in charge of all this type of slag when they were at war.
Megatron might have been born a prince but he was not meant for politics. Damn good wordsmith he may be but there was a rather large difference in knowing what had to be done and said and wanting to go over it over and over again.
He was a mech of action.
Not a desk jockey.
And he was damn tired of hearing Jazz and Prowl fret.
Especially when he knew that most of it was born out of this bizarre distance Jazz was putting between himself and Jynx. From what Soundwave had told Megatron the silver mech hadn't so much as popped in to say high to the femme since they got back. Since stalking out of the hanger after Ratchet came to collect her and patch her up Jazz hadn't seen her once.
Now if one was somebot other then Megatron it would seem as if the saboteur was simply too busy. He and his mate were working no stop on this scheme he'd dreamed up on the way home. And considering his best spy had finally made progress, was in deep, and was almost ready for extraction within the next eight breems or so it was a logical excuse.
But that was all it was.
An excuse.
Jazz could do his job and get the intel he needed without avoiding the femme.
He just wasn't.
And Megatron wanted to know why.
Her surgery started a breem ago. He had asked Soundwave to comm him and keep him updated and ever the usual trusted friend he hadn't so much as lifted an optic ridge. Just nodded and continued with what he was doing.
Megatron had always liked that about Soundwave.
He wasn't sure how long that kind of surgery would take though he did know spark surgery of any kind was no game and was to be handled with the up most caution. Considering how much Jynx had grown to mean to the medics, and how much her spark was already messed up he knew Ratchet and Arcee would take as long as could possibly be needed. They were going to do this as right as they possibly could.
For the option of doing it twice was very slim.
Jynx had made a huge leap in trust to allow this, but even Megatron doubted she'd be willing to do it again if something was messed up.
Shifting a little in his chair, deep red optics traced the streak of a seeker across the sky as a voice cleared behind him. Audios perked he twisted back away from his view just enough to glance over his thick, sharp shoulder to find Prowl looking expectedly at him. Jazz was glaring, but well, Jazz had been glaring for quite a while. He wasn't bothered.
Optimus just looked like he could use some help.
Twisting his chair around some more so that he was facing the table Megatron lifted an optic ridge in question.
"Are you even listening?" Jazz grumbled at him, gaze narrow behind his visor.
"You mean to the same conversation you've insistent on having with at least one of us once an orn for the last eight?" Megatron rumbled back at him. "Then, no I am not listening, but considering none of the information has changed I didn't much see the need."
"The need is you're going to be the one serving back up if he needs it." Jazz hissed back.
"You said that a breem ago." The huge silver mech snorted. "I was listening to that part."
Jazz snarled.
"Megs," Optimus sighed softly. "Please don't pick a fight."
"I'm not." Megatron retorted, deep, dark gaze flickering over to his brother. "I am simply not appeasing the temper tantrum."
"Temper tantrum?!" Jazz all but sputtered.
Prowl's hand closed tightly around his forearm.
"Yes," Megatron huffed out. "Temper tantrum. You've been stalking around here pouting since you got back. Now I'm not sure what got under your armor while you were following her out there, but frankly I have no plans on putting up with it."
Jazz puffed up like an insulted cat, but other than gritting his teeth as his claws dug into the edge of the table he said nothing. Megatron plowed right on.
"See, I knew I was right. You really think no bot has noticed you're avoiding her? You've been doing it ever since you got back. And I'll admit, it's confusing the slag out of me. You were the one that has been defending her the longest. What the slag is wrong with you, Jazz? Hiding behind a mission is not like you."
The anger burning in that narrow gaze faded until Jazz deflated all together and sank down into his chair beside his mate. Prowl kept hold of him for a moment longer, before that grip slide down and their fingers were locked together. He pulled Jazz's hand off the table then, tightening the grip between their fingers as he did, keeping hold but pulling it down until their linked hands could rest in Prowl's lap. It calmed Jazz even more.
Letting out a long sigh the saboteur stared at the window over Megatron's shoulder. Not meeting the elder prince's gaze but not hiding either.
"I'm not mad at her if that's what you think."
"No." Megatron chuckled lightly, twisting fully in his chair so that he could face the other fully. Leaning back and lacing his long claws together over his abdomen. "No I don't think your mad at her. I think you're worried about something and it certainly isn't Mirage. He managed to get himself this far, I imagine he can make it back home just fine. Now that his modes are working right again there is always that added little bonus of invisibility. So what is it, Jazz, that has the master of steady and stealth storming around like a youngling in a fit?"
Silence answer him.
Silence long enough that the big grey mech leaned a big harder back in his chair working his jaw in frustration as he glanced over at his brother. Optimus was being quiet, though it wasn't hard to guess why.
He'd been trying to get Jazz to talk about what was bothering him since they got back, but all the luck he'd had was to be rather dramatically flipped off by the silver mech and then apologized to by Prowl. The raining Prime had left it alone after that. Choosing instead of pushing to let his friends work through what they needed to in their own time and in the mean time suffer through Jazz's stress working.
Megatron however, was not his younger brother—either of them—and he had no plans to continue on this way. He'd always found it was much easier to get what he wanted if he was direct.
Then Prowl sighed. "Some of it is Nook."
Megatron was not surprised.
Neither was Optimus.
"You couldn't have made him come back with you, Prowl." The Prime told his friend carefully.
"I know that." Prowl shrugged. "We know that, but it doesn't make it any easier, Optimus."
"That mech has been taking care of himself for a long time." Megatron said. "I imagine he'll be just fine on his own again."
"That's like saying Jynx was doing just fine on her own." Jazz's bright blue optics cut back to Megatron, but he didn't bristle this time so that at least was an improvement.
"No." Megs shook his helm lightly. "It's not."
"Oh and how's that?" Jazz suddenly bit all somewhat better reaction gone in a flash.
Megatron shrugged. "Jynx was trying to kill herself."
Jazz flinched back like he'd been struck, though in all honesty he might as well have been. Megatron's words sliced into his spark leaving a hollow acing wound behind. Literally knocking the breath out of him as he slumped back in his seat.
It wasn't as if Jazz hadn't known that.
Oh no, he'd know. They'd all known.
Jynx might not, in fact it was probably a safe bet to say that she really didn't. As messed up as that sounded, but it was probably true.
All Jynx had been doing when they found her was a way to seek an end to the pain and sooner or later whether she'd known she was doing it or not that would have lead to death. However, hearing Megatron just huff it out like it was nothing killed a part of Jazz.
That part he had spent the last eight orns trying to define and still couldn't figure it out. He didn't know what his spark was trying to tell him and while he knew losing himself in a mission that really wasn't as complicated as he was trying to make it wasn't helping matters it was the only thing he knew to do.
He'd never claimed to have the best coping skills out there.
Add in Prowl's own gnawing worry about leaving Nook behind on top of the black and white mech's own confusion with Jynx and the two of them made quite the upset little pair.
"That's the difference, Jazz." Megatron's voice was a little softer this time. Red optics not missing a single detail of Jazz taking in what he said. Him and Prowl both. "And it's not just this Nook mech that is upsetting you. This is about Jynx."
"We all know he is right, my friend." Optimus quietly put in beside his brother. "Why won't you just tell us what is the matter?"
Claws tightening around Prowl's hand Jazz stared hard at the table. Trying to decide how to say what he didn't even understand. In the end, he settled for the most pressing thought that he actually knew how to define.
"They like her." He said stiffly, armor tightening with the thought.
Megatron and Optimus straightened.
"I'm sorry, what?" Optimus blinked while a slow smile curled up Megatron's thin lips.
"The twins." Prowl sighed. "They like Jynx."
"Well of course they like Jynx." Optimus said. "You'd prefer they still hated each other?"
"That's not the kind of like they mean, brother." A low, bubbling chuckle tipped the end of Megatron's words. Amusement rising up inside of him until it was spilling out in a fit of laughter that left the massive mech leaning his helm back over the top of his chair and cackling to the ceiling. The deep, resonating laughter shaking his whole being. Bounding around the room like that of echoing of thrusters.
Jazz was not amused.
"It's not funny, Megs!"
The elder prince went right on cackling.
Optimus sat stiffly in his seat, bright blue optics darting between his laughing brother—who dear Primus he hadn't heard laugh like that in vorns—and Jazz who looked around ready to climb over the table and strangle him.
Prowl looked like he was getting a helm ache.
Optimus couldn't say he blamed him. He felt one coming on as well.
"Megatron!" Jazz snarled out, staying put only because the hand Prowl wasn't using to message between his optics was clamped tight over his arm again.
Laughter finally slowing down slightly, even if the huge triple changer was wiping coolant from his optics as he did it, Megatron scooted—actually scooted—his whole chair and self forward so that he was leaning against the table top between them with his chin held up by his palms as he grinned like the robo-cat that caught the hive-hawk.
"Oh I think it's that funny."
Jazz's field ripped against his plating, so angry it flashed. It just amused Megatron all the more.
"Come on, Jazz." He rolled his red optics, grinning all the time. "You can't tell me you hadn't noticed."
Choking on air the saboteur leaned back as if dodging a hit. Bright optics blowing wide as his jaw dropped open.
"You knew!?"
"Yes." Another deep chuckle.
"How the frag did you know!? How long have you known!?"
Tapping a claw against his chin Megatron hummed. "Oh I'd say it was a little after she got her new visor. Soundwave told me."
"Soundwave!?" Jazz hissed, pushing himself up to his peds as his hands slammed down on the table. "Soundwave knows!?"
"I don't see why you're so surprised." Megatron chuckled at him again. "Soundwave knows everything. I gave up trying to figure out how or why long ago. Add in the fact that now he's working with that overly paranoid security director of yours it's not surprising."
"Be nice to Red Alert." Optimus cut in. "He's sensitive and Inferno will fill your berth with fire extinguisher foam again if you upset him."
Megatron ignored him.
"So even Red knows!?" Jazz spun away from the table and went to pacing. Prowl groaned lightly, rubbing a little harder at the space between his optics.
Optimus leaned back in his chair pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Red knows and he didn't tell me!"
"He probably thought we already knew." Prowl sighed.
"Who else knows!?"
"Bumblebee." Megatron tossed in with that dark smirk of his. Just how much enjoyment he was getting out of all of this oh so clear in his tone.
All three of the other mechs went still and then in one shared movement all turned to look at him with the most dumbstruck look he'd ever seen.
Megatron fell out of his chair laughing.
It took a good fifteen klicks to get him to stop long enough to breath too. Optimus actually pushing himself out of his chair and getting hold of his bigger, older brother trying to make him at least sort of breath as Megatron laughed his helm off.
"Megs," Optimus snapped at him.
Through his laughter the elder prince wheezed out. "Oh your fraggin face! That was priceless!"
"Megatron!" Prowl bit.
Jazz snarled. "This isn't funny! This isn't a game! Don't you fraggin' get it!?"
Finally managing to shove himself back upright, allowing Optimus to help him back into his chair, and then watching as his brother fell back into his own Megatron turned those deep red optics to the fuming silver mech with a lift of his sweeping optic ridges.
"I never said it was a game." He said smoothly after he got his laughter to come to an end, though he was still fully amused at all this. "Though you're acting as if it's some kind of great tragedy. I thought you liked the twins. I thought you were one of the first ones to trust the twins. I thought you still trusted them."
Leaning hard against the table Jazz growled through clenched teeth. "I do trust them."
"Really?" Megatron lifted an optic ridge even higher. "Then what's the matter? I suppose you think they're going to do something like hurt her?"
Optimus growled out. "Neither will harm her."
"I know that." Megatron cast him a quick glance before fixing his gaze on Jazz again. "Though Jazz seems to think differently."
"I don't—" Twisting away the mech went to frustrated pacing. Grabbing at his audio horns in desperation. "I know they won't hurt her! At least they won't do it on purpose! But this is fraggin' Jynx! Don't you understand!? She is actually trusting us! Trusting them! But she's only doing it because she's finally come to believe us when we say we won't hurt her! What the slag do you think she'd gonna do when she finds out the twins want to be more than just friends with her!?"
"I think that is the twins' problem to manage." Megatron shrugged. "It's their spark that has done this and they are the ones that will have to contend with its consequences. Honestly, Jazz, you're acting like this is a youngling we're talking about. This is a pair of twins. Now maybe I know a bit more then you do because of Rumble and Frenzy, but you can't tell me you don't know it's not the same with twins as it is all other sparks."
Still pacing Jazz growled. "Yes, I know it's different!"
"And you have to know that the twins will never do anything she doesn't want. Even if it means forever pretending they haven't found their third of two halves." Optimus said that, and maybe that was what managed to stop Jazz. The fact that his Prime had said it.
Slowing to a still the silver mech turned and looked back at the huge red and blue mech leaning back in his chair. Optimus stared back at him with a firm gaze.
"I know." Jazz muttered softly.
"And I understand you've grown quite protective of her." Optimus went on as Megatron leaned back in his chair and watched. "But acting as if the twins will harm her is wrong, Jazz."
"I don't think they'll hurt her." Jazz sighed, slowly making his way back to his chair. "At least not on purpose, but it's the accidental part I'm worried about."
"Sideswipe can be reckless and Sunstreaker has the temper of a wronged wire wolf but there is a difference between this and everything else." Megatron said calmly. "Which is something you are very aware of. It's why it is bothering you so much I'm interested in."
"She doesn't know." Jazz shrugged.
"I image that is still a good thing." Megatron had to admit. "Because right now it would terrify her."
Jazz could only nod at that. For that he knew.
"How did Bumblebee find out?" Optimus looked over at his brother. "Or more importantly how do you know Bumblebee knows?"
"Well it is Bumblebee. Remember? But really, they told him after he figured it out for himself." Megatron smirked. "And I know because Sly and Vice somehow managed to slip into my room a while ago and try and eat my datapads. When they hid under the berth I called him to come get them out. Somehow we ended up on the subject."
"Ah," Optimus couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, those two. They are finding ways to be remarkably troublesome aren't they?"
"Who's idea was it to get that mechling hounds in the first place?" Megatron questioned.
Jazz snorted and couldn't help but smile.
Optimus smirked. "Jazz's."
Megatron rolled his optics. Of course.
"So," He rumbled after a moment. "Are we actually going to get to the point where you say why you're so upset or are we not?"
Jazz huffed out a breath, sinking lower in his seat as he tried to find a way to put words to the emotions of his spark he couldn't make sense of. It was harder then he thought. Words were normally so easy for the silver tongued spy.
Why was it this was so very hard?
"Because of what Optimus said. She's important to me. I just want her to be happy and safe. When I realized just how much they were drawn to her it happened at . . . well . . . a bad time."
"Nook told us." Prowl flicked a doorwing, cool blue optics watching his mate carefully.
"Really?" Optimus tilted his helm.
"I can't believe none of you knew. A complete stranger had to point it out to you. And no doubt he did it with more than a little bite. If what Soundwave told me he's heard from Arcee is all correct. Still though, it's the twins." Megatron huffed. "They're not exactly being subtle."
"Sideswipe doesn't know how to be subtle." Optimus pointed out. "And you're right. Now that you've said it and I'm thinking about it I can't believe I didn't notice. Or at least you and Jazz, Prowl."
"I think I was trying to ignore it." Jazz finally admitted in a low voice. Bright optics fixed on the table as his visor dimmed slightly. "Because I know they wouldn't really hurt her, but it is pissing me off all the same."
"I've been spending too much time trying to figure her out. I was just ignoring Sides and Sunny's input in all of it." Prowl admitted as his doorwings fluttered behind him with thought. "Once we got to the point I was sure the three of them were done trying to kill each other I put all the consideration onto Jynx. Especially after the new visor."
"Well," Megatron drawled, turning his chair slightly to gaze out at the world of New Iacon below. "From what Soundwave has told me that new visor is about when the two of them figured it out."
"Figures." Jazz grumbled. "After they knock the slag out of her."
"Sunstreaker was trying to help, Jazz." Optimus' faceplate hardened when his optics flickered back to his friend. "Hurting her was the last thing he was trying to accomplish in that loop lock. You overreacted."
"I know!" Jazz sprang up again in a frustrated bounce. His pacing beginning once again in tight, angry circles. "I know! Don't you see? That's the problem! Everything is an overreaction and even if I know it I can't seem to stop it. I react before I'm thinking. Since when the slag do I do that? Why am I so angry?"
"That's not a question either of us can provide the answer too, Jazz." Optimus' voice softened as did his optics while he watched Jazz pace. The hurt and frustration so very clear in him down to the very breaths he was taking.
Yes.
Yes, he knew. He knew all too well. Not even Prowl knew how to help Jazz's tangled mind this time. He'd been trying for orns to make since of the mess Jazz's spark was working itself into. Giving the smaller mech quiet when he needed it and help when he asked for it, but Jazz had grown so frustrated with his own lack of ability to discover what his spark was doing that he was turning himself into a time bomb. Just looking for something to explode upon in some way to take his anger out on something tangible.
Megatron hadn't risen to the bait though. As per normal the wordsmith simply talked his way around a fight he didn't deem needed. Sure, Megatron loved to fight. It was in his coding, but despite everything he actually did think very highly of Jazz. Some of it span back to the fact that this was the mech that had strut enough to turn against him and his cause of oh so very long ago and do it so unbelievably well. Mainly though it was the fact of how well the two actually understood each other.
How much they had in common.
"How about we call this meeting finished?" Pushing himself to his peds with a hiss of aging hydraulics that Megatron would just as soon gut whatever fool tried to point out to him, he stood. "Mirage will call in less than ten breem. If he does not I will fetch him by whatever means necessary, but up until that point how about you take a break, Jazz. If he returns with the information we hope he does our lives are about to once again get very entertaining."
"Megatron is right." Optimus rose beside him. With far less tired groan of hydraulics. Megatron tried not to despise him too much in that moment. "I do not expect another call until Mirage has reported in."
Nodding quietly Jazz did not argue. Even when Megatron smirked down at him.
"And while you're at it. Go say hi to the femme. She's out of surgery. I dare say it might make you feel better."
Everything was just a tad fuzzy.
At least, that was the way it looked as she blinked through the fading sedatives the medics had used to keep her under during the surgery. Jynx wasn't sure if she could say she felt any different after it all.
Though that might have more to do with the fact that at the moment she couldn't feel much of anything. But it wasn't really bothering her. She'd woken up to Arcee's cheerful faceplate and a long list of things that at the moment she couldn't even begin to call back up to memory.
Sideswipe had apparently been listening though because he told her not to worry about it. The twins had gotten kicked out of the bay for the surgery, but they were back by the time she woke up. And even now while she sat with a processor slightly spinning as the last of the drugs wore off and feeling came back to her frame they were seated in chairs pulled up next to her recovery berth.
From what she was slowly remembering Arcee told her the surgery had taken a bit longer then they hoped, but it all went fine. They would keep her monitored through one night to make sure her frame didn't start trying to purge the Inhibitor. Apparently, everything had gone as well as they could have hoped.
Her frame fought the foreign substance long and hard, but eventually excepted it.
She had an Inhibitor.
Sitting safely in the corner of her spark chamber making it to where she'd never have to feel a kindle fade ever again.
Never.
The fact that she was grinning like a fraggin' idiot at the moment didn't bother Jynx in the slightest. Nope. Not one bit.
She didn't remember doing it now, but apparently after she'd been woke from the sedatives the first time she fell back into recharge. Her frame tired and stressed from the surgery as well as half a decacycle without any rest. It had—as Ratchet had told her—freaked the twins out.
The medics had assured them she was fine though. A frame stressed to the degree they had put hers through was likely to respond in a forced shut down to reassess itself.
She'd recharged for twenty-five breems.
More than an orn.
That too had apparently freaked the twins out, but Arcee promised her she was fine when she woke up a little while ago. However, Jynx had a feeling that had been said more for the twins benefit then hers.
She was fine.
She felt fine.
She was . . . happy.
Saying that she could feel the device tucked away in the far corner of her spark chamber would be a bit of a stretch. Technically she was aware it was there. Her frame could read its presence and inform her of it being there. It was doing that now. Eventually, it would stop that though. It would come to ignore it as it did many other things inside of her.
She sat cross legged on the recovery berth now staring down at the playing cards in her hand. Sideswipe sat in his chair next to her with his legs propped up on his brother's lap flipping through cards of his own.
Jynx still wasn't completely sure how this game worked, or at least was suppose to work, but the matching part wasn't all that hard. She had three pairs now but she needed four if she was going to do anything with them. At least, she was pretty sure that was how it was suppose to work.
Sideswipe was beating her and judging by his grin he was enjoying it. She couldn't say it was annoying her though. It was something to do that didn't take too much effort—rules from Ratchet—and it was keeping her occupied. So she was good with it.
Spending half her attention watching Sunstreaker's face as he drew wasn't that bad of a pass time either.
"How about the red spark?" Sideswipe's questioned pulled her silver optics away from watching Sunny and back down to her cards.
Only for her to puff out an annoyed breath and glare over the top of them at him.
"How do you keeping doing that?" Jynx grumbled, pulling out one of her matches and handing them over to the crimson mech.
Sideswipe grinned at her in return as he pulled out another four set match and laid it down on the edge of her berth in front of her. That made eight sets laid out for him now and only two for her.
"I've been playing this game a long time. Taught Bee how to play when he was just a sparkling." Sideswipe chuckled at her. Shifting through his cards absently as those dark blue optics watched her.
Sunstreaker rumbled from his seat next to him. "Been cheating at it since you taught Bee to play too."
Sideswipe sputtered back at him. Pulling his legs back and away as he sat up right and went to loudly defending himself all while Jynx straightened and puffed.
"You're cheating?"
Sideswipe tensed. Shoulders rising in a guilty bend as he slowly looked back at her with an as equally guilty smile. Those dark blue optics of his twinkling.
Jynx dropped her hand of cards to flutter down around her lap as she threw a hand out and pointed at him. "You are! You're cheating!"
And then she started chunking cards at him laughing the whole time as he ducked and batted them.
"You slaggin' cheat!" Why in the world she was laughing as she threw the cards at his helm she had no idea but it felt good and she didn't bother stopping. Watching him ball up in his seat in a comical mess of long limbs as he batted them away as best he could while laughing himself was rather funny. "You're supposed to be teaching me!"
"I am!" Sideswipe laughed only to yelp slightly when one card nailed him rather hard in the audio horn. "Oww. Slag it that actually hurt."
"Good," Jynx giggled, yanking up one of the pillows Arcee had given her to prop up on out from behind her and went to smacking him repeatedly over the helm. Sideswipe was laughing the whole time. Cringing away but not bothering to run from the clutter of cards and the rather light smacking she was giving him with a pillow.
Sunstreaker's deep, rolling, smooth, warm laugh joined in then. The golden twin lowered his sketch book to his lap. Helm thrown back over the edge of his chair as he laughed to the ceiling. The sound perking Jynx's antennas as well as brightening her optics. The smacking of the pillow got a little lighter as she fell into a fit of giggles herself.
Sideswipe—laughing right along with his brother—he managed to snatch the pillow and yank it carefully away from her. Pulling his weight up in a bounce, somehow managing to slid it under him, and land on it with a plop in his chair.
"There." He laughed, grinning at her. "Smack me now!"
Optic ridges lifting over the rim of her visor a wicked grin curled up her lips as she snatched up another pillow from behind her and went right back to whacking him over the helm.
Sunstreaker fell over the arm of his chair cackling as Sideswipe reeled and bated and laughed at every hit.
"Well," A smooth voice drawled. "At least we're all having fun."
Jynx twisted around on the berth, pillow suddenly clutched tightly to her chest, expecting a chewing from Ratchet about her supposed to be being calm and still but instead she found Jazz leaning against the sheet made doorway of her little recovery corner smiling down at her. Prowl stood quietly at his side, with a small smile of his own.
"Jazz," She didn't bother to stop the grin that curled up her lips at the sight of him.
The reaction clearly meant something to him too because the slight tense hold he had on himself loosed and that smile of his became all the more playful as he pushed himself off the sort of wall and strolled forward.
"Hey ya, Sweetspark." He said warmly. "How you feelin'?"
"Fine." She assured him. Scooting around slightly as she lowered the pillow into her lap and gazed up at him as Prowl followed him closer.
The twins' laughter had stopped at the sound and sight of the saboteur but Jynx didn't bother to turn around and check on them. Had she done it she would have seen the sudden apprehension in their gazes and the tenseness that took over their frames.
Jazz hadn't so much as looked their way with less then a growl since they got back and had been avoiding Jynx like she was carrying cosmic rust. And while a part of them was pissed about it a larger part of them was fearful of it.
Now though all they could do was stare at the mech as his gaze flicked to them for the briefest of nanos. But in that short look Sideswipe and Sunstreaker found a bit of breath.
The slightest of nods. The shortest of acceptances.
He would say nothing. He would do nothing. And while the threat of pain was still oh so very bright in his optics should they so much as harm a nanite of her paint Jazz was stepping back and he was calming down.
Trust.
Faith.
A breath neither brother knew they had been holding rushed out in a puff of air.
Sunstreaker gave a slight nod of his own while Sideswipe wore a thankful smile.
And then Jynx had all of their complete attention again.
"I was starting to wonder if you fell off the face of the planet." Her voice held a bit of a tease as she leaned down on the pillow fluffed in her lap while Jazz's bright optics found those sparkling silver orbs behind her own visor.
"What?" He muttered.
"I haven't seen you since we got back." She explained, sensors held at half mast atop her helm. "I was staring to wondering if you vanished or if you were just mad at me for some reason."
"Mad at you?" Jazz seemed to choke on the idea for a moment, before Prowl's hand pressed comfortably against the small of his back and the silver mech took a breath. "No, Sweetspark. No I'm not mad at you. I'm sorry if it seemed that way."
Jynx just shrugged at him. Clearly not bothered and in no way ruffled about it. "It's alright. You were busy I suppose, at least Bluestreak and Bumblebee said you were."
Jazz's spark pulsed while a flare of thankful affection to the pair of mechs. They were always looking out for their family, even when it was their family causing the problems. He owed them both a trip to their favorite sweet shop downtown for this one.
"What have you been doing?" Jynx went on. "Filling the Prime in on all the nasty details?"
Jazz snorted with a slight shake of his helm. "Sort of."
"He knows all we do know, if that's what you were wondering." Prowl explained, doorwings held calmly and contently behind him.
Jynx shrugged her shoulders. "Ratchet told me he talked to him too. I figured he knew it all by now."
"And you're alright with that?" Prowl's left optic ridge lifted a tad.
"Kind of have to be, don't I?" Jynx's sensors gave a flutter.
"No." Jazz told her softly. "Not really."
She just shrugged again. "Eh, I'm fine with it. Not much to hide behind now anyway. Besides, it wasn't helping anything. But I am curious what he thought."
"He was upset and he was sorry." Prowl answered.
Jynx gnawed for a moment on her bottom lip. She wasn't sure what to say to that. So she went for something else.
"What else have you been doing?"
"Planning a mech-napping." Jazz grinned, leaning against the side of her berth with his arms crossed over his chest and a gleam in his optics.
Jynx was suddenly very alert and very interested. "Oh?"
Sideswipe spoke up. "We heard you sent Mirage to Fritzron."
"He was suppose to be back by now." Sunstreaker finished. "Is he alright?"
Jynx was suddenly curious as to what the frag Jazz thought he was doing sending anybot to Fritzron, especially after all that had happened to all his other spies, but her question was soon irrelevant.
"Oh he's back." Jazz's grin turned absolutely predatory. "With more than I ever could have hoped for."
The twins shared a glance before confused optics turned back to the silver mech as Jynx's helm tilted. Her sensors high and curious.
"What?"
"Nebulous is in the brig."
Jynx's whole world slowed to a crawl.
The twins went completely ridged.
"Say what?" Sideswipe pushed himself to his peds followed by his brother. Frames tense and armor flaring then tightening in the instinctual ready of a fight at the words.
Jazz lifted a clawed hand. "Calm down, both of you. After the beating Megatron, Thundercracker, Hammerdown, and Outrider gave to him here he's more than under control."
"You caught a Ground Captain." Jynx's voice had gone small, drawing all optics back to her. "The Ground Captain that is running Fritzron. You brought him here!?"
"Easy, Sweetspark." Jazz was suddenly lowering himself down to sit against the edge of the berth. Bending slight to twist around to make her wide optics meet his. "Calm down. He's not going anywhere and he's not going to hurt anybot."
"He's in charge of Fritzron!" She snapped. "You don't think somebot is going to notice he's gone!? You don't think he let you catch him on purpose!? What if he's a bomb!? What if he's a plant!?"
"Slow down." Jazz caught her rapidly flapping hands and held on until she stop failing. She was shaking and it sucker punched him right in the spark but he kept his voice level and his optics clear as he talked. Words slow and even as if talking to a spooked animal. "Let me explain alright? We wouldn't have brought him into the compound if we hadn't screened him first. You remember how Wheeljack was making a device to scan for RED?"
Jynx wasn't sure if she did but she nodded all the same. Silver optics locked onto Jazz's bright blue ones. Unsure why she was actually calming down just because he was trying to make her, but doing it all the same.
"Well it's working. He's scanned and he's clear. Preceptor and Soundwave have checked all they can without getting into his helm only by Optimus orders but there are no plants and there are no bombs. Besides, Sweetspark, think about it. He's a Captain. You are the one that told us the bombs are the ones they are tired of or have no use for. This is the mech that Blackice put in charge of his city. He's not about to be walking around on a kill switch."
He might. Jynx's processor whispered, but she bit her tongue and nodded. Because he had a point. That made sense.
"But . . . how . . . ?"
"Did Mirage manage to sneak into the biggest above land Ground city there is and walk out with their Captain and not get caught?" Jazz supplied. "Well, as Blue and Bee said, I've been busy. And there is that added little bonus that Mirage can turn invisible."
Jynx blinked. "What?"
Jazz gave her a smile. "Let's just say some things that mech manages to pull off surprise even me."
"But you've never been able to get down into the tunnels. Not before I showed you."
"He didn't go down into the tunnels." Prowl explained. "The Captain was above ground. Celebrating what he thought was a whole shipment of energon we had sent to Fritzron blown up in the streets."
Suddenly it clicked into place in her processor. Pulling her hands away from Jazz's Jynx sat upright. A slow knowing smile crawling up her faceplate.
"You played him." She said slowly. "You set up the situation for what happened to the last shipment to happen all over again. You let him think you were stupid enough to try the same thing again and through all that distraction you slipped in your spy."
Jazz nodded, that predatory grin curling back up his faceplate.
"And then you let the Captain party. Then—"
"Then Mirage did what he does best." Jazz finished for her. "He put himself in the right place at the right time."
"How?" Jynx breathed. "How did he get the Captain alone?"
At that Jazz's gaze dimmed a little and suddenly Jynx understood.
"Oh." Her gaze lowered slightly. "Offered up a frag, huh?"
"Yes." Jazz nodded slowly as Prowl's wings tensed behind him and a low sound worked through the twins. "I told him not to, but Mirage has always done whatever he felt like. He worked it well though. Timed it all perfectly. He is fine. Not a blemish on him. And the fact that Outrider and Hammerdown were the first in to find him at the pickup point meant they got the pleasure of beating the slag out of the fool dumb enough to try and touch their might-as-well-be sister's mate."
An amused rumbled echoed through Sideswipe. "I hope they gutted him."
"Well he's still alive, but only because Thundercracker stopped them." Prowl supplied. "And I've locked Smokescreen in his room."
"Probably smart, though I doubt you can keep him there for long." Sunstreaker grumbled. "How's Quickfire?"
"Pissed at Mirage for not doing as I told him, but she is alright as well. Just happy her mate is in one piece." Jazz explained.
"And Mirage?"
"Getting his aft chewed out by First Aid and Jolt. Not to mention Arcee and Ratchet." Jazz smirked a little. "I doubt there will be much for me to say when it's all said and done. For now he's in fine hands to remind him he is suppose to come home."
The twins nodded at that, satisfied. And it also explained why neither Arcee or Ratchet came storming in a little bit ago to tell them to knock off the goofing around because Jynx was suppose to be still.
"So," Sideswipe slowly drawled, propping his hip against Jynx's berth. "We really have the Captain running Fritzron in the brig?"
"Yep." Jazz nodded.
"What are we gonna do with him?"
"Talk." Jynx was the one that said it. Putting aside her pillow and throwing off the blankets as she plucked off the monitor devices attached to her. The systems gave a whine of protest. Inputs falling off and flat lining with a loud screech but one good shove shut them up. Hopping from the berth before any of the four mechs could stop her she made for the door.
"Jynx," The twins snapped, rushing after her but Jazz got there first. Catching the little femme by the elbow and hauling her around to a stop.
"Hold up there, Sweetspark." He said, pulling her around to face him. She tugged at his hold, but didn't give much struggle as she looked up into those bright blue optics. "Where do you think you're going?"
"To get answers." She supplied, wiggling a bit more trying to get out of his hold.
"Nah," Jazz shook his helm lightly as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker reached her other side and Prowl came up behind him.
"Yes." Jynx snapped right back, finally tugging her arm out of his hold. "Why the slag did you come tell me if you weren't going to let me help?"
"Because I thought ya'd like to know." Jazz explained, and though he wanted to he made himself not reach for her again. He knew the twins would catch her now if she tried to go again.
"Yeah, no duh." She snapped, annoyed that he was being so fraggin' stupid right now. "And I wanna know what he does. I'm talking to him."
"You just had spark surgery." Now Jazz snapped back.
Jynx rolled her optics. "And I said I'm fine! Arcee said they only had to monitor me one night and they did. Granted I recharged through all of it, but I'm done now."
"They haven't released you." Prowl put in, just as the door to the medical bay slung open and in stalked Ratchet.
"No." He growled. "I haven't! What the slag were you thinking unplugging all that? It slaggin' looked like you died!"
"Well obviously I'm not dead." She huffed at him, arms crossing tightly over her chest as she watched the big yellow and red medic stalk up before her. "I'm okay, you said I was, and you said I could go after a night of monitoring. Didn't you?"
Ratchet rolled his optics and blew out a long breath. "Well yes but—"
"And the only reason you hadn't let me go yet is because you were off busy doing something else, right?" She supplied, for it wasn't a hard guess to figure out that was why. Arcee and Ratchet had gotten distracted on the return and all the activity around this Mirage mech.
Blowing out a hard breath Ratchet clenched his jaw and counted to ten before he finally relented. "Fine, alright, you're released from medical, but you're supposed to be being still."
"Integrating doesn't require much." Jynx's smile was dangerous while she turned to the spy master. "Besides, think about it. How much do you think he's going to tell you? I've told you before the Ground doesn't take kindly to leaks. We both know when they figure out you have him they're gonna do something drastic to make sure he doesn't talk. Just like with Off Road. You'll have to publicly express his death within the next orn or two or there is no telling what they will send here. You're not going to have a lot of time and he knows he won't either. He's not likely to tell you anything, and let me guess, Optimus has already said no digging around in processors."
Now it was Jazz's turn for his jaw to tighten.
That dangerous smile widened.
"Just what I thought. However, once again you have your trump card. You think he's gonna expect me to walk in?"
"What will you walking in do, Jynx?" Jazz sighed out. "Expect let another mech that doesn't need to know you are here know?"
"A mech that is going to die." She reminded. "Because we all know you're gonna kill him."
"Yes." Jazz said slowly. "We're gonna kill him."
"Then it lets me do what Optimus is paying me to do in the first place. Get back at the Ground. You were planning to get answers somehow, weren't you?"
"Optimus is not a fan of torture." Prowl said evenly, clearly not agreeing in this case. "Even to those that deserve it."
"Megatron is trying to talk some since into him." Jazz grumbled. "So far it's not going well."
"Optimus would not be Optimus if he was any other way." Ratchet sighed, optics fixed on the smaller silver mech.
"He turned a blind optic to me before." Jazz bit back. "He needs to do it again."
"Then let me help with that." Jynx rolled her shoulders. "We all know I don't mind a little energon. Besides, the Ground of Fritzron particular owes me."
"No." Optimus growled, glaring down at the little femme before him. "No, no, no, no."
"Oh come on!" Jynx threw her clawed hands over her helm in exasperation as she watched him at the back of his office Jazz had walked them too. "This is what you hired me to do!"
"That deal has long since been drastically changing, Jynx." Optimus shook his helm as he paced around the back of the room.
"The fundamental reasons of it still stand." She ground out. "I'm here because I want them dead and you promised me the means to do it. Hate to break it do you oh goody, goody Prime but this was always going to be a part of it."
"You want to torture the mech!" Optimus yelled, gaze snapping back to her.
Jynx squared herself, lifted her chin, and glared. "It's no less than the Ground has done to me."
Optimus stalled at that.
Jynx saw the weak point in his armor and dove for it with everything she had.
"It's no less then he would have done to your spy if this had gone the other way around and Mirage hadn't managed to get him caught. It's no less than they did to all the others you sent in before him. It's no less than they did to that school they bombed, or when they sent Viperfang to kill you in your recharge. It's no less then they will do to this whole damn city if you keep him too long and they figure out he is here."
"She's right, Optimus." Prowl said quietly. "And you know it."
The Prime looked away. His spark tight and warring in his chest.
Optimus Prime was not a fool.
He was not some idealistic youngling that thought wars could be won by only one side playing dirty. All of it was nasty, and dark, and wrong. There was no higher ground or moral advantage in war.
It was that backward line of thinking like that that had kept him at war with his brother for so long.
There was right, and there was wrong, but in war that line became blurred.
The Underground thought they were right in defending what they had won and the life they had made for themselves. In their optics he was at fault. Coming back with an army trying to retake the planet.
Just as in his optics the Underground was wrong for the way they lived and the things they did and he was right for trying to put in an end to it.
War was dark and it was clouded.
A never ending storm of destruction and chaos that would destroy everything in its path every single time.
There was no winning war. There was only out living it.
That was victory.
Hoping that the foe was vanquished by the end of it and that the side you were standing on was left when all there was was over.
But that did not mean Optimus was the kind of mech that could torture another.
He just . . . couldn't.
And allowing it to happen cracked his spark in half.
Even if he knew Jynx was right. Right in every since of the word it was still hard.
Elita's hand laced through his drawing his pacing to a stop the same time Megatron's large hand closed around the top of his shoulder. He spared moment to glance at the two of them. One that owned his spark and all his hopes and the other that had been both his destruction and his motivation.
He looked long and hard at them more then a good few klicks before slowly he nodded.
"Fine." He pretended not to see triumph and excitement flash through Jynx's optics. He had been hoping that this side of the femme was slowly fading away.
To see it rear so strongly and suddenly again made his chest hurt.
"Fine. We do it your way, but—" His gaze pinned the little white femme. "You will go with Jazz and Prowl and the twins will be in there two. You will have one breem. After that I will turn Soundwave loose."
"It will be done in klicks if you would just let me do what I have to." The quiet tone of the silver mech standing next to Megatron just made Optimus sigh. "It would be cleaner and with far less screaming as well."
"There could be defense protocols in that processor, Soundwave. It could kill you."
"I have not made it this long by being sloppy." Soundwave reminded him.
"Give Jazz and Jynx their chance. If the mech won't talk then you tear his mind apart." Megatron put in and the matter was settled.
Jynx all but skipped for the door with Jazz, Prowl, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker behind her.
"So what's the plan?" Jynx asked as she stared at the large, solid, thick door of the brig cell before them. Megatron and Optimus would be stationed outside, the door would stay opened, and only the four of them would be allowed inside.
Jynx didn't really get why the door had to stay opened, but maybe it was because Megatron and Optimus lurking in the hallway was kind of intimidating. Even if Jynx could tell the Prime was not happy.
"Prowl and I will do the talking." Jazz said. "Sides, Sunny, you two stay back and stay quiet. Really just look ready to hit him."
"We are." Sides assured him.
"And we know." Sunny finished.
"What about me?" Jynx tilted her helm.
"I guess we're just gonna have to see what he thinks about the sight of you." Jazz admitted. "If you think you've got an in, take it, I'll fall in quick enough with it. Otherwise just follow my lead."
"Do I get to hurt him?" She wiggled her optic ridges.
Jazz pretended his spark didn't clench at the words. "You'll know when, and I want you three to hang back for a few klicks in the shadow of the doorway where he can't see you. I want to see what he's gonna act like with just me and Prowl first."
"Okay." Jynx nodded, and the door slid away.
With a low hum and a flicker of lights the pitch black room on the other side of the doorway light up in a eerily glow of red light. A huge grey mech sat chained to a table with his wrist bound before him in stasis cuffs, his legs bound in another pair to the chair he was sat in. His whole frame was busted, leaking, and bruised.
Outrider and Hammerdown had been very artful in their anger and Megatron had only added to it. He looked half dead, bent low over the table before him. Breaths wheezing and sputtering from the damage his vents and internals had taken.
Though Jynx felt no pity as she hovered in the shadows of the doorway with the twins flanking her watching Jazz and Prowl step fully into the room.
It was fascinating to see the change in both of them. All playfulness and ease fled Jazz as if the very concept of him owning it was foreign. His frame straightened, his armor flared to make him bigger, his visor went dark, and a rather evil looking smile plastered its way across his faceplate.
Prowl just went emotionless.
Which granted, in the beginning Jynx had figured he was, but now that she knew better it was rather shocking to see.
There was just . . . nothing.
As if a frame acting on drone like movements. His motions were ordered and calculated. His wings high and broad behind him but conveying no emotion at all. His faceplate blank and his cool blue optics cold and empty. Assessing and judging.
If Jynx stepped half a step closer to Sideswipe's hip and let the red mech's fingers brushed reassuringly against her back none of them mentioned it.
The grey mech lifted his helm at the sound of their entry. Red optics opening even if the right one was swollen with a nasty look bruise. His faceplate was scarred and bitter.
Age and life had not been kind to him.
But it wasn't the scattered lines of scars that stalled Jynx.
It was those burning red optics. That thin, cruel mouth.
Familiar.
She straightened.
She . . . she knew this mech . . . .
Now that she was standing there with the ability to fully take in his faceplate she realized it was true.
She knew him.
But . . . how?
From where?
She couldn't recall meeting him in the tunnels before or even in Fritzron.
So . . . what was it?
And then he spoke and her spark went still with a fear she couldn't explain.
"Well, well, well," He chuckled in a broken rasp of aching breaths. "Have they finally decided to send in the answer seekers?"
Jazz and Prowl stopped at the other side of the table he was chained too.
"I have to say I expected more." Nebulous grinned darkly, or at least as much of a grin as he could manage. The thick scars around the left side of his lips made the action sort of just a twitch. The protoform having grown so tough and tight together from repair nanites that it could hardly move at all. "Why don't you call those three out of the shadows there in the door and we'll see what my amusement will prove for this orn, Side Jumper?"
Jazz snarled, the sound so harsh and unexpected that Jynx flinched back a little from it. Finding Sunstreaker's hand had lowered to link with his brothers and their fingers were more or less wrapped around her back now holding her in place. But not in a caged sort of way.
No.
She felt safe.
"Ya're amusement will be found only in pain if that is what ya wish." Jazz's accent deepened and made his words run together like poison. "Ah'd be more worried with meh then 'em if I was ya at the moment."
Nebulous laughed, a cold and bitter sound. Dark and taunting. "You think I fear the Shadow Stalker of the Autobots? Oh no. I don't fear you, Meister."
Jazz's jaw dropped open, Prowl's doorwings fell behind his back, the twins made a choked sound, and Jynx felt more then heard both the princes hiding just out of sight beyond the open doorway both swing their way around to stare into the room.
Nebulous looked oh so very pleased.
Jynx had no idea what the slag was going on in that moment.
"Yes," He rasped. "That's right. I know that name. I know who you are. Who you really are. I know who you use to play at, spy. But now, do you remember me?"
Claws clenching into fist at his side Jazz all but rattled with repressed emotions as he pinned his lips back and snarled across the tiny table that separated them.
"It. IS. Ya."
The huge grey mech through his helm back in a chilling cackle before locking his gaze with Jazz again.
"You were expecting another with my name, possibly? Some wanna be upstart bearing the name of the Ground's oldest supporter? Please." The mech rasped an almost purr of amusement. "You've gotten lazy and slow, Meister, if you for a moment doubted I'm anything other than who I am. I'm actually surprised Megatron didn't recognize me. He should. After all the things he gave me and used from me over the early vorns of the war."
A roar of engines and thrusters echoed out in the hall along with the sound of something big catching something bigger and shoving it away. Optimus was holding Megatron back.
Jynx sank a little more into Sides' grip as both the twins went tense as bows around her.
What the frag was happening?
Meister? Who the frag was Meister?
Jazz was shaking, Prowl's hand wrapped tightly around his arm and hauling him back from the table. That was when Jynx realized it wasn't fear that had Jazz shaking. It was fury.
All that seemed to amuse Nebulous to no end.
"It has indeed been a long time, Meister." Nebulous went on. Relishing the way Jazz flinched at the name. "I can't say I'm all that pleased to see you have survived, but it is fun to watch you work yourself into a fit again."
Jazz's engine roared.
Jynx's optics narrowed. Frustration and confusion battling inside of her before she finally had enough. This was no interrogation. Jazz was letting himself be worked by some old enemy.
What was he, some half trained youngling?
Jynx growled.
No.
No this couldn't happen.
This mech was stalling for something. He couldn't just be doing this to mess with them about something Jynx couldn't place.
No.
This had to end.
And she would end it and afterward she was going to smack Jazz up side the helm for letting himself be played.
Shoving herself away from the twins and out of the shadows she stalked forward. Dangerous smile in place, visor dark, and claws flexed relishing the way the huge mech caught sight of her and went silent.
Whole frame pushing up as much as it could under the hold of stasis cuffs. Red optics going wide at the sight of her.
See?
There.
Just what she figured would happen the moment a Captain saw who the Autobots had in their pockets now.
Now she would get somewhere.
"Hello," She purred drawing Jazz's and Prow's gazes as well as the twins hurrying out of the shadows of the doorway behind her.
Reaching the table she leaned against it. Arms sprawling out as her claws spread against the cold surface. Glittering in the harsh red light showing off their sharpness very clearly as she bent and leaned. Grinning up at the stunned optics of the huge mech with a flash of fangs.
Nebulous stared down at her.
She smirked right back.
"Jynx?" The name came out in almost a choke of surprise though the look was rapidly falling away to something darker. Something amused.
Jynx found herself scrambled slightly at the quick change. Especially when the look of shock turned to wicked glee making her lean back a little from her bend against the table.
She wasn't about to be played like Jazz had though. Oh no.
"Well," She purred. "It seems another Ground Captain knows me, but I can't say I know you. How about we fix that."
Her claws drummed a threat against the top of the table but Nebulous didn't so much as glance down at her or her claws.
Instead his gaze was fixed on Jazz now. The shock of his expression gone and not likely to come back if the dangerous gleam and smile that replaced it was anything to go by.
"Oh," He all but purred in return. Even if the sound wave a horrible thing. "This is just too good."
Jazz's hand latched around her elbow and pulled her back from the table. She hissed at him for the sudden touch, yanking away and glaring. He let her go, but he didn't get a chance to speak.
"Of all the chances." Nebulous chuckled. "Who would have ever thought it? After all these vorns she ends up with you."
Both Jazz and Jynx went still. Two sets of visor covered gazes snapping back to the chained up mech. The chained up mech that looked like he was anything but beaten and stuffed in a basement.
He looked downright gleeful.
"What the slag are ya talkin' ya piece of slag?" Jazz snarled.
Nebulous barked an even louder laugh then before. "You mean you don't know? Oh by the Smelt that is priceless! Her not recognizing me is one thing, after all she was nothing but a blind sparkling when my daughter and I sold her to Rashact and that lab."
Jynx's spark went cold.
Optics widening now it was Jynx's turn for her jaw to drop as she all but stumbled backward. Only caught by Prowl's quick hand as the two tone pulled her around and placed her behind him. Frame shielding her from sight as she started quivering.
Because then it clicked.
She realized where she'd seen those optics and that grin before.
Of a memory of oh so very long ago.
The last thing she had ever saw without a visor. Those red optics and that thin, curl smile.
She felt sick.
But Nebulous was far from done even as Jazz snarled at him to shut his mouth.
"And then there is you! I mean it was oh so very long ago, Meister, but come on you can't tell me you haven't put it together. Just look at her."
Jazz's growl broke off.
"Have you really forgotten Wicker? Have you really forgotten what you did to get out all those vorns ago when your cover was blown?"
Jazz took half a step back from the table. "What the slag are ya on about ya old glitch?"
"Mech," Nebulous grinned. "You really don't know, do you? You haven't guessed. By Primus! I can't believe it! You're standing in the same damn room with her and you can't tell! Even if she looks just like you. Even if I burned her optics out of her helm at three vorns old because they were yours!"
The very air went cold.
Silence falling like the moment before a bomb dropped, before the world shook, and life broke.
Jynx couldn't breathe.
Even as she tried to. When she tried so very hard to suck in a breath while she slowly turned from the cackling mech to stare up at the oh so very ridged form of Jazz.
Then she started shaking. Whole frame quivering as that bright blue gaze flickered to her as he slowly turned to look down at her just while she went on staring up at him. The rest of the room, the very world, faded.
There was nothing else. Nothing but staring into those wide, bright blue optics. Those optics . . . she had been born with. The ones that had been the cause of all her pain.
She took a step back. Shaking her helm slowly back and forth as her spark felt like it shattered into a billion tiny cold pieces while she stared into the optics of her . . . sire.
It made sense.
It all made a horrible kind of sense.
"You . . . ." She whispered, but it came out in a rattling sob. "It was . . . it was you."
A choke broke through her chest, coolant pooling in her optics, quivering from her sensors to her toes she just stared at him. Those wide blue optics, that working jaw that no sound would come out of.
Her spark cracked in half.
She turned and she ran.
Annnnnd I'm gonna just go hide in a bunker somewhere now. Yeah? Yeah. Okay.
How many of you saw that coming?
Well, I am quite honestly so freaking excited to see what you all thought. I'm so looking forward to your reviews and comments on this one.
Thank you all once again for being the amazing readers that you are. You have no idea what reading your comments mean to me. They helped me get through this freaking writer's block. They really do help. All of them do, the favorites, the alerts, and all you guys have to say on the blogs as well. Truly. Thank you. I adore you all more then you could possibly imagine for every little treat of a comment you through my way. Hopefully I won't be hit with another round of writer's block again any time soon. It almost drove me insane I swear.
Because really, I was so freaking frustrated. I'm been waiting to write this chapter for over a year and it fought me the whole way, but in the end I'm thrilled with how it came out. It was just what I wanted it to be.
And now, do feel free to go and scream at me all you like. Because we're about to go for a ride. You might wanna buckle up.
-Jaycee
