If you made it this far, then you should be aware of the warnings.
I hope y'all are staying safe during these times. My work is keeping me busy, so I will try to get OAT updated as soon as I can. I have a few more chapters of TWOS- alt ending that I can just c/p onto here, so I hope you understand. Thank you :)
Ch. 25
The Autobots all stopped the memory viewing in a feeling of absolute shock and disbelief. Bluestreak and Smokescreen looked at each other with their wings shaking. They were uncles and their nephew was being interrogated like some criminal. Blaster was thinking along the same lines; he was connecting all the dots now that he knew all the information and he couldn't believe how he didn't see it before.
Ratchet leaned forward in his chair with his servos cupping the lower half of his face as he ex-vented hard. "I… just… I don't know what to even say. How did I not notice it before? He even had the same symptoms. Twins, Primus, we… we need to tell Optimus."
"Already on it." Ironhide said before comming Optimus. ::Prime, stop the interrogations with Skids and Ricochet. We just found out everything, and you're not going to believe it. And prepare a hospital room for Prowl, he's going to need it.::
It was nearly three groons into the lunar cycle before Ratchet and First Aid finally pulled Jazz's protoform out of the CR tank. The door was thrown open and the medics jumped with startled shouts. The two mechs stood just through the doors with Ironhide, Prowl, and Ultra Magnus running behind them.
"We told you to wait with us." Ironhide said when the twins stopped at the sight of their Carrier laying on the berth with energon being pumped into his tanks. Ricochet pushed through the medics and touched his Carrier's face with his field flaring up in worry.
"Get out of here, we have a serious discussion with the two of you once we are done." Ratchet said aloud and let his mind open up. We know, but I need to put him back together.
Ricochet growled and rose a digit to his face with his visors clicking back to show his darkened optics. "He had better pull through Autobot Ratchet, or I will personally turn you into a toaster. Come on Skids." The Kaon lord grabbed his brother's servo and dragged him out of the room.
It was only another groon before the medics finally joined them out in the family waiting area. First Aid shut the door before Ratchet began. He was just going to get straight to the point and looked at Prowl, which caught the Praxian off guard. "Prowl, before I tell you this information, I need you to try very hard not to crash as you may trigger Skids's glitch to go off."
Prowl looked at the silent Praxian that looked at his servos. He looked back at the medic with a blank expression. "Why would my glitch cause his to go off? Just tell us what you saw. It cannot honestly be that bad."
"Well you're a Sire and you sired one of two of Jazz's sparklings, roughly twenty-three Earth years ago." Ratchet said as bluntly as he could muster. Skids peeked up at his sire for a reaction, but all the older Praxian did was look even more confused. The others just covered their optics with groans.
Ricochet pinched his nasal ridge and did a 180 personality flip. "Sweet Solus Prime and you all declare him highly intelligent. Hey bolts for brain how are sparklings made?" Ricochet asked the mech that seemed to slowly piece it together. "Yeah there ya go, twenty-three years ago you and Jazz did the big bang. You would have known this had you looked at that datapad like you were supposed too!"
"Rico, come on he didn't know." Skids tried to calm down his brother.
"The idiot let them beat our Carrier up! He literally walked away from him! Left us! And Carrier still wants to bond with him!?" The Polyhexian threw an arm at the mech that was still processing the information. "I can't believe that I thought Prowl was a step up from Soundwave. I'm going home." Ricochet left the waiting room, leaving his brother alone with the Autobots soon locking optics with him.
Skids flapped his wings nervously and looked around. "I… uh… I'm really sorry for the trouble we caused. You won't hear or from us again. We just… wanted our Carrier back." He said before throwing a silver disc at the ground and was sucked through a vortex.
Prowl had his helm in his servos as his wings started spasming. Ironhide smacked him in the back of his helm. "Aren't you going to say something?! Go after them? They're Jazz's creations! Skids is your own son and you-"
"Don't. Do not say that word to me. I am not a Sire. I do not have any creations." Prowl gripped the back of his helm to try and stop the error codes. He couldn't believe it; Jazz wouldn't keep this a secret from him! They talked about having a family when he was sparked the first time.
"Bro, Ironhide's right, ya need to go after them. Try to maybe explain to them. You need to look at that datapad Jazz gave you." Smokescreen put a servo on his big brother's shoulder. He knew that Prowl didn't mean to come off the way he did. Most of it had been well warranted shock. Prowl said nothing as he left the hospital, he needed to think about everything.
Optimus, who had yet to say anything, finally spoke. "Ratchet how long until Jazz onlines?"
Ratchet was about to tell him that it could be a several solar cycles, but a scream from one of the nurses got them all to book it for where the scream came from. They got down to the recovery rooms for the ICU where one of the femme nurses was leaning against the wall opposite of Jazz's room. Her arm was leaking and there was a scalpel lodged in her shoulder. "Life light, what happened?"
"H-He just attacked me!" She exclaimed before pulling the scalpel out of her pale green shoulder plating. There was another crashing sound and the alarm that was connected to Jazz's spark went off, which meant that he was in spark failure.
The two head medics rushed in and saw Jazz hunched over purging his tanks, he was holding his side as he leaned against the berth. Ratchet had never seen anyone recover from a spark transfer that fast before. He took a step forward, getting an instant reaction from the Polyhexian. "Jazz, Jazz it's okay. You're safe."
"Hatch'?" Jazz panted his friend's name and groaned in pain as he held onto his side as his legs started to wobble. He felt so odd, in pain, and his processor felt like it was smashed under a ton of bricks. Earth how did I get on Earth? Primus my entire body aches. "H-How did… How did Ah get back tah Earth?"
"Well that tells me how much you remember. Jazz, what year is it?" Ratchet asked him as he helped him into the berth. The medic looked at the others, "if you aren't currently working at this hospital then get out. I have a patient to take care of."
Jazz had to rely on Ratchet and First Aid to just get in the berth. He was really confused, and he was also worried. His Carrier coding was going crazy and he needed to get back to Cybertron to move the twins. "Uh… 1990. March 25, 1990. Hatch' how did Ah get back tah Earth? Why does my body feel like Ah got chosen for kick dah minibot? Why are my systems shut off? What is goin' on!?"
"Jazz, you can drop the accent. We know and it's been twenty-three Earth years Jazz, the war's over. The Autobots won, and there's a lot of things I need to tell you." Ratchet said calmly while they connected him back up to the machine. Jazz panicked more and started ripping the sensors off of his frame. "Jazz, slaggit Jazz calm down they're alive and safe. Okay!? Just calm down will you!? Let me do a quick hardline to get you up to date, but first pain levels." Ratchet looked at his assistant, "First Aid, I need you to go down to the energon storage and bring me eight bags of unfiltered energon."
"Alright Ratchet." He had his happy-go-lucky attitude and headed for the door before stopping and turning around. "Nice frame Jazz." And with that he left.
The Polyhexian looked at his frame and noticed how his frame the red and blue stripes were now thinner, and the numbers that had been on his frame were no gone. There were also small bits of gold on his chest plate. He touched his face and physically relaxed when he felt his visors on his face. "My entire frame hurts, but my back dah… the most. Where are they? Where are Skids and Ricochet at?"
"Well you had Sunstreaker and Tracks build you a new frame before we did a spark transfer. Which you asked for, I'll show you the datapad as proof. I'll help you sit up after we've gotten more energon in you. Honestly am surprised that you are online right now, I would have expected another half a deca cycle. They're still in Kaon; we… I had to tell Prowl Jazz, I'm sorry. And why didn't you trust us to protect your sparklings? I'm a medic, I would have made sure no one harmed them." Ratchet looked slightly betrayed for his friend's lack of faith in him.
Jazz looked down at an angle, his field rippled in shame. "I… Last thing I remember was destroying Shockwave and then making plans to move them. I'm sorry Ratch' I know I should've had faith, but I was scared Soundwave would take them away from me. Or do the same things to Skids like he did to me. I'm guessing Prowl didn't take to finding out too well? I want my sons, please Ratchet? I just want to see them."
"After you've gotten a bit more energon in your systems. And probably after everything calms down, Ricochet got a bit mad at Prowl and left, then Skids followed." Ratchet explained just as the Protectobot returned with a cart of energon. The medic tapped the side of Jazz's helm and shined the light in his face for reaction, but there was nothing. He sighed heavily in disappointment, "I'm sorry Jazz. I really thought you would be able to see after your transfer."
He shook his helm and reactivated his visors, "I've decided to give up trying to fix my optics. It's fine. And sorry for ya know… attacking your staff, I just you know-"
"I understand. After we get you fueled, you will rest for the rest of the solar cycle. After that we'll work on getting your new protoform used to carrying your weight." Ratchet hooked one of the bags on the IV stand and scanned Jazz. "If you want, I can have Tracks comm you about what you asked him to put in your frame. Or you can just wait and find out on your own."
Jazz pushed himself into a sitting position and reached over his shoulder with a huff. "Why does my back hurt so much? Primus, leave a wrench in m- what in the!?" He lurched forward when he felt his back shift until two long panels stood out from behind him. He shivered from the new sensory nodes that were flaring up. His jaws dropped and he touched his shoulder to look at his new appendages. "R-Ratch' how did I get Praxian coding? Ratchet, I am this close to panicking right now."
"Okay, okay calm down kid. I will give you a sedative if you can't do it yourself. It was again per your request, Smokescreen offered to give a copy of his coding which Preceptor had stripped down to the basics to get the coding." The older medic explained as he waved a syringe and Jazz went rigid. "Now will you like me to catch you up on everything in regards of you? Or do you want to start over?"
The Polyhexian looked at his lap thoughtfully before looking back up at his friend. "Hardline. Is… does… I need to know, what happened to Soundwave?"
"Ravage deactivated from protecting Soundwave and the others from Ricochet full force using his telepathy on Soundwave. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw are heading that way. Soundwave isn't getting out, I promise you." Ratchet explained before hardlining with Jazz, getting him caught up about everything he could about Jazz. When they disconnected from the hardline, the medic saw how stiff the Polyhexian was. He reached out to touch his shoulder, but the mech slumped forward with his servos covering his face. "We have forgiven you Jazz, nearly the entire team was in the waiting room when we started the spark transfer."
The visored mech took a deep intake with a nod before looking at his servos as if he expected energon to still be there. "I think I'm going to take a nap. Process all of this."
First Aid and Ratchet locked optics and they nodded. "Alright Jazz, if you need anything press the button to get ahold of the nurses." The two mechs left Jazz alone to fall onto his back, completely forgetting about his wings until his pain increased from the new sensors activating. He screamed behind a bit lip before rolling onto his side with his legs curled in front of him. The Polyhexian looked at his arm where he expected glyphs to be at, but when it was clean looking a smile grew on his face. Brand new start.
It had been a couple solar cycles since Jazz onlined, and Optimus was on his way to visit his friend but stopped after cracking the door open when he heard singing coming from inside the room.
Dear Theodosia, what to say to you?
You have my eyes
You have your Sire's pride
When you came into the world, you cried, and it broke my spark
I'm dedicating every day to you
Domestic life was never quite my style
When you smile, you knock me out, I fall apart
And I thought I was so smart
You will come of age with our young nation
We'll bleed and fight for you; we'll make it right for you
If we lay a strong enough foundation
We'll pass it on to you, we'll give the world to you
And you'll blow us all away
Someday, someday
Yeah, you'll blow us all away
Someday, someday
Oh Rico, when you smile, I am undone
My son
Look at my son
Pride is not the word I'm looking for
There is so much more inside me now
Oh Rico, you outshine the morning sun
My son
When you smile, I fall apart
And I thought I was so smart
My Sire wasn't around (My Sire wasn't around)
I swear that
I'll be around for you (I'll be around for you)
I'll do whatever it takes
I'll make a million mistakes
I'll make the world safe and sound for you
Will come of age with our young nation
We'll bleed and fight for you; we'll make it right for you
If we lay a strong enough foundation
We'll pass it on to you, we'll give the world to you
And you'll blow us all away
Someday, someday
Yeah, you'll blow us all away
Someday, someday
The Prime slowly opened the door to see Jazz sitting up with Skids and Ricochet sitting on the berth. Ricochet was laying his torso down the length of Jazz's legs with his Carrier stroking his horns. Skids was leaning against the healing mech. The Praxian looked up when his wings twitched and he quickly jumped off the berth, startling the other two mechs. Ricochet zipped over to the open window. Optimus put his servos in the air in hopes of calming the two creations. "I'm not going to hurt you, any of you. I would actually like to talk to you three about things. Can we be civil?"
Jazz knew his Carrier programming shouldn't be so active, but he still remembered his sons as younglings, so it was going to be awhile before it deactivated. "It's okay Skids, Ricochet. And you promised me that you would stay the entire day Ricochet."
The Polyhexian jerked his shoulders like the humans did when they pulled their jackets. He crossed his arms with a huff, "why should I listen to him? He wouldn't listen to me. The mighty Optimus Prime only cares about this side of the hemisphere."
"Ricochet Meister, you will sit down on this berth with me right now or so help me I will force you." Jazz used his stern Carrier tone and the Kaon lord sat back down with his back turned to the Prime. Skids sat beside his Carrier with his gaze looking down. "I'm sorry Optimus, I swear I taught him better manners than that."
"Well if I remember what Ratchet had told me, they did think Ratchet was a good role model. And I understand that he feels betrayed because of what happened, and I should have handled it better. Have they told you about what they've been doing for most of their adulthood?" Optimus asked after sitting in one of the visitor chairs.
Jazz nodded and gave his sons concerning glances, "as much as I don't like it what they are doing reminds me a lot of what you believe in Optimus. Kaon it's… it's all coding-orientated, the old Kaonions were built by the Quintessons as berserkers and knew only enslavement and killing. Even though the coding mellowed out after the civil war between Cybertron and the Quintessons, it still was engrained in them to kill. And having slaves and the Pit was just a way to take out their frustration for not fighting. Even though I don't agree with how my sons are handling the situation, they are doing the right thing by giving all of these innocent lives a chance to have freedom. If the Council can close their mouths and open their receptors to hear what those who have to say, then Cybertron can finally be free. Just give them a chance Optimus, not all Kaonions are evil like Megatron just like not all Iaconians are good like you."
Optimus listened to his friend talk. He looked at the Lord's shoulder where the 'redemption' glyph was still at. "If Ricochet and those that wish to see slavery demolished in their cities wish to speak, then they can stand before the Council and I." The twins both looked up at once and looked at the Prime with looks of surprise. "Ricochet, I'm sorry if I offended you and your beliefs. I realize that just because we are the leaders and our cities are slightly more diverse than most, it doesn't mean I know what is happening everywhere."
The Kaon lord looked the Prime up and down with skepticism before losing a bit of attitude. "And I suppose I should apologize for the trouble I caused you and the Council. I know that you wished to help my Carrier, I guess I feared that if you didn't like what he suppressed you would have him thrown back in Newgate. However, I will not apologize for what I did to Soundwave nor the mechs that raped my Carrier as well as apologize to Prowl."
"Hey Rico, could we just not talk about Newgate, okay? We're finally getting a hearing with the Council." Skids tried to keep the peace before looking up at Optimus with a nervous twitch of his wings. "You're not mad at Carrier for hiding us, are you?"
"No, I can't hold it against Jazz for what he thought was best. He took very good care of you both with the limited resources he had." Optimus spoke honestly and Jazz sat up a little straighter with a smile. The red and blue mech rubbed his digits thoughtfully before locking optics with his friend. "I had wanted to wait until you could stand properly, but I feel like now is the only chance I have before we get too busy with everything. I would like to have you back as my right hand mech, if you would like. You'll be staying on Cybertron until Ratchet determines your new frame can handle travel, decent pay, a bit of land in Iacon. You can even talk to Mirage about Ops, if you want."
Jazz looked at his friend with his new wings subconsciously disengaging from his back. He yelped when they pressed against the pillows behind him and Skids quickly helped him readjust. Why I thought having wings was a good idea, I have no idea. The Polyhexian finally focused his attention on the question. "I would love to be your lieutenant Prime, but… I just got my sons back. And I wouldn't want to take leading ops away from Raj, he's my friend and in all honesty he should have gotten it during the war."
"Like I said you won't be travelling off world for a while and if you do it's usually Planet of Junk or Earth. You'd be doing mostly secretarial work and helping with training new recruits. And the twins can even-" Optimus stopped when he saw the scowl on his face.
Jazz threw his arm to the side with a shake of his helm. "No, out of the question. I do not want either of them in the Autobot ranks."
"But-" Skids frowned with confusion. He still wanted to be an Autobot like both of his creators. The Praxian tilted his wings down before looking at his brother with his wings twitching. "Rico, Tarn commed. There's a riot at Twisted Spark, we should probably go."
Ricochet stood up and nodded his helm, "alright. I swear to Primus I leave Kaon for two nano-seconds and riots are everywhere. King Cog is so incompetent sometimes." He hugged his Carrier and kissed the side of his face. "We'll come back tonight, promise."
"You better because I will risk taking a wrench." Jazz joked as he hugged Skids. The Praxian pulled out the disc and tossed it on the ground, the Polyhexian looked in amazement. He knew that kind of thing would have been useful during the war. "Stay safe you two."
"Knowing Rico, it'll take no time. He's mastered the silent glare." Skids chuckled before Ricochet sighed and kicked him through. Jazz crossed his arms with a frown.
The young lord shrugged nonchalantly, "whoops. Don't worry Carrier, this sort of thing is pretty common at this time of the year. Slagging hate ceremonial fairs." He walked through the portal before it closed behind him. Jazz's shoulders drooped as he let out a heavy sigh. The Polyhexian was a bit disappointed how everything just went down.
"Can I think about it Optimus? I just… and I know I probably complained about it before my spark transfer because you know memory loss, but I feel like I betrayed everyone, especially you." Jazz looked up over at his friend before trying to put on a brave face. "And I think Raj should keep his position, he looks very grounded. Hide came to see how I was doing; I've been living with him?"
Optimus nodded and moved his chair closer to the berth. "You can think about it for as long as you want Jazz. And you have, I think Chromia appreciates that you kept his home cleaner than it had been in before you did." The two laughed and the Prime folded his servos as he relaxed his postures. "Ricochet is very proud and cares about the future of his city. I'm going to be honest, but I was worried that he would be like Megatron. The way he talks about freedom and removing the Kaon leader from power, it is very unnerving. And with a processor like Skids and two ex-Decepticons following him, he could fall down a deep hole."
"'Co was always a curious mind that wanted to show off all of his new tricks. The klik he could crawl around he learned how to tumble, natural gymnast that mech was. When his telepathy started up, he started to close himself off and go hide in dark places in hopes to keep the thoughts out. I tried my best to protect him from the dark thoughts, but he… he hadn't recharged nearly two solar cycles and snapped. It felt like pressure was building up in my processor, and he didn't stop until I showed him exactly what his Sire did to me with his telepathy. That's when I started using Blacklight's mask to help and it worked for a really long time. And Skids is almost an exact clone of Prowl, he's so bright and so sweet. It was nearly impossible to keep up with him in his studies, heh, I remember watching him work on this simulation Prowl made for an old battle. Primus watching him work it out was so thrilling." Jazz smiled sweetly as he got lost in his memories. "I want them to live their lives, find love, have a family. Have the things I never had the chance to have. That's why I don't want them to be Bots and because I'm scared how any of them would treat Ricochet. What do you mean ex-Cons? I thought they were all locked up?"
"Two members of the DJD managed to avoid being imprisoned. Tarn and Vos have been staying in Kaon with them. And another Decepticon known as Deadlock went through a spark transfer and is with Hot Rod, who is a Councilor." Optimus explained a bit more about everything that had gone on. Jazz was listening intently before the door opened up to reveal Ratchet.
"Okay visiting is over. I need to tend to my patient and get him to physical therapy." The medic walked over and started his scans. Optimus teased and bid his farewells before leaving the mechs. Ratchet started unhooking Jazz from the machines and got a bit more physical with his examination. "You know, Preceptor is always looking for someone to be an assistant of sorts. I think Skids would enjoy learning from him."
"Well I can't answer for him. He told me that he wants to do music." Jazz admitted before quickly adding, "not that they were here early this morning or anything."
Ratchet pointed to the camera that was in the room, "like I told you, I wasn't expecting you to be online so soon. How does everything feel? Any numbness or tense cables?"
Jazz shook his helm with a smile, "I feel okay for now. Ask me after this so called physical therapy. Can I test out my sound system?" The Polyhexian gave his friend a cheeky smile and got a small cuff on the back of his helm, which only made him laugh more. "I'm just teasing. I'll wait until I'm released from this place. How's Blaster doing? I know what we had was just to help me cope and stuff, but he's still my friend."
"He's doing better, and he told me during a meeting that he planned on coming to see you sometime. Claims to have a care package to keep you out of trouble." Ratchet said with a bit of skepticism, he knew exactly what it would be, and he was going to have to limit the volume of the music.
Jazz perked up and threw the blankets off his legs. He had to start from square one on his mass, but he was motivated to get back to his preferred mass for Skids and Ricochet. I can do this. And when I get out, I'm going to talk to Prowl. At least talk to him, explain to him. Ratchet helped him stand up and get him onto his peds. It took a couple times of Jazz falling back on the berth before he finally found his stabilizers. The medic kept his servos on his midsection just in case Jazz fell again. "I'm good, I'm good. Is there a way to deactivate these things sticking out of me? It's too much weight right now."
"Yeah, give me a second." Ratchet pulled away just enough to make sure nothing was broken. When he determined everything was good to go, Ratchet gently coaxed the wings to fold back into their original place. "Better?"
The Polyhexian sighed with relief and rolled his shoulder. "Pits yes." The medic took a couple steps back and they tried walking without any support just so the medic could decide if Jazz needed any extra support. After a few stumbles, a couple falls, and a whole lot of swearing Ratchet declared that a cane was a good idea. The visored mech made a comment on how much of a cripple he was, which earned him a wrench to the back of the helm. "This is so embarrassing Ratch'."
"Embarrassing or not, I want you using that thing until you've built a bit more strength in your legs. Now sit down and refuel; your tanks dropped to forty-forty percent from all that work." The medic helped Jazz down on the berth before handing him the cube. He was examining him before the window behind them opened up slowly. They watched Ricochet swing inside before closing the window he came in through. The younger Polyhexian turned around and shouted in surprise. "You do know there is a door for a reason."
Ricochet opened his subspace and pulled out a box, setting it beside his Carrier. "So? Maybe I don't want to deal with all those Autobots sitting out there. Skids is busy taking some Velocitrons to Velocity before their speed matrices go offline. Some idiot Sire traded his creations for his freedom."
"Where was their Carrier?" Jazz frowned and felt a twinge of sadness thinking of how a creator would just do that. At least my creators fought for me.
"Off-world for a race. She's cousins with one of my Velocitron friends, she came to us for help. That's what the riot was about, apparently stealing bot napped sparklings from a bunch of sickos warranted attacking my business." Ricochet rolled his shoulder until it popped. "Don't even think about it medic, I don't want your digits in my systems."
"You're clearly injured Ricochet, just let me make sure you didn't break anything." Ratchet said with a stern tone and the telepath sighed as he went around to the medical berth before sitting beside his Carrier. The medic put pressure on the arm he had popped before glancing at Jazz. "What is with the mechs in your family disliking show a bit of weakness around medics?"
Jazz shrugged, "don't know about Light, but I think you know why I don't like medics. You, Aid, and Data are the only ones allow in my internals."
"Medics in Kaon like taking things apart." Ricochet looked at the cane that was leaning against the wall next to the berth. His visors deactivated and he looked at his Carrier with worry in his optics. Carrier, I'm scared. I'm so scared, but I don't know how to physically show it. I tried so hard to be a mech like you, but I've turned into that monster.
The visored mech heard the stress in his son's thoughts and pulled him into his arms with his servos holding him tightly. Ratchet stepped back to let the two have their moments, he saw a single tear actually slide down the telepath's cheek plate. Jazz rubbed his horn to comfort his little star. 'Co, you are nothing like Soundwave. I know you did somethings you probably regret, but you kept you all safe and I can't be mad at you for that. I can see that the sweet, curious, and bright mech that you were as a youngling is still in there. The Carrier continued petting the back of his white helm. "I am so proud of you 'Co."
Ricochet pulled away slowly and wiped his face before activating his visors. He cleared his voice box before standing up, "I should get back to Kaon before something else happens." He jumped in the window before looking over his shoulder to look at the medic that was slowly returning to his Carrier's side. "And Autobot Ratchet? Thank you, for giving my Carrier back to me. You have my trust."
Before the medic could respond the young mech climbed out the window. Jazz looked at his friend with an appreciative smile. He knew that the others just saw a mini Soundwave despite the fact he physically looked like him. "I know you aren't into sentimental moments but thank you for letting us have that."
"Don't worry, pretty much used to it at this point. You are going to recharge, there will be a nurse or First Aid coming around every few groons to change out the energon bags, so try to not attack them." Ratchet said seriously, but Jazz chuckled. He left the Polyhexian for the lunar cycle and Jazz just laid down to look outside the still open window.
It was very early in the solar cycle when Jazz felt another field merged with his, and he risked onlining all the way. He had yet to see Prowl after he went through the whole spark transfer, and he tried to not show the pain to anyone that did come to see him. When he saw a monochrome frame sitting in the chair that was next to his berth, fast in stasis. He gasped softly as he looked at the Praxian that was hunched over with his helm resting on the edge of the berth. His servo slowly rested on the top of his lover's helm, and Prowl started onlining with his wings twitching.
Jazz panicked when he saw that he ruined the moment. He quickly laid back down and turned his back in hopes Prowl would go back into stasis. A servo touched Jazz's shoulder, getting him to tense as he was rolled onto his back. "H-Hi Prowler." The Polyhexian didn't mean to stutter, but he was a bit scared to talk to the mech he wanted to be with for the rest of his life. If he still wants me.
"I believe we have a lot to talk about Jazz." Prowl sounded distant to the visored mech, and Jazz knew that Prowl must have been glitching or trying to not crash. The Polyhexian sat up with his helm looking at his lap and the Praxian sat on the edge of the berth with his servos folded in his lap. "I just… Jazz, why didn't you come to me? I meant what I said when you were sparked with the first sparkling, I will protect you and help you. Why didn't you trust me with this?"
"I wanted to, I really did, but my fear of Soundwave consumed my spark more. If I was stronger in myself, I would have made you more involved." Jazz kept his voice soft and avoided his lover's gaze. The Polyhexian took the chance to look at him. "Are… Are you mad? They were excited to meet you as younglings."
Prowl rested his forehelm in his digits before ex-venting hard. "In all honesty? Yes, I'm mad, I'm mad that you have no faith in me. I'm mad that I missed my own creation's life, because his Carrier was too scared to trust me. I didn't even want to be here, but I had to because it was the right thing to do."
The Polyhexian closed his field off and looked back down. "I… understand. I… You… Are you going to leave me?" Please don't, please don't leave me.
"No, I don't plan on leaving. But Jazz, I need you to understand I want nothing but honesty between us. And I need time before I'll be comfortable seeing either of them. I don't want to be called Sire for an undetermined amount of time. Just thinking about the whole thing causes my glitch to start." Prowl said and looked at him with his wings twitching. Jazz kept his field still closed off with a soft whimper. The Praxian moved closer to the Polyhexian and took his servos in his. "Jazz, look at me."
His helm looked up briefly before looking away. "You're right, I should have trusted you more. I've ruined your dream of having a family, Rico and Skids wanted you as their S-, and… and I hurt you even more."
"Jazz, I need you to calm down okay? Just give me… time to adjust. Now come on scoot over so I can hold you." Prowl said with a small smile on his face. Jazz moved over and the Praxian laid on the berth with an arm going around his waist. The visored mech turned around to face Prowl with his helm tilted up slightly. Prowl looked down and gently squeezed him. "I love your new frame and I can't wait to see you after you're out. My brother, Sunstreaker, and Tracks did a wonderful job."
Jazz's face heated up and he hid his face in the white and black chest plate. "That's not all, but… I want to wait until I can walk on my own. I… will you still want to court me?"
"We'll talk tomorrow, let me just hold you." Prowl kissed one of Jazz's horns with a gentle caress of the side of his frame that he wasn't laying on. Jazz purred and snuggled closer to Prowl with one leg sliding between Prowl's. The mechs were soon fast in stasis well into the morning. Jazz onlined with just himself in the berth which ensued panic in him until he saw Prowl and Ratchet standing near the door softly talking. He sat up which caught the other mechs' attention. They joined the Polyhexian's side and Prowl took Jazz's servo. "Good morning Jazz. How did you recharge?"
"Good. Are you having to go? Can't you stay just a bit longer?" Jazz looked up at him with a slight tilt of his helm. The Praxian gave his servo a sympathetic squeeze and he sighed in disappointment. "Okay."
"I have to get work done, but I will try to come back before visiting hours is finished." Prowl kissed Jazz's helm before leaving the Polyhexian to start going through his examination. Jazz worked really hard that day, Ratchet decided to try and have him walk the hall to see if he could handle it. The Polyhexian stopped and leaned against the wall with his cooling fans working hard to cool his strained systems.
"Jazz, as much as I am pleased to see you determined to get your strength back, I don't want you to overheat from pushing yourself." Ratchet had cooling pads in his servos as he placed a couple on his chest plate. The visored mech hated that he had to rely on the cane to even help him stand, but after just walking literally ten steps, it was a life saver. He felt the heat being expelled from his body by the time Ratchet finished placing one final cooling pad on.
"I just want to be able to walk without feeling like I had sparklings again. Trust me, I couldn't walk straight for a while but thankfully Data gave me some pain relievers. Remind me to never have sparklings emerge from my frame and then leave early the next solar cycle." Jazz tried to joke with Ratchet, but the silent glare and crossed arms hinted to the visored mech that his friend wasn't amused. "I know, I know if I stayed on the ARK then none of that would have happened. I get it."
Ratchet nodded and removed the cooling pads before helping him back to his room. Jazz rolled into the berth with a heavy groan at finally getting off his peds. The medic commed the nurse station about bringing a cube to Jazz's room. "A cube will get here soon, but I have to finish my rounds before turning it over to First Aid. And I won't be back for a few solar cycles, but there will be a mech to help with your physical therapy until I get back."
"I have no say in this do I?" Jazz pushed himself up right with a small grunt.
"No, you do not, I want you to work just as hard. I don't care if you like me more than the other medics." Ratchet pointed a digit at him with a firm press of his lips.
Over the course of several solar cycles Jazz was visited by either the twins before they left when Ricochet felt someone approaching his room. Prowl came when he could, ops usually came by late at night, Blaster had finally swung by with the music after a few solar cycles. The Host told his friend that he would have come by sooner, but the breaking of the bond really messed with him. Jazz completely understood and knew that his friend just needed some comfort. So, they spent the entire visit listening to music and just lying in the medical berth with the Cassetticons laying on top of them.
"Okay, I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but has he come and seen you? I know he's your brother's son, but Rico could really use the help." Jazz looked to his side where Blaster was leaning against the wall beside him.
"Naw, he hasn't come tah even talk. He doesn't really like meh cause Ah abandoned Soundwave before dah war. If he just let meh explain why Ah left Soundwave then maybe Ricochet would see dat Ah'm really a cool mech." Blaster shrugged before playfully poking his friend's shoulder. "Ya seem tah be fillin' out really nicely, can't wait tah have my dancin' buddy again."
Jazz started laughing, "well you can count on me to pick up your slack." Blaster nudged him as they started laughing more. The Polyhexian looked up when the door opened up slowly. They all looked up to see Skids stopping in the doorway with his arms full of random items. Skids's wings flared as he jumped in surprise. "Skids, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, well I uh…I was needing your help with something, but um… I'll come back later. Sorry." Skids started to back out the door, but his Carrier stopped him.
"No, you can stay. We're just chatting and listening to music. How long is your brother going to stay on the roof?" Jazz asked the younger twin as he chuckled sheepishly. The blue Praxian sat the items on an empty table that was under the small holoscreen.
"Quiet space. He didn't want me coming alone, but the voices got to him. I um… I actually came to ask if you could help me with this sheet music. The colors don't flow right, and Rico is zero help with that." Skids sat at the end of the berth and reclined against his servos.
Blaster looked at the Praxian with a slight tilt of his helm. "He still has problems blockin'? Is Rico' usin' ya as a window?"
"He says you don't get to call him 'Rico'. Rico gets grumpy when his focus is shaken; he usually is really good about blocking out the thoughts, but he's really stressed about the whole thing in Kaon. There was an incident involving a slave and he isn't taking it so well." Skids's wings dipped as he rubbed his arm with a depressed sigh. "She tried to resist her owner's order and she was… publicly executed."
Jazz covered his mouth in shock at the news. "Oh Primus. What happened? Are you both okay?"
"We were at Twisted Spark hosting a party when it happened. One of our… agents saw her being carried away and reported it on his way over to the bar." Skids looked up at his Carrier with a sad smile. "You probably miss Kaon less and less, huh?"
"I don't, but I miss you both. Is Twisted Spark doing good, I haven't been there in nearly a century." Jazz tried to keep the memories positive as he listened to his creation talk about business. He was glad to hear that it had changed from the bar that he had seen in the past. The twins removed all of the erotic decor and changed it to apparently a common decor from Helix that was mixed with Tarn decorations. Skids practiced his singing while they helped free anyone that wanted to get out. The Praxian said that often times than not that a lot of slaves were in the same mindset Jazz had been in before he broke free from Soundwave, and they wanted to change their owners in the name of love.
The door opened at Ricochet, well Ricochet as his Meister persona, walked in the room. His field felt drained and he physically looked worn down. Blaster knew all too well that look, he was like that a lot of the times when he was first learning. The mech joined his brother and laid backwards, minding the Cassetticons. He held up a single digit, "do not even think about it Carrier. You are not coming to Kaon for any reason."
"But I'm concerned for you Ricochet." Jazz frowned with his servo reaching out for his son's helm. He put his servo on the mask Ricochet was wearing, but he didn't want to take it off while he was trying to center himself. "Can you please just give Blaster a chance? He can help you."
An ex-vent escaped from behind the mask as he took his twin's servo. After a few nano-minutes of silence in the room, Ricochet finally removed the mask to look up at his Carrier from an upside down angle. The younger Polyhexian's optics darted to his uncle before looking back at his Carrier. "It's hard… to block out the thoughts with lack of control of my emotions." He didn't want to make optic contact with the other telepath, his field pulsed with discomfort.
"Usin' dah mask like how ya are tah ground ya self is a good way tah start. For meh when Ah need tah be grounded Ah just do a cuddle sesh with my minis." Blaster explained as he docked his creations. "Have ya tried dah closin' dah door?"
"Kinda hard to close a fake door when all you can hear are personal thoughts." Ricochet's words were filled with sarcasm. He sat up and crossed his arms with an annoyed huff. Jazz sighed slightly and decided to just give up on trying to help his son, and Ricochet must have heard his Carrier's thoughts because he stood up with the mask going back in place. "I'll be in Helix in three solar cycles; we have a safe house there. Just look up 'Sanus' on Telatraan, he'll show you where it is. Come Skids, we should head back to the manor before they actually do leave Kaon."
Skids mumbled something under his intake before hugging their Carrier. He kissed his cheek before stepping back to let his brother give his goodbyes. The brothers were heading for the door, but the Praxian quickly went back to Jazz's side and handed him a couple discs with a sympathetic smile. "They open into Halifax's back room if you ever feel like visiting."
Jazz took the small discs with a smile. He watched them leave and the Carrier sighed heavily with his shoulders sinking. Blaster knew that expression as it was a common expression when Jazz was making something personal and taking the blame for it. "Wanna talk about it?" the Councilor offered his receptor.
"It just… Ricochet used to be so much like me, like Bumblebee. He was so happy, thoughtful, the sweetest mechling I've ever seen and now he's… he's so much like his Sire, personality wise. Ironhide told me what he did to those mechs in Newgate, what he did Starscream and Soundwave! If I had just told Ratchet, I would have my sweet mechling. He wouldn't be struggling to control his telepathy! Skids would have a relationship with Prowl! My sons wouldn't be in Kaon!" Jazz started breaking down. Blaster hugged him in an attempt to comfort the Polyhexian.
"Jazz, remember ya did dis tah protect 'em. If ya had 'em at dah ARK, then who knows what would've happened tah 'em. Ah'll help Ricochet learn tah control himself. Skids will have a relationship with Prowl and his brothers after Prowl learns tah grow up." The mech said as he cupped the sides of Jazz's helm to get him to look at him.
Jazz nodded as he tried controlling his intakes. He knew Blaster was right, but he couldn't help but take blame for all of it. "Thanks Blaster. It just hurts me to see the three most important mechs in my life not liking each other. Prowl refuses to acknowledge their existence, Skids is afraid of being caught hanging out with me, and Ricochet despises Prowl. There was a time where Rico would call Prowl his Sire; he was so happy to think about us being a family. And now… he wants nothing to do with him."
"J, dat's just how Cybertronians dat rely and grow up in large groups are. If someone breaks dat trust, dat bond, then it'll take a long time to regain dat trust. Ya don't need tah put dah blame on yerself." Blaster tried to comfort the Polyhexian before moving onto happier thoughts, "so how did ya get 'em tah see colors like ya?"
"Hardline for a while until Skids told me that he could see all of these colors when I was singing once. They're definitely my sons, we would spend groons making treats and dance to all sorts of music. Primus those were one of my happiest moments in my life." Jazz chuckled before sighing happily and laughed at the memories it brought up.
"Skids certainly has a mean set of pipes." The councilor complimented and Jazz nodded with a small chuckle.
"So, I've been told and seen. Glad to see my sudden need to burst out into a song was successfully passed onto at least one of my sons." Jazz laughed and was soon joined in by Blaster. They finished their time before First Aid kindly telling the mechs that visiting hours was done. The two friends hugged it out and Blaster promised to keep an optic on his sons for him to which Jazz was forever grateful.
Prowl was at the precinct dealing with a sudden spike of job applications coming through from mechs and femmes wanting various of positions. When he was crossing the entrance, he stopped in his walk to the back when he saw someone standing in front of the bulletin board right in view of the front desk. It was the mech that was claiming to be his son and he was looking very sternly at the missing youngling poster. He flared his wings when he must've sensed that he was being watched. Their optics locked for about point five nanoseconds before he quickly retreated out of the station.
"He's been coming here every solar cycle looking at that poster." Envoy informed Prowl. "Do you think he may know where the little femme is at?"
The Praxian commander shook his helm when he pulled himself out of his thoughts. "No but let me know if he shows up again." Prowl instructed before returning to his office. He stopped when he saw that a case file was being copied to a different location. The Praxian commed a certain spy, ::Mirage, it's Prowl. I need Hound's nose.::
Let me know if you guys if you saw this coming! And be honest! lol
Song: Dear Theodosia- Hamilton
