Well after many battles of OS updating and text reformatting because the body is fine, but the italicization cannot be bothered to stick around... update! Yay!
Chapter 200 - Schemer
(JzPOV)
"Wha's swingin' Wreckahs?" Jazz demanded with a broad grin, carefully interposing himself between Ravage and the two Wreckers sitting with half-cycled cannons. He ran a quick scan of the area, or tried to, anyway. Slaggin' EM field.
"You're late!" Roadbuster growled at him. Jazz spun around, staring into a corridor empty but for another pair of bare armoured mechs sprawled across the floor.
"The slag?" one of the wreckers grumbled, shaking his helm wearily. He pushed himself fully into a seated position, then slid to lean against the wall.
Jazz blinked, staring around at the wreckers. Really looking.
Two corridors, one to the left, one to the right.
No doors.
Two wreckers on either side of the entrance.
Four total, two of whom were still out cold.
"The slag happened hea'?" Jazz demanded incredulously. He spun around again, observing the panelling of the corridors. Left and right, perfect uniformity, lightly curving to the north until they disappeared.
"System reboot," Leadfoot's voice shouted out irritably. "Knocked everybot out but the controller!"
Jazz attempted to scan the area again, there was no sign of the Wreckers but for the four in the corridor.
Ravage bumped against his back-plating the next second, Jazz glanced down and raised his brow ridges in surprise. Ravage's back was arched somewhat, head swinging back and forth as she warily scanned the area, watching his back. Jazz smiled somewhat, he couldn't help it. He reached down and lightly patted Ravage's side, Ravage glanced up at him and went back to scanning the area.
"Death-tunnel-trap," Ravage growled softly, so low Jazz could barely hear it.
"Wha?" Jazz glanced down to watch the cybercat scanning the area. The cat looked up at him with an unmistakeable scowl. "Pride-master name fatal funnel." She chirred tensely before becoming deathly silent once more. Scanning the area.
Jazz nodded to the cat, glancing somewhat warily up and down the corridors himself.
It was a perfect defensible position, without doubt if an attacker actually made it through the entrance the forces following them would be bottlenecked at either end.
Primus only knew if any of those panels hid doors. Jazz traced each seam with his optics, searching for a scuff, a scratch, some trace of passage.
"It's about slaggin' time you showed up! This ain't a fieldtrip!" Lugnut's voice bellowed.
"Where the slag ah ya?" Jazz demanded.
"Housin' Wing! Gotta be sure the door is still sealed from the inside!" Leadfoot bellowed.
"Primary spark-support feeds!" Topspin shouted. "Triple checking that all systems are go!"
"Inspectin' the weapons locker!" Roadbuster growled. "She'll be shipshape once we get some energon in here!"
"Get yer aft tae Springer's office, he'll be wantin' an update snappish!" Lugnut added crossly.
"An' whea's dat?" Jazz asked patiently, looking around.
No answer.
"Y' gotta shout," one of the Wreckers on the floor mumbled tiredly, waving an idle servo in the air.
"Oh! Righ'! Jazz ya gotta shout if you wanna use the blower! Comms don't work in the stronghold!" Leadfoot's voice shouted the next second.
"What the slag is the blower?" Jazz shouted.
"Echo-tunnels." Ravage huffed beside him, she promptly began investigating the prone wreckers.
"Go right!" Roadbuster shouted at him. Jazz promptly turned and began striding down the corridor.
"No! Yer other right!" Topspin shouted.
"How the slag!?" Jazz demanded, spinning and scanning the area again.
Ravage yowled softly, Jazz glanced at her, then followed her optic-line.
Nothing. Wait... no...
"Ah come on! Nobot spots that camera!" a stranger's voice shouted indignantly.
Jazz grinned.
"Ah like you cat," he murmured to Ravage, turning to follow the correct passage. "Jus' fo' that Ah'll take point an' make double sure no-bot fires on ya'."
"What the slag are you doin' in here!?" one of the sleeping wreckers bellowed. Jazz was crouched the next second, blasters online with Ravage tightly beside him.
"Shaddup Turnstile, I did that already," the sitting mech grumbled slowly.
"The slag?" Turnstile grumbled, shaking his helm and slowly shuffling himself to lean back against the wall.
Jazz shrugged and began meandering down the corridor, following until it twisted back on itself. Blind corner, Jazz paused, Ravage glanced at him and took a cautious step forward, dimming her optic and slowly peeking around the edge. Jazz grinned and copied the cat.
She'd beaten him to the punch.
"Fifth door on the right behind the seventh panel!" Roadbuster shouted.
"Just leave the panels open behind you - it's wakey wakey time!" Leadfoot bellowed victoriously.
Jazz shook his helm in amusement as the lights went up along the corridors and promptly shoved open the panel Ravage had already begun sniffing at. The corridor behind looked far more familiar. Jazz meandered to the fifth door and pushed it open, striding in and observing the mechs in the room as two pair of optics looked blearily back at him.
"Mo'nin' Springa'! Whas'up Kup?" Jazz asked with a broad grin.
Kup re-synced his processors, rose, stretched, flumped back onto the bench he'd been holding down for the past several vorn and looked at Ravage. Ravage looked back at him for a moment before she began demanding an audio rub, which Jazz was quite happy to provide.
"You know full well that everybot in the Iacon Wrecker Stronghold has been in stasis lock for nigh on forty vorn. You wander in with the Decepticon Advisor Primary's first symbiont beside you, and yet you ask what events have recently occurred? Cadet Jazz do I need to call my Wreckers on you?" Springer grumbled in an amused tone.
"It's Lieutenant now," Jazz informed the mech with a grin.
"Congratulations Cadet, what news have you brought us?"
Jazz scowled slightly, but quickly shook himself as Ravage began investigating the chamber Springer and Kup had been residing in for forty vorn.
"Lieutenant Jazz reporting the High Protector has been renamed," he began cheerfully.
"What name has Megatron chosen for himself this time Cadet?"
"It's a different bot now."
"Excellent, what's his name?"
"Her name is Archangel."
"A femme!?" Springer demanded with a laugh. "Just how many times has Optimus been knocked in the helm in the last forty vorn Cadet?"
Jazz opened his mouth to retort that, then smirked slightly.
"A few, but his processors are still straight. We found Sentinel, too, off on the moon captured by the little planet the All-spark took residence on after she was launched."
"She? You mean it, right?" Kup asked cheerfully. "Gone a bit space-crazy have you? Cadet?"
Jazz rolled his optics and cracked his spark chamber slightly, passing on the spark-based data-stream from the Emperor Prime.
Kup leaned back in his chair, nodding musingly.
"And the Lady High Protector has assumed control over the forces," Springer stated patiently.
"Nah, they ain't heah yet," Jazz shrugged.
"Then why the slag have you pierced the Stronghold!?" Springer roared. "We have femmes here! Younglings! It's not safe-"
"Sure it is," Jazz grinned. "Iacon's abandoned. We figured the Wreckahs could hold the fort if just the neutrals got left behind."
"Pride master wants den-razer to stop hiding," Ravage informed him.
"Where does the signal-blackout end?" Jazz asked immediately.
"Outside the walls of the Stronghold," Kup stated with a shrug.
"What do you mean Iacon's abandoned?" Springer demanded.
"The Decepticons got called out of Iacon by the Lord Hah Protecta' to go destroy the planet the All-spark landed on." Jazz stated cheerfully.
"But you just said-"
"The Lady Hah Protecta' has Soundwave's loyalty, he ran off and joined us, got kidnapped by the Decepticons, had the loyalty circuits slagged out of him and escaped again. Turns out Soundwave-"
"Den-razer come now!" Ravage yowled, her tail promptly wrapped firmly around his wrist, all but dragging him down the corridors and back toward the entrance she'd taken.
"Yo' Rav-cat, wha's ya' hurry?" Jazz asked in amusement, jogging as the cat moved at a ground-eating trot. Ravage promptly dug her claws into the floor and took off at a dead sprint. "Ravaagggeee!" Jazz bellowed, armour squealing along the corridor floor. Ravage bulled her way past a couple of wreckers and out the stronghold's concealed door.
The second Ravage released his wrist Jazz squealed to a halt, jumped to his pedes, took a nano-second to observe the situation and was sprinting after the Cybercat the next.
Three wreckers were ganging up on Soundwave, already one of his legs was laying well off to the side, and his arms looked like they were about to be next.
"NO! Wreckers! STOP!" Jazz bellowed. Soundwave's right arm popped out of the socket, it was tossed to the side. Jazz immediately did the only thing he could in this situation. He brought a stunner online and promptly went crazy on the wreckers. It wasn't for nothing that a bot as small as he was didn't give a slag about size differentials.
One down, stunner to the face. Jazz used his height and disabled the knee of the second, who promptly toppled over, bellowing in pain and knocking the third unstable. A quick shove and Jazz was standing on the mech.
"ENOUGH!" Springer bellowed. Jazz felt himself lifted up by the back-plating the next second, his third victim's faceplates narrowly saved from his claws. Jazz didn't mind, dangling from one of Lugnut's servos he was front row centre to watch as the massive old wrecker quite literally kicked the three away from Soundwave.
"The Advisor Primary is to remain inviolate!" Lugnut snarled at the mechs. "Fer the lives of me creations he is an honorary and you will honour it!"
"He's a Decepticon," the largest of the three snarled.
"Not anymore he ain't," Lugnut snapped at the mech. "He's an honorary wrecker and you will treat him as such."
"Says who?" the evident leader of the three growled challengingly.
Lugnut took a step forward, optics narrowed dangerously.
"Says me," Springer stated flatly. Jazz flinched, he couldn't help it, it wasn't for nothing that Springer was the head of the Wreckers, either.
Silence reigned in the courtyard.
"Wrecker chastisement for past affiliations: accepted." Soundwave announced quietly. Jazz squirmed out of Lugnut's servo and scrambled over to the mech. Already, Soundwave was re-attaching his own arm.
"Sandie!" Jazz stated worriedly, reaching to help the mech. Soundwave waved him off with the newly attached arm, cables already reaching for what armour he could reach. Jazz glanced around and noted Soundwave's leg well out of cable reach. He glanced at the mech working to roll onto his front the next second and started in horror. Soundwave's actions... his motions...
"How many times have you dragged yo'self within cable reach of yo' own slaggin' limbs?" Jazz demanded flatly.
"Soundwave: lost count." Soundwave replied with a hint of a grunt in his voice as he began dragging himself toward the leg.
Jazz immediately strode to the leg and picked it up, carrying it back to the mech.
"Gratitude," Soundwave stated quietly, accepting the leg Jazz offered him. Around them, bots winced at the grinding crunch that slashed through the air as Soundwave re-instated his leg.
"Oh fer the love of Primus would somebot make her stop that!?" one of the mechs stated in a sickened tone.
"Stop what?" Jazz asked with a frown. The mech pointed to Ravage; the cybercat lapping up the energon splashed around the courtyard; energon which had spilled from Soundwave's lines...
"Ravage: salvaging Soundwave energon." Soundwave stated flatly. "Soundwave: will not stop Ravage's appointed task in mutual preservation."
Soundwave rose and collapsed again, he stayed still for a moment before stretching out on his side somewhat and twisting to examine his leg.
"Wreckers: highly efficient at crippling mechs." Soundwave commented idly. Jazz winced. The bot's joint was twisted, badly, which meant one of two things: either Soundwave needed to get back to earth, or Ratchet needed to get his aft-plates to Iacon.
"Let it be, Sandie, Ratch'll be slagged off enough as it is that you re-attached y'own limbs," Jazz stated as gently as he could, kneeling down and reaching to stabilize the joint.
"Soundwave: has sustained worse." Soundwave stated patiently. "Mission: inform Saboteur next phase must soon be initiated."
"Which one's that?" Jazz asked quietly, lightly knocking Soundwave's hands from his own leg to get a proper scan.
"Wrecker force: disguise themselves as Decepticons. Mission: attend to gates and guard stations. Reason: Neutral traders due to begin arriving. Necessity: maintain fiction of Decepticon occupation of Iacon."
"Nice job slaghead, Soundwave hands us Iacon on a white zirconium platter and you permanently twist his leg out of alignment!" Roadbuster snarled, shoving the largest of the three offending wreckers.
"We gotta get him to Ratchet," Leadfoot stated firmly.
"Medic's attentions, unnecessary," Soundwave stated calmly.
"It's wholly necessary, yo' nanites ah gonna finalize the joint like tha' if Ratchet or Ahkangel, don' straighten it out snappish," Jazz informed the mech firmly.
"Auto-bot concern: touching. Gratitude." Soundwave stated in an amused tone before his vocal processors shut off entirely. Jazz flinched as Soundwave suddenly caught hold of his own metals, filling the air around them with the screeching scream of abused metals as he wrenched the joint into the proper alignment. Soundwave collapsed. Ravage nuzzling at the mech the next moment, he shifted slightly and the cybercat integrated herself into her symbiont hatch. Jazz looked around and shook his helm; Ravage had cleared away any and all energon spilled in the courtyard. A tiny surge of that energon passed over Soundwave's damages, repairing them. Somewhat.
"Y' know, Ratchet wouldn' even let you off the med-berth like that," Jazz informed the mech patiently.
"Soundwave: has been commanded onto battlefield with worse," Soundwave stated simply, rolling onto his front again and pushing himself to his pedes.
Jazz pulled one of the cubes of high-grade he'd stashed in his subspace and wordlessly handed it to the mech. Soundwave looked down at the cube in his hand for a long moment.
"Gratitude: Auto-bot Jazz."
Soundwave quickly popped the little cube open and downed it, visible relief crossing his frame as another surge of energon passed over his most recent damages.
"Recommend: Wreckers wear Decepticon insignias-"
"Not on your slagging life!" one snarled. Soundwave simply reached into his subspace and pulled out a strangely worked cannon, the muzzle too short, the munitions chamber too large.
Before anybot had the chance to further protest, Soundwave stuck the end of the cannon against the protestor's armour - over the mech's autobot insignia - and pulled the trigger.
"OW! What the slag!?" the mech howled, turning to look at his servo. "I said not on your slagging life!"
As expected, the wrecker turned to attack, only to be quickly pinned down by Soundwave.
"Autobot insignia: undamaged. Decepticon insignia: temporary magnetic signature patch. Reason: highly effective Decepticon disguise."
"I dunno about that Sandie," Jazz stated with a grin. "Wreckahs ain't all that good at being anythin' udda' dan wreckahs."
"Wreckers: fully capable of belligerence, violence. Behavioural differences: negligible." Soundwave replied idly, walking around the courtyard and firing his little temporary tattoo gun.
Every present wrecker in the courtyard snarled at the tall, thin mech. Jazz warmed his blasters a bit; he didn't want to turn them on the wreckers... much... but he would if he needed to.
"Wrecker philosophy difference: substantial. Yours is a caste of bullies, you glorify the battle, the destruction. But you build, you create and you care for the younglings." Soundwave added neutrally, finally striding toward the three wreckers that had done such damage to him. Jazz half expected the mech to just offline them then and there. "But before you try to tear me apart a second time, glitches, recognize that contrary to my initiation among your caste I did not defend myself in deference to your ignorance."
Jazz grinned as Soundwave stooped slightly, visor receding to show his optics as he met the optics of the three. Three cowering wreckers, Jazz logged that image. Primus only knew when he'd see that again.
"That will not occur a second time," Soundwave stated softly, menacingly.
Three shouts of pain and Soundwave rose, smirking at Jazz out of the optic line of the wreckers before his visor covered his faceplates again. "Saboteur: desire temporary disguise?" Soundwave asked him politely.
"Hah long till it falls off agin?" Jazz asked curiously.
"Four orn," Soundwave stated patiently.
"Hit meh," Jazz grinned, offering his still-bare shoulder-plate. Soundwave lightly pressed the muzzle to his shoulder and pulled the trigger. Expecting pain, Jazz looked curiously at the mech; he'd pulled the trigger and naught more than a little pinch touched his neural receptors. Faulty? Nope, Jazz looked down at the rather spectacularly formed 'brand' on his shoulder-plate. A quick scan stated that it was a proper mark; it had all of the signatures of the Decepticon ranks. Systems analysis stated otherwise though, as far as his nanites were concerned there was something stuck fast to his armour, outside his systems. Ingenious really.
"Saboteur: coming?" Soundwave stated patiently, turning back toward Iacon Defence one.
Jazz smirked at the wreckers and promptly set a meandering pace to his servos again, following the thin mech down the streets of Iacon. Then he thought better of it, deciding to walk beside Soundwave; he was definitely a 'Con now, a high ranking one.
"Ah didn't realize th' wreckahs were such softies," Jazz commented with a grin, well out of audio shot of the wreckers.
In answer, Soundwave offered him the brand-gun, his grip shifting slightly to reveal a toggle...
"Saboteur Decepticon insignia: irremovable for four orn. Wrecker Decepticon insignias: removable in eight." Soundwave stated simply.
Jazz stared at the mech in disbelief for a long second.
"Yah mean that befo' all an' sundrah, yah jus' pranked an entire wreckah regimen'!?" Jazz demanded incredulously.
Soundwave glanced down at him, faceplates perfectly straight beneath that visor.
"Revenge: accomplished." Soundwave informed him blandly.
"Sandie," Jazz stated urbanely, grinning as they strode down the rubble choked streets of Iacon. "Ah think this is the' sta't of a beautiful frien'ship."
(LPOV)
Lena smiled as her Jolt approached, her mech had finally synced his processors enough to get up off of their berth for his communications duty.
"Morning Jolt!" Jerry called out cheerfully as the doors opened behind her.
"Mostly," Jolt chuckled. Lena idly glanced at her chronometer, eleven fifty. She smiled as her Jolt slid onto the bench beside her, tucking her beneath his servo.
She loved it when he did that, which her Jolt knew perfectly well through their sparkbond. It didn't matter if there was another bench available, Jolt always snuck in beside her to hold her close.
"You could have roused me," her Jolt murmured in an amused tone, assuming the ports Lena vacated for her mate's perusal.
"I could have, but you looked so peaceful tucked into our berth with that grin on your faceplates I didn't want to," Lena chuckled, reaching up for a kiss. Jolt smiled at her and leaned down slightly, pressing the chaste kiss they utilized during their duty hours to her lips.
"Are you taking Symphony?" her Jolt asked curiously.
"I'll ask, certainly," Lena smiled at him.
"Taking Symphony where?" Jerry asked curiously.
"Shopping," Lena and Jolt chorused together.
"You're both weird," Lance informed them.
"Not weird-" Jolt began with a small frown.
"Bonded," Lena smiled, knowing it was the serene, satisfied smile that had come to be her norm.
"I still don't get it, you're bonded so now you talk at the same time?" Lance asked curiously.
"We exist together," Jolt stated with his usual shrug. Lena laughed as the newest grouping of techs shot confused looks at her mate.
"Two bonded sparks, like Jolt and I, exist within the same space. He and I are both within each other's chambers, half of his spark with mine, and half of mine with his. Cybertronian sparks are the primary centre of thought, emotion and memory; our sparks are together so we think together, feel together, and as a result sometimes we speak together as well," Lena explained with a smile.
"So you've basically become one person in two bodies," Lance frowned.
"No, there's still a strong definition between us," Jolt stated patiently. "I am Jolt, and she is my Lena. Her mind, her memories, her personality is an extension of my own, but never once would I dream of overlaying her."
"I accidentally overlayed on you a bit," Lena murmured guiltily.
"You gave me patience, which I desired to add to my own personality," her Jolt chuckled, nuzzling her helm with his own. Lena grinned and cuddled against him for a moment before carefully extracting herself and pressing a kiss to his lip plating.
"You know where I am," Lena smiled, lightly caressing her Jolt's cheek.
"As you know me," Jolt murmured, pressing a light kiss to her palm.
Lena smiled and strode from the communications bay, she transformed and idled into her quarters, onlining her holoform to collect her wallet and purse. Strap over shoulder she strode out and knocked lightly on Symphony's door.
"Come in!" Symphony called out cheerfully.
"Hey Sim! I'm headed out shopping, would you like to come with?" Lena asked cheerfully, striding into Soundwave's quarters and onto the platform the Advisor-primary had built for his symbionts to sleep and play on.
He'd scavenged metals from his own berth just to do it.
"Where?" Symphony asked curiously.
"Oh here and there, the fall and winter fashions are fresh on the racks, and I know I want some new textures," Lena stated casually. Symphony blinked, Lena stared, then grinned. "And considering you've never actually left Nevada I thought we should get you some local clothing, you know, for the climate..."
"Where are we, exactly?" Symphony asked curiously. Lena blinked.
"Nobody told you?" Lena asked curiously.
"Nobody's shown me," Symphony clarified patiently.
"Oh!" Lena grinned, immediately bringing a secondary holoform online. "Well now lets see, three dimensional scans of the earth compliments of Jetfire, add a few reference points... right!" Lena set her purse down and strode over to Symphony, lightly catching the hand reaching for her and gently guiding the girl to the holoform. Just the barest brush of Symphony's knuckles and her hands straightened, mapping their way around the globe. "Okay, so your left index finger is about five miles north of Lake Pleasant, and your right index, middle and ring are in the middle of the Hudson Bay in Canada."
"It's not wet," Symphony commented idly.
"Sorry, I'd disengage this holoform and improve that one, but I'm parked next door," Lena stated with a small frown. "I'll have to figure out how to improve that... Later! Anyway," Lena grinned, looking at Symphony. "Your right hand is closer to where we are, say... twelve hundred miles south and five hundred miles east?"
Lena gave an admitted little start to see Symphony's right index finger make a beeline for Washington DC, lightly caressing the coastlines and mountains as she did.
"It really is quite beautiful," Symphony murmured, her left hand idly traced the route from the lake to her home, then to Washington. Lena smiled as Symphony's hands dropped, then reached for her. "Now then, you said new textures?" the girl grinned.
"I do believe I did," Lena grinned, hooking her elbow under Symphony's questing hand, then leading the girl to herself. A moment of carefully tucking Sim into the passenger's seat without banging her head and Lena happily slipped her holoform behind the wheel.
"The corridors are quiet, where is everybot?" Sim asked curiously.
"They're out on mission," Lena stated patiently. "My Jolt has communications under control, but I figured we should get you taken care of before the chaos begins."
"Chaos?"
"The bots are out on a rescue mission at the moment," Lena explained patiently. "They took Sentinel's space bridge out several hundred lightyears. Pending how many they bring back base is probably going to be really busy for a while."
Symphony nodded sagely beside her holoform, then grinned as Lena lightly steered her way up the ramping 'concealed' exit.
"So Lena, please feel free to pick the colours to match," Symphony stated cheerfully. "I still don't know why everyone makes such a big deal about colours-"
"Don't tell Sunstreaker that," Lena laughed outright.
"So noted," Symphony stated in a mockingly grave tone. Then she grinned. "But I call veto on texture."
"Deal," Lena stated gravely. She glanced at the girl and grinned as Symphony tilted her head to the side.
Lena patiently scanned the area and made a right turn onto the freeway.
"I wonder what would happen if I told Sunstreaker that colour has no meaning for me," Symphony stated musingly, milky eyes watching the middle-distance.
"Five rell says he'll glitch," Lena stated certainly.
"The same way Blue says Jolt glitches?"
"Something like that."
"So if I tell him and he glitches, will you make sure he doesn't squish me?" Symphony asked curiously
"Without a second thought," Lena nodded firmly.
"Solely to assuage the bet, of course," Symphony added patiently.
Lena giggled, and felt her mate smile.