A/N: well here it is, the chapter you've all been waiting for...

Jazz

It was like waking up from a deep, dreamless sleep, where for a long while one felt nothing but a sense of never-ending darkness and empty space. But then, each of the five senses start returning one by one, and suddenly its not so empty and dark anymore. Because then the feeling is that the darkness is only like a blanket covering one's head and if it was pulled it off, there would be light again.

That was exactly how he felt as his senses came online, one by one. His sense of touch told him that he was lying on a cold, hard, metal surface. There were tubes and cables attached to various ports on his body feeding him oil and lubricants. The smell of the musty air told him that he was in a very small room. A warm, rich liquid poured into his mouth and he tasted energon for the first time.

His optics came online next and, as their protective lids came up, they confirmed that he was indeed in a very small room – and he wasn't alone either. There was another robot in the room, standing beside the table he lay on, watching him carefully. An old robot whose his optics still shone with a small spark of youth.

The old robot smiled down at him. A kind, welcoming smile it was too.

"Wake up Jazz," he said in a voice that was gentle and smooth like the purest of oils, yet firm like the toughest of steels.

The young robot sat up slowly and gazed around the room.

"Who's Jazz?" he asked. "And who are you?"

"Why, YOU are Jazz of course. And my name is Maestro. We are Autobots of the planet Cybertron." He began unhooking the tubes and cables, and closed the ports. "How do you feel?"

"Physically?" Jazz moved his arms and legs, and flexed his fingers, wrists, elbows and knees. "A bit stiff."

Maestro nodded. "Don't worry about that. You'll be alright once you start moving about. Now how does it feel up there?" He tapped his head.

"Confused," Jazz replied. "My brain's receiving all this information and its trying to sort things out, but I'm not sure what goes where. Its all a big mess in there right now."

"I see."

"And there are all these other feelings too. I don't know quite what to call them. Its not exactly information. Its more like… like…"

"Emotions?" Maestro supplied.

"Emotions?" Jazz echoed. "I don't understand."

"Do they feel like they come from deep within your laser core and make you want to react to them?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Good." Maestro smiled. "That's what separates us from other machines and drones. Sentience. Emotions. We have the ability to think and feel and to make decisions, to react to given situations. They help to communicate to others what you feel on the inside without the use of words. Like in your facial expressions, or the way you sit or stand. Sometimes even in the way we say certain things."

Jazz shifted to his side and let his legs hang off the edge of the table. "But how will I know which one to use where?"

"My dear bot, emotions are not something you can select whenever you want. Its not like picking out a piece of information and then applying it. Emotions are more like sub-conscious reactions to what you experience with your five senses. Like now for instance, what you're displaying – they're emotions."

Jazz sighed and shook his head slowly. "This is all just so much to take in."

The old robot nodded in understanding. "Well you've only been online for all of fifteen minutes. Don't try to understand everything at once. You have a whole life ahead of you to learn, and I will be here to guide you." He patted Jazz's arm. "Come now, lets get you up and about."

Somewhat hesitantly Jazz slid off the table. With his two feet firmly on the ground, he pushed himself to a standing position – and nearly fell over. He stumbled and Maestro caught him.

"Whoa, easy there," he said. "Take it slowly Jazz, there's no rush. Slow and steady. Give your equilibrium regulators a chance to catch up… Alright?"

Jazz nodded. "Yeah, I'm ok. I think I can do it now."

"Well lets not be too ambitious. Try and make it to the door and back a few times." Maestro pointed to the rectangular archway.

After a few uneasy steps where he tried to familiarize himself with his body, he soon grew in confidence and his steps grew faster and more determined.

"Very good," Maestro said as Jazz headed back to him a fifth time.

Jazz grinned. Then the young robot caught sight of his reflection on a wall panel and stopped to get a better look. His own bright blue optics stared back at him.

"So this is what I look like," he said.

Maestro joined him. "I hope its alright. It's a bit difficult to find colored paint around here so I did the best I could with what I had."

"I think it looks great. Black and white, very bold and direct." Jazz smiled at him. "I like it."

"I'm glad." Maestro put an arm around his shoulders. "But come, you've had enough excitement for your first day online. Back to sleep you go. Tomorrow the real work begins for both you and me."

"But I like being awake. It feels great to be able to talk and hear and see and smell and touch and move!"

"Talk yes, I can see you like to talk, but you can do all that tomorrow however, because rest is also important. You need to allow your systems to catch up with you and recover from the shock of suddenly coming online. Now please, get some sleep. You will see me in the morning, I promise you."

Reluctantly Jazz went over and hopped up on the table. Then, with a sigh, he lay back and began to power down. Maestro watched him as the light in his optics dimmed, indicating he was asleep.

"Primus watch over him," he said softly.

Then he turned, switched off the lights and headed out of the room.