Mazuiko: Alright, guys, I'm aiming for a chapter length between chapters 4 and 5. I'll try to average it about there from now on. Yes, there will be torture and punishment. The shock still hasn't worn off yet, so the Autobots have yet to actually feel the full force of any commands they wouldn't want to obey and the consequences of not obeying those commands. Bumblebee is stubborn, inexperienced, and the youngest, so he'll be getting the biggest portion of it, especially in chapter 7. There's a small inkling of Blackout/Jazz here since Jazz is currently the farthest of all the pairings from being broken or admitting to being in love, and we get some information as to the fates of Ratchet and Ironhide (yes, I still love them). Here's an important tip to help you guys out since some aren't getting it: the mechs in these pairings already love each other. That's why there's flashbacks; they're there to show you how it happened and why each Decepticon asked for a certain Autobot (possessive much?). I hope you guys enjoy this chapter since you certainly deserve to. This story's place among all four that I've written is as follows (at the time I post this chapter):

Words: 1st

Chapters: Tied for 1st

Reviews: 1st

Hits: 2nd

C2s: 4th

Favorites: 1st

Alerts: 1st

A Possession of Heat

Present

Jazz found himself not only doing something useful, but something he enjoyed; he was helping to restore Cybertron to its condition before the war. His job, under Blackout's watch, was to bond the beams together with lasers and bolts. His small size was useful in getting to tight spots, and the structure could take his weight much more easily than it could Blackout's. Jazz was a bit angry, tense, and irritated when it came to the large Decepticon, but Blackout took it with patient perseverance, never returning the Autobot's rage. Jazz tried his hardest not to care; he just hated the fact that it wasn't working. Blackout slowly approached him as he melded yet another two beams together; the Autobot was getting a bit impatient with Blackout, and the Decepticon did what he could to avoid any unnecessary arguments.

"What do ya want now? Can't ya see I'm workin' 'ere?"

Blackout laughed. Jazz was amusing to him, and Blackout sometimes stood near him just to get him to talk.

"Yes, I can see that you are working. When you are finished with the beams in this sector, you must begin with the beams in the center sectors and assist in reconstructing the transportation networks."

"Do ya have a single clue as to how long I'm gonna be workin' on these beams? I ain't got time to be chattin' with ya, got it? I already said--Ahh!!

Jazz had been paying so much attention talking to Blackout that he didn't notice the other mech near him turn around while carrying a small beam, knocking him off the large beam he was standing on as he was hit in the head, falling right into Blackout's arms. The Decepticon had noticed the other mech just before Jazz was hit, so he was able to get into place to catch the small Autobot.

"Are you alright?"

"Ah slag...yeah, I think so."

"You appear to be in pain. I will take you to the medical bay."

"I'm fine, it just hurts a lot."

Jazz gripped his head with his left hand as he tried to stabilize himself against Blackout's chest with his right hand. He was delighted to see Ratchet at the medical bay when he arrived, eager to talk to a mech that wasn't a Decepticon.

"Ratchet, how's it going'? What 'Con did ya get stuck with?"

"From what I can see, I'll be seeing you quite a bit, and I didn't get stuck with any Decepticon. My usefulness as a medic got me stuck here in the bay, so I just repair brawling Decepticons and Autobots who can't keep themselves out of trouble."

"You mean Autobots like me, eh? I don't blame ya. I'm just glad ya didn't get stuck with one of 'em 'Cons. Hey, where's 'Hide? I ain't seen 'im."

"He's handling some of the heavier work near the center of Tyger Pax. I don't know what Decepticon he's with, but I heard the Decepticon's built heavy and is not one you would have wanted to see while scouting alone."

"It takes a mean 'Con to try and handle 'Hide, Ratchet."

"I would know. Alright, tell me what happened for you to get such a dent in your head."

"I was workin' down near the edge of the city and talkin' to Blackout when some mech clunks me with a beam. Slag, Ratchet, it hurt!"

"I'm sure it did. Did you suffer any injuries that you know of from the fall?"

"I never hit the ground."

Ratchet's expression begged for an explanation, but Jazz was hesitant to admit that he had been helped by a Decepticon.

"Blackout caught me."

The medic looked at the large Decepticon standing on the other side of the table, but Blackout made no move to speak.

"You caught him? I'm surprised you even noticed."

"Then it will surprise you that I will not allow him to come to harm."

Artemis I, about 35,000 Earth years ago

"I'm not going into recharge! No, no, no!"

Jazz tried to stay calm as Bumblebee wiggled in his arms; the Autobot leader on the other side of the office quietly smiled at the amusing sight. The youngling had grown into the equivalent of a human eight year old, and was just as fussy and unbearably loud when being put into recharge. Autobot after Autobot had tried to succeed, but Prime's office was just filling up as Sideswipe, Wheeljack, Sunstreaker, Hoist, Hound, and Ratchet came complaining about the rising noise. Things weren't helped when Ironhide came in to report a captured Decepticon he had brought with him.

"Things ain't exactly shinin' 'ere, 'Hide. I'm sure we've tried everything to get 'Bee to go into recharge."

"I'd help, but I can't exactly leave our new 'friend' here unattended."

"Ironhide, what Decepticon have you brought with you?"

"Barricade, after I busted 'im up a bit, of course. Get your aft in 'ere!"

All movement ceased, including Bumblebee's struggles, as the battered Decepticon grumbled his way into Prime's office. Every Autobot's gaze was filled with expectation and caution, as though Barricade would simply blow up the room at any moment in time. Bumblebee, however, gazed at the mech with a mixture of awe and surprise, and Ironhide was troubled to see that delight had joined the mixture as well. The golden Autobot started to wiggle again as he tried to free himself of Jazz's grasp.

"Put me down, Jazz! I want to go down!"

Prime nodded and Jazz put the youngling down on the floor, watching just as carefully as the other Autobots in the room as Bumblebee glanced up at the Decepticon shock trooper. The youngling's optics became very bright as he walked closer; he was completely unaware of how ready his caretakers were to blast Barricade to pieces.

"Master, you're back?"

Every Autobot mouth besides Bumblebee's dropped open in shock at his words, but he only raised his hands up when he was close enough. Barricade picked him up without a word, the only sound being the humming telling of Bumblebee's need to recharge. The Decepticon waited until Bumblebee had become comfortable with his head on Barricade's shoulder and his arms wrapped around Barricade's neck to speak.

"Yes, I am, and you need to recharge."

Jaws hit the floor as several auditory systems picked up the commanding yet soft tone of Barricade's voice when he spoke to the youngling, ignoring every other mech around him.

"Oh…okay then."

They could all hear Bumblebee clicking as he went into recharge, his body curled into Barricade's chest and arms. Their jaws hadn't closed yet, and silence followed until Ironhide forced himself to move on with business.

"Optimus, we need to put Barricade into a holding cell, and it's about time someone went on down to speak to Blackout. You want me to talk to him?"

Prime quickly shut his jaw at the sound of Ironhide's voice and shook his head.

"No, it would be better if Jazz spoke to Blackout. He might respond better when he doesn't have cannons aimed at his spark."

Prime shot a glance at Ironhide as the old mech shrugged, seemingly unfazed by the Autobot leader's disapproval.

"Jazz, I want you to talk to Blackout. Perhaps you will have more success than Ironhide and Ratchet did."

Jazz would have protested if Prime had not been wearing an expression that allowed no room for argument. Barricade reluctantly gave a recharging Bumblebee to Prime, and was led to a holding cell near Blackout's by Jazz and Ironhide. The old mech wasn't comfortable with leaving Jazz alone to interrogate Blackout, so he hid around a corner and acted like he left, completely unwilling to leave their conversation unheard. Jazz approached Blackout's cell cautiously, the large Decepticon looking down at him as though he were studying something of interest or importance.

"Yet another Autobot comes to question me. Have the others given up already?"

"I'm the one askin' the questions, ya big pile o' scrap. Why did ya come so close to our base, and all by yourself?"

"Why did they send you down here to ask me these questions?"

Jazz rolled his optics at Blackout's question.

"Answer the question already."

Blackout let out a deep chuckle, and Jazz shivered enough to wish his auditory system wasn't so sensitive.

"You're so…impersonal. You Autobots claim to not be afraid, yet you stay at such a distance from me."

'I need to stay calm…he's only trying to distract me.' Jazz thought to himself. He knew how Decepticons tried to avoid interrogations; they tried to turn them around and interrogate the Autobots instead. Decepticons were liars, deceptive and willing to hurt any that got in their way.

"Answer the question."

Blackout's optics glanced over Jazz's body, scanning the Autobot's condition. Jazz could feel it, and it made him wonder why Blackout would do such a thing in his situation.

"You need to recharge, Autobot, but you insist on staying around to question me. Maybe there are other questions you would like to ask me."

"Answer. The. Question."

"I am not going to answer your question, though I am sure you have several of your own to ask me."

Jazz was normally calm and collected, but having been unable to recharge because of Bumblebee's erratic behavior made him irritable.

"Why would I have any questions to ask ya, Blackout?"

Blackout came as close as he could to the bars of his cell, but Jazz made the mistake of taking no notice.

"We are enemies…but to this moment, none of your injuries have ever occurred because of me."

Jazz was aware of the truth in Blackout's statement. All the misses, the extremely poor aim Blackout seemed to have around him…it made Jazz suspicious at times, but he had never thought to actually ask why such coincidences kept happening. Jazz enjoyed denying it by calling it fate; he always told himself that he should have been grateful for all the times he had nearly died, only to have Blackout be in front of him to take a shot or choose not to shoot him. 'It never made any sense. What Decepticon passes up the chance to take out an Autobot, over and over again?'

"I do have questions, but I can't—hey!"

Jazz regretted stepping towards the cell and not considering Blackout's position to his own immediately after the Decepticon grabbed his arm and yanked him against the bars, two big hands pinning his arms to his body and holding him with tremendous force. Jazz wasn't strong enough to break free, but he struggled and almost called for help until Blackout spoke.

"You don't need to call them. I won't harm you."

Ironhide was still listening to their conversation in hiding, but he had taken his cannons out the moment Blackout had grabbed Jazz. He couldn't blast Blackout, though. His cannons were too powerful to blast Blackout without causing severe injury to Jazz, and Ironhide couldn't run up to get the other Autobots. Moving at all would cause noise, and he was sure that Blackout would simply crush Jazz the moment any of them pointed a weapon at the large mech.

"Let go! I call 'em, and ya gonna be dead. Ironhide will blast ya to pieces!"

"What is the point of calling them for help when they cannot help you? I can crush you in an instant; I cannot go back to my base, so I might as well take an Autobot with me to death."

Jazz stopped struggling quickly, and Ironhide had to use all the restraint he had not to blast Blackout at that moment. It was hard for Ironhide to hide at all; he wasn't the size of Jazz or Bumblebee. He stayed around the corner and listened, waiting for any sign of attack from the large Decepticon. Jazz was still, weighing his options and trying to find a solution to his predicament.

"What do ya want?"

Blackout squeezed Jazz quite intensely, and the pained groan that came from the small Autobot caused Ironhide to glance over.

"I only want to show you why I have let you live."

Ironhide was startled at Blackout's words. 'He let Jazz live? When did he do that…and why? Decepticons don't do that. They just don't.' The surprise awaiting both Ironhide and Jazz was larger than any previous action from the Decepticon. Blackout went from still to active quicker than either Autobot had previously thought him capable. Jazz was pinned down to the floor in front of Blackout's cell, squirming and kicking as the Decepticon's hands roughly explored his entire body. Ironhide was shocked at the action and wondering why they hadn't seen him; his entire body was around the corner and his mouth was a gaping hole trying to release words that would not leave him. He brought himself back to keep from being seen, but couldn't resist sneaking glances as Jazz's struggles lessened considerably and Blackout rubbed their heads together. Jazz's hands had been freed and were clawing at Blackout's armor, Jazz being unsure as to whether he wanted to pull Blackout closer or try to push him away. The small Autobot was kept as close as possible to the cell's bars, and Blackout made good use of his head and hands since he couldn't get any closer. After what felt like an eternity of struggles to Ironhide, Blackout dropped Jazz on his knees as quickly as he had started except for keeping one hand on Jazz's arm as the Autobot tried to pull away. Jazz was shaking, but Ironhide could think of a myriad of things that could have caused it.

"I can't believe I just…it won't work…we can't do this! This won't happen again…"

Blackout pulled Jazz up onto his feet.

"It will happen again."

"Blackout, this war—"

"It will end, and when it does, I shall have you."

Ironhide saw Prime at the top of the stairs, ready to come down to check on what was supposed to be an interrogation. He stopped Prime with a quick hand motion and put a finger up to his mouth to quiet Prime quickly. The Autobot leader cocked his head and snuck down the stairs while Ironhide pointed to his eyes, then pointed around the corner. He put out an arm to stop Prime from walking around the corner, and the larger Autobot's face became covered with shock as he glanced around with Ironhide, his eyes asking too many questions for Ironhide to answer. He shrugged with an angry expression and put another finger to his mouth to silence them both as they watched the unusual scenario taking place before them.

"I'll just be askin' more questions until then…I'll still be confused and wonderin' about ya."

"I will still be wanting, Autobot. You are full of heat, warmth I long to have with me. I will not be denied."

Jazz was released and backed himself up against the wall, letting out a low sigh.

"I'm not in love with no 'Con. It just doesn't happen."

Blackout let out a low, deep chuckle that Jazz unwillingly enjoyed hearing.

"Your denial is almost as bad as Barricade's."

Prime, Ironhide, and Jazz all had open mouths at that point, each Autobot frozen still unlike the laughing Decepticon in the cell. Prime made stepping sounds quickly and announced his presence.

"Jazz, were you successful?"

"No…he didn't say anythin'."

Ironhide huffed at the obvious lie, but Jazz had no clue as to why Ironhide was so critical of him. Prime stopped the weapons specialist before he could start.

"Jazz, you should go into recharge. You don't seem well. Ironhide and I will question Barricade."

"Optimus, Barricade isn't here!"

Ironhide had his cannons charged and ready to fire once he informed Prime of Barricade's absence. The three Autobots ran upstairs only to be silenced by a gaping Sideswipe with an equally surprised Sunstreaker next to him. Prime noticed that his own jaw had dropped again once he saw what they were looking at. Barricade was by Bumblebee's bed, watching the youngling recharge, listening to the soft clicking coming from the golden Autobot, and gently stroking Bumblebee's small head with his fingers. Ironhide put his cannons away and clamped his jaw shut.

"This expression is becoming a bit too common around here, Optimus."

The Autobot leader smiled at Ironhide's words in amusement.

"Actually, I hope it happens a lot more in the future."

Present

"You asked for me."

It wasn't a question, and Ratchet was getting curious as to what Jazz was talking about. Blackout seemed to know without asking, nodding in response.

"I never thought it'd turn out this way, ya know. We're both alive."

Blackout nodded again.

"Are 'Cade and 'Bee the same way?"

"Yes, but it is much more complicated with them."

"He's too young for 'Cade."

"There is more to it than that, and that does not even matter."

"He doesn't know how to handle love."

Ratchet finished his repairs on Jazz's head and stepped back as Blackout caressed the area.

"Neither do we."

Mazuiko: Woot! Done with another chapter! Is there anyone willing to draw for this fic that can do some of the scenes well? It could give the reviewers a wonderful viewing experience to go along with the story. Next chapter involves a lot of anguish and very twisted Barricade/Bumblebee. All who worship BDSM (including myself)…celebrate! As usual, feel free to inform me of OOCness. I'm not too familiar with Jazz and Blackout, so I tried to keep a more vigilant watch for it this time.