Chapter Forty
24th December
0500hrs
The moon had left the sky and the sun hadn't quite gotten itself up yet, a few dots of light indicated by stars was unable to fight back the early morn's disregard for illumination.
Spike got out of Jazz, his head lights beaming intensely towards the entrance to the former Decepticon base. Spike remembered this place, and his memories of it were none to pleasant, he pushed them aside and took a few steps forward, to give the Autobots room to transform, but not looking back as he had seen it enough times. He'd always said he'd never get tired of see it, never grow bored of just how amazing it was… well, he had. A stinking gust of wind blew out and brushed against his face, it was rather powerful, but not powerful enough that he thought that deep inside that hive was something that it had created it intentionally.
"Are you sure they're down there?"
He heard the nervous voice of the only Autobot present who's name he didn't know. That wasn't unusual given there were so many on Earth now, he couldn't be expected to learn of their names, ranks and serial numbers. By the time they'd get out of this mess, his name would have never mattered to Spike, and to an extent it wouldn't matter to anyone else bar those who were inscribing it on his crypt chamber.
"Let's get this shit sorted".
Rodimus said with a firm voice, a distant memory of the Rodimus who tucked tail and ran from the repair bay, Spike thought. Obviously the Prime had gotten himself together enough to show up for this little "mission" of theirs.
"I don't like the idea of splitting up into singles, so Jazz you and Blaster, Kup you and Me and newbie, you stay out here and keep an eye on any mischief".
Obviously Rodimus didn't know the new guy's name either, but he didn't seem to mind.
"Pick your team, Spike".
"I'll go with these two, someone's gotta keep them out of trouble".
He said as he motioned to Blaster and Jazz.
"Okay, so you guys got the downloaded intel about this place? Great. Chances are its changed over the years its been empty, so just get in there, follow the scanners to our guys, get them, and get out, but be sure to radio the other team and let them know. I for one don't want to be stuck down there while you guys are partying, especially with the old man here".
Rodimus was of course joking, and Kup simply laughed. They collectively entered.
The entrance allowed them access to a long snaking tunnel, Decepticon insignias and colouring brandishing everything they passed; security mechanisms long since deactivated still gave them all the chills. It eventually came to a fork in the road. Rodimus simply shrugged and took the left one, leaving the right to Spike and his little team.
It was about twenty minutes when the three came across the room where Perceptor had been kept captive with the Aerial commander. The broken table protruding through the doors and all manner of poorly assembled sciencey stuff shattered about the place. There were broken shackles hanging from one of the walls and a giant hole in the middle of the floor.
"Wow, what kind of jamming did they get to up in this place?"
Jazz asked as he crouched down by the edge of the hole.
"Careful Jazz, you don't wanna fall, cos I for one am not climbing down there to get you".
Spike chuckled.
"Speaking of jamming, my radio is fritzing something awful".
Blaster tapped the side of his helmet.
"Don't worry yourself Spike mah main man, I don't wanna give my servos the kind of jarring that fall would give a mech".
He stood and turned to face Blaster.
"I'm guessing by the science stuff, the mess and the yellow flecks of Autobot paint that those guys fell through that hole".
Blaster pointed to accent his point.
"How you wanna roll?"
Jazz asked.
"Well, I don't like the idea of one of us running through here to find Rod and tell him we think we know where they're at, but then I can't radio them. So, I guess, since our orders are to find the peeps is to go down there".
"Sounds like a plan".
"Right, so how do we get down there?"
Spike asked.
"You leave that up to us, chill?"
Jazz chuckled as he aimed his arm up at the roof, his hand folded back into his arm and a grappling hook took its place. Spike had forgotten that little snippet of info about the saboteur. The hook was fired and grasped itself quite firmly into the metal wall. Blaster grabbed on, and Jazz picked up Spike with his other hand and the three were lowered down into the deep darkness, the human felt a lump rise within his throat, but swallowed it quickly, much to its protest.
And it was certainly very dark down there. Spike said nothing, but he was aware of his muscles tensing, his gut cramping, his breathing becoming deeper, his heart racing and a single bead of sweat finding its way from his hairline, across his forehead and down the bridge of his nose. The two Autobots were not naïve to the processes of the human body that expressed apprehension. Jazz flicked on his lights to a power suitable for their vision and not damaging to the human's.
"Thanks Jazz".
Spike said, the three of them knowing why he was expressing such gratitude.
"Guess we go this way".
The man pointed towards the tunnel that lay ahead of them, branching out from the chamber they were in.
"That's what my sensors say".
Blaster stated, referring to the Autobot signature or signatures that were down here.
The three began the trek through the muck towards what was hopefully functioning and sane Autobot companions.
"You know, I didn't think it was possible, but its actually colder here then on the moon!"
Spike gave an uncomfortable chuckle, it betrayed his fear, the other two picked up on it but ignored it, not so much for his honour or sake of his bravery, but more to the point they didn't want to be reminded of just how unsettling it was down here.
"Yeah, that was pretty damn nippy!"
Blaster replied, his internal sensors telling him that it was actually a lot colder on the moon.
"I'm more annoyed at how quiet it is down here".
Jazz grumbled.
"Remember that time when I rigged up the comm. system to blast out Lily Allen's Window Shopper Nan song?"
"How can I forget, Prowl was tearing out servos for a week! Not to mention how paranoid Red Alert got cos you got past his pass codes".
Blaster chuckled. The three shared a genuine laugh, forgetting for a moment just how awful it was in this place.
"That's nothing, when I was a kid I thought it'd be funny to get an air horn to wake up my dad on Fathers' day, but instead I got the bright idea to strap it to a mega horn and let rip. By god it was loud, I swear, the neighbour's windows shattered!"
He laughed.
The others joined him, not sure if it was true or an exaggeration but it didn't matter, it was a distraction.
They shared a few more equally altered stories to pass the time. And when the silence began to creep in between them someone would say something mundane or random, like Blaster's question about bellybutton lint and if Spike kept a stash, or Jazz's statement that he thought the new Prime was going to be getting a lot of aft, especially now since Arcee was more focused on Springer. Spike wasn't stupid, he'd learnt from just tales he'd heard and a few things he'd stumbled upon that suggested they reproduced in a more complex way then a construction line.
"So, Spike, you and Carly going to have any more of those things?"
Jazz asked.
"What things?"
"You know, what Daniel is".
"Oh, kids, yeah, I dunno, maybe. I want to, but honestly I wonder how I can find time for them, since I barely have time to spend with Danno any more. My job is taking me away from him".
"Well, do what Sparkplug did, bring him along with you".
"Carly wants Daniel to have a normal childhood".
"You guys turned out okay".
Blaster added.
"True, but that was because we were older – well, that's her justification".
"But all Danno's ever known is the Autobot thing, he probably doesn't even understand that there are other methods".
Jazz chimed in.
"Not to tell you how to raise your sparkling, but you might do more damage to him if you suddenly pull him away from it".
"I said the same thing to Carly, Blaster. But she's adamant he plays with humans his own age, and that the recent events might have marred him somewhat. He's been really quiet since Prime died. But then he was the same after dad went. But kids are resilient, he'll get over it".
"I guess she's only out to protect him, your females can get quite aggressive when protecting their offspring, right?"
Jazz asked.
"Most of them, yeah, and I have to say I didn't think Carly would end up like that. I wish she'd actually head back to work, put that MIT PhD thing of her's to good use. I mean, what message is that sending our son, work hard for something and then don't' use it, don't put anything to use, just sit at home and waste your talents".
"Pretty deep convo, right?"
Jazz chuckled.
"Better then the silence down here".
Blaster added.
And then there was the scream.
It was high pitched and lasted a good twenty seconds. It was sharp and grating and was a scream a person in pain might utter as their body was savaged.
"What was that?"
Spike screeched, a little too girly for his liking, but the two mechs with him didn't seem to notice, or care.
"I dunno, but its coming from up ahead".
"Blaster, what does the scanner say, is it an Autobot?"
"Not sure, Jazz, its gone dead".
"What'd'ya mean, dead?"
"The scanner won't pick up anything, its completely dead, no signal, nothing, not even a battery low red light".
"Well, guess there's only one way to find out what it is".
Spike said as he decided to prove he wasn't a complete pansy and he walked forward towards it.
"Come on guys, our friends are down here, we need to find them".
"Well, Percy and Springer yeah, but those damn twins".
Jazz grumbled.
"Well, Sides is okay in small doses".
The conversation then turned to their antics, recent and past and how much of an arse Sunstreaker was and how Sideswipe could be okay at times, but was generally a tool of his brother's vanity.
--
The scream hit them again.
This time it wasn't short, sharp and sweet… well, maybe not sweet. It was the sort of bay that would curdle milk the type that would make mother's cover their children's ears, the type of scream that reduced the bravest of men and mechs to their knees. And it came in a chorus, they continued, over and over again. There were moments within the screaming where there was a sob or a cackle of some description but they didn't stop.
The more Spike heard of them, the less he seemed to worry about them, they weren't so scary as he had thought. Something really chilled the blood to hear a single scream in the soggy bowels of a former Decepticon base, but to hear so many so often, it was more as if someone needed help and he was sure he could find a way to put aside his discomfort at the environment and give some assist. The two mechs seemed to think the same judging by the expressions on their face plates.
In the light Jazz provided they were able to see something up ahead. Something cowering against the side of a cave in. It was at times clawing at it, other times it was just whimpering, and then at times uttering those dreadful bellows.
"Oi! You!"
Jazz called out.
"Oi! You! That's how you get its attention?"
Blaster asked with a slight chuckle.
It didn't really matter, as it worked.
The produce of said screams stopped its motions of clawing and its noise and it turned slowly. Its movements ever so intentional. And it stared at them. The light from Jazz catching its optics. They were black. Empty. It was the scientist.
"Percy?"
Jazz said softly, he was certainly no fan of the scientist's almost snooty demeanour and the way he seemed to use big words if only to show up everyone else, to prove that while he wouldn't win in a fight against Megat… ah… Galvatron, he was still a Pit of a lot smarter.
His moves were similar to something a zombie might make, a shuffle on that foot, a shamble with the other. The arms were hanging limply at his sides, their delicate fingers covered in mud.
"Should… should we run?"
Blaster asked more out of surprise at the state of the genius as opposed to any fear.
No matter how freakishly smart Perce was, he was not scary… well, they hadn't really seen the recent version. Perce 1.1.
Spike was nervous, but more from the fact that it didn't' take an Autobot of any size any real effort to do some damage to a human frame if they wanted to. The 'cons had certainly proven that many a time.
Perceptor squished through the mud, it slopped up his legs, lapping at his torso and splattering about, a few blobs landing on the head lights the culture junkie was emitting.
"Yo, Perceptor, what's the haps man?"
He asked.
Perceptor didn't answer.
Something else did.
It answered with a string of malice laughter. It threw its arms up, bent at the elbows, fingers splayed, mouth open, optics wide, facing up, it laughed and laughed and laughed.
The two other mechs joined in nervously, exchanging glances between them as they did it, both inwardly wondering what to do. If their internal communication lines were operating they may have shared a non-verbal word, but they didn't have that luxury, all they had was static.
Once the dean of the most prestigious science university on Cybertron, Perceptor now stood before them, whatever was Perceptor was locked deep inside his form. He grinned, and it was spiteful and it chilled them.
"Perceptor, dude, you're scaring us buddy".
Spike said, trying his darndest to hide the concern.
"There is no Perceptor".
It took a few very large strides until it stopped optic level with Jazz, staring deep into his optics.
"THERE IS ONLY LEGION!"
And with that Perceptor punched his sod covered fists into their only light source.
The darkness was cruel to them. Spike took several quick steps backwards until he bumped into the wall; more for the want to get out of the way of any giant robot's foot then fear, though, fear probably played a part.
Jazz reached out and grabbed Perceptor, hoping to trap him until they could get some light back on. The body he found himself grabbing was cold, too cold to belong to a living mech. Perceptor's dirty hands, with flecks of glass embedded in that muck gripped around Jazz's wrists.
"There is only legion".
It whispered into his face, the foul stench from his breath made its way into his mouth and Jazz coughed violently, letting go of the scientist who brought his hand down hard on the back of the mech's head. The sound of the whack was one Blaster recognised, Primus knew he'd made that same noise plenty of times with Decepticon assistance. He lunged out with his poor quality infrared and slammed Perceptor to the sloppy ground. He rained down a volley of punches knowing he had to stop but if he did he might give this Perceptor, this thing, this… whatever a chance to get back on top.
Jazz recovered from his blow quickly and was up to add a few more punches to the scientist's cranial plating, and eventually after another minute Perceptor, legion and all, were in stasis lock.
"What's happening?"
Spike called out into the pitch.
"Don't worry yourself sick, Spike, seriously, its dirty enough and smelly enough down here without you adding your contribution to it!"
Jazz laughed.
"Yeah, we knocked him out cold".
"Oh, that's great Blaster… I think. So, ah, now what?"
"Well, we can't go forward because of that cave in, but maybe we can head back find a way out of the hole".
Jazz replied as he holstered the unconscious geek up onto his shoulder and the three began their trek back.
It was about ten minutes later that Spike fell sideways and instead of hitting the wall he landed in a gap.
"Hey guys, I think I found a diversion".
"How'd we miss that?"
Jazz asked as his infrared sensors picked up what his lights had not.
"Let's go see what we can see".
Blaster chuckled as he scoped up the muddy human and ventured into the new passage.
--
Author's NB: I've noticed over the years that Jazz in fan fiction, and especially in the 2007 movie that he's started to talk really "ghetto" like, and I'm not a fan of that. I like that he throws around amusing "jibe" terms but not every second syllable, I'm a fan of G1 so that's who I base my characterisations off – though I keep picturing Magnus and Perceptor in their TFA personas. Cos seriously, Perceptor going nutso with that neat Stephen Hawking voice, you gotta smile at that. GO on, download one of those voice things and give it a whirl.
Anyway… and you could understand Jazz in G1. As for Blaster, I hate rhyming and it reminds me of Wheelie, who I think all know my opinion on. Anyway, he seemed to start the same irritating habit in season three and onwards in the fan fiction and that just creeps me out. So no, he doesn't rhyme in my ramblings. They can still be Jazz and Blaster, just not so douchey.