A/N: We will be getting into the beginning of the events of the third movie now although they will be quite different as you will soon find out! There's also the return of my favourite villain, and some Jazz/Phoenix bonding. as well as some Galloway bashing. Prowl will only be making brief appearances for a few chapters so the rest of the story can happen, but don't worry because after these next few he will have some pretty long bits. Thank you for reading, and please review and if you have the time please check out the poll on my profile regarding future one-shots as well!

- AnAshBlackSword

?'s POV

The mech had no expression as he punished the soldiers responsible for letting his experiments escape from right under his nasal-plating. When he was done, he ordered the others to clean up the mess of their bodies before setting up a transmission to Soundwave who was onboard the Nemesis.

:: Shockwave: Has query? :: Soundwave responded.

:: I desire a mobilisation of the special weapon. Experiment 10267 and 10385 have been rescued by the Autobots, and a recovery is needed. :: Shockwave explained toneleslly. Perhaps, if Shockwave had feelings he would have gotten on well with Soundwave. As it was, neither particularly cared but appreciated the lack of feelings in an odd sort of way. Emotions were a nuisance neither could understand. They got in the way of work.

:: Soundwave: Will inform Megatron:: Soundwave said and Shockwave waited briefly as Megatron joined the transmission.

:: Shockwave. I see you have failed in your objective to investigate sparkbonds and the … human factor. : Megatron purred down the line in a voice Shockwave's computer warned him was dangerous.

:: Negative, My Lord. My knowledge of sparkbonds has increased significantly and as my back up did not work when they attempted to re-bond then I believe when I recover the Autobot I can establish establish a permanent block. This would prove useful as completely severed bonds would render many Autobots useless in their war effort. :: Shockwave said in the same tone, not bothering to explain the details or how he knew his precaution had failed.

He had designed the block so that if they tried to re-bond, it should destroy one of both of them. However, scans did indicate there was a 15% chance of them remaining online, which rose to 65% if you included the Autobot medic in the equation. This was a factor Shockwave needed to work around as the medic had proved too hard to remove in the past.

However, as Scalpel who was lurking around the Autobot base had informed him, his precaution had not worked and apparently there were some interesting developments of the human now being included in the bond.

:: Good Shockwave. What of the human factor? ::

:: Scalpel needs more time. I need it recovered to see the affect energon has had on its body :: And also to look at this impossible new bond, but Megatron did not need to know that or he might demand to see for himself and that would hinder progress by 20% or more.

:: Very well, I will mobilise our special weapon against the Autobots. It is also time for the plan to take place so go to the rendez-vous point. The object needed for the plan will be in position and once the Autobots are all but destroyed you may have your experiments back. Do not lose them again Shockwave. ::

:: Of course my Lord. :: He replied before the line went dead. Megatron was correct – losing them a second time would be an inefficient waste of time and resources. Shockwave turned back to preparing his lab.

The 'human factor' was his second experiment to see the effect energon had on humans when injected into their bloodstream. The results highly interested him.

:: Shockwave to Laserbeak, I am en-route to the destination. ::

:: Understood. I will take care of our.. little friend for you. ::

:: Appreciated. :: He said, before heading underground and activating driller-bot, one of his many secret weapons. When the Autobots showed up, hid calculations showed that it would convince them the decepticons had not known about the location of the object in question beforehand.

Driller-bot activated, Shockwave progammed his navi-computer for Chernobyl.

Jazz's POV

The next day, and Jazz headed off to the med-bay to retrieve his charge from the resident medic. It would be the first time he had seen Phoenix since after talking to Prowl he had visited his office and seen the literal mountains of datapads that had been there for a while. Some were from the past few days, but most were from where he had neglected his work to spend time with Phoenix. By the time he had completed the important ones, Ratchet had told him Phoenix was asleep again and he would have to come the next day.

When he arrived, he was greeted by a very over-excited human.

"Jazz!" She crowed joyously as he grinned at her.

"Hey there lil' lady." He replied in the same tone, catching her as she jumped into his hand.

"Good. Now you are here you can get here out of my plating for a few hours." Ratchet grumbled and Jazz grinned. His charge had apparently been doing a good job of annoying the medic in less than a day. "I want her back in a few hours though to run some more tests or if she feels ill. Understood?"

"Got it, Hatch'." He said and the medic glared at him in exasperation whilst launching a wrench at Jazz which he managed to dodge before grabbing Phoenix and bolting out of the med bay.

"MY DESIGNATION IS NOT HATCHET, JAZZ!" Was the resounding roar that followed them out as Jazz bolted with his charge.

"Thank Primus." Phoenix sighed as they got away.

"Hatchet bein' hard on yah?" He asked sympathetically.

"Yeah. I heard he welded you to the wall."

"Yup." Jazz said, in a very cheerful way. "Annoyed Prime an' Jackie no end, but since it's Hatchet, they ain't gonna argue wit' him." Jazz explained and it was obvious he found the whole thing hilarious. Then he turned more serious.

"So… I spoke tah Prowler 'bout the whole bond thing an' he needs some time tah adjust." Jazz told her and she nodded.

"I know. I suspected as much when we spoke briefly in the med-bay yesterday." Phoenix sighed out, groaning as she remembered the events. "And now he hates me."

"Nah, ol' Prowler just don't know how tah express 'imself an' suchlike. He doesn't wanna be too close tah many 'bots an' it was forced on him suddenly." Jazz explained, although he didn't know for sure if Prowl hated her. He didn't think so, but you could never tell with Prowl.

"Everyone keeps saying that though." She replied before shifting in his hand awkwardly. "Are you alright with it?" She asked shyly and Jazz snorted.

"Wha' kind of a question is tha'?! This is great! We are supposed tah be bonded after all 'cause yah are mah charge an' yah ain't as annoyin' as ah though'." He jibed at her and she raised her eyebrow as she crossed her arms.

"Well you are." She retorted with a grin and Jazz felt a flicker of amusement in the back of his processor. It didn't bother him at all, in fact it felt perfectly natural to have her there just like it did with Prowl. They continued down the corridor and there was a comfortable pause in which neither spoke for a moment. Then, Jazz took a right away from the rec. room.

"Where are we going?" Phoenix asked curiously.

"Ah arranged ah trainin' match wit' the twins. Thought yah migh' like tah watch."

Phoenix's POV

"Would I ever!" Phoenix exclaimed gleefully. She didn't know who would win actually, but she would root for her guardian nonetheless. He was a good fighter as he was head of special ops, but the twins were excellent front liners and there were two of them and one of Jazz. She was pleased that Jazz was alright with the bond, as it would suck if he wasn't! It was bad enough she had apparently now annoyed Prowl.

Then, there was an odd sensation at the back of her mind, like a mental poke. She allowed the sensation and a humming excitement filled her mind that was obviously Jazz. Grasping on to it curiosly, she noted that the presence was musical with odd notes drifting around here and there as well as being rather chaotic. Searching the back of her mind, she found a quieter, much smaller presence that she couldn't feel as well and she assumed it was Prowl blocking her. Nonetheless, she gave it a mental tug than Jazz felt.

"Yah got it!" The mech exclaimed happily and tugged back, making her laugh a little as a mental 'Tug of war' took place. Jazz won, but Phoenix knew that if the bond grew stronger then hopefully she would be as good as he was.

They arrived in a large hangar that was evidently the 'mud run' Epps and Lennox had told her about earlier that week. Looking over, she noted that there was also a 'bot sized one being built out of various obstacles and she shook her head in wonder at the sheer amount of mud there. Sunstreaker must love that, Phoenix thought sarcastically. They went through into the next hangar which was completely empty, save for the twins and Ironhide warming up.

"Jazz, Phoenix." Ironhide grunted as he greeted them before clouting Sideswipe over the head as the mech no doubt shared a private joke with Sunstreaker over their bond. "Pay attention slaghead."

"Didn't say nothing." Sideswipe insisted.

"I'm not stupid." Ironhide rumbled in reply and Sideswipe pouted in a rather human-like way before getting clouted by Ironhide again. Phoenix reflected that Sides did spend a lot of the time being hit by various objects for his stupidity, but it never seemed to do anything for his cocky attitude.

"Ready to get your aft kicked in front of your charge Jazz?" Sides grinned as Sunny activated his blades almost lazily and looked them over before giving a few casual swings. Ironhide took Phoenix from Jazz and moved to one side of the hangar as various human soldiers gathered to watch the sparring match.

"When ah'm done with yah both, yah won't have any afts tah worry about." Jazz grinned back good naturedly and took up his position opposite the silver twin. Sunstreaker took his place to the left and slightly in front of Sideswipe.

"Please try not to deactivate each other for the love or Primus. I can't deal with an angry Hatchet today. Now are you ready?" He asked and both nodded. "Then go!" Ironhide said, and Phoenix waited with wide eyes and baited breath as they circled each other. Then suddenly, without warning, Sunstreaker brought his blade down in an overarcing blow, hoping to hit Jazz but the smaller mech dodged out of the way easily towards Sides and engaged them both at the same time.

She gaped in awe as the blades collided, Jazz using both his blades and a series of complicated manoeuvres to dodge all four of the twin's swords. They moved at seemingly inhuman speeds, fast and fluid. Considering they were made of metal, this was quite an impressive feat to Phoenix. Ironhide chuckled down at her gaping face before beginning to explain it in low undertones.

"You see Sunstreaker is always trying to circle back around to Sideswipe?" He rumbled, and Phoenix nodded. "It's an instinct he has to protect his twin, and although they have an advantage where they can work together through their bond and by attacking Sides more viciously Jazz is using Sunstreaker's instinct to his advantage. When Sunstreaker moves to protect Sides, he leaves his other side vulnerable to attack and Jazz knows this. He's baiting them." The large mech explained, gesturing to the blades as Sunstreaker brought it across to protect Sideswipe, only to scowl as Jazz landed a hit on his exposed side.

"Wow. They know each other's strengths and weaknesses well. What are Jazz's weaknesses?" She asked him and Ironhide considered the mech before replying.

"See how he fights?" Ironhide said, and Phoenix studied her guardian.

"Wildly." She commented.

"Exactly. He's cocky, and sometimes that can be a good thing until he gets overconfident. Today he's showing off and he'll lose his blades to Sideswipe in a minute if he's not careful. Although, that may just be a tactic he's using."

"How? If he's disarmed, they'll win." Phoenix pointed out logically.

"Usually they would, yes, but you forget that Jazz is special ops and they are the masters of trickery." Ironhide said in a way that suggested he had had previous run-ins with 'special ops trickery' before. Sure enough, Jazz lost his sword to Sideswipe first and the other to Sunstreaker. The twins grinned, sure they had won but to her amazement Jazz back-flipped several times in a way she had not thought possible for a metal being, before slipping under the twin's blades and retrieving his weapons.

He finished the manoeuvre with a flip over the twins' heads, and as they turned Jazz was behind them with his blades aimed at their backs. The mechs stiffened and Jazz grinned.

"Ah win." He said, before lowering the blade to shake servos with both mechs.

"Well played. You used your overconfidence against us. We thought you were cocky and we disarmed you…."

"Fallin' righ' into mah trap." Jazz finished for Sideswipe. Sunstreaker merely grunted, although he did shake Jazz's servo. Phoenix suspected the golden twin was a very sore loser.

"Special ops. Always one step ahead." Ironhide half-grumbled before thinking his statement over. "Although, it is useful against the 'cons." He rumbled as he handed her back to Jazz who grinned down at her.

"Like tha'?"

"Yeah! It was so awesome how you tricked the tricksters!" She laughed back and Sideswipe held a hand over his chassis, putting on a pretence of being wounded.

"That hurts right here, sweetspark."

"You'll live." Phoenix said back, turning back to Jazz to ask who had trained him to fight like that. As she did so however, a very irritated liaison appeared at the hangar door along with a bunch of high ranking officials. Not five seconds later, Lennox and Epps appeared in hot pursuit, spluttering protests. There was a collective sigh from the cybertronians and humans alike as they dispersed in the wake of the man.

"You!" The man barked, striding over to Jazz.

"Wha' can ah do for yah liaison Galloway?" Oh, so this was the infamous Galloway? He was shorter than she had been expecting.

"You deliberately disobeyed orders and brought a child on base. Not only did you do that, you are now gallivanting around with her in a totally irresponsible manner and…" Annoyed with his rambling, Phoenix decided now was an Optimum time to speak up and make her opinions known.

"Oi you!" She called down to him and he stopped mid-rant to look at her in surprise. "Yeah you. You are aware I can hear every word you are saying right? And for your information, we weren't gallivanting around, Ironhide here was teaching me about methods the Autobots use against decepticons by way of visual demonstration." She said, making it up on the spot. She gestured to Jazz to put her down and found that, to her annoyance, she was actually a little shorter than Galloway.

Cursing her height of 5'3, she drew herself up to her full height in an attempt to look taller and stepped forward to look him in the eye as he protested.

"Teaching a child about war? Shame on you!" He yelled at the 'bots.

"Mr Galloway, have you ever seen a decepticon?" She asked sharply and the liaison stuttered in surprise. "I'll take that as no. Well, I have and they sure as hell aren't nothing to laugh about. In fact, I'd rather like to know how to fight one if they ever try to kidnap me again which is more than I can say for you Sir as I am useful and you quite frankly, are replaceable. Therefore, I am learning invaluable knowledge that you, as the liaison, should actually know but probably don't…"

Here, she paused to watch that sink in and was rewarded with a suitably dumb expression.

"So, I would suggest either you shut up, join the lesson and watch or go elsewhere and bother someone else thank you very much, as this child is under the guardianship of Colonel Major Willian Lennox and the Autobots, and has permission to remain on this base. The door is over there, thank you." She said smartly and Galloway just stared at her for a few moments in disbelief, before looking incredibly angry and storming out of the door with the shocked officials in tow. He turned at the door to mutter a threat.

"Rest assured, the high-ups will hear about this and you will not be here for much longer." He threatened angrily and she gave him a mocking bow.

"Of course, Sir. See how far that gets you against Optimus Prime." She returned as Galloway stalked out with his head held high. There was a pause in which the twins exchanged several glances just before a loud chuckle came from the Autobot entrance behind them. They turned to see Optimus Prime and Ratchet watching with highly amused expressions on their faceplates, Ratchet struggling not to look amused.

Then Sideswipe sunk to the floor in loud peals of laughter, followed by Jazz, Lennox and Epps who had remained behind and even Ironhide joined them there. Only Sunstreaker had the grace not to fall over laughing although he was chuckling and shaking every few moments as he was trying to hold back laughter.

"Primus! Tha' was the best thing ah 'have e'va seen! Did yah see the look on his face!?" Jazz roared out, and feeling his mirth seep through Phoenix burst out laughing as well.

"He had it coming to him, I just didn't think it would be from a teenager of all people." Epps added as Lennox clapped him on the shoulder, also laughing.

"He'll be impossible now, but it was worth every word to see his face! He looked like he was going to explode!" Lennox added, putting in his two pence worth. Phoenix grinned at the 'bots gathered around her.

"Well, you should have warned me he was going to be that big of an afthead."

"And missed the look on his face!? No way, I've got that on record and I'm never erasing it." Sideswipe got out as Sunny chuckled alongside him. When they had all recovered, she turned to Ratchet and Prime. Prime had his battle mask on, and Ratchet had pressed his lips together in an obvious effort of trying not to laugh.

"If you are done, then I wonder if you would be interested in taking a walk with me?" The Prime offered and Phoenix reflected that she hadn't actually spent much time with the big guy yet as she spent most of it with Jazz, Ratchet and the other 'bots in the rec. room. She did want to spend more time with Jazz but she was sure she could do that later.

"Sure! I'll see you later Jazzman." She said and climbed into the Prime's hand as he knelt down to offer it to her. She reflected that he wasn't as scary as she used to think he was, and was more of a gentle giant than anything else.

"Sure thing Phoenix. See yah!" Jazz waved after them as they left to take a walk to do whatever Prime had planned for them.