Chapter nine Ghosts are real

Prowl was lowered into the ground.

Then Iron Blade stepped forward and said a few words, "We lost a great mech in Prowl. I didn't know him very well for very long, but I could tell from the first time I saw him that he had saved many lives as the Autobot's greatest tactician."

"He was more than that," said Sideswipe as he cleared his vents, "To me, he was… in a way… like a Sire."

"You mean a mentor," added Sunstreaker.

"Yeah," Sideswipe nodded, looking at his brother, "Yeah, a mentor."

"He was a husband," said Silver through tears.

"A leader," said Blaster.

"He was a friend," said Ratchet.

"He was my brother," said Jazz as he looked down at Prowl's lifeless frame.

Iron Blade looked down and nodded, "He will be missed, but we must not be dragged down. We must pick each other up, and carry on. Not to say that we should forget, but rather to mourn for a time, and remember for eternity. This is not the end. Prowl lives on within us, and may he be at peace."

Then the Cyberbots stepped forward and buried their lost comrade.

/

Gift fic written by space-blue-spirit

Ratchet frowned and spoke again, "Jazz, are you listening?"

Jazz shook his helm and grinned up at the medic, "Sorry, Ratch. Must have been distracted."

Distracted. Ratchet scoffed lightly and rolled his optics. The former third-in-command had good reason to be, since being put in charge, he'd made Prowl look like he put in a normal work decacycle.

Distracted was maybe the only reason Ratchet didn't have to fulfil his usual threat of hunting Jazz down for his checkup for once. He thought his optics were betraying him at first when the saboteur showed up for his appointment. On time.

"I need you to take off your visor for your optic exam," Ratchet repeated himself, now having regained Jazz's attention.

"Oh, okay," came the reply. Jazz removed his visor and set it on the nearby table.

Ratchet took one look at his bare faceplate and sighed deeply.

"What?" Jazz asked indignantly.

"Do you ever recharge Jazz?!"

"Yeah. Ah mean, when Ah can. Ah guess Ah do stay up late a lot working... Why?"

Ratchet levelled him with an unimpressed stare. "Sideswipe would ask if you and Prowl switched bodies somehow with how you've been acting. And have you looked in a mirror lately? You have giant dark circles under your optics."

"Oh, ya noticed," Jazz quipped with a slight grin. "Thanks, they're designer."

The medic resisted the urge to pinch the ridge of his olfactory sensor. Barely.

"Really. And how do you explain away the twitch you seem to have developed in your one optic?"

Jazz looked surprised at that one. "My optic twitches? Which one?"

"I have half a mind to sedate you and force you to recharge," Ratchet grumbled, picking up his data-pad to start the exam. "Read off the fourth row of letters on the poster over there."

End of gift fic.

/

"What is your solution for this Autobot problem?" asked one of the head thugs of the Cyber-Hounds Syndicate.

"My solution is to do nothing," replied Viper.

"With all due respect, Don Viper, why do nothing?" asked the head thug.

"Because their orns are already numbered, the Autobot race is dying. Shockwave fed them a virus that will soon end them. Those who survive will be in a state of immense grief and won't see what's coming for them next."

"Vortex?"

"Precisely, my mech. Vortex is making the Cyber-Hound Syndicate a great weapon to end the Autobots, and keep us in power for a very long time," said Viper with a slight evil smile. "This partnership with the Cybercons will make us very rich mecha."

As the two mecha walked to Viper's throne room, the thug asked, "Are you sure you can count on this one to come through? It didn't work out so well last time."

"Yeah, but this time I feel good about it," replied the leader of the CyberHounds. "Don't worry my mech, this is a good thing, and that you can count as a Viper promise. And hey, if it doesn't work out," Viper shrugged, "We can always kill 'em."

"Alright, boss," said the head thug, "Whatever you say."

/

Mirage and Skyshadow entered Jazz's office.

"You asked for a mission? Well, here it is. I want you two to track down Vortex and Brunt," said Jazz, "You're the best I've got. Find 'em, I want to know exactly what that shot from their ground bridge was that hit Prowl."

"What will you do?" asked Skyshadow.

"I'm going to pay Bug a visit. I've been keeping an optic on him since he executed Shockwave. I'm going to see if he can help us," replied the saboteur. "Oh, and when ya done with those two, kill 'em."

The two just nodded, and departed. They knew Jazz was grieving, so they were just glad that he didn't go do this himself.

/

Jazz stepped out of the ground bridge, it was reaching off-cycle. All around him was the ruins and rubble of Tarn. He searched through Bug's known territories and roaming grounds. He searched for a few breems before he reached Shockwave's old lab. That's when he heard a voice. Treading carefully over to where the voice was originating from he noticed its familiarity, as it was the creature he was hunting for.

Bug was sitting on a rock, his back to Jazz and the lab. He was talking to someone.

Jazz could make out pieces of what the larger altered Insecticon was saying. It was all rather random, until he asked a question, the saboteur froze because the last two words of his question were…

"Right, Steelblue?"

Bug paused for a few astrokliks before smiling and continuing to talk.

Jazz slowly approached Bug from behind.

Bug suddenly stopped speaking.

Jazz froze again.

"Hi, Jazz," said Bug, "We were just telling Steelblue what we had for lunch."

Jazz walked over and stood beside Bug, "Oh yeah?"

Sadness hit him again, because for one, Steeldust was gone. And two, the poor creature before him must be so lost in mourning, he was talking to a memory.

"Yeah, it was good," said Bug as he leaned back a little.

Bug then leaned forward and smiled, "Steelblue wants to tell you something, Jazz."

"What is it?" asked the saboteur.

"He wants to tell you that he misses you," replied the large creature. "And that he's sorry. Bug doesn't know why he's sorry though."

Jazz paused before saying, "Tell him, I miss him too. And that he doesn't need to be sorry."

Bug smiled as he sat still for a few astrokliks, "Steelblue wants you to know that Prowl is doing ok, and that he's with his brothers at peace."

Jazz's optics widened, and he stepped away from the Insecticon, "Wait Bug, how do you know that Prowl is dead? Who told you?"

Bug was slightly confused. He looked down beside himself at nothing. "Steelblue, just now he told it to us."

"Wait, like actually?" asked Jazz in surprise.

"Yeah, he's right here talking to us," said Bug.

Hidden to all but Bug, Steeldust waved on reflex before pausing and dropping his hand.

"Ghosts are real?" thought Jazz to himself. He was rather superstitious and believed ghosts could be real, but had never seen one. "Steeldust, are ya there, buddy?"

"He says, yes," the Insecticon told the saboteur.

Jazz thought for a moment, then smiled, "Hah, figures. So Bug, why can't I see Steeldust?"

"Because he can't be seen," Bug replied, "We can only feel him. We've created a way of talking by touch and sense."

"I see, but he can hear us though, right?" Jazz asked.

Bug smiled, "Yes, he can hear us. And see."

The Insecticon reached to the side and patted the air at about Steeldust height.

Jazz relaxed a bit. He wanted to tell Steeldust about everything that has happened lately, but knew he likely already knew. "Hey, Zipper, I love ya buddy." He took his visor off to let a few tears trickle down his faceplate.

The two mecha and the ghost sat there looking up at the stars, talking as the breems went by.

Jazz figured it was somehow something that Shockwave had done to Bug that allowed him to sense ghosts, more specifically Steeldust, and likely only Steeldust, for it could be because of their strong bond as well. He pondered these things for a while as he returned to Autobot headquarters.

It was interesting how roles had reversed between the two. In the beginning when they all first met Bug, it had been Steeldust to first step up and try to befriend him. And for a while, it was only Steeldust who Bug would listen, talk to, or interact positively with. Now, Bug was the only one Steeldust could talk to or interact with at all.

Jazz never ended up asking for Bug's help to track down Prowl's killers, for he had already given him so much.

Steeldust stood next to Bug and watched him go, tears silently streaming down his faceplate.

"You know, Bug," he said, voice thick with emotion. "I never thought I'd get the chance to talk to any of you ever again. Never get to say all the things I wanted to. But… Now that I can, thanks to you, I still don't. I'm a coward."

He paused, wiping his faceplate, doorwings sagging further.

"Forgive me, Jazz. I've failed you so much."

(Credit music is: I'm Sending You Away by M83, Anthony Gonzalez, & Joseph Trapanese.)

Thanks for reading!