It was going to take a while to properly pack up the MacCadam's base. But it was worth it to ensure no energon, technology or secrets were left behind for the Decepticons to use.
Between Prowl's logical arguments and Jazz's self proclaimed persuasive pizzaz, Prowl thought that they had pursued a successful case. It certainly had more merit than Ironhide and Chromia's suggestion of the Crystal City Gardens which didn't hold much value outside of being the place the pair had had their first date.
Thankfully Optimus shared his thoughts and decided that Kallis would be the location for the new Autobot base. By the time the meeting was over, Jazz had already started making plans for a Welcome Party.
"You prepared for me to crush you later?" Jazz taunted, referring to their scheduled chess match that evening as he fell into step beside him.
"By crush I hope you don't intend to crush any of the pieces between your denta again?" Prowl replied as they headed towards their offices.
Jazz smirked but otherwise did not offer any promises.
SCREEEEE SCREEEEE SCREEEEE
The fire alarm screamed from a nearby corridor.
Prowl sprung into vehicle mode, bolting down the corridor with his sirens blaring. He heard the signature sounds of Jazz's transformation not a second later.
He knew that there was no drill scheduled for today, so the chances of the alarm being false were slim. Of course there was always the possibility of the twins setting off smoke bombs again even after being threatened with a whole week in the brig.
Unfortunately it didn't take long for the acidic taste of flames burnt the air and Prowl knew then that it was real.
The alarm lead them to the medical bay and since nobody else was around they must've been the first on scene.
Prowl opened the med-bay doors to a blast of heat that nearly pushed him back. Tendrils of neon pink flames snapped at the edge of the door. Prowl's mask slid across his face as he stepped inside in an attempt to protect his vents from getting clogged full of smoke. He had barely taken a step inside when he almost tripped over a weight at his feet. Prowl glanced down to see the unconsciousness bodies of Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.
He had no idea what the twins were doing there when they had a one-hundred metre ban of the place but he didn't have time to ponder on that now. They were unconscious but their injuries don't look too severe so Prowl rushed past them further into the flames.
The first thing he saw was the outline of Ratchet behind the white hot remains of his work table.
The second was Bluestreak, her body covering Bumblebee's as a mechmade shield on the opposite side of the room.
Prowl's battle computer automatically made the logical conclusion that as their Chief Medical Officer, Ratchet is more vital to the Autobots rate of success, and he stepped his pede in the direction of the fallen red and white form. The next moment, his mind burned as his logic circuits of overran by his sparks desire to save Bluestreak above all else.
Prowl stumbled in his rush to Ratchet's side as his mind raged war with itself on what to do. So Prowl did what he usually does in the midst of battle and let his battle computer take over, marching his legs towards Ratchet.
It could only have been a nano-second later but in Prowl's brain, it felt like eons when his comm burst to life.
"I'll get the kids!" Jazz shouted into his ear.
Prowl could not afford to waste time checking that Jazz was true to his word.
Once again putting his faith in the spy, Prowl pushed through the flames to kneel besides their CMO.
Ratchet's head was on fire.
Prowl's audials automatically filtered out the medic's screams, the edge of his fingers curling as he attempted to pat the fire out.
Whilst on the one hand Prowl knew that trying to move someone who had suffered such a massive head injury would most likely cause further trauma, on the other it didn't take a genius to figure out that removing Ratchet from the fire instead of trying to treat him admits the flames increased their chances of survival.
Even though the doctor's body was still alight, Prowl picked him up and threw him over the back of his shoulders.
By that point, the fire had increased ten fold. Prowl could see nothing but neon lights. He had no choice but to rely on his computer to guide him back the way he came. That meant that along with Ratchet's added weight, it was taking him longer to escape then it had to enter.
Prowl's enforcer armour offered an added level of protection, but even he could feel his flesh bubbling and buckling under the oppressive heat.
By the time his elbow brushed the sides of the door, the top layer of his metal was dripping into his eyes.
Strong hands grabbed his arms, and Prowl allowed himself to be pulled from the blaze.
'I've got him!" Prowl registered the voice of Ironhide as Ratchet's weight was lifted off his shoulders.
As soon as the weight was gone, Prowl didn't hesitate to head straight back into the fire.
"What in the pits do ya think ya doin'?" Ironhide yelled over the roar of the flames. Having laid Ratchet besides the twins who were being watched over by Chromia, the weapons specialist was free to grab Prowl around his midsection. "It's not safe!"
Before Prowl could protest, Jazz burst through the wall of flame like an action hero, Bluestreak under one shoulder and Bumblebee thrown over the other.
The spy collapsed, vents heaving and visor cracked, landing so that the mechlings were sprawled across his chest.
Prowl's knee struts finally buckled as he crashed to knees besides the pile of bodies.
For once Jazz was without a charismatic quip, his vents too clogged to talk. His armour, sleeker than Prowl's having been designed for stealth rather than protection, hissed as the molten metal was slammed into the cooler floors of the Ark. The visor across his eyes completely shattered under the change of air pressure.
Bumblebee whilst unconscious appeared relatively unharmed, only his extremities burnt black instead of yellow.
The worst by far was Bluestreak. Her entire back plate had fused to her protoform. Energon boiled between the cracks where the armour had completely melted away. With no obvious head injury, Prowl deduced that she must have passed out from the pain.
In his peripheral vision, Prowl was aware of the arrival of Red Alert and Inferno as the two former firefighters fought to extinguish the blaze. But all Prowl could do was stare at the broken body of the girl he'd raised and how if it had not been for Jazz, she would have died.
A/N: Hi! If you are subscribed to my profile then you can probably tell that I suddenly got consumed by X-men for a while lol. But regardless I should still be able to update this fic on schedule! Xxxxxxx
