TRANSFORMERS: "CAN'T SAY NO"
Disclaimer: The characters belong to their respective owners; no money gained, only fun.
Prowl had never felt so bad
because he had never felt so good.
His logical processor wasnt built for this- this confusing tangle of emotions.
This must be how mechs go insane.
What had happened in the canyon had been wonderful; hed never felt anything like that. Even thinking about it made his spark jerk and heat up in his chest But when he woke up, on top of Jazz when the saboteur gave him that tired, satiated smile He got scared. Really scared.
How could it happen? How could his own body betray him like that?
How could something so wonderful be a result of a dysfunction?
Hed never considered himself a coward but he had run away, before Jazz could touch his fingers to his cheek, before reason could leave him again
Bumblebee had obviously enlightened Jazz about Prowls problem. Jazz tried to talk to him; probably to apologize, but Prowl didnt want to listen No, he wanted to listen and to talk, but he was afraid to come near the saboteur ever again. He didnt know whether what he felt towards Jazz was real, or only a surrogate reaction of his glitch-fried processor. So he refused to talk. And after several attempts to get to him Jazz realized he wasnt going to have an audience, and respected his decision. Their relationship returned to perfectly professional, like it should have been in the first place. No offerings of help and energon, no friendly chatter. Only a small silent nod of acknowledgement, instead of a verbal greeting every morning. Prowl could feel Jazzs optics on himself occasionally, but couldnt meet that gaze. He couldnt allow himself to be weak.
Bumblebee had approached Prowl once, the minibots face unusually worried and solemn. Prowl, I know its not my business, but- his open gaze shifted for a second, and then settled on Prowls face. Jazz is trying to act like nothing is wrong, but- hes really suffering
What do you suggest? There is nothing I can do about it. You know I cant meet him in person, for obvious reasons, Prowl snorted coldly without even the trace of humor. Yes, if they met in person, theyd end up in berth, fragging each others wits out, whether they wanted it or not. And he wasnt sure what he wanted anymore.
I- I could pass him a message, if youd like, the yellow bot suggested.
Prowl watched his friend for a moment, considering the offer, and then spoke softly.
Tell him Tell him I dont blame him, but it was a mistake. It cant happen again Thank you, Bumblebee.
And that was it.
Prowl now had one more activity to add to his daily duties pushing any kinds of thoughts about Jazz out of his processor that seemed suddenly focused solely on the saboteur. And he was succeeding, bit by bit, suppressing the memories of that canyon as best as he could. His spark wasnt fluttering as frantically as it used to anymore, whenever he met Jazz in the briefing room or in the mess hall. He was slowly returning to what could be considered normal in his situation...
And then the second bomb dropped. This time, literally
It was an ambush, and the Autobot supply convoy that was moving across the desert towards the base under Jazzs supervision found itself under the Decepticon cross-fire.
Prowl was in his office, working on the data from the last recon mission, when the encoded frequencies that all Autobot officers used were cut through by Jazzs shouts for immediate assistance, followed by the shriek that made the fluids in Prowls circulation lines freeze.
The tactician paid no mind to the data pad that fell from his hands and crashed to the floor. He was already at the door, yelling orders into his comm. link and getting the reinforcements group ready as the alarm sirens bellowing whine echoed from the walls of the Ark.
Jazz had never felt so fragged
That was probably because he had never been so fragged, yeah.
Theyd thought this route was secure enough, that the enemy didnt know about it It was supposed to be a routine operation, and while the convoy had been moving slowly to the base hed kept silently lamenting over such a boring time-killing
Then the Decepticon seeker fleet fell from the clear sky like cyber-hawks, firing at them with crazy abandon. And all hell broke loose
It was smart, he had to admit. It was practically a slaughter of the sparklings, seeing as there were no fliers in his team to match their speed and reflect their attacks. All that the Autobots had left to do was trust their marksmanship and pray.
Mirage had reacted immediately, activating his cloaking device and hiding in plain view. A couple of clicks later Jazz had located him by the well-timed and well-aimed bursts of his blaster that bit a piece off Skywarps wing, making the seeker retreat to the sidelines.
Jazz wasnt so lucky. While calling in for reinforcements, he managed to avoid the first round of bullets from Thundercrackers guns, but Starscream following with his own load of crap right after got him. It was like a slagging rain of pain all over his body, dozens of pieces of metal piercing his chest, arms and legs, and lodging themselves deep within, tearing his insides and short-circuiting a number of conductors and wires.
He fell heavily on his back, his optics flickering in and out, his blaster falling from his trembling fingers.
Ignoring a storm of warnings flooding his central processor, he tried to make sense of what was going on.
The fight raged on around him. He could hear the shouts of his comrades, and by the sound of it they were scattering around the area to make harder targets for the jets. Good boys, they knew what to do, even if he was down.
Jazz lifted his head and looked at himself. He was covered in his own fluids, and it didnt look good. With his circulation lines shredded like this, he couldnt transform, because in that case his juice was likely to pour out of him in one go like from a fragging bucket. And then hed be beyond fragged
He let his head fall back to the ground. Slag, he needed a medic.
His head was swimming. All he could do was listen to the sounds of the battle and look into the serene sky. He hated feeling himself a useless pile of metal His entire body was burning. He hoped Prime and his cavalry would arrive soon, because if they didnt He hadnt apologized to Prowl; hadnt even had an opportunity to do it. Primus knew he wanted to He says he doesnt blame you, but it was a mistake, and it cant happen again, Bumblebees soft voice echoed in his memory. Jazz regretted a lot of things in his life, and, without doubt, what he had done in that canyon was the most regrettable of them all
His thoughts were interrupted by a chorus of Transform! cries, and by a single stern voice that shouted, Disperse, men! Fire at will!
It was the voice that belonged in the quiet of the headquarters, the voice Jazz wasnt expecting to hear
Next thing he knew, two white hands were on him, running over his chassis with gentle care, checking his injuries, and Jazz found himself looking up into Prowls intense optics, finally looking into them, for the first time in what seemed like forever
Prowl was terrified. Jazzs fluids were all over him, and he was still leaking. This couldnt be good
Jazz smiled up at him shakily with a strange shyness. Nice day ta get fragged, huh? the saboteur murmured awkwardly. And Prowl didnt know what to say, suddenly finding himself unable to speak.
Lets get you to safety, he finally uttered, throwing one of Jazzs arms around his neck and lifting the saboteur by the waist. He tried to ignore the third-in-commands pained moans as they moved across the battlefield, away from the fight.
Aw, such a nice party we have going here, Starscreams sharp voice came from right behind them. Prowl had the time to only register the threat, before his legs got burned with a fire of angry pain, the heat of a blaster ray flogging him like an energy-whip.
He fell to the ground with his precious burden, both of them crying in agony.
Starscream let out a screeching laughter, glaring down at them with a disgusted look on his face, his weapons pointed at the pair.
Say hi to Primus, suckers! But instead of pulling the trigger, the seeker activated his heel turbines. They launched the Decepticon into the air, and the transformed jet released a long victorious shriek, soaring up into the sky and leaving the battlefield.
On the ground where hed been standing laid a small black box. With a soft flick it released four mechanical supports and drilled them deep into the hard dry soil, stationing itself firmly in place.
A cryo-bomb.
The two Autobots watched in horror as the monitor lit up, showed 30 clicks, and began its inexorable countdown, each digit change marked with a short high-pitched beep.
Oh no Oh slag Ya gotta go, Prowl. Leave me an get the frag outta here! Jazz started mumbling quickly and heatedly.
Prowl was trying to get over the shock of the situation, his processor frantically calculating the probabilities, striving to find a solution for this problem, the one that did not include leaving Jazz to die It all had happened so fast
He activated his comm. link, almost on autopilot. Prowl to all units. A mid-range freezer in my coordinates. Detonation in twenty-two clicks. Keep a safe distance. Thats an order. He then grabbed Jazz tightly around his chest and started to drag them both away from the bomb as fast as he could, which was not fast at all, since neither of them could stand now.
What- We cant make it, the two of us! Just drop me, ya slaggin idiot! Jazz fought weakly in Prowls grip, trying to push the tactician away and loosing fluids even faster than before. Im a dead man, but ya still have time! Transform an go! For Primus sake, Prowl!
No! the tactician growled, refusing to let go of him and stubbornly moving forward, even though he knew it was in vain. They were only several yards from the bomb, while the radius of the blast area would be no less than fifty. There was no way they could get to safety before it went off...
He kept crawling. Jazz was sobbing against him, calling him a thousand of names, begging, trying to make him leave, and the bombs vicious beeps behind Prowls back were starting to blend into one frantic hysterical sound.
He finally stopped, falling to the ground beside Jazz.
They were going to die
Prowl Im sorry Im so sorry Jazz was muttering into his chest through his sobs, and Prowl didnt know if he was apologizing for getting injured, or for the canyon, or for something else It didnt matter. Nothing mattered anymore.
He grabbed Jazzs face with both hands and pressed their mouths together. He didnt care about why, he just wanted to feel Jazzs lips against his one last time, and hed be slagged if he didnt allow himself this last weakness. And Jazz was kissing back, feverishly, hungrily, their glossas entwining in flaming desperation, and they were finally speaking one language, for the first time ever
As the familiar feeling of burning insanity started to bloom inside Prowls chest, he heard a soft click.
The beeping stopped.
He tore his lips from Jazzs and curled himself around the saboteurs broken body, shielding him as best he could.
A wave of freezing cold rose behind him and drove a thousand of icy needles into his back.
An endless nano-click of shattering pain and then nothingness