Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prowl strummed his digits against the desk as he diligently supervised the surveillance systems. A task he has volunteered for ever since arriving on the organic planet. It was late in the lunar cycle, and there had been little to no activity, both Decepticon and Quintesson, for the past few cycles since they defeated the Quintesson Judge. Despite that, there was never an excuse to remain dormant. Which is why he was currently very invested in ensuring no intruders entered the base while everyone else was in recharge.

The white mech furrowed his optics as he looked more intently at the monitors; he could not place it just yet, but he had the inkling sensation that something was aloof. His tac net calculated that the likelihood of someone having gotten through their security was a short 12.5%, which was a pretty insignificant percentage, but it did not ease his suspicions. White doorwings flicked as they used their sensors to detect any shift in airways or magnetic fields.
He frowned when he, in fact, saw nothing change in both the room he was in and on the monitors.

He could swear he could see what looked like shadows moving throughout. ‘Perhaps it was nothing, perhaps he was simply seeing things, perhaps he should catch up on recharge as Wheeljack recommended,’ Prowl thought to himself, ‘hallucinations were not a recommendable trait.’

Nonetheless, Prowl could not shake the inkling feeling that something was amiss. Call him paranoid all you want, but one could never be too careful during war, especially with opponents like Decepticons, Quintessons, and malevolent humans running about.

As a result, he continued to monitor with utmost rigor, raising his sensors to a higher setting so he could get a better read on his surroundings. And then he felt it, it was subtle, almost unnoticeable to the untrained sensors. A minute shift in the air currents, along with a silent thud, alerted him almost immediately. He was no longer alone in the surveillance room, Prowl acknowledged as he rapidly took out his blaster with one servo, the other hovering over his stasis cuffs.

“Identify yourself!” Prowl exclaimed in the corner of the room. Although he could not see the intruder, he could feel their presence through the front sensors on his doorwings. He shifted his visor on so he could activate his infrared vision. And to his suspicion, he was right, an intruder was in fact hiding in the corner of the room. Cautiously, Prowl lifted one servo to his comm link so he could send out a silent, emergency ping to those in the base, warning them of the intruder.

Prowl froze as a humorous chuckle left the other. He frowned at the sound of the other’s voice. It seemed almost familiar, yet Prowl could not for the life of him remember where he had heard the other before. “Ever the vigilant one,” the other noted, “Officer Prowl,” they added smoothly, stepping towards the light. Prowl stiffened; the mech before him sported a dark grey paint job along with a dark blue visor. His sleek frame stood confidently before the enforcer, offering an amused grin as he made himself known.

“Jazz?!” Prowl exclaimed in a mix of surprise and relief. He quickly returned his blaster to its holster and assumed a less defensive stance. “In the metal,” Jazz quipped, moving towards the other and extending his arm in greeting. Prowl quickly ignored it and instead engulfed the other in a tight embrace.

Prowl noticed the other go stiff in his arms before he looked at him worriedly. “Coding,” the saboteur reminded, causing the other to flush in embarrassment. “Right!” he replied, settling the other back onto the floor. “Sorry, I completely forgot,” the enforcer apologized. Jazz hummed knowingly, “It’s alright, mech, just would rather get this over with so my processor quits stressing.”

Prowl nodded as he assumed a more serious demeanor, “Right, let’s get straight to the point,” he began, as Jazz readily stood before him. “I, Commander Prowl, hereby release you from your post as Decepticon Meister so that you may return, Agent Jazz.” The grey mech visibly relaxed as his visor brightened to a lighter hue. He smiled kindly at the other. “Thank you, Prowler,” he thanked. Prowl returned the smile, “Of course, I am more than glad to find you still online and functioning, especially knowing how well trouble seems to find you.” Jazz laughed at that.

Suddenly, the door to the security deck whirred open. Behind it emerged Megatron, with his signature fusion cannon, quickly followed by Optimus and Elita-1, who stood behind the former warlord. “Where is the intruder?” Megatron asked gruffly.

Jazz assumed a more defensive position, battle mask quickly covering the rest of his face as he stared down the former Decepticon. “Meister,” the other sneered, “I thought you were still on Cybertron.” Jazz said nothing as he positioned himself protectively before Prowl, who quickly took note of the situation and stood between the two mechs. “Wait, just the both of you.”

Both looked at him in confusion, “But he’s a Decepticon intruder!” they both replied in sync. Prowl sighed as he placed a servo on Jazz’s shoulder, “Much has changed.” Optimus, also having taken note of the situation, held Megatron back by lowering his fusion cannon. Elita looked tiredly at the situation, not enjoying having been brought out of recharge.

“Megatron is our ally,” Prowl explained. Jazz, having already removed his battle mask, looked at the enforcer as if he had grown three more helms, which he quite honestly believed was more likely than the statement that just came out of him. “What?” the agent exclaimed. Prowl sighed, “We have much to talk about.” Jazz nodded as he wearily eyed the former warlord, who had put away his cannon. “I can see that,” he replied.

“Old friend, it is good to see you are well,” Optimus greeted. Jazz grinned at him, “Can’t get rid of me that easily, OP.” Optimus laughed at that as he offered a friendly slap to the other’s shoulder. “It is good to see you never change.” Stepping forward, Elita delivered her own friendly slap to the saboteur's other shoulder, “Well, his spy skills definitely haven't changed a bit,” she began, “How’d you get past all our security?”

Jazz shrugged, “Lots of small blind spots between your cameras, plus ya don’t have any sensors in your vents,” he explained. Prowl hummed in acknowledgment behind him, “No wonder the terrans are able to sneak into the base when I am not looking,” he noted. Jazz tipped his helm, “Who?”

Prowl smiled at him, “Oh, we have a lot to catch up on, dear friend,” he mused as he and the other Autobots led the confused spy out of the security office.

Chapter Text

“So, you’re telling me that you guys brought the war to this planet, and when things were going bad for the Cons, Megatron switched sides. Afterwards, you allied with an organization of humans called Ghost, which then attempted to exterminate all Cybertonians. Somewhere between that, some kids, or terrans, were born from a relic, called the Emberstone, left behind from Quintus Prime. These guys helped you fight Decepticons and this evil organic called Mandroid, who was actually working for Ghost all along. Somewhere during that battle, the Emberstone thing was destroyed, and both you and the cons tried to restore the relic, but the cons ended up winning. The cons, led by Starscream, then used the Emberstone to revive a titan, which backfired on him, causing the cons to be trapped in this energy dome. Soon after, Prowl crash-landed into the dome with the lock key, and the Decepticons escaped on the ship. Quintessons then started showing up, and you guys all had to battle the Quinteson judge and their warship. You guys won by pure luck and are now still stranded on Earth,” Jazz summarized.

“Pretty much,” Elita confirmed with a nod.

Jazz sighed, “And here I thought we had it bad on Cybertron,” he chuckled tiredly.

“How is the situation back on Cybertron?” Optimus asked with concern.

“From the last time I was there, it wasn’t too great. With the well gone, there’s been a serious shortage of energon throughout Cybertron. Both sides had it pretty rough. We’ve mostly been fighting off planet because of the shortage. But that was a while ago. I was deployed a few decavorns after you guys went missing,” the Saboteur informed.

Optimus frowned at the information. “This is not a good sign for the fate of our planet, for both Autobots and Decepticons,” he remarked.

“It’s even worse since the Decepticons on Earth are heading back. Not to mention the growing Quintesson threat,” Elita added.

Optimus nodded in agreement. “ Not a good sign at all,” he concluded.

Jazz grimaced as Wheeljack continued to weld part of his shoulder. While he was mostly unharmed, his landing did result in a few gashes in his plating. “Sorry,” the scientist apologised as he adjusted his hold on the welder. “Not as good as Ratchet was,” he added. Jazz chuckled softly, “It’s alright, Jackie. He’d be glad to know you’re still up and running,” he commented.

“How is he?” Wheeljack asked, “At least the last time you saw him?” “He hit me with a wrench for getting half my arm torn off,” he joked. “But overall he was fine,” he concluded. Wheeljack let out a sigh of relief before pulling his tools away from the other. “Well, that just about wraps up the repairs.”

The visored mech flexed his arm, testing the movements in his joints before smiling at the other. “Thanks, mech, I appreciate the tune-up.” Wheeljack nodded as he stood away from the other and gave a friendly pat to his uninjured shoulder. The moment was quickly interrupted by the grey mech alongside Optimus. “If you do not mind me asking,” he began, “You mentioned you were deployed soon after our departure. Where exactly were you deployed?” he asked.

Jazz tensed ever so slightly. He was still unsure about the former warlord’s intentions, and it was even stranger for the other to be so involved in their cause. Nonetheless, Jazz showed no sign of faltering or aggression to the other. “Complicated details but long story short, I found and infiltrated Sentinel’s ship.”

—---

“Come on, Hashtag, share the deets,” Thrash whispered/urged beside his sister, who was holding an audio receptor to the door of the currently, very much locked and fortified meeting room. He received a harsh shush in return. “Quiet Thrash, I can’t hear what they are saying,” she hissed while she was simultaneously trying to hack into the room’s security footage.

After a few more tries, Hashtag was successfully able to hack into the security footage and play it on her holoscreen. “Finally!” Thrash exclaimed softly as he peered over his sister’s arm to stare at the screen. “Ooh! Let me see,” Twitch shouted as she hovered onto Hashtag’s shoulder. “I would also like to observe,” Nightshade commented as they also glanced at the screen. “Aw, come on, guys. I can’t see,” Jawbreaker complained as he unsuccessfully tried to look over his sibling’s frames.

“Sorry, Jawbreaker,” Hashtag apologised as she crouched down so he could better look at the small holoscreen. She then quickly shared the audio link with the rest of her siblings so they too could hear what was going on.

“No way!” Thrash blurted out. “What is it?” Twitch whispered. “That’s Jazz!!” he informed excitedly. “Like the music?” Hashtag asked. He shook his helm. “No, Jazz, from the comics dad gave us! They’re like, the best Autobot spy ever!” Nightshade nodded. “Thrash is right, I do believe that is in fact the Autobot spy Jazz,” they added.

“Well, what are they doing on Earth?” Jawbreaker questioned. “No idea,” Hashtag informed, “But I’m super excited about meeting them. We haven't met anyone new in like forever.” “Didn’t Prowl get here like two months ago?” Thrash noted. “Well yeah, two months is like forever.”

“That still doesn’t tell us anything about why they are here.” Twitch continued. Hashtag hummed, “I think they said something about someone named Sentinel Prime.” “Who’s Sentinel Prime?” Twitch asked.

“If I remember Dad’s history lessons, I believe Sentinel Prime was once a former ruler of Cybertron who was overthrown by the new regime before the Civil War,” Nightshade informed. “Well, whoever he is, no one seems to be happy about their reappearance,” Hashtag added.

—--

“Sentinel Prime!” Megatron bemoaned. “That traitor is still alive?” Optimus quickly stood to urge the other to calm himself.

Jazz nodded in confirmation, “Yep, took a scrap ton of work, but I, or Meister, was able to find a couple leads and come aboard his ship.”

“What were you able to find while aboard?” Elita asked.

“Well, Sentinel’s faction is still small in numbers, but they grow in followers each cycle. Especially with the growing Energon shortage on Cybertron. A lot of neutrals also tend to side more with Sentinel as the war progresses.”

“This is not good news. With Sentinel more active than usual, it could pose a threat to both causes.” Optimus dejected.

“Yeah, and that ain’t all. With more people leaving Cybertron and because of the war, it leaves the planet a lot more vulnerable than usual. From the intel I was able to gather while aboard the ship, I found that he does have time to take back Cyberton once more people have left the planet.” Jazz continued.

“How does he plan to unite the rest of Cyberton, though?” Elita questioned, “The Primacy had minimal approval as it was.”

“That’s the thing. While abroad, the ship Sentinel’s trajectory was pretty irregular. He would stop from planet to planet to collect energon and also to search for something. I am not sure what, but it certainly is not a good thing,” he concluded.

“I say we search for Sentinel’s ship and destroy him and everyone on that thing once and for all,” Megatron concluded.

Optimus sighed, “While the threat is large, we do not know where Sentinel’s ship is or the capacity of his followers. We cannot go in blind, old friend.” The former warlord frowned but did not protest the other’s reasoning.

“Jazz,” Prowl spoke up, “How exactly did you escape Sentinel’s ship?” he asked.

“I took one of the escape pods when Arachnid caught me.”

“You were caught?” the winged mech spoke in surprise.

Jazz sighed, “Yeah, not my best moment, but it’s hard to hide away from someone who has eyes everywhere.”

Prowl hummed, “If you would lead me to your escape pod, I could perhaps retrace its trajectory to find where the ship is, or was at least.”

Jazz nodded. “I can lead you to it. It’s pretty banged up, but I think its computer should still work just fine.”

“You don’t think you could have been followed?” Elita asked.

Jazz hummed, “I doubt it, but some crazy initiatives were required to join the ship. I would not be surprised if they chipped me or something.”

Optimus hummed before looking over to Wheeljack. “Nothing showed up in the scans,” Wheeljack shared. “But I can’t say they can’t track Jazz’s escape pod.”

“That settles it. We will locate the escape pod and use it to trace Sentinel's ship.”

“We can even use it to lure him right to us,” Megatron added.

“As advantageous as that may be, I would rather not bring such a large fight to us. If jazz’s intel is correct, and I do not doubt his capabilities, then it is likely we may be facing numbers well into the hundreds, perhaps even thousands. We simply do not have the capabilities to fight on such a large scale,” Optimus explained. Megatron huffed in mild annoyance but did not argue with the other.

“I will calculate the best course of action,” Prowl informed. “However, I do believe it is necessary to let out guest rest,” he added as he took note of how weary the Saboteur looked on his feet. While it was mostly unnoticeable, after a millennium of knowing the other, he knew well when the other was tired or in pain.

Optimus nodded in agreement. “Right, we can continue discussing the best course of action after Jazz has rested,” he concluded.

—---

“Wow. So this Sentinel guy is a big deal,” Thrash concluded.

“I definitely don’t like any of this,” Twitch added.

“We just defeated Quintesons, and now we have to take on the Cybertronian Autocracy,” Hashtag pouted.

“Hey,” Twitch comforted, “It will be okay. We’ve faced every challenge head-on before. I’m sure this won’t be much different. As long as we face it as a family, I’m sure we’ll get through this just fine.” Hashtag smiled at her sister’s comforting words. However, the moment was quickly disturbed by the door, which they were totally not spying in front of, opened.

The group quickly scrambled to assume less incriminating positions as they stood nonchalantly in front of the door. Prowl looked at them unamused. Elita looked very amused and even had a light smirk on her face. They knew the news of a new Cybertronian would quickly catch their curiosity.

“Holy Primus is that Jazz?” Thrash squealed. Jazz looked confused at the Terrans before him. Prowl sighed, “Yes, this is Jazz,” he introduced, “Third in Command of the Autobot army and head of special operations. Also one of the best Sabatours we have,” he added the last part with a slightly smug smile.

“You’re so cool!” Trash complemented, practically bursting in glee. Jazz chuckled bashfully, “Thanks, uhh-” “Thrash, I’m thrash.”

“Thrash,” Jazz repeated.

“I’m Twitch.”

“I am Hashtag!”

“My designation is Nightshade.”

“And I’m Jawbreaker!” he concluded.

“Thrash, Twitch, Hashtag, Nightshade, and Jawbreaker,” the grey mech repeated.

The Terrans nodded thankfully. They were grateful someone was willing to get their names right on the first try.

“I apologize to cut introductions short, but Jazz needs to-”

“Can you teach us to do super cool spy stuff?!” Thrash asked, the rest of his siblings nodding along in equal excitement.

“I don’t think that is a good ide-”

“Sure,” Jazz agreed, causing the other to frown at him. “Jazz, you were just injured and have yet to rest properly.” Jazz grinned at him. Prowl silently cursed the other for how easy it was for him to get his spark in a twist with such a simple gesture.

“I’ll be fine, Prowl, a little teaching won’t hurt anyone,” he assured.

Prowl sighed, “Very well, but I will supervise.”

Jazz gave a thumbs up before turning back to the joyful-looking terrans. “Alright then, time for you guys to show me what you got!”

Chapter Text

Morning sunlight shone down on the Witwicky forest, and the sound of falling leaves and wildlife shuffled about. In the distance, the sounds of screaming children could also be heard.

Twitch yelped as her hiding spot was discovered and she was expertly thrown into the heap of terrans next to the visored mech.

“Ouch,” Thrash groaned as he lifted himself up.

“Man, I really thought we had him this time,” Jawbreaker pouted.

“It’s like he has eyes in the back of his head or something,” Hashtag murmured as she helped her siblings up from the floor.

“Even with the blindfold, he still somehow managed to perceive our movements," Nightwing noted as he accepted his sister’s helping hand.

Jazz chuckled as he lifted the blindfold above his visor. You guys ain’t doing so bad,” he assured. “I agree,” Prowl added from his observational position, “Considering Jazz has some of the most fine-tuned audio receptors known on Cybertron, you all did quite well.” The terrans all groaned in unison. “No wonder we can’t get the jump on him,” Twitch sighed. Jazz smiled a bit, “Hey, it’s alright, guys. That’s the process of learning. Hey, not even I got it on the first try,” he consoled.

“That’s factually incorrect,” Prowl countered, “You have quite a clean record.” Jazz gave him a deadpanned expression. “Er, perhaps a new approach is in order,” Prowl noted as he glanced at the slightly dejected terrans. Taking out a few magnets from his subspace, well, they were not actually magnets they were the cybertronian equivalent of sticky notes, but they worked just about the same. Prowl caught the rest of the group’s attention.

“I have a new challenge,” he said, “To make it easier, Jazz will offline both his visual and audio receptors,” he explained. “Your task will be to try to stick a magnet anywhere on Jazz’s frame,” Prowl continued, “However, you will also have to avoid him placing a magnet on your own frame as well.” Jazz looked at him in amusement, “I think that’s a great idea, Prowler,” he beamed. “Prowler?!” the terrans exclaimed, causing the white mech to flush slightly. The Terrans looked at each other mischievously. Prowl mentally groaned to himself; he would not hear the end of it.

Prowl cleared his throat to draw everyone’s attention, “Back to the task at hand,” he muttered as he passed a sticky note to each of the terrans and five to Jazz. “Now,” Prowl continued as he turned to the Terrans, “You will have a few clicks to determine your strategy while Jazz walks around the woods. You will have a groon to place the magnet on Jazz’s frame; however, if Jazz places on on any of your frames, you may no longer participate.” The terrans nodded in understanding before Thrash spoke up, “Wait, how long is a groon?” he asked. “Uh, about an Earth hour,” Prowl explained. “Now, I will leave you to discuss your strategy.”

The Terrans were quick to huddle up and whisper amongst themselves their course of action. Prowl was quite interested in how they would handle this challenge, sneaking up on Jazz of all mechs was no easy feat; however, he also knew the terrans were very capable for their young age. If anyone were to overcome such a feat, he was certain they would be able to find a way.

After breaking away, the terrans looked around in search of their victim, only to realize Jazz was now long gone and hidden in the woods. Prowl chuckled at their shocked expressions, of course, Jazz would make it everything but easy for them, he mused as the terrans began their search. Twitch and Nightshade quickly transformed and made their way to the skies to start their search. Hashtag activated her own visor, likely to see if she could find the spy with infrared. Thrash and Jawbreaker also joined the rest of the terrans on the search as they made their way deeper into the woods.

Prowl hummed to himself as he waited; it was growing surprisingly quiet now that the Terrans and Jazz were gone. “Think they’ll find me?” a voice beside him asked. Prowl nearly jumped out of his plating from the other’s unexpected visit. “Jazz,” he scolded. Jazz grinned at him in his usual playful manner. “Sorry,” he apologized. Prowl sighed, “Do not underestimate them, they may be young, but I have seen how capable they are. I have my faith in them.” Jazz nodded in acknowledgement before disappearing once more.

“Do you guys have a visual?” Thrash asked through comms, “Negative,” Twitch replied, “No sight of him here.”

“I have had similar luck,” Nightwing added.

“You have any luck, Jawbreaker?” Thrash asked. “Nope, it’s almost like he disappeared."

“What about you, Hashtag?” Twitch asked. “Nothing here… hold up, I think I see something!” she cried out, and the comm then went radio silent. “Hashtag…. Hashtag come in!” Twitch pried, worry in her tone. “I will look for her,” Nightshade shouted before diving down.

Down below, Hashtag was trying her best to stick the magnet on the visored mech. “Aw, come on, hold still!” Jazz shook his finger as he dodged another attempt. Hashtag huffed but transformed her pedes into wheels, trying to use the extra speed to attach the magnet on the other. Her strategy was quite successful at first, with Jazz narrowly avoiding the other by a hair.

They eventually came to a clearing, where Jazz was trapped between two large trees with no visible way out. “Hah, I got you now!” Hashtag declared as she moved forward to attach the magnet. The sabatour escaped by using the tree trunks as leverage to bounce up and behind the other. A kick to the back knocked Hashtag off balance long enough for Jazz to place a magnet of his own on her shoulder.

“Aw, man,” she protested as the other vanished again. “Hashtag!” Nightshade shouted once they landed alongside their sister. “Are you okay?” Hashtag nodded, “Yeah, but I’m out of the game,” she explained, motioning to the magnet on her shoulder. “I’d be careful, though; Jazz can be anywhere.” Nightshade nodded as they activated their night vision to try and get a better visual. They were quick to catch sight of the spy who was hiding behind a large tree.

Nighshade took out their magnet, “Okay, let’s see how you handle multiple of me,” they chimed as they spawned multiple of their clones, all running towards the spy. Jazz jumped from his hiding space as he dodged each clone, disarming each, causing the copies to deactivate. Despite this, the multitude of Nightshades was catching the spy off guard, allowing the real Nightshade to fly over the other and… immediately get pinned down by the visored mech. A magnet was attached to his wing.

“Well, that was unexpected,” they noted in a slightly defeated tone as they transformed back to their root mode. “I heard a commotion. Are you guys okay?” Jawbreaker questioned as he rushed over to his siblings. Nightshade nodded as the other helped them up. “Jawbreaker, watch out!” Hashtag cried out as Jazz jumped towards them. Jawbreaker quickly jumped back and transformed into his alt mode, holding the magnet in his mouth.

He then tried running into the other, but Jazz once again narrowly dodged by jumping over the other, not before placing his own magnet on the other’s head. “Dang, I really thought I had him this time,” Jawbreaker pouted as he transformed back into his root mode. Hashtag patted his shoulder in consolation. “Me too, bro, me too.”

Twitch, having been alerted by the fighting, soon appeared, wing swords drawn. “Don’t worry, guys! I’ll avenge you!” she assured as he hovered above the visored mech. “Okay, Jazz, this ends here!” she exclaimed as she spun, causing a small wind tornado to form. “Twitch” Hashtag murmured slightly worried, “Isn’t this kind of dangerous?” “Don’t worry I have a plan!” she shared.

The wind was effective in disorienting her grounder opponent, who, since they were both blind and deaf could was struggling to orient themselves because of the harsh winds. Taking advantage of the fact, Twitch used her wing sword in a bat-like manner to launch her magnet forward. It flew through the air with a hissing sound and soon collided with… nothing because, of course, Jazz had to somehow dodge that. Her magnet went flying off into the woods.

“Umm, you guys would happen to be able to let me borrow your magnets?” she muttered nervously. “Here, catch!” Nightshade called out as they threw their magnet forward. Hopefully, magnet sharing was not breaking the rules.

“Okay, new plan!” Twitch shouted as she stuck the magnet on her sword. “If I can't hit you with it indirectly, I’ll just have to hit you directly!” she shouted as she rapidly flew forward. The two battled for some time, Jazz using his arms to push Twitch’s blades away while she slashed towards him. One particular attack was quick enough to cause Jazz to stumble backwards; Twitch took advantage to launch another jab, which Jazz slid under with surprising agility. Somewhere during that time, he had attached a magnet to Twitch’s leg.

Twitch wilted as she realized what had happened, “Okay, now that’s just unfair.” Jazz chuckled, “You guys did good,” he shared. He then frowned, “Wait a click, I’m missing one,” he noted as he took out his final magnet.

With a roaring scream, Thrash drove forward in his alt mode, flying well above the saboteur as he transformed mid-air, only to get his arm pulled down and the rest of his body hit the ground, kinda hard, not gonna lie. Jazz hummed to himself, “Okay, now that’s all of them. You guys lasted a lot longer than before. I’m sure with some time, you guys will get better.”

“On the contrary,” Prowl countered, “I think they did fine enough,” he shared as he hovered down to where everyone was. Jazz looked at him in confusion before Prowl pointed to the magnet on his head that Thrash had somehow managed to attach mid flip. Jazz grinned, “Wow, you’re good kid!” he approved as he extended a hand to hold the other up. Thash beamed brightly as he held the other’s arm in awe.

The rest of the Terrans cheered as they ran to embrace their brother. “I knew this plan would work with one of us!” Nighshade gleamed. Jazz chuckled to himself, “I gotta say you guys certainly caught me by surprise," he shared as he pulled the blindfold off his visor and activated his audios once more.

“I am curious, though,” Nightshade began, “How did you know which of my clones was me?” they asked.
Jazz grinned, “Well, I got a few tricks up my sleeve,” he began, “For starters, I ain’t entirely blind without my vision and audios. I am able to sense small magnetic fields by pulsing my own through my servos,” he shared. “As a result, I have a very rough outline of some of my surroundings.”

“It kind of works a bit like Prowl’s doorwing sensors,” he continued. “Wait, Prowl had doorwing sensors?” Thrash repeated. “No wonder he always knows when we sneak into the base,” Hashtag whispered, “He actually does have eyes on the back of his head.” Prowl gave her a deadpanned look.

“Still, how does that help you determine which clone was real?” Nightshade asked again. “That’s easy, your EM field.” Jazz explained. “EM field?” Nightshade questioned, and the rest of the Terrans held a similar confused expression. “Yeah, your fields. The electromagnetic force every Cybertronian, I guess Terran too, has.” They gave him a blank look.“Wait, did no one tell you about fields?!” he exclaimed. The Terrans shook their helms in confirmation.

“Why did you guys not tell them about fields?” Jazz questioned Prowl, who just shrugged, “I was unaware that was a topic they were not informed of.” Jazz sighed, “Okay, while I’m no Ratchet, I’ll try my best to explain.” He began by pulling the magnet off his helm and grabbing the spare one he had. “See here,” he motioned as he held the negative ends of the sticky note magnet together, “See the force that pushes these magnets away from each other. The feeling of an EM field is kinda like this, except they can hold emotions. You guys have really loud EM fields.” The Terrans looked at him in amazement.

“How come we don’t feel any other Cybertronian’s EM fields?” Twitch asked. Jazz hummed, “A lot of us keep our fields hidden, both so our emotions remain hidden and our presence as well. Controlling your EM field is a somewhat difficult process to learn, most do with age and experience, but I can teach you how to control your own fields since it’s a pretty important skill.” Jazz explained.

“Wait, I think we know what they are!” Thrash pointed out. “Like, whenever Robbie felt all jittery around Izzy, and we got this weird stomach ache.” “You are so right!” Jawbreaker agreed, “Except the fields are like, external instead of internal,” he added.

Jazz tipped his helm, “Who is Robbie?” “One of the organic lifeforms of this planet. The terrans share a sibling spark bond with them,” Prowl explained. “I see, that’s pretty cool.” Jazz commented.

“If I may,” Nightshade interrupted, “I would love to learn more about the EM fields you mentioned.” Jazz nodded, “While I am not exactly an expert, I’m sure Jackie and I can stitch something together to teach ya.” The other visibly brightened, “We would be grateful for the opportunity,” they replied. Before Jazz could add on, the familiar sound of an aircraft hovering above them appeared.

“Megatron!” Twitch exclaimed joyfully as she flew towards the other. Transforming mid-air, Megatron landed on the ground, “Hello, Little bird,” he greeted as the drone perched on his shoulder. “And hello to the rest of you,” he continued as he looked at the rest of the terrans. “Prowl,” he added with a respectful nod, which Prowl returned. “I’ve come to collect the Terrans,” Megatron explained, “Their mother is requesting their presence since Robbie and Moe have returned from school.” The Terrans cheered excitedly at the news.

Prowl glanced at Jazz, who had gone oddly silent and was tense. “Jazz, are you alright?” he questioned.

///ValidateFilteredRecipient 1:0 (recipient of type: Megatron) ///
///Output (Threat level: high): 1:2 DANGER ACTIVATING PROTOCOLS///
///Import (Override protocols): 2:1 Unsuccessful///
///Import (Override protocols): 2:2 Unsuccessful///
///Import (Override protocols): 2:3 Successful///
///syntaxerror 3:1: error: expected threat, protocols required, threat imminent///

The sabatour staggered slightly, clutching his helm with one servo as the other used a tree to support his frame. “Jazz?” Prowl questioned in concern as he reached for the other, hesitating as Jazz tensed as he grew near. He shook his helm as he regained his footing, “Sorry,” he apologised as he held out an arm in assurance.

“Is Jazz okay?” Hashtag asked. Prowl draped an arm around the other’s back despite his protest. “Yes, his landing likely had more of an effect on him than assumed. The extra strain from today is likely adding to that stress.” “Will he be okay?” Thrash added. “I’ll be fine,” Jazz assured, "You guys go ahead, Prowl and I will catch up soon. The terrans hesitated slightly before they boarded Megatron’s hull and left.

“Jazz?” Prowl questioned as the other pushed away from him, clutching his helm. “I ain’t gonna shatter Prowl,” he deflected. “Like you said, probably just the stress messing with my processor.”

///Import (Override protocols): 4:0: Successful///
///syntaxerror 5:1: error: override unsuccessful, protocols dormancy period activated///

Prowl carefully approached the other, a careful servo resting on his back, “Come, I’ll lead the way,” he offered as they made their way through the woods and back to the base. They walked in silence through the forest for a few breams before Jazz spoke up.

“Do you…” He hesitated before continuing, “Do you trust Megatron?”

Prowl stopped, “I do,” he replied. “Why?” Jazz questioned, “You’ve seen the things he has done.” The other sighed, “Yes, I have. But, in my brief time here, he has proved to have changed and in fact has been quite the useful ally.”

Jazz hummed in response as he continued to move forward, seemingly lost in thought. “Do you not trust him?” Prowl pried. The saboteur let out a long ex-vent, “While acting as Meister, I was exposed to many things, Prowl. I don’t doubt people are incapable of change, but I still have my doubts,” he confessed.

Prowl nodded, “I too, did not trust him at first. My arrival was certainly a lot less peaceful with him than yours was. For a while, I was wary of him, but he has proved himself.” Jazz sighed, “While I may not trust Megatron, I trust you, Prowl, and if you say he has changed, then who am I to say he hasn’t.”

The other smiled at him while they continued their walk in comfortable silence.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Robbie! Moe!” Twitch shouted as she rushed towards her siblings. “Whoa!” Robbie interrupted, “What happened? You guys have been acting crazy over our bond.”

“You won’t believe the day we have had!” Trash explained. “I can see that,” Moe chuckled, “Care to share what happened?”

“Another Cybertronian showed up!” Hashtag beamed. “Really?” Robbie replied, “Who?”

“Only like the coolest bot ever!” Thrash shared. “Yeah, this bot called Jazz showed up in this escape pod, and Optimus and everyone else had this super important meeting, and we used the cameras to see what was up, and you won’t believe the lore we have!” Hashtag exclaimed.

“Whoa, okay, slow down,” Robbie eased, “So this guy called Jazz showed up and you guys spied on a meeting.”

“What did you guys find out?” Moe asked. Hashtag gleamed in excitement, “Okay, so basically-” After a very long and exaggerated explanation by Hashtag, with minor interruptions from mostly Thrash, the Terrans concluded their summary of the day’s events. The group had sat down in a clearing while the story was being told somewhere in the middle of it.

“Okay, so what I got from that is: Jazz is some super spy dude who snuck aboard Sentinel Prime’s ship. Only he was caught and escaped in an escape pod and landed on Earth. The thing i,s this Sentinel guy is like a huge deal, meaning the Autobots have to deal with him and his autocratic faction.” Robbie summarised.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Thrash quipped. “And then you guys got to train with Jazz all day! Without us!” Moe dejected. “Sorry,” Twitch shrugged, “You guys were in school.” “But don’t worry,” Hashtag assured, “Next time we’ll totally get to train together!”

“Okay, back to the escape pod mission, what exactly are they trying to do?” Robbie asked. “Well, the plan is to see if they can use the pod’s computer to trace the approximate whereabouts of Sentinel’s ship,” Nightshade explained. Robbie nodded as he took in the information.

“What if we did that for them?” Moe proposed. “Isn’t that dangerous?” Robbie quipped.

“How dangerous can using an escape pod computer be?” Hashtag inferred. “We’ve done more dangerous stuff before.” “Yeah,” Moe agreed, “This will just be a simple to-and-fro mission.”

Robbie shrugged, “Can’t argue with that.”

“Then it’s settled, we will search for the pod tonight!” Twitch concluded.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“This is where you will be staying until one of the storage rooms has been cleared,” Prowl introduced as he opened the door to his habsuit. Jazz offered him a tired smile, “Thanks for letting me stay with ya Prowler.” “It is no issue, Jazz, I am more than grateful to have another ally and friend amongst us.” He replied as he entered the hab.

“I remember how you preferred recharging vertically, so I had a stasis pod hauled inside. I hope it is to your liking.” Prowl remarked. Jazz’s visor brightened, “Mech, you don’t forget a thing, do you?” he chuckled as he studied the repurposed stasis pod. Prowl offered him a small smile, “It is hard to forget one of your key traits. You never were able to recharge properly on a berth back on Cybertron,” he commented. Jazz hummed, “Old habits die hard, we never got berths in the mines, despite the newfoundland luxury I was never able to get used to recharging on a metal slab,” Jazz chuckled.

Prowl nodded, remembering the days when he had first met Jazz during the early stages of the war; he knew that recharging in a berth was just something Jazz could never get used to. "I remember the time you fell off a berth in the officer’s barracks," Prowl recalled, a hint of a smirk on his face. "You made a rather loud clatter."

Jazz's smile widened as he remembered the memory, but he still looked so incredibly tired. "Yeah, I remember how slagged off Ironhide got when I woke him up, then how slagged Ratchet was when we woke him up." He laughed, and it felt a little more genuine this time despite the exhausted tension in his frame.. "Good times." He leaned back on the pod.
Jazz's chuckle quickly faded into a tired sigh, his visor dimming with the effort of staying online. He'd been pushing himself since arriving on Earth, wanting to absorb every bit of information he could. But the cumulative exhaustion of travel, briefings, and a new planet was finally catching up. Prowl could see the faint flicker in his visor, the way his frame seemed to be holding a tension that had nothing to do with the conversation. He knew Jazz was trying to live up to the legendary reputation he had on Cybertron.

"You've had a long day, Jazz," Prowl stated simply. "We have more to discuss in the morning. No one expects you to be up to speed right away."

Jazz just shrugged, a weary gesture that spoke volumes. "Yeah, I know. But there is still much to do, even though Megatron switched sides- there is the war back home, Sentinel here, and how the Terrans. I just… want to do the most I can with the time I have,” he confessed.

Prowl moved to stand beside him, his presence a comforting anchor. "You have had a lot to catch up on, but the stress won’t do you any good. We will deal with everything together, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. For now, just get some rest.” Prowl's tone was firm, but there was a softness to it that was just for Jazz.

A small chuckle escaped the other, “Yes, officer,” Jazz mused, a weak smile playing on his faceplates as he entered the pod. He watched Prowl through the pod's stasis field, feeling a sense of safety he had not felt in a long time.

Hey guys, check out the end of chapter notes for Jazz's alt mode info. I think I want to have a vote on the subject.