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Prowl had been speed walking through the base and pondering all the loose ends of the day when it began.
Optimus was in severe need of fuel, so he was holding two cubes of energon on his way to the command room. Ratchet was still locked into the medbay with the most injured bots, so he was regularly pinging First Aid for updates on medbay capacity. The representatives of the evacuated civilians needed someone to talk to, so he was also arranging that at the same time. A few Autobots weren't back yet from the battle, and he knew he wouldn't be able to relax until they were all accounted for.
Therefore, it stood to reason that he wasn't looking at what few screens and monitors could be seen from the corridor he was walking through. Not until his internal comm pinged with urgency.
"Be quick, Blaster, ple-"
"Are you seeing the transmission?"
Prowl didn't slow down in the slightest, but he threw a glance into the rec-room-turned-makeshift-recharge-room he was walking past. The screen there was showing Megatron's face, but not much else. He didn't have time to deal with whatever this was.
"Is this some kind of broadcast?"
"You don't know," Blaster realized in horror. "It's a live broadcast. Soundwave is sending this to every screen in the region."
Prowl faltered. Then he hurried as much as he possibly could, and also promptly shut down his other comm lines. He'd apologize to the civilian leaders later, this took precedence.
"Record the transmission and trace it immediately."
"Already on it. I'm also trying to turn off the screens, but it's going to take some time," Blaster said.
"Good idea. I'm almost at the command room. What is the broadcast about?"
The Autobots had been very close to winning that day's battle. But in what would be the last minutes of the engagement, Megatron had unleashed his combiner on the city. Devastator had had the time to turn half the habitation quarters to dust by the time the Autobots had managed to lead the remaining inhabitants to (relative) safety.
In all likelihood, Megatron calling after such a victory would be him taunting Optimus, or trying to goad him into rash actions. But a full broadcast was something new. It meant that Megatron wanted an audience for whatever he was saying or doing. Prowl really didn't like that.
"So far Megatron's bragging about his victory, it's like he's waiting for something to happen."
Prowl hated the implications of that.
"There must be something more," he said as he skidded around the last corner until the command room.
"Definitely, but we're not seeing it yet. Are you going to watch from there?"
Prowl stopped in front of the door to the command room barely long enough to open it. "Yes. I'm going in."
The only other bot in the command room was Optimus. Everyone else was either needed at their post elsewhere (Ratchet in the medbay, Blaster in the communication room, Wheeljack in the repair bay), or not back yet (Jazz on his mission, Ironhide with the troops).
Prowl's arrival coincided with Optimus's angry counter.
"-only calling to gloat, Megatron?"
On the other side of the screen, Prowl could recognize the ruins of the city they had just evacuated behind Megatron. The Decepticon leader kept smiling. This didn't bode well. Prowl put down the energon cubes on a shelf at the entrance of the room, and stayed on the side, careful not to come into the camera's field of vision.
Megatron clearly saw something, out of his camera's field of vision, and his smile somehow turned both more genuine and more cruel.
"No, Prime, I'm calling to accept your surrender." Megatron's voice sounded much too proud. His sentence also didn't make sense. Today had been a defeat, but it was far from the worst defeat the Autobots had suffered.
Even Optimus was clearly taken aback by the demand. "Are you out of your mind?!"
Megatron gave a sign to someone behind the camera, and two Seekers (Prowl immediately took note of their specific features, for later identification) came forward, carrying something between them. Something vaguely bot-shaped.
"See, I have something here that you'll want back," Megatron smiled.
Prowl immediately thought about the few bots still unaccounted for. Ironhide, who was still on his way back and hadn't sent an update since before Megatron had begun the broadcast. Jazz and Bumblebee, who had went deep into the city to evacuate civilians because they were fast and friendly. Mirage, who had been spying on and sabotaging the Decepticon operations for the entirety of the battle.
The Seekers dropped their charge to the ground unceremoniously, and Prowl's spark missed a rotation when it became obvious who the bot was.
Colors (covered in energon) and door wings (crumpled) so similar to his own, visor (offline and heavily cracked) and helm shape (heavily dented) so characteristic.
Deep indentations all over Jazz's frame, mostly on his torso and helm, all punched-in and Devastator-colored. Prowl's processor immediately began listing potential consequences of such a state. Traumatic processor injury, loss of hearing, loss of vision, loss of proprioception, loss of memories, internal bleeding, loss of fuel pump functionality, damage to spark casing-
"You seem to like this one, Prime. Surely he must be worth your surrender?"
Immediately Prowl made a call. Kup answered straight away.
"Can't a bot refuel in peace now?"
"I need your team to go on a rescue mission. The city we were fighting in. Extremely time-sensitive. Bring a medic. You'll know the precise coordinates as soon as we do."
Kup instantly went back into his old commando mode. "Understood. I'm bringing all my mechs who're still in fighting shape."
Prowl didn't even take the time to thank him before he switched to another comm line.
"Any luck tracing the transmission?"
"I narrowed it down to the neighborhood," Blaster answered, clearly stressed out by the task but still fully competent.
"Send the coordinates directly to Kup. I'll look at it when the broadcast will be over."
Then he turned his attention to Optimus again.
Optimus was faltering.
Prowl understood, then, what Megatron's plan was. Even if the Autobots didn't surrender, even if Jazz miraculously survived, the whole region will have seen their leader hesitate. One bot's life, against the end of the war. For the civilians and even some proportion of the Autobot army, there was no hesitation to have.
"…This is beneath you, Megatron," Optimus finally said.
"I think I can turn off the screens," Blaster sent at the same time. None too soon.
"Keep the one in the command room turned on. Shut down the rest."
From Blaster's side of the comm line, it sounded as if a machine was powering down. "Done."
"Good. Continue working on the coordinates," Prowl instructed him, then after checking his messages, "Kup's team is already en route."
At least now, whatever happened between Optimus and Megatron wouldn't be publicized to everyone.
But there was still the problem of Jazz. Heavily injured, offline, literally at Megatron's nonexistent mercy. Nobody would be able to make rational decisions, especially not Optimus. So Prowl opened another comm line.
"Prime, we can't surrender."
"I know, Prowl," the answer instantly came. Optimus didn't give any visible sign that he was talking to someone else than Megatron.
"A rescue team is already on the way, they'll be there soon," Prowl informed him. If Optimus didn't know about the temporary regional broadcast, there was no need to tell him right now.
"Thank you." Even through an encrypted comm line, Optimus's relief was evident.
Too evident.
"Do you think you can somehow save your bot, Prime?" Megatron sneered.
Then he grabbed Jazz's limp frame and his fusion cannon whirred to life, aimed straight at Jazz's spark casing.
"No," Prowl help breathing out.
"No!" Optimus cried out.
"No!" Another voice yelled from the other side of the transmission.
A yellow blur rushed in front of the camera, pushed a Seeker to the ground, avoided another, then collided into Megatron, making him drop Jazz again.
Bumblebee had been with Jazz, Prowl remembered.
Bumblebee was still with Jazz.
Megatron effortlessly snatched Bumblebee, and held him high. Even with all his might, the little bot couldn't reach the Decepticon.
"I don't care which one of your bots I dismember first," Megatron fumed. "But I will have you on your knees today."
"Never!" Bumblebee yelled. "We'll never surrender to the likes of you, you murdero-!"
Megatron's fist met Bumblebee's helm, violently.
"Shush. The leaders are talking."
"Let them go, Megatron," Optimus demanded. The voice and stature would work on many bots, but Megatron wasn't any bot.
Bumblebee's optics flickered, then he spit energon on Megatron's face.
"We won't yield…" Bumblebee repeated, weakly. Clearly the hit had damaged some part of his helm, and Prowl was itching to call Ratchet. But he couldn't. Ratchet was in surgery, and Bumblebee, like Jazz, was out of reach for now.
Megatron's free hand slowly came to his own faceplate and felt the energon stain there. Then, almost too quickly to be seen, he grabbed Bumblebee by the throat cables.
"Ggh!"
"Bumblebee!"
Megatron tore. Bumblebee's throat cables snapped, sending energon everywhere. Megatron still kept yanking the cables out.
"No!! Bumblebee!"
Prowl didn't even try to stop Optimus from crying out.
Critical loss of energon, critically damaged voice box, potential damage to processor- The effects of such a gesture were cascading in his mind.
Even if the rescue succeeded, Bumblebee would never be the same again.
Megatron ignored Optimus's pleas to Stop, please, no, and let Bumblebee fall to the ground too. The little bot landed next to Jazz, in a pool of his own energon. He wasn't moving anymore.
Then Megatron kneeled next to the two offline bots, and put his hand (powerful, covered in Bumblebee's energon) over Jazz's faceplate. It was large enough to wrap around the entire visor.
"Now, Prime," Megatron smiled, cruel and vicious. A small cracking sound came from Jazz's visor, and some light began shining beneath it.
No, Prowl thought. Please don't be online for this.
"I believe we were talking about your surrender?"