Chapter Text
Decepticons were scum in every sense of the word, but every once in a while on a mission he had to commend them for putting up a challenge. The Nemesis was one hell of a flagship.
Twice as large as the Ark, if not more, with halls like a labyrinth. Nearly the entirety of the Decepticon army could be housed on just this one ship. In fact, most of it was, they had a whole aviary bay just for docking the seeker armada. They were lucky the old girl was in a permanent stasis, Primus have mercy if the Decepticons found a way to get their mothership to transform. But despite her condition she was still a force to be reckoned with. Armed to the teeth with turrets and weaponry the Autobots couldn't fathom. And even if you had the bearings to actually attack the titan you still had to find it. A near impossibility due to its advanced cloaking systems. Luckily, that is exactly what he was here to remedy.
"Ay yo Prime, how we lookin' for timing mech?" Jazz called over his comm once he found a nice storage closet to drop into from the vents.
"We are on course, Jazz. Our route is steady." The calm voice of his friend replied.
"Jazz! I've told you! When you're on missions you are to report to me for your standings!" A shrill voice intruded.
"Yeah Red I know, but you know OP's my main mech! S'all good!" He smiled.
"It won't be 'all good' when you're caught!" The security director hissed.
"'Siiiides," he drawled "I get to talk to Wheeljack this time! Ain't he a risk too?"
"Wheeljack is an exception due to the specifications of this case" he grumbled in response "...You have approximately two thousand six hundred and twenty three astro seconds."
"Three hundred and fifty after you set the device!" Wheeljack chimed in happily.
"You can just say 'bout a joor, mech." Jazz chuckled, already crawling back toward the vent entrance.
"A joor is not precise." Red Alert replied curtly.
"Better slam the jets then, cause I'm finishing this in record time" Jazz chuckled. "See y'all in a bit."
"Good luck my friend." Optimus said warmly before ending the call. He hoisted himself back into the ducts and continued on his way.
If you'd told him a while back that one day he'd be shuffling through the air ducts of a titan holding a bomb that was originally designed as a plating dryer he'd probably have told you you needed to get recalibrated. Now it was one of his tamer missions.
The goal this time was simple: find the power center for the cloaking system, plant one of Jackie's BD bombs, get out. An easy in and out to cripple the Decepticon's camo. Smooth riding for the saboteur.
The nav system that Red had uploaded to him helped provide him a path through the Nemesis, but the large cables he was following made his job even easier. A turn here, a dip there, like he said, smooth riding. One more turn aaand-
"Ha!" He pulled out another vent grate and dropped down into the lab. "Alright alright alright~" He sang quietly to himself in the desolate lab.
He was enjoying being back on a sabotage run for once. Don't get him wrong, he loves helping his best friend, but second in command just wasn't his thing. There was more paperwork and organizing than action. Sometimes it just felt like his skills were being wasted at a desk rather than utilized on the field. To say the chance to blow up part of the Nemesis was a relief would be an understatement.
Now down to business, Wheeljack had said the power core would have to be about the size of a small busport. That already drastically narrowed down where it could be. Especially after they'd found out it was being housed in connection to Shockwave's lab. Ol' Shocky wouldn't want something that big sitting in the middle of his workplace, so it'd have to be against a wall.
He didn't really know what he was looking for, but the dryer bomb would work on it either way.
He's used Wheeljack's BD bombs on plenty of missions. They were meant to be more efficient blow dryers for the washracks that would've allowed them to reuse solvent. Instead, no one got to use any solvent for a decacycle because apparently mixing solvent with whatever chemical was inside and spinning it at high-speed didn't react well. The result was a small device that was quiet, unassuming, and nearly impossible to set off by accident. They were often regarded as the scientist's greatest failure.
"It's not a failure if you learn something!" Wheeljack had declared proudly.
"IT IS IF IT BLOWS YOUR FRAGGING ARM OFF!" the medic had shouted back. Apparently Jazz's joke about how the blow dryer had definitely blown him away was not appreciated. Fun times.
He continued to follow the cabling until he reached part of the wall covered by a containment field glowing a soft yellow.
Jackpot. He smirked, running a servo along the wall as sauntered over, but the second turned and glimpsed inside he froze.
Now, let it be recorded that Jazz has been on plenty of strange missions. You don't become second in command and head saboteur without running into some trouble. He's seen mechs in positions compromising enough to blackmail a politician and gotten enough footage of those things to throw together the best compilation of Decepti-fails that Morale Night on the Ark had ever seen. But this, this by far had to be the strangest thing he's ever come across during an assignment.
Behind the containment field he'd expected machinery, maybe an energon harvester, or possibly a few bodies and a spark converter. Not... Not this. Not two glowing yellow optics glaring back at him.
Certainly not ones coming from a turbo-fox.
"What in Primus's name-" he murmured as he stepped closer.
The turbo-fox reared back, glaring at him with wild eyes. A low clicking noise like a ratchet strap rumbled out of the mechanimal as he slowly made his way over.
Now, Jazz is a city mech down to his base coding. He was formed and raised in Polyhex, and eventually moved to Iacon. Mechanimals and cyberlife are not his MO. He's never seen so much as a cyber-deer outside of a datapad. But that being said, fragging pissed was a universal language.
The mechanimal shuffled back, mirroring his movements, never taking its optics off him. Its plating was flared and tail spines sharp, audials pressed back against its head.
He pressed a servo against the field and the turbo-fox spat out a static hiss and bared its teeth at the action. The low clicking started again and despite its anger Jazz still couldn't help but stare.
What was a mechanimal doing on a 'Con ship? They were too big to be one of Soundwave's cassettes. And last he checked the ruthless faction wasn't really accommodating for pets. It's not like they particularly cared for preserving Cybertron's natural techno-fauna either.
Then a soft whine came from behind the creature and its fiery demeanor dropped in an instant. Plating settled back down and audials perked at the soft sad sound.
He had been so engrossed in the unbridled rage pouring out of the turbo-fox that he hadn't noticed what it was standing over. Standing guard over, he realized, probably, he doesn't know scrap about mechanimals.
A large turbo-hound was laying beneath the fox. Looking every bit as sad as the quiet noise it was producing. As if it just wanted to melt into the floor.
The long high frequency whine had instantly drawn the fox away from Jazz. All attention turning to the sad creature on the ground. The fox trotted around to its head and chittered at it, even nudging the sadder canid with its nose a few times. Finally the dog rolled its head towards him and met Jazz with startlingly blue optics.
Colors were hard to make out with the yellow containment field, but the canid's optics broke through it like clouds to a jet engine. It was the kind of shocking blue that he'd only seen sported on mechs like Optimus and Bluestreak. Unable to look away he blindly reached for his comm.
"OP? I found the power core but... all that's here are two mechanimals."
"I'm sorry, come again?"
"There's a turbo-fox and a turbo-hound right where the power source should be." He restated.
There was a long silence from the other end "That is... Unfortunate. As well as rather strange." The Prime replied, carefully metering his response. "Wheeljack tells me you should proceed with the mission as planned."
"Bomb's a bomb!" The scientist chimed in happily. "Even if ya can't see the power source you're still in the right spot to do some major damage to their cloaking system's internals."
"I gotcha, I'mma get a closer look at what I'm working with," he replied, still fixated on the way the fox chirped at the hound, "Jazz out."
The moment he moved again the turbo-fox regained its fury. Stepping protectively over the larger mechanimal and flaring out.
"Ey ey, it's alright. I ain't gon' touch your buddy." He tried to soothe. It seemed to have little effect on the fox which only crouched lower and let out a warning sound. "You are just full of acid ain't ya?" He murmured moving to the control panel.
At the action the fox stood up and let out a couple of loud barks of protest.
"Ay! Cool it! You tryna get us both caught or what?" He scolded. Surprisingly the mechanimal seemed to listen, jaw snapping shut and inching back.
He was still fiddling with the scanner when the wall started to rumble.
"Mm?" Normally he wouldn't think much of it, but the mechanimals were shifting in their unit.
The turbo-hound wasn't really moving but the fox seemed startled. It barked at the turbo-hound urgently, its head swiveled back and forth, audials once again folded back and flattened, long antennae flashing irritably. Then a glow lit up the unit and ripples of distortion wafted off the fox.
Jazz didn't know what was happening but it looked painful. The creature was cut off from its barking with a pained yelp as whatever invisible force crashed down on it. Its limbs shook with effort as it tried to remain standing but ever so slowly it sank down to the ground beside the hound.
Miserable cries escaped the dog as it shuffled forward the slightest bit to lick the fox's face in what Jazz could only assume was an attempt at comfort. The fox hardly seemed to notice. One of those golden optics flashed toward him and it was almost as if he could feel its gaze shoot through his plating and straight into his spark.
"Don't worry lil' guy... I'll get ya both out..." He muttered before turning back to the panel. The rumbling died down and with a few more forced codes the security panel gave way. The fox seemed to notice the shift and had forced itself back up.
Before he deactivated the unit he crouched down to meet the turbo-fox at optic level. "Now," he said firmly, "I'mma bout ta bring this thing down, so you better not bite me. I will shoot you." He pointed a digit at the creature sternly.
Shockingly the snarling turbo-fox made a huffing noise and sat down firmly. It was still glaring at him, but they seemed to have come to an understanding. Maybe he really was an animal guy.
Jazz stood back as the field trickled down and collapsed and he got his first real look at the creature. Most of it was a clean white with cobalt blue accents and a diamond of vibrant red in the center of its face framing two golden yellow optics.
A crisp white paw tentatively stepped out of the unit. With a sniff to the ground and another careful step the fox stood proudly just past where the shield had been, chest puffed out boldly and audials perked. Its tail flicked once, then twice, and then it shot forward.
"Woah!" Jazz stumbled backwards as the vulpine launched around the room at a speed he almost couldn't track. The white blur bounced off the walls of the lab, jumping onto tables and bounding off of storage compartments.
He chuckled quietly and looked back at the containment unit. The large turbo-hound was much less colorful, a dull olive green across its entire frame. It still laid in a heap on the floor, heavy optics dim and shuttered.
"Alright big guy, why don't you go join your buddy" he chided. The turbo-hound wasn't as responsive as the fox. It made a low grumble and it shuffled its head over but made no move to stand.
He just sighed and stepped around the large dog to get a better look at the machine. The containment unit was cramped, hardly enough room for the two mechanimals, much less him. It was short, making it impossible for him to stand at full height. The entire ceiling of the containment unit was a strange amalgamation of rings and wires that made up what he could only assume was the machine he was looking for. He grabbed the rim of one of the large rings and leaned back. Hanging from it for a better view.
"Alright Jackie," he called in "tell me what I'm lookin' at." He sent a live feed from his visor to Teletraan's display system.
"Well, it's certainly some kind of energy extractor. Not one I've ever seen before though. But that's fine! Most of these things are basically the same!" The scientist jabbered. "In the center there should be a few prongs, attach the bomb to one of those and activate it. That should cause the most damage by igniting the processing cables."
"Loud and clear Jackie, Jazz out" he signed off as he carefully fastened the bomb to the mechanics.
He primed the explosive and with a quick ping he received the activation code from Red Alert and quickly plugged it into the device. The countdown started quietly and he stepped back satisfied.
Now... He glanced down at the turbo-hound.
The turbo-fox that had previously been bouncing off the walls had come to a stop beside it. The vulpine let out a few barks and chitters at the mutt, tail swishing behind it. The hound seemed more responsive to its friend than him, trying to get up only to come crashing back down as shaking stabilizers failed to hold its weight.
"Alright," Jazz sighed and made a move towards the canid. The fox let out a shriek and tried to force him away.
"Look I ain't gonna hurt 'im! But he's gotta move!" He pleaded desperately. He didn't want to get the two critters hurt but he had a job to do, cyber-mutt or no that bomb was going off in a few hundred astro seconds. "He can't stay here."
The fox continued to glare but a long low whine came from behind it and slowly it moved back.
He let his armor decompress in relief and crouched down beside the canine. With all the effort in his struts he lugged it up onto his pauldrons. "Erf- C'mon big dog" he groaned under the weight of the large mechanimal as he slowly tried to drag it out of the containment unit.
Tried, being the key word. He only made it a few steps before he couldn't handle the weight anymore and dropped to the ground. "I- I'm sorry." He mourned, placing a servo on the mutt's helm. "I just can't make it outta here like this. I don't know how to help you."
The turbo-hound closed its optics and made a bunch of sniffling noises, pressing its olfactory to his wrist and taking a deep vent before dragging its smooth glossa over his gauntlet. He gave the hound a few more pats before the vulpine came up beside them.
The fox also took an interest in his gauntlet, sniffing it carefully before scratching and digging at it with its paws.
"Hey! Quit it!" He scolded, attempting to yank his wrist away "OW!"
Needle-like teeth sank into his plating. "Hey! Let- GO!" he pulled but the fox only looked him in the optics and sank its fangs in deeper.
"Knock it- off!" He yelled, his other servo started to reach for his blaster. "Look I don't wanna shoot you but if you don't let go-!"
The hound let out a long pitiful cry. "If you don't stop you're gonna puncture my-" he froze "my energon..."
Energon. Slowly he reached over to his wrist plating and unhooked his outer casing to reveal the storage space beneath. The fox unlatched its fangs and stepped back as he removed the two energon cubes he'd stashed inside.
"This?" Jazz offered up the emergency rations. The vulpine took one carefully in its teeth and nudged it over to the turbo-hound.
The mutt graciously lapped up the fuel and Jazz watched its seams glow a vibrant blue as the fluid brought its systems back to life. Once the cube was empty the light died down and the hound tried yet again to stand. This time it made it to all four stabilizers, shaking itself to loosen unused joints.
Weakly it made its way over to him and sniffed out the other cube in his hand.
"Ha! Here, take all you need." He smiled. The turbo-hound scarfed the second cube down with enthusiasm. Stabilizer wagging happily behind it. The turbo-fox came up beside it, licking its face as it did so and nudging it with its muzzle.
"Now, touching as this is we've got about two hundred and sixty astro seconds before a good chunk of this ship goes ker-pow."
He was fully prepared to kick it into high gear the second he was out of the lab but stopped short the moment they crossed the threshold of the containment unit. A loud shriek erupted from his comm.
"JAZZ! JAZZ PLEASE RESPOND!" Red Alert screamed.
"ACK! What?! What, Red?" He cringed at the volume.
"Thank Primus you're alive!" The relieved voice gasped.
"What? Why the scrap wouldn't I be?"
"Jazz the Nemesis' cloaking device just went down."
"What? But the bomb hasn't even-"
"Doesn't matter." The security director interjected. "There will be Decepticons coming to your location in a matter of nanoseconds."
"Scrap." He hissed. "I'm going now. I'll see you in a bit." He clicked off his comm.
"We gotta go! Now!" He shouted, bursting through the door. To be honest he wasn't entirely sure if the mechanimals would want to follow him even if they could understand what he'd said. So you can imagine his surprise when not only did they follow, but they helped clear a path.
The Vehicons that were stationed outside the doors hadn't stood a chance.
The moment the Con locked optics with the creature the fox let out that same ratchet-like chittering noise and leapt at the guard. Before the Con even had time to react claws sank into plating.
The Decepticon flailed wildly as the lithe form wove up the mech's frame. With a vicious snarl the turbo-fox sank its teeth into the mech's neck and ripped out a chunk of wires and tubing. Sparks flew and energon splattered across the wall. The fox jumped off and the vehicon slammed to the ground, grey.
The small white mechanimal landed gracefully beside the offline frame, tail thrashing and lapping the energon off its muzzle as it waited patiently for them. Jazz stared for a moment before snapping out of it and hurrying forward.
The next con they encountered hadn't lasted much longer. The mech only managed to yell "FREEZE!" before it was jumped by the full force of the largest turbo-hound he's ever seen running at mach ten. When the hound leapt off the mech there was a concave dent in its chassis. The vehicon did not get back up.
A few moments later a siren blared out through the hallway and the drumming of steps started to thunder ever closer. A small crew broke through snarling and angry.
"Woo! They're bringing out the cavalry now boys!" Jazz shouted with a smile, unclipping his blaster and firing a shot into the group behind them.
The turbo-fox chittered and continued forward, switching between running along the floor and across ledges scattered through the halls. It was a pretty thing, he'd give it that, even if it did have an attitude.
Then with a booming cry a mass of Decepticons slammed into the hallway to chase after them.
"Ooo boy-" Now, normally a legion of angry Cons wasn't something to worry about for him. But he was on a time limit, and he couldn't transform within the narrow hallways of the Nemesis.
As if on cue he got a ping in his display letting him know his transport was docked and waiting. "I got an escape pod waitin' on me, pedal to the metal fellas or ain't none of us are gettin' outta here!"
Embarrassingly enough at the command the two mechanimals ran out in front of him with ease. He tried to keep up, but the Cons were starting to gain on him.
"Damn narrow shaft ship-" he muttered to himself. Maybe it was by some Primus given miracle, but the turbo-hound seemed to understand his problem.
The large mutt slowed down and tucked behind him. "WOOAH!" a blocky green head slipped between his stabilizers and tossed him up, landing him solidly on the back of the turbo-hound.
"This has got to be the weirdest thing I've ever done." He shook his head as he wrapped his servos around the hound's neck and held on tight.
He shouted directions to the two mechanimals as they raced down the halls. His transport was still a good few kilks away.
"We ain't gon' make it in time!" Jazz shouted. It was nearly a straight shot now as he looked to the end of the hallway but the legion of 'Cons was closing in on them and in close quarters like these it was practically a death sentence. Even if they did get to the transport they wouldn't be able to escape with it.
The turbo-hound looked over to the fox, the small vulpine narrowed its optics and chittered. The hound let out a low grumble and while the turbo-fox didn't look pleased it pushed forward, the glowing beacon on its tail lighting up brightly leaving a trail of light behind it. And then-
"What?" Jazz gaped as the fox's slender white body rippled and vanished. "What the-?"
Then the hound pounded forward and he felt the plating beneath him hum warmly. Around them dozens of turbo-foxes and hounds identical to the two he'd found flickered into existence around them. Copies of him even sat atop their own mutts.
The hound jumped, letting out a loud, gear-rattling bark and then the entire world around them warped. When Jazz turned to look behind him the sight took all the air out of his vents.
Mindlessly he lifted his visor to stare open-mouthed at the sight. The halls of the Nemesis morphed and changed, walls sprang out of nowhere, corridors opened from solid metal, foxes and hounds darting and weaving into corridors that hadn't existed mere moments before.
Vehicons crashed and stumbled as the hall behind them turned into an ever-shifting labyrinth with no end and twists and turns that never stayed the same for more than an instant.
Everything was surrounded in a sort of multicolored glow. Streams of light ran along the entire hall, edging the corners of his vision, chasing them and climbing across the air with flickering prismatic light. It was more beautiful than anything he could dream of putting in his light show.
He snapped his visor back down and looked out in front of them again. The turbo-fox that had been in front of them still remained invisible, but a stream of light he could only see in his visor flowed down the hall with a ghostly blue. The turbo-hound he rode on followed it diligently, never wavering for a single turn or bound.
He tore his optics away and back to the sight of the shifting labyrinth behind him.
"OP? You seeing this?" He breathed, sending a live feed to the Ark.
A few hundred kilks away the entire crew of the Ark fell silent, staring at the video feed that had sprawled across the display screen of Teletraan-1.
Jazz turned his attention back to the distance before them. Every Con that had been chasing them was gone, swallowed by the maze that had formed behind them. With a final turn they arrived at an airlock and stopped. Jazz jumped down from the turbo-hound and the canid huffed with a stomp, a wall flickering into existence behind them to seal the corridor off.
"Good dog." He smiled, patting the mutt on the helm. The turbo-fox rippled to existence beside him.
He quickly turned his attention to the airlock gate. Whatever just happened wouldn't keep the Cons away for long. He plugged into the door controls and began hacking away at the defenses.
He was about halfway through when the turbo-hound's audials perked up and it let out a low snarl.
"Guess that's my cue" Jazz said, hurrying to finish with the panel. There was banging on the other side of the metal wall. "C'mon c'mon..."
Parts of the wall started to glitch and fritz. Servos started reaching through. The two mechanimals started backing up against the wall.
A clawed servo reached through, followed by more and more. The turbo-hound whimpered and the fox's plating raised.
"GOT IT!" He exclaimed as the gate flew open. "C'MON LET'S GO!"
The Cons tore through the fake wall at the same time they jumped into the ship and took off.
"WOOO!" he cheered spinning on his wheels and doing a quick victory dance as they shot away from the Nemesis. "Alright Red! Send it!" He commed and the console of the ship lit up brightly with the new navigation upload. There would normally be a concern for the seekers but he had a feeling they'd be busy.
He smiled as a shockwave rumbled through the ship. "Three fifty," he smirked, "right on time." If Wheeljack was anything it was punctual.
"Well boys, we're not in the clear just yet, but we'll be gettin' back to the Ark soon." He smiled proudly as the pre-programmed shuttle took course for the Autobot flagship.
...the Ark...
Jazz discreetly sent a comm past the security director "Uh yo 'Ferno? Hypothetically how fritzed do you think Red would be if I brought two strange mechanimals onto the ship?"
"Oh he'd blow a gasket." The other replied. "...Please tell me you're doing that it'd be so funny."
Jazz glanced at the two critters, tumbling around the small transport pod. "...don't think I really got a choice." He murmured and ended the call with the rescue bot.
The turbo-fox bowed in front of the hound, tail swishing back and forth mischievously. The large canid barking and ducking in response. The white fox pounced, biting and scratching at the hound's neck playfully. The dog hardly seemed to notice, spinning in a circle with a dopey grin across its face, glossa lolling out of its intake.
Eh, he could deal with Red. Plus OP loved animals, a couple of pets might do the Ark some good.
Speaking of pets though... Why were the two critters on the Nemesis in the first place? After that display with the disappearing trick he wasn't so sure they didn't have something to do with the cloaking system. Maybe part of one of Shockwave's experiments? Shockwave didn't seem like one for pets though, at least not ones that he'd keep intact.
"Hm." He walked over to the two. The hound was laying content on the floor, the fox underneath it and looking thoroughly smooshed. He let out a quick snort at the sight before moving to run his servos against the cyber-mutt's plating. He found what he was searching for a moment later.
"Gotcha!" He smiled, plucking a small device off the creature. It was round with a few sharp legs. One of Shockwave's tags, meant to give him readings and track any of his experiments.
"Alright, your turn." He smirked at the turbo-fox. The fox immediately started to thrash and struggle to no avail, pinned under the weight of the larger dog. Defiantly it rippled and vanished again, leaving Jazz stunned and a bit unsure how to find an invisible bug on an invisible fox.
The turbo-hound just reached down and left a giant lick across the vulpine's entire face. The turbo-fox flickered back into existence looking horribly offended but ceased its pointless struggle.
Jazz laughed and patted the dog again. "I am liking you more and more every second." He fiddled with the fox's plating until he'd found the bug and plucked it off.
The moment he finished, the turbo-fox turned onto its back underneath the hound, pulled its front stabilizers out and pushed against its breastplate until it slipped free and could dart around the cabin again.
A small beeping at the main console caught his attention and made him smile. He stood and walked over to look out the viewing window.
"Alright boys, there he is, home." He smiled as the yellow form of the Ark came into view.
"Jazz to Ark, we've got ya in our sights, docking in a nanosec."
"We hear you Jazz, we will be seeing you in a moment." Optimus replied warmly.
"Jazz who is we?" Red Alert urged nervously.
"Byeeee!" He smiled and clicked the channel off.
The shuttle bridge extended and he couldn't help but rush excitedly down the hall, especially after the turbo-fox darted past him.
"That a challenge!?" He laughed loudly, transforming to race the mechanimal. The fox was still faster than him even in alt mode, but it didn't dull his energy when he drifted to a stop and transformed in the receiving hangar.
"Wooo! We're home free! Finally!" He cheered, doing a little dance to match the fox as it jumped and spun in a circle. The turbo-hound was still lagging behind.
A small noise that almost sounded like a laugh came from the fox in front of him catching his attention, and then it... Changed.
"ehehehehHehehhahaAHHAHAHAHAA!"
Chuffing that almost mimicked a mech's laughter slowly turned into something that sounded more and more like a voice.
"HAHAHAHHAHAHAAA!"
Okay that- that sounded like-
CRRCHK-CHK-CHK
His expression was a mix of confusion, awe, and deep disturbance as the fox began to change before him. Plating folded and shifted loudly as transformation seams activated.
"AhahahahaHA!" The mech twirled in a circle hugging himself and laughing hysterically as his frame snapped into place.
Before Jazz could even process that, the turbo-hound leapt over him. He watched as armor shifted and reconnected in midair above his helm until what landed was another Cybertronian.
"AH! AHAHAHAA!" The white and blue mech cried excitedly as the other landed beside him. The larger mech- the former turbo-hound- was mirroring the smaller's wide smile and rushed forward, scooping the smaller mech in his arms and spinning the two around.
The larger slowed to a stop still holding the other mech in the air. The white plated mech had his servos braced on the other's wrist gauntlets as the green mech's servos engulfed his entire midsection. The two smiled happily at each other, optic fluid leaked down both their faceplates despite their wide smiles. For a moment they just continued to stare, soft cries wrenching from the two before the blue and white mech yanked the green one into a deep kiss.
Jazz suddenly felt he was intruding on something extremely private.
Eventually the two slowly broke apart. When the large green mech finally set the other down he kept his servos on the smaller's hips, and in turn the smaller kept his hands on the larger's gauntlets. Neither seemed to be able to remove themselves from the other. Then the smaller suddenly tensed as if something had struck him.
"Ah! This is you!" The small mech let out a loud excited cry. Tiny servos latching on to the taller mech's faceplates.
"This is me" the other echoed gently.
"You are much more handsome than I thought you'd be!" The smaller mech said with delight, turning the larger mech's face back and forth to inspect it.
"And you're even more beautiful than I imagined." The green mech smiled softly at the smaller. He leaned down and pressed his helm against the blue and white mech's.
Jazz, for all of his experience as second in command, had frozen. Gaping at the pair, intake opening and closing like a busted valve.
"You- you're mechs!" He managed to shout a few moments too late.
The two jolted, likely having forgotten he was there.
"Ah! Sorry! Sorry!" The small mech- the one that had been the turbo-fox- cried in a heavily accented voice flailing his servos.
"I, am Mirage." He exclaimed proudly, bowing deeply.
"I'm Hound" the larger mech greeted with a simple smile and a wave.
"Hah, bit on the olfactory isn't it" Jazz joked breathlessly.
"Fittin' though ain't it?" The larger mech chuckled. "Sorry 'bout that by the way, but yeah, we're mechs." He rumbled. His voice was deep soothing like a roll of thunder.
"You're Jazz, right?" Hound asked, pointing to him.
"Yep, the one and only." He smiled. The green mech must've heard him when he was talking on the comm. ...oh Primus they could understand him that entire time. Embarrassment and confusion simmered in his lines.
"Thank you for helping us escape I ...I didn't think we would ever be free again." Hound said sullenly.
"Yes," Mirage hissed, "we've been prisoners of Shockwave's for vorns."
"No... No problem" he sputtered out, still a little baffled by the... Everything. "Now wait wait wait-" he shook his head. "Hang on- I still don't get it. You-"
"Our alt modes." Hound supplied. "Some have cars, some have jets, we have mechanimals."
"How come you didn't transform earlier?!" He cried.
"Wasn't safe." Mirage stated. "Not while we were still on the ship."
"I reckon it has to do with those chips you pulled off us earlier." Hound stated.
That... Made sense. "And the light show and the invisibility?"
"Outliers." The two answered in unison.
"Scrap mechs this is-" he shook his helm and took a deep vent.
"We are safe here right?" Mirage urged, paranoia creeping into his tone, glancing nervously around the hangar.
"I didn't smell any seekers when we came in." Hound whispered gently to the other, placing a servo on his pauldron. It seemed to ease the smaller mech's wires for the moment. "But... I can smell a lot of other mechs on the ship." He prompted, looking to Jazz.
"Yep! You two are on the Autobot flagship the Ark! Most'a our forces live on this ship! Present company included." He explained proudly. "But don't you worry, you're with the Autobots now. Trust me there's nowhere in the galaxy that's safer than-"
The door slammed open behind him "JAZZ WHAT THE SCRAP DID YOU GET US INTO?!"
Mm. Well that's unfortunate.
"Heeey!" He drawled, turning on his heel to face the door. "If it isn't the welcoming committee!" At the gate stood Wheeljack, Ironhide, Optimus, and the furious ball of sparks that was their director of security. "Look Red, I-"
"INTRUDERS!" He screeched, pointing to the two mechs who immediately tensed.
"Woah hey-!"
The mech raised his blaster at the two. Mirage let out a snarl before transforming and hissing, Hound hadn't transformed but he too started growling at the assembled crew.
"HEY NOW! Everybody cool it!" Jazz commanded, stepping between the two mechs and the blaster. "Red Alert you put that thing down right now!"
Optimus came up beside the director and slowly eased the gun down. Red Alert didn't look happy about it but he complied, the sparking from his glitch slowly tapering off.
"Beastformers! Haha!" Wheeljack suddenly exclaimed excitedly, casually pushing past the security director and rushing up to the turbo-fox. Mirage snapped at him, biting down on blast-force plating that was much sturdier than his own. Wheeljack looked no less elated, pointing excitedly at where the fox was still latched on to his gauntlet.
"Jazz, my friend, we are glad to see you returned to us safely." Optimus greeted. "Who is it that you have returned with?"
"Well, these two are the mechanimals I said I found when I went to blow the power core. Except apparently they're not mechanimals." He explained what little he actually knew about the situation..
"You brought Decepticons onto the Ark?" Red Alert wailed.
Mirage transformed back into his root mode with a snap "I am no Decepticon!" He spat at the other.
From his other side Hound hurried over to the fox-former's side. "Mira..." He whispered gently, placing a servo on his pauldron.
"They ruined my life!" Mirage huffed wildly. "They destroyed my home! Held me captive for vorns! Both of us!"
"My deepest apologies for the mistake, my newest friends." Optimus spoke, his tone immediately switching into that diplomatic meter Jazz knew he used whenever he was trying to be calming. "I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobot faction. Please tell us, who are you?"
"I'm Hound, I was from Helex." The green mech spoke, raising a servo.
Mirage let out a huff and crossed his arms. "I am Mirage, of Crystal City."
"Towers!" Jazz burst out, startling the mech. "I knew I recognized that accent! You're a Towers mech!"
"I was a Towers mech." He corrected harshly. "They're gone now."
"I didn't think there were any towers mechs left." Ironhide remarked quietly.
"There aren't." Mirage snapped at him, then he turned and hissed at Wheeljack who was still staring at him in fascination. "Only me."
"And why is that?" Red Alert asked suspiciously.
The small mech turned another sharp hissing in the security director's direction. "Because Shockwave made sure of it!" He snapped.
"He destroyed my home and took me from its ruins. Slaughtered everyone I ever knew before my optics!" He screamed, steam blowing off of his heated frame.
"Hey, hey-" Hound moved to soothe the mech, gently rubbing a servo across his plates.
"No!" Mirage wailed, half-heartedly swatting the larger mech away. "I have been trapped for mega vorns, we have been trapped for decavorns! We finally escape and now he's trying to say that I- that-" the little white mech hissed and puffed, voice dissolving into glitches.
Jazz looked between the odd pair and his friends. Hound was whispering soft nothings to the smaller, trying to calm him down. High command on the other hand looked varying degrees of startled and confused. He couldn't blame them for being wary, Red was just doing his job and the whole situation was confusing as scrap to him too.
"Hey, I'm sorry bout him." Hound spoke up. "We're both just-" the green mech tried to step forward only to let out a sharp groan as one of his stabilizers buckled and brought him down to a knee.
"Hound!" Mirage gasped quietly and rushed to his side.
"Exhausted." Optimus finished for him, stepping forward in front of his commanders. He marched up to the two, towering over the smaller mechs the way he did with most Cybertronians. He could hear Mirage's plating rattling quietly in the shadow of the Prime.
"Please, allow us to give you a place to stay for the time being. We will bring you to our medic after you have had some time to recharge. There is much to discuss, but now is not the time. You are in dire need of care." He offered, holding out a servo.
Mirage's optics clouded over in thought for a moment. They darted around the room, from the floor, to the Autobots, then to Hound before finally landing on Optimus. Optics still sharp and distrustful, he gave a firm nod and Jazz could see Prime smile beneath his mask.
"Red Alert, please select quarters for our guests to stay in for the time being." The Prime requested.
"WHAT?! But Prime-!"
"Red Alert." The Prime boomed and the other bot slumped.
He commend the other silently. "They need recharge Red, not a brig. Just put em in a place you know your cameras are trained on. It'll be alright."
Red Alert glanced briefly at him before giving the Prime a quick nod and hurrying off.
Jazz watched the two new mechs work towards the hallway. Mirage braced Hound as he stood, struggling to bear the weight of the heavy cyber-mutt. Optimus moved to help but quickly stepped back after receiving a hiss. Wheeljack took a sharp turn towards the med bay shouting "RATCHET! RATCHET THERE'S BEASTFORMERS!". Ironhide trailed behind as they trickled down the hallway.
A playful smile grew across his faceplate. Yeah, this was definitely one of his stranger missions.
"YO OP WAIT UP!" He called as he hurried off to follow the crew with their two new strangers.