Prowl stalked around the room.
What was taking them so long? He wanted them. He wanted them, no, he needed them… now!
“You are testing my patience!” Prowl shouted, the room shaking. He didn’t even flinch as things fell over and smashed; he could smell a sparkling, and he wanted it.
There were rapid pedefalls as the mech who summoned him skidded into the room, clutching a sparkling to their chest. Prowl faltered when he took in its condition. It was… it was dying. That wouldn’t even earn their carrier a speck of gold… What were they thinking? Slowly, Prowl looked up at their Carrier.
“He’s sick.” The mech panted. “Very sick. Please, help him…” They thrusted the child towards Prowl, and the demon had to fight to not take a step back.
Ew.
His nose scrunched up.
He didn’t want to take care of it…
“P-please! I’ll give you anything, anything you want.”
“Anything at all?” Prowl purred in reply. Hmm, this could still work out to his benefit…
“Yes! Just, please…”
Prowl considered this for a moment before taking the sparkling from their Carrier. “What’s their name?”
“Jazz.”
“An…. Interesting name. Very well.” Prowl gently placed the sparkling down onto the sofa a few paces away. “Now, as for payment…”
Jazz’s Carrier didn’t even have a chance to blink before Prowl was in front of him, claws piercing his chest and gripping his spark. “This will pay for eighteen vorns, I think.”
Jazz’s Carrier coughed up energon, the life fluid splattering over Prowls face. The demon casually wiped it off. “I’ll be back in exactly eighteen vorns to take back what’s mine… It was a pleasure meeting you.”
Prowl yanked the spark out of their chest and severed the cables, the other mech’s lifeless frame falling to the floor.
Their spark pulsed weakly in their hands.
Prowl carefully removed the cables and wires, taking care to not damage the dying spark. The moment it was clear from all scraps of metal and other internals, Prowl licked his lips and devoured it.
There was a sob from behind him.
Oh, yes. The sparkling.
A deal was a deal. He’d provide it eighteen vorns. Licking his fingers, Prowl hummed to himself that their Carrier had so many more vorns left in them…
Aah, no matter. What was done was done. He wiped the energon from his face and approached Jazz, quietly cooing to him.
“It’s alright, it’s alright…” He quietly said, summoning his doll. He slipped it into Jazz’s arms and began humming as he swayed them from side to side, sending them into a deep recharge.
Jazz woke up clutching the doll in his hands and wrapped in his blanket on the top of the stairs to the temple.
The strange mech was gone.
090909
Prowl watched from the shadows as Jazz was taken inside by a Priestess. Good. He was inside, he was safe. His spark was safe.
Quietly, he slunk away into the shadows.
A few cycles later, Prowl returned.
They had clearly read the note he had placed beside Jazz – his doll had not been taken away from him, and Jazz had been taken care of. Prowl crept closer and listened in to their conversations, but try as he might he simply couldn’t get near enough to make sense of them. However, he had the general gist of it; they were looking for somewhere else for Jazz to go.
Prowl gritted his teeth. No! No, no, no! He had chosen this temple for a reason! He didn’t want Jazz to go anywhere else – how dare they!
Prowl was half a mind to storm in there and demand they stop the mindless discussion, but he stopped himself. If he revealed himself, if he gave away that he had formed a contract that was keeping Jazz alive, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill Jazz and destroy the doll. And Prowl couldn’t be having that. Contracts weren’t to be taken lightly – they weren’t to be toyed with, they weren’t to be gone against or changed. Contracts were law. Contracts were set in stone.
With a guttural growl, Prowl slunk off towards Jazz’s room.
Jazz was sleeping soundly, still curled up with the doll. There were other sparklings around him, none of them older than three vorns, but none of them were as small or as weak looking as Jazz was.
Was Jazz bullied? Was he allowed to do anything?
Prowl wasn’t sure why he cared so much, if he was entirely honest with himself, however something was urging him to keep an eye on Jazz. Who knows? Maybe it would prove more entertaining than the mundane life on Unicron.
He quietly stood over Jazz’s cot and looked over him for any injuries. Any dents, any scrapes, anything…
There was nothing. He reached down into the cot to test Jazz’s reactions when he heard a noise at the door.
A Priestess walked into the nursery to check on the children when she saw a dark shadow looming over Jazz's cot. She gasped and lifted her lantern in time to see the shadow slither out through an open window.
She promptly shut and locked it, but she saw no trace of whatever it was on the street outside.
Calming herself, she ensured the room was free of anything else and left the children in peace to warn the others.
"Perhaps it is the ghost of Jazz's Carrier." The head Priestess said. "They did die rather violently, it's not unheard of for them to come back."
"But this was malevolent!" The Priestess insisted. "Would a Carrier hold such feelings?"
"There is much we do not know about this case." The Head Priestess replied, "How they died may have made them malicious and evil. Come, let us cleanse the room." They stood and helped the other stand up. "It may calm your nerves."
"Thank you, Sol."
"Anything for you, Neptune."
The two of them walked towards the nursery while Prowl scowled at them.
He was no Carrier.
He had slipped out of the window when Neptune had walked in, and then snuck back in again through another. Stupid priestesses, leaving windows open all the time... It let mechs like him in, and while he had no intent of causing harm or touching the young, others did.
Like that mech he'd torn a new one for outside by the rubbish disposal unit. They could find him in the morning.
090909
It was always Jazz.
The shadow creature never went near the other children, nor any of the worshippers at the temple. As such, they didn't think of it as a threat, however it did cause concern for Jazz. Why was it just lurking around him? Was it truly his Carrier? And if so, why hadn't it attacked any of the priests or priestesses when they handled Jazz, or when the sparkling had pointed at Sol and chirped the sparkling cant for Caretaker?
But then again, it had been unusually dark behind her that day.
At night, Jazz could sometimes be heard laughing or nattering away to himself. It raised questions like 'who was he talking to?' As only one voice could ever be heard. And sometimes, if they were quiet, they'd see the doll he was found with move by itself.
The word demon had been thrown around after that.
Jazz couldn't stay.
But the shadow wouldn't let him be taken.
The mecha who arrived to take Jazz away were found deactivated upon the altar every single time, each with their spark casing removed and delicately placed into their hands to look as though they had removed it themselves. Anyone they sent themselves with Jazz was found in a similar fashion, Jazz back inside the nursery and babbling away with his doll in his lap.
Soon, the offers stopped coming, and their requests were denied.
It was clear.
Jazz was to stay.
Vorns went by, Jazz slowly but surely growing taller and taller. It became evident very quickly that he was blind as a bat, and so a visor was fashioned for him.
Once, when he was but two vorns old, they tried to take the doll away from him.
Jazz screamed. He screamed and screamed, clutching at his chest and dragging his hands down his face. Coolant spilled out from behind his visor as he thrashed, and it took three agonising cycles for them to realise it wasn't a temper tantrum and that Jazz was in absolute agony. The doll was swiftly returned.
In the three cycles Jazz was without his doll, he was only quiet for a few joors a cycle. Much to their horror, he was bathed in shadows, and at first they believed him to be dead until they heard his ragged breathing.
Once a vorn they tried taking it away, but the result only became worse and worse as time passed.
Eventually they stopped trying and accepted that Jazz needed the doll to survive.
Prowl was very pleased with this. Ziz had begun to poke fun at him, calling him soft and cushy after she had discovered Prowl had spent cycles sitting with the youngling to ease his illness and let him sleep.
Prowl needed only a moment to turn and remind her she had reproduced to shut her up.
"You've been no fun since you've had your little project." Ziz complained. "I miss it when we used to hunt mortals together."
"A contract's a contract." Prowl replied. "Eighteen vorns is nothing to us."
"I know, but... Still. It gets kind of lonely when no one can keep up with you."
"I'm sure the big guy can."
"He's too busy messing around with that Shrink. What's his name? Rang?"
"Close enough, I don't particularly care for the details. Let him do what he wants."
"He's getting just as cushy as you are!" Ziz thrilled.
Prowl poked her stomach. "Pot, meet kettle."
"Ow!"
"You very much deserved that."
"I've just eaten!"
"Oh no, a shame. Truly." Prowl deadpanned. He looked down from the rooftop they were both sat on to the alleyway below. The remains of Ziz's last meal were still there, the few scraps of tough metal in a pool of bright pink energon.
"It was kind of tasty, too."
"Probably a tourist." Prowl sniffed. "I'd better get back; something doesn't feel right."
"Sure, sure. See you round, papa Prowl."
Prowl snarled at her. "Do not call me that."
"Wow, testy much!" Ziz hopped to her feet and took a few leaps backwards. "Like a protective father!"
She transformed and flew away before Prowl could reach her. Grunting and throwing a rude hand gesture at her, Prowl began to return to the temple.
Jazz was sat in his room, right out towards the edge of the temple (out of sight, out of mind as Prowl had heard Luna put it) with a stylus in one hand and a datapad in the other.
Luna was walking swiftly towards his room, and Prowl found himself possessing his doll. It was sat on Jazz's lap, and Prowl wriggled to adjust himself into a comfier position.
"Hi!" Jazz whispered, petting the dolls head. "Sorry, Ah can't talk right now-"
"Luna's on her way." Prowl finished for him. Jazz fearfully looked at his datapad - oh, he wasn't finished!
"Seriously?! Ah'm not finished!" He whispered urgently as he leaned forwards and began furiously scribbling, digits wildly tapping on his calculator.
"Math problems?"
"Yeah."
"I'll help. Show me the pad." Math, Prowl could do. Jazz was on his own when it was literature or writing; anything artistic at all. Music, strangely, they weren't letting Jazz study.
Jazz finished the last one just as Luna knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Jazz chirped as he put the datapad and stylus down.
Luna gently opened the door and stepped in. "Oh? Finished already?"
"Yeah. They were quite difficult."
"I see," Luna picked up the datapad and briefly looked over it before subspacing it. "Well, this was simply meant as an endurance test..."
Jazz tried to not show how much he was soiling himself.
Luna closed the door and locked it.
"You've shown me you can endure some quite difficult things," she said, quickly swiping the doll. Jazz gasped and bit back the pained cry desperate to escape him. His chest burned. "Let's see how well you can endure this. I'll step back, and you'd endure. Understood."
Jazz couldn't reply. Luna patted his helm and ignored Jazz's pained whimper as she took a step back.
A minute later, she took another step back.
Jazz's helm felt fuzzy. He couldn't feel his legs.
Another step.
Jazz couldn't see. His helm was empty. All he knew was pain.
Another step.
Jazz passed out.
"Oh? Already?" Luna said, about to step towards Jazz when suddenly a black smoke whipped out of the doll and materialised in front of here.
Demon!
Her optics widened and the doll was dropped as Prowl grabbed her neck and threw her against the wall, holding her there with a clawed hand.
"Now," he purred, "Let's not do that again, hmm?"
He gave a hard squeeze for good measure and dropped her to the floor. Stooping to pick up the doll, he gave her a harsh look that had her scampering from the room.
Jazz slowly came to on his berth, doll clutched in his arms, and Sol looking down at him.
"Oh, Jazz..." She murmured. "What have you got yourself into?"
Prowl knew he couldn't stay here any longer. Now they knew a demon was here, they'd begin to connect the dots and hunters would be called in.
Frag, he hated hunters.
090909
Hunters were called in before Prowl could think of any way to convince Jazz to leave. Ziz wasn't much help either; she just teased and teased him. She strangely became very tight lipped when questioned on the location of her twins, however.
Jazz was led - dragged might have been a better word, actually, towards the altar room. Three hunters were stood there along with the other ten priestesses. None of the priests were present, all scurrying around the city repairing the wards and putting up new ones in the hopes of keeping the citizens safe.
Luna scowled at the doll, rubbing at her neck. The dents were long gone but the disgrace still remained. Sol looked as impassive as ever, quietly talking to the three hunters as Mercury finally let go of Jazz. Neptune quickly ran up to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry," she quietly said to him as she bent down slightly to be level with him, "I'm sure they won't take your doll away."
"Wha' if they take me away?" Jazz asked.
"They won't." Neptune promised.
As Sol coughed, Neptune gave Jazz one last reassuring squeeze on his shoulder and stood in between Pluto and Uranus.
"The youngling." Sol gestured to Jazz. "His name is Jazz."
Jazz waved at the three hunters. One waved back at him.
"So, what're we looking at?" The tallest one asked. He would blend in perfectly with a desert, the oranges and browns melding into an excellent camouflage.
"His doll." Sol replied. "It is rather unusual." She beckoned Jazz over. Jazz clutched his doll and looked nervously between all of the adults before backing away slightly. Neptune twitched as though she were about to break line and comfort him, but Pluto stood on her foot.
"It's alright kid!" The one who waved at him said. "We won't take it off ya. Come here, lemme see it. You've kept it so clean."
Uncertainly, Jazz edged towards them.
Prowl glared at Jazz. Was he an idiot?!
Suddenly, the dolls head turned away from Jazz and towards the three hunters. Each of them jumped slightly.
"Uhm?" The third hunter asked. He was black as night with a bright yellow visor, and a very cultured accent.
Jazz stopped moving and looked down at Prowl.
"We talked abou' this." Jazz quietly scolded as he turned the dolls head back around. "You weren't going to move!"
"I don't wish to go closer."
"Ya could have tapped me!"
"No!" Prowl scrambled out of Jazz's arms and clambered around him to perch on the opposite shoulder. "Hunters are bad! Bad hunters! Bad!"
"Ah'm sorry, he's already decided..." Jazz apologised to the hunters. "What are ya names? Maybe introducing ya selves will help."
"No need." Prowl spat. "Tall and gangly is Outback, short sweetie's Quarry, clever clogs is Hum."
"I know that voice." Outback growled.
"Glad you remembered me, sweet cheeks." Prowl replied, laughing to himself as he wriggled closer to Jazz. "But let's save our reunion for when you won't be showing off to the ladies. They're celibate anyway."
Outback looked taken aback before he bore his teeth. Quarry placed a calming hand on his shoulder.
"I think we're done here." Hum said before anything else could happen. "Sorry, high priestess, but there's nothing we can do for you except wait until Jazz no longer needs the doll. I take it he does?"
"Yes, he does." Sol forlornly looked at the floor. "He suffers greatly if they are apart."
"Carrier dead?"
"I... Yes." Sol faltered at the tactless question.
"Then you've got a long wait ahead of you. Blessed be."
The three of them left the temple while Prowl slid back into Jazz's arms.
All eleven of them turned to look at Jazz.
Jazz tried to ignore them as he made to return to his room.
"Wait just a minute-" Sol attempted to stop him, a stern snap in her voice, but Neptune swiftly stopped her.
"I'm sure that wasn't on purpose." She quietly said.
"Even so, I must speak with him."
Sol marched over to him and tightly held his hand. "Walk with me a while."
It wasn't a request. Jazz struggled to keep up with her.
Prowl chattered at her from Jazz's arms, optics glued to her. Sol ignored him.
When they were as far away from the others that they could get, Sol suddenly turned and yanked him towards her.
"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Sol demanded, gesturing to the doll.
"Ah- Ah didn't want ya ta take it away-"
"It's a demon Jazz, you need to tell us these things!"
Jazz's breath hitched at demon and he didn't hear what else she said. "It's a demon?" He quietly asked, voice shaking slightly.
"... You didn't know."
"No."
Sol rubbed her hand across her face.
"How do you know I'm not his Carrier?" Prowl teased, grinning widely at her.
"Because his Carrier wouldn't have made the hunters react like that." Sol snapped at him. "That, and ghosts can't possess things like you appear to."
"Ooh, that's what gave me away? Darn, should have kept my mouth shut."
Jazz pinched his doorwing.
"Ow!" Prowl howled, "Why did you do that?!"
"Be nice!" Jazz scolded, "Why can ya never behave?"
"I can if I want to." Prowl blew a raspberry at him.
"It's in your best interests to behave." Sol sternly replied, "I'm most displeased as to what you did to Luna."
"Luna?" Jazz asked.
"Don't worry, Jazz. Not your concern."
"Rude." Prowl said.
In a fit of anger, Sol grabbed Prowl and lobbed him down the hallway.
Jazz gasped, clutched his chest, and promptly fell to the floor. "S-Sol why-!?"
"I'm sorry Jazz." Sol dropped down beside him and stroked his helm before standing and making her way towards the doll.
Prowl picked himself up and dusted himself off. "That was awfully rude."
Jazz's visor flickered off, and Prowl internally rejoiced. Excellent. He can scar this one too.
"Seeing as you've knocked my charge out..." Prowl left his doll, a dark smoke filling the hallway and enveloping Sol in darkness. "I can do this."
One of the many tentacles protruding from his back picked up his doll and tucked it under Jazz's arm, while another sought out Sol and grabbed her arm.
She was tugged towards him, and soon two clawed hands were wrapped around her lithe upper arms, and she could feel his breath against her face.
Sol couldn't breathe. She was terrified, she couldn't move, she couldn't see, she couldn't feel anything-
"I know what you're planning." Prowl growled into her ear. Sol jerked at how... Rough it sounded. In the doll he sounded childlike and friendly, but in his physical true state... He sounded dangerous. Far too dangerous for Sol to face alone. She had made a mistake bring Jazz far away, she had made a mistake thinking he was a lesser demon. No, he was far, far from that.
"I know you plan on killing him in hopes that it will make me easier to kill. It won't. It will just make me furious." Prowl squeezed her arms hard enough to crush the metal, and Sol cried out in pain. "And that will not bode well for you or this city."
"You're wrong..." Sol swallowed hard, "We were going to kill you first."
"I'd like to see you try." Prowl purred into her ear.
Sol felt the rush of air and then the impact with the ground, skidding a good few meters. She groaned as she rolled onto her back, nursing her crushed wrist. She had landed on it badly.
"Go." Prowl was storming towards her. "Fetch the others." He was grinning at her, a wild spark in his optic, "This will prove most entertaining."
Sol shook her head. "No. I refuse to offer them for slaughter."
"Then I'll just have to find them myself, won't I?"
He grabbed Sol again and began stalking back the way they came, taking any opportunity he had to smack Sol into the wall.
"Please, stop-"
"Shut up." Prowl snapped.
Sol went very still as they reached the chamber the others were still in, nervously waiting for Sol to return.
Well, Prowl would give her back.
He adjusted his grip on her and threw her at the doors. Unlocked and partially open, she went straight through them and smashed into the altar in the middle of the room. Prowl stalked in after her, purple optics a storm.
Neptune gasped.
"Please understand," Prowl began, surveying the other priestesses, "I am only protecting my charge."
Neptune stood close to the door, hands clamped over her mouth as she watched in horror. 'protecting my charge'? What were they going to do with Jazz?!
Where was Jazz?!?
"Jazz!" She shouted, beginning to run out of the room.
"Don't you dare leave!" Sol spat at her, "Don't you dare turn your tail and run!"
"B-but Jazz-!"
"Doesn't matter right now. The hunters will not help us, fine. We'll deal with our infestation ourselves."
Prowl raised an eyebrow at her.
"Infestation? There's but one of me and eleven of you. I hardly think that's fair."
"It's more than enough to beat you." Sol picked herself up, ignoring the way her body stung and protested. "Everyone, fifth scripture."
Prowl calmly stared at Sol as the other occupants of the room encircled him.
Scriptures were ancient techniques. He'd fought against those for as long as he could remember, however in recent centuries they had fallen out of favour as new technology came in...
This was going to be an easy fight.
Sol led the movement and chant, the other priestesses following her effortlessly. Well practiced, Prowl absently thought as he silently watched blades of light form in a circle around him, one for every priestess, and promptly stab him through the middle. A number of rings formed between them.
Scripture five, the light seal.
It was so damn easy to break for Prowl, but where would the fun be if he let them know that?
"Ancient techniques. Haven't seen this in at least a century." Prowl commented.
"We follow the teachings of old." Sol replied.
"I should come here more often, I miss this." Prowl patted the light blades. He couldn't move his lower body much - he wasn't supposed to be able to move it at all, let alone feel it, but alas they had underestimated him. Scripture thirty might have managed it, the fire seal.
"Unfortunately you won't have a chance to." Luna replied.
Neptune worried her bottom lip.
"By the way, Neptune," Prowl turned to face her, "Jazz is fine."
She released her bottom lip and gaped at him, unsure as of how to respond.
"He's still unconscious, though..." Prowl pretended to mull that thought over in his head. "I'd appreciate it if you checked up on him."
Neptune glanced between Sol and Prowl.
"Ignore the moody bitch." Prowl prompted. "Just go."
Sol gaped at Prowl.
Neptune nodded and ran from the room. Prowl slowly turned to look back at Sol.
"Now, should we get started properly? I have an itch on my knee and I just can't reach it with these..." Prowl demonstrated by lifting his knee up, hitting the light blades.
Everyone in the room froze.
Prowl tapped them and they promptly shattered.
"My turn." Prowl darkly growled before lunging at Sol.
090909
Neptune sprinted away.
Prowl had let her go for a reason, and she wasn't about to question it. Finding Jazz wouldn't be hard, she only had to follow the trail of destruction Prowl had made... Had he done it on purpose? To lead her to Jazz?
What a weird demon.
Sol's understudy turned the corner, running towards Neptune. Neptune immediately stopped her, standing in her way.
"Neptune, move, I need to see what's happening!"
"No! No, you are not to go near, it's not safe. We have it handled."
"Is that why you're running? You coward."
"I was told to keep the young safe." Neptune snapped at her. "Don't you dare speak to me like that. You may be Sol's understudy but you are still an understudy. You have much to learn."
The femme meekly nodded. "Yes, ma'am."
"Good. Now go to your quarters and don't let anyone else leave. You will die if you do."
She nodded and ran back the way she came.
Neptune knew that she wouldn't listen.
She continued on towards Jazz, gasping when she saw him on the floor. The doll was clutched in his hands, and his visor was just beginning to flicker online.
"Jazz? Jazz are you okay?"
Jazz slowly looked up at her. "N-Neptune?"
"Yes, yes, it's me. You're okay, you're safe."
"Where's Sol?" Jazz asked, letting her help him stand. He clung tightly to her arm.
"She's... In the main hall. Come on, to bed with you..."
"We were talkin' when she took ma doll away..." Jazz mumbled into her elbow, "Ah don't know why they keep takin' it away."
"They're confused and afraid." Neptune replied. "It will be fine."
"Wha's happenin' righ' now?" Jazz asked, flinching when he heard a loud bang.
"They're dealing with something." Neptune replied. She wasn't sure what outcome she wanted. If the demon died, Jazz died, but if the others died...
She'd be on her own...
Or she'd be next.
They tapped in the code to Jazz's quarters and went inside. Jazz hopped up onto his bed, and Neptune sat down beside him. She felt sick.
"’Tune?" Jazz asked, wriggling closer to her.
"It's nothing." She replied, moving so her back was against the headboard and allowing Jazz to crawl up into her lap. "Would you like a story?"
"Yes please."
"Well, once upon a time..."
Neptune launched wholeheartedly into a story, telling Jazz about wizards, and dragons, and legends old. Jazz listened with a bright visor, enraptured by the tale until a piercing scream stopped them both in their tracks.
"Wait here." Neptune ordered even as Jazz clung to her. "Please, let go, you have to stay here-"
"Don' go." Jazz shivered. "It doesn' feel right."
Jazz was right. Neptune felt a cold chill settle around her spark, suffocating her. Had the understudies disobeyed her?
There was a rapid knocking at the door.
"Neptune! Neptune!"
"My understudy." Neptune said, scooping Jazz into her arms and opening the door for her. She stumbled in, energon splattered on her frame, and quickly clung onto Neptune.
"I stayed, I listened I stayed in my quarters but... The others, they didn't come back! They said they would, they said they'd be a moment, but they...!"
"Hush, shh child." Neptune shut the door. Jazz shook as he looked at the understudy.
"Triton?" Jazz shakily asked, "Why are you bleeding?"
"It's not mine." She sobbed, finally letting the coolant spill from her optics. "It's not mine."
"Were you seen?" Neptune sternly asked.
"I was." Triton trembled. "The-the thing just looked at me, looked at me and told me to find you."
"And everyone else?" Neptune nervously asked.
Triton shook her head with another sob.
Neptune pressed her lips together as coolant prickled her optics.
"Jazz?" She gently said to him, trying to place him down onto the berth. "Jazz, wait here. I'll be right back, I promise."
"Ya won't be will ya." Jazz said with a quivering lip.
"I will." Neptune replied, kissing his forehelm. "Your doll will keep you safe until I get back, okay?"
"Okay." Jazz eventually replied. Triton pressed a wet kiss to his cheek, her face still wet with coolant, and the two left Jazz in his room.
Jazz curled up under his covers, clinging to his doll, and began to count.
Meanwhile, Neptune and Triton ran through the hallways to where Prowl was waiting for them.
"Was anyone alive when you left?" Neptune asked.
"Sol and her understudy where, but the creature was holding them with its tentacles." Triton replied.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Sol is deactivated. She'd taken the brunt of his attacks."
"Are we going to die?" Triton shakily asked. Neptune knew that Triton still had her family. It was by choice she came here, not by necessity. She didn't get on with them at all, but it didn't mean she didn't want to leave without saying goodbye.
"I don't know." Neptune answered honestly.
The doors were torn from their hinges and energon spilled out into the hallway, some splattered against the wall opposite.
Neptune felt sick.
The two slowed down before walking in, Neptune stumbling as she kicked the lifeless corpse of Uranus.
"Oh Primus..." She whispered.
All of them were dead.
Every single one of them, their spark casing torn from their chests, much like they had seen before...
She grabbed Triton and pulled her to stand behind her. The demon would not get her too.
"Jazz is safe." Neptune said as bravely as she could. Prowl was sat lazily on the altar, watching the energon on his clawed hands glow and shimmer.
"Good. Thank you." Prowl stood up and walked towards them. Neptune tensed, ready to shove Triton away from him, when Prowl simply walked past them.
"I'm sorry about this." Prowl said as he came to a halt slightly behind them. "I'm sorry to leave you with these memories and this mess."
"You said you were protecting your charge." Neptune replied. "What did you mean by that?"
"They didn't tell you, did they?"
Neptune shook her head.
"I thought as much. They were planning on killing Jazz."
"They what?!"
"I know you care for him and wouldn't hurt him, I won't touch you. Thank you for checking on Jazz for me."
"It's my duty." Neptune replied.
"Of course." Prowl gave her a knowing smirk. "I'll leave now."
"Are you taking Jazz with you?"
"I have to."
"Will I be able to see him again?"
"If he asks for you."
"Thank you. You're too kind."
"I have been told I'm getting soft."
Triton was amazed at how calm and levelheaded Neptune was being.
"One more question." Neptune turned so Triton was behind her again, placing herself in between her student and Prowl. "What is your name?"
"Prowl."
090909
"Where are your twins?" Prowl asked her.
Ziz turned around with a look of amusement before she noticed the bundle in Prowls arms.
"Is that..?!"
"It is."
"Prowl, why did you do this?"
"They were going to kill him, and they offered a promising fight."
"I don't know why I expected any different." Ziz groaned. "Fine, come on. I'll show you."
Ziz dropped down through a hole in the roof. The shanty town Prowl had found her in was rickety, run down, and crawling with demons.
Typical.
Two centuries ago, it would have been a hunters paradise.
"Yo, is he asleep?" Ziz pointed at Jazz.
"I put him under a sleeping enchantment."
"Good, it won't be good if he remembers this."
"I know."
The two continued on down winding streets and endless alleyways, finally ending up at a shabby run down building. From the size and shape of it, it used to be a factory.
Ziz knocked a tune on the door.
"Ah, Ziz, we weren't expecting you... And Prowl? This is a surprise..." The femme who answered replied. Her optics were milky beyond description, her frame an off white.
"Hello, friend." Ziz replied. "We have someone else to leave in your care."
"The little one Prowl holds?"
"Yes. His name's Jazz." Ziz gestured for Prowl to hand him over.
Prowl hesitantly did.
"He is special." The femme said.
"He's my charge." Prowl replied.
"Ah... Things didn't go too well at the last place."
"They turned rather sour."
"So I saw. Your twins are sleeping much like this one, my friend." She turned to Ziz. "Would you still like to see them?"
"Not this time. Thank you, I'll be back soon to collect him."
"Farewell."
The femme went back inside, Jazz in her arms.
"Oracle. Your twins are with Oracle."
"Yup. We've been friends since we first met."
"How come you never introduced us before?"
"She is not fond of you."
Prowl immediately tensed. Would she do anything to Jazz?
"Jazz is safe, don't worry. She doesn't hurt kids."
“It still doesn’t feel right.”
“What’s a blind Seer going to do anyway? Besides, I’m sure my twins will take to Jazz straight away. They wont let her do anything.”
True to her word, the twins did take to Jazz.
They had woken up when they heard the knocking, and were sat in their room as Oracle walked in, Jazz in her arms.
“Who’s that?” The red one asked, leaping out of bed and running over to her. “They don’t smell like us.”
“They smell like you.” The gold one continued, copying his twin.
“Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, settle down. This is a new friend.” Oracle knelt down and showed them Jazz’s face, the youngling still wrapped in the blankets and fast asleep. “His name’s Jazz. He’s under a sleeping enchantment, he’ll wake up very soon.”
They noticed that he was clutching a doll.
“Their doll looks like the mean one.” Sideswipe’s face scrunched up.
“Jazz is his charge.”
Sunstreaker frowned. “Poor Jazz.”
Oracle placed Jazz into Sunstreakers berth, and the two twins settled down next to him, the younger mech in between them.
“You are to fetch me when he wakes up!” Oracle instructed. The twins chirped the affirmative before Oracle left.
A few moments later, Jazz began to stir. He looked to the side and saw Sunstreaker staring back at him. He looked to the other side to see Sideswipe.
He jumped up in shock and scrambled away from them.
“W-who are ya?!” He demanded, throat hoarse. “Where’s Neptune?!”
“Who’s Neptune?” Sideswipe asked. “I’m Sides, this is my twin Sunny. He doesn’t talk much.”
Sunstreaker pinched his twin.
“Where am Ah?” Jazz asked, finally looking around himself. “This isn’t ma room.”
“It’s our room.” The twins said in unison. “Although I guess it’s also your room too now.” Sideswipe continued.
“Did Neptune bring me here?” Jazz asked.
“Nah, Carrier did.” Sideswipe replied. “Hey, Sunny, can you tell auntie he’s awake?”
Sunstreaker hopped down from the bed and ran out of the room.
“Ah wanna go home.”
“This is home now.” Sideswipe chirped. “It’s not so bad, we get trained here and we can play, nap, listen to music-“
Jazz perked up at music.
“Music?”
“Yeah, didn’t you get that before?”
“Ah did when Ah was with Carrier, but when he died the priestesses never let me have anythin’ ta do with music.”
“Cruel! Music is great, I’ll show you when auntie says it’s okay.”
“Who’s auntie?”
“The one who looks after us.”
This was going to take getting used to.
090909
Prowl never came back to the doll.
To begin with, Jazz would sit there and stare at the doll, occasionally poking it to no avail. Once or twice, he had thrown it in frustration, only to wake up to the twins panicking beyond belief and Oracle handing him a steaming mug. Jazz didn’t know what it was, but it was delicious and made him feel better.
It was vorns until Ziz and Prowl returned. In that time, Jazz had worked out his subspace and the doll was kept in there. The twins had grown taller and taller, getting rougher and rougher with each other until they could no longer safely train with Jazz. But that didn’t stop them. Oracle could do little but lecture them afterwards as she was patching Jazz up, but the three of them would just exchange a grin and the cycle would repeat.
As the twins got older, they also started to show signs of their heritage. When they first met, their optics were blue and they had no other distinguishing features, but as they aged their optics became tinged with purple, their hands sharper, and small spines began protruding from their arms. A series of lumps appeared on their upper backs too.
One cycle, auntie couldn’t sit still.
Usually she would sit in front of her fire, a smoky crystal in her hands and rune stones scattered at her feet. She would call out what she saw to a recorder, and then send one of the twins out to the drop box so her customers could get their fortune. She never dealt with any of them, and it was entirely anonymous.
But this cycle… She saw no one. She did no fortunes. She just paced, over and over, wringing her hands and fingers. Eventually, the twins and Jazz distracted from training, the trio tried to find out what was wrong.
“It’s coming to the door, it’s coming now.” She said, sitting down in her chair, head in hands. “Jazz, Jazz, you answer the door. The twins cannot be seen. Please, please go.”
A few moments later, there was a loud knocking at the door. Uncertainly, Jazz got up and did as he was told – he answered it.
“Hello?” He uncertainly asked before he looked at the pair who were stood in front of him properly.
The mech, he looked vaguely familiar, and the femme… her face, she had the twins face.
The mech froze when he saw Jazz, almost dropping the femme to the floor. She was barely conscious, that much was evident by how much she was leaning against him for support and by the energon that covered her frame. Jazz didn’t want to look at her injuries. The mech didn’t look that much better, but he was lucid and upright.
Jazz did all he could do. He stood aside and let them in.
“Auntie!” He called, running into the living area, “Auntie there are hurt mecha at t’door!”
Oracle looked up blindly at the two who stumbled into view. Her face set into a grim line.
“What mess did you create this time?” She snapped at the mech, the three younglings sharing a look. She had never snapped at anyone before.
“I didn’t do anything.” The mech hissed at her, “It was hunters. Mixcoatl is back.”
“The Blade?” The Oracle asked, gesturing for the mech to take the femme over to one of the sofas, “Oh, I knew. I knew. I saw.”
“Of course you did,” he huffed as he set her down, “What about her?”
“She’ll make it.” Oracle turned to the twins. “Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, please collect some water and the medical kit, please. Jazz, please see to Prowl.”
Jazz nodded and followed the twins, helping them to carry everything back. Prowl was pacing the room, leaving a trail of energon.
“Uh, excuse me?” He quietly said, trying to catch his attention. Prowl immediately stopped and looked at him, faltering only slightly in his movements. “Can ya sit down?”
Prowl slowly sat down into a spare seat. Jazz hopped up next to him, a small bowl of water in hand and a medical kit sat on the back of the chair. A ragged cloth was dipped into the water, wrung out, and then gently dabbed around the open wounds on his chest. Prowl didn’t make any outward indication that it hurt, but internally he was swearing up a storm.
Jazz had grown up well, and he absently wondered if Jazz remembered him.
Well, if he didn’t, he’d understand. Jazz never actually saw him properly, and right now he was disguised.
“These are burned.” Jazz said, gently tracing the scorch marks with his fingers. Prowl flinched slightly, but didn’t protest. “Wha’ did ya fight?”
“A bad mech.” Prowl replied.
“He knows about hunters and demons.” Oracle waved him off. “You don’t have to sugar coat it.”
“… A hunter.”
“A hunter attacked ya?” Jazz asked, washing off the cloth. “Ah didn’ think they randomly did tha’.”
“They’re not supposed to,” Prowl replied, adjusting himself slightly to allow Jazz better access, “But they did.”
“Why did you come here?” Sideswipe asked. He handed Oracle the tools as asked.
“It was the closest safe house I knew of.” Prowl admitted. “Ziz always goes on about how secure this place is…”
“Next time, tell me.” Oracle snapped. “I don’t like having to use my sight more than I have to.”
“You could have let me do that.” Prowl pointed out.
“Shut up! First you invade my house uninvited, then you get energon on my floor, and now you’re being rude!”
Prowl kept his mouth shut.
Soon, Jazz and the twins were excused so Oracle and Prowl could chat in private. The three of them were desperate to just sit by the door and listen, but Oracle would know they were there, and Prowl just made the twins nervous. The pair decided that they wanted to go into a training room as far away as possible from Prowl, and so Jazz followed them.
“Why does Prowl unsettle ya so much? He’s not tha’ bad.” Jazz said, kicking a loose pebble and watching it bounce across the room.
“He’s batshit crazy.” Sideswipe groused, slumping down against the wall. “Given the chance, I think he’d happily kill us.”
“Ah didn’ get tha’ feel.” Jazz replied. “An Ah was touchin’ him.”
“I am surprised he let you do that.” Sunstreaker admitted, “He’s not usually big on contact.”
“He prefers younger sparks… I think.” Sideswipe added. “So maybe we’re safe?”
“Ah don’ think he’s gunna hurt us.”
“You sound so sure of that.” Sideswipe groused. “How can you be?”
“He’s familiar. Ah can’t place it, but… Ah think Ah knew him.”
Sunstreaker dropped the rock he was inspecting. The other two quickly turned to look at him.
“Sunny?” Sideswipe asked.
“Jazz, your doll. Take out your doll.”
Jazz gave him a weird look before removing it, and-
“Oh.” Jazz breathed. “Wh-wha’ does tha’ mean?”
“Jazz, you’re mortal, right?” Sideswipe asked. Jazz nodded, so he continued. “And you start dying if you lose contact with the doll.”
“Ah’m not sure Ah like where ya goin’ with this.”
“I think you’re literally Prowls charge. I mean, Oracle told us that when you came here, but it never really... clicked…” Sunstreaker slowly sat down next to his twin. “You said your Carrier died?”
“He was murdered, wasn’ he.”
“I… He might have been…”
“We shouldn’t jump to conclusions – maybe your Carrier was dying, knew you would die without him, and summoned Prowl because of that?” Sideswipe quickly added. He knew it would have been out of character for Prowl to accept that offer – a dying spark was a tasteless one – but… anything to stop that slight tremble Jazz had.
“So, tha’ means he’s gunna want this back.” Jazz gestured to the doll.
“Y-you never know, he might not.” Sunstreaker said, poking it. “It’s all grotty, ew, look at this thing.” He smirked up at Jazz, who couldn’t help but smirk back.
“It’s only all ewwie because ya threw up on it!” Jazz teased, pointing an accusing finger at him.
“We cleaned it!” Sideswipe cut in proudly.
“It stank for ages!”
“Still cleaned it!”
Unknown to the trio, Prowl was stood just outside the door listening in.
It had been rather lonely without Jazz, he’d admit. Not long after he’d dropped him off here he’d been alone again. Any contracts he did get weren’t of the caretaker variety, and he’d just been wondering around from city to city, destroying many of the hunters he came across. Until he came back here to check up on Jazz, that was… He didn’t expect them to have The Blade on them. Last time he checked, it was buried deep in the planet and clutched in the hands of its previous welder, the notorious Sentinel Prime. Graves had been desecrated, and as it was a previous Prime he’d have to be the one to inform Optimus Prime. Ziz was in no condition to, currently recovering upstairs, and Prowl had already met the Prime before.
They didn’t hate each other, which was a start. Their relationship was strained at best, however it was clear the Prime had no ill intent towards him. It was somewhat jarring, but Prowl would have to deal with it if he wanted talks of an alliance to work and not fall through…
Prowl was going to take Jazz with him. Maybe putting the youngling in with other mortals would do him good, but with what he just heard, prooobably not a good idea.
He made to leave when he realized that Jazz was holding the doll. Mulling it over for a little while, he decided that it couldn’t hurt to posses it once more…
The nagging thought that he had missed this had to be viciously fought back as Prowl once again found himself on Jazz’s lap, the mechs arms wrapped around him in a hug.
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