Had to exorcise this one before I crash.
Title: Doomsday Clock.
Rating: PG-13/R
Warnings: Angstage. Implied death of nameless mechs.
Pairings: Prowl x Jazz.
Summary: Sometimes trying to be a hero can get you killed. Sometimes, it can kill those you love the most.
Notes: Drabbleness that needed to be exorcised. Not happy with it, really, but oh well.
Not Beta'ed, so feel free to correct me.
"Ya're bein' oddly considerate, commander," Jazz murmured softly while Prowl addressed his troops, giving them the remainder of the cycle to do as they pleased, with the obvious exception of inebriating themselves. Prowl didn't answer, instead giving some last minute instructions before he dismissed his soldiers, who happily began to meddle among themselves in search for friends to spend a good time with, partners to interface with, or just some time to themselves.
"It's the least I can do for them, considering what will happen in a cycle," Prowl finally replied, watching the mechs scatter over the place before he turned around and headed for his commanding facilities.
"Optimistic, aren't we?" Jazz couldn't help but ask with a hint of worry coloring his rich voice.
"These are not games, Jazz. You and me both know many of these mechs are not going to come back alive." Prowl's words were full of a grim certainty.
"Still, ya ain't being very optimistic."
Prowl sighed and entered the code to his quarters, allowing Jazz to follow him inside. "You're the idealist, Jazz. I'm the tactician. I deal with the probabilities, not with hopes and good wishes. There'll be loses, and they know it." Prowl turned around to face the silvery saboteur, his mouth pieces pressed into a tight line. "They know many of them are not coming back, yet they won't back down because we all know the longer we hold back the Decepticons at this point, the more time we're buying for Prime and his team to take the All Spark to safety. They deserve at least this last reprieve."
Jazz nodded, feeling an odd fluttering within his spark, a foreboding feeling tugged within, warning him about the outcome of the upcoming battle. "Megatron is sick..."
"Megatron is weak," Prowl murmured, idly reaching to take his telescopic sword, extending the blade to brush his fingertips along the polished surface. "The All Spark is a power beyond our imagination. Such amount of power can easily corrupt those weak enough to be seduced by it."
"Ya sound almost like ya pity him," Jazz arched an optic ridge behind his visor.
"I do," Prowl cycled air in a heavy sigh, retracting the blade and setting it aside on his desk before he turned back to Jazz. "He lost himself to the promise of better things. His ambition warped his sense and his reality, and nurtured other ambitious beings to come forward. Sooner or later, Jazz, Megatron will find others whose own ambitions and views will create more conflict."
"It's like it'll never end, no matter what we do," Jazz wrapped his arms around himself, feeling a sudden despair take over his spark. What were they fighting for in the end? "This cycle it's Autobots against Decepticons, next it'll be Decepticons against Decepticons, and then smaller groups fightin' among themselves. Will the madness ever end?"
Prowl sighed again and pulled the smaller mech against him, gently stroking the back of a helm fin. "It'll end, Jazz. I don't know when, nor how, but it will end." Prowl assured with the same certainty he had about the losses they would experience the following cycle.
"I don't want to lose ya..." Jazz admitted softly, holding his commanding officer close. "I'm afraid 'bout what'll happen."
"I know, Jazz." Prowl forced the silver mech to look up at him, offering him one of those rare smiles he reserved for his lover. "But I assure you, I am not going without putting up a fight."
Jazz chuckled softly at that, knowing Prowl was pretty hard to get. His primarily black and white frame made it hard to spot him in the first place, and his ability to plan actions and counter strikes in a mere klick offered him an advantage against the armies of drones Megatron sent out to battle. "Jus' promise ya'll save a few fer me."
Prowl shook his head and let out a mock annoyed grunt. "Your reckless behavior is going to be your doom, Jazz. Your doom or mine."
Jazz laughed a little, tucking his head against Prowl's neck, nuzzling what exposed wiring he found there. "An' speakin' of givin' the troops a reprieve, I think ya deserve one, too, commander."
Prowl quirked an optic ridge, watching the saboteur's sly smile spreading over those delicious lip components. "And I suppose my loyal and trustworthy lieutenant is willing to assist me with that?"
"But of course, commander," Jazz purred. "This lieutenant's more than willin' ta help ya... unwind."
Prowl laughed softly, allowing Jazz to push him towards the back of the room, to the waiting berth.
------------------------------
In reflection, the battle hadn't been just hard. It was a massacre on both accounts. Unfortunately for the Autobots their ranks consisted heavily of actual sentient mechs, unlike the Decepticon army, full of replaceable, sparkless drones controlled from afar.
"Cover me, Sideswipe!" Sunstreaker growled, rushing through the bodies of fallen mechs and drones alike, tearing at his opponents with the claws protruding from his arm while his twin fired round after round of missiles, following his twin.
"Prowl! This ain't goin' well!" Jazz shouted over the sounds of the explosions around them, firing his pistol as he did.
"Really?!" Prowl shouted back, ducking around the piles of bodies, slicing through the drones trying to stop him. "What makes you say that?!"
"Call it a hunch!" Jazz transformed and ran over the remainder drones in his path, trying to meet up with Prowl while the twins Sunstreaker and Sideswipe battled against the heavy artillery of larger aerial drones. More scattered soldiers were fending off the seemingly endless army of Decepticon drones. "What we goin' t'do now, commander?"
"For starters," Prowl growled, severing the head of yet another drone. "We need back up with urgency."
"Our communication's are out!"
Prowl extracted his rifle, dragging Jazz with him behind a large mound of scrapped metal and deactivated bodies, using it for cover. "That's why you're going to head back to Iacon to call for reinforcements. Hound, Trailbreaker, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, will keep them occupied. Inferno and I will cover you. Take this!"
Jazz was about to protest when Prowl's telescopic sword was thrust into his hands. "What? No! I ain't goin' ta run outta the battle now!" curling his clawed fingers around the handle of the weapon. "I ain't goin' ta leave you!"
"Don't argue with me now, Jazz!" Prowl peeked around the mound, covering Inferno as the mech approached to assist Prowl to cover Jazz's escape. "This is not the time for you to try to be a hero!"
"No! I ain't leavin'! I'm needed here!"
"Frag it, Jazz! Stop being so slagging stubborn!" Prowl turned to face the saboteur, blue optics glowing so bright they were almost white. "I'm still your commanding officer and this is an order, lieutenant!"
Jazz shook his head, that fluttering within his spark beginning anew. "But Prowl--!"
"Jazz, for once in your life listen to me, and do what I'm asking you to do, please!" Prowl growled, pulling the stubborn saboteur against him, pressing a hard kiss to his lip components before releasing him with a light shove. "Go, Jazz!"
Jazz nodded hesitantly, trying to ignore that foreboding feeling as he stepped back, gripping the sword tighter. "I'll be back soon! Hang on, guys!" The silver mech began to run away, followed by Inferno and Prowl covering his retreat. The smaller mech slashed his way through what few drones tried to cut his escape until he finally transformed and drove as fast as he could towards Iacon to call for reinforcements.
Please hang on, Prowl!
------------------------
Jazz stood in what he assumed was the middle of the battle field, looking around the total devastation and the hundreds, possibly thousands of bodies belonging to Decepticons, drones and Autobots alike. His optics searched among the devastation, looking for that one mech, hoping to find him alive.
"This is gruesome!" Ratchet's voice cut through the ominous silence, looking around for any mechs among the piles that could still be alive.
Ironhide, Prime and the back up soldiers brought in also assisted with the search and rescue efforts. "We came too late..." Ironhide muttered, identifying friends or mechs he knew among the piles of lifeless bodies.
Jazz's head bowed, agreeing with Ironhide's words. Maybe if he left as soon as Prowl ordered him to the back up would have come in time to save them. To save him.
"Nngh...!" A golden body twitched and moved, the golden mech slowly beginning to regain consciousness.
"Sunstreaker!" Jazz rushed towards the golden twin, helping him to a sitting position, realizing he had been shielding his twin's body with his own. Sideswipe was leaking profusely, but was still online. "Ratchet! We need ya here!"
Ratchet hurried towards the twins, quickly beginning to tend to Sideswipe's injuries to stabilize him and have him taken back to Iacon for proper medical attention.
"Here's more, Ratchet!" Ironhide called while he helped Inferno up, not far from them Hound and Trailbreaker were helped out of the rubble by other soldiers.
"I'll be there as soon as Sideswipe's stable!"
Jazz helped Sunstreaker up, giving Ratchet room to work on Sideswipe. The silver saboteur finally asked the question he both ached and dreaded to ask. "Sunstreaker? Where's Prowl?"
Sunstreaker's expression turned grim and he looked away, refusing to meet his friend's optics.
"Sunny?"
"I'm sorry," Sunstreaker replied, voice uncharacteristically low and full of spark felt regret. "They took him, Jazz."
"N-No." Jazz shook his head, refusing to believe in the golden warrior's words, despite knowing in his spark he was speaking the truth.
"Blackout..." Inferno murmured through heavy gasps, barely able to look back at the much smaller mech. "We weren't... expecting him."
"No... No, no, no!" Jazz's hold on the handle of the sword loosened, and the weapon fell against the ground peppered with body parts and mech fluids with an clank. "Prowl!!"
Sunstreaker wrapped his arms around the silvery mech's middle, anticipating the mech's following action. Jazz struggled against Sunstreaker's hold, calling for Prowl. The saboteur's struggle grew weaker and weaker, his spark heavy with the guilt he felt. Nobody knew what the Decepticons would do to Prowl, but it was certain it wasn't going to be pretty. Jazz feared his reluctance to leave earlier had condemned his beloved.
--------------------------
Notes x 2: Oh lookie. It's that Prowlicade plot bunny kind of... trying to come back to me. Go figure.
Rating: PG-13/R
Warnings: Angstage. Implied death of nameless mechs.
Pairings: Prowl x Jazz.
Summary: Sometimes trying to be a hero can get you killed. Sometimes, it can kill those you love the most.
Notes: Drabbleness that needed to be exorcised. Not happy with it, really, but oh well.
Not Beta'ed, so feel free to correct me.
"Ya're bein' oddly considerate, commander," Jazz murmured softly while Prowl addressed his troops, giving them the remainder of the cycle to do as they pleased, with the obvious exception of inebriating themselves. Prowl didn't answer, instead giving some last minute instructions before he dismissed his soldiers, who happily began to meddle among themselves in search for friends to spend a good time with, partners to interface with, or just some time to themselves.
"It's the least I can do for them, considering what will happen in a cycle," Prowl finally replied, watching the mechs scatter over the place before he turned around and headed for his commanding facilities.
"Optimistic, aren't we?" Jazz couldn't help but ask with a hint of worry coloring his rich voice.
"These are not games, Jazz. You and me both know many of these mechs are not going to come back alive." Prowl's words were full of a grim certainty.
"Still, ya ain't being very optimistic."
Prowl sighed and entered the code to his quarters, allowing Jazz to follow him inside. "You're the idealist, Jazz. I'm the tactician. I deal with the probabilities, not with hopes and good wishes. There'll be loses, and they know it." Prowl turned around to face the silvery saboteur, his mouth pieces pressed into a tight line. "They know many of them are not coming back, yet they won't back down because we all know the longer we hold back the Decepticons at this point, the more time we're buying for Prime and his team to take the All Spark to safety. They deserve at least this last reprieve."
Jazz nodded, feeling an odd fluttering within his spark, a foreboding feeling tugged within, warning him about the outcome of the upcoming battle. "Megatron is sick..."
"Megatron is weak," Prowl murmured, idly reaching to take his telescopic sword, extending the blade to brush his fingertips along the polished surface. "The All Spark is a power beyond our imagination. Such amount of power can easily corrupt those weak enough to be seduced by it."
"Ya sound almost like ya pity him," Jazz arched an optic ridge behind his visor.
"I do," Prowl cycled air in a heavy sigh, retracting the blade and setting it aside on his desk before he turned back to Jazz. "He lost himself to the promise of better things. His ambition warped his sense and his reality, and nurtured other ambitious beings to come forward. Sooner or later, Jazz, Megatron will find others whose own ambitions and views will create more conflict."
"It's like it'll never end, no matter what we do," Jazz wrapped his arms around himself, feeling a sudden despair take over his spark. What were they fighting for in the end? "This cycle it's Autobots against Decepticons, next it'll be Decepticons against Decepticons, and then smaller groups fightin' among themselves. Will the madness ever end?"
Prowl sighed again and pulled the smaller mech against him, gently stroking the back of a helm fin. "It'll end, Jazz. I don't know when, nor how, but it will end." Prowl assured with the same certainty he had about the losses they would experience the following cycle.
"I don't want to lose ya..." Jazz admitted softly, holding his commanding officer close. "I'm afraid 'bout what'll happen."
"I know, Jazz." Prowl forced the silver mech to look up at him, offering him one of those rare smiles he reserved for his lover. "But I assure you, I am not going without putting up a fight."
Jazz chuckled softly at that, knowing Prowl was pretty hard to get. His primarily black and white frame made it hard to spot him in the first place, and his ability to plan actions and counter strikes in a mere klick offered him an advantage against the armies of drones Megatron sent out to battle. "Jus' promise ya'll save a few fer me."
Prowl shook his head and let out a mock annoyed grunt. "Your reckless behavior is going to be your doom, Jazz. Your doom or mine."
Jazz laughed a little, tucking his head against Prowl's neck, nuzzling what exposed wiring he found there. "An' speakin' of givin' the troops a reprieve, I think ya deserve one, too, commander."
Prowl quirked an optic ridge, watching the saboteur's sly smile spreading over those delicious lip components. "And I suppose my loyal and trustworthy lieutenant is willing to assist me with that?"
"But of course, commander," Jazz purred. "This lieutenant's more than willin' ta help ya... unwind."
Prowl laughed softly, allowing Jazz to push him towards the back of the room, to the waiting berth.
------------------------------
In reflection, the battle hadn't been just hard. It was a massacre on both accounts. Unfortunately for the Autobots their ranks consisted heavily of actual sentient mechs, unlike the Decepticon army, full of replaceable, sparkless drones controlled from afar.
"Cover me, Sideswipe!" Sunstreaker growled, rushing through the bodies of fallen mechs and drones alike, tearing at his opponents with the claws protruding from his arm while his twin fired round after round of missiles, following his twin.
"Prowl! This ain't goin' well!" Jazz shouted over the sounds of the explosions around them, firing his pistol as he did.
"Really?!" Prowl shouted back, ducking around the piles of bodies, slicing through the drones trying to stop him. "What makes you say that?!"
"Call it a hunch!" Jazz transformed and ran over the remainder drones in his path, trying to meet up with Prowl while the twins Sunstreaker and Sideswipe battled against the heavy artillery of larger aerial drones. More scattered soldiers were fending off the seemingly endless army of Decepticon drones. "What we goin' t'do now, commander?"
"For starters," Prowl growled, severing the head of yet another drone. "We need back up with urgency."
"Our communication's are out!"
Prowl extracted his rifle, dragging Jazz with him behind a large mound of scrapped metal and deactivated bodies, using it for cover. "That's why you're going to head back to Iacon to call for reinforcements. Hound, Trailbreaker, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, will keep them occupied. Inferno and I will cover you. Take this!"
Jazz was about to protest when Prowl's telescopic sword was thrust into his hands. "What? No! I ain't goin' ta run outta the battle now!" curling his clawed fingers around the handle of the weapon. "I ain't goin' ta leave you!"
"Don't argue with me now, Jazz!" Prowl peeked around the mound, covering Inferno as the mech approached to assist Prowl to cover Jazz's escape. "This is not the time for you to try to be a hero!"
"No! I ain't leavin'! I'm needed here!"
"Frag it, Jazz! Stop being so slagging stubborn!" Prowl turned to face the saboteur, blue optics glowing so bright they were almost white. "I'm still your commanding officer and this is an order, lieutenant!"
Jazz shook his head, that fluttering within his spark beginning anew. "But Prowl--!"
"Jazz, for once in your life listen to me, and do what I'm asking you to do, please!" Prowl growled, pulling the stubborn saboteur against him, pressing a hard kiss to his lip components before releasing him with a light shove. "Go, Jazz!"
Jazz nodded hesitantly, trying to ignore that foreboding feeling as he stepped back, gripping the sword tighter. "I'll be back soon! Hang on, guys!" The silver mech began to run away, followed by Inferno and Prowl covering his retreat. The smaller mech slashed his way through what few drones tried to cut his escape until he finally transformed and drove as fast as he could towards Iacon to call for reinforcements.
Please hang on, Prowl!
------------------------
Jazz stood in what he assumed was the middle of the battle field, looking around the total devastation and the hundreds, possibly thousands of bodies belonging to Decepticons, drones and Autobots alike. His optics searched among the devastation, looking for that one mech, hoping to find him alive.
"This is gruesome!" Ratchet's voice cut through the ominous silence, looking around for any mechs among the piles that could still be alive.
Ironhide, Prime and the back up soldiers brought in also assisted with the search and rescue efforts. "We came too late..." Ironhide muttered, identifying friends or mechs he knew among the piles of lifeless bodies.
Jazz's head bowed, agreeing with Ironhide's words. Maybe if he left as soon as Prowl ordered him to the back up would have come in time to save them. To save him.
"Nngh...!" A golden body twitched and moved, the golden mech slowly beginning to regain consciousness.
"Sunstreaker!" Jazz rushed towards the golden twin, helping him to a sitting position, realizing he had been shielding his twin's body with his own. Sideswipe was leaking profusely, but was still online. "Ratchet! We need ya here!"
Ratchet hurried towards the twins, quickly beginning to tend to Sideswipe's injuries to stabilize him and have him taken back to Iacon for proper medical attention.
"Here's more, Ratchet!" Ironhide called while he helped Inferno up, not far from them Hound and Trailbreaker were helped out of the rubble by other soldiers.
"I'll be there as soon as Sideswipe's stable!"
Jazz helped Sunstreaker up, giving Ratchet room to work on Sideswipe. The silver saboteur finally asked the question he both ached and dreaded to ask. "Sunstreaker? Where's Prowl?"
Sunstreaker's expression turned grim and he looked away, refusing to meet his friend's optics.
"Sunny?"
"I'm sorry," Sunstreaker replied, voice uncharacteristically low and full of spark felt regret. "They took him, Jazz."
"N-No." Jazz shook his head, refusing to believe in the golden warrior's words, despite knowing in his spark he was speaking the truth.
"Blackout..." Inferno murmured through heavy gasps, barely able to look back at the much smaller mech. "We weren't... expecting him."
"No... No, no, no!" Jazz's hold on the handle of the sword loosened, and the weapon fell against the ground peppered with body parts and mech fluids with an clank. "Prowl!!"
Sunstreaker wrapped his arms around the silvery mech's middle, anticipating the mech's following action. Jazz struggled against Sunstreaker's hold, calling for Prowl. The saboteur's struggle grew weaker and weaker, his spark heavy with the guilt he felt. Nobody knew what the Decepticons would do to Prowl, but it was certain it wasn't going to be pretty. Jazz feared his reluctance to leave earlier had condemned his beloved.
--------------------------
Notes x 2: Oh lookie. It's that Prowlicade plot bunny kind of... trying to come back to me. Go figure.