Challenge day 10
Title: It's More than a Feeling - And the Worlds End (10/30)
Day: Sept 10
Prompt: "Prowl used to be a what?!"
Verse: G1 probably very AU
Rating: PG 13
Words: 1262
Other Characters: Red Alert, Inferno, Ratchet, Megatron.
Warnings: Another that went a little dark.
Summary: Of all mechs, Red Alert never thought it could be him.
Notes: For the Sexy September challenge @ prowlxjazz. Happy Anniversary to all in the pxj community, here's to many more to come. This piece is not beta-read so feel free to correct me. Belated again, power is being craptastic around here again. This piece is like a mix and match of continuities so It's G1 but very AU and picking from any place I could. Thanks to nkfloofiepoof for helping me to pick a name for a certain character. My apologies to poor Red Alert.
Red Alert looked through the archives at his disposal which, admittedly, weren’t many but he had to find out something, anything, that could help him to find out why something Prowl had done suddenly felt familiar.
Lately it wasn’t unusual to hear Prowl make a soft humming sound every now and then, but for some reason the particular melody Prowl intoned struck a chord with Red Alert. Since that moment, seventy two Earth hours ago, his attention was divided between monitoring duty and searching through whatever files he could find available in Teletraan-1.
Teletraan-1 contained all the surviving copies of whatever records of Cybertron’s history remained after the first vorns of war. There was information of historical and contemporary figures scattered across its files but few profiles were complete. There were a few samples of works of art and ancient recreational texts, but for the most part they were only a couple of seconds of music. Still, the melody Prowl hummed was too distinctive, something Red Alert knew he heard once some time before or during the war. He didn’t know why for certain but the impulse to find out was strong and he felt compelled to obey that impulse.
It took days but finally he found a sample of the melody which led him to the singer and the composer. The singer used to be a famous femme that was revered for her ample range and beautiful performances, but most of all she was the only singer in Cybertron that sung melodies from a particular composer, a mech known as Sundance. This melody in particular was noted as the last known composition of this mech who disappeared some time after its public release. Red Alert knew now why this song seemed to pick his interest so vehemently.
Reviewing through what files he could find he confirmed what he remembered about the composer. Sundance was one the most prolific artists Cybertron ever saw. He was a gifted musician and composer that also delved into the plastic arts, known for a few paintings that decorated the walls of the Decagon in Iacon. He also published a few stories as well as social and political essays about Cybertron. And these were precisely why Red Alert knew of him the most.
Before the way began in full, Megatron’s movement began as social activism that accompanied his gladiatorial combats. Right after collecting a victory he would launch into a tirade, criticizing the Cybertronian government and its society. Somehow, Sundance became familiarized with this movement and his published essays quickly became an echo of Megatron’s views and grievances, urging their society to wake up from its so called lethargy. Sundance’s involvement became such that a few of his compositions had subtle hints of his political visions interwoven. More important was the Decepticon insignia that all Decepticons now sported was a design created by Sundance for Megatron.
An elite mech from the city of Praxus, Sundance was perhaps the most well known Decepticon sympathizer, and one that stood out quite a bit amongst the crowds of hard labor mechs, gladiators and lowly criminals. Many suspected Sundance used his wealth to support Megatron’s movement and that was how in a matter of meta cycles a political movement became a guerrilla and from then into an army and the conflict became a war that devastated their kind and led their species close to its own extinction. Red Alert was hot on Sundance’s trail after the first bout of violence enacted by Megatron but Sundance’s resources allowed him to evade Red Alert. Shortly after, he disappeared altogether, his latest composition’s profits were never cashed by the mech as far as the now Security Director knew.
Before he began working as Security Director for the Autobots, Red Alert used to be an Enforcer, and he made it his personal mission to bring to justice the responsible for the first attacks enacted under the Decepticon banner. As far as Red Alert was concerned, Sundance had much to answer for since he was certain the sympathizer was at least in part responsible for the uprising of the movement. But when he was finally cornering the artist, Sundance disappeared without a trace.
He could remember vaguely what Sundance used to look like but it wasn’t until Teletraan provided him with a diminutive picture of Sundance in the middle of a crowd that things began to click in his processor. The frame and colors were different for the most part, primarily black with a few maroon, blue and indigo accents that decorated an alt mode designed for complex and beautiful aerial maneuvers. But it was the helm and face plate where the similarities could be found, specially on the dark indigo chevron that crowned the helm.
“It cannot be...” Red Alert narrowed his optics. “This cannot be possible. Of all mechs it cannot be him.”
But it was. At least it is what it looked like. A careful and detailed observation would show that Sundance and Prowl shared many traits. “A Decepticon sympathizer in our ranks!” he gasped, infuriated. He felt cheated, betrayed. Prowl was one of the few mechs Red Alert trusted completely and to find out their very second in command was none other than the possible responsible for Megatron acquiring the mans to start the war that ravaged their home and destroyed their lives...
“Prime must know this!” Red Alert reached to copy the files when a shock ran through his frame, overloading his processor to temporary shutdown.
“Sorry, Red.” Jazz murmured as he stepped aside, allowing Inferno to catch his friend. “Can’t let ya get this info out.”
Inferno sighed and shook his head. “I knew we should have removed those files from Teletraan-1. Or at least remove his capture, I only wanted to preserve a little of Cybertron’s history.”
“S’cool, ‘Ferno. I don’t want t’get rid of all this information m’self. Someday, I hope, we’ll be able t’tell the story in full, but for now...” Jazz pulled a cable from one of the compartments of his arm, plugging it to the terminal to copy the information Red Alert dug out into a personal drive. When that was done, he proceeded to delete the files, carefully leaving no hints of his access and that such files ever existed.
“I hate having to do this to him.” Inferno sighed, saddenned.
“I know, ‘Ferno.” Jazz patted the mech’s arm as they waited for Ratchet. “But we can’t trust Red t’be objective with this information right now.”
“I know.” Inferno laid Red Alert’s inert form down on the ground as Ratchet arrived. The medic grunted and muttered something about nosy mechs and secret lives but set himself to work. “He’ll be okay, right?” Inferno asked while Ratchet tampered with his processor and memory banks.
Ratchet nodded and smiled reassuringly. “He will be fine. He’s going to need some recharge, though.”
Jazz watched it all transpiring looking down at the drive in his hand which he proceeded to subspace for safe keeping. Only a handful knew the truth of what Prowl used to be, it was a secret that had to be kept at all cost for the good of the Autobot cause. If it ever was to be revealed it was not up to Red Alert to bring it to light.
‘S’alright, Prowl.’ Jazz thought to himself as he watched Ratchet and Inferno tending to Red Alert, his optics narrowing in a silent promise, a wordless threat. ‘I ain’t lettin’ anyone else find out. Sundance is dead, an’ I’ll make sure he stays that way.’
Day: Sept 10
Prompt: "Prowl used to be a what?!"
Verse: G1 probably very AU
Rating: PG 13
Words: 1262
Other Characters: Red Alert, Inferno, Ratchet, Megatron.
Warnings: Another that went a little dark.
Summary: Of all mechs, Red Alert never thought it could be him.
Notes: For the Sexy September challenge @ prowlxjazz. Happy Anniversary to all in the pxj community, here's to many more to come. This piece is not beta-read so feel free to correct me. Belated again, power is being craptastic around here again. This piece is like a mix and match of continuities so It's G1 but very AU and picking from any place I could. Thanks to nkfloofiepoof for helping me to pick a name for a certain character. My apologies to poor Red Alert.
Red Alert looked through the archives at his disposal which, admittedly, weren’t many but he had to find out something, anything, that could help him to find out why something Prowl had done suddenly felt familiar.
Lately it wasn’t unusual to hear Prowl make a soft humming sound every now and then, but for some reason the particular melody Prowl intoned struck a chord with Red Alert. Since that moment, seventy two Earth hours ago, his attention was divided between monitoring duty and searching through whatever files he could find available in Teletraan-1.
Teletraan-1 contained all the surviving copies of whatever records of Cybertron’s history remained after the first vorns of war. There was information of historical and contemporary figures scattered across its files but few profiles were complete. There were a few samples of works of art and ancient recreational texts, but for the most part they were only a couple of seconds of music. Still, the melody Prowl hummed was too distinctive, something Red Alert knew he heard once some time before or during the war. He didn’t know why for certain but the impulse to find out was strong and he felt compelled to obey that impulse.
It took days but finally he found a sample of the melody which led him to the singer and the composer. The singer used to be a famous femme that was revered for her ample range and beautiful performances, but most of all she was the only singer in Cybertron that sung melodies from a particular composer, a mech known as Sundance. This melody in particular was noted as the last known composition of this mech who disappeared some time after its public release. Red Alert knew now why this song seemed to pick his interest so vehemently.
Reviewing through what files he could find he confirmed what he remembered about the composer. Sundance was one the most prolific artists Cybertron ever saw. He was a gifted musician and composer that also delved into the plastic arts, known for a few paintings that decorated the walls of the Decagon in Iacon. He also published a few stories as well as social and political essays about Cybertron. And these were precisely why Red Alert knew of him the most.
Before the way began in full, Megatron’s movement began as social activism that accompanied his gladiatorial combats. Right after collecting a victory he would launch into a tirade, criticizing the Cybertronian government and its society. Somehow, Sundance became familiarized with this movement and his published essays quickly became an echo of Megatron’s views and grievances, urging their society to wake up from its so called lethargy. Sundance’s involvement became such that a few of his compositions had subtle hints of his political visions interwoven. More important was the Decepticon insignia that all Decepticons now sported was a design created by Sundance for Megatron.
An elite mech from the city of Praxus, Sundance was perhaps the most well known Decepticon sympathizer, and one that stood out quite a bit amongst the crowds of hard labor mechs, gladiators and lowly criminals. Many suspected Sundance used his wealth to support Megatron’s movement and that was how in a matter of meta cycles a political movement became a guerrilla and from then into an army and the conflict became a war that devastated their kind and led their species close to its own extinction. Red Alert was hot on Sundance’s trail after the first bout of violence enacted by Megatron but Sundance’s resources allowed him to evade Red Alert. Shortly after, he disappeared altogether, his latest composition’s profits were never cashed by the mech as far as the now Security Director knew.
Before he began working as Security Director for the Autobots, Red Alert used to be an Enforcer, and he made it his personal mission to bring to justice the responsible for the first attacks enacted under the Decepticon banner. As far as Red Alert was concerned, Sundance had much to answer for since he was certain the sympathizer was at least in part responsible for the uprising of the movement. But when he was finally cornering the artist, Sundance disappeared without a trace.
He could remember vaguely what Sundance used to look like but it wasn’t until Teletraan provided him with a diminutive picture of Sundance in the middle of a crowd that things began to click in his processor. The frame and colors were different for the most part, primarily black with a few maroon, blue and indigo accents that decorated an alt mode designed for complex and beautiful aerial maneuvers. But it was the helm and face plate where the similarities could be found, specially on the dark indigo chevron that crowned the helm.
“It cannot be...” Red Alert narrowed his optics. “This cannot be possible. Of all mechs it cannot be him.”
But it was. At least it is what it looked like. A careful and detailed observation would show that Sundance and Prowl shared many traits. “A Decepticon sympathizer in our ranks!” he gasped, infuriated. He felt cheated, betrayed. Prowl was one of the few mechs Red Alert trusted completely and to find out their very second in command was none other than the possible responsible for Megatron acquiring the mans to start the war that ravaged their home and destroyed their lives...
“Prime must know this!” Red Alert reached to copy the files when a shock ran through his frame, overloading his processor to temporary shutdown.
“Sorry, Red.” Jazz murmured as he stepped aside, allowing Inferno to catch his friend. “Can’t let ya get this info out.”
Inferno sighed and shook his head. “I knew we should have removed those files from Teletraan-1. Or at least remove his capture, I only wanted to preserve a little of Cybertron’s history.”
“S’cool, ‘Ferno. I don’t want t’get rid of all this information m’self. Someday, I hope, we’ll be able t’tell the story in full, but for now...” Jazz pulled a cable from one of the compartments of his arm, plugging it to the terminal to copy the information Red Alert dug out into a personal drive. When that was done, he proceeded to delete the files, carefully leaving no hints of his access and that such files ever existed.
“I hate having to do this to him.” Inferno sighed, saddenned.
“I know, ‘Ferno.” Jazz patted the mech’s arm as they waited for Ratchet. “But we can’t trust Red t’be objective with this information right now.”
“I know.” Inferno laid Red Alert’s inert form down on the ground as Ratchet arrived. The medic grunted and muttered something about nosy mechs and secret lives but set himself to work. “He’ll be okay, right?” Inferno asked while Ratchet tampered with his processor and memory banks.
Ratchet nodded and smiled reassuringly. “He will be fine. He’s going to need some recharge, though.”
Jazz watched it all transpiring looking down at the drive in his hand which he proceeded to subspace for safe keeping. Only a handful knew the truth of what Prowl used to be, it was a secret that had to be kept at all cost for the good of the Autobot cause. If it ever was to be revealed it was not up to Red Alert to bring it to light.
‘S’alright, Prowl.’ Jazz thought to himself as he watched Ratchet and Inferno tending to Red Alert, his optics narrowing in a silent promise, a wordless threat. ‘I ain’t lettin’ anyone else find out. Sundance is dead, an’ I’ll make sure he stays that way.’