FIC: Shinobi Nightingale
Title: Shinobi Nightingale
Chapters: 8 of ??
Author: wicked3659
Rating: pg13
Warning: character death, angst
Pairings: Eventual prowl x jazz
Summary: Jazz wanted more than anything to be a part of Elite Guard to be accepted as one of their ranks despite his past. Catching the elusive ninja assassin was going to be his key to that future, only one thing stands in his way and he does not intend to get caught.
****
A/N: This bunny has just kept biting me. I can't promise routine updates but they should be regular, at least every two weeks. Bear with me. Concepts are AU so bear in mind before reading.
Thanks to ante_luce for reading through and encouraging this story
Part 8
The old vault was dark and silent. Jazz still felt uneasy. Something didn’t sit right and he had the distinct impression he was being watched. The Elite Guard couldn’t track his signal here, he was too far underground. The vault had been built a long time before the monastery and its secret had remained locked within the ninjas who had come and gone throughout the stellar cycles.
It had once housed thousands of protoforms, which had since vanished, as well as the All Spark itself. Now, there was nothing but a vast empty darkness. It had been cleaned out well before Jazz had arrived. He clenched his denta and growled softly. The ninja assassin wouldn’t have done all of this. Not if Yoketron’s faith was so firmly placed in him. It would have been the ninja’s duty to protect the vault and its contents at all costs.
Shaking his helm in frustration, Jazz turned to leave, no closer to understanding what was going on. A reoccurring thought kept turning over in his mind. Could it have been the Elite Guard? How would they have known? Jazz pushed the notion to the back of processor. There was no way they could have known, it had to have been someone with inside knowledge but that simply didn’t make sense.
A faint whirring tickled his audio and Jazz half - turned to see a glint of dark armour and a flash of white before the roar of a chain saw drowned out his senses. He switched his visor to night vision and the blurry image of a large mech bearing down on him took him by surprise. By all accounts the size and build of the mech would suggest he wouldn’t have been able to get so close to him, not unless he had specialised training.
"That’s it…" Realisation hit him at the same time the mech got within striking distance. He grunted as he ducked and rolled away from the mech’s precision strike. He remained crouched and had his nunchaku out in a flash, the cutting energon bladed edge glowed in the darkness as he launched forward. Not aiming to kill the mech, simply to restrain, Jazz found himself quickly on the defensive. The large assailant growled and lunged managing to lodge a sharp metal object into Jazz’s mid section, tearing away some of his plating with one vicious jerk.
Jazz gritted his denta, resisting the urge to scream in pain. His vision whited out for a klik and he was unable to regain his footing in the dark. His neck was grabbed with one strong hand and fingers curled around him squeezing tightly. Jazz struggled and kicked out, receiving a grunt of pain for his troubles. The grip lessened and he broke free, dropping to his knees. He didn’t get chance to resume his offensive.
A large studded foot collided with his chest with all the force of a high speed shuttle. Jazz gasped and cried out, feeling his chest plates crack and cave in under the pressure. He was thrown backward and over the rail, protecting ‘bots from the sheer drop on the other side. His hand reached out in an attempt to save himself, grabbing nothing but air.
Jazz felt his tanks lurch, the urge to off load becoming all too great as he plummeted through the darkness. Losing all sense of direction Jazz spun out of control and off lined his optics to wait for the inevitable end to his fall.
Grunting heavily when he hit something solid, Jazz couldn’t help but wonder how he was still online. He knew how deep the vault had been and by all rights he should have been dead but instead he still felt like he was falling, just at a much more sedate pace.
"What the frag…?" He mused quietly. There was warmth all about him, holding him close as his descent slowed. A quiet voice spoke over his audio as strong hands held onto him tightly.
"Hold on."
Jazz didn’t question it and wrapped his arms around, what could only be another mech, roughly his size, clinging onto him. The small boosters attached to the slender mech’s back fired brightly and they rose up slowly through the vault. Alerts flashed insistently across his HUD and Jazz cancelled them all, without even checking to see which systems were damaged. He would deal with that later.
The journey up was much slower than the express route down, the mech’s boosters struggled a little under the added weight but it was with a sigh of relief when Jazz finally planted his feet firmly on the ground.
Jazz turned to his saviour, meaning to thank him when a flash of familiar gold crossed his vision. He took a step back in surprise and made to reach for his second pair of nunchaku.
"Typical Elite Guard gratitude hm?"
The quiet voice sounded almost amused. It was too close. Jazz whipped out his nunchaku with blinding speed but it wasn’t fast enough and a flood of pain filled his cortex. Collapsing to his knees Jazz clutched his helm, reeling from the hard blow. He managed to glance up at the black and gold mech standing over him his optics widening when he caught sight of a clenched fist racing towards him.
"WAIT!"
His voice rang out through the vault, echoing off distant walls before fading away to silence. The black and white didn’t get another chance to speak; he crumpled to the floor with soft grunt of pain and lay motionless at the feet of his rescuer.
****
Pain.
Jazz felt like he’d been in pain forever. His spark burned in his chest, the sensation of weight pressing down on him, the pain was his first thought, his only thought, never in his life had he felt anything like it. Feeling all at once exposed and vulnerable, Jazz’s optics snapped online and he jerked to sit up right, barely biting back a scream as he did so.
A pair of firm but gentle hands caught his shoulders and slowly lowered him back down onto the berth. Jazz’s optics blinked in the dim light and a soft noise of protest escaped his lips.
"Don’t move just yet." The ninja’s voice was steady. Jazz upon first hearing it would have called it cold but right now, his chest open and energon seeping from his middle, it was the most soothing sound in all of Cybertron.
"Why are ya doing this?" He rasped, allowing the mech to guide him back down onto the berth.
The piercing blue visor regarded him curiously, the mech’s small, pinched mouth twitching when Jazz held his steady gaze and repeated his question.
"Do not concern yourself, you’re injured you need to rest."
Jazz caught the slender wrist of the ‘bot as he turned to leave. His visor flickered in tired confusion. "I’m ordered t’ hunt ya down and bring ya in one way or the other, but… ya saved my life… why?"
The black and gold ninja didn’t betray any emotion as he peeled Jazz’s hand from his wrist and laid it to rest on the berth. "There are many things you don’t understand, Elite. Now is not the time for questions. If you are to be of any use to me, you need to heal. Now rest."
Jazz slumped back onto the berth with a faint sigh. "If you’re plannin’ on torturing me ya might as well just kill me now because I promise ya’ll get nothin’ from me about the Guard."
The ninja let out a soft chuckle causing Jazz to blink at him incredulously. The laugh was subtle but it was definitely there.
"Do you remember nothing about being a ninja, or has the Elite Guard rotted your spark?" Leaning over Jazz studying him closely, the mech hummed softly. "Torture never helped anyone learn anything of value. Being an Elite, you should know that."
Jazz held his calculating curiosity for a few kliks longer his own optics searching the mech’s face for any sign of deception or ill intent. "They’ll find me, and they’ll kill ya." It wasn’t a threat, Jazz knew a threat would have no bearing on the ninja, he would relish the challenge.
"Mm, that’s not likely. Rest now, Elite. Please don’t make me knock you unconscious again."
Jazz quirked an optic ridge behind his visor and quietly complied, optics fixed warily on his saviour and captor as he made to leave the small, humble room. "Th’ name’s Jazz." His helm dropped back onto the berth and he stared blankly up at the ceiling, with a resigned sigh. "Not Elite."
The ninja paused at the door, his visor just visible over his shoulder and protruding fin. "Prowl." He left without another word quietly shutting and locking the door behind him.
"Prowl." Jazz repeated softly, remembering the plaque that had turned to dust in his hands as he slipped into recharge.