Hidden Princes, a Transformers G1 fanfic
Title: Hidden Princes (part 2)
Universe: G1
Rating: PG
Characters: Jazz, Swoop, Prowl
Warnings: mentions of non-graphic violence, a (probably) obvious plot twist and some Dinobot cuteness.
Notes: written for prowlxjazz's April 2011 Challenge. the themes were royalty and wedding.
the narration is ending up being about 33% longer than i had anticipated (6000-ish words, rather than the 4000-ish i had planned for), so i'm breaking things up into three parts. hopefully part three will be finished tomorrow at some point before May 2 is over, and therefore in time for the deadline.
“That awful! That bad Prime! Me hope him was smashed by Megatron.”
Jazz gave the Dinobot a rueful smile. He couldn’t say he argued with the sentiment at all. “Well, this Prime was a while before Megatron was on the scene. And I promise, he got what he deserved. But it’s not part of this story.”
Swoop sighed. “You have to tell bad Prime story later then. Me want know what happen.”
“That I can do, my mech.” Jazz stood up and stretched. “I’m gonna go grab an energon goody or two out of Ratchet’s stash. You want some?”
The Dinobot nodded. “Me like green, if him have any.”
“All righy.” The saboteur grinned and then walked-a bit stiffly-to the storage cabinet where Ratchet kept his not-so-secret stash of energon goodies. He pulled a few out and then made his way back to the stool.
Once he had settled back down and handed out the treats, Swoop pinned him with a frown. “Now hurry up and get to happy part of story!
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Symphony traveled with Hound to the city of Gygax, which was not as grand as Iacon or Altihex. But it was peaceful and beautiful and full of people who were happy to welcome Hound’s new apprentice.
They had stopped in a small town along the way to alter Symphony’s plating so that no one would recognize him once they entered the city. Gygax had been one of Altihex’s best trading partners and it would not have been unreasonable for someone to spot him if they hadn’t stopped first. As a result, though, Symphony entered the city as a different mech than he had been during his previous life.
The prince learned a great deal from Hound. Not only about being a wilderness guide, but about the world around him. The common mechs were different than mechs from the palace in Altihex, different from the palace servants as well, and getting to know them and how they acted was an adventure all of its own. He missed his brother greatly while he was in Gygax, but Symphony was able to mourn his parents there and begin to build a new life for himself.
They were happy in Hound’s small home near Ankmor Park, until another stranger entered the town a few vorns after Symphony’s arrival.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“Not stop now!” Swoop protested as Jazz paused in his narration to pull a small vial out of his subspace.
“I’ll only be a minute, Swoop.” The older mech opened the vial carefully and poured the contents into his mouth. He swallowed with a grimace, and then gave the Dinobot a smile. “Had to take my supplements, so that my self-repair would actually integrate the patches sometime soon. You know how Ratch gets if we don’t.”
“Yes, him get mad!” The younger mech chuckled. “One time him Ratchet was so mad at him Grimlock for not doing what him was told, that him Ratchet tie him Grimlock to medical berth and pour medicine into mouth!”
Jazz shared Swoop’s humor at that mental image. How Ratchet managed to get Grimlock tied down to anything would be a mystery for the ages, but he would most certainly pour vile tasting supplement mixtures down someone’s intake. “Bet none of you ever tried to get out of taking them again.”
“No. Me Swoop not want be tied down.”
“Me either.” The saboteur set the vial on the edge of Swoop’s berth with a smile. “So, back to the story.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
The stranger was injured when he staggered in through the wilderness preserve, looking like he had been in a vicious fight and lost terribly. Hound brought him to their house after finding him at the border of the park and gave him enough first aid treatment to keep him online until the medic could arrive from the city proper. Symphony hid from the stranger in his room, afraid to let the mech see him.
For the mech was not a stranger to him.
The stranger’s name was Prowl, and he had been a guard captain for the crown prince of Praxus who was a good friend of his father’s. He had often seen the guard, and the guard had often seen him. They had, on rare occasions, even taken fuel together. If anyone would be able to find him out, it would be Prowl.
For the first time since he and his brother had run from the Polyhexian guards, Symphony was terrified.
But he could not hide forever, no matter how much he wanted to. He had to take fuel and he had to go outside to take his shift in the wilderness preserve. There was no avoiding the guard, once the medic had tended to him as he had to remain in Hound’s home while he was recovering.
Somehow, Symphony managed to minimize their time together until he was trapped inside the house with Prowl. If not for that, they could have continued on indefinitely without the prince giving away his cover to the guard.
No one had thought to alter the prince’s vocal tone when his plating was altered and so, during their first conversation Prowl found him out.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Swoop’s expression had grown shocked when he heard Prowl’s name, but he managed to restrain himself from commenting for at least a few minutes more. “Him Prowl know prince? That make him very old.”
Jazz chuckled. “Don’t tell him that. He doesn’t feel that old most of the time.”
“Him not seem that old, either.” Swoop’s shocked expression turned into an embarrassed smile.
“Nope, he sure doesn’t.” the saboteur looked over his shoulder and grinned at the offline tactician.
“Tell what happen next! What him Prowl do?”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Prowl, of course, was shocked when he realized who Symphony was. He had believed Hound’s story that the younger mech was the creation of mechs who had named their offspring to honor the Altihexan prince and had not considered any other options. After all, the Polyhexian bounty hunters were convinced the princes were hiding together in one of the larger cities.
Had they continued not speaking, Prowl would have moved on and never known the truth.
Once Prowl had realized that Symphony was one of the missing princes, the young mech told him what had happened to them. The guard’s optics blazed with anger when he heard how the Prime had dismissed and threatened them, and the softened in sympathy when he heard how they had separated for their own safety in the hopes that one day things could be set right. And he smiled softly when he described learning to live as a common mech and finding happiness in it.
When the prince’s story was over, Prowl knelt down before the young mech. And with words Symphony would never forget, he pledged his allegiance to the prince of Altihex.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“What him Prowl say?!”
“Can’t tell you that. It’s a mystery, lost to the ages.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Symphony was shocked that Prowl would swear his allegiance to him. After all, the older mech was the guardian for the Praxian ambassador and had duties to him. But Prowl explained that the Praxian ambassador had been murdered along with most of the royal court. The ambassador’s last words were a plea to Prowl that he find the missing princes and guard them as he would his own lord, an action he would have taken immediately if he had not been taken prisoner by the Polihexian soldiers. His injuries had been sustained during his escape and he had no idea how he had managed to run, and then walk and finally stagger, so very far.
The prince could think of only one reason. “You must have been meant to find me.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Once he knew the princes’ secret, Prowl agreed that Whistler was best left in the care of Mirage and his family in the distant Crystal Towers. It was doubtful that the bounty hunters would ever think to look there, even if they did finally accept the idea that the two princes would be safer apart. The Polyhexians and the hunters all seemed to have a very low opinion of Symphony and Whistler’s intelligence, and would not ever be likely to believe that a royal mech would be willing to become another’s servant.
It was actually Symphony who was in the most danger, living such an active lifestyle in Gygax and Ankmor Park. They had been exceptionally lucky that Prowl had been the one to find the missing prince and not one of the hunters, something that could not be counted on to hold in the future.
Prowl offered them an addendum to their original plan: modify Symphony’s vocalizer to utilize a different tonal range and give him a new voice. It could make it harder to prove he was the real prince in the future, but that was a sacrifice they needed to make in order to ensure his current safety. Symphony agreed, and in the quiet of the night cycle a few days later, they called the medic to Hound’s home again and gave him his instructions in deepest secrecy.
The medic never asked why he was given those specific instructions, and even offered to make up a convincing story for why Symphony’s vocal register had changed. They would claim it was a rogue cybercat attack and claim that the young mech was lucky to have only lost his voice.
It was a good plan and a good cover story, and it might have lasted forever. But one day, a group of soldiers from the Polyhexian army walked into the city of Gygax.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“Did them find him prince?” Swoop’s optics were wide with excitement and the need to know the next part of the story.
“I’m getting to that, my mech.” Jazz patted him on the leg. “I’m getting to that. You still feeling okay? Don’t need any painkillers or anything?
“No. Me Swoop am still fine. Want more story!”
The saboteur chuckled and continued.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
It was Hound who saw the soldiers first, and he managed to make his way back to the house to warn the prince and his guard that they were coming before anyone came knocking on their door. The Polyhexians were questioning everyone they saw, demanding to know the names of anyone having come into the city in the vorns since Altihex had fallen, where they lived and what they looked like. Symphony would not match the description they had of him, but he was the right age, had arrived in the city in the right time period and had the right name. Whether they believed he was the Prince of Altihex or not, it was very likely that they would take him prisoner and possibly execute him.
Prowl wasted no time in preparing the prince to escape. He gave Hound a few quick instructions to find them once the soldiers were gone, grabbed a few cubes of energon and pulled Symphony out of the house. They ran into Ankmor Park, a place the prince knew better than almost any other mech, to use the wilderness preserve as a hiding place.
They hid in the park for cycles, moving from place to place to avoid the solders that began search the preserve. They were careful in their movements, leaving minimal trails and never staying in the same place twice. For a time they felt sure they would be caught, but after several of the mechs were mauled by an angry pack of cyberwolves and one was killed by a cybercat, the soldiers pulled out of Ankmor Park.
After another few cycles, Hound finally found them near the Rust Sea and told them it was safe to come home. As they made their way back home, the guide told them proudly about how the mechs and femmes in their neighborhood all denied knowing him and how his medical files had mysteriously disappeared from the repair bay where they had been stored-along with a rather large bank of data that was being blamed on the Polyhexians as being a very bad hack job. According to everyone who knew him, there was no young mech named Symphony in the city. Prowl expressed disbelief at the claims, but he had met many of the neighbors since his arrival and knew how much they adored the prince.
Perhaps they would remain safe in Gygax, after all.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“Jazz, what happen to him other Prince?”
“We’ll get to Whistler again soon, I promise. But this story isn’t really about him.” The older mech gave the younger one a small smile. “If it was, you wouldn’t have your happy story. Whistler’s life wasn’t nearly as nice as his brother’s.”
“Oh. Maybe you tell whole story other time?”
“Sure, Swoop. I can do that.”
Universe: G1
Rating: PG
Characters: Jazz, Swoop, Prowl
Warnings: mentions of non-graphic violence, a (probably) obvious plot twist and some Dinobot cuteness.
Notes: written for prowlxjazz's April 2011 Challenge. the themes were royalty and wedding.
the narration is ending up being about 33% longer than i had anticipated (6000-ish words, rather than the 4000-ish i had planned for), so i'm breaking things up into three parts. hopefully part three will be finished tomorrow at some point before May 2 is over, and therefore in time for the deadline.
“That awful! That bad Prime! Me hope him was smashed by Megatron.”
Jazz gave the Dinobot a rueful smile. He couldn’t say he argued with the sentiment at all. “Well, this Prime was a while before Megatron was on the scene. And I promise, he got what he deserved. But it’s not part of this story.”
Swoop sighed. “You have to tell bad Prime story later then. Me want know what happen.”
“That I can do, my mech.” Jazz stood up and stretched. “I’m gonna go grab an energon goody or two out of Ratchet’s stash. You want some?”
The Dinobot nodded. “Me like green, if him have any.”
“All righy.” The saboteur grinned and then walked-a bit stiffly-to the storage cabinet where Ratchet kept his not-so-secret stash of energon goodies. He pulled a few out and then made his way back to the stool.
Once he had settled back down and handed out the treats, Swoop pinned him with a frown. “Now hurry up and get to happy part of story!
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Symphony traveled with Hound to the city of Gygax, which was not as grand as Iacon or Altihex. But it was peaceful and beautiful and full of people who were happy to welcome Hound’s new apprentice.
They had stopped in a small town along the way to alter Symphony’s plating so that no one would recognize him once they entered the city. Gygax had been one of Altihex’s best trading partners and it would not have been unreasonable for someone to spot him if they hadn’t stopped first. As a result, though, Symphony entered the city as a different mech than he had been during his previous life.
The prince learned a great deal from Hound. Not only about being a wilderness guide, but about the world around him. The common mechs were different than mechs from the palace in Altihex, different from the palace servants as well, and getting to know them and how they acted was an adventure all of its own. He missed his brother greatly while he was in Gygax, but Symphony was able to mourn his parents there and begin to build a new life for himself.
They were happy in Hound’s small home near Ankmor Park, until another stranger entered the town a few vorns after Symphony’s arrival.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“Not stop now!” Swoop protested as Jazz paused in his narration to pull a small vial out of his subspace.
“I’ll only be a minute, Swoop.” The older mech opened the vial carefully and poured the contents into his mouth. He swallowed with a grimace, and then gave the Dinobot a smile. “Had to take my supplements, so that my self-repair would actually integrate the patches sometime soon. You know how Ratch gets if we don’t.”
“Yes, him get mad!” The younger mech chuckled. “One time him Ratchet was so mad at him Grimlock for not doing what him was told, that him Ratchet tie him Grimlock to medical berth and pour medicine into mouth!”
Jazz shared Swoop’s humor at that mental image. How Ratchet managed to get Grimlock tied down to anything would be a mystery for the ages, but he would most certainly pour vile tasting supplement mixtures down someone’s intake. “Bet none of you ever tried to get out of taking them again.”
“No. Me Swoop not want be tied down.”
“Me either.” The saboteur set the vial on the edge of Swoop’s berth with a smile. “So, back to the story.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
The stranger was injured when he staggered in through the wilderness preserve, looking like he had been in a vicious fight and lost terribly. Hound brought him to their house after finding him at the border of the park and gave him enough first aid treatment to keep him online until the medic could arrive from the city proper. Symphony hid from the stranger in his room, afraid to let the mech see him.
For the mech was not a stranger to him.
The stranger’s name was Prowl, and he had been a guard captain for the crown prince of Praxus who was a good friend of his father’s. He had often seen the guard, and the guard had often seen him. They had, on rare occasions, even taken fuel together. If anyone would be able to find him out, it would be Prowl.
For the first time since he and his brother had run from the Polyhexian guards, Symphony was terrified.
But he could not hide forever, no matter how much he wanted to. He had to take fuel and he had to go outside to take his shift in the wilderness preserve. There was no avoiding the guard, once the medic had tended to him as he had to remain in Hound’s home while he was recovering.
Somehow, Symphony managed to minimize their time together until he was trapped inside the house with Prowl. If not for that, they could have continued on indefinitely without the prince giving away his cover to the guard.
No one had thought to alter the prince’s vocal tone when his plating was altered and so, during their first conversation Prowl found him out.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Swoop’s expression had grown shocked when he heard Prowl’s name, but he managed to restrain himself from commenting for at least a few minutes more. “Him Prowl know prince? That make him very old.”
Jazz chuckled. “Don’t tell him that. He doesn’t feel that old most of the time.”
“Him not seem that old, either.” Swoop’s shocked expression turned into an embarrassed smile.
“Nope, he sure doesn’t.” the saboteur looked over his shoulder and grinned at the offline tactician.
“Tell what happen next! What him Prowl do?”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Prowl, of course, was shocked when he realized who Symphony was. He had believed Hound’s story that the younger mech was the creation of mechs who had named their offspring to honor the Altihexan prince and had not considered any other options. After all, the Polyhexian bounty hunters were convinced the princes were hiding together in one of the larger cities.
Had they continued not speaking, Prowl would have moved on and never known the truth.
Once Prowl had realized that Symphony was one of the missing princes, the young mech told him what had happened to them. The guard’s optics blazed with anger when he heard how the Prime had dismissed and threatened them, and the softened in sympathy when he heard how they had separated for their own safety in the hopes that one day things could be set right. And he smiled softly when he described learning to live as a common mech and finding happiness in it.
When the prince’s story was over, Prowl knelt down before the young mech. And with words Symphony would never forget, he pledged his allegiance to the prince of Altihex.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“What him Prowl say?!”
“Can’t tell you that. It’s a mystery, lost to the ages.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Symphony was shocked that Prowl would swear his allegiance to him. After all, the older mech was the guardian for the Praxian ambassador and had duties to him. But Prowl explained that the Praxian ambassador had been murdered along with most of the royal court. The ambassador’s last words were a plea to Prowl that he find the missing princes and guard them as he would his own lord, an action he would have taken immediately if he had not been taken prisoner by the Polihexian soldiers. His injuries had been sustained during his escape and he had no idea how he had managed to run, and then walk and finally stagger, so very far.
The prince could think of only one reason. “You must have been meant to find me.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Once he knew the princes’ secret, Prowl agreed that Whistler was best left in the care of Mirage and his family in the distant Crystal Towers. It was doubtful that the bounty hunters would ever think to look there, even if they did finally accept the idea that the two princes would be safer apart. The Polyhexians and the hunters all seemed to have a very low opinion of Symphony and Whistler’s intelligence, and would not ever be likely to believe that a royal mech would be willing to become another’s servant.
It was actually Symphony who was in the most danger, living such an active lifestyle in Gygax and Ankmor Park. They had been exceptionally lucky that Prowl had been the one to find the missing prince and not one of the hunters, something that could not be counted on to hold in the future.
Prowl offered them an addendum to their original plan: modify Symphony’s vocalizer to utilize a different tonal range and give him a new voice. It could make it harder to prove he was the real prince in the future, but that was a sacrifice they needed to make in order to ensure his current safety. Symphony agreed, and in the quiet of the night cycle a few days later, they called the medic to Hound’s home again and gave him his instructions in deepest secrecy.
The medic never asked why he was given those specific instructions, and even offered to make up a convincing story for why Symphony’s vocal register had changed. They would claim it was a rogue cybercat attack and claim that the young mech was lucky to have only lost his voice.
It was a good plan and a good cover story, and it might have lasted forever. But one day, a group of soldiers from the Polyhexian army walked into the city of Gygax.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“Did them find him prince?” Swoop’s optics were wide with excitement and the need to know the next part of the story.
“I’m getting to that, my mech.” Jazz patted him on the leg. “I’m getting to that. You still feeling okay? Don’t need any painkillers or anything?
“No. Me Swoop am still fine. Want more story!”
The saboteur chuckled and continued.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
It was Hound who saw the soldiers first, and he managed to make his way back to the house to warn the prince and his guard that they were coming before anyone came knocking on their door. The Polyhexians were questioning everyone they saw, demanding to know the names of anyone having come into the city in the vorns since Altihex had fallen, where they lived and what they looked like. Symphony would not match the description they had of him, but he was the right age, had arrived in the city in the right time period and had the right name. Whether they believed he was the Prince of Altihex or not, it was very likely that they would take him prisoner and possibly execute him.
Prowl wasted no time in preparing the prince to escape. He gave Hound a few quick instructions to find them once the soldiers were gone, grabbed a few cubes of energon and pulled Symphony out of the house. They ran into Ankmor Park, a place the prince knew better than almost any other mech, to use the wilderness preserve as a hiding place.
They hid in the park for cycles, moving from place to place to avoid the solders that began search the preserve. They were careful in their movements, leaving minimal trails and never staying in the same place twice. For a time they felt sure they would be caught, but after several of the mechs were mauled by an angry pack of cyberwolves and one was killed by a cybercat, the soldiers pulled out of Ankmor Park.
After another few cycles, Hound finally found them near the Rust Sea and told them it was safe to come home. As they made their way back home, the guide told them proudly about how the mechs and femmes in their neighborhood all denied knowing him and how his medical files had mysteriously disappeared from the repair bay where they had been stored-along with a rather large bank of data that was being blamed on the Polyhexians as being a very bad hack job. According to everyone who knew him, there was no young mech named Symphony in the city. Prowl expressed disbelief at the claims, but he had met many of the neighbors since his arrival and knew how much they adored the prince.
Perhaps they would remain safe in Gygax, after all.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“Jazz, what happen to him other Prince?”
“We’ll get to Whistler again soon, I promise. But this story isn’t really about him.” The older mech gave the younger one a small smile. “If it was, you wouldn’t have your happy story. Whistler’s life wasn’t nearly as nice as his brother’s.”
“Oh. Maybe you tell whole story other time?”
“Sure, Swoop. I can do that.”