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Life is a Tree	By : CGH Category: Transformers > Transformers: Animated > AU/AR Views: 2358 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers: Beast Wars, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Life is a Tree
- 2-Ch 2
- 3-Ch 3
- 4-Ch 4
- 5-Ch 5
- 6-Ch 6
- 2
- 3
- 4
"Ahhh," Jazz barely avoided shivering in relief as he emptied his waste tank on a rock. He turned his head and grinned raucously at Prowl, who lightly held onto his elbow. "Hey, Prowl, how far can you gush it?"
"Is this really--"
"Aw, c'mon. I'm gonna be empty pretty soon. Sentinel's no fun, he ain't got any distance. I need competition. Show me what'cha got!"
"Twenty feet," Prowl, still sans his visor, turned to the sound of liquid hitting the rocks. His lips suddenly curled in a smirk. "Is that all?"
To Jazz's astonishment, Prowl retracted his port and extended his output nozzle. Using his fingers to point it forward, he leaned back just slightly, scrunched his lips and let loose a geyser that sprayed the grass at least ten feet beyond the rocks.
"Holy...slag, Prowl!" Jazz's laughter rang through the forest. He couldn't believe Prowl had it in him. "What do you drink?"
"Oil, coolant...same as you. I trust you cycle yours until only water is left behind?" Prowl replied with a question. He reigned his stream to a less powerful flow, finishing up on the rocks near his feet. Then he retracted his output nozzle and crossed his arms across his chest. Sunlight shone through leaves and drew patterns on his face. For a few moments he appeared to have eyes and Jazz stood in awe.
From an objective standpoint, Prowl's lack of eyes was a shocking deformity. Not even Jazz could fully shake off those drilled-in ideas that such flaws were considered hideous, sinful and not to be looked upon. Rather than see Prowl as ugly, he just felt bad for him. Then his inner censor would kick him in the face and remind him that only those truly helpless were pitiful creatures, and Prowl was far from helpless.
"Jazz? Did you walk off on me?"
"Huh?" He remembered Prowl asked a question and quickly answered. "Oh. Yeah, my waste might have a little oil in it, but usually it's water. Won't hurt the plants. I wouldn't do that."
"Good. So--hm, you seem to have stamina over power, or are my audios deceiving me?"
"Huh? Ack!" Jazz had forgotten about his own fluids and managed water half the path. He aimed for the same place Prowl used and smiled sheepishly. "It's been a few days since I emptied. Anyway..." He completed his output cycle in silence. By habit he gave his nozzle two shakes before letting it retract. "Hey, Prowl?"
Prowl faced him. "Yes?"
"You let me guide you here--but could you walk on your own without your visor's help? I mean...what do you do if it fritzes?"
"I walk just like everyone else with legs."
"Alone? But, what about--"
"I can manage without it." Prowl snorted, turned on his heel and started down the dirt path. "Observe."
"Wait!"
"No. You asked. Now, observe."
It was scary to watch Prowl walk through the forest without his visor. He'd hardly taken two steps before he tripped over a fallen log and fell flat on his face in a cloud of brown dust. Jazz raced to help him up, but Prowl waved him off and regained a vertical base unassisted. Not two seconds later, before he'd even brushed the dirt of his fall off, he bumped his head on a branch. Somehow, he never lost his dignity despite the embarrassment tightening his bottom lip. He veered gradually towards the trees, stepped between them and began to wander in completely the wrong direction. It was painful to watch him struggle over something as simple as finding his way through a forest. Before Jazz could jump in and lead him back onto the path, Prowl tilted his head towards a tapping noise and corrected himself without a word.
After his initial trip-ups, he proved himself just as rigid and confident as a sighted mech. It simply took him longer to get oriented.
"Prowl?" Jazz hedged. He fell into step with him and kept both hands open, ready to catch him if he tripped or veered off-course again.
"No." Prowl snapped through gritted teeth, "I can manage."
Yeah, but barely, Jazz replied silently. In some ways, it hurt when Prowl's blindness made itself this obvious. The visor disguised it so well that more than once Jazz forgot Prowl wasn't actually seeing.
They slowly approached a steep incline above a rushing creek. Prowl didn't seem aware of it, his pace steady as he moved closer and closer to the dangerous edge.
"Watch out!" Jazz wrapped his hands Prowl's arm, halting him before he stepped off into the abyss.
"Do you mind!" Prowl snapped.
"You almost walked off a cliff!"
"I did not! I know it's there!" Prowl's mouth scrunched in a frown, "The water is about sixty feet down. I just wanted to enjoy the sound without the edge in the way. Primus..."
Jazz calculated the distance and was shocked at how accurately Prowl measured just by listening. He clenched his jaw so he wouldn't sound scared. "S-sorry. C'mon, let's head back to camp."
Prowl tried to pull free. "Jazz--"
"Hush. You've proved enough. You're going to get lost again and hurt yourse-OOF!" Jazz was suddenly seized by the wrist and a sweeping kick knocked his feet off kilter. He landed hard on his back, grunting, the shadows and trees above him blotted out by the dark form still grasping his wrist.
"Stop coddling me!" Prowl's tone was icy. He knelt and Jazz felt the pressure of his knee against his chest plates. "Let me make one thing clear, Jazz." His lips curled in a snarl, "I managed to survive this long, and half of that time was without the visor. Don't underestimate me. Understood?"
Jazz's Spark crashed and sank. At the same time, anger boiled in his processors. Prowl's bullheadedness had the potential to get him killed! He swung between anguish and sorrow until his temper took over. Grabbing Prowl's knee, he used the grip Prowl had on his arm to push him into the ground.
"I worry because I care!" Jazz growled, his cool, creamy voice taking on a razor's edge. "That's what you do when you love someone! I acted the way I would for anybody about to fall to their death!"
"Tch! You were walking next to me with both hands held out like a fool," Prowl said. "I felt your body heat all over my arm. I found that extremely offensive. Were you expecting me to fall and crack my head open the entire hundred feet between the path and the gorge?"
Stung, Jazz hadn't thought about the effects his protective behavior had on Prowl. For a moment he boiled in rage. Then he let his Metallikato training take over--he cleared his head, weighed Prowl's words and found the truth buried within them. His actions were unintentionally insulting to Prowl's intelligence, abilities and confidence. Without meaning to, he'd been saying he knew exactly what Prowl couldn't do, as opposed to what he could. No wonder Prowl responded so coldly. Right then he learned never to question Prowl's abilities, because Prowl would turn around and act on it just to prove how able-bodied he was.
"Aw, Prowl..." Jazz loosened his grip and the tight bubble in his chest rose to his throat. "I'm sorry. I was being a real glitch head, wasn't I? I only wanted to help. Guess I did a bad job offering it, eh?"
"Indeed."
His Spark still sinking, Jazz scooted back to let the other mech stand up.
Prowl turned his head a moment and seemed to stare straight into Jazz's chest.
"Pr--"
"Shh!"
Jazz wisely shut up. Around them, the wind gently rustled the pine needles. A graceful white and black bird with a red stripe decorating its head noisily pecked the side of a tree several yards away.
Silently, Prowl knelt and ran his hands over the bases of two pine trees. "Camp is northeast from here." He faced the rapping noise when it started again, "Ah, now I know where we are."
Jazz gawked. "What the..."
"The moss on these tree trunks. Myth says the north side has the most moss, but the nature book I read said it grows all the way around--which it does--but it is more lush on the side facing the equator, which is south of us."
Then he abruptly twisted himself once more towards the woodpecker and marched down the path. He might have been shaky at first in the unfamiliar setting, but once oriented he had a better sense of direction than a cyber-compass!
"Man!" Jazz skipped a few steps to catch up, awed.
"What?"
"You sure you're blind?" Jazz teased.
A soft snort answered him. "Ten feet from camp, on the north side of the path, a woodpecker is building its nest. That's my landmark sound. The wind just tells me where the trees are. Can you hear them, Jazz?"
"Uh..." Jazz tried to listen, he really did, but all he could hear was the occasional creak of branches shifting. "I hear the branches moving. Does that count?"
"Mm, no. It's--hard to explain. Here." Prowl grabbed Jazz's arm and led him to the nearest tree. "The wind blows through the trees. This tree partially blocks the sound created by other trees. It's a sound shadow. Listen for it as we walk past the trees. You will hear a swish."
This time, Jazz noticed the difference. How could Prowl detect this from over ten feet away?
"Wow..." He couldn't control his awe, "So you feel this difference too?"
"Mmhmm."
They arrived back at the camp. Prowl stopped and smiled over his shoulder. "Accepted."
"Huh?"
"Your apology."
"Oh." Elation bubbled like carbonation in Jazz's fuel tanks. The brief wedge between them had crumbled and vanished, forgotten like yesterday's dust. He grinned at him, "Sweet!"
Prowl extended a hand to confirm the nearest portable berth. Using it as a guide, he trailed it with his hand until he'd seated himself by the fire. He spoke matter-of-factly, "The flux smells ready."
Once more, he was right.
Prowl, you're slaggin' amazing! I swear to Primus if anybody ever tries to drag you in, I'll fight with everything I've got to protect you. You're proof that not every flawed bot is helpless. It might take ya longer, but you can do anything I can.
Jazz plopped down next to Prowl and reached for the wadded flux sitting on the end of a metal rod. He tried branches first, but they burned, so metal had to suffice. The sweet, sticky substance melted in his mouth.
"Mm, good stuff. Hey, Prowl..." He faced his companion with genuine curiosity, "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course." Prowl answered. If he still harbored any anger, it did not show.
"When your visor's on...where do you feel the oscillators? I mean...is it a buzzing in your head or--"
"The actual vibrations occur inside my head, but I feel them in my face. From here," he pointed to the bridge of his nose, "to here," his finger moved to his chin, "And from here to here," he gestured to the juncture where his cheeks faded into black armor. "I had to learn how to interpret the signals because there are so many coming in at once. A long object that generates many frequencies and a void in the middle might be a brightly-colored billboard half in shadow between two trees. The vibrations tend to lose detail accuracy at a distance of twenty feet--which means you go from black and white to just a figure moving against a static background. In battle, I use my visor to detect movement, aim my throwing disks and spot points where I can take cover."
Nodding, Jazz digested the information a little at a time. He couldn't hide his fascination. "How d'ya tell friend from foe?"
A smirk, "Transponder signals, naturally. You can't hear me pinging your com, can you?"
"Eh?"
Prowl chuckled and licked a piece of flux off his thumb. "Stealth in everything."
"That's awesome. I mean...well, you're still an ordinary guy an' all, but wow, the way you work with it. Mind if I check your visor out?"
Jazz was surprised when Prowl plucked his visor up and handed it to him. It was coated in blue optic glass. The back had reflective azure photo sensors, which created the illusion of lighted optics glowing underneath. A port in the nose piece matched exactly the port and pins on the bridge of Prowl's nose.
"Funky..." Jazz handed the visor back to its owner. Such amazing technology compacted into that tiny space--it bred a million questions in his processors that he quickly squelched. He didn't want to annoy Prowl any more than he already had today. So, for conversation's sake, he changed the subject. "What kind of trees are these? Any idea?"
"White pine." Prowl replied, slipping his visor back on and looking up at the branches shifting overhead. He bit absently into his flux wad. It left a white smear on his bottom lip. "I love their smell. It's so...natural."
"I love your smell," Jazz fake-cackled. He leaned over and jokingly sniffed at Prowl's neck, taking in the scents of warm steel and oil. He got half a flux wad in the face for his efforts. An accident--but he wiped it off and rubbed it on Prowl's cheek anyway.
"Do you mind?" Prowl jerked back. He peeled the flux off his face and threw it back at Jazz.
"Hm..." Jazz picked the flux from his arm and smeared it on Prowl's chest, shoulders, cheeks and neck. "One, two, three, four, I declare a flux war."
"How mature," Prowl said.
"Maturity's overrated." Jazz smirked.
"Well, in that case..." Prowl reached for the white goop on the end of his metal rod and grinned wickedly. Reflections of the fire danced over his visor. Next thing Jazz knew, flux splattered across his chest and arm.
"Oh, that's how you wanna play this? You're on."
In a moment they were running through the forest, laughing and throwing sticky goop at each other like a pair of Sparklings. Their game evolved to kissing and touching, and finally to their tongues cleaning each other's cheeks and fingers off. Ten minutes later, the forest rang with the sound of two mechs wrapped in ecstasy.
Jazz came back online first. His hands were still wrapped around Prowl's shoulder rockets. Beneath him, Prowl slowly turned his head.
"Hey. Damn, you're good."
"Hm? Thanks."
Jazz kissed his nose. "Love you."
Prowl smiled, "I know."
"Your moans are sexy."
"Mm...so are yours," Prowl purred.
Jazz rolled on his side so he and Prowl were laying face to face. "Hey, Prowl, I have a question."
"Yes?"
"You ever pull any huge pranks at the Academy? I know there's a few big ones that people still talk about."
"What makes you think I'd participate in such a thing?"
Jazz's jaw dropped. He'd forgotten how Prowl preferred the shadows--a place as far away from the spotlight as possible.
"The lubricant off the balcony in the auditorium."
"Huh?"
"Sentinel's big speech right after he became a member of the Elite Guard? Someone took a leak over the roof and it splashed all over his face." Prowl's thin lips tilted in a wide, decidedly smug smirk. "The prankster was never caught."
Sitting up, Jazz stared in awe. "That was you?"
"I had the aim and the ability to disappear," his smirk grew, "I never did like Sentinel. Always so arrogant. Optimus is a better leader than he'll ever be, and everyone knows it."
"Sentinel has his uses, but mostly he kisses up to Ultra Magnus--who was absolutely mad out of his mind that day. So, c'mon, did you piss from the roof or dump a bucket--"
"The tap, naturally. It was more offensive that way. Why? Is it a legend already?"
"Heck, yeah!" Jazz barely concealed his laughter, "To this day people still wonder about the roof pisser. I can't believe it...I never thought you were that crazy!"
"I was young," Prowl grinned, "I'm still young, but older than the wild mech I was when I pulled such a foolish stunt. But someone said I was too afraid to do it and I proved them wrong."
"Figures."
"What about you? Name your best prank."
"Ohhh...slag. That's a long list. Uhhh..." Jazz rifled through his memories. He was the only mech in the Academy brave enough to prank Ultra Magnus. Ooh, Magnus had half the school cleaning the waste recycling units after this. "Were you there the day Ultra Magnus' hammer mysteriously appeared on the Infinity Chain statue?"
Prowl stared. His mouth formed a perfect "O" shape. "You?"
"Guilty!"
To Jazz's surprise, Prowl covered his mouth, doubled up and guffawed with his whole body. Even his hardest laughter was subdued, seen as a tremble more than heard. At least, it started that way. In a moment his vocal processor caught up and his low, rumbling laugh burst through the forest. A sexy sound in Jazz's ears.
"I was--wondering--what the heck that was on the statue," Prowl gasped, "I thought it was a mop."
"I put a mop head over the hammer part--" now Jazz broke up, "Two bots doing it with Ultra Magnus' hammer badly disguised as a mop is pretty funny, don't you think?"
Prowl nodded his head, his body relaxing more and more by the minute. "Agreed...wow...it seems like so long ago. I'm surprised we never met on Academy grounds."
"Me, too."
As much as he was enjoying the moment, Jazz forced himself to acknowledge they were on a mission. He looked over Prowl's shoulder where the grass dropped off into a steep slope and his sense of adventure wiggled its fingers. Getting the AllSpark fragment sooner would leave more free time later.
"Hey, Prowl?"
"Mm?" came the drowsy reply.
Jazz thumbed Prowl's pouty bottom lip. "Feel like climbing down that gorge you were listenin' to earlier?"
That made Prowl's face light up. "I'd enjoy that immensely. Isn't the shard supposedly down there as well?"
"Yeah, last time I checked. Kinda why I suggested it." Jazz lowered his head to nibble Prowl's smooth throat. "Climbing would be a bit scenic, don'tcha think?"
"It would. Mmh..." Prowl squirmed and purred, "...but we'll never get anywhere if you keep that up."
Prowl had a point, but his neck tasted nice! Jazz lamented the impossibility of climbing while keeping his teeth firmly latched onto the other mech's delicious throat. He finally forced himself to kip up and offer Prowl his hand.
Five minutes later, Prowl and Jazz slowly scooted down the steep, grassy incline. Recent rains left the ground muddy and slippery, but tree roots offered strong enough handholds to keep them from falling.
"Man, I'm gonna need a good wash after this." Jazz grinned over at Prowl, who was also equally muddy, "Same for you."
"A little dirt never hurt anyone," Prowl smirked back. "I'm surprised you don't mind the mud. I thought the Elite Guard hated getting its hands dirty."
Jazz laughed and tested a root before letting it take the weight of his foot. "Well, we kinda--whoa!" He jolted when his feet nearly toppled into the mouth of a cave concealed by roots. "This isn't on any maps!"
"What?"
"A hole."
Prowl slid over, "How deep is it?"
"Lemme see if I can look. It's pretty dark down there." Jazz worked himself around and pushed a few roots out of the way. It was a large, keyhole shaped opening that seemed to stretch almost straight down. "I can't measure it, but my sensors are pickin' up carbon."
"It could be a mine." Prowl said, studying the opening, "An ancient mine...so old that erosion and forestry concealed it. It's likely even the humans don't know it's here. Can you see any ropes or pulleys?"
Jazz leaned further in for a better view. Old, rotted wood marked the presence of a ladder or pulley system just barely large enough for his hands and feet. He pressed his fingers against the boards to test their strength. They seemed strong enough.
"I think there's a way to get down there. Sit tight, I'll see if the shard's inside."
"Are you sure it's safe?"
"Looks like it." Jazz smiled over at Prowl. "See ya in a few."
He swung his legs over and placed his feet on the nearest rungs. Then, easing himself down, he let the slats take his weight and looked down without the sun's glare interrupting his vision.
The mine floor was at least fifty feet down. Old tracks whose cross ties had long since rotted away criss-crossed the area like cracks on the black ground. The rusty steel rails vanished into a small lake of water, which existed either from seepage or an ancient flood. It was too murky to judge its depth.
Man, times like this make me wish I installed night vision. Oh well, nothing to it. The shard's probably mixed into the coal. I'll poke around and be out of here in--
Reality lurched. Jazz heard a creak. His handhold was crumbling.
"Jazz!"
Jazz caught Prowl's hand just as the ladder gave way. The sound of wood hitting rock and water created a hollow clamor in the dankness. All that stood between him and a nasty fall was Prowl's hand.
The mushy ground under Prowl's knees started to give.
"Prowl! We're too heavy!"
"Pull up, Jazz!"
"I can't," Jazz cried, "We'll both fall!"
Prowl strained, "Jazz! Swing to the side! There must be something you can grab onto!"
"We'll both fall if I swing! Look, there's water below. I'll be fine!"
"No!" Growling, Prowl tried to pull Jazz up. His efforts sent rocks bouncing off Jazz's armor. "Jazz!"
It's one or both of us, Jazz bit his lip. He gazed once more at Prowl's grimacing visage and let go. Something unseen smashed into his face. His reality went blue and painful before fading entirely.
.o
"Jazz!" Prowl shouted into the void. His fuel pumps throbbed seemingly in the back of his throat. It was silent at first because Jazz didn't scream when he fell. He waited anxiously for the splash. His audios heard a sickening clank followed by the crash of something large, metal and heavy slamming into a puddle.
The water wasn't deep enough.
"Jazz?" Prowl yelled, "Jazz! Are you all right?"
No answer.
"Jazz! Answer me!"
Silence.
Prowl tried pinging Jazz's com link, but heard only static. His Spark squeezed in on itself. Why did Jazz have to be so curious? He stuck his head down in the hole and scanned the area with his oscillators. The rock wall under his knees was rough enough to climb. He swallowed his terror and braced himself for the long journey down. It felt like entering the belly of a massive beast. The wall felt very unstable, cracking under his fingers and shedding small stones that plunked on his armor.
Partway into his climb, his feet encountered an outcropping. Tiny glass fragments crackled under his soles.
Jazz's visor...
Now more worried than ever, he moved as fast as he safely could. Every inch he moved seemed to create another mile. Did this cavern have an end?
"Jazz, if you can hear me, I'm coming."
Please be all right.
Finally, he touched down on the hard, dusty ground. This place eerily reminded him of the moon--there wasn't enough light for his visor to accurately sense his environment. He just hoped this sojourn didn't involve Starscream.
Prowl sneered and forced his mind to focus on the task at hand. Instinct prompted him to get onto his knees and scan the ground with his hands. Jazz was here somewhere. He worked his way slowly towards the dank smell of algae-infested water.
His probing fingertips found a foot.
"Jazz! I'm here, Jazz. Right here." Prowl scooted forward into the muck, his hands assessing Jazz's body positioning. He needed to know what his injuries were before he did anything else.
Jazz was sprawled facedown in the water with his legs folded underneath him. Prowl almost regurgitated his flux--Jazz's legs were twisted sideways and cables were palpable through tears in the cyber-mesh around his knees. Primus! He probably ripped out every wire and servo when he landed! Prowl forced himself to continue, sticking his fingers into joints to ensure they were intact. At last he came to Jazz's head. Other than his legs, he seemed okay.
"Jazz..." Prowl rolled him over to get his head out of the muddy water and lightly touched his face. He felt glass shards, the hollows of bare sockets and tiny, greasy servos. For a second time he nearly chucked everything he ate. The glass he stepped on earlier wasn't from Jazz's visor. He hadn't put it down before climbing into the mine! That...that idiot!
"Jazz!" he tapped Jazz's chest. "Jazz!"
"Unh..." Jazz shifted his lower body, "Ow, my legs. What ha--"
"Grr!" Prowl cupped Jazz's cheek. His throat ached, "You glitch...you--almost killed yourself."
"It was me or you," Jazz replied groggily. He moved his head and the servomechanisms responsible for moving his eyeballs rattled painfully in their housings. "Hey, how'd you get down here? Where's the light? Did the mine cave in?"
"Jazz...your optics..."
"What?"
"You shattered them."
"You mean I'm blind?" Panic painted a shrill edge in his voice, "Prowl! You serious? I'm blind?"
"...yes."
Jazz groaned and put his head back down.
"And your legs are twisted. I can fix those." Prowl forced himself into action. Focusing on helping Jazz prevented him from over-thinking, which meant he avoided making irrational decisions. "Look, stay still. We'll deal with your eyes in a minute."
Prowl didn't bother mentioning Jazz was in good company when it came to going blind. Right now he was worried about water getting into his circuitry. He used his fingertips to examine Jazz's knee joints, relieved to find they were merely knocked out of alignment and not ripped apart.
"This is going to hurt."
"I can take it."
He wrapped his legs around Jazz's thigh and wrenched his lower leg upwards. Jazz didn't scream until Prowl re-aligned the other leg. It was a sound he never wanted to hear again.
"Try to stand up."
Still obviously in shock, Jazz pulled himself up. Metal ground together...but if it was his knees or his broken optics shifting, Prowl couldn't be sure. He made no indications that standing caused him pain. "Can you fix my eyes?"
"They're shattered, Jazz. Sari's key is the only remedy."
Jazz nearly sank to his knees again. Anybody could see he was terrified--Prowl wondered why until he realized Jazz was reliant on his eyesight. He didn't spend his whole life without it. The sighted valued their vision. When deprived of it suddenly, their entire world became unfamiliar and terrifying.
"Don't move. I'll radio for help."
"Good idea. The fall knocked mine out."
Prowl's com-link didn't work either. Slag! The carbon deposits were blocking his signal. "I can't get through! We have to get outside. And..." He tilted his head towards the opening he could hear overhead, "there's no way we can escape the way we entered..."
"You can't climb out alone?"
"It's not stable enough to climb back up." Seriousness overtook Prowl's fear. Jazz's broken optics were leaking energon and mech fluid. If they were down here for too long, he had the potential to bleed to death.
He picked a large wad of flux off his shoulder--a leftover from their earlier romp. Without a word, he broke it into two pieces, walked up to Jazz and pressed them into his eye sockets.
"Hey!"
"Put your visor down. You're bleeding. This will stop it."
Jazz did as Prowl said.
"We have to find a way out of this mine. Jazz, listen to me." Prowl grasped his arm, "I will teach you methods of surviving without your sight, but you have to pay attention and do exactly as I say. I can get us out of here, but only if you learn to function as a blind mech until your sight is restored. Trust me and you'll survive."
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Life is a Tree