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Description
I am not an archivist. I feel that might excuse any great problems found within this data. Recording a legend, history itself, is not a task I ever felt would land on my pauldrens. However I feel like this story needs to be told in full... for Cybertron, for Earth... and for any planet past, present or future that the Quintessons may infect.

I tell this story through my own optics and through the optics of others. Some of these other narrators are no longer with us in the world of the living, they have joined the Well of All Sparks. I am able to do this through the aid of the Primary Matrix of Leadership--the guiding light of our race, constructed millions upon millions of years ago from the spark chamber of Primus himself.

Revel in our triumphs, mourn for our losses, but whatever you do please... please...

Learn from our mistakes.

From the personal data logs of Solus Prime II, formerly called Bumblebee.

#
Data Log Accessed
Primary Source: Autobot Bumblebee
Begin Transmission...
Earth Date July 20th, 2007
#

After the battle at Mission City we had a lot to think about. Megatron was presumed dead. Jazz was in critical condition. We were stranded on an alien planet we'd tried to hide out on but now it's inhabitants were widely aware of our presence. And we were all tense, fighting amongst ourselves because Optimus decided to send a message, to plant a beacon. He told any Cybertronian who could pick up the transmission that we were waiting.

Ratchet wasn't pleased. Jazz was fading too fast and Ratchet wasn't coping well. If we were on Cybertron--he kept sobbing--if he had at least /some/ equipment he was confident he could save Jazz. But we weren't and he didn't. Jazz was going to die and all Optimus had done was call for others. We all stopped our bickering to help Jazz in any way that we could but it was useless.

When Ratchet called the time of Jazz's termination, he and Optimus had already decided on what to do with the frame left behind. They did not want our friend sunk into the ocean with the Decepticons, but keeping him around would be dangerous. We didn't want him to fall into the wrong hands. After a little bit of snooping around they had found an area in the Arctic Circle where a large magnetic disturbance would provide Jazz an undisturbed resting place. Coincidentally it was where Megatron had gone down after the All Spark.

While they were gone, Ironhide and I were supposed to lay low. I was still in Sam's 'possession' and his parents had been told everything. Ironhide had taken a liking to Lennox and his family. It was a good connection because Lennox was eventually put on the head of NEST. NEST was comprised of humans of all kinds, entrusted by the Presidential Cabinet themselves, to act as liaisons between the Autobots and Earth's governments.

It was through Lennox and Sam that we learned of the great extent of human "cover-ups". According to the media what had happened in Mission City was deemed a military drill gone horribly awry. Through various methods--from pay-offs to deportations and arrests--the government effectively erased any first hand knowledge of us. We weren't pleased with the tactics used at all. In order to keep us calm Lennox introduced us to his new boss, Agent Fowler. Fowler reported that the President of the United States wanted us to remain as speculation to the general populace as he was worried about what our presence could mean for the world. Ironhide and I understood the need for caution but not the measures taken. Fowler wanted to talk with us more but neither Ironhide nor I were in the mood so we told him we'd contact him once Prime was back.

By the time Ratchet and Optimus returned Fowler had spent days pacing in his office waiting for contact. Optimus agreed to meet with him and discuss future plans. There in the junkyard where we were staying, we met NEST and it's leaders. In charge of NEST we had Fowler, Lennox and his wife, Epps, a woman named Maggie and her fiance Glenn. Sam and Mikaela, while respected for their involvement and knowledge, were not on government payroll. They were given permission to stay for our meeting and Optimus argued for their continued participation. They were allies and Autobots did not leave allies behind.

Fowler had an offer for us days later. The President did not want to upset us but with the end of his term in office rapidly approaching he was very hesitant to make treaty talk and contact us directly. He did however want to issue us an order of sorts to stay hidden, stay concealed and make no threats or hostile actions towards any human on Earth. To aid us in this a base had been built for us off the record and way off the map. We would be guarded by men and women appointed/hired by the heads of NEST. This base was ours under the promise that we would not make hostile acts towards the USA. Since we had no plans to be hostile at all, the choice was easy.

In spite of Ironhide's protests, we moved. Ratchet was depressed for a long while as he was given all kinds of equipment, anything he required was procured for him. Jazz had missed being saved by mere weeks.

Someone in the galaxy was looking out for us, though. Those responding to Optimus' transmission had brilliant timing. Once we were settled in our base, once Optimus had a safe and stable working relationship with Fowler, new arrivals started popping up.

Blurr was the first to arrive. He hit the Hoover Dam before we could give him the proper coordinates. Thanks to a car show we passed en route to base he managed to scan a Maserati Birdcage as his earth alt mode, blue as was his preference. As a one-time infamous racer on Cybertron, Blurr was a nice bridge between myself and the rest of the Cybertronians on our team, in terms of age. He was an Accelerant Frame--a speedster if you wanted to use slang--sleek and damned fast. Mikaela got him to give her a few laps around the base.

Kup was not far behind. A few days after picking up Blurr, Agent Fowler contacted us. Apparently Cybertron's greatest war hero had purposely landed himself in a military base--the wrong military base. Kup had immediately attempted to talk with the troops and had then been immediately fired upon. It was assumed he'd scanned a nearby vehicle and was hiding out. Optimus, Ratchet and I accompanied Agent Fowler to retrieve Kup.

It was heartening to see Agent Fowler in action. Not only did it appear he had a great deal of power in his position but it was clear he was behind us 150%. Kup had taken an old military transport for his alt mode, a model which Fowler called a relic. It as an olive drab color a bit off from Kup's usual deep green but he liked it well enough. On the drive back to base Optimus filled Kup in and the war hero relayed we were lucky he'd arrived when he had. Kup claimed his joints weren't lubricating properly which clearly indicated something big was going to happen.

Arcee followed shortly thereafter and much to the annoyance of Kup and Blurr, she landed with great accuracy practically on our doorstep. After a long discussion and essentially a direct order from Prime himself, she scanned a peach and blue Audi R8 to use strictly on earth. Her appearance immediately triggered the Cybertronian sexes question from the humans, but Ratchet claimed he'd tell them when they were older. Arcee hit it off rather well with Mikaela, however, and Sam insisted that was not good for any of us.

A few weeks of quiet adjusting followed. Our large base was built to be comfortable for us and our human allies. The rooms were large enough for us but along all the walls were what Sam called 'catwalks'. Essentially they built bridges that the humans used in order to interact with us easier. While standing on them they were essentially at chest height with an average Cybertronian frame. It reminded Sam of hamster cages and the plastic tubs people attached to them. He showed me a few pictures and I had to admit I agreed.

Eventually we became alerted by more energy signatures approaching earth. The computer which Ratchet and Arcee had built--primitive by our standards but apparently mind blowing to the humans, Glenn in particular--picked up the signals but the Cybertronians would neither identify or respond to our comm.s. The one time we did manage to make radio contact all we got was .2 seconds of static.

This did not impress Optimus Prime. Over-all the big guy had held a rather optimistic attitude but the unresponsive signals broke him down. He was suddenly all gloom and dark thoughts.

We knew then that no matter of wishful thinking would make the Decepticons vanish, even with Megatron out of the picture. None of us had considered them to start converging on earth but in hindsight it did make the most sense. They were still after us, still intent on eradicating the Autobots and taking full control of Cybertron. But how had they found Earth? Had Starscream called them and if so how? It seemed unlikely that any of them would still listen to Starscream, considering the Seeker had nearly cost the Decepticons the war in Megatron's absence, but it was possible.

Optimus feared that if it wasn't Starscream blackmailing in aid that the 'cons were actually responding to Prime's transmission. The idea that he had inadvertently brought more 'cons to earth haunted him.

Our next two arrivals evened the odds squarely in our favor no matter whom the Decepticons had managed to scrounge up. Our two new team mates landed in the middle of the night with no warning and no fanfaire. This was due to a specially designed tracking disrupter they both had installed.

Needless to say Elita One and Hotrod arrived with a bang.

The reunion between Elita and Optimus just seemed to make everything else fall away. They were Conjux Endura--which Ratchet explained to the humans as a bond very much like their 'marriage'--and both had thought the other dead. Optimus had last seen Elita falling into an open pit at Vector Sigma. Elita's last word on Optimus was that he had fallen in the battle of Tyger Pax.

Elita's presence and her obvious physical difference from Arcee again prompted the sex question but Ratchet still refused to answer. He said there was a time and a place to teach the humans all about us, but it wasn't there and it wasn't then.

For her part Elita was immediately tickled by Agent Fowler. In response to his rather aggressive de-briefing of her she scanned his own champagne pink, beautifully restored Shelby GT 350 as her alt mode.

Hotrod was a solider just a few years older than me. He'd come from a rich family but had been orphaned young like most of our generation. Most of his childhood had been spent in the barracks with Kup and one of his squads. Hotrod tended to be, well, full of himself on account of an old religious ceremony he'd undergone as a child. It was a rather out-dated practice but it was important to those in power in Upper Cybertron and so word got around. Apparently some Prophet of Primus told Hotrod that he was destined for greatness.

Hotrod, a speedster like Blurr, naturally had some envy over Blurr's alt mode. So we risked a trip to another car show. Hotrod picked a flame-motiffed, custom Ford GT 40 with a spoiler Lennox claimed had absolutely no logical application. I agreed as even in his root mode it was visible: Hotrod looked like he had wings.

Hotrod and Elita had been traveling together for quite a while. They had decided to try and find as many Cybertronians among the stars as they could. They weren't successful. They had a run-in with a small troop of NAILS who refused to join the Autobots, again. They had also saved a NAIL by the name of Devcon from his sister Gunner and a notorious bounty hunter named Lockdown.

As far as they knew, however, Ultra Magnus was still leading the remaining forces on Cybertron. Now that she had a base and some stable backing, Elita was determined to contact them. Ironhide wanted to focus on locating the Decepticons, however, and Fowler was on his side. We split into two research teams and devoted our time to furthering both objectives.

It was really some of the most fun any of us had since the war started. Our 'time off' was spent familiarizing ourselves with earth's culture. Sam and Mikaela were almost constant visitors and our other human allies kept us company in their absence. Lennox and Epps were downright hilarious. Maggie and Glenn showed a great interest in learning about our race and our home and our history. Fowler could actually be a real stick-in-the-mud, but he had his moments.

The mood died in a flash with the arrival of Prowl, Cybertron's Head Enforcer. I don't mean because of his uptight personality and his penchant for following rules to the letter, but because of Jazz. It was no secret that the two were not just Conjux Endura but they had committed in a Binding ceremony and no-one wanted to face the breaking of that bond. No one mentioned Jazz at all.

In the end I think Prowl figured it out for himself. During his de-briefing his optics wandered and he was easily distracted. Once Optimus had finished Prowl said simply: This is the /whole/ team, isn't it? Jazz had been Optimus' Second In Command and as such Prowl knew only death would have separated the two for any length of time.

Optimus quietly requested to be alone with Prowl.

The rest of us tried to busy ourselves with mundane tasks but it was useless. We all knew the kind of pain and suffering war brought but we'd forgotten recently. Prowl's loss was a harsh, grim reminder.

I was in the med-lab with Ratchet--who was again attempting to fix my vocal components--when Optimus led in Prowl. The Enforcer wanted to visit Jazz's shell and needed the coordinates Ratchet had logged. Guilt poured off the medic as he relayed the data. He tried to apologize but Prowl interrupted him by transforming and taking off. Optimus tried to reassure Ratchet that Jazz's death had been inevitable and the Prowl didn't hold Ratchet responsible, but Ratchet knew what Prowl was feeling. He had lost his own Endura years ago--though they had not been Bound--and he knew what that pain could do.

Optimus estimated the trip would take about four days, barring incident. He had wanted to send someone after Prowl but he was advised against it. None of us knew how long Prowl intended to be gone or when he would return. Elita feared that he might not return, or that if he did he would be broken. A piece of him was now gone and could never be replaced.

None of us were prepared for what actually happened. While trying to busy ourselves with work--so as not to dwell on reality--we had taken up interesting earth hobbies to further submerge ourselves into earth culture. Optimus Prime had decided the best hobby for him was painting. He constructed a rather large canvas and had been intently working on what we all assumed to be a tower in Iacon, when his hand slipped and paint splattered everywhere. He had pressed a hand firmly to his helm and looked pained, shocked and slightly panicked. Elita rushed to his side.

It was Prowl. He was comm.ing frantically. Prime relayed the message as best he could, his voice wrought with disbelief and worry. Prowl claimed to have found not only Jazz but another Cybertronian buried in the ice. Not only had he found them but they were both /alive/. Ratchet shouted that it was impossible, but Prime played back Prowl's frantic message. We had to investigate immediately.

Fowler insisted that part of NEST be involved and though the subject matter was personal, Optimus agreed. The away team consisted of myself, Ratchet, Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Lennox and Fowler. We had been prepared to make the journey 'on wheels' as it was, but Fowler smiled. He said there were perks to being involved with the US army. We packed everything Ratchet instructed us to onto two Lockheed C-5 Galaxies and then piled onto the third ourselves.

Even we were impressed by the size of the cargo carriers and the time it took us to arrive at our destination. We set down near to the coordinates Prowl had given us. Prime had barely stepped out of the plane when Prowl ran up.

"I'll ask questions and shout protocol at you later, Optimus." Prowl hissed, glancing at our scattered humans and the planes. "For now I suggest you carry them because this climb is tricky for me. I think it will be impossible for a human."

"Understood."

As Optimus bent down to scoop up Fowler and Lennox settled himself into Ironhide's pauldrens, Ratchet moved up to Prowl. The medic gripped the enforcer's left pauldren tightly.

"Prowl are you... are you sure you saw what you saw? Grief can do terrible things to a spark and I just--"

"Ratchet," Prowl reached up and clasped his hand on Ratchet's wrist. "Jazz functions."

"Prowl, we are ready." Optimus interrupted. "Take us to them."

Prowl nodded and turned on his peds gracefully. Ratchet stood for a moment in stunned silence. I moved up behind him and nudged him in the side to get him started.

~C'mon medic.~ I said quietly, trying to be as uplifting as possible. Ratchet did not seem to appreciate my humor and his response was a dark glare.

"You mentioned you found another Cybertronian, Prowl?" Fowler piped up from Optimus' shoulder.

"I'm not entirely comfortable with you addressing me by my designation as if we're friends, Agent William Fowler." Prowl stated as he turned to give the human a strange look. "But yes, I did. Prime I have no idea who this mech is. He's a double frame. He's got damage from the ice all over but he's still functioning. He's been down here... a long time."

"Does he wear an insignia?" Ironhide hissed low.

"No." Prowl answered, meeting the red mech's eyes. I followed their conversation--this might not be an ally we were about to wake up.

"Perhaps he was with Megatron when he crashed." Optimus supplied.

I turned my optics to Ratchet. The medic's face was now hardset and hard to read. I could feel his EM Field vibrating and I knew it was some volatile mix of guilt and disbelief.

Prowl led us to the lip of a huge hole in the ice. I heard Lennox whistle as we all approached and peered in. It seemed to go down for miles though there was a path cut into the ice about fifty feet down. Prowl powered up his headlights and leapt down. He slid upon landing only slightly before turning, meeting optics with Optimus and nodding.

"Autobots, use caution. One at a time."

I leapt first and unfortunately I was not half as graceful as Prowl while landing. I ended up quite squarely on my aft. Prowl offered a hand to help me to my peds and then ushered me down the slope further.

"Keep your optics dim, Bee. The ice down here reflects light powerful enough to temporarily blind you."

~Thanks for the warning.~ I carefully made my way further into the hole, flinching each time I heard a team-mate land. The walls around me shook and small pieces of ice broke off at each impact. The path was recently carved--by Prowl I assumed--and I left a hand on the wall as I made my way down the spiral. I was no expert on Cybertron's terraforming and so I was even more lost looking at anything having to do with earth's planet core but something told me we were cutting a path through time. I had the suspicion my hand was on ice that hadn't seen the sun in hundreds of years.

I could hear Ratchet behind me and his EM Field was still distracting. As I turned again I glanced up. We'd been going down but it wasn't a straight shot. Just overhead I could see the lip of ice we'd been standing on. It was thick but it made me shudder to think we'd been on unsupported ground. Ratchet made a startled noise behind me.

"Bee, out of my way!" Ratchet shouted--giving me absolutely no time to obey--and darted by. He slipped down the last few feet of the ice path and knelt--more like fell--next to what I'd assumed was a chunk of ice.

It was Jazz and as Ratchet's optics fell on him I could see lights, Jazz's own bio-lights! He really was alive!

I moved forward quickly but didn't want to get in Ratchet's way. The medic was talking to himself, mumbling and not much of it made sense. I watched in a quiet kind of awe as his hands moved faster than Blurr over Jazz's form. He continued to do this--asess Jazz's condition--as the rest of the team gathered.

"Your thoughts, Ratchet?" I glanced up and over as Prime startled me, moving behind me quieter than I thought he could be.

When Ratchet looked over I looked away. His optics were white and there were tears on his faceplate. He shook his helm in disbelief and looked to Prowl as the Enforcer approached him.

"I thought... I thought he was gone. I watched his spark shrink. My hands were--were right there I... I don't understand."

Prowl put a hand on Ratchet's pauldren. Whatever he said to the medic was not for open audios. We watched the private conversation before us and I could feel the guilt leaving Ratchet as he touched the hand on his armor. He nodded and turned back to Jazz.

"Prowl, where's th' other gah?" Ironhide barked, trying to wave off the feeling in the pit.

"There." Prowl turned and pointed. Again I had assumed the large object was a block of ice, at least this time I was only partially mistaken.

The double frame was one of the largest of his frame types I had ever seen. He was mostly solid white with a few red and even fewer blue accents. He looked to have a flight capable mode but it was certainly built for cargo and not fire-power or thrust. The block of ice he was half encased in--somehow his mid-section was exposed--looked like it had been partially melted and then refrozen. As we moved a tad closer we could see ash and soot and other signs of an explosion along his chestplating, side and back.

"You recognize him?" Lennox asked me from Ironhide's shoulder.

I shook my head and lifted my hands. I glanced to Optimus and he shook his helm as well.

"Unfortunately, Bumblebee, I have known so many of our kind so briefly... I fear I could have known this face eons ago and it would not register today."

"What should we do with 'im, Prahm?" Ironhide asked behind the low rumble of his canon.

"We're taking him with us. Friend or foe it would be irresponsible to leave him out here. He may have valuable information if he is not an ally, and on the chance that he is we cannot leave one of our own behind."

"Prime," we turned to look behind us as Prowl spoke up from kneeling next to Jazz as Ratchet began work, "I've had some time to consider. What if he's a NAIL?"

"A what?" Fowler asked.

"I suppose that is plausible." Optimus hummed, tapping at his mask curiously as he looked back to the double frame. "Though I would very much like to know how he ended up in this sector of the universe."

"What's a NAIL?" Fowler asked again.

"A Non-Aligned Indigenous Lifeform. That is a Cybertronian who refused to label themselves Autobot or Decepticon and were wrongfully banished from their home by Sentinel Prime."

"With all due respect, Optimus, I believe you're violating at least three specifically stated clauses in the Tyrest Accord, Sir."

"I am well aware, Prowl, but Agent Fowler is a trusted ally. He and Lennox have the right to know the full answers to their questions."

"You're telling me a Prime banished bots who didn't want to fight?" Lennox asked incredulously.

"Not all who have bonded to the Matrix have been worthy, Lieutenant Lennox."

Ratchet let out a small gasp and Prowl turned so quickly /my/ equilibrium guage bubbled. The Enforcer leaned forward over Jazz slightly, holding one prone hand in both of his. Ratchet's face was contorted in concentration and his hands were hidden inside Jazz's body cavity. Under our hopeful optics the lights along Jazz's frame flickered on, off and then back on with the beautiful grind of an engine waking up.

"Jazz?" Prowl said hopefully.

"He probably won't be able to boot up all the way, Prowl." Ratchet whispered, his tone soft. "We don't really have the luxury of time here. I've started everything back up but--he still needs extensive repairs. I can't even venture a guess as to how he has survived out here in this condition but looking at him now he doesn't have much longer without immediate intervention." Ratchet and Prowl exchanged a look.

"We need to get him into the Lockheed immediately. I'll be able to at least stabilize him with the equipment I brought."

"I'll carry him up. I--"

"No!" Ratchet reached out and grabbed Prowl's hand as the Enforcer moved to pick up Jazz. "Jazz needs to be kept as still as possible. The aesthetic repairs I did to him when we--when we brought him here are not strong enough to handle any kind of trauma. The small amount of fuel and energon he has in his frame at this moments every drop is precious. We need to bring the Lockheeds closer and lower a stretcher."

"A stretcher? For... for a Cybertronian?" Lennox piped up, leaning against Ironhide's helm. "Ratchet that's not gonna be easy to construct and if we really are pressed for time--"

"Lieutenant I am a field medic. Do you know how many rescue, retrieve and transport missions I've been on? I'm fully prepared for this."

I couldn't help but smirk behind my mask at the sheepish look on Lennox face. Ironhide chuckled.

"Nevur doubt th' medic." He rumbled quietly.

"Optimus, I need you and Ironhide to return topside. Our transport Lockheed contains the med-unit with the stretcher in it. Lower it into the pit and Bee, Prowl and I will secure Jazz. Once he and I are loaded into the transport, the stretcher can be used for our friend over there."

"Understood." Optimus said with a nod. "Ironhide, come with me. Lennox, Agent Fowler, hang on."

I moved back as Optimus and Ironhide took off at full tilt. After they'd passed I slowly moved to join Prowl and Ratchet at Jazz's side. My optics fell once--curiously--to the cavity in his frame and then I looked quickly away. I considered it a good thing that I could hear fans whirring even if they were gruesomely exposed.

~So uh, do you have any ideas how he could have survived, Ratchet?~ I pressed. I was trying to keep Ratchet and Prowl's minds off the large gaping hole in the slowly fading Jazz. Ratchet looked at me and sighed.

"I have theories, Bumblebee, but that's all they are. I don't have anything to back up my thoughts."

"Well, let's hear them." Prowl said. I glanced to him and he offered Ratchet a small smile.

"Uh, well, all right. You're both aware, I'm sure, of how difficult it is for any one of us to die. In order to completely fade out a Cybertronian's spark, t-cog and brain module must all be damaged to near catastrophic levels. Serious damage to one part of Rossum's Trinity may also be enough to trigger complete termination but it is very hard to do this. Unfortunately when Megatron--when Jazz's frame was separated his spark suffered greatly. There was a great deal of strain put onto it and even though his brain module and his t-cog were intact and in perfect condition, his spark was too far gone. With proper equipment I could have stabilized him, put him on support until things could be fixed but I didn't have enough time and had no resources.

"This meant that Jazz's body went into shut down and the first stages of termination. His fuel and energon were no longer being circulated. He became a container of impure liquids and his spark could not function. As we near our deaths--in a way that is almost natural, as certainly some more violent terminations eradicate these stages of passing--our spark attempts to find reserves of pure energon throughout the body. Small parts of the spark will break off and circulate through the frame as does energon, searching every inch of our bodies for something to hold onto. As I... worked to do what I could for Jazz, his spark tried to do this. Unfortunately the divide in his frame prevented these pieces from working through him and they became stuck. I imagine there were multiple small charges throughout his frame, stuck pulsing so low my equipment could not pick them up. When the large center of his spark faded I assumed him terminated. I re-attached his body for aesthetic reasons and thus repaired the bridges where his spark was stuck. This permitted pooled energon and the charges to re-form in his spark chamber.

"When we placed Jazz here he was in critical condition but alive. In my grief I--I suppose I did not pick up on the faint pulsing of his spark or the register of his energy signature. However if my theories are correct placing him in the ice is what ultimately saved his life. You see when a Cybertronian faces freezing to death the body reacts in a series of bail-outs. These bail-outs are dangerous and draining. Essentially when a Cybertronian loses consciousness due to cold temperatures, the body tries to remain warm by a series of heat bursts. For a few moments a spark draws all the energy it can to push out a huge burst of heat, these bursts actually increase in length as the Cybertronian fades. I believe Jazz's bursts sunk him into the ice until he made contact with this... large mech.

"When Jazz's body melted through the ice between them and made physical contact, the mech was given a re-start. His damage, from what I can see, is not terminal at all. With his larger size comes a much lower natural body temperature. I feel he is simply in a forced, long-term stasis brought on by the cold. Jazz's heat bursts powered him up temporarily. I believe their sparks attempted to commune with each other, as is normal in such dire straits. Our sparks long for connection in any situation. This, coupled with Prowl's nearing proximity, triggered Jazz's spark to feed off of the larger mech's. An Endurae Binding certainly has it's privileges. Jazz and this mech made a connection not unlike a soft bond and managed to feed off each other, keeping themselves alive and functioning.

"It is... as the human's say, a perfect storm. These conditions are strange and rare and altogether impossible but everything happened at precisely the right moment."

I exchanged another look with Prowl. It sounded far-fetched to the both of us, but then again I'd never been good at any of that medical stuff so Ratchet could probably have been describing the everyday challenges our bodies face and I'd still be just as lost.

"But... Jazz will make a full recovery?" Prowl pressed, running a finger over the back of one of Jazz's hands.

"Oh, yes. I--I can't even see any reason why he would have lasting damage or defects of any kind provided I get him to my equipment in the Lockheed quickly."

As if on cue a small cascade of ice alerted us to Ironhide, peering down into the hole.

"Ya'll ready?"

I jogged backwards a few paces, leaving Ratchet and Prowl at Jazz's side. I glanced upwards and could just barely make out Ironhide's lights. In response I flashed my own twice.

"Go ahead, Ironhide!" Ratchet shouted from behind me.

I heard the rattling of chains as the stretcher was hoisted into position. I cupped my hands over my optics to try and cut out the glare bouncing back at me from the ice. Slowly but surely the large metal slab came into view.

~I have visual.~ I comm.ed confidently.

~I'm gonna drop this thing in fast then, Bee, we ain't got time ta play nice 'n steady. You ready?~

~Copy that, Ironhide. Drop away.~ I widened my stance and braced myself. A few seconds later I could have sworn I heard Optimus and Lennox both shouting as Ironhide released the rest of the slack in one go. I shuffled forward and to the side once or twice as the slab started to come at me fast. Lifting my hands over my head and opening my palms flat I caught the stretcher over my head with what felt like relative ease.

~I got it!~

~See! He got it.~ Ironhide hissed on an open comm. channel. ~No need ta go shoutin' about bein' safe. He knew it was comin'.~

I quickly carried the stretcher back towards Ratchet. Prowl stood to help me set it on the ground next to Jazz.

"How are we going to do this, medic?"

"Slowly and carefully. Like I said he needs to be kept as still as possible. Bee I want you on his peds, Prowl come get his pauldrens and helm, I'll worry about his mid-section." Ratchet said, reluctantly removing his hands from the hole in Jazz's frame. I was expecting the medic's digits to be covered in energon but they were clean. It churned my stomach chamber just the same.

I crouched down by Jazz's peds and smiled softly. I could remember, so many years ago on Cybertron, watching Jazz spin them over his helm at a dance contest in Iacon. It was before things got real bad, when we could still get away from it all and enjoy ourselves. Jazz somehow retained that ability even after the cities were rubble. Somehow a part of him was always able to stand back and escape.

"All right, boys, on the count of three. Lift him just enough to put him over the edge of the stretcher. I need as little strain on him as possible but especially on his mid-section here. These sealants I used are not supposed to be put to practical use."

"Understood." Prowl barked as I nodded with a confirmation of my own.

"One. Two. Three."

In tandem we lifted Jazz off the ice as one unit. Crouched at awkward angles we moved him a good few feet to the right and then carefully set him down onto the stretcher.

"Beautiful." Ratchet said, sounding airless as we all removed our hands. "Help me get him strapped in then we'll give Optimus and Ironhide the go-ahead. I'll follow him up. Do you think you two can get our friend over there on board solo?"

Prowl and I both spared a glance away from the straps on the stretcher to the still unknown Cybertronian in stasis at the other end of the cave.

~I think as long as we don't need to worry about being as careful, we got it.~

Ratchet nodded.

About an hour later Prowl and I found ourselves following the stretcher up the path as the incredibly large and still enigmatic Cybertronian was pulled up foot-by-foot by a straining Optimus and Ironhide.

~You really think he's a NAIL, Prowl?~ I asked conversationally.

"I think it's just as likely as anything else. There's a chance he is a Decepticon unknown to us who crashed here with Megatron. The only other option would be that some pre-war Cybertronian found Earth millions of years before the rest of us and somehow crashed in the exact location where the All Spark and Megatron himself would crash later. I don't really believe in coincidences."

I nodded. The stretcher hung for a moment as Ironhide and Optimus noisily repositioned themselves. I tilted my helm as I got a good look at the Cybertronian's face.

~He doesn't strike me as a 'con.~

"No offense, Bumblebee, but appearance is nothing to base judgement on. I'm sure even Soundwave can look peaceful and kind in recharge or stasis."

I shrugged. As we climbed up the opposite side of the pit where we'd jumped down, Ironhide and Optimus collapsed as they hoisted the Cybertronian the final few feet onto solid ground. Ironhide gave Optimus a pat on the back and Prime shook his head tiredly.

"Bee, get over here an' help us drag this to th' firs' Lockheed." Ironhide barked, waving me over. Prowl jogged past me and towards the small and temporary work-station Ratchet had set up. I offered a hand to help Optimus up and was rewarded with a soft chuckle of thanks.

I picked up a line of chain next to Ironhide, slung it over my shoulder, and began a trudge towards the planes. I could hear Optimus taking a few more readings and doing a few more checks behind us as we prepared to move out.

"Ahh right, medic, where y'want this one?"

"Ah, just, secure him someplace. I'm not going to be able to tend to him until we get to base anyway." Ratchet barely spared us a glance. Ironhide turned to catch my optics and made to mimic the medic. "And don't get sassy with me, Ironhide. I will stop what I'm doing in order to knock you down a few pegs if I need to."

"Humph."

After loading in the unknown, we spent a few moments sitting around near the Lockheeds listening to the soldiers exchange stories about being warm, until Ratchet paused and smiled, off-lining his optics.

"He's... He's stable. We can pack up and move." He turned his head and sought out Prowl. The Enforcer stood and closed the distance between them. He placed a hand on Jazz's shoulder, and then moved it to settle on Ratchet's chest.

"I owe you, Ratchet. I owe you my function cycle."

"Ahh, it's--it's my job, Prowl." Ratchet closed a hand around Prowl's wrist.

Jazz was carefully loaded onto a Lockheed with Prowl and Ratchet in alt mode accompanying him. Once everything was secure, Ironhide and I stepped back onto the arctic ground and waved the pilot all clear. All but one of the Lockheed's immediately took off. I crossed my arms over my chest as Ironhide and I turned to wait for Prime. We could both read something odd on him as he joined us and signaled for us to board the last plane.

~What is it, Optimus?~

"Probably nothing, Bumblebee." He sighed as we heard the engine start up. We transformed quickly and rolled into the Lockheed. Optimus' EM field was still slightly off.

~The magnetic disturbance which marked this location as safe for Jazz's burial...~ Optimus comm.ed. ~It no longer registers on my equipment.~

Description
I am not an archivist. I feel that might excuse any great problems found within this data. Recording a legend, history itself, is not a task I ever felt would land on my pauldrens. However I feel like this story needs to be told in full... for Cybertron, for Earth... and for any planet past, present or future that the Quintessons may infect.

I tell this story through my own optics and through the optics of others. Some of these other narrators are no longer with us in the world of the living, they have joined the Well of All Sparks. I am able to do this through the aid of the Primary Matrix of Leadership--the guiding light of our race, constructed millions upon millions of years ago from the spark chamber of Primus himself.

Revel in our triumphs, mourn for our losses, but whatever you do please... please...

Learn from our mistakes.

From the personal data logs of Solus Prime II, formerly called Bumblebee.

#
Data Log Accessed
Primary Source: Autobot Bumblebee
Begin Transmission...
Earth Date July 20th, 2007
#

After the battle at Mission City we had a lot to think about. Megatron was presumed dead. Jazz was in critical condition. We were stranded on an alien planet we'd tried to hide out on but now it's inhabitants were widely aware of our presence. And we were all tense, fighting amongst ourselves because Optimus decided to send a message, to plant a beacon. He told any Cybertronian who could pick up the transmission that we were waiting.

Ratchet wasn't pleased. Jazz was fading too fast and Ratchet wasn't coping well. If we were on Cybertron--he kept sobbing--if he had at least /some/ equipment he was confident he could save Jazz. But we weren't and he didn't. Jazz was going to die and all Optimus had done was call for others. We all stopped our bickering to help Jazz in any way that we could but it was useless.

When Ratchet called the time of Jazz's termination, he and Optimus had already decided on what to do with the frame left behind. They did not want our friend sunk into the ocean with the Decepticons, but keeping him around would be dangerous. We didn't want him to fall into the wrong hands. After a little bit of snooping around they had found an area in the Arctic Circle where a large magnetic disturbance would provide Jazz an undisturbed resting place. Coincidentally it was where Megatron had gone down after the All Spark.

While they were gone, Ironhide and I were supposed to lay low. I was still in Sam's 'possession' and his parents had been told everything. Ironhide had taken a liking to Lennox and his family. It was a good connection because Lennox was eventually put on the head of NEST. NEST was comprised of humans of all kinds, entrusted by the Presidential Cabinet themselves, to act as liaisons between the Autobots and Earth's governments.

It was through Lennox and Sam that we learned of the great extent of human "cover-ups". According to the media what had happened in Mission City was deemed a military drill gone horribly awry. Through various methods--from pay-offs to deportations and arrests--the government effectively erased any first hand knowledge of us. We weren't pleased with the tactics used at all. In order to keep us calm Lennox introduced us to his new boss, Agent Fowler. Fowler reported that the President of the United States wanted us to remain as speculation to the general populace as he was worried about what our presence could mean for the world. Ironhide and I understood the need for caution but not the measures taken. Fowler wanted to talk with us more but neither Ironhide nor I were in the mood so we told him we'd contact him once Prime was back.

By the time Ratchet and Optimus returned Fowler had spent days pacing in his office waiting for contact. Optimus agreed to meet with him and discuss future plans. There in the junkyard where we were staying, we met NEST and it's leaders. In charge of NEST we had Fowler, Lennox and his wife, Epps, a woman named Maggie and her fiance Glenn. Sam and Mikaela, while respected for their involvement and knowledge, were not on government payroll. They were given permission to stay for our meeting and Optimus argued for their continued participation. They were allies and Autobots did not leave allies behind.

Fowler had an offer for us days later. The President did not want to upset us but with the end of his term in office rapidly approaching he was very hesitant to make treaty talk and contact us directly. He did however want to issue us an order of sorts to stay hidden, stay concealed and make no threats or hostile actions towards any human on Earth. To aid us in this a base had been built for us off the record and way off the map. We would be guarded by men and women appointed/hired by the heads of NEST. This base was ours under the promise that we would not make hostile acts towards the USA. Since we had no plans to be hostile at all, the choice was easy.

In spite of Ironhide's protests, we moved. Ratchet was depressed for a long while as he was given all kinds of equipment, anything he required was procured for him. Jazz had missed being saved by mere weeks.

Someone in the galaxy was looking out for us, though. Those responding to Optimus' transmission had brilliant timing. Once we were settled in our base, once Optimus had a safe and stable working relationship with Fowler, new arrivals started popping up.

Blurr was the first to arrive. He hit the Hoover Dam before we could give him the proper coordinates. Thanks to a car show we passed en route to base he managed to scan a Maserati Birdcage as his earth alt mode, blue as was his preference. As a one-time infamous racer on Cybertron, Blurr was a nice bridge between myself and the rest of the Cybertronians on our team, in terms of age. He was an Accelerant Frame--a speedster if you wanted to use slang--sleek and damned fast. Mikaela got him to give her a few laps around the base.

Kup was not far behind. A few days after picking up Blurr, Agent Fowler contacted us. Apparently Cybertron's greatest war hero had purposely landed himself in a military base--the wrong military base. Kup had immediately attempted to talk with the troops and had then been immediately fired upon. It was assumed he'd scanned a nearby vehicle and was hiding out. Optimus, Ratchet and I accompanied Agent Fowler to retrieve Kup.

It was heartening to see Agent Fowler in action. Not only did it appear he had a great deal of power in his position but it was clear he was behind us 150%. Kup had taken an old military transport for his alt mode, a model which Fowler called a relic. It as an olive drab color a bit off from Kup's usual deep green but he liked it well enough. On the drive back to base Optimus filled Kup in and the war hero relayed we were lucky he'd arrived when he had. Kup claimed his joints weren't lubricating properly which clearly indicated something big was going to happen.

Arcee followed shortly thereafter and much to the annoyance of Kup and Blurr, she landed with great accuracy practically on our doorstep. After a long discussion and essentially a direct order from Prime himself, she scanned a peach and blue Audi R8 to use strictly on earth. Her appearance immediately triggered the Cybertronian sexes question from the humans, but Ratchet claimed he'd tell them when they were older. Arcee hit it off rather well with Mikaela, however, and Sam insisted that was not good for any of us.

A few weeks of quiet adjusting followed. Our large base was built to be comfortable for us and our human allies. The rooms were large enough for us but along all the walls were what Sam called 'catwalks'. Essentially they built bridges that the humans used in order to interact with us easier. While standing on them they were essentially at chest height with an average Cybertronian frame. It reminded Sam of hamster cages and the plastic tubs people attached to them. He showed me a few pictures and I had to admit I agreed.

Eventually we became alerted by more energy signatures approaching earth. The computer which Ratchet and Arcee had built--primitive by our standards but apparently mind blowing to the humans, Glenn in particular--picked up the signals but the Cybertronians would neither identify or respond to our comm.s. The one time we did manage to make radio contact all we got was .2 seconds of static.

This did not impress Optimus Prime. Over-all the big guy had held a rather optimistic attitude but the unresponsive signals broke him down. He was suddenly all gloom and dark thoughts.

We knew then that no matter of wishful thinking would make the Decepticons vanish, even with Megatron out of the picture. None of us had considered them to start converging on earth but in hindsight it did make the most sense. They were still after us, still intent on eradicating the Autobots and taking full control of Cybertron. But how had they found Earth? Had Starscream called them and if so how? It seemed unlikely that any of them would still listen to Starscream, considering the Seeker had nearly cost the Decepticons the war in Megatron's absence, but it was possible.

Optimus feared that if it wasn't Starscream blackmailing in aid that the 'cons were actually responding to Prime's transmission. The idea that he had inadvertently brought more 'cons to earth haunted him.

Our next two arrivals evened the odds squarely in our favor no matter whom the Decepticons had managed to scrounge up. Our two new team mates landed in the middle of the night with no warning and no fanfaire. This was due to a specially designed tracking disrupter they both had installed.

Needless to say Elita One and Hotrod arrived with a bang.

The reunion between Elita and Optimus just seemed to make everything else fall away. They were Conjux Endura--which Ratchet explained to the humans as a bond very much like their 'marriage'--and both had thought the other dead. Optimus had last seen Elita falling into an open pit at Vector Sigma. Elita's last word on Optimus was that he had fallen in the battle of Tyger Pax.

Elita's presence and her obvious physical difference from Arcee again prompted the sex question but Ratchet still refused to answer. He said there was a time and a place to teach the humans all about us, but it wasn't there and it wasn't then.

For her part Elita was immediately tickled by Agent Fowler. In response to his rather aggressive de-briefing of her she scanned his own champagne pink, beautifully restored Shelby GT 350 as her alt mode.

Hotrod was a solider just a few years older than me. He'd come from a rich family but had been orphaned young like most of our generation. Most of his childhood had been spent in the barracks with Kup and one of his squads. Hotrod tended to be, well, full of himself on account of an old religious ceremony he'd undergone as a child. It was a rather out-dated practice but it was important to those in power in Upper Cybertron and so word got around. Apparently some Prophet of Primus told Hotrod that he was destined for greatness.

Hotrod, a speedster like Blurr, naturally had some envy over Blurr's alt mode. So we risked a trip to another car show. Hotrod picked a flame-motiffed, custom Ford GT 40 with a spoiler Lennox claimed had absolutely no logical application. I agreed as even in his root mode it was visible: Hotrod looked like he had wings.

Hotrod and Elita had been traveling together for quite a while. They had decided to try and find as many Cybertronians among the stars as they could. They weren't successful. They had a run-in with a small troop of NAILS who refused to join the Autobots, again. They had also saved a NAIL by the name of Devcon from his sister Gunner and a notorious bounty hunter named Lockdown.

As far as they knew, however, Ultra Magnus was still leading the remaining forces on Cybertron. Now that she had a base and some stable backing, Elita was determined to contact them. Ironhide wanted to focus on locating the Decepticons, however, and Fowler was on his side. We split into two research teams and devoted our time to furthering both objectives.

It was really some of the most fun any of us had since the war started. Our 'time off' was spent familiarizing ourselves with earth's culture. Sam and Mikaela were almost constant visitors and our other human allies kept us company in their absence. Lennox and Epps were downright hilarious. Maggie and Glenn showed a great interest in learning about our race and our home and our history. Fowler could actually be a real stick-in-the-mud, but he had his moments.

The mood died in a flash with the arrival of Prowl, Cybertron's Head Enforcer. I don't mean because of his uptight personality and his penchant for following rules to the letter, but because of Jazz. It was no secret that the two were not just Conjux Endura but they had committed in a Binding ceremony and no-one wanted to face the breaking of that bond. No one mentioned Jazz at all.

In the end I think Prowl figured it out for himself. During his de-briefing his optics wandered and he was easily distracted. Once Optimus had finished Prowl said simply: This is the /whole/ team, isn't it? Jazz had been Optimus' Second In Command and as such Prowl knew only death would have separated the two for any length of time.

Optimus quietly requested to be alone with Prowl.

The rest of us tried to busy ourselves with mundane tasks but it was useless. We all knew the kind of pain and suffering war brought but we'd forgotten recently. Prowl's loss was a harsh, grim reminder.

I was in the med-lab with Ratchet--who was again attempting to fix my vocal components--when Optimus led in Prowl. The Enforcer wanted to visit Jazz's shell and needed the coordinates Ratchet had logged. Guilt poured off the medic as he relayed the data. He tried to apologize but Prowl interrupted him by transforming and taking off. Optimus tried to reassure Ratchet that Jazz's death had been inevitable and the Prowl didn't hold Ratchet responsible, but Ratchet knew what Prowl was feeling. He had lost his own Endura years ago--though they had not been Bound--and he knew what that pain could do.

Optimus estimated the trip would take about four days, barring incident. He had wanted to send someone after Prowl but he was advised against it. None of us knew how long Prowl intended to be gone or when he would return. Elita feared that he might not return, or that if he did he would be broken. A piece of him was now gone and could never be replaced.

None of us were prepared for what actually happened. While trying to busy ourselves with work--so as not to dwell on reality--we had taken up interesting earth hobbies to further submerge ourselves into earth culture. Optimus Prime had decided the best hobby for him was painting. He constructed a rather large canvas and had been intently working on what we all assumed to be a tower in Iacon, when his hand slipped and paint splattered everywhere. He had pressed a hand firmly to his helm and looked pained, shocked and slightly panicked. Elita rushed to his side.

It was Prowl. He was comm.ing frantically. Prime relayed the message as best he could, his voice wrought with disbelief and worry. Prowl claimed to have found not only Jazz but another Cybertronian buried in the ice. Not only had he found them but they were both /alive/. Ratchet shouted that it was impossible, but Prime played back Prowl's frantic message. We had to investigate immediately.

Fowler insisted that part of NEST be involved and though the subject matter was personal, Optimus agreed. The away team consisted of myself, Ratchet, Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Lennox and Fowler. We had been prepared to make the journey 'on wheels' as it was, but Fowler smiled. He said there were perks to being involved with the US army. We packed everything Ratchet instructed us to onto two Lockheed C-5 Galaxies and then piled onto the third ourselves.

Even we were impressed by the size of the cargo carriers and the time it took us to arrive at our destination. We set down near to the coordinates Prowl had given us. Prime had barely stepped out of the plane when Prowl ran up.

"I'll ask questions and shout protocol at you later, Optimus." Prowl hissed, glancing at our scattered humans and the planes. "For now I suggest you carry them because this climb is tricky for me. I think it will be impossible for a human."

"Understood."

As Optimus bent down to scoop up Fowler and Lennox settled himself into Ironhide's pauldrens, Ratchet moved up to Prowl. The medic gripped the enforcer's left pauldren tightly.

"Prowl are you... are you sure you saw what you saw? Grief can do terrible things to a spark and I just--"

"Ratchet," Prowl reached up and clasped his hand on Ratchet's wrist. "Jazz functions."

"Prowl, we are ready." Optimus interrupted. "Take us to them."

Prowl nodded and turned on his peds gracefully. Ratchet stood for a moment in stunned silence. I moved up behind him and nudged him in the side to get him started.

~C'mon medic.~ I said quietly, trying to be as uplifting as possible. Ratchet did not seem to appreciate my humor and his response was a dark glare.

"You mentioned you found another Cybertronian, Prowl?" Fowler piped up from Optimus' shoulder.

"I'm not entirely comfortable with you addressing me by my designation as if we're friends, Agent William Fowler." Prowl stated as he turned to give the human a strange look. "But yes, I did. Prime I have no idea who this mech is. He's a double frame. He's got damage from the ice all over but he's still functioning. He's been down here... a long time."

"Does he wear an insignia?" Ironhide hissed low.

"No." Prowl answered, meeting the red mech's eyes. I followed their conversation--this might not be an ally we were about to wake up.

"Perhaps he was with Megatron when he crashed." Optimus supplied.

I turned my optics to Ratchet. The medic's face was now hardset and hard to read. I could feel his EM Field vibrating and I knew it was some volatile mix of guilt and disbelief.

Prowl led us to the lip of a huge hole in the ice. I heard Lennox whistle as we all approached and peered in. It seemed to go down for miles though there was a path cut into the ice about fifty feet down. Prowl powered up his headlights and leapt down. He slid upon landing only slightly before turning, meeting optics with Optimus and nodding.

"Autobots, use caution. One at a time."

I leapt first and unfortunately I was not half as graceful as Prowl while landing. I ended up quite squarely on my aft. Prowl offered a hand to help me to my peds and then ushered me down the slope further.

"Keep your optics dim, Bee. The ice down here reflects light powerful enough to temporarily blind you."

~Thanks for the warning.~ I carefully made my way further into the hole, flinching each time I heard a team-mate land. The walls around me shook and small pieces of ice broke off at each impact. The path was recently carved--by Prowl I assumed--and I left a hand on the wall as I made my way down the spiral. I was no expert on Cybertron's terraforming and so I was even more lost looking at anything having to do with earth's planet core but something told me we were cutting a path through time. I had the suspicion my hand was on ice that hadn't seen the sun in hundreds of years.

I could hear Ratchet behind me and his EM Field was still distracting. As I turned again I glanced up. We'd been going down but it wasn't a straight shot. Just overhead I could see the lip of ice we'd been standing on. It was thick but it made me shudder to think we'd been on unsupported ground. Ratchet made a startled noise behind me.

"Bee, out of my way!" Ratchet shouted--giving me absolutely no time to obey--and darted by. He slipped down the last few feet of the ice path and knelt--more like fell--next to what I'd assumed was a chunk of ice.

It was Jazz and as Ratchet's optics fell on him I could see lights, Jazz's own bio-lights! He really was alive!

I moved forward quickly but didn't want to get in Ratchet's way. The medic was talking to himself, mumbling and not much of it made sense. I watched in a quiet kind of awe as his hands moved faster than Blurr over Jazz's form. He continued to do this--asess Jazz's condition--as the rest of the team gathered.

"Your thoughts, Ratchet?" I glanced up and over as Prime startled me, moving behind me quieter than I thought he could be.

When Ratchet looked over I looked away. His optics were white and there were tears on his faceplate. He shook his helm in disbelief and looked to Prowl as the Enforcer approached him.

"I thought... I thought he was gone. I watched his spark shrink. My hands were--were right there I... I don't understand."

Prowl put a hand on Ratchet's pauldren. Whatever he said to the medic was not for open audios. We watched the private conversation before us and I could feel the guilt leaving Ratchet as he touched the hand on his armor. He nodded and turned back to Jazz.

"Prowl, where's th' other gah?" Ironhide barked, trying to wave off the feeling in the pit.

"There." Prowl turned and pointed. Again I had assumed the large object was a block of ice, at least this time I was only partially mistaken.

The double frame was one of the largest of his frame types I had ever seen. He was mostly solid white with a few red and even fewer blue accents. He looked to have a flight capable mode but it was certainly built for cargo and not fire-power or thrust. The block of ice he was half encased in--somehow his mid-section was exposed--looked like it had been partially melted and then refrozen. As we moved a tad closer we could see ash and soot and other signs of an explosion along his chestplating, side and back.

"You recognize him?" Lennox asked me from Ironhide's shoulder.

I shook my head and lifted my hands. I glanced to Optimus and he shook his helm as well.

"Unfortunately, Bumblebee, I have known so many of our kind so briefly... I fear I could have known this face eons ago and it would not register today."

"What should we do with 'im, Prahm?" Ironhide asked behind the low rumble of his canon.

"We're taking him with us. Friend or foe it would be irresponsible to leave him out here. He may have valuable information if he is not an ally, and on the chance that he is we cannot leave one of our own behind."

"Prime," we turned to look behind us as Prowl spoke up from kneeling next to Jazz as Ratchet began work, "I've had some time to consider. What if he's a NAIL?"

"A what?" Fowler asked.

"I suppose that is plausible." Optimus hummed, tapping at his mask curiously as he looked back to the double frame. "Though I would very much like to know how he ended up in this sector of the universe."

"What's a NAIL?" Fowler asked again.

"A Non-Aligned Indigenous Lifeform. That is a Cybertronian who refused to label themselves Autobot or Decepticon and were wrongfully banished from their home by Sentinel Prime."

"With all due respect, Optimus, I believe you're violating at least three specifically stated clauses in the Tyrest Accord, Sir."

"I am well aware, Prowl, but Agent Fowler is a trusted ally. He and Lennox have the right to know the full answers to their questions."

"You're telling me a Prime banished bots who didn't want to fight?" Lennox asked incredulously.

"Not all who have bonded to the Matrix have been worthy, Lieutenant Lennox."

Ratchet let out a small gasp and Prowl turned so quickly /my/ equilibrium guage bubbled. The Enforcer leaned forward over Jazz slightly, holding one prone hand in both of his. Ratchet's face was contorted in concentration and his hands were hidden inside Jazz's body cavity. Under our hopeful optics the lights along Jazz's frame flickered on, off and then back on with the beautiful grind of an engine waking up.

"Jazz?" Prowl said hopefully.

"He probably won't be able to boot up all the way, Prowl." Ratchet whispered, his tone soft. "We don't really have the luxury of time here. I've started everything back up but--he still needs extensive repairs. I can't even venture a guess as to how he has survived out here in this condition but looking at him now he doesn't have much longer without immediate intervention." Ratchet and Prowl exchanged a look.

"We need to get him into the Lockheed immediately. I'll be able to at least stabilize him with the equipment I brought."

"I'll carry him up. I--"

"No!" Ratchet reached out and grabbed Prowl's hand as the Enforcer moved to pick up Jazz. "Jazz needs to be kept as still as possible. The aesthetic repairs I did to him when we--when we brought him here are not strong enough to handle any kind of trauma. The small amount of fuel and energon he has in his frame at this moments every drop is precious. We need to bring the Lockheeds closer and lower a stretcher."

"A stretcher? For... for a Cybertronian?" Lennox piped up, leaning against Ironhide's helm. "Ratchet that's not gonna be easy to construct and if we really are pressed for time--"

"Lieutenant I am a field medic. Do you know how many rescue, retrieve and transport missions I've been on? I'm fully prepared for this."

I couldn't help but smirk behind my mask at the sheepish look on Lennox face. Ironhide chuckled.

"Nevur doubt th' medic." He rumbled quietly.

"Optimus, I need you and Ironhide to return topside. Our transport Lockheed contains the med-unit with the stretcher in it. Lower it into the pit and Bee, Prowl and I will secure Jazz. Once he and I are loaded into the transport, the stretcher can be used for our friend over there."

"Understood." Optimus said with a nod. "Ironhide, come with me. Lennox, Agent Fowler, hang on."

I moved back as Optimus and Ironhide took off at full tilt. After they'd passed I slowly moved to join Prowl and Ratchet at Jazz's side. My optics fell once--curiously--to the cavity in his frame and then I looked quickly away. I considered it a good thing that I could hear fans whirring even if they were gruesomely exposed.

~So uh, do you have any ideas how he could have survived, Ratchet?~ I pressed. I was trying to keep Ratchet and Prowl's minds off the large gaping hole in the slowly fading Jazz. Ratchet looked at me and sighed.

"I have theories, Bumblebee, but that's all they are. I don't have anything to back up my thoughts."

"Well, let's hear them." Prowl said. I glanced to him and he offered Ratchet a small smile.

"Uh, well, all right. You're both aware, I'm sure, of how difficult it is for any one of us to die. In order to completely fade out a Cybertronian's spark, t-cog and brain module must all be damaged to near catastrophic levels. Serious damage to one part of Rossum's Trinity may also be enough to trigger complete termination but it is very hard to do this. Unfortunately when Megatron--when Jazz's frame was separated his spark suffered greatly. There was a great deal of strain put onto it and even though his brain module and his t-cog were intact and in perfect condition, his spark was too far gone. With proper equipment I could have stabilized him, put him on support until things could be fixed but I didn't have enough time and had no resources.

"This meant that Jazz's body went into shut down and the first stages of termination. His fuel and energon were no longer being circulated. He became a container of impure liquids and his spark could not function. As we near our deaths--in a way that is almost natural, as certainly some more violent terminations eradicate these stages of passing--our spark attempts to find reserves of pure energon throughout the body. Small parts of the spark will break off and circulate through the frame as does energon, searching every inch of our bodies for something to hold onto. As I... worked to do what I could for Jazz, his spark tried to do this. Unfortunately the divide in his frame prevented these pieces from working through him and they became stuck. I imagine there were multiple small charges throughout his frame, stuck pulsing so low my equipment could not pick them up. When the large center of his spark faded I assumed him terminated. I re-attached his body for aesthetic reasons and thus repaired the bridges where his spark was stuck. This permitted pooled energon and the charges to re-form in his spark chamber.

"When we placed Jazz here he was in critical condition but alive. In my grief I--I suppose I did not pick up on the faint pulsing of his spark or the register of his energy signature. However if my theories are correct placing him in the ice is what ultimately saved his life. You see when a Cybertronian faces freezing to death the body reacts in a series of bail-outs. These bail-outs are dangerous and draining. Essentially when a Cybertronian loses consciousness due to cold temperatures, the body tries to remain warm by a series of heat bursts. For a few moments a spark draws all the energy it can to push out a huge burst of heat, these bursts actually increase in length as the Cybertronian fades. I believe Jazz's bursts sunk him into the ice until he made contact with this... large mech.

"When Jazz's body melted through the ice between them and made physical contact, the mech was given a re-start. His damage, from what I can see, is not terminal at all. With his larger size comes a much lower natural body temperature. I feel he is simply in a forced, long-term stasis brought on by the cold. Jazz's heat bursts powered him up temporarily. I believe their sparks attempted to commune with each other, as is normal in such dire straits. Our sparks long for connection in any situation. This, coupled with Prowl's nearing proximity, triggered Jazz's spark to feed off of the larger mech's. An Endurae Binding certainly has it's privileges. Jazz and this mech made a connection not unlike a soft bond and managed to feed off each other, keeping themselves alive and functioning.

"It is... as the human's say, a perfect storm. These conditions are strange and rare and altogether impossible but everything happened at precisely the right moment."

I exchanged another look with Prowl. It sounded far-fetched to the both of us, but then again I'd never been good at any of that medical stuff so Ratchet could probably have been describing the everyday challenges our bodies face and I'd still be just as lost.

"But... Jazz will make a full recovery?" Prowl pressed, running a finger over the back of one of Jazz's hands.

"Oh, yes. I--I can't even see any reason why he would have lasting damage or defects of any kind provided I get him to my equipment in the Lockheed quickly."

As if on cue a small cascade of ice alerted us to Ironhide, peering down into the hole.

"Ya'll ready?"

I jogged backwards a few paces, leaving Ratchet and Prowl at Jazz's side. I glanced upwards and could just barely make out Ironhide's lights. In response I flashed my own twice.

"Go ahead, Ironhide!" Ratchet shouted from behind me.

I heard the rattling of chains as the stretcher was hoisted into position. I cupped my hands over my optics to try and cut out the glare bouncing back at me from the ice. Slowly but surely the large metal slab came into view.

~I have visual.~ I comm.ed confidently.

~I'm gonna drop this thing in fast then, Bee, we ain't got time ta play nice 'n steady. You ready?~

~Copy that, Ironhide. Drop away.~ I widened my stance and braced myself. A few seconds later I could have sworn I heard Optimus and Lennox both shouting as Ironhide released the rest of the slack in one go. I shuffled forward and to the side once or twice as the slab started to come at me fast. Lifting my hands over my head and opening my palms flat I caught the stretcher over my head with what felt like relative ease.

~I got it!~

~See! He got it.~ Ironhide hissed on an open comm. channel. ~No need ta go shoutin' about bein' safe. He knew it was comin'.~

I quickly carried the stretcher back towards Ratchet. Prowl stood to help me set it on the ground next to Jazz.

"How are we going to do this, medic?"

"Slowly and carefully. Like I said he needs to be kept as still as possible. Bee I want you on his peds, Prowl come get his pauldrens and helm, I'll worry about his mid-section." Ratchet said, reluctantly removing his hands from the hole in Jazz's frame. I was expecting the medic's digits to be covered in energon but they were clean. It churned my stomach chamber just the same.

I crouched down by Jazz's peds and smiled softly. I could remember, so many years ago on Cybertron, watching Jazz spin them over his helm at a dance contest in Iacon. It was before things got real bad, when we could still get away from it all and enjoy ourselves. Jazz somehow retained that ability even after the cities were rubble. Somehow a part of him was always able to stand back and escape.

"All right, boys, on the count of three. Lift him just enough to put him over the edge of the stretcher. I need as little strain on him as possible but especially on his mid-section here. These sealants I used are not supposed to be put to practical use."

"Understood." Prowl barked as I nodded with a confirmation of my own.

"One. Two. Three."

In tandem we lifted Jazz off the ice as one unit. Crouched at awkward angles we moved him a good few feet to the right and then carefully set him down onto the stretcher.

"Beautiful." Ratchet said, sounding airless as we all removed our hands. "Help me get him strapped in then we'll give Optimus and Ironhide the go-ahead. I'll follow him up. Do you think you two can get our friend over there on board solo?"

Prowl and I both spared a glance away from the straps on the stretcher to the still unknown Cybertronian in stasis at the other end of the cave.

~I think as long as we don't need to worry about being as careful, we got it.~

Ratchet nodded.

About an hour later Prowl and I found ourselves following the stretcher up the path as the incredibly large and still enigmatic Cybertronian was pulled up foot-by-foot by a straining Optimus and Ironhide.

~You really think he's a NAIL, Prowl?~ I asked conversationally.

"I think it's just as likely as anything else. There's a chance he is a Decepticon unknown to us who crashed here with Megatron. The only other option would be that some pre-war Cybertronian found Earth millions of years before the rest of us and somehow crashed in the exact location where the All Spark and Megatron himself would crash later. I don't really believe in coincidences."

I nodded. The stretcher hung for a moment as Ironhide and Optimus noisily repositioned themselves. I tilted my helm as I got a good look at the Cybertronian's face.

~He doesn't strike me as a 'con.~

"No offense, Bumblebee, but appearance is nothing to base judgement on. I'm sure even Soundwave can look peaceful and kind in recharge or stasis."

I shrugged. As we climbed up the opposite side of the pit where we'd jumped down, Ironhide and Optimus collapsed as they hoisted the Cybertronian the final few feet onto solid ground. Ironhide gave Optimus a pat on the back and Prime shook his head tiredly.

"Bee, get over here an' help us drag this to th' firs' Lockheed." Ironhide barked, waving me over. Prowl jogged past me and towards the small and temporary work-station Ratchet had set up. I offered a hand to help Optimus up and was rewarded with a soft chuckle of thanks.

I picked up a line of chain next to Ironhide, slung it over my shoulder, and began a trudge towards the planes. I could hear Optimus taking a few more readings and doing a few more checks behind us as we prepared to move out.

"Ahh right, medic, where y'want this one?"

"Ah, just, secure him someplace. I'm not going to be able to tend to him until we get to base anyway." Ratchet barely spared us a glance. Ironhide turned to catch my optics and made to mimic the medic. "And don't get sassy with me, Ironhide. I will stop what I'm doing in order to knock you down a few pegs if I need to."

"Humph."

After loading in the unknown, we spent a few moments sitting around near the Lockheeds listening to the soldiers exchange stories about being warm, until Ratchet paused and smiled, off-lining his optics.

"He's... He's stable. We can pack up and move." He turned his head and sought out Prowl. The Enforcer stood and closed the distance between them. He placed a hand on Jazz's shoulder, and then moved it to settle on Ratchet's chest.

"I owe you, Ratchet. I owe you my function cycle."

"Ahh, it's--it's my job, Prowl." Ratchet closed a hand around Prowl's wrist.

Jazz was carefully loaded onto a Lockheed with Prowl and Ratchet in alt mode accompanying him. Once everything was secure, Ironhide and I stepped back onto the arctic ground and waved the pilot all clear. All but one of the Lockheed's immediately took off. I crossed my arms over my chest as Ironhide and I turned to wait for Prime. We could both read something odd on him as he joined us and signaled for us to board the last plane.

~What is it, Optimus?~

"Probably nothing, Bumblebee." He sighed as we heard the engine start up. We transformed quickly and rolled into the Lockheed. Optimus' EM field was still slightly off.

~The magnetic disturbance which marked this location as safe for Jazz's burial...~ Optimus comm.ed. ~It no longer registers on my equipment.~