Mazikeen carefully left the base and walked to the edge of a cliff. She immediately spotted the familiar silver mech she knew was calling out to her heart.
"Jazz?"
Jazz immediately turned, and his optics widened at seeing the female in front of him,
"Lil M? What are you doing outside? Shouldn't you be with everyone else?"
Mazikeen smirked and shook her head,
"Nah, got too crowded in there. They were boring me anyways. Uno is only fun if you lose at least one time if you play thirty times,"
Jazz chuckled and nodded,
"Yeah, I guess you are right,"
Mazikeen frowned and sat down in front of him,
"Penny for your thought?"
She took out a penny, and Jazz felt a painful tug at his spark as he winced,
"I-"
"Don't give me that look. I don't care if I'm missing a shit ton of memories, I know something is wrong,"
Jazz sighed,
"Did they tell you I was your guardian?"
Mazikeen nodded,
"Yeah, they did,"
Jazz looked at the moon,
"Because of me...you have been kidnapped, shot, stabbed countless times, and...and you lost your memory...I had no idea what to do for the past month and a half. You were lost to us...and...no matter how hard I tried...I couldn't find you. None of us could,"
Mazikeen frowned and put her hand on his leg,
"Well. I have been told I'm very fucking stubborn. So, you had your work cut out for you, buddy. Want to hear a story?"
Jazz finally looked at her and nodded. Mazikeen smiled brightly at him and leaned her back against his leg casually,
"I'll tell you about something I swore I would never talk about again. Will, Epps, and Fig tried getting me to talk about it a bunch of times...Eddie tried, too. A couple of years ago, well, a bunch now, I guess, we were fighting against some terrorists overseas. I was right next to Eddie as we kept shooting. Then. I didn't see something coming. I wasn't paying attention for one fucking second. The next thing I know? Eddie is in front of me, taking a bullet. I...I wasn't fast enough or strong enough. I didn't see a fucking bullet coming straight for me, and Eddie got hurt cuz of it. I got him out with my squad...but uh...He lost a good bit of blood and was out for a few days. I never left his side. My inventions haven't been fully tested yet, so I couldn't use them on him. When he woke up...I yelled at him. I screamed at him, threw shit at him, I told him that I hated him for saving my life. What did he do? He hugged me. He told me it wasn't my fault and I had no control over it. He said he would do it again in a heartbeat because he loved me. I threatened to kill him myself if he ever even thought about taking a bullet for me again. Then he told me he took one of my inventions without me knowing, a prototype for a shield. Apparently, the bullet stopped before it hit is heart cuz of my shield. But it should have never passed through the shield in the first place. That near-death situation made him realize that he wanted to live for his son. Which I am sure you know about, Chris was the reason he wanted to leave the army, but he was also the reason he joined. To give his son a better world."
"He asked you to come with you, right?"
Mazikeen nodded and sighed,
"Yeah. He did. I told him no. I wanted to keep fighting for the better world we dreamt about. I wasn't ready to put down my weapons. I don't think I ever will be. Eddie and I? I thought for a solid second that he was the one for me,"
Jazz frowned,
"Is he?"
Mazikeen chuckled and shook her head,
"Nope. My heart stopped beating only for him. That's a saying I used for him. That my heart beat for him. But, it beats for someone else,"
Jazz felt a tug at his spark,
"Who?"
Mazikeen smirked,
"That's for me to find out...I have a feeling, though. Anyways. Eddie has someone else now. His name is Evan Buckley. I'm remembering bits and pieces now, slowly but surely,"
Jazz felt his spark tug at him again as hope filled his chassis,
"Anything about me?"
Mazikeen smirked up at him as she looked at his visor,
"Well, I remembered a smidge...that's why I asked you to come inside last night. I knew we wouldn't be able to get any sleep alone,"
Jazz blushed and rolled his optics,
"Actually, I would have slept well, you would have had a nightmare,"
Mazikeen laughed,
"Nah, I think I would be perfectly fine,"
Jazz laughed and stood up,
"Oh, yeah?"
Mazikeen smirked and crossed her arms as she also stood up,
"Yep, for sure,"
Jazz transformed into his alt-mode and turned on his holo-form, who appeared right in front of Mazikeen. Mazikeen yelped and fell back, but Jazz quickly caught her,
"Hah! You should have seen your face,"
Mazikeen glared at him as she blushed,
"Hey! I wasn't expecting that!"
Jazz laughed and straightened her out,
"Sure, but you should,"
Mazikeen rolled her eyes and glanced at his holo-form,
"I still can't believe you have holo-forms,"
Jazz laughed and smirked at her,
"What's so hard to believe?"
Mazikeen shrugged and poked him,
"Do you feel everything?"
Jazz swatted her hand away from his face as he blushed,
"Yes! Stop poking my face!"
Mazikeen shrugged,
"You have a pokeable face!"
Jazz rolled his eyes,
"I don't think that's a word,"
Mazikeen crossed her arms,
"It is now,"
Jazz chuckled,
"You made it up,"
Mazikeen shrugged,
"You wouldn't know, being a Cybertronian and shit,"
Jazz smirked,
"We can use the internet,"
Mazikeen gasped,
"Cheater!"
Jazz laughed,
"No, it's not! It is very useful,"
Mazikeen grumbled and looked at him,
"So, is the holo-form like an extension of yourself?"
Jazz nodded,
"Yeah, we can use our alt-mode still, but it is harder to use it at the same time as our holo-form,"
Mazikeen slowly nodded and walked over to the hood of his alt-mode,
"Cool,"
She immediately jumped onto his hood, and he winced,
"Hey!"
Mazikeen laughed and lay down on it with a smile on her face,
"Well? Come on up, grumpy,"
Jazz sighed and quickly lay down next to her,
"Penny for your thought?"
He gave her a penny, and she laughed,
"I have done that a lot, huh?"
Jazz smirked and nodded,
"A bunch of times,"
Mazikeen chuckled,
"I'm still getting used to the changes. But I really need you to believe that none of this is your fault,"
Jazz sighed and sat up,
"I should have done a better job,"
Mazikeen sat up and put her hand on his,
"Hey! I'm still alive, the past is the past, you can't change it,"
Jazz glanced at her,
"Barricade would make a better guardian for you."
Mazikeen rolled her eyes,
"Nope, I don't understand why, but I know he would never be as good. I say with much love, but Cade is not my guardian. You are my guardian."
Jazz looked at her in the eye and smiled softly at her,
"You won't let this go, huh,"
Mazikeen smirked proudly,
"Nope! I will never,"
Jazz chuckled and nodded,
"Alright...do you remember Tex?"
Mazikeen slowly nodded,
"Yeah...is he okay? He was very sad yesterday,"
Jazz nodded,
"He will be. He's a good kid, and he will be much better when someone comes back to us,"
Mazikeen tilted her head,
"Us?"
Jazz nodded,
"Yep! I have faith that everything will go back to normal,"
Mazikeen smiled at him,
"Then, how about a drive?"
Jazz frowned in confusion,
"You want to go on a drive now?"
Mazikeen nodded,
"Yep! I do!"
Jazz chuckled,
"Alright,"
Mazikeen grabbed his hand before he could turn off his holo-form, and she smirked,
"Nope! I am driving, and you are sitting down in the passenger seat!"
Jazz's jaw dropped,
"What the frag?!"
Mazikeen smirked and nodded,
"Yep! So shut up and give me control!"
Jazz slowly nodded and got in. Mazikeen smiled brightly and got in the driver's seat, and Jazz started his engine. Mazikeen smirked and glanced at the dashboard,
"You ready?"
Jazz crossed his arms,
"No,"
Mazikeen laughed,
"Fasten your seatbelt!"
"You are literally driving my alt-mode, I do not need a seatbelt,"
Mazikeen shrugged and felt her seat belt fasten,
"And I do?"
Jazz blushed and nodded,
"Yes, yes you do,"
Mazikeen shrugged and immediately pushed on the gas, and Jazz winced,
"HEY! Be gentle!"
Mazikeen smirked and put her hand on the gear shift,
"I am always gentle!"
Jazz blinked as he felt something in him roar with his engine,
"How many times have I driven?"
Jazz grumbled,
"Today,"
Mazikeen immediately pressed on the break, and Jazz winced,
"ONE TIME?!"
Jazz slowly nodded,
"Y-Yeah,"
Mazikeen frowned and felt guilt wash over her,
"Shit, does it feel weird? Oh my sky, I didn't even think about how it feels for someone else to drive you! I am the wo-"
Jazz couldn't stand hearing her doubts. He opened his door, and his holo-form fizzled out and reappeared next to her grabbed her hand, and pulled her out of his alt-mode,
"Mazikeen-"
Mazikeen stopped and looked down at the floor,
"I'm sorry, Jazz-"
Jazz put a hand on her shoulder and gently grabbed her chin to bring it to look at him,
"Lil M, take a breath,"
Mazikeen sighed,
"How could I possibly be the one to have power? Anyone else would have been a better choice,"
Jazz shook his head and took off his goggles,
"I could not see anyone else being a better choice than you, Lil M. You care about everyone, no matter any of their past deeds. You give second chances, you give everyone hope,"
"How can you be so sure?"
Jazz chuckled and smiled at her,
"You have given me hope. You gave me something worth fighting for. Hell, none of us Cybertronians would still be here if not for you. Memories or not, you are who you are. Never doubt who you are, Lil M,"
Mazikeen's eyes brightened as she stared into his bright blue eyes,
"D-Do you really think that?"
Jazz smirked and nodded,
"With all my spark,"
Mazikeen smiled and put her hands on his shoulders,
"Are you sure? I'm basically a reset,"
Jazz chuckled,
"Lil M, you are the one that shot Megatron in the eye to save my life. I think I know you well enough."
Mazikeen chuckled,
"I'll be honest, I had no idea that would work,"
Jazz chuckled,
"Yeah, I figured. But, you and your stupid impulsivity saved me, more than once,"
Mazikeen gasped,
"Hey! I am not impulsive!"
Jazz smirked,
"You actually are. It is extremely frustrating,"
Mazikeen laughed and smiled brightly at him,
"Well, I have a knack for annoying people. It's a mystery how Will, Epps, and Fig have dealt with me since day one. Now, I'm assuming with these weird powers, I gave them a harder time,"
Jazz chuckled,
"Will showed me a gray hair one day,"
Mazikeen chuckled,
"Proudest moment, I'm sure,"
Jazz smiled softly at her,
"Yeah, you bragged about it for a week,"
Mazikeen laughed again, and Jazz felt his spark pull at him softly. He smiled at her. Mazikeen tilted her head as thoughts swarmed it,
"Jazz?"
"Yeah?"
"What if...What if I don't remember everything? Everyone has this expectation of who I am, but how could I possibly be someone if I don't remember who I am-"
"Mazikeen,"
She winced at hearing her name, and Jazz sighed,
"You are more than your memories. You are amazing just the way you are,"
"But if I don't have my memories, I could become a liability...I could cause more pain than good...I know everyone has been hurt because of me already. Don't even think about denying that I can feel pain that's not mine. I...I'm lost...and I don't know what to do,"
Jazz put a hand on her cheek,
"You will never be a liability to me, Lil M. I don't care if you have your memories or not. You are important to me. To all of us,"
Mazikeen sighed,
"Are you sure?"
Jazz nodded his head and gently wiped a tear that slipped down from her eyes,
"I have never been so sure of anything before,"
"B-"
Jazz's patience had worn thin, his heart aching with frustration at Mazikeen's relentless doubts. He couldn't bear to see her question herself any longer, to hear her speak words that went against everything he believed about her strength and resilience. Jazz leaned toward her and kissed her. Mazikeen's entire body froze for a moment, her mind reeling as a wave of emotions crashed over her, some of which were not hers. The fog in her brain blasted away, like a dam breaking free, as memories flooded back with an overwhelming force. A small spark flew from her necklace, and they pulled away. Jazz's eyes widened in shock at what he had done,
"I-I'm sorry,"
He immediately turned off his holo-form and sped away. Mazikeen shook her head,
"JAZZ! WAIT!"
Mazikeen sat down on the floor and put her face in her hands,
"I-I...I remember,"
╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧╤╧
IT FINALLY HAPPENED!
They kissed! Oh my sky, they finally did it. But Jazz got scared and ran away smh.
The next chapter will be done later tonight or tomorrow!