Rian Moeru: So, this is to be the first chapter of many, in what will mostly likely be a lengthy story! We're already working on the next bit, so the second chapter should be up in a few days to a week or so. Wondering what sort of rating this fic should have though. T? M? You decide Shade!
Shade Penn: I hope we can Chapter 2 up soon as well! And given some of the subject matter…well, just to be on the safe side it's going to be M.
Jack hurtled through oblivion, being forced into the nothingness like he was a speck of dust in the wind. There was no wind though, no rustling of branches, no cars, no dirt beneath his feet or Miko blaring her music in the base. Only his shouts, pleading to stop being toyed with. He felt his body being pulled apart, being unmade then remade. He screamed and screamed but it didn't stop.
A voice had spoken to him then, deep and powerful. Commanding absolute respect from him. He felt like he was withering under it.
Why had he agreed to this? Change Cybertron's fate...as if that was something in his power, a pitiful human like him, were capable of. Why would Primus have chosen him for this?
There were so many better options, better suited to handle such a thing. He barely had a handle on his own life-how could he change the lives of thousands? The voice had been compelling though, Primus asking and Jack had been unable to say anything but yes. He'd always thought of how different things could have been, if the war didn't happen, hadn't come to earth or any other planet.
Maybe that was why he agreed; to try and live a fool's dream of changing the past and making things better. And now all he felt was the scorching pain of his body – was it even that now? -changing into something else – something different. His screams began to take on a new edge, a more metallic one. He still couldn't stop screaming though.
When it finally did stop with no warning, his body was scalding hot. He fell out of the oblivion that had been his entire world for god knows how long. Cold metal graced the skin of his flaming cheek, and he was just barely able to open his eyes; they felt so heavy.
Jack groaned, vision blurred and full of stinging pains that forced him to blink rapidly in succession. The sensations throughout the rest him were alien at best. He didn't feel like himself anymore.
And when his vision cleared, all that surrounded him was an expanse of metal. Ebbs and hills of sheet metal, glinting against the light above him. He squinted against the shine, trying to regain his bearings. What had just happened?
And then his eyes glanced down-and he let out a choked gasp, feeling the odd way he opened his mouth, but didn't have the sensation to breathe. He placed a hand on his chest, eyes growing wide as he could feel something that wasn't a heartbeat under the cool surface. It was like a hum, one which went through his body and felt it in every crevice of him. 'What…Primus never said this would happen.'
Although, Jack belatedly realized that to fit in among alien robots, looking like an organic wouldn't be the best thing to win anyone over. Jack sighed, the action unnecessary but it helped keep him calm. And he carefully stood, the weight of his new body heavy and awkward, and he glanced over the form he was changed into.
"What the hell..." He muttered, looking down at expertly crafted metal. Well, his new body had been hand forged from a god...what did he expect?
From what he could see most of his plating was a dark blue in color but he could see tinges of black here and there. His fingers were blunt, but they felt slightly off to him. Probably because they were made of metal now. 'Duh Jack,' he reprimanded himself, grimacing.
He realized that he wasn't 'buff' like Bulkhead appeared to be, but he wasn't as streamlined as Arcee either.
He was somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, and while he was no great judge looks, he did think the form he had been given was quite nice. Jack almost shook himself immediately of the thought. 'Stop ogling yourself,' he scolded, 'It's time to start looking for some life.' If this was Cybertron, and he was in the past, then it meant the planet wasn't a desolate wasteland as he'd seen in the future.
Nothing looked familiar, but he hadn't expected it to. He'd only been in one city, and then underground. Not like he would have gone sightseeing. And for the moment all he could see the metal ground, and a whole lot of nothing.
'I hope I can reach a city, a town? Something just to know where I am or what time I've been sent back to.' Jack thought, because 'change the past' could have meant he was plopped down in any time period on Cybertron. And while he didn't like the thought of wandering aimlessly, Jack didn't have much of a choice than to pick a direction and go. Maybe he'd find life eventually, and hopefully it wouldn't be hostile.
Jack started walking, despite of how unsure he felt with only the slim hope that he would find something around here to help him out besides barren metal. Twenty minutes soon passed though and still nothing had come into sight. 'Starting to regret not taking those Cybertron lessons from Ratchet,' He groaned inwardly. 'Those sure would have been useful right about now.'
Jack continued on still, keeping his eyes open for any sign of life, even the smallest speck to just know where he was. 'Does Cybertron have seas? Rivers? What am I thinking, I can barely navigate Earth, how am I supposed to navigate an alien world?' Although, finding energon would be a priority too, because with this new body came a limitation that instead of food, he'd have to consume the blue liquid.
'And so far, I haven't found anything except metal, metal, and more metal. The only thing I've changed here is making tracks, and I'm pretty sure not even those.' Jack thought. He wondered if he was delirious, and if he could even get that. Sure felt like it though. 'Ugh, get it together Jack!' He bemoaned to himself, taking a breather. 'Wait. Can I even go by that here?'. He shook his head. No, no that wouldn't do. It'd set off alarms for anyone he spoke to if he opened with a 'Hey, my name's Jack!'.
The reply would either be a 'what's it short for' or 'what kind of name is that? And that wasn't if anyone didn't get suspicious of him right off the bat. 'What should I call myself?' he'd have to think of something before he hopefully found civilization, and just keep repeating it to himself so he wouldn't mess up.
'What did I get myself into?' he lamented, but shook his head. No, he made his choice. This wasn't ideal, to be thrown into some strange time and not have a clue what he should do, but he was going to give it his best shot. 'Hopefully that'll be good enough to change things.'
If he could find the others, however slim his chances might be of finding them, then he had a chance. He could warn them of what was coming, to prepare for the worst.
Jack hoped he'd find Optimus first. Or Orion, he remembered he had been called that before the Great War. Find him and prevent him from ever falling under Megatron's sway.
Ratchet mentioned a place called Iacon, that was where Orion was from. Jack could go there, find the archive where the mech worked and try to convince him to stay away from a bot called Megatron. 'Yeah, if only it were that easy.' Jack thought morosely. The holes in his plan sprung up immediately-he couldn't get to Iacon if he didn't know where it was, he didn't know where Orion worked, and he didn't even know if Megatron's name was that. 'He should be easy enough to spot, I don't think I'd ever forget what he'd look like.' He thought.
What if Jack couldn't find Orion though? What if unlike Megatron he couldn't recognize Optimus' old form? Orion was changed into Optimus, so what if it was a big change? Jack couldn't even know if the other Autobots would look the same either. Things might have changed in appearances in the millions of years-
'Millions of years.' Jack repeated. It dawned on him that it could be that long, since he didn't even know where he ended up. 'What if I came back too late to change anything?' No, he couldn't think like that. Primus wouldn't have just set him up to fail, right? Jack rubbed his brow, feeling the odd sensation of his blunt fingers scraping against the metal.
'Standing around's not going to help me. I have to be getting close to somewhere. Even if Cybertron's big, there's got to be like a town or whatever they're called nearby. Then maybe I can finally get directions.' Jack walked and walked and walked, seeming no closer still to anything resembling sentient life. He noticed grimly that position of the sun had hardly changed as well.
'Just great, not even the sun is going to give me a sense of time or direction.' Jack thought sarcastically. Even if his directions were completely wrong, it could have given him a sense of how long he was walking for. Chillingly, the thought of walking in circles crossed his mind. 'There has to be something- do I at least mark my trail and hope I don't see it again?' Could he check his coordinates with this body of his maybe? Or see if he had an alternative mode already.
Jack stood still, focusing on himself, willing his body to change shape. Nothing happened though, leaving him wondering if he was doing it wrong. But if he didn't have an alt-mode, it made finding one that much more imperative and learning how this body worked.
Which meant finding somewhere with people- er, bots. He didn't even know if him not having an alt-mode yet would be considered weird, or what the customs or rules in Cybertron's past were. 'I should have asked for a run down on things.' He thought, but there was no point in dwelling on it.
Weird or not, he'd need to find something to scan- if he could figure out how to do that at all too. He focused on his hand, but nothing happened. He wasn't sure what he expected to happen, but maybe a blaster or something changing from his hand?
"Ah, C'mon..." He groaned aloud, continuing to skulk forward, hating how out of place he felt in his own body. He was so distracted by his inability to make his body do anything that he hadn't noticed the dip into the ground until he was already sliding down it.
"Scraaaap!" Jack screeched, but it could have very well been the shriek of metal on metal as he rolled down a hill. He groaned once he reached the bottom, slowly to a halt. Everything had gone by him in a blur, a painful blur as jagged pieces scratched his plating on the way down. Probably what helped stop his descent since lack of friction meant he could have gone on rolling. 'How the heck didn't I notice that? Get it together!' he scolded himself. Slowly, he lifted himself onto his knees to look around where he had fallen.
He blinked, confused as he looked around. The metal was sharp and jagged here, like someone had torn it to pieces. Jack faintly realized that he had been lucky not to impale himself on one if the jutting spikes. His plates rattled in a shudder.
Then he noticed something else- a massive, gaping hole that tore into metal, so dark Jack thought feared it was going to swallow him whole.
"Who's there?!" A voice called out furiously, causing a startled to jolt to course through his heart- er, spark. He sighed in relief though once it registered, hearing footsteps from inside the hole.
'Finally, I've found someone.' Jack thought. "Sorry to intrude!" he called back. "I just got- uh, lost!" he winced, but hoped it didn't sound too fishy.
"Who are you?" A surly red mech demanded as he stepped out into the open. "Who sent you?"
"Er, no one." Jack replied, scratching the back of his helm. "Like I said, I got lost. You...you wouldn't happen to know the way to the nearest city, would you?"
The red mech stared at him for a moment, but let out a harsh laugh. It was not a pleasant sound. "You really are turned around if you think there's anything but desert for miles."
Jack's optics widened. 'I'm freaking desert?' he thought incredulously. How the heck was there any difference? 'I really don't know my way around.' He added glumly. "Can you at least point me in the direction of a nearby city? Or better yet, do you have a map?" he paused, wincing as he worried that wasn't the word for it.
The mech gave him a strange, calculating look that rubbed Jack the wrong way. He shifted nervously on his fe- pedes. The mech reached for his head to start a comm.
"Hey. Got a new one here." He said gruffly to someone else. "They didn't send word about a new arrival. Think it must have gotten lost in transmission? What should I do with him?"
Jack wasn't sure whether he could get cold in this body, but a chill went down his spine. Something just felt off, and he didn't want to stick around to hear what the reply to that question would be. "Uh-I-I can see you're busy, so I-I'll just find my way on my own." He almost stumbled as he tried to backpedal away. "Sorry to bother you."
The all too familiar sound of transformation rang in his ears as the mech's arm shifted into a blaster.
"You're right where you're supposed to be." The mech said, and the next thing Jack knew he was convulsing when the blaster went off and shot him.
Jack collapsed to the ground, shaking as the shocks went through him. 'A stunner?' he thought, incredulous as to why that was the first thing he could think of. Dread formed in his stomach-or what was supposed to pass as that as his body felt drained. 'No, something stronger than that? I can barely move!' his fingers twitched, but that was it.
The dread only grew when the mech leaned down and hauled him over his shoulder as though he weighed nothing. "I'm sure we can get you a spot in the mines; someone has to have keeled over to make some room."
Jack's spark lurched, gritting his teeth. 'Just what is going on? Where am I?'
Jack wanted to scream, to shout out to anyone who would listen to him as he was taken into the depths of the black pit the mech had been guarding. The mines, he had said. Whatever was down there Jack wanted no part of it!
Jack tried to struggle against the grip, but the exertion on his body only seemed to make him more worn out. His fear though grew, because he could hear the creak creak of something moving. It was coming from above him, and his spark thudded painfully in his chest as he saw a metal door beginning to descend. Jack gritted his teeth, pathetically trying to free himself as the deeper the mech walked the more the light left- and the door descended further. 'No, no, no! This isn't how it was supposed to go!'
"Welcome to the mines." The mech carrying him said with a sinister chuckle.
Jack just barely regaining feeling in his fingertips. 'Dammit. Dammit!' He tried to kick out, but his body wouldn't correspond with his thoughts.
How was he supposed to help anyone in here?! Wherever 'here' even was!
It was dark and dingy, something he hadn't even thought possible on a metal planet. His spark thudded with a heavy push, as the door shut, and he could see no way to open it. 'I have to get out of here, somehow! There's got to be a lock for it.' he thought.
Faintly, Jack could pick out the sounds of something striking metal in rhythm, with sounds of machinery in tow and drilling. 'They really are mining in here.' he thought in realization, and along with it the fact they had to be mining something. It reminded him of the tunnel he was trapped in with Arcee, Bulkhead and Miko. Maybe it was just the 'friendly' introduction he got, but Jack knew this was going to be so much worse.
Jack felt enough feeling return to his lips that he could speak.
"W-what are you doing?" He asked, a small shaking in his body now. "I'm not supposed to be here-!"
"You think you could fool me?" The mech cut him off, giving Jack a rough shake that had the plates rattling. Jack's sto- something churned, and he groaned. "Really think you could lie your way out? No one in their right processor would be stupid enough to come out here."
"I'm not l-lying!" Jack could feel his form start to regain even more feeling, enough to wriggle around but not get out of the grip. "I-I am lost."
"Nice try." The mech scoffed, holding up his blaster again to shoot. Jack held up his hands on instincts when he felt the blaster press against his side, optics wide.
"R-really!" Jack insisted. He had no weapons, no combat training and no way of fighting his way out of here. He had to try to talk his way out, but the chances were slim at best. And his current position didn't help him any either.
"Like you said, who'd come out here?" Jack repeated. "I was on my t-to Iacon!" he grasped for the name of first city that sprung to mind. "I've never been there before and I'm no good with directions."
The mech was silent for a moment before Jack gasped as he was tossed onto the ground, the metal clanging as it sent vibrations through him. The blaster was still trained on him. "Transform."
Jack stilled. "What?"
"Every miner has their T-cog taken out to prevent…disorder." The mech said, and Jack would have paled if capable.
"My T-cog…" he stalled, because this was harder to get around, "it's…damaged. I wasn't watching where I was going and I took a dive right into a crevice. Can't transform or it'll get busted." Jack chuckled nervously, slowly inching back to the door. "So if you could just open the door, I'll get out of the way."
There was a brief pause, and for a second Jack thought the guy had bought it.
When he was stunned for the second time that day, Jack knew he lost any chance he had of getting out of here. Once again he was being dragged through the tunnels deeper in the darkness.
More than anything, Jack was left with the feeling of fear, and the sense of failure. 'How am I going to get out of here?' he thought, his eyes being forced to adjust to the continually dim lighting the further the mech dragged him. 'What's going to happen to me?'
All too soon he was dropped on the hard, unforgiving ground once more. Vaguely he was aware that sounds of drilling had paused, but a bark from the mech resumed it. A drill was tossed at his numb feet.
"You're to start your work, effective immediately." He ordered Jack, having little regard for him or the others.
"W-work on what?" Jack asked, and stiffened as he was given a baleful stare.
"Find a spot and start digging." The mech retorted. "Any disobedience will be punished."
Jack carefully got to his feet. "I-I don't know what I'm-" Pain erupted from face, and he found himself back on the ground. He squinted his optics as he was at least glad through the pain nothing had cracked or been broken. He had a feeling the medical system here would be just as bad as the security.
"Enough talking, now get to work. Or you're going to get something worse." The mech said darkly.
Jack glared at him as the bot left, and looked down at the drive. His shoulders heaved as he picked up the tool. He frowned, and looked around, unsure of just what he was supposed to be doing.
The others in the tunnels, three from what he could see, stared at the retreating guard, then at him. They returned to their task, as though nothing at happened. This made Jack angry, their complacence infuriating. He had just been tossed in here for no reason and tossed to the wolves! Or scraplets, as would be the case here.
Jack really hoped though there weren't scraplets in these tunnels, that would be an even more rotten luck for him to have. Jack sighed to himself as he fiddled with the device, a kind of miniature driller he realized, almost dropping it when it started up with a violent spinning. He was expected to just...just dig? Really? Jack rubbed his brow.
While he was trying to figure the situation out, and of how to get by in here and later escape, he never noticed a pair of optics watching his back heavily from afar.