Chapter 2-Mental Excavation
Megatron looked over the team digging for the lost Iakon relic Orion Pax had decrypted for him before the naive Cybertronian left his employment. For once since his arrival on this planet, the Decepticon Warlord felt things were finally starting to go his way. The human prisoner was suffering at the hands of Airachnid, Optimus along with the other Autobots were no doubt troubled with guilt over the loss, and Cybertronian Technology would soon be in his hands.
"Careful with the artifact you fools. I will not have my prize damaged due to your own incompetence!" exclaimed Megatron to the trio of Veichons pulling out the jar containing the artifact.
Walking over to the jar, Megatron reached into it, and pulled out the item that had been locked away for centuries during the Great War on Cybertron had been fought. It was then he heard the sound of an energy cannon charging behind him and turned slightly to see Optimus Prime with Autobot Medic Ratchet. It was quite clear there was something different in the Autobot Leader now since the last time they met and it peaked Megatron's interest.
"Step away from the artifact Megatron...or be destroyed," declared Optimus Prime while the Veichons had their own weapons raised.
"Its a little too late to make demands of me Optimus. Considering what I now hold in my hands, it would be unwise to open fire, and possibly kill us all," replied Megatron before he revealed the item in his hand.
"Optimus!" exclaimed Ratchet when seeing the artifact in Megatron's hands.
"The Spark Extractor," stated Optimus in recognition in seeing the device.
"Correct Optimus. Its actually a shame you abandoned the Decepticon cause. Or rather I should say Orion Pax left the cause. He was a most valuable asset while serving under me when he decoded multiple coordinates to several artifacts like this one. Had he not left my service, I would have made him a high ranking officer, and a possible Second-in-Command," stated Megatron while seeing Optimus Prime's optics narrow at him.
"Lies and deceit! Orion Pax would never have willfully joined your ranks the moment the cold hard truth about the Decepticon cause was made known to him. Something I believe was proven correct considering Optimus is your enemy once again!" exclaimed Ratchet and saw Megatron send him a small glare for that last remark before turning his attention to the Autobot Leader.
"Regardless, I may have lost my Iakon Clerk, even my chance to extinguish the legacy of the Primes, but I got something just as surprisingly valuable, and interesting onboard my Warship. Or rather I should say...someone!" countered Megatron with a grin on his face.
"Jack," whispered Optimus, but Megatron heard his words nonetheless, and it made the ruthless Warlord grin further.
"Correct Optimus. I must say this for you, the boy would have made a great Prime if he were an Autobot. I see so much of him in you before and after you were made what you are now. Airachnid has been trying to get information out of him for quite some time and had been met with repeated failure on her part no matter how hard she tries. I don't need to tell you just how good Airachnid is in her work and even more so when she's enjoying herself," answered Megatron with a chuckle and saw Optimus getting angrier with each passing second.
"Release him. Now!" commanded Optimus and Megatron just laughed at him.
"Release him? Now why would I want to do that Optimus? I've actually grown fond of the human. His constant defiance of me is actually quite...uplifting! Refreshing even. Airachnid has also grown quite fond of young Jack too and it would just seem...wrong to separate the two from one another," replied Megatron with his grin becoming more sinister.
Having enough of Megatron's Spark hitting words, Optimus opened fire on the Veichons around the Decepticon Warlord, and the battle quickly escalated from there. Throughout the chaos erupting around them, a Ground Bridge for Megatron opened up for him, and its leader walked through to head for the Warship. However, as he did so with his prize in hand, Megatron found himself blindsided by the Autobot Scout Bumblebee in his vehicle mode, and stole the Spark Extractor. Enraged by this sudden unexpected attack by the Autobot Scout, the Warlord of the Decepticons charged back out of the Ground Bridge, but found his forces had been decimated, and the Autobots themselves no longer there.
The former gladiator of Kaon let out a roar of anger that echoed for miles.
(Autobot Base)
It was a victory for the Autobots. Plain and simple. Though it was not the victory they wanted at the moment. The one they wanted was to rescue Jack from Megatron's Warship and from the horrible torture he was undergoing at Airachnid's sadistic hands. Arcee was not happy to hear from Optimus that Megatron boasting about Jack suffering under the Spider Bot's not so gentle care. It was an unsettling revelation and it was worse when Ratchet pointed out that Jack would possibly face the brunt of Megatron's wrath for their victory.
"Optimus, the reason why we were able to locate the Spark Extractor so quickly was due to the homing beacon attached to it. No doubt a precautionary measure after it was sent away when Megatron had his forces raid Iakon for the many artifacts locked away in the Iakon Vault," explained Ratchet with Optimus nodding in agreement.
"Do you remember anything from your time on the Nemesis? Anything about any other potential artifacts you decoded as Orion Pax?" asked Arcee with Optimus shaking his head no.
"My time as Orion Pax on the Nemesis is unknown to me. If I did decode more then one set of coordinates of Iakon artifacts, only Megatron would know, and there has always been a sliver of truth in his lies," replied Optimus with Ratchet shaking his head.
"Optimus, we both know Megatron would only say such a thing to you in order to mess with your psyche. Adding Jack into the equation was bonus to him and a jab at our own morale," countered Ratchet while Optimus looking unconvinced by his words.
"Perhaps, but we should keep watch for any Decepticon activity related to these artifacts, and ensure no other potential weapons fall into their hands," declared Optimus with the others nodding.
"But what about Jack?" asked Raf knowing that was still an issue they had yet to resolve.
"Yeah. Like Ratchet mentioned earlier, Megatron is going to take out his anger on Jack, and the Con clearly has no restraint in that department," Miko added and saw the Bots wince at her words bring a cold hard truth to the front of the processors.
With every victory over the Decepticons they achieved from here on out...Jack would be punished for it.
"We cannot help Jack at the moment in time. Sadly, we must wait for the opportunity to arise, and until then...our dear friend must suffer at the hands of the Decepticons," stated Optimus and everyone knew that while they didn't like such a decision...they could do little to argue over it.
"Jack. My baby. Come back to me. Please!" whispered June from her gurney while tears left he corners of her eyes.
"She's been like this for awhile now. Not that I blame her," replied Arcee when they all turned to see June still out of it.
"Her offspring is in the hands of the enemy that will not hesitate to destroy him for siding with us in this war. I know humans can be emotional creatures, but for this woman to be this way while asleep is not something I expected," replied Ratchet with this proving he had yet to understand humans and the way they acted.
"She is the boy's femme sire Ratchet. She brought him into the world and does not wish to see him suffer," explained Optimus and saw Ratchet nod.
"There's more to it then that Optimus. From the way June mentioned Jack's Father when we talked once while you were still off on a scouting mission with Bumblebee. There was...something in her voice when she mentioned him. In any case, we can't let Jack suffer, or die for our actions against the Decepticons," stated Arcee and everyone was in full agreement.
"Which is why we will do everything in our power to ensure Jack is spared further pain if given the chance," stated Optimus with the group nodding.
(The Nemesis)
Megatron was in a foul mood when he came back on board his ship. The others sensed it the moment his metallic feet touched the metallic floor. Heading straight for the Medlab, Megatron entered the room to see Jack being patched up by Knock Out, and Soundwave standing there like a motionless statue.
"Ah! Lord Megatron, how did the mission go?" asked Knock Out and regretted saying the question when he saw the snarl on the Warlord's face.
"It ended failure thanks to Prime's trusted Scout. I regret not removing more then the little Bee's voice box right from his throat when I had the chance back on Cybertron! Though I will not make that same mistake again should the opportunity to do so arises in the near future," answered Megatron while walking over to Jack and leaning down to look the boy right in the eyes while Knock Out backed away.
"It seems things aren't going your way like you thought they would," remarked Jack with Megatron narrowing his eyes at him.
"You find it amusing that I've lost an important battle against Optimus, don't you Jack?," asked Megatron with Jack's body looking more damaged then when he last saw him.
No doubt thanks to Airachnid.
"Considering your side is losing? Absolutely!" answered Jack before letting out a small cry of pain when Megatron put one of his clawed fingers on one of Jack's still opened wounds with the pressure making the pain in that area shoot upward.
"You won't for long. For every victory the Autobots gain, I will ensure our pain from the defeat becomes your pain Jack, and I will make you see how the Autobots winning is not very good for your health," replied Megatron before his snarl turned into an evil grin.
"Anything you can dish out...I can take!" Jack countered defiantly at the Leader of the Decepticons.
"Good. Because I have every intention of taking all the pain I would normally dish out to my forces for failing me...out on you!" Megatron shot back with angry and joy at the idea clear in his voice while the two stared at each other.
A beeping noise from Soundwave broke the staring contest and Megatron turned to face his top Lieutenant to see he was telling him about two other coordinates where the other Iakon artifacts were located. Narrowing his optics, the Lord of all the Decepticons looked at each one, and then turned to see Jack on the table with his grin increasing.
'I don't like how he's smiling,' thought Jack while turning his head to see Knock Out now moving towards him to do more of his...patch job.
"Knock Out! Finish treating the boy. You and Breakdown will be heading to the next set of coordinates to find the next Iakon relic. I want this one in my possession and will not tolerate failure simply because I'll be directing it at the human in the event that happens," commanded Megatron and the two Decepticons nodded.
"Yes Lord Megatron!" answered Knock Out and Breakdown at the same time while the Decepticon Warlord began leaving the room.
"Um...not to question your command my Lord, but uh...the human's interrogation, and Airachnid uh...," replied Breakdown with Megatron pausing to look at him before his optics went to the badly injured human.
"Airachnid will have to wait until your return. Depending on the outcome of your mission to retrieve the relic...she may just get his head for a trophy sooner then later," answered Megatron before leaving with Soundwave in tow.
"If I were you boy, I'd pray that we're successful," Knock Out remarked and went to work on fixing the more damaging injuries Airachnid had unleash on the boy earlier on.
'Optimus. Arcee. Someone...help me!' thought Jack while letting out multiple sounds of him fighting the pain he felt from his so called Doctor.
While this was happening to Jack, the Decepticon Leader was in another lab a few doors down with Soundwave, and was looking over the data Knock Out had collected. These techno-organic Nanomachines were truly remarkable to see with his optics, as he saw they weren't some pitiful human creation, but strangely enough the technological part had Cybertonian markings on them, and that was what puzzled him the most. How did the boy get such things in his system to begin with? Nanomachines when properly adjusted to a certain specification could be used on organics if programmed to bond with such creatures. Megatron wasn't an idiot, as he had created a Cybonic Plague himself, and the idea of using Nanomachines for the field had intrigued him at first. The only reason he didn't was for the fact the Nanomachines couldn't be properly controlled if they were to malfunction and there was no potential cure for them if "infected" by any if they got into the system. At least when he did the Cybonic Plague there was cure to be used in the event the disease ever came in contact with himself.
Nanomachines had that low yet still dangerous risk factor of turning on its creator if they were manipulated the wrong way by even the slightest oversight. But for these techno-organic Nanomachines from Jack's blood, things were different since they were bonded to the host body with their organic nature, meant to ensure the body they lived in was able to survive harsh treatment, and even protect it from unwanted intrusions into the body that would weaken it.
Now the only question aside from how did Jack possess it? But also how could he use it to his advantage? The boy would resist with all his being. His mind was no doubt attuned to these Nanomachines on a subconscious level and wouldn't be tampered with simply because he told Jack to obey. Another problem was the boy's defiance in giving him the information he wanted and suspected Jack would fight to the end to deny the Decepticon Leader what he wanted.
Unless...
"Soundwave. Access what the humans call 'Internet' and find out everything you can about the human body down to the slightest detail. After you do that, focus on their brains, and when Knock Out returns...inform him I want his expert opinion on what I have in mind for our prisoner," commanded Megatron with Soundwave nodding and left the room to head for another terminal to access such information.
(Sometime Later)
Jack had lost all track of time since his last torture session with Airachnid, followed by Megatron's last visit, and the last time Knock Out had patched him up. His body ached and hurt all over while the boy's mind screamed at him to do something before things got even worse. But what could he do? His one broken leg had yet to be fixed though for some reason, Jack felt it was doing that on its own if a bit slowly and hopefully unnoticed by Knock Out or Breakdown when they were in the room. Soundwave had been there the whole time since Airachnid went to work on him and being the observant Con that he was might have noticed something. Then again, the Con would have informed Airachnid, Knock Out, Breakdown, or Megatron of such a thing since Soundwave was known for seeing just about everything on this Warship.
Looking around, Jack noticed neither his "Doctors", or his interrogator were in the room while guessing Soundwave was elsewhere. He recalled how Megatron ordered Knock Out and Breakdown to leave for another relic that needed to be retrieved. Airachnid was no doubt thinking up some new way to hurt him like she did with all her other sessions. She wanted to know the location of the Autobot base and the location of Vector Sigma so Megatron could know those two to secure ultimate victory over Optimus Prime as well as the legacy of the Primes in general.
But Jack wouldn't tell them. He would rather die!
'Knowing Mom, she would say 'Jackson Darby, you will not be dying anytime soon! I forbid it!', and give me that look I know all too well,' thought Jack while wondering how the others would react to his situation.
Arcee was no doubt going crazy. Any Con that crossed her was headed for the junkyard no question. Raf was worried for him since the two were like brothers with the big one always watching over the little one until the little one became strong enough to fend for himself. Miko...Miko would not doubt be worried, but she tended to hide such things, and keep things upbeat regardless of the situation so the others wouldn't get so down over the situation. She wouldn't do it to be cruel to him personally, but to keep the morale of the others afloat, and make sure they stayed the course. Fowler was a wild card since he only met the man a few times since becoming involved with the Autobots and just hoped the government agent didn't tell his superiors too much that it would start a World War with the Decepticons. Bulkhead was no doubt worried about him simply because it concerned Miko and pictured the girl in his place. Bumblebee was probably the same way since the Autobot Scout was close to Raf and the near death experience at the hands of Megatron was still fresh in Cybertronian's mind.
He didn't know what Ratchet was thinking. The Autobot Medic didn't really have much praise for the human race as a species having much potential in helping given how tiny and fragile they were when compared to Cybertronians. Still, Ratchet had begun to warm up to him, Miko, and Raf during the whole business with Unicron. The Medic was a bit rough around the edges so it was hard to say, but Jack was almost certain the old Doc Bot was worried, and wanted to save him from Megatron's wrath.
As for Optimus Prime...
Jack didn't know how the Prime felt about this. On the one hand, he knew Optimus was someone in control of his emotions, who always looked before leaping, and making the necessary calculations to each action. On the other, the Prime had to feel something in regards to this situation with Jack being interrogated by Airachnid on Megatron's orders, and wondered if the Autobot Leader felt any guilt over this. Jack hoped he didn't since it wasn't his fault! Jack knew the risks and didn't want Optimus to feel like this could have been avoided if he didn't put the Key to Vector Sigma in the hands of a simple human boy.
Jack's thoughts on the matter left him when Megatron entered Medlab, his glowing red optics focused entirely on his form, and it was clear the Decepticon Leader was studying him. The Warlord walked over to the boy, circling his table, and it was making Jack a bit nervous though he was doing his best to keep it from him.
"You should feel fortunate right now Jack. Do you know why?" asked Megatron with Jack frowning in thought.
"Because...you're going to let me go back to the Autobots no strings attached?" asked Jack with a hint of sarcasm though the Decepticon Leader just laughed since he was in too good a mood to lash out.
"Your humor isn't that bad for a human, but no. Your Autobot friends failed to capture the second relic from Knock Out and Breakdown so my mood has improved since the last time we spoke," replied Megatron while picking up the energon prod and began to study it now as if contemplating something.
"I see. So...your not in a pain giving mood right now," Jack said and got an energon prod to his torso in response.
"Not quite. I'm still in the mood to hurt you Jack. I'm just not going to do it as much since I have my new relic and will soon be in possession of another one," replied Megatron, as he stabbed Jack several times with the energon prod, and saw the human was breathing heavily with his head down.
"You want something else from me. You wouldn't be here gloating unless there was more to it then that," said Jack and heard Megatron chuckle before looking back up to see the metallic titan.
"I see your mind is sharp after all the abuse your body has gone through Jack. Its actually impressive. Those Nanomachines inside your body serve you well," Megatron said while studying Jack's facial expressions and sure enough...the boy was shocked to hear him say that.
"Nanomachines? When did you put Nanomachines into my body?!" asked Jack with Megatron scoffing at him.
"As if I would waste such technological wonders on your organic body. I did not order Nanomachines to be put in you Jack. Nor did anyone else for that matter on my ship," answered Megatron with Jack frowning in thought.
"Say I believe you. If what you are saying is true and that's a big 'IF' given your habit for lying, if you didn't put them in me then...who did?" questioned Jack and it was clear even Megatron didn't know since he was curious about it too.
"I don't know. But given the nature of these Nanomachines, you've had them since you were born, and given your own reaction...you don't know either," replied Megatron while seeing Jack shake his head no.
"I wouldn't know how. Wait! What did you mean by the nature of these Nanomachines? What kind of Nanomachines are they?" asked Jack seeing Megatron put down the prod before turning to look at him right in the eyes.
"Techno-organic," replied Megatron and saw Jack was stunned by this news.
"Techno-organic? But that's...impossible!" said Jack in disbelief while Megatron let out a small chuckle.
"Apparently not. Though you should see this in a more positive light boy. My curiosity and your general value to me has just increased," Megatron remarked while Jack glared at him.
"Don't I feel special," Jack remarked sarcastically while Megatron merely smiled at him.
"Rest assured boy...you are more special right now then anyone other human living on this mud ball for a planet. I suggest you enjoy this while you can," replied Megatron and left the Medlab while Jack began to mentally digest this information.
'Nanomachines? Techno-organic Nanomachines? This is insane. How the Hell did this happen to me?' thought Jack with a sigh leaving his mouth and closed his eyes for what seemed like minutes before opening them.
And come eyeball to optics with Airachnid.
"Hello Jack," replied Airachnid in a sweet voice that held none of the actual sweetness in it.
"Airachnid," Jack replied since he didn't know what to say to her.
"I heard Megatron visit you earlier," said Airachnid and it was clear she was fishing for an answer to an unspoken question.
"He did. Megatron came to gloat over how he got another relic and was able to keep it this time around," answered Jack truthfully while keeping the information about how he had techno-organic Nanomachines in his body out of this conversation.
"That's it? Nothing else?!" asked Airachnid and Jack was eyeing the femme carefully.
"Nothing comes to mind," answered Jack before he felt two of her clawed fingers touch both his temples and looked him right in the eyes.
"Don't lie to me Jack. I don't like being lied to by anyone. We both know Knock Out and Breakdown won't be back for quite awhile," threatened Airachnid and saw Jack wince from the pressure she was putting on his skull.
"Megatron wouldn't like you disobeying him Airachnid. You really want to put my health at risk simply because I didn't tell you things right off the bat. Where is the challenge if I did?" Jack countered with Airachnid's optics narrowing at him and her heard her hissing slightly.
"Unfortunately, you have a very strong point Jack. While I would like nothing more then to disobey Lord Megatron, it would not be in my best interest to that. SO with that said, I will just have to wait to tear open your flesh again, and maybe even send something of yours to June so she knows you're in my loving care," replied Airachnid and saw Jack stiffen at the mention of his Mother.
"Don't you bring her into this," Jack nearly yelled at her and it made the Spider Bot laugh in amusement.
"I wouldn't dream of it Jack. She's no fun to interrogate. My presence alone would make her crumble. Even if I wanted to go after her, we both know the Autobots are going to keep a watchful eye on her, and their other human charges to ensure there is no repeat performance of capturing any potential prisoners for information. Personally, I don't want any other human to torment since you are by far my favorite human of all to unleash my fury on," replied Airachnid while running her clawed fingers down his scarred torso and relished how Jack winced in pain.
"I'm the only human you've unleashed your fury on," replied Jack while Airachnid got less then an inch from his face and let out what sounded like...a giggle?
"Don't be so naive Jack. Do you really think I would pass up the opportunity to go after humans after we first met? I wanted to compare you to the other humans of this world and let's just say you are a much bigger catch then some of the other humans I've had the...pleasure of meeting while on this rock," replied Airachnid into his ear and Jack shuddered slightly at the extremely close proximity the femme was to him.
"Fracking bit-AAAH!" Jack exclaimed when Airachnid suddenly bit his shoulder and began to lick the wound.
"Language Jack. You are in the presence of a lady," said Airachnid while seeing her bite mark was leaving a scar on his shoulder and smiled at the sight of its manifestation.
"You're no lady," countered Jack winced when one of Airachnid's clawed fingers dig into his cheek.
"That's mean Jack. What would your Mother say?" Airachnid shock back while looking right into Jack's now infuriated eyes.
"I think she'd be in full agreement all things considered," replied Jack with Airachnid still smiling down at him.
"Yes. I think she would make an exception to your usually polite behavior when it comes to the opposite gender," said Airachnid in agreement since she could picture June being the responsible parent raising their child to be equally responsible.
The banter between them would have continued had it not been for the appearance of two beaten and battered Decepticons Medics responsible for Jack's health when Airachnid wasn't trying to cause its decline. The look on their face showed they were not happy at being smacked around from their fight with the Autobots and no doubt got chewed out by Megatron too since they entered Medlab in a bit of a rush to avoid any further yelling from the Decepticon Warlord.
"We're lucky he let us live," remarked Breakdown with Knock Out agreeing since the one relic they successfully recovered was destroyed when fighting the Autobots when using it to get the next relic.
"Its bad enough those Autobots ruined my finish, but we've lost a relic, and the other one we acquired doesn't work unless you happen to be a Prime!" exclaimed Knock Out and it was by that point the two noticed Airachnid hovering over Jack.
"Bad day?" asked Airachnid while the two glared at her.
"Leave Airachnid. We need to repair ourselves before doing some work for Megatron so you can't rip the human's flesh for a little while longer," replied Breakdown to the Spider Bot and Airachnid had a scorned look on her face before she decided to leave.
"Fine. The presence of you two morons was killing the mood to hurt him anyway. See you around Jack," replied Airachnid while giving the human a wink before sauntering off.
"Why do I get the feeling she's going to be the death of me?" asked Breakdown with his partner in the lab shrugging.
"How should I know?! Help patch me up so I can get to work on you and then we can focus on the human since Airachnid left a few more marks for us to fix. Megatron wants to try something out on him and wants Jack here to be in good health when he tries it," replied Knock Out with Breakdown grinning.
"A cube of energon says the kid dies during the experiment," said Breakdown with Jack glaring at him and Knock Out grinning.
"I'll take that bet and I'll wager two energon cubes he survives whatever Lord Megatron has planned," replied Knock Out with Breakdown looking at Jack and then back to him.
"You know something I don't?" asked Breakdown since he really didn't think the human would survive the experiment.
After all, that human femme who apparently hangs around Bulkhead all the time didn't really look like much to him at first glance so he figured the male of the species was just a pathetic despite the beating taken at Airachnid's hands.
"Only that this human's got Lady Luck on her side when it comes to gambling with his life," was Knock Out's response, but in truth he knew that Jack would live because the process wouldn't kill the human like Breakdown thought it would.
Though the boy would wish for death when they got through with him.
"He'd have to be when it comes to Airachnid," replied Breakdown since the Spider Bot was always acting weird when it came to the human.
Some points Airachnid wanted to kill Jack with a single strike of her spidery appendages and other times...it looked like she wanted to kiss him!
"No argument there. Hey! Watch the finish!" exclaimed Knock Out while his assistant tried to work on his right arm.
(Autobot Base)
The morale within the Autobot Base had shifted up and down at a noticeably from what it had been since retrieving the Spark Extractor from Megatron. M.E.C.H. Agents had taken Bumblebee's T-Cog, which was needed by every Cybertronian in order to transform into an alt. vehicle mode, and were planning something sinister with it. Even worse, another relic had soon been uncovered by the Decepticons, and they got away with it thanks to the Autobot Scout being unable to pursue Knock Out while Bulkhead was dealing with Breakdown. Later on, Fowler contact the base to inform Optimus (who wasn't there) of where the M.E.C.H. base was located, and told it to Bumblebee in the belief the Autobot would tell his leader.
Which he didn't.
Acting irrationally since losing his T-Cog, Bumblebee attacked the base, severely injured the M.E.C.H. agents (though Silas got away), and confronted their rogue Decepticon for an ally that was Starscream. To make a long story short, Bumblebee was able to get his T-Cog back though it was slightly damaged, but Ratchet wasn't a skilled Medic of their group for nothing, and after fearful first failed attempt was able transform much to the delight of the others.
Well...almost everyone.
While Arcee was glad the Autobot Scout was back to transforming and racing again like before...she personally missed her own partner. Jack's Mother had woken up from her nightmare not that long ago, looking around for her only son, and praying what she had just experienced not that long ago was a horrible nightmare created from the craziness of being around the Autobots. Sadly, when June looked up at Arcee for confirmation that it was all just a bad dream, her hopes were dashed, and the woman fell to her knees in tears.
By that point, Fowler had come by to rip Prime, and Bumblebee a new one for what not being put in the loop about base M.E.C.H. was located in being trashed. However, when he saw June on the ground crying, his voice box seemed to shutdown, and decided to help the poor woman to her feet before deciding it was best to take her somewhere safe. Her home was out of the question since Airachnid and M.E.C.H. knew where she lived so there was always a chance she could be made a target. Especially if Jack proved to be too much for a hassle and Megatron wanted a faster method to make Jack cooperate by going after his Mother. At best, Fowler could pull some strings to put June in a safe house setup to protect witnesses, or important high profile people for a time until things cooled down to relocate them to a more permanent location. Only himself, the kids, and the Autobots would know of its location so if it became compromised somehow they could Ground Bridger the woman back to base.
'Look at them. Their cheering for Bumblebee being finally able to drive around again with his T-Cog while my partner is stuck on a Decepticon Warship with the Leader of them all and a psychotic Spider intent on hurting everyone I care about,' thought Arcee while she wished Jack was here, with her right now, and they would be driving through the Nevada desert.
"Arcee," came Optimus's voice and it brought her back to the real world.
"Yes?" replied Arcee and saw her leader looking down at her with his piercing blue optics.
"I know what it is that troubles you and I feel the same way," answered Optimus and the blue femme shook her head.
"No offense Optimus, but you don't know what it is that's troubling me. My partner has been captured by the enemy, is at the mercy of Airachnid, and Megatron along with every other Decepticon on his Warship. I was put in charge of Jack's safety when we went off to Cybertron to locate Vector Sigma. I nearly failed him there too when I was fighting an Insecticon that was still stationed there! If it hadn't been for the Scraplets he told me had come out of nowhere to chew on Vector Sigma, the Insecticon would have gotten him, and the mission would have been a failure. Maybe Airachnid was right. Maybe I should question on whether its them or me when it comes to losing partners," replied Arcee and felt a strong hand on her shoulder to see Optimus scowling at her for such disbelief in herself.
"Never think such things that about yourself Arcee. Each of your partners knew the risk when it came to every mission they went on whether with you or anyone else. Jack may not be the same physical size or able to endure the same level of physical punishment as us, his spirit is strong, and will not break so easily to the whims of Megatron or anyone else under his command," said Optimus and saw Arcee nod knowing Jack would keep on fighting to the end no matter what.
Like Arcee, Optimus himself had seen that determined look in the boy's eyes before on many occasions when push came to shove, and knew Jack had the strength to endure long enough until they could rescue him.
"I'll try Optimus. Its just...Jack is different from Tailgate and Cliffjumper. When we were at war on Cybertron, the risks of us going offline in battle were always possible, but we didn't care because we knew our bodies could take the hits thrown at us, and keep on fighting until we couldn't function anymore. But Jack...Jack isn't a Cybertronian or even an Autobot. Yet each time it came to do something...he would always be among the first to think up an idea or fight for us even when the risk of being destroyed was higher then the rate of survival. Blowing up Airachnid's ship, surviving the cave-in using the energon drill, followed by holding his own when meeting with Megatron, and even figuring out how to get to Cybertron to find Vector Sigma using the Decepticon's own Space Bridge was all Jack," explained Arcee passionately and it was to Optimus that Jack's personal contributions to the team since becoming apart of it had been crucial in the victories over the Decepticon thus far.
"Jack's ability to help us have indeed been invaluable to us Arcee. I will not deny this. It was the reason I entrusted Jack with the Key to Vector Sigma. We can only hope Jack is strong enough to endure Megatron's torture long enough for us to rescue him before any damage done becomes permanent," replied Optimus seeing Arcee had a worried look on her face.
"And what if...what if it does become permanent? What if what they've done to him while on the Decepticon Warship can't simply BE removed? Jack isn't robotic organism like us Optimus. The injuries he's suffering from won't go away with a little polish, wax, or a little 'elbow grease' as the humans call it. How do we live with ourselves knowing that those scars on Jack's body are there because we didn't get to him fast enough to prevent their creation?" questioned Arcee and saw Optimus look away for a second.
"Sadly, that is something I cannot answer until after Jack is recovered from Megatron's hands," answered Optimus gravely and Arcee shut her optics with a frown on her face.
"At least it can't get any worse," said Arcee before she winced since things always did turn for the worst after someone spoke those words.
(The Nemesis-Medlab)
"Feeling better today Jack?" asked Megatron the moment he entered the room and laid his optics on the human boy.
"Oh yeah. Just need a pillow, a warm blanket, and a wide screen HD TV on that wall would make things even better," answered Jack sarcastically since he wasn't going to let Megatron use this tactic of being merciful to make the boy lower his guard.
"I see your wit and opinion of us hasn't changed much. Still, I'm in too good a mood to have your disrespect ruin it. In fact, considering what is about to happen to you...I might actually miss it," replied Megatron with Jack looking a bit worried when hearing that.
"What do you mean? You won't kill me? Not with what I know? You'd never let such a chance to know the location of Vector Sigma slip through your grasp. You'd keep me alive for one thousand years if you could!" Jack stated with Megatron grinning.
"Very true. I would do that to you if I could just for location of Vector Sigma. Sadly, you humans have such very short life expectancies, and I doubt even after such a long time of being alive you would give me its location. So I've decided to go an alternative route in getting such information out of your head," replied Megatron with his grin never leaving him.
"How? I won't tell you what you want no matter what you do to make me talk," replied Jack and at this point Megatron laughed.
"I know you won't tell me boy. But your brain will! You see, I realized the best way to get information out of your head, is to extract it the same way I would an Autobot being just as stubborn as you, and would rather die then tell me what I want," explained Megatron with Jack's eyes widening in realization.
"A cortical psychic patch," said Jack with Megatron and the other Decepticons actually being impressed that he knew that.
"Someone has been reading our playbook when we weren't looking," remarked Knock Out silently to Breakdown.
"So you know what that is. Not surprising after the Autobot Scout went inside my head to dig around in it for vital information meant to save Optimus from something only I would know. However, unlike what happened with me in my case of surviving, I'm going to ensure this cortical psychic patch is strictly one way, and different from our usual method of gathering information," said a grinning Megatron while bringing up information onto a large nearby computer screen.
"Lord Megatron, while I'm all for extracting information from my Jack, but will this not kill him?" asked Airachnid, as she didn't want to see Jack dead just yet, and wanted to have some fun after her Master had what he needed from the human male.
"Soundwave has already calculated everything Airachnid. The human has an eighty five percent chance of surviving the information extracting process. In the event he does NOT survive...you get his head on a wall in your quarters. Does that satisfy your interests in connection to your Jack?" replied Megatron with Airachnid looking briefly over at Jack for a moment.
"That works," answered Airachnid with a cruel smile on her face.
"Good. Knock Out! Breakdown! Prepare the boy for surgery so we can begin the cortical psychic patch. His hair is in the way," commanded Megatron before heading to the door.
"Lord Megatron, forgive me for asking this, but...should we sedate him for this dangerous procedure?" asked Breakdown with the Decepticon Warlord pausing at the doorway and turn to look at the boy.
"Why not! I'm feeling merciful right now. Sedate him in preparation for what is to come. Soundwave! Record everything and make sure the human's hair is put in a small storage box. I have an interesting idea on how it might be useful in hurting Prime, his Autobot subordinates, and their human charges further," answered Megatron and it was clear the Warlord had something cruel in mind.
"Yes Lord Megatron. We'll begin at once," replied Knock Out, as he began to make preparations with Breakdown on getting Jack ready for surgery, and neither Decepticon noticed Airachnid move closer to the boy.
"Believe it or not Jack...I am hoping that you live through this. There is so much fun we can still have together when Megatron gets what he wants. So please do this as a favor to me...and live!" whispered Airachnid into Jack's hear and gave him a surprisingly gentle kiss on his cheek.
'Well if that's not reason enough to hope I kick the bucket I don't know what is,' thought Jack before feeling himself getting injected in the neck with a needle and the last thing he saw was Airachnid leaving Medlab after looking back at him to give the boy a wink.
(Autobot Base)
"PRIME! WE GOT SOMETHING HERE THAT REQUIRES YOUR ATTENTION!" yelled Fowler when entering the base holding a box in his hands and put it on the kitchen table in the lounge area meant for the kids.
"What a care package from Mom?" Bulkhead asked sarcastically before looking at the box with the others and then scowled seeing the insignia for the Decepticons on all sides.
"Not unless my Mother pulled a Benedict Arnold and joined the Decepticons. I had some of my men watch the Darby house in case the Cons decided to grab Jack's Mother. THIS was dropped off on the house doorsteps by Soundwave himself before he took off mere seconds after putting it down," explained Fowler while pointing to the box.
"And you brought it directly here?! The Decepticons could have put a bomb or tracking device in on it!" exclaimed Ratchet before scanning the whole box top to bottom and then putting it in a decontamination field for inspection.
"Don't you think I knew that! I had the darn thing inspected from every possible angle I could think of authorizing. There is nothing dangerous outside or in the box from what my boys have been able to figure out," replied Fowler while Ratchet's own devices told him the same thing about the item.
"I fear its not the box itself we need worry about, but rather the specific contents in which Megatron has put into it," said Optimus with the other Autobots and even Agent Fowler himself suddenly going tense knowing that whatever was inside this tiny package...it was something that belonged to Jack.
"Something belonging to Jack is in this box," stated Arcee, as she almost reached for the lid of the item, but pulled her hand back quickly from the fear of what might be contained inside, and looked at Optimus for a moment.
"Whatever it is, my scans show its not contaminated, but its definitely organic, and it was a part of Jack," stated Ratchet while glad the kids were in school and not here for this.
"Remove the lid of the box Agent Fowler. Though do so with the utmost caution just to be safe," commanded Optimus with the government agent nodding before he carefully undoing the bow and slowly lifted the box to see inside.
"By George Washington's wooden teeth," whispered Fowler before reaching into the box and lifted the contents of the container for the Autobots to see.
"Is that...hair?" asked Bulkhead while zooming in on it with his optics.
"Not just any hair. Its Jack's hair," stated Arcee and saw Fowler look into the box again.
"This box is full of it. All black strands of human hair. Now why in the name of FDR's wheelchair would they do that?!" questioned Fowler while Optimus's optics narrowed.
"Its meant to be a message to us from Megatron. A message that clearly states the boy we know as Jack Darby will not be recognized by anyone here when we see him next," was the Prime's answer to the horrible question.
"Does this mean Jack is still alive or...?" asked Arcee while looking at the contents now from a new angle and saw the strands of hair that once belonged to her partner had been removed with surgical precision.
"Megatron has no intention of killing Jackson. Of that much, I know is true deep within my spark Arcee. However, this message also tells me that the next time we see Jackson, the way we remember him from before his capture...will be nothing more then a mere memory," answered Optimus, as he began to picture Jack in his mind, the times they talked, the way the boy laughed at something, got serious, and tried to be responsible for those around him.
The thought of the Jack he had come to know and respect being destroyed by Megatron's hands brought an ache to his Spark the Prime hadn't felt since the loss of Elita One.
"If that's the case, then we should burn rubber trying to find Jack before Megaton does anymore alterations to him," replied Bulkhead and stepped back when Arcee glared at him for mentioning what had no doubt happened to Jack.
"What about June?! She is Jack's Mother! We can't keep something like this from her! Not to mention the kids!" exclaimed Bumblebee through his various beeps, whistles, and whirling noises.
"For the moment, we will not tell June, or the children about what we have just learned. Such a thing would only upset them and I fear Jack's Mother will not be able to handle this new development for what it represents about her son," answered Optimus with the group reluctantly nodding in agreement.
"I'll take the box with me. The last thing those children need to see Jack's hair suddenly lying around when they come back here after school or if June decides she wants to come by to visit," said Fowler and took the box with Jack's hair inside to the elevator.
"We have to tell June eventually. She's called earlier asking for updates about her son. I don't like lying to her," stated Arcee while Optimus nodded.
"Nor do I Arcee. But June is already fearful of what has befallen her only son. If she sees the contents of the box, her fears, and worries will only rise higher to new levels to being possibly true," replied Optimus with Ratchet sighing now.
"I may not know much about human physiology, but I do know that the woman's stress levels were off the charts from my scans when she first fainted. Too much stress would be June's undoing and that box filled with Jack's hair would be the instrument in which would cause such an end," Ratchet decided to add to the conversation.
"One of the reasons why Megatron had it sent to the Darby home in the first place. To cause reactions within all of us," said Optimus since he knew how Megatron liked to inflict all forms of pain on others through cruel means.
"Well its working. I bet it was Knock Out and Breakdown who did it. That hair was cut with surgical tools and those two are the only ones on Megatron's Warship qualified to use them," stated Arcee while Bulkhead growled at hearing Breakdown's name.
"Now I'm wishing I never rescued the one eyed jerk from that M.E.C.H. base," stated Bulkhead angrily since Breakdown should be showing some form of sympathy towards Jack after being nearly chopped up himself.
But then again...showing or feeling sympathy was not part of the Decepticon way.
(The Nemesis-Medlab)
Jack awoke, his eyes staring upward at the ceiling above him with the bright lights now burning his eyes like the sun would do when first looking at it, and tried to look around. However, his head was strapped down tight just like the rest of his body, and felt the cool metal on the back of his head where his jet black hair use to be not that long ago. He also noticed the angle of the table was no longer diagonal, but rather perfectly horizontal, and barely saw the tall form of Sound Wave standing there behind his shaved head. The Con was like a statue, yet gave off the appearance of being deathly all the same, and it was clear why Megatron favored this one over all the others.
This Con knew how to bring about fear just through his silence alone.
"I see that the sedatives wore off sooner then expected. No doubt its all thanks to your little friends running around inside your body trying to purge any unwanted guests from it. I was hoping they would do that before we started the procedure," stated Megatron with Jack's focus leaving Soundwave to the voice coming from the boy's right that was the Decepticon Warlord.
"Y-You said I would be sedated for the procedure! I heard you say that!" exclaimed Jack nervously while Megatron let out an amused chuckle.
"No. You misheard me Jack. Soundwave...replay what my order was to Knock Out and Breakdown," said Megatron while Soundwave looked down at the boy in front of him.
Sedate him in preparation for what is to come.
"As you clearly heard thanks to Soundwave young Jack, the order specifically stated that you were to be kept knocked out during the preparations for the procedure we are about to perform. Not the actual procedure itself like you no doubt believed when I gave the command," answered Megatron and saw Jack trying desperately to break free from his restraints before Soundwave's hand came down gently on his body to make the boy stop any attempt at hurting himself.
"Lord Megatron, we are all ready on this end," stated Knock Out since he hooked Jack up to several monitors to watch his vitals.
"Excellent. We will begin shortly. Unless...unless Jack wishes to tell me what I want to know right now to spare himself what will surely be unimaginable pain?!" said Megatron while leaning close to the table to see Jack's eyes meeting his optics.
"Frag...you!" answered Jack with all the fury he could muster into his eyes to direct at Megatron's red optics.
"Defiant until the end Jack. I'm beginning to see why Optimus saw so much of himself in you and put the Key to Vector Sigma in your hands. You were definitely a Prime in the making. Now...you will be unmade! Begin the process Soundwave. Download everything from within his mind. Leave nothing left unturned. I want to know exactly how this boy came to be Optimus's chosen human for a Prime!" exclaimed Megatron with Soundwave nodding before Breakdown connected the patch on Soundwave while the silent Con took command of it like he would his own tentacles and moved it like a snake toward the hole in the table where the back of Jack's head rested.
'Guys...I'm sorry. I held out as long as I could, but...I failed you,' thought Jack before he felt something piece the back of his skull and screamed his lungs out.
Megatron watched with a sense of joy, as the sound of the boy's screams were music his ears, and the agony in Jack's eyes would be in his memory banks for ages. Easy to recall to bask in or to use when he spoke to Optimus the next time they crossed paths. Jack was turning his head left and right in some blind attempt to shake off the cord, but the three clamps on the connector activated to lock it into position, and prevent the connector from being knocked free from the human's body. Tears overflowed from the boy, as the pain was no doubt unimaginable for him, and the Decepticon Warlord had been informed by Knock Out early on that this would be the case given how the brain of the human was the most sensitive when it came to feeling pain.
'To think this is only the beginning of what I have planned for you Jack. Soon, I will have the location of the Autobot Base, Vector Sigma, and just to spite Optimus further...a new human recruit of my own. Yes! One who will become the human equivalent...to myself!' thought Megatron, his smile never leaving him while seeing Jack's body arch itself, the scarred body trying desperately to get free, but with no success, and yet the chains that held him were clearly strained from it.
The boy was indeed strong and Megatron was going to enjoy molding him to his liking when this was over. After all, these screams weren't simply just screams of pain like most would come to believe if they were witnessing this.
These were the screams of pain from a new life that would soon be made before his very optics!
(A/N: YAY! Another update. Hope you liked it. So there you have it. Another chapter done and ready to be reviewed. REVIEW I SAY! Please! Until next time...PEACE!)