"So let me get this straight...you got Megatron's sword?" Jack asked with a raised brow to the Command Center of Autobots. Ratchet stood at his terminal by the bridge controls as always, getting frustrated by its constant malfunctioning.
"Piece of junkyard scrap, stop breaking on me, or I swear on Primus I will tear you apart!" He cried out, slamming a fist down on the console. His gritted teeth slipped back behind his metal lips as he calmed and he peered at the now quiet room, staring at him with wide eyes.
Ratchet cleared his throat and turned back to the console, buffing out the fist dent while muttering to himself with a snarling lip.
"Erm, anyway...you got his sword?" Jack asked once more, Optimus peering back at Jack.
"Indeed we have. We have no understanding of how it found its way into that cavern, but alas here we are, with a Dark Energon Saber in our possession" Prime looked to the shielded container, the purple glowing sword humming, violet and black flames lapping its frame.
Jack peered closer at its impressive size, almost ten times his height, near enough Optimus's height, like Grimlock's fire sword. Grimlock stood by the Christmas tree, arms crossed, leaning against the rock carved wall.
"Me think it's an abomination. Me see what Shockwave did with dark stuff on Cybertron. Bad man" He growled, turning his head away. Miko gave him a confused gaze, looking to Bulkhead for any sort of answer. Bulkhead shook his head at her, as if not to ask. God only knows what Grimlock saw during the war. He was abducted and tested on by Shockwave, made what he is now by the maniacal doctor's experiments.
"So, what do we do with it?" Jack shrugged, Arcee nodding.
"Nothing! Too dangerous till I can figure out how to stabilize it's dark Energon power source" Ratchet explained from the terminal, not lifting his gaze once.
"Why?" Miko shrugged from the platform, eye level with Ratchet.
"Why, you ask? Because it is highly unstable! Pure Dark Energon sealed into a sword! No, absolutely not. It's safe and confined in there" Ratchet swat his hand, running scans for Energon over Earth. After the Scraplet attack, they were still short on Energon. They needed whatever they could find.
"Ratchet is correct. For some unknown factor, the Saber is highly unstable, and we have quarantined it till we can understand it's effects better, understood?" Optimus told the room, all the present bots and humans nodding. The only bots not there were Bee and Smokescreen, along with Raf, once again out in town.
"By the Allspark! Optimus, I have just located...an Iacon relic!" Ratchet said wide eyed while staring at the podium. Everyone rushed over, peering over Ratchet's shoulder at the screen, except Jack and Miko.
"What, what is it?" Jack asked.
"It is indeed a relic. But how?" Optimus asked.
"Unknown. I thought they were all recovered?" Ratchet raised a brow. The bots all shrugged, thinking the same.
"Maybe not, A lot did get sent into dark space remember. Maybe it only recently crashed" Bulkhead shrugged. Arcee stepped forward, stoic to her stride.
"Bulk's right. We need to find it, and quick, before Megatron!" Arcee slammed her fist into her palm.
"Agreed; by an off chance, we have the upper hand. Ratchet, where is it located?" Optimus asked.
"Scans are saying...Scotland highlands" Ratchet explained.
"Jeez, that'll be freezing this time of year. It's like, all the way near the top, right?" Miko shivered.
"Well, not exactly, but it is high up on Earth. It will be much colder in winter" Ratchet stated. Optimus rubbed his broad chin.
"Arcee, you and I are the only Autobots still fitted with our temperature warning beacons. He pointed to the Autobot logo on her wing.
"Oh yeah, I calibrated it to detect radiation in Chernobyl. I can set it back to temperature warnings" she replied. Optimus nodded.
"I will be unable to traverse the type of terrain in Scotland's forest highlands and mountains. Arcee, you must take someone more suited to your size" she immediately looked to Jack, shrugging.
"Coming?" She smirked. Jack nodded bravely.
"Go to Scotland, get the relic, come home. Simple" Jack grinned. "I'll grab my suit"
"Ratchet, open a bridge" Optimus ordered, watching Jack walk off to retrieve his suit.
"Not possible. The Bridge is malfunctioning as usual. You will require another form of transportation I'm afraid" Ratchet groaned, slamming a fist onto the controls again.
"Well I'm sure that helps" Arcee rolled her eyes. Ratchet growled and stormed off to the medical room to retrieve his tools. Optimus looked back at Arcee.
"I will contact Agent Fowler and request an Airplane take you there immediately" Optimus sternly said, walking to the terminal to contact the Agent.
"Yes sir" Arcee humble nodded, turning to see Jack enter the room at the end of the hall. Jack stepped into the calibration room, seeing the cube of metal on the desk, Autobot logo shimmering. He flicked the light on and the bulbs above blinked.
He ran his hand over, not sure if he was ready to return to duty.
"I'm ready...of course I'm ready...whew...okay, you can do this Jack" He closed his eyes, seeing Silas swinging the axe down onto his leg. Jack gasped and his eyes blasted open, his breath ragged. He staggered back from the cube, metal leg clanking. His eyes trembled as he stared at the still cube. Jack quenched his heavy breaths and swallowed over the rapid beating of his heart.
"Even in death, you still find a way to mess up my life" Jack growled quietly, thumping his fist against his metal leg. He shook his now sore hand.
"Ow...Okay, I can do this...I can do this..." He sighed heavily as he delved back into memory, Silas once again slicing his leg off viciously.
"I can't do this" Jack trembled. Teletraan was no longer built into the suit, he wasn't fully repaired yet, he was only functional in the base. Without him helping, it was all up to Jack. He felt a set of warm hands glide along his shoulders, coiling around him in a hug. Arcee's head lowered onto his shoulder.
"Hey...you can do it" she whispered. Jack sighed.
"How? I'm back to square one Cee"
"No you're not...don't you see Jack. That suit, it was just a cocoon. It's what you've become after you shed it that matters" she hummed.
"And what's that Cee? What am I now?" he shrugged, always wondering.
"It's not the suit of armor that did all those heroic acts Jack, it was you"
He looked at the cube and went to click it. His hand jerked back.
"You know what...I don't need it" He said, lowering his hand. Arcee raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"You said it yourself Cee. It's what was inside the suit that did all that...not the armor itself...I...I don't need it. They were just...training wheels" He shrugged. "I mean, we're only going to Scotland, right? Megatron has no idea about the Relic, simply because they won't be looking for them anymore. Think of it as...recon" He shrugged.
"Jack? Last time that happened, Airachnid nearly killed us in the forest" She chuckled.
"I want to try it Cee...you're right. It wasn't this...it was me" Jack smiled, his confidence returning. It was also the fear of Silas keeping him from it.
"O-okay, as long as you're sure"
"I am. If I could destroy Airachnid's ship without it, I'm sure I can go collect a Relic without it" Jack smiled. Arcee nuzzled his cheek, kissing his ear making him squirm and chuckle gently.
"That's my hero" She soothed him. "Come on, we've gotta get a lift with Fowler. Ratchet broke the bridge again" she rolled her optics.
"Plane?"
"Plane" She nodded.
"Okay...let's go" Jack said, following her out. He stopped at the door, looking back at the armor. Like she said, the suit was a cocoon. He wanted to do something without relying on it...like the old days...like his old self. He smiled, shutting the light off and leaving the room.
...
"Is it done?" Flamewar crossed her arms, stepping from the Gunship as it returned to the summit of a mountain top in Scotland's highlands, jets blasting on either side of its hull, blowing dust and snow upwards. Blackout nodded as he knelt beside Airachnid.
"Yes...the Relic beacon has been triggered. Now we wait" Airachnid smirked.
"Good. She'll come, don't you worry" Flamewar chuckled.
"Sweety, I never fret. Now, this Time Shifter, what does it do?" Airachnid asked. Flamewar rested her palms on her orange hips.
"What it says. Allows the user to travel back to a set time, however, this is just the prototype. They never had time to complete it. It can only shift back three cycles"
"Three days?" Blackout sighed. "That's it?"
"Yeah...it is" Flamewar shook her head, walking over to the edge overlooking the mountain range of snow. Tailgate landed the ship, powering it down and stepping out the back of it.
"We set?" Tailgate asked.
"Yep, now we wait for her..." Flamewar smirked. Blackout stood up with a groan.
"I can use my ability to see if I can pick up any chatter on their whereabouts" He cricked his neck.
"What?" Flamewar cocked an eyebrow.
"Blackout can scan every airway and radio channel at once, listen to all those voices and pick out which he needs. Rather attractive, don't you think?" Airachnid smirked.
"Impressive. How come we can't do that?" Tailgate grumbled.
"I have trained most my life to hunt and kill, honed my skills...this was one of them. I nearly tore my processor apart first time I did it...so many voice at once" He shook his head.
Blackout immediately knelt down, crouching and digging his huge palm into the snow. His other balled into a tight fist.
"Focus on her voice...focus on her voice" He repeated. He finally opened the gates and every radio frequency roared with millions of different voices at once in his head. He jerked in pain, his fingers digging into the ground, back arched. He held his eyes shut tight and groaned in agony.
He listened intently for his target, groaning heavily as his body shuddered. Even though he had honed these skills over eons, he could still only hold it for a minute or two. The load of information was too great.
He began to go into shock, eyes widening and body shaking heavily. He suddenly felt warm hands in his palm, softening the load of information. Airachnid stared at him intently. It was all he needed to calm him and focus on the voices again.
"Understood Fowler, so we get taken there by plane, then drop into the forest by parachute? Yes sir. We're ready to go now" Arcee's voice sounded in his head, the millions of other voices dimming. He shut off the radio channels, smirking as he opened his eyes, silence returning to his banging headache strained temple.
"What did you hear?" Airachnid asked. He stood up, slightly dizzy.
"Whoa...urgh, my head...I...I heard Arcee. They are heading here by plane, planning to drop by chute" He nodded. Flamewar tapped her chin.
"Oh she'll drop alright...plane and all. Prepare for their arrival" she smirked villainously.
