A/N: Gold Testament: Thanks for your suggestion. Again, I hope none of you were too disturbed by the last chapter.

Chapter 10

Speeding down the road, Ghost Rider struggled to remain in control as Jack fought against Zarathos. After delivering vengeance to Vince, the devourer of souls wanted to continue the hunt, but Jack had managed to regain his senses and was now fighting back. This was a normal night for them, hunting down evil, searing souls, and fighting for control. They entered the silo, (luckily, the door was open). The Rider entered the command center where the others were waiting.

Jack managed reign in Zarathos and changed back, panting heavily as he collapsed on the couch.

"Busy night?" Miko chirped.

"You could say that," Jack replied.

"Jack," June gasped, "You're bleeding." Jack looked at his shoulder; he was indeed bleeding, no doubt from Vince stabbing him.

"Just a flesh wound," he said, following his mother so she could treat properly. She grabbed some stitches from her bag and began to work.

"Here," she handed him the needle, "Heat this up in warm water." Jack did as instructed and handed the needle back to her. She began sewing up the wound as the others gathered around.

"What happened?" Fowler asked. Jack looked to see Raf curled up in a chair. He was glad; no child should have to hear what Vince was doing to the women of Jasper. Jack began retelling them of the sexual assaults that had occurred in recent years. June shuddered at the memory of treating the woman and the disgust she felt when she had to explain to them what happened still lingered in her stomach.

"So Vince was the one responsible," Optimus said. Since arriving in the town, the 'Bots had been doing all they could to aid the police in their search. They had little luck as they knew nothing of human biology and could not form a pattern of attack. It was one of the few times, before the children arrived, that Ratchet had helped without complaint.

"He was," Arcee said, "When he kissed my hand, I ran a DNA test against the samples we 'borrowed' from the cops. I was going to tell you in the morning when we were all woken up by the Rider speeding out here."

"I always knew Vince was a creep," Miko said, "But raping women… that's just wrong."

"Well," Jack sighed, "He won't be doing it again. Ghost Rider made sure of that." Everyone looked at Jack in confusion, but quickly understood. The Rider must've hunted Vince down and used the Penance Stare to burn the teen's soul. Now he was dead like Silas and all the others Ghost Rider encountered over the years.

"While I've never been one to condone such things," June said, finishing up stitching Jack's wound, "Vince got what he deserved. I know what kind of monster you think the Rider is Jack, but you've got to remember the women who must've felt violated by him. From what Arcee explained, he would have gone after her at some point."

"Not that I didn't consider that," Ratchet said, "The human bodies I created were made with immunities to all known Earth toxins. According to your records, whatever Vince was using wouldn't have had an effect on Arcee."

"That's good," Jack sighed, "But still, I can feel Zarathos growing stronger."

"Zarathos?" Bulkhead asked.

"The demon who I share body with right now," Jack said, "According to Primus, Unicron created him."

"Primus?" Ratchet asked, "How do you know?" Jack sighed and began to explain how the creator of the Transformers had convinced him to use the Rider's power to get Optimus back; in exchange, he would separate Jack and Zarathos forever. A promise he had yet to fulfill.

"I see," Ratchet said, "So that's why you were so compliant."

"And look how that turned out," He glared at Bulkhead, letting the Wrecker know he hadn't forgotten that he threw him into a rock formation. Bulk merely shuffled in his feet, avoiding Jack's gaze.

"Jack," Optimus kneeled down, "I am sorry. My careless actions forced you to unleash the Ghost Rider."

"Don't be Optimus," Jack said, "For all the trouble he's caused so far, it's only because of him that I was able to bring your memories back. He may be more trouble than he's worth sometimes, but he has put down some of the nastiest people to walk the Earth."

"If that's the case," Miko said, "Then why get rid of him? Sounds like it'd be pretty cool to have that kind of power at your disposal."

"Because the Rider doesn't care about good or evil," Jack said, "While he can't use the Penance Stare, he's still a danger to any innocent person in his path."

"Even so," Fowler said, "Maybe he's got some good in him." Jack merely shook his head and went to Arcee's quarter's determined to get some sleep.

The Rider

Waking up and taking a shower, Jack entered the command center to find everyone staring at the screen. Everyone had an apprehensive look on their face as the news played.

"Just last night," the reporter said, "the culprit in a string of sexual assaults was identified as sixteen year old Vincent Matthews. While attacking his latest victim, he himself was stalked by what the victim described as a 'man with a flaming skull'. The assailant did something to Mr. Matthews that resulted in his eyeballs being charred and his immediate death. We go now to a press conference where the Matthews family is addressing the incident."

The screen shifted to Vince's mother, father, and brother, all in tears over what happened (such hypocrits). Vince's mother sobbed, "I am urging the police to find this monster and put him in prison where he belongs."

"Mrs. Matthews!" a reporter called, "What do have to say about the police identifying your son as the culprit in a string of rapes in the town?"

"My son was no rapist!" she screamed, "Those women were just whores!"

"You bitch!" a voice called, "That bastard raped my sister. A few monthes ago, she couldn't take anymore and tried to kill herself!"

"You 'baby boy' raped several women in this town! He got what he desevered!"

"I say give whoever did this a medal and send him on his way!"

Vince's mother was sobbing now while her husband got into a shouting match with everyone else. Vince' brother just shook his head and walked away.

"There you have it folks," the reporter said, "A difficult situation for everyone involved. We go now to the sheriff and District Attorney." The screen switched to the precinct, where a crowd had gathered.

The sheriff spoke first, "I can assure everyone that we are doing everything we can to locate this vigilante and bring him to justice."

"Sheriff," a citizen asked, "Most of the town sees him as a hero for what he did? How do you respond to that?"

"If he had stopped the assault and called the police like he should've, he'd be given a medal," the sheriff answered, "But instead he took the law into his own hands and committed murder."

The D.A. spoke next, "I would have loved nothing more than to see Mr. Matthews answer for his crimes. Indeed, they are deserving imprisonment and, if we were able, the death penalty. However, we won't get the chance to see him behind bars since this vigilante took the law into his own hands and killed him. He will be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." Fowler turned off the screen and turned to Jack.

"This isn't looking good, son."

"I know," Jack replied.

"What are you gonna do?" Miko asked.

"Try and lay low for a while. One of the advantages of living in missile silo."

The Rider

Jack and Arcee were lying in bed, the femme nuzzling Jack closely. The human teen slept peacefully, dreaming of himself and Arcee on beach in nothing but swim clothes.

"Awaken," a voice boomed, "I command you; awaken." Jack awoke surrounded by a purple fog, not knowing what was happening. This wasn't like when Primus summoned him, there was no calming feeling. Only a feeling of sorrow and dread as figure appeared in the fog.

"Unicron," Jack realized, coming face to face with the titan himself.

"You are Zarathos' current host, correct?"

"So what if I am?" Jack glared at the titan, "And shouldn't you be in stasis?"

"Insolent child! Remember to whom you speak! The only reason your world exists is because of me!"

"And you tried to destroy it," Jack replied, "So you've lost all hope of getting a cult of your own."

"Even so," Unicron continued, "It is time for Zarathos to remind these parasites of their place."

"I won't let him out!" Jack shouted, "Even if he does take control, Primus helps me get it back."

"Ah, but Primus is not here, is he?" Unicron sent a beam of energy into Jack, causing him excruciating pain. The young human collapsed to his knees as he felt a familiar burning sensation take over. His body burst into flame as his clothes were replaced by a leather jacket, black boots, pants, and gloves. His skull aflame yet again, Ghost Rider stood before Unicron.

"You called?" he mused.

"I have kept Jack Darby at bay for now, Zarathos," Unicron explained, "Go now and show these 'authorities' their place in my world."

"I don't owe you any favors," Ghost Rider said, "But a chance to shut those punk cops up. I'll take that." Ghost Rider rose from beside Arcee (boy was she a deep sleeper) and made his way to his ride. Hopping on his bike, the Rider sped out of base towards Jasper, determined to show the cops what happens when you mess with the Rider.

The Rider

A/N: Sorry to cut it off here, but I have to go. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please no flames. Next time: The Rider and police face off. Can Jasper's finest handle the World Deadliest Biker? Will the Autobots have to intervene?