Jack almost jumped when the doors were nearly pulled out of place, claw marks denting the metal as Predaking stalked in, one servo scooping Jack up from the foot of the berth and he began pacing around the room. Jack was hung over the servo as the digits wrapped around him, and he felt the thumb run roughly down his back; the Predacon's movements though seemed jerky and erratic as he growled indiscriminately at everything around them.

Though Jack didn't want this sudden anger turned on him, as he was still quite fragile even if he was becoming metallic, but the petting was both painful and humiliating. "Cut it out, it feels like your trying to claw up my back."

Predaking froze, his helm slowly tilting downward to stare at Jack with an unnervingly intense stare. "You think you know pain? I have just watched my brethren be destroyed by those wretched Autobots!" he shouted, and Jack was ashamed to admit he flinched at the anger; it wasn't directed at him, but there was also the painfully obvious fact that they were alone to consider. It seemed though that the Predacon realized this too, as he breathed in deeply, his petting now slower and a touch more careful. "At least I still have you, Ripclaw."

"Jack." The teen said stubbornly.

As it was becoming rapidly clearer, Predaking only ignored his correction. "You're all I have left." He said and held Jack up to his faceplate, turning the teen over in his servo until they were looking directly at each other. "I will keep you safe, my mate." He said and his digit began to once more stroke Jack's back.

The teen though was anything but reassured and calm inside. 'Crap, he's still stuck on this whole primal urge thing. How many times do I gotta say it?' he thought, but the protection detail could be helpful, even as much as he despised the idea of forfeiting what little dignity he had left. 'Would it be worth it? Could I really just give myself away to be safe from the Decepticons?'

It wasn't an easy question to answer, despite how much it seemed like it. Predaking was large, more imposing, and he seemed to be growing more and more attached with the extra clones having been apparently destroyed.

Still…

"No." Jack said firmly. "I don't need you to protect me, I can look after myself. I've already got a creepy stalker with Knock Out, and I don't want another one."

Predaking's optics seemed to widen in disbelief, but his lips slowly pulled back into a scowl. "Knock Out?" he repeated, his tone dark and foreboding. "The medic dared to try and claim you?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "He's the reason I'm here in the first place." he said, but no sooner than the words were spoken, did Jack find himself set onto the floor again. He watched with his brow furrowed in confusion as Predaking all but stalked out of the room once more, his frame tense. "Hmph, he really seems to like doing that."

'This is incredible.' Knock Out thought as he looked over the samples before him. After the dust had settled, so to speak, when their ruse of using the Autobots to destroy the clones had worked, an interesting development had occurred. 'I can't believe the synthetic energon combining with the CNA of the clones caused the entire lab area to cyber form.' He thought, but reassessed the information he'd been given just a bit as he turned over one of the sharp, jagged pieces of pure cybermatter. 'Hmm, it looks like with no controlled stabilizer that it just…went wherever.'

Glancing off to the side, Knock Out saw that the dispenser was finished with churning out another batch of Synth-En, as there needed to be a control batch to test about perfecting it. The red mech questioned the validity of why Shockwave would want this made, but Knock Out was still testy about being told he couldn't go near Jack that it made him a bit nit-picky.

Pit, he hadn't even gone to see Jack at all as he couldn't cast suspicion onto himself. 'I'll have to sneak into Breakdown's room and give Jack another large dose tonight.' He thought.

Knock Out moved over to the counter and began to prep the syringe full of endomatter so he wouldn't be as distracted, but he didn't have the chance to do more than put the empty syringe for the energon next the CNA-filled one when the door to the lab opened, and he heard a low growl from behind.

The red mech looked over his shoulder, but turned around completely as his optics widened when he took in the large, angry Predacon that began walking towards him. Knock Out began backing away with each step Predaking took in his direction, his expression kept painfully cool even as he fearfully began to wonder if the Predacon had learned of the deception which had been played on him.

'No, that can't be it; surely he wouldn't be this calm about it.' Knock Out thought. "What are you doing here? I highly doubt you'd need to be checked for damages."

"If I needed medical aid, I would have gone to the medbay." Predaking said, his tone low and dark. "No, what I am here for is something far different." He added, and without warning, he lunged forward.

Knock Out could hardly believe that such a large mech was so swift, but given that there hadn't been much distance to begin with, the red mech thought this whole reasoning was moot once he felt the clawed servo wrap around his throat and push him into the counter he'd backed into, the metal edge pressing into his own back plating uncomfortably. 'There's going to be an ugly scuff there, I just know it.' He thought. "What do you think you're doing?" he rasped out, his own servos grasping at the digits digging just as painfully into his neck cables.

He was going to be dead if something important got torn, Knock Out just knew it.

"Ripclaw told me of your attempt at claiming him." Predaking growled. "I give you this warning now, as both to your importance to this army as a medic, and because you are ignorant of Predacon customs."

Given that all Predaking needed to do was twitch his thumb just a little and he'd sever Knock Out's main energon vein, the red mech only thought his snarky retort. 'You don't know about Predacon customs; you're either lying about not having any memories, or you're just making it up to posture.' Instead, he merely said, "Is this really necessary?" with a blatant tap to the servo around his neck.

Predaking's optics flared. "It will make you listen better," he said darkly, "for I will only tell you this once. I won't be alone because of you; Ripclaw is going to be my mate. Stay away from him."

Knock Out let out a relieved gasp as he felt his vocalizer cords unwind from the grip when he was released. He raised one servo to his throat and felt around for damages while he used the other to steady himself on the counter; warily, he kept his optics on Predaking as he took a few steps toward the cybermatter samples. 'First Shockwave and now this?' he thought incredulously, but straightened up as haughtily as he could when he found no discernable damage. "As if that puny little human was worth more than a speck of my time; besides, I have these samples to look over, and they don't give any backtalk like that human does." 'Impersonalize Jack, make Predaking think I've got no feelings for him.'

Predaking gave him a scrutinizing glare, and Knock Out met the gaze steadily before the Predacon finally looked down at the samples. "What exactly are those?"

'Success!' Knock Out kept the smirk off his faceplate as he replied, "Oh, just a cocktail of Synth-En and…a particular matter," he said evasively, "combined together they created pure cybermatter."

"It was created from the explosion." It wasn't a question, and Predaking didn't look any less pissed right about then. "Why is Ripclaw taking so long to transform if the energon being used made that in an instant?"

Knock Out rolled his optics as he continued to stare at the samples and scrapped a few slivers off. "That's because it's not Synth-En being used on him, just regular energon." He explained, but when he picked up the slivers and began to put them onto the slides for the machine to analyze, he froze.

The red mech looked up at the door, just catching the tail-end of it closing, and he felt dread form in his tank as he glanced reluctantly at the counter to not only see that the two syringes were missing, but so was the Synth-En.

'He wouldn't,' Knock Out thought, but refuted that immediately with a derisive snort, 'of course he would. He wants a Predacon mate, and he wants one now.'

The red mech held his digit to his comm. link. "Soundwave, be on the look-out for Predaking. I might have let it slip, through no fault of my own, that Synth-En would be a faster substitute for energon if he finds the human." He explained, as given the way Predaking talked, he likely already found Jack and there was no way Knock Out was admitting he'd lied about the human's 'escape.'

While there was no reply to his report, Knock Out kept the line open for when the broadcast was sent out that Predaking had been spotted.

The red mech only went back to preparing the samples, as it would be too suspicious if he was found to know exactly where Jack was 'hiding' too easily. 'Predaking better not change Jack on the ship.' He thought, shuddering as he realized what a disaster that would be given the side-effect the Synth-En had.

Jack yawned as he leaned against the leg of the desk, he was too tired to be disturbed by his thoughts of just how unhuman-like he was becoming. He had freaked before over the physically changes, but then it had hit him about the physiological changes that were going on.

He frowned as he found himself not even the least bit hungry, or even needing to use the bathroom. It quite honestly had him wondering if things were changing in his brain as well to not have him dwell on any of this, but if that were true, Jack figured that he would have been thinking more like a Predacon-and he definitely wasn't feeling Predaking's 'you my mate' claim, no matter what he'd said to the contrary.

Jack had been trying to survive in the kennel, and he would forever be pissed off at Starscream for throwing him in there in the first place. His name was going right next to Knock Out's on his black list.

The teen felt his body slump forward while he tried to keep himself awake; the only change which hadn't, well, changed was his apparent need for rest, but he wasn't about to do that right now since Predaking could come back at any moment. Or worse, Knock Out could walk in, and Jack wanted to be awake to snark at them, more so at the latter for getting him into this situation.

When the door opened, Jack was only mildly disappointed that it was Predaking, but he grimaced upon seeing the endomatter-filled syringe. He furrowed his brow when the Predacon filled the other syringe with a strange green energon. "Did someone put food coloring in the energon or something?"

"No, this is Synth-En." Predaking said. "I am told it will…" he trailed off, and Jack didn't like that one bit. "It will help."

"With what?" Jack asked suspiciously, and he got to his feet when Predaking didn't answer. "No, you tell me what this is supposed to do." He said when the Predacon reached for him, and he backtracked away from him.

The large mech narrowed his optics. "I am in no mood for your insolence." He growled and Jack yelped when the Predacon swiftly grabbed him and the mech's grip was nearly crushing as he walked out with the two syringes in his other servo. "We will do this in my kennel, for it is the only place large enough."

"Large enough for what?" Jack asked, but even with Predaking ignoring his questions, it suddenly hit anyway. 'There's only one thing that this Synth-En could 'help' with…the only thing that could matter to him.' Jack thought, and he was struck silent for almost a full minute as the horror set in.

He thought he'd have more time to adjust to this transformation, but if the change really could be sped up…

"No!" Jack screamed. "What is with you all and the word 'no'?!" he demanded angrily. "Don't I ever get a choice?!"

Predaking shook his head. "You are still so irrational; this is only a natural progression."

"No, it's me being subjected to something against my will again." Jack said. "You're no better than Knock Out."

The Predacon's optics flared as he came to an abrupt halt, his gaze turning sternly down at Jack. "I am better than him," he said firmly, "and I will be a better mate."

"Captor." Jack corrected bitterly. "I'm not going along with this willingly."

"Yes, you've made that abundantly clear." Predaking said, his tone a touch frustrated.

Jack could care less about that though, as he was not about to rescind any of his observations; they were true. If he was currently capable of moving his arms, he would have crossed them, or at least shoved away the digit that was stroking his back. What was with this mech and petting? Jack shuddered. 'Even Knock Out hadn't done that, and he pretty much used me for his own gratification.'

When Predaking's helm snapped up, Jack peered around him as he caught sight of several Vehicons pulling back around the corner. "I've been standing here too long." He muttered. "They were bound to have noticed." He added and his pace hurried up, but he wasn't yet quite running.

Jack though, he stared incredulously up at the Predacon. "You mean that you're not supposed to be doing this? I just thought Knock Out forgot."

Predaking's expression tightened as he remained silent the rest of the way to the kennel. Once they were inside the room, Jack was baffled to see the mech locking the door, but figured if he was doing this against orders, he likely wouldn't want to get caught until it was over.

Jack hadn't wanted to think about just what the end result would be, but with how Predaking was looking at him, he was forced to realize this really was going to happen. That didn't mean he just had to take it though. "Would it be worth it? If you're not allowed to do this, I doubt it's going to end well for you."

Predaking continued to give him that unnerving stare. "I won't be alone anymore." He stated, and with that, he injected the endomatter.

Jack sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes widening as he felt it flooding through his body this time; had he used the whole CNA supply? As he adjusted to the bizarre feeling, Jack's reaction was delayed when he felt the tip of the other syringe pierce his skin. His eyes grew even wider as he felt the Synth-En flow through him as well.

Then a pain like no other washed over him, and with it, he got angry.