Rian: Goodness I'm tired x.x My family's calling my name left and right and bugging me the simplest of things...I've been so slow lately, but I finally found the time to edit this chapter!
But, y'know, just for the record, Toa, you're editing the next one, or so help me, I'm going to hold this story hostage!
Toaxabineh: Nope! You get to edit cuz I'm bad at editing Xp Also my new laptop hates me and doesn't like to copy and paste -.-"
Anyways, thanks to those of you who have faved, followed, reviewed and/or PMed! You're all awesome! Please feel free to share ideas, too, because ideas are the only known cure for writers block! XD
Disclaimer's on my prof.!
Sorry for spelling errors!
Enjoy reading!
Jack wasn't sure about this plan to help him handle distance from Miko and Raf, but it wasn't like he'd really have a choice. When he'd tried to protest, his mother's doppelgänger had given him the famous 'mom stare'.
And so that was why Airachnid was here with him now, Jack being carried in her small servos. She had said that there was a place she wanted to show him, and with precious little else to do, he had agreed immediately.
"You can open your eyes now." She told him, laughing slightly when he squirmed impatiently.
"Finally!" Jack muttered, dark eyes peeking open.
"Well? What do you think?" She asked as he placed him down.
Jack took in the surrounding area with no little amount of surprise. They were at a beach that was secluded by high, rocky cliffs that it seemed only birds could get over. The water lapping on the shore was shining in the sunlight, and the tang of salt was in the air.
"I've never been to the beach before." Jack admitted to her as he crouched down to touch the damp sand. It wasn't loose like the sand back home in Jasper, and retained a shape when Jack pressed it between his hands. He laughed slightly, finding this oddly entertaining, and Airachnid grinned.
"I figured as much."
Jack hummed, sitting down and messing with the sand absently. Airachnid grimaced. It was obvious that the boy was worried about Miko and Raf.
"Want to go for a swim?" Came the sudden question, and Jack looked quite surprised.
"Huh? But you're metal." He stated bluntly, staring at her with a raised brow. "You wouldn't just rust, you'd sink."
Airachnid huffed, poking him none-too-gently.
"I'm not that heavy, you little fragger. And besides, I meant I could use my holoform for it."
"That wasn't what I- oh never mind." He sighed, standing back up now. He looked down at his clothes. "I don't even have a swim suit Airachnid. How am I supposed to go swimming like this?"
The femme grinned.
Jack yelped as he was scooped up and simply dropped into the water.
"Ack!" He coughed, fighting his way back to the surface, coughing once his head broke the water. "A-Airachnid!"
The femme was bent over she was laughing so hard.
"Y-your face!" She managed. "Th-that was priceless!"
"You're such a jerk!" He shouted out, swimming back to the coast.
The femme only continued to laugh, smiling widely.
"I-I'll get you for this." He sputtered, coughing up the last bit of water, shaking his head once his feet were able to touch the bottom again.
Airachnid smirked.
"Suuure you will."
Scowling, Jack scooped up wet sand from below the water, flinging it at Airachnid while she was still laughing. Moving slightly to the right, she avoided the sandy projectile easily, smirking down at him.
"Unfair." He groaned, flopping down. Airachnid giggled, sitting beside him.
"So, what do you think? Should we hang around here for a bit?"
Jack sighed, but then grinned, sitting up.
"Yeah, I like it here."
"I thought you might." She said, winking at him.
Jack chuckled, shaking his head.
"I could've done without the salt water in my lungs, though."
Airachnid shrugged casually.
"You wouldn't have gotten in if I hadn't made you."
Jack rolled his eyes, laying back down with his arms folded behind his head.
"It's quiet here." Jack commented in a soft voice, watching a cloud go by. "The Nemesis is always noisy with Soundwave goofing around, and Miko making sure her music is as loud as possible.."
Airachnid hummed.
"Yes, I suppose so."
They sat in a companionable silence for a few minutes, the only sound being that of the ocean lapping at the shore. Sitting up slowly with his arms strung over his legs, Jack looked up at Airachnid. She was watching the waves push and pull against the beach.
"...why did you join the Decepticons?"
The femme blinked, taken aback by the sudden question."Well...why else would someone fight on one side or the other? Because I believe in what we fight for."
"That's all?" He asked, unconvinced when he saw that she refused to look at him directly.
"It's...complicated, Jack. I have my reasons."
Jack nodded. He knew that feeling well. And he supposed that if he was allowed to keep what had happened with M.E.C.H between him, Megatron and Knockout, Airachnid was more than entitled to keep her own secrets. It wasn't really his place to meddle anyway. If she wanted to talk to him, that was fine, and if she didn't, that was fine too.
And so he stared out at the sky, thinking to himself.
This was actually pretty nice, and despite the worry nagging at the back of his mind, he felt more normal than he had in months.
He was thoroughly enjoying the waves that lapped up onto his feet, and how the sun glistened off the water like thousands of tiny stars.
"Do you think of home a lot?" She asked him suddenly.
Jack looked at her, brows furrowed.
"Huh?"
"You're home. With you're real mom and the Autobots...what is like in your world?"
Jack sighed, resting his chin on his palm.
"Well...yeah. I miss my dimension, of course. As for what its like...I mean the bots are still working out how to handle having kids around, but they're like my family."
"Do they feel the same?" She continued, feeling strangely conflicted. "Does Arcee?"
Jack shrugged.
"I can't speak for them, but I like to think so."
Airachnid's hummed.
"So, you two aren't..."
Jack raised a brow.
"Aren't what?"
"...Intimate."
Jack sat ramrod straight, eyes wide and mouth agape. He made a choking sound before managing to speak.
"Wh-what?! No!"
Despite herself, Airachnid smiled.
"Why so quick to deny?"
By now the teen was bright red.
"Because that is the most embarrassing and ridiculous question I've ever heard!"
"It's not ridiculous." Airachnid defended, unable to help laughing, even as Jack's face grew redder. "I assumed you two were close, considering what you've been through, so I wondered if there was a little something more between you two. And I think I'm right."
Jack sputtered.
"No! She's my best friend, and that's it!"
"C'mon, tell the truth." She teased, poking him gently in the chest.
"I am!"
Airachnid laughed softly.
"Alright, alright, I believe you!"
Jack huffed, stomping away from her now. And Airachnid couldn't help but think how adorable it was to see him so flustered...She mentally berated herself for her thoughts. No. She shouldn't get involved in such ways with another human.
"Oh come on, I was joking!" Airachnid called over.
Jack merely scowled, ignoring her now, while his mind subconsciously drifted back to his friends.
"So what does this do?" Miko asked, pressing down on a button as Knockout tended to a Vehicon.
"Don't touch that! It's-"
Too late. The screen flashed to life with a couple taking up the majority. Miko pointed at the screen, recognition coming to her face.
"Hey, it's a soap'!"
Knockout bolted forward,slamming his hand on the button and shutting the screen back off as he glared at Miko. "Don't. Touch. Anything!" He whispered dangerously, poking the girl in the chest at each enunciation.
The girl frowned, waving the servo away.
"Cut it out! I just wanted to see what it was!"
"You said that about the laser scalpel before you nearly burned your hand off." Knockout commented dryly, picking her up and moving her to a table. Raf caught his attention when he waved his short arms.
"I think he needs a defrag and an update in his antivirus software." He said, typing away on his computer before he stood up, holding a cord. He went to the unconscious mech, searching around his neck. When he found nothing, his head popped back up. "Do Vehicons have dataports?" He asked, unsure. Ratchet had explained to him that all Cybertronians did indeed have ports, usually located somewhere around the head, but as Vehicons were rather different than the Autobots or higher up Decepticons, he had thought them to be simple drones.
"Yes, they do." Knockout confirmed, watching Miko for a second longer to ensure she stayed put before moving back to his patient. "It's at the base of the neck." He continued to explain, moving the head ever so slightly before shifting a piece of plating that Raf hadn't noticed was capable of being removed. "Plug it in here. It'll automatically adjust to the cord."
"Oh."
Knockout chuckled, helping Raf connect the laptop to the vehicon.
"Who taught you this?" Knockout asked as the boy helped him in his work. In the corner of his optic, he saw Miko trying to climb down again. "Miko! Stop that!"
"It's boring over here!" She complained, peering over the edge. "At least let me watch what you're doing, so I'm not stuck on this stupid table!"
Knockout sighed, rolling his optics but doing as asked, picking up the femme in a servo and holding her close enough that she could see, but not so close that she could interfere.
Raf scratched the back of his head, blushing slightly.
"My mom makes me study a lot, so I know all kinds of things." He admitted, somewhat shy about the fact. "I was grounded the last time I got a 'B' on a test..."
"Yeah, and it nearly got us fried." Miko added in. "And your mom almost caught us too."
"She did catch us." Raf replied, rolling his eyes. "But Fowler was able to smooth things over, so it wasn't too bad."
Miko laughed, doubling over.
"I can't believe she thought an old guy like Fowler was part of a study group with us!"
Raf giggled too, reddening.
"W-well, with so many kids, mamá has seen stranger."
"Probably nothing weirder than I've seen back at home." Miko replied, scoffing. "My parents had me take piano lessons for pete's sakes!"
"Now that's something I don't believe." Knockout commented dryly. "I doubt you could stay still long enough to play even a few notes."
Knockout chuckled, shaking his helm as the girl frowned.
"I'll have you know that I was forced to study the piano since I was eight years old!" She puffed up, pigtails standing straight up. "And that's not including the other stupid stuff they wanted me to learn!"
Knockout rolled his optics.
"I believe you, alright? I just can't see you sitting at a piano without destroying it."
Miko stuck her tongue out at him childishly.
"Shows what you know!"
The medic lightly poked her arm.
"Quit acting like a sparkling, you're fifteen."
"Hmph!"
"Take it easy Miko. He only nags you because he cares about you." Raf said as he crunched in the data on his laptop, transferring the data into the Vehicon. His expression then became sad. "Kind of like Ratchet."
Knockout raised a brow at his young ward's change in facial expression.
"Aw, don't be worried Raf." Miko said hastily, forcing herself to smile big and wide. "He's doing everything he can to get us back home, just like Knockout here! So let's turn that frown around, okay?" To prove a point, she poked the youth's cheeks, forcing his lips into a smile. He laughed, shoving a hand at her while the other maintained a tight grip on the computer.
"I know, I know! Cut it out, that tickles!" The tween protested.
Miko giggled along with him, and the two rough housed while Knockout watched with a slight smile.
Miko, for all her rough edges and talent for causing trouble, was more sensitive than he originally though, if she was going through such fuss just to make Raf smile again.
He had to admit...he had taken a liking to these children.
He chuckled when Miko grabbed a hold of Raf, running her fingers through his hair playfully while the tween protested loudly.
It was...refreshing. Youth at it's finest. He could understand why Jack wanted so desperately to protect them.
He was content to simply continue the patch job on the vehicon while the two played around, taking over where Raf had left off when Miko had dragged him away. Knockout was so focused on his work, that he didn't notice when the door opened an a mech walked in. But Miko did, and she perked up excitedly.
"Breakdown!" She shouted nearly at the top of her lungs. "About time you showed up!"
Breakdown chuckled, moving forward.
"Sorry, got stuck helping stock the energon room."
Miko groaned.
"Booooorrriiiiing." She whined, letting the mech pick her up.
"I know, I know." He laughed. "That's why I came down here. Want to go on recon with me?" He asked with a small glint in his optics.
Miko nodded eagerly.
"Yeah! Can we go dune bashing?"
The mech let out an exaggerated sigh, tilting his head.
"I don't know..."
Miko gave a puppy-like whine.
"Cmoooooon!"
"Alright, you've convinced me. We'll go in a few minutes." He laughed aloud, winking at Knockout.
The medic shook his head with a sigh. Honestly, these two...
"Let's go now!" Miko implored, bouncing on her heels excitedly. "You wanna come Raf?"
The tween looked hesitant, eyes flickering to Knockout.
"U-uh...I don't know..."
"It'll be fun." She added in, grinning ear-to-ear.
"W-well..."
The boy looked up at Knockout, who sighed, shaking his helm good-naturedly.
"Go on."
"Are you sure?" He said, looking back to the mech on the table. "I can stay and help if you want-"
"I'll finish up here. Go enjoy yourself, alright?"
Raf beamed.
"Okay!" He exclaimed, jumping up.
Knockout chuckled to himself, watching as Breakdown gently scooped up the tween.
"Be careful." Knockout warned them. "All three of you."
"Don't worry about us doc! We're gonna be just fine." Miko said as Breakdown started to walk away.
"You better check in within an hour!" Knockout warned Breakdown, not entirely believing Miko.
The mech waved a servo dismissively.
"I know, I know."
Knockout rolled his optics with a sigh, returning to his work.
Jack yawned as he rested down on the warm sand.
Airachnid laughed.
"A little tired?"
"Mhm..." He yawned, rubbing at his eyes.
Shaking her helm to herself, Airachnid stood.
"Alright, I'll call in for a groundbridge."
"You do that." He mumbled, turning his head away.
Rolling her optics, the femme moved a few steps away, staring out across the water with a servo to the side of her helm. "Soundwave? I need a bridge back." No reply, and she frowned heavily. "Soundwave?"
"Something wrong?" Jack asked, propping himself up on his elbows, frowning.
"The comlinks dead." she answered shortly, trying again. "Hello? Is anyone up there receiving me?" Jack stood, brow furrowed. This seemed almost familiar...
"Is it being jammed right now?"
"It shouldn't be, but..."
"I think we should focus on getting distance from here." Jack said quickly, eyes flicking to the cliffs.
Airachnid nodded hesitantly.
"Yeah...yeah, we probably should. C'mon."
Jack nodded, quickly moving over to the offered servo. Airachnid lifted him up, holding him close to her chassis in an almost protective manner. Jack reddened a bit, but didn't protest, jerking back when he heard a light crunching sound.
"Is someone nearby?" He asked, worried now.
"I don't know." Airachnid murmured, holding him close.
"Airachnid-"
A fist suddenly slammed into the femme con, sending her tumbling away, Jack flying from her servos.
"Ugh!"
"Airachnid!" Jack exclaimed, going towards her-
"Hello, Jack~"
Jack jumped at the sound of Arcee's voice, narrowly dodging the servo that swiped lazily toward him, diving onto the sand. He then glared as he managed to get to his feet.
"You..."
"So you do remember me!" The darker version of Arcee laughed, smiling sadistically.
"Kinda hard to forget someone who tried to pin me down for something less than desirable."
Arcee feigned pain, touching a servo over her spark.
"You words hurt me right here." She said in an over dramatic tone. Seeing Airachnid recovering from her first attack rather quickly, she kicked the femme in the head, causing her to skid several feet before coming to a stop.
Jack looked horrified.
"No!"
"Relax, she'll be fine." Arcee said boredly, sauntering forward. "Besides, I'm not here to kill her."
Jack glared up defiantly at her, shuffling back a few steps.
"Then what are you here for?"
A wicked grin.
"For you, of course."
Jack backed up several more feet as Arcee moved closer.
"What?"
"I caught your life signal out here, and I decided to come see you. Maybe we can have some fun."
Jack winced, but remained defiant.
"I'd rather be eaten by scraplets." He spat out venomously.
Arcee laughed, the sound sending shivers up Jack's spine.
"Oh come on, I promise that it'll be lots of fun~"
"And I said frag off!"
"Don't be like that." She frowned, flicking him. The next thing Jack was aware of was his body colliding with the cliff side.
He gave a hiss of pain, crumpling to the ground.
"Now, what do you say?" She asked again, nudging him with her pede.
The teen scowled, twitching away.
"I already told you twice."
The femme's frown deepened.
Jack gasped when her sharp digits closed in around him, one playing absently in his hair while pressing down harder each time she ran her finger across his scalp. Jack hissed when she broke the skin, and blood trickled down from his forehead and over his right eye.
The femme grinned to herself, the expression making Jack scowl.
"I can't help myself sometimes..." She whispered softly to him, bringing her face far too close to his own. "
Jack squirmed, craning his head away.
"Stop it."
"Come on, aren't you enjoying this just a little?" Arcee insisted. Jack glared.
"Not in the slightest."
"Then I'll have to make you enjoy it."
Jack stiffened when the fingers traced around his face and neck, slow and steady while occasionally lingering on his skin.
"S-stop. Please."
"Don't be so quick to deny me Jack." She pouted, forcing his head to tilt up. "I promise that you're going to have more fun with me than you ever would with Airachnid."
"I'm not interested in you or her!" Jack spat, struggling.
Arcee hummed, fiddling with the hem of the boy's shirt.
"Come on, lighten up!"
Jack squirmed, trying to get away.
"Airachnid!" He shouted, trying to look where she was laying, "Get up! Please!" Jack begged. Arcee laughed while Airachnid didn't stir.
Jack grunted as he was taken up in Arcee's servo roughly. His fist flew out, striking the plating surrounding him, even though he knew it wouldn't do any good.
"Relax." Arcee cooed. "We're just having fun."
"This isn't fun!"
An irritated frown.
"You're so stubborn!"
"And you're completely psychotic!"
"It's part of my charm, don't you know that?" Jack scowled spitefully at her, to which she merely giggled while raising a sevo to her helm. The teen froze at her next words. "I need a bridge to the base. I have a very special guest to introduce!"
Jack tried to get free desperately, panic building in his chest. When the groundbridge came, and Airachnid still laid upon the ground unconscious, and he knew it was far too late.
Both Arcee and Jack vanished through the 'bridge, leaving an unconscious Airachnid all alone.