Revelations
Déjà Vu 14
A Transformers Prime Fanfic
"Well I guess I should start from the beginning." Jack said looking around at the gathered Autobots. "Raf noticed something odd about the groundbridge in from camp."
"Yes, there were odd power fluctuations," Ratchet interrupted, shaking his head. "I should never have let you go through, but I didn't think them of any real consequence at the time."
"Let Jack tell the story!" snapped Arcee.
"I didn't feel it that time but the next I did." Jack paused and frowned in thought. "It took time. Every other time I've bridged it was instant, but there was a sense of time passing. That's what was odd. Then we were in this lab." Everyone was leaning in eagerly. "There was a red and white Cybertronian and a smaller version of the groundbridge. I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, Raf suggested we ask the bot for help, but since I thought we were still on earth at the time I assumed he was a con. Well we escaped the lab and got out into this corridor and ran. When we finally made it to a window we realized," Jack paused and looked up at Optimus, "That we were on Cybertron." To Jack's surprise the Autobot leader didn't share in the general gasp of astonishment, and only nodded for the human to continue.
"Wild!" Miko breathed, her eyes wide with glee.
"But that's impossible!" Arcee exclaimed, "The groundbridge just doesn't have that…"
"Autobots! Please let Jack continue his story." Optimus Prime rumbled.
"Yeah, we were pretty surprised," Jack continued, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "Raf here was amazing though. He was able to translate the old Cybertronian symbols we saw down in the city, in Iacon, "
Bumblebee let out a small longing noise, but a glance from the Prime silenced him.
"And he was able to point us toward a library where we could gather information. So we got there and…"
"You guys should have seen Jack!" Raf interjected. "He went all action hero! He led us down the outside of the Iacon Hall of Science, climbing from ledge to ledge, then he, got us across the main thoroughfare between the Hall of Records and the Hall of Science, with bots zooming by all around us, and when it started raining he protected me with his own,"
"Raf!" Jack took the story back with a pleading glance at the smaller boy. If someone called him a hero one more time he was going to scream.
Just then the base com crackled to life and Agent Fowler's voice penetrated the butte.
"Prime!"
Optimus stood erect and nodded to Jack.
"Please continue while I handle this. I've been expecting this call and it should only last a short time."
"So anyway we snuck into the library behind this silver and blue bot." Jack continued the story. The Autobots leaned in eagerly as he told them about the view through the window. The bots looked politely at the pictures the boys had taken on their phones, but seemed to prefer their descriptions.
"We have digital images of Cybertron," Bulkhead explained to them, "tell us what you saw."
When the human described sunrise over the Crystal Gardens Arcee closed her optics and let out a low cry that was almost painful.
Jack warmed to the story as he began describing Hunter and Cool. The friendship he had formed with the red and blue Cybertronian must have been obvious. Arcee arched her eyebrows and whispered loudly to Mrs. Darby,
"Think I should be jealous?"
When he described Geezer and the giant book Arcee got a funny look on her faceplates, like she was trying to remember something, but she let Jack continue. Miko was rolling on the floor with laughter as the boys described their trip to the vet's. She pulled herself together enough to look intently at Jack for a moment.
"So this Hunter is like, a responsible citizen?" she asked as mischief danced behind a serious look.
"Yes, absolutely," Jack replied.
"And he took you to the vet's to be registered as his pets?"
"Well, yes but it was only to protect us…"
Miko waved away the explanation.
"Yes, but considering what responsible citizens have done to their pets at the vet's," Miko paused to let her words sink in, "do you both feel, you know, 'all there'?"
Jack and Raf glanced at each other and felt a moment of horror.
"Miko!" Mrs. Darby frowned at the precocious girl, "the boys are JUST FINE, Ratchet ran full scans and the nanobot tattoos were the only permanent alterations to their bodies."
The Autobots glanced at each other in confusion during this exchange. Jack hurried to continue the story before they could ask any questions. Raf jumped in and they described the sparring match together, both boys became animated, telling how the two Cybertronians had danced their battle. Bumblebee listened silently, optics whirring intently. The boys took turns telling about the scenes at the 'restaurant'. Jack described the crowd and proprietor while Raf detailed the games they played.
"I know that place!" exclaimed Bulkhead, when the boys paused to take a drink, "Macadam's Old Oil House! Before the war, me and my construction buddies would hang out there! Sounds like you were there before my time tho."
Jack turned to the red and white medibot.
"Ratchet, I wanted to ask. The bots we saw at Macadam's were drinking liquids. I've never seen you guys do anything but take your energon intravenously. Also I'm pretty sure that what Hunter and Cool were drinking wasn't the same as the energon I've seen. What gives?"
"Well Jack, we have all had to make, adjustments, since the war began." Ratchet began. His voice was serious and devoid of the usual pomp he showed when someone asked him for information. "Before the war we consumed energon much as you humans consume food. Our internal mechanisms processed the energon and distributed it throughout our body. We were similarly able to consume our lubricants and other vital liquids. However, it is far more efficient to process things externally and avoid the 'digestion' process. With energon in such short supply during the war, well we've adapted."
The humans were silent for a moment, imagining what it would be like to give up eating and live off of an IV.
"As to what those young bots were drinking," Ratchet snorted and glanced over at Prime, still talking with Fowler, "Macadam's had several ways of altering energon and lubricants. Most, of them were legal."
"Another thing, kind of backtracking here, but you called our tattoos," Jack cast a nervous glance at his mom, "nanobot markings?"
"Yes, what you are calling a tattoo is actually a colony of nanobots. They live on your skin and consume your waste products for energy." Ratchet explained. "They also broadcast location information so the owner can locate his pets."
Jack felt his skin start to crawl under the bandages.
"Both yours and Raf's were covered with an inhibitor when you arrived. Yours were also reacting to a type of cleaning acid…"
Jack's mind flashed back to the little robot, fighting for its life. He shook his head and tuned back in just in time to hear Raf say absentmindedly,
"The acid must have deactivated the blocker and let the nanobots start broadcasting again. That must be how Hunter found us in the Gladiator Pits…"Raf snapped his jaw shut but it was too late.
"Gladiator pits!" June and Arcee coursed in horror. Miko leaned forward, suddenly extremely interested. Bee's optics dilated in shock and he reached out and pulled Raf closer to him.
"How'd you two end up in the Organic Pile?" Bulkhead demanded eagerly. "It was the Organic Pile right? But I thought that Hunter bot was watching out for you? Why'd he let you get taken somewhere where you coulda' been some Praxian shmog's dinner?"
"Bulkhead, clamp it!" Arcee transmitted across their radios. She could see the rising horror in June's eyes. Raf wriggled a little in Bee's protective hold.
"Well it turned out okay. I mean Jack won and…"
"Raf!" Jack cut in hurriedly. "Anyway, we were kidnapped, by this blue bot from the vet's, but Hunter and Cool came to rescue us." The older boy ploughed through the explanation, not daring to look at his mom, praying no one would ask any questions. "I guess after Hunter took us back to the library I was really sick because I only remember bits and pieces until I woke up here in the lab." Jack let the story trail off and looked at Raf. The smaller boy squirmed out of Bee's grasp and pushed his glasses back into place as he took over the story.
"So after Hunter rescued us he took us back to Geezer. They had this long talk and then Hunter took us across the street to the Iacon Hall of Science. We had used some basic trigonometry to narrow down the search area so it didn't take us long to find the window we'd crawled out of and from there the lab."
"Wait how'd you boys find your way back to the lab?" Ratchet demanded, "I know that building complex well and it is a maze of passageways."
"When we escaped from the lab in the first place Jack had grabbed two line welders. Every time we turned a corner he had burned the wall with his welder."Raf explained.
Despite lingering shivers over the reference to the pits, Arcee and Mrs. Darby couldn't help beaming at the older boy in quiet pride, but Jack didn't notice.
"But anyway, we found the lab. When Hunter took us in the same bot was there and I recognized him this time." Raf grinned up at Ratchet and asked, "Do you want to tell them?"
The old medibot shook his head and waved the human on.
"It was Ratchet!" The listeners displayed a very satisfactory astonishment, Jack included, while Ratchet chuckled softly.
"Wait a minute!" demanded Bulkhead. "They were blasted across light years of space and eons of time and they just happen to land in your lab? That's some crazy coincidence."
"It was no coincidence I'm afraid," Ratchet said gravely, he stood up straighter and narrowed his eyes. "I am afraid I must claim responsibility for this whole fiasco."
"What are you talking about?" Nurse Darby asked, "You said repeatedly you had no idea what had gone wrong."
"Tell them Ratchet." Rafael urged.
"I had vey nearly forgotten the incident, until Optimus reminded me and he hadn't remembered until after the boys had departed. It was a long time ago," Ratchet began with a far off look in his optics, "a very long time ago. I was a brash young student set to work on the team developing ground and spacebridge technology."
"But we've had that stuff forever!" protested Bulkhead. "You're not that old. I think."
"No I'm not." Ratchet replied archly. "But by that era much of the ancient's skills and knowledge had been lost, including groundbridge capability. Our task was to regain some of capability's they had bequeathed us. I had a disagreement with the main team. There were recorded procedures for establishing the wormhole, but they seemed to me to be useless redundancies. I was frustrated with our lack of progress. So one night I snuck into the lab and attempted to establish a stable wormhole without using the procedures. Imagine my surprise when two tiny organic popped into existence, and then escaped from my lab. I was so shocked I didn't end up telling my superiors what had happened until after I had sent them home."
"Did you get in trouble?" asked Miko eagerly.
"Trouble would be putting it mildly. But I never failed to use the proper procedures again. Until…"
"Until you were trapped on a primitive planet with limited resources and absolutely no oversight," Jack finished for him nodding in understanding.
"Yes, our groundbridge here was based on the work I did there. The two devices were nearly identical, they must have, called out, to each other. I'm still not sure how. With Raf's assistance I've instituted fail-safe's that will prevent this from happening again," the medibot stated firmly. "But the only reason I was able to send the boys home then was that young Rafael here was able to give me the coordinates for Earth in this time, translated into formulas I could plug into the system I had then. That was quite a feat for anyone."
Raf smiled shyly at the praise.
"So, that's how Optimus knew to catch the boys in mid air when they came through the bridge? And that they would have the nanobot markings?" June asked.
Over at the main control panel Agent Fowler was winding down. Jack glanced that way and saw Optimus reach down to disengage the com and turn to come back to the human's area. The human gripped the sides of the couch as reality seemed to rearrange itself around him.
"Jack? Are you okay?" His mom asked seeing the stunned look on his face.
"Hunter?" Jack murmured.
"What about him?" Arcee inquired.
"Hey, I gotta question," Miko broke in, not seeming to notice Jack's state of shock. "If Raf couldn't understand the bots at first how did you know what their names were? And why couldn't the bots understand you?"
"Translation programs were not commonplace on Cybertron at the time. They did not become standard until after the war had spread to other planets." Ratchet explained.
"Well, Hunter wrote his name out for me and I was able to roughly translate the sigils." Raf continued. "His name was really 'One who is mighty at tracking down and acquiring his quarry, One who is peaceful,'."
"A very accurate translation of the root meaning Rafael," Optimus Prime said with a smile, as he strode over to where they were gathered. "But given your humans current nomenclature a more appropriate name would have been Orion Pax."
Astonished silence fell on the little group of Autobots. Raf cocked his head to one side and looked up at the towering Cybertronian in confusion.
"Thank you Optimus, but how did you know? I haven't had time to write out the sigils since we got back."
"Because it was his name," Jack said slowly.
"Wait! You mean that rocking fun bot you guys hung with was Optimus? No way!" Miko declared laughing. Optimus patiently waited for the girl's laugher to die down in the suddenly quiet base.
"Yes Miko. Before the war, before I was appointed Prime, I worked as a data recorder in the Iacon Hall of Records. It was indeed my data kiosk where the boys sought shelter, and where I found them."
The stunned silence that followed was finally broken by June's laughter.
"So that's how you were able to warn me about the 'tatoos', and when you claimed full responsibility for the boy's condition you weren't just preventing me from skinning Jack alive?"
"I am afraid that their condition was indeed my responsibility." The Prime said gravely. "They were in my care while they were on Cybertron, and I failed them most grievously."
Their exchange seemed to break the silence and the room erupted into a cacophony of noise. Jack leaned back in the couch and stared at the Autobot leader. He had always respected and admired Optimus. Now the feelings, the sense of camaraderie he had developed with Hunter welled to the surface and mingled with the awe Optimus inspired. The Prime turned toward Jack from answering the questions the others were peppering him with and gave that slow, deep smile that seemed to warm the very air around them.
Jack looked away feeling sick. He knew. Optimus must know what had happened in the Pit, what Jack had done to survive, and yet he still smiled at the human that way. That level of kindness, of sheer fatherly love was just too much for the human to take in at the moment.
Raf was fascinated by the physical changes in the two bots and was eagerly demanding to know how they had occurred. Arcee was demanding why they hadn't remembered this a little sooner, like maybe before the boys had bridged out. June was quietly watching her son and casting grateful looks at Optimus.
Ratchet suddenly stomped one massive foot and the room went quiet.
"Allright! Jack needs his rest! Everybot give him some space. Raf too. June?"
"Yes, Jack it's time to go home." She smiled at her son.
Home. Jack smiled back weakly. His own bed, peace and quiet, it sounded heavenly.
"Hey can we have a sleep over?" Miko demanded eagerly, and latched onto Jack's good arm. "I want Jack to tell me all about the Gladiator Pits, what'd Bulk call it? The Organic Pile? Did you scrap anyone? I mean I knew he was pretty fierce but, hey!"
"Miko, NO!" Jack said and pushed Miko away, with more force than he'd intended. The girl staggered back with a hurt and confused look on her face.
"Just, no," Jack said as he turned and limped down the steps. Miko was about to snap something at him but Bulkhead gently closed one massive hand around the girl.
"Don't Miko. You have no idea what he's going through." The green Autobot said. There was firmness in his voice that Miko rarely heard, and for once she obeyed without understanding.
While Arcee gently helped Jack into Bumblebee, June walked over to the lab and beckoned Optimus to follow her. She held out her hands in a 'pick me up' gesture and the Autobot leader gently scooped the woman into his hands and lifted her to his face.
"Optimus Prime, Orion Pax, Hunter, whatever your name is or was," June murmured softly as she finally allowed tears to well up in her eyes, "you brought my only son, my entire life, home safely." She leaned up and pressed her forehead against the ridge of his faceplate. "And for that I thank you with all my heart." She finished fiercely.