I love Oktoberfest. We get off school and we get neat stuff too! Like today, I got a pendant that was carved all the way in Israel and since I watched the vendor's stall while he went to get something to eat...I got a free carving too! And then there's the food and the culture mixes so its not just Germany that's represented, we've got Japan and other Asian countries, Mexico, Brazil, India, lots of places. And that means tons of different food! I swear, we just walk into Oktoberfest and you gain like 20 pounds just by the smells alone!
I also got some ideas while I was walking around...so I started typing once I got home! And here's the result. I'd say...there's a little bit of OOCness towards the end of the chapter, but it gets better and it ends happy!
Disclaimer-I do not own Transformers: Prime or Merlin.
Chapter 29
Temper and Control
Jack looked up at the mech before him. He looked about Optimus' height…but he had like these massive shoulder pads on each shoulder. The young sorcerer watched as his guardian went up to Ultra Magnus.
"No one's seen or heard from you since Cybertron went dark!" Arcee cried, "How did you find your way to Earth?"
"Soldier," Ultra Magnus stated, "We may not be on Cybertron, but military protocol remains,"
"My apologies, sir," Arcee said, standing ramrod straight.
"Sir?" Jack asked.
"Advise the native life form to watch its tone as well," the mech ordered.
Jack's eyes narrowed, glinting gold.
"What?" he growled, "Who is this guy!?"
Arcee shot a nervous look at her partner.
"Ultra Magnus was Optimus' key lieutenant during the war back on Cybertron," she whispered, "Very by the book. Just…go with it. Please!"
Jack closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. When he reopened them, they were the familiar cobalt blue instead of fiery gold.
"As for your broader question," Ultra Magnus said, "My story is that of all Autobots since the Exodus. I wandered the spaceways in search of others, reuniting with some, often losing some to the hands of Decepticons,"
"Until you detected the Omega Beam and followed it here," Arcee concluded.
"If you are referring to the massive energy burst originating from Cybertron, that would be affirmative. Upon my arrival it became evident that this planet had been invaded," Ultra Magnus stated.
"There's a shock," Jack growled under his breath, earning him a glare from Arcee.
"My scanners also detected Autobot life signals," Ultra Magnus continued, "Yours being in closest proximity to my position."
Jack's head shot up.
"Signals, as in plural!?" he asked.
Ultra Magnus fixed him with an annoyed glare.
"Sir," Jack growled, eyes shifting to a greenish gold.
"Jack!" Arcee hissed softly and the gold glint died.
"Five total," the commander reported.
"Out of seven," Jack whispered, turning his head.
"Jack," Arcee reassured him, "That doesn't mean what you're thinking. Autobot signals can't be detected when they're shielded."
"I believe it is time we reunite with the others," Ultra Magnus said, "Let us go to the nearest set of co-ordinates,"
"And where would that be?" Arcee asked.
"Not but fifty clicks from here,"
"What do you say Jack…ready for your first trip in an Autobot starship?"
Jack's eyes lit up a bit and a slight smile graced his face.
"I'm ready," he answered, walking on beside Arcee.
"So how was the States?" Lancelot asked, coming up behind Merlin.
"Hmm?" the sorcerer asked, "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about,"
"Come now Merlin," the knight said, not convinced, "You're a bad liar. I've known you since I first came to Camelot. You went to the States again to see Jack…but he wasn't in Jasper anymore was he?"
"How'd you know he wasn't in Jasper?"
"The…news I think you called it?" Lancelot shrugged, "Jasper has been destroyed,"
Merlin's face hardened.
"You do know," Lancelot sighed, "You went looking for Jack. Did you find him?"
"I found the destruction he left behind,"
"Come again?" Lancelot demanded.
"Jack and his guardian were attacked by Decepticons…and Jack lost control…I found the melted remains of two, the crushed remains of another and a twisted metal tower that bore signs of magic moving it,"
"I've seen you at your worst…this is destruction on another level,"
"Tell me about it," Merlin growled, "And I can't help him! Not until he sets foot on British soil,"
"He'll learn to harness it," Lancelot reassured him, "You did after all,"
"I had Gaius teaching me!" Merlin groaned, "Jack has no one!"
The sorcerer sat down and put his head in his hands.
"It doesn't help that he's more powerful than I was,"
"He'll come one day, Merlin," Lancelot said, "If he's anything like you…he'll come looking for his family,"
"I hope you're right,"
"I am picking up two Autobot signals not too far from our current location," Ultra Magnus stated.
"Well, that's good," Jack thought.
"But..."
He didn't like that word...
"There seems to be a rather large Decepticon signal engaging them..."
"And there's the bad news," Jack sighed.
The ship came out of the clouds...
"What. The. Pit. Is. THAT!?" Arcee demanded, looking out the window.
Jack stood up on his tip toes, but he couldn't see.
"What is it!?" he demanded, "I can't see! C'mon Arcee what's going on!?"
Suddenly the ramp started opening and two large Autobots hopped on, shooting at their attacker.
"Dude! You can so hit it!" a female voice shouted.
Miko!?
Jack turned to the ramp just in time to see Wheeljack online his blaster at them while Bulkhead stood protectively over Miko.
"Hey," Jack said as he gave a wave.
"Jack!" Miko shouted.
"Arcee!" Bulkhead cried at the same time.
Miko ran up and crushed Jack in a hug.
"Miko!" he wheezed, "Can't breathe!"
She socked him in the stomach, making Jack gasp.
"Weakling!" she snorted.
"Thanks for the save," Wheeljack nodded.
"Thank the Commander," Arcee said.
"Soldiers," Ultra Magnus greeted.
"YOU!?" Wheeljack demanded.
"Ultra Magnus?" Bulkhead asked, incredulously, "I-It's an honor,"
"It's an honor, sir," Ultra Magnus corrected.
Miko's amber eyes narrowed while Jack crossed his arms, eyes glinting.
"Jack…" Arcee warned, "Eyes,"
He growled softly and his eyes dimmed back to blue.
"Guess blowin' that mine made us pretty easy to spot?" Wheeljack asked.
"Ultra Magnus already had a beat on your signals…and ours," Arcee said, "Care to tell us what exactly is nipping at our tailpipes?"
"We think it's a robo-dragon," Miko announced.
"Or…" Jack added, "A Cybertronian reptile,"
"Brace yourselves!" Ultra Magnus ordered…
Right as the ship jolted. Bulkhead picked up Miko and Jack while the others steadied themselves.
Jack heard an explosion on the right side of the ship, Ultra Magnus jerked it to the left. And then vice versa.
"I'm going to get sick!" Jack moaned, putting his head down on Bulkhead's servo.
"Not on me you don't!" Miko yelped, leaning as far away from Jack as she could.
Suddenly, the ship went vertical and upside down, making the kids shriek.
There was silence.
"Is it gone?" Jack asked, "Did we survive? I don…"
The dragon suddenly appeared from the clouds…and blasted fire at them. Ultra Magnus yanked the controls to the side, but the fire hit the left booster. Jack heard the dragon let out this shriek that made him cover his ears.
"Where'd the dragon go?" Miko asked, leaning forwards.
"It's right on top of us!" Jack shouted.
There was a loud thud and Jack and Miko screamed.
For there, on the main window, was the dragon.
The dragon let out another shrieking cry and Jack moaned, hands to his ears.
Ultra Magnus tilted the ship in a downward dive, Bulkhead started to slide forwards, making Miko yell even louder.
"Brace yourselves!" Ultra Magnus shouted once again as he rammed his ship into the side of the side of the canyon…repeatedly.
Miko covered her mouth, like she was fighting the urge to get sick.
Ultra Magnus flipped the ship upside down again, but the dragoncon hung on.
Jack turned his gaze to the creature, eyes glinting gold.
"ASTRICE!" he shouted, stretching his hand.
The dragon shrieked as it was forced off the ship by the sheer force of Jack's magic.
"Get him Jack!" Miko cried, "Get him!"
"Gewicad ge stanas!" Jack finished, and the canyon's sides crumbled into the ravine, burying the monster with it.
"You did it Jack!" Miko grinned, "That was…Jack?"
She shook her head.
Jack had laid his head on Bulkhead's servo…
And he had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
June sat with her head in her hands in Fowler's office.
The phone rang and Fowler hit speaker.
"What is it now, Lord Megatron," Fowler growled.
"Agent Fowler, it's Ratchet!"
"Ratchet!?" June cried, getting up and standing next to Fowler, "Where's Jack? Is he with you?"
"No, he is not," the medic replied sadly, "Listen, we don't have much time. I have taken a tremendous and calculated risk in contacting you. Hopefully the Decepticons aren't monitoring their own frequencies as closely as they no doubt are that of the humans. I am transmitting our current co-ordinates…"
He cut off…but a series of code showed up on the computer screen next to Fowler.
"Ratchet, have you heard from anyone else?" Fowler asked, "What about Prime?"
The phone cut off.
"Well, June," Fowler sighed, "Pack your bags…let's go see your son,"
Jack yawned and stretched.
"Morning Sleeping Beauty!" Miko chirped, causing Jack to jump.
"Miko! Jeeze! Warn me next time!"
"And what would be the fun in that?" she asked.
"Let's see…you wouldn't accidently get hurt,"
"You wouldn't hurt me," Miko scoffed, "Although…that 'Con couldn't say that,"
Jack shuddered.
"So…" he started, "What's up now?"
"We're heading to the last coordinates…there's two signals so that means we've got two 'Bots together,"
"And that means we've also got two still missing,"
Suddenly, the ship shuddered as the landing gear engaged.
"We're here!" Miko shouted getting up and accidently treading on Jack's stomach, causing the older teen to yelp in pain, "Oops! Sorry Jack,"
"'S ok," Jack grunted getting up and heading to the ramp, "Wonder who's here?"
The ramp opened and started to descend, sending dust up.
"Can you see anyone yet?" Jack asked.
"Wait…yes!" Miko cried.
The smoke cleared and Jack saw Ratchet, Bumblebee and Raf standing in front of them. The only thing changed about any of them…was that Bumblebee seemed to have changed his armor color to a mostly black base…but still with the familiar yellow shining through.
"RAF!" Miko shouted as she ran over to Raf and picked him up, whirling him around before setting him down.
Jack came up and smiled.
"Girl's got a grip, doesn't she?" he asked, pulling Raf into an embrace.
"You're alive!" Ratchet breathed.
The four Autobots of Team Prime moved out of the way revealing…
"Ultra Magnus?!" Ratchet asked.
"Doctor," the other replied.
Soon, everyone was switching stories of what had happened while they had been separated.
Bumblebee gave a series of chirps and whirrs as he held out his arms, showing off his armor.
"New paintjob looks good, 'Bee," Bulkhead grinned.
"At least you had something to work with," Arcee muttered, "If I reversed my colors…I'd be pink,"
She shuddered.
The scout gave a series of higher pitched clicks and whirrs that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
Suddenly, Ratchet picked Jack up.
"Ratchet!" the boy sorcerer protested, "Put me down!"
"Not until I give you an examination…Arcee told me what happened,"
Jack growled darkly.
"I'm fine," he hissed, "See?"
He held out his hands.
"There's nothing wrong!" he finished.
"Physically…perhaps," Ratchet growled, "You know what I mean,"
Jack sighed.
"See that rock?" he asked, pointing, "Watch,"
He turned and faced the boulder.
"Ic abietee paet stanhol!"
The boy's eyes burned gold and something rushed from him, screaming towards the rock. The force slammed against it…and the rock completely shattered.
Jack turned to Ratchet.
"See, I'm fine,"
A low rumbling sound came from behind Ratchet, it sounded like there were words in it as well.
Ratchet turned to face Ultra Magnus and he replied in the same series of tones.
"What are they saying?" Jack asked Arcee.
"Ultra Magnus asked what were you, Jack," she replied, "Ratchet's explaining everything,"
Ultra Magnus shuttered his optics multiple times, like he was trying to compute what was going on…he stumbled a bit before Ratchet caught him.
"He just about glitched," Wheeljack hummed, "Never thought I'd see that,"
"The Groundbridge however, is fully operational," Ratchet exclaimed proudly.
Jack frowned, what had he just missed?
Miko ran up to Ratchet, Raf and Jack followed.
"That would have come in handy when robo-dragon…" Miko started.
Jack tapped her, trying to get her to stop talking…
"Miko, shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" he hissed.
"Was trying to eat us for breakfast," she finished, ignoring him.
Ratchet looked at her in shock.
"The indigenous population of this planet…" Ultra Magnus started, "Do they all display the same disregard for authority?"
"No," Ratchet sighed, "Mostly just Miko,"
A jet engine whined in the distance, and Ultra Magnus reacted explosively, flicking out his blasters.
"NO!" Ratchet yelled.
"Don't shoot!" Arcee cried.
"It's Fowler!" Bulkhead explained, "He's with us!"
Jack frowned…If that was Fowler…then…
He ran forwards right as the jet landed and Fowler and June climbed out of the cockpit.
"Mom!" Jack breathed as June looked up.
She spotted him and sprinted forwards, crying as she nearly knocked Jack off balance. She straightened up and held his face in her hands.
"It's ok, Mom," Jack replied softly, "I'm fine,"
He smiled and he gently pushed Miko and Raf into June's embrace. June let them go and looked at them.
"Your families are safe," she said, "Agent Fowler made sure that Jasper was evacuated in time,"
"Thank you Mrs. Darby," Raf sighed in relief.
"Come on," Miko whined, pulling on Jack's arm, "We're missing out on some war stories here!"
Jack groaned but let Miko take him.
He heard Fowler say something about Megatron and Darkmount…the fortress…
"I would be inclined to agree with the native life form," Ultra Magnus stated, "We must stop Megatron…with or without Optimus Prime,"
No one looked happy about that.
"We must do everything we can to ensure Megatron's downfall," Ultra Magnus continued, "But we will need to be smart about it,"
"Whoa," Wheeljack protested, "Who put Shoulderpads in command."
"Temporary command," Jack corrected.
"Ultra Magnus is the only logical choice," Ratchet pointed out, "He was trained by Optimus and was his commanding officer during the war for Cybertron,"
"Now, if there is no other objection, soldier," Ultra Magnus started
Wheeljack narrowed his optics but wisely said nothing.
"Please follow me," Ultra Magnus finished, walking back to his ship.
"Aye, aye, captain," Wheeljack growled.
June turned back towards her son.
"Are you ok?" she asked.
"I'm fine," Jack replied, "Really,"
"You sure?" June started, "I heard what happened,"
Jack's face darkened, "Who told you?"
June sighed.
"Your father contacted me…he saw,"
Jack's eyes went wide.
"Dad…dad talked to you?" he whispered hoarsely.
"Yes,"
"And he didn't come to s-see me?"
"Jack," June said, taking her son by the shoulder and walking a ways with him, "You have to understand this…"
"NO!" Jack snapped, "I understand perfectly! He doesn't want to see me!"
"Jack, listen!"
"No you listen!" he growled, "Ever since I found out he was alive I've hoped that he would come back to the U.S. and stay with us and that we'd be happy for once in our lives!"
The sky darkened.
"And we wouldn't have to hide! Well I'm through hiding!"
The earth shook.
"Jack, please…"
"I think I know why he wouldn't come back…he didn't want to deal with a son whose powers are wildly out of control," Jack continued, tears starting to stream from his golden eyes, "You say he told you what happened? I…I can't do it Mom. I'm scared. I'm going to hurt someone, and I know it won't be me! Dad could help…but he's not here!"
Lightning cracked down from the sky, blasting a stone not too far from the two.
"Jack, calm down," June pleaded, putting her hands on his cheeks, "Please, you say you're scared of hurting someone…you're going to if you don't calm down,"
He took a deep breath, and his knees gave out, sending him sinking towards the ground.
"Why is this happening to me?" he groaned, "What did I ever do?"
June sat down next to her son.
"Sweetheart, I know I probably shouldn't be telling you this…but I know why your father hasn't been around lately," she murmured.
"What?" Jack asked, looking up.
"Your father was ordered by the Cailleach, the guardian of the Spirit World, not to let you see him," June sighed, "But, he's always been around, watching,"
"But he's never been to Jasper," Jack pointed out and his mother looked away, "He…he has?"
"He's sent some of his friends to watch over you…he even came once," June said.
"Who?" Jack demanded.
"Mrs. Pennington is Queen Guinevere, Mr. Wayne is Sir Gwaine, Mr. Percy is Sir Percival, Mr. Lance is Lancelot…"
"And Dad?" Jack asked, eyes bright with hope.
"Remember your Chemistry teacher…Mr. Emmitt Rys, but his friends called him Em?" June asked as Jack's eyes got huge, "Em Rys…Emrys. Emrys is what the druids called your father,"
"I knew it!" Jack cried, "I knew I recognized him!"
"And he came to Jasper too, with Arthur this time,"
"Arthur's back!?"
"The man you told Arcee to watch out for…the one with the strange green gold eyes?"
"…That was Dad?" Jack breathed, and then he bowed his head, "Man, I was a total jerk to him!"
"He laughed about it," June replied, "He didn't blame you…after years of being the only sorcerer in Jasper…you sensing another person with Magic…you'd immediately think it was Morgana or Mordred,"
"Well…yeah," Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck, "So…when can I go see Dad without something bad happening?"
"You'll only get to see him if you go to England, Jack," June murmured, "Right now…we don't have the funds to go…"
"Ratchet could just Bri…"
"No, I am not going in one of those things!" June growled, "I told your father and I'm telling you, I hate going through those and I'd rather fly,"
"But by the time we get enough money to go…I'll be like fifty!"
"That's just something we'll have to worry about then," June said, kissing her son's head, "Now…c'mon, let's go get with the others, ok?"
Jack nodded, helping his mother to her feet.
His heart felt so much lighter now.
He knew, that one day, he'd get to see his dad. And he knew, that his dad was just as anxious to see him as he was.
"I'll see you soon, Dad," Jack whispered more to himself than anything.
"And I'll be waiting," Merlin smiled, his heart lifting a bit.
See, sweet happy ending! I was kinda getting annoyed that Jack was still in the dark about the knights, Gwen, Arthur, and Merlin coming to watch/visit over him. He doesn't know that the 'Bots, Miko, and Raf know about the visitors...but at least Jack knows he was never left alone. And he knows that he's going to go to England...eventually. He just doesn't know when.
Anyway, hope you liked it. If you did, please R&R! :)
Qui vállë tóquetë, ván tecë (If no review comes from y'all; no story comes from me)
Máriessë ar mára tecië
Farewell and fair writing
Elhini Prime signing off.
