It was late into the night, or very early in the morning, at the B.S.A.A. blacksite. With the forced departure of Umbrella, Director Barker ordered for an immediate relocation of all the personnel on sight, a thorough clean up of B.S.A.A. intel, and full sanitation of all downed B.O.W.s. Nothing was to be left behind. Hours had gone by after it all came to a head and most of the agents on site had vacated the premise by air and land. Key members of the B.S.A.A. remained, along with the Autobots, the humans, the D.S.O. and a few others. As of right now, everyone was beginning to gather in the main hangar as Ratchet was preparing to use the ground bridge to head to the next location. As whoever that was left on site triple checked the premise for anything of value being left behind, Arcee sat alone inside the ruins of the building where...it happened.
This was where it must've taken place, where he got to him...This is where she failed her partner worse than she had failed either of her previous two. This is where Joshua had gotten to Jack. Arcee sat in the middle of the room, her knees pulled to her chest as if she were a scared child. How could she have let this happen? How could she have screwed up so badly? Her partner, her little brother, was gone.
"Jack." She whispered to no one.
So many thoughts clouded her mind, so many fears. One was the frightful image of Jack holding that gun to his head to threaten Wesker away. Seeing that had scared her more than any of the B.O.W.s she had faced up to that point. One was the horrible sight of him writhing in pain before his body began to tear itself apart. Her recharge would plague her with that memory for vorns to come. One was of Jack utterly destroying the Tyrants with ease, all the while wearing a blank expression that made him almost unrecognizable to Arcee. And the rest were thoughts of what he was doing now. There was one thing she truly feared him doing, or...had already done.
Arcee shut her optics. Her spark throbbed with pain at the thought. She tried to tell herself he would never do that. He had promised her he wouldn't. But then, he promised Rafael and Miko that he wouldn't run away again. Jack was capable of anything now. He was scared and he believed he had nothing to lose. Succumbing to his own fears and taking his own life, it wasn't just possible, it was likely.
"Arcee?"
She looked behind her and saw Bulkhead. He, like her, was emotionally drained from everything that happened tonight. He looked on at her with a sadness in his optics.
"You, uh...You doin' okay in here?"
Arcee looked away from him.
"No." She answered simply.
"Yeah...Me neither."
Bulkhead walked up and took a seat next to Arcee, staring down at the ground, looking as lost as she was.
"How's Miko doing?" Arcee asked.
"She fell asleep about an hour ago. Before that, I couldn't get her to stop cryin'."
Arcee looked at Bulkhead and saw the same hopelessness she was feeling.
"Raf?" She asked.
"He's puttin' on a tough face...But that worries me and 'Bee. Miko's usually the one tryin' to keep a chin up while Raf's the one who can't hold back the tears."
There was a moment of silence between them.
"Ratchet sent me to look for ya'." Bulkhead continued. "We're gettin' ready to leave this place."
Arcee didn't say anything.
"You hear me, Arcee?" Bulkhead asked.
"I heard you, Bulk...But, we can't leave."
"We got no choice. This place ain't safe no more. Umbrella knows about it. The kids, June, they're in danger if they stay."
"I should stay behind, then."
Bulkhead looked confused.
"In case Jack comes back."
Bulkhead looked at Arcee with pity.
"He ain't comin' back, Arcee."
Those words hung over both of their helms and neither could say anything else. Bulkhead looked back to Arcee and saw that she had shut herself off. The last time she was like this was when she was rescued from Airachnid back on Cybertron, when they lost Tailgate.
"I'll let Optimus know you're comin'" Bulkhead said just before leaving.
Bulkhead walked out of the building, leaving Arcee alone. Once he was gone, she took in what he had said. Even without tears, Arcee couldn't hold back. She dropped her head and began to cry.
"I'm sorry, Jack. I'm so sorry."
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The remaining party at the blacksite were all gathered in the main hangar, awaiting Optimus' orders. The Prime stood before all of them, holding the Forge of Solus in his right servo. He looked around to make sure everyone was accounted for. The B.S.A.A. were all there, as well as the D.S.O. June was still asleep from exhaustion and being escorted by Jill in her wheelchair. The children were also asleep in the servos of Bumblebee. There were only two not in attendance.
"Where are Bulkhead and Arcee?" Optimus asked.
"Bulkhead went to go get her. He should be back any minute." Bumblebee answered.
"Very well. While we wait for them, let's go over our relocation."
Optimus walked through the gathering and in front of the space bridge.
"Ratchet will open a bridge to our new base of operations. Director Barker has provided us with a new location that he assures me is not on record. Bumblebee, Arcee, and myself will escort June, Miko, and Rafael. The B.S.A.A. and the D.S.O. will follow us. Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Wheeljack will stay behind."
Optimus looked to Wheeljack and Ratchet to see their approval. They had taken no issue with this.
"Ratchet will dismantle the space bridge so that Umbrella will not have access to such technology should they return. Bulkhead and Wheeljack will provide protection, in the event of another attack. Then, I will use the Forge of Solus to create another ground bridge and I will open a portal for the three of you to rejoin us."
Bulkhead entered the hangar and caught Optimus' attention. Arcee was not with him, which concerned the Prime. But he continued.
"The B.S.A.A. will assemble themselves as they see fit as I'm am sure the D.S.O will as well. We Autobots will make the necessary adjustments to accommodate our human companions and once we have all settled, we will continue our campaign against Umbrella."
Once again, the team was in agreement. But there was a looming question on everyone's minds who all noticed that Optimus had not made any mention something of extreme importance.
"What about Jack?"
Optimus turned to the entrance of the hangar and saw Arcee standing there. As he feared, her expression was almost blank. She was shutting herself off again.
"When will we start looking for him?" She asked further.
Optimus did not wish to give the answer he had.
"At the moment, assuring the safety of June and the children is our main priority. Once we have relocated, we must be certain that we cannot be tracked or infiltrated by Umbrella again. We have to make sure that they are protected."
Arcee didn't react, but Optimus knew that wasn't what she wanted to hear. He too wanted to search for Jackson and bring him back. But Umbrella had left so much damage in their wake and Optimus had to make sure that his family was safe before he could do anything else.
'Family.' He thought to himself.
The humans had influenced the Prime so much since they had entered the Autobot's lives. The thought that one of them was missing and alone weighed heavy on his mind. But right now, he had an immediate concern. Umbrella couldn't know where Jack was any more than they did, so he had room to focus on what was in front of him.
But once things were settled and they had a moment to breathe, Optimus knew that he wouldn't be able to think about anything except Jackson. Everything else would have to take a step back, the Decepticons, Umbrella, the vaccine. Until he knew that Jack was alright, until he was safe with them, and they found a way to help fix what Umbrella had done to him, Optimus wouldn't know a moments rest. He needed to save Jack. The short in his spark would not stop before then.
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"Uh...Ugh..."
Jack groaned as his consciousness returned to him. However, he was at that point where his mind had woken up, but his body was still asleep. He could lift his head an inch or two off the ground, but everything else felt like it was weighed down. As he waited for his body to wake up, he looked up at the sky. That's when he realized that he had no idea where he was, except that he was outside.
"What the..." He barely said.
He was in a forest of some kind. His mind was scattered and he couldn't recollect anything from the night before. But he remembered that the base he was living in was in the desert. What was he doing in a forest?
When he body finally began to respond, he sat up and tried to shake some sense back into his mind. He hunched over and held his head as the morning weakness began to dissipate. When he opened his eyes and looked at his hand, he saw that it was caked in blood. His panic was knee-jerk, as anyone else would be. But when he saw that his whole body was covered in blood, his panic became real. Then he looked around and he saw the bloody remains of some large cat that looked like it had been ripped open and torn to shreds. He covered his mouth and kept himself from losing it.
He looked away and tried to make sense of all this, all the while breathing like he was having an asthma attack and shaking like a drug addict going through withdrawal. He ran his hands through his hair and tried to remember something from the night before. He didn't have to try too hard, because it all came back to him in frightening detail.
It started in bits in pieces, like the death of the Fowler, in all its gory detail. Then he remembered being chased by his father and Arcee fighting with all she had to protect him. He remembered seeing his father for the last time, then the Nemesis, then the Tyrants.
"Oh, God." He whispered in horror.
These memories were somehow clearer than the others, even if they felt like they had happened to someone else. But he knew that it was his hands he saw piercing through the Tyrant's torso, his ripping off their claws, tearing one in half, and his hands...
"No." He said with much more hopeless.
It was his hands that changed, deformed into claws and spikes and blades and shredding through all four of them. These monsters that had overwhelmed the Autobots, B.S.A.A., and the D.S.O., Jack was the the one who killed them...because he was one of them
"No, no, no." He began to whimper as he hunched to the ground, covering his face. "This isn't happening...This isn't real."
But it was real, real as the memories, as the blood that covered his body. He stopped crying for a moment and examined himself. He couldn't stand the sight of it. He saw that there was a stream a few feet away from him and quickly crawled to it, too scared to even stand up. Frantically, he reached into the stream and splashed himself with as much water as he could. He nervously whimpered as he tried to wash away all the blood. Some of it came off, but there was just so much of it. As attempts to wash himself became more frantic, he had flashes of the Umbrella agents he had butchered as he ran away from the base. He remembered the sounds of their screams, the horror and pain, the disgusting tears of their flash as Jack had reduced them to limbs and entrails. He looked down at his bloodstained garments and tore them off his body. With his strength, his jeans ripped like wet paper.
Naked as the day he was born, Jack got into the stream, horribly cold as it was. He didn't care at all. All he wanted was to get the blood off. He continued to make noises of panic as the blood finally began to wash away. He splashed his face and then got a good look at himself in the reflection of the water.
The blood the was gone, but his new eye was still there. It looked so unnatural to him, not only because of the color, but because he knew where it came from. It was like his father's eye that grew from his shoulder. It was an unwanted growth, like a tumor, created from the G-Virus.
Jack got out of the the stream and fell to his knees. He felt bile rise from his stomach, but he suppressed it. His arms and legs still shook, but it had nothing to do with the cold. In fact, he felt no cold at all, now that he was out of the stream. He stood up on his knees and looked at his right hand. It looked normal to him, but he stared at it like it was the same as his father's claw. Without even trying to, his hand changed, much to his horror. The three onyx black talons came right out of his arm and and extended over his head. His looked up them with pure shock. He fell back on his backside, too scared to have another thought, fearing it would change something else.
Jack sat in a state of shock, not noticing the claws retreat back into his body. His mind was blank for a moment. The reality of it all was setting in. Jack was now a B.O.W. He was no longer the miracle cure for humanity. Now, he was Umbrella's ultimate weapon. The memory of him running Wesker through with his claw did nothing to comfort him. His logical thoughts were coming back and they were telling him that Umbrella was too close to be stopped with Wesker's death. They were still after him, now more than ever. If they got their hands on him.
Jack became blank again, but this time, it wasn't out of shock. It became as clear as the stream he washed himself in. His body reacted to his thoughts. He felt his arm shifting around and saw the three talons had returned, though much smaller. But they were big enough. His began breathing heavily through his nose, purely out of nervousness. It was clear what he had to do.
But he thought about Miko and Rafael, the promise he had broken when he ran way. He thought about Jill, and Rebecca...and Arcee.
"Arcee." He said as he shut his tear filled eyes with realization.
This is what she was afraid he would do. God only knows how scared she was for him at this moment. If he did this, it would hurt her beyond anything Airachnid had done to her. And Optimus, he had chose Jack as a Prime and Jack was beginning to feel something for him he had only felt with his father. He'd be letting him down even more than when he gave back to Key to Vector. And his mother...
"Jack." He remembered her soft voiced calling to him.
He couldn't bear to think about what it was like for her right then. He couldn't forget the pain in her eyes just before he ran or her cries for him when he did. Her heart must've shattered to pieces when he ran away. If he did this, and it got back to her, it would kill her. She'd lose the will to live. She'd have nothing...But that was better than whatever Umbrella was planning for the world.
"Mom, I'm sorry." He tearfully said.
He focused on what he wanted to do. His claws retreated again. But then, he balled his fist and put it against his chest, over his heart. As he prepared to do what needed to be done, he shut his eyes and bared his teeth. He didn't want to die, but this needed to happen.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry." He sobbed.
And with that, a black spike pierced through his chest out of his back. Jack felt himself choke the moment he was run through. He hacked gobs of blood from his mouth and he felt his body shutting down. The spike retreated and his blood flowed out of his fresh wound. Jack fell forward and it wasn't long before his vision faded. The last thought he had before he fell unconscious was his regret of not leaving a message to his mother, a carving on one of the trees telling her that he loved her. But it was too late for that now. Jack lied motionless on the ground with his eyes still open as his blood pooled underneath him. He had done what he intended. He lied there dead...for a mere second. His conscious did not return, but his right eye once again began to glow and the hole in his back slowly began to close.
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Bulkhead stepped through the ground bridge last. He had switched places with Arcee, who wanted to remain back in the previous base with the hope that Jack would return. But Bulkhead knew that Jack wasn't coming back. Still, he did it for Arcee, for her comfort. He'd knew that if it was Miko, he'd do the same thing.
Speaking of, he looked for his young friend among the humans that had crossed through the portal. She and Rafael had woken up so that they could leave with the rest of the team. Unfortunately, the brief moment Bulkhead had with her showed that her rest did nothing to make her feel better. She was taking all of this very hard, especially Jack running away.
Bulkhead looked around and saw that the base was pretty massive, capable of housing a mech of his size. But it was also very closed off, with not a window to the outside in sight. It was a lot like Omega One, though felt less like home than the previous base.
"Optimus, do you read?" The Prime was called through the comm link.
"I read you loud and clear, Ratchet. Everyone here is accounted for."
"Alright, then. Me, Arcee, and Wheeljack will begin dismantling the space bridge."
"And I will begin constructing a new one on my end."
"Are you sure you have enough materials to complete one?"
"With the Forge of Solus, I have everything I require. However, it will take some time to reconstruct a ground bridge. The three of you are to be on your guard while you remain behind."
"Don't worry about us, Optimus. Just...just hold everyone together. Things are very upsetting for the moment."
"You...are not wrong, old friend." Optimus replied, spotting the still asleep June in her wheelchair and the exhausted and still emotional Rafael and Miko.
Bulkhead managed to spot Miko and went to her as everyone began to get situated. Optimus began working on the new ground bridge and Bumblebee followed Bulkhead's lead by going to Rafael.
"Miko." Bulkhead called.
She looked up at him with wet, puffy eyes. She wasn't crying, but she was still upset. Bulkhead hated to see her in such a state.
"Let's go find you a room before all the good ones are taken."
Miko didn't reply, but she walked over to Bulkhead without really looking at him. The two walked side by side into one of the many corridors of the new bases lobby. Getting use to this place was going to be even harder than last time, especially with one of the kids missing.
Bulkhead and Miko found a room big enough for him to enter along with her, just far enough from the lobby to give her some much needed privacy when she wanted it. There was a bed set up, just like in the old base. It looked newer than the base itself. Bulkhead figured it must've been left there recently.
"Gotta hand it to Optimus and Ratchet, they really thought ahead on this one."
Miko was sitting on her bed, staring off with no real input to offer.
"I was wondering what they were doing that day they were taking equipment through the bridge. Guess they were preparing for the worst. This place ain't so bad. Just hope there's an exit to the outside so you can get some fresh air once in a while."
"I don't need no stinkin' fresh air." Miko replied lowly and bitterly.
This was the first time she had spoken all night and it wasn't a good the sign the way she did.
"I want my friend back." She followed.
Bulkhead just looked at her, wishing he had something to say to lift her spirits. But anything that could be of comfort to her would only be a lie.
"Well...Arcee is still back at the old base. Who knows...Maybe he'll go back there."
"Don't be stupid, Bulkhead." She replied with that same bitterness. "We both know he won't."
Again, Bulkhead could say nothing that wouldn't be a lie.
"Jack's not coming back. He left us for good...We're never gonna see'em again."
Miko lowered her head and sobbed lightly. Bulkhead moved closer and knelt before her. He gently brushed his digit against her face, which she put her hand on as she cried a little more. She opened her eyes and showed her sadness to Bulkhead.
"Bulk...What are we gonna do?"
Bulkhead didn't have an answer. He didn't know what she was asking. Was she asking what they were gonna do about Jack, about Umbrella, about Wesker?
"I...I don't know, Miko." Bulkhead answered.
Miko got up off her bed and held herself against Bulkhead's leg.
"I wanna go home, Bulk. I wanna go back to Jasper. I want to see my host parents again. I...I even want to go back to school. I want to go back to our old base so I could run through the ground bridge and get into trouble...I want Jack to come after me."
And now Bulkhead could feel his spark aching, because he wanted those things too.
"I want things to go back to the way they were, before Umbrella came and ruined everything."
Bulkhead went to speak but stopped for a moment.
"I...I know you do, Miko. But things can't go back to the way they were."
"But I'm tired, Bulkhead."
"If you're tired, just go to sleep. I'll be here. I won't leave, I promise."
"No...I'm tired of being scared. I'm tired of Umbrella terrorizing us. I tired of seeing you all come back hurt. Jack's gone. Fowler's dead. They turned my friend into a monster...He's gonna do something stupid. I know he is."
Now, she was sobbing hard.
"Miko, don't think like that."
"I just want this nightmare to be over...I want Jack...I want my home back...But it's all gone. Umbrella taking all of it away from us."
Miko's big brown eyes looked straight up into Bulkhead's optics.
"They'll take you away from me too."
That was it for Bulkhead.
"No, they won't." He answered.
He reached down and lifted Miko to his spark chamber.
"No one is gonna separate us. Do you hear me, Miko? I'm not letting them win. What happened was the last straw with Umbrella. Optimus isn't gonna let them get away with that...And we'll find Jack. I don't know how, but we'll find him and we'll bring him home. And if it takes a lifetime, we're gonna fix him. They'll undo what Umbrella did to him. They'll find a way. You three are gonna be together again."
Truth be told, Bulkhead didn't know if finding Jack or curing him was even possible, but he didn't know that it was impossible, so it wasn't a lie.
"Bulkhead...I wanna believe you, but..."
Miko stopped and cried a little more into his chassis.
"I can't...I want to see Jack again, but...He's not Jack anymore."
That last sentence broke her down. Bulkhead knew that it made her feel guilty as much as it hurt her to say it. His best friend cried herself weak all over again in his servo and there was nothing he could do about it. And as much as he wanted to believe that he and the others could save Jack, he knew Miko was right. That wasn't Jack who did that to those B.O.W.s. and it wasn't Jack that nearly killed Wesker.
'I'm sorry, Jack.' He thought to himself.
The mere thought made him angry at himself, because he was letting both Jack and Miko down. But Miko was his biggest concern and he felt that Jack was a lost cause. But that didn't make him feel any better about giving up on him like this.
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Leon held his phone to his side. He had already punched in the number, but he did not send the call. He too was focused on the corpse in front of him.
"Fowler...Goddammit." He said somberly.
Leon was no stranger to loss in his line of work. It began with Ada, even though he would later find out that she survived. Since then, he had lost many comrades and allies in the field. But that was the life they all chose and they all knew the risks. Fowler was no different and yet...this one felt closer to home than the others.
Maybe it was because Fowler was not involved in this as long as he was. Maybe it was because he had a chance to step back and leave it to the rest to them. Maybe he just got to know him a bit better. Leon never did lower his guard much when it came to working with others. Helena and Hannigan were the rare exceptions. Whatever the case had been, Leon felt guilty. He felt the loss of Fowler far more than he should have. Then again, they both had one thing in common. They were both close friends with Adam Bedford and it seemed like he trusted them both equally. Maybe that's where this Comradery he felt for Fowler had come from.
"I'm sorry, Fowler. You didn't deserve this."
And he truly didn't. He put himself on the line for Jackson Darby and this was the price he paid for it. What was even worse, Wesker had used him to get to this kid and now he was infected and missing. Leon just knew that the old guy would blame himself mercilessly. Leon had to make this right. Fowler's death could not be for nothing. He had to find Jackson before Umbrella and then he had to take those bastards down.
But before any of that, Fowler needed to be laid to rest. He deserved a proper burial as any soldier would. Leon needed to know if he had any family that needed to be told what happened. The veteran agent inhaled and braced himself. He hated breaking bad news to people, especially where death was involved. He hit send on his phone and waited for the President to answer.
"Adam, it's me, Leon. Sir...I'm afraid I have terrible news. It's about William Fowler."
Leon had to work up the nerve to say it.
"I'm sorry, Adam. We lost him"
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It was about two hours until sunrise when Optimus had finished the ground bridge. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough materials to create a space bridge until the previous one was broken down. That would have to come later. Optimus contacted Ratchet through the comm link and his remaining Autobots came through to their new base. Optimus immediately saw Arcee's defeated expression. Whatever she was hoping to happen by switching places with Bulkhead hadn't.
After the rest of the broken down bridge was transported to their new location, the portal was closed and everyone was settled in. Wheeljack wasted no time in finding Bulkhead and Miko. Ratchet and Optimus exchanged vital bits of information before the medic began to unpack what he had brought with him. Arcee had found a far wall to lean against and said nothing to no one. The Prime was as worried for her as for June, who was still resting. He could tell by her exhausted expression that Arcee needed to rest herself. Optimus walked over to her, but she didn't so much as raise her helm when he was before her.
"Arcee." He said calmly.
As she had been since Jack ran away, Arcee was silent.
"You look unwell. It would wise for you to rest while we have the moment."
"We don't have the moment, Optimus." Arcee said suddenly, without looking up. "And I'll rest when we find Jack."
He had seen this in her so many times before and it never failed to worry him. But this time, Optimus was afraid of what Arcee might do and how far she would push herself.
"We have all endured a great deal in these past hours." He said. "Now is the time for us to regain our strength for the war to come. There is much to be done and everyone needs to be at their peak. That includes you."
Arcee finally looked up at Optimus.
"The war to come?" She asked, loudly. "That's what you're worried about, Optimus?"
He could see the frustration building in her.
"What about Jack?! What about what he endured?!"
Everyone turned their heads to Arcee.
"My partner is on the run with Umbrella on his back and you want to take a break?! We don't even know what's going through his head right now!"
"Arcee, calm yourself."
"How can I remain calm?!" She shouted. "How can I rest when someone I care about is missing and I have no idea if he's even still alive?! How can you ask me to do nothing when he needs me, Optimus?!"
The Prime understood why Arcee was shouting, why she was so angry. He could not fault her.
"How are you so calm about this?! Why aren't you, you most of all, out there looking for him yourself?! You gave him the Key to Vector Sigma! You went back on your convictions to not kill any humans for his sake! I thought that if anyone would be helping me find Jack, it would be you! So, why?! Why are we still here?!"
Arcee smashed her fist against the wall behind her to emphasize her frustration.
"You love Jack as much as I do and everyone knows about you and June."
Optimus clenched his fist. She was angry, he understood that. But if she dared challenge how much he cared for June Darby...
"When she wakes up in the next few hours, what are you gonna tell her? 'We're too tired, we'll look for your son later?'"
"Jackson is not the only human I have to protect!" Optimus shot back at her, silencing her instantly.
Everyone that was there took a step back. No one had seen Optimus lose his cool like that, not even Ratchet. The Prime looked around behind him and saw the rows of concerned faces. He turned back, but was not focused on Arcee. He lowered his helm and collected his composure. Arcee was still in shock by Optimus' shouting at her. She hadn't said another word.
"I...I want to find Jackson." Optimus said lowly. "I need to find him."
Optimus took a step back and looked down at his servos. He contemplated his absolute failure to protect someone he had come to care for so deeply.
"But there is nothing any of us can do right now...Not without putting the others in danger. Miko, Rafael, June...We have to protect them."
Optimus shut his optics for a moment and then opened them to face the rest of the base, as if addressing them.
"Umbrella has struck and deeply wounded us. We are all weak and exhausted and unable to fight back. For us to begin searching for Jackson right now would put us at risk and our human companions even more. If we were to fall in battle, there would be no one to protect them. We have already lost one of our own."
He was, of course, referring to Agent Fowler.
"I want nothing more than to find Jackson and bring him home. But I will not do so at the expense of anyone else under our protection."
Optimus turned back to Arcee, who had reverted back to her evasive and shut off self. Clearly, Optimus was getting through to her.
"And I know what it is that you are so afraid will happen if we do not find him soon. I, too, hold that fear. But there are others who need our help as well. I will never abandon one for the other. I will search for Jackson, but not before I know the others are alright. Do you understand, Arcee?"
Arcee looked ashamed of herself, but no less lost about the whole thing. When she failed to answer, Optimus did not take it as defiance.
"Arcee...You must rest."
Arcee suddenly clutched her arms tightly.
"I...I can't be in here like this. I...I gotta get out of here."
Arcee moved from her spot and rushed past Optimus. Her anxiety was visibly getting the best of her and she appeared desperate to escape her confines.
"Where's the way out?" She asked urgently.
"Arcee, calm yourself." Ratchet said out of concern.
"Please tell me there's a way out. Don't tell me that we're underwater or something. I need to get out of this place or I'll go crazy."
Optimus was afraid that he would have to restrain Arcee if she became any more erratic. However, he noticed Chris walking up to her.
"Hey, Big Blue." He called to her.
Arcee looked at him at her pede.
"Come on, I'll take ya' up top to the surface."
Arcee took a deep breath and seemed to calm herself.
"Okay." She said with a nod.
Everyone watched as Chris led her to the nearest vehicle lift, all with varying levels of concern. Optimus was more worried than anyone. He predicted that something like this would happen and he figured it would be Arcee since it was her partner this had all happened to. But he wondered who else had a storm of emotion building inside of them. He wondered how long they would be able to hang in there until they found Jackson. How long before one of them lost hope and went off drastically? How long did he have before he lost his mind in worry?
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The long walk from the main lobby to the platform was uncomfortable and awkward for Arcee. She really felt weak and ashamed of her behavior. Chris was notably quiet the entire time they walked together. When they made it to the lift and rose to the surface, the ride up was no less difficult for her. She distracted herself by mentally scolding herself for acting the way she did. She knew that attacking Optimus about not going after Jack was not only wrong, but it was hurtful towards him. She also knew that he was right. She needed to get her head on straight if she was going to be of any use to anyone. But right now, she needed to see something other than walls.
The lift came to a stop and Arcee found herself in what appeared to be the remnants of a burned down building. It was only now that she wondered where this new base was located. She looked down to Chris who was examining the area himself, though it was more to reaffirm what she was thinking.
"Not so pretty on the outside, is it? Come on, this way." He said.
Arcee followed behind Chris as they approached the nearest exit, which was a gigantic hole in the side of the building. As they approached the opening, Arcee began to make out the outside, not seeing a much better condition. When they stepped outside into a very large courtyard, Arcee was taken completely back by what she was looking at.
"Primus." She said in disbelief.
Wherever they were, it used to be a city. Now, it was just ruins. The buildings were half destroyed at best. The streets were cracked. Vehicles, signs, and traffic lights were melted into the concrete. And scattered about the ground were vaguely human shaped imprints that Arcee recognized as "carbon shadows". This was a city that had been destroyed in some kind explosion. It took a second for Arcee to figure out what city.
"Raccoon City." She stated. "We're in Jack's old home."
Chris didn't answer. When she looked at him, she saw that he was giving a signal to someone in the distance. She followed where he was looking and was able to see another B.S.A.A. stationed in a sniper's nest a good distance away. She scanned the area and saw that there were several agents keeping watch around their location. Good, they're not taking any chances. Arcee then turned to look at the building and was shocked even further.
There wasn't much left of the building. The whole top half had been destroyed. But Arcee clearly saw what remained of the logo that had fallen to the ground. It was the same logo that Wesker's men wore.
"This is an Umbrella facility." She said in surprise.
Chris acknowledged her this time, turning to see what she was looking at.
"You are correct, Arcee. Umbrella likes to leave some good real estate behind. Most of the time, we just scavenge the place, hoping to find something of value."
"And what about this place? Why'd did you turn one their main headquarters into a B.S.A.A. blacksite?"
"Because they'd never think we'd do that."
Chris seemed proud of himself at that statement. Clearly, this was his idea.
"Finding the perfect level of isolation for our blacksites is one of the challenges of the B.S.A.A. I don't remember how we learned this, but we found out that there was zero radiation in what remained of the city. Turned out that the missile they used to destroy it wasn't nuclear at all, some type of prototype. I wouldn't know, not my area of expertise."
Chris turned back around and walked over to the remains of large, decorative fountain. He sat on what little was left of the ledge.
"We were able to determine that there was no bio-hazard in the city and instead of reporting it to the government, and by extension Umbrella, we searched the city ourselves and came across this place. Umbrella would never have any reason to come back here in search of anything, so we re-purposed it for our own use. Hidden base underneath a bio-hazard quarantine city, perfect place for a hideout whenever we needed one. Of course, it was only meant for when Umbrella might really be on our asses, like now."
It made sense to Arcee. Having been forced to relocate twice, this was definitely the situation this base was made for.
"Why not before, though?" She asked. "After we lost Jasper?"
"Well...At the time, we didn't know that it was Umbrella that gave our location to the Decepticons and...We didn't think it was smart to bring Jack and his mother back here. I doubt either of them reminisce on this place much."
Arcee turned back to the city to really take in what she was seeing. This is where it all happened, where Jack's nightmare began.
"I can't believe Umbrella did this. They caused this whole city to be destroyed." Arcee said.
"That's why I wonder how they expect to create a new world when all they do is destroy."
"This place...It reminds me of Cybertron."
Chris looked up at Arcee.
"Your home?"
Arcee paused before answering.
"No...not anymore. It's as barren and dead as this city. Only we destroyed everything. There isn't anywhere on Cybertron that doesn't look like this. It's just ball of scrap metal now."
Arcee didn't see that Chris was relating to her.
"It's not like we're any better. As you can see from here, we have the technology to do damage of our own."
"I suppose you do. But your leaders have restraint. Umbrella doesn't."
"Hence, why we're all here."
The two of them were silent for a little while. Their brief conversation served to temporarily distract Arcee from her true dilemma, regarding her partner.
"You're thinking about Jack, aren't you?" Chris asked.
Arcee continued to stare at the ruined city.
"I just want him back."
"Look, Arcee...No one's giving up on Jack. We're just licking our wounds right now, trying to figure out the next play. So much has happened in the last twenty-four hours and we're all just trying to come to grips with it, especially the little ones."
Arcee lowered her helm, again reminded of her less then flattering display from earlier.
"I shouldn't have said that to Optimus." She said.
"No, you shouldn't have." Chris answered. "But I don't think anyone's holdin' it against you. We're all under a lot of stress right now."
Of course, Arcee's stress was more than visible in her expression.
"But that's not what your really worried about, is it?" He asked.
Silence gave Chris his answer.
"He's somewhere out there and we don't have a clue where to start looking. Plus, he's changed now. Umbrella definitely got the results they wanted by infecting him. So now, they have even more reason to look for him." He stated.
Arcee was gripping her arms tighter.
"But what really worries you is what Jack's gonna do...You're scared that he's gonna try to..."
"Please, stop." Arcee pleaded quietly.
Chris didn't go any further for a moment. But Arcee knew she needed to hear this, as much as she didn't want to.
"Okay...Here's the thing, Blue. Everything I just said is true and we both know it. But, there's other things you have to take into account."
"Like what?" She asked lowly.
"First off, Wesker's down."
Arcee lifted her helm in thought. Chris was right, Jack did hurt Wesker pretty badly.
"I doubt he's dead, but after what Jack did to him, he's out of commission for a least a little while. No Wesker means no Umbrella on Jack's trail."
"How can you be sure of that?"
"Because I know Wesker. He's as arrogant as he ever was and he would only trust himself to get the job done. If he's not leading the search himself, he wouldn't even bother sending someone in his place. By the time he gets back on his feet, Jack will be so far out of his range, he'll be as clueless on where he is as we are right now. That means, we get a head start."
Arcee hadn't thought of that. A little as it was, it was hope she desperately needed.
"Second, Jack's a sharp kid. He's not gonna stay in one spot and wait for Wesker to come find him. He's knows what happens if he gets captured and he doesn't want that to happen. He'll know to stay off the grid and away from people, for his sake and theirs. Third, and you're gonna hate to hear this, but Jack's change is gonna work in his favor."
Chris was right again, Arcee hated to hear that.
"Hear me out. He took down the Tyrants that the 'Bots couldn't and he did it pretty easily. Like it or not, Jack has the ability to protect himself out there thanks to the G-Virus. From Umbrella or any other threat out there, he's not helpless."
Unfortunately, there was another part of that Arcee was also worried about.
"And as hard as it is to believe, I think Jack's still in there." He continued.
Arcee then looked to Chris.
"Do you really?" Arcee asked with true hope.
"Think about it. He killed the Tyrants, but he ran from us. He might've had that blank expression on his face when he was fighting B.O.W.s. but at no point did turn his claws on us. I've seen something like this before. The G-Virus probably gave him a defense mechanism that puts him on the attack if he's threatened. But he's still aware enough to recognize us."
Again, Arcee thought about what Chris was saying.
"Some of our guys said they saw him running out of the facility. Some even tried to go after him. He evaded them, but didn't attack. Outside of the base, we found some Umbrella Ops, what was left of them anyway." Chris continued.
Both of them took a second to process that.
"Jack knows the difference between us and them when his defenses are turned on. I can't be a hundred percent positive, but I don't think he's a danger to anyone unless they're a direct threat to him. And like I said, he'll be staying away from anyone he thinks might trigger him."
Chris was making a lot of sense and Arcee was beginning to have hope that they could find Jack. But there was still the one thing she was truly afraid of happening. But as if Chris could read her mind...
"I wish I could say he wouldn't try, or even think about it." He began. "But I've seen it too many times with my team. The thought definitely crossed his mind at least once. In all likelihood, he might try to take his life."
And just like that, Arcee's hope shattered like glass.
"But I just don't think he can."
For a second, Arcee didn't process that. But when she did, she looked back to Chris.
"What do mean by that?"
Chris looked up at Arcee.
"You saw it yourself, Arcee. Jack got impaled twice by the Tyrants, but he still killed them all. He took a hit from Wesker but he got back up and put the bastard on his ass. Then he ran out of there with inhuman speed and still managed to take out another group of Umbrella grunts. Jill might've been right about Jack being Umbrella's ultimate weapon. From what I can see, he's basically unkillable."
Arcee looked away and closed her optics by the sheer absurdness of it all.
"So, what you're saying is that Jack will try to kill himself, but he won't succeed."
She looked to Chris and saw that wasn't comforting knowledge to him either.
"He has to have limits to what he can take. But unless his mutation gave him his own set of blasters, no, I don't think he'll be able to do it."
Again, Arcee was silent. All of this was too much for her. It provided her with some comfort, but knowing how it happened, it disgusted her. Not that she was disgusted with Jack, but Umbrella for putting him in that situation. She couldn't help but think of Jack trying and failing to end his life repeatedly. The thought broke her spark.
"Arcee...We both know that wherever Jack is right now, he's not in a good place. And when we find him, and we will find him, we may have to bring him back by force. Jack probably thinks himself as the ultimate liability and a danger to mankind, so we have our work cut out for us when we bring him home. That's why we need you down there. You're closer to Jack than anyone and if anyone can break through to him, it's you."
Chris walked over to Arcee and stood in front of her.
"And he's the not the only one who needs you. June isn't gonna be much better when she wakes up. She can't see you losing your head like this. Everything I said isn't what either of us want to hear, but it's all we got right now. But Jack is still alive and we still have a chance. We can save him."
She was scared to hope for that, but even more scared of losing Jack.
"Right now, we just need to take a breather, especially you. Jack wouldn't want you to make yourself crazy like this. Just give us a day and we'll all be out there looking for him together. We'll get to him before Umbrella does. I know we will."
Arcee's reluctance to hope for a miracle was slowly beginning to fade. But she was still scared out of her mind. But Chris' logic couldn't be ignored. He had many good points and each of them made her believe that they could save her partner. It wasn't much, but like Chris said, it was all they had.
"We should head back down. The big guy's probably worried about you."
Chris walked past her but stopped when she didn't get up.
"Arcee?"
Once again, she kept looking off in the distance of Raccoon City.
"You go on ahead. I'm just gonna stay up here a little while."
Chris paused for a few seconds, but decided to give Arcee her solitude.
"Thank you, Chris." She said.
"Don't mention, Blue." He replied.
Their conversation did manage to restore some hope in Arcee. She never intended to give up on her partner. But now, she no longer felt like she had already failed. She could still save him. She could still hold on your partner.
But there was one thing that Chris didn't have an answer for and it was just as worrisome as all the others. When they found Jack, when they brought him home, what then? He was a B.O.W. now. Even after they destroy Umbrella, what would happen to him? Would the government take him away? Would they quarantine him for fear of him spreading the G-Virus? Would they try to experiment on him like Umbrella would? Those thoughts scared her as much as anything else. Jack was changed. No matter what happens in the future, things were never going back to the way they were.
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"I don't believe this..."
Jack stood up on his knees, but he was slouched over with his hand on his bare chest. There was blood and there was even a faint feeling of having been struck in the spot he was holding. All that was missing was the hole he put in his heart.
"It can't be...no."
Jack didn't know what to think. He knew he pierced his heart when he impaled himself, unless his heart had been moved during the mutation. But he could feel it still pulsing in his chest. So, how? How was he still alive?
"This can't be happening."
His mind was racing and he felt that he was losing it. Fate couldn't be this cruel to him. It wouldn't take his only way out away from him, would it? Jack had to be sure. He lifted his right arm up and then he looked at his left hand. With a mere thought, another black blade protruded from his wrist, no bigger than an average sized pocket knife. He put the blade to his wrist and cut across it. It bled, quite a lot. But after about ten seconds, the wound closed up and disappeared.
"No." Jack said with wide eyes.
His body could regenerate, meaning he could not die. Umbrella had taken even that away from him, his way to ensure they wouldn't get him. Jack let his arms drop and sat in the forest with his mouth agape in fear. There was no escape. He was trapped in this body, for all he knew, forever.
"No, no...There has to be a way!"
Jack then balled his fist and produced a shortened talon from atop the wrist. With both hands, he brought it to his stomach and held it over his belly. He was hesitant. This would be extricating. Taking several panicked breaths, Jack shut his eyes and pushed his talon into the side of his belly. He painfully cried through his teeth. He braced himself again and began pulling it to the other side of his stomachs, once more, letting out guttural screams of pain as his talon pulled out his intestines. He felt the blood rise from his throat and come out from between his teeth.
Jack fell forward on his hands as his guts hung from his opening. He was choking and gasping on his blood. The pain was indescribable, far worse than his eye. Jack waited to black out, but then he felt the pain subside. This caused him to panic. He stood up again and looked down at his wound. It was already closing up, the intestines being pulled back into him.
"No, no, no!" He said as felt his now healed stomach.
He was hyperventilating now, growing more desperate. He looked at his talon and caused it to straighten and elongate. Suddenly, he began stabbing himself angrily, grunting with each strike. He felt the pain each time he struck his body, but he didn't care. Tears fell from his face and his panic had only gotten worse when he realized that nothing he was doing felt like it was weakening him.
Jack fell forward in exhaustion, but only from the effort of inflicting his wounds. He gasped as he caught his breath and then he felt his wounds closing again. Once the pain stopped, he began sobbing as he stayed as he was, hunched over with his head against the ground. He screamed out in anger and frustration. Even after being forced down to his absolute bottom, he couldn't get away.
Jack rolled over on his back and put his right arm over his eyes as he continued to cry hopelessly. He stayed that way for a while. Jack was truly lost and had no idea what to do. He wished so terribly that he wasn't alone. And that drove his anger even further because he had no choice but to be alone. And if he really couldn't die, this was going to be all he would know from now on. Jack choked up painfully, his teeth clenched so hard, they threatened to crack.
Jack them brought his fist under his chin. If striking his heart wouldn't work, then maybe striking his brain would do the trick. Jack wasn't sure either way, but he had nothing else to lose. But just before he could will his lethal appendage, he stopped himself. Jack thought for a moment about the ramifications of what he was about to do. If he did this and it didn't work, he wasn't sure if he would be unaffected. Striking the heart and intestines was one thing, but if he struck his brain, would he begin to lose himself? He was still himself mentally, still remembered who he was and who his family was. But with the regeneration of the brain, would he lose those memories, the only thing that kept him human? Would he become another feral B.O.W. with the instinct to kill without reason?
Jack let his fist fall back to the ground. He couldn't take the risk. It really was all hopeless for him. There was just no waking up from this nightmare. Jack continued to lie on the ground, hoping for some kind of clue of what to do. He hated what he had become. He hated his own skin. All he had was his mind and his memories. He needed to hold on to them if he was going stay sane. Umbrella wasn't going to take that from him. They took his human body, but they were not going to take his mind...or his humanity.
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Arcee went back down into the base when the sun came up. There was still too much on her mind for her to get the rest she knew she needed. Her talk with Chris had helped her, but she was still in the same bad place. Nothing was going to fix that except for finding Jack.
As she searched for an empty room to make her quarters, she saw Optimus standing in a large doorway. She knew she owed him an apology for what she said. Arcee walked up to him as he had his back turned. He didn't seem to notice her.
"S-Sir?" She shamefully called.
Optimus didn't respond.
"Sir, I...I'd like to apologize for my earlier behavior...For what I said."
Optimus still didn't respond. Arcee feared that her actions had crossed the line with him.
"I was wrong to say those things, Sir. I...wasn't in a right frame of mind...I'm still not, if I'm honest. I'm just...I'm terrified that I'm never going to see my partner again. I know that I was out of line to talk to you that way, Sir. I swear that it won't happen again."
But Optimus remained quiet.
"Sir?...Optimus."
Arcee moved around him and saw that Optimus hadn't been paying attention to her, as he seemed surprised to see her.
"Arcee." He stated.
"Sir, what are you..."
Arcee looked to where he was staring and he saw what was holding his attention. June was in her wheelchair, turned away from them. Arcee looked back to Optimus and saw that he had refocused on June. She went over to see if she had woken up. Jill had been crouched in front of her, holding one of her hands. Arcee saw the worried look on her face when she turned to greet her. Arcee then looked to June and understood why Jill was so worried.
June was as still as a statue and her expression was as blank as Jack's when he fought the Tyrants. Her blue eyes were dull and lifeless as they stared off into a void that the others could not see.
"She woke up hours ago." Jill said. "She hasn't said a single word."
Arcee looked on in disturbance.
"What's wrong with her?"
Jill motioned her mouth to answer, but didn't have one right away.
"We think...We think she's in shock. Seeing what happened to her son and then him running away from her...It was too much. It's like she just...shut down."
Arcee felt a heavy short in her spark because she had been where June was right now. All this time she had felt sorry for herself, she never stopped to think what June was going through.
"June?" She called her. "June, are you alright?"
But June didn't respond, not even with the smallest of facial tics. This was beginning to scare Arcee. She tried to pull her attention by touching her shoulder.
"June...Hey, it's Arcee. C'mon, snap out of it."
"Arcee, I don't think that's gonna work any better than it did for us." Jill said.
Arcee was starting to get upset again.
"June, look at me. Come on, say something." She said as the emotion in her voice grew. "June...What's wrong? Please, talk to me."
But June neither made noise nor moved. Now, the pain of her failure returned to Arcee.
"June, I-I know what you're doing."
She was beginning to sound desperate.
"You can't give up. You can't give up on us. Jack's is still out there. He's still alive, Chris told me."
Optimus began to move forward as Arcee's became more emotional.
"Chris said that he's is okay, that Umbrella won't find him."
Arcee knew she had a much better way to explain this, but she couldn't keep herself calm.
"June, you gotta hang in hang in there, okay?"
"Arcee." Jill called to her in concern.
"We gotta hang in there for Jack. We're gonna bring him home."
"Arcee, please." Optimus said.
"No, June listen."
Arcee took her time.
"We're gonna bring him back, I promise. Please, just...Don't give up on me yet."
"I'm sorry you had to see this, Arcee." Optimus said as he went to lead her away. "But she needs her rest."
"June, please...Please don't shut down like I did. You can't let yourself go there."
Optimus began pulling the upset Arcee away as gently as he could.
"I didn't protect him, I know. But I'll make this right, I promise."
"Let's leave her be, Arcee."
"I'll find him, June. I swear, I'll find him. I won't mess this up. You'll be with your son again. I promise, June."
Arcee was led out of the room and let go by Optimus. When she was out of earshot, she began to mimic crying as she had before.
"I know that was...not easy to see." Optimus said.
Arcee looked at him and saw that he was holding himself together better than she, but he was hurting just as much.
"She's doing what I did...with Tailgate."
Optimus shut his optics.
"Yes...she's losing hope, and with it, her strength."
"She can't." Arcee said lowly. "Sir?"
Optimus gave Arcee his attention.
"I'll...I'll try to keep myself in check while we recover from all this. But we can't let this go on."
"No, Arcee...We cannot."
"Everyday without her son is killing June. She needs him more than any of us."
"I know. That is why we will take a forty-eight hour recovery period. Then, we will begin our search for Jackson."
"Two days, huh?...I guess I can live with that."
Arcee held her arm, remembering what she had said to Optimus before.
"Sir, about my behavior from earlier."
"Your outburst towards me is of no importance. And we cannot afford the luxury of holding grudges. Our focus now is recovering from our current state and finding one of our own. Do you agree?"
"Y-yes, Sir."
Optimus placed his servo on Arcee's shoulder.
"We both want to bring him home and we want her to be okay. If we are going to accomplish this task, we have to handle this the right way."
"Of course, Optimus."
Optimus turned back to look at June and Jill, once again, holding his gaze. Arcee believed that he was also thinking about Jack.
"You had mentioned to June of Chris' belief that Umbrella will not be able to find Jack. Was that what you two had discussed on the surface?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Please, tell me what he told you. If he believes that Jack is safe from Umbrella, at least for now, I'd like the know how."
Or rather, he needed to know that Jack was safe for now. Arcee understood the need of it. She began to repeat her conversion with Chris to Optimus, hoping it would raise his hope of finding Jack. But there was still so much despondency around the new base. As anxious and worried as Arcee was, Optimus was right to take the time to get better. No one one was in any physical form or state of mind to search for Jack. After less than half a day since Umbrella's attack, everyone was still weak. So, they had to be patient and Arcee had to hope that Chris was right about his theories. And she had to keep herself balanced until it was time to find her partner. She just hoped that June would still be able to come back once they found him.
'Stay with us, June, please.' She thought to herself.
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Jack was crouched over the very large fire he had built. It was a good thing he held onto his Swiss army knife with the fire starter. He looked at it for a moment, determining if it was big enough.
"Looks about right." He said.
Jack then walked over to the large cat he had killed and began dragging his corpse over to the fire. He had made sure to make it big enough to handle the feline. With his new strength, he lifted the felis up and tossed it on the fire and watched as it began to burn. He felt sorry for the beast. Even though he only fed on it to survive, he had wonder if he killed it quickly or brutally. He'd hoped for the former.
"Hopefully, that burns the virus away."
Jack wasn't taking any chances. He'd even built the fire over the pool of blood from where he stabbed himself. He couldn't leave any of his blood or a corpse he might have spread the virus to unchecked. All it would take was one rat, one mosquito, one flea to ingest the virus and another outbreak would happen. As the fire continued to burn, he searched the area to make sure he'd left nothing behind, not a drop of DNA. Of course, any blood in the soil was probably already absorbed, so it'd be impossible to find. He prayed that it wasn't enough to mutate an earthworm or a beetle or something.
Jack then looked down and saw his blood stained jeans and shoes on the ground.
"These too."
He picked both up and tossed them into the fire as well. He held onto his Swiss army knife. Every time he fed, he would have to do this again, so he was going to need it. Jack waited for hours until he was sure the cat was burned enough that the virus was burned with it. It was already past noon when he was satisfied.
Jack still had no idea where in the world he was or what he was going to do. All he knew was that if he was going to stay out of Umbrella's hands, he had to keep moving. First thing, he would need new clothes. He really didn't want to travel naked. He planned to search for an empty summer cabin somewhere in the forest. He didn't like that he was going to have to steal from someone, but he didn't really have a choice. If luck wasn't on his side, however, he resolved not to go into town for clothes. That was something he was firmly stuck on, staying away from where there was people. After that, he'd just keep moving. If he couldn't end himself, he had to keep himself out of Umbrella's reach. That was the only plan he had.
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Unknown desert in the southwest US
Two weeks had passed since Jack had been out on his own, since he had become infected and abandoned his family. During that time, a lot had changed in Jack.
Not long after he began his journey, Jack had figured out that he was in Argentina. Deciding that it was best to get out of the country, he began making his way to the border. This was the last country he had been seen in, so it was the last place he wanted to be. At first, he had no real destination in mind, he just wanted to get out. Then, he remembered his geography. He realized that he could make it back to the United States from Argentina, which gave him an idea. Jack decided that he was going to go back to Jasper.
There was nothing there. He knew that. The Decepticons had destroyed everything and there was no chance of any life there. That's what he was hoping for. Jack figured that Umbrella would not search where they knew nothing would be there for him. And if even a small part of Omega One remained, maybe he could at least pretend to be back home like it was. So, Jack headed north. Using his enhanced speed and staying off the grid, he was able to cross the border undetected in just under two weeks.
During his travels, he had learned a bit about his new abilities. He still hated to have them, but if he was going to be without the Autobots, he knew he needed to rely on them. He figured out how to control them at will and keep them in check. He didn't know his limits because he would have to test of them on something that wasn't infected and, of course, he didn't want that. But he had more or less become accustomed to his new form, even if he still resented it. If ever found a way to destroy himself, he would not hesitate. He was a weapon of mass infection as far as he was concerned and he needed to be erased.
After getting past the border into Texas, Jack began to make his way back to Nevada while sticking to the desert if he could. His travels from the south had forced him to move through human crowds more than he wished and he felt he had pushed his luck already. Jack decided to hold back on using his speed for a while, just to keep a low profile. His paranoia had risen over the last two weeks and he was afraid of everything from drones to satellites tracking his movements.
At some point, he had found a cave that turned out to be a stripped energon mine belonging to the Decepticons. Though there was nothing there and appeared to have been abandoned for years, Jack left the area in fear that a Decepticon could be nearby. That was the last thing he needed, to be captured by them. Lord knows what Airachnid would do if she saw him now. However, it wasn't the last piece of of Decepticon territory Jack would find.
The area he had come to must've been a hot spot in the past, as Jack continued to find more and more stripped mines belonging to 'Cons. Then, he started finding downed aircrafts that had been left to rust for at least a decade. None of them were online or functioned in any capacity. After a while, he decided that they had been forgotten and would be safe to rest in one if he had become too tired from traveling.
As it was, he had found the remains of one in some desert and rock area and decided to regain his strength once again. As far as food went, there was slim pickings in these parts. Having long since become used to hunting his meat, Jack had become use to forest creatures while coming up from the south. With the much smaller creatures of the desert, Jack became tired much quicker. He found a secluded spot in the heart of the ship. He sat against the bottom of a panel and let his mind wander.
Moments like this, he thought of his family, of Arcee and his mother. He thought of Optimus, Jill, Miko, and Raf. He missed all of them. He prayed that they were doing okay. He took comfort in knowing that with him gone, Umbrella wouldn't be focusing on them. But he also knew that they were. They were looking for him, he knew that. And he didn't want them to find them. It hurt to be apart them, to be running away from them. But Jack wouldn't put them in harms way. This was the only way to keep them safe. But Primus, if only he had taken a picture of them with him. For all he knew, he would live forever, outliving even the Autobots. If that was the case, then he'd have nothing to remember them by when they were gone. Thinking that way terrified him. Eventually, however, Jack did manage to drift into a cautious sleep. He still had a way to go to make it back home, what was left of it anyway.
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A familiar sound pulled Jack out of his sleep and he knew what it was the moment he heard it. He knew what a charging energon blaster sounded like.
'Frag me.' He thought.
Jack opened his eyes and sure enough, he was staring down the glowing barrel of a Cybertronian weapon. And of course, it was black metal with glowing red lines. So, now he had a Decepticon to deal with. Jack, honestly, was too tired to be scared. Maybe he had just had enough by this point or maybe it was because he had taken out multiple Tyrants and just did not feel threatened. Whatever it was, all he felt was annoyed. Jack tilted himself to the side to see who was holding him at gunpoint. He did so and got a good look at the triggerman's angry face.
"Oh...Hey, Starscream."
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"Oh, hi Mark."
No, Jack didn't actually greet him that way.
Okay, okay, very late again. I know, I know, the holidays took me by surprise and I fell very much behind. I'm never on top of my game this time year, especially when I'm searching for a collectors edition Reverse-Flash action figure for my nephew all over Florida. Why is that figure so popular?
Anyway, finally got back to Old Nightmare after, God, I don't even know. I know you wanted to see more of Jack's powers, but I'm just trying to unwind the characters after last chapter. As you can see, everyone is back to square one.
Jack, unfortunately, had hit rock bottom and I hope his actions didn't trigger anyone, but he took the only out he saw. Understand that Jack thinks he is going to bring about the end of humanity and thought that this was the right thing to do. Thankfully, the G-Virus won't let him die so easily.
As for everyone else, there not doing much better. Arcee got a little pep talk from Chris, but she's still scared out of her mind. Optimus is holding together because he has to, but we don't know how he's doing when no one's around. Miko is as worried for Jack as Arcee is and June has shut down completely. I didn't cover everyone's feelings this chapter because I didn't want it to be longer than it already was. We'll get pieces of it as the story continues.
And look who shows up late in the game and crosses paths with Jack. Bear in mind, Starscream has no idea of what's been going on since he left the Decepticons. So what's he gonna think when he sees what Jack can do? So, after probably two months I'm back on this story. Once I get another chapter of ASOG, I'll be back to this. Paths are gonna start to converge and you know what that means when it happens in other stories. I'm really excited to be back on this I hope you guys are still with me. Let me know what you think and of course, Happy New Years. Here's to the year of the Dog.