Kinda short chapter. Hopefully you guys like it.
Here's the new chapter! Hot off the press! :)
All in Jack's POV
I don't own Transformers Prime, all rights to Hasbro. I only own my OCs.
Chapter 42
Inside, Outside
Jack POV
"Smokescreen must have been taken aboard the Decepticon warship," Ratchet sighed, turning back towards us, "Tracing his signal through its shielding will be impossible."
"Continue monitoring all frequencies, Ratchet," Dad replied, "Far more than Smokescreen's fate may be at stake,"
"I don't get it," Bulkhead said, shaking his helm, "How could Smoke be an Omega Key?"
"I don't think he is a Key, Bulkhead," I replied.
"I agree with Ultimus," Ratchet said, "Perhaps he isn't the Key…"
"But its container," Dusk finished as Ratchet nodded at her.
"The other Iacon relics were sent to earth in pods," my aunt started.
"Why not this one?" Mom finished.
"When the Decepticons stormed Iacon, it may have been too late for Alpha Trion to launch the final Omega Key into space," Dad paused, "At least…by standard means."
"So Smokescreen assumed everything went black because he was hit by Decepticons…" my aunt started.
"But Alpha Trion was the one who actually turned out the kid's lights," Bulkhead finished.
"It stands to reason that my mentor did not want Smokescreen to know what he was carrying in the event of capture," Dad muttered.
"And with a mobile relic," Mom continued, "Alpha Trion couldn't possibly supply fixed co-ordinates,"
"So the Big A slipped us a clue instead!" Bulkhead announced, "Smoke's mug shot!"
"But the Decepticons got to Smokescreen first," Ratchet pointed out, "I fear they have decoded the same clue,"
"And they might offline him to get the Key," Jolt whispered.
Poor Smokescreen, I couldn't possibly imagine what they were doing to him. I hope I never found out.
I heard a soft gasp from the hallway and we all turned around…
Just to see Amber, her hands up to her mouth and tears beginning to stream down her face.
"Sm-Smokescreen's been captured?" she whispered, "T-they might kill him?"
Nobody spoke.
Amber's tears increased and she bolted.
"I'll go talk to her," Dusk said, walking out.
"This will be the second guardian she's lost," Ratchet muttered.
"No one should go through that," Jolt sighed, "And don't talk like that, Ratch, Smokescreen's still online."
"That we know of,"
…..
I wandered the halls, thinking about how I would explain myself if we actually did go home…
When I ran into Amber.
She was sitting on the floor with her back to the wall, still crying. She looked up.
"Oh, hi Ultimus," she sighed.
"I thought Dusk came to talk to you?" I asked.
"She's still looking for me, I think," Amber muttered.
"He's going to be ok," I said, gently, "We'll get him back,"
"And if we don't?!" she snapped, standing up, "I can't handle another death…not again,"
She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.
"You don't know what it's like," she sighed, "To lose your guardian who you've gotten really close to,"
She sat back down.
"When Sunny offlined…it was so sudden," she whispered, shaking her head, "We all knew it would happen…since 'Sides had offlined a few days earlier. We just didn't know when."
She wiped away a tear.
"I was walking right beside him when it happened…" she started.
"You don't have to tell me if it makes you upset," I replied.
"I need to get it out!" she yelled, turning towards me, "I've hidden how I felt about it ever since it happened. I won't keep it bottled up like Dusk does. I know she still has nightmares about that day, everyone does. We've all heard her screaming in the night…"
She looked up at me.
"We've heard yours and Optimus' too,"
I didn't say anything.
"You haven't really had a traumatizing experience yet," she continued, "We rarely hear Optimus…but every now and then we do. It's mostly Dusk. Primus, I can still see that day…Watching Dusk come out of the smoke as Skyfyre, her brutally murdering the nearest 'Con, seeing 'Sides lying broken on the asphalt, watching Sunny grieve…"
She broke off, a faraway look entering her eyes.
"Watching Sunny just…fall over…" her tone dropped down to a whisper, "Watching his vents stuttering for breath, his optics pulsing in time with his failing spark…watching them flicker and…and die out…a black smudge appearing over his spark where it just…blew out…dear God, it-it was h-horrible and I c-can't uns-see th-that…"
She burst into fresh tears and I gently picked her up, holding her close. She buried her head into my armor, her shoulders heaving with sobs.
"We'll get Smokescreen back," I crooned, "And he'll be fine…I promise,"
"There you are!" Dusk cried from the other end of the hallway, "I thought I lost you!"
"That was kinda the point of me running off," Amber retorted.
"Fine," Dusk huffed, crossing her pale arms, "Then I guess you don't want me to tell you the news,"
That got both Amber and I interested.
"What news?" she asked.
A silver servo snatched her out of my grip. I shot up, growling and onlining my blaster, pointing it at…
Smokescreen!?
"Well, that's a nice welcome!" he snorted, eyeing my blaster.
"Smokey!" Amber cried, "I missed you so much!"
"Hey, Am," he purred, holding her close, "I missed you too. These guys didn't tell you I'd come back?"
"They did,"
"And you didn't believe them?"
"When you've lost one guardian…its hard not to think you're gonna lose another," she muttered into his armor.
"Aww," Smokescreen replied, "I'm glad to know you care,"
…..
We all came back to the main hall after Amber and Smokescreen's little reunion…
Only to see everyone readying for something. As to what it was…I have no idea.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"We have been contacted…by Starscream," Dad replied as Ratchet typed in coordinates, "It appears that he has the fourth and final Omega Key,"
"When'd we get the other two!?" I demanded.
I heard Smokescreen cough behind me and I turned around.
"Destiny's child here!" he grinned, smugly.
"You stole the Keys…right under Megatron's nose?" I asked.
"Yep!" he replied.
"You, my friend, are one sneaky 'Bot," I sighed, shaking my helm.
"And proud of it!" he chirped as he and Amber went to stand by the others.
"I'm coming with you guys," Dusk said, looking at Dad.
"Very well," he replied, "Ultimus…"
"I know, I know, stay here," I grumbled, crossing my arms as Dusk, Dad, Bulkhead, Mom and Ratchet went through the Groundbridge.
"He looks like a Prime, he is a Prime…" Amber started.
"He acts like a human teenager," Ben grinned.
I glared at both of them.
"I've lived on Earth my whole life you know!" I growled.
"How old are you exactly?" Sean asked, "No one's ever told us,"
"Seventeen," I answered automatically.
"Hundred?"
"Seventeen,"
I mentally smacked myself. I'm such an idiot! I basically told them that I'm just a baby in their terms!
"Hold up...!" Ben started, "You're seventeen years old…and you're the size of Optimus!?"
"He's still a sparkling then…" Jolt continued, "He shouldn't be that big."
"Being born here on Earth must have done something with my systems," I shrugged, trying desperately to cover up my mistake, "I'm going to go to the Vault Hallway…just to make sure nothing bad happens…"
And I left the room.
I stood in front of the Key Vault, looking at the three.
I didn't want to leave Earth…couldn't I just hide them?
No. No, I wouldn't do that. Not to my family.
I could stay on Earth and let the others go home. I'd frequent Cybertron, but Earth would always be my home.
I thought I saw something move out of the corner of my vision and I walked a bit closer to the Main Hall…
"Autobots! We have been deceived!" Dad's voice yelled over the comm.
The Key Vault's doors blew up behind me.
I fell forwards, right as a shadow flitted across the hall.
"The Base has been infiltrated!" I shouted into the comm. as I got up and ran towards the Main Hall, "Starscream is here! Arcee close the Groundbridge now!"
I reached the Main Hall right as the Groundbridge closed.
"We missed him!" I shouted, "Starscream has the Keys!"
"But we closed the Groundbridge…" Ben started, water streaming from his hair.
"He got out," I growled, pointing at the Bridge, "He walked out!"
"Ultimus," my aunt said, trying to calm me down.
"And now he's probably on his way to Megatron…with all four KEYS!" I snarled.
I yelled and rammed my fist into the rock wall of the base.
"Ultimus!" I heard Arcee shout.
I closed my optics. How could I have been so stupid? How? I should've known he'd try something like this!
The Groundbridge opened behind me and Dad walked in.
"What hap…" he started.
"WATER!" Dusk shrieked as she backed farther into the deactivated Groundbridge platform.
"It'll stop soon," Jolt cried, reassuring everyone, "Starscream must have blown up the Vault doors…"
"No kidding," I growled.
"Ultimus?" Mom asked, "What happened?"
"I tried guarding the Keys…but Starscream distracted me," I admitted, as the sprinklers stopped, "He got away with the Keys because of me!"
Dusk came out from under the hole in the wall, stepping gingerly in the water, and came towards me.
"We'll get them back," she said, "Starscream can't get to Cybertron because he lacks wings…"
"But…" I started as cold fear washed through me, "He can give them to Megatron,"
And if that was the case…
We were in so much trouble.
Ok, so kinda a more serious chapter. I'm trying to figure out what I can do for Patch Job, anyone have ideas? And then after that...we have Regeneration and I've got a really neat idea for that.
In 'Bot terms, since Jack is seventeen, he's still just a Sparkling, but seeing as he grew up human his aging process acts kinda like ours. He still has the longevity of a 'Bot, so the aging process will slow waaaay down for him now. He'll look seventeen-ish but he could be like in his fifties or something like that. It's like how Dusk is twenty two, but she looks like she's not a day over seventeen.
Another thing, I'll be at my grandma's until Monday seeing as Mom has to work (once a month she has to work night shift at the Hospital and my sister and I end up going over to her house, so this is to be expected). So I won't be posting until Monday at least (I've also got this 136 short answer review packet that's due Wednesday *that's also the day of the APUSH test and my choir concert, God help me!). So until then...
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.
