First of all thank you for all of the supportive reviews and condolences from the last chapter, it really means a lot to me. I know a lot of you are going through a hard time right now and could use the escape, so I'm going to try my best to keep posting content for you guys. I hope you enjoy what I have in store. I usually try to have one plot twist per chapter. This one has two. Three, if you squint.
Jack could only stare at the gaping hole in the ceiling that Megatron had occupied just moments before. In a blink of an eye, he had disappeared. He was just gone. Panic seized the boy's heart when he heard horrible crashes and thunder-like booms of a fight between giants. But that wasn't right. Megatron was the only one—
The thought vanished when suddenly pain erupted all across his body. Jack let out a cry as he fell to his knees, arms wrapping around his torso. He was only faintly aware of his loved ones' startled yelps.
"Jack?!"
"Honey?"
"What's wrong?"
Jack could only grit his teeth as waves of agony cascaded over the blood-bond, each one in tandem with the deafening sounds outside.
"Something… something is hurting Megatron," the poor boy wheezed.
"I call it 'Nemesis Prime.'" Through squinted eyes, Jack glanced up to be greeted with Silas's sadistic sneer. He stood alone—all of his subordinates had fled in fear or had been killed. The MECH leader hardly seemed to care. His dark eyes gleamed with gleeful triumph. "A Transformer of my own making, designed after Optimus Prime."
Jack pulled his lips back in a furious snarl while his friends only gave baffled stares.
"What?" Raf squeaked.
"No, that's impossible," June denied.
"Yeah, there's no way!" Miko agreed. "We blew up their robot Frankenstein!"
"I wouldn't have made it this far if I didn't know how to prepare a contingency plan," Silas retorted smugly.
It was then Jack realized. "They built another one…"
For the first time in weeks, the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place. Jack had convinced himself that MECH was after him in Paris, and Silas even had played along. But he was all wrong. They had every intention to use Bumblebee's T-cog, and they only hoped Jack would follow it.
The machine—the abomination—they were building was just a prototype. A test model. Somehow… somehow they got what they wanted, and MECH managed to create their own Transformer. A Transformer to use against the Autobots.
This was all a trap. And Jack had fallen for it.
"Indeed," Silas purred, as if he could read the boy's thoughts. "My very own Transformer. The first of an army, birthed by the ingenious of MECH. Although now, I see that may be unnecessary. I must say, you're full of surprises, Jack Darby. When I took you into my care, I took account of any retribution from the Autobots. I never considered that Megatron, the so-called 'Lord of the Decepticons,' would come for you. At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but then I remembered our conversation. Surely you still recall?"
"Jack, what is he talking about?" June whispered.
The teen didn't reply, only narrowing his eyes. He remembered. When Silas angrily threatened to put him on life support because he refused to eat. He had no choice but to confess the nature of the dark energon, and how he received it in the first place.
Silas went on, "So then I figured he wanted you for himself. But now?" Silas's gaze was then filled with something else, something even more twisted. Fascination. "Now I realize you can control him. I won't have to build my army. You can give me one."
If he wasn't riddled with pain, Jack would have laughed at the madman's lunacy. Instead, he could only growl, "No one commands Lord Megatron."
"We shall see."
It was then the pistol reappeared in Silas's hand, aimed at Jack's head. Before the boy could even flinch, Mom's hold protectively wrapped around him, pushing him back as she settled between him and the gun. While she had been trembling with terror only moments ago, seeing her son in immediate danger must have ignited her maternal instincts. Now she glared at the monster that loomed over them. Silas only cackled.
"After I kill your mother here." The terrorist's cold gaze met Jack's. "And then you will know what it's like to lose everything."
Over the distant sounds of chaos, Megatron let a furious roar, one that seemed to resonate with Jack's own fear and anger. He had already lost enough people. He wasn't going to let Silas take away any more!
Shoving down the pain, the army brat lunged, just as the ex-SEAL finger pressed down on the pistol's trigger. There was a sharp clap of thunder, followed by a pained scream.
But it wasn't June's.
Silas's gun clattered to the floor, the man seething as he held his bloodied hand. He recoiled away from his prisoners, even though Jack didn't do anything to him. The teen could only stare, bewildered, until a familiar drawl drifted through the air.
"And here I thought I was late to the party."
Jack nearly gasped. There was no way! Yet when he turned, the figure that stood there seemed to defy all logic.
"F-Fowler?"
The lias—no, former government liaison—stood in the doorway, dressed in the same blue suit as always. His arms were stretched out before him, both of his hands wrapped around the handle of a pistol, smoke rising from the barrel. Despite his sarcastic comment, Fowler's expression was as dark and solemn as a soldier walking into the battlefield. He was once a Ranger, after all.
Even so, Jack couldn't pry his wide eyes from the from sight, his mind trying to register what was before him.
"What—what are you doing here?" the confused boy stammered.
"I thought you were supposed to be in jail?" Miko piped, not failing to speak what was on everyone's minds.
Fowler replied with a crooked smile. "Oh, yeah, about that. Sorry to make you worry. The CIA needed a couple favors."
"But they arrested you?" Raf recalled.
"The CIA doesn't make arrests."
Jack's confusion only grew. He clearly remembered Galloway's furious scowl when he ordered Fowler's arrest and the misery in the man's eyes as he was dragged away. All because of Jack. Fowler had tapped into the Pentagon and used their satellites to track MECH where they were holding him. The liaison sent NEST forces to a base hidden in the wilderness of Texas, not knowing he was interfering with a CIA operation. So why—
Realization hit Jack so suddenly it was like a slap to the face. It was something his father had told him. They were watching a spy movie, in which a CIA task force raided a farm and arrested the resident family, accusing them of harboring terrorists. Dad had scoffed, saying such a thing was impossible.
Because the CIA could not operate on American soil.
Had it all been a ruse, then? Did Lennox and Simmons know? Was Galloway in on it? But the security advisory was hardly an actor. His fury had been real. So what was it, then? A twisted demotion? Or an exchange? Galloway became the liaison with Autobots while Fowler was sent to track down MECH?
A thousand questions raced through Jack's mind, too many to ask given the certain situation. He doubted he would ever have the chance. Fowler sent a grin at Silas, unfazed by the terrorist's murderous glare.
"Thought you were being clever sneaking out of the country, huh?" the agent mocked. "Not a bad idea, until the boys at the CIA asked for my expertise. You know, being a former Army Ranger and the one that personally kicked your ass and all. We've been tracking you for months."
"Not in Albania," Silas interjected.
"No, you slipped away from us there." It was then Fowler's turned back to Jack, his eyes softening. "I'm sorry for what they did to you, Jack. If I had known about it, I would have shot every bastard there and dragged you out myself."
The teenager blinked, astonished at the man's solemn determination. He knew so little about Fowler, yet the government agent (or was it CIA agent now?) was willing to fight an entire paramilitary base to save him. Now he was here…
Fowler shifted his glare back to Silas. "Reinforcements should be here soon. Once they get here, we're going to pull the plug on the whole operation you got here. The game's over, Sy."
"It has only just begun!" the MECH leader retorted in a ferocious bellow. "This was merely to test Nemesis Prime's capabilities. Once it destroys you all, every American base in the world will be a target of our newfound might! Then all will fear us!"
"Blah, blah, blah," Fowler drawled, rolling his eyes. "You really like to go on, don't you?"
Silas's look was violent. Jack feared the deranged man would actually pounce on Fowler, but he never had the chance.
Suddenly a groan of metal echoed through the air, followed by an almighty crash. The occupants of the room let out startled cries as the entire building shook, reminiscent of what happened before. Loose debris hanging from the caved-in ceiling fell to the ground, one chunk just barely missing Raf's head. Through the earthquake-like tremor, Jack could feel sadistic satisfaction rolling across the blood-bond. It didn't take long to put two and two together. Megatron must have tossed his opponent—Nemesis Prime—into the building. The building occupied with humans.
Jack projected his annoyance over the link. Can you try not to kill us?
He should have known better than to interrupt the former Champion in the middle of a fight. He was responded with a mental slap, sending his thoughts reeling. The teenager collapsed to the ground with a groan, his mind spinning from the rude assault. He had to wait until the world stopped shaking until he dared to lift his head. Only when he did, his eyes locked onto a familiar object.
It was Silas's discarded pistol. It lay on the ground, only a matter of feet from Jack. The boy remembered the last time such an opportunity was before him.
It was when Lennox had come to save him. The NEST commander was trying to wrestle Silas to the ground, but the ex-SEAL was stronger. When he was about to kill Lennox, Jack took his stolen gun and threatened the MECH leader's life. But he couldn't do it. He had fired, but Jack couldn't even remember where he was aiming. He was sure he didn't have the intent to kill. He had let Silas live.
And all it had done was cause him pain.
Megatron had even scolded his hesitance when he had refused to kill another human being. If he had killed Silas then, he would have never been kidnapped. He would have never been used in an experiment or beaten to a bloody pulp. He would have never been tortured. And none of them would be here. His loved ones would be safe at home and Megatron wouldn't have gotten hurt.
And now they were all going to die.
This is all my fault.
The cold realization chilled Jack to his core. He had to fix this. No one else had to face the consequences of his mistake. A mistake that he did not intend to make again.
Steeling his nerves, Jack lunged forward, hands outstretched towards the gun. Only for another to reach it first.
Silas swiped up the gun, taking it out of Jack's reach. The hand that Fowler had shot was cloaked in crimson blood, so the ex-SEAL was forced to hold the weapon with a single hand. Rather than be deterred at the loss of stability, Silas raised his pistol, aiming it at Fowler.
"No!"
Jack didn't even register jumping to his feet, but he was aware when he rammed his whole weight into Silas. The larger man grunted with a wince at the unexpected assault, but he managed to stand his ground.
"Jack, no!" Fowler shouted, but the teenager hardly heard him, locked in his struggle.
Jack wrapped both his hands around the barrel of the gun, trying to both force it down and out of Silas's grip. Despite he only had one good hand, the ex-SEAL's hold was unrelenting. Then he curled his still bleeding hand into a fist and slammed it Jack's temple. Stars flashed across his vision and his grip loosened. Then there was a cold touch on his forehead.
It was then Jack felt something stir within him. An ancient, base instinct that had endured thousands of years of evolution, yet only had one distinct order: survive.
Jack's body moved without him realizing it. With an animalistic snarl, he grabbed the barrel of the weapon with both palms. Summoning all the strength he could muster, he forced the gun upwards, all the while trying to lean out of its line of sight. The boy didn't know what happened next. He was only aware of grappling for the weapon, trying to yank it away from Silas as the man tried to keep his grasp. Then suddenly it sounded like a bomb went off beside Jack's ear.
He yelped at the deafening bang that assaulted his eardrum, only to be replaced by a high-pitched ring that echoed in his head. The army brat couldn't help but move away, clapping his hand over his damaged ear. There was no blood, at least, but it didn't take long for Jack to realize what had happened—that pistol must have gone off in the struggle.
Before he had the chance to recover his senses, something hard slammed into his gut. He wheezed as he doubled over, all the air ripped out of his lungs. Then a solid fist collided into his back, sending pain radiating all the way up and down his spine. Jack let out a pathetic noise as he fell to the ground—without the pistol.
"Hi-YAH!"
The teenager raised his head just to see Miko send a flying kick into Silas's side. Being three times her size, the ex-SEAL didn't even budge from her assault and the poor girl ricocheted off of him with an audible "oof." Before Miko could even fall to the floor, Silas snatched her arm and cruelly dragged her back to her feet.
"Let her go, Silas!" Fowler bellowed.
The man had regained his footing, cautiously stepping forward with his gun trained on the MECH leader. But with a young hostage between them, Jack knew he wouldn't dare fire. Especially since Miko was like a squirming cat in Silas's grip, clawing and hissing at her captor as she flailed in attempt to get away. Jack was amazed the man managed to keep his hold on her.
Silas must have decided that Miko wasn't a very good hostage, as he twisted his grip on the girl and practically flung her at Fowler. The government agent just lowered his gun in time just to raise an arm to catch her and stop her from crumbling to the floor.
Silas didn't hesitate to take advantage of the distraction. The MECH leader spun on his heels and lunged away—towards an adjacent hallway.
"Stop!" Jack protested, trying to jump to his feet, trying to stop the madman from escaping. But he was too late.
Silas vanished out of the room in a blur of movement. Just like that, he was gone.
Jack cursed. Coward! The teenager moved forward to give chase, only to be stopped by a solid hand on his shoulder. He instinctively flinched away and rounded on his assaulter, only to see Fowler. Seeing the boy's feral look, the man wisely stepped out of his personal space, but Jack hardly noticed.
"We need to stop him!"
"We need to get you and the others out of here," Fowler retorted. "This whole place is going to turn into a warzone in a matter of minutes!"
"I'm not letting him get away! Not after everything he's done to me!"
"You want to even the score, I get it. I know he hurt you-"
"No, you don't know."
Whatever fear that was paralyzing Jack before was gone. Hot fury raced through his veins. A red haze covered his vision. He was done being afraid. Being afraid didn't stop his captors from tormenting him. It didn't save his friends, his family. It only hurt the people he loved.
He had to stop Silas. And he had to do it himself.
"J… J-Jack…?"
The army brat froze at the meek, quivering squeak. It was a voice that he recognized instantly, yet it sounded nothing like his mother. Jack turned around, meeting wide, watery blue eyes. June's skin was unnaturally pale, her body hunched over and her arms around her middle. Slowly, cautiously, she lifted her shaking hands, covered in blood.
Seeping from the gunshot wound in her stomach.
Jack stared for several long seconds, his mind unable to process the sight before him. Then something clicked, and he found it hard to breathe.
"M-Mom?"
It was the only word his mouth was capable of producing. June opened her mouth as if to reply, but no sound came out. Instead there was only a silent gasp as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her knees buckled and she crumbled to the ground.
"Mom!"
Everyone rushed towards her at once, but it was Jack that reached her first. His arm caught her by the shoulders just before her head slammed onto the hard floor. He wasn't even aware of his hand falling to the wound, unconsciously trying to stop the bleeding. It felt sticky and wet.
Instantly frozen shock melted into sheer panic. What he had done?! It was the bullet. It was meant for him, but Jack had shoved the gun away and it hit June instead.
"Nononono!" the boy stammered rapidly.
He pulled his hoodie off over his head, leaving him in only a t-shirt. He ignored how the chilly air bit at his skin as he balled up the hoodie before pressing it against the gaping hole in her stomach. Jack pressed down, only for Mom to wince with a small whine. Her eyes fluttered open, but her breathing was labored. She murmured his name again, as if she was trying to see if he was still there.
"I'm here," Jack assured, even though his attention was on the pool of blood staining her sweater. "You'll be okay… you'll be okay…"
He said the words like a mantra, even as his mind raced back and forth, trying to remember the little medical knowledge that he knew. He knew how to make a tourniquet for an arm or a leg, but what did he do for a gunshot to the abdomen?! Bleeding out from the stomach was long and painful, but the abdominal cavity contained a mass of arteries that delivered blood to all the vital organs that lay within it. How deep was the bullet buried? How many veins had been severed?
It had to be a lot, judging from the amount of blood that had accumulated in a matter of seconds. Jack's hands were already drenched in the sticky substance and it was starting to seep through his hoodie. He only pressed down harder, his arms quivering with exertion. June's gasps had turned to faint wheezing.
"No, no!" Jack protested. He was even aware of his voice cracking as he continued rambling, "Please… please, don't leave me!"
He didn't even realize he was leaning with nearly all his weight, until a soft, bloody hand touched his. It almost made him jump out of his skin, looking up at his mother. Her skin was a ghostly pale, yet she managed to curl her lips in one of her warm, motherly smiles. The one that told him she would always be there for him.
Mom's voice was pathetically weak, murmuring in a croak, "I love you…"
Jack had heard those words almost every day of his life, yet he couldn't formulate a response. He could only watch as his mother's eyes slid closed. June let out a sigh, her head falling limp against the floor.
"M-Mom? Mom!"
Abandoning his duty, Jack's hands flew to frame her face, ignoring the blood smearing across her cheek. He wanted to shake her awake, like all those times before, whether it was because he had drills that morning or he was late to school or he was just bored and lonely. Yet when his fingers fell to her neck, right where her pulse should be, it was still. There was no rhythmic movement. No heartbeat.
There was nothing.
For the first time in Jack's life, his mind became completely empty. There were no thoughts, there were no emotions. His surroundings were a muted buzz. He only became aware of a strange, distant sound.
It wasn't human. It was an animalistic, grating roar. It almost sounded like a Cybertronian's, but it did not possess the same weight as a gargantuan metal being. It was then Jack realized it was coming from himself. He was making that sound.
And then suddenly Jack's world was filled with a long, ragged scream.
Megatron roared, curling his claws into a fist and sending it into the thing's helm. Like he suspected, its armor was weaker than a true Cybertronian's. The plating dented underneath the blow with an audible crunch. While such an injury would have sent a mech to the ground with serious damage to the processor, the thing hardly flinched. It robotically straightened back up, staring blankly at Megatron, as if the Decepticon didn't have a crushing grip on its arm.
When any other warrior would have reeled back in shock and horror, Megatron only snarled in frustration. He sent two more punches into the thing's frame—one on its flank and another to its midsection—the same locations to where the fuel pump and fuel tank would be. He followed it up to a kick to the chest—right in the spark chamber—and sent the abomination flying, effectively retaliating what it had done to him.
The thing was clumsy, skidding across the ground helm over heels like a human ragdoll. Megatron let out a dark chuckle, though he wished it was the real Optimus Prime instead. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as he had hoped, but he did have a sense of cruel amusement beating the copy into scrap metal.
He doubted this would be a long fight. Once Megatron destroyed the thing, he could return to Jack and finally finish that wretched human, Silas. He didn't know what happened when he was torn away from the humans, but he trusted Jack could handle himself. If he was anything, the boy was resilient.
Megatron was brought out of his musings by a groan of metal. He blinked as the copy began untangling its twisted limbs and slowly rose back to its pedes like a Terrorcon rising from the dead. Its armor was cracked and dented from the former Champion's assault, bright blue energon leaking from its wounds.
Not just that. Oil bleed from the robot, running down its frame and staining the ground below it. Megatron could smell the fumes despite the distance between them and he curled his lips in disgust. Meanwhile, the thing hardly seemed hindered by its injuries, already settling back into a battle stance.
"Still got some fight in you, hmm? Very well," Megatron rumbled. He unsheathed his blade, the cold silver glinting in the sunlight. "Come, then!"
As if Optimus's copy needed any invitation. Without warning, its arms transformed into twin double-barreled cannons, almost identical to the Prime's. Yellowish energon sailed through the air. It was a color that Megatorn had never seen before. Likely an engineering failure on the humans' part. But he responded to the assault all the same, expertly deflecting the bolts with his sword.
The thing charged towards him, clearing the distance between them in a matter of moments. Megatron instinctively slashed at it, but the contraption managed to dodge his attack. It sent a punch towards the warmonger's helm, but Megatron would not fall for the same trick twice.
He easily snatched its arm with both servos. With a yell, the ex-gladiator twisted, dragging his prisoner along with him. He threw his opponent away—right into the massive power plant beside him.
The concrete walls crumbled underneath the thing's weight and momentum, sending a cloud of dust into the air and the very earth trembled. Megatron's smug triumph was snuffed when almost immediately Jack's annoyance and anxiety flared over the bond.
Oh, right. The warlord was so caught up in the battle he had almost forgotten there were humans around. Such fragile creatures. Now he had to be careful, too? Who was Jack to give him orders? Megatron swatted the boy's pestering thoughts away, returning his focus to his opponent.
Just like before, the thing sluggishly lifted itself back to its pedes, using the structure around it as a support. The Decepticon could just make out its silhouette through the smoke, its iridescent optics glowing ominously. The thing was now cloaked in a fine layer of dust, debris falling off its frame as it stepped out of the shell of the ruined building.
How was it still standing? Megatron eyed the numerous injuries across the thing's frame, all vital points. It should be half-dead by now, or at the very least, paralyzed with pain. Did it even have a neural net? Could it even feel pain?
It certainly made sense if it didn't, considering how the abomination hardly winced at his attacks and how it continued on as if nothing happened. It only further confirmed Megatron's theory. The thing was made to look like a Cybertronian, when in reality it was anything but. The humans had even incorporated carbon-based fuel into its system to ensure its function. Then why did it contain energon?
MECH surely had to know how dangerous the substance was to humans. They had to have a good reason for using it. The thing was even capable of transformation. It wasn't very good, but it could do it. A feat that was only possible with a T-cog.
It was how this whole mess started, when MECH ambushed Bumblebee and stole his T-cog. Was that it? No… Bumblebee was doing quite well the last time the Decepticon leader saw him. Then whose was it?
Then Megatron remembered. After Jack's kidnapping, Laserbeak was sent to patrol the area surrounding MECH's abandoned base, trying to find a clue where they went. Instead, he found a week, bleeding Starscream. Incapable of transformation, incapable of flight. Robbed of his T-cog.
Megatron decided it was a fitting punishment for the Seeker. He had betrayed his master and defiled the Decepticon cause, only to go on and aid humans in desecrating his own kind. Jack would say something about "karma."
Though in the end, it didn't matter how this thing came to be. Megatron would cut it down all the same. He raised his sword to cleave the wretched monstrosity in two, but he never had the chance. Without warning, it was like an explosion went off in Megatron's mind.
The warmonger gasped as his claws flew to his helm, as if that would lessen the assault any less. Lines of coding were sliced into pieces and sent whirling through his processor, effectively shattering his thoughts and even corrupting sensitive files. It wasn't malware, Megatron realized. No, it was raw, unfiltered emotion, erupting from the blood-bond.
Jack? What is wrong?
Megatron reached over blood-bond, only for his inquiry to be blown away by the hurricane that was the human's mind. It was like when Jack had been tortured by MECH, but it was more intense, as if all ten days of his captivity were compressed into a single moment. It was almost impossible to decipher the maelstrom of organic instincts, but the Cybertronian could make out sorrow, rage, grief, guilt, hate…
The emotions were so foreign, yet eerily familiar. There was only one time in Megatron's life where he experienced such emotions.
The day Orion Pax was taken from him.
They were meant to rule Cybertron, together. Abolish its cruel, corrupted caste system and replace with their own, one in which all were equal and treated fairly. A world in which all were one!
That was until Zeta Prime stole Orion. The False Prime whispered lies into his audio, poisoning him, turning him against Megatronus. He had told Orion that the Kaonian plotted to steal the Matrix of Leadership, and would kill the Iaconian once he did. As if Megatronus would ever hurt Orion! But before the Decepticon leader could save him, Zeta Prime dug his horrid claws into his best friend. Reprogrammed his mind with the promises that Orion would be his heir, that he would be the next Prime. It was those very claims that drove Orion to take the Matrix of Leadership for himself!
Then… then Orion was gone! Gone!
There was only that horrible demon, that had taken the kind mech's husk to use as his own. Optimus Prime.
No… not again! Megatron would not lose another! He would not lose Jack!
The Lord of the Decepticons opened his jaws, releasing an earth-shattering roar that reverberated the frigid air all around him.
It couldn't. It couldn't be. It couldn't.
The words kept repeating in Jack's mind like a mantra, even as his mother's motionless body lay in his arms. He was freezing, a chill crawling along his skin and his body refused to stop shaking. Maybe that was why he clung to June even tighter, trying to find his mother's warmth. She only slumped against him. Blood continued to pool from her abdomen, saturating the hoodie and staining the boy's hands, arms, and T-shirt. Jack didn't even register the mess, his thoughts raging like a tempest.
Why? Whywhywhywhy?
Why did this happen to him? To her? What did they do to deserve this?
This was all his fault. Jack should have never involved her in this war. He should never gotten involved. Or if he killed Megatron, or killed Silas, none of this would be happening.
Mom would still be alive.
Did the madman even know what he had done? Wasn't it enough he had taken Jack, but he had to take his mother too? Just like the Decepticons that took his father.
It was fair. It wasn't fair.
Why did everyone he loved leave him? Why did they have to die?!
It was Silas. This was all his fault. He started all of this. He stole his mother! He had killed her and he had run away!
The coward! Bastard! Thief! Murderer!
Jack would make him pay! He would tear Silas apart just like he did to him!
His grip on June tightened even more as the deadly thoughts began to filter through his mind. His veins became hot, burning with fury. There was a noise beside him, but he couldn't decipher its meaning. He glanced up, only to see a foreign hand enter his field of vision, laying across his mother's shoulder.
His mother.
"Stay away from her!" he shrieked.
In a violet haze, Jack swiped his claws at the would-be thief with a vicious snarl. He hit nothing but air, but there was a startled yelp and the stranger reeled back. There were two others, a girl and a boy, both foreign to the teen.
Jack growled.
"Jack?! What's wrong with you?" the black-haired girl gasped. She took a step towards him and Jack bristled.
"No! Stay away from him!" It was the man that tried to assault him that spoke. He snatched the girl by her shoulder and yanked her back. "That's not Jack!"
She merely looked at the man as if he has grown a second head. "Are you crazy? Of course it's—"
"It's the dark energon," the little boy suddenly spoke up. His brown eyes were wide and his skin was pale in fright. "Like what happened before. Miko, look at his eyes."
The girl only squinted in confusion, but when she turned to Jack and met his dark gaze, she let out a quivering gasp.
Why was she acting so afraid? All of them were. Was it a trick? Jack narrowed his eyes in suspicion as they continued squabble among themselves.
"Preceptor explained it once," the man explained quickly. "The dark energon suppresses his frontal lobe—or some science doohickey like that."
The girl only blinked dumbly. "What's that?"
"The part of your brain that regulates your lesser base functions," the boy lectured. "It's where your thoughts and personality come from. It's what makes you you."
"That's not Jack," the man clarified. "Something else is controlling him."
Controlling him? No one commanded him!
"Then what do we do?" cried the girl. "We need to help June!"
Help? Why would they help? They were lying! Trying to fool him! They were going to steal what was his!
Jack let out a hiss-like spat and the young duo recoiled. Even the man flinched slightly.
"Shit, he's bad off," he cursed.
The stranger swallowed thickly and for a moment it seemed he would cower away with the others. Then his eyes filled with resolve. He took a slow, hesitant step forward, like he was approaching a terrified, cornered animal. Jack just as well growled like one.
"Jack, listen to me," the man spoke in a soft, careful tone. "You need to calm down. "Come on, I know you're still in there. You got to hear me." He took another step. Jack let out another snarl. "You care about your friends. And they're worried for you, Jack. So am I. Just let us help."
With that, the stranger extended his hand, as if offering his assistance. Jack didn't even glance at it. He was pressing his mother against his chest, keeping a strong, possessive hold, as he glared at the bastard looming over him. Yet he kept a neutral expression, not responding to the teen's aggression at all. He was mocking him! As if to prove Jack's theory, the man stepped even closer. Too close.
Jack pounced.
With a roar, the teen threw a punch into the bastard's skull. He let out a choke cry as he was sent sailing across the room and crashed into a nearby wall. The plaster caved under his momentum, sending a shower of dust falling on top of him. The man could only let out a groan of protest. The girl and the boy yelled at the event, eyes going impossibly wide and jaws dropping.
But Jack didn't care about them.
They had nothing to do with this. Nor did the man. He wanted to steal from Jack, but someone else was responsible for all this. The one who hurt him. The one that mocked him. The one who took away what was his.
Silas.
All of this was Silas's fault.
And Jack was going to kill him.
It was then there was a shift within him. It was like before, but it was deeper, older, darker. It unfurled from the recesses of his mind, like a bear flexing its claws after a long hibernation. It whispered to him, murmuring a command that reverberated across Jack's body and consumed his entire being.
DESTROY…
