Miko was so happy. The bots kicked bucketheads metal aft. A sabotage mission, getting back not only Mrs. Darby, but Jack and a new bot. Thought that excitement hadn't lasted when they arrived through the ground bridge. She still remembers the other day vividly.
Boss bot had dragged an unconscious mech in while Bulk supported the other side. Despite the new addition they both held grim, defeated expressions. Then came Arcee sprinting past them heading straight to Ratchet. Her face was a wash of desperation, something Miko never thought she would see on the strong femme. Resting in her servos was the cause. Miko still has no clue what happened to Jack. No one told her anything, instead, Ratchet ordered all humans and bots out while he worked. There has been an ominous silence between everyone since then. Ratchet has yet to come away from his research, probably up all night working on a way to fix everything.
Gently she reached for the glowing blue hand on the gurney. The hand didn't feel any different from the air. No warmth met her touch. It was like he just wasn't there anymore. Worse were the parts that have disappeared. Whole sections seemed to be slowly dispersing into the very air she breathed. Her stomach rolled, wanting to dispel the meager food in it. The blue glow was the sign of which spots will go next. By now it was hard to find a spot not glowing.
The only sound was distant voices and constant beeping. The beep told everyone that he was still alive despite everything. If you saw him without the moderator you would think he was dead. He hasn't twitched once since being brought in. His body was positioned naturally, but she knew his limbs were broken. Raven hair was haphazardly sticking up and covering part of his face. Said face was no longer a peachy tan, instead a light glow was coming from within. It was the start of the breakdown.
Gulping she pushed down the sting in her eyes. Turning from the mangled body, she noticed Mrs. Darby sleeping soundly in a plastic chair. She was slumped over on the gurney, hand entwined in sheets. She probably got as much rest as Ratchet, meaning none. She may give Jack scrap about his mom, but deep down she and everyone knew June was a great mom to have. A little too overbearing for Miko, but perfect for her friend.
Stepping back she looked over a few feet to the berth that held their new friend. His scratched armor shined in the harsh light. His chassis rose with each vent.
The striking claw marks covering the Autobot symbol sent shivers down her spine.
Blinking the sleep from her eyes, June took in Jack's body once more. He hadn't changed much since her short nap. A frown pulled at her lips. She still remembered her first time seeing that glowing blue skin. Just like his eyes, she had been mesmerized. That was until the glowing had caused the lights to flicker then blacken not a moment later. She had later learned Jack managed to blow the breaker. Yet, the most noticeable thing about that memory was how Jack acted. He was terrified. Tears and snot coated his face as he lunged for a comforting hug. He was babbling about this happening at the field trip but she didn't care. All she knew was her life was forever changed once again. She assumed Jack would be normal. Well, as normal as a child that came from a UFO could be. She was mistaken. Now she had to figure out how to protect him. So they moved every time someone saw.
The first move was the worst. Jack lit up at a birthday party they went to. Everyone saw and talked for about a week before they left. People love to gossip. Jack changed after that first move. He was no longer carefree. He realized that life sometimes doesn't go your way and you have to push on. It wasn't a lesson she ever wished for him to learn at the age of ten.
Looking at his body now she wondered if this was all her fault. Did she push him to feel like he needed to be responsible? Did she make him an adult before he was ready? Did she do the right thing taking him in instead of letting someone else adopt him? Then she shook her head once more, dismissing her pity party. Those thoughts were what-ifs. It was pointless to think of what-ifs because she couldn't change the past. She made all her choices thinking they were the best in that scenario. All her choices since she found Jack was to create a life he could live and enjoy.
Gently she adjusted the blanket on him once more. Covering the deteriorated legs and arms. The glow was harshly visible despite the blanket concealing it. She chewed on her lip thinking of what to do. Finally, she decided they needed to know. She can't let them be in the dark when he dies. Ratchet has been endlessly working to find out what happened. If her story helps, she was obligated to confess. Ratchet shouldn't blame himself for something out of his control. Jack's friends should know that he was probably on borrowed time for how long he could live as a normal human before this. The bots needed to know that they hadn't failed. It wasn't their fault for something that started six years ago. No , something that started over sixteen years ago.
Turning she walked to the one place they were all gathered. The roof.
Arcee wasn't even sure why she asked them up there. The sun was blinding, bathing the bots and children in a warm golden glow. The glint of their armor shone in the dawn light. Faces were all grim despite the captivating scene before them. Miko was holding on to Bulkhead's large pede, her face pressed into the living metal, seeking comfort. Arcee heard Raf sniffle once more. He hadn't stopped since they returned. He rested in the metallic servos of his guardian, gently being cradled close to the scout's spark chamber. It was eerily similar to how a sire would soothe their sparkling. They had a sleepover at the base, both refusing to leave Jack. The bots hadn't the spark to refuse. Their human customs were unusual to Arcee, but she understood the sentiment of this one. Just like June they didn't want to leave and come back to find out the worst.
She felt the sharp gaze of the Prime who was far behind the lot of them. His presence, usually open and calming, was hesitant. Arcee knew, just like Bulk and Bee did, that he and Ratchet had a conversation for the majority of the night. Despite them being in the Primes office they were loud. The idea of Prime raising his voice outside of battle didn't compute. It was so out of character everyone was unsure how to proceed. She heard Ratchet shift next to the Prime. He had been quiet since they returned. Something was going on and she wanted to know what. They all did.
"You know, this is one of his favorite spots. Especially when the sun sets."
She gently squatted down and caressed the grave marker. She noticed the dried flowers Jack had brought less than a week ago. She caught him placing them one time when he was up top. He turned red, which she didn't know humans could do, stammering through his explanation. Flowers were how humans showed respect, there was even a language with them. The current ones were peace lilies, the white flower was one of her favorites so far. She was going to ask what they meant..., but everything happened. Now there was a chance that she would never be able to.
She gently gripped the withered flower, long since scorched by the sun and harsh dessert. Despite them always dying and ending like this, Jack never stopped getting new flowers. Arcee was grateful. Being on Earth she couldn't give Cybertronian offerings, there was no way to get them. Instead, Jack had seen to it, despite never knowing Cliffjumper outside of the few memories shared.
"He'd sit up here for hours when he wanted to be alone. Never knew why that was. It's a dessert." Chuckling, she gathered the rest of the withered flowers. They crunched in her grip despite how much she took care not to. Everything on Earth was so fragile to them. They didn't belong on this planet. It was so obvious to her as she stared at the dead plant.
Clenching her jaw, Arcee looked behind her and eyed them. Everything was so messed up. If she just held on to Jack he wouldn't be below. He would be up here, laughing as he changed the flowers again. Arcee would be saying the flowers were pointless since they don't last. Jack would retort and confess he felt like it was the least he could do. They had protected his home for years. That argument always stopped her. It was true. They protect Earth and the natives countless times. A thankless job. Jack didn't think it should be. Flowers were his way to honor all Cliffjumper had done. Arcee could almost see Cliff smiling and joking about why he was getting flowers. He would have a large smile despite it, optics softly thanking. He was just that type of mech.
"He's always thankful for what we do. Never has he complained about anything to us. Which is why I don't understand why others are hiding things." Her optics narrowed on Prime and his medic. They both had stoney expressions now. Posture defensive and plates pulling in on their frames. She knew they were withholding the truth. Something major about what was happening to her partner and she wanted to know why.
"They aren't the ones hiding Arcee."
Coming up from where the elevator was, June. Arcee stared at her. Her eyes were bloodshot and held a deep sadness. The last time Arcee saw her, she was sleeping by Jack's side. She hadn't the spark to wake her for the meeting. She frowned, then thought. What did she mean? June had nothing to do with what Optimus and Ratchet were hiding, right? Wouldn't she share if she knew something? The thought caused her to pause. It had been barely 24 hours since the rescue. The majority of it was spent taking care of Jack and Junes' injuries. Then they had an unexpected bot to deal with. Watching over the children, Decepticons coming out to play, and resting. They were all too preoccupied, all having not enough time to truly process.
June managed to gather all the bot's and children's attention easily.
"Mrs. Darby you don't have to.."
The Ratchet was cut off.
"No, Ratchet. I should have told you long ago when you first asked. Maybe...maybe if I did this wouldn't have happened." June scratched at her bandaged wrists.
"June what are you talking about?"
Arcee slowly approached the woman, scared she would runoff. She had never seen June look so frightened before. Even on the ship, chained up she was madder than anything.
"I am saying Jacks' condition isn't the Decepticon's fault. Well, not fully. He's been different since I met him."
That comment got varying reactions.
Bees optics widened and he physically pulled back in confusion. Raf stopped crying and stared at June with an almost knowing look. Optimus simply stayed put, a troubling look in his optics. Ratchet stood by with a blank, expectant expression.
The loudest reaction belonged to Miko. She pulled away from Bulk to the gap in June. Bulkhead recognized her body language and scooped her up before she could run to June. Miko strained over the side of Bulkheads servo, vibrating with questions.
"Wait so it wasn't just me hallucinating!?"
June blinked at her comment. Miko kept going despite everyone's confused stares.
"Like, you know when we were in that cave-in. Jack came and saved me with a drill. I thought I was going crazy cuz when I looked into his eyes, they weren't even eyes! Then he blinked and they were back to normal. It was so weird!"
Arcee had to process this. What was going on about? She never noticed anything strange and based on Bees and Bulks expressions they noticed nothing. Miko looked around, almost expecting them to say they noticed anything.
"Really? No one notices anything strange about Jack. The boy's a walking mystery on a good day." Miko exclaimed. She turned and leaned close to where Raf was resting.
"Raf! You got to have noticed it. You know the gossip that follows Jack. I know you do."
The boy looked hesitant. He shifted in Bees palm trying to disappear. Bee looked down on him, ridges raised.
"Raf?" He beeped down to his charge. That made Raf lookup. Gently the boy nodded.
"I may have seen a few things... but they never made sense so I just left it. Jack has always been just Jack to me. I let everything slide."
Everyone was silent as Miko did a little dance proclaiming she wasn't crazy.
June sighed. Arcee turned to her, seeing the sheepish expression.
"Guess he wasn't very good at hiding it."
The mutter was heard by all the bots. They heard many things considering they had better hearing than humans. It was souring sometimes.
June sighed. She seemed to visibly age before their eyes.
"Jack has always been special, sometimes boarding on the peculiar." She walked closer to Arcee before sitting by the grave marker. Her back was facing them as we seemed to enjoy the sun's rays.
"I guess I should start at the beginning then." Arcee had never heard June sound so sorrowful, like she was losing something.
June wasn't sure what she was doing. No, scratch that. She knew what she was doing. She was doing what was best for her son at the moment, even if that meant telling his science fiction club about Jackson's 'birth'.
Breathing in she centered herself, focusing on the stunning colors in front of her. Living in the desert wasn't all that bad sometimes.
"I was still in school, working to become a nurse. Young and driven. Sometimes too focused if you talk to my friends. The night I met Jack was the night they set me up."
Her fists clenched.
"It was an awful date. Honestly, one of my worst, but... I would always suffer through it again if it meant it ended with Jack."
June could hear metal shift next to her. Turning she noticed Arcee dangling her legs over the edge of the cliff. More sounds came from her other side. Bulkhead and Bumblebee were in the same position. She noticed the children were settling down next to them. It was comforting, in a way. The presence of Prime grounded her while Ratchet's piercing stare pushed her forward. 'For Jack' was her only thought.
"I was on the way back when I got caught in an avalanche. I was in the woods and alone. Looking back I honestly have no idea how I survived. Most of the fall was a blur, but what I remember vividly is waking in a cavern. The walls were too tall for me to climb. Instead, I thought exploring was the sensible thing."
Her hands played with the red sand below her. It was coarse and warm.
"I was in there for hours. Losing hope at each dead end. My phone's battery was eventually going to die. I was running against the clock"
She smiled, her mind recalling the memories. It was like she was there.
"I would have missed it, the glow was rather dim. But... I didn't. I thought I was saved. The truth was far different. At the time I had no clue what the object was. It was so embedded into the wall leaving it hard to see. The metal was dirty and the seams glowed a dim blue, flickering like a heartbeat."
June could hear Miko's hitched breath, the teen was practically panting with excitement and questions.
"Now I know for certain the thing was Cybertronian."
Closing her eyes she attempted to block everything out. The images of that cavern flit through her mind. The beautiful blue glow that her son now sported down below.
"I only touched it, barely even a few seconds before it went crazy. I thought I was going to die! It was so loud and bright. All I clearly remember is when it stopped. No light, no sound, nothing. That was surprisingly scarier. I just wanted to run. So... I did."
June remembered that fear, it was similar to the fear she felt while captured yesterday.
"I was so close to leaving, I would have if there wasn't a noise. It was a baby. One that looked so similar to me. He had my eyes and everything."
She pursed her lips, opening her eyes to the almost set sun.
"That's how I met Jack. Eventually, we made it out and I got a signal to call for help. When they asked about Jack I said I found him. Once they did all the necessary checks for his parents I finished the paperwork to take him in. And here we are, sixteen years, and I finally can't pretend he is human."
June was shaking, lips trembling under the well of emotions. This was the first time she openly faced the truth.
"Jack's always been strange. Never in a bad way, but many habits he developed were not normal. He was quiet as a baby, always well behaved. Many times I wondered if he was even a baby at all. Jack was so low maintenance I feared babysitters would notice something strange. Thankfully, that didn't happen till he was ten..."
Downcast eyes looked at her lap. Her blue scrubs were coated in the sand she'd been fiddling with.
"He blew up a power station."
That got a reaction.
"What!?"
The yell was done by all the bots around her plus Miko. Bee even beeped what she could only assume was the same. June chuckled. The mood lightened somewhat, not as depressingly serious as before.
"Yeah, that was my reaction too. I had a ten-year-old crying out a confession that made nonsense to me. But he was adamant. I only believed him when he blew the house's circuit breaker while glowing a bright blue. The same as that thing he came from. That's when we started to move."
She knew how it sounded. Many thought her lifestyle was crazy but they had made it work. They had to. She wasn't going to lose her son.
"Every time someone saw him glow we moved before anything could happen."
Signing, she felt her shoulders lower. Lids were at half-mast now. Gently she rubbed her temples.
"I wasn't sure what else to do. Over the years he started to glow more so we moved more. The problem didn't go away with time."
June turned her head and made eye contact with the glowing purple-blue optics next to her. Her smile was small but full of gratitude.
"Then he met you. He changed. Was less nervous about being around people. Looked healthier. Had friends. God, I don't remember the last time Jack introduced me to a friend. He became so happy, alive, here."
Her voice was full of wonderment as if she was mystified by how her son grew right before her eyes. Arcee's optics widened with the realization. June's small smile didn't help.
"When I found out about you, Arcee, I knew I was losing my son. He was growing up and finding answers without me. I thought..."
Her voice choked.
"I thought if I didn't tell him and everyone that time could standstill."
June broke eye contact. Fist clenching her dirty scrubs in a death grip.
"I was a fool. Living in an illusion. My own little bubble"
Her voice dripped with venom directed at herself.
"Jack was never going to be human. Despite looking like one he never acted like one, he gets along with your group better than he ever has with humans."
The comment stung to admit. It was like she was saying something that shouldn't be uttered. Something unspoken in the group. Tears slipped from her face for the umpteenth time. She was drained, both emotionally and physically. Not for the first time, she closed her eyes and prayed. Prayed to whoever could help her son. She wasn't ready to let him go.
Ratchet didn't stay long after June finished her story. The past she so securely guarded was known. He wished he had the time to talk to her, make her understand it wasn't her fault, but he couldn't be a friend right then. He was Jackson's medic and as his medic he was furious with June. She kept vital information about Jack from him and her own son. He had a right to know. Ratchet was there every time Jack became terrified. He wasn't sure what was happening but he was scared. Scared of the unknown that his own mother knew. The situation shouldn't have gone on for this long.
The main reason was thanks to Jack.
The child was far too considerate. He noticed the agony his mother went through every time he asked and simply stopped. He was the bigger person, overlooking his needs to make June feel more comfortable. It was a far to mature act for someone Jack's age. Something Ratchet had grown accustomed to seeing from the boy. He frowned, the whole situation was wearing on his circuits.
The elevator opened up, he rushed past Optimus and headed over to Jack and the mech resting in the med bay. The heart monitor was still active. The incessant beeping was annoying. He scurried over to his monitor that tracked the health of each member of team Prime. All five signals were strong and labeled, the sixth was unmarked but almost as strong. Ratchet fixated on the sparkbeat, counting each beat. His face turned grimmer with each beat. The spark beats matched the heart monitor's constant noise. Realization was sometimes harsh. Ratchet had thought too hard about what was going on with Jack to even contemplate the idea. He knew the boy had to be linked with their kind. The optics and Energon supported that theory. Hanging his helm, he let out a relieved sigh. They hadn't lost just yet.
Finally, he acknowledged the Prime in the room. He was hovering over the prone form of Jack, optics unreadable to most. Luckily, Ratchet wasn't most bots. The sadness and worry was there but also certainty. Like he knew Jack was okay despite everything. Then the Primes gaze transfers to their new quest. Ratchet observed the Optimus gently skim the clawed symbol. The very symbol the team wore.
"He will be fine Optimus, nothing Energon and a long recharge won't fix."
Ratchet moved closer to the mechling, taking in the details. A heavy sigh filled the silence.
"He is truly young."
Ratchets eyed the Prime.
"So were we all once, but we grew. Just like our human allies. We grow and change, he will be fine."
His tone softened as he thought of the ramifications. Changes were going to happen whether they prepared or didn't.
"I only hope the others are prepared."
His tone was grave, his processor thinking of those still up top. June's face made sense that one day he pushed her to talk. She was so desperate to keep this secret because it meant change. A change she didn't wish to see. A servo gently grabbing his shoulder plating pulled him out of his thoughts. Looking up he noticed the strength in his friend's optics. Just like always, Prime would do everything in his power to help, especially for Jack.
"They will, old friend. It's the only choice we have."
Ratchet had known Optimus before he became a Prime, he hasn't seen this face since he was once known as Orion. The unsure blue optics glowed into Ratchets. The medic knew he was just as worried.
"Let's just hope Jackson doesn't freak out when he awakens."
Ratchet knew that it was a longshot. The mechling was going to be beyond confused, but he would be alive. He would have answers, and be surrounded by family. Jack will be just fine. Ratchet was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.
'Primus help us, these children are more trouble than they're worth.'
Author Note
I am enjoying writing this story so much, probably more than I should. I focus more on trying to make the reader sympathize with the characters. Hopefully, Junes emotional journey sparked so sorta cord with you.
If you guys notice spelling mistakes or have ideas for stories I could adopt/write feel free to PM me anytime. Always enjoy feedback, I am well aware grammar is not my strong suit.
Thanks so much for everyone who's read my story so far. Plan on going to the end. If you like more fluff pieces about the bots and the kids check out my other fic. Completed and I personally enjoy rereading.
Have a great day!
