'Remember Raf, no matter what happens, stay strong. Everything will be fine.'
That statement was a lie. Jack had lied, he was wrong. The game before him blurred as tears built up. He knew they would soon fall, making room for more. The controller resting in his hand shook, the worn and beaten surface vibrating in his grip. He felt the familiar tears skate down his face. Soon his glasses would fog over, becoming useless.
How could he stay 'strong'?
Even with how much Mrs. Darby told them, everyone was still keeping secrets. He wished he could have stayed longer last night. Sadly, curfew doesn't change even if your friend is down below. Miko and Raf left right after June calmed down. She was kind enough to take them home. Miko pouted the entire way while Raf was shocked.
'Jack wasn't human.'
That particular thought repeated, looping around, confusing him.
How was he meant to process that? Was he meant to ask a million questions like Miko? Go quiet and angry similar to Arcee. Become a blank wall? Be clueless and never ask? Cry? Scream?
He's almost thirteen! He shouldn't have to deal with this. Constant danger, risk of dying, losing friends.
The controller clattered onto the coffee table. Pulling his legs up, he buried his face in the scratchy jean fabric. Tears and snot were absorbed into the material, making him feel gross. 'Mama won't like that.' His mom was worried when he came home last night. He hadn't cared. Mrs. Darby said he was in shock.
"Raf?" Bee chirps worryingly. He has been concerned from the start.
Rubbing furiously at his face, Raf adjusted his glasses before facing Bees optics. A strained smile pulled at his lips. His lower lip was forcefully held in place by his teeth, the trembling still happened.
"Oh, hey Bee." He attempted to sound normal, but his voice was fragile. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "How was the patrol? Anything happen?"
The question didn't fool Bee. Raf didn't fool himself, his misery was so obvious. Thankfully, Bee knew when to leave him alone. The scout always knew how to treat Raf.
"Okay, Optimus has called a meeting. He wants everyone there. Bulkheads' picking up Miko and June, so we should head over." Raf never understood why he found Bees chirping and whirls so soothing, they just were. Unconsciously, his muscles relax, anxiety fading from his stomach.
"Okay Bee." The small smile Raf gave Bee was genuine, but resigned. Bee simply nodded. The pressure in the air was a precursor to what awaited them. Change, something both the scout and preteen were reasonably weary of.
Breathing in, Raf gathered his strength. He may not know how to be the type of strong Jack always seemed to be, but he will try, for Jack. Tears dusted his eyes as he walked to Bees outstretched servo.
It pained him to come to this realization. As the war went on and more joined both sides, faceplates started to blur. Names were unimportant as they all fought for their home. Only the names of the survivors he fully knew. That dwindling number never covered all of his forces. They all knew his name, what he stood for, but even if he wished to do the same there wasn't the time. His priority was to keep those alive, alive. The dead were often forgotten in the heat of war. As a Prime, he knew his duties and accepted them long ago. As a simple mech, the guilt crushes him. He relived all that was lost and forgotten over and over on a loop. He sometimes wishes to be just that simple archivist once more. Organizing data, talking to Alpha Trion, and hanging out with his unique mash of friends. Being at peace with himself once more.
The end of something is often the beginning of something new.
There was no guarantee it was something better.
He held wisdom, authority, and respect. Others looked to him to make the 'right' decisions, but his 'right' decision led to Cybertron dying. He knew both sides committed atrocities in the fog of war. No side was all good or evil. They are far too similar to humans in that way, but humans still have a chance to not repeat their mistakes. They are young, fresh to this universe. They should be given a fair chance without outside interference. Aliens from another world don't deserve to be the executioner for humans, they must find their path.
Prime looked around his bare office. The screen glowed, listing logs of names and faces long since lost to time. Ever since the children and June left the previous night he has been searching. He was determined to find who the bot was.
His search wasn't fruitful. The database was never complete from the start. Bots switched sides without much consequence, allies one day would turn on friends to survive. Missing bots were categorized as dead if they even were registered. Only the higher officers and key players were remembered. The list didn't cover the Decepticons and neutrals whose numbers and designations were deemed as insignificant in the optics of strategists.
War never leaves just peace. It leaves scars built around choices others make in the blinding light of war. Prime was no different. Despite his attempts to help, he had little effect on the outcome. Cybertron was still destroyed.
Once more he scrolled through the various Autobots listed and found nothing. Pangs of pain and guilt were building with each new face and designation.
Halting, he thought of the bot, and of the personality, he knew belonged to Jack. Were they even the same or was Jackson gone? The artifact was one he read very little about. Current holo-form generators were based around that very ancient device.
It was said to be created during the time of the thirteen. A treasure that the use was often debated. The ability to blend in with alien life for a long period. Many thought it was useless and dangerous. Prime knew it wasn't useless, all the relics had a reason to be created. He did agree on the danger.
The device guarantees perfect camouflage if supplied with condensed Energon. The ability to eat, look and think like that species is a mystical experience. Most wouldn't hesitate if the cost wasn't so great.
To experience the thrills of being another species the party has to transfer their processor to the device. This meant if they died in the weaker and foreign form then they had no mind left. Their spark will keep beating, but no one will be there to move their frame. Humans had a term for this, brain dead. The bots that studied the deception deemed it needlessly dangerous. This led to holoprojectors becoming projections that either could hold a solid form or not depending on the type. The main difference was the newer devices didn't transfer the processor to function. The range was limited unlike the ancient version, but far safer for common use.
When the device transferred the processor, the Prime read what would happen if the bot was online, not in stasis.
Primes mouth pulled into a firm line, optics narrowing.
When he and Ratchet talked about this the other night, his old friend concluded that the device was activated while the bot's processor was in stasis. His old friend wasn't sure what effects that could have caused though he had a theory. If a processor couldn't transfer, the device was left with the instincts and mindset of an infant of that species. Ratchet concludes Jack didn't have any memories of before he was 'born'. The theory was close to the truth they believed, though there were no certainties.
Another theory, and the most distressing one, was when Jack assimilated back into the bot frame, all his memories, personality, and being will disappear leaving only the unknown bot. His spark would be beating, but everything that was Jack would be gone.
Dread thrummed through his spark. Optimus couldn't experience another innocent loss even if the one they were losing would have been an illusion to most. That illusion was the one he connected with. He saw his old self within those eyes. That strength and hope couldn't have been a trick. The Matrix pulsed a comforting pattern, responding to his distress.
Though Jack being gone could be one possibility, the opposite was a possibility. Jack could live on, but still, be different. This difference could be shocking or explain a lot about Jack as a whole. Either chance was infinitely better than losing another member of their new family.
It was that very family which made him hesitate about his next step. They had a right to know Jack could be alive in a way. The main word was could. Not even he held all the answers.
Soundlessly, he pushed away from the monitor. He already knew the bot wasn't there. Venting in, he straightened and steeled himself. It wasn't his first time giving sad news, he always hoped there would never be another time after. That wish never happens, not since the war started and not till he is one with the Allspark.
The metallic taping was a constant background in the main command center. It was infinitely better than the tension between the ranks these past few hours. The tapping was a better distraction, it was still needlessly annoying on one's circuits. Ever since June relieved her story their forces have become even more divided. Some like Bulkhead and Bumblebee can understand June's need to protect her son but are too focused on their charges to focus on the problem. Arcee took the news like she always did, locking down her emotions and embracing military protocol. She seemed frozen by the news. Now she currently stood leaning against the rocky wall, the furthest from where Jackson once was and the new bot rested.
He hasn't seen Optimus since he left last night to his quarters. Knowing him, he was working all night. Ratchet vented looking away from the stiff femme. In his servos rests a black device. It was in the shape of a cuff, bulky but designed to attract one's circuits through their joints. Its slick black coloring was off by the silver crack and scratches. Energon leaked from crevasses despite him cleaning it multiple times. When he had first seen the device it was compact into a solid sphere. Once he picked it up, the device trilled transforming to its current form in a janky manor. It was so obviously broken, and Ratchet had no remote idea on how to fix it. None of his scans were even able to pick up on it. It was like the very air in this planet's atmosphere, invisible. With his current tech, he probably never would get a full scan on it.
Gently he caressed the largest crack, Energon smearing over his digit. His optics were softly observing the last piece that held the Jack they all knew. Memory files of him were brought up subconsciously. Sad, happy, scared, excited, determined, and finally the sheer wisdom and age his optics held each time they pierced Ratchet's own. Those golden blue optics held a different light than his eyes. Not a bad one, but one he saw on a friend of his many times. The one where you hold far too much on your struts but still go on. Those optics were probably the reason or start that led the medic to care for Jack.
He may never show it, but he did care for all the humans. Raf was far more tolerable than Miko. Jack held a different part of his spark. He wasn't a human child to him. He was an adult despite his human age disagreeing. Jack was a comrade he could see fighting alongside with just like the rest of Team Prime. Though having him fight was something he would never let happen. Now he doesn't hold that power anymore.
Ratchet shook off the Energon smeared on his digit, optics tracking past the human children conversing with their guardians anxiously. Past June and Fowler having a private conversation all he bot could hear if inclined to. Past Arcee, to the mech, no one could place. Despite no bot knowing the mech, Ratchet couldn't see him as a lower-tier soldier. The bot had to be something special, it was just his intuition though, not a fact.
The metallic tapping stopped when Arcee heard Optimus coming down the hall. His pede steps create a louder noise thanks to the echoes. Once in the light, Ratchet held his glossor to keep from chastising the Prime. The medic just knew the Prime had recharged for another night. Ratchet had a sinking suspicion Prime had barely rested since Jack had been captured. The Prime ignored his glare to nod to each of the others joining the meeting. Ratchet knew that gesture was mainly used to buy time. The Prime's pose was too rigid for him to be naturally addressing them. Both Primes and Ratchet's processors were on the relic and bot in the room.
Putting the Prime out of his misery, Ratchet took charge.
"Well, there's no point wasting time. We have discovered something about Jack and his condition."
The silence that happened after was unnerving. He expected at least Miko to say something impulsively. Instead, they stared with hope in eyes and optics alike. His ridges furrowed as he frowned. 'This isn't going to be pretty.'
"He's dead, isn't he?"
The emotionless voice came from Miko. Never in his life had the medic thought that child could be quiet. This was a heavy reminder of the situation. Her face was void of any expression. She was shutting down just like Arcee. He felt a pang run through his spark. This was why he argued so much against the children staying. War changes all.
"...his body is no longer with us. It dissipated early this morning." He forced his vocalizer to remain neutral. He was an emotionless doctor right then, this wasn't any different from normal.
That's what he kept telling himself.
"...oh." Was the small reply. Behind her, Fowler was comforting a crying June. Raf had curled up once more blocking out the world. Tears shimmered in Miko's emotionless eyes like she couldn't process this.
Gently he lowered the device in his servo, the Energon that stained it contrasted the black and silver.
"This was all that was left, it is an ancient relic from the time of the thirteen. Sadly, whatever Megatron did has made it unusable." He watched them take a turn examining it. Bullhead lifted his helm with hope.
"You could just fix it, right? Come on Ratchet you're great at this stuff!" His optimistic smile was infectious, soon all of them were talking amongst themselves. Once more Arcee and Optimus stayed out of it. Ratchet just watched gritting his denta.
"Yeah, doc bot is great with this! Raf can even help out." The reanimated teen spun to face Raf. Raf peaked his head out from his legs, a new light behind his glasses. Rubbing his nose with his sleeve, he nodded.
"Yeah, if I can help, then sure." Rafs' voice was still subdued, but more alive than he had been in days. Ratchet wished he could let them keep that hope.
Bee gave the medic a pleading look, gently stroking the preteens back comfortingly. Ratchet wished he could gulp because his throat felt constricted. Growling, he looked away from the scout he had also failed. Just like for his voice box, he couldn't fix this scraping device.
The growl seemed to shut everyone's enthusiasm up effectively. Once more the attention was on him. His servo closed, scraping against the relic. His frame shook in rage.
"This is a complicated piece of technology, not even the best scientist in the Golden Age of Cybertron could replicate it! How am I, with the limited technology we have, meant to fix a relic rumor to be created by one of the Primes! It's impossible, not even Optimus can achieve that miracle!" He screeched, voice rising as he pointed to the very Prime in the room. The last Prime who just hung his helm.
Turning, he slammed the device onto his workbench. How much he wished to destroy the offending device, but he couldn't.
"If the device wasn't broken then Jack would have been able to live a normal life. He would have needed to consume Energon regularly but would have lived and died as a human. I was so close to finding the right amount of Energon..." He trailed off.
"So, there's no hope..." It was a resigned statement coming from Rafael. Ratchet shifted, viewing the young boy who helped him so much. His eyes were red, Ratchet knew that meant he had been crying. Ratchet remembered when he was once so pale, body poisoned by Dark Energon. Even when he was sick he didn't look as lost as now. Bee stepped forward to corral the boy back to his comforting embrace. Raf simply shrugged off his large servo running closer to his frame. Soon he was looking up, feet away with a new determination.
"Ratchet...please?"
He couldn't take it. He wasn't a mech that could deal with emotions. That's why he chose to be a scientist back on Cybertron, sure he studied anatomy, but that wasn't his main pursuit. His servo rubbed over his faceplates, gently pinching his nonexistent nose.
"There is hope, but if it's true Jack may no longer be the same Jack we all knew..."
Ratchet noticed Rafs confused expression. Turning back, he gathered the relic and stepped around Raf making his way to Prime. He held out the relic with care watching as the Primes larger servo gathered the device. He had already seen it and examined it, explaining what he knew about the powerful mechanism. It was his turn, the medics circuits were fried.
'Where's high grade when you need it?'
"What's going on boss bot? What even is that relic?" Bulkheads question was expected.
"How was that thing Jack, Ratchet said it was something the Primes made." Bee chirped, pointing from the exhausted medic now resting on a berth to the relic he held.
"What are the Thirteen Primes? You used that word before." Raf was once more by his guardian, looking better now that he had something to focus on.
"Woah, wait! So there like Thirteen of you and they aren't here helping with the Buckethead?!" Miko exclaimed, then crossed her arms, pouting. "So not cool dude." She huffed under her breath. Bulkhead gently nudged her.
"The Thirteen Primes are from long ago, all of them are one with the Allspark, Miko." The wrecker gently reminded me. The Prime knew the gentle giant told his charge about Cybertron since she loved listening to his war stories.
"Oh, right, I forgot." Optimus smiled seeing the wide-eyed look she now sported. Bulkhead just shook his helm.
"The Thirteen Primes created many objects in their time, also inspiring others to. Some of Cybertrons' most valuable relics are from that time. During the Golden Age, countless innovations were based on these advanced instruments." Optimus remembered a time when he could view many of them. They were all different and numerous.
"So you're saying this device created Jack?" Arcee's skeptically voice.
"In a way, yes." 'Though we are still skeptical on the details.' He decided to keep his thoughts to himself.
"Wait." June pushed out of Fowler's embrace, lifting her hand to gain his attention. "What does this all mean? How is Jack both alive but not the same?"
Gently, he lowered himself to a knee guard. This reminded him of the time he entrusted Jack with the key. The key he now held which caused this all.
"June, this relic is known as the source projector." He tilted his servo to allow her a better look. Soon the other gathered around.
"I heard Jacky talking about that a few times. He always said it was incredible, and went on and on about its uses." Bulk perked up, sheepishly rubbing his helm. "I kinda tuned the rest out when he went into detail..." Acree shot him an unimpressed look. The wrecker just shrugged with a smile, Miko laughing at her friend.
"Yes, it is an extortionary device. Without this relic, we wouldn't have developed holo-form projectors. Arcee wouldn't be able to blend in with humans."
"Wait, it's that device? The one projectors are based on, but that means Jacks..." Arcee's optics were wide as she staggered back. Suddenly, her head snaps to the new bot. Without a word, new determination took over her listless expression. She moved and sat next to Ratchet who was looking over their visitor. She simply observed the mech with a new light.
Prime refocused on his still eager audience.
"Unlike the standard holoprojector, this one was deemed too dangerous."
"Why?" Miko now rests halfway on his servo, poking the ancient device covered in leaking Energon. Optimus' shock helm as Bulkhead pulled the protesting girl back. 'This child is far too fearless.'
"This design can create a perfect replica of any other species. Eating, aging, and instincts are all generated to guarantee a perfect camouflage. It would have been seen in a better light if it didn't need the bot to transfer their processor."
The children, Fowler and June looked upon the relic with awe. His scout and wrecker had far different reactions. Both pulled back from the device like it was a scraplet. Fowler spun around, noticing their strange reaction.
"What is the name of George Washington's wooden teeth wrong with you two? You look like a patriot that saw someone shoot a Bald Eagle?"
"It is not their fault, Agent Fowler. The device is shockingly dangerous to us, that is all."
The agent gave him and the relic a skeptical look. Prime decided to elaborate.
"The device may grant the ability to blend in, but if the bot happens to perish then so would their processor. Our spark is essential but they don't hold the memories that formed us." June looked more critically at the device, pulling Miko back once more when she tried to touch it.
"It's essentially a death wish. No sane bot would use it with the risk of being unprotected." Bulkhead commented while Bee nodded firmly behind him.
"So if I am getting this right. That device can create a perfect replication of, let's say a human, and no one would be able to tell the differences?" Prime nodded to Fowler's train of thought. He watched how he seemed to pale.
"Sweet lady liberty! Are you sure that is the only device?" Fowler started to pace.
"Yes, Agent Fowler. You need not worry about copies, even if Megatron got his servo on this one he wouldn't be able to replicate it. The technology is too advanced." That seemed to halt the agent's panic slightly.
"Awe! But that means Bulk cant use it. It would be so awesome to see a human Bulk!" Miko exclaimed, turning to Bulk's green form. "We could see how hard you can hit as a human." She said, boxing the air. The wrecker just gave a shaky smile.
"Yeah, terrible shame it's broken..." The girl was so absorbed in the idea, not noticing the mech's distress at the topic. Prime smiled at his hesitance. Mirth bubbled up in his spark.
"So, if the device needs a bot to activate, what is Jack?" Raf pushed his glasses up, leaning closer to the black metal.
"He's a paradox, from the logical standpoint Jackson shouldn't have existed, and he wouldn't have if it wasn't for Mrs. Darby." The Prime watched as Ratchet explained, the medics' optics didn't leave June's form. Optimus noted the anger directed at the human female. He frowned before brushing it aside, it was a problem for another time.
Said women seem shocked. "Me?" She whispered.
"When you discovered the Cybertronian ship, the device was inside and activated when alien DNA came into proximity. Thus, Jackson was brought into this world." He gave a stern look to his medic when he noticed their staring contest was still going. Ratchet scoffed, turning back to un-dent the unconscious mech.
"June" he called out. The mother looked back to him, confusion from Ratchet's glare meeting him. He gave a gentle smile, and she returned it.
"When the projector is activated it was never studied what would happen if a bot was in stasis. When in stasis the processor is locked, that is more so when induced by space travel." He watched as she worked towards the answer.
"We concluded that if the relic was activated but didn't have a full processor to transfer then it would be left with the instincts and starting age of the species it scanned. Without you, June, Jack wouldn't have come into this world." June's eyes misted, her hands covering her mouth. Fowler once more rubbed her back while Miko and Raf looked lost in thought.
"Your... Saying he was my son?" The sentence came out choked and muffled. Optimus nodded.
"He didn't have any noticeable memories of who he previously was or of us so the chances are high. He was born from your DNA and raised by you. Jack was never anything else than your son." The woman fully broke down then, flinging her arms around a startled agent.
'Thought the being sharing Jack's spark may not be your son.'
Arcee watched from her position as June cried. Looking past her she observed Optimus's faceplates. Despite not being on Earth for long she learned how to read his expressions well enough. Right now she knew he was holding back his thoughts. It was one hundred percent meant to protect the crying woman, but he still wasn't saying it all. Ratchet grumbled next to her, hammering out a few nasty dents.
The medic has been more aggressive, especially when he talked to June earlier. Something was on his processor, but she wasn't about to poke the scraplet hive. She would rather not be dismantled or bashed in by a wrench.
She looked back at the mech resting with the disgruntled medic working above. Reaching out, she took his larger servo in hers. It wasn't a surprising size difference. Mechs tended to be larger, and this one was the second largest in the base. The feel was entirely different from the few times Jack placed his soft hand on her servo. Nothing was the same.
She eyed the scrapped-up paint job, it was in slightly worse condition than hers, but that would fix itself over time. The colors brought a memory file up in her processor.
It was a sunny day. Arcee decides to treat Jack to a long fast ride outside of Jasper. The boy always had a secret obsession with going fast. Most would assume him to be hesitant but it was the opposite. It was an interesting contrast to his ever responsible attitude. She's not sure how the conversation turned to favorite color but it had. He had asked if her paint job was her favorite color. Jack even joked about not seeing her as pink-loving femme. She admitted she changed her color to blue and pink thanks to a lost bet. The colors grew on her over time and she kept them. Arcee could still remember his incredulous 'really' in response.
Maybe it was because he asked her, but she decided to ask him the same. He had frozen and she felt his grip tighten on her handles. Eventually, he answered in a daze. She remembered his response word for word.
'I wear almost all my favorite colors every day, Cee. Dark blue, white, and black.'
It wasn't the words that stuck with her but the way he said it. Like he was thinking of a time long ago. At the time she filed the event under Jack being Jack. Now she knew different. The mech before her had the same colors. Prime and Ratchet all but said this was the bot Jack came from.
She turned back to the conversation the Prime was still having when a familiar shriek almost broke her receptors.
"What! That is so unfair! Jack gets to live the bots-swanna dream! Grrr!" The girl animatedly waved her hands to the resting mech Arcee still held on to. Miko continued her pouting till Bulk picked her up and redirected her attention to June. Soon the girl realized and shut up. June was walking slowly over. Her eyes moved from Arcee to Ratchet then the mech.
"How do you know?"
Arcee could see June wanted to believe them. Arcee looked up to the Optimus' who stood tall now, walking to the makeshift med bay. She watched him lift June to rest next to Arcee on the empty berth.
"Besides Ratchet confirming their spark beats matching, Megatron told me all." Arcee was intrigued.
"At the time, I wasn't sure what he meant, but now everything makes sense." Optimus looked back to June, Arcee followed his gaze.
"You're right, Megatron wanted to know where I found Jack. He said a lot of things that didn't make sense fully, but I knew one thing for sure. If I didn't tell him then Jack would have died." From this angle, Arcee could only see the top of her disheveled black hair.
"When they took Jack, I honestly wasn't sure what would happen. I didn't trust that con." June hissed quietly, leaning against Arcee. The femme wrapped her free servo around her, giving her a sorta hug she once did with Jack.
Arcee looked at her fellow bots. Bee and Bulk were inspecting the mech closely, as Arcee did earlier. They both were looking for any indicator that this was Jack. Ratchet clicked and hissed as he worked, blatantly ignoring his audience. The Prime too looked upon the bot though with a different intensity. He looks to be reliving something. She saw that expression various times on various faces. In a war that expression was common.
She squeezed the nonresponsive servo while pulling June closer to her warm plating.
"It will be okay." Arcee felt June nod to her statement. They both knew the truth. They had no power here, they couldn't make Jack live on. All they could do was wait. That thought was terrifying.
'These bots are going to be the death of me!'
Fowler was dealing with a lot. He had given the kid the suit, allowing him to head to another planet. Logically. he couldn't have changed it. The bots would have come up with a way around it, he knew that deep down. Now, he has the higher-ups breathing down his star-spangled shorts about the missing kid. Of course, they don't know anything about the kids except they exist. Growling, he rubbed his face.
'Why did I even take this job?'
He paused to think.
'Oh right, they tricked me.'
The job was meant to be a cushy desk job. Nine to five is enough to make money and live a fulfilling life after being a soldier. He was far luckier than most veterans. When this job was offered he took it. No one said anything about aliens till he signed the dotted line.
He sighed, slumping over onto a metal crate, it was probably there for the kids. Leaning against the wall, he looked over to his responsibilities. Formerly, it was four humans, three of which were not even legally adults. That didn't count that one wasn't an American citizen. Then he had the five metal giants who always found new ways to make his job so much harder.
Now those numbers shuffled around. His previous 'human' charge was now taller than his own house.
'My head hurts...'
Fowler could smell the paperwork and hear endless hours of interrogation now. He could try and convince them the kid had died, but the option was only going to fly if June agreed. She would be the one to take the brunt of the attention. The idea would be the least difficult, especially if he wished to protect the kid, well now mech, from government hands.
He could see it now.
Claims like, 'he has a social so he is a citizen.'
'Who's to say he's alive, we should study him to create more.'
'He would feel honored to help their country by offering his body for military advancement.'
They were already heard before. He had the privilege of fending off those particular higher-ups every month. He could use less of that. If they told the government, he had little power against all their idotic claims. In the eyes of their skewed law, Jack, now a bot, would be under their right to use. There may be some naysayers, but he wasn't going to hold his breath.
Shaking his head, he looked up at Prime. The boss bot was leaving the room, heading down the hall in a daze. He looked just as wrecked as June.
'I'll talk to Ratchet...'
He observed said medic pound into the metal of the mech with a rage-filled scowl. He grimaced.
'...maybe later.'
But he knew it had to be soon. His bosses have been waiting and pestering him since Jack was captured. Looking up, he observed the tall, cavernous ceiling.
'Should have just become a florist.'
With each step, the pulsing decreased, less light slipped through the cracks in his chassis. The need to go back lessened the farther he moved. All that was on his processor was what would happen. Would Jack live on, will the mech fight with them, would June be able to accept it?
'That mechling is worth far more to me than your life Prime.'
Megatron's red optics glared at him with absolute certainty. The look reached to his spark, exposing all of the Primes worries.
'He will be mine.'
Those were the last and only sentences the Decepticon warlord spoke to him during the rescue. He had found them once they made it to their bridge. Said mechling was being hoisted by Bulkhead as he left through the vortex. Optimus just stood there, on defense while Megatron stood there with a grin, lax and casual. He was like that even as he left. The con knew something about their companion, more than what they knew. That didn't make much sense to him. Why would Megatron only put two guards on the mechling if he was important? The warlord hadn't expected them to find his prison, Optimus knew that much. Based on how the others describe founding Jack, it was meant to keep them distracted.
Optimus wouldn't have turned down that hall if it wasn't for the matrix. The pull caused him to halt and change directions. June called to him, confused with his sudden change. He ignored her, setting her down when the pulsing was a constant stream. Changing his servos to blasters he shot both cons down in an instant. Their frames crashed down. The unsupported weight of their prisoner came crashing down as well, but Prime was too focused on any new danger. June stuck by his pede as he slowly rolled the prisoner over.
The second he touched the frame, he felt a familiar ache, one he has had since a fateful day. His choice was already made as he slung the mechlings arm over his shoulder plating. His other servo was headed out to June as he smiled. The smile was one of the few true ones. He had never felt this much joy in his spark in eons.
Now he stood in the darkened halls of Outpost Omega One, holding on to that bond. The constant thrum of a spark not his own echoed in his receptors.
"...hey, you are planning on getting up soon. We don't have forever."
The voice strangely reminds him of himself. He remembered when he was little asking his mom what his voice would sound like when he was older. She had laughed then brought up a video, the voice she played wasn't super deep, but it held an undertone that reminded him of his voice. As a child, he laughed and said that would never happen. His mom just smiled at him, an all-knowing adult smile. He felt his lips pull at the memory. It was before everything went to hell.
"Seriously, get up." The voice was getting frustrated and tired. It reminded him of Ratchets.
Concerned, he opened his eyes. He was greeted with a pure blue sky. A gentle breeze moved past him.
'Better than darkness.'
Suddenly, there was a metal servo waving over his face. Dark blue plating ran up the arm, white and black contrasted in some spots. Jake shot up, eyes wide as he took in his surroundings, and they were something else.
The view went on to the horizon. It was a mixture of every home he ever lived in, spiraling metallic structures reaching to the clouds and eye-catching biomes of all types. Metal swirled with trees, homes disappeared into pristine metal towers. It was unearthly, but they could still see parts he knew. His third home rested next to a forest. The apartment building they moved to when he was thirteen was being encroached on by metal. Even the Autobot base was there.
Jack felt himself grip the grass he was lying on for dear life. His hand shook under the pressure.
"Beautiful isn't it?"
Jack's gaze shifted right very slowly, still taking in his surroundings. He recognized some, but there were strange structures and glyphs spattered around. Soon his eyes landed on a mech. The mech was sitting next to him. Pedes spread out as he leaned back on his arms. His helm was turned to the scenery, a small smile on his lips.
The mech was large. Despite him sitting down, Jack could see him easily being taller than all the bots he knew except Optimus. His plating was pristine, with no dents or scratches to be seen. The dark blue was completed by black and white, casually he could spot the dark silver all bots seemed to have. Arcee told him that was the protoform, their skeleton in some ways.
"Yeah" Jack breathily replied. It was more of an automatic response since he was overwhelmed with everything.
A calming chuckle came from the mech next to him. Again, he was reminded of himself. It was a strange feeling. The bot shifted his frame, gentle to not disturb the grass much, till he rested in front of Jack. The mech's chassis now faced Jack and he gasped.
Looking up, Jack made contact with very familiar optics. He knew them for six years. They were a part of him. One he feared for so long because of the implications.
The mech smiled, being a servo up to rub the back of his neck. It was such a natural gesture, Jack now knew where he got his. The mechs optics were smiling, that golden and blue glow for once looking mesmerizing to Jack.
"Hi, name's Crossroads..."
Jack was frozen, he almost didn't catch his, no, the mech's name because of one important detail he couldn't find.
Not once during Jack's examination of the mech, could he find the alliance symbol. His undamaged frame was void of marks or scratches. Chassis blank of something Jack had become so accustomed to.
On autopilot, following the teaching his mom ingrained into him, Jack raised his hand in a half-wave before responding.
"Names Jack, Jack Darby. Nice to meet you?"
Internally he was screaming.
'How do I get into these situations!'
Author's note:
Have a Tumblr account with art for this fic now. Check it out if your interested. Links on my profile.
