AN: I know a lot of you have been asking me to update my story. But truth be told, I wasn't really sure what to do next. So I just decided to follow the story of Transformers Prime; while at the same time, adding my own spin on things. And if this chapter seems a bit rushed, then I apologize. I was just trying to get everything finished. So without further ado, let's jump into it.

Chapter 5: Loss

Jasper

While Jack stood in the school's parking lot, waiting for his mother to pick him up; he kept replaying the days events over and over again in his head. For the most part, he actually had a pretty good day; aside from having to deal with Vince and his friends of course. He got to see the outside world, he interacted with other people, he made a friend, and he even talked to a girl for the first time. As he waited for his mom, he kept wondering how she and the others would react to this news.

He didn't have to wait long; because at that moment, Arcee rolled up to the parking lot. After she came to a stop, he got on, put on his helmet, and then they both proceeded to make their way home. "So, how was your first day of school?" Arcee asked with a reasonable sense of curiosity. "It was pretty good. But if you want some specifics; can it wait until we get home? I kinda want to tell everyone about the day I had" Jack told her. "Alright, so long as you tell me. I want to hear all about it" his mom said. What followed next was a quiet and pleasant ride back to base.

Meanwhile, back in Jasper, Miko was walking home; and all she could think about was the boy that saved her. She knew that her host parents would ask her how her day went, just like all parents do. As she walked, she tried to figure out how to play this. She could either lie and say that nothing happened. Or she could tell the truth and risk them getting all worried. When she finally reached the front door of the house, she had made a choice; she would tell them the truth. She opened the door and walked inside; and just as expected, her host parents were standing right there in front of her, waiting for her report on what happened today. "So, how was school?" The mom asked with what seemed like all the enthusiasm in the world. Not knowing how to phrase it, she just decided to unload everything on them.

"Well, in the beginning, it started out boring as usual. But then, just as school got out; I was jumped by a bunch of bullies, who took my phone and pushed me down on the ground. But then this cute boy showed up, kicked their butts; and he also returned my phone to me, as well as help me to my feet. So I was pretty much saved by a brave, ninja boy" Miko murmured. "Ninja boy, good lord" the dad said, sounding really surprised at today's events. After taking a moment to process all of this, Miko's host Mom finally chose to speak up. "Well, he sounds like quite the gentleman. And apparently, you think he's cute." After hearing that, Miko blushed a little; and then went upstairs to her room, until it was time for dinner.

When Jack got home, he decided to tell everyone about his day. As he began to recount the events of the past few hours, everyone gathered around to listen to what he had to say. He told them about the jerks who gave him a hard time. He told them about the fairly easy classes he had. He even told them about the new friend he had made. Arcee was a little conflicted about what he just said. On the one hand, she was happy that he did well in his classes; and that he made a new friend. But on the other hand, she was upset at the fact that some of the other kids were picking on him. The very thought of someone trying to hurt her baby, made her want to march down to that school and teach them a lesson. Little did she know, that the most shocking part of his story was yet to come.

"And the best part is, I...uh, met this girl." Jack said while rubbing the back of his neck, in an attempt to relieve stress. He wasn't sure how his mom would react to that part of the story. By then, Jack had informed them about how he saved Miko from the bullies. At this point, Arcee had entered full-blown overprotective mother mode. "Well then, I've got three questions for you. What's her name? What's she like? And when do I get to meet her?" Arcee said while crossing her arms. "Um, Miko, I think she's pretty nice, and never. You're supposed to be a government secret, remember?"

"Miko, that doesn't sound like a very common name" Arcee exclaimed. "Well, I think that's because she's not from around here. Then again, learning about human history and other cultures, was never one of my strong suits." In all honesty, Jack wasn't quite sure where Miko was from. But he suspected that it was Japan. The only reason he thought that Miko was Japanese, was because when he was a kid, he watched some Japanese monster movies; and the people in those movies, looked a lot like her. When he was home schooled, he was taught Cybertronian science, math and history. He also learned how to read and speak Cybertronian at a very young age.

Math and science were pretty much the same, no matter where you went. But Earth history was a little bit different from Cybertronian history; and whenever the topic of human history came up, he never really paid attention. But he knew that was something that he had to change. "You know, I realize that this is the first girl I've ever interacted with. But for some reason, I just can't stop thinking about her. From the moment I looked into her eyes, all I can remember thinking is that she is so beautiful." Jack said while leaning against a wall, in a dazed state of remembrance.

After he said that, Arcee realized that it was finally happening. Her son was finally ditching her to spend time with another girl. But even though she was a little upset, she knew that she had to stay calm and keep her composure. "Well, it seems like you really like her. Now I definitely want to meet her" she said while sporting a wicked grin that was plastered across her faceplate. Jack started to blush in embarrassment at the very concept of his mom meeting the girl that he liked. "Uh, I got homework to do" he proclaimed before he walked off to his room. "Uh, yeah, I have to go on patrol, anyway. So I guess I'll see you later" she said just before transforming and driving out of the base.

Arcee spent the next hour or so, driving down a deserted highway, in a vein attempt to clear her head. "I mean, he goes to school for one day; and he's already got a girlfriend. So where does that leave me?" Arcee said while talking to Cliffjumper on the other end of her comm link. "Ah come on, Arcee; you know it's not like that. You're his mom; he could never forget about you. He just wants to get out of the house and live a little. Because, need I remind you that he's been cooped up at base, all his life.

So maybe it's a good thing to let him explore a little. And no girl, no matter how "beautiful", could ever come between you two" Cliff said. "I guess you're right. It's just, sometimes I feel like I'm not enough. Sometimes it feels like Jack would be better off without me" she said. "Now Arcee, you can't think like that. Sure you can't do all the things a normal mom can. But there isn't a doubt in Jack's, or anyone else's mind that you love him. And you got to know that he loves you right back."

That's the thing about Cliffjumper; he always knew what to say to make Arcee feel better. While Cliffjumper was driving down the road, he got a blip on his screen. "I'm getting a signal" he said. "Need backup?" she asked. "Do I ever need backup?" he responded. According to Cliffjumper, he just found a whole lot of energon. About a minute later, he radioed Arcee and said "Uh, hey Arcee, listen, about that backup." Lucky for him, Arcee knew exactly what he meant. So she called the others, to help her rescue Cliffjumper.

They all arrived through the Ground Bridge. But by the time they got there, it was already too late. Cliffjumper was nowhere to be found. After a bit of searching, Ratchet got a ping on his screen. "No, Cliffjumper's life signal, just went offline" he said with sorrow in his voice. As soon as he said that, everyone that was present became mortified. But no one was hurt more than Arcee. Her partner, Cliff, was gone forever; and nothing could bring him back.

While they all gathered around in remembrance of their fallen ally, Arcee knew that Jack was going to find out about this sooner or later; so she thought that it would be better if it came from her. When she got back to base, she went to his room, only to find out that he was nose deep in his history textbook. He told her that he had finished his homework an hour ago; and that he was just trying to expand his knowledge of human history.

She sat down next to his bed and told him that she had something important to tell him. After hearing that, he put his book down and prepared for whatever she had to say. "Look Jack, there's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. Cliffjumper was killed today." After hearing that, Jack went through a spiral of emotions. First tears started to form in his eyes, and then he tried to deny what his mom told him. "No, that's impossible. He can't be dead. He's one of the strongest guys I know."

When Arcee saw how hurt he was, she embraced him in her arms, in an attempt to comfort him. After he was done crying, she released him and told him the story about how Cliff died. When she was finished, she said that she was going to go for a drive to clear her head. But Jack didn't want her to be alone; so he offered to go with her. They argued about it for a moment; but eventually, she gave in, knowing that he probably didn't want to be alone either. So they both headed out.

As they drove through Jasper, Jack kept thinking about what his mom said. He couldn't believe that the Decepticons were back after all this time. As they drove on, Arcee noticed that there were two suspicious looking cars tailing them. "Heads up, we got company" she said. "Cons?" he asked as he looked behind them. "I don't see any other possibility, Jack" she answered back. Thinking fast, she turned into a parking lot, in an effort to hide from their pursuers.

After the cars went by, Jack took off his helmet and put it away. He let out a sigh of relief before patting Arcee's gas tank and saying "I think we're in the clear, nice work." However, they didn't stay alone for very long. "Are you talking to your motorcycle?" Came the voice of a girl, who was about Jack's age. She was a redhead who wore a pink T-shirt with a white undershirt, a black skirt, and brown boots. Her friend was a blonde who wore a orange T-shirt with a black skirt, and white tennis shoes. Jack recognized the redhead as one of the girls that goes to his school.

"Uh, yeah, you caught me. I do that sometimes. You're, uh, Sierra, right?" he asked. "You know my name?" she responded. "Uh, yeah, we have homeroom together. I'm Jack Darby." As he was finishing up his conversation, he was blasted by four bright headlights. He turned around to see that it had been those two cars that were following them. He turned back to both the girls and said "Well, as lovely as this was, I really must be going. So, see ya." As soon as those words left his mouth, he and Arcee rocketed down the road and onto the freeway, desperately trying to outrun the cons that were chasing them. Luckily, Bumblebee showed up to help them. He slammed into one of the cons, which in turn sent him hurtling towards the other con. "ALRIGHT, BEE!" Jack shouted. Soon enough, they came to a roadblock; so Arcee jumped the railing and went downhill until she landed in an empty water canal.

Jack stopped to look around, and noticed that they weren't the only ones currently in the canal. Raf was also in the canal, where he had decided to race his remote control car after school. "Whoa" Raf said in excitement. "You have no idea" Jack said just before the two cars that had been chasing them also landed in the canal. The cars then transformed into their full robot states. Jack was blown away by what stood before him. He had never seen real Decepticons before. Just then, Arcee transformed into her robot mode, and said "This ends here, cons." She charged at the cons while they opened fire on her.

She dodged all their shots, and managed to hit one of them in the face with a flying drop kick. After that, she proceeded to beat on both of them. "What are they?" Raf asked. "That's a long story. But if you really want to know, then I'll tell you later." Jack said as he continued to watch the fight. Arcee did a few backflips to get some distance between her and the cons; but during one of the flips, she was shot and fell to the ground. "MOM!" Jack yelled as he started to run to her.

"Jack, stay back" Arcee exclaimed while holding up her servo in a stopping motion. Luckily, at that moment, Bumblebee jumped the curb and transformed into robot mode. He landed on the ground and delivered a deadly right hook to one of the cons. Unfortunately, he wasn't watching where he was going, and accidentally stepped on Raf's toy car. He gave a few beeps of apology before Raf said "It's okay, really." After that, Bumblebee got shot, fell to the ground; and then the cons were pointing their blasters right at him.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE! Please." Raf said the last part in a gentle way, out of fear. Both the cons turned their attention to Jack and Raf; and then Jack said "Bad call." Jack and Raf ran as one of the cons came after them. They managed to run into a storm drain, that they hoped would lead to their escape. One of the cons reached in to grab them, but was stopped by Bumblebee. After expressing their gratitude, they both continued on through the storm pipe.

Back at the canal, Arcee and Bumblebee were being put through the ringer; until Bulkhead showed up to help them. He transformed and said "Who's ready to rumble?" Then the cons transformed and drove away, out of fear. When Jack and Raf made it out of the storm drain, Raf decided that he wanted some answers. Jack did his best to answer some of his questions, without going too much into detail. "You asked me what they were. Well, I can tell you what the blue and yellow ones were. They're my family" Jack said. After that was said, Raf had way more questions to ask; but Jack told him that it was pretty late and that they would talk about it tomorrow at school. Soon after that, Arcee came to pick him up and take him home.

When they got home, they told their story to Optimus, who was a little surprised at these new turn of events. When he heard of Raf's involvement, he thought that it would be best if Jack invited him back to base for his own protection. Quite frankly, Jack thought that he was right; especially if the cons came after him because they thought that he was their friend. So he decided to talk to him tomorrow when school got out.

Back in Jasper, It was the dawn of a new day. On that day, Miko's host mom went upstairs to her room in order to get her up and ready for school. When she walked into her room, she saw that she was still asleep in her bed with the multiple drawings she had made, sprawled all across the bed. Some were pictures of Jack kicking Vince's butt; others were pictures just solely of Jack. Her host mom thought that her crush on this mysterious boy was simply adorable. After a brief moment of thought, she decided to wake Miko up. "Miko, wake up. It's time for school" she said as she gave her a gentle nudge.

When Miko woke up, her host mom asked her about the drawings she made. "Well, it's hard to explain; but after he saved me, I just felt like we were connected, in a way that I've never connected with anyone before, ever." Miko said as she picked up one of the drawings she made of him, and looked at it longingly. Her host mom picked up on that and said "Oh, shall I leave you and your sketches alone for a moment?" As soon as Miko was done blushing up a storm, she told her host mom to get out so she could get ready for school.

Jack was hoping that he could get through the school day quickly, so that he could talk to Raf. But before that, he ran into Miko In the middle of the hallway, who wanted to ask him why he didn't call her yesterday. Jack then thought that it would be best to answer her question with the truth, well sort of anyway. "I'm sorry I didn't call you, Miko. It's just that, my uncle died yesterday" he informed her. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. What happened?" she asked. "He was, um, killed by a mugger. Somebody robbed him, and then they shot him." Jack told her, as he thought that it would be more believable than what actually happened. After talking about it for a bit, Jack asked if they could change the subject; to which Miko agreed. "So, where are you from?" he asked. "Japan" she answered back.

"No kidding, I thought it was Japan; but I had to be sure. You see, I've been home schooled all my life; and yesterday was the first day that my mom let me go to school with other kids. Whenever it came down to the study of history and other cultures, I never paid that much attention. But we've had TV for a long time now; and when I was a kid, I watched a lot of Godzilla movies. And without those, I probably wouldn't even know what Japan is.

I've always thought about going to Japan; but my mom never even let me out of the house until yesterday. So I pretty much lived a sheltered life" he revealed to her. "That sounds really boring" she said. "Some of it was, and some of it wasn't. I actually learned a lot by being homeschooled." After they continue to talk for a bit, Jack told Miko that he really needed to find his friend. Miko let Jack go off to find his friend; but not before giving him a quick hug and telling him one more time that she was sorry for his loss.

When Jack saw Raf outside, he knew that it was time to tell him the truth. He walked up to him and said "Hey Raf, look, as much as I hate to do this; I really need you to come with me now." Raf was a bit surprised at this, but nothing could of surprised him more than Bumblebee pulling up right next to them while honking his horn and opening his door for Raf. Bumblebee let out a few beeps and sounds that Jack was about to translate for Raf; until Raf spoke up and said" He wants me to get in." Jack didn't see that one coming. "How did you know that? I mean, I know how I know that; but how do you know that?" Jack asked.

"He said so. He also said that someone named Arcee is here to pick you up" Raf responded. Jack turned around to see his mom sitting there in the middle of the parking lot, in her vehicle form. But by the time he had turned around, Raf and Bumblebee had already sped off. At that point, Jack secretly signaled his mom to follow him; but what neither of them had noticed was that Miko had been drawing Arcee in her SketchBook. "Coolest bike ever" Miko said as she continued to draw.

Just then, her phone rang. She opened it up to see who was calling; and unfortunately, the answer to that question annoyed her. "Host parents, ignore" she said as she closed the phone to continue drawing, only to find out that the motorcycle was gone. She turned around to see it going down the street, and started to follow it. Arcee met Jack in an alley behind the school, where they talked about the situation that they would be putting Raf in. "I don't know about all this. I mean, taking Raf to base could change everything. Not to mention that we would be putting him in danger. Are you sure that we're making the right decision here?" he asked his mom before she transformed.

"You know as well as I that Optimus is right; that we're his best and possibly only line of defense. Now come on, we need to get home, because I'm sure that you'll want to explain this to your friend" Arcee stated. "Dude, can I come with?" They both turned their heads to the sound of the new voice they heard. There they saw Miko spying on them. Arcee knew that since Miko saw her in her robot from, that there was only one thing that she could do about this situation; and only one thing that she had to say about all of this. "Scrap."

The ride back to base was an awkward one. Jack never would have thought that this is how Miko would find out his secret. But when they arrived at their destination, Jack knew that he had some explaining to do. Miko was just made of questions when she saw the other Autobots; and unfortunately for Bulkhead, he was the one that she set her sights on first. So she ran up to him to begin her interrogation. "I'm Miko, who are you?" she asked. "Bulkhead" he answered. "Are you a car? I bet you're a truck, a monster truck. Do you like heavy metal? How much do you weigh? Ever use a wrecking ball for a punching bag?"

After she was finished, Jack could see that Bulkhead was a little overwhelmed by Miko's questions. "So, if you guys are robots; then who made you?" Raf asked. "Please" Ratchet said in annoyance to that question. Just then, the three kids heard loud footsteps coming from behind them. So they turned around just in time to see Optimus towering over them. "That is a very reasonable question you have, Rafael. However, I believe that young Jackson has already promised you the answers that you seek." At that moment, both Raf and Miko instinctively looked to Jack.

Jack felt a little nervous about Optimus putting him on the spot like that. But ultimately, he decided to keep his word and tell the truth. "Well, first of all, they're not robots; at least, not in the way you're thinking of. They're autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron. So yeah, they're aliens. But you can call them Autobots, for short. Second of all, ...they...they're...they're...also my family." Jack hesitated on saying the last part, because he knew that it would make him sound weird. Raf and Miko both gave him a look that said they wanted to know more, so he went on.

He went around the room and started introducing the Autobots. "This is Ratchet; he's the medic, and kind of the grumpy grandpa of the team. That's Bumblebee; he's the scout, and sort of a big brother figure, for me. Bulkhead is my uncle, and the muscle of the team. Optimus is team leader." Jack saved his mother for last, because that was going to be the weirdest thing to explain. "And this is Arcee; she's second in command, as well as a few other things. She's...my mother." Jack took his time in saying the last part, because he wasn't sure how they'd react. "This is your mom? That's awesome" Miko said.

After the last introduction had been made, Miko started pelting Arcee with questions. "Did you raise Jack from a baby? Who's his father? What's it like to have a human for a kid?" After Miko stopped and waited for her questions to be answered, Arcee turned her sights back to Jack and said "So, this is the Miko that you won't stop talking about?" Jack wasn't exactly pleased that his mom just blurted that out in front of Miko. "MOM!" Jack shouted in embarrassment.

The moment Arcee let that little tidbit slip, Jack and Miko started blushing up a storm. "So, now we know what they are, and where they're from; but you still haven't told us why they're here." Raf said as he interrupted their moment. "To protect your planet from the Decepticons" Optimus answered. "The guys that tried to kill us at the canal the other day" Jack clarified. Then Optimus went on to explain their history, the war they fought, and how the war brought them to their planet.

When he was finished explaining, Miko and Jack went off on their own to talk for a bit. "Well, we've met everyone else; but I think the only person me and Raf haven't met yet, is your dad" she said. "If by dad, you mean someone who's married to your mother; then I don't have one. I guess I did a long time ago. But that jerk left my birth mother before I was even born. The way everyone explained it to me was that when he found out that she was pregnant, he freaked, and ditched her. But don't ask me how or why Arcee adopted me, because I've been asking her that same question for years now.

And every time, the answer is always the same; she doesn't like to talk about it. I've never met my real mom. I don't even have a picture of her. But the one thing I do know for sure, is that she loved me very much. And she'd still be here with me today, if she hadn't died" Jack explained. "That last part was very sad; but at the same time, very beautiful." Miko said while Jack noticed a small tear running down the side of her face. After she took a minute to compose herself, she decided to carry on with their conversation.

"So, I take it that your uncle wasn't killed by a mugger then?" she asked. "Uh, no, he wasn't. His name was Cliffjumper; and he died while fighting cons the other day. Uncle Cliff was one of the greatest men I ever knew. I remember how sad I was when I first found out that I was adopted. But Uncle Cliff was the one who came and explained everything to me" he stated. "And how old were you when you found out?" she inquired. "Nine years old" he responded. He told Miko that it never occurred to him that he was adopted at that age, because he loved his family, and he was content. Plus, he never even heard that word before then. So with that in mind, he decided to tell her the story of how he learned the truth.

"It all started on that one day seven years ago. We had just gotten TV six months prior to that. For some reason, the Autobots didn't think it was that big of a deal, until they thought I needed a distraction from all the training I was going through. And when we finally did get TV, Ratchet insisted that I watch something educational. But luckily for me, I was able to watch some regular stuff too. Anyway, one day when I was watching TV, I heard this one word over and over again. And I decided to go ask my mom what it meant. When I asked her what the word adopted meant, she looked worried, and asked why I wanted to know. So I told her why, and then she relaxed and told me what the word meant.

Unfortunately, Ratchet overheard the last part of our conversation and thought that Arcee had finally told me that I was adopted. And When I found out that Arcee wasn't my real mom, I was so upset that I just ran away in tears. I ran into an old store room, where I sat on a work bench and cried my eyes out; until my Uncle Cliff came and found me. He sat down on the floor, so he could be right next to me; and then he explained everything to me. And the amazing thing is that I can still remember everything he said to me to this very day."

Flashback 7 years ago

"Tell me it isn't true, Uncle Cliff. Tell me she's my real mom." Jack said in between sobs. "Buddy, I don't know how to tell you this, but; your mom has been dead for a long time now." But hearing that didn't make Jack feel any better; in fact, it only made him cry more. "And I can only imagine how this must make you feel. To have your whole world turned upside down; and to think that you don't belong with us. But I'm here right now, to tell you that that's where you're wrong. So, sure, you're human, and Arcee isn't. But just by raising and being with you, I have seen her become more human than most people. And become attached to someone in a way that she hasn't been in a very long time. I've seen the way she looks at you, Jack; with that desire to protect what's important to her. And all that compassion in her optics when she looks at you.

It's undeniable, Jack. She loves you with everything she's got; and I know that she's not your real mom. But when someone cares about you that much, then aren't they your family? Family isn't just something that's forged by the blood that you carry in your veins; but also by the bonds that you choose to create with other people. Family is all about being around people who care about you; and for being around those who you care about in return. Jack, your mom loves you; and no one here wants you to leave this family, except for maybe Ratchet. But trust me when I say that it's not you, and that he's like that with everyone. Ratchet's always been a big old grump." Cliffjumper intended that last part to be a joke, in order to get Jack to laugh.

He did however, succeed in getting a slight chuckle from him; so he counted that as a victory. Then he placed a servo on Jack's back, in an attempt to soothe some of his pain. "It's okay, buddy; you don't have to cry anymore" he told Jack. Almost immediately after hearing that, Jack jumped down from his place on the work bench, and straight into Cliffjumper's lap to give him a great big hug. "Thank you, Uncle Cliff. I love you" he said with tears still streaming down his face. He placed his servo on his back, in an attempt to mimic a hug and said "I love you too. And don't worry, kid. Just like everyone else, I won't leave you. You're stuck with me, I promise."

End flashback

"No matter what was bothering me, Uncle Cliff always knew what to say to make me feel better. And it was the same thing with my mom too. I miss Uncle Cliff; he was family, and he always will be" Jack said to Miko, while not being able to hold back his tears. "This isn't a family that I was born into. But it's the family that I chose to stay with, and to be a part of. And it's been a choice that I've never regretted making."

"That's amazing. You've gone through so much for someone who's still pretty young. Despite all the bad things that have happened to you, you seem to be handling yourself fairly well. To be totally honest, your life sounds incredible. But still, I'm sorry that you lost your uncle." Miko said in an effort to comfort him. She felt bad for Jack; and she just wanted him to be okay. "Thank you" he said while they both leaned in for a hug. As they embraced, Jack realized that even though things were bad now; he knew that one day they might get better.

AN: A couple of things before we move on. First of which, is that this chapter was supposed to be all five of the darkness rising miniseries in one. But I really wanted to get this chapter out there, I hope that's all right. I know a lot of you have waited patiently for the next chapter; so this is me trying to reward that patience. If you liked it, be sure to give me a comment. And even if you didn't, I'd still like your feedback. But remember, if you didn't like something, then that's all you have to say. Don't go out of your way to insult me in the reviews. Be honest, but fair. See you all next time.

STAY AWESOME!