Chapter 4
Author's note: You may be asking, another chapter already? Yup, I've been writing so much and I've realized I'm way ahead of what I'm posting so why not right? Plus, the fun stuff hasn't even started yet and right now it's kind of still in the introduction stage.
"Ok let's get this straight; the train goes into the tunnel, I have never seen one before, and no, it is not harder than metal. Any other questions?!"
Bulkhead raised his hand.
"Bulkhead, I swear to god. If this is another question about what you can and can't do out in public, I am going to lose it!"
Bulkhead put his hand down.
Jack sighed in relief; he just spent the last 20 minutes explaining to alien robots that have accidentally been turned into humans about the birds and the bees. It wasn't a detailed talk like 'the talk', but judging by the look of panic and horror on the Autobots' faces, still had the same effect. They had asked so many questions that Jack almost ripped out his hair.
Who knew Cybertronians could be so persistent? Jack asked himself as his mom and Arcee came into the living room.
The two-wheeler walked in slowly, deep in thought. She was facing the ground and didn't even notice Jack looking at her with a worried look. Finally she raised her head and saw the male Autobots, each with wide-eyes and still processing the information they've been told.
"You too huh?" She asked.
Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Bumblebee nodded back while the two older men stayed quiet. June looked at them all, then to her son, giving him a look that said 'it had to be done'.
"Who knew such a small organic specimen can be that disgusting?" Ratchet asked, not exactly for the purpose of an answer.
"Look Ratchet, I don't care what species you are; there's always going to be a gross side." June said to the medic, who opened his mouth to respond but she cut him off. "And don't tell me Cybertronians don't have that side because I won't believe you."
Ratchet thought for a moment before turning around and letting the manner drop.
June looked at him and smiled. "Besides, being human isn't all about that gross stuff. There are lots of aspects in life that you can only do while you're human, right Jack?"
Jack groaned at his mom's attempt to lighten the mood. He's had enough for one day and his head was killing him.
"I'm gonna go take a shower" he said as he headed for the stairs. He was going to take a nice, warm shower, get ready for bed, and have a good night's rest.
Moments later, Jack came out of the bathroom in a tank top and shorts. He looked down the stairs and saw that the lights were closed meaning everyone probably went off to bed.
Jack headed for his room and noticed light spill out from the cracks. He opened the door revealing Arcee sitting on the bed, cleaning her hair with the towel. Her long blonde hair went down to her shoulders and the fact that they were wet made it glimmer in the light. For a second, Jack thought he saw an angel before blinking again and seeing Arcee.
Once she finished drying her hair, she looked up and saw Jack staring at her. "Hey babe" she said with a smile.
Jack smiled back and turned to close the door. As he did, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and someone nuzzle against his neck. He turned around and put his arms over Arcee's shoulders, staring into her blue human eyes. He started to get lost in them until Arcee leaned upwards and placed a kiss on his lips.
"I've been wanting to do that all night" she said after they separated. "I have to admit, it feels different when I kiss you as a human than as an Autobot."
"Maybe because I'm finally taller than you?" Jack joked, making her laugh and lean in for another kiss.
"I still can't believe I'm human. This whole thing is crazy" Arcee stated.
"Yeah I know it is, and I know you don't like it, but we'll get through it together." Jack comforted her, earning a loving smile. "Now let's get to bed, I'm really tired."
Jack went to close the lights made his way to his bed where Arcee was already getting comfortable. He climbed in, pulling the covers over him and looked at Arcee who stared at him back. Both of their eyes locked and they smiled at each other before leaning in for a good night kiss. Their lips touched and the two held it for a while, enjoying the warmth they were getting from their lips touching. Jack put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer as they continued their embrace. Finally they separated and the two took some deep breaths from the lack of air.
"Wow, now I totally understand why you need to breath so much." Arcee said between breaths making Jack laugh.
"Goodnight Arcee."
"Good night Jack."
They closed their eyes and fell asleep in each other's arms, both of them with a happy smile on their faces.
...
"Wake-up Jack."
Jack slowly opened his eyes and yawned, blocking the sunlight that burned his morning eyes. He pulled off the covers and made his way to the door like a zombie, still half asleep and he had to force his eyes open to see where he was going.
Once he reached the door, he pulled on the door knob... only to realize that it was locked. He tried pulling on it again but it didn't budge.
"What the..." Jack said out loud. His door can only be locked from inside the room, but looking at the door knob, there was no lock to begin with.
"Arcee did you-" Jack started but turned around to see an empty bed. He looked at the alarm clock and say that it read '6 a.m.'. He scratched his head; Arcee wouldn't have got up this early... "Unless this was all a dream!"
Jack laughed to himself; of course it was a dream. Autobots turning into humans, them eating pizza, giving them 'the talk', all of it was a dream.
"What a crazy imagination you have Jack, maybe I should write a fanfiction..." He chuckled to himself.
"Are you sure it was a dream?"
Jack spun around to the voice, he recognized it immediately and right away his emotions went from happy to anger. Out from the shadows of his curtains stepped the man who plagued him about a month ago, the man who killed dozens of people, the man who almost killed the Autobots; Agent 000.
The agent was the same size as Jack but still had the military cut he had gotten from MECH. He also had very similar facial features but a very slight change in his jaw line and cheek bones. His eyes were black with a tint of purple and the veins that ran through his arms were a much darker than usual.
Agent 000 saw that Jack was studying him and he grinned. "Are you sure it was a dream?" he asked again.
Jack glared at him. "I'm not so sure anymore, but one thing I do know; this is a dream. There's no way you and I can be talking to each other in two separate bodies."
Agent 000 threw his head back and laughed. "You got that right Jack. This isn't actually a dream but your mind. You see, ever since you took control of your body again, I've been in here." The agent motioned around the room. "Well, this is just one of the rooms I can be in but since you took control, I live wherever your mind thinks of."
"So you've been hiding out here all this time. I thought you had returned when I heard snickers yesterday" Jack said. If it was truly his mind, he really didn't have anything to fear; he was in control.
The agent chuckled. "Yeah, by the way, anything you say into your mind in real life is echoed throughout this place so I can hear them too. I can already see and hear everything you do and when you say your input on the situation, sometimes I can't help but laugh."
Jack couldn't believe it, everything he did in real life was being monitored 24/7 by this killer that's trapped inside his brain. To make it even stranger, he was having a peaceful conversation with this killer inside his mind!
Is this really happening? He thought to himself and was startled when he heard his voice echo into the room.
"Yup, it is." Agent 000 responded, laughing at Jack's reaction to his thoughts. "You know, while I've been trapped in here, I've been learning a lot about life. I check out your memories every so often and learn something new every time. You are one strange kid."
"Kid?" Jack questioned. "You can't call me kid, you're the same age as me."
"Technically, yes, but the physical enhancements and my mature mind obviously makes me older than you, kid. Although, I have to give you some credit; your mind is a lot tougher than I thought it would be. It's getting really tough for me to regain control, but it'll happen one day." Agent 000 responded, the menacing tone in his voice returning when he said that last part.
"Never going to happen" Jack replied through gritted teeth. "I won't let a monster like you return to the real world."
"I wouldn't be so sure, kid. You'll break one day and when that happens... "Agent 000 reached into the nearby closet and pulled out his sheathed katana. "...I'll be ready. Thanks, by the way, for keeping this. If you haven't known already, this is my favorite weapon."
Jack clenched his fists, anger boiling inside of him. About a month ago, Jack had kept the katana, unsure of really why he did. He just felt like he was connected to the blade, even though it technically wasn't his. Nonetheless, he kept it and now it seems like that might have been a mistake.
Agent 000 unsheathed the katana and started to twirl the sword in his hand, blood and energon still stained on the metal blade, glimmering from the sun's light.
"You see Jack, normally this is where I threaten you to give up or else you'll die," Agent 000 started, walking towards Jack. "but as you know, I can't actually kill you. However, since we're in your mind and it doesn't affect anything in the real world..."
Suddenly, Agent 000 sent the katana through Jack's chest, straight into his heart. Jack gasped for air as he felt the pain from the killing blow.
"...I can kill you as much as I want" Agent 000 finished and brought the blade out of Jack's limp body.
...
Suddenly, Jack's eyes shot open and he sat up. He looked around the room to see where he was and noticed the sleeping Arcee next to him. He let out a sigh of relief as he realized he was back in the real world, away from Agent 000 and his demonic addiction for killing. He was drenched in sweat, probably from the 'dream' he just had and he quickly crawled out of bed. He looked at the sleeping Arcee and immediately, all his worries were washed away. She looked so peaceful and the smile on her face indicated she was having a good dream. Jack couldn't help but notice how cute she looked and he leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead before heading for the bathroom.
It was a Saturday morning and Jack realized he had a shift at the KO Burger. He had taken the day off on Friday to spend time with Arcee so he had to make up for it today. He groaned, another 2 hours of fun drive-thru duty, but at least he'd be able to spend the rest of the day with the human Autobots.
Moments later, Jack was walking down the stairs towards the kitchen. It was slightly dark outside and the sun could rise at any minute. Nobody was awake right now which was good for him, he needed time to think.
Jack entered the kitchen and got some milk out of the fridge. It was around 6 in the morning right now and since no one else was up, Jack decided to make breakfast for everyone. He grabbed some bacon and eggs and threw them onto the frying pan while making some toast in the toaster. After a couple minutes, breakfast was ready and divided up the food onto the 8 plates.
Suddenly, he heard a loud yawn that startled him and made him spin around to see who it was. Bulkhead stood in the hallway looking half asleep but his eyes immediately shot open when he saw the food.
"Mornin' Bulkhead" Jack greeted, filling each glass cup with milk.
"Mornin' Jack. Is that food for us?" Bulkhead asked, eying the sizzling bacon on the plates.
Jack saw the former wrecker staring at the food and laughed. "Grab a seat Bulk, and if you want more I can make some."
Bulkhead quickly found a seat at the table and chowed down on the food.
"This is really good Jack" Bulkhead said while he chewed the bacon in his mouth.
"Thanks Bulk, you sure love to eat don't you?" Jack laughed as the former wrecker finished off his plate and handed it to Jack with a pleading smile.
"Best part about being human" Bulkhead answered before he started on his milk. Jack chuckled to himself as he started to fry some more bacon and eggs on the pan.
A couple moments later, Bulkhead was finally full. It took 3 full plates of bacon, eggs and toast to get the big guy to stop eating. Bulkhead rubbed his stomach while Jack sat across from him, slowly eating his own food.
"Can't wait until dinner" Bulkhead stated, a smile creeping onto his face just by thinking about it.
"You don't have to wait that long to eat Bulk, at around noon you'll eat lunch and besides, you can always grab a snack at anytime" Jack said after he swallowed the food in his mouth.
"Really? Wow, humans are awesome. 3 meals a day, food whenever you want, what more could you ask for?" Bulkhead said, making the two laugh. "You know as a Cybertronian, all we got was energon which we inject into ourselves. There was no tasting or eating or drinking, just needles."
"Well, as long as you are human, feel free to eat" Jack responded, giving the former wrecker a smile.
"Thanks Jack, I'm going to go take a shower" Bulkhead smiled back before leaving for the bathroom near the guest room.
Once he was gone, Jack laughed at how much the big guy can eat. He made a mental note to make sure to give Bulkhead triple the amount of food.
Hah, you got that right kid. Jack heard inside his head after he made the mental note. Immediately his smile went away and he remembered why he woke up in the first place. He quickly imagined a mental barrier in between his thoughts and Agent 000's thoughts, hoping that it would work. The whole mind concept was new to him and he was curious to see how much he can control. Lucky for him, his mind barrier worked and he could sense that Agent 000 was no longer able to communicate with him, at least for now.
Apparently when he was deep in his mind, time passes by fast. When he came back to reality, it was almost eight and everyone was getting up to go to the bathroom or coming downstairs for breakfast. Jack didn't even realize Wheeljack and Optimus sitting at the table eating along with him.
A pair of arms flung around his chest and he felt a soft kiss on the side of his cheek. He looked up to see Arcee, who had just gotten out of the shower, looking at him with a smile.
"Hey babe, you got up early" Arcee said, eagerly taking a seat next to him. She saw the plate of food in front of her and quickly picked up her fork. "Did you make this? Looks good."
"It is" Wheeljack said, cleaning off the rest of his plate. "Your boyfriend sure does make a nice breakfast."
"I agree with Wheeljack, your cooking is excellent" Optimus added, crunching down on some bacon.
"Thanks guys but it's only bacon and eggs. If you want, I can teach you how to do it, it's really easy" Jack said, earning a nod from the two males.
"Jack, why did you wake up this early? I'm sure it wasn't to make us all breakfast" Arcee questioned her boyfriend. She had felt a missing presence while she slept and when she woke up, she was all alone in his room.
"I, uh, I had something on my mind" Jack answered, scratching his head. Technically he did have something, no someone, on his mind but he didn't want to startle everyone about it. They already had enough things to worry about.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Arcee asked gently, stroking his arm while looking straight into his eyes.
"No it's fine" he answered blankly. He looked over at the time and realized he had to get to work in half an hour. "I should probably get going for work, got a shift at nine today"
Arcee nodded her head, giving him a kiss as he left towards the garage. In the hallway, Jack bumped into Bumblebee who had just left the bathroom.
"Hey Jack, where ya headed?" The former scout asked, obviously picking up some lingo from Raf and Miko.
Jack was slightly startled at the unfamiliar voice. It was weird now that Bumblebee can talk and it didn't help that he was much younger than Jack.
"Hey Bee, headed for work. Man it's still so weird hearing your voice" Jack said, making them both laugh.
"Yeah I know, but isn't it great! When I woke up this morning, I thought it was all a dream but then I realized it wasn't" Bumblebee happily replied.
"You and me both Bee. Anyways, I should probably get going. Breakfast is on the table and I guess I'll see you in a couple hours" Jack said.
"Ok, thanks for the breakfast and see ya later!" Bumblebee exclaimed before heading for the kitchen.
Jack walked into the garage and pulled his bike off the rack. Now that his motorcycle had turned into a human, he was going to have to get to work the old fashion way. After checking all the gears to make sure they worked and opening the garage door, Jack looked back into the house where everyone was gathered at the dinner table; talking and eating with smiles on all their faces.
They look like a big happy family, Jack thought before heading off to work.
During his ride, he remembered the last time he had to take his bike to work. He was tricked into sending a fake delivery to a house which didn't exist and was kidnapped by MECH to be used in their Operation 000. Luckily he had gotten his job back at the KO Burger because Agent Fowler managed to pull some strings and got his boss fired for violating some law. While Jack did feel bad about causing someone to lose their job, was a jerk and never had any regard for anyone's life except his own. Maybe it was for the best that he was fired.
Either way, now that Jack was thinking about how he doesn't have to deal with anymore, the KO Burger is almost a better place to work at.
Almost.
...
"Can we please tell Agent Fowler to get us a car? This is not how I want to ride while going to base or heading home."
Arcee crossed her arms, unhappy about their seating arrangement. Like before, everyone except June and Optimus were crowded in the back seats of the car. This time Jack hadn't joined them because of work, but it was still very tight. Bulkhead was once again sitting in the middle with Bumblebee sitting on his lap, clearly unhappy about the seating arrangements as well. Next to him sat Wheeljack with Arcee on top of him. Ratchet was supposed to be in Arcee's place but since Jack wasn't here today, he sat alone on the left.
"You and me both Arcee" Wheeljack grunted. He needed his space and he hated being crammed with other people.
"Once we get to base, you can complain to Agent Fowler all you want" June's statement made Ratchet chuckle, earning a glare from Arcee which immediately shut him up.
The group rode in silence along the desert road.
...
Author's Note: Hey, sorry for the bad ending but whatever. I think I'm losing my touch but I'll get it back eventually. Be sure to review and tell me what you think so far. Other than that, hope you enjoyed, peace out.
