Hi everyone! Thanks for all the reviews, favs, and follows for the last chapter! It made my day!
So there's another little authors note at the bottom, please read it when you're done, because it regards the story!
Please review!
Enjoy!
Three long, excruciating days, stuck as Lockdown's 'pet'.
One thing that Jack had learned, in that time, was that Lockdown liked to leave the ship for hours at a time. Jack would've made another escape attempt, but his still dislocated shoulder kept him from doing so.
Another thing he'd learned was that if he ignored the mech whenever he'd try to talk to him, then Lockdown would get bored and leave him be (though try to talk to him again a few hours later).
So, Jack pointedly ignored Lockdown, and in return, Lockdown would huff and find something else to do. And in that time, everything went smoothly-, well, as smoothly as it could go, considering the situation.
Jack glanced up from the book he held (a 'treat' he'd been given the day before for being a 'good little pet') when Lockdown entered the room. The mech walked over, leaning on the workbench that was deemed Jack's 'bedroom' of sorts. The mech's eyes then flickered.
A human hand lightly took a hold of his arm, and Jack yelled in shock, jerking away. He then hissed, grabbing his shoulder as it ached fiercely in protest. He then looked up.
A man with piercing red eyes stared back, seeming a bit alarmed at Jack's reaction. The tattooed face revealed easily who it was.
"Jeez kid, relax! It's jus' me! No need t' jump outta yer skin."
Jack scowled.
"Dammit, you scared me! You could've warned me before hand!"
The holoform chuckled.
"What fun would tha' be? Now c'mon, I figured out how t' fix yer shoulder."
Jack yelped as he was turned around so that his back faced the mech's holoform, and the false human grabbed Jack's wrist in one hand, the other bracing on the teen's neck.
"Alrigh', this'll hurt, but it'll go away after a klick."
Jack squirmed, alarmed and slightly afraid.
"What?! Wait, don't-!"
A sharp tug, a pop, and a scream of pain.
"You fragger!" Jack hissed, curling up and gripping his shoulder. It felt like it was on fire!
"Well it had t' be fixed!" Lockdown retorted. "An' I gave ya fair warnin'!"
"And I said wait!"
Lockdown opened his mouth to retorted, then froze.
The teen was actually crying. Did it...It really hurt that bad?
"'Ey, c'mon, there ain' no reason t' cry."
Jack glared at him through eyes that shone with tears he fought back.
"You just relocated my shoulder after it was dislocated for four fragging days! Do you have any clue how much that hurts?! Wait, what'm I saying? Of course you don't! With how you act, you don't even seem to have a spark, let alone the ability to feel pain!"
Lockdown, for once, looked gobsmacked, staring at Jack as the teen continued to rant.
"Let me guess, this pain's part of my 'punishment' too for being a 'bad pet'! Don't even try acting surprised, you had to have known how much it would hurt me! A bit of, what did you call it, 'tough love'? Are you fragging satisfied now, you glitch?! Well?! Answer me!"
A few moments of silence followed, in which Jack looked away, shoulder's wracking with suppressed sobs of pain. He couldn't let it get to him, not now. He couldn't let Lockdown see him acting weak.
And in the silence, Lockdown actually felt like a total aft. Sure, it was in his nature, but this wasn't one of his targets. This was his pet, a young human, still a youngling in human terms. With a sigh, the hunter's holoform hesitantly reached forward, arm going around the teen's shoulders and pulling him into his chest.
Jack tensed, but Lockdown didn't do anything besides simply crouch there beside him, holding the teen's head to his chest, holoform's fingers tangling into the youth's raven hair.
Everything remained silent and tense, the gesture was meant to be comforting, Jack supposed. By the holoform's stiff stance, the teen could tell it was awkward for the mech.
Finally, the throbbing in the Jack's shoulder stopped, and the teen didn't have to try and force back tears of pain anymore.
Clearing his throat, the holoform let the teen go, and vanished with a crackle of static.
Lockdown's optics lit once more, and he straightened. He then picked up the teen.
"Alrigh', c'mon. My wirin's all knotted up and I need ya to fix it."
Jack sighed. Normal Lockdown was back, it seemed.
Jack watched as Lockdown moved about, rummaging through the shelves of his 'trophies', searching for something.
The idea of Lockdown using parts and mods he got off of dead bodies was sickening in Jack's opinion, but he decided it best to keep his mouth shut. He was lucky to have not been hurt after his rant the day before (he still wondered why he wasn't six feet under already).
"Frag, where is it?" Lockdown muttered to himself, grunting as he crouched down to look through the lower shelves.
Finally Jack steeled his nerves.
"What're you looking for?"
The mech paused, then looked at him, mildly surprised. A smirk came to the mech's face.
"Ah, nothin' really 'mportant. Jus' a cannon mod. Can't wear a servo 'r hook all th' time, ya know?"
Lockdown was greatly amused as he watched Jack shudder.
"Well, that's definitely disturbing..." The teen muttered.
"Gotta get used t' it, kid." Lockdown chuckled, returning to looking for the mod.
Jack watched him for a few more minutes, then,
"I don't get it."
The bounty hunter grunted in reply, optics still searching the shelves.
"Eh? Don' get wha'?"
"I tried to escape and you were furious. But yesterday, I called you a sparkless glitch, and you were fine with that."
The mech paused, looking at the teen and raising a brow.
"Wha'? 'S tha' why you've been so quiet? Huh," He turned back to the shelves as he stood, going over to another shelving section. "Was wonderin' why you were bein' so weird."
Jack blinked, then scowled.
"I am not acting-"
"Ya are." Lockdown interjected, smirking at the teen. He reached over, picking up the human and holding him at optic level.
"Listen, kid. I don' care if ya speak yer mind, tha's wha' makes ya so amusin' t' have 'round. I jus' don' like it when ya don' do what I tell ya to."
Jack glared angrily, looking away to glare pointedly at a wall. Lockdown chuckled, setting the teen back on the workbench.
"Poin' is, say whate'er ya wan', jus' as long as ya do what I tell ya and ya be a good little pet." The mech concluded, voice falling into a condescending tone at the end.
Jack growled.
"Fragger."
Arcee didn't know what to think any more. Just where was Jack? No one had seen any sign of him!
She kept having thoughts, terrible ones about Jack being tortured by 'cons, or lying somewhere dead...
The femme shook her head fiercely. No! She couldn't think that! Jack was strong, he wasn't dead, he couldn't be.
"Arcee?"
The blue 'bot glanced up.
"Yeah?"
Optimus set a large hand on her shoulder.
"We will find him." The Prime tried to assure. His optics showed he was just as worried as her.
Arcee nodded.
"I know. I just...just hope he's okay."
"As do we all. Jackson is strong, and can protect himself until we find him, though. Simply believe in his capabilities."
Arcee nodded.
"Yeah...Yeah, you're right."
Jack's hands carefully combed through knotted wires. By now, the static shocks that came off of the wires no longer hurt, instead nothing more than a tingling sensation across his numb fingers.
Lockdown was reclined back, enjoying himself as the teen soothed the aches and pains in his wiring.
"Jeez, ya got magic hand's 'r somethin', kid. Yer way too good at it for it t' be natural."
Jack only glanced up at the mech for a moment before looking back to his work, saying nothing. It didn't seem to bother the mech though.
Static buzzed and crackled around Jack's fingers, but he paid it no mind. It was just another part of biding his time, another test to get past.
"Ya think way too much, kid."
Jack shrugged.
"I'd rather that than think too little." He muttered in reply, sparing the mech another glance.
Lockdown smirked, tapping the teen's head with a finger.
"Yeah, but I can see smoke comin' outta yer ears."
Jack scowled, batting away the finger.
"You're lucky I don't knot your wiring up any more than it already is!" He hissed, glaring defiantly into the red optics of the hunter.
The mech snorted.
"Ya could. But ya know what would happen if ya did, huh?"
Jack bit back a smart remark, looking back down.
Grinning, Lockdown let his head rest back down.
Everything remained silent as Jack continued to unknot the wiring under his hands.
After half an hour, when Jack finished, Lockdown picked up the teen as he always did for the past few days, setting the little human on his chasis, and pressing his hand down so that the teen had to lay down. Jack grumbled under his breath inaudibly.
"Hey, kid. Ya never really tol' me 'bout what ya did with th' 'bots."
Jack could easily hear the prompt, and sighed.
"Yeah? What about it?"
"Did ya learn t' fight?"
Jack couldn't help but laugh.
"Fight? I'm human, I couldn't be pitted against a 'con. I just helped scout for energon, chased after Miko to keep her out of trouble, stuff like that."
Lockdown grunted.
"Huh. Tha's it?"
Jack shrugged, squirming in an attempt to get comfortable.
"Pretty much. Had to do some other things now and then, but that was rare."
A long moment of silence, then Lockdown looked back to Jack.
"Didn' they wanna make sure ya didn' get hurt by any other humans?"
Jack shrugged again.
"I dunno. We've never been taught to fight, but the 'bots probably don't think about it too much."
Lockdown hummed to himself.
"Guess I'll have to change tha'." Lockdown mumbled to himself.
Jack didn't want to even think about what that meant.
Jack quietly listened, straining to try and hear Lockdown. He'd been waiting patiently all night for the bounty hunter to go into recharge.
Hearing no movement, he stood and moved to the vent shaft that hid behind a shelf. It was large enough that he could fit through the slates of the vent cover. Squeezing through, he quickly crept through the vent, hoping it led outside.
The vents were dark, but Jack managed to walk all the same, a hand on the side of the vent.
Soon he felt a chilly breeze blow past, and found the end of the shaft.
Dropping down outside through the shaft, and moonlight grass crunched under his feet. Relief and hope filled Jack's chest. He was so close to freedom, he just had to get to a town and call the 'bots!
A roar suddenly shook the air, sending birds into flight from the tall trees.
Jack quickly ran into the cover of the forest. If Lockdown caught him...Jack didn't even want to think of what would happen.
His heart pounded in his ears, blood feeling like fire in his veins. His feet thudded, hard, against the ground. He weaved around trees, and jumped over small ditches. He didn't know where he was going, but he did know he had to get far, far away.
He could hear thunderous footsteps and the crash of trees as they were shoved aside by large metal hands. Curses, Cybertronian and human, all directed to Jack, filled the air in Lockdown's heavy, rusty cant.
Jack ignored the burning in his lungs and legs, forcing himself to go faster. The cold, midnight air stung his skin, and stained his cheeks red.
"Ya fraggin' fleshie! Get yer aft 'ere now! When I get my hands on ya, I swear, I'm breakin' yer fraggin' legs!"
Jack winced, the threat prompting him to run that much faster.
Soon, Jack found a large, hollowed tree. Squeezing in, he pressed back as far as he could, ignoring the rough bark as it bit into his skin. This was the only place the human could hide. It was his only chance.
For a few long minutes, Jack could hear the stomping and cursing that belonged to Lockdown, then everything fell silent.
Slowly, hesitantly, Jack moved forward, leaning a bit out of the tree.
"He...He must've left..."
"Or maybe not."
Jack screamed in alarm and fear as a large metal hand roughly picked him up. He came face-to-face with bright red optics.
Lockdown was absolutely livid.
Hey! So, I hope you liked this chapter! I just wanted to ask that if you review, please tell me what Lockdown should do in the net chapter to 'punish' Jack for trying to escape again! Because I really don't know what should happen exactly x.x
Thanks!