Omg, I am soooooo sorry it took so long for me to update! I got serious writes block and so...yeah. I'm so sorry! DX
I'd really love it if some of you shared some ideas, because it may help me avoid more writers block!
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Enjoy!
Lockdown pulled into his ship, changing form as the ramp slipped shut behind him. He could feel Jack still trembling in his subspace.
Entering his berth room, the hunter sat down with a tired sigh. Subspace opening, Lockdown carefully scooped up Jack in his hand, bringing the teen out.
The moment he was free of the closed subspace and binding seat belts, Jack lurched, attempting to jump from the mech's hands.
"Woahwoahwoah!" Lockdown exclaimed, alarmed as he quickly curled his fingers around the teen, preventing any escape. "No need t' go t' drastic measures, Jack!"
"Let me go!" The youth demanded, struggling fiercely. "Let go! Now!"
"Not 'til ya calm down, kid." Lockdown insisted, having a bit of a tough time trying to hold the teen still.
"No! Take me back to them! Take me back to the 'bots!" Jack yelled, sobbing slightly. He wanted to go back! He wanted the 'bots!
Lockdown scowled.
"Did it slip yer mind tha' yer my pet now?" He demanded, trying to get the teen to see reason.
It didn't work all that well. Not at all, in fact.
"I don't care! Let me go! Let go!"
Lockdown growled, tightening his grip. Jack gave a yell of pain as his ribs protested.
"Listen t' me, kid." Some struggling, and his grip tightened even more. "I said listen!"
Jack flinched at the harsh tone, falling silent, though he still shook. Lockdown pinned the teen with a hard stare.
"Yer with me now, got it? Dammit, can't ya jus' ferget 'bout those 'bots?!"
"Shut up!" Jack demanded, making the large mech blink in surprise. Lockdown then scowled.
"Fine. Whatever."
The mech stood, going over to the workbench. He linked the teen's collar to the waiting chain. Jack yelped as he was dropped lightly onto the table, then scowled up at the bounty hunter.
But the mech was already leaving the room, muttering unintelligibly.
Jack moved over to the pile of blankets that was his makeshift bed and curled up.
He really hoped the 'bots would come for him soon.
Lockdown sat in his berthroom, muttering to himself as he took a swig of high-grade.
No matter how much he wanted to be furious with Jack, punish him for his smart mouth, he simply couldn't. The teen had wormed his way into the hunter's spark, and refused to be shaken loose.
Besides, the kid...he was allowed to be upset. He'd been taken away from his friends...
"Damn, I'm growin' soft." Lockdown grumbled, taking another large gulp of high-grade.
His tolerance for the substance was high, but for once, he wished it wasn't. He'd love to pass out from a good over-charge. At least then he'd sleep well. Sure, he might wake up tangled in his trophy shelves (like that one time...he shuddered at the thought) but it would be worth it.
With a sigh, he stood, leaving the cube of high-grade off to the side and exiting his room. He had to check the ship's reverse thrusters anyway, no better time than the present, he supposed.
The hunter paused in front of the door that lead to the main control room, hesitating. For a moment, his hand hovered over the control panel, then, with a growl, he forced his hand to move, hitting the panel and opening the door. He then peered in, searching for Jack.
The teen was curled up on his 'bed', hugging a bunched up blanket to his chest. His cheeks seemed to still be damp. He'd been crying.
Guilt (a feeling growing ever more common to him) gnawed at his spark. Scrap, he really hated when Jack cried. All the hunter wanted was to get the teen to relax, accept that he was stuck with Lockdown now, but instead the mech drew the exact opposite reaction.
Lockdown quietly moved over to the workbench that the teen resided on, pinching a blanket between two fingers and pulling it up over Jack. It wouldn't do for him to get a cold, after all.
Jack didn't wake, simply turning over and settling down once more. A small smile flickered across Lockdown's face, but vanished just as quickly. He turned, leaving the room. He had reverse thrusters to check.
Jack awoke with a large yawn, rubbing at his eyes tiredly as he sat up. Looking around, he grimaced.
No matter how much he wanted this to be a dream, it wasn't. He was stuck, kidnapped by Lockdown, no longer safe with the Autobots.
Groaning, he flopped back down, slinging an arm over his eyes. He lay there for a long few minutes, listening to the whir of the ship's inner workings, and the occasional creak as it settled all the more firmly into the ground.
He heard the door slide open with a hiss, but didn't move at all, ignoring the footsteps that thudded across the metal floor. Jack scowled when, a moment later, something carefully poked him.
"You 'wake?"
Jack didn't reply, simply turning over.
"Oh. Givin' me th' silen' treatmen'? Tha's what it's called, righ'?"
The teen continued to ignore the mech. Lockdown frowned, nudging him again with the curve of his hook.
"C'mon. Ain't in th' mood fer games, Jack."
When the human still said nothing, the hunter got fed up and picked Jack up in his hand.
Jack yelped, squirming in an attempt to get free.
"H-hey! Put me down you-!"
Lockdown chuckled, turning and going over to the main console. He sat down, setting Jack beside the controls.
"Tha' woke ya up, huh?" He taunted, grinning crookedly.
Jack scowled.
"You-!"
"Relax, kid."
Jack winced slightly as a finger ran over his head, mussing his hair slightly. Lockdown frowned, catching the twitch in Jack's shoulders.
"Ya know I ain't gonna hurt'cha, Jay."
The teen looked up, confusion out-weighing his frustration.
"What...what did you...just call me?"
The mech looked at him, brow raised.
"Hm? I called ya Jay. Why?"
Jack stared for a long moment, then managed to fore a scowl, looking away.
"Great. Now the crazy, glitch-faced bounty hunter's given me a nickname." He grumbled, making Lockdown laugh.
As the mech's attention turned to the images flashing over the screen of the console, he continued to pet Jack's head. The teen glared at the ground, resigned to his fate for the moment. Besides, the 'bots were probably looking for him now, knowing he was most definitely alive.
For awhile, the two sat there, the silence strangely comfortable. It was a good hour later when Lockdown finally stood, scooping up Jack in his hand. Jack's fingers immediately clung to the smaller plates of the mech's servo, a feeble attempt to steady himself.
The hunter left the room, going down the hall that led to one of the small store rooms. It was mostly empty, bar a dozen or so large containers of energon, and some spare ship parts. The door shut behind them, and the mech set Jack down in the middle of the room. Jack had a sinking feeling that he'd soon be attacked by a holoform.
And he was right. Lockdown sat down off to the side, and a now familiar holoform appeared. Jack backpedaled a bit, watching the fake human warily.
"I...I won't fight you." Jack stated slowly, form tense.
Lockdown chuckled, mirth crinkling at the corners of the holoform's eyes.
"Relax, kid. Only five minutes sparrin', alrigh'? I need t' get a better idea o' what ya can do, an' what ya need t' work on."
Jack looked confused.
"Why?"
Lockdown sighed, moving forward to fiddle with the collar around Jack's neck.
"Look, I may seem like an aft, but believe it 'r not, all o' this scrap I do 's t' keep ya safe."
A disbelieving look.
"Don' look at me like tha'." Lockdown laughed. "I ain't sparkless. Yer my responsibility now, yeah? An' I take my responsibilities s'riously."
Jack snorted, looking away. He didn't trust a word the mech said. The holoform rolled its eyes.
"I'm tellin' th' truth, Jay. This?" He tapped the metal band around the teen's neck. "An' everythin' else, it's all t' keep ya safe."
"And stuck here." Jack muttered.
Lockdown looked at him silently for a long moment, then,
"Yeah...yeah, tha' too." He admitted, voice uncharacteristically quiet.
Another few minutes of silence, in which neither spoke. The fake human then gripped Jack's shoulders.
"Look, this 's all jus' part of my plans, a'righ'? I ain' gonna hurt ya, not unless ya go an' try t' 'scape 'gain. An' ya know it. Five minutes, a'right? Tha's all I ask, yeah?"
Jack crossed his arms, frowning.
"But why?"
Lockdown huffed. This was getting more complicated than it should.
"Jus' trus' me, alrigh'?"
"But-!"
Jack never managed to finish as the holoform attacked.
Autobot HQ was completely silent. Of all the things that could've happened to Jack, they had never, ever considered this.
Lockdown was on Earth, and that was bad enough. The bounty hunter followed no rules, hunted Autobot and Decepticon alike, and it seemed that the mech had no morals at all. But the fact he had captured Jack...that made matters even worse.
Since returning to base, Ratchet and Optimus had immediately begun searching for the hunter on the main monitor. So far, though, they'd found no sign of Jack or Lockdown.
And only now, after a good twelve hours of silence, it was finally broken. By Ultra Magnus, of all people.
"I do not believe you will be able to find them. I have had several encounters with Lockdown, and I know for a fact he is talented when it comes to hiding signals. Not only his own, but that of others as well."
While Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Arcee, Smokescreen and Bumblebee gave the mech scathing looks, Ratchet sighed.
"I am aware, but at the moment...this is all we can do."
"We could go look for him!" Arcee snapped, standing.
Optimus grimaced, looking at her.
"I am afraid we are unsure where we would even begin to look. There are far too many possibilities."
"Well we can't just stick around here! Who knows what'll happen to Jack while we're sitting around on our-!"
"Arcee. Calm down."
The femme scowled.
"Optimus, with all due respect, I can't 'calm down'! My partner is being held captive by an insane bounty hunter!"
Ultra Magnus gave her a look.
"I'd suggest you watch your tone, soldier."
Arcee opened her mouth to retort, but Ultra Magnus continued.
"While I understand and share in your concern, I have had many run-ins with Lockdown. He is ruthless, but only kills his targets. Jackson Darby...seems to be no target at all."
"He's got a point." Bulkhead admitted. "Lockdown called him a pet."
"That isn't any better!" Arcee retorted sharply, making the wrecker look away sheepishly.
"Either way, my point stands." Ultra Magnus interjected. "I do not believe Lockdown will kill, perhaps not truly even harm Jackson."
Ratchet slowly nodded, mulling the mech's words over.
"I believe Ultra Magnus is correct. I, too, have had many run-ins with Lockdown, and heard many more stories. We must believe that Jack will remain safe and unharmed."
Arcee frowned, but nodded.
"Fine."
Inside, she was hoping that the two mech's were right.
Jack gasped for air, eyes locked on his opponent, hands up. His whole form was shaking fiercely, but he didn't drop his stance.
How had he let Lockdown convince him to spar? He was supposed to be mad, furious with the mech! How the heck had he gone from angry to doing what the hunter wanted?
The holoform before him lunged, and Jack quickly jumped away, dodging the attacks sent in his direction. But he then found himself knocked into a wall. His head smacked harshly against the metal.
"S-scrap!" He hissed, falling to the ground and grabbing at the back of his head. Lockdown moved over when the teen didn't stand back up.
"Ya alrigh' Jay?"
"Fine." Jack muttered, continuing to nurse his aching skull.
The holoform crouched down, prying the youth's hands away from his head and carefully pushing raven hair away. He then gave a small grunt.
"Huh. Looks fine. Lil' red, but 'sides tha' you'll live."
Jack scowled, batting the holoform's hands away from his head.
"Cut it out..!"
Lockdown smirked, giving a short bark of laughter as he stood. He took a hold of the back of the teen's collar, pulling him up too (though garnering a yelp of alarm from Jack).
"A'right, guess tha's enough fer now." He said, patting Jack's shoulder. "Le's get ya some food, yea'?"
Jack merely shrugged off his hand.
"Whatever."
The holoform vanished with a chuckle, and the real, giant, Cybertronian version of Lockdown stood, picking up the young human in a hand.
They returned to the ships control room, and Lockdown set Jack down on the work bench, also known as his 'room'. The teen went over to the nearby pile of grocery bags, and rummaged through the non-perishable foods.
As the youth worked on that, Lockdown moved over to the main controls, sitting down and leaving Jack to his own devices. But the mech would glance over from time to time, keeping an optic on the unpredictable little human.
Jack ate in a rather comfortable silence, the gears in his mind working as he tried to think of someway to let the 'bots know where he was.
That would take awhile, he assumed.
"Ya know." Lockdown suddenly spoke up. "Ya never tol' me how ya got those nasty scars."
Jack tensed, but then quickly regained his composure.
"Because it isn't any of your business." He retorted tartly.
Lockdown turned in his seat, resting his chin in a hand.
"Kinda is, considerin' yer mah pet."
Jack glared angrily at the mech.
"I told you, don't call me that!" He snapped angrily, earning a chuckle from the bounty hunter.
"I'll call ya whatev'r I wanna as long as yer stuck 'ere."
Jack rolled his eyes, turning back to his meal.
"How I got the scars isn't important, and don't call me a pet. You've said yourself, I'm more of a companion than anything."
Lockdown huffed, turning back to the main console.
"Yeahyeahyeah. I'll figure out how ya got'm either way."
Jack snorted, taking a bite of cereal.
"Yeah. You go ahead and try."
Lockdown grinned.
"Eh, I like a challenge."
As Jack's attention turned away, Lockdown's expression fell into something of a frown. He seemed to be debating something as he stood, moving to a nearby shelf.
"This 's fer 'is own good." He mumbled to himself in the low intones and lulling notes of Cybertronian. Nodding to himself, he picked something up carefully in a hand and moved over to the work bench.
Jack, still distracted with his meal, didn't notice a holoform flicker into existence, nor the syringe in its hand.
His eyes widened when he felt a prick of pain in his neck, then spreading warmth. Before he would comprehend what had happened...everything went black.
The holoform quickly caught Jack as he went limp, a grimace on the false human's face. The bowl Jack had held clattered across the work bench and the fell to the ground, splitting apart with a smash.
"Sorry, Jay." Lockdown muttered to the unconscious youth. "Trus' me, this 's fer th' best."
Jack groaned as he awoke. A pounding rested in his head, aching something fierce, and the pain radiated through his entire body.
"Ugh...ow..." He mumbled softly, attempting to sit up.
A large metal hand carefully pushed him back down, the slightly warm metal soothing to his sore muscles.
"Easy there, kid. Jus' relax, yeah? No movin' 'round yet."
Jack easily recognized the voice to be Lockdown.
"What...what happened?" Jack asked with a groan, blinking tiredly. He knew he'd been eating, then...nothing.
He pushed himself up with a groan, despite Lockdown's protests. He rubbed his aching chest...only to feel metal.
His vision seemed to snap back to normal, and he looked down at himself.
He screamed.
There, in his chest, he missed a large chunk of flesh, that was replaced with metal and wires, a soft glowling light of green in the middle.
"What did you do to me?!" He screeched, fingers scrabbling at his chest in a weak attempt to get it out.
"'Ey! Kid! Stop tha- Jay! Cut it ou'!" Lockdown said, quickly (yet carefully) pinning Jack and his hands down with his own large hand.
"How c-could you?!" Jack demanded through choked sobs. "W-why would you d-do this to m-me?!"
Guilt bit deep into Lockdown's spark.
"Jack-"
The teen only continued to release choked sobs, shaking his head fiercely.
Scrap. Now how would he gain Jack's trust? Lockdown wished he knew...