Hey all! So...Yeah, long time since last update...Please don't kill meh for that DX I've been really busy and had major writers block! I'm sorry! DX
But here it is! The long awaited new chapter! Yay!
So, as always, thanks to those of you who have faved, followed, read, reviewed and PMed! You're all amazing!
And also as always, please continue to share any ideas you have for this story! They help get rid of writers block!
There's a little note at the bottom of this chap, too *Points down*, so please go read it!
Disclaimer's on my prof.!
Sorry for any spelling errors, spellcheck likes to hate on me! DX
Enjoy reading!
The ship was quiet, aside from the sound of the whirring systems that kept the craft working. Jack silently crept along, hoping beyond all hopes to not be caught.
It had taken him a good half-hour to get down from the workbench that served as his room, but he'd managed, using the 'trophy' rack that was beside it to get to the floor, but now that he was on the ground, he had find a way out.
He'd told Lockdown he wasn't going to stop trying to escape, and he hadn't been lying, but...Jack felt an odd, gnawing sense of guilt in his chest.
Frag it, he wasn't supposed to feel guilty!
Shaking all thoughts from his head, the boy quietly peeked into the room he knew to be Lockdown's quarters. The mech was in recharge, obvious due to his darkened optics and form absolutely still. Good.
Jack continued on down the hall, steps silent against the floor. As he did so, he collected his thoughts.
So, he knew that the tech Lockdown had implanted in his chest was tied in with the security system, one step outside the ship and Lockdown would immediately know. Yet Jack also knew that the tech hadn't been wired to anything vital in his body (at least the wires he could reach, the ones that braided into his skin and the like, anything vital that the tech was connected to was well hidden under skin and bone).
If anything, Jack could yank out all the wires he could reach and hope that one of them was what tied him to the ship's security and make a run for it. The worst that could happen was he'd be caught by Lockdown, and while the mech did break bones to get a message across, a broken bone or two was better than death.
Plan in his mind, Jack removed his shirt and began pulling at wires. With any luck, the disabling of the implant's non-vital wiring wouldn't trigger an alarm, since it wasn't crucial to his life.
The teen winced as he managed to yank out a few wires, ignoring the pain and blood that tricked from newly made wounds on his chest. Nothing big or detrimental to his health, but it sure did hurt like a glitch.
Yet Jack moved along, searching for an easy way out- a vent or something, he wouldn't be able to just walk out down the entry ramp, it was closed and locked. And as he moved, his nimble, long fingers dug into the cybernetic on his chest, pulling free wire after wire, only stopping the process now and again to wipe the sticky blood off his hands. At least he wasn't drenched in it, though...
Jack had to withhold a cheer of triumph when he finally found a vent that Lockdown hadn't blocked off. Pausing to remove the last few wires, he carelessly dropped them to the ground in a tangled mess of metal and blood. Ignoring the stinging pain around his cybernetic, Jack carefully pulled on the vent grate, prying it loos with a few good tugs. He set it aside, gentle as to not make any noise, and, after pulling on his shirt (and hoping that the forest wasn't so cold he would freeze to death without a coat), crept into the vent.
It was a small vent, even by human standards, but Jack fit well enough as long as he kept himself a bit bent at the waist. He didn't take even a second to look back, he just went as fast as he could, hoping that this makeshift path led outside.
With any luck, Lockdown wouldn't wake for another couple of hours. Usually with highgrade in his systems, he would pass out for a good handful of hours, and so Jack was almost completely sure he had at the very least two hours to move. That would hopefully be enough time to get out of the ship's shield-range, and then the 'bots could pick up his life-signal which they no doubt were looking for constantly.
It took about ten minutes, but he finally found a grate that led outside. A smile curled at Jack's lips, and excitement fluttered in his chest. Maybe this would be it! No, not maybe, this had to be it! He'd get away, and then everything would go back to how it had been!
Okay, maybe everything wouldn't be exactly how it had been, but it would probably be close to normal!
Carefully undoing the bolts that held the grate in place, Jack lowered it outside of the vent, letting it fall to the grassy ground. Jack then dropped after it, glad that the fall was only a few feet. The second his feet hit the ground, Jack was running as fast as he could. He didn't try to figure out where he was, or even what direction he was going, he just ran as fast and as hard as he could.
The forest wasn't all too cold, but his cheeks became stained a light red. Jack was keenly aware of the sounds around him, from the rustling of grass and dried leaves under his feet to the ominous, groaning creek as the wind pushed against the aged trees. It was dark, being the dead of night, but with the cybernetic that melded into his flesh and bled into his lungs, heart and spine, Jack could see far better than any other human.
He continued on, ignoring the burning in his lungs and how painfully hard his heart pounded against his ribs. Blood was rushing in his ears, and his adrenaline was rushing, intensified by the knot of anxiety and excitement that had built in his chest.
He could stop once he found a hiding place where no one could reach him even with a holoform, so even if Lockdown found his signal and got to him before the bots, the giant bounty hunter wouldn't be able to get him. Then the bots could chase him off and Jack would be able to go home...
But until then, he wouldn't stop.
Jack didn't know how long he kept moving. All he knew was that it felt like an eternity, but he did finally feel like he'd run far enough when he found a good hiding place: a tiny but deep crack in the side of a mountain (if there was a mountain, maybe Lockdown had moved the ship to someplace like Colorado?) and if he bent down and made himself as small as possible, he could fit in the dark crevice juuuust right.
And so he crawled in without hesitation. He crawled as far as he could before just barely managing to turn around so that he could keep an eye on the entrance of his hiding spot. Once comfortable, Jack settled down, ready to wait.
The base had been quiet, the bots all preparing to go to their quarters to recharge when it had happened.
A beeping drew everyone's attention to the main console, and with a frown, Ratchet moved over, examining the screen. Within seconds, the medic's optics widened and his mouth was open in a gape.
"By the- Optimus!"
The Prime frowned, confused.
"What-"
"Jack's life signal has just appeared in the Rocky Mountains!"
Arcee's gaze snapped up, face plates showing painful hope.
"Jack..?"
Optimus's gaze snapped to the other bots.
"Autobots, prepare to roll out."
Something was off when Lockdown awoke from recharge. He didn't know what it was, but something just wasn't right.
Sitting up, the mech swung his legs over the side of the berth, standing as he looked around with a frown, optics sharp as he searched for anything out of place. He found nothing, though, that seemed out of the ordinary...
He had to check on Jack, just in case. With how the boy had grown on him, he wasn't about to let anything fall to chance when it came to Jack, and if something was off, Lockdown had to ensure it didn't have anything to do with the teen's health and wellbeing.
He headed quickly down the short corridor that led to the ship's control room.
"'Ey kid!" He called. "You awake yet?"
The door slid open with a mechanical hiss and he approached the workbench-
Only to find Jack wasn't there.
Lockdown froze, optics quickly scanning the bench for signs of life. Nothing.
"Jack." Lockdown growled, tone low and warning. "I ain' in th' mood fer games. Come out."
No reply, and Lockdown felt something he hadn't felt in vorns...
Fear. Worry.
Lockdown ran a heat-seeking scan over the room, hoping to find the teen just hiding, in another one of his 'moods'. But he found nothing.
The teen was making another escape attempt.
This realization sent Lockdown's processors reeling for a moment, then he felt a wave of anger, betrayal and...And grief, sadness...
Shoving those unsavory and unwanted emotions away, Lockdown growled deeply, optics narrowing.
"Son of a glitch!" He hissed, storming over to the ship's console. "When I get my servos on tha' lil' fragger..!"
Digits flying over the keys, Lockdown entered the passcode, unlocking the console. He hurriedly ran a search for Jack's life signal, and found it quickly. The boy was a good fourteen miles out from the ship (he had to have been running for hours, Lockdown was really feeling foolish right about now for not having noticed).
But how? How had Jack escaped? His cybernetic was wired to the ship's security shield, the moment he left he should've triggered the alarm...
Lockdown scowled, shaking his helm. He could figure that out later. Right now, he had to go get the kid back before any of the local wildlife found him, or worse, the Autobots.
Jack wasn't sure how long he sat in his hiding place. It could've been minutes, or it could've been hours. It didn't matter either way, though. He didn't mind waiting, he was patient.
He just hoped the bots were awake, dawn was getting closer, but he was still freezing his aft off...
Jack gave a start when he heard a whirring, the sound familiar even after so many weeks of not having heard it.
A groundbridge.
Hopefully an Autobot one, because Jack wasn't sure what to do if it was the cons. They'd probably just shoot him on sight, and that idea wasn't pleasant.
He could hear heavy steps now, several pairs of pedes, in fact. So more than one. He was fully confident that this wasn't Lockdown now. He didn't know if the bounty hunter had a way of making 'bridges, but he certainly had no allies.
But still, one couldn't be too cautious, and so Jack waited for a sign: a voice, a familiar flash of plating outside of his hiding place, anything to confirm that these Cybertronians were or were not the bots.
Jack felt his heart ache, relieved as he was, when he finally heard a voice he had missed so very much.
"Jack? Jack, are you here?"
"Arcee!"
Jack scrambled forward as a slim blue pede moved into sight.
The femme in question jumped slightly at the familiar voice that came from seemingly no where. The Autobot femme then beamed when she saw Jack's mess of raven hair peek out from a mountain wall. Hurrying forward, Arcee kneeled down, her digits grabbing quickly yet carefully at her partner. She helped him get free and hugged him close to her chassis, looking more happy and relieved than she had in weeks.
Jack returned the embrace (or at least as much as he could, considering the size difference). He hid his face in the warm plating on his friend's shoulder.
"I knew you guys would find me." He whispered, voice slightly hoarse in his dry throat. Arcee smiled, nodding slightly.
"Sorry we took so long, partner." Was her soft reply, voice just as soft as Jack's.
The others had by now come over, all of them as relieved as Arcee to find Jack safe (even Ultra Magnus, though he hid it far better than the others). Bumblebee chirped and beeped happily, all but bouncing on his pedes in his childish excitement, and Jack laughed slightly at this, wiping at his wet eyes as he turned to look at the other bots.
"H-hey guys." The boy's face then became grim and serious. "We...We need to leave. Lockdown's probably found out I'm missing by now, he'll be here any second-"
And as though speaking the hunter's name had been some sort of summons, the roar of an engine echoed through the forest. Lockdown was close. Too close.
Arcee stood, Jack still held close to her chassis. The others moved to stand in front of the two protectively, drawing their weapons and holding them at the ready. Optimus looked back.
"Arcee, return to base with Jackson. Ensure he is in Ratchet and Ms. Darby's care, close the groundbridge and await the order to reengage the groundbridge. Do not open the 'bridge any sooner, or we risk Lockdown entering our base."
The femme bot inclined her helm in understanding, but Jack looked concerned.
"Why are you all staying behind?"
Optimus grimaced, gaze turning back forward as he debated how to best reply, but it was, strangely, Ultra Magnus who answered Jack's question.
"He is close, and no doubt angry. He will attempt to follow you through the groundbridge to prevent you from escaping him. It is necessary that we fight him, as to distract him long enough for the groundbridge to be shut down so that he cannot set chase after you." Ultra Magnus looked back at the teen slightly, optics glowing brightly in the predawn darkness. Jack looked unsure as the sounds of Lockdown approaching grew louder.
"Just...Don't kill him. Please." The request was so strange, it made everyone pause, and Jack blushed slightly in embarrassment at the raised brow Ultra Magnus sent his way. "Don't look at me like that! It's just...I don't think he's...Completely bad, not like Megatron. He could've hurt me, killed me, but he didn't. So just...Don't kill him in return for not killing me."
The others looked bewildered, but Optimus was smiling, if only ever so slightly. Jack had the uncanny knack of seeing in others what no one else could. If he saw a hint of kindness in Lockdown, then Optimus would trust Jack's judgement.
"There is no need to worry, Jackson." Optimus spoke, voice warm and rumbling. "We will not be offlining him."
Jack relaxed, nodding slightly as he rested his head on Arcee's plates, exhaustion finally starting to catch up with him. Optimus glanced a Arcee and nodded, a silent signal for her to go.
The femme didn't need any more encouragement, taking off towards the 'bridge even as Lockdown skidded into the clearing.
The bounty hunter wasted no time changing form, charging towards the femme who held Jack close to her spark-
But he was blocked off by several very angry, very dangerous bots.
Even as the groundbridge shut, an inhumane roar of anger shook the air.
Jack had never realized how much one could miss a place so plain and colorless as the Autobot base.
He'd missed the familiar whir of machinery, the soft scrape as metal pedes moved across the concrete floor, the plain grey walls...
Yeah. He'd missed the base a lot.
"Ratchet! Close the groundbridge, now!" Arcee barked, still holding Jack to her chassis.
The Autobot medic in question gave a small start at the order, but did as told. As the green and blue lights died from the skeletal groundbridge frame, Arcee moved to Ratchet, holding out Jack. The medic took the boy, servos uncharacteristically gentle as he handled the teen. Jack was sure he looked horrible- messy hair, dirt smudged face and blood stained shirt. He probably looked like one big mess, but he couldn't bring himself to really care.
The exhausted teen was vaguely aware of a wavering, overjoyed and anxious voice. His mom...
Jack squirmed a bit, managing to catch sight of his mother on the cement deck nearby. She was crying, and Jack really wanted to tell her that she didn't have to and that he was okay and-
But when he opened his mouth, only a yawn left him. He frowned when he heard the three occupants of the room laugh slightly, and he really didn't see what was so funny about him yawning, he'd just run miles after all and his legs were like jelly...
Yet he couldn't bring himself to care all that much.
He was home.
I know whar you're all thinking: "Is this the end?!"
...
NOPE!
XD lol, I got'cha all, didn't I!
Don't worry, the story isn't over, not by a long shot! This is all part of mah evil plan...*rubs hands together villainously*
So don't worry! There will be more chapters to come! And as always, I'd love to hear any ideas you have for this story! Who knows, I might just use them! Don't worry, I always give credit where credit is due whenever I do use another's ideas in my stories! XD
Till the next chap, stay cool!