Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, Viz Media, and Shonen Jump.
Transformers Prime belongs to Hasbro.
RxR- Read & Review please.
Chapter: If you dare...
Location: Unspecified.
Far outside of Jasper, miles away from the Autobot's base, and even beyond what many would consider a point of civilization, there was a massive complex. Hidden away within the landscape, one would've had to look hard to even have a chance of seeing it from the air let along the ground. A blank spot on a map, a black-spot, utterly unknown to the world around it.
Deep within this building sat a chamber. It was dark, no lights shining down from overhead. Absolute darkness engulfed nearly all of it.
All, aside from a set of monitors, propped up by numerous pieces of technology. Computers, wires, storage devices, everything one could imagine was set up and connected to the monitors themselves. Along with such marvels of human ingenuity, there sat something different. It was large, damaged in certain places, and even had pieces of its interior visible from the outside.
But despite all its damages, one thing stuck out. An inhuman design. It was complicated, sophisticated, and required every other piece of technology present to even have a chance to function. To process and maintain its information, the data it contained.
Whatever the machine was, it wasn't human.
"You're ship's black-box was damaged in the explosion, but from what we were able to recover...there should be enough data to reconstruct a few frames."
In front of the monitors sat a man. He bald, scarred head stared at the monitors while his fingers worked. Several hundred bits of data, some of which he had no idea what they meant were flowing through the screens. He scanned it all, smiling as he did.
"Of course..."
In such a chamber however, Silas was not alone. Behind him and above him, there sat a massive figure. It was hidden, the darkness of the room shrouding the imposing figure from sight. Of all of its impressive stature, only a few purples specs could be seen, tiny lights shining through the darkness.
The brightest being two large eyes, which stared deviously at the monitor with anticipation.
They're partnership had been a recent one, and once their goals were achieved, both parties had a feeling they would get what they wanted.
Just as long as nothing went...wrong.
Eventually, the data began to take form. A small video, fractured but playable. There pieces missing, pixels misplaced. Yet as the data flowed, the video became much clearer. A forest, dark and burned came into view. An imposing black ship with a blue fluid substance dripping out of its side also appeared. And in the very farthest point of the screen, a small figure could be seen.
"Ah...there he is..." a voice spoke. Feminine, yet so vile at the same time, "My Jack."
The video finally seemed to settle, evening out its damaged picture. The figure, which had previously been out of focus, finally became clear. It was a teenager, not all that old. He wore jeans, a grey shirt, and had black hair. He looked worn out, beaten, and tired. By the video's depiction though, he was also determined, angry, and quite ready for the worst.
Aspects Silas could respect in certain cases.
Once clear, Silas took a still of the boy's face and began typing away on the computer, "Out facial recognition algorithm will send his appearance throughout the web, search for anything we can find useful..."
Silas glanced over his shoulder and scowled, "Another...type of web."
Saying nothing, the massive figure sat in silence as Silas worked. The monitors flipped out of the video and began flowing through multiple windows of the internet, revealing various databases and sources of information. But after a few minutes of searching, Silas smiled.
"Ah, the mother lode..."
Behind the man, his guest raised a brow, "Government database?"
Silas smirked, "Better, a social networking page. A smorgasbord of personal information. It's all here. Age 16. Location, Jasper Nevada. School, Jasper High. His…Oh...his mother..."
"This could prove useful..."
Jasper, Nevada.
Through the streets of the small and average two, a young boy and his motorcycle slowly made their way back to the teen's home. It was late, the sky was growing dark and many other people were swiftly returning home from their jobs. But of the places they were returning from, Jack's wasn't as normal as what people would assume.
A base manned by giant robots never was after all.
"So...explain to me what you guys were doing again?"
With a chuckle, Jack glanced down at his motorcycle and shrugged, "I told you, we were playing a game. You can only entertain yourself with mind numbing TV and some old games for so long."
Arcee, if she could, would have raised a brow at the boy, "Right, but that doesn't exactly explain why we had to go hunting for you three inside our own base."
"Like I said, we were playing a game. Think, hide and go seek but with a huge Autobot base to hide in instead of going under the bed."
Jack's partner and guardian would have rolled her optics if she could, but being a motorcycle limited her options. So instead she merely shrugged her mirrors. Earlier at the bot's base, the team had to go searching for their human allies and had discovered them deep inside the structure itself; just walking around like it was nobody's business. A bit strange in Arcee's opinion but nothing to be overly concerned with.
Teens would be teens, and as long as he kept them from doing anything dangerous, why should she be worried?
Instead, the two were far more concerned with getting home, which they did after a minute or two more of driving.
Jack and Arcee rolled up to the Darby home in no time flat. It was a simple looking house, nothing overly special and or fancy. About what one would expect from Jasper. Upon turning into said driveway though, the teen stopped Arcee and began wheeling her towards the garage.
"Thanks for walking me home Jack," Arcee chuckled, "You're a real gentlemen."
"Well, I wouldn't want you to get revved up before bed, now would I?" Jack replied jokingly.
Letting their playful words drift off with some laughter, Jack and his partner slowly made their way toward the garage. Once there, Jack quickly began opening the door and glanced at his watch. The time was late, later than what Jack was supposed to be back by. The bot's little hunt for the teens had taken up more time than it should of, leading to a fairly longer stay at the base.
Jack didn't seem worried though. His mother often got the short end of the stick at her job. On average, June barely ever got back before midnight, which aggravated the hell out of the family. The hospital was infamous for such standards and Jack often got downright pissed at it. At times, Jack even asked his mother how she could stand it and if there was anything he could do. But no matter what he said, it was just how things worked for the family.
For once though, the hours seemed to benefit them. Something Jack noted as the garage slowly opened, "Mom should be out working, and I don't think she would understand-"
"Understand what Jack?" a sudden voice interrupted, "You breaking curfew for the third time this month?"
Jack froze in place and felt his eyes go wide. The teen looked up from Arcee and glanced into garage, which should have been vacant. But instead of seeing nothing but a grease stain in the center of the room, his stomach dropped when he saw June standing just a few feet away. Her arms were crossed and her expression?
It could mad a Decepticon drop dead in fear.
The mere sight of it made Jack gulp, "Mom-!"
"Or, what about your boss sending me a call about you missing a shift or two at work?" June continued, "And you're Art History Teacher, who's been concerned about you falling asleep in class?"
A small wince ran through Jack. Due to a few 'incidents', Jack had missed a few days on the job. It wasn't much really, a fast food joint like that couldn't seriously miss him that bad, and Jack didn't miss it either. Though in Art History? That...was a bit more obvious as to what was going on.
"Mom, two words." he pointed out, "Art. History. It's like they're trying to put us to sleep!"
Despite his reassessment, June simply looked at her son and sighed. The anger in her expression seemingly vanished, replaced by one of concern and worry, "Jack, please level with me here."
"Tell me the rumors I've heard aren't true?" she generally asked, "Please tell me that you're not racing that motorcycle?"
Out of everything June could have been yelling at her son for, of the dozens of things the boy himself could think of, that was not one of them, "Huh?"
"Wha-No! No, no, no!" Jack quickly replied, confused out of everything, "No way in-who told you that!?"
June shrugged with sadness in her eyes, "Small town, people talk."
"And with how busted up you've been recently..."
Inwardly, Jack smacked himself in the head. Both the incident with Airachnid and the trip in the Shadow Zone hadn't left him unscathed. Cuts, bruises, and even a few burn marks, Jack had it all. He made some excuses of course, but they never seemed to stick. And with the rumors June had heard? Things began to make an eerily lot of sense...even if they were wrong.
But with such logic, so too did June's anger return, "I work in an Emergency room, Jack. I know full well of what can happen. Seen it too. So please, tell me you haven't fallen into the wrong crowd."
"W-wait, Mom, seriously!" Jack tried to defend himself, "Come on, I wouldn't do that, seriously! And my friends are the farthest thing from a 'bad crowd' as they can get! They're good, seriously good!"
There was also the fact that Arcee would boot Jack across the base before she ever let him do something so mind numbingly dumb, especially WITH her, but that wasn't important.
Excuses and reassurance aside, June shook her head, "Jack, I let you keep the bike because you convinced me that you were mature enough to handle it. But it seems you might need a reminder..."
It didn't take a genius to know what was coming. Jack could see it a mile away. He had been victim of such talks before, so June's tone was nothing new. The warning tone, the knowing look, Jack had seen it all. But as the woman was about to drive her intent home, Jack sent Arcee a look. He REALLY didn't want her to hear. It would've been just too much.
"Alright..." Jack sighed, "Fine, but Mom? Can we...take it inside? People are going to hear and you're kinda making a scene."
He wasn't wrong. The family lived in a fairly small neighborhood with houses packed together on nearly all sides. Of these houses, many had their lights on and were well within earshot. One wrong word and the entire neighborhood could know about it.
Thankfully, June noticed this too. And once she did, the woman scowled at her son and sighed, "Fine. House. Now."
Such words were like an order, and one Jack did not disobey. After sending Arcee a small glance and kicking up her kickstand, both he and June walked through their garage and into the house. The door shut behind them and the mother and son stopped inside their kitchen to finish their conversation.
Once inside, Jack slumped forward and hung his head, "Alright...do you're worse."
There was no getting out of it, he knew it. He could try a clever quip to interrupt his mother, but that would only delay the inevitable. The look in her eyes said all. She was serious, and was so screwed.
June folded her arms and raised two fingers, "Two weeks seems fair."
"No way..." Jack groaned, covering his face. It was worse than he thought!
The mother snapped her fingers and dragged him back into focus, "Serious face here Jack. You're grounded from everything but school and work. None of your 'friends' and no motorcycle for the next two weeks. And if you want to bike to either, you'll have to pedal, got it?"
Jack shivered. The dreaded ten-speed, his old bike. It was what he used to use before Arcee came along. Dreaded memories of the days of old, of when he had to ride such a clunky thing everywhere. It was horrible, and Jack had even been considering barbecuing it too!
"Don't space out on me mister," June swiftly interrupted, "And if I even see that bike out of the garage..."
June didn't finish, her statement left hanging in the air. Yet, she didn't need to. Her son hung his head and nodded. Message received, even with the details left out.
As everything finally calmed down, June softened. Her anger slowly drifted off and walked over to her son. While he glanced at the ground with a sad look, June tilted his head up and held him gently.
"I'm just worried, okay?" she told him, "You're getting hurt, you're coming home late...I just want you to be safe. I know you're not happy, but please, Jack. Just take a break for a little bit. If something were to happen to you, I just..."
It was all June had wanted. She had been angry at first, especially once she first heard about the rumors. But seeing all the injuries Jack came home with made everything worse. It made June worried. If something was happening what if they got worse? The comment about seeing similar things at the hospital hadn't been an exaggeration. Every day June often saw what could happen to someone if they weren't careful.
It was horrific, revolting, and made June shiver everything she saw it. And to picture it happening to Jack? Even slightly? She couldn't take it.
Not with her son.
"Okay?"
Silence followed. Her son said nothing at first, remaining silent while he thought. After a few moments though, Jack let out a soft sigh. He glanced up at his mother and sent her a look. There were so many things he could do. Snapped at his mother, tell her it was unfair. He could have brushed past her, and even ignored her completely.
But after a short moment of silence, Jack nodded. A soft, barely noticeable one but a nod none the less.
It wasn't much, at all. But seeing it made June smile, "Thank you."
She leaned forward and softly kissed Jack on the forehead, "Now, go bring that motorcycle in, wash up, get something to eat, and head to bed, alright?"
The silence returned again but after a second, Jack nodded again. June smiled and patted her son on the back. But with their conversation ended, June departed from the kitchen and made way toward her bedroom. She was exhausted, both from her job and the emotional baggage that came with disciplining her son.
Just before she entered her room though, June turned back and smiled.
"I love you."
For a few seconds, Jack was silent. He said nothing, didn't even face his mother. Yet after a few seconds, he lifted his head and sighed, "I love you too."
His words were a bit rough, tired, yet not forced at all. Conversations aside, Jack couldn't stay that mad at his mother. Frustrated, yes. Irritated, most certainly. But angry? That fire sizzled out quite quickly. If anything, it just made Jack tired, especially given how irritating the next few weeks were going to be.
Be that as it may, such a simple response made June smile. With their conversation done with though, she ducked into her room while Jack turned back to the garage.
Where he'd have to break the news to Arcee.
'Great...' he inwardly sighed.
Swallowing his pride, Jack took a deep breath and began to march back through the house.
While walking though, Jack felt a headache coming on. What a mess he had gotten himself into. Would it of been so hard to explain why he had been so late over the past few days? Why he looked like a punching bag a few times too. Sure, it could have taken some convincing and maybe some demonstration with Arcee, but other than that? Would it of been so bad?
One quick explanation and everything would have been fine!
'Well, mostly...'
Though, explaining everything would have been a tad bit...difficult.
Earlier:
Deep within the Autobot's base, far away from the Command Center where the bots roamed, sat a charred wall. It was hidden, deep within the base, in a room hidden way and left to rot. Inside such a room, the wall sat charred and burning. Smoke billowed off of it, soot clung to its surface, and small cinders drifted off into the air. The wall was utterly burned to a crisp, like several bombs had crashed against it, as if it was a testing range.
"Alright! Try again!"
Which admittedly, it was in some ways.
Due to the suggestion Raf had so offhandedly made, Jack decided to actually head the boy's advice. He needed to work on controlling whatever ability he had. Being able to generate fire from your mouth was awesome but it wasn't as useful if you nearly collapsed after just a few tries.
He needed to train himself, or at least build up some resistance.
Jack nodded and began weaving the signs yet again. Once complete, Jack took a deep breath and unleashed a massive fireball from his mouth.
Said flaming orb shot through the air and exploded against the far wall. Fire and ash detonated against the already wounded wall, thickening the scorch mark even more. Such an explosion left little smoke surprisingly, with what had appeared vanishing up into the upper recesses of the room.
Miko and Raf sat far off to the side, easily out of the danger zone. Once the explosion ended though, Miko popped up from her seat and cheered, "Whoo! YEAH!"
"Miko..." Raf muttered at the girl's side, "Why do you do that every time?"
"Because it's awesome!"
"Every time?"
Miko grinned, "Still awesome!"
Back off to the side, Jack smiled at his friends. He could admit, Raf's idea hadn't been all that bad.
Earlier, Raf had pitched an idea. Since Jack often got tired whenever he used his 'strange' abilities it seemed like some practice would benefit him. Like how people often could increase their stamina, perhaps Jack could get used to using his power without getting tired so easily. But, the idea itself didn't seem that practical without a place to actually practice.
Then came Miko into the conversation.
Being the overly hyperactive nut that she was, the girl somehow found an easy work around. After a day or so just exploring the bot's base Miko made a discovery. Given that the base had once been a military installation, there were plenty of rooms and compartments that the bots couldn't use. They were just too small, human sized and not built for a Cybertronian.
And given that they didn't use them, Miko figured...why couldn't they?
An empty, massive room where the bots wouldn't have any clue that they were there. A place Jack could practice all he needed without worry of being caught, confronted, or damaging something the bots often used and or needed (Jack didn't want to be the next Bulkhead).
Seemed almost perfect.
Present:
"Or, at least it was supposed to be..." Jack muttered.
The idea of training himself had sounded so tempting. But like most things, it was not without a catch. Keeping it secret from the bots wasn't an easy feat. Just as was it hard to keep it a secret from his mother, the bots often got suspicious whenever the teens just upright and vanished during the day. It helped that the bots often were on missions and such but THAT just made getting home before his curfew even harder.
Which, much to Jack's aggravation, had led to his current situation?
After letting out a sigh, Jack walked back to the garage and swiftly brought the femme inside. The garage door slowly shut behind Jack as they entered, allowing the pair a moment to themselves. Such an awkward conversation had made even the briefest moment seem like a relief.
Once inside, Arcee spotted just how tired Jack seemed "So, I take it that didn't end well. How bad we talking?"
Stepping away from the femme, Jack slumped forward and sighed, "Well, you want the long version or the short?"
"Short would be nice."
"Well," Jack muttered into his hands, "Short deal is. For the next two or so weeks, you'll be riding solo. Until my Mom trusts me again, I'll be sticking to hoofing it to school and work."
Even without her face to do it with, Arcee winced, "Ouch, a little rough isn't it?"
"Might not of been if it wasn't for me looking like grounded beef all the time." he sighed, remembering how his mother reacted after each incident, "But when you combine that and all the times we've gotten back late, she figured that having some time apart would be the best bet for us."
Jack explained, "So for the next two weeks, I'll be tied down like a guy with a ball and chain wrapped around my leg."
"Ouch. Well, I'll miss you while you're grounded." Arcee teased, trying to lighten the mood.
It didn't work, but Jack at least applaud her for trying, "Thanks, you're so sweet."
"Though, I don't suppose it would be too much to ask for you to play the part of the confiscated bike, is it?" Jack suggested, sounding just a bit hopefully.
Arcee's teasing promptly vanished, "Sorry Jack, but I have other duties. I can't really spend two weeks sitting on my fat tires, not when there's stuff to do back at base."
They were partners, guardian and charge, and friends. But among those things, Arcee was also an Autobot. Part of an army, one that had many duties aside from hanging around Jack. Responsibilities like patrols, Energon missions, scouting, and fighting the occasional Decepticon sighting. All of these required her attention, something she couldn't give while stuck in Jack's garage.
Her point made, Jack let out a sigh and leaned back against one of the garage's walls, "Yeah...I kinda figured."
"I don't suppose you would...mind trying to get back before she gets home then?"
Arcee shrugged her handlebars, "That could work. Your mom does often get home late, so I can try to get back before she does."
"Though, no promises."
Her partner nodded, understanding the femme's responsibilities. To expect the femme to be around all day wasn't fair, especially considering that the whole matter wasn't her fault to begin with. At most, Jack hoped things would work out. After all, it was just two weeks. Fourteen days without letting his mother find out about Arcee.
They could handle that, right?"
Later that week:
Through the streets of Jasper, a teen rode his bike. A frown was on his face and the very bike he rode looked about ready to fall apart. Yet despite both factors, the teen continued to move ahead as he returned home. It as a condition of his punishment after all. The result of a fairly unfortunate set of circumstances that had all come from Jack's own mistakes.
But, the teen and his partner, the second party in the three way conflict were determined to push through their predicament.
And they could. The pair had handled it pretty well so far. Though, that hadn't made it any less boring through.
For the next few days, Jack had been utterly bored. His social life was a wreck. His friends were around during school but aside from that? Jack had little to do. All he had was his crappy ten-speed bike, which was about as useful as it sounded. All it was good for was getting him from school, to work, and back home.
But worst of all? Jack couldn't even take a ride with Arcee anymore. The most he saw of the femme was when he came home to find her in the garage. That's it. No more riding down the roads at breakneck speed. Both flying by with the wind in his hair. The beast bits of excitement Jack could have without nearly getting killed and it was gone.
Well, for the next week or so at least.
Quite a boring week though, Jack had to admit.
With a sigh, Jack slowly peddled his way up his driveway and into his garage. Once inside, the teen quickly spotted a familiar looking bike and smiled. For the past week or so, Arcee had kept to her word for the most part, arriving back home before his mother could even get a chance to suspect that something was up.
Though, such an arrangement wasn't completely perfect.
The very though made Jack's smile drop.
Upon pulling in, Jack also noticed the lack of his mother's car. Both factors swirled together in the teen's head, reminding him of a particular incident. One that happened just a few days prior, when Jack found himself sidelined by his mother coming home early without any warning.
Which just so happened to occur when Arcee hadn't made it home as of yet.
It hadn't ended well.
"Jackson William Darby! I can't believe this! After I told you, after you promised me! You lied to my face!"
Those words stabbed into Jack like a hot iron. The teen stood in front of his home with the garage door up. Just a few minutes prior Jack had just returned home from a fairly dreadful day at work, not helped by the revolting ten-speed he had to ride due to his mother's grounding. Yet upon returning him, two things had surprised the teen in the worst possible way.
The first being the lack of a certain Autobot, who had yet to return home. And the second? The boy's mother herself, having taken to leaving early so she could spend time with her boy, maybe even cook them up an actual dinner too. No take out or anything. She sounded so happy when she called, like she had been looking forward to it for quite some time.
But for what could have been a nice, enjoyable evening became dreadful when June discovered the missing motorcycle, leading up to the very confrontation Jack was being dealt.
"Now, where is it!?" June demanded, furious at her son, "Where is that motorcycle!?"
The very memory made Jack feel like trash.
The anger in his mother's eyes was one thing, but through her anger there was something even worse. Her disappointment. Even though Jack had little control over the situation, June thought he had lied to her, that he had 'spat in her face' so to speak. Out of the promise he had given her, he had tossed on the ground and stepped on it. It was painful, especially given that he hadn't actually done anything wrong.
It was painful, disrespectful, and made Jack want to go find a hole and hide in it for the next week or two.
Arcee had returned moments later of course, just a few minutes too late. A small Ground Bridge dropped her off just behind June, where Jack tried to convince his mother that she had just missed the bike and that he had followed her rules (which he had). Yet, June was so angry that she dismissed such an excuse without batting her eyes. She wasn't one to be fooled and demanded to know how Jack had gotten the bike back without her seeing.
So Jack's response? He told the truth.
The truth about the bots, about Arcee, about where he had been after school. He told June everything.
It...went about as well as it could.
June responded as any sane person would. Calling her son out for such a blatant lie. But the worst part? Arcee just sat there during the explanation, playing to the role of just a boy's motorcycle. Even as Jack asked her to transform and show his mother what she really was, she refused and played possum.
In reality, Jack couldn't blame her. His mother would eventually get over the fight and Arcee's secret would remain intact. Jack however, wasn't as happy. He hated the feeling of his mother not believing him, being disappointed in him, thinking that he would go to such lengths to fool her. But the worst of it? That came after all was said and done, when Jack was sure his mother as going to chew him out.
Yet, instead of doing what he was expecting, June did something far more painful.
"Jack..."
June let out a sigh and glanced at her watch, "I gotta go back to work."
Walking past the teen, Jack stared in shock as his mother walked over to her car and got in. She didn't spare a glance at either him or Arcee, who still sat silent in her normal spot. Instead, June just got in the car and rolled down the window before starting it up.
Once on though, June spared her son a glance through one of her mirrors and sighed, "We'll finish this discussion later."
And just like that, June drove out of the garage and back off to work, leaving Jack standing there in shock.
That was it. No scolding remarks or screams, no increased sentence, and nothing else to make Jack's punishment worse. Out of all the things June could have done to punish the boy's lack of respect to her authority, all she had done was head back to work and told the boy that they would finish their discussion later.
Yet, to Jack, that was even worse than any anger she could have given to him.
It was the subtle things. The lack of eye contact as she left and the tone she had. Used June barely even glanced at Jack, just opting to send him a look through a mirror as she departed. And her tone? There was no anger, not even a trace. His mother hadn't even been irritated. All Jack could get out of his mother's words was how tired she was, and how disappointed she sounded.
But the last straw? June hadn't even said goodbye.
The pair had barely spoken since then, with June having to leave for work and getting back so late. It made sense for her but felt agonizing for her son. He felt like trash, worse than he had in a long time.
Stopping just in his garage, Jack gripped his handlebars tightly.
June and her son had always been close in their own unique way. Sure, they had gotten into scrapes before, but nothing like this. Eventually, June would cool off and Jack would just have to make things up to her. But the disappoint he saw? It was worse, it was different...
It was-
Jack shook his head. He had to fix this; he had to make it up to her. After all she had done for him throughout his life, was this how he paid her back. Perhaps if he had confronted Arcee first, then she wouldn't have remained silent. She might have agreed to show herself to June and made everything much clearer. But that hadn't happened and it was still his fault.
Jack stood from his bike, motivation sparking in his eyes. It was his fault, and he had to fix it.
'Alright,' he thought, 'Tonight...'
Just talking to her would be the first step. He would confront his mother when she got home and talk her down. It would be hard, but the boy was determined if anything.
With motivation burning in his eyes, Jack turned to his partner and smiled, "Arcee, is my Mom home yet? I didn't see her car outside."
"Dunno." Arcee replied, "Haven't seen her."
"Oh, and looks like you got a package or something. It was here when I got back."
Blinking, Jack turned around. After following a slight gesture from Arcee, Jack noticed a strange looking envelope sitting on the steps that led back into the house. It had no writing on it and didn't seem like something June would leave if she was going to be home late. Regardless though, Jack shrugged and picked the package up, revealing a small electronic device inside.
"Wha-"
Before either could question the device, a sudden voice echoed out of it.
"Hello, Jack."
Instantly, the pair knew something was up. Arcee transformed behind Jack and glared down at the device. She had heard that voice before. A sick, sadistic man who had tangled with the Autobots before. He had and his organization had been involved in instances like a train being hijacked, the government's 'Scrapyard' being infiltrated, and a Decepticon nearly getting torn apart by some humans.
It all pointed to the man, and his horrid little group or terrorists.
"Silas." she sneered, recognizing the man's sadistic tone.
Jack though, was a bit more alarmed, "What?! Who-what does he want?!"
Arcee narrowed her optics, "MECH."
"They know where I live?!" the teen yelped.
"Oh, we know much more than that my boy." Silas spoke again, "Like for example, do you know where your mother is, Jack?"
Such a simple question made Jack stop. Slowly, he glanced down at the device. The shock, alarm, and worry all slipped away in those brief seconds. Like ice evaporating in the heat of the sun, anger broke through everything Jack had been feeling. It was a furious anger; one ignited such a simple question.
He was threatening June. Silas had dared to threaten his mother.
"You-What did you do!?" he snarled, his eyes twisting red, "If you've touched her, I'm going to-!"
Before Jack could curse out the monster of a man, Arcee gently reached forward and touched his shoulder. The teen glanced up, his eyes still full of rage. Yet upon meeting the femme's, Jack slowly cool off. Now was not the time to be angry. That would come later. For the moment though, they had to be calm, just until they knew of what was going on.
"Understand Jack, we have no intention of hurting her." Silas replied, talking once more, "In fact, we merely want to reunite the two of you."
Jack sneered, "Oh really, and what's the catch?"
The sound of a scoff echoed over the communicator, "It's fairly simple. I just need you and you're...friend to follow the coordinates I've implanted in this device. They'll lead you to a little facility that I've set up."
As the man rambled on, Arcee slowly lifted her servo to her ear, "Ratchet, come in. I need you to-"
A hissing, painful noise suddenly exploded from Silas's device. It was loud, agonizing, and made Arcee grip her helm in pain. Her attempt to contact the other bots was swiftly interrupted, leaving her in some of the most pain in her life. Even after only a few seconds of hearing it, Arcee dropped to her knees in pain.
Jack gasped, "ARCEE!"
With the femme withering in pain, Jack quickly rushed to his partner's side. But as he did, Silas continued to talk as if nothing was happening, "Oh, did I forget to mention that the signal scrambles both our own signal...and her brain if she tried to contact anyone else?"
Snapping back from his guardian's side, Jack scowled, "Bastard-!"
"Break the connection or try and contact anyone else, the police and or the other Autobots...and well," Silas chuckled, "I won't be held responsible with what might happen."
"We'll be waiting."
With that said, Silas stopped talking. The line was cut and with it, the pain in Arcee's helm ceased as well.
Once Arcee recovered though, Jack glared down at the device in his hands. They had taken his mother because of him. Another thing Jack could blame himself for. He was the link between Arcee and his mother, and without him none of this would be happening. It made Jack furious, with himself and Silas. He wanted nothing more than to throw the device down, to smash it.
Just like he wanted to do to Silas' face.
"Arcee..."
The femme was already ahead of him. Once the pain was gone, Arcee transformed and rolled up to Jack, "Hop on."
They both knew what had to be done. What they had to do. Even without backup, neither Jack nor Arcee could leave things as they were. A trap was likely waiting for them but neither cared. Jack quickly jumped on his guardian and rushed off, blazing in the direction that the device was pointing them.
Through the streets of Jasper the pair rode, flying through street after street without end. Speed limits, stop signs, none of them seemed to matter. The pair was only focused on getting to the coordinates as fast as possible. But as the seconds passed on by, Jack looked down at himself and sighed.
"Another fine mess I've caused..." he muttered, "If anything happens because of me..."
"Jack, it's not your fault." Arcee pointed out, reassuringly, "MECH wants me and have no reason to keep your mom. Once we get there, they'll let her go."
"That's not helping," Jack murmured, "Then they'll have you...it's just trading someone I care about for another..."
Out of everything they had been through, Jack could say that Arcee and his mother were the two most important people in his life. He had few others, and even if it sounded corny, Jack cared deeply about them both. Even thinking about giving Arcee over to MECH made Jack's blood boil...and dim due to how messed up their situation was.
No matter what happened, it felt like he was being set up to lose.
Unknown to the boy though, Arcee smiled to herself. Jack could of been a bit of a child at times, as did any of the other kids. But when push comes to shove? He was something else.
Racing forward, the pair continued to race toward the device's signal. Eventually, it began to lead them toward the outer section of the town. It was lone, nearly abandoned, and a place no one would of expected an evil organization to hide. Once the pair reached the place however, Arcee and Jack stopped and glaring up at where the signal had led them.
"So, what's the plan?"
Arcee growled, "The usual."
"Good."
The duo soon approached the building, glancing around as they did. The place was massive, yet not as abandoned as they might have thought. The closer the duo got, the more figures soon appeared. Men in military uniforms with guns in hand. They wore masks, the trademark of a MECH agent. They sat hidden in the background, carefully watching as the partners inched closer. Jack even spotted a few especially hidden with long ranged rifles in hand, ready to take the pair out if necessary.
A wise decision if anything.
Jack and Arcee paid the men no mind though and carefully made their way inside. The building they had been led to was a massive warehouse, rusted and abandoned to rot.
Once inside though, Jack jumped off Arcee and looked around. He glanced at anything and everything he could see, carefully watching for even the slightest trace of his mother.
"Mom?!" he called out, "MOM!?"
As Jack screamed, a sickening voice echoed from above the duo, "Oh, looking for June?"
In a snap, Arcee transformed while Jack looked up. Fear and shock filled his eyes though, flooring the poor teen with what he saw.
Crawling down from the ceiling was a dark and familiar sight. Airachnid, the sadistic spider of a femme loomed down from her perch, smiling at the pair like they were old friends. She looked all better since the last time Jack had seen her. All the scorch marks were gone; though he was sure she hadn't forgotten them either.
As the femme neared the ground, Arcee placed herself between the duo and sneered, "Airachnid-!"
Airachnid said nothing. She merely stood there, standing just a few feet from the pair. She was like an animal, waiting for the moment to strike. Yet the very sight of her waiting made Jack flinch. He had been hunted by the spider before and she wasn't the type for waiting. Last time she had attacked like a rabid jackal but now?
She was more like a vulture, waiting for the perfect moment-
As the trios stood in a deadlock, a fourth presence made itself known.
While Arcee was focused on Airachnid, a steam of electricity shot out form the darkness. It struck Arcee in the side, shocking her entire form. Jack was knocked back by the sudden attack, leaving him unable to do a thing as his partner suffered. The constant stream of pain lasted for several seconds, filling Arcee with excruciating sensation while Airachnid watched.
Eventually though, it stopped and Arcee, for all her strength, fell to the side into unconsciousness.
Jack shot to his feet and quickly ran back to his partner, "Arcee!"
Reaching her, Jack did what he could to see if she was alright. And while not the nest in regarding Cybertronians, Jack was relieved to see that she was just out of it.
"Oh, that was better than I would have hoped." Airachnid mused, finally moving toward Arcee's fallen form, "I must say that almost makes the time I have planned for us seem pale in comparison..."
"Well, almost." she sneered, flicking Arcee in the face.
Jack furiously snarled at the spider, his eyes burning at her with a fury. If he had the chance he would have set her on fire once again, this time not stopping until she was a pile of molten slag. But while Jack wanted to set Airachnid aflame, the other element in their little meeting finally revealed themselves.
Silas and his men finally stepped out from the shadows, each holding a strange looking gun They had hidden themselves, waited for the perfect moment to strike. It had been a trap, from the very beginning.
Once in view though, a horrid realization struck Jack, "You...the both of you-?!"
He couldn't believe it. How in the hell had MECH found Airachnid, how had they even survived finding her? The femme had wanted to hunt some humans and they would of made the perfect prey. But instead of killing each other, the two groups were standing in front of the teen, smiling down at the unconscious form of Arcee while Jack looked on.
Airachnid chuckled and stalked toward the teen, "Oh, caught on didn't you?"
Silas, paying little attention to the conversation, gestured toward his men, "Gentlemen."
Nodding, the MECH agents quickly moved toward Jack and began to search him. Both his phone and even Silas' device was taken, leaving Jack with nothing to contact the other bots. In a way, Jack was alone, like an island stuck in the middle of a sea of sharks. Hungry, devious sharks.
Once his devices were taken, the MECH agents finally stepped away. As they vanished into the shadows, Airachnid stepped forward once more and leaned down. She looked Jack directly into his eyes, even more amused that he had ever seen her before, "Really Jack, it was a bit simple."
"After you so...rudely destroyed my ship, I was trapped, stuck on this little mud ball. I had nowhere to go, nothing to do..." she mused, playing for fake pity.
"But as things looked dim, my new 'friends' found me. And they, as kind as they were,offered me a deal I just could not refuse." she chuckled, "One little bit of help, and they give me something I've been craving since the last time I saw you. Like a little itch that has been scratching me in the very back of my neck.
Leaning forward, Airachnid inched even closer to Jack's face, "You see Jack, from what I've seen, you people care deeply about your family. I mean really care. So, the sweetest revenge I could possible devise?"
"Making you watch as I tear your family apart..."
Such words struck Jack cold. Instantly, his rage boiled up again. Despite being so close to the Spider, Jack glared up at her ans sneered.
"Ah, there's those eyes again..." Airachnid smiled at a familiar sight.
Jack clinched his hands shut, his eyes burning red, "If you hurt my mother..."
Threat aside, Airachnid just laughed. She sounded so amused, and it mad Jack's blood boil to the point where it nearly exploded out of his skin, "You remember how much I enjoy sport Jack? Well, I suppose I can give you an opportunity to save you mother, if you're willing to play for a little bit."
"I've stashed her nearby. All you have to do is find her...despite a tiny little catch."
A sudden beep sounded behind Jack, something that was loud and electronic. Turning his head, tension exploded within the teen's body. A massive clock stood just a few feet away, counting down to something. What it was, Jack had no idea. But whatever it was, it was sure it was nothing good.
"If you find her before the clock strikes twelve, I'll let you both go~" she laughed, "How about it?"
Jack flinched, his eyes still focused on the clock. Seconds continued to tick by, like a swinging pendulum, "And...if I can't?"
The femme blinked and scratched her chin, "What'll happen?" she mused with a grin, "Hm...what do you think?"
All words died in Jack's throat. He couldn't talk. He glanced at Silas at his men, inwardly hoping that one would have the heart to speak up, to stop such madness.
But one look at the men told Jack all he needed to know.
This was what it was about. MECH wanted Arcee but they cared little for Jack and his mother. They were a means to an end. Airachnid though? This was her plan. She would get Arcee once MECH was finished with her and to top it off, she would have her revenge on the boy who destroyed her ship and humiliated her.
Two birds with one stone.
Regardless of the implications though, Jack couldn't think clearly. The tension, the fear. Both took hold of him.
Frantically, Jack snapped his gaze back and forth, glancing at his choices. The first being the unconscious form of his partner and the second being the exit to the building. He was conflicted, unsure of what to do. Arcee was defenseless, in MECH's clutches while his mother was alone, out somewhere in the dead of night, hidden away like bait for her prey.
Jack fidgeted, "I...I...can't..."
How could he leave Arcee in their hands?! Sure she would live; Airachnid would have her time with her later. But could seriously leave her there?! What kind of partner was he!? But then again, his mother. If Jack didn't go searching for her, then Airachnid would find her first. And if that happened-
As the teen began to freak, Airachnid chuckled and loomed over the nearby clock, "Times running out..."
Like a ticking time bomb, the clock continued to count down. Minutes passed like leaves in the wind, and midnight inched ever closer. Jack glanced at the clock, his eyes widening. There was no time, no time to think, no time to choose. Airachnid just sat there, waiting and smiling, watching with a sickening glee until-
'Damn it!' he cried, 'I'm sorry!'
Tightening his fists, Jack let out a furious yell and shot straight out of the warehouse. Silas and the other agents watched on as the boy vanished into the night. Airachnid laughed in glee and followed after the boy, carefully trailing him as he ran. But as he emerged out of the building, Jack gasped and looked around where he and Arcee had ended up.
Warehouses and industrialized buildings spanned in every direction. The pair had ended up in one of the empty, lifeless ends of Jasper where no one commonly roamed. Not a soul could be seen, not even some a random bystander just wandering around randomly. There was no one at all, like the entire portion of the town had been abandoned and left to rot.
Frustration building, Jack quickly took off in a random direction.
As he ran, Jack began yelling as loud as he could. His voice, being so loud, bounced off the buildings and echoed into the distance. But despite how loud Jack yelled, nothing else came back. The area was just as deserted as it seemed, with not a soul around to reply to the boy's pleas.
Not from a stranger, and not from his mother.
'Damn...damn, damn damn!' Jack cursed, 'Please be alright, come on! Please!'
The lack of response pushed Jack harder. He occasionally glanced at the watch on his hand and flinched as the seconds passed by. Almost furiously, Jack ran even faster. Around corners, through empty buildings, Jack ran as fast as he could through the empty streets. His eyes changed occasionally too, switching to their red form as he scanned the world around him.
Without Arcee, Jack was slow. Not slow for a human but given the time he had, he couldn't waste a second. Even thinking of the femme though made Jack bite his teeth.
He'd go back, he'd help her. Jack was sure of it. But for the moment, his mother was in imminent danger. Despite how much it hurt him, Jack continued onward. He couldn't lose his mother, not her. They were all each other hand, and if he messed things up...
'Mom...where are you!?'
Frustration built in the teen, dulling his other senses. All he could focus on was finding even a trace of his mother. But as time marched onward, a sudden crash stopped Jack dead in his tracks. Just as he turned a corner, something shot out in front of Jack and slammed into him. It was like a brick wall had appeared out of nowhere and crashed directly into his face.
Such a force instantly knocked Jack onto his behind, leaving him dazed and confused while...something emerged from the shadows.
Two 'somethings' actually, who loomed over the teen while he struggled to regain his bearings.
"Hey there kid," of the duo spoke, "Where you going?"
Shortly recovering from his face-plant, Jack squinted his eyes and looked up.
Above him stood two men, tall and imposing. At first glance, they seemed to be MECH agents with masks covering their faces and grey military uniforms as their attire. Even looking at the pair made Jack feel unease, like they were wild animals, ready to strike. Strangely though, they weren't anywhere near where the others had been. Instead, these men were off the beaten path.
Of the pair, one reached down and hoisted Jack up by the neck of his shirt, "We've been waiting for you squirt, so running out on us seems a bit rude, doesn't it?"
"Wh-what?!"
"You don't really remember us, do you?" the agent asked, "Well, let me give you a hint."
One of the men kicked Jack straight in the chin, sending his head snapping back like a whip, "You remember that?! When you kicked me in the fucking face back in that warehouse?!"
Jack said nothing at first, the pain dulling his response. But as the men cursed at him Jack felt his eyes widen in shock, "No way..."
"Well now. What's this then?"
"Why don't we just bring him back to the boss? If the kid was there, maybe he knows a bit about those freaky robots?"
"Dunno. You think the boss will like that? You know how he feels about people dragging pointless things into his office."
"You know kid, you have very weird eyes...you know that?"
Everything came rushing back.
The Scrapyard, Jack and Arcee investigating something, his phone going off, and the two men confronting the teen. He remembered all of it. Their suits were the same as any other MECH goon but Jack could remember their voices. They were the same. The very same people who Jack had knocked out and left to be arrested in the Scrapyard.
Though, the hateful glares the boy was getting told him of a very...different outcome to their encounter.
"Aw, you remember us now? Good!"
Again, one of the men grabbed Jack and kicked him in the stomach, earning a painful gasp from the teen.
"It's because of you that we got tossed into a load of shit! We had a simple job and you screwed it up! Our boss just barely saved us from the slammer but worked us like dogs! Made us do the grunt work for weeks!" one of the men sneered, "You fucked us up! You hear me you little shit!?"
His anger fully unleashed upon the teen, one of the agents dropped Jack. But then, even after their small rant, the two men laughed.
"But when we heard that the Spider-bitch was going to come torment you, we couldn't resist paying you a little visit." he chuckled, "I mean, when else are we going to get another chance like this? That machine's likely going to rip you to pieces later, but for now?"
Still standing over Jack, the pair began cracking their knuckles with glee.
"We get to have our payback."
Before Jack could even get a word out, the duo attacked. Like a pair of thugs they were on him in an instant.
Pain erupted as the men attacked. Jack covered himself, making some attempt to defend against the onslaught. But, nothing helped. Even without weapons, the pair did what they could to make their assault as painful as possible. Kicks to the stomach, punches across the face, cracking his skull against the knees, they did it all. The only way it could have been worse was if the men actually did use their weapons. Though, that even began to look questionable.
Such brutality only came to an end once one of the men tossed Jack to the ground.
It was a painful collision. Jack's face hit first, smacking against the ground with a painful smack. His whole body followed suit as well and collapsed across the pavement.
Yet still, even after all the pain he had been through, Jack tried to stand. The teen tried to push himself up, to get back on his feet. It was an agonizing attempt but the teen tried none the less.
"Aw, look at this." an agent mused, "What a trooper..."
As Jack rose from the ground, a sudden boot crashed against onto his back. The leather boot stomped down and forced Jack to the ground. It was like a sender-block had fallen on him, pinning him to the ground. Jack could barely move, his movements reduced to a squirm while the agents looked on and laughed.
"Ah, this is great!" one of the pair laughed, "Even after all the shit we went through, this makes it all worth it!"
The man's partner chuckled and stomped on Jack yet again, "Hell yeah it was!"
"Why don't we take this little shit along?" one of the men chuckled, "Let him have a front row seat while the bitch takes a nose dive?"
Silence suddenly struck Jack. He stopped squirming, even with the man's boot digging into his back. All Jack could focus on was their words, the threats they spewed.
The man's comrade sent him a worried look, "Hey, seriously?"
"Yeah! Why not?!" he chuckled, "This little fuck screwed us over back at our last job! We deserve some payback, don't we? We got put on guard duty because of him. And what's better than making him watch?"
"The bitch is going to die anyway, so let's have the whole family go at the same time!"
His tone, so cheerful, struck like daggers into Jack's chest.
Ignoring the pain, Jack twisted around and glared up at his tormentors. His eyes flashed red, burning like the fire within his chest. All the pain felt like noting at that moment. The beating he had endured, the boot pressing against his spine, and even blood dripping from his mouth. Like glass, it all shattered into a million pieces. And among those pieces was something, burning behind Jack's eyes.
Something old and very angry.
One of the agents chuckled, "Aw, don't give me that look! You know this little shit deserves i-"
The next few seconds happened in a flash.
Before either the men could utter another word, Jack struck. One of the men, the agent standing on the teen came tumbling to the ground, landing face first next to Jack. What happened was nearly instantaneous. Jack flipped onto his side and pushed through the pain of the man's boot scraping against his back. Once past it though, Jack gripped the man's leg and yanked him down with strength he didn't know he had.
It was sudden, and gave neither man the chance to respond before it had already happened.
Jack wasn't done though. With his back now free, Jack glared at the man in question. The agent himself landed just a foot or two next to Jack, dazed and still confused. Rage burning in his eyes, Jack did not relinquish his hold on the man's leg. The same leg that had been crushing him like a bug just seconds prior.
Leg in hand, Jack sent the man a burning glare...and snapped it, delivering one hell of a kick to the man's knee.
The force of the kick and the angle caused a painful snap. Like twigs breaking. If one listened close enough, they might have even heard the muscles snapping along with the bones. The pain alone caused the man to scream a horrid yell. He clutched his shattered limb, screaming curses left and right as his partner watched on.
Said man blinked, "You-!"
Turning on his heel, Jack watched as the agent's partner rushed him, ready to beat the hell out of him. But before the man could reach him, Jack was already on his feet. He snapped forward and leaped at the man, tackling him in the chest. The force of the collision nearly instantly knocked the air out of the goon, as if Jack was a cannonball ripping through his chest.
Like bricks, both Jack and the agent quickly fell to the ground. But as the henchmen hit the ground first, Jack jumped on his chest and flinched his fist.
For the next minute or two, Jack simply wailed on the dazed man. His fist cracked against the man's face, shattering his goggles while bloodying up his mask. It was like a frenzy, a rage filled beat down. Jack even felt his own hand begin to hurt yet still continued on. It was a painful few minutes, one that barely even gave the agent a second to breath.
Finally, after a minute or two of the painful assault, Jack began to calm down. Though, this was only after a loud crack sounded from the agent's nose.
As Jack leaned back on his attack, the goon reached up and grabbed his face, "Agh...fuck!"
Blood dripped from the man's face. Even with his mask covering up the skin beneath, one could see the carnage Jack had unleashed. If the man thought what Jack had done to him back at the Scrapyard was bad, then he had a very bad definition of pain.
"You little-! First my chin and now my nose!?" he cursed, "I'm going to beat the living shit outta-"
Another punch slammed into the man's face, silencing him, "Shut up!"
Jack reached forward and snatched the man by the scruff of his shirt. Scowling, the teen lifted the man up and stared directly into his eyes. Such hate flowed between the pair, all the rage that had been building up through the night drilled directly in the man's skull, "Where is she!?"
"W...what?..." the man muttered, dazed off his rocker.
Still scowling, Jack punched the man again, "My Mom! Where is she!?"
"He...heh, ha!" the man muttered, chuckling despite his pain, "Why...should I tell you shit?"
Jack saw red. Jack saw red. Without an inch of hesitation, he lifted the man up and threw him back to the ground. The impact was painful, with the man's head cracking against the pavement like a basketball. Yet even while pain erupted, Jack forcefully pulled the agent back up and snarled.
"You tell me or I'll keep beating you till your NECK snaps!" he growled, "Now, where is she!?"
The agent flinched, struck cold by the look in Jack's eyes. It was worse, far worse than the eyes he had back at the warehouse. Back when they first met the teen, feat had been in his eyes. He was afraid, unsure of how to react to the two men. But now? Oh, he was different. Angry, furious, and willing to do what it took to get what he needed.
Even if it meant going the extra mile.
So while barely hanging on, the man lifted one of his arms and pointed off to the side, "T...there."
Jack glanced off to the side, following the man's gesture, "She...told us she was stashed...that way..."
"We don't know...where exactly. We were just going to follow her, encase she was going to double cross us..." he muttered, "I...I...thats all I know!"
Despite the info given Jack snapped down at the man, "THATS I-"
The man flinched and clinched his eyes shut. He waited, silently expecting the boy to slam him down once again. Seconds passed however, and nothing happened. Nothing at all.
Caution at the ready, the man looked up. There, he saw Jack. But instead of seeing the raging teen from just a minute prior, all he saw was a stunned boy. The rage in Jack's eyes had dimmed, replaced by shock and bewilderment. But along with this stunned silence, the man also heard a light beeping.
The beeping, from a watch.
Yet while the man was confused, Jack found a shocking realization strike him.
Slowly, Jack raised one of his arms and looked down. His eyes, orbs that had been filled with such rage slowly settled on the black watch attached to his arm. A chill ran up his spine as he noticed the watch, saw the letters that were being displayed. He read the words, the numbers and found his voice grow dim.
His watch read midnight, the beeping echoing in turn.
Time was up.
Jack gasped and dropped the man, letting him fall back onto his head, "No..."
With the man falling flat on his face, Jack ran. Out of the ambush, into the open street, and down the path he had been shown. His adrenalin was in full swing, filling Jack with as much speed as his worn body could grant him.
Yet even as he ran, Jack bit his lip.
"If you find her before the clock strikes twelve, I'll let you both go~"
"What'll happen? Hm...what do you think?"
Furiously, Jack shook his head, "No, no, no, no!"
As he turned a corner, Jack felt like punching himself. How could he of wasted so much time? Jack had a watch, he knew how much time he had and yet he had wasted it. The time he spent beating on those two and he could of been spending it searching. But now, time was up. Time was up and his mother would-
"NO!" he snapped.
Jack bit his tongue and pushed on. There was still time. He could still find her and save her! Jack knew he could! He had to!
Through the factory, through the streets, Jack continued to run. His eyes moving as fast as they could, Jack scanned every little detail he could find. Atop buildings, in alleys, sitting in the middle of any clearings of parking lots. Wherever his mother could of been, Jack looked with alarming speed.
As he ran, Jack suddenly came to a stop. His eyes caught something.
Not far off in the distance was an unfinished building. Construction equipment sat all around it, from a case of already poured cement to even a few girders. All of it pointed to the building being unfinished, not yet complete. The surroundings did not interest Jack though. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the very top of the building, which seemed to be the most unfinished of the entire thing.
Yet at the very top, Jack saw a figure. A woman tied up in a cocoon of webbing. Someone in a green nurse's outfit.
"MOM!" he cried.
Not a second to spare, Jack snapped in the direction of the building and booked it. He pushed himself faster, a familiar warmth filling his legs. June was so close that Jack could practically reach out and touch her. She was still there, still safe! He still had a chance!
With new speed, Jack quickly reached the building in no-time. The teen even skidded to a halt, stopping just a few feet away from the structure.
But once there, Jack looked up at this mother and called out to her, "Mom!?"
The woman said nothing. Just by a mere glance Jack could tell that she was still out of it. Likely having been knocked unconscious by the MECH agents that had captured her. The bastards couldn't have been kind, he could tell. But regardless, Jack could still see her breathing. Airachnid hadn't made good on her promise just yet.
"Alright...alright, think!" Jack muttered, "I gotta get up there! Has to be...something! A ladder, some stairs...something!"
While June hung precariously from the building's topmost point, Jack frantically began searching for a way to reach her. Something had to be there, it was a construction site after all. They couldn't have made it so it was impossible for someone to at least get up there! Jack knew there had to be, anything before-
"Well, I'll give you this much..." a sudden, silky voice spoke, stopping Jack in his tracks, "You are quite the runner, you know that?"
His eyes going wide, Jack slowly looked up toward the roof. There, a second figure had appeared. It was much larger than June, and leaned over the rooftop like a giant. But how it glowed purple instantly told Jack who it was. Especially when she slowly moved out of the shadows, revealing her disgustingly purple optics for all to see.
"But..." Airachnid mused, "I'm afraid you're..."
"Too late."
Jack watched, his feet bolted to the ground. With the boy unable to do a thing, Airachnid leaned forward and flicked one of her claws out. Such digits were sharp, more like blades than actual fingers. Then like its namesake, she carefully positioned it right under the threat holding June up, like a knife preparing to slice through a rope. A horrified choke escaped Jack, his red eyes forced to witness every second as her claw inched ever closer to the thread.
If that wasn't enough though, June finally stirred awake at the exact same moment.
"W...what?" June muttered tiredly, "Whats...what's going on..."
"MOM!"
The sudden scream slapped June like a loud alarm clock. Like a bucket of water falling on head, June snapped awake. Almost instantly though, the woman clenched her eyes shut. Right out of the gate June felt her head split open with a headache. Everything was blurry, painful, and like someone had smacked her upside the head with a rock.
But when June tried to rub her forehead, she strangely couldn't move her arm. In fact, neither of her arms nor her legs. June couldn't move anything actually, nothing aside her neck and head.
"Wha..." she blinked, confused.
June then looked down, where she saw her son...and instantly froze. Below June was a painfully long drop to the ground off some partly constructed building. Several beams, girders, and metal pipes were scattered around her. She also noticed strange webbing wrapping around her chest, explaining her lack of movement. Though of all the things June noticed, she gulped at what was holding her up.
A tiny strand of webbing. One that looked about ready to snap.
She reacted as such.
"THE HELL?!" she yelled, "Wha-what...why am I-where am I..."
The poor woman felt utterly overwhelmed. Her head was just spinning in confusion. Where was she? How had she got there? The last thing she remembered was a pair of men ambushing her in the hospital parking lot. They had guns, said something very stupid, and then boom, everything went dark. But now? June woke up hanging atop an unfinished building with her son at the bottom and-
"Wha...WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING!?"
And, a giant mechanical monster standing right beside her. So to say that she was confused would be an understatement.
Airachnid didn't seem to mind being called a 'thing' though. In fact, she laughed, "Aw, isn't that precious. Now you two can have a final moment together too!"
Jack took a step forward and screamed, "Wait! I'm here! I beat your deadline!"
Regardless of the monstrous amount of confusion June had, the femme laughed again, "Oh, maybe. But If I recall, you were a few seconds late. And besides, I told you to 'rescue' your mother too..."
Her claw still hanging right under the thread that held June up, Airachnid's slowly began to tear through webbing yet again. It was an easy task, her claw being far big enough to do the deed with one strike. Yet still, Airachnid couldn't resist milking the moment. She even took glee in hearing June yelp as she bobbed in the air due to her swiftly shrinking support.
But out of everything, Airachnid smiled down at Jack, "And...guess what?"
"You failed."
With a final flick of her claw and a horrified expression on Jack's face, Airachnid sliced through the thread.
Things quickly began to slow down. Jack gasped and screamed at the top of his lungs. Airachnid merely laughed like the insane-bot she was. But June? She didn't even know what happened at first. Things were just so confusing. Yet with the sound of her son's scream and Airachnid's laughter, the truth quickly came to a screeching halt.
She was falling...
Fear gripped June as weightlessness took hold. Gravity took control as the woman fell, the air rushing past her as she came tumbling towards the ground. Even looking at the ground itself was terrifying, like watching as death swiftly waited for your arrival. So instead of staring at it or even watching the world fly by as she fell, June clenched her eyes shut and braced herself for impact.
Darkness was preferable to seeing the last few moments of her life flash before her eyes.
The last thing June saw while falling though were two things. The ground quickly approaching and the terrified look on her son's face, the moment he saw her fall.
His eyes were filled with such fear, such pain. Jack reached out as June inched closer to the ground. He was powerless, unable to do a thing while his mother fell. There was nothing he could do, nothing at all. All his running, all his silent prayers. None of it had helped. He was powerless, useless.
Jack had failed, proving himself to be the disappointment he had constantly driven his mother to feel.
And now, June as going to-
"NO!"
Before June hit the ground. She flinched. A sudden pressure snapped around her waist and strange enough? She stopped.
Without a warning of any kind, June just stopped. She felt the world become still. The wind became still, no longer rushing by her face. The weightlessness came to a halt while something grabbed June around the chest. It was large, like fingers. She couldn't feel what it was through the webbing, but June felt a strange...warmth around her body.
Confusion building, June opened her eyes and began looking around, "W-what?!"
"You okay?"
A sudden voice snapped June out of her fright. With her confusion put on hold for a moment, June glanced down yet again.
She stopped, frozen in place.
Around June's chest and perhaps her entire body...was a hand. A massive blue hand. Fingers that easily surpassed her arms in length and width and a palm that looked bigger than June's entire torso. The entire thing was large enough to crush June, and yet it gently held her safely off the ground. Strangely though, the hand's size wasn't just big. Along with being massive, the 'hand' glowed a phantom-like color.
The limb as a strange Blue tint, somewhat translucent, and even glowed with a strange fire that swirled just inches away from June's face. Even stranger though, the fire wasn't hot. Despite being just inches away from June's face, she felt no burning heat. From a merely touching June could even swear that the fire was cool, like wind!
Oh, and the limb was entirely skeletal. The hand that had saved June from a painful splat was entirely made of bones. No muscles, skin, or blood of any kind. Nothing even kept the bones together aside from its strange nature. It was like someone had taken the bones from a giant and saved June with them.
It wasn't just the hand though. An entire arm ripped right from a skeleton held June in the air. The humerus, scapula, ulna, and radius, everything that made up a human's arm was there. June recognized each bone and found herself growing more and more confused by each passing second.
'The...the hell is this!?' she screamed to herself.
But, June's shock didn't end there. As she followed the limb downward, June nearly fainted at what she saw at the very end of the construct.
"...Jack!?"
Standing on the ground, just below where June hung was her son. Jack stood calmly on the ground, his hands hanging at his side.
Surrounding the boy though, was a fire. A massive, blue fire. The same kind of fire that also encompassed the very boney limb that held June safely off the ground. None of it looked to be burning him though. Jack didn't even seem to notice. It was as if he was the very core of the flame, standing at its center like the fuel for a bonfire.
Speaking of which, Jack's entire body was surrounded by more than fire. As an arm had saved June from her fall, an entire ribcage had appeared around her son. The same bones, the same glow, and the very same fire. Everything swirled around Jack and formed a massive torso around him as if he was the heart itself.
What was stranger though, was that the bones were still forming.
"I said, are you alright?" Jack asked again, sparing his mother a look.
The teen's tone was cold and hard, unlike anything June was used to. It was angry, but not at her. His hatred flew right past June, ignoring her completely.
"Y...yeah, I'm...fine." June muttered, "Jack...what's going on?!"
Her questions aside, June was met with a surprising silence. Her son merely stood by and sighed, "Good."
Before June could question him again, the phantom arm slowly began to move. It lowered both itself and June to the ground next to her son. From there, it gently released her, setting June comfortingly on the ground before rising back into the air. The massive hand just left her on the ground, forcing June to stare up in shock.
Both literally and figuratively.
June had to stare up at the construct. The skeleton was MASSIVE. Even with just the arm and the ribcage, June had to pan upward to see just all of it. It towered over both her and her son like her tormenter had. The construct might have even been bigger than demented femme. While Airachnid was slender and sleek, the skeleton was massive and imposing.
"Jack...?" June muttered.
At the center of the construct, Jack clenched his fists.
"I...don't know..." he hissed.
He clenched his eyes shut and bit his lip. Agonizing pain tore through the teen's body. Blood dripped down his cheeks like tears and his body trembled. The pain Jack was feeling couldn't be put into words. Every single inch of his body felt as if it was on fire. His bones, skin, and even Jack's cells seemed to be tearing themselves apart. The teen could barely even keep himself from crying out in pain.
"But...I...do know something."
From what had been a mere ribcage and a single arm, an entire skeleton began to form. Ribs grew more numerous and climbed atop each other, enlarging the ribcage. A spine formed behind Jack, lining up between the gaps in the ribs right up until a neck formed. Shoulders, supports, and even another arm took shape.
While Jack glared up at where his mother had been suspended, an entire upper body of a skeleton formed around him.
A colossal monster of glowing, blue bones just formed up around the teen, its movements matching his own. As Jack breathed, the skeleton shuttered. As his hands tightened, its knuckles cracked. And as his form trembled, the bones almost rattled in reaction to his rage.
Of all the pieces to form however, the last was the skull.
Forming atop the spinal column, a massive skull took shape. It was at least as big as a Cybertronian's head, maybe even twice that. Of its features, two empty eye sockets stood at the center of the skull along with two full rows of teeth. Two massive canines adorned the bottom row while two gigantic tusks grew from the jaw itself, sprouting from its chin.
The entire construct looked savage, like a beast waiting to be unleashed.
As the construct finally completed itself, Jack snapped his eyes open, and glared up at the femme.
June gasped and covered her mouth.
Jack's eyes had changed. His natural blue eyes had vanished and instead their strange red counterpart had appeared. Yet still, even they had changed. The odd formation around Jack's pupil had evolved into something more refined, detailed. They were almost completely different from what his eyes had once been. Even the tomes had grown larger and connected to one-another, forming an odd circle near the center of his eyes. But along with such a change came a painful sensation.
With the rest of his body, the teen's eyes trembled in pain while blood ran down his cheeks. It was like tears, spilling from the boy's eyes.
"Airachnid..."
In the boy's voice, there was one thing that pushed passed the pain. A single, raging emotion. It tore through the air and aimed squarely at the demented femme that had attacked June. It was more than simply pain. It was more than mere anger. No, this? This was far more...
Motivating.
"After what you tried..." he hissed, his voice trembling.
Life exploded through the massive skeleton. Its eye sockets lit up, a thunderous 'thump' echoing within the construct's head. Movement roared through the creature. No longer did it just stand there like a limp. Rage, seething and violent, ran through it like blood in someone's veins. Cracks sounded as the skeleton clenched its fists. It let loose a wild roar and turned its eyes upward, growling as it did.
Just as Jack had.
With the skeleton swirling round him, Jack turned his bloodied eyes skyward. They met with Airachnid's, blood red orbs striking at her sadistic optics.
"...you're DEAD!"
AN:
Well, not as long as the last one was it? Still, craziness is about to be unleashed! We're going off the rails from her on people! From here on stuffs going to get real! Well, as real as what's going to happen now that Jack has gone raging berserk. What will happen though? You'll have to wait and see!
Also had to split this one up into two, as those familiar with the episode is aware of. Though just for a warning, next chapter will have quite a bit of new stuff, kinda like a lead into where this story is going to go from here.
If you got any questions about the story and such, you know the drill. Include your question in a PM or leave it in the review. Though as I've mentioned before, don't expect me to answer anything if you don't have an account for me to reply to. These chapters are long enough with me including a guest's question and spoilers aren't going to be shared outside a personal message form me.
RxR- Read & Review please.