Chapter 2

The further Jack had gotten from the Harbinger, the more he found himself saddened by the choice to leave. It wasn't the nicest way to deal with the situation, but-and whether he still needed Starscream or not- it was the only option where no one said anything they'd regret later. Or said something they weren't supposed too.

Jack certainly wouldn't be able to make up an explanation without there being some holes. How was he supposed to tell Starscream that Knock Out was his captor and not contradict everything he'd said before? No, Jack would rather the seeker think he was a coward than know about his previous form.

At least then all Starscream could hate him for was leaving him. Though, Jack should have realized that Starscream would have chosen the Decepticons from the start-heck, he'd hadn't even been with him for a day before the seeker was sprouting off his plans to control the Nemesis.

Jack let his growing warmth towards Starscream blind him, and having such a lapse in memory was a nasty shock.

Though as Jack thought of what happens next an image of his mother's stricken face appeared in his mind. His spark pulsed guiltily. He'd been so wrapped up in the feeling of finally getting his life back together that everything else seemed to have just fallen by the way-side, and the only thing which snapped him back into reality was Starscream's decision about re-joining the Decepticons.

Jack wanted to call his mother, but stopped himself. Their last conversation came back to him, and he remembered her explanation about something there being no suspicious activity on where Optimus had been for the past several months. He didn't know what to think-his gut reaction was still to believe that Optimus had falsified the evidence and was covering his tracks.

Venting heavily, Jack knew deep down that the only way he'd get the answers he wanted was to confront him. The thought though of being around him made his plating crawl; he could barely think about Optimus without the memory of the medbay coming over him, of looking into his optics and seeing how little he cared about hurting him.

Jack focused back on his flight, letting the air current running over him wash away the memory. If anything, he at least wanted his mother to know he was alright. He commed her, and heard the phone ringing in his head.

"Jack?" June asked cautiously, her voice tired and Jack felt guilty about waking her up so late.

"It's me."

His mother's relief was almost palpable. "I'm so glad you're okay. How…how are you doing?"

"I…" Jack trailed off. While he'd told his mother about having been with Starscream since his escape from the Nemesis, it was going to be harder for him to explain just why he left. "Things were…good enough. I made some…progress." He said stiltedly; even if he loved his mother there was no way he was going to go into full details about the 'help' Starscream gave him. "But something came up, and I decided it was time to leave."

"What happened?"

"Well, Starscream wanted to go back to the Decepticons." Jack answered reluctantly. "I left when he went to sleep."

June sucked in a sharp breath. If Jack had little knowledge of Starscream, then his mother's was practically non-existent and this was likely a sharp reminder that the seeker was a 'Con. Even with Jack's faint praise, all she really knew was that Starscream had only taken him in. "So…so you're by yourself?"

"Yeah, still not sure about what I should do next." Jack said. "I figured, you know, maybe I could meet up with you-I really miss you."

"I miss you too." June said softly. "And since I don't have work tonight, we can meet back up in the construction site."

"That sounds good." Jack said, feeling his spark lighten a bit. "I'll see you then. Have a good night." His tone turned sheepish. "And sorry about waking you up."

"It's okay, talking to you is worth it." June said sweetly.

Jack felt a tinge of happiness surge through him. "See you." He waited until his mother said her good night too, and ended the call. The conversation hadn't just distracted him, but it made him feel honestly better.

An engine rang out, and Jack 'frowned' as he rolled over and saw a larger ship flying overhead. This felt familiar, even more so when his 'sight' focused on individual details and Jack saw he recognized the ship. 'It's Wheeljack.' Jack didn't want to make a disastrous repeat of their last meeting, so he tentatively flew close enough and hoped his voice carried over the engine roar. "Hey, Wheeljack! Can you hear me? It's Jack!"

The ship kept flying, but at least there were no shots being fired at him. Jack nearly jolted when a crackle rang out, but he realized it was only radio static as a voice called back, "I was looking all over for you. Where ya been hiding out, kid?"

Jack would have flushed if he could. "Under a rock!"

There was a chuckle over the radio. "Just let me land and we can have our chat face to face."

Jack tipped his wing, soaring low and out of the way to give the ship a wide berth. It began to make a slow descent, heading straight for the craggy rock formations jutting out of the ground. Jack bent his nosecone down, and flew after it.

Hovering, even for a short time, felt weird though. Jack stayed floating in place long enough for the ship to fully settle on the ground, tucked behind two wide rock edges that allowed for coverage from any casual passer-byes. Wind skimmed over him, and Jack shivered.

The seeker transformed when he was close enough to the ground, but still found himself face-planting into the dirt. He groaned and spat out the soil, grainy sand grounding against his denta. "When am I ever going to get the hang of this?"

"Real graceful there, kid."

Jack sent Wheeljack a withering glare as the Wrecker stood at the landing dock of his ship. The seeker unsteadily got back to his pedes. "Hey, I can take off just fine-it's the not-crashing part that gives me trouble."

The other mech looked amused even as he raised his servos defensively. "Take it easy there, kid. I was only teasing ya."

Jack rolled his optics, but found he couldn't stop the smile from crossing his face. 'At least this time we're off to a good start.' He thought, and fought the urge to grimace when he remembered being threatened and slammed into a wall during their last encounter. "I know you were." He tilted his head. "I also spoke to my mom. She said something about you going out to look for me, but why would you do that?" he rubbed his neck when the Wrecker started to frown. "It's not that I don't appreciate it, but we hardly know each other."

Wheeljack's frown deepened, and he glanced away for a moment. "We can talk later, kid. All that flying must have drained your fuel right up."

Jack narrowed his optics at the evasiveness, but he was more curious about what drinking actual energon might be like. He'd-Jack winced-left before he could try the energon refiner. "I always wondered about how energon tasted, been surviving on nothing but crystals I could find."

"You've been eating it raw? You must be real thirsty then."

Jack snorted, but it did explain why Starscream kept going on about always finding more crystals. "Just point me to the dispenser, and I'll drink you out of house and home-er, ship."

Wheeljack chuckled before heading back inside. Jack followed, but he stopped at the entrance. His spark pulsed rapidly, fists clenching as he hesitated about going in. Wheeljack had seen what Knock Out did to him; what if this was nothing but a pity search?

Still, the Wrecker didn't want to talk about that, and really, that was fine with Jack. The less he had to think about Knock Out the better.