Apparently I felt exctremly inspired as I wrote chapter 5 and chapter 6 just flew right out of my hands... or my head. Well I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 6: The Message

Jack woke startled in the middle of the night. He couldn't quite remember where he was, but the dark outlines of his room calmed him dawn a little. He sat up and holds his head between his hands. He noted that he was breathing heavily and he was shaking a bit. What was it that he had dreamed? A Voice? A Heartbeat pounding away in the background of the voice, but had kept getting louder and louder, until it had scared him awake? The buzzing was getting stronger and was almost turning into a screeching noise, like a drill at the dentist or maybe sounding more like nails on a chalkboard. Either way it was becoming increasingly unpleasant.

Jack leaned over to the nightstand and took a couple of pills for the pain in the leg. He inwardly hoped that it would also take some of the noise from the head, so he could go back to sleep. Jack felt warm to the chest and took out the key of Vector Sigma from under his shirt. It was glowing and felt almost like it was pulsating.

"Was it you, who woke me? Was it your heartbeat that I heard?" Jack whispered, while caressing the key. He didn't want to wake his mom and worry her even more. And he didn't want to wake all the autobot at base, because his mother would insist that they went to base ASAP, if she knew.

As if to respond to Jack's question the Key pulsated once more, but then it went silent. Jack sighed. He wouldn't be able to go back to sleep now anyway. The dream lingered like a spider web in his head and the buzzing and screeching noise was bugging him too much. Jack reached for the crutches and hope he would be able to do some stealth mode to the garage. He watched the clock; 3:47 a.m. It would be Wheeljack on guard duty then. Jack hesitated. He didn't know the wrecker as well as some of the others, and he wasn't quite sure what he could talk with him about. It seemed silly to walk to the garage with no intention of talking. But Jack couldn't stay in bed or even his room. He needed some sort of distraction from both the dream and the noise.

Jack managed to sneak all the way through the house without alarming his mother, but he struggled to get the door open to the garage. By the time he got it open and limped through, he knew that Wheeljack was full awake and alert. Wheeljack eyed him, when he came out.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, kid?"

Jack rubbed the back of his neck nervously and slumped down in the chair in the corner of the garage. "Just woke up and couldn't sleep no more."

Wheeljack had talked with Optimus before joining in the whole guard Jack thing. The Prime had warned him that the kid had a habit of rubbing his neck like that, when he wasn't telling everything or lying.

"Look kid, even though you're not a wrecker, and we don't usually talk a lot, you can tell me what's going on. That whole rubbing neck thing of yours is a major give away, and I aren't buying it."

Jack dropped the smile and he moved his hand to rub his nose. A human thing, which Optimus and Ratchet both had picked up, when they were either overthinking things or frustrated. Apparently Jack did the same. He looked at Wheeljack, and the autobot could see that he as conflicting with himself on whether or not to tell him.

"Something's bugging me…" Jack rubbed his temples, a frown forming on his face. Wheeljack's optics narrowed.

"Look kid, this whole situation is bugging the hell out of all of us, but you need your sl-"

"No, Wheeljack. Something is literally bugging me. In. My. Head."

Wheeljack contemplated on what the kid was saying. His optics widened for a short moment, but he didn't want to frighten the kid.

"It's like this buzzing. It started out while I was at the hospital. First it was only when I hold the key, so I thought it was that, that made the buzzing. But then the buzzing increased and it would wake me at night. Now it's constant and so freaking loud it is almost turning into a screeching noise. And I know it's not the key. Well at least not only the key. It's in my head. And then the dream I just had…"

"wow wow kid, back up. Buzzing and screeching in your head. And you've had it for like what, two weeks now? Maybe we should tell your mom or Ratchet…"

"Wheeljack, are you kidding me? My mom would freak, seriously."

Wheeljack eyed Jack: "Excactly; seriously. This is serious. I don't know a lot about humans, but buzzing and screeching in your head can't be normal."

Jack sighed: "That's not all. In the dream I just had, I thought someone was trying to talk to me, but I couldn't really make much of it, since this pounding like a heartbeat was overruling the sound of the voice. And when I woke the key of Vector Sigma was glowing and pulsating."

Wheeljack let out an annoyed growl and transformed into his vehicle mode. Then he honked the horn three times – loud.

"Seriously Wheeljack, you'll wake up mom!"

"That's the idea. We are taking you to Optimus and Ratchet NOW."

June came out in the garage wearing a bathrobe over her pajamas. She looked tired, slightly annoyed but also worried. She saw Jack slumped in the chair looking tired and scared and Wheeljack was in his vehicle mode.

"Wheeljack, what's going on? Decepticons? Or is something wrong with Jack?"

"You bet something is wrong with Jack. Get in Ms Darby, we're going to see Optimus and Ratchet right away."

Suddenly all the sleep was gone from Junes eyes and she quickly strode to Jack, giving him a stern look, while helping him getting in the car. Meanwhile Wheeljack contacted base.

"Optimus, sir, did you hear what the kid said? I'm bringing them in immediately."

"Affirmative Wheeljack, Hurry. Ratchet is preparing the med bay."

After getting Jack in, June almost sprinted to the other side and threw herself in the driver's seat. She didn't seem to care that they were both in their nightclothes. She looked angry and upset at the same time.

"Would someone tell me what's going on?!"

When Jack didn't say anything and only looked at his own feet, June looked to Wheeljack's dashboard. Silence only lasted a couple of seconds. The wrecker would never openly admit it, but he was very afraid of Ms. Darby when she was in that mood. His radio turned on and Jack and Wheeljack's entire conversation sounded through the car's speakers. Now Jack looked at the radio in disbelief and anger. Was nothing sacred anymore? Couldn't he trust his conversations stayed with only one bot?

He was about to protest, when the screeching became too loud. A sharp pain shot up from behind his eyes and temples, and he couldn't hold back the agonizing moan of discomfort that escaped his lips. The radio silenced and June looked at Jack, biting her lower lip in utterly concern. Wheeljack sped up, and as soon as they were out of the city, June let go of the wheel and turned to attend her son. She held a hand to his forehead, while the other checked his pulse.

"Wheeljack, is Optimus and Ratchet listening in?"

Out of the radio came the deep voice of Optimus: "Indeed we are, Ms. Darby. What is Jack status?"

"He is in a lot of pain. He is quickly developing a fever and his pulse rate is quicker than normal. I don't know what's wrong with him… Is Ratchet ready with the med bay?"

"He is, Ms. Darby."

Jack tried to listen to their conversation, but all he could hear was the screeching and all he could concentrate on was the pain increase. Almost as if someone decided to plug something in his brain a hot, sharp, white pain shot up, and Jack could do nothing but scream. His eyes rolled to back in his head, and he collapsed in Junes arms.

"Jack, Jack, JACK!" June tried to shake him awake. Wheeljack also tried to call Jack, but he could hear nothing.

Jack was lost in a place full of pure white, and it hurt his eyes to look. He could hear the pulsating of a heartbeat again, just like in his dream, and he couldn't help but wonder if it was his own. He hears the voice again, but it is in bits and pieces. Jack feels like he has to concentrate on it though. It seems like it must be an important message:

"… Trion… Jack Darby, your…. You are the key! Find… all lost..the Allspark"

Jack tries to walk towards the sound of the voice, but notice he's just floating in the pure whiteness. He doesn't even know where the voice really comes from. He tries to call out to the voice, but no sound escapes his mouth. The Pulsating gets stronger and stronger, and it hurts his ears, his head and his chest. He wants to scream, but still no sound can be heard leaving him. Why won't he wake up already?

June desperately tries to wake Jack up. But he stays unconscious. She puts a hand to his chest and feels something warm underneath. She spots glowing and knows her son keeps the key of Vector Sigma around his neck. Jack starts to writhe in pain while the key glows more and more and June can almost feel it pulsate through Jack's shirt. She looks in panic at the radio, as Wheeljack informs her, their almost at base. In the meantime Wheeljack has relayed everything through the comlink. June tried to hold back the sobs threatening to leave her, but she couldn't keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks. What was going on with her son?

Suddenly Jack opens his mouth in a silent scream and his eyes opens. June gasps as she sees their glowing completely white. Jacks entire body arched in a spasm before slumping back into Junes embrace. Still eyes white and wide open a whisper suddenly escape his mouth before he close his eyes again. Every autobot listen to the word goes tense and Wheeljack speeds up even more, if that was even possible. Jack utters the word one more time, and this time June hears it too:

"The Allspark."

June looks to the radio hoping to hear someone say something. When she is only hit by silence, she hoarsely asks: "what's the Allspark?"