Sorry for the late update, and sorry if there is more misspelling and grammar mistake than usual in this chapter. I have been sick recently, but I still hope you will enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 8: Signs

"I am Alpha Trion. Jackson Darby, your all cybertronians last hope. You are the key! Find the Allspark to the autobots. If you do not or if it falls into the hands of the decepticons, all will be lost. Not just cybertron but earth as well. They are connected. You must save it all, and you can only do that through the Allspark!"

Jack woke suddenly clenching his head between his hands. It hurt so badly! He had to blink a few times to stop the tears from breaking through his defense lines. He didn't want Optimus to him like this. Actually he didn't want anyone to see him like this. The key of Vector Sigma was glowing strongly through his shirt. Even if he didn't want Optimus to see him like this, he still had to tell him about the dream. He had finally heard the entire message.

Jack reached for his crutches and grinded his teeth against the pain from his head, neck and spine. At least the strong pain made him forget about the dull throbbing in his knee. As Jack stood up he felt dizziness and nausea come creeping. He tried to ignore it, but it got stronger the more steps he took away from the berth. Jack thought he was about to either pass out or threw up when he felt someone dug around him in a gentle hug. He first thought it was his mom, but then he spotted the pigtails with a pink highlight. Miko.

"You know, this would totally not happen to you, if you had let me go to Cybertron instead?" She smiled wide and winked.

"Miko?! This is no laughing matter. It's not fun at all!" Jack turned a new shade of green in the process of snapping his head towards her.

"But you know, right now, I'm glad I didn't go. Are you going to be okay, Jack?" The smile disappeared from her face, and her golden eyes shone with worry. Jack stared at her stunned.

"I think I might gonna be sick, but other than that, sure." He smiled weakly.

"Dude, this is so not the moment for fun, you know?"

"Seriously Miko, I think I'm gonna be sick!" Miko managed to get Jack to one of the restrooms the autobots had built in for the humans. Miko stayed outside, but unfortunately she wasn't deaf and could hear Jack getting rid of whatever small amount of fluids he would have in his stomach. Miko fidgeted nervously. She had never seen Jack this ill or hurt before. When she heard Jack for the fifth time "talking" to the toilet, she ran off to get either June or Ratchet.

When June entered the bathroom her son sat next to the toilet leaning against the wall, looking pale and exhausted. His crutches were tossed to the other side of the room.

"Honey?"

"oh, hi mom… You might not want to be in here at the moment…" Jack croaked out.

"Nonsense honey, I'm a nurse after all."

June crouched down next to her son and held a hand to his forehead. I slight fever. And she didn't need to ask, she could clearly see he was in pain.

"Where does it hurt?"

"Mom, it's fine really. I just nee-"

"Where?!" June gave him 'the look', and he knew he had to answer honestly.

"The dull pain in the knee I can live with, but the head, neck and spine is killing me, mom." Jack paled again, and he leaned over the toilet again, his body wanted to get rid of everything he had in his stomach. Except he didn't have anything left.

June suddenly saw a glow on Jacks lower part of his neck. She immediately thought it was the key of Vector Sigma hanging there, so the boy wouldn't throw up on it, but then she saw he had it in his hand instead.

"Jack, what's this?"

"What's what?" Jack heaved through his pathetic spasm. He had no clue as to what June was talking about. He only hoped his mother would give him something for the pain and soon, since he felt it slowly got worse. In addition to the pain Jack was already in, it felt like the key was burning in his left hand. As June lowered the neckline of her son's shirt and saw a strange glowing sign, Jack hissed and dropped the key to the ground grapping his hand. June struggled to take her gaze of the sign on Jacks neck, but when Jack made a croaked, half-scared sound she looked over his shoulder, and saw another sign glowing hot in his palm. Hot as in smoking hot. June gasped, and tried to get Jack off the floor. It was impossible, as June could see her son getting ready for another nausea attack. She took out a syringe and stuck it in his shoulder.

"Ouch, mom! Couldn't you have done that a bit more gently?"

"Sorry honey, but we need to take you to Ratchet, and since you feel like throwing up every few seconds, I just had to give you something for that."

"Mom, I need to speak with Optimus, it's important."

"Well, speaking with Ratchet is important too."

Jack saw the worry in his moms face, and he couldn't really blame her. The pain, sickness and sign in his hand were also freaking him out, but he had to be strong for his mother's sake.

"Fine, but then call Optimus to the med bay too. I HAVE to talk with him."

Once June had helped her son out of the bathroom, Miko was still standing there, fidgeting. June send her after both Ratchet and Optimus, while she got Jack back to the berth he had been resting on moment before. Once he leaned back, June gave him another shot, but with a little more care than the earlier one. It was going to help a little on the pain. June tried her best to stay calm, but inside she was ready to break down crying. What was happening to her son?

Optimus was the first at the scene. He watched the two Darbys and saw Jack was even paler, than last time he had his optics on him. June was trying to stay come, but a quick monitoring, showed her elevated pulse and she was shaking on her hands. Jack saw the autobot leader first, and tried to sit up again. June pushed him back down. Optimus walked over and leaned down towards them.

"Miko came rushing, and told me, you needed to speak with me?"

Jack nodded then gulped nervously, while eyeing his mother. Clearly he was not comfortable talking with her next to him.

"Ms. Darby, could you please meet Ratchet outside and brief him first on whatever reason you need to talk with him for?"

June looked from Optimus to her son, then back again. She understood the hint, and smiled to Optimus, though it was a strained smile. She nodded once and left quietly. Once June was out of sight, Jack slowly and in a low voice told Optimus about the dream. Optimus couldn't help but frown.

"He said I was the key, that I had to save both worlds, and I could only do that through the Allspark. That I was everyone's last hope. What does that even mean?"

"I do not know Jackson, but I do hope and believe all puzzles to the will be revealed soon enough."

At that note Ratchet and June entered, and Ratchet looked worried, while June couldn't stop looking at her own hands.

"About those puzzles, June has informed me of signs appearing on Jacks body." Ratchet walked over and opened Jacks hand. It wasn't glowing now, as when June had described it, but it had taken on metallic silver like substance. Jack gasped a little, but tried not to show too much of the horror, he felt inside. Ratchet asked him to sit up, and he then had June lower the neckline of his shirt again, so the other symbol was shown too. This had also stopped glowing and taken the same metallic silver substance in appearance as well.

"I have one there too? But the other one in my hand was one I got from the key of Vector Sigma." Jack looked at the key, which was resting in his lap. He told the bots how it had burned him in the bathroom. Optimus eyed the key and looked Jack in his eyes. He could see the fear, the boy tried to hide.

"And you don't remember being burned in the neck by the key?"

Jack slowly shook his head. He didn't want another nausea attack, especially not in front of Optimus.

"No. The Key never touched my neck. I have it in the chain around my neck, but it always hangs against my chest, unless of course I'm holding it. I don't know when I should have felt-" Jack stopped midsentence and his eyes widened. Realization had it him.

"Jack, what is it?" Optimus tried to sound calm.

"No, but that was ages ago… It didn't even touch me there. But-" Jack rambled with himself and Optimus tried to get him to focus. Meanwhile Ratchet tried to decipher what the signs was or said.

"Jack, could you please talk, so that it makes sense to us?"

"It happened back at cybertron. While I was waiting for the download and tried to protect the key from scraplets. I suddenly felt some sharp pain in my neck, almost like a burn. I reached to see if something had penetrated my suit, but found nothing. I felt the burn go through my entire body, but I just dismissed it. I thought it was the adrenaline or something. I heard the buzzing for the first time after that, and I thought it was the key of Vector Sigma doing it. Suddenly the glow became extremely strong and I took it as a sign that the download was almost complete. The heat in my body got stronger but before I had time to question it any further I was attacked by the insecticon. After the whole incident I just took the key, and the heat and buzzing stopped. I never thought of it again… until now."

June gave her son a glare. Obviously she was about to protest or reprimand him. She opened and closed her mouth several times not knowing what to say. The only thing she could muster up was:

"You mean to say, you've had that tattoo like symbol on the back of your neck the entire time? That this started back then? I… - You…- This… oh for Primus sake!"

At this outburst but Jack and Optimus stared at her in mild shock. She had never used cybertronian expression before.

Ratchet turned around from the screen where he had been analyzing the symbols and cleared his vocal processors. Everyone turned their attention to him.

"Well from what I can tell the symbols confirms Jacks dream somewhat."

"What do you mean somewhat?" June was fuming with the lack of information regarding the changes to her son's body.

"It seems to be an incomplete message, so I have no doubt that more symbols will appear."

Optimus looked at his old friend, waiting for him to proceed, but June had already a hand in front of her mouth tears threatening to spring forth at any second. Jack noticed this to and tried to make her leave, but she refused. Instead she took Jack's hand and squeezed it tight, then nodding to the medic to proceed.

"Well, so far these to symbols says the same keywords as that of Alpha Trion did in the dream" Ratchet pointed to the symbol in Jack's hand: "This one says 'key'" and then he pointed at Jack's neck "and this one says 'Allspark'. Both are written in ancient cybertronian."

Optimus stood up, and looked at Jack who was eyeing the symbol in his left hand, and in his right was the key of Vector Sigma. Jack looked scared and tired. Optimus was afraid that before this whole ordeal was over, Jack's body or mind might not survive. But this explained why Megatron wanted Jack so badly. Why he had said, that Jack was special. Question was, how did Megatron know? And what were they going to do now?

As Optimus stood deep in thought, June drawing soothing circles on Jack's back, while Jack was still staring at his hand and Ratchet studying the symbols again on the screen, the proximity alarms went off in full blurs. Arcee came storming in.

"Decepticons! And they are close to base!"