A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews. A special thanks to Foxbear for her advice on visual description. Thank you.
Chapter 4
Finally reaching the top of the cliff he was thrown off from, Jack got to his feet and looked around. No one was there; MECH must have dragged them off. There were large imprints in the ground; no doubt where the Autobots fell to the ground. He looked on the ground and scanned it with his clawed gloves. They were red with silver on the tips of the fingers and the silver lining running down fingers.
Jack looked around, searching for any clue that might indicate where MECH had taken them. He didn't have much time; he had no idea how long he'd been talking to the Thirteen. For all he knew, MECH could be taking apart the Autobots at this very moment. The thought scared Jack, but he had to keep his clear for his friends; his family. He walked further into the fog, scanning the area for anything out of place.
He remembered what Arcee told him about scouts; how they tracked their targets silently. When they lost sight of their targets, they relied on two fundamentals; tracking and awareness. Tracking relied solely on eyesight; in order to successfully track a target when they escaped your sight, you must search the area they were last seen in. Often, the little things proved to be the most important, whether it be crushed grass from a footprint or a tire track or a broken branch.
Awareness involved keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary in the environment and remaining unseen. Anything, such as smells, looks, and sights that didn't match the area could lead a scout to their target. When the target was located, remaining unseen was a scout's best resource. More often than not, there were others who wanted either to protect or take out the target themselves. And now Jack was basically a ninja, the ultimate scout.
The ninja was known for its stealth and tracking ability, often keeping out of sight and waiting in the shadows. They could remain in one spot, in the same position for hours, days even, before taking out their target. Jack may not have possessed all the skills of a ninja, but he knew enough from studying them in his younger years. Plus, he had the power of the Primes on his side. Whatever that was, exactly.
He still had no idea what this "power" he was given could do and if it could help him save his family. He remembered the Liege Maximo telling him that he could use it in exchange for a task yet to be named. He wondered the actual importance of this task if they'd come to him, a human, for it. After all, he was no Prime; what could he do?
"What makes you think you don't have what it takes to become a Prime?" Zangetsu asked from within Jack's mind.
"First off, I'm not a Cybertronian," the young man replied.
"Jack," he said, "being human doesn't mean you couldn't be a Prime. Species has nothing to do with it; becoming a Prime takes innate noble traits that one possesses from birth. With time, those traits will only become stronger. You have exhibited such traits despite your age and that is why we have chosen you; not because the task we have in store is unimportant, but because we believe that no one, not even Optimus Prime, can complete it."
Jack merely shook his head; even if he did show these "traits", if anyone could get whatever kind of job that had in mind done, it was Optimus. He was strong, noble, wise, and everything someone like Jack aspired to be; the exact opposite of his father. Did that mean Jack saw Optimus as a surrogate? Maybe, but what was so wrong about that? It would be nice to have someone to talk to about his problems at high school.
Jack almost tripped over at the thought of what kind of advice Optimus would give him for such situations. But who knows, it would probably be good advice. He noticed the tracks in the ground ended at the ocean, meaning they were somewhere out to sea.
"Great," he groaned. "How are we supposed to find them now?"
"By locating the Matrix of Leadership," Zangetsu replied. Jack didn't know what he was supposed to do; suddenly, his vision went white and something came into view. It was a blurry image of Silas and Oroku Saki taking Opitmus into another room, the others struggling in protest. He couldn't make out what the two men were saying, from the sinister look on Silas' face, it wasn't good. The vision faded as Jack's sight returned.
"What was that?" he panted slightly.
"Since you are the Key's guardian, as chosen by Optimus Prime, you have a direct link to the Matrix. You can locate it anywhere in the universe. Now, we can follow the signal and rescue the others."
"Hold on," Jack protested. "We know where they are, but we still can't get to them!"
"That is why we will open a bridge," Zangetsu stated plainly.
"A bridge?" Jack scratched his mask head, "You mean like a ground-bridge?"
"More like a space bridge." Before Jack could say anything more, a strange new energy surrounded him and he felt his body seemingly break apart into atoms. Before he knew it, Jack was aboard an aircraft carrier, several helicopters and jets aboard. He collapsed to his knees, his stomach's contents threatening to exit his body.
"It wasn't like this last time," he groaned.
"That's because you went through a space bridge vortex," Zangetsu explained. "The vortex did all the work while your body merely stepped through. By bridging your body itself, you moved through several dimensions of space. If not for your new form, you would have been killed."
"Anyone ever tell you Primes that you have a gift for understating things?" Jack asked.
"No, why?" Jack merely groaned and shook the cobwebs from his head as he began searching for a way down into the ship's lower decks. He found a door and went down a flight of stairs. He checked the corners before turning, making sure he wasn't seen. He wondered how many MECH soldiers were on board the ship considering the number of people it must've taken to operate an aircraft carrier.
This could possibly be MECH's primary head-quarters and the reason they were so elusive. It made sense considering the U.S. government probably only looked for a base on land. That may have been why most of MECH's bases were land-based. To throw them off and keep them guessing. Jack turned another corner and ran into two MECH soldiers, much to his dismay.
"Who are you?" one of them demanded.
"Scrap!" he muttered. They prepared to draw their guns, forcing Jack to go on the offensive. He delivered a quick round house to head of one of them and swiftly dealt a palm-thrust to the other. Unfortunately, other soldiers stormed into the hallways, forcing Jack on the defensive. He ducked behind a wall as a hail of gunfire was sent his way.
He drew his sword, not sure of what to do. He remembered Zangetsu's words about following his insticts. He stepped out of hiding and charged at the men, twirling his blade. The bullets deflected off his sword as he made his way toward the men. When he reached them, he swiftly dodged a man attempting to use his rifle's blunt end as a weapon.
Jack slashed through the weapon and kicked the men into the others, sending them down a flight of stairs. One of the soldiers attempted to attack Jack. The young man took his sword and drove it through the man's torso, his bones crunching against the blade. Blood splattered everywhere as the men fell to the ground, dead.
ShadowStrike Rising
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed! Another shout out to Foxbear for her advice. Next time: Jack has taken a life! Can he get past this and save his friends. What new enemy awaits him when he moves to rescue Optimus Prime?