A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Sorry for not updating for so long. I apologize if some of you think the whole "Arcee being human" thing is a cop out.

Chapter 18

Jack kept his guard up as he found himself surrounded by four Shredders. Their armor was more streamlined though, lacking the claws and blades. One thing Jack noticed about them was their eyes. Their eyes glowed the same color as their armor, leaving no pupils. Whoever or whatever they were, Jack remained wary.

The one in the light blue armor spoke first, "Put down your weapon. We have not come to destroy you."

"Oh really?" Jack spat. "Well that's not what the last guy with armor like that said."

"We are nothing like the monster you encountered," the green Shredder said, her tone identifying her as a female. "Do not insult us!"

"I will ask again that you place your weapon on the ground or we will be forced to disarm you." Jack stared at the light blue Shredder suspiciously. Why were they trying to get him to put down his sword? If they were here to fight him, they could have killed him regardless of what he was holding. Deciding to be optimistic, he placed his sword on the ground.

"Okay," he raised his hands to the air. "I'm unarmed." The orange Shredder picked up his blade and returned to his comrades' side. They turned on their heels and started walking away, the dark blue Shredder motioning for Jack to follow. The boy shrugged and followed them.

ShadowStrike Rising

It had been weeks since Jack disappeared from the Autobot base and the 'Bots could find no trace of their human charge. Though to be fair, much of Earth remained largely unexplored by the humans. Ratchet divided his time between searching the monitors and working on Arcee's body, a process that was going slow. The femme adjusted to her human body slowly. One thing she found particularly annoying was the constant need for perfumes and make up (not that she wore the latter).

She quickly adapted to what her body needed to function properly, though getting out of her berth was always a trip. More often than not, the femme fell flat on her face because she was too tired to remember she was smaller. She did her best on energon runs, not that Optimus allowed her to go on many, not wanting to risk the 'Cons finding them and discovering her current form. She had tried to reason with her leader by reminding him that she was not completely organic. Her body had several human organs, but remained for the most part, technological.

All the while, Arcee found her thoughts , no matter the subject, always switching to Jack. She wonder where he was, if he was safe, and why he had left. Optimus said it was his fault for not supporting Jack when he needed him. Miko pointed the blame towards Bulkhead for the Wrecker's anger at Jack (which had not yet cooled down). June, however, blamed it on the Primes.

They bestowed Jack with incredible power, but that power also brought with it incredible pressure. Jack had enough to deal with; Megatron and Airachnid hunting him, MECH wanting to use him for whatever experiments they had planned (five points if you get the reference), an d of course, high school. The added pressure of Jack now hunting for ancient Iacon relics was probably more than the young man could bear. And sure enough, the Liege Maximo took advantage of that pressure to turn Jack against them. Which, of course, led to Arcee's current predicament.

Optimus had gathered the Autobots to discuss finding Jack, "It has been weeks since we heard from Jack. I fear he may be in danger. We must-"

"'We must' do what?" Bulkhead asked angrily. "He left of his own free will. If he wants to leave and forget about us, I say we do the same."

"He didn't leave of his own free will," Arcee replied. "He left because he thought we didn't want him here anymore."

"He wasn't too far from the truth," Ratchet growled. "He disrespects us after all we've done for him."

"What about what he's done for us? When the scraplets invaded, he, Miko, and Raf saved your lives. When were busy with the 'Cons, they distracted MECH and kept them from getting the D.N.G.S. And when Optimus lost his memories and we were all busy acting like sparklings, he came up with a plan to get us to Cybertron and to Vector Sigma. Or have you forgotten all that?"

"Arcee is right," Optimus said. "We owe our young friends much. Time and again, they have shown they are willing to risk their own lives for ours. We would shame not only ourselves, but those who have fallen, our ancestors, and Primus himself if we did not do everything in our power to bring Jack home."

"I say he can stay lost for all I care," Bulkhead seethed.

"Stop!" Miko cried. "Stop acting like this Bulk! I get it. You're mad at Jack for hitting me, but that's in the past. We need him here so we can find the Iacon antiques that the doc bot can't pick up. I hate seeing so angry. It makes me scared to be near you and…and…," Miko ran down the hall, crying her eyes out. All eyes and optics turned to Bulkhead, who was shocked by his partner's outburst. He looked to Optimus, who nodded, and went after Miko.

ShadowStrike Rising

Despite only getting a minor head start, Miko had managed to hide herself pretty quickly. Bulkhead searched each room, looking for the Asian girl, mulling over her words. When they'd first met, Miko instantly took to Bulkhead, spending the first night they spent together as guardian and charge talking about all kinds of stuff from both their races. He never realized how protective he was of Miko until the time they attempted to get the energon harvester from the 'Cons and he learned she'd been detained. He was worried and wanted to storm in and get her out, but Optimus stopped him.

While trying to think of ways to bust her out without being seen or hurting anyone, Bulkhead figured out where the harvester had been taken. Since then, he'd promised himself that no harm would come to Miko as long as he was able to stop it. When Breakdown threatened her, Bulk was filled with a primal rage and focused on nothing more than beating the scrap out of the 'Con. He Starscream did the same, Bulkhead found himself unable to do anything because of the ceiling he was holding up at the time. In fact, if not for Jack's timely arrival, who knows what the Seeker would have done to Miko.

He'd been especially protective of her after that, knowing how close she was to dying and there was nothing he could do about it. That was part of the reason why he exploded at Jack for hitting her, because she'd been hurt while he stood idly by. For weeks, he stewed in his own rage, thinking of what he'd do to Jack if he ever showed his face at base again, not realizing he was scaring Miko.

"It makes me scared to be near you!"her words echoed in his head as he continued his search. The thought of Miko of all people being scared of him caused his spark to ache. If there was one person on the entire planet whose opinion of him mattered, it was Miko. The girl brought out a side of the Wrecker that he wasn't used to showing. Finally he caught the sound of crying and followed it to its source.

He found Miko, sitting against the wall crying, her body racking with sobs. He knelt down, "Hey Miko."

"W-W-What do you w-w-want?" she sniffled.

"I'm sorry for scaring you," he said. "It's just that when Jack hit you…"

"He wasn't in control of himself at the time," Miko snapped.

"I know, but still," Bulk replied. "I don't like the thought of you being in pain, no matter the cause. Especially if can stop it."

"I'm not a little girl," she replied.

"I know," he smiled. "But you are my girl." Miko looked up at Bulkhead in shock, wondering what he meant by that. It certainly didn't sound like he saw her as a daughter.

She smiled slightly, "I'm glad to see you're to your old self."

ShadowStrike Rising

Jack had been following the four Shredders for some time now. The sun was starting to set, turning the sky into a beautiful assortment of colors. Jack smiled at the memory of him and Arcee sitting on a clff, enjoying the sight. The thought made his heart ache; because he knew moments like that were over now because she was…

"We are here," the light blue Shredder said. Jack was drawn from his thoughts as he gazed at the sight before him. He was standing at the base of a monastery, a long flight of stair meeting him. The building resembled structures from the Feudal Era of Japan. Jack had been wondering what country he'd been in for some time.

The four Shredders started up the stairs with Jack in tow. The climb seemingly took hours as Jack found his legs aching from extended use. When he reached the top, he found that he was in what appeared to be a village, only to find no one walking the streets.

"Anyone home," he asked.

"No," the green Shredder replied. "Only we inhabit this place."

"Then why am I here?" he asked.

"All will be revealed in time," the light blue Shredder spoke. He turned to face Jack, "Know that in the coming days, all you know, its existence, and your place in the world will be challenged. For now, retire to your quarters."

"What 'quarters'? I just got here!" Out of nowhere, a wooden figure emerged from the trees and motioned for Jack to follow it. The boy shrugged and followed it, leaving his sword with the four Shredders (not that cared about that thing anymore).

ShadowStrike Rising

A/N: Sorry if it seems short. Next time: Jack finds himself in the midst of training yet again. Who are his new teacher and how far will they push him?