A/N: I LIIIIVVVVVEEEEEEEEEE and you can blame the awesome karrashi for that since you my friend have bribed me with art so this chapter is for you I hope you guys like it. It's a little short compared to some of my other chapters but here you go have fun kids. Please excuse me if there are grammar mistakes I've stayed up two days straight to write this chapter. So yeah, have fun, enjoy.
Please tell me what you think.
Optimus never thought for a moment he would take another step on the Nemesis again. Not after walking its halls as the naïve Orion Pax, willing to help Megatronus' battle against those he thought were their enemies. It was only a month ago that he was on this ship but it felt like another lifetime ago.
Maneuvering through the hall with four autobots under his lead while avoiding patrols, Optimus certainly did not think he would return here, especially under these circumstances.
Jack deserved none of this, every minute Megatron remained in Jack's mind put Jack in even more danger. Optimus promised Jack's family he would bring him back alive and he had no desire to fail Jack. Optimus was determined to do everything he could and more to make sure Jack would not have to pay the ultimate price.
Then, the team came to a stop as they came to an intersection, leading off to three separate halls. Optimus glanced around briefly, making sure it was clear to pass before closing his optics momentarily before making his decision on which hall they should take.
"This way," Optimus ordered quietly, raising a servo to motion for the others to follow down the adjacent hall.
"How do you know we're heading the right way?" Bumblebee hummed through his vocalizers. "It's not like they mark the directions on the walls where the ship's Med Bay is."
"It…is not easy to describe." Optimus replied honestly as the group moved ahead. "I can sense Jack, or perhaps the matrix energy within him. The knowledge of the matrix links us since we each carry a half. It's strange how I was not able to sense it before, or perhaps I hadn't found it to be odd."
"Well, good thing you two have this connection or we'd be lost. I've been on this ship but didn't have the chance to sight see." Wheeljack hummed, reminiscing when he first arrived to earth and had quickly been captured and taken aboard the Nemesis.
"Yes and whether Jack knows it or not he's pointing the way for us." Optimus replied with a weak smile.
"How is Jack by the way?" Ratchet asked simply but Optimus felt the weight in his question.
"He is as fine as he can be for the moment…" Optimus replied, sighing softly. "Megatron has not located him within the patch yet from what I had seen when the blade of time showed me Jack."
"Yet? What do you mean yet?" Wheeljack asked, raising an optic ridge at the Prime.
"Megatron created a patch between Jack and himself but Jack was not present when he awoke within the patch."
"So, like when I went into Megatron's mind and had to search Kaon to find him." Bumblebee reasoned and Optimus quietly nodded while Wheeljack merely stared at the scout in disbelief.
"You miss a lot when you are not with the team." Ratchet replied to the baffled Wrecker.
"Apparently I missed all the good stuff." Wheeljack sighed before looking to the Prime. "So, Boss bot, can Jack keep up with this? Megatron being in his mind and all? Hate to see the patch do anything to him." Wheeljack replied, already knowing firsthand what it was like to be the product of a defective psych patch.
"The feeling is mutual, Wheeljack. Jack is strong willed but he is only human. None of us can be sure what the patch will do to his mind…" Optimus replied before he suddenly trailed off and a dull ache started to develop in his processor as he came to a stop.
"Optimus? Is something wrong?" Ratchet said approaching him, noticing the Prime pinch the bridge of his olfactory sensor in an attempt to relieve the pain. Suddenly, pain wracked through Optimus' processor and it took every ounce of his willpower to bite back a scream as he fell to his knee, the pain momentarily overwhelming him.
Optimus could vaguely hear voices huddle around him and his vision blurred for an instant but it was enough for him to catch a glimpse of Megatron standing in front of Jack. A scream sent a chill through him, Jack's scream and Optimus was able to see that energy seemed to be erupting out of Jack's psyche. This had to stop, Jack was not going to pay for his mistakes.
"Optimus! Optimus, what's wrong?" Ratchet asked as Optimus returned to his senses but the pain refused to pass.
"Ratchet, we need to hurry. Jack's time is up."
"Jack! Jack can you hear me?!" Stargazer shouted over Jack's own screams and the roaring noise of streams of data ripped through Jack. The star field had once been a peaceful place but now there was nothing but chaos as knowledge from the matrix ripped itself free from the ground.
As more data tore itself free, Stargazer could see the spider web like pattern of veins containing the knowledge of the matrix and Jack's memories rip free from each other.
The veins containing the knowledge of the matrix rose from the ground and intertwined with the massive collection of data forming above Jack while the veins holding Jack's memories fell limp to the ground, darkening as life left them.
This was the state of several of the veins holding Jack's memories. They had either gone completely dark or were on their way to extinguishing or had been destroyed completely by the separated with only pieces left on the ground.
"Stop! Stop this! Those are Jack's memories!" Stargazer screamed at Megatron, but the tyrant didn't even bother to take a glance down at the sparkling.
Couldn't he see Jack was hurting from this? Stargazer thought, looking back down at Jack helplessly, unsure of what to do. Stargazer couldn't help but feel completely helpless. He didn't understand anything that was happening or why this Megatron wanted to hurt Jack for this knowledge in his head.
A loud crash nearby made Stargazer jump and he was surprised to see a crystalized orb laying on the ground. He looked up to see where the crystal had come from and his energon ran cold when he saw the stars that he had fondly watched in his time in Jack's mind suddenly start to fall all around them like shooting stars.
Stargazer quickly got up and reached for the closest fallen star he could find and inspected it, not understanding why they were falling all of a sudden.
However, the moment he touched the crystal a voice echoed in his mind.
"You tell anyone about me and I'll hunt you down."
Stargazer jolted back, so startled by the voice that he nearly dropped the crystal. He had not expected to hear a voice, much less by how cold and harsh the voice had been but there was also something familiar about the voice…
Wait, he knew this voice.
Arcee.
Jack had called her Arcee, she was a friend and she was one of the manifestations Jack made with his mind to slow Megatron down. Not that it did any good.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Stargazer and he looked back up at the stars.
They were memories of people Jack knew, people he cared out. It was the only thing that made sense. He had seen three of these stars form Arcee and the two other autobots Jack had sent out to deal with Megatron and then Stargazer saw these stars come back just before Megatron arrived.
But now these stars were falling now.
Did this mean Jack was also starting to forget the people he knew?
Was he forgetting Arcee? Stargazer wondered, staring down at the crystal, solemnly watching the light in the crystal start to flicker, fighting to stay bright.
Suddenly, the crystal shattered in Stargazer's hand and Jack let out a scream as he tried to reach up for something only he could see.
No more.
This had to stop now.
"Jack! Wake up!" Stargazer called out, quickly returning to Jack's side. "You need to fight this or you're going to forget everything or worse!"
The thought of that sent a shiver down Stargazer's back, he didn't want to think about what worse could be. Jack couldn't die, not on his watch—
CRACK!
The ground suddenly shook and Jack screamed even louder as a large crack suddenly appeared over his chest, nearly splitting him in two. Stargazer could only sit there, terrified to see Jack literally starting to rip apart from the flow of energy churning beneath the surface. Jack's eyes then began to close and Stargazer could see the look of defeat on his face.
"No! Jack, you need to stay awake! Don't go!" Stargazer cried out before clinging to Jack with all his strength in an attempt to somehow keep Jack together as the energy kept flowing out of him. "Wake up!"
It was hard for Stargazer to keep his grip on Jack, the flow of data felt like rapids beating violently his frame, threatening to tear him apart like they've done to Jack. Still, Stargazer kept pleading to Jack to wake up, to somehow snap out of the state he was in but his cries fell on deaf ears just as before but he wasn't sure what else to do.
"What a nuisance." Megatron hissed softly, glaring at Stargazer, taking a step towards them until his audio receptors picked up on a muffled crash stopped from outside of the patch.
Knock Out let out a deep sigh as he momentarily stepped away from the monitors as he headed for the door and opened it. "Breakdown? Is that you? For Primus' sake I believe you've done enough damaged to my med bay since you've awoken, I mean honestly Break—" Knock Out couldn't even finish his sentence before he looking optic to optic with the autobot commander only standing across the Med Bay.
Knock Out couldn't even speak while the Prime glared death at him with three others behind him. Knock Out immediately tried to shut the door and lock down the Med Bay but his attempts were in vain as the autobots swarmed into the room at lightning speed.
Optimus was the first in the room and with a quick scan he could see there was only Knock Out and Sideways in the room, just as the Blade of Time had shown him. Just as they planned, Knock Out was quickly subdued, he could provide essential for helping Jack. Then Bumblebee, being the fastest in the team went for Sideways, aiming to strike the unsuspecting decepticon.
Suddenly, just as Bumblebee's servo was about to collide with Sideways faceplates, the silver decepticon easily sidestepped before activating his energon rifle and pointing it to the medical berth where Jack was laying.
"Don't." Optimus said sternly, tensing as the energon rifle hummed to life while Jack remained dormant and completely unaware.
"Step back." Sideways ordered, as he glanced over the autobots, judging by their composures to the situation he had them wrapped around his servo. "I must say, you autobots are persistent to get your little pet. Did you sprout wings to get aboard the ship?"
"Enough, you wouldn't dare." Ratchet growled, glaring coldly at the shifty decepticon. "Not while Megatron is still connected to the patch."
Sideways opened his mouth to counter the autobot but stopped briskly when his audios picked up on an electronic hum behind him, followed by the charging of an energon cannon as it pressed against his back just behind his spark chamber.
"Really want to test your luck?" Smokescreen asked, presses the barrel of his gun harder against Sideway's back for emphasis. "Because if you plan on doing anything to hurt Jack, I don't need to be a medic to tell you it would be very bad for your health."
Optimus let out a quiet sigh of relief as the decepticon lowered his weapon while Bumblebee moved in to cuff Sideways. With the threat neutralized, Ratchet quickly approached Jack and scanned him for injuries and the like.
"What are you doing here?" Ratchet hissed at Smokescreen as he passed, "And what are you doing with the phase shifter?" Ratchet demanded, noting the rookie had entered the room from the wall just behind Sideways to catch him by surprise.
"Uh, right I know we're not supposed to be here but in hindsight it's a good thing we were here right?" Smokescreen tried to argue as Ratchet started to scan Jack, though Ratchet only tensed when he heard Smokescreen speak in plural.
"We?" Ratchet groaned, knowing it meant one thing.
"S'up?" Miko greeted as both she and Jaden peeked out from Smokescreen's chest compartment.
"Smokescreen—" Ratchet started to scold as the scans began to load, only to be interrupted by Optimus before he could continue.
"Enough. This is a discussion for another time…" Optimus stated before turning his attention to Smokescreen and the children, "But thank you, you three for being here." And Smokescreen felt he's dodge a bullet for now.
"Ratchet, how is Jack?" Jaden asked, getting startled when Ratchet immediately ran straight to the monitor to flip a few switches here and there, causing a lot of noise coming from the patch to fade. Miko was just as surprised by Ratchet actions.
"Whoa, what's wrong?" Miko asked. "Did you shut off the patch?"
"No, it's too risky to shut it off just yet. Jack has just been exposed to high levels of stress to his mind, caused by a program in the patch to process through memories and data. I've just shut off its source." Ratchet replied as he quickly glanced over at the feed from inside the patch. He would see Megatron's erratic movements, like he was looking around while calling for Knock Out, asking why the program had stopped. Ratchet simply muted the feed and refocused his attention back on Jack's vitals. "It was putting Jack's mind under too much pressure…Based on my readings I'm surprised he's even last this long on his own..."
Optimus took in the medic's report for a moment but also couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as the pain in his processor began to fade as Ratchet shut off the program processing the data. However, the pain was not completely gone but a lot better than it had been before.
"Is Jack going to be okay?" Jaden asked, looking back and forth between the medic and Jack.
"I'll see what I can do for him but it will take time…" Ratchet muttered as his attention focused to studying the data in front of him.
"What were they doing to him, Doc?" Wheeljack asked, keeping an optic on Knock Out to make sure he didn't try anything.
"From the looks of things the decepticons are in the process of forcibly removing the data of the matrix from Jack's mind but far more extreme than our own attempt." Ratchet replied, "Hopefully it isn't already too late for Jack."
"And how long will it take to get Jack out of there?" Smokescreen asked as he approached the berth and set Miko and Jaden down to stand beside Jack.
"It might take some time, I do not wish to rush the process if it will cause Jack more harm." Ratchet replied simply.
Optimus considered this information for a moment and closed his optics briefly. "Do what you can for him to bring Jack home."
Ratchet nodded briefly before looking back at Knock Out and motioned for Wheeljack to bring him over. "You, Knock Out, you designed this patch, no doubt. Please tell me everything you know to shut this down."
"Er…Right…since you're asking so nicely." Knock Out sighed, seeing as he had no choice in the matter. He's tried several times already to use his comm. link to call for help and since he's had no luck he suspects the autobots have a signal jammer.
Smokescreen was only half paying attention to Ratchet at this point. He couldn't stop looking at Jack, bloody and pale with a crude looking helmet attached to his head, connecting him to the patch. Smokescreen was really glad Arcee wasn't there to see Jack; she would have wanted to rip the decepticon's sparks out. Still, even though Arcee wasn't there Jack was surrounded by people who cared about him, even Smokescreen had to admit Jack's grown on him but if anyone was taking this the hardest it was Jaden.
Jaden sat by Jack's side, quietly using his sleeve to wipe off some of the blood from Jack's face. There was a large open gash on Jack's face, running across Jack's face from his left brow, across his eye and all the way down to his jaw.
"Huh, that looks like it hurts Jackie…" Jaden said softly, taking one of Jack's hands, "I'm sure dad and Dr. Suzuki can help patch you right up. They fixed me so I'm sure they can fix you."
"What? Are they going to give him a robot eye? Because that would be pretty cool. I'm already getting jealous." Miko replied, trying to keep the mood light for Jaden's sake as she placed a hand on Jaden's shoulder.
"Yeah, probably and it would be very cool…" Jaden muttered softly, unable to stop his voice from cracking as tears started to cloud his eyes. Jaden let out a shaky sigh and keep his attention on Jack. His brother, the one he hasn't seen in person for years. He just got him back but now there was a chance he could die and he would be all alone. He didn't want that, they both went through that when their older brother died. Jaden didn't want to lose another big brother.
"Jaden, I'm so sorry. You shouldn't be seeing this." Optimus said quietly as he approached the medi berth and takes his first good look at Jack.
"No I wanted to be here. That's why I came here." Jaden replied, wiping his eyes with his sleeve before offering Optimus a weak smile. "Besides, what kind of brother would I be if I wasn't here for Jackie?"
Optimus couldn't help but smile at Jaden's courage. It was one of the things Optimus admired most about humans. "Jack is lucky to have a brother such as yourself by his side, especially now more than ever..." Optimus replied before grimacing as he trailed off, getting hit by another wave of pain through his processor and his vision started to flicker.
Jaden was surprised Optimus' sudden chance and began to notice the Prime was slipping into another trance but this one was different from the trance caused by the blade of time. "What's happening to Optimus?"
"I'm not sure…" Smokescreen replied before noticing a faint glow coming from the Prime's chestplates and he just managed to see the silhouette of the matrix resting in his spark chamber.
"I believe I have an idea…take a look at the monitor." Ratchet replied, motioning for them to take a look at the monitor showing the live feed from the patch.
Jaden and Miko looked up at the monitor as Ratchet turned the audio back on the feed. Everyone watched carefully as a light began to fill Megatron's vision, manifesting out of nowhere. The light quickly started to take shape until it formed a family ghostly image of Optimus.
Optimus stood there for a moment, briefly aware that the matrix must have sent him into Jack's patch through their connection with the matrix. It was an odd sensation to be there. His vision is blurred, shifting back and forth between the patch and the med bay before it finally settles within the patch and everything becomes clear.
The first thing Optimus noticed was a massive structure looming high above him, thousands of veins, glowing brightly. It was a breathtaking sight, the veins creating this structure reminded him very much of branches of a tree. It was beautiful, yet as Optimus lowered his gaze to his surroundings he could see the ground was torn with a different type of veins lying limp on the ground, either torn or mangled as if they were ripped from the ground and the other veins.
Optimus spark sank and it was then that Optimus realized the true damage the patch had caused to Jack's mind. The veins creating the giant tree like structure had to be the knowledge from the matrix while the mangled and damaged veins but have been part of Jack's mind, perhaps even his memories.
Optimus remembers seeing this place briefly before, the area they were in was supposed to be like a field of stars but there were no stars now. This place now it looked more like a desolate wasteland. Then, looking up ahead, Optimus could finally see him. Jack was on the ground, lying motionless and Megatron was here and stood directly in between them.
Stargazer was beyond relieved when the energy flow finally stopped. He wasn't sure how much damage Jack could have taken. Stargazer was the only reason the data hasn't torn Jack apart into pieces. Just before it had stopped Stargazer could see the data was also tearing through him. The flow break pieces off him which turned into streams of data that collected into the massive collection of data above them.
Now that Stargazer thought about it he wondered if Jack was right, maybe he was just knowledge from the matrix. When he started to lose pieces of himself he started to see memories, memories of earth and of several different bots and people from Jack's other memories. It was strange to see but Stargazer couldn't help but feel nostalgia as those memories flashed through his optics.
Glancing up, Stargazer was vaguely aware of Megatron ranting about the patch being stopped to the sky, whatever that meant. Stargazer wasn't really sure what was going on; at this rate he didn't care and he just did his best to tune Megatron out.
Then, just when Stargazer thought he'd found some peace Jack suddenly jolted to life as he gasped out for air, breathing in like he had been held beneath water.
"Jack! You okay? Are you awake…?" Stargazer asked, struggling to pick up his head to look at Jack.
"Star…?" Jack asked faintly, feeling completely drained. "What…what happened?"
"You almost died I think." Stargazer replied bluntly and Jack made a face.
"Oh is that it…?" he asked, trying to catch his breath, looking around to try to make sense of what happened. It wasn't long before something caught his eye.
"What…is that?" Jack asked Stargazer and the sparkling raised his head to follow his gaze, a little confused to see Jack was pointing at Megatron.
"That's Megatron...Don't you remember? He did this to you. He hurt you." Stargazer tried to explain as Jack just gave him a blank look. It suddenly dawned on Stargazer that Jack didn't remember. His mind has been damaged too much.
"Jack, do you remember anything? How you got here? Who I am?"
"Well, obviously I remember you, but…" Jack explained before he trailed off, trying to focus but his mind kept drawing a blank. "No…I can't…I can't remember anything…Why can't I remember?"
"Is it because you lost your connection to the knowledge of the matrix?" Stargazer asked, looking up at the knowledge looming high above them. "The knowledge was woven with your memories; remember how we found that out before Megatron showed up?"
"I…can't say I do…" Jack replied, staring straight up at the sky, looking at each of the veins above him, stretched out high like a tree. "Yeah I don't remember that…Was all that in my head?"
"Yeah, I watched it all rip out of you. It would have torn you apart if I hadn't been here to keep you in one piece." Stargazer said softly, clinging a bit tighter to Jack. Even though the flow had stopped, Jack's psyche was cracked and fragile enough to shatter if he let go and he wasn't going to let that happen.
"Thanks about that…Are you hurt?" Jack asked, taking a look at Stargazer, gasping when he saw parts of damaged or missing, particularly around his chest. Jack immediately wrapped his arms around Star as if it would help keep the sparkling together like he had done for him. "Are…you okay?"
"I don't know…I don't really feel much anymore." He replied and Jack didn't like the sound of that. Jack figures it also wouldn't be good for either of them if either of them let go. Stargazer seemed to sense Jack's concern and offered him a weak smile. "Don't worry…I'm more worried about you. If you can't remember anything how can you remember me?"
"I don't know…" Jack said softly, stroking the sparkling's head, hoping it would offer some form of comfort for Stargazer. "I guess it's because you stayed with me…"
Stargazer closed his optics and leaned his head to Jack's touch and purred contently. Jack couldn't help but smile at the sparkling's actions. Somehow the sparkling's innocence brought him a little peace in the chaos around them.
Suddenly, a bright light ignited at the corner of Jack's eye and he followed its source. He watched, puzzled as someone began to manifest from the light until it morphed into the shape of a metallic titan, far more elegant than Megatron.
The being stood there for a moment, turning his attention to the veins looming above them before Megatron caught his attention and the two began to speak. Jack had no idea where the new bot came from but he couldn't help but peace in his presence just as he did with Stargazer.
"I wish I could say it's a surprise to see you but you have a knack for getting involved in things you shouldn't." Megatron hummed as he regarded the Prime for a moment. He was curious how the Prime made it on board but that will have to be for later.
"Megatron, you've gone mad." Optimus growled softly, clenching his servos as he narrowed his optics at the former gladiator. "What could have possessed you to not only endanger Jack's mind but your mind as well by creating a psyche patch with a human?"
"You wish to know? I seek the truth and here it is!" Megatron cackled, raising his arms up and motioning around them towards the large collection of data floating high above them.
"What truth?" Optimus asked warily, scanning the area, looking for an opening to get to Jack. He needed to get to Jack; perhaps the matrix could help heal the damage to Jack's mind.
"How long did you think you could keep this charade up?" Megatron asked his tone was cold and accusing. "Don't you see? All of this you wish to fix. This, all this is your doing. By avoiding the truth, you let this happen."
"What are you talking about?" Optimus asked, quickly losing his patience. Optimus could tell by the tone in Megatron's voice and his sluggish motions that the patch has caused damage to his psyche. It was not just Jack who was getting affected by the patch.
"I entered the boy's mind to investigate a suspicion I've had for quite some time." Megatron replied, getting Optimus' attention as the decepticon commander started to circle him. "Since our last encounter I've thought to myself. Something is not right. There is something different. Or perhaps it's because there was no change in you, Optimus. Or should I say Orion Pax?"
Optimus immediately tensed when the name reached his audio and Megatron couldn't help but grin. Knowing for sure some of the autobots saw their leader's reaction through his optics. It was always easy for him to spot Orion's tells.
"I've studied the contents of the boy's mind, Orion and the evidence is all around us." Megatron hummed, approaching a nearby vein, brushing his clawed digits against the solid energy, triggering one of many of Optimus' memories. His grin only widen as several different memories flickered around them. "See for yourself, it is all around us. Scattered memories from the day our war began all the way to the day you sacrificed your memories to send Unicron back to sleep. As you can see Optimus Prime remains dormant while all that remains within you is simply Orion Pax."
The autobots outside of the patch, watching the events fold out before them each felt differently to this revelation. Ratchet was aware Bumblebee was probably the most distressed while Wheeljack remained unusually quiet as he took in the information. Meanwhile Smokescreen looked rather puzzled about the whole ordeal, still too new to the team to fully understand.
As for Ratchet, he kept his expression neutral. Optimus never confided in him that something was wrong but he always had his suspicions as more time passed. Still, he did not care what Megatron said. Megatron was wrong, the bot standing in front of him was not Orion Pax, but he was not Optimus as well. Ratchet has seen proof enough of that in the past month.
"You're wrong, Megatron..." Optimus replied, voicing Ratchet's thoughts as he narrowed his optics. He was no longer the helpless civilian that had been easily convinced of his lies of the autobots.
"Am I now? Of course, not all of Optimus is here; a piece resides within you or you would be completely incompetent and unfit to lead but even so, you are no Optimus Prime. When the time comes that your precious autobots will need you, you shall fail them. You have already failed Jack it seems. There is nothing that remains of him." Megatron replied, glancing down at the dazed teen.
"Enough!" Optimus growled, but he couldn't help but see the truth in his words, he was no longer the leader they once knew. Still, this was not going resolve anything now. He needed answers and he wanted them now. "What good will this information do for you?"
"With the Key to Vector Sigma destroyed I can easily get rid of this nuisance without there being a chance for Optimus to return." Megatron grinned darkly before raising his arm as he activates his canon, charging it as he aimed straight for Jack.
"Megatron, don't—!" Optimus screamed, knowing that if Megatron's shot hit its mark there would be nothing of Jack left to save.
Jack could hear the loud hum of a canon charging and he looked up to see the blinding glow seeping from the barrel of the energon canon and time seemed to slow as the bot Megatron called Orion tried to reach Megatron in an attempt to stop him.
A memory suddenly flashed across his eyes. He's been in this situation before. In a dark and cold cavern with only the light of a space bridge providing light, Megatron took the shot and almost killed him. Yes, it was how he first met Stargazer. Jack's eyes started to grow heavy as he began to drift into the memory and the hum of the canon started to fade away into silence.
"No, Jack you need to keep fighting! Stay awake!" Stargazer cried and Jack's eyes flung open. He was nearly blinded by the light coming from the barrel of the cannon. Jack notice time still seemed to be moving slowly but even so, Jack didn't have the strength to move out of the way, let alone fight.
"It's no use…I can't defend myself…" Jack whispered softly, as he watched the Orion bot running towards Megatron, desperately trying to stop him before it was too late. Closing his eyes again, Jack thought to himself what was the point? His memories were gone; everything of who he was is gone. There was nothing left to protect.
"Jack! Use your memories to make something to protect you!" Stargazer cried out desperately as the energon canon was close to fully loading.
Briefly, another image came to Jack's mind, memories of creating bots from his memories to protect him and they had. An image of a blue bot flashed across his mind and Jack thought to himself maybe not everything was completely gone. Looking up at the knowledge looming above them, Jack could hear something calling to him.
Make something that can protect you.
Stargazer's voice echoed in his ears again and Jack briefly looked toward Orion, one of the only ones trying to protect him and knew exactly what he had to do. Then time seemed to return and Jack heard the click of Megatron pulling the trigger and he quickly reached up for the closest vein, grabbing for it as the veins above him suddenly engulfed him and Stargazer moments before the shot impacted with them.
"JACK!" Jaden screamed as Megatron's shot ignited an explosion, overwhelming the monitor's sensors in a blinding light and Jack's vitals sky rocketed as the machines monitoring his heart rate overloaded and exploded beside them. Smokescreen quickly threw himself over Jaden, Jack and Miko and debris and shrapnel exploded everywhere. Then there was just the silence as Smokescreen stepped away from the children.
When he looked at Jaden, Jaden just kept staring at Jack, his eyes hollow and defeated. Jaden came here to help save his brother, not to lose another one and no one had the right thing to say except to wait for the dust to settle in the patch.
The blast had knocked both Megatron and Optimus back and it took a moment for Megatron's optics to reboot. Optimus did not move from his spot and stared at the ground, knowing he's failed Jack just as Megatron had said.
"What…is the meaning of this…?" Megatron muttered softly.
Puzzled by Megatron's tone, Optimus raised his optics to the spot where Jack had been, only to be surprised to see the veins of knowledge and memories had wrapped itself into what he thought looked like a cocoon.
Before Optimus could wrap his mind around what he was seeing the cocoon started to shift and change, different veins, both of Jack's mind and of the matrix melded and merged into different pieces until a being started to take form. The being's size began to grow as more veins began to merge with on after the other until it was easily twice their size. Then the veins started to morph into delicate metal of a protoform before becoming encased in cool grey armor covered with several different ancient cyber glyphs. Streams of data started to flow around the being, weaving together until they began to form what appeared to be wings that hung loosely around the being and finally the being was complete.
Optimus could only stare in awe the moment he recognized the being standing before them. The being had no face, its face and chestplates were engulfed in light but that is exactly what made the being so recognizable.
Standing before them was the mediator of the Primes, the Prime that had decided to reincarnate as the simple Cybertronian, Orion Pax, after the fall of Unicron eons ago.
"The Thirteenth Prime…"
A/N: MWHAHAHAHAHAA! *clears throat* well that was fun, a little shorter than I wanted it but oh well, hope you guys enjoyed that. Please tell me if something confused you or if you have a question. I'll try to update as soon as I can I promise I won't give up on this story like I have with many of my other fics.
Now then, thanks karrashi again for forcing me out of me writers block to get this new chapter up I hope you enjoyed it :D The lovely karrashi is also making a cover for the fic and I can't wait :D and she has awesome art on tumblr and DA I suggest you check her out ^_^
Oh yeah and guys if I ever get lazy again with writing you can totally bribe me with art or something, no I'm just kidding XD but it's nice for me to see fanart for my fic 8D anyway, please review and tell me what you think!
Also, I was trying to describe that image of Thirteen at the end, ugh its too beautiful for me to describe I wish I could put a link here but I can't. I'm pretty sure its the image of Thirteen from the Binder of Revelation.
Also a nice song to listen to while Thirteen manifests is: "The Catalyst" from the Mass Effect 3 score.