A/N: Okay it's been a week enjoy the new chapter! This took FOREVER oh my god I just realized Jack and Arcee were captured back at the end of Chap 5 and technically they weren't rescued and brought back to base until Chap 11 THEY'VE BEEN CAPTURED FOR 7 CHAPTERS I AM SO SORRY (to Jack and Arcee)
Warning I've been told this chapter is heavier than the last one, pfft what could top Optimus and Megatron getting sliced up by the closing space bridge and Optimus getting put into stasis from Megs' fusion cannon exploding in his face? Anyway! Enjoy the new chapter, have fun!
As Jack and Stargazer walked in the darkness, Jack took note of all the devastation around them. The ground was cracked and memories and veins were exposed like damaged electrical wiring. It wasn't supposed to look like this and seeing everything in this state was a bit unnerving. There were supposed to be memories buzzing around everywhere, even if Jack couldn't see them. Now his mind felt like a ghost town.
Suddenly, a light caught Jack's attention. Looking up, he noticed off in the distance a field of lights flickered faintly. He could only assume it was what remained of the star field. In the center of the field, two beings stood side by side, waiting.
"Optimus?" Jack called out, recognizing the Prime as they got closer. Optimus perked at bit as his name was called and turned to look at Jack. Thirteen took a step aside to allow the two to speak while Stargazer remained by Jack's side. "Optimus you…You're alright."
"As promised," Optimus replied with a weak smile as he knelt down to be closer to Jack's eye level.
"But, you got hurt…by the explosion and the ground bridge." Jack added, looking over the Prime, there were no signs of his injuries, not even a speck of dust on the Prime's armor. "Your arm…The blast…There was so much energon…"
"I apologize that you had to see that, Jack…" Optimus sighed, watching him sympathetically.
Jack said nothing as he dropped his gaze from the Prime. He couldn't get the memory out of his head, no matter how much had faded to his mind. The moment the ground bridge closed and the explosion tore through Optimus, seeing him fall into a motionless husk on the ground, it was like the memory was seared permanently into his brain.
"Jack, I am alright. As you can see, my psyche was not damaged from the blast." Optimus began to explain, "Only my physical form was and I merely have gone into stasis lock."
"Stasis lock?" Jack asked the term was unfamiliar to him.
"Yes, it's a comatose state meant to activate when our systems have been severely damaged to allow us time to heal at a faster rate than when conscious." Optimus added before offering Jack a weak smile in reassurance, "I can assure you I will be alright and I have the best medic tending to me after all. I'm more worried about you."
"Well, the memories are gone again…" Jack sighed defeated, unsure what he did to deserve this but it wasn't like knowing would fix things.
"The hold on your memories was only temporary." Thirteen explained as he approached the group. "We are out of danger so now is the time that you recover them for good."
"How are you going to do that?" Jack asked curiously.
"I'll show you." Optimus and Thirteen spoke in union before Thirteen turned to Optimus.
"Remember to keep them safe." Thirteen reminded him before he suddenly began to separate into streams of data once more, dividing his form throughout Jack's mind.
Optimus simply nodded as he took a vow to that request. Then, Optimus offered Jack his hand and Jack stared at it for a moment before glancing down at Stargazer once more looking to Optimus. Taking a deep breath, Jack reached out to touch the Prime's hand. The moment their hands touched, Optimus' chest began to glow, along with the cyber glyphs decorating Jack's arm.
Memories of their lives began to spiral around them just as before. Jack unconsciously braced himself as memories of his life returned to him with as much force as the last time but as each returned he began to feel them bind to him, stronger than before.
Jack could hear a voice in his ear, a quiet gentle voice singing a steady melody before the voice was cut off by the sound of glass shattering. Looking around frantically, Jack could see a car, mangled and shredded from veering off the road and crashing in a ravine.
He flinched at the sound of sirens filling the air, followed by sounds of frantic panicked voices slowly fading into anger and grief.
"This is all your fault!"
Jack could hear his father's voice echo in his ear after it was announced that his elder brother had not survived the crash. His father's words started to echo over and over again and he was quickly overcome by guilt as he fell to his knees the memory became too much for him.
A hand rested gently on his shoulder and Jack was surprised to look up to see Optimus there, watching him. Optimus didn't say a word; he didn't know enough of what happened to have an input. Still, the Prime's presence and the hand on Jack's shoulder was all he needed to feel much more at ease. Another light touch got Jack's attention as he looked down at Stargazer. The sparkling offered the teen a weak smile, a silent gesture to show him he was there for him as well and Jack felt the burden ease a bit more and he let the memory go as more began to return to him.
As the memory faded another took its place as Optimus and Jack appeared in what Jack recognized as Cybertron's core. Optimus watched in awe as the core began to glow brightly and the memory returned to him. The light flickered briefly as a small object came out from the glowing mass that was Primus' life force.
Optimus reached out with his free servo and wrapped a hand around one of the handles of the object and he brought it up close for him to see. Jack could only stare in awe as he recognized the Matrix of Leadership. Optimus stared at the relic, confused to see was empty. He thought this was an old memory until he realized he and Jack needed to fill this Matrix with the knowledge within their minds.
Stargazer clutched Jack's hand gently, getting his attention before he raised his servo, guiding Jack's to wrap around the Matrix's handle. Jack felt a jolt go through his fingertips the moment he touched the Matrix. Stargazer gave Jack one more reassuring smile before the veins wrapped protective around Jack began to glow as he began to separate into data.
Jack could only watch as the data that had once been Stargazer began to merge with the Matrix. Another jolt went through Jack's hand as he felt energy transfer into him. Threads of data began to wrap around him, merging into him as his psyche was engulfed in light.
More memories flashed between through the Matrix as their minds began to meld together.
Jack's psyche began to change in size and shape within the light as their connection formed. Optimus watched in stunned silence at the metamorphosis but he kept his hand on Jack's shoulder to help him through the process.
Then, just as quickly as the light appeared it was gone.
As the light died down around them, Optimus was stunned to see Stargazer kneeling in Jack's place. Except the sparkling was bigger now, just a little smaller than Bumblebee he could no longer be considered a sparkling now. But where was Jack?
"Whoa…that was weird…" Stargazer said softly as he opened his eyes, and rubbed his temples, when he spoke his voice was undoubtedly Jack's.
"Jack?" Optimus asked, surprised to see the boy looking like one of his people.
"Huh?" Jack asked, curious by the confusion in Optimus' voice before he moved his hand down, perking when the reflection in Optimus' windshield caught his attention. "Stargazer?"
"No, Jack. It's you." Optimus replied, gently patting Jack's shoulder that was now layered with detailed and exquisite armor, much like that of an ancient Prime. "Stargazer created a bridge between us and the Matrix and it appears you took on his appearance."
Jack wasn't sure what to say, he was astonished. He always dreamed of what he would look like as a Cybertronian and now this he didn't have to anymore. This was him. It made him feel excited, confused, and for some reason a little lonely now that Stargazer wasn't at his side. Like he said before, he was a part of him now and Jack was forever grateful for that and for all Stargazer has done for him.
"Well, Miko is definitely going to be jealous." Jack replied it was the only thing he could really voice. Everything else just overwhelmed him.
A faint smile formed on Optimus' lips as the two lowered their gaze to look at the Matrix they were now holding.
"So, the Matrix is complete now?" Jack asked as his curious pale optics studied the ancient relic.
"I believe data is still transferring. Each half of the Matrix contains large quantities of knowledge." Optimus replied.
"When you were talking to Thirteen before…he said there were warnings that the Matrix was trying to send you but they got to me instead, right?" Jack asked, vaguely remembering the conversation between the two halves of the Prime.
"Yes, that is correct." Optimus replied.
"How do we see the message?" Jack asked, "Maybe it'll be easier to understand now."
"I'm not sur—" Optimus began to say before the Matrix began to glow in their hands.
Their vision darkened for a moment as memories of the first vision of Primus and Unicron's battle began to play out once more. The two watched the vision, observing it carefully for anything different to occur before they were unexpectedly surrounded by stars.
The two looked around, unsure where they were exactly. This wasn't the star field; they were in space, though neither was sure exactly where they were. Optimus did not recognize any of the star formation so this was neither Cybertronian space or earth space.
"What's that?" Jack asked and Optimus turned to see what he was looking at before he gasped softly.
Drifting slowly in front of them, Optimus' optics locked on a massive tomb and he recognized it instantly even though he had only been there once, "The Tomb of Solus Prime…"
"You mean the Prime the Forge is named after?" Jack asked, staring at the massive structure.
"Yes but why is they matrix showing us this...?" Optimus asked, not understanding what was going on.
Their vision zoomed towards the entrance of the tomb and they could both see someone entering. The bot wore very elegant silver and black armor, Jack was surprised and in awe of the detail put into it. A part of him wondered who crafted it when he noticed the bot seemed to hesitate for a moment before continuing inside.
Jack and Optimus quietly followed as the mech made his way to the center. Stopping in front of the casket, the mech lowered his head to pay his respects. Jack watched the mech curiously, noting his demeanor had changed as the mech stood there, quietly uttering something under his breath that could have been a Cybertronian prayer.
"Megatronus." A voice called from behind the silver and black mech and Optimus immediately tensed. "You've got some nerve meeting here. It better be important."
"What?" Optimus gasped, staring in complete shock both at the mech in front of the casket and the mech approaching them. "Nexus?"
"You know them?" Jack asked, puzzled by the emotions seeming to radiate off the Prime. Optimus said nothing and watched as Nexus walk towards Megatronus.
"Do not address me by that name" The Fallen sighed, straightening his posture, he turned to face Nexus." I have lost the honor of being called a Prime a very long time ago, Nexus."
"That's an understatement." Nexus scoffed, crossing his arms as he regarded his brother. Fallen seemed to perk a bit when he noticed Nexus was alone.
"Where are the others?" Fallen asked, his voice cool but controlled.
"Unavailable at the moment. Most have moved on. Others are in the wind or hiding in plain sight." Nexus explained as he studied the Fallen Prime. "A lot of time has passed, in case you've forgotten. Cybertron has risen and fallen in your absence and the creations from the Well have scattered throughout the stars."
"Enough, I get your point. Now let me get to the reason I am here. I sense trouble brewing at the edges of the galaxy. A darkness is rising, slowly but surely through the blood of Unicron. I must speak with Vector Prime to be able to confirm whether or not my fears are valid." Fallen explained, his voice remained calm but there was uncertainly in his voice.
Suddenly, the vision flickered a bit as if a movie were being fast forward and the vision changed to Nexus' views."...Very well." Nexus sighed, stepping forward as he summoned the blades of time for form a ring in front of his hands.
"What is he doing?" Optimus asked, alarmed as the blades of time began to activate with energy as it prepared to open the gate to Vector Prime's dimension.
"Why? What's wrong? What's going on?" Jack asked not understanding the Prime's confusion.
"Thank you..." Fallen sighed weakly moments before the vision flickered again, distorting the vision and once it cleared they could see Fallen started to take out his sword while Nexus' back was turned.
With no warning, Nexus and Fallen were surrounded by shadowy beings. A horde of them went straight for Nexus and overwhelmed him as they swarmed. Optimus studied the strange beings' designs and he was surprised to recognize them as Unicronian in nature. Nexus' cries echoed through the tomb as the strange creatures began tear him limb from limb. Jack immediately tried to run forward in an attempt to stop this atrocity from happening but the moment he got to Nexus he phased through him like a ghost.
Jack could only watch helplessly as the shadowy beings ripped Nexus into five separate pieces and Blades of Time fell to the floor beside him. Optimus watched with a similar look of horror as the five components of Nexus laid motionless on the ground, the brutal assault not letting up even for a moment even when they were separate.
Jack collapsed to his knees, surprising Optimus to see him clutching his head as he tried to drown out Nexus' screams as the vision began to flicker and fade.
"Jack?" Optimus called out to the teen as he knelt down, concerned for his wellbeing as Jack's breathing started to become heavy.
"I-I'm alright…" Jack gritted between his teeth as Optimus placed a gentle hand on his back to try to calm him.
Seeing Jack in this state surprised Optimus before he remembered he was not used to the brutalities of conflict and war. He certainly did not need to see Nexus be ripped into pieces, not that Optimus had wished to see it. "That's enough; you've dealt with enough as it is…"
"Wait, no I can handle this…you need this information…" Jack tried to argue, but his heavy breathing and shaking told Optimus otherwise. Optimus looked up and watched as the vision began to dissipate.
"It can wait; you've gone through enough, Jack." Optimus persisted, hoping it would get through to Jack as he looked over his new form. Jack may look Cybertronian now in his mind but he did not have the mental fortitude of a race waging an eternal war. He was only human. It wasn't something he was supposed to see and even Optimus was shaken by it. "Thank you, Jack you've been very strong."
The vision began to flicker more, as if the signal was no longer getting through as strongly. Optimus and Jack both looked up as a light caught their attention. A being of light stood beside Nexus and Jack noticed as Optimus audibly gasped to see this being. To Jack, she had a similar design to Arcee, sleek and smooth except her armor was silver and black and she had piercing gold eyes. Though, what surprised Jack the most of how this being looked like was the long flowing metallic hair flowing from her head, down to her back. It made her look more human.
"Solus…" Optimus said softly, recognizing the Maker and creator Prime.
Solus seemed to glance briefly at Optimus as if hearing him before raising her hands as they began to glow. Then, from behind her, the components of Nexus began to glow brightly along with the blades of time. Then, before they realized it they disappeared as Optimus heard the familiar sound of a warp field open and close.
"Where...did they go...?" Jack asked weakly.
Then, as if to answer his question Jack and Optimus became surrounded by the stars again. In front of them they could see each of Nexus' components warped to different parts to the cosmos. One appeared to be transported to a desert, another somewhere underground and another appeared in a field of asteroids that Optimus recognized as the debris field surrounding Cybertron.
"There's only three of them here...Where did the other two go?" Jack asked as it became harder and harder to see the vision.
A blue light appeared behind them and they turned to see earth behind them. It was a stunning view, seeing it from so high up in the atmosphere. Then, not too far from them they could see the last two components of Nexus drifting towards the earth. Optimus studied them, they had been heavily damaged by the attack but he managed to make out their faces.
"Clocker and Mainspring..." Optimus muttered softly under his breath; the two components of Nexus from the speed planet, Velocitron.
"Clocker..." Jack repeated the voice, he was unfamiliar with the name until a memory from Optimus began to show him how Fowler had called in that his people had located Clocker in a M.E.C.H facility, all while Jack and Arcee were enjoying their movie night right before the cons had learned of their location.
The series of events that eventually lead to the two of them being kidnapped and Jack being put under the patch that literally torn apart his mind. So much had happened in such a small amount of time, Jack couldn't even quite understand how he managed to survive all that.
Then, soon enough the vision started to fade around them just as Clocker and Mainspring began to fall through earth's atmosphere. Jack had the feeling they would fall somewhere near the Valley of Fire since that's where they found one of the Blades of Time. Then, Optimus and Jack were no longer surrounded by the earth, ancient Primes or shadowy creatures and everything faded back into darkness.
Slowly, the orbs of light that had once formed the star field of Jack's memories started to reignite one by one as they were left in silence.
"What...happened to the vision...? Where did it go…?" Jack asked as he managed to calm his breathing.
"It seems both our minds must remain stable as we watch the vision." Optimus replied, remembering that the vision began to collapse when Jack saw the components of Nexus ripped into pieces.
"So, it's my fault then..." Jack muttered, thinking briefly back to the image of Nexus getting ripped apart and the memory sent shivers down his spine.
"No, Jack. You did just fine. To be honest, I was also disturbed by the vision." Optimus replied, in all honesty, he had grown familiar with violence and gore from his time during the war but seeing Nexus, his own brother, mutilated like that sent shivers down his back. "Jack, our minds are still connecting so they are fragile at this point. We were not ready to see the vision in full."
"Alright…but what did all this mean?" Jack asked, confused above all else as he tried to get this thoughts together. "This vision..? We didn't see all of it…it was all broken up...What's going on?"
"I don't know. What I do know is that I must locate the missing components of Nexus somehow. From what we saw, the attack on Nexus by those beings accounts for some of the injuries Ratchet took note of, injuries that couldn't have been sustained while Clocker was captured by M.E.C.H." Optimus replied thoughtfully.
"Where are you supposed to find them? We didn't exactly get exact locations from the vision." Jack added before considering, "We just know there's another one on earth that crashed with Clocker."
"It's a start." Optimus replied, trying to sort out his thoughts from what they had seen. By the looks of things Nexus had an encounter with The Fallen sometime after parting ways with him but why would Nexus trust Fallen? Why would he even agree to meet with him? What were those creatures that attacked him? They simply didn't have enough from the vision to figure out what happened.
"Maybe we should try to see more of the vision..." Jack muttered, sensing Optimus' confusion and he figured he was trying to figure out the vision.
"No, that's enough. You've been through enough for one day." Optimus replied with a sigh, not wishing to cause Jack's mind more stress.
"So, what's our next move than?" Jack asked as Optimus helped him stand.
Optimus said nothing for a moment and appeared in deep thought. Jack decided to remain silent to allow the Prime to think as he looked over his new form.
It was strange, he was still him but now his psyche looked like a Cybertronian and Stargazer of all people. It made Jack feel closer to the little sparkling. Looking like Stargazer made him feel like he was still there with him.
Sighing a bit, Jack looked over his new form, looking at the cyber glyphs craved into the silver and black armor on his arm. It was only until then he realized something. His psyche reminded him of a little of Solus Prime, even if it mostly just because of the color.
"Optimus?" Jack asked, gently tapping the Prime's shoulder to get his attention. "Who was Solus Prime?"
"Solus?" Optimus asked.
"Yeah, you said that was her tomb in the vision and then she appeared to help Nexus, as a ghost or holoform? I don't know. I don't really understand what's going on really...Anyway, you looked surprised to see her." Jack explained, hoping for some answers from Optimus.
"I haven't seen her in a very long time, Jack. She was a fellow Prime, a sister and her loss was a tragic time for the original Thirteen Primes." Optimus replied with a deep sigh.
"...How did she die?" Jack asked before silence fell between them.
"It's a story for another time, Jack. Perhaps I will tell it to you when the time is right." Optimus replied a bit firmly after a moment, hoping for Jack to drop the subject.
"Alright...So, have you figured out what's next?" Jack asked, not wanting to slip back into that awkward silence.
"I recognized one of the components of Nexus, the one drifting above Cybertron. I have met him here on earth. When we met I had no idea what had happened to him…" Optimus muttered, though his voice trailed off a bit as if he were speaking to himself, at this rate he probably was. "Perhaps he became a clean state or he would have informed me of what occurred when we first met..."
"Earth to Optimus? What are you talking about?" Jack asked, trying to get the Prime's attention, noting he had been drifting into his own thoughts a lot now. If they were sharing this connection now he couldn't just leave him in the dark. "There's another part of Nexus here? How did he get here? Who he is? Is he on the team?" Jack felt like Miko asking twenty questions but he needed answers.
"No, Jack. He is not among Team Prime. His name is Chaindrive but he no longer goes by that name and is on another team stationed on earth. Team Sigma-17. It's...complicated." Optimus sighed softly, unsure how to explain it for Jack to understand.
"You never told us there were others on earth..." Jack replied letting it sink in there was a lot Optimus hasn't told him. "We have to work on our communication skills."
"I apologize, Jack. It never seemed necessary to mention it before. There are other Cybertronians and autobot teams on earth but most are civilians and are not experienced enough to join us on the front line...And it is another discussion for another time." Optimus replied patiently, his thoughts lingering to the other component of Nexus. Perhaps Jack will meet him someday in the near future. "I need to go back now, Jack to sort things out."
"Huh? What do you mean? Aren't you still hurt?" Jack asked a slight pang of fear went through him at the thought of Optimus leaving. Optimus picked up on Jack's discomfort and he immediately had the urge to reassure him.
"It's going to be alright, Jack. I need to wake up to get into contact with this component of Nexus and hopefully find the component who is still missing." Optimus explained, hoping it would help calm Jack, "As to my injuries we may not be aware of it, but time has passed around us, Jack. Outside of your mind my body has had time to heal."
"How long has it been?" Jack asked his eyes widen a bit, surprised by that, it hasn't felt like much time has passed, maybe a few hours at most but that definitely wasn't enough time for Optimus' injuries to heal.
"I am uncertain…" Optimus answered truthfully. "Do you feel ready to head back yet?"
Jack said nothing for a moment as he let the thought sit. He took a look around him and he could still see his memories and the matrix knowledge were intertwining and becoming one. Memories were coming back, some came easily and others not so much but after seeing that vision he just felt really overwhelmed.
Was he really ready to wake up just yet?
"Are you alright, Jack?" Optimus asked when the silence dragged on for a bit too long. It suddenly struck Optimus that he hadn't asked that question to Jack yet. With so much data flowing back everything it was a bit overwhelming for both of them and after what they just saw he should have realized Jack was still trying to process it all.
"I'm…not sure…" Jack replied honestly as he unconsciously clenched his servos and his optics flickered away from Optimus when he could keep eye contact.
"If you would like to stay you are free to. It is alright if you still need more time." Optimus replied, his words taking off a heavy burden off of Jack's chest. "You may return when you are ready, your mind still needs to heal."
"That might take a while I still have a lot left to remember but Optimus…" Jack sighed before his voice took on a more serious tone. "What we saw…It doesn't feel right…"
"What do you mean?" Optimus asked curious about Jack's input on the matter.
"It feels like we didn't see the whole story…Things got cut off…" Jack explained as he tried to get his thoughts together from what he remembered of the vision. "I could feel it, you were confused to see Nexus trust the Fallen so easily but…it just feels like we're not seeing everything…like Fallen disappeared after Nexus got attacked and the way he spoke to him before he got attacked. He sounded really concerned by whatever threat is coming. What if he was attacked by those shadow monster things like Nexus?"
"That's not possible Jack, Fallen has stronger ties to Unicron than any of the other Primes. It had to be a trap that Fallen had Nexus fall into." Optimus replied, sounding completely sure of himself.
"How can you be so sure? You saw that the vision kept flickering. We don't know anything that happened." Jack tried to counter.
"Jack, you don't know what Fallen has done or why he disowned his own name." Optimus replied, though Jack was surprised to hear emotion behind Optimus' voice. He could sense the pain and sadness radiating off each of his words.
"You might know but I don't. I can feel something is off and I'm going to keep looking into it even if you can't believe it." Jack said firmly.
Part of him had the feeling Optimus had some sort of bias towards whoever this Fallen was and was unconsciously letting it cloud his judgment and by look on his face Jack knew that Optimus knew he was right. "I just want to see if I can figure out what we missed. Thirteen said something about me not being able to understand the visions since I had a human mind. I definitely don't look like I have a human mind anymore." Jack added as he gestured to his Cybertronian form again.
"I...understand Jack and you may be right." Optimus replied, sighing a bit, realizing that it was a good thing to have someone with a different perspective before adding, "But please be careful if you decide to look into this vision further if I am not present. As you saw the history of the Primes is a gruesome one. What we saw only adds to that history."
"Right, so you guys don't have any history where you're not ripping each other apart?" Jack asked, a bit sarcastically, thought part of him wanted to know if they ever had any peaceful moments where they weren't off defeating the universe's ultimate evil.
What was a normal day for a demi god Prime? What did they do when they weren't at war? What were they like during times of peace and the fate of the universe wasn't resting in their hands?
Suddenly, their vision flickered briefly as an image of Solus and Fallen appeared before them. Standing side by side, the two Primes stood with their hands intertwined with the other and a smile on their faces as they watched Cybertron's first sunrise at war's end as Optimus recalled. Back when Unicron had been defeated.
Then, as quickly as the vision had appeared, it was gone. Jack and Optimus stood there in silence before Jack just looked up at him with widen optics.
"What was that?" Jack asked surprised to see Solus and Fallen. Like that. Looking at each other like that. Holding hands. Together. Watching a sunset. "Was that—?"
"A story for another time." Optimus said quickly before rubbing his temple as he sighed wearily.
"Aw, come on. What was that? You're not even going to tell me anything after we saw that? It's convenient that happened right when I asked if there was any history besides violence and war." Jack complained, wanting to know more. For some reason or another, relationships between giant alien war bots perked his interested.
"From what you saw, it appeared that Solus and Fallen's story was without violence. I'm sad to say that is not how their story ended." Optimus sighed softly, thinking back to Solus' tomb and Jack was quiet for a moment.
"Alright, then at least explain to me what we just saw, just out of curiosity since you're going to be leaving me here on my own." Jack added, hoping to at least learn something. Optimus figured he might as well say something. Jack would find out sooner or later whether it was from him or from his access to his memories.
"It was…Back when the original Thirteen Primes first started to experience true emotion. We were created for the sole person to defeat Unicron. It wasn't until after peace was gained and Primus withdrew into Cybertron's core that the thirteen of us began to…transform…so to speak. Our personalities evolving to becoming our own and our emotions began to surface…" Optimus replied, hoping Jack would understand.
"Like love?" Jack asked thinking about the way Solus and Fallen had looked at each other.
"Yes. Like love." Optimus replied with a weak smile.
Jack just nodded slowly as he let that sink in. A part of him realized that Optimus or any Cybertronians probably wouldn't have existed had Primus not had the need to create them. They were created from chaos only to continue down that path millenniums later.
"I'm sorry." Jack said once he found his voice, confusing Optimus.
"For what Jack?" Optimus asked.
"For prying." Jack explained as he sighed softly. "I can sense it made you feel uncomfortable for thinking back to that time but I kept pushing anyway."
"It's fine, Jack. We are sharing minds now so we shall have access to each other's memories." Optimus replied as he rested a servo on Jack's shoulder. "We will both come across memories the other wishes not to share or relive. We will merely have to adjust." Optimus added, remembering the memory he had seen of Jack when his brother had died.
"Right...Sounds like a plan." Jack said with a sigh as he tried to offer Optimus a reassuring smile.
"And Jack, before I go I have something to say." Optimus added.
"What is it?" Jack asked, tilting his helm curiously.
"I'm sorry for keeping so much hidden from you and the others." Optimus sighed a bit.
"It's fine, Optimus. I'm sure you had your reasons." Jack replied, trying to rationalize Optimus' decision but Optimus rose a hand to stop him.
"No, Jack. It was unfair of me. Had I not kept back so much we may have never needed to be in this situation in the first place." Optimus replied, "Perhaps if I warned you and the team that using the matrix would have resulted in my memory loss everyone would have been more prepared when we were in the core and I wouldn't have gone with Megatron."
"Well, when you put it that way I see your point, still..." Jack replied before shrugging a bit. "Look on the bright side. If you hadn't been kidnapped we wouldn't have gotten the Iacon Data base. There has to be some sort of reason we're finding all these relics on earth and only earth."
Optimus' optics widen a bit, he never considered that before with everything that was going on. "Yes, perhaps you're right...Still, that data wouldn't have been worth the pain I have put you through. I am truly sorry and I will do whatever it takes to fix this."
"It's alright and besides you don't know that yet. For all you know those relics will lead you to something that will help you and the bots in the long run." Jack added, "For all you know, one of the relics sent could help you restore Cybertron."
Optimus couldn't help but smile at that, "Here's to hoping. Now, I must go. I think I've been here too long. Get some rest, you've earned it."
"Alright…Tell Jaden and Arcee I'm alright. I know they're probably worried out of their minds for me." Jack added, remembering he didn't have much time with the two after he awoke from the patch and even less time with his family when he got back.
"Of course, Jack." Optimus replied and with that the Prime withdrew from Jack's mind.
Jack sighed softly once he felt Optimus' presence leave. Well, it wasn't so much as leave; now that their minds were linked he didn't feel alone. Optimus' presence merely dissipated a bit. Jack felt a wave of discomfort prod at him and he could only assume the emotion belonged to Optimus while he was waking up. Waking up from the injuries he had would definitely not be pleasant.
This bond would take some getting used to but he'd have to worry about that later.
Thinking of Optimus made Jack remember the extent of the Prime's injuries. The rate at which bots regenerated was astonishing but it also reminded Jack how slow it took for humans to heal. Jack remembered that after the space bridge incident it took a month for his bruised ribs to fully heal. After all he went through he knew he must have cracked a few ribs. He wasn't looking forward to that when he woke up.
Still, it wasn't like he was waking up any time soon, he had work to do. He had to find out the truth of the vision. He needed to find out more about The Fallen, Solus Prime and Nexus' components; Chaindrive, Clocker and Mainspring.
There was too much information to sift through between the knowledge of the matrix and his own memories, he would need help. "What do you say, Stargazer? Think you can help me out with this?" Jack asked aloud as a light shined behind him and Jack turned to look down at the sparkling.
"Where do we start?" Stargazer asked, looking up at him before perking at his new look and Jack couldn't help but grin.
"You look like me!" The sparkling exclaimed.
"Well, we did kinda fuse together." Jack replied, still grinning. He was thrilled that he just needed to think about Stargazer to get him to manifest. He was data from his mind and the matrix after all. They were also a part of each other now so it felt right that Star was here to help him find the truth.
"Let's start at the beginning."
A/N: Yeah, I'm sorry with pulling at your heartstrings but I can't get rid of Stargazer I just love him so much, he originally had another purpose in the story so I spent A LOT of time on his character before I decided to scrap the idea. It just didn't work for the story. Anyway Stargazer is my child. If you're wondering how he's back, him and Jack are pretty much a fusion (Steven Universe) that's the best way I can explain it :'D
Okay! So I don't know when I'll work on the next Chap, I have a lot of notes for it but I have a lot of school work and reading to do, ugh college, so I'll see when I have the energy to work, I am also in Strange Magic hell, coming up with headcanons for that so there's that consuming my mind.
So, the next chapter Optimus is going to wake up, what fun 8D I wonder how long he's been in stasis, well you'll see next chapter XD
Anyway, did anyone recognize the name of the team Chaindrive (Nexus part) is stationed at? Hint it's linked to the colors of the bots I mentioned before. *muffled theme music playing in the background*