COME WITH ME
⬵⤁
Warning: Physical Harm and Emotional Torture
⬵⤁
"Mirror mirror on the wall,
Says you'll catch me when I fall,"
⬵⤁
"Are you sure? You know June will scrap me if she knew you were skipping school again."
"I'm positive, Arcee," he said, the phone trembling in his hands. "I don't . . . I just don't feel safe."
The excuse worked, as he knew it would, the two-wheeler sighing on the other side of the line. "I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Thanks," he genuinely did not feel safe, so he did not exactly lie to his partner, but at the same time it was not solely because of that. Anxiety twisted in his gut as he recalled last night, and exhaustion clung to his eyes like wool. Every time he closed them he was thrust back into the Nemesis, trapped with a screaming medic begging for mercy.
He stood outside at the corner of the block, Jasper High School quiet as the students inside paid attention to their classes. Briefly he wondered if anyone noticed his absence, but that was unlikely. Maybe Miko and Raf, however they would not know until the third module and lunch respectively. Secretly he wondered if Sierra would ever think about it, however he crushed his own dreams. She hardly paid attention to him now, so his absence would be overlooked.
Arcee pulled up next to him exactly fifteen minutes later, taking a moment to scan their surroundings before she deactivated Sadie.
"Hey partner," she greeted, turning her wheel toward him. Her voice became concerned. "You look tired."
"Didn't sleep much last night," he decided not to lie about that part, or at least not try to make up a story. "I . . . I'm worried, y'know. About Ratchet."
"We all are," something was off about her inflection, and Jack wondered if she too had more to say than what she was letting on. Gripping her handlebars he gracefully slid on, putting on his helmet and letting her drive him toward the Autobot base.
"What happened to your cheek?"
"Huh-?" he could not help but touch the spot on his helmet, grimacing beneath the tinted visor. "Oh . . . scratched myself in my sleep, I think. I'm not quite sure what I did."
Arcee bought the excuse more than June did, the nurse having nearly sent him to the hospital. The mark probably could have used stitches, but at that point his blood had clotted and made it look worse than it felt. After washing it up a bit in the mirror Jack had practiced his lines in the mirror on what he would tell Miko and Raf. He knew the former would be more inclined to question him and not believe his story; however, all of that practice was for naught, as the mere idea of Megatron's ability to think nearly sent Jack into panic territory. He was half afraid the tyrant would show up in his science class.
Despite his worries the ride to base was uneventful, Jack barely registering the sound of the wind whipping past them and the feeling of the occasional pebble striking his leg, just wanting to get to base and hide - or at least feel a little bit safer.
"I suppose since you are no longer of use to them, you won't need this."
He cringed, subconsciously gripping Arcee's handlebars tighter. The visual and the sound - oh god the sound - was permanently seared into his brain. Jack debated telling Optimus and Arcee about what happened, but a part of him was reluctant. The last thing he needed was his partner to have a Level 10 meltdown and to have his mom do the same, and to couple that with telling Optimus . . . and Megatron's own threat.
"At least you are not amica endura to a Prime who does not care about you."
Jack took a deep breath. Optimus does care. Megatron is just twisting his words and lying. He's a Decepticon.
But to tell the Prime exactly what was happening to his friend . . . did he need to know the exact details? Or was that just another part of Megatron's twisted game?
The base loomed up before them all too soon, its familiar façade providing some reassurance to him. Arcee effortlessly drove in, the loud thrum of off-roading quieting as she slipped onto smooth pavement.
When they arrived, the area was swarmed with humans.
"What is going on?" Jack asked as he slid off of her saddle, the femme transforming carefully beside him. Easily fifty or so people were milling about like ants, all of them either wearing military uniforms or suits and ties. As he continued to look around the perimeter he noticed that most of the Autobot's equipment was missing, replaced by large metal boxes that Optimus was either loading into his trailer or placing next to the Groundbridge.
"We're moving," Arcee said, almost nonchalantly. "With Ratchet in Decepticon custody, it's only a matter of time before Megatron figures out where the base is."
Jack paused, the realization settling in his chest. That meant . . . "You're leaving Jasper? Nevada?"
"Not quite," she looked down at him, pausing. Mistrusting? "Agent Fowler is having us relocated to Area 51; it's his own base of operations, which makes it slightly more convenient for him."
"But Area 51? That . . . that's almost four hours away!" Jack did not want to be the whiny kid, but he could not help himself. "How are you guys going to protect us when you can't get to Jasper at a reasonable time?"
"Groundbridge, remember?" Arcee pointed her thumb towards the device. "And you can always call. Just in case."
His heart still faltered, torn from its place in his chest. Arcee made Jasper tolerable, as did the rest of the Autobots. With her gone . . . his life would be just as mundane as before. Well, as mundane as it could be now.
"Oh . . ." was all he could say, feeling pathetic. His gaze was torn from her as Agent Fowler approached. The Agent clearly had his feathers ruffled, the hustle and bustle of the military men most likely putting him on edge.
"We've got until twenty-hundred hours to get everything packed up and ready to go," he said, looking at Jack. "I'm sorry, son, but I can't let you remain here once everybody starts to move. I don't want you getting crushed underfoot or getting lost in their new establishment."
"What about Miko and Raf?" He asked. "Can't they say goodbye?"
"They will," Fowler assured him, frowning a little when he came to the realization. "Shouldn't you be in school? It's barely nine o'clock."
The young man felt his cheeks flush a little, silently hoping the man would not say anything to his mom. Optimus Prime also paused in his work, seeming to notice the human for the first time.
"Jack, why have you abstained from your education?" He asked.
Biting his lip, the boy took a deep breath. Telling the truth was an absolute no, but if his anxiety was so obvious, it was better to at least tell the half truth.
"Megatron . . . sent me a message."
"He did what?" Arcee did exactly what he thought she was going to do, her voice rising a few octaves. "When did this happen? How did this happen?"
"He sent me a message . . . over the phone," Jack flinched as she knelt down, fully expecting her to grip him by the shoulders and shake him for more answers. He caved a little as the scrutinizing gazes of Optimus and Fowler seemed to bore into him, wishing he had just stayed quiet. Instead, the words continued to tumble from his mouth. "It . . . it was a video of Ratchet."
Some of the soldiers had stopped to listen, but a look from Agent Fowler urged them to keep going. Jack glanced from one adult to the next, feeling the need to try his hardest to get the words back and stuff them down his throat. Optimus stirred first.
"What were the contents of the video?" He asked, taking a few steps closer and kneeling down to look at Jack. The boy swallowed; the last thing he wanted to do was tell Optimus what he had seen. The closeness of all three were beginning to feel as suffocating as Megatron's own invasion of personal space, and it only made this that much harder.
"M-Megatron was torturing him," he dropped his gaze, lying. "B-but everything was in Cybertronian. I couldn't understand it."
The Prime did not seem to believe it, but he allowed to let the lie go. Jack had already been through enough, and it would be cruel to force him to relive it. Optimus glanced at Arcee, his mouthplates twisting into a mix of worry and pain. Jack felt guilt clench his heart as the Prime's optics dilated ever so slightly, indicating the sorrow he harbored within.
He does care. Megatron is a liar.
"Has Megatron attempted to contact you in any other way?" Optimus asked.
The teen shook his head. "No. This is the first time." Though partially avoiding the question, he was grateful the answer was not another deception. The last thing he needed was to feel like the Decepticon who taunted him at night. His curious gaze glanced up at the Prime. "Has Megatron . . . sent other videos to you guys? Or messages?"
The moment Arcee, Optimus, and Fowler looked at one another he knew, the pit growing inside of him. A cold sweat settled across his arms and chest, his body shivering as he thought of what it possibly could have been. When all three eyes returned to him they knew better than to lie, Arcee taking a deep inward ventilation.
"He did. One." She shifted, becoming uncomfortable. "It was . . . it wasn't good."
Jack did not ask to see it, Optimus' body language telling him everything he needed to know. The Autobot leader's armor had flared in agitation, the contraction of his optics shrinking and forcing his pupil to become pinpoint. Optimus Prime never became this angry. Whatever it had been was awful, and it only drove the sickening feeling that had festered within the human deeper into his body.
"I . . . I'm sorry," he said pathetically.
"Do not feel the need to apologize, Jackson," Optimus rumbled, his expression relaxing. "Our war has gone on for much longer than your race has been around; Ratchet knows the risk, as do we all. For now we must focus on our own survival, and find a way to rescue our medic."
"Without your medical expertise, you are useless to them."
Jack felt the bile rise up in his throat, pushing it back down.
"Jack?" Arcee sensed his distress, putting one of her small servos against his back. Her thumb slipped across his shoulder, trying to be reassuring. "Are you okay?"
"You're pale, son," Agent Fowler gripped his other shoulder. "Let's get you laid down."
Without further argument Jack followed him up the stairs, saying nothing as he crashed on the couch. Soldiers milled about and stared, but he chose not to care, instead covering his eyes with an arm and taking deep breaths. Megatron's words played in his head, mocking and demeaning. He had not even lasted three days on the Nemesis, and Ratchet had been there for . . . a week? Two? The days were blurring together. Save for the video, he could barely imagine what Megatron was putting him through. Mental, physical, and even emotional torture, and for what?
To get back at Optimus. For everything.
What better way, he supposed bitterly. Tormenting Optimus Prime was not achievable at the moment, so Megatron went for the next best thing: his oldest friend.
An alarm blared from one of the two remaining monitors in the base, soldiers scrambling as the Autobots mobilized. Another relic had been found.
Jack sat up and saw Bulkhead, Arcee, and Optimus had assembled. 'Bee and the new guy were nowhere to be found.
"We cannot waste time," Optimus said, making note of their missing comrades. "If a relic's signal has come online, that can only mean one thing: the Decepticons have already unearthed the containing unit. Bumblebee and Smokescreen will join us the moment they return back to base. Autobots, roll out!"
There was little ceremony, no celebration, as the Prime led his two comrades out into the field. The Groundbridge spiraled closed behind them, leaving the base quiet and unassuming. Soldiers continued to work and pack, but now they had to focus on the smaller stuff, as their main source of heavy lifting was gone. Jack tried to ignore the sounds of rumbling, sitting up again with an annoyed huff when another ping went off on the monitors.
"Another relic signal?" Agent Fowler piqued his interest. "Where are Bumblebee and Smokescreen? They're needed!"
Swinging his legs over the side Jack hesitated, glancing at the monitor. There was indeed another signal, and it was practically on the other side of the world. What were the odds? One of them had to be a trick.
"Prime, do you read?" Fowler pressed the button to access Optimus' com, frowning when all he received was static. "Prime, come in! Do you read, soldier?"
Worry grew in Jack's mind. Why aren't they answering?
The issue grew as they glanced at the screen and watched as the Autobot's life signals were beginning to glitch out. Panic grew as he wondered what that meant, hoping it was just that - a glitch - and not the worst possible scenario.
"I could go . . . check it out," he said, unsure why he was volunteering himself. "Optimus has been keeping up with the Decepticons in terms of relic retrieval. What are the odds that they managed to uncover two at the same time? One of them has to be a dupe."
"And what if this signal isn't the dupe?" Fowler asked. "You could be walking straight back to the Decepticons."
Jack unintentionally flinched, disturbed by the accusatory tone. The Agent biting his tongue and considering an apology, but they were both interrupted by the thrum of engines. Two cars peeled into the base, the black and yellow Camaro transforming into the Autobot Bumblebee. Next to him was a racecar-like model with 38's screaming on its doors. When the vehicle transformed, the face of a rookie stared back at Agent Fowler and Jack, the Autbot's bright blue optics shining with a grin.
"Hey, hey! How's it been, Agent Fowler?" Smokescreen greeted the Agent. Jack assumed they had been in close contact, and he would not have been surprised if Fowler was the one that taught him how to drive. Though he could not believe Smokescreen got away with a conspicuous look. "And you must be one of the kiddos. I'm Smokescreen."
Jack looked at him, bewildered. "Uh . . . Jack," he said, the blue optics uncomfortably close. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too." Smokescreen hummed, glancing around as all the soldiers bustled about. "So, what's the situation?"
"Prime and the others went out to go investigate a signal," Fowler described. "But then a second one popped up, and there's no way to contact them. Now that you're here, I need somebody to see what's up with that second signal."
Bumblebee whirred something, his voice broken up by clicks and bleeps that communicated his worry. Smokescreen nodded.
"We'll go," he volunteered. "Just type in the coordinates for us."
Agent Fowler nodded, moving past Jack and toward the console in order to connect the coordinates to the mainframe and prep the Groundbridge. As soon as he was out of earshot, Smokescreen gave Jack a grin.
"Gonna join us? We could use some back-up, just in case," he said.
Jack started, shocked that Smokescreen would offer such a thing. The Autobots never just invited their human charges, especially not after the incident in the abandoned mine. He glanced at Bumblebee, the scout having already turned away and headed toward the Groundbridge.
"Uh . . . I shouldn't," he replied hesitantly. Agent Fowler was right, the risk of accidentally running into the Decepticons again was too great.
"Ah, come on! It'll be fun," Smokescreen offered him a servo. Jack looked at the extended appendage, then back up at the rookie, wrestling with the internal struggle.
Coward.
⬵⤁
" . . . I just pulled a Miko," he sighed as he stepped out of the Groundbridge, the portal closing behind them.
Bumblebee froze when he heard the human, spinning around and optics dilating as he realized Jack was with them. Though the human could not understand a thing it was obvious Bumblebee was angry, his frantic beeping and the glitches of his voice box conveying it clearly. Smokescreen just looked at him impassively, holding up a servo.
"Bumblebee, relax," he said nonchalantly. "What are the odds the Decepticons are actually . . . oh." He gazed past the scout, quickly running toward an outcropping of rock and ducking behind it. Bumblebee's wings lowered and he gave a dramatic, long sigh, then followed the rookie, Jack in tow.
The three of them glanced over the rock, greeted to the sight of several Vehicons and Insecticons milling about. They were carrying large boulders - large to Jack, anyways - away from a digging sight, dumping it off as they uncovered what appeared to be some kind of weapon.
"It looks like a sword," Jack whispered. His stomach twisted when his eyes landed on the head of the operation, feeling illness work its way up his throat. Megatron stood there, form as intimidating as ever, as he barked out orders to his inferiors. He gesticulated forcefully with his arm, Jack ducking his head and involuntarily flinched as the cold metal touched his cheek.
The medic screamed at a satisfying pitch as Megatron closed his fist over his own, crushing the sensitive wires and circuitry underneath.
That servo had destroyed, maimed, and killed. And it was about to grasp another weapon of mass destruction.
"Not just any sword," he could barely hear Smokescreen above him as blood pounded in his ears. "That's the Star Saber, forged by Solus Prime. It's said to wield the power of the Matrix." There was a pause as he smiled. "I'm gonna make Optimus proud."
Bumblebee gripped his arm, whirring and pointing out at the scene. Megatron was there, and he had no idea who Smokescreen thought he was, but he was suggesting suicide. They needed to lay low.
"No time to stop and think, Optimus isn't here, and he won't be," Smokescreen stood. "I'll be back, get ready to call that bridge."
With a leap Smokescreen jumped from their hiding place and bolted toward the Star Saber, Bumblebee ducking down and instead hiding. He chose to stay with Jack on the off chance they needed to make a quick getaway, more than aware that the human should not be seen by Megatron.
Jack searched for his phone, paling when he could not find it. With a start he realized it must have slipped from his pocket when he laid down on the couch, too far out of reach. "Scrap."
Bumblebee glanced up from their hiding place to see that Smokescreen had, unfortunately, been captured. Multiple Vehicons surrounded the rookie, their weapons drawn, while Megatron stalked towards him. He quickly ducked down again and contacted the base, frantically wishing Agent Fowler would pick up.
The Agent did. "Prime, is that you?"
Bumblebee whirred to him, trying to tell him as simply as possible what was going on.
"Kid, listen, I can't understand a word you say. Here, wait. One bleep for yes, two bleeps for no. Got it?"
Bumblebee whirred again in frustration, repeating what he said. They did not have time for games; at any moment, Smokescreen could be executed, they had this thing called the Star Saber, and they needed Optimus, Bulkhead, and Arcee to assist. They could not just sit here -
"'Bee!"
Jack's scream came almost too late, the Autobot turning and ducking just as an Insecticon made to punch him in the face. Instinctively he launched himself at the creature, slamming into it and causing the two of them to tumble.
His human companion quickly scrambled out of the way, glancing back to see Megatron had his cannon trained on Smokescreen's helm. The Autobot was going to die.
⬵⤁
Optimus Prime was beginning to piece things together. The relic signal was moving around erratically, and almost in a circle, shifting before they could even get a visual of it. At first, he thought it might have been a warp drive, but then when he attempted contact with Agent Fowler, he realized they were being blocked. It had to have been a Decepticon trick.
A Groundbridge opened behind them and the small form of Agent Fowler ran out, the Agent looking a bit winded despite the short distance.
"We've got a problem." He said. "Bumblebee and Smokescreen went to check out a relic, and the kid just called. Couldn't understand a word he said, but from what I could tell there's trouble. And I think Jack went with them."
"Jack left the base?!" Arcee ran past him into the Groundbridge, Bulkhead doing the same. Optimus followed Agent Fowler inside, the Agent signaling to one of his military personnel.
"Punch in the other coordinates, Private, and get these 'bots moving!" He barked. The human readily complied, frantically typing in coordinates and activating the Groundbridge remotely. "I think they found something, and it sounded like the 'cons were there with them. Move, Prime! Move!"
Optimus did not have to be told twice, transforming and driving through the bridge.
⬵⤁
Megatron's attention was drawn away from the prisoner, a new Autobot face, as shots rang out from past an outcropping of rock. The yellow scout, Bumblebee, was currently engaging two Insecticons that had discovered his hiding place.
Coward.
It was unlike the Autobot to hide, and Megatron paused as his intuition told him to keep looking. Finally, movement caught his attention: a small form, heading into the organic forest and away from the battle.
The human.
Megatron grinned, chuckling deep in his chassis. Not even 24 hours and he could not stay away; perhaps he was desperate to be captured again, guilty that he had left the first time. Or perhaps he really was just a fool. Either way, Megatron had plenty of time on his servos - the Star Saber was being lifted by the Nemesis, the scout was preoccupied with an Insecticon, and this Autobot was ripe for destruction.
"Execute our prisoner. I have other matters to attend to," he purred, transforming and taking flight towards where Jack and gone.
Optimus surged through the bridge, Arcee and Bulkhead immediately splitting as the Wrecker dealt with the Vehicons preparing to destroy Smokescreen. Arcee instead drove towards Bumblebee, almost certain her partner would be close by.
The Prime noticed that the Nemesis was carrying a large rock, shocked when he saw the hilt sticking out of it. Quickly reverting his course he began his ascent up the mountain, almost certain he knew exactly what it was the Decepticons were carrying.
Arcee transformed and leapt beside Bumblebee, using her momentum to knock away one of the Insecticons. The other she shot at with her twin blasters, moving to stand beside Bumblebee.
"Where is Jack?" She shouted above the noise of battle. The scout whirred his response, stating that he saw the human run into the woods to hide, away from the fight. The sound of an engine pulled her gaze toward the darkening forest, her optics shrinking as fear gripped her frame. She recognized the silver Cybertronian jet.
"No," transforming she took off in the same direction Megatron was heading, terrified for the life of her partner.
Jack panted heavily, putting as much distance between him and the battle as possible. He did not go terribly far - the dead sprint exhausted him. He ridiculed himself for several things, one of them being the fact he had decided to go on this excursion. He was safe at the base, away from the Decepticons. It had been stupid of him, and he wondered why he decided to disregard the consequences.
Because you're a coward otherwise.
Jack was so angry he missed the sound of pursuit behind him, only shaken out of his reverie when the sound of transformation interrupted him.
With a slam he was knocked off of his feet, thrown against the ground as the world shook around him. Turning onto his back he watched as the final pieces of Megatron's armor clicked into place, the warlord staring down at him with hungry red optics.
"So, we meet once more," his sharp denta glimmered in the increasing moonlight, his words harsh and abused.
Jack yelped as he scrambled to his feet to avoid the claws which reached for him. He spotted an outcropping of rock, ducking into a hole just big enough for him to slide into, hiding under a pile of massive boulders.
"Why do you run, Jack? Are you afraid?" Megatron mocked. He dug his digits into the rock, the earthen material crumbling under his impressive grip. "You run now just as you did before."
"Leave me alone!" He screamed in response, his back pressed against the farthest rock. The teen flinched as the rock was cast aside effortlessly, Megatron worming his digits into another hand-hold and throwing the next boulder aside as well. If he wanted, he could shrink down and join the human in his hiding spot, but Jack suspected the minimizing took energy - something the Decepticon would not want to waste in a place like this.
"Imagine his pain when I told him what you had done." Megatron continued to mock him, sneering. "And think of the torture he has endured since you left him, with no one to comfort him during his darkest hours. I would say you are no better than Prime."
Jack turned his face away as the last boulder was pushed aside. The Decepticon leader was knelt down on one knee, and even then he was taller than Arcee, perhaps even Bumblebee. His facial expression was twisted into a grin, his optics narrowed as he looked at him. Jack took in a sharp breath as a claw extended towards him, holding it in and squeezing his eyes shut. The metal touched his cheek again, and he flinched, expecting another cut. When it did not come he opened his eyes, gazing at the dangerous talons.
"What do you want from me?" He felt brave enough to ask at least that, starting to wonder why Megatron had yet to murder him.
"I thought it would be easy enough for your simple mind to grasp, human. You have made your decision. Why else would you be here?"
The question caught him off guard, realizing that Megatron knew him better than he thought.
Do I truly want to go back?
The first and most obvious answer was no, but it made him cringe and shudder heavily with guilt. Ratchet wouldn't have abandoned me.
If given a choice, would the medic have gone back, or left Jack at Megatron's mercy?
Jack reflected bitterly on himself. He wouldn't have left in the first place.
"My patience is wearing -"
Megatron stopped himself when the sound of a motorcycle broke his concentration. The two-wheeler raced towards them, raising her front wheel into a wheelie before accelerating herself off of the ground. Transforming, she spun in the air and deployed her blades, bringing them down with a cry on her mortal enemy.
The warlord was large, for sure, and he was certainly was not as fast as Arcee, but he was fast enough. Bringing his arm up he batted her with an angry yell, knocking her into a nearby tree. Standing to his full height the Decepticon turned away from his prize to instead focus on the pest, growling and clenching his fist.
"Arcee!" Jack cried, warning her to be careful. Her rescue brought relief, but his moment of reflection stayed with him. Could he turn his back on her and go back to Ratchet, to the Decepticons?
Standing, the femme focused on her partner, then on the demon which stood between them. Growling, she brought her arms back up into a defensive position, looking for a way to get under Megatron's guard.
Megatron snarled, deploying his blade. Killing the runt would more than likely traumatize her human, the focus of his current attentions, but if it got him what he wanted then so be it. The sight of his intimidating sword made her hesitate, yet when she saw her charge Arcee let out a war cry and surged forward.
She used her size to her advantage, which he expected. Careful to keep her in front of him Megatron ducked, twisted, and maneuvered to keep her away from Jack and in his line of sight. Arcee tried to get behind him, multiple times, but each small success resulted in the tyrant dragging her back and throwing her across the forest. She used the trees, too, as they bent and swayed under her weight, but that proved to be a mistake.
Gripping a large branch Arcee made to swing up and over the warlord's helm, gasping in shock as the tree came down with her. For a brief moment she was in a free fall, her back smashing into the ground and crumpling her winglets. The tree came after her, its trunk slamming into her gut and knocking wind from her. Megatron glanced at the clean cut his blade had made into the trunk with satisfaction, stalking over to the helpless runt with slow, calculated steps. Jack screamed her name, the femme gripping the tree and desperately urging it to move when a force collided with her helm, knocking her clean out.
Jack's heart hammered in his chest as he watched the tyrant pick up the tree effortlessly and throw it aside, his words twisting into his throat. The fear of what Megatron could do next forced him forward, crying out as Megatron used a single servo to pick the unconscious Arcee by her waist, holding her like a doll.
"Stop! Don't hurt her!" He begged, one of his feet catching on the ground and tripping him. The human allowed himself to fall, tears pricking in his eyes as he dropped to his knees pathetically in front of the tyrant, scraping his hands. He looked up at Megatron, fighting back tears as he pleaded with the Decepticon in desperation. "I'll go with you. I'll go back. Just please, please, don't hurt Arcee. Let her go."
On any other occasion Megatron would have scoffed at the insignificant pest and done away with him, but this made him hum with satisfaction. Humans were so vulnerable, weak, and it pleased him to see the pet whine and fall to its knees while it plead for its master's life. He took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them effortlessly.
"Is that what it took to convince you to return to the medic's side?" He sneered. "You were willing to let him rot unless it was at the expense of your partner?" He spat the word like it was an insult.
Jack bared his teeth angrily, feeling his nails dig into the palm of his hand once his fingers fully curled into a fist. "I would have regardless," he said, feeling pathetic when he realized he did not have a solid reason as to why. Admitting guilt would only give Megatron more leverage, and Jack wondered if he would have agreed had Arcee been successful anyways and rescued him; regardless, he did not want to give Megatron any more ammunition to make Ratchet feel worthless. He had already accomplished part of that goal.
"You are easily replaceable."
The dictator gazed at him with amused, mocking optics, the searing red seeming to stare straight into Jack's soul. "I am a Decepticon. You cannot lie to me."
Jack yelped when his bulk shifted and practically lunged towards him, hunching his shoulders and protecting his head as talons closed around him in a cage. He suppressed a scream as his stomach plummeted to his waist, plucked from the ground and lifted almost thirty feet into the air in the span of a few seconds. Opening his eyes he realized his view of the world as almost nonexistent, scrambling into a sitting position in an attempt to find some way to look around.
Megatron carried his prizes back into the clearing, merely smirking when three pairs of guns aimed in his direction. Optimus Prime stood in the distance with the relic he coveted: The Star Saber.
"If you wish to see your allies live, I suggest you lay down your weapons," he lifted Arcee for them to see, the femme dangling lifelessly from his palm. It did not take much of a processor for them to realize that Jack lay in his other servo, Megatron's non-dominant talons curled against his body. Optimus' optics widened with satisfying horror, then predictably narrowed as he refocused on the objective.
"Megatron, let them go," he demanded, gripping the hilt of the sword.
"Not until I acquire the relic I worked so hard to retrieve," Megatron answered, grinning as he brought Arcee closer to his body and used her as a shield against her own comrades. "Should you refuse, well, I can always just terminate the runt in front of her pet."
"Arcee, no!" Jack cried out her name, lunging forward and gripping on one of Megatron's talons. He tried to force it apart but to no avail, screaming his partner's name again in a desperate attempt to wake her up. There was no way Optimus would give up a powerful relic for her, even he knew that. What killed him was the knowledge that Arcee was not awake to make the call herself, forcing her leader to chose for her. No doubt she would have told Optimus to not give it up, but the Prime would know. He would see it in her optics: she did not want to die.
"Make your choice, Optimus," Megatron urged him, his claws slowly tightening around Arcee's body, further denting her armor. "The relic, or her life."
There was tense silence as Optimus Prime stood and weighed his options. Logic told him to refuse, to risk Arcee's termination at the expense of an Autobot victory. But even then Jack would be placed at even greater risk, a second life that was not worth losing over this war. And Ratchet . . . without him, their team could not afford a life-threatening injury again. The medic could work miracles, Optimus just ran on luck alone to save Bulkhead. And without him, they were down one Autobot . . . and he could not lose another.
His faceplate retracted back, exposing him and wordlessly announcing his decision. The Autobots powered down their weapons, Jack panting as he heard the Prime's footsteps approach. A part of him wanted to protest, but he could barely see Arcee's blue and pink armor between a slit in Megatron's digits. I can't lose her.
Megatron unceremoniously dropped Arcee's body to the ground, her limbs twisting in a sickening crash that earned him short but effective protest from the other Autobots. He merely waited, grinning triumphantly as Optimus turned the blade, and offered him the hilt.
"Give me the human, Megatron," he said coldly, extending his other servo. "He is not a part of this war."
"How interesting," Jack felt chills as Megatron remained speaking in English, which he realized was unusual; the lord of Decepticons wanted him to listen. "That is exactly what your medic told me when I threatened to hurt your pet. But tell me, Optimus, why is it you care for an insect more than your oldest friend? Surely you would want to negotiate his release?"
"I know you, Megatron," Optimus growled. "Even if I did ask for you to return Ratchet, you would refuse. Take the relic and return Jack to me, so we may part ways."
Megatron grasped the hilt, right over Optimus' servo, his vice-like grip preventing the Prime from pulling back. Optimus looked up at him, a fire in his optics and his denta grinding down, but he did not dare pull away.
"Even when he called for you, you did not answer," Megatron grinned at the effect his words had on the Prime. Rarely was the Autobot ever fazed, but Megatron was plucking a particularly sensitive neural cluster. "Rest assured, Prime, I will break him. His mind and body will crumble until there is nothing left but a former husk, and then I will build. He will become what he was destined to be: not a mere medic, but a scientist, a warrior, and everything else he desires. I will give him everything you so selfishly denied him; his spark will be enlightened, and then he will become a true Decepticon."
Optimus could not help himself, the rage in his spark too much to ignore. He lunged, fulling intending to carve out the mocking symbol on Megatron's chest. In the same motion his trapped servo was turned, a blinding spasm of pain cutting through his shoulder as the Star Saber, still activated, cleaved off its owner's arm.
The cry of agony and anguish which escaped him was unlike anything Jack had ever heard from the Prime, the human feeling sick in his stomach as Megatron bellowed in laughter. He could hear the familiar sound of wires sliced open from a blade, energon spilling onto the ground in gallons. The human shouted Optimus' name, as if that would garner a response, yelping as his prison closed in around him tightly and moved at nauseating speeds.
Megatron laughed as his sworn enemy fell to his knees on the ground. He relished the sight of Optimus' armless side, gripping the servo which still held the blade tightly as he leaped backward into the Groundbridge that awaited him, Soundwave a master at timing.
He landed on the Nemesis bridge with a terrible thud, standing to his full height. The energon from Optimus' destroyed arm streamed onto the floor beside him, the human grasped in his other servo.
Knock Out whistled from the corner in which he lurked. "Very elegant sword, my liege. Even larger than your own. But tell me, why not kill Prime?"
"I would be surprised if he did not perish from energon loss," he chuckled darkly, gazing at the macabre weapon and attachment in his servo. "Knock Out, I will be in need of your services. Preserve this arm, and I will see you when it is convenient."
He finally opened his servo, only slightly concerned about the fact that the human was unusually quiet. Jack laid curled up in his servo, holding his knees to his chest and trembling as his eyes gazed upon the dismembered portion of Optimus' body.
Pathetic.
"Drop the mountain on them!" He ordered the Vehicons on the bridge, not caring as they scrambled to follow his orders. Instead he turned away from the helm, not even bothering to watch the demise of the Autobots as he handed the arm to Knock Out. Almost instantly the relic became ridiculously heavy, but the Decepticon was strong and did not let on to any weakness. His claws curled back around his organic prize, stalking toward the door.
"Soundwave, with me," he ordered the quiet third in command. "We will secure this relic . . . and visit our guest."
Jack only whimpered pathetically as Megatron moved, terrified for his friends, and kicking himself for the predicament he put himself in.
You fool. Arcee almost died because of you.
Optimus Prime could die because of you.