Darkness rising

Discovery Pt. 2

"Jack." Arcee said out aloud. 

Suddenly, with this revelation, everything started to make sense to her. Why they were never able to find Jack, how Darkstriker was so effectively fighting them off, the strange feeling of familiarity she felt when she had first seen him. 

Ratchet did inform them about the possibility of Darkstriker being human and she had believed the said human would be possibly a MECH soldier. But she never in her wildest dreams would have expected the person behind that mask. 

But he looked so different. Jack wasn't only taller and more muscular, but he also had some other defining features. Namely his left optic. Where once was a human eye, now resided what looked to be an optic. It was glowing in a combination of violet and red, with red being in the middle and violet covering it like an outer ring. 

Jack's eyes slightly widened as he heard Arcee calling his name. The optic that replaced his left eye was now glowing almost violet with just a dot of red in the middle. The furious glare on Jack's face was replaced by a more calmer look, as if he had recognised her. 

Arcee felt hopeful as she noticed all this. "Jack! Don't you remember me? I'm Arcee. We are partners." Arcee said. Her hope increased as Jack lowered his sword. 

"Arcee…" Jack said in a low voice. 

A smile formed on Arcee's face as she heard him say her name. "Yeah. It's me, partner." Arcee said. 

But then something happened. Jack's calm expression changed into an angry one as his optic turned completely red. "Arcee!" Jack growled as his sword glowed red as the red plasma covered the blade and Jack lunged at Arcee with an unimaginable speed. 

Arcee's optics widened and she quickly leapt away from the spot where she was standing moments ago, dodging the attack. 

"Jack what are you doing!? We are friends!" Arcee yelled out. She didn't want to hurt Jack. But if it was necessary, she'd have to defend herself. 

"Oh, I know who you are." Jack growled "You're Arcee. The second in command of team Prime. And my partner." Jack raised up his sword and got into a stance "Or should I say, ex-partner." 

Arcee felt like she had been stabbed in her spark as she heard those words. "What are you saying Jack? We are partners. You mean so much to me." Arcee said. 

Arcee's words just fueled Jack's rage even more. He lunged at Arcee again, ready to strike her down with his sword. Arcee brought out her blades and raised them up in an attempt to block the incoming attack as she sidestepped. Jack's plasma covered sword clashed against her blades. Although her blades managed to handle the impact, a small chip formed on the edge due to the sheer force behind the hit. Jack landed on the ground and did a barrel roll to handle his momentum. 

"Then where were you when I was captured by MECH!" Jack yelled at her, "Five months! For five months I was held a captive! I was beaten! Tortured! Broken in ways I can't even describe!" Jack screamed out in rage as he blindly charged at Arcee, delivering slash after slash. The Autobot femme staggered back with each hit she blocked. 

"For five months I thought the Autobots would rescue me. You will come for me." Jack said, sounding more hurt than angry this time. But then his eyes flared up again "Were you so busy fragging Tailgate that you couldn't even look for me!" Jack yelled out, his anger increasing as he charged at Arcee again. 

Jack's words did more harm to Arcee than his sword ever did. With each word, she felt like she was stabbed in her spark. "I'm sorry Jack..… I'm so sorry…" Arcee spoke out, her voice cracking as she felt herself on the verge of crying. 

Jack seemed to lower his guard again and his expression softened as he saw Arcee like that. But that immediately was replaced by coldness. "There is no point in saying sorry now, Arcee. Jackson Darby is dead. What is left behind is just me." 

As Jack finished his sentence, a new helmet formed around his head, similar to his previous one. He charged at Arcee again. The blue femme barely had any time to block the hit. The sheer force behind the attack made her stagger back. She managed to regain her balance and stay on her feet. She raised her arms up, using her blades to block any incoming attacks from Jack. Although she did manage to block most of them, some did hit her. 

Arcee was left panting, trying suck in as much air in her vents in order to cool down her systems. Several cuts were all over her body. They weren't deep enough to cause any serious damage but they did cause her to leak Energon. Her arms still raised in defence. Infront of her, Jack stood menacingly. She still couldn't believe her own partner was now fighting against her. "It must have been MECH. They must have done something to him. Jack would never hurt me otherwise." Arcee thought. But her thoughts were soon interrupted as she noticed Jack getting into a stance yet again. 

"Jack, stop. Please. I don't want to hurt you." Arcee pleaded. 

"Too bad, I can't say the same for you." Jack said and dashed towards her. 

Arcee quickly side stepped and staggered back to dodge the attack. "And besides, you have already hurt me beyond repair." Jack's cold voice rang through her audio receptors before Jack lunged at her again. Arcee this time swung her arm outwards, using her arm blade to not only block the incoming attack, but also throw Jack off her. He flew through the air, but before his body could hit the ground, Jack did a backflip, landing on his feet. He stabbed his sword into the ground as the momentum caused him to skid backwards. 

Arcee wanted to take full advantage of this moment by apprehending Jack and bringing him back to base. Maybe Ratchet could fix Jack, undoing anything MECH might have done to her partner. She had already lost him once, she wasn't going to lose him again. 

But before she could do anything, two energy bolts hit her, throwing her off her feet. Arcee pushed herself up, trying to get back on her feet, ignoring the pain. She looked at her side, and noticed her assaulter was none other than Airachnid. 

The Spider-bot went over to Jack as the techno organic warrior got back on his feet. "Darkstriker, are you okay?" Airachnid asked him. 

"Yeah. And it's about time we get out of here." Jack told her. 

"Then what are we waiting for?" Airachnid said transformed into her vehicle mode. 

"Let's get out of here,..... Partner." Jack said as he boarded her cockpit. 

Arcee felt her world getting crushed as she heard those words. She tried to reach for Jack with one hand as she saw her partner boarding Airachnid's cockpit. The rotors of her vehicle mode started to spin once Jack was inside and moments later, she was in the air gaining more and more distance between them and Arcee. 

"Jack…" Arcee coaxed out as the feeling of loss overwhelmed her spark.