Ravage's Return

Torn Between Factions

The praxian paused to make sure he had Jack's attention before continuing. "That apple can be picked, but will it change the fact that it came from that tree? No. They have a connection, but it's a faint one. It'll fade away eventually, just like when you get your final upgrades and find a sparkmate."

Jack smiled in amusement. "It's called a wife, Smokescreen. I'd marry a girl, and she'd be my wife." The young mech's smile faded. He'd hoped to perhaps marry Sierra one day.

"Hold on," Smokescreen responded with a grin, "I'm not finished."

Settling back against the berth, Jack nodded for the praxian to continue.

"Alright. So now your bond with Soundwave. Remember that the bond between yourself and Soundwave was already in place before you were given to June. It may have prevented you from forming a stronger bond with her." Smokescreen stated slowly, thinking over each word. "Unlike the faint bond of the apple and the tree, imagine you make yourself a glass of that yellow stuff. It's kinda sweet and sour?"

The guardsmech looked down at Jack expectantly, who gave a small laugh. "Lemonade?" He questioned, Smokescreen grinning. "Yeah. So imagine you make yourself a glass of lemonade. You put the lemon and water in it and the sugar. But then you decide you don't want the sugar in there. Can you separate it?"

Jack frowned deeply, shaking his helm slowly as he thought it over. "That'd be impossible." He responded, Smokescreen nodding quickly. "Exactly. See, the sugar is completely dissolved in the juice and water. There's no way you could ever separate them. Perhaps add more water to weaken it, but then you'll also be weakening both the taste of the sugar as well as the lemon. Understand?"

Nodding, Jack smiled widely. "I see what you're saying... That my bond to Soundwave can weaken, but it can't be broken?" He asked, the tricoloured praxian shrugging. "Creator-Creation bonds always exist. If the creation takes a bondmate then his bond to his creator will weaken so that he could love his sparkmate as he can. It'll always be there, just... Weaker."

Jack relaxed now, feeling so much better knowing that he did love his human mother, and that there wasn't some part of her that had despised her in any way as he'd feared. "You should be a prime, Smokescreen." The dark-coloured simbiote smiled.

Laughing, Smokescreen shook his helm. "I doubt that'd ever happen. Besides, I think we'd all like Optimus to hang around for quite a bit longer." The taller mech laughed a little in amusement. "Anyways. Try and recharge, ok? Loving Soundwave isn't a bad thing. Besides, you'll always be Jack."

His previously improved mood plummetted again, Jack grabbing onto Smokescreen to keep him from leaving. "One more question!" He pleaded, embarrassed with how he sounded like a child begging their parent to stay up past their bedtime.

Smokescreen smiled and sat back down. "Man I like being the teach. Shoot."

"I can hear Ravage. Like in my head." Jack blurted, shaking his helm. "I know it sounds silly, but I'm afraid he'll make me like him. I saw the memory purges. He just walked past dead s-sparklings! Like it was nothing! I've watched him kill mechs and femmes. I don't want to be that, but I can't be Jack anymore either." The youth stated, voice cracking as he tried to keep from crying.

"Hey. Hey, teach. It's alright." Smokescreen patted Jack's shoulder awkwardly, unsure of what to do now that his friend was upset.

"I don't want to be a killer, Smokescreen!" Jack cried, the praxian shushing him, not wanting to wake Bumblebee up. "Jack, listen to me. You are not Ravage. Just the fact that you've never heard of or from him until now proves that. You're Jack."