(A/N: Ravage's Return has 3 more chapters planned after this one, so I should be able to complete it soon. I thank everyone for all of the follows/votes/reviews and ask you to stick with it for three more chapters! <3 ya all.)
Jack lay in the room he'd been given, facing the wall to avoid looking at Bumblebee or Smokescreen, the other two mechs he had to share a room with.
The base was huge for humans, but for the autobots it was a little crammed, so they had to make due. Arcee, Ratchet and Optimus were the only ones that had assigned rooms solely for themselves. Bulkhead shared with Wheeljack whenever his friend showed up, and from what Jack was learning Ratchet tended to spend a good bit of time in Optimus'.
Jack vented a little, trying to keep from crying. He'd been raised thinking he was a normal boy, only to be thrown into a new world when first introduced to the autobots. That had all changed again with his reversion back to Ravage.
How was he going to stay here? With his friends? Without Soundwave?
Feeling down the bond, Jack found that each of the connections he shared with his siblings were muted. Good, they were sleeping. Frenzy shifted on the other side of the bond, Jack sending soothing pulses to keep his brother from waking up.
Jack waited for a bit before gathering the courage to nudge at Soundwave's side of the bond. It was unresponsive, and the young mech assumed his creator was recharging when he received a short pulse. Patience-love-patience.
Yes. Soundwave still planned on rescuing him.
But that was just the thing... Jack wasn't sure he wanted to be rescued. Why would he when he was amongst his friends? When Megatron would no doubt be waiting to obliterate him for his disobedience of the warlord's orders to kill Ratchet.
You should've killed him. Ravage hummed spitefully, Jack shutting his optics tiredly, curling up a little tighter beneath the cooling blanket.
"Can't sleep?"
Jack half rolled to look over his shoulder, blue optics shimmering faintly in the darkness over by Smokescreen's berth. "No." He responded in a whisper, not wanting to wake up Bumblebee.
There was the sound of shifting as Smokescreen got up, moving over to drop himself down on the edge of Jack's berth.
"What's going on, teach?" Smokescreen asked, a little smile touching his lips in the dim light from their optics. "Is it the berth? I told Ratch we needed better berths." The praxian joked, doorwings flicking slightly in jest.
Jack smiled faintly up at the other mech. "No... I just. Miss Soundwave." He hesitantly admitted, averting his optics from Smokescreen's, the young elite guardsmen frowning a little as he tilted his head. "What's wrong with that?" The tricoloured mech asked quietly.
Turning his helm to look back at Smokescreen, Jack frowned. "Because he's a decepticon. I-I worked with you guys. The decepticons were the bad guys! Now I find out I've been one of them the whole time! Find out that Ratchet killed me. That I almost killed Optimus."
Smokescreen nodded seriously. "He is your creator, Jack... You share a bond with him." He stated, the other shaking his helm. "So? I share a bond with my mom... But I don't miss her as much as I do Soundwave. Does that make me bad?" Jack asked, voice breaking.
"No, Jack, it doesn't make you bad." Smokescreen responded in a low whisper. "See, the bond you share with Soundwave is much different than a bond two humans share. Think of it this way," the larger mech thought for a moment how to best explain the bond. "For humans, think of an apple tree. The apple and the tree both share something in common, and they are connected by the stem of the apple."
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."
Shaking his head vigorously, Jack tried to fight the tears welling up. "He's changing me. I let him take over when we saw Airachnid that time... He was ready to kill her and I was going to let him." The youth admitted, shaking.
He felt better now that it was out in the open.
Smokescreen vented softly. "How you turn out depends entirely upon you, Jack." The praxian stated gently, placing a servo on the simbiote's shoulder. "Maybe you're wrong. Maybe you'll change him. You're his second chance, Jack. War ruins bots. Megatron didn't always used to be that bad. It was the war that changed him, and I'd bet everything I got that the same's with Ravage... You can make him feel again. Let him know what it feels like to love and trust."
Jack looked up at the larger mech with wide, tear-filled optics. "You think so?" He asked in a soft tone, Smokescreen nodding. "Thanks, Smokescreen." Jack murmured, sitting up to hug the larger mech as tightly as he could.
Hugging back, Smokescreen waited for Jack to pull away before standing. "Hey. Green for go."
A smile broke out on Jack's faceplates, warming the other mech's spark. "Yeah." The youth responded, cuddling under his thermal blankets while Smokescreen crept back over to his own berth to recharge.
Feeling recharge approach, Jack welcomed it. There was still the issue how he was supposed to stay with his friends and his creator... Perhaps he could try and figure that out tomorrow. For now, his spark was soothed and pulsed relaxingly in its chambers as the young mech lost himself to recharge.
Jack smiled faintly as he followed along behind Bumblebee and Arcee, the yellow scout recounting tales of before the war, when Cybertron had been in her Golden Ages. The stories of towering cities and cybertronians working side by side without a faction symbol between them were glorious.
Too bad he had no memory of those times. Or hope for ever seeing Cybertron like that. Not with this war going the way it did. By the end of it, Jack was certain all of his close friends and family would be offline.
No one would survive the war. At least not enough to rebuild and repopulate Cybertron.
"You alright, Jack?" Arcee questioned, the simbiote looking up at her and nodding with a small smile. "Yeah. I'm just thinking about something." The smaller cybertronian responded.
The tall femme offered another smile as she continued on behind Bumblebee, the scout still waving his servos animatedly as he continued a story Jack had long since been distracted from.
Jack vented as he padded along behind the taller two, stopping when he felt a flicker in his spark. The bond felt stronger... A lot stronger.
Frowning, the young mech looked around, tail flicking in nervousness. Was Soundwave nearby? Jack was certain he was, specifically when Ravage stirred in the back of his consciousness, waking from his slumber.
Looking ahead at the other two autobots, Jack considered warning them or not. Should he warn them that he suspected Soundwave was close? Or should he wait until Soundwave made an appearance? If he wasn't just being foolish, and his creator was back on the warship thousands of miles away with another few thousand up in the air.
Jack made a decision and opened his mouth to inform Arcee of his suspicions when a red and black minicon appeared, jumping down from a large boulder, slamming into the ground with enough force for it to shake, throwing both Arcee and Bumblebee backwards a few feet.
Glancing at his downed companions, Jack dug his claws into the earth beneath him to try and hold on until the tremors passed. "Rumble!" Jack shouted, armour rattling from the force of the shaking ground beneath him.
The red and black simbiote looked up with a grin, visor alight with mischief, Frenzy jumping out of the trees nearby. But it was Soundwave that attracted the attention of those present, the larger mech dropping down from the sky.
"Soundwave!" Arcee cried, the tall mech's visored helm swinging towards the two-wheeler before looking back down at Jack. "Ravage, functional?"
Stunned, Jack nodded a little and transformed, Frenzy hurrying over to help him back up.
Bumblebee attacked first, jumping towards Soundwave with a swift kick towards the decepticon's helm, Soundwave easily evading it, grabbing a hold of the scout's pede to toss him aside into the trees.
"Soundwave! Soundwave don't!" Jack pleaded as Arcee pounced at the lithe jet, Soundwave ducking under it, turning rapidly to grab a hold of the back of the autobot's helm, swinging the femme into the air.
Fearful for Arcee's safety, Jack watched her twist in the air to land in a nearby body of water, vanishing.
Cybertronians didn't need to breath, but that didn't stop Jack from fearing for the autobot's wellfare.
Bumblebee was trying his best to ward of Soundwave, the TIC advancing steadily, blocking and dodging every blow the younger mech could throw at him until he managed to get a hold of Bumblebee.
Soundwave pinned the young mech to the rock face, slim digits wrapped around the camero's neck cabling, the decepticon's hip pressed against Bumblebee to keep the smaller from kicking out, one servo captured in his free one.
The two were looking at each other before Soundwave let out a low rumble and began to squeeze, panic flashing through the baby-blue optics as Bumblebee recalled the horrors that had happened in a similar situation, when he'd lost his voicebox to Megatron.
Jack stared in disbelief before finding his senses, shaking Frenzy off. "No, Soundwave! Please Soundwave you have to let him go!" Jack pleaded in desperation, trying to wedge himself between the purple and yellow mechs, yellow optics wide with fear.
It must've been the pulse of terror passing through the bond that pulled Soundwave from his attack on Bumblebee, the visored helm turning to locate Jack before he pulled away.
Bumblebee made a pitiful noise, dropping to all fours as one servo felt for cabling of his neck, a couple of them sporting indents from Soundwave's digits.
Jack immediately dropped down beside Bumblebee, trying to make sure the scout was alright.
'I'm fine.' Bumblebee managed amidst the wheezing of his vents.
"C'mon, Rav... It's just an autobot." Rumble stated, unsure of himself.
"No he's not!" Jack responded hotly, the red and black simbiote drawing back a little at the anger in his brother's tone. "He's my friend."
"Ok, ok. Calm down." Frenzy butted in.
Biting back a retort of how he was 'calm' before they came along, Jack looked up at Soundwave.
Soundwave was watching Arcee climb out of the water nearby, obviously miffed.
"What're you gonna do, con? Finish us off or bring us back to your master?" Arcee demanded, Jack wincing a little when Megatron was brought up.
There was still the issue of his disobedience to the warlord. Whatever awaited him back on the Nemesis, Jack was sure it wasn't a nice welcome back.
"Autobot, defended Ravage from Airachnid. Soundwave, in debt." The tall TIC responded indifferently, Rumble and Frenzy transforming to further enforce the armour on Soundwave's lower legs. "Soundwave, spared life. Arcee and Soundwave, even."
Arcee scoffed, glaring at the decepticon. "Yet that didn't seem to stop you from trying to offline Bumblebee!" She responded, pointing at the yellow and black mech still attempting to get up.
That cold, visored gaze turned to regard Bumblebee and Jack silently for a moment before turning back to Arcee. "Scout, unharmed. Soundwave, came for simbiote."
Jack looked up now. He knew that Soundwave would end up coming for him, but had never truly thought that the decepticon would be willing to go against Megatron's orders... he doubted the warlord had hesitated to inform Soundwave that 'Ravage' was no longer welcome.
"Well you can't have him!" Arcee responded sharply, servos clenching into fists again as she readied herself.
"No! No, you guys have to stop this!" Jack didn't even realize he was moving until he was standing between Arcee and Soundwave, holding his servos up as if that would ward off their attack.
Tension buzzed in the air between Autobots and Decepticon, Jack breaking it in order to try and prevent the fight that was certain to erupt again at any moment. "Soundwave, I'll come with you. Just don't hurt them!"
Soundwave and Arcee were both silent, regarding each other as two stalking predators would.
"Please, Soundwave. They're still my friends." Jack pleaded once more.
"Soundwave, hears Ravage's request. Ravage, must follow." Soundwave ordered, opening a ground bridge back to the warship.
Jack looked up at Soundwave with sadness in his optics before he ran over to Arcee, hugging her legs as tightly as he could before pulling back to look up into her faceplates. "I'll come back to you." He whispered softly.
A klik passed, then Jack turned away and followed after Soundwave back through the groundbridge.
He didn't look back once.