Chapter 11: Vision-land

When Jack woke up he was still in back of Ratchet's vehicle mode. His mother was sitting next to him, nodding off. Jack could feel that they were still on the road to Grand Canyon. Well, they were at least still moving. He had no idea for how long he slept, or why he was awake now anyway. He hadn't been dreaming and he still felt tired. So he ought to be able to sleep for longer. He lay still and tried to listen, until he understood, what it was that had awoken him. The buzzing in his head had slowly gotten louder again. He couldn't help but let out a frustrated groan, which of course immediately woke up his mother.

"Jack, what is it? Are you in pain? Or maybe you're nauseous again? How's your temperature?"

Jack couldn't help but blink owlishly up at his mother. She had always been slightly worried the few times he got sick, but as a nurse she had tended to take it in a stride. This rampage of questions without waiting for an answer, while she checked his forehead for fever and afterwards wrung her hands, showed him how much this weird alien situation distraught her. He worried for her and tried to put up a brave front.

"it's okay mom, it's nothing bad".

She gave him 'the look' again, and he gulped a little. "Jackson Darby, you always was and always will be a terrible liar".

At that moment Ratchet rumbled from the radio speakers: "How's he doing back there?"

June smiled a little teasingly: "Terrible as always, I think he need acting training if he keeps lying so poorly to me…" Silent met them for a moment, before Ratchet 'ahem'-ed and tried again: "I meant his health, his situation – not his acting skills or lack thereof".

June sighed "I know, Ratchet, I was trying to joke. It is something some of us humans tend to do, to lighten the situation, when it is too dire for us to handle". Silence "I see".

June eyed her son again, who sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck again. Really big give away and really bad habit, she thought. "Now Jack, why don't you tell me, how you really feel?"

Jack sighed. He knew he could never win a battle against his mother: "My neck is getting pretty stiff again, and the buzzing and screeching is coming back with revenge again… oh yeah, and the key to Vector Sigma is pulsating again too".

June looked worried again. From up front Ratchet's voice rung out. "From previous episodes, I think it would be safe to deduce that each time this happens, you either get a message from Alpha Trion or you receive a new mark – perhaps both. Ms Darby, perhaps you should make sure Jack is comfortable back there. Maybe partly restrained so he doesn't hurt his leg and have a cold wet cloth ready, since he usually develops a fever, if it is a longer 'seizure' than most".

Jack looked terrified at the idea of being restrained, and June tried to sooth him, telling him it was only temporary and it would be only be his legs. She readied a basin with cold water and tossed a new cloth in it. Jack rubbed his temples.

"How far are we from Grand Canyon? Because if I'm about to have a so called 'seizure' at any moment, you know the marks will give of energon signatures, and then we might have decepticons on our tail"

"The ride takes approximately 5 maybe 5 and half hours, so we have about an hour left. You didn't sleep that long".

"Is that far enough out, so if we do have decepticon visit, they won't know we are headed for the Canyon?" June wrung her hands again – so unlike her.

"I hope so".

Jack reached up and yanked the key from off his neck and held it in his hand. "Scrap, this is getting hot!"

"Jack, your language please…" Jack looked at his mom. "really? Now isn't really the time to reprimand me, mom".

Just then Jack gasped out loud, and dropped the key down to his lap. He clutched his right hand and mumbled cypertronian curse-words. He bended forward over his hands while continuing the cursing. June spotted the mark on his neck was glowing again. She took the wet cloth, wrung it, and placed over the mark on his neck. A small relieved sigh came from her son, but he continued to rock slightly back and forth while clutching his hands. Both marks glowed there too… both marks? He had received another mark in his other hand. June took two more cloths and dropped them in the basin with water. Then she took them one at a time, wrung them too, and took hold of Jack's hands. She tied the cloths around his hands as a form of bandages. Once again Jack sighed relieved. She took the one from his neck and wrung up again with more cold water, before placing it back there.

"That hits the spot, mom. It was too hot".

"I figured… Ratchet, we have a new mark to study, when the time allows it."

Jack gasped again, and then he let out a painful moan. His eyes turned white. June gasped terrified "No! Not again".

Jack was in the white limbo again, he could hear that weird heartbeat pulsating loudly. But there was no voice behind it this time. Through the white Jack could suddenly see something. As it got closer – or he floated closer – it looked like the Grand Canyon from above. Huh. Did the key or whatever know they were heading there? He suddenly felt nauseous as it quickly nosedived down the gorge of the Canyon and zoomed quickly through the landscape. It was hardtop tell exactly where he was anymore other than somewhere in the bottom of the Canyon. All of a sudden it stopped in front of part of the Canyon wall. There in the wall was the symbol he just acquired in the palm of his right hand. It glowed too. Perhaps he was meant to go there… wherever there was. The heartbeat got loader, but behind it Jack could hear the voice again. "You must load the map, the message!"

Load? But he wasn't an autobot or even cybertronian. He couldn't load anything. Was this a doomed quest from the beginning? The heartbeat got so loud that Jack couldn't take it no more. He wanted to pass out like last time. It was giving him a headache and made him nauseous again. Then everything was just white again, and through the loud noise of the heartbeat he could hear someone retching. Then he heard his mom's voice sounding soothing. Jack realized that it was probably himself retching, but he couldn't feel it or relate to what he was doing. Finally it started to get black around the etches of his vision, and he embraced it gladly, disappearing down into the darkness and oblivion.

While Jack was in vision-land, Ms Darby had found another basin and held at the ready. She must have noticed Jack's pale and slightly greenish color. She rubbed soothing circles on his back, while she mumbled soothing words to him too. Ratchet followed the proceedings curiously. He didn't know much about healing and care of the human body, but this ritual seemed like normal behavior for June and Jack, and he wondered what sort of healing the rubbing and mumbling did any good for. He came out of his musings, when he heard the boy throw up and could smell the ugly stench in the car. Then it seemed like the kid passed out, and June sank tiredly back in her seat. She rubbed her forehead and looked sad at her son. Then she took his hand in her own and gently drew circles with her thump on the back of his hand. Ratchet made a short stop.

"If we could please get rid of the ugly stench in here by throwing out his…"

"oh… oh! Yes of course, Ratchet. Might be best for Jack too in case he wakes up again before we arrive. We wouldn't want to make him even sicker".

"Preferably not".

June sighed tiredly again, and when she got up from her seat she looked 10 years older. Ratchet felt an odd twitch of compassion for her and the need to reassure her: "Ms. Darby, whatever is going on, we will figure this out and help Jack the best way we possibly can."

She smiled towards the dashboard, still looking tired and sad, but had a glimpse of hope now too. "I know, I just wonder – why it has to be my boy. Why it always has to be my boy. He is all I have left, you know. I couldn't bear to lose him, especially not like this. But I know you and the autobots will take care of him. You always do... Especially Optimus. He will not stand for this. And neither will I".

And with that she left the vehicle. Ratchet radioed Bumblebee and Smokescreen to have a 5 minutes brake, so the humans could get some fresh air.

PRIME◊PRIME◊PRIME◊PRIME◊PRIME◊

Meanwhile aboard the Nemesis Knock Out had been monitoring for energon spikes after Soundwave asked for Megaton presence in the brig. It was probably the stupid Airachnid that couldn't follow command as usual. Why they even bothered with her, he never understood. She was creepy too. And she loved too much to destroy other cypertronians paintjob. As long as she stayed far away from him, he supposed he could deal with her being on the same ship. The bleeping noises from the scanners brought Knock Out back to the here and now. They showed a moving energon signature. It could only be the boy. Just as he was about to comlink Megatron he walked in through the doors.

"Lord Megatron, I was just about to contact you. I have spotted a moving energon signature. It has to be the boy".

"Good, can you tell where they are headed?"

"Well according to this, they are in the middle of nowhere at the moment, but the way they are headed, I would say somewhere in the Grand Canyon, my Lord".

"Arh of course, but it is quite a wide place to search. Keep an eye on them and hope the signature doesn't disappear again".

"We do not engage, my Lord Megatron?"

"No, not necessary. I would rather have the option of finding one of their bases. Besides we have the boy's partner, so either way we will have him within our grasp shortly".

"Yes, my Lord Megatron".

PRIME◊PRIME◊PRIME◊PRIME◊PRIME◊

Arcee could feel the energon flow from her wounds. Before Megatron came to get Airachnid she had managed to make a similar wound to her kneecap. She was getting tired, knew she was losing too much of her energon. But even in her pain, her despair was that she had become a liability. She feared Jack would give himself up for her. Since he was so much like Optimus, she was sure he would too… And afterall that was what partners did for one another. Had it been reversed Arcee wouldn't hesitate to give herself up for Jack.

She hadn't seen Airachnid in a while, not that she wanted too, but she was beginning to wonder what happened to all her promises about excruciating torture. She had probably messed up. She hoped Jack was alright. That comment Airachnid had made about feelings… She didn't understand, what Jack and she had. Arcee didn't love him, not like the stupid con had insinuated, but they had a special bond. Sure they were partners, friends even, but they were also family. Jack had mentioned it a couple of times, but it wasn't until recently she understood what he ment. She sort of felt like something in between an older sparkling or sibling, as humans call them, and a mother – often too worried and too protective of him. Partners, friends and family all mixed together. And while she had claimed to feel the same way about her former partners, these feelings had never been so strong or so true, as they were with Jack. And seeing him struggle like this on his own, and no one knew how to help him… That was the worst. Sure she had been scared and worried for him plenty of times since they met; their trip in the forest, where they met Airachnid. But Jack had proved resourceful and blown up both her and the ship… Not that she would die from that, unfortunately. Or when they had been stuck in a cave along with both Megatron and Starscream. Again he had dealt with things admirably, and had shown how much he and Optimus were alike. On that note she also remembered their trip to cypertron, to save Prime and where this whole mess had begun without their knowing.

But this, this was different and a whole new undiscovered territory. No one seemed to know what was going on, what it would do to Jack, how to help him and alleviate his pain. And yet, to stop it from happening seemed wrong to with the prospect of ending the war, of saving Earth and Cypertron, restore their ability to procreate, bring life to cypertronians again… To hear the whispers of their maker. But what would happen to Jack then. Would he remain the same, would he come out of this unscathed or would they lose him forever in more ways than one? Arcee wasn't just scared, she was terrified, almost petrified as the dark thoughts kept invading her.

Arcee had lost too much energon now, and the darkness slowly crept up on her. If no one saved her or patched her up soon, she would become one with the Allspark, and Jack would face his trials without his partner, friend and family. Oh well, the sometimes obnoxious June Darby was probably with him, but still.

"Come on, Optimus: time for one of your miraculous and heroic rescues" she mumbled to herself, as she lost consciousness.