Chapter 32

"Bulkhead, bring him to the medical bay!"

Ratchet quickly ushered Bulkhead in with the Autobots following close behind. The green wrecker gently placed his friend down onto the berth with care.

"Running diagnostics now" Ratchet said, typing in some commands on a little monitor.

"Oh my god! What happened to Wheeljack?" Miko asked.

"QUIET" Ratchet yelled. He was panicking at this point and knew he had to move quick. Every minute counted.

"Systems offline, low energon readings, life signal diminishing. Help me get him on life support!"

Bulkhead and Ratchet started to hook up chords and tubes to Wheeljack. A nozzle like tube was placed on his mouth, not that Cybertronians needed air but it was to keep him from seizing if he does.

Ratchet's diagnostic blinked green when it was done and the doctor rapidly went over to the monitor.

He sighed in relief when he saw the readings. "Wheeljack has not yet left us, however he is in level three stasis."

"Level three?" Raf asked.

"Yes, stasis can be determined by three levels. Level one is the least harmful and can be controlled. It's what I use when I treat patients. Level two is forced stasis and the condition will eventually wear off. Level three is when the body shuts down on its own, similar to a human coma but for Cybertronians." Ratchet explained.

"Is he going to be alright?" Bulkhead asked, interrupting the doctor's rant.

"I'm sorry Bulkhead but it is too early to tell." Ratchet said, looking closely at his diagnostic. "It seems as though his spark chamber has been punctured but not completely destroyed. His systems have gone offline along with all brain wave activity."

The medic saw the sad faces in the room and felt guilty that he couldn't help him as soon as he went down. "We were lucky that we had him connected so soon, otherwise his systems may have been permanently damaged." He said, trying to comfort the group.

"Is there any way for us to help?" Optimus asked.

Ratchet shook his head. "There is barely anything we can do to help. Because it is an inner wound, the sole thing I can do is patch up the outer injury. Other than that, his recovery is completely dependent on his own well-being. I am sorry I cannot do help."

Optimus placed a hand on Ratchet's shoulder. "I have faith that you will do everything in your power to aid Wheeljack."

"I will Optimus. Now I believe I should check on Smokescreen's injuries as well as anyone else."

Smokescreen was brought to another berth and Ratchet did a quick scan of his body. Afterwards, he checked on the rest of the group for any problems.

"Smokescreen will recover in two to three days. He needs rest."

"What two to three days? I'm fine Ratchet, see?"

Smokescreen attempted to sit up but the pain in his chest forced him to fall back down. He grunted in disappointment.

"Smokescreen, Ratchet is correct in saying you need rest. In fact, I believe we all deserve some time to recover." Optimus said.

Miko disagreed and she showed this by slamming her fists together. She was still wearing the Apex Armor and stood at the same height as the Autobots. "Whoever did this to Wheeljack will pay. Was it Megatron? It was him wasn't it?"

Bulkhead looked down at the floor.

"No... it wasn't Megatron."

"I thought so. The area of injury was far too small to be a result of Megatron's sword" Ratchet pointed out.

"Who was it Bulkhead?" Arcee asked, Bumblebee beeping with the same question.

The green wrecker looked at Optimus. He knew the Autobot leader had seen what happened but he wasn't sure if he knew that it wasn't Agent 000.

"It was... Jack..." he said, whispering the name.

Arcee shot up when her boyfriend's name was mentioned. "That's impossible, Agent 000 was in control."

"I know that it was Jack. His veins weren't as dark as Agent 000's and besides... he had the red eyes again."

Those who witnessed Vince's beating the last time Jack's eyes went red widened their optics. It was a horrific event that took placed that day and they agreed to never speak of it again. However, under this circumstance, it was now a piece of information they others needed to know about.

"What do you mean the red eyes again?" Ratchet asked, emphasising the word 'again'.

The Autobots looked at each other, then to Miko and Raf. They were all there that day, but none of them wanted to be the first to say it.

Finally Bulkhead came forward and explained everything. He talked about how they had went to the mall that day and bumped into Vince in the parking lot. Then there was the fight where Jack had snapped Vince's arm in two when his eyes went red. He finished up by telling them about Jack running away and their search for him.

"It seems as though Jack has been keeping information on his well-being from us. It stands to reason that Agent 000 has not been the only force bothering him." Optimus said.

All of a sudden, a loud engine starting up was heard in the command center. The Autobots who were able to quickly went over to the main room where the back of the Honda Civic was seen driving into the hallway leading to the exit. All at once, they realized Jack had not been with them in the medical bay.

"Jack!" Arcee yelled, transforming into her motorcycle and speeding out to follow the Honda Civic.

Bumblebee was also about to transform when Optimus put a hand on his shoulder.

"No Bumblebee, it is best if we allow them to have their privacy."

The Prime looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

"Primus, give us strength in our time of need."

...

Jack sped out into the night. The image of him stabbing Wheeljack in the spark was fresh in his mind and he couldn't stop thinking about it. It all happened so fast and by the time he regained his senses, it was too late.

When did I start taking control? Jack asked. He had to know.

When I stepped forward to get in between Optimus and Megatron, I started to feel your mind pushing mine out. I tried to say something but a force stopped me from doing so.

That was it huh? That was my 'full potential'. Jack quoted from Megatron's words.

... it's the hard truth.

I'm a danger to everyone I care about. Wheeljack might be dead because of me. I... I don't know what to do.

Jack, do you remember me mentioning one day having to choose a side?

I will never side with the Decepticons.

No that's not what I mean. I'm talking about choosing between your loved ones and your secret. That time is now and you're going to have to make a decision whether you like it or not.

Jack didn't respond. Everything was going to be different now, he just knew it. It was his fault that everything happened and now he was paying the price.

Jack, I want you to know that whatever you choose, I am with you all the way. Not just because I have to, but because I trust your judgement. This is up to you and you only.

Once again, Jack didn't respond so the agent stopped talking. They drove in silence across the dark road.

A pair of headlights got Jack's attention when it flashed in his rear view mirror. He looked back to see Arcee speeding down the road towards him, Sadie activated on her back.

He didn't want to talk with her right now and opted to picking up speed. He passed by a speed limit sign that said 60 mps, so he went that speed. However, Arcee also picked up her speed, racing to catch up with him.

Jack grit his teeth and pressed forward, ignoring the consequences of speeding. His monitor started to increase, going from 60 up to 100. He left Arcee in the dust, knowing that she wouldn't follow him since they were so near to the town. He saw his girlfriend's vehicle form skid to a stop in the middle of the road as she slowly started to disappear in the distance.

After a few minutes, he returned home, parking on the curb even though they had left the white Audi back on the Nemesis. He got out, making his way into the house. It was dark and his mom had a late shift today. He had to admit, it felt weird not having the other Autobots crowd around the kitchen or the TV, watching some football of just having a good time together. Those times were now a memory, one that he will cherish.

Jack went upstairs into his room, throwing the sheathed katana into his closet. He looked around and felt the sadness ride up inside of him. Arcee's clothes were still sitting around and he could imagine her lying in bed, waiting for him to join her. He forced himself not to cry and walked out of the room. It was too much for him to handle right now. His friends, his family, his girlfriend; all people he loved but he had to make a choice. He was a risk to them all, and he knew that he couldn't put their danger before his happiness.

Jack walked into the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face. He looked at himself closely in the mirror. Blaster burns ran up his body from the battle but they were getting better. He felt his muscles and bones ache from the multiple falls he had taken but nothing a good night's sleep wouldn't fix... that is if he can get a good night's sleep.

He looked even closer in the mirror to see himself looking back. The problem was, he didn't even recognize himself anymore. The person who looked back at him smiled lovingly. He had potential, he had people he cared about, but most importantly, he didn't have to worry about his own problems. That was what differed between the two and Jack realized that his old self was long gone. He was just a memory, someone he forced himself to act like, but was never really him. In fact, that old Jack had been gone for a while, ever since he had been taken by MECH. It was as if the terrorist group had given him powers, but had taken away his personality.

He was now the new Jack, someone to be afraid of. He couldn't have people close to him, otherwise their safety would be at risk. His personality was darkness, nothing more, nothing less. This was who he was, this is who he was meant to be. People say that things happen for a reason. Well if that were true, then he knew that he should stop fighting his personality and embrace it. The old Jack was gone, the one who was all smiles and laughs. The one who had a bright future was now replaced by one that had a dark secret.

Agent 000...

I've made my decision.

...

Author's Note: That's it! That's all for Transformers Prime: Another Set of Eyes. I want to start off by saying thank you so much for sticking around for all 32 chapters. It's been a heck of a ride and I'm glad that it's finally over.

I also want to specially thank Retrokiller. He's reviewed almost every single chapter and his support on this story has been absolutely outstanding. I probably wouldn't have finished without his continuous support and motivation. The other person I want to give a shout out to is JayBeeZZ. He's done a lot of behind the scenes work and has helped me out with background information. I'm proud to call him a friend and heck, he writes a fantastic fanfiction so definitely go check him out. Finally, this story was inspired by Star Saber21's Only Human story; one of my favorite fanfictions. Go check out that if you haven't already because it's 100% worth reading.

I'm extremely excited for my next installment of my series, Transformers Prime: Power of Stealth. Truth be told, the entire series is centered around this story (and possibly the following story as well). I just woke up one day and had this amazing idea for a fanfiction. Of course I had to have things leading up to it which is what Transformers Prime: Operation 000 and Transformers Prime: Another Set of Eyes are for. Like before, I'll be taking a couple days to get my ideas organized as well as any information I need to know. Be sure to follow me so you'll be alerted when the new story comes out.

As I've said before, thank you so much for reading. Every view gives me motivation to keep writing and that's exactly what I plan on doing. By the way, if you're wondering about what happened after Agent 000 was blasted by Megatron's dark energon pulse, because he already had dark energon inside of him, it didn't really do anything. However, imagine that the percentage of dark energon increased from taking the blast head on and is why Megatron managed to get him pissed off so easily.

Be sure to leave a review. Tell me how you enjoyed this story, if you liked it or if you hated it. Maybe leave an idea that I should have incorporated into this story or something you want to see happen in the future. All types of reviews are excepted and don't worry, I'm not going to hunt you down if I don't like it.

Hope you enjoyed Transformers Prime: Another Set of Eyes and as I've said, please review.

See you next time,

Ilikepieguy123