Apologies for the lateness, but shit happens… like writers' block, your dog getting Parvo, and your school schedule eating your energy…

On a side note: on a mission to make Vince a more 3-dimensional character!

Ratchet snuck a glance at the teenager currently occupying the hospital bed they had set up in his med bay. It had been at least three hours since they returned back to base from their mission, but to the Medic it felt like it had been days. He mostly blamed it on the fact that he, along with the rest of the Autobots and their human companions, were worried sick over Jack. Not only was he given the immense responsibility of holding the Key to Vector Sigma, he also became the vessel of the legendary Phoenix Force that until recently had been nothing but a myth. The only good thing of all this was that Jack was alive and well, and after a good rest, the human would be back to normal. He sighed and walked out of the med bay towards the humans and the rest of the Autobots, whom he was sure wanted answers.

"Jack will be fine after he sleeps; it seems he had merely exhausted himself from the power he used." June furrowed her brows in worry and confusion as she looked up at the medic.

"Are you sure my son will be alright?" Ratchet nodded.

"Positive. I'll set up a spare bed later if you wish to stay the night to observe him." She nodded and gave him a small smile.

"Thank you." She said as she walked inside the room to stay by her son. As soon as she was gone, Arcee looked up at him and narrowed her optics.

"Ratchet, what's going on? Why is the Key in his chest?" Ratchet hummed in thought, watching June sit down by the medical bed through the translucent glass.

"It seems that when the Phoenix bound itself to him, it also fused the key to his heart. It's basically a part of him now, as well as being the thing that's keeping him alive at this point." Her optics widened in shock.

"Keeping him alive!? What happened to him?"

"I don't know much for sure, but whatever happened to him, it was before the Phoenix fused with him and healed everything. Until Jack wakes up, we won't know what happened in the Chamber."

"But… why did the Phoenix bond to him?" It was at this point that Optimus decided to step in. He cleared his throat and stepped up.

"I believe it would be best if I explained this part. In any case, I believe I should start from the beginning. The Phoenix Force is an immortal manifestation of the universal force of life. It is hailed as the Guardian of Creation because of this and for this, Primus had entrusted it with the safety of the All- Spark." Fowler tilted his head in confusion.

"The All Spark? What in the world is that? And what does it have to do with the fact that we might have a human casualty?!"

"As Ratchet has stated before, Agent Fowler, Jack will be alright; he is merely exhausted. As for the All Spark, it is the source of all Transformers' life. It once resided in the Well of All Sparks where it carried out the will of Primus by creating Cybertronian life. But when the war erupted, it ceased to produce life as an act of divine rebellion. Then, from either a sudden change of heart or act of desperation, it created one more final generation before I ejected the All Spark into space so no one could abuse its power."

"And what about the Phoenix Force?" Asked Bulkhead, "What happened to it?"

"It decided to stay within the Chamber of Vector Sigma to help its core regain its strength. Without the All Spark, the Well was starting to become unstable, which would have caused Cybertron to break apart if left alone." Ratchet shook his helm in disbelief.

"But, we were told the Phoenix Force was lost along with the All Spark... that it was destroyed!" Arcee crossed her arms.

"I thought it was only a legend..." Optimus stole a glance at Jack's sleeping form before looking back to his team.

"We had to keep it that way so no one would try to sabotage the Chamber or look for the All Spark." The Autobots murmured to themselves, understanding why the Phoenix was treated more as a myth. Bumblebee then looked up.

"So… what's going to happen to Jack? Will he be okay?" Ratchet nodded as he made his way over to the med bay.

"Yes. As intimidating as it was, the Phoenix Force will not harm Jack. If anything, it will help him and maybe even improve some of his physical aspects. Last time I checked, his upper body strength was much more noticeable than before… Not to mention his healing factor is greatly improved." He took a glance back at Optimus. "Optimus, when Jack wakes up again, what are you going to do?" The Prime remained silent, unable to give a direct answer.

"I do not know, old friend. All I know is that we must keep him away from the Decepticons. I fear Megatron would try to harness the Phoenix Force like he tried with Dark Energon."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Vince growled to himself as he made his way down the darkened street. His so-called "friends" had decided to have another one of their 'gatherings' in the park. Normally, Vince would've been alright with messing around with the swing set and monkey bars at night while they talked about random things, but ever since Jon started smoking it seemed his posse just started going downhill, him included. While the others acquired a taste for the alcoholic beverages or mind-altering inhalants, Vince became more of an asshole, for lack of a better term. Maybe it was an act of rebellion or the fact his father was as much of a moronic asshole as he was that he became such a jerk to everyone he deemed below him.

"What a fucked-up life I lead…"he muttered to himself as he passed a drugstore. Granted, his father was loaded due to the fact he was the head of the law office in Jasper, but the fact that almost everyone sucked up to him because of said money was irritating, to say the least. And if that wasn't enough, the bastard divorced his own mother for a younger woman that had so much plastic surgery done she would pretty much pass off as a human Barbie doll. Granted, these probably weren't good reasons to terrorize his classmates that were at the bottom of the social food chain, but that's all he could really come up with. Vince looked up from the sidewalk to find himself in a neighborhood he didn't recognize, which at this point he realized he was thinking about his life so much he just kept walking until he got lost.

"Well, this is just great…" He muttered to himself as he continued walking, "The one time I actually try to re-think my lifestyle and choices and I get fucking lost… I bet Jack doesn't do this shit…" Ah yes… Jackson Darby… The guy whose life was shittier than his, and he still had the audacity to be happier than him. So what made his life better? His parents weren't filthy rich, and he knew his dad left them when he was about ten years old. He remembered the last time he saw Jack's father was when the man went to pick him up from school, which was close to the time they stopped being friends… Vince furrowed his brows in confusion and anger. Jack was his best friend all throughout elementary, but once his father left, it seemed like everything in their lives went downhill. His own father cheated on his mother with another woman, which led to the divorce. Vince would have wanted to go with his mother, but due to the fact she was an archaeologist, she travelled constantly. And because of that, his father gained full custody of him. He barely had contact with his biological mother asides from the weekly e-mails.

'I wonder if she'll ever come visit me in person…' He thought to himself as he crossed the street. The last time he saw her was two years ago, before she had to go to the Galapagos Islands. She was possibly the only person he could stop the 'confident ass-face' routine and just be himself. He started to think again, and was so absorbed in his thoughts he almost didn't notice Jack's mom getting out of her car and calling towards him.

"Vince? Is that you?" He turned his head up, almost sighing in relief when he found someone he sort of knew. He cleared his throat as he made his way over to the dark-haired woman.

"Uh, y-yeah… How are you, Mrs. Darby?" Just because he was an utter dick to her son didn't mean he couldn't behave around her. She smiled sadly, making Vince frown in confusion.

"I've been better, Vince…" She reached into her purse and pulled out her house keys. "Do you want to come in? You look pretty tired…" He nodded happily.

"That would be great, ma'am. I kind of got lost walking from the park…" They entered the house, and the redhead happily accepted a glass of water as June and he sat down on the sofas in the living room.

"So what were you doing in the park this late?" He shrugged.

"Well, I was out with some friends… And they… Well, they were being stupid, so I decided to just try and walk home… Until I remembered I don't know this side of town…"She gave him a smile that said 'You're such an idiot' and 'I'm sorry you had to endure that' at the same time… It was a smile only concerned, loving mothers could pull off.

"You should have asked for a ride…" He scoffed.

"Nah… they weren't listening to me… they hardly do anymore…" he muttered as he set the half-empty glass on the coffee table. Vince was about to ask for the bathroom when his eye caught sight of a picture of Jack posing next to his motorcycle. Suddenly curious as to why Jack wasn't around, he decided to ask for his whereabouts.

Um, Mrs. Darby; where's Jack?" hearing the heartbroken sigh that escaped her lips made him instantly regret asking.

"Jack got in an accident on Friday while he was on his way to Mercury; he was supposedly going to buy something in a store over there…" Vince felt the color drain from his face, and the living room suddenly got ten degrees colder.

"Is…. Is Jack okay?" She nodded, and Vince let out a sigh of relief.

"He suffered a few bruises and scratches, but he got a concussion, so they're keeping him there until tomorrow. " The redhead felt a cold, dull pain begin to pulse from the bottom of his stomach; Jack Darby, his supposed sworn enemy, had been very close to dying. Luckily, he was going to be okay, but it still made him think about all the interactions he'd had with him. He sighed again, this time from shame. He looked up again, giving June a warm, apologetic smile.

"He's going to be okay, Mrs. Darby. If I know Jack, then he's going to pull through…" Instead of asking for a ride home, Vince asked if he could spend the night. June allowed it, and for the rest of the night, Vince made it his mission to help out the kind woman any way he could. It was the least he could do to make it up to Jack.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Jack… Jack, can you hear me?" The teen groaned as he slowly started to regain consciousness. What was Ratchet doing in his room?

"Jack, please. Wake up." Fluttering his eyes a few times, Jack finally got them open. He winced at the sudden barrage of bright lights above him. He heard Ratchet mutter something under his breath as he walked over to the light switches and turned them down.

"Jack? Are you awake?" After a few more tries, Jack finally opened his eyes and furrowed his brows in confusion at the IV latched onto his arm and the seemingly worried medic hovering over him.

"Um…y…yeah?" Ratchet let out a sigh of relief as he straightened up and walked over to the monitors.

"Thank the All spark… You had us all worried, you know…" He tried to sit up, but a sudden wave of dizziness hit him. He groaned and laid back down.

"Where… Where is everyone?"

"They're out investigating an energy signature. We believe some of the Iacon artifacts have begun to surface after… well… you know…" Jack tried to sit up again, sighing in relief when he succeeded.

"Your mother is at work in the hospital, and Miko and Raf are at school. Agent Fowler was kind enough to make it so you wound

"So… what…. What happened after I gave Optimus is memory back?" Ratchet pursed his lip components in thought.

"You lost consciousness and almost fell if Optimus hadn't caught you in time. You overexerted yourself, you know… Please be more careful next time." His lips curled into a small smile.

"I'll try not to, Ratchet…" Looking up at Ratchet's worried faceplates, Jack sighed.

"You want to know what happened on Cybertron, don't you?" The medic cleared his throat.

"I need to know what happened to you so I can treat you better, Jack. The Phoenix Force changed some of your internal organs, and I want to know why and how much they've been altered. So please explain why your lungs, your heart, and your forearm seem to have Cybertronian wires around them." The teen looked down for a second, pondering how exactly he would explain his arm being mauled and his lungs bleeding. He looked up again, and Ratchet almost shivered at the way his eyes glowed that fiery, powerful blue.

"Ratchet, promise to tell no one but Optimus what I'm about to tell you; I don't want everyone worrying about me." Ratchet nodded.

"Doctor-Patient confidentiality is something you humans and us have in common. I promise nothing you tell me comes out of this room with the exception of Optimus."

I'm sorry this chapter took so long... I'm also sorry it seems a bit rushed/choppy/utterly crap-tacular...

Please RnR!

P.S. I'm still not pairing him up with Arcee, stop asking...