Our story will take place in the Rise of a Warrior story originally pioneered by SSJ Masta, Version 2. chapter 13 (Double Take). To adequately inform all readers, I have been in contact with SSJ Masta and I have been the writers blessing and approval to write this story adaptation.

As for the story itself. Given profound circumstances revolving around the Rift Ripper and being damaged then activated the device created a split universe where our story will take place. It is a nearly identical universe that was accidentally created by the devices power. But will evolve differently based on Occam's Razor Universe theory. It will follow some of TFP but will have more extreme battle scenarios as well as deep character relationships. If you haven't read Rise of the Warrior V2 already please up to chapter 13, or you will be really confused, after that you can follow this story AFTER YOU READ CHAPTER 13 OF RISE OF A WARRIOR V2.

Thanks

With Respect

R Vega

There was still much tension and skepticism in the air, both Jack and Optimus were still not fully willing to accept the circumstances that led to their two new acquaintances: Soundwave, Megatron's most loyal soldier and information officer, and Slipstream, a Con that Optimus personally terminated himself. Both of them now seemingly allies, it was a lot to take in, in such a short amount of time. This situation also brought Jack's/Blurr's rather unpleasant memory of when Soundwave attacked Raf, Miko and himself with an ax. Definitely not his most fond memory of his seemingly newly acquainted ally; as for Slipstream, Jack knew nothing of this Con in particular. However he quickly assumed that if it took Optimus to take her out then she must have been a Con, at least in his reality, of considerable skill and lethality.

"Soundwave, Slipstream, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt, however I will be watching you both very closely for the time being to ensure that what you say is true," Optimus said with a hint of skepticism as he looked a Blurr for a sign of understanding and approval.

"Optimus, I'm sure you know more about both of these Cons, ehh sorry I mean umm. Well I'm not sure what to call them at this point." Jack said looking at both of them towering over him scrutinizing everything he said.

"Blurr, I know this situation is rather unusual in the least, however both of them came to our aid with no prompting of any sort," Optimus said bending on one knee to meet Jack at his level. "That does not mean that we will welcome them with open arms however," looking at both Soundwave and Slipstream to make it a point that they also understand this necessary fact as well. "We will all need to treat this situation with the utmost care and consideration for both parties." Optimus said returning to his feet, while looking off in the distance.

"Excuse me Sir, I know that this is a lot to process in such a short amount of time but if the versions of us in your reality are Cons, which it seems they are, can we assume they are?" Slipstream said in a rather cold and emotionless tone that reminded Jack of Arachnid. "Then we can assume they lack our insignias and our obvious Autobot markings." Referring to the blue optics that both of them seemed to possess except for Soundwave who lacked any visible optics given his visor, but he did not possess the rather ominous purple glow that their Soundwave most certainly did.

Both Jack and Optimus seemed to notice this as Jack's HUD in his helmet picked out their Autobot insignia, optics color, as well as the friendlier aura that they both seemed to have over the usual Decepticon. Along with the fact that his armor hadn't registered either of them as a hostile automatically like it did for any other Con seemed to make their case all the more believable. Jack still held some skepticism in the back of his mind given the circumstances.

"You would be correct on that statement Slipstream, you both seem to have the genuine marking of an Autobot, but as I said moments ago. We will give you the benefit of the doubt for now." Optimus stated calmly.

"Optimus," Jack said with a sudden haste, "I'm going to let you deal with these two of our SO CALLED GUESTS if you don't mind. I need some time to process this."

"I understand Blurr," Optimus said with a sound of approval and understanding in his voice. Noticing that Jack/Blurr wanted to take some time to think about this situation alone rather than hastily say or do things that he might regret later; he wanted to collect his thoughts before coming to a decision. The Prime truly began to see that his young yet capable comrade was maturing and in a way he was proud.

With that said Jack slowly turned away from them, looked towards the sky, activated his vernian thrusters and took off like a human rocket, which for all intents and purposes he was.

As Jack flew away from Optimus and their two new guests, he wondered if he was doing the right thing leaving Optimus alone with them. Concerned that it might have been a clever trap set by the Decepticon's, he decided to do a quick flyby from where he left only to catch the three of them walking through a ground bridge.

"Ratchet, come in." He said as he watched the bridge close.

"Yes Jack, I mean Blurr, what is it." Ratchet said hastily.

"Ratchet is everything alright at base, is Optimus OK?" He said with a hint of concern.

"Yes he's fin… BY THE ALL SPARK, OPTIMUS HAVE YOU GOT A PROCESSOR LOOSE? WHAT ARE THEY DOING WITH YOU?"

With that the com line went silent for a few seconds until it finally went dead. Jack attempted to contact the base again but was unable to get a response. Unsure what was happening or what to do he decided to get back to base as soon as possible. But how, he couldn't get a ground bridge sent to him and he was over two thousand miles from base.

Unsure how to get back Jack decided to fly as fast as he could; he had never really needed to find out how fast he could actually fly because there had been no need to find out. Until now, with that he found his barring's and set off. A million thoughts were going through his head; I shouldn't have left him alone with them, what if it was a trap, what if. The thoughts were polluting his mind making him all the more motivation to get back as soon as possible.

Jack was soon moving at what his HUD calculated to be 488 miles per hour and gaining speed, but it wasn't enough, he needed to move faster. He concentrated and thought to himself that he needed to fly faster. With that thought his HUD changed slightly to a power output reading that he had never seen before. It was full of readings and outputs, along with a schematic of his armor that was divided into sections.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Faster, Faster, GOD DAMIT, FASTER!" Suddenly his thruster output wheel glowed, within a split second many things happened. His HUD lit up, his armor schematic turned red in several places in his back and sides. He also felt his armor change its shape and a massive boost of speed.

Jack felt his armor stiffen up as he jumped from around 500 miles per hour to 1,200, 1,400, 1,600, 2,000, and climbing. Jack's armor had revealed several new thrusters that were hiding in his armor. A nearby passerby saw a vapor stream in the sky that seemingly exploded with a thunderous bang, loud enough to break the windows in her nearby cabin. That was followed by an object moving away from the position it had been moments before at seemingly impossible speed.

His speed was rising 2,230, 2,800, 3,440 miles per hour. His speed was incredible and his HUD seemed to indicate that he had plenty of power in reserve. With this observation Jack said, "Screw it, I NEED IT ALL!" What Jack felt next was nearly indescribable; a mountain of blue fire appeared from his suit that was several hundred feet long. His speed instantly jumped again, this time to an astonishing 6,500 miles per hour and still rising which is a calculated Mach 20.

Blurr again attempted to raise someone at the base on the com link. But there was no response; suddenly another thought entered his mind. What if Arcee was at the base and something bad had happened. Jack closed his eyes, swallowed and took a deep breath, praying that the love of his life was alright and safe. The thoughts of what Soundwave could be doing…

"Blurr, come in, do you read?" Ratchet's voice came in over the com link with a hint of static.

"Ratchet is everything alright at base, is Arcee ok? What about Optimus wh," Jack was cut off by Optimus's voice coming in over the com.

"Blurr everything is alright."

Ratchet butted back on the com. "We had a momentary loss of signal after deactivating the ground bridge. But we are all fine. Optimus gave us all a big scare when he arrived with our new guests, and Arcee is still out on her recon mission."

Jack shook his head in relief that everything was ok at base; all of his recent worries were seemingly put to rest.

"Blurr where are you? We are reading a signal, but it can't be yours. According to the signal it's moving at well over 6,500 miles per hour." Ratchet said in a questioning tone, as he didn't fully know what the speed potentials of Blurr were at this point. But he considered it to be possible but incredibly unlikely as he would undoubtedly be the fastest Cybertronian in history.

"Umm yeah that's me Ratchet," Jack said with a hint of excitement and surprise.

"WHAT!" Ratchet's voice blasted over the com like he had been stabbed. "Blurr slow down for Primus's sake, you're going to kill yourself if you crash at that speed!"

With that said Jack decided to back WAY off his speed and slowly decelerated to a manageable 150 miles per hour. Soon he was landing in a snowy mountain pass that looked like a picture he had seen on his mom's refrigerator during Christmas.

"Blurr," Optimus's voice came in over the com. "Shall we send a ground bridge for you?"

"No Optimus, I will be ok. I just need some time to, time to think if you don't mind." Jack said in a quiet voice hoping that his request would be granted.

"Very well Blurr, take your time. When you need a ground bridge signal us and we will send one for you." Optimus said in a very friendly and seemingly understanding tone.

"Thanks," Jack said as he closed the link. Jack began to look around and found a nice place to sit down and think about the day's events. He told Optimus that he needed to think about the whole situation with Soundwave and Slipstream but that was only a small part of what was really eating at him. He retracted his helmet and let the somewhat warm feeling of what he could feel of the sun shine on his face. Taking a deep breath he could feel the cool air fill his lungs that helped him relieve some of his built up anxiety that he had been holding within himself for the last hour following his thrashing given to him by Megatron.

xxxx

Today was the first day he actually saw real live combat, not a simulation that was in the S.A.F.E. where if something went wrong they could shut it down before he got really hurt. But real life or death combat, and as much as he thought he was ready for it, he realized that he might have been prepared for combat physically but not mentally. So many things went through his mind. What if I made a mistake and got hurt or even killed what if I got Optimus hurt, so many things seemed to flood his mind.

He realized that if he was ever to survive and be able to protect Arcee, who was what he fought for now, he would have to get a hold of himself. Jack looked at his armor cladded hands, turning his hands back and forth taking in the scuffs and scratches that he received from the stomping Megatron gave him, it finally hit him how much he had truly changed. Not just physically but emotionally as well. He had been so egger to protect everyone that he never considered the personal cost it would take on him.

Hours passed as Jack sat there watching the sun go down over the horizon. He slowly organized his emotions and thoughts so he could fully understand his situation, his emotions, and his life in general. He thought about the fight Arcee and he had recently when he refused to talk to her. He thought about the wonderful night they spent together and the emotions he felt and could still feel from then. He thought about how much he loved her. He thought about his mom and out living her, Raf, and Miko. It didn't seem fair to them but he remembered that not everything in life was fair. He was pretty sure they didn't mean his situation when they said that.

As it started to get later Jack retracted the armor on his arm to check his watch; 8:30. Which meant he had been there thinking for nearly 4 hours. Quite a feat for himself he thought.

As he looked over the vast mountain region, he saw the low clouds glow a brilliant orange and he continued to take in how peaceful and beautiful the sight was. "Prima, Primus if you're out there somewhere I hope you made the right choice choosing me."

"I can't think of a single soul more worthy to have received the gift you did Jack." A familiar and loving voice came from behind Jack that he knew instantly. Jack lifted his head looked behind him to see Arcee standing behind him with her hands on her hips looking right at him.

"Hey," Jack said in a low and voice.

"Hey to you too, Optimus said you were out and needed time to think. After a few hours I got worried and decided to come find you instead." Arcee said looking away trying to show that she thought it was no big deal, but to her it was and he fully knew it.

"It's ok love." Jack said and Arcee felt her spark warm her from the inside. It felt so good to hear him say that even though she didn't fully understand all that it meant. It didn't matter.

Arcee generated a subtle smile that Jack saw as she strutted toward him and sat down next to him on the rock he had been pondering the universe on.

"So how was the recon mission you went on earlier?" Jack asked with a hint of curiosity.

"As routine as could have been hoped for, we didn't encounter too much trouble." Arcee said hoping he would somehow miss the last part she said.

"What do you mean not too much trouble?" Jack asked inquisitively.

"When we arrived, we found a small contingent of seekers who were collecting energon. After they were dealt with we collected what energon remained and brought it back to base." Arcee said acting as if nothing even happened on her recon mission, hoping to make her day seem short so she could hear more about his day. She assumed there was something troubling him since he was on a seemingly abandoned mountain in the middle of nowhere, alone.

Jack sat quietly next to her listening to her speak. He could tell she wanted to hear what was bothering him, but he was going to play hard to get and make her ask. A few moments passed until Arcee couldn't stand it anymore and asked.

"Jack what is it, I can tell something is clearly bothering you. Tell me what is it, did something happen today other than the fact that there are apparently a friendly version of Soundwave and Slipstream now at our base." As Arcee said their names Jack looked up as if he had completely forgotten about them already.

"Yeah wasn't that a bit of a scare and a shock," Jack said jokingly to Arcee knowing that she more than likely probably attacked one of them when she got back to base.

"Yes it was, but we can talk about that later. Right now I want to know what is bothering you since you have been sitting here alone for hours." She said in an almost pleading voice hoping that he would open up to her.

He looked up at his femme companion and gazed deep into her optics that he knew all too well. Then shifted his gaze to the armor on the outside of his right hand that had been scratched up from his encounter with the Decepticon leader only hours earlier; just the thought of his foot coming down on him sent shivers through his spine. Arcee looked at his hand and zoomed her optics in to see in detail the light damage his hand and as a matter of fact the rest of him had.

"Wha, What, What happened? Who did this to you?" Arcee said in an almost frightful tone taking Jack's hand in her fingers and nearly pulling him off the rock he was sitting on to observe his armor and its damage.

"It's nothing serious Arcee, I just got a tossed around um, a little," Jack said as Arcee transformed into her smaller human sized version but kept all her armor on so she wouldn't freeze. Arcee then began to meticulously inspect Jack for all of his battle scars and became angrier with each small dent and scratch she found on his armor.

She took hold of Jack putting her hand on either side of his face asking him. "Who did this to you?"

"Well, um, if I tell you have to promise me you won't geek out," Jack said as she listened to every word he said.

"No promises!" Arcee said in a strong and firm voice.

"Well then I'm not going to tell you, and don't think Optimus is going to tell you either, because I will ask him not to if you're going to freak out each time I show up with a few new scratches." Jack said as he knew Arcee would have little choice but to agree and try to keep her cool.

"Fine," Arcee said as she sighed and looked away knowing that she had just conceded to his demands, which made her unhappy.

XXXX

They sat there on Jack's thinking rock together, Arcee holding Jack's hands in hers and listening to every word he said as the sun finally went down.

Jack started off telling her what had happened from the beginning; telling her about the Con's excavating the site where the beacon was buried. Describing how there were plenty of vehicons there but nothing too worrying. That was until Megatron showed up. Arcee suddenly gave a firm squeeze to Jack's hand knowing that something bad was coming. He could tell she knew since she was literally crushing his hand in her very strong and somewhat larger hands. Jack explained how Optimus and he decided to go for the Rift Ripper when they realized what it was and the stakes that were present.

Jack was getting more excited when he told Arcee how he made a mess of Megatron's hand and was able to hold his own against him. That was until Megatron got his hands on him then things went downhill from there. Arcee practically knew what had happened but she needed to hear it from him.

"That's when Megatron threw me to the ground and smashed me with his colossal foot. I won't say it didn't hurt, but it wasn't that bad to be honest." Jack said trying to play down the whole situation not seeing the look on Arcee's face that was in an absolute state of shock and fear.

"It's funny to think that if I hadn't gotten, well I guess upgraded, there was no way I could have survived the whole ordeal." Jack said turning his head from looking at the ground to looking at Arcee's face.

But when Jack finally looked up at the femme to help make his case, he saw her face. He saw she was actually crying, what she was crying he wasn't sure but she was definitely crying. That's when he stopped; he knew she was hurt and scared for him more than anything else. Arcee put both her hands around him and pulled him in for a hug and a kiss on his head. She was so emotional; he had no idea what to think of it. He had never seen this side of her before but he definitely would like to see more of it. Jack returned the hug that was practically crushing his spine at this point, but he didn't care. He just wanted to make her feel better. Jack felt awful having caused her to cry because of his actions.

"Arcee, thank you, thank you for caring." Jack said in a low but warm voice as he looked up into her beautiful blue optics.

"Jack, why wouldn't I care? I care about you more than anything; I don't want to lose you." Arcee said as her newly found waterworks kicked into overtime and started dropping tears onto the back of Jack's neck. She released him from the bone-crushing hug and move down to kiss him on the lip; he was sure to take a deep breath this time to make it last. As their lips met, there was tingling electricity between them that neither of them could seem to get enough of. They both sat there for some time holding each other and talking about why Jack was on a mountain thinking.

"So that's really why you're all the way out here, because of what happened today with Megatron?" Arcee asked inquisitively.

"Yeah, after the fight, our new arrivals, and the adrenalin had left my system I realized how unprepared I was for that encounter. I know that I was physically ready but," Jack is cut off by Arcee.

"But you weren't ready for the mental side of it, the realization that it isn't a simulation and you can very well die. That's what's got you up here isn't it?"

Jack paused for a moment before answering the patient femme. "Yeah that's pretty much why I'm up here you could say. Also the fact that Soundwave and Slipstream are now apparently allies, that's going to take time to get used to." Jack said as he finished up the conversation.

"It's not something that can be taught but something you are going to have to learn for yourself, Jack. Combat is both physically and mentally demanding; it takes time to get used to both and if you aren't ready for one of them, it can be a painful surprise." Arcee said in an encouraging voice.

"Yeah I'm realizing that now, if I had trained to be this strong, I would probably not have ended up here in this situation. But there's nothing I can do about it now, but be a man and overcome it." Jack said as he stood up on his own two feet and looked into Arcee's glowing blue optics. "I'm going to train harder and temper my mind so this doesn't happen again." As Jack said this, a blue hue of light started to emit from the gaps in his armor.

"And I will be here helping you every step of the way, Jack," Arcee said with a smile.

"Well, it's getting late and you've been gone a while, actually we both have. Primus knows Miko is going to give both of us scrap about being gone together for so long." Arcee said with a grumble.

"You let me deal with Miko; if she gets out of line I will fly her to the top of the base and leave her there." Jack said with a smirk.

"No you won't, I'm not letting my Jack fly anyone around unless it's me." Arcee said in a possessive tone with her arms crossed and looking straight at Jack.

"Well in that case, we are about an hour's flight from base, and I feel like stretching my legs a little. Since I'm not allowed to fly anyone around except you; how about it love, you up for a moonlight flight?" Jack said inquisitively looking at the sky then his femme companion.

"Absolutely, but don't overdo it, Jack; you got thrown around pretty good today don't forget." Arcee said with a hint of concern.

"I feel fine and besides I've got a few new tricks to show you on our ride back." Jack said encouragingly.

With that he delicately scooped Arcee up in his arms and slowly lifted off; Jack got about 1000 feet off the ground with Arcee tightly in his arms before he said: "I would hold in tight if I were you!"

With that Jack's HUD lit up and his newly found thrusters appeared from his back and the new couple took off like a missile at incredible speed. Streaking across the dark night sky with a thunderous bang as Jack broke the sound barrier and carried his lovely Arcee back to base in his arms.