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They got Optimus back. Jack went to Cybertron with Arcee, reached Vector Sigma and uploaded everything to the Key. They saved Optimus from the Decepticons.
They did it! Jack did it!
Now everything can go back to normal finally.
There’s only one thing left to do now.
Back at base, after everything has calmed down, Jack approaches Optimus, who’s finally alone.
“Hey, Optimus,” Jack greets the giant ‘Bot. “Do you have a moment?”
“Jack,” Optimus greets him back with a soft smile. “Thank you for bringing my memories back to me.” He offers one of his servos for Jack to climb onto so Optimus can take Jack with him. Jack obliges, grasping the flat thumb as he sits down so he can keep his balance. It’s as much of a ‘yes, I have time to talk’ as Optimus is probably going to give. He’s not one for using many words.
“You’re welcome,” he replies as Optimus starts walking. “But I actually wanted to talk to you about that.”
Optimus hums in acknowledgement as they step onto the lift to get taken up to the roof. “I know,” the Prime states calmly as they start going up. Jack looks at the Prime, who smiles softly down at him before looking up toward the starry night sky. Jack’s eyes roam to all the nicks, scratches and dents Optimus still has from his time with the Decepticons and the fight by the Space Bridge. Jack wonders how they remove all those dings and scratches. Just using a buffer can’t fix all that, can it? Or does it heal with time? How do Cybertronians heal anyway? It’s all such a mystery to him.
Sometimes, Ratchet and Raf talk about all kinds of things Cybertronian and Jack tries to follow. But he’s not really smart enough to keep up with the two of them. Raf is going to make it big one day, Jack’s sure of that. And Miko is smart as well, just in a different way. But he’s not going to admit that to her, she’d never shut up about it.
They reach the top of the mesa plateau, and Optimus steps off the lift. Once they reach the edge, Optimus calmly and carefully sits himself down with an ex-vent. Once sat down, Optimus allows Jack to get off his servo and sit down beside him.
“Now, I believe you wanted to talk to me,” the Prime starts the conversation again.
“Yeah,” Jack agrees, pointing his gaze up at the night sky. He was up there just mere hours ago. He was in space. He doesn’t know when he’s going to get used to the thought of that. Jack Darby, a simple boy from Nevada was up in space. On a different planet. But that’s not why he’s up here. “I wanted to ask why you chose me.” Because that’s what’s been biting at him since he found out what the Key really was.
Optimus is quiet for a bit. Jack wonders if the big mech is wondering about the answer himself or if he’s simply thinking of how to disappoint Jack easiest. Because what if Jack was given the Key simply because he was closest? Or because Optimus thought he was expendable? The journey was dangerous after all.
Then, the Prime shifts slightly before replying, “Because you remind me of myself.” That makes Jack pause for a bit. He remembers Ratchet saying the same thing back when they only just lost Optimus. He already thought it was stupid when Ratchet said it then. But hearing it now from Optimus, he thinks he isn’t even close to worthy of being compared to someone like Optimus.
“But I’m just a human,” Jack responds, putting a hand to his chest. “Back on Cybertron, everything looked so big. If Arcee hadn’t been there, I would have been killed. If that had happened, you would never have gotten your memories back.”
Optimus chuckles and looks down at Jack. Jack looks up to meet his gaze. “When I gave you that Key, Jack, I never expected you to carry the burden alone. A burden shared is a burden halved.” Optimus his servo reaches to rest behind him, to cup Jack’s back and head softly. “I knew that I was giving you a big responsibility, but I also knew that you wouldn’t be carrying it alone. I knew that you would be supported every step of the way. And I was right.”
“But why did you give it to me? Why not Arcee or Ratchet?” Jack asks then, leaning a bit forward, away from the comfortable warmth of Optimus’ servo. He needs to know why Optimus chose him. That he reminds Optimus of himself is not enough of an answer. He needs to know what exactly Optimus saw in him. Don’t get him wrong, he was happy to help Optimus and honoured that he was trusted with the Key. But why did Optimus not choose one of the Autobots?
Optimus is quiet for a bit again, looking down at Jack, not shying away from a small human’s blue eyes. Blue optics cycle as they look at Jack. “Do you remember what you came to me about after you were caught in that collapsing energon mine?”
Jack’s eyes widen when he remembers going to Optimus, unsure if he had made the right decision in the end. He had wanted to know from Optimus himself what he would have done. He had wanted to see Optimus’ face when he told him he spared Megatron.
“I do, I told you about meeting Megatron,” the teenager replies with a nod.
Optimus nods and says, “That was when I knew. You, Jack, are so much like the mech I used to be. The Orion Pax that I lost when I became Optimus Prime. I think perhaps that is why I chose you. Because I knew you were worthy of my trust. I knew that I wanted you to be the one to go to Vector Sigma and retrieve my memories, to save the Orion Pax that I was going to be. I needed you to become the Prime that I couldn’t be for a while.”
Jack is surprised by that. The responsibility he thought he had was even bigger than he expected. Optimus didn’t just entrust Jack to bring him back, he entrusted Jack to be him while he was gone.
And in some way, Jack was. He was no Optimus, but he gave hope to the Autobots when they thought it was all lost. He gave them a reason to keep fighting.
“I could never replace you,” Jack says softly, allowing himself to lean back into the servo Optimus is still holding behind him, ready to let him rest on it. He allows the warmth of it to seep into his skin, to comfort him like a blanket. He’s always wondered why Cybertronians are warm when they’re made of metal. Perhaps he’ll ask Ratchet tomorrow.
“Replacing me was never the intention. Just being you is more than enough,” Optimus responds with a warm voice. “I want you to keep the Key, keeping the Key and the Matrix with the same bot was never meant to happen. I had to do it because I had nowhere safe to keep the Key. But now I have someone who can keep it safe for me.”
Jack feels honoured and oh so proud that Optimus is going to keep trusting him with such an important artefact. He looks up at the big mech in wonder, almost not believing he’s really being trusted with the Key. But Optimus’ sincere look tells him this is really happening.
“I’ll keep it with me at all times,” Jack promises, closing his eyes to enjoy the moment. He lies there, cupped safely in Optimus’ servo, leaning against it and his thigh, just taking in the warmth.
All that happened is catching up to him and being warm and safe is making him tired. His eyes are falling closed and he couldn’t keep them open if he tried.
He did it. He brought Optimus back. Everyone is safe again. Jack can relax now.
A low and soft rumbling soothes Jack, and he curls up a bit more. He feels like he used to when his dad and he would curl up on the couch, covered in blankets, when he was sick as a child.
“Sleep well, Jack,” Optimus says softly. Jack didn’t even notice he was dozing off. But hearing that, he lets himself go. He feels Optimus pick him up, but he’s brought closer to the soft rumble, so he doesn’t mind. It works wonders in pulling him to sleep.
Ever since Jack went to Vector Sigma, he’s been feeling – different. He still feels like himself, a human teenager with too much homework and alien friends.
But sometimes, he feels like there’s something else. He often wonders if it’s the Key to Vector Sigma that makes him feel that way. It frequently pulses and sends undecipherable signals to him when he’s alone.
But as he just said, the Key only sends him signals he doesn’t understand, so he doesn’t know. He’s been tempted to ask Optimus or Ratchet about it, but then something always comes up and keeps them busy. With the relic hunting and the whole business around the Omega Keys and the Omega Lock, Jack just keeps postponing asking about it.
“Do you ever feel like you were made to do more?” Smokescreen asked him during one of their driving lessons, and Jack frequently thinks about that.
He doesn’t necessarily feel like he was made to do more. But sometimes he feels like he’s going to do more than he was made for. He’s already been to Cybertron. He’s already in possession of an alien artefact. He doesn’t know what could be more than that. But somehow, he feels that there is more.
Now, sitting in front of their school, waiting for Autobots who are probably not coming, Jack thinks about how he’s supposed to do more. But how can he when the Autobots aren’t even allowing them to help or be there. He knows they’re probably on Cybertron right now, taking the Omega Lock to restore their home planet. They’ve been planning this for so long. And why else would they forget about them?
“I don’t think they’re coming, Miko,” Raf sighs, his chin resting in his hand as he stares listlessly in the distance.
“They have to! Bulkhead promised we’d go dune bashing one last time before they—” Miko trails off, but they all know what she means. Before they return home. “He has to come.” The last part is said calmly and Jack looks up at his friend.
“I’m sure he won’t break that promise, Miko. Let’s just go to my place for today, we can work on our actual homework that’s due soon and have more time to spend with the Autobots when they return from whatever mission is keeping them busy,” he tells her, putting a soft hand on her arm, hoping to reassure her. The Autobots are their friends, almost family, they wouldn’t just abandon them for no reason.
“You’re right,” Raf agrees, getting to his feet.
“I just hope that they’re all right. Ratchet hung up so quickly—” Miko hugs herself comfortingly, looking uncharacteristically worried. “If anything happens to Bulkhead, I’m going to kick some ‘Con tailpipes.” And there’s the Miko Jack knows and loves.
“Come on, let’s go,” Jack says with a small smile, leading his friends toward his house. He lives closest, so the walk will be shortest, but it’ll still be twenty minutes. Jack already dreads walking that long after a tiring school day, but he’s done it before. It’s not the first time the Autobots were unable to pick them up because of missions. Today is just different because the mission is so important.
“Ugh, they really chose the worst day to disappear,” Miko nags as they walk. “It’s hot, it’s dry and I’m hungry. I was really hoping to go to the store and buy some ice cream.”
“I have some ice cream in the freezer at home,” Jack assures her. “I think we even still have some of that ice cream you like so much.”
“Really? You still have the drumsticks?” she asks excitedly.
“Do you also still have that lemonade? My mum doesn’t want to buy it for me because it has so much sugar,” Raf then asks and Jack laughs.
“Yeah, we also still have the lemonade,” he replies.
“We’re going to study so good,” Miko hypes them up. “I bet we’ll be done with our homework in no time. And then afterwards we can call Ratchet again and see if we can still go see the ‘Bots. But if not, we can start our own garage band!”
“You’re the only one who can play an instrument,” Raf points out to her but Miko isn’t deterred.
“We’ll need someone to sing and someone on the drums. Drumming is hard, but I’m sure you’ll learn for me, right Jackrabbit?” Miko leans closer to him as she asks the last part and Jack raises an eyebrow at her.
“Me? Drumming? With what drums?” he asks her amusedly.
“We can make our own with buckets,” Miko laughs, miming a drumming motion.
“Yeah, no,” Jack replies.
Miko opens her mouth to say more but she’s interrupted by the sound of a car revving its motor loudly. The three of them all pause and for a moment Jack thinks it’s maybe Bumblebee or Bulkhead.
“Hello kiddies,” a slightly robotic voice says as a sleek red sports car suddenly pulls up alongside them. They all freeze and they turn to watch the red car and three purple ones right behind it. Those are not Bumblebee and Bulkhead.
Decepticons. Knock Out and three Vehicons.
“You want some candy? I hear human children like candy.” Ew, yeah, no.
“Knock Out!” Miko exclaims, immediately raising her fists. Jack just grabs both Raf and her by the arms and starts running. Now’s not the time to pick fights.
“Run first, fight later,” Jack tells Miko when she protests. Jack is already looking around for places they can hide. Maybe in that alley? Or maybe they can try to—
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Knock Out laughs, speeding up and cutting off their path by driving onto the sidewalk.
“Oh no,” Raf mutters as the Vehicons cut off their path on all other sides. Jack quickly pulls the young boy behind him protectively.
“Now, if you would be so kind, get into the Vehicons. I’d say you could ride with me, but I don’t like getting my interior filthy. It’s difficult to clean,” Knock Out ‘jokingly’ tells them, and Jack feels angry at how flippant this ‘Con is being about this.
But there’s nothing they can do.
They’re the meters-tall robots with inbuilt weapons, and they’re the human children with nothing but their wits and potty mouths.
“Like we’d ever cooperate with you Decepticon scumbags!” Miko protests, making a rude gesture with her hand. Like Jack said, potty mouths.
“Now that isn’t very nice,” Knock Out tuts as if chastising a toddler. “I was asking so nicely. Would you rather we transform and use force? We might accidentally hurt other fleshlings or destroy one of your dwellings.” Jack grits his teeth. He can feel Raf cling to him from behind, clearly scared. But the kid is glaring bravely at the Decepticons nonetheless.
Threating bystanders is a nasty move. But Jack should have seen it coming. They’re lucky there’s no one on this street at the moment. Or perhaps not?
“We’ll cooperate,” Jack replies, glancing at the houses and buildings around them. The streets are empty now, but that could change any moment. If they don’t want to pull too much attention, they'd better get in now. If bystanders come to stare, Knock Out and the Vehicons could hurt them.
The fact that they’re being kidnapped so publicly could come back to bite them in the arse later if anyone sees this. Police would be notified, but they won’t be able to find any culprits. Because they’re aliens.
But that’s a problem for later. Right now, the Decepticons currently kidnapping them are a bigger worry.
“Jack, no, we can’t just go with them,” Miko hisses at him, clearly ready to fight for her hide.
“Miko, I don’t want to do this either, but the longer we stay here, the higher the chances of other people showing up. The Decepticons could hurt them. Do you want to be responsible for that?”
Miko deflates and looks toward the still luckily empty streets. “No,” she admits.
“Do I need to start counting? Like the mothers on TV?” Knock Out asks irritably, and Jack takes a deep breath. Right. They should probably get into the Vehicons before Knock Out starts counting dead people.
“We’ll come, but we’re staying together,” Jack tells Knock Out, getting a firm grip on both Miko and Raf, pulling them both towards the same Vehicon as him.
“We’ll see,” Knock Out just replies with a scoff.
Jack watches from where Arcee is cradling his cylinder in her arms as the Decepticons prepare to start the Omega Lock. Oh, this is all their fault. If Jack had taken Miko and Raf home earlier, they wouldn’t have been caught, and this wouldn’t have happened. They could have avoided this. Jack should have run faster. Or he should have fought back. Or he should have done—
Nothing that can be done anymore right now. And now they’re going to lose the war because of them.
Jack clutches the Key that’s hidden under his shirt, hanging by a leather cord around his neck. If only the Key could fix this situation, too. They’re going to cost the Autobots their planet.
But the Key can’t fix this. It can only pulse slowly in his grip, sending indecipherable messages to him.
And then the Omega Lock is pointed towards Earth. Jack almost cries. Is this the more he was destined for? Being responsible for destroying his planet? Allowing the Decepticons to win the war on Earth and Cybertron? Being useless?
He clutches the Key even tighter. The Key pulses back in response in that weird way it often does, but instead of comforting him, it only makes Jack feel worse. He doesn’t deserve this Key. He shouldn’t be the one holding it. He’s not worthy, not like Optimus told him he is. The Key pulses again, and Jack opens his eyes.
He opens them to Optimus charging the Omega Lock, Star Sabre poised and ready to strike.
What?
Optimus, no—
The Omega Lock explodes, and Jack’s world turns black.
Jack’s chest still hurts by the time they return to the base. He doesn’t know why, but it hurts so much. It started hurting after he woke up. He was jostled around in that cylinder enough to pass out from hitting his head, so perhaps he hurt his ribs as well?
“Jack?” Arcee asks once Ratchet has calmed down. Jack looks up from clutching his chest, right under where the Key hangs. “Are you all right? Did the explosion hurt you? Or did the Decepticons hurt you?”
“I don’t know, my chest just started hurting after the explosion and I hit my head,” Jack replies, rubbing his chest as he feels his heart beat erratically and painfully.
“Ratchet—” Arcee looks up to the still distraught medic.
“What?” He snaps irritably, and Jack feels bad for having to bother the medic.
“Jack was hurt by the explosion,” Arcee tells the medic, not backing down from the snappy ‘Bot.
“Then he should go to a human doctor,” Ratchet dismisses Arcee. “We have other things on our processors right now, Arcee.” The femme clearly wants to protest, but Jack puts a hand on her leg.
“It’s okay, Arcee,” he assures her, pushing himself upright to act like he’s fine. They can go to a doctor once this is all over. Ratchet is already busy enough as it is.
“Fine, but you’re seeing a doctor once this is over,” Arcee relents. Jack thanks her, hiding the throbbing pain in his chest from her.
The whole time Arcee and Jack are on the road, his chest aches keep getting worse and worse. His head slowly heals, the throbbing stops and the light sensitivity lessens. But his chest gets worse.
He starts getting trouble with breathing, and his heart sometimes just—beats so frantically and harshly he has to clutch his chest. He knows something is seriously wrong. But anytime it gets too bad, the Key pulses and suddenly, the pain subsides and soothes into something bearable.
Arcee notices Jack’s pain and is worried, but they can’t go to a doctor while on the run. And he keeps assuring her that he’s fine.
It’s only once Optimus is back and everyone’s together again and Darkmount has crumbled that Jack’s pain comes to a head.
“—And Bulkhead and Wheeljack totally led those Decepticons into a trap,” Miko tells Raf and him as they sit in a corner inside the old Decepticon ship, the Harbinger. They’re waiting for the others to return.
“Bumblebee and I also had some close calls with Decepticons, but Bee’s new paint kept us hidden,” Raf then says, looking proud of his best friend. Jack wants to listen to them talk, he really does. But the pain in his chest is getting too much. He clutches at his chest as his heart beats painfully, and his breathing starts coming short. He desperately clutches at the Key with his other hand, hoping it’ll help him again.
“Jack?”
The voice sounds distant and muffled. He wants to talk to them, tell them it’s all right, but he can’t—he can’t breathe. What—
It’s never been this bad before.
He opens his eyes and watches his mother hover over him worriedly, checking his pulse and other vitals. He can barely see her through the tears.
Why can’t he breathe—he needs to breathe—help him. Someone help him.
He can feel hands on him, positioning him better, trying to find what’s wrong with him. He can feel his heart beating so harshly that he knows people can probably see it beating out of his chest.
He wheezes and gasps as his chest constricts. He needs air. He needs—
Black splotches appear in his vision.
A blue light appears. He knows it’s Ratchet’s scanner, it always leaves him feeling tingly. But today it HURTS. Jack thinks he screams. He thinks he writhes in pain. He doesn’t know what he does.
All he knows is that when he blinks, he’s suddenly in the Harbinger’s med bay, Ratchet and Optimus hovering over him. His mother is sitting above him, his head in her lap.
“Hey, Jack,” his mom greets him with a watery smile. “You gave us quite a scare.” He wants to answer, but can’t find the energy, so instead he just closes his eyes again.
What happened? His chest started hurting again, and then he – passed out?
“Why didn’t you tell us you were in so much pain, baby?” his mom asks him, and Jack opens his eyes again as she softly cards a hand through his hair.
“We were all busy—” Jack replies, coughing at the end and wincing at how much coughing actually hurts. He hears his mother sigh in defeat and watches Ratchet and Optimus both look guilty.
“Jack, there’s no easy way to say this, but,” Ratchet starts, pulling his gaze away from the distance to look at Jack, “the Omega Lock and the Key to Vector Sigma, they’ve changed you.”
Jack frowns. Changed him? In what way? Did they decide to put a hole in his chest and make it start hurting?
“Jack, you have a spark,” his mother tells him with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Wait, what?
“A spark?” Jack asks, looking at Ratchet and Optimus again.
“From what I can understand of your readings,” Ratchet pulls up the data his scanner probably gathered earlier, “is that the Key has been slowly feeding energon into your body. It’s been such small amounts that it wasn’t noticeable or harmful. At least not yet. But—when the Omega Lock exploded, pure cybermatter and energon were sent all around. Sadly, the cylinder you were in couldn’t stop it from reaching you. The Key reacted, and all at once, it pumped all of that cybermatter and energon into you.”
“Which then slowly but surely has been forming into a spark in the centre of your chest, right under where the Key always rests,” Optimus finishes, looking guilty. “If I had known that the Key was harmful to you, I wouldn’t have given it to you, Jack. I’m truly sorry this is happening.”
“Is it bad?” Jack asks, not seeing how a spark could bring this much pain to him. Is it pushing against his organs? Is it toxic to him? He doesn’t understand.
“Jack, you won’t survive the process,” his mother tells him softly, her tears falling down onto her lap, right above Jack’s head. “The spark is getting too big, and it will keep growing. It will—” she can’t finish her sentence, her sobs swallowing her words. But she doesn’t need to.
“Grow too big for my chest,” Jack concludes from the context he’s been given. So that’s the problem. He’s dying.
Fuck.
Jack’s throat closes up, and he feels tears well up in his eyes.
Fuck.
He’s dying.
“There’s only one solution we know of that might be able to save you,” Optimus says softly, kneeling so he’s more at Jack’s height. “Cybertronians are all born from the All Spark, but we all emerge as mere sparks. To grow into sparklings, we need carriers and sires. And the only way we can think of to save you is if we were to—carry your spark to term as we would a sparkling.”
Jack’s mother sobs, and Jack can’t help but cry too.
“A human body can’t survive the process, I’m afraid.”
Fuck.
Fuck.
“We would have to take the spark out of you, but—”
“Your human body won’t survive. No matter what we do.”
Fuck.
They decide to risk it. Jack’s mother reluctantly allows it. She knows it’s the only way to save her son, but he’ll be reborn, he won’t be her son anymore. Not wholly.
“The only carriers on our Team are Arcee, Optimus and I,” Ratchet tells them. “But Arcee is too involved in the war, we can’t afford to have her on the sidelines. And Optimus is obviously not an option either. Carrying a spark both changes a carrier’s physiology and asks a lot of them. So, the only one that can do it is I.”
Jack doesn’t really know what to say, so he just listens. His mum squeezes his hand tightly, her eyes still glistening with tears, even after all the crying they’ve just done.
“Carrying has three terms,” Ratchet keeps explaining sombrely. “The first term includes the connection of sparks and forging of the sparkling’s body. This term is the one with the most risk. My spark could reject yours and stop the carrying process. Or my forge could malfunction and not prepare a proper body for your spark.” The harbinger’s computers show schematics as Ratchet explains, giving a visual aid to the explanation that Ratchet is giving June and Jack.
“The second term starts after the spark descent, a painful and perilous process in which your spark will detach from mine and descend in a temporary pathway to my forge to merge with the body that was created for you there. But once the spark and body have successfully merged, the second term can start properly. This term, shortly summarised, is the term in which you will develop into a proper Cybertronian sparkling. You will form limbs, a T-cog and everything else. During this term, my frame will broaden and reinforce itself to support you, the growing sparkling, and to make room for you. I will also become stronger to be better able to protect you.”
“Our only worry during this term is that Ratchet will need a significantly larger amount of energon to support your growth,” Optimus says as Ratchet stops explaining for a moment. Jack feels bad for asking all of this of the medic. This brings just as much trouble as a normal human pregnancy, only this one lasts much longer from what he understands.
“But we’ll solve that problem when we get to it,” Ratchet tuts at Optimus, clearly trying not to worry Jack or make him feel guilty. “The last term is emergence, where you will come out into the world. It’s a long process I’m not going to explain now, since it is still a long time away. First term is normally around one Earth year long, but since Jack’s spark has already been growing inside himself and got a boost from the Key to Vector Sigma, it will probably take much less. The second term can last from one to three Earth years.” And that’s the explanation. Jack will be gone for literal years if they do this. And he might not even properly come back.
“Are you certain you want to do this, Ratchet?” Optimus asks the medic softly.
“Optimus, if I don’t, Jack will die,” Ratchet replies, and Jack feels like an asshole. Ratchet doesn’t even want to do this. He’s just doing this for Jack.
“If you don’t want to do this, Ratchet—” Jack tries to argue, but the medic turns to him with a glare.
“Jack, I appreciate your willingness to die for my sake, but I want to do this. I’m going to carry your spark to term,” the medic cuts him off.
“And are you certain you want to do this, Jack? We don’t know if you will keep your memories,” Optimus then addresses him. Jack feels his mom squeeze his hand in support, and he takes a deep breath.
“Yeah, I want to try,” he replies. If not for himself, then for everyone else. If he doesn’t keep his memories, then it won’t matter to him anyway. But it will matter to the others. He’ll die anyway. But doing this at least gives him the slim chance of staying alive, even if it is as a Cybertronian.
“Then… let’s do it here on the Harbinger with Cybertronian technology to aid us,” Ratchet decides, patting the monitor he’s standing next to. “Optimus, I’m going to need your assistance.”
“Anytime, old friend,” Optimus agrees without hesitation.
“And June Darby, I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to ask you to leave the room while we do the procedure.”
“I understand,” his mom states defeatedly.
“And Jack…” Ratchet looks at him, and Jack wonders if he’ll still see him the same after all this is over. “Go say your goodbyes for now.”
“I’m going to miss you,” Miko says as they hug.
“Me too,” Raf agrees with a sniffle.
“I know, I’ll try to miss you guys, too,” Jack jokes half-heartedly.
“We’ll be waiting for you once you emerge,” Arcee promises, giving him a fist bump.
Bumblebee beeps and whirrs, and Raf chuckles as he translates, “Bee says he’s going to be the best uncle ever for you.”
“I’ll make sure Ratchet gets enough energon and rest. We want you to grow quickly so you can come and kick Decepticon afts with us again soon,” Smokescreen states enthusiastically, making everyone laugh at the ridiculousness. Smokescreen, forcing Ratchet to do things. In his dreams.
“And we’ll try not to get Smokescreen’s head bashed in by a cranky second-term Ratchet,” Bulkhead laughs, teasingly smiling at Smokescreen. Jack laughs at the indignant look Smokescreen gives the big wrecker.
He’s going to miss them all so much.
“Honey, no matter what happens, you’ll always be my son,” his mother softly says, pulling him into a gentle embrace. “Even if you forget who I am. You were mine before any of this ever happened, and that will never change.” She kisses him tenderly on the forehead, and Jack can’t help but cry a little again.
“And I’ll always be your son, even if I forget,” Jack promises in return, hugging his mom just a little tighter.
“Until we see you again, Jack.”
“Until we meet again.”