𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞

Chapter One

Jack was raised to never lift his hand to a woman, but Miko was asking for it right on that air filled head of hers. How could she be so clueless about this? The two of them, along with Rafael and Agent Fowler were almost killed by the Decepticons, and she was acting like it was all some big video game. Rafael was shaken up pretty badly, Fowler was hurt by that one tall, creepy looking 'Con, and even with Jack's own "experiences", he was pretty freaked out by all this as well. Granted, their little "adventure" turned up some equation of some kind that could be useful to the Autobots, but things were getting too dangerous for Jack, and he's had enough danger to last a lifetime. Ratchet and Optimus Prime returned to base shortly after the rest of the team did, looking like they had been through hell and back. Jack was all too familiar with that feeling. When Ratchet revealed what he and Optimus had been through, Jack felt the blood drain from his body.

"We engaged an army of undead Cybertronian warriors."

What? Undead...? Jack could feel his heart going into overdrive, and bits of sweat seeping through his pores. 'Not again' he thought, 'I can't do this again.' Of course, Miko thought it was the coolest thing in the world, while Jack thought it was another nightmare.

"Zombies? You fought zombies, and I missed it?"

Was she freaking kidding? Miko showed Ratchet the "equation" that they had found aboard the Nemesis. Miko was still acting like it was all fun and games.

"At least that's what he looked like before Bulkhead rearranged his grill."

Jack had enough at that point. Someone needed to hit Miko with a dose of reality, the reality that they were all in danger.

"Miko, Raf was almost killed. This isn't a game! When are you gonna get that through your thick skull?"

"Hm, we were all almost killed Jack, you, me, Raf even them!"

What? That was her argument? Almost doesn't count, like it was some kind of...Jack stopped trying to understand her logic, and made a decision, one he knew was for the best. If zombie robots were coming to Earth, the Autobots can handle it. He, on the other hand, was done.

"Well, if this was just an average day with the Autobots then I don't wanna be a part of it, not anymore."

What else could he do? Nothing he'd experienced had prepared him for this. He was of no use to the Autobots, and couldn't do anything to try and stop whatever horrors Megatron was cooking up. He couldn't do it...not again. The base felt like it was getting smaller, and Jack needed to get out of there. To his credit, he kept his composure, but he was in a state of panic on the inside. Optimus had assured him that he had not intended to endanger his or the other children's lives, but respected his decision to leave. Jack was thankful for that. Despite what happened, he had come to respect the Prime a great deal. Ratchet was all too happy to send Jackson off. As the groundbridge flared to life, Jack walked in it's direction, before he remembered something. He looked back, and saw that Rafael was not following him.

"Come on, Raf."

But the boy was hesitant, as if he was unwilling to leave. 'Please come with me, Raf.' Jack silently pleaded. He didn't want to leave him here, to be in danger. Ultimately, the boy made his decision as well.

"I'll be okay, Jack. See you at school."

Everything in Jack wanted to grab the boy and run...and tell him the truth about what really happened in...No, he couldn't tell anyone. No one could know. Still, Rafael was going to stay with the Autobots, and there was nothing Jack could do but hope for the best.

"Sure thing...Take care of yourself Raf."

The way he said it caught the attention of both Optimus and Arcee. He spoke as if he didn't expect to ever see Rafael again. Something had changed in the teen, Arcee realized. As he walked to the groundbridge, she stood in his path.