Work Text
Jack couldn’t believe he’d been duped into this. He grimaced as he adjusted the clasp on the hood, the red cape flowing out behind him. His ‘costume’ was an old-style mini-dress and shiny black Mary Jane shoes. He blew the blonde wig’s bangs out of his face, but grunted in frustration when his actual bangs fell in their place. ‘Miko’s so gonna pay.’ He thought, glancing in the bathroom mirror to see his mother leaning against the outside wall.June raised a brow. “Remind me how you were tricked into this again?” she asked with some amusement.Jack pursed his lips as he pulled up the hood and inspected himself. “Miko bet that the bots wouldn’t know what Halloween was. I stupidly decided to challenge that as I figured since they’d been here for three years they would have known.” He recited. Even with the clothes and the wig, someone could still tell it was Jack, but they’d also definitely know just who he was supposed to be. ‘Try you might, Miko, but I’m gonna be the best damn Little Red Riding Hood you ever saw.’Jack turned around, and he squared his shoulders as he held out his hand. “Mom, my basket.”June smiled as she lifted up the straw weaved basket decorated with a red bow on the handle. She handed the basket to him with one hand while pulling out a camera from her pocket with the other. “Say cheese.”Jack grimaced as the flash went off, and blinked to get the stars out of his vision. “That’s just what I need, a reminder of my humiliation. Could you at least not show your co-workers this time?”June smiled at him. “Sure.” She said teasingly. Her expression turned serious a moment later. “Remember our rules though, stick with Miko and Raf, don’t go off with strangers, look both ways before you cross the street, and go straight to the dance after Raf’s done trick or treating. Oh, and remember to be back by midnight.”Jack nodded solemnly. He paused as he heard a horn honk and briefly hugged his mother. “That’ll be my ride, I gotta go.”“Have fun.” June called after him.“I will.” Jack replied. He made his way down the steps and walked out of the front door. At the end of the driveway Bulkhead was parked on the curb. Arcee couldn’t carry three people and Optimus was even more particular about Bumblebee’s curfew than June was about his.He took in the setting sun and how the neighbourhood was filled up with Halloween decorations. Kids were in brightly colored costumes and Jack saw Miko waving from the passenger seat, her expression impatient and the make-up actually made her look intimidating. Jack rolled his eyes though. ‘She would go as a member of Slash Monkey.’“Hurry up, that candy’s not gonna collect itself!” she yelled.“I’m coming, I’m coming.” Jack called back as he made his way up to the backseat. When he opened the door, he was greeted by the site of Raf dressed as an actual bumblebee. He raised a brow. “Let me guess, going as Bumblebee would be too obvious, wouldn’t it?”Raf flushed as he adjusted his antenna headband. “That and my parents wouldn’t let me play with sharp objects to make the costume.” He looked over Jack’s outfit. “I see you went through with Miko’s bet.”Jack nodded as he got into the seat, mindful of the skirt as he closed the door. “Thanks for doing this Bulkhead.”Miko huffed as she turned in her seat. “Of course he’d do this.” She said smugly, and she smiled mischievously at him. “Nice dress.”Jack narrowed his eyes. “You picked it out.”Miko grinned. “I know, what’s why it’s so nice.”Jack rolled his eyes. He was amazed that as someone who’d never even known what Halloween was yesterday, that Bulkhead adapted fast. The green mech made sure to stop when the kids and their parents were gonna cross the street, and paused at every festively decorated house to let the three of them out.By the tenth house they’d gone too, Jack decided he’d filled his basket with enough candy to last him the next few days. His mother would probably confiscate anymore on the grounds he couldn’t eat it all by himself. When they reached the eleventh house, Jack stayed behind in the backseat while Raf and Miko ran up to the house with the other trick-or-treaters. Jack started when after Miko got her candy she instead ran to the next house over instead of coming back to the car. “Miko!” he shouted, but the girl ignored him. He hopped out of Bulkhead’s seat and closed the door. “Go, I’ll stay here and wait for Raf.”“Well…okay then.” Bulkhead said uneasily, but still drove after his wayward charge.Jack sighed in irritation. It just wouldn’t be spending time with Miko if she didn’t aggravate him so much. He rubbed a hand over his face, but almost jumped when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He looked up, but really did jump when he saw a wolf mask staring back at him. The eyes behind it widened as the mask was removed to reveal Sierra. Her expression crinkled with concern. “Sorry Jack; didn’t mean to startle you.”Jack put a hand over his chest to calm his racing heartbeat. He took the time to take in Sierra’s costume and was surprised to see her wearing ripped clothing with fake brown fur sticking out of the seams. Wrapped around her waist was a belt with a fake tail on it, and her arms were covered in fake clawed gloves. “It’s okay; I just didn’t think you’d be going out for Halloween.”Sierra grinned. “It’s not every day you get to dress up for fun. Who wouldn’t like that?” her eyes roved down Jack’s body in a way that made him blush. “You certainly picked an…interesting costume.”“Wasn’t my idea, Miko suckered me into it.” Jack grumbled.Sierra chuckled. “At any rate, you certainly look good in it.” She hung onto the mask with one hand while tapping her chin with the other. “I was thinking; if you weren’t busy, did you wanna hang out?”“While that would totally make my night, I can’t.” Jack nodded to Raf, who was making his way back over, but warily stopped as though he was interrupting something. “After I get done taking Raf home, me and Miko are gonna head over to the school dance. Maybe we could meet up there? My curfew’s not ‘til midnight.”“Really?” Sierra preened. “That’s great. I’ll see you then.” She slipped her mask back on and scampered off, the waving tail giving the illusion of wagging. Jack bit his lip. ‘Did…did I just get a date with Sierra?’ he pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, but no, this was real. He smiled to himself as he looked down at Raf. “Let’s catch up with the others; I gotta impress upon Miko the whole buddy system.”“You know she’s still gonna ditch us, right?” Raf asked smartly.Jack sighed. “Yeah, but being the responsible one is a thankless job. Now let’s go.”----Jack glanced down as Raf began to doze off. “Well it looks like you’re spent.” Raf mumbled something under his breath as he rubbed his eyes.Miko whooped as she pumped her fist into the air. “Alright, now it’s party time!” she exclaimed. “Bulkhead, stop at Raf’s to let him out and then take us to the school.”“Are you sure this party is such a good idea? Wouldn’t you rather just go home and eat your candy?” Bulkhead asked awkwardly.Miko huffed as she crossed her arms. “I can’t be expected to gorge myself sick without getting in some partying to compensate.”“It’s okay, Bulkhead, I’ll keep an eye on Miko.” Jack assured him.Miko turned around to smirk at him. “Oh really? Sure you won’t be too busy mooning after Sierra? Heard she’s gonna be at the dance. Think she’ll wanna save one for Miss Red?”Jack scowled at her. “I’ll have you know that I met up with Sierra earlier when you ditched us,” he stressed, but Miko rolled her eyes, “and we were gonna hang out at the dance anyway.” Just to dig it in, he added, “Our costumes even match, so your attempt to humiliate me has failed.”Now Miko looked just plain snide. “Oh, and how does a cheerleader go with Red Riding hood?”“Cheerleader?” Jack repeated, his brows furrowing. “Sierra was dressed as the Wolfman.”Miko looked at him like he was an idiot. “No, she’s going as a cheerleader, something about wanting the squad to match.”“Costume ideas change, maybe she decided on a different look for tonight.” Jack explained. The girl rolled her eyes as she looked back out the front window. “Whatever, it’s not like it’s me whose going to be disappointed. I got you into a dress; this dance is just the icing on the cake.”Jack scoffed. When they arrived at Raf’s house, Jack helped the kid to the front door and bid him goodnight before somewhat excitedly rushing back to the ‘car.’ He couldn’t deny he wanted to have that dance. ‘Maybe Sierra’s finally warming up to me.’ He thought, feeling hopefully optimistic. The rest of the drive to the school was uneventful, and Jack barely had enough time to get out to Bulkhead when to pick them up before he chased after Miko as she ran into the school through the fog-filled archway. Jack looked around the hall, where the walls were covered in garbage bags and low flashing strobe lights were blinking different in colors of red, purple and black along the walls. Streamers hung from the ceiling that stretched all the way to the floor. Jack was a bit surprised by this as he carefully made his way through the collection. He was sure some punk-like Vince- would have ripped them down for fun by now. ‘Halloween does do strange things to people; maybe Vince got all his unpleasant impulses out last night.’ Jack thought. He caught a glimpse of Miko rushing into the gymnasium and he quickly hurried over. He could hear the sounds of music pumping from the open doors as more fog rolled out, and lights flashing inside. Jack peered around at the costumes, and realized with some dismay that he couldn’t pick out Miko’s distinctive metal band look. ‘How hard could this have been?’ he thought incredulously, feeling like slapping himself. He sighed as he knew that even if he found Miko he wouldn’t be able to get her to listen, she barely listened to him anyway!He took his cell phone out of his basket, digging deep underneath the sweets and texted her to be at least ready to go by midnight. He got a ‘I know, mom’ back and he could almost imagine Miko’s huffy eye roll as she hit send. Jack shook his head and made his way through the crowd, keeping his gaze straight ahead as he weaved through the crowd towards the refreshment table.He shifted the basket so the handle rested on his elbow while he poured himself a glass of punch. He sniffed the juice just to be sure it wasn’t spiked because he doubted even a chaperone would have been able to watch the table every minute of every second. Deeming it safe enough, Jack made his way over to the empty corner and sipped as he tried to scope out where Sierra was. Jack shifted as he became aware of how creepy his behavior was. He was looking into a crowd of people just hoping to see if the girl he had a crush on would show up so he could dance with her. While standing by himself in a corner. Yeah, this was uncomfortable.“Jack?”The teen blinked as he looked up, and he couldn’t stop his expression from lighting up as he saw Sierra in her Wolfman costume, and in her gloved hand was a cup of punch. “You came!” he blushed, and coughed as he tried to redo his blunder. “Er, I mean, I see you’re thirsty too.”Sierra peered down at her cup. “Yeah,” she agreed, her voice coming out crystal clear despite the mask, “it can get pretty hot in this thing.” She shrugged, her eyes crinkling up in amusement behind the eye holes. “What are you gonna do though? Oh, wait, here’s an idea.” She tapped a finger to her chin. “Why don’t we step out? It must be cooler out in the hall. Plus we’ll probably get some privacy.” She said and winked.Jack fought down the urge to blush again. He pinched his leg, but nope, he was still awake. Jack kept his voice even despite how nervous he was getting. “Sure, that could be fun-or something.”Sierra’s eyes crinkled again in a way that suggested she was smiling. “What are we waiting for then?” she gestured for Jack to follow her, but he wavered. “What’s the matter?”“Just let me text Miko, I need to tell her where I’m going.”Sierra put a hand over his as he reached for his phone. He looked into her eyes. “It’s just stepping outside. She’ll be okay for that long, or are you her babysitter?” her fingers curled around his.Jack paused, but let her lead him out of the gym without a word. He felt butterflies in his stomach as he looked down at their intertwined hands. “So, what exactly did you have in mind? Did you wanna…uh, talk or something?”Sierra shrugged her shoulders slightly as she looked back at him. “Or something.” She said softly. She pulled him over to a garbage bag and pulled it aside, revealing am empty hall that was only lit by the streetlamp shining in through the window. “Come on-unless you’re scared of a little darkness.” She teased.Jack stiffened. “No, I’m not scared; it’s just that this is off-limits.” Sierra tilted her head, but slipped into the hall anyway. Jack looked around, but once he saw the coast was clear, he walked in as well. He tripped up on the garbage flap, but Sierra reached out to catch his arm, and carefully took his drink before setting it down beside hers as she steadied him. “Thanks.”“No problem.” She said and handed him one of the drinks. He hesitated and she rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, even if it’s not yours, I didn’t drink it.” Her eyes crinkled again. “So you don’t have to worry about getting any girly germs.” She added, but Jack still gave pause and she rolled her eyes before pulling up the bottom half of her mask and took a sip. “There, now you’ll get cooties, but it’s not like I spiked it or anything.”Jack sighed as he took the cup. “Sorry, you can’t be too careful.” He said and took a sip from it as well.Sierra nodded solemnly. “You can’t.” she agreed. “I like Halloween.” She said abruptly and Jack raised a brow. “It’s the only time of the year where you can go anywhere and just be anyone.” She tilted her head. “Wouldn’t you agree?”Jack shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so. Plus getting free candy’s pretty cool too.”Sierra stared at him for a moment, and she looked away with a chuckle. “Yes, there’s that. What I’m talking about though is that for just one night a year, you can simply pretend you’re someone else.” She looked at him meaningfully. “Coming here tonight would be the only chance I’d have to be with you-with nothing to get in the way.”Jack felt like he was in a dream; Sierra just confessed she wanted to be with him. He again pinched his leg, but smiled as he found that he was still not asleep. “I’d never thought this would happen. I mean, I like you a lot, Sierra, but I just always figured you were too popular for me.” He slipped his hand through the hood to rub at the back of his neck. “Just to be clear though, you’re not pulling my leg, are you? No one’s going to jump out and tell me I’ve been punked, right?”Sierra chuckled again. “No, we’re completely alone.” She sidled up to him, taking his cup away to lean against his side. “To do, well, anything really.”Jack bit his lip, but decided to tease her right back. “It’s gonna be really hard to kiss you with that mask on.”Sierra’s eyes seemed to brighten. “How very true.”Jack smiled briefly, but looked down at this basket when his phone began to vibrate. “Sorry, I’d better get this.” He apologized, but Sierra just crossed her arms as he turned away and opened the phone. It was a text from Miko.‘Ha! I was right!’ she had an attachment, and Jack clicked it open. His eyes widened with confusion and mounting horror. It was grainy due to being taken with a camera, but Jack could clearly see Sierra with the other members of her cheer squad, and the time stamp indicated it had been taken not two minutes ago.Jack felt a chill run down his spine as he slowly turned around, and he found himself staring into red eyes now. “Who are you?”The mask was removed, and while it was Sierra’s face that stared back at him, the smile seemed to belong to someone else entirely. “I should have guessed this wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought.” ‘her’ eyes narrowed. “I knew I should have just gotten the little flehsbag out of the way in the first place.”It was the word which tipped him off and Jack tensed, his heart racing as he could hear his blood in his ears. “Decepticon.” He spat. “How are you even here?”‘Sierra’ grinned, twisting ‘her’ upper body as if showing it off. “Like it? It’s a little experimental project I came up with. It uses hard-light constructions however I see fit, into whatever I see fit. This is a ‘holoform’ if you want to get technical.”Jack remembered Sadie, the hologram rider Arcee had used before he was partnered with her. But Sadie hadn’t been solid, and he stared at his hand with newfound horror. ‘This construct could touch me.’‘Sierra’s’ grin widened. “I can see you’re putting the pieces the pieces together.” ‘her’ eyes narrowed and the lips twisted into a smirk. “Not fast enough though, since the sedative I put into the drink should be taking effect soon.”Jack jolted, the words registering with a sharp shock to his nerves. He’d been drugged? He tried to stagger back, but his legs felt rubbery and he crashed to the ground, his basket tipping over and spilling not only the candy out, but sending his phone out of his reach. “Ah, it worked quicker than I thought.” ‘Sierra’ though sounded quite pleased by this. Jack didn’t know why this was, but he didn’t want to find out.He kicked his legs and moved his arms across the floor as he tried to crawl over to his phone, but his legs were soon unresponsive and he could feel a strange tingling sensation running along his body. He gritted his teeth as his head starting swimming and his eyes began to droop.‘Sierra’ came around in front of him, crouching down as ‘she’ tilted Jack’s head up with finger, ‘her’ eyes glimmering with sadistic glee. “Don’t think you’re out of the woods yet.” A grin stretched across ‘her’ lips once more. “When you wake up, we’re gonna have some real fun.” ‘She’ chuckled. “Best night of the year indeed.”Before Jack slipped into unconsciousness, he felt the wig being pulled off and his hair was gripped tightly. He winced with what little strength he had left, and the last imprint he got was of a pair of lips pressing into his own.Whatever was going to happen next, Jack knew he was not going to like it.----Blearily, Jack was faintly aware of having been moved, but his mind was too hazy to make out anything more than a glimpse of a car roof, and to know that he was lying down. He tried to roll, but fell flat on his face, coughing as he could taste the rug in his mouth. He dimly heard a chuckle, so deep and booming that it reverberated through Jack’s body. He sluggishly propped himself up on his elbow, squinting at the front seat, but there was no one there. Jack groaned as he lied back on the floor, frowning as he knew what doing that would accomplish-nothing. After all, Jack already knew it was a Decepticon. When he finally came to awareness, Jack squinted as he tried to shake off the grogginess, only to freeze. He was still in the car. And now that his mind was catching up with him, he realized just who his kidnapper was. Jack tensed up, his eyes roving around the interior for any sign of this holoform that hauled him back onto the backseat. For a moment Jack wished that Knock Out might actually be asleep, but his faint hope was dashed when the sunroof opened up to reveal the clear night sky.“It’s a lovely night, wouldn’t you agree?”Jack narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but wasn’t surprised when he found that his basket and cell phone weren’t with them. He felt a knot form in his stomach at how Knock Out could so easily have gotten him away from the crowd. ‘Here I’m supposed to be the responsible one.’ He thought bitterly. “Stop with the pleasantries, what do you want, Knock Out?”“You know Jack, it’s not exactly fun if I have to explain everything to you.” Knock Out said testily as his sunroof snapped shut. “The things I told you in the hall-I meant them.”Jack furrowed his brow, but when it finally hit him, his eyes shot wide open. “No, no, no!” he shook his head. “You had to be joking, just saying all that to lure me out so you could kill me!”“Is it so hard to believe that I could feel something for you?” Knock Out had the gall to sound actually hurt by Jack’s reaction.“Unless that feeling is murderous intent, then yes.” Jack retorted. He sat upright, trying to make himself braver than he actually felt, but confusion was still there; why were they in the woods? He was literally in Knock Out’s backseat though; this was so much worse than facing down Megatron. “You made a big mistake; my friends will notice that I’m missing, and they’ll come looking for me.”Knock Out chuckled sinisterly. “Oh, I have no doubt the Autobots will come looking for you-the question is; what kind of state will they find you in?” Jack almost jumped when the door abruptly opened. “Just to make this more…thrilling, you can even have a head start-you have one minute.”Jack stared incredulously at his steering wheel. “What?”Knock Out ‘tsked’ at him. “Tick-tock, Jack. You just lost five seconds.”Jack’s eyes widened, and he scrambled to get out of the Decepticon. He dashed into the forest as fast as he could, his legs aching in punishment for his sudden sprint, but he found getting away from a delusional and psychotic ‘Con was an acceptable price to pay. He squinted against the darkness, and as he leaned against a tree in exhaustion, he finally took the time to take in his surroundings. The moon casted at least a little light to the area, but Jack wasn’t sure that was a good thing as it just made things feel even creepier. He breathed in deeply, but he focused enough to see that in the distance there was a log cabin. ‘Could it be someone’s vacation home? It is an outpost?’ Whatever it was doing out here, Jack’s decision was made when he could hear Knock Out’s engine ringing out through the forest. Jack took in the distance, but the thought of a phone was too much not to risk it.
Without further thought, Jack sprinted from his resting spot to the cabin, the sound of the engine on his heels. He felt his heart almost burst out of his chest once his hands touched the wooden door, but flinched when he found it locked. He searched around the immediate area, his hands feeling around the top of the door, but almost sobbed in relief when he found the key under the carpet and he all but collapsed once inside. He slid down the door, his chest heaving as he tried to calm his racing heart, and he put his hands over his mouth as he heard the engine outside was now on top of him.
Jack felt like an eternity had gone by when Knock Out finally drove off. Never before had he been so glad for ignorant robots; they wouldn’t think that a darkened house was inhabited-they’d need a key to get in, and Jack hadn’t broken any windows to suggest he had done that.
He peered cautiously out of the window, but couldn’t see Knock Out’s distinctive red plating anywhere in sight. Jack locked the door just to make himself feel a little bit safer and made his way around the cabin. There were plastic coverings over the furniture, and it made him tad less guilty for effectively breaking in. ‘Man I hope this place has a working phone.’
Jack couldn’t find a phone in the living room or the kitchen, so he made his way up the stairs to the upper levels. There were four bedrooms, and after turning on the bathroom light he was relieved that the electricity worked. He peeked into two of the bedrooms, but aside from finding dusty beds and curtains, neither room had a phone.
His luck finally changed when he got to what was the master bedroom. Jack held his breath when he lifted up the phone from its receiver, but let out a relieved sigh when he heard the dial tone. He sat down on the bed, and quickly dialed Miko’s number.
“Who is this?”
“Miko, it’s Jack.”
“What?! Where have you been? Your mom’s been freaking out ever since I couldn’t get a hold of you.”
Jack winced. “I don’t know where I am, but Knock Out kidnapped me and brought me to some wooded area. I managed to hide myself in a cabin, just please trace this and find me before he does.”
“Okay-” The phone cut off, and Jack felt dread in the pit of his stomach as the dial tone didn’t start up, and the light in the bathroom flickered off.
Jack set the phone down, and wiped the dust off from his hood, but stopped when he looked at the cape that had been lying on the bed. It wasn’t dusty-in fact, the whole bed wasn’t dusty. He felt terror fill him as he backed away from the bed. ‘No, this has to be a coincidence, this cannot have been planned-he couldn’t possibly have known-’
Jack froze when he bumped into something solid in the doorway. He looked over his shoulder, and whirled around completely when he found a human-sized Knock Out in the doorway. He looked just as he did in his regular form, his smug smirk both grating and horrifying as Jack registered that this had been planned after all. “You did all this?”
Knock Out chuckled, his red optics narrowing. “Yes, Jack, and I’m sooo glad that you found this cabin.” He tilted his head as his smirk widened. “I would have hated interfacing with you in the dirt.” He dusted some imaginary dirt off his frame. “Even if it wasn’t there, I have some standards.”
Jack tensed up, his shoulders squaring as he tried to think of a way to buy more time. “The Autobots know that I’m here-they’ll be storming through a ground bridge any minute now so you’d better let me go.”
Knock Out’s smirk turned into a grin. “Then I guess we’d better hurry.” He stepped into the room, and Jack backed away as those clawed servos reached for him.
When there was enough space between Knock Out and the door, Jack ducked around him as he lunged for the door. He gagged as the hood around his neck was pulled taut, and he landed on his backside. Jack reached for the clasp of his costume as he felt himself being pulled back. His fumbling was rendered moot when a silver servo wrapped around his wrist, and he looked up to find Knock Out looking down at him with a frightening gleam in his optics.
Jack struggled to get his wrist free, but Knock Out wrapped his free servo around Jack’s other wrist and dragged him back to the bed. Jack felt his heart pounding in his chest, and he scrapped his shoes across the floor as he continued to struggle against the hold on him.
Knock Out dropped him onto the bed, and pinned Jack’s hands above his head with one servo while grabbing his chin. He leaned in close, and Jack tried to push his head further into the bed, shuddering when Knock Out kissed him at the corner of his mouth. “This is going to happen, Jack. Don’t fight and it won’t hurt-as much.”
Jack grimaced as his chin was released, and the servo sneaked under his skirt. He closed his eyes as, lips pursing as he wanted desperately to be anywhere but here. “Th-the Autobots will find me.”
Knock Out chuckled again. “This again? I know they’ll find you, but,” he leaned over to his ear, and nipped at the lobe, “will it be soon enough?”
When Knock Out’s digit dug into his skin as he pulled Jack’s underwear down, did he know that this wasn’t a drug-induced nightmare. It was real, and he knew deep down that even if the Autobots showed up, it would be much too late.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The house was silent, and Jack would have to strain his ears really hard to hear his mother's soft snores across the hall. His door was always opened now; Jack couldn't stand it being shut, it reminded him too much of…that.
Had what not happened, just happened, Jack could almost swear they were lovers basking in the afterglow. But that's not what this was at all, it was a horrifying parody of it; his skin crawled as Knock Out wrapped his arms around Jack's body and held it close to his chest, servos grazing down his back.
Jack didn't have the strength left to fight anymore, and he hated Knock Out all the more for not leaving him after he was finished. He didn't want the Autobots to find him like this, to see the Decepticon holding him so gently and even for a second think Jack went along with it.
Jack hissed when one of Knock Out's servos began rubbing his lower back; he was sure when he got a look at himself, he'd see nothing but scratches along his thighs, and bite marks littering his neck and shoulders. His dress skirt was torn to shreds, with bits and pieces strewn underneath him and his top likely had tears from where Knock Out's digits scraped down his body, the sharp talons so easily sliding through the fabric.
"Leave." He found himself saying, his voice hoarse and tired.
Knock Out chuckled, still sounding so full of energy. He pressed his lips to Jack's temple, who could only manage a slight flinch, but it sent a shot of pain up his spine all the same. "You're in no position to give me orders. In fact, I dare say you lack even the power to stop me from having my way again." His chuckle turned dark. "You certainly didn't in the first place."
Jack frowned as he glared into the Decepticon's red optics. "Would saying please make a difference?"
Knock Out looked contemplative, but Jack didn't get his hopes up. "No." he said eventually. He continued kissing down Jack's face to his neck, lips pressing against the base of his throat before kissing one of the bite marks. "Not unless it's 'please don't stop'. Such a shame all you could do was scream and cry."
Disgust churned in Jack's stomach, and he wanted so much to puke. He gritted his teeth as he felt a servo adjust his backside on the pillow Knock Out had placed under him. "I hate you."
No amount of 'comfort' Knock Out had bothered with could ever take back what happened, and it made Jack sick to wonder if the 'concern' was even genuine. He'd given him the pillow to let up the bleeding, had covered him up with a clean sheet and turned up his own heater to keep Jack warm.When the Autobots finally arrived, Jack couldn't even gather the strength to yell at them, to demand why they hadn't found him sooner, why they didn't save him from Knock Out, why they had brought his mother. Jack couldn't even look at her as she'd gazed down at him, tears pooling in her eyes as her hands came over her mouth, a gasp escaping.Now, Jack understood why, but then he had been too terrified and scared to think about the Autobots reasoning. He'd just known that they brought his mother to see the most awful moment of his life. His mother was the only medical personnel they could find at such short notice to assess the damage, as none of the Autobots, or humans for that matter, could have guessed what Knock Out was going to do to him.Jack certainly hadn't realized it until it was too late.
June did a brief examination with shaking hands and barely restrained sobs, before she had went about patching him as best she could for the time being. Jack knew it was his mother touching him, but he hated himself for flinching every time thinking it was Knock Out.
Jack sucked in a breath when his mother removed the sheet from his lower half, her eyes widening in horror. Her expression crumpled as the tears finally spilled down her cheeks. Jack closed his eyes as he wished he could make this all go away, go back to the moment he met Knock Out in Sierra's form and tell him to fuck off.
"I-I-I need to turn you over," June whispered, "to bandage you up."
Jack's face scrunched at the thought of rolling over, but he was going to be moved eventually. "Okay." He said quietly. "When am I getting out of here?" he didn't ask about the Autobots; he was still too shaken at catching even a glimpse of them outside the window.
He wanted to believe they weren't listening, that they weren't relaying to Fowler about his injuries and how gently they'd need to move him.
"It's going to be okay, Jack." His mother said as she tried to sound reassuring, but she still looked so shaken.
Jack though wanted to believe her, if for nothing else than that he was just so tired.
When he'd woken up, Jack was immensely relieved to find himself in a military base hospital than a regular one. At least here, he wouldn't have to hide the truth, but in the same breath, he'd have to tell the truth. Examining him probably gave confirmation while Jack was still asleep, but repeating what Knock Out had done to him was like having his fingernails pulled out.The only bit of relief that came from it was the doctors had held off the officials from questioning him until they found him well enough to hold a conversation.Relief quickly turned to agitation, which turned into a festering annoyance the longer he found himself in the base. Jack couldn't stand looking at anyone, knowing that all he'd see was thinly disguised pity, for having the dubious 'honor' of showing that not all the Decepticons thought humans were disgusting pieces of carbon.Jack certainly thought Knock Out was disgusted by his body's functions, as the image of the medic's face when he'd made Jack bleed proved. In the same, terrifying turn though, Knock Out's optics gleamed when Jack had screamed as the digit edged in deeper.Bile rose in Jack's throat as he glared hard at the ceiling of his room. Yes, Knock Out found him repulsive despite his assurances he felt something for him, but there was nothing good about being the mech's exception. Jack forced the bile back down as he reached for the glass of water on his nightstand.Jack had been allowed to leave the base after a week, so long as he met with one of their shrinks. He hadn't been terribly fond of the idea, but he'd agreed just to get home faster and be back in his own room. It was safety, comfort, and he barely left it.June had wisely kept the Autobots at bay, and only relayed that they wished he was well and Arcee promised that Knock Out would pay. Honestly it had made Jack feel a bit better that his guardian had his back, but it didn't stop the resentment that she hadn't been there for him.None of them had.
"Hey, Jack."
He froze, his fists clenching as his breathing picked up. Jack couldn't handle this; if he didn't want to see the Autobots, why did Miko think it was a good idea he wanted to see her? The answer came just as quickly: it was Miko, she never thought things through. "What are you doing here?" he asked without looking up from the plate on his lap. The sandwich had once looked appetizing but now his stomach was in knots.
He caught Miko walking along the edge of the room through his peripheral vision, her gazing anywhere but on him too. "I just…wanted to see how you were doing."
"Well you saw me, has your guilt eased?" It was harsh, and Jack felt bad about it, but still-saying it felt so good.
Miko jerked back, but her posture turning defensive just as quickly. "Why would I feel guilty? Knock Out's the one who kidnapped you." She gripped her pigtails, pulling as she groaned. "Just because he beat on you doesn't mean you should spend your life cooped up in this box."
Jack froze again, this time from incredulity. Beat on him? Was that all Miko thought Knock Out had done? "Did anyone tell you what happened?"
Miko paused. "No, but what other reason would there be? You've missed two weeks of school, shouldn't you have healed up by now?"
The tightness in Jack's chest lessened, but only a little as he realized with a start that of course no one was going to tell Miko or Raf about what really went on. Now that the damage had been done, it was too late for Jack, but the other two children could still be shielded.
Jack's fists clenched on the sheet underneath him. Even if that wasn't the thought process, he still couldn't let it go. "Miko, do I look injured too you?" he asked tersely, and finally allowed himself to look up.
Miko frowned as she gazed back at him. "No," she sounded confused, "so why are you still here?"
Jack remembered what Miko said about her life back in Tokyo, and knew she could never understand him. Quite frankly, he didn't want her to understand, to know the horror of what he'd gone through. He'd still wake up sometimes in a sweat as he could almost hear Knock Out whispering in his ear again. "Forget it, it's not important."
Miko's frown deepened. "Jack, you can't let that 'Con win." She said fiercely, and Jack looked at her startled for the tone alone. "He's still out there, fighting the Autobots and trying to destroy them-and us. None of us can just sit around and not do anything to help!"
"I know that, Miko." Jack said tiredly. "I just can't afford to see the Autobots right now because…" They remind me of him, they weren't there to save me, how can I look them in the optics now, he couldn't say any of it, at least not to Miko of all people. "I just can't, okay? You don't know what I went through, but I hope you never have to, so can you please just drop it?"
Miko blinked as she jerked back, but she snapped at him just as quickly. "You don't think I know? We get nearly attacked all the time!"
"Only because you get us into the mess in the first place." Jack muttered.
Miko scowled at him. "So this is my fault? You're blaming me for what happened to you?"
"Yes!" Jack stiffened immediately. He didn't mean for it to come out, to sound so harsh, but he couldn't stop once it was said. "If you had listened to me and we stuck together this wouldn't have happened. Knock Out wouldn't have been able to put his plan into motion, and I'd see Sierra with her squad. You just couldn't help yourself and left me, you weren't there-none of you were there!"
Jack breathed in deeply, but even as shock crossed Miko's face, he found the rest of the tightness in his chest unwinding. He couldn't believe he'd just come right out with it, and could already imagine this incident being something his therapist would bring up.
When Miko's expression started to crumple, guilty replaced any euphoria he had. "Miko-I-I-"
"Don't you think I know that?" she asked. "I had to hear your mom calling about where you were, that you missed curfew. And then I hear you yelling over the phone about Knock Out kidnapping you? I get it! I really do get it," she repeated more softly, "and what happened to you-whatever it was- don't think for a second that none of us feel like we could have done better." Her eyes hardened. "But you can't just let this control your life. Knock Out left you alive, what if he comes back to finish the job? Are you just going to let him?"
Jack felt fear grip him, his stomach churning as he could very well see Knock Out doing just that. He hunched over, closing his eyes as he gritted his teeth. No, he didn't want that, not in a million years did he ever want to see Knock Out again.Despite how truly out of the loop she was, Jack had taken Miko's advice to heart. Day by day he tried to get out more, even if it was just to take the garbage to the road. And just as little by little, he thought he could get through this.Even when the flashes would come and set him back, he refused to break. Even when he remembered Knock Out's parting words.
"I can't wait for next Halloween."