Ancient Base: A Transformers Prime Oneshot

Takes place after Transformations




Jack stood in one of the spare rooms of the Autobot base that was used for weapons practice. He had set up several targets and was now shooting at them with his arm canon, which was bulky and cylindrical like Bulkhead’s, but angled inward toward the end. His aim had also improved greatly since he started practicing daily. It had been a month since Jack had been transformed into a Cybertronian and he was slowly getting used to the things his new body could do.

“Jack?” came a soft voice from behind him. He turned to see the woman who had called his name standing in the doorway.

“Hi, mom,” he said, transforming his canon back into an arm.

“You’re getting good at that,” June Darby stated, anxiety slightly evident in her voice. Although she would never say, it was clear she doesn’t want her son being trained with weapons.

“Yeah, it’s better to stay prepared,” he told her, trying to ease her worries.

“I know,” she countered. “But I’m your mother, and I don’t like the idea of you using guns. Any kind of gun.”

“Well, it’s kind of attached to me. No point in not knowing how to use it.”

June Darby nodded, understanding what her son was saying but still unable to release her fears. Jack knelt down and put out his hand as an invitation for her to climb into his palm. Without hesitation she climbed up and Jack raised her closer to his face.

“You know they still don’t let me off the base for missions, right?” Jack said, once again trying to ease her nerves.

“Really? I thought you started going on patrol with Arcee a week ago.”

“That was once, and it was very low maintenance. The only reason I went was to get a feel of it for future patrols. Well, patrols I’ll possibly be going on in the future.”

“I see.” Despite Jack’s best intensions, June’s anxiety picked up again at the thought of her son going out on any more patrols or even dangerous missions.

“I’m sorry, mom. I didn’t mean to make you feel worse.”

“No, no, sweetie, I know,” she cooed, patting his thumb. “I understand this is who you are now. Mothers just can’t help but worry about their children. But I have to let you do your thing, and I know you will do great things.” She smiled, and jack returned it before a long pause sat between them.

“I miss you at the house,” June finally told him.

“I miss you, too.”

The mother and son duo stayed the way they were for some time, just enjoying each other’s company, until a cheerful voice interrupted them.

“Hey, Jack! Are you using your canon?” Miko called from a distance. She shortly emerged from around the corner and ran into the room, followed by Raf.

“Awe, I missed it?” she whined.

“I’m sure Jack will continue after I leave, Miko,” June told the eccentric teen.

“Yes!” Miko cheered in a hushed voice.

Jack put his mother back on the floor before he asked, “Do you have to go back to work?”

“Yes, I have a late shift,” She confirmed, looking at her watch. “In fact, I have to leave now. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jack nodded before his mother left the room. The teens waited until they heard her car start up and drive off base.

“Get your canon out again!” Miko demanded, wasting no time.

Jack snickered, used to his friends way of speaking, and transformed his limb back into the canon it was previously. He took a few shots at the target, missing the center by only a ring or two.

“Nice!” Miko cheered, pumping her fists in the air before crossing her arms over her chest. “Your aim’s a little off, though.”

Jack let out a sigh, a human habit he probably would never lose. “It has gotten better, you know,” he told her.

“If you say so,” she rebutted. “So, when’s your first mission?”

“I’m not seeing one in my future just yet.”

“What!?” Miko threw out her arms, adding exaggeration to her surprise and disappointment. “But it’s been a month! And we’ve gone out on missions as humans.” She slouched in anger and casually gestured her arm outward, holding it there for a moment before letting it drop to her side.

“Those were special exceptions. I still need more training,” Jack explained, shrugging off Miko’s over reacting.

“That makes sense, Miko,” Raf spoke up, taking Jack’s side.

Miko let out an annoyed grunt, not happy about losing the argument.

“Why does it even bother you? I’m the one who’ll be going into the field,” Jack asked.

“I can’t show an interest in my friend’s soon-to-be responsibilities?” she countered, sounding hostile and defensive.

Then Jack finally realized what Miko was really up to, “Do you think you’ll be able to sneak out easier into the field if I'm going?”

“No!” Miko defended herself.

“The ‘bots still won’t allow it, Miko,” Raf said, seeing right through her lie.

Miko crossed her arms and Jack returned his limb to it’s arm and hand state, “I’m done weapons practice for now.” He leaned down, extending his hand to his friends. They climbed on and together they entered the main room of the base, where Jack dropped Raf and Miko off in their specially designed area.

Ratchet was typing something into the large computer and the other ‘bots were watching behind them. It was clear they had been previously discussing whatever Ratchet was now doing. Arcee turned to see that Jack and the other teens had come in.

“How’d you do?” she asked Jack, referring to his weapons practice.

“Getting better each time. Only missed the center by a couple rings,” he told her.

“I think he’s ready for a mission!” Miko blurted, popping up from the couch.

“Miko,” Jack whispered, his expression urging her to stop.

But Optimus had already heard her and was now walking towards the teens. “Although Jack has been adapting and learning at an exceptional level, he still has some time before he is ready to engage any Decepticon. It is best that he stay out of the field as much as possible at this time; as a precaution,” Optimus explained, mostly to Miko, as he knew she was the one pushing it most. She flopped back onto the couch, accepting her defeat for the day.

~*~

The next morning came and Ratchet relayed a message to Jack from his mother when he first came into the main sector. “Your mother will be coming later today, being that she has an early shift,” Ratchet said. “She said she’d try to stop by during her break, but can’t make any promises.”

“That’s fine,” Jack replied, walking over to the computer console the medic was currently positioned in front of. “What were you working on yesterday?”

“Locating co-ordinates,” Ratchet answered smoothly. “Optimus has recently found some data that suggests there is an ancient Autobot base located here on Earth.”

“Really? Where?”

“That’s the trouble. It’s been hidden extremely well to avoid being located by the enemy. We have some data that might help narrow it down, but I’ll have to do a lot of decoding, and the others will have to go on quite a few fact finding missions. There’s no telling how long it will be before we locate it, and we may never succeed.”

“Oh.”

“I’m about to send them out now,” Ratchet told him before he paused a moment. “I asked Optimus if he would consider letting you join one of them on their search. But he doesn’t want to allow it just yet. I’m sorry, Jack.”

“It’s fine, Ratchet. I understand that I need more training.”

Ratchet gave a little smile before calling in the other ‘bots and giving them their co-ordinates to search. He opened the ground bridge and one at a time the ‘bots headed out, leaving Ratchet and Jack alone in the base. Jack asked when they would return and Ratchet explained that they had a large area to search. They would most likely not return until much later that night, unless something came up that required them to return to the base.

The day continued quietly. Jack left Ratchet alone to do his work and Ratchet let Jack have some well-deserved free time. Eventually, the time came when school let out and Ratchet used the ground bridge to bring Miko and Raf to the base. Jack took them into one of the other rooms to ensure that Miko would not bother the Cybertronian medic.

“So, where are our ‘bots?” Miko asked, still a little confused at why they had to be ground bridged today.

“On an extended day mission,” Jack explained simply.

“Which is what, exactly?” Miko continued.

“Trying to find clues to an ancient Autobot base that is possibly somewhere here on Earth.”

“Really? But, wouldn’t Earth explorers have found it by now?” Raf asked.

“It must have been hidden really well, because even the Autobots are having a difficult time finding it,” Jack told him. “Whoever belonged to the base really didn’t want the Decepticons to get to it.” Just then, the teens could see a strange, pulsating light coming from one of the other rooms.

“That’s where they put the Allspark!” Miko cried, bolting in it’s direction.

Sudden memories came back to Jack of when the Allspark transferred his mind into his current Cybertronian body after he was nearly killed by a bolt of lightning. “Miko, wait!” Jack called, running after her, with Raf not far behind. Miko got to the room first and didn’t stop until she was standing right in front of the alien artifact.

“Miko. Be careful,” Jack warned. “You remember what it did last time.”

“Yeah,” Miko shot back. “I want it to do that to me!” Miko reached out to touch the cubic device, but Jack quickly swooped her up in his hands before she made contact.

“Rrrrr! No fair!” Miko shrieked.

“Miko. It could be dangerous,” Jack said, trying to sound stern.

“Um, guys?” Raf caught their attention, pointing to the Allspark, “It stopped blinking.”

Miko and Jack looked down at the cube and realized the Allspark was now glowing solid. Jack put Miko down beside Raf, making sure she wouldn’t get any closer to the artifact, and knelt down in front of it. “We should tell Ratchet,” Jack said after a moment of starring. But before he could, the Allspark started glowing brighter and seemed to be calling to Jack. Without realizing what he was doing, Jack began to reach towards it. As soon as his fingers touched it, a wave of information swept through him.

A moment passed before Jack realized Raf and Miko were shouting his name, trying to get his attention. He made eye contact with his friends, but didn’t know how to begin explaining what just happened. He looked at the Allspark, and then back to his friends before finally saying something. “Please don’t ask why, but we have to take Raf somewhere.”

Raf and Miko both gave him confused looks, but Raf’s also held a touch of worry. “Where?” Miko asked.

“It gave me co-ordinates, but I don’t know how to explain where they are. I just know how to get there,” Jack said, trying his best to explain.

Miko smiled deviously, “will we be telling Ratchet about this?”

Jack sighed, not enjoying the fact he was going to have to lie to the medic. “No, this feels important, but so is what he’s working on. We can handle this ourselves. Raf, can you fit the Allspark in your bag?”

“If I take out all my books and laptop, I think it’ll be just big enough,” Raf said.

They emptied his bag and Jack gently placed the cube inside it. They headed back to the main room and asked Ratchet if it would be okay for them to take a little ride around town. The medic agreed to let them go as long as they promised to keep a low profile. The teens promised and Jack transformed into his motorcycle form. The teens sped off through the hidden entrance of the base and began heading into town to keep up the ruse until they were sure Ratchet was no longer watching. When the teens were certain they were clear, Jack changed directions and began heading to where the Allspark told him to go.

After an hour of driving, Jack is certain that Ratchet knows they deceived him and feels the guilt return. He begins to wonder if his mother is at the base at this point and worrying about the three of them being missing. That only makes his guilt worse.

“Jack!” Miko calls, snapping his attention back to the road as he realized he had been lost in thought for a moment. He screeches to a halt inches away from a large lake.

“Sorry,” he tells his friends.

“Which way now?” Miko asked.

Jack mentally checked the co-ordinates and came to a puzzling conclusion.

“We’re here,” he said. Raf and Miko hopped off to let Jack transform into his bipedal state.

“So, what are we supposed to do? Throw Raf in the water?” Miko continued.

Jack stared out into the dark waters and thought about the possibility that they came here for nothing, about how they would go back and have no excuse for why they were gone so long. But the Allspark seemed to be worried about something when he gave the instructions to Jack, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that the Allspark knew something they didn’t.

“Raf, let me see the Allspark,” Jack said, kneeling down beside his young friend.

Raf removed his backpack and opened it for Jack, who removed the cube just as gently as he had put it in. Jack stood and waited for the Allspark to do something, praying that it would do anything. He was relieved when it once again began to glow, albeit very softly. They looked up and out into the water as they noticed something began to bubble beneath it’s surface. They took a couple steps back, cautious about what could be coming up.

They watched as a very large door way rose from the dark liquid. The teens stood stunned for a good moment or two, just starring at the closed door, before making eye contact with each other. Jack kept the Allspark in one hand as he bent down with the other to pick up his friends. He walked cautiously towards the door. When he got close enough to touch it, he shifted Raf and Miko to his shoulder and slowly pushed the door open. It revealed a set of stairs that went down towards the bottom of the lake. The Allspark began to glow again, urging Jack to go ahead. He descended the staircase slowly, and when he finally got to the bottom, there was another door. This one opened automatically and Jack guessed it was the Allspark’s doing. He entered the new room, and nearly dropped the Allspark when he realized where it had taken them.

“This,” he began. “This is the ancient Autobot base. The Allspark helped us find it!”

Miko and Jack cheered, until the Allspark sent more info to Jack. He froze. His face went blank and his eyes went wide.

“Jack?” Raf called, suddenly feeling panicked at his friends behaviour.

Jack took the Allspark into both hands and starred at it, trying to grasp exactly what it was telling him.

“Jack, what is it!?” Miko demanded.

Jack looked to his friends with terrified optics, “It’s Raf. The Allspark says he’s … dying.”

Miko gasped and covered her mouth, quickly looking down at their young friend. Raf looked confused and worried while he fidgeted with his hands. “But, I feel fine,” he told them.

“The Allspark says that the Energon you were exposed to months ago has been slowly deteriorating you from the inside out,” Jack explained. “Your organs are going to shut down. I don’t think you have long.”

True panic began to set in now as they realized the kind of situation they were in. “What do we do?” Miko cried. “The Allspark brought us here! It must know how to help Raf.” The Allspark lit up again as Miko spoke, revealing to Jack exactly what needed to be done.

“His body can’t be saved,” Jack repeated. “But his mind can.” Jack picked up his friends from his shoulder and placed them on one of the high ledges in the base, along with the Allspark. He went to the computer console and examined the controls, looking for one switch in particular. He found it and flipped it. As he did, the wall behind him slid away to expose a line of Cybertronian protoforms. The three friends let out shocked cries, as they first thought they were alive. When they stayed unmoving, Jack got closer for some answers.

“Protoform Storage Compartments?” Jack read on the side wall.

“Protoforms? I heard Ratchet talk about them,” Raf said. “They’re Cybertronians without sparks. Not yet alive. Like a fetus.”

“That’s creepy,” Miko commented.

Jack turned to Raf with a solemn expression as the Allspark’s plan finally sunk in. “Raf, you have to become Cybertronian, like I did.”

“Oh, no fair!” Miko blurted. “You guys both get to become Autobots and I don’t?”

“Miko, there are more important things to deal with right now,” he scolded, before turning back to Raf. “Are you okay with that?”

Raf paused, thinking about all the variables. “How do we know I’m really dying?” he finally asked. “I really do feel fine.”

Jack let out a sigh, “I know. I find it a little difficult to believe as well, but the Allspark saved my life and I trust that it wants to save yours too.”

After a moment, Raf nodded, finally agreeing to what had to be done. Jack went over to the Allspark and picked it up in both hands, waiting for further instructions on how to operate the controls. But it did nothing.

“I don’t understand. Why won’t it tell me what to do?” Jack asked. He then quickly turned to Raf when he heard his young friend coughing.

“I’m okay,” Raf told his friends.

“I don’t think you are,” Miko corrected, pointing at his hand that was now covered in spots of blood.

Raf began to hyperventilate and Miko tried to calm him down, taking his shoulders in her hands. Raf sent begging eyes to Jack and that was more than Jack needed to put down the Allspark and get the job done himself. He went over to the controls and began going through all the options it displayed, looking for anything that related to the protoform bodies.

Time began slipping away faster as Raf suddenly grew faint and pale. Miko sat down and let him rest his head in her lap. She watched Raf closely, with the occasional glance at Jack to see if he had found what they needed.

Finally, Jack stumbled upon something that looked promising. “Does ‘Spark Transfer’ sound like what we want?” Jack asked Miko.

“But he doesn’t have a spark to transfer!” Miko replied loudly, just before the Allspark began to glow again.

“I think this is it,” Jack said. “This is what we want.” He began the set up and chose one of the smaller protoforms for the procedure. Miko watched him intently. A signal appeared on the screen and Jack went over to his friends.

“It’s time to get him into position,” Jack said, as Miko nodded and helped Raf into Jack’s hands.

He brought him over to where the computer indicated he needed to be and placed him as best he could into the Cybertronian-sized device. He went back over to the controls and hovered his finger over the activation switch. He gave one last glance at Raf. He looked incredibly weak at this point, but managed to give Jack a final thumbs up. Jack nodded and flipped the switch.

The light was blinding, and Jack and Miko had to instinctively cover their eyes. They could hear the whir off technology that hadn’t been used in years and they prayed it would be enough. When the sounds and lights ceased, Miko hopped into Jacks hands and together they went over to check on their friend.

His skin was ghost-like and he wasn’t breathing. If the transfer hadn’t worked, then they had just lost their friend. Jack picked up the body and placed it on a flat ledge, wondering if there was anything else he needed to do to make the transfer a success.

“Guys!” they heard Raf’s voice come from behind them and Jack spun around, with Miko still in his hand. They saw a red and orange Autobot, with spikes on his head, representing human hair, and a visor over his optics. He was looking at his hands, clenching and unclenching his fists slowly.

“Raf!” Jack and Miko exclaimed in unison, rushing over to him and wrapping him in a hug. Miko had jumped onto his shoulder in order to do so.

Raf let out a small laugh. “Everything’s so small. Is this what it was like for you, Jack?”

“Pretty much,” Jack replied. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Me too,” Raf agreed with a nod. “What do you think, Miko?” They looked down to where Miko had been standing and noticed she wasn’t there.

“Miko?” Jack looked around. He spotted her at the computer’s controls, hitting the buttons with her feet.

“Miko, what are you doing?” Raf called to her.

“It’s my turn!” she bellowed, jumping on the activation switch and making a mad dash for the device Raf had been set in.

“Miko!” the boys shouted.

Jack rushed to the controls, hoping to abort, but the device was already active, and the blinding light prevented Jack from seeing the controls properly. Raf covered his optics, not believing that Miko would actually go this far. The device ceased once more, and the boys looked over at Miko’s body. It was unmoving, like Raf’s human body was.

“Awe yeah!” Miko cheered, now in her new Cybertronian body. She was a mix of pink, dark blue and purple. She had flaps on her back, that would later become door wings when she got her vehicle form, and shapes on her head that resembled her hairstyle from when she was human.

“This. Is. So. Cool!” she continued to cheer, as she examined her new form. Jack placed his head in his hands as he realized he would have to explain this to the other Autobots.

“We should probably get back,” Raf spoke up, saying what Jack was thinking.

“We’ll have to get Ratchet to ground bridge us, because there is no way you two are getting back to the base unseen otherwise,” Jack told them, turning his comm link back on. “Ratchet? We’re going to need a ground bridge. But first, there’s something you need to know.”

EnD