Chapter 7: Secrets Revealed

All Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own my fanfic ideas and OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.


At Sasha's house

"You saw Ms. Dawson and Ms. Barker arguing?!" Miko asked incredulously, eyes wide with excitement to hear the drama that unfolded.

"Yes, and it turns out that everyone was wrong. Ms. Barker did have a child at some point," "Zeke" stated. "Apparently she lost custody of her kid to her now ex-husband and whatever new woman he married."

"That kind of makes me feel bad for her," Raf admitted guiltily, thinking of all the times he considered the woman to be a controlling nuisance.

"What do you think the Ms. Dawson's secret is that Ms. Barker was taunting her about?" Sasha questioned, at Raf or Jack for an answer.

Both boys shrugged with Jack saying, "Beats us. A lot of our classmates' parents moved here a little after we were all born."

"I think a lot of people who grew up here and new about this so-called secret must have moved," Raf put in. "Possibly due to progress. I never heard either of my parents say anything bad about either woman's past."

"And I have a feeling that the people who stayed won't be so willing to bring up bad memories," the sable-haired boy put in.

"I can't believe that Mrs. Barker has a kid who she hasn't seen since he was a baby," the Asian girl murmured. "Now I feel like jerk for that time I stuck a Peeps marshmallow chick in her car's hubcap."

"Well it seems to be a gray area," the neutral youth added. "We did hear Ms. Dawson say that Ms. Barker was not exactly a responsible mother. But I can only imagine the emotional turmoil of being stripped of custody of your only child and not even being allowed to pay a visit."

"What do you guys know about Ms. Dawson anyways?" the Goth asked curiously from where she sat near the preteen brunette and onyx-haired junior, looking between them.

"Not much," Rafael stated simply. "She divorced five or so years ago and her daughter, Claire, graduated two years before ago and left for college. She still attends school events and talks with our parents."

"But have you heard rumors of her committing any illegal acts?" the nature lover prodded.

Jack shook his head, "Not that we're aware of. If she did do something, it was probably a long time ago, before any of us arrived. The worst legal trouble she's had that I recall was a traffic ticket."

A few seconds of silence followed before "Zeke" spoke up, "Why did you put a Peeps in her hubcap?"

Miko shrugged guiltily, "She was bad-mouthing the Slash Monkeys."

Before they could speculate further, all five kids heard the door knock.

"That's probably the host folks," Miko said in a dull tone as she gathered her stuff and began making her way towards the door.

Zettabyte got up to follow her when he was intercepted by Rafael who was shooting him a worried look.

"Yes Raf?" the mechling-turned-human teen questioned patiently.

"Were you really serious about going to the Ditch tomorrow?" the young Brunette prodded gently.

"I don't break promises," Zetta said firmly. "And once more, I'm certain that there is a logical explanation that will put an end to this whole ghost business."

All the computer prodigy did was bite his lip and say, "I hope you're right."

He followed the preteen to find that Miko had already left with the Sandersons and a man and woman with brown hair and brown eyes, the man having a hair-style not unlike his son's, smiled at their child. Mrs. Esquivel knelt down to kiss her son on the head whilst Mr. Esquivel patted him on the shoulder, also while kneeling down, before escorting him out. Jack came to the door and greeted his mother with a hug. The sable-haired boy recalled the sad story that the other teen had told him.

It was heart/spark-wrenching to know that there was an absence within the Darby family that could never be filled. This made the neutral youth think about his own loss of a loving parent. The only difference was, sadly, that Sentinel didn't do anything to soothe Zetta's broken spark and state of loneliness. In fact, he was quite certain that the now deceased Prime had been glad to place his adopted son at a academy far away from him, only interested in his own priorities and not eager to soothe a grieving child.

June and Jack, on the other hand, were like a team. He had no doubt in his mind that they had been there to pick each other up. He never saw or heard them fight or argue, unlike what that Ramsey man did to his family. Seeing them made him think about his own joyous mother-son moments with Theta. There was no memory of her that he could categorize as mediocre or unhappy. Because happiness was all his Amma brought him.

"Zeke? Are you okay?" Jack's voice shattered his thoughts.

"Huh?" "Zeke" was broken out of his thoughts by the question to which he quickly responded. "Yeah, I guess I'm just…missing my parents a bit."

"That's understandable," June soothed. "I remember how every time that I was away from my parents, I missed them terribly. Even though I stayed in contact, there were days that I wish they were there physically. You'll be alright."

Zettabyte smiled warmly at the reassurance as he nodded his head before the door closed. He then followed his partner upstairs to get ready for bed.


The next day at the Autobot base

[But that's not fair!] the yellow scout protested, his beeps ringing out through the base.

"I'm sorry young one," Optimus said calmly, hoping that his use of the endearing, parental label would ease his scout. "But considering what we experienced in the past and all that has happened this week, we can't afford the luxury of telling ourselves that the Decepticons are laying low."

"And with Zettabyte's unfortunate disappearance, one can only imagine what may happen to you," Ratchet said, backing up Optimus's reasoning.

However, when his optics fell on Arcee, he immediately regretted his choice of words. Her mouth was twisted into a bitter grimace and her optics were narrowed into dangerous icy slits. After so many failed searches, the Autobots were currently being brought to the ominous conclusion that Zetta was indeed on the Decepticon warship. The lone female of the group was obviously not taking this conclusion well at all. Her temper had become even more short and it was only thanks to Optimus' authority that she didn't physically lash out.

"We have exhausted our search," the Prime nodded in agreement. "So we must assume the worse; that Zettabyte is indeed on the Nemesis."

[Have we really checked everywhere?] Bumblebee inquired, his irritation forgotten as he remembered the other young Cybertronian.

"Agent Fowler would have alerted us if he or his men found anything," the Autobot medic said seriously with knowing look.

The agent had not stayed angry at the Autobots for long unlike the Darby matriarch and had recently given a report to the small group of Cybertronians that revealed that the ruby and sapphire mechling was nowhere to be found. And since none of the Autobots had ever traveled very far, even with the Groundbridge, with so little fuel and Energon on hand, they knew that the dreaded option relating to the Nemesis was more likely.

"So, we are gonna get on the ship," Bulkhead said in a definite tone.

"It is not that simple," the oldest of the group huffed in annoyance. "The Decepticons won't let us get within a mile of the ship. Even if we do get on, there will no doubt be an ambush waiting for us the moment we step on."

"And the way in which they have taken a special interest in our young scout raises the stakes of danger and desperation as well, unfortunately," the former archivist rumbled knowingly.

"So are you saying that it's impossible to get on the ship?" Arcee demanded, sounding like she was prepared to scream in rage.

"Not impossible but extremely difficult," the older Autobot said somberly. "Lethal even."

Neither Arcee's face or her voice wavered, "So be it."

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Bulkhead began abruptly. "I'm all for slagging Cons but the moment we get on that ship, we're be swarmed by soldiers. And with how little Energon we have, we'll be lucky to make it to the final level with Megatron and his top goons."

"Of fragging course you look for an excuse!" the sapphire and bubblegum femme shot angrily at him, surprising the Wrecker and making him wince.

Simultaneously sensing the hostility, the youngest of the group quickly went to stand behind the two-wheeler while Ratchet did the same with Bulkhead. The cherry and ocean colored leader then took his place between the two sides, staring at them with firm but wise optics.

"Challenging one another's trust will not help us," Prime said, a little loud so as to make sure he had the whole team's attention. "I understand that we have all been testing each other's tolerance and patience but standing divided will make this mission more dangerous. No matter what comes, we must and will all have each other's backs."

The last part was spoken in a firm and unwavering tone. A tone that said the decision was final and that any and all disagreements would not be tolerated.

While still crossed, Arcee respectfully gave a nod before turning curtly on her heel and headed to her room. As the echoing sound of the lone femme's door opening and closing, everyone went back to their own devices.


The next day after school

"Did you hear? Damian and the new kid, Zeke, are gonna do the Ditch Dare!"

"Are you serious?"

"Who do you think's gonna win?"

"Better question; who's the one who's gonna get taken!"

"I think the new kid is gonna win!"

"I hope it's him. He's hot!"

"If the rumor is true, then if would so serve Damian right if the ghost took him!"

Zettabyte tried to block out the whispers of his human peers. Not because they filled him with anxiety but rather hearing people whisper about him reminded him too much of how his fellow students at the academy would eye him and whisper either words of pity or spite. He did not want to let the words of bystanders shape his feelings or thoughts.

All day, he had felt the eyes of everyone on him, some looks of admiration and others looks of shock. The faces full of fear and pity were the most disconcerting to him. He felt flashes of anger when he caught instances of some students handing over large amounts of money to older classmates. It didn't take a Cybertronian engineer to know that they were betting on the whole thing.

"Are you nervous for tonight?" Sasha asked as they walked past the doors of the school and began making their way to Sawyer's car.

"A little," "Zeke" said with a small shrug. "Mostly I just want to see those two bullies get put in their places."

"Ditto," the raven-haired girl nodded at her "cousin." "Hey, I know something that can cheer us up. Wanna go grab some more treats from the pharmacy?"

"Sure!" the mechling-turned-human teen said immediately with a grin, having grown a taste for human fuel.

As they hopped into the car, all three took note of the way that Miko, Raf, and Jack were speaking quietly amongst each other. And how a certain owl was watching them protectively from a tree in the front of the school.

A few minutes later

"It's nice to see you again," Dr. Ocutis greeted in a grandfather like tone as Sawyer, Sasha, "Zeke", Adalia, and Colette entered the store.

"Hey Doc, we just came for a few things to munch on," the soccer-player waved good-naturedly at the elderly man and his granddaughter.

"By all means, help yourselves and don't be afraid to ask me anything," the eye doctor nodded with genuine kindness before turning to fiddle with something behind the counter.

As Zettabyte began examining the salty snacks laid before him, he noticed Skyla watching him out of the corner of his eye. Curiously, he turned towards her, and they locked eyes though not in a malicious way.

"Listen, I'm sorry again for upsetting your friend at the bake sale. Honestly, I was just trying to be nice," the sable-haired teen said in a ashamed tone.

"It's okay, really. It's just been hard on her. Her boyfriend wasn't a great guy but you know…she still cared about him in some way," Skyla insisted reassuringly.

Zetta nodded in relief but as he began to turn back to collect his intended snacks, the Ocutis adolescent spoke again, "Still maybe, if he wasn't, you know, the way he was, he would still be alive."

Catching the hardened tone in her voice, "Zeke" whirled around and saw that her stony expression was directed at the ground.

"I mean, if he wasn't so…," the blonde began, clenching her fists.

"Abrasive?" the mechling-turned-human teen offered though he new a different word that started with A that might be more specific.

"You can say that," Skyla said slowly, forest green seeming to have darkened to an almost deep olive green. "He didn't have to go on that trip. He didn't have to treat her like dirt all the time. Maybe if he was kinder and thoughtful, he would still be alive."

That certainly alarmed Zetta. It sounded like something a guilt-ridden individual would say when recalling a tragic event. But instead of a sorrowful tone, he could have sworn that the tone was menacing. Almost like shady figure muttering to themselves. In her eyes, there was bitter, justified gleam.

"You make it sound like you could have prevented it," the sable-haired teen murmured, trying to give a dark sense of humor but failed as he felt the tenseness crack his voice.

Thankfully, the blonde didn't seem to notice as she continued, "Maybe. He never listened or cared about others or what they said. The worst was when he was drunk and got angry easily. Then again, he always was angry. You know it wasn't just Talia and her family that he mistreated. All of our friends and their families, including me, had to deal with his cruelty and bigotry."

"Gosh, I'm sorry," Zetta replied, managing to nail the sympathy he meant to deliver.

"We should've known from the start that he was no good. He never mentioned his family or friends. And when we looked, we just drew a blank," she went on. "Figures."

"Well, that's awful individuals for you," "Zeke" replied, now drawn into her story.

"You know, I actually did try to get him to not go on that trip, if only because Talia still loved him for some reason. I called him but all I got was being called every name in the book and threats," the eye doctor's granddaughter explained. "He was a lost a cause. So, I did the only thing I could do. I invited Talia to spend the night. Thankfully, they weren't living together. And she never got into the stuff he was into. I managed to convince her not to go. When she called him up, he just yelled at her. He planned to go on without her. Can you believe it? But I guess he had a back-up chick to drag on his trip. Thankfully, nobody else was in the car when he got into the accident. And even if he hadn't, God knows what could have happened. There's no telling why he wanted her to go on a trip so badly with him. Probably, no most likely, it wasn't anything good."

Zettabyte just nodded. He had read some newspapers about the "disappearances" of people, men and women, adults and minors, when they went on trips with shady friends, family, and lovers. The way Skyla was saying, however, sounded pitying but enraged at the same time. Righteous even. No, it didn't sound like she had offed the guy herself. Instead, it seemed that she had seen the whole thing play out and had tried to, and half succeeded, in saving someone she cared about. Like she sensed that there would be trouble on the road. Knew it, even…

"Skyla," the mechling-turned-human teen began slowly. "Are you-?"

"Hey Zee, did you get your stuff yet?" the nature-lover asked from another aisle.

Shaken from his question and train of thought, Zettabyte unsteadily grabbed some chips, candy bars, and a soda. Placing his items alongside his "cousin's" and friends' items, he watched as the blonde scanned them and placed them in bags, her eyes having returned to their beautiful and calm forest green. The sable-haired teen tried to process all that was said. Telling himself that the situation never happened was out of the question.

After they paid and thanked her, all five teens began heading towards the door when "Zeke" turned around and was surprised to see that not only had Dr. Ocutis returned but that they were both giving him a knowing smile. Returning a smile sheepishly in return, Zetta left and caught up with the group.

"Check it out! Skyla added more Butterfingers to the bag!" Sawyer said. "It's like she knew I wanted more than one!"

"She always knows what's on people's minds and what they want," Adalia joined in. "She and Dr. Ocutis."

"Then perhaps their family truly is psychic," Colette joked.

"Yeah," "Zeke" murmured under his breath. "Psychic."


On the Nemesis

"Lord Megatron, there's something you must see!" a Vehicon said as he rushed into the room and kneeled before the Decepticon leader and his four top generals.

From behind the silver mech, Breakdown, Knock Out, Airachnid, and even Soundwave, sans Laserbeak who was scouting the area, seemed to be intrigued. They had been discussing matters in regards to their next move against the Autobots when they had been interrupted. And while none of the five Decepticons, the leader in particular, enjoyed being interrupted, they were immediately intrigued by what the surveillance-class drone had to show them.

Leaving the quarters as it was, the four Decepticons and their leader made their way to the surveillance room. They were unsurprised to find several other Vehicons and Eradicons standing around the surveillance console which was showing Laserbeak's footage. However, they were perplexed to discover what was on the console screen itself.

The console displayed a small rocky and slightly green portion of the outskirts of some location that none of the army cared to remember the name of. What was really intriguing was a large flag stationed on one of the rocks. Megatron and his followers could tell, just by observation alone, that the flag was of Cybertronian origin. It was green and had a slew of Cybertronian writing on it. Immediately, they knew what kind of flag it was.

It was a negotiation flag. Like any war, the Cybertronians sometimes depended on visual aids when communications were cut in order to conserve energy or due to technological attacks by the enemy. Different kinds of flags were used, varying in size, color, and symbols. And although the negotiation flag was a very rare type, the former gladiator had enough experience to know what it meant.

"It would seem that the Autobots wish to have a little truce meet up," Megatron murmured half sarcastic and half intrigued.

"That's a first," Airachnid muttered, unimpressed. "No one has seen one of those since the early millennia of the war. And that was when Cybertron was still online."

"I'm surprised that those fragheads still have that kind of flag," Breakdown put in with just as much contempt.

"What could they want?" Knock Out said aloud, voice tense but not giving anything else away. "Do you think it's about Zetta?"

Everyone's optics glanced at the stressed medic, seeing but not saying anything about the unhidden concern in his voice. Even Soundwave appeared curious, slightly quirking his helm before turning back to the image before the group.

"Could be," the lone femme muttered. "Could be the Autoscum are going to ask for something for his safe return."

The comment only worsened the situation.

"My liege?" Knock Out stated in question, hoping to sound only curious instead of pleading but he knew he failed.

Thankfully, the Decepticon leader did not seem to be bothered by his medic's tone. In fact, he didn't even seem to register it. The fearsome fighter stroked his chin with his sharp digits before a cunning smirk spread over his lips.

"Contact the drones," the leader commanded. "We shall answer the Autobots unconventional request. If they have Zettabyt, we will try to negotiate."


Hours later near the ditch

One of Zettabyte's earliest memories was Sentinel bringing him and his Amma to the gladiatorial pits of Kaon. Unlike the crystal gardens or the fancy shops in the Iacon district, the pits were neither pleasant to look at or particularly friendly. Mechs and femmes snapped as they bumped into one another while heading towards the massive but worn-looking arena. The Prime's family got the best seats, or worst seats in Zetta's opinion, which gave them the closest view of the fighters.

The halfa could recall watching with shock and disturbance as armored and scarred mechs would simultaneously lumber out from their respective cages before lunging at each other. The roaring from the audience alongside the booming clangs of armor meeting armor, shield meeting sword, and bodies hitting the cold ground. It was something that Zetta would never allow himself to forget.

What could have been those mechs and femmes' last thoughts as they went down those dark tunnels leading to their possible deaths?

Well, now he felt like he was getting a taste of it as Sawyer's car drove towards the Ditch, a crowd of teens already present. Even in the dying light of the evening revealed expecting faces full of excitement, fear, and curiosity, not unlike the faces of the bots in the audience. He recognized most of the kids from the club and classes, the ones he didn't he assumed were from Damien and Eva's school.

"You think with how many teens came out today, you and Damien were racing across the world," the nature lover joked but squeezed her "cousin's" hand nervously.

As Sawyer brought his van to a stop, Sasha, who had been sitting beside her "cousin", turned to him and asked, "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Yes," the sable-haired teen confirmed. "If I don't, then they're just continue to harass everyone at the school. This needs to end today."

"Spoken like a true man of the people," Sawyer commented a humorous tone before adding more solemnly. "Just be careful out there. And good luck."

"Thanks," "Zeke" nodded with a grateful smile before exiting the vehicle.

The minute everyone saw him, they began to whisper in awe and nervousness. The mechling-turned-human teen refused to allow himself be distracted, keeping his eyes straight-forward, only waving politely to those who waved at him. One could imagine his shock when he saw Miko, Raf, and Jack among the row of teens.

"What are you guys doing here?" Zetta asked incredulously.

"For moral support," Raf piped up earnestly.

"And back up," Miko put in with a smile as though she was inviting him to a birthday party.

"How did you sneak out?" the sable-haired teen inquired.

"I lied and told the Sandersons that I was going to the library to look up topics for a science report. Today's my last day of being grounded so they showed me some leniency," the foreign exchange student said with a shrug. "I knew they would track my phone so I had Raf hack it to make it look like I am in the library."

Before "Zeke" could get another word out, the voice of Eva shouted nastily at him, "Hey, Dweeb Defender! Get over here! Or are you already forfeiting the dare?"

Only Damien laughed as everyone else simply glared at her or turned their heads away in disgust. The mechling-turned-human teen simply did the former alongside his friends. As he began to stride towards his opponents, he felt Jack pat him on the shoulder and lean forward a bit.

"We got your back," he heard the onyx-haired boy whisper.

Zetta only nodded in gratitude before he continued his long stride. Upon coming shoulder to shoulder with Damien, Joaquin stepped in front of the two.

"Okay, the rules are that once you get in the car, you stay there until the time passes. The first one to leave the car loses," Joaquin explained before setting a hard glare on Damien. "If you try using dirty tactics to trick your opponent into getting out of the car, you will automatically lose for cheating. You can go anywhere in the car except for the trunk. And while all doors must be closed, the windows can be kept rolled down just don't lean out. Got that?"

Both nodded simultaneously as they ventured towards the car.

The car itself appeared to be an old Plymouth, the model and make being impossible due to time and the elements. It sat at a crooked angle of the ditch, which was only four or six feet deep, the back barely making it over the ledge. A dull navy paintjob could barely be made out from the rust that covered it like a parasite, bringing Zetta to remember some gory and morbid tales of the Cosmic Rust plague. One of the sideview mirrors was missing while the other was cracked, as was the windshield. Alongside all of the scratched doors, all the tires were flat except for the rear left one which was missing, being comically replaced by a tumbleweed that had gotten caught in it not too long ago. Finally, the trunk itself was perfectly untouched except for the broken lock which had been crushed with the undecipherable license plate.

Both teen boys climbed down, Damien taking longer not wanting to ruin his jacket, before getting in. As the human-turned-mechling sat in the passenger seat, his rival sat smugly in the driver's seat.

"Ready to lose?" Damien snickered.

"You wish," "Zeke" snarled.

Nothing else was said as they faced forward and proceeded to wait.


An hour later at the Autobot base

Ratchet bit back the urge to yell at Bumblebee to stay in his room, having gotten fed up with the young scout walking in and out of his room in an antsy manner, when something appeared on the monitor. This had the medic forget whatever scolding he had ready on his glossa, his attention solely on the message laying on the screen before him.

And he had a good idea who the message was from. After all, they had been the ones to place the flag.

The oldest of Team Prime opened the message and read it. He felt himself swallow hard as an uncomfortable knot made itself known in his tanks. By then, Bumblebee had finally ceased his pacing and was now standing side-by-side, reading the monitor as well, his bright blue optics widening as he let out a mechanical gasp.

Sharply, but not angrily, Ratchet snapped towards the youngest of his team and said, "Go to your quarters."

Bumblebee didn't protest but huffed in annoyance as he trudged to his quarters, buzzing complaints the whole way.

Turning back to the monitor, Ratchet opened the comm. link connection, optics never leaving the message for a second.

When his leader finally picked up first, the medic immediately spoke, "Optimus, they saw the flag. And they have responded. They want to meet."

The Prime was quieted for a moment before speaking, [And what did they say?]

Ratcher gave a heavy exhale before responding, "They want to meet tomorrow. And they said, in not so respectable terms, we better have everyone present."

The cold silence would put every quiet winter day that Earth on to shame.

Finally, the former archivist broke the pause, voice as grave as it was baritone, [Tell them we will comply.]

The veteran Autobot tightened his lipplates together in hesitance as he probed, "Are you certain? After all, they haven't mentioned Zettabyte. Something must be up."

[I am certain,] the Autobot leader stated with his still voice still hard and final as a judge or executioner's.

"Very well," Ratchet gave in respectfully and grimly.

Upon ending the comm., the Team Prime's oldest member allowed himself a moment of deep thought before willing himself to type a response to the dreaded message.


Back the Ditch an hour and a half later

Zettabyte tapped his fingers patiently on the dashboard as stared out through the dusty and cracked window. Beside him, Damien made itself known that he would not make things comfortable for his challenger. This deliberate disturbance came in the form of typing relentlessly on his phone, sniggering as he played loud, obnoxious, and offensive videos that the neutral youth couldn't help but cringe at. But still, the mechling-turned-human teen persevered.

He couldn't help but be both curious and disgusted when he caught a glimpse of the screen and saw the bully typing something very inappropriate to someone who was not Eva.

By now, the Sun had just about fully set and now the large group of teens were shrouded in shadows, adding to the uncertain atmosphere. And wasn't he bored! He honestly couldn't imagine how human youths found this entertaining. "Zeke" forced himself to focus on things inside the car to distract him. He traced the different marks and stains on the dashboard, inside of the door, and the seat itself. He curiously fiddled with the radio which got some sparks and faint static but not much else.

As the sable-haired teen drew small shapes and figures in the dust on the inside of the windshield, he was taken aback when Damien roughly reached over and destroyed the drawings by wiping them messily with his hands.

"What are you, 5-years-old?" Damien sniggered as Zetta gave him a death glare.

Outside, Eva snickered at the taunting but was immediately silenced when her eyes met Sasha's and the nature lover cracked her fist menacingly.

Zettabyte gave the reckless and heartless teen one last nasty expression before looking about for something else to distract him and kill time. His eyes landed on the glove compartment which was ever so slightly ajar. Curiously, he pulled it open and was startled by a small cluster of moths. He didn't know whether it was fortunate or weird that Damien was too involved in his phone to care what the other was doing. Zetta began to pick through the items in the car, finding an old lighter, a pack of expired, discontinued brand of cigarettes, gum wrappers, fast food receipts, small trinkets of sorts like a hula girl bobble, a small wrench, and some old change.

Not finding much interest in any of the things he found, the neutral youth wondered whether or not it would be safe to close his eyes and take a short nap around the adolescent sociopath when he heard it.

It was a quiet thump resonating from the backseat. Or more accurately, the trunk.

Simultaneously, both young men turned to stare at the backseat as the voices from outside grew silent, the other students having heard the ominous noise. A minute or two passed as they watched the empty and dusty leather backseats before they heard another thump which almost made the seats bulge. "Zeke" drew back in shock and confusion as he stared at the leather upholstery holding back whatever it was that lay in the trunk.

Out of the corner of his eye, the sable-haired teen could see the expression of his rival. Damien's face was completely devoid of color, his eyes looking like those of a stunned deer, and his breathing going far past hyperventilating. It should have made Zetta feel pride to see the bravado evaporate from the cruel teen's face, but now was not the time to focus on that. He was startled out of his thoughts when another THUD came!

Then another. And another.

The way in which the sounds became faster was a dark mimic of the heartbeat sounds in horror movies that the mechling-turned-human teen had watched with Sasha. If the situation wasn't so tensed, Zettabyte would have gladly laughed at the situation. But right now, with everyone on the brink of panicking, he knew better than to do that. The whispers from the others outside only served to make him more alarmed and strangely excited at the same time. As the thumping went on, the sound of scratches and screeches began to accompany it.

What felt like forever, but was actually a mere fifteen minutes, the silence was broken by Damian snapping in a high-pitched and breathless voice, "I'm out of here! The ghost can have you, loser!"

Before the neutral youth could register what was happening, the bully jumped out of the car, leaving him all alone. Despite the apprehension and fear that was boiling in the air, the sable-haired teen did not follow the more cowardly young man out. Even as there was a mix of victorious shouts saying that he had won and borderline hysterical shouts called for him to remove himself from the car, Zetta did not comply. He finally obliged when Joaquin came up to his side and rapidly knocked on the car door, gesturing for him to get out.

Upon getting out and following the Earth Club member to the rest of the group, Sasha's "cousin" was quickly pulled into crowd of teens who were playfully slugging him, patting his back, and ruffling his hair with pride. Meanwhile, Damien was currently trying to save face as his goons looked at him in utter shock and disappointment while Eva looked ready to blow a fuse. The rest of the two bullies' current classmates were a mix of trying to hide nasty smirks at the couple while the rest shot the neutral youth and his companions looks of gratitude, obviously impressed.

However, Zettabyte was not satisfied with this juvenile form of victory.

Gently pushing his way through the crowd of teens, Zettabyte walked towards the car again. Aiming for the trunk to be specific. The sound had stopped but the mechling-turned-human teen could practically sense a presence inside. Without any hesitation, he took out the wrench that he had found in the car and prepared to open the trunk.

"Zeke, wait!" Miko began. "You don't know what's in there!"

"I said this ends tonight and I meant it," "Zeke" said firmly.

With that said, he pulled the trunk open.

Everyone and everything seemed to fall silent. Even the crickets had silenced themselves, as if they were scared for what would happen as much as the teenagers. From behind him, all present high schoolers waited to see the sable-haired teen react or get pulled in. They all nearly screamed as he bent downward into the trunk, standing straight back up as fast as he bent down. Then, as he began turning around, they expected to be greeted by a horrifying and unearthly sight.

Instead, they were met with the smiling face of Sasha's cousin as he held something in his hands. The headlights from the cars allowed them all to see that it was no specter or human remains but a large nest. And in the nest were three Great Horned Owlets.

All jaws present dropped in utter disbelief, only closing in surprise as they jumped when something flew out of the trunk and landed on Sasha's "cousin's" shoulder. Once again, they were welcomed with the sight of something far from unearthly. It was a full-grown Great Horned Owl, no doubt the mother. A few more minutes passed before everyone but Eva, Damian, and their goons burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter.

"How did they get in there?" Sasha asked as she wiped away tears from her laughter, strolling up to Zetta to pet the mother who allowed the Goth to run her fingers through her feathers.

"I found a small hole in the corner of the trunk," the sable-haired teen stated with casual shrug. "Each time someone did the dare, there must have been an animal who was nesting, resting, or feasting inside."

"So, there's really no ghost?" Raf asked, voice filled with relief with a touch of embarrassment.

"Nope," the mechling-turned-human teen said proudly. "Now, let's all go home and put this whole challenge thing to rest?"

Everyone nodded as they ventured to their vehicles, some a bit drained from all the exhilaration and fear. However, Eva and Damien did not appear to be done as they tried to cut off their former classmates.

"Hold on! This isn't over!" Eva screamed angrily, tears of humiliation in her eyes.

"This isn't over by a long shot!" Damien jumped in, although his voice was more desperate than angry despite his narrowed eyes and gritted teeth.

Zettabyte's mouth twisted into an irritated and menacing scowl as he stepped intimidatingly toward them, "Yes, it is. Let this be a lesson; you can only oppress and belittle people for so long before they fight back and eventually win."

The rest of the group nodded as they managed to push past the hysterical queen bee and get into their vehicles. Seeing that no one would be willing or intimidated to watch her hysterics, Eva stomped back over to her group as Damien followed as well, which resulted in their continuing to argue and throw blame at each other. It was a complete contrast to the Match Made in Hades couple which they had all seen at school the day prior. As Sawyer began to drive away, Zetta watched as the two got in their car to go home.

"Those two are not going anywhere," Miko chuckled darkly.

"How do you know that?" the sable-haired teen asked in a careful and curious tone as he handed the mother and its offspring off to his "cousin."

"Let's just say someone put nails under their tires while they were distracted," the rebellious girl laughed victoriously.

"Wow," Zetta breathed. "You're a lot more spontaneous than I thought. I need to remember to appreciate that more often."

The Asian student only grinned proudly with a mild blush.

After dropping the small, feathered family off at a random but shady tree so as to give them a better home, Sawyer stopped by the K.O. Burger to grab them a quick dinner. Since the Drive-Thru was closed, Sawyer, Adalia, and Colette volunteered to go inside and grab the food. After giving the trio some money, "Zeke," Sasha, Miko, Raf, and Jack proceeded to talk among themselves. Suddenly, the sable-haired teen's phone beeped, alerting him of a text.

Taking it out, he opened the message and read it which caused his eyes to widen as he spoke, "Sasha, can we talk alone for a second, please?"

Giving the other three a gesture that pleaded for privacy, the two got out and took a few steps from the vehicle. When they were sure they were far enough, the Goth focused on her "cousin" as he showed her his iPhone screen's depiction of the message. It was an unknown number but it read:

Cure's ready. Be ready to take it tomorrow morning. Hope it was good while it lasted-N.

Sasha's violet orbs widened as she met Zetta's synthetic blue ones, "So, does that mean-?"

Zettabyte quickly nodded with a sad smile, "Yup, my time as human has come to an end."

The raven-haired girl stared at her partner carefully, "And isn't that good, Zee?"

"Well, yeah," the neutral youth admitted. "Don't get me wrong, I miss my real form but I'm also gonna miss being human. It was an awesome experience. No driving around all alone, no having to watch myself around strangers at a store, and no worries about the war between the Autobots and Decepticons. So, it's kind of hard to accept that I'm gonna have to say goodbye to all that."

The nature-lover gave her friend a sympathetic but encouraging smile, "I know it's hard Zee but when you're a Cybertronian again, you're gonna realize all the stuff you missed too. And at least you got the chance to experience-"

"WHAT?!"

Both Zettabyte and Sasha jumped and turned around to see Team Prime's charges staring at them in disbelief and confusion. All Sasha and her so-called cousin could do was star back as dread trickled down their backs.

"Zetta?" Jack croaked.

"Heh, heh," Zetta gave an embarrassed laugh and a helpless shrug. "Surprise?"


I'm back! Sorry for the lack of updates! It's been a hard semester and it demanded all my attention; but good news it paid off! I graduated with honors and plan to move forward with more education come the fall! For now, expect more fanfics and updates coming for my TFP AU stories and new stories to come! To those who have been waiting so long, I want to apologize and say thank you for being loyal followers. Hope you enjoy the reading! And as always, haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed.