Disclaimer-Transformers and all recognizable characters are property of Hasbro. As in I don't own them. All plots and original characters are property of me, myself, and the people in my head. We don't let other people use them because it's not cool. So don't steal them, because you really don't want to piss us off.


Title- Immorality of Morals

Author- MooMoo-Sama

Rating- T

Summary- It had been a slim chance. A slim chance that she would find him, a slim chance that he wouldn't kill her, a slim chance that they'd become friends, and a slim chance for survival. But how can you choose what's right or wrong in a war that you shouldn't be in? Meet her dilemma.

Author Notes- Okay, this chapter is a bigger 'Oops!' then the last one. Not entirely my plan, but my muse took over and next thing I knew it was so long that I had to cut it in half. Which I suppose, in the long run, is good. That means I'm a chapter ahead. But the cut off point left it Barricade-less. Still, it's an important chapter me-thinks.

-Once again, moved due to absurd long-ness-


Immorality of Morals

Chapter Four


When Vanessa woke the next morning it wasn't to the usual call of Alyssa or Greg. She rolled in the hotel bed, mind muddled as to what the hell was making that annoying noise. Slowly, he mind registered it as 'annoying ring tone' and she had the wherewithal to shove her head under a pillow.

"Much better.." she muttered to herself, drifting off yet again.

After her return the previous night, Vanessa had spent her time breaking in the shower and Jacuzzi in turn. With Alyssa gone, she wandered around her new house peacefully, the quite soothing her like nothing else. She'd sat in the tub for nearly an hour, the curtain pulled open to provide of view of Tranquility. At night the city was lit, glowing amongst miles of dark plains and hills.

After getting out of the tub, she'd flopped onto the couch and leafed through the school supplies and books. She understood most of the material, which was good because that meant she was spot on with her studies. A childish excitement had built in her, and it was in the early hours of the morning that she finally fell asleep.

Again, the amazingly annoying ring tone sounded. It was a cross between some kind of pop song and techno by the sound of it. It repeated for several minutes, finally reaching the point of being unbearable, when Vanessa finally rolled out of bed with murderous intent.

That cell phone was going down.

But when she hit the carpet, looking around at softly lit furniture, she realized why Greg hadn't drop kicked her door in yet. This was no hotel. With a shot of panic, Vanessa snatched the phone off the table and flipped it open.

"VANESSA!!" the voice on the other end roared. Vanessa held the phone away from her ear, but the voice was plenty loud enough.

"You are SO late! Don't speak, just go! You're going to miss your bus!" came Alyssa's panicked voice.

Closing the phone with a snap, Vanessa stripped and dressed like the runner that she was. She launched herself down the stairs, snagging her book bag off the couch and running in to the bathroom. Less then two minutes later she darted into the kitchen, grabbing the roll of twenties off the counted and she was out the front door at record speed.

'Late! Late late later then late which is super late!' a voice that sounded suspiciously like her brothers howled.

The morning was surprisingly chilly, but then the sun was barely up. The tall girl stumbled several feet down the road before stopping herself. Panicking would do her no good. Taking a deep breath, the cool air pressed against her lungs and cleared her head. Vanessa took her time zipping up the light hoodie she wore, hooking her bag securely over her shoulder before looking down at her phone.

6:47am. Three minutes. Quarter mile.

She smirked.

When she reached the bus stop, the other students were startled. They'd all been looking the other way, watching as the bus drew closer and closer to their position, obviously not expecting someone else to be coming from further up the mountain.

The three looked at her wide eyed, all shorter then her. Two were girls, maybe her age, faces made up with liner and gloss. The third was a boy, a tiny thing who could only be a freshman. He was similar to one of the girls, and Vanessa smiled at him.

He seemed to try to return it, but his smile turned out looking like a grimace and without a word the three boarded the bus before her. As Vanessa followed, ignoring any semblance of nervousness, the bus driver stopped her. The woman was aged, her round body making her seat sag and her long white grey hair looking scraggly.

"You the new girl?" she grunted, eyeing Vanessa.

Was this some sort of rite of passage? Would they kick her off the bus? To hell with that. Vanessa had never been known for her shining manners, she wasn't about to start acting like a model citizen now.

"Yeah, who's asking?" the teen grunted in return. Her chin jutted slightly in challenge.

The driver eyed her more closely, a low 'hmmmm' resonating from the back of her throat, before she suddenly put the bus into gear and took off down the hill. Vanessa stumbled, bumping her hip against a seat before catching herself with her arms. Her head whipped towards the driver, ready to snarl a threat, before she was cut off.

"Shaddup and sit'chur boney ass down." the driver said, eyes reflected briefly in the mirror above her head.

The bus jerked again, hard on a turn, and Vanessa had no choice but to slam roughly into a seat. The forest was whipping by quickly, and there was no possible way that they were going to speed limit. The other teens were grouped towards the middle of the bus, all muttering lowly and clinging to their seats without looking up.

Apparently, this was normal.

"The name's Beth. I dun't want to know 'churs." she grunted. "You dun't gimme any problems and us two wont have no issues. Got it, scrawny?"

Vanessa liked her.

With a smirk on her lips she didn't answer, simply scooted closer to the window to watch the scenery. The trees soon began to fade as they entered the suburbs of Tranquility. The bus, it's route obviously directed towards the more out of the way students, began to stop more frequently. Every teen that entered eyed Vanessa curiously.

The runner had stopped trying to be friendly with every person that got on. After smiling at a group of girls carrying a basketball who looked at her like she had leprosy, her giving mood deflated. In fact, she ignored the others more then anything. They spoke in low murmurs around her, curious to who she was and where she came from, but no one bothered to try to speak to her. About her? Sure. But not to her, as if she couldn't hear there not-so-low murmurs.

How annoying.

The bus was nearly filled as they pulled further into the city. She wouldn't have called it suburbia anymore, the houses were closer together now, but they were still very large with plenty of room. She was nearing the end of her patience, ready to snap at the crowd of teens, when they became distracted with another novelty that was apparently getting on the bus.

The not-so-low murmur rose rapidly at the sight of a curly haired boy boarding with other students. Vanessa would have assumed he was popular by the way everyone turned to look at him, but none of the groups called out to the youth. He was thin wearing like most other boys a pair of jeans and a tee, and she supposed he was cute, but other than that there was nothing about him that stood out to her.

He started walking down the narrow isle, people still watching him with hooded expressions. He looked around for a seat, not meeting anyone's eye. The bus was packed though, and the seats that had space were covered quickly with book bags. Vanessa continued to watch blatantly, half curious and half disgusted, from her position in the front. This was like a bad teen movie, seriously. She rolled her eyes and settled back into her seat, gaze trailing out the window.

Without warning, the driver started down the road again, jerking the students that rode inside it. Most of them turned and continued their conversations, gradually gaining volume. Vanessa had to say that she liked Tranquility. It didn't seem overcrowded, and it was clean. Giggling caught her attention again, and she looked to see that the curly haired boy was still standing, a group of girls behind him laughing at his plight.

That bothered her.

"For the love of.." Vanessa muttered to herself. She pulled herself up so she was balanced with one knee on the seat.

"Hey, kid." she called. Several people turned to her, whether they thought she was talking to them or because they hadn't heard her speak she didn't know. Nor did she care. The boy in question looked up, and upon seeing that he was being stared at, pointed to himself in the universal 'Who, me?' gesture.

"No the guy behind you." he turned and looked, she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, you genius." she said, tension running up her spine. This many people looking at her got on her nerves.

"Come and sit." Moving her bag onto her lap, Vanessa turned and sat straight in her seat again. Several seconds later the boy plopped into the seat, he too holding his bag on his lap. He turned to her with a small smile.

"Thanks." he said softly.

Yup, definitely cute.

"Sam Witwicky." he said more loudly, holding out his hand.

Vanessa offered a little smile in return, grasping his hand briefly.

"Vanessa.. Vanessa Zeiz." she replied, giving her last name with only slight hesitation.

Sam gave no reaction though, only nodding and turning to face forward. Vanessa followed suit only she faced the window and continued to watch the scenery. When the bus reached the school Sam gave her a small wave as he trotted off the bus. The mass exodus left her as the last person, and Beth the driver gave her the eye as she finally stepped into the full sunlight.

'Sweet Barbra..'

Vanessa supposed the school wasn't that large, not by comparison to larger cities. But the sheer mass of bodies surging into the building sent a shiver down her spine. That was a lot of people. Not even people, teenagers.

'Alright, Fast-forward, you can do this.' her mind seemed to chant.

With a deep breath she hitched her bag on her shoulder and headed inside.


Her first day went about in a redundant fashion. After a quick stop at the principals office for her schedule (and a rundown on the school rules) she was off to navigate to her first class. Being a girl with a generally good sense of direction, she'd declined the offer for a nice chipper tour guide thankyouverymuch.

Entering her first class started the repetition. Stand awkwardly, introduce self, find a seat, endure stares. Repeat. All day. Prepare to serve with a side order of annoyance and a glass of boredom, and of course a sprinkle of pent up energy.

Enjoy.

Needless to say, Vanessa was quickly falling into a worse mood by the end of her day. She'd spent lunch sitting outside, picking at the food she'd bought. People had yet to speak more then four words that didn't include 'Hi, who are you?' and speak beyond that. Not that Vanessa was the most social creature. No, far from it. But she was at least hoping that there was someone remotely intelligent here. After all, what was the point of her coming to school if she couldn't fulfill her task?

It was frustrating, locked up in a school all day. Her memories of school were vague, having been home schooled for so long. To further that, they weren't half so dreary. It appeared that high school lacked the charisma of elementary school. Maybe the removal of nap time? She wouldn't have even bothered if it hadn't been for her father.. Her father who was still directing her life even though he was long gone.

Frustrating was a nice way to put it.

The saving grace had been placed at the bottom of her schedule though. Physical Education. As she navigated towards the gym, her muscles ached in anticipation. She couldn't remember the last time she'd sat around for six hours, the thought of exercise was like the promise of food to a starving man.

A group of girls watched as she passed, giggling loudly. She wasn't stupid, and apparently her height was a novelty to many of the students. She narrowed her eyes at the girls, who stopped immediately, and continued onward. Either they cleared out of her way or laughed.

The runner wasn't phased though. Vanessa had long since been able to ignore jeers and insults. If anything she was disappointed, it seemed that the whole school was entirely uncreative. She'd dished out worse to her agent, let alone someone who she really didn't like. When your competition was constantly trying to psyche you out, it was best you learned to play the game.

Which was another note. Despite how many times she'd introduced herself in class, no one seemed to know her. A plus on many levels, she didn't really want the celebrity treatment. Still, there was the primal urge to watch the reactions of those around her if they found out about her title.

Fastest teen in the country was a pretty phrase.

She smirked to herself.

For the first time that day, she hesitated when the bell rang. She knew there was some kind of protocol when it came to Gym class, though she wasn't exactly sure. She was interrupted from her mental debate though as she walked through the gym doors.

"Hey, new girl." the voice said.

Vanessa turned warily. Two girls stood, halted in the hall. They were a complete opposite of one another, one tall, the other short. Whilst the taller of the two was dark, her hair long and black and her skin a dusky natural tan with brown eyes - the shorter was fair. Her hair was a brown blonde, perhaps dyed at some point, and her skin was pale as marble. Her eyes were a blue grey.

The taller was the one that had spoken, and her short companion stepped up to her side.

"Do you have gym?" she asked. Without missing a beat the dark haired girl stepped in.

"So do we, c'mon we'll show you the way." she gestured towards her, and watched as Vanessa slowly came to their sides before turning down the hallway.

The duo introduced themselves as Eileen and Marie (in order of appearance) and chatted with her lightly as they trekked down towards the locker rooms. Vanessa was slightly wary of the two, but the way they acted and spoke as they walked, waving to several people as they went down the hall, only proved them to be popular or in some sort of clique. Both were quite pretty and slightly made up, even though they seemed far more down to earth then the girls at her bus stop.

The two talked to her like an old friend, explaining several facets of the school and the blocking system of the classes. By the time they all walked outside to the track - apparently where classes were when it was warm enough - Vanessa had warmed up to the two girls. They were both playful, cracking jokes back and forth to each other and telling her all about teachers and students alike. A boy joined the trio, who was introduced as Adam, and joined the banter easily.

Apparently, they were good friends.

The runner had to watch the three curiously. It was an enigma to her, to become so close to another person so thoroughly. It was a curious thing that to her that they seemed all equal to one another. None of them walked ahead, they each took turns speaking and listening. Absolutely curious. She tried to picture herself doing the same thing for a moment.

She snorted.

Another person drew her attention away from the girls. Walking a few feet in front of her was a head of short curly brown hair. Sam Witwicky. He was talking lowly to another boy, one with longer hair, and didn't notice her presence. Now that they were both standing, Vanessa could see she was taller then him. Not surprising since she seemed to be taller then most people. California had amazingly short teenagers.

The gym teacher began to call role as they stepped on to track. The coach stopped short at Vanessa's name, looking at her curiously, but continued on without comment. He was far more preoccupied by a group of rather.. large boys. Large, or steroid infested. It was the perfect stereo-type for jock. Big muscles, good looking, complete assholes. The whole she-bang.

"Alright people!" the teacher called out. "Ten laps today! Of which you must jog at least two. Let's get a move on!"

Students all around her groaned and complained. The small troupe she'd been walking with had already started there jog, waving back at her. As she stretched Vanessa took the time to look around at the runners. The tension from the day, from being around so many people, was leaking out of her. This was her element, where she was the queen, and there was no way she could be bothered now.

With a critical eye she watched the other students. It was sort of depressing. Most of them were walking the track, talking amongst themselves. Those who were jogging weren't breathing right. Worst of all the jocks were jeering and taunting any runners. They challenged them to races, or shoved there way though large groups like they owned the track.

Which was wrong, considering she owned the track.

Vanessa chuckled to herself as she started to jog easily. 10 laps? That was pathetic. Her legs sung their pleasure at the familiar motions. Easily she fell into her rhythm, the world around her becoming muted except for the beat of the sun against the earth, warming her arms and legs and keeping her steady.

The red head easily lapped those around her, barely registering the groups of students she passed or the sweating joggers that were forced to slow down. She smiled mildly at Eileen and her friends as she passed them, the group calling something about making them look bad. It wasn't until her progress was halted by a mass of students did she come back to attention.

The jocks had surrounded a pair of boys as they walked, the two not noticing the crowd until they were emerged. Sam seemed to stiffen up but he continued to walk, determination pushing into his step. His friend on the other hand was looking around, muttering to himself, eyes wide and wary. A particularly large fellow began to call out something to the two far smaller teens, but his voice was too low for Vanessa to catch. She had to give him credit for his little plan.

From the spectators stand point, this was nothing more then another group of students walking the track. The group of muscle heads had at least taken the teachers into account, who now stood at the gate that surrounded the track, marking who was on what lap. With a smirk, Fast-forward picked up her pace. With practiced ease she closed in on the group, still far enough back not to be noticed, and slowed to a walk. Keeping pace, she listened to the conversation.

".. thinks he's tough now that he's got a pretty new car." the large guy - ringleader - said to his group.

"He didn't even buy that car. I heard that the government had to give it to him because they ruined his old one. That right Wit-wussy? You're too poor to afford any car without auctioning off your family history anyway." he called toward Sam. His buddies began to laugh.

"Yeah, sure Trent." came the calm reply.

"I heard you trashed it already Wit-wussy. I heard you wrecked it because you couldn't control it. Not able to handle a big boys toy?"

Sam's determined step skipped slightly.

'Uh-uh, they got your weak spot.'

Trent apparently noticed the misstep as well.

"Oooh. What's the matter? Embarrassed? It's okay, we all know it was a cheap rental."

Another misstep.

"We'll never see that poor thing on the road again I bet. Completely totaled. What a waste, bet the car is sorry you ever walked on the lot."

And another.

"Hey." Trent addressed his friends who were all chuckles "You notice that since he trashed that pile of crap, Mikaela hasn't been hanging around him?" Trent turned his attention back towards Sam, his voice carrying loudly over his laughing friends.

"She always did like a nicer ride. Guarantee she'll be coming back to the man who can handle his vehicle."

Sam came to an abrupt halt, the chorus of 'oohs' ending sharply as he turned towards Trent. His whole body was rigid and he stepped towards Trent with purpose. The larger boy, not to be shown up, stepped forward to meet Sam. The two were, in her opinion, entirely too close to each others personal space. The group around them tightened together, and Sam's friend seemed unsure about what to do.

"You know Trent, it's funny that you say that. The way I hear it is, how to put this, you can't keep up the speed."

Sam's eyes were hard. Vanessa's chuckle was muffled by the snorts of the other jocks. A running rumor apparently. The large boy in question was tinged a smudgy red.

"What was that?" he ground out.

"Want me to break it down for you, man? I know you have a hard time keeping up when people use big words." the smaller boy snapped back.

"Y'know what Wit-wussy? I'm going to make you cry to your mommy when I'm through with you."

"Wait, wait, I think I've heard this one before! Oh, yeah, you said the same thing right before I dusted you in that street race."

A chorus of 'oohs!' rang out around the two boys. Trent, who now resembling an overcooked tomato, shoved Sam hard in the chest. The group around them tightened, and Vanessa watched with interest. Sam's friend moved forward, trying to step in-between the two boys, but was held back by the growing crowd. Sam stumbled back several feet, and Trent followed him delivering a punch to his stomach before he regained his balance.

"Not so tough now, huh?" Trent ground out. "No Mikaela to save you."

Vanessa watched calmly, eyes calculating, as Sam tried to regain his breath. Trent shoved him backwards hard though. The smaller boy was caught two larger teens, presumably Trent's friends since they grabbed his arms. As Trent moved forward again to strike, Sam jerked his arm backwards elbowing one boy in the stomach and swinging forward. He caught the larger jock in the mouth, and sent him staggering.

'Nice shot.' Vanessa thought, arms crossing over her stomach.

She would have called it a fairly even fight up till then, but Sam was suddenly taking a kick to the back of the knees and a punch in the gut by some other boys. He was being held, on his knees, unable to defend himself as Trent moved towards him ready to make a field goal with Sam's head.

Unfair fights left a nasty taste in her mouth.

She looked around, dismissing anythough of making it throught he massive crowd in time. She briefly wondered what the hell the teachers were doing, but dismissed them concentrated at the task at hand. Toeing off her shoe quickly, Vanessa took aim and fired. Trent stopped short, head reeling backwards at the strike. The running sneaker bounced off his shoulder as it tumbled to the ground, and there was total silence.

Bulls-eye.

"Excuse me, pardon me. Su permiso. Coming through."

The crowd parted for her as she hopped through, one foot held away from the track daintily. Most of the boys were wide eyed, and the two holding Sam released him. Sam himself looked at her confused, a half wince on his face as if he was still waiting for the coming blow. Trent had a hand to his the side of his head, where if one looked close enough there was the imprint of the sneaker.

"Sorry about that." Vanessa said in a chipper tone that was entirely not hers.

Grabbing the offending article of clothing, she squatted between the kneeling Sam and the bewildered Trent, making a show of lacing up her sneaker. There was a red mark welling up on the jocks face, weather from the shoe itself or the chuckle rippling though the crowd. Vanessa eyed Adam and Eileen sniggering behind their hands.

"What the hell is the matter with you, are you retarded?" Trent snarled, stepping towards the still squatting Vanessa.

"Didn't mean for that to happen." she said mildly "I had a leg spasm, happens sometimes. There have been other casualties." her tone was full of sarcasm even to her own ears.

Somewhere in the crowd, Marie was snorting.

"Who the hell are you anyway? Are you the new girl?"

"Have you ever seen me before?"

"No."

"Then I guess I'm the new girl."

The jocks were still looking on in shock, but the other bystanders were laughing between their whispers.

"You're in the way of some business." Trent finally said, not able to respond to her sarcasm any better then Sam's. Apparently, it was his weakness. "Move."

Fast-forward lost her good humor. Slowly, she stood from her crouched position. Face stony, she locked eyes with the larger boy without hesitation. The crowd trickled to silence again, the new confrontation catching their hungry eyes. The runner noted with satisfaction that she was just as tall - if not and inch taller - then her adversary.

"No." she said, voice hard.

"I said move it, bitch." was the reply.

Her eyes narrowed.

"What are you going to do, tough guy? Hit me?" she snorted, stepping forward with her head held high.

Trent hesitated. It was a cheap trick, but an easy one to use. Even if he was a woman beater, which she doubted, he wouldn't swing on her in front of all these people. The gym teachers had apparently noticed the large group and were cutting across the field to intercept the now still mass of students. Fast-forward went in for the kill.

"That's what I thought." she snarled. "Now why don't you and your butt-buddies go play in moving traffic, kay? Come back when you grow some balls and can fight fair."

She turned, sticking out a hand to Sam and helping him to his feet. Sam looked at her confused and wary, but accepted her hand.. The same way she'd accepted his that same morning. Eileen, Marie, and Adam had started a rebellious round of applause, laughing the whole way, and the crowd of their friends took it up with gusto.

Shortly after the mass of students was broken up, and most continued to walk the track half heartedly. The class ended shortly, and it was when Vanessa was headed towards her bus after changing in the locker rooms that Sam caught up with her.

"Hey - Hey! Vanessa!" he called, bumping into people as he struggled down the hall.

Vanessa watched him curiously as he approached. She leaned against the wall in an effort to get out of the way of the people who were leaving, running a hand through her hair. The curly haired boy caught up to her in a matter of moments, and he gestured for them to continue down the hall as they spoke.

"You didn't have to do that you know." he started, not quite looking at her.

"Well, that's the weirdest thank you I've ever heard. Next time I'll let him kick your teeth in." she replied, her voice positively dripping with sarcasm. Sam had the decency to look abashed.

"Wait, wait, I didn't mean it like that." he said "It's just, you don't know a thing about me and you helped me. That's twice in one day, man. Now Trent is probably going to have it out for you too. " he gave her a half smile with half meaning.

"People who try to defend me usually end up hurt.." his eyes were glazed with some memory, the smile draining out of his face. Vanessa watched him, calculating, but tread on slowly.

"Look, Sam." she said, stopping and turning to him "I'm a big girl, alright? I can make my own decisions.

"You're looking for meaning way deeper then what's really there. I don't like unfair treatment. If you're going to get your ass handed to you, at least do it on even ground."

Vanessa turned, intent on reaching the bus before it left. She was surprised when Sam was suddenly at her elbow again, laughing softly. The haunted look had dimmed from his eyes.

"Well, y'know I like the uneven fights, kinda reminds me of 300. It gets me all riled up just thinking about it." he said, sarcasm lacing his tone.

"Oh" was the equally sarcastic reply "Yeah, I pitted you as a testosterone monkey when I first saw you. Guess I was right, you look like the 'blood and guts' sorta guy."

"Well, I'm partial to the sexy men in metal thongs." waggling eyebrows "I get all hot and bothered just thinking about it." he fanned his face dramaticly.

As they boarded the bus, Vanessa was wheezing too hard to get in another word. A smile was on her lips, and had she noticed how soft her normally hard features had become she would have stopped right away. Sam too was smiling, and they both sat in the front seat without question.

Beth the bus driver grunted, and they were off.


End Chapter


AN Cont-

To make up for the lack of 'Cade, he'll probably be dominating the next chapter. No telling with the way this monster is taking shape. I had a plan and layout for this whole story, but it's being blown away as I write. This chapter is dedicated to a certain reader, you know who you are, and will catch the meaning of several things.

Sam was sort of a wuss in this chapter, I realize, but he's a pain in the ass to write. Plus, he's suffering about Bee, and I think he'd blame himself more then anyone if his guardian got hurt.

To end this note, I must say thank you so freaking much for the reviews. Every time I read one I absolutely squeal with joy and start writing more, so you all are literally what keeps me going. I love seeing new reviews and even if you aren't sure what to say in them, please just let me know your reading. Brightens my bleedin' day.

A special thanks goes out to BlueBomberMobile and NybCR for getting me the name of the school. Incase you guys haven't noticed, I'm trying to set up a pattern in my updates. Failing miserably, but trying. I was thinking at least once a week, or every three days. Dunno, depends on how cooperative my muses are. Feel free to tell me any of your opinions, and maybe questions if anything about my writing is unclear. Always looking to improve, hehe. I'd be happy to write you a response, be it through email or if it's frequently asked I can post the answer at the beginning or end of the chapter. I do believe that's all for now, till next time!

Read and review!