A/N: The After chapter! Wooh!
After
Sam Whitwicky smiles as his daughter frowns at the pen and paper sitting before her. It is always so funny to watch Bethany get frustrated with something, such as a college report. The fourteen year old was currently in her sophomore year of college because of an IQ that exceeded that of her adoptive family's all put together.
"Beth, it won't write itself." He chuckles at the frustrated teen. She merely looks up at him and scowls.
"Well, you and mum should try writing a paper for theatre class then!" She hisses in a quite obviously fake British accent.
Sam laughs at her once more, "Well, are you done here? The library closes soon, and I think 'Bee is getting tired of waiting." To prove his point, a loud honk could be heard outside, causing Sam to laugh once more.
Bethany Pruit sits and stares a little longer, shooting daggers at the paper with her eyes. Finally, she sighs in defeat before brushing a strand of bright red hair away from ice blue eyes. She grabs the pen and blank sheet of paper and shoves them into her book bag, zips it shut, and then stands up from the table she and her father had been seated at. "Yeah, let's go."
Sam stands also, not bothering with the books that were scattered before him- the librarians would come and get those later. He pushes his chair in before heading towards the entrance, the red head following right behind him. "So, whatcha want to do today, kiddo?" He
inquires as they step out into the late afternoon sunlight."I still have a paper to right for my class on politics, so I'll probably ask Prime a few questions." She looks around before spotting the yellow camaro and running towards it excitedly, Sam laughing as he follows her at a mere walking pace.
"Hey, 'Bee, you won't believe what happened today! I was in Econ," She chatters as she gets into the passenger seat. "And then Professor Norton- the one who has a stick up his aft- had like a fragging processor breakdown! It was hilarious."
Sam gets into the driver's seat and pulls his seat belt on. He sets his hands on the wheel as his Camaro begins to drive itself, and he only half listens to the conversation going on between the radio and the excited fourteen year old. He refrains from laughing at the Cybertronian versions of common Earth swear words that the girl uses, having grown up around them.
Well, he wasn't really sure how well you could say she has grown up around them. She has only lived with Sam and Carly for two years now, and before then...
It's not something any of the Autobots or their human friends bring lets his thoughts drift away from the sad subject of the girl's origins as they drive towards the Autobots main land base.
Towards home.
"Hey, Sunny, Sidees." Bethany greets as she walks into the Rec Room. "Have you guys seen the bossbot?"
The yellow and silver mechs look at her for a second, each smirking before they reply in unison, "Hey, Beta. Want to lend us a hand real quick?"
She rolls her piercing blue eyes at the two mechs, "You know bossbot's rules, I am not allowed near the computers, remember last time you had me try something? Red Alert had sparkattack because he thought Decepticons were attacking! Ratchet almost threw a WRENCH AT ME!" She shakes her head, red hair swinging about, "Not gonna happen, you guys."
The twin corvettes seem to pout, "But ~Bethany~!" They whine in unison.
She rolls her eyes once more, placing her hands on her hips, "What is it?" She can already tell she'll regret this by the look on their faceplates.
"It's a prank on the bossbot," Sunstreaker whispers, leaning down towards the red-head.
"And we need your help getting in his quarters," Sideswipe adds.
"Please!" They beg in unison.
"If I get found out, I'm going to kick your afts into the next vorn!" She hisses at them before giving them a smirk. "You guys know I can't resist a good prank if it involves the bossbot."
The two smirk back before Sunstreaker lowers a servo for the girl to stand upon. She steps on confidently before he sets her on his shoulder. "So, what do you want to do till the master plan is in action?"
"Well, I still kinda need to talk to Optimus about a paper I have to write in my political studies class. So, yeah." She plops down onto his shoulder, leaning against the mech's helm.
Sunstreaker doesn't seem to mind as he walks toward the Autobot leader and his sparkmate's quarters, knowing that one of the two will be there. And if it's Elita, she'll be able to point them in the right direction.
Bethany absentmindedly nuzzles up against the mech's helm, neither noticing or caring. Bethany had always been close to the twins, or at least that's what she'd been told. She couldn't really remember anything from before she was twelve, when her parents died in a Decepticon attack on the base. That's just another thing she was told, she didn't know if it was true or not.
She has a few snippets of memories from before, but they are all very vague. She can remember Bumblebee, but something obviously seems different from her memories. But, she never bothers to ask, just accepting this like she accepts everything else. She also remembers Optimus Prime and his sparkmate, Elita-1. The two really stick out in her mind, kind of like Bumblebee does; there's something different about them. But, she remembers how loving they were- and still are- from her few memories. They were like another set of parents, at least as far as she can tell.
There were also some memories of other 'Bots, all of whom seem different. Except Sunstreaker, who has always seemed to be the same yellow, pain in the aft mech that was constantly annoying Ratchet and Prime with his twin by his side.
One memory stuck out more than others, the worst of all her scattered, blurry memories. It was scarier than any of her others, and it made the least sense of them all. Optimus always tells her that it's from when her parents died, but she is pretty sure she is quite a few years younger than twelve there. And her dad... Well, something was rather off about it all.
Sunstreaker shifts slightly, jostling the teen out of her thoughts. She struggles for a second to regain balance after the sudden 'bump in the road,' and Sunstreaker and Sideswipe have to stop for a second to allow her to situate herself once more.
"You did that on purpose," She grumbles, crossing her arms as she leans against Sunstreaker's helm once more. The playful gleam in her ice blue irises shows her true feelings, though, so Sunny and Sides don't get too worried. When Bethany gets pissed, which doesn't really happen too often, everyone better run for cover. She is either a Pit monster, or will just shut herself away, which scares people more.
The trio passes quite a few people and 'Bots along their way to Optimus and Elitas quarters. A few say 'hello' to the passing troublemakers. Among those few are: Ratchet, General Lennox and his best friend Epps, and, of course, the ever-friendly and energetic Hot Rod and Hot Shot, the biggest daredevils of the Autobot team, second to Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. The two sets of twins spent many a cycle in the med bay getting looked over.
The N.E.S.T. base was rather spacious, and bright because of all the white walls and annoying lights. Most of the Autobots hung out in the main hangar, even choosing to recharge there, but there were always those exceptions, such as Optimus and Elita, Ratchet, and the late weapons master, Ironhide- a mech Bethany had never 'met', but could vaguely pick out from her memories.
Most people left Ironhide's quarters alone, as if they still hoped he might return. After two years, there's only so much you can hope for without completely destroying yourself mentally and emotionally.
As Bethany begins to think of all the stories she had been told of the courageous mech, they walk down the hall containing all of the Autobots' quarters. Her expression fills with curiosity as they pass Ironhide's quarters on the right and a restricted room on the left. Sunstreaker falls behind Sideswipe a little ways as he seems to freeze next to the door. Sideswipe stops a few yards ahead of us, and Bethany can immediately tell that they are talking through their Bond that they share.
Bethany slaps the side of Sunstreaker's helm, right above his audio receptor. "Stop hiding things from me! You know I hate it when you guys do that, and you know very well why I do!"
Sunstreaker winces, as does his silver twin. Bethany gives them both a stare that everyone is familiar with and no one enjoys being on the receiving end; only two people are ever on the sending side: Bethany and Optimus. And, as soon as they think about the similarity, a wave of sadness passes over the two.
/Maybe tonight isn't the best time to pull that prank./ Sideswipe comments over their Bond.
/Why not, Sides?/ Sunstreaker inquires, all the while chattering with Bethany about Primus knows what as the trio walks farther down the empty hall.
/It's Tuesday, you know very well what that means./
/Slag it. Why didn't you say something earlier?/
/I forgot!/
/You're not allowed to forget! Besides, you have a fraggin' computer for a brain, you shouldn't forget!/
/Says the 'Bot who forgot Beta's birthday last year./
/Ya' know what, Sides? I didn't-/
"You're doing it, again!" Bethany screams into Sunstreaker's audio receptor, making him wince once more.
"Slag it, femme! What the Pit?" He yells as Sideswipe removes Bethany from his shoulder and he massages the area around his poor audio receptor. "I'm sorry that there are just somethings you aren't allowed to know about! You don't run the fraggin' place! I understand that you hate secrets because that's what your whole existence is- a secret- but you need to get over it!" Sunstreaker yells, his now indigo looking optics burning with anger.
Bethany cringes in Sideswipe's grasp, a familiar hurts expression gracing her ice blue eyes. She simply replies with a nod of her bright red hair before motioning for Sideswipe to set her down. "I'm sorry," she mutters before walking in the opposite direction, completely forgetting her paper or the prank that she would've done. The only thing on her mind was what Sunstreaker had said,
"I understand that you hate secrets because that's what your whole existence is- a secret- but you need to get over it!"
He was right; for her, her existence is a secret. The only things she had from before were her memories.
And one memory haunts her existence.
Peace, Love, and Transformers :D