I don't own Transformers or the Riordanverse; they belong to their owners.
Chapter 57: The Woman Who Touched The Sky
Three Days Later
Hot Rod rolled down the streets of Pasadena, California, in his Dodge Viper mode. It was a beautiful city, but Hot Rod wasn't there to sightsee. He had somewhere he had to be.
At last he found the place he tracked down a few days ago, an apartment complex in a run-down section of the city. He parked outside and had his holomatter avatar step out of his vehicle mode and up the steps into the complex. When he walked into the building, he was greeted by the human managing the front desk.
"Hello there, can I help you?" he asked.
"Yes, I… I'm looking for Beryl Grace." Hot Rod answered.
The receptionist frowned. "Are you sure about that? It's not like she's handing out autographs these days… If you're a fan—"
"No, I… I ran into her daughter." Hot Rod explained.
"The one who went missing a couple of years ago?"
"Yeah…" Hot Rod answered tersely.
At that, the receptionist seemed to understand and guided Hot Rod to the room. Building 2, Floor 3, Unit 6.
When they got there, the receptionist knocked on the door. "Ms. Grace! Someone is here to see you!"
There was no answer.
"Ms. Grace?!"
Still no answer.
"Do you have a key for this?" Hot Rod asked.
"Yes." The receptionist muttered as he took the spare key out. "We make it a point to keep it on hand considering Ms. Grace's…habits."
Hot Rod gave a sad sigh as the receptionist opened the door. Hot Rod got the impression the place smelled really badly because the receptionist staggered back when he got a whiff of it.
His avatar looked inside, and the room was a total wreck. Broken glass bottles were scattered all over the floor, pictures were hanging loose, food was everywhere, and even some pill bottles were on some of the shelves.
Hot Rod couldn't help but think of what a sad state it was.
He could make out the outline of someone on the bed, lying motionless. Hot Rod had his avatar walk up carefully and gave her a nudge. "Beryl?" he asked.
For a moment he was worried she wouldn't stir, but finally the woman groaned. "What?" she muttered. "Who…who's there?"
Hot Rod wasn't sure what to say. "Uh…I…someone who's worried about you."
A bitter laugh came from her. "No one cares about me…" she muttered.
Hot Rod sighed. He turned to the receptionist. "Look, um… Can you give us some privacy? I promise I won't try anything."
The receptionist nodded and left the room, leaving Hot Rod and Beryl alone. Hot Rod had his avatar take a seat next to Beryl as she stirred and stood up
"I guess it's pointless to ask if you need help." Hot Rod muttered.
"I don't need help." Beryll said dismissively. "I got everything I need from the royal…royal…" her voice slurred. "Royalties from my films…"
"Yeah." Hot Rod muttered. "But I don't care. I'm getting you the help you need." He stood up and helped Beryl stand up by draping one of her arms around his avatar's shoulders.
She seemed annoyed, but she didn't resist either. "Why?" she asked. "I don't know you."
"I knew your daughter." Hot Rod answered.
Beryl's eyes opened a bit, and she seemed interested in what Hot Rod had to say for the first time. "You…you knew Thalia?" she asked.
"Yeah…" Hot Rod answered sadly as he helped guide her out of the room.
"Who was she to you?"
Hot Rod hesitated.
"She was my hero," he finally answered.
This is the final "normal" chapter of Search for the Allspark. But as I said before, the story isn't over quite yet. We've still got five more epilogues to set up future threads for future stories.
Until then, thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review!