Welcome back, everyone!

This series might veer a little away from the main story, but hopefully for the better. I've got most of it covered, but I'm always looking for new ideas!

IMPORTANT: I'm going to draw some scenes from this story and a few of my others. Let me know which scenes you want to see drawn out, and I'll post them to my instagram and Tumblr! Both under the username: spicymochi01

Also, a certain bully may get a little more characterisation in this episode.

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Four: Quicksilver, Part 1

Silver's POV. . .

I waited patiently, sitting on the med-bay table and occasionally shuffling. It'd been a week since…the incident. Apparently, it took me a few hours after surgery to properly come back around. The first thing I'd asked was if Bee was okay, but everybody had been hesitant with their answers.

Beyond his physical wellbeing, they hadn't told me anything. The fact that he hadn't visited me yet was enough for me to understand a fraction of how he might've been feeling.

Ratchet was carefully reading through the results from my various medical exams, refusing to skim over a single detail.

I sighed. "Ratchet, you know I'm fine. A week is much longer than I need for a wound like this."

"You were shot in the spark, Silver Sun," He slightly scolded, but in a softer tone than usual. "This is hardly the time for understatements."

"It was a flesh wound that caused a system reboot." I reminded him. "Even you said it's not nearly as bad as you initially thought."

He spun around from the computer, staring at me with an expression close to angered concern. I awkwardly tensed up, glancing away from him.

"I am choosing to believe you forgot the major effects that a system reboot could have on a Cybertronian." His teeth gritted. "You could've lost your memories. Do you realise the weight of that?! Forgetting you're an Autobot. Forgetting your sister, your shared experiences! Forgetting who you are and everything that's made you who you are! I mean, really, would you-"

He cut himself off, realising how quiet I'd become. Everything he was telling me, he'd repeated a thousand times throughout my medical training.

My mentor took a deep breath. "Forgive my outburst." He turned back to monitor. "From what I can see, you should be fine to resume as normal. But stay away from battle. Even in the most dire of situations."

I glanced up at him, confused. "Are you saying that as my doctor, or mentor?"

"As a friend." He spoke softly. "I've seen enough young 'bots lost to the war. I worry enough about the rest of the team on a regular basis."

He had no reason to be worried. Unless the situation explicitly called for a medic, or someone else was in danger like Bumblebee had been, I had no intention of going back into the field. I offered him a small smile.

"I don't think that's something you need to worry about with me, Ratchet." I reassured him, then tilted my helm. "Soooo, can I go pick up the kids with Arcee?"

He seemed to relax a little bit, chuckling slightly. Nonchalantly, he waved his servo.

"Well, I hardly think that qualifies as a battle." He admitted. "Unless, of course, you're picking up Miko from detention."

After being dismissed, I steadily walked into the main area adjacent to the medical bay. Sure enough, Bulkhead, Arcee and Optimus were there. Bumblebee was there too, standing on the far side of the room talking to Bulkhead. My sister turned to me, offering a smile.

"Hey, look who's been freed from the Hatchet." She joked.

"I CAN HEAR YOU!" Ratch's irritated tone came from the room I'd just left.

I returned her smile and gestured to the door. "So do I finally get to see Jasper?"

Her expression then shifted. She had 'that look'. I'd seen it every time she had to cancel on me for a mission, or an opportunity to hang out with her teammates.

She awkwardly averted optic-contact. "About that…we got a call from Fowler. Could be Decepticon activity, or could be nothing, but he still wants us to check it out."

My shoulders dropped slightly. My smile must've fallen a little too, because Optimus jumped in.

"Our task should not take more than an hour to complete." He reassured me. "However, it would be very helpful if you could assist Bumblebee in collecting the children."

That got Bee's attention. His optics widened as he stepped forward.

"I-I can get the kids on my own, Optimus." He tried to convince him.

Optimus waved off the scout, activating the ground bridge with what I assumed was the location of their mission.

"It would be good for Silver Sun to get out of the base. She doesn't know the way to Jasper yet, and will need someone to show her." The Prime didn't budge.

Bumblebee awkwardly nodded, still not meeting my optics. Arcee gave him a slight glare. The same one she used to give to Red Alert. The kind that says "look after her, or perish."

My sister then turned to me. "Hey, you should probably swap your colours to mine for today."

I tilted my helm. "Why?"

"Jack's mentioned that some kids are confused about different vehicles picking him up from school." She shrugged. "They're starting to ask questions. Besides, you two haven't met yet, so he probably won't recognise you."

Blue and pink were not my colours, but I hesitantly agreed.

She followed Optimus and Bulkhead through the groundbridge. I didn't expect them to return in the timespan Optimus gave, especially if there was Decepticon activity. The green swirling lights disappeared into small specs in the air.

Once again, the base was quiet, aside from the sounds of Ratchet shuffling around in the medical bay.

Bee stood opposite me. His optics still refused to meet mine, but he briefly glanced up.

"I can pick up the kids on my own." He turned to walk towards the exit. "You should rest."

"Seriously?" I blurted out.

I wasn't really thinking when I said it. The scout turned back, slightly surprised at my bluntness. Well, there wasn't any turning back from the confrontation now.

"W-What?"

"Come on, Bumblebee. You're doing everything you can to avoid me." I shrugged awkwardly, my gaze fixed on the floor. "I'm sorry about looking into your memories. It was just difficult to know what to do in the heat of the moment, but I understand that you're still mad about it."

"Wait…" Bee furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "You think I'm mad at you?"

His question eased some of the tension, causing me to glance up again.

I stared, equally as confused. "Well…yeah, of course."

The yellow mech's optics turned from confused to wide with worry.

"Nonono! Primus, no, I'm not mad at you!" He panicked. "The reason I didn't visit was because I didn't think you would want to see me."

I tilted my helm. "Why would you think that?"

Bee blinked in confusion, tilting his helm as he gestured to himself. "Silver…I shot you." My spark dropped. "Megatron might've been in control, but it was still my gun. I saw it all. I saw you trying to help me, I felt the shot go off, and I saw you bleeding out while we tried to escape."

"Bumblebee…" I didn't really know what to say. "I was never mad at you for that. Everything I saw from you was only trying to keep me safe from Megatron." I shrugged, chuckling a little. "To be honest, I'm surprised he didn't try using Ratchet or Raf as a hostage. I mean, you barely know me."

The scout glanced away a little. I swear, I saw the hint of a blue blush on his face.

"I-I don't know…Maybe just because you were the one who was closest by. I don't think he saw Raf, thankfully." He tried to sidetrack.

I waved it off. "Okay, but there's a main point here: You don't need to blame yourself, and you don't need to avoid me."

Bee seemed hesitant. "Are you sure?"

"Of course." I glanced away shyly. "In fact…I was looking forward to spending time with this Bumblebee. Without the Decepticon third wheel."

I couldn't see his face, but I could definitely see the hint of a smile.

"I'd like to spend time with you too, Silver." He seemed to relax a little.

My mouth formed a half-smile, gazing at the scout with nervous, but calm optics. His optics stared right back into mine. For a moment, we seemed to just be enjoying each other's company.

And then…

"AHEM!"

We both turned back towards the laboratory to see Ratchet carrying out some datapads, and not looking very amused. His eyebrow raised at Bumblebee.

"I hope you're planning on looking after my apprentice in the field." He said sceptically. "With the amount of destruction you warriors cause, we need as many medics as possible."

The scout seemed a little scared, but quickly nodded. "I won't let anything happen to her, Ratch."

The doctor gave a quick nod, resuming whatever he'd first been typing at the computer. He turned to us and gestured towards the exit roadway.

"Well, what are you two waiting for?" He sounded half-annoyed, half-joking. "The children aren't going to transform into cars and drive back themselves!"

I giggled a little at that last part, but soon went back to my best poker face as Ratchet shot a stern glare. The hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He waved us off and dismissed us.

Turning to the scout, he simply shrugged.

"Race ya?" He offered.

"Oh…I don't know." I feigned a shy demeanor, edging towards the exit. "I was never that good at…RACING!"

At the last word, I transformed into the bike mode that my sister had told me to. A cloud of smoke kicked up from my tires as I made a beeline (pun intended) for the exit.

I could hear Bee laughing and the mechanical sounds of metal and machinery before the revving of an engine began catching up behjnd me.

Racing might not have been strictly allowed back on Cybertron, but it was one of my secret hobbies. I'd sneak out in the middle of the night, change up my colours to another preset I had ready, and head to the outskirts of Prax.

Hey, Arcee can't be the only sister with a mysterious streak.

And not to brag, but I was undefeated.

The memories of my happier days at Prax came rushing back as we drove through the American desert. Nothing but an empty highway, a bold orange sky, and the sound of engines laughing alongside each other.

The first true peace I'd felt in years.

If only it would have lasted forever.

Meanwhile, on the Nemesis . . .

Megatron had a problem.

A silver and pink problem.

That power that he'd felt the night he regained his original form…he recognised it. He'd done his best to push back the feeling of fear in front of her, but the idea that she was here, on Earth, on Prime's team…

It was all that was on his mind as he stared from the bridge of the Nemesis, into the open expanse of deep yellow light against grey clouds.

"Uh, forgive me, Lord Megatron…" The sound of Starscream's feeble voice was like nails on a chalkboard to the Decepticon leader. "But you've been staring for quite some time. Is something…troubling you?"

"The only one who troubles me is you, Starscream." Megatron hissed. "Tell me, is there a reason for your pestering this time? Or is it simply another chance to decipher my plans?"

The Seeker's frame shuddered slightly. He'd been fearful of the punishment that awaited him at his leader's revival, but had been doing everything possible to avoid such a fate.

He plaster on a false boldness as he proudly responded. "I-I am pleased to report that Breakdown and Knock Out are on the lookout for the Autobots! The 'good doctor' seems to believe that they can locate the Autobots near the race tracks at which they last encountered them."

The grey mech snapped his helm back, glaring down at the Seeker as he tried to suppress the urge to yell. "You willingly allowed Knock Out AND Breakdown to go to yet another human street race?! And without MY knowledge?!"

Starscream quickly shrunk back, his eyebrows furrowing in fear as his mistake hit him like a truck. He stuttered and stumbled over his words, but Megatron silently raised a hand to shush him.

"For their sake and yours, you had better hope this 'mission' yields something useful." The leader snarled. "Now if you have nothing of substance to say, cease your whining."

As Starscream scurried away, Megatron resumed his thoughts.

If the new Autobot was really who - or what - he suspected, then he was in danger.

All Decepticons were in danger.

Silver's POV . . .

I couldn't stop laughing as Bumblebee and I reached the small town of Jasper.

The scout had been eager to race me, but had definitely underestimated my skill. After all, you don't get good at avoiding conflict by being a slow driver.

We pulled up to the KO Burger drive-in. There were only a few people there, all waiting inside as the two frantic teens behind the counter tried to deliver each order. We waited patiently in the parking lot outside, each with our holoforms leaning on our vehicle modes as we faced each other.

I still hadn't stopped smiling from the win.

Bumblebee's holoform rolled his eyes. "You look like you wanna brag."

"I don't wanna brag!" I quickly held up my hands, struggling to make the smile go away. "I'm just having a lot of fun." Shrugging, I turned away slightly. "Seeing other people...it's an experience I haven't had in a while. You're making it a lot easier on me."

Turning back, I saw the scout's eyes widen as his holoform glitched slightly. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head and glanced away.

"W-Well, I'm happy to help." He stuttered, still refusing to meet my gaze.

I tilted my head at him a little as the silence took over. It was difficult to read him in the holoform mode. But it was fuelled by much more than a

"Bumblebee?" My tone was noticeably quieter. "You still have questions, don't you? About...what happened on the warship."

The scout seemed surprised, but quickly turned sheepish.

"I mean...I'd be lying to say it hasn't been messing with me." His confession made me tense a little. "What...what did you do exactly?"

The eyes of my holoform tried to avert that of his. I knew we'd have to have this conversation sooner or later, but hoped it wouldn't have to be so rushed.

"I call it 'reading'." I began to explain, speaking in my quietest tone to not let humans overhear. "We store things in our psyche based on the strongest feelings we had while they were happening. It's only a fraction of what you truly went through…but I felt part of it. That's how I know the real you would've never actually shot me. And that's why you don't need my forgiveness."

"Whoa...Could you always just...do that?"

I shrugged awkwardly. "I guess so. It's something I was just born with. I could never figure out how to control it when I was younger. Ended up seeing far more of the war through the optics of others than a child probably should've. Then, I just repressed it until..."

Bee raised an eyebrow, concerned and intrigued. "Until what?"

I'd stopped myself, realising what I was about to admit to. A memory that had the bitter sting of a nightmare. Quietly shaking off the rest of the sentence, I offered a faltering smile.

"During my time apart from Arcee, there were...events that happened that I'd rather forget." I cryptically explained. "The incident leading to the reawakening of my 'abilities' is one of them."

It was impossible to know if my secrets would stay buried. For the sake of myself, and my sister's reputation, I prayed to Primus that it would. The war might've been brutal, but the things I did...

I didn't think anyone would believe that it was 'just an accident'.

Bee only offered a simple nod in response. I was surprised that he didn't try to push it, but also incredibly relieved.

"Sometimes, forgetting can be a comfort." He shrugged slightly. "Primus knows that there are things I never want to relive. But Optimus helped me see that we also need to face those difficult memories sometimes to move past them. Not in every case, but it can help."

My eyes widened a little, taken off-guard with how understanding he was. Arcee had been pushing me to tell her more about my time apart from her. She seemed frustrated and a little angry that I wouldn't tell her. It was a nice change of pace to find some more patience from Bee.

He reminded me again of my old friend - Red Alert. He was sweet, compassionate, willing to find patience in even the most stressful situations. Even at his end...his only priority was other people.

My friend had become the reason I never talked about life before Earth.

Was that why I was so drawn to Bumblebee? Because of Red?

No, Bee was similar, but the way I cared for him was different. It was more nerve-wracking, but in the best way. He was kind like Red Alert, but I sensed a stubbornness similar to my own.

I smiled at Bumblebee, shrugging awkwardly. "Y-You're really sweet, Bumblebee."

The scout smiled, his holoform glitching slightly once again. "Well...you're my friend. I want you to feel okay talking to me about stuff, but in your own way and your own time."

"Oh..." My eyes widened once again. This time it was my holoform's turn to glitch. "I-I haven't had a friend in a long time."

"Well...I don't really know if I have either." Bee thought aloud. "Arcee and I are friendly, but I don't think she'd call me a 'friend' rather than a teammate. Bulkhead is great, but he prefers spending time with Miko. Optimus and Ratch are self-explanatory. Raf is the closest thing I have to a friend, but he's more like a little brother. Life experiences and levels of understanding are different for a 2400-year-old mech and a 12-year-old human child."

He let out a series of low beeps that resembled a chuckle. A small look of ease must've appeared on my face, because he returned a similar one.

"Well, I'll try to be a good friend." I said hopefully.

It was nice. Having someone who called me their friend. Who saw me as more than a teammate, or just someone they only hung out with because we work together.

Bumblebee's calm smile shifted to a surprised one as his com-link went off.

"Oh, it's the kids." Bee relayed the message. "They're stuck at school, but Jack's still at work. Are you okay to pick up Jack if I go to them?"

I was hesitant. "I-I don't know. What does Jack look like? I don't want to end up mistaking him for a random kid."

Bee's holoform climbed back into the driver's side of his vehicle mode. "Teenage boy, kinda tired, dark-ish clothes." He shrugged it off. "You'll know him when you see him. Besides, he'll recognise Arcee's colour scheme."

I'd changed my colours to the blue and pink ones of my sister. As I nodded with a reassured smile, he returned the expression. He reversed out of the parking lot and drove off towards what I guessed was Jasper High. It was near the other side of the town, from what I knew.

I waited patiently for Jack to arrive.

No One's POV . . .

"I don't know how I'm gonna get the money, Harv, but I will, okay?!" Vince continued talking on the phone in a quiet voice. "Can't do the race. My car's been acting weird ever since Darby's little stunt." He sighed, stressed from the growing weight of the money he owed. "I'll find a way, just...I'll call you back."

He put a hand to his forehead, pushing his hair back as he inhaled deeply to calm himself down. With his dad unable to work for the foreseeable future, racing had been the only way for him to make money. He'd told his dad that he got a job at KO Burger. It was easier to cover his tracks that way.

And now, that dumb emo kid Darby had somehow managed to wreck his car.

As he turned the corner of the gas station, he looked across the street and saw something interesting. The guy that he assumed was Raf's older brother was there next to his car, standing beside a girl he hadn't seen before.

A few years older than him (perhaps early twenties), the girl had white and pink box braids, tied into a neat plait with a matching pink headband. She wore a mid-length pink skater skirt, with flowy white blouse tucked into it.

But there was a key detail - she was standing next to Darby's bike.

Vince tried to be inconspicuous as he got closer, overhearing their conversation. He couldn't hear too much of what the guy was saying, but the girl said one thing that caught his attention.

"I-I don't know." She began, unsure. "What does Jack look like? I don't want to end up mistaking him for a random kid."

Vince couldn't hear what Raf's brother said in response (he tended to mumble an lot), but he drove off quickly after. The girl stood there awkwardly next to the bike. It clearly wasn't hers and she didn't even have a helmet to ride it. She must've just been meeting him.

A lightbulb went off in Vince's head.

Silver's POV . . .

Okay...this is fine. I silently reassured myself. He's a teenage human boy. I'll know him when I see him, right?

"Hey!" A voice caught me off-guard.

Turning back, I saw a friendly - yet tired-looking boy walking towards me. He seemed too confident to have been a stranger.

He brushed his long ginger-red fringe out of his eyes as he smiled familiarly at me. I realised that this must've been Jack.

"Sorry for the hold up!" He began cheerfully. "You know how my mom is. Overprotective and all that."

"Oh, you must be Jack!" I realised, smiling back at him. "I'm Silver, Arcee's sister. She couldn't make it today, soooo here I am!"

'Jack' nodded in response, walking over to my bike mode.

"Yeah, she mentioned you a couple of times. Said you're really nice." He explained. "So, I've got a few errands to run before we can hang out."

"Oh, no problem!" I was still so nervous that he wouldn't like me. "Just let me find a less obvious spot to deactivate my holoform and we'll head out!"

He looked a little confused. I realised that maybe the concept of holoforms hadn't been explained to him yet. But perhaps that lengthy conversation was better suited once we were on the road.

"Uhhh sure." He responded hesitantly.

Nodding to him, I quickly walked off, ducking behind one of the dumpsters of KO and preparing to deactivate my holoform. Optimus had been very strict on ensuring that we don't unintentionally reveal ourselves to humans.

Just as I was about to return to my bike form and dissipate my holoform, I overheard another conversation.

"JACKSON DARBY!" An elderly man shouted. "You aren't off shift yet!"

Glancing back, I saw the door leading out the back of the restaurant opening. Out walked another boy, his hair black dyed ombre with purple at the ends. He wore a baggy black hoodie with grey jeans, a couple of piercing on each ear.

"I told you, I can't work overtime today." His voice was monotone and uninterested as he put on what humans called headphones.

As the door slammed shut behind him, I tilted my head. "Wait...you're Jack Darby?"

He slowly turned his head to face me, slight surprise in his deadpan expression. "Lemme guess. Arcee's sister?"

"Then...who was..."

Before I could finish my thought, the revving of a motorcycle engine came from the parking lot. The gravity of the situation dawning on me, I quickly rushed back to see the other kid driving out of the lot. He drove in the opposite direction that Bee went.

My eyes widened. "Well...this trip couldve gone better."

Jack stared at me, eyebrow raising in skepticism. "Welcome to Jasper."

End of Chapter Four!

This is definitely a two-parter! I felt like in the show we didn't see too much of Vince other than "classic bully". I've basically added a whole backstory for this kid to explain why he's involved in all this shady stuff.

Oh, and Jack's a scene kid now. I always felt like they wanted to give him an alternate look, but had to settle for the generic "everyman" look. I'll probably design them at some point, so let me know if that's something you guys want to see.

'Til All Are One,

GreyroseLegacy