This is sort of a buffer chapter, but important so I had to write it. So far, my posting streak is 2... let's see how long I can keep this up ;) Enjoy!
No Episode
[Amanda]
Two days after my last visit to BeckIT Vegas and a day after construction started in Jasper, I stood at the entrance gate to Beckett Manor. I hadn't returned since the first time when I came with Optimus, and this time the grief I felt before was a dull throb.
The only reason I was here was because I needed supplies. I needed some clothes, some gadgets, and I really
I slipped past the broken gates and headed up the long driveway, walking around the pieces of debris on the drive. My eyes glanced over everything, calculating the work that needed to be done on it, until they landed on the mansion itself. I wondered what Mom would have done if she saw her castle in shambles.
She'd keep a level head. She'd look at what's still okay, what needs to be worked on, and get started. She wouldn't let this stop her.
As I spent more and more time at the Nevada military base, I found that I had thought about my mom more and more as well. It was almost as though I felt more connected to her there. I could see it in the eyes of the military personnel I had encountered, their glances of recognition and confusion as I walked by. While I had tried my best to ignore them, it was hard pretending not to be a ghost of my mom.
I decided to walk straight to the garage, and I shoved the door open. It was already hanging on its hinges, so all I needed to do was push it aside to reveal the cars lined up inside. Once I saw what lay on the other side, I breathed a sigh of relief.
The cars weren't in too bad shape. The row closest to the mansion side of the garage had a pile of rubble on them, as the roof had caved in that area, which had dented the roofs and cracked the windows of the almost twenty cars on that side. Dust coated every single car, and the rest of the damage varied from a cracked windshield to a dent or two. Still, it was a lot better than I had expected.
I moved towards my black mustang, which was right up front. There was a massive series of scratches down the driver's side door, the culprit being the piece of roof that lay right next to it. I ran my fingers along the scratches, feeling the imperfections on my once perfect finish and wiping away the dirt. Along with a small crack in the back windshield, that was all the damage that the mustang sustained, which made me even more relieved. I knew I'd have to do some work, maybe even replace some cars, but to have to give up on my mustang would make it hurt much more.
My phone began to ring from my pocket, and I answered it, still half lost in my thoughts.
"Hello?"
"Amanda?" Optimus' voice flooded through the line. "It has come to my attention that your meeting with the Jasper Planning Committee has ended. Would you like me to pick you up?"
I brushed the dust off the horse logo on my mustang. "Sure, but I'm actually at home. I needed to..." Get supplies? Inspect the damage? Reassure myself that Mom is still here. "Get some things."
"I will be there momentarily," The Prime said in a knowing tone before he hung up. Tucking my phone away, I backed out of the garage and returned to the main driveway, this time my sights set on my mansion. With the roof half collapsed, it'd be a risk to walk in. But what was life without a few risks?
Now Optimus is going to show up and freak out. Maybe you should wait until he gets here.
Good idea. No need for him to break down what's left of the mansion to dig me out.
So I moved to sit on the front steps, pushing aside a plank of wood to do so. If I sat quietly enough, I could hear the construction from Jasper, the noise of the machines and crews drifting through the wind. Everything was going according to plan, making the two month deadline completely attainable. We may even finish before then. While I was with the planning committee earlier, they all seemed ecstatic to be taking part in the rebuilding of their homes, which helped improve my mood after a few sleepless, stress filled nights.
Half lost in thought, I looked down at my hands, allowing a flash of silver to glance over my fingertips. It'd be easy to rebuild my home if it was all made of metal- no, I couldn't deal with this one the way I usually like to deal with things. I needed to rely on someone else, no matter how uncomfortable that made me.
The rumble of an engine approaching made me look up to see Optimus driving up, even though his vehicle mode was still a little unfamiliar, I knew it was him right away. He transformed in front of me and crouched down, careful not to crush anything even more.
"Hey, Optimus," I waved and stood.
"Hello, Amanda," he looked down and I spotted some concern in his gaze. "Admittedly, I did not expect you to return here so soon."
I shrugged. "I have to get over it. Everyone's houses were destroyed. I'm not doing myself any good by being miserable over it."
"That may be the case," The Prime said. "But I do not think the people of Jasper have such strong ties to their houses."
I knew he was referring to my mom, which made me turn to glance around again. "Yeah." I said quietly. We fell silent until I sighed. "Well, I've got the company that built the estate for my mom to come in again to rebuild. They're going to start by the end of the week, so I wanted to stop by and grab a few things first."
"Do you think it is wise to enter your house," he asked. "When it is already unsecure?"
I glanced behind me. "I think it's... okay. I just have to get some clothes and some toiletries. As much as I tried to last without it, I need my special shampoo and conditioner. My hair is a dry mess."
He gave me a small smile at that. "Be careful. Should anything go wrong-"
"Don't jinx it now!" I exclaimed, getting another smile. "I'll be quick, don't worry."
I slipped past the front doors of my house, trying to ignore how everything was out of place. I had to duck to get past the front hall, but thankfully that stairs were intact. Though I did curse quite a bit while trying to make my way up the spiral staircase, I managed to get to my room without incident. I grabbed a duffel bag from my closet, shoving three pairs of pants, three shirts, and a bunch of undergarments inside. Then I made my way to my bathroom, only to find the entire ceiling had caved and there was no way in.
"Damn," I frowned, spotting broken glass, metal, and wood everywhere. My frown only grew when I spotted the split bottles of shampoo and conditioner.
Just as I backed away, my vision went silver and I felt the urge to rush downstairs. The atheneum. Was it even still intact? Or better yet, was the basement even stable? I wasn't particularly keen on finding out until everything went silver again, this time for longer.
"Okay, okay," I huffed, stumbling back as my vision cleared. "I'll go down there, but if I die, it'll be your fault."
My powers hummed within me, probably pleased with my giving in, so I headed downstairs. As a passed the main foyer, a voice echoed through the half destroyed halls.
"Status- report- wel-co-m-mi-beck-beck-"
"It's alright, Blair," I said softly, my heart torn to hear my AI so broken. "Shut down. I'll fix you up soon."
"Re-quest-ack-ack-know-ledged-"
The silence set in again, and I sighed. I hadn't even thought about my mansion systems... It had taken me years to develop them.
But that was before. Now you're older. You know more. You've done more.
Still, it hurt. So I pushed it out of my thoughts, and headed towards my tech room. It was on the side of the house that was still in tact, luckily, making my trip down not as bad as it could have been. Still, it was difficult to navigate the rubble, and I almost tumbled down a few times before my feet landed on the solid ground. Despite the fact that I really didn't want to, I glanced around to see the shattered screens and smashed technology. To replace all of it would cost a fortune. At least I had that.
I pushed past the tech, towards the dark corner of the room. Miraculously, the entrance to the atheneum was perfectly clear, not a bit of dust on it.
"Well Cleona," I sighed, entering the atheneum. "You sure do know how to protect your stuff."
At the bottom of the steps, the atheneum was as beautiful as ever, not a single thing out of place because of the attacks. If only Jasper was like this, then I'd have a lot less stress to deal with.
"Okay," I said to no one in particular. "Why am I here?"
I closed my eyes, summoning my powers to guide me. As though something was tied around my waist, I was tugged into the stacks of books, my hand drifting to one book in particular. When I opened my eyes, I saw that it was a hefty book with a grey cover that had a slight shimmer to it.
The Anecdote of the Champions of Cleona.
"A history book," I mused, then shrugged. "Why not."