A/N: Whoa, all these reviews last chapter. You guys have no idea how much it means to me. Especially since this is my first try at a straight-friendship fic. :) And yay! Double update today! Woot!

...

CHAPTER 7
A Snag In The Plan

"And you're sure the man was going to force himself on you?"

Tyler only nodded his head at Breakdown's question. The holoform peered into his backseat at the boy who had curled up in a ball. Breakdown had parked at their usual spot, keeping them as far out of view as possible. Reaching forward, Breakdown ran a hand down the boy's arm. It was awkward, but what else could he do? After all the boy was traumatized beyond words. "Easy." Breakdown told him calmly "You're safe now."

"I don't want to go back there."

Breakdown shook his head a bit, uncertain of how to respond. Even if he did somehow drive him far away from the town, there were things Tyler would no doubt want to bring with him. They'd have to go back there, but at the same time, if that man Roger was there and waiting for him. He shuddered in anger at the very thought. "We're going to have to go back. Get what you need in order to survive on your own for some time." Breakdown explained "But we'll go when he's gone." He then added calmly "Right now, we're gonna stay right here."

Tyler nodded his head, pulling the blanket they'd stopped to "borrow" around his body. He didn't like the thought of going back, but at least Breakdown would drive him away. Later that day, he'd be far away from his uncle and his abuse. "Breakdown?" Breakdown turned his head back again "What if Roger's still there?"

Breakdown flared up his engines in anger once more, trying to cool himself off. "He'd better hope he isn't. You know what castration is, right?" Breakdown questioned, to which Tyler nodded in response "I'll be giving him that nice little procedure. Or maybe I'll give him to Knock Out, he's been looking for a new test subject." Tyler cringed a bit "What? He'd have it coming!"

"I know." Tyler muttered "I just don't want you to get in trouble."

Breakdown paused a moment, smirking a bit. "You worry about yourself, I'll worry about me." Breakdown took a deep breath "Now, do you have any idea where you want to go? Keep in mind, it'll need to be far." He explained "Because anywhere in the county would have those annoying as all pit amber alerts out given his standing."

Tyler didn't quite know, he'd never dreamed of getting out so soon. And therefore, he found it difficult to figure out where he'd want to go exactly. There was no family to go to, they were all dead but Brody. Where would he go? Where would be far enough from Brody's grip, but easy enough to be spotted and go into the system under an alias? "I don't know." Tyler told him quietly "I guess we'll just drive and I'll pick a place, will that work?"

"Yeah. As much as anything else would really."

Tyler paused a moment, looking down. "When I'm gone... When you drop me off and go back. Will we ever see each other again?"

Breakdown was silent, that was a good question. But he knew the answer wasn't a happy one. He knew that chances were, they'd never see each other again. Driving that distance would be too suspicious, and if the wrong person reported the wrong thing... He shuddered at the thought. He could end up right back in the situation he was in now, and that was not an option. "No." Breakdown replied "Not for a very long time at least. Once you're legal, yeah, we can." He then paused "But we both know meeting before that would get us both in a slag load of trouble."

"I don't know how I'm gonna deal with that." Tyler replied "You've become like my best friend."

Breakdown took that in, he'd always been Knock Out's best friend, even if he rarely said it. But it also felt good to hear it out of the thirteen year old's mouth. He couldn't say whether he considered Tyler a best friend yet. They had only known each other for so long after all. But somehow just knowing he had helped the boy made him feel a certain elation. "You'll be safe from the fragger, and that's what matters." As he heard Tyler yawn, he sighed "Get some sleep, you need it." He explained.

"Promise you'll still be here when I wake up?"

Breakdown's holoform stared at the human silently. "Promise."

As Tyler finally fell back into a deep slumber, Breakdown let his holoform disappear. What was he getting himself into? He was going to be lying to the entire Decepticon army. All for the sake of a young boy he had only recently befriended, a boy who was supposed to be nothing more than an insignificant insect to him. What in the world had this child done to him? Why did he care about him? Could it be that he had, against all odds, grown so fond of the boy he truly considered him a friend?

Even though he knew the answer, it was difficult to believe. Could a Decepticon truly have a change of spark? Or was he beyond redemption? It was an answer he would have to find for himself, but even so, it haunted him. Especially given what he knew he had to do to keep Megatron distracted. It's going to be a long day. Breakdown thought to himself Primus, if you're out there. A little guidance would be nice.

He doubted any would ever come.

...

Tyler moved quickly, and quietly in the shadows of the night. The house was quiet enough to hear a pin needle drop in, yet he couldn't help himself from feeling tense. Brody had cleaned up to the best of the ability, but he was thankful he had not fixed the window. It made it easy enough to break into the small home with the added benefit of not being able to afford a security system. He carefully made his way through the home, keeping both eyes open for anything or anyone. After all, Brody could have been waiting for this moment. Or he could have been out looking out for him right now.

He kept his comm link gripped tightly in his hand, Breakdown had left to deal with matters on the Nemesis. Yet he was only a call away, and Tyler both knew and felt relieved by that. Yet he couldn't help but wonder if the mech would really be waiting for him in an hour when he stepped out of the home? He'd had a lot of disappointment in his life. A lot of people had promised him things, and then broken the promises harshly. But he had to remind himself that Breakdown had never done that. He had kept his promises, he had promised to look out for him and he was.

Yet, he hated the fact that he might have been getting Breakdown in trouble too. What if he returned and his leader had found out? He would not only never see his "best friend" again, but he would be completely wiped from the Earth. Tyler cringed, and let the thought go, it wasn't something he liked to think about, nor that he wanted to think about. He sucked in his gut and entered his "bedroom" calmly. It didn't take him long to search his mind for what he wanted, he only ever owned a few things. One of which, his most cherished keepsake of all, was gone.

He grabbed several changes of clothing, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and towels first. He stuffed them in his duffle bag from the short time he was in soccer. He next grabbed a stuffed rabbit, which his mother had given him as a two year old, a small amount of money he had saved for a moment exactly like this, and finally, the last picture he and his parents had taken before they died. "If you're up there, mom... Dad." He stared up at the ceiling "Keep us safe."

He finally placed it into his duffle bag before thrusting it over his shoulder. His eyes traveled around the room he had claimed as his for ten years. In a strange way, he'd miss it, he had memories in that room, however bad they may have been. It had been his home, even if it was a crummy one. Would he ever have another home? Would anyone ever want someone with the problems he had? The possibility that the answer would be no did terrify him. But he knew there was no turning back now. Brody had taken it too far, there was no longer a question of if he could stay there. He couldn't, it was as simple as that.

After a moment, he finally exited the room, and started down the hallway. In the den, he came face-to-face with the last person he wanted to see. Brody looked angry, even moreso than he usually did. His eyes filled with fire as he glared directly at him, staring him dead on in the eyes. "Where the hell are you going?" He asked drunkly "What is with the bag?"

"I'm leaving, uncle Brody." Tyler stated shakily "For a while."

"You're running off on me." Brody stated "I saw you with that damned teacher of yours. Saw him take you away."

Tyler took a few steps backward as Brody started after him. He looked for a weapon, quickly grabbing a vase from a table, and holding it above his head. "Don't come any closer." He sputtered "If you hurt me, he'll call the police. You'll go to jail! I'll have a witness to the horrible things you've done to me." He shouted angrily "You'd be smart to let me go!"

"Oh please."

Brody thrust himself forward, shoving Tyler backward as the vase crashed to the floor. The next thing Tyler knew, a fist connected with his face, knocking him to the ground. He wiped the blood from his face just in time for Brody to lift him to his feet by his collar. "THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME!? I took you in!" Brody shouted "I raised you so you wouldn't have to suffer in the foster care system like your dad and I did." He slammed him violently against a wall "And you want to go run off with some stupid teacher. Instead of me?"

"Every time." Tyler growled "He's five times the man you'll ever be."

As his head hit the back of the wall again, Tyler crumpled to the ground. He watched groggily as Brody walked towards the closet door nearby. As he reached through it, he carefully removed a large, metal baseball bat. "I'm not a man, am I?" Brody shouted "Boy you don't know what a real man is." He smacked the bat against his open palm "Allow me to give you a clear definition, won't you?"

As Tyler struggled to pull himself to his feet, the bat swung and connected with his back. Sending him toppling to the ground, all he could do was look up as the bat swung down yet again for another blow.

...

"You do realize how stupid this is, don't you?"

Breakdown stared at Starscream wordlessly. The seeker seemed as confused by his actions as he was, but his mind was made up. Whether Starscream was willing to help in this situation was irrelevant in that matter. "I'll be back within a week, maybe two." He explained calmly "If you want my allegiance, you'll cover for me as long as possible." He stared him straight in the optics "If you have a spark anywhere in that cold chasis of yours, you know leaving him there isn't right."

Starscream paused a bit. "I could honestly care less about human affairs." Starscream waved him off "However, you're leaving me with little choice. Given you are my only follower at this given time." He then explained "I'll find some way to keep Megatron and Knock Out at bay. But that's not saying much, especially with the latter." He explained.

"I'll keep Knock Out satisfied with chats as much as I can." Breakdown shook his head "Can't say the same for Lord Megatron."

Starscream nodded his head a little bit, tapping his chin plate. He sighed quietly, putting his hands behind his back. For a moment, it looked as though the seeker was ready to change his mind. Yet, he finally spoke up, albeit roughly. "Fine, what are you waiting for? Get out of here." Starscream replied "If you're going to get going, you'll want to go before Megatron notices our little chat."

"Before I go, remember what I told you..."

"Yes, yes, if anything happens to the boy you'll snuff my spark out." Starscream stated in annoyance "Now, leave."

Breakdown didn't have to be told twice, he entered the ground bridge he had been given and transformed at once. At once, he carefully turned on his com link to Tyler's frequency. "Tyler? Have you gotten what you need?" He heard nothing but static on the other end "Ty? Come on, kiddo. This isn't the time to be quiet. What's going on over there?"

He gave it another several seconds before he could feel the intensity in his body rise. What if something had happened to him? Had Brody found him? He felt his spark beating rapidly, fear enveloping him. If that man had been there, if he had even so much as touched him. He was silent a moment, and finally, spoke into the comm again. "Don't worry kiddo, I'm coming for you."

Without a second wasted, he floored the gas and took off down the road. He could only hope that his deep-rooted fears were just that: a fear.

...

A/N: Yeah, I know, this is an evil cliffhanger. But I could not resist. Check back in tomorrow to see how this goes. ;)