Ok so this chapter has much bigger paragraphs than normal. I hope that's not too intimidating for some of you because let me tell you every word is worth it. As always, remember I do not own transformers but I do own Megan. Also remember this is my playtime in the transformers universe so if you don't like it you can get out. And remember to read review and go checkout 'Underestimated'. Seriously people, it's not a spoiler for 'Never say Goodbye', it's just a bunch of one shots that likely won't make it into this story so go read it and review it please! Ok enough ranting, let's go read.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

:Comm link.:


Mirage's ethical programming was misfiring. His CPU continued to send him alerts and warnings about how vulnerable he had left Megan, alone on the side of the road. He reasoned to himself that it was necessary, that she would be safer there by herself than with him and the pursuing Decepticons. Still, that didn't stop his spark from giving a small ache when he thought of how wounded she had looked as he drove away. As if he had struck her.

Mirage mentally shook himself, forced thoughts of Megan from his CPU under other subroutines and focused on the task at hand. Though the thoughts refused to fade entirely. The Decepticons weren't taking any chances this time and were now hiding their signatures, Mirage couldn't sense them on his scanners. He avoided any streets with traffic cams, staying in residential areas while slowly making his way to the outskirts of the city. If it was going to become a fight he didn't want any human casualties.

Mirage's luck ran out when he spotted a black suburban the same time it spotted him.

Mirage pulled a sharp left and slammed down on the accelerator. Mirage let out a rare curse as he dodged and weaved his way through the city, a black suburban close behind and two others no doubt closing in. Mirage was by no means a cowardly bot, though he did prefer to negotiate than fight, but he also knew better than most mech's the value of a tactical retreat. Mirage was under no illusions about his situation, he was outnumbered, damaged, and there was no chance of calling for back-up, this was not a fight he was going to win and his best chance was to run.

As another black suburban joined the first one behind him Mirage activated his scans and transformed his alt-mode. A blue ripple of energy snaked across his chassis, shifting parts and changing armor. Mirage shot forward with new-found speed in his streamlined alt-form, leaving the Decepticons cursing in his wake. The change had left his energon reserves depleted at 68% but now he at least stood a chance of out running the Decepticons struggling to keep him in sight.

Mirage raced ahead of the Decepticons toward the nearby Redwood state park. It was only a straight, single lane dirt road with no turn offs, but by the time he reached the far end of the road the Decepticons would be far from Crescent city and he would be able to find a way to circle back.

Mirage was so focused on putting as much distance between himself and the pursuing Decepticons he wasn't scanning his surroundings. So when a third and final suburban came charging out of the last street before the relative safety of the forest, Mirage was taken by surprise. As he felt the paneling of his side crumple and his door wing twist with excruciating pain, he realized that they had known.

They had known that he wouldn't confront them, and would run for the state park to keep from harming humans. He hadn't been chased, he had been herded here so they could capture him and kill him slowly. His chassis was thrown from the road with the momentum of the crash and came to a rest in the ditch. Error messages from his CPU lit up in his vision, but Mirage overrode them and shut off as many pain receptors in his door wing as he could.

The road was deserted at that time of night as Mirage transformed and tried to ready himself to fight for his life. He staggered and his optics flickered dimly. His CPU warned him of his low energon readings that were sinking quickly now at 60%. He could hear the Decepticons transforming and laughing at his weakened state as he fought off stasis. He struggled against the cruel claws that dug into his armor and exposed wires.

Crankcase's two lackeys, Hatchet and Crowbar, had their servos on his shoulder plates and his arms, keeping him on his knees. Mirage glared with open hate as Crankcase slowly approached, a sick maniac gleam in his red optics. Mirage felt a well of anger as he tried once again to rise to his feet and swing his fist into Crankcase's faceplates, but the combination of his enemy's hands and his own weakening systems kept him where he was. Crankcase leered over Mirage.

"Where's your little human pet? I wanted to thank it for leading us right to you."

"Go frag yourself you-"

Mirage never got to finish his insult before Crankcase's fist collided violently with his helm, Mirage hadn't even seen it coming. By the time his systems had re-calibrated and he was not longer stunned he became aware that the Decepticon trio was dragging him further into the forest, away from prying human eyes. Mirage decided it would be best to try to save his strength and remaining energon for what was to come.

They stopped in a small dark clearing, where the trees were tall enough to tower over all of them and hide them from view. The only light came from the nearly full moon, stars and their own optics. Mirage was again put onto his knees as Crankcase turned to face him once again.

Crankcase was viciously ecstatic at having finally captured the bane of his existence and having the noble mech on his knees before him. The only cloud marring his dark happiness was the fact the human that had traveled with Mirage was now missing. The little organic was a danger to revealing their plans to the Autobots, and Soundwave would permanently offline him for letting such a threat live. There was also the possibility its torture could be used to get the location of the Autobot's base out of the spy.

Without saying a word Crankcase produced a thin black blade from his wrist and stabbed Mirage in the shoulder strut. Mirage gave a harsh cry in agony before offlining his vocal processor. He refused to give the sick and twisted mech's anymore satisfaction, even as Crankcase twisted the blade before extracting it, he remained silent.

"I will ask one more time, where is the pathetic organic piece of filth you were traveling with? Tell me and I promise to offline you quickly."

Mirage's spark heated in it's casing at the thought of Megan even being near Crankcase. Before he could snarl a response all three Decepticon's stiffened and their optics dimmed as they diverted energy in their systems. Mirage suspected they were communicating on their comm links and watched them warily, his systems were still threatening to send him into stasis from lack of energon but that was no excuse to let his guard down. The Decepticons optics brightened once more and Crowbar and Hatchet looked to Crankcase for orders, while still gripping Mirage tightly.

"This should be interesting." Crankcase chuckled at this new development, and waited patiently.

Several minutes went by before anything changed. Mirage heard the same time as the Decepticons what they had been waiting for, the sound of large footsteps crashing through the trees. The Decepticon entered the clearing behind Mirage, the two cruelly clawed servos on his shoulders preventing him from turning to observe the newest threat. Mirage consulted his scanner and recognised the signal for the one that he hadn't confronted in the first chase.

"Barricade, what a pleasant surprise to see you still online. Perhaps you would like to explain why Starscream declared you a deserter after what happened to the Allspark."

Mirage focused more on what was being said. What had happened to the Allspark? Mirage could feel his chances of escaping alive dwindle even further when he learned the designation of the Decepticon behind him. Barricade's name was infamous for being the best tracker for the Decepticons, once he was given a target there was no chance of escape.

"My communication systems were damaged along with my signature recognition relays, Crankcase. I cannot recognize Autobot from Decepticon signatures. If it seemed suspicious that I ran from you in that small organic town a solar cycle ago that would be why. By the time I realized you were indeed an ally you had already fled the immediate area."

There was a moment of silence as Crankcase observed the tracker before he spoke.

"Very well then, we will defer judgement on your actions until we get back to base and Starscream can decide your fate. In your comm you mentioned a gift."

"Yes, I believe you where looking for this?"

Barricade shifted behind Mirage and an unusual pained squeaking sound reached his audio receptors. Mirage's battle programs were suddenly on full alert as he struggled anew against his captors. Barricade stepped forward toward Crankcase, bringing himself and the gift in his hands into the light as he dropped Megan into Crankcase's servo.


Megan trembled as Barricade handed her over to the one called Crankcase and the clear leader of the ones holding Mirage. Her ribs were still protesting Barricade's rough handling as Crankcase curled his talons around her chest in a tight embrace that threatened to cut off her air supply. At least her arms were free. She looked up fearfully at Crankcase with wide eyes and couldn't help but think of how he looked like 'The Predator's' scarier cousin. Barricade moved off a little to one side.

Her attention was brought back to Mirage as the mech growled and struggled against his captors, his eyes were blazing like blue-white fire in the dark. Megan could tell even in the dim light that Mirage wasn't doing too well. Bright blue liquid leaked from various wounds on his body and stood out in stark relief against his red armor, one of his door wings looked like it was about to fall off. Megan gasped as the one who was holding her tightened it's grip, unnecessarily reminding her that she was most likely about to die a cruel death. Mirage growled and struggled again.

The Decepticon on Mirage's right looked like a beast, with a wickedly barbed tail and large teeth like blades coming from his mouth. The other also had large 'teeth' and four large glowing red eyes. All three wore dark black armor that gleamed in what little light was making it's way to the forest floor. She only spared the Decepticons a glance each before focusing on the reason she was here, Mirage.

"Let her go Crankcase." Mirage growled.

Mirage's voice was lower and more dangerous than Megan had ever heard it, and it thankfully gave her a focus to her fear. She took as deep a breath as she could and willed herself to focus and not go back to wondering what she could possibly do to such powerful beings. She was here and it was far to late to be reconsidering. Crankcase sneered at Mirage and tightened his grip even more, Megan felt like she was trapped in a vice.

She could barely breathe but didn't take her eyes off Mirage. Mirage looked back at Megan and could feel his coolant boil at the sight of her in Crankcase's servos and being powerless to help her. He fought with renewed strength against Hatchet and Crowbar, but his efforts were in vain. Megan just had to wait for a little longer, buy a little more time being the distraction.

"You should be more concerned about yourself and not your squishy pet." Crankcase snarled as he shook Megan back and forth, her head whipping with enough force to give her whiplash.

Megan could suddenly take a deep breath as the hand around her loosened so she lay flat in the giant's palm. She shuddered with racking coughs as she tried to breathe normally. She grunted in pain as one sharp talon pressed between her shoulder blades and pinned her where she lay. She tried to move but that only served to have the claw at her back dig deeper into her flesh. She couldn't even see Mirage from the way she was facing.

"Tell me where the Autobot base is located and your pet will not have to die painfully. If you do not comply I will enjoy slowly killing her in front of your optics."

Mirage replied with what sounded like a swear word coming from a dial-up computer. Megan paid little attention to the conversation as she strained her eyes against the darkness to look better at the hand she lay in. Hoping against hope that Barricade wasn't going to betray her and that he had managed to get into place, she thrust her hand into one of the small seams of Crankcase's hand while screaming.

"NOW!"

In an instant, several things happened at once. Crankcase pressed down with his sharp finger letting it sink into her back. Megan felt the pain in her back and used all her strength to rip the cables she had managed to grasp out from Crankcase's hand. Reacting instinctively, Crankcase released her and she fell from his fingers like a grain of sand.

Meanwhile Barricade, who had carefully gotten into position while Crankcase had taunted his captives launched himself at Hatchet while deploying Frenzy who flew over Mirage's head and attacked Crowbar's four optics. Mirage who now found himself no longer being restrained, wasted no time in lunging forward and catching Megan before she could greet the ground almost twenty feet below her.

Megan felt her head crack hard against the metal of Mirage's hands, half stunning her, but she was still grateful for the save. Mirage skidded to a stop, his feet digging great trenches in the earth, as he quickly set Megan behind him and faced Crankcase. The blades that Megan had once seen at his elbows snapped forward as he yelled a single word at her.

"Run!"

Mirage didn't pause to see if she followed his order and rushed toward Crankcase, his blades practically singing as they sliced through the air. Megan stumbled behind a tree and tried to clear her spinning head, before leaning around the trunk and taking stock of the situation. Barricade was wielding a mace-like weapon against the beast-like Decepticon while Mirage clashed blades with Crankcase, who had also armed himself with swords coming from his wrists. The only problem was the four eyed one who had finally grasped Frenzy and flung the tiny robot into the forest.

Having successfully disposed of the annoying insect of a mini-con Crowbar transformed one of his servos into a cannon and aimed for the exposed back of a distracted Mirage. Megan reacted without thought and rushed from her hiding place behind the tree. She put her fingers to her lips and gave a piercing whistle which sufficiently distracted the massive bot. His four piercing red optics landed on her as she shouted, hoping to anger the bot enough to forget about shooting Mirage.

"Hey you! Over here Four-eyes! Your creator's are so ugly they must have made you out of a trash compactor!"

Megan had a tiny voice in her head asking if she had really just used a modified 'yo momma' joke to insult a giant alien robot that was trying to kill her. She didn't have time to answer it because the louder voice in her head was screaming 'DUCK!'. Megan dived for the dirt as a fiery bolt shot over her head and punched through the large tree she had previously been hiding behind.

Megan had to scramble out-of-the-way as the tree fell toward her, unable to support itself on it's damaged trunk. 'Four-eyes', a.k.a. Crowbar, only had optics for the organic femme he was about to turn into a flaming crater. That is, until a few hundred pounds of wood fell onto his helm. Megan knew better than to think that a tree had managed to do her job for her, and dashed for the forest as the robot behind her shook the tree off with a deafening roar.

Megan could hardly see the ground with what little moonlight there was as she crashed through the bush and leaped over half seen obstacles. Her ankles threatened to twist with every step of her blind dash through the trees but she couldn't slow. She could hear the enraged Decepticon close behind her, it's every step shaking the ground and making the trees tremble. She ran for what felt like forever, the only thing existing in that moment was her pounding feet and the need to escape.

Megan thought for a moment that she had burst into another clearing when she suddenly saw the stars and moon hanging brightly overhead. She realized the mistake in her thinking as she dragged her heels and nearly fell onto her butt trying to cease her momentum. The gravel and thin clay of the edge of the gully crumbled a bit from her weight, a forty-foot drop straight down into a small but fast flowing stream at the bottom, which was swollen with rain water.

Megan didn't have time to make any further observations because at that moment Four-eyes came charging out of the forest, a large metal fist swinging in her direction. Megan's gymnastic training kicked in and she managed to execute a sideways roll, the only problem was that when she landed the ground was no longer there. The soil at the edge of the gully couldn't handle the weight of such a large cybertronian and immediately crumbled, sending both Megan and Crowbar into the water below.

Megan only had time to give a short scream of surprise and fear before the cold silty water closed over her head. Struggling against the current she fought her way to the surface, choking to get air into her lungs. She cast her gaze over the water to find out where Four-eyes went, but she was already being swept down stream by the current and there was no sign of the cybertronian. She hoped for a moment that he sank before her focus was brought back to her own situation as her head went under once more.

She gasped and spat trying to find a way to shore, her sweater already soaked and its weight dragging her down, further exhausting her. The water was freezing and sapped her already flagging strength. She clawed at the banks, trying to find purchase in the slippery wet clay. It was no use, the sides of the gully were too steep and unstable to support even her meager weight. She spotted what could be her only chance in a pine tree that had toppled upside down, so its top was in the stream but its roots still clinging to the banks above.

With increasingly weak kicks Megan collided into the tree and grasped the branches. Her grip nearly failed on the slick needles that stabbed into her palms even as she refused to let them go. She rested for a moment, her muscles trembling with exertion and her breath coming in ragged pants. It was the cold water that encouraged her to keep moving, lest she freeze or drown.

It was slow going, she had to climb the upside-down tree without dislodging it from the already unstable soil it was threatening to fall from. After what seemed like an eternity, Megan found herself laying flat on her back at the edge of the gully. She quickly moved away from the edge, not knowing if she could survive another dunk in those waters. She looked warily at the darkness of the forest despite her exhaustion.

She had no idea where she was, let alone what had happened back at the clearing after she had led Four-eyes away trying to even the odds. She just hoped Mirage was ok. Still, she didn't know just how far the water had carried her away from the fight or if any of the Decepticons were hanging around the forest. She shivered in her soaked clothes as a chilly wind picked up. It was supposed to be a warm summer night, but all Megan could feel was her chattering teeth and numbing fingertips.

She stumbled through the trees, unsure of which way to go, unable to feel her fingers and jumping nervously at every sound, imagined or not. She didn't dare to call out for Mirage, that would be like asking for the Decepticons to find her again. She froze as she heard a skittering sound, something rustling unseen in the brush. She relaxed a little, knowing she had much bigger things to fear then what could hide in a bush.

She almost screamed as something about her size and definitely metallic rushed her from the bush she had watched. She clutched her chest with relief as she tried to calm her frantically beating heart.

"Frenzy! You scared me. Are you alright? Where's Barricade and Mirage?"

Frenzy didn't bother to answer her in English, instead he chattered in his incomprehensible language and roughly tugged at her sleeve. He nearly drug her to the ground as he released her and dashed away into the forest. Megan ran after the little bot as she wondered irritably if Frenzy didn't know how to speak english or if he just didn't to annoy her. She lost sight of Frenzy a few times but he apparently wanted her to follow because he was never far.

She fell to the forest floor a few times, cursing her poor eyesight every time she had to peel herself from the ground and find Frenzy again. After several minutes of blindly fumbling through the dark she heard the telltale sounds of massive beings talking in their dialup talk. Megan pushed aside some branches to find herself back at the clearing where the fight had started.

"Mirage what are you doing?" Megan exclaimed once she took in the situation in the clearing.

Mirage and Barricade were standing in roughly the center of the clearing with cannons pointed at each others spark chambers. Megan was relieved to notice that the Decepticons were no where in sight but she was a little disturbed to notice how white Mirage's normally blue optics were.

"Megan, get behind me right now." Mirage still had the dangerously angry voice that he had used when speaking to Crankcase.

Megan's mouth went dry as she did as he asked and moved so she was behind one of his massive feet, but not close enough to easily step on. The tone in his voice left for nothing else but compliance, in short he was very much pissed off. Neither Barricade's nor Mirage's cannon wavered from their targets, though Mirage's might have trembled almost imperceptibly. His energon levels were dangerously low at 52%, the fight with Crankcase had cost him greatly and he couldn't keep up his battle programming like this for very long.

Barricade spoke up but didn't lower his weapon.

"There. You have your organic pet, so lower your weapon Autobot and tend to your own." Barricade's voice was rough with a permanent snarl.

"Give me one reason I should let you live Decepticon." Mirage spat the last word like a curse.

"I'll give you two. You couldn't take me in your present condition and I just saved your sorry Autoaft from being offlined." Barricade all but roared with frustration.

Megan thought that now would be a good time to try to intercept the escalating argument before either of them decided to pull the trigger. She stepped closer to Mirage and placed a hand on his leg armor.

"He's telling the truth Mirage. He came up with a plan and helped me to get here."

"And handed you over to Crankcase!" Mirage hissed.

Megan feared that the worst would happen if she didn't somehow intervene. Megan stepped out from behind Mirage and placed herself in front of him between the two bot's and turned her back to face Mirage. Mirage's blazing white optics flickered to her face for only a moment before focusing back on Barricade.

"Megan get behind me now."

"No. You need to listen first. Yes what we did was dangerous, but it was the only way to both distract them and get Barricade into the clearing. Barricade told me what to do to get them to drop me should it look like things were going south. And whether you like it or not he just saved your life."

That caused Mirage to pause and narrow his optics suspiciously at the Decepticon.

"You were the one who called Megan's communication device and warned us." It was not a question.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Barricade sneered even further before answering.

"It was my signature that Crankcase was originally casing when you first encountered him. Although it was unintentional, you grabbed their attention and they abandoned their chase of me to pursue you. My systems are not damaged, I have defected from the Decepticons and would have most likely been offlined for insubordination had you not intervened. I owed you a debt."

Mirage was still not convinced.

"Why get involved now?"

Barricade growled and gashed his dental plates.

"I may have once been a Decepticon but that doesn't mean I am completely void of any code of honour. A debt has to be repaid."

Mirage was surprised by his response but let no such emotion cross his face plates. As if by a silent signal they both powered down their weapons and lowered them to the ground, but didn't put them away. Megan eyed the pair, fully expecting them to lunge for each others throats. There was a long moment of silence until Mirage spoke.

"Your debt is paid. Leave."

"No need to tell me twice." Barricade snorted disdainfully and scooped a hiding Frenzy from a bush as he disappeared into the dark forest without a backward glance. A small black bundle, the backpack of Megan's belongings, flew back that them and landed in the dirt like an afterthought. Megan ran over to it and shouldered her pack carefully, her back twinging painfully, before calling out after the former Decepticon.

"Thanks Barricade!"

Barricade made no sign he heard her, but Megan had the feeling he did. Megan looked back to Mirage, who's optics were still blazing white and now focused down at her

'Ah boy, here it comes.' Megan sighed to herself as she braced for Mirage's anger.

"Thanks? That Decepticon put you in the servos of the enemy, almost got you killed multiple times and you THANK HIM!?"

Megan flinched and covered her ears. She was more than slightly intimidated by the mech after all that had happened, but she reminded herself that Mirage was not a Decepticon. Megan shivered again as the wind blew through the clearing, and she felt her own ire toward Mirage gain momentum. She was cold, wet, covered in bruises and scrapes all over her body, the wound in her back burned and she was exhausted from all that had happened. The little voice in her head was beginning to wonder why she had just risked her life to save the stubborn bot, and she was beginning to agree with it. Megan planted her feet and glared right back.

"I thanked him because he just saved your life you ungrateful hunk of tin. Since your to much of a stuck up, overstuffed robot to do it yourself."

"I did not need his or your help in this matter. I was handling it perfectly fine until you showed up."

"Sure you did. It really looked like you had them exactly where you wanted them." Megan's scoff coming from between chattering teeth was less impressive than she wanted it to be. Mirage clenched his servos and scowled down at her.

"I wouldn't have been in that mess if it wasn't for you."

Megan stopped breathing and her heart skipped a beat. She looked up at Mirage, her anger gone and replaced with a stunned feeling of falling. Like she had been climbing stairs and had thought there was one more stair before the top. Only to find that the expected stair wasn't there and the floor was gone as well. Megan's stomach felt like it had jumped into her throat, she wrapped her arms around herself and stared unseeing at the ground.

"Stop." She managed to whisper.

"If it wasn't for you, Crankcase wouldn't have been able to track me."

"Stop." She said louder this time, her hands were curled into fists, nails biting into her palms.

Mirage knew he was being unfair and that he was acting like a spoiled sparkling pointing an accusing finger at some other bot, but he was far to angry at her foolish actions to care. He wanted her to feel guilty for putting herself in that kind of danger. He wanted her to admit that she had been wrong to follow him.

"If it wasn't for you-"

"STOP BLAMING ME!" Megan screamed at him.

Mirage paused at the tears in her optics. The human internet had described the action as being a physical expression of extreme emotion. When Megan had cried before it was like she wasn't even aware of them, Mirage had noted their presence and what they stood for, but hadn't understood why humans did so. Now as she gave him a look that revealed all the veiled pain and guilt she carried in her human spark, he wondered how she didn't break from it. Was that what made tears necessary for humans to express? A breaking in their spark?

Mirage's optics faded from battle mode white to their normal deep azure blue and his bristling armor settled back into place. Megan looked away and tried to stop her hiccuped sobs with deep breaths. She collected her thoughts and Mirage waited for her to do so. Megan wiped her tears into her already wet and stained sweater. Finally she spoke.

"You left me." She whispered.

Mirage tilted his head, and thought back to her face when he had indeed left her back at the bus stop. His spark clenched momentarily at the memory but he refused to acknowledge it.

"To keep you safe." He said simply.

"That's not the point!" She glared at him again with bright red rimmed eyes, her voice raising slightly before she could calm down once again. She took another deep breath and spoke in a calm voice, determined not to get angry again. Determined not to let the sadness loose again to crush her.

"I know it was my fault the Decepticons found us again, and I felt guilty as hell because of it. When… you left me I thought about how it was all my fault and how you were about to pay for my mistake, likely with your life. I couldn't handle the guilt. Then Barricade showed up out of nowhere and told me how you were captured, and that I could help. I didn't think, just acted. If there was even the tiniest chance that I could help you get out alive, even at the risk of my life, I would have jumped on it."

Mirage opened his mouth to comment but Megan raised a hand, stopping him before he could start.

"Let me finish. Barricade explained his plan to me and we came here as soon as we could. The plan wasn't perfect by any means but it gave you the best chance at escaping. Barricade did it because of his accidental debt to you, I did it because in some strange way I care about you and wasn't about to go about living with the guilt of your death. I am sorry for what I put you through Mirage, but I will not apologize for following you. I will not apologize for risking my life to fix my mistakes."

Her hazel eyes bored into his blue, still overly bright and red-rimmed but no less determined. Mirage was stunned. In all his many vorns of working for the Autobots, very few had ever taken the time to get to know him. Even fewer would do what Megan had just done. And yet here he was looking down at an organic who'd known him for less than a few days and yet still rushed to his aid with a Decepticon defector in tow. It was enough to make Prowl's logic processor short out.

Mirage vented a sigh and crouched down so he was closer to Megan's level and put a hand at her back. She looked up at him, startled by the gentle gesture from the mech, but leaned gratefully into the warm metal that offered protection from the wind.

"Thank you, but if you ever put your life in danger like that again I will hang you upside down in the tallest tree I can find." Mirage said in a completely honest and solemn tone. A tired smile leaked into Megan's expression.

"I'm not going to make any promises, I am very well-known for getting into dangerous situations after all. So I guess if you want to keep me safe you'll have to stick around and not leave me behind again. Ok?"

Mirage nodded, a small half-smile appeared on his faceplates for a moment. His smile quickly disappearing when Megan shivered again from the wind blowing through the clearing. He activated his scanners and scanned the trembling girl, what he did see worried him just as much as what he couldn't. Her body temperature was several degrees below normal and covered in scrapes and cuts. She also sported; bruised ribs, a large swelling on her forehead from Mirage catching her, and a small gash in her back from Crankcase's claw which was still leaking blood.

Mirage checked his own systems. His energon levels were severely depleted, his right door wing was heavily damaged on top of his many dented plates and minor injuries. His only blessing was that the stab he had taken to his shoulder joint would heal and he would soon have the use of both his servos. His other injuries would heal with rest and time, time that he didn't have.

"We must go. The Dreads retreated after Barricade and I dealt them heavy damage, but that will not keep them away for long."

Megan nodded and Mirage led the way through the forest as quietly as a huge metal being could, which wasn't very quiet. Megan continued to shiver from the cold and her own exhaustion as she stumbled behind him, trying not to fall on her face in the dark again. They found the small dirt path that could vaguely be called a road and Mirage transformed, somewhat painfully, into his new alt-mode and opened the driver side door for her. The heaters already going at full blast, to help battle the cold finding its way into her limbs. Megan was far too tired, and it was far too dark, for her to notice or admire his alt-form.

She all but collapsed into the seat and curled into the warm leather as she fell instantly asleep, her body recognizing that she was safe and rest was possible. Mirage snaked the seat-belt into place and drove carefully, but quickly, away from the park and Crescent city and toward somewhere he hoped both of them could find a safe place to tend their wounds and rest for a short time.


This one was hard to write for reasons I don't understand. So just to make everything clear to ya'll. The Dreads are still on the hunt, just licking their wounds for now. It's looking like the next few chapters are going to be slightly fluffy until the next poop storm hits our favorite duo. (Mwahaha! Secrets will be revealed and more questions will arise!) So if you like what you read and want more in a reasonable time READ AND REVIEW! (or I will feel discouraged and my muse will take a vacation to who knows where, it's not a threat it's a fact)