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Chapter 9: The Friend and the Foe

Eleanor was awoken the next morning by Susan, who lead her downstairs, through their quarters, and onto the floor underneath the table.

From there, she was taken into the bathroom - via a smaller door besides the much larger one - and into her own small box. Grace was waiting, looking out the windows where the dawn light was starting to show across an early winter sky. They then showed her the cabinets, which held a variety of clothing, and said that he had allowed her to pick out her own outfit for that day. "He said to remind you that he was going to the Asian continent to check on a few things, and that Soundwave will be watching you today." Susan said, as they left her to riffle through the tops and bottoms.

Picking out a cashmere sweater and jeans, as well as a pair of dark leather boots from a drawer, she walked to the shower alcove and experimented with the knobs. Once the water was warm, she deposited her pajamas into the wicker basket and stepped in, feeling the water massage her skin.

She went through her shower routine and as she finished with scrubbing her body, her hands inadvertently went over the collar at her neck. Biting her lower lip, she turned off the spray and leant against the granite wall, trying to keep herself from breaking. You're already broken. He crushes an innocent human being in front of you and an hour later you are letting him pet you as if nothing happened, the snide voice in her head criticized.

But if I had fought him, he might have just killed someone else.

After she had dried and clothed herself - with clothes that fit her flawlessly, another odd factor - she went back into the berthroom and saw Susan waiting for her. Eleanor was led (again through a smaller door in the wall) into the main living room, where the silver jaguar sat waiting for her. Susan turned to her and handed her a small bag, whispering "Take these, they might come in handy later." Noticing how the stylist was hiding the bag from the robotic animal with her body, Eleanor raised an eyebrow but tucked the bag in a pocket nonetheless.

Eleanor went with the jaguar out the larger doors, opened by the guards, and out into the large hallway. They walked side by side, the jaguar ignoring her. Studying the lithe body, she saw that it had a slight limp in one of the hind legs. Evidently it got too annoying for the cat, as it abruptly stopped and tried to pull something out of the gears, picking at it with large, needle-like teeth that made her tense.

When she made as if to help, it turned to her and let out a low, threatening growl which Eleanor backed away at. When it had made no progress, however, she tried again. This time it let her touch it, although watching with its single red eye as she felt around. She pulled out a jagged piece of rock and the jaguar gently nudged her with its head. "See," she murmured gently, standing up and taking a step back from those menacing teeth, "much better."

It was when they got to the flight of huge stairs that the jaguar bent, almost in a bow, and seemingly asked her to mount his back. Seeing her eye its spikes, the it let the protrusions relax and once again nudged her.

Eleanor relented, throwing a leg over its back and settling down. She leant forward, wrapped her arms around its neck and tucked her legs back and off the ground, as if riding a sportbike. Not a second had gone by and the cat launched itself over the edge, taking the enormous stairs three at a time down to the next level. She screamed the whole way at the unexpected dangerous speed, but noticed that the landings were not jarring at all. Some tremendous shock absorbers he must have.

When they reached the next level, it did not slow even a modicum and continued with long, smooth strides down the hallway. By the time she had come to enjoy it and adapt to the rocking rhythm of its gait, it slowed and stopped in front of a single door. Soundwave was waiting for them and Eleanor dismounted it, giving the cat a pat.

The jaguar purred back and nudged her, Soundwave commenting, "I see that you have met Ravage. Come, fleshing, you will accompany me to the servants' quarters." He scooped her up and made his way out of the palace into the morning light.

Soundwave having given his permission, the jaguar and the human pet were given free reign around the exterior of the palace. Laserbeak also accompanied them, per the demands of Soundwave, and occupied himself in the air above them.

Suddenly Ravage stopped, sticking his -Soundwave had informed her in their short conversation that Ravage was a he, not an it - head high in the air and gesturing for her to dismount. Eleanor did, and the jaguar paced around acting as if he was smelling for something. Laserbeak continued to circle above them, keeping a watchful eye. Ravage came back to her and sniffed at her jeans pocket, tilting his head up at her curiously.

Realizing that that was the pocket she had tucked the bag into, she drew the package out and asked, "This?" By now, Laserbeak had landed on the ground and was watching her too. Both of them nodded vigorously, and she tore open the obtuse bag, revealing glowing pink pieces. Odd, taking one out to look at it, they look almost like that stuff Megatron drank yesterday, but these are solid.

She tossed one to each of them, Ravage leaping up and catching it in his jaws with a snap. Laserbeak was more eloquent in his approach, simply stretching his neck to pluck it out of the air. I must remember to thank Susan later, Eleanor thought, as Ravage rubbed her leg with his head, being mindful of his spikes and purring. Laserbeak simply looked at her and flew up into the sky again. What a grouch.

Eleanor simply strolled around the palace while Ravage and Laserbeak fought with each other. Noticing some human sized doors, she watched them with interest. Seeing one of them open she witnessed a slave dump some water out the door and shut it again. I must find out if I can get there from my own room.

When Ravage returned her to the room in the late afternoon, the former President was thoroughly exhausted and completly out of treats. She had spent time with Soundwave on the ground floor as he was supervising the "house slaves" and observed a network of human passages that ran through the walls. On her ride back up with Ravage, she had located the nearest entrance to the maintenance tunnels and burned it into her memory for a future escape attempt.

Walking back into the berthroom, she heard sounds coming from the coffee table. Tiptoeing as stealthily as she could back up the staircase, she gasped in surprise at the human male cleaning her room. "James? Is it really you?"

He jumped and turned, a look of shock crossing his face when he saw her. "Elle?" She noticed the way his eyes roved for the briefest of moments over her and she shivered.

Eleanor narrowed her eyes the slightest amount, biting her lip at the nickname she had told him not to use. She was wary of him and what he had been planning to do had not left them in the best of places. Since she had ended the engagement they had seen each other sparingly and only under circumstances that had pushed them together. She had become experienced in being friendly with someone she did not like in the slightest.

She stayed where she was, reluctantly greeting him with a professional nod. He sighed but broke their silence, "There is much I must tell you, Elle," his countenance became dark. "First, my birthdate is July 4th, and second, Nation needs you. As soon as possible."

They sat on the made bed and her long-lost acquaintance went on, "Burns knows that you have a copy of the Constitution and Declaration respectively, and they need it. They also don't think it safe for you to remain here. There's not much time before he gets back, so we must hurry." How do you know about when he is getting back?

Eleanor, knowing that he was talking about an escape attempt, dropped to the floor and pulled out her pack. Seeing that the documents were still there, as well as a few cans of food and extra clothing, she slung it over her shoulders and James nodded approvingly. She was loathe to go anywhere with him, but she hated the idea of staying more.

They ran down the steps and onto the floor where James pulled her towards his cleaning cart and instructed, "Get in the laundry bag." She did and he pilled her dirty bedsheets and clothing on top of her, effectively burying herself.

They rushed out of the apartment and as the guards let James pass Eleanor hoped that, because they hadn't seen her leave, Grace and Susan would escape Megatron's wrath. She would feel awful if they returned only to find her gone and had to pay for her disappearance.

James pushed his cart through the passages, continuing through to the ground floor. Every minute felt like an hour and every passing of a drone prompted her to stop breathing and squeeze her eyes shut while her heart tried to pound its way out of her chest. When he stopped, Eleanor got out and bid him goodbye. "There is a horse and rider in the trees, waiting to escort you. Godspeed," James said to her, tears pricking his eyes.

She sprinted out the door under evening light, her legs burning with exertion, and made it into the trees to see the escort promised her. "Madame President, hop on. We have a long gallop ahead of us to the drop point in Fairfax." She mounted the horse the camouflaged rider provided her, still breathing heavily from her mad dash, and they galloped away from the palace gleaming in the dying light.

They made it to Fairfax a few hours later, the horses steaming from their gallop under the moonlight. Making her way quickly into the basement of the destroyed City Hall, she was checked for bugs by a man and woman in black operative garb. Sending a questioning glance to her escort, he replied in a faintly familiar voice, "Standard security protocol, ma'am." Eleanor nodded and allowed them "go through the motions," not expecting them to find anything.

They hadn't, until they used a scanner on her. It started blaring when it passed over her neck, and the woman checked with hesitant fingers and gasped, seeing the small scar on the injection site. "A tracker, sir. She has to leave."

The man looked for himself and nodded sadly, his shoulders drooping under his cloak. "You must go." She was pushed back out, through the hall, and into the night. "Run," her escort told her, "get as far away as you can. Please understand, madame, that we cannot collect anything from you now. I will keep in touch." He melted back into the shadows with a slowness that spoke of his reluctance to leave her.

Eleanor understood, of course; she could jeopardize everything by sticking around. She turned and sprinted down the street through the moonlight, trying to ignore the disappointment in her heart and tears in her eyes. A tracker?

They will be on me at any moment, she thought, sobbing in realization even as she tried to run.

A certain warlord had entered his apartments, looking forward to seeing little Eleanor asleep and saw concerned stylists yelling at each other in the main space. Roaring at them for an explanation, the brown-haired one told him, stuttering, that when they returned this afternoon from their other duties they had not seen her at all.

Seeing that they were telling the truth, he verified with Soundwave that she had been taken back to his quarters. He growled and left, shaking the floor in his wake. Obstinate femme, he thought to himself, turning on his location systems, this had better all be worth it.

Eleanor had made it into the downtown area, away from Nation's drop point, and was now walking through the streets. Her tears had continued to fall though she despised how weak she was.

"What do we have here?" She heard cackles behind her and she wheeled around to see a group of men. They were all huge and filthy and underneath their rags she could see muscles ripple. They were not unlike the gangs she had seen before, that she had sometimes had to kill before. These men were hardened by the Invasion and experienced from having to survive in a wilderness.

"It's been a long time since I've had a good bout, princess," the largest of them grinned, "surely you wouldn't begrudge us the pleasure?" They cackled and started to come after her, and Eleanor was once again sprinting. Her legs burned from the earlier dash away from Nation's outpost and her lungs were on fire as she took in ragged gasps.

She hadn't made it a hundred yards when she was yanked back into a huge chest, arms wrapping around her. They pinned her to the asphalt, knocking out what little air her lungs had held. Their dirty hands tore at her clothing with desperation and eagerness, and she screamed for help though she thought that there was no one to hear.

"What's this," one of the men had found her diamond collar and was trying to tear it off, "pretty little thing?"

You are going to get raped. You have no choice. Maybe he is nearby because you have a tracker.

Eleanor, now desperate to get help, screamed the last name that she would ever want to help her. She yelled the name of last resort through her tears and into the cold air, louder than she had ever spoken before, "MEGATRON!"

Megatron had zoned in on her location and was relieved to see her relatively close to the palace. That relief fell away when he had flown over them, seeing his beauty held down on the ground, a group of filthy insects fighting over her and ripping at her clothing. He then realized what they were trying to do and saw red as he landed. She cried out his designation in terror and he roared in response, throwing her assailants into flights they could not survive. Mine.

She jolted at the roar that came in response and felt an impact behind her that cracked the asphalt of the street. A shadow engulfed her, blocking the moon. Her attackers froze, staring in fear at something she could not see. Eleanor did, however, recognize the silver hands that threw away her attackers, sending them flying. She did recognize the hands that picked her up gently, holding her to a cold metal chest as she sobbed in relief and fear.

He picked up her crying form and held her against his chest. He was surprised when he felt her grab at him and pull herself closer, pressing her face into him. He cradled her, letting her sob into him as he decided to walk - rather than fly - back to his palace, unaware of the camouflaged man watching him from the shadows.

I hope this chapter didn't seem rushed. I just wanted this story to move a little more than it had during the last few updates. I hope it is satisfactory. Also, what will become of Eleanor and Megatron's "Beauty and the Beast wolf scene", hmm? Interested to hear what you guys think of this.

Please keep the reviews and PMs coming, guys! They help me continue and develop the story.