Guys, I'm sorry I've been away for so long. College got me all tied up and then there was writer's block to deal with, then job hunting, then... just being a lazy lump. Here, this chapter is going to get the story moving... kinda.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Time had crept along since the incident in the field. Not enough to prevent giggles from the human when it was remembered, but enough time for Razor to chuckle at it as well. The usual small talk had continued as it had beforehand. There was a usual lull that came on that straight stretch of road next to the river. The tiny islands dotting the shallow water jolted Razor to speak. "Briar," the femme started in a halting tone. "You have any batteries?"

Briar squinted at the rear-view mirror in question. "Batteries?"

"Mhmm."

The woman held the wheel firm as the femme took the turn that lead to her work. "Why?"

"Need 'em."

Briar's brows wrinkled and sank in confusion. "You need batteries?"

"For fuel."

"I though you ate, er..." She fumbled. What was her fuel called? "Anacreon?"

The femme's soft sigh wafted from the speakers. "Energon. Stuff I manage t' scrounge ain't good for much more than weaponry. Gotta do some scrap to it afore I can fuel on it."

Weapons. Briar had seen the... weird stick thing that the femme had when she had been startled by the cows, but how did that need the aide of energon? "I'll grab some at work. We sell them cheap as dirt."

Razor pulled into the parking lot of the Street of Shops, easing to a halt near the back door. "Dun go buyin' 'em. Grab up some duds if you can. Dun need many." She popped open the driver's door. "Outcha go, darlin'."

The lanky human stepped out of the vehicle, and headed into the building, giving a wave behind her. Part of her wanted to tell Razor to stop calling her darling, but thought best to let it be. No harm done. Another day began in the low roofed basement, and by the end of that day, Briar had a pocket full of change and button cells.

Briar stepped out into the parking lot, warm sunset orange warming her bare arms. It was a shame she couldn't have enjoyed it, but truthfully the woman hadn't much to enjoy, seeing that Marley was out of town for... something. Could have been a game, she hadn't really been paying attention. Robots were a little more interesting than her love life.

Razor pulled into the parking lot, right up alongside the human. Briar plopped into the seat, and promptly dumped the batteries onto the opposing seat. "Eh, got enough of them?" They were all there were. A bunch of watches had to have batteries replaced the other day, so a little picking around wasn't a problem.

"Should be enough for today, I'm hopin'," replied Razor as she took the road that lead to the water. Briar's buttocks tensed up like their first drive together, when it occurred that they weren't heading home. "Lax, darlin'. Jus' taking you t' my ship. That's all." Didn't need Briar having a panic attack.

The woman nodded, relaxing in the drivers seat. They drove on in companionable silence, a song playing quietly on the radio. Razor drove along the pretty river for some time before turning onto a steeps, dirt path. "Uh-"

"Pick up ya feet."

Briar's brows cocked upwards at the rear-view mirror. The shallow river was coming closer and closer as the challenger slowed down. The human didn't like this. "What?"

"Feet! Lift 'em if you wanna keep 'em dry!" Razor hit the water with a splashing hiss, and drove on until she was near fully submerged. In the driver's seat, a human was clawing at the door handle. "Easy! I wouldn't be bringin' ya if I was gonna implode!" The didn't ease Briar at all. Come on, the femme's ship had survived the vacuum of space, and she'd had to do outside repairs in the middle of that inky black void of cold. A little water wouldn't make her crack!

Briar's pounding stopped when the murky water began to seep into her shoes, and she clambered to pull them up into the seat.

"Warned ya."

"Shut it."

The femme cranked on the heater, blasting Briar with the very warmth of her internals. "M'kay." Her smile was heard in her words.

"...How'd you not short out?" Briar wiggled into the seat as her bare arms were buffeted by the mechanical heat. It was comfortable, if a little brain breaking. Hot air in a robot that was a car underwater... no, her brain didn't like it.

"Ain't electric. Ain't got electric runnin' in me. Just a femme rollin' in the deep."

"Long as you're not a Dell."

A chuckle rippled through the car. "Was that a pun?" The femme drove up to the island where her ship had been hidden, headlights glancing off of the mirrored exterior. A wide section of the ship retracted upwards, and the pitch black interior of the Hanlon was bathed in Razor's headlights.

Briar frowned, swallowing as many, tiny lights came on in the sudden blackness before them. "You started it."

The ship's door shut behind the two, water leaking from Razor's doors. Briar stepped out, feet cold and shoes squelching while the femme transformed carefully behind her.

"Well, here it is, the-" Razor went silent, and wiggled her hips a bit. She made a face that made wrinkles deepen around her mouth and under her optics. She reached into her left side with thumb and foreclaw, and there was a crinkling of plastic as the bag the held batteries. "There we are." She dropped the bag onto a shelf behind her. "As I was sayin', this is The Hanlon. Baby's almost as old as me."

"Wait. Just how old are you?" Asked the human at her knee.

The femme's optics dimmed and contracted slightly. "Uh... hmm..." Counting on her hands didn't help much. She really wasn't sure on an exact number. Not in human terms, but Briar wouldn't know what Vorns or Orns were. Razor shrugged. "Ain't sure. It's a biggun."

Briar scoffed. "Are you gonna tell me anything about yourself?"

She blinked. "Er... what's there t' know? Y' got th' basics! Alien robot that can transform into a car. Goes by Razor, ex warrior."

"...ex?" Then what was the weapon for?

Vents clamped shut in shock. Oops. "Yeah. Ex. As in, not no more." The femme spun on her left pede, and plucked two batteries from the bag before dropping them into a square compartment to her right. Under the compartment was a long tube that held a grayish-blue fluid. It glowed faintly, the glow growing stronger when the tiny discs sunk to the bottom. "Mmm..." Razor squinted an optic.

The human wasn't getting the view she wanted, and decided on climbing into one of the large chairs near the femme. For once, Briar felt short. She was used to feeling small, but short? No, not ever.

Watching Briar climb into the chair in her peripheral vision, Razor grasped the top of the chair and spun it to face her. The action sent Briar onto her side, arms spread out to stop her body from crashing to the floor. "Ow."

"Ya hurt?"

"Eh." Briar stood in the seat to watch, stifling a yawn behind one, lean hand. Razor dropped a third battery into the mix.

"And..." The fluid hissed and bubbled, its glow brightening akin to a freshly cracked glow stick. Razor smiled, lifting a brow at the human. "Gonna havta move. I gotta sit there t' fuel up." The woman nodded numbly and picked her way to the floor. Razor took the seat, and pressed a sequence of buttons at her left.

Prepping a needle as thick as a chopstick, the femme relaxed her arm, and the catheter slid into view between the gaps in her armor. The hook up was easy, but the wait time was... well, boring. Very boring. "Gonna be a short refuel. Maybe 'n hour." The femme turned to smirk at the human, only for it to melt into a soft smile. Briar's eyes were drifting closed as she sat in the copilot's chair. "Tired, darling?" receiving a bleary blink in response, Razor chuckled. She clicked on her speakers, and pulled up a song from her personal files.

The ship, it swayed, heave-ho, heave ho,

on the dark and stormy blue,

and I held tight to the captains might,

as he pulled up his trews...

It didn't take long before Briar was asleep, head pillowed on her arm, sprawled haphazardly on the chair. The femme sat in the chair beside her, smirk melting to a flat line of near neutrality. The human's breathing was deep and even, she had been asleep before the song was half done. Razor perched her helm in her free palm, optics dimmed. What was it like, to sleep without the fear of nightmares? How rough had her day been that she was tired so soon? What exactly was Briar's job in that place, anyway? She'd ask when there was a chance, but for now, she leaned back in her pilot's chair. Her helm rested to one side, optics still locked on Briar.

The hour passed, as always. Energon circulated and filtered about in Razor's tubing. New replaced old, and the femme shifted at the discomfort in her discharge tank. Full already? It hadn't even been five feedings! Disconnecting from the feeding line, the catheter slid away and hid under her plating. Razor cracked her shoulders, the spikes shifting to allow her movement.

She stood and turned to see if Briar had moved, but the human was still sleeping, soundly. The femme watched a second longer, and opened a side door to empty her discharge tank.

The door was shut for all of thirty seconds, when something buzzed at Briar's hip. The woman groggily sat up and fumbled for her cell phone. She slid her thumb across the touch screen, and held it to the shell of her ear. "Ugh, hello?" she stifled a yawn, wondering how long she'd been asleep. The voice on the other end was one hell of a wake-up call. "Hey!"

A clawed hand reached around the crack in the doorway, and the human peered over to meet a single optic. Razor's gaze flicked to the phone, and the door shut once more.

"Sorry, what?" The human swallowed the dryness of her throat. "Uh, n-no, I'm free."

Razor came out of the room, tanks cleared and body flowing with the altered fuel. She sat, chin in one hand, smirking at the human.

"Yeah, how's- oh. Okay, six? Six." Briar nodded. "I'll save it to my phone, okay? Th-...okay, bye!" She hesitated a second, two, before ending the call.

The femme, now all but vibrating with the new energy from a fuel up and a clean out, quirked her helm to one side. "Mm? What was that about?"

"Eh, not much," The woman gave Razor a half smile, stuffing the phone back into her pocket. "I've got a date Sunday."

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I can't apologize enough for being gone so long. I hope I still have a couple readers left.