"SCAVENGER!"

The Decepticon managed to hit Hot Shot square in the chest, sending him flying back. He turned to look at Raven, only to find her-and the snow she had been on-gone. What had happened finally registered in his circuits.

"RAVEN!"

He lunged towards the hole, swearing to Primus that if she was alive he would never take up a mercenary job again.

"Not so fast Scavenger!" Hot Shot shouted, aiming his weapon at the Decepticon. He had obviously not heard Raven's shout.

"I don't have time for you, rookie!" Scavenger snarled, the cannon at his midsection charging up. A large blast of red energy engulfed Hot Shot, forcing him back. Turning away from the now-unconscious bot, he ran over to the hole in the ice and looked down into it's depths.

"Decepticons, retreat!" Megatron shouted from atop the hill he and Optimus Prime had been battling upon. Scavengers head twisted around and he watched silently as his 'oh so brave' leader warped back to base. Cyclonus, Starscream and Demolisher followed the suit. Scavenger turned back to the hole. For a second, he thought he saw Ravens face looking up at him, scared and hurt. Cursing silently to himself, he wondered why he had ever let the human get under his armor. Was it because it seemed that nobody else loved her? Was it because she had been hurt when he had gotten stuck with babysitting duty?

Shaking off the 'maybes' he peered down into the hole. There was no way he was going to abandon her. Not now. Without a sound, he straightened up and threw himself down into the hole. He threw out his arms and legs, forcing them into the ice walls that now surrounded him. His sudden decent began to slow as his fingers and toes clutched as every small icy niche that came under them. He could tell some of the paint on his knuckles was beginning to peel because of the sudden increased friction, but paid no mind to it. The only thing racing through his data banks at the moment was Raven, and the fear that she was dead.

Nearly a good mile below the surface his feet hit the powdery snow that had fallen from above. He allowed his jaw to relax (he had been gritting his teeth so hard one of them had chipped) and looked down at the ground around his feet. The snow was pock-marked with holes from the falling ice shards his slide had caused. Right in front of his was a larger hole rimmed with red. Shifting ice-flakes had begun to fill it over, however a spot of black here and there was still visible. Scavenger carefully kneeled down and scooped up the snow around the red and black spot. Sifting it gently in between his hands, he soon uncovered a barely-breathing Raven.

"Primus..." He muttered softly, viewing her bruised and battered body. His anger towards Megatron swelled and he nearly clenched his fists, but remembered at last second that Raven was resting in them. Looking down, he could see that she was shaking like a leaf, obviously freezing cold in the snow. Shifting her to one hand, he quietly said "Transform," and shifted into his bulldozer form. Raven ended up lying across the front seat. Scavenger carefully turned the heat on low. He knew a little bit about organics, thanks to a few previous encounters on other planets. He knew that if they were really cold they had to warm up gradually or they would get sick. The freezing problem taken care of, he tried to think of his next move. He could go to the Autobots, but from what he had seen of Ravens reactions to them, that wasn't such a great job. Besides, the disks he had promised to get for Optimus were still up on moon base. The only other option was to go back to the moon and unintentionally put her in danger of Megatron and Cyclonus. Demolisher and Starscream could care less about her. Sighing angrily, Scavenger decided on an option between the two. He would warp to the city they had first found Raven in and wait on one of the back roads until she woke up. Then it would be her choice. He relayed the coordinates to his warp drive
and disappeared just as the Autobots began to gather around the hole, which had begun to ice over.

Four Hours Later:

"Scavenger, come in."

Silence.

"Scavenger, are you there?"

Silence.

"Slaggit, Scavenger, I know you're listening! Megatron won't be happy when he knows you aren't responding!"

The connection cut off with a loud, angry hiss of static.

I cracked my eyes open, only to be met with a smug of color. I blinked several times, clearing my vision. I was laying in some type of vehicle, in the stretched out front seat. A purple and green dashboard was in front of me, along with a large windshield that was showing a picturesque forest scene, completing with a chattering blue bird and a stream. I pushed myself up off of the seat so I could see a little more out of the window. A large purple dozer was set right in front of the window, showing that there was no sloping front that held the engine. I pushed myself the rest of the way up, rubbing my head. I was covered in various scratches and bruises, but I couldn't recall how I had gotten them. Well, most of them.

A loud, thundering sound interrupted my attempted thoughts. I jumped and looked around wildly, trying to pin-point the source. It came again, surrounding me on all sides. I lunged at the door on the passenger's side and threw it open. Unfortunately, bulldozers aren't exactly the shortest kind of vehicles. I spilled out onto the grassy ground, somersaulting onto my back. I heard something snort; had a pig gotten stuck somewhere nearby?

"Raven?" A familiar, sleepy voice asked from behind me. I pushed myself up and twisted my torso around, staring at the bulldozer. It was then that I noticed the familiar coloring, and the large purple Decepticon symbol on the edge. "Transform!" That confirmed my thoughts. The bulldozer fell away into the shape of a kneeling Scavenger. He was looking down at me, his optics rimmed with something I hadn't seen in them before. It was the same type of look Joseph had after dad gave me a rather harsh beating. It was...pity. Worry. Hope. Anger. "How are you feeling?" He probed gently after I didn't say anything.

"A little dizzy and sore." I reported, surprising myself. I glanced back down at my cuts, scratches and bruises, wondering why they didn't hurt as much as they should have. I left the question for a rainy day and turned my face back up to Scavenger. "Where are we?"

"About a mile away from your town. At least, I believe it's your town." Scavenger told me. "I was waiting for you to wake up."

"Why?"

"So you could tell me where to take you."

The answer took me by surprise; he wanted to know where I wanted to go? Since when had anybody cared about that?

"Well..." I hesitated, thinking for a moment. "I want to go home." I nodded. "I want out of this war."

Scavenger nodded. "I thought you might." He reverted to his vehicle mode and swung open the passenger side door. "C'mon; you have to give me directions to your house." I climbed in without complaint and pulled the purple seat belt over my chest. The engine beneath my feet purred and Scavenger turned and rumbled down the hill through a small forest path, heading for my town.

I was silent for the most part, looking out into the forest and across the wide fields that came after it. Soon, houses began to come into view, and the forest popped back up. We drove into the neighborhood that neighbored mine. I gave a nervous sigh that did not go unnoticed by Scavenger.

"Are you frightened to return home after such a long time away?" He asked, stopping at a stop sign.

"A little. Next right." I pointed to an adjoining street a block away.

"Will your parents be angry?" He asked, turning and driving into the more rundown part of the neighborhood.

"No. Turn into the cul-de-sac." I nodded to the circular dead end and my crumbling white house that was built on the right side of the street. "That's my house."

"That rundown little place?" Scavenger asked. "Tell me this is a joke."

I smacked his dashboard out of reflex. "Hey, it does its job, okay?" I snapped tartly as he pulled to a stop in front of the house. I unbuckled myself and attempted to push open the door. It stayed locked.

"Raven..." Scavenger hesitated.

"Yes?"

"If you, if you ever need help, you know where to find me."

I nodded, swallowing a lump that had appeared in my throat. Scavenger's door swung open, allowing me to climb out. Slowly, I headed up the cracked sidewalk towards and up the crumbling front porch. I turned and waved to Scavenger, then pushed open the front door. As soon as I had turned, shut it and locked it, somebody grabbed my shoulders and whirled me around.

Who is behind Raven? Will she find Scavenger again? What will happen to her mother? Good gosh! I've got to go figure those questions out!

Muwahahaha! Another chapter up! I know this one is short, and I'm sorry! And I know there's another cliffy, so there! (sticks out her tongue) BIG IMPORTANT NOTE: Recently I've become obsessed with my two Final Fantasy games (Yeah, I know, "Only two?" I'm trying to find more! I swear it!) FF X and FFX-2. I've come up with a small plot line and I want to get my thoughts down on paper, so I'm gonna take a little break from working on this story. Only a week or two, I promise!

Thank you for all of the great reviews! Keep the coming please!

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