As much fun as doing my French homework sounds, I'd much rather update this. So here you go, a brand-spanking-new chapter hot off the press...in a matter of speaking. But I couldn't decide where to end this chapter, I almost made it really long, but I decided it was long enough. So, enjoy! And before I forget, thanks to all of you who have been reviewing, because this story doesn't get a lot of reviews and I appreciate it when you special people take time to review. Now you can enjoy.

Chapter Nineteen: You're All Alone

Mercy woke up the next morning like she hard in mornings past to get ready for school. It felt harder this morning as she tugged on another skirt and tight top with annoying flip flops and her wig. Lastly she put her glasses on, hating those the most. She had never worn glasses before, she just couldn't stand them on her face, besides that, she really didn't need them, and she hadn't wanted to grow dependent on them. When she was told by the nurse at the health clinic that she needed to see the doctor about her vision, she had simply ignored what the nurse had said. Now here she was wearing glasses…much to her disappointment and discomfort.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Mercy straightened her wig up a bit before sighing. Whoever was staring back at her in the mirror was a stranger, someone she had never seen before and didn't recognize at all. This person was not who she was. She could rip all the disguises she was wearing off and still look in the mirror and see Jezebel staring back. Jezebel was going to school, not Mercy. And it wasn't fair. Jezebel was going to be the one to solve the murder…not Mercy.

She saw Megatron looking at her in the mirror suddenly and she watched in the mirror as he asked with a smirk on his face, "Nervous?"

"Not really," Mercy replied and had to mentally shake her head as she saw a vision of Megatron holding her closely in the mirror. She knew she had to get rid of these thoughts sooner or later.

All he was going to do was leave her behind one of these days. Chances were that one morning she'd probably wake up only to find Megatron missing…she figured he'd probably leave without warning, without giving her the chance to say goodbye.

"As if I'd say goodbye," Mercy scoffed in her mind after making sure the telepathic link was closed, "I shouldn't after all he's put me through…yet…he's changed so much and done so much for me…I just don't know what I'd do without him."

"Mercy?"

She turned around and faced him, curiosity planted in her eyes as she looked into his optics. "What is it?" she asked.

"Are you ready to go?"

No hug. No kind words. Nothing to bring back any of the moments they had shared while they were on the run. "If he were to say goodbye it'd kill me, and I think he knows that. And he promised not to kill me…he promised me my life, so he can't leave. But yet, he might not know…and if he goes he'll kill me by mistake."

"Mercy, just why are you so slow to reply? Is something wrong?"

"N-No, I'm fine. Let's just go," she murmured and went and grabbed a backpack that Megatron had stolen, along with a few folders, notebooks, and some paper.

"And just how do you propose we go?" Megatron questioned crossing his arms, "You can't walk. People might associate you with…well…Mercy."

"Associate all they want…I've no other means of getting to school."

Megatron shrugged and followed Mercy over to the door. Mercy reached for the doorknob when suddenly the door hissed open. The android stared at the decepticon leader amazed; she had never seen anything like that before. He chuckled, "I guess when I told you I was going to fix up the house I left out the detail that I was modernizing it."

"Modernizing in your terms at least…modernizing in my terms is getting cable and a big screen TV, not automatic sliding doors. Is that all you did to 'modernize' this place?"

"No. There are other things."

"Like what?"

"Security cameras."

Mercy looked at him like he had gone completely insane and she asked as she walked out the door, "Just what the hell do you have those for?"

"Just incase something should happen, you never know."

After what had happened to them already, it was definitely for the best. That way if someone were to break in or anything similar to that, they could prove Mercy was the innocent one this time…well, Jezebel at least. Who knew if there was still any chance of proving Mercy's innocence? And who knew if coming back to this town in which she lived would prove anything. Just what were the chances of them finding any sort of clues? Just what were the chances of them being able to find Brenna's killer? There was a grim truth that both Mercy and Megatron knew, and that was there wasn't a chance, and if there was one, it was one in a million…if they were lucky.

Megatron went invisible as he went through the door and followed Mercy down the road…the same old routine it had been prior to them abruptly leaving. The only differences now were Mercy was no longer Mercy, just some disguised person whom she didn't even recognize and didn't want to recognize. And normally it had been a 15 minute walk, but now it was a 20 minute one.

Mercy couldn't help but cast a glance over to her real home as she walked by. It just absolutely tore at her heart to see the place where she had lived her entire life be taped off and abandoned while the police destroyed the place combing through it to find any sort of evidence against her. 

Heart wrenching as it was, there was nothing that she could do to change the situation, and she merely kept walking until her house was in the distance and she could no longer see it, and the school doors were before her.

Reluctantly, the girl opened a door and went inside and to the main office so that the principal could show her where her locker was and her homeroom. The familiar office secretary had her sit and wait until the principal came out. He greeted her when he finally did come out, and then instructed her to follow him. He led her up a familiar flight of stairs and to her normal homeroom, the homeroom she had been in before she ran away. After a brief introduction to the teacher, the principal took her to her locker…her old locker.

He elucidated, "This was Mercy LeCroix's old locker, I'm sure you've seen the news and are aware of her."

Mercy shook her head trying not to smile.

"The police have already checked it for any sort of clues to Brenna's murder but didn't find anything. Since it's the only available locker we have, it's now yours for the remainder of the year."

"A locker's just a locker, and I'm sure this one is just as good as the rest," Mercy replied in her disguised voice.

He nodded and smiled before wishing her a good day and walking off. Mercy shook her head and using the combination code that the principal had given her, she opened her locker and placed her things inside and took out what she needed. When she closed her locker she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw none other than Brittany standing there.

"Not her again…"

"My thoughts exactly."

Brittany looked her up and down before smiling sweetly, "You must be the new girl."

"I wonder how long it took her to figure that out," Mercy thought and heard Megatron chuckle through the telepathic link, "Yes, you are?"

"Brittany Smith, but you can call me Brit. What about you?"

"I'm Jezebel Collins."

Brittany nodded approvingly, "Aw, you're so cute. Come and hang with me and my friends."

"My friends and me," Mercy thought bitterly at Brittany's lack of grammar skills.

"Who is she to be calling you cute? Lesbian…"

"Pft…I wouldn't be surprised."

After spending nearly all of homeroom chatting with her new "friends" and memorizing her schedule, Mercy went to her first class of the day. It was math now. Dumb old math.

And that's how the rest of the day went, dumb and old and boring. She sat with Brittany at lunch, because unfortunately she was blessed with having the same lunch period as her. Though Mercy didn't eat anything, and luckily no one made the connection to how Mercy didn't eat anything either. In fact, Mercy LeCroix was not discussed at all in the school. It was like Mercy had never ever been there, that she had died along with Brenna…and it really hurt to find out that nobody had cared. It hurt even more to refer to herself as a dead person, especially when she was there and nobody recognized her. She wanted to rip off the disguise and show everyone who she really was, but she'd only jeopardize herself in the end.

"So just what was that Mercy LeCroix character like anyway?" Mercy found herself asking.

"A total lowlife and snob," Brittany replied with a disgusted look on her face, "I'm glad she's not here and out living the worst of all possible lives right now."

Mercy felt rage boil through her circuits and was just about to get up to punch her or something until she felt hands on her shoulders restraining her and a gentle yet empowering voice say, "Just leave it be Mercy."

"She doesn't understand though!"

"She doesn't need to understand, she doesn't matter Mercy."

"She just can't go saying things like that though, especially about me."

"Calm down Mercy."

"Calm down? How do you expect me to calm down?"

He began rubbing her shoulders gently, but he didn't say anything. The massage felt so good that Mercy couldn't help but to let her anger go for now. And finally she replied to Brittany, "Just as long as she doesn't come back."

Brittany nodded and flipped a lock of hair out of her face, "So Jezebel, who's your boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend? I don't have one."

The prep girl appeared to be shocked, "Don't have one?! Well, that won't do. We'll find you one before the day is out."

Mercy shook her head, "I really don't need one Brit."

Brittany chuckled, "That's what the new girls always say. That is until I find them someone and they are always happy together."

Mercy shook her head, "I insist, I don't want one."

"Then you must already have one."

"Oh for the love of Primus, just tell her you have one so she'll shut the hell up already."

"What happens if she asks who it is?"

"Be creative."

"Thanks…"

"Well Brit, before I moved up here I was seeing somebody down in Kentucky and we're still in touch."

"Long distance relationships don't work. I know."

And suddenly somebody came up from the back of the cafeteria and walked over to Brittany. Mercy recognized him as Andrew Povis, Brittany's longtime boyfriend. He gave her a kiss before saying, "Hey babe, what's up?"

"Ugh, disgusting."

"Nothing much Andy, just talking to my new best friend, her name is Jezebel."

"Best friend my aft."

"Hey Jez," he said winking at her.

"Hey," she replied trying to sound as enthusiastic as she could.

"I'm trying to hook her up with somebody," Brittany explained, "You know anyone?"

"Hmm…" he mused, "Jez, you're straight right?"

She shot him a glare and he chuckled, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You know there is Lance."

Brittany snapped her fingers together, "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you're a slagging retard."

"Couldn't have said it better myself."

"Do you know who Lance is?" Brittany asked Mercy.

"No."

"He's got red hair, brown eyes, beautiful teeth; he's tall, and running back of the football team. He's hot, plain and simple, and you two will do marvelous together. Andrew honey, could you talk to him about Jezebel?"

"Alright, but you owe me."

"Oh? How so?" Brittany asked pretending to play dumb.

"Well, my parents aren't going to be home tonight."

She giggled. Mercy felt sick.

"Kids these days…sex is everything apparently. Stay away from this Lance freak."

"I plan to…you know what sex is?"

"Of course I do…there's nothing like it."

"Get your hands off me please."

She heard Megatron chuckle before replying, "Don't worry Mercy, I haven't had it for a long time now."

"End of discussion pronto."

Megatron didn't say anything and Mercy felt relieved when she heard the bell ring. She breezed through the next few periods, until she came to her last class of the day, history. The last thing she wanted to do was learn about what already happened. But it was a graduation requirement, no matter how unchallenging and boring the course was. Inside the class, Mr. Kahn instructed her to take a seat in front of his desk…the desk where the student teacher happened to be seated.

Mercy couldn't figure out why, but she got a bad vibe from him. She couldn't trust him, and when he smiled up at her as she sat down, she felt sickeningly uncomfortable. It was all she could do to smile back at him as she tried to focus her attention on Mr. Kahn's lecture. About 15 minutes into the class period, Mr. Kahn turned and began writing something on the blackboard. Mercy caught movement out of the corner of her eye and looked down and saw a note on her desk.

Do you need a ride home from school? I can give you one. –Mr. Chase

Mercy glanced up at the board and then looked back down at the note before scrawling something out and passing it back to Mr. Chase.

It would be appreciated.

She ignored him, but couldn't zone him out as she heard him scribble something out and pass it back. She glanced back down at the note after Mr. Kahn called on someone to answer a question.

Alright, just stop by here when you get everything you need from your locker.

With a bored look on her face, Mercy waited until Mr. Kahn was preoccupied again before she wrote another message and passed it back.

Just why do you want to give me a ride anyway?

She missed him smile darkly.

Just so I can get to know you a little better. I know it sounds odd, a student/teacher relationship, but that's not what I have in mind, at all. You just remind me of someone I met not too long ago.

No offense…but you're retarded.

LOL, I guess I am.

The bell rang suddenly startling Mercy. She regained her composure though and gathered her stuff before exiting the room. She headed to her locker to drop her things off and get the books she needed to do her homework.

"Just what did that damned teacher want?"

"He…he was just apologizing again for crashing into me like he did. Hey Megatron, I'm going to stay after school to do some work in the library. You can stay if you want."

"…As much fun as it sounds watching you do homework, I'll pass. I'll be back at the house."

Mercy was stunned, "You sure?"

"One-hundred percent, just stay out of trouble, and stay away from that slagging teacher. I don't trust him."

"Alright."

She didn't get a response, and she knew Megatron was on his way out of the building. She sighed, knowing that she had lied to him once again, but she knew this was something she had to do. Mercy couldn't trust that teacher either, and the fact he was new didn't settle well with her thoughts either. Perhaps luck had struck and she had found the killer, but yet…it was probably bad luck that she had, if she had any. Chances were still one in a billion that Mr. Chase was a murderer, Brenna's murderer. He just didn't seem the type. He was so friendly, so nice…unless it was all a disguise. A fake mask, just like Jezebel Collins…Jezebel the nonexistent…but Mr. Chase was existent, existent in flesh and blood.

When she had her things, Mercy returned to Mr. Kahn's room only to find Mr. Chase waiting for her outside the door. She smiled at him, a fake smile, just like everything else that was on her right now.

"Well Jezebel, are you ready to go?"

She nodded, "You bet."

They walked out of the school building and to his car, small talk exchanged along the way. Once inside and settled in, Mr. Chase asked, "So, how far away do you live?"

"Driving, about 2 minutes."

"Then I'll show you around town a little bit. Your parents aren't expecting you home at a certain time are they?"

"No."

"Awesome." And he started up his car and drove out of the school parking lot. He headed downtown, showing her where the best stores were and restaurants, things Mercy all knew. After a while he asked, "So Jezebel, how old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"You got your license yet?"

She chuckled, "No, but I wish."

"What about your permit?"

"Nope. Haven't had the chance to get it."

"Bummer."

"I'll say."

"You want to see Mercy LeCroix's house?"

"I live next to it, almost. I've seen it a couple times already."

He nodded his head, "It's a shame what she did to Brenna. Brenna was such a pretty young girl, it's so sad her life ended so short."

Mercy stole a skeptical glance at him before looking back out the windshield, "Yeah, it's really tragic."

"Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but that Mercy girl is pretty cute herself. This school is full of pretty girls, but none really compare to Mercy."

Mercy laughed nervously, "Um, how old are you?"

He chuckled, "Yeah, I probably shouldn't be saying things like that. Can't blame a guy though. But yeah, I'm 23. I'm here on an internship for college."

Mercy felt lightheaded as she remembered how Brenna had been the same age as her, and her stalker was seven years older than her…just like Mr. Chase. "Are you majoring in childhood education?"

"That's my goal. So far it's going just fine."

"That's good."

He made a sharp turn onto her road…and the glove box fell open. A black ski mask landed on Mercy's lap…along with black handgun. Mr. Chase noticed and sighed heavily, "It looks like my college buddies decided to play a prank on me yet again. Just put that stuff back in there, I'll take care of it later."

It was all Mercy could do to keep her hands from shaking as she carefully gripped the ski mask around the gun so she wouldn't leave any fingerprints and placed the items back inside the glove box before closing it. She closed her eyes briefly and remembered the gun from the night from the murder…that had been the exact same one…

"You okay Jezebel?"

She snapped her eyes open, "Oh yeah, just tired. Nothing like the first day of school to wear a person out."

Mr. Chase nodded in agreement, "Which house is yours?"

"I'll let you know when we get close," she replied and then found herself asking, "What's your first name?"

"Travis."

Mercy nodded numbly, "That's my house right there."

Travis Chase pulled into the driveway of the home and Mercy gathered her stuff and exited the car, but before she shut the door she said, "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime Mer—Jezebel."

She smiled weakly and shut the door before walking briskly into the house. Once inside she locked the door and leaned against it until she heard his car head off down the road. Megatron appeared a lot quicker than she wanted him to. He crossed his arms before her, his robotic body towering over hers.

"Don't tell me you're starting your tactics of disobeying me all over again."

She whimpered hoarsely unaware of why her voice suddenly betrayed her when she needed it the most, "N-No you d-don't understand."

His expression dropped, "What happened?"

Mercy blinked back the tears, "He's—he's the guy."

"I don't understand what you—

"He's the guy who killed Brenna!"

Megatron felt shock pierce him, "Are…are you sure?"

"The damn gun he used to kill Brenna fell out of his glove box and onto my lap when he turned onto this road…along with the ski mask he wore to hide his face."

"That doesn't mean it was the same gun."

"I know what the slagging gun looked like Megatron; I was standing right there when he fired it into Brenna's abdomen!"

"Calm down Mercy."

"He's still after me," she breathed, hugging herself.

Reluctantly, Megatron came up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist before pulling her against him. He removed her wig and let the lavender locks of hair pool down. "He's not going to get you," he stated calmly, gently, "I won't allow it. And he doesn't know who you really are."

"He started to call me Mercy as I stepped out of the car, but he quickly corrected himself."

"…Damn. Why in the name of Primus do you put yourself into these situations?"

"I didn't do it on purpose…I just went with him on a hunch."

"Well look where hunches get you. Now, promise me Mercy, that you will not, under any circumstances, leave this house unless I am with you."

"I promise."

"Good, now I'm going to go back to your real home for a few minutes to see if I can obtain anything that we can use. You should be alright. I won't be gone that long."

"If you must."

"I must. Just change out of those slagging clothes while I'm gone."

She smiled, "Don't worry; I have every intention of doing so. When this murder is taken care of, I'm burning these damn garments."

"Suit yourself, I'm leaving. Don't go anywhere."

"I won't."

And she watched him disappear through a dimension gate. Sighing, she went into the bathroom where she changed into a comfortable pair of jeans and a baggy t-shirt. She hated those prep clothes, she was so grateful to get them off. After taking care of her clothes, she headed out into the living room, but stopped short and had no control as a gasp of horror escaped her throat.

There stood Travis Chase, gun pointed at her abdomen this time. He chuckled darkly while Mercy fought off the urge to vomit.

"Tell me what it's like, Mercy, when you know you're all alone."

That my friends, would be called a sucker-punch cliffhanger, if I don't say so myself. I'm gonna say this story will be done in about...oh I don't know, roughly eight chapters. But I'm having sooooooo much fun doing this XD

Reviews please! Don't skip out on me now...