Yes, I updated this story again. I'm trying to get to the...ah I can't say. Fine, the ultimate fluffiness...XD You know summer vacation starts two weeks from today, so just bear with me. I'm going to be busy everyday until then. Exams galore...whoo hoo.

Chapter Twenty: In Case of an Emergency

Megatron stepped through the dimension gate only to end up in the living room of Mercy's home. He spotted immediately areas that the police had combed through trying to find evidence against Mercy. He knew they couldn't find any, only because there wasn't any to be found. The decepticon leader was completely convinced that the student teacher had killed Brenna Meyers. Mercy's hostility towards him, along with her reaction to him had convinced him that he had done something to terrify her…and it only made sense. He just couldn't believe they had found the killer already, on only their first day back to the town. It was astonishing, but perhaps some other, more powerful force, had control of their destinies at the moment.

The decepticon leader sighed as he cast his optics off the memories of that living room and headed down to the bedroom, Mercy's bedroom that was. When he arrived inside, he saw the police had left it just the way it had been when he and Mercy had ran away. He sighed and looked things over before going over and sitting on the sofa and staring longingly at the bed.

"F—k it, who am I trying to kid?" thought the decepticon leader after closing his telepathic link.

He hadn't come here to look for anything that may be useful, hell there wasn't anything and he knew that. He only came because he could, just for the sake of it. But what was the sake of it? Megatron hated to admit it, but he came there to dwell on the past. He missed it…and he hated how the thought of leaving here tore at his spark. He didn't want to leave…why would he want to return to a damned war that he could never seem to win? Why would he want to return to a war that may just end up killing him all over again? And why would he want to leave behind someone he had grown attached to?

Megatron was beginning to understand things more clearly now. He knew that there was something between he and Mercy, something far more powerful than hate, yet the last thing it could be was hate. He sighed heavily. Nothing was supposed to grow between he and Mercy…nothing ever was supposed to exist between them other than the transfer of energy and hate. The decepticon leader felt torn and empty inside. Yet his spark swelled and pulsed whenever he thought of Mercy.

He probably shouldn't have left her alone back at the house. She was still frightened from what had happened between her and Mr. Chase before he had left. Sighing, he figured he should head back, but he wasn't sure what the rush was. Deep inside he felt an anxious dread gnawing at his spark mercilessly, and it severely irked him. She was perfectly fine back where she was though, even though she was all alone.

After a few brief minutes, Megatron decided that it wasn't fair that he left Mercy defenseless when she was frightened. Sure the house had been drastically modernized, but not enough to defend her incase something did happen. But why was he thinking this? Why was he worried if anything had happened or not to her? Sure he still needed to collect energy from her, he still needed quite a bit, but he was almost close to the point of living again. So close that he could taste life, he could smell it, hear it, see it, and feel it coming back…his life coming back. Oh, he couldn't wait to leave death and all it's bitterness behind…but yet he was willing to cast Mercy aside. To cast his Mercy aside. To throw her away like his life had been taken, but he didn't want to let her go, he only believed he needed to.

Sighing, Megatron was just about to stand up from the couch when a piece of paper sticking out from under Mercy's bed caught his optic. Slowly, as if in a black and white dream, he got up and retrieved the paper before sitting back down on the sofa and reading it.

The horrid realization of knowing that nobody was there to save her…the horrid realization of knowing that she might actually be hurt or killed…the horrid realization that she was alone…that she could not defend herself…that her assailant was standing before her and she was completely and utterly helpless.

"Did you really think I had forgotten about you Mercy?"

She took a fearful step back from him but he only flashed his gun threateningly at her and she froze where she was. She could barely make out the words as she whispered harshly, "N-No. I don't understand w-why y-you're here."

"I want you Mercy. I must have you," and he took a couple steps towards her, "Killing Brenna was worth it because I found you in the end. You were my scapegoat. While the cops chased you, I merely lived as if nothing had happened. And I thank you so much Mercy, for taking the blame."

"B-But I didn't…I—

"Shut up!" He grinned as Mercy immediately fell silent, "Good girl, now, we're leaving before your parents get home. And don't give me any crap either or I'll shoot you. And you know what I'm talking about, that thing you can do with your hands…pull that I pull the trigger. Got it?"

She slowly nodded her head, though not accepting mentally what he was telling her.

"Come here Mercy."

She couldn't make herself move. Mercy tried to send the signals from her CPU to her feet to make her move, but her feet refused to respond. Instead, she noticed, that she had begun shaking. Uncontrollably, but not violently. She was scared to death…she was alone…and she was helpless as Travis Chase groaned impatiently and sauntered over to her.

A cold and rough hand gruffly cupped her cheek and tilted her face up to his, "You will learn to listen to me. You are mine…"

Oh she was so mad she wanted to kill him. She wasn't about to accept his words, yet she was too afraid not to listen. The last thing she wanted was to be his. He was the murderer of her best and only friend, he had taken away life and didn't care, and he had completely ruined hers. Mercy had already done enough for him, she had suffered for his crime, she had paid for his crime, she had sacrificed so much for him, and here she was standing as his victim…his prey.

It was amazing how quickly courage and bravery could be rendered completely useless by fear. She wanted to rewrite the story of her life, because this was not how it was supposed to go. Mercy longed to do something for a change, so that this curse of bad luck that had been cast upon her could be broken, something that would unlock her from the shackles of life, the shackles of herself. But there was absolutely nothing she could do. The gun was thrust in her face now and the only choice she had was do or die.

She closed her telepathic link, "Be the hero for once Mercy…be the change…because you're the only one that believes in you, and you have the strength. You're made of metal, he of flesh and bone and blood. You're stronger than him, now be strong!"

"Travis…" she breathed.

He smirked at her, "What is it?"

She summoned her small supply of courage as she cast the wickedest glare at him before hissing, "The last thing I am is yours."

He scowled and smashed the gun against her left temple producing a sound of almost metal clashing on metal. Mercy felt pain sear through her skull and her vision darkened and blurred as unconsciousness began to consume her. She needed help…just what would happen when Megatron got back her and couldn't find her?

"Megatron...help…" Mercy fell prisoner to darkness.

It was a poem, Megatron could quite clearly tell that. He hadn't really been into poetry at any time of his long life, but this poem awed and stunned him. It surprised him since he didn't know Mercy was capable of writing something of this nature…well he knew she was certainly capable, it just surprised him that she actually would. And it was probably most certain that the police had read the poem and merely tossed it aside, causing it to land under her bed, to be forever forgotten. But, not anymore. Megatron tucked the poem of the fallen angel safely inside his subspace pocket.

He nervously knotted and unknotted his hands, unable to decide if he should leave Mercy behind or not. If he took her along with him, he'd never be able to get her to come back to live on earth because he knew she would get along just fine among the transformers species, any human seemed to, well, with the autobots at least. No human had ever had the experience of actually getting to know the decepticon faction, just Mercy, even though she wasn't human anymore. But if he took her with him, there was always the possibility that she would become bored, or that he would become bored with her. If that happened, he could always do away with her and forget about the promise he had made not to take her life, or just banish her and never worry about her again.

Though, if he never brought her along, he wouldn't have to worry about her growing bored. When the murder was solved, Mercy would be just fine. She could go on living as she had been, she might have to serve a minor jail time for the felonies she had committed, but at least she wouldn't have murder on her head. And he was confident that the girl could become an accepted part of society. She only had to learn. She was better off if he just left her alone, he had already done enough to screw up her life; there was no reason why he had to do more damage. And it was better for both of them. They would both learn to get along without the other. All the feelings they had developed would fade away with time…because time was the cure to everything.

They just had to find a way to live through the hurt.

"Megatron…help…"

"Mercy? What's going on?"

He waited for her to respond, but she didn't…and he knew something was wrong. He racked his mind trying to detect any sort of trace from her telepathic link to him, and he found absolutely nothing. Wherever she was, she was unconscious. Oh, he hoped it was nothing serious. Perhaps she had just fallen down the stairs or something and hit her head. Perhaps she had fainted for some odd reason. He was probably overreacting to whatever it was. But no matter what he told himself as to what the probable cause for Mercy's unconsciousness could be, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

And without further delay, Megatron opened a dimension gate and stepped through it. When he got back to the house, he quickly observed that nothing was out of place. Everything was right where it had been when he left. He walked through the living room of the home…no signs of a struggle; the kitchen was perfectly in order. Mercy's backpack was resting right next to the door, and her shoes lay aimlessly on the floor next to her backpack. The bathroom was empty and provided no clues; the office was as barren as it had been. The downstairs bedrooms were the same story. Slowly Megatron climbed the stairs to look around upstairs. He half expected to find Mercy lying lifeless on the floor somewhere, but he knew that he would be back in the void if she was truly lifeless, but he didn't find her anywhere.

"Damn it Mercy, where are you?"

Still nothing. He went back downstairs and sat down, completely frustrated, in a chair in the living room. If she had runaway on him again, she was as good as dead. After a few minutes of dwelling in his frustration, Megatron had a sudden realization.

There were surveillance cameras.

Darkness…that was all she saw after the dizziness and blurriness cleared from her vision. Mercy had absolutely no idea where she was, but wherever she was it was loud and uncomfortable, and it reeked of gasoline. She was lying down, and she knew a blanket or something was covering her. She had been tied and gagged and couldn't move no matter how hard she tried to. And every now and then there would be a bump or something that would shake her…that could only mean one thing. She was moving…and as her CPU slowly began to process her environment, she realized she must have been in the trunk of a car…most likely the trunk of Travis Chase's car.

Her mind was still groggy as she tried to collect her thoughts. After a few moments it occurred to her that she was frightened, in fact, she had been shaking without realizing that she had been trembling. She had been kidnapped, and she needed to contact Megatron, just so she could make him aware…but her head was throbbing. Pain was pulsing through her skull as if it were her own blood. She knew she had to hurry because unconsciousness hadn't released her from its grip quite yet.

"Megatron…"

Megatron went inside the office, he had turned it into the surveillance room since it was out of the way and the room really had no other purpose. Megatron took a seat at the control area of the cameras. He sat in front of a computer with a rather large screen and began typing on it. After a few minutes, he had all the footage playing from each camera in small divided screens on the computer. His optics glanced over each one. He glanced at the lower right and observed something that shocked his inner core, the student teacher walking in through the front door without bothering to ask for permission to come in. He observed as Mercy later walked into the living room and watched as the next series of events unfolded between them as if it had been a movie. Except, at the end, Megatron slammed his fist against the desk the computer was on and cursed harshly under his breath.

His Mercy was gone, ripped away from him, all because he had been stupid enough to leave her behind when she needed him the most. This was his entire fault, and he felt so terrible…though he hated himself for feeling terrible. He wasn't supposed to feel anything but hate, pain, conquest, thrill, and anger. But what the hell did it matter anymore? What was the use of denying it when knew that he had feelings for Mercy? He didn't need to lie to himself anymore.

Megatron was so afraid of accepting the truth, he wasn't supposed to love. He wasn't supposed to feel that cursed emotion, but somehow he was, and he couldn't make it go away. It was something he wanted to destroy but he couldn't because it felt so good. But yet it felt as bad as it did good and he couldn't figure out why. He needed Mercy, as much as he hated to admit it, but he had to have her, and that's why he didn't want to leave her behind.

Shaking his head, he knew he had to find her before that damned human harmed his Mercy. Megatron definitely claimed her as his now, and when he got her back, he knew he had to tell her how he felt; because she deserved to know the truth too…he had to show her.

"Megatron…"

"Damn it Mercy! It's about time, where in the pit are you? Are you injured?"

"Travis has me…in the trunk of his car at the moment I'm guessing. I can't tell for sure."

"Where's he taking you?"

"Probably to his home…Megatron I…I'm…" she trailed off.

"What is it Mercy?" he prodded ever so gently.

"I'm…I'm so scared."

He sighed knowing she had every right to be. He could hear the tears in her voice and he replied in a friendly and reassuring tone, "I'm coming for you Mercy. Just hold on a little longer."

"I'll…I'll try."

"You sound like you're in pain. Is it from where he hit you with the gun?"

"You…you know about that?"

"Surveillance cameras, remember?"

"Oh yeah…but to answer you question, yes it hurts."

"He'll pay for hurting you. Now, I'll be there as soon as I can, just do as that damned idiot says for now so that he doesn't hurt you anymore."

"But I don't want—

"I know, that's why I'm going to hurry. Now keep talking to me, that's an order."

"I don't…I don't know if I can. It hurts…"

"Then I'll talk to you, but when I ask questions you have to answer them, understand?"

"I'll try."

"Good. Now, are you bleeding?"

"I don't know."

"Does he have you tied up?"

"Yes."

"Can you see anything?"

"No."

"Are you sure you're in a car?"

"It smells like gas and I know we're moving, so yes."

"How bad does your head hurt?"

"Bad."

"…Do you love me?"

"Yes…wait, what?"

"Nothing, nothing, now just hold on a bit longer for me, okay?"

"Stop asking so many questions."

Megatron chuckled lightly at this and decided to stop interrogating her for now; especially he had found out all that he really wanted to know. Mercy on the other hand was having a hard time comprehending what Megatron just asked and how she had answered, and especially why he had asked what he did. There was no reason for him to ask unless…unless that's what had been bothering him so much the last few days, the reason why he had been thinking so much.

He was always on her mind…was it possible she had constantly been on his? Her head hurt so much, it hurt to think, it made her dizzy, and the darkness that had consumed her earlier was threatening to consume her again. Momentary visions of blackness plagued her eyesight for a few seconds before passing, but she couldn't take it much longer.

"Megatron…I…I can't…"

"What's wrong?"

"I can't stay…awake…"

"It's okay Mercy, I'm coming, everything is going to be okay."

"I…can't…"

And that was the last thing she was able to say before she went offline again. Megatron slammed his fist on the desk. He couldn't believe he cared this much, he couldn't believe how much he had tried to comfort her; he couldn't believe how much his spark ached for her at the moment. He had to do something, but he couldn't rescue her alone. If he was ever going to turn Travis Chase in then he had to have proof against him…Megatron ejected the tape of his confession to killing Brenna and of his kidnapping Mercy. And he made a split second decision. He stared at the phone for a minute before putting the receiver to his audio receptor and dialing a number.

"New York State police, what is your emergency?"

Time to get the police involved...sorry DarkxPrince, I know you wanted Mercy to kill Travis, but if she went and killed him there wouldn't be a story...besides I still got a few chapters left to do. I'll say one thing though...you guys are gonna like the next chapter. Fluffiness for everyone!

Thanks to everyone whose been reading and reviewing, I appreciate it very much and look forward to some more brand-spanking-new reviews! XD I got to go to work now...joy...