Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As far as hiding places go, this one could be worse. The town was rather small, and almost half of it was abandoned. The sign coming in said less than five thousand people. It also had the name of said town but Mercy could care less to remember it. It was far enough out and so sparsely populated that the government didn’t feel a need to put energon detectors out here. 

So here she hid, for the last two days at least. The reason for settling in this Primus forsaken spit of land was due to it being the closest place to hide after an encounter with a Decepticon. She tried to avoid him, but once engaged, she made sure to offline him before he could report back to anyone. Unfortunately, he got her in the side, and it was a deep wound too. She did a rough patch job, but she was no medic and had no supplies, so it was barely holding together. She was just fortunate that the rest of the Decepticons still thought her to be dead, or hoped they believed her to be.

Unfortunately, Megatron was a paranoid bastard, especially after the battle in Egypt.  He wasn’t dumb and she wouldn’t put it past him to figure out she never died in the first place. She also wouldn't put it past him to want her brought back alive to finish what he started. Mercy had to stop her engine from rumbling aloud at the thought as she kept her alt form parked in a semi populated parking lot.

When it came to the other group making her life difficult right now, the NEST forces, she was fortunate to not have a run in with them, nor did she actively try to antagonize them. Not that she feared the little humans, let alone any human really, but she didn’t want to make matters worse for herself.

The Autobots had themselves preoccupied on the East Coast, trying to track down Megatron, trying to stop what he was planning next. And there they could stay for all she cared. She wondered if they would be able to find him. She also wondered if Prime had the bearings to do what needed to be done. Again, she had to stop herself from actively making noise as she tried to keep her cover. There was no way the Prime could do it. Hell, Megatron’s death was originally at the hands of the human boy, Wikwicky.

The other problem right now, besides her wound, was the damned energon detectors. They were in every major city and in densely populated areas. If she wanted to cross state lines she had to find a more 'unofficial' way. Every state border, especially those connected to major highways and interstates had energon detectors. So she had to get creative, crossing through rivers and forests, rather late at night too, trying to avoid any humans. She was fairly certain her plates had all manner of branches and rocks stuck in between them.

Now because of this unfortunate hold up, she had just barely passed the Midwest. The next question was did she want to hide out in a desert like Nevada or find a more forested area like Oregon? The idea of excessive heat during the day only to drop dramatically during the night was off putting, but then again, so was the amount of rain the pacific Northwest was known for.

She huffed to herself. She would mull over her options later. Right now, she needed to rest as best she could to find an area away from humans to figure out her next course of action. With the midday sun beating down on her alt form, she let herself fall into a light recharge.

A car door shuts, awakening Mercy from her recharge, more startled then she'd like. She scans around her vehicle and notices the source of the noise. A worker getting into her car after closing down her store for the night. Mercy waited for the women to leave before doing a more long range scan.

It was a little after nine at night and by this point most, if not all, of the small town died down by this time. Her scan done, she turned over her engine, the roar of it ripping through the town. Not her best option for trying to lay low, but she was a big femme with a big engine. 

    She drives through the more abandoned side of town, going slow, not wanting to tip off any cops that might be lying in wait for a speeder. Less contact with humans the better.

Maybe Oregon wouldn't be a bad idea. Sure there is an excess of rain but the idea of hiding out in a forest was more appealing than a desert. It almost made her a little homesick at the idea, scouting out the forests on Cybertron before the war. Surely, Tank would like to see a forest again. The poor Bear deserved a break.

She is snapped out of her thoughts almost instantly. Her sensors have picked up another energon source, just ahead of her. As if on cue, there is the sound of metal falling and sounds of a scuffle coming from one of the bigger abandoned buildings about a block up. She transformed to her bipedal state, rolling back to crouch behind another building but keeping the other insight.

As the plates on her back hit the brick wall, she hissed aloud. She glanced down at the wound in her side. As if it wasn't having a hard enough time holding together. Now it looked even worse. 

"Dammit, moved too fast." Mercy winced, holding her side. She glanced over at the other occupied building as she heard a scream. It was human and it was a femme too. Clearly some unlucky fleshling should've minded their business. 

Mercy can hear the bot cackling to himself. She lets out a vent before listening in to what her former teammate has to say. He surely was a loud bastard wasn't he?

"Come out, come out. I'll make it quick and present your head to Lord Megatron myself!" The bot taunted the femme. 

This caught Mercy's attention. Why bring the head of some human to Megatron?

Unless… This wasn't just some random human. 

Against her better judgment, she stood to her full height as she went to go see what all the fuss was about. If she kept herself quiet she could get the jump on the Decepticon before he even knew she was there.

Really? This is how she was going to die? Hiding under a pile of scrap metal in some backwater town in the middle of nowhere! 

Mikaela tried to keep as still and quiet as possible, even though she was breathing heavily, she was trying her hardest to get that under control. The adrenaline in her system almost made that impossible, her body was shaking uncontrollably. 

She stopped in this little town to get gas and grab some food for the road back to California and a Decepticon just so happens to be passing through. How? What kind of luck? God forbid there was another one right behind him. 

She looks around at her surroundings trying to find something, anything , she can use as a weapon. She spots a crowbar, unfortunately, it is not as close as she would like, and getting it would definitely make enough noise to alert the Decepticon. Which at this point, she realizes has been uncharacteristically quiet now.

Within an instant, the pile of metal she is hiding under is ripped away, causing her to scream again. The Decepticon cackles and tries to swipe at her. She moves out of the way, making a dive for the crowbar, and landing on her arm harder then she would like. 

She grunts in pain but takes hold of the crowbar, facing the Decepticon as she tries to crawl backwards to get some distance. The bot slams his servo down to her right side causing her to cry out again. 

The Decepticon cackles again at her fear, red optics glowing like mad. He leans in to Mikaela and she takes the opportunity to shove the crowbar into his optic, causing him to recoil with a shout of his own.

"I'm not going down that easily!" She shouts at him, still trying to scramble backwards away from him. 

The Decepticon growls, pulling the crowbar from his optic, it now dangling from his face, sparks flying from it, "Now… I am going to make this hurt."

Mikaela curses under her breath but before she has a chance to try and get to her feet. The bot above her cries out as someone grabs both his arms from behind him. The new arrival kicks the back of his knees and he falls to the ground. The new bot grips hard on his arms and puts their pede on his back. They push down and pull at the sametime, pulling his arms clean off of his body. 

He tries to turn and face his attacker but he's held down by their pede still on his back, "I will have your head!"

A sadistic laugh rings out in the building, followed by a sultry voice, "Kind of hard without arms don't you think."

As the bots remaining optic grows wide as he recognizes the voice of his attacker, the femme removes her pede and punches down, through his spark chamber, before pulling up and ripping the still pulsing spark from his chest. She crushes it in her servo before tossing it to the side. 

Mikaela looks at the now lifeless corpse of the mech trying to process what all just happened. Her breathing is quick and shallow as she tries to calm herself. She slowly looks up at her savior and any chance of calming herself down is thrown out the window.

“Oh shit…" She manages to scramble to her feet, looking around to try and defend herself again.

Mercy chuckles, "Your weapon of choice is over there." She points clear across the abandoned building and Mikaela curses under her breath again, clutching at her arm that she landed a little too hard on.

Mercy squats down, "Well now… If you're here that must mean Witwicky is not far behind either."

Mikaela glares up at her, though Mercy takes no notice or at least doesn't seem to care, "I'm honestly surprised he isn't cowering behind you already."

Mikaela huffs, "He's a grown up. He can take care of himself." 

Mercy raises an optic ridge, a smirk plastered on her face, "Oh… did I hit a nerve?"

Mikaela's nostrils flare, as she sucks her teeth, "You're not the only one who wants to get on the opposite coast as their ex."

Mercy's smirk turned into a glare, "What an interesting way to say 'thank you'."

Now it was Mikaela's turn to smirk, "Oh, did I hit a nerve?" She did say she wasn't going down easily. 

It was a stare down at this point, the two glaring at each other, both stubborn and neither backing down. "You're rather bold aren't you~"

"Clearly, you've gone soft without your Decepticon buddies." 

Mercy hummed, glancing away first. They were two for two at this point. The girl had a quick wit that was for sure. Mercy wasn’t going to lie, it was actually slightly entertaining. Then again, it could be because she has been without company for so long. 

She glances down at the human again, "So you're not important enough to escort home?" 

Mikaela breathes in slowly, glancing down at the cement floor beneath her feet, "I left quickly, it wasn't as planned out as I would like. I just… needed to get out. And quickly."

The femme looks off into the distance. She wouldn't admit it to the human but she could sympathize with that. An idea of where they wanted to go, but no real plan. No back up. And the bare minimum of supplies. Just the need to run far and fast.

Mercy stood to her full height, Mikaela noticing the movement and staring up at her. The mechanic notices her wound, "You hurt."

"How astute…"

"I can fix it." 

Mercy turns to walk out of the building, "I never asked, nor would I want a fleshling to patch me up."

Mikaela had to run to try and catch up with Mercy, even though her lungs were already screaming at her to stop moving, as well as trying to ignore the pain in her arm, "I have no other way to get back home! He destroyed my car."

"Not my problem. Besides, don't you know how to hijack one?"

"Driving across states in a stolen car is how I get arrested." The human was keeping up with her fairly well as they made it out of the building and into the street again.

"I still fail to see how this is my problem." Mercy begins to transform into her alt mode.

"Look I can fix you up and you can get me home, we’ll be even." 

"It would be even if you patched me up after I just saved you." Mercy's engine turns over for the second time tonight.

Mikaela flinched, Mercy was right. She had to think quickly if she was to get her to help take her home. Then again, was that the best idea? A former Con with a pretty terrifying rap sheet who literally could kill her if she made one wrong move. However, Mercy hadn't killed her yet right? The femme literally saved her minutes ago. Come on, think!

Mercy was getting ready to pull away and Mikaela ran in front of her, stopping her from leaving still, "Don't you humans understand no!?" "I can help you avoid the energon detectors!"

Well now, what a development. Mercy regards the human in front of her, mulling over her options. A detour through California wasn't ideal. Not to mention the Interstate 5 was teeming with energon detectors if she were to try and go for the pacific Northwest. However, getting patched up would make her trek much faster. And… if worst comes to worst, and NEST comes knocking, she would make an effective hostage.

It felt like an eternity but Mercy's passenger side door finally opened for Mikaela, who breathed a huge sigh of relief. 

"Can we just stop by my car real quick, see if I can find any of my bags?" She said, running into the cab of the truck. "Fine…"

As the human clambered in she let out a gasp, almost falling out if Mercy hadn't already slammed the door behind her. Mercy's cyber cat, Pounce, was laying in the backseat. He picked his head up to look, rather unimpressed, at the new person in the cab with him. 

Mikaela froze and Mercy's chuckle rang out through the speakers, "You'll live. He won't hurt you. He is close to what you humans call a ‘house cat’." 

“He is the size of a panther!” 

Mercy sighed, “Just sit down already...”

“What about your other animals?" "Don't worry about it." 

Mikaela huffed, "Kind of hard not to. I don't want to get eaten." 

"They won't eat you. Kill you, yes, but not eat."

"How reassuring…" Mikaela said, finally sitting down in the passenger's seat. 

"Hmmm, who is the one who has been begging to come with me for the last five minutes." The smirk was evident in Mercy's voice.

Mikaela crossed her arms over her chest, "Just… shut up and drive!" 

"You're supposed to tell me where your car is first."

Mikaela let out a loud, annoyed groan before pointing out the direction of her smashed up car.

Oh yes, this was going to be one long but interesting ride.

Chapter Text

"We should probably stop soon." Mikaela breaks what feels like an hours-long silence. Mercy barely acknowledges her with a grunt over the speakers. 

“We need to patch you up, the sooner the better.” 

“I’ll be fine. We need to get as far away from that town as possible.” Mercy said, rather bluntly.

“It’s been two days. Hell we are almost in another state at this point.” Mikaela tries to reason with the Decepticon.

“And we have had to stop so you can eat and relieve yourself. Something I wouldn’t have to do if I were alone.” 

Mikaela glared at the steering wheel from her position in the passenger seat.

“You forget that I am on the run from NEST and from the Decepticons. For all I know Soundwave is still orbiting the planet, tracking where the Autobots and their little humans are. So finding a random dead Decepticon away from any NEST forces doesn't bode well for me.”

“There is a Decepticon orbiting the planet?” Mikaela sits up straight, her glare dropping, now replaced with a look of shock.

“He has been bouncing off your satellites. It is how we found the location of the shard in human custody, and where they dumped the remains of Megatron.”

Mikaela paled at the information, “That’s how you guys were able to track Sam…”

Mercy hummed, “And if I am not careful, that is how they are going to find me. I would very much like Megatron to still believe I am dead.”

Mikaela was silent for a moment, processing the information that was just given to her. At some point she would have to let the Autobots know that. Granted, doing it over an open phone line would make it a lot harder without this Soundwave picking it up. 

“Don’t you think we should warn them?” Mikaela asks.

“Not my problem.” Mercy answers back without missing a beat. 

“I mean… it kind of sounds like your problem if he can track you.” 

Mercy scoffs, “Right and how exactly do you plan on warning them?” Mikaela goes to open her mouth, “Without bringing me into it. Because if NEST finds out I am with you what do you think will happen?” Mercy interrupts and Mikaela huffs and folds her arms over her chest with a pout as she tries to figure a way to warn the Autobots, her friends.

Mercy was right. Optimus especially would come to get Mikaela away from Mercy, let alone the spark-attack he would have finding out she was attacked by another Decepticon.
Mikaela chews the inside of her cheek as she mulls over the idea in her head.

“Well don’t think about it too hard~” Mercy taunts her. “Shut up…” Mikaela snaps back, still trying to figure a way to handle this Soundwave situation, “Can’t you mask my call?”

“I can… But how would you explain where you got this information to Optimus?” 

Mikaela clicks her tongue, “Why not send it yourself then?”

“No.” “Why not? You’re not on their side anymore.” “Doesn’t mean I want to betray them…” “What… like they did you?” Mikaela counters the femme.

Mikaela can’t see her face but she knows Mercy is fuming. The air in the cabin feels stuffy and her rather large cat in the back perks his helm up again, still indifferent to the human but noticing his owner’s change in mood.

Fuck it. Time to double down. Mikaela straightens her back, she wasn’t going to back down and let Mercy intimidate her… even if she was a former Decepticon. Oh, this should go well. 

“They left you for dead and if they were to find out you were still alive what do you think would happen? And this Soundwave makes it harder for you to hide.” Mikaela argues. 

Alright, Mercy had to be turning the vents on because it was almost unbearably hot now. Mikaela sat there in silence, starting to sweat as she was at the... mercy of the Decepticon before her.

Mercy finally breaks the silence, “Where did all this concern for my wellbeing come from?” Mikaela huffs, “It is not just for you, but it is for my friends too. Everyone benefits from Soundwave no longer being able to use our satellites.” 

The cabin started to cool down and Mikaela was able to breathe a sigh of relief. It seems she may have made some headway with the femme. Now to just get her to stop for the night.

“We should also stop and patch you up. You won’t be able to hide your tracks if you are bleeding all over the place.”

Mercy huffs over the speakers, “Fine. Fine…” She lets out a sigh and Mikaela swears she can practically hear her rolling her optics, “We’ll stop tonight and find an abandoned building so you can do this. You sure you have the tools to fix me?”

Mikaela breathes another sigh of relief and nods, “Yeah I should have just what I need.” Among her belongings she had a box with basic tools that she was bringing back with her, luckily not destroyed, along with another suitcase of belongings, when the Decepticon that had attacked her took out her vehicle. 

So Mercy keeps driving, the silence almost deafening between the two of them. Mercy makes the occasional stops for Mikaela, who thankfully makes it quick and is in and out so they can keep going. By nightfall, they find another small town and Mercy does a long range scan of the town, “This town is smaller than the last one.” Mikaela says, and Mercy just grunts in acknowledgment. “Well, I don’t sense any energon signatures so we can settle here for tonight. There are a couple abandoned buildings on the west end of town.” 

So the two do exactly that, settling down and stretching out. Mikaela is able to scarf down some makeshift form of dinner and Mercy lets her three remaining cyber beasts roam around the large abandoned building. And for a brief moment, Mercy is thankful they stopped.

"It's like you're digging around for treasure…" Mikaela looks up at the femme she is trying to patch up. Mercy's face is neutral, not showing pain in the slightest, which further goes to throw Mikaela off at her rather rude comment, "What do you mean?" 

"Are you trying to fix the problem or make it worse?" Mercy deadpans. "I'm fixing it!" The human pulls her hands back from the wound. "Are you? You're rummaging around in there like, oh what is it called… an earth creature, I saw it in the Savannah. It has tusks, big ears, a trunk…?" 

Mikaela flushes, annoyed and embarrassed, "An elephant!" Mercy snaps her digits, "There we go! You're like an elephant just fumbling around." Mikaela crosses her arms, "Well, you don't show that you're in pain." 

Mercy raises an optic ridge, her faceplates still wearing a neutral expression, "Because I am not a sparkling… I've had worse 'treatment' than this, but your handling of this wound leaves much to be desired."

Mikaela glares up at her, "I don't have to fix you, you know!" For the first time this conversation Mercy shows some emotion in the shape of a sly smirk, "And I don't have to take you to California. Your point?"

The two were still for a time before Mikaela sighs, rolling her eyes and going back to fixing Mercy's wound, "At least you don't move like others I have worked on…" Mercy hums, "Like I said, not a sparkling like some Autobots." 

"Hey!"

"Let me guess, it was Bumblebee who squirmed the most wasn't it?" Mercy chuckled. 

"No! Bee is a saint!" Mikaela defends her friend. Mercy hums again, "Don't tell me it was Ironhide or Optimus~" 

"They handled it fine! And they were not nearly as talkative as you are…" Mikaela huffs. Mercy smirks again, a silence falling between the two again. 

"It was Skids and Mudflap…" Mikaela sighs. Mercy snorts, "Of course it was." 

Mercy notices the human stiffen. "Hey, brace yourself on something." Mikaela says, her voice taking on a more serious tone, "It looks like a barb or something is stuck in there."

Mercy curses under her breath and leans back against the wall of the abandoned building they were calling home for the night, "Do it." 

And with that Mikaela takes a hold of one of her tools and uses it to start pulling. Mercy digs her digits into the ground and grunts, her optics squeezing shut and vents picking up in pace. 

With a grunt from Mikaela she finally pulls the barb out and almost topples backwards in the process. When the wound starts to leak more energon, she moves immediately to start patching up the wound and stop the bleeding.

Mercy lets out a deep sigh as it is finally removed and her frame slackens against the wall. She's venting heavily and her helm lulls to the side, her optics staying offline, "That would explain a few things." 

Mikaela nodded, "Probably won't open up as much when you move too fast. But still you need to take it easy."

Mercy hums, feeling something nudge at her other side. Her optics online and she looks down to see Pounce brushing up against her, purring loudly. She brings a servo to his helm and scratches underneath his chin, speaking to him softly in Cybertronian, " I'm fine, little one. "

"I have a question." Mikaela asks in between patching up the now bleeding wound. "Of course you do…" "Oh it's not that bad. I was just wondering why your animals are smaller." 

Mercy glances at the three cyber beats she has, the bear, spider and cat. "Well besides Pounce that is." Mikaela says.

"Mass displacement. I do that while we travel until I get to my destination. Mainly because it takes a lot of Energon to do it."

"Can you do that to yourself?"

"Yes but it only goes so far. I would still probably be about eight feet tall."

"And displaced they can act as some form of armor for me. Like Skitters…"

"The spider, yeah?"

Mercy hums in agreement, "He becomes a type of bracers for me, while Tank…"

"The bear?"

"Stop interrupting…" Mikaela rolls her eyes at the femme's attitude.

"Turns into a type of chassis plate for me. Gives me more armor."

"Like you're already not armored up enough." Mikaela snorts.

Mercy chuckles, "I like to take precautions~ There is a reason I have survived this long."

Mikaela nods and finishes her work on Mercy's wound. She steps back, her arms covered in Energon up to the elbows but she looks quite proud of her handy work. Mercy inspects the wound and hums, "I can tell you were trained by Ratchet."

Mikaela looks up at her, starting to clean herself off with whatever spare rags she can find in her toolbox, "I think that is the nicest thing you have said to me so far."

Mercy snorts, "I wouldn't get use to it."

Mikaela goes back to cleaning off her hands and arms with a rag before wiping off her face with a different, more clean one, before rolling her eyes, "No, of course not." 

Mikaela sighs before turning her attention to her dirty tools, "You seem to think rather highly of Ratchet."

Mercy grunts as she stands up, "We may be on opposing sides but he is a damn good medic. Considering he recently saved my life and all…" Mercy grimaced at that last part.

"Well because he believed you to be working for Optimus."

Mercy snorts, "And yet, the truth was so much… worse~"

"I mean… it's kind of fucked up trying to pit the others against him like that." Mikaela says, trying to defend her friend. 

  "You say that like I should care." Mikaela rolls her eyes at Mercy's uncaring tone, "Nevermind…"

Mercy smirks, but changes the subject, "Right. So, we'll stay here for the night and head out in the morning. If we stay on track we should be in the next state by tomorrow evening."

"Fine. I am going to shower at the truck stop. Can you come with me?" Mikaela asks, her tools now cleaned and put away.

Mercy looks down at the human, quirking an optic ridge with a sly grin on her faceplates, "Mikaela… are you propositioning me?" 

Mikaela gags, "Dear God no." Mercy scowls, feigning hurt, "Now who is being rude."

"Can you just make sure no one fucks with my stuff?" Mercy rolls her optics, "Fine, fine… I'll be your babysitter."

"Shut up."

Mercy had been thinking about this for the last few days since they had stopped to fix her wound. Ever since Mikaela asked her to watch her stuff at the truck stop. She was… angry and physically uncomfortable about the whole situation. Not even the crisp morning air or the pleasant scenery around them could uplift her mood. In fact, the clouds rolling in, a clear indication of an incoming storm, more so matched her current disposition. 

"I see why you wanted me to go with you." Mercy says over the speakers of her cabin.

Mikaela looks up from the book she is reading, “How so?” Mercy grumbles, “At the truck stop a few days ago… some of the other humans' gaze would linger on either you or my holoform for far longer than they need to. Humans have a staring problem.” 

Mikaela snorts, “Sure… we’ll go with that.”

There is silence again, “Do you want me to go in with you when we make these stops?”

Mikaela looks like a deer caught in the headlights, “Wow… you actually care.”

“Shut up! If anything happens to you now I am fragged. It is a precaution to make sure you make it to California and I can wash my hands of this whole ordeal.” 

Mikaela chuckles, “Sure it is…” “Human, do not test me…” “Alright, alright. Yes, I would very much appreciate you doing that for me. Can you shift your holoform?”

“Why?” “Less likely to bug me if I am with another man. Men seem to back off when you.. belong to another man.” Mercy makes a disgusted noise over the speaker, “Yes I can. I will have my holoform look more male when we stop.”

“Cool. And Mercy…” Mikaela says her attention shifting back to the book in her lap. The Decepticon sighs, “Yes…” 

“Thank you.” 

If Mercy were in her bipedal form she would roll her optics. As her alt mode, she settles for just letting out a grunt over the speakers of the cabin.

Mikaela looks up from her book again, “We might have to stop and seek shelter today.” Mercy laughs, “Afraid of a little rain?” “Out here in the Midwest, yes.” “And what is so bad about rain in the Midwest?”

Mikaela puts the book down and turns her attention towards the driver’s seat, trying to face Mercy in a sense. “It is not the rain, but the tornadoes.” 

“Oh, so your planet gets them too?” Mercy says, and Mikaela catches that there is no sarcasm or taunting in her voice. It seems Mercy has a genuine interest in the topic. Well then, it seems she was going to get the chance to talk about another interest besides mayhem and murder. 

“I imagine that, since your rain isn’t acid rain, they aren’t as bad.” “Two things, we still get acid rain…” “Well then, it is not as bad as Cybertron had it.” Mikaela hums, “Fair enough. But tornadoes are still very dangerous because they get up to really high winds and can pick us up and carry us.” 

“Interesting…” There is still no sarcasm in the former Decepticon’s voice. “Back on Cybertron the winds were strong but the real danger was the mix of acid rain, it made a nasty combination.” “On Earth there are like four or five classifications of tornadoes, having to do with the wind speed and how much damage they cause.” 

“Hmm, the atmosphere was relatively new to Cybertron, we mostly got solar storms before the planet started to orbit a star.” This was the most information Mikaela had gotten about Cybertron up until this point, “And how old were you when that happened?” “It wasn’t too long before the war, Optimus, Megatron and I already knew each other under Sentinel’s clan.” “So you all worked together?” Mercy sighs, “For a time we did yes… But I am saying too much.”

Dammit… So much for finding out more. Mikaela leaned back into the passenger's seat and looked back at the forgotten book, resigning to the fact that Mercy was done with any reminiscing of the past. Not even the Autobots would talk too much about Cybertron with her. She was curious but, at least with her new travel partner, she knew not to ask any further.

There is a silence for a time but Mercy is the one to break it this time, “We may want to find that shelter you were talking about.” Mikaela hears her engine rev and picks up speed, “Um why?” “It is a bit far from us, but why tempt fate.” Mikaela froze, “Oh no…” Mercy checked and there was a town not too far from their location either, “You’ll see it out your window but there is a funnel cloud forming.” Mikaela immediately jumped to action, looking out her window, her adrenaline kicking in. It was far, hell she could barely see it, but still like Mercy said, why tempt fate. 

“You better move your ass!” “Watch it human…” “I’m not trying to die out here!” “We won’t die.” 

Mercy kept up the fast pace, heading towards this town with Mikaela frantically shouting in her cabin. She was feeling an ache in her processor and was weighing her options on traveling the rest of this journey with the panicky human. Sure… she wasn’t quite as lonely… but at what cost.

Chapter Text

“Oh god… you’re going to kill me aren’t you?” Mikaela asks, genuinely concerned for her own safety.

Mercy had taken a detour from the highway on their trip to California through some seemingly random forest. Mercy made most of the trip in her bipedal mode and she was, surprisingly, gracious enough to let Mikaela sit on her shoulder to make the trek. 

Now, night was upon them and Mercy was coming up to a cliff edge. Granted, the view of the plains over the cliff edge had scarce lights from the small towns that were pleasing to look at. However, Mikaela was still shifting uncomfortably because Mercy could easily chuck her down that cliff and move on with her life.

Mercy sighs, “Stop squirming or you’ll fall.”

“I wouldn’t be squirming if we weren’t in some random ass forest and walking up to the edge of a cliff.” 

Mercy smirks, “Afraid of heights?”

“Not really, more afraid of being killed right now!”

Mercy rolled her optics, “I’m not going to kill you…”

“Then what are we doing here?” Mikaela asks, backing up as best she can on Mercy’s shoulder, not that it helps in any way. 

“Don’t worry about it.” Mercy half-heartedly reassures her.

“Kind of hard not to!”

“Oh dear Primus. Look! If I wanted to kill you, I would have had plenty of chances to do it! We are here for personal reasons! So if you could just trust me for a klik or two you may get your answer.”

Mikaela was taken aback by the outburst. Normally, Mercy would just shrug her off and keep going about her business. 

“I just want to have a quiet night for once, is that possible?” Mercy continues, looking at the human on her shoulder. The glow of her ruby optics made the human shrink back, “Al-Alright…”

Mercy continues her steady pace muttering something to herself in what Mikaela assumes is Cybertronian.

Mercy gets to the edge of the cliff and raises a servo keeping it close to Mikaela so the human doesn’t fall off her shoulder as she goes to sit down, dangling her pedes off the ledge. 

As Mercy puts her servo down and gets comfortable, Mikaela leans back and braces herself against a smokestack. The femme chuckles, “I won’t let you fall.” “If you say so…” 

Mercy’s two mass-displaced cyber beasts find a place to lie down in the trees behind them while her cyber cat curls up into her lap as she leans back. Her servos are planted on the ground behind her to support her weight as she looks up at the clear night sky. 

Mikaela starts to get antsy again before she sees something in the sky out the corner of her eye. She looks up and sees a line go through the sky, “Hey! A shooting star!” 

Mercy looks at her with a raised optic ridge, “That’s what you call them?” “I mean… I know it is a meteor burning up in our atmosphere but yes, that is what we call them. You’re supposed to make a wish when you see them.” 

Mercy slowly nods her helm before facing the sky again, a couple more streaks going across, “There is a meteor shower tonight. I made plans to watch it. Granted, I thought I would be alone.” Mikaela rolls her eyes, “Yeah yeah… How did you know that anyway?”

“The web. There are forums talking about astrological events and I made note of them.” “So what… in between making the Autobots lives hell you go look up at the sky every once in a while.”

Mercy snorts, “Sure. Something like that.” “It doesn’t seem very… I don't know… Evil?” Mercy shakes her helm with a smirk, “Oh don’t get me wrong, I still would plot the demise of your precious Autobots but sometimes I need a break.” Mikaela lets out a small laugh.

There is silence between the two until, much to Mikaela’s surprise, Mercy breaks it, “To be honest, it is a new development, having more time on my hands and all.” “Did you stargaze back on Cybertron?” 

Mercy purses her dermas, “Yep.” 

“When was the last time you got to see a meteor shower?” 

Mercy is silent as she stares up at the sky. Mikaela knows the femme heard her but this wouldn’t be the first time she was ignored, especially when it came to questions about Cybertron.

Mikaela feels uncomfortable in the silence but resigns herself to not getting an answer again until Mercy sighs, “Back on Cybertron. Before the war.” Mikaela sits as quietly and as still as possible, “Was it with anyone?”

The femme snorts, “Always with the questions…” Mikaela curses to herself before Mercy actually keeps talking, “It was with Optimus. It was… nice. One might even say romantic.” Mikaela clocks that the Decepticon sounded almost bitter. “I take it someone ruined the moment between you too?”

“Yeah, him.” “O-oh…” The human wasn’t expecting that. “How exactly?” “It’s not really your business.” Mikaela grimaces but nods, “Fair enough.”

Mikaela looks back up at the sky just in time to catch a few more shooting stars, “You don’t seem like that type… but you're not a Decepticon because of something as petty as the history between you and Optimus are you.” 

Mercy grimaces, “Did the Autobots tell you that?” “No. I honestly can’t see you doing that, but I am just curious.” “No, I joined Megatron because I trust him and I did not trust Sentinel.” 

“You brought him up before. Who is Sentinel?” 

“He led the clan Optimus, Megatron and I were a part of. And eventually led the

Autobots in the beginning of the war. Bastard got what he deserved and was shot down during the fight on Cybertron.” 

“So you joined the Decepticons because you opposed his views?” “As did most Decepticons.”

Mikaela nods her head, “Good to know it wasn’t something so petty.”

Mercy gives a short laugh, “I can be petty, but when it comes to that… Absolutely not.”

Mikaela hums and the two sit in silence again. The meteor shower picks up and for once, the two don’t have to worry about ex-boyfriends or opposing factions or the war that continues to rage on. They get to enjoy a night to themselves with what little bit of peace the planet has to offer in that moment.

--

There is a loud crack of thunder and Mikaela shoots up from her sleep. The mass-displaced bear she was resting against lifts her helm up only to huff and lay back down, not bothered by the thunder. Mikaela looks around at the surrounding trees in the forest her and her traveling companion made camp in. There is no rain, yet, but as she looks up at the sky the clouds seem to be getting darker. 

She lets out a sigh and sits up completely, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “I was wondering when you would wake up.” Mikaela jumps again as the Decepticon sitting not too far from her speaks up. Mercy lets out a small chuckle, “My, you sure are jumpy.” Mikaela groans, her voice gravelly from sleep, “Shut up… I just woke up.” 

There is the usual silence between the two before Mikaela lets out a yawn and clears her throat, “How long did you sleep?”

“I didn’t.” “What?”

“Solar cycles on this planet are shorter than what I was used to on Cybertron.” 

“So what, you sleep like every two… cycles?” Mikaela tries to keep up with her terminology and it works this time as Mercy half nods, “More like every cycle and a half.”

Mikaela hums before she yawns again and stretches her arms over her head with a groan, “We have about a day and a half until I am home.”

“And then I am free to do what I originally had planned before you got dragged along.”

Mikaela starts running her fingers through her hair, trying to comb through and get any twigs or debris from the forest out, “Which is what? Running off into the forest?”
“You say that like it is a bad thing.” “What is with you and forests?” “Don’t worry about it.” “Oh humor me will you... I just thought you would get twigs or something in between your plates.” 

Mercy is quiet as she looks up at the sky. Another clap of thunder rings out, causing Mikaela to flinch but Mercy stays relaxed. Mikaela finally has a clear view of her face and notices that she looks at peace for the first time since this trip began. She imagines the femme looked the same watching the meteor shower the night before.

“Before Megatron found me, I lived in a forest back on Cybertron. That’s why I am a scout, I am used to such terrain and keeping quiet on my pedes.” 

“It still baffles me how quiet you are for your size.” “How dare you…” Mikaela half laughs, “What? You’re like two feet shorter than Optimus.” “And?!” 

“And? You’re almost as broad!” “There is nothing wrong with that!” 

“I’m not saying there is! Just that for someone of your size and structure you’re really, really quiet.” 

“Yes… Because I am, get this, a scout .” 

Mikaela snorts, “Alright, alright. Back to the original topic. You lived in a forest?”

“Yes. My original clan was murdered and I was left to fend for myself as a sparkling.  Fast forward and Megatron was snooping around my territory. Eventually he brought me into Sentinel’s clan.” 

Mikaela grimaces, “That’s… rough. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Why? It’s just how it was. And I survived. Can’t really ask for more than that.”

“I mean I guess, but there were times I was alone during my childhood and I wish I could do more than just survive.” 

“You were also an orphan?” “No, father was in and out of prison and I didn’t do well in foster.” “What’s foster?” 

Mikaela purses her lips, “Foster care… Where kids with no parents go to a family that… is supposed to take care of them.” 

Mercy nods her helm, immediately picking up the meaning behind her tone, “And I take it they didn’t do a good job of that.”

“Nope… Hell if I was lucky,” She gives Mercy a sardonic smirk, “I would find a home that only verbally abused me, not physically.”

“What?” Mikaela is taken aback by the question. The look on Mercy’s face is a mix of anger and confusion, not something the human was expecting to see. It almost looks like Mercy is gritting her teeth.

Mikaela gives her a sad smile as she puts her hair up, “Why I didn’t do so well…” She hugs her legs close to her chest and puts her head on her knees.

“Did no one come to check and make sure you were okay?” 

“They either hid it from caseworkers or caseworkers just didn’t care…” 

Mercy curses under her breath, “Humans…” 

Mikaela gives a pitiful laugh, “For once I agree with you. Dad was pissed… But he was locked up for a while. Promised to try and get out as early as he could. And stay out.” She smiles softly more to herself, “And he did…”

Mercy brings her intense gaze from Mikaela back to the darkly clouded sky above. The rain starts to fall and Mercy stands to her pedes. She offers her servo to Mikaela who climbs onto it and then onto the femmes shoulder as they make their trek back out of the forest and to the highway to get Mikaela home.

--

"I have a question." Mikaela pipes up, breaking the silence between the two of them. Pounce perks up from the back seat, his tail flicking in the air while an exasperated sigh is heard over the speakers. 

"Why are you humans so talkative?" 

"The silence is killing me." 

"Your yapping leads me to believe you are very much alive."

Mikaela lets out an exasperated sigh and Pounce lays his helm back down, losing interest in the two bickering.

“Oh come on we had a nice little moment back there in the forest.” She teases Mercy and she can almost hear the femme’s optics roll, “And this has been bugging me ever since you said it.”

Mercy sighs over the speaker, "Fine… I'll indulge you. Ask your question."

Mikaela looks out of the window, watching the flat, barren surroundings of the road they were currently on. 

"You spoke so highly of Ratchet… at least for someone like you. Why not join the Autobots instead of hiding out from both sides?"

“Because, as stated last night, I don’t hold the same ideals as the Autobots. And I really don’t like the idea of working with humans.” 

Mikaela makes a face, “It’s not like the Decepticons will take you back.” Mercy scoffs, “And what makes you say that?” 

“You were caught with Optimus . I don’t know your past history with him, but Megatron does not forgive. I mean look what he did to you once he found out.” Mercy was thankful that she was in her alt mode, because she grimaced. And she grimaced hard. “And you were his top scout, right?” Again, Mercy grimaced, even harder now. She really regretted letting Mikaela ask her question.

“Why do you care if I were to join the Autobots or not?” Mercy counters and Mikaela doesn't hesitate, “Why run from two sides?”

“I work better on my own.”

“There is a difference between wanting to work by yourself and being forced to be by yourself.”

There is a silence between the two and if not for her alt mode she would be grinding her denta together. “You don’t know what you are talking about…”

Mikaela shrugs, “If you say so.”

Mercy was feeling jilted. This human wanted to put herself in business where she didn’t belong… Two could play at that game.

“Why make this journey yourself? Why not have the Autobots bring you back home?” Now it was Mikaela’s turn to grimace, causing some pride to swell in Mercy’s chassis.

“I… left fast. And everything just happened so quickly.” “I don’t care about your break up with the boy.” Mercy interjected. “And I wasn’t talking about him… The Autotbots were doing some mission and I had to get out of there. And I needed to get out of there now. Run as far as I could… And not look back.”

Mercy mulled over her words, and again, she knew exactly what Mikaela was feeling, though she had no intention of saying so out loud.

“You left the East Coast rather quickly.” Mikaela comments and Mercy snorts, “Not quickly enough.”

“Ah… So you did meet up with Optimus.”

“It was a mistake.” Her vocalizer was stern. “Was it?” Mercy was caught off guard by the seemingly innocent question, “What?”

“Was it a mistake? Or are you just in denial as per usual?” Mikaela says, not even batting an eye.

“I… How would you know how I feel?” 

“I mean I don’t but again, he was the leader of the Autobots. You had so many chances to kill him and you are telling me you met up with him for just sex?” Mercy didn’t like where this was going, “Stop.” Pounce perks up from the backseat again, sensing the shift in tone of his owner.

“For someone as cruel and ruthless as you, it just doesn’t make sense. Especially when you hesitated in Egypt.”

The heat started to pick up in the cabin, “Human…” Her vocalizer was dangerously low, “You have no idea what you are talking about…”

“I was there, I saw it!” “You don’t know what you saw!” “Oh bullshit! He was right in front of you and you couldn’t do it!” “He had Jetfire’s parts, it was suicide!” “You didn’t have the balls to watch him die again!”

Mercy screeches to a halt in the middle of the lone road, causing Mikaela to let out a surprised scream, cut short by a grunt as she hits the seat. 

It’s dangerously quiet between the two before Mikaela feels the seat belt tighten over her chest, Mercy’s sultry, yet sadistic voice rings out over the cabin speakers, “I think you have gotten too comfortable…” Mikaela lets out a pained gasp as the seat belt keeps squeezing across her chest. She cries out, feeling like her ribs could start breaking at any moment. She goes to pull at it, to relieve some pressure but it just seems to make her situation worse and Mikaela barely registers the feline in the backseat growling in her direction.

“We will reach the next town after nightfall where I will drop you off and go on my merry little way and you can find some other way to make it home.” 

Mikaela was having a hard time breathing and could feel herself turning red while tears well up in her eyes.

“And I don’t want to hear a damn thing from you, are we clear?” As if to get Mercy’s point across, the cat behind her growls louder than before.

Mikaela nods frantically and Mercy releases her, causing the human to take a huge gasp of air. There were tears stinging at her eyes and she looks up as if she were going to say some insult but decided against it. She didn’t want to test the lengths of this threat, especially not with the snarling panther-sized cat behind her. She opted to just glare at the steering wheel as she tried to catch her breath.

Mercy gave a sadistic chuckle through the speakers, “Good human~” A sense of pride welling in her as the human grimaced. She shifted back into gear and with the roar of her engine and squealing of tires she was driving again.

--

The town was coming into view and Mikaela was really starting to sweat. She wasn’t able to text anyone for fear of Mercy just outright killing her in the cabin of her alt form. Hell, if she even looked in the direction of her phone, Mercy squeezed the seat belt across her chest just for good measure.

For the last few hours Mikaela was frantically thinking of a way to find a way home. She could call the Autobots after getting a room for herself, but how long until they get there. By that time Mercy will be long gone and god forbid she gets attacked by another Decepticon again. A part of her scolded herself for even saying anything in the first place, especially since she was so close to home. Another part of her, however, was cursing the crazy bitch that couldn’t handle her own damn feelings. 

Mercy on the other hand felt more like her old self then she had the last few months. She missed making humans cower at the sight of her. This one had gotten just a bit too cozy with her, and she slipped up about her past, but no matter. She would dump the human in this deadbeat town and go on with her life like nothing had happened. If anything she was more annoyed with herself it even got this far. Why did she bring her again? 

Oh right… The energon detectors… Either way, she no longer needed to worry about getting into California and could stay in these small towns that the humans deemed not important enough to put these detectors in. 

Mercy does a second scan of the town as she starts to drive into it. All seems clear and she almost vents a sigh of relief. Soon this will be all over. 

Her scanners catch something and Pounce perks up. There is the faintest of blips on her radar. Mercy slows and even Mikaela lifts her head up, sensing something off with the femme. Someone is trying to hide themselves, now the next question for Mercy was if they were an Autobot or Decepticon.

Before she can come to a stop, there is a crash and a scream from Mikaela as pain shoots through Mercy’s entire right side. Mercy begins to transform into her bipedal mode as she starts to roll, forcing Pounce to jump out to get to some sort of safety and her bear to come tumbling out, still mass-displaced and now unresponsive. Mikaela falls out of the cabin mid-roll but Mercy catches her in a servo and keeps her close to her chassis as she comes to a stop. 

Mercy shakes her helm but quickly tries to bring herself to a kneeling position, venting heavily as the pain still courses through her from the impact. She sets Mikaela down rather ungracefully as the human grunts, hitting the ground still disoriented, “That has to be a Decepticon…” Or Ironhide . Mercy thinks to herself bringing her helm up to look in the direction of where she once was. 

The femme notices the two sets of red optics and curses under her breath. Decepticons it is…

“Well now…” The gravelly voice of one starts, “You’re supposed to be dead.” “She will be once we are done with her.” The other Decepticon growled out, causing the first one to stop him, “No no… Imagine how we will be rewarded if we bring this traitor to Megatron.” This causes the second Decepticon, his colors a mix of black and gray, to grin.  

Mercy unsheathes her bow with a groan, “Do you sycophants ever shut up?”

They look at Mercy with a glare and back to each other. “After we have had our fun of course.” The first, all gray Decepticon says. 

Mercy pulls back and shoots first at the all gray Decepticon, getting him in the shoulder. Mikaela has to fight to pull herself off the ground and run from them, heading deeper into the town and away from the Cybertronians. The second Decepticon runs forward and kicks Mercy in the chassis, causing her to fall back with a grunt, still disoriented from the crash. 

“Deal with her!” The first Decepticon shouts out, “I’ve got the human…”

Mercy curses as the black and gray Decepticon steps on her chassis, “You’re making this too easy…” Mercy tries to pry his pede off her chassis with a disgruntled growl to no avail. The side with the patched up wound feels wet and screams with renewed pain, definitely opened up again.

“Looks like your Autobot has made you weak. I was expecting a challenge.” Mercy glares daggers into him, “You’re going to wish you killed me in that crash.” Her tone is low and dangerous, but the Decepticon laughs, mocking her further.

As the mech gloats about his ‘soon to be’ victory, Mercy is straining to reach for the hunting knife on her side. She manages to grip the edge of the handle, tossing it back slightly so she can catch it with a better grip on the handle. She reaches up and stabs the mech in between the plating on the side of his knee, dragging the knife down until it reaches his pede, energon spraying out. 

The Decepticon roars in pain and stumbles back off her chassis. Mercy is quick to get up to a kneeling position again and pulls him down via the knife firmly embedded in his leg. It is his turn to fall onto his back with a disoriented grunt. Mercy removes the knife from his leg and throws it down, embedding it in between the plates on his chassis. 

Before he has a chance to remove it, her pede is on the handle, pushing it in deeper and deeper until the blade is hilted in his chassis, just below his spark. He roars in pain again and Mercy grins, leaning down so she is closer to his face, “Maybe don’t stand there talking about how you are going to kill someone…” She takes hold of her bow, leaning up again and draws it back, “...And just do it~”

--

If she had to run and hide in another fucking abandoned warehouse during this trip, Mikaela was going to scream. She should have waited for the Autobots to get back. She would have been home safe by now. She looks around and sees a bunch of heavy machinery, if she had some time she could try and hijack something to use against the Decepticon.

The Decepticon in question crashes through the entrance causing her to let out a startled scream before she keeps running to find some place to hide. Fortunately for her, the Decepticon misjudges the amount of force and causes some of the building to come crashing down on him. The silver mech lets out an annoyed growl as he pushes through the wreckage, “You can’t hide in here little insect…” 

Mikaela can hear him charge his weapon and curses as suddenly the side of the building she was running towards begins to fall to pieces. She stumbles and falls trying to scramble away as beams and other debris falls to the ground. A few of the beams slam into the ground straight up, sticking up and out of the ground.

Still trying to pick herself up, she can hear him stomping towards her, causing her to just curl into herself as she lets out a scream, unable to fight him off. The bot is stopped in his tracks as Mercy grabs hold of him and throws him towards the other side of the building. Mikaela lifts her helm and she was never more happy to see Mercy than right now. Granted she may try and kill her after this. That was for later however as she forced herself to get up and try to hide as the silver Decepticon let out a growl, “Just lay down and die. Make it easier for us.” 

Mercy quirks an optic ridge, but before she can say anything the Decepticon shoots her in the side close to her previous injury, causing Mercy to cry out as she falls back. She puts her servo on it and as she pulls back it is coating in energon. She curses before her chin is promptly greeted by his pede. She grunts and slides back more as she tries to collect herself. 

He stomps on her chassis, right on the wounds and she gasps trying to push him off of her but the blinding pain makes her frame shake. “Do I show your helm to Optimus first? Or let Megatron do it?” He taunts her and she glares at him, not opening her mouth in fear she might scream from the pain coursing through her entire frame right now.

As he is grinding his pede into her side there is a loud sound of one of the heavy machinery starting up. Within moments, a wrecking ball comes hurtling into his chassis and he goes flying back. He roars as he goes through the air but it is cut short as he lands on the beams that he shot down early sticking up out of the ground. His entire upper half was impaled and the one through his spark is the one that effectively cut his life short.

Mikaela is still panting as she takes her hands off the controls and has a chance to relax. She never thought she would get the machine started, but it wasn’t a moment too soon. She looks at Mercy, who is still laying on the ground with her optics closed. “Shit!” She mutters as she climbs down from the platform and grunts as she hits the ground and runs up to Mercy, “Come on, we have to go!” Mercy opens her optics and looks at the human who is now looking at the wound, “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” 

Mercy doesn’t say anything and Mikaela runs up to her face, “Hello! Did you not hear me? We have to go! Once we get out of town I can patch you up but you need to get up!” Mercy raises an optic ridge, “You’re still willing to help me.” “Oh my god, shut up and let's go!”
Mercy chuckles before standing carefully and holding her side. She grabs her bow and Mikaela follows her as they walk to Tank, barely coming to, from where she slid when Mercy was hit. Mercy checks the bear to make sure she is alright before she shifts into her alt mode and collects everyone into her vehicle mode. “Oh so Tank is just in the bed of your truck.” Mikaela comments. Mercy hums before taking off and heading away from the town to be patched up.

--

They find a place and Mikaela is able to patch up Mercy again with the human insisting they stay there so the femme can get some rest, even with them being a little more then a day out from her home. Mercy is not really in a position to argue, her own companions agreeing with the human and not letting them go. 

The normal silence between the two is tenuous and awkward. Mikaela just going through the books she already read and keeping her distance from Mercy and the femme… doesn’t like it. Mikaela didn’t have to save her, especially after Mercy threatened to kill her not but hours before. Mercy was actually feeling… regret for what she did. 

It isn’t until they are on the road when Mercy finally speaks up, “Thank you,” Mikaela looks at the steering wheel with wide eyes, “What?” 

“Thank you for patching me up and saving me. You didn’t have to but I am grateful you did.” Mikaela is at a loss for words, “I… Uh… Y-you’re welcome.” There is a soft grunt from the speakers as they keep driving. “Thank you for taking me back home.” Mikaela says as she gently pats the steering wheel. She grunts again as the two fall into a more comfortable silence, only a few hours left in their drive.

--

“Hey.” Mercy’s voice rings out over the speakers, waking Mikaela up, “We are here.” Mikaela groans and looks out the window to see the front of her father’s house. Mercy is parked in the driveway and damn near takes up the whole space due to her size. The door opens and an older man steps out looking at the truck confused. Mikaela quickly opens the door and jumps out of the truck and runs up to the man giving him a hug. At this point, it was safe for Mercy to assume, that was her father.

Mercy sighs as she watches the scene, wishing Mikaela had taken her stuff so she can just leave. But now she has to wait until they are finished catching up. It takes longer than Mercy would like but after ten minutes Mikaela comes back up to the truck. Mercy had to stop herself from honking at the two more than a few times. 

“Hey. Do you want to stay?” Mikaela asks as soon as she opens the door. “Excuse me?” Mercy asks as Mikaela starts taking her stuff, “The garage should be a good size for all of you. You won’t be able to transform but you will have a place to rest at least.” The cat in the backseat meows and bats at the seat, trying to tell Mercy to take the offer. 

“Why?” Mercy asks, “Does your father know?” “He does and he doesn’t mind. Consider it a thank you for taking me home. We will be even.” Mikaela says, grabbing the last bag. Mercy mulls over her options. After a moment, Mikaela breaks her train of thought, “Only for a couple days, just to get your strength back. It’s not permanent.” Mercy sighs, “Fine. But only for a few days and then I am out.” “That works for me.” Mikaela says walking up to the garage and punching in a code to the number pad on the side and the door slides open. 

Mercy actually vents a sigh of relief as she drives in and the door closes behind her. Her bear, spider and cat all climb out and find a place on the other half of the garage to lay down and rest. As she slowly slips into recharge, she counts her blessings that she managed to find a decent human on this planet. The ride… it wasn’t all that bad.