Somewhere in the Knight

by Maji

[G1Knight Rider Crossover] The Decepticons have always been a threat. Now they're tampering with the two most dangerous AI's the Knight Foundation has ever created... This... Is not a good thing...

1. Freedom

Disclaimer: Transformers and all characters there of belong entirely to Hasbro. Knight Rider and all characters there of belong to Glenn Larson. Team Knight Rider belongs to Universal Studios. The song lyrics belong to Jon Bon Jovi. Elizabeth is mine. Note that all crossovers bring on the longest disclaimers in the history of fanfiction...

Notes: This story is four years in the making... I finely finished it! It was done! All 150 pages of it! But I discovered something... Four years ago I had a completely different writing style. Frankly... It sucked... I've matured as an writer. Near the end I liked. The beginning I hated... I also noted a few characters that where just there to be there. They could be cut out and make the story better but unfortunately had managed to worm their way into the story way to much. (There was also one character who I decided I truly hated) Therefore before the first story ever sees the light of day... It is rewritten. After I finish this I might put the original up somewhere for laughing rights. However, I do hope everyone enjoys the new and improved version! Later when it's finished we'll all have a good laugh over the original. Also note that while the first chapter is very Knight Rider heavy that will change eventually. Hence why it now appears in the Transformers Category.

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Chapter One... Not Alone

You ask about my conscience

And I offer you my soul

You ask if I'll grow to be a wise man

Well I ask if I'll grow old

You ask me if I've known love

And what it's like to sing songs in the rain

Well I've seen love come

And I've seen it shot down

I've seen it die in vain

Shot down in a blaze of glory

Take me now but know the truth

'Cause I'm going down in a blaze of glory

Lord I never drew first

But I drew first blood

I'm the devil's son

Call me young gun

-Bon Jovi

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Knight Industries labs California

The sky wept... Streaks of lightning crashed over head, followed closely but the loud crack of thunder that caused all in the surrounding area to jump. Heavy rain pelted the parking lot of a Knight Industries research facility, driving those on their way home tonight to run across the parking lot, bags and coats pulled up over their heads in a vein attempt to somewhat remain dry in the absence of an umbrella. In the darkness most of the office workers and researchers where headed home, leaving behind a skeleton security crew and those dedicated enough to ignore the calls of families and the need for sleep.

There are moments in our lives where we must make a choice. When our entire life changes so abruptly you're not certain just where it turned so wrong.

Lightening flashed again as three jets flew lazily overhead, circling the research center for several minutes. The lightning and thunder didn't seem to bother them as they slowly banked and dropped altitude, the roar of their engines cutting through even the harsh boom of the storm.

Moments to decide if we want to flee and live to know what you could never accomplish or stand and die in the knowledge you did all you could.

As another streak of deadly lightning cut its way jaggedly across the sky one of the jets banked to the right plummeting like a silvery streak across the sky. The other two remained in their flight path for a moment more nearly unseen without the silver hide of the other one, a dark lavender and black the other a blue that blended well with the darkness.

Moments when the best you could do just doesn't seem to be good enough for the rest of the world.

After only a moment the two remaining jets banked as well rolling and as the lightning flashed the three jets opened fire on the building causing its unknowing occupants to scatter for safety like rats from a sinking ship.

It's these Moments in our lives that when all else fails and you have no one else to turn to you must turn to yourself and pull out a strength you may not even have known you had.

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Autobot HQ - Oregon

Sirens ripped through the quiet night air like some shrieking cat, through an open bedroom window. As one the entire assembly of Autobots quietly turned their attention to internal radios, frown crossing face plates as they listened to Teleram ramble on what information he had on the subject matter. Within' moments Teletram's monotone voice was replaced by Prowl, the tactician handing out orders and sending troops on their way.

It was a small raid. Teletram couldn't actually pinpoint what they might even be after. However, three jets had descended upon a research center in California and opened fire. "Three guesses on who that is and the first two don't count." Had been the basic attitude as the selected Autobots had transformed and hit the road as fast as they could move. Skyfire would have to take them in quickly. If they drove it the fight would be long over by the time they got there. As it was, they where already far to behind. The attack was a complete surprise...

The sirens died down as a deafening roar ripped through the air, as Skyfire taxied away from the Ark and took off, the massive jet pushing into the air. It was out of sight within' moments...

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Knight Industries - California

A light rain pattered on the glass skylights of a darkened garage in southern California, catching the full attention on the building's lone occupant. An ebony Trans-am idly watched as the lightning reflected off the streams of water that steadily down the window, accented only by the security lights by the doors and the lone crimson strobe that seemed to chase itself back and forth on the prow of the car.

It was amazing these storms... Some humans seemed to be afraid of them. How someone could be afraid of a weather pattern Kitt would never know... Storms never bothered him... He supposed it helped that his rubber tired insulated him from a lightning strike... That didn't mean his CPU wouldn't feel the surge. Still he was protected enough that it wouldn't hurt him.

Even with the impending electrical shock that was a possibility it didn't trouble him near enough to back up away from the skylight. Despite the wild storm that was building outside the safety of his walls it was peaceful...

Which apparently wasn't meant to last long... Just as his mind started to wrap around how peaceful it was the side doors of the garage snapped open with a loud bang and a disheveled looking Bonnie came running in.

Minus her normal greeting, she went straight for a terminal and sat down, quickly connecting the system to FLAG's database system.

"Bonnie?" Kitt questioned, when the heavy silence stretched on, concern hinting into his voice. "Is everything alright?"

Bonnie only sighed as she leaned back and shook her head. "There's a problem at one of the labs. I need you to run a search for everything that is being stored and tested at research facility 342." She instructed, her gaze never lifting from the screen. She seemed to be running a personnel search. The inventory was what would take forever. Kitt could do it in a matter of minutes. Kitt silently started the search, the Trans-am watching Bonnie as she fell to silence.

It was several minutes before Michael hurried into the room, followed closely by Devon. The silence remained as printouts slowly started coming in, Bonnie's personnel records coupled with Kitt's inventory.

Kitt felt an unpleasent sinking feeling developing in the pit of his fuel tank as he reviewed what he had come up with. This wasn't promising... At all... He knew that research lab...

"Devon, what's happening?" Kitt questioned, gaining a morbid gaze from Devon. "Apparently that lab is under attack..."

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Knight Industries Labs - California

Laser fire lit up the sky with the same wild light that the lightning had been creating only moments before. The only difference being that now the lights where a wild blend of multicolored plasma that left destruction in their wake, rather than the bright forks of lightning, that had yet to hit anywhere near the research center.

The lab was well on its way to being ripped apart by the time a third jet landed in a clearing less than a quarter of a mile away. The massive cargo bay doors dropped allowing the occupants to surge out, in a colorful wave of vehicles.

What had been the image of a trio of jets taking pot shots at a building suddenly turned into a full out battle. The vehicles on the ground, blended with the vehicles of the fleeing humans. Autobots moved quickly to avoid the humans that where still trying to get out of dodge, the remaining skeleton crew wisely deciding that they should clear out until the firefight was well and over.

Deep within' the lab alarms blared out steady warnings. Down in the basement labs, the battle outside seemed as distant as the rolling thunder. Only when a particularly close shot hit home did the compound rock and dust poured down from the ceiling above. Those where the only shots to call concern to the lab's lone occupant.

Every time he heard one he could picture the laser fire ripping through the ceiling and into his terminal. However, he worked on... It was absolutely amazing how he could do anything at all... If someone where to pass his office he would almost appear to be working on through the night as if nothing was happening.

However, almost invisible where the nervous glances he cast to the ceiling every now and again. As fingertips flew across the keyboard, a program appeared on the screen, the statistics to an ongoing project flowing across the monitor. Information and codes flew by faster than he could keep up with as the download process began.

His life's work was in this lab... He had been the sole programmer in the beginning. Now he worked here... He had been there with the developing of the new team. He had overseen failed projects... This had been one of them... The project had been unexpectedly placed in his hands a few years prior... The source had been vague... His orders where simply to deal with it as he saw fit. How he saw fit had been to rebuild his creation.

The project had been like a child to him. He had worked so hard on the initial programming. It had been like a kick in the gut when it was shut down. He couldn't even describe the relief he felt when it had been placed back in his possession.

He finally pushed back away from the screen as the download process reached a point that it could be left. He hurried across the room, a hand placed against the side of his project...

He grabbed hold of the tarp covering and pulled the heavy, military covering off and threw it aside. Underneath the high gloss black of a black over white Trans-am. He quickly snatched open the passenger side door and sat down, his fingers flying across the dashboard, flipping switches and activating systems that had been idle a few years now.

Little by little the interior lights began to light up, casting an eery glow across the dash. One by one display's flashed across the screen that was the tell tale sign that individual functions where beginning to come online.

He quickly got up and hurried across the room, sitting down at his desk once more, his fingers flying across the keyboard the steady tap, drown out by the high pitched screech of laser fire. For an insane moment he took the time to think about how odd it was. How different the sound of lasers where from gun fire. If he had heard a machine gun outside his door he may not have been so accepting. However the lasers made it sound so... Surreal...

He got up again, running back to the Trans-am, his hands flying as he quickly disconnected the Trans-am from the work station, the spider web of cables it had been attached to, tossed aside and it's hood slammed shut. He then hurried back over to the computer, a frown crossing his face as he set to another task. This one he didn't have much time for. He needed that disk... The programs from his computer. He needed to be able to stop his own project if it got out of hand.

Laser fire ripped through the building again though this time there was the low whomp of an explosion. The desk rattled, and the computer flickered, threatening to cut off and leave him in the dark. He quickly glanced back towards the Trans-am a heavy sigh let out. The Trans-am was now fully online. It would take the main program and memory files a few hours to reboot yet, but the computer itself was online. From across the room he could see the slow strobe of the Trans-am's amber scanner chasing itself back and forth. It was taking in its surroundings. He knew that. It was confused.

"It's alright." He called out to it gently, quickly hurrying through the keystrokes he needed to complete. "You're safe. We're gonna get out of here you and me. We're gonna get out of here and we're gonna be fine."

He wasn't sure who he was reassuring. Himself or the Trans-am. Another blast of laser fire shot through the air, this time coming through the ceiling and hitting the wall to one side of his lab. This time the Trans-am seemed to jump, the vehicle setting back on its shocks and rolling back until its back bumper hit the wall.

"It's alright" He called again, hands now shaking as they flew across the keys. He needed that disk... He couldn't risk going out into the world without it...

Another low whomp sounded... Laser fire ripped through one of the upper rooms as the battle raged on. However, this time was the final blow... The support beam collapsed... His gaze snatched upward, attention flying to the collapsing rafters. He was out of time... Effectively out of time.

In retrospect he supposed he should have attempted to move. Gotten to the Trans-am where he would have been safe. Drove away as fast as he could... Retrospect couldn't have prepared him for this... He couldn't move. Could do nothing but watch as a steel beam came at him. Then all he knew was darkness.

Distantly through the whine of laser fire a car horn beeped as the Trans-am attempted to wake him. The high pitched whine of a turbine engine turning over touched the air as the Trans-am cranked its engine and pulled forward until its prow hoovered over the fallen body. David Burns would not be getting up again. No matter how much the Trans-am prodded at him.

After a moment the vehicle backed off, his systems beginning to come to the point that he could scan for vital signs. It could already see that David Burns was gone. Slowly it backed away as laser fire ripped across the walls from up above. There was no way out...

That realization brought on a deep seeded fear... There really was no way out. Another low whomp and flames engulfed one wall of the room. The Trans-am quickly backed up away from it. Though through the flames... Freedom... A hole had formed in the wall. It could see the outside world. Engine surged, tires shrieking against the concrete of the floor as it surged forward. The flames stung for a moment as the heat licked at its sides... Only a moment of the intense heat and it was out.

It froze just outside the building for a moment, the cool night air coupled with the steady pounding rain a shock to its sensors. The scene was something out of a science fiction novel... Up above three jets flew in steady circles, pelting the surrounding area with laser fire. From the sky three other jets had appeared but disappeared just as quickly, unfolding into robots? It seemed to defy quit a bit of logic but there they where...

On the ground the same events where unfolding but from a different perspective. Vehicles unfolded into robots, stories high... That was all the Trans-am could take. It surged forward again flooring it as it sped out into the parking lot. It narrowly missed clipping a sign and a light post as it swerved to avoid abandoned vehicles.

A flash of read appeared in its line of vision, its vocals letting out the first sound it had uttered. A soft cry of shock as a crimson Lamborgini surged out of the woods. The exotic car snatched to the right, seeming just as shocked to see the Trans-am as the Trans-am was to see it. The ebon sports car slid to a stop, engine humming. For a moment it forgot about the battle raging on around it as Trans-am and Lamborgini silently stared at each other as if trying to make out what to think of each other.

It was a particularly close explosion that rocked the both of them out of their thoughts. The Lamborghini slowly unfolded into another robot, a rifle drawn and fired back. While it was distracted the Trans-am revved its engine and drove off into the darkness, leaving behind a very confused Autobot...

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Autobot HQ Oregon

"Hey Prime!" Jazz's voice rang out above the general chatter of the command room, the black and white Porsche leaning back in his seat enough to be able to spot Prime on the other side of the room. Prime's attention instantly turned from his conversation with Prowl to level steady gaze on Jazz. The sports car nodded towards the screen in front of him.

"Phone for you... He's not taking no for an answer either. You got a minute?" Prime sighed heavily, the very gesture suggesting that he did indeed not have a minute. However he still nodded, starting across the room. "Who is it?"

"Some old British guy." It was Blaster who spoke up that time, earning a fowl look from the normally chipper Jazz. "What he said."

Prime shook his head at the both of them as Jazz silently vacated the seat in front of the main terminal. Prime took his place and flipped a few switches, the image of a distinguished, elderly human filling the screen and replacing the standard Autobot symbol screen saver.

"Mr. Optimus Prime I presume?" Questioned the human, pulling a nod from Prime, though he felt inclined to quietly correct at least part of that assumption. "Just Prime please. What can I do for you Mr..." His voice faded off at that, the human instantly picking up the hint and supplying a name.

"Devon Miles. Board Director of Knight Industries and the Foundation of Law and Government."

Prime nodded a bit, the name instantly ringing clear in his memory banks. "Ah yes... The labs that where hit by the Decepticons last night... First off Mr. Miles allow me to offer my deepest apologies that we could not save the majority of the building. The government is willing to-"

He was cut off by Devon himself, the elderly man giving a slow shake of his head. "I'm not calling to discuss casualties of war with you Prime. Though the losses are great the cost of what was in those buildings are of little concern to Knight Industries in the grand retrospect of things. We in fact have a much bigger problem with what happened."

Prime nodded slowly, now curious as he silently leaned back, a nod given to suggest the human should go on.

"We have accounted for all of our research and experiments. All have been logged and taken inventory of but for two very specific projects."

That caught Prime's attention... He slowly sat up, his features remaining blank though there was a deep set frown behind his battle mask.

"The first we honestly are not sure why it was taken. It was one of our failed vehicle experiments... You are aware of these vehicles am I correct?"

"Yes I believe so. Knight Industries is responsible for the success of the Knight Industries Two Thousand am I right?" Prime questioned slowly, not entirely sure where this was going. He had heard the name before. Kitt he believed they called it. Called him rather... He had even seen the car once at a science convention aired live via satellite. He believed Wheeljack had actually talked to one of the programmers at that show though he hadn't gotten the chance to talk to the car himself. An artificial intelligence system built into a car for law enforcement purposes... He had also seen brief clips of FLAG from the news. After the success of Kitt they had created a new team. Team Knight Rider after a tag line that was often used where Kitt and his driver Michael Knight where concerned. It was an interesting concept though in his opinion not entirely likely that the humans could create such a thing. Though still, the fact that they could craft together something that was so lifelike was interesting. Though he doubted any of them where sentient beings. Honestly in enough he was rather disinterested in the project.

"Yes that is correct Prime. Kitt was our first success. I can not even begin to explain how proud of him we are." Prime fought to hide his smile behind his battle mask, though it still reflected in his optics. He knew that tone of voice. Despite the fact he didn't believe the Knight Industries Two Thousand to be sentient the pride in the voice of the human was the same he heard every time Ratchet and Wheeljack spoke of the Dinobots. That soft parental awe that showed up every time they saw their creations doing something new. Advancing to new programing barriers.

"I've heard of Kitt once or twice on the news... Very impressive. Though tell me, what all this has to do with the attack last night."

Devon nodded slowly, his proud expression turning instantly grim. "Well as I'm sure you know, a success like Kitt can not be made over night. There where failures..." Well that didn't sound good...

"That is what was being kept in that lab. The first... I'm not sure why they took him. To our knowledge it was a burnt out shell. The Knight Reformulation One was the first in our Team Knight Rider project. A project that was suppose to better the driver, vehicle relationship by scanning the personality of the driver and using the gathered information in the basic programming and personality of the vehicle. Unfortunately the head of the program at that point was a little to eager to get the ball rolling as some would say. He pushed a driver that was incompatible through. Martin was clinically insane. A fact that Marlin ignored. That insanity reflected directly in the car. Five people where killed before Kro was brought under control again."

That actually startled him. Prime sat back in his seat, attempting to let that information sink in.

"Our researchers decided that it was best to be careful than allow Kro to escape the labs... Again... The current team has already had to deal with a mistake in deprogramming the vehicle once. Through a series of events that are not relevant the vehicle was locked in a block of steel. Though it was feared his CPU might still have survived. The material used for the CPU casing is very resistant. Even to heat. It had taken them months to uncover the layers of steel. They had almost completed that. Though there is no proof that the car is even still active."

Prime nodded slowly and silently gestured for him to go on. "You said two?"

"Indeed I did. A project we did not even know existed... We found a technician dead in the basement of the labs after the battle was over. By looking through his files we discovered he had been working on the Knight Automated Roving Robot... The prototype of Kitt. To be honest I have dealt with Karr personally. He is the one who worries me the greatest. Prime these vehicles a force to be dealt with. There was a reason they where all shut down and it is not because they where to cuddly..."

"Warning acknowledged Mr. Miles." Prime stated simply, silently reaching up to key the signal away. "You have my word that we will do everything in our power to-"

"Don't you cut me off young man. Michael's done it enough times to know exactly what you're up to." Devon suddenly stated. For the life of him he sounded like an old man scolding a child. He wasn't entirely sure if it was because he had just been called 'young man' by a human or if it was because he had been called on his intent to cut him off... But his hand dropped.

"Now... The board insists on sending an operative up there to assist. These vehicles are primarily our problem and we certainly do not want to see them in the hands of the Decepticons."

"Mr. Miles that is entirely unnecessary." Prime protested. The last thing he needed was the Knight Foundation operatives scattered about the Ark.

"Very well Prime. Have it your way. We can either assist you... Or proceed with a search of our own."

Prime had to fight back a cringe at that. He couldn't protect them if they where out on their own. "Very well..."

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Los Angeles California

The rain had slaked off... It was about time... After hours of driving it was certainly about time. Why in the hell it was raining so much in the middle of the dessert would be entirely lost on the Trans-am. It slowly crept down side streets of the busy city, its scanners wide open, so to speak. It was confused... It couldn't remember why it had come here... It was having a difficult time remembering where it had come from to begin with.

Knight Industries... That sounded right. It had come from there. No it had run away from there. But why?

The Trans-am would have frowned if it could as it pulled into a dark alley way. Not to far from it a drunk snored softly under a heap of blankets. The Trans-am slowly turned around in the tight space and backed into the relative safety hidden behind an old dumpster. The smell of fried chicken and grease that floated past its olfactory sensors told the Trans-am it was probably a KFC it happened to be parked behind.

It also recalled it had a name. Karr... That sounded right. It was also a he... Not an it. His name was Karr. That stood for something... He couldn't remember. Knight? Something... It didn't really matter. He seemed to recall that he had never been called what it stood for. It stood for something but Karr was his name.

The name David also floated past his mind. His CPU wrapped around the events that had brought him here but couldn't seem to make sense of the jumble... There had been a storm... Rain... Lightning... Fire? Giant Robots? He set back a bit on his shocks, a snort leaving his vocals. Right... His CPU must be more fried than he thought.

The rain had stopped entirely. The light mist that had been irritating him slowed to a stop and the skies slowly began to clear. At least something was going his way...

Several blocks away the streets where just as quiet as what surrounded the Trans-am. A lone figure quietly walked down the sidewalk, avoiding the sparse clusters of people that still milled about on the streets. This time of night those people where not the sort the figure particularly wanted to interact with.

The figure was decisively feminine, despite the bulky hoodie over blue jeans that where a couple sizes to big. Ebony hair hung, unkept, around her shoulders, eyes a dark brown. Features where pale and gaunt, just a bit to thin, hollowed features suggesting lack of a good meal in quite some time. Frown crossed her delicate features beneath the shadows of the hood she wore as she silently crossed the street to a small convenience store...

The door opened with the happy little ding of a bell that was tapped when the corner of the door passed over it, signaling her arrival into the store. Great... The clerk instantly glanced up from the newspaper he had been reading and nodded in her direction. She offered a smile and nodded back, a hard swallow given as she silently edged towards the back of the store. The elderly man behind the counter ignored her.

This wasn't exactly the way she had planned for her life to go. Not in the least. She was suppose to be famous by now... At this rate the only fame she would be getting was the fame of the wanted posters. She sighed heavily and stepped behind a rack, quietly grabbing as many of the contents as she could. Mostly dixie snacks... Twinkies and Moon Pies... Wonderful... She then grabbed a bottle of water from one of the coolers and shot her gaze up to the clerk again. He was still reading the newspaper. So far so good...

She gave a hard swallow, then held her breath as she moved towards the front. When he still didn't look up, she bolted. She ignored the chipper little ding as the blast of cold night air hit her as she took off across the parking lot. Behind her she could hear the clerk yell, both surprised and enraged as he rounded the counter. By the time he had wrenched the door open she was across the parking lot.

Unfortunately she probably should have checked the surrounding area... She had barely made it out of the lot when a siren pierced the night air. A quick glance over her shoulder told her what she already knew. Spinning blue lights, spun atop an older Crown Victoria. An older patrol car but still a patrol car. She cursed softly under her breath and put on a new burst of speed as she darted across the road. A loud horn suggested she had cut off a vehicle but she didn't care. As soon as her feet touched the sidewalk she was off like a shot again. The sound of the siren didn't fade, suggesting it was following her... Just great.

She cut down an alley way, dodging trash cans and the occasional person, sleeping curled up between the buildings. She bolted through on the other side, an entirely new street laid out before her. Unfortunately it also had the same problem as the patrol car sped around the corner, familiar enough with the area to know where that alley came out. She cursed softly and bolted again, taking another side street. She already knew that wouldn't hold him off but it led her out, ahead of the car that was doggedly following her. She pumped her legs as fast at they would go as she bolted down a street that was increasingly unfamiliar... This wasn't an area she was familiar with. She wasn't even entirely sure where she was. Unfortunately the officer chasing her seemed to know exactly where he was.

He was catching up again. She cursed again and ducked down another alley... And was surprised when the officer stopped as well, his car pulling up along side the decaying brick buildings, blocking the way she had come. The opening and closing of a car door told her he had left his car to chase her on foot... Considering his previous strategy that was surprising... Or rather it was until she hit a wall... Or a fence... Almost literally... She skidded to a stop with a frustrated cry at the sight of the tall chain link fence separating her from her freedom.

"Hey there now we don't need to do this..." She hated that... The police in this area spoke that way. Especially once they spotted that she was a minor. Firm once they got ahold of you, but until then they acted like they where your buddy.

"You're already in trouble, lets not add resisting arrest to it." He didn't even sound winded... Oh course he had spent most of the chase in his car. She was struggling to catch a breath as she backed up, attempting to decide if it was worth it to try to scale the fence. She backed up until the back of her legs touched something hard and metal. Low to the ground... A quick glance confirmed what she had thought. Someone had parked their car back here. Strange place to park it, though the alley was wide enough.

Didn't really matter. Wasn't her concern. The dim lighting hid the features of the cop infront of her but she could already tell he was young. Hesitant to. He wasn't sure if she was armed... The brief thought that she might be able to use that crossed her mind but was chased away quickly. Yeah that's what she needed. He definitely was armed and she didn't need to be shot because he thought she was. She slowly backed up further, ducking around behind the old sports car, to squeeze between it and the wall, quickly ducking down to huddle against the fence. She wasn't really thinking anymore through her panic. If she could stay away from him just a bit longer...

The sudden roar of an engine cranking cut through her mind as she lifted her head. The car had moved. Had the driver come into the alley? She slowly crawled back behind the dumpster, quietly praying the car would distract the officer for a few moments. Indeed it seemed to... From her vantage point she could see the officer take a few steps back. His hand snatched to the side, and for a moment she held her breath, for a terrified moment, afraid she was about to get caught in a cross fire. However, after a moment her fear proved unfounded as a beam of light lit up the alley. A flashlight. The beam snatched towards the car, shining through the windshield. Whatever was in there surprisingly caused a look of shock to flicker across the officer's face. He jumped back as the car surged forward a few feet, engine giving a threatening rev.

"Hey there ya'll keep it down! Some of us are tryin' to sleep!" The call from the huddled drunk behind the trash can would have almost been amusing if not for the situation.

The officer yelled something at the car, but she couldn't make it out over the engine. The flashlight beam kept on the area of the windshield, but the officer didn't seem to like whatever it was that he saw. The car revved its engine again and abruptly surged forward. This time the officer did go for his gun.

She let out a soft squeak and buried her head in her arms as the loud explosion of gunfire ripped through the air around her. A loud ping sounded as the bullets ricocheted off the car, burying themselves into the brick of the walls around them. That shouldn't happen... The officer seemed to know that to. His face paled in the dim light and he abruptly turned as the car surged forward again. He fled back to his car, the Trans-am giving chase. She could just make out a car door slamming and the sound of a patrol car taking off, before the loud bang of metal on metal told her the Trans-am had impacted with the patrol car.

She also noted that the drunk had enough. She spotted him jumping into the dumpster and out of the line of fire.

Though it didn't seem to be enough to stop the patrol car as she heard it speed off into the night. A few minutes later, a high pitched whine came closer, powerful turbine engines approaching. She chanced a glance up from her hiding place. Light filled the alley from the Trans-am's headlights, an eery amber glow tracking back and forth from an odd light on the car's prow...

That was it... She bolted from her hiding place, quickly taking ahold of the chain link fence. She sure as hell wasn't sticking around here if the madman behind the wheel had even scared a cop away. Even the sight of barbed wire at the top wasn't enough to detour her. She quickly scaled the fencing, only chancing a look down once she was at the top. Noone had gotten out of the car. It was parked beneath her and almost seemed to be staring at her. As if her actions where puzzling. Strange... But she wasn't about to climb down and ask the mad man why he wasn't chasing her. She carefully slipped over the barbed wire and jumped the rest of the way down. There was a soft rattle that told her she had just lost most of the food that had gotten her into this mess in the first place, the convenience store cakes and cookies slipping from her pockets. Now wasn't the time to worry on that...

A loud yelp left her as her foot twisted beneath her, the sharp pain telling her she had probably just twisted the hell out of it... But she wasn't sticking around to ask the madman to stop chasing her so she could see about her ankle either. She bolted. The pain leapt up across her ankle and up her calf with every step but she forced herself to keep running despite the pain. A loud screech of metal on metal touched her ears, along with the loud revving of an engine. Had he just? A quick glance back confirmed it and had her running faster. The car had just driven through the fence.

As she burst out of the alley, she found herself in vastly unfamiliar territory as the reason for the fence became clear. The city abruptly stopped into a construction zone. Towering, half finished structures rose up above her to suggest what they where building was probably yet another office building or a hotel. She didn't have time to think on it. This was her first lucky break. The madman couldn't take that fancy car into some of the small spaces that a construction sight was capable of and there where plenty of places to hide!

Unfortunately the driver seemed to know that. The Trans-am surged ahead of her, abruptly turning so that she almost ran right into the car's side. She instantly changed direction and took off, fleeing in the other direction. The Trans-am was right behind her. Unfortunately within' a second it was right in front of her. She once again changed directions, moving away from the car. It took her only a moment to figure out how futile this was. It also took her only a moment to figure out he had herded her... She skidded to a stop, near an unfinished brick wall.. Why where these things everywhere in construction sites?

She spun around, her back against the wall and huddled close to the ground as the car came screaming at her. She screamed and buried her face in her arms, trembling as she waited for the impact.

It never came...

Cautiously she slowly lifted her head, a deep gasp of shock let out. Inches from her face she stared into the amber light that slowly trekked its way back and forth. Her gaze slowly lifted, the gleaming black metal, giving way to the dark interior past the windshield.

"Why was that human chasing you?" The deep voice sent a shock up her spine, and was released in the form of a helpless squeak. Decisively male. Firm. Though strangely lacking in emotion and the separate ranges that most humans could find.

"Answer me." She found herself entirely unwilling to disobey that firm voice that seemed disembodied as it sounded from the car. Must have been some kind of speaker system... Cops had them but not that good...

"I-I was caught shoplifting... T-the cop was in the area." She stuttered, eyes wide as she stared in the direction of the windshield. "I'm sorry!" She quickly added as she pressed back against the wall. "I'll never do it again!"

"Shoplifting?" The voice said the word as if he had never heard it before. "The theft of an object from a store?"

"It was food!" She insisted pressing back as the vehicle edged forward. So close that the metal prow brushed the material of her shirt. "I didn't have a choice! Please..." She pleaded, closing her eyes against that amber light. "I was hungry and I made a bad choice. I'll never do it again if you let me go." She cried, the sting of tears forming in her eyes through terror alone. This madman could kill her just by tapping on the gas of his car and no one would be the wiser. There was no help for her out here. The only person that could have possibly helped her had been that cop and he had left her!

The voice was quiet for a long moment. He almost seemed to be considering that. "Survival is important..." It stated after a long moment. To her surprise the vehicle slowly backed away. She let out a breath of relief as the heat from engine faded once the prow had backed off of her.

"Survival is important to us both." The voice stated firmly.

"Yes I guess it would be." She rasped out softly as she quickly got to her feet. Her eyes darted around the construction sight looking for a way out. There was none that she could make it to easily...

"Then I will help you. You will in turn help me." The voice stated simply and the passenger side door, popped open with a soft click and a hiss. "You will enter the vehicle."

"Bunk that!" She stated and bolted, running past the car as fast as she could. She could hear the hiss of tires on dirt, the powerful engine surging as the car quickly surpassed her and spun around so that it blocked her path.

"We have already determined that you can not out run me. Why do you persist?"

She didn't think that worthy of an answer. She changed direction again and took off. The car once more surged ahead, this time coming in so close she couldn't stop in time. She let out a soft 'oof' as she hit the side of the car and fell to the ground, hacking and desperately trying to pull in the air that had been driven from her lungs.

"This is futile. We have a perfectly profitable relationship for the both of us. I need you to survive, and in turn I can help you to survive. Why do you run?"

"Because you're a psycho!" She yelled at the car, through coughs. She slowly stood up, and turned to attempt to bolt again, but the car was already moving. Before she had so much as taken a step it began circling.

"I am in no way psychopathic." The voice stated flatly. "However your mental state is questionable. Would you rather have spent the night in jail?"

She kept backing away as the car circled but it was keeping up with her easily. After a few minutes it stopped.

"Running is futile. Note only are you tiring, but you are slowing down. Your foot is injured. Enter the vehicle. We may continue this discussion out of the cold air. Your body can not take it."

She paused for a moment, as she considered that. She was freezing... Her hoodie was nothing compared to the cold night. He was also right about her foot. She had managed to ignore it through fear, but now that he had reminded her about her injury she could feel the sharp pain shooting its way up her leg. She swallowed hard and cast a glance around. There was nowhere to go here. She sighed heavily as the car clicked its door open again. This time she silently slid into the seat and shot a look at the driver.

Or lack there of...

She blinked and quickly glanced to the back seat. The car was small. It was a very fast search to confirm her first impression and let her mind fully grasp what had terrified the cop into fleeing.

No driver...

The last thing she remembered was the sound of her own scream blending with the sound of a revving engine as she gave into the terror and fainted.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Autobot HQ Oregon

The drive had been a long one... To make it worse, the storm that had been trailing its way over the west coast of California had changed direction and seemed to follow them up the coast and right into Oregon. The steady rain had kept the ebony Trans-am company for most of the trip, his driver opting to get some sleep while he could rather than watch the rain hit the windshield through the night.

Kitt didn't mind that. As a human his driver needed sleep to function. Though it had made the drive a lonely one.

Lost to his own thoughts, his mind had wandered down paths better left alone. Though it ended now... With the morning light, the rain had finely decided to disburse, leaving behind a somewhat humid heat of the midmorning desert. In the late afternoon the heat of course would burn away the humidity...

The desert itself had come to life. Fields, upon fields of wild flowers scattered the normally barren landscape, bringing creatures of all shapes and sizes out to enjoy the early morning bounty that the rain had already brought.

Unfortunately it also made for a devil of a trip when Kitt abruptly had to leave the paved road. It was absolutely amazing to Kitt that the road hadn't been paved yet... From what he could tell, from news reports, despite the fact that the government tried so hard to keep it all under wraps, the Decepticons made that difficult. The frequent attacks forced the Autobots to come out of hiding and deal with the threat, constantly. He would think they would have enough traffic to promote a paved road...

Though it was possible that few people actually knew the exact location of the Autobot base...

Several government signs attempted to detour his trip, warning of a zone off limits to civilians. If he had been a civilian he might actually have been worried.

"Michael wake up." He prompted, his voice instantly rousing his driver from sleep.

"We're approaching the Autobot base." He reported, that information gaining a nod from his driver. This early in the morning Michael was never all that talkative. He silently scrubbed at his face with his hands and stretched as far as he could in the confines of the vehicle. Despite how he looked he was now wide awake.

Ahead of them, a firmly closed gate prompted Kitt to pull to a stop. The chainlink fence that sprouted off of the gate, topped with razor wire he was sure detoured any curious reporters... He also imagined the warnings of the fence containing an electric charge also kept the Autobots within' fairly confident in their privacy. At Kitt's driver side door, a thin pedestal like thing slowly rose from a compartment hidden under the sand, a small green light glowing from the top. Kitt watched it wearily, gears silently changing to reverse as he prepared to get out of there fast. He knew they hadn't been happy about them showing up but this was ridiculous... A beam of light abruptly shot from the pedestal causing Kitt to flinch back, though rather than pain all that touched his sensors was the familiar tickle of being scanned. The beam slowly traced its way over him, probably giving the Autobots a good idea of what was at the gate. After a moment, that light seemed to expand before it went out, the top of the pedestal unfolding into a small monitor like contraption.

A face filled the small screen, the metallic features causing Michael to tense a bit, his grip tightening on the steering wheel.

"This is security officer Red Alert. You are entering a government restricted area." He informed them simply.

Michael sighed and silently rolled the window down. "I'm well aware of that. My name is Michael Knight. I'm the Knight Industries operative." Michael reported, silently reaching into his jacket pocket and producing his I.D. He held it up to the screen not entirely sure if that would do any good or not.

Apparently it did. The metallic face turned to the side, speaking softly to someone off screen. The absolute silence suggested that he had turned the mic off before he did so... After a moment he turned back to the screen and nodded.

"Proceed Mr. Knight." He stated simply, the gates hissing and screeching as powerful hydraulics pulled them apart. The pedestal instantly dropped back to hide under ground as the gates opened entirely.

"Well lets go buddy." Michael muttered, met only with silence as Kitt pulled forward through the gates. Behind him he could hear the hydraulics, once more closing the gates.

If that caused Michael any alarm he didn't show it, his full attention on the winding road infront of them, even though Kitt was the one doing the driving. The rain the night before had turned the dirt road into a proverbial soup...

Kitt's tires slung mud up along his side panels causing the Trans-am to let out a long, suffering groan. His first time meeting an alien race and he was about to do it caked with mud. Great first impression there.

Though that was proving to be the least of his worries as his rear end fish tailed dangerously back and forth, pulling him way to close to the ditch along the side of the road. He managed to straighten out, though it was proving more and more difficult to navigate the death trap the Autobots called a road. Though he supposed it was much different for a race who could transform and walk if the mud became to much.

Kitt didn't have that option... His only option was to push on as far as he could. Which unfortunately wasn't far. His spinning tires did little good as their movement forward, slowed considerably, until his tires only spun uselessly in the mud. He couldn't gain traction.

"Michael... I'm stuck." Kitt announced, prompting a chuckle from Michael.

"I noticed. No chance of you getting out of here?"

"Not without a tow... And I'm not about to use turbo boost after the gate... I can't scan this place and they probably have a missel locked on me right now." Kitt stated flatly, not sounding all that happy about their situation.

"Alright. I'll walk and see if I can get someone to come get you out of here..." His voice faded off as a figure appeared in the distance.

The rocky, jarring motion of it coming down through the woods suggested it was actually a vehicle. Well wasn't that just a wild streak of luck in the right direction?

As it came closer, Michael could slowly make out more about it. It looked to be an army Jeep. The thing was slugging it out with mama nature as it came up the impossible stretch of road, sinking in mud up to its fenders. When it came within' a few feet it stopped, the vehicle suddenly contorting and folding, reforming itself until it stood towering above them.

Michael let out the breath he had been holding and silently reached over, opening the door and stepping out into mud that he sank in to his ankles. "Hello there." The once Jeep greeted cheerfully, a disarming smile offered. Michael couldn't help but take a step back before nodding his own greeting. He had seen one transform once on the news... However, the news and having a giant robot standing there, staring you in the face was vastly different.

"I'm Hound. We figured with all the rain you might need a bit of help navigating. No sports car ever tries to tempt fate with this road after a rain." With that Hound outstretched a single hand, in a well known earthen greeting of a handshake.

"Good to meet you Hound. I'm Michael Knight." He offered, slowly reaching out his own hand. He noted with half amusement, half nervousness that his hand didn't even cover Hound's fingertips. Despite that, Hound's massive hand that could have easily picked Michael himself up, gingerly closed around the much smaller one, and did indeed gently shake his hand before pulling back.

Kitt gave a shudder, quietly noting the surreal experience. Hound turned his gaze towards Kitt, a bright smile offered. "This must be Kitt."

Michael smiled as he fell back on familiar territory and nodded, sweeping a hand towards the Trans-am. "That he is. This is my partner the Knight Industries Two Thousand. We call him Kitt."

"Pleased to meet you." Kitt said quietly, gaining another smile from Hound. The Jeep seemed surprised. Apparently they hadn't expected the earthen vehicle to be able to speak as he did.

However, he seemed to shake off the surprise quickly enough. He moved to kneel in front of Kitt, another disarming smile given. "Need some help there?"

Kitt let out a huff, oddly put off at the thought. The fact that he did in fact need help was currently lost on the Trans-am as he briefly attempted to back out of the pot hole, that he could have handled if the road wasn't so slick. "Actually... I'll be able to get myself out of this mess, if I can be assured that I will not be considered a threat for the use of turbo boost." Kitt responded, another huff let out as he slid right back into the dip in the road.

The Autobot was friendly... It would be easier to be irritated with the situation if he wasn't. He decided that right away. So much easier...

They had been instructed by Devon that above all else they where to be polite and cooperative with the Autobots. To put their best foot or tire forward... To humor them. Though at this point Kitt realized Hound probably had the exact same orders...

Hound seemed to think on that for a long moment, then gave a nod. "Go ahead. Can't see where it would do any harm." He offered, stepping back out of the way.

Kitt revved his engine once in thanks, then went through the well known commands to prompt turbo boost...

In retrospect... It may not have been such a good idea to ignite high compression cannons meant to lift him off the ground while they where submerged in mud...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sun was just breaking its way over the mountains as the inky blue sky spread into the clear pastel of dawn. Optimus Prime silently watched the wild array of color that spread out across the sky with some amount of respect and awe. These where colors that would have never been possible for a Cybertron sky. As much as he missed his home, there where certainly perks to living on an organic world.

At his side Prowl stood in silence, his blank expression refusing to give away if he thought the same or if he was simply ready to go home. At his other side stood Jazz, the saboteur quietly tapping his foot as he hummed some song or another to himself.

"It's taking them a while."

Prime snatched his attention to his second in command, a slow nod given in response. "Yes it is..."

They had gotten the call that the Knight Operative had arrived not long ago from Red Alert. It had been Jazz that suggested sending someone out to meet them, after getting his first look at the little car that had pulled up at the gate. Jazz himself had to transform and walk to the ark when the road was as bad as it was. There was no way that Trans-am was going to make it.

Though that had been nearly twenty minutes ago... They should have been back by now with Hound's help...

"Primus..."

Prime's attention once again turned to the road, to where Prowl's attention had suddenly caught. At his other side even Jazz had stopped his humming and stared. Hound was coming up the road in vehicle form. By his somewhat jerky motions they could tell he was pulling something. Not far away from him a human was walking. Looking rather disgruntled judging by his posture. Behind Hound a Trans-am was being pulled by a chord that attached the Trans-am to Hound's back bumper.

That wasn't what caught their attention.

All three of them had every square inch absolutely covered in a thick layer of mud.

The only one that seemed to be taking it in stride was Hound, his soft laughter at the situation reaching them as he drew closer. Once he had pulled up a few feet from the waiting commander and officers he stopped and backed up a few inches. The chord turned out to be a grappling hook. Once it was released it quickly snaked back beneath Kitt where it had been, the disgruntled Trans-am letting his engine briefly rev as Hound transformed and stepped back.

Prime was the one to first get over the shock of the rather... Ragged looking group. "Greetings. I am Optimus Prime. Leader of the Autobots." He said with a diplomatic bow of his head, which the human returned.

"I'm Michael Knight the Knight Industries operative." Michael stated simply and gestured a hand back to the car... That had once been black... Now a rich mud... "This is the Knight Industries Two Thousand. We call him Kitt."

"A pleasure to meet you." Kitt stated flatly, sounding more than a little displeased with the fact he was covered from fender to fender in grime. "Though that pleasure to meet you could have certainly done without the mud."

Michael rolled his eyes and shot a quiet glare back at his car. "And who's idea was it to try and turbo boost out of there?" He pointed out. That shut the car up, the both of them looking more than a little frazzled.

Jazz couldn't hold back his snicker, the saboteur shaking in his mirth beside Prime.

"I apologize for the state of the road Mr. Knight." Prime offered quietly, though he fought to hold back a laugh of his own. "We're in the process of acquiring funding to pave it." Though if it was going to cause more shows like this, that funding may be a LONG time coming.

"Mr. Knight if you will follow Jazz he will take you to an area where you can clean up if you wish. I imagine that's not all that comfortable." Prime offered, gaining a grateful nod from Michael. He silently reached into Kitt's backseat, mindful of the interior as he took a hold of an over night bag. So long as he could change somewhere...

As for Kitt... "Buddy ya look like the bad end of a demolition derby."

"Funny..." Kitt muttered, his voice suggesting his sense of humor at the moment was somewhere around arctic...

Prime's gaze swept around to Kitt, pulling a brief flinch from the Trans-am. "Likewise Kitt... If you will follow Hound..." The Autobot leader sounded as if he wasn't entirely sure where he stood with the Trans-am. It came as somewhat of a shock to realize that Prime's behavior was directly parallel to the behavior of many humans upon first meeting him. That hesitant uncertainty and the wish not to be foolish and speak to a machine. Like any human, Kitt imagined hearing the emotional pitches of his voice came as somewhat of a shock. That... Stung a bit... He couldn't exactly explain it but it did. Not that these people where his own kind but he had hoped another machine would at least see scanner to scanner with him.

Thankfully he was cast off from any further thoughts as Hound suddenly started off, gesturing for Kitt to follow. The Jeep didn't return to his vehicle form, leaving Kitt to tag along behind him, the Trans-am shifting into drive and easily covering the distance of Hound's massive strides.

Prime silently watched the pair leave, his faceplate hiding a deeply set frown. He supposed that could have gone better. He had no idea how to take the sports car... He had read about the car. Even heard him speak once. He had never expected the thing to sound so alive...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Los Angelus California

The fact that a beam of light was shining across her face was possibly the first thing that seeming to register in her mind. A very annoying beam of light...

She let out a soft groan of protest, scrunching her eyes shut as she twisted around to face the other way. That brought along the second thing that she became aware of. She wasn't laying down. She was in fact, seated. In what felt like a car seat, though she could tell they where not moving. Despite the fact that it was a car seat she was still hesitant to rouse from her dream like state to quickly.

The soft leather was surprisingly comfortable. The seat was laying back in a reclining position, that seemed to simply shift and fit her no matter what way she turned. No matter how she twisted she was still comfortable. An amazing little fact that she logged to memory.

Now that the annoying beam of light was gone she chanced to open one eye and take a glance around. She was indeed inside of a car, reclined in the passenger seat. The car itself seemed to have been parked in an office parking garage, the offending beam of light coming from the outside. That however set her mind into asking the next very logical question.

"Where am I?" She wasn't aware she had even spoken out loud until a low familiar voice sounded from seemingly everywhere. "Do you have no memory of last night?"

The disembodied voice was enough to force every second of the night before back into her brain at light speed. She instantly sat up, a scream let out that echoed through the car like a gunshot.

"Stop that." The response was so flat and firm she actually responded, staring wide eyed at the dash board. There was a monitor mounted in the center that had lit up when the voice spoke, amber lights that matched the one she remembered as being on the prow, jumping in response to that flat emotionless voice. That, she decided, was his face. Rather it was what she would direct her attention to when speaking for the moment.

"Who are you?" She demanded, her body pressing back against the seat as if she could possibly sink right through it and out from under the watchful gaze of a sports car.

"I am called Karr." It stated simply. No not it... He... The car had a distinctly male voice. So it was a he.

A hand shot out and tried to door handle beside her. To her surprise it opened with an agreeable click. A surprise to say the least. She had expected to be locked in after what had happened the night before.

She didn't waist any time to think about it... As soon as her feet hit the pavement she bolted, footfall pelting against the asphalt floor of the garage. She reached the elevator within' seconds, a hand insistently hitting the button to call it to their floor. Only when the doors cheerfully slid open and that horrible elevator music floated out did she chance a glance back. The car was sitting where she had left it, scanner chasing back and forth as it watched her go. Why wasn't it chasing her?

She frowned as she stood in the doorway of th elevator, ignoring the insistent ding, that she let it go on its way, instead holding the doors open. Still the car seemed to stare at her. Throat briefly constricted in a hard swallow, stepping away from the safety that the elevator provided as she let it go. The doors slid closed again, her safe haven leaving her as she curiously stared at the vehicle that had taken her hostage.

"Hello?" She called out as she carefully stepped off the curb, her slow steps taking her back into the direction she had come. The car remained silent. The thought of a talking car was in fact enough to try and convince her that she had imagined the entire thing... However, her firm grasp on the situation and denial that she was not in fact losing her mind just would not allow it.

This went entirely against her better judgement... She should have turned tail and headed back to the elevator. She should have possibly even gone for the stairs... Get out of there. Get to a security guard, or find a cop even though it meant she would be spending a night in jail... The crackle of the food she had lifted from the store the night before, in her pockets was the absolute last thing on her mind... Hell for all that she had dropped most of it when going over the fence.

Still... She had to know... Her footsteps slowly took her closer to the car. The lights from the garage gleamed off of its ebon hide, throwing across brilliant patterns highlighted by the sun streaming in behind it. It was a nice looking car... He was a nice looking car... Her mind refused to grasp around that. The car may have a male voice but he was still an it in her mind.

"Hello?" She called again, her steps taking her steadily closer until she was only a few feet from the vehicle. It didn't really surprise her when the passenger side door quietly clicked open and swung wide. As if it knew she would be curious enough to return...

"Forget that." She stated flatly, staring at the door as if it just might bite her. "I want questions answered."

Again the door waved at her, almost impatiently. It slowly dawned on her that standing in the middle of a garage, speaking to a car wasn't exactly looked upon as sane behavior... The car refused to speak again until she got in. The occasional occupant of the garage, traveling back and forth to the connected office building was enough to at least cause one or two strange looks shot their way. It made sense that the car wanted to avoid the attention she supposed...

She slowly moved closer until the material of her jeans brushed against the metallic surface of the car, squinting as she attempted to see through the windshield. She had been inside the car. She knew there was no one in there but her mind would not grasp around that possibility. There had to be someone in there. The door gave another impatient wave and she stepped around towards it, a firm grasp taken on the door as she ducked her head and peered inside. Just as before there was no one there.

"Hello?"

"Get in the vehicle." That same voice... "We will finish this discussion."

"I look like I was born yesterday?" She shot back, eyes narrowing as she stared into the empty car.

"That question is irrelevant. However, you do not look as if you where born yesterday. You appear to be roughly sixteen years of age." The voice stated flatly, seeming a bit irritated.

She blinked for a moment, looking as if she wasn't sure she had heard right. "No... That's a saying... Ya know like... Do I look stupid to you?"

"How does one look stupid?" This time the question was honestly bewildered. It caused her to force back a smile, a slow shake of her head given.

"Never mind... Just... Why would I want to get into the vehicle?" She questioned plainly, hoping to get a straight forward answer this time.

"Because I can help you. You needed a safe place to spend the night. I saved you from the human that was chasing you. I also need your help." It explained, as if that was perfectly clear.

She frowned and slowly sat down in the passenger seat, though kept her feet firmly planted on the ground outside the car. "Right... So I help you, you help me that's the deal? What could you possibly do for me?"

"More than you think. Think of me as the genie in the magic lamp."

She let out a soft snort, that turned into some form of laughter, grin crossing her features. "You know I read a story once. I think it was Edgar Allen Poe... There was a monkey's paw in it. You made three wishes on it. The thing was every time they made a wish something horrible would happen to make it come true."

That caught Karr of guard. He was silent for a long moment as if thinking that over. He was rather impressed... The humans he had come in contact with before had always been so simple to sway and manipulate. He rather liked the challenge of this one.

"True. Perhaps it is simply an act of making the wishes more specific of how they want them to come true."

She seemed to think on that and nodded slowly. "Maybe..." She slowly pulled her feet inside, allowing the door to shut as she chanced a glance around the interior. The word K.A.R.R. was printed on the paneling just below one of the monitors. He had said that name before hadn't he? "You said your name was Karr right?" She questioned softly, her gaze darting to what she had deemed as his 'face' once more, watching as the lights lit up in time with his voice.

"That is correct."

"I'm Elizabeth." She said quietly, as she leaned back in the seat. "People call me Eli though."

"It is pleasure to make your acquaintance Eli."

That pulled a giggle from Eli, smile crossing her thin features. "No its 'It's a pleasure to meet you.' or 'Pleased to make your acquaintance.' You can't blend the two."

Karr had no further comment to that, leaving Eli to cast another curious glance around the vehicle. She shouldn't have been accepting this so rapidly... She was in a talking car... A talking car that had kidnapped her the night before. A talking car that she was now trapped inside of...

That reminded her of something... "Where you gonna let me go? Ya know when I got out a little while ago?"

"You are no use to me if you are entirely uncooperative. I did what I did last night because you where panicking."

"I was not!"

"Eli..." Eli flinched at the firm tone, despite the flat emotionless voice she had to note that it sounded like her father when trying to reason with her. "Your pulse rate and blood pressure skyrocketed. You could not listen to reason in that state."

She didn't really have anything to say for that. He was right... As much as she liked to think that wasn't the case. As much as she liked to think she was tougher than that, he was very right.

"Alright fine... But if you where chased down by a car, you would have been scared to."

"That... Is another matter entirely." He stated flatly.

Oh yeah... He was a car...

"Right..." She muttered and sighed, leaning back in the seat. After a moment of silence a soft rumble sounded its way through the car. She blinked, for a moment looking around for the source, until the sound let out again, this time accompanied by a familiar pinch in her abdomen. Oh yeah... The reason she had been running in the first place. She was hungry. She rolled her eyes and shoved a hand into the pocket of her hoodie, hoping at least something had survived.

It had in fact... A very squished Twinkie and a Moon Pie was produced. "Breakfast of champions." She muttered softly, opening the plastic of the squished Twinkie.

"That product contains much more concentrated sugar than is considered a healthy amount."

"Thanks Mom I'll remember that." Eli muttered, not really concerned as she tried to eat around the squished substance. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. Do you think I would have pulled what I did last night if I had any other choice?"

That seemed to shut him up at least. A heavy silence fell over them both as Eli silently finished her Twinkie and stowed the Moon Pie away for later.

"So where do you come from anyway? I don't think Pontiac has quite gotten down putting an actual brain in a car."

"You are very correct Eli. I am the prototype for the car of the future."

"So what you're like... The first or somethin'?"

"That is correct. There are others that came after me, but they are only copies of the original design."

"You got any family then?" Eli questioned, her fear of the situation entirely dissolving into keen curiosity.

"Not as you would call it... My memory is yet unclear of those events of my life. However, I seem to remember my creator being a man named Wilton Knight."

"So he's like your Pop." Eli concluded. Karr could only agree. To her standards as to what she would understand that was exactly his relationship with Wilton Knight. His memory banks had yet to entirely grasp around those events... However he could feel a strong sense of betrayal when thoughts drifted to Wilton... He could only trust those instincts.

"What of you and your own creators?"

Eli made a face at him, confusion clouding her features. "What you mean like my parents? I don know their still back home in North Carolina I guess."

That came as a shock. Even to Karr's systems. A minor had crossed the country? "Are they not worried for you?"

Again Eli made a face, as she leaned back, a non committing shrug given. "I don't know... Maybe. I don't care." She stated flatly, the glare she shot the monitors enough for Karr to drop that line of questioning.

The silence drew out for several long moments before Eli thumped her head back against the seat. "So what now? I mean, how am I suppose to help you? Do you need food or something?" She questioned, frown crossing her features. Stealing gas was a bit more high profile than steeling a Moon Pie from a seven eleven.

"I do require fuel and will require it soon... However I believe we first need funding."

There was the catch. "And how do you propose we get that all seeing one?"

"Leave that to me. It is time we moved on." With that the sound of a powerful engine turning over, cut through the air as the Trans-am moved out of its parking spot and pulled around to exit the garage.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Decepticon HQ Pacific Ocean

Light was just starting to spread out across the ocean when the otherwise calm water was broken into sharp waves, a massive metallic structure bursting through the serf. Foam clung to the sides as gravity sucked the water back down into the ocean, a powerful undercurrent forming around it, pulling in a hard undertow.

In the predawn light, three jets slowly circled as the top of the structure unfolded and flattened out, the rounded top becoming flat as it unfolded into an area roughly the size of a football field. Rather than land the jets banked together, a massive block of steel held between them, suspended by chains.

In mid air, the three jets seemed to fold and contort in on themselves, twisting unnaturally until robot flew, where jets had moments before. From there they slowly lowered the block down, the massive object hitting the deck with a dull thump.

"Excellent." The somewhat hissed voice sounded from a much taller figure, silver armor throwing of a wild array of light in the morning mist. "For once you have succeeded in what was ordered. I'm impressed."

The underhanded compliment was caught immediately, though at least two of the three chose to ignore it. However one, simply couldn't...

"Of course mighty Megatron. We have succeeded in what you yourself where afraid to do." Starscream commented with a sneer. Behind him Skywarp and Thundercracker rolled their optics heavenward.

Wait for it... Thundercracker sent to Skywarp along their private radio link. His response was justified. A resounding clang rang out across the deck, followed by Starscream hitting the deck and a soft, restrained snicker from one of the other gathered Decepticons. Probably Rumble or Frenzy.

You called it. Just couldn't leave it alone could he? Skywarp sent back, amusement touching the edges of his voice. If there was any further argument Megatron cut it off before it began. Their leader stalked over to the massive block and stared at it for a long moment, thoughtful expression crossing his features.

"Megatron why did we pick up an old hunk of steel anyway?" This time the question from Skywarp. Oddly enough from him the question was taken more easily. It was with the taste of possible treason that caused questions not to sit well. The Decepticon leader nodded slowly towards it. "Did you happen to pick up anything from it?"

"A very weak signal trace. That's it."

"Very well. Everything will be explained in due time... Constructicons!" The Constructicons stepped forward, and silently lifted the steel hunk that the seekers had so unceremoniously dumped on the landing deck, the object loaded up and taken away before another word could be said. They had their instructions...

That done Megatron turned and leveled his gaze on Starscream, smirk crossing his face plates. "Where is the other one?"

The look that crossed Starscream's face was an odd jumble of confusion and panic. "Other one?"

"Yes the other project. There where two separate energy signatures. Where is the other one?"

Skywarp and Thundercracker quickly turned and husseled out of there. That wasn't going to be pretty... Though it would lead to a massive 'I told ya so' later from Skywarp.

Told you I was picking up something else. Was all that was sent on the matter, via a private radio signal from Skywarp to Starscream.

To Be Continued...