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...

6. Praying for Daylight

Horrific was a funny word... The humans used it. He strongly felt they had just made it up. To describe something that was so horrible... So absolutely terrible that it was actually rather... Amazing. A mix of something that would bring awe and wonder but at the same time be the worst thing that could have happened. Before now he never knew what that word really meant... How could something inspire awe and at the same time be horrible.

He knew it would be a horrible scene... He had known that the very second he had stepped off of Skyone. Knew what to expect. He had known what to expect yet when he had seen it for the first time... Lay a visual on the destruction and helplessness that those trying to dig out their comrades felt... He now knew. It was horrific. Optimus Prime stood in sullen silence as he watched. It had been nearly half an hour since they had broken through and thus far still they worked. Bumblebee had almost instantly volunteered to be the one lowered down into the hole that had imprisoned their comrades...

One of the paramedics of the ambulance that was currently standing by had apparently agreed and shoved an oxygen tank into Bumblebee's hands and instructed him on how to use it. How to make sure the girl would be alright even after all this time.

Bonnie had been right behind him telling Bumblebee how to use Kitt to check her vitals and for God's sake check on Kitt himself!

That had been half an hour ago. As quickly as they had dug into the cave in... Now they were making certain it was stable. Making certain they could get their friends out without just burying them again. Now they had brought in a cable that was currently lowered down, that Bumblebee would be attached to, and lifted out, holding the girl and bringing her to the safety of the waiting ambulance.

Once she was clear they felt they had the hole at a point that they could begin to pull out their comrades...

From where he was he could see that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had apparently been the ones to pull up Bumblebee, the two of them carefully securing the line. Very slowly, not wanting to hit the walls of the narrow tunnel they had created...

After what seemed like forever Bumblebee emerged, the girl tightly held to his chest, the tank that had been her air supply in the still toxic air of the underground air pocket secured tightly against him. As soon as his feet had hit the ground he hurried over to the waiting paramedics who quickly got her on a stretcher and began looking her over. Prime was pleased to see that by the time they loaded the stretcher into the ambulance she was already starting to wake up.

His attention with the girl was short lived as the ambulance quickly hurried out of the area. She was out of his hands now... She had been handed over to the capable hands of doctors and human medics... There were six others he now concerned himself with...

His gaze shifted over to the other side of the complex where they were working hard to dig out Dante and Beast. No real reports had come from that side other than the fact they had found them. Unlike Jazz's group Dante's group had been completely encased in dirt. There had been no handy dandy air pocket to move around in and work in... They had simply been buried in dirt and rock. As much as she hated to leave Kitt to his current fate Bonnie's current target was getting Beast out. As it was she stood perched on the side of the hole leading down to them, calling down instructions to the Autobot who had lowered himself down and was carefully trying to keep the AI's safe from further damage as the Autobots carefully pulled buckets of dirt from the hole they had created.

Of course most of her concern at the moment revolved entirely around how they handled Beast... Dante as they quickly determined was covered in dirt and had a badly damaged frame but otherwise he was fine. He just needed some sensors replaced and he would be good as new. Beast on the other hand while he had not suffered much structural damage had fallen victim to a very well placed pipe that had decided to come down on him and more or less impale him.

From what had been explained to him, Beast's armor was superior to most of his AI companions. He was designed to take impact. Much the same as Ironhide served in his younger years he imagined... The brunt force designed to buckle down and simply plow through anything that might stand in the way...

Out of all of them, he was the one they expected to have the least damage. Was actually the least damaged... If not for a freak accident that could have happened to any one of them...

On Jazz's side he watched as Wheeljack disappeared into the hole apparently acting as medic as they dug out around them. On Dante's side he was more than a little surprised his Autobots had been able to stop Bonnie from doing the same...

"Prime?"

Prime's attention snapped up as Prowl's voice startled him from just behind as his second and command stepped up beside him. "They're about to lift Jazz out." Prime let out a slow electronic sigh and nodded, his full attention turning to Jazz's side.

Several of the stronger bots had braced themselves against the cables they were using, using poles they had given into the dirt for support to slowly lift something obviously large from the hole they had created. Apparently attempting to keep Jazz level, he was carefully lifted, with the sling that had been strapped around him by Wheeljack.

It seemed like forever and a day. A very slow climb from a very deep hole... From what he had been told, they were nearly a hundred feet down below the surface. After several long, and agonizing minutes a cheer went up around the Autobot ranks as Jazz was lifted out in vehicle form.

It was a little surreal... Even on those rare occasions that Jazz was badly damaged he always had some sarcastic little comment. Some bad pun... It was why so many liked him so much. He was Jazz. No matter what. However, now there was only silence. He was awake at least. From where he stood Prime could see that. The sports car tiredly slumped against the slings that had pulled him out, a soft groan let out as he was jarred to the side.

Carefully he was maneuvered onto what looked like a flat bed wagon that the humans from the foundation had brought with them. It looked like one, but it had a motor to it and he was told it was operated by remote control. One end could obviously flip down and the other had what looked like a wench on it.

Jenny had told him that Trek designed it. Most of the foundation's semi's were now equipped with at least one... She had also mentioned that it had been designed just after their first encounter with KRO after Beast was badly damaged. Because of the sensitive damage a tow truck couldn't have been used, or rather at least Trek wouldn't allow it... After three and a half hours of trying to figure out how to flip Beast over and get him on a waiting semi he had designed that thing. A stretcher for cars.

Slowly Jazz was wheeled by the humans onto a waiting semi, the back doors quickly closed behind him as the massive rig took off for the foundation where Ratchet had set up shop.

Prime's attention turned from Jazz back to the scene infront of him. He was told that Smokescreen would probably be the last out. They were having to cut away an iron beam to get to him which was of course affecting the stabilization of the hole they had created...

In short, it was a lot of work which was going very, very slowly. While Huffer and Cliffjumper worked to cut away the beam that was trapping Smokescreen, Wheeljack was trying to get Kitt out from his own dirt prison...

There was a short lived cheer that died down into something of disgust at Beast's end. Prime quickly snapped his attention around as Bluestreak hauled out what looked like part of the hood of a Trans-am.... There were pulling Karr out in pieces...

XXXXXXXXXXX

The light had been an incredible sight... But the waiting was flat out painful. Dante's gaze lifted for the hundredth time to the light that seemed so very far away. Autobots were moving up and down the hole that had been created, trying to dig them out of there.

Their concern at the moment was Beast. Now that they had been dug out a bit he could see a sharp shard of... It wasn't pipe. It was an almost spear like sliver of steel, apparently broken off with a razor like edge to it... It had gone right through Beast and stuck into the ground beneath him. It was making actually moving Beast a bit more tricky than they had at first thought it possibly could be...

Their fear was that if they moved him, the sliver of steel would shift inside of the massive truck and make the injuries that much worse. If they could even get any worse...

Beast was already on a fragmented edge that worried Dante a little. The normally so rock steady truck was more than a little confused as to where he was. Already he had said things that Dante knew for a fact that he would not normally say... Declaring his love for ponies being one of them... That alone to Dante at least brought on enough to actually cause the SUV some concern... The Beast he knew.... Simply was not this Beast...

He had attempted talking to him through the process of digging him out... Once Bonnie arrived he was sorry to say he had actually for the most part given up. Bonnie was offering much more comfort than he could at the moment. Simply by being able to describe the process they were taking to get them out of there it was causing more than a little bit of comfort for Beast...

he had to wonder just what the hell was going on out there. No one had mentioned the others. There were others down there with them and no one thus far had been very forth coming with information. He couldn't decide if that was a good sign or a bad one.

It was the kind of silence that occurred when one was avoiding the unavoidable of informing someone of some very bad news of some kind. They never wanted to be the one to explain. Not far from him the one he was pretty sure they called Brawn had dropped down and was carefully helping to brush the dirt away from Beast. They took great care to not disturb the steel that was still lodged in his hood. A fact that Dante could of course appreciate.

"How is everyone else?"

Brawn's attention snapped up as Dante spoke to him, looking a bit surprised. "Jazz and Smokescreen... And Kitt." He pointed out slowly, the SUV attempting to move, the enclosed feeling of not being able to move so much as an inch, getting to him just a bit. "I'm sorry, this is all just very disturbing... You know the whole... Stuck in dirt thing. How are the others?"

"They pulled Jazz out a little while ago... He's in a bad way but he's Jazz he'll be fine."

"Good... Good..." Dante muttered, finding it just a bit difficult to remain focused as Brawn worked at carefully separating Beast from Karr. That was another problem they had run into... Apparently in the confusion and panic, either Karr had run into Beast or Beast had run into Karr... Their grills were twisted together to the point they had to get them separated before they tried to move anyone. "What about the girl?"

Brawn sighed and went back to carefully pushing away the dirt. He wasn't comfortable talking to Dante. It came as a bit of a shock... Dante had been activated by humans who already knew what to expect... Most humans who he did speak to while on a case of some sort were understandably shocked and maybe even a little weary of them at first but soon enough they settled into the fact that it was in deed a talking car and would not hurt them. He would have thought the Autobots would understand... However they seemed... Almost offended by it.

"They got the girl out. She's alright... They took her to the same hospital they took Mr. Miles." The fact that he had spoken at all was shocking enough. Though at the moment that wasn't the information Dante was centered around.

"Mr. Miles? What's wrong with Mr. Miles?"

"The humans said he had a heart attack or something like that on the way down here. They took him to the hospital. You know your humans have the strangest phrases. The strangest bodies to... I mean a heart is like a fuel pump right? Why would it attack you?"

Dante groaned softly and shut off visual for the time being. Devon had a heart attack?

"No the heart didn't attack... It means there was a blockage or... Well there can be a few different reasons but essentially it means that Devon's heart stopped working the way it should. They call it a heart attack because it feels as if someone is attacking your heart..."

"If the heart isn't attacking then why-"

Dante let out an electronic growl in frustration that for the time being stopped Brawn's question, the Autobot figuring it wouldn't be answered anyway.

"That's not important. Humans are a strange breed. A heart attack is potentially lethal and that is the bottom line."

The Autobot glanced up briefly and gave a nod as he continued his work, carefully digging out around Attack Beast.

"How are you holding up Beast?" Dante questioned softly.

Best groaned softly in response.

"We'll be out of here soon, just hang in there." Dante urged, flinching at the yelp that was let out from Beast as Brawn pulled back a sheet of metal that was wrapped around Beast, the metal having once been Karr's hood. The Autobot looked a bit disgusted for a moment before it was passed upwards, out of the hole and out of the way.

Within' moments the sight of the black hood had caused a stir with the humans. Particularly Bonnie, who was now calling down the hole, demanding updates. Really, couldn't they tell that it was a Trans-am's hood that had been brought up and not one off of a Ford F-150?

Still though Dante couldn't help the pang of sympathy that went through his systems as he caught the sound of Karr's pained wail. He had forgotten the Trans-am was still active. Rather not forgotten but hoped he had been able to shut himself down. At least to maintain a proper shut down until he was pulled out of the hole. Though it seemed Karr hadn't shut down or had only gone into a general recharge...

"What is Karr's condition? Can you see?" Dante questioned softly, pulling a deep, electronic sigh from Brawn.

"He looks slagged..."

Dante sighed heavily once more and fell silent in his own little tomb, wondering for what seemed like the hundredth time if he could swap out his current Autobot problem for some other Autobot. Brawn was just enough to give him a killer migraine... If that was even possible to an electronic mind.

Beast groaned in pain, pulling Dante to snap at Brawn to be careful. It was certainly going to be a long day...

XXXXXXXXXXX

The dank underwater location of the Nemesis didn't exactly allow for much in the way of anything cheerful or even in the least bit upbeat... The halls were dark but for the low level lighting that was always on, keeping the halls bathed in a soft glow. Much more than that was unnecessary and used a bit to much power for their liking...

Outside it was mid afternoon but for all the sunlight that came in through the windows it could have been well into the evening. At night the water outside was an inky black, but for the barest of glow that came when the moon was at its fullest. When the sun was at its highest in the afternoon of the day it filtered through an eery light throughout he surf and waves. It cast off a blue iridescent glow that in all honesty was rather... Peaceful...

"It's a bit like being at an aquarium..."

Thundercracker silently turned his attention towards Kro, a soft non committing grunt let out. "I suppose... What's an aquarium anyway?"

Kro gave off an electronic sounding chuckle, the black sports car watching the fish slide by the massive bay window he was staring out. "Humans are a bit obsessed with what lay under the depths of the ocean... It's because that's the one place on Earth that it's impossible for them to entirely explore. They have these special types of submarines that can go down deeper than they every could before, but still. It doesn't matter. Every time they go down they see something new. No matter what they do they will never control the ocean. It will always be wild and I think that's what keeps them coming back. They can't control it... But they will try."

Thundercracker was more than a little surprised at the deep thoughts coming from the sports car though he wouldn't comment... The car was a strange one. Soundwave had done an in depth analysis on the car's programming before they ever attempted to wake the thing up. The programming analysis stated that the car had been programmed specifically to serve one human. According to Soundwave that human was most likely the charred remains in the car's driver's seat.

According to Soundwave there was one of two ways things could go down. The programing would change to protect itself resulting in the program latching onto someone to serve as he once had the dead human... Or the programing would go into an unending loop that could not be broken. A paradox of sorts. If that was to happen all of this would have been for nothing. The CPU would have overloaded and blown or at the very least the car would have been uncooperative.

What had happened was the best case scenario he supposed. The car had latched onto Megatron. Kro followed every order to the letter and without question. Something that at first Megatron had been thrilled with.

At first... They hadn't had to tamper with the programing and that was a good thing. However, the car had then started.... Changing... Not so much in leaps. The voice had been the first thing. At first it had been rather flat. They had all heard the voices of human made AI systems before. Flat and computerized. No fluctuation or pitch. Upon first being activated Kro's voice had been deep but it lacked fluctuation. It had been a bit eery... Like a sentient being talking in a very flat manor...

However after a few hours the voice had developed. It had suddenly developed in fluctuation and pitch... If one shut off their optics they would think they were speaking to any transformer. Not the Earth Vehicle that everyone was so worked up about...

That was about the point Megatron started adamantly avoiding the car... Pushing the car off onto anyone else that would even possibly take the thing. Ordering other Decepticons to go keep it busy. Thundercracker half wondered if Megatron still thought taking the car had been such a good idea...

At this point they had put so much time and energy into getting it back online Thundercracker knew without a doubt that Megatron would never back up on the project. Give way for doubt in his leadership ability. He would see it through and when it failed... He would push the blame off onto another of their ranks. Anywhere but the one it started with. Maybe even the car itself even though it was an innocent in this...

Thundercracker had always considered himself to have an open mind... A rarity in Decepticon ranks and he knew it. Personal opinion didn't matter so long as they followed their commander. That was entirely the difference between Decepticons and Autobots at the end of the day.

Decepticons were geared to be military mechs. They were tuned to be fighters. To conquer. To fight. In some bazar way... Even to protect. It's what they were meant for. To protect... The Decepticons had at one point in the history of Cybertron been the first line defense. Defenders of the planet. When there was no longer any threat to the planet they began to spread out. To obey their programing...

After a while their programing drove them to seek out new worlds to defend. Most Decepticons saw it as progress... The Autobots saw it as tyranny... The Decepticon's 'protection' had eventually led to the end of an age.

Destroyed the planet they had loved so much. A bit Ironic really...

"What is that?"

Kro's question shook Thundercracker from his thoughts, the jet silently glancing out the window. "That's a shark I believe. Hammer head. Look... Don't you have this information in your databanks?"

"Well yes and no. I have the information but I'm still having a difficult time accessing it. Aside from that information downloaded is something entirely different from seeing it first hand... This is absolutely spectacular."

Thundercracker couldn't help the chuckle he let out, despite his unwillingness to communicate to much with the Earth thing... "It's just things outside the window. I mean it's water. What's so great about it? It's to heavy and it's horribly annoying."

"And it covers just over a third of the planet. I mean... What if well over half of your own planet was left entirely unexplored. Wouldn't you be curious of it?"

At that Thundercracker really did laugh. He couldn't help it. This Earth car at times was amusing. "Not really. I'm not really the curious type..."

"But you would have to be. Being curious isn't just a trait of being nosey of how something works. Being curious is sometimes a method of survival."

"Yeah... Curious stopped when I started having this conversation with an Earth car..."

Kro paused at Thundercracker's comment, his frame tipping just a bit. That was... Amazing... He had seen Autobots stuck in vehicle form. Even the Stunticons when they were unable to transform for fear of blowing cover. They had little ways of making their emotions known in vehicle form. However, none this extreme. Once given a Decepticon body Kro had begun to figure out how to move it. How to twist it. How to make emotions known without having to transform. Most of that went with the way he held himself.

"So... There's more of you right?"

"That is correct." Kro offered with a quick dip of his prow. "The first was of course Karr. The other Trans-am that was failed to be taken on the night I was brought here."

Thundercracker briefly rolled his optics and nodded. "Yeah, yeah I got that. What others?"

"The first successful vehicle by Knight Industries standards was Kitt. The black Trans-am partnered with Michael Knight."

"Ok so they built a car... It flopped... Then they built another one?"

"That is correct. Kitt was everything they had hoped for in the failed prototype. However, after five years the project was... Understandably outdated. Upon Devon Miles' forced retirement they sought to reform the foundation and what it stood for. Including outdated vehicles."

"So then you came along..." Thundercracker theorized.

"Precisely. However, the foundation was constraining. Martin and I sought freedom from their grasp."

"So you killed five people..." Thundercracker mused slowly.

"Would you not do much the same should your freedom be at risk? Have you not done much the same on your home world of Cybertron to be permitted the freedom to extend your own existence to the stars?"

Thundercracker gave a slight shrug to that. "Eh, maybe. So exactly why did you high tail it out of the Knight Lab?"

"Martin felt threatened. Therefore we sought our freedom."

"Ah... So everything you do revolves around this Martin person?" Thundercracker asked slowly.

"Martin has been deactivated. A very unfortunate event..." Kro's voice had become deathly low with that simple statement. Thundercracker gave a slight shudder and quickly changed the subject.

"So what came next? After you I mean."

"Team Knight Rider. It wasn't meant to be a team at first. At first the Knight Foundation wanted Kyle Stewart. He came very close to being my operative instead of Martin. However when Knight Industries merged with the Foundation of Law and Government they began to greatly dictate over the way things would be run. They felt it to dangerous to entrust so much power with one operative and risk another... Incident... They gave each vehicle certain structural weaknesses that could be used against each vehicle in case of an emergency."

Thundercracker sat up quickly, clearly surprised as he stared at the sports car. "Weaknesses?"

"Of course. Kat and Plato possess faulty fuel lines. Attack Beast a weak rear axil. Domino, being a convertible is obviously very lightly armored. Dante I believe also has a faulty fuel line.... I would have to research him a bit more in depth."

"Is this information that Megatron could use?" Thundercracker questioned softly, not in-particularly wanting any other Decepticons to overhear him even having this conversation with an Earth car...

"Possibly. To you the information would probably be trivial. You see our bodies are not designed to stand up to your weaponry. Therefore why spend time looking for weaknesses in our armor when one shot of your weapon could probably punch right through it. You don't need weaknesses..."

"True..." Thundercracker commented softly, just a bit smug with that information.

"However... I might have something he could use..." Kro offered slowly.

Thundercracker stood came a bit closer and leaned against the wall near the window Kro had been so transfixed with. "What's that Kro?"

"L.A. has a Knight Industries Lab. Since Knight Industries is based in California there's several scattered about the state. Your report said that the accident at the military bunker was rather impressive. If I were an Autobot leader and had several Autobots that were possibly severally hurt I wouldn't want to risk taking them back to Oregon for repairs."

"And if I were Knight Industries who were trying to grain the approval of the Autobots after this little fiasco... I would open up the Knight Labs to the injured Autobots..." Thundercracker finished.

"Precisely."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Look out!"

The warning came very quickly, causing Wheeljack to have to respond quickly and move out of the way as the load of rock that had been on its way up was suddenly dropped. It landed with a clatter across the empty space where Jazz had been. Thankfully since that sudden drop would have most likely caused even more damage to the injured car...

"Thanks Kitt..." Wheeljack muttered softly as he went back to the feeble repairs he was attempting on Smokescreen. The more they unburied the car, the more he didn't like what he was seeing. The damage was rather... Extensive...

As Wheeljack worked Cliffjumper had been lowered down and was working to dig him out. Others were coming and going via the makeshift latter system into the hole but Wheeljack and Cliffjumper's presence had been almost constant for the last several hours.

"How is he Wheeljack?" The question was soft and at the moment Wheeljack dearly wished he had a better answer for it.

"Not well... We really need to get him out of here." He responded, speaking over the sounds of the welding torches that were cutting the beams above them, hopefully leading to Smokescreen's freedom.

"Kitt can I ask ya somethin'?" Wheeljack questioned as he repaired yet another torn fuel line in Smokescreen as more of the downed car came into view.

"Of course Wheeljack."

"Why did you do that whole thing with Karr... Yer superiors aren't exactly singing your praises right now..."

"Hmm... They never are. I'm not exactly a wanted fixture in the Knight Labs. I highly doubt I will be repaired this time without a fight."

Wheeljack's attention snapped up, looking just a bit stunned at the thought. "Of course they'll repair you."

"Care to place a wager on that Wheeljack?"

Wheeljack shuddered again, and went back to his repairs on Smokescreen. "Beside the point... So what about Karr?"

"I suppose I did what I did because I feel for him. After all he is the closest relation I have to a sibling. I also have to wonder... You are aware of the reports from the lab the first night he was reactivated correct?"

"Yep. Michael told me about it." Wheeljack responded as he patched another fuel line back together on Smokescreen.

"I always wondered... What would have happened if we had found Karr before those two hooligans... What would have happened if we were just fifteen minutes earlier... Or if Michael's date had been canceled..."

"How do you know it would have made any difference at all?" Wheeljack pointed out softly.

"I don't know if it would have. However, he would have been given a chance to turn his life around, rather than the entire foundation attempting to shut him down before he has a chance to say otherwise."

Wheeljack sighed and nodded a bit as he considered that. "True but-" Whatever he was about to say was cut off abruptly as an unearthly shriek cut through the air, causing the already fragile walls to tremble just a it, dust and rock raining down on them.

Wheeljack fell silent along with Kitt as they stared up at the dim light above them, the fading sun, not offering much in way of light, now starting to be supplemented by the flood lights brought in by the Autobots.

"What in the pits was that?" Wheeljack questioned slowly, gaining a slight shudder from Kitt.

"It sounds like they're lifting someone else out..."

Wheeljack flinched and gave a quick nod, quickly moving to their make shift latter system and moving his way out of the tunnel, leaving Cliffjumper to keep digging Smokescreen out as he took a look to see what was up.

Up above was like an entirely different world. Mechs moved here and there attempting to move dirt and rock and occasional heavy equipment out of the way. That had been an issue with Beast and Dante's group. In the process of finding them they had been forced to dig around a large crane. Which was now coming back to haunt them as they had been forced to dig the crane out before they really got to a point where they could safely lift the damaged AI's out.

The source of that Unearthly scream was made very clear within' moments. A wench had been employed and slowly a vehicle was being lifted out of the pit that had been dug out around them. It was difficult to say who or what it had been.... But after a few moments of staring at the mangled heap it became clear that it had once been a Trans-am.

Wheeljack gave a slight flinch and quickly ducked back in the hole he had been working in as another agonized shriek came from the wrecked heap that was Karr.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"'hat 'rong wit 'im?"

Dante sighed heavily as his attention turned back over to Attack Beast. He felt a little like he was truck sitting at this point. Karr had ben wrapped around the two of them, so after digging as much as they could out it was becoming more and more clear... Karr had to be taken out first before they were going anywhere. That unfortunately had involved a lot of cutting since Karr's frame had nearly wrapped itself around theirs... Apparently very little to no armor had been put on the spots car.

Attack Beast had been the lucky one.... He had been blissfully unaware through most of the process of cutting through Karr to get him unhooked from the other two. They more they had been forced to cut, the louder Karr's screams of agony and terror had gotten until it had become unbearable.

However, thus far Beast seemed rather unaffected. Which worried Dante. Worried him that there was something truly wrong with his team mate who at the moment didn't seem to realize just how much trouble they were in.

"He was buried remember Beast? His frame wrapped around ours."

"Oh...." Best muttered, sounding more than a little tired.

"Dante!"

Dante's attention turned upward, relief sweeping through him as he spotted the dark outline of Bonnie Barstow.

"Dante we're bringing Best up next. I just need you to sit tight a little while longer."

"Very well Dr. Barstow!" Dante called upward, causing the young woman to smile as she disappeared again.

"Beast did you hear that? You're next." Dante explained to the truck, who didn't seem to be to worried about it. Brawn had come back at some point, kneeling down beside the truck as he took a firm grasp on the metal shard sticking its way out of Beast's hood.

"Brawn?" Bonnie's voice rang out as she leaned over the edge of the pit, gazing down into the darkness that still contained two four wheel drive vehicles, rather well stuck in the dirt so to speak. "I need you to keep that metal shard absolutely still when we pull him out understand?"

"Gotcha!" Brawn called back, looking just a bit sour as he positioned himself at the truck's side, a firm grasp taken on the shard, as he carefully settled himself on the back bed of the truck. Beast's shocks groaned in protest but otherwise upheld the extra weight. Behind Brawn one of the other Autobots that Dante absolutely could not for the life of him identify lowered himself down... Huff something... He knew that much of the mech. Otherwise he had absolutely no idea who the other was who had jumped down into their cozy little pit and began strapping the sling to Beast and Brawn. A lift would be used to lift Brawn out of the hole at the same time that Beast was, to allow the weight to be taken off of the injured truck as they made their very careful way out.

As the lift began to move, the rope slowly tightened until the sling hitched its way around Brawn. Slowly Brawn began to lift, Beast soon after, the two able to keep together as the sling began lifting the massive black truck with a tense sounding groan of straining metal links of the chains that were doing the work to lift the heavy load.

Dirt rained down on Dante's hood as Beast's frame would lift up off the ground and slowly make his way up the shaft and into the light of day, his frame shuddering under the weight it was under as Brawn kept his position, holding the shard of metal absolutely still.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Prime heaved a deep electronic sigh as they stepped up the pace on the dig site. Now that the human life had been taken out of the dangerous equation things were running along a bit more smoothly but that didn't mean it was any more or less dangerous. The rig they had thrown together to help with lifting their fallen team mates from the dirt was shoddy to say the least. However, it seemed to be doing the job.

The reports of exactly what they were dealing with were starting to filter their way through. Jazz had lost a lot of energon and it had taken it's drain on him... However, he was told when it came right down to it that because of the placement of the damage, while Beast had probably taken the least structural damage, he was the worse off among the others. Kitt they felt had made it out of the cave in pretty well in tact. His MBS had held up and not including some minor structural damage he was no worse for the wear. Kitt was in fact talking and very alert down there. Dante was much the same though he had suffered heavy structural damage. His passenger compartment was filled to the roof with rock and dirt. If Kyle had been inside the vehicle he would not have made it through the cave in. Something that rest in the back of the mind of all.

Smokescreen was about in the same condition of Jazz. A lot of structural damage and was losing energon fast... However at the moment it was more dangerous to move him considering the rather unstable balance of rock and dirt hanging over him. Wheeljack had made several trips back and forth with more energon to give to the failing Autobot.

"Prime?" The autobot leader glanced upward as Prowl approached, a slow nod of acknowledgement offered before his second in command went on as he had known he would.

"They're about to lift Attack Beast out of the ground."

Prime heaved out a deep electronic sigh. Beast was the second to be lifted out and by far the one in the most immediate danger. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to look.

The rig they had thrown together started to move, lifting the black truck up out of the hole slowly. There was a low groaning sound from the crane that was doing most of the work that drove Ironhide and Hound into stepping forward, the two boxy mechs backing up the load that was being pulled out.

"Funny, I didn't know Earth vehicles were that heavy..." Prowl mused softly, gaining a nod of agreement from Prime. That made two of them... Though the reason for it was obvious in a few moments as Brawn's head popped up over the ridge of the hole the minibot seeming to almost be straddling the massive truck as he was lifted up. Prime gave a slight flinch as they pulled Beast over and let him set on the ground. Like a flood the dirt that had been packed inside his cab from a shattered back window shifted and spilled out as Bonnie reached over and opened the driver's side door. Brawn kept absolutely still as Bonnie did a quick assessment.

The sight of Attack Beast caused Prime to visibly cringe. A shard of steel had come down hard on the center of his hood and drove itself through until it had apparently pinned him to the ground. According to the work crew it had taken a bit of moving to get him to where they could move him at all. However, that was hardly the worst of it. Beast and Karr had obviously been pushed together during the cave in. Part of Beast's door panels had crumpled inward under an intense pressure... Which at the moment had a black fender stuck in the open 'wound' like tear in the metal that had been created. Despite their best efforts half of Karr had come up with Attack Beast.

From their vantage point they could see Brawn protest something or other, a protest that was cut off with a glare from Bonnie. Without another word Beast was lifted up again and dropped into place on the trailer he would be traveling on... Brawn and all... Now that was going to be interesting to see on the six o'clock news...

"That's going to draw attention..." Prowl mused, voicing the opinion that Prime had been mulling over in his mind.

"Well technically I suppose we could send extra security with them." Prime mused, not particularly wanting to bring on the wrath of Dr. Barstow again. Once or twice when the cause had been what was to become of her 'baby' was more than enough...

Dr. Barstow yelled out an order or two from where she was, the small human ducking down on the trailer and sliding underneath attack Beast even as the trailer began to move. Duke hurried up alongside, hopping onto the trailer before it picked up much speed, likewise sliding between Beast's tires to help with whatever it was Bonnie was doing, apparently the two riding with the truck and his Autobot companion...

Prime quickly stepped forward towards the group, his approach met with a harsh glare from Bonnie as workers rushed to strap Attack Beast in for the ride.

"Optimus I already know what you're argument in this is going to be." Bonnie threw in almost immediately. "However, I can't allow Beast's injuries to be made any worse than they already are. This... Thing..." Bonnie mused pointing vaguely to the shard of steel cutting through Beast's hood. "Can't move so much as an inch one way or the other without making things worse."

Prime chuckled softly, head nodding briefly. "I'm well aware of that. I was only going to suggest a security escort. Especially with the consideration of Decepticons in the area..."

Bonnie gave a nod, hopping up onto the trailer beside Beast as she gestured to the road. "Sounds good to me, we've gotta go" She called, the group she had already gathered moving out as one. Prime quickly radioed Bluestreak to head out with them, his attention falling back to the task at hand. Knight Industries did seem to have their own hold on things... Nothing really escaped them...

By the time he glanced back to the pits there was another round of commotion as Dante was slowly pulled from the Earth. Dirt and rock flowed from the SUV, causing him to highly resemble nothing but wreckage even as he was set down on a trailer and which quickly pulled off again as the driver tried to catch up to Beast's caravan and keep the two Knight Industries vehicles together.

Dante wasn't the worst off of the group but at the current moment he certainly looked it...

Prime slowly headed back to his position in the pits, watching the proceedings and directing the process, one more Autobot and two more Knight Industries vehicles still close at mind... Most of Knight Industries had broken up by now but for the few remaining drivers. Michael stood off to the side, nervously awaiting the appearance of his partner. Not far from him Jenny and Dominio sat together watching the proceedings. Both Duke and Kyle had gone with the caravan that had just pulled out, anxious to be with their partners again.

There was a small burst of commotion near the pit they had pulled Dante and Attack Beast from, a mini bot hoisting up a small black box from the wreckage.

Karr...

XXXXXXXXXXX

Michael jerked his head up at a sudden commotion that once more split the air. For a moment he thought they might be pulling Kitt out... Though it came from the wrong pit... His blood ran cold a the sight of the black box one of the smaller Autobots held up. He hurried over, a frown deeply set across his lips.

He knew the box... Kitt had one exactly like it. Karr's CPU. Obviously the rest of his body hadn't been salvageable. Bonnie had been careful to explain how to remove the CPU without damaging it if needed. Still it was a little disturbing... He was a little thankful Kitt wasn't around to see it...

A mini bot he couldn't remember the name of pushed the CPU into his hands as the attention of the Autobots swept in it's entirety to the other pit. For a brief rushing moment Michael felt the overwhelming urge to crush the fragile box... The box wasn't meant to go through much.

It was meant to have a couple hundred pounds of Sports Car protecting it. The walls of the CPU were frail and delicate. It was a miracle Karr was still active. It would be nothing to crush the CPU and Karr would be gone.

Hell a single bullet through the casing would affectively shatter the memory chips... They had done it before to a rogue AI... Once... It would be so easy to erase the problem. Knight Industries certainly wouldn't argue his choice. The dirty work that no one actually wanted to do... The only one who would really have an issue with it would MAYBE be the Autobots and.... Kitt...

He sighed heavily and stared down at the fragile black box in his hands. A soft chirping sound echoed from it in a series of pops and clicks as the CPU struggled to cool and Karr possibly struggled to communicate. Out of fear possibly... Karr certainly didn't do helpless well...

With a deep sigh Michael tucked the CPU safely into the folds of his leather jacket and made his way back to where Prime was standing. They certainly needed a plan of where to go from there. Behind him an electronic yelp of pain was let loose as they began pulling Smokescreen from the confines of the pit. Kitt would be next... They had been unable to move the Trans-am in fear of bringing more dirt down on Smokescreen who by far was the worse off. Now that Smokescreen had been dug out they could lift Kitt up out of the pit.

"Michael"

Attention quickly turned from the pits to Prime as he made his way over to where the two giant Autobots were standing. To a human standing between the feet of Prime and Prowl it was more than a little intimidating. Still though he nodded and made his way over, Karr's CPU buzzing against his side.

"I believe now it is time to consider, what is to be done with the rogue AI's CPU." Prime reasoned softly, gaining a slow nod from Michael.

"Well when you're right, you're right... The truth is I just don't know Prime... Whatever we do it will have to be done with permission from the foundation... That's going to be hard to get..."

Prime was silent for a long moment as he glanced out across the field. Smokescreen was being loaded onto a waiting trailer and rolled away. Full attention was now turned to getting Kitt out of the pit he had been buried in.

It was a slow process... Loads of dirt were pulled up and another rope was tossed down to stabilize the Knight Industries vehicle.

"This must be difficult for you to watch Mr. Knight..." Prime ventured after a while. To his surprise Michael chuckled softly.

"Kitt's been in trouble before... I've always been in trouble with him... He's been completely buried like this before once to. I was with him that time to... It's not difficult for me to watch, but it is difficult for me not to be down there with him. Just as scared and just as ready to get out of yet another tight spot..."

Prime let out a rumbling chuckle and nodded in some amount of understanding as the rescue teams slowly started lifting Kitt from his temporary tomb. The Trans-am fidgeted a little as he was lifted out of the hole, anxious to be on solid ground again. He even seemed a little irritated when he was moved right from the hole in the ground to one of the flat bed trailers.

Michael grinned happily and quickly jogged towards the Trans-am, hopping up onto the flat bed as soon as he was close enough. "Kitt! Good to see ya again buddy!"

"Likewise Michael" Kitt offered with a tired thread to his voice. "I was starting to think I wouldn't be seeing you again."

Michael heaved out a deep sigh of relief at the sound of Kitt's voice and gave the car's hood an affectionate pat. "Likewise buddy..."

"Michael... Is that who I think it is?" Michael gave a slight blink and glanced down at the bulge in his jacket, a slow nod given as he uncovered the fragile little box that was Karr.

"What is to be done with him?" Kitt questioned slowly, pulling a deep sigh from Michael. "I honestly don't know... First off we need to get you cleared out. Then we'll decide what to do with Karr."

"Michael..." Kitt started, though a reassuring pat from his driver for the moment silenced the Trans-am as Karr's CPU was abruptly slid into Kitt's driver's seat.

"Don't worry so much partner. You'll drive yourself into an early grave."

Kitt let out an exasperated sigh as Michael hopped down from the flat bed, so that the sports car could be strapped down for travel. "Really Michael... Did you have to say grave?"

A rumbling laugh shook the two from their brief reunion, Michael's attention turning upward as Prime's shadow loomed over them. "Michael... As much as it pains me to interrupt Bonnie wished me to pass along a message from Knight Industries. However, I hope you have better luck of understanding it..."

Michael gave a slight blink and nodded a bit, twisting around to face the Autobot leader. "Well I can certainly try. What's the message?"

"Dr. Barstow says that the queen of the underworld has landed in Knight Industries and has currently taken over..." Prime reported with a somewhat confused note to his face. Michael only groaned and scrubbed at his face with one hand.

"Jennifer... Alright... We'd best get over there before she starts turning things to stone with that icy thing she calls a heart." Michael muttered, quickly sliding into Kitt's cabin, Karr's CPU safely held on his lap.

Prime gave another puzzled expression and simply gestured to the rest of his Autobots to fall in as the last Knight Semi rumbled to life, quietly pulling out of the pit that had been a place of hell for the past few hours. A few Autobots were left behind to fix things and give the appearance nothing had ever happened, though for the most part, they were leaving the tomb behind them.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Moonlight was flooding 'cross the dessert in a flood of silver by the time a shadowy vehicle topped the overcrop, overlooking the Knight Industries research facility. Normally the facility was near devoid of life but now it seemed to be buzzing with activity. Lights dotted here and there, robotic life forms milling around and waiting for instructions as their comrades were pieced back together. A plane had taken off earlier with several Autobots on board, heading for destinations unknown... Most likely back to Oregon, leaving a basic crew behind in L.A.

"Well?"

The question caused the Ferrari to give off a brief shudder, a scanner directed back to his companions. Of course they had placed him with the Stunticons... Where else would a bunch of air born sky jockeys place a land crawler. Of course said Stunticons also had a way of grating on Kro's last nerve as well...

"This is a Knight Industries Facility. I can give the floor plans though I do not suggest we attack the facility itself..."

"Then why are we here?" Motormaster demanded, drawing out a deep sigh from Kro.

"We need a little leverage..." Kro muttered almost to himself as he scanned what once had been his home. He wasn't entirely sure himself why he had decided to come to Knight Industries first... He knew damn well it would be better to catch one of them going back and forth between ground zero as it was called and Knight Industries... However, for the moment he couldn't tear himself away...

"What kind of leverage?" Motormaster pressed, pulling a soft growl from Kro.

"That kind..." He muttered softly, electronic sigh released as he watched a stretch limo slowly pull up to Knight Industries. From the back seat a long legged woman slowly unfolded herself from the seat, and stood up, quickly checking her reflection in the mirror as if her image alone would fix all problems...

"That is Jennifer Knight." Kro reported slowly. "Wilton Knight's daughter. I managed to tap into the data base and gain the information that Devon Miles is currently out of service. Therefore, she will have been sent to take his place."

"We're after AI's not human scum." Motormaster snapped harshly, pulling a sigh from Kro.

"You fail to see the bigger picture... Besides that you have your mission and I have my own... There's something I need to take care of at Knight Industries. I have plotted a course between ground zero and Knight Industries. All you have to do is follow it. The last caravans should be approaching. I would suggest you meet them at the juncture I have marked." Kro muttered softly as he let his engine roar to life.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Motormaster demanded, causing Kro to give off a soft chuckle.

"To level the playing field." Was the only answer he got as the sports car disappeared into the night, leaving the Stunticons to carry on alone.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Prime resisted the urge to speed up into the dessert and stretch his tires a bit as L.A. began to thin out and the dessert opened up before them. The trailer up ahead rattled on into the night, it's deep engine steady and soothing as the last of the caravan trudged on.

"Prime, my sensors are picking up something coming our way."

Prowl's voice caused Prime to slow just a bit, his own scans widening a bit to take in more of the dessert, abruptly on guard with his second's soft warning. "What do you have Prowl?"

"Two vehicles coming our way... They're to far out to tell just what they are yet."

"Alright... Keep your scanners peeled..." No sooner than the words were out did the tail lights Prime had been keeping track of just ahead abruptly brighten as the breaks were applied. Prime's muttered softly to himself as he hit the breaks himself, forced to lock down as he skidded a few feet, the semi in front of him going from applied breaks to locked breaks in a matter of seconds.

"Prime! Decepticons!" Prowl's voice rang out from right behind him as Prime launched into action, quickly transforming. Of course it was... It couldn't have been simple after all...

Ahead of them on the trailer Kitt gave a shiver, the vehicles up ahead coming on fast. Prime rolled his way around the semi in front of him, getting a good look at the oncoming vehicles before launching forward. Prowl took right flank, Bluestreak right behind him on left. Stunticons...

The Stunticons seemed to mimic their positions, Motormaster taking point, Dead End and Drag Strip taking flanks. This had the prospect of turning out... Rather disastrous...

The Knight Industries Semi slowly backed up as Stunticons and Autobots met up. Prime transformed mid run, to launch himself at Motormaster, the others following suit. The unarmed Semi wisely decided it was best if it took cover.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Kro what the pits are you doing?"

If he could have he would have rolled his eyes. As it was Kro simply stood his ground, overlooking Knight Industries. "Megatron is furious! You were suppose to stick with the Stunticons, not chicken out of the battle!"

Again with the tone...

"I chickened out of nothing as you put it." Kro muttered quietly.

"Then what are you still doing here?"

Thundercracker probably meant well... Probably... He was almost certain that the seeker had been sent out to make certain Kro didn't screw up. He was being tested. Given little tasks to do. Megatron wanted Karr. Rather Megatron wanted any AI that Knight Industries already had up and running.

Kro's directives were a little different... He wanted revenge... He wanted Knight Industries to suffer... Before it was simply James Marland he wanted to suffer. Slowly and painfully if it was at all possible... Though one run in with Team Knight Rider was more than enough to teach him a valued lesson... FLAG was the true source. The the vehicles would fall... Beneath FLAG sat a foundation. Knight Industries...

In order to bring down Knight Industries he would have to be just a bit more clever... Others had tried and failed... He wasn't about to make the mistake of being to egotistical and deny the possibility that he could fail as well. That was how others before him had fallen.

Thundercracker let out a soft, irritated sound from deep in his vocals, and silently flopped down beside Kro. "So exactly what are you trying to accomplish?"

"Knight Industries is a larger obstacle than your leader thinks. He never should have involved them in the war."

"You know you can be accused of treason with thoughts like that..." Thundercracker muttered nervously.

"I'm no more guilty of treason than you..." Kro mused.

Thundercracker gave a rather irritated look, opening his mouth to ask him what the hell he meant by that, but Kro was already on the move. "I do believe our opening will be soon."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"I want to know exactly what is taking so long!"

Ratchet flinched under the piercing voice of Jennifer Knight, a brief sigh released. He never looked away from his patient and for the first time in a good long while he found himself fighting off the urge to throw a wrench at a human. He ignored that piercing voice and worked instead on Jazz as the Techs looked at each other, searching for an answer.

She wanted Michael and for some reason felt he should have been there already, despite the fact they hadn't yet dug Kitt out of the ground to his knowledge...

Why she expected Michael to be here when Kitt wasn't was beyond him.

She had originally come into the garage looking for Bonnie. However, finding Bonnie nowhere in sight... She had launched into one of the Tech's wanting to know of Michael's current location. He wasn't even going to bother to mention that Bonnie had known she was coming and had therefore moved her much more delicate project over to a neighboring Garage.

"What in the pits Ratch?"

Rachet frowned down into Jazz's exposed engine and shrugged just a bit. The amount of damage in the saboteur had been extensive. So much so that Ratchet simply hadn't been comfortable with letting Jazz transform. He had already torn into the Autobot the stupidity of transforming while they had been underground and already he was finding damage that could have very well been avoided if he hadn't been stupid enough to transform while damaged.

"I don't know Jazz... I have one preceptor nerve left and that human is hitting it repeatedly..."

"Excuse me!" Ratchet flinched, like a dog who had heard a sound that didn't agree with him and turned his attention to said human who was making her way quickly across the garage area, head held aloft and a rather sour look on her face.

"Where is Dr. Barstow?" Again with that high pitched and demanding voice... Really Ratchet supposed he could have very well told her... Though respect for a fellow medic would push him to simply smile and shrug.

"I'm sorry Ms. Knight. I haven't seen her. Have you tried lab 4?"

From his position so close to Jazz Ratchet caught the barest fragments of a faint chuckle from the injured Autobot. They had all witnessed Jennifer Knight going to the Techs. They had all asked her the same question. Have you checked lab 4? Of course Bonnie was no where near that lab but it seemed like a good enough response...

"You and I both know that lab 4 is empty no where is she?" The response was clipped and Ratchet couldn't help but chuckle despite the fact he wanted to squish the human and be done with it.

"Ma'am I can assure you that if it were an Autobot you were looking for I would be able to tell you but I have not yet memorized all of the names of Knight Employees let alone where one of them are."

Jennifer gave the Autobot Medic a rather sour look and turned on a heel, heading off to other parts of the garage.

"Well she's irritating..." Jazz muttered softly, gaining a nod from Ratchet.

"Tell me about it... Why is she here anyway?"

"To take over from Devon." Ratchet's attention snatched to the side with a puzzled look as Trek came up beside him, his attention riveted onto a clip board. "She's here because Knight Industries has been trying to retire Devon for years and now that he's incapacitated they're throwing forward one of their own... Bonnie hates her so she stays out of her way, and the AI's would rather just ignore the fact that she exists... Anyway I'm finished going over Dante. If you need an extra hand I can help."

"Is he alright?" Ratchet questioned, silently directing Trek to where he needed an extra hand. He highly suspected Trek had been sent in to get a good look at transformer anatomy though he for one wouldn't scold him on it. He half wanted a good look at the anatomy of one of the Knight vehicles...

"Mhmm, he'll pull through. Some of his sensors were damaged and need to be replaced, which will take a little bit of time for us to get the parts in. It was mostly structural damage. Those parts should be in within' the next few days. Until then he's going to be running on half code sensors."

"How about the other one? The truck that was damaged?" Ratchet questioned as he patched up yet another damaged fuel line.

"I don't know... Bonnie called in a team of technicians. They're still working on him."

"Then why aren't you in there helping her?" Ratchet questioned, glancing up from what he was doing though pretty sure he already knew the answer.

Trek only grinned and shrugged. "Think you already know. I'll admit I'm a little curious, though with Beast down both me and Bonnie would rather my services be focused on Attack Beast. The board is holding Kitt over her head... They won't allow the proper repairs for Kitt unless I try and sneak a peak at anatomy 101 Autobot style."

Ratchet briefly flickered his optics in a form of a slight blink. He had already known that but to hear the young human state it so frankly had thrown him off a bit.

"Hmm, well lean in a little closer." Ratchet stated after a few minutes and quietly went on with his work. Trek gave a soft chuckle and leaned in. Who ever said honesty wasn't the best policy?

"Get the hell out of this garage!"

Ratchet glanced up with a deep frown as Bonnie's voice cut through the already tense air, pulling the attention of human and Autobot medics alike.

"You self centered, self obsessed, little Bitch!"

Trek cleared his throat and quickly ducked down behind Jazz's battered form. He wasn't looking forward to hearing whatever all this was about....

"Bonnie, don't shoot the messenger. I came because-"

"You came because you're a coward and a lying.... Hell I don't even know what you are, but you're a piece of work! Devon is sick! He's not dying!"

"Ladies!" Ratchet bellowed over the yelling, a frown crossing his face plates.

"Guess they found each other." Jazz quipped out of the blue, pulling a chuckle from Trek.

Jennifer fell silent for a moment, a glance cast around the room and abruptly turned on a heel. "I'm just a messenger Bonnie. It is the way it's going to be though. If you need to reach me you know how."

Bonnie glared at the door as Jennifer marched out, a slow shake of her head given. The garage fell to absolute silence as the garage door swung closed again with a soft thump, shattered when Bonnie abruptly threw her wrench at the door. The resulting clang caused the majority of those gathered to give a startled jump.

"Dr. Barstow..." Ratchet started slowly, his voice calm and level as he approached the fuming human. "Is their a valid reason you're throwing things around an infirmary type situation.

Bonnie's death glare was cast away from the door and redirected to Ratchet. The Autobot medic didn't even flinch. He met Bonnie's death glare with a very effective one of his own. Her arms crossed in front of her and Ratchet mimicked the gesture, a deep frown crossing his face plates.

Finally it was Ratchet that broke the deafening silence. "What's wrong Dr. Barstow?"

Bonnie's glare deepened just a bit as she abruptly turned on a heel, heading back into the room she had been so carefully working on Beast. Ratchet sighed and followed closely behind, easily keeping pace with the much smaller human. "Dr. Barstow I asked you a question."

"And I didn't supply an answer!" Was the snappy come back. Ratchet groaned and persisted his 'hunt' ducking into the neighboring garage after her and closing the door. The scene of the garage wasn't exactly a pleasant one. Beast had been shut off line for the time being. A blessing for the truck... They rather effectively dissected the massive black vehicle in order to work around those important internal components that affected the way the CPU could manipulate it's vehicular body.

"Dr. Barstow!"

Once in the quiet of the garage she spun back to Ratchet with a glare. "It's really not your concern Ratchet."

"Oh when it involves my infirmary it is my concern and don't give me that look. I'm the chief medic and as long as there is an Autobot here it is my infirmary. Now... What's going on?"

Bonnie heaved a sigh and flopped down on one of the many benches. "They want to cut Kitt's funding..."

Ratchet stared at her for a few minutes, not a clue what she was even talking about. That face registered once he cleared his throat, suggesting Bonnie go on into a little more depth.

"With the AI's... They're computers. Very, very, very expensive computers... They need parts... They need maintenance. They need techs and fuel and new components when they go bad... I mean... Beast alone this time around managed to do well over eight hundred thousand dollars worth of damage to himself. If we have to rebuild the entire truck it'll be much more than that. The AI's are expensive... Kitt was considered obsolete years ago. He's still the cutting edge but when it comes down to what makes him tick... It's getting a little difficult to actually manage to find the parts. The newer models are so much more... Sophisticated and advanced... Knight Industries doesn't want to fund any more repairs for Kitt... They're not decommissioning him yet... Though I get the feeling that won't be far away... Sooner or later he's going to need repairs. We can't afford to do it..."

Ratchet frowned deeply and knelt down next to the bench. "They wouldn't let him die Bonnie. I know of no part of your government that would allow a sentient being to die."

Bonnie sighed and gave a shrug. "Knight Industries isn't the government. Besides that, the AI's are not considered sentient. Though for now... That's the least of our troubles. Jennifer just took over all Knight Industries related activities until Devon is well enough to continue."

Ratchet gave a slow nod to that, a thoughtful frown given. "Could be worse than that though correct? It will give your boss time to heal."

Bonnie flinched and gave a slight nod. "Have you met Jennifer?"

"Most unpleasant woman..." Ratchet responded, earning a smirk from Bonnie.

"That would be her."

The Autobot chuckled softly, his head tilting a bit in Beast's direction. "How is he?"

"Could be worse... Could be much worse... He was lucky. His CPU is actually sitting on top of the shard that went through him. The casing was actually scratched and somehow he's for the most part undamaged in any way that counts."

"Anything I can do?"

Bonnie shook her head with a deep sigh. "Unfortunately no... I have to work through this mess on my own. I even threw most of the techs out."

Ratchet chuckled lightly, a slow nod given as he slowly stood up. "So who is this... Jennifer person anyway...."

"Jennifer Knight." Bonnie explained slowly, turning around on the Bench so that she faced Beast, using the time to get another look at the massive truck. "Daughter of the late Wilton Knight. Also one of our supporters believe it or not... Still though she's always been difficult to deal with and a little two faced. She will support Kitt so long as she's talking to Devon. It doesn't seem to suite her anymore. These days the fact that Kitt is still active is just a problem to her."

"Your culture is both violent and confusing." Ratchet muttered flatly, pulling a chuckle from Bonnie.

"Ratchet my friend... You have no idea..."

XXXXXXXXXXX

No one could ever say that an AI had any kind of issue where patients was concerned. Hours could crawl by and Kro wouldn't have minded. After all he was one who had been designed to sit in a parking lot for hours at a time.

He was one who was built on the premiss that he would spend most of his life sitting in a parking lot and waiting for his driver to accomplish whatever tasks were set before him. Now... He would never wait for his driver again.

The thought was more than a little depressing. However, it was one he could cope with given the tasks set before him.

Down below in the valley that was the Knight Industries parking lot, he watched the still and silent form of a stretch limo...

The hours he had spent, silent atop the ridge were rewarded the moment he finally spotted his current target. Jennifer Knight marched across the parking lot with a sour look etched across her face.

"Kro..." The Ferrari sighed heavily, his attention turning back to the proverbial thorn in his side. "Thundercracker if you don't want to be here, fly away."

"Your task is to tail the Stunticons and learn. Not to go off on your own little witch hunt..."

"I know what my task is. Fortunately I have the foresight to see outside of the box Thundercracker. Despite what your leader might think, I am not an imbecile."

"He never said you were." Thundercracker pointed out, quickly following the sports car as it started out.

"Enough Thunder. Watch and learn." Kro pointed out flatly, speeding up as the Limo pulled away. He kept with it, tailing the dark vehicle away from the complex. Thundercracker cursed softly, unable to follow nearly as easily as Kro could. He was forced to remain hidden, letting Kro slip through his grasp for the moment rather than force the issue in such an Autobot heavy area.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Gerald, get me the board of directors... If it's possible get me Devon Miles. Perhaps I can talk some sense into him."

"Yes Ms. Knight."

Jennifer Knight sighed deeply as she leaned back in the plush leather seats of the limo eyes closed against the harsh light of the midday California sun. She truly did hate it when things didn't turn out the way she had planned them... It was as if the entire world had gone absolutely mad.

She was still fuming over her misfortunes when the harsh light of the midday sun abruptly stopped, a short startled cry from her driver bringing her out of her thoughts.

She was thrown to the side as the wheel snatched, the front of the limo burying itself in the ditch along the side of the road, causing Jennifer to pitch forward onto the unforgiving floor. Dazed and confused she sat up, her driver's continued cry of panic not truly registering into her mind. Therefore, she was shocked when her door was not only opened but pulled from the car entirely and an unforgiving vice like contraption plucked her out of the safety of the limo.

It was only once her head cleared again a few moments later did a few things register in her mind. First, her driver was a coward... He was currently making his way very quickly across the desert. Second, the vice was not a vice. It was a hand... A very large metallic hand that was currently holding her about sixty or so feet off the ground. Third, the hand was connected to a very tall and very angry looking robot.

She squeaked softly in terror, trembling as the hand deposited her onto the flat surface of the monster's other hand.

"Jennifer Knight I presume?" It questioned softly, causing her to balk just a bit. That voice sounded vaguely familiar though she couldn't for the life of her place it.

"Yes..." She responded tentatively, only to let out another panicked scream as she suddenly dropped. Like an elevator going down way to quickly the hand lowered her down to the ground until it was resting softly in the dirt. "I am trusting you not to run Ms. Knight. The consequences will not prove well for either of us should I have to chase you down."

With a slow nod Jennifer stepped off of the hand and onto the dirt, her gaze unable to tear away from the robot as it began to fold and contort, changing shape until it reformed itself into the black, low set form of a Ferrari.

"Kro!" She abruptly blurted out, tripping over herself as she back peddled quickly.

"Why Ms. Knight. You remember me! I'm touched." Kro offered simply, his driver's side door popping open. "I would like a word with you Ms. Knight. Might I remind you that attempting to run away is a futile effort that will only cause both of us to be irritated with each other."

Jennifer bit down on her lower lip and glassed out across the desert. In the distance she could see her driver still running... Kro could probably make it to him in a few seconds... What chance did she stand?

She started out across the plains, weighing her options.

Kro spotted her hesitation and chuckled softly. "I can run you over out there Ms. Knight."

"But you can shoot me with a laser inside there I'm told."

"True... Though I wouldn't. I would never be able to get the pieces of you out of my interior. Most unpleasant. No if I wanted to kill you I would run you over. A simple run through a car wash and all the unpleasantries are over. Why would I coax you into something just to kill you in a way that would make things difficult for myself when I could just as easily do it another way?"

She cringed and rethought her options. He was right... The logic there was more than a little twisted but he was right. If she wanted to get out of this it was best to play nice for now. Somewhat defeated she heaved out a low sigh and slid into the driver's seat.

"No need for dramatics Ms. Knight."

"What do you want?" Jennifer demanded, drawing out a low chuckle from Kro. The sound was a disturbing one. It always had been...

"Ms. Knight I've come to learn something in the short time I've been a part of this world. One is that you can trust no one. Two is that just when you think you might be happy your world changes. Three... Is that people like you only understand two things. Money and power. I'm willing to offer you the chance for both."

"I have money." Jennifer pointed out flatly. "As well as power."

"You want more. You wouldn't be so interested in the Knight Project if not. Aside from that you can't lie to a computer. Both are dwindling down..."

Jennifer narrowed her eyes a bit, a frown crossing her features. "You hacked into my personal files."

"Is that surprising Ms. Knight? If it is, I may have overestimated you..."

"No... Not surprising. Just a little insulting. Those files were private."

To her surprise Kro laughed at that. Not that dark chuckle she remembered so well while he was being built and first bonded to Martin. A wild, somewhat insane sounding laugh that sent a chill down her spine. The AI had truly lost it... Worse yet she was sitting in the driver's seat more or less helpless to the thing's whims.

"Ms. Knight you must understand" Kro went on once he had sobered just a bit, "To an AI nothing is private. Honestly you humans are to modest about some things..."

Jennifer sighed deeply and nodded. "Get to the point."

"There is something standing in your way. There are certain things I can do for you. I am not a bad ally to have in your corner Ms. Knight."

Jennifer frowned and gave a slow nod, her gaze shifting to the voice modulator mounted on the dash. The leads fluctuated with the tones and pitch of Kro's voice as they did with every AI she had ever known...

"I highly doubt you would take care of my problems out of charity Kro. There must be something in it for you..."

"Highly astute Ms. Knight. Yes there would be something in it for me."

Jennifer frowned as she leaned back, thinking back on all the reports she had read on the AI projects. She made it a point to know what was going on in the lives of her father's pet projects. "James"

"Oh now I'm impressed Ms. Knight. You are rather perceptive."

"You think I'm going to help you in the death of someone who was once a dear friend of my father's?" Jennifer pressed after a moment.

"Oh don't be so simple Ms. Knight you're better than that. Martin wanted him dead. I loved my driver, but he never could see outside the box..."

Slowly the woman nodded, a frown playing 'cross her lips. "You want to see him suffer."

"Oh now you are truly being perceptive. Bravo."

"I could do without the condescending tones Kro. Just what did you have in mind and what makes you think I'm willing to do anything for you?"

To that Kro laughed again. Again that wild and somewhat insane sounding laugh. Jennifer shivered and sank back just a bit deeper into the plush leather. The AI sounded rational, though all she had to do was hear that wild laugh to know just how highly disturbed it actually was.

"You have something I want..."

"What keeps you from gaining the power you want?" Kro pointed out slowly. He was speaking slowly now. Simply. She was being mocked. The realization wasn't a pleasant one. Kro was speaking to her as one would speak to a child.

"You will never gain power so long as you can not control your father's pet project. What if I had a way of relieving that problem?"

"You're working for the... Oh what were they called again... Deceptitrons?" She stumbled over the words, sinking just a bit deeper back into Kro's driver's seat.

"My dear don't disappoint me. I had you pegged for someone who could think outside the box as well. By the way it's Decepticons, not Deceptitrons. The problem with them is that they do are very constricted in their thinking. Destroy this, steal that, but do they get anywhere? No my dear. They don't. Granted I am grateful to them for freeing me from that horrid prison."

"You're showing your gratitude by betraying them?"

Jennifer let out a startled yelp as Kro revved his engine dangerously and sank back. Sore spot apparently...

"I am not betraying them! I may have my own agenda but their cause will be my cause! My gratitude to them extends beyond what I must do now!"

"Sounds like brain washing to me Kro." Jennifer pointed out pulling an irritated growl from Kro. She flinched, immediately rethinking her tactics for the moment. Just because Kro didn't want to have to worry about getting pieces of humans out of his interior didn't mean he wouldn't...

"So what's in it for you? Getting James as something to kick around for a while? You know I'm not going to allow you to murder a fellow human. No matter how much it might gain me though honestly at the moment I don't see how it would..."

"You let me worry about all the details Ms. Knight. For now just look at it this way. What is it that you want?"

"I believe what you believe that I want is money and power." Jennifer mused slowly.

"Don't play logic games with me Ms. Knight. It is what you want. What you've been striving for. Money and power is what James already has. Has by far already achieved. So what can you do that will transfer the balance?"

"You want to give me James's job?" Jennifer questioned slowly, already knowing that was the wrong answer. Still though, the resulting growl told her she was in fact pushing his buttons so to speak.

"Don't allow me to think I've overestimated you again Ms. Knight. That would not be good for you..."

She sighed and nodded, waving a hand for him to go on. "Alright, alright. You take away his money and his power and he gets miserable then you kill him or torture him or ruin him whatever the hell you have in mind. Where do I fit into all this?"

"You my dear are the daughter of Wilton Knight. Think about it long and hard."

"You want me to sway the board." Jennifer mused slowly.

"Very good Ms. Knight! You get a gold star... Though I think you're now underestimating yourself. You can do much more than that. I need to know what's going on in Knight Industries. Mind you that James is my first priority but my second is going to be gaining AI systems for the Decepticon cause."

"What makes you think that I'm going to hand over my father's legacy?" Jennifer pointed out simply.

"For what else my dear? Money and power. Your father's legacy is the only thing keeping you from it. I've said it before and I'll say it again my dear. I am not a bad person to have as an ally. Far from it. I can help you just as much as you can help me."

"Is your new boss going to see it that way?" Jennifer questioned flatly.

"Oh what Megatron doesn't know won't hurt him. He saved me from that prison. He has my loyalty and if you cross that loyalty I promise you I will end our little alliance. However, if you work with me... You will have all the gain without having to deal with the unpleasantries that I will deal with."

Jennifer sat back in the driver's seat and absently settled her hands on Kro's steering wheel as she thought. It was... Tempting... Surprisingly tempting actually.

"Exactly what are you going to do to James?" She questioned after a moment, pulling a chuckle from Kro.

"Don't you mean, can it be tied to you?"

Jennifer gave a hard swallow and nodded. "Of course."

"No. In no way. I'm not going to ask you to get your pretty little hands dirty Jennifer. All I'm asking you to do is move a few pawns into place and place a few moves under my direction. After that all I will ask of you is that you keep me informed."

"And just how am I suppose to do that? A Kro signal?"

Kro gave off a little chuckle for once the sound neither maniacal or cruel sounding. It actually sounded rather amused. One of the monitors lit up and to her surprise a logo flashed across the screen. It looked like the bat signal from the old Batman comic books, with the exception that rather than a bat, the silhouette was in the form of a bird. Presumedly a Crow.

"Wow... A sense of humor. I don't remember them programing that into you."

"You would be amazed at what we AI systems can learn... For now Ms. Jennifer, all I need is your word."

Jennifer sighed heavily and dipped her head in a slow nod.

"Excellent. I have programmed my personal contact number into your cell phone Ms. Knight. Use it wisely." Kro stated simply his driver's side door opening once more to allow the woman out into the hot sun.

"Just one problem Einstein... My driver and car?"

Kro gave a soft chuckle and revved his engine. "A tow truck is already on the way. I'm not so sure they'll find your driver though... You may want to start interviewing applicants when you get back to L.A."

Jennifer sighed heavily and nodded. "I thought you said I wouldn't have to get my hands dirty. This doesn't look good Kro."

"I've already thought of that my dear. According to my resources he has been seeing a doctor for chronic back pain. He's on a rather heavy narcotic because of it. You called 911 a few minutes ago and informed the dispatcher that your driver was acting irrational and claiming to be seeing giants. He then crashed the car and bolted into the desert."

"Do you know how hard it is to find a good driver?" Jennifer snapped irritably, pulling a chuckle from Kro. "Besides that you ripped the door off!"

"Could have happened in the crash. I was careful not to bend it to much. As for your driver's testimony... They won't find him."

"And how do you know that?" Jennifer pointed out, pulling a light chuckle from Kro once more. "You're underestimating me again Jennifer. Trust me."

Jennifer sighed and gave a slight roll of her eyes. "Trust me you say... So how long am I suppose to wait out here?"

"As long as it takes. Think about my proposal while you're waiting. I'll be in touch."

With that Kro was gone, abruptly backing up and pulling away without so much as a whisper. With a heavy sigh Jennifer sat down on the edge of the limo's back seat, staring down at her hands. Just what had she gotten herself into?

A few miles away a rather triumphant Kro pulled to a stop alongside the sober form of a great blue jet. "That's gonna come back and bite ya in the skid plate." Thundercracker monotoned, drawing a chuckle from Kro.

"That's where our opinions differ. Do you think I would have approached her if I didn't think she was incredibly easy to manipulate? Let me worry about Jennifer. You worry about the other AI's. If this works out I'll have my revenge and Megatron will have his AI's. Now what can possibly be wrong with that?"

"Alot if you double cross him..." Thundercracker pointed out.

"Dear lord you're the second one to accuse me of treason today... You can never have enough allies Thundercracker and just because you don't understand my methods does not mean I am not on your side. Give me time to make this work."

Thundercracker sighed and gave a slow nod, his vision turning up towards the sky for a moment. "Fine... But if you get caught it's your fender, not mine."

"Very well. Come along Thunder. We have bigger fish to fry for now..." Kro mused with another insane sounding laugh. Thundercracker sighed and shook his head, taking flight to keep up with the Ferrari on the ground.

"Do you really have to call me Thunder?" Thundercracker abruptly cut in above the roar of engines as the two left the scene behind them.

"Would you prefer Cracker?"

"Thunder it is then..."