Ah it's amazing what some good music, caffeine and junk food can do for a person LOL. I have a couple of fic requests that I'll hopefully be starting to work on within the next couple of weeks. I just need to round up the muses LOL. Not to mention I have a couple of other ideas floating around. Anyways, this fic still has many MANY chapters left from what I can see LOL. So enjoy! Oh the accent thing...I can't remember which fic I saw it in (one of my many favorites I believe if you know let me know so I can give proper credit for this particular tidbit of information) I can definitely see. Being on Earth the 'Bots are going to pick up accents and other human traits. So I can see Jazz slipping into his pre-Earth voice during certain times easy for him to do.

Michael had no warning. One moment he was cautiously creeping down the hallways, looking for where they might have possibly hidden Brie; the next minute he found himself being dangled hundreds of feet off the ground by a livid mech with a visor. He had a feeling that this was the mysterious saboteur, Jazz, who he had always heard some of the mechs cursing.

"What are ya doin' out here?" he snarled, visibly twitching with the urge to simply drop the slimy human and be done with it. Only the inherent coding that Autobots were not to harm humans prevented him from doing so. He wasn't above scaring and threatening the male though.

"I-I'm lost. I was l-looking to get something to eat," Michael replied, deciding to play dumb even though he knew it wouldn't work. The mech before him was too smart to fall for it. Jazz merely shook him slightly, his visor flashing darkly.

"Ya can' lie ta me human. What's yer game?" he growled. Michael's face tightened as he allowed his own anger to come to the surface.

"I'm looking for my sister! What have you done to her?" he snapped. Jazz brought Michael closer to his face as he simply stared at him.

"We haven' done anythin' but protect her! Yer 'master' is tha one that harmed her! Did he tell ya exactly what he was up ta with his 'treatments?'" he hissed. Michael crossed his arms over his chest, a ridiculous sight considering he was still dangling from between two clawed digits as he glared at Jazz in defiance.

"Lord Megatron said that she was sick! He said that without these treatments she would die! How do I know you even have her still?" he snapped. Jazz trembled faintly, the urge to drop the human pressing down heavily upon him. Before he could even think about acting upon it Michael was snagged from his grasp by an invisible hand even as his own arms were brought back and cuffs were slapped on his wrists.

"Jazz just what do you think you're doing?" Optimus' voice was stern as he stood before the smaller mech. Jazz said nothing as Mirage uncloaked, holding Michael in his hand. Judging by the look on his face the mech found the experience quite unpleasant and Jazz wished that the spy was more like Sunstreaker. The slagging human would have already been turned into so much mush on the ground.

"Ah was just makin' sure that he found his way to where he was goin'," Jazz replied sullenly. He made no attempt to escape, though Prowl and Optimus knew that he could easily slip out of the cuffs.

"That doesn't seem to be what we walked up to," Prowl replied as he arched an optic ridge and waited expectantly. He shook his head as Jazz remained stubbornly silent. He turned to a recently arrived Ironhide, who looked more than a little confused, and spoke coolly.

"Please escort Jazz to the brig. Maybe a short stay will help him decide to share what's bothering him," he said. Ironhide nodded and grasped the saboteur by the arm before leading him down the hall. The three mechs watched silently and once Jazz and Ironhide were out of sight Prowl turned to Michael and his face grew even colder.

"Tell me the truth human, what were you doing out of your room without an escort?" he asked. Optimus gazed at him as well and Michael could sense the weight of the mech who had mercifully plucked him from what he was sure had been imminent death on his back and knew that he was in some serious trouble. He took a deep breath and forced himself to meet the optics of the tactician before answering.

"Looking for the cafeteria?"

Brie peered silently out the door, body tense. She relaxed slightly as she spotted Barricade in a chair in the far corner, optics offlined. She scanned the rest of the room, finding no trace of the Twins or Jazz. She crept cautiously out of the room, heading for the door. She froze as Barricade suddenly spoke.

"Going somewhere Brie?" he growled, onlining his optics to glare at the young femme. Brie sagged visibly. Damn it why did his senses have to be so sharp?

"I was going to go look for Jazz. He's been gone awhile," she replied. She was telling the truth…well half of it at least. She did intend to look for Jazz…after she reunited with her brother. Barricade snorted in disbelief.

"I can tell you exactly where he is at the moment. He's in the brig," he replied. Brie was startled by his statement.

"What? Why?" she asked quickly. Barricade shrugged slightly as he stood.

"Frenzy doesn't know. All he said was that he saw Ironhide escorting him there in handcuffs," he replied. Brie dropped her head. This was all her fault.

"Brie, don't blame yourself. We just need to resolve this situation fast. I'll speak to Optimus about letting you see Michael…under supervision," he said, quick to add the last part when her head shot up and her optics lit up in delight. Brie nodded, all but dancing in place though she still felt horrible about Jazz.

"How long do you think he'll be in there?" she asked, missing his presence. They had rarely been apart since her transformation and she found that she didn't like the unsettled feeling that she had. Barricade eyed her silently, a half smirk on his lips. She was more than half in love with the saboteur; she just wasn't ready to face it. She would have to soon though. He vented softly as he stood.

"Why don't we go find out?" he said as he moved towards the door. Brie nodded and followed him, her thoughts still troubled. Why had Jazz been so angry when he left…and what had he done to deserve brig time?

Jazz reclined back on the berth, staring up at the ceiling with his arms crossed back behind his head. He knew that he had been wrong in letting his emotions get to him. It was something he had never done before. Being too emotional could and would easily get you killed out on the battlefield. So why had he allowed them to get the best of him now?

'Because Ah've never felt fer anyone tha way Ah feel 'bout Brie,' he thought with a small exhalation of air. He knew logically that enlisting the Twins to help was a smart move. It never hurt to have somebot close by in case neither he nor Barricade were. He just couldn't understand why he had stormed out the way he had.

He groaned softly as he shuttered his optics. He knew slagging well why he had been so upset. He was afraid; afraid that Brie would choose one of the Twins over him. He sat up and dropped his head wearily. He knew that it would never happen; Sunny had frightened Brie too much for her to ever consider either of them that way. She knew that they were a package deal. He knew this…but it didn't stop him from feeling afraid that it would happen nonetheless.

"So, you care to explain now exactly why you were about to go against everything we believe in?" Prowl's voice broke into his thoughts and he raised his head to meet the optics of the SIC.

"Ah don' know. Ah just…" his voice trailed off as his optics shifted away, unable to stand lying to the tactician directly. Prowl knew that gesture; Jazz used it quite often when he was trying to avoid something unpleasant. He wasn't going to let him get away with it this time.

"Don't lie to me Jazz. I really don't want to keep you locked up in here. Brie needs you," he said quietly. His sharp gaze took note of the way Jazz tensed briefly at the mention of Brie's name before forcing himself to relax and it confirmed his suspicions. Jazz had already been upset before seeking out the human, Michael. The question was what had set him off?

"Prowl, just let it go," Jazz's voice was soft and clear of the accent that he had picked up upon arriving on Earth. It was a sign that whatever was disturbing Jazz was something deeply personal and he wasn't ready to share it. Prowl shook his head. Normally he would just walk away and allow Jazz time to pull himself together before questioning him again. Unfortunately he couldn't afford to do that this time.

"Jazz, Optimus is naturally concerned about the state of your processor. He wants Ratchet to do a complete physical on you," he said slowly. There was no missing the way Jazz shuddered at his words. A physical by Ratchet was something to be avoided at all costs, even regularly scheduled ones.

"That's not necessary," he replied softly. Prowl crossed his arms over his chest and fixed a piercing stare on the small saboteur.

"I think it is. Obviously something is wrong and we need to rule out that it's physical or not. We need you focused on our goals," he said sternly. Jazz mumbled something under his breath before turning his optics back to Prowl, a dark scowl on his face.

"Why tha Twins?" he asked suddenly. Prowl stared at him for a moment, thrown off guard by his sudden question and the return of his accent. It appeared that the defense mechanisms had gone back up.

"Why the Twins what?" he asked cautiously. Jazz shook his head.

"Don' try ta say that ya don' know!" he snapped. Prowl's optics narrowed. Jazz may be the TIC but Prowl was still his superior and as such he couldn't allow the other mech to speak to him that way.

"I can honestly say that I don't Jazz. What have the Twins done now?" he asked. Jazz eyed him in surprise.

"They kept ya in tha dark? Surprising…then again Optimus probably didn' wanna make ya glitch," he mused. Prowl made a mental note to speak to Optimus following this conversation. He didn't like being left in the dark concerning decisions about Autobot safety and protocol.

"Why don't you fill me in?" he said. Jazz vented softly as he leaned back on his hands and his gaze met Prowl's.

"Apparently tha consensus is that tha Twins need ta help watch over Brie," he said. Prowl twitched, fighting the urge not to glitch as Jazz had predicted he would. No wonder he had been left out of the loop.

"I see…I'll let you out Jazz with the strict instruction that you are to return to Brie's quarters and stay away from the human unless other Autobots are present," he said. Jazz nodded and slid smoothly to his feet as Prowl opened the door. He had just stepped out when he spotted Brie and Barricade heading their way. He steeled himself as they approached, aware of when Prowl slipped away.

"Hey Brie," he said quietly. Brie stopped before him, anxiously scanning him for any signs of injury.

"Are you ok Jazz?" she asked quickly. Jazz smiled and Brie was happy to see that he seemed back to his usual cheerful self.

"Brie, Ah want ta apologize," he said, pointedly ignoring Barricade's smirk and sarcastic thumbs up. Sometimes he swore that the ex-Con took more pleasure than he should out of baiting him. Brie gazed at him in surprise.

"Jazz…"

"Perhaps we should take this to a more private location…unless you want everyone to know your business," Barricade drawled. Jazz nodded and took Brie's hand in his, leading her out of the brig area and down the hall. Barricade followed at a slower pace, a small true smile on his face. Perhaps things were going to work out after all.