Author's Note: Thank you so much for your kind reviews! I'm trying to deliver new parts when I get the chance. I've been working some extra shifts the past couple days so it's been crazy… hey, it's 95 degrees outside and I have the best job in the world… ICE CREAM SHOPPE!!!! But I digress! Please keep on reviewing! I have no idea how many parts this story is going to be but I hope that this particular chapter answers a couple questions, as well as raise a few new ones… Everything is going to come together soon but I'm not sure exactly how soon… Stay tuned!!!!

Disclaimer: I'm broke, don't sue.

Actual disclaimer: Hasbro, Sunbow, and Marvel and everyone else own G.I. Joe. I own nothing except for the children I created.

Kaelin and Cole were thoroughly disgusted by the fact they had to even come along on this little trip, having learned the truth about their mother's loyalty. They were curious why they were being forced to speak with her now, however, and gave their mother angry looks when they arrived in the room.

The rest of the kids were a little shocked by her appearance to say the least. The Mrs. Parker they had known in their time was usually put together, had a kind smile, and treated her children like gold. Now, she was handcuffed to a chair, had tousled hair and her ripped clothes and emotionless face left something to be desired. Her hard expression softened slightly upon seeing Kaelin and Cole, but her eyes saddened upon seeing their cold stares. She looked over at Mainframe, who only shrugged his shoulders, and gathered the kids around her.

Another man was standing in the room, a slightly older man, with a brown shirt, green pants, and combat boots. He seemed to be someone who had a great deal of authority. "I'm General Hawk," he introduced himself to the kids. "I'm the Commanding Officer on this base. I've asked all of you here now for you to understand why exactly you were brought here from your time, and considering that this… woman," he pointed to Zarana, "is supposedly the mother to two of you, I've decided to allow her to tell you."

""She has nothing to say to us," Cole said angrily.

"She's done enough damage," Kaelin said, the hurt still in her voice.

"Listen to what she has to say," Mainframe said calmly. "I think you'll be surprised."

"She's a traitor, wasn't that enough of a surprise for us," Cole said bitterly.

"She's also the reason you're standing here at Joe headquarters instead of in a Cobra prison cell," Mainframe said with a hint of anger in his voice. Kaelin and Cole looked shocked at his outburst and immediately turned their attention to their mother.

"What is he talking about?" Cole demanded.

"Yeah, I'm lost," Shannon said.

Zarana took a deep breath and started speaking. "About two months ago, Dr. Mindbender completed a device that would allow us to travel back and forth through time- a time machine if you will. His plan was to find and follow the future children of the Joes- which would be all of you- kidnap them, bring them here to the past, then use you as bait for a trap to lure the Joes into a major assassination. He thought that they would do anything to save their children and would use that knowledge to trap and kill them. Kill the Joes and there will be no obstacles to Cobra taking over the world." She let out a sharp laugh before continuing. "Take over the world, isn't that the story of our careers."

"So what exactly is your role in this plot?" Cole asked.

"I was sent to gather information on both of you, Kaelin and Cole," she said. "Find out where you went to school, who your parents were, what your summer plans entailed and so on. It was through my research that I discovered that you were Mainframe's children. And mine."

"Oh, my god! You went to our school!" Kaelin exclaimed. She shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe I didn't even notice you. I know every single kid at Shadow Mountain, how did I not see you? Oh lord, for someone who was just elected STUGO secretary for next year, I just totally blew it. I hope this doesn't get out, because if it does I am completely-"

"Kay, chill," Cole told his little sister.

"You wouldn't have recognized me," her mother said. "I was disguised as a new teacher. Remember that gym teacher Ms. Richards?"

"Yeah, she was that new teacher when Mr. Crawford got in that car accident. She was a total slave driver, but she was pretty nice to me, even though she was still giving me grief about not pushing myself hard enough in the physical fitness test which is ridiculous because I have the fastest mile time of anyone in school-" Kaelin's eyes widened when she saw her mother smiling. "That was you!" she exclaimed. "I am so stupid!"

"There was no way you could've known," Mainframe told her. "Your mother is a master of disguises and covert ops."

"Mindbender didn't know that you were my children. I wasn't about to tell him either, because then Cobra would find out my future husband- according to the future we had seen- had been a Joe. So, when the time came to actually kidnap the children, I decided to realign the device programmed with the destination the children would end up in. I had them sent here because I knew they'd be safe here. All of you would take care of them. My children… they'd be okay." She looked down at her feet then, unable to look up at her children, who were currently standing slack-jawed in front of their mother.

"You did all that to make sure that we'd be safe?" Kaelin asked in disbelief. Zarana nodded.

"Wait a second," Cole cut in. "If you could change the settings, couldn't you have just set everything so we didn't go anywhere at all?"

"No. They would have killed you on the spot if it didn't work. Having you at least come here guaranteed that you'd be alive. Dr. Mindbender is pissed that his device hasn't seemed to work, but he'll find out soon enough where you were sent."

"And Cobra will probably attack us here," Hawk said grimly. "How can I be sure that's not what you wanted to begin with? An attack on us here. You draw Cobra here to attack us, kill as many Joes as you want, and then watch as the children disappear and are never even born."

"That wasn't my plan!" she said in frustration. "You're making it sound like I'm out to kill my own children."

"I wouldn't put it past you."

"I put my own life on the line to make sure my children were safe. Isn't that enough for you?" she asked him.

Hawk was pacing back and forth, thinking about what he should do next. "Children, until further notice, you are not to leave this building. You will only be permitted to come here, the rec room, the mess hall, your own quarters, and the gym. A security team comprised of Joes will escort you wherever you go. If you need anything, you may ask your parents."

All the kids started to groan. "Oh, come on, General!" Shannon whined. "I don't want to be cooped up in here."

"Yeah, can't we go outside at least?" asked Danny.

"Yeah, I saw that nice baseball diamond in the back," Chris said.

"Or we could use the pool," Beth added.

"I don't want to risk the chance for any one of you to be seen by Cobra," he said. "You will remain inside the building unless otherwise told."

"Are you kidding me?" Dave asked.

"What, are we in prison or something?" Alicia asked.

"This is worse than being in school," Abby commented.

"Yeah, but we can leave school at the end of the day. We're stuck here," Chris added.

"We can't even go outside for some fresh air?" Cassandra asked. She was accustomed to her daily walks and wasn't prepared to give those up.

"No," Hawk said. "I'm sorry that it has to be that way, but this is just to ensure your safety."

"How am I supposed to get my daily run in?" Kaelin asked. She had her routine so solidly established that she hated throwing anything off, especially since she now could not take her usual early morning five mile run.

"Use the treadmill in the workout room," Hawk said.

"It's not the same," Kaelin muttered. She took out a small handheld computer- her Palm Pilot- and started making little notes

"Changing your morning schedule?" Cole asked teasingly.

"What is that?" Hawk asked her, pointing to her Palm Pilot.

"My electronic organizer," Kaelin said, keeping her gaze on the screen of her organizer. She touched what looked like a metallic pen to the screen and after a series of beeps, she put the device back into the pocket of her blue jeans. "And yes, I'm changing my schedule. And writing down the places we can and can't go. Someone has to have this written down."

"What's going to happen when the battery runs dead on it?" Cole asked her.

"Let's pray we're not here long enough to find out," she said seriously. "I had charged it the night before last and I have the battery on it that's supposed to last a week. So let's see how it works."

"What are you going to do about her?" Cole asked Hawk and his father, pointing towards Zarana.

Hawk frowned at Zarana as he thought about what to do with her. "We're going to put her in a holding cell for now. Security will be placed around the area. Zarana, you may say you've changed but I still don't trust you as far as I can throw you. As for the rest of you," he said to the kids. "I suggest you leave and find a place to entertain yourselves for the rest of the evening. And remember-"

"Yeah, yeah," Hallie said, rolling her eyes, "No going outside."

The kids left the control room and started heading down the hall. Noone was exactly sure what they wanted to do for the evening, but considering they were trapped inside the building, their options were going to be severely limited. They decided the best thing to do for the moment was just follow orders for the evening and find something, anything, to entertain themselves. Annie was the first person to speak up with an idea for the evening. "Anyone know if there's a Blockbuster around?"

!!!!!!!!

To be continued…

Author's Note: Okay, so now we know that Zarana fully knew what was happening. The question that remains would be her loyalty at this point. Has she truly decided to support the Joes or is General Hawk right, believing that she has set the base up for an attack by Cobra. Will an attack happen anyway? And of course, there is the question of whether or not the kids will actually remain inside or try to sneak out… stay tuned!