"you okay kid?" HT called up to where kit was in the bedroom.

no anser.

"Kit?" He walked over to the balcony.

"you can come out now, kid they're knocked out.

still no answer.

He turned humand and ran up the steps, opening the bedroom door..

"Alpha's gonna kill me..." he trailed off. He ran over to where the sparkling lay on the carpet...

Alpha ran over to the open space, sensing something was wrong with the sparkling.

"WHAT'S WRONG?!?!" She screeched, "WHERE'S KIT?!?" Tears came to her eyes.

"TELL ME SHE'S OKAY"

"Alpha..." Omega said softly, "I'm sure she's"

"DON'T YOU TELL ME SHE'S FINE!! I KNOW SOMETHING'S WRONG! HT, WHERE'S KIT?! WHAT'S WRONG"

"Come on." Jade ran down the catwalk to catch up with and pass the others at the platform by the duct. Alpha passed them, and went back to the one they had came through, Omega right behind her.

the tank-now-human looked out the bedroom door, making sure the Autobots were knocked out.

"..I didn't even know she had a kid." he said softly, almost to himself. he walked over to the unmoving form, and reached out, fearing the worst.

Kit coughed.

"Why you slaggin..." he cut himself off, clearing his throat and stood quickly.

"You scared me, kid." he growled, hoping she hadn't heard him 'getting mushy'.

Kit curled up, injured, but alive. "I'm...I'm sorry, Uncle HT..." She whimpered.

Alpha jumped down. She ran over to Kit.

"Kit? Kit! Kit, Primus are you alright!?"

Kit opened an optic. "I-I think so, mommy"

Alpha let out a sigh and hugged the sparkling the best she could. "Oh thank Primus"

Omega smiled.

Hammertread mumbled something and headed for the ventilation duct.

"Ooooh." Klutch rolled over, holding his head.

"I feel like I been hit by a semi." he groaned. He looked over at Wheeljack and Red Alert.

Ratchet's comm dinged. "what now?" he growled.

"Inferno to Ratchet. There's been an explosion in Jade's quarters. Klutch was headed there.

"I could care less about that blue-afted twit." Ratchet growled, not caring if the soldiers heard him.

"But Wheeljack and Red alert were with him." Inferno sounded worried.

"I'll be right there." he replied, and tossed his empty cube in the recycling unit.

"We should go before they wake up." Jade whispered from the shaft. "That was a stun ray"

Alpha smiled at her daughter. "Thank Primus"

Alpha looked at Jade and nodded. She kissed her daughter. "Stay safe"

"Yes mommy." Kit stood up. She smiled down.

Alpha then turned around and ran into the vent.

"See ya, Kit." Omega smiled, running after his sis.
"See you." Kit looked at HT. "Thanks for looking out for me, Uncle Hammertread."

Klutch rolled over and coughed, hearing something in the kitchen. The door opened, and out hopped a blonde wavy-haired teenage girl, tied to a chair and gagged.

Klutch blinked and tried to get up, but he put a hand over his chest where he'd been beaten by the tank.

"Whoore yeuuu?" he slurred, vision going blurry for an instant.

The human femme took a couple more steps and fell over. "oof"

Kit walked out into the living room. She spotted the human and then Klutch.

She blinked. "Oh frag" she ran back into the bedroom.

Alpha smiled at HT. "Thanks for being worried about her." She said before walking ahead.

Omega smirked and followed his sis.

They reached the ductwork, and Jade brought out the handheld datapad.

"Okay..we take this till it makes a "t" then go to the right."

The door opened, and Ratchet came in, Inferno right behind him. The fire had gone out, but the gun was still sputtering a little.

The CMO blinked.

"What the slag?

" then looked at Wheeljack..

"Oh"

Inferno rushed over to Red Alert.

"Say somethin, Red." he hovered over the red and white. "Anything.."

"ohhhh.." the red and white ferarri came to. "Inferno?" he said groggily.

Ratchet looked at Red Alert. "Red Alert, are you alright?" He asked and seeing that he was, looking over at Wheeljack. The mech growned. "WHAT HAPPENED HERE!?"

Kit eeped and hid. "Ratchet's mad..." She whispered.

"MMf-MM-MM-PHMMM-MM-MM!" The human femme rolled over, trying to get their attention.

"That blasted tank tried ta kill may." Klutch drawled, putting his hand to his head again.

Jade turned at the intersection, and it made another 't' in about 10 feet.

"Where are we again?" Beacon asked.

"We're directly over the hall." Jade said stepping into the intersection. The small square duct opened up into a larger, round duct large enough to even fit Kit into.

"We're in one of the main ventilation ways." she said.

"Sideswipe and Sunstreaker used to use these to get into Prowl's office to play pranks..."

She stopped suddenly, realizing what she'd just said. "That's a great idea!" Cap exclaimed. Jade grinned.

Alpha and Omega facepalmed. "Sounds like fun." They smirked.

"Next stop, Prowl's office then!" Jade started down the hall-sized rounded ventilation duct.

Ratchet muttered something, then spotted the human. "Who is she?" He asked, looking at the human.

"I dunno." The blue mech drawled. Inferno went over and carefully broke the ropes. The femme pulled the gag off and stood up.

"Klutch it's me, Indy! those punks kidnapped me and turned me into a human with the sulindracol blinky-device thingay that jet has." she said desperately.

Klutch blinked.

Inferno blinked.

Come on, I know how to get there without a map." Jade broke into a jog, the others following.

"so when we get there, what then?" Driveby asked.

"Ask him to help us? or beg for mercy." HT sneered the last part.

"Behave. We have to ask. And he has to help us. If Klutch keeps singling out Autobots and saying they're traitors, he could get to the point where he can accuse anyone. And I'm pretty sure Prime wants to keep his crew." Jade replied.

Alhpa sighed. "She's got a point."

Ratchet blinked. "Er...are you sure?" He asked, "I mean how could Transformers be humans? That's not possible!" He said, trying to convice them.

Kit coughed.

Ratchet looked up toward the balcony. "I'll be right back." He walked up to the room.

"Kit, where are the others?"

"They're fine, Ratchet. Mommy and the others are alright." Kit whispered.

Klutch got up, and knew something was going on. "What're you doing?" he asked.

He tried to get up, but dizziness forced him back down. "It's true!" Indy shouted.

"Jade can become human at will! saw her! and the othas"

She glanced up at the bedroom door. "He's one of them! He helped them... "

She put a hand to her head trying to get around the memory block Alpha had placed there. "I...can't...rememba." she said, sitting down.

"That white tigah cub..she's alpha's child." she finally said.

Klutch looked up, and stumbled towards the balcony. He got up the steps, although they creaked under his weight, and crossed his arms at Ratchet.

"Whattya' doin?" he asked.

"I'm checking on the sparkling." Ratchet growled. "As you can see, she's injured."

He bent down and mouthed "where are they"? "Are you alright"

"The smoke came in from the vent and got into my beast mode's lung and the burns hurt, but I'm okay, Ratchet." Kit smiled.

Ratchet nodded. "Good, good"

Klutch folded his arms. "Bring her out here." he ordered.

"It's this way." Jade turned another corner, and slowed down to a fast walk.

Prowl was sitting in his office looking over reports when Prime came in. He stood up and turned. "Sir."

Prime held up a hand. "At ease, Prowl. Have you come up with any theories of where Alpha and the others might be hiding"

"Not yet, sir. Klutch's troups have scoured their old base. They seem to have abandoned it fairly quickly."

"Has Jazz reported in yet?"

"Yes, he said he was bringing TY with him." he looked up. I'll talk to them as soon as they get back." he activated his comm. "Prowl to Jazz."

"Yeah. what's up?"

"Please report to me as soon as you get back from patrol. I would like to hear your and Ty's report personally."

"Will do, bossman." Prowl cut the commlink, knowing Klutch's army was listening.

He made sure to mention Ty's name, so it would sound like she was one of the troups.

Ratchet frowned. "Come on, Kit"

"Yes sir." Kit followed Ratchet. The sparkling looked at Klutch and blinked. She put on an innocent face. "Have you seen my mom? She disappeared a day or two ago"

Ratchet looked at Kit. "We'll find her, Kit. I promise." He said, trying to sound convincing. "If you'll excuse us, Kit needs attention."

"Freeze." Klutch walked up and took Kit from the medic. "Wheeljack and Red Alert need medical attention more. I'll make sure Kit here gets the attention she needs." he smirked down at the sparkling. "Right Darlin?"

Jazz and Ty walked past the troups, and down the hall towards Prowl's office.

"Whew. I never thought we were gonns get past that last checkpoint, till they called Prime an' he told em ta leave us alone." Jazz sauntered down the hall, trying to look nonchalant. Ty kept glancing around at the rows of soldiers jogging down the hall past them. The one in the lead nodded, Jazz nodded back.

"jus' keep goin, an don't glance around so much." he whispered. she nodded.

The group turned another corner. "Are we there yet?" Cap whined.

"Yeah. I have to use the recycling unit." Cable called from the back.

HT snorted. "Boy, you really do watch too much tv"

"We're almost there." Jade replied. Gunlock rolled his eyes. "That's what you said half an orn ago"

Kit swallowed. She looked at Ratchet with a look that said "help."

Ratchet opened his mouth, but sighed. "You're right..." He looked at Kit with a look that said "I'm sorry" and then looked at Wheel and Red.

Kit looked up at Klutch and swallowed.

Alpha sighed. She looked at the ground.

Omega looked at his sister. "I know how ya feel"

Alpha smiled a bit as he rubbed her back

"Wait! what about me!" Indy yelled. Klutch turned around.

"Right. Forgotabout you. come on, den." he picked her up and set her on his shoulder. The blonde looked down and eeped, and hung on tighter.

"Well, I'd better let you get to your work, then." he nodded,and turned to leave.

"shh!" Jade skidded to a stop and heard voices. She glanced over at a smaller shaft, slightly larger than the one leading to her room, and grinned.

"You hear thet? voices." she turned and ran, then stopped.

"Wait, be quiet. We can't all be running or they'll hear us." she whispered.

"isn't that the point of it?" Beacon whispered back.

"not if he's meeting with Klutch's troups." Jade whispered back. She tiptoed to the grate, and looked down at Prowl's desk.

Kit looked up at Klutch as He carried her down the hall. "Where are we going?" She asked, swallowing.

Klutch looked down at the sparkling he was holding.

"You'll see when we get thea, luv."

He grinned as he came to a pair of heavy double doors. Klutch typed in a code and the doors opened.

"I want my mommy..." Kit whimpered. She looked at the mech. "Do you know where she is?"

"Oh, I think you alreddy know whea she is." Klutch replied, holding on tighter.

The large, dim room had a few cells lining the wall on the left, and a scaffold-looking stucture on the far wall. On the right was a bunch of rooms with single-sided plexiglass. Each one had a table and two chairs in it. Klutch headed for the first room.

He plucked Indy off his shoulder. "Wait here, luv. You'll be safa out hea."

Jazz rang the doorchime to Prowl's office. "enter." came the voice from inside.

"Ah. Just the pair I wanted to see." Prowl looked up from his datapad, not even noticing the faces looking down at him.

Jade grinned. "How are we gonna get down there?" Beacon asked.

Alpha shrugged.

Cable walked up. "Yeah, how are we.. oof!" he tripped over the ring imbedded in the floor of the ductwork.

Jade grinned and pulled out some rope. "Rapelling, anyone?"

Kit squealed. She started to fight him. "What are you doing? Where's my mommy! Let me go! Help me, someone!" She squealed.

Klutch opened the door and quickly entered it, locking it behind him and dropping the tiger cub unceremoniously to the floor.

"now.. I know You know where you're mum is. So, we can eitha do this da hard way, or da easy way." He took one of the chairs out and sat, watching the cub.

Alpha's face went white. "Kit." She fell back into her brother's arms.

"Alpha? Alpha, what's wrong?!" He yelled.

Alpha's face was drained of all color. Even her lips were white.

"Kit's in trouble. She's frightened...I think he got her..." Her eyes widened and she panted.

"Alpha, I'm sure she's fine..." Omega said, but his voice said he doubted what he was saying.

Jazz smirked. "Hiyas, Prowl"

Prowl nodded at Prime, who locked the door. Jazz glanced at it.

"I allready scanned the room. There are no listening devices." Prowl said, as though reading his thoughts.

The Porsche let out a sigh of relief. He started to say something, then he glanced up at the grating. He stopped and signalled.

Prowl's optics widened slightly in suprise, and he quietly climbed on top of his desk. With a tug, he pulled the grating down, elliciting a series of screams from the ductwork.

Alpha yelped as she watched her brother start to fall, but then quickly grabbed him. She pulled him up.

"Gotcha"

Omega panted. "thanks, sis"

"No prob."

Kit whimpered, "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know where my mommy is! I'm worried about her..." She said, looking at him. "Where's my mommy"

Klutch folded his arms. "I have all night." he glanced at her.

"I really don't know! Mommy disappeared one night without telling anyone then Uncle O disapeared as well!" Kit said, standing up.

"I want my mommy. Let me out of here." She growled.

Jade peeked out. "Jazz!" Jade yelled.

Prowl put a hand up, and Jade, Alpha, and Omega, climbed on. He eyed the group, and the rope as he put the other hand up.

"just what were you planning on doing?" he queried.

"We were gonna slide down the rope." Jade shrugged.

Beacon, Gunlock, and Driveby climbed on the other hand.

Alpha looked at Jazz. She then looked at Prowl and Prime. "Where's Klutch?! Tell me!" The femme growled, rolling up her sleeves.

Omega stood up and put his hands on his sister's shoulders to calm her down, but was quickly punched in the nose by her.

"Ow! sis!"

"Where is he, Prime?!"

Klutch walked over to the sparkling. "Really? then who were you talking to when I was supposedly unconcious, ey? He took another step. Kit went to run, but the blue car caught her by the scruff of her neck, and picked her up, hanging her in front of him at arm's length so she couldn't scratch him. He shook her.

"TELL ME!" he shouted.

Prime held up a hand as Prowl put them down on the desk, and reached up again, retrieving Cable, Cap, and Hammertread. He climbed down, brushed his chair off, and took a seat.

"As much as we dislike Klutch, beating him up will not solve our problems." Prime said.

"Really? Felt good to me." Hammertread grinned.

"HE'S GOT MY SPARKLING!!!!!!!" Alpha screamed.

Omega held his bloody nose.

"Kit?"

Alpha glared at him.

"That answered my question"

Alpha snarled. "THAT BASTARD!!!!! HOW DARE HE SHAKE MY BABY!!!!! I'LL RIP HIS SPARK OUT!!!"

Omega took a step back. "Sis.."

Alpha glared at Omega.

Omega swallowed.

Kit whimpered. She glared at him even though she was frightened.

"I was talking to myself."

Klutch snarled and brought his fist down on the table. Along with Kit.

"If you don't tell me, you will be spending a long..." he narrowed his optics, brightening them to sapphire slits.

"long time in a very lonely place." He lowered his voice.

"One where you will never see your mommy again!" He shook her for emphasis.

Prime looked over at the angry femme. "Can you tell where they are?"

Driveby stepped forward, and looked up at Prowl. "Jade suggested we fight him. We have a few arguments we'd like to bring forward. you defended her last time. Maybe you can do so again?"

"Prime."

Alpha glared at him.

She glared at Jade and turned into her transformer form.

"When i'm done with him, even twenty Ratchets won't be able to put him back together agian." She snarled.

"No one hurts my baby." The femme said, her voice very scary to Omega and others who knew her a somewhat peacful femme. Omega's eyes were wide as Alpha ran out of the room.

"She's pissed. That's just all there is to it"

Jazz smirked. "You don't touch a mother's child, Omega"

"I'm going with her. If she catches up with him, there'll be more trouble than you're in now." he walked out.

"Be carefull not to be seen." Prime advised.

Kit yelled with pain. She whimpered, but didn't back down. She growled and spat at him.

Klutch snarled and threw the sparkling against the wall. He walked over and picked her up around the throat.

"WELL!?" he snapped.

Alpha growled and ran faster. She saw the door and then pushed the air, the door flew in when a burst of purple energy hit it. She growled and then walked over to the door. The femme spotted Klutch and knocked the door in with her powers.

"LET GO OF MY BABY!!!!"

Prowl looked down at the humans. "What do you have in mind?" he asked.

The base alarm suddenly sounded. Three squads of soldiers rushed for the holding cells. Prime's comm came on.

"Sir, there's been a security breach in the holding cell area." Prime suddenly knew where Alpha had gone.

He got up and left.

Prowl watched him leave, then looked over at Jade, who started to explain.

"Well, for starters, the discrimination against non-factional Cybertronians. Secondly, condemning a group of transformers just becuse of the actions of a group before them. Judging one group because of the one's before them, or having only met bad individuals of that faction does not make them all evil. That also isdiscrimination. Not to mention the gross mistreatment of a sparkling, which I'm pretty sure Alpha is about to prove here in a minute or so.."

Daze blinked at Bumblebee.

"What's that noise?" she asked.

the yellow minispy glanced at the doors "It's the base's alarm."

He didn't know what what going on, but he figured it involved the missing group, and didn't want to find out if there were a bunch of soldiers running around with guns. He glanced at Daze, who looked like she was about to jump five feet off the repair berth at any moment.

Alpha knocked Klutch away with her powers and then caught Kit. She glared at Klutch and, after creating a copy to deal with him, ran. As the copy beat the living slag out of the mech, the femme held the sparkling tight, and ran back to Prowl's office.

She fell to her knees and busted into tears.

Omega walked over. "Al? Al, what's wrong"

Alpha showed everyone Kit, who was beat up and clutching her mother like a life line. She sobbed once. "How-How could anyone do this to a sparkling"

Omega was disgusted. "I don't know, Al, but I'll make sure he doesn't get away with it"

"It's all my fault"

"How?"

"I brought her into this..." Alpha whimpered as she looked at her child, "I should have known better...I shouldn't have"

"Mommy..." Kit looked at her mother, an optic cracked, which made Alpha bust into tears agin. Her voice was weak, but she smiled.

"I didn't say anything. I did good, right"

"Yes...you did good, kit...you did very good..." Alpha whispered as she brushed Kit's forehead.

Omega growled.

The copy snarled and continued to beat Klutch.

"HOW COULD YOU DARE HURT A SPARKLING?!?!?!" she roared as she flung him against a wall.

Snow ran down yet another corridor, anxiously looking for the missing sparkling.

"Kit?" she called.

Kit whimpered in Alpha's grasp.

"Hang on, Kit. It'll be okay, I promise. I promise, Kit." Alpha whispered as she looked at her sparkling.

"M-Mommy...my throat..." She clawed at the dent in her throat where Klutch had held her.

"It hurts"

"Don't worry, Kit...everything'll be okay..." Alpha whimpered.

Snow flinched as an alarm started up, and looked around again.

Prime spotted Snow as he hurried to the holding cells. "SnowFeather, what's wrong?" He asked, seeing her face.

Snow spun to face him, wings slightly open.

"I can't find Kit. I left her in recharge to go and get some energon, and when I came back she wasn't there!" she whimpered. "I've looked all over the base for her"

Prime's optics widened "Snow, go to Prowl's office." He said, and hurried towards the holding cells, where the copy was STILL beating the slag out of Klutch.

Snow blinked, and went.

Prowl's office door opened, and Alpha gasped and moved in front of Kit protectively, as a figure came through the door, then relaxed when she saw who it was.

Omega got in front of the others to protect them, but calmed down when he saw it was just Snow. "Hurry. Get inside and shut the door."