Nightshade's peace and quiet was interrupted by the sound of their siblings running into the dugout.
Nightshade overheard Hashtag on the phone "Me panic? Perish the thought I'm perfectly calm?" She paused "oh speaker phone yeah good idea." She motioned for the siblings to gather around as she set the phone on table.
Twitch was the first one to speak up. "Can you hear us mom?"
"Yes I hear you. All five of you need to stay hidden, GHOST has detected high energon levels and suspicious late night activity near our home. So they're investigating. Stay in the dugout." Nightshade heard Dorothy say frantically. "We're on our way home, the kids are safe and at school, don't panic."
"Will you be okay?" Jawbreaker stammered out.
"Do you have alibis?" Nightshade spoke up. "The energon readings can be explained by visits from Megatron."
"Good thinking Nightshade." Thrash whispered.
"That'll be good enough for Schloeder but Croft may take some more convincing." Dorothy responded.
"Hmm…let me think." Nightshade mused. "Of course! GHOST knows you're good friends with Megatron. That explains the energon detections, but not the quote-unquote 'strange activity'. However! That can still be explained." Nightshade explained
"What are you getting at?" Dot inquired.
"The kids! Kids are curious! And surely two kids sneaking around a barn could considered suspicious." Nightshade retorted "and we have farm animals. Perhaps the kids were visiting them in the barn. It's the perfect alibi." They finished speaking.
"Nice thinking on your feet Nightshade. Im proud." Dorothy said gratefully. "We're about home. We'll take it from here.
"Thank you so much Mom. That means the world to me." Nightshade beamed.
"Alright, baby. Thanks for your help." Dorothy spoke, in a voice that filled Nightshade with warmth and pride.
"Oh! One more thing. Stay on the line. I want to listen." Hashtag spoke up. "I'll mute it so GHOST can't hear. Anyone else?"
"Not me, I just want some peace and quiet." Nightshade said with a smile, retreating to the furthest back area of the dugout.