Beatus was gone, but Shockwave was back and made a pleased kind of hum. The Matrix was glowing in my hand. "It seems…"

I launched myself between the bars of the railing and scrambled across the plating, going around the giant metal pit. "Stop!" Shockwave roared.

I fumbled the Matrix, and Beatus' voice in the back of my mind said, Don't let go!

"Right," I muttered and slid like I was making for home base. I fell through the hole with the orange ring, wrenching my shoulder when I landed.

Keep moving! Keep moving!

I got up and ran down the hall – it was so small I had to duck my head, but it made it hard for Shockwave's soldiers to follow me. A part of me wanted to cry because I'd left those potato chips behind. If I'd been smart, I would have grabbed those, too. Stupid, stupid…

There! Stop! Stop!

"What?!"

Quiet! I can hear your thoughts, you know. That panel. Just…scrap.

What?

In my mind, I saw Beatus rest his hand against the little square on the wall. A weird burning-hot shiver ran over my spine – like my actual spine, not my back – and it made every inch of my skin feel like I was covered in fire ants for a second. I dropped to my knees and whimpered.

Sorry! Sorry! Beatus said. But can you do that?

You're freaking kidding me! I demanded, gritting my teeth.

Afraid not. Please, Daemon, just try. Shockwave's calling for repair drones. They'll fit down this conduit.

I didn't dare stand up yet, but I reached up and put my bare hand against the panel. It didn't do anything.

I don't know how to…

Beatus was one step ahead of me and I felt like I was covered in ants again. "Gah!"

But the door swung open and I rolled through, pushing against it to close it again. The space helmet slid forward, sealing me in against the cold.

No time to rest. Come on!

We were on a weird ledge of some kind with just…space below. Not like outer space, but just nothing for as far as I could see. Of course, the only light I had was the Matrix, and that didn't really help.

Where…

Again I saw images that I was pretty sure were coming from Beatus. It was a Transformer-body that was split open down the middle. We zoomed in to a big machine in the center of the chest and then we swooped around to a jumble of tubes and wires coming off the machine. Then we zoomed in again close to a bundle of wires. There. That's where I think we are. But it's just a guess.

Whoa.

Yeah. Pick a direction. Doesn't matter right now.

Gloves dangling from my suit, I turned left and ran as fast as I dared. How do you know all that about the station's body? I asked Beatus.

That's just general medical stuff. Mom's a medic and it's not like I have anything to do besides watch over her shoulder. Try going up first chance you get, Beatus suggested.

Up?

They'll expect you to go straight. Humans are kind of famous for their linear thinking. Ratchet goes on about it like you wouldn't believe.

Linear?

Stuck going in a straight line.

I skidded to a halt and knelt to look under the ledge. Rows and rows of wires, just like Beatus thought, but there was another ledge maybe fifty feet below us.

Don't suppose you could give me a boost, I sarcastically thought at him.

Ha, ha. You're not seriously…

Time to not be linear, right?

You can't climb down there while holding the Matrix.

Nope, I can't. Thanks for your help, Beatus. Before he could talk me out of it, I tossed the Matrix toward the lower ledge. As soon as it left my hand, the light shut off and I was totally in the dark.

You there? I asked him, but I was alone in my head again.

I didn't hear the Matrix land, so I figured it had either caught in the wires or fallen down into the bottomless pit beside me. Either way, there wasn't much I could do about it right now. I pulled on my gloves again since this part of the station was cold. With a sigh I wrapped both hands around one of the thick wires and slid off the ledge. Monkey bars, I told myself. It's just like monkey bars. No problem. I can do this. I hung there, feeling around with my feet until I kicked another wire and shifted my weight onto it as best I could. Then I let go with one hand and reached around until I caught another wire. Nothing but monkey bars.

More of Shockwave's guys came running on the ledge above me – probably the repair drones Beatus had mentioned – and I was really glad I'd dropped the Matrix when I did. Neither of us had thought about the fact that as long as it was lit up, it'd make it that much easier for them to find me. As soon as I had my feet under me again, I wriggled as deeply into the wires as I could and pretty much held my breath. Another group of Transformers marched under me, shining flashlights everywhere. I laid down on one of the wires, trying to hide behind them and blend in. One good thing, though, was that I saw the Matrix stuck sideways between two wires just a couple of foot-holds below me. I guess it had caught in them.

After the repair drones or whatever they were left, and it was dark and quiet again, I dared to work my way down to where the Matrix was. I fumbled around in the dark for a few minutes before I found it, but then I wasn't sure what to do next. I couldn't stay here and hide in the wires because it was too cold. So I pulled off my glove and touched the Matrix again. Hey Yellow?

Daemon! he answered. Are you okay? Everyone's so worried about you!

I'm fine – you were right and Shockwave's guys are looking for me. I hid in time, but I can't stay here, though. It's too cold. Any ideas where I should go next?

Images filled my mind again of where he thought we were and then swooped down and closer to the place where Shockwave wanted me to bring the space station to life.

Mom said that's where they usually put the med bay. It needs to be kept warm to help sparks stay stable during repairs. You could hide in a heating conduit there.

Thanks! Gotta go. I pulled my glove back on and put it under my arm to warm up my icy fingers.

I had to get moving if I didn't want to freeze. Taking a couple of deep breaths, I started climbing down the wires, moving the Matrix from hand-hold to hand-hold as I went. It made for slow going, but at least I warmed up a little from it. After climbing to the second platform down, I walked back the direction I'd come from for a bit, hoping to find another little door. Even feeling like I was being bitten by fire ants would be better than being this cold.

Something moved behind me, and I turned, striking out with the only thing I had: the Matrix. It jammed into something on the robot behind me and flared bright blue for a second, and I realized two things at once. The robot was smaller than I was and it was bristling with pokey things.

I jerked back, taking the Matrix with me, and fell on my butt. Terrified, I kicked whatever that thing was over the edge of the platform.

I started shaking when I realized Shockwave probably knew where I was now. I scrambled to my feet and started moving again, running my hand along the conduit wall, trying to find an opening. As I went, I remembered Yellow saying that repair drones were small enough to make it through the conduits, and I wondered if that was what I'd just stabbed and kicked.

Finally my fingers found a crack in the wall, and I traced the outline of a door. Pulling off my gloves, I again grabbed the Matrix. In its light, I could see the panel where my hand was supposed to go and smiled as I pressed my palm against it. Hey Yellow, can you open this door for me?

It's Beatus, he answered, and that jolt of fire ants ran through me again.

Okay, maybe the cold was better, I mentally whimpered as I stumbled through and pulled the door closed behind me. But my helmet opened back up and it was warmer inside, so I was able to hang on to the Matrix for light. Which way?

Depends. Where's the helm? Or the head, I guess?

That way, I pointed and then felt dumb when I realized he probably couldn't see it. To the left, I think.

Then go to the right.

I ran for a bit until we came to another opening, a grate, looked like. I stood on my tiptoes and tried to see through it, but it was pretty dark inside. Is this that medical place you talked about?

The med bay? I'm not sure. Can I borrow your nose?

…borrow…my…nose?

But then he was there, in my mind like he owned the place. It wasn't like someone's thoughts coming to me from outside. It was like I was possessed or something. He was thinking my thoughts, feeling the weight of the Matrix in my hand, and taking a deep whiff through my nose. Nope, this wasn't the med bay. He retreated to be like that angel on my shoulder instead of taking over my brain.

Gah! What was that?! I demanded

Weapons storage, by the smell of it, he cheerfully answered. It reminds me of Aunt Chromia.

No, I mentally growled at him. The part where you took over my body!

Oh, he said, sounding sad. It's the same thing I did to get the doors open, just with a different part of you. You asked me to before so I guess I thought…

Look, you've helped me a ton, but this is all really freaky, okay? I just…I need a minute. Literally. I did another mindful minute breathing thing, and it did start to calm me down a little.

My eyes opened wide when I heard the sound of metal footsteps above me. They're still looking for me.

Well yeah.

It's like hide and seek, I suddenly realized. I can't use the same place twice. They know I've used these tunnels before, so they'll probably think I'm using them again. I've got to get out of here!

Keep going, he said in encouragement. You're so little and there are tons of places to hide in a typical med bay – all kinds of bins and cabinets, workbenches, lifts, even chairs. Get there and get warmed up, then we can figure out the rest.

He was right, and that made this next part even harder. I have to go in the dark. If there are repair drones down here looking for me, I show up like a lighthouse. I have to let go, but thanks again…Beatus, right?

Yep, that's right. And the repair bay will smell like Evan Call.

Evac?

Yep.

I had no idea what that meant, but… Okay. Bye.

I set the Matrix down and pulled on my gloves before creeping forward with the Matrix in hand again. The next grate was a long way ahead and actually had light coming through it. Glancing up as I passed under it, I saw a bunch of mechs talking in that strange language of theirs and gulped hard. Almost on tiptoe, I snuck past it and kept going. There were a couple more grates – opening into what looked like my cell and into another room too dark to see anything – but I understood what Beatus meant when I got to the third one. Even before I got a good look, the air coming from the grate smelled like fingernail polish remover, spray paint, and burned electronics. Even my human nose could tell all that, and yep, it reminded me a little bit of Evac.

There was a robot in the room on the other side of the grate – I could hear him moving around and talking sometimes – but after a while he walked to the other side of the room and I heard a door close.

Was he really gone? I waited for at least a couple of minutes and didn't hear anything, so I tried pushing up on the grate a little bit. It was solid and wouldn't move. Desperate, I pulled off my glove again and touched the Matrix. I think I found the place, I said and took a deep breath through my nose.

Yep, you sure did!

How do I get the grate open? It's stuck!

Well of course it's latched, he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. If it wasn't, all the space station's innards would flop around whenever he transformed.

How do I unlatch it? I demanded.

Oh! Like this! And in my head, I saw an image of me reaching up through the grate and flipping a switch with my hand. Thankfully, I wouldn't need to do the fire-ant trick this time!

Thanks again, Yellow! I was warming up, but that glove still felt better on than off, so I covered my hand again. Picking up the Matrix, I reached through with my free hand and, after feeling around for a bit, I eventually found the switch. When I moved it, the grate automatically lifted up by a foot, and I pushed hard on one end to raise it the rest of the way. There was a gap of several inches between the bottom of the grate and the surface of the floor. I looked around cautiously but couldn't see any robot feet.

The coast was clear!

Climbing up and out of the conduit, I pushed the grate back down into place and took a good look around. I was in a storage room or something with lots of shelves and cabinets and giant-robot-sized cupboards. I almost dived into the nearest one, but then I had a thought – the repair drones would look in the nearest one first, if they followed me through the tunnels. Darting a few cupboard doors down, I opened it and ducked in.

I wasn't alone. I almost screamed when I realized the thing in front of me was another robot lying on its side, except I was too afraid and just froze.

But this one didn't move at all. I couldn't see his eyes or anything to make me think he was alive. Maybe it was a statue? Or dead? Footsteps echoed in the hall, and climbing in, I pulled the cupboard door closed behind me.

It sounds strange, but I wasn't more afraid in there. If big, ugly, alive robots were terrifying, dead ones should have been even worse, but I actually felt safer. I walked around the robot and got as far under it as I could. The hand holding the Matrix slid forward as I crawled into the body and then everything seemed to happen at once. I could feel so much – the sun burning away on the other side of Mars, a spark of light in each of the robots hunting for me, the warmth of my own blood. I even felt like Dad was somehow standing here with me.

The robot statue moved.

This time I actually did scream – not a girly one, but a little shriek, I guess – and crawled backward away from it, leaving the Matrix behind in surprise. But before I could do anything else, the robot's… eyes or sunglasses or whatever flashed bright and he whispered, "Hush now." Then he covered me with a gentle hand and lay perfectly still.

I curled up small under his palm, wondering if this robot could actually hide me from Shockwave or if he was one of his helpers or if maybe he'd forget I was there and squish me like a spider. And then I forgot everything when I heard that strange, beeping language of Shockwave's Decepticons as they searched the room.

My heart was beating so hard, and I was sure Shockwave could hear it, and I thought about how I could feel how warm my own blood was when…whatever happened when I put the Matrix into the robot's chest. They'd find me for sure! Hinges creaked – the cupboard door opening – and I started shivering. Shockwave was going to be so mad.

I didn't understand what I was hearing when the cupboard creaked again. After a little while, their voices faded until I couldn't hear them at all. Still I curled up in the silence, too scared to move.

The robot in the cupboard with me lifted his hand off of me and sat up on one elbow. In a voice so quiet it was barely more than a whisper, it said, "Man oh man, ya got us both in a right mess, didn' ya."

If I'd been smarter – or less terrified – I might have told him that it wasn't my idea to get kidnapped by giant robots, but he didn't give me a chance. "Lucky for you, ain't no Autobot alive – or dead – with a better chance a' gettin' us outta here than me. The name's Jazz."