Ratchet had been watching the computers for any sign of Mudflap and Skids signal popping up again, he had been up for hours just in case they popped up and he was starting to slip into recharge when suddenly- their signals popped up.

            He instantly went into action, not knowing how long their signals would be up as well as their comm links. “Mudflap, can you hear me? This is Ratchet, report in.” He quickly commed one of the twins, holding his breath as he waited for a reply.

            “Hey doc, this is Mudflap. I hear ya loud an’ clear.” Ratchet let out a big sigh of relief, hearing him respond. “I take it that we can come back to the base then, huh?” He says, but Ratchet noticed Mudflap wasn’t happy and overjoyed like he usually was…

            “Yes, you can come back to the base Mudflap. You’ve been able to come back for a week, we just weren’t able to contact you.” Ratchet says, before he shook his head and sighed. “What happened? Why does it seem like you are mad at yourself and saddened at the same time?”

            There wasn’t a reply on the comm for a few minutes, but the reply that did come… it wasn’t a good one. “The ‘Cons got Clarissa, Doc…. We weren’t able to keep her safe, no matter how hard we tried.” Mudflap replied, guilt and sadness clear in his voice.

            Ratchet sat there frozen, unable to respond. All of the Autobots were close to the young human femme, especially the Lambo twins and Ironhide… he could only imagine what would happen when they found out.

            He cleared his throat tubings before responding, his voice heavy as he spoke. “Return to base soon, I’ll wait until you both are here. Then I’ll tell the others.” With that, he turned off the comm and fell back into the Cybertronian sized seat he was sitting in.

~ Two days later ~

            Mudflap and Skids had finally returned to base, in fact they were driving in just now. All of the Autobots were standing in the hangar with big grins on their faceplates, all of them except for Ratchet that is.

            Sunstreaker and Sideswipe let out noises of shock, surprise, and worry when the other set of twins transformed without their little human stepping out of Mudflap’s alt form. Their optics widened when they didn’t see Clarissa at all, and they glanced around for any sign of her at all.

            Ratchet took this time to stand beside Mudflap and Skids, looking at all of the Autobots in front of them. “As you all know, I was able to contact Mudflap and Skids two days ago for the first time in the week they were gone.”

            Everyone nodded, looking at the medic and wondering what he was going on about. What did this have to do with anything involving their missing human friend? None of them realized the sad, guilty faces on the younger set of twins.

            Ratchet cleared his throat tubings, letting out a sad sigh before continuing. “They told me about what happened, to Clarissa…” He trails off, now having everyone’s optics on him as well as the soldier’s eyes. “They were attacked by a lone Decepticon, and they weren’t prepared.”

            Everyone’s eyes and optics widened, fearing the worst for their little human friend. The Lambo twin’s optics filled with coolant, along with Ironhide. Lennox looked like he was about to break down, and it appeared that his legs might give out soon.

            “The Decepticon took Clarissa and got away with her, and they gave chase but… they weren’t able to save her, no matter how fast they went.” Ratchet finished, bowing his helm as he stared down at the ground beneath him.

            The first full reaction was from the Lambo twins, who cried out in anger and sadness and surged forwards to attack Mudflap and Skids but Optimus and Ironhide grabbed them and held them tight.

            “It was their fault, they are no better than the Decepticon scum!” Sunstreaker yelled, glaring at Mudflap while Sideswipe looked at Skids with a scowl on his faceplates. “They deserved to be thrown out, for losing her!”

            Everyone knew they didn’t mean it, that they were just acting out of guilt, anger, and fear for the human femme they had fallen in love with over the time of her staying at the base. Still, Mudflap and Skids each took a step back and winced at the words yelled at them.

            Optimus and Ironhide, with help from the others, dragged the Lambo twins off to the brig where they were locked up in different cells from each other so they didn’t have any bright ideas. It was for their own safety, and the safety of others at the base.

            Ratchet sat with Mudflap and Skids, a hand on each of their shoulders as coolant leaked out of their optics. He knew this was rough for everyone, and no one would be the same until they got Clarissa back from the Decepticons.

~ Meanwhile elsewhere… ~

            A young lone Decepticon, he wasn’t that young he was slightly older than Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, by the name of Topwheel was racing down the road towards the Decepticon base.

            He had recently arrived on earth thanks to the message Optimus gave out, and he had already contacted his Lord Megatron when he ran across the two Autobots out in the middle of the desert.

            He had acquired a fast vehicle that the organics of this planet had made, and the two Autobots had been no match compared to him as he flew off down the road with their organic friend in the backseat.

            He had kidnapped their friend after seeing how valuable the femme was to them, since they wouldn’t stop fighting even after he had her and was racing down the road. Why were they so attached to the femme organic?

            Were the Autobots disgusting enough to want to… mate with one of the fleshling organics of this planet? Why would they choose a fleshy organic over one of their own kind? He could never be an Autobot, and he was glad he wasn’t, because he couldn’t do anything of the sort.

            He didn’t feel any emotion except hatred and anger, that’s all he had felt since he awoke in Shockwave’s lab so long ago. The Autobots, or so he had been told, had experimented on him and wronged him.

            Now he was going to get his sweet revenge, by taking the femme organic the Autobots cared for and torturing her. He would later kill her, making those pesky Autobots watch as he did so. Oh the pain he could cause the Autobots with one simple organic…

Hey guys, I'm sorry I took this long to update! I hope you like this chapter! The picture has really nothing to do with this chapter, but when I look at that and see how sad and broken they are....
I see it as them in the brig, after learning about Clarissa. Seeing how sad and broken they are in the picture, that's the reason I put it up for this chapter.