----Jesse and Dana trudged along the hallway. All around them were dragons and griffins booing at them, most throwing things as they passed. Dana flinched when she saw a child throw a rotten tomato at them. The boy had looked so much like Jimmy... Dana shook her head. Whatever she experienced now, she knew that Jimmy would never have hated her like that. The dragon named Max opened a door that led outside to where they would be killed.

Babe scanned the huge village while Jimmy ran to it. "That place is big! I wonder how many anthros live there?" His scanners suddenly started going wild. Multiple life forms identified. Engaging arm cannon. Babe jerked when his arm cannon activated. He disengaged it, then took to the air to find what his scanners had discovered. There was a loud, high-pitched sound as he got closer to the village, but he didn't hear it. All he saw were two figures walking toward the firing squad. He glanced back at Jimmy, who had stopped running toward the city to watch him, then started focusing on Dana. "Dana! I'm coming!" He shouted as he dove. Babe dodged hundreds of shots as he swooped down to his friends. One shot exploded right above his head, shaking just a bit before he reached the ground. He grabbed Dana in one hand and Jesse in the other, then flew off. Someone shouted behind him, and Babe looked back to see a red mountain dragon charging him at full throttle, pistol drawn. Babe fired his jets and rose into the sky. He started falling in the air when a third person grabbed hold of his tail. Babe looked down to see that same dragon hanging on his tail. Babe shrugged and put more power into the rockets to fly away. He landed outside the city by Jimmy. "Hey Jimmy, look who I found!" Jimmy started running toward them. Dana struggled until Babe let her go, then hugged Jimmy for all she was worth.

Max watched the reunion with interest. He'd known Dana had a son, but he never would have expected to see this robot be friends with an anthro! There was a slight thud as Jesse was dropped next. Max let go of the robot's tail before he was flicked off. The robot landed, and was instantly laughing with the boy when he got tackled. Max sighed. "What should I think? These three obviously trust that robot, and he risked himself to save them! He acts as if he has an actual mind of his own!" Max mumbled to himself. "How do I judge them?" He sat down right where he was and watched all four of them as they laughed together.

Steve lowered his binoculars. "Max is with them!" He thought. "EVERYONE'S With the robots now!" The warning signal for a robot attack sounded again. Steve only had to glance up to see the new threat. "Red alert! Red alert! We have an armada of robots coming our way!!" He shouted as he ran. He came up to the speakers and shouted the threat all over the village. "RED ALERT!!! ALL AVAILABLE PERSONEL ARE REQUIRED AT THE DEFENSES!!!!!!! ROBOTS ARE ATTACKING!!!!!!!" While everyone swarmed to the turrets, Steve sneaked outside to watch for what MAx would do next.

"What the--" Babe started to ask as his arm cannon activated again. At that same moment, they heard someone shouting that robots were attacking. Babe used his scanner to find the robots faster, then started aiming at them. He didn't know if his arm cannon was strong enough to do any damage at this range, but he had to try. His cannon barely phased any of the robots in the sky. Babe looked around for something to use. "Jesse, help me out here!!" He shouted as he jumped into a nearby tank. Jesse and Dana both jumped in to help him, with Dana holding Jimmy tightly to her side. Babe looked questioningly at the red mountain dragon when he climbed in as well. He shrugged, then went back to aiming the cannon. There were hundreds up there again. "Dana, get this thing moving. Jesse, you help get this tank's scope into focus. Whoever you are, use the side guns if any robots start getting too close." The red dragon nodded and jumped to the nearest gun. Jimmy was smiling, waiting for his job. Babe bit his lip, then said. "Jimmy, I want YOU to help your mom. It would be easier to run this thing if we had one person at each wheel." Jimmy squeeled with delight and jumped down to the left wheel. Babe couldn't help but chuckle at the kid's reaction.

Max watched with renewed interest. He couldn't help but wonder about the robot in there with him. "What is it with this robot? He WANTS to attack his own kind, is trusting me, and he hasn't even glanced at me to make sure I'm doing my job! Why is this robot so different?" Max stopped that line of thinking as a robot came within range. He shot it out of the sky, then started watching for more. The robot was busy taking out huge clumps of the robot army, destroying more than any of the turrets from the city. Max momentarily forgot what he was doing as he saw yet another group fall from the sky. "He really is on our side! He's shot down more of those things in this one battle than anyone else I've ever seen!" It occurred to Max that the robot probably knew where the weak points were. "Why didn't we try this sooner? If we had our own robotic army, we could end this war so quickly!" When the last of the robots were gone, Max opened his mouth to apologize. The robot opened the hatch and jumped out before he had a chance.

Babe started running away. "I can't make any more friends!!!!! I can't I can't I can't!!!!!" He ran until he reached a shaded spot far from the city. Once there, he let himself start crying. "Why did this have to happen to me?!!!!! Who's sick idea was it to make me like this?!!!!!!!! Why?!!!! WHY?!!!!!!!!!" He pounded a fist on the ground as tears came forth. "Why couldn't I have been like the rest of the robots? Why be alive when all I get from it is more pain, more time to suffer?! Why couldn't I have just died?!!"

Max watched the scene with growing wonder. How was it possible for a robot to act like this? He took back his first assumption of the dragon before him and decided then and there that Jesse had done the right thing when he'd helped the robot. When he thought the robot had cried enough, he approached. "Hello?" The robot panicked and activated its wings. "Wait!" Max shouted. "Can't we talk?" The robot settled down and cried some more. Max was at a loss for words.

Babe did his best to be polite. "What do you want? I'm hurt enough already, can't you see that?" It didn't really work. The red dragon gently pushed Babe down until they were both sitting quietly. The red dragon asked a question. "Who are you?" Babe grimaced, then answered. "My name is Babe Cleave. I've been alive for one hundred and fifty years, and hated all of it." "What do you mean? Wouldn't you rather live forever?" "NO! I want to die and see my family again... Sarrah... Mom... Michelle... I just want to get it over with. But I can't bring myself to do it!!!! I think, this could all have been avoided. I could have shut myself down easily by falling from the clouds, but each time I go up there to end it, I can't do it. I can't kill myself. I want death so badly... but I fear it too much..." "But you are still alive! No one has ever lived that long!" "And it's a good thing too! What good is living forever if you still have feelings?! I miss my family and friends more every day! I WATCHED THEM ALL DIE!!!!!!... but I couldn't bring myself to join them... So long... it's been so long since I heard laughter, felt anything close to happiness. I met Dana and Jimmy. They brought that back to me, but now I'll have to watch them die too!!!!!! It'll just hurt me more! I can't kill myself, but I HAVE to if I want to be free!!!! Ohhh... to be free again. What I wouldn't give to have an end to this life." There was a long silence as the red dragon thought over what he'd heard. Babe waited for him to say something, and when he did, he hadn't expected it at all.

"Babe, would you like to join us?" Max held out a hand as he asked. "Your experience in battle is astounding, and I could make sure everyone would leave you alone--except of course if we have a battle." Babe looked at his hand. "Why? Why would YOU want me to join? I have no experience in battle! All I did was point and shoot a damned gun! And having everyone leave me alone?! That never works, you idiot. Sooner or later someone would try to talk to me, THEN where would I be? Join you?! I don't even want to be near you!!!!!!" Max pulled back his hand, this would be harder than he'd thought! "Please? If you joined, we might be able to stop this war once and for all." "I told you I wasn't interested! Now leave me alone before I start liking you too!" "Liking me too?!" Max laughed. "Babe, the way you act, it feels as if you run from everyone! Don't tell me you LIKE me!!" Babe sneered. "Then it's settled. I don't have to stay." A huge explosion stopped them from having any further conversation.

Babe scanned the area for whatever had set off the blast, and saw a single robot fleeing the scene with something wrapped in his arms... Babe gasped. That thing had Jimmy!! He turned to look at the blast, and found Dana and Jesse sprawled on the ground, unhurt but still in shock from their tank exploding. Babe turned to the red dragon. "Tell Dana that a robot has taken her son. I'm following it now, and I don't want her to come." With that he flew off after the robot.

----

Jesse felt someone shaking him awake. Dazed, he opened his eyes to find Dana hovering above him. "Dana, what happened? I remember blowing up all those robots...The tank exploded!!!!" Dana nodded. She looked ready to cry. "We missed one. It set off a bomb by our tank and took Jimmy!!!!!!" She broke down into tears then. Jesse sat up and held her close to him. Dana kept talking. "Babe told Max that he would get Jimmy back. I'm so worried!!!" "Did he say we couldn't follow?" "YES!!!! We aren't supposed to interfere." Jesse frowned. "That's your son out there, Dana. Babe shouldn't be allowed to tell you what to do about him! Where did Max say he flew to?" Dana feebly pointed to the south. "Okay, then let's go. He didn't get too far ahead, I hope." "No he didn't." Max said as he helped Jesse up. "And I for one think it would be wise to follow him. He may be on our side, but I don't trust him yet. I have another tank set up for us to use. It isn't nearly as strong as the one you were in, but it'll go a lot faster. And put these armbands on. Our scientists have been trying to find ways to make us invisible to the robots sensors. They think these will work."

Steve waited as they all jumped into a small tank. He had a jeep ready himself, and didn't plan to let them leave his sight. They drove off, heading toward a huge robot factory that Max had been planning to attack for months now. Steve grimaced and followed them.

Babe was barely able to keep Jimmy on his radar. When Jimmy's signal stopped moving, Babe scanned the area to see where he was. About three humdred feet in front of him was a factory larger than any he'd ever seen before. "If that robot has harmed Jimmy in any way..." He landed at the entrance of the building and walked inside. None of the robots seemed to notice him at all. He wandered all over the factory, but never once saw Jimmy. He checked the entrance again and slumped when he saw the tank outside. A footprint appeared on the ground by the tank, but there was no one there. Babe blinked and rubbed his eyes. He couldn't read any life signals! His optic sensors only registered if there was a signal to lock onto. "Dana?.." He freaked when he heard her voice right by his ear. "Yes, Babe?" Babe whirled and had his arm cannon ready to fire as Dana laughed. "It's okay Babe. We're wearing something that will make us invisible to the robots. Thank for telling us how great it works!" Babe shook. "Don't mention it... Dana, I can't find Jimmy anywhere. His bio-signal vanished somewhere in this building!" "Then let's go find him. Oh, here." Babe felt something being wrapped around his wrist. When it was on, he could see Dana again. "Dana, this is confusing me. I can see you now!" That's because you've got the same thing on as we do. You're frequency changed and is being blocked from the other robot's sensors." Babe deactivated his cannon and fingered the armband. There were small sparks jumping from it. When he put his scanners on it they weren't able to scan it. "How is it doing that, Dana?" "It changes frequencies along with you. If you try to scan it you won't be able to lock onto it because it changes itself so often." Babe shook his head and started walking down the first path he'd taken. As he scanned the area once more he thought he had felt a new life-form just arriving, but it was gone so quickly that he couldn't have said it was real.