is is Greg at factory 7." "Go ahead Greg." "I have the next suit ready. When shall I initialize the test?" "Immediately Greg. All other tests have failed. This new robot of yours is our only chance against the renegade. Report once initial testing is complete." "Affirmative. Over and out." Greg switched off his comm. unit and waited for the robot to wake up.

Steve grogily opened his eyes. For some reason, everything had a reddish hue to it, as if his eyes were surrounded by a red glass covering or something. He was laying on a table that sounded like metal scraping against metal every time he moved. He was not strapped down, so he jumped to his feet. Everything seemed huge all of the sudden! He walked to a nearby door and opened it; there was a human waiting for him on the other side. He gasped and ran the other way, but something held him back. He couldn't move. Something was controling him, making him turn back to the human. "Welcome back, anthro." The human smiled and held a small box in his hands. "I know it's still you in there, so listen up. Look at your arms." Steve did so, blanching when he saw a robotic arm instead of his scale-covered one. His entire body was made of metal except for his head! Steve growled and lunged, but the human pressed a button and his body stopped moving. The human spoke again. "I told you to listen! You are now a new experiment we are working on. The suit you wear was supposed to be for one of your younger generation, but another group came and saved the test subject. Fortunately, your body can be adjusted back to a full-grown height. Would you prefer being able to see eye to eye with me?" Steve slowly nodded his head. The human pressed another few buttons, causing his hands and feet to detach from his body. He had no choice but to wait as long segments were attached to his legs and arms, then as slightly larger feet and hands were reattached. "What are you doing?" The human smiled and answered. "We needed a robot that could destroy the renegade that's been plaguing us, and you've become that robot." "Then why can I still think? Why haven't you turned me into a robot like all the rest?" "Because we need a robot that can think and learn on its own." "What's to stop me from turning on you?" "This button." The human pointed to a white button that was slightly larger than the rest on the box. "It does two things. If you, for some unknown reason, malfunction and can't stop yourself, any human can push a button exactly like this and shut you down until we've fixed the problem. If it ISN'T a malfunction and you truly wish to kill us, and the special insturments we've attached to you will tell us if you are or not, we can press this button twice and have you become exactly like the rest of our robots." The human's smile turned into an evil grin. "Unless you WANT to become just another ordinary robot, don't try to turn on us." Steve suddenly felt like all his energy had been drained from him, and had to sit down before he fell over. The human left him there to think it all over.

Greg returned to his lab and checked something he'd been working on for the last week. He called his commanding officers again. "RC1, this is Greg, over." "RC 1 here. What is your status report?" "The subject has just been told of his situation. I doubt he will disobey." "What else do you have to report?" "I would like permission to start the trial run of my other project, sir." "The grave robot? It will act like all the rest. Won't it decay faster?" "Affirmative. But I have found a specimen in perfect condition, sir. The only thing that is damaged is the death gown she was buried in. Her resperitory systems are perfect, and whatever it was that killed her can be easily fixed." There was a brief silence. "Very well." Greg grinned and began changing the corpse before him into a robot.

Jesse glanced back at Dana as they waited for Max to come back. She was staring at Babe, deep in thought. "Dana? Is something wrong?" "No, Jesse. I'm just nervous, I guess." "What for?" "Well... What happens if Babe isn't accepted? I mean, what if they really DO just turn him into some pile of scrap metal?" "Then we stop them." "It isn't that easy Jesse. Have you HONESTLY thought of the consequences if we're rejected?" "Dana, I try not to. Don't let yourself think about the problems we COULD face, think about the problems we WILL face." "Such as?" "We aren't really welcome there Dana. The first thing we need to do is make them see we're on their side." Jimmy hadn't left Babe's side, and was still there by his friend. "Jimmy, what're you doing?" "I don't want anything to happen to Cleave... I just put him in probably his most dangerous situation ever! I'm worried..." Jesse put a hand on Jimmy's back. "It's okay, Jimmy. Why don't YOU say you were the one who made him malfunction? This was your idea, after all." Jimmy looked up at him. "But I'm just a kid! No one would believe me!" "And who said that?! Jimmy, he's your closest friend. You DESERVE to stay with him..." Jesse looked up at the sound of footsteps to see Max approaching.

Max tried not to grimace. He didn't quite know how to tell them the news. Jesse was sitting by Jimmy and stood up as Max approached. "What did they say?" Max sighed. "They said yes, but--" He was cut off by Jimmy, who was jumping around and shouting his joy. Max gave him a stern look when Jimmy glanced at him, which settled him down. Max continued. "They said yes, but there's a problem." "What is it?" "They want to take him apart and see how he works. They're going to use him to look for robotic weak points." Jimmy blanched. "Will they put him back together?" "No." "But... but you DID tell them what we were going to do?" "Yeah, I told them. They have the control box, and they already know how it works. They don't NEED Babe for anything other than taking him apart and finding his weak points... I don't know what else to do..."

"I don't know what else to do..." Babe heard Max talking above him. Once he had heard that there was a problem, he'd started reactivating himself. In a moment his eyes would turn back on, along with his voice... "We need a new plan." Babe sat up and spoke as much as his voice would allow. He felt like he was whispering, but everyone heard him. Jimmy was beside him in a second. "But Cleave, we don't have another!!!" "We need one. Look, Max said they know how to use that control box. Perhaps I could prove them wrong?" "How?" "We'd be taking a chance, Jimmy, but what if the control box didn't work on me? They'd have to study the mechanism more, and I would be useful again. We'd just have to have me attack and have them try to stop me." "But what if the box DOES work on you? What if you get hurt when they attack you?" "Jimmy, what if it doesn't? What if they DON'T hurt me? I KNOW I'm taking a huge chance here, but sometimes that's what it takes. Trust me on this one, okay?"

----

Minutes later, after Max and the rest had gotten inside, the alarm went up that a robot was attacking. The scientists tried their hardest to use the control box, but no matter what they did, it kept coming at them. Max smiled and shot one blast into the air. Babe apparantly got the hint and started to dive down, like he'd been hit. Jesse and Dana were waiting for him on the ground, and 'captured' him when he landed for study. Everything went perfectly. The scientists wanted to keep him assembled for study on the control box, Jesse and Dana were excused from their crimes when others found out it was they who had found the box, and Babe was almost totally ignored by everyone except the scientists. Max made sure he was alone with Babe when he went to see him. "Well Babe, it worked. How did you know?" Babe shrugged. "I didn't. I was just taking a wild chance, is all. So... am I allowed to walk around now?" "No. I'll let you once I've gotten my hands on the control box, but until then, you'll have to cope with just a few visits. Oh, by the way, Babe. You have some 'curious visitors' who want to look at a robot up close." Max smiled and opened the door to let Jesse, Dana, and Jimmy in. He left them to talk.

Greg beamed at his finished creation. The corpse robot worked like a charm. It had so far been tested and there had been nothing different from the living subjects except a heating unit to keep the flesh from decomposing. "Steve! Get in here!" Greg waited impatiently as Steve came in. "Steve, this'll be your partner. I hope you like her." Steve looked the corpse robot up and down, chuckled a bit, then spoke. "Well, I have to admire your taste, Greg. She's quite the looker, alright. Even with the metal on. I'll bet she was something before you changed her..." Steve slapped the corpse robot a few times. "If I find any more bodies that were as perfect as hers, I could make an army with less effort than anyone so far! I've got the perfect spot too. This is why I called you, Steve. You and this girl are going to go to that grave site and find me more corpses in perfect condition. Make sure they're perfect." Steve grimaced. "So now I'm a grave-robber. Well, at least I don't have any fighting to do..." "Steve?" "Yeah?" "You don't know where the site is yet." "Okay then, where is it?" "You'll be flying over half of the enemies territory before you reach the site. I want you to take as many robots as you think you can handle with you." "What do you mean, 'I can handle'?" "I mean, Steve, that you are going to be put in charge of a battalion of robots. You can control them, you know." "I WHAT?!!!!" Steve jerked back a step. Greg sighed, wishing he didn't have to explain everything. "You can control robots, Steve. Just switch frequencies and tell the robots what to do. Only, make sure your partner here stays out of the line of fire. I don't want her destroyed unless I have more than one corpse robot."

Babe looked up as Max rushed back in with the control box in his hand. "Move it you guys!!! We've got a robot attack on our hands!!!!" Max 'made' Babe move with the control box and took them all outside. Flying above them, and still somewhat far off, were robots. There were two in the lead of the huge group, and who knew how many trailing behind. Babe gasped. "Max, look at them! They're flying in a formation!" Max looked at Babe, puzzled. "What?" "They're not just group in a huge mob anymore! Look! From here it looks like they're all jumbled together, but when they get closer, you'll see the ranks they've made!" An alarm sounded off in the fortress as the robot hoard above them landed. Each robot, except for the two in front, raised their arm cannons and whatever other long-range weapons they had to aim at the fortress. Babe took off into the sky as tanks appeared below him. He reached the mass of robots and fired his cannon right along with those of the tanks. There was a wide circle around two robots, which he landed in. He was positioned so that he only saw one of the robots. The robot he saw looked strangely familiar, but it wasn't until he spoke when Babe realized who he was. "Well well, if it isn't the kid-friendly robot!" "STEVE?!!!" Babe asked, astounded. "Steve, what happened?!!!" "I'd ask you the same question, robot, but I have more important matters right now." The explosion from a tank's cannon blew up right between them, throwing Babe and Steve backwards. Steve grimaced and got to his feet. "Damn it! I wanted SO much to fight you right now... Hmph. C'mon, corpse. You and I have to get back into the sky." Babe watched as Steve shot into the air, revealing for the first time who the other robot was, or had been. She looked at him, then flew off into the sky after Steve.

"Cleave, wake up! Cleave!!!" Jimmy shook Cleave's limp form, trying to wake him. A shot from one of the tanks had landed almost right by him, and he hadn't moved since. The battle was long over, but Cleave seemed just as dead as the rest of the robot parts surrounding them. "Cleave, wake up!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!" Cleave stirred under Jimmy's hands, mumbling. His head moved to one side, giving Jimmy a clear view of the puddle of tears Cleave had made while laying there. "No... not her... anyone but her... how could they?.. not her... not Sarrah..." Jimmy tried to understand what Cleave meant, but couldn't. He gave up, happy that Cleave was awake again.

Babe barely noticed Jimmy. He was too overcome with grief to notice anything else. Jimmy left, and Babe stood up where he was. "Sarrah... why you? Why did it have to be you?" Babe glared up at the sky. "WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS?!!!!! HUH?!!!! WHOEVER'S UP THERE DOING THIS, I'M DAMNED TIRED OF YOU!!!!! I NEVER WANTED ANY OF THIS!!!!!!!!! WHY CAN'T YOU LET ME FORGET?!!!!!!!!! I WAS THIS CLOSE!!!!" He held up two fingers close together as he shouted. "I WAS THIS CLOSE TO BEING HAPPY AGAIN AND ACCEPTING IT!!!!!!! STOP TORMENTING ME!!!!!!!!!!!" He heaved a blast of flame at the sky, not wanting to hit anything, just to do something to make him feel better. He absently noticed Dana, Jimmy, and Jesse standing at a distance and staring at him. Max came by and led them off somewhere else, letting Babe finally have a chance to let go. Babe cursed and shouted with all his might, zipping around in the air and blasting at nothing. Weapons he hadn't needed or used in a hundred years activated and helped destroy the nothing he fought against. His tail laser, the one part he barely even thought about, shot like something possessed at the clouds. The metalic claws he had hidden in one of his arms slid out and sliced the clouds he flew through, his flame burned almost uncontrolably. His arm cannon shot wildly at the sky, shouting as loudly as he was himself. For the first time in what felt like eternity to him, he wanted to kill. He landed on the ground, still blasting and slicing and biting away at his anger, letting his hatred finally come forth. When he was finished with his mindless destruction, a small area around him looked like a barren wasteland. Babe felt exhausted. It wasn't from the energy he'd used with his weapons, but from the anger and hatred he'd finally been able to release. His emotions felt dried out, used up for the first time in his life. He sat down in the middle of his destoyed area and stared at nothing until Max walked up to him. "Go away, Max. I'm not doing anything right now." Max stayed where he was. Five minutes passed with nothing happening, so Babe looked up. Max's face looked relieved, like he'd been waiting for this sort of thing. "Well Babe? I let you have your time, so are you ready to act sane again? You've got four friends waiting for you back at HQ, and frankly, they're worried." Babe stood up. "Four?" "You heard right." "You're referring to yourself, right?" "No, I'm referring to the fourth anthro who's genuinely concerned about YOU. You might like him, if you'll come and meet him." Max started walking away, not once glancing back to see if Babe followed. Babe caught up with him before he spoke again. "What's he like?" "Come and see. I'm not about to spoil the surprise, my friend."