Greg tapped his foot angrily as he waited for Steve to come in. Once Steve was there, he instantly forgot everything he was going to say. Steve was twitching with every step. "Greg, something was able to damage my curcuits." Steve got him over to the operating table and opened his chest up. Several key wires had melted to the point where they made the entire chest cavity have to be replaced. Greg moaned. "You're lucky we need you so much. If this had happened to any other robot, we would've already junked it." "Wha--why?!" "What use is a robot that's been damaged like that? If it happens once, it can happen again. We toss out the old ones and replace them with some of our better models." "Where do I fall?.." "You're one of the better models. The blast that hit you and the renegade was enough to destroy about a hundred of our regular robots. I'm actually quite surprised that the corpse robots were able to handle it so well..." "Speaking of which, Greg, did you find any more for him?" "No. I've searched everything we had in the records about him, but we've already got all of his key friends. We'll just have to make do with them."

Dana wanted to get out of her bed. Even if she wasn't aloud to leave the room, she wanted to walk around some. Jesse was there to make sure she stayed where she was. "Jesse, did you check on Babe, yet?" Jesse held her unbandaged hand and smiled. "He made a friend today, Dana. Max just told me. He might stand a chance here, after all." "Why's that?" "It turns out that he made friends with Chris, the best tank pilot we have here. Chris is one of the biggest influences in these headquarters, second only to Steve." Dana flinched at the name. "You saw him?" "Yes. I saw him. He's a robot now." "No, not that. He's like Babe. He has his mind still." Jesse sighed. "I know, but I have to think of him as a robot now. He's my enemy." "But Babe isn't." "Dana, he was controling the robots we fought! He's not on our side anymore! I had to think the same way when my family was killed by robots. It's the same way you had to think when YOUR family was killed by robots. Over half of the anthros in this BASE have had to think like that at one point." Dana felt his hand slide down her arm, and looked up at him. "Jesse..." "I won't, Dana. Just a kiss."

Max glanced in the intensive care room to see Jesse and Dana busy with each other. He smiled and left them alone to find Babe. He found him helping Mitchel with Chris' tank. "Babe, can we talk?" Babe looked out from underneath the tank. "Sure... what's wrong?" "It's about the battle." Max took Babe to his private quaters and motioned to a chair. Babe sat down, confused. "What about the battle?" "They're after you." Babe stared at the ground. "Believe me, I noticed." "Can you tell me why?" Babe sighed. He'd apparantly been expecting this question. "I think so. Way back, before all of this robot stuff began, I was THE only robot. I was the Protector for Yann city. You know the stories." "Yes, but what does this have to do with why they're after you?" "I think that somewhere between then and now, they mistook me for one of their own robots. I've seen some of the other factories. The one you guys are fighting against is pretty big, but it's not the biggest. I started hearing some humans call me the renegade, like I was a robot that had malfunctioned so badly that they couldn't fix me. I usually have to blast the robots and leave before they send out more whenever I fly over a factory. Now though, it's bad." "Why?" "You remember the girl I told you about? Sarrah?" "Yeah..." "Back when I was known as the Protector, she was my girlfriend. One of eleven anthros that knew who I was. It was those same eleven today, Max. They know who I used to be. They made Bill into a robot!!!" "Wha--Billy Brown?" "The very one. He wasn't it though. The entire rock band known as the Deep Rockers, MY old band, they were all there... The worst one, besides Sarrah, is James Elias." "Wait. That's what you called the giant robot." "Mm-hmm. James Elias, otherwise known as Player, is a Deep Rocker, and now the biggest robot or anthro you will have ever seen. Those humans want me gone because I've actually succeeded in destroying one of their factories, and helped Dana with another. To say they hate me wouldn't be going far enough." Max nodded. He'd thought it would be something connected to his past, but not this much! "Babe, you know we could easily destroy you and let you move on." Babe cried where he sat. "Yeah. I was thinking about asking you to do that when we first met, but things got out of hand... Now there is no way I'm going to leave unless ALL of my friends are dead as well. Bill would've hated it if he'd woken up in a robotic body... You'll help me destroy them, right? I--I can't get them on my own. It's too hard to look at them without remembering who they used to be..." Max laid a hand on Babe's shoulder. "Babe, from now on, don't ask ANYONE'S permission to move around. Do it without having someone pretend to control you. I think it's time our base got a wake-up call."

Jimmy watched Mitchel with interest. "How do you make them better?" Mitchel crawled out from underneath the tank and hopped inside to test it. "Well, I have to make some modifications on how much energy the cannon takes in before firing, but in order to keep the speed as fast as it is right now, I have to figure out a way to make the barrel lighter without reducing it's strength at all. To make it go as fast as Babe's tank, I have to replace a bunch of stuff in here as well. That's why the control panel in Babe's tank looks so much different. Say could you hand me that 9/16 wrench while you're out there?" Jimmy picked up the greasy wrench and handed it to him. "What do you use?" Mitchel smiled as he worked. "For the tank's exterior? My dad has been working on a super-metal that's supposed to be really light. I put a bunch of the extra metal my dad hasn't used on Babe's tank, which is why his is so fast. Dad'll be happy to see that it works. I'm almost done in here..." Mitchel came out of the tank with his arms full of tupes and pipes and rods. "Jimmy, while I take this over to the recycling part of the garage, could you put the console inside? It'd be a big help." Jimmy did as he was asked. He finally got to look inside the tank, and marveled at how much stuff Mitchel was planning to throw out. There weren't any sticks to drive the tank any more, and every button that he had gotten used to seeing above him was gone. The only things still attached inside the tank were the enigine parts, which kept it off the ground. He grabbed a small armful of the junk inside the tank and climbed out. Mitchel was just getting back. "I'll take these if you want. Where's the recycling place?" Mitchel chuckled and pointed directly behind him. "It's the overflowing garbage dump in the back. Whenever I need a part, I rumage through there and almost always find what I'm looking for. Here, I'll show you how to attach the steering when you get back."

Chris came by to check on his tank. He noticed that it hovered about six extra inches off the ground and went to look inside. "What the hell have you done to my tank?!!!!!!" There was nothing left inside except the engine! "Do you realize how weak you've made it?!" Mitchel finished tightening a nut and glanced at Chris before going back to work. "You asked me to do this. Don't worry, it'll look exactly like the inside of Babe's tank when we're done. You can redecorate when we've finished." Chris blushed. "Just what did you see?" "I saw everything, but Jimmy here didn't come in time to help throw THAT stuff away." "Mitchel..." "I can still tell my dad, Max, and everyone else in this base what you had in there, and WHO." Chris gulped. "You wouldn't dare..." "Hey Babe! Guess what?! Chris here has a crush on--" "Don't even think about it, you little tattletale." Chris slowly removed his hand from Mitchel's mouth. "I won't get angry so long as YOU don't say a thing. And by the way, THIS doesn't help you get out of anything else. I'll find a way to get even, you'll see." Mitchel just went back to work. "I'll jump over that hurdle when I come to it. Until then, could you please get me and Jimmy something to drink? It's going to be at least another day to get everything programmed in here." Chris came back, scowling, with two glasses of water. "You are going to pay for this, Mitchel." "Uh-huh, sure." Jimmy laughed and shook his head when Chris offered him his glass. "No thanks, Chris. I'll have it later."

Babe had heard the entire conversation between Chris and Mitchel. He smiled. Sometimes having these advanced ears of his made things very interesting... He excused himself from Max and walked back to the tanks. "You called?" Chris turned, eyes wide when he saw Babe. He stared back at Mitchel. Babe could hear him whisper. "Don't you say a word..." Babe laughed and came right up by the tank. "Well?" "Nothing." Mitchel said, smirking. "Chris helped out instead." "Really..." Babe leaned into Chris' ear. "I heard the whole thing. Don't worry. I'm on your side this time, Chris." Chris heaved a sigh and smiled gratefully at Babe. Right then, Mitchel asked if Chris could get them something to eat. Chris grumbled, but obeyed. He came back with some crackers and cheese. Babe's mouth watered at the thought of eating something normal for a change, but knew it wouldn't happen. He sighed and patted Chris' shoulder, winking at him. "Hey Chris, since you aren't doing anything but getting these two snacks, could you come help me out? I'm trying to find where you guys keep the sugar, but I haven't found it yet. I was wondering if you'd show me where it is so I can get it by myself next time." Chris happily started walking away. When they were out of the garage, he thanked Babe. Babe tried his hardest not to smile. "I WOULD like to know where it is..." "Well, I'll help you find the sugar, but try to think of something next time that allows me to LEAVE." "Such as a test run?" "PERFECT! Please let me do that!!!!!!!" "Whatever. Just help me find the sugar. My energy is starting to run a bit low."

Jesse was very reluctant to leave Dana, but he knew he had to see Max. He promised he'd be back to see her really soon, and left to find Max. He found him thinking in his private chamber. "Max, we HAVE to do something about the giant. It'll demolish us the next time they make it attack." "I know Jesse. Babe and Mitchel's tanks are our only hope right now. I think I'll put more trust in Mitchel." "Why Max?" "That robot used to be Babe's friend. He said it himself! He admitted that he would need help! Mitchel is our best bet." "With all due respect, Max, I'm going to trust Babe on this one." Jesse scratched his head when the silence settled. He cleared his throat. "Umm... Max?" "Yes, Jesse?" "How long will it take for Dana to heal?" "I have absolutely no idea, my friend. She may not be able to use that arm for the rest of her life." Jesse nodded. The silence came back, more forcefully the second time, as if they needed the silence. Both jumped when Max's alarm system sounded. He switched all of his attention to the moniter. "Already?!! It hasn't even been a whole day yet!!!!! They're attacking already?!!!!!" The moniter showed something yellow and glowing hurtling toward them. Max ran to the sound system. "Red alert! All personel evacuate to the lower floors!!! IMPACT IS IN THIRY SECONDS!!!!!!!!!! I REPEAT, MOVE!!!!!!!!!!!" Jesse and Max shot out to the stairs, helping other anthros move down before they went as well. They glanced once to make sure no one was still running toward them, then headed down. Jesse was leaping down the steps behind Max when a blast litterally tore the upper floors off. There was a deafening roar as a huge shadow fell over them... Jesse could feel the heat from the blast, from the immense engines that powered the giant looming above him. He made the mistake of looking up at the robot as he rounded another corner in the stairs. One of the robots hands was reaching down at him... Jesse screamed as he was picked up. He shouted and fought against the iron grip that held him. There were suddenly hudreds of hands grabbing at him, all normal. He risked opening his eyes and saw regualr robots all piling around him, each one tearing at him ripping off his shirt, and when they could grab any other articles of clothing, the snatched at handfulls of feathers. His screams intensified as feathers were torn off by the handfull. When they were done ripping out his feathers, he opened his eyes again. Through the tears, he couldn't see any sign of his wings. A warm liquid was running in two streams down his back, washing away the last few signs of the wings he might've had. A blast of heat swamped all over him right then, cauterizing the wounds in his back. There was so much pain that he blacked out.

Babe was the first on outside, he'd had to shove his way through the robots, who didn't pay any attention to him whatsoever. He'd been the one who had cauterized Jesse's back, and was still busy trying to blow away the rest of the robots still surrounding them. A tank cannon shot somewhere behind him, then the robots to his right fell from the sky. The smell of metal being melted filled his senses. He glanced down at the wristband he wore and saw it sizzling. "That shot was supposed to have made me short-curcuit!" He thought as he looked back at the tanks. More shots were coming, making his sensors go wild. "Each ONE of those shots is supposed to short-curcuit me!!!!!!!" He swooped into the air and got out of range as fast as he could. Each shot exploded right behind him, nearly touching him with each blast. When he was finally out of range, he looked back. Player was teetering on his heels, first in the direction of the base, then backwards. Back and forth, back and forth, Babe zoomed back and snatched Jesse out of Player's grasp just before he started tipping again. Anthros were piling out of the base, running as far away as they could in hopes that they would make it before Player collapsed. Babe saw more anthros being pushed out in wheel chairs and hospital beds. He sighed when he saw Dana being pushed in her bed by Max, and was doubly relieved when he saw Jimmy and Mitchel running as well. His tank was still firing shots at Player, trying to make him fall backwards. Babe shot at and destroyed other robots as he flew down to the ground. Player started tipping, this time not slowing down and leaning the other way. Babe closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact.

----

Steve watched the battle through the camera Greg had attached to Garagntuan. It had almost gone perfectly. "Huh. I almost got Jesse on our side." Greg glanced at him. "I WONDERED why you were telling them to do that. You've got a grudge against him or something?" "No, I just want to make the renegade's life as miserable as possible." "How does turning THAT anthro into a robot make things miserable for the renegade?" Steve smiled and pressed a code on his arm panel. The smaller robots on the screen instantly flew back into and piled around the renegade as he landed. "Because, Greg, Jesse is his FRIEND. I figure the more friends he has that are robots, the worse he'll get. Sooner or later, he'll break under the pressure... If Gargantuan doesn't kill them right now." Greg leaned closer to the screen. "Heh. Those anthros are clueless. Even if they manage to stop Gargantuan right now, they won't be able to destroy him." "Why?" "It's part of his programming. He fights and fights, never letting up. If they are able to make him malfunction in any way he can't fix on his own, he sends us the information. If he's deactivated, then thirty seconds will pass and he'll get back up and come back to us. We can upgrade him each time he comes back, making him harder to beat after every battle! Plus, wherever he falls... Watch." Steve ganced back at the screen just as the camera started falling to the ground. Gargantuan was falling directly on top of the fortress Steve had once called home.

WHOOOMMM!!!!!!!!

Max cracked his eyes open after the shock wave passed. Dust was still flying everywhere, but even through all of that, he could tell that the fortress was no more. Chris drove up in Babe's tank. "Sir, did everyone make it out?" "I--can't say... WAIT!! What about Babe and Jesse?!!!!" "I checked sir. I couldn't find either of them anywhere..." Max looked up at the sky when he heard rockets. Up above them was a group of robots, all cramming to reach something in the middle of their hoard. A blast shook them away for a moment, revealing Babe who was still carrying Jesse, but the robots closed in around them again. Max scowled and pulled out a handgun he carried with him everywhere. He aimed it up at the cluster of robots and fired. A small rocket shot out from the gun's barrel, making a high-pitched screaming sound as it flew towards its target. A miniature explosion opened up a small pocket, which Babe dove through. He shot at the robots as he dove, taking out more and more. They reached the ground, where Babe set Jesse down, then he flew back up and attacked the robots with all his might. The robots fell from the sky almost instantly. As Babe fought, Max thought he felt an earthquake. He turned back to the enormous robot to see it slowly pushing itself back up. The earth seemed to move with it as it rose to its feet. It brushed a bit of the dirt off of it, then calmly walked away like nothing had happened. Max shook his head, trying not to believe what he'd just seen. He glanced around, trying to find something to take his attention off the impossibility he'd just witnessed. He saw Jesse still laying on the ground, and ran over to him. Jesse was still alive! It took three shouts before Chris was snapped out of his awe at seeing the giant walk away. Chris drove the tank over and helped load Jesse inside. Max took over driving the tank and told Chris to find Mitchel. Chris nodded and ran off. Max gently pushed Jesse over a bit so he had room to drive, then headed back to help Babe. Babe had been forced to the ground by this time, still fighting off as many robots as he could. Max fired once, destroying nearly all the robots in the air, and came up by Babe just as he finished off the last robot still there