A/N - This is basically a sequel to a previous fic I wrote called 'Home'. Um, you can read it without reading Home if you like, I mean there's nothing that important. Probably. But you know, I always encourage reading, so reading it would sure be fun... No, don't worry, you don't have to. But enjoy...

Disclaimer - It's not mine, okay? I have never/will never own Team StarKid. To be honest, if I did, I would be rather creeped out. I might run into a few walls from the stress.

"It's good to be home, isn't it, darlin'," the nurse said brightly as they walked in through the door. "Where d'you want this, honey?"

Taz flinched at the use of the affectionate term and waved vaguely towards the bed as she turned away from the nurse. Even though the nurse placed the bag down gently, the quiet thump made Taz jump. The nurse said something else, but Taz didn't hear. Taz didn't care.

Looking around she noticed the rooms had been upgraded since she had last been here. Each room now contained a 'window' which flooded the room with artificial light. Taz stared blankly at the image of the outside world which filled the wall. Flowers, birds. Taz was sure that if this thing came equipped with sound she would have been able to hear the laughter of children or perhaps heard the soft sound of the ebbing waves. Everything had been designed to be calming. Everything had been designed to make you appreciate the beauty of the world. Everything had been designed to make you forget.

Taz turned away from the window and perched lightly on the side of the bed. These rooms weren't typical of the Galactic League; in there everything was plain and efficient. This was something else entirely. The walls were painted a pale cream colour, giving the room a warm yet calming feel. A while ago, Taz would have asked why the room was filled with 'all dis sissy shit.' In fact, that is exactly what Taz had done. Taz had been here before.

After he had come out of the hospital he had come here. A rehabilitation unit they called it; for those who had suffered severe trauma. The vast majority of those, like him, were rangers who had suffered a terrifying injury. Taz wasn't one of these. She had a few broken ribs, sure, but nothing serious, nothing that warranted this kind of treatment. She hadn't spoken a word in a month. Not since... Well, that.

She remembered being here after he had been injured. She had come precisely once. Her commanding officer had pretty much ordered her to go and she sat awkwardly on the edge of the uncomfortable blue chair for as long as she could take. She cared about him, of course she did, she was his best friend, just, she just couldn't take it.

The second she saw him lying there she had wanted to run. As the word 'robot' was brought up time and time again she felt herself pulling away from him. When he started crying, that was when she started to crack. She had yelled at him, telling him to pull himself together. Then she left. She hadn't seen him for two years after that, not until that mission on Bug World. That was what brought them together again but the second robot war was what ripped them apart.

She walked silently over towards the blue chair, almost identical to the one she had sat on all those years ago. She sat tentatively on the edge of the seat, as though she expected it to explode and then sat down properly as she realised it wasn't going to hurt her. She pulled her knees up to her chest and stared at the bed, remembering the time when he had been there, so helpless, so in pain. Remembering the time when she had left him. For the first time since she had last seen him, words escaped her lips.

"I shouldn't have left jou."

The whisper seemed to echo around the room; the voice in her mind replying viciously.

"You left him then and you've just left him again. It's your fault he's dead."

"I know," she whispered. A silent tear rolled down her cheek, blurring her vision as she gazed desperately at the bed, silently willing the man she loved to reappear; silently hoping for a chance to start again.

It didn't happen.

Far away, Up's eyes opened. He bolted upright and stared around maniacally as he did every morning. Each morning he was again disappointed. He was never going to wake up and find this was a dream.

Today would be exactly thirty days since he last saw Taz. Thirty days since he was seemingly executed by the robots.

The woman beside him stirred and Up looked down at her. She yawned widely and reached her hand out, blindly searching for her glasses. She pulled them on and sat upright.

"Morning," Up smiled weakly as he had done every morning.

"Good morning, Commander Up," Specs said brightly. She was still insistent on calling him 'Commander,' claiming that by giving in and just calling him Up they were showing they believed they had lost. And they hadn't lost yet.

As if following Up's train of thought, Specs pulled out her small notebook in which they had been formulating their escape plan. Although the robots had confiscated all weapons, they were so sure of their strength that they thought there was no point in removing anything that couldn't be used as such. It would simply be a waste of their time as in the robots' opinion as their 'puny human minds' would surely be unable to think of any means of escape. Their underestimation of Specs' brilliant mind gave the pair an advantage and they were going to put it to good use.

Up and Specs sat in silence for a while, studying the diagrams and reading all the small notes Specs had so painstakingly written which outlined all potential problems and how they could be averted.

"I miss him," Specs said suddenly.

"I miss her," Up replied. They both sat in silence briefly, thinking of their respective loved ones.

They had been together as a group when Up and Specs had been taken, the four of them, and they had been unable to do a thing about it. Up knew Taz would blame herself. He suspected Krayonder would also do the same, although with him you could never tell. At least he and Taz would be able to keep each other company. He winced at the thought, maybe not, chances were she'd probably killed him by now. Up was sure Taz would be angry after losing Up. She would almost certainly turn on those around her. Up almost pitied Krayonder.

Even if all the others were there they wouldn't have been able to stop it happening. Tootsie and MegaGirl had split with them soon after the start of the war; no one trusted a robot. It was safer for them to go and no one, even Taz, could find it in their hearts to blame them for leaving. As for Bug and February, they disappeared on a mission soon after the start of the war; no bodies were recovered but who could be sure of their fate.

"Up," Specs said, interrupting his train of thought. "We should go through the plan if we're going to implement it tomorrow." She pushed her glasses up her nose and pointed towards the notebook.

The complex plans still confused Up slightly; he couldn't understand how they were possibly going to make it out alive. This plan relied on a lot of luck and skill. Specs may be incredibly intelligent, but she wasn't what you could call agile. Every time she entered a room something would go flying, either her or some breakable object. When facing robots with sensors that could detect the drop of a pin this was going to be near impossible. Up berated himself angrily, this was no time for negativity. He could do this. He could do it for Taz.

"Right you are," Up nodded. "The sooner we can get back, the better."

A/N - So yeah. That's it, for now at least. Thing is, I have many many exams. So the next chapter might not be posted for quite a while. *protects self from objects that are being thrown* Sorry. That's assuming you liked it of course. If you didn't, then also feel free to throw things at me, I really don't mind.

On another note, I apologise to my dear proofreader for my excessive use of commas. I just really like them. (She was having a mini heart attack. Her annotations were getting more and more aggressive as it went on...)