Part 1:

The door opened with a slow creak. Two sat up straight at the sound of it, happy that her husband was home after his trip into town. It seemed like ages since she'd seen him the night before, because he'd left that morning before she woke up. She seemed to sleep in later every day, always feeling less energized than she should have. The pregnancy was taking its toll on the fledgling Energy Vampire by sharing her power with the baby and the millions of nanobots that were constructing the hybrid and expanding her midsection. Waking up early was out of the question for the three-months-pregnant robot.

Eager to greet her lover after what felt like much longer than a day, Two rushed to meet him at the door. Her face suddenly fell at the sight of his pained expression.

"Nos-4-a2!" Two cried.

He looked up and winced as his shoulder bumped the door when it closed. Agony showed in his optic.

"Nos, what happened to you? Are you alright?" she hovered closer to him. The small gardener gasped in horror when she saw that the fabric over his shoulder was glistening with an opaque, silvery liquid.

Nos-4-a2 shook his head in answer to her question, holding his upper arm with his uninjured hand. He gritted his teeth and looked at his wife desperately.

"I-I'm here, Nos, come on... Follow me, I'll help you. We need to get you to the infirmary; don't black out..." Two put her arm around Nos-4-a2's back and helped support him down the hall. He was unsteady and had to lean heavily on the short probe, but her strength far exceeded her size. She quickly led him to the medical wing and helped him sit stably on the examination table.

"Computer, please help him," she asked, trying to stay calm. Nos let out a heavy sigh and closed his optic, leaning back against the wall. The table he was sitting on was against the far right wall across from the sink and counters. There was a single window with the curtains drawn, a dark ripple of fabric covering the pale concrete. Nos-4-a2 was a sore, broken heap of android sticking out from the pristine setting.

"I'm here, Mrs. Two. I'll take care of the scans," the system whirred. A panel in the metal ceiling opened and a segmented arm lowered down with a glassy ball on the end. It flickered red a few times before turning blue, giving off a fanned beam that slowly swept back and forth over the Energy Vampire.

Two stood back while Computer assessed her mate, worry in her eyeforms. What could have caused such an injury? It seemed as if he'd lost a lot of vital fluid from the wound in his shoulder, but she hadn't even seen it yet. The fabric of his cape was wrapped messily around the broken joint and completely soaked with iridescent liquid. It was almost too much for her to look at.

"Mrs. Two, I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but would you mind fetching a container of repair-type nanorobots and a small tube of liquid metal?" Computer queried. The white robot worriedly regarded her lover before deciding that the mainframe would keep him perfectly safe, and she turned to leave the inspection chamber to find the requested supplies. She hovered silently out of the door, leaving it open, and made her way down the hall to another room in the wing where all of the medical supplies were kept. The cubicle containers of nanorobots were all in a neat stack on a high shelf in the stark white room, and Two took a couple from the top of the pile just in case. Then she grabbed one of the cylinders of liquid metal, frowning as it shuddered and tried to "mend" the separate pieces that made up her hand. Even though Nos had complete control over liquid metal, Two still had no idea how to persuade the alien substance to obey her will. She hovered back to the room where Nos-4-a2 was as fast as she could so Computer could help him and take the annoying substance off of her appendage.

"Thank you very much," Computer murmured as Two put the materials down on the counter, flicking the liquid metal off her fingers. A pair of metal arms came out of the ceiling, one picking the items up and the other carefully unwrapping Nos's shoulder. Two gasped in horror to see the gaping wound torn through his red terillium-carbonic alloy.

"Oh, Nos…" she whispered sympathetically. His free formed optic opened to a dull sliver and he watched the metal arm bring the two inch cube of nanorobots to his shoulder, sliding it apart to release the shimmering goop into the open injury. He hissed sharply and winced as it dispersed into the tangle of torn tubes and wires, grabbing again at the point just below the injury. Two comfortingly put a gentle hand on his wrist and tried to offer some encouragement. She could read a tremor of his electricity through the contact of their metal. With more effort than it should have taken, Nos turned his optical sensors towards hers and just gazed. She could see and sense everything there: the pain he felt, the appreciation of her quick reaction, and surprisingly, fear. The probe could tell that this fear went beyond that of his injury, but for his life, and maybe something more. To say it worried her deeply would be an understatement.

"It's going to be alright, Nos-4-a2," she lightly stroked his wrist, "Don't worry. Computer will have you fixed up before you know it."

Right as she said so, Computer applied the liquid metal to the open gash and it expanded to close it up, allowing the nanobots to work on the damaged mechanisms without having to deal with any more leaking. Nos relaxed the slightest bit to see that he didn't have to worry about bleeding out any longer.

"I'll be back in a moment. I'm going to gather the equipment needed to replenish Mr. Nos-4-a2's vital substances." Computer announced.

"Could you also bring him a few power cells?" Two added.

"Of course."

The metal arms withdrew, leaving Nos and Two alone. They were both silent, one wondering desperately for what could have happened and the other struggling to stay conscious. Feeling that she would burst if she sat still for another moment, Two decided to further attempt to comfort the tall robot in front of her.

"Can you sit up for me just a little bit?" she asked quietly as she unbuckled his cape. He did his best, and with some help from Two, Nos's soiled cape was removed and piled into the waste basket beneath the sink. It felt better to have the heavy garment removed and the cool air able to touch his sore metal.

Nos felt so alleviated that he summoned the strength to speak. "…Eve. Sorry… hard to… explain. Danger…"

The gardener quickly shushed him and put a hand on his cheek, "Don't strain yourself right now. You can tell me once you've had a chance to regain your strength, but until then, you shouldn't push it. You're safe now."

He frowned and leaned into her delicate hand, closing his optic. Two was right. Nos knew that he didn't possess the power to speak, and as long as they were inside, there was nothing to worry about... hopefully. It was hard to think in the state he was in.

A panel opened in the wall, revealing a compartment with a pair of rechargeable power cells. Two picked them up and thanked Computer.

"You're welcome. If Mr. Nos-4-a2 could consume some electricity now, it is important for me to know how much of what substances you need me to replenish," Computer requested. Two nodded and held one of the rectangular batteries.

"Did you hear what he said, Nos?" she asked gently. He opened his optic again and gave a soft grumble of affirmation. "Alright then, open up..."

Two lifted herself a few inches to comfortably reach the Energy Vampire's mouth and pressed the metal-lined box to his lips. His fangs reflexively extended and started to spin. The white probe steadied his head by putting one hand behind it, trying to aid the penetration of his fangs, carefully adding upward pressure to the battery. He gratefully drank every last bit of energy the cell had to offer.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked once he had finished.

Nos sighed, "Loads. Thank you, my dear... I'm sorry to have worried you."

"Leave it to you to be concerned about me at a time like this..." she smiled sadly and put the empty battery on the counter.

"You shouldn't be stressed in your condition. Computer... I'm missing a great supply of MR fluids, plus a... a little less than a quarter liter of coolant. All other systems are functioning, though he just missed my power line. Oh, and before I forget, a mug of motor oil would also be greatly appreciated," Nos said in a rough, quiet voice. The system immediately lowered two glass cylinders: one about 50 centimeters tall and 20 centimeters wide filled with a silvery, slow-moving liquid, and the other about 13 centimeters tall and 5 centimeters wide filled with a translucent blue liquid. Another thin pair of arms connected a tube to the bottom of each and pulled a panel off the back of Nos's neck, sliding the nozzles on the end of the tubes into their respective intake valves. Nos shuddered and groaned at the strange feeling of the liquid slowly seeping into his being.

He gave a slight shake of his head as if to clear his mind and reached for the second battery that Computer had brought them. Two motioned to help him with it, but he denied her and struggled to bring it to his mouth on his own. With his levels of magnetorheological fluids diminished, his movements were jerky and unsteady, but Two had observed many a time that there were few things capable of getting in between Nos-4-a2 and his power cells. He finished the new one off in half the time it took to finish the first, and the effect appeared to be positive. His dull optics began to give off a more lively shade of scarlet, but instead of relaxing, his brow began to crease. As his battery replenished and the fluid was restored to his systems his thoughts began to align. Two could sense that unnerving fear in his CPU grow stronger, along with a few other emotions she hadn't learned to identify yet. All she could tell was that none of them were positive.

"Please make sure that you do not remove the drip nozzles until the vials are completely empty and I can safely do it myself," Computer's modulated voice directed mildly, "I will return at said time."

Nos-4-a2 flexed his fingers experimentally, finding that the MR fluid hadn't quite made its way to the extremities yet. The movement of his knuckles was jagged and awkward without the special liquid to smooth it out. He tilted his head down to look at the silver blotch of liquid metal hardened in his shoulder. It had filled his wound and left the torn red alloy in a rough pattern around it.

"...What do you think?" he shrugged it lightly, "Does it make me look tough?"

Two blinked in shock. Even though the misshapen patch of metal did remind her of a scar, she couldn't find it in herself to laugh at his attempted humor.

"Nos... what happened to you?" she asked incredulously.

His face fell. "I'm... I'm sorry. Not the best time for jokes. I ran into someone on my way home. An... 'old acquaintance.' I never imagined anyone would be able to track me down with Star Command declaring me dead, but he found me out... I have no idea how. He's called Warp Darkmatter, one of Zurg's most powerful henchmen, but he's decided to overthrow the evil emperor as I once attempted... which is why he wanted to find me. He thought that we could team up... two of Zurg's most capable creations against the old emperor himself. I told him that I was... retired. Understandably, he didn't believe me and attempted a different path of persuasion. I flew into the clouds for cover and dimmed my wings, but he still took out my shoulder... thank the stars he missed the pivot motor in the socket. He could have taken my arm off completely."

Two wordlessly shook her head and hovered up to her husband, wrapping her arms carefully around his chest and pressing her visor into his good shoulder. The gentle bump forming in her abdomen pressed awkwardly against his front, but he held her in place with his uninjured arm. A tear sparked in the corner of her visor as she held him with all of her EVE Probe might.

"Nos-4-a2..." she whispered shakily, "I don't know what to say..."

Nos sighed softly and rested his head against hers comfortingly. "I'm so sorry, my love. I thought that being on Earth would prevent any danger from following us, but it's still happening... my darling, I'm so sorry. Now our baby is in danger. I don't know where Darkmatter's gone, but he's still out there somewhere. I'm so sorry."

Two shook her head into his shoulder and took him in, grateful that he was still there for her to hold. How could this happen? Suddenly, Axiom didn't feel like such a safe place to live.

And on top of that, Computer forgot to bring Nos a mug of oil.

~~~

A/N: This story is one of my personal favorites. Oh, and I can't believe this is my first time mentioning Computer... geeze, this is awkward. He's a pretty major character. As you can tell, he's the operating system and personality of their home. He used to be in Nos-4-a2's ship, but when they moved to Earth, Computer was downloaded into their home system. So, that's Computer. Pardon my derp. If you're confused, please refer to the timeline on my profile. Thanks!