"Just stay here, SARA. The company wants me back down at base. I'll be gone 3.. 4.. A week, tops. Trust me, it'll be sooner than you think. Just promise you'll keep the ship in top condition by the time I get, alright?"

"Promise, TOM."

And those were the last things they said to each other before he went done to the base. It had been way more than a week, she could tell. But he had shut off most of the ships processors, so that meant the calender was gone, too. She couldn't even project a hologram, for god's sake. All she could do was sit in the darkest confides of the main computer, the numbers and letters dimly floating by, never forming words or equations. Just floating, useless. Like her.

She had to remind herself she wasn't useless. She was built as a copilot for TOM, she did her job, and dammit, she did it well. She was the one who helped him rebuild when his first body was scrapped. She translated the SOS message. And she was keeping the ship in top condition, wasn't she?

Well, she was doing the best she could. She couldn't reach all the rooms, but the kitchen's food was flash frozen, and she tried to keep the room not dusty by turning on the fans every now and again...

But if she wasn't useless, why did TOM go away?

She sighed. She tried to remind herself that TOM cared, he really did. He abandoned ship once to save her, he broke a virus's hold on her She had to clear her thoughts somehow. Maybe she could try to turn on the music again. She used to be able to reach the speakers, but now for some rea–

Wait. What was that?

There was something piercing the sound of fans and dust flying. Something like..

Footsteps. Heavy, tired footsteps.

Someone got on bored, and she didn't know it?! Dammit TOM, what kind of idiot turns of the security system!?

She turned on all the cameras she could manage. The intruder was robotic, that much she could tell. Probably a simple thief, she could scare him out with a couple of fans and if she could just get the stupid speakers to work–

Suddenly the option to access the speakers came up. She rubbed her eyes, then looked back at the cameras. A few more had popped up. One of the showed the intruder holding some sort of remote control, walking in and out of rooms, just surveying them. What kind of trick was this!? She turned on the fans in as many rooms she could manage. Dust flew everywhere. The intruder just chuckled, and pressed a few more buttons.

She growled, then pressed the button for the speakers. "INTRUDER. I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO LEAVE, OR ELSE I HAVE THE INTERGALACTIC POLICE SURROUND YOU."

"Now, we both know you can't do that. Quit trying to scare me, it's not gonna work, SARA." he replied. His voice was scratchy, but vaguely familiar...

No. It couldn't be. Just a trick, a mind game. She tried to turn on the lights, but apparently the intruder restricted access to that, too. Then he disappeared from the camera's view.

Crap. She still had a few shut off. And every time she tried to turn them on, she was greeted with an electric shock. She screamed. She was useless, useless, useless. When TOM came back, if he ever came back, he be so mad, she'd probably delete him...

Suddenly the footsteps started to come from outside the main control room door. That's where she was. She tried everything, lasers, sheilds, holograms, but she couldn't do a thing. She was worthless, helpless, and now the intruder was probably going to delete her and steal the ship.

The door slid open. The intruder was shorter on the cameras, and holding a helmet in his arms. He still looked different, but vaguely familiar, as of he...

Oh no. He stole TOM's suit. She was dead, if not by the intruder's hands, but TOM's.

"THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING! LEAVE, NOW!" she shrieked..

The intruder chuckled again, put the helmet on his head, shielding his face. He stated to type at the keyboard. Air conditioners whirred to life, the food began to defrost, all the cameras turned on, as did the lights, and she could project a hologram again. She stared in awe of the intruder. No. It couldn't be. But only he knew all the combinations, but oh, it had been so long, he surely died, it was the only explanation...

"SARA, baby! It's old pal, TOM. Sorry I scared ya, I really do look weird without the suit on. I apologize for taking so long, they wanted me to host from some random planet for a while. I would've come back sooner, but they kinda kept me there. So one day, I just looked 'em straight in the eye, and said 'I quit.' Told 'em they could host their crummy new shows on their own. Oh, and I bought you some new computer games, thought you might like them." he said, and she could see the barest trace of a smirk behind the dark helmet. "So, I need a new job, but hey, I'm back with the greatest chick in the entire universe, aren't I?"He pressed a few more buttons, and suddenly she was a hologram, staring her old friend in the face. "Wow, you haven't changed one bit. And you kept the ship in tip-top shape too. I'm proud of ya."

Holograms can't feel anything, neither can anyone touching a hologram feel anything but air. But a sudden hug from a hologram to a best friend who's been away for far too long still has the same emotional value.

I'm writing too many Toonami fanfics in the course of two days. Maybe I should just lie down and have a MEGAS XLR marathon or something.