AN: According to the KR08 movie, Sarah Graiman didn't know KITT before he saved her life, but in my universe, she did.
AN 2: Knight Rider, KR08, and all related characters belong to Mr. Larson and Universal. I'm just borrowing them for a bit.
The Storyteller
By The Lady Razorsharp
In an ivy-covered stone mansion high atop a hill outside of Los Angeles, all was stillness as those inside slept peacefully through the night. A pair of security guards patrolled the gated entrance to the property, and another pair of guards watched from a command center in the highest turret. The lights of the vast, sprawling city spread out below like a carpet of shimmering jewels.
The horses were quiet in their stalls in the stable; the fountain at the center of the circular drive was mirror-still. Even the garage was dark; except for a single shop light that hung over the partially disassembled chassis of a black 1982 Trans Am.
At first glance, it looked as if the car had seen better days: the right rear wheel was off and lay some distance away; the hood was leaned up against a wall nearby; and the t-tops had been stowed carefully in another part of the garage, but the rest of the car gleamed as if it had just rolled off the assembly line.
Inside the passenger cabin, a myriad of LEDs and monitors were dark, their readouts nothing more than blank pieces of colored glass and plastic. The scanner lights on the front grille were dark as well, giving the impression that the machine was a sleeping Cyclops.
A shaft of light from the doorway connecting the mansion with the garage pierced the darkness. The light seemed hesitant at first, but as the door was pushed open wider, it threw a bold rectangle of illumination over the car, turning the soft gleam of the car's glossy finish into a harsh glare.
Just as quickly as it had opened, the door was shut, casting the scene back into darkness. Muffled footsteps drew near to the immobile machine.
A small hand patted the car's fender, the hand's wet thumb leaving damp smudges on the pristine surface. "Wake up, KITT," piped a small voice, echoing from concrete and metal.
The scanner bar flared to life, and then slowly tracked in sequence from side to side. "Hello, Sarah," said a voice in a clipped Bostonian accent. "My internal chronometer says that it is 1:22 am. What are you doing out of bed, young lady?"
Five-year-old pajama-clad Sarah Graiman rubbed her eyes with a tiny fist, and clutched a naked Barbie doll with scraggly blond hair in her other hand. "Whatsa crabombeter?"
"'Chronometer.' It's a fancy word for 'clock.'"
"Oh." She sighed. "Can't sleep," said the child.
"Did you have a bad dream, sweetheart?"
Sarah nodded. "Can I stay with you?"
"Your father is going to be very cross," KITT warned.
Her big blue eyes filled with tears. "It was scary, KITT. Please?"
The driver's-side door swung open. "It's okay, sweetie. Bad dreams can't hurt you."
She clambered up into the seat, bringing her doll with her. "That's what Daddy says, but they're still scary."
"Well, you can stay for a little while," said KITT. "But remember the rules, Sarah: Don't press any of the buttons."
The child settled herself comfortably, her feet in their fuzzy pink slippers sticking straight out from the upholstered seat. "Daddy said your buttons don't work anymore."
"You're right, he did say that," KITT agreed. "However, there is a slight possibility that they missed one, and I don't want to find out if it's the ejection seat. I'd have a really hard time explaining that one to your father."
Sarah giggled. "You're funny, KITT."
"You're one of the few who think so," KITT said dryly. "Anyway, what do you want to do, Sarah? Do you want to play a game?"
She shook her whole body 'no.' "Wanna hear a story."
"Which one?" asked KITT, the video display on the dash coming to life with brightly colored pictures culled from children's books. "I've got the whole library of Grimm's Fairy Tales, and the Complete Mother Goose. I've also got access to the entire Disney video collection and the Dr. Seuss animated specials."
Sarah thought for a moment. "I dunno," she said finally. "Nothing scary." She cradled her doll close to her side. "Cindy gets nightmares."
The scanner swished from side to side. "I see," said KITT. "We can't have that." The CPU behind the dash clicked rapidly as data was gathered and collated. "I can narrow everything down to the top five most popular children's stories. I'll run through them and you tell me which one you want to hear, all right?"
Sarah nodded, the motion translating through the sensors in the cabin.
"Okay, here we go." KITT quietly switched on his automatic seat warmer, and the child tucked her legs underneath her and snuggled into the upholstery in unconscious response to the gentle heat. "Number 5: Goldilocks and the Three Bears."
"Bears are scary."
"Okay, scratch one. Number 4: Hansel and Gretel."
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Witches are scary too, KITT."
"Oh. Well, let's move on to number 3: Snow White."
Silence.
"Oh," said KITT. "Right. Witches are scary. How about number 2: Jack and the Beanstalk."
With her thumb in her mouth, Sarah squirmed against the seat. "MM-mmh," she grunted petulantly.
"Well, that just leaves number 1: Cinderella."
Sarah removed her thumb. "You told me that one already."
KITT called up a log file. "So I did, two weeks ago." The monitors winked out. "I confess I'm at a loss, Sarah. You want to hear a story, but you don't want to hear any of the ones I can tell. This is what your father calls an unresolvable loop."
Sarah frowned. "What's that mean?"
"It's hard to explain, my dear," said KITT. "What it really means is that there's no answer to the problem."
"Oh." They sat in silence for a moment. "KITT, do you have any friends?" asked Sarah.
"You're my friend, aren't you?"
She nodded and worked her doll's arms up and down. "And my Daddy's your friend, too."
"That's right." The scanner swished. "Sarah, would you like me to tell you a very special story?"
"Okay." She hugged her doll. "What's it about?"
"This story is about four friends who went on amazing adventures together. They were like a family, and they looked out for one another."
"Really?" Sarah's eyes lit up. "What were their names?"
"Well, let's see. First, there was Mr. Miles. He was from England." The monitor flashed a picture of the British Isles. "That's very far away from here."
Sarah nodded. "Daddy told me that once."
"Then there was Bonnie—she was very smart and very kind."
"Was she pretty?"
The monitor changed to a picture of a young woman with thick, shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes. "What do you think?"
Sarah giggled. "Yeah, she's pretty." She counted on her fingers. "Wait, that's only two. Who were the other ones?"
"The third one was Michael. He was brave and daring, and helped a lot of people when they were in trouble."
"Oooh," breathed Sarah. "Like a knight in shining armor."
"Yes," said KITT. "Just like a knight in shining armor."
"You haven't told me who the last one is," Sarah chided.
"The fourth one went by a very special name," said KITT. "See if you can guess who it is."
Four letters appeared on the monitor in front of Sarah, and she frowned at them for a minute. "K, I, T, T, KITT." Astonishment dawned on her face, and she laughed. "That's you!"
"Very good, Sarah. You're right; we were all friends together, and we had many adventures. Would you like to hear about one of them?"
Her expression clouded. "I dunno. Is it a scary story?"
"Some of them are," admitted KITT, "but I'll save those until you're older. Why don't I tell you about the time Michael and I helped some people at a place called 'Slammin' Sammy's Stunt Show Spectacular'?"
Sarah laughed. "That's silly!"
"Oh, but it wasn't," said KITT. "Sammy was the owner of the show, and he was in very big trouble. You see, a very bad man wanted to close down the show--"
"Why did he want to do that?"
"Because," said KITT, matter-of-factly, "that's what bad guys do."
"Oh." Sarah settled back in the seat, thumb in her mouth, Cindy cradled in the crook of her arm.
"Now, where was I? Oh, yes, Mr. Miles had just told Bonnie to get me ready for the show. I had to have a new set of parts so Michael could drive me in the show and be safe."
"Did it hurt?" asked Sarah, worry creasing her young brow.
"No, it didn't hurt. Bonnie was always very careful." KITT waited until the child had settled back, and then continued. "Anyway, Michael had to put shiny star stickers all over me so I could look like a stunt car. I didn't like that very much, but we had to do it."
"Or the bad guys would get you," Sarah supplied.
"All right, who's telling the story here?"
Sarah grinned. "Sorry, KITT."
"Anyway, Michael had to prove to Sammy that I was a stunt car. I could do a lot more than the regular cars, and…"
The story wound on, made safe for small ears by KITT's judicious editing of the fiery accident that nearly killed Sammy and how a jealous boyfriend had slipped Michael a near-fatal mickey in a cup of Gatorade. By the time KITT told of how Sammy's young son was the hit of the show, Sarah's eyelids were beginning to droop.
"And so Michael said, "Punch it, KITT!" and we went flying through the air over all the cars."
KITT had expected a cheer, but there was only the sound of Sarah's slow breathing in the cabin. A sweep of his sensors told him that the child was asleep, thumb tucked securely in her mouth. She stirred in her sleep, and Cindy tumbled to the floorboard.
"And they all lived happily ever after," KITT said softly.
A shuffle of soles against the concrete drew near, and a man with thinning white-blond hair stepped into the light. "I always liked that story," he said, smiling down at the hoodless car.
"Hello, Dr. Graiman," said KITT. "Sarah said she couldn't sleep. She'd had a bad dream."
Graiman sighed. "I know. Ever since her mother left, Sarah's been having nightmares. The pediatrician said they'd get better in time, but for now…" He laid a hand on the driver's-side windowsill. "I'm glad she trusts you."
"It was my pleasure," said KITT.
"Come on, sweetie," said Graiman, opening the door to retrieve his daughter. "I think you've heard enough stories for one night."
"Don't forget Cindy," KITT reminded him.
Graiman smiled. "Heaven forbid." He tucked the doll into the pocket of his robe and hoisted Sarah into his arms.
"G'night KITT," Sarah mumbled sleepily.
The door closed, leaving the garage in quiet twilight once more. The scanner traveled one more side-to-side circuit, and then dimmed into darkness.
"Good night, sweetheart."
--END--