Chapter 2 - I'm gonna find you and make you want me.

There was silence in the cabin as KARR drive along at a good 120mph and Tristan sat in the drivers' seat filing her nails. The windows were tinted, courtesy of the AI. She glanced at the voice orb before continuing to file her nails. A sense of un-ease was coming from the car. He wasn't telling her something, just like she wasn't telling him something. It felt wrong to ask what was wrong since she wouldn't give up her secret at all. She felt something moving under her feet, the mobile tentacles shifting inside his shell, the equivalent of KARR moving from foot to foot. Tristan sighed and brought her feet up so she was leaning against the door. She finished filing her nails and put the file back, leaning back and looking out the windscreen and sighing softly. She had requested to go back to the cliff they had been at a year ago when this whole palaver had started. KARR had asked why but Tristan had only shook her head gently and sat in silence so Karr had no choice but to humour her and take her to where she wanted to go.

Now they were there, the cliff they were at a year ago, where they played tag and jumped and dodged from the other person. But now, KARR crouched silent at the edge of the cliff, engine at a quiet growl and Tristan sitting on his hood and looking out to the water below, her mind swaying and moving with the waves below her, letting the sparkles take and give with her vision. She sighed and lent back against the windscreen, hands behind her head. There was that lovely fog again, but this time, it wasn't fall, it was the middle of summer and the heat here was just getting above bearable. Tristan and KARR had barely spoken since this morning when they were choosing his new body. They had become more distant and their communication had become more limited. Luckily, no-one could tell since they had always seemed the same to the outside. Tristan had been spending more time with a maturing Bullet and KARR had become more anti-social and secluded, more violent to the technicians and less inclined to obey anyone else's commands or requests.

Tristan closed her eyes and sighed, her breathing staggered a little and she turned restlessly on the windscreen and then lay still. Looking around at the mist about her, Tristan reached up and extended her hand, much like a cat would extend its claws, to try and touch the opaque stuff that surrounded her and her car. She looked over her shoulder to the interior of the mustang that she was laying on and watched the voice orb for a while, it didn't move whatsoever. She pulled a disappointed expression and went to her original position, staring up at the pale sky, watching red, yellows, whites, blue and a few pinks bleed into the sky and it got darker. Tristan smiled to herself as the first star came out and by then, she realised it had become slightly cooler. She shivered a little but before she could move, KARRs' darkened tones washed over her.

"Tristan. Thowra wants to speak with you."

"Alright, I'll take it in your cabin, if you don't mind."

"If you insist."

Tristan rolled off KARR and opened the drivers' door, sliding in and tapping the windscreen, bringing up Thowras' face. She smirked, he had got more piercings. Now him and KARR were probably even with the amount of metal in each other. Thowra raised his eyebrow and gave her a curious look.

"What?"

"Nothing, a stray thought. Nothing more." she replied smoothly, trying to hold back full blown laughter. Thowra just nodded and then started speaking.

"Well I thought I might as well give you the updates myself. We're moving everything back to California so, when you decide to return to the base here, we won't be there. Bullet will be riding with me, so he's alright." Thowra reassured her. Tristan smiled and leant back.

"Ok, thanks for that. I'm going to the beach so I'll find all you guys in Cali. See ya!" she signed off after Thowra had said his goodbyes.

Tristan fired up the engine and backed away from the edge of the cliff, performed a 180 and sped away to the nearest beach.

Halfway there, she let KARR take control of the car and lent back and relaxed. She wanted to roll down the windows but by checking the speedometer which was at 110mph, she decided it wasn't the best action ever. But at least it was cool inside. She fidgeted a little, adjusting her top and ponytail whilst she looked straight out the window, smirking at the outside world as she powered past it in her more than moody supercar. KARRs' engine snarled freely as he accelerated and Tristan dialled her best friends' number. It was picked up almost immediately.

"Blue. I'm going out of town, this is my last day. I'll meet you at the Reserve Beach."

"Of course, Tris."

And the line cut off and KARR accelerated as Tristan lay back, more out of habit than wanting to please her. Tristan gave the voice orb a sideways glance with a little smirk. There was no music; KARRs' engine sang its own unique song.

"You haven't said a lot since this morning, KARR. Something the matter?" There. She had asked it. Now it was just up to her elusive partner to keep this conversation alive.

"There hasn't been anything to say, to be honest." replied KARR in an almost monotone voice. But, it was good to talk to Tristan again, despite the tension.

"You know what I mean, ever since the heist with Pridemore, you've been elusive, shadow like..." continued Tristan.

"And your point would be..." KARR teased, down the affection he had for her was plain in his voice and Tristan cracked a genuine smile for the first time in a long time.

"I don't know!" she laughed and patted the steering wheel.

"Of course you don't." replied KARR, still joking with her. Tristan snorted in an amused manner at him.

"Anyway, it's dark, why do to the beach now?" he asked her. Tristan shrugged and her eyes flickered to the dark landscapes sliding past them.

"Because no-one ever does that really, and I do value Blue. It would be nice to see her again before we both go and you vanish, in a sense." she said softly.

KARR gave a disbelieving snort whilst Tristan yawned hugely and snuggled down. There was still some tension between them but not as much as there had been before, but KARR had still managed to evade the question and Tristan wasn't prepared to pursue that, also now wasn't a good time to tell him about Torres. He might just have a systems failure with shock.

Tristan snorted with suppressed laughter as she imagined KARR coming to an abrupt halt and cars piling into his back end, completely crumbling but he was unaffected.

"What?" grumbled the voice and Tristan just shook her head softly at him and curled up that little bit more.

They arrived at the darkened beach a few minutes after that and a pale figure was standing at the edge of the water. Tristan placed her hands on the wheel, even though she didn't have an ounce of control. Blue didn't know that KARR was an IA. For that matter, she didn't even know the Mustang behind her had a gender and a name.

Tristan studied Blues face carefully as she turned around and watched the two gold scanner bars come closer and there was definite fear in her expression. Tristan figured all she would see would be the scanner bars since KARR was so dark he just didn't appear to many normal human eyes.

"She's afraid." he noted moodily. KARR wasn't in the mood for skittish people at the moment. Tristan nodded and as he stopped, got out gracefully. Blue looked noticeably more relieved and went to hug Tristan. KARR could barely refrain himself from either slamming the door shut or shuddering. He despised meetings like this. He'd rather kill something. he was relieved when Tristan gently closed the door. Blue giggled and went to sit on KARRs' hood.

"You treat that car like it was alive or something..." she said suspiciously as she went to put her weight on him. KARR silently charged the taziers on his nano-skin. Tristan moved to stop her sitting down.

I wouldn't do that, if I were you. Security protocols are in place...you'll be electrocuted." Blue immediately jumped up and scooted away from the imposing Mustang.

"And as for me treating him like he was real...well, to me, he's basically alive." she almost purred the last bit as her gaze wandered to KARR, who let out a low purr. Blue gave him a sceptical glance whilst Tristan's just radiated pride.

After a while of talking together and a few tears on Blue's side, they embraced one last time and Blue turned to watch Tristan get into KARR and back way with a last wave. She wasn't sure whether Tristan waved back because the whole car was dark beyond belief. But Tristan did wave back...and then they were gone.

KARR powered down the highway towards California, weaving in and out of cars effortlessly like he was born to do it. What the hell? He was born to do with.

Tristan stared coolly out of the windscreen again fingers tapping and scratching lightly on the steering wheel and KARR purring at the contact as he raced down the tarmac, using the highway as his own personal racecourse. His mind was in two places, one was soaking up the contact from Tristan's fingers, pleasure spreading through his systems and the second was on the journey ahead of him. Silently, he contacted Thowra, asking for the co-ordinates to the new hanger. They were sent and KARR eased off on the speed, dropping to around 120mph. His previous had been around 200mph.

Tristan's' expression grew to one of concern as she felt KARR ease off and tapped the dash quickly, getting a startled grunt from him.

"Hey, why the granny-speed all of a sudden?" she asked teasingly.

"I've got the co-ordinates or the new hanger. We turn off in four miles." was his only answer. Tristan nodded and relaxed for the rest of the ride, slowly falling asleep.

Blinking, she turned over as tapping intruded into her darkness, whining a little and curling up into and even tighter foetal position. She heard KARR chuckle and cracked her eyes open.

"We're home, Trist. Come on, get up." he growled softly. Tristan stretched and yawned and KARR opened the door and Tristan climbed gracefully out, helped by Thowra. He held her close for a moment and she tiredly rested her head against his chest. Now they were no more than friends, but they were always close to each other.

She pried away from him and he let her, giving her a soft smile as she went and disappeared up the stairs to her room. KARR on the other hand slid into his own personal hanger, his engine died to a low whine and then was silent as he was connected to a few maintenance systems and had some of his nano-paint rejuvenated. No computers though, there was no need. Not tonight anyway. Without a second thought, he slipped into maintained mode and slept the sleep of one exhausted and drained.

That night a shadow moved in Tristan's room and a hand was laid upon her shoulder.

And the fire was lit.