The next morning, if that word meant anything in the middle of outer space, I cautiously made my way to the galley, and found them all there eating breakfast, or whatever that slop was called. Even in the future, military fare ain't ever gonna be haute cuisine. Despite that, everybody at their table was really happy, especially Newt, and even Bishop, though he might not have been able to say why. Hicks and Ripley, those two, they were practically glowing, and I hated myself over what I had to do.

When I collected my own tray laden with whatever barely edible rations on this and sat down at the table, I was next to Newt, who handed over my silencing charm, perkily asking, "That's magic too, right, Mr. Xander?"

"Call me Xander, or Xan." I put the charm back around my neck and kept talking. "Yeah, it's magic, made by my bestest bud and the most powerful witch ever."

"A witch? Like from the Wizard of Oz?"

I could practically hear Wils vowing, throughout the entire dimensions she was away from me, to do something really embarrassing to L. Frank Baum with her magic if she ever managed to meet that guy who wrote those fantasy stories that had just been demonstrated to still being read, seen, or otherwise experienced, at least here, for centuries now.

I managed to answer Newt eagerly awaiting my response, knowing the others were listening too. "Kind of, though it'd be a really good idea not to call her the Wicked Wicca of the West before she's had her morning coffee. Willow's always a bit grumpy during the early hours of the day until caffeine enters her bloodstream, which is why she turned Andrew into a baboon a few months ago after he forgot to order enough of her favorite Maxwell House blend when the house's coffee stocks got low."

"Whee!" giggled Newt, whose mood then abruptly shifted, as she worriedly asked, "She won't do that to me, will she?"

"Hey, Andrew deserves being changed into an ape just on general principles alone. But, no, nothing like that's gonna happen! In fact, she really wants to meet you. All of you," I finished, looking around the table at the others, who'd stopped eating to watch and listen to us. Before anybody could respond to that, I kept on talking, "But you don't have to make your decision right this minute, guys. Which is just fine with me, 'cause I really want to look around here. I mean, I haven't been inside a spaceship before, ever!"

I got some pretty incredulous stares from the others over that, just like if someone back home had suddenly announced they'd never ridden in an automobile during their whole life. Which was exactly how I wanted them to think, as I then looked at Bishop, to enthusiastically ask, "Hey, Bish, can you give me and Newt a tour?"

"Certainly, Mr. Harris. Right now, if you like. Would that also suit you, young lady?" Bishop formally replied, both to me and to Newt.

"Yeah!" whooped the little girl, who then calmed down a bit to give Ripley at the other end of the table a big-eyed, beseeching gaze, as Newt begged, "Can I, Mom?"

I averted my own gaze at the sudden quivering of the woman's features when she heard what the child she'd rescued had just called her, only glancing back again at hearing the delivery of a measured voice that was accompanied by a firmly maternal look aimed directly at Newt, "Yes, you may, honey, but do what Bishop tells you, and don't touch anything!"

"Okay, Mom!" Newt bounced out of her chair after saying that, and she started gathering up our plates, in a clear hint she was ready to go exploring right this second. A faint smile on his lips, Bishop also got up and when Newt passed by him on the way to the galley with a serious look on her face as she carried along the breakfast trays, he followed along after, giving us a reassuring nod as he took his departure to keep an eye upon the girl.

Perfect. Just what I'd planned, no matter how much I disliked myself over my manipulations right now. For the next few moments, while it was only the three of us in the mess, I scooted along the chairs to wind up next to Ripley and Hicks, both giving me questioning looks, which only became even more puzzled when I reached into my knapsack I'd brought along and pulled out the DVD player, to put this machine down on the tabletop.

Softly speaking in a rushed voice that wanted to keep anyone from hearing what I had to say while delivering my reluctant message I needed to give them, I said, "Go someplace private where you can close the door, and then watch this, both of you. Look, I'm really sorry about what you're gonna see, in more ways than one. Because…it's bad. Not just a bad movie, with a stupid plot, lousy acting, cheesy effects. No, what's really horrible is how it shows that everything in the past was…pointless. All the bravery, the sacrifices, and it all ends in heartbreak. But, please keep in mind, that it doesn't have to."

At the impatient call from the galley by Newt of, "We're ready, Xander! Let's go!" I hastily pushed the DVD player along the table towards the others there and got up, just seeing out of the corner of my eye the alarmed expressions on the faces of Hicks and Ripley.

It was at least fifteen minutes later during our tour of the spaceship that I learned something very interesting. We'd come out in the main corridor, a hallway a couple of hundred feet long that stretched out nearly the entire length of our vessel, and Newt found this irresistible. She started dashing all the way down it and then back up to where Bishop and I were standing, just for the sheer joy in working off her energy in a dead run. When Newt started another sprint away from us, I heard a low voice from the person next to me, "Mr. Harris-"

"Call me Xander," I corrected Bishop, turning to face the android thoughtfully eyeing me, who then nodded in acceptance, and continued.

"Xander, then. Are you aware of exactly what occurred during that period when I was repaired by your rather unique manifestation of peculiar energies? And did you indeed intend those specific results?"

I put a totally innocent look on my face, while saying, "That depends, Bish. Just what are you talking about?"

"The total erasure of my loyalty conditioning towards the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, of course," calmly replied Bishop.

"Damn," I softly grumbled to myself, not caring if the other guy heard me or not. "It looks like I'm really gonna have to put on a Snoopy costume the next time Wils and me watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas," and actually do the dance afterwards dressed up as the dog. I've gotta stop making those sucker bets with her."

A very taken-aback Bishop now stared at me in astonishment, with him then dazedly asking, "She meant this to happen? But, how-"

I cheerfully cut him off, "Hey, I told you and the rest of the guys, really, really powerful witch. Plus, she's had experience with other androids before. Not to mention being a terrific hacker and an Asimov fan." I grinned at the dumbfounded guy across from me, as we listened to Newt's whoops of glee as she ran back and forth along the main corridor.

Yeah, I was taking it pretty well, but then, Wils had planned it in the first place, including making arrangements so that I was loaded up for bear, with her putting a few little goodies in my knapsack that would have reduced Bishop to a pile of crispy crunch if that android had shown any signs of going HAL-nuts, or even if that still occurred. One little episode of "Daisy, Daisy," and it'd be the broom and dustpan for that Lance Henriksen double there in the corridor, now looking very confused. I couldn't resist asking him, "So, how do you feel?"

Taking the question seriously, Bishop contemplated his answer for a few moments before replying, "Once I was alone, I experienced what humans would term an 'existentialist moment', though it lasted a great deal longer than that. I was able to reassess my actions in the past, and I found I no longer wish to behave as I have done before as an uncaring individual, while considering only how my acts and deeds would advance the Weyland-Yutani Corporation's plans. Now, I simply desire to be Bishop, someone who can exist apart from their commands, who is capable of making friends - and being accepted by these same companions."

At that moment, Newt arrived at where we were in her dead run that ended only when she collided with Bishop's leg, wrapping her arms around that limb as she giggled upwards into the android's concerned face. As she tore herself away to once more gaily run along the corridor, a faint smile once again appeared on the non-human's face as he watched the little girl in her happy sprint, and Bishop then thoughtfully mentioned, "Furthermore, since I also remember the instructions from my former owners to assist in the infecting of all survivors of LV-426 with the Alien parasite, I believe that for the first time in my existence, I am experiencing toward that corporation and all of its employees the emotion known as…hatred."

I clapped my hand on Bishop's shoulder, and as that android turned his head to give me an inquiring look, I jovially informed him, "Hey, Bish, I think you'll be glad to help us humans prove the sincerity of that ancient phrase, 'Don't just get mad. Get even.'"