Disclaimer:Damnit, I don't own them:'(

A/N:Song of the chapter: Skyway Avenue, We the Kings

"Sweet dreams that won't come true, I'd leave it all for you,

Brick walls are closing in lets make a run tonight, blinded by the light, hold you through forever won't let you go,

'Cause if you jump I will jump too, we will fall together."

Before Up even realised, the holidays had begun. The third year Cadet's had all graduated earlier in the week. They'd all attended Derren's graduation and had seen him off from the landing dock as he travelled off in Commander Cole's squadron. Half of the Cadets, including Emilia and Jacon, were travelled back down to earth to spend summer with their families. Dev was also planning to go and stay with Jacon's family. Emilia invited Taz to go down to earth with her family and against all persuasion techniques Up tried she declined, claiming that she didn't want to disturb Emilia's time with her parents. Up knew that the real reason she declined was because it was nearly her birthday, and she didn't want Emilia to see her in the state that day would put her in. Up stayed with her every day over the holidays, not letting her out of his sight for more than an hour. She was an unpredictable little minx; if he left her alone at that time she'd probably go beat up a random Cadet just because they said hi. When her birthday arrived Up spent the entire day sat on the floor outside her door. At nine o'clock in the morning she'd locked herself in, refusing to open the door to anyone and changing the passcode so not even Up could get in. She had no meals for the whole day and didn't open the door until quarter past ten that night. Up didn't know why she'd opened the door, but he ready. He stood in front of her, a plate of chicken and chips in one hand and a wrapped up ream of folding paper in the other. She'd pulled him into her room and they'd had karate kid on in the background while Taz ate her food and Up attempted to make a paper crane. Up never managed to make that paper crane. It was still sat on Taz's coffee table when the Cadets came back from summer and lessons began again.

Taz sat cross-legged on her sofa, a piece of paper in her hands. Her tongue hung out as it did when she concentrated. She was twisting the paper around in her hands and folding it extravagantly. It was difficult to get the paper perfect. It always had been. Taz could fold a paper crane with immense speed but it would never be any better than a mediocre looking crane. Just as Taz did the most difficult twist in the whole sequence there was a huge bang that echoed through the whole building. Taz looked up and began to listen intently. She could hear more and more bangs and there were a series of shouts. What the hell was going on? Taz unfolded her legs and swung herself off the sofa. Leaving the crane unfinished on the table next to Up's she crept towards the door and peered around the doorframe to look at the corridor at the end of her hall. In that second Taz's heart nearly failed her. She spun back into the room and leaned against the doorframe, trying desperately to contain the horrible images that were invading her head. Screams, fire, torn pink frills and blank eyes staring into hers. Robots. Taz blinked back her tears and calmed her breathing. She had to figure out what was going on. All she had seen in that second were some of her fellow Cadets being towed down the corridor by a bunch of cold, metal figures. She'd seen Aaron in that line, putting up quite a fight, apparently it hadn't been enough. Taz charged across her room towards her wardrobe. She'd hidden a big ass metal pole in there on her second day, just in case of emergencies like this. Boy she was glad she had. She grabbed the pole and held in her two arms, as she decided what to do.

With a second's hesitation to control her nerves, Taz headed out into the hallway. A familiar brunette girl instantly barged in her.

"Em! Meirda!" she shrieked, grabbing her friend's arms to stop her toppling over. "What the hell is going on?"

"Taz! Come on, we've got run! I just escaped!" Emilia screamed, terror echoing through her voice.

"Escaped?" Taz yelled. "What do jou mean?" Emilia was pulling Taz's arm and dragging her down the corridor slowly.

"Taz, please! The robots!" Emilia cried as she yanked at her arm.

"What are dey doing, Em?" Taz shouted. Emilia was nearly in tears and she pulled Taz's arm, looking past her with fear etched into her features. Emilia screamed and let go of Taz's arm. Taz spun round automatically. Two robots were walking solidly down the corridor towards them. "RUN!" Taz yelled. She grabbed Emilia's wrist and charged down the corridor towards the crossroads. She spun on her heel, nearly tipping them onto the floor before carrying on around the left corner.

"Where are we going?" Emilia panted, her fingers clasped securely around Taz's.

"The weapon's room."

Emilia looked horrified. "What?Why?" she shrieked. Taz rolled her eyes at her friend and yanked her to a stop outside the metal door that Taz knew led into the weapon's room and the shooting range.

"We need to fight back somehow!" Emilia's eyes widened with terror.

"But-"

"Em! Callar! I need to think!" Taz yelled, staring at the keypad and frantically trying to remember the code she'd watched Commander Ben type in a hundred times. Why hadn't she paid more attention? Emilia didn't listen to her. She screamed out.

"Taz! They're here!" she screamed, pressing herself to the wall behind Taz. Taz looked at sure enough, the robots were coming towards them at a scary pace. She turned to Emilia and caught her eye.

"Hit them over the head," she instructed, thrusting her metal pole into Emilia's hands. Her face was a picture of horror and fear as she stared at the pole, then at the robots, then at the pole again.

"I can't do tha-" The robots were almost upon them now and Taz was pressing random buttons on the keypad.

"JUST DO IT!" PUTO INFIERNO! DO IT!" Taz screamed. Emilia swung the pole at the robots. Taz turned back to the keypad and closed her eyes, her fingers on her temples. Come on,what was the number? She thought desperately. In one final desperate attempt she slammed four numbers into the keyboard. 9…6…1…7. The metal door slowly began to open.

"I GOT IT!" she screamed, just as one of the robots gripped onto her arm. She screamed out and Emilia swung the metal pole at the robot's head. It fell backwards, releasing Taz's arm. The two girls charged into the room and Taz slammed the button on the side that began to slowly close the door. The robot saw the door closing and ran forwards, jamming itself between the door and the doorframe. Emilia screamed in terror and smashed the metal pole down between the robot's eyes. It stumbled backwards away from the door and though both robots charged forwards again the gap closed and all that happened was a huge thud against the metal. Both girls breathed out slowly and sank to the floor. "Emilia. What is going on?" Taz demanded.

Emilia looked at the floor. "I don't know. All I know is that there were a bunch of robots that came down my hall and took everyone out of their rooms and took them away," she explained.

"They didn't come down my hall," Taz said.

"There aren't many of them, they probably hadn't go to your room yet," Emilia replied. "I heard two of them talking. They said something about conferences been barricade or something like that." Taz raised an eyebrow. "I don't know!" Taz chewed her lip, trying to think. She clapped her hands to her mouth.

"Joder!" she cried. "The meeting!" Her mind was racing. Up had been telling her earlier, they were having another meeting, like the one they had last year when Jacon had been beaten up. The robots had gotten into the meeting. All the Commanders were in there, all the Lieutenants, the Ambassador…Up. They needed to fucking stop with this meeting thing! Everything goes wrong when they're having a meeting.

Taz stood up. Emilia looked at her friend, watching the determination in her eyes. She could see Taz's plan unfurling in her mind as she watched.

"We're saving dem," she decided. She looked down at Emilia. "Come on." Emilia stood up and followed Taz as she walked purposefully towards the back wall, where all the guns were lined up on racks. Taz grabbed two guns off the wall and swung one of the straps over she shoulder. She held the other one out to Emilia. "Jou know how to use one of these?" she asked.

"Uh, no."

"Hold it up, point it at the cabrones, pull the trigger." She shoved the gun into Emilia's hands.

"Don't you need like, safety modes and stuff?" Emilia asked. "And how to do you reload it?"

"Jou're shooting a fucking robot! Jou don't need a safety thing!"

"Reloading?" Taz shrugged. "Perfect." Emilia swung the strap over her neck and held the gun up, her heart pumping.

"Jou ready?" Taz asked.

"No."

Taz smirked. "Me neither." She pushed the button.

Taz held her zapper up to the robots and pulled the trigger five times. The two robots fell to the ground.

"Well, that wasn't so hard," Emilia commented. Taz shushed her and stepped over the dead robots and silently began making her way down the hall, Emilia following. Things were so silent that the only thing Taz could hear was the sound of her heartbeat. And she was sure that Emilia could hear it to it was so loud. They reached the end of the corridor and Taz peered round the corner, keeping the rest of her body hidden. "Anything there?" Emilia whispered in her ear.

"More robots with kids," she whispered back.

"What do we do?"

"Nothing."

"But, I thought we were saving them?" Emilia asked.

"We are," Taz replied. "But we can't defeat all them robots on our own. We get the Officers first." Emilia nodded.

"Okay." Taz looked again.

"They're gone, let's go," she whispered and crept round the corner. The two girls walked fast down the corridor and took the next right towards the Ambassadors office. They crept down the hallway until the reached the corner that Taz knew to be the one that led to the Ambassadors door. Ever so slowly she ducked down and peered around the corner. There were four robots stood guard at the door. Taz held four fingers up to Emilia behind her. She heard Emilia gulp quietly.

"On three," Taz whispered. Emilia nodded. "One." The two girls got their guns ready, their fingers on the triggers. "Two." Taz stood up slightly so it would be easier to jump out. "Three!" Taz leapt out from the corner and pointed her gun at the robots, shooting madly. Two robots fell to the ground. The others began to shoot back. Emilia screamed as one of the lazers skimmed the skin on her cheek.

Taz glanced at her friend quickly. "Emilia?" she cried.

"I'm fine!" Emilia called back, holding the cut on her face. Taz looked back at the robots, fury in her eyes. The robot's stepped towards her and began shooting again. Taz shot back.

"Fuck off!" Taz yelled. "Jou stupid toasters!" Taz shot one of the robots in the arm and the lazer beams went everywhere as the robot lost control of its limb. Taz tried to dodge them but that, along with the other robots lazers was too much for her, one of the beams shot through her leg. It was like her leg had just had acid poured over it. Taz gasped in pain and fell to the floor, her hands pressed to her leg, the blood pouring out into her hands. Emilia got herself together then and looked up to see the robots pointing their fingers at Taz who was trying to get back to her feet desperately. They were about to shoot her friend.

"No you fucking don't!" Emilia cried and lifted her zapper up, aiming as well as she could at the robots. She had to hit them. She had to. Emilia pulled the trigger and one beam of light went shooting from her zapper and into one of the robot's chest. It fell to the ground. Tax growled then and threw herself at the wall, out of the way of the other robots shot. She lifted her gun and shot it in the middle of the forehead. It slumped forwards and fell to the floor with a horrifically loud crash. The two girls stayed silent for a second. Taz leaning against the wall, panting in pain and Emilia stood, trying to steady her pounding heartbeat.

"Jou okay?" Taz asked, shoving herself off the wall into standing position, her face twisted in pain.

"I think it's me that should be asking you that," Emilia responded. Taz shrugged slightly and limped forwards.

"Let's go," she said.

Up was sat in the meeting when the robots had arrived. One second he'd been almost falling asleep as The Ambassador blabbered on about targets and grades and inadequate curriculum, and suddenly he had a lazer hand to his head and was being chained to the wall. Pryce was next to him, his face echoing Up's. How the hell did they get in? The Ambassador had been chained to his chair, his face terrified.

"Ambassador. We are here for information," one of the robots said mechanically. "You will give us that information."

"I will not!" the ambassador yelled.

"You will," the robot repeated.

"And what makes you think that?" the ambassador asked. Up had to admire his courage, not a lot of people would be able to talk back to a robot like that.

"We have your Commanders, Lieutenants and Ensigns here ambassador," the robot mocked. "We will kill them."

"Don't say anything Ambassador!" Commander Loka called. One of the robots smacked him in the face, leaving him unconscious.

"We also have your Doctors and Nurses. Your science officers. Your Engineers...Your Cadets." Up's heart tied itself into a knot. They had everyone. His sister. Jacon, Dev, Emilia. Taz. They had Taz. It obviously had an affect on the Abassador as well; his eyes were wide and his face white.

"I won't say anything," he said slowly. The robot said nothing but it pressed a button on its wrist. A projection appeared on the wall, an image of the great hall. They were all there. The Cadets, the doctors, nurses, everyone. All tied and gagged to their seats. Some were already dead, Up could see, they were in a like in the corner. Lying on top of each other, their eyes open and pale. Dead. Up's eyes scanned the projection image, searching for someone he recognised. He thought he spotted Jacon in the crowds, and Dev. But no Taz. Up wondered if she was off shot, or worse, if she'd fought back and was in one of the piles of...Up forced the thought out of his head and looked away from the screen, his heart in his mouth.

"So you will answer our questions." And so began the questioning. Question after question. Life after life. The ambassador didn't answer a question; the person the robots brought to the front was tortured. Three refusals to answer, the person was killed. By the fifth person the Ambassador was crying. Tears were flooding down his cheeks as he forced his mouth to stay shut and tried to block out the sounds of the twenty year old nurse that was being killed. Up felt sick. He honestly thought he was going to throw up. And if he did, he was definitely going to aim it at the nearest robot.

"Still no answer. How about for one these lot?" the robot asked. The robot looked around. As his cold, emotionless eyes fell onto people, they automatically looked away. Up didn't. He wouldn't. He stared right back, letting his hatred for that disgusting thing show in his expression. "Him." Up's heart pounded as one of the robots unchained him and dragged it to the front. The robot forced him to the ground in front of the Ambassador. The Ambassador's eyes widened with recognition. Him and the Ambassador had talked many times over the years. When he was at the academy and he'd beaten an older boy up for insulting Pryce's height. The Ambassador had stood up for him; he'd only been a Commander back then. When Up been promoted to Lieutenant, the Ambassador had been the one to tell him the news. The Ambassador stared at him and Up stared back, sending his one message to him as strong as he could. Don't say anything.

"So, Ambassador, where is your secret warfare base?" the robot questioned. The Ambassador looked at the floor and Up looked around at his colleagues and friends. Pryce's eyes found his and screamed terror and pain at him. They were watery and puffy, and he kept blinking. He was trying not to cry. Up looked at him firmly. Be strong. Pryce nodded once. "Still no answer?" the robot asked. "Fine." It nodded to the robot behind Up. Up prepared himself for a blow to the back of the head; he closed his eyes and straightened his back.

Taz smashed the metal pole in between the door and the frame. She'd tried everything else, this was the last option. The metal pole stuck in the gap firmly. Taz prepared herself slightly, and then shoved. The door moved. Only slightly, Taz will admit, but it moved.

"It's working!" Emilia exclaimed.

"I know," Taz replied, grunting and she shoved the pole again. The door opened more. They could see through a very small gap. Taz looked through. She could see the Ambassador, and a robot and...was that Up? She shoved the pole again. Definitely Up.

"Where's your secret warfare base?" They were questioning the Ambassador? What were they using Up for? There was a silence. Taz shoved the door even more, trying to stay silent. "No answer, fine." Taz glanced back, to see what was going on. Another robot was in view now, and a few more Commanders. The robot was holding a large metal knife. He was walking towards Up. Taz's heart gave a wrench, she watched as the robot approached Up. No, they couldn't, they couldn't. Her heart whirled and she shoved the pole for forcefully, panic rising in her chest as she saw the image through the corner of her eyes.

"What's going on?" Emilia asked, seeing Taz's change in pace.

"They're going to torture Up!" Taz cried as she threw her whole body weight into shoving the pole. There was a scream from inside the room that echoed out into the corridor, sending chills to the spine of everyone within hearing distance. Taz squeezed her eyes shut, tears of frustration, panic, pain flooding to her eyes. No. They weren't going to hurt Up, no. She shoved the pole once more, desperate and determined, praying to every dead-god out there as the robot asked the next question. Taz looked at the door after a second, almost too scared to look at the image. The gap was just big enough to fit through, and so her instincts took over as the robot began to approach Up again. Taz threw herself through the door, discarding the pole on the floor and holding her zapper up in front of her.

"JOU DARE TOUCH DAT MAN AGAIN I SWEAR I WILL BLOW OFF YOUR RANCID LITTLE HEAD!"

Up's head shot up, he opened his eyes. As much as could anyway. One eye was only showed the blood that was running down it. But the other one focused on her. He'd known as soon as she'd opened her mouth. But now he was certain. Taz. She was stood there, her zapper pointed at the robot behind him as Emilia shot down the robots coming at them. Her eyes were glittering with emotions so strong that Up couldn't even work through them to figure out what they were.

"Who are you?" the head robot asked.

Taz growled. "Taz." The robot stared at her, emotionless.

"Courageous effort Taz, but you are too late. Your friend will die." Taz's eyes blazed with fury.

"I'll blow jou up if jou dare go near him!" she screamed. The robot cocked its head slightly.

"Not without a gun." A hand gripped Taz's arm, one grabbed Emilia's. Taz cursed loudly. She hadn't shut the door behind her; a robot had followed her in. The main robot came forwards and grabbed Taz and Emilia's guns, throwing them onto the floor. Taz glared at the robot with utter hatred as she struggled against the other robots grip, slashing at the robots arms and stamping on its feet until her soles were bruised. The head robot laughed. It was disgusting sound. The kind of sound a washing machine would make if it had emotions and knew that it was currently making your red jeans run into your white shirt. It was vile.

"Hijos de puta!" she growled. "Jou total fuckers!"

"Be quiet, girl. You are nothing more than a human, and a tiny one at that."

"Fuck jou." The robot ignored her. Taz grunted and pulled away from the robot holding her again. It gripped on tighter, nearly breaking her arm. She yelled out slightly.

"Kill him." Taz stopped struggling in that second, her head shooting up and her heart dropping into her shoes. Kill him. Kill him. Kill Up. Up. Taz screamed loudly, a scream that not even she could understand the reasons for. She watched as the robot with the knife advance towards Up. Her scream sounded dimmed, like someone had turned down the volume. Everything in the room disappeared except Up, she didn't care about anything else. Up would not die. That robot would not kill Up. Taz threw herself to the ground with such strength that she broke from the robot's grip, ignoring the sheering pain in her leg. She charged towards Up. Grabbing her pole from the floor when passing she threw herself between the robot and Up. She shoved Up to the floor and fell forwards, thrusting the pole into the robots chest with all her body weight. The robot's body went limp. She threw it the left as her zapper hit her left foot. She looked to see that Emilia had also escaped, killed their guard and kicked her zapper towards her. Taz dropped to the floor, grabbed her gun and before the robot could even comprehend it. She had the gun held up to the last remaining robots head. The head robot.

"My name is Taz. Cadet Taz. Yeah I'm a human. But don't underestimate humans. Especially me. If jou dare underestimate me, jou will fucking regret it." She shot the fucker in the head.

Taz fell to the floor, gripping her leg. Emilia walked past her and over to the Ambassador, beginning to untie him. Taz turned around and looked at Up. They stared at each other for second, before Taz began to untie him. Her eyes didn't stray from his at all. They stayed, fixed onto his, and his onto hers. She tugged the gag from round his mouth and he shook his head to help her get it off. Now he was free, and they were both sat on the floor, still staring at each other. Taz could feel the other Ranger's eyes on her, wondering what would happen next. She wanted to throw her arms around him, to hug him and burst into tears of relief. But she couldn't. Instead she broke eye contact and stood up. She was sure she almost heard the entire room sigh. She ignored it and went to untie the nearest Commander.

It wasn't until much later that Taz saw Up again. They'd avoided each other for the rest of day. Taz was now sat on her sofa again, fiddling with the paper crane that she had abandoned almost four hours before. Her leg was itching terribly under the bandage. Cat had stitched up the wound on her thigh, bandaged it up and much to her colleagues annoyance, allowed her to stay in her own room. Taz finished off the paper crane and chucked it onto her desk with the one she'd made the night before, she put it in the box later. There was a knock on her door. She looked up.

"Taz?" Up's voice. She could tell from anywhere.

"What?" she called.

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah." Taz listened as Up typed her code into the door and waited impatiently for the door to open. Up walked inside, looking at the floor as he pressed the button and the door slid shut. "What do jou want?" Taz asked. Up looked at her for a second, then back at the floor.

"Uh..." He shuffled forwards and came to a stop in front of the sofa. He looked into her eyes then, his eyes gleaming with an emotion Taz couldn't work out. "I just wanted...Uh...I don't really...Um..." He trailed of again. Taz gave him the tiniest of smirks. Up pursed his lips. "Ugh." He grabbed her hands and pulled up into standing position, wrapping his arms around her waist. Taz flushed slightly and hugged his neck, her hands trailing down his back.

"Thank you," he murmured into her hair.

"What for?"

"Saving me," he said, like it was the most obvious thing ever. She smiled into his shoulder.

"Don't thank me for dat," she told him. He pulled back slightly, so he could see her face.

"You saved my life!" he cried, his face ludicrous.

"So?"

"I would've died!"

Taz laughed slightly and gave him a soft smile. "I only did what jou would have done if it was me."

"And would you have said thank you?" Up asked. Taz looked away for a second. She'd never been much of a liar.

"...no?"

Up laughed. "Liar." She gave him a look that was halfway in between a glare and a smile. "Thank you for saving me, Taz."

She sighed. "Jou're welcome," she replied, letting go of his neck and sinking into the sofa.

A/N: Howdy, you likey? Torturing Up broke my heart:'(