Disclaimer:I don't own Taz and Up. I own Cal, and Dev, and Jacon…

A/N:First of all, I am soooooo sorry. My week has been full to the brim and I haven't managed to upload anything until now. So!I'm going to upload as many chapters as I can today. Maybe three if I can manage it and another one tomorrow? Will that make up for it? Sorry, again.

Song of the chapter: We are broken, Paramore

"'Cause we are broken, what must we do to restore, our innocence?

And oh the promise we adored?

Give us life again, 'cause we just wanna be whole."

Taz and Up crouched behind the broken car, barely even breathing as they thought about what they were about to. Taz's eyes were blazing as she clenched and unclenched her fist around the tiny radio in her hands, waiting for the signal. They'd been waiting for half an hour, waiting for the signal to attack. The robots were just outside the city, lining up on the road, preparing their attack and sorting out their ranks. Taz had wanted to attack them while they weren't ready but Up had stopped her. They were alone, not even they could defeat over three hundred robots on their own. They'd called into where Cal was probably ordering their squadrons to clean to toilets, telling them to come immediately to the west bridge. Taz figured most of those men had been thanking dead-god that they now didn't have to climb into the toilet pits. Half an hour had passed and both Taz and Up were beginning to panic- true- the squadrons had been on the other side of the city, and they knew that none of them were kitted up, but it couldn't be taking this long surely. Taz glanced to where Up was crouching and gestured for him to check on the robots progress; he peered over the top of the car, ducking down low again, his face grave.

"They're almost ready," he whispered. Taz pressed the button on the side of the radio with urgency.

"Cal? Where the fuck are jou? They're nearly ready, over," she hissed. She slammed the radio into her lap and put her hand in her hair. "Dat fucking idiota loco," she muttered, readjusting the straps of her zapper.

Cal's voice sounded through the radio. "Taz, we're nearly with you Lieutenant. We should be there in a couple of minutes, over."

"Jou better fucking hurry," Taz growled. "Over and out." She shook her head and dropped the radio irritably.

"Calm down," Up told her, putting his hand on her knee.

"Calm down!" she cried, throwing her hands up. "Calmdown! Jou make me sound like I'm having a tantrum!"

"You are having a tantrum." She glared at Up viciously. He was smirking so widely that Taz couldn't keep the glare up and ended up smiling. Her smiled dropped quite suddenly and she focused back on the radio, waiting impatiently for the signal.

Up frowned, noticing her suddenly forlorn look. "Mood swing much?" Taz did nothing. "What's up?" Taz shook her head. "C'mon, tell me." She glanced at him.

"We're smirking and joking," Taz said. "We shouldn't."

"…Why?"

"We're in a war, stupid," she sighed. "It's dangerous. And we're laughing about tantrums." Up put his hand on her shoulder softly.

"You should always laugh in the face of danger," Up murmured then flicked her in the neck in the precise place he knew she was ticklish. She tilted her head and shrugged him off, a giggle escaping from her lips.

"Stop it," she said, her seriousness returning. "Stop making me laugh. People are dying."

"We might die in any minute," Up reminded her. "Then we'll never get to laugh again." They were silent, thinking about what Up had just said. They could die at any minute. They could but just crouched there, talking, and a bomb could go off, blowing them into a gazillion pieces. They could get shot by a robot in a few minutes, when the squadrons arrived.

Taz looked at Up, thinking about what he'd said. If she was going to die, she didn't want to forget this man. She made a silent promise that she was going to do this everyday until the war was over, or until she died. Up had changed since Taz had met him, not a lot, but there was a definite change. She didn't understand why she hadn't really thought about it before. His moustache was fuller these days, more visible, and he his hair was now more grey than it was brown. But everything else, that was all the same. His grin was still as wide, his eyes still as blue. It was strange, thinking that all those years ago when she'd first met him, she barely knew him at all. Now she knew him better than anything. Taz reached up, putting her hand on his hair softly.

"Jou're nearly all grey," she commenting, smirking.

Up smirked back. "That's your fault that is," he replied. "It's you and your crazy plans to get yourself killed that have turned me grey."

"Oh thanks," Taz murmured sarcastically, still smiling softly.

"You're welcome," Up said, blinking slowly. They stared at each other in silence. Taz realised Up was taking in her appearance, just as she was his. Their eyes met. Taz's heart quickened, if only he knew what his eyes did to her. Up put his hand on Taz's knee.

"We should check on Cal," Taz murmured, shuffling forwards slightly.

"We don't need to," Up replied, smirking.

"There's nothing else to do."

"Well…" Up smirked. "Since I'm going to die," Up said softly. "There is one I want to do again?" It was a question.

"What is it?" Taz asked, her hand still in Up's hair. Up didn't reply. He just leant his head down and kissed her. She'd had a feeling he was going to do that.

Fireworks went off in his chest as she responded immediately, her hand going to join the other in his hair. Up wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, shoving her zapper out of his way. Taz smirked against his lips.

Up's hands explored her back gently, pulling her ever closer to him. Taz's mind was swirling, emotions flooding her heart and clouding over her sense of reality. She just kissed him back, her hands constantly entangling themselves into his hair.

She felt Up's tongue on her lip, and before she even knew what she was doing she'd let him in. Up brought her even closer as their tongues entwined, setting every nerve in his body on fire.

"Taz, we're here, go go go. Over." Cal's voice wasn't even registered as they continued to kiss, their lips moved over each others passionately, never ceasing to amaze each other. Taz's hand drifted down to Up's neck and he shuddered slightly as her cold hands touched his skin. He nipped her bottom lip accidentally and she nipped his back a bit harder just as he began to pull away. They both sat, staring at each other, faces so close that all one of them would have to do was pout and their lips would touch again. "TAZ! WHERE ARE YOU? OVER!"

"SHIT!" Taz yelled, untangling herself from Up's arms and jumping to her feet. She looked out and saw that the robots were attacking, and Cal and the squadrons were attacking back. She pulled at Up's arm and he was next to her, racing towards the bridge, guns at the ready.

Taz shot viciously, Up shooting beside her as they ran. They charged forwards, shooting long range at the robots stood on the entrance to the city. The pair were nearing their squadrons, who were hiding behind various pieces of rubble while shooting; almost no one was breaking cover as the lazer beams continuously kept coming. Up dragged Taz momentarily behind another broken car as a huge mass of long ranger lazer beams shot from the robots side, aiming right at them.

"Well someone recognises us," Taz muttered, pulling herself up and beginning to shoot again. Up smirked. They raced on, reaching the very back of their squadron, who were shielding themselves behind one of the bridges fallen pillars.

"Jou three okay?" Taz demanded, looking at the three new ensigns who were shooting from there. They all stared at her, seemingly terrified. "Jeez, don't be too scared," she muttered. They carried on staring. "Is anyone hurt?" she questioned, trying again. They all shook their heads. "Then get fucking shooting!" She grabbed at Up's hand and broke cover, screaming slightly as the lazer beams shot all around her, threatening to hit her. She dived for cover behind with the next little band of ensigns, which held Gred, Mac, one of her ex-students, called Andi she thought, and a bunch of other ensigns Taz didn't know.

"Where the fuck have you to been?" Mac demanded. "Cal was raging, telling us to go back and find you."

"Jou didn't look very hard did jou," Taz growled, shooting through one of the windows of the car.

"Well you know," Mac mumbled. "Get shot if we break cover."

Taz looked at him. "Are jou really the Ensign I fought at my combat exam?" she asked. Mac nodded, looking confused. "How were jou ever a match for me?" she asked. "Jou're a complete endeble." Mac's face fell. Taz looked at Up. He nodded and broke cover, racing across the bridge, Taz just behind him. As they were running Taz tripped over a piece of rubble and went flying onto the floor, scraping her elbow on the broken up rock. She gritted her teeth. Up had reached the next shield and turned to look at her, a panicked look on his face.

"RUN!" he yelled. She picked herself up off the floor and began to run again. A lazer beam hit in the leg and she screamed out, almost falling over again. She was staggering around when another lazer hit her in the arm. Taz growled angrily, taking a deep breath, tears welling in her eyes. She wasn't sure why. She took two more steps before she fell to the floor in pain, ignoring Up's yells to run. Anger overwhelmed her. She could've sworn they were only aiming at her. Taz knelt, completely without cover and filled with hatred from top to bottom. Fuck them. Taz hated every last robot more than she hated the thought of dying. The thought of dying was actually quite low on her list of emotions at that point. She raised her gun and she shot and shot and shot. The sheer power of her anger and pain was surprisingly effective and she was almost positive that half of the robots that were falling to the floor were because of her. But she was probably just deluding herself. Another lazer hit her as she began staggering to her feet, right in the shoulder. She collapsed into the rubble, a scream escaping from her lips.

"VETA A LA MEIRDA!" she screamed at the army of robots. "STOP IT!" Anger was burning in her blood. Taz couldn't help but think that she was going slightly mad with pain. Up broke cover before he even thought about it. He ran forwards and picked Taz up in his arms, charging back, ignoring the pain from the lazer that skimmed the skin of his elbow.

"Put me. The fuck. Down," Taz growled as he knelt behind the over turned lorry. Up put her down on the floor and she immediately scrambled to her feet, her face contorted with pain and her eyes blazing.

"What are you doing?" Up demanded.

"We've got to get to Cal," she replied, hobbling to the edge of the lorry.

"Are you crazy?" Lodd asked. "You're hurt. You're not going to get all the way upfront." Taz sent him a death glare. "And plus. We're doing fine. Just stay here. The robots have nearly been destroyed!"

"I'm ignoring dat comment." She turned back to the bridge, watching the lazers that skimmed past her. "Up?" She didn't even look at him. He sighed. He knew he would never win if he argued with her, and he also knew letting her go alone was not an option.

"Yeah." He was beside her in an instant. "Are you going to let me carry you? You aren't going to be able to run like that." Death glare. "Taz, you know I'm right." Stronger death glare. "I'm going to do it anyway." Stamp on the foot. Wince. "Fine then, just doom us both." Smirk.

"Jou ready?" Taz asked.

He glanced at her. "As I'll ever be." Taz grabbed his hand and pulled him forwards as they ran. Well ran as well as they could. They both screamed and rolled onto the ground as a huge volley of lazers went over their heads. Taz crawled along the grit, trying to see through the smoke. A lazer beam skimmed the tips of her hair; she shrieked and collapsed fully onto the floor. Then they could stand again. Up leapt to his feet and grabbed Taz around her waist with one arm, pulling her up and shooting across to the next shield. They were a metre away from safety when Taz broke away.

Up yelled out and changed his angle, charging after her as she hobbled off down the middle of the road. Up tried to grab her arm but he missed as a lazer beam skimmed his shoulder and he stumbled, tripping over a piece of rubble and falling. Taz was still limping towards the front, shooting and cursing. That girl never fucking changed. Up dragged himself to his feet, fear rising in his chest. This was precisely the kind of thing that was turning him grey.

Up glanced towards safety, members of his squadron were calling out to him and gesturing for him to run to safety. Not an option. He turned away and raced after Taz, ducking and weaving round the lazer beams. He couldn't abandon her, never. A lazer hit his leg as he finally caught up to the hobbling girl. Taz didn't need to hear him yell out; she spun round and grabbed him as he began to fall.

"Oh no jou don't," she decided, dragging to his feet again.

"You knew I was there?" Up asked.

Taz glanced at him as she pulled at his arm. "You're always there." The lazers were slowing as they reached the next shield. Taz stopped to shoot at the remaining robots. There were fifty or so left now, and they were dropping like flies.

"We may as well stay here," Up murmured.

There wasn't a second of hesitation. "No." She glared at him, determination etched into her features. "I'm getting to the front."

Up shook his head. "Stop saying I, Taz. It's we. It's always been we."

There were only thirty robots left when they started running. They were getting closer and closer to the front. Taz was tiring, her foot caught on a piece of stone and she fell into the rubble on her already bleeding leg. Taz yelled out and gripped her leg, the pain taking over her mind. Up stopped, hearing her scream and turning on his heel; he raced back to her. He ducked to the floor and pulled her behind a car.

"Are you okay?" he asked, trying to remove her hands away from her leg. She rolled over, dragging herself to her feet using the car door.

"I'm fine," she growled, trying to catch her breath as she gripped the car door for dear life. She wasn't fine, not at all. She knew, and Up knew. Her white tank top and her combats were soaked in blood; it was running down from a cut on her left arm and from one on her forehead. It was trickling down her neck and her hands were covered in it. Both hers and Up's. She was losing too much.

She could see it, and she could feel it. She was tired, and weak, and the world seemed to spinning around her. Taz took a deep breath, leaning her gun on top of the car. Up did the same. They were only a couple of metres away from the front now. There were only about twenty robots left. Taz shot continuously, her anger steaming through her veins as the robots fell onto the floor.

The sounds of her zapper seemed to calm her mind, the familiar shudder as she pulled the trigger making the world seem steadier, the pain in her head dulled. Her eyes were burning with hatred for every stinking robot that ever lived. She thought of all they had done, and it wasn't hard for the anger to take over the pain. She felt numb now, but she still shot, her brain now caring only to kill every single robot. Not one robot would survive.

Two minutes, the robots were all on the floor. Their heads lolling to the side, some rolling away down the road. Their arms and legs crackled slightly, the electricity still running through them. Some of them twitched, but none recovered. There was a silence, a deathly silence. Every person suddenly seemed to lose the power to say anything. No one rejoiced. No one cried. No one did…anything.

Slowly the rangers began to drift out from where they had been shooting. People slowly began to talk again, murmuring with each other. Rangers raced around, checking on their friends. Bodies were carried from where they lay abandoned on the floor. People started to cry. Others to laugh.

And then it happened. It was so fast. So sudden, completely out of nowhere. Taz spotted Cal from where she was stood, she saw him as he began to stand up from where he had been kneeling on the ground. And then she saw the robot as it stood from the other side of the car. Taz tried to scream, but it was silent. It was a silent scream that caught no one's attention as they all continued as before. No one noticed, everything was calm.

It was only two seconds.

Two seconds as Taz raised her zapper, panic rising in her heart as the robot tilted its head. Two seconds as Cal looked up and saw the robot where it was hiding in wait on the other side of the car. Two seconds as the robot raised its hand, its metal face stuck in a blank expression. Taz aimed, her eyes pressed to the long range scope. The aim was pointing straight at the robots head, straight to kill. Taz fired, the sound of the lazer beam rung out like a siren through the tiny murmurs and soft shuffling. Silence fell. The lazer beam was straight; it headed straight for the robot. Things seemed to go in slow motion. The beam skimmed the metal of the robots head, barely even connecting. The robot didn't even falter.

Taz's heart dropped into her stomach. She couldn't think. The only thought going through her head was a replaying image of the lazer beam skimming. She tried to modify it, but it was her imagination. Cal was still facing the robot. He was scared. Taz could see it in his eyes. She screamed, properly, it was meant to be a word, but the word never came out. It was just a horrible wail that rang through the hearts of every person that heard it as she jumped up onto the bonnet of the car in front of her and bounded off the other side. She charged towards Cal, the world seeming to be in slow motion as she watched the lazer from the robots hand travel through the air to where he was stood. Up followed just behind her. Taz ran full power towards Cal, the scream still echoing from her mouth. It felt like a movie.

Cal tried to duck. He tried to dodge. But though the world felt like it was moving slow, Cal was still no match for the speed of the lazer. Taz didn't even get halfway there. Cal collapsed onto the floor, blood pouring out of the wound to his chest as he held his hands to it, gasping in pain. Taz was still screaming. Though the word hadn't sounded, though the scream was as much of a word as the robot was man, everyone knew what word Taz was meant to scream. No. Taz's scream ended as she fell to her knees in front of Cal.

She screamed again, in a rage, in a mess of pain. She couldn't think of anything. She couldn't understand what was happening. She wanted it all to go away. Up was about to shoot down the robot but Taz beat him to it. She stood, her entire body shaking with hatred. Her eyes were filled with tears. Her chest filled with pain. Taz's arm shook as she held her zapper up, her eyes burning into the robots empty sockets. She wished it would show emotion. She wanted to see guilt, to see pain as it died. She growled under her breath, the pain in her body language travelling all the way over the road. Every person was silent. Every person was still.

The shot rang out. A shot that unlike the last, rang true. Taz dropped the zapper at the same time the robot dropped to the floor. They both crashed to the floor, the crash echoing through the silence far louder than it should have. Taz dropped to her knees. Up would've gone forwards, if Cal hadn't spoke.

"Taz?" he whispered, his voice ragged as his breath caught in his lungs. Taz looked down at Cal, her eyes wide. "I thought you'd died."

"Don't speak," she scolded. "It'll make you weaker." Cal moved his hand slightly and took hold of Taz's wrist.

"So? I'm going to die anyway."

"No jour not," Taz said firmly. "Jou're not going to die." She looked down at Cal, biting her lip to stop herself from crying. "Jou'll be fine." Cal watched her face. She was bleeding. Her head was bleeding, sweat was running down her face like a single tear. Her eyes were round and wide, glassy. She was biting her lip, she looked pale. Her hair was falling out of its bandana and over her head.

"I'm going to die, Taz," he said.

Taz shook her head defiantly. "Jou won't. We'll get jou to the ward. They'll fix jou up." Cal gave her a tiny smile. One that she'd only ever seen once. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"For a pessimistic. You can be awfully optimistic when you want to be," Cal whispered, his voice cracking. Taz smiled slightly. Her smile broke him inside. The pain, the hurt, the anger.

"Jou can't die," she said. It was almost a whimper. Tears were still welling up in her dark eyes, and it was burning Cal's heart.

"Hey," he said, running his fingers down her hand. "Is the famous Taz really going to cry about that dick who always insults her?" His voice was getting raspier. A tear dropped onto her cheek. Cal couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Taz blinked, wiping the tear away angrily.

"No," she growled. Cal smiled again. Taz had to frantically blink to stop herself crying.

"Don't," Cal said softly.

"What?" Taz sounded confused. She looked down at Cal, watching as he stared at her eyes, seeing the tears plain as day, and for once not calling her weak.

"Don't cry." It was raspy, and cracked, like it broke him to say it.

"Why?" Cal smiled at her, reaching up and wiping away an escaped tear from her eyes.

"Because it'll set me off." Taz hadn't even noticed the tears welling up in Cal's light brown eyes.

"I didn't even know you did cry," she joked weakly, clinging to his fingers. A tear fell from his left eye. Taz wiped it away.

"Everyone cries, Taz. Even big ol' toughies like me and you." Taz stared at him. Her tears clouding her vision.

"Me, tough?" she asked, unable to believe what she had just heard.

"Yeah, you little rat bag. You, tough. The toughest. A tough son of a bitch." Taz was crying, fully crying. She was used to insults, used to taunts, used to yells and shouts and general name-calling. She could deal with that. Now he was complimenting her, telling her she was tough, telling her the one thing she'd wanted to hear from him for so long, and she was breaking down. Tears streamed down her cheeks and dripped onto Cal's cloths. He wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Did I ever tell you I had a daughter?" Cal asked. Taz shook her head. "Did you see the pictures?" She nodded. "Pretty weren't she?"

"Very."

"She died." Cal's voice was getting quieter and quieter.

"Jou need to stop talking," Taz said. "We need to get jou to the ward." She looked around, looking for help, everyone just stared at her.

"Taz." She looked back at Cal. His eyes pleaded with her. "Listen?" Taz found herself stopping moving. "She died when she was three years old," Cal said, tears slipping down his cheeks. "She was feisty and strong, and she used to slap me when I did something she didn't like. Remind you of anyone?" Taz shrugged slightly, tears falling again. "Reminds me of you." He said it so certainly, like he'd said it a million times. Or in this case, thought it.

Taz sobbed slightly, clutching at Cal's hand. "Why are jou telling me this?" she asked.

"I never got another daughter. I lost all my respect for everyone. I hated girls. I hated kids. I hated people that argued with me," Cal said. He coughed and blood trickled out of his mouth.

Taz sobbed again. "And then," he rasped. "I met you, Taz." Taz's tear fell onto Cal's cheek. "And you were like her. In every way. And I hated you for it. But I hated you even more because I couldn't not care."

Taz's heart was burning. It was sending pain shooting through every part of her body and she was wanted to scream, she wanted to curl up in a ball and sob. "I hate you, Taz, for reminding me of her," Cal said, crying silently. "But I care about you, more than you know." His eyes were becoming lighter and lighter, slowly loses their colour, they were almost cream.

"Jou aren't very good at showing it," Taz mumbled. Cal coughed up more blood and Taz bit back another sob.

"Neither are you, Taz," Cal murmured, his voice weak. "But here you are, crying over my dying body."

"Jou aren't going to die," Taz protested, but her heart wasn't in it.

"I am, Taz," Cal said simply. He kept saying her name, she noticed. He said it so softly, softer than he'd ever said anything. He was losing consciousness. Taz could see it clouding over his vision. "Taz," he mumbled, almost incoherently.

"What?" Taz asked, watching as the darkness clouded over even more. Cal caught Taz's eyes. Staring into the darkness and letting it fill him up. It was a nicer darkness than the other one that was trying to take over. She was still crying. The tears were clouding her vision and making her eyes seem even darker. Cal didn't look away. He wondered and he hoped that her eyes would be the last things he ever saw. He didn't need to see anything else.

"Do you hate me?" Cal stuttered, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Taz stared at him.

He was dick. He'd always been a dick. He called her names, he made her angry, he was always trying to make her feel small. But then she remembered the smug little look when he found she'd passed everything, she remembered the little smirk on his face when he saw her and Up dancing, she remembered him letting her go, she remembered the conversation after she'd broken his orders, she remembered him agreeing almost instantly to go save her dad, she remembered him stopping her from punching the wall, she remembered him giving her the responsibility to make new tactics, she remembered his panicked voice when he demanded to know where she was down the radio. He'd thought she'd died. Now he was the one dying.

He'd always cared. He'd never wanted to admit it. Taz was crying even more now, she was fully sobbing as she looked down at him.

"No," she whispered. It was true. There had been a time when she'd have said yes, that she hated him more than she hated anything. It was only now that she realised that would have been a lie. "I don't hate you."

Cal sighed; it was a content sigh, a happy sigh. He watched her eyes, she watched his. Cal's eyes slowly closed, the darkness taking over them as he took weaker and weaker breaths. The last breath he took he had his eyes were closed, and he was smiling. Taz screamed, but it came out broken and cracked, more like a sob. Up walked forwards and knelt beside her, pulling her into him.

She cried and cried, clinging to Up's shirt as she looked at Cal's dead body. Up's tear fell onto her cheek and she sobbed even more, burying her face into his chest. Up held her close, single tears streaming down his face as Taz clung to him, heartbroken cries escaping from her lips. She hadn't even cried like this when her whole family had died. But Up knew why she was sobbing now.

Up picked her up eventually, carrying her down the bridge and past her fellows. A lot of people were crying. Pryce had a tear half way down his cheek, Jacon was blinking desperately, Dev was wiping his eyes. People had cared about that man, but he had never even known it.

Taz had never admitted that she wanted Cal to care, just a little bit. Because she cared. He'd been a big part of what made her who she was, and through all the taunts, and all the jibes, and all the arguments, she'd stood beside him, respected him, trusted him. And when she finally realised why she'd done that, he died.

Taz clung to Up's shirt, for the first time since she'd met him wondering whether it was right. It was her fault that Cal was dead. If she'd been closer, if she'd been at the front, she wouldn't have missed. If she hadn't kissed Up, Cal would still be alive. If she hadn't wanted to kiss Up, she wouldn't have done, and she wouldn't have been late, and she would've been with Cal, and she wouldn't have missed. It was her fault. Why did she have to care? Why did she let herself be ruled by her emotions? No emotions, no pain, less death. But yet she still clung to Up, she still grabbed at his shirt and cried into his chest. She was a fool. She was an idiot.

She was killing everyone she cared about, one by one, because she cared in the first place.

A/N:Did you cry or am I just an utter wimp?