I.

~_~_~_~

The words 'memory eraser' didn't quite register in Hogarth's range of understanding or logic, added to it were things like 'transmutation' and 'cyborg'. All of these things in his time were fantasy and fiction, they were things he had loved to read about and imagine at intervals through out the day. Hogarth found, however, that he didn't want them a reality.

"Memory eraser…? As in, my memories."

"And all of Rockwell's."

Hogarth felt part of his mind numb up. "I-I'm not really following you, Giant."

It wouldn't be the first time.

"The only way the Council agreed to let you come is if I did this."

"You mean, you were going to wait until the last domino fell in place before even hinting at this." Hogarth's face took on its hardened look, the 'Garth Hughes' look. "I should've known there was a major catch to this." He grumbled under his breath. "I'm so stupid…"

The Giant tried calming him down. "Hogarth, if you'll just..."

"Does Taylor know?" He shot him a look.

"No."

"So she doesn't know that you chose the Council over your own friends."

The Giant ignored this. "Inx was going to tell her before she teleported there." He held up the silver object that was a teleporter, any sign of glumness indistinguishable in his eyes or voice. "And no," he added deliberately. "I would never choose them over you both."

"Could've fooled me." Hogarth said between his teeth, hands clenching back and forth.

"I didn't have a choice." The Giant tried to tell him, becoming agitated.

"Don't bull-shit yourself, Giant! Making your choices is something you know better than anyone else!" His tirade lessened as a plea hit his eyes and voice. "You're my best friend, Giant." He found he could no longer ignore the truth. "I don't want to forget about you!"

Hogarth watched the Giant's composure waver. "You're mine too." He said.

"But not enough to reconsider this." The young man's voice retook its sharp edge.

"This isn't something I want to do, Hogarth." His baritone voice also grew firmer.

"But you're still going to!" He retaliated. "I'm not even so much upset about this as I am your keeping this from Taylor and myself." Hogarth glanced over at the flat rock; traces of crispy egg scraps still lay about. "They say keep your friends close and your enemies closer, sometimes I think that could go either way for us." he said, sighing heavily at this.

"What!?" The Giant said incredulously.

"I said," Hogarth whirled on him. "I'm not living in question of who my friends are!"

"I am your friend, Hogarth." He thwacked his metal chest, fighting to control himself.

"Then stop acting like you can do no wrong and start acting like yourself!"

Hogarth kept his glare but took a few steps back as the Giant brought up a closed-toe iron foot upon the sandstone cliff, and brought his hand down to bring Hogarth up to his level.

"I'll get on your hand when I damn well feel like I can trust you again!"

The Giant quickly withdrew it back, blinking hard.

Hogarth caught himself. "I didn't mean that, Giant." He said ruefully.

"But you did." He swerved his twenty-foot-six arm around and laid it on the cliff's edge.

"You're coming down to my level." Hogarth noted with an even tone now.

"Am I not welcomed on it anymore?" The Giant asked matter-of-factly.

His firm-lined brows lifted a bit. "You're always welcomed, Giant."

"And you're welcomed on mine."

Hogarth somehow managed to keep his cool. "Giant, when it comes right down to it, I'm only sure of a few things in life. One, I'm human. Two, there's a greater good commonly referred to as God and three, all my family and friends. Giant, what's the other reason?"

He drew closer. "It's because of me you and Taylor are here. I thought this way; you both could be together and happy." His chalky eyes flickered blue as he straightened in height.

"I'd be happier just having half a year's worth of memories!" Hogarth exclaimed, tossing his hands up in the air. "Giant, I'd stay here all my life if it meant I could remember you."

"You would?" He eyed Hogarth closely, oddly. "You--- Hogarth, you don't belong---."

"Neither do you! Oh, sure, this is where you're from. But you don't belong here Giant."

"I'm sorry, Hogarth." The Giant concluded. "This is something they're counting on."

"Well," He stepped up just as firmly. "Here's something the futures didn't count on and that's my say in the matter. Giant, this is something I should decide. Will you let me…?"

"… Yes."

"Then do it now." Hogarth hung his head and clenched his fists, an ache came to his throat.

"Hogarth…" The Giant protested sadly.

"Do it now, Giant!" His friend fiercely demanded. "Do it, teleport me back to Rockwell and finish the mission on your own---." The last word came out a half-croak, like the crack of a young boy's voice before hitting puberty. "Spare me the hurt." He requested weakly.

There a shuddering breath and Hogarth heard the sounds of something powering up. "The numbers of memories in this container are four-hundred." An indifferent automated voice said. "Please select the specific ones and imprints to the chosen ones minds will become activated. Once this occurs (insert time length) memories permanently are suppressed."

"I am sorry, Hogarth." The Giant's voice traveled sincerely.

"… Dean McCoppin: age 38. Annetta McCoppin: age 39. Daniel Barnes: Age 66. Robert Evans: age 42. Trisha Evans: age 35. Taylor Evans: age 17. Hogarth Hughes: also 17…"

What intricate detail. Hogarth thought bitterly. "Good-bye, buddy."

"… Julianne McCoppin: age 7…"

He thought he heard the Giant repeat his sister's name.

"I'm coming." Hogarth said quietly, promising to his sister.

"All eight names selected," He braced himself to be teleported. "And preserved."

Hogarth looked up at the Giant with the stupidest look of disbelief on his face.

The iron leviathan smiled cleverly. "Do you think I would ever let you forget about me?"

A look of elation swept over his face before he grinned and gave his head a shake. "Well honestly, you are a pretty unforgettable guy Giant." Hogarth admitted in very open relief.

"I would always choose you and Taylor, Hogarth. " He said pointedly.

"I knew that," Hogarth stepped up into the offered palm. "What will you do with it?"

"I'm not sure." The Giant said with a heavy sigh. Hogarth looked at him understandingly.

"Well," He nudged him against the arm. "It's always your choice," Hogarth crossed his arms. "The Garth man officially welcomes you back to Coolsville my main metal man."

An interested look struck his white eyes. "Hmm? Coolsville?" he said in remembrance.

"Yep."

The Giant chuckled. "Population?"

Then, in unison, they pointed at themselves. "Us."

~_~_~_~

"Drock?" The man groaned wearily as he rode atop the shoulder of his droid.

He rolled his eyes at his spouse's continued complaints. "Yes, Drick."

"It would appear solid metal isn't plentiful enough for transmutation."

Drock brushed the spot from under his feet on top of his Giant clone's shoulder. "Mmm."

"Any incoming news on how many droid operators are coming?" Drick asked anxiously.

He shook his head at the man's worry and looked over his needle-thin updater. "They are very sufficient numbers anyway. However, they are not enough to counter the numbers of Giant droids yet. There is a diminishing number due their eliminating the weaker copies."

"Oh, how?"

"Cannibalism."

"So much for the absurd notions of droid equality." He sighed. "Let us start before those famed outcasts can find us. You still have connections to the rogue droids, right Drock?"

"Yes," He didn't smile slyly as Drick did. "They will be awaiting the two's arrival."

~_~_~_~_~

The Giant watched as Hogarth packed smaller objects into a knapsack, six carriers filled with oxygen canisters, a metallic beverage container and what could have been a six-foot- tall juicer (the metal liquidizer) were stationed nearby to be transmuted when the two left.

"And I guess that means people like my third grade math teacher and Kent Mansley come from Lamestown." Hogarth joked. "He never got over my whizzing through subtraction."

This moment brought forth an opportunity. "Whatever happened to him?"

"Who? My third grade math teacher?"

The Giant approached the subject cautiously. "No, Kent." He watched Hogarth pause in mid-action of picking up his helmet; this was something they had avoided talking about from the very start. Slowly, Hogarth turned to him. "What happened after I left that day?"

There was an almost haunted look to his friend's face; a grim, deeply reserved look. The Giant wished instantly that he could take it back, but he knew he was already in too deep.

"There are three things I don't talk about, Giant." Hogarth finally said and his voice was point-blank in its refusal. "My father, the day after we first got here." He deliberately let his gaze swerve downwards. "Or that particular day you mentioned. I don't talk about it."

They met eyes again.

"Hogarth," The Giant tried pressing, remembering Taylor's encouragement.

"No, Giant." He rebuked firmly, keeping eye contact. "It's in the past."

"Maybe sometime…" The idea of never talking about it seemed surreal.

"Giant!" Hogarth barely kept from exploding, caught himself and considered what he was going to say. "You weren't going to go behind my back and activate that memory thing."

"Of course not." The Giant said calmly.

"Would you respect my stand on the Rockwell matter and not bring it up again?"

"Not if you don't want me to, Hogarth."

A sheepish smile started on his face. "And you can totally accept the fact that I'm being a pretty unreasonable guy here?" The Giant smiled a little in turn, rubbing arm bulked arm.

"Under the circumstances, I don't blame you." He said.

Hogarth came around full circle. "Well, we should be acting like partners here. So I'll tell you what, how about this…" He gave his knuckles a crack. "After this is over with, when and if you decide to come back to the sixties, we can both talk about anything you want."

"Everything?" The Giant asked hopefully.

There was a moment of commitment summoning. "Yes, anything and everything you'd like. But you probably shouldn't decide right away." Hogarth suggested, trying not to put anymore pressure on him. "Okay," he thumped his mind and heart before holding out his hand to the Giant, mustering a smile. "So, what'd you say partner? Do we have a deal?"

He also took a moment to consider before shaking Hogarth's hand between his finger and thumb. "Deal." In a flash, all of the items except for the original design of the IG Double H T-Bird Supe de coupe were around. "If this works out, will tell me your dad's name?"

"Johnston." Hogarth said automatically, and changed the subject just as quickly. "Well," he grinned down at the vehicle-plane hybrid. "I think you ate enough metal to hold out."

~_~_~_~

"I do not believe solid metal was not enough to hold our droids out!" Drick complained.

"If you would like my opinion, Drick, it would seem you detest being found or outdone by Garth Hughes more then you detest scrounging for metal to liquefy for our droids to drink." Drock noted as they reluctantly helped the giant robots collect all the shards of metal they could find to smelt in their metal liquidizing chamber. "Tedious a task as it is."

"How does it work anyway?" The brown-haired man asked wearily, mopping his brow.

"Well, the solid metal is heated like a smith would do only intensified. This makes---."

Drock paused when he noticed his 'significant' other lounging under the high noon shade of the liquidizer, and continued to collect metal even though he, himself, was hot. As the man grinned to himself at the thought of the wise-cracking outsider and his suck-up of a droid searching in vain for metal, one copy came up to drop metal pieces in behind him.

"Yoooow!" He yelped in pain, fanning his backside as the liquidizer heated up.

Someone snickered.

~_~_~_~

"So according to this thing," Hogarth said tiredly as he read an electric screen board type of manual. "Liquid metal is nutritious fuel for maintaining a lasting transmutation form."

"You don't say." The Giant remarked, a rare hint of sarcasm in his baritone voice.

"Well," Hogarth tried grinning his way, pushing back at his tied-up hair as he draped the blazer over one shoulder. "I would think the first transmuting droid would know all this."

"So says the founder of transmutation itself."

"Hey pal, I'm an accidental founder."

"And I can accidentally transmute." The Giant argued plainly.

"Careful," Hogarth brought up his hands, karate style. "Don't set off action alchemist." A concerned look in the Giant's eyes made him bring his arms down. "What's the matter?"

"Your face is red." He noted and laid out a hand for Hogarth to board. "Here, why don't you rest?" His offered palm was brushed away. "You've been walking for several hours."

"And as long as I have the strength to keep going, I'm going to walk." Hogarth insisted. "It's not like when I was a kid, I'm not riding on you like a carnival toy." His feet now dragged.

"Its cooler up here with a breeze, you'll have more strength to walk even further…" The Giant tempted.

"I'm not really an advocate of peer pressure." Hogarth told him with his arms crossed, he saw the unmistakable disappointment that showed and climbed aboard the hand. "Well, if it'll speed us up." It was hard to stop smiling at the robot's enthusiasm as he transitioned.

"Make yourself at home." He said as Hogarth leapt up to the sleek arc of the shoulder, the extent of his hospitality was tested, though, as he found a pair of muddy bare feet crossed at the ankles only inches from his visage. "Hogarth, I didn't mean make me into a home."

"Wow, I forgot what a birds-eye view you have from up here." He commented, shifting around so he was laying the other way.

"It does help to stay out of arguments." The Giant offered with a chuckle.

"It's tough being at the top, huh?"

"Well, it's nice to have some company once in a while." he suddenly grew adventurous. "Let's go find some metal!"

Hogarth nodded welcomingly at the challenge.

~_~_~_~

Drick and Drock stood grinning at one another as their droids were about to empty their arms of metal into the liquidizer. The sum of the collection would prove excellent for at least two of the four days left to America. They would leave their baggage behind (those ignorant, famous duo), meet up with the other droid operators to plan on how they would reprogram the Giant clones and then bask in the glory of being hailed as worldly heroes.

"Excuse me," An open-hatch green transmuted droid pulled up in between them, the man was African American in descent and young. "It has come to the awareness of the district Ardennes proprietor that you've poached a recovering species, do you know the severity of committing such negligence and of the fragile nature of these unfertilized mountains?"

"But…" Drick gaped. "We never were informed of rules concerning the fauna."

"Actually, we were." Drock told him, resigned to being born a compulsive truth-teller.

"Well," The man expressed no sympathy on their part. "Perhaps you and your droids will learn a thing or two in front of Belgium's council." He relieved them of their controllers.

~_~_~_~

The scorching heat was terribly sticky and uncomfortable; everywhere sweltering waves rose and made endless sand-filled scenery have a rippling effect. In the distance came a large figure gradually trudging his way with seas of baking granules under his large feet.

"This sun." Hogarth sat upon the moving shoulder fanning himself. "Even this suit can't beat the heat." He turned to see that the Giant was growing tired. "Lookin' tuckered out."

"Who? Me?" He gave his friend a sure look. "I'm just…" his shutters swiveled inwards.

"Hey, look!"

His indication revealed a line of black about a hundred yards from where they stood, an enraptured look fell over the Giant's weary white eyes and his mandible turned jittery in a longing breathe. "Metal! Do you see it all, Hogarth? Right out there?" he asked in a daze.

"Giant, I think you may be a little delusional. Maybe you should sit down and wah!"

Hogarth found himself scooped off the shoulder and securely fastened between a pair of iron fingers enclosed in a force field, the frantic jog jumbled him around as the robot was thundering forward. "Wait…" his pace slowed and he opened his fingers. "It isn't metal."

"I tried telling you." Hogarth mentioned, sliding off his lowered hand. "Desert-like terrain is notorious for mirages, pal." He sighed and gave the Giant's arm a sympathetic pat as he made his way forward. "I'm sure there's an oasis or some… thing… My God, water."

~_~_~_~

Now that the Giant saw more clearly, he could tell what the objects were: cactuses.

"Actually, Hogarth, it's-." He looked around his arching legs and saw his friend had left.

"It's water!" Hogarth shouted happily, zippering out of his jumpsuit and charging toward what shimmered like water with nothing to cover his muscle-toned body except shorts. "I can't believe it! Can you, IG?" The Giant placed a hand down to hinder his hurried pace.

"I can believe it, because it isn't water." He said factually.

"What're you talking about it?" Hogarth scrambled over the iron hand, and was about to dive in to what he thought was an oasis when he was scooped up and forced to see closer.

"Look," The Giant emphasized by holding the young man only a foot from the big, green prickled plants. "Cactuses." He backed off as Hogarth regained his composure, stepping back and taking his discarded clothes. "Sorry, I just didn't think you'd want to feel that."

"Thanks for the wake-up Giant." Hogarth laughed a little and collapsed against his large foot, the two sat down with a collected intake of breathe. He looked around and saw that the sun was receding in the west. "Plants… that means, there's greenery going that way."

The Giant gave him a falling-front shutter look. "How long until we reach Rockwell?"

"According to tracker do-dad… four days and three nights." Hogarth felt himself sober at his next thoughts. "And that means ninety-six hours until we see Kina again." He looked up at the Giant. "Why don't we rest up for tonight and get an early search for metal in the morning? That way it'll still be cool and we can liquid it up so we can fly when it's hot."

"Sounds good to me, I think I can get through tonight." His stomach groaned a little.

Hogarth grinned. "We'll find so much metal one of these days, it'll put Dean's junk yard to shame." He humored him. "Man, I'm really looking forward to going home after this."

"I know." The Giant said empathically.

Before anymore could be said on the matter, there went light jets streaking across the sky.

To be continued…