AN: This story follows the episode Knight Flight to Freedom S4E19, the dialogue in the beginning is from the end of the episode. Classic KR.
"Well, soon the government of San Duarte will be back to normal," Devon stated, referring to the government Michael and KITT had freed from dictators. It was a particularly stressful mission for the supercomputer, which had left him feeling slightly bristled.
"Which is more than I can say for myself," KITT blurted out, unable to contain his discomfort. Indeed, he was feeling quite strange. The urge to turbo boost from the semi was alarming, which would undoubtedly harm its human occupants.
"Oh, come now, KITT… your systems are programmed to deal with every eventuality," Devon chided in response.
The tempo of his red oscillating scanner rose indignantly. "Not with being smothered by a mountain of furniture and spare tires… nor the volcanic ash that's still clogging my intake vents." KITT held his visual scanners on Michael and Bonnie, noting the glance between the two. They were clearly not taking his words seriously.
"Bonnie, you think he's getting his point across?" RC chimed in, gesturing towards the irritated black car. Appreciation for RC spiked in KITT's CPU, but the desire to escape the semi remained strong.
"Loud and clear, RC," Bonnie remarked with a grin on her face.
"KITT's shell got a little scruffed. Now he's indulging in a little… grousing," his partner added with his eyes on the car. A teasing smile played on his lips behind his fingers.
KITT could feel his patience nearing its peak. "I do not grouse, Michael. I'm simply pointing out that I bore the brunt of the dirty work."
Michael's tongue had a snappy response. "I was the one that faced the firing squad."
RC couldn't help but add his contribution. "With a little help from the Lieutenant here. I mean, I had to go to the mat with a guy the size of a refrigerator.
"My, how a little grousing gets around," Devon added, attempting at humor.
Bonnie chuckled. "Well, that's what it's all about, isn't it? The democratic process and the right to speak out."
KITT's exasperation faded slightly at that statement, finally feeling heard. Bonnie, his technician, was always on his side. "My very thoughts, Michael. I mean, considering the situation, as it were, I-"
Michael cut him off rather rudely, "And the right to tune out."
At that point, KITT's patience had run out. He clearly wasn't going to get anywhere so he let the conversation die out. As the humans dispersed to other activities, the computer was left to brew in his contempt. This mission had been his least favorite, as he had been hiding for most of it. Michael disappeared for a good chunk of time within the prison, which had left KITT worried sick. Now, KITT wanted nothing more than to be by himself, away from prying human hands and disgusting animals.
"Alright KITT, let's see those intake vents." Bonnie was approaching the car, clearly in technician mode. She held a tool in her hand and a grease towel in the other, ready to set to work.
KITT felt differently. Truly, the last thing he wanted was to be poked and prodded. The semi felt claustrophobic suddenly, like the walls were closing in on his body. He briefly experienced the odd sensation of claustrophobia under the boxes in that trailer, but this was a different level. What was happening to him? The undue panic choking his circuits was alarming. Of course, the car appeared normal on the outside to the humans.
"Bonnie, I'd prefer to be left alone at this moment." KITT's tone sounded somewhat strange, prompting his partner across the room to lift his gaze to the vehicle.
"Come on buddy, we were just having some fun earlier." Finally, Michael's eyes held concern for his AI partner. "You know I appreciate you."
The statement did little to appease KITT's whirling emotions. When did he become so… feeling? In that moment, KITT wished he couldn't feel anything. Without a second thought, he activated the lowering door on the back of the semi.
Michael stood up in alarm as the cool breeze from the outside started stirring papers. Bonnie lifted her hands as her hair started swirling around her face. The powerful growl of the turbine engine cut through the wind. With no hesitancy, KITT swiftly reversed from the semi, which was admittedly traveling faster than when he and Michael would back out together. Regardless, KITT executed a perfect 180 turn and shot off to nowhere, only his taillights visible to the stunned humans behind him.
"KITT!" Michael shouted into the night; his voice drowned out by the noise of the semi. Squinting, he followed his partner's taillights until they couldn't be seen anymore.
Bonnie snapped out of her shock and rushed to close the semi door. By that point, Devon was standing behind them near the front of the trailer, dumbfounded. "What happened?"
"I don't know, KITT just left!" Michael yelled, throwing his hands above his head.
"You two let KITT, a multimillion-dollar machine, leave?!" Devon shouted, his eyes wide.
"Well, it's not like we could have stopped him! He's his own person now," Bonnie pointed out, stammering slightly.
Meanwhile, Michael was already at the computer, attempting to trace KITT. "Let's turn around and go after him. He's been captured before, so we have to find him." Tingles of anxiety were racing down his fingers regarding the safety of his partner. Terrible memories were flooding into his brain… KITT screaming in the acid pit, KITT's body turbo boosting over them via remote control, KITT laying on his side after succumbing to Goliath…
Devon shook his head. "We are 20 minutes from the Foundation, we will continue our way. KITT will come home once he's had time."
The three humans stood in tense silence, still shaken from the turn of events. RC's head popped up behind the frame of the door. "What'd I miss?"
Michael absentmindedly poked at the broccoli on his plate. He was sitting at the Foundation's dining table with Devon, Bonnie, and RC. The chef had prepared a wonderful meal for them after the intense mission, but his appetite had disappeared when KITT did. They had tried to get a fix on his partner's location, but KITT had switched off the homing device. He clearly did not want to be found, which worried Michael extensively.
"Michael, are you alright?" Bonnie placed her fingers lightly on his wrist.
He sighed. "Why do I feel like I've been broken up with and I'm waiting for a call?" He put his fork down and straightened up in his chair, his eyes now focused up to the ceiling.
Bonnie pursed her lips for a moment, considering their predicament of KITT turning off the homing device. Suddenly, she gasped. "Wait, I just remembered something." She rose from the table and disappeared to the direction of her quarters. Devon and Michael glanced at each other quizzically.
After a few minutes, she returned with something grasped in her hand. "I kept this in case we needed it for some reason…," she shifted her hand and dangled a gold necklace from her fingers, "it's the homing device that April designed. The one that overrides all KITT's systems and brings him to the location of the necklace."
RC tilted his head in curiosity. "Why a necklace?"
"I think April wanted the device to be discreet," Bonnie replied, "it was an ingenious idea, I admit."
Michael's eyes widened in recognition; he hadn't seen that necklace in a few years. He had used it once on a mission where KITT had to be deactivated. Bonnie made to hand the necklace to Michael, and he held out his hand eagerly. As he stared down at the gold circular pendant, he realized why he couldn't bring himself to activate it.
"If I push this… it'll send a message that KITT is just an object and doesn't deserve time away when he needs it." Michael's brow furrowed as he paused for a brief second before putting on the necklace.
Devon and Bonnie glanced at each other, understanding where Michael was coming from, but recognizing the dangers of KITT being out on his own. "We will leave the necklace with you, Michael. Hopefully he returns soon, and you won't have to use it."
"Thank you." Michael stood from the table with KITT's garage in mind. He stepped out into the night, automatically listening for the whistle of the turbine engine. KITT had been gone for almost 2 hours now, Michael could only hope that he was okay. He opened the garage door and surveyed the empty room, which felt cavernous without a particular Trans Am. He settled into a chair facing the open garage, intent on not moving until his partner was home safe.
KITT's claustrophobia was long gone, the cool air whipping past him as he tore down the PCH. He had been driving aimlessly for nearly 2 hours, reveling in the long, empty stretch of highway. He had been trying to find a word to describe how he felt in the semi, he had settled on "overwhelmed". KITT had never experienced being overwhelmed before and was trying to deduce why he "lost his marbles", as Michael would describe it. Even though he had no such marbles, being a computer inside a car. He considered a systemwide failure or hard drive crash, but no errors could be found when he explored his many files and subroutines.
Gradually, he decreased to a speed that was below super pursuit mode. After many years, the local police finally caught on to who the Knight Two Thousand belonged to and ceased trying to pull over the black car. As if they could, KITT thought devilishly.
KITT pulled off the highway and gently rolled up to an empty beach, listening to the black waters continuously crashing for a while. Michael loved the beach… there was a time where Michael and KITT were free from the Foundation and spent many days frolicking in the sand. That was when Michael had Stevie, which was short lived. A pang of regret and sadness blanketed his CPU at these memories. Michael hadn't been himself for a long time after becoming widowed at his wedding. KITT had blamed himself for being out of surveillance mode on such an important day.
Michael and KITT had had many conversations about that day, some having taken place on the beach he sat on. Michael taught KITT about the "stages of grief" and KITT could tell when Michael had reached the "acceptance" stage. The Foundation had provided Michael with the best mental health counseling money could buy, much to Michael's chagrin. KITT and Bonnie had to talk Michael into participating, and he finally did when he couldn't get out of bed most days.
Michael was doing better all around, which was a relief to everyone. He still had his bad days, but KITT was always there for him. I suppose… today was my "bad day".
Shame and embarrassment flooded into his CPU, considering his behavior when he left the semi. Michael had been through so much in the last few years… yet KITT fell apart by being in a truck bed with boxes. The supercomputer initiated the startup sequence and plotted a course for home, making a note to have Bonnie check his coding.
Michael had been sitting for nearly an hour in the garage, making it a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes since KITT had sped away. He had his elbows on his knees, leaning forward in the chair and twirling the homing pendant between his fingers. The urge to press it was increasing with every minute, but he kept convincing himself to wait.
His head snapped up at the rolling of tires on the driveway, but the sound of the turbine engine was missing. Perhaps KITT was in silent mode? Michael narrowed his eyes into the darkness and relief cascaded over him when he made out the oscillating red scanner coming towards him. "KITT!" He became concerned when he noticed the scanner was slow as it traveled from one bulb to the next.
The car slowly pulled into the dark garage, the scanner finding his partner sitting in the chair against the back wall. The car stayed silent as it pulled forward, the prow stopping just at his partner's knees. They just stared at each other for a minute, waiting in the quiet.
Finally, the human placed his hands above the slowly beating red scanner. "Pal… I missed you."
At his touch, KITT examined his vitals. His pulse and blood pressure were gradually lowering, signifying decreasing stress levels. The computer gathered the nerve to speak. "I apologize for my earlier behavior… and any distress it may have caused."
Michael frowned as he stroked the unnaturally smooth surface of the hood. "What happened? You can usually dish it and take it."
Michael's touch effectively soothed the remaining swirling of emotions within KITT's CPU. "I… I am not sure. I was feeling… overwhelmed in the moment. I will have Bonnie check my coding tomorrow." The car's voice was barely above a whisper. Something glinting around Michael's neck caught the attention of KITT's visual sensors. "Is that… April's homing device?"
Michael reached up with one hand and touched the pendant, leaving one hand on the hood. "It is… Bonnie kept it."
"You could have pressed it at any moment, you know."
"I know… but I wanted to give you the time you needed."
"Thank you, Michael."
The two sat in silence for a few moments, the only sounds being various components whirring under the car's shell. Michael considered KITT's coding and knew it would come up perfect. He had a feeling his partner also knew his coding was fine. Michael had known for a while that KITT was evolving beyond his programming.
"Michael?"
"Yes, KITT?"
"I don't like… experiencing feelings."
A smirk appeared on Michael's lips as the computer finally admitted to having feelings. "I can teach you some coping strategies… you crybaby."
AN: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed, review if you'd like. Tell me if I captured the characters well in this story!
