They lowered the TA to a lower level of the building. The car meekly followed the instructions of the engineers crowding his chassis as they passed him into a separate room. Aligning himself with the car lift anxiously, he popped open his hood obediently. Feeling exposed he flinched at the sight of different hands handling his turbine that'd been under the love and care of his beloved technician for many years.
The engineers all flooding his engine bay illuminated brightly by blinding lights masking off areas and pumping in liquids he wasn't entirely sure he wanted inside himself. They tested his systems, probing instruments into ports and connections that made the AI feel noxious. One by one the engineers sent subroutines and vital systems into inactivity until it was only him alone — the microprocessor functioning with a few functions linked to moving the car still lively responding.
After masking off and preparing his engine and other parts for preservation the scientist moved on to sealing and wrapping his interior in durable plastics. He didn't like how it made him look, to say the least, but – it was a necessary precaution. He watched tiredly as a transparent film was gently applied to his voice modulator and screens. It was painless — but ever so heartbreaking for him. The memories of watching seals unpeeled from his chassis when he was just beginning to take his ever first drives had forged excitement before but now…anxiety — surrounded by the colorless walls and ceilings that made him feel alienated within the lab.
After a few more dragging hours the scientist and engineers finished laminating Kitt's exterior and securing his undercarriage cover tightly to his frame. They were about done packing some extra parts and schematics in boxes, securing them in his trunk when the lead engineers approached a terminal directly linked to the car. Typing a few commands Kitt felt his internal structure begin to power down…He quietly choked on his grief as he collapsed quietly into exhaustion he didn't think existed, his own mind coming down to a snail's pace…something that had only occurred when he'd ever been injured. He thought over the wonderful years he'd spent with all his dear friends as his vision began to falter, feeling the tickle of panic gently corrode his courage…The images of Michael, Bonnie, April, Devon, RC, and countless others flickered past him as his memory modules began to settle down.
He stopped "feeling" his "legs" at some point and started to think about what the next big chapter in his life would be. What the next adventure would be. He wondered heavily if perhaps this was all a mistake — he was leaving very little behind now but what if he lost more in what was to come than where he was now? What if they forgot about him? Was he doomed to darkness much like Karr had been multiple times in his life?
Kitt jerked a little in his microprocessor as the power began to falter, going blind entirely. Regretting having submissively let himself get taken to the labs to be shut down and stored away. He should have taken the chance to run…flee…even though his friends were no longer around — he figured he could have found an adequate place on his own to spend the last years of his life rather than accept this and stay preserved within a plastic coffin.
The last thing he saw was that of the scientist running a huge plastic sheet over his chassis and his CPU registering the slightest movement of the chassis now limp around him. His scanner finally faded to silence disconnecting from his processor. The computer curling down, now completely deaf and blind in his CPU thinking lastly of what he wished to make his final thoughts…Whatever awaited him — he'd never doubt he'd had a great life. He'd made a difference alongside Michael — alongside his family…the greatest thing that'd happened to him…his greatest treasure.
Finally, the fans stopped whirring and Kitt's CPU blanked…the little being falling into an instant sleep…a coma until someone dared awake him.
