'These bruises, make for better conversation'

'Loses, the vibe that separates'

'It's good to let you in again, you're not alone in how you been'

'Everybody loses, we all got bruises'

Chapter 9) Intruder Alert

(Aelita's PoV)

In utter darkness, that was where she sat… for the last twelve hours seventeen minutes and twenty-two seconds…

Twenty-three seconds…

Twenty-four seconds…

Seven hours and thirty-seven minutes, since she called to Gazelle to warn her of Jeremy's situation, and apologize for what they had to do. She could only comprehend all of the scenarios that could be playing out… but one scenario was most likely if she was truly being honest.

If Gazelle, Jeremy's 'friend' since waking up, and whom she trusted most in this world that was both familiar yet not familiar, was anything like she knew her as, having already read her complete biography and autobiography on the mammal's Interweb and looking up every piece of song and scrap of knowledge she could find, then she would be worried. The antelope would be terrified for Jeremy, whom she'd helped saved and wanted to help as best she could. She would rush to his side after learning the truth, asking questions, and then answers would 'eventually' be given… and then she'd be forced to make a decision.

Trust Jeremy again, knowing he'd kept a secret from 'her', knowing he'd risked so many lives by his actions, despite the knowledge that no lives were truly at risk?

If she didn't, and said he had to leave her home, where would 'he' go, where would 'she' go? All that was left they had to go to was the base, to hide away… back to the cold reality of their situation.

She would probably not be trusted, she's kept her promise to not cause chaos to the Mayor, but she didn't exactly promise to not break laws. She'd hacked into a company and posed as an executive, she'd stolen money and constructed the generator as Jeremy asked her to do…

Okay so 'maybe' he didn't tell her to do 'that', but what else was she to do? They weren't going to just take Jeremy's work unless she demonstrated what it could do, an anonymous engineer handing over specifications to an untested generator and telling them to use it? It wasn't the best option but at least she got them started.

Her purpose was to guide them to a better future, and with her affiliation to Jeremy, who wasn't in good standing to begin with, they wouldn't listen to her easily… so she chose that course… the 'Wisdom of Humanity' told her to do it. Take action into her own hands, show them, and then let them decide… at least this way she and Jeremy can say they 'tried'… but that was before the DOG/MUTT incident.

She looked around her prison, a small container of adamantium plating designed to protect the contents inside from any secondary threats, while the outer shell of the MUTT would protect against any external threat.

Since the drone shut down, her attempts to hack into its AI were useless, it would no longer respond even if hacked, so now all she could do was sit and wait…

That… and 'sing'…

(Put your faith in what you most believe in… two worlds… one family…) She sang. (Trust your heart… let fate decide… to guide these lives 'we' see!)

(Jeremy's PoV)

"And… that's it Gazelle…" He muttered as he sat on his reclined bed, wearing a bandage on his head to cover his injury. "I thought that… it was a DOG drone, that it was dangerous… and I was 'partially' right. It was a modified DOG drone called a MUTT, and without knowing that I tried to stop it."

He was clothed in hospital attire, hooked up to an HRM, a defibrillator on standby, and covered in an electric blanket. He'd regained consciousness a few hours ago and had just finished explaining to Gazelle why he'd ran out of her house and why he and Aelita had tricked her with the phony call from her agent. Needless to say, she had been worried sick after hearing that he'd nearly 'died' from his Cryogenetic Sclerosis kicking in because of the cool morning breeze near the park Lake.

"But you didn't need to do this alone Jeremy." She said warmly as she held his hand. "You frightened me with what you did, and not just me but everymammal… there are mammals who are willing to help you if you give us a chance. Officer Hopps and Wilde are among the most trusted cops in Zootopia, why not tell them from the start what was going on?"

He looked as he felt when he heard those words, defeated, absolutely defeated. His big sacrifice, his big decision, his desire to keep everyone safe by handling a situation that was 'his' fault by himself… and it blew up in his face. Part of him wished that he'd just 'thought' about it for a few more hours or did as she suggested and told the officers who came to ask him about the drone the truth. At least then the situation could have been handled better.

He sighed as he held her hand back, trying to take a 'little' bit of comfort from the antelope.

"So… how's everyone reacting to what happened?"

At that Gazelle grimaced as she took the remote and turned on the tv in the room.

[…thank you for that weather forecast, and now we return to our main news story, more details concerning last night's 'Shoot Out' have surfaced regarding the massive exchange of fire between Zootopia PD, and an unknown assailant. Thankfully no mammals were killed and no injuries were sustained among the officers sent to deal with the assailant, but an ambulance was reported entering Central Park's north entrance. No word yet as to the mammal's condition or if they were related to the incident between the assailant and ZPD.]

[Regarding official word, amateur footage from several mammals living nearby submitted have given way to many questions and demands for a response from City Hall. We go now to a video sample now, Tod take it away…]

Jeremy watched as the news station displayed a badger talking about his morning for some podcast he was making online, and then suddenly stop as the gunshots sounded and he rushed to capture the shootout. All he could do was groan inwardly, as the drone's image was zoomed in on, and captured in perfect resolution. Every ricochet, every shot exchanged, every word said all the way up to it's shut down… was displayed for all of Zootopia to see. Any hope in his mind of this being kept quiet was silenced.

[It was later reported and seen that the officers 'surrendered' to this 'assailant' who, upon forcing their surrender, began to disarm and dismantle their firearms. Despite being fired upon from multiple angles, and even being rammed 'into' a tree multiple times by a ZPD squad car, seemed unaffected by whatever injury they sustained. Based on what was witnessed we believe it to 'not' be a living mammal but is in fact, a machine… a machine in the guise of a mammal of unknown origins.]

[Mayor Lioness held a news conference at City-]

Gazelle turned it off as she noticed how depressed he was getting with each word being said.

"All I've done is cause trouble… ever since I woke up…" He muttered miserably. "Not exactly giving 'humanity' a good first impression, am I?"

"On the contrary, I think what I've seen so far is probably the best of your species!" She said warmly. "Okay, the traffic jam, the smashed car, the broken tree, the craziness with Aelita's singing to the whole of Zootopia… not so much. But everything else speaks good about you!"

He looked into her eyes and saw her honesty in them, and in her smile that she was giving him. "You, Jeremy… were willing to sacrifice your life, your 'life'… to save mammals you don't even know and who don't even know you 'exist'. Aelita, sings of who you are and shows us your kindness and wonder with all she shows. This… 'MUTT' as you call it?"

He nodded.

"This MUTT didn't try to hurt any mammal, and even disarmed them so that they couldn't hurt 'themselves' or others around them. It went around and fixed mammal's cars and other broken things. Even when it hurt you trying to get Aelita, it realized its mistake and tried to help you…" She said and patted his shoulder. "As far as I see it, you have given a wonderful first impression."

Thinking about that, she made a lot of sense, but still, she only thought that because she knew him and knew everything. What about the officers who surrendered fearing for their lives, who realized they were at the mercy of perhaps a vicious killer that felt no pain and no fear? Not to mention what the public now thought of this machine, suddenly appearing in the early morning, having a shootout with the police and coming out virtually unscathed.

"Well at least 'one' of you has a good impression about us." He said dully.

She smiled sadly at that, before edging her chair closer so she could gently pull him into a warm hug that he returned.

"Don't worry Jeremy, I promise you that things will get better… just keep telling yourself that." She whispered soothingly. "So, what happened to Aelita, I notice she's not here with you."

He sighed as he realized that, yet again, he'd forgotten about her situation. "If she's not calling for me then that means she's probably still stuck in MUTT's containment unit for safekeeping." He muttered, feeling even 'more' stupid than before. "MUTT, after locating the technology signal would have place it in its containment unit if it could fit inside. If not, it would have dragged it by any means back to the base. Since I told it to shut down until 'I' ordered it to via vocal commands, it would keep her safe until I order it to release her."

They sat in silence again, Jeremy asking himself why he made so many stupid mistakes, and Gazelle waiting to hear if he could leave or not. Because of his disease the doctors wanted him to stay the night, but he had pleaded with them to let him leave, saying he 'had' to return to the base and prevent any further incursions by 'Sentinel'. When they tried to argue and make him stay, he told them that he was the only injury so far, 'because' Sentinel made a mistake.

If he didn't tell Sentinel everything was okay, and that its defense protocols weren't needed anymore it might send another drone to get his Cryostasis pod back. Only this time, it wouldn't send a 'MUTT', but a fully functioning drone with 'actual' weapons instead of a reprogrammed and modified DOG drone. Then there would be real injuries, even deaths.

MUTT wouldn't kill a living thing even if threatened, but that's only because it possessed no 'offensive' weapons, only defensive, it would not hesitate to attack if threatened but would not kill even if its destruction was imminent. Another drone would not make the same decision, if they feel threatened, they will use lethal force.

This gave the head doctor a reason to 'think' about letting him out today, and after he left Gazelle was allowed to enter, which lead to him explaining things and where they were now.

"I'm sorry again Gazelle… about lying to you… and telling Aelita to lie to you with that phone call." He muttered.

"I instantly forgive you." She said cheerfully. "I know you were just trying to keep me safe, even 'if' you snuck into my room while I was asleep…"

He turned to apologize to her and saw her glancing away with a semi-prominent blush on her cheeks.

"The fact that you wanted to protect me… is really touching." Before she turned to him with a giggle. "But next time, don't sneak into a girl's room when she's asleep and only wearing a nightgown. I might have had the wrong impression then if you woke me up when you did sneak in!"

"It wasn't my fault… it was the only way to get Aelita back… and we had to make sure you wouldn't wake up as I snuck out." He said, thoroughly embarrassed now.

He didn't dare mention that he stroked her cheek while she slept as well…

"But still, I'm sorry for sneaking into your room…"

"All's forgiven." Gazelle said warmly as she checked the clock. "I'm really sorry Jeremy… but visiting hours are almost over…"

"It's alright." He muttered.

"Listen… before I go… I wanna ask you something really quick." She said warmly. "There's this big party coming up to celebrate a movie premier, I was able to get tickets because I did the lead soundtrack for it and a music video of the main song. I was planning on skipping it but, the ticket lets me bring a guest with me, so I was wondering if you would like to join me as my guest?"

"Uh… is that… 'wise'?" He asked nervously. "I'm still not exactly 'known', and… I have no idea what kind of party it is…"

"Oh, I doubt you'll be a secret much longer, especially after this morning!" She chuckled half-heartedly. "Don't worry, I promise you'll love it! It's just a big social gathering, we'll mingle, talk a little, watch the movie, talk some more and then be done!"

He thought about it, but the more he did the more nervous he felt, he'd never gone to a… 'party'. Heck he's never even celebrated birthday parties… how is he going to 'socialize' with mammals he didn't know, who might…

He shook his head, telling himself to stop doubting himself, Gazelle wanted him to go, if he was going to do it for anyone it would be her.

"Sure, I think I can survive…" He said with a nervous laugh.

"Wonderful!" She giggled warmly and giving him a thank you hug. "When you can, call me, I'll have one of my backup dancers pick you up in the limo and take you home. I gave them tomorrow off, so they'll be up pretty late!"

"But, I don't know 'when' I'll be getting out… and plus, I have to return to the base to shut down Sentinel's active control of the base."

At that she gave him a very different smile, it wasn't the same giggling one from before or the happy one when he agreed to go to her party. Instead it was… different, a little in between the two, both caring and warm that, for the tiniest of moments, made his heart beat just 'slightly' faster…

"I don't mind waiting all night for you to come back." She spoke softly, and as she did, he saw a tiny… tiny tinge of pink appear on her cheeks, before it vanished. "Anyway, like I said, call me when you're ready for pickup. Be well Jeremy and… please… be safe for me, I was terrified when I heard your heart stopped beating for a full minute…"

As she left, he felt his heart beat guiltily for causing her problems. Quietly he raised his hand and looked at it, wondering what he could do to make things right.

"Step one, shut down Sentinel… then go with her to this party… after that… figure out what to do with myself."

He sat there for over an hour before he received new visitors in the form of the Police Chief, Officer Wilde and Hopps, and then the Mayor herself. Chief Bogo as he was called was carrying MUTT in both his paws, which was still in 'standby mode', as its eyes indicated by flashing white every few seconds.

Mayor Lioness looked like she had gone through hell, her eyes had bags under them, she walked with a tired stride and as he listened heard her breathing with suppressed anger at 'something'. Then she approached him and took a calming breath before speaking.

"Jeremy, I do not know what I am going to do with you." She said tiredly. "I was set to make a speech about how we discovered you and your friend inside the base today, your legendary status as an ancient species, the amazing technology in your base and where you came from… and then you and your little AI friend had to pull that stunt this morning."

At that he grimaced.

"I'm really sorry Mayor Lioness… I really thought it was dangerous, so I tried to make sure no mammal was harmed by… trying to deal with it myself."

At that she nodded in understanding but still shook her head and held her face with one paw. "Well, the hat's out of the bag now, everymammal knows you exist… so that's the end of that." She growled. "I tried to make you sound as 'good' as possible, but like I told Gazelle, most of our 'knowledge' about your species isn't the prettiest, having been passed down as spirit tales and mythical lore. Many mammals are terrified of you, some even demanded I 'put you down' so you don't hurt anymammal. I told them I have no intention of being the Mayor who exterminated a species, simply out of fear and misinformation."

"Thank you… for standing up for me, if nothing else." He said apologetically.

At that she smiled slightly and looked up at him before beckoning to the MUTT drone and having Bogo plant it on the ground.

"So, since we're on the subject of your little incident this morning, tell me about whatever this is?"

"First things first…" He said politely. "MUTT Drone, voice activation protocol Alpha 1!"

Instantly the drone's eyes turned blue and it got into a sitting position, surprising them all as it stared at him.

[MUTT Drone Serial ID 000-000-001-A, online, awaiting orders, Bark Bark!] It declared in its monotone voice, ignoring them as it sat awaiting orders.

He nodded and held out his hands to it, "Please return the technology you took from me to me, obey the command!"

Mutt nodded and a small slit opened, which revealed a container which also opened, and revealed Aelita's glowing sphere. A second later a mechanical arm extended, picked her up, and held her out to his hand.

Aelita was looking around at everyone in the room before turning to him with a questioning look while pointing at the drone.

"I'm sorry it took so long Aelita, but after I was knocked out, I got injured and… well… my disease kicked in… leaving me… you get the idea." He muttered bitterly.

She nodded in understanding before leaning against her sphere and smiling happily, clearly knowing he didn't mean to leave her stuck in the drone, and simply happy that he was well again.

"Alright, back to your question Mayor…" He said before looking at the drone, which still sat awaiting further orders. "This is known as a MUTT drone, a modified DOG drone of my own creation. DOG drones were originally designed as combat units, meant to worn as pieces of armor by soldiers in the field during the 'Final War' capable of wielding various weapon types, or as autonomous units in the field and act as frontline combat drones."

Mayor Lioness looked at the drone for a full minute before edging away from it.

"The MUTT drone, as I called it, is the opposite. Reprogrammed not to kill under any condition, MUTT is designed to operate as a field surgeon to apply rapid first aid, fix mid to low level technology as a field engineer, and assist a human in the field by being worn as pieces of equipment. It's also designed to engage in 'non-lethal' combat only if a threat to human life is detected. What you're looking at is essentially one 'half' of the reason why I was picked to be frozen…"

"This thing is a field surgeon?" Nick asked, tapping it with his foot. "Doesn't seem like one…"

The MUTT drone turned and looked at Nick and scanned him, causing the fox to jump back in slight fear.

[Error… no other intelligent life signs detected… please reveal yourself!] It declared in a monotone voice. [Repeat, reveal yourself, reveal yourself!]

"Intelligent life signs, what we don't qualify as 'intelligent'?" Judy asked annoyingly.

"Well… it's programming hasn't been updated in over three hundred and fifty thousand years… and in my time… you guys were… well… 'still animals'." He muttered nervously. "The only intelligent life back then by 'our' definition were 'humans'… so its programmed to ignore animals unless they prove threatening to humans… well 'most' drones were programmed that way, anyway. That's why when it scanned you guys earlier it left you alone… your DNA matched species of animals in our time, so even though you are intelligent it still sees you as just a fox and rabbit, so it ignores you…"

"MUTT, please show me your surgical toolkit!" He ordered.

[Command confirmed…] Mutt declared, before it lifted its forward right paw and split it open.

Everyone stared in awe as, sitting inside of its paw, were rows upon rows of various surgical equipment that would make even doctors jealous. Each tiny knife of various size and curvature gleamed like diamonds and elegance even after sitting in isolation for over three hundred and fifty thousand years. It carried miniature needles and injection pods for medicine ranging from as small as a marble to as large as a cup. It even carried sterilizing liquids that was still useable, having been preserved in a frozen state via a miniature Cryogenetic Pod built 'into' the MUTT's upper shoulder.

"Thank you, MUTT, now show us your Technical Toolkit!"

[Command Confirmed, Bark Bark!] Mutt said as it put away the surgery kit and extended its left paw this time.

It broke up and revealed multiple screw drivers of various sizes, wrenches, hammers, pliers, measuring tapes, and a miniature welder, though the fuel had long since expired.

"And that is pretty much it, MUTT is a field technician and surgeon that I programmed." He said proudly. "You can understand why I got the two mixed up, DOG drones and MUTT drones are essentially the same thing, just one is a reprogrammed and modified version of the other."

"Yes, and while it was 'noble' of you to try and do that, you should have just told my officers the truth from the start." Bogo said with a grunt. "We could have avoided the whole fiasco if you did."

Aelita nodded in understanding alongside Jeremy who apologized again.

"Yes, but now I 'have' to go back to the base, its important I get there as soon as possible." He said. "This time it was just a MUTT drone, and we got lucky that Sentinel, my base's AI, picked one of the few drones I worked on to be non-lethal to send. If it doesn't detect MUTT actively searching for the missing technology soon, it may send another drone. And this time it will escalate the threat possibility, and instead of sending a common DOG drone, it may send something worse."

"Wait, common, your saying that a DOG drone is 'common?" Judy asked in fear, looking at the harmless MUTT drone ignoring her. "What could possibly be worse?"

"Trust me, there are 'worse' drones stored in our base…" He muttered. "DOG drones were made to be expendable front-line combat units and worn as pieces of combat armor. There are far worse drones that Sentinel can, and might send… like FOX drones, RAPTOR drones… you have no idea… and unlike MUTT or DOG drones in general, their programming will permit them to eliminate 'any' form of life if it deems it either a threat to humans, or a threat to its mission… no matter how 'small' of a threat."

"Fox drone?" Nick asked curtly. "So, what did my ancestors inspire you humans to make?"

"Uh… well…" He said nervously, not liking how he asked. "FOX drones were infiltrators, solo operating units, designed to… misdirect and neutralize targets, whether they be living or not."

Aelita was glancing between him and the fox officer, seeing the tension between the two.

Nick just nodded in response.

"Just… what is the 'worst' type of drone you humans have?" Lioness asked. "Or at least, that's in your base?"

Jeremy thought back to all the drones he had seen, either clanking around and walking around, to the ones he'd seen deep in the base's lower levels. "That depends, the 'deadliest' would probably be the RAPTOR Drones because of how they are designed. But then there's the HARRIER Drones, which were flying robots designed to carry and drop off field units as well as perform attack runs on ground targets… and they were big, much bigger than a DOG drone."

He looked up at them with a stern expression. "That's why I 'must' get back to the base, before anything worse comes out of it. This time nobody was harmed, but next time it may be way worse…"

"Well you're in luck, you got the green light to leave." Lioness said, getting up and stretching. "Officer Hopps and Wilde have offered to volunteer to take you back to your base. I had a feeling that you may need to go back there for some reason."

"Why did you volunteer to take me back there?" He asked them.

"As the mayor said, you have a lot of mammals scared about you, we figured the safest place for you would be your base." Judy said with a serious look in her eye. "If 'we' can't break in, then that would be the safest place for you to stay until everyone calms down."

"It would also be safer for Gazelle, if mammals find out your staying with her 'before' you've had a chance to…" Chef Bogo started saying before Jeremy silenced him.

"I get it, you want to keep her safe…" He interjected. "Just take me to the base… please."

They left him and MUTT alone while he changed into his clothes, while he did, he just thought about their words. Why did they first think to put him back in the base at the first sign of being seen as a threat?

"Well they were right; the base is the safest place for us Aelita…" He said as he put his clothes on.

Aelita nodded in agreement from the hospital bed.

"Or maybe, they just didn't want me possibly threatening Gazelle's safety. She is a singer and model, right?"

Aelita only shrugged, before leaning her head from side to side, as if saying 'I can't really say so…'

"Well let's get going to the base Aelita…" He said tiredly, picking up her holosphere.

Just before they left, she shined her light to get his attention and pointed at MUTT.

"Oh, right… MUTT, return to the base and wait at the entrance until further orders from me!" He declared. "And avoid all 'animals' and being detected by them…"

[Order received, Bark Bark!] Mutt declared, before marching off and out the door at full sprint.

As he walked out Judy and Nick tried to take off after the drone, but he told them to leave it alone, saying that he ordered it to return to the base before them, and that it would avoid any mammal. With that he calmly followed the officers with Aelita in his hands, out the back and into a waiting squad car.

Chief Bogo got into another vehicle and turned down a different street while Judy and Nick drove him and Aelita onward to the subway tunnel entrance, leading to the base.

"So, Jeremy… just a question… were there any 'bunny' drones by chance?" Judy asked as she drove.

"All drones outside of ANT drones, the SCORPIO drones, and the DOG drones I reprogrammed were and still are combat drones. Rabbit drones were never created by any nation before, during, or near the end of the Final War." He said.

"Lucky rabbits and bunnies, and meanwhile foxes get weaponized by your species…" Nick said sarcastically.

"Nick…" Judy grunted.

"It's okay… it doesn't matter now." Jeremy said quietly. "He has every right to be mad… my species did a lot of things we're not proud of… a 'lot' of things…"

There was silence in the car before he watched Nick glance back at him with an understanding expression. "I'm sorry Jeremy, I didn't mean to come off as sounding rude… its just that Foxes have a bad enough reputation. And hearing that a 'legendary' species like humanity, weaponized my species, kind of got to me." He said quietly. "If it means anything, I don't hold it against you… you probably weren't even 'born' when all of that was going on."

"No, I wasn't, I was born after the final war… years after, I think I was among the fifth or sixth to last generation to be born in the base. After the war ended the birthrate of my species decreased by almost… seventy percent or so, not sure what the exact number is. But I do know that there was only one child born eleven years before I was frozen…"

As he thought about that, a sudden realization hit him… he remembered that the child he just spoke of, was 'also' selected to be frozen along with her mother.

At that… he began to cry into his hands, noticed by Aelita instantly.

"Jeremy, what's wrong?" Judy asked, slowing down.

He hiccupped his response. "N… nothing… just… remembered I'm alone… that I alone survived…" He muttered. "I 'alone'… survived… why me… why me? Why 'me'… why not… why not that eleven-year-old girl… why not one of the children or teenagers who were frozen… why 'me'? There were supposed to be… seventeen thousand, more than enough to rebuild our civilization… but there's only one… only 'one' survived. Why… why 'me'… why not someone else…"

Judy stopped the car to let Jeremy pour out his emotions, Nick even getting out to help him out by giving a shoulder to cry on.

"Jeremy, I'm sorry for what happened…" Judy whispered. "I can't even 'imagine' what it would like to be the last of my kind… I can't even 'think' about what kind of pain you're in, the emotions running through you… all I can say is… I'm sorry, for everything that's happened to you."

He looked up through his bloodshot eyes and into her sad expression.

"Just know, if you want to talk to me or Nick about anything… we can give you our personal numbers and…"

"Thank you… but… I need… to get back to the base now." He muttered before shaking his head. "I can grieve all I want later… when everyone is 'safe'…"

"You heard him dear, let's get going." Nick said seriously.

After a few moments the car started up again and resumed heading to Sahara Square. When they reached it, they saw Mutt sitting there in front of the entrance, completely ignored by the police squad car that was parked nearby.

"Alright Carrots, how much you want to bet that its Ed, Edd or Eddy that slept on the job?" Nick asked slyly.

"Probably Eddy, he was always the laziest of the group!" She snickered.

They got out and headed to the elevator, letting the sleeping cop be and just heading underground. The drone followed suit, obeying Jeremy's orders to 'follow' him.

"So how does this whole 'shut down sentinel' thing work?" Judy asked.

"I won't shut it down, I'll just switch it from 'Defense Mode' to 'Standard Mode', letting it know that humans are awake and have resumed control over the base's operations and functions." He said. "Once that's done, I just have to fully transfer the base's power core from the 'backup' generators and instead switching it over to the main generator. After that, it's just ascertaining the condition of the base, performing basic repairs, getting ANT drones online to perform maintenance…"

"Sounds like a lot of fun." Nick chuckled.

As the elevator rattled down and dropped them off, he walked forward leading the way with Aelita in his arms, MUTT directly behind him, and both Nick and Judy behind them. As they approached the door, he saw that the door that was locked and moved to open it. Yet it refused to open, showing that it was 'locked', as if Sentinel had initiated a lockdown after MUTT had left to prevent them from entering.

"Weird, Sentinel shouldn't have initiated a lockdown if MUTT had been sent on a 'recovery and elimination' operation." He said quietly.

"Is that a bad thing?" Judy asked nervously.

"Not really… Sentinel might have just chosen to be cautious till MUTT returned, but… it isn't supposed to initiate a lockdown unless someone had tried to open the door by force at some point." He answered. "MUTT, open the door!"

[Order received…] MUTT declared before moving forward and extended a paw which changed its shape to fit a circular slot with multiple slits in it.

The slot turned multiple times, and soon the door opened, accepting the manual override control.

He entered the base, once again returning to the dead, cold, empty space that marked his home. It was here, where his fellow 'Cryo-colonists' died… and where he alone survived.

Trying not to think of it, he led the way to the base's command center and put Aelita on the central computer desk in the middle.

"Alright Aelita, give me a hand here…" He said.

Aelita nodded and took a running jump at her sphere's wall, and then reappeared in a cascade of lights in the room in her full-sized form. She smiled and twirled, pretending to stretch as she cartwheeled around the room.

"Very cute Aelita…" He chuckled as he turned the computer on. "Let's get started, the sooner Sentinel realizes everything is fine the better."

She nodded and sat on the desk next to the holo-keyboard he had activated and began mirroring his typing, helping him access the systems and working alongside him to transfer the controls.

"Okay, I've accessed the energy core… it's amazing that it's still active even after three hundred and fifty thousand years of inactivity." He said to her. "Let's see… air filtration systems have been offline since all power was transferred to the pods. That means toxic air has been accumulating in most sections of the base, which triggered the automatic containment protocol to ensure levels near ours wouldn't be contaminated. Once we transfer the power controls, we can turn on the air filtration and recycling to fix that. You transfer the core's power output over to the main generator Aelita, while I access Sentinel and disable it's defense protocol…"

She nodded while Judy and Nick looked around the room in interest.

"This place never ceases to amaze me with how… 'advanced' everything looks…" Judy said.

"You know for being really old, this stuff is really high tech… some of this stuff looks straight out of those science fiction shows on tv… but better." Nick also said.

"Well to compare tech levels, our tech is ahead of yours by about three or four hundred years… give or take." Jeremy said nonchalantly. "Heck, AI research didn't advance until the beginning of the Final War, until then most 'AI' programs were simple in terms of logic algorithms."

He then chuckled as he remembered Aelita's first AI rendition as a little kid.

"You know, Aelita was just a facial recognition program when my father first introduced-"

[BEEEP, BEEEP, BEEEP!]

He and Aelita snapped up as they looked around the room, which was flashing red lights every few seconds.

"What happened?!" He yelled at Aelita who was frantically looking between him and around the room, before shrugging in confusion.

"Jeremy?" Judy said nervously.

"I know human tech isn't my thing… but I know when something 'bad' is about to happen!" Nick said in fear.

Jeremy frantically began typing at the holokeyboard, trying to get a fix on whatever was going on. "Sentinel isn't responding! It's locked me out of its systems!" He called out. "Aelita, can you take control?"

The AI shook her head, indicating that Sentinel had locked 'her' out as well.

[Warning, Intruders… Detected…]

"Oh… shit…" He said in fear.

"Jeremy… why does that sound scary?" Judy asked.

"Sentinel thinks we're intruders…" He muttered while trying to shut down Sentinel's defenses manually. "It's not accepting my access code… it's locked me out…" He slammed his fists on the desk. "We've got to get out of here! NOW!"

[Intruder life form scanned… initiating Base Defense Protocol, Cryogenic Stasis Pod sections on lockdown…]

"Wait, but you're a human, why does it think you're an intruder?" Nick asked in confusion.

"I don't know, but right now Sentinel thinks we're a threat… it will do whatever it needs to in order keep us from endangering the humans!" He yelled as he grabbed Aelita's sphere and handed her to Judy. "You two have to leave, NOW!"

"But what about you?"

"MUTT, escort Aelita out of the base and stay with her!" He ordered.

[Order confirmed, commence evacuation at once!] MUTT declared.

From around the room small doors opened and miniature turrets began extending down, rotating to aim their weapons at him.

[Sentinel Defense Grid, armed and ready! Level 4 defense protocol approved… acquiring targets…!]

"GET OUT!" He screamed.

Judy turned and ran with MUTT leading the way, who opened his back and extended its mid-range rifle and began firing rubber pellets at the turrets, who in turned fired back, launching electric charged bolts of bullets.

"Jeremy what about you?" Judy asked as he didn't join her.

He grabbed a chair and used it as a shield while maneuvering around the table, taking fire from the auto-defense turrets.

"Sentinel thinks we're intruders, it won't shut off and will try to send out drones to eliminate any possible threats to the base!" He hollered. "Someone has to stay here to keep it's attention… and I'm the only one who has a chance of deactivating it!"

He maneuvered to the nearby hallway, still using his chair to shield himself.

"The only way to put Sentinel right is to manually override its systems, and the only way to do that is to go down to the lower levels and access Sentinel's core program via its mainframe!"

He took a few more shots before throwing it at the turrets and running down the corridor, trying to avoid fire all the way.

'Great… first a MUTT drone that I mistake for a DOG, now a Sentinel that wants to kill the last human alive that it was 'programmed' to be protecting!' He thought. 'I'm starting to question what my species was 'thinking' leaving an AI in control of our base.'

(Judy's PoV)

"JEREMY!" She screamed as he ran out of sight, before the turrets began firing on her and MUTT, forcing her, the drone, and Aelita inside of her sphere to run out the door.

They ran out just as the turrets began improving their aim rapidly.

[Intruder detected… base interior perimeter breached… Level 3 defense protocol initiated…]

They all turned and saw the door close automatically.

[Energy Shield Activated… Lockdown Initiated…]

The door suddenly had a massive net of electricity surge across it, covering the door and preventing any further access.

[Human Life Signs detected… Human Defense Protocol is in effect… Activating Sentinel Drones…] The mechanical voice declared. [Sentinel Drones 'Activated'… Intruder Targeted… Mission… Elimination!]

"Not good… Aelita is there 'anything' we can do?" She turned to the sphere with the little girl in it.

The AI shook her head in fear.

"Crud… Nick we've gatta call Bogo and tell him…" She turned to look for her fiancé and found he wasn't there. "Nick… oh for the love of, don't tell me you stayed inside?"

She looked at the base and stared at the man-made structure, where not only was the last human now fighting for 'his' life, but now her husband-to-be…

(Author's Note)

Okay so I lied… I felt I had to write this chapter… yay, Jeremy is alive, oh no Sentinel is being stupid… but I wonder why… Judy and Nick didn't do anything, they aren't regarded as 'intelligent life' by the drones or by the base… so I wonder 'what' Sentinel is talking about…

And don't worry, the Gazelle x Jeremy romance will progress soon, if your familiar with my writing I like to 'slowly' build and grow the romance so it feels natural.

As of now Jeremy and Gazelle have only known each other for about… a week~ they need more time…

I hope you forgive me for slow updates, work is a nightmare T.T it drains me, leaves me feeling unenthusiastic or uninterested in writing… but I'm trying my hardest!