Twenty four hours. It had been twenty four hours since that afternoon, that Beast had made the choice to pull forward into the street and protect three children from being run down.

Now the entire team stood on the catwalk, looking down on the garage. The mechanics had been sent out, as had the technicians. Dante, Domino, Kat and Plato had all been sent over to the far side of the garage and told to stay there. The only one who was now in the main part of the garage was Beast… And a tow truck…

Duke gripped the catwalk railing so tightly his hands hurt. He had reassured Beast that nothing bad would happen. That it would be alright. But how could he promise his partner that when he didn't even know?

The two agents that had shown up yesterday evening hadn't been there to discuss a damn thing. They had shown up to inform. Inform that this was the way things were going to happen and this was how things would be. They wanted no one in the garage. No one who could possibly interfere even though Kyle had assured them repeatedly that Beast would go quietly.

Which he was. Beast had barely made a sound as they hooked him up to the tow truck. It wasn't the FLAG or TKR label that was on that truck. It was a knight's helmet. They were taking him to Knight Industries.

Trek had completely hit the nerd zone with that. He made Beast promise to tell them if he saw Kitt or Michael Knight while he was there. Or really, any of Kitt's original crew. No matter how many times, Kyle pointed out that the pair that started it all were likely retired… Trek believed they were out there. Fighting the good fight.

Right now though? Duke was more concerned with his partner. They wouldn't tell him how long Beast would be gone. Only that for now, he would be partnered with Jenny and Domino. They wouldn't even tell him if Beast was coming back or not.

He was worried… Worried to the point that he asked Kyle if they would screw around with Beast's programming. The man hadn't been able to answer that.

It wasn't right.

Beast was on the truck now, and clamps were tightened down around his tires, straps cinched down to keep him on the back of the truck despite the fact that he was still damaged and completely immobile. "Duke?" The truck called out, his voice obviously nervous.

The last time he had heard his partner's voice like that, thin with nerves and hesitant was when they were hijacked. When Beast was faced with rolling into Professor Webster's home with a massive explosive strapped to him.

"It's ok Beast. You know they're not going to hurt you." Duke called out to the truck, earning a glare from the Knight Industries people. They weren't supposed to be in contact with Beast through this. They had been told to leave the garage entirely but they had argued to the point that they had finally agreed to let them be on the catwalk. Duke had a feeling that was partly because they felt that they might need him to get Beast onto the truck.

Not that Beast could go very far… They hadn't even allowed them to repair him before he went. They had been assured that they would take care of his damaged side and get him repaired. For now, he still looked like a wreck... Thankfully, they had at least been able to wash down his damaged side. The blood was gone… But there was still red paint, clearly embedded in his black finish.

Once Beast was strapped down, one of the techs that had been sent to collect him glanced up to the catwalk and paused. "If you want to say goodbye, you've got five minutes." The man announced, gaining a glare from his partner. Apparently that wasn't part of the plan.

It wasn't argued though as the team quickly filed down. They let Duke have a few minutes first. Duke knelt down on the bed of the truck, just in front of Beast's grill and told him to show them what a bad-ass truck was made of.

The rest of the team had filed in after that, giving the truck light pats on the hood. Telling him that they would see him soon. Not to be worried. Everything would be alright…

Little lies they told themselves maybe.

The other vehicles were not allowed to say goodbye, though they were all fairly certain that they did anyway… In their own way.

At least by the time Beast left, he seemed a little calmer. As the truck made its way out of the garage, taking Beast away, the garage seemed a little quieter… And a little darker somehow…

Like someone had just switched off all the personality and joy in it.

xXx

"Where are we going?" It was no use. Beast had been asking questions, trying to get some kind of answers the whole time. No one would speak to him. They spoke about him… They talked about 'the truck' or 'the AI' all the time but no one spoke to him as if he could hear them.

He hated it. He wanted to call Duke and let him know what was happening but they had cut off all communication from Duke as well. They had cut him off from everyone… He couldn't contact any of the other vehicles. His link to Duke's comlink was blocked… He was alone.

Finally, the truck stopped in an underground garage in the pit of Knight Industries. He scanned the area and found… Surprisingly little… At first… Something was keeping his scanner from getting a full reading. "What is this?" Beast snapped, irritation starting to override his rational thinking.

"The Vault." Came a voice that seemed to echo from all around him. He was removed from the tow truck, the vehicle happy to have all four wheels on the ground again… But it was short lived as he was once more strapped down.

"What the hell is the vault? And why's it so dark down here? Didn't pay your light bill?" Beast asked that disembodied voice, looking around quickly and for a long moment… No one answered.

"A place where Knight Industries places its failures." That voice came after what seemed like forever.

"Failures? I'm not a failure, what did I fail? I'm programmed to crash through walls and I do it damn well. Get down here and say that to my face." Beast challenged and for a moment, the truck nearly jumped out of his own wheels as abruptly his neuro web came alive. It hurt! The damage still on his side, hurt. And he could feel the warmth of the blood and the solid contact of that boy's head against his side…

"You haven't? You let a child die. Isn't that a failure?" That voice came again.

A spotlight lit up not all that far away and Beast set back in his restraints. A block of steel sat, maybe ten feet away from him. It had been cut in half. In each half, was part of a Ferrari… In one of those halves, sat the charred remains of a human being. Kro… And his driver…

Another spotlight lit up and ten feet to the other side… Sat what was left of a black and white Trans-am. A yellow scanner traced back and forth like wild… Still very alert even though it was in pieces. Beast's attention whipped back to Kro… A small light flashed inside the dash. Steady… Forever staring at his dead driver. They were still alive in there. Silently screaming.

"What makes you any better than them? Child killer."

"What do you want from me?" Beast yelled to the voice, though it was quiet again for a long moment.

"Nothing. You've taken your rightful place. Goodbye."

With that, the vault was sealed shut and only the silence greeted him. He was just like them. Forever screaming.

xXx

"Alright guys, I know we're down a vehicle, but we've got to keep going with our mission. FLAG expects us to excel even now." Kyle pointed out as the other four, human members of their team stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

"We're down a truck." Erica pointed out, gaining a sour look from Duke.

"No, really? Are you sure?" He asked, bringing his comlink up to speak into it. "Beast? Beast come back, where are you?" He returned that sour look as his hand dropped, earning one in response.

"You don't have to be an ass about it." Erica snapped, gaining a soft sigh from Kyle.

"Children, children..." He sounded exasperated with them already.

"Come on guys, I know we're worried about Beast but we've got to get this done." Jenny put in, earning a grateful look from Kyle. "You all know that Beast would want us to show FLAG what we've got, if even just to spite them."

"Thank you, Jenny. Alright, everybody pay attention. Duke, what did you find out?" Kyle asked, turning his attention, for the moment, to Duke.

"That Ferraris crumple like tin cans and you shouldn't buy one for your sixteen year old." Duke muttered, gaining a death stare from Kyle. After a moment, Duke sighed and nodded.

"Peterson, the CFO of the company is the one that we believe has been transferring money to offshore accounts. Which means that he's likely involved in the transfer of the cybernetic technology. The company's competitors are gaining advances at a rate that's not natural for this line of work. The problem is that he's been covering his tracks really well. The receptionist knew absolutely nothing. Other than the fact that he's been signing off on some fairly big shipments."

"That actually ties into what we found out." Erica mused, causing Jenny to give a nod and pick up where Erica left off.

"The latest one was to an account transferring money to someone named Maria Lopez. It shows up as a purchase of something but the purchase doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It's car parts, appliances… It's like someone is trying to renovate a house." Jenny reported, gaining a nod from Erica as she picked up.

" We're still trying to figure out just where this shipment is coming from." Erica explained.

Trek piped up at that point, a quick nod given. "I was able to get into some of their records. That name actually trips a few interesting marks. Maybe a runner… I dug a little deep but I found a bill of sale for a house that is marked as an external office. Some companies do that. They set aside a house for incoming business personnel to stay in so that they don't have a hotel tab. This one seems to be occupied though."

That caused Kyle to arch a brow and nod. "Let's check it out then. That could well be the one receiving the merchandise."

xXx

Beast gave a sharp jerk as he abruptly found himself loose from his ties. His wheels could move again and the damage to his side had been fixed. The pain was gone, but… He wasn't sure where he was.

There was dirt under his tires. What the hell? As more of his surroundings opened up he realized he was driving. There were people behind the wheel… Duke! And… Oh No…

The Raven…

The man that had hijacked them so long ago, now sat in the passenger's seat. Eating damn, peanuts… They were in the mine. No one knew they were down there…

No. No. No. No…. This was not good…

He would never admit it to anyone but he had never been more scared than he had been that day. He had been terrified that the roof would give.

He stopped in his tracks, his tires just barely edging up to the remains of an old bridge and for a moment he heard himself talking, though lacked the capacity to understand that he actually was talking. He was too busy looking into the abyss.

"Although someone cut my scanning circuits… A visual scan would suggest that bridge couldn't support a volkswagen." Beast stated flatly, causing The Raven to roll his eyes and press fingers lightly to his forehead.

"Does he always whine this much?"

"Hey, buddy I don't whine" Beast shot back and Duke cut in before the argument could escalate.

"Hey, you wanna sit here and argue or you wanna get this done?" Duke shot, causing Beast to give out a huff.

"Fine. Take the wheel. My reaction time will be cut by 60% if I redirect all systems to suspension." Beast stated flatly, even as Duke curled his hands back around the wheel.

"Fine." Duke stated, then looked over to The Raven. "You wanna get out?"

"No thanks, I'll risk it. If you go, I'm going with you anyway."

And then they were moving. He could feel the bridge giving out from under him. He was carrying a crap ton of explosives… If they fell, it would all be over.

He kept going forward… The bridge gave a bit more and he had to floor it a bit to scoot forward.

"You know, any prayers now's a good time!" Duke blurted out.

Beast had never thought about his mortality. He crashed through walls and he kept going. He wasn't supposed to think about what happened next. But now? They could die down here and no one would ever know. He would never see Jenny again. Never see any of his team again. What happened to AI's when they died?

He didn't know! He had never asked the question. In that moment, he was so scared he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Our Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name…."

"Come on Beast!" Duke yelled and hit the gas all the way to the floor.

Beast leapt forward, his wheels leaving the bridge behind just as the entire thing collapsed behind him.

"Whoo! Let's give it up for Beast the wonder truck! Beast, Beast, Beast!" The Raven yelled out, laughing as he glanced back to the wreckage of the bridge.

"Nice goin' Tex…" Beast drew out, relief flooding the truck so much that it almost sounded lazy.

"No sweat Kemosabee." Duke nearly breathed out, sounding just as relieved.

"God, I love you guys" The Raven laughed and for the moment, they just didn't care. They had made it past the worst part.

They were still laughing when the rumbling started. Beast froze and for a moment he wasn't sure where it was coming from. It seemed to be coming from all around them. No, this wasn't right! They had made it! They made it out of there and back to daylight!

Beast surged forward, but there was no racing it…

"Cave in!" Duke yelled and their world abruptly went black…

Beast wasn't sure how long he was out. He had been knocked around so much that his CPU hard reset. It took him a moment, but once he fully came online, he realized it had only been a few minutes.

"Beast!" Duke's voice cut through his thoughts and he realized the man had been calling him for a moment or two. "Beast, speak to me!"

"Duke?" Beast managed to get out. Oh God… Oh God no… The mine had collapsed… And they hadn't blown up. That was almost worse…

As he came online his dash began to glow, lighting up their little space. They were under several hundred tons of rock and dirt and even if someone hadn't cut his communications… There was no way he could get a signal out through this. No one would even be looking for them. The entrance to the mine had been sealed. No one would know they were down there.

In the passenger's seat, The Raven groaned and slowly came around himself, putting a hand up to hold his head from where it had hit the glass beside him. "Well… That didn't go according to plan, now did it?" He muttered softly, earning a death glare from Duke.

"Beast, can we get a signal out?" Duke asked.

"No… Even if my communications weren't down, there's too much dirt and rock between us and the outside world. We're pretty damn, deep inside the mountain." Beast reported, gaining a soft sigh from Duke.

He glanced around, not ready to give up just yet.

They were running on limited time. Beast could only keep two humans alive for three hours before his oxygen tanks would be depleted. He wasn't exactly meant to be buried alive like this. He would watch Duke slowly run out of air… And then he would watch him die… And decay in the dying lights of his dash which would last, way longer than any human would. He could go into low power mode and sit down there for months and be alright. Years even… Could he even die? If his CPU hadn't been damaged… He could be down here for decades…

They needed more time. But he could only keep two humans alive for three hours… The choice came bubbling up rather quickly. Two humans alive for three hours… One human alive for six… His programming leapt at the logic. He had to protect his driver. That was what he was programmed for.

He had programming barriers though… Blocks in place. He couldn't take a human life without direct order from his driver. But no… Something new. Like a new pathway had opened up in his CPU. A darker one that he was a little afraid of… Like a shattered window… He could. It would be so easy.

No. He was not that truck. He would get them out. All of them. No matter how much he hated The Raven. This man also knew where Jenny was and he couldn't let one of his teammates down.

That choice… Brought relief. Like a cool breeze had washed over him.

And just as abruptly that choice was taken from him. He was no longer in control as he was abruptly ripped out of his own thoughts and it was as if he were watching himself. He could hear himself talking.

"Duke… I'm sorry. I'm going to buy us some more time."

"What are you talking about?" Duke asked and after a few moments, glanced over to The Raven. Slowly connecting the dots as Beast ran a quick calculation over the Oxygen levels.

"No… Beast no, we'll never find Jenny without him!" The last bit was cut off though. Cut off as Duke scrambled for his universal tool that he had given to The Raven earlier to cut Beast's circuits. He couldn't find it. Even if he did it wouldn't help him. The circuits Beast needed to do this were embedded out of sight.

Wouldn't help him now. Beast tightened his seatbelt. Tightened it to the point that bones cracked beneath it. He could feel it… It was a horrible crunching sound and he hated it… He wanted it to stop. Tried to make it stop but he wasn't in control of this.

The Raven scrambled for something to free himself with, but Beast was having none of it. Seat was pushed back to the furthest extent. It only took a few moments and The Raven's struggles were done.

"Beast…" Duke near breathed, real terror in his voice. "What have you done?"

The blackness set in and for a moment Beast could see nothing but the steady, yellow scanner from Karr… And the steady blinking dash light of Kro, forever staring at his dead driver.

Would anyone ever find Beast? Decades maybe. Decades in the future someone would dig Beast out of the dirt and marvel at the fancy AI… Long since gone mad and staring at the skeletal remains of Duke and The Raven. Duke had suffered six hours… Instead of three…

In his last breath he had only asked Beast, why…

And Beast was alone again. Duke was gone. So was The Raven. His front seat was empty.

He was alone but for that yellow scanner and the flashing light. Kro and Karr. His companions for the rest of time. For the first time in his life, an electronic keening sound was ripped from his vocals. For the first time in his short life, he was weak enough to cry.