He sat quietly in the cool warehouse bay, all alone…

Feeling heavy and small simultaneously, recalling his memories of joy out in another world coiled somewhere between the mind and yesterday…

It was true. Every reliable source of data on the web confirmed that Devon had indeed passed not so long after he'd been rebuilt and placed into the Knight four thousand's chassis. The time frames all correlated. Michael had kept the information to himself…but why?

There was very little information on what had actually caused Devon's death. It'd been an abrupt death, as Kitt knew Devon's health was not suffering from any chronic or acute problems that could have taken his life so suddenly. The man still had more time…so then foul play was to blame. An investigation on his death had been shortly done and it'd been concluded that he'd passed due to a gun-related crime.

It wasn't fair.

The responsible individuals were never identified and the investigation had been stopped there. Further information seemed nonexistent…the police records and autopsy records were not in the system therefore Kitt could not access them and piece together what really had happened to Devon on his way to his apartment, or his transportation to the hospital where he would die several minutes after being emitted into the trauma center…or so the countless articles retold.

The computer quietly sobbed, further fragments of hope breaking away and turning to despair.

His family was gone.

He let out an agonized hum from his pink scanner…having lost hue and having gained brightness…

He was doomed to never be able to shed a singular tear for Devon…not a physical one to say the least…but internally the turmoil was wreaking havoc over his fragile matrix of code. He was falling under the weather of his intense emotions…unable to process his grief correctly, the stress on his system making him sick…He didn't care too much that he was deducting time and life from his processor as it overclocked itself. Injuring himself as the hurt from the loss intensified and the computer deflated its tires attempting to make itself small and insignificant…wanting to curl into someone's comforting embrace and make the pain go away…but there was no one around and no one would listen.

Kitt's control over his speakers slipped from his figurative hands and he emitted a choked ringing sound. Static pierced the air as the computer continued to sob in isolation.

Eventually, Kitt was too exhausted to even "cry" and turned his engine on, hurrying to a dark corner of the warehouse. Leaving the charging dock bay to itself and taking comfort in the cool darkness where no one could see him lay.

Kitt internally trembled, wondering how he would ever get up from this and if it even was possible…his world had gone up in flames overnight and there was little left to even remotely attach him to the Foundation.

In the corner of the warehouse, he nudged his prow into the wall, recalling Michael's and Bonnie's gentle hands brushing his prow in affection whenever he was in need of love. Now, these loving hands were gone…he was abandoned and nobody seemed to understand that he wanted company.

Michael had left him…there were no hopes for the man to return. Bonnie…well Bonnie had left too…and RC? Kitt didn't even know but he figured the young man had left to carry on something else…Devon?...death had taken him away…if it hadn't been for death Kitt knew almost certainly that Devon would have been the last to stay by him. He'd been the first to stay by him anyway when Wilton had passed…

Now there wasn't anyone.

Shawn was the closest thing he had to a friend now but even her…she didn't understand him enough…

Kitt felt the anger shoot up his circuitry the moment his mind thought over Maddock. That man hated him…Kitt was very aware that this man had never intended to keep him running or even going for a long time…

Kitt winced as his figurative fingers dove into Maddock's personal email and pried every last crook and cranny for any information involving Devon's death…there was none.

— but…he'd found something interesting…

Emails titled 'KIFT' had been recently sent to the board…something was coming down…and Kitt didn't know.

Perhaps he didn't want to know…let alone care.

The hurting AI set aside the emails…he wouldn't mind being deactivated this time…there was little left anyways in this world to love…but…

The computer feared the darkness…the lifeless state he'd be forced into as all the current running up and down his processor dried up…nothing could exist here…

The computer shuddered.

Even in agonized pain, the computer was not planning to give up…to give in to deactivation. Not this time…not ever…

Kitt ran his "hand" through the list of assets owned by the foundation. He had an idea of what he was looking for but only when he saw it did he know he'd found something useful.

He gunned his awoken engine and pinged the door to open. He was greeted by the gentle beat of rain over his red shell as he strolled into the darkness of midnight. He drove along the property until he came to one of the further warehouses out in the back lot. He pinged the door silently, keeping his lights off and his scanner dim.

The warehouse's large doors slid open and Kitt slipped inside letting the darkness of the warehouse swallow him whole. Not until the doors closed did he ping the lights.

He jolted a little as the lights blinded his vision. The computer took an astonishing glimpse of the giant and complex machinery before him.

He gently drove forward until he came next to a terminal. He greeted it and the machine automatically greeted him back. It was a very dry and broad greeting but Kitt took the pre-made saying with a grain of salt.

When the system allowed him to see the machine's queue of jobs, Kitt saw the potential of what he wanted to be done.

He determinedly handed the computer the required schematics and blueprints that Kitt had stored in times of emergencies…

The other system looked over it, running calculations of how long it would take…not to mention the materials to recreate what Kitt wanted…

Taking further notes Kitt knew this would require some funding and he knew exactly where to get it.

If Maddock was the responsible one for selling his parts then Maddock was going to pay for his parts.

Kitt accessed the man's personal account in a single tick, transferring money to Kitt's work account. Hastily making necessary purchases under the man's name and giving instructions to where said items would be delivered.

"Estimated time of completion: three days." The terminal spoke out loud.

Kitt was rather surprised that something as complex as himself could be rebuilt from the ground up for three days tops solely by machine. Though he'd always preferred the traditional method of building and engineering…this, however, was the next best thing.

He took caution, instructing the machines to begin construction of his chassis as soon as possible and to keep said job secret as it was of high clearance. The computers obliged given Kitt was of high classification himself. Taking the appropriate measures was necessary if he planned to get everything done without interruption. The chances of humans coming into this warehouse were rather slim, however, you could never be too sure. Data shown by the system let him know the last human to step into the warehouse had done so 13 days ago. The machines here were completely self-reliant, able to repair themselves and maintain their quarters clean on their own for prolonged periods at a time. Kitt could only hope there would be no hiccups that would involve anyone to step foot on the premises.

Kitt jolted internally as the machines all awakened at once and giant hydraulic arms began to fold and mold sheets of metal into the requested shapes. He watched tiredly as custom pieces were being created with precise machinery before his very eyes.

He sighed as he left the site, wanting not to leave a trace of his visit. The last components would be delivered in two days…he could live with that…but the most important component that made his chassis so special still needed to be produced.

The molecular Bonded shell formula…


Kitt's scanner was completely blacked out. The pink hue had not gone away overnight as he'd expected to happen and Kitt was concerned about his raw emotions having managed to damage his scanner…

Shawny wasn't due for several hours but Kitt couldn't help and panic as he tried to fix this problem. There was a mirror hung aside in the warehouse and Kitt didn't hesitate to check his appearance.

The scanner was so light colored now that it simply blended with his cherry apple shell. Perhaps Shawn would not notice that he'd been crying all night or suspect him of planning his leaving. Whatever the case he wasn't going to ruin his chances, so he submitted the scanner to darkness letting several subroutines quietly pause in the background that heavily relied on it's operation.

He reversed and parked inside his charging port, with just 20 minutes remaining on the clock.

Leave it to Shawny to show up three minutes early, however…!

"Morning." She cheerfully greeted, adjusting her grey-colored cap on her head with her ponytail running along the back.

"Morning Shawny." Kitt painfully replied…he was starting to hesitate with his decision. Perhaps leaving was too radical…perhaps he was making a mistake.

"How you sleep?" She asked, going up to a screen displaying Kitt's status. "Did your lead engineer come last night and check the fans?"

"She didn't," Kitt remarked nonchalantly. The woman didn't make an appearance and Kitt honestly had not expected her to. Instead, he'd managed to pinpoint the problem. Several drivers weren't working and his fans were not turning at the required speeds. He'd been able to fix these simply by adjusting and rewriting several drivers and within a short period of time, his fans were working alright. He prided himself whenever he was able to demonstrate his independence.

"That's strange." Shawn crossed her arms, her nose twitching a little. "Here, tell you what, before we go out to our rounds, let's check up on her." Shawn offered with a smile.

"That's highly unnecessary Shawn — I already…" He stuttered over his words, gripping himself as he instinctively almost flashed his scanner in amusement.

Shawn frowned.

"Kitt, you…?"

"As I already mentioned, I've gotten a fix on the problem and have done the needed adjustments." He convincingly replied, shuddering internally noting how common it'd become for him to emote with his scanner. He couldn't help and felt anxious with his scanner completely off…it was just something so natural and habitual that he felt so strange with it inactive.

"Uh-huh," Shawn offered a raised brow. "You know how Maddock feels about you taking charge of your own repairs." She remarked, before glancing down at her watch. "It's 6:30 now so…she should be on-site at this point. Let's give her a visit."

"Shawn, very unnecessary of us to go in and interrupt her. I'd imagine she's a very busy woman and I doubt the last thing she'd want to do is see me when all my systems are all up to speed!" He nervously jerked forward, opening the driver's door for Shawn. Feeling the equivalent of an itch assaulting the systems attached to his scanner. If he went in for repairs the woman would be able to notice the damage done to his scanner and questions would arise. He wasn't ready to confront anyone about the situation, not when he didn't know if they could be trusted.

Shawn chuckled.

"What are you so afraid of?" She answered amused.

Her question right about startled Kitt. Was she on to him? He jerked in reverse and slammed the door closed. Had he not tampered with the surveillance system and covered his tracks carefully?!

"Kitt?" The woman asked, concern creeping into her voice. "Sorry, I was joking. If it helps. I can ask one of the techies to check in on you instead, I know you and that women don't get along that well."

"I don't?" Kitt asked out loud, scolding himself internally for being so foolish. He immediately ran diagnostics on his memory banks and realized his data fetching speed had been compromised last night from the intense draw of energy. He REALLY needed repairs now.

Shawn frowned over the bewildered Banshee.

"Kitt, I mean it — if you don't want to go in and see her then fine —"

"I'd rather she see me instead!" Kitt interrupted, aware that the damage was severe…if he relied on leaving, he planned to do so in one piece.

Shawn raised her brows.

"For a minute there —"

"Either way the woman deserves to get a piece of my mind." Kitt remarked, emphasizing his displeasure. " — I am her responsibility after all…"

Shawn chuckled, wondering what Kitt was so keyed up about this morning.

"Whatever, but if she gives you a hard time I assure you, I'll have your back." Shawn smiled fondly, the gesture making Kitt feel the sting of guilt.

"I — I appreciate — I'd appreciate that." Kitt "smiled", internally shuddering as his scanner lightly flickered while he forcefully kept it inactive.

Shawn grinned strolling up to Kitt and affectionately patted the hood.

"Anytime."


"Hopefully Miss Crane is as eager to see us as we are to see her." Shawn chuckled while Kitt followed behind obediently as they rounded the property towards garage bay B.

"She's been oddly absent from your engineer team as of late working on…"

"Kift," Kitt remarked coldly.

Shawn nodded.

"What are the chances she wants you out of the competition?" She teased.

"High, to say the least," Kitt answered dryly wondering why it hadn't worked out between the two as he and Bonnie had gotten along quite well from what he recalled.

Shawn sighed, glancing over Kitt's nonexistent scanner. A gaping hole standing out noticeably in broad daylight. The woman bit her lip wondering If she'd ever seen Kitt this way before. It'd been a wise choice to convince the computer to visit his lead engineer if the computer was displaying some discomfort.

"You don't seem too excited to bring justice to your almost barbequed CPU. Why's that?" She asked, slipping her hands into the large pockets of her grey uniform pants. Kitt wished he'd see the day Maddock be less strict on work attire.

"Kift is active." Kitt retorted.

"That's a bad thing?" Shawn replied, kicking an empty can and skidding past Kitt's prow as they neared the warehouse.

"I'm not too keen about speaking to him."

Shawn shrugged.

"He looked alright to me."

"That's right, he "looked" alright but surely you did not meet him as I did." Kitt's engine let out a rough whirr in tall tale jealously over the "more" privileged AI. They were on his turf. His prime. Kitt wasn't too sure he could outplay an AI built and grown into this alien era he did not belong to.

The red hard top and woman strolled through the open doors of the lively warehouse. Crowds of engineers coming and going.

"So where is he?" Shawn asked, standing on her tippy toes trying to catch a glimpse of the second car.

"He's over there Shawny," Kitt growled. Kitt motioning quickly by pointing with his prow at a huge group of computers mounted to a side wall.

"He isn't a car?" It struck Shawn as strange that Kift hadn't been moved to a more adequate chassis sooner when Maddock had been urging the release of Kift into the field for a while now. It was no mystery that the man yearned to see the other AI prance around in all its glory.

"Not yet he isn't," Kitt responded as the two stepped deeper inside the ambient controlled space. Shawn relaxed as the warmed air breezed past. Several onlookers and engineers observed the duo but it was clear most eyes were drawn to Kitt.

Shawn was mentally preparing her reason for being at the warehouse uninvited but nobody intervened as she suspected. She and Kitt's presence wasn't something unauthorized after all. They were just several feet away from the computers housing Kift when that all too disagreeable voice became audible.

"Oh, You're back." Kift dryly remarked, his voice steady.

"Maddock!? Pfftt Hahaha!" Shawn broke into a heavy laugh, gauging unwanted attention.

"Shawny please," Kitt begged. "Were on official business." The vehicle internally blushed as several engineers shook their heads in displeasure.

The woman recomposed herself, casting a playful smile at the AI.

"How are you Kift?"

"Well. You?"

"Funny you should ask," Shawn began. " — but your older brother nearly choked to death yesterday."

"Shawny —" Kitt grumbled, his scanner swaying in distasteful rebuke towards Kift. The computer stopped midway when he realized the pinkish hue was still around.

"This 'computer' Isn't remotely my younger brother."

Kift oddly could not disagree.

"We are nothing of the kind."

Shawn turned from the ice-blue voice modulator mounted onto the huge computers to Kitt's unusually blanked scanner glaring daggers at the setup.

"You two certainly are something." Shawn shrugged. "Kift, we're looking for Miss Crane. Seen her recently?" Shawn crossed her arms.

"I can certainly be of help, Shawn." Kift's voice was constant and unfaltering. A much bored-sounding Maddock. With silent calculation, Kift remarked. "She clocked in this morning at —"

"We know." Kitt spat. "You didn't think we'd check that first?" Kitt's engine revved. "Hurry up."

"I saw her two minutes and 45 seconds plus counting…" Kift continued unbothered.

"Dumb, oversized modem." Kitt mumbled under his "breath".

"Lousy and defunct Trans-Am."

"I beg your pardon!?" Kitt screamed frighten that the other AI was aware of what he'd looked like before and much bothered that he'd offended his timeless look.

"Kids, time out!" Shawn groaned. Her blue eyes bounced from one raging computer to the next. "You're family, this shouldn't be a thing."

"McCormick!"

Shawn froze.

"Is that…?" She gently slid over the base of her heels, observing quickly that Miss Crane was an older woman and happened to know her already.

"Hi." Shawn offered, trying to cast a good impression.

"Get this outdated laptop out of here!" Miss Crane's white thin curls bounced threateningly on her head.

"Outdated?! Ma'am, you are out of line!" Kitt countered pulling in reverse taking Shawn's elevated vital signs alarmingly.

"What is it with you people?" Shawn retorted. "These two are equals aren't they?" Shawny taking the defensive naturally.

Miss Crane laughed.

"The Knight Industries 2000 is a shadow compared to the Knight Industries 4000, dear."

"Shadow?" Shawn raised her voice. "Kitt has done a great deal in his life and continues to, despite all what you say about him." She shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe this, aren't you the head of Kitt's engineers?"

"I am, what are you getting at McCormick?" The woman glared with the white of her pearly eyes making Shawn take a step back.

"Kitt nearly suffocated yesterday. Shouldn't you be watchful of him?"

"I am." The woman straightened her collar. " – but the AI isn't exactly polite."

"What?" Kitt remarked. "You can't seriously be so biased towards me?"

The older woman sighed.

"K.I.T.T doesn't have much time left," The woman groaned annoyed. Shawn followed at her heels.

"What!?"

"As in — he's outdated darling. The AI only has some good use for a couple more years, then — what good will he be?" The woman turned to Kitt's pink scanner, Miss Crane suppressing her alarm much to Kitt's relief as Shawn had not noticed. " – but until then I will continue to serve him as I have high regard for professionalism when it comes to my responsibilities. Excuse me, I'll check on the Knight 2000 after my morning work. Good day." With this, the woman dismissed herself hurriedly walking away to aid in Kift's development. From her vitals Kitt could tell the woman had become anxious…he figured she'd get a scolding from Maddock if he figured that he'd been damaged — Ha! Fat chance! The woman was probably more worried about keeping her clean reputation for maintaining equipment… which sounded like a much more logical reason to Kitt. Whatever the case he suspected she'd be visiting him soon that morning.

"Goodness Kitt," Shawn shook her head leaning back watching the woman storming away with an attitude that almost made the ground shake, the AI pulling the car forward so she could sit. "That woman is repulsive."

"I agree," Kitt replied. "I'm actually grateful she doesn't show up as often in my bay. I wouldn't stand someone like that even come remotely close to my components regularly. Though given the circumstances I think it's safe to let her take a look under my hood." Kitt attempted to hide his worry.

"I wouldn't trust her even if my life depended on it."

"Touche."

Shawn frowned.

"What?"

Kitt swayed his pink scanner instinctively making Shawn gape down at him in concern. Oops…

"Oh, Shawny."