It is time to see how XR's sliver of an idea works out for him. He doesn't have a lot to work with, but he's going to do the best he can. But I will warn you now. Things get a bit brutal in this chapter.

Also, writing for Buzz Lightyear is a bit tricky for me. He's just not one of those characters who come naturally for me. But I always do the best I can and hope it will be enough.

XR knew Nos-4-A2 was biding his time for the video conference with Star Command. After the longest and worst energy draining imaginable, Nos-4-A2 actually backed off a little. No more elaborate and drawn out sessions. Just recharge occasionally and drain.

XR knew it wasn't a kindness. Nos-4-A2 didn't want him to expire before the show. He didn't want XR to completely burn out yet. Nos-4-A2 wanted to keep him alive and slightly reactive until he could show off to an audience.

In response, XR acted like he was completely broken emotionally and mentally. It wasn't much of an exaggeration. The pain, fear, and exhaustion of the intense and long energy draining where the energy vampire drew it out as much as possible… It left its mark on him. It wore away at that tiny flicker of hope he'd tried to cling to. And the physical damage kept accumulating. So many circuits were burned out by the continued stress. He needed to reroute so much of his systems in order to operate on any level. He'd even blocked off the majority of the endless error messages so that he could actually think occasionally.

But he wasn't completely broken yet. He didn't really have any hope left of being rescued in time, but his willpower was still intact. And if Nos-4-A2 thought the damage was worse than it actually was, he would be unprepared for what XR had planned.

XR knew he would be taking a huge risk. He only had one chance to use his sliver of an idea. And Nos-4-A2 would not react well when it happened. As much as XR wanted to deny it and cling to his nearly-extinguished hope, he knew he probably wouldn't make it out alive. He just couldn't see a better option. Nos-4-A2 intended to kill him. The energy vampire would do everything in his power to destroy him. His team wouldn't reach XR in time. He could admit it now. All XR could do was drag Nos-4-A2 down with him.

There was only one move available to him. He was dealt a bad hand in a game with incredible high stakes. Not even the best poker player in the universe would be able to turn it around. But with a little bluffing and using his one card at the right moment, he might be able to at least take Nos-4-A2 out of the game.


Buzz was raised with a strong sense of right and wrong. He couldn't even imagine choosing to do the wrong thing when the right choice was obvious. And while that generally meant obeying the rules (especially since he wrote the majority of the rules in the book), Buzz had occasionally chosen to do what was right over what was ordered. But regardless, he always did what was right because the alternative was unthinkable.

And just as Buzz possessed a strong sense of right and wrong, he knew that good always conquered evil. No matter the challenges, good always prevailed. But Buzz wasn't so oblivious that he did not realize that evil could take time to stop and that there could costs to the eventual victory. If the job of stopping evil was easy or safe, Space Rangers wouldn't be necessary. They knew the risks.

That did not change the fact that Buzz hated the idea of losing his partners. He'd gone through it once with Warp Darkmatter, though that later turned out to be more of a "betrayal" than a "demise." Regardless, it left him temporarily unwilling to risk having partners at all. He'd wanted to prevent another loss. That was one of the main reasons for XR's existence in the first place; the LGMs wanted to provide a partner who would survive anything and who Buzz wouldn't lose in the line of duty. Among his team, XR was the one that he knew could endure any danger and would make it back to Star Command at the end of the day. Perhaps not in one piece, but in a state that could be repaired. He was the one that Buzz didn't have to worry about as much.

Unfortunately, they no longer had that guarantee. Nos-4-A2 seemed to be as cunning and cruel as the evil emperor who built him, the energy vampire living up to Zurg's legacy with his latest plot. Buzz knew good would conquer evil and that Nos-4-A2 would face justice. It was an inevitable fact. But after searching for so long, he began to wonder how high the cost would be before good was victorious. And though he would never mention it to Booster or Mira since he refused to let them lose hope, Buzz worried that a good Space Ranger might be that cost.

They'd stopped by Star Command to refuel, the entire remaining team members running themselves ragged searching for any clue. They'd been all over the galaxy in the last few days. It was pure luck they were present when the message arrived and Commander Nebula summoned them again. He called the team, only telling Buzz and the others that they'd received a transmission. And unless Emperor Zurg abruptly decided to cause trouble, Buzz suspected it was connected to Nos-4-A2.

So once again, he, Booster, Mira, and Ty filed into a room where Nebula waited. Only XL was missing this time and Buzz could understand why they might leave the other robot out of the loop. It would just worry him.

A large screen commanded most of their attention. Right now, it was blank. That could change at any moment.

"Apparently we have one or two minutes before Nos-4-A2's planned video conference," said Nebula, his posture and voice tense. "The LGMs will try to trace the signal, but we need to keep an eye out too for any hint of where that blasted energy vampire is lurking with our Space Ranger. We need to find something useful about the location. We can't keep flying around blindly and hoping for the best."

"You think this will lead us to XR?" Booster asked hopefully.

The look on his face nearly broke Buzz's heart. The sad, hopeful, and tired expression that had dominated Booster's features for the last few days seemed unnatural. He was always the most optimistic and sensitive member of the team. His heart was just so big and held so much compassion. The young Space Ranger wasn't handling XR's disappearance well at all. He was always the closest to XR. And if they couldn't find the robot in time, it would completely destroy Booster.

"We'll find him," assured Mira. "We're Space Rangers."

She might hope and want to believe it, but there was a hint of doubt in her voice. Growing up in the political atmosphere of the Tangean royal court rather than the Jo-adian family farm left her a little more cynical about the universe than Booster. She recognized that even a victory had costs. She wanted to trust that they would find XR in time, but she also knew Nos-4-A2 would do everything in his power to prevent it.

"As soon as we catch even the smallest lead for their location, we'll need to move out. That energy vampire is too clever and sneaky for us to let him escape," said Ty. "He's toying with us right now. If we get close and miss, he'll vanish with your teammate."

Anything else they might have wanted to say was cut off by the screen coming to life in a burst of static. Everyone instantly stared at it intently. The static gradually gave way to a close-up of Nos-4-A2's face. The glowing eyes and the predatory grin took up the entire screen as he leered at his audience.

"Lovely. You're all here. Even Parsec showed up. How are you, my pet?" greeted Nos-4-A2, practically purring the words.

"I'll be better after you're locked up," Ty snapped.

"You were far more entertaining as a dumb beast." The energy vampire looked towards the rest of them and said, "Behold the pride of Star Command. The bravest, boldest, and smartest Space Rangers available. And you're no closer to finding me than you were a few days ago. You're no closer to finding your missing Ranger. Someone you should be able to protect and yet you left him in my possession. I have to question your competence. Or perhaps the Little One truly is expendable to you."

"Enough," interrupted Nebula in a harsh tone. "What have you done with our Space Ranger?"

Nos-4-A2 smirked in response. He pulled back from the screen enough that they could see the entire energy vampire rather than just his face. But the rest of the room was still blocked from view by his cape. There were no clues to his location yet.

"Commander, did I touch a sore subject? I suppose no one enjoys admitting their failures. But I suppose you're right. I did promise you the opportunity to speak to your missing teammate. And I would hate to disappoint."

The exposed fangs of his grin didn't reassure anyone. And when the energy vampire moved to the side, everyone flinched. They finally saw XR.

As bad as the robot looked in the recording, that had been from the start of his captivity. By now the damage was more extensive and unpleasant. They'd seen him blown up into dozens of pieces numerous times, but this was different. Tiny holes dotted all over his body, evidence of Nos-4-A2's countless feedings. Where the thick bolts were driven through his limbs, Buzz could see slight tears obviously caused by XR trying to pull free and fighting them. Currently, his eyes were dark and his power off. XR just dangled limply in his restraints as a silent testimony of the energy vampire's cruelty. He'd clearly struggled to break free and failed. And he'd suffered the entire time he was missing.

Picking up the charger unit, Nos-4-A2 said with mock friendliness, "How rude, Little One. Napping while company is trying to chat with us? I'll have to correct that."

Before anyone could react, the energy vampire sent a jolt of power into XR. Compared to the first time they saw him shock the small robot on the recording, he barely whimpered as he electricity jerked him back online. He didn't move beyond that. XR just dangled limply, the glow of his eyes dimmer than normal as he stared down. He just looked broken in all sense of the word.


Power jolted back into his body, yanking XR back online and scrambling his processor momentarily. The sensation had grown far too familiar. It still hurt, but it was nothing compared to that drawn out and extensive energy draining session from before. He could handle it.

Power Levels At 23 Percent.

He forced himself to remain limp and quiet. Thanks to how many circuits were burned out now, his visual and audio input was not as sharp as normal. He wasn't completely blind and deaf, but it still wasn't pleasant having his senses weaker while in the presence of a predator.

"Good morning, Little One," crooned Nos-4-A2, his voice sounding slightly muffled. "Why don't you take a moment to gather your thoughts a bit? Then we can see what your friends think of my hospitality."

Then, in a voice that sounded like it held back as long as possible, he heard Booster shout, "XR!"

Don't react fast. Don't jerk. XR fought his natural inclination to yank his head up instantly, though his sputtering motor went a little faster at the familiar voice. The painful jolt of speed from his failing motor didn't help any, but it made it easier to resist the urge to glance up at the sound of his name.

He wanted to know he wasn't alone. He wanted to see them. After so long with only the terrifying monster for company, he was desperate for a friendly face.

But he needed to hide what little strength he had left. He needed Nos-4-A2 to believe all the fight was gone from him. The monster needed to think he'd already won.

With slow and unsteady motions that would look completely exhausted and weak, XR raised his head. The blank screen that he'd seen on his first day was no longer blank. Instead, XR saw the angry, worried, and shocked expressions of Booster, Mira, Buzz, Nebula, and even Ty Parsec. He wasn't even sure why the former wirewolf was involved, but XR didn't mind another person obviously upset with the energy vampire. And he especially didn't mind how furious Nebula looked. Pops was definitely angry about the situation and that was comforting.

"XR, don't worry. We'll save you," Mira reassured.

"You're going to regret laying a claw on one of my Rangers," said Nebula.

Buzz added, "You should make this easier and turn yourself in, Nos-4-A2. We all know how this is going to end."

And there went the energy vampire's laugh. XR hated that laugh. Almost as much as his freaky shriek. It still made him shudder. But XR needed to wait a little longer. He only had one chance and he couldn't risk it until he was certain. He needed Nos-4-A2 away from the screen and XR himself. So he waited and tried to keep his unsteady motor from racing at the sound of that laugh.

Dragging his claws across XR's clear helmet, Nos-4-A2 said, "Do you hear that, Little One? They think I'll surrender and give back my favorite morsel. It's like they don't know me at all."

"Yeah, I guessed it wouldn't be that easy," muttered Ty. "Listen, I'm sure a busy guy like you has a lot to deal with. At least, I assume so. Other than sending taunting messages to us and kidnapping Ranger, what does an energy vampire do?"

Moving away from the trapped robot, Nos-4-A2 said, "Trying to trick me into sharing some clues about where I'm hiding? I expected better from you."

XR kept himself as quiet and still as possible, subtly watching the energy vampire. He knew that Nos-4-A2 would start moving around the room, showing off and acting dramatic for his audience. Nos-4-A2 would want to make them feel completely powerless. He would want to put on a show. And when he moved, XR would be ready.

He was still scared, still in pain, and still exhausted, but XR would act when the opportunity struck. It couldn't get worse. Not really. XR had been blown up numerous times, shot, torn apart, and smashed. He'd been mind controlled. And he'd been attacked by the energy vampire repeated. And in the past, XR would reassure himself that it could've been worse and did his best to avoid suffering the worst in the future. But after the energy draining that lasted for an eternity, XR knew it really couldn't get worse. There was literally nothing Nos-4-A2 could do to him that could make him suffer more than he already had. Even destroying XR permanently would be a kindness in comparison.

XR knew he would die soon, one way or another. And he knew that Nos-4-A2 couldn't make him suffer any more than he already had. There was no real risk left. There was no reason to plead, bargain, beg, or avoid antagonizing the energy vampire. It wouldn't do him any good and his situation couldn't get worse. The only question was whether or not the energy vampire would get away with everything. That was the only decision left that could have any meaning. So while part of him like always urged at least a little caution in a dangerous situation, he knew there was no turning back. Fear wouldn't dictate his choice.

He did regret that this would be the last time he would see his team: through slightly out-of-focused visual receptors over a signal to a large screen. They weren't even really in the room or on the same planet. Buzz, Booster, Mira… Pops… This would be his last chance to see any of them and he couldn't say anything to them. He couldn't risk asking Booster to move his stash of poker winnings before Nebula or Buzz found it, asking Mira to keep an eye on XL, or even asking Pops if he would miss him. Instead, XR needed to keep quiet and still. He needed to be completely docile and his spirit broken. He needed Nos-4-A2 to underestimate him for a little longer.

"If you don't plan to surrender or release XR, what do you want?" asked Nebula, his voice nearly a growl.

"I want you to realize that you've lost, Commander," Nos-4-A2 said. "You've failed. How can you protect the galaxy when you can't save one robot? The Little One was one of your own, surrounded daily by other Space Rangers. He should have been safe and protected. And now he's mine. I won and you've lost."

And now the energy vampire was properly monologuing. He was definitely Zurg's creation. The ego was on full display. He started floating back and forth, beginning to pace the room. XR tried to conceal how he tensed in preparation. Soon. It would soon be time.

"XR," Booster whimpered, his eyes never leaving the small robot the entire time. "XR, please say something."

He couldn't react. He couldn't respond. He needed to focus on exactly where Nos-4-A2 hovered and even which way he faced. That didn't make it any easier to listen to Booster's heart-broken voice and see the upset expressions on his teammates. He'd missed his friends. He didn't want this to be their final memories of him. But XR already knew how this would end.

"And I want you to know that this is merely the start of my revenge," Nos-4-A2 continued. "I shall deal with all of you at a time you least expect it. I'll hunt down that little girl from Tradeworld. I'll find that Rhizomian scientist. Everyone who ever interfered will suffer. The Little One was merely the first of those you will fail to save."

There. Nos-4A2 was away from the controls and XR. He was facing the screen, not the captive robot. He was in full gloat mode, so his reactions would be slower than normal due to distraction. This was it. The circumstances were as good as they could get.

XR dropped the feigned levels of excessive weakness, straightening up as much as possible in his restraints and letting his stubborn resolve to finally appear in his expression. Well, stubborn resolve and absolute hatred for the energy vampire. He saw the looks of surprise and shock appear on his fellow Rangers at the transformation, demonstrating how effective his act was. But XR couldn't think about it. Time was limited before Nos-4-A2 noticed or pain, exhaustion, and damage extinguished his momentary strength.

As Nos-4-A2 paused in response to the emotional change from his audience, XR made his one available move. Spite and hatred gave him the courage and strength to raise his voice for the first time during the video conference.

"Tradeworld! He's on Tradeworld! He's been hunting! Look for missing—"

The animalistic and terrifying shriek of an angry energy vampire interrupted the frantic stream of words. Nos-4-A2 pounced on the trapped robot. His eyes glowed bright with unbridled fury as he dug his claws into XR's shoulders. It hurt, another pain to add to the other countless agonies. He flinched at the pain, but XR met his gaze firmly with a manic grin.

"That was a poor decision," hissed the energy vampire.

XR heard his friends calling his name desperately. He heard Nebula shouting at the energy vampire to get away from his Ranger. But it was too late. He'd played his only card. His friends knew where to look for Nos-4-A2 now and would eventually find him. That was all he could do. His fate was sealed. XR was done.

"I won't win, but you've lost. They'll catch you. That's good enough for me," XR spat out. "I beat you again. You'll have to live with that."

The taunts somehow managing to inflame his temper further, Nos-4-A2 snarled, "But you won't!"

XR expected fangs and the energy being ripped out of his body, either quickly or slowly. He expected the energy vampire to fall back on his programmed reactions.

Instead, he'd apparently pushed his enemy too far and wound up with Nos-4-A2 plunging into a blind fury. Claws released XR's shoulders. Leaving deep gashes behind, in order to brutally tear the entire service panel off. And as XR's motor churned and stuttered roughly, Nos-4-A2's clawed hand dove into the inner workings and ripped the closest wires.

Error. System Malfunction.

And again.

Error. System Malfunction.

And again.

No longer meticulous and controlled, the energy vampire acted savage and impulsive. It was a monstrous temper tantrum at being out-witted, Nos-3-A2 lashing out viciously. He didn't care about torture. He just wanted carnage.

Error. Critical System Malfunction.

There was too much. He couldn't block out the error messages. Couldn't reroute the systems fast enough. Nos-4-A2 ripped and tore out everything he could grab. The damage was closer to the destruction that XR was designed for, but everything was already strained beyond their limits. He couldn't cope.

He'd thought the pain and fear wouldn't be too bad. It couldn't be worse than before. But it still hurt. And he was still scared. No one could completely escape the fear of permanent death.

Warning. Multiple Critical Systems Failures.

Someone was shouting. Or maybe screaming. Him? Nos-4-A2? His team? Everyone? XR couldn't tell.

Everything was coming apart. His grinding motor struggled desperately; it stopped and started in uneven spurts that knocked him offline for a few nanoseconds at a time, adding to the chaotic confusion. All sensor input weakened and felt disjointed. He could barely think, barely operate. Everything was failing.

Malfunction. Multiple Critical Systems Offline. Recovery Failed. Immediate Action Required.

A pause in the visceral damage and the noise quieted. Nos-4-A2 must have finally cut the signal to Star Command. He was alone.

At least it was almost over. When he went offline this time, Nos-4-A2 would not revive him. No more torture. No more energy draining. No more pain. No more fear. It was almost over.

Sorry, Pops. He wished he could've done more. Wished he could've been better.

Warning. Warning. Warning.

Pressure on his motor. Not tearing. Crushing. Metal bending out of shape, stopping parts from moving. Grinding, struggling, breaking from strain. Motor forced to stop. Burning out. Can't—


Mira couldn't believe what just happened. From the instant that XR went from looking like his spirit was shattered to something far more determined, everyone's plans seemed to be disrupted. Well, everyone's plans except for possible XR. He seemed unsurprised by how events spiraled down, like he intended for it to happen. Any attempt to look for subtle hints of where they were hidden were rendered pointless when XR shouted out the answers, which clearly threw a wrench in Nos-4-A2's gloating and revenge plot. And while she'd seen Zurg fly into a terrifying blind rage before, this was the first time she'd seen the energy vampire reach this level of fury. He turned that anger on XR, who merely told Nos-4-A2 that he'd lost. And the energy vampire lashed out.

She'd seen XR blown up countless times. The team almost expected it to happen on a semi-regular basis. But having Nos-4-A2 violently tearing out everything inside the smaller robot just seemed more visceral and cruel. Everyone reacted to the sight, voices meshing together until Mira couldn't recognize the words they shouted. She did hear enough to know Nebula's focus seemed to be on threatening the energy vampire. Nos-4-A2 didn't seem to notice the noise. He just attacked the quickly-weakening robot.

Finally, Nos-4-A2 paused and glanced back towards the screen. Some of the furious, murderous, predatory look faded from his glowing red eyes as he apparently remembered his audience. He reached over and deactivated the signal, leaving their final glimpse of the energy vampire and their motionless teammate dissolving into static.

Mira honestly couldn't believe what happened. She just stared in shock at the blank screen while Booster sniffed and whimpered miserably, too stunned to collapse into proper sobbing. She didn't know what to say. How were they supposed to handle something like that?

"Tradeworld," said Ty in an unsteady voice. "He's on Tradeworld."

"The planet is too big. We'll never find him. At least not in time," Nebula said quietly.

"I might be able to narrow it down a little, Dad."

Mira spun around and jerked in surprise at what she saw. Standing at the doorway, clearly having observed the majority of the video conference, was XL. His grave and uneasy expression wasn't the most surprising part nor was the fact he was eavesdropping on a closed-door meeting. He wasn't his tiny fax-machine self anymore. XL's old body had been pulled from storage. Heavily-armed, built of mismatched parts, and large enough to take up most of the doorway, he no longer looked like someone who handled paperwork downstairs.

"What do you think you're doing in here? And what are you doing looking like that? You are not allowed near that body," Nebula snapped.

"I am if my supervisor gives me permission and Lana said I could borrow it. And I need it so we can find my baby brother," said XL. "I know how to do it too."

"You do?" asked Booster.

XL nodded and said, "Sure. My time as a violent criminal must have some perks."

Nebula looked uncertain, but Buzz seemed intrigued. If there was even a remote possibility, Buzz would take it. He would never leave a good Ranger behind, even when things looked bleak. Mira hoped his plan might actually have a chance. Time was not on their side. Based on what she saw, it might even already be too late…

"What do you have in mind?" Buzz asked.

Stomping the rest of the way into the room, XL shooed everyone away from the center table and towards the edges of the room. Then he started rewiring the screen they'd been using. And as he worked, he talked.

"If Nos-4-A2 is hunting on Tradeworld, where are all the attacked robots? They were left all over the place last time he was on the planet, right? That's how you figured out he was hiding there. So why isn't there news this time? If it was me, I'd try to hide the broken robots. And I'd hide them where no one would notice."

Satisfied with whatever changes he made, XL moved his focus to the controls for the screen itself. Mira noticed that he was trying to contact someone else with the thing.

"Offline robots can draw attention. I know that. You know that. And he definitely knows that. But, um, spare parts don't. No one pays attention to spare parts that just so happen to be similar to what an offline robot might have used. And I know a guy who sells spare parts and doesn't ask many questions. If anyone would know anything useful, it would be him. So, um, give me a couple minutes and please don't say anything. He won't want to say anything to Space Rangers."

"If you're calling him from Star Command, don't you think he'd be suspicious?" asked Ty dryly.

"Not if I fixed it so he can't trace the signal location. Shhhh…"

Before anyone else could respond, the grumpy face of the Fixer appeared on screen. Mira bit off a sharp comment about that jerk. She also realized that XL arranged all of them so they would be out of view of the crooked salesman. It was easy to forget sometimes that even if XL wasn't always the brightest criminal in the past, he did have some moments of brilliance when he put his mind to it.

"XL," greeted the Fixer. "I haven't heard from my best customer in ages. I was afraid you'd been arrested."

Chuckling briefly, he said, "Nothing like that. I just needed to keep a low profile for a while. You know how it is. Say, a little bird told me you've been picking up a lot of new merchandise lately. Anything good?"

It was a random guess. They had no proof the Fixer was involved or that he was getting more products recently. It was a bluff. But when the Fixer nodded, Mira realized that XL was on right track after all.

"Yeah, I've been getting a lot of new parts. I made a deal recently with a guy over in Killerville. He's been sending me plenty of merchandise at a very appealing price. Just don't pay attention to the serial numbers, know what I mean?" He laughed before continuing, "Nothing really that fits your taste, but I'm making a tidy profit with some of my other customers. But I might have something nice in back that would be right up your alley. Something violent and explosive. Of course, I can't track your signal, so you'll have to give me an address if you want a delivery. Well, an address and payment."

"Actually, I think I'd rather come in to the store this time. Inspect the merchandise and everything. We'll bargain over the price then," XL said. "Be there soon."

He cut the signal and turned towards the mildly-impressed Space Rangers. Nebula gave a brief nod of approval at the large robot. XL practically beamed at the small gesture.

"Clever," said Ty. "Nos-4-A2 gives the dead robot to the Fixer and he hides the evidence by selling them for spare parts. They both benefit."

"Killerville still covers a lot of territory," Buzz said.

"Then we'll see if he can narrow it down further," said Ty. "Your team can head towards Killerville on Tradeworld while I go to talk to the Fixer. I'll contact you with any new information."

"You're not going down there without backup, Parsec," Nebula said.

Raising his larger hand, XL said, "I'll go with him. I know the Fixer and can tell when he's lying. And he knows better than keeping secrets from me. If he knows where Nos-4-A2 and XR are, he'll talk."

Mira didn't know whether to be worried that XL's tone reminded her of back when he was a criminal and that it sounded like he half-wanted to beat answers out of the Fixer. Of course, this guy was letting Nos-4-A2 fly around without telling anyone. If he'd come forward days ago, XR might have been safe at that moment. Maybe the Fixer deserved to be scared a little.

Any further thoughts on the matter were thoroughly interrupted as the grate for the ceiling vent was kicked free, hitting the table with a clatter. Everyone jumped in surprise at the noise and the young human girl who dropped out of the vents, landing lightly on her feet. The Junior Space Ranger uniform made it clear why she was at Star Command. What Mira didn't know was why the dark-haired child was in the vents in the first place or why she felt the need to drop from the ceiling.

"Savy?" asked Buzz, which instantly identified her to Mira as the kid from the second Nos-4-A2 case. "What do you think you're doing?"

Smacking his hand against his face tiredly, Nebula asked, "Doesn't anyone around here understand the idea of a private meeting?"

"I'm coming with you," she said.

"What?" asked Mira. "Are you crazy?"

"Savy, I know you've encountered Nos-4-A2 before," Buzz began, but the girl interrupted.

"XR is my friend. Nos-4-A2 is on my planet. Where my parents, who are robots, live. He already attacked them once. Do you really think I'm going to stand back and let him fly around free? No." She crossed her arms and glared at all of them firmly, "Look, I'll go after him again even if you try to take me home. I know the streets of Tradeworld and I know how to hunt Nos-4-A2. I've done it before. But you guys are better at strategy, planning, and stuff. So it's smarter to go with you and help rather than do it myself. But I will try it alone if I have to. And we really don't have time to argue. He's already hurt your Space Ranger. Maybe even killed him. I don't know. I didn't have the best view to see the damage. But Nos-4-A2 will be stopped. And if one of you says something about me being 'just a kid,' I'll steal your spaceship right out of the station."

Ty chuckled and said, "I like her, Lightyear."

"Great, because you're babysitting her," said Nebula.

"What?"

"She's right. We don't have time for this. Questioning the Fixer is the safer job, so she and XL will go with you while Lightyear, Nova, and Booster head to Killerville. Now get moving."

XR is not having a good day. At all. But his friends now have a general idea of where he is. And they're on their way. The only question is… Is there anyone left to save?

Once again, go and buy my book. There's a link on my profile. You can buy it for the Kindle or download the Kindle app thing for your smartphone. You can probably even download it on your iPad or other computer things. Just go out and support my original piece of fiction, please. Reviews are nice (and I always appreciate them), but fanfiction doesn't pay the bills.