Gah! I know I just posted the first chapter about...three or four hours ago, but I can't help posting this!

CHAPTER TWO

The first thing Lizzie did, after she had calmed down a little, was whip out her cell phone and dial FLAG's number. She needed to know just what was going on with Karr, and the only ones who could tell her were back at home.

"Elizabeth." Kitt answered the phone mid-way through the first ring. She wasn't all that surprised to hear him; he sometimes answered the main phone when he knew she was calling.

"Kitt, oh my gosh! It was...Karr!" Lizzie said, struggling to tell Kitt what she had just experienced.

"He is currently on a mission," Kitt said, "I thought I made myself clear earlier."

"Nonononono, you don't understand," Lizzie began. How could that have been a mission? Karr hadn't known who she was. Something was wrong-

"The answer is no," Kitt said.

"What? I didn't ask any-"

"It is only natural that you want to get involved," Kitt said, "But the deal was that Karr would work with FLAG during your studies at college. In return, you were to spend your time only at college. By the contract you drew up with your father-"

"Kitt," Lizzie said. She needed to tell him what was happening. Karr hadn't recognized her.

"-you are not allowed to go on any missions until precisely one day after graduation," Kitt finished.

"But-" Lizzie began.

"Therefore I must insist that you stay away from all communication with FLAG for the next few weeks," Kitt said.

"What?" Lizzie asked, "But Karr-"

"We are currently dealing with sensitive information, and the phones are being tapped. As such you would only be a distraction," Kitt said.

"Karr just-"

"I am sorry to be strict, but this is a matter of security. I am currently blocking your number," Kitt said, "For your safety as well as ours. DO NOT call us again."

"I just saw-hello? Hello?"

Lizzie stared down at her cell phone.

"UGH, Kitt!" She shouted to no one in particular, "Maybe dad will listen to me." She pressed one of the numbers on speed dial, but the phone didn't even ring before the call ended.

"What?" She asked, "Oh come on!" she yelled into her phone. She tried calling her dad again. Then her mom. Her sister, her sister's husband Kevin, uncle Devon-each and every time she tried a number, the call failed to go through.

Had Kitt done something to her phone? She quickly called her roommate, but hung up as soon as she heard the ring. Her phone was working after all. With everyone but her family. So Kitt hadn't been kidding when he said he was going to block her number. He had blocked her number from everyone at FLAG.

Wow. That car could be so infuriating at times.

"What am I going to do?" She asked.

Something was wrong with Karr. He hadn't recognized her. In fact, he had been down-right scared of her. And that wasn't like him at all. But worse, FLAG was no help. Or more specifically, Kitt was no help.

Maybe if she could find out where Karr went, she could follow him and find out what was wrong. But that idea died within two seconds, as soon as she remembered that he was a car. He could be miles away by now.

And here she was, stuck on campus without a clue as to where he went, or a vehicle to chase him in. What was she going to do?

Guess she had had no choice but to get her roommate some coffee, go back to the dorms and do her homework.

She began walking to the coffee shop, but then stopped.

"No!" she shouted, startling a nearby jogger into stumbling, and with all her energy she burst into a run.

She wasn't exactly sure where she was going, except that she was heading in roughly the same direction she had last seen Karr. She ran past the shops, past the library, past the other lake. A few people glanced at her as she ran, but they continued walking. She ran until the main road merged into a much larger one at the entrance to the university, and only then did she stop, panting, as she surveyed the other street for signs of the black vehicle.

"KARR!" She shouted one last time, but aside from a head or two turning her way in confusion, there was no response.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there, but it was probably five minutes. Karr was gone.

Lizzie sighed, and went to sit down at a bus stop bench.

"Right," she said, after thinking for a while, "Guess I'd better get Brittany that coffee."

It was one of the hardest decisions she had to make, leaving her partner and annoying friend to drive who-knows-where, all because she couldn't contact anyone at home. She was positive that they would be just as surprised by this behavior as she was, but at least they could do something about it. They could come out in the Rook and find him, fix up whatever was wrong, bring him back to his grouchy old self...

But all she could do was stay here and study. At least until Kitt started taking her calls again.

It was one of the hardest decisions she ever made, but she really had no choice. Why was it, anyway, that Kitt refused to talk to her? The phones were compromised, so FLAG must be under some kind of attack again. But couldn't Kitt have listened for just a few more seconds?

The coffee shop. Normal student life. Her roommate was waiting for her. It was getting late.

She decided to take the shorter way to the coffee shop, the way that went through the woods instead of the sidewalk by the road. She looked at her watch, and came to the decision that she should try to take as many shortcuts as possible. It was getting dark, and the path she chose was not very well-lit at night.

"Alright," she whispered to herself, "Cut across the grass here, cut off from the walkway here, jump over those bushes-wha-HEY!" She shouted, crashing into the ground.

She got up as fast as she could to see what tripped her, scraped her hand against something and got into her fighting stance to combat the threat. But what she saw surprised her.

"Karr?" She asked, "You were hiding in the bushes?"

They were off the path, in the woods. Somehow Karr had left the road and found his way there, blending in with the twilight and the bushes. She had tripped across his hood when she tried jumping the bushes. But even as she spoke to him, he slowly began backing up.

"Nonono, it's alright!" Lizzie said, almost jumping on his hood to prevent him from leaving, "Karr, it's me! Lizzie! You don't have to run away from me."

Karr stopped, if only because Lizzie was 'holding' him. But underneath her hands, his hood and his entire frame began shivering.

"Shhh," Lizzie said, trying to calm him down, "Listen, I don't know what happened, but you know you can always trust me, right?"

The vehicle continued shivering, but the shakes were starting to get harder.

"Oh no oh no," Lizzie said. Karr was starting to freak out. He never freaked out. She had no idea how to handle this, "Karr, it's alright, it's alright, I promise," she said, trying not to freak out herself.

Karr wrenched himself backwards, backing over a nearby stump as he did so. Lizzie's hands slipped off his hood, but she made no move forward to place them there again.

"Karr," she said sadly.

The shivering stopped as soon as her hands were off the hood, but instead of running away Karr stayed put.

"Karr, it's alright," Lizzie said, sitting on her knees, jeans digging into the dirty ground.

The vehicle inched forward towards her slowly, ever so slowly, while Lizzie looked at him cautiously.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she said, being careful to keep her hands within sight of his scanners.

Karr came forward until he was almost too close to her for comfort. The front of his hood was almost touching the top of her head-but that was far better than being feet away. Still, it was a little awkward.

"Karr?" She said, trying not to move and also trying not to laugh, "Personal space, pal."

The black vehicle paused, but instead of moving back he inched forward just a little more. Lizzie stayed absolutely still, and tried not to move when she felt the hood connect with her head.

"Are you going anywhere with this?" She asked, trying to place laughter in her voice.

Silence. She could hear the sound of the scanner up against her head. A few people went past them on the path, making a racket; but the bushes hid them both from sight, and Karr didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave her head alone. This was getting creepy. Just what was he doing?

"Did you fall asleep or something?" She asked, expecting one of his famous retorts.

Nothing. No response whatsoever.

Lizzie finally dared to turn her head, and only then did Karr back away from her. Just slightly. As if her movement scared him.

"There," Lizzie said, as quietly and calmly as she could, while repositioning herself into a more comfortable position. "So. How have you been?"

Once again, no response.

"Right," she said, "First order of business, then: find out what's going on."

Still seated on the ground, she slowly and carefully pulled out her cell phone and began dialing Kitt's number. Once again, it cut off before the dial tone.

"Maybe if I send a text," she said, typing in "With Karr-come right away" into her cell phone. She addressed it to Kitt and pressed send.

Error: Message Undeliverable. Message Deleted.

She tried sending it to everyone she knew at FLAG, but each time, the result was the same.

"That's Kitt for you," Lizzie said, momentarily forgetting that she needed to be calm and quiet, "He's very thorough."

She looked up at Karr. "Can you bypass his phone block so I can get a message through?"

She almost didn't expect a response, but this time she got one. Karr began shaking even more violently than before.

"Hey, wait, calm down," Lizzie said, jumping up and touching his hood again, "I'm sorry! You don't have to do it if you don't want to-"

She made her mistake by touching him. Karr wrenched himself away from her, and she fell onto the ground.

"Right," she said, spitting out a blade of grass or two as she got up, "No touching. Sorry."

Karr was still there, at least. He hadn't run away, but he was shaking again.

"Karr," Lizzie said, stepping forward. Karr took an equal drive backwards, keeping her at a distance.

Lizzie stopped, and frowned. Just what was she going to do? Maybe Karr could clue her in.

"I have no idea what to do," she told him, "What happened to you? How can I help?"

Karr didn't make a move. It was clear to Lizze now that he didn't trust her, at least not fully. Worse, he definitely didn't recognize her. Just what had happened to him on that mission of his? Did Kitt know this had happened?

Karr began slowly backing up. Lizzie decided to just pretend she couldn't see him. Maybe then he would come back and trust her again. And if he didn't? Well, she would cross that bridge when she came to it. She curled her legs up to her face so that she couldn't see him, and waited.

She didn't know if he could tell when she started to cry.