Chibi lay awake in the truck, staring at the ceiling. He had calmed somewhat from before, but he was still confused. He still couldn't understand what he was feeling, but the more he felt it, the more he liked it. He soon found himself welcoming the feeling. Is this what love felt like?

Is that what it is? Did he love Leah?

He shook his head almost pitifully. How cliché. In all the stories he'd ever heard, all of them seemed to have some romantic subplot. He and Leah just had a special connection. They both reveled in making others happy, and they both enjoyed nature. They were both kind and quiet, they were both introverted, they were both brave in hard situations, and they just...seemed to agree. They had certain differences, like Leah was insecure while Chibi is proud of himself, but those only seemed to make their bond stronger. After all, EVE and WALL-E were an unlikely match, but it's clear that they love each other very much.

He was jolted from his thoughts when he saw a flash of orange in his vision. He pretended to be asleep while Leah looked around, quietly slipping out of the truck and into the early morning mist.

What is she doing up? Chibi wondered to himself. He scrambled onto his feet and climbed to the hole in the roof, using his radar before she could get too far away. Leah gasped, turning to the familiar signal.

"Chibi!" she hissed, "What are you doing!? You're gonna wake everyone!"

No! he signed. He crossed his arms, but not before pointing firmly at himself and then at her.

"No! You can't come with me!" Leah quietly scolded him, "Why are you awake anyway?"

He ignored the question, instead daring to try something drastic. He took out his radar, challenging her.

"You wouldn't..."

He glared at her, as if to say, Try me.

"Chibi, I'm begging you; put the radar away, and go back to sleep."

He didn't budge.

"Chibi, I won't repeat myself." Leah's patience was wearing thin, "This is something only I can do. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I don't want you getting involved where you could be in danger. I..." she paused, looking for the right words, "...I...I really care about you, Chibi..."

Chibi's expression changed from angry to sad, but he still wouldn't move.

"Chibi..."

He finally put the radar away, just so he could show his No! sign again and hold it there.

They stared at each other for a long time.

"Fine! You can come!" Leah replied, almost desperately, "Just please! Don't wake anyone up!"

Chibi broke his glare and put his sign away. He carefully let Leah pick him up, and she held him close to her.

"Please be quiet." Leah told him, zooming off, "And please keep yourself calm. This is a stealth mission."

Leah fiddled with the door before it swiftly opened up to her, "I know it's dangerous here without the others, but I don't want anyone to get hurt." she whispered just loud enough for him to hear, "I've already figured this whole place out, so it would be faster if I just did it on my own."

Are you sure that's a good idea? Chibi thought.

They were back in the ship, traversing the dark corridors that reeked of oil and burnt metal. Chibi's metal skin was crawling.

"Okay." Leah breathed, right in his ear, "I need you to cooperate with me, Chibi. Don't make a sound."

Not that he was loud, but he nodded regardless.

"Good." she pushed an old door slowly, cringing when the hinges squeaked, "Almost..."

And then they were in. Chibi couldn't believe his eyes.

Just beyond the door was a giant machine in the middle of a room that was four stories tall. It was huge and mechanic, and it smelled strongly of gasoline. Glowing liquid metal flowed in one side and killer robots were pouring out the other side. gears and gadgets were spinning and cranking, while dials were whirling and turning. It was a huge industrial factory.

"Oh..." Leah narrowed her eyes, "We have to shut it down. Ready, Chibi?"

He didn't respond at first, but quickly displayed his Yes! sign.

Leah gave a slight nod, hovering to the railing along one side of the walkway. The machine seemed to dig into the floor underneath them, suggesting it was connected to the rest of the ship somehow. What kind of starliner had this kind of machine in it anyway? What was Shelby Forthright thinking when this ship was built?

Leah explored the room as best she could without being spotted, though that was tricky seeing as their sightlines limited Leah's maneuverability. While this was happening, Chibi watched Leah expression. She was extremely nervous, her digital "eyelids" pressed down in silent worry. There were numerous times where she had to stop and calm herself because she was shaking violently. They finally found the master control room and Leah set Chibi down so she could type.

"Okay...the quantum conductor is at 300%..." she was mumbling, "This is dangerous, but we can manage...um..." she paused her typing as she frowned, "Wait...this isn't right...abort..."

Chibi watched her fingers move. Again, she had that uneasiness to her.

"Almost got it..." she squinted in concentration, "Aaand...there!"

"All systems shutting down."

"Cool. Let's go, Chibi..."

There was a sound in the hallway.

Leah gasped, peeking out of the room, "Crap!" she grabbed Chibi and noticed some white machines along one wall. With no time to think, she went over there to hide among them, "Chibi, I'm going to put you in my stasis chamber! Don't move! I'm extremely ticklish!" the next thing he knew, he was swept up in a stasis beam and surrounded by white.

He held as still as he could. Leah went into her dormant form while a small robot resembling a GO-4 attended the keyboard. They were lucky it wasn't a robot with better senses. Meanwhile, Chibi was trying so hard to stay still, but he had to move around. He was always restless when he had to stay stationary, even when it wasn't for very long. He couldn't help it, his foot slid.

Leah felt it, and tried to stifle a laugh. The GO-4 didn't hear, but the jostling motion just caused Chibi to move more and more. Finally, the GO-4 left, closing the door behind him.

Leah ejected Chibi from her chamber, "HAHAHAHAAA! Chibi! I told you to hold sti-i-iiil!"

He had landed on his front. He spun around and listened to her laughter. It was such a beautiful robotic melody. He would have sighed if he had a voice.

"Ha ha haaa...oh...okay..." Leah rubbed her visor, "Let's just get out of here, and whatever you do, never tell my sisters that I'm ticklish! They'd never let me hear the end of it..."

He made a smooth motion across his face with his hand, under his eyes.

"Good...now let's get out of here..."