"I can not do this delicate work, with such a dangerous machine just under foot," Vorman said firmly to Bonnie.

The man had literally gone from being intrigued with the Rover as he rolled in, to absolute horror so quickly that Karr swore he might have whiplash. As impossible as that was, the man had been fascinated with him just a short while ago… Not so much now.

"Dr. Vorman, I understand your history with Karr, but he's not a threat to anyone as he is. I have barriers in place that work with his programming that will keep him from hurting anyone and frankly… The Rover is not exactly menacing, he goes five miles an hour and he's top heavy."

Rude…

But true…

Karr didn't particularly want to deal with the drama at that moment. He had finally managed to put out the last of the fires that the multiple corrections from earlier had managed to cause and all he wanted to do was try to connect to Kitt and just assure himself that the younger AI was still there.

Of course Vorman couldn't let that happen. The man's attention had been caught the moment Karr rolled in. Karr attempted to be pleasant and cordial, which the man found intriguing and fascinating which had led to questions… Vorman had been so fascinated with him, poking at his camera and examining his boxy frame when he didn't know who was in it.

Bonnie hadn't even looked up when she answered Vorman with a dismissive, "Oh that's Karr. He'll probably just park under the workbench."

That was all it took to set the man off and at the moment it had brought work to a screeching halt. Techs and scientists watched the exchange carefully as Bonnie sighed and turned away from the Monitor, giving Vorman her full attention.

"My history with this AI is not what is in question here, Dr. Barstow. It's dangerous and we are already under a stressful timeline with bringing the Knight 2000 back online.-" Vorman would have gone on if Bonnie didn't bring up a hand to cut him off, sighing heavily as she nodded.

She wouldn't have caved. No one told her what to do in her lab. However, as long as Vorman was standing there throwing a fit, work wasn't getting done on Kitt.

"Karr, leave the Lab please. Stay outside for now." She instructed.

Oh he was so hiding her favorite wrench for this…

That camera focused on Bonnie for a moment, then back to Vorman in what he hoped was seen as a proper death glare before turning without another word and rolling his way out of the lab. He couldn't afford another correction that would further damage his CPU and he would like to have kept what little dignity he had intact…

He rolled out into the hallway, pincher arms pulling in and camera ducking down so that he could roll his way under a work table that had been shoved off to the side.

Michael was already out there. A few parts had been tossed into the hallway for safekeeping when the lab got too crowded. One of those being a standard steering component from a Trans-Am. Michael was leaning against it, looking vaguely towards the door with a rather far away expression.

"Mr. Knight?" Kathy's voice caused Michael to give a jump and for Karr to go instantly on high alert. If she knew she had startled them, she didn't comment on it. "There's a young lady here with photographs involving your case for you to take a look at. I have her waiting in Devon's office."

"Thanks Kathy" He offered, a quick nod given as the man pulled himself out of whatever memories he had been reviewing. The way that humans seemed to pull up memories, often confused Karr.

Michael dropped his hand and gave Karr's boxy frame a fond pat before following Kathy. Karr's camera swiveled back to the lab, another electronic whine given out.

Kitt was right there, but he might as well have been a thousand miles away.

xXx

As it turned out, almost dying was like coming out of a fog. Kitt couldn't really say what had happened. He had vague memories of the uncomfortable feeling of being lifted off of his wheels. He always hated that…

He remembered fear and panic…

He remembered hearing Michael's fear.

He remembered calling for Michael then… Then what?

His circuits were so corrupted… In all honesty, those memories might never come back. They might never clear up. What he had to go on was reports. He had been dropped into acid… That alone was enough to throw him off. So he knew what happened and how it happened. When he read the part about the forklift he remembered vaguely the feeling of being lifted off of his wheels. When he read about calling out for Michael he remembered the terror of seeing that pit coming closer and closer. Had he scanned it beforehand? Did he know what it was? He didn't even know…

It was difficult to navigate though. He was learning the updated circuitry of a CPU he wasn't entirely familiar with after so many components had been replaced… It was like a new space, even though it wasn't. The few corrupted chips they had managed to salvage was what kept him tethered and sane to his own CPU.

It made his mind sluggish, even though he should be running at top notch.

He could hear Bonnie speaking. She told him how well he was doing. It took everything he had to answer her. Giving the information she was asking for and she was pleased with that. Because she knew how hard it was for him to answer. For him to gather himself into a single task and act on it. How spread out he was at the moment.

She told him Michael was nearby and that he wanted to say hello.

He could hear Michael talking to him then. He could hear the man's cheerful voice as if everything was alright. He knew his driver well enough to know the man was putting on a brave face for him. Trying to cheer him up. He just couldn't focus enough to reassure the man that he was there.

Slowly, he reached out to connect to the temporary voice box that Bonnie set up for him. His voice was weak, but he forced it through.

"Hello… Michael…"

Two little words that took absolutely everything he had to even say.

"Heeey, there he is!" Michael said, relief flooding his voice. "How about it? Are you ready for a little Turbo Boost? Hit the road and pull a few 180's?"

Kitt faltered at that, for a moment his CPU running overtime. Was he connected to the car? Could he follow that instruction? His mind was still so fragmented…

"Kitt I was just kidding," Michael assured after a moment or two. Kitt struggled to answer the man. "Kitt?" He asked again, his voice laced with concern.

"I am sorry Michael." He managed to get out, his voice slow and to the point. Every word was forced and calculated. The changes were so overwhelming that it was taking everything he had to focus enough to talk to his driver. "I guess my humor mode needs more work."

He couldn't see Michael to be able to judge his reaction, though the man was silent for the moment.

He listened to what was going on around him. The constant work and people moving around that had been a white noise in the background was gone.

The steady shuffling that told him that Bonnie was at her computer was absent. Had she left? Where was she? Panic was beginning to well up. He was helpless like this and for the moment, his family were the only ones he trusted enough to keep him safe. Michael was right there but… He wanted Bonnie.

He couldn't explain it but he wanted Bonnie.

"Where's Bonnie? Did Bonnie leave?" He forced out, his voice a touch stronger with the building panic and concern that laced it.

"No, no she's just outside." Michael assured the Trans-Am. "As a matter of fact there's a lot of people anxious to get back in here and get back to work. She tells me you're doing great though! You'll be back on your wheels in no time. You're gonna pull through this. I just wanted to come in and see you."

Kitt relaxed a bit, his CPU settling with the reassurance that his people were still there. Michael was there. Bonnie was there. He was safe.

"Yes… Michael…" Kitt managed to get out.

"I'll see you soon, ok?"

Michael was leaving. He tried to fight down the rising panic. That was doing him no good. Michael had things to do. Things that did not revolve around a mangled car. He had a case to solve. He needed to stop holding the man back.

He just didn't want him to go…

"Goodbye Michael." Kitt said slowly, with some effort.

Kitt tried to force his CPU to settle once more. He could hear distant voices again. Michael and Bonnie. Bonnie's sharp tone told him that she was not happy. They were arguing. About him? Had he done something wrong?

After a few minutes he could hear Bonnie's voice close to him again. Just like that, the short reprieve from repairs was done. He could hear work going on around him. Commands were sent to him via keyboards and he did his best to respond.

He was so tired…

He needed to keep fighting to stay afloat though.

If he let go now, his CPU would fragment. He wasn't stable enough. He could still start to degrade into code.

The memory of safety and someone keeping him from going under tugged at his CPU.

He wished that presence would come back.

xXx

Karr backed up quickly as the door to the lab swung open, nearly smacking the Rover in the process. He quickly reversed, back under the work table he had turned into his hide-out of sorts, his lone camera watching the operative come out, so distracted he stepped around Karr's hiding spot without really seeing him. It had been a couple days now and the Rover was still banned from the labs. So he stayed as close as he could get. He hid under the worktable where he bothered no one and fixed his camera to the door. When it opened, sometimes he could catch glimpses of the progress of his sibling.

That was about all of the updates he had at the moment. He was avoiding hurricane Bonnie for the time and his single attempt to hack into the Knight Industries database and see what was happening had sent Vorman into a tizzy.

"Well?" Bonnie asked, her voice excited as the other scientists moved around her to get back into the room.

Karr didn't like them very much. They were very stern. Two of them were scientists on his own team. He recognized their voices. The way they looked at him told him very clearly they remembered him too. They remembered him and they looked at him like some mad dog that was going to snap at any moment or with the fascination of someone regarding a dissected rat for Karr's new standard of living…

Vorman had gotten him thrown out of the lab first, but they were the reason he was kept out.

They hadn't said he had to clear out of the hallway though. Just the lab. When picking his way around barriers that included obeying all Knight Industries personnel, sometimes leaning in to what was not said, was more important than what was said. The barrier was set up in a way that implied instructions were not something that triggered him. So when Bonnie told him to get out, he left the lab… He had to do so immediately. However, the hallway he was in was not technically part of the lab. However, that camera of his followed every scientist that came out of the lab. He was watching them and they knew it and it was making them nervous.

He rolled back up to the door as it closed again, ignoring Michael and Bonnie for the moment as he lifted his camera up as high as it would go, trying to see through the little window. Trying to get a look at his brother. Reassure himself that the other AI was ok. Nothing had changed in there. Kitt's CPU was settled into a secure casing which was attached to the workbench so that it wouldn't be damaged or moved around. Wires poured out of it, some attached to different machines, some attached to portions that had been taken out of the car they would be putting him back into, as they tried to adjust his CPU to fit back into the system and adjust to its new setting.

The barrier between them still seemed miles away. Distance made it more difficult to connect but usually they could at least talk to one another in another room and especially when still in the line of sight of each other.

His own CPU still had the marks of errors, a burning pain that just wouldn't stop and something that was edging on with the force of what he imagined a migraine would feel like. He couldn't afford any more corrections by deliberately disobeying. Enough damage had been done already.

He couldn't fix that… Bonnie had to do it. He could put out the fires but she had to fix the damage. She set it up that way so that he could never hide that a correction had happened. He had to come to her and admit to what he did.

Currently the result was a mind that was too fragmented on both sides of the barrier to make any attempt at communication. Between the two of them, they were a sad, sad lot.

"It's not him." Michael's soft voice caught his attention, the vehicle instantly rotating his camera around to face the pair. Not him? Of course it was him. Karr had seen the most personal part of Kitt. He put Kitt back in his own CPU himself, it was Kitt!

"What do you mean it's not him? It's him! It's Kitt!" Bonnie insisted.

"It is but it isn't… There's something wrong." Michael clarified.

"Michael, how can you say that?" Bonnie demanded. "Of course it's Kitt! He's still weak and he needs more work! You know what happened to him, how can you be so insensitive?"

Michael sighed, for a moment pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers and shaking his head. "Bonnie, I'm not criticizing you. I'm not criticizing Kitt. I'm just saying-"

"He's not finished yet!" Bonnie yelled, cutting Michael off. "He still needs more work! What do you expect, jokes and pratfalls? Of course there's something wrong, everything about this entire situation is wrong! He needs time!"

She didn't wait for Michael's answer. She turned on a heel, striding quickly towards the door. Karr backed up quickly, but he wasn't entirely fast enough as she snatched open the door, smacking his boxy frame in the process.

"Damn it Karr! I told you to stay out of the damn way!" Bonnie snapped, striding her way into the lab.

She had… The problem was that it was such a vague order that it wasn't something Karr could immediately obey. What was out of the way? What did she consider out of the way? Direct orders with direct instructions were better but it was hard to explain that to the humans. As it was, there was no way Karr could actually obey that one to the satisfaction of the barriers in his CPU. The correction came in so fast it drew a yelp from the AI as he quickly rolled back to the relative safety he had found under the workbench.

Moving appeased the barrier so the correction in his CPU was quick to die down to a dull ache rather than the sharp pain it had been. That stung a little more than he wanted to admit and it wasn't the correction that did it.

Michael sighed deeply as he watched Bonnie storm her way back into the lab, looking a little indecisive. As if he wanted to go after her. Well someone needed to. The AI in the room couldn't so the human needed to get his ass in gear, or so thought the AI. Nobody asked for the AI's opinion though.

Of course the operative didn't. Instead he turned, walking to the workbench where said AI was parked, brooding and generally hating the current situation and everything attached to it.

Michael came to a stop just infront of Karr and for a moment Karr focused on the far to close human.

People really needed to consider just how Karr saw the world when he was hiding like that. Because for a moment, the only view of Michael he had was of his legs and crotch. One of the high stools of the raised bench was shoved out of the way and slowly the operative crouched down so he could see Karr.

"Hey buddy. How's it goin'?" He asked, watching Karr for a moment.

Karr only gave out a mournful, electronic whine and lowered his camera until it settled on his boxy frame, both pincher arms pulled in close.

Michael gave out a soft sigh, for a moment his face was not exactly readable. Karr still had trouble with expressions sometimes. He was fairly certain the man looked… Thoughtful perhaps…

"She didn't mean anything by it, Buddy. She's just upset. Cut her some slack, ok?" Michael offered softly and Karr lifted his camera just a bit to focus on the man.

He didn't really know what to say to that.

Michael gave out a soft sigh and scooted his way under the workbench, flopping down beside Karr. He somewhat resembled a spider as he folded those long legs underneath him. "How are you doin' there Karr? You've been kinda quiet through this."

Karr tipped his camera towards Michael, for a moment focusing on the man. Muddling through human expressions and just what they expected of him was difficult without being able to run it by Kitt first. Hell half the time he didn't understand what he himself was feeling, so how was he supposed to know what Michael was thinking when he asked that?

"I am… Displeased with Kitt's absence." Karr decided and Michael nodded.

"Yeah, me too. You miss him." Michael clarified and Karr thought about that for a moment. Did he? He did… Of course he was concerned that Kitt would not come back. However, it was more a general want to see the other AI. He didn't like being separated from him. He didn't like that he couldn't assure himself that Kitt was still present.

"I do not know. Kitt… Usually explains to me what my thoughts are on an event." Karr said slowly, causing Michael to smirk.

"Yeah?" He asked and Karr focused his camera on the operative's face.

"He helps me read human faces as well. Sometimes he tells me when a human is using what you call… Sarcasm." Karr ventured and Michael nodded as if he understood.

"He's been helping you read expressions and express how you feel about something," Michael clarified.

"Yes, I suppose that is true." Karr reasoned, a long pause then given. "Being without him is very unpleasant… It is different when I know he is coming back. But this time he could have been permanently deactivated."

"It scared you," Michael offered and Karr seemed to think about that.

"Yes…" Karr offered slowly.

"Yeah, I was pretty scared too," Michael admitted. "He was calling for me… He was calling for me and I couldn't help him. I couldn't…"

Michael faded off, a ragged sigh let out as he brought up a hand, wiping away the moisture that gathered at his eyes, a few deep breaths taken. "I couldn't help him when he needed me."

"It was impossible for you to help him," Karr pointed out. "Kitt knew that. He knows that. In that moment he was afraid enough that he forgot. However, he is a logical being and knows that you would have helped him had you been able."

Michael huffed out a soft chuckle at that. "Leave it to the computer to make the most sense."

"Of course," Karr pointed out as if that was obvious. "My logic is flawless. Humans are the ones who are flawed."

Michael gave a smirk, soft laugh let out as he reached over to pat Karr's boxy frame.

"I can not connect to him." Karr said after a time, which had Michael giving a confused look.

"Connect?"

Karr hesitated as he struggled for a way to explain it to a non-computerized mind, the AI struggling a bit as he spoke. "We can form a channel between us. We speak that way frequently when we are close. Through that, we can share information and data."

"What kind of information?" Michael asked, a concerned look crossing his expression.

Karr hesitated for a moment, the vehicle focusing on Michael for a long time before answering. "It is difficult to explain to a non-cybernetic mind but I will try." Karr offered and Michael nodded slowly.

"That's all I can ask for." Michael reasoned.

Karr hesitated again before going on, speaking slowly as he tried to put it into words he felt a human would understand. "A few weeks ago, Kitt asked me a question. He wished to know what Wilton was like when I knew him." Karr explained. Michael arched a brow in surprise but he didn't say anything.

"Through this channel, I was able to share memories of the man that I knew." Karr explained and Michael nodded slowly. "For you, this is impossible. For us, it is as simple as transferring a file."

"So he can see your memories?" Michael asked.

"Only if I allow him to and vice versa. We have boundaries that will not be crossed. I can not read his mind if that is what you are asking. However, I can see how he perceives a situation." Karr tried to explain and Michael gave the vehicle an odd look.

"How so?"

"If we are close there are certain things that broadcast across the barrier that separates us. I can not accidentally cross into his CPU, nor can he access mine without a great effort. However, if we are close to the barrier… I can perceive his reactions to events." At Michael's confused look, Karr tried to clarify that a bit more. "I can perceive his reaction if he finds something pleasing or distasteful… If something distresses him. When our CPUs are close and connected via a network, it is as if there is a fence between us. We can not cross the fence. However, we can pass things through it. So if I were to give him a file across the fence, he would be able to take it and vice versa. If he reacts a certain way to something I have said, I can see it because I can essentially see his expression."

"You can see his emotions." Michael clarified.

"We are computers, we do not feel emotions." Karr scolded gently.

"You keep telling yourself that, Karr. If you didn't have feelings, you wouldn't be parked under this work bench because Bonnie hurt them." Michael pointed out.

Karr paused for a long moment at that, the vehicle turning something over in his CPU as Michael watched him. "It is very unfortunate that you think that, Michael."

"Why?" Michael asked, a bit of confusion crossing his expression.

"Because… For an AI… Being abnormal of what is programmed and expected, can be dangerous." Karr reasoned. That had Michael giving a concerned look.

"Why do you say that? Has someone threatened you? What happened?" Michael asked, concerned and measured irritation to his voice.

Had he crossed a line? Michael was someone he didn't deal with as much as he did Devon or Bonnie or even Kitt. The man was someone who rarely stopped moving. However, the operative had been kind to him since bringing his CPU back that day in the desert… What made him angry now?

His camera sank down a bit, the AI quickly reviewing his conversation in his CPU.

"Hey… Hey, Karr it's alright." Michael instantly added. Apparently the Rover was a bit more expressive than Karr thought. "I'm not upset with you. If someone hurt you, I just want to know about it so I can handle it, alright?"

Karr's camera refocused on Michael's face. So the anger was not directed at him, but at the one who might have hurt him?

After a moment of no answer, Michael sighed, a nod given.

"We're coming back to that. But tell me about you two connecting… So you two can talk to each other? Kitt mentioned something like that. When we first brought you back here." Michael clarified. "He said that was the best way to contact you but it could be dangerous."

"Yes, I suppose it could be dangerous. We could deal each other a serious amount of damage on that plane of existence if we tried. It takes a considerable measure of trust. Granted the effort it takes to cross that barrier isn't to be taken lightly. It was the only way we could communicate for a time. Kitt kept me company while I tried to make a choice. When I eventually crashed, he caught me." Karr explained and Michael frowned deeply.

"Caught you? How do you mean he caught you?"

"I believe he did as I did. I have no memory of that time and I believe… It is because I was not in my CPU. He pulled me out of it when my CPU fragmented." Karr clarified and Michael if possible looked even more confused.

"Kitt kept you safe when you crashed…" Michael mused that confusion slowly clearing as he thought about it for a moment.

"Yes," Karr agreed.

Michael nodded slowly, a frown crossing his expression. "So… When Kitt was hurt the other day… We couldn't get an answer from either of you. Kitt's… Whatever it was that Bonnie was looking at… CPU integrity she called it. That dropped to nothing so…"

"I caught him." Karr explained. "Kitt could no longer survive in his own CPU. I pulled him into mine until his was repaired. I can not tell you of my experience. However, I can tell you of Kitt's. Not how he perceived it, but how I perceived him. Memories can be backed up. However, if something happens to our core… The strand of data that makes us… Ourselves… That can not be replaced. Kitt had to be protected from the corruption of his CPU."

Michael opened and closed his mouth a few times as if starting to say something, then changing his mind. For a long moment he seemed to stare off into nothing. "And when you say you can't connect right now?" Michael then asked slowly.

"Both of our CPUs have suffered damage. Kitt is still recalibrating into the new components of his CPU which makes it… Difficult for him to extend much further than what he is doing." Karr explained and at Michael's confused look he paused and rephrased that. "Kitt is under a lot of stress. Data is coming in from all directions because the components of his CPU are not the same. He is learning his own CPU. Kitt has little ability to focus on much of anything outside of that task. This is why he is so slow to answer." After a moment's thought Karr seemed to come to a conclusion, his camera refocusing on Michael.

"Imagine… Being here in the mansion. However, you walk in one day to find that someone has completely rearranged it. Rooms are not where they should be, furniture has been moved around… You would have difficulty finding anything," Karr pointed out.

A dawning look of realization crossed Michael, then confusion as he glanced over to Karr. "Wait, you said both of our CPUs…"

"My CPU has been corrected. The fires have been put out, but the damage will need to be repaired by Dr. Barstow." Karr explained and Michael gave him a rather startled look.

Michael frowned deeply, a concerned look crossing his expression. "When were you corrected?"

"When I pulled Kitt from his CPU, I shut off all outside distractions. During this time, I was given orders that queued. I could not give them attention at that moment because any distraction might have separated me from Kitt's presence." Karr explained. "That was not possible. Away from his CPU, Kitt had no memories. He did not know who he was, who I was or what was happening. I could entertain him with my own memories… That was the extent of what I could do to offer comfort. If I allowed myself to be distracted by the outside world, he would have been alone. Which would have been very much like the dark place."

Michael was clearly trying to work that through his head as he nodded slowly, silently resting a hand on Karr's frame as he thought, fingers idly drumming against the metal.

"Bonnie barks out orders when she's upset…" Michael muttered, almost to himself. The Operative gave out a deep sigh, seeming to decide something as he nodded sharply and unfolded himself from the space under the workbench. "Alright. What do you need to do to be able to talk to Kitt?"

"I need to be physically close to his CPU." Karr responded and Michael nodded again.

"Alright then, come on." The operative held out a hand expectantly. Karr lifted his camera, focusing on the man's hand then up to his face, more than a little confused. It was an order that caused a barrier to buzz to life but it was so vague…

"Come where?"

"We're going to see Kitt." Michael stated firmly.

"But Dr. Barstow said-"

"You let me handle Dr. Barstow." Michael stated firmly, cutting Karr off. "Don't make me, make it an order, I don't want to do that."

Karr hesitated a moment longer as he considered that. "I am under orders from Dr. Barstow. I need a new order to override it."

Michael frowned but he still nodded. "Alright… Come out from under the workbench. You will then follow me back into the labs and stay with Kitt."

Well that worked for him.

Karr quickly rolled his way forward, out from under the workbench. Michael reached down and grabbed one of his pincher hands, holding it in his own and pulled the Rover along.

Michael had a habit of doing that he noticed. Holding one of those pincher hands and guiding Karr along like a human child. It should have probably irritated him, but it never did. It was comforting somehow.

As Michael came into the lab, activity stopped, a surprised glance given his way. Bonnie shot the man a look, standing up to send him out again, though Michael was quick to cut her off before she got going.

"Nope, not happening Bonnie. I know you're upset. I'm upset. Hell everybody is upset and stressed and tired. You can yell at me all you want but you don't get to be a bitch just because you're upset. Not to Karr when he didn't do a damn thing to you." Michael snapped, causing Bonnie to give the man a startled look.

"Go on Karr, get where you need to be." Michael instructed, letting go of the Rover's pincher hand. Karr wasn't going to argue with that. Before anyone changed their minds, he dodged around cables and scooted under the workbench that Kitt's CPU was secured to. It was a spider web of cables pouring from it, the CPU itself still on a form of 'life support.'

"Michael what the hell you can't just-" Bonnie was saying though Michael was having none of it.

"The hell I can't! The hell I can't! Leave the AI alone. Leave the AI alone and if Vorman over there so much as looks at him, I'll show him the door myself." Michael snapped. Vorman gave a snort of indignation but Michael ignored him.

If looks could kill, Michael would have burst into flames right then as Bonnie leveled an even gaze at the man, clearly unimpressed.

"Michael you are not going to come into my lab, disrupt work at a very delicate time, throw your wait around like some pig-headed-"

"Karr saved Kitt's life, Bonnie," said Michael, firmly. "He saved Kitt's life and you've been treating him like crap. You and I need to talk."

Bonnie was silent for a long moment as if trying to process that. "Take a break guys." She said softly to the other techs and scientists.

Michael arched a brow and turned on a heel, headed for Bonnie's office. Bonnie gained a rather sour expression and followed. Around the lab, scientists placed bets on which one of them would actually walk out of there alive.

Karr ignored all of them, instead reaching out to find Kitt's CPU. On the outside he fell silent, his camera lowering and resting against the boxy frame of the Rover. A light blinked to show he was still online, though his attention was away from it. Those pincher arms folded in like a grasshopper. It took a little searching. Kitt's CPU wasn't exactly the same as it had been before. It was unfamiliar. It took some work and it would have been much easier if he had a network connection, but eventually he found what he was looking for.

/Kitt?/ Karr called out across the barrier.

For a long moment there was silence. He felt it when Kitt approached the barrier. He could see the exhaustion, fear… Everything. Kitt was just barely holding himself together. He was perched right on the edge of a major system crash but he was hanging in there.

/You came back/ Kitt said after a time, his voice sounding pleased.

/I'm sorry I left./ Karr responded, the AI approaching the barrier and pressing against it. He thought he lost this. He thought he lost his brother. For a moment, the very clear reality of losing the first person to show him any kind of mercy… His little brother. The only other one like him. The only one who could understand exactly what he was and who he was. /I missed you./

On the other side he felt a pressure as Kitt pressed against his side of the barrier. So close they could almost cross it. Briefly blurring the border to pull each other into as close as they could come to a tight hug.

In the lab data lines calmed, alarms stopped chirping for every little thing. Joel frowned as one of the other scientists stepped up just behind him. "Amazing… That's the calmest I've seen Kitt's CPU all night…" Joel muttered softly.

The pair glanced at the workbench where Karr sat, the lights on Kitt's CPU having calmed to a steady blink.

At the barrier, Karr rest against the resistance between their CPUs, Kitt resting against the other side, his CPU settling into a lower power.

/You need rest./ Karr prodded. /Your CPU is near ready to fragment./

/So is yours/ Kitt pointed out.

/Maybe but I'm used to it. You're not. Power down. We'll hold each other up./

Kitt complied, for a moment his way overtaxed CPU powering down to the barest of essentials.

/I am afraid./ Kitt muttered softly and Karr gave out a soft, electronic whine.

/Me too…/ Karr sent back.