CURRENT DATE: July 30, 2299. 23:30 hours.

Aura and Maxim were sitting at the top of a small hill just outside of the base, looking at the stars. They often spent entire evenings watching the night sky atop the hill, and had already been outside for the last three hours. "Isn't it beautiful, Maxim?" Aura said, pointing to the sky.

"It sure is, but it's not as beautiful as you." Maxim held Aura's hand.

Aura turned light pink and giggled slightly. "Not here! Someone will hear us."

"So? Does it embarrass you when I say that I like you?"

"Of course not! But you know Metal Storm and Skids. They'd be bugging us for weeks about it if they heard us. Let's just sit here quietly and look at the stars."

"Okay, okay."

"The sky is so peaceful. A nice diversion from fighting all the time."

"The night sky is the only peaceful thing left on this planet, thanks to the war," Maxim responded angrily.

"Yes, the war has definitely ruined... hey, look at that!"

"What?"

"Over there. A shooting star."

Maxim looked to where Aura was pointing. "Looks more like a falling star, uh, actually, it's a meteor." Maxim had barely finished his sentence when the object disappeared from view behind the mountain on which the base was built. Seconds later, there was a sudden flash of light followed by a loud boom.

"It's a meteorite, now."

"Don't get technical on me, Aura. I know what it's called."

"Sorry, just refreshing your memory. You know, that sure seemed close. I wonder where it landed."

Maxim stood up. "Well, we can go find out. The computer will have monitored it and recorded where it landed."

"I didn't mean right now."

"We've been outside for quite awhile. We should probably go back anyway."

Aura sighed and got up off the ground. "All right. Let's go."

Within a few seconds, Aura and Maxim were back inside the base. "Metal Storm, did the computer record where that meteor, I mean, meteorite, just crashed to the ground?"

"Actually, Maxim, it is a meteor before it hits the ground."

Maxim gave Aura a dark look, which made her laugh. "Excuse me. My mistake, again."

Metal Storm was sitting on the floor, underneath the main computer working. The computer's access panel was open and wires were sticking out. "Meteor? So that's what the noise was."

"Well? Did the computer record it?"

Metal Storm got to his feet and an annoyed expression formed on his face. "Does it look like it? Traxx and I have been trying to get the computer working all night. Traxx just went to get a couple of tools, and will be back in a moment."

"I thought you two fixed the computer last night."

"We did. Physically, the computer's fine. But it just keeps displaying gibberish on the screen every time we try to access it. Tech thinks the power surge may have corrupted the da... data, but he hasn't dis... discovered the cau... cause of the surge."

"Are you all right Metal Storm?"

"I'm n... not sure. All of a sud... sudden I fe... feel re... really..." before he could finish, Metal Storm fell to the ground, motionless.

"Metal Storm!"

"Report, Volt," an angry Magma ordered.

"Cyclone and Terrapin are completely nonfunctional. Slash, Shroud and Thunder all have the same symptoms that Cyclone and Terrapin showed earlier. There is still no explanation, but it is likely linked to the data and that explosion."

"Of course it is! Nothing else has happened around here. I can't believe that Shadow Force would do something like this!"

"What make you think it was them? Attacking us like this would be dishonourable. It is unlikely that Shadow Force would ever commit such an act."

"Who's side are you on?! Besides, who else could it have been?"

"I can't answer that, sir."

"Well find out!" Magma screamed. "Continue with the analysis until you can give me an answer."

"Yes, sir." Volt backed up and out the door of Magma's office.

Magma looked up at the ceiling and pounded his fist on his desk "You'll pay for this, Ace! I refuse to be defeated by some invisible, unknown force!"

Ace walked into the repair lab, where Surefire and Tech were working. "How's Traxx?"

Surefire looked up from his work to respond. "Exactly the same as Metal Storm. It appears to have happened almost at the same time, too."

"Do you know what is causing this?"

"All I know is that it is disrupting the circuit pathways. And that the damage will eventually become irreversible."

"Tech, do you know what it is?"

"No, I don't. I think it has something to do with the data we got from the data storage library, and possibly that overload in the computer. Unfortunately, the computer is useless right now."

"Keep me advised." Ace turned around and left the room.

"Surefire, I'm going to go to my lab. The computer in there is independent of the main one. I'll have a better chance of figuring out what is going on from there."

"No problem. I'll continue working here."

"You know where to find me if you need anything."

As the door shut behind Tech, Surefire got up and walked over to the table with his tools on it. He reached down for the microscanner when he suddenly noticed his hand was shaking. "Oh no. I can't af... afford to get this n... now."

"Volt, have you found anything yet?"

"Nothing yet, Magma. And the situation's getting worse. Cube, Diamond, and Aero are the only ones other than us that are still functional."

"I never thought it would come to this." Magma paused before continuing, "Gather up everyone who's left. We're going to take a little trip to Shadow Force HQ."

"Sir?"

"You heard me! I am not going to simply sit here and wait until we're all incapacitated. If Ace doesn't tell me what he's done, I'll make sure that he goes down with me."

"Sir, I already told you that I don't think it was Shadow..."

"Silence!" Magma growled. "It could not have been anyone else. Now, call the others and tell them that we are leaving right away."

"Yes, sir," Volt replied quietly.

"I will make you pay for this, Ace. I swear, I'll make you pay," Magma said silently to himself.

"That's it!" Tech exclaimed, running out of his lab.

"What's it?" a startled Ace asked.

"I know what's going on."

"That's great. Let me call everyone in here." Ace walked over to the intercom. "Everyone to the main control room, immediately."

The Shadow Force members quickly filed into the room. "Surefire! What's wrong?" Ace cried, noticing that he was moving very slowly.

"It's... it's this... affliction. I'm afraid it has me as well."

"That's what this meeting is about. Tech says he knows what it is." Ace looked in Tech's direction. "Please explain."

"The files that were downloaded from the data storage library contained a virus. This virus attacks the circuit pathways, disrupting all electronic functions. It was somehow emitted through an electric pulse the instant someone tried to access the data with the virus in it. The range was at least a kilometre, and the closer we were to the pulse, the quicker the virus will take effect. That's why Metal Storm and Traxx were hit first."

"How long?" Maxim inquired.

"By my calculations, Metal Storm and Traxx will be permanently off-line in about a week. Skids, whom I believe was the farthest away from the pulse when it went off, probably won't even feel the effects for at least a few days."

"Who put it there?" Aura questioned.

Ace spoke up. "I think I can answer that. Dark Shadow. Who else could it have been?"

"There's no basis for thinking that it was Dark Shadow, Ace. I don't know where it came from. It may have been put there when the library was first built. But who put it there is the least of our worries. I have determined that it would probably take me at least a couple of weeks to come up with a way to eliminate the virus."

"We don't have that long, Tech. You just said that Metal Storm and Traxx can only last a week."

"I know. What can we do?"

"The only option we have left. We'll have to go to the Dark Shadow base and get a cure for it."

"You can't be serious!" Maxim shouted.

"If you have a better idea." Maxim shook his head slowly and didn't speak. "I thought so." Ace faced the entire group. "We leave now, before the situation gets worse. Tech, I think you already know that you stay behind. Surefire, you stay behind as well. You're not exactly in a very good position to be travelling."

Surefire and Tech nodded and watched as everyone else left the base. "I still don't think it was Dark Shadow," Tech said silently.

Magma made his way through the mountains towards the Shadow Force base, the remnants of his followers in tow. He had begun to show signs of being affected by the computer virus, and the entire trip he had been ranting about what Shadow Force had done to him and how he was going to make them pay for it. His second-in-command, Volt, tried to reason with him, but to no avail. "I will tear you ap... apart for this, Ace. You will re... regret the day that you tried to destroy Dark Sha... Shadow with this, this infection!"

"Hold it, Magma." Volt said, grabbing him by the shoulder.

"What?"

"I hear something."

"I don't hear... wait, I do hear something. Ace!" Magma's face hardened as Ace and the others appeared over a nearby ridge, walking towards them.

"Ace! What are you do... doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Magma." Ace matched Magma's expression.

"What ha... have you done to us?"

"What?"

"Don't play d... dumb with me, Ace. You've in... infected us with something. Half my team is nonfunctional. Are you too cow... cowardly to challenge me directly?"

"It's a virus. And..."

"Then it was you!" Magma raised his gun and pointed it at Ace, although his hand was shaking.

"No it wa... wasn't. We're in... infected too."

Maxim stared at his leader. "I think you've got it too, Ace."

"I think you're right. But if it wasn't us, or Dark Sh... Shadow, then who was it?"

As if hearing the question, Tech's voice suddenly sounded from Ace's communicator. "Ace, I've got some more infor... information on the vi... virus. I know where it came from and how to stop it."

"You sound terr... terrible Tech."

"You don't sound so hot yourself, Ace."

"Yes, well. Magma has a g... gun pointed at my face, and his hand isn't very steady, so, pl... please hurry up and enlighten us. Where did the virus come fr... from?"

"The humans."

"The humans?!" Magma snarled. "I'm going to le... level that city! Last Haven will soon be `No Haven`!"

"Don't be foolish, Magma. You wou... wouldn't even make it halfway to the city before you collapsed. In fact, Volt is the only one who doesn't look like he's ab... about to fall over."

"My ability to control electricity has slowed the degradation. But it's only a matter of time before it affects me as well.

"Can I fin... finish?" Tech's voice echoed through the communicator.

"Yes. Go ahead."

"I had a talk with Gen... General Vandercol in Last Haven and got all the information I ne... needed."

"Vandercol? He hates us. There's no way he would have vol... voluntarily given up any information."

"He didn't. The hu... human's leader, Jerad Powell owed me a fav... favour, he, uh, persuaded him to talk. Anyway, the vi... virus was put in the data st... storage library when it was first built, almost 80 years ago, before the w... war even started. It was designed to in... infect the computer system of anyone who tr... tried to illegally gain access to the system. It was n... never designed to emit an electric p... pulse the way it did, that was a re... sult of not being able to interface with our eq... equipment."

"Well, th... that clears that up. How do we stop it?"

"A pro... program was created that would elim... eliminate the virus if it became necessary, but, there's a pro... problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"We can't access our com... computer because of the virus, and I know that Dark Shadow wo... won't be able to ac... access their computer either. There is also no way to get the program from the data storage lib... library, since it was de... destroyed in the cave-in."

"Are you telling m... me that there's no way to st... stop it?"

"No. There is a way. Ap... apparently, each of the three data st... storage libraries had their own com... communications array. Until re... recently, Last Haven had been receiving sig... signals from two of them."

"Your point, Tech?"

"This means that one of them is still in... intact and we can get the vi... virus elimination program from it. I was sur... surprised to discover that one of them survived, let alone two."

"Which library is it?"

"High Mountain Data Storage Library."

"High Mountain? That's almost 5,000 ki... kilometres from here! None of us could ever m... make it that far."

"Be th... thankful it wasn't the other l... library. It's even far... farther, but as far as I know, what's left of it is at the b... bottom of the ocean. Anyways, Skids could make it to High Mountain. He's faster than any of us and be... because he was so far away when the p... pulse was emitted, he won't feel the eff... effects of the virus for at least a few days. Volt c... could make it as well, if I was correct in hearing you s... say that he isn't sh... showing any signs of the in... infection yet either."

"Yes, that is cor... correct." Ace's voice lowered to a whisper. "Do you r... really think we could send Sk... Skids and V... Volt together? I mean, none of us are ex...exactly the best of fr... friends."

"Th... there's no oth... other w... way. I... I..." Tech's voice suddenly trailed off.

"Tech? Tech!"

"Th... that's one more down." Ace turned back and looked at Magma. "I have a solution, Magma."

"I heard. I will never a... agree to work with you, Ace."

"Look. I d... don't like it either. But, un... unless you want to just sit ar... around and wait for it to com... completely destroy us, we don't have much of a ch... choice." Magma stood there in thought. "Well, Magma?"

"Ag... agreed. But this is the one and on... only time we will ever work to... together, Ace" Magma faced Volt. "Get that pro... program, Volt. Dark Sh... Shadow must not be defeated by some human-made com... computer virus!"

"Be c... careful, Skids. I don't tr... trust them," Ace warned.

"Don't worry, Ace. I'll watch my back, but somehow I don't think that I'll have any trouble with Volt. I'm more concerned with the strain on our energy reserves. We'll have to travel at top speed for three days non-stop if we're to make it back in time."

"We're counting on you."

"I can do it. What are you going to do in the meantime?"

"Try to m... make it back to the base. Ho... hopefully we can get there before we're all completely in... infected."

"Let's go, Skids," Volt said sternly. The Dark Shadow members turned around and started back towards their base, and Shadow Force turned back towards theirs. Skids and Volt went off in a third direction, heading towards High Mountain Data Storage Library in search of the program that would save them all.

At top speed, Skids could reach upward of 120 kilometres per hour, but unfortunately Volt could not, so Skids had to move much slower. They were averaging 75 kilometres per hour, which was fast enough to make it to the library and back before anyone was permanently disabled, but it was cutting it close. They were almost a third of the way there and the two had spoken very little.

"Volt, can I ask you a personal question?"

"If you wish. I don't guarantee an answer though."

"Why did you join Dark Shadow? You seem different than the other members. The rest of Dark Shadow doesn't seem to care about anything but destruction and chaos."

"I fight for honour, nothing more."

"Honour?" Skids was surprised.

"Yes. Justice, morality, righteousness. I fight for all of these reasons."

Skids' surprise turned to confusion and anger. "Where's the honour in fighting the humans? Where's the morality in fighting us? Where's the righteousness in continuing a war that's lasted for 78 years?!"

"We are not at war with the humans. The fight against the humans ended a long time ago."

"Pardon me. My mistake. But what about the rest of it?"

"Answer me this, Skids. Where's the honour in protecting the humans who used to enslave us?"

"They created us!"

"So we could perform all the menial tasks for them. We were built to make the human's lives easier!"

Skids went silent to think about Volt's arguments, and after a moment something else occurred to him. "Explain to me the honour in fighting your own kind, fighting against those who you used to work with, the robots who were on the same side as you when we fought for our freedom."

It was Volt's turn to be silent. Several minutes had passed before he responded with the simple statement: "I don't expect you to understand." This effectively ended their conversation for the remainder of the day.

It was now the third day of the trip and Volt and Skids were nearing the location of the High Mountain Data Storage Library. The two had managed to maintain the 75 kilometre per hour pace since the previous day, but the strain on their power systems was becoming obvious. Both of them knew that they could not keep up the same speed if either of them started to suffer from the effects of the virus. Fortunately, however, neither one had shown any signs of being affected yet.

"Skids, yesterday you asked me a personal question. I think it should be only fair that I get to ask you one."

"Uh, no problem. What do you want to know?"

"What is it with you and Diamond?"

This was not the question he had expected. Despite knowing exactly what Volt was talking about, Skids wasn't sure how to answer. He never liked talking about his past, as many of the Shadow Force members knew. Lockjaw, the one who had made it abundantly clear that he hated Skids, ironically was the only one who seemed to understand this. "What do you mean?" he responded, feigning confusion.

"Oh, come on. It is very obvious that you two despise each other. I know from experience that you don't like to fight, but both of you act very differently when you're around each other. Diamond is constantly ranting about how you caused him to lose two ranks and almost got him destroyed by Falcon after failing some mission."

"Falcon?" Skids responded, pretending to be confused again. Volt had just given him a piece of information he didn't already know, and wanted a few seconds to process it.

"You should read more history, Skids. Falcon was our former leader. Before Magma, well, physically deposed him and took leadership for himself."

"I know who he is. I was just thinking."

"Well? Are you going to answer my question?"

"The so-called mission occurred a long time ago. Diamond was the leader of a group of five robots that attacked the surveying lab where I was working. There was no reason for the attack, at least no viable reason that I can think of. We were not involved in the war, not doing anything that would prompt an attack. Every human in the building was killed, including my creator; and my best friend, along with every other robot, was destroyed. I was the only one who survived, though just barely. After that I decided that the war was costing us too much and that I would avoid fighting as much as possible. But somewhere in the back of my mind I've always wanted revenge against those robots."

Volt suddenly figured something out. "You weren't supposed to have survived. That was the failure Diamond's always talking about. Falcon did not take failure very well, that was probably why he wanted him destroyed. Although that seems a bit excessive, even for Falcon. I do know that Magma was the one who demoted him, not Falcon. Most likely because Magma didn't want anyone with a record of failure in a high ranking position."

"I feel so sorry for him. I lost my best friend and creator, Diamond got a little scare from his former leader and a double demotion. Sounds fair to me. It's nice to know that he has a reason for hating me just as I do for hating him."

"Fear can be a strong motivator."

"True..." Skids cut himself off. "There it is!" He said, pointing to a mountain in the distance. "High Mountain."

Within minutes they had reached the base of the mountain. "There's the path to the top." Volt looked up. "I can see why it survived. Built at the top of a huge mountain in the middle of nowhere. It is well protected."

"We only have a day to get the information before we have to head back. That is, if we intend to save everybody. And it's going to take a while to get up there, so we had better get started." Volt and Skids headed up the winding dirt road that lead to the top of the mountain and the location of the library.

An hour later, they had reached the top of the mountain. "We're here," a tired Volt stated.

"It will be easier going down. I really need a rest to restore my energy first, though. Hopefully it won't take long to get the file."

From the outside, High Mountain Data Storage Library looked very different than Sandhill Data Storage Library. Volt and Skids figured this was because this structure was built on top of a mountain, and not inside one. As they approached the entrance, however, they discovered that this was not the reason. The building was actually of a totally different design than the other library. After a short trip down a wide hallway they entered a large room with many computers lining the far wall and two doors on each of the side walls. The near wall was lined with familiar boxes labelled `Files`. Volt carefully scanned the room. "This place looks to be in good condition. Far better than it should. The lights are all on, the computers seem to be working, and there is no dust or dirt anywhere."

Skids suddenly heard the sound of a door opening. "What was that?" He turned to face the direction of the noise. The far right door slid open and a orange stream of fire shot overhead. Volt and Skids ducked to avoid the flame, then looked back at the door. The two stood there in utter amazement at what they saw. Three robots whom they had never seen before were now standing in front of them.

"Who, who are you?" Skids stuttered.

The lead robot, bright red in appearance and equipped with what looked like a flame thrower on his right arm, spoke first. "My name is Blaze." He pointed to the two-toned green and white robot on his left who looked like Metal Storm, complete with tail, except his head was very elongated and looked like that of a snake. "This is Asp." Blaze then pointed to a short white coloured robot on his right. "And this is Ricochette. Now, who are you?"

"Skids."

"Volt."

Skids was still in shock. "What are you three doing here? There's not supposed to be any robots left except us and the other few members of Shadow Force and Dark Shadow. Everyone was supposed to have been destroyed."

"We're what is left of a group that chose not to take sides when the war started. There used to be almost 200 of us, but we were attacked and told to choose a side or be eliminated. We hid here, hoping to escape. By then, however, only four of us were left."

"Four? Where's the other?"

Ricochette spoke for the first time. "He was destroyed in an accident three years ago."

Asp glared at them. "Why are you here? Come to catch the rest of us?"

"No, of course not! We didn't even know you existed. We came to retrieve some of the data."

"Whatever." Asp stormed out of the room.

"What's his problem?" Skids stared at the door as it shut behind Asp.

"He's always like that. But, still, we don't exactly get many visitors. Actually, we don't get any visitors," Ricochette answered.

"What data are you looking for?" Blaze asked.

"A virus elimination program that is supposed to be included in the archive's data files."

"Virus? You mean that virus the humans created to protect the data?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"There was only one virus, and we erased it years ago. Why do you need the elimination program?"

"The virus was downloaded into our computer from the Sandhill Data Storage Library. It wasn't compatible with our equipment and emitted an electric pulse that infected everyone."

"That's not good. The virus is very dangerous. You are welcome to look for it, but I'm afraid the computer isn't working very well. You can't do an automatic search, it'll have to be done manually. Ricochette can help you, she knows more about the system than Asp or myself. I'll be down the hall." Blaze finished speaking and left the room.

"I'm going to talk to Asp. I have a couple questions I want to ask him. You find the program, Skids."

"Thanks for the help, Volt," Skids muttered. He looked up and noticed that Ricochette was staring at him, then realized that she had been doing so ever since they had arrived. "What?"

"Oh, sorry. Um, this way. If the virus has really reacted the way you described, then I suspect you don't have much time." Ricochette walked over to the main computer and started typing in commands on the console. Skids followed and stood beside her.

"Ricochette. That's a strange name. How did you get it?"

Ricochette turned around and raised both of her arms. A rippling blue energy beam suddenly emitted from a weapon attached to each arm and shot across the room. The two energy beams hit the boxes marked `Files`, bounced off at an angle and impacted in the ceiling. "That's how."

"Amazing! How did you do that?"

"It's a specially designed weapon called a Wave Bounder. I can't even begin to explain the details of its design, but the beam bounces off any non-metallic surface, and damages any metallic surface."

"I've never seen anything like it. But, shouldn't your name be `Ricochet` then?"

"Here we are. Directory of all protected files. This is probably the best place to start. Getting back to your question, my creator decided to modify my name by adding the letters `te` to the end because I was female."

"You knew your creator? I knew mine too. Most robots were made by a manufacturing company. It's rare to find anyone who was custom built and therefore knew their creator, especially with so few of us left."

"Yes it is. You know, Skids, you act quite differently from Asp or Blaze. I don't think Asp has ever been in a good mood and Blaze is always too busy running around trying to make sure everything is working right to even talk most of the time."

"What's he going to say when he finds out that you put a hole in the ceiling?"

Both of them laughed. "He's not going to be happy."

"So, why did you come here?"

"To escape the hunter squads. Groups of robots that were sent out to round up those who wouldn't take sides. Those who refused were destroyed. As Blaze mentioned before, we hid here, hoping to escape. This is a remote location, and at the time, only a few knew of its existence."

"I can't believe that Shadow Force would ever..."

Ricochette cut him off. "Both sides had hunter squads! It was called `recruitment' by the leaders, but it was really just attacking a third party that was unwillingly caught up in the war." Ricochette paused and typed in more commands on the computer. "Searching the next directory."

"I'm sorry. But I can safely say that none of the remaining Shadow Force members are the type that would do something like that. The ones who sent out those `hunter squads` aren't around anymore."

"That's nice to know." Ricochette noticed that Skids was looking strangely at her. "I didn't mean for that to be sarcastic."

"That's okay. You said there were originally 200 of you. What happened?"

"One of the squads learned that a group of robots that were refusing to participate in the war were attempting to leave the area. They set up an ambush and wiped out most of us. We managed to survive but only a handful of us were able to continue. Only four of us ever made it."

This war has definitely taken it's toll; on everyone." Skids stopped abruptly. "Wait a minute! Go back a few files. I think I saw what we're looking for."

Ricochette did what she was told. "There it is. `Data Protector Virus Elimination Program 26E5`. Good thing you spotted it. I almost missed it." Ricochette grabbed a blank disk and handed it to Skids. "Download the file. I'll go get the others."

Skids inserted the disk into the computer and copied the virus elimination program. As soon as he was finished, he scanned the program into his own system, and eliminated the virus. "Good thing it didn't do much damage. I don't have time to repair myself."

Ricochette returned a moment later with Volt, Blaze and Asp. "You found the program?" Volt questioned.

"Yes." Skids copied the file to a second disk and handed it to Volt. Volt scanned the program into his own system, erasing the virus.

"We don't have much time, we better leave if we're to get back before the week ends."

"I'd like to see you again, Ricochette."

"I would like to see you again as well."

Volt walked towards the door. "Are you coming?" he demanded.

"I'm coming."

"Before you leave," Blaze interjected, walking to the centre of the room. "I would like to ask something of you." Asp and Ricochette joined Blaze on either side. "Can you promise me that you will never tell anyone else that we are here?"

"Of course," Skids responded.

"There would be no honour in revealing this location to anyone, even to those who may be looking for you," Volt answered.

"Thank you." The three watched as Skids and Volt left the building and made their way down the mountain.

"What were you talking to Asp about, Volt?"

"His personality intrigued me. I wanted to know why he never chose sides when the war first started."

"Now, I wonder why he would intrigue you? Perhaps it's because he was rude, aggressive and didn't care about anything. He meets all the qualifications for a Dark Shadow member." Skids paused a second before continuing. "Certainly more than you."

"You've failed in your attempt at sarcasm, Skids. That is exactly why I wanted to speak to him. And Dark Shadow does care about some things, just not the same things as you."

Skids muttered something to himself, then fell silent for a moment. "So, what did he say?"

"He said that despite his desire to fight, he didn't think it was honourable to fight against his own kind; on either side. He was angry at the humans for the way they treated us, but did not feel justified in taking revenge against them. But, because of what they had done, he didn't think it was right to fight for them either."

"Honourable? Justified? Right? I was wrong. He sounds exactly like you."

"Yes. But Asp defines honour in a different way than I do. I justify fighting because I am defending my personal rights from those who took them away, and those who protect them. He justifies not fighting by saying that revenge is dishonourable."

"I agree with Asp there. Revenge is not honourable."

"I do not see it as revenge. If Asp sees it as revenge, that is his decision and I respect that. I respect yours as well, even if I am opposed to it."

"Your fooling yourself, Volt. You are not honourable, and neither am I. There is simply no honour in war, no matter how you justify it."

Volt sighed. "You do not understand."

"Well, this is it. This is where we split up and go back to our respective bases."

"Yes. It... it was an interesting experience to work along side my enemy."

"Definitely. I just wish it could have been more productive."

"What do you mean?"

"We are still enemies, the war will continue as if nothing has happened. We have gained nothing, save from this program, that could help end this ridiculous war."

"Did you really expect something else?"

"Well... maybe. You're probably the most reasonable enemy one could ever have. I thought that this experience would be of some benefit."

"It did have a benefit. We have gained understanding. A sense of knowing what each other stands for. That knowledge is very valuable."

"I guess you're right."

Volt turned and headed away from Skids, towards the Dark Shadow base. "Farewell, Skids."

"I trust you not to break your word about keeping the knowledge of the other robots a secret," Skids yelled out to Volt.

Volt stopped and turned around. "Of course." Volt resumed his course back to his base. "Remember, Skids. The next time we meet, it will be on the battlefield, and we will be enemies. My honour will be satisfied."

Skids watched as Volt disappeared from sight and then started to head back to his own base. "Again with the honour. I really thought I could get through to him." Skids paused for a moment, deep in thought. "Volt said it to me twice, and he was right. I don't understand."

Skids made it back to the base a half hour after he and Volt split up. The scene upon his arrival was pretty much what he had expected. "Well, I guess they made it back to the base." he thought to himself, noting the presence of his comrades lying on the ground, motionless. Ace, Maxim, Aura, and Lockjaw were all lying on the floor of the main control room, and Skids figured that the others were in the repair lab.

"I better start with Metal Storm." Skids entered the repair lab and quickly scanned the elimination program into Metal Storm's system. "Status display indicates that he is still repairable. Yes! I made it on time." He moved over to Traxx and repeated the process, then did the same with Surefire and Tech. "Now for the others."

Skids returned to the control room and suddenly heard a noise behind him. He turned to face the main doorway and almost dropped the disk he was holding from surprise.

"Hi, Skids."

"Ricochette! How... what are you doing here?!"

Ricochette fidgeted nervously. "I... uh... followed you here."

"You followed me for three days?! Why?"

"I thought about what you said... and wanted to help... to join Shadow Force."

"What about your `hiding so you wouldn't be forced to choose sides`?" Skids scanned the program into everyone else and then the computer as he listened to Ricochette.

"I built a long range scanner a few years ago and had been using it to... well, to secretly intercept various communications from Last Haven. From studying the information that I received I already knew that things had changed, even before you mentioned it to me." Ricochette looked around the room. "To tell you the truth, I hadn't been very happy there lately, until you came." Ricochette looked around the room again, then stared at the floor for a moment. "I like you, Skids. I wanted to be with you."

Skids was stunned, unsure of what to say. Something came to mind and he smiled. "Welcome aboard, Ricochette. Providing Ace doesn't object."

Ricochette ran over to Skids and hugged him. "Thank you!"

"What did Blaze and Asp say about you leaving?"

"In his usual insensitive way, Asp said he couldn't care less what I did. Blaze said he didn't want me to go, but he relented eventually. He really doesn't give himself enough credit. Blaze knows the computer system just as well as I do. They'll get along fine without me."

"How am I supposed to explain this to Ace? This was supposed to be a secret."

"Say that I was the only one there. Other than that, tell him the truth. Any more questions?"

"Just one. What about Volt? What's going to happen when he sees you?"

"I got the impression from his personality that he will keep it a secret, that he will explain it to his leader with discretion. He seemed quite... honourable."

"Enough with the honour already!"

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry. I'll explain later. Right now I have to repair my friends. I'll start with Surefire since I don't know much about fixing things."

"I can help. Asp was very good at repairs, and despite his unpleasant disposition, I managed to pick up a few things from him." The two walked into the repair lab and began working on Surefire.

"Congratulations on your success, Skids. Both on the mission and, uh, personally." Ace motioned towards Ricochette who was holding Skids arm.

"Thank you, Ace."

"And I would formally like to welcome you to Shadow Force, Ricochette."

"Thank you."

"I believe there's a little celebration planned." Ace gestured towards the door and followed Skids and Ricochette out of his office.

"Metal Storm, is everything ready?"

"Of course! There's nothing I like more than a party!"

"Ace!" Ace turned around as Tech ran into the room holding a disk.

"What?"

"We might have to hold off the celebration. I think we have a serious problem." Tech place the disk in the main computer and a graph appeared on the screen.

"Explain."

"It's about that meteor that crashed last week."

"Meteorite," Aura called from the back of the room. Tech and Ace glared at her. "Sorry."

"Continue, Tech."

"The computer is registering some strange radiation. I don't know where the meteorite landed but I'm sure the radiation is coming from it. The radiation just appeared a few hours ago and it is nothing like I have ever seen. It is dangerous, very dangerous, and although slowly, it is getting stronger."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that we must find the meteorite and stop the radiation. Otherwise, the radiation will eventually increase to the point where it will kill every living thing in and around Last Haven."

"Including all 23 million humans left on the planet."

"Exactly."