(AN: I'm ba-a-a-ack! BTW, I want it known that if you look in google images and look up "taz and up," the cover for TOAR is the fourth picture down, second in the row. Just saying.)
Taz drummed her fingers impatiently on her knee. The ride back to Earth seemed to be taking forever. She knew it was because of her worry, but that did not make it any better. Up put his hand over hers, stopping her fidgety fingers.
Looking into his clear blue eyes, Taz instantly calmed down. He had that effect on her. She sighed, causing him to give her a slight smile.
"Relax," he told her. "We'll be there soon."
Taz thought back to a few hours earlier. They had just defeated evil alien bugs, and a conspiracy from within the Galactic League itself. Tootsie married Megagirl, Krayonder got together with Specs, February finally got her happy ending with Bug (despite the fact that he's an alien insect), and Taz finally reestablished her friendship with Up. Sadly, their pleasant celebration had been cruelly interrupted when Taz had recieved a call from Marie, her old roommate from the Academy. Marie had been reporting a robot attack that had infilitrated the Academy itself.
Taz thought about the moment when she had told the others. It had taken a few minutes to calm everyone down, and it was horrible having to deliever this news when they had all been having a good time. She could distinctly remember each of their reactions.
February had clasped her hands to her mouth, eyes watering. It was understandable, as Marie had been her best friend when she had shared a room with her, Taz, and Specs.
Bug had looked confused, and a little bit excited. Taz figured this was because it would be his first official mission as a Starship Ranger.
Specs had looked worried, and immediately turned to one of her many devices. Who knew what she was doing.
Krayonder had straighted his back, trying to look professional, but failing miserably. The private constantly tried, but he just wasn't one for maturity in any situation. Taz couldn't judge him, however, seeing as he had risked his life for them against a giant scorpion.
Megagirl also straightened up, managing much better than Krayonder. Taz could almost hear her wires buzzing, preparing for battle. Taz was still wary, especially since they were going into war against robots, and Megagirl was, well, a robot.
Tootsie... Well Tootsie just kind of sat there stupidly. Taz wondered if he even comprehended what she had said, but she decided to ignore it.
Now they were racing back to Earth, preparing to face the enemies that they had believed to be defeated. Taz and Up had seemed to win the Robot Wars two years previously, but apparently a new batch had been built. Taz saw Up clench and unclench his right hand.
"Are jou alright, Up?" she asked, nodding towards his hand.
He looked down, seeming surprised to have been doing anything with that hand at all. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Guess I'm just nervous, is all. Haven't face the robots since my injury."
Taz winced. She remembered his injury all too well. The glint of metal that had shot out of Optimus Prime's chest. The way the two halves of his body flopped to the ground. Not to mention that it had been her fault. If only she hadn't screamed, due to flashbacks of her disastrous quinceanera. Now Up had to live with the entire right side of his body being a robot. She wondered if maybe that was what was bothering him, was the fact that he was fighting what he was. If so, she hoped that he realized that he was better than them, he was a person, not one of those evil metal creatures.
Of course, Megagirl had broken tradition, falling in love and marrying Tootsie. She was no ordinary robot, having allowed herself to gain a new emotion, so Taz didn't rank her among other robots anymore. She was a category all her own.
Taz squeezed Up's hand. Normally, a sign of weakness even that small was against everything Taz stood for, but the events of that day, and what was still to come, she figured that it was worth the risk of a mark on her reputation.
With her other hand, Taz reached into her pocket. She pulled out a picture, old and faded. It was of her and her brother, Tacito, back when she had been Gabriella, four years previously. Before her family and friends had all been brutally murdered, before her life had been ripped from her, before she had taken her brother's name and place among the Rangers. She looked down on the photograph, Tacito's smiling face next to her own. Her mother could be seen in the background, making dinner.
Taz shoved the photo back into her pocket. That was her life back when she had been an average teenage girl, worrying about school, looks, boys, and every other frivilous thing there was.
"Taz?" asked Up, looking concerned. She looked up at him, eyes glistening. His face softened. He squeezed her hand again. "It'll be alright," he whispered.
Taz nodded and looked away. She had never revealed the truth about who she really was to anyone, not even Up. If she died tonight, did she really want to go with him not knowing who she truly was?
"Listen, Up, I-" she began, but she was cut off by Specs popping her head in.
"Commander, Lieutenant, I just wanted to report that we will be arriving in approximately ten minutes. You might want to come up front and strap in," she said, pushig her glasses up her nose before leaving.
Taz turned to Up. "Jou ready?" she asked.
He smiled. "Of course. Let's go."
(AN: Short first chapter, but it has begun! Hope you guys like it! Can't promise fast updates, but I hope that you guys will bear with me through another full story of very few updates at a time. This will probably be the last book in this series, but I'm not promising that. We'll see how it ends. Love you all! Fan, vote, comment, go out there and die for something or I will kill you for nothing, ya know, the usual.
Less Than Three, Hugs, and Butterfly Kisses,
TheHomemadeDarkmark)
