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Doggie Krueger sat at his desk, mulling over paperwork with a heavy sigh. It had been months since his team's final confrontation with Agent Aburera, and the SPD Earth branch was finally beginning to recover. Though he welcomed the change of pace it brought, he was still on-edge, as if at any moment, something big was about to erupt.

"Boss!"

The voice was Tetsu's, over the intercom. Blinking in surprise at the urgency of the call, Doggie picked up his License and switched it to phone mode. "Tetsu, what's up?"

Tetsu's voice cracked in pain through the speakers. "A mysterious mecha-human has just appeared at Point 2-2-9, coming straight at the base. The others are on their way, but we may need your help, as well."

This startled the Anubinoid. "Why? What's going on?"

Before Tetsu could answer, the sounds of explosions erupted through the License, followed by a pained grunt and the unmistakable whirring of an Anaroid's gears. A thick lump formed in Doggie's throat as he called Tetsu's name into the License, his cries going unanswered. Panicked, he leaped to his feet, changing into his DekaMaster uniform as he made a mad dash out of the office. Whatever it was that was attacking Tetsu, he had to help take it down, before it was too late.

Tetsu yelled in pain as he once again was knocked away by the unrelenting assault of his mystery assailant. Staggering to his feet, he stared defiantly at his attacker, a tall, well-armored humanoid with a red, mannequin-like head and a vicious red blade. The size and shape eerily resembled that of the Igaroids that he had fought with his sempai on countless occasions, but Tetsu couldn't recall ever fighting against this breed of mecha-human, before. Gritting his teeth in agony, he reflexively reached for the throttle grip of his Brace Throttle morpher, but froze in mid-grasp as he remembered that it had been sliced off by the robot early into their fight, leaving him utterly powerless against the hell-bent machine. However, he knew that he couldn't give up; he had to hold the thing back until the others arrived. Steeling himself for another assault, Tetsu let out an enraged battle cry and tensed to rush at the oncoming robot, but stopped short as several blasts shot over his head and hit their mark, the red-headed mecha-human staggering back from the impacts. With a surprised gasp, he could only watch in awe as the rest of his team arrived, in SWAT mode, flipping gracefully over his head to form a human shield in front of their injured companion.

"Sempai..." he sighed, happily, nearly collapsing to his knees in relief.

Hoji looked back at the former Tokkyou, his look of worry hidden by his helmet. "Are you alright, Tetsu?"

Reluctantly, Tetsu shook his head. "My Brace Throttle is damaged. Even if I push past my injuries, I'll be of no help to you, right now."

Hoji nodded. "Then rest up, buddie. We'll handle it, from here."

"Be very careful," Tetsu warned, bitterly. "This guy is incredibly strong. He's not to be underestimated."

Hoji nodded an affirmative and turned back to face the mystery robot, who had since recovered and was running full-tilt towards them, despite the massive amounts of D-Revolver fire the rest of the team was currently pumping into it. He was amazed at how much punishment the mecha-human was taking, his shocked disbelief almost preventing him from scattering with the rest of the team when it suddenly leaped at them, sword flailing about with murderous intent. Unfortunately, the thing was far too quick for them to anticipate, and they were all caught in a circular slash from the robot once it landed, instantly shredding through their SWAT mode armor and forcing them to return to their normal Dekaranger uniform, as a result. Grunting in pain, the team readied their Deka weapons, only to have them sliced out of their hands, as well, by the mechanical being. Now left with no defense, the team stood, defiantly, ready to face the thing with just their fists, determined to bring it down, no matter what.

Luckily, they didn't have to.

With an enraged howl, Doggie, in full DekaMaster gear, flew over his team's heads and tackled the red-headed robot, wrenching its sword out of its hand and pummeling it with a barrage of punches. Kicking the machine out of the way, he stood up and drew his sword, slashing with it at the enemy, powering it up in mid-strike for maximum effectiveness. Left with no weapon of its own, the mecha-human tried to block as best it could against the onslaught, but Doggie would not let up, delivering blow after blow in rapid succession to the machine's body. Finally, the punishment grew too much for the mecha-human to bear, and he was knocked back, sparking from multiple points of damage to its exostructure. But Doggie wasn't done, yet. Switching his blade to sniper mode, he aimed the mighty weapon at the mechanoid and fired a dozen shots, further damaging its outer casing until finally something breached, it's systems going dead from the sheer brutality of its beating. Soundlessly, it dropped like a rag doll to the ground, disabled but with nowhere near enough power or working systems left to self-detonate.

Yet still, Doggie wasn't finished. Returning his weapon to sword mode, he rushed towards the inactive machine, throat raw from howling and sword lifted in preparation for the final, impaling strike that would destroy the mechanoid, when he felt someone grab him from behind. A number of someones, actually, as his teammates held him firm, yelling his name in horror as they tried to calm him down.

"Let me go!" he screamed, fighting their grip. "That's an order!"

"BOSS!" snapped Tetsu, angrily. "It's over! You did it. It can't harm anyone, anymore. Stand down!"

Doggie looked at him in confused rage, still fighting against him. "But...!"

"STAND DOWN!" Tetsu barked, firmly. "It's over. Let it go.'

That, it seemed, snapped him back into reality. Looking at the prone robot on the ground, then at his teammates, holding him back with a look of determination in their masked features, his struggles lessened and died as his blood-lust subsided, leaving him shocked as he realized his actions. Slumping breathlessly in their arms, Doggie powered down and stared at his hands, shaking.

"Guys...I..."

He was interrupted by a ring from his License. Opening it in phone mode, he answered, his mind still reeling from what he almost did.

"Doogie," Swan's voice whined loud and clear through the speakers. "Is everything alright?"

Stammering a bit in confusion, Doggie sighed and nodded. "Yes, everything is alright, now. Have personnel meet us at Point 2-2-9 to pick up a suspect. And have the technicians on standby; I want to find out just what this...thing is, and why it attacked us."

"Understood, Doogie," Swan replied, still a bit concerned. "We'll be there shortly. Swan out."

Grunting, Doggie put his License away and stood up, shakily. Clearing his sore throat, he straightened up, adjusting his coat as he looked at his team, sheepishly. "Er, good work, team. I'll be waiting for you back at base. Get our 'friend' there ready for transport, in the meantime." And with that, he walked away, out of the arms of his stunned teammates and back towards base.

"What was that all about?" asked Umeko, confused, after a long moment of silence. The others didn't have an answer.

Later that day, Doggie was back at his desk, mulling over paperwork in a futile attempt to take his mind off of his ordeal, earlier. Never in his life had he felt so out of control, so detached from reality, as he had then, but the moment he had hard Tetsu's anguished cries and the brutal attack afterwards, he had acted without thinking, a feral dog out to protect his pack, no matter the cost. He couldn't help it; it was instinctual, so ingrained into his being that he could do nothing else, at the time. He had grown so close with his team, they were as close to family as anyone could get. They were in danger, I had to protect them, he rationalized, bitterly, only half-believing it, himself. But he knew there was more to it than that, much more.

Something beeped on his desk, and he automatically reached down to answer it.

"Yes?"

Swan's voice came loud and clear through the intercom. "Doogie, could you come to the lab, please? It's urgent."

Doggie bit his lip, frowning. He didn't want to deal with anyone, right now, especially Swan, but it could be related to the case. Grimacing sourly, ne nodded. "Right. I'll be right there."

After a few minutes, Swan greeted the Anubinoid as he entered the room, her expression as somber as his was. On the table laid the mystery robot from before, still badly damaged but less so than before, yet held in place by large iron restraints, just in case. On the various computer screens strewn across the room, diagostics of the robot were shown, revealing information that Doggie could only half-understand. Swan broke it down for him: the robot was of the same make as the other mecha-humans created by Agent Aburera, but was far more sophisticated and advanced than the others they had encountered. Nanotechnology, auto-repair systems, retrofit capabilities, advanced cerebral systems for higher cognitive and learning abilities. The perfect cybernetic warrior. In time, it could have learned their every strength, weakness, and ability and assimilate what it needed to exterminate them, once and for all. That was how it was able to disable Tetsu's Brace Trottle, and get through the other rangers' SWAT armor, as well. If Doggie hadn't have come after it like he did...

Doggie stood there, mulling over that last bit, sulkingly. Swan, being of the sharp wit she was, noticed this, and realized what was really going on.

"Still having those nightmares, Doogie?" she asked, sympathetically.

Doggie looked at her, startled, but nodded, sighing. "I can't keep it off my mind. That day, when Agent Aburera waltzed in here and took control, I...I thought we were all done for. I could hear the screams, the shots, the laughter of that damn bat and his associates as they took out near-everyone in the base...the feeling of utter helplessness I felt when I laid there, unable to do a damn thing to help you or the team..."

Swan nodded and hummed, thoughtfully. "Maybe you should see a psychiatrist or..." her words fell dead at Doggie's look of indignation. "Oh, right. Last time you saw a shrink, you came out even more traumatized."

Doggie growled and rubbed his face, frustrated. "And now this. If it weren't for that damn...thing, over there..." He sighed, defeated. "Maybe I should retire from the squad..."

Swan frowned, not sure what to say to that. But before she could get a word in, a metallic groan was heard from the table. Blinking in surprised, the two co-workers looked over to see an impossible sight: the red-headed mecha-human, still not fully repaired but almost, stirring to life, once more. Gasping in horrified amazement, Doggie whipped out his License and called security into the lab, as the robot slowly became fully awake and aware of its surroundings. However, instead of struggling, it calmly surveyed its predicament, a blank, cold stare on its unchanging face as it processed everything that was going on. After a few, torturous moments, it looked at Doggie square in the eye, and spoke.

"You are the one who defeated me, correct?"

Doggie stammered a little in surprised, but managed a weak nod. "Yes, I am."

It nodded, almost in saddened acceptance. "You should have destroyed me when you had the chance."

Growling at the presumed threat, Doggie leaped to his feet, enraged. "Believe me, you sadistic hunk of tin, I wanted to. And I still might, if you try to break free."

The robot did no such thing, instead laying its head back, with resolved calm. "I have no intention of doing so."

This brought Doggie up short. "Why not?"

"I am defeated," it said, simply. "My mission has failed. Even with the new data acquired during our battle, chances of succeeding in my mission is below 10% in my current situation. It is illogical for me to continue my mission. I am defeated, my mission has failed." It quirked its head to one side, as if thinking about something, "I have been unable to contact my creator since my first activation. Unable to receive instructions from him." It looked back to Doggie, almost as if in curious accusation. "What did you do with him? Did you defeat him, as well?"

"You mean Agent Aburera?" Doggie replied, snarkly. "Yeah, we defeated him. And deleted him. Your creator is dead, understand?"

The robot gave out what could almost pass as a sigh of resignation before returning to its prone position. "Then I am truly defeated. Destroy me, as you did my creator."

Doggie shook in rage, struggling to hold himself back. He wanted to comply to the machine's wishes, after what he had done to his team, but something made him pause: why was it so apathetic to its own demise? It had said that its mission had failed, and didn't go ballistic when it heard Aburera was killed. Why?

Then it hit him: it was a robot. It lived and died on the orders that it was given. It's orders were apparently to destroy himself and his team, and now that he failed to do that, and was in no position to try again, nor receive any further orders from his long-dead master, he had no reason to exist, anymore. No purpose. And a robot without a purpose might as well have not been made, at all.

Doggie grunted, bitterly. "I'll have to clear it with headquarters. Now that you're in our custody, we may have use for you, alive."

The machine gave an odd chuckling sound. "Probability of your superiors agreeing to my destruction is 99.95%. Your technicians have already analyzed my abilities, have you not?" Swan nodded an affirmative without even realizing it. "Then they will most likely determine myself to be too dangerous to keep functional, and order my deletion. There is no reason to wait for confirmation on what you already know you must do."

Doggie grimaced, torn between his duties, his nightmares, and his newfound sympathy for the killer robot laying not three feet from him. Growling low in his throat, he turned sharply towards the door and left, his mind a muddled mess of conflicting emotion.

"I've read your technician's report on this new mecha-human," Supreme Commander Numa-O announced over the viewscreen, "and I agree with their assessment. That thing is far too dangerous to keep around. You're ordered to destroy it as soon as possible."

Doggie frowned at this decision, his brow creased in worry. He was still conflicted over his 'interrogation' with the mechanoid, as well as his actions in taking it down, and this order didn't help matters, any.

Unfortunately for him, Numa-O noticed his inner-turmoil. "Is something the matter, Krueger?"

Doggie shook his head, snapping himself out of his musings. "Sir, with all due respect, I don't feel that is a wise idea."

Numa-O quirked an eyebrow, suspiciously. "Oh? And why is that?"

Doggie steadied himself before replying. "As it was built by Agent Aburera, I believe it may have valuable insight to what activities Aburera may have involved himself in, that we aren't aware of. Also..." He paused, regaining his composure before continuing. "I do not believe it is a threat to us, at the present time."

Numa-O folded his arms, quizzically. "Is that so? Why do you determine that?"

"It seems to realize that, even with its abilities, it stands no chance of fulfilling its mission while it's in our custody, and with Aburera deleted, and no way to receive further orders from him, it seems to have confided its fate to us. It seems to have no desire to continue its mission, and has since taken a passive resolution to his future."

Numa-O considered this carefully before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Krueger, but we can't take the risk. If it gets loose, there's no telling the kind of damage it could do. We've already got word that it would take days to repair the SWAT gear, and Tekkan's Brace Throttle will have to be taken in to the Tokkyou headquarters for special repairs, which will take at least a week. Currently, you are the only Dekaranger there that is fully active. We cannot afford to keep that thing functional with Earth's forces so low, right now."

"But sir...!" Doggie blurted out, reflexively, forgetting his place, momentarily.

"Those are my orders, Krueger, " warned Numa-O, cooly. "Carry them out. Numa-O, out." Doggie growled, angrily as the transmission was terminated, the Supreme Commander's final words echoing in his head. He still wasn't half-sure why he had defended the mechanical menace, and Numa-O's decision only served to confuse the situation more.

Swan, who was with Doggie as he talked with the Supreme Commander, placed a hand on his shoulder, comfortingly. "So what now, Doogie?"

Doggie thought for a few moments, then nodded in resignation. "I will follow orders and take the mecha-human to the quarry to be destroyed. As I am the only one capable of such a feat, right now, I should be the one to do so. Have the technicians get it ready for transport."

But Swan didn't let go. She looked into his eyes, worryingly, as if knowing a terrible, secret truth about him. "Doogie," she whispered, pleadingly. "Don't do anything stupid..."

Doggie didn't seem to hear it. Or, if he did, he was refusing to show it. "Just get the robot ready for transport," he said, curtly, and walked off, leaving Swan alone in the command office.

Throughout their trip to the quarry, neither Doggie nor the read-headed mecha-human said a word, nor did the latter attempt to escape. Insisting on going alone, so as to minimize casualties should the thing try to do so, he found the silence to be rather disquieting. More disquieting was Swan's words, the way she seemed to know what he was thinking. Did she really think that he was going to defy orders? But, then again, did he? This case had made his brain hurt from the moment Tetsu called him, and it only got worse as time went on. Pulling along side the quarry road, Doggie got out of the police car and led the mecha-human, bound together by strong chains, out into the center of the large rock basin and suited up in his Dekamaster uniform. Drawing his sword and powering it up, he steeled himself, weapon at the ready...and hesitated, turning his head away as he began to have second thoughts about his orders.

"What are you waiting for?" the mechanoid asked, impatiently, apparently noticing Doggie's moment of hesitation. "You have your orders. You must follow them. That is what you do, is it not?"

Doggie gave a startled gasp, unable to answer. He did have to follow orders. Or did he? SPD policy dictated that he would be allowed to disregard an order he felt was unreasonable. But was this one of those orders? Snarling in frustration, he raised his sword, determining to let fate decide how his blade fell. With a mighty howl, he brought the sword down, eyes half-closing in reflex as the mighty blade hit home. A gasp of air, a silent moment, and it was over. The sword had done it's job.

The red-headed robot flinched, in automated response, as the shackles holding him captive fell away in a heap. Startled, unable to compute what Doggie had done, it looked back at the Anubinoid and tilted its head, thoughtfully.

"Why?"

Doggie sheathed his sword carefully and sighed. "Because you do not deserve to die."

The mechanoid shook its head. "How can you say that? You were given an order, why do you not follow it?"

"Because," Doggie clarified, calmly, "There are some orders that should not be followed."

"I don't understand..."

"You are no longer a threat to us. You, yourself, has realized this."

"Your superiors think otherwise. I am dangerous with my abilities, and could kill you and continue my mission, unheeded."

"But you won't do that. Even if you defeat me, you will have the entirety of the Special Police after you, and you know you cannot face those odds and win."

The robot mulled over this, still not convinced. "Why would you defy orders for my sake?"

"My duty is to protect, not destroy," Doggie replied. "As you no longer have a purpose, with your mission failed and your master destroyed, there is no reason to destroy you, because without a purpose, you have no reason to be a threat." He waited, letting his words sink into the robot, before continuing. "However, if you'll allow me, I will help you find a purpose, one that would allow you to continue to live, and last much longer than your current mission."

The robot stared at him, coldly. "I cannot betray my master."

"What master?" Doggie countered, cooly. "You have said yourself, you have not received any transmissions from him since you were first activated, and with Aburera dead, it is doubtful that you will ever get any. You have no master to betray. You will simply be acting on old orders, with no one to report to if and when you have completed them. Tell me, what would you do once you succeeded in your mission, now that this is the case?"

The mechanoid didn't speak, its mental systems processing all he had heard. The logic in Doggie's argument was inalienable, flawless. As a robot, it was built to obey orders, but what good are orders if there is no one to give them to it? If and when it had completed its mission, it would have no one to direct it, no choice but to rust away, waiting for orders that will never come. Faced with this, the red-headed mechanoid made a decision, one that would change the rest of its life.

"I accept your offer," it said, simply, bowing low to Doggie. "You shall be my new master."

It was late in the day when Doggie returned to base, his mind racing over what he should do, next. He was loathe to inform Numa-O about his decision to disregard his orders, and if anyone at the base knew, they would surely report him. He felt terrible, sneaking the robot around, like this, but he had no real alternative: it's still ordered for termination, and he can't afford to have anyone else find out, before he could get it on a new path in life. For right now, however, he left the robot at one of the many safe houses the SPD had in the city, until he could come up with a more permanent solution.

Entering the base, he was stopped by none other than Swan, her face still showing the concern she had expressed to him, earlier. Doggie looked at her, oddly, then nodded, answering her unasked question. This seemed to calm her down a little, and she walked with him to his office, rattling off more paperwork for him to do. Though he hated to listen to her, after what he had been through, earlier that day, he did so regardless, nodding every now and then at the list.

"...Finally, there seems to be some computer problems in Witness Protection," she finished, half-cheerfully. "They'll need your signature if they want to bill the repairs to the Space Police."

That made him stop. "Witness Protection..." he repeated, momentarily lost in though.

Swan looked at him, quizzically. "Is there a problem, Doogie?"

Doggie blinked and shook his head, wistfully. "Hm? No, no problem at all. Have their representatives talk to me tomorrow about it. I'm going to call it a day."

Swan stared at Doggie as he left her for the third time, that day. She folded her arms, sighing in exasperation as she watched Doggie walk off. Shaking her head, she headed off to the lab, wondering silently to herself about the Anubinoid.