With every step, Vecto recalled memories of Leroy. "Leroy Johnson," he repeated, loathing that name. The word "traitor" came to mind as his feet stomped along a grassy path squeezed between cornfields. It was almost dawn now as orange, yellow, and red tinted the sky. In every battle that had ravaged Acaterra, Leroy had stayed at his farm, not fighting, as hundreds of men died protecting New Earth. And yet all of Leroy's enormous power went to waste-tilling the ground, Vecto thought. How selfish of him.

Vecto cleared the cornfield and saw a log cabin in the distance on a slight hill, surrounded by fields of grass and fruit trees. This was the place all right, Vecto thought. His translucent shields were tainted with yellow as they formed an inch over his hovering body parts, the first shield around his Flummox Capacitor orb, the second coating his body, and the third layered over for expansion. The pieces of his body contracted to lower his height to 7 feet tall, and his shield began to shape into a human form, fleshing color and changing texture. He soon looked like a tall, bulky human-very convincingly.

He continued his journey up the hill and arrived at the cabin. To his left was a white-bearded man wearing black overalls and a white shirt. He was bulky, Amish-like in appearance, and wore a black top hat. Standing beside a carriage, he scooped hay into it with a three-pronged pitch fork. He stopped his task to stare as Vecto walked by.

To Vecto's right, a sheepdog ran with its tongue flapping in the air, chasing a rabbit.

And straight ahead was Leroy, leaning against the wooden post of his porch with his arms crossed. The wide brim of his straw hat shielded his eyes as if he were asleep. He wore his usual outfit: blue overalls and a dirty-white T-shirt.

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Leroy tapped his hat upward and smirked, chewing a peace of straw dangling from his mouth. He delighted in the fresh morning smell of his farm as birds chirped and a rooster crowed. Finally he greeted his new guest. "Howdy!" he said in a country accent.

"Leroy Johnson," Vecto slowly pronounced. "It has been a while . . . I didn't think you would still live here after all these years."

Leroy smiled. He looked to be in his thirties, as if he hadn't aged a day in four years since Vecto had first met him.

"Ah, Vecto Bot," Leroy said, seeing through Vecto's disguise. "Been some years, ain't it? So what's a robot like you doin' in these parts?"

"Just passing through. I heard you know where Zendora is." Vecto restrained himself from fighting. He removed his disguise to conserve power and revealed his body made of silver pieces.

"Zendora, you say? And what of it?" Leroy asked, stroking his clean-shaven face.

"I need to know where it is." Vecto stressed his words. "It's important."

Leroy tipped his hat again. "Must be, I reckon. But I ain't gonna help ya." He pushed off the post and walked toward his screen door. Now that he wasn't slouching, it was clear that he was almost as tall as Vecto.

Vecto raised his Blaster 3,000 at him. "You know where it is. So tell me!"

Leroy shook his head, not even looking back. "Tsk, tsk. A little obsessed, might ya say?"

"You could've helped us kill Morphaal!" Vecto yelled. "All this wouldn't have happened. Innocent people wouldn't have died, Morphaal wouldn't be coming back, and Gyro would still be alive!"

Leroy glanced back. "I cain't undo the past, kiddo."

"You coward!" Vecto fired.

Leroy spun around and smacked the energy blast away with his bare hand. The speed had flipped the brim of his hat up some, revealing blue eyes covered by rugged reddish-brown hair.