Smith was thrilled to bits, relishing in the regained hours of rest, set in his makeshift sleeping bag catching up on stolen beauty sleep curled in fetal position. With all things considered given the circumstance that lead to sleeping without any further concern to the infection on his back. The beginning of a smile was on the edge of his lips snoring away. A high pitch noise yanked him out of the peaceful sleep and squeaking came from around him. The squeaking grew alarming and frantic around him just as he were of the unexplained and impromptu visitors. He flopped over to his side the pressed his back against the wall listening to the bats fly over him. He slipped on his cloak after yanking it toward him while hunched over shielding himself from the annoyances.

Not this again, Smith whined to himself. He heard the squeaking remaining above his head more than five minutes. He flipped over on to his chest then with some difficulty began to crawl on his knees and hands through the slick cold surface of the cave system. He searched around the area for the night vision gear with some difficulty until his hand grasped on the crevices. His night vision gear was decided from then on to be left behind. He hurried through the environment tracing his path out of the cave where he was met by a comfortable temperature that contrasted the cold and bothersome qualities of the cavern. He felt something was embedded in his leg that was shrieking.

With a growling stomach, Smith yanked it out then bit into the small metallic object. The shrieking coming from the creature ceased to be made then he turned toward the entrance of the cavern that was full of high pitch shrieking. He took another bite out of the small object and another and another until the last bits of the wings were gone. He licked his lips then stood up to his feet up to full height looking around the darkness searching for the familiar shapes of the environment outside. He bumbled about then fell into the cavern that had shrieking from the metal bats. He flailed his hand out catching five at a time then dragged himself out of the cavern on his lower two hands detracted out of his arms. He flung himself to the ground and had great difficulty at first discerning shapes until the shrieks echo outlined the rocks around him.

"I can hear your parts clashing and clattering, you neanderthal!" Smith snapped.

Robot slid out of the dark.

"I was being silent,"

"No, you weren't,"

"Yes, I was,"

"Were not,"

"Were too!"

"Doctor Smith, you do not need to hide yourself from social interaction. The Robinsons can help you."

"So I have been told at length," A strange urge screamed through his mind. Eat it! Eat it! Eat it! So instead, Smith took a bite out of the metal bat. As he chewed, it had a unique and welcoming taste. "And you know what that means."

"Going back into pain," Robot said. "I am familiar to your reluctance of going through that."

"You're a machine!" Smith whirred toward the source of Robot. "You can't feel pain of changing! Sure, metaphorically, you can feel pain. If you are changed, it wouldn't be gradual. It would be done with you disconnected from that part until it is finely tuned in and fits into the overall schematics of your complex design. You don't leave waste behind! You can't change people into what you are! You can't possibly know how I feel. You are not personally familiar to it! You are familiar to how people have experienced it and that is it."

"I have been authorized to tell you the Robinsons would like to offer you sanctuary in a freezing tube," Robot said. "Frozen but with your DNA in stockpile should they cross paths with a science vessel."

"No," Smith said. "That is most disagreeable. This universe does not need a Proteus."

"Then they will find the people who promised you aid to carry out their promise with the Alpha Centauri mission on the back burner." Robot finished.

Smith walked away finishing off the bat.

"This bat is delicious," Smith noted. "I like that plan."

"I will tell the galactic department store manager that it was satisfactory," Robot said.

"I will consider if I should agree to the plan," Smith said. "For a moment."

"Doctor Smith, should the-" Robot was cut off.

"No," Smith interrupted.

"You didn't hear what I had to say!" Robot said.

"I got a very rough idea what you were going to say and I won't have it!" Smith held up one of his lower hands in response. "I am a untested, unknown, and unpredictable biohazard to stay at a ship for long periods of time out of stasis!" he lowered his hands. "I can't risk it. They can't risk it. I won't let them go through the hell I am going through! I would prefer remaining in a freezing tube while it has problems then be taken out and being told it won't work again."

"Now, you have jumped to another excuse!" Robot bobbed his helm up in response.

"It's not a excuse." Smith scowled. "It's a rational rule on new biohazards."

Smith shook his head walking away from the machine under his disguise.

"It pains me that I have to take these lengths, booby,"

He looked up then spotted the clouds parting away to reveal the full moonlight.

"In order to preserve alliances, you have to make compromises for yourself and for them,"

Robot was silent as he listened.

"Even as distasteful as it is,"

Smith let go of a sizable breath as he continued.

"I will only discuss the matter any further with the madame. A biochemist would understand it better than a geologist."

Robot was silent then wheeled toward Smith.

"I am sure that she will," Robot said. "Where will you be staying?"

"The lake that the professor and Will went fishing before it happened. There is a man made den made of sticks that a certain someone has been making in the event of a emergency such as this however unlikely it was to happen," Smith closed his eyes as his shoulders loosened. "She visited with the professor. I paid no heed to them as it was a private intimate moment between a husband and a wife that shouldn't be pried into."

"I will tell them," Robot said.

"Begone." Smith waved his hand then Robot wheeled away and a short figure hid behind a tree after peering out then Smith turned in the direction that Robot had gone past the figure and turned away. Smith walked away from the area eating the fourth metal creature. "Mmhhm. How marvelous. Would be better with some hot sauce in it."

Soon as the creature was further ahead, Will stepped back from where he hid and watched Smith's figure become smaller to his eyes panged by guilt.