Author's Note: Hi guys! This is something that I've been really wanting to do for a while, but finally figured things out recently. If you couldn't tell, this is basically the Futurama crew as the characters in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. I was going to write A New Hope, but this is mainly a Fry/Leela fic and there isn't much to go on from ANH. I might write one of these for Return of the Jedi if you guys liked this enough. Please leave a comment and let me know! Also, in case you need me to lay it out for you:
Amy - Luke Skywalker
Leela - Han Solo
Fry - Leia Organa
Nibbler - Chewbacca
Kif - C3-PO
Bender - Darth Vader
Donbot - Boba Fett
URL - R2-D2
Hermes - Lando
Planet Express Ship - Millenium Falcon
It wasn't if Leela wanted to leave. If she'd been given the choice, she'd probably stay on Pluto and help the rebel fighters. But this was her life after all, and whatever God there was up there didn't seem to think very much of her. The past two years with Amy and Fry had been fun, but all good things must come to an end. It was a shame that Amy had left the base to go and scout the planet, Leela would've wanted to say goodbye to her.
Saying goodbye to Fry however, wasn't going to be fun. She knew the way he could be – the way he looked at her sometimes. The very last thing she wanted was to see that look on his face right now. But still, Leela did want to see him before she left, which is what drove her to go into the command center.
The makeshift room was practically carved from ice and with the amount of people running around, it was easy to forget just how cold it was. Glab, her commanding officer, was stationed in front of a console. Across the room, Leela could see Fry playing with a yo-yo. His security guards were watching him carefully.
Leela ignored him and made her way over to Glab, who nodded at her. "Miss Turanga?"
"Nibbler and I set up the sensors as you asked. No sign of life that isn't a penguin,"
Glab nodded. "Has Commander Wong reported in yet?"
She shook her head. "She's checking out a meteorite that landed near her."
Glab made a face, and Leela knew what it meant. She didn't want her to leave yet. "General, I have to leave. I'm sorry, but I can't stay anymore,"
It was then that Fry noticed Leela. He had put down his yo-yo and was watching her, seemingly distressed.
"We'll be sad to see you go, Captain," said Glab.
"If I could stay, I would, believe me. But Lrrr's got a price on my head and if I don't pay him off, I'm dead."
"It's a shame. Well, thank you for your service. I'll be sure to tell Commander Wong you said goodbye when she gets back," Glab held out her hand and Leela shook it.
"Thank you," she said, genuinely.
Glab turned back to the console and Leela looked over at Fry, who was biting his lip. He clearly wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. She couldn't say she was surprised. Still, Fry hadn't just been her sparring partner; he'd been her friend. Leela wanted their last moments together to be meaningful. "Well, Your Highness, I guess this is it," she smiled.
"Yep," was all Fry said in return. He wasn't smiling at all. His plump lips had thinned and his eyes were narrowed. Of course he would pull this now. God, he was such a baby. Leela rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. See you, Philip," The very first time they'd met, Fry had asked for neither Amy or Leela to call him by his first name. He'd never said why, but she'd always just assumed that it had something to do with his family and the fact that they were all dead. Normally, Leela would never say anything that cruel but she was angry and couldn't think straight. After all they'd been through together, he really wasn't going to say goodbye?
She stormed out of the room and down the quiet corridor. In only a few seconds, she could hear Fry hurrying after her.
"Leela!"
Keep going, she told herself, but to no effect. Leela stopped in her steps and turned to him. "Yes, Prince?"
"You can't just leave!"
"We've been over this. I have to go. It's not my choice,"
Fry's eyes were no longer angry. They now held the same weight they usually did when he looked at her. "Leela, we need you here."
Oh Lord, here we go. "We? Really?"
Fry raised his eyebrows, confused. "Yeah, we. Me, Amy, Glab, everyone. And Nibbler too! I mean, we need him here too,"
"You're so full of it," she sighed and continued walking.
"Full of what? All I'm trying to do is get you to rethink what you're doing," Fry chased after her again.
"Come on! You want me to stay because of the way you feel about me," Leela threw it out there. She was leaving; there was no point in hiding the truth any longer. But Fry, being Fry, didn't understand what she meant.
"Well, yeah! You're my friend and you're a hard worker and when you're around, the security let me do what I want –"
Leela stopped and faced him. "No, that's not what I mean! Come on, you and me? Come on, you know it's there,"
Fry stared at her for a moment and then blushed, laughing uncomfortably.
"What?! No . . . no . . . I don't . . ."
"Then why are you following me? Afraid I was gonna leave without giving you a goodbye kiss?"
"I'd just as soon kiss a Nibblonian!"
"I can arrange that!"
She walked away (more like marched away), and left Fry standing there alone, his arms across his chest. How could Leela possibly know he felt about her? He hadn't told her! It wasn't like he'd done anything he normally did when he liked someone. Having Leela know how he felt about her was a nightmare. Fry knew she'd never like him back, which was specifically why he'd never told her. He was almost thankful, in a way, that she was leaving. That way no one could ever find out about this.
As soon as he thought that, he took it back. A life without Leela was one he didn't want to imagine, no matter how much less stressful it would be. She made him think, she challenged him, she saw him as an equal, not an idiot. She infuriated him, but she also fueled the fire deep inside of him that made him want to help the rebellion and not just sit on the sidelines. She was special.
A big weight was lifted from Fry's chest when both Leela and Amy arrived safely back to the base. He wasn't about to thank Leela for rescuing Amy and bringing her back, and he certainly wasn't about to tell her how happy he was that she was okay. His relationship with Amy was different. The second she was safely tucked into her bed in the recovery room, he hugged her tightly and they played cards until security took him to eat lunch.
Upon returning back to her room, Leela was there, looking like she'd been waiting for him.
"Well, Your Highness, looks like you managed to keep me around a little while longer,"
Fry bit back his blush. "I had nothing to do with it. General Glab doesn't want any ships leaving the system until the energy field is set up,"
Leela leaned back against Amy's bed and smirked. "If I didn't think your fetish for one-eyed mutants would say otherwise, I might just believe that story,"
"I told you, I don't like you!" Fry's lip quivered in frustration.
Nibbler jumped from Amy's arms onto the floor and giggled softly. "Don't laugh at his lies, schnookems. Anyways, you didn't see us alone in the south passage,"
Amy raised her eyebrows.
"He told me how he really feels," Leela winked at Amy. Fry's eyes darted between the two of them and he backed away.
"Jerk! You're – you're so . . . mean! And rude! And what's the word I'm looking for when someone always tells you what to do?"
"Bossy," Amy whispered.
"And bossy!"
Leela scoffed. "Someone has to look after you and all your mess ups," she turned to Amy. "Must have hit pretty close to the mark to get him all riled up like that, huh?"
For a moment, Fry wanted to kiss her. He wanted to pull Leela to him and kiss her and push away the hairs that always fell into her eye. But he was too angry to do any of that. Instead, in a small moment of clarity, he marched over to Amy. "I guess you don't know as much about me as you think, Captain,"
He leaned in and kissed Amy right on the lips. She seemed surprised by it, because by the time she kissed him back he'd already pulled away. He gave Leela a dirty look before storming out of the room. That sure showed her, he thought to himself.
He can take care of himself, were the words Leela kept repeating to herself over and over again while she and Nibbler made the final touches on the Planet Express. No matter how many times she whispered them, they never became true. Fry couldn't take care of himself. Maybe it was the former pampered lifestyle as the last of a long line of royalty in his family, or maybe it was the simple fact that he wasn't as smart as everyone else.
Whatever the case, Leela continued telling herself that Fry would be fine when she left . . . until the Empire's attack. It was at that time that she stopped caring about Lrrr and paying off that debt, and started caring about Fry in a protective way that she'd hidden deep inside of her.
The entire base was shaking under the explosions when she yelled for Nibbler that she was going to the command center.
Fry was watching the monitors closely, Kif standing next to him. It seemed like all of his security had vanished, and for good reason. The entire room was in shambles. Leela hopped over some of the garbage. "Are you all right?" She shouted over to him.
He did a double take. "Why are you still here?"
"I asked if you're alright,"
"I'm fine. You're allowed to leave, so leave," he practically demanded.
Leela humphed. "Don't worry, I will. I'm just gonna get you to your ship first,"
The place began to shake again. Kif tapped Fry lightly on the shoulder. "Your Highness, we must take this last transport, I'm afraid,"
Fry took one last look at the monitors. It took all of Leela's strength not to roll her eye. There was absolutely nothing that he could do to stop what was happening. Just then, an announcement came over the loudspeaker: "Imperial troops have entered the base."
"Yeah, we're leaving. Now," She hopped over stray pieces of metal that had fallen from above and made her way over to Fry. He was distraught and looked a combination of scared and exhausted.
"Everyone get to your transports!" he yelled into his headset, just as Leela ripped it off of his head and began leading him out by his waist. Kif followed closely behind them.
Fry stuck closely to Leela's side and she thought that perhaps the reason he was so frightened was because he'd never done anything on his own before. His security was always right there, never letting him out of their sight, and now they'd abandoned him when he really needed them. For a moment, she thought that life experience might be good for Fry, but then corrected herself. Not this type of life experience.
As they raced through a corridor, there was an explosion in front of them. Both Fry and Kif screamed, but Fry instinctively covered Leela's head with his arms. Leela pushed him off and grabbed him by the hand, moving them away from the walls. She pulled the comlink from her jacket. "Transport, this is Turanga. I have the Prince with me, but I can't get him to you. I'll get him out on the Planet Express,"
They turned around and raced in that direction. Kif could be heard loudly sighing behind them. "We'll suffer a much worse fate on that piece of junk," he muttered loudly.
In only a minute, they'd arrived to the main hangar. Leela shoved Fry through the door and reluctantly hung back for Kif, who was still lagging behind. "Would you get a move on?!" she screamed. He hiccupped and began moving faster towards the Planet Express, where Nibbler was waiting for them.
"Finally!" called the Nibblonian, motioning for them to come aboard. Fry and Leela ran up the ramp, and Nibbler and Kif followed.
Leela took her seat at the wheel and Nibbler jumped to flip some switches near the windshield. "Anything?" she called over to him.
"Nope,"
Kif and Fry entered the Bridge. "Sir, I must insist you buckle in. It's going to be a bumpy flight –"
Fry ignored him. "What can I do to help?" he asked Leela.
"Sit down and shut up," she said, barely listening to him. Still, he did as told. Kif did the same and took some deep breaths. He looked to the back of the room and noticed something. "Um, Captain Turanga – might I suggest you . . ."
Leela gave him a death glare.
"Never mind,"
She flipped some more switches and pressed some more buttons. Nibbler reluctantly hurried back over to her. There was nothing more they could do but hope.
"Leela, are you sure this thing can –" Fry began.
"Can you just trust me for once in your damn life?"
"I trust you more than anyone!"
Normally, Leela would've had to have turned away from him, but right now, she had bigger issues. Stormtroopers had entered the main hangar, setting up a bazooka like weapon. Kif screamed. Nibbler shot a few blasts at them and there was a mild explosion.
Leela sucked in her cheeks and pressed hard on the wheel. The ship lifted off slowly, but it seemed like it was going to work okay. "Floor it!" Fry yelled to her and she did. The Planet Express's engines roared just as more stormtroopers entered the room, followed closely by Bender. In the knick of time, the ship disappeared out of the cave.
Fry cheered, unbuckling to run and hug Kif, who allowed it. "We did it!"
"Again with the 'we,'" said Leela.
"You know, some day I'm not gonna be here and you're going to miss my positivity,"
"Doubt it," Leela steered the ship to the left. Four TIE fighters were now following them. Positivity won't save our skins, sweetheart, was on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she yelled for Nibbler to fire some shots at them.
"Prince Philip, I would really recommend buckling in . . ." said Kif, but he was ignored.
The Planet Express zipped into the sky, now black with visible stars. Two Star Destroyers appeared out of nowhere, backing up the TIE fighters. Kif tried again, with Leela. "You know, Captain, I might suggest . . ."
"Could you shut him up?" Leela growled at Fry. "Nibbler, check the deflector shield!"
Nibbler squeaked out a reply. He readjusted an overhead switch. The Planet Express raced toward one of the oncoming Star Destroyers and then zoomed into a deep dive straight down. The four TIE fighters followed closely. The underside of the Star Destroyer continued onto a collision course with two oncoming Star Destroyers. Leela raced the Planet Express away from the colliding ships as the TIE fighters shot at them.
"Prepare to make the jump to light-speed!" Leela commanded.
"But, Captain, you –"
One of the losers hit them and the ship rumbled. Fry quickly buckled himself in. "They're coming in closer!"
"Oh, yeah?" said Leela, her eye twinkling. "Watch this,"
She pressed on both sides of the steering wheel, expectantly waiting for the stars to disappear as they entered hyperspace, but nothing happened. Nibbler and Leela exchanged looks.
"Watch what?" asked Fry.
Leela tried again. Nothing.
"If I may say so, Captain, I noticed earlier that the hyper drive motivator has been damaged. It's impossible to go to light-speed!" exclaimed Kif.
"Why didn't you say anything?!" Leela barked at him as the sound of explosions grew louder.
They continued to race through the sky, this time only followed by the Imperial Star Destroyer and the TIE fighters. The crew headed downstairs to the hold, where Leela worked furiously at the control panels. "Horizontal boosters . . . alluvial dampers . . . that's not it. Bring me the hydrospanners!"
Nibbler practically tossed the tools to her.
"I don't know how we're going to get out of this one," said Fry.
"No positive quips?" Leela said.
"I don't even know what that means,"
A loud thump hit the side of the Planet Express and it shook radically. Nibbler whined as the tools slid all over the place. The turbulence continued. "That's no laser blast. Something hit us," Leela noted and she hurried back up the Bridge. Nibbler jumped onto her shoulders and Fry followed them.
Through the Bridge window, hundreds of asteroids were now visible. Leela sighed, but fastened back into her chair. She pointed for Fry and Kif to do the same. She worked her controls just as a chunk of rock crossed right in front of them. "Oh, Lord. Nibbler, set two-seven-one,"
"What are you doing? You're not actually going into an asteroid field?" asked Kif, quivering nervously.
"They'd be crazy to follow us, wouldn't they?"
Another asteroid thumped against the ship and Fry took a sharp breath in. "You don't have to do this to impress me,"
"Maybe in your dreams, honey,"
Kif's fingers tapped at his empty cup holder. "Captain, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately three thousand, seven hundred and twenty to one."
"Never tell me the odds," Leela turned back to her wheel and moved the ship into the asteroid storm. As the ship completed its turn, asteroids began flying straight towards them. Fry screamed and hugged his knees to his chest as they avoided a particularly huge rock. To everyone's surprise, the TIE fighters followed them. Thankfully, the pilots weren't nearly as good as Leela and they began to lose track of the Planet Express easily. One even crashed into an asteroid, causing an explosion.
"Leela, I think maybe you should listen to Kif," Nibbler suggested.
"Yeah, I see that now, thanks," she bit her lip harshly, looking around as if to find an idea. And then, she found it. "Let's just get closer to one of the big ones,"
"Closer?!" said Fry and Kif together.
The Planet Express dove toward the surface of a moon-sized asteroid. The remaining TIE fighters continued shooting at them, causing small blasts against the rocky surface. Leela skimmed the surface of the thing as the TIE fighters approached them. She zoomed to the left, and a giant asteroid hurtled directly into their path. It crushed the TIE fighters entirely, and then began to tumble the remains out into space.
Everyone let out sighs of relief – all of which were short lived, considering they were still in an asteroid field. "There. That one looks good," Leela noted to Nibbler.
"If you say so," he said back.
The Planet Express dove into the huge crater in question. It was pitch black inside the tunnel like opening and the ship's emergency lights flickered on. Fry had all the faith in the world in Leela, but he wasn't so sure about her crummy old ship.
They'd been stuck in the crater's cave for exactly forty-five minutes when Nibbler and Leela's arguing died down. Neither of them could decide how to fix the ship, all while Kif sighed loudly in the background, annoying Leela even further.
"You know, Captain, I think it's possible this asteroid isn't entirely stable," he explained once Nibbler left to go do some inspections.
Leela raised her eyebrow. "Not entirely stable? You know what, Kif, why don't you go downstairs and see if you can put any of your magnificent charm onto the Planet Express? She does love her a weird, slimy green alien,"
Kif sighed, but did as told.
Suddenly, the ship lurches again, throwing Leela across the cabin into Fry's arms. Then, the motioned stopped just as quickly as it had started. It took Leela all of two seconds to realize she was in Fry's arms, and three seconds to realize she liked it.
"Let go," she said anyway.
"Sshh!" hissed Fry. "What if it's a monster out there?! He'll hear us,"
"There's no monster, you big baby. Let go of me, now," Leela said. She made no move to free herself from Fry's grasp, but let him lift her back onto her feet.
"Don't think this means that I like you or anything you were saying back on Pluto," Fry crossed his arms over his chest.
"Of course not," said Leela. "You were just protecting me from falling. I would've done the same for you,"
"Really?" Fry's eyes lit up and Leela could feel her cheeks burning.
"Don't think that means I like you or anything," she smirked and then exited through the door.
It felt like hours later, as Kif helped Nibbler and Leela work in the hold. Leela knew she was supposed to be thinking about getting them out of here, but instead, all she could think about was Fry. She was annoyed about the effect he'd had on her earlier, and how embarrassed she'd been – him seeing her like that. He'd never seen her as anything less than composed.
"The ship would like for me to tell you that the power coupling on the negative axis has been polarized. But she says she won't talk to you because you let Fry call her a piece of crap earlier," said Kif.
Leela groaned. "Well then, tell her I'll replace it,"
She handed a wire coil up to Nibbler. "Here," she continued. "I think we'd better replace the negative power coupling,"
And then she turned swiftly on her feet, up the stairs and back up to the guest cabin, where she'd sent Fry so he wouldn't get in the way. It wasn't like they were in any particularly hurry – things had calmed down. There hadn't been any big shakes in a while. And anyway, Fry was pissed off. She didn't want him to be upset with her.
Especially because Leela felt butterflies in her stomach just thinking about his arms around her.
Fry was playing with his yo-yo when she approached him – he was struggling with it, as usual. Leela moved to try and help him, but he rebuffed her.
"Hey, Your Highness, I'm only trying to help," she said.
"I think you should stop calling me that. It's Fry or nothing," he sounded sad.
Leela took a seat on the hammock. "Why's that? You've never really told me,"
Fry shrugged. "I always liked my name – Philip J. Fry. It never seemed particularly regal or anything, but it was better than Yancy - that was my dad's name and my brother's name. So I always thought I was the cool one in the family," Leela helped him untangle the yo-yo string from his fingers. "But you know, when they all died, and then when Earth blew up . . . it all just felt too personal. So did all that 'Your Highness' crap. I only let Kif call me that because he won't stop. Fry is just more . . . less personal. If that makes sense,"
Leela nodded. Fry moved away from her again. "But anyway . . . I shouldn't have even asked you to stop. You can never just be nice to me,"
She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry you feel that way . . . Fry,"
Fry stood up. "See? It was hard for you just to say my name because you're so afraid of being nice, because it might let me know how you really feel about me,"
How she really felt about him? How could Fry possibly know that? It wasn't an insult to his character, but he wasn't exactly the smartest at picking up other people's emotions. And Leela thought she'd done a damn good job of making sure Fry didn't think she was some softie who'd go for him just because he was a Prince.
"And how exactly do I feel about you?" she stood up as well, standing right in front of him.
"You like me. You think I'm cute," he was smirking, which was the most surprising thing to Leela. Well, no. The more surprising thing to her was that it actually made him look sexy.
"Cute? You're out of your mind,"
Fry took her hands in his and began tangling the yo-yo string up in her fingers as well. She pulled away as she felt her hands heat up. "Stop,"
"You don't want me to stop. If you did, you wouldn't be blushing as much as you are right now," he said.
Leela unconsciously took a step closer to him. "I don't like you," she insisted. "I like sophisticated men, complicated men . . ."
"You like me because I'm cute," Fry stepped closer to her. "You've never seen someone as cute as me,"
Cute wasn't the way she'd describe the way Fry looked to her right now. She'd never admit what she really thought he looked like right now, or the way it was making her tremble. He noticed this. "You're trembling,"
"I'm not trembling,"
Fry squeezed her hand. "You think I'm more than cute. You'd never admit that,"
Is he reading my mind?
"I happen to like . . . whatever the opposite of cute is," she managed out, staring right at his lips.
"I'm the opposite of cute," his lips were dangerously close to hers.
"No, you're not . . . you're . . ." And then he was kissing her. His lips were hot and his kiss was slow. Leela attempted to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him closer instantly, but their hands were still entangled. Her tongue slipped into his mouth, trying to get as much of him as possible. This felt so strangely right and Leela wondered why she hadn't done this months ago, years ago. It felt like she and Fry were always meant to be like this, like kissing was what they were put on this earth to do. Every other thought disappeared from her mind – who cared about the ship? Who cared about the Empire when Fry was right here?
But then of course, Kif's voice piped up from the doorway. "Captain! I've isolated the reverse – oh. Oh, I'm sorry . . ."
Leela quickly pulled away, untangling the yo-yo string from her fingers. She cleared her throat. "No, no. Um, yeah. Thank you. Why don't you go show me it?"
And then she turned, leaving Fry behind her.
Fry sat in the Bridge after a nap completely distressed. He was never on edge about anything – life always came pretty easily to him. But this was maybe the least simple thing that had ever happened to him. Leela had kissed him. Well, he'd kissed her, but she'd kissed him back. And God dammit if it hadn't been the best thirty seconds of his life.
They'd been trapped in this cave for probably days by now and it felt like Leela, Nibbler and Kif hadn't made any progress on the Planet Express. Maybe it was that he was so used to the fanciest ships that money could buy – or maybe that it was that he could clearly see that the Planet Express was a piece of junk, no matter what Leela said. He just wanted to get out of there and get to the rebel base. He was worried about Amy, and for some strange reason, he felt something strange each time she crossed his mind. It wasn't what he felt for Leela – it was stronger, in a way. Like a connection.
Fry was lost in his thoughts (for once), when he noticed something strange in the window. He didn't pay it any mind at first, but then he remembered that there was no one in the room to protect him. Fry sat up from his seat and moved closer to get a better look. There was nothing there – and then there was. A disgusting yellow creature with an odd sound coming from it appeared. Fry screamed and jumped a good foot in the air. It took him a moment to catch his breath and then he raced down to the hold area.
"There's something out there!" he yelled.
Nibbler was connecting some wires, and Leela was drilling in to the cement in the wall. Kif sat idly by.
Leela looked up. "Where?"
"Outside, in the cave,"
"Fry, this better not be one of your stories. We don't have time for games,"
"It's not a story, I swear! Go look!"
There was a sharp banging above them. Nibbler growled at it. "Oh, goodness, there is something!" Kif pulled his fingers up to his mouth in fear.
"I'm going out there," said Leela.
"You can't! You might get hurt!" Fry didn't feel as awkward expressing his concern for Leela now. Their feelings for each other were out on the table – there was nothing to hide.
"We literally just finished fixing this thing. I'm not going to let something tear it apart," Leela grabbed a breath mask and Nibbler followed suit.
"Fine. Then I'm going with you," said Fry, grabbing one and then following the two of them to the exit.
"Well, um, Prince Philip, if you don't mind, I'm going to stay here and keep watch," said Kif, but Fry was already outside in the cave.
It was pitch black, the only light coming from the Planet Express. The three of them couldn't see anything.
"Leela, I don't know about this so called 'cave.' This ground doesn't feel like rock," Nibbler exclaimed. He jumped from the floor up into Fry's arms, an arguably safer location.
Leela kneeled on to the ground, attempting to study the outline of the cave. "There's an awful lot of moisture in here,"
"I have a bad feeling about this," said Fry, a shiver running up his spine.
Nibbler squawked and pointed to the underside of the ship's Bridge. A five-foot long figure was scurrying across the top of the Planet Express. Leela immediately shot at it, and the creature screeched before tumbling to the ground.
She picked it up and then tossed it aside just as quickly. "Mynock. Nibbler, check the rest of the ship, make sure there aren't any more attached,"
"Mynocks? That's a silly, made up creature," Fry laughed.
"Go on inside," said Leela. "You're going to get hurt if you stay out here with those things,"
Before he could even think, a swarm of creature swooped through the air. Fry ducked to the ground, trying to protect himself. Leela ran towards him, picking him up and then practically throwing him to the ship's entrance. She turned around, blaster at the ready, once Fry was safely inside. "Wait a minute . . ."
She fired at the far side of the huge cave. The cavern began to shake rapidly. Nibbler ran inside the ship and Leela followed him. The Mynocks began to fly away in the opposite direction that the ship faced.
Once inside the Bridge, Leela took her seat behind the wheel. The ship was heaving from side to side, so much so that even seatbelts couldn't keep Fry and Kif from tumbling forward. "Let's get out of here!" Leela commanded, pointing to Nibbler to flip some switches.
"But Leela! The Empire is still out there! Aren't they?" said Fry, turning to Kif for help. He nodded.
"No time to discuss this in the committee,"
"I am not a committee!"
Leela pulled back on the throttle, and the quaking diminished behind them as they took off. "You can't make the jump to light-speed in the asteroid field, Captain," Kif insisted.
"Leela, look!" cried Nibbler, pointing out the window.
"I see it, I see it," A row of jagged white stalagmites were surrounding the entrance. As the ship moved forward, the entrance appeared to be shrinking inside. Leela pulled hard on the throttle and the Planet Express surged forward.
"The cave is collapsing!" Fry cried, hiding his head in his lap.
"This is no cave," said Leela.
"What?"
And then it became apparent. The rocks of the cave's entrance weren't rocks at all, but giant teeth. They had been inside some sort of creature's stomach. The Planet Express rolled to the side and barely made it between two of the huge white teeth before the jaws slammed closed. Fry and Kif breathed heavy sighs of relief.
Just as Fry has predicted, the Planet Express was being followed by a Star Destroyer the moment they left the "cave." A large asteroid tumbled rapidly toward them and the tiny ship banked to avoid it, as smaller rocks pelted them instead.
Kif moved to check a tracking scope on the side panel. "Oh, thank goodness. We're coming out of the asteroid field!"
Nibbler breathed a sigh of relief as the asteroids began to subside. His relief disappeared in half a second – the Star Destroyer shot at them, causing a small explosion on the backside of the ship. It fired again, hitting them a second time. The Planet Express tilted steeply.
Leela corrected the angle. "Ready for light-speed? One . . . two . . . three!"
She pulled back on the hyperspace throttle and nothing happened. Fry pretended to be shocked. "How the fucking fuck . . .?" she muttered under her breath. She tried again and again to try and get it working, but to no avail.
"The transfer circuits are working . . . it's not my fault!"
Nibbler whined loudly. "Leela, we've just lost the main rear deflector shield. We need to turn her around or we're done for,"
Leela growled. "Fine – turn her around. I'm going to put all power in the front shield,"
"You're going to attack them?" asked Kif. "The odds of surviving a direct assault on an Imperial Star Destroyer –"
"WILL YOU SHUT UP?" Fry practically screamed in his face.
The Planet Express made a steep turn, twisting fully until it was racing toward the Star Destroyer. The imperial ship continued shooting at them, the Planet Express bobbing and weaving to avoid numerous flak bursts. Leela drove them directly to the Avenger's bridge. She landed them safely on top.
Time passed by slowly until Bender's ship moved away, flanked by its fleet of smaller ships. The Avenger stayed in position.
"The fleet's breaking up. Go back and stand by the manual release for the landing claw," said Leela. Nibbler nodded, climbing out of the cabin.
"I really don't think that's going to do much, Captain. Surrender is a perfectly acceptable –" Fry shot Kif a look and he nodded, getting the picture. He shut up instantly.
Fry turned to Leela. "So, where do we go from here?"
"Well, if they're following standard Imperial procedure, they'll dump the garbage just before going to light-speed. Then we just float away with the rest of the trash," she explained.
"Okay. Then what? I think we need to go back to the rebel base. I'm worried about Amy,"
Leela's face hardened at the mention of Amy, clearly frustrated that Fry would bring up another woman after the kiss they'd shared. "Obviously, the end goal is to get to the rebel base. But for now, we've got to find a safe port. I was thinking the Anoat system,"
"No. Well, wait. This is interesting – Hermes," Leela pointed to the computer map screen on the control panel. Fry stood up from his chair to look at it.
"Hermes system?"
"Hermes is a man. Hermes Conrad. He's a limbo champion – I used to judge those stupid contests back on Nylar 4. But he's also a friend,"
Fry scanned the map screen. "Jai-may-ka. What's that?"
"Jamaica," Leela corrected him. "It's really just a factory based on top of a beach planet. Hermes won it in some limbo contest,"
"Can you trust him?" asked Fry.
"Not back when I knew him, but maybe now. He's got a wife and a kid – maybe that's softened him,"
Nibbler barked over the intercom. Leela changed her readouts and stretched to look out the window. "Here we go," she said into the intercom. "Stand by. Detach!"
The Avenger Star Destroyer's hatch opened, sending a trail of garbage behind it. The Planet Express tumbled away with it just as the Avenger roared into hyperspace. Leela reignited the engines and raced them away in the opposite direction.
She leaned back in her chair, still frowning from Fry's Amy comment. Fry was smiling brightly, and before he thought better of it, he gave her a kiss on the cheek. It instantly softened her.
Within hours, they'd arrived to a yellow-orange planet. Huge clouds broke apart as the Planet Express zipped through them, heading toward the system. Jamaica looked to be a giant beach, larger than Fry had ever seen, but a black factory the length of the surface stood in the sand. The ocean was polluted with a green substance and the clouds weren't clouds at all, but smog. Leela turned the windshield wipers on.
"No, I don't have a landing permit! I'm trying to reach Hermes Conrad. That's C-O-N-R-A-D," she barked into the transmitter.
Flak busted outside the window and rattled the ship. "Just let me explain!"
"You will not deviate from your present course," said the intercom.
"I thought you knew this guy," Fry crossed his arms over his chest.
"Maybe he's angry at you because of what happened last time," Nibbler suggested, not taking his eyes off the path.
Leela pulled her lips together. "Well . . . that was years ago. I'm sure he's forgotten about that,"
"Permission granted to land on Platform Three-two-seven," said the intercom.
"Thank you," she sighed and snapped off the transmitter. Nibbler grunted. Leela turned to Fry, who was looking at her with a worried expression. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Hermes and I have known each other for years,"
"Who's afraid?" he said, somewhat sarcastically.
The Planet Express landed on top of one of the floating platforms on the side of the large factory building. Leela and Nibbler stood at the opened hatch, armed at the ready, surveying the scene warily.
"No one to meet us. That's odd," said Kif.
"I don't like this," said Fry. He was oddly uncomfortable – he usually enjoyed everything that life had to offer.
"They did let us land. Maybe we should just be appreciative," Kif trembled.
"Exactly. Everything's going to be fine," Leela nodded.
And just then, Hermes Conrad led a group of aides and guards onto their platform. Hermes was a small, plump black man with short dreadlocks and glasses that made his beady eyes look even smaller. He didn't look too happy to see them. Fry moved a step in front of Leela.
"See? What did I tell you?" she said to him, and walked down the ramp to meet Hermes and the aliens and droids with him.
Hermes stopped about ten feet away from Leela. She eyed him, trying to read his expression.
"Why, you slimy, double-crossing no-good pirate! You've got some nerve coming here, after that stunt you pulled," he spoke with a thick accent that Fry assumed was Space potato-nese.
Hermes moved threateningly toward Leela and Fry pulled at the ray gun in his back pocket. Instead of attacking, the man threw his arms around a startled Leela, hugging her.
"How you doing, One-Eye? It's so great to see you! I've got to introduce you to Dwight! How you been?"
Leela laughed.
Kif, Nibbler and Fry all followed them and approached Leela and Hermes. "Well, he seems friendly," said Kif.
"Yeah. Too friendly," Fry squinted his eyes. There was something he didn't like about this Hermes, and it had nothing to do with him more than likely being a smuggler like Leela. Everything about this situation felt fishy and oddly suspicious.
"So what are you doing here?" Hermes asked.
Leela motioned to the Planet Express. "Repairs. I thought maybe you could help me out,"
"What have you done to my ship?" his tone was mocking.
"Your ship? You lost her to me fair and square," Leela insisted.
"Hello, Hermes," said Nibbler from the ground.
Hermes looked down at him and smiled. "Nibbler! You never change, do you, boy? And who do we have here?" he nodded at Fry. "I'm Hermes Conrad, administrator of this facility. And you are?"
"Fry," Fry said, noticing the wink that Hermes gave him.
"That's Prince Philip to you! He's royalty," Kif insisted.
Hermes's eyes widened. "Royalty? Well then, we'll have to make sure you're well accommodated. Welcome, Prince Philip,"
He kissed Fry's hand and Leela shooed him away. "All right, all right," she took Fry by the hand and steered him away from Hermes.
"Hello, sir. I'm Lieutenant Kif Kroker. I've been assigned to the Prince . . ." before Kif could finish his introduction, Hermes turned to follow Fry and Leela toward the factory. Kif sighed loudly.
"What's wrong with the Planet Express?" Hermes asked.
"Hyper drive,"
"I'll get my staff right on it,"
"Thank you," Leela nodded.
The group crossed the narrow bridge and entered the factory. They walked down the lovely entranceway, rounding several corners and passing many windows where they could see people hard at work. Kif lagged behind them a little.
"So how's this all working for you?" Leela asked.
"We're a small outpost and not very self-sufficient. I mean, we are located on a beach. Not many other factories can say that. But I can't complain – I've got a good job. My workers work for below minimum wage, my wife and kid are clothed and fed," Hermes paused. "You know, Leela, it really is good to see you,"
"You too," she smiled at him.
Hermes led them through a corridor where the lagging Kif noticed another Amphibiosan coming out of a door. "Oh, hello. Nice to see a fellow member of my own kind,"
"E chu ta," the Amphibiosan muttered.
"I should've expected that," Kif stopped. He heard a muffled sound coming from the other end of the room. A man in a DOOP uniform stood there, looking at a computer screen. Curious, Kif entered the room. "A DOOP member! Maybe he's a Lieutenant like me,"
Kif walked through the doorway to the room. "Oh . . . oh . . . I'm sorry . . ."
"Who are you?" asked a man.
"Oh, I'm sorry . . . I didn't mean to intrude. Please, don't get up. No, I'll just leave. No, no, no!" A laser bolt hit Kif square in the chest and he was sent flying in twenty directions. His body parts disattached and bounced off the walls, the door closing behind him.
They'd been in Jamaica for a full day when Fry finally got to be alone with Leela. Hermes had given him some fine robes, so comfortable that Fry had fallen asleep for the first time in days the night before. He'd dreamed of danger. Amy and Leela were screaming, running away from the Empire. Everything was in flames and the only thing Fry could feel was pain. When he woke up, the pain was still there and it hadn't subsided. Jamaica wasn't safe and Leela was wrong to trust Hermes. He was positive of it.
Leela entered the quarters he'd been assigned to. "The ship's almost finished. We'll be able to leave soon,"
"The sooner the better," Fry exclaimed, walking over to her. "Something's wrong here, I know it. No one has seen or knows anything about Kif and he's been gone too long to have gotten lost,"
Leela took Fry by the shoulders and kissed him on the forehead. "Relax. I'll talk to Hermes and see what he can do,"
"I don't like Hermes," Fry said.
"But you like everyone,"
"Not him! I'm telling you, Leela. We're not safe here,"
Leela led Fry to the couch and sat down. "Stop worrying, okay? We'll soon be gone,"
"And then you're as good as gone, aren't you?" Fry looked away from her and Leela reflected on his words. She'd completely forgotten about Lrrr up until this point and as much as she wanted to keep it that way, once she got Fry and Kif back to the base, she'd have to leave.
Before she could offer him any words of comfort, the door zapped open. Nibbler walked in, holding Kif's body parts in levitation above his head. Fry jumped up. "What happened?"
"I recovered him in a junk pile downstairs,"
"Gross! Do you think you can put him back together?" asked Fry.
Nibbler nodded. "Of course. A monkey could do something so simple,"
"Don't worry about it, Nibbler. I'll ask Hermes to get his people to fix him," said Leela.
"Yeah, no thanks," said Fry.
The door slid open again, revealing Hermes himself. "Oh, sorry to interrupt,"
Fry grunted.
"Why, don't you look as handsome as a hermit crab in a tide pool," said Hermes, moving to Fry. Nibbler and Kif's body parts backed up to the other end of the room.
"Thank you," Fry rolled his eyes.
"Why don't you all join me for some refreshments?" Hermes questioned.
Nibbler turned, barking in both excitement and hunger. Hermes motioned to Kif. "What happened? Are you having some trouble?"
Fry and Leela exchanged a quick glance. Leela took Fry's hint. "Nope, no problem at all."
Fry offered Leela his arm and she took it. They moved arm-in-arm through the door, followed by Hermes and Nibbler. The door slid closed behind them. Long shafts of light lit the dark corridors as they walked. "So you see, since the Empire took over our beaches, the people here haven't been very happy. Specifically Labarbara and Dwight,"
"So the Empire controls your planet?" asked Leela.
"Unfortunately, for about a decade now. But things have developed here that will insure security. I've just made a deal that will get the Empire out of here forever," Hermes opened the mighty doors to the dining room. At the far end of a huge banquet table sat Bender. Faster than the wink of an eye, Leela drew her blaster and popped off a couple of shots. Bender raised his hand, deflecting the bolts into one of the sidewalls. Leela's weapon zipped into Bender's hand.
Behind the robot, the Donbot stepped forward. Leela recognized from around the Cantina on Mars. The bounty hunter must've tracked them here. Fry took her hand and put his arm out in front of her.
"We would be honored if you would join us," said Bender.
Fry glared at Hermes.
"I had no choice," said the man. "They arrived right before you. Leela, I'm sorry,"
"Yeah, me too," she snarked.
Nibbler had managed to get most of Kif back together in the large cell they were kept in. His legs had yet to be attached and he was moaning and complaining loudly. His sighs were cut off by the door to the chamber sliding open and a ragged Leela being shoved in by two stormtroopers. They'd taken her away forever ago, to torture her, Nibbler could only assume. The second her body hit the floor, the Nibblonian jumped to envelope her in a hug. She was paler than usual, a large dark circle under her eye, and she was sweating.
"What did they do to you?" asked Kif from a table.
Nibbler led Leela onto a platform where she lied down.
"You don't want to know," was her only response.
The door slid open again, revealing Fry. The stormtroopers shoved him to the floor. He crawled over to Leela, who felt around for his hands and then grabbed them.
"Why are they doing this?" he asked her.
"They never even asked me any questions," she sounded completely exhausted and worn out. Fry leaned down and kissed her on the head.
Once again, the door opened. Hermes and two of his guards entered.
"Hermes," Fry squinted his eyes and helped Leela sit up. She leaned against his arm.
"Get out of here, fuckwit," she managed out.
One of the guards held up a weapon, but Hermes pushed his arm down. "Just listen! Bender has agreed to turn Fry and Nibbler over to me,"
"Never," said Fry.
"They'll have to stay here, but at least they'll be safe," Hermes explained.
"But what about Leela?" asked Nibbler.
"Bender's giving her to the bounty hunter,"
Fry shook his head. "But Bender wants us all dead. Why would he do that? I thought he was after us,"
"No," said Hermes. "He doesn't want you at all. He's after somebody called Wong,"
"Amy! I knew she was in danger!" Fry's heartbeat quickened.
"Lord Bender has set a trap for her,"
"And we're the bait," said Leela, slowly putting it all together.
"Well, she's on her way. No stopping that now," said Hermes.
"You fixed us all pretty good, didn't you? You were supposed to be my friend!" Leela called out. She hauled off of Fry and punched Hermes. The guards hit her with their rifle butts and she fell to the floor across the room. Nibbler growled and bit one of them on the leg. They pointed their weapons at him, but Hermes stopped them.
"Just stop! Everyone calm down. I've done all I can. I'm sorry I couldn't do more, but I have my family to think of,"
Leela scoffed.
Hermes and the guards turned and left. Leela wiped blood from her chin and Fry sat her up, her head leaning against his chest. "You sure do have a way with people," Fry said, running his hands through her hair.
It wasn't long before a squad of six stormtroopers led Fry, Leela and Nibbler onto a carbon-freezing platform. Kif was levitated over Nibbler's head, his legs floating just behind him. Leela's hands were restrained and Fry's arm was wrapped around hers, helping guide her as she was still woozy from whatever Bender had done to her. In the center of the room, stood Bender and the Donbot.
As terrified as she was, Leela tried to hide it. She knew that she needed to be strong for Fry. He was practically helpless and he was so naïve (except for the past day and a half, when he'd shockingly been right about Hermes), he needed for Leela to make him feel like everything was going to be okay.
"If only you'd attached my legs, I wouldn't be up here looking so ridiculous!" Kif yelped. "Oh please, don't let me fall Nibbler,"
They approached Hermes, who was staring down at the chamber, looking worried. "What's going on?" asked Leela.
"You're being put into carbon freeze,"
Fry and Leela let go of each other, instead choosing to gaze into each other's eyes. There was so much Leela wanted to say to him and so much she wasn't yet ready to say. She could only hope that she'd made her true feelings for him clear over the past week or so.
"What if she don't survive? She's worth a lot to me," said the Donbot.
"The Empire will compensate you if she dies. Put her in!" commanded Bender.
Nibbler was hiding his true identity, and to the stormtroopers, he was nothing but a mindless animal. With this in mind, he let out a wild howl and began attacking the stormtroopers surrounding Leela. Imperial reinforcements joined the scuffle, clubbing the tiny creature with their laser weapons. Kif was shaking from side to side, shrieking the whole time. "Please, Nibbler, stop it! I'm not ready to die!"
Fry was distracted. His attention had been drawn to Bender, who was looking at him with a grim look that Fry couldn't place. It was then that Fry felt the same feeling in his heart that he felt when he thought about Amy. The feeling confused him and confusing things scared him, so Fry backed up back towards Leela.
The stormtroopers were about to bash Nibbler in the face. "Hey, hey, hey! Stop, Nibbler, stop it! Do you hear me?! Stop it!"
Leela broke away from her captors. Bender nodded to the guards to let her go and she broke up the fight.
"Nibbler, stop it! This won't help me!" she gave him a stern look. "Save your strength. There'll be another time. Fry. You have to take care of him. Do you hear me?"
Nibbler frowned but jumped up into Fry's arms anyway. The stormtroopers put his paws into restraints. Leela leaned forward and kissed her loyal companion on the head.
Leela turned back to Fry, sorrowfully. This could be the last time she'd ever see him. Carbon freezing was extremely dangerous and to her knowledge, no living thing had ever survived being put into it before. And even if she did survive, she was still being sent to Lrrr, who would certainly make sure she never saw the light of day again. Whatever life she was going to have from here, it was going to be a miserable one.
But then there was Fry, looking as beautiful as she'd ever seen him. His freckles were cute, as was his mop of bright orange hair. Leela longed to see his goofy smile, but she knew she wasn't going to in these circumstances. So instead, she moved toward him and gave him one final, passionate kiss.
The guards grabbed Leela from behind, pulling her away. Fry's lips were still puckered and his eyes were closed, as if dreaming that Leela was still pressed against him. As the stormtroopers placed Leela on top of the hydraulic platform, he thought Fuck it.
"I love you!"
"I know."
Tears rolled down Fry's face as he watched the Ugnaughts unfasten the handcuffs from Leela's hands. Leela continued staring at him – wanting the last thing she saw to be the man she loved. The platform dropped and Nibbler howled loudly. Fry wanted to turn away, but he didn't. He knew that Leela needed him and he couldn't give up on her just because he was scared.
As Leela reached the bottom of the pit, the Ugnaughts flipped a lever and smoke erupted. She gave Fry one small smile before her face disappeared. Fiery liquid began to pour down in a shower of sparks and fluid. Fry finally turned away from the sight, shielding Nibbler's eyes with his hand. Kif leaned forward from above. "Don't worry Prince Philip, she should be quite well protected – if she survives the freezing process, that is."
A mechanical tong slowly lifted the steaming plate out of the vat and stood it on the platform. The Ugnaughts rushed over and pushed the block onto the ground. It landed with a thud and the smoke cleared away slowly, revealing Leela's face. She looked to be mid-scream, completely distressed. Fry looked down at her, and petted Nibbler to calm him. The Nibblonian hid his face in Fry's chest, and Fry could feel tear drops hitting his t-shirt.
Hermes knelt to the floor just as the Ugnaughts attached an electric box around the structure. He adjusted some knobs, measuring the heat.
"Well, Conrad, did she survive?" came Bender's voice.
"Yes, she's alive. And in perfect hibernation," said Hermes, obviously saddened.
"She's all yours, Donbot," Bender turned to the Ugnaughts. "Reset the chamber for Wong,"
"Wong has just landed, my lord," said an Imperial Officer.
"Good. See to it that she finds her way here. Conrad, take the Prince and the Nibblonian to my ship,"
Hermes practically leaped up. "You said they'd be left here under my supervision!"
Bender walked to him, speaking right in his face. "I'm altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further,"
Hermes bit his lip and then wiped his glasses on his shirt. He turned to Fry, Nibbler and Kif and motioned for them to follow him, an Imperial guard and two stormtroopers.
The group followed the Donbot, who was accompanied by two men guarding the floating, encased body of Turanga Leela. After a while, they turned to go in another direction and Fry felt his heart sink. He stared at the carbonite for as long as he could, hoping that somehow all his love was getting through. Still, the feeling he got when he looked at Bender remained. And then suddenly, the Imperial guard pointed down a passageway and the Stormtroopers began shooting. Someone shot back at them.
Kif screamed again, and the Stormtroopers grabbed Fry and Nibbler, pulling them away from the gunshots. Fry's heart was racing and he tried to see who could be shooting. The figure looked familiar – too familiar.
Amy.
"Amy! Amy, don't – it's a trap! It's a trap!" Before Fry could say much else, he's pulled through a doorway and disappeared from sight.
Down another corridor, Fry is shaking in fear, Nibbler walking next to him. Amy was going to die! He'd lost Leela and now he was losing Amy. It took all of his strength not to cry. They reached another intersection to see Lobot and a dozen of Hermes's guards standing at attention. The guards aimed their guns at the startled stormtroopers and took their weapons. Lobot handed one to Fry and one to Nibbler.
"Well done. Hold them in the security tower. Put Labarbara and Dwayne on a transport to the rebel base. And make sure no one hears about this," said Hermes. The guards marched the stormtroopers away.
Hermes began to undo Nibbler's binding.
"What are you doing? Leave him alone!" cried Fry.
"We're leaving," said Hermes.
"Oh, thank you, kind sir! I knew this had to be a mistake," said Kif from above.
Nibbler began to attack Hermes as soon as he was free. "And you think that after what you did to Leela we're gonna go with you?"
Hermes attempted to free himself. "I had no choice," he said from in between Nibbler's surprisingly strong hands.
"Nibbler, stop! Trust him!" Kif demanded.
"Ohhhhh. We understand, don't we, Nibbler? 'I had no choice,' you're full of it!" said Fry.
"I'm just trying to help you," said Hermes.
Fry shook his head. "We don't need your help."
"L-l-e-e-l-l . .." Hermes tried.
"What?"
"It sounds like Leela!" Kif pointed out. "Listen to him!"
"There's still a chance to save Leela . . ."
"Nibbler, let him go," Fry commanded. Nibbler finally released Hermes, who was fighting to get his breath back.
"I'm so sorry, sir." said Kif as Hermes began to lead them down a corridor. There, they spotted URL, rushing toward them, beeping wildly. "URL! Where have you been? How did you get here?!"
Nibbler, Leela and Hermes didn't slow down. "Hurry, hurry up! We're trying to save Captain Turanga from a bounty hunter!"
Whistling frantically to Kif, URL scooted along with the group.
URL got onto the elevator with them just in time and it took them to the large bay overlooking the East Landing platform. Just as they arrived, the Donbot's ship took off against the sunset sky. Nibbler howled in agony and began firing at the sky.
"Stop it, Nibbler, they'll hear you!" said Kif.
A laser bolt exploded near Fry's head. Coming from the other direction came a squad of stormtroopers. Fry and Nibbler started firing at the troopers as Hermes began running back to the elevator. Laser bolts continued to hit the concrete walls behind them, but they didn't budge. Hermes motioned for the pair to run, but they hardly noticed. All of their attention and emotions was being poured into their shots. This was the only revenge they might ever get.
This is for Leela! Fry thought after one shot. This one's for Amy! He thought after another.
They began to move through the rain of laser fire toward the elevator. Once they were inside, the door slammed shut.
Fry, Hermes, Nibbler, Kif and URL came up the elevator, rounded a corner and headed for the door to the landing platform. The Planet Express was visible for a moment before the door slammed shut. They ducked into an alcove as the stormtroopers arrived at the other end of the corridor. A rain of laser bolts fell on the group. Nibbler and Fry returned their fire.
"Great goose of Gargantuan! They changed the security codes!" Hermes explained.
"URL, you can tell the computer to override the security system," said Kif. URL beeped and scooted toward the computer socket.
Hermes turned his attention to the panel's intercom. "Attention! This is Hermes Conrad. The Empire has taken control of the city – leave immediately before more Imperial troops arrive,"
URL took off the computer cover and stuck his computer arm into the socket. His short beeps turned into a wild scream. URL's circuits lit up, his head spinning wildly. Smoke seeped out from underneath him. Nibbler pulled him away.
Hermes groaned. "Oh, this way!"
They fled down the corridor, URL beeping angrily at Kif.
"Don't blame me. I'm an interpreter! How would I know a power socket from a computer terminal?" Kif said back.
Once they reached another passageway, URL did the same to the door. Nibbler and Fry continued firing at the stormtroopers. Within seconds, the door snapped open.
"I never doubted you for a second!" cried Kif.
The group dashed outside, racing for the Planet Express as a battalion of stormtroopers reached the door. Nibbler, Kif and URL hurried on board while Fry and Hermes held off the troops.
The giant engines began to whine as the two raced up the ramp under a hail of laser fire. "Prince Philip! Get on!" Hermes whistled.
Fry shot once more before running on board. Hermes followed and the second the hatch closed, Nibbler pulled back on the throttle. The Planet Express lifted gracefully from the ground amidst the firing troops and the TIE fighters taking off in pursuit.
In minutes, the Planet Express continued racing away from the Imperials following them.
Fry, meanwhile, was abruptly lost in a fog. He was staring straight in front of him, his expression troubled. The feeling was back, but this time, it was stronger than it had ever been. In his mind, he saw Amy. Amy, bruised and battered, yelling for help. Yelling for him, specifically. It could've been a daydream, but in his heart, he knew it wasn't.
"Amy . . . we've got to go back," Fry said clearly.
"What?" said Nibbler.
"Amy. I know where she is," he nodded.
"But what about those fighters?" asked Hermes.
"It's too dangerous, Leela," Nibbler agreed.
"Nibbler, just do it!" Fry insisted.
"But what about Vader?" questioned Hermes. Nibbler turned on him and growled. "All right, all right. Fine."
Nibbler turned the ship around and followed Fry's directions. Three TIE fighters closed in on them. Fry breathed carefully, trying to remain calm.
"Look!" said Hermes, pointing through the window. "Someone's up there!"
Fry looked below the landing platform where Hermes was pointing. "It's Amy! Nibbler, slow down and we'll get under her. Hermes, go open the top hatch,"
Moments passed by slowly, and out the cockpit window, Fry saw Amy fall from the bottom of the platform. "Okay . . . easy . . ."
The Planet Express halted directly underneath him. The TIE fighters continued firing at them. The hatch popped open and Fry tapped his foot, waiting impatiently. Flak bursted all around them and Nibbler insisted they leave, but Fry hushed him. "Hermes?" he asked into the intercom.
"Okay, we're good. Let's go," said Hermes's voice.
The Planet Express raced away, closely followed by the TIE fighters, still firing heavy laser assault on them. Explosions erupted all around the cockpit, making the ship sway from side to side. Nibbler howled frantically.
Fry and Nibbler turned to see Amy, bloody and battered, enter the cockpit, supported by Hermes. Fry breathed a loud sigh of relief, jumping up to hug her. "Oh, Fry . . ." she huffed out, panting.
"All right, Nibbler, let's go," said Hermes, as Fry wrapped his arm around Amy and led her into the sleeping quarters.
All over the ship, alarm buzzers sounded. Hermes anxiously watched the flashing lights on the control panel and hurriedly adjusted some switches. Nibbler pointed out a new blip appearing on the panel. Fry returned to the cockpit and watched over their shoulders, recognizing the shape. "Star Destroyer," he noted.
"All right, Nibbler. Ready for light-speed," Hermes put his hands back onto the wheel.
"If your people fixed the hyper drive," said Nibbler through his teeth.
Another explosion rocked the ship. Nibbler noticed a green light on the panel next to him. "All the coordinates are set," he said.
"Punch it!" commanded Hermes.
The Nibblonian pulled back on the light-speed throttle. The sound of the ion engine changed . . . and then it flickered off. Nibbler let out a frustrated howl. The flak still violently rocked the ship.
"They told me they fixed it! I trusted them! I swear, it's not my fault!"
Nibbler stormed from the cockpit and left Hermes to fly the ship alone.
He and URL worked in the hatch, connecting wires together while Kif, legs now attached, watched.
"Why can't we just go into light-speed?" asked Kif.
URL beeped.
"The city's central computer told you? You know better than to trust a strange computer!" Kif exclaimed as Nibbler tried to loosen something with an enormous wrench.
Fry and Hermes stayed in the cockpit. After a few minutes, Hermes yelled for Nibbler to come back up. URL raced to a control panel and started working on a circuit board. Kif paced furiously in circles next to him. "URL, you don't know how to fix the hyper drive! Nibbler can do it. Stop having delusions of grandeur!"
URL moved a circuit on the panel, suddenly lighting it up. Fry and Hermes were thrown back in their seats as the Planet Express instantly and unexpectedly shot into hyperspace. URL toppled back against Kif. "Oh, you did it! I knew you could!"
It was days later, but it felt like weeks, when Fry, Amy, Kif and URL were safe and sound on a rebel cruiser. For the first couple of days, Fry had done nothing but sleep. He was physically and emotionally exhausted from all that had went on and there was so much on his mind, but nothing he wanted to say aloud. All he could think of was Leela. Even with Nibbler sleeping at the edge of his bed every night, he was terribly lonely. Leela's I know, rang in his head over and over. He could feel the pain in her final goodbye from thousands of light years away.
He was currently in the medical center, watching Amy get her hand reattached. She'd claimed to have lost it in a battle with Bender – just the thought terrified Fry. Nibbler had left about an hour ago to go and find Leela. Before he'd left, Fry had kissed his head as Leela had and whispered a "Be careful" and then finally "Bring her home to me."
"Amy, we're ready to takeoff," said Hermes into a comlink.
"Good luck," said Amy.
"When we find Lrrr and that bounty hunter, we'll contact you," Hermes repeated.
A medical droid worked on Amy's hand as Fry held her other one. He was sweating and shaking, afraid of the very real possibility that Hermes and Nibbler wouldn't be returning. In the past couple days, when he wasn't so on edge, Fry had come to realize that he probably would've done the same thing in Hermes's position. Anyone would've. Plus, he was Leela's friend at one point and Leela was always right. Except for back in Jamaica. Every other time, Fry had been right to trust her. And so he trusted Hermes.
"I'll meet you at the rendezvous point on Mars," Amy said into the comlink.
"Prince Philip," said Hermes and Fry turned to the comlink. "We'll find Leela. I promise,"
"It'll be alright, Fry, Amy. Believe me, I know it will. I've foreseen it," said Nibbler.
"It would've been nice if you'd foreseen everything else that's gone down lately," Amy chuckled uncomfortably.
Nibbler knew she was kidding and didn't respond.
"Take care, you two. May the Force be with you," Amy finished and Fry took the comlink, setting it aside. He stood up and approached Kif and URL, who were standing at the large window.
Amy looked down at her hand. A metalized bandaged had been wrapped around her wrist. The medical droids made some adjustments, then pricked each one of Amy's fingers. She flinched in pain, but then wriggled her fingers, made a fist and relaxed it. Her hand is completely functional.
She stood up and walked over to Fry. The new bond between them had been unspoken so far, but it's understood. They both knew that there had to be something really special going on if he'd been able to hear her from miles away back in Jamaica. Amy didn't think she felt anything romantic for Fry at this point – she thought that maybe she'd misjudged what she'd felt for him when they first met. And Fry clearly felt the same way, as he was staring out at the Planet Express, watching it disattach from the Star cruiser. He was obviously thinking about Leela.
Amy put her arm around him and he smiled down at her. Kif put his arm around URL as well. The Planet Express zoomed away into space.
My love for Leela is the strongest thing in this whole galaxy, Fry thought to himself. It'll be enough to save her. It has to be.
Author's Note: Please review!