Teddy watched his girl from across the room, a sad glimmer in his eyes. This was their last chance to be together for a long time. Perhaps, even, forever. He shook his head harshly, giving a small growl. It would not be forever. Larry had promised to somehow, someway, return the Tablet back to the museum. When was the question.
How long would it be before he saw her beautiful face? How long before he gazed into her soft, dark eyes? How long would it be until he got the chance to kiss her sweet, gentle lips, or feel her warm embrace as he held her in his loving arms?
He looked away quickly as he felt her eyes turn to him. He had to be strong. For her. He could not let her see his weakness. Teddy cleared his throat, and slowly turned to face her. He was surprised to find her already beside him on the windowsill, and jumped slightly.
"Did I startle you?" Sacagawea asked quietly, her dark eyes searching her love's.
"Er, no, my dear." Teddy replied rather quickly. "I was on my over to you."
"I see." She said gently, pulling her legs against her chest. "You were coming to comfort me."
"Well….yes, I was." He replied. He then sighed, and shook his head. "I wanted to see you one last time, before sunrise."
Sac gave a small, side smile, and reached out her arms, wrapping them around Teddy's neck.
"I am happy to see that you want to comfort me." She said softly, whispering in his ear. "But I am not afraid. I am not upset."
Teddy frowned, and turned his head to the side as far as it would go, in an attempt to look over his shoulder. "You...aren't?" He asked.
Sac shook her head, and lowered her chin onto his shoulder. "No. Because I get to spend the last hour of life with you."
Despite his sadness. Teddy managed to give a small chuckle, and reached up to pat her head. "It does have a sort of romantic tone, doesn't it, my dear?"
"Yes." Sac said in agreement. She stretched tiredly, and turned herself to face the window, lying down on her stomach and resting her chin on her folded hands. "It is like that story you told me...Romeo and Juliet."
"It is, almost like Romeo and Juliet." Teddy agreed. He lowered himself down beside her, and felt a rush of warmth as her side pressed against his. "But a more beautiful end."
"Quote it." She said suddenly.
"What?" Teddy asked, frowning.
"Quote the play." Sac whispered, turning onto her side to face him.
Teddy thought for a moment, and turned on his side as well. He leaned his face close to hers, and whispered softly. "And, thus, with a kiss, I die." He kissed her, one last time, before they parted to their exhibits.
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What this. What this feeling. Laa no understand. Where woman? Where dada? Why they sad?
Laa had no clue what to think as he wandered the halls, aimlessly trying to find a sense of humanity in the empty museum. He was so confused, so unsure. His simple mind could barely comprehend what was happening. He was lonely. He was sad. He had just recently found love, only to lose it. What was love, even? Heck, what was thinking?
Where dada? Laa want dada. Where woman? Laa want woman. What this pain?
He trudged his way towards his diorama, pausing in front of it. His shoulder sagged in their usual manner, and he looked up at the wax replicas. He furrowed his hairy brows in concentration, and made a grunting sound.
Laa look like them? Them look ugly. Laa look handsome.
With a grunt of frustration Laa struck the floor with his fist. Maybe the woman he had met did not like him for his looks. Maybe it was his heart. Oh, how he wished he could communicate these complicated emotions he felt. Primal instinct had made it clear who he had embraced. But this...feeling was more than the animal need to reproduce. He truly loved her.
Laa gave a growl, and shook his head violently. What was wrong with him? Was he...evolving? What was evolving?
Dada? Where dada?
Surely his father would know what these feelings were. He must have felt them at some point. But Laa had searched everywhere. He could not find him.
Laa gave another angry sound, and struck the wall numerous times before settling down, his chest heaving. He looked back at his exhibit, and suddenly felt an untraceable pull, and supernatural tug. He slowly dragged himself over to his exhibit, and stood in his place, thinking one, last thought.
Laa miss pretty woman.
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Attila refused to embrace the loneliness he felt, sitting in front of his fellow Huns, hands supporting his head as he stared. He had not understood most of the exchange between the Egyptian one and Larry, but he had gathered enough to understand what was going to happen. He knew this was his final night of living. Perhaps, forever.
He could not really say how he felt about it. Part of him was happy to get the chance to have a long rest. Being a Hun could be exhausting at times. All the running, the chasing, the limb tearing….
Attila gave a hard laugh. He had not torn a limb from a body in a long time. Perhaps he had changed. People used to fear him. His name enough struck fear into the hearts of his victims. Now he was a hugger. A big, fluffy, hugger. He realized, after a few moments, that he was not ashamed with his new self.
He had never enjoyed the limp tearing anyways. It had been an easy outlet for all his anger and bitterness towards his past. But after meeting Larry, he had found the very thought of dismembering a body repulsive. Since then, he had become softer, more gentle.
He recalled his somewhat official job of watching over those tiny men while at the other museum. He had rather enjoyed the feeling of guarding something as precious as life. They had been interesting, to say the least. He hated to admit it, but he had been terribly worried when they went missing. He had felt guilty, too, at having lost them in the first place.
He swore to himself they would be the first he would see the next time he woke. He would rather enjoy seeing them again, and having a good laugh at their shenanigans, which had elicited much laughter from the Hun.
Actually, it was rather funny, he thought to himself. The Romans were the historical enemy of the Huns. Yet, he had never considered them a threat. Here, at least. Although they vastly outnumbered his small force of Huns, they were, after all, extremely tiny, and probably the least aggressive occupants in the museum.
He would miss the others. All of them. He had come to know most of the exhibits through the years, forging treaties and peaceful conversations with those he had once terrorized. No one really blamed him for his reign of terror. Like all of them, he had been unaware of the more peaceful way of life imposed by Larry.
Larry. Now that was a good man, Attila thought. Of everyone he had come to know, he would miss the night guard the most. He did not know exactly where the blue uniformed guard meant to go, but he knew that he was leaving. Perhaps a change would do him good. Attila himself had enjoyed the change in scenery on their past two adventures.
Perhaps this was just a new adventure, he thought, drawing his sword to stand beside his already frozen comrades. It was time for a new adventure for his old friend.
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Dexter leapt about the halls, making chittering sounds as he went. It was too quiet for him, and he leapt along the display cases until he reached his hall. The other animals were still, already frozen back to their stuffed state.
This did not hinder Dexter, however. He pattered over to the lions, and made a sort of good humored laughing noise as he jumped onto the back of the large male. They never let him get this close. They were a lot less intimidating now that they could not growl or swipe at him.
Just for laughs, he reached out and whacked the lion on the face. He gave his little monkey chittering laugh again, and repeated the gesture a few times.
Then he paused, his hand a few inches from the lion's snout.
He looked around. There was no Larry.
Dexter gave a small, sad chitter, and crouched on the lions' podium. Larry had left a few minutes ago, and already Dexter missed his friend and slapping post. What was he supposed to do now? Larry's goodbye had seemed so...final. Like an end of some sort. Would his slappy friend come back?
At the moment Dexter did not know, and he gave his head a small flick to the side, before returning to his previous entertainment.
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"It's time." Jed said solemnly, raising his head slowly to look up at the Roman.
Octavius stood a few paces away, staring across the room at his diorama. His men, like himself, Jed, and his boys, would never feel what it was like to live again. The other miniatures did not even know that their time was up. He felt a sad pain in his heart, thinking on how many families, lovers, and friends would not get the chance to say goodbye to one another. Perhaps, he thought, it was better that they never knew. It would save so many from the same pain he himself felt.
"Hey."
Octavius started lightly, whiping his helmeted head to the side to stare at the cowboy, who had migrated to his side whilst he was deep in thought. He could not bring himself to speak, and simply gave a small nod of greeting.
"Ya know," Jed said quietly, his hands clasped behind his back. "We're lucky, if ya think about it. We still got some time left. We get 'ta wrap things up, ya know?"
"I know." Octavius said just as hushed, struggling to keep his sadness buried within him. "I...I wish we were not forced to 'wrap things up' so soon."
Jed sighed, and managed to nod slightly in agreement. "Yeah. It ain't fair, is it?"
"Nothing is fair." Octavius said bitterly. He glanced at the clock hanging in the hallway. There was about ten minutes until sunrise. He sighed, and sat himself down on the edge of the bench. "Not in this life." He added in a very somber tone. "Nothing is fair."
Jed thought for a moment, now also sitting down. He offered the Roman a small smile, and elbowed him gently in the side. Octavius gave a small growl of protest, and rubbed his side where Jed had struck him, muttering angrily to himself.
"We're luckier than most." Jed said, sensing Octavius' hidden distress. He put a comforting arm across his shoulders, and gave him a small shake. "We got each other, don't we? We got the chance 'ta make somethin' of ourselves. Gee, I got to spend my whole life with my best friend.
He paused, and turned his head to cast a serious stare at the Roman. "Did that mean anything?"
"Jedediah," Octavius sighed, shaking his head. "Your friendship has been a deeply treasured gift, that at times I feel I am not worthy of. But I feel it is now a waste of time, a waste of effort...a waste of hope."
Jed frowned, and retracted his arm. "A waste?" He asked, rather surprised to hear the Roman speak so negatively.
Octavius sighed again, and whispered in a very low tone. "That was wrong of me to say. I guess it is just hard to say goodbye. But then," He paused, and lifted his eyes to look into those of his friend's. "I realize how lucky I am to have known someone who is so hard to say goodbye to."
Jed smiled, feeling a sort of comfort as the Roman smiled back. "We had a good run.
"That we did." Octavius agreed, nodding. "We have shared many adventures together, and have discovered many things in our time."
"Yeah." Jed added, smirking. "A lot of adventures. Some of 'em I should apologize for. Kinda figured most of 'em were my fault."
"Perhaps." Octavius chuckled. "But they were worth it, to have spent so much time with you."
Jed smiled, his eyes downcast at this piece of sentiment. He then looked up sharply when he heard the clock chime. He turned his head slowly to face the Roman, feeling a tug at his heart as he realized it was time for their last goodbye.
Octavius felt it too. Their final adventure had come to an end. He stood, feeling his stomach clench with sadness as tears threatened to clog his throat. He did not want to admit it, but he could feel the wetness pricking in the corners of his eyes. He was not ready for this. He was not ready to say goodbye.
As if sensing this, Jed opened his arms to embrace the Roman, taking him into a tight hug.
"We'll be fine…" He managed to say, pausing to take a deep breath.
"Y-Yeah…" Octavius replied. He sniffed, fighting down his anguish as he hugged the cowboy.
With a minute to spare, the two parted. They walked to the Roman diorama, where Octavius took his place. He watched Jed reach the tunnel, and whispered quietly.
"Goodbye, my friend. Until we meet again."
"Goodbye, pardner." Jed replied, giving a small wave. "See ya later."
And the cowboy disappeared from his sight, gone forever…..