"Nightfall…"

"What?"

Gary turned away from the ships window to smile thoughtfully at Quinn. "Your new name...I think it should be Nightfall."

Quinn scowled and crossed her arms. "That's a dumb name and you know it, Gary. Look, why don't I just keep my real name? Stay with me Gary. Don't do this, it's a suicide mission!"

Gary ignored Quinn's obvious distress and pouted. "I thought it sounded pretty cool! And besides, how awesome will it be for you to go time traveling? See all sorts of wacky cool stuff?"

"I didn't enjoy it the first time, Gary. I really don't think it'll be anymore enjoyable the second time around." Quinn ground out, restraining herself from just knocking him out, taking him to her ship and running.

Gary faltered at Quinn's stoic response, then smiled and tried again. "Quinn...You'll be fine! After all, you can just tell my other mes about this later."

"Other yous?"

Gary's smile widened and he waved his hand distractedly as he explained. "Yeah! You know...in the other timelines? There'll be another me and another Mooncake...Even another you!"

Quinn eyes widened in understanding and she felt her heart ache. "But they won't be you, Gary."

Gary scoffed and waved his hand dismissively. "They'll be practically the same! You won't even be able to tell the difference."

Quinn shook her head a took a step forward. "I will, because they'll all have their own Quinns, but I won't have you. I'll be the only Quinn missing a Gary."

Gary seemed to deflated a little at her response, but he quickly regained his footing. "Oh. I guess you're right...But what about a timeline where I don't have a Quinn? Practically identical!"

Quinn closed the distance between her and Gary, grabbing his hands and squeezing them for emphasis."It still won't be you. I'll be able to tell. You're my Gary, and I'm your Quinn. There are no replacements for you."

Gary shoulders slumped as her eyes met his own and he finally broke, allowing all the fear and stress to show through his confidant facade."I-...I'm sorry Quinn. I guess I just thought- ."

She pressed their foreheads together and stared imploringly into Gary's eyes. "Just stay with me Gary, you don't have to-"

Gary broke eye contact and pulled away. "You know I can't just-I'm sorry, but-"

Gary's voice broke and he turned away from her, poorly shielding his face as his eyes started to water. Quinn sighed, looking down at her hands and already missing having Gary's hands in them. She new he hated what was happening just as much as she did. Seeing him so torn up about it almost made her feel guilty about using that to her advantage.

Almost.

Gary not-so-discreetly wiped away the beginning of tears and started to pace anxiously. "...All this time, all I've ever thought about was myself, but- Now I can finally- and now you're-"

Quinn took Gary by the shoulder and lead him to a seat besides the ship's window. "Gary, calm down, you're not- Just...sit down…"

Gary slumped forward and covered his face with his hands. "I'm so sorry, Quinn…"

"Why do you keep saying that?" She was so frustrated and hearing him apologizing was not helping.

Gary let out a shaky breath and lifted his head from his hands. "Because...I wanted you to love me so badly...I never thought about how much loving me could hurt you…"

Quinn let out a broken laugh, sitting beside him and shoving his arm playfully, through half of the force behind it was pure helpless anger. "You should be sorry!...If you were really sorry you'd stay…"

Gary gave Quinn a shaky smile of his own and leaned back. "Haha! If only…"

Quinn watched as he tried to settle himself into a more relaxed pose, then finally give up and let himself fall into the depressed slouch his body was demanding he take. She hated seeing him like this. Quinn leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, unashamedly taking a deep breath and letting the familiar scent of him wash over her. She didn't want to lose this.

Gary looked down at her and frowned sadly, then wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Quinn...I never wanted to put you through what my father put me through...It wasn't supposed to end up like this…"

"It wasn't. If I had done my job right, it wouldn't have. Why did I let this happen? Why did I let this happen again?""

She pushed aside her thoughts and pressed herself closer to Gary's side. "...I can't even be mad at you for it...I just want you to stay so badly…"

Gary's arm held her tighter and he nodded slightly. "I wanna stay too...I wish I could live for you, but...I need to die for the universe. I have to at least try."

Quinn pulled away and looked at Gary sadly. "I don't even care about saving the universe anymore, Gary...I don't care about saving the Earth...I'd give it all up if I could save you."

Gary's expression was blank for a moment, before falling into a look of disappointment that made her heart squeeze uncomfortably.

"The Quinn Airgone I love would never sacrifice countless lives for a single man…you know that better than anyone."

She felt something in her heart harden at the resolve in his voice and she snapped. "Well I'm not really the Quinn Airgone you love, am I?"

Gary blinked in confusion, then cringed as sudden understanding seemed to seep into his features.

She leaned forward and stared him down as she continued. "The Quinn Airgone you love died without even knowing your name, Gary. She died by the hands of the same organization that she helped to destroy this universe."

Gary didn't try to play in her battle of wills and quickly looked away, his eyes looking dimmer now. "...I have to go soon…"

She jerked back at his response and scowled, the fires of her rage over the unfairness of it all taking over quickly. She stood up and turned away from him, crossing her arms and clenching her fists so tightly they hurt.

"Fine. Then go. I'm sure the Quinn Airgone you love would be overjoyed to see you give your life to fix her mistakes."

He shrunk back at her verbal backlash for a momet, then stood up and backed away. "...Okay then…"

Gary seemed to be torn between going to her and heading towards the door, reaching out a hand to her for a few seconds, then thinking better of it and pulling away. He wanted to touch her one last time, but that was a privilege he'd given up the moment he'd volunteered to die.

Gary watched her back as her shoulders started to shake and sighed. "Goodbye Quinn...I love you."

She stiffened."Don't call me that."

Gary stopped mid turn and looked back at her. She still wasn't looking at him. "What?"

"I- never mind…" She seemed to be turning to look at him for a moment, but ultimately just shifter her posture so she stood straighter. "Goodbye Gary...I-...I'll miss you."

Gary looked torn between despair and heartbreak as Quinn refused to look at him, then decided on another emotion altogether. He suddenly smiled and barked out a harsh, cold laugh. Despite his efforts, it had no humor in it.

"I guess I'm lucky then, huh? If what you said is true, I won't have to miss you for long."

Gary waited another beat, but as Quinn still refused to turn around, he scowled and turned away as well, resting him hand on the handle of the door.

"You won't have to miss me for long, either. See you never."

And with that, Gary marched through the door, shut it behind him and left.

"..."

HUE's monotone voice broke the silence. "You could help him Quinn. With your assistance, we may just be able to-"

Quinn raised a hand to cut HUE off, quickly wiping at her eyes and hardening her features. "No. Gary was right. I have another mission. If I stay and fight here, there won't be a next timeline."

"So this is goodbye?" HUE asked.

Quinn smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yes Hue. The final goodbye."

"I see. Goodbye then, Quinn Airgone"

"Goodbye HUE...And, it's not Quinn anymore." She corrected.

"Oh? Am I to assume you have taken Gary's suggested pseudonym?"

Quinn nodded, her smile wavering for a moment. "You could say that. After all, I don't want all the other Gary's mixing me up with...someone else."

"So we met the same way in your timeline? Huh...I can't believe I strike out across time and space. Like, you'd think at least one version of me would be smooth enough to get your number!"

HUE was silent for a moment as she made her way to the ship's airlock at a brisk pace. "...I understand. Though, I truly believe that at the very least, the Gary in this timeline has no such issue… He'll miss you terribly, Quinn."

"So...she's gone? I never...I never got to see her again…"

Quinn finally decided to drop the smile and allow herself the luxury of wearing the pained scowl she actually had.

"The Quinn that the Gary in this timeline misses was someone he never even got to know. I'm sure he'll be fine without me again. If not? Well, it's like he said. He won't have to miss me for long." She insisted, pulling on her gear and adjusting her helmet.

She looked up to the ceiling and waited for a moment, letting the familiar electric hum of the Galaxy One wash over her.

"-can still call you Quinn, right? Oh! Or what about a cool code name? Like- like Lady Starkiller! Or Daybreak! Or-"

"...Tell the rest of the crew, Quinn Airgone is dead."

As she boarded her ship silently and started up her engines, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was watching. He would watch her go until there was nothing left to see, and then he would make the same of himself.

"-and I died? Before I took you out on a date!? Well okay! I know what you and me are gonna do today!"

She had to appreciate this Gary's courtesy at the very least. He wouldn't make her watch him die this time around.

"Go with you? You mean like time traveling? Well I don't see why not! After we save the universe, we can go anywhere you want!"

Alternatively, he wouldn't come with her either. She wouldn't be surprised if every Gary had it, that she might have to see it countless more times before her mission was complete.

"My dad...he was a hero...he saved everyone…"

Stupid. Selfless. He'd lose more than an arm and a leg if someone he cared about was on the line. Countless lives for a single man, my ass! He wouldn't hesitate to risk that and more! The only difference was that he wasn't willing to risk the weight it would place on her conscious.

"You know, I'd say time travel hardened you, but your still pretty much the same. Just a little better at lying."

That was on her, she supposed. Even now, she couldn't truly say she cared about saving Gary more than she wanted to save the universe. Honestly, what kind of decision was that? And what did that say about her when she knew Gary loved her more than a thousand universes?

"-if things don't go our way, you can still try again. You're way too important to die here, okay? You're a hero Quinn, you have to save the day! If the night falls here... just try again tomorrow."

This timeline had irreversibly failed, so what did him staying really mean?

"Who are you?! And how did you get on my ship?...What...No way, Quinn-?"

"I'm Nightfall now."

She started the time machine and set her coordinates for the beginning of the next timeline, ignoring the faint wetness coating her cheeks and keeping her focus trained exclusively on her mission. Gary, of all people was giving her the incentive to follow her principles, she might as well respect that and focus.

"You won't give up, right? I know, you're like the definition of following through but- I'm just worried. Time travel...it sounds tough. I mean, I know we're totally gonna win this time around but, just in case?"

He looked down as he rubbed his neck anxiously, then looked back up at her with a fire in his eyes,

"Don't give up on me, Quinn. If you have to try again, don't give up on the universe. Don't give up on saving all of us."

With luck, maybe next time he wouldn't have to make that decision.

Gary smiled past his tears as he approached the rift, his eyes trained on a small speck of light that was rapidly fading in the distance.

It hurt. It hurt about a thousand times more than he'd thought it would. He looked down at the antimatter bomb nestled close to his chest and pulled it closer.

"Just ask me! Ask me to take you with me and I will! We don't have to do this Gary, it always ends the same way-"

Seeing her go, knowing she was safe, or at least something close to it, was enough to make it worth it. She was worth it, and he trusted that every version of him across every timeline would agree and take the same actions he was if they had the chance.

"My Gary...He died before I got to tell him... I guess that makes you special, huh?"

Gary tightened his grip on the antimatter bombs handles and closed his eyes. She had lied. She'd said he was her Gary, but he knew that wasn't true. The hypocrisy of her accusations had almost broke him, and he couldn't help but wonder if she'd done it on purpose.

"No matter how this all ends...I don't regret a single thing."

Gary smiled again and relaxed, slowly turning the bombs handles. It didn't matter. She was his Quinn. Maybe not his only Quinn, but she was his the same way he was hers. What they shared would only happen once, no matter how many times he died, no matter how many times she started over. This was the only time they would happen together like this.

"Nothing? Why?"

As the antimatter bombs light engulfed him and the rift, he thought about the Gary who's timeline she was entering now. He hoped the other him would try harder to live this time. Poor Quinn didn't deserve to see him die again. No Quinn did.

"I thought it was obvious? It's cause I got to do it all with you."

This story takes place after Nightfall goes back in time for the first time. She ends up in a timeline where Quinn is killed for trying to investigate the rift in space, before she meets Gary again. Nightfall replaces Quinn and already knowing Gary, starts dating him. In the end, the timeline fails and Gary is forced to go on a suicide mission. Nightfall warns him against it, but Gary simply can't in good conscious give up.

This is Nightfalls first failed timeline, and her last attempt to return to normal life. After this, she no longer tries to start a relationship with any Gary. After all, they all have their own Quinns to worry about.