Chapter 4: The Duel for Sirius
The plan was pretty simple. The Alion spies reported that there were
hardly any Tkpxzv soldiers protecting Sirius' governing planet-if the Alions
and Candasaurs could land any substantial number of troops on the planet they
could conquer it. The only real defense the Tkpxzv had was the Alpha
Centaurian Guard-the force of spacecraft that had blockaded the Epsilon
Eridani system plus some defensive ships that always patrolled the area. This
force was formidable, but it was outnumbered and outskilled by the Alion
spacecraft, so a Tkpxzv victory seemed very unlikely. Though the Alions could
probably do the job themselves, Flynnya prepared a large fleet of cargo ships
loaded with explosives (normally used for peaceful purposes) to send with
them. Before the end of the day the combined Alion-Candasaur force was flying
away from the Epsilon Eridani system and to the Sirius system with Candace,
Candace, Stacy, Flynnya, Xosizi, and the Alion Chief all in tow.
It wasn't long before the Tkpxzv detected them moving toward their
seat of government. They quickly alerted their governor, who slammed his head
down on his desk and kept it there for a long time. He knew he was done. It
was all over. He knew it would take a miracle to save Sirius in its current
situation. He eventually lifted his head up, sighing. He reached for his
communicator, deciding he was going to order a feast to enjoy his last dinner
as governor, when a sudden thought hit him. It didn't make him any happier,
but it did give him a very faint hope... VERY faint. He stood up and went to
his video conference room. He had some bargaining to do.
Flynnya was sitting in the pilot's chair in one of her cargo rockets
when she got a call on her ship's video communicator. She put it through and
saw the Tkpxzv governor looking back at her.
She didn't recognize him, though.
"Who the heck are you, Tkpxzv?" she asked gruffly.
"I am the governor of Sirius, and this sector of the galaxy," he
replied.
"Not for long, you're not. We're coming to kick your butt!"
"I know, and we don't have the firepower to defeat you."
"So... you calling 'cause you want to give up now and save yourself
the trouble?"
"No, I'm calling because my superiors in government have asked me to
make you a deal."
"Yeah? What kind of deal?"
"Instead of a battle, they wish to have a duel."
"A duel? What do you mean?"
"They would like you and the Alions to choose two champions to
represent your races to duel against two champions representing our race."
"Okay... why?"
"The winner of the duel will be counted as the winner of the battle."
"But me and the Alions have a better chance of winning in a battle
between our armies and our fleets, so why would I agree to this?"
"You can take Sirius from us, that is true, but my superiors are
offering you THREE governing star systems if you win this duel. However, if
you lose, you sign a truce with us and return to your own system."
"So basically... you're raising the stakes so you'll get a chance to
have a fair fight, is that what I'm hearing?"
"Yes."
Flynnya scratched her chin and thought a bit, "Three star systems... I
like the sound of that. Let me call the Alion Chief and I'll get back to you
with our response."
"Very well."
"Yes... indeed it is."
"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Xosizi roared.
"Yeah, it is," Candace agreed.
"Flynnya is young, and I can see her taking a gamble like this, but
the Chief? There's no need! They've allowed to allure of power to sway them
into giving our foes a chance to claim a victory from a nearly inevitable
defeat!"
Candace, Xosizi and Stacy were on a Candasaur rocket. Candace the
Candasaur was flying it.
"Maybe we should have just gone back to Earth... we stayed to save
them, not help them build an empire," Stacy said.
"And the worst part is, they made you and me their champions!" Xosizi
shouted, pointing to Candace.
"I'll bet that offer's not even real," Candace added, "The governor
probably lied to save himself.
He had. His superiors had given him no orders, but the Alions and
Candasaurs had at least taken his bait, and now he had a chance to survive.
He now called up his champions to prepare them for the fight.
He grabbed his communicator, "Hgtfpjsh, put Mr. Flynn and his friend
on the line."
"I can't believe he's giving me another chance," Phineas said
afterward.
"Three strikes?" Isabella said.
"I guess... but this is the one where I strike out if I blow it... I
wonder who I'll be facing?"
"Well... if it's the Alions and the Candasaurs... there'll probably be
one champion for each race. The Alions will pick one of their best warriors,
and the Candasaurs will probably pick-"
Isabella stopped. She and Phineas looked at each other.
"Candace," they said together.
They were quiet for a second, then Phineas smiled darkly.
"Good. It's time for some sweet revenge," he said.
"I'd try to talk you out of it, but I think we're basically trapped at
this point," she replied.
"I wouldn't listen to you anyway. Dang, I hate her..."
Isabella sighed mournfully.
"Well... we've got some work to do if we want to win. I know what
we're gonna do today!"
"Sacrilege..." Isabella groaned.
The duel was taking place on the Tkpxzv command craft, since it was
the only craft with a room big enough for a fight with an audience. Flynnya,
the Alion Chief, Candace, Stacy, Candace the Candasaur, Xosizi, and a whole
lot of random Alions and Candasaurs gathered on one side of the room, while
the Tkpxzv gathered on the other side, leaving a large space between the two
groups for the duel to take place in. The Tkpxzv governor came forth.
"Alions! Candasaurs! Send out your champions!"
Candace and a very unhappy Xosizi emerged from the crowd.
"Who is your first?" the governor asked.
"Xosizi... the Alion," Flynnya called.
Xosizi stepped forward. He had chosen simple weapons for his fight: a
sword and shield. He chose not to wear armor, preferring to use speed to defeat
his adversary.
"Send out your champion, * $#%&#!" Xosizi spat.
"Come forth, champion!" the Governor called.
Out from the Tkpxzv horde stepped a short, robot-looking thing with a
long nose. Candace stared at it for a moment, then her eyes went wide with
terror.
"Xosizi, it's Phineas!" Candace cried, "He's wearing a mini-version of
a suit he made earlier this Summer that gave him super powers!"
"Super powers?" Xosizi said, "This should be interesting..."
"Be careful! That suit is really, really dangerous!" she yelled.
"Will do, Aizyalia," Xosizi said, then turned to the Governor,
"Where's his second?"
"Come out, young Isabella," the Governor said.
Isabella emerged. She wasn't wearing a suit. All she had was a
little laser pistol. Candace noted, however, that she was the only one there
with a gun, meaning she would still be pretty dangerous.
Xosizi and Phineas walked to the center of the room and faced each
other. The Governor pulled out a horn.
"On my signal, this duel with begin!" he cried. He raised the horn to
his mouth.
TOOOOOT!
Phineas opened the fight by throwing a heavy punch at Xosizi. Xosizi
however, opened the fight by leaping back several feet and assuming a
defensive stance, successfully dodging the blow. Phineas charged at Xosizi
with his suit-enhanced speed and flung a short series of punches at him.
Xosizi was surprised by his speed and barely avoided the blows. He
continued to retreat as Phineas threw punch after punch after punch. Phineas
eventually backed him into a corner and raised his fist.
"One down, Candace to go," he said triumphantly, and threw his punch.
"Xosizi!" Candace yelled-but she didn't need to. Xosizi caught
Phineas' fist and used it and his wings to jump up and flip over Phineas'
head. As he sailed over, he swung his sword into the back of
Phineas' skull, causing him to keel forward into the wall. He then landed
behind Phineas, whirled around and knocked his legs out from under him. He
then leapt onto his back with his sword pointed down and stabbed hard,
smashing him to the floor.
But Phineas wasn't dead. He wasn't really even hurt. None of the
blows penetrated his suit... though it was pretty clear that if he hadn't had
the suit Xosizi would have killed him... and pretty easily at that. In short,
Phineas didn't die.
He was just totally humiliated.
He growled angrily and flung himself back, sending Xosizi flying
across the room. Xosizi managed to stop himself and hover in midair. Phineas
turned on his suit's rocket boosters and flew at Xosizi, who didn't know the
thing could fly and was unable to do more than raise his sword to block
before Phineas tackled him. Phineas drove Xosizi straight into the wall and
crushed his body against it with the full force of his rockets. Phineas
pulled back and started to let his opponent fall, but then gave him a brutal
uppercut with his suit's fist. Xosizi flew up, then came down, and Phineas
hit him again. Xosizi went up, then down, then got hit again. Candace
watched in agony as her father from another planet got pummeled again, came
down...
And swung his sword down on Phineas' head, hard.
The swing sent Phineas crashing to the ground. Xosizi attempted to
swoop down toward the middle of the battlefield, but collapsed in midair and
crash-landed to the floor. He attempted to rise, then fell again.
"NOOOO!" Candace yelled. She dashed out to Xosizi's crumpled form as
Phineas stood up and the Tkpxzv cheered.
"Triangle-headed brat!" Stacy roared over the noise, "There's no way
you would've beat him without that suit!"
"Shut up, you're just mad that your stupid alien lost!" Phineas
retorted. He stomped over to Candace, who was trying to comfort Xosizi, and
kicked the Alion across the room, where he slammed into a wall and fell to
the floor. Cries of dismay rose from the Candasaur/Alion alliance, more
cheers were heard from the Tkpxzv, and Phineas laughed. Isabella watched
Phineas glorying in his cruelty and couldn't decide whether she wanted to cry
or to throw up.
Candace, however, was already in tears. She looked over at the crowd
gathering around her fallen father and almost couldn't bear it. She looked
back at her brother standing over her, laughing at the terrible thing he'd
just done. As she stared at him through her tears, she started to notice two
things. One, was that their was one part of Phineas' body that was exposed,
the space under his "chin", and two, that she really, really, REALLY wanted to
hit it. Time slowed as Phineas continued to laugh and Candace's blood began
to boil she clenched her fist, drew it back, and clocked Phineas straight in
the underside of his chin, bringing an abrupt end to his insane laughter and
knocking him to the ground. The room went quiet as everyone returned to
watching the fight. Phineas stood up, rubbed his injured non-chin and faced
his sister.
"Begin... round two," he growled.
He rocketed forward at Candace, but she anticipated his move and
ducked.
"Candace!" Stacy yelled. She slid Candace's swordspear to her across
the floor. Candace ran to pick it up, but Phineas jumped up and slammed down
on top of her, causing her to smash to the floor. She tasted blood as she
looked up and saw Phineas aiming his fist for her face.
You know how when you're about to die your life flashes before your
eyes? This happened to Candace at this point. As she viewed everything she'd
done, her prophecy (among everything else) came back to her again and she
realized this was the time where she was supposed to use the weapon Xosizi had
given to her, and what had he given her? He'd taught her to fight. Things
like BWCTFADR and swordspear lessons and a lot of other Alion warrior stuff
ran through her head like a derailed train. As she remember her training she
calmed down, relaxed and focused on the fighting, primarily on Phineas' fist.
Time slowed down even more as she threw her arm forward as Phineas began to
punch, catching his fist and pushing it slightly to the side as it flew. This
caused it to go off course and smash into his big, triangle-shaped nose. It
also caused him to fly back and land on his butt.
All this in the course of about half a second.
Candace thanked the Mysterious Force for giving her healthy adrenaline
glands and lunged for her swordspear. She snagged it and whirled around to
face Phineas, who was still trying to recover from punching himself in his own
face. He shook himself, growled and ran at her. As he did, she danced
backwards and swung her spear into his side. This forced him off course and
sent him stumbling wildly across the room. Candace followed him and swung her
spear down on top of him while he was still off balance, sending him sprawling
to the floor. He growled and flung himself back to his feet, knocking the
swordspear off his back. He turned and rocketed at Candace. She had,
however, been focused on him, as she had been taught, and had again anticipated
the move. She turned and stepped aside as he began to rocket. He didn't have
time to change course and ended up rocketing into the back of her swordspear.
This spun Candace around a bit, but Phineas hit the bar so hard it tore his
helmet off and nearly gave him a concussion. He crashed, sat up, and groaned,
dazed and confused. Candace shook off her own dizziness and started walking
toward him.
CHOOM! CHOOM!
"Ah!" Candace cried, grabbing her sides and cringing.
"Don't hurt him!" Isabella yelled, laser gun smoking.
"Hey! She can't do that! Your champion isn't down yet!" Flynnya
roared.
"Isabella! Step aside!" the Tkpxzv governor ordered.
"I won't!" Isabella yelled, "I won't let you hurt him, Candace, and if
I have to kill you to save him, I will!"
Candace gritted her teeth in pain and looked up at Isabella, who was
re-aiming the gun at her.
"Sorry, Candace. I gotta do what I-"
BAM!
Isabella yelped and fell on her side. Someone had thrown Xosizi's
shield at her. Before she could get up, Stacy jumped on top of her, pinning
her to ground and yanking the gun from her hand.
"And I won't let you hurt Candace!" Stacy growled.
"She can't do that, either!" the Tkpxzv governor roared, "Flynnya,
control your soldiers!"
"All Stacy did was stop YOUR soldier from breaking the rules we agreed
on!" Flynnya snapped back.
"Governor, this behavior is very unfitting a statesman such as
yourself," the Alion chief said, emerging from the audience, "As your second
appears to have violated our agreement, I'm afraid I will have to order my
fleet to attack yours conventionally... I'm sure we can take the other two
star systems easily enough anyway."
The governor's multiple eyes went wide with terror, "Um... that won't
be necessary. Soldiers! Restrain Isabella!"
Stacy got off and Isabella squealed and struggled as two Tkpxzv came
up behind her and wrapped her in their rope-like arms.
"That's not enough, Governor," the Alion chief continued, "Your second
has caused substantial injury to my second by her illegal actions. For this
duel to continue, something must be done to level the field."
"Meaning?" the Governor replied.
"Your second must be disqualified."
"What? No!" Isabella cried.
"What? No!" the Governor cried.
"Then I'll call my Sphere Blasters and begin the assault on Sirius,"
said the Alion Chief.
The Governor growled fiercely, then said, "Fine. Isabella is
disqualified. The duel will continue between your second and Phineas only,
winner take all."
"No! Please! If he loses he'll die!" Isabella yelled.
"That's better," the Alion Chief replied, ignoring Isabella.
By now Candace and Phineas had both recovered. Candace was definitely
hurt, but Isabella had somehow managed not to hit anything vital. Phineas had
a nasty bump on his head, but he too was still able to continue. The two now
faced each other.
"Champions! Are you prepared to resume the duel?" the Governor asked.
"Trag!" Candace replied.
"Yeah," Phineas growled.
The governor pulled his horn back out, raised it to his mouth, and-
"No! Wait! I'll fight for him! Phineas, switch with-!" Isabella
called.
"Isabella, SHUT IT!" Phineas snapped, turning and glaring at her.
Isabella froze in mid-sentence, then crumpled and started weeping into
to arms of her Tkpxzv captors.
He turned back to a rather shocked-looking Candace, "I can beat her,
even if you think I can't!" he shouted, "Today, vengeance is mine."
"Wow, Phineas," Candace said coldly, "You only have one friend left in
the entire universe... and that's the way you treat her. I can't believe
she's still willing to stick up for you."
"She made an oath! She knew what she was signing up for! It's her
problem not-!"
"Hey, Phineas?"
"What?"
"Let's go. I'm beginning to think I might enjoy kicking your butt as
much as you enjoy kicking mine."
Phineas laughed wickedly and turned to the Governor, "Blow that horn!"
TOOT!
Phineas rocketed at Candace again, but she sidestepped it and he flew
on past. Candace turned and watched as he landed on the other side of the
room, spear raised. She had a plan.
Phineas reached down, pulled a chunk of rock out of the floor and
threw it at her. Candace calmly sidestepped and avoided it. Phineas tried
this a couple more times, then gave up and attempted another rocket tackle.
That was a mistake.
Candace saw him setting up to rocket off, but she didn't sidestep this
time. Instead, she faced him head on and pointed her swordspear directly
at him. Phineas didn't have time to react to the maneuver before he fired.
He blasted forward straight at Candace-
And straight into her swordspear.
Hitting her blade at that speed normally would have cut him in half,
but the suit saved him by getting itself cut in half instead. To make matters
worse, as Phineas traveled down the long length of the spear, he also smacked
into Candace's Spirit Rock, which she had made sure to charge before the
fight. This zapped him wonderfully. By the time he hit Candace's shoulder
(giving her a good bruise), he was both suit-less and fried. He flipped over
his sister's shoulder and landed hard on the floor on his back.
"Uh..." he groaned, dazedly. He snapped back to reality as he felt
the cold blade of Candace's swordspear against his throat.
"Uh, oh..." he said shakily.
The Candasaur/Alion group cheered. The Tkpxzv gasped. Isabella
looked up and started screaming and struggling frantically.
"No! Stop!" she cried.
"Uh... Candace?" Phineas said meekly.
"So, Phineas, vengeance is yours, huh?" Candace said coolly.
"Erm..." he replied badly.
"Let's talk about this, little brother..." Candace said darkly, "Let's
talk about 'vengeance.'"
"Candace you've won, just let him go!" Isabella cried.
"For years I lived in your shadow," Candace said quietly, "For years
Mom had no idea... what you were up to."
Phineas gulped.
"Then she finally found out... and you decided to take it out on me...
and I admit, you had good reason to."
"So... does that mean you forgive me?" Phineas asked pathetically.
Candace laughed derisively, "But you took it too far... heh heh...
let's talk about 'vengeance,' little brother... let's talk about grudges,
too..."
"Candace, stop!" Isabella yelled uselessly.
"Here's my grudge, Phineas..." Candace continued, teeth clenched, "You
trapped my mother. You trapped my father. You trapped my brother. You kept
them locked up, when you could have helped them. You used them to play your
selfish little game... to get back at me. You broke my mother's heart with
your cruelty. You tried to kill me to get to her... but all that wasn't
enough for you."
Candace paused, glaring down at her defeated brother.
"After that you trapped me and tried to make me your slave. You
helped an evil empire conquer a helpless alien race. Then you tried to murder
me by throwing me off a cliff. After that you came to destroy the race that
protected me from you. Then you tried to kill me with a T-rex, and now you've
tried to kill me here..."
Phineas stared up at his sister, clearly terrified now. He knew this
wasn't going to end well.
"But there's one thing you did, worse than all the others, Phineas,"
Candace said, tears forming in her eyes, "The Alion that you fought earlier was
the one who saved me from the Tkpxzv spacecraft. He was the one who carried
me away from the first fight on Trisaria. He brought me to his home on his
planet. He fed me. He gave me a place to sleep. He took me into his culture
as his own daughter. He taught me so many things about myself that I never
would have learned on my own. His training and his teaching have saved me
from you over and over again. He was like a father to me, little brother, and
today..." Candace was crying full on now, but laughing slightly under her
breath, "…you killed him."
"Candace... please..." Phineas said.
"So, Phineas... let's talk about vengeance..." Candace said softly,
"Today, Phineas, vengeance is not yours... you've gotten enough of that."
"Candace, he's your brother! Please, don't!" Isabella begged.
"Today, Phineas," Candace growled, raising her swordspear, blade
turned toward Phineas' throat, "Vengeance... is MINE!"
Phineas screamed as she yelled and swung the sword down at his neck.
"NOOOOOOO!" Isabella screeched.
THUNK!
Isabella bawled into the Tkpxzv's arms. She couldn't bear to look up
at her slain champion, and yet she still did for some reason.
She stopped crying abruptly.
Phineas was staring at Candace in complete terror and a quite a lot of
shock.
Candace had driven the blade into the floor above his head.
"You may be a murderer, Phineas, but I'm not. You're still my little
brother, so I'll spare you... this time."
Everyone stared raptly at Candace, who dropped her spear, picked
Phineas up by the scruff of his shirt, and pulled him up face-to-face with
her.
"I don't want things to be this way between us, Phineas, but if you
refuse to forgive me, I have to accept that... but I swear, if you EVER, come
after me, my friends, my family, the Alions, or the Candasaurs EVER again,
Isabella won't be crying into Tkpxzv ropes... she'll be crying into your cold,
dead body."
Phineas gulped again.
Candace threw him several feet and he crashed on his side, grunting.
She turned and the crowd parted as she ran over to the dying Xosizi.
Phineas stared stupidly at her for a moment until he was yanked up
from behind and pulled face-to-face with the Tkpxzv Governor.
"You... worthless... spit! You will pay most dearly for your
incompetence!"
"Put him down, he did his best!" Isabella yelled.
"Silence!" the Governor roared.
"Seems you've lost, Governor. I believe you owe me and the Candasaurs
three star systems," the Alion Chief said.
"Never! Ship!"
"Yes?" his spacecraft replied.
"Initiate self-destruct! Blow up Flynnya and the Alion slime with
it!"
"As you wish," the ship replied.
Explosions started reverberating all throughout the ship, causing the
whole thing to shake. Several explosions hit the duel room, hitting soldiers
on both sides.
"Back to the rockets!" Flynnya screamed.
"Return to your Sphere Blasters!" the Chief yelled. He pulled out his
radio, "This is Alion Chief. Begin assault on the Sirius system!"
Everyone from all sides began fleeing the room. Candace picked up
Xosizi and Stacy grabbed Candace's spear. The two ran from the room with the
rest of the horde. Over on the other side Phineas was being dragged off
screaming by the governor and his bodyguards. The Tkpxzv restraining Isabella
panicked and dropped her. She tried to push through the Tkpxzv, screaming for
Phineas but unable to reach him. As she fought to get forward, she felt a
heavy rope on her shoulder. She turned and looked up.
"Hgtfpjsh!" she cried, "Where is he taking Phineas?"
"Most likely... with how mad the Governor is and with how much he's
lost... he's probably going to have him tortured and killed."
Isabella's eyes went wide with fright, "Hgtfpjsh, please! We have to
save him!"
Hgtfpjsh nodded, "I agree, Shmpthrlf. Though young Phineas has caused
much trouble for my people, I don't believe he was the cause of their
downfall. I believe the Hand of Fate chose him and his sister to upset the
balance of power in the galaxy. Perhaps the day of the Tkpxzv empire is at an
end..."
"Will you help me?"
"Yes, Shmpthrlf. Come, we must move quickly."
"Why? Why did you and the Alion Chief have to do this, Flynnya?"
Candace yelled.
The corridors were quickly filling with smoke and flames from the
explosions by now. Candasaurs and Alions were coughing and gagging as they
ran, hoping to reach their spaceships before being either burned or
suffocated.
"I thought if we had more systems it would help us beat them later!"
Flynnya replied. She was sobbing, "And I didn't think anyone could beat
Xosizi!"
"Well guess what? They did! And now he's dying!"
"I know, I'm so sorry! I wish I could change what I did, but it's-!"
"Forgive her, Candace..." Xosizi's voice said weakly.
"Xosizi!" Candace cried, glancing over her shoulder to look at the
Alion she was carrying, "Hang in there! We're going to get you a doctor!"
"Candace... I'm broken... I'll die too soon..."
"No way! We're going to-!"
"Candace, listen to me... thank you... for sparing your brother."
"What? Why?"
"He is only a child... he did not deserve death."
"But he's hurt so many people!"
"HE'S hurting. He's in over his head. Besides... he has done much
good, as well... more than he has done bad."
"Are you delirious from getting hurt or something?"
Xosizi chuckled a little, "Candace... if you see your brother again...
tell him... I forgive him for all that he has done to me... even causing my
death."
"Why?"
"Because if it wasn't for him... I never would have met you."
Candace's eyes widened at this revelation.
"Because of you... and because of him... I go to the heavens in
peace... knowing... that my people are both safe... and free... from the
Tkpxzv empire... and knowing... that the heavens... have heard my prayers."
Candace's eyes welled up with tears. She tried to tell herself it was
the smoke she was running through, but she knew better.
"Candace... I watched you fight your brother today. I was proud that
you fought so well... but my proudest moment was when you spared his life."
"Why is that?" Candace choked.
"Because you learned the last... and greatest lesson of the warrior...
Candace. A warrior may gain all the skills... and be braver than brave, and
stronger than strong, and yet he will be nothing until he understands the most
important trait of the warrior."
"Which is?"
"Love, Candace. Compassion. Mercy. A true warrior is not a
destroyer, Candace."
"He's a protector..." Candace said, "And a defender."
"Trag. He is a warrior not because he enjoys killing his enemies...
but because he loves his friends and his family... and he will not allow
others to hurt them."
"I guess a warrior's nothing without someone to defend..."
"Even if it's only you, but trag... a warrior is revered by his people
because he protects them... and he is respected by his enemies because of his
compassion, even for them."
The two were quiet a moment as they continued running through the
halls. The crowd was starting to thin out as other soldiers began going down
other hallways to reach their ships.
"Candace?" Xosizi said.
"Yes?" she replied.
"If you don't remember anything else I taught you... remember... to
always love your fellow beings... especially your brother."
"Okay."
"Forgive him... love him... my daughter... my brave Aizyalia."
"Okay."
Candace turned down a hall and continued to run.
"Xosizi?" she asked.
She waited.
"Xosizi?" she asked again, louder.
Still nothing.
"Xosizi!" Candace cried, "Xosizi!"
She felt a claw on her shoulder. She turned and saw Candace the
Candasaur next to her.
"He's gone... Candace," she said softly.
Candace of Earth didn't scream or yell or cry out. She had known he
was dead without Candace telling her... but it didn't make it any easier to
accept. She sobbed softly and let her tears flow. She felt a hand on her
other shoulder. She looked up and saw Stacy.
"I'm sorry, Candace," she said.
Candace looked at the ground and sobbed some more.
"You really loved him, didn't you?" Stacy asked.
Candace nodded slowly.
"I think he really loved you, too," she continued.
Candace kept crying.
"I didn't know him that well... but he seemed like a really good guy,"
Candace nodded slowly again.
"He was brave. He was honest. He was strong. He was wise. He loved
his friends, he loved his people, but most of all, he loved you, Candace."
Candace nodded again, tears still running down her face.
"He was my friend," Flynnya suddenly said. All eyes turned to her.
"He was a true warrior..." she continued, also in tears, "One of the
greatest that ever lived. He was a defender... and a protector," strength
surged in Flynnya's voice, "I know the Heavens have taken his spirit, and that
he now resides with the great and noble heroes of all the past ages. He'll be
with us always... watching over us all from his halls of glory above."
Everyone was quiet again. The group was very thin now. Only
Candasaurs and humans remained. They reached an intersection. Flynnya and
most of the remaining Candasaurs turned to Candace and her group.
"We're down this hall. Meet you in space," Flynnya said.
"We will," Candace the Candasaur said.
Suddenly, a big chunk of burning ceiling crashed down between them,
reminding them that they were still on a self-destructing Tkpxzv command
craft.
"Hurry," Flynnya added, then took off down the hall with her crew.
Candace's group took the other hall.
"Goodbye... Daddy," Candace whispered.
Hgtfpjsh and Isabella cracked the door and looked into the room. It
wasn't pretty. Phineas was covered in cuts and bruises from being literally
thrown around the room.
"OUR NATION IS RUINED BECAUSE OF YOU!" the Governor roared at him.
"I can only... do what... I can... do..." Phineas sobbed.
"Guards!" the Governor yelled.
One of the bodyguards picked Phineas up by his foot.
"No, please... not a-GACK!"
The guard had taken Phineas and swung him, face-first into the wall.
He did it again, and again, and again, then threw him back into a heap on the
floor.
"You ready, Shmpthrlf?" Hgtfpjsh asked.
Isabella was livid, her teeth tightly clenched, "Yes."
"Good. Keep them busy and I'll-"
Phineas got slammed again and Isabella screamed and charged into the
room, blasting away with the laser she'd had earlier.
The Governor and his cronies were caught completely off guard, and she
had blasted all five guards and the Governor at least once each before they
started reaching for their own weapons. She went and dived behind what
appeared to be a desk and fired madly from behind her cover. Some of the
guards started coming around to get her. As they were firing at her position,
the Governor looked over at the other side of the room.
"Hey, HEY! Get back here! Guards! She's a decoy! Get Hgtfpjsh,
he's stealing Phineas!"
But it was too late. Hgtfpjsh had already carried Phineas out the
door. The guards followed after him. The Governor started to follow too, but
stopped and fell to his knees when he suddenly got burned on his side. He
looked up in horror and remembered Isabella was still there with her laser
gun.
He, however, was unarmed.
"This one's for me!" Isabella shouted, blasting his eyes and
sending him reeling back.
"This one's for the Fireside girls!" she yelled, shooting his gut. He
screeched and thrashed in confusion and pain.
Isabella took careful aim, pointing a his chest, hoping the heart was
there.
"And this one... is for Phineas," she growled. She fired and scored a
direct hit, causing him to cringe and groan before collapsing to the ground
and going still. Isabella brought the smoking gun to her lips and blew it
off.
"Nobody messes with my knight in shining armor," she growled, then ran
out of the room after the guards.
Fire. Everything was on fire. At least that's what Phineas thought.
And he was right. The corridor he and Hgtfpjsh were in was a
suffocating tunnel of flames and rubble. He didn't know it, but by now most
of the ship looked this. It was only a matter of minutes before the thing
disintegrated completely.
Hgtfpjsh quickly weaved his way through the flames, rubble, and smoke.
He coughed and hacked and struggled not to pass out from the lack of air.
Phineas was lower, so he was better ventilated, but he was so battered from
being tortured that he knew if Hgtfpjsh dropped him he would be too weak to
escape the ship. He looked blearily down the hall and saw the guards raising
their guns to shoot.
"Hgtfpjsh! Guards!" Phineas yelled weakly.
Hgtfpjsh turned and dived behind some rubble to avoid the shots. He
put Phineas down, pulled out his own weapon and began firing shots back.
"Phineas! The docking bay is close! Run the remainder of the way!
I'll keep them busy!"
Phineas attempted to rise, but collapsed with a weak groan.
"You're too injured, aren't you?" Hgtfpjsh observed, barely ducking
before getting creamed by some of the guards' shots.
"Yes..." Phineas moaned.
"Great..." Hgtfpjsh said gruffly, "These are elite bodyguards! I
can't defeat them! Their skill far exceeds mine! What do I do?"
"AARGH!"
Hgtfpjsh looked up just in time to see one of the bodyguards collapse.
"Get him outta here, Hgtfpjsh! I'll hold them off!" Isabella yelled
from further down the burning hall.
The Tkpxzv Captain didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed Phineas
and dashed off down the hall. Three of the surviving guards stayed to fight
Isabella, while one broke loose and went after Phineas and Hgtfpjsh.
"Isabella?" Phineas said blearily, "Wait... Isabella. Isabella!"
"She'll have to take care of herself for now, Phineas," Hgtfpjsh said,
guessing his motive for yelling.
"She's going to get killed, Hgtfpjsh!"
"If I try to go back there WE'LL get killed!"
"Please! We have to do-!"
"Ahh!"
Hgtfpjsh crashed to the ground and sent Phineas tumbling across the
floor, barely missing a pile of burning rubble. Phineas looked up and saw
that one of the bodyguards had caught up.
"You will return to the Governor," he said coldly to Phineas. He
walked over and grabbed Phineas with his rope.
CHOOM! CHOOM! CHOOM! CHOOM!
The bodyguard yelled in pain and dropped Phineas. As he collapsed,
Phineas looked up and saw that Hgtfpjsh had shot the guard multiple times
while his back was turned.
"Hgtfpjsh! You're okay!" Phineas cried.
"Actually, I'm not... he just didn't kill me instantly. Goodbye,
Phineas, I hope you get back to Earth."
PLOP. Hgtfpjsh dropped his face to the floor and died.
"Thank you..." Phineas said. He tried to rise but still couldn't. He
was about ready to panic, and it wasn't because he couldn't move, or because
everything was on fire and he would probably be killed in a few minutes, no...
He was worried about Isabella... but he couldn't do anything to help
her. He looked all around him, praying for help...
Then, down at the end of the hall, he saw a certain redhead run by.
The ship was coming apart fast. Everywhere the ceilings were falling
in and the floors were falling out and everything was on fire.
"I hope we get to those docks before-" Stacy began.
"CAAANDAAAAAAAAAACE!"
Everyone stopped.
"Is that who I think it is?" Stacy asked incredulously.
Candace handed Candace the Candasaur Xosizi's body, "Here, hold him."
She ran back a few feet then down the other hall.
"CAAANDAAAAAAACE!"
She dashed up to him. Sure enough, there was Phineas, lying in a heap
on the ground but still screaming for her somehow.
"What happened to you?" Candace asked harshly.
"That's not important right now!" Phineas cried, "We have to save
Isabella! She's down that hallway fighting three elite Tkpxzv bodyguards in
the fire!"
Candace looked up at the Hellish firestorm down the hall and saw a
minor explosion blast out of it.
"She's probably dead," Candace said flatly, "I gotta go before this
whole stupid thing explodes."
"No, Candace, please, help! I know I don't deserve it, but do it for
Isabella!"
"How 'bout I drag you back to Mom to face justice? That sounds like a
good idea."
"Candace you're her only hope!"
Candace grabbed Phineas and slung him over her shoulder then dashed
back to where everyone else was waiting.
"Look what I found," Candace muttered.
"What're you gonna do with him?" Stacy asked.
"Take him home to Mom to get busted hard core!"
"Sounds good to me," Stacy said, grinning.
A flaming chunk of Urdgz fell from the ceiling and the group took off
again, faster this time.
"Candace, please! We have to go back!" Phineas yelled, almost in
tears.
"Look, why the heck would I help you, anyway? You're lucky I don't
just drop you and leave you here!" she retorted.
"Don't do it for me, do it for Isabella!"
"She pushed me over a cliff! She shot me with a laser gun!"
"It was to help me!"
"Doesn't matter, like you said, she knew what she signed up for!"
"I see the rocket!" Candace the Candasaur cried, "We're going to make
it!"
"Candace, I've done so many rotten things these past weeks, and my
best friend is going to die because of them! Please, I don't want that on my
conscience!"
"Oh, now you care?" Candace snapped, "Oh, wait, that's probably
because you HAVE to. You don't feel guilty, Phineas, and you don't care about
Isabella. You finally just got backed into a corner and now all you can do to
save your butt is beg for mercy!"
"If I'm trying to save my own butt, then why don't I just leave
Isabella behind?"
Candace paused, momentarily out-reasoned. She shrugged it off though.
The group reached the rocket, Stacy threw the door open and everyone started
climbing in.
"Candace... you're right. I'm begging for mercy. I did a lot of bad
things and got myself trapped... but what's killing me is that Isabella, who
stood by me through all this, even when I rejected her, is going to pay for my
mistakes. I would die in her place if I could... and I would deserve it too,
but I can't help her... the Tkpxzv clobbered me so badly that I can barely
move."
Candace and Phineas were the last to board the rocket. Candace the
Candasaur sat down in the pilot's seat and started preparing to launch.
Candace turned and reached for the button to close the door. She took one
last look out the burning Tkpxzv craft. She was amazed they had been able to
reach the rocket as easily as they had. There was so much smoke and so much
fire...
"She's most likely dead, Phineas..." Candace said softly.
"No! She's alive! I know it!"
"No you don't."
"Yes I do!"
Candace shut the door and put Phineas on the ground, "Let's get outta
here," she said to the Candasaur.
"Gladly," Candace the Candasaur responded.
"Isabella's still out there, Candace!" Phineas cried, "We-"
"Phineas, NO," Candace said flatly.
The engines roared as Candace the Candasaur started the rocket. The
broken Phineas crawled to his sister's feet, sobbing. She started to walk
away but he grabbed her ankle and held it.
"Candace... please..."
"You're pathetic," Candace said coldly. That made him cry harder,
"Now let go of my leg."
"C-C-Candy..."
Candace paused at the use of his old pet name for her. She looked
down at her groveling brother and gave him a hard stare.
"Candy... please help me... from a brother to a sister... please... I
have nothing left but her..."
Candace was disgusted by his display of weakness, and yet... she heard
the plea. She remembered another time he'd called her Candy... and called
for her help. Even after all he'd done, he was still her little brother...
She looked over at Xosizi's body, which the other Candace had laid against the
wall. She remembered the last things he said.
"Thank you for sparing him... you learned the greatest lesson of the
warrior... love, mercy, compassion..." Candace whispered to herself. She
looked down coldly at her weeping brother. He looked back at her.
"You're not gonna save her, are you, Candy?" he said.
Candace just stared.
Phineas let go of her and just lay there on the floor, weeping
pathetically. The rocket began to rumble.
"Brace yourselves for takeoff," Candace the Candasaur said.
Candace Flynn turned around and opened the door to the rocket back up.
Candace the Candasaur and Stacy looked up in surprise. She reached over and
grabbed her swordspear before looking back at the inferno back on the Tkpxzv
craft.
She gulped.
Phineas looked up in surprise, "Candace?"
"If I take too long, take off," Candace said.
"Candace, don't!" Stacy yelled.
Candace let out a war yell and charged back onto the Tkpxzv craft.
The smoke stung her eyes and the flames singed her skin, but she barreled
through anyway.
"It's what Xosizi would have done, right?" Candace reasoned, not
totally certain. Within seconds she was practically blind from smoke and
fire. Her clothes stuck to her as she sweated profusely from the heat. She
weaved through the piles of burning ship in the halls as best she could,
getting burned frequently but refusing to stop. At one point a chunk of
burning ceiling fell down on top of her. Luckily it wasn't heavy enough to
crush her, but she had to roll quickly to put herself out. She eventually worked
her way through the inferno to the intersection where she'd found Phineas.
She turned down the hall and started heading in the direction she figured
Isabella would be in. She gagged on the smoke.
"Candace... you're an *COUGH* idiot," she muttered to herself, "Both
*HACK* you AND Isabella are gonna die down here..."
The world was spinning. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't see. One
of the guards were dead... but not because she'd shot him... a piece of
burning rubble had fallen on top of him and roasted him. The other two kept
firing at her behind their rubble. She fired off a couple more shots, trying
to hold them off, but she knew it was no use. It was only a matter of time
before either they killed her or she succumbed to the thick smoke. She fired
a couple of poorly aimed shots then fell back behind her cover, burned,
suffocating, and completely exhausted.
"I made an oath..." she whispered, "And I fulfilled it..."
She heard plopping noises and saw the two bodyguards coming around her
cover and raising their weapons. She raised her gun to fire, but got
clobbered by several shots from the guards. Her weapon fell from her hand as
she gritted her teeth in pain and collapsed. She looked blearily up at the
two guards, who seemed to be trying to decide if she was dead. They raised
their weapons for the killing shots.
"Goodbye... Phineas," Isabella whispered, "I love you..." She closed
her eyes and waited for the "CHOOM! CHOOM!" of the lasers.
CLANG!
That wasn't the noise she was expecting. She looked up and saw that
one of the guards had just been stuck to the wall by a twenty-foot long sword.
The other one began firing into the smoke, but he missed and the swordspear
ripped out of his buddy and sliced into him instead. The creature roared in
pain and fired wildly into the fire at his invisible target. The swordspear
started pushing forward and back and sawing into the Tkpxzv. He screamed and
fired madly but ultimately got sawed in half. He fell to the floor and died.
Isabella was confused. Had a Candasaur gotten separated from the group
and rescued her? They were the only ones she'd seen with weapons like that...
unless of course you counted-but why would she-?
The swordspear advanced through the smoke. As it did, she saw a
stone with a lightning symbol on it that confirmed the least-likely scenario.
"Candace?" Isabella croaked.
"Isabella?" Candace's voice called, "Where are you?"
Isabella leapt out from behind her cover and ran straight at the
voice. Moments later she saw Candace through the smoke, ran to her and
embraced her.
"Candace, you saved my life, thank you!" she cried.
"Don't thank me, thank your freaking, triangle-faced, no good, son of
a-"
A powerful explosion blasted out of the floor in front of them and
nearly vaporized them both.
"You can swear later, Candace, we need to get out of here!" Isabella
said.
"Agreed," Candace took Isabella's hand and the two of them ran back
down the hall.
A blast from the Tkpxzv craft washed over the side of the rocket.
"This thing's almost gone!" Candace the Candasaur yelled, "If she's
not back in thirty seconds I'm going to have to leave!"
"C'mon, Candace, hurry!" Stacy pleaded.
Phineas stared out at the firestorm, hoping beyond hope that-
A massive chain of explosions started booming from deep inside the
craft and sounded as if they were coming up the hallway.
"I've gotta move!" Candace the Candasaur yelled, "That'll blast us to
bits if-!"
"Wait!" Phineas cried.
"Yeah, look!" Stacy yelled.
Two silhouettes, one tall and one short, were racing toward the
rocket, barely ahead of the advancing chain of explosions.
"There it is!" Candace hacked, "Run, run, run!"
She and Isabella could feel the craft blowing up behind them. They
knew it was only a matter of seconds before the floor exploded out from under
them.
"Go, Candace, go, you can make it!" Stacy shouted.
"You're almost there, Isabella! Go, go, go!" Phineas yelled.
The two girls were mere feet from the rocket. It looked like they
would make it-
Then the blasts caught up.
Candace instinctively jumped as she felt the floor collapse out from
under her. Isabella grabbed onto her shirt and the two literally flew toward
the rocket.
They were too far. Candace and Isabella began falling. As
she saw the rocket falling away, Candace made a mad attempt to save them by
swinging her spear toward the rocket. Smoke engulfed her and Isabella and
blocked the rocket from view, dashing their last hopes of survival. Candace
prepared to splat down into the Tkpxzv craft's lower levels... but suddenly
realized she was no longer falling. In fact, she was slowly rising. She
looked down at Isabella.
"Did we die?" she asked her.
"I don't... think so..." Isabella replied.
Candace suddenly felt something warm run down her hands. She looked
up and saw blood running down the swordspear and onto her fingers.
"Blood?" Candace asked, then it hit her.
"Stacy! Is that you?" Candace yelled.
"Aaahh!" Stacy replied in agony.
"You're the best friend I've ever had, Stacy!" Candace cried.
"Oooww!" Stacy cried... tears.
Soon Candace and Isabella saw the rocket, and moments later, Stacy,
hands slick with blood, pulled Candace and Isabella into it. Isabella
got off Candace and shut the door, and Candace the Candasaur took off and flew
into space.
Candace embraced Stacy as soon as she got in, "Stacy! Thank you so
much!"
Stacy laughed and cried simultaneously as Candace hugged her. As she
pulled away she said, "Candace, heh heh... check this out..."
Stacy touched her finger to the ground and began painting an image
with her blood. A few moments later a picture of a girl grabbing the business
end of a swordspear pulling two girls hanging on the handle into a rocket
emerged.
"We've all got a picture to draw..." Stacy giggled, "And that's what I
drew today."
"Stacy?" Candace asked.
"Yeah?"
"Go get a bandage."
"Good idea," Stacy got up to go look for the first aid kit. Phineas
and Isabella were over near one wall of the rocket, also embracing. Both were
crying and Phineas was apologizing profusely for the way he'd treated
her. Candace looked over at her Candasaur counterpart and saw her
speaking into her communicator. Out the rocket's window she could see
hundreds of spaceships fighting each other back and forth.
"Candace, status report!" Flynnya's voice said from the rocket's
communicator.
"We're out!" Candace the Candasaur replied, "But all are wounded
except me! Retreating to hospital ship!"
"Candace..." Candace of Earth said.
She looked over, "What?"
"How much gas we got in this thing?"
"Plenty, why?"
"Take me home, I've had enough."
The Candasaur grinned, "Sounds good. Setting course for Sol System."
"Sol System? What are you talking about?" Flynnya asked from the
radio.
"I'm taking Candace and Stacy back to Earth," the Candasaur replied,
"Think you can win without 'em?"
"We've practically won already. The Alions are crushing the Alpha
Centaurian craft. We'll have the planet within an hour."
"Excellent."
"Tell Candace and Stacy thanks for me, okay? Trisaria will remember
them for all time!"
"Will do! See you in a few days, Flynnya!"
"'Bye! Flynnya, out!"
The line went dead. Candace the Candasaur turned to Candace Flynn,
"Did you hear her?"
"Yep."
"Good," the Candasaur turned on the high-powered thrusters and blasted
toward the star that Candace Flynn had been born near... good old Sol.