The last part was really short so I'm putting in two parts today. I'm probably going to post a new part every day, hopefully, if I remember, but once school starts that might change.

Part 8: This Ends Now

Taz had gone upstairs to collect some of her things and change into more suitable cloths. As she was getting out of the dress and into regular cloths she heard a voice from below. Taz listened in,

"Searching… Leo Lopez" Taz's heart skipped a beat when she heard her father's name, "A recruit in time of need 3 years ago, had a family that consisted of two twin sons, a daughter, and a wife. Dead, died while on a mission, a robot was going to attack his Lieutenant but he jumped in the way to give the Lieutenant time to kill the robot, saved Lieutenant… Up" Taz caught her breath, her father was dead, died while saving the man that saved her. "Leo Lopez saved you Up. Why were you asking?"

"I just wanted an answer" Taz sat down on the bed stunned. Her father was… dead? He could push through anything! He was the one encouraging her to go for her goals, not settle for what others give her. He made Taz…. Taz.

"Shit!" Up swore from down below. Taz hurried to get completely ready. She packed clean cloths and everything she would need. Then she went downstairs still processing the information. She knew that this would end.

"Hey Taz…" Up started, but he had no clue what to say next. Lucky for him Taz saved him.

"Mi padre died while saving jou." Crap she heard. "And then jou saved me. A cycle. Fine. But it ends here, I am not saving any one of jour brothers or familia ok? Because my father died for jou, and jou saved me from dying. That ends now." She stood up tall and even though she was almost 2 feet shorter than Up, she looked down on him. "Now let's get my brother's out of here." She went and picked up one brother and left Up to pick up the other. 'I have to tell her that they are dead, but she'd get mad… This ends now Up, Tell her!' Up set down the brother he was carrying.

"Taz I'm gonna do one more body check on them and make sure everything is working" Taz glared at him but set down the brother she was holding and came to look over his shoulder. Up pressed the scan button, but he already knew what would show up.

"Why is it blank? Has something gone wrong?" Taz asked

"Taz, it means that your brothers…. Are dead" Up waited for her rage to be unleashed. He saw her yelling abuse in Spanish at those robots and thought he would at least get a few swears chucked his way, but all he got was silence. To Up that was even worse. Silence means that you've given up, you can take no more, that all hope is lost. Up saw tears streaming down Taz's face as she slumped on the ground.

"Taz…" Up knelt and put his arms around the girl as she cried. Her tears made Up's shirt wet but he didn't complain, he came too late and failed to save her family. She can cry all she wants.

I cried into his shirt. I barely knew who he was, I didn't even know his full name or his age, yet it was a relief to cry. I cried for my brothers, I cried for Jose, I cried for my father, for my mother, my friends, my cousins. I cried for each and every person who had died at my quinceañera, they all died because of my party, because we were having fun. I cried for a very long time. Until I had no more tears left to cry, and I just needed to push on, ending the tears.

Taz cried in my arms for a long time. Eventually she was just gasping for breath and I released her. I put my finger under her chin and made her look at me.

"When I was younger, I would get pushed down a lot. People would say I was weak, I was unwanted, I was a reject that wandered the streets alone down in Alabama. In Alabama not many are orphans, and the ones who are learn to be tough. I learned a saying one day, 'No matter how hard you get pushed down, you always got to get back up' my friend Joe told me that, the next day he vanished and I never saw him again" Up paused in his story to let Taz take it in. "So come with me Taz, I'll train you to be the toughest son-of-a-bitch Starship Ranger that the G.L.E.E. has ever seen. You will become special Taz, I will train you and I will make sure you get into the Ranger Academy. You'll see" Taz faintly smiled and Up picked her up in his arms and carried her back to the camp site they were resting at. He wasn't going to let another orphan roam the woods with no hope of rescue. That cycle would be ending, and Up was ending it

Sorry for the really cheesy 'End it now' thing but I couldn't think of a name for this part so I had to include End It Now. Yeah... review please!