Months passed going from planet to planet, until they landed on the fourth planet in the solar system and Will sensed it. He sensed that this was where it was going to end. All the anticipation had crashed like a powerful wave to the ground.

Will lifted himself out of the crash couch then went to the residential deck and pressed a button which opened the door and slide on the laser pistol belt around his waist along with the stun pistol alongside his thigh and Penny joined his side then put a hand on his shoulder.

"This time I am coming along with," Penny said.

"I can do with some company." Will said with a nod.

"Can we go with you, Uncle Will?" Eddie asked as she joined her aunt's side.

Will looked toward Judy.

"It depends on your mother." Will said.

"They have been cooped up for the last three months in this ship." Judy said. "Just make sure to be back in one piece."

"We will, mom." Joshua said.

"We will be on our best behavior." Eddie said.

"Have fun." Maureen called after the children who bolted down the steps. "Dinner will be waiting for you." She took Judy by the hand. "Scary thought, Judy?"

"That it's Will leading the charge to explore?" Judy asked. "Very."

"Bloop!"

"And someone needs to be walked." Maureen said, amused as they looked toward the creature flicking the curtain back and forth. "Camp fever. Judy, take care of Debbie."

"Yes, mother." Judy said then picked up the chimpanzee and cradled her in her arms as the men came down in their uniforms.

"Don," Judy said. "Like to go on a walk?"

"Sure." Don said. "I could do with some."

"And some coffee," John said then Maureen beamed over to his side then handed him a cup full of coffee and the couple went down the stairs. "Thank you, darling."

"You're welcome." Maureen said. "Dinner will be ready in one hour."

John sipped from the cup then looked toward Maureen as his aging features softened.

"Like some help?" John offered.

"Any help will do," Maureen said.

"Just you and me." John said. "For the first time in a long time."

"I can count how many times we have been left alone on this mission together on my hands in this very room." Maureen held her hands up and John laughed.

The mayor finished drinking his cup then set it on the table and proceeded to help Maureen regarding the matter of dinner.


The children traveled through the dark searching for the people that they wanted the most. Will froze in his tracks then lifted his hand out stopping the children. Penny stepped forward hearing loud but equally younger laughter that sounded familiar yet it was high pitched. It boomed through the terrain. They walked slowly further at once taking small steps at a time. It was as if at any moment that if they stepped on a twig then the boy could run away and flee from their grasps.

Will walked forward hearing his heart race against his chest holding on to Joshua's hand in his other hand. Will was the first to walk on into the distance following after the source of it. The sound of his own heart beat loudly echoed in his ears as he came to a pause at a dead end formed by a valley then looked down spotting a child playing with a young boy. The child threw his head back in the mist of his laughter being licked by the thin but otherwise healthy domesticated alien dog.

Will looked toward Penny and nodded.

Penny covered her mouth stifling back tears looking upon the child.

The child was covered by a large dalmatian that appeared to be alien in nature and covered in spikes on it's back.

Will directed the children on toward the ledge that lead down from the hill top with a few gestures.

Penny nodded then stayed where she had been.


Isaac threw his head back with a laugh as he played with the dog that his mother had insisted to abandon and leave be. The dog whined as it jumped from side to side and wagged its long spiky tail at him. He leaped out then crashed upon the creature and cackled flopping over to his side.

Isaac paused listening to the sound of rocks falling and looked up gazing around the area.

His danger gut feeling began to arose with certain intensity that he stood up to his feet.

He began to run when a deep voice called out,

"Hello."

He felt terrified enough to be frozen where he stood.

"Don't be scared of me. Before you turn around, you have to know. The woman you know as your mother isn't your mother. The reason why you have been running around the galaxies not staying for long in your early childhood is because what she did was illegal. She resurrected you."

"Brought you to life from certain death. She is the reason why you died in the first place. But, she renamed you, she raised you, she told no one of it, you use to be someone I cared about. Even if you are a different person now. I still do care about you, Isaac."

"What is going to happen next is that . . . Is that your mom is going to face her consequences of her actions." The voice started to get closer to Isaac. "And I am sorry for my part in it." His eyes widened. "You wouldn't have died if I had believed you for a full minute."

Silence lingered in the air.

"I should have."

The voice grew silent.

"And I regret it every day."

The owner of the voice sighed.

"I should have done many things differently then and knowing how it could have gone is a certain kind of cruel agony that shouldn't exist. I just hope the first thing you remember when you see me is something good instead of the bad."

Isaac slowly turned toward the source of the voice.

It was then that he recognized the face as his eyes flashed open while a memory flashed to.

A memory that had only resurfaced as part of nightmares and he took several steps back.

Being guided by the child to a saucer then strolling back inside along what was presumably his father. A memory that felt as if it had some notable gaps missing. But, the gist of it was enough to understand. There were dark and ugly feelings that echoed from the moment.

A nightmare that he could vividly recall after years of dreaming it nightly. He remembered the boy being there as the laser pistol was aimed at him by two men with laser pistols as he had stepped back from them and proceeded to exchange fire. Fire that he had returned in self-defense.

"You betrayed me! You got me killed! You got me killed!"

And Isaac ran away.

"MOTHER! MOOOTHER! MOOTHER! MOOTHER!"

And the stranger was left alone on the verge of tears.They are going to try to kill me! The young boy ran and ran and ran and ran and ran feeling a ache in his heart that had only been brought up to the surface with having seen a face that had once been part of it only years ago. He was shook with terror. They are going to try to kill me, again! They are gonna try to kill me!

The boy ran and ran into the night heading for the place that he called home. That man is lying! I know it! I know it! I know it! He smiled at the house ahead of him. She is my mother! She is! She is! She is! He looked over spotting figures running after him then turned away facing the bright lights coming from the house.

"mMOOOOTHER!" Isaac screamed.

He kicked his speed limit up then sprinted for the house. He felt a sting from his back, a sting that he was familiar to-pain, anguish, distress, despair-that he barely had a idea where it came from in his recent childhood. The child fell to the ground with a thud and became unconscious.

The space pod descended and John exited carrying the stun pistol.

"You got him, grandpa." Joshua said with a pant as the older man loomed over the boy.

"Really good." Eddie agreed.

Don loomed over the stunned child then glared at the door.

"Bolix is on his way." John said. "He is five days out."

"Permission to apprehend the woman, mayor?"

"Granted."

"I am not going to kill her." Don charged toward the doorway.

"Children, lift Isaac in." John said as Penny finally arrived. "Penny, we got your message from Will. Get to the ship with the boy, quickly." He handed her the stun pistol. "If he starts to wake up-"

"Stun him." Penny said.

John looked down toward the boy.

"It's not worth having him be awake over it." John looked toward the twenty-five year old woman. "He will try to crash-"

"You don't have to explain, daddy." Penny said. "I know him."

John's features eased then he went on following the lieutenant colonel to the door of the house. From behind them, the children lifted Isaac into the space pod and Penny followed suit. Don pressed the door bell then waited until the door was open and-She looked just the way that he had first seen her ten years ago and she froze staring off at him.

Don delivered a sharp punch to the face and knocked her back.

With a groan, she fell then Don stunned her with the stun pistol.

"Don, let's tie her up." John said, sliding down the rolls of rope from his shoulder.

Then John helped him drag the woman inside and retrieved the rope slamming the door shut behind them.


Isaac was put into the freezing tube and frozen for the long trip back. They watched as Bronius was taken into custody by the assistant officers of Bolix and be taken into a craft. Anger, hurt, and bitterness, scorn were directed at the woman who held her head up high as well as her shoulders. A certain wave of relief came over them once John approached his family and gave the nod.

"So we can keep our eyes on him until the space authorities can take him out of our hands."

"Yes. When they come though, we can't be on the bridge. God knows how he will react to seeing us."

"It will be a lot worse than how he had reacted to seeing me, dad. He remembered me being there." Will said. "I know how it will be."

"Strange," Judy said. "We are finally going home as a expanded family. I thought it would be a little smaller when we came to Gamma."

"Life is very chaotic." John said. "We can't expect everything to go the way that we want it to be."

"It will be very different this time around," Don said. "From Tauron, Gamma is just five months away outside of hyper space."

"Five months!" Penny said. "Five months sound so little."

"Very little." Maureen said. "Compared to how long we have been lost in space."

"How long are we going to be in space this time, grandpa?" Joshua asked.

"I was thinking of taking the hyper drive to Tauron and being in hyper space space for eight months, grandson." John said. "If the family approves of it."

"Hyper drive!" The family cheered and the answer was plain as day.

"Let's have a party." Maureen said. "I made some cupcakes for Officer Bolix. . . But, this opportunity will do."

"Cupcakes?" Joshua asked.

"Grandma!" Eddie exclaimed. "Where have you hidden the cupcakes?"

"I haven't seen them or you making them at all." Joshua squinted at her. "Not as you did it while we were sleeping."

"Because certain someones have been keeping you busy!" Judy said, nudging her elbows between Will and Penny.

The family roared with laughter then went inside of the Jupiter 2.


Will cried in private as he let go of the ugly feelings that had came back up from the boy's words. Once those feelings were over, he felt lighter than he had before. He looked toward the boy from time to time as he went on his shifts. And all the tears by then were gone as he looked at a stranger. And his heart ached for a friend. His heart ached for not just one but two friends.

Two of whom he could have kept and out grown; but he didn't.

He had unknowingly thrown away that opportunity.

And that was the part which hurt him the most.


Will looked out the window during his shift playing his guitar while Eddie was staring toward the console attentively and Joshua was playing a game in the spare chair between them. The children were providing company to the young man while the family were on the lower decks keeping themselves busy. They had lost and gained more family members to the clan. All of of whom were irreplaceable.

Eddie looked toward Will as the young man strummed the guitar releasing a sad series of notes.

"So, you miss him." Eddie said.

"I miss both of them, Edvard." Will said.

"Why don't you get him back?" Joshua asked.

"Joshua," Eddie said. "He dead." She pointed up toward the ceiling.

"I know he is dead." Joshua said. "But, you could get the version that isn't dead. Like take a version that isn't quite dead and the others are gone."

Will lowered the guitar listening to Joshua's proposal.

"You are suggesting that I go and steal a Smith?" Will asked.

"No," Joshua said. "I mean, ask him to come along and come home."

"Different from stealing." Will replied.

"Joshy, wouldn't that be a little wrong?" Eddie asked. "We would be interfering in something we shouldn't. And he would only be doing it because he could."

"It's not like we have the technology readily available for it." Joshua said. "I am just suggesting that when a time spatial anomaly opens up before Uncle Will that he should yank him out and be happy."

"And have his pouty face over with." Eddie said.

"It is only a idea." Joshua said.

Will faced the window contemplating the comment weighing the choice quite heavily.

"I don't know about that, Joshua." Will said. "That would be messing with someones continuity."

"Everyone has a different continuity." Joshua said.

"They do," Will said.

"Doctor Smith sounds to be the kind of person that if he were all alone in the Jupiter 2 then he would allow himself to die." Joshua said. "But, if he did that in space then something would happen and stop him from doing it."

"Which means, there is a version of him that ten years older than how he was when he died." Eddie said.

Will looked upon the children with a smile.

"I wish you knew him," Will said. "And Robot." he chuckled at a memory looking toward the view screen on the verge of tears. "He was a real trooper. Wherever Doctor Smith was, you couldn't find him not long behind him. . . Usually."

"How much of a trooper was Robot?" Eddie asked.

Will chuckled.

"He took everything in stride. Throw anything at him and he would handle it as it were business as usual." Will said, folding his arms, looking back at better times beginning to grow a small smile at a age old memory that had aged well on a black and white film. "That applied to most of the family. He was always that way when we first activated until Doctor Smith's insults hit a nerve and he started biting back."

"Sounds like he were great." Eddie said.

"He was. He was." Will said. "He made us great and all. We are what we are not what we were. . ." Will had a small smirk looking back fondly at a dangerous but endearing memory. "I believe Robot always had a soul that just needed some time being lost to be found and cleaned up."

"You had a excellent childhood." Eddie said as Joshua wiped off tears with Will's offered handkerchief.

"Compared to the one I lead after he was gone," Will shook his head. "Wasn't as great as the old days."

"Were the old days really that fun to you?" Eddie asked.

"It was thrilling, adrenaline running, and risky." Will said. "Most of all. . . fun."

Eddie started to sniffle.

"I want to think it was after most of Robbie the Robot's tech finally settled in and all the other parts we assimilated into him that his soul came to being."

Will looked back, fondly, then he heard Eddie beginning to cry.

"You really loved him." Eddie said.

"Yeah, I did." Will said.

"If he were here," Joshua said. "You would feel great. Just like the old days."

"No," Will shook his head. "Even when he was back? It wouldn't be the good old days." he looked toward the screen tapping his fingers along the console, regretfully. "They're over and those time spatial anomalies are never going to pop up."

Suddenly, the ship groaned and dropped out of hyperspace and the children were thrust forward and crashed to the floor with screams.

Will collapsed to the ground then struggled to lift himself up to his feet.

His head ached then he fell to the ground as the elevator car lifted up.

And everything seemed to freeze in mid-step in his mind as a timer started from seven.

Click on to the next installment: return of a cruel kind of agony!

Same time! Same site!