They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Earth had left barren, with no sense of life to it...It looked like a waste planet.
"It's Earth."
"Earth..." Quinn murmured at the sight of it.
"It feels like such a long time ago that we lost the Earth to this place," Nova commented quietly.
"They say you can't go home again, but..."
"Here we are," The woman finished for him. Suddenly, Avocato came in from a transmission.
"Gary! Can you hear me?"
"Avocato?" He asked in surprise, turning to the others. "It's Avocato! Hey, where are you, man?"
"I'm looking at a whole lot of nothing," The Ventrexian didn't even know where he was right now.
"Did everyone make it out?" Gary asked him and the others were standing behind him. Tribore and his son had somehow joined their group.
"Almost...but I haven't seen Mooncake." Suddenly red smoke surrounded them. "Gary, I'm heading into some-" However, the feed cut out right there due to something, Gary just didn't know what.
"Avocato? Avocato!" Gary called out, but there was no answer.
"Gary!" Avocato tried contacting him from his end, and unfortunately there was no response either with him. "Gary!" He slammed his hand against his helmet, but still nothing. He groaned at this. "We lost him."
"Soo, we're just gonna stand on this planet chunk and do nothing?" Sheryl asked in disbelief.
"Speak for yourself, hot mama," Tribore spoke up, getting onto his feet. "Come on, Quatro. We're leaving."
"Yup, you're leaving," Ash pointed out as they stared at the two walking off.
"I'm afraid I must. My species has an ancient cherished ritual called paternity leave."
"Uh huh," The girl shrugged at him. "We're all familiar with the-"
"I must spread my wings like a majestic falcon and leave. So bye."
Quatronostro took out an axe, slammed it, and cut them off from the group. "We'll see you later," He spoke in Spanish."
"Will we ever see you again?" Fox called out since they didn't know Spanish.
"Close your eyes. Now look at me. But keep 'em closed. But look at me. I'm with you," Tribore stated even though none of them had closed their eyes. "But I'm gone. I'm here. But I'm gone. I left. But I stayed. But I'm gone."
"There's gotta be a ship down there," Quinn suggested to the others as they stared down at the planet.
"Alright, we jack a ship, we find the Team Squad, and we skip town out of Final Space. But first...we planet jump."
"Oh no," Nova groaned to herself as she realized where he was going with this.
"Gary, I'm afraid the aberrant gravity walls make that impossible," HUE pointed out, earning a groan from Gary.
"Well, thank you, HUE. Just swoop in here and buzzkill the whole dang moment."
"Hm," Nova glanced between the rock and the planet. "Hypothetically, I could get you guys down there if I use my powers. But I've never done that before..."
"It's worth a shot," Gary said in thought.
"I'll get you down," KVN offered them as he flew in front of the four. "Hold onto my claws."
Quinn and Gary glanced at each other. "I call Nova," She said immediately.
"Crap!" He muttered as she giggled. Nova lowered her hands a little to capture Quinn in her aura. Gary took KVN's arms while HUE held onto his leg. "Air KVN and First-Class Nova are ready for lift-off." He lifted them off the rock and flew over to Earth, Nova following close behind.
"It feels cozy," Quinn looked at herself. "Is this how it feels all the time for you?"
"Pretty much. But the first time was definitely too cozy, and that's another reason why I didn't use them before."
"And I hope you're enjoying the view. Weather conditions permitting, I'm expecting a smooth transition to, uh, post apocalyptic Earth." As they were approaching the planet, a vortex of some sort sucked them in and Nova's powers failed, causing all of them to fall.
"These would be those aforementioned abhorrent gravity walls," HUE said to Gary.
"You just love saying abhorrent gravity walls, don't you, HUE?" He retorted back. "Don't youuuu?"
One by one, they landed on each other on the ground of a certain city. They stood up and looked up ahead. "Oh...my...crap." In the distance was the Eiffel Tower, or what was left of it. There were various dead corpses scattered around them in mid-air.
"Paris..." HUE stepped forward a bit. "It's...beautiful."
"Beautiful? What an idiot!" KVN chuckled a little. "Am I right, Gary?"
Sheryl, Fox, and Ash were just staring at the environment around them since they didn't have anywhere to go. Little Cato looked up at his father.
"Dad?" He asked quietly as he had a worried look for Nova. "How do we find the others when we don't even know where we are?"
"Hey," Avocato bent down to him, holding his shoulders. "I know where you are." Little Cato smiled at his statement. "For now, that's enough. And I know that when you see Nova again, that'll be enough for you too." Little Cato blushed at the mention of her. "I still remember you calling her your girlfriend, you know. Anything happen with that?"
"I..."
Before he could say anything, the rock they were standing on began to shake.
"Hold on!" Sheryl called out.
"No one panic. We're getting through this," Fox declared before he suddenly disappeared out of thin air somehow. "Ahh!"
"Fox? Fox!" Ash called out, taking flight and examining the rock. "Where are you? Fox!"
"No, Ash, stay close," Sheryl advised her. "We don't know what we're up ag-" She disappeared too, in the same way that Fox did.
"Sheryl!" Ash shouted before she was gone too.
"Ash!" Little Cato glanced behind him. "Dad. W-What's going on?"
Avocato pointed his gun and started shooting. "I don't know. But I swear they're not taking you." As soon as he said that, Little Cato was gone too. "Little Cato!" And then he was alone until he too disappeared...
Back in Paris, or what was left of it, Nova stared up at the Eiffel Tower as they were walking. All sorts of items were floating around them such as bread, wine, croissants, cheese, and mugs. She glanced around the street, staring at all of the damage that occurred here...it was honestly a little sad that this place fell to ruin.
"My greatest dream was to transfer my AI into a corporeal being and see Paris," HUE stated, lagging behind the group. "And now it's become a reality." As he walked, a shadow flew past...Quinn stopped near a café and HUE walked up to the broken door. "A charming Parisian café," He then pulled the door open. "Oh, and it appears to be open." Then the door fell, breaking off his arm in the process.
"It's true. People would give their right arm to visit Paris."
"Not me," Nova waved a hand, earning looks of disbelief from Gary and Quinn. "I don't get the hype, and I'm not technically in a relationship."
HUE just sighed as he looked at his arm. "Is this what mortality feels like?"
Quinn, Gary, and Nova scoured a few ships, trying to find if they could start them, but any attempts had so far been unsuccessful. "Oh, well, this is just a piece of garbage!" Gary kicked the ship he was attempting to start. "There's no salvaging any of these ships, guys. They're..." He sighed slowly at their situation. "We're totally stranded."
"Could you fly us to the others?" Quinn asked Nova nearby, who shook her head no.
"I wouldn't even know where to find them, and I'd get tired. Probably the same reason Ash hasn't used hers to find us," She replied regrettably.
"Dead ships, dead world, and Nova's powers ending up useless," KVN stated, earning a glare from the magenta-haired girl. "Boy, I'm glad this isn't my fault, right Gary? Can you imagine being responsible for the annihilation of Earth?" He chuckled as he hugged himself, and then he was kicked away by Nova.
"Shut up, KVN."
"Thanks," Gary smiled a bit at her.
A shadow flew over their heads. "What is that?" Quinn pointed up to the sky. Something descended down to them and they pointed their guns at it. "Run!" The four took off as whatever it was, it was gunning for Gary. His mouth opened in shock before he was snatched from the ground.
"Quiiiiiin! Come after me!"
"Go after him, we'll follow!" She ordered and Nova nodded, taking off into the sky after them. She started firing star bolts at the kidnapper, who flew around the shots to avoid them. Gary lifted up his legs as one of them was too close for comfort.
"Nova! Still hanging in the sky, just so you know!"
The kidnapper flew over to a building and a panel opened from the ceiling. "Unhand me, you..." He realized that it was a hard fall from the sky. "Wait! Wait! No! Re-hand me!" The kidnapper let go of him and Nova opened her mouth in shock. She narrowed her eyes and flew faster as she saw the door closing. She sped up and thankfully flew inside just as the door closed. She reached her hands out and caught Gary from falling with her telekinesis.
"Oh! Oh, thank you," He called out to the girl gratefully as she floated down and landed safely. She released him and he fell flat on his face, but not too hard.
"Is that him?"
"Oh, that's gotta be him. I'd know that face anywhere."
The two flinched at the voices and turned around, pointing their guns at nothing. They took to hiding behind a crate.
"I want a lock of his hair."
"I want all of his hair."
"What the hell?" Nova murmured in disbelief. "Are they talking about you?"
"Who are you?!" Gary demanded as his helmet came off. He looked around the corner to see red creepy eyes peeking back at him. "Ohh! Okay. Ahh!" Nova pulled him backwards, kneeling a bit as she allowed him to catch his breath. "We're alone and outnumbered by possibly apocalyptic manticores. There's only one course of action, Nov. We gotta take 'em all out."
"Hell yeah," Nova whispered, pumping a fist.
"Can we take pictures with you?" The eyes appeared from the ceiling and started floating down towards them.
Gary let out a scream as they were surrounded. "Hey, Gary, hey, hey..."
"Oh...crap..." Nova opened her mouth in disbelief as they recognized who they were.
"It's a school of wild KVNs. No! Oh!" They started grabbing at the two and Gary looked absolutely horrified. "What has the Earth devolved into? Get off, release us! Release us from this waking nightmare! Oh, no. Oh no!" They started taking pictures of them and Nova struggled to get free.
"Get the fuck off!"
"I love when Gary yells," One KVN commented to another.
"I know. Why did he stop? It's the funniest thing."
"I knew it would end like this," Gary stated as he was held up by two KVNs. "Oh, being tortured in a European hellscape by a demon horde of KVNs!"
"That's...oddly specific," Nova raised a brow at him in confusion. She wasn't sure if he was just spit balling or if that was an actual fear.
The KVNs got closer to them and Nova squeezed her eyes shut. "Roll out death's sleeping bag. I'm ready for the big nap!"
"Rawrrrrr!" A growl echoed and they opened their eyes to see a shadow approaching from a door.
"What is that thing?" Gary asked in confusion.
"Is someone telling jokes in here?" A new voice questioned as he was standing in the shadows. "Who tells jokes?"
"Oh, it's a tiny crumble bear," Gary stated in shock as the person was a small black and white tiger alien. He lifted up his goggles and purred, his whole fur on edge in a good way.
"Ohhhhhh, boy! It's you! It's you! It's really you!" He reached up and hugged Gary's waist, Nova blinking at him. He then crawled around Gary's body and licked his cheek.
"Okay, stop it. Stop licking my face. Stop licking my face!" He lifted the alien off of him. The alien just smiled at the two. "I know we're us. Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Biskit the Tiger Tiger!" He leaped forward and hugged Nova next, causing her to flinch. She darted her eyes around awkwardly before pushing him off. "I'm the greatest living super fan."
"We're your hugest fans," The KVNs all said in unison, slightly frightening them.
"This is worse than the Mega KVN..." Nova sweated nervously with a small smile.
"A fan of what?" Gary demanded them.
"We've seen every episode," One of the KVNs informed him. "All your transmissions. Seriously."
That got his attention quickly. "Excuse me. Did you say transmissions?"
"The ones you sent Quinn," Biskit clarified to him. "Five years of broadcasting genius."
"You...saw those?" Gary asked uncomfortably and in embarrassment. Pretty much all of those were him trying to impress Quinn, and he hadn't talked about them since because he had relatively grown away from those.
"All of them. And they just got better and better," A KVN told Gary. "Especially Episode 2,513, when you moaned like a dying animal."
Nova let out a laugh, hugging her stomach as Gary's cheeks burned in embarrassment. "Oh, I need to find that one," She wiped away a tear from her eye.
"Oh, but we didn't forget about you!" Biskit looked up at her. "You were a guest, but you left such an impact! After your only appearance, Gary would mention you and Little Cato almost all the time! We're all waiting for an update on your relationship."
Nova turned to glare at Gary, clenching her fists as he held up his hands in defense. "All I said was that you guys clearly had a thing going on and what happened afterwards! How was I supposed to know that they'd see it?"
She looked down at Biskit as his eyes shined up at her. "Look, he introduced me to his father as his girlfriend, but we haven't talked about it since!"
"Ohh," His smile dropped as the KVNs all groaned in dismay. "We've gotta get the Spiderstar train chugging!"
"How about we just let things take their course between me and Little Cato, okay?" Nova asked him in annoyance.
"Gary? Nova?" Quinn walked into the room, having broken into the building. "Guys, are you alright?" She ran up to them and every KVN and Biskit gasped at the sight of her.
"Yay!"
"Oh no. Prepare yourself," Nova whispered to the woman, who gave her a look of confusion.
"Oh my gawwwwrrawr!" Biskit exclaimed happily. "It's Quinn. It's Quinn!" He chuckled as he scampered away from Nova, landing between Quinn and Gary. "It's Quinn."
"Who are you?" She pointed her gun at him.
"Quinn, careful what you say," Gary warned her. "It knows...everything." Biskit's eyes shined up at her.
"You're even more beautiful in real life. Both of you!" He gave such the cutest eyes that both woman felt both flattered and charmed by him.
"Okay, this one lives," Quinn smiled, putting away her weapon.
"And I guess I can forgive the whole SpiderStar thing," Nova smirked, crossing her arms, to the disbelief of Gary. He just looked annoyed as the two looked down at Biskit. "Quinn, meet Biskit the Tiger Tiger. He and all these KVNs have seen Gary's videos from when he was a prisoner on the Galaxy One, and that's how they know us and everything."
"Nov!" Gary hissed in embarrassment as Quinn giggled a little. "Thanks for telling her that!"
"She was gonna know eventually," She defended as she rolled her eyes, waving a carless hand. "If they're already out there, then probably anyone could stumble upon that footage." Gary grunted as she was right. After all, Todd managed to find a video of when Quinn had closed the breach.
"She said my name! Ohhh!" Biskit purred again and she shook her head in amusement. "I gotta tell you. This is a real treat. We haven't seen a visitor since Earth was like basketball palmed into Final Space."
"How did anything survive here?" Quinn kneeled to him. "What is this place?"
"The bunker to Earth's most visionary roboticist, Kevin Van Newton," Biskit pulled out a remote to press a button on it.
"Whoa! Papa KVN?" KVN asked curiously as a hologram of a man revealed itself. "He's the one who created me, Gary. He created your best friend. Which is me, KVN." His voice echoed as the other KVNs surrounded him and he looked more horrified than ever.
He whimpered as he squeezed his eyes shut. "Girls, I've finally found him. The father of Beelzebub," His eyes twitched a d, little. "This house...must be cleansed...with fire!" Flames appeared in his eyes as he could just imagine burning the place down. "We gotta burn it to the ground, guys! We gotta burn it to the ground!"
"Later, Gary," Quinn wanted to get back on track.
"AKA never," Nova added in, earning a glare from Gary.
"Is this Kevin still alive?" The woman asked KVN.
"Not sure," He shrugged, turning to the army of KVNs. "Anybody see Papa K lately?"
"Not me."
"Yeah, not in a forever."
"Anyone's guess."
"I don't know, probably dead."
Gary looked over his shoulder and gritted his teeth when he saw a hallway marked KVN. He glared upon seeing the name, pointing to the hall. "Down the hall, guys." He pulled out a gun, readying it. "Shoot for the head."
"I'm not gonna take out someone who hasn't done anything," Nova rolled her eyes.
"Not done anything?! He created the bane of my existence!" Gary argued back.
"In your eyes. And it's not worth un-retiring for, anyway, and if you take my guns, I'll shoot YOU in the head!" Her eyes turned purple in rage as he reached for her weapons. He yelped, recoiling back before pouting at her. He walked up ahead and they followed after him, mostly to stop him if he got out of hand. HUE came in out of nowhere, wearing a black beret and a red scarf. However, he was still holding his ripped off arm.
"Monsieur HUE is in the building. No arm jokes, s'il vous plait."
They stopped as they hear a noise coming in from another room. There was a work desk in front of them that looked to still be in use. "Hello?" Gary called out.
"Not listening!" An old man walked out of the room, but they knew it was Kevin because he looked similar to the hologram that they saw. His skin was more tanned, probably because there was no sun around, and his hair was more scruffy, grey, and he had grown a beard. Final Space clearly had done a number on him... "Remember, the voices aren't real, Kevin. They're not real," He took a seat at his desk, not noticing that he had visitors. "I wish they were real."
Gary inhaled sharply at the sight of him. "It's you."
Kevin turned around to see them as the blond glared intensely at him. "You...monster!" He rolled forward and started shooting, but kept missing somehow. "Shoot him, girls! Shoot him!"
His gun was suddenly kicked out of his hand and he looked up as Nova caught it with ease. "Gary, we're not killing an innocent man, all because he created KVN! So stop acting like a homicidal asshole before you regret it."
Gary grumbled as he looked away, crossing his arms.
"Oh, oh, of course you'd show up now that I've officially lost it," Kevin retorted to them and Gary stood up. Nova just raised a brow in confusion.
"We've never met, dude."
"Not you! You," He was pointing right at Quinn, confusing all of them further. "It's been...a while," He chuckled at the sight of her, delighted.
"If by a while, you mean never, then yeah, we're good."
"Your hallucinations are getting realer and realer and realer," Kevin spoke to himself, walking back over to his desk. He glanced over his shoulder in amusement. "Well done. Look out!" He threw something at Quinn and she caught it, causing him to gasp. A look of realization hit his face. "...Impossible." He ran over and touched Quinn's shoulders. "You are real. Real."
"How do you know her again?" Gary asked in irritation as Nova rubbed her chin in thought. Quinn was stuck in one place when she closed the breach, so they couldn't have met then. And he was definitely not from the Infinity Guard, so it couldn't be that either...
"But why now?" Kevin ignored Gary's question. "Have you a new mission for me? I need something to do. My turd museum is finished."
"This got some disgusting undertones very quickly," Nova glanced away, a bit unnerved at that confession.
"Uhh, okay," Quinn said, going with it for now.
"Didn't answer the question, but..."
"We are looking for a ship," She told Kevin, also ignoring Gary.
Kevin just laughed at the request. "Another ship. Ha! I should've guessed."
"You're just gonna blaze over that one," Gary deadpanned at the two. "Good."
"Gary, dude, move on. No one is asking anymore," Nova rolled her eyes.
"Our friends are lost out there," Quinn continued to the man.
"You're saying...more of you survived?" Kevin asked hopefully as that would mean he would get to meet new people.
"For now. But we need to get to them."
"More?! There's more," Kevin said in rejoice, dragging his hands down his face.
"So, do you have a ship or not?" Gary wondered impatiently.
"No, no, no, no, no, but I know where to find one," He pushed the three towards his room. "But first, you rest!"
"Um, what?" Nova glanced up at him, baffled. He pushed the three onto his bed.
"Did he say...rest? Why would we-"
"Rest!" He ordered them, turning to Nova. "I'll find you a bed to make you more comfortable." He closed the curtain and the three stared at each other. This guy had...clearly been through a lot.
"Uhh, I'm just gonna leave you guys-"
"You'll rest in this room!" Kevin shouted from outside and she gave a wide-eyed look.
"The hell did he just say to me?"
Avocato finally woke up and when he did, he was shocked to find himself surrounded by golden webs. He gasped as he found the others tied up in golden web upside down.
"What the...?"
He looked around at the four, confused as to what was going on since he had never been here before.
"You finally came to finish us off, Invictus," An Arachnitect accused him, but that was solely on the fact that Avocato was possessed by Invictus.
"W-What?" Avocato stammered in confusion. "I'm not-"
"Why, then, are you here if not to kill us?" Another one questioned him.
"You kidnapped us!" The Ventrexian argued back, gesturing to himself.
"A stirring alibi for a lying liar!" A third one stated stubbornly. "You, sir, are a grand master of lies."
"You're Arachnitects?" Fox asked in shock.
"You know of our kind?"
"Yeah, we made, uh, we made fast friends with um...ugh, he had an incredibly stupid name," For some reason, Little Cato was blanking on the name. "Um...Jermaine? Wait, no, uh, Jared? Jeremy? Jeremy. And not to mention that we're friends with your granddaughter, Nova."
"Jeremy? Nova? You've seen them?"
Little Cato nodded with a small smile. The Arachnitect in front of him chuckled. "Jeremy is my boy. And Nova is just so precious..."
The younger Venxtrexian chuckled a bit at the word. He knew that Nova was gonna hate hearing that.
"Oh, he's your kid?" Ash asked with a small smile.
"No. He's my boy. I can't believe they didn't fire him. He's utterly incompetent. I love that guy! But Nova is just great. Where is our granddaughter?"
"Nova? She and the others...we were separated. We don't know where she is," Avocato rubbed his arm awkwardly. He had no idea that Nova was related to them... "You're all her grandparents?"
"Oh, uh, long story short, they created the Titans and Bolo, who then created her," Little Cato called out.
"Got it," His dad gave him a thumbs up.
"If you don't mind me asking, and Lord knows I don't mean to intrude, what are you doing here?" Fox couldn't help but ask.
"When the Arachnitects created Final Space, they deployed hundreds of sentries like us to guard Invictus and the Titans. But the Titans broke through, and one by one, we've all been murdered. Except us," The first one explained to them.
"You're the last ones in Final Space," Little Cato murmured quietly, and when they would see Nova again...it was going to be hard to break that to her.
"We've been hiding for so long. You can stay here with us. We will protect you."
They stood in silence as Avocato stared at them...
Back at Kevin's place, the entire room shook for some reason. Gary and Quinn sat up in alarm, peeking at Nova laying down on a blow-up bed at the edge. She blinked uncomfortably as this just felt...weird to her.
"You know, I think this is our first time alone together since I found you," Gary laid down on his pillow, giving Quinn a flirtatious look. "Well, relatively speaking," He glanced at the girl, who was staying silent to give them the illusion that they were alone.
"How does it feel?" Quinn wondered, her eyes shining a bit fondly.
"...Like my soul doughnut just got injected with the blueberry jelly essence that turns a mediocre confection into the special of the day."
Nova just blinked, not sure what the hell that meant.
"My soul doughnut feels the same," Quinn confessed, gesturing to her heart. "Wanna make out?"
The girl quickly scrambled away from her air mattress upon hearing this, surprising them both. "Nope, I'm not sitting through that! I got my own rom-com to worry about!" Nova exclaimed rapidly, dashing out of the room.
"I should've thought of that five minutes ago," Gary mumbled as they watched her leave. "Dang it, you're good," He turned to Quinn with a happy smile. "Hell yeah."
They held hands and were about to kiss...
"Are you resting?" Kevin demanded as he opened the curtain, dragging Nova back inside.
"Will you not?" Gary asked in annoyance as he sat up, annoyed that the moment was ruined. "Yes, we are resting per your completely insane demand."
"I see you saved a spot for me," Kevin walked forward, Nova dragging a hand down her face. He stepped forward with a smile. "Very thoughtful of you. Excuse me," He ducked into the blanket between the two adults, causing both of them to cringe.
"Oh, yeah, okay. No, no," Gary commented as they now all felt uncomfortable. "Stop. Stop. Don't slither. You're under the cov—here comes the mole. Why are you under the cov—oh!" Kevin popped out between the two, who turned away and Nova just awkwardly sat down on the mattress. If it wasn't for the fact that the guy apparently knew where to find a ship, she would've kicked him out, but she had to be nice to him...
Quinn sighed wearily at the moment being broken. "There we are," Kevin patted their shoulders with a smile. "No, no! Don't get up," He pulled them back onto the bed, glaring at Nova trying to leave. "That goes for you too."
"Damn it," She growled, sitting back down on her mattress.
"I will beat you if you get up."
They didn't think he could, but they would rather not take that chance. "Rest," He got into Gary's face.
"Oh...I am literally eating your breath. Thank you...for that snack," Gary stated, slightly disgusted.
"So, how did you two meet?" Kevin turned around to Quinn, who gave him an uncomfortable look, which...either he wasn't picking up on it or he just didn't know that he was making them feel uncomfortable. "Same for you, young lady, and Little Cato. I must know everything. Everything," He leaned in towards Quinn's ear and she cringed, trying to get his breath away from her ear. "Every...thing."
"Dude," She warned him. "You are way too close."
"Better you guys than me," Nova laid down on her makeshift bed. Kevin then turned around to Gary, who groaned, trying not to taste his breath again.
"Tell me everything."
Gary gulped a little, looking away. "Actually, it's...it's pretty embarrassing. I think I called her a, uh..."
"A muy bueno super spicy lady," Quinn recalled to him.
"Oh, yep," Gary murmured as he had forgotten about that particular phrase. Especially since over time, he didn't call her that anymore. Nova laughed a bit.
"Only Gary would say that," She commented with a small smile.
"It was bad."
"Mmhm," Gary nodded in agreement.
"But not that bad," The woman smirked a little.
"Mm."
"Then, it got way worse..." Kevin slid away underneath the blanket.
"Oh, come on!"
"And then...I found my ride-or-die," Quinn pulled Gary a bit closer to her, smiling softly. He gasped a little as he realized she was talking about him.
"A little love coin just deposited into my happiness savings."
Kevin then leaned in towards Nova with a big smile and she pushed him away. "Okay, if you're gonna help us, then you need to learn about personal space! Anyway, Little Cato and I met in jail, that's probably just as bad as them."
"Oooh! A prison love story!" His eyes shined a little.
"Uhhhh...yes...and no," Nova pointed out to him. "I wasn't really entertaining his enthusiasm about getting to know me since I was, uh..." She was trying to find the right word.
"Jaded?"
"Single-minded?"
"Cold-hearted?"
"Uh, ouch for cold-hearted, and you could say that I was a little jaded," She glared at Quinn and Gary, crossing her arms. "But...eventually I warmed up to him-"
"That was a long eventually, now that I think about it," Gary interrupted, rubbing his chin.
"ANYWAY," She interjected, giving him a look that said 'shut up and let me tell it myself.' He cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Sorry," He mumbled, rubbing his arm.
"After some time, after we both realized a future that could have happened wasn't real...well, he's my everything really. Not just more than a friend, but someone I can lean on, who I can trust, and...who I actually like despite all of the shit we both had to deal with."
Gary and Quinn smiled at her for the genuine answer.
"And now arise," Kevin stood up, satisfied with that answer. "Our rest is complete! Come on, you should be rested," He left the room, the three glancing at each other.
"Come on," Kevin led the way, holding a helmet as they walked down a hall. "The shipyard is only one 179 miles away," He used the controls in front of him to open the door.
"You mean we're finally getting a-"
"And keep an eye out for Mutant Land Fish," Kevin interrupted with a warning. "They're everywhere," He chuckled, and that unnerved Nova a little. "And we're all gonna die!"
"What? Mutant Land Fish?" Gary questioned, baffled as he glanced at Quinn and Nova. The girl just shrugged at him cluelessly.
"Oh, parasitic creatures who feed on dead planets, like rabid house mice. Only less cuddly."
"I vote we return to the bunker and eat fromage," HUE suggested nearby.
"Will you shut up?!" The crazy old man snapped at him. "If you keep talking, the Land Fish will hear you."
"Even if they did, we've got heavy artillery on our side," Gary jerked a thumb to Nova, who smirked as she held up her two guns and they clicked.
"I've killed much worse. Bring on the Land Fish."
She activated her powers and flew out into the open.
"Oh. Just gonna...dive right in, huh?" Kevin looked as OG KVN and three other KVNS appeared above their heads by a pulley system of some sorts.
"Can you please tell me where you're taking us?" Quinn asked him curiously.
"To the land of beer and spaceships. Belgium. Take some mints," He threw some at Gary's face, which just hit his helmet.
"Belgium truly is the Canada of Europe," HUE remarked as the KVNs took hold of the group.
"Grab hold!" Kevin laughed as they were carried out the door and followed Nova.
"We apologize for ensnaring you all," One of the Arachnitects spoke up to them as the others had been freed. "Any friends of our granddaughter are friends of ours."
"Nah, we good," Little Cato fist-bumped with him and Avocato smirked down at him.
"How did the three of you survive?" Ash couldn't help but ask.
"How does anyone survive?" She was answered back solemnly. "Hope. Even in the darkest moment there's always a little-"
A scream interrupted him and they looked to see one of the Arachnitects visibly shaking. Light came from his body and then he exploded, dying right in front of them. They gasped in shock before the one in the middle suddenly received the same treatment. Then the last one disappeared after he exploded as well. They looked towards the source...and Avocato snarled up at him. Little Cato gave a look of horror.
A familiar laugh was heard as lightning struck, and in came the Lord Commander! He was healthy-looking as his eyes glowed yellow. He laughed manically at what he had just done.
"My, my, my...how I've missed this."
"It can't be," Avocato gritted his teeth, pointing his gun and firing at him. "DIE!"
However, a shield appeared around him, blocking off the lasers. He lifted his hand and everyone froze in place due to his telekinesis. He lifted them up into the air. "Some new faces. Lovely," He commented upon looking at Sheryl, Fox, and Ash. "Except there seem to be a few of you missing. Where, oh, where are my friends Mooncake and little Nova?"
He picked Little Cato out of the group and flung him forward, since the last time he saw the two, only Little Cato out of them was with them.
"Little...Cato," He gripped the young Ventrexian's neck, who coughed a bit. Avocato struggled to get out of the hold to try and help him, but it was no use. "Care to share?"
The cat-boy coughed again. "I wouldn't tell you even if I knew," He glared at his enemy. "And what do you want with her, anyway? Last time from where I was standing, Starlight told you to go to hell and stay there."
"Ahh...still protecting the girl born from a Titan, are we? Isn't that sweet?"
Everyone opened their mouth in shock, wondering how he knew about that. "How do you kno-"
"What do I want with her, you ask?" The Lord Commander grinned at Little Cato, interrupting him. "A friend of mine has shared with me some new information...it seemed as if Nova had been hiding her lineage from me the whole TIME! She was right there in my grasp, and I blew her out of space! But now that I know of her being a Princess of the Titans...she's going to make me one! Whether she likes it or not."
They gave looks of fear at his statement.
"You really don't remember me, do you?" Kevin called out to Quinn. "Well, I was younger then. And I've gotten more handsome."
"I really don't," Quinn's tone clearly tried to tell him she didn't know him.
"I find that strange since you're the one who told me to build this ship."
"What?!" She turned to him in confusion.
"Yo, crackpot," Gary interrupted in annoyance. "How much further is the ship?"
"We're here," Kevin pointed up ahead and they were shocked to actually find Land Fish there.
"Land fish," HUE stared at them, his beret and scarf falling off. Nova flinched and both sane adults noticed it.
"Nova? What's wrong?" Quinn asked her and she glanced over her shoulder.
"I don't know how, but I feel like Little Cato's in danger. So we need to get to that ship fast and find them yesterday."
"Oh, good. First land fish and now our friends are in trouble. How are we supposed to get to the ship?"
"We shoot our way in!" Quinn answered him and pulled out her gun, firing at them.
"I love that answer!" Nova pumped her fists and started firing her little starbolts. A few destroyed one land fish while the lasers were doing nothing.
"Gary, did I ever tell you the story about-"
"No, because I don't know you!" Gary interrupted Kevin, still annoyed by how he didn't know how the man knew Quinn. "Nobody knows you."
"19 years ago, the Infinity Guard contracted me to build a device that could safely lightfold organic beings between two points in space," He started off, shooting a land fish to death.
"I would love to hear more on that topic after we find a mode of transportation," Gary pointed out, but Kevin kept going on.
"I called it a Hyper-transdimensional bridge."
Nova blinked, glancing at him. "What?" She wondered, baffled.
"That's a stupid name," KVN pointed out. "Why-why not call it a Starbridge or, uh, ooh, a Stargate?"
"When you invent a teleporter, you can name it whatever the hell you like," Kevin retorted back to his creation. He went back to shooting at the Land Fish. "We built the first gate on Earth, but then the bridge technology was scrapped." Suddenly, a larger Land Fish crawled out of the ground, blocking their way to the door.
"Aah! Aah! Oh!" Gary screamed at the sight of it, firing. "Oh! Not from the ground, too." Together, they shot it down and killed it.
"Which means all I have to do is connect it to the second gate and then..."
"We can leave Final Space?" Quinn asked incredibly as they had resorted to running once they landed on the ground.
"A way out. There's a way out?!"
"You're certain this can work?" The woman questioned skeptically, earning a laugh.
"Certain? Hilarious!"
"I swear, if this doesn't work, I will rip you apart!" Nova threatened him from up front.
"The parts were warehoused in London," Kevin continued, seemingly ignoring the threat. "If I can find it, maybe I can retrofit it and, well, there is one other wrinkle."
"Space-time wrinkly or dress-shirt wrinkly?" Gary asked him.
"I don't know! Summer khaki-wrinkly, you idiot," The man retorted back.
"Oh, no. That might be too wrinkly."
"Uhh, guys," Nova called out from up front as she was looking over her shoulder. He heard a roar and turned around to see a flying Land Fish.
"Of course they fly! Why not?" He fired at the eye, which was enough to bring the Land Fish to the ground. "What other awesome development can we have today?"
Then HUE lost his other arm when he bumped into the wall. "Oh, mon coeur," He ran off without it and Nova fired a blast from her hands, destroying another Land Fish nearby. They came to a stop behind a large box.
"Heh," Kevin chuckled nervously down at HUE. "Well, this is sort of awkward, but who are you?"
"My name is H.U.E, or HUE," The robot introduced himself.
"HUE? Why, that's the signature of an AI! Why would you subject yourself to the processing limits of a garbage bot?" He chuckled a little, earning a punch to the arm from Nova. "Oh, sorry."
"I thought that, without a body, I was...less somehow. But now I know that with physicality comes the burden of endless need..."
"Stay positive, champ," Kevin winked at him. "You never know what the future holds."
"Come on. How would he know?" KVN gestured to him. "He has no arms."
"Can it, all of you," Nova turned to them with an annoyed look. She peeked past the box as she, Quinn, and Gary eyed the guards.
"Four Mutant Land Fish between us and the ship. Let's do this," Gary ordered everyone and they took off. KVN flew past him and then spun around. "KVN, oh, my—oh!" He fired lasers from his body that took down all of the Land Fish.
"Zero!"
"Everyone to the ship," Gary advised as a Land Fish was walking right towards them. Its teeth grabbed onto the ramp and Nova stumbled as she was the last one through. She glared at him and spun her gun into her hand, shooting it in the head.
The others ran into the bridge. "I give you the Bearded Turkey Wing!" Kevin introduced as he took off his helmet.
"No, no, I wanted to name it," Gary protested at this. "I had a name all picked out!"
"What was it, Gary?" KVN questioned eagerly as Nova ran in. "Tell me. You gonna tell me? Tell me."
Gary pushed him off. "The Dragon Hawk 5. What do you guys think?"
"Uhh..." Nova glanced towards Quinn. "Kevin?"
"...Quinn?" He looked at her.
"Let's go with the Galaxy Two," She spoke for everyone.
"Oh, aw, man," Gary sagged his shoulders, crossing his arms. "Life is a graveyard of dead dreams."
Another Land Fish landed on top of the ship, roaring at them. Quinn ran up to the controls and pressed a button. Gary ran into the captain's chair while Nova jumped and landed in a seat across to Quinn's right.
"Ooh, I'm feeling a sweet rumble in my butt panel," KVN gestured to his butt, flying backwards. Gary ducked his head. "That's how you know it's a good ship."
The Land Fish crawled over the ship, trying to break in. "Quick. Where's the ship's AI?" Quinn asked quickly.
"Oh, it doesn't have one," Kevin answered her, to the disbelief of Nova.
"Did you say no AI?" HUE ran up to Gary. "Please, can I have my old job back? Please?" He begged, getting onto his knees.
"Hell yeah, dawg," Gary smiled down at him. "Get in there."
"Yeah, baby," HUE stood onto his feet. "Au revoir, garbage bot." The light on his head started blinking. "Uploadjulating. Ugh," Then his body fell onto the ground. The panels and lights came to life as he got himself into the systems.
"Systems are activated. HUE 2.0 is online, baby." He revealed a map in front of Gary. "Land Fish detected ahead." Three Land Fishes were headed straight for their ship. The ship fired its lasers and killed them in seconds. "Land Fish eliminated."
"Alright, HUE!" Gary pumped his fists as Nova smiled. The Galaxy Two took off into the sky. "Yes!" Gary stood up and faced Kevin. "Why the hell would you abandon this ship?"
"I didn't abandon it! She did," He gestured to Quinn, who gave a look of confusion. She narrowed her eyes at him as he was still on the fact that he knew her. "Like it? It's the ship I built for you...but you never came to get it. Until now..."
She sighed wearily at him. "For the last time, I've never seen you before in my life," She denied, storming up to him. "I don't know who you are, and I certainly didn't tell you to build this ship."
Gary gave a look of realization and he glanced to Nova, whose eyes went wide. The only way to explain this would be if Quinn wasn't the one who told him to...
"Nightfall," The man murmured slowly. The two glanced at one another. "It was Nightfall who came to you," He placed a hand on Kevin's shoulder.
"After all, she's the only one who looks like you..." Nova stated as she turned around in her chair.
Quinn's eyes softened and then she looked down sadly. Gary and the others had told her within the last month what had happened to them and what happened to Nightfall...
"Did she have a chip here?" Gary pointed to his temple.
"And a scar on her right cheek and a grey stripe in her hair?" Nova pointed to her cheek and the top of her head.
"Now that you mention it..." Kevin rubbed his chin, staring at the woman. "She did!" He could see both the differences and the similarities between the two.
"So it was me," Quinn acknowledged, a bit regretful that she was a little rude to him. "Just...not yet...Why did you go through all this for someone you never met?"
"Uh, she said something about everything going to hell and the two of you meant to be together, but never meant to be," He pointed between Quinn and Gary. "And...honestly, I don't remember much. I-It was six years ago. She sounded either crazy or...or totally in the know. I...Anyway, I built this."
They took off into the sky.
They dropped Kevin off at a warehouse, walking up the ramp together. He looked up at the three as they turned to him, having zipped up his backpack.
"Thank you for everything," Quinn told him gratefully.
"Tell me, what happened to Nightfall?"
"...She made sure Gary and me...uh..." She didn't want to tell him that Nightfall had sacrificed her life to make it happen. Because it sounded like from his point of view that he really idolized Nightfall...
"Sounds like a long story," Kevin put a hand on her shoulder in sympathy. He turned around and left. "I'm going to London to see if I can get this bridge working. You've got my cell."
"Yo, we don't actually don't have your—Okay. Alright. Just gonna walk away. He's gonna call."
"Don't worry, I can track his number down," Nova stated as they walked towards the ship. "I've had a lot of experience hacking into records."
Kevin pressed a button to open a door. He hung onto his KVN and they floated into the air.
"HUE, can you lock on anyone's signature?" Gary asked the AI. "Mooncake? Little Cato? Avocato? Anyone?"
"I'm picking up dense energy from three sectors away," HUE informed him and the man turned to Nova.
"Nova, can you pick up on Bolo's presence?"
"...I'm sorry, Gary, but...I've lost my connection with Bolo. I can't sense him anymore..." Nova closed her eyes in regret. "After we saw him..." She bit her lip nervously. "I-I haven't been able to detect him since. Every time I try to, it just comes up blank."
Quinn placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, her eyes sad.
"Alright. We got us a ship and maybe a way out of here," He smiled up at Quinn. "What do you say, muy bueno super spicy lady?"
"Mooncake, here we come," She narrowed her eyes determinedly.
"And then Little Cato," Nova murmured in hope.
The ship flew out of the warehouse and lightfolded.
Meanwhile, Bolo was staring at a dwarf as it blinked yellow light at him. "Killing Oreskis will be no simple task," He spoke up to Mooncake, who was floating and glowing. "We will need to forge a weapon of immense power. And you will help me forge it."
"Chookity pok," Mooncake seemed to agree.
"Do you see that red dwarf?" Bolo looked up ahead at it.
"Pok."
"I will fold that star onto itself like steel over anvil. And you will be the hammer, Mooncake." He turned to the shocked alien. "Blast it with everything you've got."
"Chookity pok pok," Mooncake gave a determined look.
"Alright home slice, let's do this," Bolo declared as the alien flew forward. The Titan's eyes shot out some lasers and he looked towards the dwarf. He grew in size, taking the dwarf into his hands. He then folded it. "Now, Mooncake!"
"Chookity...pok!" Mooncake charged up his laser, fired it, and touched the dwarf with it. Bolo closed his hands and when he opened them, it revealed a portal. He pulled a sword out of the portal, holding it up above his head. Mooncake gave a look of awe at the weapon.
"Now, let's hunt us a Titan!"