Angel: I saw the new episode last week and it just left me with 'well, that just happened'. Not just with Clarence, but especially the climax. Like, specifically, the part with Clarence's alien ex-wife and David Dewinter just...wow! Freakin' wow XD I'm not complaining, but it was definitely something I was not expecting! Definitely the most 'WTF' episode ever in the entire show so far.
And someone asked if I would have one of the artists I know draw Nova with Little Cato, and Mooncake. Umm…I don't know if any of the artists I know would specifically draw her. I know that one artist I know does not take requests, and another one who is recent only works on certain stuff (they only do Tangled for me). Maybe the one I'm thinking of would do it, but I'm not entirely sure if they even like the show, so it might never happen which I'm okay with. There are still other OCs of mine that have either yet to be drawn, or they're not drawn enough like the OCs that have been drawn.
The Galaxy 2 was floating through Final Space, but they weren't having much luck finding their friends. "Scan of Sector 32 is complete, Gary, but I am still unable to locate the rest of the crew," HUE reported to him as Gary was facing the window with a stoic look.
"Chookity pok," Mooncake stared at Gary in slight concern. Nova frowned a little.
"HUE," Gary smacked his lips a little. "How do I put this politely? You've been out of the AI game for a while," He chuckled as he took a seat in the Captain's chair. "Do you think maybe it is possible that-"
"Go ahead and say it, Gary," HUE interrupted him. "That I'm incompetent?"
Nova glared at Gary from her spot, a hand on her hip. A robot arm came from underneath Gary's chair, punching him in the face. "Ow! Oh, god!" He rubbed his chin, glaring up at the AI. "HUE! Did you just uppercut me with a monitor?"
"Oops. I guess I'm still getting my groove back."
"Ha ha ha!" Nova held her stomach as she laughed at Gary, who glared at her. "Don't give me that look, you're the one who opened your mouth to insult him."
Then Kevin appeared in a video feed on the map. He waved to Gary as Nova walked over to him. "Cheerio from old blightly, Constable Goodspeed! Heh. I'm making some progress here in London, but these JX10 trans-vector plasma coils are really..." An explosion occurred in the background. "Uh, snogging my bum, as the Brits used to say."
Nova facepalmed herself. "No one...even talks like that anymore, let alone Brits. We haven't even met one."
"Yeah, you should definitely stop saying that, okay?" Gary asked as he pushed down the robot arm. "B-But do you think you can get it to work?"
"Yep. I'm hoping in...four to five days, tops."
"We'll be there," Gary answered in determination.
"Have you found the others yet?" Kevin raised a brow.
Gary looked down sadly and Nova placed a hand on his shoulder. "Not yet."
"It's like they've been taken somewhere that's difficult to find, but...we will find them," Nova answered while narrowing her eyes. "We have to."
Another explosion occurred behind Kevin. "Oh! Gotta run. Remember Gary, uh, 9 to 38 days, tops."
"Scuse me? What? What?" Gary asked in shock while the girl's eyes widened.
"Newton out! And Goodspeed? God speed," And with that, he hung up.
"Do I even want to know what that was?" Nova asked herself, crossing her arms. Gary glanced at Mooncake and the girl skeptically, not sure if he could fully believe in the guy...
The Lord Commander was leading the others to a meteor. "The souls of these prisoners strengthen me. But they are not enough," Purple swirls were flying around everywhere. "I need the key. I need Mooncake and Nova."
All types of aliens and people were chained to numerous asteroids, getting possessed by Invictus, just like with Gary and Avocato.
The Lord Commander's eyes glowed as he stared down at the group. "Now, I wish we could've spent more together, but since you all failed to tell me where Nova or Mooncake are...you can rot here like trash. Except...her," He was pointing right at Ash while the two Ventrexians were glaring at him.
"Uh, sorry, I thought you were talking about me," Ash replied with a nervous laugh. "Are you?"
"Yes. You," He held out his hand to lift up the others. He then threw them onto the asteroids.
"Let them go!" She growled out as she watched them get chained up.
"Soon, you'll join the voiceless chorus and bend to Invictus." The four watched nervously as people nearby got their souls sucked out. "You're going to love it." Ash looked up at her brother and her friends, getting angry. Her aura appeared and she rushed over to the little alien, ready to charge. But he turned around and attacked her with his own aura. "Oh, just how did you think that was gonna go, girl?" She glared at him angrily. "I...am...The Lord Commander!" He increased his power.
"Come on, Ash, KILL HIM!" Little Cato encouraged her.
She put all of her powers into the attack, and it seemed to affect him. But then he growled and with a shriek, he repelled all of his power to her. "Intriguing." All of her fingers broke and she screamed in pain. She was then thrown into a black rock. She winced in pain before she fell to the ground. She sat up and looked at her broken hands.
The Lord Commander chuckled evilly as he floated over to her, smiling widely at her pained face. He then continued laughing as she winced up at him.
"Nothing in sector 33," HUE reported as the Galaxy 2 passed by a sun. "There is no sign of Avocato or the rest of the crew, Gary."
"Keep looking HUE," Gary ordered as he watched Nova sigh. She dragged a hand down her face at the answer. It had been the same one since sector 1: No sign of them, and no picked-up trace of them. She was starting to get sick of hearing that, if she had to be honest. "Little bud?" Gary asked Mooncake, who turned to him.
"Chookity?"
Gary wrapped an arm around the little alien, who smiled up at him. "Can I bounce a hypothesis for you and Nov?"
"Pok pok," Mooncake answered back.
"As long as it doesn't piss me off, then hit me," Nova replied as she leaned against the wall casually.
"Okay, good, okay," Gary closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Mooncake, you just got back, but maybe you've noticed, Quinn and I...have been a little distant, okay?"
"Mm."
"Oh hell no, you had me, and now you're losing me, badly. Not the whole different rooms thing again, Gary," Nova groaned at this.
"Separate rooms and..."
"Mm-hmm," Mooncake nodded his head.
"Y-You get the idea."
"Ohhh, chookity pok," Mooncake said in dismay.
"We've been over this. Not saying you can't have intimacy, but let's say that you needed it immediately after a month! That makes you sound needy, Gary. And if women need space, they need space," Nova pointed at him.
"But it's been a month of spaaaace!" He complained to her, earning a facepalm. "You're one to talk, you haven't seen Little Cato in weeks."
"Hey, don't go there. He might still be missing, but even if he was here, I'd be a bit more patient...well no, he would be because I'm not that fucking desperate." She bit her cheek, hoping that he won't notice that she wasn't entirely telling the truth. She'd never admit she was craving for Little Cato as much as Gary was craving for some sexual interaction with Quinn. But...she did still miss his presence...
"Maybe...I'm just not...mysterious enough," Gary rubbed the back of his head, walking down the hall. "I've read the manuals, okay." Nova blinked in surprise that there were such manuals on this particular topic. "Like, a lady like Quinn needs intrigue. A mustache! Excitement!"
"You sure you're talking about Quinn or me? I think she's fine with who you are now," Nova raised a brow, hands on her hips.
"Pok pok?"
"What?" Gary chuckled at Mooncake. "You think I excite?"
Mooncake flew around him. "Chookity pok pok!"
"Whoa. You think I excite and bring it?"
Nova smiled a bit at the two.
"Chookity!"
"Oh man, I asked for the slice, and you give me the whole dang pie!" Gary exclaimed at the green alien.
"Pok pok pok pok, chookity pok," Moonacke face-hugged him.
"You have no idea...how much I needed that. Give me that muffin top, little buddy," Gary held out his fist to him. The two shared a fist-bump. "Pow! Yeah, there we go," He marched down the hall confidently.
"Chookity pok!"
Nova rolled her eyes at Gary and then walked off. "Why do I pretend I know something about anything anymore?" She mumbled to herself.
Quinn walked into the medical bay, letting out a deep breath as she was weak from the continued poisoning. "Breathe," She told herself while opening up a cabinet. She rummaged through and finally got out an injector. "Just breathe," She injected the painkillers into herself.
"Excuse me, Quinn," HUE spoke up.
"Not now, HUE," She dismissed him.
"I know what's going on. My biodiagnostic scanners have detected the rapid progression of your Final Space poisoning," He pulled up his results. "Allow me to show you."
"No, really! I'm good!" She denied, about to leave the room when Nova stood in front of her.
"Are you, Quinn? Are you really?"
"You don't get it!" She hissed to Nova, about to push past her. The doors closed behind Nova.
"Doctor's orders."
"Mm," She groaned at this and she was scanned. Then holographic pictures appeared in front of her.
"Scan is complete. Projected life span...facticulating...36 hours. I'm sorry, Quinn."
Her eyes widened at the short amount of time she was given. Nova sighed at this, giving a guilty look.
"36 hours...?" Quinn murmured, she figured that she had a few days at least, but no...her heart felt just a little more broken now, which...her heart was already broken because she was still keeping this from Gary. She went over to the door and then grunted before she fell. "HUE, Nova, no one finds out. Especially Gary."
"Gary's already got enough problems because he just wants some attention from you," Nova gestured to the door. "I think he has the privilege to know at this point, Quinn."
"But...keeping secrets is not part of my protocol. Besides, you told Nova."
"She didn't tell me, I found out on my own. I managed to decipher it myself after I remembered what Quinn talked to Gary about with one of them dying. After that, I figured it out solely based on the fact that she had been here longer than anyone else."
"Whatever!" Quinn grunted a little. "Whatever happened to doctor-patient confidentiality?"
"Uh, I am not your doctor," HUE replied awkwardly.
"I may have some medical skills, but I definitely don't have a doctorate or a PHD," Nova agreed with the AI.
"You just said doctor's orders," Quinn reminded HUE.
"Ah! It appears you won this argument. Maybe ol' HUE has lost a step."
She turned to Nova. "And I'm sure you wouldn't want Gary upset, would you?"
"Even if I didn't want to, he still deserves to know. I never said doctor's orders," She pointed out. "Face it, you've got nothing on me."
"Oh really? Then I'm curious to hear about your ex-boyfriend from Little Cato," Quinn smirked a little and Nova's eyes widened. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind, right?"
When they had told Quinn their past adventures, or at least most of them, Nova's ex-boyfriend was the one thing she wanted to leave out. Mainly because Little Cato hated his guts.
"Damn. Pulling that card a little hard, aren't you? Fine, I won't tell Gary," Nova sighed in defeat.
"It stays between us. I need that," Quinn squeezed her eyes shut. "I need to make these last moments with my Gary count," She buried her face into her knees. "Nova? What would you do if you had only 36 hours to live?"
"36 hours...36," Nova rubbed her chin. "Well, I would go kill the Lord Commander so that I can stick it to him before I bit it so that I don't die like cattle. And I'd go and see my dad again. I could also change my name and go somewhere so that I'd die peacefully."
"Would you also spend those 36 hours getting freaky with Little Cato?" HUE asked and she blushed as Quinn gave an amused look.
"W-What?! Well," She looked away in thought. "That's not a bad idea. But I'm not the dead girl walking right now," She crossed her arms, glancing at Quinn. "You've got less than two days, Quinn. You need to do something about it."
Quinn just closed her eyes in response.
More and more souls got possessed and Little Cato looked up at his father. "We gotta help her!"
Avocato tried to break free, but it was no use. "These chains are impossible to get out of."
It wasn't that impossible because Sheryl stood up as she had just freed herself. "Yeah, see ya later, fellas."
"Sheryl! Get us out of here!" Avocato whispered so that the Lord Commander didn't hear them.
"No time, hun," She shrugged at him. "Not even for a pash and dash. Would you believe it?"
"There is time!" He hissed at the woman. "Ample time. Please, no!" He watched as she jumped off rocks. "No! Ugh...and there she goes."
"I admire her independence," Fox commented to Little Cato. "But...she just bailed on us, right?"
"Thanks for rejoining the party," The young Ventrexian replied in a harsh tone.
"But she's comin' back, right?"
"Uhh, what's the answer that you're looking for?" Little Cato couldn't help but ask.
Planet: Unknown
Tribore and his son Quatronostro were sitting at a campfire. He watched his son sharpen his spear. "Quatronostro!"
"Eh," He grunted, his back turned to Tribore. He was in that 'teenager' phase, something that the Team Squad thankfully did not have to deal with. Nova wouldn't put herself that low, Little Cato technically went through the same thing, and Ash was well out of that since she was older than both of them.
"Do not 'eh' me. I will not be 'eh'd'!" Tribore grunted in annoyance, jerking a thumb to himself. "I uncorked my baby hole for you, mister, and a friend of ours was willing to nurse me through that entire process! I will not be ignored!"
Quatronostro briefly looked over his shoulder. "...Eh," He replied again, turning back to his spear.
Tribore got onto his feet. "Whoever said parenthood was a roll in the hay doesn't know what hay is. We need to bond," He walked around to his son. "Would a fatherly swaddle do the trick? It would," He took off his scarf. "Did I know that all along? I did."
He offered to Quatronostro, but to his surprise, it was kicked out of his hands, and then he pointed the spear at his father. "Swaddle? No sere envuelto! (I will not be swaddled!)"
"Oh, well, then it's on!" Tribore glared at him as they circled around, eyeing each other to see who would make the first move. Tribore pulled out his whip and flung his arm, snapping the spear in half. Quatronostro ran up to him and tackled him. He pinned Tribore to the ground.
"Quizas eres mi padre pero yo soy tu superior! (You may be my father...but I am your superior!)" He declared to Tribore.
"...I don't know what the hell that means, but it sounds very continental."
He grabbed his son by his shoulders and they tumbled down. "Oh, heavens! You are strong, my child," They entered a cave while wrestling. "As we tumble on the ground mightily, man to man." He ended up winning the tumble, and he looked up to see an entire city in front of him. Everything was made out of rocks.
"An undiscovered new civilization?" Tribore wondered as the two stood up. "They better have shopping."
"Si. Mm-hmm." The two looked at each other and then stood up with smiles.
"Remember, don't buy from the first seller, and never pay full price," Tribore advised his son and they started walking down a path.
Sheryl jumped on various asteroids so she could find a way out. She landed roughly on one rock and then looked towards more people. She leaped and jumped onto the rocks, but eventually slipped from one. She then grabbed onto someone else's chains. She looked up and saw that it was an alien chained up.
"Help me, please!" He pleaded with her, but then his soul was snatched from Invictus. She saw his communicator on his belt, grabbed it, and jumped away. She rolled to a stop on another asteroid and looked at the device.
"Come on, you little...! Work!" She shook it until it activated. "Ah, yes! Gary, we're in trouble. Come ASAP!"
Above her were the screams of people being possessed...
Back in the medical bay from the Galaxy 2, Quinn and Nova stared at the results together. She zoomed in on her results. "Oh," She slid the screen to look at the remaining hours. "Only 33 hours..."
She thought about what Nova had said when she confronted Quinn about this. She really wanted to tell Gary, but...she didn't want him to worry. He already worried enough about her and their missing friends...
Gary looked at the map while sitting in the chair, looking bored in the meantime. There had been no progress towards finding the rest of the Team Squad. "Sector 34. Empty, Gary. Still no sign of the crew," He told his friend and Quinn walked into the room, followed by Nova.
Gary stood up once he noticed her. "Hey! Uh..." He walked up to the woman. "You look nice."
She smiled softly at him. "Thanks," She leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"Oh my god. You smell nice!" He looked at her wide-eyed. "Why do you smell so nice? Why do you—I mean, uh, so extra nicer than the normally natural nice?" Nova snickered as she covered her mouth with her hand, looking away from them. "I mean, ah!" He chuckled nervously. "Pits! There's...there's...I...I'm sensing some pits of lavender." Quinn giggled at him and Nova joined in. "Did I save it? I saved it, right?"
"Saved it," She took hold of his hands, smiling at him. "You never lost it."
"Love truly is blind," HUE stated, earning a facepalm from the magenta-haired girl.
"I don't know what the hell is going on, but it's nice," Gary chuckled and then Quinn heard something. Nova glanced towards the noise. "It's real nice." He leaned in for a kiss, but he didn't get one as Quinn ran forward. He fell flat on his face.
"Incoming transmission, Gary," HUE spoke up.
"Play it," Gary narrowed his eyes as Biskit came into the room, rolling HUE's robot body on a dolly.
"One moment, Gary. Biskit, what exactly are you doing with my pristine temple?" The AI demanded, and the other three turned to him.
"That's my business!" He snapped back, the girl walking over to him.
"Don't talk to HUE like that," Nova smacked him across the head. "If he wants to know, he has a right to!"
"Y-Yes, ma'am," He stammered nervously at her.
"That was my golden chariot," HUE added in.
"Play. The dang. Message!" Gary stated impatiently. Biskit went over to him, a bit irritated.
"Gary, can I be honest with you? You're just letting your robot arm go to waste!" He pulled out a laser saw and went over to him. "Mind if I just cut it off and attach it to my HUE project?" He pulled down Gary's robot hand.
"If Gary's cool with it. Gary, are you cool with it?"
"No!" Gary snatched his robot arm back. "That's my arm, okay?!" He pushed Biskit away. "And I...wait. What do you mean, my arm is going to waste?" He gasped sharply as he looked at his robot arm. "Can it do things?"
"Can we have this conversation, I don't know, at a much later time than right now?" Nova asked them irritably.
"HUE, will you please play the message?" Quinn wondered in annoyance.
"Two seconds," Gary called out and Nova groaned, facepalming. "I wanna hear more about my sweet robot arm."
Biskit slapped his arm away. "If you haven't figured it out by now...there's no hope."
"No hope?! What...what...what is that suppos—you know what? HUE, play the dang message!" He turned around to the AI.
"I am so in need of a drink right now..." Nova pinched her nose at this.
Sheryl appeared in front of the map. "Gary! We're in trouble! Come ASAP!" Then the message ended.
"That's it?" Gary asked in concern. "Anymore to that?"
"Mm," Biskit shook his head upon this news. "That's disappointing!"
"Whatever," Gary sat down in his chair. "Lock onto her location, HUE. Lightfold."
Ash was trying to activate her powers while the soul-sucking went on above her and the Lord Commander. However, her fingers were still broken, so it was no use. "You're so much more than you know," The Lord Commander growled at her, floating towards the girl. "I could make you whole. All your fear, weakness...gone. Become...my protegzege."
Little Cato let out a laugh. "It's pronounced protégé, ya dink!"
"That's what I said. Protegzege."
"Nah, you dingus!" Little Cato corrected him. "It's pronounced protégé, like matinee!"
Fox busted out laughing nearby. "Wait! Are we roasting a speech impediment?"
"No, I think he's just mispronouncing protégé," Little Cato told him.
"Does it make a difference?" Avocato called out.
"Totally! In one version I'm the dick. In the other-"
"You're the cool rebel dude, taking down the man!" Fox added in.
Little Cato let out a chuckle. "Exactly."
The Lord Commander decided to ignore him and turned to the one-eyed girl. "Ash, your powers are beyond these fools' comprehension. I can show you the way up. The way to true power!" Invictus' power began to circle around them above their heads.
"I never wanted them," Ash growled out at him.
"They were a gift!"
"A gift?" She gave him an enraged look. "I couldn't save my sister from being sacrificed. I killed my parents."
"And yet, against all odds, here you stand, alive. Aren't you even a little curious why?"
"I don't wanna know why! Nova's told me all about you and how you screwed up her life. About how you hunted her down, how her parents gave her up to you. And you also took away three years of her life when she could've been better off without you or them! Why would I listen to anything you have to say?!"
"Because deep down, you already know, don't you?" He asked, Invictus' power reaching out to her and she cringed. "You're still here...because you're one of us."
Her eye widened in realization and in fear.
"Leave it to a market in Final Space to sell a crocheted sweater," Tribore stated to the owner of a clothes stand. "Is this peach? Because it better not be fuchsia."
"We are in great danger, outlander!" The owner pleaded with him. "Our enemies draw closer with each passing moment. Our people live in fear. Help us, please!"
"Shut the hell up," Tribore responded callously. "You don't know what danger is until you've read my customer satisfaction survey. Now, how much is the frock?"
A few citizens were cowering in fear because these praying mantis aliens had arrived in the market with weapons. The stand owner gasped in fear.
"They approach!"
Tribore just stared at them. "Ew. Bug things. To be fair, if I looked like that, I would be mad too. I mean, what kind of Frankenstein nonsense is this? Be something, or be nothing." Quatronostro's spear caught on fire, and threw it. He killed all five of them in just one go, but this did nothing to ease the people.
"Whoa! But those were just the scouts. Their army won't rest until they destroy us all. Please, stay!"
"Fine, you win," Tribore replied in annoyance. "What do you win? World's worst shopkeep." He threw the scarf onto the alien's head. "That's what you win."
They watched as Invictus continued draining the life force of the other prisoners. "I think we're next," Fox spoke up solemnly. Another one got affected, his eyes turning purple.
"Dad," Little Cato glanced over his shoulder briefly before turning back to his father. "When Invictus took you over...did it...hurt?"
"Yeah," He replied, but he was thinking about something else entirely.
He fired at the ship that held the king and queen of Ventrexia, killing them. He picked up the baby blanket that held Little Cato, who beamed up at him and stopped crying.
"But..." He turned his head. "Not as much as hurting you."
The Lord Commander finally noticed that Sheryl was missing as he floated over to the empty asteroid and the chains.
"You lost one."
He gritted his teeth and growled in anger. Not only was she gone, but he was being blamed for this...
The Galaxy 2 had arrived somewhere close to Invictus' prison. "Gary, your mother's signal emanated from this quadrant of the asteroid field."
"Alright, let's set her down," Gary ordered HUE and the ship landed on a chunk. Gary, Mooncake, and Nova exited the ship once the door opened. "Mom? Where the hell are you?"
Sheryl jumped down from above and landed in front of him. "Gary!"
They walked up to each other, and they wanted to share a hug, but they didn't know if it was appropriate. But they were still relieved to see each other.
"Oh..."
"Oh, I...oh."
"Okay, I'm just...ah!"
"Ah. Well, I mean, we're new to this, Gary."
"Sorry, I...ah, whoops."
"Didn't meant to."
"Ah, that was just...horribly awkward," Gary rubbed the back of his head.
"I don't even have a mom anymore, and I knew that was awkward," Nova commented to them.
"Yeah!" KVN popped in between them. "It's a Gary thing."
"Uh, you know..." Sheryl cleared her throat. "We could just stop," She walked around them.
"Ah, thank you..."
Quinn entered the ship and Sheryl turned to them once they were all inside. "Gary, Nova, listen, the Lord Commander...has returned," She took a deep breath. "And he has the others."
"What?!" Gary exclaimed in anger.
"Oh freaking no, him again?!" Nova exclaimed angrily, clenching her fists. "...Wait, if he has the others...then how did you escape?"
"Ah, well, you know me. There's nothing I can't escape from," Sheryl bragged and the girl narrowed her eyes knowingly.
"So you left them behind?! Sheryl!"
"What? I came here to call for help, didn't I?" She asked innocently, earning a grumble as Nova crossed her arms.
"Either way...he's back," Gary glanced back at Quinn.
"This time, we kill him," She declared, narrowing her eyes.
"Mm," Mooncake whimpered a little in worry, his antenna falling. The last time they encountered the Lord Commander, he had wanted to use Mooncake to get into Final Space. And if he laid eyes on the alien again...
"Don't worry, Mooncake," Gary hugged him close with one arm. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."
"And if we hurry, we won't let anyone else get hurt," Nova gave Sheryl an accusing look.
"You just tell HUE what you need, Gary," HUE spoke up, determined to stop the Lord Commander as well.
"Guns. Lots of guns," Gary narrowed his eyes. Rows of over one hundred guns revealed themselves from the walls.
"Hell yeah, dawg."
"Hell yeah!" Guns also appeared from the ceiling, and the ground. "HUE. O-Okay, we're good. Okay, you can stop now," He advised as more guns continued appearing. "Okay, HUE, HUE!"
Nova's eyes shined at the sight in front of her. "You want guns? I give you guns."
"...It's like I just stepped into a candy store!" The girl then ran forward with a laugh, examining all of the weapons. "I'll get this one, and this one, and that one..."
"By the way, Quinn," Gary walked over to her. "I'm not just in the excitement distribution business."
Nova facepalmed at him. That honestly could be interpreted for doing porn to her.
Quinn just stared at him weirdly. "I don't even know what that means."
"It means..." He grinned at her, giving her the handsome face. "I bring it."
She chuckled, though felt a bit bad as she remembered that Nova mentioned this problem. "Then maybe we should do it already, Goodspeed," She held up one gun each from her hands.
"It's about to be brought, Ergon," He smirked in amusement. Nova just shook her head as she stared at him.
"The warning horns," The clothes stand merchant said in terror as an alarm could be heard. People were running around in fear for their lives. "The Slyban army draws near!" Tribore and Quatronostro just stood there as they were still on the frock issue. "Save us, please! Please!"
"What is this?" Tribore raised a brow at him. "A burlap sack of horror?" He threw down the scarf, crossing his arms. "One star."
The stand owner gave him a pleading look. "Outlander, we're all going to die!"
"Do I wanna help? Yes, I do. Will I? That depends on how fast you can say the magic word," Tribore glanced over as a large army was approaching the civilization. "Would you say, you want us to help you...resist them?"
"Mm, I'd say more like, uh, fight back?" The merchant asked in confusion. The Slybans behind the two started killing the innocent people.
"Are you absolutely married to that phrasing?" Tribore grabbed the stand owner by his collar and then stared at him in the eyes. "For instance, could the help you require be characterized as a resistance?"
People were screaming as they met their end. "Could we maybe discuss the wording later?"
Tribore released him. "Honestly, no."
After watching one of the Slybans light a match, the stand owner finally gave in. "Sure! Whatever! We'll call it your thing! Just help us!"
"Just say the word, hun," Tribore demanded him.
"Will you PLEASE lead the re-"
"Shh," Tribore stopped him by putting a finger to his lips. "Tribore already knows. Quatro, to arms!"
The Slybans glared at them, but by Tribore firing his guns, Quatronostro using his spear, and Tribore using a whip, all of it was over. They stood together in the dead plethora of Slybans. The people stared down at the pile of body parts while the stand owner walked up to them.
"And now, Quatronostro and I will take our leave...and that frock," He took it off the shop owner and put it around himself. "And this helmet," He took a helmet off from one of the bodies. Quatronostro shook his head in response. "Oh, heavens, never mind!" He threw the helmet off of his head. "The helmet remains with your people."
"Take us with you," The stand owner smiled at him. "Wherever you go, we will follow!"
"That's a very big responsibility. How the hell am I supposed to-" He then beamed at the stand owner. "Yes, I'll do it! Tribore, and to a much lesser extent Quatro, will lead you out of Final Space. Now cheer for me." However, no one did so and he gave a blank look. "Cheer!"
Another alien got his soul taken away from him, and the soul snatching was getting very close to Avocato, Fox, and Little Cato.
Ash gritted her teeth in pain as she was trying to get her fingers unbroken. Her hand glowed purple as she glared up at the Lord Commander. "I am not one of you!"
"My child..." Invictus spoke as its power reached out to her.
"Are you certain?" The Lord Commander grinned and the power circled around Ash, frightening her. "Such dark...power." She sweated nervously as Invictus was reaching out to her, but she wanted none of this. The tip touched her eye, causing it to glow purple. But then there was a spark and it went away from her. She looked up and screamed.
"No!" She tried to resist with all of her might, hiding her face into the ground.
"At last...you can see who you truly are," The Lord Commander smiled, gesturing to her. She shed tears as she looked at her hands. She did not want this...she just wanted to be rescued and be happy with her brother and sister... "Now stop fighting. You're finally home. And soon, your sister will return to me."
"Leave her out of this. She's not like you at all," Ash growled out.
"Or so she believes. What she doesn't know is that through Bolo...she is one of us as well."
Their mouths opened in realization that...because Invictus had gotten to the Titans and Bolo was able to resist, and with her connection to the Arachnitects...Nova's powers were practically similar to Invictus, just on the good side.
Just then, the Galaxy One arrived in the mess of asteroids, causing them to look up. But Ash just winced in concern, considering that the Lord Commander was now stronger than he looked.
"What have we here?" The alien turned to the ship with a menacing smile. The door opened up to reveal Biskit, Quinn, Mooncake, Gary, and Nova. "The Gary and my dearest friend, Nova!"
The two glared at him upon looking at the alien face to face. He had done so much to them and their friends that they only felt rage looking into his eyes. The girl growled at him.
"HUE, take him out!" Gary called out.
"On it, Gary," He prepared the weapons and fired missiles.
"Your taquitos are here, Jack!"
They watched as the projectiles went over to the Lord Commander, but he just blocked the impact with a shield. Quinn and Nova ran forward, Mooncake following after Gary. He looked over his shoulder. "No, Mooncake, you stay."
"Huh? Pok, pok, pok!" Mooncake protested back.
"I'm sorry...but that's an order." He knew that the Lord Commander was still after Mooncake, and he didn't want to lose him like when the psycho used Mooncake to open Final Space. And the reason why he wasn't letting Nova stay behind was two-fold: One, she had telepathic powers like him and was one of the stronger members of the team. And two, he didn't want to earn a punch to the face if he had told her otherwise. After all, she slapped him hard after the whole 'airlock incident' with Nightfall.
Mooncake smiled in understanding. Gary nodded at him and jumped out of the ship while wearing a jumper cable. He, Quinn, and Nova fired various projectiles at the Lord Commander while heading towards the rock.
"Eat lasers, jerk-face!"
He locked them easily with yellow beams, reflecting them back to Quinn's guns. She let go and watched in shock as they exploded in front of him.
"What the hell? Could he always do that?!" Nova exclaimed while aiming her hands. Her eyes shined purple as she used a telepathic attack, but he flung his hand and hit it back at her. She yelped as she flew backwards, eventually coming to a stop a few feet behind Gary. She blinked in disbelief; that was something she didn't remember him doing. He could deflect her telepathic attacks, but not to that extent.
Then Gary's jumper cable snapped off because he had strayed too far from the ship. "Oh my craaaaaap!"
"Gary!" Nova squeezed her eyes shut and focused as Quinn's cable also broke, but she jumped from an asteroid to save herself. The girl managed to catch the man from falling, just barely, as his gun was destroyed by the Lord Commander.
"Never thought I'd see you again, but you just keep showing up, the Gary," The Lord Commander growled.
"Screw you! You kidnapped our friends, of course we'd come back for them!" Nova gritted her teeth as she lowered herself onto the rock.
"Nova, be careful," Ash warned her. "He's got some serious power. And he's really pissed at you."
"Pfft, can't be any more from when I stole his personal cruiser and got it blown up," Nova waved it off. "Please. What is it that it's so different from last time?"
"Because you deceived me, you and the Gary," The Lord Commander pointed at them both. "I found out something interesting that you were keeping from me. You never told me that Nova was the daughter of Bolo..."
Her eyes widened as Gary gasped. Sheryl had neglected to tell them of that fact. Either she forgot and was just focusing on saving herself, or she didn't bother to tell them for assuming a reason. "What the hell? How did you-"
"I informed him. I could sense it within you," Invictus spoke up, giving her legit small chills. "My child..."
"I'm only Bolo's child, not yours!" Nova seethed and the Lord Commander pointed at her.
"You...are going to give me what I want. And...I wish to become a TITAN!" He closed his eyes, expecting her to grant him that power. There was dead silence among everyone as they stared at him and then Nova busted out laughing. He opened his eyes in shock as Gary started laughing too. Nova held her stomach and Little Cato grinned.
"Oh, that's a good one," She wheezed, wiping away a tear. "Okay, one, why would I tell you that I'm Bolo's daughter, much less this fuckwad for him to notify you of that fact," She pointed at Invictus' form. "Two, I don't even know if I could. And three, and this is probably the most important. Why would I make you a Titan when all I would all do is tell you to fuck off?!" She continued laughing at him. "Like, you literally shot me out into space and chased after me for three years! That was enough to guarantee for me to NOT make you a Titan!"
The duo continued laughing as they fell to the ground. "Ha ha ha!" Gary cried out in laughter.
"Shut up!" The Lord Commander growled at him. "You WILL give me the powers of a Titan even if I have to make you! Hand her over to me, the Gary."
"It's just Gary!" Gary screamed as he charged forward, holding his gun. The Lord Commander held out his hand and squeezed it. The weapon exploded right from Gary's hands. He then started to choke Gary a little and brought him over.
"Let him go!" Nova shouted, activating her powers again so she could help him. She tried to pull him back, but her opponent was too strong.
"Chookity pok!" Mooncake called out in concern from the ship. He charged up to fire his laser when HUE stopped him.
"No, Mooncake. Gary is too close and Nova is also in the range of fire," The AI warned and the little green alien could only look on in dismay. The Lord Commander held out his other hand and twisted Nova's left arm. She gave out a cry of pain as she fell down, holding her arm and gritting her teeth.
"Dieeee!" The Lord Commander growled out and Ash just looked on as she was unable to help. She looked towards Nova, who was trying her hardest to fight back, but her broken shoulder was distracting her.
Gary groaned in pain while floating. "Do it!"
Nova gritted her teeth in rage at him and then drool came from Gary's mouth. She held out a hand to him, squeezing her eyes shut as she used as much strength as she could. The drool went back into his mouth thanks to her, but he was still choking.
"Your robot arm, Gary!" Biskit called out from the Galaxy 2. "Use it!"
His eyes widened as he turned to his arm and pointed it towards the Lord Commander. "Come on! Come on!" He struggled as much as he can to get something to happen. "Turn into something."
"Diiiieeee!" The Lord Commander's eyes shined as he kept trying to kill Gary.
"It's not working! It's just a hand." As soon as Gary said that, his robot arm started sparking and it turned into a hand cannon. Nova opened her mouth in shock upon seeing it. "Oh! Ohhhh!"
"What?!" The Lord Commander exclaimed in surprise and then Gary fired lasers at his face, getting him to release the man. Ash opened her mouth in disbelief as the Lord Commander fell nearby, with part of his face shot off, a puddle of black blood underneath him. Ash activated her powers to reach the others, Gary landing nearby Nova.
"Oh, my siiiick! Ugh!" The cannon was a bit heavy for him as he struggled to keep himself up. Then he looked at the Lord Commander and realized what he just did. "Did you see that?! Yes!" He cheered, holding his left arm. "This is tight! I can do things!" He turned around to Biskit, pointing towards his arm. "Look!"
"I so told him!" Biskit crossed his arms with a pleased look. "You were there when I said it, right? You were there."
"Look!" He pointed the gun towards Nova so she could examine it. Then it accidentally fired on its own, hitting her right shoulder.
"Ow!"
"Oh, crap, sorry," He winced a bit as she stood up, but her shoulder was actually healed as she was able to move it fine with no issue.
"Healing laser. Nice touch," She pointed at him. Then the cannon turned into a glowing blue sword, and it just blew Gary's mind.
"Oh! It's a sword! Oh, how did I not know this?"
Nova laughed at him, hands on her hips. "Is there something you're not telling us, Gary?" She then looked down at the Lord Commander and spit in his face. It landed right on the right side of his forehead. "Asshole. Nice craftsmanship, I'm proud. Got the brain and everything."
"Hey, thanks," Gary grinned at her.
Quinn landed on an asteroid nearby and saw the blue glow coming from him. "Goodspeed?" She smiled at him. "You brought it."
He smiled at her and then both of them heard grunts that made them freeze. They turned around to see the black blood gathering back into the Lord Commander's body. "Okay, that's new!" The liquid surrounded the alien's face.
"Run!" Quinn shouted and took off in flight. The two ran past him as the Lord Commander was healing himself.
Ash flew up towards her brother and landed on his asteroid. "Hang on! Fox!"
"Goodbye, Dad," Little Cato glanced at his father.
"Always short of tomorrow," Avocato told him while Ash was trying to pull at the chains.
"Ash, get out of here!" Fox yelled at the girl.
"I'm not leaving you!" She screamed back, retrying to get her powers to work, but her attempt was unsuccessful.
"There is no escaaaape," They heard from invictus.
"Ash, go!" Fox pleaded with her, not wanting his sister to be possessed as well.
"I'm gonna get you out of here," She declared as the Lord Commander continued to heal.
"Bring them up, KVN!" Gary glanced over his shoulder.
"You calling me in, coach?" KVN perked up.
"I'm not your coach, KVN. Pull them up!" Gary growled a bit in annoyance.
"But you have to call me in," The robot begged him.
"Okay, you're in!" He said in defeat, anything to get him to stop.
"KVN is in!" He flew out of the Galaxy 2 and headed for the others. Nova flew off the rock as Quinn reached Little Cato.
"Starlight!" The cat boy wagged his tail happily at the sight of her and she stopped in front of him with a playful smirk.
"Missed me?"
The Lord Commander turned around to see Gary flying away, his face reconfiguring so that it would grow back. Gary landed next to Avocato.
"Whoo! You right on time, baby!" Avocato said in relief as Quinn freed Little Cato and Nova took off with both of them. As they were passing by, Little Cato noticed some red crystals from behind an asteroid. He snatched one with his tail as they flew by it. KVN grabbed Avocato's hand and flew back towards the ship. The Lord Commander held a hand in front of his eye, glaring at the man. He just gave him a peace sign.
"Peace out, dickweed!"
"Gary! I need your help with Fox!" Ash pleaded with him and he reached them.
"Don't worry, Fox. We got you. Let's cut these things off you." He started cutting the chains with his sword.
"It's gonna be okay," Ash assured her brother, who gave her a smile. But that smile dropped once he saw Invictus' power reaching towards Ash.
"No! Ash! Get out of here!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. She looked back in horror as she realized what was happening. "It's too late!"
"You're mine now!"
"Watch out!" Gary grabbed the girl and flew off from the asteroid.
"No! Fox!"
Unfortunately, he got possessed and he screamed as its power touched him. "No! Fox!" Ash cried out in dismay. He could only let out a groan as he looked back at them.
"Ash!" Gary turned to the girl as she was floating. "Blast Invictus out of him."
She attempted once more to do, like she did with Avocato, but her fingers were still broken. "Ah! I...can't! Nova! Help! Please!"
She heard her sister and flew back towards them. "Alright! Everyone, back to the ship!" Gary stopped her by grabbing her hand, grabbing Ash, and flying away.
"We can't leave him!" She cried out as she stared at her brother.
"We stay, we die," Gary told the both of them.
"Gary! What the hell, I can blast him out!"
"I don't think so. It might not work with all this power making him stronger," Gary explained and her eyes widened in horror. Not only because he might be right, but because that meant she couldn't do anything to help them...
The others looked back in horror at not only what Fox had become, but because they were leaving without him. The Lord Commander had a glowing yellow aura around him.
"Oh, I have much more in store for you than death," He fired a giant orange laser that engulfed all of them and tried to pull them back. Mooncake flew out of the ship in horror and then gave a determined look. He had to help his friends.
He flew towards the group, charging up. "Chookity...poooookkk!" He fired at the Lord Commander, who laid eyes on him.
"Mooncake!" He screamed when hit the laser, causing him to let go of the group. Sheryl flew the ship and caught the others before flying upwards. Gary reached the bridge.
"Lightfold!"
They lightfolded out of there and the Lord Commander got onto his feet.
"You let the key escape..." He growled at the scolding he was getting from Invictus. "I never should have trusted you with this..."
"Bring me my ship!" The alien snarled at Invictus.
Back in the Galaxy 2, Ash was sobbing by the window over what happened to her brother. "Fox..." She looked at her fingers, Nova staring at her from the doorway. "Fox."
She walked up to the girl and then placed a hand on her shoulder. Ash looked up at her and sniffled. "Nova..."
"We'll get him back," The girl declared with narrowed eyes. "And then we'll shove it in both their asses."
She smiled weakly before shedding another tear. "Fox...Nova...your powers...the way that they look, they're-"
"I know," Nova closed her eyes. "But I don't care where they came from. They helped me become...nothing like them. I don't wanna be like that," She glared up ahead. "And I'm gonna use these powers the way that pleases me and only me. And if it's the last thing I do, I will make sure that they never see another day."
A flash got their attention from outside and they looked up to see a ship with glowed red rocks on it. "Incoming," HUE warned everyone inside. Their eyes widened with looks of horror as they stared at it. "It's the Lord Commander's ship."
"...This. is. War," Nova whispered in rage, keeping her eyes narrowed the entire time.