Angel: To those who apologized for Sunday, thank you, but literally the same thing happened on another story, Sonic and Sophia, only two days later and now I'm worried that this is gonna become a trend. And I'm not kidding either. This whole 'change this aspect of a story' stuff happened not only once, but three times now. Twice in the same week!
This shit should not even be occurring anymore, period. Just leave my stories aloneeeee T^T Like, I get that people out there love my stories (if they didn't, I wouldn't be getting fanart for like half of them), but if this kind of thing keeps continuing with my current stories, then I might need to have a talk with all of you guests. And I don't want that. Just because I fix things that I disagree with in my stories doesn't mean that everyone is going to like it, you know, or that all the changes suggested is going to fix the episodes as a whole. You can't entirely fix something that's broken, no episode is perfect, even here (no matter what I said in Forgiveness, I still give it a 9 out of 10 for killing Fox at all).
Can we all agree to leave the author alone from now on and let her do what she does in any story in the future? That'd be really appreciated since all those requests are so unneeded since I'm not going to take them! Like, when Light Seeker 101 suggested the idea to have Nova be with Little Cato in the time shard for The Other Side, it was casually worded and it got me rethinking about the ending. It was not worded as a request at all, and now I love the whole episode turned out since it showcases how much Little Cato cares about Nova right in her face! And keep in mind, that part wasn't even in the original draft at all. This whole 'I want this' or 'You need to do this' crap is inexcusable and annoying. Ugh DX Sheesh, now I kinda wish my name was off the face of the planet in Fanfiction. Please stop this trend before it gets worse. Like, please, that is the only thing I want from everyone out of all of it. I just started a new job, I don't need or want this right now.
The Lord Commander was in the bridge of his ship, all alone until someone stepped inside while in the shadows. Invictus had possessed a Zombie Gary for it to walk around in. "You've proven to be quite a letdown," He held out his hand and started to choke the little alien using his telepathy. The Lord Commander was lifted into the air and he struggled to breathe. "My chorus grows louder with each new life. But we're still missing the key." He made his hand into a fist, strengthening the choking.
"Mooncake and Nova! They reside with The Gary," The Lord Commander choked out.
"The Gary? I've killed him many times," Invictus brought the Lord Commander closer.
"Not this one. He still eludes you," The alien coughed out, gritting his teeth.
"My patience with you grows weak," Invictus flung him across the room and he groaned as he hit the wall, sliding onto the floor. "Bring him to me. Or meet the fate of the ones I find useless." The Lord Commander glared up at him as the zombie body loomed over him, the black eye sparking with purple light. The body walked past as the Lord Commander held his head.
"Where are they?" He demanded Invictus, clenching his teeth. Invictus glanced over his shoulder.
"I feel the presence of Ash and Nova," Invictus sat on a throne. "What we seek is on Earth."
"Ehh," The Lord Commander grinned, only to be lifted up into the air again and thrown into the wall nearby. He slumped onto the ground with a groan, Invictus glaring down at him.
Earth
Quinn walked into the room, approaching Gary who was standing over his chair. Everyone else was in the room, in complete silence.
"Hey," She greeted the blond, placing a hand on his shoulder. "How you holding up?"
"Okay...I guess," He frowned a little as Fox still had yet to woke up.
"And Ash?" Quinn glanced at the woman and Gary followed her direction. Ash was staring out the window, having been convinced by Little Cato and Nova to get some fresh air. She had been spending almost every single minute lately in the medical bay...
"I'm not sure," He confessed, staring at her back. "But I think there's hope."
"Hey guys!" KVN joined them, to their annoyance. "What are you talking about? Me?" Gary pushed him away and then looked back towards the trio. Ash was saying something to Nova, who smiled as she held Little Cato's hand. The Ventrexian laughed, as Ash was telling them a story about Fox.
"I can't believe my little Spider Cat finally made it official with her," He smiled fondly at them. "He's officially become a man cat..."
"They're adorable," Quinn hummed a bit.
Avocato walked up to them, smiling briefly at the couple up front. He could still remember Little Cato introducing Nova to him. "Do you really think that crackpot Van Newton can get us out of here?" He asked skeptically.
"Time to find out!" Gary stepped forward, pushing a button. He walked over to his chair and took a seat. "HUE, take us in."
"Coordinates received."
As they were flying towards Earth, they braced themselves as the ship was shaking. "Whoa! Take us in. In. We're going in. In. In is where we're going! In. Not out. In. In-wards." Nova gave a blank look at KVN's rambling. "In-side. In-victus. Wait!" He chuckled when he realized he said the name. "Why did I say that? Delete!"
The ship descended down and landed on a rock formation of sorts, the place where Kevin asked them to meet him. They stepped out of the Galaxy 2 and the man went outside to greet them. Ash looked at her wrist, which showed her a hologram of Fox in the medical bay. She gave a worried look at his face.
"Wonderful! Wonderful!"
Suddenly, there was a tremor, alerting all of them. "What the heck was that?" Gary asked Kevin.
"The quakes have been growing stronger for the past three days!" He answered in annoyance, glaring up at the rock. Sheryl stepped forward towards him.
"Is the hyper-transdimensional bridge up and running?"
"Well, yes...and no," He answered vaguely, setting off a few red flags to them.
"Hmm," Quinn stared at him skeptically, crossing her arms. "Which is it?"
"You got me, no."
"What?! You brought us out here for nothing?" Nova demanded to him. He was the one who told them the news that it was finished in the call.
"Ha! See, I knew it!" Avocato exclaimed at Gary.
"Wait! What—what do you mean, no?" Gary caught up with the man.
"Remember that wrinkle I told you about?" Kevin glanced over his shoulder.
"The summer khaki wrinkle, or the space-time wrinkle?" He asked curiously.
"Both," Kevin came to a stop, facing him.
"My biggest fear. That's as wrinkly as it gets."
The others joined him, Avocato glaring at the inventor. "Have you made any progress?" Ash wondered in concern.
"A little, yeah," He walked up to a lever and pulled it. A light shined from the closed door as it started to open, and they looked up in awe.
"Oh...slap my thunder nipples!" Gary shouted in disbelief as a very large portal took up most of the room, with KVNs floating around and others currently working on it. "That's big."
"Where does that lead to?" Little Cato wondered to Kevin.
"That's the problem. Right now, it's not connected to anything."
"Oooh! Genius. I love it!" KVN fanboys at the sight.
"Well, how do we get it to work?" Sheryl raised a brow.
"By connecting it to the doorway on the other side," Kevin explained, and that definitely peeved off Sheryl.
Gary chuckled bitterly, stepping forward. "That's just lovely! Oh boy! Let me just get this straight. We have to contact someone outside of Final Space and get them to turn this on, or we're screwed?"
"Newton says...yes."
Gary turned around to the portal, Nova pinching her nose. "Yes, and," KVN added in, but was ignored.
"That's just fucking fantastic!" Nova rubbed a temple. "Thanks for making this even harder!"
Kevin took them on an elevator to guide them to the control room. "Alright, who do we know that doesn't live on Earth that we can contact the...the-"
"The hyper-transdimensional bridge?" KVN asked eagerly, wanting to get some praise from Gary.
"Yes, that."
"All my friends are dead," Quinn spoke up first.
"Same," Avocato remarked next and Little Cato gasped.
"Oh! I got—uh. No, yeah, n-no, they're all dead."
"Oh, come on," Gary placed a hand on his forehead. "Well, we could ask Nov-"
One glare from her suggested that he should not finish asking that question. Little Cato waved a hand in front of his neck, shaking his head no. Because the last thing she wanted to do was ask her parents for help. Not that it would matter to them anyway that she was stuck in Final Space.
"...You know what, never mind, they could be dead," Gary laughed nervously, hiding behind Quinn.
"Well, what about...Clarence?" Ash suggested nervously, everyone turning to her in shock and silence.
"Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no, no!" Gary protested immediately, waving his hands. "Okay, I would rather be swallowed by my own colon than to ask that sulfurous fart nozzle for help! Okay, I would. I really would."
"He could do it," Ash defended, even though she herself was against this idea, but...he was the only one she could think of—or at least, someone who DIDN'T have a grudge against Gary or Nova.
"Ash! He almost killed me," Nova gestured to herself in protest. "And Fox for that matter in the same day! You really wanna ask him for help?"
"And...who is he?" Quinn wondered to the group, since it was Nightfall there and not her.
"He was my Dad and Fox's...at some point." Sheryl glanced away at the memory of him leeching over her. "I guess in some weird way, he still is," She gave a weak smile.
"He wanted to marry me," Sheryl added in.
"And he REALLY pissed me off by trying and failing to hit on me. Then he called the police on me and gave Sheryl a bomb so that they would use it against me out of revenge because I rejected his sorry ass! Remember that?" Nova crossed her arms at Ash, Little Cato growling at the memory.
"It's a long story, but...he betrayed us...and you!" Gary gave Ash a look that said 'no way.'
"He really is the actual worst," HUE seemed to agree, since he shut down AVA.
"He is...the actual worst," Gary reiterated to Ash, clenching his fists. He still hadn't forgotten that day, since Nova was out of commission for 12 hours, and that was what really got him alongside him giving up the keys to Sheryl. She wasn't a real Titan, so of course normal weakness for Titans themselves had a different effect on her...
"Look, I still hate him for what he did to Fox and Nova too. But..." Ash let out a defeated sigh. "Do any of you have someone else in mind? Besides...he deserves to know about Fox."
"Oh, man..." Gary squeezed his eyes shut. Even though he still HATED Clarence with every fiber of his being...he couldn't deny that he at least had to know about Fox's coma. He did raise him, after all...and even he wouldn't want someone to be in the dark about something like this. Ash looked at her sister.
Nova stayed quiet, holding up a hand and turning away. She leaned on the pole silently. That was her signal to them that she could care less and was staying out of the decision.
"Okay. Clarence it is."
"I only have enough power to relay one message out of Final Space," Kevin explained, walking up to Ash. "We have one shot, people."
Ash thought about it and nodded, sure of her decision. "I get it."
Clarence had returned back to the trash planet where he basically held Nova, Little Cato, Gary, and HUE hostage. A bot flew past and then floated over to Clarence, who had his back turned.
"Clarence, incoming wide band unsecured transmission," The robot reported to him.
Clarence turned around as he had now grown a beard. His clothes had also gone ragged as he hadn't done much to them ever since coming back. And his goggles were slightly cracked. "Well, tell them I'm not here," He replied in a tired and weak tone, throwing his can at the messenger robot.
"You may want to hear this message."
"No one cares about me, AM-ME," Clarence declared, walking up the steps. "And why should they? Delete it."
The robot didn't listen and a ping was heard. "Clarence?" He raised his brows in realization upon hearing Ash's voice. "I-It's me, Ash." He frowned upon hearing her, since he thought she wanted nothing to do with him. And...while he never saw her reaction to him betraying them since only Fox, Little Cato, Gary, Nightfall, and Nova confronted him...he knew that she was hurt by it when she found out.
"Ash...?" He turned around to face the hologram of her. "Is it really you?" He walked down the steps.
"Yeah. Listen, um...I don't know where you are, and frankly, I don't really care."
"That hurts...but it's fair," He looked down towards the ground at the reminder of what he had done to her.
"before I get to what I'm calling you for, um..." She hesitated to tell him, but he needed to know since he had raised Fox longer than her. "You should know that Fox is, um..." She took a deep breath. "Fox was severely injured, and he's now in a coma. He still hasn't woken up." She lifted up her wrist and showed him Fox still lying in the medical bay.
"Ohh. Oh," Clarence kneeled, starting to cry. Ash just watched him for a few seconds as his fist shook, tears streaming down his face. She put down her wrist, showing no pity for him.
"Listen, we made it to Final Space," He wiped away his tears, looking up in shock. "Gary found Quinn, and now we're trying to come home. That's a strange word for me nowadays. Look, I'm calling you because..." She took a moment, closing her eyes. She really did not want to ask him, as she agreed with nova on this, but she didn't have much of a choice. "We need your help."
"Me?" Clarence gestured to himself in surprise. "You really need me?"
"We need you to activate a bridge located on a planet called Kalden 1," She instructed, staring down at him. "I've never asked anything of you. Ever," Ash narrowed her eyes at him. "So if there is one shred of a decent person in you...do this...for me."
He gave a determined look and stood up, hoping to make it up to her. "I can do it...I will do it!" He smiled, hands on his hips.
"And hurry up, yo!" Gary called out.
"Shut it, primate!" Clarence exclaimed and Nova came on screen.
"Hey, just be lucky you're being given another chance, Clarence. Don't be so quick to make us regret this. We've been through enough trying to get the fuck out of here," She glared at him. She REALLY did not want to see him again after she recovered from that stupid bomb.
"Nova!" Clarence perked up a bit, hoping to impress her again. While he did regret hurting her, he still had lust for her unfortunately... "Oh my, just look at all of this protection," He bent down and showed her a bunch of condoms, to her displeasure. "I'm just so tired from all of the sex stuff."
"Ugh, really?" Gary gave a look of disgust, looking away. "Freakin' gross, man."
"I'm so hooked up I don't even remember who I'm meeting next."
Nova simply rolled her eyes before looking back to him, Ash looking annoyed. She really did not want to hear this right now... "Clarence?"
"Yes, my plum?" He smiled at her and she scrunched up her nose in disgust.
"Yeah, never call me that again. But you do know you can't get your own hand pregnant, right?"
He flinched, dropping all of the condom boxes as Little Cato gasped at the burn. "Ohhh! Alright, Starlight!"
"Tight," Gary held out his human hand and she low-fived him and then Clarence hung up silently. He walked off from the robot, who flew over. The alien was rummaging through his pile of things for something.
"Clarence, every person in the galaxy heard that transmission," It reported to Clarence.
"Here we go!" He held up a map, ignoring that statement. "Oh, this is it," He placed the map behind his back.
"What are you doing?" The robot asked curiously.
"Going to save my daughter," Clarence looked over his shoulder. "Yes, that's all of them. Oh no, it was the back pocket." He dug into his chest and threw the robot a bunch of keys. "Here!" The robot caught them with ease with just one arm. "The place is yours."
"You're giving me-"
"All of it. Even my Nova collection! Everything I own on 67 worlds, including my world's greatest artisanal toffee brand 'Clarence's Nuggets'," He walked over to a ship he had nearby mainly for transportation when he needed things from off-world. "Full disclosure...they're not the World's Greatest. They're not even nuggets," He pressed a few buttons from his ship once he reached the door.
"You're not coming back?" The robot asked in shock. "But you built all of this."
Clarence just gave a small chuckle, facing the robot. While all of the things on the planet had value to him prior...nowadays, he could care less. "It's just stuff," He shrugged before closing the door and taking off.
"Can't believe we're doing this with Clarence," Nova grumbled, crossing her arms once Clarence was gone. She understood the importance of him doing it. She wanted out of here as much as the next person. She just wished that they didn't have to trust the person who betrayed them for his own selfish reasons and out of pettiness over her rejection of him.
Little Cato leaned in and kissed her cheek softly. "Did that help?"
"No," She huffed and looked away. "…Okay, yes."
Quinn smiled at the two, finding them just adorable.
Meanwhile, somewhere out in space, a familiar red face was sitting nearby someone's feet in a pod. It belonged to Todd H. Watson, who was still stuck in the pod when Tribore sent him out of his own ship. He had grown an aftershave as his hair and eyes looked awful. "Kalden 1!" He exclaimed with a grin. "That's not far from here at all!"
He took off in his pod, heading over to the planet...
Tribore and Quatronostro were walking on yet another barren planet, with their giant pet bunnies nearby. "Tribore, you better be on the way," Quinn warned him from his wrist communicator.
"Sure am. Just tying up some loose ends," He hung up on her and picked up speed, his son staring after him. Below ground was a whole fleet of people all of a sudden. Tribore looked down at him with Quatronostro by his side, hands on his hips. "Ready to do some liberating?"
"Si, Papa," Quatro answered eagerly and with a smile. Tribore then stepped forward, looking down at all of the people who were stuck in Final Space as well.
"Oppressed Peoples of the Quadrant of-" He paused as he realized he didn't know the name of the planet they were on. That, or he just forgot. "Where the hell are we? Quatro, where are we?" Quatronostro pulled out a map-hologram-like device and opened it up. Tribore looked over his shoulder. "Oh heavens, not there. Those people were too stupid to be saved. Them I liked, they had excellent slippers, but they did not like me. Screw it. Oppressed Peoples of Here and There!" Tribore took a pause to prepare his speech. "Freedom is not a gift. Freedom is your right!"
The people below cheered upon hearing this, pumping up their arms. Quatronostro just blinked at his father. "Consider yourself liberated. For I, Tribore, am the Great Liberator!"
Quatronostro narrowed his eyes, closing his map. "Mm-mmh. No, Papa," He spoke up in protest. "The alcoholic Tim Belts told me: I am The Great Liberator," He gestured to himself proudly.
"Oh, heavens. Let's get clarity on this from the great Tim Belts himself. Everyone, be ready to bounce! We'll be back in a hip thrust."
The Temple of Krask
"Let's get right to it, Tim," The six-eyed alien rubbed a temple. "Am I the Great Liberator or is Quatro? And make it snappy, I've got people waiting."
"Yes!" Tim looked away nervously, feeling a bit awkward that they still hadn't seemed to grasp what he had hinted to them. "The time has come to unbound the chained! Uh, to raise up the-"
"Oh, shut the hell up and pick one already!" Tribore interrupted impatiently.
"...You are the Great Liberator," Tim answered, without particularly looking any either one of them or saying a name to be helpful.
"Who, me?" Quatro pointed to himself.
"Yes!" The hologram answered with no hesitation.
"Or is it me?" Tribore narrowed his eyes, jerking a thumb to himself.
"Uhh, yup," He answered with a smile, closing his eyes.
"He's absolutely useless," Tribore declared in disbelief as all of the vague answers were starting to hurt his brain. And also making this more confusing than it needed to be.
"Uh huh!" Tim beamed, either not caring about the insult towards him or just going along with yes answers, smiling widely.
"Okay, this is how it's gonna work," Tribore pointed at his son. "Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays, you're the great Liberator. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, it's me," He smiled, pointing to himself.
"Papa!" Quatronostro held out his arms happily.
"Quatro!"
The two shared a hug.
"Yeah!" Tim cheered, his eyes bugging out for some reason. "Uhh, uhh-uhh. Uhh, muh-huh."
In London back on Earth, the shaking got worse as rubble fell up above, the Big Ben having a crack in it. "Gary, the tremors are getting worse."
An alarm beeped as Kevin ran up to the schematics of the planet. There were two spots marking down sources for the tremors. "This is bad. This is fascinatingly bad!" He looked up in worry. "They're coming from the Earth's core."
HUE showed them the planet with cracks in it. "At this rate, Earth will break apart in...calculating, facticulating...four hours."
"What's causing it?" Quinn frowned, joining Kevin's side as she looked up at the timer.
"Nothing I've ever seen before..." He answered her, pressing a button. Suddenly Quatronostro and Tribore came onto the screen, having contacted them.
"Small question," He held up a finger.
"Where is the Hyper-Transdimensional Bridge?" Quatro asked in Spanish.
Little Cato stepped up a bit. "London."
"You know Spanish?" Gary asked him in surprise and he rubbed his neck.
"I asked Nova to teach me some languages since she's got a universal tongue literally born into her."
Nova shrugged when getting looks from the others. "I figured to do something useful with it other than talking to Mooncake."
"London. Interesting. How's the shopping?" Tribore wondered, to Gary's disbelief.
"Everyone is dead!"
"Good! So, no lines, then," Tribore smiled at the thought and Nova facepalmed. "Be there in a couple hip thrusts. And by the way, I'm bringing guests."
"Did you say guests?" Gary was just confused since he said just a few seconds ago that everyone was dead. Or at least, that he knew of.
"Did I? I did," He raised a smug brow with a smug smile, hanging up.
"Putting...gah, boy," Gary hung his head. "I'm just gonna say this out loud. Putting all of our eggs in the Clarence basket was a bad idea. Why didn't we save a non-Clarence basket to put all the eggs in, or half the eggs?"
"Gary's right, never thought I'd say that," Nova spoke up, earning a deadpan look from Gary. "Every time I think of this plan, I can't help but think he's gonna backtrack and leave us in the dust. Because he's done it once before."
Ash placed a hand on Gary's shoulder. "He'll do it. He'll turn on the bridge," She gave an optimistic bridge, walking up a bit. "I know he will...not just for me, but for Fox as well. He wasn't the best dad, but...he was there, you know? And that's more you can say for...o-other parents we know," She glanced quickly at Nova, not daring to mention them in the same sentence.
"I'll suspend my disbelief since it's you, Ash, but...if you say so," Nova crossed her arms, closing her eyes.
Clarence's ship arrived at the planet and headed straight for it. "Kalden 1," He announced before it landed inside a hole near a satellite. The ship did a search for it and then landed inside. He was dressed in winter's clothing as he stepped down the ramp. He saw the giant portal in the room, surrounded by ice. "That must be it."
He trudged over to it in the snow and dusted some off the control panel. He was about to finish his task when a gun was pointed at him.
"Back away, Clarence!" Todd ordered him with a grin, standing over the control panel. He narrowed his eyes with a delightful smile.
"Todd?" Clarence murmured in realization. He didn't interact with Todd personally, both times he encountered the Team Squad he was not present. But they certainly told him about him, even if he didn't care to listen to some of it.
"I'm going to give you a choice, Clarence. Either you stop what you're doing..." Clarence held up a hand. "Or this becomes your grave," The man demanded to Clarence, firing up his gun.
"O-Or perhaps, can I interest you in a nugget?" Clarence held up some nuggets from his pocket. "Full disclosure, they're not the World's Greatest. They're not even nuggets." As Todd was still pointing the gun at him, another person showed up.
"You're not going anywhere!"
He turned around to see the Dewinter family, or what was left of them, flying above the ground. "Do we know each other?"
"No, we do not!" David gritted his teeth in anger. "But I know Gary Goodspeed and Nova Ostarilla! He murdered my sweet Melanie and wore her flesh sack like a poncho. And she embarrassed me in front of my kids by calling me an asswipe before evading my grasp and I didn't get the reward money for her capture!"
Clarence gave a small chuckle at how it must've went. "That's Nova, alright."
He took that laugh back as the trio started firing at him and he ran off, only to be faced by someone else, someone that he was familiar with. He skidded to a stop as a gun was pointed at him by Time Swap Sammy.
"I lost my job cause of those guys Nova and Gary! I used to be Time Swap Sammy. Now I'm just Spare Some Change Sammy!" He glared with a small smirk as he pointed his weapon at Clarence. He turned around and then screamed in fear to see the Mega KVN looming over him.
"And you're ours, Clarence!"
He pinched the bridge of his nose in disbelief, wondering just how many more people would come here just to kill him. "Oh, come on!"
"We're gonna cut off your junk and wear it as a necklace!" Mega KVN crawled down and then suddenly Clarence's alien wife appeared while flying on a small hover circle.
"Get out of my way!" She flew past the Dewinter family. "He's mine!" She showed him a few papers. "Here are the divorce papers."
"I'll happily sign them!" He smiled up at her.
"Yes, you will! With your own blood!" She declared angrily and the enemies all surrounded him. He froze as he was outnumbered and also no way to fight back.
"Clarence!"
He flinched, looking up as Fraskenhauer flew down from above. "Fraskenhauer?" He asked in surprise. The alien gripped some ropes and pulled them off his parachute, landing nearby his friend.
"How have you been, friend? I haven't seen you in a minute!" He stood by Clarence's side, ready to fight back.
"Now look, I'm turning on this bridge!" Clarence announced to them, pointing behind him.
"Over my dead body," Sammy declared, and as soon as he said that, every single other person against Clarence shot at him multiple times. He laid there dead, even after they continued shooting. Todd jumped down first, ready to shoot when he was tackled by the alien queen. Clarence turned and yelped as he saw the Mega KVN running straight for him. He braced himself until he saw Fraskenhauer fighting back against the giant robot. The two battled it out while the other enemies were focusing on fighting each other, to see who would have the honor of killing Clarence.
The Mega KVN tackled Fraskenhauer to the ground, who pushed him onto the snow. "Impossible! I'm invincible!"
Fraskenhauer just ripped apart its limbs with a triumphant laugh. "And I'm Fraskenhauer!" He bragged back to the robot. He pointed at Clarence, who had just stood there and watched. "Clarence! Dinner! Thursday."
He turned around and made a break for it while everyone was distracted.
The alien queen bumped into David, who turned around and pointed his guns at her. He froze as he looked at the alien, who turned and saw him. And it was love at first sight for them. "My god," His eyes shined at her. "You are a smoking hot stack of woman."
"And what a thick piece of meat you are. I'm getting divorced. Marry me!"
"You had me...at divorced!" He smirked up at her. The two then started making out, with her slime landing on his face. The new family flew past Clarence and left the place, seeming to forget about him. He reached the control panel.
"Hyper-transdimensional bridge is primed," A female AI-like voice spoke. "Searching for connection point. Searching..." The satellite started up and he waited in anticipation.
"Let's go, big boy!" He urged the system.
"Searching..."
"Connect!" Suddenly a gunshot was heard along with a yelp as purple blood splattered over some of the buttons. Clarence grunted, looking at a bullet hole in his chest. He reached out to the red button, only to be shot again. He turned around, putting pressure on his bad and growing wound. He looked up to see Todd, who was the one who shot him.
"There's honor in failing," He mused, his reflection in Clarence's eyes. He said nothing and was about to accept his face when a robot arm shot up out of nowhere and struck Todd through his chest. It had belonged to a detached KVN robot.
"Clarence is ours..."
Todd shot it to be inoperable, but the damage had already been done. He kicked it away angrily, falling onto the ground and placing his hand over his wound.
"I didn't see that coming," Nevertheless, he still pointed his gun at Clarence, who was still standing.
"You can't be free of your own pain, can you?" Clarence asked softly and Todd grunted, lowering his arm.
"I don't have any pain!" He ripped out the robot arm, grunting in pain to disprove his point.
"I lived a life hinged on stealing and dealing. Much like a friend I...wish I had treated better," He looked away, thinking about Nova. Over time, he had been thinking about what he did and how he should've handled her rejection of him better. "In that kind of life..." He let out a few coughs. "You learn to read people," He placed a hand on the gun, lowering it. "What were their names?"
Todd stared at him in disbelief. "The-the love you lost." Tears appeared in his eyes.
"...H-Holly...and Jet," The tears streamed down his face as he thought about them, and seeing the video of their death...
"They would...probably be ashamed of what you've become," Clarence pointed out and he looked towards his weapon. Everything he did...he had always thought about them first. But he was tired of living with the guilt and the shame that Gary and Nova brought onto him. "I've lived in that shame," He turned around. "Betrayed the only people that cared about me. Y-You don't want it." He faced Todd again, thinking about how he hurt everyone, and how he hoped this one last favor would fix some things... "It destroys every piece of you."
Todd looked towards the ground, feeling a bit awful. "Ugh, I'm...s-sorry."
Clarence said nothing and slowly walked up to the control panel. Todd looked at his gun...and then shot Clarence AGAIN. He whimpered in pain and fell into the snow, just inches away from the button. Todd just laughed manically, not seeming to care at all what he just did. "It's not you," He confessed, tears falling down his cheeks. "I'm sorry," He sniffled, looking happy as he looked up. "It's Gary and Nova I'm killing." He sighed in bliss as he rested his head onto the snow. "And now...I'm going home," He then died right then and there from his untreated injury.
"Connection point found," Clarence managed to find some strength within himself to sit up. "Waiting for activation of bridge."
"Ahh!" He reached out his hand and stood up. "Turn...on!" He slammed down the button and activated the machine.
"Hyper-transdimensional bridge activated." The satellite pointed upwards and Clarence gave a weak smile upon seeing it work. The portal lifted up into the sky and then turned on. Clarence sat back, taking out a device. It showed him a memory of Fox and Ash lifting him up into the air. Some purple blood dropped onto the device as he stared at this happy memory for the last time. He gave a bittersweet chuckle and then it switched over to Nova being unconscious...when he sent that bomb onto her. He had managed to save this picture from AVA before she died and he sniffled.
"I...know it's not much, but...I hope this suffices..." He murmured before dropping the device and died sitting there...in a pool of his own blood.
"Clarence!" Fraskenhauer slid over and cradled Clarence's body into his arms. "NO! We had dinner on Thursday!" He exclaimed in lament, looking up to the sky.
Back on Earth in Final Space, everything started to shake, causing alarm in all of them. "Hyper-transdimensional link is complete," A voice announced, to their shock.
"My god," Gary turned to smile at Ash. "Clarence did it!"
Ash smiled proudly, tears streaming down her face happily as they could finally go home... "He did it," She brushed some of her hair behind her ear.
"Wow...he really managed to pull through," Nova gave a small smile to herself. It wouldn't help much in her favor, but if she happened to see him again, she'd say thank you and just maybe might apologize for breaking his heart.
"Does that mean...we're going home?" Quinn asked Kevin hopefully, who didn't seem that relieved.
"Yeah, no."
"What?!" Gary went up to him. "Why the hell not?"
"All it means is he took care of his side," Kevin explained, Quinn and Gary joining his side. "That has to work too," He pressed on the glass to remove it, revealing a button that would activate the portal from their end. "Okay, who wants to press it?" He stepped back, KVN flying over.
Gary slowly stepped over, reaching out to it and then stopping himself. He glanced up at Quinn, smiling. "You do it."
"No! You," She insisted to him.
He took a deep breath and slowly reached his hand out to the button, taking his time as he stared at it. But then KVN bumped into him.
"I'll do it! Out of my way," He pushed in between them.
"Excuse me!" Quinn glared at him as both of them looked annoyed.
"Press!" He pressed the button and activated everything, with the large ring lifting up in the air. They walked over to the window to watch as they saw it go towards the sky. Little Cato took Nova's hand and she held it gently. She crossed her fingers.
"Bridge connection is stable."
Everyone cheered out loud. "Yes!"
"Yeah!"
Sheryl hugged Ash, Gary hugged Quinn, Little Cato and Avocato high-fived, and Mooncake gave Nova a face hug. Gary looked up happily.
"We're going home."
"I am detecting massive energy signatures coming towards the bridge," HUE spoke up. "Gary, you should see this."
"Oh snap! Let's peep it."
They used an elevator to get to the ground of the city, where other ships were flying into the portal. They stepped up slowly, seeing Tribore and Quatronostro behind all the ships.
"Reclaim your dignity! And reclaim your freedom! And always, you don't have to floss all of your teeth. Just the ones you wanna keep!" Tribore recited to them, just like he would to the Resistance.
Sheryl smirked down at Little Cato, who looked proud. "Strong freakin' finish Tribore," He clapped for the alien. "Strong freakin' finish, man."
"So no one's gonna wonder who all those people are and how we haven't seen them before? Is it just me?" Nova asked, raising a brow and she got no answer. The giant rabbits flew down towards the Team Squad.
Tribore and Quatronostro jumped down from them. "I know I don't always appreciate all of you as much as I should," The six-eyed alien faced the group. But to be fair, you've given me precious little to work with. Okay, so long."
Gary gave a look of disbelief. "That's it? I was kinda hoping that was going to end with a compliment."
"Look to the Titan's wiener," Tribore advised him.
"I'm not—what? No! I'm not looking to the Titan's-"
"If it points North, I will be South," Tribore interrupted Gary. "If it glitters in the West-"
"I'm not looking at a glittery Titan's wiener, alright? Especially since we know one-"
"Uccch, if you mention my dad and a wiener in the same vein, we seriously need to have a talk," Nova interrupted this time, having a disgusted look on her face. She didn't even want to know how that worked with a Titan, since...obviously, given Oreskis' relationship with Bolo's former love Jill, that basically confirmed that Titans did have...special organs.
"Quatro," Tribore walked up to his son. "You need to fly through the bridge, too. And as hard as I know this is to hear...I will be going with you." He jumped onto his giant rabbit. "Okay, let's go! Nova, hugs and kisses for helping me with Quatro's birth."
"I don't need the reminder," Nova held up a hand with a small cringe. She would rather forget that whole birthing process, if she had to be honest. They watched the father-son duo fly into the portal, along with all of the other people that they gathered. They ended up on the other side, with the two flying towards the ground.
"Welcome to my dimension. Priority One? Matching windbreakers and moccasins. The rest will take care of itself."
"Hmm," Quatro gave a confused look. "What is a windbreaker?"
"What is a windbreaker?" Tribore asked back in disbelief. "Oh, my sweet child! I have so much to teach you."
The other members of the Team Squad reached the control room, where Kevin was staring up at the screens. "Bridge is stable. What the hell are y'all standing around for? Leave! Go!"
They rushed off to go prepare for leave. "Alright! Grab what supplies you can," Gary ordered them. "We're leaving in 5 minutes."
As Quinn was walking, another shake occurred, knocking everyone to the ground. She stood up and then noticed something. A screen for something popped up. "The KVN Net...? What is this?" She gave a curious look at it.
"It doesn't matter," Kevin walked past her. "You're leaving. Hurry up!"
Another crash occurred from the Earth and Quinn braced herself. The screen then changed to show a model of KVN and she opened her mouth in shock. One KVN turned into two KVNS from the screen. "This is...this is a weapon, isn't it?" She guessed correctly.
"Yes!" Kevin shouted in irritation, turning around to her. "This weapon is why I made the KVNs to begin with! Originally, the KVNs were designed to protect Earth from attacks of an extradimensional nature," He explained as the demonstration came on the screen.
"Like what?"
"Oh, donkey birds!" He placed a hand on his temple. "Like what? Like Titans! This thing is powerful enough to kill Titans!"
Another crash occurred once more, and the two braced themselves. "What the hell did I just hear?" Avocato called out as he was in earshot.
"Kevin just said KVN can kill Titans," Gary jerked a thumb to the robot.
"I can kill Titans?" The robot asked curiously.
"You?" Nova scoffed at him. "You're too much of a dumbass to even pull that off."
"You can't! That can," Kevin pointed at the screen, rubbing the back of his head. "It's really too bad, too, since you're getting the hell out of this place. It was never quite activated. Oh, would've been nice to rid the universe of those monsters."
"Dude, we have a half-Titan in the room. Easy on the monsters thing," Little Cato deadpanned at him and Nova waved it off.
"Nah, it's justified towards the whole race, I'm honestly not offended."
Yet another shake happened, making them nervous minus Quinn. "Right! Everyone on the ship!" Gary waved them forward and they all made a run for it except for Quinn.
"Wait," She called out to them. "We can't go."
"What are you talking about?" Gary asked her in confusion.
"We can take out the Titans once and for all. And that just might be enough to cripple Invictus! We'll never have this chance again," She walked up to them.
"The bridge is open. We can leave right now. We can escape Final Space!" He insisted to the woman. "Home is right there," He gestured to the portal.
"Gary's got a point," Sheryl agreed with him. "We came here to get you, that's done. Now let's go."
"And then what?" Quinn argued back. "What happens when Invictus breaks free with his army of Titans?" She placed a hand on her temple, hoping to get them on her side. "How many people will die or be in severe comas?" Ash and Nova glanced at each other, thinking about Fox. "This isn't over. Not until all of us are dead...or all of them are."
Gary stared at her, looking towards the ground. If they leave, they could go home, but they would risk Invictus coming into their world to destroy it. And if they didn't, they might die, but at the same time...they might have an edge against Invictus.
"Gary, I should inform you that-"
"I don't wanna leave," A new voice spoke up and they looked towards the door in shock. Fox was standing there, perfectly fine as he narrowed his eyes. "Not yet."
"Fox!" Everyone but Kevin exclaimed in surprise at him, but then it turned into happy smiles. Ash ran over and hugged him. Shedding tears of joy.
"You're alive..."
"Alive and kicking, Ashy," He smiled down at her, frowning. "I tricked you, and that hurt my feelings. I'll never do that again."
"It's okay, Fox..."
He then narrowed his eyes in determination, looking towards his friends. "Invictus hurt my family and my friends. I won't be able to live peacefully until he's dead."
Gary took a minute to think about it as he walked up to the screens. He really wanted to go home, but...he stuck by his friends, and Invictus had been plaguing them for weeks now, in more ways than one. He made him hurt Fox...He took a deep breath and then lifted down his arm, revealing that he had Final Space poisoning as well. He gripped a fist, as he might be dead before they were...but it was worth it to at least try. He turned towards Quinn, walking up to her.
"Where you go...I go," He declared, holding her hands. "Always."
She smiled at him.
"Oh, come on!" Kevin suddenly exclaimed. "You're staying and taking out the Titans now?" The group stood together, looking towards the screen.
"Every last one of 'em," Gary declared to him.
Nova was walking down from the Galaxy 2 ramp, having reloaded her guns. Quinn stared at her from the door, wondering who exactly Gary was planning to ask, since she only knew that Nova had associated with them, Bolo, and the Arachnitects.
"Nova?" She blinked and glanced over to Quinn, who walked over to her. "It's not my business, but I am curious...who was Gary about to suggest back there?"
She paused, looking towards the others and giving a small smile. They weren't the most conventional group, but over time, they had grown into a family for her along with Bolo...except maybe KVN, she regretted his inclusion into her life. Quinn was the only one who didn't know the full story behind her eventual imprisonment to the Lord Commander. The others didn't know about it until after they saw it for themselves when they went back in time. That was because she didn't like bringing it up ever...
She took a deep breath, deciding to trust Quinn, and it would be unfair to leave her in the dark. "When Little Cato and I were prisoners of the Lord Commander...he asked me about my family, and I didn't know how to answer because...because. And he wouldn't stop asking to know more, even though I wasn't ready to share that yet. Eventually, I snapped and...I told him that my parents were the ones who gave me up to the Lord Commander. I was only 12 at the time."
Quinn opened her mouth in shock upon hearing that, her eyes saddening. "I...I'm so sorry."
Nova just shook her head. "Don't be. Actually...if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have met Little Cato or my dad or the rest of the team. After all, I met Mooncake soon after I got thrown in the cells. So in a way...they brought me here, even though I feel kind of sick thinking that way. If it wasn't for them...I wouldn't even be here."
"And you wouldn't have found out that Bolo gave you your powers..." Quinn murmured in realization.
"Yeah...kinda messed up when you think about it like that, but...you know, I'm just glad that I don't have to think about them as my parents anymore. Which is something that most kids can't say about their parents, and...I'm fine without them or my sister. Who was just as bad as them. They kill kids as soon as they have the next heir to the throne just to keep their position," She glared in anger. "Which is honestly worse than what I got."
"Did you ever see them again after that?" She asked slowly and Nova nodded.
"Yeah...I got to tell them to piss off," The girl smirked in response. "And I haven't looked back on them since. Not that I care what happened to them now, anyway. They'd be just as stuck-up as ever."
"Thank you for telling me," The woman smiled gratefully at her. "And you know...for someone your age, you've aged faster than anyone else here. That's at least something good that came out of it, right?"
"If by aged, you mean I'm not a ditzy boy-crazy teenage girl or a spoiled one who didn't have a cliché storybook romance, then I'll gladly take that compliment," She winked at her, walking off. Quinn shook her head with a small smile.