Chapter Forty-eight: Final decision

Sasha was the first to see it. She sat in her centre chair this time as her head was transfixed on the giant screen. Al, Helga, Skidd, rangers, and several other staff members were no different.

They stared from orbit as a big dome of yellow parted the Veldin atmosphere for but a second before disappearing by implosion. There was also a second explosion; much smaller, but still visible from above the planet.

There was a state of silence, before someone asked, "Uh, does this mean Dr. Heinous is dead?"

"I think he is," another one said.

"Of course! Not even a robot could survive that!"

"Alright! He's done!"

"WOOHOO!"

A ranger walked up to the still silent captain. "Captain, we have received a transmission from the dropship earlier.

"Let's see," Sasha said as she backed up to get a better picture.

The giant screen flickered static before displaying the 'face' of a ranger.

"Report," Sasha said.

"Good new, Captain! I went down to Roomel and got back one heck of a party!" He stepped aside, uncovering the persons of Slim, Nefarious, Qwark, Skrunch, Courtney, and Lawrence.

"How are they?" Sasha asked.

"Qwark and Courtney are in need of medical attention. Other than that, everyone's fine."

"And Ratchet and Clank?" Sasha couldn't see them.

"Oh…..err," the ranger quietened down a little. "They stayed behind to finish Heinous off. Judging by that explosion--two explosions, I think it's fair to say that they succeeded."

"Have they contacted you?"

"………."

"I repeat: have they contacted you?"

"………," the ranger was silent.

"……"

"…..No….they haven't."

The crowd grew sombre.

"We can say that his sacrifice was for the good of organic-kind."

"Yeah. I'm coming towards the Phoenix. Can we finish this later?"

"Don't come to the Phoenix," Sasha said.

The ranger leaned his head to the side. "Why not?"

"You'll find out once you get the ship to Marcadia. The police force shooting ranger, Sector Seven."

"But….that's just the biggest shooting range. Why there?"

"I'll repeat myself," Sasha inhaled. "Go there, and you'll find out."

"Uh, okay. H-26 out."

-blip-

And the screen blackened.

Sasha faced the silent crowd, "Return to work…"

"……………," no one moved.

"…now."

Everyone moved. Everyone except for Al.

The Metropolitan stood by Sasha's side and asked, "They're really gonna do it, huh?"

"It has to be done," Sasha breathed. "It was part of the deal."

"Are you sure Ratchet's……….you know--"

"Dead? Maybe. But it wasn't in vain. I'm going to send a search party to look over the crash site."

Al nodded. He then asked, "So….is it over?"

"Yes, Al……. It's over."

"'A detour'? Nefarious remarked. He stood with fists on his hips in the middle of the dropship, close so left bench. "Why?"

"I dunno," the ranger said as he piloted the ship. "Captain's orders."

"Nnngh!" Nefarious sat down annoyingly. He folded his arms.

Slim was on his belly on the floor, breathing peacefully. He managed to pop one blue eye open. He rolled over on his back and said tiredly, "W-What happened?"

"Some bigass explosion," Nefarious said.

Lawrence then spoke from where he was tending to Qwark opposite Nefarious, "An enormous explosion shook the desert as pure destruction unfolded. The base of Dr. Heinous was sure to have been destroyed."

"The Megatron Bomb," Slim breathed.

"Excuse me?" the butler asked.

"A powerful bomb created several years ago by Gadgetron and another company called 'MegaCorp'. A bomb so powerful, it can destroy an entire moon."

"Oooh-ooh ah Ahhhhaa-Ahhhh. Akk-oooh ee," Skrunch said.

"What did he say?" Nefarious asked.

Qwark mustered the energy to say, "'Then I say we destroy the Obani Draco. I hate that place'."

Courtney glared at the monkey with her good eye from Nefarious' side.

Qwark simpered.

"Say, ranger, how long 'til Marcadea?" Nefarious asked.

"Just a few minutes," the ranger replied without looking.

"Define 'just a few minutes'."

"Just be patient, sir."

"Don't tell me what to do, Lawrence!" Nefarious yelled, alarming the ranger a bit. "I'm pissed off enough that it wasn't ME who killed Jeremy! I should have stayed!"

"And risk getting killed yourself?" Courtney retorted.

"Don't be all motherly to me! It's always Ratchet who kicked ass. Even Jack did him in. But me?.! NOTHING! DO YOU HEAR ME?.!.?.!.?.! NOTHIIIIIIIIII--sskkktksksk--!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!"

"Lance, my water broke!"

"Oh my! We have to get you to the hospital!"

"I don't think we'll make it in time!"

Nefarious remained frozen. His position was upright with his right hand as a fist and his left arm pointing at Courtney.

"……."

"……"

"……."

"……."

"……."

"……."

No one made to slap him….not even Lawrence.

The soap went on.

"Shouldn't one of us do something?" Lawrence asked the group.

"Too tired."

"I can't walk."

"I can't see well."

"I'm driving the ship."

"Oooh ah."

Everyone had a good excuse. Since Lawrence didn't, he approached and raised his hand.

"Just breath! Hear me? Br--"

SLAP!

"--sskskktsktsss--IIIIIIING!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!"

Nefarious inhaled and lowered his arms. He panted.

"We really need--" Lawrence was interrupted.

"I know," Nefarious sat on the bench behind him.

"I dunno," Qwark breathed slowly. "It's sort of your…..trademark."

Nefarious raised an eyebrow at him, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Heh…nothing."

"……"

"We're here…," the ranger said.

"'Few minutes'?" Slim stood up slowly. "More like few seconds."

"…planet's orbit."

"……..Oh."

"All I know is that spending time with the squishies hasn't changed me one bit," Nefarious muttered.

"You should learn to like them," Courtney gestured.

"W-What?.?" Nefarious looked at her in shock. "This coming from the one who was pissed at the fact that I joined them."

"I changed my mind," Courtney said casually. "They created us, y'know."

"……"

"Well, most of us."

Nefarious sighed and sat down sadly, thinking.

"Why'd ya think we had to come to Planet Marcadia?" Courtney asked, changing the subject.

"….," Lawrence was silent…..as if he knew.

Nefarious was oblivious.

Slim had managed to prop his blue-clad butt on the same bench as Nefarious. His eyes were lowered…………but he knew.

Qwark was on the verge of falling asleep. Skrunch sat by his side.

Silence.

Courtney sat down.

"…….."

"……."

"……."

"……."

"……"

"……"

"………We're here."

The first thing they felt--…..some of them felt was the ever-increasing slowness of the dropship, until it stopped for sure. The ranger spoke a few words into an intercom. The door-ramp opened. Naturally, it was Nefarious who stepped out, followed by Lawrence helping Qwark, Skrunch, Courtney, Slim, and the ranger was last.

They stepped into a small garage. Immediately, three rangers emerged from a sliding door and walked towards the group.

"Everyone, your presence is requested by Commissioner David…," one ranger said.

Everyone made to follow--

"Except you two," the ranger pointed at Nefarious and Lawrence, who stopped. "The rest of you, come with me."

"What's this about?" Nefarious asked.

"Just follow L-42 and Y-77," the ranger gestured at the other two robots with his gun.

The two said ranger parted ways, as if indirectly asking Lawrence and Nefarious to walk between them.

"Captain Qwark is in need of medical attention," Lawrence pointed at the one he was helping to stand. He gestured at Courtney, "And do is Miss Courtney."

"I'll help him," the ranger said. "There you….go… Easy does it…. Good." He began moving towards another door. "C'mon."

Slim and Skrunch followed immediately.

Courtney lingered, glanced at Nefarious one more--his back was turned--and followed.

Nefarious and Lawrence went in the direction of the other two rangers.

As the sliding door closed, all four robots were walking down a long hall. There was a fork ahead. Other than that, the halls were a dull blue colour.

"……"

"……"

"……."

"….."

They marched.

Silent.

Backs straight.

Calm.

One of them curious.

Three of them aware.

They turned left and found themselves walking down another hall. As more turns were taken, it was evident that getting lost was a huge possibility. Every hall was the same. It was like a labyrinth, which was uncanny, considering that the two rangers seemed as if they knew where they were going.

"Funny how you guys aren't afraid of me," Nefarious smiled a little from the back of the group. "I recall you guy being cowards a year ago….when I was terrorising the galaxy with my…..my………"

"Stereotypically cliché nonsense?" Lawrence suggested without so much as a hand gesture.

"Yeah, that one……………I think," Nefarious rubbed his head. "Anyway, what's up with that?"

"We've been upgraded slightly," one ranger said. "Courage has been updated, making us more devoted to our work when it comes to the field."

"Ahhh," Nefarious nodded. "Kewl."

"Glad you like it."

"So, you guys have anything planned now?" Nefario0us frowned slightly. "Now that Jeremy's been defeated……and not by me."

"We have arrangements to escort you to Sector Seven," this time, the other ranger spoke.

"Any specific reason?"

"You'll find out once you get there."

"How long will that take? We've been walking for……….. Psssssst! How long, Lawrence?"

"Two minutes, sir."

"Two minutes!" Nefarious cackled.

A ranger sighed, "You'll see soon enough."

"It had better be good."

"I'm sure it'll be exciting, sir."

"Here's hoping for it," Nefarious held an invisible glass of whine in his hand and held it up as if for 'Cheers'.

No one replied.

Ten more minutes passed before they stopped in front of another sliding door.

"Please step through and you'll receive exactly what you deserve," one ranger said.

Lawrence stepped through without question.

Nefarious glared suspiciously at the two rangers, but went in the end.

Schhhhwish.

The two stood in a small, circular room.

"……."

"……"

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Steam blew from……..under the floor as the claustrophobic interior shook. One half of the cylindrical opened, and the floor moved more. Soon, they had passed through the opening, towards somewhere outside. The floor was a circular platform with railings.

"Rrrrgh," Nefarious muttered. "I hate hovering platforms."

"This isn't a game, sir," Lawrence starred at their surroundings. So did Nefarious.

They were floating over a desert. Unlike the one on Veldin this one was covered with infertile soil rather than sand. There were a few mountains on the horizon. The building from where they emerged was behind them. Reflecting windows showed of up to six stories. And behind the police department, the Capital City stood as proud as ever some miles away.

"I don't like this," Nefarious frowned.

"…..," Lawrence didn't respond. He 'sighed'.

And below.

CL-CLICK! Clik! Clakk! C-c-c-c-clack. CLIIKK!

About one thousand guns were cocked and aimed at the floating platform that had stopped moving.

"This is Commissioner David!" a voice came from an unknown megaphone.

About one hundred missile launches emerged from the ground and aimed up.

"Dr. Nefarious and Lawrence, by orders of the Galactic President, we have strict orders to send you back to where you cam from."

Thousands of tiny robots flew/stood, aiming several different weapons at the two robots.

"You are hereby sentenced to life on that rock you came from for the crimes of turning organic life into robots one year ago."

Random shouts from some soldiers could be heard.

Nefarious and Lawrence were surrounded.

"Now…are we gonna do this the easy way or the hard way? Your decision."

They waited.

Al's, Skidd's, and Helga's eyes were glued to the holo-vid screen. The situation was being filmed from several angles. Every now and then, the camera would film a different part of the two robots.

"……"

"…….."

"……"

None of them spoke. Not even Helga.

Behind them, Sasha was speaking over a communicator to a search party, not paying attention.

From a lobby inside the building, Courtney, Qwark, Skrunch, and Slim sat on a sofa, craning their necks to see a small holo-vid hovering near a corner of the ceiling.

Qwark's leg was bandaged, but still in terrible condition.

Courtney's eye was replaced by a temporary eye patch. Although she rejected the patch, she was still stuck with it until the present issues was sorted out.

"Nnnngh," a robot growled under his breath. His right yellow eye was bigger than his blue left. His eyebrows were very comical. In that, they were semi-circles below his forehead. The right one was higher than the left one. However, his eyebrows and eyes didn't make him look lopsided in any way. His metal body was coated with a blue-metal…ish colour, bringing out the glowing circle in the centre of his torso. One small antenna stood on the top of his head. Instead of a nose, he had two tiny holes for nostrils. His mouth was a lot like Nefarious', but with widespread teeth. Both his arms were identical, bulky, like a ranger's right arm. His left arm wielded a megaphone. His legs were thinner, and his spiked knees resembled padding. Around his metallic waist, there was a belt, supporting holsters with Blasters and N60 Storms. Unlike the rangers, he wasn't so……..'hunched'. And lastly his forehead bared the mark of the Commissioner.

"Is there a problem, Commissioner?" a smaller robot asked. He was a lot like a ranger, but much thinner, shorter, and, like the other robot, didn't have an arm for a gun. Unlike the rangers, he had a mouth. Like the rangers, he was hunched.

They stood on a floating platform like the other two robots. At them moment, they hovered around the scene.

"Yeah, there is, Lieutenant," Commissioner David said. "Nefarious is taking too friggin' long to speak! I ought a just give the word and blast the sonofabitch to smithereens."

"Please have patience, sir," the Lieutenant urged as he leaned over the railings. "You have to give him some credit for defeating Dr. He--"

"That was Ratchet," David interrupted. "This guy just tagged along. And he's not as powerful as you think! Can you believe that he told about his tragic and shitty childhood to the public? It's as if he wanted pity! BAH! Paaaa-thetic."

The Lieutenant didn't bother defending. He worked with the Commissioner long enough to know how difficult it was for hi to get to like someone.

FLASH!

The President appeared behind them out of nowhere.

"M-Mister President!" the Lieutenant stammered. "How'd you--?"

"I used a teleporter," the cazar said. He walked past the Lieutenant and stopped by David's side. "How's it going so far, Commissioner?"

"'Bout as fun as an old folks home," the robot grunted. "Look, can we just kill the bastard? It'll do the galaxy a lot bet--"

"I don't think you'll have to do that."

"Huh?.?" The Commissioner raised an eyebrow. "What d'you mean by that?"

"Although he doesn't show it," the President explained, "Nefarious has been growing more attached to the Q-Force every day. Sasha gad been sending me e-mails about what was happening, and she wrote about Nefarious' behaviour. Sure, he was rude and angry, but no one's perfect."

"In his case, you bet your Marcadian ass…………………"

The President glared at him.

"…………………..sir."

"Glad to have your respect," the President wasn't sarcastic in any way.

"Riiiiiiiiight."

"Heh, I hope they get good shots," the President smiled.

"Say what?" David looked confused.

"Didn't you hear?" the President asked with a chuckle. "Several new reporters will be filming this. In fact, they are."

"Is this true?" David asked the Lieutenant.

"N-No, sir," the V2 ranger stammered.

The Commissioner looked around. Amidst, the missile launchers, and robots trained on Nefarious and Lawrence, there where several different news reporters. Robots and organics alike. They had either rented hovering platforms of their own, or they were using jetpacks. The same for the ones filming them.

"Un-fricken-believable," David 'breathed'.

The Lieutenant simpered.

The President smirked.

The Commissioner brought his megaphone to his mouth, and yelled, "Nefarious and Lawrence, are you gonna answer, or do we have to just assume that you're gonna go quietly?"

The President and Lieutenant looked.

Nefarious and Lawrence where too far away to be heard, but they could be seen perfectly……..and they didn't move.

"HELLLLLLOOOO?.?.?.?.?.?.?.?.?.?.? Can you too hear--?" he stopped when he realised that Nefarious was giving him a gesture. It was to come closer. "I'm staying right here!" David bellowed with a frown. "If ya wanna speak, then we'll send you a megaphone."

It looked as if Nefarious was sighing. He nodded and gave a thumb's up just to make himself 'heard'.

David extracted a walky-talky from his belt and spoke into it, "Send him a megaphone so we can hear him."

"Copy that. Skkkktkt."

David put the walky-talky away, and starred at the scene.

"Do you think he'll change his mind, sir?" the Lieutenant asked.

"What's evil is always evil," the Commissioner said.

"Probably," the President said. "I have my Lie Detector with me." He held up his wrist with a watch around it.

"Ahhh, how convenient--"

"Shhhh!" the Commissioner hissed. "He got the megaphone."

Nefarious held it in his hand.

Lawrence stood by the edge, his arms behind his back as usual, waiting.

Nefarious took a deep breath as the deliverer was safely out of range. He said, "It's nice to be given a chance. For a second there, I thought you'd open fire and kill us."

There were no smiles from anyone.

"I joined the organics to get revenge on my stepbrother for all the torment he put me through when we were younger. That's right…when you guys were being spoiled rotten or being lashed by your loving parents, I was getting bullied by someone who I couldn't escape. Hear the first word in 'stepbrother'? STEPbrother…meaning that we weren't blood relatives. I'm sure you know by now that my father was killed by the mafia. I was then stuck with Jeremy after my mother married his father. So…yeah. My life was lived through hate and bullying by a certain costumed imbecile who's name won't be mentioned. Obviously, I was defeated by Ratchet, Clank, and Qwark a year ago. My robot exploded and Lawrence--" he glared at the butler "--teleported us to an asteroid by accident. We were stranded. Then….Jeremy attacked, forcing some people to come up with the idea of asking me for help. They managed to find us…….which brings me to say what I said in the beginning: I only joined for revenge. Then I planned betrayal. However…………something happened. Something I dreaded. Despite my hate for the squish--organic life-forms, I began to make friends with them. I got to know some of them, and even thought alongside them……." his voice lingered.

Everyone starred.

Nefarious went on, "All throughout the 'adventure', I was thinking about the decision I made. To come along, but become a villain after my stepbrother's defeat. Now, he's been defeated by Ratchet and Clank--as usual--and thousands of guns are aiming at Lawrence and I……"

Silence, save for the ships' hum.

"I'm not sure now. My plan was to run into hiding and attack after coming up with a plan, but……..no. A wise robot told me that I should learn to like them. I've made my final decision."

Lawrence blinked, "You have?"

"Yes," Nefarious didn't speak into the megaphone this time.

"Hmm, let's hear it then," the Commissioner said.

The President called a hovering robot, "You, I want you to take me to Nefarious…"

The Commissioner, Lieutenant, and robot looked in shock.

"…..now."

The hovering robot nodded.

"Hmm, wonder who the wise robot is," Qwark mumbled.

Courtney, Skrunch, and Slim looked at him like he was stupid.

"What?"

"Nothin'," Slim shook his head with a smirk. "Just watch."

"This should be interesting," Al said. "Isn't that ri--?"

"Quiet!" Helga yelled. "I'm trying to listen!"

"Nnngh!" Al frowned and shut up.

Behind them, Sasha stood….watching intently.

"I'm staying, cuz I no longer have any urge to destroy organic life-forms. I still have a small dislike for them, but I'll learn to tolerate," Nefarious finished. He lowered his head, and closed his eyes. He then popped one open and whispered to Lawrence, "How was that?"

"I'm surprised you can be so deep," the butler said. "Usually, you're a hothead."

Nefarious smiled a little. Then, he noticed that nothing was happened. It was like the whole universe had frozen.

The, the President came up. He had a small robot pulling him up with its claws. He held his watch out and said, "Could you repeat that into the megaphone?"

"I said I won't attempt or plan any attacks on Solana," Nefarious spoke into the device…………which turned green.

The President smiled and gave a thumb's up to one of the cameras. Soon, every news reporter knew and some of the soldiers began to cheer. Nefarious had turned over a new leaf.

The President gently took the megaphone out of Nefarious' hand and spoke loudly, "If that is so, then I, the Galactic President, give you full rights as a robotic citizen of the Solana Galaxy, along with a large home on the outskirts of Metropolis."

More cheering.

"Yeah!" Slim pumped a fist at the holo-vid. Skrunch mimicked him.

Qwark grinned. "This'll be interesting."

And Courtney…

She was overjoyed. Her silver face lit up with a beautiful smile.

Everyone in the galaxy was experiencing the same feeling. Relief could be felt across the cosmos about one insane scientist who had turned good miraculously. Some supporters were disappointed, but were either silenced or just accepted it as a fact. All in all, the galaxy was at piece once again…
"Awesome!"

SLAP!

Skidd and Al high-fived as the room erupted with yells of joy.

A few feet away, at her computer, Sasha stood. She couldn't fight back a smirk.

Then…

"Captain! Captain!" a ranger ran up to her, filled with excitement.

"What is it," Sasha kept exposing her pearly whites.

"I've just received a call from the search party!" the robot said quickly. "They've found Ratchet and Clank!"

"W-What?.?.?.?.?" Sasha couldn't believe her ears.

"It's true; they found them A-okay! But they're not alone."

Sasha blinked and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"There are three survivors from the crash and explosion."

Sasha rolled her eyes. "Wonder who…," she said sarcastically.

THE STORY ISN'T OVER YET. THERE ARE TWO MORE THINGS TO PUBLISH. THEY WILL BE PUBLISHED AT ONCE.

Didn't like this chapter? Well, I didn't much either. I just HAD to do it if I wanted to get to the damn point any time soon.

Review, and remember that I'm not done yet. Make sure, you read the last chapter.