The Love That Matters Forever

Fry woke up to a black and dark haze. He couldn't move his arms, but his legs couldn't seem to go anywhere. He soon found out that his hands were wrapped by metal chains. He struggled to slip them off, but to no avail. Was this a dream? It sure didn't feel like it.

"Where am I?" he whispered.

His head was in complete pain, but he seemed to picture Zapp Brannigan fighting with him and striking him on the head. Soon after he heard screams and muffled cries...

"Leela! Leela, can you hear me? Leela!" Fry called.
"Fry..." a soft voice circled the air.

"Leela? Where are you?" Fry asked, scared and worried.

Leela appeared out of the shadows and into the light of Fry's eyes. But it wasn't what he expected. Leela's expression was slightly scared and terrified. Until he noticed her clothes ripped and almost torn off her. She managed to hang on to her tank top since only one strap was covering her bra. Her pants were still on, but it looked wrinkled, as though it has been taken off. Her eye was red from tears, failing an expression and emotion he wanted to see.

"Leela... What happened?" he asked.
"I... I..." she began.

She couldn't put words into saying what a horrible fate she has experienced. She slowly walked over to him in a vague and vivid expression. She hugged the delivery boy with all her strength, never wanting to let go. Fry wanted to have the ability to hug back, but the chains were intense on his skin. Her clothes really could have explained it. And he knew it.

"Leela... were... were you just...?" Fry began.

Leela nodded in her hug. Fry was both worried and mad at the same time. Worried about Leela being in this horrible situation, and angry at Zapp Brannigan for actually... raping her.

"I couldn't fight back... He said he would kill you if I did... And if I tell anyone... he'll kill Lily." Leela whispered.

"Are you okay?" he asked.
"... Yeah."

Suddenly the chains snapped off mechanically and let Fry fall onto the ground. He quickly took off his jacket and put it on Leela. He zipped it up and stared into her eye. He felt terrible. He pulled Leela into a hug as she cried onto his shoulder. Being raped was one thing, but when it happens to your girlfriend... it makes the situation more terrifying.

"It'll be okay. I'm here... I'm here... And I'm gonna make sure he doesn't do it to you again." Fry said as he patted her back.

"Fry... how are we gonna get out of here?" she asked.
"I don't know. But I know that we're gonna make it out alive. And when we do, we're gonna go to the police."
"No. He'll kill Lily. He said he would."
"Not when I'm around. I'm Lily's dad. My job is to protect her. It'll cost me my life maybe, but it's worth it..."
"... It's a good thing that he wore a condom like last time."

They both giggled. Suddenly a door opened, and someone threw Nibbler, Fiona, and Ken inside.

"Ow! At least show respect, you dung beetle!" Ken exclaimed.
"Nibbler! Ken, Fiona!" Leela exclaimed.
"Oh, thank God you two are all right." Nibbler said as he and his friends rushed to them.
"Not quite. Leela was just raped." Fry said.
"Raped? That moron's more twisted than ever." Fiona said.
"No question. Zapp's already on his mark to destroy Earth!" Ken exclaimed.

"Now? We gotta do something!" Fry exclaimed.
"What is there to do? We're locked up, and powerless." Fiona said.
"... Not soon." Leela said.
"What are you talking about?" Nibbler asked.

"Nibbler, we just might have a chance to ruin Zapp's plan. This spaceship is far more different from the Nimbus, so it has a chance of shutting down. Like ours, every spaceship has a lockdown switch on the end of it, underneath the engine. If we can somehow reach down inside the air-conditioning, we could find the switch and turn off the ship." Leela said.

"That way that Zapp can't use his machine guns!" Fry exclaimed.
"Exactly!" Leela exclaimed.

"It's a good thing this ship has a perfect air conditioning." Nibbler said as he opened the hatch to the air conditioner just below him.

"In the meantime, we might as well distract him so he will not notice this." Fiona said.
"Now is your chance. We will find our own way out of here." Ken said as he raised the hatch for Fry and Leela.

"We better do it fast, 'cause that jackass will make his first move before he notices we're gone." Leela said.
"That will be simple. Good luck, Fry and Leela." Nibbler said as he shaked both their hands.
"Good luck to you, too, Nibbler." Fry said. "You ready, Leela?"
"Ready."

Fry took her hand and they both fell down the long hole to the bottom of the air conditioning. They didn't scream, so that Zapp wouldn't hear them. The hole was quite long and seemed endless, but Fry landed first on his back, while Leela handed right on him on her stomach. They were faced in a compromising position... until Fry smirked at her.

"Fry." Leela said.
"I'm kidding." Fry said.
"Kidding not, you know that's a tease to me."
"Okay, okay. Sorry." Fry said.

But suddenly, it felt like Leela had a change of heart and gave Fry a very long kiss. He was quite surprised, but returned the kiss in a perfect I love you response.

"... But I know you love me." she said.
"More than the world would know." Fry said as he put his hands behind his head.
"That's what I like about you, Fry. You're so sweet, and you love me for who I am. I couldn't have loved anyone else more like you."

"Neither would I love or kiss any girl in the world besides you." Fry said as he moved up and kissed her.
"... We better get to that switch." Leela said, breaking the kiss.

She got up from Fry's hold and walked to the direction of the switch. Fry followed her, looking around the air conditioner. It was dark, and neither could see a single light ahead of them.

"What's that?" Fry whispered, pointing to another trail of the air conditioner. There, it had a short yellow light at the far end.

"It's a light. Maybe that's where the engine is." Leela said.

She took Fry's hand and they both slowly moved into the darkness, hoping to reach the light. When they made it to the light, Leela could spot a breaker box at the end of the tunnel.

"There it is. I'm sure the engine switch is in there." Leela said.

She opened the breaker box and started to locate the series of switches to the engine. Meanwhile, Fry looked up into the light above him, until he noticed that it was the air conditioning ground to Zapp's control room. He saw the twisted man stir the ship directly to his home planet, opening a bottle of Carmine's expensive whiskey.

"I can't wait until DOOP pays back for their mistake. Those cowards will never survive my multiple blast laser I implanted into the ship. But that only just leaves me with Fry and Leela and those strange creatures. Oh, what does it matter? I'll make sure that Fry will never have to set foot in this future again. Leela... I'll make that bitch pay for leaving me."

Fry was struck mad. He hated to hear someone call his girlfriend such a horrible name. He clenched his fists so tightly he thought he couldn't feel his knuckles.

"One girl that leaves me like Leela is nothing but trash!" Zapp exclaimed.

Trash. That couldn't make Fry more angry or furious. But he was enraged. He thought something would take over him, to bust out of that air conditioning vent and kill him with his bare hands. He thought that his angry side would take over, and make Zapp take back those words. And he also thought that somehow, someway, there would be someone inside of him that was so stronger than Zapp to answer his wish to kill this man...

... And someone did.

Fry threw himself out of that vent and tackled Zapp with all of his fury. He knocked him off of the stirring wheel and onto the floor, where he began punching him on the most uncontrollable force he has ever found inside.

"Fry!" he heard Leela scream.

He saw her climb out of the vent and stare at this moment like she did before. What should she do? What could she do? She was weak after the rape, and it also seemed that Fry was winning.

"You think that you have the strength and dignity to kill me?" Zapp asked him angrily.
"I don't think, bastard. I know." Fry said as he punched him again. "No one calls my girlfriend trash."
"I think I just did." Zapp said as he fought back.

Fry then spotted something shiny on Zapp's belt strap. It was the knife. He quickly pulled it from his belt when he wasn't looking.

"You know you can't have her. Because you know that you'll never get that bitch-" Zapp said.

Until finally, Zapp fell to the floor. A red spot was covering his chest, which both Fry and Leela knew was blood. Leela looked up at Fry with a terrified look. Fry had the knife in his hand, which was drenched in Zapp's blood.

Fry had killed Zapp Brannigan.

"Fry..." Leela whispered.

Fry threw the knife aside while watching Leela walk to him. He was on his knees, until Leela kneeled down in front of him. She took his shaking hands in hers with longing confusion in her eye.

"I had no choice... He... He called you trash, and bitch... He raped you... That only made it worse." Fry said.
"Fry, calm down. You didn't mean to do it. You were forced inside of you." Leela said.
"But... But-" Fry panicked.
"Shh. It's okay..." Leela said as she hugged him. "He deserved to die. He was going to destroy our planet. And he was about to kill our baby."

"... I love you so much, Leela. I couldn't bear to hear you scream when I was unconscious. I was a fool when I didn't get up and try to save you..."

"No, you weren't. You were hurt. He would have killed us both anyway."
"... He wanted to kill... my daughter... That son of a..."

"Easy, easy. Lily's safe, now." Leela said as she moved Fry's hand onto her stomach. "Can you feel her kicking? She's saying I'm okay, Daddy. I'm okay, Daddy."

Fry felt a little calm on the inside. He looked into Leela's beautiful eye and gazed at her. Until he slowly moved his head down and rested his head on her stomach, where he could hear Lily kick. He rested there, feeling and hearing both of his companions, who were family. Leela stroked his hair with her fingers, while repeating to him every word to soothe him.

"It's all right, Fry. It's all right... It's all right... Everything's all right..."

TO BE CONTINUED...