Beyond Grim And Evil Installment 2: Return To Bunny Island

Beyond Grim And Evil: Return To Bunny Island

(A/N: Third up today. Early thank you to any reviewers who review this story. If this part seems a little off, sorry, but this chapter was actually meant to be a oneshot to test the waters of GAoBaM/Grim and Evil fanfiction. Of course that was forgotten when I realized I could probably do more with it, and if I did more I'd need more of the background leading up to the event. The chapter has greatly extended from the original oneshot. Wish I'd tested the waters first, though.)

Loss

When you love someone, your first instinct is to look up, when they step away, to see if they're still there-Agent David Rossi, Criminal Minds.

Bang! She froze, mouth falling open as she watched. Never before had she ever thought she could feel like this for him. Hector, maybe, but him? Yet here she was, feeling it, whatever it was. He'd done it. He'd taken the laser for Hector and Boskov. For her… He hadn't let her go through with it.

He cried out in pain, rolling to a stop, sprawled over the decorative low steps. His head hung over one, along with an arm. Her heart had stopped in that moment, especially knowing that she had prompted him to.

"Skarr?" Hector asked, shocked. This was the man who only recently, when they found him in Endsville, had complained about that order, vowing never to do it again. He wasn't sure, but he was fairly confident Skarr had already lost an eye to those words, or some other such incident in which he was the scapegoat. He seemed to recall Skarr running with scissors, laser mishap, then losing it. He never thought his General would do it again.

Ghastly ran up to Hector, but asked the other, "General, are you alright?"

"Oh-just-peachy!" the General spat out angrily. "It's a flesh wound, Major Ghastly, that's all." Yet, he never turned to them, nor moved. They should have known.

BGaE

He opened his hands, which he had clenched over his stomach, and though the others couldn't see, he became fearful, shaking a moment before recovering. They were covered. He tasted blood in his mouth. He felt it leaking from his lips and nose. A flesh wound. Hah! He knew otherwise. The moment it hit him, he'd known. After all this time, all the escapes… He'd been sliced to pieces before, had his flesh ripped off, been torn into by saws and spikes, been shot multiple times, electrocuted, a great multitude of other things; every one of the occurrences should have killed him. They didn't. He was too stubborn for that, too powerful, he'd calculated it just right, or been plain lucky. But this…?

He'd done something wrong this time; miscalculated. This wasn't like the other times; oh no. Mortal. A less severe injury than many of his others, yet this was the mortal wound; the death blow. It terrified him to no end. He was dying. He couldn't recover from this. He couldn't escape the reaper again, as he had once before! All at once, though, a startling revelation came to him. He supposed things like this happened before you died. A question. Did he even have a reason to fight for life besides his own stubbornness? It took him less than a second to determine he didn't.

He heard Ghastly and Hector boasting over the escape, the victory, for the trio of children had run, leaving the plans behind, then the imminent defeat if they didn't leave soon. The 'love birds'- and he scoffed to think that- barely touched on him, if at all. Did they even realize he wasn't standing next to them? Just then an explosion rang through the base, shaking it. He cringed in pain and shivered, swallowing painfully.

BGaE

Ghastly, Hector, and Boskov looked up in terror, and around. Almost immediately, they spotted a timer, ticking down the moments left. "They activated the self-destruct!" Hector said.

"Chief, we have to go!" Ghastly exclaimed.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Hector replied. "Boskov, Ghastly, Skarr, come on!" with that, Boskov bolted with a cry of fear, Ghastly right behind. Skarr would follow immediately, like always. Why then, just before they raced out the door, did she look back?

When you cared for someone… no, loved- hey, he was her friend, and she loved him as such, didn't she- your first instinct was to look up, when they stepped away, to see if they were still there… He wasn't. She slid to a halt, asking, "Skarr?"

He heard her. He didn't move, for to move would mean more pain. He just closed his eyes, quietly giving a pained moan, hoping they wouldn't come back. He didn't want to be seen like this. It was then, though, that he coughed. Coughed like a dying man; drowning, choking, on his own blood. Ghastly tensed up instantly.

"Ghastly, come on," Hector prompted, stopping at the exit to wait for her.

"Hold on. General Skarr hasn't moved. He might be hurt," she protested, running back.

Hector looked to the clock in fear, then groaned and went halfway back, assuring, "He'll be fine. He always is. He's had worse than that."

"I'm not so sure chief," Ghastly replied, coming up behind Skarr, wanting to be convinced.

He knew she was about to investigate. Quickly, though, he said, trying to divert her, "Oh just go on already. I'll catch up in a minute."

"That's about all we have," Hector worriedly remarked, looking tensely at the clock that was counting down the moments left until they all went boom!

BGaE

She noticed when he never moved. Not even to look at her when speaking. Oh how she noticed. She sensed, no, knew, something was undoubtedly wrong now. Worried, she moved around to the front, kneeling next to him. There she saw the pool of blood. She gasped, pulling back. "I told you, flesh wound," Skarr insisted.

She seized his hands like lighting, saying, "Like Hades!" She tried to pry them away from his abdomen.

Skarr fought to keep them in place, saying, "Ghastly, please, this is hardly the time for intimacy!" He couldn't fight long, however, and he knew it. He felt so weak. He'd lost too much blood. It was nothing short of a miracle that he'd held his hands in place this long. In seconds she pried them away. On seeing, however, she screamed, covering her mouth.

"Ghastly, what's wrong?" Hector demanded, instantly alert. It was rare she reacted like this to something. This was comparable to when the General had lost his eye, and he knew it had to be bad.

Shaking, she stammered, "Ch-chief, the G-General… He-he's hurt, bad."

Confused, Con Carne asked, "So? He's been hurt before, Doctor. General Skarr, quit being a baby. Get up."

"Hector, he can't!" Ghastly exclaimed, tone fearful.

She prepared to roll him onto his back, despite Skarr ordering, "Major, release me instantly!"

"No way General," she retorted, rolling him onto his back. Boskov gasped. Hector blinked, shocked.

"Skarr…" Stomach said in disbelief.

Just then another explosion was heard, closer this time. Time was ticking. Hector looked around, then to Ghastly, saying, "Doctor Ghastly, we must go now! Get Skarr and come!"

"Up you go General," she said, trying to help him up. He cried out in pain and swiftly slipped away, falling onto his back, panting. She was surprised at his action. "Skarr, come on," she prompted, reaching to him.

He slapped her hand away, ordering, "Stop it, Ghastly, just stop. Get out of here with Con Carne, now. I told you, I'll catch up."

"Not in this condition you won't!" she retorted. "Let me help you," she pled, reaching for him again. Scowling, he drew his rapier. She pulled away with a gasp.

BGaE

Icily he ordered, "No. It hurts…It hurts so badly," She blinked at him, shocked. His voice was filled with pain. She could only imagine how much. Suddenly her eyes were burning with tears, threatening to fall. She was losing one of her closest friends, err, co-workers. He replaced the rapier.

"Come on General. How can we make Hector love me if you're gone? This is your chance to beat him at something. We have to get you out of here," she said in a meek and fearful voice, confused at the General's actions, and hurt. Normally, he'd be begging them to save him.

"Oh, I wish you could, Major Doctor," the General declared through teeth gritted in pain, in a tone she'd rarely ever heard. Defeat. Surrender. Oh Skarr…

"We can," she insisted, tears coming from her eyes slowly.

He saw it. To say he was surprised would be downplaying. However, he soon ignored, solemnly stating, "Not this time, Ghastly." She blinked, shocked, then looked at the wound. Her lip quivered. He was right. The injury wasn't one he could recover from. Not without the hand of the gods themselves reaching out to him. But which one would waste their breath? She covered her mouth, shaking her head. Boskov and Hector looked confused, sad, and unsure what was happening.

"But…" she began.

"Stop, please, just let me go," Skarr ordered gravely.

"No. I can't," she tried to protest.

He shook his head coldly. "You have to," he said. Then his eyes closed, and his head sank back. He lay still.

BGaE

"General?" she asked urgently. No response. "General Skarr!" she cried, more desperately. He was still alive, she knew he was, she could feel it! They had to get him out!

A red alert and siren suddenly blared. She gasped. Hector quickly looked at the clock above the main explosive. He cried out in terror. Fifteen seconds! "Ghastly, hurry!" he exclaimed.

"Boskov, come get the General!" she called.

Boskov was about to listen, when Hector stated gravely, regretfully, "There is no time Boskov." Never in his life had he had to make such a decision as this. Never had he been in such a position. His General still lived, though barely, and to leave him behind… He felt like a traitor, but he knew what was best, what had to be done. "Grab Ghastly and run!"

The bear obeyed, racing to Ghastly and grabbing her, running off. "Wait, we can't leave him!" she exclaimed, trying to pull away. Hector closed his eyes, forcing himself to tune out the pleading woman. She struggled.

Hector, however, instantly realized that they'd never make it with her struggling. He took control of the bear, scooping her up and running. She surrendered, burying her face in Boskov's fur, crying. Hector felt the threatening moisture pricking his own eyes as well. No, he couldn't cry. Crying was for babies. Wasn't it? They saw the doom ship out a window. Five seconds! Desperately Boskov crashed through the glass, leaping for the getaway ship. No sooner had they landed, and desperately started it heading away from the base, then the explosion came, obliterating the area! Evil Con Carne gaped back at it, shocked. Soon enough, even the echo died, and only their ship was heard.

BGaE

"No…" Hector said in shock.

Snapping out of her astonishment, Ghastly exclaimed, "Quick Hector, go back! Maybe some part of him survived! Maybe we can save him like we did you!" She noticed instantly, though, that both he and Boskov were staring sadly at her. "What?" she asked.

"Doctor Ghastly, you know that can't be. Even I know. He was too close to the center of the explosion. He would have been obliterated…" Hector gently explained. "And even… even if part of him survived, do you honestly think he would want to live like that, like me? He wouldn't be able to do it, you know he would sooner die."

Ghastly blinked at him. The truth of his words hit her like a ton of bricks. All at once she burst into tears, covering her face. "No! General," she wept.

Hector cringed at the mention of his General's fate. He felt the pricking moisture again. No. He had to be strong, for her and Boskov. Gently he soothed, "There, there, Ghastly. He's better off." Boskov caught onto the woman's sadness, sniffed, then burst into tears, along with Stomach, hitting the ground and pounding it. Hector fought for control, and finally managed to stand up once more.

The doctor saw Hector's brain finally crying, though silently. He'd never admit to it afterwards, she knew. He honestly wasn't even friends with Skarr. It was just everything they'd been through. Then it hit her. Hector had paid attention to her. He'd saved her life. He was trying to be strong for her. Hector liked her. The plan had worked. At what cost, though? General Skarr was dead. He'd died for her, and for Hector. How could she feel grateful or happy when he wasn't there to celebrate their victory over Hector with her?

BGaE

Ghastly sat on a crate, legs curled under her looking down. Boskov, with Hector, leaned on the railing of the ship, gazing out over the ocean as they neared Bunny Island. Suddenly, without looking up, Ghastly asked, "Chief, why do you think Skarr ordered us to leave him behind? I'd have thought he'd want to take us down with him."

Hector Con Carne was silent a moment. Finally, though, he replied, "I don't know. He's tried so many times to get rid of me before, so I don't understand why he wouldn't try now…" He trailed off, thinking.

"Hector," she said, pulling him back.

He continued, "From what I know of Skarr, there is only one reason I can think of that he would do such a thing as this."

"What?" she wondered.

He looked at her a moment, then answered, "Glory." She cocked her head, listening; now intrigued. He continued, "Glory is the key. Sure, he could have taken us with him, but if he had, who would remember? Glory, Ghastly, glory; and will I give him glory. His name will be showered with it. He gave his life for me." He heard a sniff and looked to her. She was crying. Hector watched her, then sighed, sitting next to her. Solemnly he said, "If nothing else, Skarr knew the difference between a flesh wound and a coup de gras, the death blow. A mortal wound. The General would have known instantly, whether he would live or die. He would have had time to accept it. He wouldn't even ask for help, if he knew it couldn't be helped. Why prolong suffering and pain?"

Meekly she wondered, "How painful do you think it was?"

He was quiet. Soon, though, he answered, "If we start thinking of how he suffered in his last moments, we'll never let go."

"I don't want to let go," she replied in a whisper.

"Time heals all wounds, so I'm told. I've heard Skarr say it enough," Hector assured.

She sniffed then hugged him, finally sobbing, "Oh Skarr!" Hector could do nothing but hold his distressed friend back.