Ollie, DOOM, and TUFF Puppy (c) Butch Hartman

Ivonne, Ava, Terrence, K.O., SteelTusk, and silas (c) Me

Everyone followed Silas down the stairs into D.O.O.M. HQ, each one morbidly silent. When they entered the main chamber, Silas motioned them to stop. They watched as he carefully laid Ivonne down on an old couch. Placing a pillow under her head, he looked at Ollie.

"Do you have any medical supplies here?" He asked.

Ollie nodded. "Oh yes, plenty." Then he muttered off to the side: "We need them all the time."

Silas waved his hand at him as he spoke. "Bring me some bandages and a first aid kit. And bring some clean water as well."

Ollie nodded again and headed off to get the supplies. After making sure Ivonne was situated comfortably, Silas walked up to the others. Clasping his hands behind his back, he lectured them severely. "First let me explain," he explained in a low yet stern voice, "Ivonne was sent here on a special mission to upgrade D.O.O.M.'s computers, which would secretly plant a specially timed "worm" that would be activated once the plan is set into motion."

He glared at Terrence, "You're foolish actions could've jeopardized the mission! Explain yourself!"

Terrence gulped nervously, his confidence completely gone. "I-I was just checking on Ivonne, Sir. I heard she w-was coming here, so I decided to see if she needed any help. I traveled by rooftop and…when I came close to D.O.O.M., I saw her and Ollie arguing and…and I thought…"

"You thought you'd take care of it yourself," Silas finished for him, shaking his head. "We cannot afford to make enemies of D.O.O.M….not yet. You all know that."

Just then Ollie returned with the needed supplies. "Here you are Sir," he said, "Just like you asked."

Silas nodded approvingly. He motioned for Ollie to follow him to the couch. "Good, just set them down here and hand me whatever I ask."

"Right," Ollie replied, setting the supplies down near the couch. Silas pulled up an old footstool next to Ivonne and began to examine the spot where her head was struck. As he asked Ollie to hand him the items needed, he continued his questioning. "Ava, what exactly were you doing here?"

"Ivonne called me on my wrist communicator and told me to hurry over," Ava explained, "She sounded really freaked out."

"And when you got here?"

"I saw Terrence, K.O. and Steeltusk gathered around Ollie. Tusk was holding him down. They looked like they were about to beat him."

Silas eyed Terrence and his friends sternly. The three squirmed under the lion's strong gaze. Terrence knew he had to save their skins…or rather his skin.

"We-we had to hold him down! I mean, look what he did to Ivonne!" He exclaimed pointing accusingly at Ollie.

"Oh, don't start that hogwash again!" Ollie shouted.

"Quiet!" Silas roared. He started to wrap Ivonne's head with the bandage. He then turned to Ollie, "What have you to say about all this?"

Ollie handed him the scissors to cut the bandage as he explained. "Ivonne and I were just talking and got into a bit of an argument. I wasn't trying to hurt her, I swear. I tried to explain that to Terrence, but he wouldn't listen."

"How did Ivonne get like this?" Silas asked gruffly.

Ollie stared sadly at Ivonne. "She was trying to break up the fight. She got in between me and Terrence and got knocked into the pipe."

Silas eyed him up and down. "You're in pretty bad shape yourself."

Ollie cast an angry glare at Terrence. "You could say I was "whipped" into shape," he grumbled. Terrence just gave him a dirty look.

"Hmph," Silas growled, finishing the bandaging, "I'm not sure what to make of all this. The only way to find out is to ask Ivonne her self when she comes to."

************************************************** ******************************************

There wasn't really much to do as everyone waited for Ivonne to regain consciousness. Terrence, K.O., and Steel Tusk sat at the table where D.O.O.M. usually held their meetings, playing paper football. Ava, Ollie, and Silas, sat around Ivonne, watching and waiting. Ollie had a book with him to read but he hardly glanced at it. He was too worried about Ivonne and what they would both do after this whole thing blew over. Ivonne said that now that she had told Ollie everything, she would have to leave Petropolis, less her boss, Ripclaw, find out and do something to her and Ollie. She gave him the disk that would protect D.O.O.M.'s computers from the "worm", so that they at least would have a chance against her boss.

But there were two problems: First, Ivonne leaving wouldn't really solve anything, the plan would still be there. If D.O.O.M. ended up being defeated, then she would've left for nothing. And second, the most important: Ivonne would be gone…maybe forever. Ollie laid his book down and watched her, still unconscious. He thought back to the fight and how devastated he was when he saw her head hit that pipe. After that, he knew he didn't want her out of his life.

"You seem worried," said a deep voice beside him, it was Silas.

Ollie turned to him. "I-I am," he admitted. "Ivonne she..she's a nice girl."

"Hmm," Silas merely replied with a nod. A sudden groan caused everyone to stop what they were doing and focus their attention on the couch. Silas hurried over and examined Ivonne closely.

"She's coming to."

Everyone quickly gathered around the couch, watching anxiously as Ivonne began to stir. She slowly opened her eyes mumbling.

"Uh…wha…where am I…Terrence stop!" Silas held her back as she sat up in a panic.

"Calm down Ivonne, it's alright," he assured her in a surprisingly gentle voice, "You're inside D.O.O.M. headquarters."

Ivonne blinked and held her hand gently to her head. "Ugh, I feel like someone dropped a safe on me. What hap…" She paused as it all came back to her. She glared accusingly at Terrence.

"You pushed me!" She exclaimed in an outrage. Terrence took a step back, knowing that the jig was up.

"I-I was just…" He began weakly, not having any excuse.

"You were just losing your temper!" Ivonne snapped angrily. "I told you what happened, but no, you had to get in the last lick! She stopped and held her head as it began to throb.

Silas placed his hand on her shoulder. "Ivonne, settle down," he said firmly, "You shouldn't excite yourself after such trauma. Rest for a bit, then you can tell me everything." Ivonne was about to comply when she turned and noticed Ollie. She gasped in shock.

"Oh my gosh! Ollie, what happened to you?!"

Ollie looked him self over and discovered just how hard the fight was on him. His face and hands were covered with red welts, cuts, and blisters from the whipping he received from Terrence. His right eye was blood shot and bruised from the strike from Terrence's tail. His suit was dirty, ragged and torn in some spots. In other words, he looked a mess. Ivonne shot a furious look at Terrence.

"You…" she began, but Silas held up his hand.

"That's enough, Ivonne," he said, "Lie down and rest." He turned toward the others. "All of you go into the other room", he ordered, "I'll speak with Ivonne alone."

************************************************** ******************************************

It was quite some time before everyone was allowed back into the main lair. Silas stood with his arms folded while casting a stern eye over all of them. He gave Terrence a piercing glare.

"Terrence," he spoke with a low growl, "I'll see you and your friends out on the roof."

Terrence and K.O. exchanged worried glances and slowly followed Silas up the stairs. Steel Tusk, however, remained behind. He turned to Ivonne.

"Ivonne," he spoke somewhat apologetically, "I'm sorry you got hurt. I was stunned myself to see Terrence shove ya' like that."

Ivonne just nodded at him. SteelTusk then turned to Ollie. "You're a good fighter, Possum, even I gotta admit that. Pretty smart how you tricked Terrence." He jerked his head towards Ivonne, "And you were obviously worried about her… more than he was." He held out a large hand to Ollie.

"You're alright," SteelTusk concluded.

Ollie jerked back in surprise. The last thing he expected after all this was the respect of one of Terrence's friends. He was dumbfounded for a moment, then he reached out and politely shook Steel Tusk's hand.

"Er, thank you, Steel Tusk," he replied, "That's…very decent of you." The hulking elephant nodded in reply, then turned and lumbered away up the stairs. After he left, Ivonne turned to Ollie.

"You must've put up quite a fight for Steel Tusk to say that," she said with a bit of awe, "He always admired some one who could hold their ground in a fight. Guess that's why he thinks so highly of me."

Ollie shrugged, a bit embarrassed by her words, "Well, I don't know if I put up that good of a fight. I mean, just look at me. I really only beat Terrence by outsmarting him."

Ivonne smiled, "You'll have to tell me how you did it, sometime." She sat up normally on the couch and motioned for him to sit next to her, to which Ollie gladly complied. Ivonne opened the first aid kit and began rummaging through it.

"What are you doing?" Ollie asked as she brought out some cotton balls and cleaning medicine.

"I'm going to see to those cuts," she explained as she applied the medicine to one of the cotton balls, "I don't want them to get infected. Hold still."

She began to gently dab the medicine on the red welts and cuts that swarmed Ollie's face. He winced as the medicine stung, but was delighted to be receiving such attention from her. Ava sat on a nearby chair, watching the whole thing.

"So…" she began quietly and seriously, "You told him?"

Ollie and Ivonne both turned to Ava at the same time, then exchanged glances. Ollie nodded. "Yes, I know everything."

Ava looked at one to the other, "So now what?"

Ivonne continued applying the medicine to Ollie's face while talking. "I'm going to leave Petropolis," she stated resolutely.

"WHAT!?" Ava exclaimed, then quickly lowered her voice, "Ivonne are you crazy?!"

"Exactly!" Ollie replied.

Ivonne looked at them both determinedly. "It's for the best," she said calmy, "Look you guys, if Ripclaw finds out that I told everything, he'll not only go after me, he'll after you two also: Ava, for knowing about all this, and Ollie for knowing about the plan. I don't want you both hurt because of me. When I get home, I'm packing up and leaving."

Ava and Ollie exchanged worried glances. Then Ollie spoke. "I was thinking about what you said while you were knocked out Ivonne, and I'm afraid there are a few flaws with your plan."

Ivonne stopped applying the medicine and stared at him stubbornly. "Like what?"

He sighed, "Well, you leaving may keep your boss from finding out about this, but that won't do anything to stop the plan. Even if you did give us the protection against the "worm," there's no guarantee that my D.O.O.M. chums and I will make it out alright."

Ivonne made no reply. Ollie continued, "And besides, won't you leaving all of a sudden only make Ripclaw suspicious?"

Ivonne rubbed her shoulder hesitantly. "Well, maybe," she admitted. She slumped down in the couch and sighed in defeat. "Okay, maybe I didn't think this all the way through. I…I was afraid… for me and you both."

Ollie looked at her sympathetically. "I know," he said gently, "You were only trying to do what you thought was best for all of us." He fiddled with his hands timidly. "Well…even if you were still going through with it, you'd still be overlooking the most important detail."

Ivonne looked at him curiously, "What's that?"

He smiled at her tenderly. "There was no way I was going to let you out of my life," he said softly.

Ivonne's eyes softened at his statement. Ollie continued. "Ivonne, when I saw you hit that pipe, I felt like the whole world collapsed under me. I realized at that moment that I didn't want to lose you. After we've come this far, I'd be crazy to let that happen."

Ivonne blushed lightly at his confession. Flustered, she picked up the cotton balls and medicine. "I-I better have a look at your hands." She took one of his hands and began to dab the medicine on it. When she looked up, she noticed Ollie still smiling at her. She shyly smiled back at him and gave a small laugh. "Hard to believe at one time I couldn't stand you. I mean, I practically hated your guts. I thought this partnership was going to be a total nightmare. I…"

"Um, I think I get it, Ivonne," Ollie interrupted.

Ivonne smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, it's just that, it's so different now." She leaned forward and rubbed her nose against his- a nose nuzzle. "Very different," she added softly. Ollie blushed to the tip of his nose and gave a silly grin. Ivonne smiled at him coyly. They started to lean towards each other, about to kiss. They then heard a happy sigh besides them. They turned and saw Ava watching them with a gleefully satisfied look on her face.

She waved her hand at them. "Don't mind me."

Embarrassed, Ollie and Ivonne immediately sat back up. "Aw, come on!" Ava exclaimed in disappointment, "I won't tell!"

Ivonne just rolled her eyes as she continued to attend to Ollie's hands. "We'll have to figure out something," she mentioned seriously to him.

"Yes, I suppose so," replied a voice from behind them. Everyone turned around and saw Silas standing at the room entrance. Ollie, Ivonne, and Ava were all petrified with fear. The expression on Silas' face immediately revealed that he had heard everything.

Ivonne stared at him in horror. "Silas! I…It's not what you think! I…"

Silas silenced her with a raise of his hand, "There's no use lying to me, Ivonne, I heard everything. I sent Terrence and his friends back to headquarters and told them that I'd deal with them later. I had just come down the stairs when I heard you talking." He held up something in his claws. It was the two pieces of the "upgrade" disk that Ivonne had broken. "Well, that explains what this was doing on the roof."

The three friends could only look at one another in devastation. Silas turned his attention to Ollie. "So…Ollie," he spoke, narrowing his eyes, "You know about everything then? The plan? The real reason for the upgrades?"

Ollie knew it would be useless to lie to the intuitive lion. He bravely, though shakily, stood up and looked Silas in the eye. "Yes," he tried answering as calmly as he could.

Silas took a step towards him. "You realize, of course, what must happen now?"

Ollie moved protectively closer to Ivonne. "I have a hunch," he responded.

Silas came closer to them. "You'll both have to come to headquarters with me."

"Silas…" Ivonne began pleadingly, but Ollie interrupted her.

"Ivonne's not going back to that place…or to that…that boss of yours."

Silas continued to slowly approach them. Ava ran forward to stop him. "Silas, please, don't!" She cried.

Silas, firmly pushed her aside, "You'll have to come back with me as well, Ava!" He growled. He looked back at Ollie, who was standing defensively in front of Ivonne. Silas smiled grimly. "So, you'd really try to protect her from me? You'd actually fight me?"

Ollie took up a fighting position, though it was clear he was nervous. "I f-fought Terrence, I c-can fight you."

"Ollie, no!" Ivonne cried. Ollie glanced back at her.

"You and Ava get ready to run," he whispered.

Ivonne shook her head, "I can fight him too."

"Not with your head still hurt," Ollie replied, "Don't worry about me."

A sudden roar brought them both to attention. Ollie turned just in time to see Silas spring right at him. Without thinking, Ollie ran straight at the mighty lion. They both collided and began to wrestle on the ground. It was soon clear though, that Silas had the upper hand. Ollie was still weak from the previous fight with Terrence, not to mention that Silas was many times stronger than him and had experience on his side.

"Run!" Ollie shouted at Ivonne and Ava, while trying to hold Silas off. Ivonne watched in horror at the brutal match. Her horror soon turned to determination. No. She wasn't going to run. Ollie needed her…and she needed him. She charged straight at the fighting pair, leaped onto Silas, and began to beat at him.

"Let him go!" She screamed, trying to get him in a choke hold. Silas grunted and struggled to get her off. He finally got a good grip and managed to toss her off onto the floor. Ivonne dizzily shook her head and turned to Ava who was trying to help her up.

"Ava, your blaster!" She cried. Ava quickly drew it and aimed, but it was futile.

"I can't get a lock on!" She exclaimed, "I can't risk hitting Ollie!" Suddenly, the struggle stopped as Silas had Ollie pinned to the ground. Holding Ollie down with one hand, he raised the other, bearing his sharp claws. He stared Ollie down, exposing his sharp teeth.

"So, you really would go this far for Ivonne…even at the price of your life?" He snarled.

Ollie stared at him defiantly. "Gladly," he growled.

Silas made ready to strike. Ollie braced him self. This was it. He closed his eyes, expecting to feel the long claws slice through his neck. Nothing happened. Ollie opened his eyes and risked a glance. To his complete shock…Silas was smiling. Not an evil grin, but a genuine, satisfied smile. He lowered his hand and nodded approvingly. "Well done, Ollie."

Ollie was dumbfounded as Silas casually stood up and brushed himself off. The opossum glanced over at Ivonne and Ava who were clearly just as stunned as he was. Silas extended his hand out to Ollie. "It seems you are on the level," he remarked.

Ollie slowly sat up, still wary of the lion. "On the level? Hold on, what's going on here?! First you try to kill me and now you're acting as if nothing happened!"

Silas nodded understandingly, "I'm sorry I had to be so rough, but I had to make sure you could be trusted. I'll explain everything."

Ollie was still doubtful, but he offered his hand to Silas and allowed him to help him up. Silas turned to the two girls, "Ava, Ivonne, forgive me, I couldn't take any risks with this."

Ava and Ivonne exchanged confused glances. "Take risks with what? Ivonne asked, "Silas what on earth is going on?"

Silas shushed her and looked around. "Sit down and I'll explain everything," he said in a low voice. He turned to Ollie, "Does Snaptrap keep this place video monitored?"

Ollie shook his head, "Um, no, though we have suggested it…hundreds of times."

"Good," Silas replied, as he ushered everyone to the couch. He waited for them to be seated then spoke.

"I know you all must think I've gone mad. I assure you I had my reasons for this." He turned to Ivonne. "Actually, Ivonne, for a while I suspected that you had feelings for Ollie."

Ivonne jerked back in surprise. "You…you did?"

He nodded. "I noticed a few changes with you. You seemed happier, a little more relaxed, lighthearted, different from your usual attitude. Of course, that wasn't enough to confirm anything. It wasn't until I heard you and Ava talking in that storage facility, that I was certain. Yes, I heard you both talking. I wanted to confront it with you tonight, after you got home from your assignment, but, of course, it didn't quite work out that way." He clasped his hands behind his back and continued, "Then I overheard you three talking about the plan, and I knew that you had told Ollie about it. Well, seeing as he already knew, I had no choice but to test him."

"Test me?" Ollie interrupted, "What on earth for?"

Silas shrugged, "To see if you truly meant what you said to Ivonne, about not wanting to lose her, to see if you really did care for her. That's why I acted the way I did. I'm sorry if I was a bit rough, but I had to make it look convincing."

Ivonne spoke, "But Silas, why would you care about any of that?"

Silas looked at her and Ava seriously, "Because Ollie here might be your chance of you both leaving Ripclaw and his organization."

"WHAT?!" All three exclaimed at once.

Silas motioned for them to be quiet. He then took a seat in an armchair and eyed each of them. "There's something you should know about the plan," he said in a grave voice, "It's not what you think. Yes, Ripclaw will send out a "worm", yes it will put a stop to everything, and yes, he will turn on D.O.O.M. and try to destroy it and T.U.F.F. But there's one thing he's kept hidden from us, and by "us" I mean those who work for him." He leaned forward in his chair. "At some point during the execution of the plan," he said in a whisper, "Ripclaw is going to turn on his own agents. He's going to double-cross us all."

"What?!" Ivonne cried, "Silas, you can't be serious!"

Silas nodded gravely, "I'm very serious, Ivonne. Everyone will be betrayed, me, you, Ava, even Terrence and his friends. No one will be an exception. All this stuff about 'us' taking over. There's no 'us,' there never was…only Ripclaw."

Ivonne and Ava were at a loss for words. Ava shook her head in disbelief, "But…But that's impossible! How's he gonna accomplish all that by himself?"

Silas leaned back in his chair, "Ah, but that's the thing. He won't be by himself…in a sense."

He took a small, phone sized computer out of his pocket. Searching through its images, he presented it to the three friends. On it was a display of some schematic sketches and notes for a machine. "Do you know what this is?" He asked.

Ollie squinted at the picture. "Huh, that almost looks like the cloning machine that T.U.F.F. once had," he remarked.

"Exactly," Silas replied. "The original device was destroyed after that "Rat Pack" incident with Snaptrap, as were the schematics. But Ripclaw somehow managed to salvage a few key internal pieces of the machine. Since then he, along with his top scientists, have worked aimlessly to extract information from those pieces and experiment with recreating the cloning device. From what I've heard, There's a chance they may actually succeed."

He retuned the device to his pocket, "And if they do, Ripclaw will then clone himself. Not ten clones or even a hundred…thousands! That's how he'll beat us, by turning those clones loose on us and all of Petropolis. That way he, and he alone would rule, while his clones would enforce his authority. Ripclaw alone would be hard to beat…but to have to face a thousand of him…"

He leaned back tiredly in his chair with a fateful sigh, "It doesn't even bear thinking about."

Everyone was stone silent at this morbid news. The plan…it was merely a cover up for an even more sinister plan. Ava and Ivonne were in total shock at this turn of events. Ollie slumped into the couch in utter disbelief. How much more surprises could one bloke take? He looked wearily at Silas. "How did you come to know all this?"

"One of Ripclaw's scientists told me," he explained, "Once I confirmed it was true, I began to plan myself. Then secretly and very, very carefully, I told other agents…only those I knew I could trust."

He settled more comfortably in his chair. "You see, not everyone wanted to be in that organization. There are a lot, like Ivonne and Ava, who were forced into it, even some of the scientists who work for Ripclaw, like the one who gave me this information. Myself? Ah, that's a long story. Anyways, they would be glad to bring Ripclaw down. Many were just as enraged as I am when they heard of this betrayal. To be forced to work for this creature and then be tossed aside. We've formed a sort of secret alliance against Ripclaw, gathering information, trying to figure out a way to stop him. That one scientist, and maybe one or two more of them who are with us, are trying to stall for now. But they can't keep it up forever and we can't do it by ourselves. We'll need help, that's why I had to test you, Ollie."

Ollie became alert as Silas explained, "Actually, I was a bit glad to hear that you and Ivonne felt for each other. You always seemed to be the most sensible of the D.O.O.M. agents; I figured it might make things easier for me."

"What do you mean?" Ollie asked.

"I wanted to, in time, to see if D.O.O.M. would help us," Silas answered, "You see, Ollie, we need all the help we can get even from a…pitiful organization such as D.O.O.M., no offense. There are actually some agents of ours who wouldn't believe that Ripclaw would betray us, and would try to stop us. Every little bit of help could end up being a great help. If push comes to shove, we may even have to resort to ask T.U.F.F. So you can see just how serious this is. But I still had to be sure of you, and that's why I had to put on that fight. I had to see how far you would go to protect Ivonne. I know now that I can count on you to eventually help get her and Ava out of that place."

He looked at Ava and Ivonne with a stern kindness. "I've always been a bit of a loner, and never had nor really wanted any children of my own. But, you two are probably the closest things to daughters that I'll ever have. I don't want either of you to get hurt."

Ava and Ivonne smiled fondly at Silas. He then turned to Ollie, "Can I count on you, Ollie?"

Ollie stared at Silas. He understood the seriousness of this whole situation. He looked at Ava and then Ivonne. The female opossum looked back at him expectantly. This just may be the answer to their problem. It was risky, but perhaps, with Silas on their side, Ivonne would be safe. He nodded resolutely.

"I'm in," he answered. The smile Ivonne gave him melted his heart.

"Excellent," Silas replied with a smile, "However, you mustn't say a word about this to Snaptrap or the other D.O.O.M. agents…not until we are absolutely sure it's alright and I say so."

Ollie scratched his head, "Snaptrap I understand, but not even Larry or Francisco?" Silas shook his head, "I'm afraid not, we can't risk it."

Ollie sighed, "I understand. So what do we do now?"

Silas smiled, "Actually, that's another thing I must speak to all of you about. I'm going to announce this at headquarters tomorrow. Ripclaw told me it's time to further advance our "partnership" with D.O.O.M. For now, our agents have just been working under the guise of "freelance henchman." But soon, we will send some of our agents over here to become "official" D.O.O.M. agents. The boss said it's a sort of "gift" for D.O.O.M., at least that's what he wants Snaptrap to believe. When the plan is set into motion, these agents are supposed to turn on D.O.O.M."

Ava raised an eye skeptically, "And how is that suppose to help us?"

Silas gave a sneaky grin, "Well, while Ripclaw told me certain specific agents that he wanted to join D.O.O.M., he gave me the job of choosing the rest. You see, he's always trusted my judgment, and that fact alone has been a great help for the resistance."

The three brightened up at this statement. Silas' smile grew wider, "So, many of the ones I'll be sending are those who are on the resistance team. And that includes you two." He looked at Ava and Ivonne as he finished the last sentence.

"Really?!" Both girls replied. Silas chuckled at their enthusiasm. "You'll be seeing Ollie a lot more now, Ivonne, and I'm certain the boss won't mind you being friendly with him. After all, he did want you to 'charm' him." He said the last remark with a sly wink. Ollie and Ivonne looked at each other with pure happiness.

"One thing though," Silas warned, "You won't know who's on the resistance team, and it's best if it stays that way for awhile. Don't try to find anything out, just act as if you know nothing for ?"

The three friends nodded, then Ava spoke, "What about Ripclaw? Does he suspect anything?"

"Not for the moment," Silas replied, "That's one good thing about that cloning machine he's working on. He's starting to become very focused on it. In fact, he's starting to let me handle most of the things for the plan. I suppose that's the advantage for working here so long. Still, we should be cautious." He glanced at his watch. "It's getting late. I'll explain more tomorrow, and keep you three updated as things progress. Ava, Ivonne, you two should head for your homes. Ivonne, I don't like the idea of you driving yourself home with that head injury. I'll drive you there myself, if that's alright."

"Sure," she replied.

Silas turned to Ollie. "You can download the protection to D.O.O.M's computers. It's a simple process, shouldn't be too hard to do."

Ollie nodded gratefully. Ivonne walked up to Silas and gave him a hug. "Silas, thank you," she said gratefully.

Silas stiffened up at first, then very slowly returned the hug. "Alright, alright, let's not get too sentimental. I have an image to maintain." Ivonne giggled then turned to Ollie. She gave him a warm, loving smile which made his stomach flip flop.

Silas noticed the look that passed between them and cleared his throat. "Ahem! Well, I suppose I should let you two say goodbye. Ava, come along."

"Aw, but…"

"Avaaa…"

"I'm comin', I'm comin'."

Ivonne and Ollie watched Ava and Silas leave, then looked at each other. For a moment, neither knew what to say. Ollie rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"So, um, I guess you're now an official D.O.O.M. agent, huh?"

Ivonne glanced shyly at the ground. "I suppose so," she said quietly.

Ollie shuffled his feet. "So…what now?"

Ivonne thought a moment. "Well, to celebrate my joining, how about a small picnic lunch in the park for two this weekend?" She smiled flirtatiously at him, "Just you and me."

Ollie gave a sheepish grin, "I…I'd like that," he said shyly. He began to rub his arm, trying to think of what else to say. "W-What about Terrence?"

"We can handle him," Ivonne replied, "Don't worry." She straightened the lapels on his suit. "And for the record, there's nothing between him and me, there never was. It was you. It was always you."

Ollie's smile grew even wider at that statement as his heart leaped for joy. He chuckled. "This was…this was some Valentine's Day, wasn't it? Oh! That reminds me!"

Ivonne watched curiously as Ollie reached into his suit. Her eyes widened as he drew out the same long stemmed red rose that he had given to her at the park earlier and presented it to her.

"Happy Valentine's Day," he said with a shy grin. Ivonne gently took it from his hand. It was a little beaten from the fighting, but still lovely. She smiled as she stroked its petals.

"Oh,Ollie…"

"I-I'm afraid it's a little ragged now," Ollie remarked apologetically, "I can get you another one if…"

Ollie got no further. Ivonne had grabbed him by his suit lapels and was now giving him a great big passionate kiss. The kiss she had been wanting to give him for a long time. Ollie's face turned bright red…his head was in a whirl. After a few more seconds Ivonne released him, a radiant smile on her face. Ollie wobbled a bit, completely dazed from the unexpected kiss. A goofy, love struck expression formed on his face.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Ollie," Ivonne cooed softly.

Ollie blinked happily and started to fall backward. "Brilliant," he sighed before completely passing out in pure bliss.

Ivonne giggled and gazed at the rose in her hands. Valentine's Day: a day of romance and love. It was because of this day that she was so miserable earlier. Yet, because of what happened, she had finally admitted her feelings for Ollie, and he admitted his feelings for her. And now, it was possible for them to be together. Yes, there was the detail of Ripclaw's betrayal, and no doubt Terrence would still be giving them a hard time, but strangely, it didn't seem to worry her so much now. With friends like Silas and Ava on her side, and Ollie right beside her, they just might succeed. She had an optimistic feeling that things were going to turn out alright. She sighed contentedly as she sniffed the ruby red rose.

I love Valentine's Day.

THE END

Yay, a happy ending!^^ Ollie and Ivonne really lucked out there didn't they? Yeah, the whole thing about Ripclaw's betrayal is a bummer, but at least they can be together now.

Didn't see that twist with Silas coming did ya?;)

So that concludes this story. I hoped you guys liked it. My next one will actually be a major one about Snaptrap and his siblings: Matt and Pat. It was inspired by the "Rat Trap" episode. Be on the lookout for it!