HUZZAH! THE FINAL CHAPTER!
Chapter 24: "Home Sweet Acmetropolis"
The next day, the Loonatics were preparing to leave Acme West and head home. Ace walked to Thunder's stall and patted the steel gray stallion. "Well, buddy, it's been great, but I've gotta go home now." Thunder nodded his head up and down as if to say, 'Okay, bye!'
Lexi hugged Ghost's neck. "Bye, girl, I'll miss you."
Rev held out a carrot for Rusty. "Bye Rusty. Be good." Rusty munched the carrot happily.
Tech scratched Lucky's forehead. "Bye, Lucky." Lucky drew his long, pink tongue all over Tech's face. Tech wiped his face off with his shirt sleeve. "Yeah, I'll miss you, too."
"Bye bye Red." Slam grumbled to the Clydesdale. Red rubbed his head against Slam's side. Slam smiled.
"Bye, Phantom." Cassidy hugged the golden mare's neck. "And thank you for helping me." Phantom gave her a horsie hug.
Duck knelt down in front of Shadow. "Well, it's time for me to go, buddy." Shadow grabbed Duck's shirt in his teeth. "I'm sorry, but I have to go home now." Still, Shadow would not let go of his shirt. Duck got an idea. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a Danger Duck plushie. "I was going to give this to an adoring fan, but I think you might want it more." Shadow sniffed it curiously, then grabbed it in his teeth. He pawed around in his stall and then set the Duck plushie down.
"Aww... He really likes it." Lexi commented.
"Well, Duck, it looks like you really do have a fan." Ace said.
"Suprisingly..." Tech whispered to Cassidy. Cassidy giggled.
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Rachelle looked up at Rev. "Goodbye, Rev. I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you, too." Rev said in an unusually slow tone. Rachelle reached up and kissed him. When she pulled away from him, Rev was silent.
"Hey, why don't you come back to Acmetropolis with us?" Ace suggested. The others nodded in agreement.
"Thank you for the offer, Ace, but I am afraid I cannot."
Rev's face fell. "Why not"
"I must return to Acme London, where most of my family lives. I have a very important job there. I'm one of the few of us able to keep a job, I must return home and help my family."
"I understand." Rev hugged her.
"Don't worry, maybe one day I will visit you in Acmetropolis." Rachelle turned around and walked towards her car. "Goodbye." She called out.
"Bye!" The Loonatics called back.
Tech glanced at Rev. He looked very upset. Tech set his hand on Rev's shoulder. Just then, Mr. Boswell walked up to them. "I would like to thank you all for visiting. I hope you enjoyed your stay."
"Yeah, we did." They all replied.
"Duck, Lexi, Cassidy, I would like to thank you especially for helping with Shadow, Ghost, and Phantom. Thanks to you three, Shadow is happy and healthy, Ghost is able to reach her potential, and Phantom is no longer scared of riding arenas."
"You're welcome." Lexi replied. Cassidy just blushed.
"You're welcome, I'm just glad that the little guy's gonna be okay." Duck replied.
"Well, I hope you can come and visit again. You are always welcome here. Goodbye." Mr. Boswell turned and went to say goodbye to some of the other guests.
A few minutes later, the Loonatics were all packed into their car and were headed home. Tech and Cassidy glanced at each other. "Three... Two... One..."
"Are we there yet?"
"Rev..." Ace, Lexi, Duck and Slam sighed. Tech and Cassidy laughed.
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"Ah.. Loonatics, welcome back. It's great to see you all again." Zadavia walked up to them as the Loonatics entered HQ.
"It's great to be back." Lexi replied, setting her bag down.
"Agreed." Ace nodded. "Did we miss anything?"
"There were a few minor things, but I was able to handle it. I trust that you all had a relaxing vacation?"
"Yeah. It was great."
"Research shows that equine therapy is one of the most effective and popular therapies known." Tech said. Cassidy nodded in agreement.
"Equine?" Duck repeated, confused.
"Horse." Cassidy explained.
The Loonatics spent the next half and hour briefly telling Zadavia about their adventures. When they had finished, Lexi and Ace exchanged looks. 'Should we tell them?'
'Yes, we should.'
Ace cleared his throat. "Well... Lexi and I have something to tell you..." All of them paid close attention as Ace and Lexi told them what had happened between them.
At first, Zadavia just stared at them blankly, but her expression softened, then went serious. "I cannot control your feelings for each other, but I hope that you will not allow them to affect your duties."
"We would never do that." Lexi said, putting her arms around Ace. Ace smiled at her, and Lexi smiled back.
Zadavia's expression softened again. It was clear to see that they were happy together. "Well, then, I have no reason to be against this."
"What do you guys think?" Ace asked.
"As long as you two don't do any of that mushy-gushy stuff around me, I'm fine with it." Duck commented. Everyone else rolled their eyes.
"It's okay with me, I'm happy for you." Tech said.
"I second that!" Cassidy nodded.
"I third it!" Rev shouted.
"Four!" Slam grunted.
Lexi giggled. "Well, I guess that makes it unanimous."
Tech smiled. It was great seeing them happy. Sure, his and Cassidy's date didn't turn out exactly as planned, but he was content with the outcome. He glanced at Cassidy. 'I wonder.. does she feel the same way as me?'
(End chapter)
There you go, the very last chapter! Thank you everyone who read this, your comments are what kept me going! glomps everyone