Sunlight broke through the open window of the porcelain-colored wall room. Soft drapes gently flew against the sweet breeze of the day, bringing a cool sensation in an otherwise hot room. It was the perfect amount of hot and cold, creating an atmosphere for a lazy spring afternoon. The clean floorboards shimmered underneath like gold, turning into a warm slate for sunbathing. Down below, next to this window, an american shorthair sprawled out. As the heat hit his belly, his eyes were squinted shut in satisfaction. His paws were outstretched, reaching every inch of this small square to get the maximum amount of vitamin D. His tummy raised and lowered, the tail occasionally twitching though it remained dormant. He was having the best time of his life right now.
A tall machine which had been hooked up to the bed centered up against the wall silently beeped in rhythm, a heart monitor displayed digitally in hues of blue over a scan-lined screen. There was an interface on the second monitor, including a detachable keyboard. Hung up on its own small stand was a single blood bag, nearly at the end of its span. It trailed on onto the forearm of Niles as he was resting comfortably in his fat pillow and army of blankets pinning him down. His arms were outstretched over the sheets, held over his stomach while his head was off to the side. Covering part of his face, arms and torso underneath the patient gown were even more bandages from his open wounds. Black stitch lines sealed up the damage he had received from his struggles, giving him a much more beaten-up appearance than usual. To finish it all, two bandaids were placed on his face: one over the bridge of his nose and the other on his cheek.

He felt weary despite resting for a long time, his face jaded. Still, deep down, he was comfortable in his medical bed. A hand scratched along the top baby blue sheet, twirling a finger in a circular motion simply out of boredom. With the painkillers he took earlier, as well as the light snack, he was drowsy.
The image of Fusion Blossom and Buttercup was nearly the only thing on his mind, the embarrassment of failure an irritating twitch in the back of his head. Why'd I have to be so fragile he thought. Deep down, he couldn't blame himself for what happened; it was simply just an unfortunate circumstance.
Sitting on a small wooden coffee table on the other side of the room, beside a pale green sofa, his NanoComm sat there unharmed. Projected from the edge of the device, Nano Alien X was also sprawled out across the surface under the hot sun. His hands were placed on the back of his head, one leg spread over the other kicking leisurely. Vocally he let out a pleased sigh, loafing with pleasure.
Niles blinked, eyeing over X. "Aren't you connected to the NanoComm? Can't you just recharge in there or are you doing this for fun?"
"Of course," X replied. "Though it is nice to get some fresh air."
He smirked, "You just like attention."
"I do," the nano's eyes squinted happily. "Besides, you listen to me more when I am actively present."
It took him a moment, though his smile widened and he started laughing. "That's true!"

"Are you feeling any better, sir?" the nano asked politely.
He shook his head, sighing out loud after his chuckle-fest. "Yeah, a little bit. I'm still very tired, though."
"It would be wise to stay like this for a little while longer until you can safely walk," X nodded along. "I am glad you have a good aim and strong fortitude, as otherwise that fusion would have been the end of you."
"Not like it would have been the first one I faced," he scratched his chest again, turning to look over and out at the window. Even faintly, the small outline of the large Sector V treehouse stood out. "It doesn't matter how many minions Fuse sends after me; I'll keep going until I die fighting."
The Nano curled over and laid flat on his chest. His chin rested on his arms as he folded them into a little pillow, "That's the spirit, though do not overcompensate for when you do fail. Remember: you are human, trying to reach a metahuman standard. Besides, they want you to take a break, remember?"
"Well, when you're used to fighting for your life every day, 'taking a break' no longer becomes the norm," Niles refuted. "I just can't help it. I've been doing this thing for so long."
X lifted his head up, waving a hand, "Acknowledge the past, do not forget it, but embrace the future. You are getting obscured by old problems; you have more time, slow down."
"They aren't old problems when they're coming back for me," Niles quickly replied. "Also, don't you mean 'acknowledge the future but embrace the past' in this sense?"
The nano rolled his eyes, getting comfortable again and blinked. "You understand my point."
"When did you get so remarkable?" the iron warrior squinted.
If a nano like Alien X could smile, it would. "Thank you, it all began when we were sent to the past and once my initial mission was initiated. Otherwise, I would end up being a dormant, lifeless AI under control by another agent."
"Knowing Ben, and knowing that Blossom specifically chose you, it makes sense why you're my nano."

Their brief conversation was interrupted by the sounds of three distinct knocks on the door off to the right; it clicked open as the sound of squeaky, rotored wheeling brought some actual volume into the room. The Dexbot, tasked with being Niles' nurse, drove in. It clamped onto the door with a hand open behind it and gestured behind it. "Mister Arachnid, you have visitors! You are not scheduled for another checkup for another few hours, so please enjoy your visit and I will be seeing you later!"
Behind it came Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup all together. Today, none of them had their usual outfits but rather distinct ones, the green powerpuff still having kept her t-shirt and sweatpants from earlier. The red powerpuff wore a black sleeveless top with a collar, including some nice khaki pants and dress shoes to stay professional. Lastly, the blue powerpuff wore a casual bright blue and white sundress, slippers and her iconic purple octo backpack. All three of them were dressed like they were in three different places at once, not matching one another at all.
They all calmly stepped inside and asserted dominance, towering over the Dexbot and letting it scurry off to the side to leave them some room to talk.
"I go off on my own for one day, and you're nearly killed," Blossom remarked with a snort. "Not to mention, a fusion of myself is the one who kidnapped you? What is going on with you, Arachnid?"
Buttercup crossed her arms with a smug grin, "Hey dude, glad to see you made it to the emergency room."
"I heard you got roughed up, so we came to visit for a bit!" Bubbles said with her cute smile. "Are you feeling any better?"
There was a sudden change in the man's tone as he turned to look over at all of them; the light in his eyes came back a little bit, his heart rate going up slightly on the monitor too with all of them around. He replied playfully, "You guys didn't have to; you're making me blush."

"Hey X," Buttercup waved two fingers over at him. She walked over to the sofa and crashed, sprawling out and letting the sun hit her skin. "Has he been behaving while we've been away? Might give him extra work if he hasn't."
The nano got up, looked over at Niles playfully and shook his head. "Yes.. for now."
"This is your companion, Niles?" Bubbles gasped, taking a couple of steps forward and looked down at him. "Awe, he's a little version of Alien X! How cute!"
"Given that I am simply a reflection of the actual entity, you may simply refer to me as 'X'." he replied, sitting up and darting between the two.
Bubbles squatted down and pinched her thumb and finger, rubbing on his cheeks a little bit and giggled. "Aren'tchu just the schweetest 'ittle guy~"
"Careful," Niles interrupted. "You'll boost his little ego, too."
From down on the ground, the little cat gets up and softly mews. It wandered over and jumped up on the top of the table, looking around at everybody who just joined the room. He sniffed the air a little bit, turning to look at X and blinked. "Reow."
The nano fed the cat some light pats in response, though it let out a slight hiss and jumped down off the table. It quickly scurried off, pushing up at the door and slipped through the crack back somewhere in the hospital.
"Hmph, rude." X crossed his arms.

Blossom directly walked up to him and pulled up a chair, sitting down beside him and wrapped her arms over the railing of the bed. She turned to watch the other two play with his nano before back over to him and said, "How long will you be in the hospital for?"
"Another couple days, then I'm heading back home," he replied. "I take it you have questions."
She nodded, biting her lower lip and squinted her eyes. "Why was there a fusion of me around? As far as I'm aware, the only bit of fusion that was in the suburbs got scooped up by S.A.C.T. after the meteor incident. Do you know?"
"Yes," he replied confidently, though he frowned a little. "She was the Blossom from the future. I didn't know we fully lost until she showed up."
Bubbles frowned, turning to look back over at him. "Ooh, I'm so sorry."
"That must have been hurtful," Blossom blinked, giving him a sympathetic look. "I wish you didn't have to go through that."
Niles slid a hand over and shook his head, holding it up and shut his eyes. "It's okay; I already said goodbye before I jumped. We both knew the stakes."
"We'll be here if you need anything, okay?" Blossom reassured and took his hand, grinning. "We appreciate how much you admire us and, well, we want to make sure you turn out alright."
He couldn't help but push himself up even more, now sitting up and looking her firmly in the eyes. "This uh.. whole thing, was just an event. I didn't expect her to just show up like that-"
Buttercup interrupted, "Speaking of, Fusion Major also showed up. You think they correlate."
"Well that depends," he responds. "Where's Major Glory?"
Bubbles replied, "Major Glory is at Bravo Beach; ever since he lost his powers, he's been hiding out ever since."
"What happened to him?" Niles asked.
"He got into a fight with Demongo and lost," Buttercup replied. "I was shocked."

At this phase in the war, Major Glory was absent for a majority of the wide-scale battles which took place. He hadn't fully realized the reason why until way later, when several more sectors of the region had been lost to the hands of Lord Fuse. If he were placed on the battlefield, not only would he make an incredible helping hand to the cause but possibly push the fight back even further.
"I take it Demongo doesn't plan on giving his powers back." Niles commented.
Blossom shook her head, "I don't think so; he doesn't seem like the type."
"Where is he now?"
There was a moment of silence until Blossom answered, "I think somewhere in the Darklands. Why?"
"Just curious." he answered, letting go of her hand and folded his hands back on his stomach.
Something clicked for Nano X while listening, tilting his head slightly afterwards. They had the exact same idea.
"Well, anyways," Blossom huffed. "You need to rest up; aren't you gonna go visit your parents?"
He nodded frantically, "Yes, as soon as I can leave this place. Then I want to start training."
"Beaten, bruised, nearly killed and yet you're still going." Bubbles cheered.
Buttercup tucked her arms in her sides, "That's just how he is."
"Speaking of training, you guys never got around to doing your fight did you?" Blossom asked, turning a coy head to her sister.
"No we didn't," Buttercup replied, giving her a firm eye. She knew exactly what she was going to do and crossed her legs over the table. "Beating a watered down version of you was enough for me, though."
The red powerpuff puffed her cheeks, "Hmph, well I'm gonna safely say that if that fusion of me came from the future, then major was too. It wouldn't make sense for both of them to just appear like that unless they were together."

"That explains why Fusion Major just treated Pokey Oaks like a playground," Buttercup exhaled. "He was a distraction."
Bubbles sat back a little bit, joining her sister on the sofa and placed her hands behind her head complacently. "He was just goop is what he was."
"You stole that kill," Buttercup refuted, playfully punching her sister in the shoulder. "I had him on the edge!"
Bubbles winced, looking over at her in surprise. "Owww!"
"Listen," Blossom began. "I'm going to try and see if I can get some days off so we can start; for now, my sister is still going to be taking care of you. I see it as a good thing, though. She'll prepare you for the stuff I've got to say."

There was a long pause.

"Come to think of it, I've technically taught you everything I know." Blossom said.
Niles nodded, "Perhaps not everything with the suit, though I know how you fight and what your tactics are. I relied on your morals and ways of fighting so much, some of my own squad mates got mad at me for it."
Blossom smiled widely, placing her hands together in her lap as her face turned pink. Rarely did she receive any kind of meaningful comment from many soldiers, her work going unnoticed unless it were her superhero work. "Well! That's very flattering of you to say! I try my best, after all-" She raised her head, placing a hand over her chest.
"Yeah yeah, take your metal sis-" Buttercup snorted, "You want an award party too?"
Blossom chuckled a little bit, "Can't a girl get a compliment in peace? Yeesh!"
"If I'm free, I don't mind showing you a couple of things too," Bubbles chimed in. "I can show you how to properly fly and where to aim your hand beam thingies."
The man replied, "That sounds great; I can't wait to actually get started. I'll show you guys what I can do."
"When we get there, I'm not gonna hold back on you." Buttercup smiled passive aggressively.
Blossom blinked, "You're gonna kill him."
"Don't worry! It's her way of showing affection." Bubbles replied cheerfully.
Blossom smirked, "Oh yeah, showing affection. That's a way to put it."
"Say, have you called Dexter recently?" her sister said, going back to crossing her arms.
He just laughed, grabbing onto his stomach. "You guys are gonna kill each other!"
"Nah, this is just our usual banter," Blossom said. "I'm sure you noticed Buttercup only has the same gimmick comment."
The girl raises an eyebrow, "I could say worse, though I won't because I love ya."
"No, you're just going to say it when he's not around." she riposted.
At this point, Buttercup just couldn't help but give her a dumb grin at her comment. She was absolutely right, knowing how they'd go at each other sometimes just for fun. The last time she and Bubbles got into a legitimate fight, an entire portion of Pokey Oaks North was destroyed. That was just a short fight.
"Hah, yeah."

"I'd love to stay but I've got a couple things I need to wrap up today," Blossom huffs and scoots in her chair. "I'll be seeing you soon hopefully, iron boy. Have a swift recovery!"
Bubbles and Buttercup followed quickly afterwards, tidying the room a little bit after moving some stuff and prepared to head toward the door. The blue powerpuff quickly stepped up and wrapped her arms around his chest lightly, leaning in for a hug and patted him on the back. "Be safe! You had me worried for a minute."
"Give me some time," he said and rubbed on her back. "I'll show you what I got."
The last girl looked toward the other two and said, "You two go ahead, I'll catch up."
Bubbles and Blossom looked at each other, little grins forming on their faces before looking back over at her.
"Sure thing."
"Sounds good! Bye Niles!" Bubbles waves.
By the time they reach the frame, Blossom stopped and placed a hand on it. She turned her head and said calmly, "Oh, one last thing. When you get a moment, you should check the files in your helmet. There's a video for you and.. well I think you're going to want to see it."
He nodded and waved back to the two of them, watching them leave. The door is closed, leaving just him and Buttercup in the medical room alone together.

She takes a seat in the chair right beside the bed and reaches into her pocket.
It takes him a minute until he quickly picks up, clearing his throat as he says, "Thanks, for saving me back there again-"
"No need to thank me," she speaks softly, holding a hand up. Her eyes stay locked onto his and she outstretches her hand. Resting in her firm palm lies the fashioned red bow, gleaming brightly. "I want you to have this."
He looks down at it, blinking. "What for?"
"Knowing about you and, well, your old Blossom, I figured it would be better if you had it."
Niles grabs onto the bow, taking her hand for a minute. He was silent, looking down at it. Feeling the familiar fabric with a thumb was.. oddly comforting.
"Thank you."
She nodded, absently forgetting about his hand until she took it away and placed it in her lap. "Of course. I was gonna keep it as a trophy, but I know you guys got along well and didn't want it collecting dust somewhere."
"I'm gonna take care of it," he nodded, then looked over at her. "Hopefully our relationship is just as good with the current Blossom now too."
The girl raised an eyebrow, a little grin on her face, "So.. you basically know everything about her right?"
"Give or take, yeah," Niles nodded.
Buttercup rolled her shoulders, "What kind of weird specific stuff do you know?"
"Well I know her favorite bath soap, her favorite cereal, all her powers, her morals like I mentioned previously and so on." He waved a hand as his eyes looked up and to the left, recounting most of the details.
"Do you know stuff like this about, like, all of us?" she sat up in the chair, slightly jittering at how confident he was. It made her excited.
He nodded, "Yeah."

"What about me?" she smiled widely.
It took him a minute as he breathed heavily, trying to dissect what he could possibly say about her. "Well.. I know you like spicy foods, parties, you play tennis," he pauses. "Your favorite stuffed animal is Hunchback."
"Huh," she had an amused surprise on her face. "I still sleep with 'em too-"
Niles snickered, "I knew you guys well in my old life, and I intend to do the same in this one too."
"The only thing I'm gonna ask is don't use that information against us," she responded seriously. "I'll kick your ass."
He shook his head, an immediate surprise on his face as he held a weak hand up, "I didn't plan on it."
"Good," she responded firmly and pushed the chair back to where it was. "Get better, so we can start."
He turns in the bed over to look at her, stuffing his hand under the sheets and clearing his throat. "Hey, uhm, before you go."
She turned back, placing her hand on the door handle and raising an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"Could I get your number? Just for when I'm back home after the trip-" he asked, quickly diving for an excuse as to not make it too obvious.
Her hand slid off the door as she turned, nodding. "I guess."
"You can add it on my NanoComm." he pointed over toward X, who was listening to the two eerily in silence.
X lifted himself up and gave a wave, motioning over toward the device sitting beside him.
She took a few steps forward and bent over, wrapping it around her wrist and opened it up. It took her a second, though navigated her way through the apps and into his contacts.
Out of a slight judgment she went through a few of them, scoffing slightly, "You only have, let's see.. oh yeah, Dexter and Blossom on your registered list."
"Why are you going through my contacts-"
She snickered, "Because I can."
"Sure," he crossed his arms. "Sure you can."
Buttercup turned over to him, "You're the one stuck in bed; not much you can do about it now can ya?"
"Not really," he replied. "I'll get you back later though."

She went back to adding her number and started typing it in through a projected keyboard displayed in front of her fingers. "Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try."
The contact was added to the list, including a little text message sent to herself just so she would know. The NanoComm was shut off and put back on the table beside X, now both of her hands on her hips. "There, all done."
"Good to know your vitals are stable, miss Utonium." X said.
Buttercup looked down at him, then back to Niles and gestured with a thumb. "He's handy, isn't he?"
"Most of the time, yes," he joked.
Buttercup went back to the door, opening it and gave him a coy smile. "See you around, super-dork."
With a final little wave, she shut the door behind her. The man let out a sigh and flattened his head on the pillow; a slight bit of anxiety sank from his heart, now turning into a little bit of anticipation as he fluttered. His heart rate on the monitor sped up a little, though slowly went back down.
"How curious," X lifted himself up and pretended an epic landing on the foot of his bed, taking a couple of steps forward. "I didn't know you thought of her that way until I read your notes Blossom gave to me.."
Niles fixed his eyes on the nano approaching him. His hands fidgeted with the red bow, holding it gently under the covers as if it were a priceless jewel, "Well yeah, she's.. incredible."
"Do you need help-" Nano Alien X tilted his head, skittishly rubbing his hands behind his back.
The man teasingly replied, "No, and don't say anything about it when she's around either. The last thing I need is a cosmic alien giving me relationship advice."
"Okay, rude-"

By the time Niles had gotten out of the hospital, the arrival back home was pretty slow and easy. For his pain to get back in shape, a small to-go bag with a couple of pill bottles were given just to help him get some decent sleep. He was able to now walk and move around pretty confidently, like his old self used to visiting the hospital quite frequently. At times it irritated him, others calmed him; constantly in the cycle of fighting and resting. Perhaps it would always be like this he thought, given that it was always the same even for his entire teenage life.
The day he came home, the clouds were dark and the roads were wet. A small but harsh rainfall rolled into the area, faint hues of the street lights and inner buildings being the only sources of light in this late evening. Flood drains were constantly at work funneling the rainfall down below, leaving the streets smooth to coast on without hydroplaning.
The barebone single room he called home remained untouched, having not been cleaned up ever since the incident of being kidnapped. The scattered tools and equipment, remnants of his struggle, became a stark reminder of his own ignorance. The desk lamp was turned on, hueing the room orange. With a determined sigh, he set to work, determined to restore order to the chaos that had ensued.

He left the door open and kept his NanoComm on him, giving his dynamo suit a little pat on the shoulder before beginning the big clean up. With the actual resources he had on hand, nearly he was the equivalent of a college student getting by with rent. The only thing he had to clean up was a sponge, bucket and a mop. Not the best kind of thing to have but it worked.
With the little work he had to do, he fidgeted with his NanoComm and put on some old jazz just to make it relaxing. He got straight to work, filling up the bucket and mopped away on the cold floor below him. Slowly but surely the garage began to regain its familiar appearance, the tools finding their rightful place once more. With a final sweep of the mop, Niles surveyed his handiwork, a sense of satisfaction washing over him as he admired the clean, orderly space before him.
Now with his home a little bit more tidy, Niles took a break and slouched in his office chair. The bucket and mop had been placed in the corner of the room, waiting to be picked up and scrubbed off again later. The sponge gently bobbed under the crimson surface, stained by his own blood. As for the rest of the space, the tools were placed back neatly and at good spots for convenience whenever they were going to be needed. As for the pistol, he just kept whatever bullets he had around and threw away the gun. There was no need to keep a ruined piece like that except for the parts, which were all melted.

While he was going through his NanoComm, an interesting thought popped up in his head. He navigated all the way into the other apps and checked simply out of curiosity, viewing what was available in the inventory just for himself. For a second he blinked once, surprised by what was on his screen and sat up a little bit.
"X," he said. "Am I reading that right or is there an error?"
The voice perked up from the machine, an even tinier version of X appearing the size of his palm over the projector. "An error of what, sir?"
He grit his teeth, somewhat in surprise as he sat back.

An early gift arrived.

Niles brushed a hand through his hair and spoke out, "When Ben mentioned something about compensation, did he mean a bunch of taros?"
"Possibly? I am not quite sure what he was implying in that moment," X blinked, putting his hands behind his back. "Why do you ask?"
There was a sigh of relief as he blankly said, "Ninety-thousand taros, in my account."
"I didn't want to say anything, just to surprise you." X did his little squint smile, enjoying his reaction.
It took him a moment to register the amount, then acknowledged it. This was a good chunk of pay, especially up front. Considering the work he had done to get here, even this small amount was enough to keep him busy for a good while. So long as he didn't go off the rails, it would be able to satisfy bills and a little more than basic needs for a good while.
"I've never seen this kind of money in my entire life, especially belonging to me." he said, taking a deep breath. "What do I even-"
Before he could answer his own question, he looked up and around. "Renovations, I'm going to spend it on renovations."
"I am certain you will have enough to not only purchase the rest of the home but also provide ample design and possibly a workspace for the suit; I believe red suits your taste." X spoke.
Niles shrugged, "I don't think I'll be adding any blaring colors in here, maybe in the house? I don't know, I'm not an architect."
"Maybe you could ask for advice? I was not made for living space design either, though I could give my best judgment of what I like the most." Alien X states.
The man just nods as his response, looking back at the number and turning to other matters for now. That was another thing to think about after a while; tomorrow was going to be an interesting day.

Following the mysterious comment Blossom gave a while ago, he dug in his heap of loose tech and pulled out a cord. With a slight bit of frustration he spoke out, "X, where are the plugins underneath this thing? I can't find it-"
"Under your wrist, sir, in a small case." replied the nano, the projector lighting up as he spoke.
Niles revealed a compartment with several plugin types, hooking up his NanoComm. He walked up to his suit and slid open the small slot too, fidgeting it in tightly until he heard a comfortable click.
Next he pulled up his office chair, taking a seat and started navigating through the interface again. It seemed partially confusing, though also fun at the same time getting to throw the virtual screens around simply with his fingertips. It was just a slice of advanced technology, though perhaps someday he could have this in his own lab fidgeting with suits like this one all day?
A shared file through the plugin revealed a large amount of documents, a majority of them screenshots. He pulled one open and started to swipe through them, tilting his head a bit in response.
Most of these designs were.. alien. A lot of the weaponry and devices used to power vehicles and large machines were structurally calculated to fit micro-specific measurements. Screenshots of Rick's book outlined in bright white detailed some of his mad scribblings, the high resolution camera used giving an exact replica of what was in it. Not a single drawing was in bad resolution or quality, taken to ensure that whoever was reading it had the right copy. The outline cover of the book itself, chosen to be some high school journal, made these notes look like the work of a madman. The iron warrior couldn't wrap his head around the science behind it, especially with the weapons. His expertise was in gunsmithing and this book somehow managed to turn his world upside down. One page even begs the question: how does someone harness their imagination into powering their rifle?
A video popped up of an awkward image, detailing Blossom in her gray jumpsuit adjusting the camera up close. Niles sat up in his seat and raised an eyebrow, turning the calm music off in the background and breathed in. His finger tapped on the play button in the center.

"Ah, there we go. Just like the old suit."
Blossom's slightly older, more distinct voice perked out as she backed away from the camera. There was a soft grin on her face, her more distinct wrinkles from stress prominent on her face. Her ginger hair had been slightly let down over her shoulders, wrapped up in a ponytail in the back with her familiar red bow snug comfortably over her head.
Niles immediately spotted it, drawing the bow from his pocket and held it in his hands.
"Hey Niles, your suit is done. Get out of bed so you can come and get it," She started with a smile. The woman pulled up an office chair from the side and took a seat in front of the suit, looking up at it. She folded her arms together in her lap, sitting up straight and breathed in heavily. "By the time you see this, you'll most likely be in the past. Having faith that the machine works, you made it. You survived the Forsaken Valley for six months, so I have no doubt you can pick up wherever you land."
She sighed, getting herself comfortable in the chair. "There's the slightest possibility that you'll never get to see me or the rest of us ever again, given your mission and how time travel works, so I wanted to be open and honest with you. Before I begin, please understand: none of this is your fault."
"What do you mean by that, Blos?" he asked.

The woman slouched a little bit, scratching her chin with a hand now. Her gaze was gentle to the camera while her voice spoke out slowly of concern, "I'm not going to lie to you, I don't think we're going to be winning this war. We were at a disadvantage in the beginning and, well, everything has gone from bad to worse. All of us know what we're doing because we chose you to travel, not anyone else. Please don't beat yourself up if you come back and we're all gone; you're our last hope for survival, we want you to live."
She leaned forward, clasping her hands together. "Everyone who wanted to stay stayed and everyone who wanted to leave left. The moon base is gone and we're unsure where we can go to escape Planet Fusion. Many of us in the last ring of survivors have lost hope, though I know deep down you're out there somewhere saving our world from the clutches of Fuse. Just.. in another timeline, I'm happy for you."
"I'm trying, I really am," he mumbles to himself, his eyes glued to the screen. He scoots forward, holding his bated breath while clutching the bow.

Blossom's eyes darted off for a moment and silence filled the air. In the background, the sounds of tinkering and shop work could be heard faintly. She seemed disinterested in it, pretending it nearly doesn't exist.
"I think I'll be choked up when we get to this moment so I'll say it here," she slightly stuttered in her voice, holding a hand up to her mouth. The edges of her eyes started to water and her face turned red as she cleared her choppy throat. "I just wanted to tell you that.. that I'm proud of you. As a person, you've come so far in your life. I've practically watched you grow up here near the end of the war, it kind of makes me feel accomplished in a way. Admittedly, when I first met you, you were just a scared little kid with no sense of direction and big dreams. Now.. you're practically my little brother; an avid leader in our ranks and a great man deep down," She smiled. "You've grown so much."

His hands calmly rubbed on the bow, though deep down begged for physical touch. He frowned, not leaving for even just a second. The sound of the rain had subsided, the blue screen overlay flickering over his eyes when he blinked.

"Now it's time to take what you've learned and apply it. You may not have any special powers, or any epic stories or a name for yourself yet, but I just know you're going to make an amazing superhero."
The last item which was retrieved in his hand was his black superhero mask, bundled together with the red bow. He clutched onto both items, breathing in heavily while listening to her voice. The rain came back, this time a little harder.

"I want you to get out there and make me proud. When I'm gone, I don't want you to mourn over me. I want you to do what you love and finally get the time to do the things you've always wanted to do with everyone we lost, like how we all promised each other we would," The girl takes a deep breath, though reels her head to the side and suddenly gets up from her chair. "I.. need to get going, I'm supposed to meet with my father tonight about something."

Blossom takes a couple more steps up to the camera and wraps her hands over the sides, looking deeply at the lens and gives one tear-stained grin. "I love you Niles; take care of yourself."

When the video ended, Niles sat back and stared at Blossom for a moment. His hands held onto the articles he had left, the only physical remnants of the woman he once knew. He sniffled, reaching a hand up to wipe a single tear from the edge of his eye.
From out of nowhere, X had appeared and sat down on the desk beside him watching too. He had his small legs folded into a cross and his hands in his lap. Niles seemed to be crumbling, triggering a specific response from him as he reached out a gloved hand. "That was quite sweet of her."
The man turned to look back over at X, not quite disturbed but indifferent of his arrival beside him. He breathed heavily, giving himself a moment to calm down. The mask and bow were left on the table beside him; his elbow rested on the table, his hand holding his head up as he leaned over.
In his head, Fusion Blossom splattered to the ground in a green inferno. Buttercup took her place, stomping her into the roof and reducing her to goop. It traced backwards even more, fondly recalling their brief conversation together before her jump. Then it went to the discussion about the suit, his state in the old base and so on. Like a skipped rock over a lake it kept on going, memories replaying in his head within such a short amount of time.

All of it? Gone.

For some reason, the struggle of having her gone hit harder than what he had once thought, causing him to slightly collapse on himself. His other free hand was placed over his heart as he felt like it had shattered.
"If I may offer some comfort," Nano Alien X responded and rubbed on his arm a bit. "Listen to what she said: move on. With the rate you're going at now, we will get back there in no time, sir. The memory of Blossom may live on, though acknowledge that she is here now with you as well in this world."
Niles sniffled, breathing in and out and turned to face him a little more. "Right."
"It's time to step back for a minute and let the world play out by itself; take some time for yourself!" he poked his chest with his finger at 'yourself', then crossed his arms as he defiantly stood up.
"I will, it's just.." he spoke, folding his arms. "It's hard adjusting."
His nano lifted himself up into the air, swirling around a little bit and then made a gesture. "I am sure; I will do my best to help."
"I appreciate it," Niles replied, breathing in and out and running a hand through his head. "This was a lot harder than I thought."
"You're welcome, sir. Now, try not to worry too much and get some rest."
Niles gave him one last sleepy look, shutting off the NanoComm for the night. He needed to sleep it off.

He went to bed with a broken heart.

4/27/24
This was very hard to write. With this chapter posted, this marks the end of Arc I or the introductory arc to the fic as a whole. I have been waiting for this chapter for a while and need to do some planning ahead, though I look forward to it. In a sense, this is one final goodbye between Blossom and Niles, mentor to student, before he fully commits to the past. To wrap everything up in a bow and prepare for the next stage in this story.
It's hard to let go of the people you care about; for our man here, it would take him another eight years to build something like that up again. He has to go through everything all over again, as is with everyone else. Would you start over with all of your friends and family you missed, even if they forgot about everything you shared with them?
Whenever we begin the next few chapters, I'll be a different start than you expect. I hope you've enjoyed this so far as much as I have and I can't wait for the next upcoming ones.