DESTROY ALL HUMANS: INTO THE VOID

TWENTY ONE

As soon as those words left Magnus's mouth, Crypto knew they were doomed.

Although he had no idea what The Void was, he knew that it probably wasn't filled with clear skies and rainbows. What he did know was that the word "void" itself meant a pit of endless darkness which Crypto didn't find reassuring.

Pox's eyes darted around the room as if dazed.

"The Void?" Phil asked. "What's that about?"

"It's nothing you need to know about, that's for sure," Pox chided.

"Hiding important info isn't going to help us worry any less. We're more worried that you're hiding it instead of speaking up." Phil had a point that even Pox couldn't counter.

"Right now is not the best time," Pox began to whisper. "Especially when we're stuck here."

"That's the perfect time!" Gladys yelled.

Crypto pushed through Phil and Gladys who were beginning to corner Pox. "You two need to chill." He then whispered, "I got a message from Cynthia. She's tailing the mother ship and once it's close enough, we escape."

"How?" Blasto asked. "Magnus has us right here with hundreds of Nexos. We're outnumbered."

Pox glanced up at the hole on the left wall he had seen the Nexo fly through. It looked like some sort of air vent. "That vent..." Pox pointed. "It looks like an escape route, maybe."

"I don't know about that, Pox," Gladys said.

Blasto walked over and towered over the group with his seven foot tall body of absolute intimidation. "Well it looks to me right now that that's our only option."

Gladys sighed. "How do we reach it then?"

Phil laced his fingers into hers. "Being optimistic would help." He stared into her tranquil eyes and even that was just enough to make Gladys understand they would be surviving this together, with or without optimism.

She wouldn't deny it, that kiss they shared down in the cell block was perfect. She kept thinking to herself though: are we going out, or does he still have to ask?

Gladys looked away and realized the others were watching them.

"Are you done?" Crypto sneered.

"Yes." Everyone flinched at the sound of Magnus's voice. "Are you done?" He turned around in his chair. "I hope so because I expect we are about five miles from arriving." Magnus stood up from his chair, smirking, and almost fell over if it wasn't for his gleaming silver cane. "My Nexos will be here momentarily to take you back to your cells." He limped over to the exit with the door sliding shut behind him.

"That cane..." Pox murmured.

"Something else you're hiding?" Gladys asked.

"No..."

Blasto cleared his voice to draw everyone's attention. "We should probably make a plan now."

"Err, right." Pox scanned the room with his let-me-think look. "The Nexos should be here soon to take us back." He went silent.

"And?" Crypto gestured his hands into a continue motion.

"And," Pox continued, "we'll try to persuade them somehow to carry us into the vent." He clapped his hands. "Genius-!"

"Stupid," Crypto interrupted. "You can't persuade Nexos. They only take direct orders." 

"Exactly. Knowing Magnus, he'll just tell them to take us back to our cells, but he won't tell them which route to take."

"Or," Phil interrupted once more, "we could get to the escape pods instead of just standing here."

"No. The Nexos would have it blocked off," Crypto explained.

"And those pods are complicated to work. I couldn't figure out how to input coordinates, so we ended up on Earth randomly," Pox added.

The doors from the hangar slid open and four Nexos wobbled their way over to the group.

Pox hovered in their way and stared straight into the eyes of the Nexo at the front. He was silent as they had a heated staring contest.

One of the Nexos made a whirring sound as if he getting was impatient. The Nexo at the front put up a hand and resumed his staring contest with Pox.

Pox blinked and the Nexo raised both fists triumphantly.

"Whatever! I bet your cloner was a dirty slut!" Pox yelled.

The Nexo narrowed his eyes and made clinking and clank sounds. Pox ducked as a blast of pure heat energy blasted the Nexos into nothing.

He spun around and saw Crypto lowering his gun. "I have a better idea."

Suddenly the entire room rumbled with whirring and clinking sounds. Phil and Gladys went to Magnus's chair and looked down from the balcony.

Every single Nexo was out of their seat and transforming their arms into cannons. The swarm of Nexos took flight and aimed their cannons at Phil and Gladys. 

Magnus's voice then boomed on some kind of intercom. "I was going to wait and make you watch the destruction of the universe. But... why should you have the satisfaction of watching me rise into my rightful spot as ruler of the universe up close and personal? That wouldn't be fair to everyone else now would it?"

"Crypto?" Pox's voice turned high pitched and squeaky like it always did when he was scared. "What was that plan of yours?"

The two Kalkamans backed up and regrouped with the Furons as the swarm of Nexos closed in on them.