DESTROY ALL HUMANS: INTO THE VOID

THIRTY ONE

The jetpack exploded with an incredible blast of energy.

Crypto flew out of the opening and over the asteroid as he barely streaked across its flaming surface, thrusting farther and farther away from the giant golem.

Crypto didn't turn around to look, but he heard and felt it. The sound of an explosion sent debris from asteroids flying. The heat sizzled on Crypto's skin as he kept rocketing further and further away.

"NOOOO!" Magnus's voice roared louder than ever and then it stopped abruptly. And so did Crypto.

His jetpack had ceased spewing blue fire and he floated aimlessly in space. Once Crypto had rotated a full one-eighty degrees, he saw a transparent barrier vibrating right in front of him. The oxygen barrier.

Through the barrier he saw what looked like a dying star. A cosmic blast of dazzling red and orange light dispersed from the outskirts of the void. The purplish sphere was still intact, but only just. Magnus's golem body was gone, smashed into pieces, and the debris being flung in every direction.

But Crypto couldn't hear anything. He was outside of the stabilizing gravity barrier, floating with the debris.

Then something caught his eye.

Speeding toward him was a particular asteroid carrying a particular group of friends. They yelled his name, and he knew this because he could see their mouths moving repeatedly.

Then the asteroid passed through the stabilizing barrier and into the zero-gravity enviornment of space. The chunk of rock inched toward Crypto and just lightly tapped his brain as Pox reached out and hauled him onto the asteroid with them.

Tigra nuzzled Crypto's head and he could feel her purring against his skull. Even though no one could hear him, he mouthed "I love you guys."

Gladys, who was kneeling over Phil with Blasto next to them, was smiling. And so was Phil. He was wide awake and staring at the millions of stars all around them. 

No one else attempted to say anything for the rest of the ride.

* * *

The asteroid was pulled toward the Fourth Ring of Furon and sped toward the destroyed summer palace.

Everyone was prepared for the crash-landing however, as they climbed aboard Tigra and she leaped onto the platforms before the asteroid crashed into the palace ruins. They knew they could all finally talk, yet no one said anything.

Phil slowly got up and clung to Gladys for support. They held each other for the longest time.

"Is he gone?" Blasto spoke up, breaking the silence. "...Yet?"

"Yes. And hopefully for good," Crypto replied.

"I sure hope so," Phil said.

Gladys kissed Phil on the cheek and hugged him tightly. "Me too."

Tigra hissed in agreement.

And then Crypto thought about what he saw inside the golem. Magnus's body was deformed in some way, sprouting gems. He didn't have the slightest idea of what it could have been, until he realized they were no longer in possession of the Hand of Lucius.

"The Hand of Lucius," Pox called, snapping Crypto out of deep thought, "where is it?"

Crypto glanced at Pox but didn't say anything at first. "Magnus had it when he died. When I was... inside of him... his er-body was growing gems. Gems the same color as the ruby in the glove."

"You think it was some kind of fusion?" Blasto asked.

Pox stroked his odd horns. "Most likely... Look what happened to Phil. He has some kind of... PK abilities, I'm guessing. When you killed Magnus, his very essence was cast into the energy beacon with the glove still on him," Pox explained, looking at Phil. "Who's to say he wasn't fused with the Hand of Lucius."

"But how was he able to make that giant rock body thing?" Gladys asked.

"The fusion must have given Magnus the same amount of power as the glove. He was able to use that power to the full extent, creating a brand new body for himself."

There was a long pause. Tigra even sneezed balls of fur a few times.

"The important thing now is that he's gone," Gladys said, still holding onto Phil.

Blasto gave a sigh of relief. "I agree."

"Emperor Orthopox!"

Everyone shifted their gaze to a nearby tower that was tipped over and destroyed, ablaze with fire.

A small green Furon came out from behind the wreckage and crawled over, wheezing from the smoke. "Emperor... Furon-what... how...?" The Furon male looked Pox in the eyes as a tear escaped from them.

Pox stared at the Furon in silence. "I'm sorry. We weren't quick enough..." Pox broke his gaze.

The Furon sat on his knees and slammed his fists onto the platform, yelling. "...It's your job as emperor," he whispered, after he was done yelling. "WE TRUSTED YOU!" The Furon got to his feet and swung a fist at Pox who dodged it swiftly, forcing the man back down onto his knees with an invisible PK force.

"Let me tell you something," Pox murmured coldly, looking down on the Furon man. "I tried my best as emperor. If you don't appreciate what we've tried to do for you here, then I'll just kill you right here, right now."

The Furon grunted, struggling from the weight of Pox's PK energy.

"I TRIED MY BEST! I DID WHAT I COULD, BUT IT OBVIOUSLY WASN'T ENOUGH FOR ANY OF US BECAUSE FURONS ARE GREEDY AND SELFISH BASTARDS!" In his rage, Pox flung the man aside and watched him roll across the platform.

And then with a final sob, he gave in, "we're the last Furons."

The man slowly pushed himself off the ground, his face filled with pain. He stared up at Pox and then glanced between him, Crypto, and Blasto. "That's a lie.... There has to be more surviviors... Right?"

Pox sobbed again. "Do you see any? Furon was destroyed. The Fourth Ring was raided. Magnus and his fleet are gone. It's over." He then turned away to the end of the platform and looked off into the distance as if searching for any signs of more Furons.

Crypto followed Pox to the edge. Pox knew Crypto, his lovely side-kick, was there, but he didn't want to talk right now. Now was a time for rebuilding. For reconnecting. For revenge.

"You know what this also means, right?" Crypto asked, gazing into Pox's large, deep red eyes. "It means we can start over. No emperor, no empire, no more waging wars. We can make something different out of Furons."

Crypto thought Pox was about to turn on him with his PK, too. But instead he kept his gaze focused on the thousands of stars in the distance. The thousands of stars that stood for new beginnings. "And for what, Crypto? So the system can go corrupt again?"

"System!?" Crypto said in a shocked tone. "Pox, fuck the system! Since when have we EVER followed the system?"

Pox chuckled. He knew Crypto was right. "Never."

"Exactly! It means we can do whatever we want, now! We're the final Furons, Pox. We're our own bosses. Let's make the most of it."

Crypto was right the entire time and he had been saying this for their whole lives. They could go out and make something different out of Furons. Forget about the empire. They could run a whole Furon themed business back home. Their true home. The one filled with monkey humans. 

And as Pox thought of all the possibilities, his smile grew wider and so did Crypto's. But Pox didn't take his gaze off the stars, nor did Crypto. They both just kept looking into the endless sea of stars, imagining it was the future.

And that the future was just as bright.