a noob's first attempt at literature

[Reply #400 on:]

 

Originally posted by soylentOrange:
 “Oh Leela, it’s you! I was dreaming about that time when Bender stole my lungs. Thanks for waking me up.”

That had me on the floor for ages.  I just finished reading your first fic etc. Great work, i really like this latest one, its looking to be quite shippy indeed!     
Im eagerly awaiting the next installment!
   

[Reply #401 on:]

You shippers and your shippiness.  Bah!

Also, my god.  I was just reading about neutron stars yesterday too!  First dark force mystically appears in JBERGES' fic after I read up on it, and now neutron stars?  Now that can't be a coincidence.

Also, great work, blah blah blah.  Looking forward to more, etcetera.

Praise is just so much work anymore.

[Reply #402 on:]

@Nic2001: Yeah it has been awhile hasn't it?  Hopefully I'll be updating more frequently from now on so you'll have a reason to be on my thread more often.

@Blane: glad you liked Talora  .  You're right, this one is going to get really shippy really soon.  (Don't worry non-shippers, it won't get annoyingly so)

@DrThunder: Well, JBERGES is taking an astrophysics course (as his reply to one of my posts said) and I'm minoring in astronomy.  There's bound to be an astronomy reference or two from time to time in both of our fics 

There'll be another update soon (when Leo has a chance to get back to me).  Please no death threats when you find out what happens to Leela k? :P

[Reply #403 on:]

part 1
chapter 3

The next morning was warm and bright.  The many spindly skyscrapers blocked most of the orange-tinted sunlight, but every once in awhile a stray beam would make its way to the stirring city streets.  Leela took a moment to bask in a pool of light that was being reflected and concentrated by a mirrored building across the street.  She let the warmth soak through her for a few seconds and continued on her way, whistling contentedly to herself. 

In the back of her mind a voice was commenting that she was in a far better mood than any woman who had just been fired had any right to be, but she pushed the rogue thought away before it could have any affect on her.  “I’m allowed a few minutes of complete happiness” she assured herself, “after all, I made a big decision last night.”

Complete happiness, now there was a state of mind with which Leela had almost no familiarity.  Every time she’d come close to it something devastating happened.  Over the years Leela had built a veritable mental fortress around herself to keep herself safe during the times that people she let close decided to hurt her.  “Like Shawn,” she muttered.  A young Neptunian who happened to be walking by turned at the sound of the cyclops’ voice, but Leela ignored him.  The purple creature shrugged and continued on his way.
 
“This time it will be different, “ Leela assured herself, this time silently.  “He won’t get bored and leave me for another woman at the first opportunity.  I’ve known him for years.  He’s not that kind of man.”  For the first time in her life, Leela knew she wasn’t just trying to convince herself of it, she knew it with a conviction she had never had about a man before.

“But when to ask him out?”  If she waited too long, she’d just end up chickening out.  “This Friday then, after work?”  Leela thought for a moment.  No, she’d been down that road before.  If she waited that long she’d end up convincing herself to wait even longer.  Eventually she’d just put it off indefinitely.  No, if she was going to do this thing it would have to be right now.  It was the only way. 

A wave of anxiety washed over her as she prepared to activate her wristlojackomator.  She swallowed the feeling with some effort and dialed in the phone number from memory.

“Planet Express, this is Amy speaking.”  The intern’s bored face came into view on Leela’s tiny screen, framed by the Planet Express conference room.  A pang of loss krept up unbidden at the sight of the familiar scene, but Leela forced that feeling away as well.  There’d be time to feel sorry for herself later.

“Hi Amy.  Can I talk to Fry?”

“Oh hi Leela.  Sorry, but he left on a delivery already.”

“Yeah I though so.  Would you do me a favor?  Tell him to call me as soon as he gets back.”

Leela sighed and idly tapped her fingers on her desk.  The last thing she had expected was to get to work and find that there was no work to be done.  No one was scheduled for defrosting until the following day, and since it was Leela’s first full day back, she didn’t have any recent defrostees to counsel.  Of course, Ipgee wasn’t about to let her go home early on a non-holiday.  No, if she wanted to get paid for the day then she would be there for every last excruciating minute of her shift, even if all she did was stare at the clock the whole time.  That’s exactly what she had been doing for the last 15 minutes.

“If only I could get my mind to stop thinking about this evening…”  Leela sighed again and stood up.  For a few minutes she wandered about her office, straightening a stack of papers here, rearranging a few objects there, keeping herself occupied with pointless tasks.  Eventually Leela ran out of objects to fiddle with, and wandered out of the room.  While her mind raced, her legs worked on autopilot.  For no particular reason, the distracted woman ended up in the freezer room.  She strolled idly from tube to tube, inspecting the contents of each.  The first contained an old man in 25nd century garb.  The next tube contained a very young girl, probably no older than 14 or 15.  What she was doing frozen in a tube at her age, the ex PE captain couldn’t even begin to guess.  The next several tubes were empty, but the second to last contained a young man, maybe 19 or 20, dressed in the garb of the early 21st century.  A vaguely sad expression was frozen on his face.  Leela looked at him for a moment and then turned to the last tube, which was not only empty, but open.  “Of course”, she said. “That’s the tube that held the guy from last night.”

Finished with her boredom induced inspection, Leela wandered the few steps to the room’s sole chair and sat down.  Putting her legs up on the nearby desk, Leela leaned back and stretched, letting the chair tilt back on two legs.  Unfortunately, her distracted mind failed to balance her weight properly.  Leela realized what was going to happen a fraction of a second too late to do anything about it. 

The chair’s center of mass drifted too far backward, and gravity seized its opportunity.  Leela found herself rolling backward and downward. Suddenly she was rolling across the floor.  Her momentum carried her head over heels into the open freezer tube.  With a snick, the cryogenic chamber’s door closed behind her.  A dial on the machine began to spin.  Leela banged on the glass, trying desperately to escape what was about to happen.  The spinning stopped, and a tiny LED screen flashed on.  The screen read ‘1000 years”.  The frantic woman screamed and thrashed about, but it was no use and she knew it.  “No!  Let me out!  I…”  There was a flash.

[Reply #404 on:]

*Insert generic death threat here*

Now, that aside, love the tribute to SP3K.  Very clever 

Can't wait till Fry comes back and all hell breaks loose...

[Reply #405 on:]

uhh... don't count on Fry being around for awhile 

[Reply #406 on:]

...Ok... Looking good so far... To be honest, I can't wait to see were you going with this.

Keep it up Soylent.

[Reply #407 on:]

Oooh! *DUN DUN DUUNNN*! This is really cool. Please keep the updates coming! 

[Reply #408 on:]

 

Originally posted by soylentOrange:
uhh... don't count on Fry being around for awhile   

*Insert another generic death threat here*

Now I'm even more intrigued!

[Reply #409 on:]

thanks for the comments everybody  .  I'll try and update sometime this week if I can, but I've got alot of schoolwork so we'll see... 

[Reply #410 on:]

OH NO! thats not fair! She was just about to ask him out on a date, how can this happen?!?!?!

He better find her soon, like stright after he gets back! lol.

Good writing! update soon, i can't wait for the next section!

[Reply #411 on:]

hi everybody    My update sorta, well, got postponed due to extreme lazi-, err, busy-ness.  Yeah that's it.  I'll have it up sometime this week for sure.

 

Originally posted by Blane:
OH NO! thats not fair! She was just about to ask him out on a date, how can this happen?!?!?!

He better find her soon, like stright after he gets back! lol.

@Blane: It happened precisely BECAUSE she was about to ask him out on a date.  You had to know it was too good to be true 

[Reply #412 on:]

first off, sorry about the double post.  Here's a nice big 'ol update, enjoy!

Part 2
Chapter 1

The tube door swished open, allowing a fine mist to spill out onto the floor.  Leela moaned and stretched. Propping one hand on the side of the chamber, she pulled herself to her feet and shuffled slowly out into the room.  Her legs wobbled under her weight, and the world began to spin.  Leaning against the tube to support herself, Leela waited groggily until her blood began to flow.  Color gradually returned to her body, but her mind still slept.

“Wha…  what happened?”, she murmered to herself.  A voice in her head was trying to tell her something, but it was fuzzy and so far away…  Why was there such a sense of urgency?  Something bad had just happened, or was it just about to?  “Why can’t I remember?”  There was a memory of falling backward, and then a feeling of intense cold…  The memory clicked into place.

“Oh no, I was frozen!”  A wave of terror surged through the cyclops.  How long had it been?  Suddenly the thought of looking out the window filled Leela with an overwhelming sense of dread.  The default setting on the freezer tubes was a millennium.  “My god, a thousand years…”  Her parents, her friends, everyone she knew would be long dead and forgotten.  She would be utterly alone, a relic from the long past to be pitied and scorned by the denizens of the far future.  She would be a 41st century Fry. 

Leela shook her head to clear it.  “No, it’s not possible.”  The words came out hollow.  Not even realizing that she was holding her breath, Leela forced herself to turn and walk the few steps to the window sill.  Somehow her eye had managed to close of its own volition.  Reluctantly, Leela pressed her face against the smooth surface and forced open her eye. What she saw made her gasp.

The city of New New York lay in ruins.  The once proud skyscrapers lay shattered in the rubble clogged streets.  Twisted plasteel skeletons jutted from the wreckage of the buildings that they had supported.  Overhead, the sky was a dismal gray.

Leela worked her way through the shattered streets as the reality of her situation sank in.   Somehow the whole city had been destroyed.  Everywhere she went there was more destruction.  Only a few of the smaller buildings remained standing, of which Applied Cryogenics was one. Somehow these structures had gone overlooked by whatever force had leveled the largest city on Earth. Leela’s tube, powered by the steady fire of a fusion reactor in the building’s basement, had carried her safely through Armageddon and into the distant future.

Nothing stirred anywhere.  New New York was completely and utterly dead.  “No, not just dead,” Leela realized, “empty.”

An icy shiver crawled up Leela’s spine.  In the hours that she had been awake she had yet to see any sign that people had ever lived here.  Tens of millions of people had called this city home.  Even if they had all died a millennium in the past, there should still be  something left, even if it was just bones and dust.  What had happened to everyone?  “Maybe they escaped,” Leela thought.  Somehow she knew that was not the case.
_____________________________ _____________________________ ___________

It was nearly sundown when Leela crested a pile of broken plascreet and stood looking down at the remains of Planet Express.  She had known from the beginning what to expect, but even with the knowledge in her head, the reality of what lay before her was still too much to bear.  Leela sank to her knees and let the tears come, no longer willing or able to keep them away.

Planet Express was a decomposing hulk.  The top half of the tower was gone, leaving a fire-scorched hole in the building’s north side. Bits of metal, brick, and glass lay scattered about the base of the building.  Leela knew without a doubt that she would find nothing living inside.

When the tears finally began to dry themselves up, Leela became aware of the darkness that had been deepening around her. The thought of being stuck out in the open in the darkness sent a shiver down her spine, and she forced herself to stand.  She began walking toward what was left of the Planet Express building.  A few moments later she broke into a jog, and then the jog became a run.  As twilight faded, Leela’s fragile control over her emotions was overwhelmed and, chased by the imagined ghosts of tens of millions of New New Yorkers, Leela bolted through the gaping hole that had once been the Planet Express Building’s front door.    Careening through the darkness at breakneck speed it was only a matter of seconds before Leela tripped and fell to the floor.  Something hard and blunt hit her square in the forehead, sending her spiraling into unconsciousness, and then sleep.

It was early afternoon when the sense that she was being watched woke Leela from her fevered dreams.  A few tense seconds passed in silence while Leela lay still, listening for any sign that she was not alone.  There was nothing.  Finally the ex PE captain forced herself to relax.  There was no one there, and she could not afford to let her imagination run wild like it had the night before.  That way led to paranoia and maybe even madness.

From her surroundings it appeared as though her terror-induced sprint through the building had landed her in Hermes’ office.  The large bruise on her forehead was courteous of one of the bureaucrat’s industrial grade staplers, which now lay overturned against the wall. 

Leela took a moment to compose herself and then began a tour of her surroundings, being careful to avoid the few places where the structure had become unsound.  Other than the rooms adjacent to the mysteriously vanished tower, there were very few such places.  All in all, the Planet Express building was a testament to the genius of its creator.  Professor Farnsworth may have been a senile old crackpot, but he sure knew how to design something to last.

Everywhere she went she felt an unseen presence, but every time she stopped to listen the only sound was that of the blood coursing through her ears.  Still, the feeling did not go away.

When her search finally took her to the hangar bay, Leela was greeted by a sight that she had not expected.  Resting on its haunches like some beautiful slumbering bird of prey sat the Planet Express Ship, and it was intact.

Though everything else was ruined, the Planet Express ship looked as though it’s hull had been soldered together the day before.  Along the entire surface of the ship there was no sign of damage or of rust.  It was almost as though the ship had been freshly painted.  The feeling that she was not alone once again ate at the back of Leela’s mind.

Armed with a makeshift metal club, Leela searched the vessel from stern to bow, but found no one aboard.  Still, something was most definitely not right.  There was no dust or sign of wear and tear inside the ship.  The equipment was clean and well maintained.  Tools and other objects were arrayed neatly about the cabin.  In fact, the only thing that was missing was the supply of dark matter that was needed to make the ship fly.

When Leela realized that the ship was in working condition after one thousand years but couldn’t take her anywhere because someone had forgotten to fill the gas tank, she just about lost control of herself again.  Fighting to keep herself out of the well of despair that had claimed her the night before, the distraught woman made her way to the bridge and collapsed into the captain’s chair.  She sat there, fighting a silent battle with her emotions.  She had just gotten herself back under control when some unnamed sense flashed her an urgent warning.  There could no longer be any doubt.  She was not alone.

Leela forced her body to stay perfectly still and listened for the presence that was creeping up behind her.  There was a muffled rustle, so quiet that Leela would not have heard it if she had not been concentrating with every fiber of her being.  The presence crept nearer.  Leela tightened her grip on the crude metal weapon that lay in her lap, but still she did not turn around.  The presence grew nearer.  Leela waited.  Fractions of a second seemed like hours, and Leela still waited.  Something was right behind her.  It took every ounce of self control to keep from turning around.  There was the touch of breath on the back of Leela’s neck.  The cyclops whirled around, bringing her club to bear.  Her assailant’s three eyes bulged out in terror and pain as the club contacted with the side of his head.  The blow’s momentum sent Nibbler flying across the bridge.

“ungh…  Where am I?  What happened?”

The fact that her pet, who by all rights should have been dead hundreds of years ago, was not only alive but currently in the process of speaking to her should perhaps have come as more of a shock, but after everything else that had happened in the last 24 hours (or 1000 years depending on your point of view) Leela found herself oddly able to take it all in stride.

“Shh, It’s ok Nibbler, you’re safe.  No, don’t try and move.  I walloped you pretty hard, try to stay still until we know how bad you’re hurt.”   

The black and white Nibblonian’s body grew rigid at the sound of the voice.  The sudden muscle exertion caused him to wince in pain, an odd gesture for a species with three eyes.  Suddenly the creature remembered to whom he was speaking.

“By mighty Thor’s hammer!  Leela, can it really be you after all these years?”
“Yes,” Leela assured him, “it’s really me after all these years.  Oh yeah, umm, how many is that exactly?”

Nibbler thought for a moment.  “Hmm, 49326 cuddle-its translates into…  It would have been exactly 1000 of your Earth years ago as of yesterday afternoon.”

So it really had been a millennium.  “Nibbler, what happened here?”  Leela gestured out the cockpit window at the ruined Planet Express building.  “Who did this?”  After a moment’s pause she added:  “Oh, and why can you talk?” 

Nibbler’s face darkened as painful memories surfaced in his vastly superior mind.  “Then you do not know.  Very well, then I shall tell you all that I know.”

“One thousand years ago today, the brainspawn that survived the destruction of the infosphere staged a surprise attack on this planet.  With The Mighty One off-planet and you suddenly missing, my only course of action was to reveal myself to the Earthican military.    I was allowed conference with a captain Zapp Brannigan, commander of the defending forces.  Unfortunately captain Brannigan was unwilling to listen to any advice that I had to give, and the defending forces were defeated before they could fire a shot.
   Sensing that your planet’s only hope of survival lay in the hands of The Mighty One, I fought my way past the brainspawn blockade and went in search of Fry.  By the time I found him and brought him back to Earth, it was already too late.  The brains had already consolidated their position.  The Mighty One fell defending this very building.  When it was over, there was nothing left.  The brains removed every trace of biological matter from this planet in retribution for the destruction of the infosphere.”

“Wait…  I’m sorry.  Brainspawn?  The Mighty one?  This all sounds vaguely familiar but I can’t quite place it.  Also, why can you talk?” 

Nibbler nodded.  “Of course, I apologize.  This might be helpful to you.”  Leela was blinded by a brilliant white flash from the Nibblonian’s third eye.  “There, I’ve restored your memory.”

Leela blinked confusedly “Huh, did everything just taste purple for a moment?” 

Nibbler gave her a dismissive wave of the hand.  “Yes yes, that’s a common side effect.  Do not worry about it.”

“Umm anyway, now that I suddenly remember that Fry is the sole hope of the universe…” Leela paused when she saw the expression on her pet’s face.  “Err, I mean was the sole hope of the universe.  Sorry.”

“It is unimportant.”

A silence descended between the two long-lost companions as each became momentarily lost in thought.  Presently Leela asked: “Nibbler, if all life on Earth was destroyed a thousand years ago, then why are you still here?”

The Nibblonian sighed heavily.  He did not answer for a long time.  “It was my solemn duty to protect this world, and you and Fry in particular, from the brainspawn.  I failed miserably.  Once they had conquered Earth, the brains launched a campaign against the rest of the universe.  I led the Nibblonian fleet against the onslaught, but our mighty huggyships we were no match for the brains without the special powers of the Mighty One.  One by one the populated worlds fell to the brains until, eventually, only my home planet remained.  I, along with half of the Nibblonian high council, managed to escape with my life before the brains broke through the last of our defenses.  Each of us fled in a different direction in the hope that at least one of us might avoid detection.  I chose to return to Earth.  For the last 157 years I’ve lived in the ruins of this city, spending my time meditating and maintaining this ship so that I will always remember that it was my failure that doomed the universe. “

“Ohh, you are just sooo adorable, I can’t stand it..  I…” 

Nibbler narrowed his eyes.     

Leela’s cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment.  “Heh heh, sorry.”

“Ahem.  As I was saying, I spent the last 157 years hiding out on this planet from the brainspawn.  It never occurred to me that by doing so I might ever see you again.  When I discovered you lying on the floor last night, I assumed it was some sort of sophisticated mental trap set by the brains.  When you showed no signs of leaving and then boarded the ship, I decided that you must be destroyed.  It did not occur to me that you were not an imposter until you beat me across the forehead with that primitive weapon.  Only ‘The Other’ has the necessary skill to overcome my cunning in battle.   Tell me, how is it that you managed to travel forward in time by 1000 of your years, for I assume that is what occurred?”

“No, I got myself frozen like Fry did.  My chair fell backward and, next thing I know, I’m locked in a cryogenic tube until the next millennium.   Hey wait a minute, come to think of it, how could you not know that’s what happened to me?  I mean come on, I mysteriously vanished right after taking a job at a cryogenics company, what else could you think?”

The Nibblonian nodded sagely.  “Ahh, so it was as I originally thought.  It is strange then that you were not found, as a search party was sent to the cryogenics facility as soon as it became apparent that you were missing.”

“I wasn’t exactly in an out of the way part of the building.  A person would have to have been a moron to miss me, but you said Fry was off planet.  Who exactly did you send to look for me?”

“That robot friend of yours, I believe Bender was his name.  He assured me that he would search the building from basement to rooftop, and let me know if he found even the tiniest clue as to your whereabouts.”

“Uh-huh, and how much did you bribe him with?”

Nibbler cocked his head sideways in puzzlement.  “I do not understand.  Why would I have paid him a bribe for the rescue of his own friend?”

“Obviously you didn’t know Bender very well.  He probably didn’t even spend 5 minutes looking for me, the metal bastard.”

[Reply #413 on:]

You know.. I was half expecting Leela running into Charlton Heston's head infront of what would remain of the Statue of Libery.
And he would be screaming; "You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!" 

[Reply #414 on:]

ohh that would have been hilarious!  I wish I had thought to do that 

[Reply #415 on:]

 

Originally posted by soylentOrange:
ohh that would have been hilarious!  I wish I had thought to do that   

[SpaceCase taps SoylentOrange on the shoulder]

*Psst*

[SpaceCase looks one way then the other]

That's what editing is for...

[Sneaks away]

[Reply #416 on:]

Wow, that was good! I was hoping Leela would find Nibbler.   

OK, so now I will do my annoying nitpicking bit...

 

“Wha… what happened?”, she murmered to herself.

You don't need the comma after the speech marks and it should be 'murmured'.

 

the Planet Express ship looked as though it’s hull had been soldered

Don't need the apostrophe.

 

“Shh, It’s ok Nibbler

The 'I' doesn't need to be a capital.

 

I will always remember that it was my failure that doomed the universe. “

The end speech marks are the wrong way round and...too far away...

OK, now some bits I really liked:

 

When Leela realized that the ship was in working condition after one thousand years but couldn’t take her anywhere because someone had forgotten to fill the gas tank, she just about lost control of herself again.

Heehee, how ironic!   

 

Leela blinked confusedly “Huh, did everything just taste purple for a moment?”

Nibbler gave her a dismissive wave of the hand. “Yes yes, that’s a common side effect. Do not worry about it.”

  Nice reference.

 

It did not occur to me that you were not an imposter until you beat me across the forehead with that primitive weapon. Only ‘The Other’ has the necessary skill to overcome my cunning in battle.

Heehee, Futurama logic!

 

A person would have to have been a moron to miss me, but you said Fry was off planet.

Even when Fry's been dead a thousand years, she still insults him...

 

“Obviously you didn’t know Bender very well. He probably didn’t even spend 5 minutes looking for me, the metal bastard.”

So Bender.   

I'm really getting into this story now. What can Leela and Nibbler do? How will they get back?? Can they save the universe??? Ooh, hurry up and write!   

[Reply #417 on:]

 

Originally posted by SpaceCase:
 

Originally posted by soylentOrange:
ohh that would have been hilarious!  I wish I had thought to do that   

[SpaceCase taps SoylentOrange on the shoulder]

*Psst*

[SpaceCase looks one way then the other]

That's what editing is for...

[Sneaks away]

*looks around half-frightened*  Hello?  Is someone there?  Is it the voices?

lol just kidding, but not really.  I think I'll listen to your advice and add a planet of the apes reference in edit 

@Arkan:  Wow, I need to work on my punctuation.  I seem to have an obsession with commas and apostrophes...  Glad you like my story so far   

[Reply #418 on:]

 

Originally posted by soylentOrange:
 *looks around half-frightened*  Hello?  Is someone there?  Is it the voices?

[Malevolent laughter]
Mwu-hoo-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
<*Ahem*> Sorry about that...
 

Wow, I need to work on my punctuation...

S/O, my friend, I'm doing you the best favor I can (at the moment):

[SpaceCase points to mouth, & bites own tongue] 

[Reply #419 on:]

wow...just...wow.  I'm beyond words at this update...can't wait for then next installment!

[Reply #420 on:]

 

Originally posted by soylentOrange:
I seem to have an obsession with commas and apostrophes...

Gaah, you as well?

[Reply #421 on:]

...at least you're not obsessed with ellipses... like I am...

Interesting stuff SO, you've got me wondering where exactly you're going to go with this.  Nice work.  Leela's off the cuff insult to Fry was a good touch.

[Reply #422 on:]

 

Originally posted by fryismyhero:
can't wait for then next installment!

Thanks    Speaking of updates, when's your next one coming out?

@TriggerHappyJim: Yeah, I'm not sure why, but sometimes it seems like, you know, there's more commas than, well, there needs to be in some of my work.  ,,,,,,,,

@JBERGES: thanks for the comment JB, glad you like my stuff
 

[Reply #423 on:]

So totally into this story. Yay!

[Reply #424 on:]

Great Soylent, you’ve hooked me on your story again.

That last part was really good but… somehow I fell like something is missing.

In your last chapter, you almost made Leela kiss Fry… In this part, Leela learn that Fry died (like everyone else) but she doesn’t make a really big deal out of it. (But I do like the part were she is still teasing/making fun of him) That’s the only thing that’s bothering me.

But the whole story about Fry fighting to save the Earth and loosing was great.

Can’t wait to see were you are really going to take us with that story. (I think I know but I hope you’ll surprise me. (Was always good to predict how a book or movie would end.))

Keep it up.

[Reply #425 on:]

Whaqt NIC said.

Of course Leela may be dealing with emotinal overload, with all life on Earth being destroyed, and it's Leela-like to throw an insult about Fry's intelligence off the cuff.  I would still think that she would have at least a thought or two about Fry dying in battle since he's a known coward and she's the warrior of the two.

That's my only nit-pick.

[Reply #426 on:]

I'm am loving the story so far! Can't wait till the next part. I miss Fry already!!!! Or should I say I miss myself? Dun dun dun!

[Reply #427 on:]

@Venus: yay, venus likes my story 

@Nic2001/Snart:  yeah I think you're right.  That'll be something else to do when I go back and edit...

@Iamfry: glad you like it, and welcome to PEEL 

[Reply #428 on:]

 

Originally posted by soylentOrange:
 Thanks     Speaking of updates, when's your next one coming out?

uh...er...umm...hey, look over there!

*runs*


stupid uni.  won't be for a while unfortunately 

[Reply #429 on:]

well, I finally got my Talora fiction all edited up and pretty-fied.  I ironed out a few of the rough spots that you guys pointed out.  If anyone cares to read it, it can be found on my site: http://geocities.com/soylentorange958

[Reply #430 on:]

 

Originally posted by soylentOrange:

@Iamfry: glad you like it, and welcome to PEEL   

Thank you!

[Reply #431 on:]

wow, it's been awhile.  Not like the fall when I was updating 3 days a week    .  Maybe with summer coming up I'll have more time for writing.  (or maybe I'll get so distracted that I don't update til september).  Anyway, here's the next chapter.  Enjoy!

also, 1000th post! whahoo!
_____________________________ ___________________

Part 2
Chapter 2

Leela and Nibbler stayed on the bridge of the ancient Planet Express Ship long into the evening while the Nibblonian sadly recounted the last millennium of history to her.

    According to Nibbler, the brains had been detected completely by accident.  A transport ship that happened to be in the right place at the right time radioed ahead to Earth that a fleet of giant brains was headed its way.  Luckily, Nibbler had been monitoring the primitive human newscast when the sighting was announced.  The Nibblonian immediately ran to Planet Express and revealed his true nature to Amy, Farnsworth, and Bender, who were the only people other than Leela that he knew well enough to even think about trusting.  There had been quite a few looks of incredulity when the little furry creature walked in the front door and started proclaiming the end of the world.  Apparently Nibbler’s cover as a stupid animal had been more masterful than even he had realized.
 
Nibbler explained the situation and the impending danger to the two Planet Express employees and their employer.  While Bender (supposedly) went searching for the suddenly missing Leela, Amy called her boyfriend Kif.  Conveniently enough, Kif was second in command of the DOOP flagship.  Within minutes Nibbler was face to face with Captain Zapp Brannigan.
       
When the brains began their attack a few hours later they were swift and brutal, stupefying anyone that fled and vaporizing the few that were foolish enough to stand against them.   The Nimbus and a few other military vessels which had not had the bad luck to be overtaken in the initial surprise attack were scrambled to fight the invaders, contrary to Nibbler’s advice that they withdraw and wait until the Mighty One could be found and the Nibblonian fleet could be summoned.  The Earthican command decided not to take Nibbler’s advice.  In the words of one Zapp Brannigan: “Sorry, but the DOOP Navy doesn’t need talking gerbils to reinforce it.  What do you think we are, incompetent?”  The last words broadcast by the DOOP flagship were Kif Kroker’s:  “Sir, I don’t think you should touch that.”  An instant later, and five minutes before it would have come into range of enemy fire, the DOOP flagship was destroyed.  The rest of the DOOP actually managed to get into firing range, but the brains simply encased each ship in a psyonic field and ripped them apart one by one before they could get off a shot.

When it became clear that the battle was swiftly becoming a rout, Nibbler was left with only one option: he must find the Mighty One, and he must do it fast.  Fighting literally tooth and nail through the streets of New New York, the Nibblonian commander made his way to his hidden spaceship and took off in search of Fry.  Sadly, by the time Fry was located, convinced that the talking three-eyed gerbil standing in front of him was not a hallucination brought on by the 23 cans of Slurm he had just ingested, and subsequently brought back to Earth, the battle was all but over.

Fry landed the ship back at Planet Express in order to pick up the three members of Planet Express who, unlike Hermes and Zoidberg, had not already been aboard ship as part of the now-forgotten delivery.  With The Mighty One at the helm, a thoroughly disgruntled Martian intern manning the laser battery, a thoroughly bored bending robot working the torpedoes, and the tactical brilliance of a Nibblonian commander, the Planet Express Ship was able to hold its own against the legions of brainspawn.  Still, it was only a matter of time before the brains managed to lock onto the ship with their psyonic beams, and swat the pesty little gnat out of the sky. 

If Leela had been piloting the Planet Express ship she might have been able to keep it airborne, but Fry was lucky just to get the ship back to the general vicinity of Planet Express before it plowed nose first into the dirt.  With the brainspawn hot on their tails, Bender tucked the professor under one arm and the entire Planet Express crew ran frantically for the relative safety of the Planet Express building.  Once there they held out as long as they could, which wasn’t long.  When the brains’ final attack came, only Fry and Nibbler were able to withstand the stupefaction rays.  Faced with overwhelming odds, the Nibblonian and the delivery boy were steadily pushed back into the interior of the building.  Suddenly, a pack of brainspawn drove their way between the two fighters.  Fry and Nibbler were forced in different direction, Fry toward the smelloscope room and Nibbler back toward the hangar.  A few minutes later a jaw wrenching concussion tore its way through the building.  The smelloscope room vanished in a brilliant fireball, taking Fry and the rest of the Planet Express crew with it.

Leela tried to listen to the rest of the Nibblonian’s story, but it was hard to pay attention over the images of her friends’ deaths that were coursing through her mind like a never ending slideshow.  She had to do something, anything to get these increasingly gruesome pictures out of her head.

Nibbler’s words trailed off as he noticed his companion’s distress.  He cocked his head and gave her a troubled look.  “Leela, are you alright?”

“Yeah I…  No not really.”  She stood up.  “I’m sorry Nibbler, I need some fresh air.”  Without another word Leela turned and fled from the room.

Later that night, when the waning crescent moon was just rising over the broken landscape, Leela sat with her back against what had once been a piece of the Planet Express building’s front wall.  At her feet was a small smoky fire.  Leela stared sadly into the hypnotic dance of the flames.  It had been hard work finding material that would burn; firewood doesn’t usually last a millennium after all.  Still, Leela hadn’t been able to bring herself to head back to the ship yet, and the search had burnt up some tension and kept her mind busy.  Besides, the heat and the light were comforting amidst the dark and desolation of the city around her.  If she stared into the flames long enough the outside world would seem to collapse until nothing existed but the crackle and hiss of the fire.  Maybe if she stared long enough she could forget for a moment that her friends and family had been reduced to dust.  She tried and tried, but it didn’t work.

A sudden gust of wind sent a shower of sparks soaring into the air. 

“I cant believe I’ll never see them again”, she whispered to herself.  Then silently: “My parents, Bender, my friends from Applied Cryogenics, Fry, they’re all gone.”  She purposely put Fry’s name last in the list but she couldn’t quite hide from herself the fact that his name had popped into her mind first.  She missed the others of course, but Fry’s face was the one that was stuck in her head. 

A burning chunk of debris broke apart with a loud ‘pop’, releasing a pocket of superheated air.  The fire collapsed in on itself.  More sparks flew out into the night.  There was something familiar here…. Something important, but just out of reach…

Presently Leela’s mind returned to Fry.  “It just isn’t fair!  After years of not knowing what to do I finally decide to let him know how I feel about him, and now I’ll never get the chance.”  If only she hadn’t fallen into that damned freezer tube.  “Of course,” she thought bitterly, “that wouldn’t have happened if Farnsworth hadn’t made me take that stupid driving exam to begin with.”  But no that wasn’t fair.  The professor wasn’t the one who was to blame, it was the brains that Nibbler had been talking about.  If it hadn’t been for their senseless war, New New York wouldn’t be a silent wasteland, Fry, Leela’s parents, and the others would still be alive, and Leela wouldn’t have been left alone in stasis for a thousand years.  Yes, they were the ones at fault here.  If only Leela had known about them before, maybe she could have done something about them… 

The fire continued its dance as the night grew chill.  Leela prodded the blaze with a pole she had found lying nearby.  The flames licked higher into the night.  Something about the way the fire burned made her hesitate as she tried to get comfortable again.  What was this sense of deja vous?  Where had she seen this before, and why did she suddenly feel as though it was vital that she find out? Leela concentrated on the feeling, keenly aware that such intuitions had gotten her out of many of the tightest spots she had ever been in.  “Alright”, she thought, “what’s giving me this feeling?” It wasn’t the fire itself that was familiar really, it was something else… The heat and the light maybe?  Yes that was it.  And something else, something that involved Fry…

The fire let out another loud ‘pop’.

That pop was important too.  It sounded almost like, what?  Fireworks?  No, that wasn’t it.  Gunshot?  No, it wasn’t loud enough.  Actually it was more like… “Popcorn!”  The word echoed off a hundred broken walls, but Leela didn’t even notice she had said anything aloud.  She was too busy laughing.
. 
 
Nibbler was still on the bridge of the ship.  He had fallen asleep on the observation sofa while waiting for Leela to return, and now the cyclops had to shake him to get him to wake up again.  .The Nibblonian’s first impression was that something was wrong and he came to full alertness immediately, but when he realized that Leela was smiling he went from worried to confused.

“Leela, what is going on?”

“I can save them!  The fire, the popping noises.  It’s so obvious, why didn’t I think of it before?!”

“I do not understand.  Please, slow down and tell me, what is it that you have discovered?”

Leela paused and took several deep breaths before continuing.  “Sorry, I got a little carried away with excitement.  I think I’ve come up with a way to help Fry and the others.”

Nibbler gazed at her intently.  From anyone else such a statement would have been ridiculous, but this was The Other speaking, and when The Other spoke it was a good idea to listen.  “How?” he asked.

“When it started to get dark I built myself a fire to keep warm and give myself something to do, and while I was staring at it I couldn’t help but think that it was somehow familiar.  The heat, the light, the sounds.  It was just like the time that the professor took us to see that supernova and Fry put metal in the microwave.  Something in the supernova combined with the microwave and the metal and the whole ship got sucked back through time.”

“Yes, I remember that event well.  It is what made it possible for Fry to resist the brainspawn, but I don’t see how that has any bearing on our present situation.”

“Don’t you get it?  All we have to do is find a supernova and stick something metal in the microwave and we can go back in time and keep the brains from ever attacking in the first place!”

Nibbler thought for a moment.  “I see.  You intend to use the microwave to initiate a space-time transfer and travel through time as you did to the mid 20th century.  Interesting…”

The Nibblonian thought for a minute.  “No, that cannot work.  Such a primitive means of time travel is inherently unpredictable.  You could miss your target time by a day, a week, or five thousand years.”

“And there is no other way?”

Nibbler started to shake his head but stopped in mid motion.  “Wait.  Perhaps there is.  Long ago it was rumored that the brains were developing a means to go back in time and destroy the origins of conscious thought.  The brains supposedly managed to get the device to work, but realized that they could never use it.  You see, if they were to go back in time and destroy all conscious thought, their past selves would have had no reason to develop a time machine in the first place.  Such a conundrum could rip spacetime apart at the seams.”

“The grandfather paradox.”  At Nibbler’s questioning look Leela added: “Hey, when you spend your life around a mad scientist you pick up on these things.”

“Ah, I see.  Anyway, if we can find this fabled device we may be able to go back in time and stop the brains from invading Earth and taking over the universe.”

“Uhh Nibbler, maybe I’m just a member of a drastically inferior race, but wouldn’t going back in time and stopping the brains alter the past in such a way that we had no reason to go back in time?  You just said that a situation like that would rip the universe apart, and I’m pretty much thinking that’s a bad thing.”

“Leela, the brains have turned the universe into a barren wasteland devoid of thought or purpose, much like an American public school of the early 21st century.  Even if all we accomplish is to destroy this reality, there is nothing left that could be lost.  Do you believe that preserving reality is worth the only chance you are likely to ever have at saving everyone you ever cared for?”

Leela grimaced.  “Well when you put it that way…  Ok, let’s do it, and to hell with the time-space continuum!”

“Agreed”

[Reply #432 on:]

This just filled my insides with happy.

[Reply #433 on:]

Me too! 

I really liked the scientific explanations and Leela thinking about the others (especially Fry  ).

[Reply #434 on:]

 

Originally posted by soylentOrange:
What do you think we are, incompetent?

I think that is what you would call a rhetorical question...

So it's time to break out ye ole go-back-in-timeatron? I remember discussing the possibility of time travel with a girl that had a major in Physics… she made my head hurt. 

[Reply #435 on:]

*whew* I'm glad you guys enjoyed that.  Everything between Nibbler's history lesson and the talk about the time device got written on the fly after Leo told me that the story seemed too rushed. (like that sentence you just read) 

@Venus: <fry> thank you ma'am, that's exactly what I was going for </fry>

@Arkan:  I was afraid the sciency stuff was a little too dry.  Glad to hear you liked it 

@Corvus:  Yes, time for the convenient, easy to use, and purposely vague travel-to-the-past-amajig.  patent pending.  I decided not to bother with any wormholes moving near the speed of light 

[Reply #436 on:]

Excellent *fryismyhero does her best Mr Burns impression*

history lesson = good
science lesson = good
travel-to-the-past-amajig = goood

more soon? pretty please with sugar on top?

[Reply #437 on:]

 

Originally posted by fryismyhero:
more soon? pretty please with sugar on top?

Ya, ya. I like it. Good. More!

[Reply #438 on:]

 

Originally posted by fryismyhero:
more soon? pretty please with sugar on top?

Ya! It's good! I feel like i'm really watching an episode!
 

[Reply #439 on:]

Opps did a double post.