Putz12 Plus One

THIRTY EIGHT | THE END OF ALL THINGS

"Erm, I don't think that's Iza..." Yet He couldn't keep his gaze off of her. Pheobe stared deeply into her eyes, unable to come to a conclusion. He didn't move for a while, then turned to face her while catching spontaneous glances of the bridge just ahead.

"Pheobe, trust me." He said. "Look at the bridge."

"Yes, looks to me there's a few people on it."

"Pardon me, Ma'am, but what do we do again?" A former Ordermember asked.

"Quiet, you!" Putz shouted. "We are planning, here!" He cleared his throat, taking her hand. He knew their chances of regaining the rainmaker were slim, but slim was better than none. "I can feel something different about that one. You need to trust me." The thunder roared from above, causing her spine to tingle. He wouldn't break contact, and yet the world was still rumbling. "And if it isn't... then she's still alive and well, just up there."

The two stared at the bridge in the distance. Pokeness and Iza were but little ants without detail. Pheobe knew this was it. At the end of that trail was their destination, and it always had been. Soon she envisioned Octofro, Derek, Free and just about everyone she grew to care about. She began to cry and to her surprise Putz rubbed her back, assuring her all would be okay. "I miss my s...sector mates. My friends. Even Condri." She broke down, kneeling in front of the path. Why were things so close but so far? He kneeled down beside her, and so did the suspected Iza (though her smile was innocent enough to believe she had no idea what was going on). Her lips trembled, and with an almost inaudible whisper, she muttered "Mom... Dad..." There was a moment of silence as she buried her head into his chest, and he continued to do nothing comfort her. And as the tears shed, soon a glowing beacon appeared towards the bridge.

"Squit!"

"Squit?" Asked the lookalike. The other two stood up slowly, taking in the light show.

"Listen," He turned to her and held her hand. "Your sister told me everything. How brave you guys were. And the truth is..." The brightness glared and he squeezed her hand tightly. "If we don't end this now, all of those things, your parents, they..." He saw the heartbreak in her eyes, the golden beam glowing brighter by the second. Her heart pounded but she remained still.

"...would have died for nothing." She finished. He nodded, smiling. "But we don't have the r--" The ground began to shake. The same sound as when it had powered up during matches pierced their ears.

"Rainmaker or not, we're still a team, right? So let's--"

"RAINMAKER GODS!" The lookalike shouted, evoking a shocked silence for a few moments.

"Rainmaker gods!"

From behind, thousands of Ordermembers chanted, fists in the air and smiles big as Iza's. They cheered, they clapped and gave their wholehearted approval. With their new morale, both Putz and Pheobe grinned, letting go of each other's embrace.

"Let's do this." He said.

"Let's."

"I finally have it!" Pokeness chuckled through his long tentacle beard. The decoy backed up, stumbling into Gerald's arms.

"Sir, I haven't exactly found the Zapfish yet. If you use it now, it could be highly unstable, I--" It was no use, his words were drowned out by his superior. 

"Just where do you think you're going, imposter?" He asked. She'd never felt so betrayed. The nerve of me, to trust a traitor.

"Come now, child." Pokeness said, lifting her chin with his finger. "Did you really think of me as some drooling moron?"