Deku, The Next Wielder of The Omnitrix!

Chapter 154: Clashing Ideals!

-WITH CLASS 1-A, 4 DAYS LATER-

"MAX!  MAX DON'T!"  Neil Armstrong yelled to Max as he tried to stop him from entering a hatch in the space pod.  "MAX, IF YOU OPEN THAT HATCH; THE AIR PRESSURE WILL LAUNCH YOU INTO THE EMPTINESS OF SPACE!"

"But it'll be enough to correct our trajectory, right!?"  Max replied.  "It's the only way Neil! At this trajectory, we won't be able to land safely back on Earth without something to turn us around!"

"But you'll....!"  Neil said to Max.  "We won't have a way to save you!  You'll be floating into the emptiness of space with no way back!"

"Well, I did have a lot of fun with the zero gravity back on the moon...!  Wouldn't mind experiencing it a bit more and a bit longer...!"  Max said to Neil as he continued preparing the hatch.  "Depressurizing the hatch now...!  Don't worry Neil, I'll bring back a souvenir for you."

"This isn't the time for jokes Max! Think of everyone waiting for you back home!  You family, your friends!  Everyone!"  Neil yelled to Max, making him stop what he was doing.

"And what about your family?  What about your friends Neil?  What about little Mark?  Or little Karen!?  Or little Rick?  They need you in their lives...!  I won't let them grow up without a father, no matter what it'll cost me..."  Max replied as he looked over to Neil.  "My ma and pa passed a long while ago...  My other family and I aren't that close...  Haven't seen them in years.  If I can give my life to something meaningful though, I'm sure they would all understand why I did what I did."

"Max...!"  Neil said to Max through the glass window.  

"It'll be okay Neil...  I'll land on my feet somehow..."  Max said to Neil before smiling.  "Better men than me have sacrificed their lives without hesitation before in far more scarier positions, all for the sake of saving others...  I can't do any less than them...  If it takes a hero to get us all out of this situation, then I'll be that hero, without question...!"

"There has to be another way...!"  Neil asked. "You deserve to live too!"

"If my death means you can live a long life with yours, then its a price I'll willingly pay in full."  Max replied.  "Chamber's ready for detaching...  Guess I better buckle up my seatbelt...!"

"Max, wait...!"  Neil asked with a smile and tears in his eyes.  "I just want you to know...  You're...  You're the bravest hero I know...!  I'll make sure everyone back at HQ knows of what you did for us...!  I'll make sure you're remembered as a hero forever...!  I promise...!  I may be the first man on the moon, but you'll...  You'll be the real American hero...!"

"Anyone can be a hero Neil; all it takes is just one guy who just doesn't know when to quit."  Max said before grabbing onto the latch of the door.  "And me...?  I never quit.  No matter what, it's just not in the Tennyson blood."

"I'm gonna miss you something awful..."  Neil said to Max before looking up at him once more.  "Godspeed Max Tennyson..." 

"...  Goodbye Neil.  Thanks for giving me the adventure of a lifetime."  Max said as he began to turn the latch.  "See you in the next life, my friend."

Max sighs deeply before pulling the lever, releasing the hatch inside his pod.  The sudden burst of air pushes the shuttle far towards the left as Max is sent flying into the emptiness of space.

Neil floats back into the cockpit, where he silently sits back down and buckles his belt.

"We're back on course!  Whatever you and Max did, it worked!  We're going home!"  Michael Collins said to Neil, who remained silent as he sat in his seat.