Operation: NECSUS, Part 18: Vanellope’s Defection

Chapter 18: Vanellope's Defection

Aloha Oe

Haruka finished wrapping bandages around Sheila's fist as the Aloha was leaving Viceron's atmosphere. "Your bones were hurt pretty bad, but they should be fine in a few days. Don't ever wander off again, Sheila!" she stated scoldingly.

"Meh meeeeh." she mumbled.

"Great, Haruka, now hurry up and help Vanellope!" Dillon demanded as their Program friend lay on a bed, still glitching. "She took a bullet, and she's already feeling sick!"

"I don't know how to treat Programs!" Haruka yelled. "Ask a computer genius for that!"

"Vanellope IS a computer genius! Come on, Artie, YOU guys must know something!"

"Heh heh. Sorry, dude, but I'm barely learning robots."

"DOESN'T ANYBODY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT VIRTUAL MEDICAL CARE?" Dillon screamed.

"Calm down, Dillon!" Aurora yelled. "We'll bring her back to Pollyx and have him watch after her!"

"I hope Jerome's okay, though…" Nebula said worriedly. "I know he's a pretty good spacebender and all, but…"

"He'll be fine, Nebs." Vweeb said simply. "More importantly, we need to ask my mom if this whole Kateenia-Glomour War is true."

"Not yet. First we need to fly to Legola and ask Lord Business if he knows anything about building the Dimensionator. We can get him started on it, then when we bring the other fragments…"

"But haven't we decided that building the Dimensionator would be a BAD idea?" Vweeb asked.

"I don't care what my mom says… the Dimensionator can bring cultures together. If anything, we'll use it to send Tachyon back to his people."

"Why not bring his people here?" Bender asked. "How d'you know these Craggles or whatever are still bad?"

"That's a good question, but I'm sure they're adjusted to their new home by now, so it wouldn't be right to take them away. Anyway, we'll fly off to Legola and talk to Business, you guys head to Pollyx and drop off Vanellope. Then meet us down on Sunny Island, Aquaria."

"Roger, roger." Aurora nodded. "Don't worry, Dillon, we'll save her."

"I hope…"

The Shooting Star flew out of the Aloha and off to Legola.

Coruscant; Tachyon's office

The shrimpy emperor and his elderly accomplice watched the scene caught on Zordoom's camera play on their terminal, where Vendra spoke to Nebula. "Hmmm… I wonder what they're talking about." Mom said with a disinterested frown.

"It looks like she's trying to betray me." Tachyon deduced.

"SHE IS trying to betray you, you KLUTZ!" Mom smacked him across the face, making some matter particles disperse and come back. "I TOLD you we shouldn't have trusted that tool!"

"Patience, Mumsy, without her assistance, we may've never gotten this far. And with 4 out of 6 fragments found, the Dimensionator will soon be ours. As soon as she helps us power it, I'll have her tossed into Zordoom with the Zathurian."

"Brilliant." Mom still frowned. "And just what did you plan to do about the ever-so raging Glomours and Kateenians? I for one vote we just capture ALL those yellow walking termites and bake them into fluid-filled popcorn."

"Mum, you must not be so hasty. The Kateenians are stronger than you may see at first. It's all a matter of provoking them first. I have secretly assigned Drophyd troopers to aid both sides and further increase their hateful feelings toward the other. They are also persuading them that the other has hired Nebula and her silly friends to infiltrate their homeground. But when the time comes, I'll have both races, as WELL as those Kids Next Dim, dealt with at once! Then we'll be just one fragment away from acquiring my prize…"

Legola; Octan Tower

Team Nebula returned to Legola and landed on the landing pad on the side of the tower. They entered Lord Business's office, who was quick to greet them. "Ahhh, my new friends! Welcome back! Here to ask me about good business tips?"

"Hm hm, I don't need any more of THAT." Nebula laughed. "We're actually here on an urgent matter. Ever heard of a device called the Dimensionator?"

"The Dimensionator? The thing the Drophyds have been looking for?"

"Yes, but the original machine has been disabled. We were told YOU hold the only blueprints in order to build it."

"Hmmm…" He had a serious look. "Come with me."

In moments, they were whipping down a speeding elevator, all the way down the Octan Tower and into its basement. They finally stopped as Business walked forward, leading them to a chamber of old, dusty file cabinets, made of Legos. "All the presidents of Legola are given confidential access to lost files." He opened a drawer, pulled out, and unfolded large blueprints of a dome-shaped machine with several devices, and slots where the Dimension Fragments should go. "But we're never supposed to work from them. The truth is, this is a machine I've been wanting to build for years, but I could only find one of the crucial pieces."

"Plenty of hot steamin' pieces right here." Bender said, revealing his stash of Dimensional Fragments in his chest.

"Now that should be plenty to work with. But why are you suddenly interested in building it?"

"We need to stop Tachyon, and that might be the only way. After all, he has matterbending powers, so it won't do to just beat him senseless or throw him in prison. It's safer if he's in another dimension." Nebula explained.

"Why not just kill 'im?" Bender asked.

"I don't do that, Sir."

"Hmmmm. Well, since I'm indebted to you, I'll try to whip this up. But the materials Legola has won't cut it, unfortunately. I need a special metal called Alumitanium. I heard a rumor that the right metals can be found on a barren planet near Forest Moon Endor. If you bring me some, I might be able to get started."

"That planet with the robot dinosaurs?" Vweeb asked.

"Hey, maybe the fallen dinos and metal trees are what you're talking about!" Nebula beamed. "We'll fly there and try and grab a few parts!"

"If you do, I may just fly to this planet myself." Business said. "I'm suddenly curious."

"Hm hm, well there isn't a life there, so you shouldn't have to worry about monsters."

"There were ROBOTS there!" Bender yelled.

"Yah, but they got wiped out." Vweeb reminded. "We got nothin' to worry about!"

"How much of the Alumitanium do you need, anyway?" Nebula asked.

"Bring me 10 pounds to be safe. It's not a material that comes around often. Unless you're a BIG shot like the Corporate Presidents!" Business whined hatefully.

"Hm hm, I should be able to bring plenty with my Space Shrink. But is that all we need?"

"There're a few extra materials, but nothing you can't find at the hardware or children's store. Just focus on bringing that Alumitanium and the rest of those fragments."

"We will." Neb nodded. "Thanks for your help." The three hurried back to the ship to begin their sidequest.

Great Library, Cloud City

"Yes, he's gone there, too, but I haven't heard from either of them. Eh, were they captured? 50 soldiers found unconscious, that's wonderful! Er, eh-I mean, very sorry. Well, maybe it's not a total loss, we'll let her find the other fragments and-"

"Mr. Pollyx!"

"GYAH!" Pollyx jumped several feet and quickly hung up as Sector V ran in, with Dillon carrying an unconscious Vanellope.

"Mr. Pollyx, Vanellope's hurt, we need you to look at her!" Haruka yelled.

"Good nectar, kids, I'm a professor, not a doctor!"

"Well, she's a Program, you gotta know SOMEthing!" Dillon argued, setting his friend carefully on the table.

"Okay okay, keep your jeans on, I'll see what I can do." He began to observe the glitching Program. "Ehhh, what seems to be the problem?"

"She got shot by a laser, and she's also been acting really weird!"

"Hmmm, well if I know anything about Programs, all they need is a quick update from the latest software. Um, how exactly do you want her, built-in laser fingers, helicopter hair, um…"

"Just the way she was before." Dillon told him, feeling a little more calm. "Fun and glitchy. Uh, but not like that."

"Ehhh, if you say." Pollyx replied confusedly as he took Vanel to another room.

"See, Dillon, Vanellope will be fine." Aurora assured with a smile. "Now let's go meet Nebula on Aquaria."

"You guys go ahead." Dillon told them. "I wanna stay here and watch her."

"Oh… okay." Aurora saw that concerned look in Dillon's eyes, so she thought it best to comply. "Let's go, the rest of you. The sooner we end this war, the sooner I can get back to Chewy Pellets." They returned to the Aloha while Dillon stood in place and looked worriedly in Vanellope's direction.

Mecha Jungle; for like the 4th time or something

The Shooting Star entered the atmosphere and took land once again in the jungle of metal. They climbed out and began viewing the area. "No sign of any dinos." Nebula said.

"Aren't any cavemen here, either." Bender noticed.

"Why would there be cavemen?"

"Read the other chapter."

"Pollyx said he needed a material called Alumitanium," Nebula recalled, "so let's examine these trees."

But before they began, however, they heard the metal bushes rustling and looked to see a humanoid female robot, with a metal explorer's uniform, calmly step through and approach them with a net ready. They merely stared as Bender scratched his head; kind of like an ape would.

"Don't worry, little ones. I'm not gonna hurt you." She tossed the net over Bender.

Bender whistled. "Hey, lemme catch YOU in a net sometime. Grrrrrowl." He said smoothly.

The woman gasped, "You can talk?! You weren't wearing clothes, so I thought you were…"

"Still not as intelligent as you think." Nebula smirked, earning a glare from Bender.

"You can talk, too?! This is incredible! Until now, I thought flesh-and-blood life was only a myth!"

"Well, we learn a new thing every day!" Vweeb said. "But listen, mind pointin' us to some Alumitanium?" The woman tossed a smaller net over Vweeb, who gave a disbelieved look.

The woman led them into a town populated by robots, and all the buildings were made of metal. They entered a museum that featured bones of robot dinosaurs, and a glass case showed a chain of the man-robot evolution, starting from a bedspring, to R2 from Star Wars, the robot from Lost in Space, the robot caveman, and ended at Jenny from Teenage Robot. "This is weird. First, there were robot dinosaurs. And then cavemen, apparently…" Nebula recapped.

"And then robo-humans!" Vweeb concluded. "This planet's going through the whole evolutionary chain!"

"But how could they evolve so much in a few days?"

"Like I said: robots do everything faster than humans!" Bender replied. "Like evolve, and go through evolutionary chains!"

"Does that mean you die faster, too?" Vweeb smirked.

"We only do the essentials faster, to remain superior to other beings."

"What'll it be like if we come tomorrow?…" Nebula wondered.

The three stepped up on a stage as the explorer woman stood at the podium. "Naturalists of the Museum of Natural Robo-History, thank you for coming today to witness this amazing discovery! Lady-trons and gentlebots: I present to you, Nebula, Vweeb, and Bender!" The museum attendees clapped as the three approached the podium and waved.

"Wait a second!" someone spoke up. "That robot resembles the Great Goliath our people have been constructing for the last 2000 years!"

"Yes, he does!" a woman followed. "The one we based off the painting!" She directed their attention to another infamous Bender Marking inside of a glass case.

"We recovered that painting from a cave, believed to have been left there by the early Robo sapiens during the Steel Age." Another man said. "We believed it was some kind of entity the Robo sapiens idolized. Could they, perhaps, have prophesized…?"

"That's right, I'm your god!" Bender exclaimed. "And these meatbags here are my vassals! They'll demonstrate by finding me some beer- OW!" Nebula bashed him again with the S.H.O.O.T.E.R..

"(Only use this weapon has now.)" she mumbled. "Look, guys, Bender isn't some god or idol, that's just some graffiti he decided to make when we were here a few days ago."

They gasped with horror. "But that's impossible!" the explorer woman exclaimed. "This painting was found in a cave unexplored for millions of years!"

"The girl speaks lies!" a male scientist pointed out. "Our Robot Earth was created in eons, not days!"

"Well, the PLANET may've existed for eons, but all of YOU people evolved from a swarm of tiny robot bugs that tried to eat us a few days ago. They turned into dinos, then cavemen, then, well…" Nebula tried to explain.

"This is madness!" the scientist yelled. "You have no proof!"

"Yes I do! Take a look at this picture of Bender I snapped being mauled by a robot dino." Nebula showed them her camera, which displayed a picture of a robot T-rex furiously swinging Bender around.

The explorer woman looked down with despair. "I don't wanna live on this planet, anymore." And she flew through the ceiling and beyond the atmosphere with rocket shoes.

Team Nebula looked up until she was totally gone above the clouds, then looked down at a group of angry museum-goers. "Eh, hehe… so, um, about that Alumitanium…" Nebula began nervously.

"Arrest those three for crimes against evolution!"

In seconds, Nebula and Bender were in handcuffs, while Vweeb was locked in a tiny cage.

Superior Gort

The three were taken to a courtroom filled with, you guessed it, robots, and seated at the defendants' stand. "All rise before the honorable Judge 12765824082." The bailiff spoke as the judge rolled up on stage.

He banged his gavel. "The case of Everyone v. Weird Flesh Beings Plus Robot is now in session. Prosecution, what is your verdict?"

"We find the mysterious strangers guilty, your honor."

"WHAT?!" Nebula screamed. "The trial didn't even begin!!"

"Told you, we do everything faster than humans." Bender told them simply. "This trial was done 5.3 seconds before it began."

"Very well." The judge said. "I sentence the prisoners to be executed by the Great Goliath which they boldly imitate."

"What is the Great Goliath, anyway?" Nebula asked.

"That which you boldly imitate!" The judge replied. "See for yourself!"

The ceiling flapped open and the walls fell down, and before Team Nebula's stunned eyes, there stood a colossal robot, 500 feet tall, designed just like Bender. "…Yeah, it's definitely big all right. I just wonder if it's too big." Bender began once again, earning disbelieved looks from Neb and Vweeb. "Like, will they remember me, or the goliath- OWW!" Nebula smacked him.

"Bender's painting was discovered 2000 years ago, and from it we deciphered data, data dictating important instructions which this automaton was meant for." The judge announced.

"And that is?" Neb asked.

"KILL ALL HUMANS!" At this, all the robots cheered, including Bender, who earned another smack. "And your presence here has confirmed, there is fleshy life on other worlds. Our Great Goliath, made from the purest Alumitanium, shall fly off and destroy all humans in the universe!"

"I always wanted to have a part in bringing an end to all humanity." Bender said with teary eyes. "But I thought it would be nothing more than a dream. To see this…" he gave a loud, moaning sob, "I've never been more happy to be me: Bender."

"GIVE IT a rest, we have to thrash this thing!" Nebula yelled. "Not only is it made of Alumitanium, we can't let it wipe out the human race."

"Mmmm, ruining all my fun, mmm-nn…" Bender grumbled.

"You, who have opposed our theories of evolution, shall be the first to know its power, just briefly before it kills you." The judge declared. "Activate… THE GOLIATH!" (Play "Megaleg 1" from Super Mario Galaxy.)

Boss fight: Great Goliath

The giant robot slowly raised its right foot and attempted to crush them, but they easily avoided as Nebula noticed a Gravity Path going up and around the leg. She and Bender ran up the path, having to avoid Bullet Bills from the goliath's "shiny metal ass." This Gravity Path ended, but another one continued up the left leg, so Nebula floated them to it. A Banzai Bill was fired at them, but Nebula focused her Space Shrink and made it simply bullet-sized, letting Bender smash it with a clap.

The path led up the front of the bottom and onto the robot's chest area, where many electrical fences appeared and formed a maze of sorts. There were also electrical bars sliding across the ground from ahead, so they had to jump every now and then. They eventually made their way to the giant handle on the goliath's compartment. While Nebula and Vweeb shot away incoming Bullet Bills, Bender stretched his arms around the handle and began to turn and unscrew it. He succeeded as the handle fell to the ground below with a thud, and the three entered the opened hole and fell to the floor of the goliath's interior.

They stood before a large machine full of gears and other gizmos, and also several boilers containing beer. Bender ran to the boiler on their floor and punched the glass open, letting the beer pour into his mouth. The goliath shook just then, and he fell over. "Those must be its weak spots." Nebula deduced. "Let's destroy them." They went up a staircase around the side to make it to a small walkway that led to another boiler, which Bender smashed. They followed a slight walkway around the right before having to climb a metal ladder around the machine. Piping hot steam was popping out of some parts, but they were a common, easy hazard to evade.

They eventually took land on another walkway that took them to the side of the interior again, swinging up higher using G.R.A.P.P.L.U.H. targets. When they landed on a small platform, they spotted another boiler on the machine across from their point, so Nebula fired a V.I.S.S.I.L.E. over to blow it up. They swung up more targets and reached a ledge with a movable device that moved in a slot around the walls, with a handle that needed two people to hoist up and down. There were Split Pads, but Nebula and Bender could operate it their selves. Different parts on the machine opened to reveal boilers as they moved, but when Nebula stopped to shoot them, the device automatically returned to the start.

Nebula decided to split in two and have both halves operate the platform, leaving Bender to stretch and punch the boilers. The goliath trembled more as several platforms latched on chains came down, allowing them to get further up. They reached a ladder that led up the interior of the goliath's head, the three climbing up and out of its huge mouth, where Banzai Bills were firing out of cannons. They dropped from the mouth onto the very steep slope around the head, seeing the ground several miles down below. They sidled carefully around the side and climbed another ladder that led into the goliath's eye sockets.

What were essentially Bender's gigantic eyes were focused on them, and they stared creepily at its pupils before entering a passage between the eyes. They were finally inside the goliath's brain, where they viewed the stem of its antenna. Nebula blasted the V.I.S.S.I.L.E. while Bender punched it, but they seemed to do no damage against the glowing blue stem. "Is this how strong Alumitanium is?" Nebula asked.

"You'd think it was a material someone made up right off the bat." Vweeb commented.

"Yeah, it's pretty tough stuff." Bender said. "You'd need somethin' made of the same material or stronger. Like those missile guys."

They ran to the goliath's eye sockets and looked down at the Banzai Bills shooting from the mouth. "Those Banzai Bills are made of Alumitanium?"

"Sure they are! We robots always recognize each other's types of metal! Don't you notice?"

"Um… as far as I'm concerned, they're made of metal." Nebula said with a sheepish grin.

Bender glared with spite. "Racist."

"Ugh, just grab and bring one up." Bender did so and stretched down, grabbed a Banzai, and redirected it to fly at them. With that, Nebula used a Space Shrink to minimize the missile so it would fly between the goliath's eye sockets. As it was approaching the core, Nebula quickly resized and caused an impactful explosion, setting the interior in flames. (End song.)

The robo citizens only watched as their prized creation began to fall to pieces, starting with the antenna as it fell from high above. The eyes popped out next, then off came the arms, the head and soon the legs collapsed as the goliath was swallowed in a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, the robots all looked upset. "Well… at least we made one before the Robot Russians did." The judge said sadly before they all left.

Team Nebula emerged from the robot's fallen head, covered in soot. Bender sniffled. "You're still great to me, Goliath."

"Oh, brother." Nebula shook her head in disbelief as she got up and approached the robot's fallen antenna. She channeled the Space Shrink and scaled down to a perfect size to carry. "We'll resize this for Business so he'll have plenty to work with." Neb said as she picked it up. Curiously, she held it next to Bender's antenna. "Not that I'm an expert on types or color tones of metal, but this antenna sure looks a lot like yours."

"Not surprising. I'm 40% Alumitanium."

"YOU ARE?!" they screamed.

"Yep! It's just a small part of what makes me Bender."

"If you told us THAT, we could've just took off your antenna and made it bigger!" Nebula yelled.

"Are you crazy?? Without that, I'd only be half a robot!"

"Ugh! Well, I guess we needed to stop that thing, anyway. Let's get back to Business so he can get it started."

"THEN we're flying to my mom's so she can start talkin'!!" Vweeb yelled.

"Yeah, yeah. But let's keep an eye on this planet; a sudden interest in taking down humans, they could try anything. Heck, BENDER'S already like that." With that, they began their journey back to the Star.

Great Library

Dillon impatiently sat on a chair and swung his feet back and forth. Pollyx has been treating Vanellope for about 2 hours, and he got more worried every minute. He wasn't sure how long it took to heal Programs… probably as long as it took to update software, now that he thought about it. But it shouldn't take that long with Vanellope, she wasn't supposed to be fixed all the way. He really wasn't sure…

He looked up quickly when the upstairs door opened, seeing Pollyx skitter down. "Well, it certainly took some time, and the most of my knowledge, but-"

"So she's finally better?!" Dillon asked excitedly, finally forming a smile as he jumped to his feet. "That's great! So can she get back in action, or…"

"Well, she.."

"I know, she should probably rest. But boy, it sure will be nice to see her fighting like before! She had this new move she was gonna try and I'd like to see it! Heh, boy I can just picture her hopping all around, kicking all the bad guys in the face, then we go home and play racing games, heh! Um… sorry for interrupting you. Eh, you say it, first!"

"…She's dying."

No sooner did all the color leave Dillon's face. Everything fell dead silent. It was unsettling.

Pollyx took Dillon up to the computer room where Vanellope was still glitching, and cords connected her to a computer. "Um, say, Dillon, explain to me again how you came by her. What is her history, precisely?"

"…" And for the next several minutes, Dillon told Pollyx the story of finding Vanellope in the KND virtual network, how she used to be an MCP, and derezzed herself to stop a rogue Program, but was brought back in a lesser state by that same Program. And then the matter with downloading her, etc..

"Hmmm… I see." Pollyx absorbed the info. "Dillon, there's something you should know about Programs: sometimes, it's very difficult for Programs to survive outside their intended area. Especially very OLD Programs. And from what you told me, she was created over 50 years ago, and the fact she was essentially dead for about 40 years…"

"What are you saying?!"

"Well, uh, put it this way: after you've owned your PlayStation 1 for several years, so many newer consoles came out, you start to buy them, and that PS1 just starts losing its juice. So you put it in the closet for a while, then one day you miss it and pull it out, but it's a struggle to hook up, and when it works, it shuts off every now and again, because it just doesn't have the hardware anymore. Especially if they're banged around a lot. I examined the spot where the laser grazed her, but in reality it was a minor wound, easily fixable for any other Program. Her true sickness lies with her defection, and while the bullet may have sped the process, inevitably she…"

"Are you saying I should throw her in the closet and just forget about her?!"

"N-No, no! My point is, after so many years of deresolution, and then REresolution, she's barely functioning, I mean with that glitch of hers! You told me she couldn't last long in that, er adult website when she stepped out, and it clearly took a lot of technical skill to download her to the real world. And materializing herself in all those other computer networks took a lot of her own strength of data, which was admirable really, but it was also incredibly dangerous, and if she continued doing it, she was BOUND to conk out! She's just… too outdated, Dillon."

"But IRIS has been around for 2 million YEARS, and she still works perfectly! Even during 40 years of shutdown!"

"IRIS was created by the greatest scientific minds, the Terachnoid Sages. They knew how to make anything function perfectly for an extended amount of time. You know how long the juicemaker's been around? But Vanellope, she was created by game-developers on a, er, rather primitive planet, no offense. They didn't have the proper knowledge to make them last forever, and no matter how much work you did on Vanellope, her body is just bound to… well, fade off."

"NO!" Tears started to drip. "There HAS to be a way to fix her! You probably didn't even use the right equipment!!"

"Look, granted I'm not the greatest computer expert here. That would be my son, who er, is away right now. But I know enough about systems to know that Vanellope is an outdated Program, and unless she gets a major update, God willing if she can acquire one, her pixels will fade away."

"But I don't WANT her to have an update. I liked her just the way she was! Im…" he stuttered through his tears, "I-Imperfect! She may've been a Program, but she was an imperfect one! That's what made her stand out, and that's how she was special!"

"It is true that all beings have their imperfections, but in the case of Programs, that is something that can prove devastatingly fatal. If systems don't get updates, they can't function, and she's long past due either way. I admire her for staying working and helping you for such an amount of time, but, in only a few moments, days if lucky, she'll die, Dillon."

"…" Dillon didn't have any words.

"Although… if a Terachnoid of exceptional computer skill were here, namely my son, I suppose there would be a slim chance… but I don't wanna get your hopes up. It would be a miracle. …I'll leave you two alone." And with that, the short alien calmly walked away and shut the door.

Dillon slowly approached Vanellope's sleeping, sparking form. He's never seen her glitch this much. For once, it was very painful to see. Not only did the flickering lights hurt his eyes, but it was so unbearable, seeing his little sister like that. Adopted, maybe, but still his sister. The tears came faster as Dillon placed a hand on her glitching chest.

"Vanellope… sniff. Why do you have to die… for your imperfections?! These're supposed to be what… make you special! Just ask Sector W7! They know!" More sobbing. "Why'd it have… to be this soon. You've only been out… for five months! Five months… you've been in our sector! You wanted to see the human world! See the world you never knew! Feel the warmth of the sun and look at the beautiful sunset." Is that… what Sheila meant? Dillon thought. Is that why she ran off? She was… like that, wasn't she. Always wanting to enjoy life to the fullest. Maybe this… is why.

"…Vanellope." A sniffle. "I wish… you could have more time."

As his hand still lay on her chest, he gasped to attention when it suddenly sunk into her chest. He became more heart-struck as he felt around, her body having become completely intangible. All he felt were weak static sparkles, just a sparking body of light. And he knew… it would only be a matter of time.

He couldn't pay attention as a warping sound came from above, and down came a trio of Zoni. "Her time has come."

"Huh?" Dillon looked up, surprised at the creatures' presence.

"We can fix her."

"R…REALLY??"

"She is imperfect. We can update her. Remove her glitch, and fix her to a pure Program."

"No!!" He covered her with his arms. "I don't want her fixed like that! I want her the way she was before!"

"She must be fixed! She is a vital Program! Her glitch is weakness. She must be perfect!"

"No! I refuse to let anyone change who she is! Vanellope's glitch… is a part of her. It…It helps her be excited, and fun, and it just makes her special. Plus, it shows… that she's not better than other Programs. But she doesn't HAVE to be! And it helps her… live in the human world. Like she's always wanted! Her glitch is a symbol that she's no different from any other person. It stands for who she is and I WON'T let you change it!"

"Mmmmm." They shook their heads. "Human compassion. Recurring nuisance." And to Dillon's surprise, the Zoni zapped Vanellope, and her body stopped glitching.

"What did you do?!" he yelled with rage.

"We have restored her previous condition. She may accompany you, a little longer, but her sickness remains. Enjoy your time with her, for it will not be long, until her body surrenders." And with that, the Zoni left.

"Nnnnn… oooohhh…" Vanellope finally woke up, only glitching a little as she held her forehead. "Man, do I sleep a lot lately. Is this quest really that boring?…"

"Hmm." Dillon smiled humorously. "Don't worry, Vanel. You're just tired."

"Where're the others?"

"They're going to Aquaria, and then they might fly to Kateenia and Glomour. They wanted us to lay low…"

"Are you crazy, Dillon?? I feel better than ever!" She jumped to her feet. "Let's see if old man Pollyx has any extra ships, I'm ready to kick more fish tushie!" Slight glitch. "Let's go!" And she ran off, more excited than ever. Dillon smiled very happily as he chased her.

Legola; Business's office

"Well, you certainly managed to pull more than your own weight." Business chuckled after Nebula resized the giant antenna to full height.

"More than enough to work with, right?" Nebula asked.

"But how do you cut something like that?" Vweeb asked.

"That also requires the right materials." Business said with a witty face. "Like a hyperlaser that can burn materials at multi-thousand K's!" The group turned around and jumped in surprise at a giant laser machine, which they apparently didn't see upon entering. "I built it during a slow day. Heh. Amazing how much you get done when not much business happens. Now let's fire this baby up!" He pressed a button, and a powerful green laser brightened the room and began melting the Alumitanium (Bender got a tingle from watching the sight).

Part of the Alumitanium melted as Business carefully gathered it with a Lego bulldozer and dumped it in a churner. "Anyway, I managed to grab most of the other materials, but there's one crucial thing I need: a 3 ¾ Centicubit Hexagonal Washer."

"Isn't that the thing they use to scrub toilets?" Vweeb asked.

"Really ADVANCED toilets, yes! It's actually used for a variety of important inventions. I heard the Irkens even used one to make their adult cannon thingy. The truth is, they're in pretty short supply. But I'll try to find one."

"We'll try to find one too, but we should get on with our quest first." Nebula said. "We have to find the next fragment on Glomour and Kateenia."

"Yeah, so let's go already!" Vweeb yelled.

"Little guy knows what Ah mean!" Bender cheered. "Hi five, little meatbag!" Vweeb's teeny hand high-fived Bender's ginormous palm.

"Sure wish we had a female partner." Nebula eye-rolled. "All right, let's go. Can you still get started with the stuff you have, Business?"

"Sure I can! Never doubt Legola's skilled craftsmen!"

"Hm-hm, great! Good luck, then!" Nebula waved as they hurried off.

Great Clock

MaKayla was once again on another sleepwalking adventure. She approached a random planet hologram in her pajamas and stuck her Chrono Staff into the device. A Time Portal spiraled open as she entered.

About 10 trillion years in the future

A golden light shone across a barren, glowing realm of stars, alighting a statue taller than many planets put together. The time-traveler found her feet soaked in an endless sea of shallow, golden water. She studied the statue of impossible size… bronze-colored. A familiar human man with a pompadour sat cross-legged in a Buddha fashion.

"Space Dandy… what did you do." She spoke tonelessly.

"He survived after all, it seems." MaKayla turned right, seeing a middle-aged man in a brown trenchcoat. "It's unfortunate. A man like that shouldn't be left alone." He said in a high British accent.

Clockwork's former apprentice, defected

DR. TIME-SPACE

MaKayla stared at the statue a little longer. "…"

The Doctor reached in his coat pocket and pulled out a hexagonal device that was gold-colored, had blue glowing lines around the top and bottom, and an open center. "There you are." He planted it in MaKayla's hand. "Do give her my compliments." He turned and began to walk away.

She stared blankly at the Centicubit Washer for several seconds before looking up at The Doctor. "…When will it happen… do you know?"

He stopped, his back still facing her. "Oh… I'd give it about 2 months. Maybe 3. I jump around so much, I can't keep track of every date."

"Also… are you… the other Logia timebender?"

"Afraid not. Clockwork talked about him before… I thought he was crazy. Still think he's crazy. I've been all around the timeline and I haven't caught a glimpse."

"…"

…The Doctor turned to her. "'Course, there are some places where Time has no say."

He opened a Time Gate and slowly stepped in. "By the way, I'd watch where you step. A lot of quantum crabs like to crawl around here." And with that, he vanished.

"…OWW!" Right on cue, a small, glowing blue crab snapped MaKayla's left toe in its claw. "Can't I walk ANYWHERE with this?!" she yelled as she kicked it away. "Ugh! …" She turned and stared at the statue for a few more seconds.