Final chapter : Let's go for a better life

Larry kept his word: he and Tuddrussel went to Friday's party. They left without Otto though that was for a good reason. They had to leave the boy at home, else their surprise would be ruined.

Larry stretched, looking all around. He couldn't help the little smirk that appeared on his face. He already went to parties before. Every time, he ended up completely drunken.

Though tonight, he couldn't. He must stay sober. Tuddrussel would be able to make a mess of their surprise if he didn't keep an eye on him.

"Tuddrussel. Stop eating like this…You look like a pig" He sighed.

"Yes, yes…forgive me for liking good things" Tuddrussel rolled his eyes.

Larry let out a sigh. For once, officers and robots were meddled up. They still danced between them though it wasn't rare to see one robot offering another officer to dance and this latter accepting.

That was just rare.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the music. It reminded him these parties…Though he must admit, Time Squad parties were a lot funnier. And the music was definitely better as well. Tuddrussel wasn't wrong.

Speaking about him, he had finished to eat. He was dancing now, or at least…was trying to dance well. They were random movements, sometimes colliding with others dancers who stopped to glare at him.

"You are hopeless" Larry shrugged.

Near the buffet, he noticed Jt Laser and Lance 9 Trillion. His eyes widened. That was the very first time he met his idol in person. Immediately, he rushed at them. Or rather, at Lance, almost slipping on the floor. He couldn't help his excitement.

Lance was taking a sip of oil. He frowned when noticing Larry though this latter didn't mind: Lance always frowned.

It made him look like cool.

"Hello, Lance! I'm so happy to meet you here." Larry's big grin compensated for Lance's lack of interest. "You recognize me?"

Lance stayed silent, exchanging a glance with JT Laser near him. "…I don't think so"

"Hehe my name is Larry 3000" Larry bowed. "I'm the one who created your fan club on Internet. You must have seen my name as a moderator"

He swore Lance let out a sigh. "Well. Thanks."

"You're welcome! I just adore what you are doing" Larry couldn't help but catching Lance's hand in his. Lance immediately took it away. "Please…Will you just…Grant me a dance or something? I really like this song and I would like to share it with you"

Lance's face didn't change much. He raised one eyebrow. "With you?"

"I'm afraid we don't have much time for this" Jt Laser interfered, stoic. "You know. We just stopped here to eat. Now, I'm afraid we will have to go now"

"Yes. You will understand I DON'T want to dance with you"

Larry was a bit disappointed. Though he should have expected such an attitude. After all, that's how they acted. No wonder why they were viewed as cool.

"I understand, don't worry." Larry chuckled. "After all, you have a lot of work to accomplish. I'm sure you must be busy here and-"

"My gosh!" He heard a familiar voice behind him. "JT LASER"

"Oh no" Jt Laser rolled his eyes. "Nerds"

Tuddrussel appeared right behind Larry. The robot noticed he shared a similar facial expression to the one Larry had when his eyes were on Lance. Tuddrussel rushed at Jt Laser, taking him by shoulder. "Do you remember me? We were at the Academy together! Fancy meeting you here"

Jt Laser sighed. He didn't force himself to hide his annoyance. Larry understood him. He shared a smile with Lance. However, his idol didn't reply to him.

"As I said" Jt Laser spoke. "We just stopped here. We will leave soon and—"

"Come on! Let's take a drink together!" Tuddrussel excitedly laughed, touching Jt Laser's chest like if they were good pals. "Like old times"

"I don't remember I did such a thing with someone…like you" The man took a comb to arrange his hair. Larry wondered where he took it from.

"Well I remember it very well" Tuddrussel was about to lead him to the buffet when another voice cut them in.

"Buck? What are you doing?"

Everyone turned back at Sheila. She was here too, wearing a red dress. Jt Laser and Tuddrussel immediately, frozen. Larry too. He definitely liked men yet he understood why Sheila caught everyone's attention.

"Oh! Honey" Tuddrussel greeted her. "I was just…reuniting with an old pal." Jt Laser pushed him away, facing Sheila.

"Are you…his wife?"

Sheila gave him a small smile, shaking her head. "Her ex-wife"

"No wonder" Jt Laser approved. "Though I'm surprised such a person like him…could be married to a woman like you"

She frowned. "What do you mean "such a person like him"?"

Jt Laser shrugged, combing his hair again. Larry wondered if that was a tic from him. "Well. You must admit: a cool person and a nerd don't fit together."

Tuddrussel had thumbs up. "Did you see, Sheila? Did you see how cool JT Laser is? He is definitely my idol and my best friend. You actually never believed that I would have friends like him"

Sheila didn't seem to approve it. She didn't laugh, giving even a cold glare at Jt Laser instead. "So, you view me as a cool person?"

Jt Laser gave him a smile. "Yes. Like me, like Lance. Let's be honest. You are definitely beautiful in this dress"

He then came closer to her. Sheila stayed still. "Up for a drink? Afterward, I could offer you to dance."

Larry immediately checked up at Tuddrussel's reaction. He didn't expect this happening…His supposedly idol flirting with his ex-wife…right in front of his eyes. He then glanced back at Lance. While he liked Lance, he found Jt Laser unbearable. He had no respect, even for Sheila.

He expected Tuddrussel to fume in rage or in jealousy. Yet, he did nothing. He just was eating, not caring about what's happening in front of him.

"Dancing?" Sheila repeated. "With you?"

"Yes. Just imagine what it would look like: two of us, the most competent officers and mot beautiful people of this place, dancing together. Everyone would look at us. Everyone would admire us, envy us." He then took Sheila's hand. "What do you think?"

Sheila fell silent. She stared back at Tuddrussel. This latter was still eating, simply watching the scene. "You should accept, Sheila!" He said. "After all, everyone would like to dance with him! Me too"

Larry shook his head, desperate. Tuddrussel understood nothing.

Suddenly, someone tapped in Jt Laser's back. This latter turned around.

XJ5 was standing up in front of him, two drinks at hand. "Is there a problem?" He asked, in a calm voice.

Jt Laser stepped back. He didn't seem impressed. His eyes were only focused on Sheila. "Not at all. We were just talking."

Sheila gave XJ5 a tender smile. "Yes. Talking"

XJ5 offered the drink at his officer. "I suppose it is your robot partner" Jt Laser pointed out. Sheila smirked. "Yes…and my dance partner too"

Suddenly, Jt Laser froze. Larry couldn't help but let out a small "What?"

"What do you mean?" Jt asked.

"It means: I'm going to dance with him. And not with you" Sheila took XJ5's hand in hers. "I'm sorry but I mustn't be a cool person. And I think dancing with you wouldn't be a dream. Most definitely a nightmare to me"

"What's happening, Sheila?" XJ5 asked. Sheila didn't reply, leading XJ5 to the dancefloor. Jt Laser stayed shocked at this and somehow, it satisfied Larry. Jt Laser had it coming after all.

"Jt…" Lance sighed. "I'm sorry"

"Hey! It is my ex-wife, after all" Tuddrussel added, putting a comforting hand on Jt Laser's shoulder. "No wonder why we divorced. Hey what do you think? We dance together!"

"What?" Jt Laser cried out, shocked. "No way!"

"Oh come on! Who needs girls, after all?" Tuddrussel followed him.

"I said no!" Jt Laser immediately ran away, still chased after by Tuddrussel.

Larry and Lance simply watched the scene, unimpressed. "I should go to help him" Lance said, before going after the unbelievable duet.

Larry glanced back at Sheila and XJ5. To be honest, that was a good thing Tuddrussel was busied. While they were dancing, Sheila caught XJ5 by shoulders to kiss him. He didn't know what to think about it. One hand, he was sorry for his officer. On the other hand, he thought they were kind of cute together. Then, after all, Tuddrussel didn't seem to care when JT Laser offered Sheila to dance.

Unfortunately, this scene reminded him that nostalgia wasn't very far behind. He remembered about Fiskmeyer dancing with him. Sometimes they unexpectedly kissed at the very middle of the song.

Tuddrussel joined him back. "Sheesh" He sighed. "JT Laser escaped. Not bad…I would catch him up later"

Larry nodded. "Hey" He asked him.

"What?"

"…Do you wish to dance as well?"

Tuddrussel's eyes widened, staring at Larry incredulous. "What? With you? Erk…no! I just dance with girls"

Larry rolled his eyes. "Oh you stupid animal! It means nothing. That's just a dance, you dumbass!"

"Who are you calling a dumbass?" Tuddrussel immediately defended himself. "You tin can!"

"No matter" Larry frowned. "I will dance alone"

He was about to step for the dancefloor when he noticed a hand catching his shoulder. He turned back at Tuddrussel. "…What do you want again?" He coldly replied.

The man let out a sigh. "Well…As Jt Laser is gone somewhere with Lance and…There are no many girls around…Why not dancing indeed?"

Larry's glare was slowly replaced with a softer expression. "You aren't forced to"

"Oh, let's go you tin can. Before I change my mind" Tuddrussel roughly leaded Larry to the dancefloor.

"Oh…You poor unfortunate man" Larry chuckled yet accepted it anyway.

The party would finish very late this night. Yet, Larry and Tuddrussel didn't stay until the end. They simply left around 1:00 am. After all, they had much to do.

They teleported back at the satellite. Like they expected, Otto was waiting for them. "Where you guys were?"

Larry shrugged. "Well, at the party, of course"

"Hehe yes. Sorry kid…we just lost track of time" Tuddrussel added, trying to look a bit ashamed.

"What about my surprise?" Otto said.

Larry glared back at his partner. "I hope you said nothing to him"

"What? I said nothing! I promise!" He spat on the floor. Larry rolled his eyes. "You idiot"

"So?" Otto insisted.

Larry then smiled. "Well…We will show you. Hopefully you packed your things"

"My things?" The boy repeated, a bit confused.

"Yes. Because we are going in trip." Larry winked at him. "Do you remember…the time where you said you wished to trip in ship with us?"

Otto didn't understand first. He still remained confused. Then, his eyes lightened up. "You mean it? We are going in trip? Will we visit the universe?"

Tuddrussel proudly smiled. "Yes! Your mister Officer Tuddrussel managed to ask for some vacation"

"So why not enjoying it together?" Larry added. "Go pack your things, Otto. We are leaving soon"

Then, the boy gave them the biggest grin he was able to display. He came closer to them, hugging Tuddrussel's legs tightly first.

"Haha. You are welcome, kid" Tuddrussel chuckled.

He then hugged Larry's legs. The robot patted his head. Seeing the boy this happy…warmed his heart.

"Hm. Well. Go pack your things, Otto" He told him again.

Larry was in commands. Near him, Tuddrussel was in the passenger side. He heard him snoring. Apparently, the party tired him. Larry was right being sober tonight. While the ship was leaving the satellite, Larry turned back to Otto.

The boy was sleeping too.

Larry smiled. He didn't expect it happening like this. He would have expected them to play as Future Man and Sidekick Boy even in the ship. He would have expected himself to yell at them, ordering them to stay calm.

Yet…they were.

Larry glanced back at the little photography he put near him. The little photography of Fiskmeyer and he, enjoying time in this amusement park. That was like Fiskmeyer was with us right now.

We have a lot of things to accomplish together before it happens, Larry. We have missions but not only that: we may have sadness yet to come but there are still fun and happy times to enjoy together!

The boy was right.

Larry focused back on his driving.

Indeed. He shouldn't let unfortunate events ruining his life.

Life through a robot's eyes was different…yet it remained the same.

Hehe here is the final chapter^^ Hopefully you will like it. Thanks for following the story. I'm waiting for your reviews, what you liked, what you didn't like. This way I could improve