Well, here it is, and
yes this is the legitimate move.
<Final Move for Story>
Ralph looked at the rubies, then at the group around him. Jack had Mel in his arms, keeping an eye on her and knowing he couldn’t help Ralph crush the stone. HD and Tatt hovered near him in case he toppled over. Murphy and Fred just stood there and smiled.
*Great, literally the biggest decision for my life and everyone’s staring,* Ralph thought. He thought about the events that had happened, and realized Mel was involved at least indirectly each time. Not that it seemed to help, he still was the one who had to decide. One ruby would everything to normal, the other death not just to him and Mel but to the world he knew.
He tried to sit up straight to think about his decision, but the room spun. He abruptly hunched over again, HD and Tatt wrapping their arms around his shoulders so he didn’t fall off the chair as well. Ralph knew he didn’t have much longer to make the decision.
*I’ve got to destroy one before I pass out again, or they might never be able to wake me up again, but which ruby? I think this time I'm not playing Russian Roulette, I'm sitting on dynamite.*
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Bill was getting to the point of going crazy and bashing the door in, static or no, when it finally opened. Pam woke up when she heard it open. Babs walked in along with the good green leader. “Mr. Maxwell, Mrs. Hinkley, it’s nearing the time Ralph will make his decision,” said the leader. "Since you can no longer interfere, we decided to let you see what happens."
“So, Ralph hasn’t made a choice yet,” said Pam.
“No.” said the leader. “The other’s plan has almost worked. The rest of the world save the cabin has reverted back to near present day, but the people have not returned. When Ralph decides, he will decide their fates as well. If he chooses incorrectly, he and Mel will die, and the area you know as Arizona will be different from your memory.”
“What does this mean,” Bill said. “That Arizona will be modern day with people on horseback?”
“Not quite. The rogue green guys will be able to take over because it will be devoid of people. The state is rich in mineral resources that would strengthen their defenses. This will allow them to build up forces to take over he rest of the country and ultimately your planet.”
“That stinks,” said Bill. The green leader continued.
“It gets worse. Ralph has to make a decision soon, or it will be made for him by default. The rubies are drawing power from him and the suit, making the fog stronger and keeping the past in the middle of a freeway. Unfortunately they are draining his strength and are making him and Mel weaker. He has already fainted once from drain, and if this happens again before he destroys a ruby, then I’m afraid he will fail and your planet will be doomed.”
“Well, we have to be able to do something, give him the answer. It can't be too late,” said Pam.
“Unfortunately, no,” said Babs. When she got odd looks from the duo, she continued. “I’ve already asked. You know the truth about the asters of the rubies, but the ones Ralph has are fake, they‘re lighter in color. But while fake, the meaning behind them are real. If he destroys the one with the grey star, the world will return to normal. If he destroys the pink one, he and Mel will die and they will win.”
“Murphy is also not helping matters,” said the green guy. “Though you tied them up, Fokus is still able to do a mind push on Murphy to relay his information. Fortunately, Dr. Torus had a relapse and is out cold again, thanks to your fight with him, otherwise it would be more difficult for Ralph. Fred, who he controlled, is still in a trance, so he cannot tell Ralph the answer either.”
The group entered the main room and looked at the screen. They saw the cabin and the people inside. Bill and Pam gasped when they saw how pale and shaky Ralph was. The green leader was right, Ralph looked on the verge of passing out again, in fact, looked deathly pale. “Ralph will have to decide what to believe and destroy the one ruby he thinks is right. All you can do is watch the scene, he won’t be able to hear you as the suit’s doing what little it can to keep him awake and let him make a decision,” said the green leader.
They looked at the scene, and knew his decision would be soon, otherwise, they’d be at the mercy of the rogue green guys.
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Drake and his men looked at the advancing fog. “All right listen up,” said Drake. “We’re are continuing operation wildfire. Now, there is no one within five miles of the fog, but I want you to be ready to move out and get people evacuated from their homes if it advances further. Be polite, but don’t let them argue with you. We’ve seen what this fog can do when the general lost his hand. Now, move out.”
The men followed his orders and spread out around the fog. When it began to advance again, Drake ordered the men to fall back. He heard the scream of a man who didn’t get out in enough time and disappeared in the fog. Drake had a feeling that there was not much more time before this spread out of control.
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Fokus glanced at Dr. Torus. *You had to take a header into the statue,* he thought. *I could use your help. Murphy won’t be easy to control much longer, and he might slip and tell Ralph about the rubies. You’re lucky I can control Fred as well. I should have had Murphy use a stronger lightning bolt to hit Ralph that last time. It would have killed him before he even felt it.*
He grinned at the thought of Ralph destroying the wrong ruby. Mel was weak enough no one could hear her comment about the rubies. She knew the truth, being connected to the real ruby, but Ralph wouldn’t be able to hear it. *In a matter of minutes, it won’t matter. We’ll have won and be rid of the one they call a hero. Too bad we won’t be able to get the suit as well, but no matter. Small price to pay when we have one of the garden planets.*
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“Come on Ralph, you haven’t got all day,” Murphy taunted. Ralph was obviously fading fast, and at times seemed to be gasping for air. Mel was again having trouble breathing.
HD grabbed Ralph’s shoulder tighter. “Come on son, as much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. You can hardly stay in the seat, you’re so close to fainting again. And, if he’s right, you do that before destroying a ruby, they’ll win and you and Mel will die.”
Ralph glanced at Jack and Mel. He noticed Jack was still holding Mel in his arms, crying. Mel was obviously fading fast, if not faster, than Ralph was. The longer he waited, the more they died, their lives obviously tied together by the ruby. Just then, Mel mumbled something, but it was so soft Ralph couldn’t hear it.
Jack listened and frowned. It was the same mystery as he heard the day before. Ralph saw the frown and figured anything was better than nothing. “What did she say,” he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
“I’m not sure, but it sounded like what she said yesterday. ‘Red brings love, black death. Love will choose.’ It’s nothing really, just confusion,” he said.
Ralph began to think. *Red, black, must mean something. Wonder if it could be cards, since the ace of spades was considered the death card. No, can’t be cards, Mel never played poker. Unless she meant stars. A red star still has life to it, but a black star is a dead star. But the colors. …* He looked at the rubies one more time. It came to him in a flash. “All right, I’ve made my decision,” said Ralph. “But you’ve got to promise that Pam and Bill will be free to go either way.”
“No promises, Hinkley. For all you know, they’re already dead, since we have given them the same drug Mel had,” Fred taunted, under the Fokus‘ control now. He wanted to make Ralph stand up too quickly and collapse. Then they’d be done with it.
Ralph glared at him as best as he could considering the room was spinning, and he was sitting. He felt they were all right, and the taunt was all he needed to get this over with. Ralph squeezed the hand with the grey aster ruby. The stone would not crush, and the rogue green guys laughed at him mockingly, knowing he didn’t have enough strength to simply crush the ruby.
“Damn,” Ralph shouted as he threw the stone on the floor. He stood up and gathering every ounce of strength he had left, stomped on the stone with the heel of his boot. The ruby shattered into dust.
Ralph looked down at the remains of the stone and glanced back at the green guys. Murphy and Fred had disappeared, screaming as though in pain. A moment later, the room grew dim around Ralph as his vision failed and he toppled over backward. Ralph felt strong arms catch him, and the last thing he thought before losing consciousness was that he at least defeated the rogue green guys and Pam, Bill and the world would be safe.
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Fokus saw the sight before him on the screen. The fog was changing color and fading away. Ralph had been successful in destroying the right ruby and Arizona was returning back to its normal state. He also felt Murphy and Fred disappear.
“No,” he shouted, feeling the two slip away from his control. Just then, he heard a voice. He turned to see a good green guy and the little green helper by his side. “Fokus, you and Dr. Torus are guilty for attempted globalcide, attempted murder of a suit wearer, and the murder of several of our colleagues.”
Fokus just looked at the duo. “You can’t do anything. Ralph may have been successful, but at what cost? I haven’t heard anything about his well-being.”
“I wouldn’t worry about his, Fokus, just yours,” said the green guy, aiming a device at the two tied up green guys. Moments later, Fokus and Dr. Torus were stone.
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Drake watched as the fog began to recede. It had changed color and was receding. As it passed by a man, he noticed that it did not make him disappear.
Drake smiled, as this was the first good sign in a long time. He pulled out his walkie-talkie. “Get me the president. I want to be sure that this is happening all around the area.”
He waited momentarily and got the voice of the president. After a brief discussion, he realized his hunch was true and the fog was receding all around. “Men, the fog has just about disappeared. Once it does, we will return to headquarters for debriefing.” The men smiled and cheered, their worst fears not coming true.
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Pam and Bill looked at the scene before them. Ralph chose a stone and stepped on it, crushing it. They saw the two green guys disappear and Ralph looking at them.
“He did it,” Pam smiled and gave Bill a hug.
They turn back around and continue watching. Pam and Bill gasped when they saw Ralph collapse and HD catch him. HD was having trouble rousing Ralph, and Jack was increasingly worried about Mel.
“No, he was too late,” said Pam, crying. “He saved the world, but they’re going to die.”
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Hinkley,” said the green guy. “Ralph made the decision in enough time to save both himself and Mel. He used the last of his strength along with the suit to crush the ruby. He was already weak, and crushing the ruby was too much at that moment. He will come around in a while as will Mel. The ruby he has is one that can help him recover his strength.”
“I thought you said it was sapping his strength,” said Bill. Though he felt the green leader knew what he was talking about, he and Pam didn’t want to risk losing Ralph after all this.
“It was, but the one he has, when given the proper command, can also be used to heal. It will be a long time before the ruby creates its aster, but once it is used again, he won't be able to use it in conjunction with the suit, it will be an ordinary black ruby. He’s already used it on Mel, which is why she’s tied to the ruby. But with the help of a fellow colleague, we’ll be able to help him.”
A brief flash later, and the group faced Murphy and Fred, who appeared to be dazed. “What, you mean to tell me that they’ll help us,” Bill said. “They tried to kill Ralph.”
“No, Murphy and Fred were being forced to do the things they did, as Fokus and Dr. Torus had a mind push on them. Now that the ruby is destroyed and other matters have been completed, they are no longer under Fokus’ or Dr. Torus’ control.”
He turned to Murphy. “I need you to reverse the power on the ruby to enhance it to help Ralph and recover. They are weak, but will be able to recover. He must still give the ruby to Mel and Jack in order to return to correct history and return to his timeline.”
“Yes sir,” said Murphy. “Uh sir, what about Fokus and Dr. Torus?”
“Don’t worry, they suffered the same fate as your brother and Dr. Hasburgh, but not before we found out other worlds they were trying to take over,” said the leader.
Pam and Bill shuddered at the thought. They knew the green leader wanted to help out the Earth, but didn’t want to know too much, not yet. Looking at the green leader eyes, they knew that there were some things they wouldn’t know yet.
“Sir, what do you want us to do,” said Bill. “I mean, we can’t go around flying up here with you, at least not yet.”
“You will be returned shortly before Ralph returns to his own time. It will be an hour or so before he will be strong enough to come back.”
Pam and Bill looked at each other and sighed. “It seems all we do is wait,” groused Bill.
“Maybe, Bill, but at least this time, it will be a happy ending.” Pam rolled her eyes and grinned.
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Mr. Yates still sat in the psych ward when a doctor opened the door. “Mr. Yates, you’re free to go,” he said.
“Huh,” said Yates. “I thought I was going crazy.”
“The doctors and I discussed your situation and realized that you had a concussion from the car explosion near the bank. This, along with you working in a comic store, caused you to hallucinate and go to the officers with three different stories. Since you’ve been here for a day and have shown no adverse effects, you can go home.”
“But I was sure it was real. No matter, if you say I’m fine, than who am I to argue. Thanks Doc for not thinking I’m crazy,” said Mr. Yates as he exited the door.
The doctor turned around and smiled, her green eyes glittering. Babs looked around one more time before being beamed up to the ship. The green guys decided to let her go back one more time to free Mr. Yates, since he was not at fault to begin with. He needed to go back to his comic store before Ralph returned so he’d forget the suit. Now, she could finally rest and explore with the green guys.
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Ralph slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus on the objects around him. Everything seemed a bit bright, and made him want to close his eyes again. *Am I in heaven? If so, I wish they‘d let me sleep.* Ralph thought.
He tried to shade his eyes, but a voice kept insisting he open his eyes again. “Go away mom, it’s Saturday,” Ralph said groggily.
“Ralph, it’s Tuesday, and I’m no where near your mother,” said a male, slightly gruff voice.
Ralph blinked his eyes a couple of times, opened them and realized he was talking to HD, who had a wet towel and was dabbing Ralph’s face with it. “Oh, sorry HD,” Ralph said as he glanced around at his setting. He was still in the cabin, but it looked as though the other side of the cabin was back in place. Tatt was outside hammering nails to reattach shutters to the windows. Ralph looked out the window, and didn’t see the highway overpasses, meaning they were in the past. He remembered what happened and looked questioningly at HD.
“Before you ask, shortly after you crushed the ruby, the two green critters disappeared and you collapsed,” said HD. “You’ve been unconscious for about a three quarters an hour, and during that time, several strange things happened. Items outside the cabin returned to the way they looked before, even the maple being small again. Then there was the ruby, it did some strange things.”
“Well, that answers most my questions,” said Ralph, doing a double take at the ruby comment. “What about the other ruby?”
“Well, about five minutes after everything that happened, I took a look at the ruby. It started glowing, but not like anything I’ve seen since you had possession of them,” said HD. “Though it was causing all the problems you had, for some reason, Tatt and I felt it needed to be in your possession one more time, so we put it in your hand, and well, it made you glow with a warm red glow. Mel for some reason also had the glow just as well. Odd that, but given everything that’s happened, I don’t want to know.”
“Well, if you want my opinion, I thought it was just an illusion I had from my concussion, so hearing HD say that, at least I know it was real,” said Tatt, returning inside for some more nails.
Ralph chucked at the comment. “Don’t worry, I’ve had some strange things happen wearing this suit, so it turning me red wouldn’t surprise me. How’s Mel?”
“Why don’t you ask her yourself,” said Jack, who sat next to Mel’s bed. She had awoken a few minutes before Ralph did, and for the first time in a day sat up and grinned a faint smile. He looked at Jack, who winked, telling him that she didn’t know the truth. Ralph too smiled and repeated the question. “How do you feel, Mel?”
“Tired, but given what Jack and everyone said, that I fell ill, it wouldn’t surprise me why I’m tired,” she said. “But, it seems if it weren’t for you, I would have died.”
Ralph only nodded. He didn’t want to tell her everything, especially how close she was to dying. He felt the ruby in his hand and looked at it. There was no more aster illusion in the ruby, it looked like a near perfect black ruby. *The way I remember it,* Ralph grinned. “I think this belongs to you,” he said, handing the necklace to Jack. He looked at the necklace and turned to Mel.
Ralph sat back on his elbows, knowing this time, this proposal was correct. He knew that Mel was bedridden convalescing after a bout with malaria when Jack proposed to her in the cabin. Though she was ill from the green guys' drug and not a mosquito bite, it still kept in line with the facts. He knew history was about to be corrected. He wanted to listen to this.
“Mel, as I said before in the cave, you mean the world to me. After the past few days, I realize even more how much you mean to me. Mel, will you let me be your husband?” asked Jack.
“Yes, Jack, I will,” said Mel. The two kissed, and he put the necklace around Mel‘s neck. When nothing bad happened, Ralph knew this time, it was right.
They looked at Ralph, wondering how he’d react, afraid he’d do the same thing he did at the first proposal. “Well, don’t look at me, I’m happy you are together,” Ralph smiled. Just then, he got what he thought was a holograph, but it was of the California border in his own time.
“What the hell is that,” said Jack. Ralph grimaced, knowing this wasn’t a holograph and wouldn’t be easy to explain.
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“It’s time for you and Mr. Maxwell to leave,” said the good green leader. “We want to give you our thanks for everything you did.”
“Oh it was nothing,” said Bill sarcastically. *Absolutely nothing you green creep.*
Pam elbowed him in the ribs. “Come on, don’t antagonize him, Bill, or he’ll turn you to stone,” she said.
The green leader smiled a soft smile, which caused Bill to rethink his comments. He looked down at the ground, a bit embarrassed.
The alien chuckled softly. Though he wasn’t going to hurt him, it was good to keep Maxwell on his toes. “Goodbye, and thanks for your patience,“ the leader said. The little green helper pressed a couple of buttons and Pam and Bill disappeared, returning to the campsite. Kevin also appeared there as well, still asleep. Pam picked him up and placed him in the beetle. They sat there and waited for Ralph to return.
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“Well, aren’t you going to answer me, Ralph,” said Jack.
*Obviously he didn’t see the freeway and Motel 6 in that final decision. Probably too concerned about Mel to notice,* Ralph thought. “Well, to be honest, Jack, this is my way back to where I’m from. Before you ask, it’s the suit and I don’t know, but I’m sure you won’t be able to go through,” he said, glancing at their faces.
“Well, goodbye Ralph, too bad I didn’t get to know you better,” said Tatt. Ralph shook his hand.
“Take care Ralph, and don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Mel,” said Jack.
“I know you will,” he said choking up a bit. He knew this next one would be just as hard. “Goodbye, Mel, get well soon, you know with fever ’n ague you could still be a bit weak and see strange things.”
“Don’t worry, Ralph, I’m feeling better. With your helping me and Jack around, I should be on my feet in no time,” she said, giving Ralph a kiss on the cheek. He looked at Jack, who winked at him. There was no doubt in his mind that he and the others would carry that ruse along with everything they saw with them to their graves.
“Well, Ralph, you did it. Don’t know how, but everything is back to normal,” whispered HD, shaking Ralph’s hand. “You sure you don’t want to stay. I mean, we can use a good man like you in the express.”
“No HD, I need to go back to where I’m from, which is on the other side of that rainbow edged doorway,” said Ralph. HD just nodded and walked over to where the others were.
Ralph turned to face the holographic door. He saw Pam and Bill on the other side. *Well, at least it looks like there are no rocks I can hit my head on,* he thought. Ralph took one last glance at the four, waved goodbye and stepped through the door. It was a lot easier on him this time, and was back in his time shortly, looking at Pam and Bill. After a few moments of just staring, he swung his arms around the pair and gave them a bear hug, crying tears of joy.
They both returned the hug, and though Bill wouldn’t admit it, had tears in their eyes. He looked back and saw the door disappear, but not before seeing Jack and Mel give each other a kiss. Pam and Bill did not see anything but didn’t care now that all three were back together.
Bill pulled back, realizing Ralph was in the jammies. “Uh, kid, I hate to break it to you, but Kevin is in the car and he can’t see you wearing that,” said Bill, wrapping his coat around Ralph’s shoulders.
“How did he get here in the first place,” said Ralph, looking inside.
“We’ll tell you all about our little adventure, hun, as soon as we get out of here,” said Pam. Just then, all three of them look up in the sky and see the good greenguy’s spaceship hovering. They hear the radio shift stations and went over to listen.
“You have done well. Your son will remember these events as dream.” it warbled. “The Earth history is back to its current state. Most have returned, some will not.” Shortly afterward, the ship sailed up into the sky and blasted off to a distant planet. They also saw a small explosion shortly afterward. The trio looked at each other and realized it must have been the other ship. Glancing up again, they knew better than to question the green guy’s rules.
“Kevin’s going to think this was a dream,” said Ralph. “Well, that’s one less thing for me to worry about.” He turned and looked with Pam and Bill at Arizona before them. The city was lit up brightly, with cars driving down the freeway, a sure sign that Arizona had retuned to the way it was. The people there, having been caught in the fog to begin with, were returned. He wondered about those who walked in there from the present day, and gave a moment of silence for them. But he knew that if it weren’t for Dr. Hasburgh entering the first time, they wouldn’t have succeeded.
“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving,” said Ralph. “I feel as though I haven’t eaten in a century.”
“Maybe you haven’t kid, looking as pale as you are,” said Bill with a slight smirk on his face. Ralph returned the comment with a funny look, he felt fine despite his pallor, and Bill just chuckled. “Listen, I know a good hamburger joint near the border that we can eat at. You can have anything and everything on the menu if you want, Ralph, my treat.”
“Really, Bill, why the show of generosity,” asked Pam with a slight smirk on her face.
“Well, uh, considering that the kid just saved the Earth from destruction, and probably has a million stories to tell, as I know we do, might as well make it worth his while,” Bill said with a slight bluster, but the smile belied it.
Ralph chuckled and put his arm around Pam’s shoulder. He did have a lot of stories to tell them, and the best way to do so was by eating. “Come on guys, I have a tale to tell you, mostly about history, yours and mine.”
The three walked toward the car, chuckling and kidding. Ralph changed into street clothes over the suit, and they headed off to eat dinner. *It’s good to be back,* thought Ralph, smiling.
[glow=red,2,300]THE END[/glow]