We'll Face The World Together - Or Apart

by The_Pocketwatch_Writer

Summary:

After the disastrous showdown at the Showgrounds - and still on the run from the Death Cube - Puzzles and WPNZ are forced to confront their feelings for each other as they go off on individual adventures.

Chapter 1: Under a Canvas of Stars

After getting launched through the roof of the Showgrounds castle and landing in an alley . . . somewhere . . . the first sensation Puzzles noted was that his head hurt like hell. 

The second sensation he noted, after gently sitting up so he was leaning against the fence at his back in a more comfortable position, was the bullet shell in the pocket of his prison uniform. 

He lifted it so that it was face-level with him, and an influx of memories of that tin-can travesty crashed into him. As the flashbacks rushed through his brain, he first felt a mounting anger - until he remembered something else WPNZ had said to him.

"I trusted you."

And suddenly, it was only melancholia the TV head felt. He hadn't been able to let go of his old 'friends' - all of whom outright despised him now - and he couldn't acknowledge the friends he'd had by his side.

Friends who understood him.

Friends who had been willing to throw everything away to save him from certain death.

Friends who, dare he say, loved him exactly for who he was. 

And he'd pushed them away. He'd double-crossed them in his desperation to salvage a friendship that had already faded away.

"What have I done?" he choked out, tears altering his tone.

Why couldn't he have just let go of . . . of Leggy? Why was she the one he still believed could be his only friend?

Meggy had made it very clear she had let go of Leggy. Until the phone call while Puzzles was still in prison, when she'd told him that Leggy believed in him.

Maybe he had become too attached to that.

And now it was too late to salvage any sort of positive relationship with Meggy. 

She had convinced herself that Puzzles could be redeemed, and he had destroyed her expectations.

But it wasn't too late to fix his relationship with WPNZ . . . or Toomp. It couldn't be.

He felt something different in his relationship with WPNZ. Something he wasn't about to throw away.

Puzzles slowly stood up, bullet shell still in hand. A new determination rose in his chest. Whatever it was he felt with WPNZ, he couldn't let it go. Not this easily.

He might not have learned his lesson before, but he knew it was time to let go of the unsalvageable. 

He still had a chance with WPNZ. And maybe with Toomp, though the little blob had never been particularly fond of him.

"I'm . . . going to fix this."

 

 

 

It hadn't been easy, but eventually WPNZ and Toomp were able to escape the scrapyard and evade the Death Cube . . . for now.

The only crappy part of it now was that they had nowhere to go. They were fugitives, and neither had any sort of living establishment.

So here they found themselves, wandering the streets of the city, both equally hoping the Death Cube wouldn't be lurking around a corner, waiting to get the jump on them. 

WPNZ was still fuming. About the fight. About how Boxhead had betrayed him.

"There was nothing between us! You mean nothing to me!"

Then why had they stuck by each other through so much?

Why did WPNZ care so much about Puzzles?

And why did it seem as though Boxhead felt the same way?

Before he knew it, WPNZ's hand had turned into a gun, and he had it aimed at the night horizon. His entire body had gone tense with anger.

Something tugged at his leg. He looked down to see Toomp had grabbed ahold of him to regain his attention. The little pink blob had fixed WPNZ with a sad stare, almost as if saying, "I know you're angry, but shooting stuff won't make it better."

WPNZ heaved a sigh of defeat and retracted the gun, resuming his metal-plated hand. A sad smile crept onto his face as he muttered, "Where would I be without you, Slimeball?"

He could tell just by looking at him that Toomp was exhausted, so he scooped the little blob into his arms. It was almost comedic how someone so deadly as WPNZ could handle something so tenderly.

"We'll find somewhere safe," WPNZ reassured Toomp. "Even if we have to sleep in an alley, we'll find somewhere."

Truth be told, WPNZ did not want it to have to come to that. After the night the two of them already had, he would've preferred somewhere better to lie low.

Toomp suddenly perked up and gestured toward a nearby house. WPNZ looked up to see an all too familiar blue house facing him down, taunting him. He hadn't even realized they'd trekked all the way to the city border. Lights were still on in the house, giving it a comfortable atmosphere.

WPNZ shook his head. "No," he said gruffly. "We . . . we can't go there."

Katana - Karen - would have his head if she saw him not only alive, but on her property.

Toomp continued to nod his head toward the house. WPNZ was slowly becoming irritated, until he took a closer look at what Toomp was gesturing at.

The backyard. The dark might be enough to conceal the both of them, and they could make a quick getaway in the morning.

"I . . . guess it could work," WPNZ conceded hesitatingly. He didn't particularly like this plan, but he knew Toomp needed rest before either of them could devise a next step. "We'll need to be really quiet, though." 

Toomp nodded in understanding. 

WPNZ tiptoed to the fence, unsure how he was going to execute this break-in. The fence wouldn't support his weight if he were to scale it, but gates were notorious for being loud and squeaky. 

He contemplated the idea of sleeping outside the fenced-in yard, but that risked getting caught by the Death Cube. 

Attempt the gate it was, then.

WPNZ stepped toward the gate. He undid the latch and slowly eased the gate open until it was wide enough for him to slip through. 

He slipped in as quietly as possible, keeping a hold on Toomp, ensuring he didn't drop the blob. He went to close the gate, then decided it would be better to leave it ever so slightly ajar, so their getaway would be easier come morning. He was grateful when the hinges stayed blissfully squeak-free.

WPNZ surveyed the yard, looking for anywhere he and Toomp might be able to sleep. There was a kiddie playground a few feet away; it would have to do, WPNZ supposed.

He ascended the playground ladder, Toomp still in the crook of his arm. 

When they reached the top, WPNZ set the blob down gently. "Go to sleep," he gently commanded. "I'll keep an eye out for the Death Fridge."

Toomp smiled gratefully and curled up right next to WPNZ. WPNZ smiled down at the little blob and watched as he drifted off to sleep, his big round eyes closing slowly. 

WPNZ let out a sigh and looked at the black canvas painted with stars overhead. It had been quite the night; busting Boxhead out of jail, outrunning the Death Cube - twice now - and . . . 

Now he only had one ally left.

He could only wonder what had become of Puzzles after he was shot through the roof of the castle.

Maybe he was dead.

Maybe he was alive, plotting his next betrayal.

WPNZ refused to admit it, but it still hurt. After all they'd been through, only for it to end in a disastrous fight and their ragtag trio still on the run. 

There had been something there. Even if Boxhead insisted it was all fake, WPNZ could tell they had something, the three of them. They'd all relied on each other when they needed it most. They were all willing to drop everything to save each other's lives.

But Puzzles had betrayed WPNZ and Toomp.

WPNZ sighed loudly, no longer caring who or what it disturbed.

Feelings were difficult, once you embraced them.

Chapter 2: A Disaster Averted - Sort Of

The first thing WPNZ awoke to the following morning was the shrill shrieking of, "Guys come look at this!!"

WPNZ sat bolt upright, prepared to fight. He swiveled his head around, searching for the source of the nearby voice. He quickly noticed there was no one nearby, but Toomp was gone. Beginning to panic, he looked over the edge of the playground railing to find one of the kittens - Zack, was it? - carrying Toomp in the direction of the back door of the house. 

WPNZ vaulted himself over the playground railing, no longer caring that he was very clearly making his presence to his family - all of whom probably lived in the blissful ignorance of believing he was dead. He had to get Toomp back.

Zack ran into the house, slamming the screen door shut behind him. WPNZ tucked himself against a section of wall between the door and the kitchen window, obscuring himself from view. He listened as Zack excitedly told his siblings about the 'alien he found on the playground'.

Panicking never got anyone anywhere, he thought to himself. You need to think of a plan . . . one that doesn't involve getting caught by Kata- Karen.

WPNZ peeked his head around the corner again, watching the trio of kittens observing Toomp. The blob had been set down on the floor and was looking up at his captors, an unreadable emotion expressed in his ever-wide eyes. 

He might have been plotting how to off his captors.

His eyes and WPNZ's met, and that's right about when everything fell apart.

Toomp made a break for the door, his stubby little legs moving quickly. The trio of kittens took quick notice, following behind him.

WPNZ gestured at Toomp, mouthing "Go back, go back", but the blob must have been desperate to escape, because he paid WPNZ no mind. He reached for the doorknob, extending the smaller blob atop his head. He bolted across the stone patio, straight for WPNZ, the trio of curious kittens still on his tail.

WPNZ, back still against the wall, scooped Toomp into his arms once he was close enough. Now it was his turn to run like hell. He ran straight across the lawn and leapt over the fence.

He kept running, despite the kittens having been left long in the dust, refusing to stop until he reached the safety of the city again. He whipped into an alley, watching his back for a second, and stopped, finally breathing a sigh of relief. He placed Toomp on the concrete ground, giving him a stern look.

"We are not doing that again," he stated. "We'll find somewhere else to sleep tonight."

 

 

 

 

 

If there was anything Puzzles was learning about plotting his redemption, it's that it is not a simple task. 

What was he supposed to do? Just waltz up to WPNZ and Toomp and say, "I'm sorry for betraying you", and expect them to forgive him just like that?

No, no. Mere words would not suffice. He would need better evidence that he was truly sorry for what he'd done, and that he wanted to begin their partnership anew.

But what could he do? There wasn't a good way to express an apology for stabbing someone in the back the way he had. 

And then there was the whole matter of the Death Cube. How could he have forgotten he was still a fugitive from certain death?

Suffice it to say, this was certainly a conundrum.

He had begun wandering the back streets winding behind the buildings and central areas of the city, hoping some genius idea would strike. 

It . . . wasn't working.

"There really isn't a good way to apologize, is there?" he questioned. 

After another while of wandering and pondering, mounting frustration was driving Puzzles to the bleak conclusion that there was no good way of going about his current objective. 

He groaned in frustration. "Come on, Puzzles," he muttered. "You can fix this, you just have to . . ."

A flier caught his attention abruptly. A colorful flier reading, 'The Ultimate Kart Race - Today Only!' 

This was unusual in and of itself, but it was the text at the bottom that piqued Puzzles' attention.

'Winner Receives the Grandest Prize of All!!'

"This is perfect!" Puzzles declared. "Just what I need to get on that tin-can travesty's good side again!"

And so he set off, his hope for redemption in sight again.

This was his chance to set everything right again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the earlier incident, WPNZ and Toomp were trying to be more careful about watching their back. If nothing else, the incident had been a wake-up call to the fact that, for how many people had been affected by them, they were bound to get recognized and have their cover blown if they weren't careful.

Still, they found themselves back in the city in broad daylight.

They still hadn't managed to think up a next step - besides try to survive while evading anyone who might recognize them, Death Fridge included.

WPNZ had contemplated the idea of seeking revenge on Boxhead, and while that idea had certainly stuck with him, some sensible part of him knew that there were more pressing matters on the table beyond seeking blind vengeance on his . . . friend.

But right this second, revenge sounded better than aimlessly trying to iron out a plan besides 'Hide from the Death Cube until it inevitably catches us'.

Then at least one issues would be resolved.

His silent wondering was interrupted by a sharp gasp from inside the building he and Toomp had found themselves outside of.

Karen was staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed right at them.

Shit.

 

 

 

 

 

Hours later, Puzzles returned to the city, dazed from that trainwreck of a race. He had not managed to win, and even in the hypothetical where he had won, the prize had been a can of beans anyway.

Now he was thinking over the idea of giving up on his pursuit of redeeming himself with WPNZ and Toomp. No more ideas were coming through.

Besides, they probably would've offed him the moment he made his presence known to them.

An idea struck.

"Maybe that's it," he said to himself. "I need to apologize without being there."

But how was one to go about a plan such as this? It would need to be more than a note - a note by itself could be easily ignored, or lost in the midst of chaos.

It had to be noticeable. But not too noticeable.

Flowers.

That would do the trick.

One small (and undetected) robbery later, Puzzles had obtained exactly what he needed.

Now all that was left was to write the note and plant the bait.

 

 

 

 

 

WPNZ and Toomp had taken off running the second WPNZ had noticed Karen staring at them. He couldn't be sure she wasn't right behind them; he refused to look.

The two darted into a lot behind a building, trying to hide. Neither moved for several moments, until WPNZ peeked around the corner and saw no sign of his ex.

"All clear, little buddy," he whispered to Toomp. "Sorry I had to drag us outta there like that. That cat in the cafe . . . we don't like each other." He was too tired to explain the drama between he and Karen. "We can stay here for now . . . we should be safe here."

The pair sat down on the hard concrete ground, finally taking a moment to rest in the midst of constant running.

WPNZ closed his eyes for what seemed to be a minute, but when he opened them again, Toomp was several feet away, looking down at something colorful on the ground.

WPNZ stood up and walked over to see what it was the little blob had found.

Toomp was glaring daggers at a mixed bouquet of flowers.

How the hell did these get here, was WPNZ's initial thought. Who could've found us?

He glanced around, wondering if maybe the bouquet was intended for someone else. When he didn't see anyone else they could've belonged to, he tentatively picked them up, reading the note attached.

Meet me at midnight, was all the note read.

Followed by a sketched insignia of a TV.

Notes:

I'll shenan-once, I'll shenan-again!
Jokes aside, thank you for reading! While it's not over yet, this fanfic has definitely been a blast to write, and I'm glad to be spreading that good, good Gunshow propaganda >:)
A parting note, prepare yourselves, because things are about to get messy . . .

Chapter 3: Rendezvous

Midnight slowly arrived, and Puzzles was beginning to worry WPNZ and Toomp weren't going to show up.

He had begun pacing the alley, fretting that his message wouldn't work - or worse, that it hadn't been received at all.

What would he do if they didn't get his note? Where would that leave him then? How else would he - 

An especially large gun pointed right at Puzzles' head interrupted his anxiety-ridden thoughts. He found the gun connected to the exact man whom he wanted to see.

"Quite a straightforward entrance, don't you think, WPNZ?" Puzzles noted.

"Cut the crap," WPNZ responded, all seriousness. "What do you want?"

"I-I would like to . . . would you mind retracting the gun? It's extremely distracting."

"No. Tell me what it is you want before I fire."

Movement at his feet caught Puzzles' eye. He looked down to find Toomp standing there, glaring up at him.

"I-I wanted to apologize . . . for what I did," Puzzles said. "I recognize that, in hindsight, I should have-" 

"Wait," WPNZ interrupted, drawing back and lowering his gun. "You're apologizing?" he said it as though he couldn't believe it in the least.

"I know it's a bit unexpected, and a bit unorthodox, but . . ." his statement was cut short by WPNZ's laughter, a bitter sound. "What is so hilarious?"

"You . . . seriously think you can just apologize to Toomp and I, and expect everything to be fine again?!" WPNZ had gone from laughing like a maniac to angrily yelling in the span of a heartbeat. His gun of a hand was angled back at Puzzles once more. "But I guess I should've expected this from you. Always putting on a performance, always caught up in an act! Did it ever occur to you that I trusted you?! That we really were a team?! That we might've had something between us?!"

Now the barrel of the gun was angled directly at Puzzles' head. He hadn't even raised his hands in surrender, that speech had hit him so hard. He looked to the magenta blob at WPNZ's side, but it was in vain; Toomp had a murderous look in his eyes. He probably would have attacked Puzzles himself, had WPNZ not already had a deadly weapon fixed on Puzzles. 

He was backed into a corner, and only words could save him.

"Do you think I haven't thought about all of that since then?!" Puzzles said in reply, anger lacing his tone. "I know you trusted me, I know we were a good team, I know we had something! It's eaten me alive since our fight. I've been left to these musings of what might have happened if I had just turned toward the damn border, and it's killed me to think of just how much you hate me now, and how I was going to fix it! Has it ever occurred to you, dear WPNZ, that I regret my choices and want to start over with you?!"

WPNZ seemed to be a bit startled by this. The fixation of his hand-gun on Puzzles' head faltered.

They were trapped in a stalemate, waiting for the other to make a move.

WPNZ made the first move by tackling Puzzles to the ground. They collectively hit the ground so hard an echoing clang sounded.

"What does that matter now?!" he yelled. "You betrayed us! No matter how much crap you spout about how you regret your choices, it doesn't matter anymore!" He hesitated a second, then sighed in defeat. "You've shown me all I need to know, Boxhead. You're a traitor, and I can't trust a proven traitor."

Puzzles said nothing in his defense. The words cut deep, and it was clear he wasn't going to change WPNZ's mind.

Whatever it was he had felt, it wasn't reciprocated by WPNZ - not anymore.

WPNZ looked away from him. "Toomp," he said, turning to the blob nearby. "We've gotta get outta here, buddy. We still need to-"

An earth-rattling rumble disrupted WPNZ's statement. The thunderous rhythm closed in on the alley, and the source of the sound came around the corner.

The Death Cube. It had found them. 

"Targets acquired," the deep monotone spoke. The ball of light fixed in the center of the robotic rectangular structure glowed red. "Prepare for termination."

The Death Cube had found - and promptly cornered - all of its targets in one fell swoop.

WPNZ muttered an obscenity before snatching up Toomp and, by instinct, Puzzles' hand. They made a break for the street, WPNZ hoping they might be able to run past the Death Cube and confuse it long enough to get away.

Running. Always running.

The trio made it a few feet before the Death Cube realized what was happening. It turned around to regain its visual on them, and split in half to reveal the chilling tentacle-like devices sprouting from a wide, mouth-adjacent gap in the interior of the machine.

It took off after them. The city rattled with every footstep it took, undoubtedly awakening citizens within the vicinity.

The trio was significantly slower-moving without better transportation than their own feet.

Certain death was closing in quickly.

"Toomp, can you . . . do your thing?" WPNZ asked, breathless from running. 

Toomp quickly shifted from his blob shape into a motorbike. WPNZ and Puzzles jumped on board, and the three of them sped off, gaining a better distance between them and the Death Cube. 

WPNZ hesitated a beat before looking behind them to find the Death Cube still getting concerningly close. "I'm gonna try and fight it off." he explained, resuming his gun-hand. He fired off a few shots, only a few making contact with the Death Cube, all of which bounced off its dense-metal casing.

The execution machine was relentless.

Despite being fired at repeatedly, it reached out a tentacle, grabbing a tight hold on Puzzles. 

He let out a scream as he was quickly reeled in, the motorbike continuously driving away into the night. He was pulled into the Death Cube, the seam between the doors resealing over him. 

He was trapped.

It was terrifying, knowing you were going to be tortured relentlessly and trapped in endless agony until you finally gave in.

But locked in darkness while all of that is happening?

It was a whole new level of fear.

The tentacle-like devices began to tear at Puzzles' body, the sharp ends digging into the smallest of crevices between joints and panels, setting off sparks of electricity when striking the sensitive wiring.

One tentacle found its way to the panel that protected Puzzles' core. His heart. It wound its way inside, ripping at the circuitry and springs and wires and metal and-

Puzzles let out one last shrill scream of agony before the small world as he knew it went darker than before.

 

 

 

 

 

Outside, WPNZ leapt off of Toomp the moment Boxhead had gotten snatched up and shut inside the Death Cube. He knew any retaliation he could deal wouldn't be enough, but it was better to try than let Puzzles get killed without having done anything to save him.

All of the shots he fired bounced again off the Death Cube. He was sure he wouldn't be able to fight it off the way he had before unless he could charge himself up with electricity. 

That's when he remembers.

"Toomp!" he called. "Can you help me out, little buddy?"

Toomp scurried over, seemingly knowing exactly what WPNZ was referring to. He climbed atop WPNZ's shoulder, and the two fused, becoming an overpowered singular being.

Sharp hooks extended from WPNZ's shoulders, Toomp's add-on, and the entirety of his body turned a vibrant shade of magenta, with Toomp's face in the center of his torso.

"Hey, Death Fridge!" WPNZ called tauntingly. "Wanna tussle?!"

The Death Cube surprisingly made no move. Suspicious, WPNZ-Toomp walked around to the front of the machine. The light on its front was darkened.

This might be easier than they thought.

WPNZ-Toomp reached a jagged hook experimentally into the seam between the doors on the Death Cube, hoping to pry the machine open.

The doors slid open, and the tentacle devices dropped the mangled body of Puzzles onto the ground. A sinking feeling of dread settled in WPNZ's stomach. 

He could only hope Boxhead wasn't completely dead. Not yet.

But the Death Cube certainly had done noticeable damage to him.

The Death Cube seemed to awaken from whatever trance it had been in; the doors on it closed, and the light in its center had turned a vengeful red again.

"One target apprehended," it stated heartlessly in its monotone. "Next target-"

WPNZ-Toomp shot a jagged hook into the bulb of light on the Death Cube, shoving it away before retracting the hook.

WPNZ-Toomp watched it for a second to ensure it stayed down before separating again and turning their attention to the next matter.

Puzzles landed facedown after being spit up by the Death Cube. WPNZ turned him over to find his screen bashed in and black, fragments of glass clinging to the frame. His limbs were all slightly disjointed, one of his feet had been all but sawed off, and several cables in his neck were severed.

But the worst damage was the kind that had been dealt to his chest. The metal plating had been torn open, exposing his core - his heart - which now was suspended by a singular spring. The light that had illuminated the core was dark.

WPNZ and Toomp closely studied the damage. They looked to each other, debating what their next move should be.

Bring Boxhead and chance that he was fully beyond repair, or leave him and move on, maybe start a fresh life somewhere - now that the Death Cube was out of commission for the time being. 

WPNZ sighed defeatedly. He might be 'bad', but he knew the right thing to do. Even if it made him want to punch a wall.

He knelt beside Puzzles' broken body and gently pressed down on the core piece, almost playfully, despite it being the equivalent of a human heart suspended outside its body.

"You're gonna owe us big time for this, Boxhead," he muttered before easing his hands under Puzzles to lift him up. He carefully lifted the TV-head up, not unlike the way he had done before - before Puzzles had betrayed him. "Toomp," WPNZ said, turning to the blob. "Any way you can get us to the scrapyard?" The scrapyard would surely have any tools and replacement parts the pair might need to repair Boxhead.

And if not . . . 

Well, they'd just have to cross that bridge when - or if - they came to it.

Toomp was about to transform back into his motorbike form, when a glint caught his eye. He spotted a somewhat familiar bullet shell on the ground.

He recognized it as the 'gift' WPNZ had given Puzzles.

"Toomp!" WPNZ called. "You comin', little buddy?"

Toomp snatched up the bullet and swallowed it up.

He would have to remember to give it back later.

 

Notes:

Well, that took a hard left turn! I would first like to apologize for two things: 1) Having to change/update the tags so darned much (I didn't know all the turns this fic would take when I started writing it), and 2) For needing to leave you in the dark for a little longer while I write the next chapter in my cave of unhinged late-night vibes.
(Seriously though, I know what it's like to be left in suspense for what feels like an exponentially long period of time, so I'll set to writing that next chapter as soon as possible!)
As always, thank you very much for reading, and the new chapter should be up in a week (give or take, my schedule's unpredictable).

Chapter 4: Our Safe Haven

The scrapyard was not the most ideal place to perform so delicate a task as the one WPNZ and Toomp set out to perform, but it was abandoned and had the greatest likelihood of having the equipment necessary for the two to put their . . . acquaintance back together. 

They rolled up to the scrapyard late into the night. WPNZ searched for a place to set Puzzles down while he and Toomp would have a look around for the equipment they'd need to soon fix him.

A plank of wood had been left out. That would have to do.

WPNZ dug the plank out from under a small pile of miscellaneous junk and laid Puzzles atop it. "Just stay here for now," he whispered to the unconscious TV. "As if you can go anywhere. We'll be back to put you back together, Boxhead."

WPNZ would never in a million years admit it, but right then, under his carefree facade, he was anxious. Anxious that Puzzles was too far gone to be brought back. Anxious that he and Toomp wouldn't find what they needed. Anxious that, despite his begrudging efforts to save his ex-friend, it would all come down to nothing and end in heartbreak again.

It had ended that way too many times for WPNZ. It wouldn't - not again. He would make sure of that.

"Alright, Half-pint," WPNZ said, looking now to Toomp. "Let's go look for some tools."

 

 

 

 

 

Facing down the expansive scrapyard, WPNZ finally realized just how in over his head he was. How foolhardy this situation was shaping up to be.

Sure, he'd had his share of repairwork, some done by others and some done by his own hand, but when it came to repairing someone like Puzzles, he didn't even know where to begin.

"Got any ideas on where to start, little buddy?" he asked Toomp. He knew the little guy had proven himself to have his share of mechanical know-how, so he was hoping the blob might have some input.

Toomp glanced around the scrapyard for a tick before running off, probably having located something useful.

WPNZ watched as Toomp sped off, and decided the little guy could handle himself - at least for a little while. He looked over at Puzzles' body again and sighed. As angry as he was at the TV-head, he acknowledged that Puzzles needed help right now, and it would make him look like an even worse villain if he didn't at least try to offer help to his ex-partner.

Even if . . . there was a chance it didn't help at all.

"This doesn't change anything," he muttered under his breath. "I don't forgive you, but I'll still help you, Boxhead."

WPNZ sighed heavily. This whole situation between the three of them was so unnecessarily complicated it made his head ache. He deeply despised Boxhead, that was for sure. But why did he still feel compelled to help him?

And why had Boxhead seemed so insistent on apologizing before? Did he truly feel bad for what he'd done, or was he plotting to double-cross WPNZ for his own gain again? It was difficult to tell when he was being honest and when he was playing an act.

WPNZ glared daggers at Puzzles' body. Helping the traitorous fool was no longer an act of legitimate kindness, he decided. It was a begrudging action, no more than a . . . 

A last mission between ex-partners.

That was more like it. 

Toomp's sudden arrival snapped WPNZ out of his stupor. The blob now carried a rusted and worn toolbox containing a hodgepodge of mechanical instruments.

"You think these'll work?" WPNZ asked Toomp after sifting through the collection. 

Toomp nodded his assent. WPNZ supposed he'd have to take Toomp's word for it. The little guy had already proven himself more than knowledgeable when it came to mechanical engineering, hadn't he?

"Alright then," WPNZ replied. "Let's get to work."

 

 

 

 

 

Somehow the night had taken on an air of even deeper darkness by the time WPNZ and Toomp had completed a small portion of the repairwork.

They had decided that the most integral part to fix first would be Puzzles' core. And that had proven to be a tremendously delicate task. With the core only maintaining connection via a singular spring, WPNZ and Toomp had had to reattach delicate wiring to the core, so as for it to be able to direct and redirect the electrical currents it made, much like a human heart directs blood - in addition to trying not to break the delicate device when reinstalling it into its compartment.

There was still a way to go, but it was a start.

WPNZ and Toomp observed their handiwork. "Not bad, little buddy," he said, looking over at Toomp. "What should we work on next? His screen's damaged pretty badly, but maybe we should . . . "

His thought was cut short by Toomp yawning, his typically nonexistent mouth opening wide.

Guess it is late, WPNZ thought. "You can go on to sleep," he reassured Toomp. "I'll keep an eye on Boxhead."

Toomp stared up at WPNZ for a second, before accepting his dismissal and walking over to a small mound of miscellaneous trash and settling down. He was asleep in minutes.

WPNZ took a seat next to Puzzles, sighing deeply. "Even not here, you're still persuasive," he noted. He refused to use the word 'dead', because that wasn't the case right now - or so he hoped. "You know, it's a hell of a lot easier to talk to you when you're not here." He chuckled lightly. He hadn't completely thought out what he was to do when Puzzles came back online again.

There were a lot of paths that he could go down when dealing with that, it was merely a matter of determining which path to travel down. Should he forgive Puzzles? Should he cast him away? Should he -

WPNZ's pondering was interrupted by a flash of colors and a consistent high-pitched tone. He turned his eyes back on Puzzles' head.

The screen was painted with the boldness of color bars, and a message read at the bottom of the screen, Please stand by.

"No, no, no, no . . . " WPNZ muttered. "Dammit." How was Puzzles coming back online? It wasn't supposed to happen this soon! He was still damaged, how -?

WPNZ thought of disconnecting Puzzles' core again - only until his other repairs were done and it was a more appropriate time to be waking up - but he quickly decided against it, in favor of letting Boxhead come back online and just see what came of it.

This whole situation was making WPNZ more and more reckless . . . or strategic; it was hard to tell.

The screen went grayish-black with static. 

WPNZ held his breath for the span of the tense seconds before -

Puzzles' familiar face was displayed on the screen again, a tired and wary expression on his face. "Am I dead?" were the first words out of his mouth.

WPNZ groaned quietly. Yeah, this was going to be a tense conversation.

Puzzles glanced around in a daze before looking WPNZ dead in the eyes. "What, precisely, are you doing here?" he asked.

WPNZ rolled his eyes, pondering a good way to respond to this question presented to him. "I . . . was helping fix you up," he stated. "You got pretty knocked around by the Death Fridge, and . . . Toomp and I were conveniently nearby, so we brought you here to repair the damage."

Recognition bloomed in Puzzles' eyes. A shiver seemed to go down his spine at the mention of the Death Cube. He could only hope that WPNZ and Toomp had left that thing long in the dust. It had nearly destroyed him!

But another, more important, thought stuck out to him. "Why?" he asked. "Why did you . . . do this? Why did you rescue me, much less fix me?"

WPNZ was taken aback, but he tried to maintain a nonchalant tone. "Like I said, Toomp and I were nearby, and we couldn't just let you die, Boxhead. And you're not all the way fixed, either. The wiring in your neck, shoulders, and ankles needs to be soldered back together. And your screen's still . . . "

Puzzles reached a hand up to where a layer of thick glass typically protected his screen, only to find it no longer there. And now that he thought about it, his head was leaning precariously off to the side. "Ah," he said defeatedly. "The . . . Death Cube did do a number on me, didn't it?" He hadn't acknowledged it, but the damaged areas of his body had started to hurt once he came back online, and he was now trying to find any humor in the midst of this predicament.

WPNZ must've noticed the tension in his voice, though. "Ah, don't worry, Boxhead. Toomp and I'll get you fixed up, and you can be on your way."

Puzzles smiled at this comment, but deep down he felt sad and anxious. He didn't have a 'way' to go on, so to speak. His whole mission had been to try and get on WPNZ's good side again, to make amends for his betrayal and rejoin their team. He and WPNZ had . . . a connection. A mutual understanding of each other. He supposed he and Toomp probably did too, but in a wholly different manner . . . but the blob never spoke, so it was hard to tell.

"We should get some shuteye," WPNZ noted. "Will you be able to sleep, Boxhead?"

"I should be able to," Puzzles replied. WPNZ stood up and began to walk away to find somewhere to sleep. "Wait," Puzzles said suddenly, drawing WPNZ's attention back on him. ". . . Thank you. For rescuing me."

WPNZ smiled, but it was gone in an instant. "You're . . . you're welcome, Boxhead."

And he walked off.

 

 

 

 

 

Puzzles had partially lied to WPNZ. He thought that he might be able to get some semblance of sleep during the night, but between the pain brought on by the severed wiring, as well as the fear that he might somehow manage to damage himself more, he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.

A thought had occurred to him late in the night, however. 

The bullet shell he'd kept safely tucked away in his pocket was gone.

Well, his clothes had gotten torn up enough in his scuffle with the Death Cube, so the bullet shell was surely long gone.

The realization sobered him. It might have just been a trinket, but it mattered to him - because WPNZ had given it to him . . . before he made a mess of everything.

Dawn was just beginning to paint the horizon when Puzzles noticed Toomp stirring. The little blob sat up slowly and looked sleepily over at Puzzles. His gaze was somehow accusatory and purely neutral at the same time.

"Good . . . morning, Toomp." Puzzles greeted him, whispering so as not to awaken WPNZ. 

The blob just stared at him for a second before walking away.

Puzzles was about to let him go, until he abruptly said, "Toomp, wait." Toomp turned around and backtracked a step, only daring to come the slightest bit closer. "I . . . I want to say thank you for rescuing me and fixing me. I, well I am quite sure, that you don't trust me completely, and while I don't blame you, I truly want to change and prove my loyalty - to you and WPNZ. I know I betrayed you, and I want to make it right. So . . . I'm sorry. For everything I put you through."

Toomp fixed Puzzles with a blank stare for another minute before walking off. It couldn't be known whether or not he had really acknowledged Puzzles, but at least he didn't come off more angry.

It was a start.

It wasn't much longer before WPNZ began to stir and soon awakened, stretching his arms in the air. "Mornin', Boxhead," he said. He looked over and found Puzzles still wide awake, but weary-looking. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

" . . . No." Puzzles reluctantly admitted.

WPNZ gave him an annoyed look. "Well, if Toomp and I can get you repaired the rest of the way by the end of the day, then you might be able to get more shuteye. Where did that slimeball run off to, by the way?"

"He went off somewhere not long ago," Puzzles informed him. "And hopefully so."

WPNZ smiled sadly, studying the damage he and Toomp would still have to tend to. "I'm gonna go see if I can find him," he said. "And we'll be right back."

 

 

 

 

 

Toomp had managed to wander off quite a ways away by the time WPNZ found him.

"Hey, Toomp," WPNZ said, causing Toomp to turn around and face him, revealing the kit he had found. "Whatcha got there, little buddy?"

Toomp set the soldering kit on the ground, allowing WPNZ to see the mishmash collection of tools he'd scavenged, in addition to the equipment that had already been inside the kit.

"Impressive work," WPNZ noted. He took the kit in hand, and scooped up Toomp in the other hand. "Now let's get to fixing Boxhead."

That's when Toomp remembered. He scrambled to escape WPNZ's grip and fell to the ground with a light plop.

WPNZ turned to the blob, concern etched in his face. "What's the matter?" he asked.

Toomp stared up at WPNZ for a heartbeat, and proceeded to spit out the bullet shell he'd collected from Puzzles.

WPNZ wore an expression of confusion, then recognition. "There ain't no way . . ." he murmured as he picked up the shell.

 

Notes:

So, fun fact: I was originally going to make this chapter really long and *shudders* end the story there, but as I started writing it I decided I instead wanted to shorten the chapter and then have a fifth installment.
Unfortunately, that means another cliffhanger. :(
Still, thank you thank you THANK YOU for reading this and for putting up with my seemingly neverending ship shenanigans, and I hope to see you in the next chapter!

Notes:

Writing this - my first fanfiction - as a means of coping with the Guns N' Puzzles movie and the potentially devastating ending we're on our way to.
But anyway, hi, it's nice to meet you, and thank you for reading! I don't have an allotted schedule, but I hope to post new chapters frequently! :)