It’s Best this Way

By Auburn Red

Disclaimer: Do you really think I own these characters? Of course not, they are products of Disney/Pixar, and I am not making a profit in this, honest. This is for my personal enjoyment.

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So let’s leave it alone

There’s only you and me and we just disagree.

~from "We Just Disagree" by Dave Mason

I watch my partners during the downtime interested, but not really paying attention. Mira is doing some training exercises, Booster is reading the Star Command manual he is no doubt memorizing each page, XR is playing illegal vid games on the console. I’ll get him about that later. They are a pretty good, loyal trustworthy. Even though I haven’t known them long, I like them, but they’re not Warp Darkmatter.

I skim through Warp’s personnel file and I wonder how he could have fooled me for so long? I who searched everywhere for signs of Zurg’s treachery and deceit, could see a spy from miles away, could find a grub in every location couldn’t see that my own partner worked for my most hated enemy? I look for any signs I should have looked for: an extended vacation time last year (family emergency he said, probably to sell secrets), two private email accounts, a few other small signs that should have clicked. Was he that good or was I that blind? I always knew he was something of a rebel, the outsider in his class who always got in trouble. That was why we were paired, so he could learn from my example, I had always hoped he would grow out of the rebel stage and be a hero, someday. Despite what I now know of him, he was, a good and loyal friend. He saved my life countless times during missions, and understood me through my occasional ranting. How could the person that I was once proud to call my best frien , with good reason destroy a planet at Zurg’s behest?

A faint flicker of hope shines that maybe I can change him back. Maybe deep down there’s till the good person waiting to come out. Or, maybe he just should have stayed dead that way the things I said in my eulogy would be true. That’s not true, a voice in my head seems to say. You know he was just using you for years. He cared nothing about you. I will listen to that voice for right now. The Warp Darkmatter I knew died, in fact he never existed. He is now my enemy. I will treat him as my enemy. If he does change, that will be fine, but if not he will be punished anyway possible. It’s best this way.

I pace in my cell waiting for a sign of escape, just like Zurg promised in his note. Soon, I will be back in action sitting in my luxury home counting my wads of creds. I can’t wait. Of course, there is a downside to all of this: Zurg already told me that failure means death. Thinking about things like that almost makes me regret going with him full-time. At least, no matter how much I disappointed Buzz, I didn’t have to worry about my neck.

The truth is, I don’t hate Buzz, I never did. I still don’t. I could count on less than one hand the amount of people who cared about me and Buzz is right there at the top of my list. He was like an older brother to me, almost a father figure. Well, he was better than my real father, anyone would have been. It’s unfortunate that working with Zurg means I’ll have to lose my best friend, but if that’s the way it’s got to be, oh well. Funny, I didn’t even like him at first. We were only paired so I "could learn from him," and I did somewhat. You don’t work with someone and not develop genuine feelings for them. He’s an all-right guy who saved my life many times, when if he knew he should have ended it, understood me better than any father did. How can I give up the closest friendship I ever had for a tyrant I can’t stand and this mechanical arm which at best bothers at worst hurts me?

I picture myself in my mansion surrounded by money and adventure and everything I want in answer to my question. I’ll do whatever it takes because I want the power, the profit, and the adventure. If it means having to destroy Buzz, then so be it. He’s my enemy now. I’m dead to him, so he might as well be dead to me. It’s best this way.