Chapter Text
"Whoa." Honeydew stepped out of the ship and looked around, the glowing crystals attached to his helmet lighting up where he looked. "Is this the city?"
Xephos could only nod as he finally saw the small lights for the first time in what seemed like forever. He couldn't help but note that they seemed brighter than he remembered.
"It's beautiful," Lalna whispered as he stood next to Honeydew. "There's so many lights."
Xephos wiped away the tears that managed to fall and turned to Honeydew. "Thank you," his voice shook as he spoke. "You have no idea how much this means."
Honeydew smiled and nodded. "Xephos, I'm pretty sure I know how much this means to you. Now come on, let's go find Mira!"
Xephos' laugh of pure joy seemed to be infectious as both Lalna and Honeydew couldn't help but join in.
"We can get there faster if we cut through here, come on!"
Suddenly Xephos was off, weaving around tall buildings and occasionally looking back to make sure Honeydew and Lalna were following.
Without warning, Xephos stopped.
"Wait, guys." He looked around at the lights. "This...it's the Demitto District."
Lalna and Honeydew finally caught up.
"So?" Lalna panted, trying to get his breath back after the large amount of running. "You can give us a tour after we find your daughter."
"No, you don't get it," Xephos wore a giddy smile as he turned to face Lalna. "The lights are on."
Honeydew understood. "They changed their mind?" he gasped, watching as Xephos wiped away fresh tears. "They actually changed their mind?"
Xephos nodded and laughed in shock. "They must have!"
This time Honeydew was dragged along when Xephos took off again through the empty streets. The lack of people almost worried Honeydew but it was hard to worry when his friend was so happy.
"Xephos?!"
Xephos skidded to a halt and turned around. He looked confused before he spotted a figure in one of the open windows. He froze and dropped Honeydew's hand.
"Oh my." The woman who had shouted Xephos' name threw open her door and ran outside. She dissolved into tears and grabbed his shoulder. "It's actually you. I thought I was seeing things." She carried on blabbering before Xephos pulled her into a hug. The women seemed to be confused at the sign of affection but closed her glowing blue eyes anyway.
"I missed you so much, mother."
Honeydew hid his gasp behind his hand and stepped back towards Lalna.
"I thought you were dead!" She cried, pulling away. "We all did! Merak came back and said that your ship went down and so did your fathers!" Her eyes widened and her grip on Xephos' shoulder tightened. "Where's your father?!"
Xephos' smile fell and his eyes fell to the ground. "I'm sorry."
There was an awkward silence as Xephos' mother wiped away her own tears and her son's. "It wasn't your fault," she whispered, "It was the military's."
"Don't say that out loud!" Xephos hissed, eyes flickering to the side out of habit. "They'll hear you!"
The women laughed and Xephos stared at her in shock. He had never heard her laugh before in his entire life.
"They no longer exist," she explained, a smile plastered to her face. "After news of your death travelled, Procyon convinced the leader to put your father's plan into effect." Her smile fell. "I never knew they even considered doing that, let alone actually doing it."
"Did they?" Xephos was terrified to ask but he had to know. He felt his friend's stares on him but at the moment he couldn't care less.
She shook her head. "People found out what they had planned and they did not take it well. There was a huge civil war."
Xephos' eyes flickered to the lights. "The people won," he said, not believing it himself. "They actually won."
His mother smiled and nodded. "People live equally now. Well, as equal as we're going to get."
It was almost like a dream. All his worst fears about the fate of his planet seemed to be ridiculous now as he looked around and saw the smiling face of his mother.
"Where is she?" Xephos asked, his voice cracking. "Please, I need to see her."
Xephos' mother smiled and invited Xephos inside. He turned around and motioned for his friends to follow. They shared a look before stepping inside, still suspicious of the new planet.
"Grandmother! Have you seen my blue dress?" A familiar voice travelled from upstairs. "I can only see my purple one!"
Xephos couldn't stop the tears as he heard his daughter's voice for the first time in years.
"Mira! Come down! Someone's here to see you!"
Xephos' hands shook as the sounds of footsteps echoed through the hallway.
"If it's Arago tell him I'm going the festival with-" She cut off as she reached the top of the stairs. "I...you..."
There she was. She looked much older than he remembered but he knew it was her. She still had her beautiful purple eyes and the adorably chubby cheeks.
"Hi, Pumpkin," Xephos choked out as he stared at the top of the stairs. Mira was sobbing as she ran into her dad's arms, holding onto his waist tightly.
"I told them you'd be back!" She cried, her tears staining Xephos' blue and white shirt. "They said you were dead!"
"I'm sorry, I'm so so so sorry!" He buried his nose in her hair. "I shouldn't have left, I'm sorry."
She pulled back and wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. "You've been gone 4 years, daddy," she whimpered, her free hand gripping onto his shirt so he couldn't escape. "I missed you."
"I missed you, too," he whispered, brushing back her hair. "So very much."
Mira nodded and hugged her dad as tight as she could. "Please don't leave again. I need you."
Xephos nodded and held her just as tight. "Don't worry, I'll never leave again, Pumpkin."
Honeydew and Lalna shared a short look and Honeydew nodded. He stepped forward and tapped Xephos on the shoulder. Mira squeaked and hid behind her father.
"Xephos," Honeydew rested his hand on Xephos' shoulder and smiled sadly. "It's been an honour adventuring with you."
"I'm sorry, friend." Xephos whispered, pulling him into a hug. "I enjoyed every moment with you, I swear."
"Yeah, me too, mate." Honeydew forced himself not to cry. "Promise you'll visit?"
"I..yeah." Xephos nodded and bit his lip. "Yes, of course. I love you, friend."
"I love you too, you big softie!" Honeydew laughed and stepped away. Lalna pulled a small device out of his lab pocket. "It's a radio," he explained, passing it to Xephos. "So you can keep in contact with us."
Xephos grinned and held it in his hand tightly. "Thank you so much, for everything."
Lalna nodded and no other words needed to be said. They shut the door behind them, leaving Xephos back with his own family and back home.
"So, Lalna," Honeydew said when they were finally back on the ship. "What do you say to finally making Jaffa Cakes?"
Lalna laughed and opened the cockpit's door. "I say let's do it."
Honeydew smiled and fastened his seatbelt. Although it hurt to leave Xephos behind, he knew it was the right thing to do. And if it was the right thing to do, how could he feel sad?
His friend was finally happy and so was Honeydew.