Disclaimer- All characters used are property of DiC and Archie.

A/N- OK, folks, here it is- the forth and final chapter! So, grab some popcorn, sit back and relax, and I’ll do the rest!

It’s been so long since I’ve been home, he wistfully thought to himself, staring in profound recollection at the row of adjourning houses, all which had long since been abandoned.

It was hard to believe that almost nothing was how he recalled. This was not the same neighborhood he’d lived out his sorry childhood in, but was rather a barren wasteland- not like the dank, dark city of Robotropolis, yet in some ways, significantly more dismal. The entire place was virtually a ghost-town; not a single soul to be seen anywhere, the rainy streets completely desolate, and all the left-over houses and buildings- many of which were rotting and burnt-out, like ancient ruins- bore wooden boards across most of the doors and windows, save those neglected few which had been smashed. Almost every tree in the area had been ripped down, as though caught in the path of some vicious path of destruction, along with a few unfortunate structures. The whole town was as quiet as a graveyard; the only sounds that could be heard was the sharp howling of the cold wind and thick raindrops pelting the ground. An empty trash can blew down the street, its metal surface hollowly clanking along the pavement, and was gone.

His present surroundings echoed with the distinct voices of memories- distant and vague, though terribly near- as if they were but spirits of yesterday. The voices swarmed around his head like flies, encasing him on all sides, growing louder by the second. They deafened him, evaded his overflowing ears and whirling mind, threatening to send him to the very brink of insanity. Various familiar visions flashed before his eyes like lightning, visions of individuals and events that had forever lay buried within the depths of his subconscious, waiting for just the right moment to be evoked once more.

Beads of sweat began to pour down the young man’s back, accompanied by the quickened beating of his heart and pulse, as his sky-blue eyes darted back and forth rapidly. Oh, why did these memories haunt him so? Why could they not leave him in peace, once-and-for-all? He gasped, squeezing his eyes shut and covering his ears, but they still pursued him in his mind’s eye. The more he desperately resisted, the more he discovered his attempts be futile, as they came at him with greater intensity than ever.

“Leave me alone!” he screamed out into the empty evening air, above the rolling thunder. “Can’t a man start over? Must I be forevermore continue to be haunted by my wretched past?” He fell to his knees, then, releasing all the grief of his weary soul. Little did he care that he was being drenched by the falling rain, and was barely aware of how cold he actually was.

After a long time, his gaze slowly turned uptowards the dark skies. He bitterly thought to himself, as an afterthought, that the heaven’s weeping was no competition for his own. And once he had taken a few seconds to clear his overwhelmed mind and take a deep breath, he wiped his eyes dry with a slightly-trembling hand, and carefully rose to his feet. Turning up the collar on the tan trench-coat he wore, he gave a shiver, then proceeded with his quest.

He silently walked down the cracked sidewalk, observing for the first time that many of the houses had been defiled in blood-red letters various messages of profanity and threats against the Overlanders, along with some strange symbols that he could not begin to place…

Then, obvious relaxation suddenly struck him. The symbols were, in reality, codes; codes which the enemy must have planted, either to warn the Overlanders of what was in store for them, or strategic battle messages to the other Mobians. They were very similar to the ones which the Mobian army, led by Warlord Kodos, had used. Indeed; all this was, without a doubt, the work of his people’s most hated nemesis.

“The Mobians? Those accursed furries were here?” Snively frowned in confusion, as he surveyed all the damage. “When on Mobius did this happen? And why? We’ve always been at odds, since the Great War, but there hasn’t been another war since.” He shook his head. “Oh, this was far more than some crude gang of ruffians out for trouble and cheap shits-and-giggles… this is serious. We’ve been altogether attacked, ambushed. Judging by the damage, those miserable fur-balls decided to leave the Overlanders their calling card, for some reason. But what I want to know is who is responsible for this, and where everybody has gone! Surely, the Overlanders would never allow themselves to be taken prisoner or driven out-of-town; my people are fighters, damnit! By God, our heritage is far too proud for that!” He sighed, remembering- much to his dismay- which side had won the Great War, not that he cared to admit it. “Oh, didn’t those fools learn anything, from the War?” he yelled, after a pause. With a bitter smirk, he added, “Well, if Colin was leading the revolt, like last time, then I suppose not. Just like ‘ol Julian; I’ll bet they got too cocky for their own, once again, and were defeated. Their own stubborn disposition ultimately led to their downfall; how deliciously ironic. Bloody hell, a pox on human nature- and those damned Mobians!” he hissed, with a smirk. “I say, I wonder whatever happened to dear ‘ol Daddy, anyway…”

He coughed, frowning. “I’d better take a closer look around. Perhaps I’ll find some answers, or even somebody who can explain things to me.”

Suddenly, he remembered his mission, and his blood ran cold. “Sabrina… no… I’ve got to find her! Why, if those furry demons harmed her in any way… oh, God, please let her be safe!” He began running wildly down the street, shouting his presence at the top of his lungs, begging for it to be acknowledged by someone- anyone!

Perhaps if I at least locate a citizen, they can tell me what happened, and where all the Overlanders have vanished to. Then, hopefully, I’ll have a better chance of finding Sabrina! he thought to himself, dearly clinging to what little hope he didn’t even know he possessed deep within.

For the next hour, Snively searched the town high-and-low, but to no avail. He had thoroughly looked in all the buildings that hadn’t been barred up, but had located neither Overlander nor Mobian; all that he found was the damaged, scattered remains of the interior of the burnt-out buildings.

He found himself sitting on the porch-steps of his old house, staring down at his lap in despair. As his heavy chest-cavity slowly contracted, he briefly realized that he had never before in his life actually taken the time to listen to himself breath; the raspy, hollow sound struck him as quite strange and foreign, almost maddening to a point.

“So, then… I’m all alone,” he finally spoke up to himself, after a few minutes of thoughtful silence. “The last Overlander here. Well, I suppose I’ll never find out what became of the others.” He sighed heavily. “I’m so confused… what am I to do, now? Sabrina is gone, with the rest of them; now, I’ll never fulfil my poor mother’s dream. What’s left for me, then?” He gave a bitter smirk. “It figures- I’ve had every wish stolen from me in my entire life, all my hopes and dreams smashed. I just can’t win; it is clearer to me than ever, that I am truly destined for unhappiness. All that has ever kept me going is that dim ray of hope, which I have been desperately following all this time, as a donkey will follow a carrot at the end of a string. So near, and yet so out of reach… and everytime I get a little closer to my goal, I am proven a fool once more. Damnit, it’s as if Old Man Fate has always been mocking me!” He glared up towards the skies. “Well, I certainly hope I’ve been amusing You, all this time!” he shouted, his fists and teeth tightly clenched.

The forlorn young man then fell to his knees, and again began sobbing to himself. “Mother… I’m sorry… please forgive me,” he piteously implored her spirit. “I have failed you, I know… but please understand, I truly never meant to; I swear! I was young, selfish, and foolish, and I just needed to get away from home- from Father- and live my own life, pursue my own dreams, and seek my fortune anywhere in the world I could. At the time, I didn’t care where my travels would take me, so long as I was free and happy. So, when I became reunited with my estranged, outcast uncle- who, at the time, was Warlord of the Kingdom of Mobotropolis- I decided to join him… he offered me the proposition of a lifetime, more than I’d ever dreamed of! He, unlike my father, actually respected me and appreciated my intellect and abilities… or so he claimed, and I foolishly believed.”

With a sniffle, Snively sighed heavily and wiped his tear-streaked face. “Even when he let me in on his true intentions for the Kingdom, I still stayed with him. I knew this would be the only opportunity I’d ever have in my life, and so I had no choice but to take it. Besides, I didn’t want to lose my uncle’s respect. I felt like I finally found my place, my true calling.” He shrugged. “I admit I was quite a bit shocked, even reluctant to be a part of such an evil scheme. But Julian is a very cunning, manipulating old devil. He vowed that if I swore my undying alliance and loyalty to him as Dictator of Mobius, I would be entitled to half the power. He said that we would be partners in ruling the land, that everything would be fifty-fifty. And with those tempting words, I took the bait- hook, line, and sinker. And I also believe that much of my own innocence had already been stripped of me, from my wretched childhood, thus making me all the easier to bend to his will… and he knew it.

“But after the Great War was won, and Julian was about to be appointed as Minister of Science by the King… I learned, all-too-well, that my backstabbing uncle was far more treacherous than I’d originally thought.”

Flashback

“And I want all testing completed within the hour,” Warlord Julian was saying to his young 19-year-old nephew, as the SWATbots worked to get the Destroyer up and running.

“We’re on schedule, Uncle Julian,” Snively replied, looking over the list in his hand. “But the Piece-Pod still needs to be retro-fitted with laser weapons,” he informed him.

Julian smiled; however, unbeknownst to the naïve young man, it was not an appreciative smile… rather, one of purely sarcasm, as were his next words. “Thank you, Snively.”

Snively grinned excitedly. “By this time tomorrow, Mobotropolis will be ours!” he beamed, throwing up his hands eagerly.

Julian snickered loudly at this remark, though his gullible nephew’s expression remained unchanged. “Not “ours”, Snively,” he replied, with a smirk, hauling his mammoth ass over to the computer console. “Mine.” There was distinct emphasis on that last word.

Now, Snively’s overjoyed countenance suddenly switched to that of slight confusion, as though he had not heard him quite right. “But, I-”

Julian ignored this meager protest. “Switch to Voice-Recognition Mode,” he ordered the computer. “Block all outside users.”

The computer immediately complied to this request. Snively walked up to his uncle, his entire face a question-mark by now. “Why are we voice-activating, Uncle Julian?” he inquired. Well, he trusted his uncle; he figured he had a good reason. After all, Uncle Julian always knew what he was doing.

Julian suddenly whipped around, grabbing the tiny man up by his green turtle-neck collar, causing a startled squeak to emit from his lips.. “WE… aren’t,” he snapped, glaring into the bewildered lad’s shocked and nervous eyes. He spoke in a low, deadly voice, not averting that hard, piercing gaze that Snively would soon come to fear. “From now on… everything will answer only to MY voice. Do you know what means, Snively?”

“No, Uncle Julian,” his nephew replied, more than a trifle uneasily.

“It means… you call me “SIR”!”

“Yes, sir!?” Snively yelped, nearly mesmerized by those blood-red robotic orbs which eerily glowed like Christmas lights.

“From now on, Snively,” the Fat One sternly concluded in what the lad clearly identified as a threatening tone, “you do exactly as I say.” With that, he dropped him to the ground like yesterday’s trash, leaving those words to sink in his nephew’s whirling mind.

Snively sat on the ground where he’d been disposed of, his light-blue eyes widened in shock and pain. “Y-yes, sir…” he whimpered, staring downward.

Snively sighed, allowing a few more regretful tears to fall. “Oh, if I knew then what I know now…” He exhaled. “Sometimes, I believe I truly would’ve been better off with Colin. He was cold and abusive, and he didn’t give me the credit I deserve, true, but Julian was far worse than he ever was. And I always thought my life was horrible with Father.”

His voice cracked. “And now, no thanks to both of them, all my innocence has been ultimately stripped from me. All I’ve known my entire life is the burning taste of sadness, pain, and hatred, and the bittersweet pleasure of causing suffering unto others. Colin planted the seeds into me from the very start, but it was Julian who made them thrive and grow… the weeds and thorns which have always entangled my heart and soul.” He suddenly screamed out, his voice rising above the thundering heavens, “DAMN THEM FOR WHAT THEY’VE DONE TO ME!! DAMN THEM BOTH TO HELL!”

He fell to the ground, weeping once more. “But, in the end… it’s really all my fault, isn’t it? If it weren’t for my wretched existence in the first place, my poor mother would never have died. Colin was right… I was- am- nothing but a very curse; a curse upon both her life and my own. And if she had lived through childbirth, then that would have been even better; then, everything would have been completely different. I needed a mother in my life… I truly did. I was lost without her.”

He gave a sniffle, and wearily rose to his feet, like an old man. “Now, there really is nothing left for me. I truly have hit rock-bottom. I swear, as God as my witness- if I could find a way to end this sorry, so-called existence, I would do so this very second, without hesitation. If there was ever a time to do this, now is certainly that time; for, hope has ultimately forsaken me now.” He exhaled, squeezing his eyes shut. “But if I make an end to my own life, then what will happen to my soul? What if I become damned to hell, for all eternity? Then I would never see my mother… whom I’ve dearly longed for, all my life.” A bitter smirk suddenly crossed his lips. “Well… I suppose I’m doomed to spend an eternity with the Devil, anyway, so I’ve got nothing to lose.”

Spotting a piece of broken glass lying on a nearby lawn from a shattered window, he picked it up and aimed it towards his pounding heart. “Forgive me, dear Mother… you will never know how sorry I am,” he whispered, with a gasp, hot tears stinging his eyes. Farewell.” With another sardonic smile, he then added, “Goodbye, “Snively the Great.” From hell’s black heart, I stab at thee.”

After his final declaration, Colin “Snively” Kintobar then thrust the glass deep into his chest.

But right before he took his last breath, the young man thought he could make out the distinct sound of weeping. Blinking, his distorted vision then came into focus- for one brief, shinning moment (literally)- and he clearly saw a figure with long golden hair, who almost seemed to represent an angel, staring down at him with tearful blue eyes. The women wore a countenance of profound sorrow, as she reached down and gently touched a hand to his shocked face.

Blinking tearfully, Snively reached out his hand and placed it upon her own. But then, after a few seconds had passed, the figure vanished altogether… leaving behind only the faint echo of sobs in the cool evening air.

His pleading hand remained extended forth, until the very last second. “M-Mother…”

THE END

Folks, I’ll be honest- I had a completely different ending in mind, but I changed my mind at the last minute. Ah well, I actually like this chapter. I’m just glad the damn thing is finally done! (Yes, I know I said Sabrina would be in this chapter, but again, I got lazy. Like Snively, I just decided to take the easy way out.) Review, please.

BTW- the flashback sequence was an actual scene from the two-part SatAM episode, “Blast to the Past, Part One”.

This has been a Shychick Production!