Epilogue

He'd entered in the coordinates the Xlgta had given him with extreme care, making sure to get each digit right. There was no room for error. He had to find that trans-spacial warp and get away. Zurg knew the galaxy had become to hot to hold him.

His course took him far through the stars, across distant, uninhabited systems, and into the deepest regions of known space. He was glad of the quiet; he didn't want to run into anyone. And it gave him a chance to think over everything that had happened.

At last something came into sight, a mere speck on the screen, but it stood right at the centre of the coordinates. Zurg knew he had found his way out.

But as the object grew bigger, he realised it wasn't any sort of interspatial rift or anomaly. It was in fact very familiar, though the last time he'd seen it, it had been in an entirely different part of the galaxy. But it was unmistakable. It was a giant snow globe.

An uninformed visitor would have been extremely surprised to see such a thing floating in the middle of space, but Zurg was anything but uninformed. "No!" He beat a fist against the helm of his shuttle, going so far as to swear—something he rarely did. "She tricked me!" Even in death, the Xlgta was finding new ways to ruin his life.

After coming so far, he realised he had no choice but to go on. Zurg flew the shuttle up to the great orb of North Polaris and waited outside one of the hatches. He knew they must have detected him. What would they do? He wasn't exactly on good terms with the guy in charge.

To his relief, the hatch opened. Zurg landed inside one of the bays, noting it was one of the empty ones. Apparently they didn't trust him anywhere near the presents. As if I have nothing better to do with my time than steal some bratty child's teddy! Though, come to think of it, that had been about the gist of his evil plot the last time he'd visited the space station.

Getting out, Zurg wandered around the bay for awhile, tutting as time passed on. When he realised no one was coming to greet him, he found the door himself and marched through.

A chill instantly crept up his spine. Ah, yes, he thought, his feet crunching as he walked. I forgot about the snow. He hugged his arms to his chest and shivered.

The place was a lot emptier than it had been the last time. He didn't see any ElfGMs scurrying about, and the train stood empty in its station. Maybe he'd caught them during naptime. Zurg looked around the town. It, at least, hadn't changed. Still as tacky as ever, he sneered, cringing at the bright strings of lights adorning all the quaint little cottages. It was like something out of one of those generic Holiday cards his legal firm sent him every year.

Cold, white powder collected on his clothes as he walked, doing nothing to improve his mood. If the Xlgta hadn't already been dead, he would have sworn an oath right then to murder her.

After much traipsing through snowdrifts, he finally came to the workshop. Zurg brushed himself clean of snow and took a deep breath before shoving his way through the front door.

"Ah, there you are." Santa Claus was reclining in a comfy armchair, sipping a mug of cocoa that looked tantalisingly warm and inviting. There were no ElfGMs to be seen and the machinery was quiet for once. An empty armchair was beside him, and a table stood between them, holding an extra mug and a jug. "I was wondering when you'd get here."

"Listen here, you home-invading cookie thief," Zurg growled, breaking an icicle off one of his horns, "I demand to know what the meaning of this is! Were you and the Xlgta in on it together? Is this your idea of a joke?!"

"I don't do jokes. That whole jolly thing is a myth, you know. No idea who came up with it. It's completely ruined my image."

Zurg stomped towards him. "I was given the coordinates to this place by someone," he said. "A woman. The Xlgta. Know anything about her, dear Saint Nick?"

"Just Nick will do." Santa set down his empty mug and refilled it. "Cocoa?"

"No thanks." Cold as he was, Zurg wasn't ready to accept anything from him.

Nick took a swig from his cup. "Now, Xlgta, Xlgta... I may have met someone by that title. Charming woman, we really enjoyed having her here. We don't get many visitors."

"Probably because no one knows you exist."

"Yes, that is a problem," Nick agreed. "Still, no annoying door-to-door salesmen at least! Or carollers! I hate carollers."

Zurg clenched his fists. "What is the point of all this?" he demanded. "Why did the Xlgta send me here?"

"We made a deal." Nick sighed. "As a last resort, if there was no other way she could help you, she would send you to me."

"So she hated me right up to the end, did she?"

"Is that what you think?" He looked sad. "You really believe that poor woman hated you?"

Zurg shrugged. "I hated her."

"That's different. You hate everyone."

"Including you."

Nick smirked. "Most people on the Naughty List do. It's your own fault you keep getting coal, you know."

"Cut the games, chimney man. I want to know why the Xlgta sent me here." Zurg crossed his arms.

"She wanted me to help you."

"How, exactly?"

Nick gestured to the armchair beside him. "Come, sit."

"I'd rather stand, thank you." With great difficulty, Zurg managed to ignore the aching in his body that had been brought on by his recent scuffles with the two Lightyears and had been worsened by the cold. He was certain he looked a mess, especially considering the tattered state his robes were in and the missing eye, but he still tried to maintain his dignity.

The fat old man shook his head. "Stubborn as always. I remember when you were just a little tyke, no taller than one of my ElfGMs, and you threw that tantrum because your mother wouldn't give you any candy. Oh, you stamped your foot and yelled till the whole planet must have heard you! Eventually your poor old mother couldn't stand it anymore and gave in. I knew right then that you'd grow up to be trouble, yes sir."

"Is there a point to all this?" Zurg remembered the incident too. It was one of many such occurrences—he'd always been good at getting his own way, even as a child.

"I was just wondering if such... talents... might be put to better use."

Zurg snorted. "As what? Your new elf slave driver? Tempting, but I think I'll have to pass. I'm allergic to tinsel, and plum pudding gives me indigestion."

"I didn't mean anything like that at all and you know it." Putting down his mug, Nick wiped a few stray drops of cocoa from his white beard. "You still have that device aboard your ship, don't you? The one you were going to use to get home?"

"Yes." An idea suddenly came to Zurg. Even if the Xlgta's coordinates had been useless, he might still be able to get home.

Nick shook his head, as if reading his thoughts. "It won't work—not the way you want it to. The process will be entirely random. Who knows where you could end up."

Well, there goes that plan. "Anywhere's better than here," he muttered.

The old man leaned forward. "What if I could stabilise the rift for you? I could send you anywhere in the universe you wanted to go..."

Now we're talking. "And in return?"

"Oh, shush, I'm Santa! I never ask for anything in return! Well..." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "You don't have any milk and cookies on you, do you?"

"How foolish of me, I never thought to bring any." Zurg rolled his eye. I shouldn't do that, he thought, reaching up to touch his face. His remaining eye was still swollen from the blows to his face, and the missing one continued to plague him with pain. He wondered how long it would take him to recover. Even once the wounds healed, he would never be quite the same again. He felt a strange shame every time he saw his reflection and was reminded of what he'd lost.

"We should patch you up first, of course." Was that sympathy in the old man's voice? "You look worse than one of my teddies after the family dog's been at it on Holiday morning."

Zurg waved a hand. "There's time enough for that later. Just tell me, Santa," he said the name with scorn, "will you really send me back to my own galaxy?"

Nick nodded. "If that's what you want. Consider it your gift, a few months early this year."

"I thought I was on the Naughty List."

"Do you know what the price of coal is these days?" There it was, the famous belly laugh. So much for not being jolly. Zurg frowned—he hated jolly people. "This is much cheaper," said Nick, "and I think it'll suit everyone!"

"Fine, good, dandy. Just tell me when I get to leave."

Nick's eyes twinkled. "Ah, but I have another option for you to consider first."

Oh, brilliant, what now? Zurg finally allowed himself to sink into the armchair. It was warm and comforting, bliss to his stiff body. "Yes?"

"You could go back to your own galaxy," said Nick, "or you could go to this other galaxy I know. Nice place, you know, it really is—though I don't care much for the folks in charge. They've been oppressing the populace for years."

"Sounds like a marvellous vacation destination." Zurg resisted the urge to roll his eye yet again.

"There's no need for sarcasm, I'm being serious here." Nick blew on his hands to warm them. "What the people there need is a good, strong leader to unite them together against these ruffians. So far no one's sprung up, and I'm beginning to worry no one ever will. That's what happens when people live in servitude too long—they get used to it. The thought of change seems frightening. They need a fresh face to bring new life into their resistance movement."

"Fascinating, but what's all this got to do with me?"

A smile played over the other man's lips. "You seem like just such a person, unless I'm very much mistaken, and Santa never is."

Zurg realised he was staring at Nick in shock. "You... you want me to go over to some strange galaxy and... join an uprising?"

"Only if you want to." Nick shrugged. "It's your choice."

"You need your workshop cleaned out if you think I'd ever want something like that!"

"Mm." Nick tugged at his beard. "Maybe. Tell me, Zurg, what are you going to do when you get back to your galaxy?"

With a finger poised in midair as he prepared to offer some crushing response, Zurg suddenly realised he really didn't have the slightest idea. "I'll... I'll..."

"Plot and scheme and try to get revenge? Take control of the planet? The usual?" Nick looked disappointed. "Even I could come up with something better than that! I thought you had more originality, Zurg."

Much as he hated to admit it, Nick had a point. Zurg had already tried that whole routine and it had failed. But he couldn't see any alternative. "It's better than playing hero with a band of strangers," he said at last.

"Oh, but I haven't even told you the best part! These oppressors I was talking about—guess who they are?"

"I haven't the foggiest. I don't meet a lot of people from outside the galaxy. Yes, I know, I know, I should get out more, but you know how it is..."

"The Heed."

Zurg's mocking smile dropped. "What?"

"The nasty killjoys oppressing this other galaxy are the Heed. You had a run-in with them once, didn't you?"

Zurg suppressed a cringe. "Can't say I cared for them much." Stupid-looking people with oversized heads and an irritating song that I still can't get out of my mind. He didn't like anyone who interfered with his Grubs, and he liked people who went about proclaiming peace to the galaxy even less. The fact that it was all a ruse only made it worse. At least he was honest about his evil intentions.

"Here's your chance to teach them a lesson." Nick looked slightly sheepish. "I really shouldn't be doing this, you know, interfering... I swore I wouldn't. But it's not really interfering, I suppose, just nudging things a little..."

"And you'd like to nudge me into this new galaxy?"

"If you're willing."

Zurg shook his head. "I don't see what I'd get out of it, other than some petty revenge, perhaps."

"Well, that's all you'd get in your own galaxy, Mr. Naughty List." The old man looked straight at him. "In this place you'd have a cause—something to really fight for! Because that's what you need, isn't it, Zurg? It's not the winning you love, it's the struggle! The uphill climb against adversity! That's what makes you feel alive!"

It alarmed him that Nick knew him so well. Zurg was only just figuring these things out for himself. "Perhaps," he admitted.

"It's your choice," Nick repeated, standing up. "I'll leave you to think it over." The pompom on his hat bounced up and down as he ambled away.

Now left to his own devices, Zurg picked up the jug and poured himself some hot cocoa. It warmed his insides deliciously. "Hmm," he mused out loud, "what to do?" His life had been turned upside-down so many times, and never before had he had a choice in the matter. Now that he did, he didn't know what to do with it. He wished Nick hadn't made so much blasted sense. Then it would've been easy.

He tried to conjure up some enthusiasm for his old galaxy, but found it more difficult than he'd expected. Been there, done that. He was tired of the past. It had haunted him his whole life. Maybe it's time for something new.

He wondered what choice Buzz Lightyear would've made in his place. The answer was immediately obvious—the right one. That was why Buzz always won in the end. That was why he hated him.

Zurg's one remaining eye followed the streams of light that were coming through one of the workshop's windows. Apparently the station was switching over from nightmode to day. He watched the darkness fade away and the artificial sunlight replace it, glistening off the pure snow. The snow sparkled like millions of gems crushed together into powder. ElfGMs began to emerge, going about their business and setting the machinery in motion. Noise filled the workshop.

A new day, Zurg thought, his mind suddenly made up. Yes, a new day...

A/N: And, four years exactly since I started it, this fic is finally finished! It's definitely been a fun ride for me. This show has meant so much to me over the years, so this is my tribute to it.

Thanks so much for all the reviews! I've greatly appreciated every single one. You guys are the best. Special shout out to bookwormgal for reviewing pretty much every chapter. The support from all of you has meant a lot!

It's weird to think this show has been part of my life for over sixteen years, and even weirder to think what a huge impact it's had on me. In 2011, after a long period of not thinking about it much, I looked up the show out of nostalgia, and now here I am, five and a half years later, planning a trip this May to the United States to visit someone I met through the fandom. In fact, all my best friends I met either directly or indirectly because of BLoSC. It's changed my life for the better in countless ways.

So here's to Buzz, Mira, Booster, XR, and especially a certain evil emperor who deserved to suffer far more than my fondness for him would permit. Thanks for everything!