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"So?" There was a kick in the grass. "What did everyone say?"
"Well," Calvin gave Hobbes a sulking look. "I went up for Show and Tell, and I started the story about my trip in the cool car, just like I remembered."
"And?"
"I never got to finish my story!" Calvin rolled his eyes. "Ms. Wormwood stopped me before I got to the part where we set BAD on fire and told me that I couldn't have possibly done all that! When I tried to explain that it all really happened, she sent me to the principal!" Calvin crossed his arms indignantly. "Can you believe that?! Me, a national hero, being sent to the principal for telling a true story! When I'm president of the world, I'll have her sent to a prison for slimy girls."
"President of the world?" Hobbes rolled his eyes. "Hmm. Just when I thought we may have learned a lesson here…."
"I learned a lesson!" Calvin jumped over another rock. "The lesson is that memory-erasing machines never work. That's why the aliens will fail when they try to make us their unwitting, mindless slaves."
"….Right…." Hobbes rolled his eyes. "And you did return Mr. Bun to Susie, right?"
"What other choice did I have?" Calvin grumbled. "It was either that or get grounded. I bet Susie thinks I took her stupid bunny, too."
"Well, with your history together...."

Hobbes went to say something else; however, a sound caught his attention. It was the sound of a car door opened from across the street. His head turned quickly to see what it was.

"……Calvin!"
"And then I'll-"
"CALVIN!"

Suddenly, Calvin was yanked off of the ground and pulled behind the tiger. With a shout, Calvin went to smack the animal.

"HEY! What the-"
"Stop." Hobbes' voice was low. "There's a black car."
"Another one?!" From his behind came a moan. "Geez, I thought we were done with B.A.D.!"

The car door opened; as quick as he could, Hobbes took Calvin behind a bush. His eyes squinted at the small, trembling figure that came out. First, there was a look of confusion; then, a look of surprise.

"...Hobbes?: Calvin looked up at the tiger. "You ok?"
"….It…..can't be…..!!!!"

Hobbes nearly gave a cry at the sight of the person coming across the street. He was old, at least in his sixties, much older looking than Callous or Peritwinkle. He was slightly hunched over, his thin white hair fully visible in the sun. He wore a plaid shirt and pants, and old shoes; he walked with a cane, and even then limped.

"Oh....my......God....."

Instantly, Hobbes was out of the bushes and running towards the man. With a surprised cry, Calvin fell down.

"H-hey!!" He screambled up and ran after him. "Hobbes! What's goin-"
"DR. BENTON!"

The old man's head came up at the sound of his name. The minute he saw Hobbes, his face broke out into an expression of pure delight and relief. He opened his arms out as the tiger leapt out him.

"Hobbes!" The tiger landed in his arms. "Oh, Hobbes! Thank goodness."
"Dr. Benton!" Hobbes gave the old man a hug before he let himself down. "Wow, is it really you? I can't believe I forgot who you were!"
"Its no problem, my dear friend. I thank my stars above that you are all right."
"Huh?" Calvin's eyes widened. "Dr. Benton? The guy that made Hobbes?"
"Yes....Calvin." Smiling, the doctor bent down and shook Calvin's hand. "Yes, you are Calvin, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Oh how wonderful." the doctor clasped his hand. "I'd like to thank you, young man, for helping to save Hobbes."
"Thank me?" Calvin looked confused. "But Hobbes saved me."
"But it was you who sustained him for all of these years, and that alone does not make me worthy of you, my child."
"Uh...." Calvin shrugged. "Ok."
"Truly, both of you." Dr. Benton let go of Calvin's hand. "I must apologize for not coming sooner, even just to warn you of the threat of Callous. It took me a long time to find where you were, especially with the risk of Callous finding me with all of his power. I long feared that B.A.D. would find a way to reprogram him. But it looks like the development of Hobbes' personality at such an early stage of when he was staying with me helped to bar such an event. Of course, that then presented the possibility that they could kill you. I feared the worst. But here you are, alive! And I am happy to see you again."
"Well," Hobbes nodded, "So am I. It was a long time that I didn't have any memories."
"Ah, it was so long ago when you escaped." The doctor nodded. "I apologize that I could not follow you. When you escaped, I tried to destroy as much of the evidence concerning how to create your breed of superwarriors as possible. All of the known copies that I had in my chambers were destroyed by my assistant during the escape, and he managed to keep it incognito by using one of the building fires you started to destroy any chance of creating another Porcelain Tiger."
"Callous did try to duplicate your work with a rabbit, sir."
"I know. Without me, and many of the other original scientists, though, he wouldn't have succeeded as well." Benton gave a nod. "Ah, we succeeded in preventing that much, but poor John, my poor assistant. He died of the burns he sustained from that attempt, sadly. I attended his funeral, but I then had to leave the country to avoid Callous and any attempt to disprove that I had 'died' in the fires. This is the first time in 17 years I have set foot on my native American soil."
"Well," Calvin shook Benton's hand violently. "Callous is in jail and is REALLY badly beat up, so you can stay here forever with us!"
"…Oh, but I wish I could." Benton's smile became saddened. "But I can't."
"You can't?" Calvin looked confused. "Why not?"
"Because, even now, I am still in such danger from anyone who wants to continue Callous' work - him, and others around the world. You, too, if I were to stay; someone would repeat Callous' attempts to give the president his killer…the one who, in truth, would really kill the president and change our way of life. I only managed to get here because Periwinkle used the utmost precaution returning me, and at this moment Callous' network, in his absence, is weakened enough so that I can at least see you once more without repercussion."
"But Callous..."
"Callous is not the only one." Benton's voice slightly quivered. "BAD's newest form will be up and running very soon, though. I'm sure of it. Within weeks, if not even days, depending on how organized the other terrorists are without their founder, and how many other Americans were involved in the scheme. There was always a thought that I was alive, rumors through inverted whispers, and if they found me, they would force me to duplicate my experiments. I am not a strong person, truly, I'm not. I would give in. And it would be over."


"You think I am a terrible person, for what you concieve me capable of doing to you and your....friend." Callous' voice was low, yet it was almost mocking. "But the truth is, I am trying to help Porcelain Tiger...and you. Enemies. You'll make enemies you never dreamed of if you persist in resisting me, if you ever managed to escape."


Involuntarily, Calvin gave a shudder. Notcing this, Hobbes moved closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. There was a silence.

"And so, I must be gone before his cronies catch wind of me. So….I may never see you again, Hobbes. You must know this now; do not expect to ever see me again. But as long as I am thought to be dead, there is not enough evidence or reason to probe further into reviving Porcelain Tiger as a government weapon. Without me, there may no initiative to continue pursuing the project, and….and you will be truly safe."

There was another silence at this. Hobbes looked down, and wiped his eyes. Benton, noticing this, gave a nod.

"So…you gotta go?" Calvin's face fell. "But it would be so cool for someone else who can understand Hobbes to be here…sometimes it can be annoying to be the only one blamed for what Hobbes does."
"Oooh…" Rubbing his eyes again, Hobbes stuck his tongue out in retaliation. "So the truth comes out, eh…?"
"Oh, why you…!!!"
"Heh!" To both of their surprise, the old man started to laugh through his tearing. "Aah, you bicker like brothers. Yes, Hobbes, you are with the right person. You and your boy protector should be proud of your bond; it is stronger than anything that will try to break it. You will get through this. Never lose it, do you hear?"
"Uh….." Calvin looked at Hobbes, unable to quite figure what the old man was saying. "Sure, I guess…"
"Of course, doctor." Hobbes' voice, which was softer at the request, indicated to his creator that he understood. "You bet. Calvin and I are friends forever."
"….Beautiful."

There was another nod from Benton and he turned to leave. However, as he did, Hobbes suddenly jumped up and gave him a tight hug. Though at first alarmed, Benton returned the hug just as tightly. For a moment, it seemed as if he would not let go of the tiger, as if the memories of their time together were so wonderful that the doctor was willing to give his safety up at that moment to stay.

"….Goodbye."

Hobbes let go. With a smile, and several tears in his eyes, the doctor also let go and turned around. He walked away from the two, his form hunched down, and walked back to the black car. He got into the back.

"….He's a nice guy." Calvin stared as the car doors slammed. "And…..that's a nice car."

Hobbes looked down at Calvin. The boy watched intently as the car drove off, out of sight and out of mind, his thoughts obviously (or so Hobbes figured) on one day convincing his mom to get a black car just like that. It was for several moments that the gawking continued, even after the car was out of sight, and the person who had made it possible for Calvin and Hobbes to bond in the first place was gone, most likely forever.

Nevertheless, Hobbes gave a smile.

Yes, Hobbes, you are with the right person.

"So….." Finally, Calvin spoke again. "That guy's technically your dad?"
"....Yeah."
"Why didn't you go with him?" There was some confusion in the boy's voice. "For a moment, I thought you'd go with him…..you looked really upset when you hugged him."
"I…." Hobbes looked over at the tree house. "I don't think I'd have been able to live away from you, to be honest. We're friends forever, you know. Real friends."
"….Yeah, I guess."

Hobbes almost had to laugh as Calvin made an about face towards the wagon, which sat lazily near the trunk of the tree house's stump. Calvin would have never fully admitted it, especially in front of an adult, but he felt the same way.

"So……" Calvin started to pull the wagon. "I guess....we'll be friends forever."
"That's right." Hobbes trudged behind with a grin.
"Ok…" Calvin began to walk along. "Well, don't expect me to bring you to my senior prom or anything like that. You'd be annoying and I'd look stupid."
"Don't need any help from me."
"What?" Calvin turned red.
"You heard me. And besides which, why would you be afraid to look stupid?"
"Because of the girls, of course! Girls are stupid and I don't want to be stupid like them. Because.....you're stupid...."
"Oooooh…." Hobbes gave Calvin an amused look. "I think you're just scared that I'll take your dates."
"WHAT?!" Calvin jumped. "EWWWWWWWW! SLIMY GIRLS!!!!!!!"
"With boobs, no less!" Hobbes stuck his tongue out. "Those are in your future, without a doubt."
"NOOOOOO!" Calvin gave the tiger a dirty look. "You're just being a dummy!"
"Do I see……Susie?" Hobbes began to laugh. "I see Susie going to the prom with you."
"I'd rather wear a paper bag over my face that go out with her!"
"You'll probably still have to regardless." Hobbes stuck his tongue out. "Because your face will be so dirty from not washing it that you'll start having flower stems for hair follicles."
"That's it!" Calvin swerved around, pointing his finger accusingly. "I see now. You just wanted to stay here because of Susie!"
"Well…." Hobbes paused, then gave a wide grin. "I can't say she didn't influence my decision."
"DOOOOOH!!!"

Calvin gave chase, but Hobbes was already running, laughing as he did. Within minutes, the two were playing a game of Calvinball, chasing each other and running around. Hobbes ran around with the Stick of Knowledge, while Calvin held the football in his arms, skipping as he circled a tree. Within the hour, they were in the good old red wagon, atop a large, steep hill a mile from the house.

"I'm just going to cover my eyes now…."
"Hi ho!" Calvin pushed down with a cry. "LET'S GO!!"

It was the end of the mystery, and the beginning of a brand new adventure.

THE END