6Author's Note: Well, this is it. After more a year, over than a thousand views, and thirteen chapters, I have finished. I would like to thank all of my readers, no matter if they've stuck with me the whole way, hopped on towards the end, or started, dropped it, and came back later. I would also like to thank those who gave me the wonderful feedback, which I shall keep in mind for my future tales.
Alright, I am done. You may read now.
It was Camp Scientist's darkest hour. Parents were lining up in droves to take their children back early, demanding refunds and threatening lawsuits. The two most prolific counselors had vanished, and Calvin and Sakura still hadn't been found. Calvin's parents, in particular, had dissolved into a wreck, overtaken by fear. Fear of what happened, fear of the very real possibility that their only child might be gone, and fear of what they would do if Calvin really was gone.
The rescue party they had sent out were hanging their heads with their failure, and the leader of the team had stepped up on the stage to make a somber announcement. "Campers, counselors, and parents." he said to the watching crowd. "We have searched the forest, every square inch of it, for a sign, a trace of the lost counselors and campers. However, we have found missing. I'm sorry, and I say this with regret, but Calvin, Sakura, Mr. Bill, and Mr. Frank have been pronounced-"
"Hello there!"
Everyone turned in the direction the voice had come from. Mr. Bill was casually strolling down the path to the theater where everyone had gathered. A stuffed bear was carried under one arm, and a dirtied, beaten, struggling Mr. Frank was slung over his shoulder. Behind him was Calvin and Sakura, holding their toy tiger and robot and smiling like nothing had happened.
"Did anything important happen while we were gone?" asked Mr. Bill.
"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!" "Mr. Frank" screamed. "I'LL RISE UP AN HAVE MY REVENGE!"
"Oh yeah, and we found this guy too." Mr. Bill dropped the fake counselor on the ground. He god back up, hissing and spitting, and charged at Mr. Bill. The counselor just held him back with one arm as he explained what had happened. "Turns out this guy had taken the kids into the forest for something, but we don't know what. Thankfully, I found them before anything bad could happen."
Calvin's parents rushed past them and went directly for his son, asking if he was okay with tears in their eyes. Their son squirmed out of their grip, as to avoid having his lungs crushed. "I'm fine!" he reassured them. "Nothing happened!"
"It's true." Sakura agreed. "He didn't do much more than meaningless ranting. I think he might need to see an expert."
"LIES!" The madman spat. "It's all lies! I AM THE GREAT DOCTOR MADMAN, AND YOU WILL RESPECT MY NAME!"
"See what I mean?"
The rescue team walked over to the man who claimed to be "The great Doctor Madman," and took him by the arms. "We'll get this guy some help." The leader informed them. "You can have your touching reunions now."
As the raving lunatic was dragged away, Calvin's parents hugged him deeply. Calvin, who had not been nearly as worried as they were, struggled against their grip. Sakura just watched the event unfold.
Eventually, Calvin's parents released him and noticed Sakura. "Hello." she told them. "I'm Sakura, and this is my robot friend, Nikola. We met Calvin when we were at camp."
"Ah, I see you've been making new friends!" Dad exclaimed happily. "I'm glad to see you making new friends and-" He didn't need Mom's death glare to stop himself. Inhaling deeply, he decided now was not the time to bring up character building.
"Calvin." Mom began. "We were really, really worried about you. We were scared about what might have happened. We wouldn't know what to do if you..." She trailed off.
"Well, I didn't, whatever we're referring to with that." Calvin replied coolly. "So I guess we can just go home and relax, right?"
It was around then that he realized that more than half the campers had gathered around him in a circle. Susie stepped out of the mass to talk to him.
"Calvin..." she started. "We wanted to let you know that, uh... Well, even though we don't always get along, we were really worried about you, and we're glad you're okay."
"Huh. Um, thanks, I guess..." Calvin trailed off, seconds before the mass of campers dragged him into a massive group hug.
Hobbes, Nikola, and Sakura observed the ongoing hugfest. "Geez, looks like Calvin's pretty big around here, huh?" observed Nikola. "Why doesn't Sakura get this kind of attention?"
"Well, most people here have had to put up with him for most of their recent years." Hobbes informed him. "So yeah, he's kind of a big deal."
By now, the hug-mob had brought forth Moe, who was looking rather awkward and reluctant.
"Go on, give him a hug." Susie urged him. Calvin and Moe gave each other and awkward stare. Clearly, the two of them did not share Susie's sentiments. Eventually, Moe conceded, reached forward, and gave Calvin a bone-crushing hug that he most definitely didn't give honestly.
Hobbes, Nikola and Sakura were watching from their spot over to the side. "Well then." Hobbes noted. "That is one thing I did not expect to occur in any of my nine lives. I hope you don't feel left out by this, Sakura." He added.
"It's fine." she replied. "You guys are the only people here I really know anyways."
"Did you have any friends back at your old place?" Hobbes inquired.
"No, just Nikola."
"Sounds kinda like me and Calvin. It's usually just us against the world, and sometimes each other. I never though I'd see anyone we know beyond his parents give him a hug, much less everyone we know."
"Guess we're both part of lonely pairs." Nikola noted. "We'll try to keep in check the best we can, but I'm not sure how. I don't suppose you have a phone number anything?"
"No, but I'm sure we'll find a way." Hobbes replied. "Life's just works that way, you know?"
"I don't see how that's scientifically possible." Sakura told him. "Is there some sort of explanation the scientific community has agreed on?"
Hobbes shrugged. "Eh, not really. I kinda just go with wherever the flow takes me, as long as it's not off a cliff or anywhere else that's extremely life-risking."
"Then why do you still stick with Calvin so much?" Nikola asked. "I can say first-hand that he's probably one of the biggest threats to survival there is."
"That's a good question. Maybe living with danger at every turn isn't as bad when you're with a friend."
"That makes sense." Sakura agreed.
Eventually, the celebrations were over, and it was time to go home. The bus had rolled up to the parking lot, and the children that hadn't been taken home already were climbing up the stairs to the big green vehicle.
"So what'll you be doing?" asked Mom.
"Huh?" Calvin looked up confusedly.
"I mean, do you want to go home in our car or the bus?"
"Of course I'm taking the car! I never want to see another school bus again as long as I live! But first..."
He ran over to the bus, positioning himself so that he could clearly see the bus driver through the open doors."Hey, you! Yeah, you!"
The bus driver groaned as he realized just who was speaking to him. "Oh no..."
"Remember me? The boy you promised would get twenty dollars for getting to the camp first? Well, there wasn't any! Just how many children have you lied to? I hope your conscience has been tearing you up for that all week!"
Calvin's parents grabbed him and dragged him away. He still kicked and screamed at the poor, unfortunate bus driver the entire way back. "That's the last time I pull that trick again." he muttered under his breath.
"I think he was lying about the free money." Hobbes pointed out when they got in the car.
"I know." Calvin admitted. "I just felt like screwing with him."
As the car began to drive away, Calvin and Hobbes looked out the window to see Sakura and Nikola waving at him one last time before they got on the bus.
"I wonder if we'll ever see them again." Calvin wondered aloud.
"I had that same talk with them earlier." Hobbes said. "I think we'll run into them again some day. The world just works like that."
"How so?" Calvin inquired.
"I don't think I can explain it. It's just one of those things that you know happen but can't justify, like gravity or hunger."
"Those have scientific equations behind them, though."
"Yeah, but this is different. Kinda like fate."
"Like how we met each other?"
"Yeah, like that. How did we run into each other, anyhow?"
"I don't remember. I think it had something to do with tuna, though."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
The two watched Camp Scientist, now Camp Grizzly once again, shrink further and further into the distance.
"D'you think we'll ever go back here?" asked Hobbes.
"Heck no. I want to stay away from any and all summer camps as long as I live." Calvin replied.
"Do you think we'll see Doctor Madman ever again?"
"Depends if the writers up above feel like making a sequel."
"Is that who you think dictate what happens in the universe?"
"Well, someone has it out for me."
Hobbes pondered over this for a little. "If those writers ever feel like making a sequel, just know that I'll have your back, through and through."
"And the same to you." Calvin replied.
The two shared a heartfelt hug.
It was a beautiful summer day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and it seemed as if there was nothing that could bring an end to the peace.
Unfortunately, that feeling of everlasting peace was little more than an illusion.
"CALVIN!"
Calvin groaned. It was morning, and his mom was calling for him from downstairs. Unfortunately for his mom, Calvin's brain was still in sleep mode, and didn't want to send the rest of his body the message for it to get up.
Calvin pulled the blanket over his head and tried to sleep some more.
"CALVIN, GET UP!" His mother continued to shout from the floor below. Calvin tried to bury himself deeper into the bed.
Calvin groaned, and tried to bury himself deeper into his covers. He was tired as usual, but this time, he was even more tired than normal. Part of it was the fact that he was finally in his own bed again, in his own house, without fear of whatever hellish outdoor activity he was supposed to do that day. Another part was because he was exhausted by the fierce battle against the forces of Doctor Madman the day before.
However, I think the real reason he refused to get up was the fact that he had made two new friends, the first real, completely unambiguous friends he had made in a very long time, only to leave them after a week, with the very real possibility that he would never see them again. When put in that situation, I would rather stay in bed and never get up as well.
Unfortunately for Calvin, his mother had other plans. "THIS IS THE LAST TIME, CALVIN!" she bellowed from the bottom floor.
To Calvin's credit, he didn't make a fuss this time around. Instead, he just rolled out of bed and onto the floor with a thud. He then slowly got dressed, slowly walked down the stairs, slowly dragged himself over to the cupboard, and slowly began to poor himself a bowl of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs, which he then proceeded to slowly eat.
It was pretty clear now that he most definitely didn't feel like getting up today. Just to make this clear point even more clear, Calvin lugged himself to the television, and sat down. Instead of reaching to the remote to turn it on, he just slid out of the chair and onto the ground.
"Are you sure we should be getting him up so early?" Mom asked. "He's all tired out from camp. Give him some more time to rest."
"Nonsense!" Dad laughed. "Some new neighbors have moved in next door, and we've got a chance to introduce him to some new friends and build some-!"
Mom glared at him. Evidently, she hadn't forgotten what he had said back at the camp.
"...Okay, we'll let him wait just a little longer." Dad concurred.
A couple of hours later, Calvin was dragged out of bed again. Like before, he didn't want to get up, but at least this time he was semi-awake. He got dressed, ate the lunch that Mom had set up, and wet out the door.
"I'm surprised they let us sleep until 12:30." Hobbes commented.
"Yeah, it's unprecedented." Calvin muttered disinterestedly.
Calvin's parents had brought him over to the house of someone who had apparently moved in that day. He vaguely seemed to remember a moving team from before, mostly because of the scolding Calvin's parents had given him after the team had gotten caught in the crossfire of a Calvinball game.
A good deal of the neighborhood parents had shown up at the new house, as well as a woman Calvin had never seen before. Her long dark hair had been tied into a ponytail, and her face looked both kind and somewhat familiar, though Calvin wasn't quite sure where.
"Huh, new face." Hobbes noted.
"Hooray." Calvin muttered. He turned around to walk away-And came face-to-face with Sakura and Nikola.
"What the-?!" Calvin jumped. "What-when-how-"
Nikola laughed. "Small world, huh? Who'd've guessed we'd be moving into your neighborhood, of all places?"
"Wait, wait, wait." Hobbes held his hands up. "The people who just moved in today, that Calvin's mom and dad dragged us out of bed to see, that's you guys?"
"Yep." Sakura confirmed. "Us and my mom." She motioned to the woman that was chatting with everyone else. A crowd had gathered around her, and in the throngs of people, Calvin could see an interested-looking Susie and a decidedly less-interested Moe, among others.
"My mom wanted to get to know our new neighbors, so she held a gathering to meet them all." Sakura explained. "She's also planning to bring some people over to dinner in a couple days, too. We're hoping that everyone who comes pitches in a little."
"Hope you like fish." Nikola added. "Japan is an island with very little room for farmland, so the people there basically subsist off of fish and rice, plus whatever you can get out of the vending machines if you were born in more contemporary times. Sakura and I are from a Japanese family, so... Yeah."
Calvin made a face. Hobbes, on the other hand, was grinning so wide that if it went any further, his face would have been split in two.
"I take it my fish promise from back in the base has been fulfilled?" Nikola asked coolly.
Hobbes nodded dumbly, still entranced by the fantasy of fish.
"So... Do you think you could show us around?" asked Sakura. "It would be nice to know where everything is."
Calvin grinned widely. "Of course! There's this big forest behind our backyard-C'mon, I'll show you!"
"Wait," Nikola held up a hand. "The first thing we're going to is the woods?! Didn't that almost get us all killed by Doctor Madman and his mecha-mooks?"
Hobbes shrugged. "We know those woods like the back of our hands, we've been in them so much. Besides, we always seem to end up looping back around to our place anyways."
Calvin beckoned to his friends. "Hey, what are you all waiting for? It's a magical world out there, let's go exploring!"
And as the four raced to the woods, their newfound friendship was sealed.
Author's Note: Aaaand done! Sorry about the delay; I've recently been shifting my focus to this site called Fantendo, and that's been taking up most of my focus as of late. For those not in the know, it's basically a wiki for all your made-up game-related needs. You should go there if you have any ideas for video games floating around in your head.
Another thing to note is that I've been feeling rather uninspired with my Calvin and Hobbes-verse as of late. I do intend to finish it, but I just don't have that passion when I first started. Maybe all I need is some inspiration to get that spark going again.
I don't intend on leaving Fanfiction forever, so don't worry about that. I might add a bonus chapter, and I'll also be going back and touching up on some of the earlier chapters to make them a bit less awkward, so keep an eye out for that. Still, for all intents and purposes, Camp Scientist is considered complete.
Again, thank you all for reading my story. I'm sure we'll meet again somewhere down the line.
SharkLord out, peace!
