A/N: The following story is the 20th one in this epic saga, and therefore will be the final episode. There had been plans for at least two more stories, but since the CM fandom has come to a standstill, I didn't have enough motivation to write them. I will, however, give you this finale, which is not quite a "Starforce" story. There's a time skip between the last story and this one, so that it takes place after the events of the Captain Marvel movie. It is more of a means of looking back and reviewing the past, than telling a new narrative. As such, there will be spoilers for Captain Marvel in this finale. You have been warned. Also, it seemed fitting that as the album draws to a close, the tone of the final story should be somewhat solemn and, dare I say, emotional.
 Now, without further ado, please enjoy the final Starforce Story. Thank you for being a part of this great journey ;-;

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  One Earth Day, Carol Danvers sat at an aging wooden dinner table in the dining room of a small country house in the middle of Louisiana. Despite the pleasant country setting, the food on the table was not exactly homemade, however.

"Mmm, I don't think I will ever be able to get enough of human cuisine," murmured Talos contentedly as he chewed his #2 combo burger from McDonald's.

"Cuisine?" asked Fury, raising an eyebrow. "I tend to think of it more as...garbage."

That statement caused Monica to spit her Dr. Pepper clean across the table. "Garbage?! Don't be ridiculous! This food is the most glorious thing to grace my plate in a long time. I'm glad we decided to do this little get together!"

"Monica, watch your manners!" exclaimed Maria. "I'm pretty sure it's considered impolite even by aliens to spit your soda at somebody." She glanced over at Carol, who for some reason bore a perturbed look as she watched the Dr. Pepper mist settle like snow on Fury's hair.

"Everything alright, Carol?" asked Maria as she passed a towel to Fury while Talos cackled.

"Hm?" Carol shook the dazed look off her face. "Oh. Yeah. I just...got déjà vu for a bit, like, this has happened before..."

"What? I thought your days of memory loss were over!" exclaimed Monica.

"Oh, well, I'm sure there are still some finer details I have yet to remember," Carol mused. She left it at that, staring at her burger as if was very interesting.

Maria gave Carol a questionable look. Then she stuffed the rest of her burger in as quickly as possible and stood up. "I'm going to go prepare Talos a bed, do you mind helping me out, Carol?"

Carol looked up. "Uh, isn't it a bit early to--"

"NO IT ISN'T!! YOU ARE COMING WITH ME!" Maria yanked Carol from her seat and dragged her from the dining room.

"Yeesh, that woman is scary," said Talos, sipping his own soda loudly.

"Hey, that's my mom you're talkin about," Monica said, crossing her arms. "But I agree."

Fury chuckled. "Not as scary as your Auntie Carol, if you ask me."

"She's not scary! She's cool. And she helps me sneak junk food sometimes."

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As soon as Maria had barricaded herself and Carol into the living room, she plunked Carol on the couch and sat down opposite from her. Then she prepared to give a death stare into her soul.

"Before you stare into my soul," Carol interjected, "I just have to say that there's really nothing wrong."

"Yes there is," Maria replied with a deadpan voice that left no room for debate. "You got all quiet after seeing Dr. Pepper mist in the air!! That is a great cause for concern. Not to mention, this happens on a rare night we managed to get everybody together to have fun."

"Yeah, I know, but I think you're reading too much into it--"

"I'm not," insisted Maria. "I know you better than anyone, whether you like it or not, mkay? So fess up."

Carol remained silent for a bit, turning her eyes downward. She took a deep breath.

"I wasn't exactly feeling like I was forgetting something...more like I was trying to forget something."

Maria raised her eyebrows, but remained silent. She motioned for Carol to continue.

"Um..." Carol's voice was shaky. "Back when I was with Starforce, we would eat together all the time. A lot of the time, we could have been back at our own apartments, eating by ourselves. But more often than not, we came together anyway. We weren't always the closest of friends, but, there on Hala, without my memory, it was the most stable and welcome I'd ever felt. I...I really thought those people were my family."

Maria didn't like the sad look on Carol's face. Before she could say something to comfort her, Carol continued.

"Believe me, I know. They were only using me for my power. They were deliberately holding back information about my past. But whenever Att-Lass cracked a stupid joke, or Bron-Char called me a lass, or Minn-Erva gave me a death stare, I couldn't help but feel like they didn't really care why I was there. They didn't care about my background, they still accepted all the Earth holidays that I forced on them. And Yon-Ro—my Commander still did everything in his power to make sure I was welcomed. He really gave his all training me, and making sure I fit in. He...he used to say the same thing, that he knew me better than anyone. And, I mean, it was true. He was my closest friend, my teacher and mentor, my anchor when everything seemed unsteady, who meant the world to me. So despite the fact that he was lying to me the entire time, despite the fact that he stole me away from my real home... I still feel like...like I miss him. And I know that I shouldn't because of what he did to me. I don't want to miss him, I want to just forget about him and them and all the amazing memories I have. They shouldn't be happy memories; I should be resentful of all those stolen years. But I just can't help looking back. And...I can't shake the nagging regret that maybe I shouldn't have turned him away so harshly the last time I saw him."

Maria had clasped her hands thoughtfully in front of her face. Carol had never opened up so much before about her six years spent on another world, and to hear about what kind of lingering attachment she had to the place was relatively shocking. Maria didn't hold anything other than hate in her heart toward the Kree for stealing away her best friend, but if they had really meant something to her, she supposed she could cut Carol a break when it came to them.

"You were all alone with no memory when you first got there, right?" Maria began. Carol nodded tentatively. "And they treated you well, gave you a place to stay. It only makes sense that they would come to serve as your backbone in everything. It's true, their motives were entirely selfish and cruel, and thus your being there was wrong in the first place, but just because the circumstances were messed up doesn't mean that they didn't care for you."

Carol looked up, her eyes alight with surprise. "What? You really think so?"

Maria honestly doubted her own words, but she gave a nonchalant shrug. "Sure. Evil kidnappings go wrong all the time, don't they? The kidnapper ends up getting attached to the victim and then everything gets complicated."

Carol tilted her head. "Er, I wouldn't call it an evil kidnapping, per se. And since when did Yon-Rogg ever get attached to me?"

Maria rolled her eyes. "Well I didn't mean that exactly, but, based on your description of the guy he sure seemed to pull out all the stops for you."

Carol blinked. "N...no, he acted just and fair in all regards. He treated everyone equally...no special treatment for me!" Even as she chuckled, the words seemed to ring false in her brain.

"Uh-huuhhhh..." Maria nodded, unconvinced. "Well I suppose there's also the possibility he was just faking it all to make you trust the Kree and their cause more."

"NO!!" exclaimed Carol, jumping to her feet. She walked to the movie cabinet, dug out a stale bag of popcorn that Monica had hidden, and began stress eating. "He wouldn't! Couldn't! Not capable!"

Maria groaned. "It sounds to me like you haven't entirely accepted the fact that he covered up your past the whole time you were celebrating Christmas without even knowing why."

Now it was Carol's turn to groan as she plopped back down on the couch. "No, I...I've accepted it, believe me. It's impossible to forget about that little detail. But it's also so hard to believe that all those times he smiled that special smile were...were fake."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "Special smile, huh?"

Carol gave her a side-eyed glance from where she had been staring blankly out the window. "Uh, yeah. He seemed to embrace his fun side much more when I was around. I really brought life to that party."

Maria shook her head at Carol's obliviousness. "I'm sure you did. Now, did you ever consider that maybe the whole abduction thing was just him acting on orders?"

Carol went still. Her popcorn fell from her mouth. "Well, at the beginning, I don't think it was. I think it was an impulse, and a stupid one at that. But, after everything happened, and he tried to bring me back...you might be right. The Supreme Intelligence probably ordered him to get me back, and he was the most devout and diligent member of Starforce I'd ever known, so...that's probably why he was willing to go to such great lengths to bring me back. Even if it meant killing innocent Skrulls, and you guys..." Carol looked down sadly. "Was he really willing to put the mission ahead of my life? My happiness?"

Maria sighed. "I can't really pretend to know the answer to that, but as far as I'm concerned, wasn't it him who came after our ship? After we'd shot down the first lackey, that is. Why did he abandon the cruiser if you were still on the loose up there?"

Carol's brow furrowed. "Hm, now that you mention it...after he discovered my diversion, he just straight up bolted. I guess he was after the Tesseract, but I'm fairly certain he didn't want to let me get away, and there were other people taking care of that, so why did he run?"

Maria shrugged. "Maybe he was giving you a chance? He saw that you had so far surpassed him that he wouldn't have a fighting chance anymore and he accepted defeat."

"Pfft, oh come on. He wouldn't do that...would he?" Carol scratched her chin. "I mean, I guess it would explain why he tried to tempt me into fighting him hand-to-hand later...that would've been the only way he'd be able to beat me. So I guess it's a good thing I saw through it." She let out a bitter chuckle. "I finally gave him what for, after everything he did to me. But...maybe it was too much to send him back? After all, he'd failed the mission and that was basically a first for him. What do you think the Supreme Intelligence did when he got back? What if something terrible happened, and...and it's all my fault?"

"Hey," Maria said, giving Carol a firm pat on the back. "You can't blame yourself for what happened. He reaped the consequences of his own actions. Whether he did what he did out of love or hate, or simple duty, is up to you to decide."

Carol studied a piece of popcorn. "...You know, you're right. I could either resent him for the rest of my life and forever regard him a heartless soldier who only cared about orders...or I could forgive him, and look back on him fondly as the man who tried his best to make me happy, regardless of how things turned out. And, I mean, I'm no rocket scientist, but it seems to me that it would do my conscience a whole lot of good if I chose to do the latter." A peaceful smile broke out on Carol's face.

That, in turn, made Maria smile. "I'm glad you made your decision. He's out of your life now, so you shouldn't waste any more time worrying over his fate. Back then, you were surrounded by lies and it was hard to discern the truth, so I understand the doubts you'd been keeping pent up. But right now, I have some truth of my own to lay on you...the deep kind. You ready?"

Carol held her breath and nodded.

"You trusted the Kree, and they were your temporary family. But they couldn't offer you all the love and comfort that true trust brings. I don't know every detail about what you experienced, but I do know this: you are Carol Danvers, an amazing human from Earth, and your real family is right here."

She stood up and led Carol back to the dining room, where Fury and Talos were chatting amiably over Dr. Pepper. Monica had zonked out with her head on the table.

Seeing them all, and knowing she could trust them without a doubt, made tears well in Carol's eyes. She ran at Fury and tackled him in a hug with a joyful sniffle.

"What the!?!" shouted Fury. He spotted Maria leaning against the doorframe with a satisfied yet smug look. "What did you tell her?" he asked.

"Oh, I just broke the news that you'd be taking us to the movies tomorrow," Maria explained.

"Wait...what!?" Fury looked down at Carol incredulously.

"Oh, yes," Carol sniffed. "That's...definitely what she told me!" Then she backed off of Fury, stole his soda, and slurped it down greedily.

Talos laughed in the background at Fury's expense.

"Rrrgh," grumbled Fury. "Well if I'm taking you guys, then the least you can do is leave my soda alone."

"Mm-mm," Carol shook her head, even as she continued to doofily smile.

"Well, I didn't know the movies were such a big deal on C-53, but...I'd be happy to accompany you tomorrow," said Talos. "Although I'll need a disguise."

Maria sighed with a smile. "I'm sure we can work something out. Now then, why don't we all settle down for bed, hm? It's been an eventful evening."

"It has?" Fury asked.

"It has for me," agreed Talos. "That borger really filled me up, and now I'm rearing to go for a good nap."

Fury turned to him. "I'm sorry, what did you--"

"Great! Fury can take the guest room, and Talos gets the couch," interrupted Maria.

Carol giggled as they got up and argued about who really deserved the couch or not. Maria scooped Monica off of the table and hoisted her over her shoulder to carry her to bed.

"Thank you, Maria," Carol said. "Now I know. You can find a group of friends in any place, but only one can be your family. And I'm glad to be a part of this one."

"You're welcome, Carol. We're glad to have you," replied Maria. "And we will always be here for you."

The End

Fin