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Locked Topic
Shattered Reflection
Topic Started: May 28 2012, 06:40 PM (68 Views)
Fran
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Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Aug 22 2010, 12:55 PM
((OOC: This thread takes place in the No-Zone, 3 months after Scourge being caught and put in jail))

-Screen 121…check-
-Screen 131…check-

Like a little chorus of well trained fireflies, the screens lightened and darkened following the vocal command, images flashing for few seconds hurling out broken phrases and then vanishing again.

After 7 hours of chore in his personal Screen Room, Zonic had successfully left behind the “Let’s-pay-attention to-everything” and the “Maybe-better-focus-on-few-ones” fases and had entered the “Crazy-Zapping” one.

-Screen 171..check-
-Screen 181…check-

Elbows on the desk, crossed hands holding his muzzle, his arms slowly started slipping under the increasing weight as he let his muscles relax…

-Screen 191…-
-Screen…-

… till both arms fell to the side, and his chin landed with a soft “thud” on the metallic surface.

A loud sigh filled up the now strangely quiet room.
-Ookay. Maybe I shall take a break…-
With a sudden move the hedgehog straightened his back again, and started stretching, slowly turning to take a look around, while a looong yawn escaped from him.

Right corner: screens.
Back wall: screens.
Left corner: his armor floating in a energy field…and screens.
And in front of him…

-Oh look. A screen-. The yawn ended and he let his head rest on his crossed arms, closing his eyes sour for tiredness.

Work had been harder since the end of the Zone Lockdown…many zones had been left without control for months, and now they had to catch up…

It was funny how all of that had become a normal, even boring routine…he could remember the first time he was let inside that room, at the age of 7…all the screens were powered up at the same time, and for the first time he had understood just how huge the Multiverse was…
..and how many Sonic there were. It was like look himself in thousands of mirrors...sometimes perfect, sometimes deformed reflections coming out of that chaos…

The little hedgehog he was, still cuddling himself in the reassuring feeling of being special like all kids, had cried that night.

But that was the past. He had learnt his lesson, had worked hard to prove himself, and ....even if sometimes, staring intensely at a screen, he could feel that odd sensation of being …observed.

Yes, they were watching…the hundreds of heroes, from the top of the deadly enemies they had just beaten, or from the bottom of the dungeons they had been trapped into, they were watching…and teasing and challenging him.

White canines suddenly grinned and he shook his head, trying to bat that odd though away…

Attempt to relax: failed.
A quick look to the clock informed him that there were still 2 hour to go.
Aw, how was he supposed to last that much??? He needed to totally clear his mind from any kind of thinking for at least 5 minutes…another loud sigh echoed in the room, but suddenly aqua green eyes blinked, fixing on the armor.

On the helmet, in particular. And a idea flashed in his brain rising a grin on his lips.

*********

‘What he wants form him? Why can’t he use the olo-phone? Why on chaos did he choose my office…?…’ muttered the tall green scaled crocodile, moving the last anxious steps towards his tiny colleague private hut.

Curiosity was eating agent Zector alive, and when he finally reached the door of his tiny colleague private hut, he shut it open without even knocking, letting all the tension accumulated to dash out in a loud

-For the Source, Z! What did you do??-

It was with a certain disappointment that he stated his colleague null reaction to his cool entrance.

There he was, looking at few screens, giving him the back, sitting quit and still in his desk and wearing only the black jumpsuit of ordinance and…the helmet?

Now, Zec knew how much the little one loved his helmet but…

-Z! What the…why are you wearing…Hey? Z? Are you listening? Zee!!- he shouted grabbing the thin hedgehog from the shoulders and shaking him like a dusty carpet.

He shriecked, almost jumped on the chair, and quickly removed the helmet, literally spitting venom-words.
-What the fuck do you have in your head Zec? Because, it can’t possibly be a brain!!! Knock first!!-

The crocodile stared, his jaw in free fall towards the floor.
Now, THAT was a reaction.
Some odd instant of silence passed, filled only by the fast breathing of the little hedgehog, trying to recover from the startle.

-Hum. Zee… why where you…and why didn’t you heard…- finally the crocodile dared to ask…-You were sleeping!!!-
-Absolutely NOT!-
-Yeah of course then w…- comprehension hit him like a strike and before Zonic could do anything he raised the helmet and glued his ear to the metallic shiny surface, a big smile slowly uncovering each of his many many teeth.


*****
Nabbed!

Zonic could not help but blush, snatching the helmet out of Zector’s hand with a certain violence.

-Aww, ‘cmon Zee relax!…Listen to music is not a crime!...You did the little trick with the radio I told you hum?-

-Yeah, I did. Thanks for always find a way to distract me instead of being focused on the work Zec. Thanks thanks…- he answered with a ironic smirk, powering down the clandestine music.

-Oh, but it’s my pleasure!!! You know it’s my mission …- blinked the crocodile on the same tone.

-Speaking of mission. I’m here for an essential matter- he suddenly changed expression after a little pause, stiffening in a formal pose.

-General Zool asks officer Zonic to immediately reach him in his temporary office at the district, for an important communication-

Zonic first reaction was nodding.
The second, was blinking.
The third was raising his wide aqua green eyes on the crocodile in pure shock.

*****
-G…General Zool?-
-The temporary office is my office by the way- Zector answered coolly.
-General Zool????-
-Want to go?- Zector dodged the question again, heading to the door, ignoring the freaked out, anxious expression of his little colleague, that walked towards the him like a zombie, asking again
-You mean…that General Zool???-.
-You know the way right?-

Oh, he WAS having fun.

-Oh Zec please, please, tell me! What he wants? Why…-
-Shush. You answer me first: you did something?-
-No!-
-You suuure? –

He had to force himself keep a serious face when he saw Zonic hesitate.
That little stupid, always doubting himself. Oh well. More fun for him…

- So…you , like, didn’t sneaked out to the girl’s quarters at night?-
-NO!-
-…you…didn’t wrote those things on the bathroom about the commander? -
-No!-
-…you…-
And so on, their voices slowly fading as they walked on the long corridor.


******
-….and you didn’t stole one of the areo-scooter to do some freestyle on the ruins of the highway?- was the last improbable question of a long long series.

-…for the last time. No, no and NO!!-

-Oh. You should have some fun sometimes, you know?- Zector stated stopping.

There they was.
Zonic swallowed in front of the yellow door, giving Zector a last desperate look.

-I answered. Now tell me!!- he whispered.
-Sorry Zee. I don’t know what he wants- the crocodile finally admitted, winning a free death glare.

-No, for real. I don’t know. You know…no brain in there as you said…- he smirked patting his head.

-Bastard...- Zonic punched him but smiled. How that big guy always managed to cheer him up… even by torture?

A blue gloved hand finally raised and knocked at the fatal door.

Few second later a calm and cool voice from inside replied...

-Enter…-

Posted by: General Zool Aug 23 2010, 02:28 PM
General Zool stood at the window, looking out into the endless sky beyond. The sun was slowly setting below the golden red horizon, turning the rest of the sky a deep pink. And in the distance, mountains, dramatic shapes against the burning sky. A beautiful sight, or it should have been, but Zool found little beauty in anything these days. He shut off the hologram, and the mountain scene vanished, replaced by a blank screen. The ebony ant turned back to his borrowed desk, trying to ignore the clutter and the coffee mugs that littered it. His saffron eyes narrowed as he looked at the open file before him.

Data Report – Sonic the Hedgehog No: 649 – Eris Universe

What followed was a very, very long list of the crimes against the Multiverse committed by this particular individual. As he finished reading, the words warped and reformed, to become a list of his crimes against the No Zone itself, and his bad behaviour while imprisoned; fights, riots, and an attempted full scale revolution. Beneath that, his sentence. Zool frowned again and tapped the thirteen signatures that shone in multicoloured light under the seal of the High Council. The words came into focus, sharper and less pixelated. His own name was there, blazing red as blood.

The sentence was a harsh one, one they hesitated to use, but it was necessary. Eternal Sleep; to be put into stasis and stored forever in the Catacombs. Not execution, they didn’t kill, but close enough. Unpleasant, but Zool would always do what was necessary for the greater good. No matter what personal codes of morality and honour he had to break. Nothing matter expect stopping what had happened to his world happening to another…

He broke out of his thoughts as a there was a hesitant knock at the door. Zool sat down behind the desk, pushing the memory of emerald skin and flowing raven hair from his mind. He would never forget what he had lost, to do so would be to remove the fuel for his fire, but it did not do to dwell on her either.

“Enter,” he said, his voice calm and cool as ice.

The door opened, and in stepped a small, frail looking hedgehog. Strange, Zool had been expecting him to be… taller… and certainly more sapphire in hue, like his countless counterparts. But dimensional travel had an adverse effect on certain individuals. Also there was the chance that it was because Zonic’s equivalents were all heroic in some way, better than average. He on the other hand, was less. Zool let nothing show on his face, simply nodded curtly. “Agent Zonic,” he said. “Please sit.” He gestured to the seat before the desk with a sweep of one gloved hand.

It may have sounded like a request, a friendly invitation even, but the hedgehog seemed to be able to recognise an order when he heard one. He sat, and Zool pushed the file across the desk to him. “This is the results of the council hearing with regards to Sonic-649, and his sentence.”

Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Aug 24 2010, 12:30 PM
As Zonic sit down he managed to dart a last quick look at Zector’ s big body stiffened in the military salute..then the yellow door closed behind him, with a click.
It was just him and the General, the room usually filled of the reassuring jovial presence of his friend now threatening and oddly quiet.

General Zool…despite being only 10 years older than him, he had burned the steps to the top, his discipline and determination almost legend …

Zonic really didn’t remembered that chair being so uncomfortable…

The desk on the other hand was the usual kingdom of chaos…a tad of worry for his friend untidiness made him forgot for a second his own anxiety…they usually joked on that, (isn’t cool to find a slice of pizza between the files just when you started get hungry?) but what would the General think?

…the black ant didn’t seemed to even notice it, his face cold and emotionless, a red sash and a bandanna the only personal touches to an otherwise perfect armor, shining like fire.

His dark yellow eyes still fiercely pointed on him didn't made a blink as he passed him the thin plastic file he had been holding till then making it slip in between of two (not) empty coffee mugs, saying ...

“This is the results of the council hearing with regards to Sonic-649, and his sentence.”

Aqua green eyes lowered down on the faintly glowing writing, more than happy to break the contact with the General cool ones.

Sonic-649… had he even forgot exactly which of his alter-ego that number referred to, the long list of crimes was more than sufficient to make recognize click in his brain at the first sight. He didn’t even need to read…every single action, every single word of his evil twin was carved deeply in his mind like a warning ... the proof of something hidden into his twins souls he had to watch carefully…his stomach crunched, a bitter liquid filling his mouth…

Till Zonic was alive, he wouldn’t have let any other Sonic turn into a Scourge…!

Unable to mask a certain nervousness Zonic tapped the screen, quickly skipping the paragraphs, till from the vortex of reassembling words appeared the seal of the High Council, and the final sentence:

Eternal Sleep.

Zonic’s heart lost a beat, a flash of memory of the Catacombs making his ears turn back, almost flatten down...but at the last second he controlled himself, twitching them straight and forward again.

He shouldn’t have been expecting less, not after the riot!… It was definitely not the case to feel sorry… not in front of an high ranker whose signature was shining under that same sentence in sharp red letters.
And especially not in front of General Zool, whose homeplanet was said had been destroyed by one of his own alter-egos…

Zonic kept staring at the file, trying to gain time before having to face those eyes again.

Maybe Sleep was better than life-long confinement, after all… a blank eternity would have fallen on him…no more wishes or dreams or struggles...screen 649 would have gone black forever...like many others before...

‘You wasted your last chance, Green..’ that though was meant to calm him down, but raised instead an odd mix of anger and fear… he finally pulled back the file and still not daring to look directly at the General asked :

-When will the sentence become effective?...-

Posted by: General Zool Aug 29 2010, 09:06 PM
Another might not have noticed the slight twitch of Zonic’s ears as he read, but Zool missed nothing, his highly analytical mind noting even the most minor of details. He recognised what the hedgehog was feeling too - sympathy.

That should have been something Zool understood. He knew better than most the link between those who shared the same core of energy. But it had been that same sympathy, that wish not to wound someone who was in essence himself, that had stayed Zool’s hand. Had he not hesitated at the critical moment, he would have won the fight, and then…

He snatched the file back from Zonic, the writing vanishing entirely as he snapped it shut. “The exact date has yet to be decided,” he said, his voice calm and cool and reflecting nothing at all. “Your current task is simply to inform the prisoner of the verdict.”

There was a high possibility there would be an appeal. The sentence, though approved by the majority of the high council, had created quite a bit of outcry especially amongst those in the lower ranks. The manner of the trial had also been called into question, since the accused had not been present at any point, and even Zonic hadn’t been called forward to give his evidence.

That… irked Zool a little, made him wonder why the underhandedness, why the hush hush? Still, he thought the verdict a just one, it was only the method he didn’t like. But it was possible that it was simply because this particular individual was so highly dangerous. Heroes were extraordinary people, who did extraordinary things, and when they turned bad…

Zool stood, turning away from the hedgehog and marched back to the window, pressing the button to activate another scene. An ocean this time, calm and tranquil, the aquamarine water caressing the golden sand. Zool felt some of the tension leave his body, clarity returning. It wasn’t like him to lose his internal cool like this, but this situation hit far too close to home for his comfort. Hopefully though the younger officer hadn’t noticed anything.

“If you have any further questions, Agent Zonic, ask them,” he turned back, folding his arms. “Otherwise I suggest you obey your instructions promptly.”

((OOC – sorry this took so long Fran and I hope it’s good enough, Zool was being a mean little ant!!))

Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Sep 1 2010, 10:48 AM
The sudden, uneven move the General did taking the file back made finally Zonic rise his chin to him: aqua eyes blinked for a second, and he retrieved his now empty hand quickly, as if guilty of something.

_The exact date has yet to be decided…Your current task is simply to inform the prisoner of the verdict_ came the emotionless answer, sinking slowly in his agitated mind, with the power to increase the confusion.

What? No date?
Zonic was not so fond in higher rankers bureaucracy but that sounded…strange.
Were they so scared by Scourge to sign up the thing even if they were still discussing about that?

‘It is an order of the High Council’ the voice of reason remembered him, with that annoying casually tone of hers.

Yes but...‘What am I supposed to tell Green? ‘Hello, we’re going to take you away…when? Who knows?…bye!’
And leave him in such a wait?

Bitterness made him move uncomfortably on the chair, as his stomach crunched for the second time.

_If you have any further questions, Agent Zonic, ask them_ Zool suddenly spoke turning to him, like if he had the power to read his mind, folding his arms and adding:
_Otherwise I suggest you obey your instructions promptly_

Zonic’s thoughts turned into frightened bunnies that ran to hide themselves…

What was he thinking? Question? Which question? Asking? Who? Him?

For a little while he could reply anything, just stare at the screen, seeing the landscape for the first time…his eyes holding the same hue of that beautiful ocean…but definitely not the same peace.

It HAD to be a mistake. Maybe they hadn’t considered the suffering a creature in wait could experience... but he could not ignore it.
He could picture that pain in his soul way too well...
High council or not, there was a limit between an harsh but fair sentence and an unnecessary cruelty, and he couldn’t bat away the feeling that that order was...low.

Zonic stood in the martial salute, the shadow of his hand shielding his face a bit...a little protection from those yellow eyes in waiting that seemed able to carve iron.

-Excuse me General. I actually…do have a question…-

Zonic had to stop, fighting to control his voice, to let it clear and firm, but not insolent…

-…If there isn’t a date…then why tell six-four-nine of the sentence? It sounds…unnecessary…why not wait until the date is set...?-

The hedgehog ended, aquamarine eyes glued on the floor, voice fading in a whisper at the end, despite all efforts.

‘Do you ever questioned an order in front of a General?’ Zector’s voice asked in his mind, a joke of his stressed imagination...

‘I... ’

Oh SHIT…

Posted by: General Zool Sep 2 2010, 03:49 PM
Zool hadn’t actually expected Zonic to pluck up the courage to ask a question. The younger zone cop seemed soft, timid even. Therefore it was something of a surprise when he did pipe up and ask something. From the look on the hedgehog’s face, Zonic was equally surprised with himself. His query was an obvious enough one, but also one that Zool would not give the answer to. Mostly because any answer he did give would only be a guess, for though he was on the High Council, he was not in the Inner Circle.

However, he was sure his estimation was accurate enough. As he had already stated, there was bound to be an appeal, six-four-nine was young, which always got the bleeding hearts up in arms, and perhaps it was true that there had not been significant effort made to rehabilitate him. And that meant the defence might just be strong enough to overturn the sentence. That was a risk the Council were not willing to take.

And so, they would have Agent Zonic tell the prisoner of his fate, and then simply wait for his reaction. Based on six-four-nine’s volatile nature, that reaction was bound to be explosive, and was sure to destroy any chance of an appeal utterly. He would seal his own fate. The logic was flawless. Cruel perhaps, cold certainly, but Zool could only admire their efficiency. Six-four-nine had the potential to be a planet killer, a destroyer of worlds. Sacrifice one life to potentially protect millions, the math spoke for itself.

Before his world had been destroyed, Zool would have argued at the injustice of it. He would have called it barbaric to condemn someone forever, because of something they might do. But that Zool, the one who would have said that everyone deserved a second chance, was long since dead.

“That is none of your concern, Agent,” he said, each word falling like a chip of ice from his lips. “You have your orders. Follow them.”

Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Sep 7 2010, 10:45 PM
((Spacing fixed form a firend's pc! ! Mwhaha P.S. shit post is still shitty anyway xFran))


Despite the coldness of the tone, that answer…burned.
Regretting bad asking, the young Zonecop could feel it, the hot humiliation rising to his cheeks.
It was the same answer since years: you are not worth it, stay at your place. No matter how much he tried, they didn’t trusted him…
-Yes General…-
And the worst thing was they were right…

********
The lock clicked.
‘Oh-oh! Better flee…!’ Zector zapped away from the door of his own office, reaching the corner just in time…the sound of metallic steps started echoing in the corridor…
The crocodile peeked for a second…eyes on the floor, ears flattened, low tail…well, it didn’t took a genius to understand Zee’s mood, when he wasn’t wearing that frigging helmet.
The little sky-blue hedgehog was totally, utterly… K.O.
Oh, he was passing by…!
‘Come on, Zec, come on, say something…’ the crocodile coughed, trying to put up a casual look.
-Oh Zee! There you are again! So what did the Gen..-
-Zec…- the hedgehog's voice cut the sentence like a knife.
And his glare cut much more.
Ouch.

-I know you were overhearing. I heard you run away while the door was opening. You’re a bit too BIG to think you can run without making a sound…-
Zector made a mental facepalm at his own stupidity…even a ‘dho!’ would have fitted the situation better, but instead he tried to speak:
-Zee, I’m sorry…you know I just can’t resist!...Came on, you aren’t angry righ…-
A gentle wind was all the answer.
Zector blinked.
Wow.
Could be pretty fast when he wanted…

*********
Running.
Something he didn’t liked …it made so clear the abyss between himself and his twins…
But right now, he just needed, no matter how pathetically slow, because running was the only thing that could prevent him to think!
Running, he could not imagine Green, the Catacombs, or …no, he had to focus on the breath, on the legs…and on the path: many wings of the HQ were still in ruin, the wounds of the recent war not healed, a maze of rubble and holes where the cannons had hit.

Dodging, jumping, speeding up again…little flashes of battle popped in his mind as he passed some well known points…like that wall, the sign of the laser that had missed him of an inch still visible, or that door opened like a can by a huge chainshaw-bot…
There was enough for a lifetime of nightmares, but right now, all of that had only the little power to distract him for few minutes… until form a broken window appeared the cylindrical shape of THAT building…

His legs started losing strength, his steps rhythm…

Interdimansional Prison 4…
151 underground levels of metal and force-fields, a core of elevators running up and down along the central column for more than 700m under the surface…

The Zonecops called it “The Well”.

‘As in a well, came out on your own is impossible. Once there, all one can do is wait…and wish someone will come! How much time you think you will last in there before start crying, Zee? Five minutes?…’ the mocking words of Zector, explaining that name…how many years ago?

Had sounded funny, that time…

Jumping out of the window, Zonic took the highway to the Gates with a last desperate acceleration.

Now, it seemed just too fitting.

**********

The elevator’s door closed with an ominous sound, weak lights flashing in the narrow cabin, almost blinding him for a second.

=DESTINATION?= crackled the A.I.

Zonic blinked, the last traces of the blessing trance of the run leaving him…
He had to face present now, no more room to run away.
-Level 120, Confinement Rooms, authorization 2211- came his voice, sounding strange…like coming from who knows how far from himself.

But the elevator started moving anyway, slowly and smoothly, the force-fields surrounding it waving and carrying it down gently…it was like sinking in some strange water…

His hand ran to the tight neck of the jumpsuit, pulling away the plastic-like fabric...

It was…suffocating…

Zonic bit the inside of his cheek, the irony taste of blood filling his dry mouth.

‘I have to be strong…I can do this…I’ll prove the council they can trust me!..I’ll prove I’m a Zonecop…’
He would have suffered anything…anything to prove he was worth !
Even to trap himself into a deep, merciless well, deaf to both the cries and wishes of his heart.

Posted by: Scourge Sep 14 2010, 09:05 PM
Scourge had never noticed before just how loud silence was. It seemed to close in around him, tighter and tighter until it was suffocating, until he felt like screaming just to make it end. He probably would have, if his throat didn’t ache so much. He was really beginning to regret throwing the water he’d been given with his most recent meal at the wall. The food was also untouched, or that is to say uneaten, since it also decorated the otherwise bare metal walls. His Hunger Strike wasn’t drawing any attention so far, maybe the guards weren’t taking him seriously. He’d show them.

There was a single window in the cell, little more than a slit in the wall. Too high and too tiny to serve as means of an escape, but Scourge had angled himself on his bed so he could see the narrow strip of sky. Apart from the daily meal delivery, that window was his only real reminder that there was life outside this room, and pretty much the only thing stopping him from going insane. Though maybe it was too late for that. Since he’d been put down here for ‘bad behaviour’ he’d watched the sky darken and lighten again sixty-seven times.

Just a little over two months. He shut his eyes briefly, and tried to find his anger, buried under the layers of mind numbing boredom and… despair? Was this feeling despair? He scowled, he couldn’t afford a numb brain, not if he ever wanted to breathe the free air again, and he certainly couldn’t afford to give in to hopelessness. He’d get out of this, was he the King of Moebius or what? Okay so he’d burned all his bridges, and there was no hope of any of his loyal subjects coming to bail him out. But he was still himself, still Scourge the Hedgehog. He'd get back all he’d lost and more, onwards and upwards baby! There was nothing in Heaven or Hell or anywhere in between that would hold him back-

“’Cept yourself, Scourgie.” A nasty little voice whispered. It took him another moment to realise the voice, cracked and broken and oh so faint, was his own. He laughed, but the sound was bitter and withered as a lemon left too long in the sun. “First sign of madness, talking to yourself,” he whispered, then after another moment’s thought. “Answering yourself is probably the second sign.”

Alone in the dark, with no company but his own thoughts. Damn, those Zonecops knew the best kinds of tortures. But he wouldn’t bow, wouldn’t ever give those bastards the satisfaction of seeing him break. They could take his freedom, but they couldn’t take his pride. Damn he sounded ridiculous. He opened his eyes and stared at the twilight postcard of sky, and concentrated very hard on thinking of nothing at all for several minutes, until he was distracted by the faint hum of the manacles at his wrists.

He blinked and tried to resist and hold his arms apart, but as always the twin bracelets flared with a nasty ruby light, and his wrists were magnetically drawn together. He might as well have never bothered trying to resist, for all the difference it made. He struggled with it for a few more seconds, but he could not more break the crackling light than he could have broken megatal. But this meant he had a visitor, since that was the only reason the cuffs ever activated. He frowned, glancing at the sky and then his overturned tray. Not dinner time, but maybe someone had finally decided against leaving him to rot in here! The communal cell blocks were rough and brutal, but ‘brutal’ was Scourge’s middle name, and compared to solitary the upper levels were a day at the fair.

“About fucking time,” he said, swinging himself into a sitting position with a little difficulty and swivelling to face the door. “You better have some fucking good news whoever you are, or I’m gonna react with more than just harsh language.”

Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Sep 15 2010, 04:59 PM
-ERROR: code not found-

Zonic sighed.
Of course not. Because he had typed it wrong. For like… the third time.
Just 10 numbers! Not so hard. Was he really that tensed?
He looked away, but the empty corridor had no answers but silence and…darkness.

Zonic growled at it: what was that ? Trying to cut the costs on the energy? As if the place wasn’t creepy enough, he thought, shivering a bit: the sweat had gone cold on his back, making him chill and feeling if possible even more uncomfortable.

The sky blue hedgehog tapped his head against the wall, looking at the shining holographic keyboard.

‘I need an hot shower’

No. He needed to move his butt.

Since he had to do it, and he had, the best thing was being as quick and cold as possible…

Again, his blue-gloved hand tipped on the console.

…no need to talk, to answer questions, to even look him into the eyes: without his helmet that would have been madness. Green would have smelled his weakness from a mile.

Just as smart as bleed in a pool of sharks…

As he finished entering the last number of the code, the console finally bipped its approval, and he backed as with loud crakcling sounds the intricate system of double doors started opening, the pieces slipping one on another like the frame of a camera.

Just …much more slowly.

The young zonecop folded his arms, and had to force himself hard to not start tapping his foot on the ground in the waiting, tension rising again, and making his heart jump into his chest.

_About fucking time!_ was the kind welcome coming from inside.

Zonic snorted but flickered an ear stepping inside: despite the usual strong words, Green’s voice was far more hoarse and weak than he remembered.

The young zonecop checked quickly the little room for anything out of place: nothing, a part from the nice paint-wall of artificial soy pasta and sinto-tomato sauce.

He stopped blinking for a second in front of that sorta of modern art installation.
‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing Green?’ he thought, feeling a strange anger to cling to his stomach.

_You better have some fucking good news whoever you are, or I’m gonna react with more than just harsh language_ the voice came again, ironically remembering him to go straight to the point.
A red light cut his eyes: Scourge had turned and now the red vibrating light of the cuffles illuminated space in front of him, making his shades shine, and making everything look like if blood-stained.

He was collared, he was cuffed …but despite all, Zonic felt his back quills rise in a defensive stance as he finally faced him.

Aqua green eyes narrowed and he folded his arms, trying to give his voice the coldest tone he could, but he couldn’t help letting an ironic smirk on his face as he replied:

...-Good news?...Why? You did something to deserve good news, six-four-nine ?-

Posted by: Scourge Sep 23 2010, 08:01 PM
Scourge had never seen Zonic without his helmet before, and now that he saw him properly he realised that the zonecop was less of a mirror image, and more of a pale reflection. Even sitting down, Scourge could tell Zonic was shorter than him, and without the added bulk of his armour he seemed oddly frail. He looked bleached of colour too. His fur was light blue instead of sapphire, his eyes soft turquoise rather than bright emerald green, and his skin was so pale it almost held a violet hue.

As he studied his appearance, Scourge realised that in all the time the zonecop had been hunting him, he’d never seen him display any sort of special powers. A Sonic without his speed? Not that was interesting…

And the differences were more than just skin deep. As much as Scourge hated Sonic, he’d seen a lot of himself in that guy. A weirdly twisted version, but still, there had been that spark, that ‘never back down’ aura. Sonic had defeated him hadn’t he? True, he’d had to cheat to do it, but the move had been both smart and underhanded, so Scourge couldn’t help but admire it.

Zonic had none of the spark. And yet there he was trying to act all tough, there was even a vague attempt of a smirk on his lips. If Scourge hadn’t had his hands bound, no way the little creep would have dared.

Scourge let the silence stretch for a long moment before he said anything back. “Sure I have, I’m a model prisoner. Course it’s mostly just cause I don’t have a choice in here.” He stood up abruptly, and crossed the distance between himself and the smaller hedgehog, showing that he was still pretty damn fast, even with the control collar. “And I got a name, it’s Scourge.” He adjusted his shades, hindered slightly by the manacles. “But I’ll settle for ‘your majesty’ if you prefer.”

Zonic seemed a little tongue tied and Scourge rolled his eyes, before flopping back down on his bed. “Whatever. So what brings you down to my level, Zee? Miss me?” he smiled sweetly.

Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Sep 29 2010, 09:51 AM
No answers for a while, just odd silence filled by an azure stare: ice colored eyes watching, studying.

Zonic shifted weight from a leg to another, suddenly finding a squirt of sauce on the floor terribly interesting. Truth was, this time it wasn’t just an impression due to too much staring at thousands of screens: this time one of his twins was seriously looking at him.
‘Geez, Green, I’m not a girl, quit that!’ the zonecop protested in his mind, the tip of his boot hitting the ground in a angry move. He couldn’t bear that feeling from a screen already: having it coming from Scourge was so irking to made him wish he could sink in the floor and vanish.

_Sure I have, I’m a model prisoner. Course it’s mostly just cause I don’t have a choice in here_
The reply and the sudden rush took him off guard : in the blink of an eye Zonic found himself facing the scars on Scourge’s chest.
_And I’ve got a name…it’s Scourge… but I’ll settle for ‘your majesty’ if you prefer…_
Zonic flickered an ear, eyelids lowering in a ‘not impressed’ expression .
Hummm…what was this?
…Green bullying him?
Pfffft. He had faced him at his full power, without backing. Swallowing his heart back from the throat where it had jumped in, he quickly released the grip on the gun before the other could notice it.

It had been just an automatic reflex...he…he wasn’t scared.

…just nervous like a kitten in front of a tiger, tensed at the point that its muscles started hurting, Scourge’s overwhelming presence so close sending shots of adrenaline in his body: he had lose weight, yet his muscles hadn’t loose a bit of their tone, and everything in his posture spoke of confidence…looked like confinement hadn’t changed him at all.
But he was a great poser, the zonecop reminded himself, and it was hard to read his true expression behind the glasses… before he could even try anyway Scourge got tired of wait for his answer, and sit back.

_Whatever. So what brings you down to my level, Zee? Miss me?_ the green hedgehog asked with a smile, the mattress squeaking as he hopped back on the bed.

Zonic hadn’t even the time to feel relief, to relax the muscles, not a single second to breath, before freezing again.

‘If stress can kill I’m going to die young…’

…what he came for…Oh. Hum…right..his eyes dropped on the floor.

-Miss you? Who, me? Nah…Krong misses you: says you were his favorite punch-bag…- he started answering with a flat unexpressive voice, playing nervously with the elastic frame of his jumpsuit, pulling and releasing the cloth on his chest …

‘ Take time won’t help you !…you’re not here to play! Not this time!’’ warned a voice in his brain, pulling more words out of his mouth...

-…what I came for instead, Six-four–nine, is inform you that your sentence has been decided…-

..no, not this time…and never more after this time, because he knew the fear of the Catacombs would have made every day the last for Scourge, leaving just despair…
Zonic cut the phrase, feeling his stomach had a loop at that thought: ...this...this wasn’t the way he had wanted things to go when he had arrested Scourge, a part of him refused to inflict him such a torture: he had watched 649’s life more close than any other sonic’s, they had grown up together, he was his twin…he was...

'He is what Zee? Your brother?...'

He held his breath, stopping playing with the suit, that sudden realization sending each hair of his fur on edge: just what kind of sick link had created that screen?

That was all wrong, he had to cut it!
He shut his eyes to not let the other see the terror in them.
The world turn black. Black, like a screen...without warning, without he could stop them, images of Scourge's life started playing, things that nobody was supposed to see or to know...every single word, crime, every single...
Murder.
Something clicked for a second in Zonic’s brain, a sparkle of pure revulsion as he saw that punch again, as he heard the disgusting sound of a head cracking against a wall...

-…the High Council condemns you to Eternal Sleep- aqua green irises flashed of hate fixing on those impenetrable red shades and he spit out the last words without even noticing.

Posted by: Scourge Oct 7 2010, 10:55 PM
Zee was nervous. Scourge hadn’t missed the reflexive grab for his weapon, or the way he kept shifting from foot to foot, and tugging at the front of his uniform as though it were too tight. And nervous was only really a step and a half away from fear. Of course it didn’t occur to him that Zee could have been worried about what he had to say, Scourge was used to being the source of other people’s discomfort, and so couldn’t help but automatically take credit for it.

He grinned, then grinned wider at the mention of Krong, a loser he’d ended up making an enemy out of on his very first day in this place. He opened his mouth to quip about sending the bull his love or something else equally ridiculous, but Zee was still talking. The smile seemed to freeze and shatter on Scourge’s face as the Zonecop delivered his sentence, and he couldn’t hold back a sharp intake of breath.

In a matter of seconds Scourge had lost the upperhand completely. Zee’s eyes, which before had been so soft and weak, burned with a revulsion so intense that Scourge wanted to shrink back from him. The High Council condems you to Eternal Sleep. Whispers and rumours flooded into his mind like ink spreading through water. When the prisoners spoke of the catacombs, it was always in the hushed tones of the fearful. The Zonecops didn’t kill, oh no, it was worse than that, so much worse.

Instead they put you to sleep forever, stuck you inside a tiny coffin and filed you away. Nice and tidy, avoided all that messy blood and guts that came with actually taking a life. Scourge had heard other stuff too, that they sucked out all the bodies fluids and replaced them with an icy liquid. That they did it while you were conscious. That you spent eternity locked in your own nightmares.

Scourge stared back at Zee, his own eyes wide and full of unguarded fear behind his shades. “No,” he said, but the word lack any kind of power, his voice simply trailing away into nothing. They couldn’t do this, not to him, it was impossible. He sat up, pushing his shades up so that he could see the other hedgehog more clearly. There were so many things he wanted to say, most of them swear words, but when he managed to speak again the only thing that came out was; "When?"

((OOC - and so I become epic... destroyer of worlds.))

Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Oct 8 2010, 03:07 PM
Zonic felt his head starting to spin.
His shocked instinctive hate was too imperfect to support him, too far from his nature to fuel his actions for more than few seconds, and more importantly… too weak to be a shield against what was happening in front of his still gazed aquamarine eyes.

_No…_ the voice confident and mocking till few seconds ago sounded odd now, spoiled of any will or strength…and when the other removed his shades, the direct gaze of those eyes filled of fear hurt him like a towel rubbed on a bare nerve: Zonic could guess the torment in them as if he’d been looking at himself in a mirror… behind those eyes were running the same images that had flashed in his mind after reading the sentence…or maybe even worse.

And in the end, it was the same question that came out of his lips:
_When?_

The young zonecop fought to not make his legs shake for the urge to run away from there. He had feared that question since the start, and now that it was happening he couldn’t react, couldn’t lie, couldn’t do anything else than let it happen, two opposite guilt fighting in him: he felt ashamed for what he was doing and at the same time everything in him screamed that those feelings were wrong!

-I’ve not been informed of the date…- he answered quickly, turning his back at Scourge.

Served him as a lesson: he had made the worst mistake a Zonecop could do!
That pain was just the price he was paying for the rashness of his heart…just like Scourge was paying for the untamable nature of his.
He had to swallow it and learn.
It was too late to feel sorry now…

-Hasta la vista, six-four-nine…- his voice crackled in what sounded just a bit more than a whisper, and he walked away to the door.

Posted by: Scourge Oct 17 2010, 07:02 PM
Scared as he was, it was only a matter of seconds before Scourge’s pride reared up, crushing the fear back with such force, it might have never been there. He wasn’t going to give Zonic the satisfaction of seeing how deeply- But… wait, Zonic didn’t look satisfied at all. It was only for a split second, as the zonecop turned away, but Scourge saw a flash of pain in the other hedgehog’s eyes. And in that moment, he knew exactly what he had to do.

If he could get Zonic on his side, or not even, if he could get the zonecop to feel bad enough for him that he let his guard down… Scourge took a deep breath, then clenched his fists hard enough for his nails to bite into his palms, making his eyes water. He’d never been able to cry on command, but this was the next best thing. “Wait,” he said, keeping his voice at the same low, fragile pitch. “You can’t just say something like that and then walk away.”

He stood up, reaching out to catch Zonic’s wrist, but not with any kind of threat or force behind the motion. This was nothing more than a desperate plead, or at least a very good impression of one. Of course, really he was afraid, pretending he wasn’t afraid, pretending he was, which was enough to give him a headache if he thought about it too deeply.

“Please, I…” he trailed off, taking a step backwards, his eyes darting around the room franticly. Faking the symptoms of a panic attack was surprisingly easy. All he had to do was imagine the coffin them were going to force him into and the walls seemed to close in, his breathing turning shallow, as though there wasn’t enough oxygen in the room. “I need some air…”

Someone give that hedgehog an academy award! Or maybe he shouldn’t congratulate himself yet, he was sure if the act was even working, and he didn’t want to risk glancing up at Zonic. Instead he leaned heavily against the wall, keeping his head bowed. His twin couldn’t be completely heartless… right? Wasn’t he supposed to be one of the good guys?

Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Oct 19 2010, 08:01 PM
_Wait…you can’t just say something like that and walk away…_

Zonic’s hand stopped tipping on the mute olo-keyboard, both his ears jerking back. The zonecop had somewhat expected those words, but spoken in a far more...aggressive way, so the tone surprised him, painfully.
The zonecop bit his lip, taking a sharp quick breath.
-That was just my plan…- he answered, trying to focus back on the code, the last thing standing between this torture and…well, NOT this torture, at least.

And then, two things happened, in a too fast succession for his brain to even process them separately: the system gave him the ‘code-not-found’ sound…and Scourge touched him.

The sky blue hedgehog turned with a snap, his pupils so narrowed to become almost invisible, drowned in an ocean of aqua green, and for a fraction of second he tensed, expecting the more obvious thing: harm.
…but the contact was still there, and nothing bad was happening, the green hedgehog’s hold on his wrist soft and his expression…almost…pleading?

Wait…were...tears those making that glitter in his eyes?!

Zonic stared, an ear still up straight in alarm, the other half-lowered and twitching in confusion.

_Please, I…_ the other suddenly stepped back, letting go of the grip, and Zonic’s hand had a little impulsive move forward, like if for a second he had wished to catch him again, to not break the contact yet…

Bonk! Made the metal as Scourge let his dead weight against it, his head bowing and masking his face in the shadow.
_...I need some air_

‘I think I need some too…’ the young zonecop thought drawing back his hand quickly to pull the neck of his suit and taking the deepest breath the heavy air of the cell allowed him.
This just…didn’t made sense… Scourge was not the type to show weakness in front of an enemy… he knew that for sure! Not…not without a purpose, anyway.

But the idea that he could be pretending made all that just…worse!…how desperate one prideful hedgehog like Green had to feel to arrive at that point?

Zonic was trapping himself into a corner of remorse so scary that his first reaction was, once again, find the less painful way to escape! Logic told him clearly that, real or fake, taking a desperate Scourge out of his cell would have been too dangerous anyway… deep inside he knew he was too weak to handle his twin...expecially...now.

‘Screw you green leave me alone!’ was what he wanted to scream.

-Fine. I’ll ask agent Zector to take you out…- was what he said instead, barely controlling his voice and darting a quick look at the narrow screen that faked a window -...if there’s time- he ended, before stubbornly turning again at the keyboard.

The ‘code non found’ error signal filled the room once more time, followed by the sound of a punch hitting against metal, and a low raspy, half-chocked...

-Fuck…!-

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Posted by: Scourge Oct 20 2010, 10:52 PM
For a moment, Scourge thought he had him, then Zee turned his back on him once again, trying for what seemed like the hundredth time to punch in the correct code. He muttered something about asking Zector to take Scourge outside, but that was no good. Zector was huge, strong too, and though Scourge could have taken him easily with his powers intact, without them he was just a little hedgehog. He wouldn’t stand a chance. Against Zee however…

“No!” he said quickly. “I want you to take me. You’re… you’re the closest thing there is to a familiar face around here.” He looked down at his boots, as though saying those words had been terribly embarrassing for him. Which they would have been if he’d meant them.

If this didn’t work…

He was screwed, worse than dead. At least death was an end, or maybe the start of something else depending on who you believed. Spending eternity frozen… No way, it didn’t fit. When he went out, it would be with a bang, not a fucking whimper.

Pulling out all the stops, he let himself sag against the wall, his breath become so sharp and shallow that he was almost hyperventilating. Which had the extra effect and bringing the coiling nerves in his stomach to boiling point and turning his legs to jelly. He slid down the wall into a sitting position, holding his chest.

Maybe he was over doing it, but this could be the only chance he got. There was no guarantee that Zonic would visit again, and the other zonecops were a pretty unsympathetic bunch.

“I c-cant breathe…” he gasped, looking up at his counterpart with pleading blue eyes that were nothing short of angelic.

Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Oct 22 2010, 04:08 PM
_No! I want you to take me. You’re… you’re the closest thing there is to a familiar face around here…_

Actually, Zonic’s face as he slowly, really slowly turned again from the console, was more that of someone whose day had just turned from tiring, to scary, to weird to ‘they’re coming to take me away, haha!’

And with that expression he looked at the half-embarrassed half-panicking hedgehog in front of him.
He was lying…right? There could be no way that Scourge considered him nothing else but a nuisance at best…

Zonic’s hand clenched on the console, the sound of the door finally opening echoing in his temples, the hits of the blood pumped by his racing heart so hard to make he think his head was about to explode, his eyes shifting between the clanking metallic panels and Scourge… the other started slipping down the wall, breaths rugged and fast as he was choking, and those blue eyes staring… asking…pleading…

Dammit!
How could the other Sonic never had doubts? How could they follow their ways without ever looking back, without feeling their stomachs crunch in regret like his now?

‘Because they don’t follow orders against their heart…’

The answer striked his mind like a needle, and he felt a sudden hot flush of blood on his cheeks, his eyes almost watering for shame.

Almost.

He shook his head, chasing tears away, trying to regain that minimum of composure he needed…determination finally sparkling in his aqua green eyes the young zonecop stepped forward, kneeling down beside his twin and grabbing his arms.

-Let’s go …!-

Zonic made a step back, pulling the other on his feet, and without even turning to see if Scourge was feeling better, he dragged the taller hedgehog out the door and that cell in a rush that almost broke into a run in the corridor.

The lights of the elevator flashed, blinding after the darkness, and when finally the black spots in his sight vanished, Zonic found himself facing Scourge, the two hedgehogs leaning on the opposite walls of the narrow cabin.

=DESTINATION?= asked the A.I.

-Top Garden- was the quick, dry reply.
The elevator started moving, and Zonic folded his arms, looking away, his heart still racing… but he didn’t care anymore if Scourge was faking, he didn’t care anymore if it was dangerous! He’d been following logic and orders till now!

Now he was going to follow his heart!

Posted by: Scourge Nov 3 2010, 08:57 PM
Scourge would have been delighted in the success of his ploy… if it hadn’t turned out he really did seem to be finding it hard to catch his breath. The corridor passed in a blur as Zee pulled him along, and he stumbled along behind, using all of his concentration to just keep on his feet. Being out of the cell helped, but the enclosed lift just made it even worse.

He leaned back against the wall across from Zee, struggling to convince his body that he’d only been pretending to panic. There was no reason to anyways, he’d get out of this just a few more minutes and he’d be free. The complete lack of a plan didn’t bother him, he thought best on his feet anyways, and as soon as he was in the open air he was sure it would all fall into place. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if it didn’t.

Reaching up to adjust his shades he felt cold sweat on his brow and frowned. At least no one could ever accuse him of being a bad actor. Zee was determinedly refusing to look at him, and that was fine. He wouldn’t need him anymore soon.

The doors of the lift opened with a gentle ping and Scourge felt his breath catch again as he stepped outside. It was cold out, and the sun had long since set, which was a pity, but the sky was a beautiful sight nonetheless. It seemed unable to settle on a single colour, shifting gently through the entire spectrum as he watched. For a moment, Scourge forgot all about escape plans, and the Eternal Sleep, and being a prisoner. Feeling the wind on his face for the first time in two months was enough to drive it all from his mind. He would have been content to just stand there all night if Zee hadn’t cleared his throat and reminded him of his presence.

“Feeling better now?” the zonecop asked, and for once there wasn’t even a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

Scourge blinked, his eyes suddenly watering for some reason, and turned to look back at Zee, meeting the other hedgehog’s aqua eyes. Zee looked away quickly, his posture instantly becoming more closed. Seemed like he really couldn’t stand eye contact, but Scourge didn’t care. Time to get rid of this chump. “Y-yeah,” he said shakily, ears going back as he stepped away from lift and tripped, which was of course all part of the plan.

As Zee reached out to steady him, Scourge spun around with surprising speed, slamming his manacles into the zonecop’s head with as much force as he could manage. There was a sickening crack, and the smaller hedgehog slumped forwards, but Scourge was off and running before he even saw him hit the ground.

He trampled on several flower bed, petal puffing up in his wake, but that didn’t matter. He just needed to find a way out, there had to be another door or warp ring or… But there didn’t seem to be anything but rows and rows of flowers, no fences, no other guards… why was there no security?! It didn’t make any sense… How did they expect to-

Scourge’s jangled thoughts came to an all stop as he reached the edge of the garden and all at once he understood why there was no fences or guards. Didn’t need ‘em when the garden was build on top of a building that was easy thirteen stories high. Scourge skidded to a stop, somehow managed to catch his balance and stop himself from flying out into empty air. He wobbled on the edge, his heart hammering, and looked around frantically for another way out. There was no other way out… Adrenaline buzzed like a count down in his veins, and he looked down the distant ground below, his vision blurring as he tried to make it out. No way was he going back to his cell…. If he jumped he could make it right… right?!

Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Nov 6 2010, 12:29 PM
*Ping*
As the door finally opened, the night caught Zonic unprepared, the icy wind giving him a cold, unpleaseant welcome.

Despite the sight of the garden shimmering in the night could have been considered beautiful, being there didn’t felt much relieving. It would have probably been useless. What could few minutes outside do, in front of the threat of an eternity trapped in a coffin? But he didn’t repented his decision: it felt so much more…right… than everything else he had done in the last hour. Hour? It had been really been just an hour? Seemed like he’d lost perception of time in the Well. The sky blue hedgehog couldn’t tell how much he’d been down, if minutes or hours.

Zonic darted a wary look at his green furred twin, as he stepped forward, taking the first decent breath in a good while. Surprisingly, Scourge did seemed comforted, his muzzle pointed up and his eyes lost in the sky, as if he was seeing it for the first time.
Oh.
He probably WAS seeing it for the first time, Zonic realized tilting his head, aqua green eyes giving only a quick glance up to the iridescent wonder as he stepped at Scourge’s side.
AEGIS, the force-field that surrounded the whole planet, become visible only for few minutes after the sun-set, when the rays of the already vanished star hit it in the right angle, reverberating all the colors of the rainbow. But all that show for Zonic meant only one thing: it was late, and soon it would have been curfew time.
If bringing Scourge outside wasn’t against any actual rule, well, break the curfew was another matter.
Zonic looked back at Scourge, ears twiching in hesitation, the smaller hedgehog unwilling to break the other’s contemplative stance, to take him back to a present he probably didn’t wanted to think about…

-Ah-hem… feeling better now?- he asked quickly with a clumsy cough.
Scourge turned suddenly, their eyes locking for a second. Just a second, because the instant later Zonic had already folded his arms again and looked away, in a late attempt to mask that he'd been truly worried.

-Yeah- come the answer, the voice still sounding so…wrong…and then he
…tripped?
Letting his guard down, Zonic instinctively grabbed him …and then he had just the time to feel his grip becoming the fulcrum for the other’s spinning movement before the hit arrived, turning the light off.

************
Laying on the ground catching quick breaths to recover from the shock, Zonic was desperately trying to explain himself what had just happened…not an easy task since his temples kept stinging and pulsating like if a frigging herd of elephants had decided to dance and practice acupuncture in his head…at the same time.

Oh, he had been just a…a…
Zonic didn’t knew a swear heavy enough to insult himself the way he deserved right now, so all escaped from his mouth was a growl of shame and frustration, the hedgehog curling up catching his head in his hands.
'Fuck, fuck, FUCK!'

Okay, okay, don't panic, let’s focus: it ..it wasn’t that bad, Scourge could not really escape, right?
He...he had just to get up, and everything would have been okay...

Pushing himself up on his knees he opened his eyes, slowly, blinking to bat away the display of flashing lights clouding his sight… something running on his skin, something warm and liquid and…Zonic closed his left eye with a whine as the blood dripped down in it and then along the cheek before falling, aqua green eyes widening at the sight of the little red drips splatting on the ground.

Freezing, he stared as more and more fell, tantalized, the feeling that he’d been able to keep close in his guts till now spreading out, sending a long shiver in his body.

Fear.

Zonic shut his eyes, ears flattening, trying to resist the urge to curl up again.
Like hell things were going to be okay! He was screwed!

What was the point in getting up? Even if he ran after his twin, what then? Collar or not, Scourge was stronger, smarter (he had just proven it or not?), definitely faster, and there was not a single chance in the Multiverse that he’d been willing to listen to him.
But the other option was calling reinforcements, and for how much more logic it sounded, that was way more scary. It would have been like admit failure, shout aloud his weakness, and maybe he’d been put out of duty for a while…Zonic didn't feared the punishment itself, but the feeling of being not up to anything, of betraying the trust he had been given and being considered worthless.

Taking Scourge out had been his personal initiative, and that meant…personal responsibility. This mess had been his fault, and he was going to fix it!

‘..or do a worse mess trying…’ he thought bitterly, finally pulling himself up, the legs still wavy, the head spinning in a dangerous way.

Perhaps he should have waited for it to stop, but there was no time to waste: the curfew was near, and then someone would have noticed Scourge’s absence and then…with a deep breath he took a step, the fear that had paralyzed him at first now replaced by another, more deep and ancient one, dragging him forward along a path of broken flowers, among a trail of shattered petals that the wind was mercifully carrying away.

********
Zonic started breaking as far as Scourge’s shilouhette appeared in front of him: his legs bending, metallic boots spreading sparkles for the friction on the equally metallic surface of the large edge, he came to a neat halt, a good ten metres from the other.
Security distance. Well…what he hoped was security distance.
Catching his breath after the run, hand closing around his weapon, Zonic stared at his twin, his left eye half-closed for the annoying dripping of blood, the other wide open and showing nothing but a mask of cold anger.

From the way he kept looking down into the void, Green seemed to have already realized that his break out had been useless. That probably only making him more ...desperate…

Wait...he...he wasn't thinking of...JUMPING, right?

-Step away from there!…- the young zonecop spitted angrily, straightening up and pointing the laser-gun, the heart jumping in his throat.

Posted by: Scourge Nov 11 2010, 01:37 AM
It was the drop or the cell. The drop or eternity in a coffin. This wasn’t the time to hesitate! But hesitate he did, his muscles so tense it was almost painful. If not for the way his chest was heaving with each breath, he would have looked like a statue, frozen on the very precipice of the ledge. Going back wasn’t an option, it wasn’t an option… he had to move forwards. Just close his eyes and leap. It was the only way, his only chance. He had to…

The sound of footsteps behind him made him turn, and Zonic came into view. The zonecop was bleeding from a cut above his eye, the blood tricking down his face in a vivid line of red. The weakness was gone from his eyes, replaced with a mask of cold determination. He drew his gun as he skidded to a stop, his hand absolutely steady, finger on the trigger. “Step away from there!” he ordered.

Scourge took a defiant step backwards, a smile splitting his features. “Or what Zee, you’ll shoot me?” The other hedgehog didn’t have the guts. Besides a shot would knock him over the edge, and they both knew it. The wind began to pick up, blowing through Scourge’s quills and making his jacket billow, as though trying to give him a nudge, he turned, and once more looked down.

”You’re going to jump?” Zonic asked incredulously. “Good luck...say hello to the asphalt when you meet him…”

”I've survived worse…” Scourge said, hating the note of uncertainty in his tone. He didn’t want to die, of course he didn’t want to die. He just needed to get away. He took another half step closer.

”Not with the collar on!” Zonic’s voice rose. “Your skull will open like the nut it is!”

Scourge looked down, then up at Zee, then back down. He shook his head, fists clenching. “I can make it.”

If he curled up, he’d be okay right? It wasn’t that far, and maybe there was something down there that could break his fall. In the twilight, he couldn’t see the ground, it was cloaked in shadow and swirling mist. Screw what Zonic said, of course he was going to say there wasn’t a chance. He didn’t want him to escape. Except that didn’t quite ring true. Scourge’s brain kept trying to intrude, jangling on about terminal velocity and hedgehog pancakes. And how he was going to splatter like a paper bag filled with vegetable soup.

He could see it perfectly in his mind’s eye, the moment when he would crash into the solid cement, the crunch as every bone in his body was crushed on impact. The pool of blood seeping out from his lifeless form… black in the growing dark…

“No,” Zee said, his voice snapping Scourge out of the ghastly vision. “You can't.” He clenched his fists, his expression hardening. “You'll splat down there, and then I'll take the lift, pick you up with a spoon and put you in that cell again!”

Scourge gave a humourless laugh, the sound as weak and hollow as he felt inside right at that moment. “I'm not gonna let them put me to sleep,” he said, his voice growing in confidence as he spoke. “If I'm gonna die it'll be my way.” That was the way it should be? Right? He was the leading man, he decided when he took his bow. If he was checking out early, it would be his way. His way or the highway. High way… heh…

“Green wait! Aw come on, you can't be serious! What if you survive? You think you could escape wounded that way? You're only going to hurt yourself!” Zonic took a step forwards, reaching out, his expression slowing beginning to change as if it had dawned on him that Scourge wasn’t kidding around.

Scourge jerked back, wobbling dangerously, a sick thrill of fear tearing through him, so intense it was almost intoxicating. “Stay the fuck away from me!”

((OOC - was shutting down to sleep.. and boom, out came post O.O XD forgive sleepy mistakes <3))

Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Nov 12 2010, 05:10 PM
_Stay the fuck away from me!_

The shout hit like an hammer, rooting Zonic on the spot, the hairs of his fur spiking up as Scourge waved dangerously…

…but managed to regain balance, fixing his gaze on him, breath heavy and deep, the pupils invisible for fear and the blue irises burning and freezing at the same time like impossible ice on fire, a coil of rage and misery .

This couldn’t be happening! Green…he didn’t really wanted to die, right?!
No, he wasn’t faking this time. He was really going to do it, that ass!

Zonic swallowed hard, making a step back and flexing his legs a bit, oppressed by the intensity of the eye-contact… but he couldn’t look away this time, a childish terror telling him that, the very second he’d stopped looking, Green would have vanished past the edge, in the void and then…

On the asphalt. Stomach and bladder exploding, lungs splattering, the brain squirting out as the skull cracks.

The cut on his temple started pulsating as if about to chink.

- Green...don't jump. Green...please...don't jump… I…I don’t’ want to pick you up with a spoon, really…- his voice come out weak and broken this time, cynicism melting and leaving in his pitch the cry he’d never allowed in his eyes.

_I'm dead either way! At least this way I'm in control!_ Scourge growled, clenching his fists so hard that the muscles trembled…_ I'm the only one who gets to say how my story ends! It’s MY life!_...his tone was proud, but his eyes were still gazed, and shifted frantically to the abyss as the wind, puffing his jacket like a sail, pushed him a little bit more further into death’s arms…

The same wind was freezing the sweat on Zonic’s jumpsuit, coagulating the blood on his face. He shivered, dropping his ears: he could understand those words too well…it was just a last sparkle of freedom his twin seek after all, being allowed to be himself till the end…the hand still holding the gun started shaking, the weapon seeming just as useless as every word he could ever say… he felt like an empty shell filled by the other’s emotions, like a reflection that could only follow his actions, forever forbidden to break the glass and…

The young zonecop stiffened grinning his teeth, cutting the end of that thought. No. This time it wasn’t like that! There was no screen, everything was happening just in front of him. He could understand, yes …but that didn’t meant he had to accept it…only because Scourge couldn’t see another way than death, it didn’t meant there wasn’t one!

Colored words started running in his mind, like the credits of a movie…signatures…all the signatures sealing a fate…
Zonic suddenly lowered the gun, placing it back in the holster, stepping forward…he had no idea what he was going to say until the shout didn’t escaped his mouth:

-There isn’t a date yet ! Something could happen! Don’t give up your life!-

Scourge widened his eyes, surprised by the sudden action, but took yet another half-step back, eyes narrowing now, in suspicion…

_You said It had been decided! What could happen!?_ he asked, darting a nervous look behind, the leather of his boots squeaking dreadfully trying to find the grip on the smooth metallic edge.

‘Yeah, what? You didn’t even had the guts to refuse to deliver the sentence, and now you want to change it, Zee?’ Zonic stopped breathing, the world spinning around, as he could feel the same vertigo, pondering his own step over a not less frightening abyss…

-I…I…-

He couldn’t…deep inside he knew he couldn’t, not even if the price was Scourge’s death…but time wasn’t there to wait for him to figure it out, and before that cruel answer could rise to shatter hope inside his heart, it just…didn’t mattered anymore…

_SHIT!_

The shout snapped Zonic back, aqua green and blue eyes meeting for a fraction of second, the same frightened startle mirrored on the twin’s faces: Scourge’s foot had loose the ground…he was slipping…he was FALLING DAMMIT!

Had he stopped thinking, in that instant, he'd had realized that he wasn't fast enough to catch him.
But he had rushed forward far before his brain could stop him...

His arms closed around the other’s waist just the second before his upper body followed his legs in the void, Scourge hooking his cuffed arms around the smaller hedgehog neck, holding himself with all his strength…

There was a single, impossible instant of balance, time like frozen, the world soundless except for the thumps of their hearts, hitting each other’s chest like if still trying to fight…

And then,as the little sky blue hedgehog realized with a crunch of his stomach, gravity started pulling them..into the void…!!

-Curse that fat green ass of yours, Scourge, you’re frigging heavy! - he shouted, his voice high for fear and for the effort, his muscles shaking for the tension…the far far ground waved in front of his sight and he hid his face against Scourge’s Jacket not to let panic weaken his legs, the sour smell of the leather almost choking him…

Oh, they were SO going to die!

But instead of letting go he clenched his teeth and tried harder, his metallic boots sending another trail of sparkles on the metal as Zonic contracted every single fiber of his body trying to stop them from slipping closer and closer to the edge, arching his back and tugging with all he got…

Being a midget with a low barycentre helped for once, the momentum suddenly inverting its direction sending both hedgehog collapsing on the metallic floor with a loud BONK.

Laying on the cold surface Zonic blinked breathing fast, looking up at the black night sky in between of a forest of green shivering quills, the stars cutting his eyes, the mind slowly processing what had just happened against the pain in his muscles and the roar of blood…
-That…was…close…- his voice was an insecure whisper, like if he still didn’t believed being alive.

Yeah…So close! So close, so close, so close!

Eyes still shut, Scourge clinged to him tighter, and Zonic curled returning the squeeze, the terror of the horrible death they had just escaped locking the two in an unpredictable hug.
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Posted by: Scourge Nov 18 2010, 09:46 AM
Falling hadn’t seemed like such a bad option until it had almost happened. Scourge hadn’t thought it was possible that circumstances existed to make him cling to Zonic like a limpet, but turned out he was wrong about that. Being alive was good, and part of him was still sure that he’d fall and die if he let go, even though they were at a pretty safe distance from the edge. If someone saw them right now they were really going to get the wrong impression. Which was both an embarrassing thought and a pretty amusing one. But Scourge didn’t really feel like laughing. His brain was too frantic for him to really have a clue what he did feel like.

A sense of extreme unreality had begun to settle over him, which had the strangely conflicting dual effect of making everything around him a hundred times more sharp and vivid, and also making him pretty sure that none of this was really happening. He laughed, but there was no humour in the sound, just a high desperate edge. This had to be some insane drunken dream, all of it… No Zone… It didn’t even sound like a real place. And what was with all the names starting with Z?!

Okay denial was not a sensible option. Not that he was sensible, but that wasn’t the point. His thoughts were rambling out of control. He had to get a grip! Just… on himself, not on Zee. There was a time and a place for snuggling and this wasn’t it.

He had just almost convinced his cramped muscles to release their death grip on Zee, when a calm, cold voice ran out. “..what is going on?”

Scourge looked up, his eyes meeting those of a very tall ebony ant dressed in fancy authoritative looking armour. He had never met General Zool before, but he’d heard enough about him from other prisoners to recognise him instantly. And the fact that he was here was a very, very bad thing. If there was one thing all the convicts seemed to agree on, it was the fact that Zool was the very last person you wanted to take a personal interest in you.

Zonic froze, his cheeks turning scarlet for some weird reason, but the sudden appearance of the other zone cop had pretty much the opposite effect on Scourge. He leapt to his feet, pulling Zee’s gun from the holster at his hip as he did, and in one fluid movement aimed and fired. Which would had been totally epic… if he hadn’t missed by about a foot.

Zool didn’t even flinch, his expression simply shifting from aloof amusement to aloof annoyance. Scourge swore loudly and fired again, but if anything he missed worse, the laser blast scorching empty air and nothing else. This gun firing lark was a lot harder than it looked. Course he was still cuffed, which made everything awkward, which had to be the reason he sucked so bad. Yeah that was it.

“Six-Four-Nine... I suggest you drop the firearm before you injure yourself,” Zool said dryly, folding his arms. It was infuriating the way he was just… standing there… looking at him as if he wasn’t even a threat. As if he wasn’t important enough to be a threat. A rush of anger flooded up in Scourge’s chest, pushing away the panic and the dreamlike haze, over riding everything just like it always did. How dare he? How dare he?!

“Green...” Zonic whispered drawing Scourge’s attention back to him. He was still on the ground, his face pale, voice faint and high with panic. “I suggest you to follow the suggestion...”

The solution was suddenly blindingly obvious. “Okay, so it turns out I can’t shoot for shit.” Scourge grabbed the smaller hedgehog by the ear and jerked him to his knees, pressing the barrel of the gun clumsily against his temple. “ But I bet I wouldn't miss from this distance.”

((OOC – written at work so I had to censor him lololol. I’ll edit when I get home. Hope it’s okay Fran ))

Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Dec 3 2010, 04:40 PM
_What is going on?_

Falling had seemed the worst thing ever, and Zonic’s mind had just started to come out of the blankness of fear and cuddle in the blithe feeling of being alive, when the voice come, dragging it out of his relief, and mercilessly throwing the sky blue hedgehog back on the cold metallic floor.

‘General…’

Shutting his aqua green eyes wide open, the young zonecop felt his body freeze and his cheeks burn as he realized he was still…hugging…Scourge…in front of…

‘…Zool’

Releasing his neck’s muscles form the spasm of tension, Zonic let his head rear on the floor, sharp quills scratching the metal, the upside-down image of the armored black ant reflecting in his gazed eyes, everything else around spinning in a chaos of lines and colors…

Oh SHIT. All of a sudden, the idea of a nice quick death by concrete-splattering didn’t seemed so bad anymore…

‘Not General Zool…anyone but General Zool…why General Zool? What I did so wrong to deserve General Zool?’
‘Well…in alphabetical order?’ the voice of guilt replied bitterly in his brain, quitting for a second the rampaging of panic…but not the spinning of the world outside, nor the pain in his muscles, the little hedgehog’s reflexes dull as if he had had alcohol instead of feelings, the emotions mixing in a crazy cocktail, making him not realize his twin rapid move until the bang of the gunshots exploded in the air, reminding him of the original problem:

Desperate Green Hedgehog Gone Nuts…

Rolling on his belly in a pure instinctive shift, Zonic curled up, trying to protect his ears and already hurting head from the sound, each shot making his temples vibrate like drums.
The silence that followed was filled only by his heart running at suicide speed, the young zonecop not daring to open his eyes, as if not seeing could make things not happen.

_Six-Four-Nine... I suggest you drop the firearm before you injure yourself_ the general’s voice cut the air like a sword of ice.

Hum? What…? Missed? Slowly uncurling, Zonic looked up, blinking at the disappointed look on Scourge’s muzzle. Well, of course! He was still cuffed, and had never used a gun before in his whole life! A blind mouse would have had more chances to hit…the ass had just managed to make things worse… aqua green eyes darted quickly at the General, the black ant still holding his coolness, arms folded, and just a vague sparkle of bored annoyance in his saffron eyes.

The sky blue hedgehog felt his stomach crunch, his stare fixing back up on his twin…Scourge was breathing fast, panic still in his eyes…the way he was holding the gun just so totally wrong… if he kept running down that way Zool was going to destroy him.
-Green…I suggest you to follow the suggestion…- the whisper escaped his mouth in the very second the familiar sparkle of rage burned up in Scourge’s blue irises, his expression shifting in a mask of hate and…fixing on him.
How many times Zonic had seen that happen, on the screen, how many times he had seen that fog of anger blind Scourge? Once more the scene played in front of his gazed aqua green eyes, his still shocked mind not realizing that this time there was no glass in between..until pain exploded in his ear, sending a trail of stings down his whole spine bone when the other grabbed him by the ear with a violent yank, forcing him up on his knees.

_Okay, so it turns out I can’t shoot for shit…but I bet I wouldn't miss from this distance…_

Zonic struggled for a second, managing to turn the whine that had escaped his throat in a growl…until the hot barrel of the laser gun didn’t singed the fur on his temple, and the buzz of the charging cells pierced his ear, making his bones shake at the same rhythm of the spinning turbines. The young zonecop stopped breathing, quills going flat against his back, one eye close in pain, the other wide more in shock than in fear.

This…couldn’t be happening for real…

-That kind of behavior is most foolish…- the general’s calm voice arrived to Zonic like from the other side of a portal, the red cape swinging in the air as the ant crossed his arms and with a wide, controlled move, drawed out his twin beam swords.
Aqua green eyes met narrowed yellow ones, and Zonic KNEW that Scourge was screwed. ‘And next on the list…is…YOU’ the smaller hedgehog dropped his ears with a gulp.
-Green…you’re putting both in a lot of shit...- his voice was so faint he wouldn’t have even realized that he had said that aloud, if not for the sudden icy glare Scourge gave him, before turning to Zool.

_Alright... here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna let me go, and then_

_ That is out of the question…_

_But…_at the dry, firm reply of the general Zonic felt the pressing of the gun on his skin falter for a second, his eyes pointing up to Scourge in surprise…thing that he wished he’d never done, as he saw those blue irises going cold in a way that sent a shiver down his spine, and a cramp in his muscles.

_...I’ll do it. I swear_

-Green…?- Zonic cried retracting instinctively by the gun.

-It’s nothing personal, Zee…- his green furred twin whispered looking down at him, his expression blank and unreadable, and for a long second their gaze locked, Zonic fighting against the will to break the contact, despite how frightened he was by those eyes made empty by despair.
Despair. Under the rage, under the cold determination, Zonic could see only despair…He was going to do it. The last chance. The last shot. The last proof of who he was…or of who he had decided he was, anyway… ‘You are at the terminal, six-four-nine…’

Hehe…sounded like a bus’ line…
With an hell of a route…

Aw, but in front of death you are supposed to see the images of YOUR life running in front of your eyes, not those of someone else’s!… It was sickening! Zonic wished he could forgot everything he’d been forced to watch and hate Scourge. He wanted to hate him. It would have made everything so much more easy, it would have been like cut a wound and let the pus splotch out, it would have healed him a bit from the painful, exasperating impossibility to detach his own soul from that of one thousands of other loud, overwhelming self…!!

_I do not doubt your capacity for murder, Sonic…But I will not negotiate with a criminal…_ Zool’s words seemed to hit Scourge like a needle of pure poison.

-My name is NOT…- the hedgehog snapped, turning blindly at the ant with a growl, too fast…too uncarefully…

Zonic had just the time to blink, felling the pressing on his temple vanish and realizing that the hopeless idiot had turned his arms too, switching target again, that a sudden wind invested both, crackling of lightening red energy.

The cape gently flowing back in place like two red wings, Zool landed behind Scourge...
...and in the stunned silence could be heard the ringing sound of the laser-gun hitting the metallic ground, sliced in two.

Posted by: General Zool Dec 7 2010, 08:00 PM
Prisoner disarmed. In the brief silence that followed, Zool deactivated his beam swords and hooked them onto his belt. Then, calmly and without any change in his expression he typed a command into the omnitool on his wrist and hit the enter key and Six-Four-Nine fell to his knees, choking as the control collar around his neck constricted. Prisoner incapacitated. Ability to cause further harm, neutralized. Zool turned his attention to Agent Zonic.

The smaller hedgehog was a mess, blood continuing to trickle from the cut above his eye, and a bruise on the opposite side, he was also pale and exhausted and for a moment Zool felt a little angry that he’d been used in this way. The Council had wanted Six-Four-Nine to attempt escape, and hadn’t cared who got hurt in the process. But no, that wasn’t really true. Zool had stepped in before anything really bad happened, and that had obviously been the Council’s plan all along. Why else would they have sent him? The ends justified the means, he just had to keep that in mind.

“ ...I assume you are unharmed Agent Zonic?” he said dryly, as the silence continued to drag, and Zonic didn’t seem to want to break it.

”I...I am, General!” Zonic said immediately, snapping a salute, and wincing as he accidentally poked his cut. He looked down nervously at Six-Four-Nine, who was turning a little blue. Well, that was the colour he was supposed to be after all. “He was bluffing!”

Zool raised an eye. “Oh he was, was he?” There was no way that was accurate, and Zonic knew it as well as he did. There had been a particular glint in the prisoner’s eyes, one Zool had seen many times before. If he had not been stopped, he would have pulled the trigger.

At their feet Six-Four-Nine collapsed onto his side, tugging frantically at the collar. He was already beginning to pass out from lack of oxygen. Perhaps it would be kinder just to let the collar finish its work. If Six-Four-Nine feared a cage so much, then perhaps it made more sense to free him. After all, the Eternal Sleep wasn’t that much different from death in the end.

”Your instrument must be out of set, General,” Zonic said, breaking Zool out of his contemplation. The little hedgehog hand kneeled down beside his twin, quills tensing as his touched the collar. “I think its over doing it.” There was ice in his tone, carefully disguised as politeness and yet he still did not dare to look up.

“I am in complete control of the device,” Zool replied. “The prisoner said he would rather die than return to his cell did he not?”

Zonic froze, and this time he did look up, but only for a split second, before his gaze dropped again, settling on a point on the ground. He shook his head quickly. “He said he wanted to die the way he wanted.”

“I see…” Zool tilted his head, watching Zonic for another moment before he continue. “I must have misunderstood.” He tapped another button and the collar resumed its normal size. Best to let justice take its course. Who was he to become judge, jury and executioner? He was a servant of the law, not above it. It was anger that had made him forget that, anger at Agent Zonic, for allowing himself to pulled into such a vulnerable position. Having compassion for prisoners was not a bad thing, in moderation, but Zonic seemed to have a particular connection to this twin for some reason. And that was very dangerous indeed.

“You fucking asshole,” Scourge gasped as he dragged himself to his feet. “I’m gonna-” He broke off as Zool’s fist collided solidly with his jaw, knocked out cold.

Zool caught him, and picked him up easily, throwing him carelessly over his shoulder. “You are ‘gonna’ do nothing, Six-Four-Nine, except return to your cell.” He rounded on Zonic, eyes narrowed. “And you! You are a foolish boy.”

Zonic looked up at him wide eyed. “I...” he gulped.

“You nothing. You are lucky he did not kill you.” Zool glared down into the younger zone cops eyes, his eyes burning like twin suns. “You of all people know just how dangerous he is.”

The hedgehog bowed his head. “I thought...I could...handle him...”

Zool’s tone was like liquid nitrogen. “You thought wrong.”

Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Dec 21 2010, 08:38 PM
No, Green was not bluffing, he had wanted to kill himself, and was going to pull that trigger, hell, he hadn’t faked even the panic attack, not completely. You can’t fake hyperventilation!. And Zool was not bluffing too, he had really considered the option of letting the collar choke Scourge.

The only one bluffing here was him. Bluffing and lying shamelessly! ‘Thought you could handle him?? WHEN?’ if such a conviction had ever crossed his brain, well, he’d missed that moment. The young zonecop would have been glad to just agree he was an helpless idiot. But he knew that it was not just that.
The truth he was trying to hide was that he had been weak. He had known it was dangerous, all the time! He had thought right, actually, but then… acted wrong. And that was even worse that being an idiot that underestimates a threat.

But Zool didn’t needed to know that…the General was waiting, Zonic could feel the cold anger of his gaze hitting him like an ice-burn.

-It…won’t happen again, General- he answered, hoping and wishing to have the strength not to turn those words in a lie too.

_No. It will not_ the tone was like a sentence, and with a last glare the ant turned his back to him, starting walking back toward the lifts.

It was…over? He was dismissed?
Nah, it couldn’t be over, he wasn’t going to go away with just a scold, after what had happened ,right? So he had to follow?

The young zonecop’s brain was too drained and dull to let him make sense of cryptic body language. The world around had started spinning again, the cut itching painfully…trying to focus he brushed his forehead with his arm, blood and ashes of fur staining the blue plastic of the glove. Aqua green tired eyes blinked at the strange mix of red and black streaks, the loading sound of the laser-gun hunting his brain again for a second…ears flattening as the sudden flash of an head blowing up passed behind his eyes…

‘I should have just stayed down and waited for reinforcements…’

_Agent Zonic…_

The sky blue hedgehog zoned back, perking his ears and taking a deep breath of that cold breeze that had carried him the voice of the already distant General.

-Y..yes Sir?- he snapped, trying to force is voice loud enough to reach the silhouette of the armored ant standing in the distance against a field of white glittering flowers.
-Are you coming? Or are you planning to stand there all night long?-
-Yes sir!...I mean…am coming, sir-

‘Idiot’ he insulted himself, shaking his head to bat away exhaustion and finally starting following. But the more the lift got close, the more he realized that a part of him didn’t wanted to go back down in the Well…a part of him wanted to just curl up, close his eyes and forgot everything…!

He didn’t wanted to face the consequences yet! He…he needed a break. He…really needed a break…

But Zool was already in, waiting, a still unconscious Scourge hanging from his shoulder. Break was not allowed. He was an officer, not a kid, there was no break until he’d finished what he had started, wrote his report, and had his actions judged accordingly.
Before the General could notice his hesitation, Zonic’s steps broke in a little run and he quickly slipped into the elevator, his back finding the reassuring metallic surface. The lights flashed, the energy fields hummed…and the young zonecop darted a last look at the starless and deep night sky before the door shut.

********
Silence.

In the elevator reigned a deafening silence, and a cold immobile golden stare.
Zonic knew those eyes were pointed on him, even if he wasn’t looking. Until the General would have kept his gaze on him, there was no way the younger zonecop would have dared to move his from the floor, no way he’d managed to make his already worn body rest against the wall, no way he’d let his flattened ears go up again.

He had to remember himself to breath, too, once in a while.

Time seemed to stretch, seconds slow as minutes, minutes slow as…an eternity. If it hadn’t been for the unpleasant feeling of the pressure in his stomach, Zonic would have wondered if that frigging elevator was even moving at all. The sky blue hedgehog was fighting to keep his mind blank, to force the fibers of his muscles to relax a bit…but every time he felt them tremble and contracting again, stubbornly. How was even possible that he still had energy to be tensed? There wasn’t a single nanogram of adrenaline left in his body, that was sure.

He had no idea how much he could resist more, but he had to. He…he wasn’t going to collapse in front of Zool. Not that too, dammit !

And still…silence.
And more silence.
And…
_...explain to me how this happened_ the voice echoed suddenly in the little cabin, making the young zonecop almost jump in surprise, eyes snapping up showing the turmoil that question had raised in him.

But it lasted only a split second. Then, he had already started speaking.
-As ordered, I informed prisoner six-four-nine of the sentence. The prisoner started accusing the symptoms of a panic attack, affirming he wasn't able to breathe, and asking for being taken outside...-
It was easy to find the words…he was used to reports, so he just let his automatics work, his voice coming off in the typical flat unexpressive tone of the phrases learned by memory, a chaos of emotions compressed and hidden under the mask of pure formality. Until the General didn’t interrupted him, with the half pleased half annoyed tone of a malevolent teacher that has just found the flail in a good student’s speech.

-Why did you not call for another agent to assist you?-

Zonic’ s voice died, as well as its forced inner composure. ‘Yeah, why?....’ The answer was there, even if confused and hard to catch.

‘Because he couldn’t breathe and there was no time! Because he didn’t stopped looking at me! Because I felt guilty! Because… because I was weak, weak, weak!’

He took a quick breath, trying not to show outside what he was feeling inside. Yeah, he knew the answer. Point was…there was no way he was going to tell Zool. But he had to answer something, and the polite version of ‘The hell if I know leave me alone’ was not an option. He was an officer. He was always supposed to know what he was doing.

-...I ...thought I could handle him- he lied again.

The General gave him a cutting look, rage sparkling again in his eyes…

-He seemed…shocked and…unable to harm…- Zonic tried to explain, but his voice trailed off. It didn’t mattered anyway. He didn’t care if the general was going to consider him a fool. Better than being considered weak !!

_I have no choice but to report this..._ Zool started, reminding him that the fact that he had proved himself not to be worth of trust didn’t changed anyway…
But then suddenly for the first time the ant looked away, the trail of his thoughts taking an unexpected bend, as he ended the phrase.

_...any chance he had of winning an appeal against his sentence is gone now_

Ears straightening up in shock, Zonic’s heart stopped beating, catching far more quickly than his brain the meaning of those words.

Appeal? What…appeal?

He snapped his head up, a mix of shock and anger clouding his aqua green eyes. Nobody had informed him of any appeal! Nobody had informed him even of the trial actually…There had been a chance to overturn the sentence? Why Zool hadn’t informed him? And why he said it was gone now…?

The answer was shining in front of him, in the reflection of his face on that golden armor…blood and ashes streaking his fur…blood and ashes…‘Because prisoner six-four-nine almost killed an agent (you) trying to escape…?’ the cold, alien, unexpressive voice of a faceless judge echoed in his mind.

Zonic felt something crack inside, his emotions finally pouring out, investing his body, making his teeth clench, his eyes water and his quills rise up as if ready to fight.
No. Wait! No, no, no no, that was all wrong! They...they couldn’t do that! Green had been desperate! He…he…

The small sky blue hedgehog grabbed the General’s cape, pulling it like if its life depended on it.

-Please…please, don’t do it. Don’t report! It was my fault! I took him out ! He…he wouldn’t have…-

Yes, he was pleading. No, he was begging, and screw if he hadn’t the smallest right to do so! He was ready to face any punishment, he didn’t gave a shit for himself! But deny Scourge a last hope just because…because HE’d been so stupid and weak to give him the chance to break free?! This was just unfair!

_You did not point a gun at your own head, Agent, nor did you injure yourself. This is his own fault_ was the calm answer, the General still not looking at him.

- But I let him do it...! It…it wouldn’t have happened with another agent!-
No, it wouldn’t have happened with Zec, not with ‘Spi, not with…anyone! They would have delivered the sentence and closed that frigging door. But no, he couldn’t just follow orders and logic, right? He had to act his way! He had to…he had to…
‘Yeah, Zee, follow the pretty voice inside your heart…!’
Too bad it was WRONG. So, so so wrong! Hehad wanted to help his twin. And had DOOMED him instead. How do you like it, hum, Pretty Voice?????
‘…Fucking bitch.’

This time the ant finally turned at him, golden and aqua green eyes locking. But nothing had changed in his expression, nothing had changed in his voice, as he batted away that objection with a dry…
-…that is not the point-.
Zonic let go of the cape, blushing and backing in confusion…Not…the…point?

As his back touched the metallic wall again, the lift stopped. The sky blue hedgehog gulped, feeling the pression in his stomach fade like an exploding bubble, feeling his muscle and quills relax in defeat without he could help it, feeling all his screams and pleas pathetic and vain…

No, of course that that was not the point! What had happened, had happened. Intentions didn’t counted. Facts were facts. And if he felt guilty, it was only HIS problem.

The lift door opened, the general sweeping past him without a second look.
‘What were you thinking? That Zool wasn’t going to follow his duty because you asked him and said please? ’ the young zonecop scolded himself with sour irony, eyes fixed in the void, his soul feeling exhausted and hollow like his body.

‘...this is the Well, baby…’
You can scream, and cry…but nobody is going to save you.

Posted by: Scourge Dec 23 2010, 04:26 PM
Scourge came back to consciousness in pieces. Pain came first, just like always. His throat felt crushed and swollen, but his jaw was worse, pain shooting up and across his cheekbone until it felt like the whole right side of his face was on fire. Damn, ants hit hard. That thought triggered memory, and Scourge groaned, then groaned again as he cracked open one eye and realised he was slung over Zool’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes. This was really, really not how things were supposed to have turned out. In fact, out of all possible outcomes, this was probably the worst. But he was too sore and weak and tired to do anything about it, except dangle there and listen, as his hearing finally kicked back in.

“I have no choice but to report this, any chance he had of winning an appeal against his sentence is gone now.” Zool said.

And just like that it all fell into place. All of it. Scourge felt himself smile, his bruised jaw sending a spark of agony up into his brain in protest. They had been played, him and Zee both, and they had acted out their parts to perfection. The High Council might as well have just given them both scripts. Zee was protesting, even begging, which surprised him a little, but he’d never claimed to get how the crazy little zone cop's mind worked. All that mattered was that he’d screwed himself over totally. That was it. Game over.

He might have passed out again then, he wasn’t really sure, but the next thing he knew he’d been dumped back on his bed, the springs creaking in protest. Of course his automatic reaction was to try and sit up, but his battered body wasn’t having any of that. He flopped back, raising a shaking hand to touch his rapidly swelling face. Doomed and ugly. Great, just great.

“See to it that one of the medical personnel comes down to check on him later,” Zool was saying, probably to Zonic, but the other hedgehog hadn’t entered the cell. Scourge twisted a little to try and see him, but the light from the hallway was too bright, stinging his eyes.

Zool seemed about to leave, the something caught his attention and he stopped, frowning. Scourge followed his gaze to the window and his ears went back flat. How was there a window down here anyways? It hadn’t occurred to him before but… he was underground… wasn’t he? And the view wasn’t even the same as the sky Zonic had shown him. The realisation that it was some kind of hologram or tv screen hit him about the same time as Zool flicked a switch to turn it off.

The effect was instant. The room suddenly felt about three times smaller. Scourge felt his breath catch in a way that had nothing to do with his sore throat, his eyes widening as he regarded the general in disbelief, then narrowing in rage. “You f-fucking asshole,” he croaked, and tried once again to get up. All that happened was he half fell, half slid onto the floor. Zool ignored him completely, not even sparing him a glance as he strode from the room.

“Damn it,” he whispered.

“Shut the door, agent...” Zool’s voice said.

Scourge looked up at Zonic, ice blue eyes meeting aqua. “Z-zee wait…” Zonic froze at the sound of his voice, his ears twitching. If the door shut, it was really all over. Maybe he still had a chance, maybe he could still get out of here. Zee had argued with Zool for him, right? So maybe he had some kind of allay in all this. Course, threatening to shoot your allies wasn’t very good politics… Maybe that’s why his reign hadn’t been super successful. “You can't just leave me here.”

The door slid shut, taking his last hope with it.

Scourge curled up on his side. The cold metal of the floor was vaguely soothing against his bruised face, but it didn’t do anything to help the burning in his eyes. He shut them, clenching his fists. He was not going to cry. Whatever happened, he was stronger than that. He just had to keep believing, but in that moment, Scourge couldn’t make himself believe there was a single thing in the multiverse worth believing in. Himself least of all.
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Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Jan 22 2011, 09:25 AM
His legs had dragged him out the lift, following the General’s steps automatically down the same path of the start. The lights had been turned on in the corridor , for the night patrolling, filling the air with their faint buzz, and the metallic floor incandescent with reflected light was so bright that it hurt, like an ice-cream headache. But Zonic didn’t seem to notice or maybe care, keeping staring blankly at it while walking, until it was too much, his eyes finally blinking, snapping him back into reality just in time to avoid bumping into the tall ant.

With a gulp the young zonecop halted and took a quick nervous step back. They had arrived. Scourge’s…no, prisoner 649’s cell. The General hopefully seemed all focused on the code, not having noticed his distraction. Good. Zonic had had enough of his death-glares for an year or something…

The sudden loud clank of the door-system opening was like a punch for his headache, making him wince and take another step back, the little sky blue hedgehog involuntarily looking for the wall, but the corridor was larger than the lift, and all he obtained was almost risking to lose balance. Regaining his poise with a dry angry sigh he straightened his back stubbornly against nothing but impalpable air, trying to find the strength to stand up in his will and not in a metallic surface.

Zool swept past the door, vanishing inside, but Zonic did not followed this time.
There was no need right? Okay, it was more like he couldn’t force himself in there again, actually. Dammit! All he really wanted was …his head stopping thinking. Because it hurt. And not just because of the headache.

Since he’d been out of that cursed elevator, he had tried to keep his mind blank, he had tried so badly…but the best he had managed had been to think that he had not to think, and that was still thinking something, and…screw it, all that made no sense. The only way for his brain stopping storming and striking him was lobotomy. Just how screwed is someone thinking that lobotomy is a sensible option?…around as much as someone thinking that jumping from the 13th floor is a brilliant idea.
Yup. Completely fucked up.

There was a thump and the squeak of the mattress, followed by a request that was an order, the General letting go of his burden, and starting coming back out nonchalantly. _ See to it that one of the medical personnel comes down to check on him later…_ And then, for apparently no reason, Zool stopped, turning to look at something.

What...?

Zonic held his breath for a second, his quills going up in tension and his ears flattening, unwillingly mirroring Scourge’s own expression as he too finally guessed what had got the ant’s sudden attention…

The window-screen flickered off, the whole cell turning pitch black.

What the…‘…what the fuck is wrong with you…?’ there was not a single reason in the Multiverse for doing such a thing! Zonic felt like someone had punched him, aqua green eyes snapping up interrogatively at the golden ones of the General, but it took only the fraction of second for them to meet that he dropped them on the floor again, forcing himself to gulp whatever question or protest he could have back down in his throat.

He had asked enough for today, liking each answer less than the other, and was tired to make a fool of himself that way. Less of all now that Scourge could hear him too.

_...You f-fucking asshole_ his twin’s raspy voice and sudden attempt to stand up sent his ears go straight in alarm like an iron brush on a blackboard. What was he thinking he was doing?…He wanted Zool to turn him in his personal carpet?

Thump. All he managed to do was fall face down on the floor. Of course. He was worn ragged.

‘…imbecile…’ Zonic snapped crossing his arms and looking away with a little quick sniff, more angry at himself than at his twin. Why was he still feeling bad for him? Hadn’t he warned the bastard that he was going to put both in a lot of shit?
‘Well, guess what, I was right…thanks a lot’

And yet the more he tried to feel angry and drop the fault on Scourge, the more something inside kept repeating him again and again that if he’d just had had the guts to say Zool ‘I refuse to deliver this sentence, send someone else’… nothing of that would have happened. Yeah. Just that…the point with orders was that he was supposed to obey them! Keep the Swear! It was easy to follow commands when he agreed with them, what made the difference was being able to carry on even tasks he did not accept. That was…being a Zonecop.

And being a Zonecop was all that mattered, right?

_Shut the door, Agent_ Zool ordered, heading back to the lifts without wasting a second more. Zonic moved quickly to the console, starting typing fast, as if a part of him knew that if he had stopped to think for even just a second…

_Z-Zee, wait_

‘Oh you must be kidding…’ he hissed mentally at his twin, his teeth clenching as he tried to be angry at him, his ears twitching to bat away feelings and memories like if they were just annoying flies…but more and more seconds passed, and he still hadn’t pushed the last button, like frozen by those icy blue eyes…
…until his subconscious warned him that the general’s steps had suddenly stopped, their rhythmic sound leaving place to a threatening silence. At the end of the corridor, Zool turned, his glare piercing him even from that distance.

Oh…shit.

The young zonecop felt a chilling shiver running down his already exhausted body, his ears fanning back against his head, his eyes trying to hide frantically from both those gazes pointed at him, his legs screaming to him to just run the fuck away from there, trembling so much that for a second he thought he was really going to snap and flee. That was pure torture dammit…!

_You can’t just leave me here_ Scourge pleaded from the floor, looking up at him as if he was the last thing he had left in the world, making his heart beat so fast that for a long terrible second he thought he’d just let everything go fuck itself and rushed in to …

‘To do what, another brilliant mess? ‘ Tsk. As if he hadn’t done enough retard things for today…! Again he tried to protect himself with a shield of anger…but he just…couldn’t be angry at Zool because he wanted him to do his job, and couldn’t be angry at Scourge for wanting him NOT doing it…and so, again…he ended up to be angry only at himself. Yes, that was pure torture…and he deserved it. He deserved it till the last drop for his stupidity, because it had been just all his fault, all his fault from the start, from the very second he had let 649 become something different than just a number like the others.

His mistake…the worst mistake. And if he wanted that torture to end, and being able to follow orders and being a Zonecop again… being himself again…he had to redeem that mistake, and stop caring…now.

‘Nothing personal, Green’

Click.

The door cranked for few seconds, and then there was silence.
It was all over. The sound of the steps started echoing in the corridor again.

But he did not followed, his absent, numb eyes fixed on the metallic surface that he had summoned, condemning his twin and saving himself. His stomach crunched, and this time it lasted for a long, long time, his legs faltering, his body collapsing and a wave of sickness sending something disgusting, viscid and sour in his mouth.
No,no, no! He bumped his head against the door, trying to hold it all back, sending a strike of pain from the cut on his forehead, his teeth clenching and gulping down desperately. No, he couldn’t have doubts, it couldn’t be tears those stinging his eyes…

He didn’t cared! Right? No, of course he didn’t, he didn’t, he didn’t!
Because if he cared and still he had closed that door, then…
…then he was not a zonecop, he was just the worst coward of the Multiverse.

Posted by: General Zool Jan 30 2011, 12:57 PM
There were very few sights that threatened Zool’s calm, and fewer that invaded his shield of aloofness to reach his heart. The sight of Agent Zonic so defeated, his head bowed against the cold metal of the door as though in prayer, not only reached, but struck like a barb. For a moment Zool stayed were he was, carefully controlling himself before making his way back down the corridor to the hedgehog’s side. He placed his hand on Zonic’s shoulder, his grip firm but gentle. This boy was little more than a child, and though Zool felt sure there was a good reason for him being subjected to this…

“Come,” he said softly, his tone revealing nothing. He steered Zonic away from the door and guiding him down the hallway. The hedgehog did not resist, moving as though he were a sleepwalker, his expression blank, eyes glazed. “You must be strong,” Zool said as they entered the lift, Zonic made no reply and the look on his face was unchanged, but one ear twitched slightly. Silence seemed the most appealing course of action, so Zool did nothing more to break it as they rode the lift back up, and made the journey back to the main barracks.

As they stepped out of yet another elevator, Zonic turned automatically to the left towards the living quarters, but Zool shook his head, easily forcing the little hedgehog to change direction and sweeping him down the corridor towards the medical bay. Zonic blushed, ducking his head, his eyes looking alive for the first time since he’d shut the cell door on 649. He blinked and looked up imploringly. “...I'm fine.”

“You are bleeding, Agent,” Zool replied, his tone leaving no room for any kind of argument. Zonic was instead still bleeding from the wound above his eye, and the area was now extremely swollen. Zonic seemed to know better than to argue, he was beginning to change a very unhealthy looking shade of green, he nodded, then reached out and pressed the call button. Zool frowned and placed his hand under Zonic’s chin, tilting the hedgehog’s face up so he could have a better look. He was no doctor, but he had sufficient training in field medicine to know this injury could not be allowed to go untreated.

The door opened almost immediately, revealing Nurse Zanille, her piercings and striking gothic makeup strangely at odds with her prim nurse’s uniform. “Zee?” she said at once, her voice full of concern despite her fierce appearance. Her brown eyes shoot to Zool and when she spoke her voice was full of accusation. “What happened?”

Zool looked back at her coldly, considering pointing out that this was no way to address a superior officer, but he checked himself. Agent Zonic was extremely popular among his peers it seemed. He could not fault the girl for being concerned about his condition. “One of the prisoners tried to escape from maximum security, Agent Zonic was injured.” He propelled Zonic into the ward and to the nearest vacant bed, forcing him to sit down. Zonic sat, now an unpleasant shade of grey, darting nervous looks towards the bathroom “I fear he may have a concussion,” Zool continued.

”Oh!” Zanille’s hands flew to her mouth briefly, then she took a steadying breath and went to Zonic’s side, quickly examining the cut. “Zee, Zee...when you'll learn to be careful?” she chided gently, taking a torch from her utility belt and checking the hedgehog’s eye-reflexes before shaking her head and producing a bottle of disinfective and a swab. “I've seen worse on him, but I'm keeping him here, for tonight,” she whispered to Zool as she began to dab at the wound.

Zool nodded curtly. “Ensure he is taken care of properly. I shall return later to check his status.” He turned and walked towards the exit, then stopped and looked back. “Also, I want you to have a medical team sent down to Sonic-649's cell. An armed team.”

Zanille blinked her doe-like eyes, then they suddenly took on a harder, colder sheen. She nodded. “We know how to deal with ...troublesome prisoners general. Consider it done, Sir”

As she spoke Zonic slipped from the bed and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Zool chose to make no comment in this, instead he just said; “Good.” The walked to the door and strode off down the corridor, his cloak billowing out behind him. The situation had been properly dealt with, it was over. And yet… he couldn’t get the haunted look in Zonic’s eyes from his mind. He frowned, stopped again, and turned towards a vid screen mountain on the wall, tapping the control device on his wrist once more.

The screen flickered, and then slowly filled with the imagine of a green crocodile lounging in a comfortable looking swivel chair. A mug of coffee in one hand, a questionable magazine in the other.

“Agent Zector,” Zool said, his voice like ice.

Zector flailed rather comically, whipping the magazine behind his back in a flash, hot coffee splashing onto his bellyscales. “Agent Zector here! Your orders General?”

“What is your current duty?” Zool enquired, his tone still revealing nothing.

”My turn ended half an hour ago, General,” Zector explained, his expression one of someone who expected to be shouted at, but wasn’t really sure of the cause. “I was...waiting for my room mate to head back to the living quarters-”

“You are required at the medical bay,” Zool interrupted. “You will proceed there immediately” He hung up before the crocodile had time to reply. Agent Zonic would need support to get through this difficult time, now Zool had ensured he would receive it. But there was still something bothering him, something not right. Zool stood silently for several more moments, head bowed, before he came to a decision. There was only one thing that would put his mind at ease, he nodded once, then set off.

Posted by: The NPC Account Jan 30 2011, 12:58 PM
ZONECOP ZECTOR

The office was silent, except for the crispy sound of pages being turned, a really unusual one, in the no-zone. But for…certain stuff, Zector knew, good old paper was safer than any digital system, if only one was careful enough.

‘Go try hack paper, ‘Spi ‘ the crocodile challenged mentally the absent chameleon.

That, of course, did not answered. Yellow eyes rose from the page, spying the quietness around, and the numbers on the alarm clock.
Hum. It was getting late, and still no Zee.
Okay, maybe, just maybe he shouldn’t have overheard that conversation, but it was impossible that Zee was so pissed at him not to come. He was prickly, but over time the crocodile had taught him not to be an ass, for his own good. Possible he had confused the days? No, no. Today he and Zee’s turns ended at the same hour. It wasn’t strange that he or the little one had some last-second thing to fix up, so the rule was to wait each other before coming down, but…today was not like other days, after all.

649.
Zector shifted position on the large chair, picking up his trademark mug of coffee.
Bleah. Cold.

…649. Zool had sent him alone down with 649. Maybe he should have asked to…oh heck what the…he wasn’t his baby-sitter. Zee could take care of that prank, now that was collared. What a shot! He still remembered it. One thing he really had to give Zonic credit for: that little hedgehog had an hell of an aim. Like one of those gaucho guys of the nonsense overlander’s movies he liked so much. Zector wasn’t worried.

And yet when the Com suddenly blinked the code of the General calling the large reptilian’s mind slowed down, that making him also slow at hiding the…spicy magazine behind his back, the image of the armored ant on the screen returning a disapprovingly stare.

-Agent Zector here, your orders General- he muttered quickly, stiffening in the salute.
-That is your current duty?- the ant asked flatly.
-My turn ended half an hour ago, General! I was…waiting for my room-mate to…-
-You are required at the medical bay, proceed there immediately- the flickering image cut off short, and before Zector could even reply, the communication went down.
-Y..yes..sir- he spoke to the black screen, dropping his arm and relaxing. Aww, man! 649 + Zonic + medical bay = something had gone wrong. Hopefully…not too wrong. But why the General had called him?
Zector face-palmed.
Oh sweet Source. Half Corp knew already what he still tried to negate: he was Zonic’s official babysitter.

*********
Here he was: district 11’s medical center. Bah. The only good thing in all that was, at least, he’d had the chance to see his lovely, beautiful, sweet…
The door opened without him pressing the button, the dark silhouette of a tall armored woman stepping out of the illuminated room, holding a massive sniper-gun that she loaded with a full syringe of sedatives just in front of him, the weapon making a threatening clack-clack. The helmet covered her face, but Zector would have recognized that black, coffee-scented lipstick even blindfolded.

The crocodile yellow eyes went wide and round like grapefruits. -Z-Zanille?-
-Zec?! What are you doing here?-
-Zanille…the war is over…you know?-
The answer was a muffled giggle. -I know. But General Zool requested armed medical team for Sonic 649, so…-
Zector frowned. -And you’re going?-
-I am- was the determinate answer. Zector knew that tone, and caught the unspoken ‘..and I’m gonna make him pay…’

The crocodile sighed. Whatever had happened, he didn’t liked the idea of his woman around that douchebag.
-No. You’re not…-
-I am!!-
-You’re not…-

While the two kept fighting verbally in front of the door a couple of other armored figures dodged them without a word, vanishing in the corridor.

-I am going, Zector…- the bunny shot him a fire-look, finally rising the glass of the helmet.

The crocodile stood, unimpressed, the piercings on his brow shining as in response he returned the glare with a mischievous smile.
-Trust me, baby…you’re not-
Zanilel’s mouth curved in a silent O. -You won’t dare…- she threatened, vaguely pointing the weapon at him.
Without a second of hesitation Zector snatched the sniper from her hand and pushed her back inside the infirmary, ignoring her protests –Let me go! Let me! You are the usual brute, Zec!-

‘Yeah, and you usually like it’ he thought, but knew better than say that aloud, angering her more.

-Would you at least please explain me what are you doing here?- the bunny snapped at him, when was finally free again, a rain of little punches accompanying her words.

-How’s Zee?...- he asked instead of replying, blocking her fists gently.

Zanille blinked, her hands relaxing in his, and looked away, letting a huff and a shrug. –Oh. He’ll be fine…It’s a bad cut, but he has an hard head…- she smiled weakly. She’d been patching him up since he was a child, trying to perform loops in the corridors, or running up on walls…

The crocodile frowned, looking around the empty beds of the infirmary. Wait, something was wrong, just where…
-You sent him away already?-

Zanille sighed again. –No, he’s here…he’s just in the…-

From the door of the bathroom come the obvious sounds of someone throwing up.
-…and he locked the door- the bunny finished her sentence, removing the helmet from her head, finally giving up the idea of leaving. The two exchanged a worried look.
-Listen, I don’t know what happened but…-
-Maybe I should try talk to him…yeah, I kn..- the crocodile stopped catching his throat when again those sounds come off the bath.
-…man, is impossible, there can’t be all that stuff in such a little thing!-
-Is a nervous reaction, probably linked to the concussion. He’s been in there for a while already, his stomach is empty by now, but he keeps throwing up the saliva he swallows…- the nurse started to explain, but Zector had already reached the door and knocked loudly against it, shouting a…
-Okay, Zee, enough, you trying to hurl your soul in there??-
There was another conatus, and then a long, long silence. The crocodile glued his ear against the door, in wait, ignoring Zanille’s eye-roll.
-Zec…-
-Shhh, he’s saying something…!!- the answer come indeed, slowly, words broken and heavy, like those of someone catching his breath after a marathon.

Zector blinked, surprised.
-What he said?-
-‘Wish I could…’-
Zanille bit her lip, shaking the head, making her two long ears whip the air. -Zee, open the door…please…we can’t help you if you act like this…!- she called.

Again silence, for a while, and then finally the reply, this time loud enough to be heard, raspy and almost shrieking.

- I don’t need any help! And…and I can’t…anyway…-

Zector and Zanille exchanged a frown. -You can’t stand up, Zee?- the bunny enquired, getting every second more worried…his voice sounded so strange and unnatural..quite…echoing!
-…no...it’s…another thing…I’ll be fine…in ...few… minutes… I think –

Another thing? Yes. And one only Zector could understand. And when he did, he had to use all his good sense not to burst out in laughs. It had happened only once before...he had been really, really angry at that sneaky bastard for something he couldn’t even remember of, and had put in action the most classic of the bully’s revenges…Free head-trip down the Toilet Express. Problem was: he hadn’t considered how much a really nervous hedgehog’s quills could puff out, and so…

-Okay…okay, just relax, Zee… relax, we’ll wait…- again he muffled a chuckle.

-What’s so funny? What happened, I don’t…- Zanille scolded him.
Zector shook his head. There was no way he was going to explain her that. He would have to explain how he knew too and…well, he wasn’t exactly proud of the thing. Not considering that she’d be so pissed, and with the armor, and the sniper at hand...
–Nothing. He’ll be fine, honey, trust me- he gave his woman his fullest smile.

*********
Five minutes had passed, in which Zector had tried to explain Zanille what little he had managed to overhear of Zool’s speech, when the lock of the door clicked loudly, making both turn towards the door…
…that kept stay closed.

The crocodile grunted. That little stubborn…

–Go pick him…- Zanille gently pushed him toward the bathroom.
-No way…he can walk, he said he doesn’t need help, he can came off on his own. I don’t even know why I’m still here…- the crocodile tried to resist, crossing his large muscular arms.
-Come on…you know that’s his way to say he wants you to go…- she whispered this time, looking up at him with a pair of wide, sweet hazelnut eyes.
-You win…- Zector swept away. Yeah. Always too shy to ask, or too prideful, or both, who knew? But why, why always him? Zespio was his friend too. Why nobody ever bothered him?

He opened the door, the light filtering inside, and blinked to adjust his eyes to the penumbra.

There he was. Sitting on the floor, curled in the angle between the wall and the toilet. The bloodied bandage had slipped down hiding one eye, while the other was just a bit open but fixed on the floor. The ears were so flattened to be invisible, and in that weak light his oddly pale skin looked like grey neon. The air was filled of a disgusting acidic smell that made Zector to reach immediately for the button of the flush. Then the crocodile stepped in, a bit uncomfortable in the small space, lowering on his haunches to look at him, waiting for the sound of the whirling water to fade before speaking.

-So…?-

The crocodile waited. He knew Zonic wouldn’t have answered to any more specific enquire. His way to speak his mind out was another: it was like a game, a game they did when he was little…well, more little…and it was called: Zee’s question time.
And as always, it worked. Just give that hedgie a dark room and silence, and he’d started asking stuff…

-Zec…you think I’m…I’m a good Zonecop?-

Okay. Pretty classic start. Oh, how much it had to bug him, for being always the first thing he asked?

-You…listen, I know you are under pressure, being who you are, with all those screens, and work, and with your mother that…- he stopped just in time, seeing the quills trembling..oh no no no! Not make him think about his mother, for the love of the Source! -…but you are good, Zee. And well… always try your best anyway…that’s what really matters…- he tried to reassure him.

Silence. He seemed being considering the answer, but Zector had to admit he did not looked relieved as he had hoped. There was more …

-But what…what’d you do if…- for a couple of seconds more Zonic hesitated, struggling with the words. Trying to make it simple for him, probably.

-…to be good... you just did something that feels wrong…something you feel like you’ll regret waking up the next morning?-
A single aquamarine eye rose on him, and so close he could see how red of repressed tears it was.

Zector pondered. Okay, so guilt was the problem. He felt guilty of something. Something bad, something hurting, something he wished to throw his soul in a toilet just to make it stop. He could not really tell what, but if it was all a guilt problem, then heck, all he had to do was not to think about it! Because Zector was sure, whatever had happened, couldn’t be really his fault. He was just taking it, like he always, always did.

And so the answer was easy.
-…I’d wake up in the afternoon, Zee.-

Before he could even blink the other had uncurled, hugging him with a strength the crocodile did not managed to believe being possibly hold in such a little and exhausted body.

-Geez, Zee, relax!…Hey! Hey, watch those quills, I don’t need more piercings!!…Zee! Ouch! Zee!!…-

-You’re a stupid crocodile, and I hate you!- the thin raspy voice growled in his ear.

-I know…you hate me lots, I’m a bossy ass, and yadda yadda. Then stop hugging me!-

-I am not hugging you… I’m trying to… choke you…- he had still the strength to reply, but the words trailed off, and the second later, Zector felt his head nod on his shoulder, and the body relax.

-Zee?-
Wow. Knock-out. Had he fainted?
No…the breath was calm and relaxed, he was just…off. Like a light-bulb.
With a loud sigh the crocodile stood, crossing his arms behind the other’s back and lifting him out of there.

Outside, Zanille glanced him a strange look.
-That was fast…-
-He fell asleep-
She rose an eyebrow -…on his own?-
-I didn’t punched him, if that’s what you want to know…- Zector retorted, putting him roughly down on the first bed he found and starting massaging his face where several little red spots already started to show up…
-That’s good. I wouldn’t have wanted to start a new cycle of sedatives…he took so many already! I always fear he’ll got addicted to them one of those days...- Zanille sighed, getting closer, and adjusting the bandage, changing the cotton-wool.

-Oh, he’ll need them…he wasn’t right… at all…- the crocodile muttered, looking at his bloodied hand. Little. Crazy. Bastard.
-What…?- the bunny caught his hand, looking up at him, but didn’t asked…didn’t needed to, to recognize a quill-wound. -…wait, I’ll disinfect you…- she said, but he did not let go of her hand. She had get rid of the armor, now only the black and orange uniform wrapping her curves.

-Oh, finally you’ll take care a bit of me too, Nurse Zanille??-

Zanille lowered her eyelids shining of flashing violet make-up, batting him playfully with the other hand, that was soon captured too…

-Why, are you jealous of my patients, Agent Zector?-

The crocodile held her closer, his yellow eyes always playful and defiant now strangely serious and soft…

-Shouldn’t I? You see them more than me ! I work all day, you work all day …sometimes I’d want to hurt myself just to see you more…because you drive me just that crazy, baby…-

He saw her eyes widen, her hands melt in his grip and then…black lips pressed against his, leaving on them that awesome flavor that screamed ‘wake up!’.

Oh, yeah. He worked all day, had to deal with crazy friends, but at last, at least…
He got the girl.

Posted by: General Zool Feb 6 2011, 12:02 PM
The journey to Commissioner Zaleena’s office seemed to take an age, and at the same time was over in a blink. Zool found himself standing outside the huge double doors before he had time to properly organise his thoughts. For a moment he stood still, watching the light play across the gold embossed patterns that covered the doors surface, uncomfortable with that he was about to do. He had never before questioned the plans of a superior, though he quickly reminded himself that was not what he was about to do now. He simply needed the Commissioner to offer some clarity, that was all. There was no shame in that.

Feeling much more in control he stepped forwards, but a pair of guards slipped from the shadows, the nearest of the two stretching out his arm to bar Zool’s way. Zool stopped, his eyes narrowing in a glare that would have sent most people in the receiving end running in terror. The guard, he now recognised that his name was Zychel, just stared back not even blinking. His azure eyes, without pupil or iris, were a little unsettling, Zool’s hand crept towards the hilt of his beam sword.

Then he stopped himself, what was he doing? The symbol on Zychel’s forehead had suddenly flared into life, and Zool could see himself mirrored in his eyes, surrounding by reflected energy. Was he really worked up enough to start a fight in the corridor? With guards who were only trying to do their job no less. It was most unlike him to get so upset, and he really did not understand why it had happened now. He had already rationalized the reasoning behind the events of today, sitting in Agent Zector’s office, before any of it had even happened, and while he had not liked it much, he had recognised the necessity. Somehow, the fact that Agent Zonic had been injured had shaken his resolve.

Zool took a deep, slow breath. “I require an audience with Commissioner Zaleena, it is important.”

The other guard, a purple ocelot who’s name Zool did not know stepped forwards and pressed a button on the intercom built into the wall. “Commissioner,” he began. “General Zool requires-”

“Let him in,” a silky feminine voice replied, cutting over the guard’s explanation.

“Yes ma’am,” the guard replied, snapping a salute despite the fact the commissioner couldn’t see him. He turned back to Zool, saluted again, then the two guards pulled the massive doors open.

The room beyond was dark, lit only by the eerie, glistening light of a three dimensional holographic projection of the planet, with seemed to more outline than illuminate the darkness. The commissioner was standing on the holographic projector, her features mostly obscured by shadow as she turned towards him, her purple hair seemed black in the half light. It made her look oddly sinister.

Zool straightened his sash and bandanna quickly before stepped forwards and saluting smartly. “Commissioner.”

She didn’t answer immediately, but stepped off the holopad causing it to instantly deactivate. For a second there was total darkness, then a soft voice from the blackness. “Lights.” The lights came up a second later, bright enough to dazzle before dimming to a more comfortable level. The commissioner had come almost unsettlingly close to him, so silently that he hadn’t realised just how close she was until the lights had come on. It was only years of training, and the extremely stubborn urge never to display shock when he was caught off guard that kept Zool’s face impassive. Zaleena smiled playfully. “General Zool,” she said, inclining her head in greeting.

As always when in her presence, Zool had to resist the urge to bow. She was simply his superior, not a Queen or anything like that. It wasn’t that she carried herself with the air of royalty that caused him to feel this way, though she did. It was what she had once done for him. When he had lost everything, when his planet had cracked like an egg and burned away, it had been Zaleena who had insisted the Corps take him in.

Zool cleared his throat, the questions crowding his throat threatening to choke him. Now that he was here, looking into those impassive violet eyes, the idea of ‘demanding the truth’ seemed less and less appealing. “I have come to report today’s events,” he heard himself say. “Your son-”

She turned away, walking back to her desk and sitting on it, crossing her long legs. She tilted her head as he stopped talking, the corner of her mouth once again quirking into a strange half smile. “I am listening, General,” she prompted.

“I am afraid he has been injured,” Zool said, trying to make his voice as gentle as possible. He wasn’t sure what he expected her reaction to be, tears were unlikely, as were any kind of obvious emotional reaction. Zaleena was a woman completely in control of herself, she never showed weakness. But still, he had expected her to perhaps make haste to the medical bay, or failing that, bring up a com screen and ask the nurses to report Zonic’s condition.

Instead, she raised an eyebrow, her hands still folded neatly in her lap. For a split second, he thought he might have seen concern sparkle in her eyes, but it was gone so quickly, and when she spoke her tone was merely disapproving. “Your reports used are usually more detailed, General.” Her gaze hardened suddenly into a glare, her voice cracking like a whip. “Explain this.”

Zool stood up straighter, feeling his cheeks burn with embarrassment, though it was impossible to see a blush against the ebony of his skin. “Forgive me.” He rubbed at his temples, trying to ease the pounding headache that suddenly beat there. “I seem to be fatigued.” Giving himself a mental shake he clasped his hands behind his back, subconsciously changing his stance to ‘at ease’ as he prepared to give a complete report. “Today at 1900 hours I gave Agent Zonic his orders, to make Sonic-649 aware of his sentence, as requested by the council. The prisoner was greatly distressed and Agent Zonic became concerned for his health. He escorted the prisoner to the rooftops gardens, however the situation became violent,” he paused at this, trying to gauge Zaleena’s reaction, but the Commissioner was impassive, waiting for him to finish. “I of course had been monitoring Agent Zonic’s progress, and when I determined that the situation was too much for him to handle, I proceeded to the gardens immediately. 649 was recaptured and returned to his cell, Agent Zonic is currently in the medical bay under the care of Nurse Zanille. I believe he has a hairline fracture to his skull, and perhaps a concussion, but he should make a full physical recovery. Emotionally I am not so sure.”

To his great surprise, Zaleena let out an ironic chuckle as he finished, but her eyes were colder than distant moons. “Emotionally...? That's an ...unusual remark from you, General. You must be, indeed… fatigued.”

Zool tried not to let the sting in her words effect him, keeping his tone purely professional. “I believe Agent Zonic to be badly shaken by these events. If I am not being too bold I would suggest he sees a therapist to try and minimize the psychological trauma.”

“That would be really...disappointing,” Zaleena replied, shaking her head.

”Disappointing?” he echoed, unsure of her meaning.

Zaleena stood up from the desk, pacing to the bookcase before turning back to face him. “Disappointing that an agent with ten years of service would need it, just for carrying out such... routine duty.”

Try as he might, Zool could not keep the ice from his tone. “I would not call the events of today ‘routine’.”

Zaleena smiled, a smile full of sweet gentleness, but her eyes were burning like hellfire. “General Zool...you're full of surprises this evening...” There was a pregnant pause, during which Zool felt his antennae give a nervous twitch. “Not routine you say,” Zaleena continued her voice satin soft to begin with, but rising to a poisonous pitch. “Explain me...how dealing with whichever of his ...countless dimensional doubles without letting dangerous emotions guide his actions shall not be...routine...after ten years?”

Zool knew he had gone too far. Perhaps he had misgivings, but Zaleena was the last person in the Corps he would ever wish to offend, after all she had done for him. How could he be so disrespectful to the woman he owed his very life. “My apologies Commissioner... I... I did not mean to speak out of turn.” It would have been simple then to assure her that he was no longer troubled, but wary as he was of transgressing further, he could not lie. “However I am… unsettled, by what has happened here today.”

Zaleena’s eyes were still angry slits, but she seemed to recognise how out of character it was for him to be so deeply effected. “I see...” she said after a moment. “You have doubts, General. Speak of them, and let's sort this out now, before it goes further.”

Zool nodded, paused a moment to chose his words, then decided the best course of action was to simply say what was on the top of his tongue. “I do not understand why such a young and... small agent as Agent Zonic was sent to deal with 649. He is a marked as an A class risk, extremely volatile and violent. Surely a full armed squad should have been sent. I am not used to agents being injured following orders I have issued, as I pride myself with the care in which I ensure the safety of those under my command. This… lack of care vexes me greatly.” Another pause, though shorter this time, he had already said too much, there was no backing out. “The question is, why did this happen? And I find there is only one logical conclusion that presents itself.”

The Commissioner’s face was like stone. “And to which conclusion does logic lead you General?”

“That this was a set up.”

Zaleena sat down once more, and leaned back in her chair, her eyes partly shut. She didn’t seem angry now, more curious. “I see...” she mused. “And this... troubles you?” Her tone suggested that he should not care either way.

“I find that it does.” Zool hadn’t been aware how much he wanted Zaleena to deny it all until she had confirmed it. He had wanted her to say he was wrong, even to discipline him for thinking such a thing. The Corps was pure, the Corps was Mother and Father, the Corps was Justice.

Zaleena let out a small sigh, then stood, looking right into his eyes. When she spoke her tone had lost its formality, and the playful mocking edge was replaced by cold anger. “Let me explain you a couple of things General; your feelings of unease are misplaced. Agent Zonic has proven in the past to be able to anticipate his dimensional counterparts actions. Such ability has proven to be indispensable in several emergency situations. The fact that such ability failed today... shows that there could be something about this 649 that was preventing him to functioning properly. It was best to discover that now rather than in less fortunate circumstances.”

”Nevertheless, he could have been killed today!” Zool answered hotly, his reserve momentarily forgotten. “Had I not intervened then-”

Zaleena slammed her first down on the desk, spilling a mug of half finished coffee, the dark liquid creeping across the smooth surface towards a pair of holographic pictures, both displaying Agent Zonic, though one was him as a cadet, the other in full Zone cop uniform. “I would like to remind you, General, who you are talking to!” she yelled.

Zool wasn’t sure if she was drawing his attention to the fact that she was the mother of the agent in question, or that she was his superior. The former seemed more important at that moment. “I know exactly who I am talking to, which is why I am voicing my concerns. As his mother surely you wish to ensure that such a mistake never occurs again!”

“As his mother my wish is to ensure that he learns the lessons he'll need for his work. That he learns that letting emotions cloud his brain like a fool in his work could lead to tragic consequences.” She paused, making her double meaning clear with a look that could have caused hell to freeze. “Far more tragic than his own death, I am afraid. But I wouldn't have ever thought that I would have needed to explain this to you, Zool” The last phrase was little more than an angry hiss.

Zool dropped his gaze to his boots, using all his self control to not stagger under the weight of her accusation. He felt as though she had physically slapped him, and all in all would have preferred it if she had. “No... I did not mean... I simply…” How could he have been so blind? So full of his own self importance that he had thought to second guess the Corps. He could understand now, the reasoning thrown into much sharp relief that it cut like an unsheathed blade.

Zonic’s pain had effected Zool so deeply because it was so familiar. It was all too close to home, reminding him too much of his own issues, his own failures…

Zaleena relaxed, reaching up to put a calming hand on Zool’s shoulder. “It has been a long evening,” she said, her voice soft once more, perhaps even a little kind.

Zool rubbed his head again. “It has,” he said hollowly.

Another flash of a smile, gone too fast to notice if it touched her eyes. “If you have no further enquires or doubts, General…?”

No, no more doubts. No more questions. Such things threatened too much. Doubt was like rot to a foundation, too soon could it change to ill feeling that had the power to bring everything crashing down. He was just a single piece in a flawless machine, he could never see the full picture. The Corps was Mother… the Corps was Father… The Corps was Justice.

The Corps was infallible.

He saluted. “I did not mean to offend you Lady Zaleena.”

She signed and soft sad sigh, then smiled sweeter than honey. A flirty smile, her eyes glinting as if to say; ‘'you know I can't be angry at you'. “No offence taken, General,” she walked him back to the door, her hand still on his shoulder. “I would just hope that, in the future you will always trust your Commissioner.”
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