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A Sound of Thunder
Topic Started: May 28 2012, 06:58 PM (41 Views)
Fran
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Posted by: The NPC Account Jan 25 2012, 09:05 PM
It has been said that even a single flutter of a butterfly’s wings may someday, somewhere, cause a tornado…

***********************

ZONECOP ZECTOR



Footsteps echoed on the metallic floor, as a tall, strong-builded crocodile walked along the tunnel leading to the Confinement Rooms, a package tucked under his arm and a depressed, annoyed expression on his long muzzle.

Why the Supervisor had to send him to do that?

He hadn’t seen Zonic since the morning of the accident, and wasn’t exactly in a ‘reunion’ mood. Not that he hadn’t been relieved when the Supervisor had communicated the Council’s decision: he’d been concerned like everyone. The fact that such decision was born from one of the worse messes he’d ever seen after the Nega War, was yet another matter.

The point was that he was angry at him: when the details about what had happened in the confinement cell n. of the Well had started circulating, at first the crocodile did not want to believe them.

Zonic willingly sneaking in a place where he was not supposed to be? Like, what? Zee breaking the rules?

Better, Zee breaking the rules and it hadn’t been him to…erm…’persuade’ the kid to do so?

Next thing they’d told him was that Terrapods flied. What the fuck had happened?
The realization that he, Zector, his room’s mate since a lifetime, official babysitter and supposed best friend had no idea of what was going on in that kid’s brain had been…simply…infuriating.

He’d tried to treat him like a normal person even if he was a little creepy robot-boy and that was how he repaid him.

He finally stopped in front of the door, poking at the lock, the light coming from the monitor making the dull golden armor wrapping his shoulders give a faint glow.

Whatever, he’d better just get this done, and quickly, or the Supervisor was going to bitch at him forever. There were worse messes to fix in the Multiverse at the moment, the Corp needed every single Agent and blah blah blah…

**********************
_Zec!_

For a second the crocodile almost forgot to be pissed at him. When the little hedgehog springed up on his feet and smiled at him, an handful of bones swimming in the baggy orange prison suit, the frown on his long muzzle vanished, leaving place to a dull stare. Sweet Balance, he’d lost so much weight! He’d always been thin, but now ? He had to be careful swinging his tail, or he’d blown him away. Usually reserved and self-conscious, the little hedgehog did not seem to mind the stare for once: he was smiling one of his rare smiles, and seemed just happy to see him.

Well, of course he was happy, after a week in Confinement talking to the walls, and with the threat of being kicked out the Corp that was all his family hanging on his head…he could see the question in those aqua green eyes that seemed bigger over the bony muzzle, the trepidation in the way the quills shivered. He was hanging from his lips, fear and hope mixing on his features.

Curious, this scene had something familiar.

Shrugging himself out of the déjà-vu the tall armored mobian stepped in the room, almost risking to trip on a still closed alimentary box. Talking to the walls and not eating his rations, too. The crocodile kicked it away, announcing flatly:

-Congratulations. The Council deliberated for your release-

_Really? W_

He had had to have one thousand of questions, but Zector had no intention to answer. Before he could ask them, the crocodile had roughly tossed the package at him. Taken back by the move, Zonic barely managed to grab it, loosing balance and falling sitting back down on the bed. Aqua green eyes rose for a second, quizzically.

-The Supervisor orders you to re-enter service immediately. She waits you in her office before the start of the afternoon shift…and since the morning’s turn ends in …10 minutes, I thought you wouldn’t want to waste time going back to the living quarters to change…-

Unwrapped a bit, the plastic revealed the iridescent, pale gold of the armor. Zonic hugged the pack close like a long time lost toy.
_Thank you…_ the little smile died as once again the crocodile did not smile back, keeping staring at the wall stubbornly with his arms folded. The tension in the air was so thick it could have been cut with a knife, but from the way the little’s hedgehog ears twitched it was evident he was confused about the cause of it. He really did not get why he was angry? Apparently yes.

Did he bother to ask? Why, of course not. Silence dragged.

This won’t do. If they had to start to work together once again, he had to make things clear first. He was going to give him a good piece of his mind.

- So…seems like you were innocent, after all…- he dropped the bomb in a fake conversional tone.

The effect was immediate. Zonic’s eyes widened, his ears going back flat on his skull in a tensed way, like those of an angry cat.

_You… thought I was not?_ the question was shaky, the shock evident both in the tone and in the way his hands started tormenting the package.

-I have no fucking idea what passes in your mind anymore…- Zector spat.

-_You thought I let him go?_ the tone didn’t change, still distant, as if he’d been so shell-shocked to not hear his reply at all.

Which only made the crocodile angrier.

-The evidences were against you! All of them…- he answered, louder this time, to make sure the other heard him.

This time the reaction was completely different: slowly, almost like in trance, Zonic got up on his feet, all his quills irking up, a tension in his clenched fists and a fury in his eyes like Zector had never seen before. Seemed like every inch of his body was trembling of rage, and even his voice broke in a raspy growl as he spoke.

_But you…you should have believed me anyway! How could you think that I lied?! You…you know me Zec…we…we are friends! _

Zector’s eyes widened at that, before narrowing in angry slits, the reptile-like pupils getting dangerously thin. What? WHAT? He was talking friendship and trust now? If the little bastard thought he’d allowed him to turn tables like that he was really wrong.

-Why not? You did nothing but lying to me for seven months…-

There, he’d said it. The little hedgehog’s anger popped like a soap bubble, the boy blinking and shaking his head.
_What…?_

Oh sure, the oblivious act. Sorry, this crocodile wasn’t going to fall for it this round. Unfolding his arms, Zector turned, towering over his smaller colleague, amber eyes shining of repressed anger.

-Why you did not tell me?- he growled, going straight to the point.

_Tell you what?_ Zonic frowned, shrinking against the bed.

-That you were going nuts, man! Why not even a word? You thought that I’d bite your head off? I know you since you were …how much, six? And still every time I tried to ask you ...you kept answering that you were fine, and it was bullshit. You think I’m stupid Zee? Well, I’m not a genius but I’m not that stupid either. For the balance kid, it does not take a genius to understand that there is something really wrong in someone taking the amount of sleeping drugs you take…!-

Aqua green eyes had narrowed more and more, but did not dare to look at him as he replied. _Well…if you knew I was lying you…you should have insisted…_

Zector could not believe his ears. His long tail swept the floor dangerously, his voice turning in the deep, low hiss of his species -Oh right, I should have insisted, it’s my fault now. Because you couldn’t fucking trust me and open up for once, right Zee?-

Zonic gave him a quick, slightly worried look at first, backing more towards the bed. But then he just folded his arms and kept staring at his boots in silence.

Not that Zector had expected anything else. Typical Zonic, really. Snorting, the crocodile eased his stance, but his words were not softer:

-Friendship is not a one-sided thing. I’m sick and tired of your excuses. I could have helped you, dammit , and nobody would have had to wake me up one morning and say that my room-mate wasn’t back because he was under arrest –he ended, poking the other’s chest until making him loose balance once again and fall on the bed with a muffled ‘ouff’.

That owed him a glare and a reply at last, even if not exactly the one he wanted.

_Are you done?_

No, definitely not the apologize he wanted. Zector’s hand closed in a fist, to which the worried look returned. But he did nothing, the crocodile just taking his time to admire his knuckles before answering, lazily
-Yeah-

Zonic's frown came back, the boy pretending he hadn't been scared at all:
_Then go away. I have to change, or I’ll be late_

Zector laughed, sarcastically and without humor, giving a shrug and stepping back towards the door -Sure, of course. Duty always first. Have fun with the chaos that is going on…- he hinted at the last second.

_Chaos? Which chaos? There’s an emergency? Zec wait…_

Oh, now he’d found his tongue again. Too late. He was already out the door and in the corridor, shouting:
-Sorry, my turn is over, I’m out of here-

He meant it. Work had been crazy, sucking away all his energies, and his patience with them. And he still was angry at him. Less angry now that he’d given his two cents about what had happened, but still angry.

=FINE, GO, I’LL ASK ‘SPI. MAYBE HE’LL EVEN BE HAPPY THAN I’M BACK, YOU JERK!=

The burst of static and words reached him when he was almost in the elevator, coming this time from the com in his belt. Apparently Zee had just found his in the package. With a sour grin, the crocodile picked it up, clicking it off , but not before having the last word.

-Zespio is Outside in mission. Keep dreaming, twerp-



Posted by: The NPC Account Feb 2 2012, 02:43 PM
SUPERVISOR ZAGARINE


In the dim light of the office, the pale radiance of holographic monitors silhouetted a darker shadow. A squared mass from which protruded the half-bust of a Mobian, rounded ears contrasting with the pointy edges of a Supervisor’s armor, large shoulders wrapped in metal less rigid and squared than usual.

Low, faint, omnipresent, the bipping sounds of alarms, and the cracks of static of aborted communications.

Tiny antennae twitched and the sudden flash of an holographic screen illuminated a triangular face, revealing the sharp features of a young MartianMouse woman. Blue eyes rose, reflecting the pulsating red lights and the ghost-images of letters and symbols swirling and composing themselves on it.

Another report.

Zagarine’s dry lips twitched, a strange mix between an hiss and a sigh escaping them, followed by an order.

-ANANKE, acquire the file and update Status Map-

The words faded, replaced by a simple rectangle, filling slowly, terribly slowly of light. The system struggled, the task of organizing info getting harder and harder each day.

Blinking and escaping that annoying sight, Zagarine’s eyes turned to the opposite end of the room, to the twin desk sitting beside the obscured window of the office. The few belongings and the unfinished paperwork scattered on it untidily making the emptiness of the chair stand out even more vividly in her mind.

He was not back yet.
What was this that she felt, all of a sudden, under the layers of frustration and tiredness? This softer kind of anger, this sort of melancholic need?
The sound of the door sliding open drew her out of her thoughts, making the name that had been bouncing through them so insistently slip on her tongue as she turned.

-Zelias…-

But the armored figure that had entered the office and was now standing in a salute was not the well-known one of the squirrel. The woman’s antennae twitched once again, her eyes narrowing and her bust straightening finally as she shoved away those confused emotions and refocused on her day’s tasks.

-Agent Zonic…- she started, crossing her hands under her chin and staring at the young zonecop’s visor, doing nothing to soften her expression not even a little bit -…you are late-.
_I apologize, ma’am_

-The reason?- she inquired, icily.

-…n-no reason, ma’am…- the boy’s voice trembled in the characteristic half-stutter of a little’s liar bad conscience. A single eyebrow rose and she tossed her head back slightly, studying his appearance from under skeptically lowered eyelids for few seconds before deciding than even too much time had been wasted on the matter.

-Did Agent Zector inform you of the reasons of your release?- she changed matter abruptly.

-No, madam…I mean, I…I did not give him time to do so…I …was in a rush…- the kid’s voice trailed off.

And his light, superficial breath could have been a sign that he was speaking the truth, had she not known the bad habit of those three to cover each other’s back. Her eyes turned in slits, her ringed tail lashing the air and whipping the desk with a metallic sound.

-Agent Zonic, I warn you that your behavior is still under strict surveillance. Your accusation has not been dropped, but merely suspended after that…unpredictable events have brought new facts to the Council’s knowledge-
The boy’s mouth opened and closed immediately, and helmet or not it wasn’t hard imagine his confusion.

_ …events, ma’am?_

The loading bar still on the monitor suddenly flashed, full, with a timing that would have pleased her in other circumstances. Zagarine leaned back on her chair with a deep breath.

-ANANKE, show Status Map-

The square of light scattered mid-air in tiny pixels, twirling and multiplying, expanding until seeming to fill the whole room like a swarm of phosphorescent tiny bugs, before dulling and melting again in the 3-D depiction of sphere’s sectors, slices of universes, and luminous lines resembling vaguely magnetic camps, or the pressure/winds outlines of meteorological previsions…never resting, always moving, bending, twirling, the system updating the readings every 2 seconds.

She could distinctively hear the boy catch his breath and swallow on the other side of the desk.

-One thousands-thirty-two class B tears in a week only in the sector of our competence. Half of them under our District’s jurisdiction. Expanding at a speed of 4 degrees at day. Codename: Tornado-

Zagarine stood, her thin figure cutting the pixels and her armor twinkling as she walked past him and inside the hologram, her gaze and her steps following the trail of silver dots blossoming like Night-Lily all around her as soon as the map loaded, each of them a hole through the world’s barriers. How much time spent trying to find a link, a connection…an order. But there was none.

-The tears keep appearing without any apparent cause-and effect logic. Chaotic. Unpredictable…- she stopped walking, her voice dripping all the repressed frustration of days and days of restless work.

She turned at the young zonecop, looking down at him, her face reflecting on his dark, mirror-like visor.

- This is the reason why you are here now, Agent. In the light of this new phenomenon, your affirmation that a class C tear suddenly opened in prisoner’s Sonic-649 cell is statistically possible. There is an acceptable probability that you spoke the truth. - there was no emotion in her tone, no way for the kid to assume anything about her own opinion about the matter. But he seemed to understand the point anyway.

_Probability …_ he repeated in a shy whisper.

-Precisely. And that probability is the reason why the Council allowed you to re-enter service- she sighed, glancing up at the map once again.

- You sure understand that in this situation every single’s agent contribute is precious. Backtracking the origin of the Tornado is proving a complicated task…- she lifted a gloved hand, her finger poking the air, and the dots scattered, like snow-flakes in a storm, the image zooming on a smaller area: the spheres expanded until vanishing, the lines coiling in the clear shape of a vortex.

-The energy’s spikes coming from the anomaly blind the Screens. Impossible to determinate the nature of the anomaly, but our engineers suspect it not to be natural. Inter-zonal travel is difficult, for obvious reasons. The reports of the patrols till now have allowed us to isolate this area: the amount of Mobius Variants included in it is…relevant, as you can see. For how much concerns our jurisdiction, more than 300 zones are left to scan... - another touch, and new colors appeared on the hologram, green dots and red crosses, spiralling in concentric circles .

-And since direct watching is the only way we have to shrink the camp further, all of our district’s forces are Outside at the moment… - the Supervisor’s voice seemed to hesitate and trail off, a little frown appearing on her freckly muzzle as her eyes darted at the empty desk once again.

He’d insisted to go. Dangerous, he said. Dangerous it was, indeed. And he still was not back. Few seconds, and then she caught herself. Commander Zacorn was going to be fine.

-You will be assigned your personal check-list. Reach the Warping Room, and get to work. I’ll wait for your reports- she ended, crossing her arms and concluding, quickly.

Her place was in this room, coordinating. His place was out there, facing the thunders of shattering Barriers. Why should it bug her? She did not need him. She was just tired, that was all.

-Yes ma’am- the little Agent slipped away silent and quiet like a shadow, and as the door closed, she was alone.

Again.

Posted by: The NPC Account Feb 2 2012, 02:50 PM
TECHNICIAN ZIG


A long long purple ear with a dark, floofy tip twitched catching the sound of the automatic door opening. Its owner however, a purple cat wearing a (slightly too tight) zonecop’s uniform under an orange mechanic’s apron, did not turn to see who’d entered. He was in the middle of the room, sitting at a large, moon-shaped white console, on a robust chair (he wasn’t exactly a feather) and seemed really focused on the cluster of olographic monitors dancing in front of his nose.

-Name, authorization code and destination- he finally asked after several seconds of work-induced brain-lag, his voice sounding heavy and tired.

_Agent Zonic, authorization A-2002-334-T for Mobius 420_

Again the long ear twitched, but this time the brain lag was shorter: breaking out the working trance, the cat finally turned his chair, his long, striped hair swinging in the movement -Oh, Zee. It’s you. What a time to come back in service, hu?…- he smiled, rising for a second his protective orange visor in a salute, his little yellow eyes showing the classic reddish hue earned after hours and hours of screen-staring.

But the tiny boy in armor did not return the gesture: the visor of his helmet remained lowered shielding his eyes, his arms rigid along his sides.

_Better now than never_ was the tense, almost hostile reply.

The purple cat frowned, taken back for a second, but then his expression eased again, his thick tail swinging behind him on the chair, one of his eyebrows rising and his head tilting in the same way it did when he was tinkering with a device, trying to guess what was wrong in it.

Too bad he couldn’t use a screwdriver to open the boy’s head and understand what was going on exactly under that helmet! But to poke an hedgehog with a screwdriver when he was being prickly was a bad idea. Hedgehogs: always handle with pliers and thick gloves.

-Well ,of course…- he replied softly, with a small smile. It was not the time for more words, more questions, he understood that. It was never the time, with certain people, actually. And yet Zig did not understand why. Unlike un-sentient machines, people could communicate, tell what was wrong... why waste such a gift?

The boy’s stance got a bit less tensed at that, but he kept standing there as if not really sure of what to say or what to do next.

Well, that could be fixed immediately. The cat gestured at his side.

-Step on the platform while I set the Ring: I warn you that it’ll take a while, so... get comfy …-

The platform was a smooth surface of metal elevated of few inches from the floor, of the same exact shape and size of the Warper Ring suspended over it. Zonic stepped on it and sat on the edge, without bothering reaching the centre of the large circle.

That machine was meant to warp mostly vehicles and weaponry: to use such a bulky instrument for only one little hedgehog seemed almost overkill.
The hedgehog in question seemed to be thinking the same thing, because after giving a look around he asked, flatly:

_Zig? Why are they making us use the Rings to zone out?_

Zig tilted his head again at the question, before pointing at the little triangular device embedded on the other’s chest-plate, explaining:

-With the Tornado, the Zoners aren’t safe enough. There are wild spikes of energies and currents all over the Multiverse, and to pass through them a Zoner’s energy is often not sufficient. The Warpers are old tech, but more powerful and can be set with a lot more detail…- the head tilted to the opposite side -…but the procedure must be done in full manual mode, every time… it’s a pain. Technologically, It’s like being back to 100 years ago…-

_How do we come back, then?_ again, there was no emotion in the question, no concern: it was a simple request of data.

But the cat seemed pleased by it anyway, snapping his fingers.

-Ah, that’s a good point: when you use the Zoner to come back, don’t try to set a single long warp: if you happen to be in the middle of a current, you’ll just burn out the power without managing to stabilize the portal. The trick is to make many short trips. It concentrates the energy and makes the portal more stable. We got several Agents stranded for this reason already, so be careful…-

_How much short?_

-I’d suggest not more than 7 degrees at time. From where you’ll be, it means around…5 hours of travel between zones to get back…and you’re lucky, the last one I warped will be back tomorrow , if everything goes smooth-

Zig could have swore he’d seen the other tense and stop breathing for a second when he’d mentioned how long the trip back will have lasted. Again he rose an eyebrow: it sure was a lot of time compared to the few seconds it would have taken normally, but it was nothing that whatever Cop couldn’t handle…
Seeming to notice the cat’s perplexity to his reaction, the hedgehog shrugged, getting up and walking away towards the center of the platform.

_Yeah, well, the faster I leave, the sooner I’ll be back, right?_

Zig did not need holographic subtitles to read the obvious under-text: get at work already and leave me alone.

-Right- he sighed, shaking his head and turning away. Better not try to understand hedgehogs and stuck to machines.

Machines were so much less complicated.

The striped purple cat stretched his arms and wriggled his fingers for a second above the console, before letting them fly on the keys with the amazing speed and grace of a professional piano-player.

Posted by: Zonic the Zonecop Feb 2 2012, 03:00 PM
The dull, smooth surface of the Warp Ring shone faintly in the dim light of the neon. Leaning on his back on the cold metallic platform, Zonic kept staring at it, that sort of giant halo hanging impossibly above him, the image blurring from time to time as tears of tiredness veiled his eyes. Time ticked with exasperating slowness, weakening his grip on reality, making his thoughts dissolve in an obsessive, disconnected, frantic chaos.

Stay awake. He had to stay awake.

It was a really good thing that the dark glass of the helmet did not allow anybody to see the bags under his eyes, nor the fact that he was struggling to keep them open. He swallowed down the yawns too, not to risk to attract the cat’s attention.
He had nothing against Ziggy, all the other way, but after what Zector had said he just couldn’t help but being on the defensive with everyone.
The Supervisor had been clear, too: he’d been allowed this second chance for a matter of pure statistic. Without the Tornado, who knew what the Council would have decided. Eyes were still pointed on him, doubts surrounded him, and...and if even Zec had believed he was guilty...then he didn’t know what the others may think.

He’d never felt more insecure in his whole life and after all he’d passed, it was the last drop.
Getting out of Confinement hadn’t been less traumatic than being condemned to it: once outside, he’d found that the image of himself the people around him reflected back to him had shattered just like the one he got inside, and now he had nothing left to cling at to try find a bit of confidence, a bit of pride, a bit of strength.

Nothing but his duty. Nothing but the uniform. In this very moment, he needed to work more than he needed to breath. He needed to remember himself every second who he was and why did he keep bothering the Multiverse with his existence, repeating to himself the old lesson the Judge had refreshed in his mind: he was a Zonecop, his life was part of a system, the system was important, and his life mattered until he stayed inside it.

That was why he couldn’t fall asleep. He couldn’t fall asleep, or they’d send him in the infirmary, and he’d been out again, alone with his thoughts. Completely useless. He had to resist and do that patrol, even if he felt his energies flowing away every second that passed, the rush of adrenaline of being free and on duty again dying and leaving place to the consciousness of how weak his muscles were, how fast and light his breathing, how blurry and unfocused his sight. Even the armor felt just like a dead, alien shell, his link with it too weak.

How could he have allowed his stupid nerves to reduce his body like that?
A part of him suspected that it hadn’t been just the stress of the wait for his sentence to do that. The point was that he hadn’t had access to his sleeping pills. No sedatives, no sleep, no sleep, no way to turn his brain off and stop the endless chain of paranoid thoughts that made his stomach contract to the point he wasn’t able to swallow down even water.

Probably Zec was right, he’d become a drug addict.

There, he was doing it again! Paranoid thinking! He was fine, he just had to get back to work. He’ll fixed everything, he’ll make everyone trust him again, believe in him again.

But to do so he had to stay awake. Stay awake…

The ring disappeared, a large cat-shaped shadow obscuring everything.

_Zonic! It’ the third time I call you…the Warp is almost ready…_

He had no idea with what energies he managed to spring up in a sitting position.

-I’m fine!-

The little hedgehog realized how wrong the word choice had been when it was too late: Ziggy’s voice seemed all of a sudden harsh and cold.

_You are?. We all know what yours ‘I’m fine’ mean…_

The boy clenched his teeth, taking the hit and gulping down. What he’d done? He’d screwed up, he’d screwed up everything! Nobody believed him, nobody trusted him anymore…the fact that he was actually lying was lost in his mind clouded by fear and anger. He just wanted the other to believe him…even if it meant keeping faking, telling more lies.

Paranoia had trapped him in the act.

-I’m fine, I tell you! – he replied stubbornly, forcing himself up on his feet to prove it. Which turned out to be a bad idea, since he wobbled dangerously, making it even more obvious that he wasn’t fine at all. Head spinning for the sudden move, he grabbed his helmet to make it stop, his aquamarine eyes widening behind the glass, staring up pleadingly at the towering figure over him.

- The screens are blinded, stay here is useless. You said it too, it’s a disaster. How much time can we keep going like this, without proper inter-zonal travel? The more of us that go, the faster we find the source of the anomaly.... - his arguments were surprisingly logic, his mind managing to somewhat work even when his brain was fixated on that obsessive need for trust. He had to go. He had to go, so he’ll fixed everything, he’ll make everyone trust him again, believe in him again.

But it was not enough to fool the older Zonecop.

_ Listen, I understand you had a bad, and help me to say bad, week, and that you think you have a lot to make up for, I understand it, really, but that’s your problem. I’m not taking the responsibility of warping you, if you are not in condition to keep yourself stable out of there_

The tone was softer but still firm. Zonic couldn’t see the expression on the cat’s face, the shadows and the reflexes of light on the two cop’s visors masking emotions and giving in change but a sense of alienation, failing at transmitting all the worry and the genuine concern the other felt. Making him just an obstacle, not an ally.

-You’re not a doctor, you are a Tech. It’s your word against mine and I say I can take the warp!- he insisted, crossing his arms over his chest.

The cat just rolled his eyes in exasperate way at that last retort, shrugging his large shoulders, giving up trying to reason with somebody that was so impenetrably hostile.

_Not a doctor? Fair. Then I call Zanille, so we’ll hear what she has to say…- he replied without loosing his calm, turning and walking back at his console, to reach the com.

Zonic felt his heart sink in the stomach, bounce against the bottom and spring back in his throat.
Zanille?

The large brown eyes of the bunny flashed in his memory for a second, a little warming feeling coming from all the times she’d taken care of him. Maybe she could have helped him now too… maybe if he’d explained, she’d gave him something to feel better and then let him go, maybe she’d trusted him…but…what if not? What did she think of him? Had she believed he was guilty too?

The bunny’s face turned in a sour grimace, and Zonic felt his insides freeze again. No, no, no, he did not want to see her, did not want to see anyone, he wanted to go away. He couldn’t’ stay here now, he couldn’t bear having to ask himself that question every time he met someone else’s eyes.

-No, wait Ziggy!…-

Maybe, just maybe, to sprint forward and grab the cat’s large, floofy tail to stop him and then of course being forced to let it go not to be just dragged away right in the very second the poor mobian was stepping out of the platform was the worst of that day’s bad ideas.

Startled, and unbalanced even so slightly in such a critical moment, Zig tripped forward ungainly, landing head-fist on the console heavily, his not exactly light body projected forward in a disastrous crush of keys and circuits.
Before Zonic could move a muscle or even realize the mess he’d done, the platform hummed, a shield of green energy rising from the edge of it, surrounding him, isolating him from the rest of the room. A security system?

-Zig? Are you okay? - he asked to the wavy shadow of the cat on the other side of the wall of trembling energy, trying to overcome the noise of the shield-generator.
The power in the machine was rising, the Ring starting shining, the matter of which it was composed turning in a circle of pure golden energy, the air inside it sparkling and rippling in a familiar way. But this…was impossible! The coordinates…the coordinates hadn’t been set yet, right?

-Zig, what’s happening?…- he asked again, alarm starting creeping in his tone.
The shadow on the other side moved, but all he could make out of his reply, with that noise in his ears, was the faint sound of keysmash and curses.

-Zig… the portal is...opening- Zonic trailed off, all the confidence he’d tried to keep in his voice chocking in his throat as the portal’s surface stopped shining and became transparent, allowing him to see through it.

The name ‘Tornado’ did not even start describing…that.

Streams of golden particles twirled and boiled and twisted like the surface of a sun, shredding the usually empty and dark nothingness between the zones barriers, shining of a light so strong that it’d burned his optic nerve, had it not been for the dark visor.

Probably he’d had a nightmare or two like this when he’d been little, but nothing this bad. Nothing this overwhelmingly beautiful and completely frightening at the same time. It just made every single cell of his body to scream at his wrongness, impossible like a sea floating in the sky, shocking like the explosion of a moon, and yet real. And his reaction in front of it was exactly the same of a terrified little kid, the young zonecop punching the shield frantically and pleading helplessly, panic flaring up his energies and screwing up his dignity:

-Zig… okay, you were right I can’t make it, I can’t make it… close it, close it…make it stop, Zig…-

But it was too late.

A tongue of that golden wind of chaos burst out the portal, surrounding him. His armor automatically lit up to protect him, the air around his body condensing like a diaphragm of water waving under the sun…but through the link Zonic could feel clearly that it was barely enough to shield his vital flame and keeping it from be blown away and dissolved in that stream like the smoke of a candle in a storm.
It was dragging him away, and he couldn’t move, couldn’t free himself from it, couldn’t even scream all his fear out of his body when the portal mercilessly closed around him, like a God’s hand around an insignificant fly, knocking him out and tossing his limp unconscious body into the gnawing, monstrous mouth of the Tornado.
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