From the Ruins of Nosis

(fan fiction version)

by Vanessa

A/N: I'm baaack... (Cue scary music!) After a very, very long hiatus, I'm finally going to start on my big TZP fan fic, formerly titled "Final Gift." And, once I get back in the habit of drawing Zee and Ro, this fic will possibly be a web comic!

Disclaimer: The Zeta Project will never belong to me, no matter how much I beg. It was created by Robert Goodman, but is currently owned by Warner Brothers, which wouldn't know a good cartoon series if it slapped them in the face.

Chapter One: New Orders

The sun was setting over the ocean, casting its dying light across the calm surface of the water. Every few minutes, she could see a bright flash as the sun's light hit something metallic, and every time, she would look away. But the sight of the depressed synthoid sitting beside her in the escape pod was, in many ways, far more sad than the scattered wreckage below.

Infiltration Unit Zeta stared down at the pocketwatch in his hand, a lost look on his holographic face. "He's gone, Ro. Now no one will ever believe me."

Ro smiled slightly and reached out to take his hand, trying to transfer some of her optimism to him. "Don't worry, Zee. We'll find a way." She sounded convincing enough, but would it be enough to console him? She doubted it... "For now," she muttered, sitting back in her seat, "let's just focus on getting out of here without the feds noticing."

Zeta nodded almost imperceptibly, closing his hand over the watch and turning his gaze toward the stretch of land in the distance. He didn't say anything, but the next question was obvious.

Now that Selig was dead, where were they running?

Titus Sweete regarded his captors with a satisfied smirk. Nothing he told his two interrogators would matter now. Brothers' Day had completed its most important mission, and Eli Selig, the leading scientist responsible for the creation of synthoids, was dead. As much as he had hoped to avoid prison, it was a small price to pay for such a tremendous victory.

Yet, he couldn't help but wonder what these two agents wanted from him now. He had already explained Brothers' Day's objective; too late for them to do anything about it now, right? So why did Colonel Lomak and Agent James Bennet look at him as if he had something more to tell? It was unnerving.

Bennet stared at him for a moment from across the wide metal table. "I mentioned this on the Nosis, Sweete," he finally said, "and I'm going to ask you again. I expect you to cooperate this time. We have proof that the synthoid was on your submarine, disguised as Doctor Selig. We know he boarded the Nosis with your team. Was the synthoid a part of this mission? Did you, or did you not, manipulate him into disobeying his original program?"

"Is that what this is about?" The smirk didn't leave Sweete's face. "One of your synthoids went awol, and you wanna blame it on my group, is that it? Not my problem. I told you, I don't do synthoids, for exactly that reason. A human betrays you..." He held up his index finger, pointing it to his temple, pantomiming a gun to his head. "Bang. Not a problem anymore. But a synthoid... You make 'em too advanced, give 'em too much free will. Make 'em more like a human with superpowers. You even called that thing 'him.' But when one of those things betrays you... not that easy to take care of, is it?"

Lomak frowned. "Then Brothers' Day didn't reprogram IU Zeta."

"Brothers' Day hasn't even heard of IU Zeta till now. And even if we knew how to reprogram your synthoids, why would we use the same methods we're tryin' to put a stop to? It would be in our best interest to just destroy the damn thing. We stand by our objectives. We ain't hypocrites."

"Of course not. You're a traitor to your country and a mass murderer, but Heaven forbid you should be guilty of hypocrisy." Bennet scowled and stood up. "Tell me, Sweete... Do you remember Eugene Dolan?"

"Dolan?" He seemed lost in thought for a moment. "Yeah, Dolan. That's a name I ain't heard in a long time. What about him?"

"We know he was involved with Brothers' Day."

To their surprise, Sweete laughed out loud. "You kiddin'? That guy wouldn't hurt a fly. Had no idea who he was workin' for. He was startin' to get nosey, so we dropped him a few years ago, went with another accountant." His eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward slightly. "...What does this have to do with Eugene Dolan?"

Lomak glanced at Bennet. Despite these new revelations, the agent's expression remained impassive, unreadable. It was as if he knew everything Sweete was going to say before he said it.

"That will be all." This was not directed at Sweete, but to the two heavily armed officers standing behind the table. Lomak waited until they had pulled the criminal to his feet and from the room before he spoke again. "Well... What do you think, Jim?"

Bennet was silent for a moment, slowly considering his words. "Zeta has been saying all along that he chose not to eliminate Dolan, because the man was innocent. Just because Zeta was telling the truth about that... That alone wouldn't be enough to prove his innocence. But taking into consideration what we've learned from Sweete, and what Selig said on the Nosis..."

Lomak sighed, lowering himself into a chair and resting his chin on his folded hands. "This changes everything."

"Yes, sir."

"Let's not waste any time, then. You have your orders. Retrieve the synthoid and Miss Rowen, and bring them to me."

The NSA hovervan, with all of its high-tech equipment specifically designed to capture Zeta, was out of the question this time. The new mission required Bennet to keep a lower profile than before, so he opted for a smaller, more inconspicuous black hovercar. The new vehicle was equipped with only a small computer, and certainly didn't provide enough room for a full team of agents. Even West and Rush were staying behind this time. Bennet shuddered to think of how West would mess this one up.

He slid into the car, immediately studying the information on the computer, his only link back to Lomak. Currently, the only information it could provide was the last location at which Zeta had used his unlimited cred card. He had not gone far, Bennet noted with a frown. It was almost as if he didn't want to run anymore.

And, really, where could the synthoid and the girl run now? Bennet remembered the first time Zeta had contacted him after his rebellion, begging him to listen, desperately trying to convince him that the choice he made was of his own free will. And now he understood Zeta's reasoning: if the NSA, the people who commanded him, wouldn't listen, maybe the person who built him would. That was why he was stalking Eli Selig.

But Selig was dead now, lost at the bottom of the ocean with all his research and all Zeta's hopes and answers. With his creator gone, Zeta must have thought that his entire journey had been in vain. That no one would ever believe him now.

Zeta was wrong.

Next: Chapter Two, "Hope Rises"