TF: Hi, everyone! I'm glad to report to you that I've finally decided on a name for the Sonic Christian one-shot series! As a matter of fact, I used Felix's random suggestion ... who knew? I thought about it, and I liked it! So, Felix, what's the series name? *hands paper over*
Felix: *reads* Um ... sew ... sow pans ... Sow Cans of Marmalade!
TF: *face-palms, grabs the paper* FELIX! It's "Soul Lemonade"! What does marmalade have to do with anything?!
Skye: Give the kid a break, he's seven.
TF: *exhales* Fiiiiiiiiiine ... anyway! Cool, the one to whom Deck of Cards was done for, requested a sequel, so here it is! This is done for Towerdepth's birthday, which was November 18! So happy birthday, I updated TPKR just to apologize for being late on the "gift" ... I got Deck of Cards from his profile, so only fair the sequel should be done for him as a thank-you! Right?
Skye: Right. This story was taken from the profile of Manicpanicgirl, so thanks, Manic!
Wilbur: The characters Zirtual the Gospel Kitsune Cat, Zae the Hybrid Hedgehog, Thelma the Hedgehog, and Dr. Zurns the Horned Chameleon are owned by TF here. Tails the Kitsune Fox and Mephiles the Dark are owned by SEGA, and the Zone Cops, Zonic, Zhadow, Zilver, Zamy, Znuckles, Zlaze, Zails, Zespio, Zouge, and Dr. Zeggman are owned by SEGA/Archie Comics. Zashua the Hedgehog, Zoney the Winged Cat, Zotor the Walrus, Zang the Weasel (although he's a Weasel/Wolf HYBRID), and Ziza the Horned Chameleon are Zone versions of Ashura, Honey, Rotor, Fang (or Nack :P), and Liza, look them up, and also owned by SEGA/Archie Comics.
Skye: Again, we use Zircon instead of Chaos here ... :)
TF: I also couldn't help but use a few references. There is mention of the film "Hoot" (or Zoot, XD) in this story, and I take no credit for it or it's characters, it's owned Carl Hiaasen and Walden Media. I also do not own the "my feelings!" line, as I was shown by someone (you know who you are) a comedy video by Adam Young aka Owl City with those lines in it. So credit goes to Adam and whoever was playing the ... puppet monster?
Wilbur: ... Puppet monster?
Skye: Comedy, deal with it. :D
TF: ALSO, most important of all! ALL inspiration for this story comes from a digital drawing I saw called "Zone Cop – Coffee Break" on DA, showing Zlaze and Zilver. You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, that one was worth 4,864 words. *thumbs-up!*
LINK: :/ / elsonwong. deviantart art /ZONE -COP -Coffee -Break -287 351 223
TF: Link probably won't work, so here's a tip – type in "zone cop coffee break" and it'll be the FIRST picture up on Google Search engine. I also imagine him looking like that in the story. Zilver, I mean. :) Thank you, Elsonwong, for drawing that!
Skye: Now ... ONTO THE STORY!
Wilbur: I'll get the coffee ... or chocolate milk, since none of us actually DRINK coffee.
TF: Oh, yes, thank you for reminding me, Wilbur!
Wilbur: Huh?
TF: The name for the fiery Iblis (or Ziblis, another XD) creatures, "Biters", was coined by SkyBlue-Dreamer in her story "Keeping the Clock Running", so thanks! At least, I think she coined it ... maybe SEGA gave that as their name ... eh, I don't know, if Biters IS their real name, then obviously, that's owned by SEGA.
Skye: The cover is part of the actual inspiration drawing for "Lack of Love"! Hope you like the story, review what your think! (And be NICE ...)
TF: One more thing, sorry for the INSANELY long author's note, but ...
To werewolf lover99: Nice name, thanks for the suggestion, but I'm using Soul Lemonade. And what does TF stand for? Ten Faith. :)
TF: Jesus loves you and is coming VERY soon! This is it! Be prepared, because things are gonna happen really soon, and the world won't know what hit it ... but if you love and follow Jesus, you will know, and you'll know what to do. Remember that.
Wilbur: And just because we can, we'll do two quotes – half for the two people, Cool and Tower, they're dedicated to, but also partially because we just couldn't resist putting both up. They fit way too well.
"If I can be an inspiration for someone, that's fine ... but just don't look down on me. Don't say, 'Oh, you're in a wheelchair'." – Mark Zupan
"God did not create evil. Just as darkness is the absence of light, evil is the absence of God." – Albert Einstein
ღ Lack of Love ღ
SLAM!
The gray Kitsune Cat slammed shut the steel door to his locker, swinging his book-bag over his shoulder as he set up the combination lock. 3-1-6 ... click. Upon hearing the satisfactory sound of the lock sliding into place, the Mobian stepped away from his locker, turning on his heel to walk down the white-tile hallway of what looked like a school building, glancing at his black watch with the glowing, green numbers.
11:16 PM
Lowering his gaze from heat-sensing the numbers, the Cat, Zirtual the Gospel Kitsune Cat, shouldered his bag and sped up his pace a bit as he headed for a flight of stairs ahead, pulling the dark gray hood of his hoodie jacket over his head. Being from the Dimension of Zones, No Zone, Zirtual had a job in the Zone Cops Corporal as a Zone Cop, level Intermediate. He was hoping to become an Ace one day, but due to his defect of being blind, even with his powers of heat sense, that didn't seem to be a very likely happening. Besides, the job of an Ace Cop was the most dangerous of all ... for all your friends knew, if you were an Ace, you might not make it back alive after a mission. Heck, any level of Zone Cop made you a target. They didn't have their guns with them at all times for the fun of it.
Reaching the stairs, Zirtual swiftly ascended upward, his hand sliding along the railing as his heat-sense gave him a precise image of where to place his feet to prevent himself from tumbling, something he no longer had to take time doing. The Kitsune was hurrying to reach his night class of Technology, as he was planning to enroll part-time as a computer tech in the Base. He was unusually good at computer stuff, so he had skipped the basic classes and was going to learn the actual, tech stuff. Pulling a sheet of paper out of the pocket of his black jeans, Zirtual let his senses scan the wording. All right, the Tech Class for Intermediate was in room M-74 ...
"Zirtual! Wait up!"
Zirtual turned to see a green and black Hedgehog running towards him, followed by a bright pink Chameleon and a silver Hedgehog in a wheelchair. The Cat smiled widely, waving. "Hey, Zashura! Ziza! Zilver!"
The green Hedgehog caught up, high-fiving Zirtual. "ZR! I haven't seen you in a while!"
"Agreed!" the Kitsune chuckled. "Sorry, I was filling out reports all weekend because Zicole caught a mild virus and had to take things easy."
The Hedgehog, Zashura the Hedgehog, chuckled. "Makes sense. It wasn't another one of those Anti-Nano viruses, was it?" he asked.
Zirtual sighed. "Unfortunately, yes, it was. Ever since Dr. Finitius from Mobius unleashed those parasites, they've been slowing down much of the technology in all dimensions, even after Dr. Zeggman managed to destroy most of them," he mused. "Thank the Lord they can't multiply without their creation formula."
"I know!" the pink female, Ziza the Chameleon, retorted as she smoothed out the wrinkles in her dark yellow sweater. "The cursed things got at my hoverboard only a few weeks ago, and Zotor still hasn't figured out how to remove them. He might be able to if he can replace the Zircon Cores ..."
"He could," the silver Mobian in the wheelchair, Zilver the Hedgehog, pointed out. "But Zircon Cores are very specific with different types of Gears — they can't work with just any board. And on top of that, they're insanely expensive these days!"
"True," Ziza sighed. "Just my luck to get one of those rare invisibility hoverboards."
"Whoa, you HAVE one of those?" Zashura asked in shock, grinning widely as he playfully punched her arm. "You lucky Lizard! How'd you manage to snag one of those things?"
"I have connections."
Zirtual raised an eyebrow teasingly. "I think Zespio is rubbing off on you."
"You think?" Zilver laughed.
Ziza looked up at the clock on the wall. "I think," she stated. "That we'll be late for Junior Tech if we don't hurry."
The green and black teenager gasped. "Chaos, you're RIGHT!"
Zilver face-palmed. "When is she ever wrong?"
Zashura wrinkled his muzzle. "Shouldn't you and Zirtual be going to Intermediate Tech?"
"Shouldn't you be going to Junior?" the silver Hedgehog retorted.
"... Touché."
Zirtual chuckled. "Well, good luck on your class!" he told Zashura.
Zashura grinned. "Eh, I don't need luck, I'm gonna pass by with flying colors! Speaking of colors, after the classes end, wanna meet up at the Colored Wisp? Milkshakes on me!"
Zirtual shrugged. "Sure, why not? I'll pay for the burgers, Zilver did that the last three times."
"Finally, someone noticed."
Ziza rolled her eyes and quickly walked down the hall, waving back at the boys. "C'mon, Zash, we'll be late!" she called.
Zashura rolled his own three-colored eyes. "Yeah, yeah, keep your scales on!" he retorted, then flipped Zirtual and Zilver a thumbs-up and a smirk. "Later!"
The Hedgehog ran after the Chameleon. "Yeesh, Ziz, wait up! Since when did you get so fast?!"
"Since now, ya doy!" she laughed as they turned a corner, vanishing, voices fading away.
SLAM!
Zirtual jumped despite himself, and Zilver chuckled, slipping on his backpack as he used his mind-moving powers to lock the now-closed locker. "These things are loud, aren't they?" he asked.
The Kitsune smiled, pushing his bangs out of his eyes as he shouldered his own backpack. "Yes, they are," he answered, shaking his head as he walked down the hall in the direction Ziza and Zashura had gone in.
Zilver grinned, turning to roll after him. "Maybe I should go and introduce myself!"
Zirtual laughed. "Hey, you watched Zoot?"
The teenager nodded. "Yeah, Zamy forced me to a year back," he shrugged. "Actually, it was pretty good! My favorite character is Zary — just for the humor and comic relief alone!"
Zirtual nodded. "I liked Zoy to be honest, but yeah, Zary's up there! Zeatrice reminds me of Zae. Not that that's a bad thing!" he quickly added.
Zilver waved an aqua-marked hand. "Don't worry, Zir, I get it! She's your next-door neighbor, isn't she?"
"And Zashura's sister? Yes."
Zilver grinned. "Almost forgot about that part! Anyway, speaking of neighbors, how are things back home?"
The gray Cat glanced at his watch as he sped up. "Mm, well, my parents are expecting a Kitten—"
"Congratulations!"
"—And Zoney told me her grandmother finally received the shipment of books she ordered a month back. Dad also got better Wi-Fi connection back home."
He chuckled. "No more fifteen minute loading periods!"
Zilver laughed. "Yeah, those types of things are annoying as Chaos!"
Zirtual turned another corner. "So, how about you?"
The silver Hedgehog shrugged. "As good as humanly possible. I mean, I'm kinda upset about having to quit being an Ace Cop, but I've always wanted to see what Tech was like," he admitted.
"You quit?" the Kitsune asked in surprise.
Zilver crossed his arms. "'Temporarily retired' would be a better term, but technically, yes," he murmured. "I mean, what kind of help would I be in a wheelchair? You usually can't be on the Ace team if you have or had any serious injuries or disorders. Besides, even if I can come back on after I get out of this ... thing, I have to go through physical therapy, then redo Cop training back from square one, go through all the tests and exams ... it's just a hassle I don't feel like going through right now."
Zirtual nodded. Zilver had been in part of a murder attempt during an Ace Cop mission around six months back, and while he hadn't been the intended target, got almost fatally involved anyway.
Around that time, Dr. Zeggman had received news from Tails the Kitsune Fox, a native of the Dimension of Mobius, that a dangerous, demonic Hedgehog being named Mephiles had somehow accessed the Dimension of Zones in the hopes of spreading his dark shadows throughout the hundreds of other existing dimensions. Naturally, the Zone Cops would not stand for it, and Dr. Zeggman sent out the lead Zone Cops, which were Zonic, Zhadow, Zilver, Zlaze, Znuckles, Zamy, Zespio, and Zouge. Since Mephiles had just arrived, he would be at his weakest since the portal teleportation, and thus hopefully easier to capture and seal into the created Scepter.
After locating Mephiles, the Ace Coos had quite the time tracking him down directly, resulting in a literal chase through the No Zone City before it resulted into a full blown battle in the outskirts of Zrisis City. Mephiles had created hundreds of cloned copies of himself to avoid capture, and the Zone Cops had quickly set to work destroying every Mephiles in the canyon, as they figured that only the real Mephiles would fight back and be far harder to defeat. After all, he WAS a demon of darkness, and power was something he wasn't short of.
Unfortunately, that was exactly what Mephiles wanted them to think.
While the Ace Cops were spread out and using their powers to take out the clones, it turned out one of the fallen "clones" was actually Mephiles himself, who pretended to be dead in order to launch his own attack. Zhadow being the closest target and having his back turned while he Zircon Speared the copies, the demon had quickly created a Dark Chaos Lance, aiming it at Zhadow. Zlaze, however, had been in just the right position to see Mephiles behind Zhadow, and screamed a warning as he threw the Lance, fully intending to kill Zhadow by impaling him through the back. Even if Zhadow was immortal, his immorality couldn't work against both another immortal and the power of pure Darkness, and Mephiles somehow knew it.
Zilver, however, being the second closest, had flying-tackled Zhadow out of the way of the Lance, thus saving Zhadow from what could have been a death strike. Unfortunately, the Lance had struck Zilver's legs, badly injuring him, and in the commotion, Mephies had slipped away, safely escaping, much to the anger of the other Cops. Zilver had to be admitted into a hospital for almost four months, the Dark energy having temporarily paralyzed him from the waist down, but his gradual recovery at least let him leave the hospital two months back, even if he was stuck in a wheelchair. By now, the paralysis was slowly wearing off so Zilver could at least move his legs a little, but it'd be a while before he was walking again, let alone running or flying.
"At least you're alive," Zirtual pointed out.
Zilver smiled faintly. "Yeah, that's true ... I still miss flying, though. It's much harder to do it when you're lugging around what feels like a fifty-pound wheelchair."
"That's because it is a fifty-pound wheelchair."
"Exactly."
The blind Mobian chuckled, and the silver Hedgehog suddenly grinned, pointing ahead. "Hey, look! There's Zails!"
Zirtual turned as a yellow Mobian ran over, and smiled widely. "Zails! Nice to see you here!" he told the Kitsune. "I didn't know you took classes here."
Zails, a yellow Kitsune Fox wearing a white lab coat and glasses, laughed. "Oh, no, I work here Fridays as the class assistant!" he explained. "I make sure everything's working and that the lessons are properly taught, as well as aiding the teacher, Dr. Zurns, when needed. Another thing I do is gather test papers ..."
He smirked. "Go out to get the students that are running late ..."
"CHAOS!" Zirtual exclaimed, sprinting down the hall in a blur of gray fur. "I completely forgot!"
"Whoa, slow down!" Zilver called, going after the Kitsune Cat. "I can't go that fast! Heck, I could barely go that fast when I was fine!"
"Besides, you're not late, there's still a minute more until class starts!" Zails added, walking after the teenaged friends.
Zirtual screeched to a stop in front of one of the doors, heat-scanning it and breathing out a sigh of relief upon reading the letters "M-74" engraved on it, pushing it open with his shoulder. "Hey, not bad for a blind person, huh?" he smiled.
Zails and Zilver caught up, the latter playfully punching Zirtual in the arm. "Not bad, but not good either!" he teased.
Zirtual did a fake gasp. "Well! All I have to say is ... you're MEAN."
"My feelings!"
"C'mon you two, cut it out ..." Zails snickered, trying and failing to keep himself composed as he walked inside, Zirtual following and letting the door swing shut.
The room inside was the typical white, brightly-lit modern classroom, desks and chairs lined up with a Nanite blackboard in the front, bordered by various graphs and diagrams. Workbooks were laid out on the desks, and many teenaged and young adult Mobians were milling about, taking their designated seats in the room. At the blackboard, a dark orange Chameleon with green eyes and wearing a lab coat similar to Zails' was typing and printing papers at a laptop, and Zails waved before walking over to the Mobian, apparently their teacher, Dr. Zurns.
Spotting his name on one of the steel desks, Zirtual slid into his chair, taking off his backpack to plop it onto the cold, metal surface and unpack his supplies. Zilver took the desk just across and one row behind Zirtual, dropping his books onto it with a thud. The other students soon followed, taking their seats, and Zirtual looked around before leaning back. "Hey, Zilv?" he whispered.
Zilver looked up, pencil tucked into his quills, which had been cut much shorter then they'd originally been before the incident. "Yeah?"
The blind Kitsune pointed across the room at another one of the students, a purple WeasOlf, or Weasel/Wolf hybrid, with dark brown eyes and a white gauze patch on his head. "It looks like Zang got hurt recently ..."
Zilver nodded, looking back into his bag. "Yeah, I know, I did that."
Zirtual raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You did what?"
The Hedgehog rolled his golden eyes. "He called me a cripple today, so I used my telekinesis to drop a tree branch on his head."
Zirtual grinned. "You sly dog!"
"Hedgehog!" Zilver corrected, laughing. "And, well, he seems to keep forgetting my legs got hurt, not my mind."
He tapped his forehead. "As long as my head and mind are fine, I'll continue covering random objects in aqua energy and throwing them at people who seem to have nothing better to do then insult other people. Plus, the tree branch was also for him hiding Zails' glasses last week."
"What about him dumping blue paint on Zhadow?"
"Meh, I think he already dealt with Zang ... Zircon Blasted him, then threatened to shove a nuclear grenade down his throat and press the button next time he even attempted to preform a repeat."
"... I think Zhadow needs serious anger management."
"Tell us something we don't know."
Over an hour later, Intermediate Tech class was almost over. Having gone over the layouts of computer coding and technology, the usage of certain chips and programs as well as preprogrammed information, and how it all worked had filled up three entire pages of Zirtual's black notebook — single-spaced. The Kitsune Cat, although he admitted some parts were rather dry, found most of the class quite fascinating, and there was no doubt Zilver had the same view. The silver Mobian had always been amazed at technology, having grown up in Zrisis City, which had plenty of technological workings in it — at least, it would if the workings actually worked, which they hadn't since a few hundred years back.
Thank those Ziblis creatures, the Biters, for that. They certainly made sure few dared to go into the City, and even fewer lived there.
"Students?"
Zirtual's large ears perked as he looked up, along with the rest of the class. Dr. Zurns had turned to face his wards, arms crossed as he held a laser pointer in one hand, green eyes studying the sitting Mobians. "I would like to ask you all a question."
The students looked at each other, soft murmurs rippling through the room as they nodded or shrugged, and the Chameleon motioned around the room. "Did God create everything that exists?"
Zirtual's white eyes blinked in confusion. Wait, no offense, but when was God ever mentioned in Tech classes? Even Zails, sitting at his own desk as he went through grading sheets, looked up in confusion, pushing his glasses back up his nose. The gray Kitsune suddenly realized he should answer his teacher, but before he could do so, Zilver beat him to it. "Yeah, he did!" the Hedgehog stated, putting his pencil down on the desk as he finished marking off the differences between an A circuit and a B circuit.
"God created everything?" the professor asked again.
Zilver nodded. "Yes, sir."
Dr. Zurns smiled, flicking his curled, orange tail. "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil."
Zirtual's mouth dropped open, and he had a sudden feeling of deja vu, like something like this had somehow happened to him in an alternate dimension, only he was a little kid and the teacher was a female Hedgehog named Thelma. He shook his head.
Yeah, right.
Zilver looked equally shocked at how coolly Dr. Zurns had flipped around his words, and opened his mouth to protest, then slowly closed it as he realized he had no idea what to say to that. Dr. Zurns looked quite pleased with himself as he turned to face the other students, beginning to boast to them about how he'd proven once more that the Christian faith was a scam and a myth. Zails looked stunned, Zilver still obviously in shock, and Zirtual just covered his ears, tuning out the professor's burning, insulting words. Who was he to say God was evil?! How DARE he?! After all God did for the world, after he sent Jesus to die for the entire WORLD, he just treated the belief in the Holy Trinity worse then a paper ball! That was WRONG! Why? Why did people insist on pushing away and insulting God? Why didn't they at least TRY Him out? What did the world have that he didn't? God loved them all so much ... Zirtual could only imagine how much the heavenly Father was feeling right now, and the mere thought angered him.
Dr. Zurns said God was evil because he "created" evil? Zirtual wouldn't stand for it, not in a million years. He'd shown Zonic how a simple deck of cards had the fingerprints of God all over them just a few weeks earlier. Well, he had a feeling Dr. Zurns wouldn't see the cards the same way ... but the Kitsune had more then one idea up his sleeve.
He raised one white-gloved hand. "Can I ask you a question, Dr. Zurns?"
"Of course," the orange Chameleon replied, turning to Zirtual.
The Kitsune stood up from his seat and took a deep breath. Here went nothing ...
"Dr. Zurns, does cold exist?"
He raised an eyebrow. "What kind of question is that?" the Mobian asked in disbelief. "Of course it exists! Have you never been cold?"
The other students snickered at Zirtual's seemingly idiotic question, but the Cat ignored them. "In fact, sir," he replied. "Cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460F˚) is the total absence of heat — all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."
Mocking chuckles turned into impressed murmurs at Zirtual's words, and Zails nodded, smiling. Being a young genius, he knew easily that every word the Cat had just spoken was correct. Zilver wasn't too sure, but looked amazed anyway. Zirtual continued. "Dr. Zurns, does darkness exist?"
Dr. Zurns snorted. "Of course it does."
He shook his head, gray bangs swaying. "Once again, you are wrong, sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact, we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."
More impressed murmurs, and Zails flipped Zirtual and thumbs-up, indicating he was correct yet again. Zilver leaned forward. "Zir? What does this have to do with what he just said about God being evil?" the Hedgehog asked in a low tone.
Zirtual leaned back a bit. "You'll see," he whispered, then straightened, his white eyes staring at Dr. Zurns. "Dr. Zurns ... does evil exist?"
The professor rolled his green eyes, although he looked slightly uneasy at the question. "Of course!" he responded. "As I have already said, we see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."
To this, Zirtual fell silent, then slowly shook his head. "... Evil does not exist, sir — or at least, it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold ... a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light. It's our lack of love."
Dead silence, and Dr. Zurns just stared at Zirtual in shock at how coolly he'd turned around his own words, exactly as the teacher had turned around Zilver's just minutes before. After a long pause, slow clapping came into hearing, and everyone turned to see that Zilver had started clapping his aqua-marked hands together, and Zails smiled, standing up as he started clapping as well. Another student stood, joining in, followed by another, then another, then another, until almost the entire room had stood up and was clapping loudly, grinning ear to ear. Dr. Zurns sighed as he sat back down, completely deflated, and Zirtual sat down as well, blushing slightly from all the attention as he ducked his head down.
Something poked his arm, and the Kitsune turned his head. Zilver drew away the eraser end of the pencil he'd used to get Zirtual's attention and, leaning forward, whispered, "That was AWESOME!"
Zirtual smiled faintly, pushing his bangs out of his white eyes. "Well, it's true. Evil is just the lack of love in the world, the lack of love towards our brothers and sisters and, most importantly, towards God."
He motioned around the clapping room. "Just look at what he created. God isn't evil. God is nothing but goodness, and he loves us very, very much."
Zilver smirked.
"Tell us something we don't know."
"For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."
Psalm 100:5, KJV (King James Version)
TF (TFTime)