Penna dreaded having to take the mile-long walk to the other Warden's office. She flipped through the hurriedly-scribbled notes she'd just taken, trying to figure out exactly what it was she was going to report in.
"Miss Howl." A gruff voice barked through the tiny speaker on her collar button. Her train of thought halted right then.
Penna sighed heavily before pressing the button to respond. "Yes Jared, what is it?" She made no attempt to mask the annoyed tone of her voice.
There was a pause before another, much angrier voice could be heard shouting in the background.
"Tell her to hurry the hell up!"
Penna pursed her lip and lightly smacked her forehead.
"Miss Howl, the Warden wants to see you right away."
"Of course he does." She sighed, before pressing the button again. "Tell him not to lose his pretty little head, I'm on my way."
She hesitated for a moment before swearing under her breath and storming down the rest of the hallway.
She'd barely reached the door to the other's office before she could hear the shouting coming from within. Whoever it was inside was clearly not in any friendly mood. Penna didn't even bother knocking, as no one would have heard her.
"I can't believe this! Does he even know the trouble he's caused? What the hell am I supposed to do now?"
"You should be happy." Penna said calmly, leaning against the door-frame. "Now you have someone around who might actually want to hear you scream."
"I didn't ask for your opinion Howl!" The other slammed his hand on his desk, causing his coffee cup a stack of papers to tip over. Jared, now donning a more self-confident manner, wearing an olive-colored uniform and eye-patch over his right eye, had been standing beside the other and was now busying himself with cleaning up the mess of spilled coffee and papers.
"No, but you did ask to see me." Penna responded flatly.
The other pinched the bridge of his nose. Jared stepped out, taking the pile of coffee-stained papers with him to replace them with cleaner ones.
"For your sake, I wouldn't push it too far today." He whispered quietly as he passed her.
"What did you find out?" The other asked, the stress of his current predicament showing on his face and in his voice. "Can we kill him or not?"
Penna thought for a moment. She strode her way to the nearest chair in front of his desk.
"I'm no expert on these things," she began, flipping again through her notes. "But I'm almost positive that if you killed him it'd be like killing yourself."
"Of course it would be..."
"I mean, if that the only solution you've been able to come up with then of course I'd be happy to help." She smiled innocently, dramatically turning a page.
The other smiled as well, out of warning, gritting his teeth.
"Oh you're going to help alright. You're going to watch his every move and make damn well sure that he stays out of the way!"
"You already have me doing that."
"Well...Th-then do it better!" He put his hands on his hips making sure his point was understood. "Does he at least remember how he built the damn thing?"
"Yes. And why don't you, exactly?" Penna asked pointedly.
The other's eyes darted around for a second. "Because I'm busy trying to successfully take over the world! I don't have time to play with stupid toys."
Penna rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, obviously. What do you want some with him now?"
"I don't care! Just get him whatever supplies he needs and get him out of here."
She took that as her cue to leave and halfheartedly saluted him on her way out.
The Warden pushed back the curtains of his window and felt disgusted at what he saw below.
Hundreds of dome-like tents spread out in uniform rows all kept safe by a towering steel and barbed-wire fence. A flagpole waving a white flag with a red circled cross design stood in the center of this prison-like camp. A few medics could be seen sprinting around the camp carting wounded patience on stretchers.
He was used to seeing this sort of thing. He was used to seeing it from a warden's point of view. The more he stared out his window, the more he felt like a prisoner in his own prison.
His mind turned to the thought of his beloved and now destroyed SuperJail. He rested his head against the glass, trying to figure out what his future-self's plans might be.
It had only been a passing fancy that popped into his head when he'd been swooped away to the mercy of the Time-Court. He had only caught a glimpse of his future-self and ambitions. He'd completely ignored every shred of evidence provided by the Judge that he would and indeed had turned into someone completely ruthless. At the time he only laughed and admired how astonishing and powerful he looked.
He made a point to himself, watching another wounded person get whisked away, that if he ever- no no, when he got back to his own time he'd shove away any more fleeting desires of world domination.
A light tap on his shoulder brought him out of his trance. As he turned around he instantly jumped back, hitting his head.
"Ack... Y-you!" He stammered, pushing himself further into the window.
"Eheh, truce?" Penna smiled sheepishly. She lifted up a nicely folded lively-purple suit in one hand, matching top-hat and cane in the other.
The Warden stared at her before snatching up his clothes.
"Nothing to drink this time?" He snarled, placing his hat on. He ran his fingers across the brim, making sure it still fit.
"I'm not here for that... and if it counts for anything, I'm sorry."
"Right," he dismissed, "So why are you here?"
"Well, if you're up for it I'm supposed to take you on a tour, then later help you compile a list of materials you need to rebuild your machine." Penna looked around for a moment, as if looking for something neither were quite aware of. "But if you're not up to it now then I understand."
The Warden was about to say something, but was interrupted by the beeping noise coming from her collar button.
Penna held her breath and shut her eyes. "One sec, 'kay?" She didn't wait for the Warden to give her permission before she turned around to answer whoever was calling her.
"Yes?"
"What are you doing?" The sharp-sounding voice of the other echoed statically throughout.
"Why do you insist on asking questions you already know the answer to?"
"Shut up! Has he got the list ready or not?"
"Would you relax? I just got here. No he doesn't have a list ready." She paused, glancing over her shoulder. The Warden's expression was that of terror outweighed by confusion.
"You don't do you?" Penna asked him. He silently shook his head, mouth slightly open.
"Argh! HURRY UP!" The speaker cut out after creating a harsh screeching noise.
Penna growled under her breath before shaking herself into a calmer composure. She heaved another cough-chuckle at the Warden, pulling a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"So, like I said. If you don't feel up to it I completely understand."
The Warden shook his head again, tossing his suit on the bed.
"No I want out of here just as much as he wants me to be." He gestured towards her vest pocket.
"Can I borrow that?"
She nodded, taking her pen out and flipping rapidly through her notebook to find a clean page. It took a few seconds as it was pretty full. She handed him the pen first, a bit reluctant to give him the book.
The Warden eyed her, clicking the pen. "So what sort of things do you-" He yanked the book from her hands. "Keep in here?"
He sprinted to the side then across the room. Penna, a bit stunned took a moment before chasing him.
"N-no wait! Don't!"
The Warden leaped past her, giggling as he turned to the most recent page he could find.
"Give it back you jerk!" He leaped again.
He wasn't absorbing what it was he was reading aloud and as Penna chased after him he continued to jump to and from all sides of his room, quite enjoying himself so much so he nearly forgot about his tender limbs.
"Goodness gracious you have atrocious handwriting." He snickered. "Ah, let's see; 'subject enters doorway. Subject find a pod-like machine and hides upon seeing himself. He then tries to alter memory.'"
The Warden, now bouncing on his bed stopped. Another look of confusion grew on his face. Penna panted, out of breath from his game. She bent over, holding herself up on her knees.
The Warden continued to read from her notes, now expressing more concern than confusion.
"'Subject is then pulled to most recent traumatic experience. Subject is not forced to fully review this memory.'" He looked to Penna, then back to the notebook. "'Subject's identity confirmed.'"