"Yeah when you big stinky nerd" - DeltaERB, Foxhole text channel "#memes_and_dumbs," circa September 2020.
Hey everyone, welcome back!
This took waaay longer than it should have, though when it comes to balancing writing between school, work, etc, my main issue tends to just be procrastination. Either way, here we are. As of posting this, I should have a few other chapters written, but at the very least there'll be a big enough backlog to post somewhat consistently.
Also, I'm aware that I called this a "sequel" to Journey, but I'm (somewhat) vetoing that. This is officially (sort-of) another AU.
I'd like to dedicate this story to the Foxhole VC. You know who you are. I love you guys.
TimeWarp when? TimeWarp is now.
"TimeWarp"
By SpaceCat010
Chapter I
A faint snore came from the sole occupant of a tan lounge chair. Their feet were stretched out, one propped up on the other, both dressed in a pair of freshly-shined black dress shoes. A navy blue pair of pants followed upwards, neatly ironed and free of any specks of dust or debris. The accompanying dress shirt completing the police uniform had a few small pins mounted firmly on the shirt's cotton collar, proudly displaying the resting figure's rank and insignia. A lone officer, wearing a different set of pins and insignia on their uniform, likely showing a much higher rank on the chain of command, calmly and quietly stepped up to the sleeping figure's seat, casting a quick glance at the sun shining warm rays on the both of them.
"Excuse me, Detective Amana," said the standing figure. Their voice was deep, calm, and above all, collected.
Amana's eyes opened slightly from his light nap, recognizing the voice to be that of one of his superiors. The shepherd pulled off the cap which had been previously covering his eyes, gently brushing it past his pointy tan ears. He turned his head to his right, spotting a tall and burly figure. After letting his eyes focus for a brief moment, he recognized the great dane standing next to him. A small metallic name plate resting above the man's right breast-pocket listed off his name in neatly-printed, emboldened lettering.
"Good afternoon, Captain," Amana greeted. The Captain gave a small nod before continuing.
"I understand you're on your break, detective, however we've just had a new report in a case come in that I'd like to have you working on," he explained. "Multiple banks have been robbed one after the other, with nearly all evidence being erased afterwards."
Amana's ears pricked towards the Captain.
"Nearly all, huh? No CCTV or physical evidence? Also, wouldn't this case be better suited for a Senior Detective?"
The Captain knew he'd have Amana's interest with the 'little evidence' part. The great dane let out the slightest smirk and continued his description as he shifted his weight to one foot.
"Well, there's one little bit of evidence, but it's classified."
Amana cocked an eyebrow.
"What, you don't know? You're the Captain."
The Captain shook his head.
"Should you agree to work this case, you'll be working with the Special Operations division of Space Dynamics to solve it; that's how tight-lipped this is. So no, I don't know what you'll be dealing with." The man put a hand on the shepherd's shoulder, reassuring him with a lowered voice. "You're the one of the hardest working detectives we've got in the precinct, Zach. I trust you can handle this. We'll consider this as part of your training for Senior Detective."
Zach pondered on the proposition. He'd heard about the RD team at Space Dynamics designing a multitude of prototypes and concepts, many of which seemed right out of science fiction, yet they still managed to make them both economically and militarily viable. Of course, they were also partially responsible for the iconic Arwings, designed for and used by a couple special military squadrons, as well the mercenary group Star Fox. He'd seen a few showcases of them, though there wasn't much said about them, at least to someone at his level.
Amana mulled over the prospect of working with one of the most advanced technological research and innovation teams for a few brief moments, and looked back up at the Captain.
"I'm in," the shepherd said confidently, slowly reaching his hands behind his head and intertwining his fingers.
The look on the Captain's face was almost amused. Amana had a history of taking on some of the precinct's toughest cases, yet still somehow carrying a calm yet jovial demeanor about him at all times. It almost amazed him, Amana truly was a one-of-a-kind detective, one that he was beginning to realize he could count on from the straight-forward to the near-impossible.
The Captain chuckled and turned to leave. "The contact info's been emailed to you."
Zach gave the Captain a thumbs-up and a 'got it,' then got up out of the lounge chair. After twisting his back left and right and popping a few vertebrae, he cast a quick glance back out at the clear Corneria City sky, before turning and heading back into the precinct. The balcony door closed and latched with a small click.
After skimming back through the contact info on his phone for the umpteenth time, Zach pressed the power button on the side of his phone and shoved the sleek, black rectangle into his pocket. The parking lot was fairly empty by now, seeing as almost everyone else working in the precinct had gone home by now. Of course, he had been the exception, and was just now walking up to his vehicle. The silver scandinavian car was resting in a parking space in the corner of the lot, the shade of a nearby tree doing its best to protect the old car from the blazing sun.
The car was a little over two decades old at that time, around the same age as Zach himself. Though, that didn't stop him from driving the silver sedan every day since he bought it when he was a teenager. Despite having nearly a hundred thousand miles on the odometer, the car just never seemed to give up, much like the driver who poured countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears restoring every inch of the vehicle to pristine condition.
He pulled out of the parking lot, feeling the 5-cylinder, turbocharged beryllium-powered engine growl all throughout the car. After twisting and turning through numerous streets, he arrived at a large skyscraper, with several large concrete extensions built into the sides of it at the base. The very top of the glass and metal building still reflected the retreating sun off its reflective surface, though it wouldn't be for long.
One labyrinth of winding concrete paths, bright street lamps, and location signs later, Zach found himself at the base of a large parking garage, with two armed guards standing on either side of the driveway. One of them stepped up to his driver-side door, and Zach rolled his window down. The bulldog that asked for his ID had a gruff, gravel-y voice, one that meant business. Zach nodded, and pulled a card out of his wallet before passing it over to him. The guard studied it for a brief moment, before speaking into the radio mounted to his shoulder. A short while later, a response came from the radio, and the dog returned the card before signalling him to continue into the layered concrete building.
After parking his car and following several signs, Zach found himself strolling along a wide concrete walking path, eyeing the different patterns, arrangements, and designs that led up to the gigantic main entrance of the Space Dynamics tower. A pattern imprinted on the concrete underneath his feet layered in every direction, showcasing the same, block-y pattern all along the walkway. Also along the walkway were numerous fountains, showcased by intricate, sophisticated sculptures of metals and concrete. Along the outer edge, a sprawling vegetational arrangement encased the pathway in a brilliant green hue, with the occasional flower dotted along to contrast it. Leading up to the gigantic glass doors were a series of concrete arches, each adorned with a flowing pattern that twisted and turned in on itself throughout the entire length of the structure.
As Zach approached the grandiose front of the building, a tan feline wearing a spiffy uniform and a little shorter than him greeted him at the door. The woman grabbed the polished metal handle and opened the tall glass door for him, her gloved hands preventing any hand or fingerprints from reaching the polished metal. She gestured for him to continue into the building, to which Zach nodded and headed inside. The cat watched him through the glass for a few moments after closing the door, before tapping her earpiece and speaking into it.
The shepherd stepped into the gigantic lobby, glancing around at the numerous flags, emblems, and patterns that were hung, painted, and etched onto the ceiling, walls, and floor. A few groups of personnel were walking and talking with each other, each tending to their own matter of business. A large, round wooden desk sat in the center of the room, with two receptionists stationed on either side. Seeing as one of them wasn't talking to anyone, Zach stepped up to the edge of the desk. The receptionist cocked an eyebrow at first, explaining that they hadn't seen them here before. Zach responded by telling them his name, and that he was there on a case from the police department. The bird at the table seemed to understand immediately, and tapped away at their keyboard for a few moments before reaching to their left and speaking into a small microphone.
"Someone'll be down here to escort you in a few, just sit tight."
Zach thanked them, then walked over to one of the benches surrounding a large indoor fountain before sitting down and pulling out his phone.
'Here's hoping this case goes smoothly.'
-[TW]-
Fara Phoenix, Chief Executive Officer of Space Dynamics and flying extraordinaire, passed by two guards stationed outside of the Space Dynamics Special Operations and Research Laboratory. The Special Operations Laboratory, usually just referred to as the Spec-Ops Lab, was only used for top secret projects, typically under contracts from the Cornerian Defense Force or other military branches, or sometimes the occasional attempt to defy fundamental scientific laws in order to create copious amounts of shredded cheese for late-night consumption.
Today, however, the lab was being used for the former, and she'd brought a friend along with her.
Standing proudly next to the sandy-colored fennec was Slippy Toad, Head of Engineering and Technical Design at Space Dynamics, and an all-around nerd. A former member of the mercenary group Star Fox, and had since hung up his wings several years after the defeat of the aparoid threat to pursue a career at the aerospace engineering giant. Though he didn't work directly as a part of Star Fox anymore, Space Dynamics designed, built, refined, and produced the iconic Arwings that the mercenary team used; an elite, ultra-range starfighter that dominated the battlefields in the skies and among the stars since its origin, the magnum opus of Cornerian innovation and engineering.
The frog and the fox each looked through a small protrusion next to a large set of steel double doors, until a low beep escaped a speaker next to the device. The words "Retinas Verified" appeared on a small display, followed by a loud clicking sound, signaling that the two were now allowed to enter the lab. The entrance opened, revealing a room lined with lab tables and computers, accompanied by a testing room behind a wall of reinforced glass. As the two walked inside, a spotted brown feline with high, pointed ears and a lab coat came up beside Fara and handed her a clipboard. The steel doors closed and locked themselves behind them with a low thud as Fara took the clipboard.
"This one's fresh off the printer, I think we got everything in," the cat explained as she continued to walk alongside the two.
"Thanks, Miyu. I think a detective from the precinct was supposed to come by soon to help us with this," Fara replied. Miyu nearly did a double take at hearing that, causing the sandy fennec to stop and give her a flat look.
"What?"
"Wait, so you're just gonna let some Joe Shmoe from the CCPD take this? I'm pretty sure this is way bigger, like 'threat-to-literally-everything' scale," the lynx retorted, making air-quotes at the last part.
The two stopped outside another door, Slippy trailing behind and looking back and forth in between the two of them as they entered one of the testing rooms.
"Well, given that he's had a hand in solving pretty much all of the cold cases for the CCPD dating back a couple decades, I'd say he's at least competent enough to handle this," Fara explained. This time, Miyu actually did a double take.
"All of them?"
"From what I've heard, yeah, if not most of them," Fara said as they stopped in front of a giant test chamber, behind a set of reinforced glass. "Now, show me what you've got. I don't feel like reading any more lab reports today."
"Well, given that you pay for all the printer ink, I'm not gonna complain." Miyu opened a thick metal door next to the viewing window, before stepping inside and pulling a small gray box, about a cubic foot in size, with a crash test symbol on each of its six sides. A few moments later, the lynx returned and closed the door behind her, before walking over to a computer and pulling out a small microphone next to the monitor.
"We've been trying to reverse-engineer the stuff we found at all the crime scenes. Apparently it's an artifact left behind from time dilation," Miyu explained.
"Commencing test number 73 in test chamber one, repeat; number 73. Come by if you want to see the fireworks," she said into the mic.
The feline tapped away on the keyboard for a few moments, causing a large gap to open in the wall of the test chamber. What looked to be a standard ion cannon emerged from the compartment, as a view of where the cannon pointed displayed on one of the screens. Miyu grabbed onto a joystick mounted to the desk, slowly tilting her hand as she positioned the canon to point at the box. After adjusting a few more controls, the feline turned her head back to the microphone, counting down as she rested her finger on a green button. The cannon began to emit a loud hum as it powered up, causing the coils surrounding it to glow brightly.
"5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Engage." Miyu pushed the button, causing a loud noise that could only be described as a combination between a gunshot from a high-caliber rifle and a giant vacuum cleaner to slice through the sterile air in the testing area. A bright purple flash, almost white in color engulfed the chamber and the viewing room on the other side of the window, fading after a few seconds.
Fara moved her yellow-furred hand away from her eyes, peering into the test chamber. Her visage gained an excited expression, yet she still maintained her professional demeanor. Slippy, on the other hand, stared wide-eyed, unable to contain his childish excitement.
The gray cube had vanished without a single trace. A few moments later, Miyu looked down at her watch before she began counting down on one hand.
"And... 3... 2... 1..."
Another flash of white and purple blanketed the test chamber, and the cube had reappeared. The other lab workers who had stopped by let out a round of applause, some even let out a few cheers as their labor had finally come to fruition. Fara's look of excitement had increased tenfold as she realized what this test finally meant.
"Time travel, Fara. It's happening."
-[TW]-
After a short while of waiting on the bench, Zach found himself walking through a hallway off to the side of the main lobby. An armed guard had arrived and brought him to a small hallway way in the back of the building, before giving him a pat-down and questioning him along the way to the lab. He assumed that the guard was probably as a precaution to make sure he didn't try anything, not that he would, but more likely because he wouldn't have been able to get through the lab door. After a few minutes of walking to the lab, they approached a giant metal door, which had a square protrusion containing small cameras off to the side. A small button with a speaker next to it sat on the wall in between the squares, which the guard pushed before speaking into the panel.
"Jake here, I've got a Detective Zach Amana from the CCPD with me."
A few moments later, a voice came through from the other end.
"Hey Jake and Detective Amana from the CCPD, watch your fingers. I'm opening the door."
The guard rolled his eyes.
"Make sure that the detective watches their step, too. Phoenix is in here."
As the light next to the speaker went out, the guard glanced over at Zach, who merely gave a small shrug. The door began to open with a low hum, allowing the two of them to walk inside. A worker in a lab coat walked over and handed Jake a lanyard with a badge on it before directing Jake over to the testing area. The worker gave Jake a small nod, who left the lab as the door closed behind him. The lab worker brought him into the testing room, where a large team of more workers in lab coats seemed to be watching through a large window intently, like they were waiting for something to happen. After a bright flash, the room went up in applause and cheers, and the workers began to make their way out.
The one worker that brought Zach in moved through the small crowd and got the attention of a sandy-colored fennec. Zach watched as the coated worker turned and left, and the fennec began walking towards him. She was the only one in the room not wearing a lab coat, aside from a green toad who was talking to a feline at a desk off to the side.
"Amana, right?"
The vixen had toughened, professional eyes that could cut through steel. Something about her just seemed like she could make anything happen at the snap of her fingers, or a signature along a dotted line. Zach nodded and greeted her, giving her a firm handshake as he briefly glanced past her into the test chamber, seeing a gray cube on a pedestal and an ion cannon retracting back into the wall.
"That's me."
"Fara. Fara Phoenix."
"I take it I missed something important judging by the crowd."
Fara let out a small laugh as she led him out into the main laboratory.
"Well, the team went through quite the endeavor to get us where we are, sometimes I'd even have to pull all-nighters with the lab crew down here," she explained. Zach raised his eyebrow, noticing she'd dodged his question.
'Might as well ask directly.'
"What exactly was the experiment for? If you don't mind me asking," the shepherd inquired. Fara caught his desire to know more, and seeing as he was to be working with them on the case, she decided she'd indulge him.
"Well, to put it simply, time travel," she said as a matter-of-factly.
Zach did a double take. "For real? Like, back-to-the-future, honest-to-god, genuine time travel?"
The vixen chuckled at his excitement, trying her best to shove down her childish excitement and maintain her professional demeanor.
"I didn't stutter, did I?"
The shepherd put up his hands in mock defense. "Just checking."
The two then stopped near a large panel on the wall, flanked by a control panel with several small buttons to the side. The vixen's attitude suddenly became much more serious as she looked him directly in the eye.
"Just by being in here, you've been exposed to classified information, nothing that the average Cornerian- hell, even the average Lylatian should know about," she explained. "Before we go any further, I need to know: Are you in, or are you out," she finished. Fara's fiery eyes bore into Zach's, freezing him in his tracks as everything else around him seemed to slow down. Even if she was shorter than him, she sure knew how to pull off a powerful look.
'No wonder she's the head. No one could beat that stare.'
Zach knew that he didn't really have a choice after she told him about the time travel, but it's not like he would've said no anyway. The vixen's grin that followed seemed almost unsettling, like she could predict and react to his every move in any possible situation. She was a predator, and anyone who attempted to challenge her would be her prey.
"I'm in."
The fennec simply shined a pleased, professional smile, as if the flaming eyes she'd scorched him with just seconds ago was something that would've happened any other day at the office. "Good," she said simply, before pressing a few buttons on the control panel, causing a large rectangular section of the wall to pull back. As the panels slid to the side, a large whiteboard littered with photos, notes, maps, and other pieces of case evidence revealed itself from the ingress. "This set of evidence was just compiled from the most recent crime scenes; you'll be the first to analyze it. See what you can make of it, will you," she asked as Zach stepped forward and began scanning over each piece of evidence on the board, starting from the bottom-left corner.
A photograph of a crime scene was stuck onto the whiteboard with a few magnets. Printed on the rectangular piece of paper was a photograph of a small, chunky mass of a purple, glowing substance. Beside it was a summary of a lab report, listing off the name of the subject and its properties. According to the report, the material had been nicknamed 'Chrono-Matter' by the lab team. Whenever time was dilated, the substance would be left behind as a by-product. While the team wasn't exactly sure why it formed during time dilation, it did seem to have some special properties. The substance was composed of the isotopes beryllium-9 and oxygen-14. The oxygen isotope produced had a half-life of a little over a minute, meaning that after a few hours the whole substance would decay substantially, leaving behind the stable beryllium.
As Zach shifted his gaze to the upper corner of the board, he saw something more applicable to his area of expertise. Several photos of crime scenes and collected evidence, all stuck onto the whiteboard with the same Space-Dynamics-branded magnets, were laid out in front of him. The task at hand involved a series of bank robberies, each carried out exactly the same way. The suspect, or group of suspects would start in the security office, plug a small thumb drive into the computer, and leave. It wasn't enough to rouse a high level of suspicion, but it was enough to get the job done. The team had analyzed the drive, which turned out to not even be a drive at all. The USB stick turned out to be a small board loaded with capacitors. When it was plugged into anything, the capacitors charged up. After a countdown, the capacitors shot all the energy it had stored up back into whatever it was plugged into, frying even the most resilient of circuit boards in a matter of seconds.
With the CCTV and alarms fried, they'd use whatever device they used to get in in the first place, and jump over into the vault. Whatever the perps were using seemed to be able to put the user in any location, as well as any point in time. Knowing this, they didn't even have to crack the door open, they could just put themselves right inside, grab the cash, and get out in a matter of minutes; all without anyone knowing the wiser.
At least, that was the case, up until a few weeks ago when the team had finally gotten their first breakthrough.
Zach continued on to the adjacent corner, seeing a zoomed-out map of Corneria City. Several locations had the letter X scrawled over them in red dry-erase marker. Just around them circled in blue marker were more locations, likely different banks that had been robbed, and banks that were likely about to be robbed, respectively. Despite looking as if the locations were selected at random, the shepherd knew that there was at least one thing that connected each bank. He'd seen enough robberies in general to know the thought process behind most competent thieves.
Firstly, they'd never pick the biggest and most loaded location right off the bat. If a bank's gonna carry a bunch of money in its vault, security and presence gonna be top-notch. Second, the further away the location is from its nearest police station, the better. The other banks that had been hit all had stations further than 3 miles from them, leaving two banks left, one of which had a station just a few streets over from it. That, and the other bank was further towards the outskirts of the city than the rest; making it a prime target for a robbery.
'There's the location, now to find the date.'
Amana's eyes went back to the crime scene pictures, noticing a small timestamp printed on the bottom right corner.
'First... Ninth... Seventeenth- Oh, well that's obvious.'
Zach looked down at his watch, noting the date and time.
SEPTEMBER 24th
7:07 PM
He finally broke the silence, letting the vixen next to him in on what he was thinking.
"The next robbery is going to occur at this bank, tomorrow night," he started, pointing a digit at the bank close to the edge of the map. "The location choice is fairly obvious; Small location, off to the side, further away from a police station. As for the date, the timestamps of each photo taken result in a cascade of dates on a calendar," he continued, pulling out his phone and opening the calendar. "Each date is 8 days after the last, so the next date has to be tomorrow," he finished. Zach watched as she nodded slowly in approval, before looking to her left and getting the attention of Miyu from across the room. After whispering a few things into the lynx's ear, she turned back to the shepherd.
"How's a sting operation sound," he asked as she tapped the controls, sealing the whiteboard back behind its panel, shielding it from prying eyes and sticky fingers.
"One step ahead of you. Follow me."
Footnotes:
- Thoughts? Comments? Why not drop a review? I'll try to apply feedback wherever possible. Nothing's necessarily set in stone, so I can drop changes in as they arise.
- First person to guess Zach's car gets absolutely nothing.
- I wonder if Andy owns a bar somewhere.
- Beryllium Gang for life.