The minute the other pups heard the word Photac, they went berserk.
"A Photac?! Oh, no!"
"How'd a Photac find us?!
"More importantly, what do we do about it?!
"Um, what's a Photac?" Kaiyo asked. (He had never heard of a Photac before, having joined the team after the whole mess with the Photac Wolves in Imperium.)
"Just get Chinook out of here as fast as you can!" Zane shouted. Then, forgetting that Chinook was still watching, he shot a stream of ice at the small technological beast in front of him. The Photac leaped out of the way, and a sharp cry of "Kinnituuk!" and the sound of fleeing footsteps told Zane that he had just made the wrong move. He whirled around to find Fishlegs cowering behind a barrel and Chinook nowhere to be seen. But before he could run to check on the young boy, he and the others were bowled over by an overeager Snoutlout rushing past them. A small squawk and the sound of "Gotcha!" told Zane what the Viking lad had been planning. As Zane fought to untangle himself from the mass of arms and legs on top of him, Snoutlout appeared a second later with a small figure under his arm. It was the Photac, and judging from the sound of struggling, it was not at all happy about the turn of events. As Zane finally wriggled out from under the puppy pile, he was shocked to hear the Photac shouting, "Let me go! You don't understand!"
The other pups stopped untangling themselves for a moment and just stared openmouthed at the pup-like figure wriggling in Snoutlout's arms. As they watched, the Photac managed to wriggle out from Snoutlout's hold and leap onto the ground. The technological creature made of pure hard light dodged another tackle from Snoutlout, who wound up on the ground in front of Zane. At first, nobody said anything. Then Everest expressed the one question everyone was thinking at the moment as she wriggled out from under Tracker and Rocky. "Did that Photac just…talk?"
"Duh, of course I did!" the Photac answered. "And for your information, I don't want to be called simply a Photac!"
"But that's what you are, a Photac!" Snoutlout answered, standing up and brushing himself off. Then his face twitched with confusion. "Uh, quick question: what is a Photac, exactly?"
"A Photac is a digitally generated construct of indestructible hard light." Zane explained.
"So it's a hologram?" Snoutlout answered. "Sounds pretty lame to me."
"Trust us—you do not want to be on a Photac's bad side." Sweetie retorted.
"My question is, how can a Photac talk?" Ranger asked. "And why is there one right in front of us? I thought Sora destroyed them all."
"Not true." Rocky stated. "One of them did escape, and Kelly went after it. She never told us what happened to it, though."
"Um, hello?!" the Photac spoke up. "I'm standing right in front of you."
"Sorry." Zane apologized, looking intently at the Photac. Now that he had a better look at it, he quickly realized that this figure was different from the Photacs he'd encountered in the past. The Photac in question was less like a Photac Beast in appearance and more like a wolf pup—though he still maintained the metal midsection typical of a Photac Beast. "Perhaps," Zane suggested, "we ask this Photac exactly how he found us?"
"Great idea, Zane!" Everest answered. "So, how did you find us, and how did you get to be like this?"
"You mean my pup form?" the Photac answered. "Well, I don't really remember much from before, but I do remember getting blasted by a bolt of purple energy and then rolling uncontrollably down a ridge."
A bolt of purple energy? Zane thought to himself. Kelly's Tech power is purple. Could she have hacked this Photac with her powers? Apparently, the others were thinking the same thing, for the next thing Everest said was, "Guys, I think that Kelly's Tech power somehow hacked that missing Photac's systems and turned him into a Photac pup!"
"What's your operating number?" Ranger asked the Photac pup.
"7584. Why do you ask?"
"Rocky," Ranger asked. "Remember when we overheard that Imperian guard talking about how Photac 7584 didn't report in? This could be the reason why!"
"Oh, yeah!" Rocky exclaimed. Then he turned to the Photac pup. "So how exactly did you find us?"
"After I woke up from that blast, I managed to climb back up the ridge. I only had one thought on my mind—I needed to find that pup who attacked me. I've been following your team around ever since, but I only found this place after that Inukian kid came up here."
Zane gulped as he thought about what the Photac pup had just said. Their team was being followed—and he didn't even realize it? But Snoutlout was not so perturbed by this revelation. "Well, that's great news to hear, but what are we going to do with him?"
"Zane, do you think it would be all right if this Photac stayed here?" Everest asked. "I don't know, but I'm pretty sure he's on our side and not the Claws'."/p
"I assume that it would be all right—just as long as there's someone watching him at all times. We can't take any chances." Zane replied.
"Don't worry." the Photac pup reassured. "The whole reason I'm here is because I have information that you can use against the Claws of Imperium."
"You don't like the Claws either?" Sweetie asked in surprise.
"Are you kidding?! They treated me like nothing more than a machine! I have feelings too, but clearly, they didn't care!"
"I understand how you feel." Zane said, putting a comforting hand on the Photac pup's shoulder. "I too am a machine, as is Ranger. But that doesn't mean that we are nothing more than metal and computer code."
"You know what it's like?" the pup asked in wonder.
"Yes, I do." Zane answered. "I know exactly what it's like to be different. But if we work together, our differences will make us stronger, instead of pulling us apart."
"Well, in that case, I would love to stay. But first things first, I want a real name—not just Photac 7584."
"What about…Kipper?" Everest exclaimed. The Photac pup seemed to mull over the name for a second before answering, "Kipper. I like the sound of that name."
"Well, Kipper it is, then." Zane exclaimed. Then Fishlegs spoke for the first time since Kipper had shown up. "Um, hate to interrupt the moment, but may I remind you, Chinook just took off and hid somewhere in the dojo."
"Oh, no!" Zane exclaimed. "I forgot all about him. We have to find him!"
With that, the Base team spread out and searched the dojo for little Chinook. Rocky finally found him hiding in a closet. For several minutes, the only word any of the teammates could get out of him was, "Kinnituuk. Kinnituuk."
"Let me try." Zane said after several minutes of hearing Chinook sob the word over and over again. But as Zane approached the young boy, he shrieked and curled into a tight little ball on the floor.
"What's that word he keeps saying even mean?" Everest asked. Zane thought over that for a moment. Kinnituuk—what did it mean? What did it mean? Then he remembered exactly what it meant.
"Team, kinnituuk is the Inukian word for ice-wielder. I think he must be afraid of my…my power."
"Why would he be afraid of your ice power?" Fishlegs asked.
"Because the last time Zane used his powers in the Never-Realm, it was as the—the Ice Emperor." Everest explained.
"Yeah, and let's just say, those days are not on Zane's list of fond memories." Rocky added.
"Definitely not." Tracker interjected.
"Definitely not." Sweetie echoed.
Zane simply looked down at the floor in shame. His friends were right—becoming the Ice Emperor had not been one of his proudest moments. Sure, it was Vex who had pulled out the data cord, causing Zane's memories to be erased. And it had also been Vex who had called all the shots during Zane's time as the Ice Emperor. But it had been Zane who had believed the outcast Formling in the first place and blindly followed every direction he had given. If Twinkle had not gained Zane's lost memories and transferred them back to him…Zane didn't even want to think about what would have happened then.
"Even if Chinook isn't old enough to remember Zane as the Ice Emperor, it's entirely possible that he's heard stories about Zane's reign." Everest explained. "And I'll give you three guesses as to how those stories play out."
"Let me guess," Snoutlout answered. "None of those legends are good ones." But Everest paid no attention to him. She was currently sitting beside Chinook on the floor, hoping to offer comfort. "Hey, Chinook. It's okay—Zane only uses his powers for good. He's a good ice-wielder now."
"Nakuyuuk kinnituuk?" Chinook asked nervously, uncurling his body and sitting up.
"Yes, I am a nakuyuuk kinnituuk." Zane answered. At that, Chinook stopped crying and shyly grasped Zane's hand. Then the look on his face changed to one of fright, and he let out a sharp gasp, as if he was in excruciating pain. Before anyone could stop him, he let go of Zane's hand and bolted out of the room.
"Now what?!" Snoutlout asked impatiently. "I'll get him!" Everest cried out before anyone else could answer. She dashed out of the room and down a nearby hallway before skidding to a stop in front of a doorway. There, just a few feet from her, stood Chinook, facing away from her, shivering profusely. Quietly, Everest tiptoed into the room and tapped Chinook on the shoulder. He let out a startled cry and whirled around to see the young husky standing in front of him.
"What is it, Chinook? What's wrong?" Everest asked with genuine concern. The young boy spoke for several minutes before seeming to realize that Everest couldn't understand him. He then gestured for Everest to close the door. After she did so, he pointed to his back, and she cautiously creeped over and put one paw on his back. Then she gasped as she felt the familiar sensation of dragon scales from underneath his fur parka. It took only two seconds for her to realize what was happening. Chinook was turning into a Dracotaur!
But how? she thought to herself. What would trigger something like this? Is this somehow linked to Zane's power? More importantly, how do I tell Zane about this? Amidst all the questions, one thought came clear. What if this was why Kitsu was taken? What if those hunters were looking for a Dracotaur and took the wrong kid? The sound of Chinook's whimpers made Everest shiver with fear. If those hunters somehow discovered Chinook was a Dracotaur, then they were all in serious danger.