FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

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Zèon looked around cautiously before answering.

It seemed he was alone with Sophia in the room. There wasn't any guard at sight that could have prevented him from attacking the woman in case he had wanted to finish her at that moment. Did she feel safe enough to go in front of him unarmed, even after what he had done to Camus? The answer to that question came quickly to Zèon's mind, filling it with worry.

<<She knows I'm not going to do anything to her>> he thought, gloomily <<She has Luca and if I do anything to her, he will be the one paying the price>>.

Again, the fox gave a look full of curiosity and fear to the strange woman that remained sitting on the center of the room, looking at him with that insulting half smile. Why did she seem to know him so well? And why had she said just some minutes before that both shared many qualities? The simple idea of sharing anything, whatever it was, with that psychopath filled him with uncertainty.

-There's no one here -the woman said then, uncrossing the leg she had above the other and leaning a bit forward in her chair, glancing at him over her glasses -. It's just you and me.

-I had already noticed -Zèon mumbled, a bit annoyed by the fact that she had again guessed what was going in his mind.

-You will probably think this is a trap -the woman kept saying -. But believe me, I had many chances to trap you before. In fact... you've been ten months trapped in here.

The only mention of his imprisonment sent a shiver down Zèon's spine.

-Why? -he managed to ask, with a thin voice.

-I'm not going to answer that question -Sophia answered, sharpening her smile -. I'm sure you will be able to find the answer on your own as soon as I have shown you a couple of things.

That said, the woman stood up and went around the chair. Then she walked towards one of the corners of the room. Zèon hesitated for a few instants, still confused due to the turn of the last events, but finally decided to follow her.

He joined her in a corner that was barely lit by those strange electric lights of the ceiling. Although he stayed a safe distance away from the woman, the arctic fox could perceive that she was no longer smiling, but kept her eyes fixed in something right in front of her, with a neutral expression. Following her gaze, the arctic fox found a large dark colored panel.

-Do you know what this is? -the woman asked, gently.

Zèon shook his head. Although she wasn't looking at him at that moment, Sophia seemed to perceive his answer and added:

-I guessed so. There's nothing like this in your world. Pay attention.

The woman made a quick gesture with her right hand and the dark colored plate seemed to light up. Suddenly, lots of figures appeared on it, almost motionless; so many figures that for a few seconds Zèon had some trouble trying to guess what it was. But finally, he understood.

-It's all of us -he whispered, surprised. In the screen he could see little images from every single point of view in the Box that, like a mosaic, showed a panoramic view of what was happening. At the moment, the only thing that could be seen was the dark building and the bedrooms that everyone was sleeping in -. That's how you watched us -he added, only to make sure.

But Sophia shook his head.

-This is the control station of the governmental workers -he pronounced that last word with a weird tone -. I have my own way to watch you, extremely more practice and interesting. But none of those idiots would be able to understand it.

-I remember seeing something similar in... the playroom -the arctic fox muttered. However, in the plaques of the playground, the images that were shown weren't real, but seemed drawn, in spite of creating a false illusion of true movement.

Sophia gave him a faint smile, guessing what he was thinking in.

-We thought that real images visualization could be an excessive challenge to your understanding. Governmental workers were afraid that you could get... nervous. But it seems they were wrong. What a surprise -he added sneeringly, looking sideways to Zèon, as if trying to study his reaction.

The arctic fox was marveled but what he was seeing, but nothing more. In fact, he had been waiting from the beginning that Sophia used something like that in order to control them, and had even thought about another more terrifying possibilities. However, what really marveled him was the careful thought behind that invention: the fact that someone had been able to make that screen possible.

-Were you the one that...? -he started, hesitantly.

-Oh, no. This has a couple of centuries of history in the place I come from... I'm surprised Sapiens V hasn't told you anything about it.

-There are still many things he didn't have the chance to tell me about -the arctic fox muttered, shaking slowly his head.

-Don't complain about it. After all, you had other priorities -the woman said, turning her back to the control station and starting to walk away towards the back of the room, without any other explanation.

Zèon was still watching for a few seconds that technologic prodigy that could know where everyone was at any moment, but finally turned and started walking behind Sophia.

He thought again how ridiculously easy it would have been to cut her throat with one of her claws and then look for a way out of there. But the effect of his curiosity and his wish to solve the mystery that involved the Box were starting to take over him. Besides, he was starting to doubt of Sophia's true intentions. She had punished him that day in the hall and he definitely couldn't trust her... but that night, she seemed to be behaving more like an ally than like an enemy. What had changed?

-Come on -he heard Sophia's voice, calling him from the next room -. I'm sure you will like this.

Zèon wondered what could make that woman think that he could get to like something inside the Box, but decided not to question her words and follow her. Soon, he entered another room of circular plan that was noticeably smaller than the previous one. It seemed more like a store and it was empty, but for a few cylindrical glass cabinets that were arranged in a circle, against the walls of the room.

Zèon focused on the first of them and distinguished an image that floated, weightless and translucent, inside the cabinet. It seemed strangely immaterial, as if in case he tried to touch it, his paws would just feel the air around them. However, it was a figure that he knew very well.

-This... -he muttered, surprised -. This is my cube.

Sophia nodded. If she was satisfied, she didn't mention it. The arctic fox then looked to the next cabinet, curiously, and found out that there also floated the image of his cube, but with another pattern in its colors. He shook his head, perplexed.

-Why is it here? -he asked, expecting that Sophia wouldn't keep him in a state of suspense any longer. It was getting increasingly hard for him not to pounce on her and get the answers he wanted through violence.

-They are achievements -the woman whispered, with a strange tone in her voice.

-Achievements of the fehlar and the kane? -Zèon ventured, linking that idea with what he already knew.

-Exactly.

The arctic fox nodded and couldn't help but remember the argument that Ike and Kainn had had the day that Vent arrived to the Box. Kainn had suggested that the humans were watching them in order to laugh of their cowardice and Zèon had contradicted him, saying that it was more likely that they were interested to know to what extent they were at the level of human race. Or, in other words, to what extent they were rational, intelligent beings. At that time, Zèon had only said that in order to help Vent and stop the conflict that his arrival had caused, since he had no greater certainty of what he was saying than Kainn.

However, that was an interesting and even probable theory. He had been thinking about it during many long nights, wondering if those humans would be really measuring their rational capacities, trying to decide whether it was worth keeping them alive.

And it seemed it was. At least, that room full of "achievements" seemed to demonstrate that.

-Some of the images you see here are from experiences you took part in -Sophia continued, gently -. But you are wrong about the cube. You weren't the first who completed that puzzle, but...

-... Adam -the fox completed, with a thin voice.

Sophia nodded.

-Vulpes A. He was the first of your kind to show that he had an observational and rational capacity equal to that of humans. And even greater, in some cases -the woman mumbled -. He refuted all those theories that the governmental workers had about your "primitive intelligence". He showed them to what extent they were wrong about you -she added, with a certain satisfied tone.

-But, why did he end like that? Why did you...? -Zèon asked, although he stopped in the middle of the sentence.

Until that moment he hadn't thought about it, but if he stopped for a second and remembered the last events, the similarities between Adam and him started to be worrying. On one hand, both of them had defied that conception that the kane and the fehlar were no more than wild animals, without rational intelligence. On the other hand... both had gone through the glass doors and walked directly towards Sophia's control center, willingly or unwillingly.

The arctic fox languished as a conviction started to take over his mind.

-You brought him here because he was intelligent -he murmured, with a thin voice -. There was something you wanted to check with him... right? Something you wanted to... experiment with.

Again, Sophia gave him a half smile.

-I see you think fast. That's right. When we were fully aware of Vulpes A capacities, we brought him here in order to conduct some tests with him. Unfortunately, the result was... unsatisfying -the woman whispered. She didn't look sad, but disappointed.

Zèon gulped, giving the woman a horrified look.

-That's why you made me come here? -he asked, trying to prevent his voice from trembling -. You want to repeat the experiment with me?

Sophia held his gaze for a few moments, impassible behind her glasses. Silence became increasingly tense, until it was unbearable. After a while, the woman's smile sharpened.

-Don't rush -she answered, simply -. For now, I would be really interested to hear your theories about what this place is.

-And what if I don't want to share them with you? -Zèon defied her, feeling more and more uncomfortable.

The woman looked away with a short laugh. The arctic fox shivered; it was the first time he heard her laugh and, for some reason, it sounded almost unnatural.

-Please, Lagopus Z. Do you think you have a choice? I remind you that you are in a truly delicate situation. If you are here right now, it's because you're fortunate that your species fascinates me and because I feel certain curiosity for your opinion... and that's not something you can say about the governmental workers -she added, adopting again that strange tone -. So take advantage of my curiosity and patience, because at this very moment, you really need to play for time, don't you think?

<<She's right>> Zèon thought, frustrated <<Damn, she's right>>. There were many possibilities that, after showing all those things to him, the woman would do to him the same she had done to Adam... and the arctic fox felt shivers when he imagined himself like that poor devil, bringing together plastic pieces, screaming to the walls and murmuring unintelligible things.

On the other hand, he couldn't escape or try to fight Sophia, since she still had Luca in her power. The only thing he could do was, as she has said, play for time... and wait for a miracle; although, after the way everything was happening that night, Zèon had lost all hope to see one. The arctic fox contained a scream of frustration; he hated feeling so powerless.

-I think you are watching us and measuring our rational capacity -he finally whispered after a few seconds, giving up -. I think you want to find out if we are something more than simple... animals.

-That's a good theory. But how did you reach that conclusion?

-Constant vigilance, the different tests in the playroom and the fact that you have made us prisoners without any other reason. It seems enough to me -the arctic fox argued, shrugging -. And, of course, everything you've showed me tonight. Everything seems to point in that direction. Besides, if this was a normal prison, there would also be human prisoners...

Zèon stopped in the middle of the sentence when he perceived an amused gleam in Sophia's eyes. The woman seemed to be inwardly laughing at him, as if something in his words was really funny for her. It was then when he noticed there was an important detail he had missed.

-Vent! -he exclaimed, surprised -. What's he doing here?

-I guess that's something you can't find out on your own -the woman conceded, going back to her usual half smile -. You'll see, Lagopus Z, our research about the kane and the fehlar, which we called indistinctly the anthros, has essentially two purposes -she made a pause -. The first of them is the one you already discovered: to find out to what extent you are a race with rational capacities. But the second one has to do with your capacity to admit the existence of other intelligent races and how you relate with them... that's to say, us.

Zèon shook his head, a bit confused.

-But that doesn't make sense. The second purpose you talk about wouldn't have taken place until...

-Fifteen days, exactly -the woman answered, succinct -. That's because, before introducing an human among you, we had to make sure that you were in an environment that you considered "yours". Introducing a stranger in a strange environment wouldn't have given us any relevant data. However, introducing it in an environment which is familiar and well-known to the subjects...

-...you wanted to know how we would react if someday humans appeared in Lykans. In our world -Zèon understood, suddenly -. That's why you have waited for us to think of the Box as "our prison"... before introducing Vent among us.

Sophia nodded, satisfied.

-Exactly. And I must say that, so far, results have been pretty interesting. After all, Sapiens V is still alive. Many thought he would die during the first weeks -the woman did a long pause and seemed to get lost in her thoughts for a few seconds; however, she soon shook her head and kept talking -. But you have accepted him.

-That's not totally true -Zèon tried to correct her, still a bit confused -. If it wasn't for Ike, Luca and me, they would have probably killed him.

-Oh, but you managed to be listened, right? -Sophia smiled -. You were the voices that spoke in the crowd in order to protect the stranger, the only ones who were against the tide. In the world I come from, the crowd would have stifled those voices erasing them as soon as they could. But in yours... they listened.

Zèon could perfectly hear the fascinated tone in the woman's voice and frowned. There was something in Sophia's attitude that he couldn't quite understand, although he didn't know exactly what it was. After all, he didn't even know if the woman admired him or despised him, if she was helping him or condemning him by letting him know all those things.

-But... there's a war in our world -he opposed, weakly -. The fehlar are exterminating the kane...

-That's not important -the woman interrupted him, with a gesture of his hand -. In any place, in any world, there can always be a foolish drunk with power that rises above his fellows and tries to quench his insecurity with his enemies' blood. That has always happened, and always will.

-"That's not important"? -Zèon repeated, hurt, unable to believe those words -. You wouldn't same the same if it was you who...!

-...if it was me who had been made prisoner of war? If it was me who had lost all her family? -Sophia completed, giving him a look cold as ice.

Zèon staggered, caught by surprise. He didn't even notice that the half smile had disappeared from the woman's face and that now she had a more severe expression.

-How do you know that? -he asked, afraid -. How can you know that?

-We all fight in our own war -the woman said in response, turning her back to him and shrugging -. That's also something that has always happened.

And that said, she went to the next door, leaving Zèon trembling behind. The arctic fox saw her leave, incredulous, while his thoughts frenetically flew in his mind.

How could Sophia know what had happened in Lykans? How could she know what had happened to him? As if it was a far nightmare, the arctic fox remembered the day that she had forced him to undress in front of all the kane and the fehlar, revealing the mark of his shame, that identified him as a sexual slave, for the sole purpose to humiliate him. He had thought that the woman had felt that there was something he wanted to hide, but now he knew that the truth wasn't that simple.

Sophia had really _known_from the beginning why he was ashamed to show himself publicly. And that meant that she had seen his past, that she knew his story. How much time had she been watching him in order to get that information? Since when had humans like Sophia been watching the kane and the fehlar, silently, from the world they belonged? How much time had they been preparing those kidnappings?

The arctic fox started feeling dizzy and made a huge effort to stand up and tried to grab desperately onto reality. He felt he was resting now against one of the cabinets, in which the weightless image of a puzzle floated. The cold touch of metal in one of his paws brought him back to reality and he shook his head, trying to get rid of the fear and the confusion that filled her mind. <<I have to move forward>> he told himself, trying to be brave <<This time it's not only for me. I have to save Luca>>.

He started walking weakly towards the next room, still frightened to death and with the terrible suspicion that there were still many horrible things to see. Would have Adam lost his mind after finding out that humans had been watching them so much time? Zèon weighed that possibility for a few seconds, but finally decided that it wasn't very likely. He didn't consider himself much more emotionally strong that the fox he had known, and although he had to recognize that what he had discovered affected him deeply, he could still put his thoughts in order.

He found Sophia in the next room, but he was unable to look at her. Instead, he looked to the floor and waited for her to talk. He couldn't find the strength to do more questions. Still, he had the strange feeling that there was something weird in that room and that the woman was waiting for him to point it out.

-This room -Sophia started -is my true control center. From here I supervise the whole center.

Zèon raised his head weakly and then looked around, recovering a hint of curiosity. What he found certainly surprised him: the room, in spite of being considerably big, was strangely empty. There wasn't any piece of furniture, not even the littlest variation in its walls. However, soon Zèon understood the thing that made that room different, what Sophia had been waiting him to ask for: the walls.

Unlike those of the rest of the center (except that somber tunnel in the lower floor) they weren't metallic, but seemed to be made with a dark material, black like obsidian and at the same time so shiny that it almost reflected the arctic fox's face. He softly touched the floor with one of his forepaws: it was smooth, without any imperfection, and it was strangely warm to the touch.

There was something in that material that gave him chills. If it hadn't seemed impossible, he would have sworn that it was... alive.

He didn't have much time to think about it, however. Sophia clapped his hands and, with a crack, one of the side walls of the room flickered and then lit, as if it was a giant screen. Zèon let out a soft surprised moan, but his blood froze in his veins when he finally made out what the screen showed.

Numbers. Plenty of them.

Long lines of numbers that came and went on the screen like little ants in a straight line: eternal files of changing numbers that appeared and disappeared before the arctic fox even got to see them well. And even in case he could do it, he wouldn't totally understand them: those were human numbers and he had only heard their meaning once, when Vent had told him. But, at that moment, he had been too focused on other things to even pay attention.

It was those numbers, Zèon understood suddenly. It was those numbers that remained in Adam's thoughts, that made him scream in horror when he raved.

Whatever that room was, there was something in it that had driven Adam mad. A violent chill went down his spine and he had to make an effort not to run away.

-What... what is that? -he asked, after a while. His own voice sounded weak and too unsure to take it seriously.

-I call it the Fish Tank -Sophia smiled, as the electric shine of those long lines of numbers reflected on her glasses -. I know Sapiens V told you what these symbols mean. I had to explain it to Vulpes A, though.

-They're something more than... simple numbers -Zèon murmured softly, although he wasn't sure of his own words.

In his mind, like an echo, Adam's words resounded again: << These aren't numbers. Numbers are empty, this isn't. This is what fills everything, don't you understand?>> the fox had said.

What did fill everything? Zèon tried to find a solution to that enigma, although he could feel that the gears of his mind refused to turn and he was too tired in order to find an answer. He gave a long look to Sophia instead, thoughtful. With her eyes fixed on that big screen full of numbers, her face lit by that artificial light... the woman's features almost seemed absent, inhuman.

-They're something more than simple numbers -Sophia conceded, nodding almost imperceptibly -. They're something more than simple code. Do you want to know what these symbols represent, Lagopus Z? Do you want to know what they hide? These numbers are thoughts. These are the coded thoughts of every single kane and fehlar prisoners in this center. The outer covering of the complex is made of the same material as this room... and it receives them, recollects them and then sends them to this room. I select which I want to see... and only I can understand them -the woman added, with a soft eager whisper.

It took Zèon a few seconds to understand the implications of those words. Again, an image he had witnessed with Adam came to his mind; in this image, he hit his head and said hastily <<You know. What's inside. You decipher things with it>>. Later, the mad fox had loudly laughed when Zèon had promised he would give it some thought.

Thoughts.

That was what those numbers represented, that was the area Sophia moved in. If she was aware of everything that was going on in the Box it was because she didn't need to see them or hear them in order to keep them under their supervision; no, she didn't need anything of that because she could spy on something more personal, something even more private. That wicked woman could know what they were thinking about at any moment. That was why, whatever he did, Zèon had always been lagging behind her. Because, even when he had tried to keep his intentions secret... she knew it. She knew what he said and what he didn't, the possibilities he found valid and those he discarded. She hadn't even needed to spy on him in order to know his past, since his own thoughts called it back every night, each time he tried to fall asleep in vain.

She had seen everything that could be seen from him. He was naked, totally naked in front of the eyes of that woman with a face of ice.

Something inside Zèon rebelled. Something rose up against the possibility that everything he represented could be summarized in a few numbers, against being devoid of privacy so shamelessly. Rage ignited inside him like the lava of a volcano and, before he could even notice, he was letting out a scream of anger and pouncing on Sophia.

But the woman reacted quickly. She moved aside, dodging Zèon's tackle surprisingly quickly, and then clapped her hands for the second time. Suddenly, another screen lit up with a new crack and on it appeared an image that took the arctic fox's breath away.

On a chair, hands and legs tied, a grey furred wolf struggled to get his freedom.

-Luca! -the arctic fox exclaimed, unable to contain himself.

There was something strange in his head: some kind of helmet that closed just over his eyes, preventing him from seeing anything, and it reached down his head to the beginning of his back. That strange helmet seemed to be made of a jet black material... the same material, Zèon understood, the walls those numbers appeared in where made of.

-What's that? -he asked, feeling increasingly nervous -. What does he have on his head? What are you doing to him? Answer!

-Nothing yet -the woman replied, calmly -. Let me first explain why I like to call this place the Fish Tank, Lagopus Z. Have you ever seen a fish tank in your world?

Zèon was too furious in order to remember, but he finally nodded when he found the vague memory of a fish tank in one of his last owner's houses. Sophia smiled, satisfied.

Then, she approached one of the walls slowly and put a bit of pressure on a specific point. Suddenly, a little compartment appeared and the woman took two objects from them that at first Zèon couldn't quite identify. He was tempted to move some steps forward, only to find out what it was, but the fear that the woman took that as a threat and hurt Luca kept him in his place.

In any case, he soon discovered what those things were: two black long gloves, just like that floor, like those walls; like the helmet that the grey wolf had around his head and the outer covering Sophia had talked about.

-In a fish tank, you can see the fishes through the glass. You see how they move from side to side quickly, flowing through the water. But if you reached out and tried to catch one, your fingers would hit the glass, right? The only thing you can do is watch -the woman murmured, stretching the fingers so the gloves would totally fit her hands -. But... what if you could go through the glass... and simply grab one of those fishes?

Zèon followed her with his eyes, feeling more and more horrified with any word she said. Sophia, deliberately ignoring his terrified face, walked forward until she situated again next to the screen full of numbers. Then, a weird smile spread over her face.

-Of course, our first attempts turned out wrong -she explained, with a certain unsatisfied tone -. The screen only displays the thoughts of the subject; it shows them, but doesn't keep them. That's why we had to create a link. An... accessory that allowed us to manipulate easily the real thoughts of the subject. And that way -the woman added, categorically -, we managed to ensure one of the main points of our project. You wouldn't be able to escape without leaving something important behind.

-My... name... -Zèon murmured, gulping.

-Exactly -the woman confirmed -. And the accessory I'm talking about is...

Sophia didn't finish the sentence in purpose, as if waiting for the fox to complete it. Zèon hated feeling so easily manipulated but, most of all, feared that wicked woman that had managed to get into their minds without them even noticing. So he turned to the screen in which Luca, who had stopped trying to escape, could be seen and pointed out the helmet on his head.

-Excellent -the woman whispered -. Each time we brought an unconscious anthro to the building, we place that helmet on his head and erase his name... That way, something will hold him here. -She made a short pause and seemed relieved -. I see I wasn't wrong with you, Lagopus Z. You're much more observant than the average.

Zèon ignored the compliment. To be honest, he didn't know what to think. In any case, it didn't mind what he thought, because whatever it was Sophia would be able to see it. His heart struggled between the rage he felt for seeing Luca tied to that chair, the fear that Sophia's words filled him with and the humiliation of knowing that she could see right through him.

He wanted to run away, but he was even more hands and legs tied that Luca. He wouldn't have been able to take a step towards the exit without Sophia noticing before. He wanted to attack, but he knew that he couldn't harm the woman, since she had Luca as a shield.

He felt useless. Useless, little and terribly afraid.

-However, it would be perfect to get by without the Link Helmet -Sophia continued, talking more to herself than to the fox -. Our idea is to create the link directly in the subject's mind, without need to any accessory with bridging-function. But that gave us more than one problem: any individual's mind resist to be linked with an exterior element. That's why we needed to make a selection of subjects that seemed... suitable for the link.

Zèon understood it too late.

-And that's what you want to do with Luca? -he asked, horrified -. You can't...!

-Oh, but we're on it -Sophia smiled -. Look at the screen.

The arctic fox gave a terrified look to the screen. Apparently, nothing had changed; large lines of numbers appeared and disappeared on its surface, in a mad frenzy that only Sophia could understand. However, Zèon comprehended that what he was watching at that moment, even though it seemed similar to the previous image, was something more specific.

He bet, containing a chill, that those numbers were in fact the representation of Luca's thoughts.

Still, he didn't have much time to think about it. At that moment, Sophia approached the screen he had called the "Fish Tank" before and reached out to it with a hand covered with that strange black glove. For a few seconds that seemed eternal, Zèon had the sensation that at any moment the woman would put the palm of her hand on the surface... However, as soon as her spread fingers touched the black plaque that kept on showing numbers, something strange happened. The arctic fox would have sworn that Sophia's fingers sank in that surface.

And, in fact, that was what happened. The whole hand of the woman submerged in the screen, to the arctic fox's astonishment, and her fingers closed around one concrete thought, catching it.

-Do you know what this is? -she smiled, as the electric shine of the screen lit her face -. This is what I call a key thought. The one from which we can access to any other. A root thought -she paused -. This is Lupus L's true name.

Zèon let out a surprised exclamation. The woman, however, turned her attention back to the screen and started to join different numbers together with the "key thought", connecting and disconnecting them as if it was a great puzzle. The arctic fox watched her, without understanding, as she quickly put together those long lines of code and he wondered which consequences it could have in Luca's mind.

Suddenly, a heartbreaking noise rose in the room. The arctic fox turned his gaze quickly, startled, and saw the image of Luca, who was now struggling in the chair as if something was causing him an unbearable pain. He was shouting and writhing as his body trembled due to what seemed an indescribable agony.

Zèon felt a stabbing pain when he saw him like that.

-Luca! -he screamed, about to cry -. Let him go! -he begged, turning to Sophia -. You promised nothing would happen to him!

The woman shrugged, giving him an enigmatic smile.

-I have reasons to break my promise. Besides, I thought Lupus L would endure the test, but I see I was wrong. It's a shame -she added, and it almost seemed like she was sorry -. He was a great subject, but if his mind doesn't accept the direct link with the Fish Tank, he will soon be broken.

Zèon let out a roar of rage, unable to take it anymore. He bounced on that woman, furious, willing to destroy her with his claws, willing to take her away from the screen, to prevent her from hurting Luca. However, he couldn't take a single step, since quickly two powerful hands closed around his shoulders and prevented him from moving.

It took the arctic fox a few seconds to understand that, while he was entertained watching what Sophia was doing, two guards had entered that room without being noticed by anyone.

But that wasn't important. He tried to break free, desperate, unable to bear the idea that Sophia played with Luca's life as if he was only a simple number. He tried to reach her, but the guards had already made sure that he was far enough from her. Meanwhile, Luca's screams of pain filled the room.

-Let me go! You wicked witch! -he screamed, unable to contain himself -. Let him alone! You promised!

But Sophia didn't even look at him. He was still too focused on her activities to even give him a hint of her attention, and her indifference ignited Zèon's rage even more.

Then, a last scream rose in the room and finally, silence.

The arctic fox shivered, without knowing why, and it took him a few seconds to look to the other screen, fearing what he could see there. He found an image that he wouldn't forget easily. Luca had stopped struggling and screaming and had slumped into the chair he was tied to. Inert. Lifeless.

After a few seconds that seemed eternal, he turned back again to the screen next to Sophia. It was black, totally empty. The numbers on its surface had definitely disappeared.

It was as if something had broken inside Zèon.

-Luca... -he murmured, not knowing why or for whom -. No...

It couldn't be real. That simply couldn't be happening. It was undoubtedly a nightmare he would wake up from eventually. Everything was too unreal in order to be really happening. From his mad flight through the corridors to the moment in which he had even believed just for a few seconds that Sophia could want to help them... nothing seemed to make sense. The logic of everything was lost and Zèon didn't know what to do or how to react.

And now, in addition, Luca wasn't there. He was gone.

-Take him to the Link Helmet room -Sophia ordered with an icy voice.

The arctic fox didn't even struggle anymore. While tears welled up in his eyes and dripped down his cheeks, he didn't react when the guards dragged him through the long corridors of the Box. He knew that if he didn't defend himself he would probably be brought to the same fate as Luca, but at that moment, that possibility didn't seem so horrible after all.

He was alone. For the first time in many years, Zèon was alone again.

He didn't feel the need to fight, nor knew why he should do it. His life, from the same instant it had started to fall apart, had been valueless to him. Finishing it like Luca, with the possibility to maybe join him beyond, was the only thing that could calm the desperation that he had felt when he had gone. He wasn't even afraid.

The guards placed him on a chair and tied his wrists and ankles with strong leather straps, but he kept motionless. Then, he heard some steps behind him and, after a few seconds, the helmet he had previously seen fell on his head, closing around his forehead and nap, hurting a bit. The arctic fox almost thanked it prevented him from seeing anything, since there was nothing he wanted to see; at least, not in the Box. There were some seconds in which nothing happened.

His last thought was for Luca and he remembered with a painful accuracy the day both had met for the first time, when he had saved him in the middle of the forest, giving him a place to stay in, a place in which he could have hopes again. A last tear dropped down his cheek as he clung onto that memory as if it was the only thing he had left.

Then, he felt a soft puncture and darkness swallowed him.