Ethereal Gates

Chapter 11

The ticking of the Clock was currently falling on deaf ears. Alone in the small chamber was Orvus, who was staring out the window solemnly. The Clock looked beautiful today, as it always did, and several shooting stars were making their way through the cosmos. Orvus' eyes followed the sparkling trails that they left behind. He knew that it was a tradition among most races to make a wish whenever a shooting star was seen. Orvus wondered how many of those wishes actually came true. If they came true often, and shooting stars were really that powerful, then he only wanted to wish for one thing.

He wished that he didn't have to do what he was about to do.

Orvus noticed his reflection in the mirror. He frowned and his bright turquoise eyes were dull. He looked terrible. Like an organic when they're sick. Or rather like an elder Zoni who said some things that he wished he hadn't said to his own son. Orvus had spent most of the night thinking about the situation he and his son were in. On one side, Orvus understood XJ-0461's position and was almost proud of him for taking matters into his own hands. But on the other, Orvus was disappointed that his well behaved son would break the rule about not leaving the Clock, even after they had an argument about it. The universe was much too dangerous for XJ-0461 to be wandering.

The grip on Orvus' Chronoscepter grew tight as he thought about the unfortunate incident on planet Quantos. He cursed himself for not telling XJ-0461 about it sooner. If he knew, then he would understand Orvus' concerns and he would know that staying in the Clock was for his own safety. But like a fool, Orvus kept it under wraps, fearing what his son would think after hearing such a story. Simply thinking about it was enough to make the elder Zoni shudder. He could still see the look in their eyes...

'Well...there is no use stalling anymore,' he thought, frowning to himself. He glanced at the exit. 'I best go get him.'

Orvus rubbed his eyes for a moment before hovering to the end of the chamber, exiting it and meeting the cool air of the Great Clock. The chamber he was residing in came right before the Orvus Chamber, so he already had it in his sights. As he made his way to the Chamber, some concerned Zoni seemed to have picked up on their leader's negative energy, and they stopped and stared at him. Orvus waved off every single one that would stop and look at him, assuring them that he was just fine. Physically, at least. He appreciated his subjects' concerns, he really did, but he honestly wished that they wouldn't just stop and stare at him. It made him feel uncomfortable and it reminded him of how much his current state was affecting those around him. It had been a rough week and he was definitely showing it (not that he was meaning to).

Waving off all of the Zoni, Orvus came to the front of his chamber and hovered there for a moment. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Here went nothing. He pushed the large glass doors open and waited patiently for them to open. However, when he could see inside, he felt his heart almost stop. In the middle of the chamber, he could see a pile of familiar figure collapsed on the ground, completely lifeless. Orvus's eyes went wide and he felt disbelief crawl up his very being. Sigmund.

"Oh no...what...?!" Orvus had to take a moment to compose himself before rushing into the chamber. Nearly dropping his Chronoscepter, he went to Sigmund's side. He took a close look at his face. The robot wasn't moving and his eyes were completely dark. He was completely shut down. But why? Sigmund was supposed to be guarding the door! Desperately wanting answers, Orvus grabbed the screen on Sigmund's utility ring and powered it on. At least it was still working. He began typing on it. "Hold on, Sigmund. I will get you working again."

The elder Zoni quickly used Sigmund's computer to run a diagnostic. He immediately began reading as the results came up. It looked like Sigmund was simply powered down and there was no detection of any damage. Orvus let out a breath of relief. He then typed in a simple code that he learned about many years ago that would reactivate his friend. Sigmund had shown it to him in case something like this happened. Orvus was glad that he still had a good enough memory to remember it. He quickly entered it and floated back a bit, holding his breath a bit. At first, Sigmund remained on the floor. But within seconds, his gears were turning again, and a familiar yellow glow returned to his eyes. Orvus watched Sigmund gather himself, pushing himself off the ground and looking around, almost looking like he didn't know where he was. But, despite knowing that he was still powering on, Orvus floated a bit closer and frowned.