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Description
Quick, messy pic, but felt like sharing.

Judge rp lines
AU!Zonic rp lines by me!

"Which one is better? That we are lenient to a being that has caused destruction on that wide scale, and that being then repeats it's crime again, or that in every hundred monsters we imprison, there might have been one who would not had repeated his deeds?"

The robot started taking slow steps towards the young hedgehog, and continued talking while doing so:

"You felt pity, empathy towards Sonic 649. He is you after all, it is only natural that it is easy to sympathize with your alternate version. And since you started to doubt the justice in his sentence, you started to doubt at Zonecops themselves, or at least your own ability to be one. That is where the degeneration that happened to the warden Ziroir starts, starting to doubt our purpose."

The robotic judge slowly shook his head again at the wasted potenttial, and then continued:

"However, imagine for a moment, that Scourge would cause planet-wide destruction on yet an another world. Who would be the one to blame? Scourge, for following his destructive nature?"

Zarthan gestured towards the dark pods surrounding them, and then pointed with a single metallic finger towards the young hedgehog, the stare of red eyes becoming only more accusing:

"Or you, for allowing him to escape? What would the people of that destroyed world say, if you would tell to them, that the being responsible of all that misery runs free, because you pitied him?"

The robotic judge was again silent for a moment, even though it did not really expect an answer, and then finished it's speech, it's gaze turning to look at the circle of stasis pods around them:

"No, our responsibility is to guard all worlds against these kinds of threats. That is our duty. And we can't waver in our conviction. If we shrink from instilling order, we have already failed. And as regrettable as it is, sometimes we will sentence someone more harshly than he deservers. However, when the fate of worlds, of millions of beings who we are supposed to protect is at stake, we can't risk their safety because of compassion."

Zarthan's eyes turned again to look at the young hedgehog, and the robot continued:

"At some point of their careers, most of zonecops come to this same conondurum. Then they either understand what our duty really is, and the sacrifices it requires, or then they can't bear it, and sideline themselves, one way or an another. I wonder, which one are you?"

****************

Everything the Judge said, after that first nod and that quiet confirmation, everything, was something he already knew. Something he'd been repeating to himself for a lifetime, something he'd been trained to accept since his very first day in the Corp: he knew where doubt in the system could lead, he knew the responsibility that lay on the Corp, he knew that that they could not afford mistakes! And knew how much dramatic the consequences could have been if he'd let himself act according to his deeper feelings.

He knew, he knew, he knew! And every single word more was like a slap to anything he'd already passed through, pointing out at his efforts and screaming 'not enough'.

How many times he'd kept himself in check, so carefully, so painfully, how many times he'd proven that he was loyal, he was capable, he was a zonecop? He'd diligently sat down on his chair and wrote his report in front of hundreds of variants of himself writhing in agony, he'd watched worlds be turned in ashes and let it happen to balance an equation. And as for 649, he'd delivered the sentence as ordered. He'd closed the door when told so. He...he'd never, ever, EVER freed him, no matter what!

And yet there it was, that metallic Judge, pointing his finger and accusing him, still questioning that very fundamental point: are you a zonecop or not?

Are you strong enough to live by what you are or...?

Or? The other option never existed, not for him! His family was the Corp. His life had always been the one of a zonecop: all he had was his work, what frail little ego he'd managed to build up, whatever image of himelf he pictured in is mind, had the face covered by the visor of an helmet . There was nothing else, he could not be anything else! The fear of the void was there, making him certain that outside the Corp he'd been a nothing. He'd been alone.

He'd been an orphan.

That question was a shame he could not take, his quills irk and his eyes sting, burning for tears of frustration ad anger: anger to himself because he'd ruined everything, because he'd suffered in silence for 7 months only to throw everything down the toilet in a single moment of weakness, for a joke of fate! That was just too much. Why? Why it had to happen to him, why?

The little hedgehog was almost trembling when he rose his blazing aqua green gaze from the floor, snapping in a raspy growl

-I didn't do it! I did not let him go!...-

A pause to take back in air, and Zonic staggered a bit backwards, the tension gone away with the shout leaving him a lot weaker, the wobble making his back to collide with the glass surface of the freezing pod behind him.

-I didn't...sir- he ended in a more composed tone, ears dropping and eyes hiding on the floor once again, voices in his mind already beating him down for even such a little outburst. How did he dare to rise his voice in front of the judge? What did he hope to accomplish with such a behavior? He was only going to make everything worse, to show his immaturity, to...

For a moment there seem to be no reaction, the silence ominous. Then the robot's steps echoed again between them, the machine opening his arms and his hands in a gesture that would have seemed conciliating and understanding had not been for the razor-like gleam of those fingers.

_But I don't know that. All I know is that you walked inside that cell, prisoner disappeared, and you were there unharmed_ the robot stated pure facts, stopping as it paused in his speech, those hands vanishing from sight as it clasped them behind its back in a very organic gesture.

_And, you understand, what my sense of duty would have me to do in such a case, with a potential risk like that, when there's not even the tiniest bit of evidence pointing at you being innocent, don't you?_

Zonic gulped down the new protest in his throat at those words, because of course he could scream he was innocent until he ran out of voice, the Judge was right. There was no proof!...so he was going to kick him out and-

For a fraction of second as he lifted his head, his look crossed with the red leds, the little hedgehog suddenly having the precise impression that the other's gaze was not pointed at him, but had skirted past over his shoulder, focusing on what was behind him.

The Judge was staring at the pod. Why was the Judge...?
And then it hit him: to simply kick him out the Corp did not eliminate completely the possibility of him doing something like freeing a prisoner once again, it only lowered the probabilities to the 'almost impossible' level. But there was the 'almost' still. And even if it was not specifically that, there were other things he could have done, not less dangerous...and hadn't the Judge just finished to lecture him about taking risks...?

The robotic led eyes shifted once again on him, catching the signs of understandment, and under that gaze still in wait of an answer, Zonic felt his guts evaporate, his mouth turning so dry to make his throat hurt at every breath.

Every second that passed without the Judge doing anything to chase away the doubt that had to be written all over his face just made that option more close, more real, until he was certain that he'd got it just right.

He'd condemned 649 to Eternal Sleep and 649 was now somewhat having him condemned to that same fate. Call it poetic justice.

Pupils almost vanishing in an ocean of terror, he waited for his heart starting beating once again, before looking for his voice, deep down under the layers of useless screams, begs, cries that he choked.

-Y-Yes, Sir. I...I understand-

A stark contrast to the trembling little hedgehog, the tall robot was acting completely nonchalantly, one of his hands tapping casually over the pod as it leaned forward, until having its visor hovering right few inches above the little mess of quivering quills, the boy's eyes pleading for mercy reflecting on its dark expressionless glass-face.

_And can you come up with even a single reason, why I should not do it? Why I should not assume that you are not a risk, threatening the Stability?_ the Judge asked once again.

Keep calm. It was not decided yet, keep calm, it could not happen, it could not happen! The boy forced himself not to glance back at the needles, to bat away the overwhelming delusional feeling of those thin metallic tips getting closer and closer....
If this was a drug-overdose induced nightmare he wanted to wake up now!

But it wasn't, and he knew it, and every second of knowing it made it more unbearable, and the only reasons his mind kept coming up with were that he did not want to die, he did not want to die, he did not want to die!
And that was not going to save him. It meant nothing to the Judge. It meant nothing to anyone, it meant nothing compared to the necessity, it meant nothing just like it had meant nothing for all the thousands frozen lives surrounding him in this cold hell.
But the more he struggled helplessly against those useless thoughts, the more he failed at finding something coherent and logic to say to satisfy the Judge, the more his mind and body and soul screamed aloud their simple will to continue existing, until he just gave up, panic blurring his mind as tears blurred his sight.

-I didn't do it. I didn't do it, I'd never do it, sir! I'll prove it if I could!-

It was all he could do, beg for that trust that had been denied to everyone else. A trust that he'd thought he'd finally gained after years and years of service, only to see it shatter in a single night.

-I'd do anything to prove it...-

And in that second he meant it. Everything. He did not care the price for keeping breathing, as long as he could keep doing it. He did not care how miserable or low his life would got, as long as he could just keep living it.

Description
Quick, messy pic, but felt like sharing.

Judge rp lines
AU!Zonic rp lines by me!

"Which one is better? That we are lenient to a being that has caused destruction on that wide scale, and that being then repeats it's crime again, or that in every hundred monsters we imprison, there might have been one who would not had repeated his deeds?"

The robot started taking slow steps towards the young hedgehog, and continued talking while doing so:

"You felt pity, empathy towards Sonic 649. He is you after all, it is only natural that it is easy to sympathize with your alternate version. And since you started to doubt the justice in his sentence, you started to doubt at Zonecops themselves, or at least your own ability to be one. That is where the degeneration that happened to the warden Ziroir starts, starting to doubt our purpose."

The robotic judge slowly shook his head again at the wasted potenttial, and then continued:

"However, imagine for a moment, that Scourge would cause planet-wide destruction on yet an another world. Who would be the one to blame? Scourge, for following his destructive nature?"

Zarthan gestured towards the dark pods surrounding them, and then pointed with a single metallic finger towards the young hedgehog, the stare of red eyes becoming only more accusing:

"Or you, for allowing him to escape? What would the people of that destroyed world say, if you would tell to them, that the being responsible of all that misery runs free, because you pitied him?"

The robotic judge was again silent for a moment, even though it did not really expect an answer, and then finished it's speech, it's gaze turning to look at the circle of stasis pods around them:

"No, our responsibility is to guard all worlds against these kinds of threats. That is our duty. And we can't waver in our conviction. If we shrink from instilling order, we have already failed. And as regrettable as it is, sometimes we will sentence someone more harshly than he deservers. However, when the fate of worlds, of millions of beings who we are supposed to protect is at stake, we can't risk their safety because of compassion."

Zarthan's eyes turned again to look at the young hedgehog, and the robot continued:

"At some point of their careers, most of zonecops come to this same conondurum. Then they either understand what our duty really is, and the sacrifices it requires, or then they can't bear it, and sideline themselves, one way or an another. I wonder, which one are you?"

****************

Everything the Judge said, after that first nod and that quiet confirmation, everything, was something he already knew. Something he'd been repeating to himself for a lifetime, something he'd been trained to accept since his very first day in the Corp: he knew where doubt in the system could lead, he knew the responsibility that lay on the Corp, he knew that that they could not afford mistakes! And knew how much dramatic the consequences could have been if he'd let himself act according to his deeper feelings.

He knew, he knew, he knew! And every single word more was like a slap to anything he'd already passed through, pointing out at his efforts and screaming 'not enough'.

How many times he'd kept himself in check, so carefully, so painfully, how many times he'd proven that he was loyal, he was capable, he was a zonecop? He'd diligently sat down on his chair and wrote his report in front of hundreds of variants of himself writhing in agony, he'd watched worlds be turned in ashes and let it happen to balance an equation. And as for 649, he'd delivered the sentence as ordered. He'd closed the door when told so. He...he'd never, ever, EVER freed him, no matter what!

And yet there it was, that metallic Judge, pointing his finger and accusing him, still questioning that very fundamental point: are you a zonecop or not?

Are you strong enough to live by what you are or...?

Or? The other option never existed, not for him! His family was the Corp. His life had always been the one of a zonecop: all he had was his work, what frail little ego he'd managed to build up, whatever image of himelf he pictured in is mind, had the face covered by the visor of an helmet . There was nothing else, he could not be anything else! The fear of the void was there, making him certain that outside the Corp he'd been a nothing. He'd been alone.

He'd been an orphan.

That question was a shame he could not take, his quills irk and his eyes sting, burning for tears of frustration ad anger: anger to himself because he'd ruined everything, because he'd suffered in silence for 7 months only to throw everything down the toilet in a single moment of weakness, for a joke of fate! That was just too much. Why? Why it had to happen to him, why?

The little hedgehog was almost trembling when he rose his blazing aqua green gaze from the floor, snapping in a raspy growl

-I didn't do it! I did not let him go!...-

A pause to take back in air, and Zonic staggered a bit backwards, the tension gone away with the shout leaving him a lot weaker, the wobble making his back to collide with the glass surface of the freezing pod behind him.

-I didn't...sir- he ended in a more composed tone, ears dropping and eyes hiding on the floor once again, voices in his mind already beating him down for even such a little outburst. How did he dare to rise his voice in front of the judge? What did he hope to accomplish with such a behavior? He was only going to make everything worse, to show his immaturity, to...

For a moment there seem to be no reaction, the silence ominous. Then the robot's steps echoed again between them, the machine opening his arms and his hands in a gesture that would have seemed conciliating and understanding had not been for the razor-like gleam of those fingers.

_But I don't know that. All I know is that you walked inside that cell, prisoner disappeared, and you were there unharmed_ the robot stated pure facts, stopping as it paused in his speech, those hands vanishing from sight as it clasped them behind its back in a very organic gesture.

_And, you understand, what my sense of duty would have me to do in such a case, with a potential risk like that, when there's not even the tiniest bit of evidence pointing at you being innocent, don't you?_

Zonic gulped down the new protest in his throat at those words, because of course he could scream he was innocent until he ran out of voice, the Judge was right. There was no proof!...so he was going to kick him out and-

For a fraction of second as he lifted his head, his look crossed with the red leds, the little hedgehog suddenly having the precise impression that the other's gaze was not pointed at him, but had skirted past over his shoulder, focusing on what was behind him.

The Judge was staring at the pod. Why was the Judge...?
And then it hit him: to simply kick him out the Corp did not eliminate completely the possibility of him doing something like freeing a prisoner once again, it only lowered the probabilities to the 'almost impossible' level. But there was the 'almost' still. And even if it was not specifically that, there were other things he could have done, not less dangerous...and hadn't the Judge just finished to lecture him about taking risks...?

The robotic led eyes shifted once again on him, catching the signs of understandment, and under that gaze still in wait of an answer, Zonic felt his guts evaporate, his mouth turning so dry to make his throat hurt at every breath.

Every second that passed without the Judge doing anything to chase away the doubt that had to be written all over his face just made that option more close, more real, until he was certain that he'd got it just right.

He'd condemned 649 to Eternal Sleep and 649 was now somewhat having him condemned to that same fate. Call it poetic justice.

Pupils almost vanishing in an ocean of terror, he waited for his heart starting beating once again, before looking for his voice, deep down under the layers of useless screams, begs, cries that he choked.

-Y-Yes, Sir. I...I understand-

A stark contrast to the trembling little hedgehog, the tall robot was acting completely nonchalantly, one of his hands tapping casually over the pod as it leaned forward, until having its visor hovering right few inches above the little mess of quivering quills, the boy's eyes pleading for mercy reflecting on its dark expressionless glass-face.

_And can you come up with even a single reason, why I should not do it? Why I should not assume that you are not a risk, threatening the Stability?_ the Judge asked once again.

Keep calm. It was not decided yet, keep calm, it could not happen, it could not happen! The boy forced himself not to glance back at the needles, to bat away the overwhelming delusional feeling of those thin metallic tips getting closer and closer....
If this was a drug-overdose induced nightmare he wanted to wake up now!

But it wasn't, and he knew it, and every second of knowing it made it more unbearable, and the only reasons his mind kept coming up with were that he did not want to die, he did not want to die, he did not want to die!
And that was not going to save him. It meant nothing to the Judge. It meant nothing to anyone, it meant nothing compared to the necessity, it meant nothing just like it had meant nothing for all the thousands frozen lives surrounding him in this cold hell.
But the more he struggled helplessly against those useless thoughts, the more he failed at finding something coherent and logic to say to satisfy the Judge, the more his mind and body and soul screamed aloud their simple will to continue existing, until he just gave up, panic blurring his mind as tears blurred his sight.

-I didn't do it. I didn't do it, I'd never do it, sir! I'll prove it if I could!-

It was all he could do, beg for that trust that had been denied to everyone else. A trust that he'd thought he'd finally gained after years and years of service, only to see it shatter in a single night.

-I'd do anything to prove it...-

And in that second he meant it. Everything. He did not care the price for keeping breathing, as long as he could keep doing it. He did not care how miserable or low his life would got, as long as he could just keep living it.