A Bigger Picture (4): The Other Side

What Dot saw before her was the definition of destruction and sadness.  The VR Room's walls, once pearl white, were now crumpling.  What remained of them was scorched black from Herbert's fire in November 2012.  The projection of the old PSA HQ, the second one, remained frozen on some of the walls, reminding her of the tragedy that had transpired in the real building those years ago.

It was too much.  The first destruction by a popcorn bomb.  The second by arson started by Herbert.  The third by means of brutal, direct force that could have severely or fatally injured them.

And.....the betrayal of a friend.

Of a false friend, that was.

Source: Club Penguin Wikia

Dot, always strong women, started to cry in grief at the memories and the new situation.  Even Jet Pack Guy, seeing the horrors of day's past in front of him, along with dreading the future's events, changed his stone serious face into one filled with grief.  A tear ran down his cheek.

It was the second time in one day that Dot saw a new side of someone she thought she knew so well.

It would not be the last, she would soon learn.

Gary turned to them.  He had already seen this sight numerous times and was unphased by it.  He did of course feel grief, but the time where he showed it directly had passed.  Besides, he had to stay strong for them.  The Director would want him to.  He wanted to.

"I'm....I'm sorry you had to see this," he said quietly.  "It was the.....the only way out."

He turned forward.  Gary began to unpile a mound of rocks blocking a hole caused by an explosion during Operation: Blackout.  They were heavy, but he was up for it, despite the stiffness he felt from their little teleporter ride.

Source: Club Penguin Insiders

"What....what are we going to do now?" Jet Pack Guy asked Gary, trying to compose himself.

"What do you think Rookie is going to do?" Dot sniffled.

"What do you know about the Revolutionists?" Jet Pack Guy asked.

These questions continued.  Gary tried to contain himself, tried not to let his fury over Rookie's betrayal win.  He had hoped so much that he was wrong, that there was some variable that would prove the young boy's innocence.  In fact, he was sure there would be one.  Because of this, the fury was deep.  And two agents pestering him with questions over and over again, some which frustrated him because he didn't know the answer, wasn't helping.  Neither was the fact that he was the sole person trying to get them out of this painful reminder of loss.

He tried to control his fury.  He really, really did.

But, at some point, we all hit our ceiling.

Source: Club Penguin Wikia

He turned around.  He said words that he would later regret.

"Agents, I DO NOT KNOW!  I just plain DON'T KNOW!  YOU think I DON'T feel the same emotions that YOU do towards this news!?  YOU think I'm not in agony!?  One of the nicest people I have ever met is a fraud!  The agent that used to know how to make me smile when I had bad day is GONE!!  In his place is a monster that I DON'T KNOW how to contain!!!  I DON'T KNOW who to trust anymore!  YOU could be traitors for all I know!!  So, are YOU!?  ARE YOU!?!?"

They looked taken aback.  All sniffles, all tears stopped.  They both answered with a curt, "No, sir," and quickly shuffled over to help him remove the stones.  It took awhile, but they completed it in rather good time.

"Do you hear that?" asked Gary, who had calmed down considerably.

Dot and Jet Pack Guy listened.  There was a brief pause.  They both said they could hear nothing.

"Exactly!" said Gary.  You see, when they had first arrived in the ruins of the VR Room, they could hear some faint sounds.  Explosions.  Hasty footsteps.  At one point, a cannon was heard.  Now, there was creepy silence.

Source: Club Penguin Wikia

They began to run.  It was slow moving at first, with their stiff bodies adjusting back to full potential.  Eventually, things sped up, though.

Gary yelled as they ran.  "This tunnel leads to the middle of a forest that's off limits to the public.  We can head to the Ski Village and look for clues then."

They climbed up a ladder at the end of the tunnel and Gary unlocked a padlock, which bore a striking resemblance to a past pin.  They headed to the Ski Village.

"Agents.....about what I said down there...." Gary began.

"We get it," the two agents said as they ran.

They stopped short.

Source: Club Penguin Wikia

As expected, the front of the Everyday Phoning Facility was in ruin.  Along with damage to the brick, paint, stairs, and sign, the phones had been defaced.  One had words written in graffiti: "Calling these authorities will get you no where!"  The other had a curled wire sticking from it, with scissors next to it, implying a cut phone line.

There was a folder setting in the middle of the village.  It turned out one thing about the Rookie they used to know was actually true: his handwriting.  The paper had various notes on it that were recognizably in his handwriting.  A picture of the Tallest Mountain was paper clipped to them.

From what they could gather, Rookie planned to implode something on top of the mountain and cause an avalanche to show his dominance.

Gary quickly ran to get supplies from a stockpile that the Revolutionists hadn't found.  All three equipped with jet packs, they flew towards the mountain.

For the second time in one day, Dot felt a sense of dread.  The folder was almost too perfectly placed.  Someone who kept their cover from being blown for so many years would not be so sloppy.  However, she kept quiet.

That could very well have been the worst decision she ever made.

To Be Continued