5 Times Zach Was Hugged (+ 1 Time He Hugged Someone Else)

Chapter 3: 3) Hurry Up

"Hurry it up, Zach!" Gourmand growled, looking behind his shoulder.

"I am hurrying!" Zach yelled, though he was too out of breath to manage anything above a sorta-raised voice. He knew he was falling behind, but it was hardly his fault! He hadn't run like this in years, not since he made his Zachbots. Now he was sweaty, and hot, and thirsty, and dirty — these were hardly ideal running conditions.

(The fact that his EMP generator was the reason he was running without his Zachbots still didn't make it his fault. The Wild Rats were the ones who broke it, after all!)

"Zach, I swear I will leave you behind if you don't hurry up!" Gourmand threatened, making Zach squeak and go just a little bit faster. "You can't possibly be this slow."

"Well, excuse me for not being built like a, um..." Zach paused, trying to remember the word. "Those muscley unicorn-thingies?"

"You mean Rhinos?" Gourmand asked, unimpressed. He got a faraway, distracted look on his eyes, but didn't slow down. "You know, Rhinoceros Flambe is really good..."

"I'll take your word for it." Zach panted. At this point, he probably would've just collapsed and waited to be caught, if it had been the Rats chasing him. Hell, if one of the other Villains were chasing him he'd probably still surrender, wrath be damned.

But the actual cops just had to get involved this time, didn't they? Oh well, at least the Wild Rats were too busy lying through their teeth to help with the chase. That's the part people always forget about the Heroes — they don't care about the law any more than the Villains do.

"I've got an old hunter's hut at the top." Gourmand finally, finally, finally stopped at the base of a small cliff. "They won't be able to find us in there, trust me."

He expected Zach to climb? Zach would've pointed out just how utterly ridiculous that idea was, if the world hadn't decided to tilt sideways at that exact moment. Zach really wasn't used to running this long...

"Would you quit being overdramatic and just– Zach?" Gourmand crouched over him, the realization that Zach actually couldn't move and wasn't pretending clear on his face. "You really are a wimp, aren't you?"

Zach groaned in response, trying to stand up and just rolling over instead. He idly wondered if he could convince the cops that Gourmand had forced him into this and left him for dead. Maybe the Rats would vouch for him if he agreed not to tattle about their unlicensed weaponry (Creature Power Suits definitely counted, he knew the laws of the area well enough to know that).

Gourmand stood, looking between Zach and the cliff a few times, biting his lip. What exactly was the big lug waiting for? The cops wouldn't be too far behind them, he needed to go before they both got arrested.

(Not that Zach was worried for him, of course. If they both got arrested, it would be harder for Zach to play the victim and use him as a scapegoat. Nothing more to it, really!)

Gourmand sighed, running a hand down his face. "You are more trouble than you're worth, you pathetic son of a..." He continued to grumble under his breath, picking Zach up and turning toward the cliff.

Before Zach could do more than let out a questioning hum, Gourmand was climbing up the cliff one-handed, the other arm busy holding Zach against his chest.

They barely managed to get to the top in time, the door to the hidden hut closing just as the authorities reached the bottom of the cliff. It was a close call, but it wouldn't have been if Gourmand had just been smart and abandoned him.

"Why?" Zach managed to ask after a few minutes resting against a wall, eyes half-lidded as he studied his fellow villain.

"Shut up." Gourmand answered.

(Later, Zach would agree to giving him a year's worth of free vehicle repairs. With a fair bit of loud complaining, of course).