Everything moved in slow motion. Literally. Every step, every breath, every blink seemed to take centuries. Even the screams sounded as if they came from a movie dubbed by an asthmatic turtle.
— What... the hell... is... this...? — said Carlos, with a voice so dragged out that it seemed to be singing opera in reverse.
— It's... the effect... of the Temporal Disruptor! — shouted Sam, gripping his backpack tightly as the hallways trembled —. The villain activated it too soon!
The scene looked like it was taken from a crazy dream: strobe lights, alarms sounding like distorted romantic ballads, and Max, still inside the capsule, floating in the middle of a rotating platform while a screen displayed "PHASE 2 ACTIVATED: CHRONOPET SYNCHRONIZATION."
— What the heck is a chronopet? — asked Marta, still trying to understand how everything had gotten so out of control.
— I think Max is connected to the machine! — shouted Alex —. He is the power source! We have to get him out of there!
Meanwhile, Mr. Shadow observed everything from an elevated platform, with an evil laugh that sounded like classic villain karaoke.
— You won't be able to stop me! — he bellowed with his shrill voice —. With the power of the Temporal Disruptor and the mind of a hyperactive dog, I will alter the flow of time and dominate the routine of pets around the world!
— The what? — Carlos exclaimed.
— Imagine a world where humans are the ones who walk their pets six times a day, clean their litter boxes with bows, and serve them sushi at the exact hour! — continued the villain, euphoric.
— Sushi...? — Marta frowned —. Is that the worst he plans?
— There will also be a 24/7 television channel just for squirrels doing yoga. — That sounds pretty adorable! — admitted Carlos.
But Alex had no time for eccentric villains. He looked around and then at his companions.
— I need to get close to Max. If I can reach him, maybe I can disconnect him before they turn him into the new cosmic dog clock.
Sam checked his tablet, where the map of the place trembled and flickered as if it were in a nightclub with poor WiFi.
— There's a way: if we restart the main generators, the capsule will lose pressure and you could open it from the inside.
— Perfect! — said Alex, and then he stopped —. From the inside?
— Yes... but you will need to cross the fractal time hallway.
— What's special about it?
Sam sighed.
— It can make you live your memories... or your worst fears. Sometimes both at the same time, and in the form of a musical.
Carlos paled.
— I once dreamed that math was eating me. Literally.
— There's no time — said Alex, already heading towards the hallway that led to the generators —. Let's go!
The group split up: Marta, Sam, and some members of the Rescue Club took care of creating distractions for the villain's henchmen; Carlos was trying to hack the system with his laptop stuck together with gum and clips; and Alex ventured into the fractal time hallway.
As he crossed it, everything changed.
He was in his room. But not like the one now. It was the one he had when he was eight years old.
Max, a puppy, was jumping on his bed while he cried over a bad grade in math.
— You are my best friend — said little Alex.
Adult Alex felt a lump in his throat.
Then, everything turned. He was at school, watching how other kids mocked him for talking to his dog as if it were a human. Max appeared and, in a surreal scene, threw a ball at one of the bullies.
— Good boy — said Alex, smiling.
The hallway continued, with images of the present and the future. In one, Max was an old dog, sleeping on a blanket. In another, he was a robot with a cape, barking orders in a binary language.
— Focus! — Alex told himself, as the images faded away.
At the end of the tunnel, he found the generator room: a noisy machine, full of cables, buttons with blinking lights, and a large lever marked with a sign: "DO NOT PULL UNLESS YOU WANT TO STOP THE FLOW OF TIME."
— Perfect.
Alex ran towards it, dodging sparks and a robotic rat that seemed annoyed by his presence. He grabbed the lever.
— This is for Max.
And he pulled.
The roar was immediate. Lights went out, alarms fell silent, and a vibration shook the entire structure. Max's capsule began to open.
— It works! — Carlos shouted from his hiding place.
Alex ran through the hallways that were now collapsing little by little. Upon reaching the main room, he saw Max staggering out of the capsule, with his eyes squinted but apparently fine.
— MAX! — Alex shouted, hugging him tightly —. You're okay!
Max let out a weak bark, followed by a sneeze.
— I think he has temporary nausea — said Marta, appearing with Sam and the rest of the team —. But he's alive.
Mr. Shadow was shouting in frustration as his systems collapsed.
— NO! MY PLAN! MY GLORIOUS DOG TEMPORAL DOMINATION PLAN!
— And do you know what the worst part is? — Alex shouted at him —. You don't even understand dogs!
Y Max, as if he understood the moment, ran and bit the main cable of the villain's console.
— NOOOO! — this one shouted, before being electrocuted and falling dramatically to the ground, without mortal danger, but with the smell of fried mustache.
The drones were deactivated. The lights went out. And the base was left in silence.
A minute later, the group went outside with Max in their arms. The sky was clear, and the weather was returning to normal.
— We did it — said Marta.
— Max saved the day — said Sam, petting the dog.
— And he can probably now control clocks with his mind — added Carlos, while Max barked at the sun.
— Let's go home — said Alex, smiling —. This is just the beginning...