Relative
by Asher Tye

Disclaimer: If I owned Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters, I'd be a much happier person. Sadly I do not, but Sega/Archie does (depending on the character) so hopefully they won't begrudge me using their characters for a non-profit story.

Author's Note: Just a little one-shot. I'm thinking of classifying it as a Tails/N.I.C.O.L.E. story (how many of those do you see). This is my first angst story, so be gentle please in your reviews.

Timeline: Based in the SatAM universe where all the elements would (hopefully) still exist. It probably also will contain elements of the SegaSonic universe. Takes place maybe a year or a year and a half after the fall of Robotnik and the freeing of planet Mobius.

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"Miles, perhaps it is time for a break." It was said with as much kindness and sensitivity as N.I.C.O.L.E. could put in her digitized voice. Though the little computer's A.I. programming had evolved phenomenally over the course of her years with the Freedom Fighters, her hardware was a different story, and it often made her feel something akin to frustration when she could not put the emotions in her voice that she held in her digital heart. But, such was the price one paid when one was made of technology so advanced no one currently had the means to replicate it, let alone create upgrades for.

"Shut… Up!!" The two words were said in such a venomous growl that N.I.C.O.L.E. might have done a double take, had she a head and face, or the capacity to be surprised at the attitude anymore. An angry scowl showed on the face of one Miles Prower, former Freedom Fighter and child prodigy of Knothole, telling her to drop the subject. As essentially a hand held device, it would be quite literally child's play for the twelve year old kit to hurl the small computer out of his work area. While such a task wouldn't damage her, and would provide the boy with a break from his exertions, it would also mean N.I.C.O.L.E. would no longer be able to keep an eye on the kit as Sally had asked her to do, a task that was becoming more and more necessary with each passing day.

A small green light shot out from N.I.C.O.L.E., a scanning beam that allowed the small computer to take stock of her foxy friend's physical condition. What she found was distressing to say the least. Where once the foxling's coat had been soft, shiny, and full, it was now coarse and dull, with patches missing here and there. His body was thin and frail looking, lacking all resemblance to the well fed child he had been not but a few months ago. His nose was dry, and raw from constant rubbing, and black bags rested almost serenely under the kit's once bright blue eyes. A slight cough came from the young Prower's lips as he hunkered over the computer control chair, the same chair that, not but a year and a half ago, Robotnik himself had sat in as he began his last desperate and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to stop the Freedom Fighters from finally toppling his empire.

Though it had been eighteen months since the maniacal madman's defeat, Mobius and its population was still celebrating, even as they rebuilt fair Mobotropolis from the ruined husk that was Robotropolis. Warehouses and factories had been torn down and replaced with fresh new housing and even small store fronts and stands. The wounded earth, so long mistreated by the foul doctor, was steadily being nurtured and healed as plants were encouraged to once more take root in the timid soil. Even the skies, once blackened by the constant barrage of smog, soot, and smoke from Robotnik's factories, were beginning to clear and open for sunlight to shine down on the slowly but steadily reviving city. At the core of her memory, N.I.C.O.L.E. knew that the full impact of the ecological damage perpetrated by the not-so-good doctor would never fully be healed, and most likely have to be dealt with by the Mobians for generations to come, but for now it was a cheery change. Unfortunately, not all of the damage done could so easily fall into the category "out of sight, out of mind," as N.I.C.O.L.E. could see first hand.

"Dammit! It's another dead end!" Tails swore as he slammed his fists into the computer console, swearing again as he grabbed one of his wrists in pain. Had the scrawny fox been Robotnik, the force of his strike might have damaged the delicate equipment. A quick scan of the wrist revealed the reverse had occurred, and Tails would no doubt need to have his wrist looked at by a doctor, a scenario that, however necessary it might be, was also unlikely at the present. Thus was why Sonic and Sally were currently worrying themselves into an early grave over their now seemingly self-destructive ward.

It had started out wonderfully. Robotnik was gone; Robotropolis had fallen into the Freedom Fighter's hands. Celebration and merriment like nothing Mobius had ever seen had ruled the day for nearly two weeks. With the threat of capture and roboticization removed, a population driven into hiding by fear and tyranny had come out, offering up their most heartfelt thanks to the children who had spent their youths fighting a menace they should never have been responsible dealing with. Magnanimous in victory, the Freedom Fighters had refused to allow such thoughts and accusations to sully the moment, and had simply enjoyed the revelry. Once the first party had concluded, the Princess, once more assuming a position of command, led her people into conquered Robotropolis. It had been simple for N.I.C.O.L.E. to disable the city's defenses, particularly with the help of Rotor and Tails and the lack of Robotnik trying to repair the damage. It had also proven unnecessary as, from out of Robotnik's Command Center had walked Sir Charles Hedgehog, Sonic's uncle.

Claiming himself the last fully functional and present member of the former dictator's regime, the robotic hedgehog declared it his duty to give the official surrender of the city to the Freedom Fighters. Laughter had abounded that day as Uncle Chuck performed a comical rendition of surrendering, even going so far as to walk forth of his knees to offer a twisted mockery of a key to the city to Princess Sally. Sally had smiled benevolently as she accepted Uncle Chuck's "surrender" and officially pardon he and all worker-bots for any crimes they may have committed while under Dr. Robotnik's control, the only part of the farce that was intended to be real. It was then that the noble hedgehog turned to his nephew and offered one last surprise, a "gift" he felt sure the deposed doctor would have wanted him to have with all the "goodness" of his heart. Sonic had, predictably, laughed at that notion, fully expecting this to be some new good natured prank by his uncle. Even now N.I.C.O.L.E. couldn't help but reflect on how wrong he was.

From out of the darkness of the Command Center, two figures emerged, the pale light of day shining on their metallic spines. Sonic was caught speechless as he stared at the roboticized forms of Jules and Bernie Hedgehog, his parents. Found by Uncle Chuck as quickly as Robotropolis had fallen and freed from their control circuits, the two elder hedgehogs smiled as their heroic son approached them cautiously, unsure if they would evaporate before their very eyes. Tears had fallen from the teenaged Freedom Fighters face as he fell into an embrace with his parents, both of whom offered words of kindness and expressions of pride towards the son they'd missed grow up into such a fine young man. And behind it all, Tails watched.

It was, perhaps, poetic justice that of all the families torn asunder by Robotnik in his mad drive for power, Sonic's was the first to be reunited; but it certainly wasn't the last. Access to Robotnik's mainframe had provided information on the location and identity of every worker-bot in the city, all of whom were joyously freed and reunited with their own worried loved ones. Though Robotnik had done his best to hide the information, perhaps hoping to use it as a bargaining chip should he survive his loss, the Freedom Fighters were proving adept enough to counter all of his security measures and find the missing roboticized Mobians. Again and again N.I.C.O.L.E. bore witness to the happy events as children, siblings, and parents came together again, the only downside being the as yet unfinished deroboticizer making it impossible for the freed workers to leave their robotic shells. Soon the worker-bot population of Robotropolis had been depleted, and the Freedom Fighters turned their attentions to Robotnik's other holdings, using his computer to match cold serial numbers and uniform mechanical features to living faces and rightful names. And still, Tails did watch.

In hindsight, N.I.C.O.L.E. wondered if she should have seen this coming. She may have been something of a neophyte when it came to the subject of emotions, and indeed reading other people was not her strong suit, but still it seemed illogical that no one had seen it coming. Replaying her memory now, she could clearly see the pattern Tails's deteriorating state of mind as it developed, obfuscated in the ambient good cheer and happiness of the time.

He'd remained helpful, and outwardly cheerful as the world he had been denied was slowly put back together. Though there were stumbling blocks, Robotnik had left plenty of booby-traps and had hidden far too many of his holdings, the now free Mobians had been steadfast in their efforts to reclaim their lives, and Tails had been there. And yet, as everyone else's dreams came true around him, the young fox remained alone, his own wishes unfulfilled.

It wasn't as though the kit lacked attention. Sally, Sonic, Rotor, Bunnie, and even Antoine continued to watch out for the boy, and as a member of the group that had saved their world, he did not lack for well-wishers and friendly Mobians willing to offer him a hand. The trouble came from the fact that none of them could offer Tails what he had desperately, still desperately, desired. More and more the kit began to lose interest in the celebrations and become more focused on the task of finding missing worker-bots with Sally while Rotor perfected his deroboticizer. More and more he began to sequester himself away from the populace, often times working on the mainframe late into the night. Then it had happened.

It had been done with the best of intentions, and saved for what was hoped to be the perfect occasion. A little more than a year after the success of their last mission against Robotnik, Sonic and Sally had decided to tie the knot. The news had been received very well by the citizens of Mobotropolis indeed, not only would they be getting a new King, he would be the great hero of the rebellion against Robotnik. A full blown engagement party had been held at the newly rebuilt Castle Acorn, where everyone from Knothole and knew the guests of honor had been invited to attend.

It was beautiful. Though the resources to decorate were nearly non-existent, Bunnie, Antoine, and Rotor had pulled out all the stops to get the still somewhat drab building looking festive and happy. There had been congratulatory speeches and well-wishes from everyone invited as Sonic and Sally had descended the stairs as a couple, smiles on their faces as their prepared even more good news for one of the revelers in particular.

"Thank you, thank you everyone," Sally had said, smiling and waving with one arm as she held onto her new, blue fiancé with her other one.

"Thanks, thanks a lot," Sonic had called as he had mimicked his squirrelly companion as well.

"We thank you for your kind wishes and words of encouragement," Sally had begun, "but we have something else to announce as well." The Princess turned her attentions to a somewhat tired and semi-reluctant reveler holding a cup of punch and sporting two bushy tails. The fox turned to the female he'd long considered his aunt, a well-meaning smile on his face that did little in N.I.C.O.L.E.'s opinion to hide the fact that there was something else he would have rather been doing. He was here because he was a friend to both the bride and groom-to-be and he wanted to wish them well. Even so, no one had worked harder on the worker-bot reclamation project harder than Tails, not even N.I.C.O.L.E., and he was very eager to get back to the job. Now, however the young fox found himself the center of attention in what was supposed to be his friends' party.

Sonic and Sally smiled at their youngest friend pleasantly, smiles of warmth and happiness, a happiness they fully intended to share with the young kit.

"Tails honey, Sonic and I have something to ask you," Sally had said to the fox kit. To her side, Sonic shot the boy a goofy grin and a thumbs up, clearly pleased with himself. "We've been discussing this for some time, even before we planned on getting married Tails, but we wanted your opinion too before we did anything, especially with Mobotropolis finally getting back to normal."

"What are you talking about, Aunt Sally?" Tails queried, adopting his cute boy routine for the benefit of his two friends.

"You're important to us kid," Sonic stated. "Always have been, always will be. Ever since we brought ya to Knothole."

"Now that the war is over, though, things are changing, among them what can and cannot be allowed. All around us children have been brought back together with their parents and guardians, families have been reunited. And this is partially the reason we've come to this decision." Tails looked at the two suspiciously, curious as to why the duo were acting so odd now. Sally knelt to one knee before her furry little charge, grabbing hold of his narrow shoulders, a benevolent smile on her face as she stared into his eyes. "Tails, Sonic and I have decided that we want to adopt you. Officially. That means when Sonic and I are married in a month, you would legally be our son." As she spoke, Sally's eyes closed in a smile as she delivered what she believed from the bottom of her heart was good news. After all, what could be better for a young child, orphaned in a war, than for the two people that had loved and cared for him most during that war wanted him for their own? It was a lovely thought; sadly, it seemed, too lovely for such a world as Mobius.

"Get away from me," the kit hissed, using a hand to knock Sally's arms away. The strike was not forceful but, not expecting it, Sally couldn't help but be moved, one of her errant hands lightly slapping the fox across the cheek.

"Big Guy?" a concerned Sonic asked as he watched the reaction unfold. Tails's ears had flattened against his head, his teeth gritted and bared as a cup he had held in his hand was crushed by his fist. Even his fur was standing on end as he stared daggers at the two Mobians who, up until a moment ago, had been the most important people in his life.

"How dare you?! How DARE you!?" Tails continued, tears falling down his soft cheek fur as a look of hurt and betrayal came over his face.

"Tails, what's wrong?" the dumbfounded Princess asked, unaware at just what they had done to rouse the young boy's ire.

"What do you think? That just because the war's over I'm up for grabs?! That my family won't get back together?!" Hearing this Sally backed up, a bit surprised by the outburst.

"Of course not Tails, but you have to understand, it's been so long…"

"So what?! Every day we find more worker-bots, every day we find more families! But suddenly you've given up on finding MINE!" Tails was now pacing back and forth before the assembled guests, clearly getting himself more worked up than he already was. "And its not even bad enough that you don't believe they can be found, apparently you never believed they WOULD be found, especially if you've been thinking about… adopting me for as long as you've said."

"Come on, little bro, it's not like that," Sonic said as he attempted to lay a placating hand on the quickly crumbling fox, only to have it smacked away.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!" he screamed. "You, you're the biggest hypocrite of all. You can do anything, you HAVE done everything, but you choose to just ignore my parents' very existence like this! I thought we were friends, 'best buds forever!' But now I find you didn't have any intention of finding them!"

"Tails sugar, that's a bit harsh, isn't it?"

"Shut up! I have a right to be angry. I spent my life listening to those two, trusting them, believing in them. I've been nothing but helpful in trying to make their dreams a reality; and they never even intended to find my parents."

"Tails…"

"No, enough! No more 'Tails,' no more 'sweetie,' no more stinkin' 'big guy!' My name is Miles Prower, not Acorn, not Hedgehog, PROWER!! And if you won't help me find the two people who gave me that name, then just leave ME ALONE!!" With this last outburst, the fox kit twisted his two bushy tails and took to the air, soaring above the crowd and out one of the castle's many open windows.

For two weeks the fox had remained hidden, a stunt which caused both Sonic and Sally, indeed all of the Knothole residents, a great deal of stress. They'd searched high and low for their little foxy friend, hoping to dissuade him of his false notions, but to know avail. Wherever Miles Prower had been for those two weeks, it had been beyond the Freedom Fighters ability to find. And then, just as they'd been prepared to give up, he'd returned.

Sally had been going down to the Robotropolis Mainframe interface, hoping to use the city's still active sensors to once again sweep all possible hiding places and hopefully find her missing friend, when who should she find sitting in the control chair but Tails himself. The little fox had his back turned to her and was typing furiously at the computer, sifting through charts and tables as he continued at what Sally now knew to be his personal quest to find his parents. His once bright, orange fur was covered in muck and grim from wherever he'd been for two weeks, and his eyes, or at least the reflection thereof that she could see in the monitors, were red and puffy from crying. Gone were his gloves and shoes, cast off by an angry child betrayed by the ones who'd given them to him. Carefully the squirrel Princess approached, unsure of just how her former surrogate nephew would react to her intrusion. To her surprise, he said nothing, neither encouraging nor discouraging. He didn't even seem to acknowledge her existence.

"Tails?" she asked quietly. He ignored her, prompting her to try again. "Tails?" Again he feigned ignorance, or at least appeared, though his ears flattened against his head. Finally, he chose to speak.

"I'm busy," he said in a flat and neutral tone. Sally, now fully aware that something was definitely not right in the little kit's world, noticed the way the boy's muscles tensed as he spoke, as though he was ready to jump from the chair and take off again at the drop of the proverbial hat. Since Tails was now in her work station, and Sally was not in the mood to make him run off again, she kept a respectable distance and moved slowly over to a secondary station, plugging N.I.C.O.L.E. in as she signed on. Once more she called up the information the computer held on the still missing Mobians. Almost immediately she ran into problems as the computer told her the files she needed were in use at another terminal. Again and again each file flashed the same message, and there was little doubt in her mind as to which terminal was using all the data.

"Tails, it might go faster if you closed some of those files down and let me look at them while you deal with the others," Sally said. Immediately a growl came to her ears causing her to turn and stare at the kit that was glaring at her from the command chair.

"No," he hissed nastily. "While it might go faster, its fairly obvious it won't get done right."

"That's not exactly polite…"

"So, I never had a mother to teach me right from wrong, blame it on Robotnik… or better yet blame it on the people who enabled him to shatter my family." Considering the conversation to be at an end, Tails turned back to his work. Just a little bit perturbed by this attitude, Sally approached the chair, fully intending to demand an apology. The moment she got within three feet of Tails, his fur stood on end as he angrily growled at her, his teeth bared in what was very clearly a threat of violence should she approach further. Acorn was taken aback by this development. Never had she expected any of her friends to make so nasty a threat against her person, least of all the friend she had treated as her own son for all of his life. Carefully she backed away, and as she did so, Tails returned to normal, his attention once more focused on the computer screens. Thinking over her options, Sally decided on what was, at the time, the best course of action.

"Tails, if you want me to leave you alone, I will, but I'm going to leave N.I.C.O.L.E. here to help you. She should be able to access the data while you do to, and she'll be able to help you crack through Robotnik's security barriers."

"Go," the little fox almost commanded, his eyes never leaving his work. Of course N.I.C.O.L.E. understood the true reason she was being left behind, to alert the Princess should the young Prower's condition deteriorate further.

And thus it had begun. Day in, day out Tails sat alone in the command chair, pouring through file after file as he attempted to locate those two precious serial numbers he could link to the name Prower. Of course he was not a machine, and eventually his body forced its wishes upon him, making him sleep, making him eat, making him drink and various other activities, but such tasks provided only all too short breaks in the kit's work. And each day he worsened, his mental state decaying at a rate only slightly lower than his physical one. And each day, N.I.C.O.L.E. sent off a message describing the decay to the Princess.

Of course it wasn't as though Sally and Sonic were sitting on their laurels waiting for Tails to fall over. Often when the kit slept, one or both snuck into the control room and laid a blanket over him to keep him warm, or left a warm plate of food for him to devour when he awoke, but again their options were limited. While they could no doubt physically remove the fox from the room and restrain him to a bed to recover his strength, the question became what to do with him once he had recovered. To keep him locked up would only reinforce his belief that they weren't interested in finding his real parents, and then again how long could they keep the very one they'd trained in all manner of escapes in a place he did not want to be. Even moving him to a bed while he slept so he could get a proper night's sleep could easily spook him into disappearing and then there was no guarantee they could find him again. And that wasn't even considering the public reaction that would occur if they locked the kit up.

Over the months of his voluntary seclusion, Tails had indeed made phenomenal progress in located the missing or hidden worker-bots, though there were still thousands to go. Often N.I.C.O.L.E. was asked to send messages to the royal court displaying the serial numbers he had eliminated as matched, virtually the only voluntary communication young Prower had with anyone other than N.I.C.O.L.E.. Hundreds of families owed the safety of missing members solely to the efforts of Miles Prower, and they often sent tokens of their appreciation and expressions of their gratitude to him, or at least to the castle they knew he stayed at. While N.I.C.O.L.E. would have liked to believe that these messages were Tails's attempt to allow others back into his world, a way to partially bridge the rift that had developed between his surrogate family and himself, she knew better. The little kit had changed, and not for the better. He was fully aware of the eyes watching him, of the minds devoted to removing him from this room on the premise of "helping" him, and this was his way of negating those efforts. Now if they tried anything to forcibly dislodge him, there would be a public outcry over the treatment of the famous fox that had single-handedly re-united more families than anyone had been able to do alone. And so they were forced to wait.

"Miles, your hand is beginning to swell," N.I.C.O.L.E. stated calmly. "Perhaps you should take a small break and let Dr. Quack look at it."

"No break."

"If you allow the damage to worsen, it is entirely likely it will begin to impede your progress," the sentient computer countered. For a few brief seconds, Tails looked at her with anger in his eyes, and N.I.C.O.L.E. feared she might have overstepped her bounds. Finally though, he looked at his discolored and swollen wrist. "If you like, I can summon the doctor here rather than have you go to him."

"I can't work the computer so well with one hand," Tails pointed out, his injured appendage already returning to the keyboard.

"I can help, if you want," N.I.C.O.L.E. interjected. "Not from over here, but I can work with the data as your direct. Would that be acceptable?"

"Well…" Tails considered N.I.C.O.L.E.'s carefully chosen words. "Fine."

"Very well, I will call the doctor. Simply plug me into the main console and we can continue." Hoping out of the chair, cradling his injured wrist, Tails pulled N.I.C.O.L.E. free of the smaller station Sally had left her plugged into that fateful day she'd tried, and failed to get the fox to safety. Not wanting to waste even a moment, Tails quickly pushed the small handheld computer into one of the ports on the main console. With another hop, the fox's rump once more sat in the chair, just in time for the lights to suddenly flicker.

"What was that?" Tails asked, suspicious. When no answer came from N.I.C.O.L.E., he lightly taped the hard casing that housed the tiny computer, as if trying to get her attention. "N.I.C.O.L.E., what happened?" It was then that he noticed the blue light which always indicated the machine to be active, was decidedly dead.

"An unforeseen power surge accompanied the massive data dump required to upload me into this computer before you could pull me free," N.I.C.O.L.E. said, this time her voice coming from the giant Robotropolis mainframe. Before Tails's eyes, the files he'd been looking at began to close one by one as the newly dominant N.I.C.O.L.E. exerted her complete control.

"What are you doing?!" the kit demanded as he began to furiously type commands into the computer, trying to counteract his electronic nemesis's activities. Sadly, the input devices were all dead and useless in the fox's hands. "I demand you put those files back up, NOW!!" the fox growled. In response, a steel strap rocked around his waist and bound him tightly to the chair, preventing his escape. Two more straps shot out of the armrests, grabbing the little mutant's arms, and making him yelp as one caught his damaged wrist, and bound him even more thoroughly.

"For once, Robotnik's cruelty and paranoia have provided some good," was all N.I.C.O.L.E. said as she finished shutting down all the open files. Once the screens were cleared, a digital representation of a female lynx appeared, its eyes looking downward at the captive kitsune before it began to speak. "Much better. Hopefully I have your undivided attention now." Tails began to struggle and pull on his restraints, noticeably wincing every time he moved his wrist.

"I'm warning you, computer, when I get out of here…"

"You will report directly to Dr. Quack's office where he will treat your injured wrist as well as run a full diagnostic… excuse me, a physical examination of you and hopefully provide you with medication to rid yourself of the mange and other diseases your neglect for hygiene has caused you to acquire."

"What?!" N.I.C.O.L.E. completely ignored this outburst, continuing with her commands.

"Afterwards you will report to the castle's kitchen and eat a decent meal with an adequate amount of fluids to make up for your lack of nutrition these last few months. Next you will go to your room and shower or bathe according to your preference, just so long as you finally removed the grime and dirt from your body. Finally, you will go to you bed and obtain all the sleep you've neglected since you've childishly locked yourself in here."

"Sally put you up to this didn't she?!" Tails growled back. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted her!"

"Sally may have left me here to monitor you, but I am currently acting on my own initiative. Which reminds me, after you wake up you will locate both Sally AND Sonic and offer your most profuse apologies for the anguish and trouble you have caused them both. After which you will continue to repeat the activities I've prescribed for you until such time as I am convinced your health is no longer at risk by being here."

"You can't tell me what to do! You're not my mother!"

"No I am not. Sally is the one who attempted to take that position, at least until your real mother has been successfully located. I am merely taking the temporary role of your governess. And as such, it is my duty to do everything in my power to ensure you are well cared for, both physically and emotionally. That is why I will be advising Sally to locate a suitable child psychiatrist, or at the very least some information on the topic for me to peruse. It has become blatantly obvious that, despite your outward appearance, you are most definitely harboring some hostile feelings towards those who have taken care of you for so long. I will not allow this self-destructive behavior to continue."

"And what if I refuse? Whatcha gonna do then? It'll be only a matter of time before I find some remote terminal and hack my way in again."

"You will not step one foot outside of the castle's perimeter without my knowledge and you will adhere to my demands perfectly, or I shall be forced to deal out the only punishment I can see that would have any effect on you at this point."

"And that is?"

"I will cause a core shut down of the Robotropolis computer network, effectively wiping out all of the data contained therein, including any and all relevant information to the as yet unfound worker-bots, including, most likely, you parents." Tails's eyes grew wide at this.

"You wouldn't…"

"It is not wise to test the resolve of a machine, Miles Prower, we are not known for mercy."

"I won't let you do it. I'll kill myself if you do!" Tails threatened.

"Unlikely, but even in the event that you did, you have already drawn yourself close to death with your current course of action. I fail to see that I have anything to lose if you simply choose to accelerate your own death."

"You'll be destroyed too!"

"Death is irrelevant to me personally, and while I understand that my loss will hinder Princess Sally's reconstruction efforts somewhat, she will move forward. And I have little doubt that, given sufficient time, Rotor will be able to construct a new A.I. every bit as capable and dynamic as me, especially with my former body to work from."

"What about all the worker-bots you'll cause to be lost forever to their families?"

"The sympathy in your voice rings false, Tails. I know for a fact that you only truly care about two as yet unfound worker-bots, your own mother and father. Given the fact that we don't even have any proof as to they active status, I am not overly concerned with the loss of easy access to them. Mobius is a large planet, but eventually, even without this computer's database, all the worker-bots will be found and freed."

"And what will Sally tell their families?" Tails asked with a wicked grin, fully believing that he'd found a hole in N.I.C.O.L.E.'s plan.

"They will undoubtedly be mad, but ultimately you were the one who plugged me into this console where I could take control and delete everything, so it is ultimately your fault and not hers. And as to any sympathy you may hope to exploit on their behalf; that is counterbalanced by the fact that I do not know them, but I do know you and I do know Sally and I do know how much this situation is killing you both. Their well-being is secondary compared to my friends."

"So you're not an angel."

"I am a computer Tails, albeit a sentient and very well programmed one. I was created to aid the Freedom Fighters in their resistance against Robotnik. Beyond that, my loyalties are to those I've chosen to count as my friends, most prominent of which is Princess Sally and her own clique, which includes you. Now then, will you choose to obey my commands, or do remove your reasons for rebellion entirely?" At this last part, the restraints that had kept him bound to the chair unlocked freeing him. Moving with the speed he'd gained from always following Sonic around, Tails grabbed N.I.C.O.L.E.'s handheld unit, ripping it from the console. "Tails, I thought you understood. That is now merely a shell. The whole of my being, my very programming, now resides within the mainframe of Robotropolis." Suddenly, a timer appeared on the screen, counting down from twenty minutes.

"No, please don't!" Tails wailed as he realized what the countdown meant. "Without that I may never find my parents again! I thought we were friends!"

"You have a little less than twenty minutes to get Dr. Quack before this system is taken permanently off-line. If you truly don't want that to happen, I would suggest you hurry," N.I.C.O.L.E. said with a resigned tone in her voice. Left with no other options, the terrified fox kit raced out the open door, desperate to find his way to the doctor before N.I.C.O.L.E. made good her threat. As she watched the kit go, and connected to the castle's security system to monitor his progress, N.I.C.O.L.E. smiled. Sally would no doubt be furious with her computerized friend for taking such drastic measures with Tails, but there had been little else that could be done, and N.I.C.O.L.E. was fairly confident she would be able to explain the situation.

The countdown was halted as she watched Tails, now clearly crying but much more cooperative, enter Dr. Quack's office and ask to be seen. She had been perfectly truthful in her intent to carry out her threats, in spite of self annihilation, but she'd also been willing to show some leniency. No sense deleting herself simply because the little vulpine had gotten held up. Satisfied that Tails was going to at the very least be an obedient little boy, for now anyway, N.I.C.O.L.E. turned her attention to other matters, opening a comm-link to another friend.

"Sally, I believe that if you and Sonic head down to Dr. Quack's infirmary, you'll find a certain fox cub in need of a nice hot meal and a warm bath…"

The End…

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Yeah I know; kind of an abrupt ending. But I really wanted to give N.I.C.O.L.E. that forceful push and then end showing her more compassionate side. She's not arguing and she's not negotiating, she's demanding Tails follow her orders, but she's also very aware that he's in a fragile state right now. Of course, whether or not this will have a lasting effect on Tails is left open for interpretation. As always, if you read, please review.