PART 1 - A Love Unlived
CHAPTER 1 - New Feelings
It was two o'clock in the morning, the soft white light of a full moon streaked the sky and highlighted the edges of meandering clouds. The empty streets of New Mobotropolis were bathed in a pale silver glow, its buildings silhouetted against the faintly luminescent blue-black of the night sky. Autumn had taken hold and the warmth of the day had faded. A crisp breeze scattered shadowy brown and red leaves across the footpath. The breeze gently ruffled Nicole's hair.
She strolled calmly and soundlessly but inside the young lynx was charged. Eyes wide and bright she stared straight ahead, lost in the buzzing energy of her own were going right; really right!
It had been four months since the great battle and Robotnik had finally been defeated, once and for all. Nagus had fled, chased from the kingdom by Sonic and the people had cheered loudly as the rightful King Max triumphantly re-ascended his throne. A grin spread across Nicole's face as she remembered the moment that she had seen Sally again, her body de-roboticized and her mind back to normal.
Nicole's stopped momentarily and looked around at the empty streets; her smile faded slightly as she remembered the anger of some of the councillors during her hearing. Her friends had fought so passionately to win back her freedom and the control of the nanites. Her brief elation had turned to sadness when she had seen the crowd of angry people outside chanting and booing her. The painful memory hit her hard and she couldn't help but recoil slightly; there were still many who feared her, she could tell by the way they stared. She tensed up and then breathed out a sigh and relaxed, Nobody around to stare at night, she thought to herself and resumed her stride.
Minutes drifted by as the young lynx strolled aimlessly, staring wistfully upwards, lost deep in thought. She walked and walked, and might have walked forever but for a cloud passing over moon darkening the path, forcing her back to reality. Where am I? Looking around once again, Nicole was somewhat surprised to find she had walked much further than expected. This was the outer suburbs. Here she could hear the faint sounds of snoring; people sleeping in their cozy houses with big grassy yards full of trees and flowers. In the city center the lights stayed on all night, but here, only the moon. The moon... and one distant house, small with a big garage. Isn't that Tails' house? thought Nicole as she approached, I wonder why he's up so late?
Nicole made it to the edge of the garden and peered through the bushes, she could see into the long hangar-like garage of Tail's workshop. Tails often stored his plane, the Tornado, under the cover and tonight was no exception; the aircraft's striking double wings almost scraped the roof. Assorted mechanical parts cluttered up messy shelves and cabinets along the walls and in the far corner a bright white draftsman lamp shone on a desk covered in sketches, tools and gadgets. Tails was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he accidentally left the lights on?
As Nicole stood on the street and pondered the empty room, she thought about her friend.
Tails was so passionate in the council chamber when he was fighting for me. Did I ever get to thank him? He's always been so nice to me, ever since I've known him. And yet I don't really know him that well. He's always really kind and friendly to everyone but he's also sort of quiet and reclusive. I wonder what he works on when he's alone? I wonder what he was working on tonight?
Nicole suddenly jumped backwards; did something on the table just move? she craned her head to get a better look but the thick bushes obscured her view.
An internal battle raged. Of course, being a computer, it only took a second but to Nicole it felt like a very long time. Should I trespass? Nicole's, polite, proper and slightly nervous side, was shocked by what she was considering but she was rapt by new and exciting emotions; adventurousness, curiosity and… something else she couldn't quite define.
"He would probably want me to turn off that light", she whispered to herself, cringing internally at the lameness of her excuse. With a guilty glance over her shoulder she disabled the visual projection of her body and turned invisible. Taking a deep breath, she counted to three and crept forwards.
Entering the garage, the impressive frame of the Tornado commanded her attention and she couldn't help but admire It's sleek style. Tails' skill and design flair had really made it something special. This version of the tornado had actually been built by her nanites after the battle but Tails had given her the design and, it was clear as she drew closer, made a few modifications. I hope he didn't resent me doing some of the work, she thought as she admired his new additions. Nicole was just about to lean over to look in the cockpit when she froze. A surprised voice came from behind her.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
Nicole, spun around to see Tails with a frown on his face, staring right at her. Her stomach dropped and she felt sick, Tails is still awake! Oh god what have I done? Stupid stupid stupid! Nicole opened her mouth to apologize but the words wouldn't come.
"I thought I'd turned you off" chuckled Tails as he breezed past the surprised lynx without so much as a glance and rushed to tend a device on table, the same device that Nicole had seen before. It was moving again!
A wave of relief washed over Nicole and she stood in place for at least a minute as her shock abated. Barely daring to move she slowly, carefully turned to get a better view of Tails who was now working diligently at the table and was clearly, thank goodness! unaware of her presence.
Nicole felt a strong urge to run but she couldn't, her curiosity had doubled, biting her lip, she silently tiptoed up next to Tails.
What is that thing?.. Of course!
Looking over Tails' shoulder Nicole could see the various pieces of Tail's robot dog T-pup were spread out haphazardly across the desk, some parts were still connected to the main body and all of them were moving around wildly as if they had minds of their own. Tails was exasperatedly struggling to affix a still-wagging tail back to the robot's body.
"Where did your darn remote control get to?" he muttered to himself, giving up on his fiddly task for a moment to scour the surface of the bench. As he bent over to look under the desk, T-pup's electronic tongue licked him on the ear and he bolted upright bumping his head on the table in the process.
"Ow! grrrr". He winced and rubbed his head, then leapt sideways to save a leg that was about to jump off the table. "T-pup, stay still!" he growled and flailed comically, desperately trying to collect the now scattering bits and body pieces which seemed to be actively trying to flee the workbench.
Nicole stifled a giggle. Raising her hand to her face to cover a cheeky smile. Tails is so funny when he's frustrated. He's really... ,She paused, unable to bring to mind how she felt. A dictionary search had returned a word she'd never considered before... 'cute'... wait, what does that mean? The intense guilt had gone now and was replaced by a slightly giddy thrill. Gently, so as not to make a sound, she perched herself on a neighbouring bench and watched intently. I shouldn't do this... but it's so fun!
Tails fumbled and muttered to himself for a few more minutes but was making little progress. After a while he stood back and sighed, with his hand on his forehead; he rolled his eyes and watched the leg that he had just attached wiggle, then wobble, then summarily unscrew itself. "Ugh, this is hopeless. I don't have time to build another remote" he groaned and frustratedly fumbled in a toolbox before grudgingly returned to work.
Nicole noticed the dark patches under Tails' eyes and she suddenly felt very guilty again. Poor Tails he must have been doing this for hours! If only I could help... an idea struck her that filled her with nervous adrenaline (or the artificial version of that). Silently alighting she tiptoed over to where she could see the blueprints and, carefully leaning to avoid contact with Tails, studied the plans. She looked at her friend, nodded to herself and started to concentrate.
Alright little guys here goes nothing.
