Chapter 2

"Tails have you figured it out yet?"

"That's the thing, each time I think I'm getting close, I'm at a dead end. I think that whoever these people are, they're playing with us."

"What do you mean?"

"How is it possible that they were able to travel to Earth and come here without chaos control? It just looks as if it's a game to them. All they took from Nica, if that really is her name, was a miniature sample of her skin, bone, and muscle tissue. Nothing more, yet that's all it they took from her and don't seem to be in too much of a hurry to get her back. Practically, everything else we've learned seemed intentional for us to know."

"You may have a point, but I think there's more to it than just a bit of fun for them," stated Sonic as he looked over to Shadow.

"Agreed."

Tails sighed, "So, how should we continue from there?"

"The only lead we have is Nica, but-"

"She should have remembered something else by now."

"Wait a sec-" Sonic was about to say before it hit him: Of course, Shadow's lost his memory twice before, so he knows how this works already, he thought. "Alright, we'll bring her back here then."

x~X~x

"Honestly, was this necessary?"

"I don't care if you don't want it, it's still going to be purchased," said Amy as she turned her head away in annoyance. "Or else, we won't purchase the outfit that you actually want."

"I think it looks very pretty," commented Cream as Cheese agreed with her. "Nice choice Cheese."

Nica couldn't really agree, nor could she bother to think much on the dress. Her thoughts were concentrated on finding the very being that altered her memorization, but she wasn't sure on how to start.

x~X~x

As the group of four headed out, they felt an immediate gust of wind from one direction before it struck them from the opposite side.

The instant it stopped, standing before them was Sonic. "We need to take Nica back to the lab."

"What for?"

"You'll see."

Should I bother to be excited?

"Will it take long?"

"Don't worry Amy; I'll leave her by your place when we're done."

x~X~x

A beam of light shone within Tails' lab as two figures came forth from it.

"We're here."

"Took you long enough."

"What's-"

"Seriously, not now you guys," demanded Tails as before turning his attention to Nica. "Have you felt any side effects from the treatment that I gave you?"

When she shook her head no, he continued, "Is there anything else you've remembered since the last time we saw you?"

"Actually there was something more I was able to recall. While I was searching for some clothes, I heard the sound of a screeching cart and then saw myself unlocking and opening a large metal door before I felt something hit me from behind and cause me to fall forward towards your planet."

"Hm…" It's more information, but it isn't enough to lead us very far, he thought.

"Well Tails?"

He shook his head as a response to the blue hedgehog's question.

Then, a thin, small metal pipe fell was knocked off from Tails'.

A high pitched sound coursed through the air, but stopped when the blue blur made a casual save and returned it to it's location.

However, it had done more than annoy everyone's ears.

Shadow and Sonic quickly noted the immediate change of expression on her face before Tails turned and saw as well.

She was reliving the moments prior to her recent memory up to the point where she broke out of the frozen chamber before losing sync and crashing back into present time. "Ow, my head," she murmured as she placed a hand to her forehead in an attempt to keep her world from spinning around her.

x~X~x

When she finished explicating in epic detail what she'd seen, they had a better idea at what they were going to have to deal with. It didn't change the possibility that she could have been lying the whole time though.

However, since there were several blanks, they were unsure as to how she rapidly found herself from one situation to another.

"It's possible that the distance from the chamber of the door was not far and that the obstacles made it seem so."

"Maybe, but I don't know for sure Tails."

There were many possibilities thrown into the conversation that could fill in the gaps, but few seemed quite likely.

"I'm sure we've done enough going at it for a while now. Anything more we should try to figure out guys?"

"She can go."

"Come on, I'll take you back to Amy's house now."

x~X~x

For Amy, waiting was an agonizing experience when it came to Sonic, and she was ever slowly losing her patience, until she heard a knock on the door.

When she opened it, her face brightened at the sight of him and she couldn't help, but catch him off guard with another hug.

Oh great…not again, he thought as he tried not fall from the sudden force that had struck him.

Nica simply stared with a bit of a skeptical look as she watched them both. How strange, she thought.

When the pink hedgehog finally let go, she was about to say goodbye, but Sonic had dashed off before she could. "How rude!"

As the purple hedgehog walked inside, she saw the various elements that decorated the interior of Amy's house before hearing some noise in the back.

"Oh, Cream and Cheese are here helping me prepare dinner. I'm sure you'll love it," she said as she pulled out a chair. "Here, take a seat."

She would've replied no, but she didn't want to be rude to her host. "Okay."

The scent of fresh food filled the air of the living room and made Nica wonder what they could possibly be cooking as a meal.

"Ta Da!" cried Amy as she along with Cream and Cheese brought in the dinner with delight.

What is all that? She thought, awing at the food.

Don't tell me she has no idea what food is now either, thought Amy as she observed Nica from where she stood.

Cream quickly read Nica's mind and started clearing away the cloud of confusion in her head by telling her what the meal consisted of.

Even though she was a tad familiar with some of the ingredients, most of what she was told was still foreign to her.

x~X~x

"So what did you think of it?"

"It was quite delectable, thank you," responded Nica with a polite smile.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Chao."

"What did she say?"

I think they're beginning to get along, thought Cream as she smiled affably at them. "She says you're welcome."

The second Nica was about to say something, the window by the table broke and shards of glass flew across the room. As they were shielding themselves from the debris, something snatched Amy's arm and attempted to pull her away.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

What…is that? Thought Nica.

She was going to yell for Cream to move, but the young rabbit and her chao had prepared an attack. She had flown up and held her chao like a baseball pitcher before throwing her at the machine in an attempt to save her friend.

Unfortunately, the plan backfired and soon Cheese was caught too; but in that second, the machine was distracted enough for Nica to sneak up on it and give it a hard kick at the joint of the arm that held Amy.

"Use your hammer Amy!" cried Cream, once she was free.

She nodded and summoned forth her weapon before striking the robot.

The impact left a large dent in the machine, yet it still wasn't enough to put it out of commission for it struck Amy in the face fierce enough that it knocked her out cold.

"Get away from her!" screamed Nica as she started to aim a ceramic plate at the robot that was trying to approach the pink hedgehog and take her weapon.

"You'll hit Cheese. Don't do it."

I can't take this thing on with the condition I'm in, thought she as she looked at Cream.

"Alright then, keep it distracted; I have an idea."

The young rabbit was hesitant to help for she feared that Nica was going to leave them behind.

"Just trust me; I'm not going to run."

"Okay…"

The purple hedgehog ducked under the table with a knife and started tampering with the anklet, in hope that it would raise some sort of alarm.

x~X~x

"What?!" exclaimed Tails as he woke up from the sudden earsplitting sound.

When his thoughts were on track, the young fox soon realized that the source wasn't from the city being attacked by Eggman.

x~X~x

"Oh for crying out loud!" uttered Nica as she searched for something to throw or strike the machine with without harming Cheese.

"Ungh…" murmured Amy as she began to wake up.

In the process, she strived to seize her weapon. Nonetheless, a claw soon approached her. It was blocked by a ceramic plate thrown by Nica until it took the opportunity to grab Amy's leg before practically flinging her across the room.

"Amy!"

"Get her out of here; I'll try to get Cheese!"

"But-"

"Do it Cream!" cried she, while attempting to throw other objects at the robot without injuring the chao.

When she decided to try and recover Cheese, she couldn't dodge the last attack, which struck her wound and caused it to bleed again. "Shoot!"

Ignoring the sudden agony coursing through her body, she grabbed a knife and headed outside in the opposite direction of Cream to give her time to get away.

"You think you're so smart don't you?"

She froze as another memory was being replayed in her head.

Darn it, not now.

What's wrong with her?!

"What in the…world are you?"

Depictions of herself reliving her escape from the ship flowed through her mind, but it overwhelmed her by so much that by the time realized that the machine's arm was nearby, it had already struck her.

x~X~x

"Cream! What happened?!" exclaimed Sonic as he spotted her. "Where's Cheese?!"

"We were attacked by a robot and Amy got hurt before it took Cheese hostage. Nica stayed behind to get her back."

"Come on, I'll get you to the hospital faster."

"What about-"

"Tails is probably already on his way over there. Now hurry!"

x~X~x

This just gets more frustrating by the minute, she thought as she reacted in time to land safely enough, since the attack had also struck her ankle.

Suddenly she felt a strong gust of wind and as she looked up, she noticed an unfamiliar craft, but as it came closer she realized that Tails was the pilot.

What is she doing? She isn't in any state to fight! Thought he.

As he aimed to shoot her opponent, the young fox realized that within one of the machine's claws was something struggling to free itself.

Cheese.

I could throw a smoke bomb, but if it can see through infrared, Nica could be taken hostage too, he thought. Wait a sec…

x~X~x

She was managing by avoiding most of the more vicious attacks, but her reaction time was beginning to slow from the effects she was experiencing from the blood loss.

"Nica, when I tell you, close your eyes!"

"Okay!" she screamed back just as she barely averted another strike.

"Now!"

When she did, a huge flash bomb was dropped before the machine to distract it.

She figured what Tails was doing and quickly used the last of her strength to grab Cheese out of the machine's grasp.

When he saw the opportunity, Tails began to fire at the machine with his lazer guns, in hopes that it could penetrate the exterior.

Smoke filled the battlefield and as it cleared, it was obvious that what Tails was doing, was only slowing the robot down, but not enough to make her reaction time seem faster.

Just as she was about to be struck by another claw, Cheese rapidly lifted her off the ground to dodge it. "Thanks."

"Chao."

Now what? Thought they for there wasn't much they could do: Nica was currently in no condition to continue fighting, while Cheese knew she couldn't attack without becoming a hostage again.

"Chao!"

"What is it?" she probed before saw the sudden blue glow just as it approached the battle and blocked an attack.

"Is that the best you got?"

"You better watch your back Sonic; this definitely isn't one of Dr. Eggman's bots," advised Tails as he tried to find a weak spot.

"Good luck on trying."

"I don't need it from you, thanks."

In an instant, it struck again; but different compared to when it was attacking her. Its arms were more outstretched than before and moved less quickly. They made it seem like Sonic was much faster than before, but there was something else planned.

A trap.

Nica was going to scream to him to move away from the machine, when all the claws that had supposedly missed the blue hedgehog, came together to form a cage and entrap him with electricity filling any escapable gaps.

He immediately realized the jam he was in, just as the voltage increased. "Gah!...Tails…a little help here!"

The young fox was desperately wanting to, but he knew he couldn't fire at the machine without making Sonic's situation worse than it already was.

I need something to disrupt that current!

Just then, a flash of electricity struck the machine and interrupted the other current that was keeping Sonic from escaping.

He rapidly began setting himself up for the final blow. "Got a ring on you Shadow?"

The glimmering golden ring was thrown to him as the robot began to steady itself from the attack. Upon grabbing it, Sonic began to spin as rapidly as the other day at the beach before aiming towards the robot and blasting it to pieces.

Another gust of wind was felt as Tails landed the X Tornado. "You guys okay?"

"We're fine, but I don't know about Nica and Cheese."

"Yeah, we're still alive," she replied as Cheese smiled and agreed.

"You might need to fix up though," stated Tails as he pointed to her wound.

"Joy, another field trip to the hospital…"

x~X~x

"Could you explain again how exactly the wound reopened?"

Nica gave a quiet laugh. "I got attacked by a robot."

"Hm…" murmured Doctor Fiora as she cleaned the wound after removing the bandages, "No doubt it was Dr. Eggman up to something, but with Sonic around, there's no need to worry."

Then how in the world did I end up injured? Thought Nica. I mean he can't do all the saving on his own, it's not exactly the easiest job in the world, you know? He has friends to help him out.

"Doesn't look as if you've damaged anything else," said the doctor as she patched up the rest of the area with a needle and some special thread. Once she finished, she made some knots and then cut the thread close to the fur. "That should do it."

"Thank you. By any chance do you know of a patient named Amy Rose?"

"Oh yes, she came in two hours before you. Would you like to see her?"

"I'd very much appreciate it."

Looking out into the hallway, the doctor pointed to an elevator. "Press the second floor and take a left towards the room numbered two-twenty-one. I'd take you there myself, but I have some other patients waiting to be seen and all the nurses are currently occupied."

"That's alright. Thanks," replied Nica as she clicked the up button and waited a moment before she entered the shaft and went to the second floor.

x~X~x

"How are you feeling Amy?"

"I'm alright, just a concussion, that's all, aside from some bruises."

As Nica looked around the room, the only people present, aside from themselves, were Cream and Cheese.

"They're out picking up the leftover pieces, so Tails can analyze it."

"Oh…"

"Chao," cried Cheese as she jumped onto Nica's head to give her a hug.

"She's saying thank you again," stated Cream as she tried to hold in a laugh.

"Yes…I noticed…You're…welcome."

x~X~x

"Are you sure you need all of them Tails?"

"Every last fragment."

"Alright then," said the blue blur as he began to increase his speed to widen his search along with Shadow.

Yet, only five seconds passed by when the black hedgehog suddenly stopped. "Tails, what is this?"

The yellow fox flew over to his position to inspect his discovery.

Pieces of the machine before them were slowly coming together and repairing themselves.

"I'm not sure…"

x~X~x

"What did you guys find?" asked Amy after she and the others were transported to Tails lab through Chaos Control by Shadow, since he was more experienced.

But most of the eyes in the room turned their focus on the violet hedgehog standing near the middle of the room.

"It's called nanotechnology."

"How long have they been developing it?" inquired the dark furred hedgehog with a look of suspicion on his face.

"For several years, but I'm not sure exactly how many."

"How do you know about it?" piped Tails as he worked to check if the container with parts was completely sealed.

What am I supposed to say? Oh, I just happened to always be the one watching the experiments going on with almost every subject dying, except…with me because they somehow happened to malfunction at that time and apparently the only time.

"Everytime they caught me escaping, they always brought me through the hall where they experimented with creatures from various planets."

"What about you?" asked the blue hedgehog.

"I'm not exactly sure what they might've done to me."

Shadow noticed the hesitation she expressed following Tails' and Sonic's question. What is she hiding?

Amy sighed. "Can you get to the part about what you exactly found guys?"

The yellow fox rolled his eyes at the pink hedgehog. And I thought Sonic was impatient, he thought. "The robot we just defeated…is already repairing itself with no assistance."

"What?" exclaimed Cream and Cheese. Amy stood stunned. "And you're sure that they have no relation to the Metarex?"

"I'm sure," he replied. However, I'm still not sure what it is exactly that they're looking for on this planet, he thought.

x~X~x

"Hello there, Nica. You haven't changed," suddenly stated the machine as it caught sight of her. "The commander looks forward to what you'll do next."

Anger burned through her like electricity as it attempted to find some escape from her body. "Mirage…"

"By the way, thank you for the lovely sample you've given us. It's given quite a fascinating amount of data to work with to keep up with your progress."

"My progress?"

A cold chuckle was heard before the recording ended.

That was definitely awkward, thought Sonic.

"Why I oughta-" began Amy as she took out her hammer.

She shouldn't be doing that, thought Tails, who knew the possible outcome of her action.

As predicted she almost fell on herself as she attempted to lift it.

Cream and Cheese helped her keep from falling. "Don't push yourself. You're still recovering from the battle."

"Did they just track us?"

"No, the machine merely activated a recording when it saw Nica. It can't send a signal yet. It's far too damaged for that."

"Then, what should we do with it Tails?"

"I could overload the programming; however I won't be able to do much if I can't translate the language it's in. It'll probably take a few days. I'll have to leave it in the shield room to assure that it can't signal the ship once it repairs itself."

x~X~x

As Nica waited for Amy at the entrance of the lab, she stared at the ground, trying to evaluate her situation, when she suddenly felt a hand grab her right arm. "Can I have a word with you?"

"Sure…" she turned to Cream and Cheese and said she'd be back in a few moments before being pulled away by the sable hedgehog.

x~X~x

This can't be good, thought Nica when they entered another room.

He released his grip on her arm. "What more do you know about the nanotechnology?"

"What-?"

"I saw the knowledge in your eyes before you tried to hide it."

More like saw through her and read her mind.

She sighed out of frustration. "I admit it. The main reason I ever knew of the nanotechnology's existence was because I was one of their experiments. For some reason however, it malfunctioned within my body, while the other subjects…encountered worse."

"How do you know?"

"Because they made me watch it happen…"

"Who's Mirage?"

"She's the feline from my memory that told me my name and is a soldier for someone called the Commander, though I've never laid eyes on him."

"Is that all you're able to conjure?"

Nica was taken a bit aback by the trust he had in her, which was lesser than what the rest probably had.

"Do you want me to make up something to make you believe I have more than that?"

"Unless: you already have been making it up?"

x~X~x

When she was dropped off at the entrance, Amy was already there. "Ready to go?"

"As ready I'll ever be."

And soon they were transported back to Cream and Cheese's house, which wasn't too far from Amy's.

"Thank you Shadow," said the polite rabbit.

"No problem," he replied before he vanished from sight.

The pink hedgehog began unlocking the door. "So what did you two have to talk about?"

"He was just asking if there had been anything else I remembered."

The door clicked open. "I'd ask what it was but we should get some sleep for now and then talk more in the morning."

"Sure," she added with a smile.

x~X~x

As she lay on the bed by the window, Shadow's words kept repeating through her mind before she made a decision.

Slowly, yet quietly she got off the bed and went towards the closest window to her. It took a few minutes to unlock it without waking anyone before she climbed out of it and closed it shut.

She hesitated at first, but after a few seconds she began to walk away from the house. When she knew she was away enough to not be heard…

She ran.

x~X~x

A few hours later, sunlight shined through Amy's room to awaken her.

Once the pink hedgehog stood up and stretched, she got dressed, and headed for the kitchen to see what could be prepared for breakfast, but Vanilla the Rabbit had beaten her to it.

"Good morning dear, I heard you four come in last night and thought up to cook you all a lovely breakfast."

"You didn't have to Vanilla, but that's very kind of you."

"Don't worry; it's not often that I get to cook a variety of foods for breakfast, so it's a good opportunity."

"Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"Well…you could set up the table and then wake the others to eat."

"Sure," agreed Amy with a grin before she grabbed five knives, forks, spoons, and napkins and placed them on the wooden table. Soon after she added glasses, plates, and positioned a jug of milk and orange juice at the center. "It's all set."

"Thank you so much dear," said the mother rabbit as she completed cooking some eggs, "you can go wake the others now."

"Alright then."

The door creaked open to where Cream and Cheese slept. "Wake up girls! Breakfast is ready!"

The light brown rabbit's ears perked up at the sound of her friend's voice. "We'll be ready in a few minutes."

Amy closed the door with a smirk on her face as she headed toward Nica's room.

The door swung loosely open, "Hey breakfast is- what?" she cried when she saw the bed with no sign of Nica.

x~X~x

"You're kidding?"

"I'm not, unfortunately. She's missing and I don't have a clue as to where she went. Any ideas?"

"Hm…you think she got spooked by that recording?"

"Honestly, she looked more pissed than anxious when she heard it."

"Sonic has a point there, but why would she just leave?"

"What else was it that she remembered? Did Shadow tell you?"

"No, I thought he'd left."

"Just as we were getting ready to leave he pulled her into another room to speak with her. She came back fine, but now that I think of it, she did seem a little too fine."

"You sure she's not trying to betray us Amy?"

"It does seem hard to trust her, but she saved Cream and I. Plus, she even fought to get Cheese back."

"I know, but when she alerted me to come, she'd broken the tracker."

At this, Cream spoke up. "You think she had this planned the whole time?"

The young fox sighed. "Maybe."

She had no response to that because then she remembered what Nica had said to her during the battle:

"Just trust me; I'm not going to run."

The blue hedgehog got up and headed out. "I'll go look for her."

x~X~x

As the morning progressed, the sky darkened and strong winds began to weave through town.

Shadow looked up from where he stood before a streak of brilliant cyan came towards him and drew a halt right beside him.

"What happened yesterday?"

"What are you getting at Sonic?"

"Amy said that you spoke to Nica about her memories. Why?"

"She didn't tell you everything in the room. When I spoke to her, she added more to what she had said before I questioned her honesty about her memories."

"Well it looks like she might've taken your words to heart. She's been missing since this morning. Mind helping me find her?"

"Head North and I'll take South," he ordered and rushed off.

Did I even have to ask?

x~X~x

Waves continuously clashed against the rocks sea and increased in height as the storm brewed over the ocean.

Nica sat within the cove she'd found with her knees against her chest and left arm placed between them while staring at the scenery before her. I don't really know who I am, do I?

There was no desire to cry lingering at her heart; she'd already lost the ability to make tears…after being tortured for so long.

That, she was sure was not a false memory.

x~X~x

"See anything Tails?"

"No Cream. How about you Amy?"

"Nothing here either."

In an instant, the screen started to bleep very rapidly.

"Is that her tracker working?"

"No…there's a storm coming."

"Then step on it Tails!"

The yellow fox gave a nervous look to her command, but obeyed anyway. Somehow I have a feeling that I'm going to regret this, he thought.

x~X~x

As Shadow looked across town, he figured that she would've probably gone where no one would be likely to see her, but was it possible to have gone out of range so quickly in her condition?

Not unless she had speed like him and Sonic, and as impossible it seemed, it was capable of filling in the gaps within the memory of her escape from the ship.

His attention then turned towards the forest by High Rise Beach before he sped off and continued to search.

x~X~x

I can't stay here; I need to get to higher ground, she thought, or else she'd drown from the coming of the storm…if she didn't freeze to death first.

Leaping was her best bet, since climbing would only risk reopening her wound again. When she reached the cliffs over the beach, she started to speed across the area in search for a sturdy shelter; yet all that qualified…soon didn't when they were torn apart.

"This is just frustrating," she muttered as she sped through the forest, but as she made a left turn, something blocked her way and forced her to go right. However, upon doing so: she lost her balance and tripped on a tree root before falling to her side, while an arm seized her and eased her landing.

"What in the world?"

"I found you."

Her eyes widened at the recognition of the voice before she sat up and backed away. "You don't know if I'm a traitor or not. So what if I do something wrong with or without you expecting it? Just pretend you didn't find me and leave me alone."

He held out his hand to her. "Either you'll freeze or get struck by lightning from what I can think of, so make your decision on if you really wish to stay or not."

"How can I trust you?" I don't even know if I can trust myself.

"I've lost my memory twice before, so I know what it's like."

The sound of waves crashing against the rocks increased.

"Why…did you ask me that yesterday?"

"After losing your memory twice before: it becomes harder to trust outsiders. I guess I judged you too harshly."

"How so?"

"If you had really been making it up, you wouldn't be here."

She pondered for a moment as rain began to fall on them before she sighed.

"You've made your point," she declared as she took his hand.

"Chaos Control."

x~X~x

The X Tornado experienced turbulence as it flew closer to the edge of the sea from a different angle when the screen bleeped once more.

"We get it already. The storm's getting worse."

"No Amy, it's coming from the lab."

When he activated the screen, Shadow's face appeared.

"She's here at the lab with me," he said before he disconnected.

"What a relief-" began Amy just as a strike of lightning almost touched the plane.

Both girls yelled in surprise, while Tails tried to steer away from the coming storm as debris began to block his view.

I figured just as much, he thought.

x~X~x

Amy was the first to ambush Nica with hug at Tails' lab before Cream and Cheese.

"Can't…breathe," Nica fought to say.

"Sorry," apologized Amy as she and the rest let go. Then, the pink hedgehog quickly turned her attention to Shadow. "And you!"

Great, she's mad now, thought Sonic as he sighed.

"What did you tell to her last night?"

"Please, calm down Amy," pleaded Tails, concerned that his lab was now at risk of being destroyed by her rage, even if she still couldn't use her hammer.

Shadow meanwhile looked bored rather than anxious at Amy's fury. "I simply questioned the legitimacy of her memories. Nothing more."

Nica then interrupted. "Seriously Amy, everything's fine now."

She gave her an expectant expression. "Explain what happened then."

"After the conversation, I wasn't sure on what to believe, so I ran away to try and gather my thoughts, but even that didn't really get me far, until Shadow found me."

"Oh…"

Nica noted the look of relief come across her face. "What did you think? That I had this planned from the start or something?"

Is she sure she can't read minds?

"Since you broke the tracker during the battle, and ran off after battling with the machine, we thought that that was a possibility," explicated the blue blur.

"I broke it?"

"Not completely, just the transmitter among a few other things."

Whoops.

"Shadow, why exactly did you question her memories?"

"There was something else she hadn't mentioned."

All eyes except his fell on her.

She sighed while trying not to avoid eye contact. "I lied about not knowing what they could have done to me…I was injected with nano cells, however I'm the only subject they've ever malfunctioned in."

"Why did you keep this from us?" asked Cream.

"Because I wasn't sure what to make of it at the time."

"And of course, he had to come in and make it worse."

The black hedgehog simply pretended not to hear what Amy had said.

"From what I can tell: he never intended it to affect her the way it did."

"Sonic how can you still be on his side?!"

"He's not a villain Amy."

"Hmph!" she exclaimed as she crossed her arms out of frustration. Then the strange silence that followed was broken by Tails, "Well, I still have to run some more diagnostics, so you guys can either go or stay to your liking."

"Don't I need another tracker?"

I don't want to look as if I'm trying to take advantage of the situation by not asking, no matter how much I hate it.

"She can be watched."

Amy looked over to the black hedgehog. "I think that's the first idea from you that I'm actually going to not disagree with."

"Well, it sounds better than treating her as if she's under house arrest."

"Alright then, it's settled. Cream and I will keep an eye on you."

This should be exciting…

x~X~x

"Aaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuggggghhh!"

"Are you having fun? I am," mocked a voice in the dim room.

"Please…" begged a weakened Lezzet as she hung upside down from her wrists and ankles being tied together backwards.

"What are you asking for? Mercy?" she rhetorically asked before giving a depraved laugh.

"Are you done yet?!"
Mirage flinched at the sound of the commander's voice. "Almost sir."

"Then quit dawdling!"

Just when I was having fun, she thought as she gave the signal to end it.

A warning bell sounded before Lezzet was dropped into a small pool of chemical waste to drown in.

"You're sure that the contents won't morph her?"

"Yes ma'm," replied a soldier.

"Good, because if you mess up, the Commander will have you jump in instead. Understood?"

"Crystal."

x~X~x

"They think that it's so easy to defeat me. Well, I've give them something to think about!" declared a tall round figure as he tirelessly worked on his latest creation.

"Um…Dr. Eggman we found the extra parts you were looking for," stated a tall pale bronze thin robot named Decoe as he entered the room with his companion Bocoe, who was gray and much rounder.

He didn't respond.

"Doctor?"

"Hush you two, I'm having a thought!" commanded the vile genius as he motioned them to stop walking towards him.

"Ooohhhhhhh."

When he resumed working they placed the parts on the ground and left.

x~X~x

Cream and Cheese were in the kitchen preparing cookies while Amy held a pan at the ready. "Come on, you've got to be hungry. You haven't eaten since yesterday."

"I'm fine, but thank you for the offer," replied Nica as she returned her attention to the window.

Rain and debris pelt on it as it resisted shaking.

The pink hedgehog sighed at her before approaching her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The purple hedgehog didn't respond.

"Hey! Snap out of it!"

"Sorry," she said as shook her head to clear her mind.

"You sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I'm referring to."

"Are you referring to what happened at the beach when Shadow found me?"

"Yes."

"Hm…I'm not sure what to express."

"Start with telling me what happened."

"I mean-" she started just as Vanilla entered the front door with a bag of groceries. "Oh dear!"

The bag filled with apples slipped out of her arms.

By the time Amy finished blinking Nica was no longer sitting next to her.

"Oh thank you sweetie!"

Catching things with one hand may not have been the best thing to do with a wet floor as the purple hedgehog discovered by trying not to lose her footing.

She felt a strange sensation on her forehead and when she looked up: she realized it was Amy glaring at her. "I didn't lie."

x~X~x

With the storm occurring outside, the blue blur decided to cook up some fresh chili dogs for dinner to pass the time. He hoped it would end just as he finished.

Yet just as he completed preparing his meal…

The power went out.

Well, I'm out of ideas on what to do, he thought as he took a bite out of his first chili dog.

As he sat and enjoyed his meal, Nica came to mind. He began to wonder that maybe the Metarex had returned in a different form, however, he and the others were absolutely sure that they had been destroyed almost two years ago. Furthermore, the robot they fought was determined to complete the task it was on and expressed no amount of fear, unlike Eggman's machines, which made the situation all the more peculiar.

"Now I'm giving myself a headache from thinking too much."

x~X~x

"Why didn't you ever mention this?!"

"There was never really a moment to mention it."

"Is that really your excuse?!"

"She does seem to have a point."

"It's not a real strong one."
"Shadow didn't freak out when he saw me run."

"It's Shadow we're talking about. He hardly reacts to anything and how come he didn't mention it either?"
"I don't know. Maybe his reason is like mine or something else. But seriously, what is so shocking about it?!"
"Sonic and Shadow are the only ones on this planet who have speed. There's never been anyone else."

"Are you honestly implying that I might be related to one of them? There's no way! The ones from the ship would have taken them too, unless…No."

"What?"

She did a face palm and grunted out of frustration. "They would…"

"What are you talking about?"

"If I am from this planet and related to one of them, then it's obvious that the reason I was allowed to escape involves either one or both of them. I just don't know how exactly."

I don't think I'll ever understand these powers of observation.

"That's an awful lot to swallow. How did you deduce that from such a small amount of information?" piped up Vanilla.

"I guess I had to learn how to in order to stay alive wherever I was on that ship."

x~X~x