Ladies and gentleman, reviewers and lurkers, I bring you the next chapter in the Not in My Data saga :)

A big thank you for Espionage247 for beta-ing, and a wag of the finger to Microsoft Word Spell Check for suggesting incorrect grammar .

Departure

Elias sighed; this was perhaps the absolute worst Council meeting he had been a part of during his reign. Hamlin was once again trying to make a statement about the lack of referring to the Council for decisions made by the team created to stop Dr. Finitevus, spearheaded by the Freedom Fighters. He seemed to be trying to get more control into what he claimed was, "the public's hands", but Elias suspected he just wanted more power for the Council. He didn't understand why the pig was so upset; they had just received word that Sonic and Knuckles had successfully captured one of Finitevus's minions and they'd be in shortly. If that wasn't a win, Elias didn't know what would satisfy them. After yesterday's events with Metal and Montgomery, the king wanted to discuss more on who they could trust during the hunt for Finitevus and how many spies the white echidna had lurking around.

Speaking of yesterday, Elias had not seen nor heard from Nicole at all since then. Sally explained what had happened with Metal Sonic and the lynx, and despite Metal Sonic being a close friend, the King had to agree with Nicole's actions. Though…he could understand the other AI's resentment when he learned in the end, his body was not fully under his control. Since he was Sonic's copy, it made sense that the AI loved his freedom, and was more than disheartened to find out he had none.

Suddenly, he heard a fist slam down and was quickly thrown off his train of thought. "And furthermore, it would be most appreciated if our own king would pay attention to our list of grievances he is accountable for," Hamlin seethed.

After Elias gave a sheepish—yet apologetic—smile, the Council member continued, "Now, after this last incident with Metal Sonic, I think we should take Project Unify into action. That is of course, with the rest of the council's approval."

Everyone but Uncle Chuck seemed to be slowly nodding their heads. Elias furrowed his eyebrows. Project Unify? What's that?

"Ah, permission to interject," Uncle Chuck raised his hand, "I don't think we can decide on this as Rotor is not present at this meeting."

Hamlin scratched his chin, "What? Oh dang, I didn't notice until now; where is he?"

"I think he's with my son in the lab," Mrs. Prower piped, "He's working on the Project as we speak."

Elias massaged his temples before finally speaking out, "Alright, everybody hold on! What on Mobius are you talking about? Project what?"

Hamlin snickered, "Doesn't feel too good to being in the dark, now does it? I guess we forgot to mention it to you. What Project Unify is, your highness, is the unification of Mobians around the globe, starting with the remnants of the old Eggman Empire, now called the Grand Mobian Empire."

"I don't believe Metal would be too keen with that idea, Hamlin," the king clarified while raising an eyebrow.

"That's the first step," the pig smirked and leaned closer, "We've had Rotor and Tails working on a microchip to put inside the repaired Metal Sonic's body, a microchip we can use to control the android. Since he's the head of the G.M.E., we'll be able to annex the territories lost to Eggman back to the Kingdom of Acorn! With a merger of that caliber, other Mobian nations will feel inclined to join as well, and we're sure we can unify the ones who don't through peaceful diplomacy. And if they still need more convincing…well…it won't be public knowledge that we'd have control over Metal Sonic, so I think saving them from an 'attack' would be persuade them enough. It's fool-proof, we'd be unifying Mobians all over!"

Elias rose from his seat; he had heard enough, "This plan is insane, not to mention criminal. Metal is a sentient being, it is against laws of humanity-"

"I wasn't aware artificial beings—a.k.a. an android—fell under such terms," Hamlin countered, "Besides, Metal Sonic has no idea—"

BAM!

Suddenly the doors of the Council chambers burst down, and an unconscious Rotor was thrown onto the ground. Metal Sonic in his original body stood at the entrance, much to the shock of everyone there. His blood red eyes burned into each one of the Council member's heads as he glared past each one before reaching Hamlin and Elias. The pig felt sweat beaded down his forehead and neck.

In an instant, the metallic hedgehog vanished and reappeared in front of the now terrified Mobian. "Surprised?" he questioned with a cold, unfeeling voice.

Hamlin could only gawk and stare. He tried to respond, but his mouth was too scared to function. He saw a metallic claw reach out behind his head and the next thing he knew was what it felt like to have his face slammed into the table. Metal Sonic kept applying pressure to the pig's head; he needed to be humbled a bit. Deciding to spare his life, the robot lifted his arm and gave the Mobian a simple warning, "You've just made yourself a very dangerous enemy, meat."

The AI rose, addressing the whole room, "I am returning to the G.M.E. I would thank you for your hospitality, but I do not believe you have earned such. So far, nothing in our two nations' relationship has changed, though my personal opinions about the character of the Kingdom of Acorn will no doubt affect future negotiations and interactions. Do not expect that I will forget this treachery, and do not expect me to grant you forgiveness or penance of any kind. Farewell for now."

He took one last glance at Elias before launching himself through the ceiling of the room.

Sally heard the news. Almost immediately, she headed for her room to get Nicole, as the AI had returned to her old handheld device. But along the way she noticed two weary and worn out Mobians staggering into the palace. She recognized them instantly and ran up to them, "Sonic? Knuckles?"

The hedgehog gave a mock salute with a smirk, "Reporting for duty, ma'am."

The princess was obviously relieved to see them back, but…shouldn't there have been a captured enemy with them?

"Everything okay Sal?"

She looked past the two Mobians in front of her before answering, "Where's the—"

Knuckles cut her off with a presentation of what he was holding, "Here."

Sally stared at the object, "Guys…this is a toaster."

Suddenly the toaster vibrated, "Ingrate! I am no mere toaster, I am—"

"Shut up!" the echidna shouted as he punched the kitchen appliance, "I said no talking."

The squirrel jumped back with a small yelp, "It…it's alive?!"

"Oh yes," Sonic groaned, "Very much—too much—alive. You don't know how hard it was to take this freak down."

To both Sonic and Knuckles's shock, they heard the princess laugh. "You guys aren't serious are you? It's a toaster," she giggled.

The echidna's eye twitched, "Look at us! Look how beat up we are! Do you think we're kidding around?! This toaster is a menace!"

In Sally's mind, putting the word "toaster" and "menace" together would normally result in more laughter. But with the two heroes scowling at her initial reaction to their explanation, she deemed it wise to refrain from such behavior.

"Anyways," Sonic sigh, "What's been happening since we left?"

Like a blow to the head, Sally remembered where she had been heading in the first place. She slightly panicked before turning around to continue to her room where Nicole was.

Sonic called out, "Hey! I ask one question and you run away?"

The princess, turned around for a few moments, "Metal left, Nicole is sad, Hamlin's insane." And like that she was off again, leaving the other two Mobians staring blankly at the empty space in front of them.

"So…wanna let the toaster go and chase after him again?"

Honey the Cat, Prince Metal Sonic's head of foreign affairs and personal assistant to Nicole, strolled into the library of the Grand Mobian Empire's new temporary capital, located a few leagues south of New Mobotropolis. Though Metal Sonic was gone, his Mobian subordinate always made sure things were prim and proper as if he was returning to them that day. The library was last on her list of rooms to check, as it was everyday with her increasingly boring routine. It didn't help that nearly all of Eggman's converted robots were destroyed with the Eggdome, so most of the work was done by the maids; and they were not too appreciative of the fact that they were cleaning every day for no one at all. Occasionally the council and Mammoth Mogul (acting with Honey as Metal Sonic's personal representatives) would meet, but they never went further than the main lobby and conference room. Honey was especially upset that there was no one to enjoy the rather large library besides her. She knew Prince Metal Sonic would enjoy having a quiet place to think.

Honey sighed, and went about to—

Hang on, she thought to herself, Why are the lights on?

Immediately she was on the defense; no one was supposed to be in here. Was there a spy? A threat?

Not waiting around to find out, she crouched behind the nearest bookshelf and scoped her surroundings. Her large ears picked up the sound of pages flipping, then a book dropping on the floor. She judged the general direction of the noise, and recalled the outlines and room design of the library to pinpoint a location of the intruder.

Let's see…he's at the…psychology section?

Sneaking without a sound, the Mobian cat prowled through the aisles. The noises of paper grew louder. She was getting closer, but she did not have any sort of visual. The sounds grew softer; she had gone past the culprit. Tip-toeing back a few steps, she heard a book fall as if it was right next to her. This intruder was on the other side of the shelf to her right. Honey slowly reached her hand out, grasping a book at eye level and sliding it off the shelf without a sound. Not having a clear sight, she took off another book.

Got'cha, you…you…um…

Metal Sonic heard a soft and confused call from behind him, "Sir?"

The android jolted and flipped around to be faced with a bookcase. The shelf has addressed me…illogical.

He scanned past and picked up his head of foreign affairs, Honey the Cat. He turned back to the table piled with books, dismissing the false alarm.

On the other side of the bookshelf, the Mobian blinked a few times before her mind registered that his Excellency had returned. She rushed around the end of the shelf to a few strides in front of Prince Metal Sonic. The cat straightened up, held out her head and addressed her leader, "Your Excellency, I did not receive any word that you had arrived, and I apologize for such inappropriate circumstances. But I think you will be pleased to be informed that I have kept everything organized and kept for your return. Also—"

Honey stopped when she noticed the lack of response from the hedgehog before her. "Oh," she gasped, "Sir, you've gotten your old body back! The Kingdom of Acorn must have repaired it completely."

The cat noticed his metallic fist clench up, sending shivers down her spine. Growing nervous, Honey fumbled with the next few words, "I, uh…Treasurer Mogul and I have kept your interest in the G.M.E. council decisions. There haven't been any issues so far except on future plans on connecting the infrastructure of the Empire's various regions…"

Still nothing. The robot's attention seemed fully on the psychology books in front of him. But that doesn't mean he's not listening! Maybe he is just upset that I caught him off guard.

Honey scrunched her eyebrows, But his Excellency is never caught off his guard.

Rather than contemplate why he was upset, Honey decided to finish her briefing. Though she hesitated; the Prince might not want to hear everything in one sitting if he had just gotten back. Keeping her composure, the yellow Mobian cleared her throat, "Perhaps this is not the best time, Sir? If you and Miss Nicole would like to retire for the evening I understand."

This time, the cybernetic hedgehog turned his head and faced her. "Nicole…did not accompany me. I came on my own without informing anyone," he answered with a hint of melancholy in his voice, "You may be at ease Honey…there are no formalities needed at the moment."

His head of foreign affairs dropped into a more relaxed stance, "Right, Sir. May I ask…um, why didn't Nicole come? Does she know you're here?"

Metal Sonic returned to the books, "Most probably."

The cat's shoulders drooped, "Oh."

She took a closer look at what the Prince was focusing so much attention to. They were psychology books, with titles ranging from "The Female Mobian" and "Illusion of Trust". Was there some current tension between the two AI?

Honey moved in a bit closer, "Sir, if there's anything I can do to help—"

He shut the book, cutting her off. Expecting the worst, the Mobian cat froze; waiting for what she thought was the inevitable. But instead of pain or venomous warnings, she was met with very soft blood red eyes, "You've done enough. Thank you."

And with that, the android slowly walked to the doors of the library. Honey stood, dumbfounded. "Thank you?" But I didn't do anything…

Trying to figure out what his Excellency had meant, the Mobian's mind quickly wandered off to why he seemed so…downhearted. Hearing the library doors close, she quickly snapped out of her thinking and hurriedly followed her Prince.

"Nicole?"

"Nicole?"

Stop calling me.

"Nicole, please come out. I know you feel horrible about yesterday but…you had to do it."

Did I? Maybe I could have let Metal convince me that…no, what am I saying?

"But I'm not even here for that. Nicole…Metal…he, he left. He got back into his old body somehow, I think he threatened the Council, and then flew off."

I know. I knew he would leave the instant I saw him look at me. He…he hates me now.

Sally stared at the metal contraption in her hand. Her friend would not come out; she wouldn't even send text over the screen. A deep pit formed in the princess's stomach; somehow this was her fault. She couldn't explain it but her instincts were telling her that the two AIs were victims of her own royal stupidity. Placing down the handheld, the squirrel gave one last attempt, "It's not your fault, Nicole. I'm the one that told you to take control of his body. Sonic and I even convinced you not to tell him that you could control him in the first place. Metal is just confused. I'm sure he'll be back tomorrow, or even later today. I mean, you know him better than I do, he'll be back, right?"

…

The screen of the device turned on.

"…No."

Good, she's at least speaking to me, Sally smiled; relieved she broke through. But the lynx sounded convinced that the other AI was not returning, and the squirrel had to change that.

"Remember what you told me?" she asked, still smiling, "The bites Metal kept leaving you? And remember what I said that meant?"

"…So?"

The princess snorted a laugh, "'So'? Don't think like that! You know exactly what it means. He loves you Nicole, he's your mate."

"…I…"

Sally continued, "He knew what he was doing when he marked you. And because of that I consider him part of our family now with you, Elias, and me."

"…Family?"

"Yes, family," she assured.

"…Family…"

The screen of the handheld brightened up, and a stream of code erupted to form a brown furred lynx in a purple dress. Her ears were down and already her eyes were watering to express her emotion. Sally's spirits rose; she finally got Nicole out of her shell. Talking to her this way was much easier.

The squirrel went to embrace her best friend, but the action was avoided. The AI lynx motioned her confused friend to the screen of her computer. Attaching a cable to her arm, the lynx typed onto the keyboard, and soon the monitor was filled with green numbers and letters moving around.

"Do you see this," Nicole asked, "This is my code, or in other words, my data."

Sally nodded for her to go on, "Alright."

"Let me show you what yesterday meant, or what it was supposed to," she stifled a sob. Her hands twitched a little as she typed some more. The screen zoomed into one stream of code that was in a double helix shape, much like DNA. But instead of all being green, one half of the helix was red.

The squirrel moved in closer, "That red stuff's not yours, is it? A virus?"

Nicole shook her head, "No. This particular area of coding is something I created within myself. It is spaced off from the rest of my data so it can grow on its own."

That made Sally step back a bit. She cleaned out her ear, "Did you say grow?"

"Yes," the lynx confirmed, her voice fading, "Since Metal was in his nanite body, I copied half of his core data, the very basics of his code and evolving AI. I also took half of my own core data, and placed both in that separated section."

"Oh my gods," Sally's eyes widened, "Nicole…are you telling me that…that?"

The lynx slumped forward, resting her head on her arms, "Yes…that piece of code is made from parts of both Metal's and my data…a program designed to develop and advance on its own, while borrowing it's framework from two 'parent' programs. I guess you could call it our child."

And now a little Disney Parody for our protagonist. The setting is in his war room after he gets back to the G.M.E. Mind you it can sound a little violent, so in advance I am not feeling ill, mentally nor physically, but just remember who is singing this song and it should make sense hahaha! I was thinking about Disney songs matching which characters a few days ago, and then my brain created THIS:

(To the tune of "Part of your World" from "The Little Mermaid")
Blown off the World–Sung by Metal Sonic
Setting: War Room

Look at this stuff,
Isn't it neat?
Wouldn't you think my arsenal's complete?
Wouldn't you say this A.I,
this android, has everything?

Realm of the bold,
Treasures untold,
How many weapons can one armory hold?
Barely any room here to think,
Sure, I've got everything.

I've got pistols and halberds a-plenty,
I've got missiles and rockets galore.
And battle strategies?
More than twenty!
If you're scared,
Brace yourself,
There's still more (*evil laugh*)…

I want to be where my enemies are,
I want to send, want to send them fleeing.
Watching them route away in—what's that word?
Oh, retreat!

Their armies will give me ev'rything they've got,
Unfortunately they'll get nothing out of it,
Left with the bitter taste of – what's that word again?
Defeat!

I'll make them scream!
I'll make them run!
I'll throw all of them into the sun!
My enemies—despite your pleas,
You be blown off the world!

What would I give to spend my days fully in battle?
What would I pay to have every day basked in that fun?
They'll turn and run, when I come
eagerly right around the corner.
Plans are failing, their soldiers wailing,
Soiling their pants!

And ready to kill who I need to kill!
Ready to hunt down every one of them!
Set them on fire so they feel the—what's the word?
Burn!

When's it my turn?
Wouldn't I love, love to cover this earth in their blood?
My enemies…
Soon you will be…
Blown off the world!

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and the bonus at the end! ^^ Maybe I'll do some parodies for other characters too, but those things are really kind of spontaneous haha

Until next time!