Antoine D'Coolette and the Alternative Freedom Fighters.
Second Episode: Diplomatic Mission.
Chapter 11: Upgrades and briefings.
Central sea, 500 km north of Station Square, 10 km high.
5:00 am, New Mobotropolis Time, 7:00 am, Station Square Time.
"Attention, passengers: we will arrive at Station Square International Airport in half an hour."
The AFFs and Leonidas Procion are in a turbo-jet for passenger transportation, traveling in First Class. In this opportunity, both King Rob and Commander Tower have contributed money to pay all the expenses of the trip.
Amadeus, Rosemary and Tails are talking to several people on the phone.
Rosemary: "Good morning, I'd like to speak with Commander Tower, please... Thank you very much... Hello? Commander! How are you? Yeah, Amadeus and I are very well. Could we ask you a favor? We are going to carry out a mission, and we need you to... I'd better let you talk to my son, he will explain it to you better..." [hands the cell phone to Tails]
Tails: "Good morning, Mr Commander... Yeah, Fiona and I are having a great time... Oh, right, the favor we needed... First, we need access to the Elba Island Prison. More precisely, we need access to the corridor where the members of Destructix are locked up... Actually, we plan to make them an offer, so they give us a little help... Thank you, Commander. We also need Agent Shadow... Yes, it's for that same mission... Thank you very much, Commander... I'll let you talk to my dad. See you at Station Square." [hands the cell phone to Amadeus]
Amadeus: "Hi, Abraham. How's your job? Yeah, we decided to take a break..."
Fiona is enjoying the gourmet breakfast of the plane, sharing it also with the Colonel's son.
Procion is also on the phone with someone, but he's doing it separately from the Prower family.
And finally, Bunnie and Antoine are...
Well, they're inside the bathroom, attending a private, very private matter...
"Oh, Antoine... Do we need to do it in the bathroom?"
"Ne t'inquiète pas, ma chérie... I made sure it was a clean bathroom... De plus, I locked the door, et outside is the sign that says "occupied", donc no one will look here..."
"Antoine, sweetie... I don't feel well..."
A dull thud is heard from outside the bathroom, as if something had fallen to the floor; this noise is heard by Fiona, who stops eating and looks behind her, at the bathroom. A few seconds later, a desperate Antoine leaves the bathroom, dragging a dizzy, barely conscious Bunnie.
"Hé! Bring a docteur! ¡Et somebody get this plane down, pour l'amour de Dieu!"
Interzonal Hospital for Acute Patients, Station Square. 9:00 am in the morning, Station Square Time.
Bunnie is sleeping on a hospital gurney, with a serum injected intravenously into her organic arm, while Antoine is seated at her side, his head buried in his hands.
"Mon Dieu, que dois-je faire?" ["My God, what do I do?"]
"Antoine..."
The coyote looks at his girlfriend, who just woke up.
"What happened, Antoine?" She says in a weak voice.
The young soldier is unable to respond, while nervousness starts to invade his mind again.
"I guess I'm in serious trouble."
"That would be a euphemism, ma chérie."
Meanwhile, Tails, her parents and Fiona are in the waiting room. The two-tailed fox was calling someone, but that person isn't answering the call, so he turns off his cell phone.
Fiona: "And well? Did Beauregard answer your phone calls?"
Tails: "No, he didn't answer any calls. I sent him an SMS explaining Bunnie's situation, but that guy doesn't wanna know anything about us."
Fiona: [indignant] "Ungrateful son of a b****. We restore him on his country's throne, and look how he rewards us and Bunnie: His niece, whom he raised as if she were his own daughter, is in trouble, and he, the 'Magnanimous Leader of the Southern Baronies', doesn't respond when we ask for help to make her well again. We ain't even asking for help as compensation for our work, we're asking him to help a member of his own family."
Tails: "When she finds out what's wrong with her... Antoine's reaction was already quite bad. Imagine how she will react."
"Quoi?"
"What you heard, Tony: I ain't surprised."
"Mais... did you know that this was going to happen one day?"
"Think for a moment: you get nanites inside your body, and those nanites make your bones, your muscles, your joints, your skin, your blood and lymph vessels, your nerves, all your tissues and your organs transform into cables, ducts, metal sheets, gears, microchips, and a bunch of other things like that. It's obvious: something like this ain't innocuous for your body, it will make you sick sooner or later."
"Et pourquoi didn't you tell us about this? Pourquoi didn't you tell le docteur Quack?"
"I didn't want y'all to worry. Regarding Dr. Quack, I did tell him, but we both decided that I was gonna wait for some de-robotization method to be developed." A slight smile forms on the lips of the rabbit girl. "I suppose it's time for me to be a normal girl again. Now I'm in Station Square, and here they may be able to de-robotize me, don't you think?"
Hearing this, a sad Antoine slowly bows his head, and the smile disappears from his girlfriend's face.
"I can't be de-robotized, right?"
The coyote tries to respond, stammering. "There are experimental methods, mais they're très, très risky. A fragment of metal may remain dangerously embedded after de-robotization, et... et you could... die."
A heavy silence falls on those present in the room.
"What other options are there?"
"You can stay connected to a machine that keeps you alive until you can be de-robotized... You can let your robotized limbs be amputated, which will make you disabled for the rest of your life... Ou you can have your robotized limbs replaced by robotic prostheses themselves. Les médecins advise you to use prostheses, which can be easily updated, mais aussi warn that if an effective et safe de-robotization method is developed one day, that method won't be applicable to vous, et part of your body will be robotic for the rest of your life."
"Well..." Tears start to form in Bunnie's eyes. "I must admit... that at least... *sob* I've already been warned..."
Antoine immediately hugs Bunnie as she starts to cry.
"Shh... Calme-toi... Je am here. Listen to moi: Whatever you do... I'll support you in your decision... always..."
"But... *snif* wouldn't you want me to stay alive? *snif* Wouldn't you want me to still have powers *snif* to fight in the war?"
"En vérité... Oui... Mais your wishes come first, mon amour... According to moi, at least... Please ignore what I just told you... Do what vous want: Using prosthetics, undergoing de-robotization... Je will support you."
A minute later...
Antoine leaves Bunnie's room and arrives in the waiting room, meeting her teammates.
Tails: "What happened?"
Antoine: "She will receive the prostheses, she was already taken to the operating room."
Tails: "Good to know... [suddenly runs out into the hall] Wait for me!"
The fox runs to the operating room, and Antoine, intrigued, accompanies him. When they arrive, they meet a group of doctors led by the surgeon responsible for Bunnie's operation.
Tails: "Wait a moment. We need to see how prostheses are for the patient Bunnie Rabbot."
Surgeon: "Who are you?"
Antoine: [arrives in the room] "A friend of mine."
Surgeon: "Are you the patient's boyfriend?"
Antoine: "C'est vrai, monsieur le docteur."
Surgeon: "Don't worry about prostheses, gentlemen. They are of the most advanced technology and the best quality."
Tails: "Show them to me, and maybe I'll believe you."
The doctor leaves, then brings several sheets with the prostheses' diagrams.
Surgeon: "At the same time, these prostheses are being assembled according to these specifications. They've been prepared by a team with our best experts in various disciplines."
Tails: [looks at the plans carefully] "I don't doubt that, sir. But what if I told you that there's a better technology and that I can bring it?"
The doctor picks up his cell phone and sends an SMS.
Stop production of prostheses for cyborg rabbit girl. Maybe we should make changes.
Surgeon: [to Tails and Antoine] "I hear you."
The next day...
It's 12:00 am, and Tails and Fiona are sunbathing on the beaches of Emerald Coast, taking advantage of the Southern Hemisphere summer. Tails has only a green beach mesh, Fiona wears a blue bikini, and both of them are wearing sunglasses. At the moment, the red vixen is lying face down on a towel, while the two-tailed fox is spreading sunscreen on the back of his girlfriend, who she also has unfastened her bikini's top so he doesn't have any impediments by putting the cream on her back.
Fiona: "I know you're enjoying this, Miles."
Tails: "You dunno how much..."
After spreading the sunscreen over Fiona's back, Tails fastens her bikini's top again. Coincidentally, Tails' parents, wet, approach them walking slowly.
Amadeus: "Hi, son. We just tested the sea water, and it's great. You should go."
Fiona: "We'll be going in a minute."
Tails: "And how are Bunnie and Antoine?"
Rosemary: "I think they're-"
"WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Suddenly, Bunnie appears in the sky, flying with the rockets of her new robotic legs and holding Antoine with her new robotic arm, while the coyote screams terrified and excited at the same time.
Antoine: "S'il vous plaît, Bunnie! Stop! BUNNIE!"
Bunnie: "I'll not stop, Antoine! I'll take full advantage of these prostheses, and you'll enjoy it with me!"
Rosemary: "Does that answer your question, son?"
Tails: "It seems to have worked well... Dad, did you ever think about having a prosthetic for the eye that you lost in the Great War?"
Amadeus: "We didn't have much technology at the time, so I never thought of anything like that. We didn't even dream about it. Can you get a cybernetic eye?"
Tails: "I already got Bunnie's prostheses, and there's more where that came from."
The next day...
"Okay, Dad... Open your eyes."
It's 9:00 pm. Amadeus opens both eyes, and then he finds himself with a big surprise that makes him cry with joy: his left eye is functional again. The Colonel is lying on a hospital gurney, accompanied by his family, his teammates and one of the doctors.
Rosemary: "How's your new eye, my love?"
Amadeus: [crying but smiling, staring into nothingness] "It's... it's... the best day of my life... [looks at the doctor] How did you all get it?"
Tails sale silenciosamente de la habitación y, en el pasillo vacío, se encuentra con un mobiano misterioso.
"I think you deserve a thanks, Top Duck. Considering what you're enduring..."
The mysterious mobiano is a male platypus with a robust body, with little differentiation between his head and his torso, with blue-green pelage, with his "beak" and his tail of the same color but in a darker tone, and with his hair combed in the form of forward-bent, bluish-green tufts with orange tips. He's dressed in a uniform whose overall design is suspiciously similar to Eggman's uniforms design, with the difference that it's violet, not red.
"You don't have to thank me, Tails. And I don't need you to worry about my safety either, I can deal with this."
"Are you sure? If Eggman discovers your cover, he will make you explode, literally."
"I know. And if my cover is discovered and he doesn't make me explode, my own people will tear me apart. But I can do it, I'm sure. It's a very hard thing, but I'll do it."
"You don't have to do this, pal. I have a proposal for you: to fake your death. I'm an expert at doing that. If we make your 'Platypus Legion' believe that you sacrificed your life heroically in order to do them good, they'll not hate you."
"I'm sorry, Tails, but you'll not convince me to give up my duty. When I get the chance, I'll use my influence to convince my Legion that we'll be better at fighting Eggman."
"But first, you should solve the problem of the bombs installed in the implants of you and your soldiers."
"You're right..."
"I can help you with that: creating a computer virus that prevents the bombs from being detonated, or also making a speech to convince the platypuses to break their alliance with Eggman... After you've lent us the Legionization technology, this will serve as compensation."
"About that: officially, Chaotix and the Downunda Freedom Fighters infiltrated our facilities, taking me momentarily as a prisoner and stealing information about Legionization technology." In saying this, "Top Duck" winks at the fox, who responds with a smile without showing his teeth.
"I'm already imagining how furious you are about this setback... Speaking of the DFFs, could I know how they are?"
"Thrash left the team."
"Thrash is... Sorry, who's Thrash?"
"You never knew him, Tails. He had joined the DFFs shortly after I had 'betrayed' them. He's a Tasmanian Devil, one of the few remaining in Downunda and in the world. I have no idea why he left, although I made a guess: the last time I saw Thrash as a member of the DFFs, they were working together with Chaotix; within that other team, there was a pair of Echidnas, and Thrash didn't seem very happy with the idea of working with them two."
"He hates the Echidnas. Did he have any connection with the Dingoes?"
"No, I think his hatred is for another reason, a more 'personal' reason. I'll explain you... There were several groups of Mobian Equidnas who left Albion to try to establish colonies on our continent; in one of those incursions, some scientists experimented with Mobian Tasmanian Devils, possibly to use them as 'living weapons'. Since then, the Tasmanian people weren't the same: because of the experiments, many Tasmanian Devils lost the intelligence they once had, and the new resulting beings, the 'devil-dogs', were mere wild animals, similar to the mobini but with poorer behavior."
"Wait a second: the Tasmanian Devils we know... Are they really those 'devil-dogs' mentioned by you? I thought those were the original Tasmanian Devils."
"I don't blame you for thinking that. The experiments took place more than a millennium ago, and now people see a devil-dog and believe that this is a real Tasmanian Devil."
Tails is silent for a few seconds.
"I have a bad feeling about that 'Thrash'. I dunno if you already know, Top Duck, but there were other Echidna scientists, from more recent times, who had a questionable history, and I know about an Echidna scientist who can be included in that category and who's still active. Surely, Thrash already knows about the madness made by these guys, he believes that all Echidnas are the same and will never change... and he's preparing to take revenge on them. Anyway... What other news do you have about the DFFs?"
"Wombat Stu left your country's Royal Secret Service and returned to the team. I have seen him in action, on a mission of the DFFs against my Legion."
"I wish I could visit him one day, he was a great friend of mine... He also had great potential, I dunno why he went to the Royal Secret Service back then."
"At that time, Geoffrey's team was better. They were Geoffrey himself, his wife Hershey, Wombat, that chameleon that seemed to be of Hispanic origin..."
"Valdez."
"Yeah, His name was Valdez... The robots Heavy and Bomb were also there. That team was promising, but it was all over when Hershey died: Geoffrey apparently became an idiot again, and the team disbanded."
"It's a pity. And how's Barby?"
"She misses you, a lot. At first glance, she looks normal. But before I started working as a mole within the Dark Egg-Legion, I've come to know her well, and I can tell you that she has missed you since you left Downunda."
"If circumstances had been other, perhaps I would have been his girlfriend. But I've met Fiona, I really love her, and I'm a one-woman man, so... You have go-ahead." The fox winks at the platypus.
"You mean..."
"Yes: I already discovered that you liked her. And I also know that you were upset when she kissed me."
"I ain't that spiteful, and you know it. When she kissed you, and after seeing how much she missed you, I simply resigned myself."
"Come on... You and Barby have grown up as if you were siblings, so it's perfectly possible that you like her. That's why I'm telling you that you should abandon this 'mole-leader' thing once and for all: You should enjoy your life, take advantage to try to win Barby's love ... I could tell her about you and the immense sacrifice you're making."
"Are you a matchmaker now, Tails?"
"Something like that: I was one of the people responsible for getting Antoine to stop having that obsession with Sally; so, unintentionally I'm also one of the responsible for him to be Bunnie's boyfriend right now. Returning to the topic: Are you sure you don't wanna leave this job?"
"Why are you so insistent?"
"I suppose I'm so insistent because I'm worried about your safety, and also because I want Barby to stop thinking about me and find someone who really loves her and who stays by her side regardless of the circumstances." Tails puts a hand on the shoulder of his monotreme "friend".
"I'll keep it in mind, Tails. I'll not abandon my mission, but I promise you that I'll take into account what you told me."
"Good to know. Changing the topic: Can you give me more details about the improvements incorporated in the prostheses?"
"Well... Let's start with Bunnie: the rockets on her feet will be more powerful; the plasma cannon in her left arm will have more varied functions, including laser machine gun, remote-controlled plasma bullets, a "plasma" version of flamethrower, etcetera; her three robotic limbs will have their "fuselage" more resistant and also lighter, and they'll also have incorporated generators that will allow to activate a deflector shield; in addition, we've changed the system to take advantage of the chemical energy produced by the body, and this new system will be more efficient and will extract more energy from the nutrient molecules, so the amount of consumed nutrients will be much lower than before. As for your father's new eye: it won't only allow him to capture visible light and to see images in depth, but also allow him to see other forms of electromagnetic radiation, forms invisible to the human eye and even invisible to any mobian's eye."
"How broad will his 'visible portion of the spectrum' be now?"
"Of the wave frequencies beyond the color red, he will be able to see in infrared, and of the wave frequencies beyond the violet color, he will be able to see in ultraviolet and X-rays. He will also be able to see radiations of certain frequencies that he chooses, using voice control. It also includes a software for scanning machines and living things. In addition, his cybernetic eye is connected to the missing eye's optic nerve, and the captured image is sent to the brain and is combined with the image taken by the other eye; as a result, he can make his prosthetic eye see only in infrared, and his brain will create a total image that will include the infrared radiation captured by the left eye and the image of visible light captured by the right eye."
"And how was it done to put the eye in the corresponding hole? I think an entire eye couldn't fit by inserting it through the existing hole, especially if it's a hard sphere of pure metal."
"Nanites were used to arm the eye inside your father's skull."
"Witty... Top Duck, I have a question: do you know anything about the original Dark Legion?"
"The Echidnas led by Lien-Da?"
"I thought they were being led by Dimitri, her great-great-great-grandfather."
"Lien-Da betrayed him and took his place."
"She's ambitious, right?"
"More than you can imagine."
"Just as I was told. But... how are the people who are part of the Dark Legion?"
"They're like any other. That is, within what would be expected in a group of people who was rejected because they considered technology to be a good thing. To tell the truth, Lien-Da ain't at all representative of her people, and Dimitri and the other ancestors weren't much better than her. Within the Dark Legion, there are entire families of Echidnas, men, women, children, who are really convinced of technology's benefits and consider that the prohibition imposed by the High Council of Echidnaopolis was absurd."
"The problem is that they don't realize that Dimitri, with his actions, was to blame that the technology had so bad reputation. After all, it was he who wanted to play to be God. More precisely, he played to be Enerjak. Anyway, Echidnaopolis no longer exists..."
"Because of Eggman. It seems that both the original Dark Legionnaires are idiots just like Lien-Da herself. They're not realizing that they're working for the same guy who ordered the genocide of their people. When the Dingoes destroyed Echidnaopolis and killed 90% of that city's people, they were executing orders from Eggman. The Dingoes also didn't have a truly representative leader at the time: Helmut had been overthrown by his son Kage, a stupid big guy who was easy to make angry, and it was Kage who allied with Eggman and led the Dingo Regime during Echidna extermination; Later, Kage died, Helmut returned to take the control, and the Dingoes were independent of Eggman again."
"Yeah..."
"You six, the AFFs, should do something with them."
"With the Dark Legion?"
"With the Dark Legion and with the Dingo Regime too. Tails, you also recognize technology's benefits, you also disagree with the prohibitions, you hate that such absurd measures are taken on the basis of the individual actions of a few imbeciles with delusions of grandeur. Besides, you're not only intelligent, you're also clever with the words-"
"What? Me, someone clever with with words?"
"Of course, Tails. I know you can convince the Echidnas and the Dingoes to forget their differences."
The canine remains thoughtful.
"Perhaps so..."
"The only problem would be Lien-Da, but I know you're capable of beating her in a fight."
"Actually, I have other plans for her."
"Are you thinking of attracting her as an ally? Tails, she's manipulative, ruthless, and won't settle for any deal because she always wanna have it all-"
"Don't worry, I'll do the same thing I did with Fiona. Besides, you said it yourself: I'm clever with the words."
"Fiona is an exceptional case."
"I don't think so. All I needed to do with Fiona was inviting her to think and showing her the reality. And I plan to do the same with Lien-Da, when I get the chance."
"Show her the reality? She wants all the power for her people and especially for herself, she has that power thanks to her alliance with Eggman, and if you show her the reality, the only thing that you'll succeed in is to give her the reason."
"Top Duck, what I plan to do is to show her the other side of that reality. You'll see."