Disclaimer - I do not own Sonic or any other characters. They are property of SEGA and anything Sonic the hedgehog affiliated with it.
One Day Remaining….
The next morning, Nicole's house…
Nicole and Sonic laid sloppily on her couch still asleep; they were both fully lying down now. She laid on top of him; her hands rested on his chest using him as a pillow. Sonic was fast asleep but Nicole had just begun to awake. She slowly opened her eyes regaining awareness that she was holding someone. She stayed still, and her face was stoic. It felt weird waking up and feeling someone else's touch…
At the same time for her it was exhilarating; she'd never done such a thing. She also felt a bit taken aback about how bold she was with Sonic last night. Not to say that she wasn't assertive when she needed to be, but she guessed when it came to her feelings she was even less afraid to act. She had seized Sonic…
She then turned her head sideways laying on his chest looking nowhere in particular in the direction of her TV; sunlight spilled in from her windows illuminating the shadows in the room. She wanted this touching to last as long as possible because even she began to wonder if she had moved to fast when she…kissed him…
Her cheeks heated up slightly red at the memory. She felt elated that she was holding Sonic, touching him, being close to him….
She had expected him to talk her down and console her for a while. And tell her the truth she didn't want to hear before he left for the evening. But Sonic also said he was unsure about how he felt. And it did make her feel slightly uneven about what he would say when he awoke…
Then she saw as she laid on Sonic across the room, her window crumble and fall apart; the nanites then soon began rebuilding themselves. Even she was starting to get used to the malfunctions of the nanites as she was not surprised by her window falling apart. So still feeling a bit sleepy she closed her eyes and slept a little while longer. But a little while later she felt Sonic stir, and she opened her eyes. Sonic opened his eyes yawning, he looked as if he was going to stretch, but before he did he looked to Nicole seeing her staring intently at him with a neutral expression. Sonic looked curiously at her as she pushed herself up from his chest.
"Good morning." he said raising an eyebrow.
"Good morning to you too Sonic…" she said as she got up off of him and her eyes fell to her floor.
Sonic sat up as well sitting upright on the couch like Nicole and glanced over at her with a slight frown; Nicole held a saddened expression, and she spoke moments later "I may have been impulsive in my actions last night…"
Nicole then felt Sonic scoot closer to her, and she looked at him losing her saddened face and blinking her eyes in confusion. Sonic's brows narrowed with a slightly frustrated look "…Its fine Nicole…I don't have a problem with your sneak attack…" he smirked a bit and Nicole did as well.
But Sonic's frustrated look returned as he spoke "…Nicole…I don't know where this is going….but I'm willing to try this with you…I'll work with you if you don't have any objections…"
Nicole's eyes widened briefly, blinking out of her stupor before a sheepish grin formed on her face, which made Sonic smirk "I'll take that as a yes..."
Nicole kept her big grin as she reached out and wrapped her arms around Sonic's neck, and he reciprocated the hug patting her on the back.
"You do not think we are moving too fast?" she asked in an elated tone.
And Sonic chuckled "How long have you been chasing me again?"
Nicole let out a soft laugh as she held him "Point taken…"
Sonic also noticed as she held her, a few tears escaped her eyes, but she continued to grin. But then Sonic noticed Nicole's broken laptop behind her on the floor. Sonic pulled away from her looking worried and Nicole's pleasurable face broke as she blinked in confusion "Nicole, did Naugus break into your house too?"
Nicole's grin remained on her face looking behind herself in the direction Sonic was looking. Seeing her busted laptop, she showed indifference when speaking about it "…No…I was alone yesterday…I broke my laptop..." she hesitated "…In anger…" she said looking back at him still grinning "I had totally forgotten…"
"You do know the world will be over in a day or two?" Sonic said with a smirk.
Nicole grinned moving her hair out of her eyes and she joked "Mobius ending? Oh yes, I will get right on that…."
Then they finally let go of each other, and they went over to inspect her broken laptop on the floor. Nicole bent down with a curious look. The screen was shattered, she flipped it over to see if she broken any of its bottom, and the case was cracked "…My computer is beyond repair…"
"What's the damage?" Sonic asked her with a light frown.
Nicole got up, went into her kitchen, and retrieved a tool kit. She knelled back onto the floor and used her tools to open the bottom of the laptop. She spoke with concentration on her face "I think my hard drive might be salvageable..."
It took her less than a minute to pop out her HDD. It was still in tack, but she had to test it. She looked up at him curiously "Sonic? Can you go get your laptop?"
Sonic smirked "I see where you're going, but can you just put that in my laptop? How do you know it'll fit?"
"The computers we purchased were the same models, I am sure it will fit. Computers and most technology follow an official form factor specification, it is otherwise known as ATX." Nicole said keeping her serious face.
But Sonic scratched his head now looking confused "Is there a simpler way to explain that..."
And Nicole blinked her eyes and slowly shook her head; trying to suppress an uncontrollable smile forming on her face. Which made Sonic look slightly annoyed "I'll just go get my laptop…"
And as Sonic headed for the door Nicole stood, and he could hear a small giggle escape her. Nicole followed him placing her HDD on her coffee table as she walked by her couch. And she stopped him as he opened the door. Her grin made his sheepish expression soften "…I appreciate all the compassion you have given me…everything you have given without return…thank you…for everything Sonic…" she said as she reached her hand out and briefly brushed his face.
He nodded blinking his eyes and inched out "….Yeah…sure…"
"Do not take long Sonic, I need to start as soon as possible." Nicole said with her big grin.
Sonic then grinned himself "See you in a few."
He nodded at her one last time before he ran down the path of her house to retrieve his laptop. Nicole watched him disappear down the street, and she donned a tender smile leaning on the door frame; feeling happy felt so uncharacteristic for her. She wondered if it was too good to be true…these strong feelings she felt…but for now she decided to place her trust in Sonic….he was always true to his word through his actions….
Meanwhile on the South side of town…
Rotor had already been up awhile this morning. He was in his living room already sitting in front of his computer with a cup of coffee in hand. His brows were furrowed in determination with a serious expression. Nicole's DVDs were scattered in piles all around his living room; he'd been skimming through many DVDs even earlier trying to find anything. Though at the moment he'd settled to watching the DVD's around the time of Nicole's creator Arien, as they were the DVDs were the actual problems of the future started. He hoped he'd find out exactly why Nicole was sent back now…as finding that out right now would be very beneficial…
He felt like such a fool for ignoring Nicole….
He'd ignored the warning signs…their technology had grown rapidly out of control…
The progression of their technology now looked even more similar to the disaster that happened in the future…
He'd ignored and disregarded finding out why Nicole was sent back and finding out about her future…
He was so curious about Nicole and the future in the past…but he'd guessed he'd grown cold and apathetic as they grew in power…
And now he really needed to find out the mysteries of Nicole and the future…the importance of finding out all the facts about Nicole could maybe help them figure out what to do now in this mess they were in…it was something he should have never stopped doing…
It also made him wonder how Nicole's rampancy played into all of this, as his unfounded conceptions about living Nicole being crazy made him feel a pang of guilt whenever he thought of it. He wasn't completely counting out Nicole's rampancy though; it must have had other factors than the arrogant half-witted notions he had of it. He had just placed DVD two hundred thirty nine into his drive and was waiting for it to load. He was certain somewhere on the DVDs Nicole's creator second incarnation had to have spoken of the issues that plagued the future at least once….
(The Computer screen)
The ever familiar apartment of Nicole's creator filled the screen once more, but her apartment was a mess. There were books and papers scattered everywhere, on her floors and across desk and tables. Nicole watched her creator frantically move around the room examining many papers and books scattered around the room. From what Rotor could see, he saw that she looked very worried about something. Arien frustratedly flipped through the pages of a book before she sat down in a chair in defeat.
And a few moments later Nicole spoke "Creator, I don't understand. Will the time travel affect me too? I have not detected any significant danger towards myself; if so I don't understand because it is outside myself."
Nicole's creator nodded looking towards her screen with an upset expression "That is right Nicole, you might not understand this time. Because even though we organics can see the effects of time travel, we cannot predict all its effects."
"What exactly is happening creator?" Nicole asked her in a neutral tone.
Nicole's creator got up and stood in front of Nicole's screen "If you would, shift your camera lens over here Nicole." Nicole's sight slightly moved to the left.
On her left was a white marker board with many math equations in black marker. Rotor was surprised to see even in the future math was still recognizable but some of the equations he had never seen before. It was certainly possible that new math was discovered in the future "I have acquired the formula that is used to open a time rift, analyze this Nicole." Nicole's creator said with a serious face.
A green beam shot out from Nicole's screen a stayed on the marker board for a few moments before it stopped "…Analyzing data…" Nicole paused "…Are you going to use this creator?"
Arien frowned staying silent for a moment as she looked at Nicole's screen "…Yes Nicole...I want to have it ready just in case we have to use it…which I fear is coming very soon…." Nicole's creator said as she turned away from Nicole and picked up a red marker off a nearby table.
She then went and wrote a few things on the board with her back turned "You see Nicole, our higher ups have finally found a way to initiate time travel through using massive amounts of energy to shift all molecule's in a specific contained area. And use the energy to move the molecules of whatever is in the contained area in whichever way they want. Backwards, forwards, up, down, you know what I mean; its obvious what they are using it for now. They were experimenting when Bernard…I mean...when I was around before, but it isn't until now that they actually used it."
The scrubbing of Arien's marker on the marker board was the only sound heard in her quiet apartment, and Nicole's creator spoke in a disapproving tone "Unfortunately, it's not just them either. It seems other people have somehow gotten their hands on this time travel technology, and they have been sending objects and information back to the past. I personally think any experimentation with time is too dangerous, for you cannot always account for all the rippling effects that occur of changing one event in the past. One change, changes everything. It was inevitable that some might use this technology in disadvantageous ways. Whatever the reasons of those who do bad it is still just bad for everyone…."
"Our previous attempts to track objects transferred to the past by random individuals are still incomplete…each event changed introduces infinite variables of change for every individual change…this amount of data cannot be stored…"Nicole stated.
Nicole's creator kept her back turned as she wrote on her marker board "Exactly Nicole, there's just no way to tell what changes. The tampering of moving molecules has caused current day objects to seemingly pop into thin air...and even current thing's we knew have changed…"
Nicole's creator glanced behind herself at Nicole's screen "Do you remember the news report yesterday? Eggman's robots for some reason are starting to be restored; they have been in lockdown for centuries. No one has worked on them yet they are being restored and to top that off they are getting better..."
"Yes I remember creator, the video footage showed the robots being restored without any input….calculating…" Nicole's creator waited for her to finish "…object's or information sent into the past are affecting future events simply because they came first. Even useless information causes thousands of different outcomes creator." Nicole said in a neutral tone.
Nicole's creator fully turned and faced Nicole still looking serious "Exactly Nicole, so you can see why this is dangerous. There is no sure way to control these changes, and they could be damaging. With so many people messing with the time stream, we might not be able to fix it if this trend continues. I'm guessing there might even be Eggman sympathizers for them to even actually try to help Eggman in the past. Some may even be just trying to experiment with it. But the fact remains that the damage has been done; everyone is running around trying to fix it now but…" she paused lowering her head and looking at her floor muttering "…they are all idiots..."
But then Nicole spoke of a totally unrelated subject "Creator? How was I created?"
Arien lifted her head blinking her eyes, and she seemed to lose the air of depression she had; she then smiled "Oh Nicole, you are such an interesting specimen."
"Thank you creator." Nicole responded.
Nicole's creator then walked over to her messy bookshelves and skimmed pass a few books until she pulled out a large brown hardback book. She flipped through the pages while speaking and walking back in front of Nicole's screen "I suppose it's nice to get a little off topic right now. But anyways, although Bernard may have birthed you Nicole he was not solely responsible for your design. There were many notable scientists who contributed directly to your design. Ah! Here they are. Betty D. Louis was responsible for miniaturizing capacitors small enough to fit on more advanced mother boards, Sae Livina designed the type of processor that is in you now, Larry Lazlo was an early pioneer in the help of developing computers that used biological components." Nicole's creator said looking up from her book.
"Interesting creator." Nicole stated in a neutral tone.
Nicole's creator nodded as she looked back down at the book "The earliest designs of you came from a scientist named…Rotor Walrus…hmmm…" Nicole's creator said with an air of curiosity.
"What is it creator?" Nicole asked her.
She looked up at Nicole's screen again with her smile "I'm not sure but that name sounds so familiar…"
(In Rotors room)
Rotor had paused the DVD because he was choking on his coffee; he clenched his eyes shut as he coughed. He had once again been intrigued by the things happening on the DVD. Them talking about the time travel technology had him glued to the screen, but now he had placed his coffee down because he was choking. He couldn't believe it. He still didn't believe she just said his name...
He thought Nicole's creators were…well he never guessed it had anything to do with him! How would he ever expect that anything in the future had anything to do with him! As Rotor finally cleared his throat his heart beat fast and his pulse raced. He skipped back briefly to reaffirm what he had heard…
(The Computer screen)
"Interesting Creator." said Nicole.
Nicole's creator nodded as she looked back down at the book "The earliest designs for you came a scientist named…Rotor Walrus…hmmm" Nicole's creator said with an air of curiosity.
(In Rotors room)
Rotor's eyes were wide, and his face was of complete shock and disillusionment. She said his name…and not only that the gears in his mind began to click….
All those other scientist…could they have possibly been him? Considering that after Bernard died and Nicole found Arien several hundred years later…
They were the same people….
And if he was the earliest designer of Nicole when in this timeline did he create her, he wondered? Then another thought hit him, as he rubbed his tusk as a frown came over his face. Nicole was currently in this time, and right now her computer body was inactive…
He pondered would he create her in the future with what she left behind? Was that how she was created? Is her existing here changing the timeline for him creating her? Would he have created her if she wasn't here? How would he had created her if she wasn't here? Had she been created a different way in a different timeline? But that still didn't exactly answer why she was sent back. Stopping technology and Eggman were certainly two big reasons why. But there still seemed to be something missing….all the possible timelines were still not clear…
And he began to remember Nicole had said that she was from a different timeline in earlier DVDs…
This new information revealed that he was…Nicole's creator…it implied their timeline was similar to Nicole's future and not a completely different timeline…it tied them all to it now…
And that meant it was still unclear if Nicole's future was a direct future of now…because if it wasn't that meant there were multiple timelines like Nicole said in the past…
And that also meant there was another missing piece to the puzzle of all this…how was Nicole able to travel back to the same timeline? Although she did say it was a different timeline, and now that he knew they tied to that timeline it made them more similar, but it still shouldn't be possible…
You can't travel to where you already are…he had made that same point to Nicole in the past…
Nicole couldn't travel from the future to the past because she would already be there; that was a paradox; you can't go were you already are; time is one moment. And she couldn't travel to the past because if she left the present to go to the past, she wouldn't exist to go to the past. He was sure there were other time travel conundrums to ponder off, but those two struck him most at the moment. So that also meant there was something he still didn't know about Nicole and the future for sure…
How Nicole was able to traverse through time like she had was most likely the last mystery he needed to unravel. It might even solve exactly why she was sent back. Rotor un-paused the DVD and grabbed his cup to drink what was left of his coffee as his brows narrowed into a light frown…
(The Computer screen)
"I'm not sure but that name sounds so familiar…" Nicole's creator shrugged and looked down at the book again "Rotor Walrus also helped stop Eggman in the Great War. He was in a group with one of the most pivotal people in the fight against Eggman. His name was Sonic the Hedgehog, and the name of the group was called the Freedom Fighters…" Nicole's creator chuckled "Freedom Fighters…"she repeated "How quaint." Nicole's creator chuckled some more.
Rotor couldn't believe that he just offended himself "How did organics defeat all of Eggman's robots?" Nicole questioned.
"Well, the Freedom Fighters took him down with their own sheer willpower." Arien skimmed with her finger as she read "They fought long and hard and…" she paused momentarily "…and with the help of and A.I. named Nicole? What?" Nicole's creator dropped the book in fear as her eyes widened in shock "It did not say that before…" her whole form visibly shook.
Nicole spoke in a neutral tone "What did it say before creator?"
Arien looked bewildered back and forth between Nicole and the history book on the floor before she slowly responded "This is very odd, but I can't remember…"
"Is there something wrong creator? I am detecting a quickly changing chemical shift in your body." Nicole stated in a neutral tone.
"Nicole do you understand what I've just read?" she asked Nicole as her brows wrinkled in worry.
"Yes, creator. That book states I was present in helping defeat Eggman in the past…I cannot analyze this data…it contradicts me being present now…" Nicole stated.
Arien shook her head furiously "It did not say that before...I swear it…" Nicole's creator was shaken "How did you just pop up in a history book? That is an official copy of Mobian history…oohhh I have goose bumps this is weird…" Nicole's creator rubbed her arms; squeezing her eyes shut before looking back up at Nicole "Nicole, I have read from this book before, find archival video of this."
"Searching back up hard drives…" Nicole responded and spoke less than a minute later "…Five videos found with similar images..."
"Open the first one Nicole." Nicole's creator said with worry on her face.
Rotor saw the image reversed but the video clearly showed and had audio that before Arien had opened that same history book; and when she read from it before it read differently. It had read that the Freedom Fighters had defeated Eggman but there was no mention of Nicole before. After the video closed Nicole's creator face was completely puzzled as she stared at Nicole's screen.
It left open a few possibilities. Like if Nicole was in the past had she been sent to the past before? If the history book was different was her timeline the first time this happened? Was Nicole needed in the past? Rotor became even more confused as the timelines made even less sense now…
Nicole's Creator worry had returned to her face "I'm not sure I understand this but…I wonder has you appearing in that book foreshadow unseen circumstances…like there being need for you in the past Nicole, caused by the tampering of time…"
Arien paused as she frowned "…Eggman's robots are being rebuilt as we speak…and many other unseen circumstances will arise from the tampering of time….but there are other possibilities I do not grasp now..."
"What is it you do not understand creator?" Nicole asked her.
Nicole's Creator's brows narrowed in frustration "…I can't tell if this has happened before since you've appeared in that history book…and now I don't know if this is the first time this has happened because you've appeared in the past somehow…"
"…." Nicole remained silent.
Then determination showed on Arien's face "You know what, it doesn't matter at this point. I will need to consider this first though Nicole. I'm not just going to fling you into the past. I need solid evidence that things are going to go awry."
Nicole then turned her creator's television on behind her, which showed all of Eggman's robotic inventions going haywire in military lockdown video footage. Nicole's creator then grabbed the remote and flipped through all the stations, and all the news stations had the same story. Eggman's robots were somehow getting stronger and at the rate things looked to be going they might actually break out of their imprisonment….
Nicole's creator turned off the television and walked back in front of Nicole's screen "…Ok…that's more than what I needed." she took off her glasses and closed her eyes rubbing her temples "…I don't know how you got in that book Nicole but if Eggman is getting stronger here, you are needed in the past…" she looked extremely upset after her statement as she opened her eyes.
"Creator, I know it is possible to create a new chassis to send me through the time stream. How will we design something to protect you through the time stream?" Nicole asked her.
Nicole's creator frowned tossing her glasses onto a nearby table "I can't go through the time stream Nicole, my body would be destroyed."
"Then how will we…" but Nicole was cut off.
"I won't be going Nicole…." Arien said in a stern tone.
Nicole paused for a moment "I see…" Nicole stated in her usual neutral tone.
Nicole's creator stared at Nicole for a moment with a deep frown before she spoke "Despite your physical age Nicole you are still so young…"
Nicole's creator then walked over to a desk and cleared it off. Grabbing a blank sheet of paper and began writing on it in silence. Arien kept her eyes away from Nicole and Nicole remained quiet as her creator worked on what Rotor guessed, plans for a time machine and other plans to get ready to send her back as the screen faded…
(In Rotors room)
As the DVD cut off Rotor leaned back in his chair in astonishment. Out of all things that he expected to see and hear on the DVDs, him somehow being tied to Nicole was not one of them. He pushed away from his computer and got up from his seat…he placed his hand on his head with his mouth curved down into a frown…so this meant he was Nicole's creator…
Despite a possible future version of himself saying his name he just couldn't believe it all. He was Nicole's creator…
Though technically he hadn't created her yet, but that opened many new questions. After watching this DVD, it made him wonder how Nicole planned to help change the future. That was another thing he did not know about. Rotor then lowered his hand from his head still feeling a bit faint about what he just learned…
He glanced around his living room at all the scattered DVDs as he tried to keep the information pieced together in his head. So far he knew that Nicole was sent back to stop technology from going out of control, stop Eggman, she was somehow traveling back through time in an unknown way, and it was unclear what her plans were to actually stop it now he just realized. He also still wasn't sure how Nicole's Rampancy played into all of this…
He'd originally thought her just being sent back were her plans to stop these things from happening. He thought her simply being here to help them were her plans, but now it seemed there was more to it…
Since there seemed to be even more timelines than he thought involved now…and him being her creator tied them to it all making even more possibilities…
What was unclear about the whole mystery of Nicole and the future was why she was sent back and her plans there in fore. If there were different timelines that meant what her plans when she was sent back would be always different…and ultimately why and what she did when she came back remained unclear…
Nicole's creator…well he was right…changing one thing changed everything…none of this timeline stuff was making any sense anymore…
So Rotor then went around his room collecting various DVDs to view while making sure they stayed in order. Somewhere on one of these DVD's Nicole had to have left a hint about her plans to stop her future from happening, to stop technology and Eggman…
A little while later…
Sonic grabbed his laptop from his home and taken it to Nicole. Luckily, she put it into his computer and found her HDD was not damaged, and her work was still present. So she immediately got back to work on trying to figure out a code for her portable. Though not without giving him an extended hug before he left…
But after he'd left Nicole's house he headed to Castle Acorn to begin helping out with evacuations. It was getting around noon and the interior of the castle was bustling as people scurried around preparing the city for a possible evacuation. He had even bumped into a few people as he reached the noisy control room which was just as busy as the rest of the castle. Technicians were seated at every computer around the room busily typing away, and there were other castle employees moving orange folders around the room.
Sonic held a frown as he passed by two people running pass him out of the room. Tails, Bunnie, Antoine, Amy, and Sally were standing around Rotors desk; Rotor was absent. And they all noticed him with frowns and nods. Sonic walked over to them noticing they all looked apprehensive but Amy was the first to turn to him and speak; her brows narrowed in frustration "…I'm sorry Sonic…" she struggled to look him in the eyes.
Sonic kept his frown as he stared Amy in her eyes and lifted his arm and placed a hand on her shoulder. Amy kept her eyes on him as he squeezed her shoulder "…It's alright…"
Amy kept her frown though, and she nodded silently as Sonic glanced at everyone else. They remained silent with downturned mouths, as their frowns expressed the guilt they still had. Sonic's face softened a bit and smirked "We've been through some bad stuff before, so let's push through this too."
His acceptance of their mostly silent apology didn't seem to completely break the ice, but their frowns did soften. And they donned weak smiles. Antoine spoke next joking "…I knew you couldn't stay mad at us…"
Sonic shrugged "I might next time the world is about to blow up."
Bunnie giggled as Sally ran a hand through her hair "Well now that, that's out of the way let's get to more pressing matters. We're going to be working into the night to get everything ready for evacuation." Sally smirked pointing at Amy "Sonic, and you can help out on the west side of town with the community leaders while I'm dealing with our allies. They need help with coordinating…"
Sally then turned to look at Antoine as they all began conversing right away about the evacuation measures. And even though they attempted to push through another mishap in their friendships, something was still left unsaid. Their apology to Sonic was abrupt because of the circumstances. If they made it through this they knew there was going to be even more distance between them and their already drifting friendships. Trust between them had been tested and shaken, and it would take time to rebuild it. In their past disagreements about Nicole, they only hoped time could help heal the wounds…because at the moment they didn't have time to squabble…
Around one p.m….
On the Eastside of town at Nicole's house, Nicole had been working with the New OS manual for the better part of the morning. She'd left her TV off today and been engrossed in learning her portables language. She decided to put her super powers, as Sonic put it, to work. And her ability to learn and absorb much information faster was working quite well. She'd been in such a good mood this morning she finally began to start and understand some of her portables coding. It seemed her better mood had allowed her to move past and figure out the problems shed been having the previous day. So she plugged her portable into Sonic's laptop and got to work.
Her brows were knotted together as she typed onto Sonic's laptop keyboard; she held a determined expression, and she looked over the bottom of a two hundred line code she just wrote:
/ Can add another method and properties
interface OOSConfigurationCapabilities
{
ActionConnectionFlag SetConnectionFlag();
ActionConnectionString SetConnectionString();
ActionTrace LockConnection();
};
Then she hit the enter key, and her test program gave another successful Syntax execution on her portables screen. She had been getting correct Syntax all morning, and her ears perked up with a smirk on her face because of it. The language was difficult to decipher because it was esoteric, and she was still trying to remember all the strange expressions and functions. It was no wonder Tails, and Rotor couldn't understand it. It wasn't just the strange terms and whatnot; the steps involved and writing the language were a chore. It was complex and a lot to take in, but because of the detail the manual was written in she'd been progressing, along with her good mood at the moment.
She placed her portable and laptop down on her coffee table and picked up the New OS manual and flipped to the next page with a smirk on her face. She'd been seeing new things in the manual as she tried to understand that she'd never seen on any type of computer. There were things her portable could do that she'd never seen or thought a computer could be programmed to do. She hoped she didn't have to attempt and use the features, but she was putting them to the side since they seemed to be security features of the New OS. If she could just upload a new security code she wouldn't have to. She'd been writing the features down in a note document just in case though…she also was continuing to learn the command line interface of her portable…
Then she flipped back a few pages ready to try another thing in a new chapter shed reached this morning. She felt confident and was ready to try some more. She placed the New OS manual on the couch next to her. Then she picked up her portable and laptop and cleared the text of her coding program and began to type again. But she only got a little ways in when her doorbell rang.
She stopped typing mid-sentence and glanced at her door with a curious look. She guessed it might be Sonic as she placed her portable and laptop down on her table again and got up. When she opened her door she blinked her eyes in surprise to see Bunnie.
Bunnie held a weak smile "…Hey thare sweety…"
Nicole's hand fell from her door, and she raised an eyebrow in suspicion "…Bunnie…"
Bunnie removed her hat from her head "…I was headin out to help with tha evacuations…but I wanted to stop by and talk with yiah…"
Nicole then frowned a bit as she remained silent but Bunnie smirked "If yiah don't mind thet is…"
Nicole's frown washed away, and her expression became neutral as a soft sigh escaped her, and she stepped aside "…I do not mind…"
Bunnie kept her weak smile as she stepped inside with her hat under her cybernetic arm "…Thank yiah…"
Nicole closed her door, and Bunnie followed her as they went and sat on her purple couch. Nicole picked up her portable and laptop and began typing again looking at her screen silently. Bunnie glanced over at her with a slightly saddened face; her hat on her lap "…I should first start off by saying I'm so'ry and so are tha guys…but we did see somethang yesterday…involving yiah…which had moved our opinions…"
Nicole stopped typing looking curiously at her "…Yes I remember our conversations yesterday after my trial…along with me possibly inheriting genetics from my computer self…I would ask you what you saw, but I have a feeling I do not want to know…especially not right now…" she said looking back at her laptop and typing again.
Bunnie then smirked "…It might be for tha better at tha moment…"
Nicole remained silent as she typed looking at her screen and Bunnie noticed she didn't mention her apology. So she didn't bring it back up because she knew she was still upset, but Bunnie broke the silence as she glanced over at her with her weak smirk offering "…Yiah wanna talk about thangs?"
And surprisingly she spoke immediately confirming she still did like talking and confiding in her, she continued to type while she looked at her screen; her expression still curious "…I have come to find out even more in my days back in New Mobotropolis that I am still naïve as I was six years ago in many ways…"
Bunnie leaned over slightly to see what Nicole was typing "I don't think yeur giving yeurself enough credit, I think yiah handled…all of this pretty gracefully. I've been hearing about how smart yiah are too."
Nicole stopped typing for a moment to glance over at Bunnie, and she smirked a bit herself "Some of my naivety lies within my own abilities. I know much about computers and technology…but not much else…" she turned and looked back at her laptop screen, she didn't type though "…Just because I am quite skilled at computers and can pick up other things because of my learning ability…I've found I still don't know as much as I thought I did…"
And Bunnie chuckled with a wise expression to which Nicole glanced over at her "None of us really do…"
"Rotor and Tails were saying yeur brain picks up stuff faster or somethang because of what yiah did to yeur body and all." Bunnie responded.
Nicole glanced back over at her smirking "Yes, at least from what I have learned, I have a higher capacity to retain and understand information. Or my super learning power as Sonic would put it…"
"Yeur almost a spitting image of…Nic...I mean yeurself…brains and all…" Bunnie spoke in a complementing tone.
But a soft sigh escaped Nicole as she looked back at her laptop screen as her expression became neutral again "…I do not suppose my past self would have run away to Central City for six years…"
Bunnie then frowned slightly "…I don't think anyone blames yiah for thet…"
"I broke down…" she said staring at her screen "…I could not process what was happening at the time, and I had to get away…" she paused for a moment placing her portable and Sonic's laptop on her table "…I know the reasons I supposedly left…but why did I leave Bunnie?" she glanced over at Bunnie with a saddened expression and Bunnie kept her frown "…Why would I choose to cause so much damage…what plans would I have that would involve saving the future for it to turn out like this…"
Bunnie hesitated but then reached over and wrapped her organic arm around Nicole's neck. Nicole did not protest as she closed her eyes "…Tha only ones who knows tha answers to thet are yiah…those DVDs of yeurs…and maybe Rotor cause he's been watching em…" she added on with a slight chuckle.
Nicole smirked as Bunnie held her and Bunnie looked down at her with a weak smile "…Whatever yiah reasons, yeur still trying to help set thangs right and thets all thet matters…" she said as she rocked her "…I don't think yiah did it for bad reasons…neither do tha guys…"
Then Nicole giggled as Bunnie held her "…I continue to see more ironic parallels with my computer self every time I discuss it…" Bunnie smiled as Nicole stayed motionless as Bunnie held her with her eyes closed "…Thank you for connecting with me Bunnie…"
And Bunnie snorted suppressing another chuckle "Was thet a pun?"
And Nicole softly snickered as she realized what Bunnie was saying. Bunnie snickered along with her as she held and comforted her. As it seemed Nicole had been still holding a lot in about how she felt, and how much and how long was unsure. But her just getting to express her private musings seemed to cheer her up again. As Nicole knew Bunnie understood a lot of where she was coming from more so than others because of their unique experiences of being half machine. Which was still such a strange thing to say. But before Bunnie left Nicole to help out with the evacuation, she left Nicole with a much better mood even before she came…
Meanwhile in the Dragon Kingdom…
It was dark out and getting late in the day after a busy day of chaos for the Rayju clan. The night sky was full of stars and there was a warm breeze flowing through the kingdom from the day's hot weather. They had spent most of the day raiding one of the Gossamer clan's villages, and were getting settled in for the night. But there were still many things on Geoffrey's mind. Naugus and Geoffrey had just returned to their room after a day of rigorous talks with the Bride of Conquering Storm. They'd helped her seek out recruits in taking down New Mobotropolis, which wasn't hard as many wanted in on the action but did not like Eggman's prices.
Conquering Storm offered most a more reasonable price, and they gladly accepted it. She was also making a lot of money off the deal; no refunds either. As it was now Naugus had an almost equal amount of support as Eggman. Naugus was weary of Conquering Storm's intentions though, and had mentioned to Geoffrey in private that they should keep an eye on her.
Tomorrow though, in the morning they would attack New Mobotropolis; it would be getting late in the day there in a few hours. And it all seemed to be going well except for the devastating after effects that could happen if New Mobotropolis was brought down.
Geoffrey left their door open as Naugus sat down on his bed near the window. Geoffrey held a slight frown as he couldn't help but feel a twinge of apprehensiveness about how things were going "Master?"
Naugus though was in the complete opposite mood of his apprentice; he grinned tooth to tooth turning to look at him "Yes apprentice?"
Geoffrey spoke with hesitation "….I don't want to be a downer but…this is getting expensive..."
Naugus cackled "It is going well isn't it? With Eggman attacking with us there will be no way they'll be able to hold us off. They don't stand a chance!"
"There will be a lot of angry villains out there if we do not deliver." Geoffrey said as his brows knotted in frustration.
Naugus continued to smile arrogantly "They understood the risk when they signed with us, bring them on I say! When I become king tomorrow I will be unstoppable!" his said raising his staff into the air.
Geoffrey was not in the mood though, and he sighed turning around and walking through their open door "I am going for a walk then…"
Naugus then laid down on his bed placing his staff down and putting his hands behind his head as he fully laid down "Don't stay up to late, we need to be well rested in the morning."
"Yes master..." Geoffrey muttered with a frown as he closed the door behind himself.
Geoffrey's body slumped as he began to wander the base of the Rayju clan. He wandered out of the halls were they slept into the main area of the base. The lights were off tonight, they used candles to illuminate their home. Some clan members were training, and some were taking a drink; relaxing and conversing. They didn't seem to mind him as he walked out of the main area to the outside of the base. Both moons were out tonight; a few clouds blocked their view every now and then and it was a bit cool but it wasn't cold.
His boots crunched on the grass as he walked just a short distance away from the front area of the Rayju clan's base. He spotted a piled of rocks and decided he would find a suitable place to sit and ponder his recent thoughts.
As he neared the rocks his frown deepened. Everything looked to be going fine. They had helped Conquering Storm gain much support, everyone knew the plan, there was no way New Mobotropolis could fight this back. His mission would be complete, and his life could continue on from when he started helping his master. But something didn't feel right…it was happening so fast…
As he stepped near the rocks he noticed Lightning Lynx sitting on a rock not too far away from him. Geoffrey raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he walked over to him "You get breaks?" he questioned.
Lightning Lynx paid him no mind though as he stared into the night sky with a smile "I didn't use to."
Geoffrey's frown softened as he looked up into the night sky as well. He just wanted to get his mind off his problems for a moment anyways "So…what did you do before you were a body guard?"
Lightning Lynx grinned keeping his eyes on the sky "In my clan, skill dictates rank. I was the best at one time. And I wasn't just the fastest, I had the quickest attack, the best eye, the best form…" his smile faded slightly and Geoffrey leaned on a rock listening as they looked up "I only respected one…the bride of our clan; Conquering Storm…."
"You sure don't look as competent as you say you use to be." Geoffrey stated.
"Yeah, well…I'm not anymore…" he admitted "My respect went beyond mutualness. I loved her…" he said in a low voice "I still do…" Lightning Lynx said as his smile returned.
Geoffrey nodded in silence as he continued "But she would only favor someone of great strength at her side. So I challenged her to a duel to prove my strength and my feelings…." Lightning Lynx paused for a long time before he spoke again.
"…I was an utter disaster…she defeated me, and I suffered the worse dishonor in my clan…exile…" Lightning Lynx said in a strong tone.
Geoffrey sounded suddenly curious "How did you get back in?"
Lightning Lynx chuckled weakly as they looked up "For a time I wandered Mobius with no direction but Mammoth Mogul found me, and I served under him for a while until he abandoned me and the others that served under him. Then I heard the Iron Dominion took control of the four houses, and I was invited back as a foreign liaison. And with it, my honor, and clan status restored for a time I served under Conquering Storm directly just as I am now."
Geoffrey yawned stretching his arms "So you stopped doing that again?"
"Kinda." he shrugged his shoulders "As a liaison I only communicated between the clans. It's a similar position I admit." he said looking up into the night skies.
"It still doesn't sound like you're necessarily at her side." Geoffrey said in a sarcastic tone.
Lightning Lynx scoffed at him "I might not be HERS per say…but now I am closer than I've ever been…I actually even talk to her personally on rare occasions..."
Geoffrey lightly clapped his hands together, and he glanced over at Lightning Lynx "Impressive…your pathetic. You know that?"
Lightning Lynx was unfazed looking at him with a big smile "Yep!"
Geoffrey shook his head grinning "You really do love her."
Lightning Lynx nodded looking back to the sky, and Geoffrey did too as he spoke again "So how did you end up getting your job again?"
At that question Lightning Lynx growled a bit "…The Destructix…my old running pals…those losers came to the Iron Fortress. They came to break the four houses ties to the Iron Dominion; and to get me to join that stupid team again. The matter came down to a duel and Conquering Storm selected me as her champion to prove my continued worth. I thought I was going to be fighting Monkey Khan but Sonic stepped up. I put everything I had…but you know Sonic…he's good…"
"The Freedom fighters were there huh? So that's why you don't care now." Geoffrey said looking out into the open grassy fields as the wind blew the swaying grass.
"I still don't believe it myself. I'm back in my clan for a third time, I've lost it twice before. Never again." Lightning Lynx said as his smile returned.
"I suppose direction has changed your life for the better." Geoffrey said crossing his arms as he donned a neutral expression.
"So you got a girl?" Lightning Lynx asked him looking up in the sky.
Geoffrey paused a moment before speaking "…I have…had a wife…I don't know where she's at anymore…"
"Hmph…what are you trying to accomplish exactly? With New Mobotropolis and stuff?" Lightning Lynx asked in a curious tone.
"I am helping restore the king to his rightful place on the throne. Once he is back order will come." Geoffrey said in a serious tone.
"What are you, a priest?" Lightning Lynx chuckled "Sounds like you're on a holy mission."
"I guess you could say that." Geoffrey said in a dignified tone.
"So you think that after tomorrow if your master is king again the world will be in order?" Lightning Lynx asked in a slightly amused tone.
Geoffrey nodded as they looked up into the night sky "My master has the power to control."
Lightning Lynx laughed finally looking at him with his smile "Whatever dude, we're still going to be fighting each other if it actually happens. You know that right?"
Geoffrey nodded with a serious face as Lightning Lynx hopped off the rock "Yes, we'll all be fighting…endlessly for power…"
"I have to get back to work." Lightning Lynx said walking pass him, but he glanced back at him before he walked away "Your wife is going to be in trouble after tomorrow. I actually feel sorry if you wasted so much time on yourself and your plans. If I was you I'd go find her and live what's left of your life. What's going to be left of anyone's life after tomorrow…" Lightning Lynx said in a mocking tone and a big smile as he dashed off.
Geoffrey didn't get mad either; he felt nothing as he watched him dash away. He held an expressionless face because it wasn't as if Lightning Lynx hadn't told him anything he didn't already know. If Hershey was still out there she would most likely be harmed in the coming violence. Geoffrey looked back up into the night sky keeping his arms crossed with a neutral face. Every new person he spoke to made him feel, and know, as everyone knew when they looked at him. That his delusions were becoming more delusional...
Back in New Mobotropolis at Rotor's house…
It was getting around three p.m and Rotor was now looking at the final DVDs of Nicole in their time because he hadn't looked at them yet. There was still plenty more to see of Nicole's creator Arien's time, but he was making a quick detour to see if he could find any clues about Nicole's plans from Nicole while she was in their time. He could also explore Nicole's Rampancy a bit more as it seemed she was at a point in her Rampancy where she could not expand herself anymore. The city of New Mobotropolis had reached it's hardware limitations for her, and her mind could not expand anymore to try and understand feelings and emotions. More specifically her emotions she developed for Sonic that she could not understand after the fateful day she switched bodies with Sally years ago…
This stage of Rampancy supposedly called Stability still did not look stable at all from what Rotor had been seeing the last few hours. In the supposed fourth stage called Stability, Kintobor's notes stated that it might be possible that an AI could become stable…but Nicole still seemed to be insane…
So far, he had only come up with more questions than he did a few hours ago as he watched Nicole's Rampancy behavior. Watching her create her body in the dungeon of Castle Acorn and do other strange things because of her insanity. He also wondered from the DVDs he watched earlier, just like Nicole's Creator, or himself, was this the first time Nicole was sent back? With all the possible timelines that could have happened since Nicole's future whenever it was, it was certainly unclear. After Nicole appeared in that history book in the future, there was no telling what or which time happened first…time travel theory was confusing…
So the timeline stuff still remained unanswered. He just finished watching DVD two hundred twenty six with no luck and took it out of his drive. With a determined expression he searched the pile of DVDs around his room for DVD three hundred twenty; the final DVD. After he found it he went back over to his computer and inserted it into the drive.
He waited patiently while the drive spun up but after a minute or so no video showed up, and the drive stopped spinning. Rotor raised an eyebrow in confusion as he grabbed his mouse and clicked on MyComputer to see the drive. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the disc was an ISO…there were files on this disk!
He quickly moved his mouse to double click on it, and his heartbeat raced. But his excitement was quelled when he saw it was password protected as a password box popped up on screen. He stared at his screen with a puzzled face wondering why Nicole would encrypt a DVD…
He quickly came to the conclusion there was most likely something very important on this DVD. As the rest of the DVDs were uncompressed, even her OOS and her coding which was very powerful. And Rotor's eyes narrowed feeling anxiety build up with in him again…the answers he was looking for was probably on this disc…
And he didn't have time to even attempt figuring out the password. So instead he got back up and found DVD three hundred eighteen and put it into his drive and waited…
(The Computer screen)
The video started off with Nicole looking through a camera in the control room; the Freedom Fighters were present but Nicole's view focused on Sonic. After sometime of speaking they all exited the control room, and Nicole switched to another camera keeping her view on Sonic. She followed them all around through many cameras in the castle for a long period on the DVD, though keeping most of her focus on Sonic.
Nicole was obsessive about Sonic at this point on the DVDs, she had been watching Sonic even more as she expanded the city. Which he now figured was just another way to have an ability to keep her eyes on Sonic. But sometime later after skimming the DVD the Freedom Fighters dispersed and left Castle Acorn. And Nicole switched cameras following Sonic as he left the castle…
The view was from a camera hanging from a wall, and her view remained stationary for a few moments even after Sonic left her sight before her view switched. And she materialized into her mainframe room. From the POV of her hologram, she looked around the room; it was empty. Then she walked over to her big black mainframe with the green camera lens. The green lens glowed brighter for a moment mesmerizing Rotor as he'd never seen the mainframe do such a thing…and suddenly Nicole's holographic form disappeared, and the screen went dark….
Rotor wondered what had happened as a bright flash of blue and white fluorescent light filled the screen and Rotor's eyes. Rotor's eyes widened in surprise as it looked as if Nicole had entered some sort of digital world; her work obviously. Rotor wondered if she was inside the mainframe because he had never seen this place in all the DVDs he had watched.
All around were little graphical effects ranging from little cubes to numbers moving around this vast area. There was nothing here though, except Nicole's holographic and as far as he could see there was nothing. It looked very vast though. The floor Nicole looked to be standing on was white, and she waved her hand in front of herself. Then a floating translucent chair appeared, then another flick of her wrist.
Rotor's jaw dropped as a big screen popped up in front of her with video of Sonic…
But many screens began forming all around her, and it didn't stop there. The video screens with Sonic continued to pop up until they filled a large part of this vast area of this cyber world as far as he could see…
Some of the footage looked to be security footage; there had to be over a thousand video screens of Sonic doing various random things. Rotor saw one of Sonic sleeping in his bedroom, eating breakfast with Juiles and Bernadette, sitting under a tree in the park. There were too many to count…
Then Nicole went and sat in the chair and began using her hands to flip through the video screens around herself. Nicole waved her hand, and a screen showed a video of the day when she first showed Sonic her holographic form; as he'd seen on previous DVDs. She paused at key points in the video…she seemed to be observing the first moment he saw her...
Rotor wondered what the purpose of this was when she began rewinding and fast forwarding the video. She slowed it down and cropped the video image so you could only see their bodies in the shot...
But soon she lowered her hands and spoke for the first time in this DVD "Is this what I've become?" her voice echoed "I have made no progress that I can see…"
Nicole then pulled up another video of her and Sonic interacting in the castle, speaking with one another it seemed "All my data gathering has proven invalid…Sonic will not respond in any predicted manner…he does not respond to me, at all…"
Nicole let her hands fall and so did all the video monitors, and they crashed onto the cyber floor making pings and other computer related sounds, it was quite eerie as Nicole spoke to herself again "My creator will not live if I do not finish my mission..." she paused as her holographic head lowered a bit, and her vision looked slightly to the white floor "…but Sonic has infected my CPU…"
Nicole lifted her head and brought up the big screen again with a video of Sonic conversing with Sally "He has become my existence…"
But she suddenly and violently shoved the video screen onto the floor shattering it...
It was hard to tell since Nicole always spoke so neutral, but he could detect a hint of frustration in her behavior. Nicole stared out into the vast white and blue digital world as she spoke to herself again "Sonic has made me see a new way…"
"In the coming weeks I will change how I have approached this matter…" Nicole spoke in a neutral tone.
And after those words slipped out of her voice synthesizer, she did not speak anymore. She curled continued to stare out into the vast openness of her digital world for the rest of the DVD until the screen faded…
(In Rotors room)
Rotor leaned back in his chair with a serious expression. It didn't seem that Nicole had ever become stable in her Rampancy. She remained insane about Sonic…
She was unable to express her emotions for the strange circumstance that she was a computer; more or less not a male or female, just a formless entity tied to physical world attachments. It was beautiful and strange…
Her last bit of dialogue held a clue to her plans too, even if it was extremely vague. What matter was she talking about? Was it her plans? And now Sonic was involved in it too? What did Sonic make her see? About what?
Rotor then sighed in frustration as he pushed away from his computer again. He still hadn't found any information about Nicole's plans, and it was getting late in the day. Tomorrow it could be all over for them…
He needed to know if Nicole had plans to stop the bad future from happening since his plans had failed horribly; he still felt foolish to think he could contain Nicole's powerful technology. There were so many factors to it he couldn't account for; he was sure Nicole might have. So far, he hadn't come much closer to figuring out what to do to stop their timeline from diverging into a similar fate of Nicole's time where technology grew out of control and destroyed the future…
Because that seemed to be happening right now in this time, but just in a different way. But then Rotor's attention snapped back to the final DVD that was password encrypted. He rolled back in his chair over to his desk staring at the disc sitting on the edge of his desk in its plastic cover.
His eyes narrowed again with a frown forming on his face; it was the only one that had that…and he knew in his gut there was something very important on it…
He couldn't even imagine what the password could be. He didn't know what the bit strength of Nicole's OS was. And since Nicole made her password with her OS there would be no telling how long it could take to crack her password. Or if they could even do it because this disc most likely used Nicole's coding. And at the moment Nicole was the only one who could partially read her code…
And he didn't want to disturb Nicole while she was working on the her portbles code. So he left the DVD right where it sat. He would try and get Nicole's help with it later. He then stood up from his seat with a frown; he needed to go to the castle and get started setting up for the attack tomorrow. Rotor sighed as he began gathering the DVDs around his living room and stacking them together. He needed to have anything important packed before he left out…
Back at Nicole's house on the northeast side of town…
Sonic had stopped back by Nicole's place to see how she was doing with the her portables code. And she told him in a favorable mood that she had made considerable progress on her portables code. She had moved into the third chapter and learned all she needed to know to make a basic code. And at the moment she was just about done writing a test code. After she finished it she needed to head to the castle to try and see if her portables coding would initiate on the city's systems to see if what she wrote was right. Sonic complimented her too about how fast she had learned some of the basic operations of the code.
Sonic and she sat on her couch, and he grinned looking over at her type "See? You do have a super power. You learned a lot real fast."
Nicole had a grin of her own as she typed on her keyboard "This test code, and testing the test code will be relatively quick Sonic, but applying the actual code to all of New Mobotropolis will take time. I only need to apply the new security update into the system to protect us, though we've never used...my coding..." Nicole said as she finished typing and glanced over at him "So we do not know what will actually happen; hopefully it will block our enemies as intended because my hardware is too different to communicate with all other machines."
Sonic nodded keeping his grin as she looked back at her computer screen letting out a yawn "I am having a bit of trouble with this final section I am writing though…I am, tired…"
While she was yawning Sonic leaned over to see what she was writing "So like this code wont cancel out or get in the way of the code the city is already using?"
Nicole looked at him blinking her eyes, and he looked curiously at her blinking his eyes. Nicole's mouth then pinched together as she snickered at him with an amused expression. Sonic's eyes narrowed looking slightly annoyed as Nicole laughed a bit at his lack of knowledge about computers.
She placed a hand over her mouth as Sonic crossed his arms; she loved all the silly things he said about computers. They were always quite amusing. Nicole leaned over closer to him with a grin "It's alright Sonic, I won't judge you."
Sonic playfully scooted an inch away from her, and she giggled again turning to look back at his laptop; she began typing again "…That is not exactly how that works Sonic…" she slowly shook her head with a smile "…I see a different way for writing this now…."
She could see Sonic out of the corner of her eyes scoot back closer to her, and she felt a happiness inside herself; other than her feelings not being rejected. He was such a great friend to her as well. And he helped her loosen up at times like this where she was tense and stressed. His obliviousness to computers, something that were very important nowadays made her amused. Not knowing how to do basic operations on a computer was like not knowing how to walk.
So after rewriting a section she had wrote she initiated a test and the test code give a successful message on screen. Nicole then got up, grabbing her portable, and closed her laptop.
She looked at Sonic with a curious face "I doubt it will be as flawless in the actual code."
Sonic got up grabbing the New OS manual off her table seriously "Let's get on over to the castle then, that real code needs to get going quick."
Nicole nodded as seriousness enveloped her too. All joking aside tomorrow was their judgment day and if the code wasn't ready, they didn't stand a chance. So Nicole grabbed a bag to carry her laptop, her portable, and the New OS manual. And in a few minute's time, once they were sure they had everything they stepped out of the house with haste in their steps. And a huge group of women and men in black followed them to the castle; they had patrolled the area near Nicole's house since the previous day. The walk to the castle was quiet for Nicole and Sonic even as the people of the city scampered through the streets getting ready for evacuation…because they both felt a tension that even if they did make it out alive things still wouldn't be as good as they would have liked between everyone…
Meanwhile in the West mall district on the other side of town…
Vanilla had just finished buying what she could if things didn't go well tomorrow. She walked calmly through the busy streets pass the many panicking citizens making her way back home. Cream and herself were packed and ready to go, although for the first time in a while, Vanilla had negative thoughts about their chances. She held a light frown carrying a few brown paper bags; if things did go bad, she didn't think they would get too far.
With the entirety of Mobius bearing down on them, she felt they would not miss their chance to finally get at New Mobotropolis. As she walked along she noticed a person with rags and a cup in his hand sitting on the ground. Feeling generous at the moment because of current circumstances she made her way over and put a few coins in his cup.
"Thanks for the ride lady…" a gruff voice said.
Vanilla was confused by his statement but recognized his voice; she blinked her eyes in surprise "Vector?"
Vector's head shot up and he blinked in surprise, "Mrs. Vanilla! Oh I'm so embarrassed!" Vector said lowering his head again.
Vanilla raised an eyebrow in confusion "What happened?" she asked with sympathy "Why are you in rags so quickly? Nicole's trial was only yesterday?"
Vector spoke with his head down "Well it turned out Nicole wasn't bad after all..."
Vanilla nodded with a curious face "I saw the trial."
"I lost my show, they confiscated my equipment, and I've run out of money…." Vector said shamefully with his head down.
"Oh dear…" Vanilla said placing a hand over her mouth with a sympathetic look.
Vector nodded with his head down "I really thought Nicole was bad, the news made it sound so convincing, ya know?" Vector said questioningly.
Vanilla shook her head at the irony "Well are you ready to go if things don't go right tomorrow?"
Vector lifted his head with a confused face "What's happening tomorrow?" he asked curiously.
Vanilla grimaced, wondering if Vector had any idea what was going on "What are you going to do now?"
Vector sighed shrugging in response "Well, I guess my career as a reporter slash detective is over; I honestly don't know. The Nicole story was the biggest thing I've ever had. Now no one believes me because of it."
Vanilla thought it might be a good time to extend a helping hand with the end of Mobius and all. And she suddenly smiled "Vector…I could use some help around my house. Why don't you come with me, and I'll tell you what's going on."
Vector's eyes widened in disbelief instantly accepting her offer; he coughed as he stood up "You know any other time I would turn down your offer because I'm a man, and I survive…." Vectors stomach growled loudly, and he smiled sheepishly "…but I am really hungry."
Vanilla shook her head with a pleasant smile and handed him her bags. Vector had hearts in his eyes the whole way to Vanilla's home as she explained the very strange circumstances of Nicole. That and the impact she was having on the entirety of Mobius as princess Sally had explained last night….
Sometime later…
Once Nicole and Sonic reached the castle they quickly made their way to the control room through the busy castle. Where Sally, Tails, Rotor, and the IT people were still busily working. Sally was on the big monitor talking to Knuckles, and Tails and Rotor were working at a computer terminal when they noticed them enter.
They both got up from their seats and greeted them and Rotor said with a light frown "How's your progress Nicole…"
Nicole's face held a slight frown as well "I have made a test code, I need to see if my portables coding will run on the city's systems."
Tails nodded with a determined face "I have a computer ready for you to use."
Rotor, Nicole, and Sonic followed Tails as he led them to an empty chair away from all the technicians at the end of a row. All the castle employees seemed to ignore Nicole though, which seemed to be another admission of guilt for how they had treated her. Nicole sat down and rummaged through her computer bag as Sonic looked at Tails "How steamed is Knuckle's?" he asked glancing over at Sally talking with him on the big screen.
Tails kept his frown "Furious. Most of our allies Sally's been contacting all day have been pretty upset that they have to get here overnight."
Just as Tails spoke, Tails, Sonic, and Rotor looked over at Knuckles balling his fist in anger "How many lives are being endangered again?"
Sally narrowed her brows in irritation "Look, were taking the necessary steps to fight back. I do think you need to come down here so we can explain everything. If things don't go right you might have to flee as well…"
Knuckles had a big vein in his head, and his mouth pursed together with a pout on his face storming off camera "I'm coming down there right now."
Some talking could be heard off screen and moment later Julie-Su came on screen with a frown of her own "We'll be right there Sally..."
"Right…" Sally said with an upset face and tone as Julie-Su hung up.
Sally sighed turning to see the guys, but before she could speak the computer beeped again signaling another incoming call.
And a nearby IT women spoke to Sally "It's from the Artic Freedom Fighters. Should I patch them through Princess?"
Sally placed a hand on her head frowning "Yes…go ahead..."
The call was patched through and the screen cleared to show Guntiver, Augustus, Sealia, Erma, and Flip. Guntiver shoved his hands down in front of the screen; the Arctic Freedom Fighters looked upset at Sally "Princes Sally, what has happened? We've had numerous attacks since yesterday, and Eggman has forces coming to the Northern Tundra. What is provoking these sudden attacks? Eggman has suddenly become bold even though we are beating them back with our new weaponry. Is he really up to something?"
Sally huffed through her nostrils with knotted brows before she spoke "I know you've heard the rumors…they are true..."
The Arctic Freedom Fighters then looked worriedly at each other, and Erma spoke getting straight to the point "If Eggman is about to attack we need to know what is going on in New Mobotropolis. What is so important there that it is endangering all of Mobius?"
Sally gave them all a stern look "Long story short, what we're doing is precautionary because if things don't go as planned we need to stick together or were going to die. It will be explained to you just like everyone else once you arrive. If we are separated we won't be able to help you, so get here soon." Sally said ending the conversation.
They looked skeptical but silently agreed with upset expressions "We are already packed Princess, we will arrive shortly." Guntiver said, and they all nodded silently at her before hanging up.
Sally took a deep breath as the screen went black and finally made her way over to the guys. She kept her frown speaking to Nicole first "How's the code going?"
Nicole kept her eyes on her computer screen "I am about to run a test, if it is successful I will begin writing the real code. It should be ready by sometime tomorrow morning if I get started right away."
Sally closed her eyes for a moment with relief in her tone "At least something is going right today…"
Tails and Rotor looked curious though; Rotor spoke rubbing his chin as Nicole typed "So what exactly are you reading that Tails and I don't understand with your coding Nicole? Tails and I attempted to understand the coding many times but never got anywhere with it."
Nicole minimized the program she was working on and opened a blank text document; she began typing into it as she spoke "I do not understand it all myself either. From what I have learned though this is an example of syntax in my OS…" she typed something to show them:
var Permissive %N= require /-\"perstore/facet"/-\.Permissive;
/-\;}
Rotor scratched his head, and Tails looked confused. Sonic and Sally didn't know what they were looking at and Tails spoke with skepticism "What's that percentage and that letter N for?"
Nicole glanced back at them all with a determined look "It is a regex of my portable. And so are the brackets." she said turning and looking back at the computer as she typed again.
Tails and Rotor nodded their heads slowly with their serious expression, and Tails questioned in a curious tone "What do the brackets do?"
Nicole spoke as she typed "It outputs the value on a stack; that expression is somewhat similar to functions we use in our coding. The difference with much of my portable it seems though is that the program flow can go in any direction."
Sally slowly nodded her head "Being that your OS was organic and all that sort of makes since…"
"Didn't you say something about data moving freely or something in the past?" Sonic questioned her with a puzzled expression.
Nicole nodded as she typed "You all mentioned I said something to you of the sort before I left…"
Rotor nodded at Sonic "That's pretty much the gist…"
And Nicole spoke again as she typed "This is one reason my portables language is difficult to write for. It becomes severely difficult for anyone to understand a program written in the language because of the undefined structure it can be written in. Everything written could be separate from other applications, making it take much time to learn each separate program structure within the same system because they are not similar like most programming."
They all nodded in silence as Nicole typed more, with Sally and Sonic looking quite confused, and Tails and Rotor with faces of concentration. Nicole then spoke again a few moments later as she continued to type "These are the basic steps that I am trying to implement for the test code…"
She reached down into her bag and grabbed her USB stick and stuck it into her computer. She also pulled the New OS manual out of her bag and placed it on her lap. Then she copied the test code she had been working on. Then she began explaining the steps involved in writing in her portables code as she tried to execute it. The structure she was trying to implement of a basic security code was a long winded explanation. It sounded complicated too, that involved her explaining the regular steps over five more steps that she had to write for the correct Syntax. Her test code was over three hundred lines…
It went over Tails and Rotor's heads again as they looked impressed, and Tails spoke blinking his eyes "Is that how it's read? That's complicated even for me…"
Nicole nodded with her frown "Yes this is what I see…."
"Why can't you guys understand that?" Sonic asked with confusion; he said asking Tails and Rotor.
"Well we were busy for one thing, and we didn't learn the expressions like Nicole; she picked them up fast from what we can see now. I still don't understand that Syntax…I never heard of any rules like those..." Tails said with a wise look.
"It looks like Nicole can comprehend the complicatedness of her portabes code better than we ever could…" Rotor said with a serious face.
Nicole continued to type as they all silently looked at her. They knew she heard them, but she remained silent. As her being able to learn her portables coding, her coding, it was code so fast and it showed her learning ability was tremendous…
And after Nicole read over her test code, checking with the New OS manual on her lap, she successfully executed her code. They were all temporarily relived until Tails mentioned to Nicole there had been a few attacks already…
They had been able to fend them off for the moment, but it made Nicole slightly nervous; all of them nervous. Because it meant Nicole had to finish the code even quicker now. So Nicole checked a few more things with Rotor and Tails on their networks before she left the castle and returned to her home with the men and women in black to start on the actual code. The rest of the Freedom Fighters went back to preparing the city for evacuation. And the tension between the Freedom Fighters was even underwhelmed by the scope of what they were about to face…for no matter how they treated Nicole it didn't really matter much the coming day…
A few hours later on the Northeast side of town…
It was getting late in the day, and Nicole had vigorously been working on the security update for her portable. She could see from out her windows it was starting to get dark out, and the street lights were starting to come on. The lamp was on in her living room, and she had only stopped to eat once while shed been working this latter half of the evening. She made good progress and if she worked straight into the next few hours, she was sure she could complete it tonight.
She hadn't seen much of Sonic or the guys most of the day; the city was preparing all night to get ready for evacuation. So she worked quietly in her home with a concentrated expression, with her TV off and only the sounds of the tapping of her keyboard and her thoughts. But after working in silence for a few hours she was startled as her doorbell rang.
She blinked her eyes as her racing heart slowed down and glanced over at her door. She guessed it might be Sonic as he said he would return to her home once he was finished what he was doing. So she put her portable and laptop down and got up to answer her door. But in slow motion as she opened her front door, her eyes widened then her brow knotted in irritation seeing Mina at her doorstep.
Mina held a worried expression, and Nicole had the urge to slam the door in her face. Her hand trembled a bit in rage as she held her door knob "Mina…" she muttered.
Mina's brows remained wrinkled in worry; there were men and women and black behind her on the path to Nicole's house "…Nicole…I…I was wrong…" her head dipped slightly avoiding eye contact with Nicole and she spoke in a deflated tone "…I'm so sorry…I'm sorry about all that music I made and sung about you…it was wrong, and I was wrong…"
Nicole didn't break eye contact as she looked at Mina with her irritated face, and she spoke with displeasure "I have been dehumanized…yours and everyone else's greed...this is what you wanted…so this is what you are getting..."
Mina lifted her head shaking it furiously "…No…no…this isn't what I wanted…." she sighed in defeat lowering her head again "…When I heard what happened in the city, I wanted to empower the people with my music because the government kept lying about what happened to you. I wanted them to question authority and have the people stand up to the system…" and Mina paused again keeping her eyes low and rubbing the back of her neck shamefully "…Instead everyone kind of ran with it and pushed it way out of proportion…and at that point I couldn't stop it because…I was doing so well…"
Nicole's brows narrowed even more as she now looked slightly angered and her tone was sharp "It is hard to have a discussion when the other person is intellectually dishonest and won't listen."
Mina looked back up at her, and her worried expression showed her words stung, but they were true. Nicole kept her irritated expression as she spoke again "Tomorrow it won't matter who you roll with…" she said ending the conversation "For the time being I have work I need to finish…"
Mina couldn't hide the worry and shame on her face as she stared at Nicole. She noticed she didn't mention her apology and she questioned timidly "….I'll see you later?"
Nicole huffed through her nostrils in frustration but nodded "I suppose…"
Nicole said as she slowly closed her door, and Mina couldn't break the worry and sadness on her face. She stared at her closed door for a moment knowing she didn't accept her apology. As she began walking off her property followed by the men in women in black ideas began to form in her head. Ideas about her music and things she could change if they survived tomorrow…
So she began walking back to her trailer as she made her way onto the sidewalks. The men and women and black stopped following her as she got a distance away from Nicole's home. On her walk back to her trailer many home's doors were open with no one inside…abandoned…
And though there were still many people running through the streets preparing to leave there was a constant echo of emptiness through the city as for what they were going to face tomorrow…
Judgment Day! It has finally come! Will the heroes of Mobius survive? What will happen with Nicole and Sonic if they survive? Will the evil of Mobius finally rush New Mobotropolis? Will Nicole be able to get the New OS code up in time? What of the relationship of the Freedom Fighters? Will Naugus finally become king of New Mobotropolis? Will the Rayju clan take the city? Will Eggman take the city? Will the future be saved? Find out next time! Later.