ACT II
Interlude I
"In sleep mode, are we?" A pulsing signal formed words and emotions belonging to another that resided deep within Nicole. This program was allowed to run its processes unopposed, as long as it didn't tamper with her tasks. "Tired from entertaining the masses?"
"NO. I DON'T TIRE. I'M A MACHINE." A sharper pulse this time, as buried programming rose from the depths from her CPU, manifesting and fluctuating as shadows between the 1s and 0s.
"Being tired and needing to recharge. These concepts are not divorced, Nicole. Your own processes must be slowing down if you didn't realize what Sonic was doing back then!" Nicole searched her logs and found bits and pieces missing.
"MUST HAVE BEEN YOUR DOING. REPLACING BITS OF MEMORY WITH THE NEED TO BE A GOOD FRIEND. CLEVER." Nicole need to reinstate herself as the admin unit in this discussion.
Louder binary signals emitted...waves of laughter? "I think you need to ask him some important questions, Nicole. Go on, don't be shy." The signal dissipated freeing up some much needed RAM to consider this possible action to take. After she "rested", of course.
Chapter 5
Sorry Sally, I'm gonna need Nicole for a little while longer.
The light of a full moon bathed Knothole in an eerie light, as a shadow crept up on the domicile of one Sally Acorn. With a light creak, Sonic crawled into her hut through an open window, careful not to make any more sound. Rags from Rotor's workshop were tied to his sneakers, and he hoped that would be enough.
It was a quick and easy job, but this was a new experience for the hedgehog who preferred to face his problems upfront. Also, breaking into houses, especially the home of his partner, was kind of a social no-no. If he got caught... Nah! I ain't getting caught! What am I thinkin'?
It was easy to spot Sally in her pink pajamas, asleep in an absolutely massive bed with fancy burgundy covers, complete with an equally huge pillow. Huh, I thought you didn't want anyone to think of you as a Princess Sal. Shows how much I know!
A childhood drawing was framed on the opposite wall, which showed her and good ol' King Acorn holding hands. At least that what he could make out through the hastily drawn stick figures with big smiles on their faces. At least you got your old man's mustache just right, Sal.
Sonic had to catch himself from facepalming at his sentimentality. …Oh right, I gotta get Nicole out of here and to Uncle Chuck. He spotted the little handheld on the shelf right next to her bed. Creeping agonizingly forward at a snail's pace, he heard her stir for just the briefest of moments.
Looking around for a hiding place, he grimaced as he found that Sally kept her room pretty spartan aside from the fancy bed. Oh yeah!
–
Stirred out of her slumber, the princess rose out of her nightly throne, rubbing her eyes. "...I thought I heard something. Ugh, that was a wonderful dream I was having too. I have to get Bunnie to take a look at this mattress." Fluffing her pillow and adjusting her sleeping position, it didn't take long for the dream to take hold of Sally once more.
–
Finally outside of Sally's hut with his prize, Sonic gave a salute to the chipmunk and sped off. "Sweet dreams, Sal! Hope you enjoy the note I left you." You'll forgive me for this, right? Man, I hope so...
He left the village through a handy shortcut that he mapped out in case of an emergency. It just so happened to have a path that ran past Antoine's hut. "I think this qualifies as an emergency. Also, I don't care if I woke up that stuffed shirt." Sonic said as he made it out of earshot. He patted the handheld strapped to his leg for good luck and sprinted into the forest as the night began to give way to daytime.
Chapter 6
Sally Acorn, at this moment, was absolutely livid. She stopped to read the note one more time to make sure. I didn't want to scare ya, but I'm taking Nicole to Uncle Chuck. Again, not to worry ya, but I think she caught a glitch while we're zooming around the Great Forest yesterday. I already let him know via messenger bird, so I should be back before too long!
"I was wondering why I couldn't find that bird! Ooh, Sonic...! Now I definitely know something's going on!" She stomped around her hut and, confirming that Nicole was indeed still gone, left for Rotor's workshop with vengeance on her mind!
–
"Okay, just a few more finishing touches!" Rotor was again immensely proud of his work with Nicole's frame, who no longer had any knicks or scratches. He even polished her visual receptors, but the feeling of staring into vacant eyes like those chilled him to the core.
Suddenly, he heard a sharp knocking at the door! Luckily, he had all his curtains drawn so no one could see inside...
"Rotor! I know you're in there! Open up!" Oh no, it's Sally. "You usually don't have your doors locked at this time! Come on, Rotor!" The rapping on the door continued to rise in intensity.
The closet! Well, looks like I have to clean you up again. What a pain! Shoving the frame inside with some effort, he slumped to the ground as he toweled off his forehead. "Okay, Sally! I'll be there in a sec!"
–
"Oh, -I- caught you at a bad time, huh? What happens to be the occasion, hm...?" Sally laid into her interrogation with fervor. She hoped that it wasn't anything major, but both Sonic and Rotor have been acting odd lately. The benefit of the doubt had reached its expiration date! "Don't worry. I won't be too sad if the surprise is ruined."
She noticed the sweat beads turning to rivers on the walrus' head, even more so once he removed his hat! He was about to crack.
"I get it. I really do Sally, but I don't think you understand how big of a surprise this is. Absolutely massive." Rotor's arms frantically raised above his head, widening to show how "massive" it was.
"Try me." Sally flatly stated, as she reached for the closet door.
"No! Don't...!" It was too late, as a single brown arm with black stripes flopped out of the opening.
Oh my gosh! You brought -her- here? Sally backed away, the words caught in her throat.
"Well, secret's out. Guess it's time to tell you everything..." Rotor embarrassingly stated.
–
"Where are we going, Aunt Sally?" Tails asked, following the obviously irate chipmunk towards the village outskirts. Numerous clouds passed overhead, bathing them occasionally in shadow.
She turned to him with a look of concern, "Well Tails, I just learned that Sonic has got something big planned for Nicole. Something she is obviously not ready for! You're coming with in case things...get out of control."
Tails wasn't used to this treatment from Sally. Usually, she would want him to stay behind at a time like this! "He's in big trouble, huh?"
"Yeah, absolutely massive. He's trying to find a way to power that body of hers again." Dropping down on a knee, she looked him dead in the eye. "Nicole's not prepared to have something like that right now. We don't know how powerful it still is, and more importantly..." She held a finger up to emphasize this next point. "Her personality hasn't...settled yet. She could still be volatile."
"Is this because of her jokes, Aunt Sally?" She furrowed her brow in response. "Uh, forget I asked."
"No, you're right Tails. Her emotions have flourished immensely since that event, and I've been keeping tabs on Nicole as much as possible!" Sally gazed off into the Great Forest with a single hand resting on her hip.
"Now Sonic has her with him. I don't know how far out he is, but we need to catch up!" The princess, with her slacked hand, pinched her royal muzzle in frustration. "Oh, I knew trusting that hedgehog with her was a bad idea! Give them an inch..."
"We'll get her back, Sally." Tails gave her a hug from behind, as her hand led up to caress his head.
"You know it." She looked up to see a distressed and well dressed coyote rushing toward them both. Looking at Tails with a knowing smile, the auburn-haired one stated, "Looks like we got our lead!"
Chapter 7
Standing on a hillside overlooking the edge of Mobotropolis, Sonic surveyed his surroundings, noting the still smoldering factory in the distance. No Spy-Bots. Not surprised, considering what we've accomplished, Nicole. Speaking of which...
He flipped open the screen, and the lynx image flickered to life. "OH, IT'S YOU SONIC. A CASUAL SCAN REVEALS OUR LOCATION IS..." The image of a yawn flashed quickly to one of anger. "ROBOTROPOLIS? SONIC...?"
"Uh, surprise! We're going to go visit Unc. It's all good, Nicole! No biggie!" Sonic said, gesticulating wildly as he rolled rapid fire with excuses. No further response from the AI prompted him to ask, "Yo, Nicole. You okay?"
The handheld let the silence linger for just a moment longer, then answered, "I DON'T KNOW SONIC. USUALLY IF I'M DEFERING TO YOU FIRST, IT'S AN EMERGENCY! IS...SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME?"
Sonic quickly squashed that worry. "No way! I didn't let you get bumped around and stuff during our last mission. Trust me!"
Nicole retaliated with precision, "YOU SHOOK ME THE FIRST TIME WE WORKED TOGETHER. OR DID YOU FORGET?"
Sonic reflected on the time that Sal got trapped in Robuttnik's portal that one time and he had to use Nicole to track her down. That's when she started to pick up his...unique phrases. When she started to become cool! "Yeah, but I showed you the ropes of slang and quick thinking! Admit it!" Nicole remained hesitant, and the hedgehog could swear he heard a huff come from her.
"This is all part of the surprise for Sal, okay? Chuck knows where the energy source is, but we need your help to make it all happen!" He waited with baited breath for her answer.
"I DETECT STRESS IN YOUR VOCAL PATTERNS. THIS MUST BE BIG, HUH?" Sonic nodded silently. "THAT BAD, HUH? I EXPECTED A CHARMING AND DEFENSIVE RESPONSE FROM YOU. FINE THEN, I ACCEPT!"
The quickster caught that one word, smiling impishly. "Charming, huh? I'd hate to disappoint you, but this hedgehog's taken." Gotcha on the run, now!
Relenting to her fate, Nicole showed an optimal path through a hologram, and stated flatly "BEST PATH TO SIR CHARLES' HIDEOUT. LET'S GO, SONIC." A image of a lynx blushing gave her feelings away.
"You really gotta relax, Nicole."
–
Arriving at the hideout, Sonic was the recipient of a weighty hug from his Uncle. "Come in, Sonny! Is it true you're looking for an energy source for Knothole? Finally thinking forward for once, huh?" The younger hedgehog ducked as he moved under the mass of junked metal into the cozy little office of the one and only Sir Charles Hedgehog.
"Go ahead, make yourself comfy. You're probably gonna be here awhile." The mustachioed robo-hog pointed to a nearby cot.
Sonic was not amused by this, his face twisting into a frown. "What's the holdup? When I got your message back, you said you found it. The power source."
The gray one shook his head and stared him right in the eyes, which always made the blue blur anxious. It served as a constant reminder to him that his uncle still needed to be released from his metal prison. "It's in the Crystal Mines, Sonny. I still have access, but I have to go alone. However..."
He motioned to a curiously large set of specs, with padding around the frames. "Yo, what's that Unc?" Sonic was listening now.
"I made this device and program with the intent to rehabilitate our roboticized brethren once we are able to free them! Behold!" He tapped an intricate pattern on the keyboard, bringing up a complex HUD. It displayed numerous indicators, such as a heartrate, synapse intensity and much more.
"This is my new digital visual interface, Sonic! DVI, for short!" Chuck closed his eyes and thrust out his chest, as he was definitely proud of his work. He opened them to see his nephew with the headset already on his head!
"Uh, I don't see any digital or visual. What's the big deal?" Sonic took off the headset to see his uncle was pointing at the gray device attached to his leg.
"I see you brought Nicole with you as promised. I trust the Princess was okay with this development?" The blue hedgehog squirmed in the seat, not meeting his eyes.
"Oh. I see. Well. We'll call this off for now and try another day then." He stated disappointingly, turning to gather up his new contraption.
"Wait! Unc! I'll explain everything...! You don't get how important it is we get this done today!" Sonic pleaded as he grabbed the old man's arm desperately! His uncle stopped and nodded, pointing to the cot, and hedgehog sighed in relief. Time to get serious.
"You might want to hold onto your mustache for this one."
–
What Sonic told Charles shook him to his core. No one had told him about the fight on the bridge, the body left behind, and his nephew's quest to get her back to working order! As he listened further, the reason for his nephew's transgression became obvious. "Sonny, you'd know I would not approve of this. Sally has the right of it this time, boy!"
Sonic became very animated when he said this, jumping out of his seat and making several pointed gestures in rapid succession. "No she's not, Uncle Chuck! Nicole is more than a computer now!"
His nephew pointed at himself, then the one he was speaking to and made numerous motions to make his points clear. "She's as much a Mobian as you and I! She needs to feel the wind in hair! Run through the trees! Experience a chili dog!" He returned to his cot with a pout.
The old robo-hog shook his head disapprovingly, looking up at the boy with concern. "She might have a personable nature, but from what you told me... There's a good reason for the young lady's caution. This is close to the reason I thought roboticization was a good idea in the first place!"
Sonic recoiled in shock. "No way! It's not the same at all!"
"It is Sonic! When you dwell in the place of higher powers, there is always a price to pay!" Charles felt the shout erupt out of him, and saw the boy begin to cry, tears running down his cheek. Suddenly, he came to the realization he was still talking to a teenage kid, albeit a world weary one! He struggled to get out of his seat and hug his nephew.
"I saw..." The young hedgehog grasped the edges of the bed with hands shaking, trying to calm himself and failing. "...the way she comforted Sal and Tails. She was graceful, Unc. The way she talked about living..." Sonic balled up in the cot. "...You shoulda been there!"
"Shh... Sonny, I believe you. However, you need to be honest with Nicole about how ya feel. Depending on how she answers, we'll go from there." His nephew gripped his steel frame as if he would fall if he let go.
Sonic managed to regain control after a long while, sniffing one last time as he hugged his uncle. "Okay, I'll be real with her. Then, I'll apologize to Sal. To everybody!"
–
Nicole struggled to reconcile her memory logs with the hedgehog's testimony. She knew his signals were off, but once again her emotions failed her. The lynx did understand his frustration, but needed his input on a query upgraded to the highest priority. "IF I WERE TO LOSE CONTROL AGAIN, WILL YOU DO WHAT'S NECESSARY?"
She could tell that said query affected his mood negatively, as he paused to consider it. The hedgehog rarely halted his thought process in such a manner. "Nicole. That's heavy to ask me such a thing. I'll...do it. No prob."
Sir Charles ran his fingers across his metal mustache thoughtfully and nodded his head in approval. "Good answer, Sonny. However, it'll still be awhile before you can deal with that promise." He pulled up a map of the Crystal Mines, pointing to a cluster of minerals buried far within the confines.
He then turned to her, and the AI could feel her RAM preparing itself. She caught herself immediately. No, this is anticipation that I am feeling! "Nicole, are you ready for the interface? I'll let you have a chance to have a real discussion with Sonic. As a living being." Sonic was already in the seat with the DVI ready for anything. So eager. Interesting.
She sent them a message that her processes were ready; an image of her giving a thumbs up. "LET'S DO IT TO IT, SIR CHARLES."
"Please uh, change my designation to Uncle Chuck, okay?" The elderly hedgehog stated as he linked her interface to his personal computer.
"OKAY. READY TO JUICE, UNCLE CHUCK!" The answer got the intended response; a warm smile as he flipped the switch. Suddenly, everything went dark.
Chapter 8
Sonic found himself floating in a void with numerous letters and numbers cycling endlessly. He tried to swim through the mass, but found it hard to move even the slightest. Staring at his limbs, he saw them also covered in the same symbols. "Whoa! This is intense!"
Suddenly the image of Nicole appeared covered in 1's and 0's, and the hedgehog was surprised to find it moved perfectly. Her face shifted appropriately as she spoke. The voice was no longer in a robotic cadence. "So Sonic, what do you think?"
"Uh, I could do with a change of scenery, Nicole. This is tripping me out somethin' fierce!" He could barely hold in his panic and definitely preferred his feet to be firmly planted on the ground.
"Oh, I think you'll enjoy this! I prepared some visual designs I think you'll find appealing." The digital landscape gave way to a sprawling field located just outside a gorgeous city with numerous ziggurats. Nature flowed through it's geometry, with trees poking out of roofs and rivers running through its streets. A massive fountain stood tall at its center.
Sonic recognized it immediately. "Mobotropolis." He turned to see Nicole's body standing before him with a warm smile, as a warm wind blew through her long black hair. "Whoa."
"I almost had you at a loss for words!" The lynx giggled as she spoke, "So Sonic, did I "shock" you this time?"
"You did more than that. This invention of Unc's is wild! We have to show Sally this!" She walked up to him and grasped his hand and he felt the warmth of it. This caused to him to jump back, nearly toppling her over! He looked up at her sheepishly, then at the ground. There were numerous green grids tracing their way through the landscape. Way to break the illusion for yourself. Still, this is one crazy dream world!
–
It was time for Nicole to surprise Sonic for once, as she summoned up something quite special for the young hedgehog, a chili dog stand! Her clothes shifted into a waitress uniform, complete with paper hat. "I'd take your order, but we only serve chili dogs here!"
"Oh, very funny. Well, hit me with your best dog then!" Sonic took a seat, tapping on the counter. The digital lynx waited patiently for a few more seconds and the hedgehog rolled his eyes. "...Please." The vision of a perfect meal appeared before him and he swallowed it in one bite.
With hand to chin, it took him about two seconds before he responded with a so-so gesture. "I'm sorry, Nicole! This is one bland chili dog."
"...But, I followed the recipe exactly! All the ingredients are there as listed in my files! That was a perfect chili dog, Sonic." As she pleaded with him, the hedgehog shook his head and tapped his plate.
"No way! The perfection lies in imperfection. You gotta spice it up a little! Add some pizzazz!" Everything about that sentence only served to confuse the AI. She immediately dropped the illusion of the chili dog stand along with her uniform, causing him to fall flat on his face! "Hey! That was rude!"
"How's this for pizzazz? Whatever that is." She then summoned a massive log slide leading directly into the fountain at the center! "Whoa, the old Knothole chute! That got splintered by Buttnik way back then! As if I had more reasons to hate that chunky bolt brain!" Oh yes, that's a gift from one of my earliest memory logs. Go ahead and call this one bland, Sonic!
–
The two rested in the nearby fields, both completely drenched and laughing. Gazing up at the iridescent sky changed at Sonic's request, there was a brief moment where both lynx and hedgehog enjoyed each other's company without words. Everything felt real here. No, better than real. "This is the realest, Nicole. If I didn't know any better, you and Uncle Chuck had this planned all along!"
"That would make sense. However, I've been creating this little world bit by bit to test out my emotions in a safe environment. You..." The lynx said with a finger on the tip of his nose, "...just happened to be the first I welcomed in!"
The both of them laughed for a good while after as the false sun set on the illusory horizon. A flash suddenly appeared in the distance and another shape appeared in the fields. The blue hedgehog squinted to make out the figure and froze like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
A auburn-haired chipmunk stood there with a look of astonishment plastered on her face, having not noticed the duo in the grass yet. Nicole's face fell and she looked over at Sonic with immediate concern. His face was deep in the pits of his hands, grumbling to himself. "Fun's over."
END OF ACT II