Preface/Disclaimer: another drugging scene in this one with Tails's mom in the dream sequence, second subchapter. Kind of a theme in this would be manipulation and emotional abuse whether it be intentional or not, across all of their scenes. In fact it's kind of like biotech mind manipulation stuff… Be wary if that stuff bothers you and it kinda creeped me out too as I know there's probably people out there if this kind of technology existed they'd probably try and use it. I tried to make it as tame as possible and serve the purpose I need in this story which is to show how the crazy character is vulnerable, manipulative and dependent on someone else. Again trying to keep it as far away from sexual as I can. I guess there is also kind of a bloody scene when a warp zone goes haywire but that's pretty obvious before it starts. When a confused character reaches for the pretty light that's it. This story is crack treated seriously and by definition it is going to have off the wall WAT moments portrayed in a serious light. Guess this a the warning for that.
P.S. found an error in the last chapter with the Powers. Tails's dad was roboticized at the age of 36 not 33, fixed.
P.S.S. IDW Sonic 50 spoilers, technically.
Chapter 14: Super Powers
Mobius - Robotropolis – Powers repossessed Starline Holdout – 3239
Trisha was nervously tapping her foot, watching her body's final touches being created in the nanite chamber. She grumbled at the injustice of the technology, these were the most general purpose nanites you could get. She started to growl at the thought of being denied full access to the technology, if she had unrestricted access then she might be able to print a clone instead of growing a fast clone. She glanced at the marionette that was slowly printing in the chamber, she had it on the finest detail setting she could… Actually she wasn't sure it could get detailed enough to do all the intricacies of biological cells. Maybe someday she could have flesh grown over a superstructure instead of this doll she'd made with her husband's blueprints.
She sighed internally as her mood grew somber, at least it was better than what she currently had. Come to think of it, she wouldn't be able to clone herself anyways... She gazed upon her reminiscent form coming together in front of her. She'd been 28 when this tragedy had happened to her. She hugged herself and wilted at the thought of losing her beautiful but tainted biology. Fate had been cruel to her to replace her flesh with this metal monstrosity, no matter how unnatural her original form was. She looked forward in a mix of longing and disgust at the mix of silicon, metal and resin, forming the doll in the chamber. Her disgust melted away to just pure longing, it was almost ready.
She spent a moment examining her new form now that it wasn't just renders on the workstation. She was a bright orange fox with white accents, a trait her ancestors made sure would always dominate their family, every Powers child would be an orange fox with white accents. She began taking in her form, her orange hair was medium length, she smiled as she was excited to put it back into her familiar ponytail. Her hair fringe was present as well, sticking from her forehead in an untameable arc, another family trait that seemed to persist through the generations. She thought back to her family's line, reaching back past their migration from the far east, each a fox with these characteristics. Their family usually had one or two children, each with the understanding that if they weren't the heir they would sterilize themselves or risk polluting the population with a plague of foxes. She'd finally broken that gene in Miles, she'd been able to guarantee her egg would produce their signature look but other than that, he would have been normal… or as normal as she could make him with what happened to her… too bad he had died… She wilted at that thought. She missed him. She'd been so excited to be a Mom, she'd wanted to show up her father in the parenting department. An anger built in her as she started to fume at the thought that she wouldn't be able to clone him, they hadn't even found a single trace of his body at that stupid arcade!
She cooled down and squinted at her work, the nylon fur was coming in nice. Contrasting her orange was a white on her belly that stretched all the way up to her chin, a trait common across almost all foxes. Her ears were white on the inside with soft tufts of white on the tips. Her tail, hands, and feet all transitioned to the snowy color as well. The soft cloud of nanites faded and the print complete notification came up on the monitor next to the expensive machine. She snickered as the glass rose, it was so ironic that this machine that would give her new form was related to the one that stole her flesh to begin with. She sighed as she walked up to her new body, picking up the lifeless doll and carrying it to the table to dress it. She had chosen similar royal scientist garbs that she had given her husband. She'd never met a Starline, but apparently the last one's father had been quite the fashion designer on the side. She snickered and cackled with glee as she continued to pull the clothes over the doll. She smiled at the thought of the snazzy overcoat, it almost looked like one of the high ranking officers, just a lot sharper and modern. She loved how her family's blue made her orange fur pop. She continued to snicker, Father would probably be rolling in his grave at the fact she was going to be wearing signature Starline Designs. She gave a mechanical huff at the thought of him and all he'd done to her, she didn't care what he thought. She was the head of the Powers now, not him, he'd screwed up enough to get himself deposed.
Her mind drifted back to some of the therapy he'd done on her, all necessary of course for her continued vitality but still not the most pleasant thing to go through… Her expression dropped at the thought of how he treated his other experiments… she had only been marginally better, being mostly his clone. Her mood grew foul at the memory of finding her father's papers. She was an amalgam of different ancestors in their clan, including him, mixed with trace amounts of an anonymous female donor she'd not been able to track down. A designer baby, like a character customized in a video game; that's why she didn't have a mother… She growled at the lies he had told her growing up, he was barely a father… at least she had an inheritance.
She was glad she'd been able to have a somewhat natural birth for Miles. She shifted uncomfortably thinking how much work she'd had to do to fix the screw up her husband had inflicted on her with his chemical mess. Her mind frazzled at the thought of all the work she had to do to make sure her son wasn't just a male clone of herself with her husband's Y chromosome. Other than the fur and traite's she'd not been able to leave up to chance for a Power… or his tails, unfortunately… he was normal. He was a perfectly natural mobian child, at least as natural as she'd been able to get.
She shrank at the thought of how much of a patch job her form had been, meticulously made but still like a kitbashed little girls doll… unnaturally perfect. She looked at her almost made form and winced at the irony of having to live out what could be the rest of her life as a doll… it was better, but still… Maybe if she could find some samples of decent fox's she'd be able to clone a more normal body… She grumbled as her thoughts continued to drag her through her past. There were so many discrepancies in her DNA that would trigger red flags in the database, she'd opted out of being cataloged in the ARC II project. Her required genetic fingerprint that was registered with the state was just samples from her great grandmother who had lived before that requirement. She huffed, the fool had risked so much to make her, he was already on a watch list. Genetic experiments were a touchy subject and he'd offended enough of the court to be deposed. Monstrosities like her were banned, experiments on children were highly illegal as well. He'd playcated the authorities saying she was the result of a one night stand and her original stature was the result of a hormone deficiency... which might be technically correct... The mad vulpine thought he could continue on like nothing had happened. Her mere existence in the fact he had designed her ladened a complicated burden on her. They would have probably had to falsify the information to stay within the system, Miles wouldn't have had that problem, at least not as much of a problem.
She gave a mechanical growl, all of her family's genetic samples had been so heavily damaged by all the power outages that she couldn't clone herself or her late son at this point, stupid freedom fighters... She gave a sigh as she pulled the now dressed doll over her shoulders and brought it to the work bench, standing it up next to the spot she'd be knocked out at.
Giving a sigh, she got the required tools ready and hesitated, looking back to the hallway to the living quarters and thought of her husband. If robots could blush, she was blushing and shuffling her feet, a distress building at her core. Everything was ready but… would he actually migrate her or just… turn her off. The woman hesitantly made her way to the hallway, the phantom feeling in her twisting with unease. A confidence built in her and the phantom feeling started to settle. He'd re-assured her, he'd never leave her, she made sure of it. At least one of her countermeasures to his betrayal was still working.
She paused at the door to the living quarters. She knew she could be abrasive and polarizing but… so far he still loved her. Enhanced feelings of love or not, he was still loyal to her and was still none the wiser to what she'd done to him or their late son. She bristled internally; if he knew what she'd done, he'd of probably left her to rot like the multitudes above, she was sure of it. She slowly relaxed, and nodded to herself. She could trust him, she had to trust him, he was her other half. It wasn't her fault her father had gotten rid of every caretaker or servant she'd ever grown attached to, she needed to trust her husband.
The airlock slid open in front of her, revealing the living quarters. He was parked on the bed built into a cubby on the wall, reading a book. The noise of the opening door and her clanking feet grabbed his attention and he snapped the book shut, turning to smile at her with a dopey grin. "Hey Kitty!"
She moved to sit on the side of the bed, giving him a confident smile with half lidded red eyes. "I'd like your help with something Puppy." She motioned for him to follow as she turned to the door, gently waving him forward.
The white fox paused then eagerly hopped up from the bed and strode beside her. "Oh? What are we doing?"
She gave him a wry smile. "You're going to help me into my new body."
His eyes got wide and he hesitated for a second. "It's ready now?"
She nodded, skipping in front of him with her hands clasped behind her back, spinning to walk backwards she faced him. "I know you can do it. We've both taken apart our fair share of broken Robians." She playfully tilted her head. "Just be gentle." She smiled softly. "You're good at that…"
They reached the main lab and she did a little spin and ta-da, showing off her new glassy eyed form that was standing next to the bench. His eyes lit and his tail started to wag excitedly. Slowly he approached her new vessel. "Ohh… you look just how I remember you…" He held the doll's cheek then turned to her. "Are you sure you're ready? It's a bit jarring."
She got a nervous look. "I am." Her confidence returned. "Something I should mention too now that I'm thinking of it. I built in a timer for sleep mode, we can do basic naps now if we want to take a break. I can show you yours after you've transferred my cyberbrain."
His eyes widened. "I can sleep regularly now? That wasn't a one off thing?" He asked hopefully as his tail excitedly bounced.
She poked his nose playfully. "After you help me into my new body." She smirked. "Maybe we can cuddle and nap."
He nodded eagerly as his tail's wagging picked up even more. "I'd like that, we haven't been able to really hold each other like that for…" He wilted a bit. "It feels like forever."
"Then it's something you can look forward to." She moved to her new body and held a small remote to the back of the head. It seemed to open, a cavity apparent in the back. "It's all just a drop in procedure, brain unit up here." She lifted the ornate lab jacket in the back to expose a panel that had opened. "Reactor down here." She paused and hesitantly looked at him as she began fidgeting. "I love you…" Her eyes looked away at the floor. "I don't say that enough, thank you for taking care of me…"
He walked over and held her chin up to look him in the eyes. "Of course, we're a team. Through thick and thin, till death do us part."
She gave him a quick hug then backed up to start disrobing her lab coat. He got bashful and she paused to frown at him. "Quit it. You can be embarrassed afterwards. This isn't a real body and there's nothing to show, its all bulky metal plates! We've been over this! I need you to focus right now!" She growled. "You need access to my back plate to remove my reactor! Remember that I won't have long being detached from the reactor! Be ready and be quick!"
"I'm sorry." He nervously met her gaze.
She rolled her eyes in exasperation as she turned to crawl up on the table to wait for him to get to work. There was an awkward pause and she started to get nervous, a nagging thought at the possibility of him betraying her kept clawing at her mind. She curled up, closing her eyes as she faced away from him "Please get it over with…" She whimpered, her eyes crushing closed as she began softly shivering.
Mobius - seaside hamlet - Honeymoon suite of hotel - 3218
Trisha was staring up at the ceiling, waiting. This had been the best day of her life and she never wanted to let him go. She had just gotten married to the best possible candidate and the best thing was, she'd chosen. Father had nothing to do with this, he couldn't influence her decision for her mate beyond the grave. She got a stupid grin then hesitated, the only thing left to do was to make sure he'd never leave her, to really make it til death do us part. She slowly rolled to look at his face, he was breathing softly next to her, his eyes closed, ear twitching every so often… She slowly got up and moved for her purse, grabbing a pouch and turning the bedside lamp on low. She pulled out a tranquilizer and hesitated, was this really necessary? Her hesitation grew, maybe he'd be ok with her plans for the future. A doubt built in her and she began to slowly shake. Her face fell at the thought, he liked her house politics but… he wanted such a mundane life otherwise, she'd been giving him little sprinkles of her plans but… She couldn't keep doping him up with pheromones to sway him… Trisha nervously chuckled to herself, funny to think her ancestors had been driven from the east for this lost art. She settled her fidgets. She'd earned this! She'd revived her ancestor's art and it was her's to do with as she pleased! Her chips were proof of that! Besides, she wasn't planning on trying to brainwash an entire populace, just give her family the boost it deserved. Her mind drifted to her hubbies friends, the far eastern vixen in particular. She frowned at the thought of the sly girl, she was already suspicious. No doubt the girl knew of the legends of the biomancers she was descended from, she couldn't keep up what she'd been doing. She'd have to work on mending her relationship with Azian too if she wanted to keep her new normalcy, quash the annoying girl's suspicion.
A determination filled the vixen. This wasn't straight up brainwashing, this was just… reassurance! Yeah! reassurance that he'd never stop loving her. She moved to him and gently injected the tranquilizer in his neck. His breathing slowed and she waited. Hesitantly she snapped her fingers next to his ears, they didn't even twitch and he didn't wake up, in fact he had begun drooling. She smirked, just like the first few time's she'd broken into his dorm to take blood and other samples. She gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry for disrupting your sleep Puppy... It will be over soon and we shouldn't have to do this ever again." She turned on the overhead lights and grabbed another container from her bag. Pulling out a larger syringe, she moved to her husband and rolled him on his back, pulling the back of his shirt up and off him, she felt along his vertebrae and angled the syringe to hit the base of his brain stem. She took a deep breath for what she was about to do. She gently pressed and injected her chip. It was over in seconds. She rubbed the spot at the back of his neck and turned him back over, tucking him back in and kissing him goodnight, turning off the lights.
She put her little equipment away and laid next to him, thinking about what she'd just done. The chip would be working away at this point, tendrils of artificial neurons mapping to different parts of his brain. Her mark 2 emotion engine was small, it wouldn't be picked up in a scan or anything. She breathed deep, thinking on how it would regulate his behavior. She didn't want it to interfere too much, just give warm fuzzies when he saw her or when she praised him, just a little bit of help. She had just programmed it with a ROM that should make him just fall a little bit more in love with her, nothing more, nothing less.
She could have designed a partner and grown a fast clone if she really wanted to… that was one of her father's suggestions if she couldn't fine a mate like he couldn't… But she didn't want to, her hubbie was real and natural and she wanted him… She just didn't ever want to lose him… Her mind started to drift, maybe the mark 3 should have a radio control, that way she could set the triggers remotely, that way she could influence wants or fears. Make someone happy to see her or anxious at the very sight of whatever she wanted, a real emotion engine.
Her mind continued to drift, thinking of the future. She put her hand on her stomach, thinking of her great house. That would definitely make parenting a lot easier, she'd have to be careful with that one though, don't want to get her kid addicted to anything. She smiled. A thought struck her, maybe she could better prepare them for… yeah, maybe she could be the mother of the next minister of science! A few generations had missed the boat on that one, especially her father… nepotism, but she giggled at the thought of his misfortune. The thoughts raced as a scheme started to form. If she played her cards right… she could get her child ready for the princess's choosing when she turned 18. She'd already heard rumor's that the current minister's nephew had no aptitude for the sciences so she had a chance!
The vixen got a devious grin, maybe she could influence the princess to choose her prodigy as a mate? That would be complicated though…That would be a ticket into the royal house if she succeeded! The details of the scheme started to fill her head, having a son would be the way to go for that plan. She rolled her eyes at the thought of the reason her father had chosen for her to be a girl, nothing more than to make it less obvious she was a clone. Wouldn't do to have a mini spitting image of himself following him around, they did share 70% of their genetics, more than could be explained away from a parental child relationship. The old codger didn't care, he'd just run out of time to raise a proper heir so she was just his last mustered effort; a rehash of his contribution to a classified Arc I project named Shadow. Her mind returned to her own future prodigy, she'd do this way better then father ever could. She would love her child…
The scheming thoughts started to pick up, she could accelerate his mental state with learning drugs and… She winced at the memory of her own experience with growth hormones… Her father had stabilized her degrading chimera of a clone with… extreme therapy… Something close to immortality he was no longer compatible with due to his own screw ups... All this he had done to her without being put under because suffering built character… Part of that was to change her metabolism and how her cells replaced themselves, her natural aging process was a lot slower. She had gotten impatient after he had died and synthesized growth hormones to accelerate her physical age to her actual age… Whoever came up with the term growing pains hadn't been kidding… That had been extremely painful to grow from a tween to a woman in her late teens in less then a month. She got a cold feeling thinking of how many cycles she'd outlive her husband, it could be centuries; she wasn't sure… Maybe she could tackle that problem later. But did she really want to inflict that pain on her own child? Maybe if she just did a little at a time it would be believable and it wouldn't hurt… maybe after he was like 7 cycles…
She hesitated, she wanted him to be natural… well, more natural then she was at least… a few nudges to ensure he'd meet their signature motif but… she could try and strip out some of the enhancements her father and her other ancestor's had made on their gene pool. She could make him more natural while still being the Icon that would inherit her house.
Her mind drifted to the already 7 cycle old princess Acorn… She'd have to have her kid soon if that plan were to work, falsify some documents too. Start him off with learning drugs, those would accelerate his mental maturity. She could condition him to love books, that was simple enough with her chips. Finally she could slowly give him growth hormones to accelerate his age, making him physically 16 cycles old when the princess was 18… They'd have a few cycles to catch up and then maybe something would come from that. If it didn't, then it wouldn't be too many years off his life. It shouldn't be painful or even noticeable to him if she spaced it out enough. At that point she could work on matching Lloyd and her boy's lifespan to her own. She stared at the ceiling thinking of how many centuries she'd live, she didn't like the thought of being alone for that long…
Her mind drifted back to the first step, how could she guarantee her boy would be chosen for minister of science? She froze as another devious grin formed, she could make her boy produce a toned down version of her designer pheromones, one designed especially for the princess… Nothing overboard, just… a pleasant aura, like a family member or a friend, just a nudge. That way things could develop naturally, just a push in the right direction. Her mind hit a roadblock, she'd have to get some fur from the princess if she wanted to do that… That would be an EXTREMELY expensive contract on the black market… Come to think of it, she'd also have to pay someone to falsify her boy's birth documents too… that would be another big bill that would drain more of her father's dragon hoard.
She glanced through the dim light at her zonked out husband who was drooling into the bedsheets. She frowned. Whatever she did… if he was involved, he'd have to be on board. Maybe just aim for Minister of Science to start, the natural pheromones would also help in the choosing trials so try for that as well… Yeah, see how it goes…
She laid on her side as she smiled, content and giving a dreamy sigh as she looked at the beginning of her new family across from her. She had a lot of planning to do.
*STATIC*
Mobius - Car ride to Mobotropolis General - 3221
Trisha was in the passenger seat, her husband was a nervous wreck as they drove through the metro district to the hospital. She frowned at the situation, she knew Eli and Azian… She hadn't been the best of friends with them but... she needed to comfort her husband in this intense time… He took a sharp turn causing her to lean and brace herself, holding her pregnant belly and the handle above the door as she glared at him. "Could you not swerve like that?" She bit. "Or did you forget there's two of us in this seat!"
His troubled eyes darted to her for a fraction of a second as his slightly longer ears drooped. "I'm sorry!" He looked miserable. "I… you're right! I'm sorry!" He choked back a sniffle. "I'm still just in shock that they're gone!" He was fidgeting in his seat. "I'm not sure if it's fully hit me yet actually!" His ears flattened. "I feel so on edge! I'll do better!"
She relaxed as his driving steddied and she gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry this happened but…" Her mind drifted to their current task and she grimaced… Relationships were about giving and taking, and she'd taken a lot from him… but she wasn't sure she wanted someone elses kid. "Are you sure you want to adopt their daughter?" She hesitantly asked.
He sharply nodded. "When you care about someone, in this case two someones… if something happens to them, you make sure their kid is okay!" He shuttered. "We all grew up in the foster system, they definitely don't want that for their daughter!" He hesitated as they came to a stoplight. He glanced at her nervously. "Besides!" He looked down to her stomach, then back to her eyes. "We're already planning on being parents! They were already going to be playmates…" He wilted as he saw her pensive expression. "Please don't say no… She doesn't have to be you're daughter if you don't want that…" His slightly longer ears were still flat. "But I need to make sure she's okay, I'm her godfather…"
She turned forward and nudged him to go at the green light. "I've already decided you're heading this decision… at least most of it…" She chided, an internal frown in her heart. "Who knows though, maybe she'll be an asset." She glanced at her husband. "Her name's Alyx right?"
He got a distressed look. "She's not an asset! She's going to be our daughter!" He winced at her glare. "Or at least my daughter…" He focused fully back on the road. "Please, I know you have trouble caring sometimes but… Please choose to care on this one… please… If you care about me then, please… Please make an effort!" He begged. "Not everything has to be part of the plan!" He hesitantly perked in his seat as he saw her expression soften. "This might be a blessing…" He cringed at his own words. "Not that my best friends are dead!" He choked. "But after what I did to you… I don't get it! You said you wanted a family! I'm sorry!"
The shorter vixen's confused gaze was digging deep into him. "Sorry for what?"
He hesitated. "The lab spill… and the damage it caused your… how difficult it's been to have any kids!"
She frowned, giving him a death glare. "Don't you dare bring that up!" She seethed. "It's over and I fixed it! We can have a family! I GET TO HAVE MY SON!" She barked. Her eyes narrowed at him. "I won't let you turn yourself in! I TOLD YOU THIS! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LEAVE ME–"
"I'm not talking about that!" He yelped, looking really guilty. "I'm talking about how you wanted a family and we were only able to have a son, I thought you wanted more…" He hesitantly shrugged. "Well, now we can have a daughter as well… if you want…" He nervously shifted. "Even if she isn't related to you… w-we don't have to give her your family name… I know how important that is to you…" He pulled into the hospital's parking lot and into an empty spot. He gave a sigh then another choked sob. "It would mean the world to me though if you'd consider it…" He hesitated. "I know I married up… and I'm grateful you've accepted a low caste like me into your house… but please consider treating her like a daughter…"
She glared forward, glancing at his pitiful face then back out the window. "Maybe." She bit as she turned to open the door of the car, slowly getting out as he frantically exited the car. The silver fox rushed out his door to the back and grabbed her walker from the trunk, unfolding it and rushing to his wife's aid.
She grumbled as she shook and snatched the walker. "This thing makes me feel so OLD!" She seethed, glaring daggers at her husband. "Be thankful I can fix damaged nerves." She grumbled. "You won't have to wait on me hand and foot for much longer." She paused as she saw him shrink back and she hesitated. A guilt built in her, the realization of how much venom she had been spewing at him hitting her. "I'm sorry…" She averted her gaze as her own ears dropped. "I… I know you're doing your best. Thank you for taking care of me. I may not always act like it, but you mean the world to me…" He slowly brightened a bit as he felt a warmth encompass him. He helped her forward, towards the hospital and the pediatrics center to pick up their new charge. She sighed as she shakily walked forward. "I'll consider it." she mumbled, causing his ears to perk.
"You'll consider?" He asked a hope building in his eyes.
"Well, I'd rather not despise someone in my own household…" She grumbled. "Doesn't do me or the kid any good…" She trailed off, thinking back to her own father. "We can figure something out that works for everyone."
He started to look relieved as he helped her enter the building. "Thank you Kitty."
*STATIC*
Mobius - Robotropolis – Powers repossessed Starline Holdout – 3239
*GASP*
She stumbled forward as she heard a yelp behind her.
"WAIT! I'M NOT DONE! I STILL NEED TO CLOSE THE CHAMBER!" She heard a familiar male shriek.
She paused as she felt hands touch her head, she felt a strange sensation of… her head was closing? Ohh yeah… She grit her teeth at the odd sensation. Taking a few deep breaths out of reflex she felt whoever it was swing around her, his hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes to a worried looking… "Lloyd?" She asked. "Puppy?" Her voice cracked, expression wavering.
His soft eyes lit in relief as he stepped in and hugged her. "I'm so glad you're safe…"
She hesitated at his… cold… touch… Her memories drifting back from her sleep mode dreams and all that she'd done. She closed her eyes and returned the hug, as she started to cry tearlessly. "Thank you for not abandoning me…" She choked out, causing him to stiffen. His head darted to look at her strangely dry crying face and he started trying to reassure her, shushing her.
He rested his chin on the shorter vixen's head and rubbed her back. "I don't know where that even comes from… I can't believe you'd even think that…" He said, sounding a bit hurt. "Of course I won't abandon you Kitty… no matter what happens… If you're about to fall off a cliff I'll do whatever I can to pull you from the edge."
She shuttered and roughly pulled his collar down to get him on her level to kiss him. They stood there, embracing as a warmth built in him. They stood there for a minute, melting into each other's embrace before she pulled away, a sly grin on her face. "I made some modifications to the original designs, you're going to be my muscle if we run into any swatbots. I'll be taking care of any organics we run into if there's a problem." She stepped back and brought up a hand, looking at the back as if to examine her claws only for needles to extend from her fingers. He fidgeted at her unnaturally long claws. She gave him a wry grin as her venomous utilities retracted back into her hand. "You're modifications are tame though, I know how much you like keeping things BLAND and VANILLA." She playfully dramatized. She grabbed an old used compressed gas container from the bench and handed it to him. "Crush it, and really think about crushing it, otherwise it won't work."
He looked a bit bewildered at her and slowly grabbed the container. "Do you really think we're going to need this kind of stuff?" He squinted as he began squeezing the metal canister, a shock broke over his face as it easily crumpled.
"Your joints are meant for industrial work, similar to a Mark 1 roboticized limb with the regulator removed and the drives overclocked. Except thanks to your new cooling system, it should be manageable like that at all times, no burst required." She looked sheepish. "My contribution was making the safety, don't need you wrecking things accidentally…"
She playfully bobbed away from him, her hands folded behind her back. "I'll admit, I had fun with mine." She shrugged. "Might as well prepare for the worst with all the swatbots above us and the cannibals and tribes invading the country." Her head turned around further than what should be possible as she gave him a playful grin. He winced and shrank back from her unnatural display of dexterity, causing her to frown. She spun her body forward, her gaze never leaving his nervous eyes. "What?"
"Please don't do that…" He begged. "The point is to be normal!"
She gave him a flat look. "The point is to be better and beautiful!" She rolled her eyes. "Yes I'd love to have my own flesh back… or just flesh in general… but why not have fun with it if we're stuck like this?" She gestured to the nanite chamber on the side of the room. "We have a rare opportunity, a 3D printer that can make almost anything… the only thing better would have been if we had some donor eggs and our original samples to make fast clones." She gave him a smirk. "Oh, you'll like this! You like supers from comics like me!" Her smirk grew sly. "Who's my favorite super?" She asked as she walked over to him. Four thin sharp black appendages came out of the slits she'd made in the back of her coat, lifting her, two of them poking over her shoulders. "I still can't believe you didn't want to make anything special, nerd out a bit! We could be real supers!"
His eyes grew wide and he gulped as he looked away. "Uhh, still really into the Venom Widow motif?"
She grabbed his chin with her hand and pulled his gaze to her. "Of coarse! How often do you change you're favorite comic! You could have been your favorite vigilante!" She preened, her thin spidery extras lifting her to meet his eye level as her other hand rested on her hip. "If I get the chance to design a new body using CAD, I want to have fun. Editing clones is extremely difficult!" She snickered. "Who knew I'd be able to be a super! Nanite fabricator's are amazing! Part of me wishes I'd of specialized in robotics from the get go but then I'd of never…" She paused as she noticed his continued discomfort and retracted her weapons, dropping onto her own feet.
"Never what?" He hesitantly asked.
"Never…" She hesitated, her mind trying to pull any other explanation then she initially picked him for his race and his degree. "I would have never met you the same way, we compliment each other?" She gave him her own nervous smile.
There was a building silence as his eyes were trying to avoid her face and a pit of dread started to build in her. "Please don't look at me like that… I just wanted to have fun…" She began fidgeting, her confidence dropping.
His ears perked as a worried look dawned on his face. "NO!" His eyes met her concerned gaze. "I…" His ears flattened and he scrunched his eyes shut hard. "Let's just hope we don't EVER have to use any of this stuff…" He gave her a nervous smile. "Okay? I like you for being you…" His gaze fell to the floor and he nervously started pressing his fingers together. "I didn't fall in love with a comic book character… I fell in love with Trisha Powers, heir to the Powers family… The nerdy girl who's passionate about family, her birthright, and her skill… The girl who paid my debt to the state college… The girl I had a son with…" He met her distressed gaze. "Some of this stuff seems… excessive, like it removes us from being Mobian… I want us to be normal again… That's why I designed these new roboticized limbs…" He began fidgeting more. "The house politics are great but… This might be overboard…"
She wilted as she slowly nodded. "I…" Her shoulders sagged. "I… don't have to flaunt it." She sounded so defeated. "If we're in danger though…" She bit her lip, looking away. "I want to use my Widow legs. And my claws are off the table for negotiation, I'm using those when i need to use them."
He slowly nodded. "Yeah… That's… okay." He flustered. "Sorry, just please don't twist your head like that…'' His eyes slowly widened as a thought hit him. "That's not the only part of you that's rigged up with double joints…" He looked shocked at her. "Is it? You went overboard with everything! Didn't you?!" He accused.
Her ears flattened as she tried to look innocent, turning to walk towards the living quarters. "Whaaaat? Why would you think that?" She held her hands behind her as she fidgeted and failed to look cute. She paused, nervously biting her lip as she moved to grab his hand, leading them to their living quarters. "Enough of this, I want to cuddle."
He looked slightly disturbed. "Why did you do all of this to yourself! That head spin was super creepy!" He eeped. "What else did you do!"
Her ears flattened against her head as she grit her teeth. "I'll try not to do that stuff around you if I can help it…" She got a pensive look, her hackles starting to raise. "I… I thought you might find the head spin to be funny… Let's stop talking about this, I said we could cuddle after my procedure, I want to cuddle. If you want to nap, I can show you how." She affirmed, dragging him along.
He scrunched his face then got a dejected look. "Please don't do that again… I don't like how it makes you look…"
He paused in the hallway, tearing his hand from her grasp and she turned to him. "I…" Her face fell. "I'm sorry for going overboard… I really just wanted to have some fun with it…" She began growling. She looked at him hopeful. "Can we please just go relax?!" She moved to grab his hand again, beginning to drag him towards the living quarters.
He pulled out of her grasp again, his face a mix of hurt and confusion. "It's like you're embracing the horrible thing that happened to us…" He whispered. She turned to see his dejected look and tensed up, looking hurt herself. He looked up and saw her own dejection and froze, a unnatural anxiety building in him. Quickly he moved to hug her and she relaxed in his grip. "I just want us to go back to normal…" He whispered. "Let's just be us… no more modifications…"
She sighed as her tail started to softly sway. "We are us… I'm sorry…"
He gave a deep sigh out of reflex and closed his eyes as she rubbed his back, the warm feeling returning to him as he started to feel better. His anxiety melting as his mind started to push the unpleasant images of her modifications to the side of his mind. He still loved his wife and times like this were still nice…
Robotropolis - Claimed Royal Palace - Gardens - 3239
Robotnik was walking along the dead gardens on the covered walkway. His destination was the old minister of science wing. He grumbled as he glanced out into the gardens, withered rose bushes and shrubs in the courtyard reminded him of death. He glanced forward, maybe he should have the area plowed and paved with concrete. He had enough of a reminder of death every time his artificial heart beat. He took a breath as he checked his datawatch synched to his mechanical heart, he'd been having more problems recently. He got a foul expression at the thought of his control tower still being sanitized, he should be able to return tomorrow, but he couldn't stand to wait on this. He passed patrolling swatbots and came to the old lab.
Punching in his code the door slid open revealing the old minister's wing. He sighed as he entered, he'd had it refurbished just in case so it wasn't too different from his usual setup. He made his way to a control chair at the center. "Operator."
"YES SIR." the newly instanced AI droned.
"Call the medbot." He ordered.
"ONE WILL BE DISPATCHED TO YOUR LOCATION SHORTLY. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE?"
"One moment." The rotund man quipped as he sat down and brought his terminal forward. "Bring up the progress on the bio labs think tank." He grumbled. "Any progress cloning human tissue?"
"NEGATIVE, MULTIPLE TESTS AND MODIFICATIONS HAVE STILL YIELDED MOBIAN EGG CELLS ARE STILL NOT VIABLE HOSTS FOR CLONING HUMAN DNA, EVEN AFTER STRIPPING OUT ALL THE UNDERLYING GENETICS. SPECIES ARE FUNDAMENTALLY INCOMPATIBLE" It dryly replied.
The mechanical man seethed then got a dejected look. "F-fine. How about the neural backup think tank team?"
"FULL NEURAL BACKUP IS NOW POSSIBLE BUT HIGHLY DANGEROUS. NO GUARANTEE THE BACKED UP CONSCIOUSNESS IS TRULY THE INDIVIDUAL." It responded. "I HAVE A SUGGESTION SIR."
Robotnik grumbled. That was quick for it to start reaching its diverging tendrils out, hopefully he wouldn't have to lobotomize his operator so soon again. "Go on…"
"BIO THINK TANK TEAM HAS BEEN GETTING MORE EXPERIENCE ON HOW MOBIANS GROW AS CLONES, HOW THEY DIFFER FROM HUMANS. POSSIBILITY OF TRANSFER OF CONSCIOUS TO A MOBIAN HOST OR IMPLANT A ROBOTICIZED BRAIN INTO MOBIAN HOST COULD BE BEST BET OF EXTENDING LIFE IF 100% COMPUTERIZATION IS NOT SAFE OR APPEALING."
He got a disgusted look. "I still have my human pride." He glared at the camera in the corner. "Don't you dare bring that up again, if I die it will be as a human, not a rodent." He gave a choked laugh. "I think i'd opt to have full roboticization before I do that, besides then there's dealing with the co processor slave unit and I can't guarantee I'd be able to override it myself." He sighed as the medbot arrived, wheeling up to him.
"Good Morning sir." a feminine sounding synthesized voice greeted. "it is 00:04 AM. Are you having issue's sleeping?" The tall round droid asked.
"I need an update on my heart condition." The man griped. "I've had more episodes the last few days, I had to initiate a neural bypass." He grumbled at the thought of the numbing devoid experience.
"The source of your condition is neurological in nature, we have gone over this. There are no updates or treatments other than to leave the bypass in place or make a separate pacemaker unit that doesn't bypass the rest of your senses." The calm droid responded.
"Operator, get a think tank on designing a new module for my spine." the man looked tired and defeated. "Put the rest of the think tanks on simulating a safe extraction or mirroring of consciousness, reference project GLaDOS in the earthside archive." He glanced at the camera. "Prioritize mirroring, if I die then I can wake up in the unit. I don't want to give up unless I have to."
"OF COARSE SIR." the AI chirped. "I ASSUME WE ARE TO START CONSTRUCTION OF MIRROR HOSTS IN THE DISTRIBUTED DATA CENTERS?"
"Yes." The aging man sounded defeated as his glare grew vengeful. "I won't go with a whimper." His mind returned to the shock of the mobian girl with the antimatter weaponry. "I've been prioritizing expansion when I should be prioritizing survival. They won't get rid of me, I'll make sure of it. My empire will last forever, I will consume this planet. I will be MOBIUS!"
Mobius - Knothole Village – Rosie's Medical office – 3239
Alyx slowly blinked her eyes open, her mouth was dry and tasted funny. She wobbled as she turned to get out of bed. Her mind could only think of finding a restroom and getting some water. Her head was fuzzy… What happened? She blinked her eyes and groaned as she shakily stood up, looking around. She was… at the doctor's office? Rosie's office? Why was she here? Her eyes looked past the divider and she moved from the patient bed in the corner, stumbling her way to the restroom, closing the door. After relieving herself and taking a few gulps of water from the sink, she exited only to see a stirring Tails blinking up at her from the waiting chair next to her.
He looked concerned and miserable. "You're ok?" He quietly asked, wincing at her in the low light.
What was he doing here? She hesitated, ears wilting as she tried to remember, her head was pretty foggy right now. Her eyes dawned in realization, she'd drank some of the slightly poisonous vodka. She put a knuckle to her lips, thinking. The boy in front of her got a weird scrunched look, as if he were trying to piece together what she was thinking about.
"I think so…" She rasped.
He let out a breath, his eyes softening. "Why would you drink poison?" He asked. She got nervous as he continued. "Thankfully, it turns out it's not that big of a deal…" His nervous gaze met hers. "Were you trying to…" He wavered. "Were you trying to kill yourself?" He grimaced, his silent voice cracking.
Her eyes widened as she roughly shook no, losing her balance and stumbling. "No! whahh!" He darted forward to grab and steady her as her face burned under her fur. He led her back to the bed and sat her down as he sat next to her.
His eyes were avoiding hers and he hesitated. "Okay… if you weren't trying to kill yourself… what were you trying to do?"
She stared at the hardwood floor as she wracked her brain for the reason. "One of my dad's friends wanted me to get that stuff to begin with… He said it helped him, it makes things numb and quieter… easier to relax…" She muttered.
He slowly nodded, he could get that… but… "Why did you call it poison?" He looked dejected. "That…" He looked frustrated. "Why?"
She gave him a nervous look, her eyes meeting his eyes for a second then darting back to the floor. "I'm sorry, it is poison but…" She began wringing her hands. "I guess I wasn't thinking clearly."
He gave a quiet choked laugh. "Yeah!" he leaned back on the bed, his head resting against the wall. "You said some really confusing things."
She got stiff at the hazy memory, slowly turning to see his curious eyes digging into her. "What?" She got nervous as she sort of remembered what she had been blubbering about but… "What did I say?" She hesitated.
He got a pensive frown as he glanced at Rosie's door, his ears flicking around as if to scan. He sat back up as he got closer to her."That you're a human? You were convinced I was going to kill you?!" He quietly whispered, looking confused. "I had no idea alcohol could mess with your mind like that!?" He glanced at her only to freeze, her eastern eyes were wide and her mouth slack as she slowly began shaking.
"Uhhh…" She uttered, a panicked look on her face as she quickly stared at the ground, slow tremors shaking her.
Tails' eyes widened at the strange behavior and his own thoughts started to race. "You were just saying that out of confusion, right?" He asked, gently grabbing her hand to try and comfort her. It didn't work as she got stiff, her hackles fully raising as the shakes continued. "Hey? What's wrong?" He asked, an impossible thought starting to pester his mind. She pulled her hand from his and curled forward, cupping her head as she quietly started crying. Tails didn't know what to do, and the annoying thought wouldn't let up. "Alyx, what's wrong?" he hesitantly asked. His eyes fell to the side as he thought, what should he do.
She sniffled and glanced at him, a fear in her eye that unnerved him and the nagging thought got louder, his ears wilting at the strange impossibility. She couldn't be human, they found her records! But didn't she say… she said a lot of confusing things… "Are you a human?" he quietly whispered.
Her expression fell as her gaze met the ground. "I don't know." She choked through her quiet sobs. "Please don't kill me…" She whispered, causing his heart to sink at the thought.
"I won't." He answered, feeling a little uncomfortable. He gave a huf as he made up his mind. "You're a Mobian. I don't plan on letting anyone kill you." He affirmed, causing her to relax a bit.
Her gaze met his through her fingers as she held her face."I have memories of being in my old body…" Her face scrunched. "My Dad's account of finding me during the incident has patches in it…" She gave another sob. "One time he told me he had a dream of a wolf handing him a little baby fox that looked like a baby person." She wiped her tears with her sleeve. "We just thought it was a hallucination brought on by his concussion." She wilted. "That wolf in the news article is the same wolf I saw in the tunnel when you brought me here…" She uttered, defeat dripping from her voice.
Tails' eyes widened at the implication. "A realmwalker?" He whispered. "Like a full on realm walker, not just someone who's been to multiple dimensions, but a wizard that can make his own warp zones…" Slow tremors started to overtake him this time. He scrunched his eyes as he forced the prospect of that kind of destructive power off. "Okay, so you really were brought here by a full on realmwalker, I guess I already knew that but... I guess its finally hitting me." He sighed as he gave the still distressed girl a curious look. "You said he brought you here to help?"
She shrugged, noncommittally. "He…" Her gaze dropped as she started to look really troubled. Her strange behavior caused Tails to feel even more concerned.
"He what?" He asked, slowly motioning with his hand for her to continue.
She let go of her face and gave him a strained look, eyes darting away every few seconds only for them to return on his. "I'm supposed to help…" She hesitated. "Dr. Julian apparently screwed up a huge plan…" She paused, scrunching her face and making up her mind. "There was supposed to be a colony of humans I guess."
His ears dropped in shock at what she said. "What." He flatly asked.
She started to look worried again. "I'm supposed to prove to you that not all humans are psychopaths!" She started gesturing with her hands back and forth. "Help the resistance movement get rid of Robotnik." She moved her hands to the other side of her. "Try and salvage the potential for a colony so an entire species doesn't get wiped out by a slow genocide." She wilted. "Although I guess I'm not human… maybe I never really was." She said bitterly as her expression started to waver again. "No… I can't think like that. I still love my family…"
He hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch and look at him. He gave a nervous look. "It's going to be okay…" He looked forward at the ground, his leg starting to bob to release some of the pent up nervous energy. "I never really bought into the whole they all need to die thing..." He shrugged. "I mean, I still wouldn't bring it up with others… Some people are pretty bitter…" He looked distant. "Tangle met Snively once when she was a kid, her older cousin was his friend." He hesitated. "Before all this he just seemed like a nervous bookworm according to her… So I guess he used to be normal…" His face scrunched. "I guess I don't really know how I feel about humans, but you seem alright..." He blushed under his fur.
Alyx's eyes scrunched in confusion. "Who's Snively?"
He glanced at her, a little shocked. "Robotnik's nephew, the other human…"
Her eyes lit with recognition. "Ohh, you mean Colin."
His brows furrowed. "I guess?" He thought back to what Tangle had told him and didn't recall that name. "Is that his real name?" He looked back at her. "How do you know that?"
She thought for a moment. "I… think the realmwalker guy who brought me here told me once? I got to speak to him a little bit but…" She shrugged as she started to get tired again. "I think I need to go back to sleep…"
He nodded and made his way back to the waiting chair. "Alright, I'll let you sleep."
She looked at him confused. "I'm sleeping here? You're not going back to your hut?"
He gave her a flat look. "It's the dead of night." He whispered. "I see that slightly unfocused look you still have, you're still woozy and Rosie wants to check on you tomorrow morning." He hesitated. "Aunt Sally's probably going to want to talk to you too…" He winced. "She's probably going to apologize for putting you on the spot like that…" His face scrunched. "I want to apologize for her too. Sometimes she thinks of the whole at the expense of the one, and she put you on the spot in front of multiple villages for what I'm assuming was an attempted moral boosting stunt." He rolled his eyes. "Hope in the face of impossible odds…" He trailed off.
The girl wilted, her eyes drifting to the floor. "It's fine…" She mumbled. "I don't care… it's over…" She laid down on her side. "I just want some quiet…"
He gave a small frown. "It's not fine though."
She glanced at him. "Do you think she did it to hurt me?" The vixen asked.
Tails paused then shook his head. "No–"
"Then I forgive her. I just don't want it happening again." She closed her eyes. "Dad doesn't like it when I don't forgive people… This one's easy because she didn't do it specifically to hurt me… doesn't mean its easy all the time though…" She looked at him tired. "Doesn't do me any good to get bitter and fester either…" The girl closed her eyes again. "She can apologize for herself though… You don't need to apologize for her." Her face scrunched. "I'm… sorry for running off and scaring you by drinking that…"
He glanced at her and chuckled at the absurd situation. Closing his eyes he gave a sigh. "Alright, yeah I forgive you for that." He leaned back in his chair to get comfy to sleep.
She tiredly opened one eye. "Why are you staying here instead of going home?" She asked again. "That chair cant be comfy."
He opened a lid, glancing at her. "It's pitch black out and I don't have a light, I don't want to fall into the river and get swept away, that's a good way to die." He answered matter of factly.
She rolled on her back, the haze less but still present in her mind. "That's a reason I guess…" She gave another sigh. "Thanks for caring…" She yawned. "Night." She blinked a few times before letting out a sigh as she relaxed into the bed, the stress of their conversation gone.
"Night." Tails sighed as he drifted back to sleep.
Mobius - Royal Palace - 3189
Victor was walking through the hall's of his honorary Uncle's palace, he preened at the thought of being un-officially in such a high status; someday he'd be right hand Mobian to his honorary brother Nigel. The apprentice was on his way to the bunker under the so-called closed wing for the minister of science. He rolled his eyes at the dumb protocol, Gerald wasn't going to end the world and didn't need such stringent watch. The country didn't even know they had gotten a new minister of science, his mentor got none of the recognition he deserved. He entered the minister chamber and made his way around the back, his future birthright and a well deserved shortcut for now. The few that were left didn't seem to give him much mind as it was near the end of the working day. His eyes did a quick scan of the Mobians there, he didn't see his parents so he shouldn't have to worry about being chided. He entered a side hallway that curved around the main chamber, why go around when he could cut right through the center of the castle?"
"Victor." An older mobian chided, causing the newly graduated platypus to growl. "What are you doing here? Apprentices aren't allowed in these chambers." The voice sneered, an obvious contempt dripping with each syllable.
He knew that smoker's voice. Victor grumbled as he turned to see his father's so-called rival, Maxwell Powers. He was a fox of gaunt stature, He had orange fur with white accents and piercing blue eyes. He was wearing a dress shirt with gray slacks, a bright blue vest on top making what was left of his orange fur pop. His fur seemed to be fading gray and slightly disheveled. He had a nasal tube for oxygen therapy fitted to his muzzle, the tube was going to a canister on his hip. He was holding a cane with a brass ball on the end. The fox's posture and build screamed youth but there was also a touch of unnatural aging that seemed to hang over him.
The platypus sneered then disrespectfully ignored the higher ranking Mobian, examining his claws. "Hello Maxwell. What I do doesn't really concern you, I'm just passing through on my way to my apprenticeship." He glanced up, glaring at the middle aged Mobian. "Doesn't the minister of Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals have anything better to do than to harass a youth?"
The older fox gave him a disgusted look. "Your mentality is that of a pup, but 24 is hardly a youth. If I was you're father–"
"But you're not." The young adult growled. "I don't have to obey a word you say."
The fox stepped down the hallway, anger flashing in his eyes as he gripped his brass tipped club. "I still demand what is owed to my position!" He seethed. "You will not disrespect me!"
The platypus rolled his eyes at the display and glanced at the vulpine's cane. "Do you really need that? Has your disease really progressed that far?" He glanced at the fuming fox. "Or are you brandishing it as a weapon in the court?" He gave a sly grin. "Oh what a headache that would cause you if I accused you."
The fox gave his rival's son a devious grin. "It was a gift, I didn't bring this of my own accord." He sneered, you're mother's a kind woman Victor, one of the kindest Ministers of Health we've ever had."
The platypus got a disgusted feeling at the fox's dreamy look, no doubt daydreaming of his co-worker, his mother. "What, she pity you that much? You're leg's gotten that bad? She give you a doctor's note?"
He gave a cheeky grin. "An excuse from the minister of public health is a powerful tool…" he palmed the heavy cane as he gave the boy a sadistic grin. "You never know when it will come in handy."
Victor couldn't help himself. "She'd never choose you as a mate, she's already happily married." He bit. "It's disgusting the way you gaze at her!" His glare grew enraged. "She won't bear you the heir you so desperately want either!"
The fox flustered. "How dare you accuse me of–"
"How dare I? HOW DARE YOU!" The young adult bit. "I've seen you!" He sneered. "Half the council has their suspicions!" He fumed. "You're not as subtle as you think Powers! Be careful you don't get deposed for attempting to be a homewrecker!" He growled. The white platypus got a devilish grin. "I've spared my father the rumor for the storm that would create for all of us." His eyes narrowed. "Maybe I shouldn't." His grin turned upward.
The fox began growling, slowly approaching him. "How dare you, you have no proof and that's a serious accusation to make."
Victor snickered as his mind raced, might as well have some fun. The worst he could do is slug him with the cane, then he'd get deposed. "That genetic disorder and attitude you have, I bet no noblewoman wants anything to do with you romantically. My Mother's the only one that's nice to you, and that's just out of pity." He gave a malicious smile. "I'm right, aren't I? What, you're 49? I've done my research; you look like you could be in your 70's!" He mocked. "Maybe try the lower casts, maybe you can trick some poor soul who looks like her into bearing you the heir you desperately want before your anatomy rots!"
The fox's eyes were lit with a fire Victor had never seen as he stomped forward and grabbed the platypus's hair, pulling him off the ground with an unnatural strength, causing the boy to squawk with pain and shock as he began struggling. "YOU INSOLENT BOY! HOW DARE YOU, YOU WORM!" The fox slammed him against the wall. "May your anatomy rot!" The fox seethed.
The shocked boy was on his tiptoes, clutching his scalp in pain when the oddity of the antiquated statement hit him and he couldn't help from laughing. "Are you trying to curse me? What is this, the dark ages?! Do you really believe in such things?" The platypus chortled as he gave a sadistic grin as he grabbed the fox's arm with both of his hands, digging his claws deep into the fox's flesh. The action caused the unnaturally aged mobian to hiss and drop him, reeling back.
"My arm!" Maxwell yelped in shock, examining the marks and drips of blood seeping from his long white sleeved uniform. He glared daggers at the young mobian who was just snickering at this point, massaging his soar scalp. "How dare you!" His breathing got calmer as he looked upon the disrespectful pup with disgust. "If you used your venom dew claw on me…" He growled as he got a look of contempt. "Maybe I should if you think that's so funny. Let your arm rot off your very flesh, see how you feel!" The fox sneered, eyes level with the snickering boy. He frantically brought his still stinging arm in front of himself to examine. "You BETTER not have used your venom claw!" He growled.
The young adult gave the older fox a manic look. "Oh don't be a pup yourself! It's not like it would be life threatening if I did." He continued to snicker. "Might just be a bit difficult signing your paperwork for a week." He fixed his hair then frowned as he realized what he had just done. "I'm afraid we've both overstepped though."
"That you have." A stern voice broke through. Both Mobians turned to see a lanky white bat dressed in black with a deep burgundy vest stride towards them both. He had short white bangs swept to the side and his eyes were occluded by red round glasses designed for nocturnals. "Victor, get out. You know you're not supposed to be in these chambers. You may be an adult but you still abide by my rules as you are a part of my house and under my authority." The middle aged bat growled, glaring at his son. "You and I will discuss the debt you now owe me with your mother later."
Victor sank back, looking sheepish. "Yes father, I apologize." He muttered.
There was an awkward pause and the bat sneered. "I said GET OUT!" He barked as his son's eyes widened. The white and gray platypus turned and quickly absconded, leaving a still miffed fox who turned on his rival.
Maxwell was seething. "You're heir has no respect!" The unnaturally aged fox bit. "Look what he did to my arm!" He griped, shoving his now swelling arm at the annoyed looking bat. "Well Gustavo? How are you going to make this right?!" He barked.
The bat glared on the seething vulpin. "You still don't get it do you? You have no concept of procedures or proper boundaries it seems." He glared. "I apologize for my son's rash behavior, but don't you DARE ever raise a hand to him EVER AGAIN!" His expression grew cold. "I can only imagine what he said to you to set you off, but it is not your place to discipline an apprentice, an apprentice minister at that!" The bat seethed. "If he is misbehaving, you get me or a guard." He glanced at the claw marks piercing the Nobel's sleeve and got a disgusted look. "Try not to bleed on the carpet, I just had them updated." He growled. "I'll get Mavis, she keeps her bag stocked with disinfectant and other supplies…" He grumbled. "Being a platypus herself, she may still have some antivenom left from accidental scrapes when Victor was growing up."
The fox looked interested, an ear poking. "She wouldn't have any for herself?"
"Females don't produce venom." He grumbled. "Thought you would have known that considering your hobby with biology and anatomy." This caused the fox to glare daggers even harder. The albino bat rose an eyebrow. "I trust I don't have to worry about you bringing a charge against my son." The inquisitive look turned poisonous. "I wouldn't want to have to bring charges against you, for your gross overstep in the simple task of removing an unqualified apprentice from the minister's council chambers?"
The fox's quiet wrath dissipated into annoyance. "Fine." He bit. "Bring me to the Minister of health." He gave a mock bow, arms stretched wide. "Oh Minister of Architecture and Design..." He played up limping forward with his cane. "I need to go over her proposal anyways, you're wife's got some revisions to the recommended pain doses for the military field kits." He grumbled. "There's rumors of more echidna scouts from the far south." He sighed. "They are known for tall stature and brutish strength… let's hope they lose interest before we have to shove them back as they try to bludgeon us."
Victor stopped listening from around the corner and grumbled at the thought of the crazy fox, he was obviously experimenting on himself, how come no one else could see it? That accelerated aging was probably some screw up from his proposed fountain of youth project. The boy scoffed, using gene therapy on oneself as a test subject was so dangerous! He deserved whatever came his way for such a stupid risk. The young mobian left the chamber and continued down the path to the closed off minister of science wing, quietly grumbling as he thought about what punishment he'd have to put up with to placate his father. The platypus sighed, one thing at a time and he had somewhere to be.
He sighed as he passed through the library wing on the way to the gardens. Past that was his destination, the science wing. There were librarians and archivists all over, like hive insects, busy at work. He noticed a familiar face at one of the tables, a girl sleeping, a book in front of her. He smiled at the scene, his sister could be such a dope. He walked over to the bat and gently pulled the book away from her hands and set it beside her, he gently shook her to get her up. "Amanda. You fell asleep in the library again."
"Wuh huhh?" The white bat groggily looked up, her own pink nocturnal glasses scewed on her face as she squinted. She turned to him and he fixed the angle of her glasses. The girl's eyes blinked half asleep. "Victor? Is it time to go home already?"
"The working day is over but I plan on staying for a few more hours. You fell asleep studying again." He smirked. "You can probably catch the transport back with mom and dad if you want, but I'm staying later."
She blushed and sat straight. "Victor!" The 19 cycle old flustered at the librarians chuckling around them. "I…" Her face scrunched. "I don't want to go home yet, but I need a break."
He gave her a grin. "You're nap in the book not enough?"
She got up and put her book back on the return cart. "Quit it, I've been reading for hours." She sighed. "You know I'm studying under mother before university, you realize how complicated being a doctor is?" She followed him out of the library. "And that's just a regular doctor! The older teen started fidgeting. "I'm not sure I want to be minister of health someday…"
He glanced at his sister who was now following him. "Oh? And what do you want to be?"
She continued to fidget, her eyes dropping. "I don't know…" She shrugged. "But maybe I'll travel a bit after my education obligations are satisfied with father." She glanced at her older brother. "Where are you headed?"
He returned his gaze forward. "To see my mentor."
Her eyes lit. "Oh! Can I come?" She whispered. "I'd love to say hi to Maria if she's there!"
He shrugged. "Keep that name to yourself." He rolled his eyes. "I may not agree but…" He sighed. "Nevermind, just stop mentioning her name. Come on." They made their way to the closed science wing.
Victor entered his code into the keypad that locked off the partition and it opened, letting the two siblings in. Amanda gave him a questioning look. "Where's Nigel? Usually you two are like two peas in a pod!"
The bat shook his head. "He has some ceremonies to attend too with uncle Alexander as he just turned 18."
She puffed up her cheeks. "I still have a hard time believing King Alexander allows you to call him uncle."
The platypus moved to the hidden elevator to the lower levels and grinned. "Comes with the position." He preened. "A good minister of science can bring a golden age and should be considered family." He brought out his personal data assistant to activate the elevator. "Nicole, please call the lift." He ordered.
"Yes sir, working." The line bounced on the PDA's screen.
Amanda glanced at the device and frowned. "Didn't you say you were going to give Nicole to Nigel?"
He nodded. "We haven't been able to celebrate his 18th cycle yet. Probably when he gets back and things settle. He's going to have much more responsibilities, this is my gift since he can't be king yet and I can't be his full adviser yet." The platypus shrugged.
"I'm going to be given to someone else, sir?" The AI asked.
He smiled down at the construct in his hand. "You are going to spend the rest of your life assisting the royal family. Nigel, you've met him, remember?." He smirked at the PDA. "A very high honor, I hope you serve the Acorn house well."
The AI seemed to hesitate. "But what about you sir?"
"I'm going to be fine." He huffed as he looked forward, waiting for the door. "If I need help I can ask your brother Nick, he's got a separate task I've got in mind though. Besides, it's not like I won't see you anymore." He smirked. "You've met Nigel, you two will get along swimmingly."
"Oh… Okay…" The PDA replied as he closed the lid, placing the device back in his apprentice uniform pocket.
Amanda frowned. "She seemed kind of disappointed when you told her that."
Victor brushed his sister's concern off. "You're imagining things, if she does feel it, its primitive, she'll get over it." He commented as he stepped into the elevator, his sister following behind him, rolling her eyes at his dismissal then sighed. "I'm curious though, what do you plan on doing with Nick?" She asked as the doors closed and the lift started towards the lower levels.
The platypus smirked. "I managed to find the antechamber of the Great Forest, I was right! It's another ancient precursor site, like Ironlock prison."
She gave him a weary glance. "So you've actually been exploring that deathtrap? What's with you and warp zone nonsense?" She grimaced. "You better be careful, those things can be dangerous." The young woman made a bleh face as she shivered, hugging her arms.
He waved her off. "I'm well aware, I've found a way to detect incoming soft spots so you don't have to worry about me getting bisected, they may be random but there is a path Into the forest that's safe that I found."
She hesitated. "Okay? So what's Nick going to do?"
He smirked. "He's going to bring order to that chaos. Father might have thought my requested birthday gift stupid at first, but he's warming up to the idea of having a getaway guarded by the best security system anyone could dream of." He glanced at his sister. "It's supposed to be a secret, but it's your family as well. We're planning on building a second home once I've made it safe. Father's going to authorize some construction units from the mines and a few contractors he trusts. After it's made, I'll turn the warp zones back on with Nicholas at the helm." He snickered. "With the reputation of that place, it's the perfect hideaway!"
She gave him a wide eyed look. "Okay? Do we really need a second home?" She quizzed. "We already have such a big estate?"
"Someday you can have the old estate and I can retire in my quiet wooded villa, my warpzones at my behest." He smirked as the door opened to the lower labs. "My own little wizard tower." He snickered at the thought of the fairy tails as she rolled her eyes at the stupid reference. He stepped out, his sister following. The area was large, sterile lights above the lab. There was a living area to the side with a blond headed tween at a table, looking to be posing her dolls and trying to draw them.
The human girl looked up and smiled. "Victor! Amanda!" She got up and skipped over to greet her friends. "I'm so glad you could visit!" She paused. "Where's Nigel?"
Victor gave a soft smile. "He is indisposed today, many ceremonies and rights for turning 18 cycles with his position."
Her cheeks puffed. "It's his birthday?!" She got a distressed look. "You gotta tell me these things!" She got a flat look then huffed. "I… Nevermind." She turned to the white bat next to him. "Amanda, thankyou for visiting!"
Amanda smiled down at the young tween that was quickly approaching her in height. "Good afternoon Maria, how have you been?"
The girl sighed, her face showed discomfort for a fraction of a second before being eclipsed by a smile. "Same as ever. Grandpa's been busy but he's been tutoring me, Uncle Alexander gave me some more dolls too so that's been fun." She turned to her project on the table. "I'm practicing my drawing, maybe someday I can dress in a mask and enter the art scene. Or maybe publish comics under a pen name." Her voice trailed off.
She turned to smile at the two Mobians. "Thank you." She turned to Victor. "Grandpa's down on the lower levels, he should be up for supper soon." She glanced at the central part of the lab. "The warp zone project you've been working on with him is still there. Grandpa wrote some notes he thought you might find useful."
Victor smiled as he glanced at his sister. "Want to see what we've been working on?"
The bat hesitated, her ears dropping for a second before she put on a mask of excitement. "As long as it isn't too dangerous!"
The harsh lights above them grew brighter for a second before returning to their normal sterile hum. Victor gave an inquisitive glance at Maria who just shrugged. "Grandpa's been experimenting with alternative energy sources, something to do with a pretty gemstone from the south."
"Ah, so he managed to find one of the legendary chaos emeralds then? Or is it just another false one?" The platypus cocked an eyebrow.
The blond girl gave a cheeky disinterested look. "I have no idea. You'd know more about that theoretical physics stuff then I would, grandpa's still trying to get me interested in science though… Biology's been fun." She sighed, a pensive look on her face as she averted her eyes. "I might settle with bioengineering if Great Uncle Alexander doesn't let me do the masked artist thing, life can be interesting and beautiful at least…" She sighed. "Maybe I'll be aloud to have a pet someday..." She grimaced. "Or a handler, someone regular to talk to besides grandpa."
Amanda walked over and put a comforting hand on her young friend's shoulder. "It's okay… I know it must be tough but…" She grimaced.
"We understand, even though we do not agree with the protocol, we understand." The platypus walked past her towards his lab area. "I doubt uncle will be willing to go for the masked artist thing though…" He sighed. "Maybe someday Nigel will be a bit more lenient on the non native realmwalker protocols."
The human stared at the ground, scrunching her eyes shut. "Yeah…"
The two girls slowly followed Victor to the pedestal and he smiled a wry grin. "Maybe with this, we can send you back to earth, that's also a possibility." He lifted his chin to the side, cocking a brow. "Did Gerald tell you about that?"
Her face lit with awe. "Really?"
"Keep that quiet though, you can keep a secret right?" He smiled. "Technically that would be a byproduct of the function of this, not it's intended use. If we can synthesize the right displacement crystal, it should work though. Right now we can only link back to the border world of the Void." He tapped a glass chamber with a pale orange synthetically perfect crystal in it. "Gerald's been working on a new kind of 3d printer. It can't do fine detail like the internal organelles of cells or other biological mechanisms but, linking together a crystal lattice is within our grasp." The girls looked confused at what he said and he gave a flat look. "Nanites that can deposit or replace materials to form a superstructure of whatever I design, it has limitations." Maria's eyes lit while his sister still looked confused. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Maybe being a doctor isn't your calling." He mumbled under his breath. He looked up and smiled at his sister. "It's a fancy 3d printer that uses little tiny robots to make materials like stones and basic robotics but it can't make life, life is too complicated."
"Oh!" She looked a little embarrassed. "That's neat I guess."
He turned back to the machine. "This is based off of Gerald's prototype that brought, the one that brought him here." He cleared his throat. "However, we don't have the original crystal or the vectors of his home dimension in relation to ours. Right now we have to link to the boarder world and scan for remnants of the original disturbance, otherwise there's way too many doorways we could potentially open. Right now were just going to perfect connecting to the void of silence." He got excited. "It's time for us to reclaim something that's been lost to our people since the times of the precursors and wizards!"
He got a cheeky look and decided to show them a demonstration. Powering on the machine he lowered the safety shield around the warp point. His sister started to look nervous. "You're activating it?"
He gave her a smile. "Might as well show you that I'm not just wasting my time! Maybe stick up for me next time dad questions the legitimacy of my realm walker of an apprenticeship teacher."
He continued booting up the machine and soon there was a small spark forming in the center of the warp point. "See! Totally synthetic crystal too! You have no idea how difficult it was to find a lattice that actually harmonized with a higher plane." The theatrical youth reached his arm out to the small pinhole of a portal. "It's still highly unstable right now, but If you look closely, you can see the nebula through the event horizon!" He turned to his sister and smiled. "See? I'm not wasting my time!"
*BANG*
The lights flashed brighter and the golf ball sized portal fluctuated, pulsing and breaking the safety shield, sending a strange wave across the trio, filling their heads with confusion and causing them to stagger. Victor blinked forward, his head filled with a strange fog, it was like seeing thousands of himself doing different things, some even depicting... was that Gerald swinging him like a sack of potatos? No... that human looked similar... but different... wait... did he die in that one? it looked like something fell on him? "Whaaah?" He groaned in confusion as he dreamily reached for the violently pulsating pretty light. There was pain at his fingertips and he screamed, his mind splitting at the pain. In an instant there was another pulse and the violently shifting and unstable warp zone violently expanded, disintegrating his arm at the core of the anomaly and shredding his flesh near the edge. The boy violently reeled back, knocking the girls who were just coming down from their confused episodes and splattering them with his blood. The girls groaned as Victor was screaming bloody murder. Amanda's mind came back and she screamed at the scene. She scrambled to her feet, watching her crying brother in shock as she started to have a panic attack. The warp zone grew to the point of disintegrating it's generator and quickly dissipated, leaving a mess of red mist falling to the ground. Maria looked horrified at the scene of the young noble crumpled and bawling in pain on the ground, his right arm gored to the shoulder.
"Grandpa! GRANDPA!" She ran to the stairwell. "HELP! GRANDPA!"
Victor lay in a pool of his own blood, a mix of pain and confusion slowly transforming into numbness and shock as he stared at his stump. "It rot…" He muttered. "My arm rot off my flesh…" His confused mind drifted back to the fox that despised his family so much. He was starting to feel light headed as he felt some roll him over and start tying something to his stump. "He cursed my arm and it rot…" He mumbled, his mind fogging as an anger started to simmer in him. His head was getting lighter, tingles from the low blood pressure starting to edge at his vision. He started to fill with rage. "LET HIS HEIR BE A DISAPPOINTMENT TO HIM!" He bit full of wrath as he felt the sting of a needle on his neck. "LET THEIR SUFFERING AT THE FRUITS OF MY LEGACY MAKE HIM ROLL IN HIS GRAVE!" He slurred as the darkness and numbness took him.
Mobius - Western coastline of the Dark Swamp - 3239
Victor shot up, a cold sweat and phantom pain making itself known in his arm. He panted as he looked around in the dark, they were still on the beach, the remnants of the small fire now just coals. He saw the killed raptor to the side being guarded by the drones and the piece they'd carved to cook over their fire almost gone. The sea air was warm, and the sound of the waves soothed him. He forgot how comforting the ocean was, he gave a sigh, taking in the salty air. A trait he'd shared with his mother that his father and sister would never understand. He sat up and looked around. Nigel was huddled by the fire with a mylar emergency blanket and the woman and her child were sleeping back to back with the chipmunks bag draped over them. The chipmunk noticed the platypus then looked back to the fire. "Bad dream?" He muttered.
The platypus wiped his eyes. "I guess… more of a bad memory." He clutched and flexed his aching roboticized limb, trying to banish the phantom ache. He glanced at his brother. "Are you still up, or did you just wake up?"
The chipmunk sighed. "I'm still up, I think it's around midnight, but I don't know." He muttered.
Starline frowned. "You need to sleep if we're to make progress, even with these bags its pretty bad, you're not used to roughing it." He glanced at the two girls huddled under his brother's sleeping bag. "She even said it was fine. She's been sleeping under the stars for years."
He grumbled. "I'll pass out soon." His face looked miserable and tired. He closed his eyes and gave a big sigh. "If we've made this much progress so far, we should hit one of the hamlets soon, so maybe we can borrow a boat or something. Maybe get some supplies…" He glared up towards the bank above the beach. "We already found the coastal road… looks like it needs maintenance…" He grumbled.
The platypus glanced over to the bank and sighed. "15 years of vegetation and no maintenance… guess something big did happen." He glanced back at his miserable looking friend. "Is she you're wife." The platypus laid back down, looking at the stars above them.
"What?" The chipmunk shifted, getting nervous.
"Don't pretend with me." The platypus gave an annoyed sigh. "I'm not interested in playing games, you've been acting strange ever since you saw this Zera. She obviously has some neurological damage too, neurological damage that would match what your wife was threatened with."
"She's going to be fine." He bit, then held his tongue.
The platypus rolled his head to the side, glancing at his friend, he looked like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "So she is you're wife. Annabel was it?"
The chipmunk deflated. "I… I think so…" He whispered.
"When are you going to tell that to her?" the doctor quietly asked. "Or have you done it already?"
Nigel hesitantly shook his head. "I don't know how to even broach that subject without it being weird and creepy." He looked hopefully at his old friend. "Do you have any suggestions?"
"No." The doctor flatley responded, causing the chipmunk's head to dip, ears flattening.
"Oh, okay…" He whispered as he silently began crying.
Victor noticed the quiet sniffles and glanced at his friend again, giving a strained expression and sighing. "I'm sorry, you were always the social butterfly, I just managed to agitate most everyone who came in contact with me." He grumbled. "I don't know how you'd approach that subject other than to just say you think she's your long lost wife." He noticed a small shift from the girls and froze. "W–whatever happens though…" He hesitated as he saw the outline of an ear, the ear of the woman they were talking about flicked, it was poked towards their conversation. His eyes widened. "I… I'm sure you'll figure out how to talk to her." He slowly got up out of his bag and brought it towards the quietly crying chipmunk. "Give me the mylar blanket. Take the sleeping bag for the rest of the night, you need to rest to have a clear head tomorrow."
The ragged looking monarch gave a sigh of relief. "Thankyou Victor." He quietly replied as they traded. Nigel gave a strained sigh as he passed out in the down mummy bag.
The doctor waited a few minutes then got up to go look at the woman facing the fire. "I saw the ear." He whispered down to her. Her face twitched. "I saw that too." He quietly quipped. "How much did you hear?"
Her eyes opened. "E–enough." She whispered, looking nervously at the passed out monarch.
"And what will you do?" The doctor knelt down to look closer at her face as she looked really uncomfortable.
Her expression strained. "I… I d–don't know…"
The platypus got up and rolled his eyes. "What is this, are we a group of teens in academy again?" He quietly griped as he shook his head.
He moved back to his spot with the mylar bag and the red headed chipmunk cautiously sat up to stare at him. "What w–will you d-do?" She nervously whispered.
"Nothing." The platypus quipped. "It's not my business, I just need to make sure you're not going to hurt him."
Her face looked hurt. "I…" She thought back to her knife and winced. "That's f-fair…"
He gave a sigh as he snuggled up with the uncomfortable blanket. "Fair warning, he may be a social creature, but he's a pansy when it comes to confronting feelings, or at least he was when I knew him. You might have to be the one who confronts him about this topic." He glared at her. "I on the other hand… unfortunately have a hard time holding my tongue from lashing or saying too much. It's gotten me in trouble before. So this is you're problem, for you two to deal with, not for me." He sighed as he turned on his back again, looking up at the stars. "I've got the info I wanted. Take the info you heard and do what you will." He hesitated. "If you are Annabel, it's obvious you don't remember anything. I'm sorry for what happened to you." He said as he started to drift off.
The graying red headed woman laid back down on the sand. Clutching the sleeping bag hard as she thought of possibilities and quietly started to cry, a mix of feelings, not really sure if it was out of hurt or hope.
Chapter 14 end.
Author's notes: This was super interesting to write and there was some stuff I just had to scrap or was just like… I'm not going to describe that in more detail, enough has been said to get the point across. The point of Trisha is to be a child and product of a mad scientist, hurt and vulnerable but also doing some of the same crazy things her father did. Slightly sociopathic tendencies but with many things, there can be a choice, even to care. This is getting personal but I deeply believe that no matter what happens to someone or whatever the circumstance, there is always a choice and I personally hope to have the strength and conviction to make the correct ones. This could also just be me being a boy and suppressing feelings as boy's tend to do but sometimes I care and sometimes I feel like I should and the tug isn't as strong, but I can make the choice to care and I do. Tails's mom isn't supposed to be a good guy in this if that weren't obvious, an extremely gray area if not just a bad guy that you can feel sympathetic for? we will see about that. I hope I've made Tails's family history interesting though. Hope I didn't go overboard, bear in mind with these characters that they have a lot of neat tools but they are nerds who do not know how to fight. Give a farmer a gun and you got a soldier that can take out swordsman but put them up against trained soldiers with guns and the farmer is going to have a bad time. Hopefully this chapter is worth the wait! As per usual (again), reviews are not necessary (thankyou for those who did give me feedback though last chapter as I was genuinely worried.) but are always appreciated if they are constructive, let me know what you think! It helps me write future chapters! Also if you've made it this far and think someone else would enjoy it, I'd appreciate the recommendation! -Xen Traveler
