Preface: There's some abuse in this chapter, one of the characters as a kid getting tazed after she… lashes out at her father? "spoilers" Neither character make good decisions nor are they known for it in this story so far. Dark sci-fi elements in that too. If you want to skip that then it basically starts after "The temptation kept nipping at her emotionally frazzled mind". I kind of want to make it known that just because there are themes of sci-fi futuristic stuff in this… Bioengineering IRL seems more harmful to me than good, it makes such fascinating plot points in stories though. Also... AI is complicated, it could be so neat but so terrifying.
Chapter 15: Wrath and Loneliness
Mobius - Coastline south of Robotropolis - 3239
Victor's eyes slowly opened as he rolled over, the mylar blanket crinkling as he lazily blinked. The fire was out and the ground raptor that had ambushed them the other night was starting to stagnate, there was a party of sea isopods scavenging the kill, crawling over the reptile carcass. The softball sized rolly polys were chittering with excitement at their find, it made him feel ill. "Ugh." He made a bleh face and got up, turning to look at their campfire. The other party members were just starting to stir in the morning light. He folded the mylar blanket the best he could and moved to store it back in Nigel's bag. He snapped his metallic fingers twice, getting the others attention but more importantly his two utility stealth drones zooming to hover at attention. "Scare off those scavengers, the sound they make is disgusting." He pointed at the no longer fresh kill. The party watched him walk up to them as the drones went to town, shooting and singeing the carcass and causing the herd of ocean isopods to scatter.
The badger tween frowned at the platypus, running up and throwing a clump of sand at his head. He squawked as he dodged the impromptu projectile and gave her a bewildered look. "What was that for?"
She looked ticked. "Why'd you do that!" She growled. "They're doing their job!"
He gave a frown as he brushed some of the sand off his ornate lab getup. "They are filthy scavengers and they can have it after we leave. I don't want to listen to the chittering of those bottom dwellers as they start to rip the flesh from that beast in my presence."
Nigel stepped between the two. "Enough." The tired chipmunk glared at Starline. "Don't waste resources like that I guess." He gave a sigh. "Let's just focus on making it to the next town up the coastline." He paused for a moment. "Wasn't your mother from the southern arm?"
The badger continued glaring at the platypus as her mother walked up to her, leading her back to their temporary nest to eat some dried fruit they'd brought in their sachal for breakfast.
Victor's eyes hesitantly followed the ticked girl he was still trying to press for information, his mind drifting from her possible extra dimensional entity of a friend to his own friend's question. He sighed. "Yes, my mother was a dual citizen of the Sea Tribe Confederacy and a subject of Acorn. Her family home is just north of here." He glanced out to the ocean, watching the peak of the western sunrise as he listened to the surf. "It was uncommon but acceptable, a high cast to take such an interest in a mid cast merchant's daughter." He glanced back at the chipmunk. "Did you know father paid for the rest of her higher education? From a small town girl with her eyes set on nursing to the next minister of health. She just so happened to be in the right place at the right time, helping the right sun blinded bat who had lost his nocturnal shades in the surf." He turned back to the crashing waves. "Funny how things work out." His voice drifted as he continued to think of his parents.
The chipmunk sighed. "I'm glad my pairing worked out, but be glad you didn't have an arranged marriage on your plate." He stretched his neck, rolling his head back and forth then hesitated. "Annabel was from the northern kingdom but she was raised down here half the time to help her integrate." He sighed. "She's a high cast, but not from the norther royal family; she was a regional barons daughter." He let out a deep breath. "Annabel and I... We both approached the situation as duty but through both our effort... our marriage blossomed." He smiled. "Her father, in his old age kept sending her body guards as gifts, a lot of them made fantastic palace guards." He smiled at the thought of one of the migrating families. "I made decent friends with one, for a while he was the head guard for my daughter..." He sighed. He glanced to the platypus who was glancing at him, hands in his pockets. The monarch smiled. "I still don't know why you were so adverse to finding someone special, you actually had the freedom to choose."
The platypus gave a deep sigh. "I don't know. I'm just not the best when it comes to things like that." His eyes lidded up as he gazed into the sunrise. "Maybe if things are screwed up enough to abandon Ironlock and for there to be no maintenance to the little infrastructural we've seen... who knows if there's any highborn left who would want to court me." His look grew sour. "Or anyone who'd want to court an ex banished noble." He scratched the back of his head as he closed his eyes. "Maybe I'll have to sink lower then father and see if a commoner would have any interest."
The chipmunk frowned as he glanced to his honorary brother. "Do you really think of your own mother with such disdain?"
The platypus gave the chipmunk a half lidded gaze as he let his hand fall from the back of his head. "I loved my mother, that doesn't change that she was of far lower status then father. Their family may have had ties to one of the larger merchant families of the sea tribes but she was still just the daughter of a merchant, free to take her own path as well, she had no inheritance." He gave a disinterested grunt. "I was supposed to elevate the status of our house after father lowered it." His eyes gazed back to the sunrise. "Doesn't mean father didn't do everything he could to elevate her status in the court." He gave a grin. "Father liked to brag about status, quite vain of him and it contrasted his love for her. Mother was just excited to be part of something big and she loved him dearly, she did all that she could to fit in and please him." He sighed as his mind grew sour at the memories of his father's nitpicking of her. "Right..." He muttered as he gazed out upon the sea they had drown in, he hadn't thought of them like this for a while.
Nigel noticed the somber mood of the platypus and walked up besides him, thinking what to say but house politics got complicated and trying to break away from duty was difficult. He thought of the announcement that he'd planned on letting his daughter choose her spouse to the court, that had caused an uproar of the elders wanting him to forge an alliance with the high casts of the sea tribes. He had settled on stipulations to her choosing but who knows if that even mattered at this point. His mind drifted back to his own struggles. "Thank you for the sleeping bag." He let out his held breath. "I've got a little to think about before I… try and tell her…" He glanced at the amnesiac that could be his wife, then forward to the ocean. Victor gave the chipmunk a strained stink eye and Nigel faltered. "What's that look for?"
The platypus brushed the loose strands from his face as he got a disinterested look. "I don't envy you."
The chipmunk looked hurt. "W-what's that supposed to mean?!" He griped.
The white and gray platypus rolled his eyes as he turned from his friend and made his way to their campfire site. "Forget it, chock it up to a bad mood and no coffee." He huffed. "That mylar blanket is terrible." He griped, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes before fitting his glasses over his bill.
Nigel noticed how disheveled his normally pristine friend looked. His coat was scuffed with threads starting to show on the trim. His hair was coming apart in frazzled strands, his frohawk no longer being held perfect from product or combing. He looked at himself, he was smeared with mud and there was a gash in his royal attire, he winced as he put a hand up to his cheek. He could feel the oils building in his fur. He sighed as he knelt down to the surf to cup some salt water to wash his face. Closing his eyes as he washed, he ran his fingers back, dragging them through his short brown and graying hair. He gave a sigh as he turned to follow his friend back to camp.
When he got back up, Zara approached him and tried to pass him some dried fruit. He smiled and waved a hand in decline, causing her to shrink a little and frown. "Why don't you w–want any?" She looked a little hurt.
He noticed her hurt look and got nervous. "I don't mean to offend, I've got some rations and don't want to take your food." He grimaced. "Mine shouldn't go to waste, even if it tastes like chalk."
Victor came up to him, shoving him his ready bag. "Rations aren't that bad. They'll keep you alive. I've packed our bags, we can head north when you're ready."
"Right." The king nodded as he grabbed the bag. Slinging it over his shoulder he moved to start leading their party up the coast along the surf.
Victor migrated over towards the badger who was trailing behind her mother and the king, still giving him the stink eye. She scowled at him again. "What?"
He returned a frown. "I thought I could ask you about your friend, Tikal was it?"
She rolled her eyes. "Why? so you can order your metal flyers to torment her like you did those sea crawlers?"
He gave her an odd look as his mind halted, that didn't make much sense? His odd look transitioned to a confused sheepish smile. "I'm sorry?"
The young girl huffed as she looked away, crossing her arms. "They were just doing what they were supposed to!"
The gears turned in his head as the light bulb went off. "Ahh…" He gave a guttural sigh as he rolled his eyes. "For the love of…" He glanced at the girl who was still glaring at him. "I apologize for driving parasite ridden crustaceans from our vicinity." He glared at her. "Do you put up with the leeches of the swamps or do you deter them from your dwelling?"
She faltered. "That's not the same thing!"
He scoffed and waved her off as his eyes lidded closed. "It's close enough." He peered at her over his raised bill. "Realize that I didn't order my drones to skewer them with lazbolts. They're lower lifeforms, They've most likely forgotten by this point and are probably munching away, ecstatic at the feast we left them."
She hunched over her crossed arms as her pout intensified. "Still wasn't nice." She quipped as she uncrossed her arms, hopping up on a driftwood log to walk eye level to him, balancing with her arms all the way.
He scoffed. "I never said it was." His mind drifted to the anthropology labs with their flesh cleaning crawlers, tearing meat from the bones before they were bleached. He shuttered at the thought. "I just don't like them and would rather not hear them at work."
She noticed his shutter and disgusted look. A look of bemusement crossed her face as she laughed. "HA HA! You're scared of them!" She pointed, the snark dripping from her expression.
He peered at her, raising a brow. "There's a HUGE difference between fear and disgust." He grumbled, then sighed. "It's important to learn the difference, that's something that will tell you a lot about someone's motives. Your ability to read people will…" He paused at that, he wasn't teaching a future high cast... or... "Never mind." He scrapped the thought as he cleared his throat. "If it makes you feel better, I'll try to remember not to antagonize the local wildlife." Her expression was still annoyed but she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Ugh, fine." She gave a breath as she looked forward.
Victor got a pensive look, tilting his head in question. "I answered many of your questions yesterday, would you mind answering some of mine?"
She hesitated. "Maybe?" She hopped off the end of the log to start swinging her arms, looking up the path.
He looked up the path as well and saw in the morning light that the swamp was starting to transition into the tropical canopy that hugged the coastline, the outline of his mother's village hamlet up ahead. He gave a sigh, a comfort at seeing something familiar before he returned his gaze upon the girl hosting a possible dimensional curiosity. "Who is Tikal?" He asked.
She gave him a strange look. "Tikal's my friend?"
He gave a flat look before looking forward, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Of course she is." He grit through his teeth. "I guess I mean… where did she come from? Why is an echidna your friend?"
The girl shrugged. "She showed up one day and said she didn't have anyone she could find she could naturally talk to, so she chose me. She said I was young enough to learn to talk to her so she helped me learn."
The platypus let go of his face as he eyed the girl suspiciously. "Why did she choose you?"
"I don't know, something to do with mom's bloodline, whatever that means." The girl gave him a questioning look. "Why are you so interested in her? Mom almost never wants to talk about Tikal."
He hesitated, thinking about his answer. "I'm interested on how she knows so much…"
The girl beamed, a smug look on her face as she crossed her arms. "She sure does know a lot!"
They were getting closer to the tourist town in the distance. "Why does she help you?" He asked, eyes watching her expression for the slightest shift.
She put her finger under her muzzle, thinking. "She said a few things, she wanted to be friends for one, she's been alone for a long time." The girl shrugged. "Also because she saw mom and me interacting with some of her lost people."
The platypus faltered. "There's more of them?" He whispered before shaking the uneasy feeling from himself. "W-well then." He gave a thoughtful look. "I guess we'll have to keep an eye out for them."
The girl gave a sad look. "Tikal said the people she was supposed to watch... abandoned her..." The girls face scrunched with confusion. "Her... gemstone? Is buried somewhere on some place called Angel Island?"
Victor looked confused as well. "Her gemstone?"
The girl shrugged. "She said it was like her home, she can project herself from it, but only in bursts and before she chose me… only to her people." The girl glanced towards the south. "The further we get from her, the more effort it takes for her to talk…"
Starline glanced back in the distance. "Hmm." he rubbed his chin as he gazed towards the south, maybe angel Island was one of the floating continents or islands. He turned back front to see the distinct outline of buildings and smiled. "Ahh, home away from home." He frowned as he squinted, seeing distinct signs of overgrowth and a few ash piles from burned homes. "Uh oh." He skipped forward to butt into Nigel and Zera's conversation. "Nigel."
"Hmm?" The monarch turned to him, a slight look of annoyance on his face. The doctor pointed towards the distant buildings. "Things may be worse than we thought. Unless there's been major renovations, I think I see some ash piles where a few buildings used to be."
The chipmunk squinted into the distance, the sun had risen to the point where it wasn't as much of a struggle to see and the chipmunks eyes widened. "What?!"
Zera glanced to the two royals with a concerned look. "All the old settlements south of the cities dividing river are abandoned, we must be watchful for golems of technomancy while we trespass on these lands.
Starline rose an eyebrow and un-holstered a lasgun blaster. "Technomancy golems?" He glanced to Nigel. "Droids?" His mind returned to the robot frozen in the prison crystal of the void and he scowled. "Wonderfull." He bit as his sarcasm dripped.
The group carefully continued their trek. Getting closer to the hamlet village. They entered the quiet town, nothing but the surf crashing filling the silence. Victor was uneasy at the dawning realization of the state of the world, his mother's home wasn't supposed to be this quiet. The town was made of upper and lower cast dwellings of brutalist concrete design and humble wooden villas. They passed some ash piles and an old beach area. Old rows of chairs blown and buried every which way, nets for the different beach games torn with just the metal poles left.
A black and blue slender droid watched the group from the upper part of the town. It was perched on top of one of the concrete monoliths, Its red visor following the group before zeroing in on the monarch. It quietly contorted down on all fours, its hands splitting into claws that dug into the concrete. It quickly started scaling down the side of the building. Its HUD brought up a map of the seaside tourist town and it planned a path for intercept. It paused as it checked to see if there were any updated orders before it commenced another bloodbath.
Connecting to robotnik empire's satellite array in read only mode…
connected.
Prototype solo combat assassin swatbot 17, no new orders.
Commencing existing orders, single unit army tasked to one zone, search and destroy survivors along outskirts.
The mech reached the ground before standing back to full height, utility claws folding back into fists as it started quietly sprinting to the estimated intercept point; the group entering the town proper as it pursued.
Victor was unnerved as He walked past abandoned cars and broken into storefronts. "What happened?!" He breathed, he knew something must have happened but this was like an apocalypse?! The group froze at the sight of an old corpse laid out on the street. The wind blew towards them, a waft of the old decay reminding them of the very real situation they were in.
"Oh no..." The young badger's voice shook as she backed up, staring at the Mobian mummified in the sun. Her mother grabbed her shoulder, steadying her daughter.
"W-we can still m-make it back to the swamp." She hesitated as she brought out her obsidian looking knife.
Nigel hesitantly brought out both of his vibra sabers, activating them as he moved up to the corpse. It's body looked like it had been beaten to a pulp as it laid on the brown stained concrete, its head was caved in with its legs broken and bending unnaturally at the joints. He grimaced at the damage and the foul smell before looking around. "Did you really hate me that much Julian? After all that I gave you?" A rage started to build in him as he gazed up and down the streets, looking for any trace of droid. He sighed as he knelt to the corpse. "I'm sorry, may you find peace in the next realm. I don't have the tools to do a proper burial rite… I'm sorry." He got up, a pang of irritation on his face. "Let's keep moving." He grit, turning to the woman and her child, giving them a confident but ticked nod. "We'll make it to our safe haven. We'll figure this out." Neither of them looked reassured or comfortable and that irritated him even more. He gave a huff as he led their group forward.
Victor was on edge, his drones following at his side as he watched from the back, the girls in front of him as they trudged through the town. "Nigel." He broke the silence, causing his irritated friend to turn to him.
"What?" He bit.
"Do you want to try and stop at my mother's ancestral home and…" He thought of his aunt and uncle, then the corpse. "Try and look for supplies? Maybe borrow my f–families boat?" He hesitated, his mind couldn't stop thinking of the corpse and he looked nervously around. His eyes widened as they fell on another slumped body in the distance, this one impaled on a fire hydrant, its neck at an odd angle.
Nigel noticed the doctor's odd behavior. "What?"
Starline pointed at the corpse. "There's another one, it looks like... its neck was snapped and..." He shuttered, giving a heavy breath as he strode forward. "We're taking the boat. I don't want to see this or be here anymore. Not for five more townships." Something kept clawing at his mind. Thoughts of his mothers relatives who lived here, he dreaded what he would find in their villa his father had given them.
Nigel nodded, a look of determination building. "Lead the way…" The party changed their course, the distant droid updating its waypoint as it crept towards them.
The party drew closer to the shore again, a modest modern building, concrete jutting forward as a break in the surf and acting like a dock.
Victor walked up to the stone gate and waved his hand in front of the keypad for nothing to happen. He frowned as he realized that power had been lost. He turned to sigh at the regal chipmunk. "Looks like we're going to have to break in." He snapped his finger, getting the attention of his drones. "Alpha, scout the facility. Beta, come here." He grabbed to the bottom of the second drone as the first moved to comply. "Lift me up so I can see over the gate." The drone started to lift, Victor holding to the bottom handles of the droid, wincing from the strain on his shoulder port and weaker arm. He was slowly lifted as he glanced back to his friend who was watching him. He froze, breath hitching in the back of his throat, there was a black and blue droid quietly rearing up to attack behind Nigel. "NIGEL! BEHIND YOU!"
The chipmunk dove to the side as two fists came down, cracking the concrete where the Mobian had been standing. The thing's vizor was locked on the monarch. The girls turned to scream at the deadly metal golem swiftly moving towards the blue clad mobian.
"YOU WILL SURRENDER TO BE TERMINATED. MILITARY UNITS PRIORITY ONE!" It screamed as it lunged forward, swiping a fist at the monarch's throat as he himself swept back.
Nigel was ticked as he swept his sword up, clipping the robot's hand as it swiftly pulled back. There was a clank as the slivered portion of its fist fell to the concrete. Zara pulled Sticks to her and away from the robot.
Victor panicked as he let go of the drone with his flesh arm, gripping tight to the now lopsided drone as his metal grip began crushing the handle. He grabbed for one of his pistols and aimed for the droid only for the bolt to ricochet off the things chassis and clip Nigel across the cheek.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The chipmunk screamed as he lunged forward, sideswiping the droid's next swing as he brought his vibrasaber down on the things outstretched good arm, slicing into it but not completely through.
Victor was horrified at the result of his blaster fire. "I'M SO SORRY!" He glanced up at his drone. "ALPHA, BETA! HOLD FIRE ON DROIDS FOR NOW!" For once he was glad the extra power to lift things disabled the lazgun cannon in his drones.
The droid retracted its arm, pinching the vibrating sword and ripping it from the monarchs grasp. The thing twirled and kicked, Nigel rolling back and bringing up his remaining sword to defend himself. The robot did an unnatural contortion to twist and grab the sword from its now half severed arm with its damaged hand, bringing the sword level with the chipmunk before lunging forward.
Nigel parried the attack, stepping forward and in full control of the robots thrust, directing it to the side and locking the guard of his own saber with the guard of his stolen sword. With a quick tug back he dislodged the sword from the robot's broken grip and sent the saber clattering towards the girls who shrank back.
The monarch and droid kept at it as Victor's shock left. "Beta! Drop me. SAFELY DROP ME!" He quickly corrected. The droid dropped the doctor as he tried to scrape his mind for any way he could help without making things worse. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the woman lunge for the sword on the ground, bringing the knife up she moved, keeping out of the droid's wide peripheral as she made her way to its back. She swept at the things leg joints. The sword siezed in the droids joint, causing it to pitch forward, its arms outstretched to try and strangle the mobian. It missed its mark as it crashed forward, stopping its fall with its arms.
"RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nigel screamed as he started chopping at the things head, over and over.
*CRUNCH*
*CLANG*
*ZZZTTT*
*CRACK*
The livid chipmunk kept swinging at the robot as he started cussing it out. It was quickly apparent that it was over, the thing was seized and no longer moving but the wrathful monarch kept swinging. The group watched in unnerved shock as the livid chipmunk tore through the head and into the body, continuing to chop. Zara dropped the seized saber hilt, letting the droid fully tip forward as the enraged mobian kept swinging, screaming about someone named Julian.
Zara had a tugging feeling in her as she glanced to the others. The platypus looked uncomfortable and was sitting on the pavement, breathing hard and looking disheveled. Her daughter was just looking at the crumbling robot in shock. The male chipmunk's rampage was continuing as the droid was starting to spray sparks. The tugging feeling persisted, growing stronger as she looked at the raging mobian. She quickly moved to the side and grabbed his shoulder, squeezing hard three times, causing him to freeze and stare at her in shock. "Annabell?" His gaze was distant then focused as he looked at her in horror. "I…" He stumbled back, pulling from her grip as her heart sank.
"I'm n-not sure." She answered. "I l-l-lost m-my." She started tearing up. "I lost my memories…" She started crying. "15 cycles ago." She crumpled. "The more I l-look at you. The more my head and h-heart hurts. You feel s-so familiar!" She cried as she curled forward, beginning to weep.
The frazzled monarch realized the wrathful fit he'd inflicted upon the hapless pile that used to be the droid. He glanced at the other two mobians who were just looking at the pair of chipmunks, shocked. He glanced back to his wife and as his heart beat calmed he moved to comfort her.
"I'm so sorry for what I let happen to you." He whispered as he brought her up, gently pulling her to her feet. She was sobbing, a hand clutched to her head as she looked at him with uneven eyes. He held her hand and gently squeezed, three times and her eyes widened as the phantom memories stirred in her. She shakily moved forward and brought him into a hug as she cried. The two embraced, staining eachother's shoulders with tears.
Mobius - ? - 3239
Miles sat in the ornamental sand garden, digging a hole with his colorful plastic bucket and shovel; he was in a courtyard with tall ornamental walls of eastern design. It was shady under the tree, with spears of light cutting through the canopy above. He paused and looked at the dark stained porch, he could see a woman standing there, her tail slowly swaying behind her. She looked like him though, an orange fox with white accents. She looked familiar? Maybe because she looked like him, he squinted as he tried to get a good look at her face, her eyes seemed to be occluded in shadow. She knelt down and called to him with a distant voice, a warmth building in him as he got up to run to her.
The little boy stumbled on the lip of the sand garden, his arm scraping against a stone lantern as he fell to the ground and began to cry. The woman got up and walked over to the sniffling boy and she scooped him up, the warm feeling returning to him as she cood her reassurance. She smelt faintly of blueberries and it made him feel warm. She continued to rub his back and hush his cries as she gently rocked him, taking him inside to check and attend to his scrape.
They went through the kitchen and dining room, past the restroom with the bandages... Where were they going? They made their way to the stairwell, down and to the dark basement that held the medical lab. He hugged her tighter as a slow dread built, he began to shiver, letting out whimpers. The ache on his elbow started to sting again and he began crying. She paused and pulled a perfume vial from her pocket. Spritzing it in the air in front of them. She waited a few seconds before walking through the haze and the raspberry scent made his mind go foggy…
*STATIC*
He came too in the pristine white medical lab, he was strapped on the table of the loud scanner he detested so much, the woman standing at the terminal beside it. He began whimpering as he shifted and his arm pinched. He tried to look down, his head being held by a strap. His scrape was bandaged but there were now a few tubes going into his arm. The flesh was sensitive and he could feel the cold dye and chemicals slowly moving into his arm, it felt weird and the tubes were too big, it hurt. He started crying, he didn't understand why she did this sometimes. She noticed and brushed his hair lovingly, whispering about how it would be over soon and about how proud she was of his bravery. He could feel a slow stinging and fuzzy feeling at the back of his neck, the hazy tube that made his head hurt probably.
He didn't understand, all these tubes did was make his head soar for days after they were removed. The old scanner came to life with a loud whir and whine as the capacitors started charging for the imaging implement.
*CRACK*
The thunderous sound of the machine taking an image was loud and he violently flinched, pulling against the restraints as his ears flattened. His reaction had wrenched his head lose from the strap, twisting it to the side as he was now looking at her. The woman barked and began to glare, scolding him and demanding he be still. His eyes crushed closed as he began sniffling and shaking, her distorted but displeased voice bombarding his ears and causing his gut to twist and ache with anxiety.
He began to feel lighter, as if floating. He opened his eyes and he was in an indoor playground. She was across from him smiling, her shadow covered eyes unnerved him but he started to feel warm again. She playfully tossed him a colorful ball and he caught it, he was glad she was like this sometimes. He relaxed and smiled up at the kneeling woman only to freeze. There were swatbots behind her. She turned and screamed at the robots slowly approaching then ran to grab him, sweeping him off his feet. He clutched to her for dear life only for a swatbot to club her in the head with its shock baton. He tumbled to the ground crying in distress as he saw her violently shaking. Her face met his, a twisted mechanical mask, her eyes glowing a menacing red as she reached out a hand made of dripping needles and other sharp medical objects towards him. The woman was a Robian, like most all the other adults that had been caught in the city. He bristled as he felt an unnatural longing for the terrifying woman as she let out a distressed mechanical scream, violently shaking all the while. He was frozen, a part of him wanting to go to her aid while the other told him he needed to distance himself as fast as possible. He looked up from her and froze, the swatbots were getting closer to him and he shrank back and began to cry again.
There was a blur and he felt himself being placed in a loving embrace. He looked up to see… Mom? Sally? She was holding him tight as she sprinted away from the scene, away from the terrifying woman and the surrounding hord of mechs. The indoor playground faded to black as her running slowed to a stop. She knelt down, breathing hard as she set him on the ground. The perspective was a bit different as if he was slightly taller, maybe a few cycles older. He looked up at his adoptive mother, who looked at him with a mixture of love, uncertainty and guilt. Her uneasy look made him feel tense himself. He reached out for her hand, grabbing it and squeezing three times.
The red headed chipmunk's eyes widened as she returned his squeeze, three to indicate she loved him back as she started to weep. She knelt down and brought him into a hug as she cried. His ears flat on his head, he returned her hug as he began to cry as well. The scene faded from black to the colors of oranges and purples. They were standing on the edge of the ring pond in the twilight of evening, quiet trickles of water in the background.
Wait… He remembered this… She'd read him a story about wizards and their warpzones. He'd been convinced there was a wizard's warp crystal in the northern forest by one of the skunk brothers. Determined to find something that could help their new crusade against the technomancer Robotnik, he set off on his noble quest. His trek had led him deep into the northern thicket of the wood, a dark overgrown mess hugging the mountain cliffs. He had gotten lost in the dark foliage and entered into the network of tunnels that spread through the northern mountains. He had spent hours stumbling half blind through the tunnels, his nocturnal vision was almost non-existent and his pen torch's power cells had failed. The hours grew longer as he had given up his quest and just wanted to go home. The next few hours were just him trying to make his way out of the nexus of tunnels, trying to find his way back to the safety of their sanctuary.
Apparently Aunt Sally had spent the whole day frantically looking for him after scolding the sparse information from the trouble making children. His found family had searched all day, looking for traces of him. Sally had ran herself ragged, sprinting around the forest. She had all but given up and was slumped in a pool of her own misery, distraught and utterly exhausted, she knelt at the ring pond. Sonic who was now back, looking for him in her stead and checking up on her exhausted state. She had been bawling her eyes out at the dejection of losing her charge. Thankfully he had managed to stumble his way back in range of the portals, miraculously one opening to plop his sorry butt in front of his devastated mother.
She had lurched forward, embracing him as she shivered from her relieving worry. He had cried, his little cheeks burning with the embarrassment. He rambled apologies through his cries about getting lost, he didn't mean for her to worry about him. She had been a mix of anger, terror and relief; softly chiding him for running off and not telling any of them what he was doing. He quietly cried at the second hand pain he had inflicted upon his mother. She kept petting his head, quietly mumbling how much she loved him and growling about talking to the older boys who had sent him on such an impossible wild goose chase. He had been unnerved at that last part, not understanding why the other boys would lie to him about something like that. Both of them held each other, sobbing in relief. He had been 6 when that had happened.
*HAZE*
Mobius - Rosie's medical office - 3239
*KNOCK* *KNOCK*
Tails woke in a haze, a mix of fear and sadness leaving him as the confusion faded. His mind aligned as the memories quickly faded as well, his focus on the world around him intensifying. He glanced at the door and saw movement at the corner of his vision. Alyx was up, a hand on her head, with a slightly strained look in her eyes. The vixen was a little disheveled, the look of a headache evident. Rosie was sitting next to her, probably talking about the alcohol incident last night.
Rosie got up to move to the door and noticed he was up. "Good morning Miles." She smiled. "Sorry if our conversation woke you." She said as she made her way to the door.
Tails sat up in the chair, giving a slight sigh as his body was a bit achy from the odd sleeping position. "You guys didn't wake me."
"Good." Rosie replied.
Rosie opened the door to see a nervous red headed chipmunk in blue standing in front of her. "Thanks for letting me know what happened last night, Is she okay?" The princess hesitantly asked.
Rosie smirked as she looked back at the wincing vixen. Her gaze turned back to the princess. "She'll be okay."
Sally peered into the cabin at the bed to see Alyx cradling her head with both hands, she frowned. "Are you sure?"
"Morning Aunt Sally." Tails sighed, catching her attention.
Rosie moved, letting Sally enter the cabin. The chipmunk looked sheepish at Tails. "Morning sweetie…" She turned to the Vixen who's eyes were slightly bloodshot, chin now lifted as she stared at the chipmunk. Sally faltered. "I…" She closed her eyes. "I misread and misjudged the situation. I should not have put you on the spot like that, nor should I have presented the information in that way. I-I hope… I haven't ruined your desire to be a part of our community…"
Alyx's ears wilted as her eyes fell to the floor. "I forgive you… you weren't trying to be mean… and I still want to stay…" She gave a deep sigh. "It… it was just too much…" She closed her eyes, a look of concentration on her face. "learning how my…" Her face kinda scrunched. "R-real parents…" She hesitated, her expression dropping. "H-how I got to Earth… it's just a lot to process… the last few days already have been a lot to process… I think I just need to do something normal for a while." She hesitantly looked at Sally. "Please don't do something like that again."
Sally's gut was flipping as she fidgeted, her hackles half raised. "Believe me, I won't... I need to think about this kind of stuff more." She gave a nervous breath. "Thank you for forgiving me."
The vixen slowly nodded then winced, clutching her head. "Ulgh..."
Sally glanced at Rosie who was looking smug. "Is she really okay? She looks sick?! I thought she had just fallen and knocked her head or something!" The chipmunk hissed.
Rosie began chuckling as she moved to her bedroom, causing the chipmunk to look at her adoptive mother figure in question. The woodchuck came back with a frosted glass bottle, it kind of looked like an old wine bottle? But why was it clear? Rosie presented the bottle to the princess. "Our new resident apparently smuggled some contraband from the other side, looks to be 70% grain alcohol? I'm not sure, but it's strong. She didn't have much, but it was enough to get intoxicated, and it's her first time I'm guessing."
The wheels were turning in Sally's head as her face was scrunched. "Okay?" Her eyes lit with realization, her mouth forming an O as she remembered the semi-regularly banned substance. "Ohhh." She had been 13 when the coup had happened, only mentions of the strong drinks ringing the bells of her mind, the few minister meetings she had sat in on with her father a hazy memory. She looked curiously at the drink. "So…" She hesitated, looking at the woodchuck. "You're the closest thing we have to a minister of health…" She shifted, looking back at the miserable girl who was only half paying attention to them. "I don't know about repeat offenses, or if that's even necessary but…" She looked hesitant, grimacing. "I don't want to punish her after what I just did…" She whispered, looking at Rosie. "What do you think?"
"Rosie drank some of it too." Tails quipped, annoyance bleeding from his voice. "Almost made me jump out of my skin, I thought it was poison."
Rosie gave a wry laugh as Sally looked at her bewildered. The princess hesitated. "You drank some?"
The woodchuck took a deep breath and gently took the bottle from Sally's hands to set it on the counter. "A HOTLY contested subject of the old world..." She gave a sigh, eyeing her full grown charge. "Sir Charles used to brew and distill his own drinks in secret, he would share them with me occasionally." She shrugged. "That was our way around the availability problem. This is very similar to what Knuckles brews, just WAY stronger." She chuckled at the wide eyed stare the princess was giving her. "The point is, it's not good to drink it to get drunk or to battle negative emotions." She glanced at the wincing black and orange fox on the bed. "You hear that miss? From what I've gathered you're under age too. You need to be 25 cycles to make that decision, I'm going to be keeping these. If you really want it back, you can talk to me in a few cycles." The woodchuck glanced at the monarch as she leaned against the counter, crossing her arms. "Unless you'd like to ban it outright, your highness."
Sally hesitated at the formal title. "I leave this decision up to you.'' The chipmunk mumbled. "You're my minister of public health, whether you like it or not." She shrugged. "I don't think it's a huge issue plaguing our community and I don't have enough experience with how or why it was banned and unbanned over and over again. Only that it was banned and unbanned, over and over again."
The woodchuck gave a sigh. "As you wish." She picked up the bottle and set it back down on the counter, making her crude gavel clink and Alyx wince from the noise. "As… Minister of health, I put this on the shelf for now. If it comes up we can deal with whoever is drinking stuff like this but I doubt that's going to be a thing."
Tails got up and slowly moved past his adoptive mother to the girl clutching her head. He turned to the woodchuck. "Is she okay to go home? Maybe she could sleep it off in her own bed now if you've made sure she's okay."
Rosie closed her eyes, giving a sigh and waved at them. "She's fine, she might do good with some water and rest but other than that. Yeah, just make sure she gets home alright."
He turned to his chipmunk of a mother. "We can start at the computer lab tomorrow." He sighed as he remembered her jacket he had to wash in his bag. "I've got a few errands to run, maybe Tangle can help me pick out some clothes for her from the warehouse and we can wash them before Tangle leaves."
The stress was leaving Sally's shoulders. "Yeah, that's fine. Thanks for taking her home…" She hesitated, her eyes avoiding her adoptive son's gaze as if there was something she wanted to talk to him about. The gears were turning in his head as he wondered if she was going to bring up his insistence on field missions but she exhaled. "Thank you for taking this assignment Miles. Please make sure she is okay getting home and she recovers."
Tails nodded to his mother as he offered a hand to Alyx who gratefully took it, letting him lead her back to her tree house.
Mobius - Mobotropolis's north eastern estate district - Powers residence - 3208
The Manor's quiet was broken by the soft sniffles of a girl crying. Her father had just dismissed her nanny, a sweet middle aged ferret, Mrs. Foster was so kind… She was huddled in her closet, door closed as she tried to keep the noise of her sniffles from reaching her father. She hugged herself tight to try and comfort herself. Her hands migrated to the back of her head as she pulled down to curl into a smaller ball. Her fingers grazed the thin band that made up her collar and she growled. She wanted this thing off! She began struggling, pulling and twisting the tight collar. She was tired of getting corrected with this thing! Her useless struggles faded as she wilted. Mrs. Foster was old and borderline senile, she had been kind but she had been a fool. The ferret didn't believe she was older; she just thought she was a pup making up fantastical stories to get attention as so many other noble's pups did. Who would believe that a noble of such an old house would be tormenting their heir to correct them… It did look like a piece of jewelry, it was a little gold band with a chip in the back. She hugged her knees as she breathed deep, remembering her two cycles with the older woman and began to cry again. She may have been a fool but she was the fool who cared.
It had been annoying at first to be treated like a 6 cycle old pup instead of the 12 cycle tween she was, but… it was nice to just have someone who actually cared to make sure she was feeling okay. She grimaced, she needed to be careful how she acted around her next caretaker, she couldn't let father see her get too attached again. She choked a sniffle back, she wasn't sure how many more times she could do this… She growled, everyone kept thinking she was a pup! The only friends she had were online and she had to be careful with that anyways. At least he let her play the MMO games so she could socialize with kids her own age. She was tired of going to the park to socialize with minds so young, SHE WASN'T A PUP!
She gave a sigh as she clutched her head, she was exhausted. She was done crying, just another bandage ripped off a shaved patch of fur. She got up and slid the ornate paper door that was her closet. She stepped into her simple room. She had a futon in the corner and a eastern desk that was low to the ground to match the rest of the aesthetic of their home. Her terminal and game station was on the desk, a pillow sitting in front of her spot with a bookshelf full of her studies to the side. The room was barren; aside from her few possessions, and the doll house he had given her was shoved in the closet aside her other ornamental dresses. She growled, she wasn't a doll and detested being reminded of such things. Her growling subsided as she looked down at the vibrant blue eastern robes she was wearing. She sighed, she wanted normal clothes, she wasn't a doll… she wasn't a doll…
She shuffled her feet forward, socks sliding against the dark wood grain floors as she made her way to her room's exit. She entered the hallway, white plaster walls with blue trim at the bottom greeted her, blocky motifs emblazoned on the ancient trim. Their family was one of the old clans, predating the rise of the Acorns by around 100 cycles. Oh how far their clan had fallen in 500 cycles, she was the heir to an empire driven from the east apparently. The only traits that remained of their clan were the fact she was a fox, her coloring and some hair characteristics; her eyes didn't even look eastern as their clan was so far removed from their roots.
She quietly made her way down the hall to the entry, she was hungry and thirsty. Maybe there were some crackers left by Mrs. Foster in the pantry downstairs. She slowed as she made her way through the hallways of the ornate and dimly lit mansion.
"I was worried I'd have to come get you." A gravelly voice caused her to freeze. She slowly turned and saw an old decrepit mobian struggle to move his wheelchair down the hall. He was an orange and white fox, just like her. He was gaunt and sickly with large patches of fur missing from his body, a pale skin underneath showing. His eyes were blue but cloudy with cataracts. Apparently he was 68, but his advanced state screamed he was over 90, maybe over 100 cycles... She had to be careful though, his earlier gene mods may have caused this unnatural state, but his later ones meant he could still surprise her.
His wheelchair was coated in medical equipment, the fool may have had an electric wheelchair but found pleasure in having his small 'daughter' push him as a bonding experience… "Come, daughter." He sighed, a frown on his patchy face. "We're going to get something for you and I to eat. Help me to the stairway lift and I'll call for catering. We can spend some time in the courtyard while we wait, it's been a pleasant day and I need some fresh air."
Her hackles rose for a fraction of a second before flattening. Why did he pretend to act so familiar with her? She detested this man, the one who had cloned her to give her an inheritance that truly wouldn't be hers. Clone that she was, she was just supposed to ensure their line's success through the generations… She huffed quietly to herself, she couldn't wait until he was gone. She hesitated, causing him to frown at her before she skipped to the back of his chair. "Yes father." She quickly said as she lifted her little arms to push the wheelchair forward.
He tilted his head in question as he glanced at her without turning to look at her. "I was afraid I'd have to drag you from your room, that's enough brooding you've been doing." He scowled as she slowly pushed him down the hall.
Her grip tightened on the handle of his wheelchair. "I was hungry, sir." She grit, frowning at the patchy fur on his head.
"Hmm. then my timing wasn't off, you've been hold up in your room since last evening." He grumbled as they exited the hallway to the top banister of the second floor, a balcony looking out onto the walkway. "I should have gotten rid of that wretched woman ages ago, she was starting to get suspicious and you weren't helping things. You need to stick to the story and quit getting emotionally attached to them." He grumbled then gave a sigh. "With my state, you still need a caretaker though..." She paused and he turned in his chair, frowning at her. "Get moving." He ordered.
Her face was scrunched as she growled at him. "Yes sir." She uttered, a simmering rage boiling in her, she was tired of this.
He turned forward and gave a wry dry laugh. "You remind me of myself when I was your age, which is no surprise, but still." She got closer to the stairwell, there was a chair lift past it where she could push her decrepit father's throne.
As she slowly pushed his heavy chair closer to the stairs a thought started to eat at her mind… What if she just pushed him down the stairs? Maybe Mrs. Foster could come back. Maybe she could go to school with other kids? The temptation kept nipping at her emotionally frazzled mind as she slowly pushed him closer to the chair lift. She paused again causing him to shift, glancing back at her downcast eyes.
She shifted her weight to one side, quickly pushing his heavy chair trying to angle him to tumble down the stairwell as she let out a scream of frustration. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHUUUuuuuuuuhhhhhh?" He had put a foot down and locked the wheels of his chair.
The decrepit fox shakily got up from his throne, with each moment his shakes subsided as an unnatural strength shined through. He groaned through the pain with purpose and determination as he got to his feet, pulling his folding cane from the side of the contraption. He leveled his dark gaze at the slowly cowering girl on the verge of a panic attack. "How dare you. After all that I've done for you." He bit, wheezing between words.
The small girl shrank back from her task, ears flat in submission as a look of terror was on her face. "I'm sorry!" She cried as she began to sniffle, huttling into herself as she knew what was coming.
"Of course..." He muttered as he pulled a small remote from his vest pocket. "Stop your sniveling." He ordered. "You're the one who just tried to commit patricide."
She felt a jolt at her neck as she crumpled back, screaming and convulsing from the shocks. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He let up. "Know your place, clone." He growled as he clicked the button again, sending convulsing waves through her small body. He held the button for a solid five seconds as she screamed and writhed on the ground. "You're not even a clone of me, you're a chimera." He spat. "You're a pretty doll whose purpose is to carry the legacy of the Powers, to bear the next generation. You are the first in a line of long living caretakers, tasked with guarding our line and you WON'T disappoint me." He sneered again. "You are the best genetics our family has to muster and you won't screw it up with such a stupid impulsive decision!" He spat. "Be thankful you have free will at all, don't use it to spite me! I have no interest in brainwashing you!" She slowly rolled over, glaring at him, a hate simmering deep in her eyes. He scoffed at her defiance and held the button again, sending shockwaves through his young experiment. "And I thought we were making such good progress..." He mumbled as he let up. She rolled over, propping herself with her elbows as she started bawling, causing him to frown. "You know I don't enjoy doing this." He gave her a disgusted look. "You really do remind me of myself when I was your age." He hesitated as he watched the chimera in front of him calm and start to whimper. He frowned, giving a sigh. "But I guess that's my fault for designing you like that, so I shouldn't be surprised by this outburst at all." His mind crawled back to her attempted murder and a rage slowly started to build in him. "What was your plan?" He seethed. "What made you think this would help?" His eyes narrowed as he began snarling and she looked up to him, her fur disheveled and pushed the wrong way as her snot and tears ran onto the hardwood floor. He grimaced in disgust. "You foolish child." He chided. "Do you even realize what you've tried to do, what you've done?" He barked as he held the remote up in threat, causing her to flinch. "You don't realize the significance of what you are…" He bit. "You're a chimera, not just a clone." He raised an eyebrow. "Do you realize what that really means?"
She hesitated before answering him. "You mixed different mobians together? Your ancestors with yourself?" She questioned.
He gave a vicious grin. "Not what you are, but what it MEANS."
She nervously shook her head. "No?" She sniffled, a confused look crossing her face.
He gave her a look of contempt. "It means that you have less rights than a clone. Clone's are already a taboo subject, not illegal but highly frowned upon, most are brainless hosts for growing spare organs." His look grew dark. "You on the other hand my dear, have no rights. you are quite vanilla for a chimera but a chimera nonetheless, If the authorities truly knew what you were... they might just purge you from existence as a possible blight upon our species gnome."
She felt cold, a pit of dread pulling her down as her hackles started to rise. "What?"
"You need to stop telling your caretakers so much…" He bit as he glared at her terrified sniveling form. "You can't get attached to people like that! You don't realize how many people would betray you! So many people will think of you as a monster!" He growled. "Be glad you look like a cute pup and they don't take you seriously!" He cooled off as she started to cry again. He waited and waited... she didn't stop and he began to get irritated. "You really thought things would be better if you killed me?" He snarked as her ears flattened, her eyes crushing closed in a wince. "I'll tell you what would happen If I would have died." He looked at his heir in disgust. "They would have taken you into social services, during your checkup they would have found that your genetic fingerprint doesn't match what's in the database."
She opened her eyes, looking frightened at him. "What's going to happen if you die on your own?" She uttered in terror.
He scoffed. "Thinking of yourself again?" He grumbled. "Once you're 16 cycles, I can set up the proper paperwork for transition of assets upon my death. I'm going to need some help with that, that will be tricky with your stature." He scowled at her. "If I die before then... run... run and don't come back until you're a grown woman, you can still take the inheritance then." He began growling. "I've got contingency's set up though, don't try anything like that again. I go on my own terms, not yours if you want the inheritance." He got a disappointed look. "But we have a lot of work to do." He chided. "You're atrocious behavior..." The withered mobian placed his right hand over his heart. "You've really wounded me, Daughter!" He spat dramatically, causing her to sink into the floor glaring into the hardwood.
She gave another sniff and hiccup from the stress and cries. "I'm sorry…" She bit, still feeling bitter at the situation.
"I'm sure you are…" He muttered. He sat back down in his chair and activated the electrical controls, swiveling it to look at her. "Get up." He bit. "We still need to get you something to eat. We'll talk about your punishment later."
She continued to sniffle and the ground which caused his frustration to build even more. "GET UP!" He barked as he smashed the button again, sending a short jolting pulse through her.
She cried and whimpered as she got to her feet, standing at attention, trying to drive the confusion from her mind caused by her spinal column being mildly shocked. She was frazzled, the fur on the side of her face was smeared, caked with snot and tears as her eyes and nose continued to leak. She choked back a cough as she looked at her father, her tail between her legs and ears flat. "Yes sir…" She choked out between continued sniffles.
"And I really thought we were doing so much better…" He sighed, a tinge of disappointment bleeding through as he sneered at his creation. "This has set us back so far..." The old fox turned and made his way to the elevator as she quickly wiped the tears from her face, fixing her fur and trailing behind her creator and guardian.
Mobius - Powers claimed lab under the College - 3239
Trisha's eyes lit with life, coming into focus as her brain unit exited sleep mode, what a loathsome memory of a dream. She glanced up from her spot to see her husband was still conked out and she relaxed. She snuggled back into his synthetic fur as she mulled over the memories of her father and sighed, closing her eyes. He was gone and couldn't torment her anymore. She thought back to the day he had died, he'd forgotten to take some of his medication and she had found his corpse slumped in his wheelchair on the back porch, his glassy eyes gazing into their garden.
Her mind drifted, thinking of how she had dealt with the situation. He had set up everything needed for her to be emancipated just in case but she was 17 cycles, even if she didn't look it at the time. It had been far fetched but close enough, it was an easy sell with the documents he had left her... it had still been awkward. Using the key card he kept on him to access his documents and the resources that were passed to her. She had used the funds to pay off her last handler to deal with the police, showing her face as little to the authorities as possible. Her handler had been sympathetic but he was culturally removed, he was a coyote from the far northern territories, a mercenary that was only taking what could hardly be counted as a bodyguard position for the credits.
She had paid him for his discretion and the promise that he'd leave back to his home country after the change in affairs. The few authorities had been confused at her stature for a 17 cycle old woman, she looked like she was 11 thanks to father's stabilization therapy. Once she was on her own she had taken it upon herself to fix her anatomy before starting a new adventure at university.
There was a buzz over the overhead system, catching her attention. She quickly turned to her husbands wrist com and hit the wake to get him up.
He spluttered with confusion as his eyes focused on her. "Whah?"
She elbowed him softly. "There's something at the door." She growled. "Get up, we're going to check together."
His ears perked. "Oh?" He gently left her side as he got up and stretched. The alert went off again, catching his attention.
Trish hopped off the bed and smoothed her bright blue lab uniform as she made her way past him, grabbing his collar and gently pulling him behind her. He squawked from being pulled then turned to follow in line behind her in submission.
The alert went off a third time and they could start hearing a metal knocking sound on the door. The vixen frowned. "Is it one of the other Robians?" She scowled. "You're acquaintances better not have squealed to Robotnik about our home." She glared at him, causing his expression to wilt.
He chuckled nervously. "I'm sure things are fine. H-here, I'll answer; get behind me."
She moved behind him in the entry, grabbing a pop contact hammer they kept at the door for such emergencies.
Lloyd activated the controls and the door slid open. In front of them was a Roboticized lion that was dressed in ragged and stained clothing. The lion's eyes widened at the sight of the two lifelike robians in front of him. "L-Lloyd?" He uttered in shock.
"Dillan!" Lloyd exclaimed, stepping forward to bring the robian into a hug. "How have you been! It's been ages!" He pulled back, a cheery look on his face. "How's the village in the deep undercity!"
"F-Fine…" The Lion eyed him in bewildered disbelief. "Y-you've been de-roboticized?" He asked, confusion and hurt dripping from his voice.
Trisha stepped forward, setting the hammer back in its spot. "We haven't been de-roboticized, we made new bodies."
The white fox smiled as he wagged his tail. "Would you like us to do the same for you?" He asked, his wife giving a glaring pout at the back of his head in annoyance.
"So it's not real?" The Lion's shoulders wilted. "I…" His robotic eyelids closed. "I plan on waiting for the real deal." His eyes lidded open. "We've been slowly searching for mobians with expertise in programming, nanites and biochem to try and break the encryption. We want to make our own program to de-roboticize…" He trailed off, eyeing the vixen who was apparently a master in bioengineering and he frowned.
She scowled at him as she crossed her arms. "I don't believe the course you are taking is likely to yield anything useful. At least not in the way you want. I believe the only way forward is to clone new bodies and either transfer your consciousness or modify them to accept cyberbrains. The likely hood of the nanite fabricators and their derivatives to be able to make celular life is… " She winced. "Improbable… But maybe... I'd hope? But most likely no. Do let me know if you break the encryption though, I'd love to give a stab at it."
He frowned at her answer before puffing up and turning to his friend Lloyd. "I'll wait for the real deal my friend, thankyou for your offer to make me a new body though." He smirked. "Besides, I've come to pay a debt owed to you." He held a microdrive between two of his metallic fingers. "Thank you, even though what you did risked…" He winced, then looked resolute. "A thank you for showing me how to return my family to me!" He held the small enclosed disk towards the silver fox. "I thought maybe I could return the favor, or something similar."
Lloyd got a intrigued look as Trish came up behind him, peering around her husband at the disk in question. Lloyd plucked the disk from the Lion's fingers. "What do you mean, return my family?" Trisha reached forward and plucked the disk from her husband's fingers, her eyes intent on the disk as she quickly turned, making her way into the lab. He turned to his wife, looking a little annoyed then skipped forward to follow her.
The lion hesitantly waited then decided to follow them into their home. "You said your son was a fox with two Tails, correct?"
Trish froze, head snapping to the Lion Robian, then her husband. "You told him?" She looked a mixture of confusion then suspicion. "What other personal information have you divulged?" She shook her head. "Nevermind!" A spark of hope built in her as she realized the implications of what he said. "I DON'T CARE RIGHT NOW!" She frantically moved to the lab's terminal, inserting the mini disk. "What do you mean return?–" She got a frantic look as she impatiently waited for the workstation to load.
The lion looked hesitant but understood the frantic feeling she was going through. "So we monitor Robotnik's transmissions, we have some hardline feeds into his network and…" he winced. "Well… Ehem." He winced. "You should just watch the recording we managed to snag." Both Powers looked a bit confused as the workstation finished loading.
Trisha opened up the storage and played the recording. It was a drone recording of a firefight in the northern districts. Her eyes widened, there was an orange and white two tailed fox… Could it really be her boy? There was another fox there too, an orange and black one with eastern eyes. An uneasy feeling hit her as she saw the other fox scream at her boy, demanding he help as they were both being surrounded by swatbots. Her boy snapped out of his panic, or at least enough to act. He pulled what looked to be a grenade. Trish froze, taking an instinctual but un-needed gasp as she saw her boy stand in live fire only for his back to get pelted with lazbolts. She started shaking and her hackles instantly rose as she saw him crumple forward, dropping the live grenade. The orange and black fox somehow pulled the grenade from a few meters away and chucked it into the robotic fray. Her shaking stilled as the sick realization hit her, her boy may be dead… her face started to scrunch, the wound that had only recently healed being torn open raw. "When was this?!" She shrieked, her hackles on end as she saw the firefight continue.
"Just a day or so ago." The lion nervously responded.
She froze as she saw one of those blasted freedom fighter units enter the scene. A glimmer of hope started as she saw her boy being picked up and hauled off to a truck pulling up to the north. She watched them escape as the Blue Storm freedom fighter proceeded to slaughter the rest of the swatbots on screen. The glimmer of hope blossomed into a determination she hadn't felt in a long time. The recording stopped and she looked to her husband who was just wide eyed shocked, staring at the high end color CRT screen. She looked back to the screen and rewound the feed, pausing and zooming into the fuzzy image of a cowering fox. Orange fur with white accents and two tails… it was him, she counted on her fingers as she squinted and the realization hit her. He would be 18 cycles… A pang of anxiety hit her at the realization that he'd been okay and she'd missed his whole childhood. Her speech driver making a harsh breathing sound as her mind started to swim. She'd missed his whole childhood… All of her plans for him would be out the window... but maybe they could still be a family. He was so close, he had to still be alive! And even if he wasn't… She could get viable samples– She didn't want to think about that unless she had too. Those freedom fighters took him didn't they? Her head snapped to the lion in the corner. "Did they make it out of the city?" She snapped.
The lion nodded. "They made an escape towards the north, we don't know but probably one of the hideouts that way. The only one we know for sure is an old village in the mountain ranges, but you know we try to avoid them. Best to not draw attention to ourselves. Video feed cuts out on the northern outskirts of the city though, they had a sniper with a vibra bolt caster taking out the video drones."
She slowly moved to sit on a stool as her eyes were bugging. She clutched her head, mind racing at the possibilities and new purpose she had. "It's not over…" She mumbled. "He has to be alive, my baby boy." Her mind raced and drifted back to the worst case scenario… Even if he had died... she could still extract fresh samples from him to clone. She take extra care, a slow clone of him should be naturally stable, nothing like a fast clone or a chimera like her. Maybe she could use some of his DNA to repair her damaged samples, clone herself a new body as well… Her mind returned from that trail of thought. Her boy had to be alive, she had to find him. She turned to her still dazed looking husband. "We're finding him. Get packing." She ordered. She turned to the lion. "Thank you for doing this." She got up and moved to the workstation, copying the file and then plucking the disk catty from the computer. She turned and moved to the lion, handing him his drive back. "You have earned favor from the house of Powers. Thank you for paying this debt to us." She played up a confident smile. "If our great house ever re-establishes our dominance, your family has shelter with us. Thank you for finding my heir."
He looked at her a little funny, receiving the drive. "Uhh, thank you?" He mumbled as he glanced at Lloyd who looked shocked, staring at them. He looked back at the vixen. "I'm sorry, I was never one to pay attention to the great house politics, I didn't know you guys were of one of the noble clans. Your name doesn't ring a bell."
She frowned, a look of disappointment changing to annoyance. "Oh… Well thanks anyways, you may take your leave of us." She swiftly turned, the tailcoat to her lab jacket swishing behind her as she made her way to the living quarters. "Lloyd, make sure to lock up after he leaves." She ordered. "We're packing to search the northern part of the realm for Freedom Fighter encampments, we leave as soon as we can." She got a determined look on her face as her eyes gleamed. "We're going to find my son." She smirked to herself as she strode through the hallway entrance, hope building in her chest with the bright future ahead.
Chapter 15 end.
Author's note: First off, I know the sun rises in the east and not the west, this is an alternate reality and it fits the scene more. Hey all, this was another tough one to write with some of the nightmare and intense situations and emotions. Also the combat brought me back to some of the homebrew table top games I used to play so that was interesting. I know I don't have too much combat in this story but honestly it's difficult to write without it being too much or just a slog to get threw. Combat is quick and dangerous for the characters, real easy to write your way into someone dying and then either having to go with it or rewind time and try again. Trisha and Maxwell's chapter was also interesting and intense to write, the question I wanted to explore with this dynamic is "What if someone cloned themselves because they needed to pass on their legacy but also kinda hated themselves?". Thank you all for reading so far, this I want to say is kind of the wrap up for arc one. Who knew it would take so long to do an intro. Now I realize for my first story I bit off quite a bit and have not given all the plot lines their proper attention but I guess that is more just inexperienced. If I were to have written this all over I would have trimmed the fat in some areas and added to others but that's hindsight for you. I also am probably going to be slowing down my writing but I hope to not stop. I'm thinking of going to shorter chapters as 15k words a week is a LOT to try for, but hopefully I can still post frequently. I want to start drawing again and eventually get back into 3d modeling. I've also got some stuff for work I got to do on my regular weekend. It's been a joy to read comments and reply, grow in a creative medium and come up with plotlines and world building. Now bear in mind this may not be the most satisfying end but it's not really an end, more just a transition period to some time skips. It feels satisfying though to (kind of) finish something(this is only done in an arc sense, time skips ahead!). Hope to read you're comments if you decide to post! Thanks again all for reading! It's been amazing writing and not sucking at it!
author's note 2: I think I am going to be slowing down, at least for a bit, as I write this i have almost 1000 words on chapter 16 but I need to pace myself and make sure I don't get burned out on this. I've got stuff at work happening and trying to put parts of my life togeather. thanks all for your understanding and I hope to post 16 soon but it's got to be ready.
Traveler out.
