Part 3
Awakening

The warm sunlight played across Nicole's screen, reflecting the Princesses eyes as she idly scrolled through lines of code and maps. Graphical representations of the inner structures of Robotropolis snaked along her monitor, partially rendered fragments of pieced together data and broken messages skimming vertically in a side bracket. None of it really registered in Sally's mind as she gently chewed on her tongue, her nervousness betraying itself in that one slight action.
Princess Sally had a right to be nervous. She was sitting outside a hut that served as Knothole's single makeshift hospital ward, and for three whole days the few doctors that Knothole had had been rushing back and forth; frantic, stern faced, and completely out of their league. None of them were prepared to handle a partial roboticisation, least of all a situation where someone had survived the process.
Now though, there was only silence. There was no sound from inside the hut, no muffled voices or alarmed expressions. And the songbirds that usually graced the village floor were inexplicably absent. The front door opened, and a white-coated physician lurched down the steps to the grass below. He didn't acknowledge the Princess as he walked past, his head buried in files. It wasn't a sign of rudeness. Sally knew the doc was being presented with a case that demanded his full attention. She doubted he'd ever again be faced with such a problematic situation in his academic life. But she needed answers. Or at the very least, an update on her condition. Sally quickly stood and followed the doctor, reaching out and touching his shoulder to get his attention. He turned around and peered at her through his spectacles. A badger, he had the sort of furrowed brow and grave look typical to his species. He could have been in his early twenties and still looked like he'd endured a great many more years of sorrow and hardship.
"How is she?" Sally asked nervously.
The doctor looked a little hesitant, then he sighed. "Not good Princess. She's…proving difficult."
"Difficult how? What is it? What's wrong? Please, you have to tell me…"
"That young woman's body is battling for supremacy over her synthetic parts right now Princess, and it's losing."
Sally swallowed, forcing her next question out. "How badly?"
The doctor hesitated for a moment. He clearly didn't want to tell her. His expression softened a little. "Badly." He turned and started off in a hurry, shaking his head. "I have to go Princess. I'm sorry."
Sally watched him leave. She sighed. "I understand." It was a comment more intended for herself than anything. Something to force herself to focus on something that didn't incorporate placing the blame on herself.
"Sally!"
It was Sonic. He, Tails and Rotor came rushing towards her. Sonic shook his head when he arrived. "Sorry Sal. We came as soon as we got the chance."
"It's ok. You wouldn't have been able to see anything anyway. They haven't even let me in."
Tails looked up at the Princess nervously. "Is she gonna be alright Aunt Sally?" he whispered. Sally knelt down and ruffled his hair with her hand.
"I'm not sure Tails. I really hope so."
"That poor girl," mumbled Rotor. He shifted his weight awkwardly. He should have been used to these situations, but they still made him feel difficult. A broken gear stick was one thing. A dying Mobian was another. And this was Bunnie…Being left in the lurch for three days…"It kinda makes you wonder if it would have been better if the process had been, you know, completed."
Sally raised her head. "Don't say something like that," she snapped. "That's horrible."
Rotor stared at the floor. "I didn't mean it like that Princess," he apologized. "It's just, what's she gonna be like when she comes out of there? I mean, she's lost both her original legs and her arm. She's going to be extremely traumatized."
"And we're going to help her through it," Sally said firmly. "I think the best thing we can do for now is wait. Keep our minds occupied." She looked at Sonic. "Look, thanks for coming. But there's nothing really new to update you guys with. Bunnie's still under intensive care, and we'd all do well to remember that. She's getting all the care and treatment we can offer her. I know the last three days have been difficult. Sonic, take Tails with you and scout the perimeter of the Eastern regions of the forest. It might be good for you both to clear your heads for a bit." She looked at Sonic pointedly, tilting her head in Tail's direction slightly. Sonic caught the hint, and he flashed Tails a big smile.
"Your Aunt Sally's right kiddo. I think we should go out for a while. Whaddaya say? Ready to juice and jam big guy?"
Tails' nodded his head. "I guess." He didn't sound very committed. Nobody blamed him.
"Rotor?" Sally looked at the walrus, who was fiddling with his cap.
"Yeah?"
"Um…go fix something."
"Yes Ma'ame."
Sally watched them go off in their separate directions, and stared at the hut window. "As for me…" She sat back down on the bench and rested her hands on either side of her, crossing her legs. "I'm going to wait right here."

A few hours later the door to the hut opened again and another doctor poked his head out. "Princess Sally?"
Sally looked up quickly. "Doctor?"
He didn't say anything, but tilted his head in the direction of inside. Sally quickly walked up the stairs. She pulled out Nicole and quickly spoke into her. "Nicole, relay a message to the others, would you?"
Nicole's lights flashed as she spoke. "As you request, Sally."
The doctor held out his hand towards Sally's chest. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to switch that thing off. It'll mess with the life support system. And her electronics."
Sally wasn't very happy at the way the doctor called Nicole a "thing", but she complied.
"It's just until she stabilizes and we can start to work on her bio-equity levels." It was an unnecessary apology. Sally was aware of the risks of machinery like Nicole being in such close proximity with the sensitive medical equipment the room harbored. She'd been in similar situations before, and had enough first hand experience to understand the precautions.
The first room inside the hut was fairly sized. It also happened to be the only room. Halfway into it a white sheet had been pulled across a curved rail that had been nailed to the roof. It was stained with speckles of blood. Sally felt uneasy as they approached it. She could see the silhouettes of a couple of other doctors, and a lot of equipment. She also saw something lying on a bed. Something with long ears. A doctor appeared from the other side. He was holding a white blanket. Or at least, it would have been white had it not been saturated with a large amount of blood. He looked at her nervously before walking over to a waste disposal unit and dropping the sheet inside.
Sally stopped in front of the curtain and took a deep breath. Then she reached up and, hesitantly, pushed it aside and stepped through. What she saw caused a lump to form in her throat, and she raised a hand to her mouth.
Bunnie lay on top of a metal stretcher that was covered in a white sheet. He face was expressionless as she slept. A breathing mask muffled her breath, and her chest rose slightly with each inhale. Her right arm lay across her stomach.
Her left arm was a mess. The shiny, chrome steel that replaced the original organic component was dented and burned, and panels were open through which fed numerous wires which were hooked up to monitoring devices, nearly all of which had been taken from various Robotropolis installations on numerous reconnaissance missions. Her mechanical legs were in pretty much the same condition. The Roboticization process worked on a set dual-scale process, replacing the original organic parts of a Mobian with mechanical elements that were nearly double their original size. So Bunnie's cybernetic legs were too large for a stretcher designed for an average sized Mobian, and were partially propped up on stools. They were also slightly too big for Bunnie's comparatively small frame, and she looked a little awkward.
Sally briefly reached out to touch the metal limb, but recoiled at the chilly sensation. Moving around to Bunnie's side, she sat down on a stool and gently reached out to hold Bunnie's organic hand. It was warm to the touch, her fur slightly frizzy from static. She reached up with a free hand and gently stroked the rabbit's ears, as if trying to keep her comfortable.
There was a knock on the door, and one of the doctors exclaimed, "Sonic? How…?"
Sally was surprised to hear Sonic's voice. "Cut the chit chat Doc. Where is she?"
"Ah…she's behind that curtain, but…"
There was the sound of footsteps and the curtains pulled back, revealing Sonic. Tails was close at his heels. Sally knew what was going to happen next. As soon as Tails saw the rabbit he burst into tears.
Sally looked furiously at the hedgehog. "Good one Sonic."
Sonic looked embarrassed. Thankfully, a doctor came up and took Tails by the shoulders, turning him around to face him. "Come with me little guy. We'll leave the adults alone for a while."
Sonic waited until Tails had left the building. "That wasn't the smartest thing I could have done."
"No."
"I just heard that…"
Sally sighed. "Forget it. To be honest, I'm glad you're here."
Sonic pulled up a chair and next to Sally. "Is she alive?"
"Yes." She shook her head. "Oh Sonic. This is awful."
"Not…as awful…as it could be…"
Sonic and Sally both gasped in unison as the rabbit slowly raised her left hand to her forehead. "What in the hoo-har happened?"
"Easy girl, rest up now. You're still in shock…"
At that point the rabbit noticed her new arm, and let out a blood-curdling shriek. "NOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
She quickly began pawing at her arm, frantically trying to remove the casing she desperately believed held her real limb. Doing so allowed her to spy her legs for the first time and she screamed again, kicking frantically and ripping cords and wires from their holders, sending monitors flying and the stools careening. Sonic and Sally both grabbed hold of Bunnie's limbs, Sonic gripping her legs together and Sally wrapping her arms around Bunnie's cybernetic arm. But the strength of her steel was far superior to their muscle and bone and they were shaken off easily. The panic stricken rabbit flipped out of her stretcher and immediately fell to the ground, where she started to shake violently.
Sally grabbed hold of Bunnie's torso, trying to keep her in one place, all the while screaming for the doctors to help them. The doctor that had let them in had quickly prepared a syringe and, while Sally managed to maintain her grip on Bunnie, practically launched himself over the patient and injected it forcibly into her upper arm. The sedative took effect almost immediately, and Bunnie's convulsions slowed, before eventually stopping as she succumbed to sleep. Sally lay there, half underneath Bunnie, pinned by her robotic legs. She shook her head, exhausted, and looked at Sonic, who had been thrown back into a cupboard. He'd banged his head hard on the corner and looked a little dazed. "Man," he said. "That girl packs a wallop."
"Technically," Sally panted. "It was the cupboard that managed to deck you."
"Do me a favor. Try letting me live that one down."
"Fat chance of that." Sally untangled herself from Bunnie, and helped the doctors to place her gently back onto the stretcher. Sonic placed an arm around Sally, rubbing her arm comfortingly.
"Maybe Rotor was right," the princess said sadly. "Maybe it would have been better if the job had been finished."
The rabbit slept on.