PART 2 - The black desert CHAPTER 12 - Starting again
"Whew! okay I take it back Nicole, I should have waited for you to fix the elevator!" Tails' slightly breathless voice echoed back down the slide, the rope he was carrying around his shoulders dangling vertically down into the space below him as he suspended himself against the walls with his arms and legs outstretched.
"Told you so!" came Nicole's echoing laugh. It made Tails grin, he'd been grinning a lot lately.
One last time Tails pushed himself upwards off the wall and towards the cracks of light that peeked through the old door above him, finally his hands found flat ground. Curling his fingers over the edge he pulled himself upwards and hauled his body onto the small platform at the top of the shaft. With a triumphant shove the door flung open, flooding the small entry space with light and warmth. Tying the rope to a sturdy anchor Tails called back down the hole. "Alright Nicole, ready to go!", he waited a moment then felt a tug and started to reel in the slack. The rope formed a pile beside him and soon he could see a large grey box ascending into the light, trailing it was a length of cable that snaked away back into the darkness. When it finally reached the top Tails grabbed the package with both hand and hauled it to the side, allowing the rope to fall back down. "Okay I'm heading out, I'll see you in a second" he yelled and with box in hands Tails got up and stepped outside.
What a difference a few days can make! The sky was a vivid sapphire blue and Tails had to shield his eyes against the blazing midday sun. Squinting, he could now see clear out to the hills in the distance, still green with life-giving plants. The ground, once a river of black mud, crunched under his feet, now a checkerboard of crusty tiles, baking in the sun. In places, humid steam rose from the earth and caused a mirage-like rippling effect out in the distance. Setting down the box gently Tails opened the lid and inspected the contents. Two medium sized antennas, collapsed for space, a remote control, some tools, and a solid block of strange material that seemed to shimmer and change colour, oscillating in waves between light and dark grey.
Not wasting a moment the young fox eagerly set to work, pulling the first antennae from the box he extended out its telescoping limbs until it stood almost as high as him, a few turns of the screwdriver locked it into place and before he knew it he was connecting one branch of the power cable to its base. Touching the transmitter with his exposed hand Tails recoiled as a slight jolt snapped at his finger. Yep, it's working. He grabbed the remote control from the box and hurried back over to the tree stump. "Hey Nicole, we're all set. I recommend you bring a hat, it's boiling up here." Pushing the power button on the side of his remote, Tails stood back and then suddenly, without fanfare, Nicole appeared before of him.
She stood silently, her eyes scanning the surroundings, an expression of abject horror quickly dawning on her face. Her lips moved, as if to gasp, but no sound emerged and she raised her hand to covered her mouth as if protecting herself from corrupted air. "Tails, it's all gone. All of it" she said, looking into his eyes but also through them, her gaze had no focus, a thousand yard stare.
Tails moved to comfort her but she resisted, holding out her hand and closing her eyes. "No, Tails... It's okay, I knew it would be bad, I just wasn't quite prepared, for... this" she stood quietly for a few seconds and took a deep breath. "What's done is done. We can't change the past"
Tails nodded supportively, "I wish your first trip outside didn't have to be so bleak Nicole."
"There's only one thing to do" said Nicole, a new positive energy radiating in her voice "We'll have to clean it up." "Can you help me with the nanite array?" she asked as she reached into the box and pulled out the second transmitter.
The second antennae fully spread was slightly larger than the last and it took two to open, Tails plugged in the power cable and almost instantaneously a barely audible high-pitched sound rang through the air. Nicole picked up the strange metallic cube from the box and placed it on the ground, "Alright guys lets see what you can do" she said.
"It's working!" exclaimed Tails as he watched the small cube slowly spread out into a powdery mist that seemed to seep into the ground. "How long will it take before they can start to rebuild things again?" he asked.
"It might take overnight before they're able to start replicating exponentially but until then we'll have to wait." Nicole glanced at Tails, "Oh, but I guess one quick thing couldn't hurt though", she said and concentrated on the place where the nanites had disappeared. A misty cloud formed, encircling an oddly shaped object that was rising from the ground, a minute later the cloud dissipated as Nicole bent down to pick her creation. "Here you go" she laughed and handed it to Tails "You looked like you could use these".
"Wow, sunglasses, Awesome!" said Tails and quickly donned the pair of silvery shades.
"Who said computers were for nerds huh?" quipped Nicole. She looked out into the distance, scanning the surroundings, and then pointed confidently "If my old maps are still worth anything the Tornado should be this way. Ready to go?"
"Ready!" replied tails with a nod.
"I think that pile up ahead is the remains of the control tower." Said Tails as he and Nicole trudged over the crusty landscape, he looked back over his shoulder at the stump which was growing smaller in the distance "Geez I really took a wrong turn the other night didn't I?"
As they drew closer the ruined control tower loomed over them and in its shadow Tails could now clearly see the battered wings of his precious plane.
"Gosh it took quite a beating" said Nicole "You're lucky you weren't more badly injured".
They stood beside the fuselage and inspected the damage. The mud had taken its toll, completely covering the undercarriage of the plane in a thick black blanket. Amazingly the cockpit was still dry and as Tails pried open the cracked windscreen he was hit with a wave of hot air from the greenhouse it created.
Tails rummaged around head-first in the back of the cabin, his legs sticking out into the air. "I found it!" he yelled and his head popped back up, a small detector device in his hand. Jumping down to the ground he sidled up to where Nicole was standing and turned it on. A repetitive clicking noise began and some numbers appeared on the display.
"Hmm it's just like I thought" said Nicole "background radiation levels are pretty normal."
"Hang on a second, I have a hunch" said Tails, climbing back up onto the Tornado, and scanning the surroundings, "over there he yelled" pointing towards a dome shaped object in the distance, "Try pointing it that, way".
Nicole swung the detector around and suddenly the clicking sped up. She squinted into the distance and then called back up to Tails "Is that- Is that what I think it is?".
"I'm afraid so" sighed Tails as he slid back to the ground. "I walked there on the night I crashed thinking it might be a shelter. As far as I could see it's mostly still intact or at least the part that's still above ground is, old Eggbreath sure knew how to build them sturdy. It's a good thing I didn't find a way in isn't it? If I got radiation poisoning just from standing outside Imagine how bad it must be on the inside?"
Nicole nodded "Yep, If my calculations are correct it's likely that some sort of nuclear reactor core has gone critical and started leaking inside. If you'd somehow managed to get exposed to that kind of radiation you'd either become a super-hero or you'd turn into hero soup. Probably the latter."
"Hmm, super hero eh?" said Tails scratching his chin in mock contemplation "would I be able to fly?"
Nicole rolled her eyes "Definitely no risk of super intelligence."
"Come on, let's get a bit closer and check it out." said Tails. He started walking and then stopped, noticing that Nicole wasn't following and turned to see her pondering something.
"Hey Tails" she said, and gestured him closer "come here a moment", Tails raised an eyebrow but moved to join her.
"Can I have your sunglasses?"
Tails, perplexed took off his shades and handed them to Nicole.
"Hey, I need those for seeing and stuff!" he yelled as Nicole suddenly crushed the glasses in her hands. She began to focus and the broken pieces fell apart into a fine powder, a little heap which she sprinkled on the ground.
"Sorry I had to do that, I should have remembered to bring more nanites with me but thankfully those sunglasses still had a high concentration from before. If we seed this area now the Nanites should take hold here much quicker and you can use them when you start to rebuild the Tornado"
Tails shaded his eyes with his hand and squinted annoyedly at Nicole. "But my eyeballs are burning! What If somebody sees me, they'll think I'm uncool!"
"I'm willing to take that risk" said Nicole and started to walk, gesturing casually to follow. Tails grumpily capitulated.
The sun seemed to beat down harder than before as they approached the Death Egg, any wind which had existed had dropped and a hazy wall of heat radiated up off the ground, slightly distorting the shape of nearby objects. The dead stillness of the sweltering black desert was complete, interrupted only by the sound of crunching footsteps and the quickening tick of the radiation detector.
"Stop" warned Nicole as they drew within the last 100 meters of the imposing metal fortress. "If we go any further the radiation will start to get dangerous, we'll need to inspect from here."
"What are we looking for exactly?" asked Tails "I've already checked all around the perimeter, there's no way in..."
"Well hopefully we'll get a spike in radiation if we point the detector at some points, that might indicate a structural weakness which we could use to get inside."
"Hmmm, good thought" Tails agreed and they started their slow walk around, careful not to get closer to the deadly wreckage. "So, assuming we can find a weak point, how do we actually get in, let alone retrieve the emerald? I'd offer to go myself but I have trouble sleeping when my whole body is glowing. Do you think you might be able to enter?"
"Maybe... but it probably won't be easy." Nicole conceded. "There's no way the holo projector will breach that armour, and any electronics are highly susceptible to radiation that intense. Perhaps if we could work out a way to seed the inside with nanites I could use them to relay the holo signal and give myself enough strength to get to the emerald."
Nicole and Tails had now almost covered the perimeter of the Death egg and as they approached their starting position, there was a spike and the clicking of the detector instantly sped up until it was almost a whir.
"We found it!" Tails said enthusiastically as Nicole swung the device side to side taking note of where the highest reading was.
"You should probably wait here" she said to Tails who nodded seriously.
Nicole approached slowly, following the path of the highest readings. Fifty meters, fourty meters, as she walked, Tails noticed that her previously solid form was now flickering slightly, a fuzzy kind of interference that looked a bit like bad television reception. Nicole approached the wall and reached out to touch it, running her hand across the slightly rusting dusty surface. "I think this is a hatch" she called out, "Maybe for a weapon bay or a duct of some sort."
"Can you open it?" Called out Tails, squinting to get a better look.
Nicole tried to put her fingers into the small gap around the panel. Once she had a decent grip, she pulled outwards but there was no movement. She turned around and shook her head, "Sorry, not yet, I'm not strong enough without the nanites, we should come back when they're ready".
The sun was starting to set as Tails and Nicole walked back to base, stopping briefly at the Tornado so that Tails could collect a few more supplies. Nicole was quiet, she seemed deep in thought and Tails took a chance to reflect on the strange events that had led him to this moment. As he reminisced he surveyed the flat ruinous landscape, stretching out to the distant mountains. It was oddly beautiful in its stark, endless emptiness, like a giant minimalist painting bordered by the first hues of pink and orange that crept into the clear evening sky. Tails couldn't help but notice the way the light complimented Nicole's figure as she walked beside him, the way she held herself, her graceful walk. A powerful longing filled him, and suddenly he desperately wanted to reach out and touch her, to hold her; he squeezed his fist and closed his eyes, forcing the feelings back down. Don't be a fool, she'd never be interested in you! Don't even think about it, you'll ruin everything!
Eventually the couple reached the charred fake tree and Nicole seemed to emerge from her daydream. She turned to see that Tails was watching her. Their eyes meeting for a moment too long, repelling away like magnets in a flurry of embarrassed shyness.
"Man it was really good to get moving again today. We got a lot done huh?" said Tails to the ground, scratching the back of his head as he tried hard to break the awkward silence, "Actually, you're pretty handy to have around Nicole, I'd even go so far as to say you're the most useful AI Lynx I've met all week."
"Oh my what an honour!" Nicole replied sarcastically "especially coming from the winner of my 'people I could turn into vapour with Nanites award'." She leered at Tails with a hint of playful menace. "Oh that reminds me, I have something to show you!"
Tails pretended to look afraid "Does it involve me and being vaporised by nanites?"
"Only partially." said Nicole, a mischievous grin appearing on her face. "Come on!" she yelled, darting over to the tree-trunk entrance and jumping down the hole. Tails heart leapt for a moment as his mind raced with possibilities and he eagerly followed, taking one last look at the colourful sky he closed the door of the little hideaway and entered the slide.
Tails emerged quickly and almost crashed into Nicole as she was picking herself up off the ground; the soft ground. Carpet? He looked up in surprise, Nicole had made some serious changes to the lab. Gone were the stark metal shelves and dusty benches, they had been replaced with wooden furniture and comfortable couches. The ground was now tiled and carpeted and the walls were painted with a fresh coat of white. On the shelves were boxes of fresh food and in the corner a refrigerator hummed quietly near a kitchen counter. Tails looked at the smiling girl with his awestruck face. "You even made me a bed!" he exclaimed, eyeing the extremely comfy looking mattress near the wall. "Nicole this is awesome! All this furniture and food, we could live down here forever"
"Well we could, but more importantly now we don't have to", Nicole smirked as she walked over to the elevator shaft. She pressed a button and almost instantly a platform descended from above with an airy 'whoosh'. "I told you I'd fix the elevator" she said, doing her best not to look smug. "Don't worry though I left the rope in the slide. Just in case you get bored and want to go climbing again."