Well, here we are. I own nothing in this except for the character Samuel.

Night had fallen a few hours ago but Espio continued to travel, determined to make it to where he was taking Nicole as soon as he could. Throughout most of the trip Nicole had been quiet. Usually when they went somewhere together there would be some slight banter. She would ask about what was going on with the Chaotix, or the latest happening on Angel Island. Espio had decided to just keep silent until she felt ready to talk.

Looking up at the sky Espio noticed that the stars were getting difficult to see.

'Hmm...It's going to rain soon. I need to find a good place to stay until it passes.'

Continuing to walk but looking for some shelter he was able to see a good sized tree after some time. If it started to thunder he would need to find something else, but it would suffice to keep out the rain at least.

Sitting down under the protection of the tree, Espio shut his eyes and simply waited for the rain to begin.

A small voice broke through the silence.

"Espio, are they right?"

Surprised by her sudden question he pulled her out of the satchel and opened the small computer. Nicole's face appeared on the screen and Espio's heart went out to her. She had a blank look and all the life seemed to have left her eyes.

"Who is right?"

"The people in the city. Are they right to fear me? I did fall under the Iron Queens power, even if it was only for a little while. I could have been merciless towards them. Maybe..."

"Do not finish that sentence."

Nicole looked up at Espio in surprise.

"We both made mistakes but we are trying to fix them. Neither of us deserve what those people wanted to do to you. Remember what Dimitri said? We have to stand up to them, reasonably and knowing that we are in the right. We can't give up yet."

Nicole let a small smile grace her face. Thinking about it, she shouldn't view their taking her away as another banishment, but as a regrouping while they plan what to do again.

"Thank you Espio. You're a good friend."

"You're welcome."

The rain had begun to fall as Espio had predicted but they didn't care. The awkwardness from the beginning was gone and they began talking like nothing had happened. Just two friends out for an outing that had unfortunately got stuck in the rain.

"Hey Espio, where are we going anyway?"

He had been walking for awhile by now and he had completely forgotten to inform her about where they were headed.

"I know someone who we can trust. He lives far enough that you will be safe."

He could sense that Nicole wanted to ask something else. After a few seconds she asked,

"He...He won't mind that I'm not...He won't mind that I'm a program?"

Espio couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"No, he won't mind. In fact, he will probably be quite interested. He is a bit of a computer nut."

"Oh..."

Espio looked down at her questioningly. Realizing what he had implied he quickly said,

"Oh, no no, don't worry. He is honorable, if nothing else, so if we ask him to not... examine you, then I'm sure he will oblige our wish."

Both of them realized that this conversation would only get more awkward so they both decided to end it there.

"How close are we?"

Looking at the night sky, Espio saw the slight change in the placement of the constellations. Thinking back to the last time he had visited his friend, he replied,

"Very close."

Samuel had long ago gone to bed. In fact, much of the night had already passed when there was a loud knocking at his door. It took him a few moments to become awake enough to realize that the pounding was not some strange sound in his head but the door.

Getting out of bed he grabbed a nearby shirt, not really caring about which and went to his front door.

"Who's there?"

"If I said a tired old companion and his friend would you let us in?"

Smiling at the voice from his past, Samuel opened up his door to Espio.

"Well, well. If I had known that you were coming with company, I would have gotten more presentable."

Looking at his old friend, Espio couldn't help but chuckle. Samuel's long red hair went down past his small but floppy ears and nearly brushed the floor. The last time he had seen Sam the hair was only at his hips. His gray fur stood out against his black sweat pants and tank top while his piercing yellow gold eyes stared at Espio in confusion.

"I thought you said you had company. Where are they?"

Smiling conspiratorially at him, Espio reached into his satchel and pulled out a small computer. Opening it up and turning it towards Samuel he said,

"Samuel, meet Nicole."

Looking at Espio quizzically, Samuel bent down closer to the screen and nearly fell back when a mobian face appeared.

"Hello Samuel. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Staring at the face for a few seconds, Samuel smiled and replied,

"Good evening Nicole. It is very nice to meet you as well."

Turning to Espio and shrugging he said,

"Well, I may as well invite you two in. It's more comfortable inside."

It took Espio some time to explain Nicole's current situation to Samuel. While being told her story, all he did was sip his tea. No reactions, and no questions.

"That's why we're here Sam. We need you to keep Nicole here until we can figure out a way to talk some sense into the people."

Smiling at Espio, Samuel stood up and offered his hand.

"Of course Espio. It would be an honor to help you two out."

Grinning, Espio took the proffered hand in a firm shake. As he let go though, Samuel got a look on his face that Espio knew all to well. Something had dawned on him and it either meant something truly brilliant or something that may blow them up. Espio prayed for the first.

"Hold on one second, I'll be right back."

Leaping towards a nearby door, he opened it and disappeared down some stairs, his hair trailing after him. Sighing, Espio sat down and picked up his cup of tea, taking a sip.

"So...Samuel. How do you two know each other anyway."

Smiling, Espio set down his tea and turned towards Nicole.

"We first met when I was assigned to watch Knuckles. I would report to him anything I thought important that was happening. While our relationship was originally just field agent and his contact, he was always making sure I was okay. He always wanted to here about how I was doing after I had made my report." Espio chuckled, "He never could leave me be. Before I realized it, I was coming to visit him as a friend, not as my contact."

"But why did you bring me here? He may be your friend but this doesn't seem to be a good place for me. I can't do much here and I would hate to be useless."

Before Espio could think of a response Samuel, who had gotten back upstairs, answered her.

"Ah my dear, you will be far from useless. It gets lonely up here and someone to talk to will be of immense help. There is also this."

From behind his back he pulled out a medium sized box. Nicole looked at it quizzically but Espio just stared at Samuel in shock.

"Samuel... You finished them?"

Samuel smiled at him and nodded. Turning towards Nicole he placed the box down next to her.

"I think some explaining is in order. I suppose Espio has already told you of my connection to the Shinobi clan so let me briefly tell what I do. I am not only Espio's contact, but I am the local intelligence man. It is my duty to examine any potential threat's weapons and technology to discover any weaknesses."

Samuel opened up the box and pulled out a large collection of vials. Nicole gasped in surprise,

"Nanites?"

Placing them down on the table, Samuel continued.

"That is correct. When Eggman began using these as weapons, Espio was able to collect some for me to examine. I suppose you have already done the same so no need to bore you with that info. However, I decided to do some experimentation with these and I was able to come up with a new group. Since you used these to create your hologram form in Mobotropolis I thought that you might want to give these a try."

Nicole was shocked. He was saying this with such conviction, did he know how much power she required to keep her hologram form? Yet, she was intrigued. The possibility to truly live, even only as a hologram, was something she longed for.

"Okay. How are we going to do this?"

What will happen? Will Nicole get her dream to live? Will the people ever accept her again? All coming up in this and my companion story.

Yes, it is a bit weird that Sam, who lives out in the forest, away from most people has the resources to create Nanites but considering that Eggman is able to build his fleets and even the Death Egg in a few months I think I didn't go to far out of the realm of possibility.

Please Review,

Tybalt