Here we are, the third chapter. Sorry for taking so long, more explanation at the end. I own nothing, it all belongs to Archie and Sega

Nicole knew that Espio's clan was powerful and hidden enough that it made sense for Sam to have a laboratory for examining anything that their agents might bring him. However, she was still amazed when he plugged her into his expansive computer network. After having been stuck in that portable device it felt good to stretch her legs, so to speak.

Espio was a little bit reluctant for this it appeared.

"Sam, are you sure this is safe?"

Smiling as he started setting up the nanites for the process he replied,

"Of course Espio. I was so intrigued when you mentioned that Nicole had been able to create a faux body that I began to experiment with the idea. I think that... OUCH!"

While he had been chatting with Espio, Samuel failed to notice that one of the glass tubes of nanites had cracked, leaving a small but sharp edge. As he was pulling it out it slipped, cutting his finger rather deep. He rapidly pulled his hand back instinctively, and the nanite tube began to fall.

"Careful!"

Due to his intensive training, Espio easily managed to grab the tube and he set it back in it's place. As he went over to see if Sam needed any help treating the wound, no one noticed some remainder of Sam's blood slowly dropping down amongst the nanites and disappearing.

As Espio looked over Sam's wound, Sam began to chuckle,

"I'm sure I'll be fine Esp. It's merely a scratch. Just some items from my first aid kit upstairs and I'll be ready to go."

It didn't take long for Sam's wound to be placated, and for him to finish setting up the nanites.

The process was simple really. Sam had set the nanite tubes inside small vial holders in a large dome like object. The dome was wired to allow an AI which would be inside of Samuel's computer to control the nanites much like how Nicole had been doing in Mobotropolis.

"Now, Nicole, are you ready?"

"Um..."

Nicole had spent enough time around living beings that she had been able to start emulating their reactions to things. She had done this to such a degree that she was almost completely able to feel emotion. However, while this allowed for emotions of happiness and joy, it unfortunately came with fear. That was what was coursing through Nicoles system at the moment.

"Are you sure this is going to be safe?"

Smiling and nodding his head Sam knew that she was feeling a little bit of trepidation.

"Don't worry Nicole. The worst that could happen is that it doesn't work. I made sure to put in a fail safe if their was a risk of you being deleted in any way. Now, should we start?"

Taking a couple of deep cybernetic breaths, Nicole gave an affirmative.

Moving over to his computer, Samuel Typed in the pass code to start the transference.

"Now Nicole, if you feel anything is going wrong during the transference, please tell us. We want to make sure you aren't hurt."

"Okay."

Espio was still a little worried about the whole thing. Nicole was a good friend, and the whole thing seemed a little risky. He had known Samuel for a long time, but his friend was prone to do things a little bit faster then they should be done.

"Sam, are you sure this is going to work? You've checked all the possible problems, right?"

Nodding his head, Samuel shot Espio his trademark grin. He then did a thorough double check of everything, just to make sure Espio felt more secure.

He went back to his keyboard and asked Nicole,

"You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

With that, Samuel hit the start button.

Espio had thought that the process would be noisy. The whole thing seemed to be right out of a horror novel so he had expected electrical thrumming, flashes of lightning, and for Samuel to start cackling. However, it was very still in the lab. The only sign that anything was even happening was the loading bar on the main computer screen.

Espio turned to Sam, discomfort clear in his voice,

"Sam, you're positive that nothing will..."

Espio's question was silenced when they noticed the nanites starting to leave their glass tubes and begin to fly around inside of the dome. They spun faster and faster, starting to collect in the center, becoming more and more dense.

Sam looked at the loading bar and seemed a little shocked. The bar, which only moments ago had read 15% was now at 40% and climbing faster.

"Nicole? Is everything fine?"

He could sense the confusion in her voice when she answered him.

"Why yes, it's all going perfectly. Why, is something the matter?"

The bar had increased to 79% and continued to climb.

"Well, the process seems to be going faster than planned. You're positive that everything is fine?"

95%

"Why yes, everything is perfectly..."

100%

As Nicole's voice was cut off, a bright flash of light came from the dome. Turning rapidly and running towards it, Sam and Espio saw Nicole's hologram laying on the floor, seemingly passed out.

Espio shouted as Sam pried loose the dome door.

"Nicole!"

Sam's instincts took over when he got to her as he began checking for a pulse. He was about to slap himself for forgetting that she was a hologram but then he realized... she HAD a pulse.

Doing a quick check to make sure that her body wasn't damaged, he lifted her up and over to a chair.

Espio knelt beside her as Sam rushed upstairs to grab some things.

"Nicole? Nicole, can you hear me?"

It had been a strange process for Nicole. There was no pain, no odd feelings, just a simple data transfer. She had done this hundreds of times but there was something off about this time. She felt... heavy. Parts of her body were moving and doing things without her even bidding the nanites to do. She tried to get the nanites to open her holographic eyes but they weren't seeming to obey. Thinking back to what Sally had told her about physical beings and how they worked, she opened her eyes.

Then she heard Espio,

"Nicole? Nicole, can you hear me?"

As her eyes got used to the light, she saw Espio next to her with a worried look on his face. Trying to speak by using the nanites like she had always done, they weren't seeming to respond to her. In fact, when she tried to do a data check to see where the problem lay, she found that it was impossible. Her whole interface had been changed, and she had no clue how to operate it. She had become...

Mobian.

Dun Dun DUUUN! Yeah, sorry for the cheesy and cliché ending but sometimes those are the best. Also, I apologize for not having a consistent uploading times with my stories. I'm working on trying to write everyday, but it's difficult. If only life wasn't so intrusive it would be easier.

Oh, and for a quick explanation for what happened and why: Nanites in some ideas, and for my opinion at any time, are used to create and fix things. Given information they can change human features like in a Doctor Who episode.

Anyway, thank you for reading and please read and review.

Tybalt