A/N: Here comes 23! Last time, the heroes have been forcibly evicted from their city. The Iron Queen took control of Nicole and is now using her to gather up any citizens and heroes found in the city. However, a small group managed to escape with a plan to take back control from the Iron Dominion. Will they succeed and begin steps to bring back freedom? Or will they be out of the war completly? Time to find out.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega and Archie Comics except my OC.

After flying in silence for 10 minutes, the 5 heroes reached Freedom HQ. It seems some of Kor's depression rubbed off on Sally, so Sonic and Ken took it upon themselves to cheer her up. In the meantime, the two foxes set about hacking into the city's database via the main computer. Unfortunately, they weren't having much luck.

"Ugh...seems Nicole's already started securing the mainframe. It's gonna be hard trying to crack this thing open..." Kor groaned.

"Don't worry. Maybe if we can troubleshoot a way around the defenses, we might have a chance of gaining access to her." Tails said optimistically.

"If we can get through to her..." The engineer replied.

A minute later, the others came into the lab.

"Any luck boys?" Sally asked.

"Unfortunately no. While we're able to access some of the mainframe, we keep getting lock out from other important parts..." Tails said, still typing into the computer.

"How about we use that digitizer we used to get into Gerald Robotnik's diary?" Sonic suggested.

Tails stopped for a second before smiling. "Great idea Sonic! I'll go set it up."

As Tails ran out of the lab, Kor just looked confused. "A digitizer?"

"You haven't seen it yet?" Sonic asked.

"No. This is the first I've heard of it." Kor said.

"Oh yeah, you weren't around back then. Well, the digitizer is this machine that can transport us into the digital world. We used it to uncover stuff in Robotnik's diary, his grandfather that is." The hedgehog explained.

"Ah...what exactly do you plan to do?" Kor asked.

"Easy. We'll upload ourselves into the mainframe and deal with this directly!" Sonic said with a grin.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Ken asked.

"It probably is since it'll likely attract the Queen's attention...on that note, I want you and Kor to keep guard while we handle things in there Ken." Sally replied.

"No can do Sal..." The engineer responded.

"But Kor...you're one of the best people we have when it comes to defense. If they manage to find us here-" Sally started but Kor cut her off.

"If they come here, there's already more than enough to keep them at bay. Hornet'll probably scare them off, and I'll give my sentry to Tails incase things get dicey. Plus...I really want to stop Nikki from bein' that queen's pawn...you saw what she did when we left. God knows what she's doing now, and I still feel responsible for not actin' quick enough..." The fox clenched his hands into fists as he stared at the floor.

The others stood there thoughtfully before Sally gave her answer. "Alright, you can come. But are you sure Tails knows how to handle that device?"

"He's seen me work before. Shouldn't be hard to handle." Kor stated.

After that, everyone set their plan into action. Tails finished setting up the digitizer and pointed it at the 3. "I'll send you guys as deep as I can into the system. After that, you'll have to work your way in from there."

"Sounds cool little bro. Fire when ready!" Sonic smiled.

"Hang on." Kor said and tossed Tails his wrench. "If you need to just tap the toolbox with that. Sentry'll built itself in a few seconds."

Tails nodded. "Ready?" The 3 nodded before Tails fired up the machine.

The 3 heroes were struck with a green beam and soon disappeared from the room. Tails then went to the computer and uploaded them into the system.

-New Mobotropolis Mainframe-

After being disoriented from the beam, Sonic, Sally, and Kor found themselves in front of a large gate in the digital world. It's appearance was similar to New Mobotropolis' outer walls.

"So what are we looking at exactly?" Sonic asks.

"This is just how we see the defenses Nicole set up." Sally told them.

"At least it's not lined with sentries..." Kor mused.

"Well then, I'll just see myself busting right through it!" The hedgehog replied. However, before he could wind up his attack, the gate opened.

Standing before the 3, was Iron Nicole herself. "While a digital frontal assault was not anticipated, it was within range of predictability."

"Im guessing you meant 'that was clever', which is was thank you." Sonic said with a smug look.

"Be as it may, you 3 are under arrest for your continued resistance to the Queen. You have the option to surrender now, or I will use force." Nicole said coldy.

However, Sally tries to reason with her."Nicole please. We know you're stronger than this! Most couldn't override your code in the past. Tails, Rotor, Eggman, and even A.D.A.M. all failed to break you! Not sure if Kor tried-"

"Never considered it..." Kor said.

"Anyway, if those guys couldn't gain control of you, the Iron Queen shouldn't be any different!" Sally pleaded.

Nicole stood in silence for a moment. "...That statement is valid. No one has ever been able to override this system. It's purposes were always for the good of...everyone..." The A.I. began to have a headache.

Sally grabs her hand. "That's it Nicole. Fight it! You can do it!" Nicole opens her eyes slightly. Instead of being red, they were green. "S-Sally?"

However, before Sally could encourage her futher, Sonic notices trouble. Big trouble. "Uh guys? We have a problem."

The 3 watch in horror as a giant apperation of the Iron Queen looms over the digital city. "It seems we have a few viruses in the system." She spoke. "I do not tolerate you vermin trying to hack into my city! Prepare to meet your end!"

With that, the Queen blasted a large laser at the group. Sonic snatches up Sally and Kor before jumping out of the way. Nicole is unhurt, but she's left clutching her head.

Sonic runs to the top of Digital Castle Acorn. "How the hell did she get in here?!" Kor asked.

"No clue. The city doesn't have its own digitizer." Sally said, confused as well.

-New Mobotropolis-

Regina was sitting in the Acorn Council's Chambers, looking at the digital world via the orb of her staff. Snively was next to her. "Incase you dearies forgot, I am a masterful technomage. I can easily project my power into the digital world."

"I can't see what's happening..." Snively whined.

"Snively, don't bother me while I'm busy! Go somewhere else!" Regina ordered. The short overlander groaned before walking out the room.

-Back to the Mainframe-

"Got any plans Sal?" Sonic asked.

"If you two could distract the Queen, I can try to get Nicole to resist the Queen's control." Sally said. "Sounds like a plan. Let's go Kor." Sonic said before curling into a ball. He launches himself directly at the Queen's face, but to his shock, his attack is deflected.

"Ugh, what happened?" Sonic asks as he lands on his feet.

To his complete surprise, Nicole comes out of a spin-dash of her own. "Within this domain, my power is unlimited...surrender now hedgehog or you will face my wrath."

"We'll see about that!" Sonic said, charging up another attack.

Each time Sonic attempts to attack the Queen, Nicole intercepts him with his own attack. Kor and Sally watch as the two battle.

"What happened to the part where I handled Nicole?..." Sally asked, watching nervously.

Just then, a large sentry gun materializes in front of them.

"We got bigger problems Sally. Run!" Kor yelled.

The two duck behind cover as a hail of lasers and rockets fly after them.

"Still think teaching her how to be a sentry was a good idea?!" Sally asked. Kor looks at her with an annoyed look. "Shut up..."

-Freedom HQ-

While the others were busy with hacking, Tails and Ken watch what goes on from the computer.

"Any clue what's happening?" Ken asked.

"Looks like they're fighting against Nicole's defenses, and it's not looking good..."Tails explained.

Ken frowned, then stood in thought for a few moments. "Does Nicole physically exist in the city...?"

"Well, technically. The bulk of her coding is in the city's mainframe." Tails said, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Where's the central hub located?" The monkey asked.

"Below the castle, but it's not like it will do us any good right now. Why do you ask?" The kit didn't get a reply for a moment. "Ken?" He turned and noticed the cyborg was no longer in the lab.

Looking around, Tails catches him outside walking away from the base.

"Hey Ken! Where are you going?!" The fox yells as he catches up to him.

"I'm going to go put Nicole out of her misery..." He stated coldly.

Tails was shocked at this and immediately blocks Ken's path. "Why would you even consider that?!"

"The Queen used me to destroy the Dragon Kingdom Freedom Fighters, and I refuse to let Nicole be used in the same way!" Ken angrily retorted.

"She won't be for much longer! Sonic, Sally, and Kor will figure out a way to save her!" Tails countered.

"The Queen took full control of me because my body is partially robotic! If she could control a cyborg so easily, what hope would a fully digital being like her have?! It's not easy but it has to be done..." Ken pushed Tails aside as he continued on.

However, Tails grabs his atom-bat. "We're heroes Ken! We do what's right now matter how difficult it may be..."

"It's not the matter of it being difficult. It's about this whole thing being impossible!" Ken spat in irritation.

"It wasn't impossible to save you or Bunnie from the Queen! If you thought all of this was hopeless, why did you even come all the way out here anyway?" Tails retorted.

"It's because I didn't want to have to destroy Nicole..." Ken said with guilt.

"Well if you don't want to, then just wait til the others find a way to free her. Or do you think they won't succeed?" The kit tells him.

They stare at each other for a minute before Ken pinches the bridge of his noise in frustration. "You make it sound like it's so simple..." "I never said it was..." Tails said.

He looks at the wrench he still held in his hand. "...If Kor heard you say what you said a minute ago, he would've put a huge dent in your head..."

"What do you mean Tails?..." Ken asked, still stressed. "Well, believe it or not, Kor cares more about Nicole than he lets on..." Tails told him.

-In the Mainframe-

Kor and Sally hid behind a boulder from the sentry's fire.

"We won't be able to move anywhere unless we get rid of that sentry!" Sally said.

"Im thinking right now. Ugh...wish I took my gun with me...wait..." Kor said as realization dawned on him.

"What is it?" Sally asked.

"If Nicole has no limitations here, what say we don't either?" Kor told her.

"What do you mean by that?" Sally asked, still confused.

"Hold onto that thought ma'am..." Kor said as he sat in thought for a moment. In that instant, a large minigun materialized in front of him. Its appearance was similar to Heavy's standard weapon. "Yes! It worked!"

"What the...what did you do?" Sally asked, even more confused now.

"Think about it. The digital realm is somewhat like being in a dream world. If Nicole can enhance herself to be as fast as Sonic, then we could should be able to enhance ourselves." The fox explained.

"Hmm, I think I see what you're talking about." Sally said with a smile.

She draws a simple line on the ground next to the boulder, causing a digital wall to form from it. However, the Queen blasts it to pieces.

"Hah! Do you really think you can build a firewall in my system?" She taunted.

"Technically it's my system..." Kor muttered. "Think you can do that trick again Sal?" The engineer asked.

The chipmunk nods and builds another wall, this one larger. The sentry stops firing for a moment, before Kor pops out and unloads the minigun's ammo into the turret. They fire at each other for 2 minutes straight without stopping, but in the end, Kor outguns it. It took all of the minigun's ammunition to destroy it.

"Didn't think that sentry would be that sturdy..." The engineer said as he drops the weapon.

Sonic regroups with them, having gotten away from Nicole for the time being. "Anyone got a plan? I can't even get close to the Queen with Nicole being in the way..."

"We do Sonic. Sorry Sal but I'm gonna take yer place. You and Sonic distract the Queen. I'll take care of Nikki." Kor told them.

"You sure you know what you're doing Kor?" Sally asked.

"Yeah. Just let me drag her away from the fight and I'll handle her from then." The fox said with confidence.

"Right...um, could you make a weapon for me? No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to do it like you do..." Sally asked.

"He did what now?" Sonic asked, confused.

"Yeah, hang on..." Kor closed his eyes, and a second later a blade sword spawned.

"Thanks." Sally said, grabbing the weapon.

"Nice trick! How'd you do that?" Sonic asked.

"I'll explain later. Just go!" Kor commanded. The two nodded before springing into action.

As Sonic and Sally ran into the open, the Queen shot another blast at them. Sonic dodged while Sally constructed another wall. "You might have control of our city, but your reflexes are still slow!" Sonic taunted.

"I'll show you vermin!" Regina shouted as she sent another blast at him.

Nicole was about to head over to intercept the hedgehog when a voice got her attention.

"You know Iron Nicole, for a so-called perfect system, you sure seem to have trouble dealing with a 'simple' hedgehog. It seems you might be a bit out of date." Kor said with a smug look on his face.

This only angered the A.I. as she spun towards him. Kor's ears fell flat against his head. "Why did I say that?..."

Nicole nailed him him his chest, knocking the wind out of him and sent him back 70 feet. "Do you submit?" She asked without any hint of emotion in her voice.

However, Kor just chuckled as he stood back up. "I've been hit with worse. Don't be thinkin' I'll bow to your so-called Queen any time soon."

"Understood. You must be eliminated then." Nicole stated before curling into another spin-dash, though this time she was charging up her attack.

Kor grew nervous. "If I don't time this right, I'm screwed..." He muttered.

He closed his eyes for a moment and spawned a wrench similar to the one he normally used, but it was slightly bigger in size. Nicole took off at him full speed, but to his surprise, his cybernetic eyes were able to keep track of her movement, abeit barely. "Huh. Thanks Nikki." He thought.

As she neared, he gripped the wrench with both hands and raised it above his head. "Sorry about this..." Kor muttered. Right as she was about to hit him, he brought the blunt weapon down and struck her right on the head, stopping her completely and driving her into the floor. Nicole lied flat on the ground, disoriented from the blow. Thinking quick, Kor used his wrench to draw a box around their position. "Best way to deal with a strong individual? Isolate them from their support..." He said to himself.

Once Kor sealed the top of the newly constructed room, and with Nicole now isolated from the Queen's system, her form reverts back to its usual self.

Kor looks at her worriedly. "Nicole? Are you...well you again?" He sighs in relief when he gets a response.

"Ow...my head..." The A.I. said, holding her head in pain. She looks up at the engineer. "K-Kor?" She tries to stand but still feels weak. Kor grabs her hand and helps her up.

"It's gonna be alright Nikki. I managed to isolate you from the rest of the system. You ok?" The engineer asked.

"No...I just downloaded the logs of my previous actions...I feel...furious? Mortified? Emotions are difficult to label when you actually experience them..." The A.I. said with regret.

"Well, my label would be you feeling royally pissed at the Queen right now." Kor said with a chuckle.

Nicole laughed with him, but then noticed the scar on his side. "...That scar...that was from me wasn't it?...I'm so sorry Kor...I was unable to control myself...I-I thought you might have..." She cried into his chest.

Kor rubs her back. "Don't worry about it Nicole. I've suffered through worse. Heck, I was blinded like over a week ago. But no simple rocket blast will be enough to end me. Sorry about whacking you on the head though..."

"It's alright. I kinda needed that..." She said sheepishly.

"Good thing is we have some control over the city now..." Kor said optimistically.

"While that is true, I still need time to recover...I've built up defenses within myself to resist the Queen's magic, but even if we drive them out today she has plenty of forces at her disposal, and I fear they'll retaliate stronger than they did today...they also still have assets in the Dragon Kingdom." The A.I. explained.

"Good point..." Kor sat in thought for a moment.

However they could still hear the sounds of battle outside the walls.

"We gotta get out of here quick. Sonic and Sally won't last long against that bitch...tell you what Nikki. You keep up the ruse you're still under her control while the rest of us go cut off her support in the other continent." Kor told her.

"That's what I was thinking." Nicole said with a smile before reconfiguring herself to her Iron Dominion appearance. She then hugs the engineer. "Thank you Kor...thank you for helping me become myself again..."

Kor chuckles and hugs back. "To be honest, it was Sonic's idea to come in here. You should thank him."

"Noted. But for you however..." The A.I. then plants a kiss on his cheek, leaving him stunned. "Good luck." She winks.

"Y-you too." Kor said with a blush on his face.

Nicole then destroys the room. "Unauthorized access is denied." She stated in a monotone voice before purging the fox from the system.

She then turns and runs over to where the battle was raging. Sonic and Sally were now exhausted from battling the Queen.

"I hope Kor managed to get through to her...I don't know if we can keep this up much longer..." Sonic panted.

"Given how long they've been gone, he might have..." Sally said with hope.

Regina towers over the duo, taunting them. "Face it hedgehog. You have hope for victory in a domain I control." She charges up another blast. "While it was fun toying with you, farewell 'heroes'."

However, before she could destroy them, Nicole purged them from the system as well.

Angrily, Regina glares at the A.I. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"All intruders have been dumped from the system your highness. The city is under your control once more." Nicole stated with a cold stare.

Regina groans. "While I was hoping to crush them myself, good job my puppet..." She then exits the system.

Nicole glares at where Regina was. "I'm not your mindless toy anymore..." She mutters to herself.

-Freedom HQ-

The two heroes found themselves back in the lab.

"What happened?" Sonic asked.

"Nicole must have removed us from the system." Sally told him.

A second later, Tails and Ken re-entered the lab.

"You guys alright?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, Nicole removed us from the system before the Queen got to us." Sonic said.

They noticed Kor standing absent-mindedly near them, holding a spot on his cheek. "Kor?" Sally asked.

He stiffened alittle after being taken out of his thoughts. "Yeah Sal?"

"Did you manage to get through to her buddy?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah. Nicole's no longer under the Queen's control. However she'll be keeping up the ruse so they won't suspect anything." Kor told with a smile.

Everyone sighed in relief.

"Nice going Kor." Sonic patted his back. "By the way, how come you keep holding your cheek? Did she hit you hard or something?"

"No, but she hit me with somethin' though..." A visible blush formed on the engineer's face.

"Aaaah I see." Sonic chuckled.

"Hah...but here's the important issue pardners. I dicussed the possibility of driving the Dominion out with her, but currently they have too many forces for us to handle. Not only that, they still have plenty of support in the Dragon Kingdom. So, we figured the best thing to is do is to head over to the DK to break their support. That way, when we come back to our city, they won't have cards to fall back on once we kick em' out." Kor explained to the group.

"It'll be a risky endevour. I know where 3 of the clans of the clans reside, barring the Shinobi Clan as secrecy is their mainstay...not only that, the clans might not be willing to negotiate peace..." Ken said in thought.

"Be as it may, we have to try Ken. We've gotten this far, things may work out in our favor." Sally assured him.

"And, if they give us any trouble, I'll just give them a good ol' Sonic Spin!" The hedgehog boasted.

"I second that notion." Tails agreed.

Ken smiled. "Well, if you guys are up for it, I'll give it a shot."

"Then it's settled. Pack your bags boys, we're heading for the Dragon Kingdom ASAP." Sally said.

After spending minutes preparing, the group was ready to head out. Well, almost.

"Hey Tails, that plane of yours got a second seat?" Kor asked.

"Yeah. How come?" Tails inquired.

"If we're going to make peace with these clans, we can't afford to be threatening. If they see Hornet they might freak out or somethin', so I'll leave him here. I'll take my sentry with me though." He explained.

"Good point." Tails agreed.

"Hey Kor! Sure you don't want to ride on the wing?" Sonic asked.

"No thanks." Kor chuckled.

"Aw come on it's fun on there! Just feelin' the wind in your fur. Besides you rode on your robot's head on the way here." Sonic pointed out.

"That's because it has a larger surface area than the wing of a plane. Maybe next time." Kor told him.

Sonic shrugged. "Alright man, but you're missing out."

"Everyone ready?" Tails asked. After getting confirmation, Ken took off on his cloud with the Tornado and its passengers in pursuit.

Although the heroes passed the first hurdle of their adventure, they had many trials ahead of them if they wanted to turn the tide on the Iron Dominion.

A/N: And that's all for chapter 23. While writing this, I was debating on whether Sally or Kor should help Nicole turn, but in the end I decided to let Kor do it as a way of helping them get closer. Now, with Nicole back to her old self, the group can now focus on breaking the Dominion's support overseas. Now normally I don't ask for reviews, but now I'm curious as to what you may think of all of this. So please leave a review if you feel like it.