A/N: Hello fellow viewers, welcome to chapter 33. As you've seen last chapter, things seem pretty bleak: the Death Egg Mk. II is operational, New Mobotropolis has been damaged, and worst of all, Sally is a robot. It couldn't possibly get any worse right? Think again.
To KashKey: Thank you for the nice review. These are pretty much few and far between. I've had TF2 for 5 years come this Christmas, and I still enjoy the game very much. I incorporated the Direct Hit since I own a strange variant of it and this serves as a hint at what Kor would be like in a later sequel. I plan to have more of him revealed as the story goes on. I know that the main attribute for the Gunslinger hasn't been used much as it only served as a prosthetic hand, but I may let it have some use later on. It's actually a little difficult juggling a lot of characters as sometimes I forget to mention 1 or 2, but it happens.
To Shade of Naxx: This is a long overdo thank you, but thank you for the reply. Back when Meet the Medic came out in 2011 I was about as hyped as everyone else, even though I thought the Quick Fix sucked at the time. Also it had me thinking, wouldn't those uber batteries need changing from time to time? They've been in the mercs for a couple years and all batteries gotta wear out at some point.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Sega and Archie except my OC.
The opinion of the public is like a double-edged sword. In one instance, it can swing ideals into your favor. Then the next thing you know, they don't see you in the same light anymore. That's exactly what was happening to the heroes right now. As they trudged back into the half-ruined city, they gawked at the devastation Eggman wrought upon them. Several homes had been damaged or destroyed, the Coliseum looked ready to collapse, the castle was damaged along with some other business buildings, and of course, bits and pieces of crystalline and metal were strewn about. But that was far from the worst news.
The group found Bunnie mostly covered in crystalline with Vanilla, Cream, and Big by her side. Antoine was completely devastated at the site of his wife. Thankfully, she was still alive and Dr. Quack ordered them to take her to the hospital. He said the same for Kor given that red fox looked ready to pass out at any second, so Tails helped him along the way. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's talk about the REAL bad news.
Thanks to said public opinion mentioned previously, Naugus had been crowned king. Sonic was quick to jump on the gun about the wizard's past deeds and how he's a threat to them all. Naugus in turn pointed out how Elias is unfit to rule, which really didn't help since he just discovered what happened with his sister. The wizard also boasted how he would be able to protect the city from both Eggman and Nicole, which earned a glare from the heroes and the Tarantulas standing nearby.
Amy then shifted concern to Bunnie, to which Naugus explained was a 'minor mistake'. As such, this leads us to Tommy Turtle Hospital. Both Bunnie and Kor were in the same room. The rabbit was now awake, though it bugged her that she couldn't move anything besides her head and right arm. Dr. Quack still hasn't figured out how to deal with that issue, so for the time being he was tending to Kor. Tails just finished wrapping one around the his tail.
Bunnie sighed. "This stinks harder than a bad rodeo! Ah wish ah saw that blast comin'. What was that old geezer thinking?..."
"Fret not mah sweet. As soon as we figure out how to break ze crystal, I'm going to be giving zat accursed wizard a piece of my mind!" The coyote said angrily.
"I'm very sorry Ms. D'Coolette, but as I said before I won't be able to do anything until I'm certain we can break you out of that little coffin without bringing harm to you..." Dr. Quack stated.
"It's alright...I blame that darn wizard for this anyway...if I ever git free first thing I'ma do is smack him senseless!"
"Well at least you don't got broken bones..." Kor groaned.
"Normally I would expect Sonic to take this kind of beating, but it seems you two have traded places for the time being." The doctor stated as he finished wrapping Kor's torso. "Now, I am aware you have a healing device in one of your...dispensers was it? I recommend sitting near it til the bones are fixed."
"Did Medic ever give ya them ubercannons yet?" Asked the engineer.
"Unfortunately no. He said he...ran into some 'complications' as he put it, so he's under fire from GUN at the moment."
"Figures..." Kor sighed.
Just then, the door swung open as Naugus, Geoffrey, Sonic, and Amy stepped into the room, the former two earning glares from everyone else.
"And just vat are you doing here?!" Antoine asked.
"Simple my little soldier: I'm here you alleviate your dear wife of the burden I've 'mistakingly' placed upon her." The wizard chuckled.
"And that's supposed ta make me feel any better?!" Bunnie exclaimed.
"I believe you and zat traitor," Antoine pointed at Geoffrey, "have done enough! You won't be laying a finger on mah wife!" The coyote said as he threatened to draw his blade.
Naugus only chuckled. "Nonsense. I only want what is best for you and your beloved. In fact, I want the people to witness this as well!"
Using his wand, the wizard opened up the wall, which revealed much of the populace waiting in anticipation.
"Gee-zus, privacy much?!" Kor said with an annoyed tone.
"Now relax, you won't feel a thing." Naugus grinned evilly before chanting a few words.
His wand gave off an intense light that caused everyone to shield their eyes. Once it was over, everyone was in shock, including Naugus himself. Bunnie looked over her features and saw she was no longer covered in crystalline, but that wasn't the only thing she noticed. Her left arm and the lower half of her body no longer comprised of robotic parts. They were completely organic. Cautiously, she felt her arm incase it was an illusion, but it was the real thing. She began to cry tears of joy as she realized she was once again a regular mobian. No longer feeling metal mixed with skin almost seemed foreign to her, but she was elated none the less.
Naugus just looked on confused. He didn't intend for the now-former-cyborg to become fully organic, but thankfully for him, Geoffrey was a quick thinker.
"Without her cybernetics, she won't be much of a threat in the future." The skunk whispered.
The wizard chuckled. "Take note of what your fair king has done my subjects! As a reward for her bravery, not only have I freed Ms. Rabbot from her crystal prison, but I have also done away with her cybernetics! She has been granted another chance to live a normal life! And speaking of which, if you'll allow it, I can do the same for you Mr. Royce." Naugus glanced at Kor.
This caused the crowd to have some debate amongst themselves.
"You try doin' any fancy wizard crap on me and I'll fill both yer heads with lead..." Kor said with a glare.
"An opportunity of a lifetime and you refuse it? I thought you were supposed to be smart." Geoffrey chided.
"If I wasn't injured I'd show you whose the smart one 'round here!" Kor yelled.
"Knock it off Geoffrey. Unlike you, he actually risked his life to save everyone, not turn their lives upside down!" Sonic butted in.
"And you claim to be doing the same thing while up there? And whose fault was it that allowed Sally to be roboticized?" Geoffrey retorted.
"That's a low blow stinky and you know it!" Sonic said through gritted teeth.
"Enough pestering the hedgehog my apprentice. We have more important issues to deal with." Naugus said as he closed the wall. "I bid you 'heroes' a good day." He stated before leaving, Geoffrey following shortly after.
Sonic turned to Amy and Tails. "Guys, make sure everyone else knows about what happened on the Death Egg and Sally. I'm going to figure out a way to rescue her." The hedgehog said, jetting out of the room before anyone could make an interjection.
Amy sighed. "But we don't even know what happened out there...given how badly you're injured, I'm guessing it didn't turn out as planned?" She asked Kor.
"Due to how this was ever so suddenly thrown at us, no. Didn't know what expect, just went in there to stop whatever that mad man was up to. Long story short, that white light you noticed earlier reset reality or whatever, so everyone is susceptible to this 'roboticization' process." The engineer explained. Everyone besides Tails gasped at this
"But, didn't that alien race prevent that sorta thing from happenin'?!" Bunnie asked in shock.
"They did, but when reality was reset, the effects from their device no longer applied..." Tails said grimly.
"However, there's good and bad news to this. The good news is that Sally managed to find a way to overload the system and cause it to self-destruct. Bad news...she...she ended up as a robot...and she's the reason mah hand and arm are busted..." Kor finished.
The others didn't know what to say. It was a lot of information to take in. It sure explained why Sonic was so quick to get back to the Death Star, I mean Death Egg, but the question of getting Sally was another story. Also there's the fact of how everyone else would take it.
Dr. Quack looked at Kor's legs and noticed the fur there was a little burned. "If I may ask, what exactly happened to your legs?"
"Let's just say, rocket jumpin's a bit painful..." The engineer said. "On to other things...Tails, I need you to do me a favor. Go to my hanger and bring one of my tool boxes. It's red and has the number 22 on it. Bring that along with one of my wrenches."
Amy was looking out the window and noticed some of the buildings had yet to be repaired. "I wonder why Nicole isn't repairing anything like she normally would..."
Kor gave an annoyed look at her. "A good portion of the city got damaged Amy, things like this take time...it's very well possible she probably isn't in the city's system though."
"Wasn't she with Sally when all of you went on ze Death Egg?" Antoine asked.
"Yeah..." Then a thought came to the engineer. "I hope to God she wasn't up there when that thing activated..."
-Freedom HQ-
After leaving the hospital, Sonic made a beeline straight for the HQ. Once he got there, he went immediately to the lab's main computer. It didn't appear to be online, but he decided to try his luck anyway.
"Hey Nicole, you in there? How ya holdin' up?" The hedgehog asked.
There was no reply for a few moments, but then a block of text appeared on the screen.
Yes...I was with Sally when the roboticizer came online. My original chasis was with her when it activated...and now it's gone...Sally was my very first friend...my best friend...and she's gone too...
Sonic read it before replying back. "I know it's hard now Nicole, but I'm going to figure out a way to save her. For now I need you to open up a warp ring to Angel Island." There was a minute of silence before a ring on the table grew in size, big enough to walk through it. In it, a portal opened up to reveal Angel Island on the other side. "Thanks Nicole! We'll talk more after I get back."
All he got in return was a blank screen. Sonic looked at the computer with sorrow before going through the ring.
-The Death Egg-
Eggman was in a workshop looking at Mecha Sally's design on some blueprints. He had done some scans on her and was looking for ways he could improve her to be an efficient, deadly machine. So many ideas for modifications popped into his head, which made him chuckle evilly. It was going to be oh so worth it using her as a weapon against Sonic. His thoughts were cut short as he heard Snively approaching with papers.
"Sir, the reserve power is currently holding strong, but we've lost a lot more power after firing the Egg Annihilator Beam. The good news is that we've begun to make up for it after launching Titan Metal Sonic..." The short man shuffles through them. "It appears most of the damage is concentrated at the Roboticizer Chamber, but there are several system problems throughout the Death Egg and without the emerald, it's making things are more difficult..."
Eggman just looked at him with a glare. "Can't you see I'm busy?! Go blather your worries elsewhere!" The rotund doctor said as he got some tools ready. Mecha Sally just stared at them with a deadpan glare.
Snively slapped his forehead and growled in frustration. He was getting sick of his uncle not heeding his advice, especially when not doing so could lead to their deaths. "We're barely flying here, and all you're concerned about is one robot?!"
In response, Eggman stalked up to him. "The Egg Mites will handle the repairs...," He grabbed the papers and tossed them away, "the emerald will be found..." He then got in Snively's face so he could look him in the eyes, making the shorter man quiver in fear. "And I've had a series of refueling depots built well before I even thought of using the emerald!" The doctor then flicked his nephew on the nose. "So no worries!" Eggman said cheerfully.
"Now take your worthless carcass elsewhere! I have work to do!" He finished in his usual annoyed tone.
Snively rubbed his nose before mumbling. "Fine, if you won't take this seriously, I might as well take full advantage of the situation!" He said to himself as he stormed out of the room.
The mad genius rummages through his tools before finding what he was looking for. "Oh, little princess. You used to be such a problem for me. You organized that little group of children and managed to upset everything for years. Sonic was your W.M.D., but you aimed him. You may have saved half of Mobius from me, but you exposed the heart of the Freedom Fighters." He slid his working goggles over his glasses and started a blow torch. "And I plan to make the most of it." He said with an evil grin before starting his project.
-2 Hours Later: Freedom HQ-
Kor was sitting in the lab of Freedom HQ working on rebuilding his hand. It was rather difficult since part of it was based on nanites and he was trying to put the spare parts on without accidentally making his hand worse than how it already was. He also brought some nanites in the form of a broken piece of the wall. Thanks to Tails bringing his dispenser, his bullet wounds healed up easily, so he did away with the bandages. The bones in his arm were fixed but still fragile, so he kept the cast on to allow them to harden. That wasn't all the work he needed to do though. A couple Tarantulas needed to be given small repairs and part of the wall where Titan Metal had landed crushed the hidden battery there, so he needed to replace that. What fun that would be.
Kor sighed in frustration as he stopped working on his hand again. The engineer still had no luck on finding Nicole. He checked the city's systems and she wasn't detected anywhere in them. He was practically worried sick about her at this point. If she died up there on that ship...there was no telling what he would do if that was the case. If Mina's concert taught him anything, she could hide when she wanted to be alone. But...she could be in some place that's obvious. Kor glanced at the main computer before wheeling over to it. Hoping he was right, he typed.
"You in there Nikki? It's Kor."
After waiting a few minutes for a response, the fox was relieved when he got a reply.
Yes...
"How are you? I was mighty worried when I couldn't find ya anywhere..."
What can I say? Distraught? Mortified? Distressed?...All 3 apply...
Kor sighed. He figured it was about Sally. Nicole once told him they were very close friends ever since the A.I. developed emotions, probably the equivalent of a sister you could say. "I'm really sorry about what happened to Sally Nikki...I wish we could do something more to...ok can I speak to you? It's hard typing with one hand..."
The lynx looked at the message before looking through the monitor's camera. She was quite surprised at how Kor looked.
The engineer was then surprised when he heard her voice behind him. Turning around, Kor saw Nicole in her physical form. "H-How did you..."
"Some time ago, Rotor installed projectors in the HQ so I could move around more freely..." She then got a good look at him. "...I knew you had been shot but I didn't think it was that serious..." She said in a worried tone.
"Gun wounds didn't do it...she did..." Kor said while looking at his arm.
Nicole understood what he meant and couldn't help herself as tears began to stream from her eyes. It was already bad enough Sally was roboticized, but now it was worse that she nearly killed Sonic and her boyfriend.
"Don't cry Nicole, don't cry..." The engineer said as he got up and walked towards her. "Look, I know things seem bad now, but we're already tryin' to figure out how to save her...well, Sonic is."
"I'm...I'm aware of that..." She rubbed her eyes. "But I'm not too sure if he'll be able to do much himself..."
"No one said he was...I know Sonic wants to hurry and get back in the game, but we ain't runnin' in there guns blazin'..." Kor sighed. "I know we got a lot on our plate Nicole, but I can promise you this...I will find a way to bring Sally back, even if it kills me-" He was interrupted when Nicole screeched at him.
"DON'T SAY THAT!" This made the engineer flinch backwards. "D-Don't say even if it k-kills you...it's already bad enough Sally is gone...the people of New Mobotropolis already hate me...I...I don't want to lose you either..." Nicole said as tears began to flow from her eyes again.
Kor gave her a firm look and nodded. "Ok, but you know I'll try mah damnest to bring her back..."
Nicole then hugged him tightly as she continued to sob. "I know you will..." She sniffled. Kor affectionately returned the hug, even rubbing her back as she continued to cry into his shoulder. This went on for a few minutes until she stopped crying.
"Feel any better?"
"A little..." She replied, then glanced at his hand. "Did she...?"
"Yeah...to be fair, I tried to shoot her in self-defense, but thinkin' about it I doubt it would've done any good..." Kor sighed.
Nicole looked at where Kor had been previously working before taking his hand to get a better look at it. "Well...the damage doesn't look too bad, but it's not good...I should be able to fix it in 10 minutes, but keep in mind your whole hand assembly needs to be rebuilt."
"10 minutes? I've been working at it for over an hour and still couldn't crack it!" Kor said skeptically.
"Forgot who designed your hand?" The A.I. replied with a smug look.
"True..."
They walked over to the desk. Kor lied his hand on the table while Nicole started to work. "...Anything happen to the city after I left the Death Egg?..."
"Some giant robot attacked and made a huge mess...it's gonna need some repairin', and I gotta replace a sentry battery again since it smashed it when it crashed...that ain't the worst though..." She looked at him questioningly. "Naugus is king now..."
The A.I. sighed as she stopped for a second. "...It seems that everything is going in a downward spiral...with Naugus in charge, no doubt he'll push for me to be exiled from the city..."
"I don't doubt it...to be honest I'm thinkin' of moving elsewhere at this point. It's just gotten too hectic in New Mobotropolis..." The fox said in thought.
"But...what about the citizens? What about the Freedom Fighters? You've put so much work into defending the city, it wouldn't be a wise move to just leave now, but...given the circumstances..."
"I know, that's why I'm planning to move here. Sally said this place was 'Home away from Home', though I think it'll be my permanent residence, at least til things settle."
"Hmm...that could work. But will you be comfortable here? I know it's a little less secure here and everything but-" Nicole said before Kor interrupted her.
"Ah don't fret pumpkin. Besides, I'll be able to keep you company should everyone else...you know..."
"That would be true I suppose..."
A silence had followed the conversation, with nothing being heard except for Nicole fixing the engineer's hand. After she took off the damaged parts, she reshaped the nanites to make up the main body, then she began adding the spares. Kor decided to instead have his hand morph into a single barreled cannon instead of triple barrels for easier maintenance while she was rebuilding it. The A.I.'s tongue stuck out of her mouth slightly as she focused, pushing a rather difficult piece into place.
"Come on...there!" She said when she heard a click. "Enjoy your new hand Mr. Royce." She said with a smile.
Kor inspected his hand and flexed it about, releaved he could finally use it. "Thanks a bunch Nikki. I'm actually right-handed, so imagine me tryin' to write anything. It'd look like a 2 year old's writing." He chuckled.
"I could imagine." Nicole giggled.
The fox sat in thought for a moment. "You said Sonic took a warp ring to Angel Island right?"
"Affirmative."
"I think it'd be better if I build a teleporter there. Would be easier, and probably more efficient."
"But aren't you the only one, well not counting your other friends, that can use them?"
"Yeah...but I could change that."
Before Kor could continue, they heard the front door of the base opening and closing. Wondering who it was, they walked out and saw Tails looking for something in the fridge.
"Hello Tails." Nicole said.
The kit flinched for a moment before lifting his head. "Oh hey Nicole, Kor. Didn't think you guys would be here." He grabbed a soda before closing the door. "Have you seen Sonic anywhere?"
"He left for Angel Island a couple hours ago. He hasn't-" Nicole got cut off as the door opened, revealed the blue hedgehog. He looked a little upset about something.
"Hey Sonic, how come you went to the floating place?" Kor asked.
"Needed to tell Knuckles and the others the bad news. I wanted to see if I could use a warp ring after ol' Knucklehead tried to clobber me, but he didn't want to risk it..." The blue blur explained. "He said 'I needed to wait', but this is Sonic the Hedgehog you're talking to! Waiting just isn't in my vocabulary."
"Good things come to those who wait Sonic. 'Sides, after we cover our bases and finish recuperatin', we'll make a plan to get her back." The engineer told him.
"I'll keep ya to that...looks you're almost done being fixed up yourself." Sonic smirked.
"Well once this cast is gone it's back to business. I can thank this pretty lady here for helpin'." Kor said, wrapping his arm around Nicole, causing the lynx to blush whilst smiling geniunely.
"You doin' ok Nicole?...I'm sorry about what happened to Sal, but-" Now it was Nicole's turn to interrupt.
"It's fine Sonic. All of you did what you could...but I know you will bring her back to us, and to New Mobotropolis." She smiled.
"Is the city still in pieces Tails?" Kor asked.
"Not entirely. Rotor is manually controlling the nanites to rebuild everything. He could use some help though." The kit explained, taking another sip of his drink.
"I'll go. I may not be welcomed there as much...but it is a home for my friends. I'll see you all soon." Nicole stated before her avatar disappeared.
"Oh, and before I forget, Antoine arrested Geoffrey for treason!" Tails stated.
"That's one of the best news I've heard all day." Sonic chuckled.
A/N: That's the end of that. Thought about adding more to it, but I'll save that for next chapter. Rest as much as you can heroes, for they will soon find that they can't even get a moments rest around here.
Also, if you're interested, Kor's cybernetic hand is based off a TF2 skin for the Gunslinger called 'The Rocket Wrist'. It from the Steam Workshop, but googling it should allow you to easily find it.