Cosmo had thought she was going to be able to stare out over the ocean during the flight, but Miles and Nicole had other plans in mind. The plane accelerated into comically high speeds shortly after her brief conversation with Miles. Cosmo actually had to keep her eyes closed because of how disorienting it was. Fortunately, because of how fast they were going, the flight barely went on for an hour before Cosmo felt the plane slow down.
Cosmo's eyes needed a few seconds to readjust to the light, now that her eyes weren't squeezed shut, "Wow," Was all Cosmo could mutter at the sight.
The Oak Clan mostly stayed on the Mazuri continent or the surrounding islands, and even the Humans in those areas were largely in-tune with nature and didn't industrialize anywhere they didn't have to. It was one of the reasons Cosmo's people got along so well with them compared to other groups of sapient Fauna. However, it also meant that Cosmo had never seen anything like Grand Metropolis before. It was a massive city that stretched past the horizon with massive towers that pieced clouds and poked at the heavens themselves. Cosmo could see signs of industry and heavy technological advancement: hover cars, factories, massive power stations, etc. But the city was surrounded by lush forest and there wasn't a single cloud of smoke rising from the city. It was clear Grand Metropolis stood as a shining example of 'green industry' and that the people within held much greater respect for nature than Eggman or most Humans.
How does anyone know where to find anything in such a massive city Cosmo wondered From how Miles talked about it, AR was only recently invented. Is it possible these people can go their whole lives without seeing a whole percent of their city?
Cosmo almost missed the fact that the plane was veering off slightly and headed towards an airfield just outside the city. While Cosmo understood that airports needed space for their crafts to take off safely, the airfield they were headed for was much too small to be Grand Metropolis' main airport. However, as they got closer, Cosmo started to see that there were several buildings close by that didn't seem to be a part of the city. Cosmo was almost completely ignorant of anything to do with aeromechanics, but she couldn't imagine that all of these buildings were needed for how few aircraft the airfield could service. Worryingly, Cosmo could see that there was a large group of protestors just past the facility.
The intercom buzzed to life, "I'll have to land at the further end of the airfield, so we don't get bothered by the whiners."
Cosmo didn't know what to make of Miles' announcement. He was so friendly at the Angletic Island, and he never sounded so annoyed or disdainful. Cosmo also couldn't recall Miles using any kind of insult, even against Eggman and his machina. Should I ask about this? Cosmo wondered I probably should. But will I get an objective answer from Miles and Nicole? Perhaps I'll be able to break away for a short time in the city to get the other side of the story.
The plane landed without incident and stopped at the inside of one of the buildings. Miles spoke as everyone was getting out of the plane, "Welcome to Kyubi Enterprises."
Some kind of company? "Do you know you know the owners?" Cosmo asked.
"I control a super-majority of it," Miles answered, "When we figured out that Eggman owned a bunch of companies as legitimate business fronts, I started my own company to help get us resources to fight him."
That makes since. Wait a moment "Were people buying things from Eggman?"
"Eggman purchased, bribed, or otherwise coerced partial or total ownership of these front companies to fund his own research and production," Nicole explained, "Miles has even gone so far as to hire business specialists and hackers to figure out which companies Dr. Robotnik owns and then buys them out."
"At some point, it became way too much for me to handle on my own," Miles continued, "So I founded Kyubi Enterprises to consolidate all of these companies make things easier for everyone."
"Where do you find the time to run a company and hunt Eggman across the world?" Cosmo asked, "Isn't that supposed to be super complicated?"
"It is," Miles admitted, "So, I hired a bunch of people to do it for me. I invent things for them to sell, and they make sure I get my fair share of the profit."
While they had been talking, some kind of clerk approached them, "Excuse me, sir? I hate to interrupt."
"Oh, right," Miles said, "Why don't you ladies hit the town? I need to do some paperwork, but I should be able to join you two later."
"Will we have time?" Cosmo asked, "As much as I'd like to, we shouldn't put off Rail Canyon much longer."
"It will take twelve hours to synthesize more fuel for the Pteropodidae," Nicole explained, "We need to buy some things for the trip anyhow. I think all three of us could use some fun."
"T-twelve hours?" Cosmo asked, barely keeping herself from screaming.
Her brother, and the other abducted Seedrians had already been in Rail Canyon for a couple of days. Cosmo did not want to them there any longer than necessary. She was about to argue, when she realized something: Miles and Nicole had lifted a siege over Newfound Sanctuary, liberated the majority of the Oak Clan from Eggman, healed her people, did who knows what else for Newfound Sanctuary, and had flown for an hour with less freedom of movement than she had, all with bare minimum rest. That list of accomplishments was more than Cosmo had done in her whole life and was all in a single day. They must desperately need rest Cosmo decided Eggman probably knows we're coming for the others; we need to be in the best condition possible.
"Okay," Cosmo said, doing her best to keep her disappointment hidden, "What do you think we should do first."
"I was hoping you would ask," Nicole said with a small smile, "This might even be something you will enjoy yourself, once you get the hang of it."
Nicole led Cosmo to a public transport terminal on the far side of the airport. The whole third floor of the building was a dedicated cable car station. Cars and cables led to other buildings on the property, but into Grand Metropolis itself as well. Nicole approached a terminal by one of the 'tracks' and pressed a few buttons. A cable car moved in and opened its doors within seconds afterwards. Nicole motioned for Cosmo to board.
Cosmo was surprised by how fast the car was moving. It was held up by such a comparatively small cable, but it was moving as fast as the cars used in Newfound Sanctuary. Cosmo happened to be sitting in a spot that let her see the protestors again.
"What exactly are they upset about?" Cosmo asked, "Miles doesn't seem like the kind of person to engage in anything amoral."
"Kyubi Enterprises takes care of its employees and funds Dr. Prower's research," Nicole explained, "This means that the company has to charge significantly above cost."
"So, they're upset because things are too expensive?" Cosmo asked.
"Miles, and by extension Kyubi Enterprises, have developed many things to help rebuild and improve the world, but can't do it for free," Nicole said, "Even my clothing was made to repair itself," Nicole used one of her claws to tear one of her sleeves. Cosmo watched in awe as the sleeve restitched itself.
"They think Miles is exploiting the state of the world for his own profit," Cosmo concluded.
"Got it in one," Nicole replied, "The protestors more than doubled in number when Miles invented the 'Magnetic Fabric.' It is an answer to the destruction of clothing in Dr. Robotnik's attacks and for everyone who must replace special clothing for their jobs when they become too worn or because the environment of their homes has been ruined."
"Thank you for telling me," Cosmo replied earnestly.
Cosmo spent the rest of the trip in silent thought I can see where they're coming from. Having the answers to all of your problems dangled in front of your face, only to find that it costs you an arm and a leg. But charging too little means they can't make more of these products or get them to the people who need them. That is a moral dilemma.
Cosmo was brought out of her thoughts by the car lurching as it stopped. Looking out the windows, Cosmo could tell the station they had stopped in was in Grand Metropolis itself. As if to emphasize the city's green industry, the station was attached to a large park. The station had no windows but had large metal shutters that could be closed when needed. This let Cosmo take in the smell of the plants in the park and the soft gusts of wind as she exited the car.
The park had a few benches and some kind of concession stand but was full of plants. The grass stretched slightly above ankle height and was simply vibrant. There were various kinds of bushes and flowers planted along the concrete pathways, all arranged in patterns and with complimentary colors; 'beautiful' was the only word that could describe it. Wild bees, Butterflies, and other kinds of pollinators, all flew to and from the plants lazily. Cosmo could even see one of the wild bee hives in a tree. While this place was clearly artificially made, Cosmo could tell it was all natural and carefully maintained and it exemplified the beauty of nature.
The Seedrian woman couldn't stop herself from going to the edge of the path and rubbing her hand in the grass. Her smile grew as a few Bumblebees made their way over to her and investigated her. Cosmo removed the bands around her flowers and let the bees discover that she didn't have what they were looking for. She couldn't help but wave at the bees as they flew away.
Cosmo was so entranced by the park, that she didn't notice that Nicole was standing next to her, "I'm sure we can spend some time here this evening. There are a few insects that only come out at night."
"That sounds nice," Cosmo said with a smile.
Nicole led Cosmo out of the park and into the city proper. Grand Metropolis was much larger and more advanced than Newfound Sanctuary, largely due to being a much older city and not having to be built hastily. Cosmo wanted to take in the sights, but there were so many people out and about that she was afraid she would lose sight of the Lynx if she so much as glanced away from her for a moment. Getting hopelessly lost in one of the world's largest cities did not sound like a good time to the Seedrian.
Cosmo followed Nicole into a building with neon lighting, though Cosmo wasn't able to catch sight of any signs of what this place was. The inside of the building had more people than Cosmo could count but was spacious enough that it wasn't crowded. A significant portion of the far side was cordoned off as a dance floor, complete with a trio of disco balls hanging from the ceiling and a DJ set up against the wall. There was a central section that was clearly a cafeteria area but was oddly empty. The other large area that Cosmo could spot through the crowds of people, was an area dedicated to odd looking rectangular machines; Cosmo had no idea what they were.
"Welcome to Club Arcade: my favorite place in all of Grand Metropolis," Nicole stated with a wave and a smile, "I want to show you my favorite game."
Cosmo gave a mental sigh of relieve, afraid that Nicole was going to take her to the dance floor, "Alright, I'm willing to try it."
Nicole nodded and started heading to the rectangular machines. As the two started walking past the machines, Cosmo noticed how close to each one people were standing to each one. Most had screens with consoles of buttons and levers underneath them. Each screen seemed to have something different on them, but it was hard to tell with how closely people were standing at and around each machine. However, Nicole brought them to a very different set of machines. There were only three of them, but each one was up against the wall. There were no consoles, but each one had a pair of large floor panels with eight arrows pointing in different directions. Were it not for Eggman making weapons of mass destruction in his own image, it would have been the most bizarre thing Cosmo had ever seen.
"This is DDR," Nicole said, "It can even be played with two players."
"Okay, how do we play," Cosmo asked.
"You have to step on the arrows as they approach the top of the screen," Nicole explained, "When an arrow has a line following it, you have to keep a foot or hand on the corresponding arrow."
"Foot or hand?" Cosmo asked incredulously, "Are we expected to keep more than two arrows pressed?"
"Sometimes," Nicole replied, "We don't have to do any of the hard songs, and there's also a tutorial level."
"I'm willing to try it," Cosmo assured.
Nicole nodded and stepped onto one of the floor panels and Cosmo followed suit. Nicole used the up and down arrows to select 'two-player mode' and the aptly named Tutorial song, confirming the selection with a tap of the right arrow. The song went at a very sedate pace with colored arrows slowly climbing up the screen to greyed out arrows at the very top. Cosmo didn't need to be told that she needed to hit the arrows on her pad when the colored arrows lined up with the monochrome ones. Cosmo found the experience oddly satisfying. At the end of the song, both Cosmo and Nicole were graded with percents and letters. While they both got A's, Nicole got a perfect score while Cosmo got a ninety-seven percent.
The song list then popped up on Cosmo's screen, "Since I picked the song before, it is now your turn to choose," Nicole explained, "Word of warning: they get harder and faster the further down the list you go."
Cosmo nodded and started reading the titles to herself. Emboldened by her near perfect score from before, Cosmo picked the song five selections below the tutorial, a song that is legally distinct and has no copyrights on it. Cosmo was caught off-guard by how much faster the song was, but still did very well. Nicole didn't look like she was breaking a sweat, but how much of that was because she was used to this game and how much was because she was part robot and didn't sweat was a mystery. Still, Cosmo did very well with a ninety-one percent.
"You're a natural at this," Nicole stated, "Want to try something more advanced?"
It took a moment for the Seedrian to realize that wasn't a rhetorical question, "I think I will regret it, but sure."
Nicole went to the very bottom of the song list and tapped right on a selection Cosmo hadn't noticed before: 'Next Page.' Cosmo's eyes widened as Nicole 'scrolled' down the list. She was afraid her cyborg friend was going to the third page but was thankful she didn't quite go all the way down the page. Cosmo's relief was short lived, as she saw the song Nicole chose was titled Tap Dancing in Hell.
"Moon and Star!" Cosmo exclaimed as the arrows raced up the screens.
Cosmo had to keep her eyes glued to her screen to have any hope of scoring anything, but she wasn't sure if it would matter in the end. She bent her body in unnatural ways multiple times to press three arrows at once. The Seedrian woman was horrified when she saw that she had to keep two lines down at once while making her other leg dance between the unoccupied arrows. She didn't know how, but Cosmo didn't slip up when she had to change what leg was doing what. At the end, Cosmo was amazed that she got a perfect score on that nightmare of a level.
"I guess you work well under pressure," Nicole commented.
"That was fun," Cosmo admitted, "But I don't know if I can take any more today."
Nicole nodded in understanding, "Why don't we get something to eat."
Cosmo hadn't noticed it while she was playing, but a small crowd of people had gathered around to watch the two of them play. Cosmo's face was becoming a deeper and deeper shade of green as the strangers all praised her. However, it was the last person the twosome passed that made Cosmo's face emerald.
"Smooth moves, flower girl," The man said as he grabbed Cosmo's rear.
Cosmo grabbed the wrist of the offending hand, swept his legs, and made his body do a flip over hers as she slammed the pervert into the floor, "Don't ever do that again, to anyone."
Unfortunately for Cosmo, her harasser wasn't alone and they didn't appreciate Cosmo defending herself. A Human took a swing at Cosmo, but she caught his arm and twisted it until it popped. She kicked his legs out from under him and he landed on his friend. Cosmo then did an elbow-drop, not only to hopefully put the two men out of the fight, but also to dodge a chair that was being improvised as a weapon.
The Mobian Baboon's swing left him open and Nicole took full advantage. Nicole charged forward and grabbed his shoulders, delivering non-fatal electric shocks into the Baboon. The cyborg Lynx released the Baboon, letting him fall on his face, to throw a punch at another goon with a chair. The Wasp did try using his chair as a shield, but Nicole's fist went right through it and knocked him unconscious. Cosmo got up and gave her friend a high five.
"I can't believe how thrilling that was!" Cosmo exclaimed, "Er, did we go too far?"
Nicole took a moment to assess the situation. Before she could answer, the other people around them started cheering. Some were even offering to buy them food and drink, "I think we're fine."
Figuring they would need to stay for when the police arrived, Cosmo and Nicole silently agreed to take advantage of the offers of free board at the club's cafeteria. Cosmo was surprised to see that Nicole was ordering for herself but was also grateful. She had never been to a place like this before and wasn't familiar with any of the items on the menu. As such, Cosmo simply ordered the same things Nicole did.
"I must confess, I didn't think you needed to eat," Cosmo commented.
"I wouldn't have to, but Dr. Prower and I both agreed it would be easier for me to reintegrate into society if I still had nutrimental requirements," Nicole explained, "He must have broken down how the exact mechanics of my digestive track works with my power cells more than a hundred times for, but it is still beyond me."
Cosmo bit her lip and hoped she wasn't about to cross a line, "May I ask, how much of you is machine."
Cosmo started to sweat at Nicole's silence and stare, Whoops she thought to herself.
"I'll tell that and more if you decide to keep adventuring with Dr. Prower and me after Rail Canyon," Nicole answered.
The Lynx didn't sound angry, but Cosmo couldn't be sure if that was because she was unoffended or if she simply couldn't vocalize emotions; it wasn't like she had ever heard Nicole speak in anything other than monotone. That was also an odd condition. Before Cosmo could ask another question, she heard a welcome voice.
"I leave you girls alone for less than thirty minutes, and you have the whole club paying for you and singing your praises," Miles stated with a smile, "What happened while I was gone?"
"Your lady friends here, dealt with a bunch of pests," A waitress answered as she placed Cosmo and Nicole's orders on the table, "They have been bothering people for game token loans and offering 'insurance' for weeks."
Miles sat down at the table and the waitress took his order before she continued, "They hadn't done anything illegal until today, and our new heroes put them in their place."
"Wow, I'm sorry I missed that," Miles stated.
"I recorded the whole thing just for you," Nicole replied after taking a sip of her Chaos Cola, "Besides, it was more important you finished the shoes than fighting off petty criminals."
"Shoes?" Cosmo asked, "That's why you were gone for so long?"
"The paperwork needed for the Pteropodidae's maintenance and landing only took a few minutes," Miles admitted, "Nicole would have brought you here no matter what, but we did have an ulterior motive for having you here."
Miles handed Cosmo a small cardboard box. Opening the box, Cosmo saw a pair of shoes in her size. They were like the shoes that Miles and Nicole wore; sneakers that were white at back and leafy green at the toes and sole. She didn't notice it before, but now that she was holding one of these shoes, Cosmo realized that the shoes Miles and Nicole wore had padded springs on the back half of the soles. The shoes being gifted to her also had these odd springs.
"You watched me as we played so Miles would know how to make them fit perfectly," Cosmo figured as she looked at Nicole, "This is a very nice gift, but you didn't need to do this for me."
"Yes we did," Miles replied, "There is very little space you can walk around in at Rail Canyon. You will need Magnetic Shoes to get anywhere safely in that place."
"Dr. Robotnik's facility at Rail Canyon is on top of a plateau in the middle of the canyon," Nicole continued, "However, there are many long pipes, power cords, and suspended rails all over the place. These shoes will let you grind on them."
"Can we not just fly in on your plane," Cosmo asked.
Miles shook his head, "There isn't enough space for a safe landing. Even if there were, what little space there would be would have overlapping layers of anti-air cover. So, we'll have to land at the edge of the canyon and go from there."
Cosmo knew better than to believe that saving her people was going to be easy, but she was wondering if she had bitten off more than she could chew. I should probably ask what 'grinding' is.
