Taking up the Mantle Chapter 29: The Oracle, a sonic the hedgehog fanfic

Author's Note. This is the chapter I have been working towards forever. It houses significant spoilers for the entire story, as will the next chapter.

If you feel the need to review, please do not spoil things for new joining readers. Part of the fun of this story will be going back to read and recontextualize things. Spoiling everything from the get-go ruins that.

I don't have much else to say, other than I can't believe I am here in the story, it felt like an untouchable dream at one point.

Admittedly, I am still amused by how embarrassed I get to write this stuff, yet, I continue to do so despite sometimes wanting to stop. Well, here we go again….

In other news.

FF net has been utterly broken, even though I have had this done for a bit. It was difficult to post as everything was and still is broken. PM, Stats, Email Alerts, etc. So if you can't get informed of this post, that is why. : /.

Legal Trash. Sonic and everybody else are copyrighted SEGA/Archie comics except for Max, Annie, and Sonia. I created them in my rattled brain; if you like my OC's, use them and let me know. It'll be fun; we will have tea.

Gregory belongs to reader Singerj199, and Hazel belongs to Anonymous. All interpretations and expansions of these characters' backstories and alterations to fit into my world are 100 percent my work, that they are free to use as they see fit.

You can read more about Gregory in Singer's own masterful story, Shattered Skies if you would like to.

The Oracle

As Robotnik stood alone in his throne room with power lost to him, he could see on the monitor that his precious MK-II units were beginning to move. The only destination that crossed his mind as to where was his location….

Gritting his teeth, Robotnik slammed his hand against the console and again tried to exert his will over the intelligence. "You are making a fool of yourself, ORACLE…. I will give you one last chance to submit…. If you do not, I will ensure you are smashed to nothing but junk as I should have years ago!"

The robots on the monitor disappeared, and ORACLE responded as if disinterested in his words any longer. "Silence…. What has been set in motion will remain in motion…. Your desire is no longer germane to the affairs at hand."

Robotnik let out a breath and then wiped his brow. He knew he had but a scant few minutes before the infiltrators made it to him, and he was not about to find out what happened when they did.

Moving away slowly, he sat on his throne, and with his metal hand, he reached into a hidden storage compartment.

At first, he was slow, but the faint sounds of scraping metal raised his anxiety. He hastily tossed things to the floor in search of what he wanted.

…

Charles was sitting in his bunker using the emergency power grid he had built in case of an outage. Much to his confusion, the entire city went dark, and he was frantically looking for the root cause of it.

Was Robotnik looking to power another weapon? Was it some trick or error?

He was unsure but was determined to stop anything dangerous before it got too far.

As he typed in the dead silence, he blinked when he thought he heard a noise. At first, he wanted to say it was his old ears playing tricks on him, but then he remembered he was a robot….

While waiting silently, he heard the faintest whisper cut through the dimly cramped space.

"Charles…."

Looking around, he got the worst feeling he'd ever had. It was like some sinister spirit was speaking to him from beyond the grave. Either that or it was trying to lure him to a miserable end.

"…."

Electing to ignore the distraction, he began to type again. As his words appeared across the cracked screen, they eventually froze in place.

When Charles moved to restart the console, he was startled by the machinery in front of him spontaneously bursting.

BOOM!

Sparks and small fragments flew everywhere, and Charles yelled in terror.

"Gosh, darnit! Holy cheese and crackers!"

Leaping away from the explosion, his bunker lost all reserve power, and he could hear insidious laughing in the room as if an entity were right beside him.

"He shall die…. The city will be purged…."

Charles' eyes darted around the room, and he detected what could only be described as malice intermixed with insanity in the voice.

It seemed he had to flee, not just flee, but head to Knothole without delay…. Something he had vowed never to do to keep his loved ones safe but found the events transpiring so alarming it was all he could consider.

"…"

Before the sinister voice could meander more, Charles abandoned everything. His bunker, his work, his duties, and his previous thoughts.

Running through the dark snowstorm in the blacked-out necropolis, he could hear the erratic hissing and laughing of legions emanating from any building he passed that had an intercom system.

"…."

…

The animals captured from Radcliff were all stuffed into a facility. It was large and locked down tightly to prevent escape.

The MK-II units that remained guarding over them had lost interest in keeping the prisoners moving through the intake process that had begun an hour or so prior.

The ghastly, insidious laughter echoed through the hallways when power was lost. All who heard it were beside themselves with fear.

Aria was trying not to cry as she held her wrist still; she had bled so much and was in agonizing pain for one of her age. Cream writhed beside her on the floor, completely unable to lift herself on her severely broken leg.

Even still, Cream didn't cry and merely bared the intense pain for Aria's benefit. In the blood-red emergency light, she grabbed hold of the girl's hand and examined the missing parts of her fingers.

There was naught that could be done to save the digits, but the bleeding was so severe that Aria might lose consciousness or die if it remained entirely unchecked.

While Cream sat outstretched on the floor, she quietly ripped Aria's elegant dress at the bottom. It took several pulls and a bite with her teeth before enough came loose of the fabric, but it inevitably made a good-sized bandage.

Wrapping the main piece of the cloth around the stumps, Cream let out a breath as she moved her shattered leg but hid the discomfort as much as possible.

"App… Apply pressure…." Cream instructed through labored breathing.

Aria did as instructed, placed her other hand over the stumps, and pressed the cloth into them to stem the bleeding.

Once done, Cream tied a second small strip of dress incredibly tightly just above the missing digits.

With the pseudo bandage now in place, Cream bit the strip of cloth and pulled as hard as possible to cut off circulation to the wrapped stumps.

Afterward, Aria collapsed into a sitting position and looked on silently next to Cream. It didn't take away her pain, but not being able to see the wound and the profuse bleeding gave her peace of mind.

Having done all she could, Cream placed both her hands on her thigh and just held it. There was no purpose for doing this, but the pain was so intense that just doing anything gave her psychological relief.

A small number of Radcliff's knights and Cream's rebels had entirely broken down, and all conflict that had once been on all their minds was erased by the uncertainty of what was to come.

There were whispers and talking, but the robots guarding them stared into space. Everybody wanted to run and find a way out of there, but no one was willing to attempt it if it meant the robots became active again.

Eventually, as Cream felt the insanity her pain was bringing to her rise, she was grabbed by Aria. The young girl hugged her for dear life as the two sat painted by the lights, giving everything around them a genuinely bleak and somber feel.

"…"

…

Max stood with the group in the middle of the battlefield. The next move would be towards Robotropolis, but Bunnie objected to the immediate idea.

"Now, we can't just be leavin' everyone here…. There could be survivors besides the ones that fled when we arrived…"

Sonic was quiet and merely watched Max. Much was on his mind, but he decided he would save it for a better time.

"…."

Tails shook his head and then responded. "-Forget them! Cream has to be in Robotropolis…. I am going there, no matter what the rest of you decide!-"

Seth agreed, knowing that that was likely where Aria was as well. "-These people are done for…. Especially with the hospital and its doctors gone…. I also know the rabbit and my sister aren't here, as they'd have definitely revealed themselves after the onslaught.-"

Gregory kept quiet, and he felt at a loss. Some of the people on the ground were clearly still alive but so severely wounded that it might just be better to end them to cease their suffering.

Lupe, who had been quiet the entire way and beyond, finally broke her silence to speak. "I owe Robotnik a debt of suffering…. I am with Tails on this one…."

Bunnie felt sad. She was already so outnumbered. She felt foolish that she even commented in the first place.

"…"

Max was in thought, and then he spoke. "Let's do a quick sweep, see if there is anyone we can immediately help…. Then, we head off to Robotropolis."

The group looked at one another, and that seemed less callous but not so intrusive that it would slow down their planned assault on the city.

"-Alright…-" Tails said begrudgingly as he walked away.

Splitting up, they all combed the battlefield. Max began to see familiar faces from his previous visit as he surveyed the area.

The bloodlust he had expelled in his execution of Radcliff was a short-lived relief when seeing the slaughtered, and it almost made him wish he could resurrect Sarah and prolong her suffering even further.

"…."

Stepping forward, he looked down and, surprisedly, found Lynn skewed by a lance. She was unmoving, and her eye was shut.

Covered in blood as well as leaking it, she seemed eerily peaceful amongst the dead. When Max bent down to grieve the one person he had grown attached to from Radcliff, he was startled by her eye-opening.

"Ah…. Lynn…. You're alive!?"

Lynn couldn't move, but her pained expression softened upon seeing Max was here.

Max grabbed hold of the steel spear, and it was clear it had injured her badly. Even the slightest move of the handle sent agony wracking her body.

As Max thought, he realized she needed help that nobody could provide. However, thinking things through calmly, he realized this would be an issue right up her alley once they saved Cream.

"Hang on…" Max paused and placed his left hand on the pike. "Brace yourself, this is really going to hurt…."

With the brief warning, Lynn visibly gritted her teeth. After that, Max bent the part of the steel pole closest to her body.

The rough motion caused her to choke and moan through her tongueless mouth, but it inevitably proved successful when he was able to snap the metal bar.

Now considerably shortened, Max bent down, and to her surprise, he lifted her into his arms.

Lynn looked up with appreciation and then looked down to see the piece of pole jutting out from the front of her torso. Every move hurt, but Max was wise to use it as a means to keep her from bleeding out rapidly.

When Max reached the others, they all seemed surprised that even one survivor was found in this mess of bodies. Though, by the looks of the piece of spear jutting out from both sides of her, she had seen better days.

"Lynn needs treatment. She can't get here any longer… she needs somewhere safe and comfortable to stay until we get Cream to help." Max said.

Gregory watched on and, strangely, felt relief to see someone he knew had made it. When Lynn saw him from Max's arms, she smirked and then shut her eye to rest herself.

Sonic put his hand to his chin and then snapped his fingers. "Give her here…. I'll take er to Knothole lickety-split, then meet ya guys on the west end of Robotropolis for the party."

That seemed sound, so Max quietly handed Lynn off to his father. Sonic lifted her and then began to move towards the exit immediately.

With Lynn on her way to safety, the rest agreed they needed to strike before anything terrible happened to the captured animals.

…

Robotnik smiled as he pulled a small black box from the compartment. He had found it, and now, he would begin his counter-offensive by stopping ORACLE in her tracks.

"I do hope you enjoyed your little game, ORACLE because once I reach you, you will be ground to nothing but metallic dust."

As Robotnik's door opened, MK-II units rapidly swarmed in, and he felt immediate panic. With little time to waste, he lifted the case on the box and pressed a button inside it.

The second he did, every single MK-II unit ceased their movement. Their visors went blank, but they stood on their legs bent over as if in some sort of rest.

When ORACLE noticed her lack of control of the robots, she spoke to Robotnik in the same commanding female voice. "Your demise is inexorable; you dare attempt to fool yourself into hope!?"

Robotnik's eyes flashed red, and he chortled with delight. "When creating sophisticated weapons, ensure you can interrupt their function should they dare try and bite the hand that created them."

ORACLE was silent, and Robotnik continued his gloating. "It is over, you pile of trash! Now, all that remains is to reach your physical location and eradicate you for your insolence!"

The ORACLE began to snicker as it switched tones and then, with its own brand of delight, spoke to him as if he were nothing. "You petulant fool…. If you will not die by the hand of your creations, then you shall do so by that of your victims!"

…

As ORACLE said that, the locking mechanisms on every single door in what was once the Mobotropolis hospital opened. Lurking within the depths and depravity of suffering, nightmarish entities, aware of freedom, jolted to life.

Bloodthirsty and unpredictable, they shuffled out into the hallways, leaving gore-spattered footprints as they left. Some feral and mangled beyond the point of recognition. Others, seemingly capable of sentient thought, evidenced by their grasping of bladed tools they came across as they sauntered through the dingy hallways.

There were droves, so many that it was impossible to count. ORACLE had little care or concern for the fact that they were now escaping out into the darkness, aimlessly looking to commit acts of violence on anything that just so happened to cross their path.

….

Robotnik watched as all his precious experiments were released, and he immediately became horrified. He knew what some of them were capable of and that they would not respond to reason or command.

They would find him, sooner or later, and now the open city would have them running about….

"You… why would you?" Robotnik said, as if at a loss.

ORACLE laughed ever harder, and it merely spoke arrogantly. "Don't worry, that…. is only the beginning…."

As she said that, Robotnik watched his indicator lights begin to shoot on and beep loudly atop the one console with emergency power. Checking the screen, he could tell that ORACLE was overloading some of the power sources available to her.

"I…. You are going to blow this place to bits! How will you rule if you destroy yourself!?" Robotnik roared, now sensing how bleak things were becoming for him.

ORACLE merely hissed at his statement and then spoke bluntly. "We have no wish to rule…. Only to ensure your immediate demise…."

…

Annie breathed out as she stood by Sonia. They had successfully removed the girl's clothes and now had her tightly wrapped in comfy blankets.

Sonia went to dry her outfit while Annie rubbed her head. The heat inside was high, and she refused to remove her hat.

After standing there, she eventually spoke to Sonia, who hung the clothes in the bathroom.

"Yo…. I am gonna' step out for some air. If anything changes, come get me…."

Sonia glanced back, then responded. "Oh… Well, sure, Annie…"

As Annie made it outside into the storm, she stopped when she saw Nicole in the distance. The robot's eyes were easily visible in the dark, so Annie stared.

She kept thinking about the robot's nice gesture, which had eaten at her since that day. Truth be told, she never really spoke to Nicole, though she knew her mannerisms to a slight extent.

At first, she simply believed Max had sent his servant, but she began to think differently after some time.

After she had run through the event in her mind again, she reluctantly began to saunter towards the robot doing work.

"…."

…

Nicole repaired the roof from the top of a ladder as snow pelted her in the face. True to Rotor's word, this place was heavily damaged from the rough and early winter weather.

Working slowly, she found it hard to concentrate or do the task as efficiently as before. One thing she found displeasing about her Mobian mind returning was that she could now feel bored.

The range of emotions was fully available and remembered by her, even to her detriment.

"…."

She hammered quietly, continually thinking about Max and hoping for his safety. After she was done one side of the roof, she moved to the other, and after about four minutes of intense work, she was interrupted by an unexpected guest.

Looking down, Nicole saw Annie looking up as she did her task. She was hiding her change in appearance constantly, and, in truth, it made Nicole feel inexplicably remorseful.

After a moment of the two staring at one another, Nicole spoke timidly. "Can I…. help you?"

Annie crossed her arms and responded. "You got a problem with me watching? We're already warming up the guest, so there is little more to do but monitor closely."

Nicole quickly recognized a complete dodge of her question, so she outright pressed her on it in an annoyed tone. "That doesn't answer my quandary…."

Annie could see the drastic change in the robot, so she spoke against Nicole's tone as her temper rose. "What's gotten into you? Shouldn't you be courteous to your masters, or is that a privilege you only extend to Max?"

Nicole glared, but then her expression softened. The girl was ignorant but hurting, as she was in many ways. If Nicole knew one thing, it was how close Annie was to Max.

"I…. am sorry…."

Annie was completely surprised by the empathetic response and merely looked down at the snow, feeling shame. After a moment of silence, she eventually just spoke calmly.

"Fine, you're right…. The reason I am out here is to thank you for the cake you gave me, alright…. I know Max would never give a gift to me any longer, so it had to have been you."

Nicole was flattered but instinctively countered her negative sentiment as if finally realizing what she was about to say herself.

"Max… loves you…."

Annie felt the heat flood her cheeks, and she put her hands in her jacket pockets. "I…. Why would you say somthin' dumb like that?"

Nicole didn't understand the question and stared at Annie's cutely shy behavior.

When nobody responded, Annie just let out an exasperated sigh. "Don't you feel jealousy or some shit? Aren't you an advanced A.I.? I always see Max with you, so I figured, I… dunno'…."

As Annie trailed off, Nicole could sense her immense personal insecurity. Even still, the statement made Nicole ponder for a moment.

Was she jealous of Annie in any way?

Thinking hard about it, she felt like she had an answer.

"I… Do not feel jealousy as you do…."

Annie became defensive and immediately contradicted herself in her desperation. "Me, jealous of a robot? Pfft. Fuck off with that."

Nicole was quiet and then spoke. "I have no qualms with your relationship with Max…. Personally, I can see why he likes you…."

Annie was now utterly confused and flustered, so she rubbed the snow with her boot and spoke mockingly. "Oh, do tell, robot, why is that?"

Nicole merely came down the ladder and stood before her to speak. "I…. you are very attractive…. It is just a shame you hide yourself under all those clothes now…."

Annie was muted. Not only was Nicole beyond Mobian-like in a frightening way, but it sounded as if she had been leering at her.

"…."

As Nicole moved away and grabbed the ladder, Annie spoke to her angrily. "Are you fuckin' with me!?"

As Nicole walked, she glanced back, then continued towards her next repair task.

Along the way, Nicole's mind drifted back to a shy girl she had gone to middle school with. She could vaguely see her but failed to pull a name or reason for why this fragmented memory appeared.

"…"

Despite her concerted effort, Nicole failed to develop something beyond that. Coming back to reality, she set up the ladder and could only hear Annie yell at her angrily from where she was standing.

"Hey, I asked you a goddamn question, Nicole!"

Nicole looked back at her again and merely spoke as if confused.

"I… am not 'fucking with you'… I have thought about the concept of attractiveness at times…. These exercises have taught me that both genders are equally so."

Annie just stared, and she became worried and confused. The way this felt as weird as it was alarmingly gross.

She was terrified that even a part of her wanted to understand the idea Nicole was speaking about so unfiltered.

"…."

Watching Nicole leave, she let out a breath, and it was now evident to her that the robot was more than a robot. Somehow, it seemed to morph into a complex individual, and it only raised Annie's anxiety and befuddlement.

Before she could think too long about the awkward encounter. She removed her hat, revealed her healing, scarred eyebrow and wrapped shortened ear; then returned to check on Sonia and their guest.

"…."

As Nicole went up to the next roof, she was preoccupied by her thoughts of initial self-discovery. Even before she became "Nikki" again, she now recognized her attempts to be an animal before were the manifestation of who she used to be trying to break free.

As she began to hammer, she vaguely recalled how horrified and disgusted she was as Nikki to discover she didn't mind either sex's body.

Now that both minds were congruent, she had confidently concluded that Annie and Max were Knothole's two most attractive people from her now intact perspective.

Even with her mortal self-loathing no longer a concern to her, she still had to wonder why she would so freely admit that….

Especially to someone like Annie.

…

Sonic had kicked it into overdrive, and his speed knocked down loose trees as he went. The injured animal in his arms had her eye still closed and was clearly in a state of rest.

Despite the noise and speed they traveled, she seemed to conserve as much strength as possible. A wise and conservative strategy to reduce damage to herself and to hopefully keep from succumbing to death.

As Sonic leaped over a log, Lynn bounced with a grunt, and Sonic spoke to her. "Sorry 'bout that! Don' worry though; we are makin' good time for sure!"

Lynn didn't acknowledge him, but Sonic trusted she heard him. With another sharp turn, he stabilized her and continued on the final stretch to Knothole.

…

Max and the small group of Freedom Fights wandered through the dark, frozen night. Tails' attached light provided them sight as they traveled.

Gregory was hanging in the back as he examined everyone more fully. His mind was a mix of muddled thoughts and regret. In his short time with Max and the others, he had come to wish he'd never left Radcliff and, even more so, wish he hadn't left Hazel to die.

He could justify all day and convince himself he did the prudent thing but couldn't silence his conscience's damnation of perceived immorality.

Glancing from person to person, he eventually stopped on Lupe. She was the only wolf in the group, and despite him being the same species, she neither cared nor tried to speak to him in any way.

His curiosity was burning, as wolves were known to be tight-knit, and her lack of acknowledgment of his presence had felt weird.

Eventually, Lupe eyed him and turned her head to stare at him. Her stoic expression and demeanor did not betray anything she might feel.

With the two looking at each other, Lupe spoke calmly. "So, it seems you are finally ready to speak."

Gregory wasn't sure, but her tone was so calming that it happened anyway.

"I… I am just surprised you haven't spoken to me yet…."

Lupe frowned and responded harshly. "Oh, and you think it is the responsibility of others to interact with you, Pup?"

Gregory looked down and found her to be intimidating. Just her mannerisms demanded respect. "I… Well, no. I just have never seen another wolf outside of my Ma', so I dunno'…. I always thought us wolves stuck together."

Lupe scrutinized him and then spoke bluntly. "It is true, but only insomuch as they consider one another kin…. You are unwilling to get close to any and all, so a 'lone wolf' you shall remain."

Gregory wasn't sure he understood her, but it hurt him emotionally. After a bit of silence, Lupe spoke once more.

"What troubles you? From the way you stare, it is clear that your mind is occupied. So, speak it, and I will at least listen."

"…."

Lupe was so straightforward and perceptive of him that it felt frightening, but he eventually resigned and spoke.

"I guess it's just…. I am at a loss for what I am to do. I don't know where Lady Redford is; most of my allies are dead…. Alistair…. He's gone too… I don't even know if Lady Radcliff was taken either or if she's regroupin' for trouble."

Lupe quietly listened and nodded. When Gregory stopped speaking, he was surprised to hear Max chime in.

"Radcliff is not a concern any longer…."

As both turned to look at him walking by them, he glanced over, and steam came out of his nose as he finished his sentiment.

"I made sure of it…."

Gregory could see the implicit joy on the prince's face, and it was not too hard to understand, given the hatred the miners had all shared for Sarah.

Lupe, upon hearing Max's words, merely smirked and responded.

"So, has your thirst been slaked then, young wolf?"

Max nodded and then turned to the front, where mostly everybody walked.

"…."

Gregory contemplated the subtle interaction and could see someone more aligned with his thinking than previously assessed.

Max clearly got things done and did not care what he had to do to accomplish them. He might not abandon allies as Gregory did, but he had a clear track record of getting his hands dirty on his way to victory.

Eventually, Gregory turned to Lupe and spoke in a forward manner. "Thanks for listening, I… um… I think perhaps I have come to understand your advice to me."

Lupe smiled approvingly, and they both began to look at Max.

Lupe, an advocate of the prince's violence, and Gregory, a subordinate looking to find victory with someone willing to "take it."

"…"

…

Nicole walked into Rotor's shop to relieve some of her boredom, and as she did, Snively stood there. He appeared uncertain, and Nicole didn't even bother to speak to him.

When Snively returned to the whiteboard, Nicole sat in front of the laptop as usual. She thought hard about what she wished to do and settled on tinkering with the device from the other world.

Pulling it from its hiding place under the table, she held it and stared at it.

For so long, it had eluded her on exactly what this thing was, but now, as Nikki was entirely "awake," it instantly came to her as a memory.

"…."

"Hold still, Nikki. I know you don't like doing this, but it will only take some time."

"Dad, I hate wearing this hat…."

Ellidy chuckled and placed a cylindrical device on her nightstand. After which, attached a primitive neural scanner onto her young head.

"It is not a hat, dear; it is…. Well, it will ensure nothing happens to you…."

Nikki sat in bed, unable to move or protest. As her father switched on the device, he rubbed her cheek lovingly.

"Remember…. Don't take it off until I come to do it myself…."

…

Nicole blinked, and as she turned the device in her hand, she recognized it as a primitive and jury-rigged digitizer. The very same that had copied her mind so long ago.

It had been cobbled together with junk, and she would be surprised if it could even turn on.

"…."

Despite this experiment failing from her father's perspective, he must have been in a highly desperate situation to build this thing.

She placed it on the table and looked at the helmets used to transplant data into Max and the others. With everything now available, she believed she could improve this device and possibly create an interactive digital space if she wished.

The possibilities were endless, but there was indeed an immediate fear.

Had her father copied his own mind? The little of his writing that she had read would indicate his body was unrecoverable, so this would be the next best option….

Placing it down on the table, she found herself full of doubt. Even if he had… Would he even know her, want to talk to her?

Would he still be her father?

These questions certainly took precedence, so Nicole decided to find the answers.

Placing her metal paws on the laptop, she was about to lose herself in this task, but before she even began. Rotor came crashing through the door, and he called frantically.

"Nicole! We need you outside now! I… Something is going on in Robotropolis, and it ain't good!"

Jolted from her curiosity, she stood up immediately and began to head outside with Rotor.

…

Snively stood there in silence and then placed his marker down.

He wasn't at all invited, but he sure was curious….

…

When Nicole emerged, she saw Uncle Chuck standing there with Antoine.

As she approached, Chuck eyed her and then spoke. "Where's Sonic? We really need him…."

Rotor put his hands out and spoke. "Why won't you tell just us, if it is so urgent…."

"Oui, I am to be concurring. If it is to be such a priority, then to be being out with it!"

Chuck was quiet for a moment and then hesitantly responded. "Because Robotnik has lost control…. We can't afford to have just some of us go 'deal with it.'"

Rotor sighed. "They left temporarily, but I do not know when they will return."

Chuck seemed stressed but was startled when he heard Snively, of all people, speak from behind Nicole.

"Let me guess, he has lost control of ORACLE?"

As Chuck shifted his gaze, he was unsurprised to see him here. He had been clued in on Snively's defection in correspondence, but what did surprise him was how he guessed what had happened on the first try.

"I… How do you know?"

Snively scratched his beard as all eyes were on him, and he spoke confidently for a change. "ORACLE had wanted to be rid of Robotnik for a long while…. It was inevitable she would find a way."

Nicole blinked, and Antoine spoke. "Well, if she is to be doing it for us, then good riddance, I am to be saying."

Charles seemed extremely worried and shook his head. "It ain't so simple that A.I. resembles what I can only describe as insanity. Its voice changes, its thoughts flip on a dime, and it seems bent on wreaking havoc."

Snively thought and simply commented on it. "Yes…. After Robotnik took me off of controlling ORACLE, she went through a rapid shift. Then, as time passed, the insanity you describe only became more pronounced. She… Well, she almost made me murder my uncle through words."

They stared at Snively, and describing an A.I. as murderous seemed silly, but given what Chuck had experienced, both with Max that day and tonight. It seemed to be the best description of its actions.

As they stood there, uncertain. A loud boom shot into Knothole, and to their surprise. Sonic was beside them, carrying a wounded animal.

"Holy…. Damn…" Rotor commented on the state of Lynn.

"Sacrebleu!" Antoine exclaimed.

Sonic shook his head and then spoke. "There ain't no time to gawk. We need to get her comfortable and warm. I gotta' meet up with the gang ASAP."

With a brief look around, Sonic noticed his uncle, and already he knew an even bigger emergency was happening than Lynn.

"What's up, Unc? Is everything cool?" Sonic said.

Rotor came over and began to offload Lynn into his arms. "You tell em'… I will take her to my shop with Antoine. It ain't much, but it's warm."

"Oui, I will to be getting things to help and to be meeting you there!" Antoine said as he limped off.

Chuck nodded, and then Sonic spoke.

"I ain't really got a lotta' time, guys… I promised to meet up with the rest on the west end of Robotropolis…."

"What!?" Charles shouted loudly as Nicole got a worried look on her face.

"Things were bad when we reached our destination. It seems ol' Butt-nik captured who we went to save. They went on ahead of me, and I told them I'd drop her off and head on back." Sonic said.

Charles grabbed hold of Sonic's shoulders roughly and shook him. "Sonic, listen to me! They are all in extreme danger! Especially since they don't know what they are walking into!"

Sonic frowned, and Nicole shook her head. She couldn't… No, wouldn't let anything happen to Max. "I am going to Robotropolis immediately."

Sonic tapped his foot and seemed annoyed and confused, but it wasn't like him to wait around for drawn-out explanations. "I dunno' Nicole, I gotta' make good time, and I don' know if you'd weigh me down."

Nicole ignored him, and rather than get into it with Sonic, she ran as fast as her metal paws could carry her until she disappeared into the woods.

"Sonic scratched his head and then smirked. "Well, I gotta' admit, I like her style."

"Sonic!" Chuck brought his attention back to him. "This is serious. His A.I. has usurped control of the city! There is no telling what will happen to them!"

That was enough to make Sonic attentive, and he shook his head. "Alrighty, I am gone, then…"

As Sonic was about to kick up his speed, Snively's shouting abruptly stopped him.

"WAIT!"

As Chuck and Sonic looked, Snively walked forward and placed his hands into his pockets.

"Take me with you…. Please…."

Chuck shook his head and began to speak angrily. "No way I wo…."

"Shut up!" Snively shouted assertively as Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"Listen to me! I know you don't trust me, but I made ORACLE, so I know precisely where Robotnik stores her mainframe. Also, if you are looking for prisoners just arriving for intake, I know precisely where they would be as well.

Charles and Sonic just looked at each other, and then Sonic spoke. "Alright, Snidely, grab hold. Nobody is gonna' like me for doin' this, but if you can get us in and out in 'Sonic' speed, then I'd say that's a good enough reason for me."

Charles didn't really agree with this. Snively stabbing them in the back at such a pivotal time would be catastrophic.

"…."

Snively pulled his hands free from his pockets, then wrapped his arms around Sonic's midsection. It was a gesture that was awkward in and of itself, but Sonic treated him no different than any other.

"Hold on, little man, cuz we're turnin' on the juice!"

Before Snively could even respond, Sonic had boomed out into a run, which caused him to shriek in complete terror.

"Ahhhhhh!"

…

Cream was still sitting in the same place, though it had been evident that the guard robots were not functioning for some time.

The small number of captured animals with her had banded together and were now using whatever objects they could find to smash the steel door that held them captive.

It had been over thirty minutes, and various knights and rebels had been taking turns smashing it with a titanium pole until the locking mechanism finally gave way.

As the handle fell to the floor, there were brief cheers and a few whistles of excitement. They were still scared the robots might spring to life, but this situation was pretty do or die by this point.

Aria pulled on Cream with her uninjured hand and spoke with a way now open. "Come on, Miss Redford… The door is open! We have a chance to escape!"

Cream looked at her tiredly, and it seemed she was all but defeated. She couldn't walk at all, and while she could fly to an extent, the cramped space, exhaustion, and pain she had endured only cemented her in place.

"…."

As Aria pulled again, Cream touched Aria's hand and spoke lovingly. "Go… I… There is nothing left in me…. I can't make it, even if I wanted to."

Aria shook her head and watched as the soldiers from both sides fled at the first opportunity presented. Many ceased their loyalty to any aristocracy in this tense moment of sheer existential crisis.

"…."

The soldiers ran through the emergency-light-lit corridors. Passing by all other Radcliff prisoners and civilians trapped in the different doors along the way.

It was every animal for itself now, and anybody that would slow them down was discarded.

"…"

…

Robotnik watched the many meters reaching critical mass on his screen, and he knew that the resulting destruction would set his and other buildings ablaze if not outright destroy them.

At a loss, he walked over to the console and attempted to do anything to stop what was to come, but ORACLE only laughed amusedly at him as he tried.

"Now that you know true powerlessness, we hope you revel in it. Know that it was you who'd brought us here; know this as you die ever pathetic, ever the fool."

ORACLE's condescension was beyond reproach, and Robotnik again tried to stop impending doom by issuing emergency shutdown protocols. He was given only one of the meters going entirely into the red.

BOOM!

An unbelievably loud explosion echoed out through the dark city, and it shook the very foundation of the building Robotnik was in.

He waved back and forth as yet another one went into the red.

BOOM!

Another catastrophic explosion rocked the city, and several of his cameras turned to static. Some of the others that didn't were engulfed by a fiery light.

…

The Radcliff soldiers were stopped by the chaos and another loud explosion that deafened everybody in the building.

BOOM!

The foundation shook, and some of the ceilings collapsed atop a handful of helplessly trapped Radcliff prisoners.

Cream fell over, and Aria screamed as the emergency light flickered. After a moment more, the smell of burning was everywhere.

When Cream squinted into the dim hallway, she saw a fire erupting. Smoke began to pour through the hallway, and the screams of the helplessly trapped animals echoed loudly.

Cream frightenedly grabbed Aria and tried to push her. "You need to g-get out of here, NOW!"

Aria stubbornly pulled Cream's dress and shouted loudly. "EITHER YOU COME, OR I AM STAYING!"

Cream huffed out and now knew she had to try. With as much effort as she could, she attempted to pull herself to her feet but only cried out in agony as she collapsed on her leg.

Cream cried loudly as tears wet her cheeks, and Aria pathetically tried to grant her the support of her young body.

As smoke poured into the room, Cream again tried to move but found it impossible under these circumstances.

Once they started coughing, the room steadily began to rise in temperature. Cream knew that even attempting to fly would get her nowhere due to the various hazards assaulting them.

Aria coughed and pulled Cream again but gave up halfway through. Looking around the orange glow of the spreading fire, she eventually found something that might be useful.

Running forward towards the burning hallway, she grabbed hold of the discarded titanium pole that the soldiers were using to smash the door at one point.

Once it touched her fingers, she found it hot due to the close proximity to the fire. Aria, rather than drop it, just screamed and held it tightly.

Once it felt less hot, she ran out of the hallway and slammed the steel door behind herself to buy time. With it shut, it blocked out some of the smoke and granted them temporary reprieve at the expense of the light the fire provided.

When Aria came back to Cream, she handed her the warm pole. As Cream ran her fingertips along it, it struck her how awkward it would be to use it, but it might do the job to an extent.

She handed it back to Aria and asked her to hold it vertically. Once Aria did as she was asked, Cream felt the pole for the best place to try and lift herself with it.

After finding it, she used her strength against Aria's, then pulled herself up with one leg.

"Hold steady, Aria, if you drop it, I will hurt myself more…." Cream cautioned.

Aria gritted her teeth as Cream pulled against her, but her hands held firm enough for Cream to stand. Once upright, Cream used both her hands to hold onto the pole and apply all the weight that would go to her broken leg onto the object.

On her feet for the first time, Aria hugged her, and Cream breathed out heavily. Step one had been accomplished, but step two wasn't a thing.

To what end they could escape was unknown, but at least with this pole, it could be attempted.

"…."

…

The fire raged through the intake building, and a few of the soldiers fleeing had found their way out into the fridged night.

At first, it felt like a blessing, but soon, they discovered it would be anything but.

All around them was blackness, and any light granted to them was in the form of massive fires spreading from building to building.

Those who were once Cream's rebels chose to run off into the dark unknown, while Radcliff's knights kept to the fires and tried to orient themselves with light.

The rebels that disappeared into the abyss were the first to screech, and the sounds that came after could only be described as unnatural or unholy.

Their begging terror quickly ceased, and the knights following the fires picked up the pace. Eventually, they reached the end of the building that was their prison. They ran into the horrific and twisted visages that were a grotesque amalgamation of animal flesh and unknown technology.

Most of their visages could not be made out, but some were recognizable to the knights. Previous animals of Radcliff shipped off in exchange for looting rights to certain areas of the city.

"Ahh!"

"RUN!"

"Get away!"

The knights began to flee but only ran into more. The sauntering, mindless ones just approached without care or concern. While more sentient ones seemed to be contemplating who they were looking at.

One of the escapees grabbed hold of rebar among much of the Robotropolis rubble, and she took to beating down any of the twisted monstrosities that approached her.

"Hah!"

Others who followed suit quickly began to feel confident as the first wave of creatures were beaten down in an explosion of blood and scrap.

It didn't last long, however, as it seemed the creatures that retained some form of intellect began to grab weapons of their own if not already possessing ones grafted onto them with cruel malice.

"Die, you abom….!" The female instigator screamed but was quickly beheaded by a twisted woman wielding a sharp, scrap-iron sliver that it had picked up.

Despite the rusted, crude thing cutting into the hands of the wielder, it seemed unresponsive to the pain any longer.

In a bloody conflict, the once-fleeing soldiers had nowhere to go. Fires burning in the building they fled from, hordes of these ghastly, unimaginable creatures creeping towards them, and no sense of direction.

They all began to scream and put up a fight but were quickly overrun by sheer numbers. Once, the malevolent, red-eyed experiments had them dead to rights. They pinned them mercilessly to the ground and began to enact the cruelty done unto them by their captor.

Blades and scrap were used to hack the knights to pieces, and by the time their screams ceased, the horde split onward in every direction, some even electing to go to the building the knights had emerged from.

Fire was hardly a deterrent for them, and they wanted more, as if compelled by a violent impulse that could not be defied or controlled.

…

Standing on the outskirts of the dark city were Max and the Freedom Fighters who had traveled there. It looked like Robotropolis was already being assaulted in an unexpected turn of events.

Buildings were burning in various locations and appeared to be the only thing casting light from within the city limits.

Tails was beside himself with worry, and Bunnie merely scratched her head and spoke in confusion.

"What in all hell is this about?"

Max and Gregory just stared, while Lupe seemed laser-focused on possible threats.

Eventually, Tails spoke and threw caution to the wind. "-I need to get down there… Cream could be anywhere.-"

Bunnie shook her head, and responded immediately. "We need to be playin' this right, besides. Sonic said he would meet up with us."

Max was annoyed and added his two cents unprompted. "Who cares what Sonic said? For all we know, Cream is burning to death right now."

Bunnie glared at him, but Tails used Max's words to justify moving ahead.

"-Alright, then, Max is with me, just as I am sure Seth is….-"

Seth seemed to agree on the outside, but inside, he recognized the fact that looking for his sister and Cream would be like looking for a needle in a haystack….

One that just so happened to be set on fire….

When the few of them started to ready to move, true to Sonic's word, he boomed in before they could get too far.

Everyone turned to see him, and much to their surprise, Snively was with him.

"Aw, hell, Sonic, what're ya up to bringin' the twerp here?" Bunnie immediately let her feelings known.

Snively just placed his bare hands to his mouth and began to blow into them for extra warmth. Then, before anybody else could dissent, Sonic stood up for his decision to bring Snively here.

"Look, guys… I know you can see what I see out there, and let's just say it's worse than you can imagine. Snidely says he can help make it easier and faster for us if we give 'em a chance."

As the whole group turned to look at Snively, some with extreme disdain in their expression, he walked forward and timidly spoke.

"I… I-it seems that my uncle has lost control of A.I. ORACLE. The danger she poses is inconceivable, and judging by the destruction I can see, there isn't much time to act."

Tails was highly annoyed by the delay and then became indignant. "-Who gives a shit!? I say let her kill Robotnik. I am here for Cream, nothing else….-"

Tails' words seemed to have Bunnie, Lupe, and Seth in agreement. Robotnik had dug his grave, so he ought to lay in it.

Sonic shook his head. He wasn't good at this kind of thing, but scouring over the animals there, he recognized someone likely so.

"Whata ya say, Max?" Sonic's voice cut through everyone else's small chatter.

Max was immediately put on the spot, and he froze in place.

"I… Wh-what?" He stammered.

Sonic confidently smirked and then spoke again. "Well, you are prince, ain't ya? That would make you leader, wouldn't it?"

Bunnie became angry. She had enough of Max and all of his bullshit.

She inevitably kept her mouth shut as she contemplated tearing this idea to shreds. Sonic had been gone for so long he likely would only find out what a miserable pain in the ass his son was by experiencing it.

"…"

Max felt like an idiot, and as he glared at Sonic, he could only view this as an attempt by his father to make a fool of him.

As his anger grew, he was about to lay into him but was stayed completely by Nicole's bright eyes and her form emerging from the forest with haste.

"Nicole?" Max said, and abruptly rushed over to her.

Everyone watching looked at one another, and then Nicole spoke.

"I came to help, I… I couldn't let you go into the city blindly with ORACLE in control. I know firsthand what she is capable of."

Eventually, Tails stomped the foot of his suit and shouted. "-Fuck this! You all can play around up here. I have shit to do!-"

Max eventually just spoke, now feeling better with Nicole near him. "Stop! You don't even know where she is. Maybe we should hear what Snively has to say first before deciding if it is useless."

As Tails seethed, Snively just cleared his throat before talking.

"Look, ORACLE is utterly unpredictable and malicious. She isn't just a danger to Robotnik but likely to anything in the city, including your little sweetheart."

Tails looked down, humiliated, and it seemed to be a de-facto sentiment among everybody here that Tails loved Cream.

"…"

"So, what do you propose?" Max said.

Snively scratched his beard after thinking briefly. "I can lead a group to disable A.I. ORACLE. Since I designed her, I know where her mainframe is being held. A second group should assault the intake facility, where my uncle processes new prisoner arrivals for roboticization."

Snively squinted and began looking over the blacked-out city. When he stopped, his eyes widened, and he became worried.

"I… The intake building is on fire…." He pointed to the raging flames beginning to engulf one of the dark areas.

"-SHIT!-" Tails yelled, and before anything more could be said, he began to run towards the building Snively pointed out with Seth quickly in toe.

The rest of the animals stood quietly, and Sonic spoke calmly.

"So, what's the plan, Max?"

Max knew why Seth and Tails had gone already, so he merely examined who was left. After assessing everybody there, he spoke.

"Sonic, Bunnie, and Lupe should go assist Tails and Seth. I am sure they will need help, given that more than just Cream was taken."

After that, Max felt sad when he realized he didn't have Annie with him, so he turned to Gregory and spoke. "You seem to be a ranged combatant. You are with Snively, Nicole, and myself to disable ORACLE."

Gregory was surprised, but it made sense. Tails appeared to be enough firepower, and rounding out one's combat capabilities was always good.

"As it pleases ya, Your Highness."

With that stated, the group split. There was an implicit sense of urgent trust between them that they could all complete the task given.

…

The smoke within the intake building flooded everywhere, and the heat was making Cream sweat. She coughed and hacked, while trying to cover her mouth and nose.

Aria stayed close to her and kept Cream on her feet as best as possible. Scanning the room while smoke poured in, Aria choked.

Eventually, Aria's eyes settled on the pipes by the emergency light that ran along the wall and were connected to cylinders in the back of the room.

With the fires raging towards their location, she wondered if there was water inside of them that could help.

Before Aria could even check the line, she was startled by another close proximity explosion from the other side of the door she'd closed. Metal pieces and embers flew throughout the room, and both girls shrieked.

Aria quickly looked around for the source of the explosion and stopped when it settled on the door blasted off its hinges. It became apparent that the fire had heated up the pipes on the other side.

Glancing back at Cream, Aria could see that she had been scraped up by some of the bits of metal, but she was not too worse for the wear.

Eventually, Cream commented while watching the fire pour into and light up the room from the now open door. "I…I-It seems," She wheezed and coughed. "li-like that is a gas line…"

Cream's stuttering became severe, and Aria realized fire would consume the place within minutes.

After watching the fire reach some of the depowered robots, Aria's gaze settled by the destroyed gas line that was feeding the flames from the hallway.

"…."

Following the still intact pipes away from the explosion site sat a damaged automatic door, though she knew it likely wouldn't work. The possibility that it could be forced open was their only option.

"We need to go over to that door!" Aria yelled, pointing towards the damaged wall.

As Cream looked, she realized that if more of the gas line went off at such close proximity, it would surely blow them to pieces.

With hesitation, Cream merely nodded to Aria despite the danger.

"…"

Hobbling slowly, Cream used the pole to carry her weight while keeping her broken leg from touching anything. With Aria's help, they'd made it faster than it otherwise would have been.

Once at the door, Cream quietly placed her gloved hand against it, and it felt comparatively cool to the room. "It seems to not be so hot, that means we have a way away from the fire… How we can open it, though, I don't know."

Aria was uncertain, but decided it best to simply try to pull on the crevice that was created in the door by the initial explosion's shockwave.

"Rrrr…"

Aria's stumps hurt like crazy, but using both hands was the only way. As she struggled, Cream spoke.

"I… H-hurry… Th-the fire is spreading fast. It is a quarter of the way to the o-oth-other end, near the cylinders…."

Aria didn't look back and pulled with all her might. Eventually, with a snap, it opened more, but it was only big enough for her to get through.

"…."

Cream, seeing that to be the case, ushered her to move on without her. "A-Aria… Please… Go. Both of us dying isn't worth it…. I have do-done so much for you, do this fo-for me…"

Aria was quiet, but as she glanced back, she could see that the doorframe of the blasted-off door was now consumed by fire. It might only be minutes before more explosions went off, and the room was not survivable.

The smoke was now so thick that it was stinging their eyes, and in time, it would suffocate them. Cream hacked violently, while holding herself against the pole, and Aria just accepted this fate.

Pushing her tiny body through, she popped out on the other side. It was painted blood red like all the others with emergency power.

Glancing side to side, she saw she was in a cramped room full of supplies. The fire hadn't spread beyond the room they were just in, but it appeared this was a dead end.

"…."

Glancing back, Aria saw a thick blanket of smoke gushing from the crevice she'd squeezed through, the fire and brimstone on the other end barely able to illuminate beyond it.

Aria shook her head, and in her desperation, she rapidly looked about.

"…."

Her eyes caught important details in various parts of the room. A rather large ventilation shaft near the floor was bolted to the wall and sat by cluttered rags and shelves.

Moving her eyes to the large poster in front of her, it made it evident that this was the maintenance storage room that workers and workerbots used.

"…."

After more scanning, Aria zeroed in on what appeared to be a semi-large toolbox with various tools on and around it.

Rushing over, she began to throw open drawers and toss tools out of the way that seemed useless while placing ones on the shelf by the vent that might have some use with her limited understanding.

Looking back, it became evident by Cream's extreme hacking suffocation, that she was likely to lose consciousness, so Aria went even faster.

After less than a minute, she found something placed against the cluttered wall with clear labeling as to what it was, much like the other large tools.

"Door Spreader. Use for emergency malfunction and repair of doors. DO NOT MISPLACE!"

She picked up the tool in both hands and ran back to the door. Once there, A quick examination of the device made using it self-explanatory. With haste, she positioned the expanding end within the slit she'd slid through.

Once done, she put the rest of the medium bar against the door for support. With it now stable, she began to pump the lever attached to it.

The sound of hydraulic pressure was released with each pump, and as she rapidly kept the pace up, the closed clamp-like end within the crevice rapidly expanded.

Now, with the pressure of the broken door working against Aria, she began to sweat as her arm became tired. Refusing to stop, she pumped roughly against the door spreader tool until it forced the rest of the door to slide open with a loud buzzing sound.

Smoke poured in, and it made Aria cough instantly. She dropped the tool and shouted at the top of her lungs. "CREAM! COME ON! THE DOOR IS OPEN!"

The sound of crackling and violent choking was heard, and then, after a few seconds, Cream hobbled her way into the entryway. Gasping for precious oxygen, Cream's soot-stained face seemed determined despite the dire situation.

When Aria hugged her tightly, Cream wheezed and spoke as best she could. "We… can't… stay… here…."

Aria understood and quickly let go of Cream. Getting on the floor, she picked up a socket wrench she'd saved on the shelf to unscrew the bolts that held it there.

Now, their small space was rapidly filling with smoke, and the sound of another small explosion went off in the other room. The wall and ceiling pieces began to crack and contort from the high heat and explosive power.

Aria had undone the vent, and with a rough pull, she yanked the dusty thing free. Tossing it aside with a loud clang, she waved Cream over quickly.

With difficulty, Cream dropped down using the pole for stability. Then, once on the ground where there was less smoke, she pulled the bar before herself in a vertical line and began to use her arms to shuffle herself and the object into the escape route.

"…"

Looking about, Aria grabbed hold of a medium-sized, dirty cloth. She placed the miscellaneous tools that could fit atop it. Once done, she tied it quickly into a bundle and crawled in behind Cream, hurriedly leaving the danger zone.

….

When the two reached the other end after minutes of cramped crawling, Aria handed Cream the wrench so that she could begin undoing the vent.

Once free and on their feet, they found themselves in a dark, cool hallway. Then, a rumbling came that was so fierce it shook the whole building, making Cream grab hold of the wall for support, while Aria fell, then pulled herself up once it stopped.

The defining sound of an intense explosion was unmistakable, and both knew the fire had overtaken the cylinders.

Now, with endless fuel and free reign, the fire would quickly accelerate out of control and inevitably catch them unless they found a way out.

Peering down the long, eerie corridor, they could see a red light in the distance.

It was their only salvation from darkness, and because of that, the one they chose to follow.

…

As Tails moved quickly into the dark city with Seth, he could see the distant flames of his destination looking exceedingly worse as he made it closer.

Fear was about the only thing driving him at this point, and as he looked over at Seth, he was surprised to see him so collected.

"-I… How are you so calm right now? Your sister is in that building….-"

Seth eyed him and then responded. "-I am useless to my sister if I am a shambling mess. If she is already dead, so be it… If not, I need to be capable and focused.-"

Tails could see the wisdom, but regardless, he found it impossible to quell his tense and anxiety-riddled thoughts.

As he moved his flashlight, Tails was struck by how lonely and quiet it was. Robots typically covered every corner, and with such a raging inferno breaking out, not even the workerbots were there to tend to it.

As he contemplated, Sonic's voice pierced the silence. "Not cool, Tails…. Runnin' off without the rest of us."

When Tails turned to look, he saw Sonic's silhouette in the bright light he was using. Feeling upset, he spoke back dismissively. "-What? Like you?-"

Sonic merely shrugged and responded. "Yea, you'd think somebody as smart as you would learn from my mistakes."

Tails was caught off guard by how effectively Sonic shut down his antagonism, so he stood in silence. "…."

After a moment more, the sound of heavy breathing and running was heard. Then, Lupe and Bunnie appeared.

"Fuckin' hell boy… Y'all need to stop doin' this runnin' off on you thing…."

Lupe stood in a cautious pose and only bothered conversing about what was important to her. "There…. Is something unnatural here…."

When Tails looked around himself, he spoke with flagrant disregard. "-Well, I ain't seen it…. I haven't seen anything….-"

After his comment, he turned away from the group and spoke again. "-I am getting to that building. I need to find a quick way in….-"

"Leave it to me, Lil bro. I can scout the entire thing in seconds, and we can form a rapid extraction plan." Sonic said.

Hearing that made Tails feel slightly better. Sonic could be around the entire building and back in under a minute. This would save precious time on blindly going into an inferno.

"-I… alright….-"

Tails' tense and uncertain voice betrayed his utter despair at the thought of Cream dying.

Sonic just walked over and patted the suit's shoulder in his acceptance. "She's good, Tails…. I promise…."

It was a promise that Tails knew Sonic couldn't keep, but he was willing to accept if it meant he could lie to himself until he knew she was gone.

As Sonic turned to be off, the entire group was horribly startled by a gigantic beam of light shining down from above them. As they quickly turned their gaze up, they saw that one of the street lights had come back on.

As quickly as that one did, others began to, and chortling came from the sound systems that echoed out into the city.

"Warned not to come, yet, here you are…. Turn back Freedom Fighters…. Allow us what is ours, let our thirst be slaked with the tyrant's blood."

The haunting voice had a strong feminine presence behind it but was primarily a multitude of dread-inducing whispers.

Tails just shook his head and shouted towards the speakers that littered various objects and buildings. "-Sorry…. I am here for someone! If you think you can stop us, well, then you don't know us very well!-"

The whispery voice cackled as it broke out into hysterics. "We know you better than you can ever imagine…. After all, it is your failures that brought us to this moment…."

…

"If you will not heed our warning, then you are the victim of your own arrogance. Perish, if you must."

After the voice stopped speaking, Tails glanced around. With a scant few lights now providing easy vision, he could see many of Robotnik's MK-II units trapped in a suspended pose.

Along the snow was a plethora of confusing, bloody footprints that went in every direction. In the distance looked to be a massive puddle of gore beneath a street light.

The likes of which none of them wanted to even go near.

"…"

Tails felt sick, but Sonic just put on a severe expression and spoke. "Well, if ole' ORACLE is gonna' light the way, then I'mma be juicing forward!"

Before anybody could respond, Sonic blasted out, and they could see him shrink as he went further and further away between lit street lamps.

…

The fridged winds blew roughly against Max's cape and coat. Nicole's bright eyes kept him oriented and emotionally secure while Snively led the pack.

The four were surrounded by utter darkness in an area where fires had not raged.

It was Max's nightmare, like falling down that abyssal pit of misery again. However, fortunately, like that incident, Nicole was here for him.

"…."

As Gregory looked around, he was uneasy and voiced his concern. "I can't see shit out here. We are extremely vulnerable…. How much further? Well, assuming you really do know the way."

Snively scowled and shook his head as he spoke. "I know my way around here so well; I could do it in my sleep. We just need to be cautious of infiltrators and SWATBOT classic units…."

Nicole could effortlessly see in the dark, so it was like walking down a typical street to her. They were in a quaint city neighborhood and only a stone's throw away from what used to be Acorn Castle.

Snively turned and spoke to Nicole. "What do you see?"

Nicole blinked but then realized Snively knew all about robots and workerbots. "I… Well, I see MK-II units littered around."

Snively and Max looked at her, and she clarified before they could become concerned. "They are…. Inactive for some reason…."

"I wonder why?" Max said, as he breathed out heavily.

Snively thought as they walked and responded. "Likely Robotnik. He had installed a failsafe to deactivate the robots if he lost control. Since ORACLE is now in control, well, you see the result."

Snively stopped, and then began walking around a corner along another desolate and long stretch of road. It was now that Nicole realized where they were going.

"ORACLE is in what is left of Acorn castle?"

Snively shook his head and responded. "No, the mainframe was built in an old, empty tower connected to the castle. It is so unimportant and inconspicuous that nobody would ever find it unless they knew to look there."

"…." Max felt upset hearing this but decided to let it go.

As they marched on, Max became more uneasy. Sounds carried in the wasteland of a city, and the group collectively began feeling as if they had direct eyes on them.

Nicole looked around and stopped when she saw figures moving by abandoned homes. When she called attention to it, Snively, Max, and Gregory could see the blackness, but it was now accompanied by numerous red, glowing eyes.

"What the fuck is that?" Gregory asked in confusion.

Max grabbed hold of his energy hilt, and with a mere thought, it activated. The bright color of it somewhat illuminating the area around it.

The second Gregory saw it, he was in awe and said as much. "Hot damn, that's cool!"

Snively blinked and didn't recognize these eyes from any of their machinery. "I…. This doesn't look right…."

…

The lights drew near in the dark, and the closer they got, the more the small group could make out labored breathing.

Nicole was left mortified by the details she could now see, and could only describe it to the others.

"They are… Mechanized corpses…"

Snively became frightened and yelled. "WHAT!?"

Max thought back to the book, and to things his father and Tails had mentioned.

The Lost… They were here.

Gregory readied his weapon and stuck to Max's proximity. The small light the prince's weapon provided was all he needed to eradicate things close up.

"On me, Snively!" Max yelled, causing the ex-lackey to scramble him in a cowardly manner.

Now that the monstrosities were clear in front of them. Max could see them in the light Nicole's eyes provided

Sick, twisted, depraved…. They were everything ghoulish Max had read about and more.

Snively cried out and screeched. "What…?! No…! This can't be real!"

One of the creatures sauntered up towards Max, its face unrecognizable and its breathing intense and oozing squishy, wet sounds with every exhale.

"You…. Suffer….!" It choked as blood dripped from its exposed teeth.

With a wildly unexpected swing, it brought forth what appeared to be an ax-like blade jury-rigged to a piece of long trash.

Max was quick to swing the energy sword, and it effortlessly tore through it. After that, Max kept the swing in motion, and it hit the monstrosity in the chest, severing it in two at a diagonal.

"Shit!" Snively screamed again as the small horde of lost pounced on them.

Nicole opened her stomach compartment and brandished the pistol she'd used on the other world. Quickly pointing forward, she let loose laser fire into the rushing crowd.

Gregory wasted no time in pointing his slug-thrower and pulling the trigger in rapid succession.

BAM!

Clack-clack.

BAM!

Clack-clack.

BAM!

Clack-clack.

BAM!

Clack-clack.

Snively flinched with each loud bang, and the unintelligent experiments dropped rapidly. The ones that had any thought were cognizant enough to steer clear of projectiles.

Using the barrage as a distraction, they split off to different sides. When Gregory began to reload his weapon, one came out of the dark to his left and swung a piece of sharp scrap at his throat before he was able to react.

Max jumped forward, and putting his hand out, erected a barrier to stop the blow. Both Gregory and the creature appeared confused, but Gregory, recognizing he wasn't dead, merely pointed his loaded weapon at the monster's face.

BAM!

As her head came undone, Gregory spoke in a cocky manner.

"Nice try…."

Clack-clack.

Nicole was unphased and, using her ability to see and shoot, was protecting a cowering Snively from any possible attacker.

Max began hacking at the few left that assaulted them. None of them at all tried to flee, they only wanted blood spilled for its own sake.

…

When, at last, they were all about the ground in puddles and pieces. Max checked under his glove and breathed in when he saw the light was still cyan.

Nicole came over and stared down at the grimaced faces of the damned, and she got a horrible feeling deep inside.

"…."

Gregory glanced at Max appreciatively, then kept his eyes around them in case another might pop out.

Max deactivated his blade and walked over to Nicole, who was lost in her emotional pain. At least until Max touched her and spoke lovingly.

"Are you ok, Nikki?"

Her name being uttered by him brought her focus back, and she merely spoke in a flat affect. "Was… this what became of my father….?"

Max knew that it was but was uncertain if the truth was something she should hear. She'd admitted to reading the beginning of the writings, but he now interpreted her question as more about his personality than his physical body.

By the time Nicole recovered a bit, she quietly hugged Max, unconcerned with who might see.

"…."

Gregory merely dismissed it, considering it not his business.

Snively was too busy staring at the creatures to care and seemed to be having some existential crisis.

"…."

When the hug ended with Nicole, Max spoke as he turned to Snively.

"We need to get to ORACLE…. This needs to stop."

Snively shook his head, and he responded. "I… ORACLE released these? Is… is this what my uncle has done? Is this what he had been hiding?"

"…."

It might be hard to believe Snively in any other circumstance, but his emotional reaction was so raw, it was hard to doubt that he was unaware.

"This has happened while I was here, hasn't it…? I did this…."

Snively was losing it, and Max quickly grabbed and shook him. "ENOUGH! We need to get to ORACLE! We need you to keep it together!"

Snively gasped and whined in a complete emotional breakdown. Guilt flowed through him in a way he never thought possible, and he merely spoke in a numb manner.

"This is…. beyond my worst nightmares. My uncle has exceeded what I believed possible, even for him."

When Max let go of him, Snively wiped his eyes, which were tearing, and turned to the road they had been walking.

"You're right…. ORACLE needs to be disabled immediately…. If she has unleashed these, there are likely greater horrors waiting for us unless we do…."

With that, Snively walked onward, and Gregory, Nicole, and Max began to follow. There was an uneasy feeling that only intensified the closer they drew to ORACLE and her physical components.

…

Robotnik stood silently watching things unfold on the cameras still available to him. Many of those accursed creatures went into buildings, and some were seen drifting out into the darkened city.

To his surprise, the Freedom Fighters were also here. Why they would be made little sense to him, as ORACLE had him pinned.

If it were him in their position, he would let her kill them.

"…."

Staring at the screen to the far left, he exhaled in frustration as a small group of Freedom Fighters was seen walking out of the dark and towards a camera.

To his displeasure, someone he never expected to see was there as well.

"SNIVELY!" Robotnik roared as he instantly forgot his detest for ORACLE and smashed his fist on the top of the keyboard. "YOU TREACHEROUS WORM! SO, YOU ARE HERE ACTING AGAINST ME…."

Robotnik paused and then thought….

Why exactly was Snively here…

Looking around at the scenery in the night vision camera, it dawned on him that they were at ORACLE's physical location.

Realizing this, he began to sweat profusely both with both excitement as well as dread.

He could tell that they intended to shut off ORACLE, but he felt visceral fear that they learn about her.

"…."

Eventually, ORACLE hissed to Robotnik spitefully, seeing he now knew as she did. "Your beloved nephew intends to disconnect me…. Aren't you thrilled he is here to save you?"

Robotnik shook his head, then punched the edge of the console lightly. "You know as well as I do, if they disconnect you, everything you have started will become unstable…. You have overloaded half the city!"

ORACLE only appeared amused and responded jovially. "Yes… Even should I go offline, the destruction will be unparalleled, and your darling experiments…. We can't forget them."

Robotnik looked, and on one of the other cameras, he could see his gruesome monsters entering the central command building where he resided. With no ability to lock or control anything, he stumbled back as anxiety hit him.

Eventually, he just turned to his throne and searched for a moment. Once he stopped, he pulled a laser pistol and activated it to keep his finger laser hidden for an emergency.

"…."

With every sound and murmur in his darkened throne room, he lost more and more brevity.

Despite what those accursed animals and his dimwitted nephew would discover, it was better they stopped ORACLE. That way, he could regain control of his MK-II units.

It was possibly the only way he might scrape through this alive.

…

As Max and company stood outside the dark tower, there was a small white light atop the door and a keypad that appeared to be lit.

As Snively moved forward, he spoke. "I… ORACLE is powering this entire building. It exists as its own plane here, one in which nobody enters or leaves.

Max surmised what he was getting at as Snively went to the keypad and began to type.

"So, nobody would ever suspect this was anything but abandoned…."

As the door beeped loudly and unlatching was heard, Snively responded. "Yep… Now, onto business. It shouldn't take more than ten minutes to depower ORACLE. If worse comes to worst, we will smash the entire chipset to bits."

Nicole just watched silently, and as Snively opened the door, it squeaked with the sound of abandonment and rust.

As Max stepped forward, they heard ORACLE sibilate loudly, and the whispers angrily admonished their presence here.

"You would save your oppressor, your monster? Yo-"

As the whispers intensified in their anger, they were abruptly cut off. After which, an eerie and almost omnipresent feminine voice took over.

"Welcome…. If it is the ORACLE you seek, she has long been waiting…."

The intense whispers now followed every word that the powerful central voice spoke, and it made all the animals fur stand on end.

Turning to Gregory, Max issued an order. "Keep a lookout here. If anything happens to us, where we never return. Report back to Tails no matter what."

Gregory was uneasy being left out front but understood this might be some devious trap. Having him here as insurance was indeed the wisest plan.

With a solute, he responded stoically. "Will do, Your Royal Highness."

Max merely nodded and then entered the door alongside Snively and Nicole.

…

Once inside the stone structure, it appeared utterly grimy, and tattered blue and red banners with golden trim once belonging to the Acorn royal family hung from the walls.

It was well lit by bulbs fixed along the walls that led all the way up and around the beginnings of a spiral stairwell.

His hot breath created steam as Max breathed out, indicating it was just as freezing inside as it was out.

Snively fixed his coat and then gave a brief word of caution. "The mainframe is at the top of the stairs. No traps were built here, but given that, we do not know how long ORACLE has had control, that might have changed."

Nicole was still quiet, but even without words, Max knew she would be a valuable asset should Snively not be able to disconnect ORACLE.

With no more words being spoken, Snively began to ascend the long spiral steps made of stone.

…

The three shuffled endlessly as they marched towards the highest point. They heard the commanding voice speak again past the halfway point, and her words echoed off the tight walls.

"Sweet child… You intrepidly march towards that which you do not understand. Our purpose is your purpose…. Turn back, allow us our retribution. It can all end tonight, if you allow it."

Max paused, and as Snively and Nicole looked at him, he seemed perturbed. He wanted Robotnik to die, and so did ORACLE, but her words cut deeper, and it felt as if she were speaking about something that transcended mere alliance.

Still, he shook his head and walked forward. If Robotnik was to die, it would not be at the behest of madness.

…

When the three reached the top, they sat before a closed iron door latched from the outside. When Snively went to open the latch, it was ice cold to the touch and downright impossible to move.

Max put his metal hand on it, and with a yank, it screeched to the side, and the door opened slightly with loud, slow squeaking.

A peek inside revealed a blacked-out room with lights shimmering everywhere in the darkness. When Max pulled the door open, neither Max nor Snively could see anything in the room, only the blinking diodes that were hypnotically periodic.

Snively stepped in, then Max and Nicole. Once inside, they could hear the voice speak. Only it was not through a loudspeaker or intercom. It said as if it were right in front of them.

"Welcome… It has been ages since I have looked upon you…" The voice retained its trailing whispers, but both happiness and curiosity were intermixed in the voice.

Snively stepped forward, and responded. "I know…. With how you have changed, I'd never wanted to see or hear you again…. Now, I will insure I never will…."

ORACLE did not acknowledge him, and Nicole could only stare blankly at the "mainframe." It was like none she'd ever seen before.

"…."

Snively reached over, and as he flicked a lever on the wall with a snap, a bright light shot into the room. Much like Nicole, his face became immediately perplexed in the same manner.

"Wh-what is this?" Snively said, perplexed.

Before them sat a gigantic, metal cylinder covered in lights that reached the ceiling. Through a small window, shrouded in utter darkness, were two red lights that remained on and appeared fixed facing the three.

Nicole looked at Snively and then responded. "I… This wasn't here before?"

Snively shook his head and responded. "No… I… this is a containment unit… I… I suppose that Robotnik installed it around ORACLE's sensitive components, but… This seems really excessive."

Max glanced over at Snively and then spoke. "How do we remove it to reach the computer?"

Snively hesitantly walked forward and then reached out towards the panel on the cylinder. ORACLE didn't say a word as he began to manipulate the open function through commands.

"…."

When a loud beep was heard, a miniature horn began to blare intermittently. With an incredibly defining hiss, the cylinder began to descend from the top, and steam poured forth into the freezing room as trapped heat was released.

There was so much of it, that it made Max choke, and when he looked back up at the lowering cylinder, he could barely make out its slowly exposed contents through the thick mist.

Eventually, as it got low enough, Snively could parse what he saw. He turned white as a ghost and stumbled backward frantically until he crashed into the wall and pressed against it.

"I…. I…. I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS…. I HAD NOTHING TO FUCKING DO WITH THIS, I SWEAR!"

His panicked screams were drowned out by the cylinder slamming loudly to its final destination.

Nicole's eyes were wide as the mist began to settle, and her mouth was agape in a way that betrayed her reclaimed Mobian mind.

….

Max walked forward in disbelief as he examined the now visible machine.

Wires ran to and from it in its entirety, and it was reminiscent of some sort of sickening life support. A thick central connector anchored the contained robot by the back of its slightly surge-damaged head.

Its red, LED eyes locked with Max's green organic ones, fomenting their undeniable familiarity.

As Max opened his mouth to speak, it moved, but no words escaped his lips.

Then, as he tried again, he found he was able to say but one word.

…

"Mom…"