Author's Note. Re-did this chapter, to be honest… I did not remember what was in it until now. After re-doing it, I can say I really do like this chapter a lot as well.
Legal Trash. Sonic and everybody else is copyright 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.
Chapter 9. Critical Decisions
Tails ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Max's unconscious body bounced in his arms as he went.
He rapidly jumped up the small set of steps leading to his hut and quickly kicked open the door.
BAM!
"A-ah! Oh- oh my!" Cream yelled at the sudden loud noise jolting her out of her thoughts.
She stood up and looked over to see Tails crash through his door with a fury. In his arms, he was carrying an incredibly dirty and limp squirrel. Her eyes zoned in on Max's bent arm, and his face had muck and cuts all over it.
"It's a serious emergency, Cream! I need some help!" Tails called out to her, and she could hear the intense panic and fear in his voice. It was evident that this was somebody precious to him.
Cream instinctively grabbed her doctor handbag lying on the floor and pointed towards his own bed. She knew there wasn't much room to maneuver in this cluttered and dirty hut, but she needed to assess the boy's injuries before she could determine what needed to be done.
She reached into her bag and started placing another pair of sterile latex gloves over her hands.
Tails quickly followed her instruction and placed Max on the bed, laying him on his back. Cream brought over her small flashlight and a pair of razor-sharp scissors. She handed Tails the scissors, and she started to flash the light over Max's head and face.
"We need to check his entire body. Start with the grimy coat. I need to check that bent arm as soon as possible." She instructed him while focusing intently on Max's head as she talked.
Tails understood his task and started cutting Max's once blue and regal coat off.
The sound of ripping fabric came as he pulled the sharp steel scissors across it. Once the jacket and undershirt were split down the middle, he peeled them open to reveal Max's chest and shoulder area.
Cream shined the light on his chest, and could see cuts and some deep gashing along it, as well as his abdomen; pulling back the fur revealed extremely dark bruising all over his chest area.
"Oh! Th-this is serious!" She said, feeling overwhelmed as she turned her gaze to Tails.
He was cutting along the sleeves now to free Max entirely from his clothed prison. Max's breathing was fast and labored, and now that his arms were free, Cream could take a closer look at the damage they had sustained. His right arm was covered in bruises and scratches, but it didn't seem broken or like it suffered any severe injury.
She gazed over to his left arm and already knew it was broken from the way it had been bent, but now she could adequately see just how severe the break was.
"O-Oh my..." She became tense.
His left arm was severely bruised and had been festering in the muck. Dry blood matted the entire area, and the bone stuck out from his flesh.
"T-there is no way I-I can treat this." She stammered, losing what little confidence she had.
Tails became intensely annoyed in his desperation and looked at her. "I thought you said you were an advanced student!?" He became loud.
Her stories seemed to keep changing, and he was getting really upset about it.
"A-Advanced for my age..." Cream meekly defended herself. "I am one o-of the youngest at my level of training. It doesn't mean that I have encountered anything like this p-personally." She looked down apologetically. "I-I am truly sorry."
"You have to do something, Cream! You are the only one that knows about stuff like this!" Tails was scared, and his outburst quickly devolved into pleading.
"I- Even if I could, I do not h-have the supplies necessary to deal with something this severe." She placed her hand on Max's head and could feel him burning up with a fever.
Nicole had entered the hut and was standing behind the two watching the scene unfold quietly; hearing the hopelessness of the situation was stirring passionate feelings within her.
She moved forward slowly, and as soon as Cream noticed the robot, she let out a scream of fear.
"AHHHHH!" She jumped back and against one of the many cluttered machines Tails had piled up inside of his hut.
"I-its one of- those things!" She couldn't stop seeing the blue lights of SWATBOT visors and energy weapons in her mind.
Tails looked at Nicole and sighed. He knew that she was no threat but didn't have time to play the interrogation game right now.
"Cream, she's the one that brought Max here. She is not a threat." He said, even though he wasn't entirely sure if that was true.
Cream was hesitant at first, but she could see the robot standing next to Tails without any hint of threat or malice, so she eventually moved back towards the two of them.
"I uhm... I am sorry..." She said, feeling embarrassed, but it was understandable why she would have that reaction.
BAM!
The door of the hut broke open suddenly, and Sonia came running in with Annie in toe. They were carrying two enormous bags filled with hospital-grade medical supplies. They were scarce and using them up here and now would put them at risk for future emergencies.
"We got th…." Sonia stopped talking the minute she saw the scope of her brother's injuries. The bag dropped to the floor with a thud, and she felt intense emotions overwhelming her. She turned away, and Cream stepped in front of Max to shield her from the ghastly sight.
Annie stared in shock, looking at the sheer wreck her friend had become. The agonizing, excruciating pain that he must have gone through. His arm… It made her sick to her stomach, and she eventually turned her own sight away. Seeing him like that was so painful, and she wasn't prepared to deal with it.
"We need to take care of Max. I know this looks bad, but we need to focus." Tails reminded everybody of what was most important.
Sonia and Annie couldn't look at him, but they gave their nods silently. Cream turned her attention to the bags they had brought and started to dig through them.
She could see a lot of medical supplies that would have been used in Mobotropolis hospitals. Three IV bags worth of antibiotics, numerous amounts of sealed bandages and gauze, A few IV bags containing a saline solution, various containers of oral antibiotics and painkillers, multiple needles as well as tubes, and a few surgical tools still sealed in the sterile packaging.
"I… these might be enough to help some of the injuries," She thought out loud. "but this place is too crowded and dirty for me to be able to provide ample care." Cream finished her thought while zipping the bags closed.
She then looked at Max, who was ultimately unresponsive to the world around him.
"We can use my hut." Annie volunteered quickly. "It is one of the closer huts, and I haven't used my bed in days, so it is clean, if not a little unkempt." She looked at Sonia. "All we need to do is move the stuff on the floor out of the way."
Sonia nodded quietly, honestly thankful that Annie was pulling her away from her brother in his current state.
Sonia eventually turned and quickly made her way out of the hut door towards Annie's hut to get a head start. Her mind mulling over grim thoughts as she went to her destination.
Tails nodded in approval of their plan and turned back to Max to finish cutting off his pants and to remove his boots. Annie took one last brief look at her broken friend and went out towards her hut to ready it for his arrival.
Nicole kept quiet and watched everyone as they worked to save Max's life. The logical part of her understood what was to come and knew that this had to be done. However, something inside of her was nagging at her and compelling her to act on his behalf.
Cream started grabbing the moderately heavy supply bags to ready them for transportation and was attempting to carry both them and her doctor's satchel on her tiny frame.
She struggled to move all three at one time, and it slowed down her movement speed quite a bit.
Nicole snapped out of her thoughts while watching the rabbit struggle, and she walked over to remove the bags from Cream, lifting them effortlessly with her mechanical strength.
"I've got it," Nicole said bluntly.
"Th-thank you, Ms. Robot." Cream said to the workerbot, even if she was unsure if the machine understood her sentiment.
"You're welcome," Nicole said in return. Then moved away from her to stand next to the doorway for when they all would leave for Annie's hut.
Cream turned her attention back to Max now that her hands were free of all of the bags and came over to Tails, who had cut the last of Max's clothes off.
She started to examine his lower body, legs, and feet for any severe injury. Max had minor wounds, but nothing as critical as his arm or chest. Cream took leave of Max and pushed her way through the piled junk to Tails' bathroom. She started grabbing towels and wetting some of them, and once she was finished, she returned to offer Tails a few of them.
"We need to clean him a little bit. Not only will it make it easier for me to see his injuries, but it will make it, so his new bed doesn't become complete filth immediately." She said.
"Alight." Tails responded to Cream as he followed her lead. Whatever she thought was the best course of action, he was willing to do.
The two of them worked together and started wiping off the grime and dirt from Max's body. They carefully moved him so that they could get his back and as many hard-to-reach areas as they could.
After about 10 minutes of gentle cleaning, Max was decidedly less dirty than before. Tails went on to start cleaning his broken arm with a fresh towel when Cream abruptly stopped him.
"D-don't!" She said to him, causing him to stop his cleaning immediately.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do anything that might hurt him." Tails responded, taking the towel away from the wound.
Cream shook her head and looked down. "N-no, there is no point in doing that. The arm... I-it needs t-to be removed."
Tails looked shocked, and Nicole stared intensely with her blue eyes. She had already known this truth, but hearing it out of Cream was ever more difficult for her.
"Wh-what… what do you mean!? There has to be something we can do!" Tails was upset and did not want to do something so irreversible and drastic on somebody so young.
"I-No. The injury is really severe and terribly infected. I believe the infection has already entered his bloodstream by now, and without antibiotics and intravenous fluids, he will outright die." She started to explain.
"I checked the bags, and while they contain both of those things. The arm itself is untreatable at this stage, as it is already showing signs of gangrene. Without skilled surgeons or proper tools, I really cannot see a way to save it." Cream took a breath to stabilize her intense emotions.
"The arm will inevitably kill him unless it is removed." She started to take off her dirty latex gloves and toss them aside to the floor. "I-I have never cut an arm off before, but I know animal anatomy pretty well, and I m-might be able to do it."
It was apparent that Cream did not want to, and the thought horrified her, but she showed a willingness to attempt it for Max's sake.
Nicole kept watching them and could see Tails' tormented expression. This was terrible news, and everybody in the room knew that amputation might kill Max as well; since he was going to lose copious amounts of blood in the process.
However, what other choice did they have? With such limited supplies and very few tools at their disposal?
"Alight…" Tails trailed off solemnly and started to hoist Max into his arms so that he could be moved. "Let's just try to save his life. That is all we can do at this point."
Cream nodded and started walking outside with Tails while he carried Max. Every so often, she would glance at the boy, and his looks were highly familiar to her to the point it made her frightened.
"…"
Nicole followed behind them with the three medical supply bags, and they all made haste through the powerful storm to Annie's hut.
Once inside the lit room, they could see Annie's bed with the covers haphazardly peeled back and the floor primarily free of debris and clutter from Annie's rampage.
Tails gently placed Max on the bed and pulled the covers up to his stomach. Cream began sifting through the bags once Nicole dropped them and pulled out lots of different medicines and the few tools now available to her. One of which was a surgical bone saw wrapped in dirty sealed plastic.
Cream was hesitant to use it, but she saw no other tool available to amputate an arm so easily. She started to remove it from the plastic and told Tails she needed a giant container for the operation that was going to be performed.
"W-we need to keep things as clean as possible. I… a-amputations are p-probably messy." She stuttered anxiously.
"Amputation?" Annie interjected immediately the moment she heard what was said. "W-what do you mean!?" She was visibly upset and sounded angry.
"No…" Sonia couldn't stand it; she couldn't deal with this. She quickly smashed her way out of the hut door and escaped the scene of Tails, placing a metal bucket next to the bed.
"You can't fucking do that!" Annie protested, looking at the two of them as they prepped Max for the amputation.
Cream was putting on more latex gloves and offered a pair to Tails. She then began to take some rubber straps out of the satchel and tied them around Max's upper arm to cut as much of the circulation off as possible. She hoped that there wouldn't be as much of a torrential flow of blood.
"Stop goddamnit!" Annie protested even louder than before, feeling like she was being ignored. She couldn't handle this at all, but she kept staying there, seemingly against her own will.
Nicole watched from the side of the room and said nothing. Her mind was buzzing with thoughts and sounds that were destroying the very fabric of her existence.
She had never known such grief and felt as if it were a curse to her. She could "feel" and "think," but she was powerless to do anything substantial for her friend.
"Listen, Annie, I don't like this any more than you do, but if we don't do this, then Max is just going to die." Tails said to her as seriously as possible.
"But…." Annie could feel the sadness crushing her heart.
"Look, Sonia needs somebody right now. I think you should go and help her. Once this is over, you can come back and take care of Max because I know he is going to need you." He said before she could continue her protest.
Annie solemnly nodded in defeat and started to turn away. She was so happy Max was alive, yet this unfortunate turn of events destroyed any happiness she could glean from that fact.
She knew it would never be the same again after this, and images of blood and gore kept filling her imagination. She walked out of the door and into the rain, not wanting to witness the actual event to come. Whatever happened, happened, and she would try to be there for Max should he survive.
Tails turned back after watching Annie leave to find Sonia and could see that Cream had already used a needle and tube to hook an intravenous fluid pouch to Max. She had hoisted the IV bag and hung it down from the rod that Annie's decorative curtains sat upon.
"I am administering antibiotics to fight the infection and to try to keep the septic shock from setting in." She explained while clenching the saw handle in her left hand.
She made her way around to the other side of the bed, where Max's broken arm was hovering over the bucket. She was visibly shaken and upset but knew there was nothing else she could do.
Tails walked with her and bent down, grasping the broken arm to hold it stable. He wanted to make sure that she could cut as precisely and efficiently through his arm as possible.
It would be a much harder job without a scalpel on hand to easily cut through the flesh and fat to the bone.
Both of them were having a tough time emotionally and physically, and Cream just stared intently at the arm to examine the best place to start cutting.
"I just keep thinking… about... my…arm..."
Nicole could hear Max's crying voice piercing her roboticized brain as she watched Cream point at the place she decided was best to start cutting.
"I'm scared, Nicole..."
Nicole's face turned to an expression of anger as she watched the saw being placed into position in the middle of his upper arm, far away from the break.
The unsteady hand of the rabbit was beginning to apply moderate pressure, and once, her hand had stopped spasming out of nervousness. She rhythmically sawed slowly along the furred arm, the blade's teeth cutting into the flesh effortlessly. Blood started to trickle out of the tear and drip into the bucket with several pings.
Ping…
Ping…
Ping…
"I'm scared to lose my arm... I..."
Nicole couldn't take it, the "memory" of those words was overriding any semblance of logic she had on this matter, and without realizing it, her metal body carried her forward. Her movement was quickly snapping Cream and Tails' attention away from the grisly task and towards the approaching machine.
"Your arm will be fine, Max."
Cream had not gotten far into her task when she froze in complete terror from the robot's sudden approach. Tails was in a daze and couldn't exactly get what he was doing off his mind long enough to figure out what was happening.
Once Nicole made it to the rabbit, she forcibly grabbed the lightly bloodied saw away from Cream and started to use her immense strength to twist and warp the blade into a completely unusable state.
The only sterile thing sharp enough to get the job done had been destroyed, and with it, so too were Max's chances of survival.
…
"I promise…"
Cream backed up fearfully from the robot's swift actions, and Tails became enraged. He knew full well that supplies like that were hard to come by and that now if they wanted to remove Max's arm, they'd need to use something less sanitary.
"What the hell did you do that for!?" Tails stood up and started to confront Nicole to her face.
"We needed that! We have to do this! You should know better than anybody!" He shouted.
Nicole didn't bother to respond and instead started walking towards the door of the hut. She knew what she had done and didn't need to be told, but she also knew that there might still be hope to fulfill her promise.
"H-hey what gives! We have nothing else that is sterile to cut his arm off with!" Tails yelled.
He for sure wasn't going to let this go, and Nicole finally turned to answer him.
"I promised Max I wouldn't let anybody take his arm, and I refuse to break that promise." Nicole was firm on her stance.
She knew this was probably a terrible idea and the most inefficient thing to do, but something inside her snapped, and she valued the words she and Max said to one another more than what she knew was the best course of action.
"How do you intend to do that?!" Tails shouted again, moving in front of her, barring her way to the door.
Even though she could easily toss him aside, she remained still and stared at him. Cream was in the corner, afraid of what was transpiring, and decided it was better to let Tails handle the situation.
Nicole moved forward and got into Tails' face, then said the one word she knew he would understand.
"Roboticizer." Her voice was full of determination and subtle anger.
"Roboticizer?" Tails looked at her, shocked, and moved away a little bit.
He knew that such a thing would prevent them from having to take such drastic measures. It would allow for focused treatment of the infection in his body and bloodstream without the need to remove or treat his limb.
"How? We don't have a roboticizer, and the only one who knows how to build one is uncle Chuck, but he is stuck hours away in Robotropolis surrounded by hundreds of SWATBOTS." Tails said.
He could see the logic in Nicole's thinking but also knew Max was on a time limit. Even if they sent Sonia, the sheer volume of SWATBOTS would slow her down and potentially lead to another disaster.
Nicole looked at him and then pushed past the shocked kitsune. "There is one much closer than you think, and I intend to get it." She said while opening the hut door and wandering off into the rain.
Tails was speechless for a second, and then he moved his head over to look at Cream. He could see her standing there, unsure of what to say or do at this particular time.
Tails moved over to the door and decided that he needed to get answers from the robot. Interrogation couldn't wait any longer, and now, more than ever, he needed to find a way to save Max.
"Cream… I have to follow her… can you please keep Max as stable as possible until I return?" He asked while looking back at her once again. He didn't care what she had to do, as long as she kept him from dying in the meantime.
Cream was a bit confused by the entire affair, but she nodded. She could continue to pump what little medicine was available into him and try to keep him alive until Tails returned, but leaving such a wound unattended was reckless. The gangrene would spread to his blood, and he would inevitably perish, but at least the antibiotic would provide a bit of extra time for them.
Cream turned her attention to her satchel and the medical supplies and started to empty them out so that she could begin treating every other wound but his arm. She knew it might be a waste, but if it meant giving the boy just a little bit more time, she would do it.
"Thanks, Cream… I- I owe you one." Tails said gratefully as he quickly ran out of Annie's hut shutting the door behind himself.
When he got a little way away from the front of the hut, he could see the blue of Nicole's eyes in the dark distance, heading towards his hut. He wasn't sure why she was running there and quickly started to take after her.
He had so many questions that needed answering, and he tried to keep an open mind that her intentions were good. Unfortunately, her recent actions did not foster a great sense of trust in Tails, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it as soon as he could reach her.
Nicole had pushed her way into the hut, and she started gazing around Tails' room at all the discarded and piled up pieces of technology salvaged from Robotropolis.
She knew that much of this would come in handy if she needed to build something, but that was not what she was looking for.
Tails reached the doorway about the time Nicole noticed what she had come for. She made her way past piles of junk to a cluttered workbench, where, on top of it sat weapons in various degrees of assembly.
Tails quickly gathered she had come here to arm herself and promptly ran over to her. He used all of his strength to push her metal frame aside and actively put himself in her path to try and block her from it.
"Oh no! I am not letting you mess around with those, not until you tell me just who you are and what you intend!" He quickly picked up one of the finished rifles and turned it on if the robot tried to go for the weaponry again.
Nicole, who didn't seem worried, just stared at him with her blue eyes. She realized her appearance made her threatening. She had no concept of other's interpretation of her up to this point, but of course, why would she? She had never had a physical form before.
She could see Tails pointing the rifle at her, and even though it unsettled her to be treated as a Robotnik monstrosity. She was starting to understand that her appearance mattered.
"I'm sorry…." Nicole said as she looked down to the floor.
What was this strange sensation taking over her thoughts? Her appearance made her feel guilty, and she didn't know what to do with the newfound complexity of emotions.
Tails noticed the expressiveness of her face and lowered his rifle. He could see that she was an autonomous being with the capacity for emotional response. He knew that only de-controlled roboticized citizens like uncle Chuck could display this range of emotion or understanding.
"Wh-who are you?" Tails asked again.
She seemed so familiar to him yet was so different from everybody else he could think of. He thought as long and hard as he could, but every person he knew of was not a lynx.
Nicole raised her head with a sad expression on her face, and as her blue eyes of radiant light stared directly at him. She stepped forward, and when Tails didn't even bother to point the gun at her, she realized he was already putting trust in her.
"I- you know me as Nicole." She said truthfully and stood stationary.
She could see Tails' eyes light up as the realization smacked him like a sack of bricks.
"Nicole…? No… but how is this…? it doesn't make sense." He said, trying hard to find words.
There was only ONE Nicole he knew, and this was not her. His mind thought hard, and then a world-breaking realization occurred to him.
Max didn't have the handheld computer on his person when they removed his clothes, and he knew Max would die before ever letting it be lost.
"You- but how?" He asked her in a place of shock and disbelief.
Nicole looked at him and shook her head. "Max doesn't have a lot of time... I might answer your questions, but you will have to wait."
Tails stood there and didn't say anything for a few seconds and then decided to ask one question that would solidify his trust in her.
"What are we doing to save Max?" He extended his help to her, but the price of having it was information.
Nicole nodded and thought it was a fair exchange, primarily if he was willing to trust her without detailed explanations of her origins.
"One of Robotnik's subordinates is hidden out in a cave about thirty minutes from here. I believe that they possess the knowledge to build or a complete roboticizer at the current time. I intend to retrieve the computer and use it to preserve Max's arm."
Tails stared at her and couldn't believe that Robotnik had infiltrated so far into the Great Forest, so close to Knothole even. He looked really concerned about this knowledge but took solace in the news that such a powerful tool was exposed for the taking. Hell, having possession of a working roboticizer could potentially lead to the discovery of the process of de-roboticization.
He slung the rifle over his shoulder and only nodded to her. Even if the lackeys were the new SWATBOT models he had encountered, this was worth the risk.
He grabbed onto a second rifle and handed it to Nicole. She hesitantly looked at it but then grasped it firmly into her robotic hands. She looked up at Tails appreciatively and started to sling it over her shoulder, imitating his movements.
"Be careful with that; it is my second to last working weapon. You just need to turn the safety valve after powering it on. Be cautious though, as the energy building within it is unstable, and puncturing the main unit could result in a dangerous explosion." He instructed her, moving towards his hut door.
The two now armed took their leave, and Tails let Nicole take point so that she could lead him to their destination.
In truth, Nicole knew that Snively was probably hurrying to re-locate, and she knew that if he already had, Max was going to flat out die as a result of her actions. It created a sense of worry within her mind, but she pushed it aside so that she could focus on getting there.
'Try to keep up." Nicole said, and once she reached the edge leading to the forest she had recently emerged from. She took off into a sprint, her eyes seeing effortlessly through the storm and darkness.
Tails started to run after her, and though she was much faster, and his eyes weren't as keen, he could see the blue lights of her eyes in the blackened woods.
He was still not at his best with his head still bandaged, but Cream's continual treatment of him helped relieve him of many of his symptoms.
He ran and breathed heavily while the rain drenched his fur. Nicole was moving so fast that he was scared even to take a second to catch his breath.
Through the forest, over downed trees, moving on and on without hesitation. They had only Max on their mind and would push through anything to help save him.
Tails kept wondering why a roboticizer would be dragged all the way out here and was anticipating a tough fight against those horrifying enemies.
Nicole knew better than that, but she was too focused on her promise that she didn't contemplate the ramifications of not being specific.
Nicole inventively stopped after a 20 or so minute run. She turned her attention back and could see Tails gasping for air. He was slower than her, but using his tails as a backward propeller allowed him to keep up with her with moderate ease.
When he finally reached her, he placed his hands on his knees and gasped for breath. He wished he had the endless stamina of a robot in this instance, but such was the nature of inorganic beings.
"I… are we… here?' He asked, getting himself ready and composed, though still breathing deeply.
Nicole glanced upwards towards the shimmering cave in the darkness. Its illumination signaling to Tails that a fire was raging within. It perplexed him why robots of Robotnik would need light or fire, but he started to climb the steep incline towards the mouth of the cave.
After several minutes, Nicole and Tails found themselves at the opening. Nicole could see the flickering around the corner, and the sounds of scuffling could be heard. Most of the parts and trash that had been strewn about hours earlier had been cleaned up.
It was clear to Nicole that Snively was attempting to leave without a trace, but she wasn't exactly sure if it was because of the Freedom Fighters knowing his location or because Robotnik might.
Tails pulled his rifle as Nicole entered. She was looking around and started to draw her own weapon, powering it on in the process.
She could hear him zipping a bag and turned the corner to see the fire with Snively standing in front of it. He looked frightened and had his gun drawn, but he became outraged when he saw it was the workerbot from earlier.
"What the fuck are you doing here!? We had a deal, and I told you to leave!" He shouted, now noticing that Nicole was armed.
Snively was beginning to understand this was a betrayal of sorts. Even if she had no obligations or agreement, he did not expect to see her come back like this.
"You… treacherous snake in the grass! I should have known you were infiltrating for Robotnik!" He pointed the gun towards her, knowing that if he could hit her in the head, he could destroy her.
Tails could hear the voice of Snively, and though he was only somewhat familiar with it. It sent him into a rage.
"Drop the gun!" Tails demanded, following up behind Nicole.
Snively watched as the disgusted and rage-filled kitsune took aim at him.
Nicole looked back at Tails, and she could see the complete hatred in his expression. Things that Tails had harbored for all these years were coming out at probably the worst time.
Snively pointed the gun at him and waved it. "Like hell, I'm going to do that and let you shoot me unarmed. If you want me, you're going to have to risk it!"
"With pleasure!" Tails screamed, releasing the safety valve on his rifle, sending a hiss throughout the cave.
The two stared each other down, and Nicole could tell that she had made an error in not explaining things thoroughly to Tails.
"Tails stop!' Nicole's voice became loud and sounded angry even, but Tails just ignored her plea.
"No way! This… This fucker is the reason we lost Sonic!" His teeth were grit, and he was losing his mind.
All those years of suffering, of blaming himself, of blaming Sonic, and now the real guilty party sat before him miles away from his legion of killing machines.
"Remember why we are here, Tails! We need to help Max!" Nicole tried to rationalize with his anger, but Tails became even more pissed at the thought.
"I bet you're the fucking reason Max is suffering so much too!" He was struggling with every fiber of his being not to pull the trigger until they got what they wanted.
"Stop!" Nicole shouted once again, feeling like she was losing control somehow.
"No, Nicole! We can just kill this waste of life and take the roboticizer from his cold dead hands! We don't need him!" Tails was lost in agony, but Snively now understood why they were here, and he just looked down.
"Is that what this is about? What makes you think I would keep a roboticizer with me?" He questioned earnestly.
Tails eyed Nicole for a second, and his trust in her was beginning to waiver. She said he had one. Now he was away from the village and possibly in some sinister trap.
"Nicole said you had one, so hand it over!" He threatened, moving his gun forward.
"I don't have one..." Snively admitted, as his unsteady hand kept the gun pointed at Tails.
"You're lying!' Tails yelled again and was rapidly losing his patience.
Nicole had about all she could stand and placed the barrel of her rifle at the back of Tails' head. She pressed it into his fur until he could feel the heat of it on his flesh.
"Disarm yourself!" She instructed loudly.
Tails was somewhat surprised, but he was beginning to see that this was all a trick to lure him here. "You traitor!" He yelled, his voice an amalgamation of surprise and hurt.
Tails felt helpless and out of control. He had two guns pointed at him and was not confident that Nicole wouldn't pull the trigger.
She pressed the gun to his head roughly, showing Tails she was serious, and he eventually conceded, dropping his weapon to the cave floor.
Snively was awestruck that the robot was saving him, and Nicole took the opportunity to use her strength to throw Tails to the ground roughly. She kicked away his rifle and turned her attention to the small lackey, pointing her gun towards him.
"I came here for a roboticizer, and I won't let anybody ruin that, not even Tails. I know you know how to make one, so let's cut out the games." She said.
Snively was genuinely intimidated by her, and Tails was sitting on the ground in defeat. He realized now that he had lost himself and felt like a fool for letting his personal vendetta get in the way of what they came for.
"I am not going to ask you again. Give me what I want, or I will find a way to get it from you by force." Nicole's voice was seething, and her determination was absolute.
She was utterly un-recognizable to Tails because of the way she was acting, and he had serious doubts that whatever was going on with her was a positive thing, if indeed it was Nicole at all.
Snively remained silent and kept his gun pointed at her. Nicole looked over at Tails, who just looked at her with a sorry expression.
She was willing to sacrifice trust and relationships to get what she wanted, and she struggled to reconcile her newly found guilt with the logic she typically operated by.
"I... we can't lose focus, Nicole. I am guilty of it also, but we need to help Max." Tails admitted his fault and tried to help her find a sense of balance between emotions and cold, calculated thinking.
Snively stood there in thought as the two had their attention on one another. How easy it would be to shoot them both, but the intelligent person he was allowed him to weigh his options at this time.
He lifted the gun up and threw it at the ground in front of Nicole's metal feet, snapping both of the Freedom Fighter's attention over to him.
"I don't have a roboticizer, but you are right… I know how to build one and have some of the major components for one in my bag. If you let me live, I can build you one." He said.
Snively was no fool, but after weighing the risks, he knew this was his best option.
"We can't just let him go." Tails said to Nicole, who had her attention focused on Snively.
"How long will it take to build?" Nicole questioned him, ignoring Tails.
"I… I lack many of the things necessary to build one, but I do have the central circuit component and the software that is used to make it work," Snively said and then paused to think for a second. "I could have one built in three or so days, assuming you had the correct components or their equivalent." Snively finished his assessment.
'That's too long!" Tails said, frustrated, as he stood up.
Nicole did not attempt to stop him, and the three stood there trying to negotiate some resolution.
Snively, Tails, and Nicole were getting nowhere, and it was becoming more and more apparent to Snively that he was not going to be going free no matter what.
Nicole thought and came up with a strategy to possibly rectify the impasse. "If you could directly upload the roboticizer data into my A.I. chip. I could cross-reference what's missing and needed, then construct the machine with precision and without the need for rest."
Snively shook his head. "To do that, I would need access to more tools and parts than I brought with me. I honestly never thought I would need to deal with a workerbot again." He admitted.
Tails and Nicole knew they had such things in Knothole, but to help Snively get there sounded like such a bad idea.
It was too far to make frequent trips back and forth to this cave, and nothing would keep Snively in place should they leave. The more they thought about it, the more it became apparent that the only option emerging was the worst one imaginable, bring Snively to Knothole.
Nicole started to move forward, and Tails did the same. There was only one clear course of action they could take, even if it put them at significant risk.
Both of them were on either side of Snively, and he was nervously sweating as he was being surrounded. He didn't know what exactly they had planned for him, but it filled him with dread just the same.
"We will not execute you, as much as I feel you deserve it," Tails admitted to him. "But we will take you as our prisoner, and so long as you hold up your end of the bargain, I'll hold up mine." He finished.
Nicole reached over and started to rip Snively's coat sleeve off, tearing away the fabric and scaring Snively slightly.
Snively said nothing in protest, realizing this wasn't a choice and complied with their forcefulness.
Nicole took the torn cloth and started to tie his hands tightly with it. She then ripped off the second piece from his other sleeve and began to blindfold him with it.
They refused to give him any clues as to the location of their village and knew better than to allow him to try to play any tricks.
Tails helped up the blinded and bound lackey while Nicole gathered his bag filled with his computer and other machinery.
Tails had picked up his gun and placed it back over his shoulder before retrieving the one Snively threw.
He was now feeling more normal and was embarrassed by his sudden outburst, but he could just feel the rage rush inside of him when he looked at Snively.
The three made their way out of the cave after putting out the fire. They didn't want to attract any undue attention to themselves, so they left it as dark and natural-looking as possible.
Snively couldn't see, but he had Tails pulling him along by his arm. They had never had a prisoner before, and it presented new challenges that Tails didn't even want to think about solving at this point. He wanted Snively dead for all the suffering he had caused but recognized that he would be no less a monster if he composed himself in the way he had earlier.
Nicole and Tails pushed Snively through the forest at a slower pace, but they were confident they were making good time.
Snively just remained silent, and he kept thinking about how much more preferable this was to the cave. In his mind, he knew he was in enemy hands, and indeed, they could easily stab him in the back after he fulfilled his end of the bargain. However, any execution they put him through would be far less severe than what Robotnik would do to him if he ever got ahold of him, and what better place to be taken prisoner in? Then a place that Robotnik could never find.
Tails looked over at Nicole, who was carrying Snively's bag, and he let out a sigh.
He shook his head as the rain dripped off his face fur." Nicole… I… I'm sorry… I... Something just came over me." He admitted to the robot. In truth, she didn't expect an apology, but she was thankful for the gesture nonetheless.
"I am sorry for pointing a gun at you." She said to him.
She only did it because it was the only way to ensure her task was not compromised, but she had an understanding of the emotional trauma that such an event might have on him.
"Thanks…" Tails said while pulling Snively by the arm.
He was unsure of many things when it came to this new Nicole, but he also could tell that she was devoted to the person she cared about.
"How? How did Max… do this?" He eventually asked her while they walked.
Snively listened in on the conversation, but it was more for his own curiosity than anything else. He didn't understand the bot any more than Tails did, so it was only reasonable that he would be curious.
Nicole looked down while the rain pounded against her metal head and figured that it was pointless to keep it secret any longer.
She started the tale from the beginning, telling him about all that had transpired since Max had assimilated her A.I. with a roboticized brain.
She talked about her confusion, her newfound ability to recognize feelings but was vague about circumstances in which Max gave her this body. She had a fear that it would be considered taboo to him and have consequences for Max should he survive.
Tails was suspicious of Nicole's glossing over her new form, and he had an inkling of what was done. Though he chose not to press her on it, it was difficult to condone or criticize an action through speculation alone. Still, all of it was quite a lot to take in, and he was shocked that any of the other things Max did even worked.
Tails would have never thought an A.I. could become one with a roboticizer chip and progress to the point it was indistinguishable from a person.
He could now fully see why she had such care for Max. He had unwittingly given her the most precious gift one could receive, the gift of life.
To be alive was a new concept for Nicole, and Tails now understood her confusion on how to act around other living creatures.
Snively kept listening as he was corralled into Knothole, and it indeed surprised him that an A.I. could adopt such features. He would have never guessed that the roboticizer was that powerful. With such knowledge, one could theoretically clone their consciousness to any storage device and then place it on a blank roboticized brain later and assimilate back to life.
It was practically immortality for any living being. While roboticization did this in a general linear sense, applying this knowledge would allow for an automated rebirth that could take on multiple different forms rather than one central robot form.
Even if it was just data, the chip seemed to have the ability to adapt and fill in the missing gaps to create the characteristics of life.
It was a lot to digest for both Snively and Tails, but as they walked, Snively started to notice rain was no longer hitting him and a light began to shine on his face piercing the makeshift blindfold.
After about a minute, it was ripped from his head, and he could see he was in a small workshop. It was quaint and rustic, but it was well stocked and quite impressive, given it was in the middle of the woods. He blinked so that he could get used to the room's brightness and peered over towards Tails and Nicole.
Nicole pulled out his computer and slid it on the work table while Tails was undoing the cloth that bound his hands.
Once they were free, Snively rubbed his wrists, and he was feeling quite intimidated being in the center of a place where he knew everyone hated him. Tails went over to one of the drawers where Rotor kept many parts associated with the roboticizer and pulled them out. He placed them on the table next to Snively's computer and moved back, allowing Snively to do what he needed to.
Snively took the tools from the table and examined them. They were primarily used for workerbot maintenance, but luck would have it. There was a workerbot plug that would allow him to connect his computer to Nicole.
Nicole got down on the floor in front of him and showed the back panel of her head. Snively booted his laptop on and started entering in passwords to get past the layers of encryption he had.
After about two minutes, he plugged the one end of the cable into his computer and then opened the back panel to plug the other end into the roboticized chip that powered Nicole's consciousness.
Tails was watching intently to make sure that Snively didn't try to pull anything funny, but the truth was, Snively couldn't oust control from Nicole because Robotnik never had it in the first place.
Once everything was attached to the A.I., the citizen index program auto-loaded on the computer, surprising Snively. Typically, it opened when attached to citizen workerbots and would gather all kinds of data about an animal subject. Age/race/species/sex, as well as occupations and skills, if applicable. Listed neatly, based on citizen's ID data from before the coup.
Strangely, he knew the robot to be purely A.I., so it was odd this program would activate at all. Stranger still was the fact that the only thing that appeared in the data file was a name.
"Nikki."
Snively shook his head because he thought the robot's name was Nicole but figured it didn't matter much since she was never alive, to begin with.
He started to sift through the file archives he had taken from Robotnik before he departed, and once he found the upgraded roboticizer schematics, he began to upload them directly into Nicole's brain.
Tails started to walk forward and could see the workerbot profile at the bottom half of the screen.
"What is that profile for exactly?" Tails asked, wanting to know why such a thing even mattered to them.
Snively watched the transfer progress bar go up quickly and shook his head. "Robotnik started demanding I keep close track of who citizens that had been roboticized were. He wanted the information for reasons I don't really know, but I think he was trying to categorize workerbots with higher potential for more than just building."
"Higher potential?" Tails said aloud to himself. He was not sure what that meant, but he didn't like the sound of it either way.
Once the progress bar had completed, Snively removed the cable and then shut Nicole's head panel, allowing her to rise to her feet.
The knowledge of the roboticizer was readily available to her advanced robotic mind. Her eyes scanned the room, and she could effortlessly pinpoint parts that could be used in its construction, even if they happened to be components of other machines.
"I can see it. The roboticizer..." Nicole said.
Her logical and mathematical mind began making adjustments and calculations to the uploaded plans. She was quickly devising a way to make a small, compact roboticizer that would take a fraction of the time to build.
Snively pulled out a circuit board that could be used in the roboticizer and then started to pull out the upgraded program software chip that made the machine function.
Over the years, the roboticizer had been tweaked and re-tweaked so that it could approximate the anatomy of the subject without compromising its power. In essence, it would allow for less big, more agile robots that maintained their immeasurable strength.
Nicole started grabbing components left and right from the workshop, even going so far as to tear apart other projects to get what she needed.
Tails did not even question what she was doing and instead moved over to look at the plans himself displayed on Snively's Computer. He recognized some of the parts and realized he had a number of them in his hut.
"I have many of these components from scrap I took from Robotropolis. I will run to go get them." He said to Nicole as she grabbed tools to begin her work.
She eventually nodded in acknowledgment to his statement and started to assemble the components she had to work with at this time.
Tails left the hut, and Snively sat quietly watching Nicole work.
She was fast and extremely precise, but unlike workerbots, she could think beyond the assigned task. Snively could see various changes to the design happening in real-time, and it dawned on him that she was the equivalent of a genius.
Probably surpassing that of Robotnik, himself, and even Sir. Charles. The combination of limitless animal potential combined with her vast array of knowledge from years spent as an A.I. made her the pinnacle of intelligence.
After about an hour, Nicole had completed the base of what would be a miniature roboticizer. When Tails finally returned to offer her the missing parts that he had gathered from his hut. She quickly continued working towards her end goal, as she knew every second was precious.
After another hour had passed, Nicole had finished the physical roboticizer, and all she needed to do was apply the software to it. She opened the rounded metal case and started placing the software component Snively had given into the machine. Almost instantly, a light on the side powered on, and the sound of an electrical charge could be heard.
Tails and Snively were both impressed that it had taken a little over two hours to build it from nothing, and not only that, she did so by modifying the original plans given to her.
Tails looked at Snively, and he looked away from the judgmental gaze of the fox. Tails still hated his guts, but he had to at least keep his end of the bargain for now. He wasn't sure that the others wouldn't punish him, but he knew he was an animal of his word.
Nicole looked out the window, holding onto the handheld roboticizer, and then made her way to the workshop door. She had a promise to keep, and she was not about to dillydally about when the urgency was high.
"Save Max Nicole." Tails said to her. "I will keep an eye on him." He pointed to Snively, who just sat there looking dejected.
Nicole nodded, leaving Rotor's workshop, and started making her way to Annie's hut. After less than a minute, she was already barging in through the hut door and could see Cream jump the moment she did so.
"Ah-ah y-you're back!" Cream stammered in surprise.
Nicole looked over towards Max and could see a lot of his fur had been shaved off to get rid of the dirty hair and treat his injuries properly.
Many of the deep cuts and wounds he had were already bandaged during the three hours, but it was evident by the expression of Cream that Max was not doing well.
"I-I don't th-think he's going to last much longer. I used most of the medicine I could give him but am only down to one antibiotic IV. If I use it before the arm is removed, I will have nothing to fight the infection left in his body." Cream gave Nicole the rundown.
Nicole moved over and examined the arm, then placed her metal hand on the break. Cream was going to start protesting, but she realized that no matter what she said on the subject, it would fall on deaf ears.
Nicole grasped the infected wound, and with one quick squeeze, she used her strength to push the bone back into his arm with a snap. Cream winced as the robot carelessly break the bone more to get it back into his arm and glanced to examine Max's grimy face. He was so deep in an unconscious state that it didn't even register.
"I-I don- don't know what you are doing." Cream stammered slightly, afraid to be in the room alone with the robot.
Nicole flicked a switch on the handheld roboticizer, and it started to make a slight humming noise.
Nicole targeted Max's broken arm with the device, and on a small touchscreen, began targeting the areas for roboticization.
Once she had it set, she pressed the button on the side of it, causing the humming sound to grow louder the longer it was held. Sparks and energy started building up at the barrel of the machine, and Nicole just kept it steady so that it would hit its target.
3….
2….
1…
0…
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzSSSSSSsssss!
The electrical buzzing came loudly as light quickly shot out of the cannon, enveloping Max's arm.
It was so bright that Cream had to turn her gaze away, and when she returned her gaze. She could see Max's arm from well up past his elbow was shining in pure whiteness.
After several seconds the arm stopped shining, and what was left was the sleek shimmering of metal in place of organic sickness.
His arm was about the same in width and length as it always had been, and it was apparent to Nicole that the arm was no different, other than the fact that it had been turned to solid metal.
Cream was shocked, and though she spent her time in a sheltered village, she had always known about the roboticizer. She just never thought that she would never see such a thing in action.
Cream rushed over to check the once infected area, and true to the roboticizer's name, the arm was now comprised of solid metal instead. All of the sicknesses that had been poisoning Max's blood was gone in several seconds. Nicole looked down at Cream, and she looked back up at Nicole.
"Can you save him?" Nicole asked, still afraid that it might be too late for her beloved friend.
Cream wasn't sure, but without the sickness decaying his arm and the persistent infection. She believed his chances were now infinitely greater. If they had to lob his arm off, she now believed he wouldn't have made it because of the toll such blood loss would have on him.
"I… I think I can manage it." She responded, giving Nicole some sense of peace from her worries.
Cream moved back and started to hook up the last antibiotic IV to Max; she intended to try and get rid of any bit of infection that was left corrupting his body. She had done a magnificent job taking care of Max, despite how unprepared she was for the task.
Nicole did the only thing she could think of before she would head out to report to Tails.
"Thanks…" Nicole's voice sounded heartfelt and grateful.
Cream smiled tiredly back to the robot and waved her hand. "I- you are most welcome, Ms. Robot." She said, feeling some of her apprehension for Nicole lessen after that.
"Please... Call me Nicole." She responded to Cream and turned to make her way towards the open door.
"O-ok, Ms. Rob- I mean N-Nicole." Her sweet, tired, yet cheerful voice never seemed devoid of optimism, and it made Nicole feel confident of Max's survival.
With that, Nicole took her leave, her promise to Max fulfilled.
She made her way back to Rotor's workshop, and once inside, she could see Snively sitting on the floor as if he were resting. Behind him was Tails, who immediately stood up the second Nicole entered.
"Did everything work?" Tails quickly asked, curious if things turned out for the better.
Nicole nodded in response to his question and sat in the table chair by Snively, who looked up towards the robot.
"Go see for yourself. I can watch him until we figure out what to do with him. After all, I never need rest."
It was true that Nicole could be up at all hours, and while Tails was hesitant to let Snively out of his sight for any length of time. His concern for Max and Cream had been bothering him for quite some time.
"Alright. I'll go over now and see… then I will be back to figure out what to do with him." He said.
With that, Tails stood up and bid farewell to the robot. The night was long, and tensions were extremely high, but finally, there might be a light at the end of this tunnel after all the suffering.
…
Tails entered Annie's hut after several minutes and was surprised to find not only Cream there but also Annie and Sonia. After a while of contemplation, talking, and fear, the two teenagers, apparently decided to check up on Max. Arm or not, they both felt that they had to be there for him if he needed them.
"I can't believe it…." Annie said, gazing at the metal arm. It wasn't bulky like her mother's, and it looked as if it would be a natural extension of his body if it weren't inorganic steel.
Sonia remained relatively quiet, as Max wasn't out of danger yet, but the fact he didn't have a bloody hacked stump in place of that metal arm was comforting enough for her.
"How are you guys holding up?" Tails asked them. He knew they were all tired and that it was a lot of stress on the two.
Sonia just shook her head, she wasn't feeling too good, but she held out hope for the best.
Annie just turned her gaze away from Tails and watched Max lying there, struggling to breathe. She had been through so much, and it felt like this gauntlet of torture would never end.
To think days ago, she thought Max was dead, and now here he was suffering and crushed for trying to do the right thing. They may have succeeded, but why did the price have to be so high that it almost negated the victory in the first place?
Tails walked towards them and gave them both a pat on the shoulder. The way he saw it, the worst was over. After getting rid of that rotting arm, Max had his best chance, and any small victory was one he was willing to take.
Cream looked up and rubbed her face. She had done an adequate job bandaging, treating, and keeping Max away from the eternal abyss.
Tails was genuinely grateful to her, but in his gratefulness, he realized just how much of an asshole he had become. His constant berating of her abilities, his initial reaction to Snively… Had he really become so jaded and hateful?
He felt ashamed but knew stress made you do a lot of things you usually didn't. Still, there was no excuse for it.
"Cream. I uhm... I just wanted to say, I am sorr…." Tails began but was quickly cut off by Cream.
"Oh- n-no, don't worry about a thing, Mr. Tails. I understand how-how hard things have been." She said.
Her pleasant tone and demeanor never ceased to amaze him. After everything and all she suffered, she still had everyone else's best interest in mind. He began to wonder how such a genuine person could even grow in a world so damn rotten to the core with strife.
He nodded at Cream and turned to head to the door, there was one last order of business before he could rest at all, and that was what to do with their little guest.
"I need to do something. You guys keep on helping Max. When I get back, I will have a lot to explain." Tails said to the three of them while he walked.
Cream tried to smile and gave her response. "Alright, I will keep helping Max to the best of my ability."
Sonia just gave a solemn nod, she wanted more than anything for her brother to be alright, and everything else was secondary to that.
Annie didn't know what Tails could have to do beyond helping Max, but the reality was, she didn't care about anything other than her friend. Between her and Sonia, there was this unspoken guilt that they had a hand in Max's suffering.
Tails left the hut after his brief visit, only to catch Nicole's blue eyes across the clearing near the opened storage hut.
He started walking towards her and the small source of light the hut provided, unsure of what she was doing. When he arrived, he could see Snively was inside, stacking things into a pile.
"What's going on here?" Tails asked.
Nicole looked over at him and started to give her response.
"I thought about the layout of Knothole from after the move and realized that the storage hut has a dug-out underground portion. It can be cleared out, and I can guard it from the hut above." She explained.
Tails was surprised, but this was a brilliant idea. "Great thinking Nicole!" He sounded thrilled, as this solved his one dilemma before it even began.
Snively was busy hoisting up various stored food to the upper floor and was doing so with little protest. He looked positively defeated and decided to choose the path of least resistance.
Nicole started going down below to hoist loads of heavy bags, and Tails removed anything that would benefit Snively or cause trouble. After about 40 minutes of the three of them working together, they had cleared out most of the bottom storage area and stuffed it above in the now overcrowded hut.
Snively was placed in the bottom area and left with several empty tables, a bucket, some containers of water, and a bag of dry nuts to eat. It wasn't much, but cruelty wasn't something that seemed palatable to them.
Nicole closed the trap door on the floor, and once it was shut, she used her strength to move a giant wooden storage box filled with purified emergency water on top of it. It was light enough for her to move effortlessly but way too heavy for anyone else but Bunnie to lift.
Nicole placed herself on the floor next to the box and sat there in contemplative silence. Tails knew that she could keep watch over him, and his trust in her had grown quite a bit since the start of the ordeal.
He turned to walk out of the hut, and before he shut the door, he glanced back at Nicole.
"Thanks for everything, Nicole. None of this would have happened without you." He expressed his gratitude.
She looked up at him and nodded. "Just take care of Max. I will take care of everything here, I promise."
With that, Tails shut the full storage hut door and left Nicole alone to guard their first and only prisoner. What this exactly meant for the village of Knothole was uncertain, but it would definitely create contention when Bunnie, Antoine, and Rotor returned. That was for certain.
Snively lay on one of the tables, looking up at the light dangling from the ceiling above him in this cramped underground place.
He didn't have much, and he was uncertain what his fate would be in the clutches of the animals, but despite all of that, he was filled with a moderate sense of comfort.
He knew that being a prisoner in this place, stuffed underground and forgotten. Was the best place for him to be. These walls that contained him made him feel like he was out of Robotnik's grasp, and the truth of the matter was, that was the only place he wanted to be.
After leaving, days of insomnia and paranoia were erased and replaced with a feeling of safety that only a place like Knothole could provide.
What would happen? Should he be worried? It didn't matter anymore. The only thing that mattered was the sleep overtaking him on the table.
It was perhaps the first time he felt himself drifting into slumber in days, and even if this sleep led to his inevitable end, he was just happy to have the chance to shut his eyes.
Wrap Up: What an exciting chapter.