Spark of Life 2/4
(Theme song - Kim Possible by Disney Channel on YouTube)
(Lacey's POV)
*We were now back in Dr. Ellidy's lab. He was giving us a tour*
Dr. Ellidy: I've never really given a tour before, but I figured I'd leave the best for last. Dear guests, I give you my latest discovery . . . *he pressed a button on a tube & it opened to reveal a red ring with a red star in the middle* I call it a Red Star Ring. For, Uh, fairly obvious reasons . . .
Lacey: Wow.
Nicole: I have no records of such a phenomenon.
Big: It's pretty.
Dr. Ellidy: It's properties are nearly identical to those of a regular Ring. Though the potential energy output may be much higher.
Tails: So cool . . . And it came from the Lake of Rings on the island?
Dr. Ellidy: Yep. The lake usually produces a Magic Ring on a daily basis. Over a week ago, it went dormant, and I thought it had dried up, so to speak. I don't yet know what changed. But after a few days of no activity, it . . . Um, looking for something?
*Big had opened a different door & cold air came out of it*
Big: There's no food in this fridge.
Nicole: That's a server room, Big. It keeps the computers cold.
Big: Oh, I didn't know computers could go bad.
*Tails & I giggled at him*
Dr. Ellidy: As I was saying . . . I haven't figured out why this Ring formed. It might have something to do with the recent Dark Gaia Energy, but I haven't examined all the variables yet. Still, the potential . . . If I could re-create the conditioning that made the Ring . . . Or even synthesize it . . .
Sally: That could be great for Nicole!
Dr. Ellidy: . . . Eh?
Sally: Nicole is able to project her physical form thanks to Rings, right? But the energy is used up pretty quickly, so with a more powerful Ring . . .
Nicole: Oh, I suppose . . . In theory . . .
Dr. Ellidy: Maybe . . .
Tails: Wow! Not only did you create Nicole, you developed all these uses for Rings!
Lacey: It's too bad you're not working for Sally's Dad anymore.
Dr. Ellidy: Yes, well, no point in dwelling on what could have been. Anyway . . . *he went over his security monitors* Since the Red Star Ring appeared, I've had my little robot buddies - erm . . . The re-programmed Badniks, monitoring the Lake of Rings. It seems to have gone dormant again.
Tails: Do it might be making another Ring.
Dr. Ellidy: Right. Unfortunately, yesterday I lost the video feed from the lake.
Sally: Maybe the Badnik stationed at the lake was damaged or destroyed by the Dark Gaia Energy.
Dr. Ellidy: This is, it's still showing as active in my systems. I tried to take a closer look via the Digitizer, and, well . . . You know how that went. Other feeds have since gone offline, too.
Tails: It could be a hardware issue. I'd be happy to take a look at it.
Nicole: Actually, Doctor, I wanted to discuss this earlier. When you digitized yourself, you ended up trapped in the Digital World. Furthermore, you came under attack. Even if your physical body remained here, mentally, you were at risk. I believe this was all a deliberate act of aggression. Something is trying to take over your systems!
Dr. Ellidy:*sigh* I'd like to argue that my systems are ironclad, but I suppose you would know better than anyone. And I guess it fits . . .
Tails: Hey, no worries. Nicole and I can handle this.
Sally: And Big, Lacey, and I will go investigate the Lake of Rings in the meantime. I don't suppose you have a vehicle . . .?
Dr. Ellidy: Heh . . . I'm not that much of a recluse.
*Later, me, Sally, & Big were riding to the Lake of Rings in a Hovercar*
Big: Princess Sally, Lacey, stuff keeps flying into my mouth.
Sally: Is your mouth open?
Big: Yep.
Lacey: Then try closing it, buddy.
Big: Okay.
Sally: Hey, Big? What do you think of Nicole?
Big: Nicole? I like her. She's nice.
Sally: You don't think it's weird that she's not organic, like us?
Big: Uh . . . Nope? As long as their nice, I don't care what anyone is.
Lacey: Amen to that, Big guy.
Sally: I guess it just takes some getting used to for some people . . .
(Third-Person POV)
*Meanwhile, back in Dr. Ellidy's lab, Tails & Nicole were getting ready to check the systems*
Tails: Ready, Nicole?
Nicole: Locking my handheld . . . Moving into the main system now. It looks like we're still in contact with the Digital World.
*In the Digital World, Nicole was checking the main system's firewall*
Nicole: The firewall seems intact, though that doesn't necessarily mean something hasn't bypassed it undetected.
*Back in the real world, Dr. Ellidy was sitting in a chair, looking grumpy*
Dr. Ellidy: Retired or not, I didn't think my skills were that rusty . . .
*As Nicole was working, she didn't notice the black mass moving behind her*
Nicole: The Badniks all appear online but not . . . Necessarily responsive . . . Hmm . . . I believe this qualifies as "frustrating." *the black mass was getting closer to her* . . . What could possibly . . .?
*Just then, she felt a presence behind her. She turned around, only to find nothing there*
Tails:*off-screen* Nicole?
Nicole: Yes, I'm here.
Tails:*off-screen* Is it looking like a virus, or . . .?
Nicole: I hate to admit it, but . . . I'm not sure. I think something is here. Something elusive. Tails. I suggest we partition the system in order to limit it's movement. I'm going to search for it directly.
Tails:*off-screen* All right . . . Just be careful.
*Back in the real world, Tails & Dr. Ellidy entered the server room*
Dr. Ellidy: The way you interact . . . Nicole's growth is truly . . . Impressive.
Tails: No kidding! I don't know if even I could pull off programming like that! Like, I built the robot, T-Pup, and sometimes . . . Well there was this on incident, while we were playing fetch . . . Uh . . . Actually, it's sort of embarrassing . . .
Dr. Ellidy: Ah, well . . . Truth be told . . . Nicole's creation was the result of . . . Unique circumstances . . . I don't think . . .
Nicole:*off-screen* You don't have to talk about me as if in not here.
Dr. Ellidy: O - Of course not! My apologies.
*Back in the Digital World, Nicole was still looking for the intruder. But she didn't know that it was behind her*
Dr. Ellidy:*off-screen* Nicole, tell me . . . Do you remember when you were first activated?
Nicole: Technically, I remember everything. But how I remember it is . . . Different. I don't . . . I can't view those events as I see things now.
(In the real world)
Tails: Uh, hello? Dr. Ellidy? Are you feeling worn out from earlier?
Dr. Ellidy: Ah, yes. A little. Sorry, let's keep working. *Nobody noticed the creepy face watching them from one of the monitors* So . . . Nicole. Was there some kind of . . . Catalyst, or even that changed your outlook?
Nicole:*off-screen* I don't believe so . . .
(Digital World)
Nicole: But as I said, my "connection" to those memories is not . . . Consistent. My entire perspective existed in a different context. Many of the events that I can recognize . . . Only make me regret how limited I once was.
(Flashback - 12 Years ago)
*It was a rainy night in Knothole Village. A younger Sally was sitting on her bed in her room. Nicole's handheld computer was on a small table next to her. It had only been a few weeks since Dr. Eggman (then known as Dr. Robotnik), took over Old Mobotropolis, turning it into Robotropolis*
Little Sally: Rotor and Antoine are so far from home . . . And Bunnie and Sonic going through so much . . . They're all trying so hard to stay strong. So I have to be brave for them. A Princess should keep everyone else inspired, right? So I can't . . . Let them see me be weak . . . Even though . . . Even though . . . *she started to cry* I miss my family . . . So much . . . I'm s-sorry, Nicole . . . I guess you can't really c-care, but still . . . Thanks . . . For being there.
(Present Time - Lacey's POV)
*We arrived at the lake*
Sally: There's the Lake of Rings!
*We all got out of the hovercar. Sally took out a Miles Electric*
Big: Froggy would love this place.
Lacey: Well, maybe you could bring him here some day.
Big: Yeah! He gets jealous when I leave him behind on trips.
Sally: I . . . Didn't imagine he was that type. *we walked down the dock to find deactivated Badnik* Well, here's Dr. Ellidy's Badn . . . Uh, robot. *she tapped it* It doesn't seem to be responding to anything.
Big: Hey, Princess Sally? Can I drive on the way back?
Sally: Huh? Oh, sure. Why not. *that made me a little nervous* Hmm . . . There's some kind of baseline reading here . . . And there seems to be an energy spike . . .
*Just then, the surface of the water started to glow red*
Lacey: Whoa! Check it out! Something's coming up!
*Sally looked down*
Sally: It's another Red Star Ring! *Big caught it with his fishing pole & pulled it out. Sally caught it* Wia, was that perfect timing or what? Let's get this new Ring back to - *suddenly, the Badnik reactivated & swopped at Sally. she dodged it, but dropped the Miles Electric* Hey!
*She activated her Ring Blade & I got ready to fight. But just before we could get it, Big jumped in front of us & kicked it, breaking it apart*
Big: You okay?
Sally: I'm fine. But this is getting beyond creepy.
Lacey: You said it.
*Sally picked up the Miles Electric*
Sally: Whatever's infected Dr. Ellidy's systems is definitely aggressive. I wonder if someone is trying to get these Red Star Rings. Also . . . There's still an energy reading. Is it the lake itself?
Big: Princess Sally . . . Lacey . . . It's getting dark. Those Dark Gaia monsters come out at night . . .
Sally: Right. We'd better get back.
Lacey: Oh joy. Another sleep night ahead.
*We all got in the hovercar*
*Big singing*
My turn to drive!
*Surprising, the trip back was really smooth. Big was a better driver then I thought. We all went to Dr. Ellidy's lab*
Dr. Ellidy: You're back! How - Oh! A second Red Star Ring!
Sally: It appeared right when we got there. There was also some interesting energy readings . . . Oh, and the robot. I'm sorry, but we were forced to destroy it. It was unresponsive at first, but then it just . . . Went berserk.
Lacey: Totally nuts.
Tails: That's not exactly reassuring. I dunno if we're even pinpointing the problem here and . . .
*He yawned*
Sally: This has been a long day.
Nicole:*off-screen* You should get some rest.
Tails: But the robots . . .
Nicole:*off-screen* I'll keep tabs on things. If anything goes disastrously wrong, trust me, I'll let you know.
Sally: All right, Nicole. I'm just gonna give Rotor a quick call to check in on the Sky Patrol.
Dr. Ellidy: This way, lady and gentlemen. They may not look like much, but the chairs are quite comfy. Sorry . . . Never needed a guest room here.
Lacey: Right now, I'll even take a hammock.
*Little did I know that tonight was going to be a really long one. Probably longer than usual*
To be Continued . . .