Disclaimer - I do not own sonic or any other characters. They are property of SEGA and anything sonic the hedgehog affiliated with it.
A few minutes ago Sonic would have said he could handle the Destructix and Eggman, but now the force field for the city was gone. Dark clouds covered the skies and the city, and it looked like a storm was coming. Fighting Eggman and the Destructix and protecting the city all at once wasn't something he was sure he couldn't handle. He pondered this as he ran through the city heading for Castle Acorn. Since Eggman's robots had walked into the city minutes ago the city was in chaos. Buildings and houses were destroyed. Businesses toppled. The lasers the robots fired blew huge holes into the ground and set things on fire. However, the oddest thing was once the force field was down the Destructix stopped attacking the main power station and separated into the city.
The others followed who they could. Sonic sped up once in view of the castle, he ignored the screaming citizens and focused on getting to Sally and trying to figure out what was going on. What the Destructix did was weird, and he knew something was afoul when they dropped what they were doing; they had a plan.
Sonic ran down the long road to the castle and ran straight inside as the main doors had been ripped off their hinges. The castle was mostly empty other than guards scurrying ran up a staircase to the control room but it was empty. Nicole was offline. He slowly walked into the dim lit room to see blood all over the floor. He almost didn't know where to start looking but observed bloody foot prints that led out of the room and down the hall to the previously shut down staircase. He jogged over to the staircase to see a section of stairs had broken off. He jumped up to the fourth floor to see the blood trail slowly go away. He guessed whoever was hurt had enough sense to go to the fourth floor where the medical wing was located.
Closer to the infirmary, the blood trail disappeared but Sonic's ear twitched, hearing low voices on his right down the barren halls. He dashed down the hall screeching pass a dimly lit room with a few nurses, Dr. Quack, Rotor, and Sally. He instantly turned back around and ran to the room. He was about to tell the guys that something was dirty in the Destructix tactics but when he saw Nicole on the operating table he remembered why this was all happening.
Sally spoke with her back turned, examining Nicole's neck "Sonic, what are you doing here?" she said distractedly.
"Well I was following the Destructix..." he paused with a curious face "...is that her?"
Rotor still looked surprised "Its Nicole in the flesh..."
There was a moment of silence as everyone looked down at Nicole on the operating table. She laid on her stomach, and a bloody bandage was wrapped around her neck. Her eyes were closed, and she breathed lightly. It was surreal. They didn't know how it was possible because they had known her, everyone in the entire city, their allies and anyone else had always known her as her holographic self. As a computer…a machine…
Her being a living breathing thing didn't even make any sense to them all…
"Is she ok?" Sonic asked them with confusion on his face.
"Not necessarily…" Dr. Quack spoke up "Nicole is surprisingly stable though she could just be passed out" he paused with trepidation in his voice "Or she could be unconscious…that's all we can know for now until we get some power going on around here. Nicole has to awaken for me to tell if she is Nicole or whoever…" Dr. Quack said with frustration on his face as he sipped at the mug of coffee in his hands.
Sonic then broke his thoughts away from Nicole remembering why he came back to the castle "Look guys, after the force field went the Destructix split up into the city."
Sally finally looked away from Nicole and looked at Sonic curiously "What? Did they destroy the generators?"
Sonic shook his head with a serious face "Nope, once the force field was down they just stopped fighting us. The others followed who they could, and I came back here. You gotta admit that sounds weird."
Rotor looked up from his computer readout papers "Eggman has really been attacking Nicole these last few days, his IP address has been popping up all month." he said looking back down at the papers.
"This is not the first time the Destructix were paid just to break stuff. Do you think Eggman actually knows what happened with Nicole?" Sally asked looking to Rotor with an upset face.
He thought for a moment then responded shaking his head "No, I don't think so. Eggman always spies on us, but I think he was just noticing what Nicole did to the city. I don't think he knows about this...Nicole...though..."
"I wonder why he hired the Destructix then? How much do you think he knows?" Sally asked Rotor now looking upset.
"I'm sure we're the only one who knows what Nicole did; nobody hacks Nicole. Eggman knows the city is weak, that's why hes attacking." Rotor said as he donned a frown.
Sally returned her attention to Nicole "Well we at least need to get Nicole somewhere safer." Sally rubbed her chin "We can't contact the others because Nicole is gone, we would waste time trying to track them down…" Sally looked at Sonic with a serious face "Sonic, go find the others and regroup. We'll take Nicole to the jail and lock ourselves there, that should keep us safe while we get things in order."
"Don't wait up." he grinned, and he nodded at them all and turned around and ran out of the room.
As soon as Sonic left Dr. Quack and the two nurses begun wrapping Nicole with a white blanket while Sally and Rotor watched. It only took them a few moments, and they were just about done when suddenly they heard fast approaching footsteps in the hallway. Then just behind them Lightning Lynx and Drago stood in the door way. Sally, Rotor, Dr. Quack, and the two nurses looked shocked.
"Jackpot." Drago said with an arrogant grin as they walked into the room.
But Sonic had stopped on his entrance to the stairway when he heard a lot of noise from where he just came from. Suspicious, he ran back to the room to find Nicole gone and Drago towering over Sally and Dr. Quack.
"I always despised royalty." he said as he held his fist high.
Sonic ran behind Drago and kicked him in the back of his left leg making him fall onto one of his knees, and before he could see who kicked him Sonic grabbed the back of his head and sped him into the nearest wall knocking him out. Dr. Quack and the two nurses recovered standing up as did Rotor. Sonic pulled Sally from the floor, and he looked at Dr. Quack and the two nurses "Could you guys tie him up?"
They nodded and went to a medical cabinet for supplies; Sonic looked baffled "What happened?"
"Lightning Lynx..." Sally said rubbing her head.
Rotor walked over next to Sally "Drago said something about Eggman only having a few minutes to Lightning Lynx, I think he was referring to Eggman's control of those other robots. Eggman doesn't have unlimited resources you know."
Sonic turned around cracking his knuckles with a frown "I'm going to get Nicole."
Sally nodded with a serious face "Bring her down the jail block four. We'll set up there."
Sonic nodded and walked out the door and Sally stepped out behind him. He glanced behind himself to see Rotor, Dr. Quack, and the two nurses began to pack things up, and he looked at Sally "Sal?"
"Yes Sonic?" Sally now looked curious.
Sonic frowned and he spoke with hesitation "…I need to talk to you after this is over...is that ok?"
Sally nodded blinking her eyes, but then she smiled amorously at him "Of course, well talk in my office."
Sonic nodded with a weak smile "Alright cool…I'll be back…"
And his weak smile turned to a frown as he dashed down the hall away from her. As he turned the corner to head to the bad staircase he thought of how close they were getting again lately. They were flirting again…
He liked it too…he couldn't help it…
But he stopped running down the stairs to a complete stop. They'd had so much mixed history, good things and bad things he wasn't sure what he wanted to. He did like Sally…he really liked her…
And she knew it…
Their differences had caused friction though. Ironically enough her royal lineage, her way of living, and her rules clashed with his freedom. And freedom was the number-one rule in his book. As clichéd as it was, she was the princess, and he was the peasant. And the life of royalty, politics and rules was not his style. Along with their past relationship problems, Mina, Fiona, Monkey Khan, the list went on. There had been jealousy, immatureness, and arguments all throughout their relationship as friends and the times they were romantic briefly with one another...
He was tired of the drama, and he hoped that he could work things out with her. He kept low expectations though, she already had him stringed along. He sighed as he began to run down the remaining stairs again, and soon he reached the bottom and ran out the backside of the castle and into the chaos of the city...
Meanwhile…
Lightning Lynx carried a still unconscious Nicole, still wrapped in white blankets, over his shoulder running to the northern outskirts of the city to wait while Eggman finished what he was doing. He almost ran into Knuckles and the robotic rabbit on his way there but he was quick enough to get out of their sights. He was half way through the southern side of the city when he felt Nicole wiggle on his back. He ignored this until he saw the two-tailed fox hovering not too far away. He ducked behind a house and sat Nicole down peeking around the corner.
As Nicole lay on the ground suddenly her eyes shot open, and she quickly wriggled herself out the blanket she was wrapped in and looked around confused. She could hear explosions in the distance, and yelling going on all around her as people ran through the streets. The back of her neck had a searing pain though and she winced. Instinctively she looked around her new setting confused and panic set in on her face. Recent memories flashed through her mind as she tried to recall what happened...
She remembered that she was Nicole...and that was about it…
Her memories felt disconnected, it was as if a huge time had passed between what she remembered. Every memory felt like a dream…they felt so distant…
There were images of a forest and people fighting…
Vague memories of going in and out of a very dark city. She remembered being in a room with people while Sally brushed her hair. But the memory felt like a different time and place because she also remembered being in a place where she remembered these strange words flashing in front of her like 'mkdir' and 'command &'
She remembered touching him…touching his face...
The one thing that stood out most about that particular memory was that she remembered looking at herself in two different places. In one she remembered seeing many places all at once and the other just in that room…
But at the same time she just knew that she was inside that place with all the unfamiliar words. She knew it was her...but exactly what it was…no…
Was it a dream? The most recent thing she could recall was Sally…and…and…more strange letters…$ find –iname…
She grabbed her head and closed her eyes gritting her teeth. There was a stinging pain in the back of her neck, and as she recalled her memories her head began to hurt. She tried to remember…she remembered Sally…then being in a daze in that room with others…now she was outside in some part of the city she did not recognize...
She opened her eyes with a frown on her face, and as she stood up, the white blankets that were wrapped around her fell to the ground, she did not notice Lightning Lynx next to her.
She tried to remember what kind of relationship she had with Sally but strangely couldn't recall. She also started remembering Sonic but she couldn't remember exactly who he was either...
She had a lot of memories of him though. Her face became curious as she began to walk away. He seemed nice from what she could remember and she mumbled to herself "Maybe he could help me..."
Lightning Lynx watched the orange fox fly away and turned to see Nicole getting away. He growled and swiftly walked over and grabbed her arm "Where do you think you're going?"
Lightning Lynx then picked her up. He flung her over his shoulder making Nicole looked surprised, and he dashed off away from the side of the house he had hid behind "We have plans."
"We do?" Nicole asked with a confused face.
Lightning Lynx looked irritated "Are you stupid or something?"
"No..." she said sounding unsure.
"Just be quiet." Lightning Lynx said with more irritation. And Nicole remained quiet as he ran through the city trying to find his way around. Ignoring all the yelling and screaming of the terrified citizens he ran pass. Soon he ran into a part of the city he recognized. He recognized the fountain in the middle area he ran through, and it meant he was directly in the middle of the city.
"Almost there." he said aloud looking around with a focused face.
Then Nicole spoke in an innocent tone "Do you know Sonic? He can help me."
Lightning Lynx continued to look annoyed "…Well that's where were going, right to Sonic."
"We are?" Nicole asked in a happier tone.
"I promise..." Lightning Lynx said with his brows furrowed in irritance as they turned a corner running pass more citizens.
"Thank you." Nicole said happily.
Lightning Lynx grimaced inside his head as he carried Nicole. He neared the outskirts of the city were there were less homes and buildings and more open area. And about twenty minutes later Lightning Lynx stood somewhere near the northern outskirts of the city waiting…
Eggman was not here, and his team wasn't here. Next to him Nicole stood still smiling, looking impatiently around for Sonic. Lightning Lynx tapped his foot peering off into the burning city. Eggman's giant robots were nowhere to be seen. He pulled at his ears; Eggman was late and communication with his teammates stopped working. Lightning took his ear piece out of his ear and threw it to the ground with an angry face. He crossed his arms and glanced over at Nicole. She happily stared into the distance, her full attention on seeing the hedgehog. She had not spoken since they stopped. The more he looked at her the more it reminded him of Storm...
Lightning Lynx grimaced...
He turned away from Nicole and crossed his arms with a grumpy face. It was everyone's fault! Sonic and his old teammates got him banished from his clan…from Storm…
The irony was that this was his teams last mission; the Destructix were together even shorter than they were years ago. His anger stemmed from all he did to be seen in Storms eyes once more, to be accepted into his clan…
Only for the Destructix and Freedom Fighters to come destroy it for this stupid team that didn't even last. The Destructix were disbanding after this and the question of where was he going to go hovered over his head. His family was his clan, and he had been banished…
Before they signed onto this mission they were briefed about Nicole. Eggman had told them that Nicole was an artificial intelligence program but for some reason the city's defenses had been dwindling in the last two days. There job was to simply help spread damage around the city while he went in with his robots to attack. But while they were in the castle they ran into the princess and some others. But when Drago and he noticed this Nicole person Eggman was talking about they decided they'd just take her as collateral. He thought she was a computer program though...
Lightning Lynx kept his irritated face, looking around for any sign of Eggman or his team but nobody was even around this part of the outskirts of town. He looked behind himself at Nicole. She still looked into the distance happily looking for Sonic's arrival. Lightning angrily scratched his head, she was waiting on him like that was the only course of action she knew.
Then he got an idea! His eyes widened in surprise! Then he smirked an arrogant grin. Obviously, something was wrong and that's why no-one had shown up yet. He could take Nicole and could be accepted by his clan again. Lightning Lynx was sure he could use her to get to the Bride of Conquering Storm. Nicole being a sacrifice to her would be a sure fire way to get him back in his clan.
Lightning Lynx uncrossed his arms and started to walk over to her "Hey you, I just saw Sonic run pass here."
Nicole swiftly turned around holding the back of her neck with a happy face "Where?"
Lightning Lynx held a crooked smile "He's..."
However, Lightning Lynx cringed as a laser hit his back, and he crumpled to his knees and glanced behind himself. Julie-Su lowered her gun and was running towards them, and oddly she whistled aloud.
Lightning Lynx looked confused as he struggled to get up but he succeeded and ran over to Nicole and picked her up. He started running towards a home when Sergeant Simian suddenly came crashing through the home in front of him. Lightning Lynx came to a halt with a surprised look, and Sergeant Simian fell on the ground with debris flying everywhere, and through the smoke and debris Sonic popped out landing and screeching into the dirt next to Sergeant Simian.
Sonic and Lightning Lynx locked eyes. Sonic held a cocky grin and Lightning Lynx growled. Nicole was facing the opposite direction over Lightning Lynx's shoulder and did not see him.
"Sonic! Look out!" Julie-Su yelled.
Sergeant Simian had gotten up and reached for Sonic. Sonic was able to dodge his initial grab but Sergeant Simian lunged at Sonic, grabbed him, and threw him somewhere into the immediate area "Whoa!" Sonic exclaimed as he flew into a nearby home crashing into it.
Lightning Lynx paying attention to Sonic being thrown did not notice Julie-Su behind him. She kicked him, making him fall to the ground and drop Nicole. Julie-Su grabbed Nicole's hand and pulled her up from the ground.
Nicole looked confused "You said Sonic. Do you know Sonic? Sonic can help me."
Julie-Su lifted her eyebrow in confusion at the strange way she spoke "We can talk later, we have to get you out of here."
She pulled Nicole along behind her as Sergeant Simian and Lightning followed her. Sergeant Simian pulled out a tear gas canister from one of his pouches and tossed it ahead. The canister broke upon releasing and expelled a thick cloud of gas. Julie-Su and Nicole began to cough when Sonic sped by dispelling the gas, by moving around them all in a circular motion at fast speeds, and also briefly causing dirt and dust to fly and cover the area blinding Sergeant Simian and Lightning Lynx briefly. Sonic came back and stopped next to Julie-Su, and Nicole beamed.
Sonic put his index fingers in his mouth "Help me out here."
Julie-Su nodded and did the same, they blew and whistled as hard as they could making quite a bit of noise. Sergeant Simian swung his arms wildly trying to see, he was furious. While swinging his arms he caught a faint glimpse of them through the dust.
"Stop whistling you maggots!" he yelled annoyed, and his arms came down and hit the ground.
Sonic barely saw Sergeant Simians arms, but he reacted quickly enough to push Julie-Su and Nicole out of the way. The dust finally cleared, and Lightning Lynx went straight to attacking Sonic; Sergeant Simian was focused on Nicole. He swiftly moved towards her while Nicole was focused on Sonic. Nicole got up off the ground and began walking towards Sonic not aware of the danger she was in.
"Nicole! What are you doing?" Julie-Su said with an angry face; Sergeant Simian was closing in on Nicole.
Julie-Su got off the ground and ran to Nicole tackling her out of the way from Sergeant Simian who had almost grabbed her. They fell though and hit the ground just as Sergeant Simian was lifting his arms to smash them. Julie-Su pushed Nicole away on the ground as she rolled away from his attack. However, Nicole had gotten up again, a smile on her face none the less upset and continued moving fixated towards Sonic.
Julie-Su shot her gun at Sergeant Simians head making his helmet spin. He grabbed his spinning helmet and started smashing the ground even faster, so fast to the point where he was about to land a hit in. Julie-Su knew that a hit from him would hurt but before Sergeant Simian could attack Sonic spin dashed into the side of Sergeant Simians neck, making him gag and threw him completely off balance.
Lightning Lynx was not far behind, ready to attack Sonic, but was intercepted by Knuckles gliding down behind him. Knuckles grabbed the fur on the back of Lightning Lynx's neck yanking him back, turning him around and then punching him in the gut. He let him drop to the ground breathless with wide eyes. Sonic made eye contact with Knuckles and Julie-Su as Sergeant Simian recovered from Sonic's attack. All the while, Nicole continued walking unaware through the thick of battle following Sonic.
Just as Sergeant Simian got to his feet Sonic dashed into Sergeant Simian's head making him stumble again. Knuckles and Julie-Su then ran over to Sonic and gave him their hands. Sonic took them, then he took a running stance gripping their hands tighter; they did the same. While Sergeant Simian was still disoriented Sonic blasted off from zero to fast flinging the pair at the huge monkey. They attacked his head once again, making him shake from the force of the blow. Sergeant Simian swayed walking backwards then tripped over himself and fell onto the ground. Julie-Su and Knuckles looked over at the fallen Destructix member, and Knuckles looked over his back to see Lightning Lynx still curled over on the ground.
Knuckles and Julie-Su breathed a sigh of relief as Sonic made his way over. Sonic questioned Knuckles with a grin "What took you so long?"
Knuckles spoke playfully at him "You know I was close by. With communications down it could have only been you whistling, but I guess I was wrong. What were you doing on this side of town Su?" he looked at her with confusion "I thought you were heading to the south side?"
She put her gun back in its holster with a frown on her face "I ran into Predator Hawk and chased him until I lost sight of him, then I ran into Sergeant Simian but Sonic showed up and took him off my hands. But when we both saw Nicole with Lightning Lynx, we went for her. I knew you were close by since I ran into Sonic."
Then a look of relief came over Knuckle's face "I'm glad you're ok" Julie-Su smiled back at him.
"Hey what about me?" Sonic asked looking upset.
Knuckles looked confused "Thanks for protecting Julie-Su."
"No." Sonic suddenly grinned "I mean why didn't you say it like you did to her, to me?" Sonic said in a girly voice.
Knuckles furrowed his brow angrily "Shut it."
Sonic and Julie-Su laughed, and Knuckles clenched his fist. Sonic then abruptly stopped laughing when he felt a tug on his shoulder. He curiously turned around to see Nicole's staring at him with a happy face.
Sonic smiled as he turned around to her with a curious look "So you're awake, are you ok Nicole?"
"You are Sonic. I was looking for you because you can help me." Nicole stated with a happy face.
"I can help you?" Sonic said in confusion.
Waiting for her response he carefully watched her body language and how she talked. While stuck in the room with computer Nicole Sonic had observed how amorous Nicole was towards him when she wasn't and when she was in her body. He wondered if Nicole would be different, and then he asked her another question.
And as Sonic asked Nicole something over and over Nicole's words were lost in her mouth as she stared blankly at him. She didn't pay attention to what he was saying, and her eyes got stuck on his face. She did not remember him like this...
She suppressed a silly smile finally answering him "Are you sure you're ok?" Sonic asked her with a concerned face.
Nicole blinked her eyes briefly looking away from him "Yes..." she trailed off.
"You didn't answer my question?" Sonic said scratching his head.
"Your question?" she said as confusion filled her face.
Sonic then looked to Knuckles and Julie-Su and they both shrugged "I'm just as curious as to why you can help her." Julie-Su said looking just as confused as him.
Sonic returned his attention to Nicole asking her again, Knuckles and Julie-Su listened intently as well "Why can I help you?"
Nicole hearing this question started to think about what Sonic just said. The reason she was looking for Sonic was because…because…he was the only one she remembered clearly…
She remained quiet and Sonic frowned. He still didn't get what Nicole was trying to say, and had to get moving, the city was still under attack but he guessed "So were you looking for me because you remembered me?"
"I remember Sally…" Nicole held an innocent face as she looked at him and her words trailed off.
She felt a warm feeling come over her, and her stomach felt light as Sonic turned to the other people with him and began speaking to them again. Nicole began to wonder just who Sonic was to her as she place her hand on the back of he neck again. She squinted her eyes in pain but she wanted to remember that...
Sometime later Sonic, Knuckles, and Julie-Su split up once again. Lightning Lynx and Sergeant Simian had escaped, but they didn't have time to go after them so now that Sonic had Nicole, he was taking her to the jail were Sally, Rotor, and Dr. Quack had set up. Knuckles and Julie-Su went to find the Choatix since they had not shown up. Sonic currently held Nicole in his arms, running to the New Mobotropolis prison. On his way back Sonic got a glimpse of Eggman's last robots. He hoped Knuckles, and the others would notice.
The prison's giant metal gates were cracked open. Sonic sped through into the prison all the way to the bottom third floor in the underground, listening for the sound of the electric generator. The generator noise got louder and louder until he saw the only cell with a green force field illuminating the hallway. He ran down the hall and stopped at it. Inside were Tails, Antoine, Dr. Quack and Sally. The cell was filled with tons of medical equipment and supplies. Sonic sat Nicole down and knocked on the cell force field. They all jumped in surprise but once they saw Sonic and Nicole they brightened. Tails quickly deactivated the force field, and they walked inside. Everyone was happy to see Nicole was alive and well but they noticed her vacant stare. And she looked to be in discomfort placing her hand on the back of her neck.
"Nicole?" Sally asked her with a confused face.
"Yes." Nicole responded with a neutral expression.
"Do you remember me?" Sally asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes." Nicole stated simply, and her face remained neutral.
Her vague answer worried them; Sally looked to Dr. Quack "We need to see what damage has been done."
"If you would Nicole." Dr. Quack gestured her to come over to a metal table.
Tails looked at Sonic "Did you mention anything about earlier today?"
Sally walked over and led Nicole to the operating table and Sonic shrugged "No, when I got to her she kept saying that I could help her. She hasn't said or did much since we came here.
Tails rubbed his chin "So this is Nicole right?"
"Well you guys figure it out, Antoine lets go." Sonic said looking over at Antoine with a serious face.
"Where are we going?" he raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"To the West side. Eggmans last wave of robots has to be the ones blocking the communications." Sonic frowned.
Antoine walked over a bit reluctantly looking over his shoulder at Nicole "She must remember both of zis times."
Then Sonic picked Antoine up "Do you think she'll be exactly the same?"
Antoine nodded with a sympathetic face "Time will tell..."
Sonic looked to Tails who went back over to the computers for the cell's force field again. Before they left Sally gave them communicators that linked right to them to use after they took down Eggmans last robots. Antoine and Sonic were gone in an instant. Tails could hear Antoine yelling at Sonic for going too fast as he closed the cell force field. Tails then rechecked the stability of the force field and when he was sure everything was ok he walked over to Sally and Dr. Quack. Dr. Quack had turned on all the machines in the room and gave Nicole a routine checkup. He checked her blood pressure, checked her pupils, her reflexes, motor skills, and other things. Tails and Sally waited impatiently while he checked Nicole, and when he was done, Nicole sat on the edge of the operating table and Dr. Quack told her not to move. Tails and Sally walked over as did Dr. Quack.
Dr. Quack looked over his clipboard "She's ok." Tails and Sally sighed, but he finished and they frowned "Physically…"
"What's wrong mentally?" Tails asked him with concern.
Dr. Quack turned around signaling for them to follow "That's where you two come in. We need to talk to her and see what she knows."
Nicole remained expressionless staring into the wall in front of her. Her awareness came back as the three people approached her and stood in front of her. Nicole looked curiously at them.
Sally spoke first; she held a frown "Nicole, Sonic said that you said that he could help you. Is that right?"
Nicole nodded, and Sally continued "Did he help you?"
Nicole nodded again and Sally continued crossing her arms "What did he help you with Nicole?"
Nicole began to think as they watched her. Now that Sonic had already helped her, she wasn't sure anymore. He did and she couldn't remember anything else clearly enough to take any action or make a decision. Nicole dawned a curious expression "I remembered him..."
Their faces became even more confused, and Tails spoke "Do you remember me?"
"Yes." her face remained curious.
Tails thought of a time they did something together; he raised an eyebrow "Do you remember that time when you helped me cook dinner?"
Then Nicole shook her head; her face became neutral again "No."
Tails looked over at Sally, and she nodded and asked Nicole a question "You know you're my best friend right Nicole?"
"No." Nicole stated again.
"But I thought you said you remembered me?" Sally said with confusion.
"I do remember you." Nicole said as she winced in pain placing her hand on the back of her neck.
Dr. Quack wrote on his clipboard "She doesn't remember the relationships she had with you."
Sally looked at Dr. Quack with a serious face "Dr. Quack, can you determine if she suffered any brain damage?"
He put his clipboard down "That's just what I was about to do." Dr. Quack looked at Nicole with a serious face "Please lie down Nicole."
She did so and he pulled a square device with a cable protruding from it from a machine he stood next to. He flipped a couple of switches and pressed the handle on the device, and the machines went haywire. A high pitch squeal filled the room and everyone including Nicole covered their ears.
"What is that?" Sally yelled looking to Tails for answers.
"It sounds like a communication interference with our machines." he yelled over the noise but moments later it stopped.
"Hey! Can anyone hear me?" a low voice spoke from the other side of the room.
Sally ran over to the other side of the cell and snatched up the black square communicator device "Sonic?"
"Communications back." Sonic said in a playful tone.
Sally smirked and snickered "I can see that Sonic. What's happening over there?"
"Eggman's gone and we got Predator Hawk and Drago in custody. What should we do?" he asked her.
Sally began dishing out orders as her face became serious "First regroup the guards then get back to me. We need all the help we can get to get the city's force field back up."
Dr. Quack returned to his task and told Nicole to lie down once again. Once she did in discomfort from her neck, Dr. Quack pressed the handle on the device and hovered it over her head, and the machine next to him made soft electrical buzzes. Then the machine started to print readouts. Dr. Quack put the device back on the hook of the machine, he waited for the printing to stop then picked them up and began reading them to Tails.
"Hmmm...it looks like she might have some kind of cognitive dysfunction. Her brain scans are not normal from what I can see..." Dr. Quack slowly shook his head.
"Different how?" Tails asked him with a frown.
Dr. Quack looked away from the papers at Tails "Well its like nothing I've ever seen…" he turned to look at Nicole again "What is two plus two?"
Nicole responded immediately as her expression became blank again "Four."
"Though she looks fine she could have other damage that we just haven't seen yet." he paused looking at the papers again "She took sometime to enter her body, and I surmise she might have lost some cells. The body has to be active at all times otherwise your cells can't breathe, and they die, then you die."
"Then we need to get everything back up, the longer we wait the less we can diagnose and fix." Tails said with determination on his face.
"Exactly." Dr. Quack said with a firm face.
Tails went over to the computers next to Sally while Dr. Quack grabbed his clipboard and read the machine's readout again. While everyone else was busy doing something, Nicole quietly laid down staring at the ceiling. Nicole thought of Sonic. When he turned around she swore she had forgotten to speak...
From what she could remember she didn't remember him being so...his face was...
She tried to remember words but failed to describe what she felt because she couldn't remember anything. That and head and neck still hurt...
She smiled a bit but winced in pain again, trying not to move much from the pain in her neck, feeling happy at the good feeling she got when she thought of Sonic. She wanted to know more about him. But little did she know all the trouble she caused as Dr. Quack began preparing pain medication for her. She was unaware of all the hoops everyone around her jumped through protecting her. That she would be facing controversy from all sides, and she would know soon even though she was completely unaware at the moment...
Nicole is alive! But she doesn't remember. What happened to the remaining Destructix members? What kind of damage has Nicole caused? What did Sonic want to talk to Sally about? Find out next time. Later.