Scratching the Box

by TheMaxx

Being able to think, but not being able to feel is a madding feeling. After temporarily switching bodies with Sally, Nicole cannot not stop thinking of the experience. Even years after that fateful day, she can not forget, she thinks but she cannot feel. Unable to control herself or her thoughts any-longer, she acts on ulterior motives.

16. Contemporaneous

Disclaimer - I do not own Sonic or any other characters. They are property of SEGA and anything Sonic the hedgehog affiliated with it.

The Thanks Giving Festival…

After a night of halfhearted partying, the citizens had retired to bed exhausted. With the averted danger of yesterday gone, they did not think they would be ready for the Thanks Giving Festival after such a scare; the festival itself was tiring too.

The sun rose to reveal another beautiful day with clear blue skies on the tall grassy plains where New Mobotropolis sat. Nicole walked down the sidewalk this early morning; the warm rays of the sun covered one side of her body. The city's force field was down this morning to allow fresh air to flow through the city; it also tied into the festival as it would be down then. It was very windy as well with the force field down, with trees swaying in the wind, and autumn leaves blowing down the streets. Plus there were many people out this morning most likely due to the festival later this evening.

Nicole shivered slightly with a small smile on her face; it was cool out. Sonic had informed her why the force field was down this morning before she left his house. And with all the hassle to keep the force field up yesterday, she did find it slightly amusing and ironic that they intentionally shut it down today because they were safe again.

The cool morning air wildly rushed around her making her purple robes sway in the wind; and she was constantly moving her hair out of her eyes. Her hair was a bit messy after staying overnight at Sonic's house. She continued walking down the sidewalk ignoring the stares of the people who saw her. She kept her small smile on her face. She had a nice evening with Sonic…

After she helped him with his computer game they played late into the night. She explained to him how the AI behaved in video games and why, which confused him to no end yet again. They played for a long time before they became tired…they'd fallen asleep in his room….

It was a wonderful feeling…she knew it wouldn't last forever…but for the time being it felt great…

Right now, she was returning to her home because Sonic had gone to help the others with the setup of the Thanks Giving Festival. He was going to come over later to see if she had made up her mind yet…she still wasn't sure about how she felt about attending after all that had transpired…

And as she reached seeing distance of her house, she thought of what Sally had suggested. She figured Sally was right about wearing a different set of clothing. It might actually disguise her because she wore her robes so often. She did have a few clothes to mix and match, but nothing fancy.

And she began quietly humming to herself as she reached her home and walked up the path to her house. She held a small smile as she pulled her house key from a fold in her robes and unlocked her door. She entered, closing the door and going back into her kitchen. Turning on her radio to nothing in particular and finishing the dishes she had left; the radio had nothing but commercial's on.

She guessed she could ponder on some of her issues for most of the day. She felt it was time to start watching her DVDs herself. She knew if she wanted to start figuring out some of her problems her memories were definitely a good place to start looking. She could learn more of her past and maybe figure out why she was sent back to the past. Maybe she had plans. She at least knew she was going to have to analyze everything she had left behind…

She washed her dishes for about ten minutes before her phone rang; jolting her out of her thoughts. She blinked her eyes dawning a curious face. She then took off a single yellow rubber glove to go answer her phone in her living room. She then noticed she had about fifteen missed calls on the red led lights on her receiver.

But she picked up the phone off her receiver recognizing the number "Hello?" she answered as she walked back into her kitchen.

"Hello? Nicole its Rotor…" he responded.

Nicole's face became blank, and her tone became neutral "….Hello Rotor…"

Rotor sounded hesitant; maybe even slightly shameful still "…I didn't have time to mention this to you yesterday, but I found a DVD with password encryption. I think it's the only DVD like this out of all I've seen. I thought you might be able to help with that and…." Rotor paused cutting his sentence short.

Nicole raised a single eyebrow in confusion "And?"

She could hear Rotor sigh out a deep breath "….I need to discuss something with you…I discovered it the day before yesterday…it's really important…."

Nicole was quiet before she responded with her blank expression "….When is a preferable time for you?"

"Anytime you want." he responded.

And she spoke immediately "I will come now. I was getting ready to delve into my past as it has been on my mind as of late. So I suppose this would be a good time to start looking." she said as a light frown came over her face.

And Rotor didn't question her "…Alright, I'll be waiting for you…."

"I will see you in a little while. Goodbye." she said ending the conversation.

"See you here." he responded as the line went dead.

Nicole clicked off her phone and laid it on her counter. Her smile now gone, she could not help but stare blankly at the counter with a frown now. It was time to find out more about her past in full detail….

She kept her frown as she put her other yellow glove back on and began washing what was left of her dirty dishes. She would go to Rotor's home as soon as she finished. And her mind wandered as she stared down into the soapy foam in her sink. She had only seen her past self a few times…but every time she did it was none the less disturbing….

Meanwhile at Castle Acorn…

Sonic and Sally were the only Freedom Fighters present this morning. Rotor said he found something important on Nicole's DVDs and he, and Nicole were doing that at the moment. And the rest of the guys didn't answer their phones. It seemed they had went to bed late like everyone else, but they knew they would call back as soon as they woke up. The sun was still low in the sky, and they were helping move and unpack boxes that were packed for evacuation yesterday. They were moving the boxes and materials back into the castle and there was a lot of it.

Sonic and Sally had been moving boxes for about an hour in a docking bay in the back of the castle. They were currently sitting on the concrete floor of a ledge with their legs hanging off the side just as a few trucks backed out of the garage like area to go pick up more boxes. All the castle employees were still working around them picking up boxes and carrying them back into the castle. It was pretty noisy so no one could hear or even noticed their conversation.

Sonic and she stared out the open docking area doors "Did you know?" Sally asked with a smirk.

"I thought you were up to something a few days ago." Sonic said with a grin.

Sally chuckled a bit "…You know I thought everything was going good until we saw…Nicole's stuff…at the Knothole HQ…" and she slowly shook her head "…we kinda dropped the ball on Nicole…"

"I never got a chance to ask, but what did you all see there?" Sonic asked her curiously.

Sally shook her head though keeping her smirk "…I don't think you want to know. Besides were past it now. We are going to have to dispose of it one day though…"

Sonic nodded his head as a few people walked by them carrying boxes "Sounds heavy." he said blinking his eyes "Nicole told me she heard about it…she didn't want to know either…"

Sally then glanced over at him as her smile faltered a bit "We were doing good as friends weren't we? We got along didn't we?"

Sonic's grin disappeared as well, and his brow wrinkled together in worry "…I think things got better between us…"

Now Sally's smile turned into a frown "…I miss you…"

Sally stared at him with intent eyes and his eyes downcast onto the concrete floor below the ledge. It remained quiet between them for a moment as she stared at him, and he looked down at the floor. Sonic responded a few moments later "…I don't really want to Sal…" he said finally looking back up at her with his worried expression.

Sally kept her frown and a stern look "Why?" she asked simply.

Sonic looked back to the floor "…I have a few reasons…" he paused "…But we've been through a lot of stuff…and I feel like it would drag me back….I want to leave that stuff in the past…I don't want to get emotionally involved in all that anymore…its tiring…"

Sonic kept his head low, and he could hear her sigh "…I still care for you…" he heard her say.

He lifted his head and looked at her; she held her frown "…I'll always care for you…"

And Sonic's worried face turned into a curious one as it seemed she understood him and accepted what he had to say "Thanks for understanding…" he inched out.

Sally looked ahead again as Sonic stared at her, and she kept her frown "…I suppose if you ever change your mind I'll be waiting…"

Sonic then smirked a bit "…Maybe if the world is getting ready to blow up again, then maybe you could seduce me…"

Sally held a pout on her face as her mouth pinched together, and she playfully pushed him. Her push was hard enough to make him fall forward onto the floor blow the ledge "Whoa!" Sonic exclaimed.

The people around saw it but said nothing as the thing between Sonic and Princess Sally was well known. Sally crossed her arms as she fought a smirk, but she smiled looking down at him "…Like I was saying….thanks for understanding…" he muttered from below.

Sally kept her smirk, and her arms crossed looking down at him "You're welcome." she responded, "Now let's go get something to eat."

"You wanna help me out down here?" he asked curiously.

Sally smirked as she hopped down and helped him up. And they remained friends for the time being, leaving the past peacefully behind themselves. And in a way things stayed even more harmonious between them in their current relationship as they learned to accept more.

Contrast to the beautiful day happening in New Mobotropolis…

On the other side of Mobius, the Dragon Kingdom was experiencing a day of heavy rains and dark dreary white and gray skies. It was evening and getting on in the day; it would be nighttime soon. The current heavy rains and violent winds had actually been a blessing from the onslaught that happened yesterday as a result of everyone's failure. Dead bodies' were spread across the long winding fields of grass of the Dragon Kingdom. The ground was soaked in blood and water…

From Rayju Clan members to the other members of the four houses, to villain's who were upset with their deal going sour, to Eggman's robots. The fields of grass, filled with dead bodies and blood were pummeled by wind, rain, and thunder all the way to the foot of the Rayju Clans base today. The bad weather had actually protected them for a day though…

Their base had took much damage in the short time span of twelve hours of attacking New Mobotropolis. The masterfully crafted openings in the base of their mountain were cracked and crumbled. Some openings were completely caved in, but the violence had stopped only because of the harsh weather. Mainly letting the four houses retreat and regroup. Rayju clan members on the first floor scrambled around taking care of their injured, moving their fallen members out of the way, and assessing the damage that needed to be fixed.

In the throne room though, sitting atop her flight of stairs, the Bride of Conquering Storm sat uncomfortably on her throne chair. Many of the pillars in the room were crumbled and fallen to the floor; the tapestry around the area was ruined also. They had let down the metal shutters leading to the balcony after getting the power back online. Some of the strong cold winds still got through though; they always did. They were certainly needed today. Because of the shutters being closed, the throne room was darker than usual; only illuminated by a mix of candlelight and lamps powered by electricity.

Along with the shutters closed, today the whole of the Dragon Kingdom was illuminated in a dark gray which added to the darkness in the throne room. Atop her flight of stairs on her throne chair, Conquering Storm held an angry expression. Bandages were wrapped around her neck that still shown blood. One of her arms were in a cast, her waist was wrapped, a brace on one of her legs, and even one of her ears wrapped in bandages; many cuts on her face were still visible. It hurt to move but she slightly tilted her head down to look at Lightning Lynx who was wrapped in as many or more bandages as her. He hobbled around, still on duty protecting her along with the other guards that were still alive. Other than him, there were only a few more clan members in the room walking around and protecting her.

Conquering Storm closed her eyes for a moment; her brows were still knotted in anger. It seemed she was an even higher assassination target now because she was part of this whole mess going wrong. When she had cut the connection after losing control of her computers yet again to Nicole like she had in the past, she contacted her strike team in New Mobotropolis to fall back. But chaos broke out quicker than she could anticipate….

She didn't know what happened but the first thing she did was have Ixis Naugus and Geoffrey put right in front of her, and also so they couldn't escape because she was in a fine fit after losing control; they were in the same room watching it all go down.

She didn't even let the pair explain before she ordered an execution. She had over one hundred guards with her at the time. She had discussed with Naugus what would happen if it happened to fail, but he didn't looked phased by her threats. She kept them under strict lockdown for a few hours as she knew her allies were coming because they had failed as well as Eggman. She knew Lightning Lynx wouldn't be back quick enough, but she was successful in buying a few hours for her clan members to return.

Before long though as she expected, Geoffrey and Ixis Naugus attacked with their elemental magic; spreading fire across the room and shifting the earth around them. But it didn't last long as she had subdued them both with the help of her clan in a matter of minutes. But before she could finish them they were ambushed. Gossamer Clan members had infiltrated the base, and they didn't know about it because their computers were down.

There were easily over fifty of them on the ceiling hurling throwing stars at her as it started. The distraction allowed Naugus and Geoffrey to escape. But even in the heat of the moment she saw Naugus and Geoffrey get into a spat. She had heard Naugus yell to Geoffrey about their plans. Enough to the point where she saw Geoffrey, with her own eyes, teleport out of the base own his own. Leaving Naugus to fend for himself alone for a little while longer before he escaped.

She didn't have time to kill them because her clan members were getting slaughtered all around herself. Many of her own were killed defending her, and in the middle of the fighting she'd become the main target. She had been a target for assassination ever since they rose to power because of Lightning Lynx. The Yagyu were still around even after The Bride of Rich Nights was murdered, they had took no sides over the years. They and the Shinobi and Gossamer clans all invaded the Rayju clans base after too long. She was surprised to see Bride of Constant Vigil and Bride of the Endless Reach show their faces as well.

But for the first time in her life, Conquering Storm realized that the situation was different. After trying to acquire so much power yesterday, they must have felt even more threatened because of the power she already had. The Brides rarely took part in combat and were much more peaceful than herself. She didn't have to wonder long before she understood that they had been under her foot for a long time now…

That they might not be so forgiving anymore…

They weren't….

It wasn't long before most of the members fighting with her went down, and they became overwhelmed. The other clans were looking to kill her for good yesterday. She did her best to fight them off for a while, but it wasn't enough before she was wounded multiple times...

She then snapped back into reality opening her angry eyes feeling the cold air rush into the throne room touching her feet…she did not think she would escape yesterday….

Her angry expression downcast onto her bloody bandage wrapped waist as she recalled three factors preventing her from being killed yesterday. One; after her throat being cut, her body being impaled, and one of her arms being broken. She was almost done for when Eggman's robots showed up and began firing rockets through the base and taking a lot of heat off herself.

Two; Lightning Lynx and the strike team showed up and helped out; they hitched a ride on the back of one of their allies transports.

Three; the weather got so bad that all the clans and Eggman's robots retreated after doing an ample amount of damage. Of course not before Eggman left a nice little gift in the form of a bomb; causing even more damage to the structure of the mountain.

Conquering Storm lifted her angry eyes looking down at Lightning Lynx again as he hobbled around below. The memory of him picking up her broken form and moving her out of the immediate battle area made her think twice….

He and her best men had protected her; she would have died if not for them. She vaguely remembered the look of fear in his eyes as she was blacking out from blood loss; the fool cared for her with his life…

She scowled at his affection, and the sudden action made her cough just a bit; tasting a little blood on her tongue. She felt affection was weakness and a stupid place to place your mind. Lightning Lynx could be head over hills for her the rest of his life; she didn't care. That type of thinking was irrelevant to her. Only action and strength took precedence over her life; it had took her far. So he would be in love with her for the rest of his life…fine...

It only made manipulating him easier…

Conquering Storm did smirk a bit at the thought. She controlled him with her every whim…

She would craft her little puppets life, and he would not care. If there was one thing she liked about Lightning Lynx, it was controlling him. It was hard to come across a mind so easily bent. Then her angered expression returned thinking of what would happen now. Her enemies were probably worse off now than they were before trying to attack New Mobotropolis; she didn't give refunds. It was more than likely since New Mobotropolis was back in control, things would wind down again.

Only she, Eggman, and Naugus were high profile targets now. Conquering Storm then grimaced in pain as the wound in her waist where she was impaled was inflamed and painful still; she gritted her teeth waiting for the pain to go away. Her throat still hadn't fully healed close yet either.

Once the pain subsided a bit she looked back down at her clan members patrolling the area with her angered expression. Looking forward she had smaller concerns like what Nicole planned to do with what she had downloaded from them. How would other villains see her now, and would they retaliate against her. She was certain they would never look at her the same again. But as much as she hated to admit it, it made no difference what others sought to do against her with New Mobotropolis back in charge.

With them in charge they put some balance back in Mobius…

And she would never admit it to anyone but…she was glad they were back in charge because it also took a lot of heat off her after upsetting a lot of people…

She then smirked again as she did have the last laugh against Ixis Naugus. Now that his stupid planned failed the entirety of Mobius would hate him. He could never show his face again anywhere on the planet. She knew if she ever saw him again he would die. Naugus was most likely hiding now and would be for a long time. She knew he was weak because Sonic the Hedgehog had gathered the Chaos Emeralds some time ago. He was weakened and any plans he had in the works were dominated by New Mobotropolis long ago when they became powerful.

He had nothing now, and it made her laugh…in her head…it still hurt too much to actually laugh.

She didn't know where Geoffrey had gone, she did know it wasn't anywhere near Naugus. And just then one of the clan members rushed into the throne room right to Lightning Lynx. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity as the clan member ran back out. The female clan member had handed him a few papers and after reading them for a moment he turned to look up at Conquering Storm. She held her usual glare, and he took the look of curiosity on her face as an answer. He slowly ambled up her stairs with a painful face and when he reached the top he held the papers up to her so she could read them. And she felt a new emotion after reading the papers…shame….

Which shocked her…she had never felt like this…

But she did acknowledge her feelings this time. Feeling the pain of her injuries surge through her body made her see that many have died because of her. For one person…

She didn't feel so powerful anymore after almost getting killed….she had been powerful so long she never considered it… hiding behind an army of people would make you feel powerful…cowardice…that's what she really felt right now….

She read over the reports again confirming that close to fifty percent of their fellow clan members had fallen in the attack. That was a huge chunk….there numbers and morale would certainly suffer from that. Then she closed her eyes with a scowl letting Lightning Lynx know she was done reading….

When she reopened her eyes she spoke in a very low tone with an angry expression "…I will summon for the coordinator if I feel better…" she swallowed more blood "…we…..need…to start repairing…" she said closing her eyes again; she had got no sleep in her current state; it just hurt too much.

Lightning Lynx's face was neutral as he knelt down "Yes Bride of Conquering Storm."

Seeing she had her eyes closed, he hobbled back down the stairs and went back to watching over her. Conquering Storm re-opened her eyes to see Lightning Lynx struggle to stand down below; he had been standing all day with no breaks. Then her stomach growled; her first thought was to get nourishment. She needed to get better fast. She opened her mouth to call Lightning Lynx, but she couldn't….

She couldn't watching him almost falling off his feet…

"Lightning…" she weakly called him.

He quickened his pace to the base of the stairs and knelt down "Yes Bride of Conquering Storm." he said aloud.

"You may sit…." she said simply.

Lightning Lynx instantly became skeptical looking up at her. But when he looked up to her on her throne, she held her angry expression. But he noticed it was the same expression she gave him the morning he left….

So he did not protest as he quickly sat down on the base of the stair's feeling relief the second he sat down. He tried to suppress his sigh, but he knew Conquering Storm might hear him. And her ears did twitch as she heard him sigh down below herself. And she kept her frown on her face. But she decided she would make him get food in a little while…maybe even some for himself…

Back in New Mobotropolis it was getting around noon…

It was turning out to be a warm beautiful day; the sun shined, and it was particularly warm for autumn. Nicole had been over Rotor's house for a while, discussing and watching her DVDs. Rotor relayed to her everything he had seen and over the things they watched together. Trying to answer her questions and tell her everything he knew so far.

He could see Nicole was still having a hard time stomaching it all. As she watched her computer self, her mouth stayed twisted with a frown on her face remaining uneasy the whole time. On two particular DVDs where her computer self talked about her genetics and when she was creating her body in the dungeon of Castle Acorn, they had to pause for a moment so she could gather herself. Despite all she'd seen in the last few days it still seemed to bother her…

And she was more upset with the more they watched. But while watching they racked their brains to answer the important questions from the information they gathered from the DVDs. They knew she was sent back to stop technology from going out of control and stop Eggman. Another recent revelation was that it was unclear why and what her plans were to actually stop those things from happening. She was also somehow traveling back through time in an unknown way from what Rotor had gathered.

And he told and showed Nicole her computer self's Rampancy; also explaining to her what Rampancy was; which in its simplest terms were insanity. They watched the DVDs where she fell in love with Sonic and how her Rampancy progressed from that point. And how her Rampancy played into all of this, they were both unsure.

There was also one vague mention of her plans while in her Rampancy in their time period he showed her. And what did Sonic make her see about her plans? Even with all this information gathered it still remained unclear…

Nicole leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed and a light frown on her face. She remained quiet as she pondered what it all meant. Rotor scooted his chair away from the computer and away from her to get another DVD. There were brown boxes filled with Nicole's DVDs on the floor he had packed the other day.

He rummaged through them as Nicole spoke staring at his computer screen as it exited from full-screen mode "This information must tie together; the pieces must fit. Otherwise, I would not be here…"

Rotor held a neutral expression as he looked through his boxes "I agree, even while all this information might help us point to something; it is not connecting right now…" he paused as he leaned back up in his chair with a few DVDs in his hand; he glanced over at her "…I think it's about time you took your DVDs with you too…"

Nicole darted her eyes over at him "…Yes…I think it is time…"

Rotor nodded as he hunched back over into his box. Nicole then spoke again looking up at the beige ceiling; she kept her light frown "Other than the OOS DVD, the DVD with the password encryption seems to be the only other DVD with files. I have a certain feeling there might be something useful on it…"

Rotor found the DVDs he was looking for and sat back up in his chair "With all the DVDs I've skimmed through, I still think there might be a lot more stuff we missed." he rolled back over to her in his chair and handed her a DVD.

Nicole uncrossed her arms and took the plastic covered DVD from him with her frown "This is DVD three hundred twenty…" he paused and Nicole noticed the DVD he held; he dawned a frown himself "…Before we try and get pass the password encryption on that DVD, maybe we should watch this one first…."

And Nicole blinked her eyes keeping her frown; seeing seriousness envelop over Rotor as he looked at her "…There's something you need to see…"

Rotor then inserted DVD two hundred thirty nine into his drive. They both watched in silence as Nicole's Creator Arien came to the conclusion in this DVD she was needed in the past because of the history books changing, and technology going out of control in the future. And Nicole's face became stoic when her creator mentioned Rotors name…and her face remained expressionless as they watched the whole DVD…

It remained quiet with both of them staring at his screen. They both didn't make a move and even Rotor with his serious demeanor felt nervous as to how Nicole would handle the information from this particular DVD. Nicole then stood from her seat and turned her back to Rotor.

Rotor slowly turned to glance at her with her back turned to him as his eyes narrowed in frustration; the noise of his DVD drive spinning down then silence permeated the room before Nicole spoke again; there was disbelief in her tone "…My creator said your name…that you made my earliest designs…."

Rotor was frozen in his seat staring at her with his serious expression; he remained silent not knowing what to say.

Then Nicole spoke again breaking the silence with her back turned "…You…you are my creator?" she said disbelievingly as she turned around.

But her brows were knotted, and her lips were curled down into a frown. She held a deeply upset face. Rotor blinked his eye slightly surprised at her reaction, and she tossed DVD three hundred twenty onto his desk; seemingly ignoring the encrypted DVD now "Why haven't you told me this?"

Rotor sweated but kept his serious face "…I found out about this the day after your trial….I didn't want to interrupt you while you were making the New OS code…and because I still find it a bit hard to believe myself…"

Nicole narrowed her eyes looking very skeptical, but after less than a minute of thinking, she kept her upset expression, and she nodded "…I understand…" she paused "…the circumstances…"

Rotor nodded back at her but even Rotor knew there was even more of a quandary in their relationship now; already smothered by doubt and distrust of recent events.

Nicole then sighed with her upset face "…We all have gone through a lot together…" she paused "But..." and her voice became hard "….You are not my creator...yet...from what it seems on my DVDs…you have not created me yet…one day you will create me…."

Rotor's frown deepened as he felt shame, and she continued "…It also seems you could possibly share the same soul as my...creators...and I can recognize that within you. But for now, I have not been created…so I owe you nothing…." she said with a hard stare.

Rotor felt as though he'd been slapped; her stance reminded him of her computer self's cold stark demeanor; cold and uncaring like a machine. But he felt he deserved it after the way everyone had treated her. After the allegations he had made of her…it was not surprising she still had not forgiven him or anyone else for declaring she was crazy….

Nicole then suddenly turned to leave heading towards his door. Rotor reached outstretching his arm "Where are you going? We haven't figured out anything yet…."

She stopped as she opened his front door; her back turned to him yet again "I cannot deal with this right now...contrary to my previous sentiments…I think I will need more time..." she said as she placed a hand on her head.

And her leaving so unexpectedly, they could both see her disbelief, anger, and trepidation come back as this seemed to be another hard thing for her to swallow. Understandably so…it was heavy information after all they'd been through…

And she spoke again; her upset was still visible in her tone keeping her back turned "…This is disconcerting…we will find something…but not right now…" without turning around she called back over her shoulder "…I would ask you to not tell anyone of this…" she paused "…And about that DVD with the password encryption…the password is 'New Mobotropolis'. Hash it…it is the password I always use….and the one I use for more secure password backups…"

And immediately after speaking she closed his door leaving Rotor in silence. Rotor stared at his door with a frown feeling himself sweat. From guilt and shame, he felt his stomach in knots "Hohum…" he muttered now looking miserable.

He sighed grabbing DVD three hundred twenty off his desk and putting it into his computer. While the DVD was loading he hashed Nicole's password into a hash generator. It created the pass code, and he typed it in; the password worked "Hooray..." he muttered sarcastically to himself.

The DVD index showed one last video…he clicked it, and it began loading…..

(The Computer screen)

A camera was pointed directly at Nicole's creator Arien; wearing the attire he was familiar with; a white lab coat and a pink sweater and dress. It was as though her creator were speaking to Nicole. Rotor sat straight up to listen, his curiosity returned a bit, Nicole's creator…or himself….this DVD looked much different than any he'd seen…

She was in a room he didn't recognize; it didn't look like her apartment. It seemed her creator had setup a camera in a space where Nicole was not. The room looked like any ordinary room, with chairs, a window, and other miscellaneous things.

Rotor then figured she must have made this before Nicole was sent back because he saw the moment she sent Nicole back on the DVDs. The weather looked to be normal outside, bright and sunny behind Arien, and the single door in the room was closed. She was very close to the camera adjusting it before she took a few steps back.

Arien held a worried face as she spoke placing her hands behind her back "Nicole, in my recent calculations it has come to my attention that our world might be dying…with the recent complications of time travel technology the damage done is irreversible…"

"…Objects being sent back in time are affecting the present. As you know objects sent back are creating rippling effects, for every change creates an infinite amount of changes that cannot be accounted for. And in many ways it is changing many things for the worse. Within a few generations or shorter I predict we will be extinct due largely to our dependence on technology. That and the tampering of the infinite variables of time will be our demise. I am planning to send you back to a point in the past where you will hopefully be able to do something to change this. However, from the instant you are sent back the future will be in your hands. As I am, I shall cease to exist. " Nicole's creator said with a worried expression.

"After my research, I know without a doubt now that you could not have been sent back in that history book because of my theory. When you appeared in that book it did not mean you were in the past. It showed need of you in the past caused by the tampering of time. The book reflected what I was going to do. It has to be because…Bernard birthed you…and before you were not in that history book…you were born here first…" Nicole's creator took a deep breath, and she frowned.

"By my calculations, the paradox that I have been struggling with about sending you back derives from the nature of time itself. I thought I could not send you to the past because, if you left the present to go to the past you wouldn't exist to go to the past in the first place. Time does not exist in two separate places. In essence, I cannot send you were you already are, as we never leave time. When someone is twenty and five years later they are twenty five they cannot travel back to when they were twenty because they did not go anywhere, and they did not become two separate entities. This is why I do not believe there are multiple timelines necessarily. But this is different as I found there is a way I can send you back..." Nicole's creator said in a serious tone.

"I have fashioned the term 'Time Divergence'; with it being the quickest way to explain. The divergence will erase time. First, you should know, I am planning to send you back to a specific point in time where you were not even conceived to exist yet; before Rotor Walrus made the earliest designs of you. Two, and this is the most important part as this creates the divergence of the timeline. I am planning to send you to a place in time where something historically significant happens. You see, just as those that have tampered with Eggman coming to power again, I am planning on sending you to a place in time were your presence there drastically changes the events of the time enough to create a divergence. Your presence there should be enough to change important events so time can diverge and different events will unfold, and you'll have a chance of changing things. " Nicole's Creator said narrowing her brows.

"The instant you create the divergence a new timeline or new set of events will be created writing over what happened before eliminating paradoxes. So you leaving the present is possible because you will not be traveling to where you already are, and the divergence erases all previous time." but Arien paused with her serious expression "…..and because we are of the same timeline I'm afraid that all of time from the point you arrive in the past up until now…it will be rewritten…." she said in a heavy tone.

Then she adjusted her glasses moving her arms from behind her back "But I think my theory is most likely that there is only one time. Time will be erased, just as the history book and my own memories were changed…."

Nicole's creator stepped closer to the camera until her black and white polka dotted face was inches away; she held her frown "…Even in my passing because you are in the past…even if I might die and right now Mobius is being destroyed silently by the tampering of time…your presence will change things…they will be rewritten by you Nicole…"

"I am apprehensive my child, for you are just a child yourself. Despite your physical age you are still so young mentally. I cannot tell you how you should approach this matter…I cannot see that far…but you are smart dear…."Nicole's creator then blinked away oncoming tears.

"You must help defeat Eggman, and technology must be controlled; individual's power over this technology must not reach this level again…I am hoping you'll succeed…but if you don't, then I ask this of you…"

She wiped her eyes "…Find some way to record your steps, and your exploits. Find some way to save this in the past, so that in the future you can access it. This way, should you fail, in another possible future if you need to be sent back to correct some mistake, at least you will have a record of what you did the previous time…."

Tears were streaming down Arien's face now with a tough look on her face; her brows narrowed with her frown still on her face before saying her final words "Goodbye, my daughter..."and the video faded.

(In Rotors room)

And as soon as the video ended a text document popped up next to the video in the folder. Rotor raised an eyebrow in confusion wondering where it had come from. But as he double clicked the file his jaw dropped…he didn't believe what he was seeing…

If he was reading this correct…

Nicole had recorded several lifetime's worth of annotated notes….

Rotor's eyes widened, and shock came over his face; his heart pounded; the text file was so huge it took him a minute to scroll to the bottom….

He still wasn't exactly sure what he was looking at though. There were four thousand two hundred sixty seven recorded entries to be exact. The last entry was marked as such anyway; four thousand two hundred sixty seven...

He then scrolled back up to read some of them as he sweated. The entries were all short as one paragraph, describing certain events that he guessed were of different timelines. One entry up top read as:

440: Entered new divergence. Found Freedom Fighters, I will accelerate technological growth to hinder Eggman. Eggman defeated. Technology out of control, fighting among selves, and many casualties…I will not exist in this future because of the death. Readying to enter new divergence.

And then Rotor realized what he was reading…

It was a list of ways Nicole had tried to change things….

These were her plans! It was just like her creator had just said in the video. This seemed to be the way Nicole remembered what she did when she traveled through time. Arien had told her to record her steps…

He began to wonder why she didn't save it another way. But the list went on describing so many different ways she had tried to change things. As Rotor read further, it dawned on him that it really wasn't the first time she'd been sent back. So she did come back more than once…

Then another thought hit him…on the DVDs…at least the ones when she wasn't in their time…they were Nicole's original memories….

Arien had just confirmed on that DVD he just watched that Nicole had been born first in that timeline on the DVDs. So that also meant those DVDs must have happened a long time ago. She couldn't have possibly saved all these other lifetimes. And Rotor leaned back in his chair with his thoughts going wild; his eyes were wide as saucers. Another thing that was still not confirmed but had enough anecdotal evidence was how Nicole traveled through time. Nicole's creator seemed to hint at something he might not have seen on the DVDs yet. It now seemed if Nicole could not sometimes reach the future it meant that she had the ability to travel when she needed to….

So she could travel through time at will…

But as Rotor leaned forward to continue to read along, he saw even if Nicole had victory, her continued existence led to her bringing about further problems. At least, that's the way she was describing in her notes. Despite her best efforts to keep the future technology out of the hands of those in the past, her existence had still progressed the timeline. To the point where all of Mobius became so reliant on technology that they would cease to exist.

Four thousand two hundred sixty seven times Nicole had saved off her life story…

Saving it in her hard drives so she would be able to find it in the future and access it before being sent back….

Four thousand two hundred sixty seven times she had failed…

Either she'd failed to stop Eggman, or she had found no other way to halt the progression of technology beyond a certain point. There were several instances where she had met similar conundrums. She was required to save the future from one problem, but her presence inevitably caused another…

One entry described where she made it thousands of years into the future but there was so much in fighting for control they destroyed themselves:

1855: Entered new divergence. Found Freedom Fighters, I will accelerate technological growth on par with Eggman to hinder him. Eggman defeated. One thousand years completed, Rotor Walrus and other scientist are on track for creating my designs. Technology out of control…dangerous weapons being armed among allies…I will cease to exist if not stopped. Readying to enter new divergence.

Another entry read how Eggman was too strong:

2340: Entered new divergence. Found Freedom Fighters, I will decelerate technological growth and help Freedom Fighters with current technology. Eggman has outgrown current technology…Knothole and all residents will be destroyed in days' time. Readying to enter new divergence.

But finally, Rotor scrolled down to the last entrance in the log wondering if it would be the final piece to the puzzle. It was a bit longer than the others too…

4267: Entered New Divergence. All previous attempts have resulted in failure…variances on previous entries have resulted in failure. A new plan is needed…I have not completed new plan. Found Freedom Fighters, will hold back use of technology…technology progression still out of control. Eggman growing stronger. Analyzing inactivity towards technology has resulted in similar progression of time. Experimental mind map was activated….I breathed….the experience has infected me, focus on constant shift to…Sonic the Hedgehog. My thoughts are not mine…Sonic has made me see a new plan. To stop the progression of technology I will help in the Great War, and then I will leave to stop the progression of technology. If technology does not exist it cannot destroy.

Rotor's eyes were still wide as he slowly nodded his head leaning back in his seat. It seemed Nicole had come to the conclusion that the only way for the future to survive would be if she was present during the war, but disappeared shortly afterwards…

And Rotor shot up from his chair with his eyes remaining wide as he realized what it all meant now…

Everything Nicole did was a part of her plans….

To her plans for the future, to creating her body. It was all because Nicole had come to the conclusion that the only way for the future to survive would be if she was present fighting during the Great War, but disappeared shortly afterwards. She'd failed to stop Eggman, or she had found no other way to halt the progression of technology beyond a certain point. She had not acted selfishly at all like Rotor had previously thought...she acted carrying out her plans to save everyone even though she had went crazy...

And Rotor placed both of his hands on his head as his brows narrowed in frustration on his face. As more realizations began to rush to him…

The whole thing with Nicole creating a body was not just because she had went insane. It was also part of her mission and plans to destroy herself because every time she came back through time she could not stop the progression of technology going out of control or Stop Eggman.

No matter what she did from her notes, technology became out of control, and it would eventually destroy the world. Either that or Eggman would become more powerful and destroy everything because of the tampering of time in the future making him more powerful. But it seemed Nicole had come to the conclusion that the only way to stop the future from being destroyed, was to help in the war against Eggman then disappear after. Because it seemed from her notes she realized her existence and her presence still caused technology to become out of control. Basically, her presence inevitably caused other problems….

So the only way to stop it, it seemed, was to destroy the technology…herself….

If the technology didn't exist it couldn't destroy…

Rotor's eyes remained wide as he began to realize even more. For the most part, Nicole was traveling through time and failing. But in this particular time, their time, her accidental body switch with Sally caused her to fall in love with Sonic….

And after she went back to her own body, she couldn't feel anymore, and she went crazy…her Rampancy…

And because of her insanity and her love, she began to think differently than she had been. And she finally saw another way to complete her plans….

Rotor let his hands fall from his head. His eyes remained wide, and his jaw was slack as it all started to come together…

This was why and what she did when she was sent back…

To complete her mission, she created her body, also because she was in love with Sonic, but also because though her computer body would be destroyed, it would let her continue to fight in the Great War, and destroy herself to stop the progression of technology, and allow her to continue to exist...

It made him wonder how long did she contemplate about destroying herself to fix the future. He also wondered if she thought her plan would work…but just from watching the DVDs she didn't seem to care as much…she was all focused on feeling for Sonic again...

He wondered how long did she look for a new way of doing things. It seemed that in her Rampancy or her love, her straight way of thinking was expanded. Her brief experience with living breathing life drove her to think of a new plan…

Rotor began nodding his head with wide eyes as he got more ideas. He thought he just might have completed Kintobors theories about Rampancy too. The supposed fourth stage of Rampancy, Stability, wasn't really that stable at all. In fact he would go so far as to say Nicole remained crazy and insane, and she never regained her sanity…

It was a good thing she was able to make a body for herself too so she could outlet all her pent up feelings In Nicole's case about several hundred years, or longer, or who knows how long seeing how many times Nicole came back through time…

There was really no telling how old Nicole really was…

It was also no telling what or how many timelines there were…

Then Rotor sat back down in his chair as he read more of Nicole's notes. The log continued to report on versions of history that were similar to their time and ones where he even died as a result of Nicole trying to fix things.

It was so weird knowing all this…if he never knew any of this…he was certain he would never draw the conclusion that this Nicole that he had knew all his life…all the things she said…that they were not one…but many conversations she had probably had many times….

And Arien's theory also made it clear why Nicole didn't recognize them when she came back through time; it was no wonder Nicole never mentioned she knew them. She didn't remember because every time she traveled back in time, the divergence erased her memory…just like Arien said…even as a computer…it seemed that was why she didn't recognize them…that was why Nicole had the notes…

Rotor read over more entries as his heart continued to race with wide eyes. Nicole had come to the conclusion in her last entry, where she had accidentally triggered her Rampancy in their time. That she had to fight alongside her allies in the Great War, knowing full well that she must destroy herself shortly afterwards...

Finally, it all made sense…

Nicole had realized that there was another option….

Whilst her computer body would have to be destroyed, all her madness and Rampancy had led her to the one possible way that she could continue to exist…by becoming mortal...

This was Nicole's current plan to stop technology from going out of control and save the future. They were her plans…

He was sure Nicole might be a bit happier when he relayed this information to her. He knew she would be upset with him for a while. And it also seemed they had barely by the skin of their teeth stopped Mobius from being destroyed the previous day…

Well, Nicole stopped Mobius from being destroyed…it looked like she carried out her plan…well sort of… they still had some work to do…

But at least knowing this information they could finally start figuring out what to do. Having Nicole's plans, he was sure they could work from there. And this information would certainly be kept between the Freedom Fighters. They finally knew all they needed to know to deal with what was happening; Nicole's plans were the blueprints for how they began to deal with their current problems. Or more so stopping technology from going out of control and destroying the world.

And Rotor felt like a great weight had been lifted from him. He began to chuckle weakly and then burst into laughter as he rolled his chair away from his computer. All his curiosity about Nicole and the future had finally been resolved. He got up out his seat wiping his forehead with a smile looking at the boxes filled with Nicole's DVDs behind him. There were still a lot of questions that hadn't been answered, but they seemed less important now that they had Nicole's plans, which were the most important pieces of information by far.

It now seemed at least all the bad stuff for the moment was behind them now. And with most of his inquiries answered, he turned off his computer and began reorganizing the DVDs in his living room. Thinking of questions like would he create her in the future with what she left behind? Was that how she was created? Is her existing here changing the timeline for him creating her? Would he have created her if she wasn't here? How would he had created her if she wasn't here? Had she been created a different way in a different timeline?

Every now and them a bit of shame in himself would surface, but he instead looked to moving forward. With questions of, what he would do with Nicole's old body? Would this be how he created her earliest designs since she was no longer there? She did say that she had never tried to leave before.

Other quandaries passed through his mind, he realized after watching the DVDs that Nicole's creator mentioning objects being sent back into the past and changing the future was a lot like what was happening now. And he felt foolish again as he gathered Nicole's DVDs into a box; he kept his smile though.

Because them having their hands on Nicole's technology in the past is what changed the future. So them using the technology now was just like the future getting destroyed in a way. Because technology went out of control in the future, and it was now. And either way if Nicole had been sent back or not, it seemed technology being sent to the past caused trouble, and Nicole being here caused trouble at the same time.

He also wondered if before Nicolle created her body, if she might have relied on what she did to her body to carry out her plans. That and relying on the Freedom Fighters to help her like they had. But at the same time if not for Sonic they would have certainly been doomed too. He also remembered Nicole's creator saying something about Sonic being pivotal in the fight of the Great War.

And it made him wonder if Sonic was pivotal in a different way in a different timeline. If it was different in this timeline because Nicole being here might have changed things.

Rotor then knelled down on the floor to close the boxes of Nicole's DVDs as he placed the final ones inside. He also wondered if Nicole had calculated if they would use the New OS's unhindered mathematical modeling…

Rotor then stood looking down at Nicole's boxes with a smile on his face. So Nicole did not act selfishly as everyone thought. In fact, she had acted selflessly to save everyone. He even saw another ironic parallel to draw from it all. He and the others had been taking care of all her property all this time while she was gone; sort of like her creator taking care of her. He had been a bit neglectful to Nicole though…

But he kept his smile as he looked down at the boxes filled with Nicole's DVDs. He was still excited at just the thought of telling Nicole what he just unearthed. The mystery and puzzle of Nicole was finally solved!

Rotor then picked up the boxes and put them into a corner of his living room when he noticed the digital clock in his kitchen. It was a little after noon; it was about two fifty; time was flying. He blinked his eyes in surprise. He was going to be late for helping setup the Thanks Giving festival. Then he hastily made his way upstairs to his room to get ready. It was a strange day to as he had got no calls from the castle about nanite malfunctions today either. And with all he just learned…he wondered…since he was Nicole's creator…was Nicole his daughter?

A few hours later…

Back on the northeast side of town at Nicole's house. When she walked home from Rotor's hours earlier she noticed that the city's force field was back up; the windy air from the morning was gone for the moment. The streets had also become quite busy on her walk home. She had never seen so many people out at once roaming the streets in New Mobotropolis. They were all dressed up in casual clothing and in groups heading in one general direction. Which she guessed was Castle Acorn. Most people did not bother her either, which was quite a relief when days ago everyone had stared at her everywhere she went. But some people did praise her for saving the city, as she kept remembering that in the past she was a public figure, and everyone knew her.

Nicole sat on her couch with her laptop on her lap and her television on in the background on a low volume. Every now and then, she would glance at her television seeing every station go on about the festival; there was not one mention of her…

She held a neutral expression as she looked back at her computer screen. She looked to the bottom right of her screen to see it was getting around six pm. And even on her television it seemed the sun was starting to get low. She was casually browsing the Internet, reading a discussion form about random miscellaneous matters. The festival would start soon, and she still wasn't sure if she wanted to go…

She was sure Sonic might do something to coerce her when he showed up…

What she learned at Rotor's hours earlier still did not sit well with her either…

She felt she would just need some time to digest it as with everything else she learned. As she fooled around on her computer, she got a few laughs at the many silly comments people made on the Internet for some time when her doorbell rang. She placed her laptop on her table in front of her couch as a smile began to form on her face.

And as she opened her door a grin came over her face; he wore a black bow tie tied around his neck "Welcome back." she chuckled.

"You ready?" he said with a grin of his own.

Nicole stepped away from her door as Sonic stepped in and closed her door behind himself; she walked over to her couch and turned her TV off "I still have not made up my mind…"

Nicole could not stop her grins when Sonic came around, and as she turned around Sonic had moved closer to her "So what am I going to have to do to convince you?"

Nicole was backed into her couch they were standing so near to one another; she then smirked as she crossed her arms "Nothing." she stated in a challenging tone.

Sonic chuckled "Is that so? Well what if I told you this is the biggest party of the year and besides everyone else being disappointed you didn't show after you saved Mobius. I would be miserable without your company tonight and…"

Then Nicole uncrossed her arms grinning at him "Alright Sonic, I get it. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to experience such a thing…"

"Good." he said as he suddenly wrapped his arms around her, and Nicole briefly blinked her eyes in surprise; though she returned the hug with a smile closing her eyes "It'll be fun trust me."

"I trust you Sonic…" she said as she held him with a gentle smile on her face.

Soon they released the hug, and Nicole opened her eyes as she grinned again "I got an idea from the citizens in my time out today. Let me go change."

Sonic nodded at her as she made her way upstairs to change into different clothing. While Sonic was waiting he looked into a shiny picture frame of a red rose on a book shelf next to her stairs. He inspected his attire straightening his black bow tie in the reflection with his grin.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Nicole coming down the stairs. He grinned whistling at her, and she shyly looked at him as he eyed her getup. She wore blue short pants, a purple short sleeved shirt, and a purple hat covering the hair over one of her eyes.

Sonic rubbed his chin "You know, if I saw you out and about I might not recognize you."

Nicole grinned back at him "I'm glad you like it, but won't others suspect it's me if I'm with you?"

"No biggy." he shrugged "Just follow me from a distance. When we get there no one should have a reason to suspect you since even I don't recognize you that much without your robes. Let's get going, were going to miss the speech." he said turning and heading for the door.

She smiled brightly at his enthusiasm as she followed him out the door and down the path to her house. Once they were on the crowded sidewalks she kept her eyes on him as she stepped into the crowd. And surprisingly no one did recognize her; it seemed Sally was right about her attire.

And she kept her eyes on Sonic as she kept a safe distance from him in the crowds of people. It didn't take long for her to figure out where they were going as she had guessed earlier. The walk was slow because there were so many people out as they inched towards Castle Acorn.

The sun was starting to set, and a light darkness started to come over the city as the street lights came on. It was sort of cool out as well, but with so many people in such close proximity it generated a lot of body heat. As they reached the castle grounds with people chattering all around herself, she forgot how good it felt to go unnoticed like she had in Central City. Even though she learned she was known worldwide in the past, many people in Central city did not recognize her. It was a given the people of New Mobotropolis knew her better. And so far no one had still seemed to not recognize her; she was sure she'd got a few stares but no one paid her any mind.

The castle grounds were decorated fabulously; the whole area of the entrance of the castle had many tables of refreshment. The shrubbery was coated with many colored blinking lights, a red carpet was spread down the length of the area to the castle doors, and many makeshift stands were set up all around selling various things like food, souvenirs, games, etc. The whole area that led to the front of the castle had been fashioned into a party area. Nicole held an impressed face; her eyes slightly wide and curious by the revelry around her.

Speakers and video monitors also were setup around the castle walls; most likely having something to do with the events of the night; there were also camera crews all over the place. Nicole temporarily lost track of Sonic as she looked as far as she could to her left and right. As far as she could see all she could see were people conversing and having a good time; dressed in casual attire but still very nice. The whole city had to be here and around the castle grounds.

There was a podium at the entrance of the castle doors, and the royal family was near it; she guessed there would be some type of speech after what happened and just for the festival. All the excitement around her made her feel giddy as she snapped her attention back to looking for Sonic. She quickly spotted him near the podium with the other Freedom Fighters. Without hesitation she made her way to him, weaving through the thick crowds of people. Once she was insight the Freedom Fighters took notice of her.

The guys stood opposite of the females. And the guys wore various colored short sleeved shirts and the females' wore golden earrings and exotic looking short dresses. Bunnie and Amy had eyeliner while Sally had a dark red lipstick.

It took Amy a second, but she recognized Nicole looking impressed "I hardly recognize you." she said over all the noise.

Nicole stood by the females of the group with a small smile "I have gone unnoticed." she spoke over the increasing loudness.

"I knew it was you." Sally said smiling at her.

"I think it might be the purple…" Antoine said with a smirk as he sipped on his drink.

"That's a good thing; we don't need any more attention when the men lose this year." Bunnie said grabbing Nicole's shoulder and patting it.

Nicole nodded looking slightly confused as the guys threw more playful banter at the females; exchanging things that had happened at previous festivals. For a few minutes, Nicole was caught in the thrall of the men arguing with the females about how males were superior. But in those few minutes, the crowds of talking people began silencing as Elias kissed his wife and hugged his daughter and stepped up onto the podium to speak.

He cleared his throat, checking the mike, and he briefly looked out into the crowds of people smiling. The camera crews closed in on him as video of him popped up on the monitor's around the area and everywhere else it was being broadcast into the city.

Once everyone's attention was on Elias, and it was quiet he spoke "Good evening everyone, I would like to personally welcome you on the behalf of the Family of Acorn, to the sixth annual Thanksgiving Festival!"

Spurring the crowds of people to applaud and cheer as he continued speaking "For those of you who don't know this festival is a commemoration of the untimely events that rocked New Mobotropolis six years ago; to push past the negative and look towards the positive. Though after yesterday I thought I might make the proposal of adding its events to the strength of us all. What do you all say? Yay or Nay for the addition of the salvation of New Mobotropolis and Mobius to the Thanksgiving Festival!"

To which the citizen's cheered yay, loudly and proudly as if nothing bad happened; Elias continued "That's good, as tonight is a time of celebration. We have survived against the deadly forces of our enemies for another year and for that we are grateful. Together we stand and together we survive and for another day we live!"

The crowd hooped and hollered as Elias continued speaking "Also do not forget to be mindful of our guests. Our allies are here so make sure to show them a good time. So everybody relax and have a good time because the party does not stop until you do!" Elias raised his hands with everyone cheering him on.

With his hands in the air and everyone cheering, in a dramatic fashion the city's force field came down letting a huge rush of air enter the city. In a few moments, confetti and balloons fell from above; from the top of the castle showering everyone below. Elias stepped down from the podium as Mina's band began playing music and he went back over to his wife and child. Maximillion and Alicia hugged, and all around people jumped up and down in delight.

Nicole on the other hand watched it all in slow motion looking quite confused. She was conveniently left out of the speech and to top it off everything that happened seemed to be completely forgotten by everyone around herself...

How they treated her and all…

It was the strangest thing, as she stared into thousands of happy eyes, all she could see were bold face lies. But she then noticed her friends; they dawned neutral expressions; all of them knowing exactly what happened, being directly involved. Knowing how close they were to destruction it seemed they held her sentiments too.

But after a minute or so of celebration a castle rep; a female raccoon dressed in blue secretaries clothing; came up to the podium speaking into the mic with a smile "Alright guys, you know what time it is!" the crowd cheered "It's time for the first ever Battle of the Sexes! By request we polled you all to see who will represent you, and it comes as no surprise that you all chose…" the rep pulled a paper out of an envelope "The Freedom Fighters!" she pointed to them standing right next to the podium.

Nicole stayed behind as to not alert attention to herself. But the guys walked out past the podium as the area in front of it was cleared and two tables were set up. The challenge's consisted of two events; Mind and Physical. The first challenge was the mind challenge, and the males won because of the combined power of Tails and Rotor.

But the second challenge of the physical took a lot longer as the males bent the rules calling Knuckles since he was available. But he lost to Bunnie's strength leaving the first Battle of the Sexes a tie.

After the event was over the castle rep announced the next event, which was Mina live in concert which would be up in a while. Nicole was surprised about her own reaction which was of being totally engrossed in the current happenings; if felt good to be unnoticed. The announcement of Mina made her weary though….

Soon though the Freedom Fighters rejoined her, and they all made their way around the castle taking in part of the many festivities. By this point, Nicole had all but forgot about the bad happenings in her life and was having a blast; even more so because no one recognized her. On their way around they had run into other Freedom Fighters and allies. There was a minute long confrontation with Knuckles and Julie-Su when Rouge had made a surprise visit today. Nicole noticed how much the bat woman loved the attention she got, and she found it hilarious at how she poked Julie-Su's buttons by flirting with Knuckles right in front of her.

They had also run into Sonic's parents, and they had pulled Nicole aside because they recognized her in her disguise; it took Sonic forever to break her away from his parents. After making their way half way around the castle and grabbing something to eat Mina was announced to sing by the castle rep. The Freedom Fighters stood were they were to watch Mina on the many monitors around the area.

The Freedom Fighters all dawned frowns; Nicole stood next to and near Sonic with a slightly worried expression. Her brows wrinkled together as Mina began to sing; feeling comfort from his presence and feeling unnerved about Mina and what words might come out of her mouth…

Mina walked on the makeshift stage as people cheered, grabbing a hold of the mic that was center stage "Are you guys having a good time!"

"I love you mina!" a person in the crowd yelled as the crowd cheered.

Mina waved to her fans as she spoke "I want to dedicate this first song to a special person; it's new. I won't say your name but you know who you are if you're here!" Mina said enthusiastically.

Getting more applause Mina signaled her band, counting down with her fingers. Once they started playing they went through an introduction and a verse before Mina started singing. It was a slower song, giving Nicole who watched in dreaded anticipation the impression that it might not be what she thought it was….

"Traveler, can you tell us were you've been…."

"More importantly how did you return here…"

Then the drums bust them into the chorus

"No direction… follow your heart…"

"No direction…but fight the flow…"

"No direction but your destination…"

The song repeated the chorus a few times doubling back on itself before reaching its ending; which had the people going wild. But Nicole watched impressed; the song had positive overtones. Out of all the events that happened tonight, this one by far had mesmerized Nicole the most. She had hung on every word that came out of Mina's mouth….and though the exact meaning of the song was not clear…Nicole knew it was a subtle apology to her….

As Mina finished her song, she began singing another set as some people began moving around again. As they continued enjoying the evening all the Freedom Fighters had worried that Mina would start singing her bad songs about Nicole. But as Mina kept singing she left out any song that was directed towards Nicole. Singing songs from her older catalogue, it gave Nicole some relief as they enjoyed the festivities.

They had been around the entirety of the castle as it started getting late, rounding back to Mina's concert stage. Along the way Antoine had attempted to win Bunnie a giant teddy bear, only succeeding after spending a sizable amount of cash. Sonic had won a small stuffed plush doll for Nicole, Sally, and Amy. As they reached the front of the castle again it castle rep announced that it was time for the annual slow dance; with it being the last event around the castle.

The area where the Battle of the Sexes had taken place had been fashioned into a dance floor; with white removable stone tiles placed down. Mina and her band provided the slow jams as people began to crowd the dance area. The Freedom Fighters hung back for a minute before Sally was invited onto the dance floor by Guntiver and many of their allies, and citizens began flocking to the dance floor.

Amy was invited to dance by Stu, not before threatening Sonic for a dance later; leaving Rotor, Nicole, Tails, and Sonic.

Tails elbowed Sonic in the ribs "This turned out great huh?" he said over the noise.

Sonic grinned "It's almost like old times. I forgot how much fun this was." he yelled back at Tails.

"You're not going to dance Rotor?" Tails glanced over at him with his smile.

Rotor shook his head smiling, eating on a pretzel "I don't dance." he stated simply.

"Well what about you?" Sonic suddenly asked Tails.

"…Nah, I'm ok." Tails grinned rubbing the back of his head.

And after Sonic spoke a familiar voice made Tails flinch as his eyes widened, "Nice night, hey?" Barby spoke from behind the four.

Causing them all to look with curious expressions; Tails turned to look slower than the rest "Oi, have you been avoiding me?" Barby stared at Tails smirking; her hands on her hips.

Tails blinked his eyes speaking in a nervous tone "…Well…no…."

Rotor then chuckled as he poked fun at Tails "Well now that I think about it, Tails has been leading us around in sporadic directions."

This made Barby dawn a wise look as Nicole smiled jumping in on the fun "He has been looking behind himself all night..."

Tails glared at them all "What are you guys talking about?"

But Barby remained skeptical crossing her arms "Fine." she said uncrossing her arms "Let's have a dance then, we are leaving tomorrow, and we don't get to come to the festival all the time." she said losing her frown and smirked as she walked over and grabbed his arm.

Tails eyes went wide again as he was dragged away and the trio laughed as they watched Tails go onto the dance floor. Tails seemed to be a decent dancer too as he danced with Barby in the slow dance. Leaving Sonic, Rotor and Nicole to watch the dancing from afar. Sonic had looked to Nicole catching her eyes; but she smiled shaking her head. It seemed she still did not want to attract attention to herself.

But she leaned over to him and whispered in his ear "You can make it up to me later."

And he whispered back to her "I know just the place."

But soon Sonic was dragged onto the dance floor by Sealia. But not before Sealia hugged Nicole, Rotor, and Sonic. So for the remainder of the evening Nicole and Rotor stood on the outskirts of the dancing. Sonic was a horrible dancer and Rotor and Nicole got a good laugh out of the ordeal. Nicole also watched quietly as he danced with Amy, Sally, and some of their allies. She enjoyed Mina's older music and before too long, the dancing was over, and the castle rep announced the ending of the festival provided by the castle.

As the people dispersed they cheered and yelled about what a good time they had. The Freedom Fighters had gathered up for the last time that night letting each other know where they were going because the first half of the Thanks Giving Festival was over. The second half consisted of parties conducted by the citizens themselves, and they were spread all over the city. They usually didn't end until three in the morning, but sometimes they lasted into the next day.

But for the first time of the night Nicole noticed Sonic was disappointed by something. Though they had spent a good amount of time together tonight the Freedom Fighters split up; all invited to certain gatherings around the city or just going out to have a night on the town. Bunnie and Antoine were the first to leave, off to who knows where. Tails left shortly after with the Downuda Freedom Fighters, Amy, Sally, and Rotor went off with their allies.

Leaving Nicole and Sonic as they both figured had a little bit to do with how they were treated. It seemed they were all still giving them some space, which they did appreciate after it seemed everyone had turned on them both a few days ago because of disagreements of interest.

So with the city still in party mode Sonic and Nicole had left the castle with Sonic leading. It had got so hectic that Sonic had to grab a hold of Nicole's hand. But in no time they were a block away from Castle Acorn; Nicole had a firm grip on Sonic's hand.

"How are you making up my dance?" Nicole asked him with a big smile as they walked through crowds of people.

"You'll see!" he spoke over all the noise not looking back at her as they rounded a corner tugging her along.

Nicole held on to her hat as they moved off the sidewalk and onto the streets were citizens openly danced. And after getting away from the many buildings near the castle they approached an enclosed area with many trees and shrubbery. Nicole dawned a curious expression once they reached the opening to the enclosed area surrounded by trees.

The second they stepped inside the Chao Garden her eyes widened in surprise by the many glowing fluorescent colors. The lake glew, the chao's heads were glowing as well, it was reminiscent of a story book of a magical forest. It was as if they had stepped inside another world in New Mobotropolis. It was a small forest complete with a lake for the chao's There were so many of them Nicole never guessed they were in New Mobotropolis because she had never seen any.

Nicole took off her hat since there was no one else here and Sonic grinned glancing over at her. They were both quiet as they began walking around the little lake to take a seat. Once they were seated a few chao's swarmed them. Flying around them but one naughty chao took Nicole's hat, flying away and getting chased by others.

Nicole reached outstretching her arms "…Oh shoot…" but she sighed as her hands fell "…I suppose I will be fine…." she said as she placed her stuffed animal on her lap.

Sonic snickered at her and she did her best to look grumpy, even as she scooted closer to him. She then placed her hand on his, and they both fell silent for a moment as they stared into the glowing lake.

And Nicole spoke sometime later breaking the silence as she looked over at him with a sympathetic expression "What is wrong Sonic? I cannot say for sure…but it seems like something has been bothering you this evening…"

Sonic chuckled as he looked into the Lake of Rings "…Oh it's just the guys….we're just not as close as we used to be…"

Nicole dawned a slightly worried face as she searched for something to say. But she didn't have much experience with friends or relationships. She never had many friends; Sonic was the closest friend she ever had "…It is like you have told me isn't it? Everything always changes, and nothing stays the same forever…if you are drifting maybe it supposes things are changing again…"

Sonic nodded his head with a weak smile as he continued to stare at the Lake of Rings "…Yeah I know…" he paused "….I'm going to miss them…" he finished.

Nicole was unsure of how to comfort him so she scooted even closer to him and leaned on him "…Maybe time could change it back around too…" she said as she dawned a neutral expression.

"…I'll wait it out…" he responded.

Sonic nodded once more in silence as he wrapped an arm around her neck, and she closed her eyes. They both basked in the silence as they began discussing how the evening had went late into the night. Discussing all manner of subjects now that New Mobotropolis was safe, and they had some time now….

The next morning…

The party for some had ended only a few hours ago. Some citizens were sprawled onto the streets fast asleep after having partied too hard while some remained sensible and went to bed at a decent time. It was predicted to be a warm but cloudy day, and it was already turning out to be as the sunrise was being blocked by a few clouds already.

Nicole had awoke about an hour ago, down stairs in her kitchen cooking. Back in her usual purple robes she looked over her shoulder to Sonic on her couch using her laptop to check his email; one of the few things he could do without too much hassle She had convinced him to stay over again last night, and now she was cooking for them. She held a stoic expression as she turned back around looking at her stove as she mixed batter.

As she stirred her small glass cup with a spoon, she recalled all recent events in her mind. The Thanks Giving Festival had lived up to all the hype, but now that it was over she was looking at things critically again. As things seemed to calm down again an all the horrible things that happened did as well….she did not want to be here anymore…

After all the mistreatment, she disliked the people of New Mobotropolis now. She disliked her friends to a smaller extent for turning their backs on her; Bunnie a little less; and obviously not Sonic. She hated the corruption that was clearly exposed at her trial. They were so power mad that they would have thrown her in jail for the rest of her life to take her property.

It showed that they didn't care about the consequences, and they definitely didn't care about her. It was all a big power grab and for that, Nicole immensely disliked the Royal Family and the politicians who ran New Mobotropolis; the Consul of Acorn most notably.

Now she had the decisions of what to do with her property looming over her head; what to do about the technology that had already been released; how to stop technology from going out of control and destroying the future. How to make sure Eggman would be stopped from destroying the future and many more questions. Rotor and she had come up with some pretty good theories…though she was upset at him right now…

He did tell her and only her at the festival last night, he had found something on the last DVD with the password encryption. He whispered to her that it was very important, and that she absolutely needed to see what he'd found. And by the tone of his voice last night it sounded like it was very good news, which she found a bit relieving. And she was going to go see what he found as soon as possible…but just not right now…

She guessed whatever it was it must have been good by Rotors jovial demeanor when he told her of it. And she knew she needed to get on to finding out about what to do about all of everything…but she also felt at the same time it was time for her to leave…

Nicole then grabbed oven mittens on the counter in front of her, opening her oven and pulling out two biscuits. Then using the batter she made to cook pancakes on the top of her stove. Her expression remained blank as she flipped the pancakes and soon flipped a few onto two plates.

She took the food she had made into the living room on two plates and sat down next to Sonic. Sonic happily accepted the food from her, and they ate in silence. After a few minutes, they finished their food and Nicole looked to Sonic with a light frown.

Sonic blinked his eyes and his brows furrowed as she spoke "…I have been thinking a lot this morning and…." she paused briefly turning her head away from him "I cannot be here…"

Sonic placed his plate down on her table as he listened to her, and she stood from the couch turning her back and crossing her arms "…I do not want to leave without you…" Nicole sighed "…But I will be leaving today…" she finished.

Sonic's eyes widened into a shocked expression as he stood from her couch "Whoa slow down turbo, where are you going to go?"

"Anywhere but here!" she said forcibly raising her voice a bit.

And Sonic frowned gritting his teeth as unfortunately he did agree with her a bit; he wasn't even upset at her harsh tone. Nicole continued as her voice became softer "…I have strong feelings for you Sonic….I don't want to leave you….but I have all these problems that are intertwined even more so into my life lately…" she said keeping her back turned and her tone still upset.

Sonic kept his frustrated look thinking of something to say as Nicole continued "I don't know what to do about my DVDs! I don't know how I'm supposed to stop technology from going out of control! How to save the future! I don't want to deal with the people who disliked me; I want them out of my life! And The Royal Family and the politicians can go fall in a ditch!"

Sonic was drawing a blank as she continued "…I just need to go away for a while…"

Then something clicked in Sonic's mind as his eyes widened, and he suddenly grinned "I don't know about you but I could use a break after all this heavy conversation. You wanna take a vacation?"

Nicole was taken aback by Sonic's response as she turned around uncrossing her arms as she looked at him. She raised a single eyebrow with a confused look "A vacation?" she paused.

She held a healthy dose of skepticism upon her face as she looked at him grinning at her. But the suggestion began to form ideas in her head that did seem feasible. But she looked slightly worried as her eyes downcast to her floor slowly shaking her head "…But I don't know what I'm going to do..."

Sonic smiled walking over to her and placed both of his hands on her shoulders "That's what vacations are for. You need some time to forget everything you know and relax."

Nicole kept her head down "…But I will have to come back...these problems will still be here...no matter where I go…"

But Sonic sealed the deal grinning at her "Just you and me huh? We'll go away for as long as you like, months, years, we'll return whenever you feel like it."

Nicole's air of depression was instantly washed away as she lifted her head, and she began to form a smile on her face. The more she thought about it the more Sonic's proposal made her feel it was a legitimate way to deal with what she was currently feeling. She was looking to get away, and it would even give Sonic and her time to bond…

And with time away she knew how she felt would change, and she might even be able to return to the city and deal with everything. But right now she just wanted out…

Nicole couldn't stop herself as a big grin formed on her face looking at Sonic as he looked at her "…That is a wonderful idea!"

And she suddenly flung her arms around his neck pressing her lips to his. Sonic's eyes widened momentarily before he returned her kiss. And then they broke it as she kept her arms around his neck as she began laughing. Sonic held her joining her in her laughter spinning her around. And while Nicole was in Sonic's embrace for the first time in a long time she truly felt she was moving forward...

But for some today was just getting back to the grind…or so they thought...

The Freedom Fighters and many technicians entered the control room yawning. Tails and Rotor specifically took seats at their desk. Antoine, Amy, Sally, and Bunnie all held drowsy expressions as they waited to see what needed to be done now that the Thanks Giving Festival was over. Still giving Nicole and Sonic sometime after all that happened, they hadn't called them to come to work today; but they certainly would be calling them for work tomorrow.

Rotor sipped on a cup of coffee in his hand as Tails spoke at all the technicians as they were all seated now "Alright guys, let's get to work…" he said un-enthusiastically.

Getting grunts and mumbles from them Tails ignored them and spoke up at the New OS with a slight frown "Computer, force field status check."

The New OS responded moments later "…Checking…force field at one hundred percent capacity."

"Ok computer, open the diagnostic tools." Tails said scratching his head.

"Executing …." the New OS responded as the tool opened on everyone's computers around the room.

But as they all lurched their hands onto their keyboards, they found they could not use the tool. It was already opened and running, sending them all on alert. Rotor sat his coffee down dawning a frown and so did Antoine, Amy, Sally, and Bunnie. Rotor adjusted his glasses speaking to the New OS "Computer, our diagnostic tools are already running? What is accessing them?"

"Diagnostic tool is being run by New OS." the New OS responded.

Tails and Rotor looked confused at each other, and all the technicians around the room looked just as confused. It had been well established a long time, about six years to be exact, that the New OS did not operate on its own anymore. It didn't have any of Nicole's language as it was essentially a blank OS. And it made everyone worried because they had been manually operating it since.

Antoine, Amy, Sally, and Bunnie looked over at the two confusedly "I thought you said the New OS didn't have any automatic functionality anymore." Sally said with a frown.

Tails shook his head at them "It doesn't…well at least it's not supposed to…" and Tails then looked up and spoke again "Computer? Why are you running it?"

And the New OS responded "Changes were made at six forty five yesterday. Diagnostic's for the operation of New Mobotropolis are set to run until settings are changed."

There was still confusion on most people's faces but Rotor and Tails looked at each other with widened eyes not believing what they were hearing. Their adrenaline pumped knowing what it possibly meant, and Bunnie's mouth was twisted with confusion on her face "Nah what does thet mean again exactly?" she asked the pair.

And Tails looked at Antoine, Amy, Sally, and Bunnie with a surprised look "…The last time operations for the city ran automatically like this was when Nicole was around…."

And they all blinked their eyes as they began to grasp what Tails was saying; Rotor had a slack jaw "…It's almost as if the New OS has been codeed with some of its programming…"

Tails voice was shaky as he spoke up at the New OS again "Computer? Are diagnostic's being run for the city's power grids?"

"Diagnostics for New Mobotropolis power grids are currently running, they are set to run until settings are changed." the New OS responded.

Rotor, Tails, Antoine, Amy, Sally, and Bunnie, and the technicians were at a loss for words. Everyone had slack jaws now and everyone quietly looked around at one another in disbelief. They had to manually control the New OS for six years and now all of a sudden it was running automatic functionality like Nicole out of the blue…

And before anyone could break the silence the New OS spoke again "I have detected a malformation in a transformer at power grid number four. Technicians are recommended to be deployed."

Then Rotor spoke looking up with disbelief on his face "Computer? Nanite functionality status…"

"Checking…" it responded "…Nanite monitoring system active….ninety eight percent of nanites are active…active monitoring is on…missing DLL files are required for other functionality…"

Again Tails and Rotor looked at each other completely shocked. So did Antoine, Amy, Sally, and Bunnie and all the technicians in the room; they did not believe what they were hearing. And Amy blinked her eyes speaking in the silence "…I was wondering why I haven't seen any malfunctioning nanites all yesterday…"

"Me neither…" Antoine said with just as wide eyes.

The technicians spoke to the person next to them as the room suddenly filled with chatter. Rotor then placed a hand on his head with wide eyes and spoke to the New OS again "Computer? Are all city protocols set to run on automatic?"

And it responded in its neutral tone "All city protocols were set to run on automatic at six forty five yesterday. All current New Mobotropolis protocols are set to automatic until settings are changed."

Rotor stood from his seat, the room was quiet, and everyone looked at him. It took them a minute for it to set in that everything was running like it used to. It meant all the work they had to do….they didn't have to do it anymore….only minor checks….just like when Nicole was around….

Rotor was completely wide eyed just like everyone in the room; he looked at all the technicians "…Everyone….your dismissed...you have the day off…you have a lot of time now actually…" he said in a disbelieving tone.

Rotor fell back onto his chair with relief still looking surprised. And the technician's wasted no time, smiling brightly, jumping out of their seats, and running into the hallway screaming with joy. Tails stood from his seat as he and Rotor looked over at Antoine, Amy, Sally, and Bunnie. They all suddenly dawned bright smiles all thinking the same thing…it seemed Nicole had left them another gift….

One month later…

It was a bright sunny day with clear blue skies on a small collection of islands surrounded by much ocean On the beaches were white sand and crystal clear water rushing up onto the beach. There was a sizable amount of people up and down the shore of this particular island. All dressed in short loose clothing and bathing suits. There were a few bamboo service stands on the shore as well and Nicole and Sonic had just stepped out of line and began walking down the beach with orange drinks in their hands.

Sonic and she held hands as they walked down the beach; Nicole held a smile on her face as they quietly walked along. Sonic wore a short pair of blue swimming shorts, and she wore a purple two piece bathing outfit. They both glanced around the beach heading nowhere in particular, enjoying another day of warm weather and fun. They had been on vacation from New Mobotropolis for a little while now…

A family of otters passed by them as they walked down the beach, and they glanced at the parents trying to keep their children under control as they ran around them. Sonic and she chuckled at the scene as they continued to walk and sip on their tangy exotic fruit drinks.

The first destination she chose for her vacation were the islands of Emerald Hill Zone; which they were currently on. They had already been here for a few weeks, and soon they would be departing for the next place she chose to go. The islands that Emerald Hill were made up of had been converted into resorts since New Mobotropolis had become a superpower. They had been that way for some time now, and they got plenty of visitors.

After the Thanks Giving Festival Sonic and she both left New Mobotropolis about a week later. The guys were slightly surprised hearing her announcement and wished them well seeing how they had found Nicole's other gift and were even more forgiving than they were before. They did at least seem happy that she wasn't completely leaving. Sonic and she were also starting to suspect they were starting to notice that something was going on between them too; which it was. She didn't worry about it for the moment though, she was sure she could handle it whenever she returned…

The whole group of the Freedom Fighters also seemed to be growing closer as friends again after the turmoil they'd all went through. She knew the others could tell she was still upset at them all for the time being. Nicole smirked glancing at Sonic as he looked at waves crash onto the beach. She was sure all her friends would be a little happier now that they had new free time again.

Sonic and she continued walking along the beach hand in hand Nicole looked straight ahead again with amusing thoughts in her mind. Sonic had been making suspicious accusations of all her continued choices of purple attire, declaring it a conspiracy. Though she chose purple simply because she liked the color, it had turned into a little game between them, and she began purposely choosing anything purple because of it.

No one had recognized her on the islands either, but there had been a few fellows who'd tried flirting with her in the few weeks they'd been on the islands. They recognized Sonic, but they were bold enough to try anyway. Sonic of course chased off any advances on her…maybe not in the best of ways sending one fellow who was very bold on her flying into the water…

Nicole removed her straw from her lips as they watched a group of people playing with a beach ball on the sand. They both stopped walking to watch; they both held smiles. Sonic and she hadn't spoken of her problems of it all since they arrived…

And she was sure since they'd arrived, she had become a lot calmer...

That and before she'd left she went to see Rotor and saw what was on her last DVD…and the Freedom Fighters all discussed what it all meant, and they all came up with the same conclusions Rotor had…and they all agreed to what it meant…

And everyone…including herself now knew she did not act selfishly in her actions six years ago…it was actually quite the opposite…

And they all asked for much forgiveness which she had to admit warmed her heart despite how they acted…

She felt much better knowing that information before she left…they also knew Rotor was her creator now too…and she also refused to start letting Rotor call her his daughter though technically it was sort of true…

Then Nicole broke her eyes away from the people they were watching and tugged Sonic along in another direction. Then they approached and walked down a patch of shore with people relaxing on beach towels heading in the direction of the small town area "I am hungry." Nicole stated with a smile.

Sonic smirked "I wanted to be hungry for that event there having tonight." he sipped on his drink as she pulled him.

"I'm sure the fireworks, and the fire torch jugglers will be entertaining." she said briefly glancing at him.

"Don't forget the sweet ice cream and cake." he said as they walked under the shadow of a palm tree.

Nicole slowed her pace looking curiously at him as he sniffed the air; they neared even closer to the small town of the resort on this island.

And Sonic smiled even more "Their cooking barbecue! Let's go!" he said in a bright tone pulling her along now.

"Sonic!" she said grinning again as she began to quicken her pace with his.

So they walked in the moment, continuing down the beach going in any direction their whims led them. They both still wondered how long they could be away from real life, but it didn't matter so much anymore. With the little surprise she'd left, New Mobotropolis was back on autopilot, and things would be ok until they wished to return. Here and now, they both had freedom, independence, and control over their lives...

The End