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On a sheer display of anger, the rain heavily hits and blasts at the soil of the plateau. The deafening sounds of the droplets made it hard for anybody to hear their own thoughts.
Challenging the storm, an airplane keeps moving forward, Constant, unavoidable, and uninterruptable like the natural phenomenon of a tornado. Until it desires to stop for its final destination, where a pair of structures were waiting.
The airstrip blinked its lights along the road, inviting the plane to touchdown. The small turbine jet went silent, and the craft graciously glided, nice and easy, ignoring the chaotic surrounding, while bringing the landing gears.
A few spotlight towers turn their beams towards the aircraft. Purple-ish blue, with yellow edges, with emblems painted in on the side wings, and the fin, right before the rudder. The drawing consisted of a pair of yellow and white animal tails, forming a crooked 'T', with the left side of the pair getting divided into very little purple squares, in a sense of fragmentation of the image. Once the plane has parked in a road outside the main landing strip, the dual-cockpit canopy erected, but only a single figure emerged. It wore a cloak, hiding it completely from the raging droplets, and the light.
The figure slowly walked away towards a large three-store building on the other side. There were a few glassy windows, and a human outfitted with military gear hanged in a chair by a double door frame, somewhat safe from the rain under a marquee, contemplating the falling water and the approaching person.
"I wish to speak to him." the hooded figure said.
"He's in the middle of a training session, giving a beating over the recruits, but I'll tell him you are here." the human soldier stood still, his height towering the intruder. "Your aircraft has a top-priority-friendly IFF signal, but... who are you?"
The hood has quickly turned into small particles of glowing green, fragmented bit by bit, floating away into nothingness. A female mobian lynx with grey smooth hair, her fur with a washed-out shade of brown. The tips of her ears, along with her hands, which one day were cleanly black and dark, have greyed out as well.
Several spots of fur around her body were plain white while she wore a purple vest with twin wide black strips on the sideways, along with black long pants and black plain boots. Jewelry was present on her outfit, with two golden earrings being carried in her left ear. Her right hand had a small silver bracelet with a purple shining gemstone, and her left hand carried a golden ring in the ring finger.
"An acquaintance of him, from a long time."
The human has escorted the lynx inside the building until they reached a white, big room, filled with mats. A dozen of people, human and mobian alike, were aligned in three rows, paying attention to the central figure who was shouting at them. Words of inspiration paired with words of intimidation. Black quills with smaller red shades along, an imposing presence despite the smaller stature of a mobian. His red eyes turned to the attention of the new visitors. With a simple gesture of his hand, all of the people have left the room in a rush.
"Greetings, Shadow. I apologize for interrupting your work."
"Hello, Nicole." the hedgehog bowed, "It's been almost a year since we last met, in your husband's funeral, I believe."
"Yes..." she faintly replied, "I have a few inquiries."
"You could have contacted me through a comm-channel, this rain is nothing for your processing power."
"It would be feasible, but I wish to discuss a personal subject. I'm aware how organics feel more intimate and legit when engaging in a conversation 'in the flesh'." she used her hands to signal the slang. "Well, as much as flesh as this platform can be."
"Understandable.”, He nodded, “Feel free to ask away."
She walked towards one of the very few windows of the room as if it was required to avoid the gaze and distract the mind to release the thoughts inside her fast-access memories.
"How do you do it?", she crosses her arms "Just like me, you had to watch everyone around you go. I was lucky for Tails having reached such a long lifespan, possibly due to his mutations that gifted him his second tail." she hanged her head "But... It's so difficult. He's gone. He was the last one among our circle of friends, from the period we were known as the Freedom Fighters. And he's never coming back, just like the rest."
"That's the natural order of things," he said. And it is true that Nicole tried to mimic all the way through that natural process. Once the fox had passed his prime, with gray spots of fur getting more and more common, she gradually changed her appearance to increase her complexion to match his own. It would seem unfitting to have an apparently young and shiny lynx by the side of an aging vulpine, and not to mention their children, who were already grown-up adults.
"I don't understand. We had the technology for digitalizing him. We had all tools to make him immortal. We had everything... But, why did he refuse?" she sobbed. "Why did he leave me in this world? He had this argument of 'not wanting to play god', but who would judge him?"
Shadow put a hand on her shoulder. "I can think of several reasons.", he raised his head, watching the small glimpse of the chaotic sky full of clouds and pouring water. "If he was completely digitalized into a software, or hardware, would this person be Miles Prower? Or would that be a faker? A copy, generated from a thousand of charts and readings?"
Nicole shakes her head, still processing the thought. "I don't know..."
"What could ever guarantee this?"
The silence was the answer. He took his time to continue.
"Would you be satisfied if that new Miles was not the exact same Miles who shared this long life at your side? It could have been a clone, but not him. Not his soul. If you believe in souls, of course."
"Probably not...", she shook her head.
"And what would you do, if you figured that out after the procedure was done?"
She nodded, understanding now the complexity of the matter. Her advanced processors were so focused on her personal urges, that logic was lost in the algorithm.
"Nicole, you should cherish the past. Be glad that you had the opportunity to spend roughly a century with a person who truly loved you, and seen you as an equal, despite the incredible existential gap of him being a organic, with flesh and blood, and you being a synthetic construct. Be glad on how amazing your life was." he spoke at a slower pace, "You two have shared a love without the interference of carnal instincts dictated by hormones, which organic beings are stuck to. You are probably the only being in this world who lived the purest form of love and affection that one could ever dream."
The lynx left a small whimper, but turned her gaze to the hedgehog, with a small trickle of tears going down, yet meeting a smile on the way of the flow. "Thank you..."
Shadow has given her time to recompose herself, taking a couple of minutes until she continued to speak. "Another problem is... When I see my family, I already predict on how things are going to get even harder. Our children are also very close to finishing their trip in this realm. They don't share the gifted DNA of their father as you may guess... They are adopted. I love them. I really do. But sometimes, I wonder how it will be to see all of them gone, too. I feel terrible. The thought of shutting myself off pesters my circuits every morning since that day. But if I do that, I'm sure I'll meet a sea of void. Emptiness. Oblivion."
An eerie silence stood between them.
"Shadow, how do you do it? How do you wake up with the motivation of moving forward?"
"I am bound to this world by an oath. I promised Maria that I would protect it and I always look forward to keeping that until the end. I also have a huge responsibility to carry, in the form of my ultimate power. No one as great and respectful as Sonic has ever emerged yet, and that's why I'm still looking for it. I can be immortal, but I'm not unbeatable. The world needs new guardians, and I will guide them to that goal."
"A very selfless mindset. It makes me feel guilty on how I feel."
"Being selfish is in the nature of all living beings. You chased the concept of being one, and you achieved. That's our final proof. You are no different." he tapped her shoulder again, while taken a step away and crossing his arms, "I won't lie to you, if it wasn't for this promise, I'm not sure how I would cope. If you wish to call it a day, I will respect you."
She held her left arm, hanging her head. "Were you always aware that this moment would come?"
"In a way. But I can't tell if I made the right call. I had the opportunity to embrace love as you did with a certain person, but I refused. I always feared this day would come. But sometimes when I'm alone with my thoughts, I feel regret. This person is gone. And I never shared my true feelings. I kept myself in a safe distance, to not feel the same pain I had felt with Maria."
"I see.", she tightened her grip on her arm.
The two stared at the window, reflecting on the choices they made. There was no right answer. Only the consequences.
Almost ten minutes have passed until Nicole has decided to speak her mind again.
"As an organic, do you believe in afterlife?"
"I do."
"This concept is very attractive... I really want to meet everyone again. Sally, Sonic, Amy, Antoine, Bunnie, Rotor... And many others... And him, of course. I wish there is a world where we could all have fun and be happy again." she crossed her arms, "However, if I reach nonfunctionality, I certainly won’t be able to join them."
Shadow brought a hand to his chin for a moment. Turned around and took two steps, with hesitation, though eventually stepped at a full pace ahead, gesturing with a hand for her to follow.
They walked in a corridor, with LED lamps on the floor illuminating the walls after every few steps, until they reached an automated door made of metal plating. The room revealed was very small, only possible to fit a single chair, which was surrounded by screens, computers, and keyboards.
He reached out for a pen drive plugged in one of the equipment, grabbed it, and pointed the metallic connecting end towards Nicole. She brought her hand, pointing her index finger to the drive. The finger glowed up in faint light of purple, until a series of small strands and cables left from it, reaching the drive, and embracing it like a swarm of ants surrounding the grains of sugar.
"I shouldn’t be doing that," he said with a known stern face, "but here is the current location of the Chaos Emeralds. Magic may sound repulsive for you, but it could be your only chance for achieving this impossible goal."
"I..." she took a deep breath as the wires and pieces returned to her finger. "I will have to analyze these options."
"The culture of the echidnas believed that the chaos emeralds could grant any wish, given they are made by a powerful and pure heart. That would be a very unorthodox wish, but still, it is your wish." the black hedgehog crossed his arms. "I'm aware that Miles built a faux emerald for providing power to your physical body. It's powerful enough for me to feel your presence even before you landed the Tornado. Chaos Emeralds' energies are known for attracting each other, so it won't be hard to find"
"What if something happens? What if an individual with ill intentions strikes me down, and grant possession of the seven emeralds?"
"You've been functional for 120 years, Nicole. I don't believe you can be easily beaten or hacked. And if the worst happens, I have the Master Emerald in an altar here." he pointed his finger downwards. "Knuckles taught me all rituals, including one which could nullify the emeralds."
"I... see..." she was having trouble processing all of these ideas. "I'm yet to make a decision. I... Have to gather courage."
"That's reasonable. Like I said, whatever your decision is, I wish you the best." he offered his hand.
She took it, and they shook hands. "Thank you… For your kind words. I really needed them." she grinned, "And for this possibility you presented me. I will think and process my decision very carefully. Farewell, Shadow. I hope you succeed on your projects."
He nodded, as the lynx turned back to the corridor, to begin walking her way out of the building.
"Sayonara, Nicole Prower."