Disclaimer: Not mine, never mine, life is so unfair! ;;

Author's Note: And thus we come to the conclusion of this little tale. Not bad for something that was never really intended to go beyond chapter one, huh? As always, if you read, please review it would mean a lot. And if everything has gone according to plan you are now reading this as the first update to the Sonic archive of the new year. To all my fans, and even those who are not, I wish a Happy New Year and look forward to writing many brand new stories this year. Until then... So long and thanks for all the fish!!

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Night had fallen over the city of Mobotropolis. Even more than a year after its dominating factories had been forever silenced, a thick layer of smog still hung in the sky over the city, blocking out the stars and nearly even choking off the light of the moon. Still, the moon did provide as certain amount of gentle twilight to the still darkened city.

Inside the royal palace, formerly Robotnik's command center, Sonic sleepily lay in the bed he shared with his new wife, the beautiful Sally Acorn-Hedgehog, Queen of Acorn, the pleasant aroma of her hair wafting into his nostrils as one of his arms was draped over her. A soft snoring emanated from the ground squirrel, indicating that, after the eventful day she'd had, she was now in a blissful and well-deserved slumber. No such sound came from her hedgehog husband, for the simple and sole fact that, though drowsy, he was not yet asleep.

An unfamiliar worry had crept into Sonic's mind, and the fleet-footed Mobian couldn't for the life of him understand why. He certainly felt happy, and why shouldn't he. Everything finally seemed right with the world. Robotnik was gone, Mobius was surely and steadily moving back to the days of freedom it had once enjoyed, and his little buddy's life was finally turning itself around and he was acting like his old self again. Sonic should have been ecstatic.

And yet something was gnawing at the back of his speedy little mind, demanding to be heard. Emerald eyes blinked slowly, wetting themselves as Sonic tried to will himself into La-La Land. Whatever it was that had worked itself into a tizzy slowly began to fade, much to the hedgehog's relief, as he slowly found himself giving way to darkness.

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He ran through the forest, following the winding path of the Great River as he did so, an exuberant feeling in his form that only came from flouting authority and breaking the rules. And why shouldn't it? Hadn't Rosie, the children's caretaker, told Sonic hundreds of times to stay away from the river, greatly fearing, and rightfully so, that the eight year old hedgehog would fall into the deeper parts of the winding water, where his lack of swimming skill would result in his premature death. It was something of a point of humiliation for Sonic, being unable to swim, something all of his friends had long since mastered. Oh the young hedgehog had had several opportunities to learn. Rosie, and more recently Rotor, had offered to teach him, happily declaring it to be simultaneously a pleasure and "the easiest thing in the world." But still Sonic refused.

It wasn't as though Sonic was afraid, at least that wasn't the main reason. The real reason had to do with his now lost, beloved Uncle Chuck. The elder hedgehog had promised to teach his nephew the fine art of aquatic movement, a promise that had been sweetened by the further assurance of teaching the young Mobian a "secret swimming style" known only to his family, a sort of male bonding experience that was as much about fun as it was about a good natured joke at the younger generation's expense. Thus it was that, until such time as the esteemed Sir Charles was restored to him, Sonic refused vehemently to learn to swim.

The reason? As charming as it was childish; so long as Uncle Chuck's promise of swimming lessons remained unfulfilled, the universe would be loathe to allow any true and permanent harm to come to him. Such was a child's reasoning, and thus was enough to endure the cheeky laughter and snide comments made of Sonic when he and his friends visited the nearby pond. Still, lack of knowledge did nothing to stem natural curiosity, and for whatever reason the sight of rushing water was a fascinating sight to the hedgehog who was slowly but surely becoming addicted to speed. Thus it was that he found himself breaking the rules and trying to out race the water itself.

It was at a bend in the Great River that he heard the noise. It was soft, almost drowned out by the sound of the roaring water, but the hedgehog's ears caught the sound, causing him to stop with a screech. It was a sort of wailing, similar to the sound Antoine made when he awoke from a particularly bad dream, save that it was higher pitched (if that were possible) and more incessant. Blue quills swiveled and turned left and right as Sonic searched from the source of the mewling cry, scanning the trees that surrounded the riverbank and finding nothing. Ears moved independently of his head as he tried to zero in on the sound. It appeared to be coming from the river itself.

Even more curious now, the small hedgehog walked carefully over to the edge of the river. Centuries of an endless supply of water running its course over this same pathway in the earth had cut a deep groove into the ground which, combined with it being the tail end of the dry season, gave the riverbank a cliff-like appearance that allowed the hedgehog to stare down into the rushing water below. No reeds or jutting roots extended into the clear liquid below, which meant that if any unfortunate had fallen down there, there would have been no way for it remain in one place long enough to emit any sort of cry. That's when hedgehog eyes caught sight of something else, a fairly big hole sitting in the face of the river bank itself. The crying sound still came to the hedgehog's ears, indicating that this was indeed the source of the disturbance.

Balancing himself on the edge, Sonic stretched down to look into the hole. It was fairly large, obviously the former home of some aquatic river-dweller, and Sonic found it fairly easy to look inside, especially given the ambient light of the sun shining down on the water. And what he saw made his eyes go wide.

It was a small fox, wrapped in a blanket and bawling its poor little eyes out, obviously hungry, thirsty, dirty, or otherwise uncomfortable, and doing his best to get someone to rectify the situation for him. Soon baby blue eyes caught sight of the cobalt blue head staring in at him, and immediately the crying stopped. Curious eyes met as the fox cub tried to make sense of this bizarre creature that was apparently hanging upside down before him. Apparently the site of Sonic hanging there proved entertaining enough that the fox released a happy giggle as he clapped his tiny hands.

"Hey there little guy. Whatcha doin' here?" Sonic asked, not really expecting an answer. As if in response, the kit blew a bubble of spit, an act that made Sonic himself chuckle. "What d'ya say, wanna come outta there?" Without waiting for an answer, and keeping one of his hands planted on terra firma, Sonic reached onto the hole and grabbed a gentle hold of the kit. It wasn't easy, given the odd angle the hedgehog found himself at, but the young fox as light enough to be lifted without too much trouble, especially given that he actually behaved himself and didn't squirm. Finally, both fox and hedgehog were safely up on the bank. Out of the hole, Sonic was able to take a good look at the baby he'd just rescued. It wasn't hard to figure out the foxling's story. Sonic may have been young, but he wasn't ignorant of the world around him. Rosie and some of the other adults had often talked, when they thought none of the children were listening, about seeing refugees fleeing the forces of the evil Robotnik through the Forests. Sometimes the residents of Knothole were able to offer assistance, but more often than not this was simply not the case. It wasn't difficult to imagine a family of foxes, fleeing a squad of SWATbots, stashing their young baby to try to ensure he didn't get captured, fully planning to come back for him once they'd evaded danger… only they'd never come back.

It didn't take the young hedgehog long to think what most likely happened to them, a thought that filled him with sadness. Alone in the wilderness, even in a forest as nurturing as the Great Forest, it would only be a matter of time before this cub succumbed to the inevitable, either by the hands of the elements or some wild animal looking for an easy meal. Placing his hands under the boy's armpits, Sonic lifted the foxling up to his face and smiled his friendliest, broadest smile.

"Hey big guy, I bet your hungry aren't you?" Sonic asked, receiving a gurgle in response, which was promptly followed by the groaning sound of a small, empty belly. "I'll take that as a 'yes.' How's about you come home with me, huh? I bet you'd appreciate a warm bed and some real attention." Little arms and legs wiggled excitedly at Sonic's words, which the hedgehog took as an indication of approval for his plan. Holding the baby close to his chest, Sonic prepared to jet off, only to suddenly halt as a curious expression came to his soft muzzle. Carefully the boy turned the baby around and stared at his diapered backside, an amused smirk coming to his face. His curiosity satisfied, Sonic once more prepared to speed off.

&A fox with two tails… Well ain't that a trip?&

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Sonic's eyes shot open as he suddenly sat up in bed, the worry that had been dulling gnawing at his mind now multiplied exponentially as he finally figured it out.

As a child, he'd been afraid of getting punished by Rosie for breaking the rules and going near the river, so much so that he'd never told anyone, even his closest friends what he'd done. When asked where he'd found Tails that day, he'd lied and said the fox kit had been in the bough of a tree, unwilling to think that his disobedience might have been overshadowed by his precious find. As time had pressed onward, the nature of the lie, coupled with the perceived insignificance of the facts, had been largely forgotten by the hedgehog and even he'd come to believe Tails's hiding spot had been dry rather than wet.

But that did not change the truth. Tails's parents had not left him in the bough of a tree, as the foxes Sonic had met today had claimed, they'd hidden him in a nest in the river, where the rushing water would mask his cries and heat signature from SWATbots. And if the two Mobians now claiming to be the Prowers were indeed Tails's parents, they would have been the only two people on Mobius other than Sonic to know that tiny little fact.

Fear welled up in the hedgehog's body. Images of Tails's sleeping form, now bound and gagged, being silently removed from the castle began to cascade into his mind. Thoughts of ransom notes, or worse, appeared unbidden to his frightened mind's eye. Slowly Sonic looked down to his lady wife who, after months of sleeping in the same bed as the notoriously active sleeper that was her husband, had remained asleep. A blue hand reached out to shake her back to wakefulness, but recoiled at the last second. Quietly Sonic swung his feet out of the bed, sliding them expertly into his shoes which remained at his bedside, and he got up.

Freedom Fighter training allowed the King to remain soundless as he sped through the castle halls and towards the room that had been set aside for the Freedom Fighters' youngest member. The door was closed, as was Tails's own custom, and it looked secure, but Sonic's own trepidation did not dissipate. Gently he opened the door, cringing just a little at the quiet creaks it made. Inside he spied the twin sized bed that belonged to the fox, its covers pulled up and over a small body up to the armpits. Tails lay on his mattress, a soft snoring sound escaping his mouth as his chest rose and fell steadily. Underneath the thick comforter, Sonic could see the outline of one of the boy's feet as it kicked a little in the habit of those sharing canine blood. With a soft groan the fox rolled over on his side, turning his back to Sonic as he continued his peaceful slumber.

Satisfied that his friend was, at the moment, safe Sonic retreated from the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Then he turned his attention towards the room directly adjacent; the one that had been given to the "Prowers" as they'd termed themselves. His eyes hardened as he prepared to confront the imposters and demand to know what they were doing. With much less gentleness than he had Tails's door, Sonic opened this new one as well and admitted himself without knocking. Inside he saw two beds that had been pushed together in a manner similar to his own. The sheets had been disheveled and the mattresses dimpled, looking for all intents and purposes as though two adult sized Mobians had slept in them… only there were no foxes anywhere to be seen.

&What the heck?& Sonic asked himself. With a sense of urgency Sonic backed out of the room, and looked up and down the hall. They had to be somewhere, and he was going to find them. Zooming off at a subsonic speed so as not to awaken anyone, Sonic tore through the palace, looking for any sign of the foxes. That was when he noticed the lights were on in the computer room, the generic name given for Robotnik's former command room, which now served as the mainframe for N.I.C.O.L.E.. Inside he saw to foxy forms standing side by side before the big screen. As he stared, the hedgehog's eyes began to widen.

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"You are a monster, an inhuman monster," the male fox-like worker-bot said as he lay strapped to a metal table, his body practically gone, his pieces resting in silhouettes on a tarp on the floor.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, my dear little fox," Robotnik's dark voice drawled as he looked down upon his latest victim, a smile on his face and a wrench in his hand. "Oh, but I never get tired of listening to such endearing sentiments."

"You won't get away with this Robotnik; there will come a day when I will be avenged." The smiled vanished from Robtonik's face as he continued to stare into the eyes of the roboticized fox.

"I never did like you Amadeus," the human admitted. "You were always so defiant and nosy, a dangerous combination. Oh how it fills me with such joy to know that, no matter what the future may hold, you and your nasty little mate will not be a part of it." The fox smiled, or at least tried to as much as the stiff material of his face coupled with his lack of working circuits would allow.

"You are a fool Robotnik. No matter what you can do, I know in my heart and soul that though I die, my legacy will live on."

"Ah, blind hope," Robotnik smiled. "The last refuge of the dying." With quick motion, the rotund human reached down and gripped the fox's head. "And speaking of your soul…" With a cry of staining metal, the doctor's hands slowly opened the struggling robo-fox's head, the snapping of wires and breaking of circuitry signaling the end of the robot's functionality. From the wrecked automaton, the evil Robotnik extracted a small board, largely undamaged despite the harsh treatment its compartment had suffered. "Let us see if we cannot destroy that as well."

On the screen near where the footage of this barbaric display was playing, N.I.C.O.L.E.'s digital lynx form shivered in disgust. The more she watched this video and its reference companion, the more her despising of the now deceased tyrant grew. Fortunately, this would be the last time she would have to view it, the last time anyone would be able to view it. It may have horrified the computer program, but it did serve as inspiration for her current actions. In the room, her mechanical eyes fell on the two foxes standing stone still before her screen, their dull, lifeless eyes watching the show attentively. They were flawless, their forms drawn from stock footage taken of the real Amadeus and Rosemary Prower while they'd been among the living, as well as their roboticized forms. On two smaller monitors nearby two more digital forms could be seen. Both were obviously based on N.I.C.O.L.E.'s own cyber-space guise, but were older looking, more adult, and one was obviously built around a male type.

"What the frell was that?!" came a voice as the mechanical eyes of the room swiveled to stare at the blue hedgehog that had just entered the room.

"Sonic," the lynx said, her voice indicating no surprise whatsoever at this intrusion into her personal space. The Mobian in question walked up to the two foxes, but his eyes never left what he perceived to be N.I.C.O.L.E.'s as he did so.

"What was that? And what are these?" the hedgehog demanded, his voice indicating that he was very close to his breaking point as far as what he could handle. The two other N.I.C.O.L.E.s looked to their larger counterpart as Sonic's hands touched the warm fur and flesh of the apparently catatonic foxes.

"I will explain, Sonic, but in exchange you must listen. I will answer all of your questions," the large N.I.C.O.L.E. said. "What you just watched was a video log made by the late Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Apparently he made it something of a hobby to disassemble some of the Mobians he'd roboticized. I came across the video archives of this abominable activity some time ago. At first I intended to bring this information to you and Sally so you could decide how to handle it, but two files wound up catching my eye."

"The Prowers'," Sonic supplied.

"Correct. When I learned of their ultimate fate under the doctor's reign, I knew it would not be prudent to make the information public knowledge at the time."

"Why not? We could have handled it."

"Tails could not have. And in all honesty, how long would you have been able to keep the secret from him before changes in your attitudes and perceptions revealed it to him? How would he have reacted to being denied this important data?" Sonic was silent. "So, I decided the need had come to attempt to recreate the two foxes. Robotic technology allowed me to replicate their physical structure from images of the two of them when they were alive, while a tissue sample procured from Tails himself allowed me to create skin, fur, fat, and other superficial biological components to allow them the semblance of life."

"How? When did you have the time? Sal's been keeping you busy for months!"

"I created a copy of myself, and the Kerplopagos Instillation gave me the privacy to prepare them."

"And you just slipped them in with the other Mobians you 'rescued.' And like dummies we bought it hook, line, and sinker," Sonic accused, clearly upset with the computer's actions.

"I am not all that surprised you find this seemingly so unacceptable. Robotnik attempted a cruder version of this before, though his goals and mine were completely divergent," N.I.C.O.L.E. consoled him. "This time the A.I.'s controlling the constructs are copies of my core programming, altered with as much personal information as could be obtained on the Prowers," she continued, indicating the two other N.I.C.O.L.E.s. "And soon I shall add the final touch; culled data from the last remnants of Amadeus and Rosemary Prower's decimated robotic forms." A light came on, illuminating two small bell jars in which rested the shattered shards of what, to Sonic's eye, appeared to be circuits of some kind.

"What…?"

"The last pieces of Amadeus and Rosemary Prower, their CPU motherboards; scavenged from the ruins of Robtonik's empire and painstakingly collected. Robotnik shattered them once he dismantled them, a last sadistic pleasure he took from them. While they are far too damaged to salvage much, I am able to take small remnants of the programming that was their minds. Hopefully I will be able to use it to further upgrade their A.I.s." Sonic stared at the computer lynx in disbelief.

"You're nuts!" he finally accused.

"Hmm?"

"You're trying to replace Tails's parents, and you're getting rid of the proof to boot! What the hell gives you the right?!"
"Necessity," N.I.C.O.L.E. stated. "I refuse to allow Robotnik's cruelty to claim another life, either figuratively or literally. For all intents and purposes, Commander and Mrs. Prower are alive and currently in Mobotropolis."

"Not if I blab your secret," Sonic retorted, turning to leave.

"That is certainly your prerogative, Sonic, but have you considered the consequences of such an action." The blue hedgehog stopped mid-stride, a sinking feeling in his gut. "Currently, Tails has obtained a break through, reconciling the guilty feelings he's had over not wanting his parents to be found with the guilt he's felt over his treatment of those closest to him. He currently believes his parents to have returned and to have made a decision that will allow him to continue his life here in Mobotropolis without fear of suddenly being uprooted as he was from Knothole."

"But they're not his parents, they're… YOU."

"Only superficially. Once I have completed their programming, they will be more my children than actual copies of me, equipped with enough information to successfully mimic the real Prowers."

"Robotnik tried that with Sally, what makes you think you won't have the same success he did?"

"Robotnik attempted to deceive Sally's closest friends who had shared all the intimate details of her life with a robot programmed solely with cold data. Unlike that incident, no one present, particularly Tails, has any true memory of the Prowers. Beyond that, I can also site several true cases of Mobians who have experienced partial memory loss thanks to undergoing the deroboticization process."

"In short, Sonic," "Amadeus Prower's" body suddenly spoke as it came to life, its A.I. entering, "While we may not be perfect…"

"…we are prepared with a most perfect explanation," the now active "Rosemary Prower" concluded.

"And if you break down? Kinda hard to explain to a doc why you got metal body parts."

"Self repair was easy to accomplish, Sonic," N.I.C.O.L.E. explained. "The difficult part was getting it to stop."

"Stop?"

"No Mobian is immortal, and to allow my creations here to appear so would defeat the purpose for their existence. They have both been given a finite span of time before their bodies begin to shut down from what will appear to be natural causes. At that point, I will find a way to dispose of any physical evidence of the truth of their existence."

"This is insane," Sonic quipped, holding his head as he looked to the floor.

"I assure you it is not," N.I.C.O.L.E. responded. "It is quite sane. I was programmed to place Sally's happiness and well-being as my top priority, a priority I do not fulfill if I allow her to know there was nothing she could do to prevent this."

"And our priority is Miles," R-Amadeus said.

"Originally I thought to let you and Sally in on my plans, hoping the two of you would be able to provide me with a bit more information to fine tune the Prowers, but decided against it."

"Didn't trust us?"

"I didn't want to place the two of you in the awkward situation of having to maintain the deception, particularly you."

"'Cause you knew I wouldn't like this. I still don't."

"And what will you do?" N.I.C.O.L.E. asked her voice inquisitive over the accusatory tone Sonic had taken. "If you reveal my work, I will not deny it, but you will cause Tails an incalculable amount of needless pain, especially given that this is for his own good."

"And if I don't you keep control over Tails, like you been having for these past few months."

"What you see as control, I see as assistance. You yourself have said you aren't ready to be a parent, which would leave the majority of the work for raising Tails on Sally's capable but already taxed shoulders," the computer program pointed out. "However, if, in your heart, you now believe you are now ready and can provide all the support Tails needs to grow up into a fully adjusted adult, then tell me so, and I shall find a way for you to do so."

"You're sick," came Sonic's angry response. As he gazed at the two cyber-organic foxes staring back at him waiting, he felt an ugly trapped feeling in his body. He'd battled the forces of Robotnik for ten years; only to now find himself defeated at the hands of a creature he'd once considered an ally. And there was nothing he could do about it. No way could he allow Tails to know the truth, at least not now. Maybe in a few years when the kid was old enough to fully understand, but now, so soon after he'd finally gotten past his current problems? It would destroy the fox, utterly. Perhaps sensing the hedgehog's consternation, N.I.C.O.L.E. attempted to lift the hedgehog's spirits.

"Please do not mistake this as some sort of malicious plot on my part, Sonic," N.I.C.O.L.E. consoled. "I understand why this is so disquieting, I honestly do. I can see why you don't like this, it rings a great deal of the kind of thing Robotnik would do, but if I could find another, a better way to help, I would have taken it." Sonic stared at the lynx, his eyes clearly communicating that while he wanted to believe her, he didn't truthfully, a fact that, at some basic level of her being, disturbed the lynx.

"So Sonic, the question before you now is, what are you going to do?"

As he stared into the three sets of eyes gazing at him, Sonic realized that, for once in his life, he honestly didn't know.

THE END (for real this time.)