I checked every single base created by my Master, both active and inactive, and none of them gave me any useful information. I checked the surroundings, I checked nature, I checked any location that looked suspicious. I went through wreckage. I scanned junkyards. More criminal hideouts, more empty warehouses, more halls and rooms and mazes and I was getting incredibly aggravated.



"Uh... Metal?"



I forgot Belle was in here. I looked at her. Instead of her replying, she looked down at one of my hands. I unintentionally snapped a measuring tool in half while double-checking Carillon Rose's parts.



I put the broken tool down. "I saw no errors. I think you'll be able to look at her momentarily."



"What's, uh... You okay?" she asked.



"I'm frustrated about something unrelated." Somewhat unrelated. "I can't talk to you about it."



"Ahh... Gotcha," Belle muttered. "Are... I mean, should we do this now, or...?"



I stood up and focused on Carillon Rose's head. I very carefully re-installed her CPUs, which luckily, didn't take a very long time. Her circuitry was a maze on its own, but Belle and I eventually learned the 'patterns' over time. The biggest method in making sense of her was that none of it made sense. Somehow, she was easier to work on afterwards. As long as we put everything back the way it was, we would likely have no issues.



"Guess that's a yes," Belle muttered. I didn't realize I left her without a reply.



"Yes," I said, belated. "The ability to access Carillon Rose would be some needed relief."



Belle frowned as she watched me. "I trust you, Metal, but... Are you sure she won't recognize me as Eggtech?"



"My Master embeds all of his creations with a very specific code signature, which is how Carillon Rose would theoretically check for Eggtech. The last time I checked your code, you didn't have it. Your father's signature is likely different. It's possible you'll still see nothing, but... We need to try."



"Hmm... Alright..."



"If her programming attacks yours, I will immediately break your connection. I'll make sure you won't be harmed," I explained.



Belle smiled at me. "Thank you."



After installing her core components, I connected her to a power source so she could at least be booted in maintenance mode. This way, she wouldn't wake up and activate any systems that still needed fixing, but we could take a good look at her files and even her code if we were lucky.



"Okay. She's ready for you," I said, holding up a wire to Belle.



She took in a deep, nervous breath. "Whew... Okay..." She turned around and let me insert the wire to a slot on the back of her neck. I glanced at her. Her eyes flickered green, then glowed green entirely. She didn't seem to be in pain.



"Can you hear me?" I asked.



"Yes!" she said, her expression ecstatic. "Um... There's some good news and bad news."



"What?"



"So the good news is I'm successfully connected to Carillon Rose and I can see her entire file system, which we couldn't do before. The bad news is that nearly all the files are encrypted and password protected. Her system commands are also blocked off, including ones allowing me to view her basic diagnostics. I can't access details of her design or any of her coding." Belle sighed. "But... More good news, I do think there's some useful information we can get. Give me a second."



For some reason, I wasn't surprised that her files were blocked. At least she wasn't attacking Belle-- this meant that I, or at least Carillon Rose, trusted Belle in the future as well. I waited for Belle to continue.



"Oh...! There's... an unprotected file addressed to me," she said. She went quiet for a moment, then frowned. "I'll, uh... Send it to you. Here." Her green eyes briefly flashed red, and I detected a file of my own.



I opened the file to read its contents:





...



"Sawdust..." Belle squeaked out. Her voice sounded weak. "This is... A lot..."



The creation of the file was dated three hundred years in the future... exactly three hundred years from the first date I had with Amy at Little Planet. Before I got ahead of myself, I scanned through the letter again to find any information. "Lonnie...? Carillon Rose?"



"Yeah, that's her," Belle confirmed. "The name is repeated through these files; a lot of them look like personal files, too... She's not super organized. Uh... Okay, I'm just going to say it."



"What?"



"This letter sounds like you're trying to destroy the-- Ow!" She clapped her hand over her forehead because I flicked it.



"Annoying. His plan is not to destroy the world. Reread the file." I scanned through it again myself. "Why would I give you a message if I was going to destroy everything?"



"Regret, maybe? It sounded like you tried saving the world but you got tired of it getting ruined again. The solution sounds like... removing it entirely."



I squinted at her. "Why would I go back in time, during the time I am the happiest, to destroy the world? Why not some other year?"



Belle averted her eyes. "Maybe you get heartbroken and that's what makes you plan for this time?"



I growled at her. "You think we would split apart?! You think I would harm Amy Rose?! We belong together. You disgust me for even conjuring the thought!"



"Geez!! I'm sorry!" Belle whined, raising her arms. "I'm just trying to think of reasons..."



"You may give me too much faith when it comes to resisting violence, but you are also too quick to assume my course of action!"



"No, I want to believe you have a good heart in the future, too. It's just... this letter is so... Resigned. It sounds final. What do you think the letter means, then?" she asked.



"First, let me deconstruct your horrible proposal. If I became emotionally barred enough to want to destroy the world in such an elaborate way, then I doubt you and I would be on speaking terms." I crossed my arms. "From this message, you and I maintain a positive relationship despite our differences, enough for me to apologize to you for not speaking to you directly."



"Okay, I can agree with that," Belle muttered back.



"To further prove your line of thinking as ridiculous, he intended to leave Carillon Rose to protect you. Why would protection matter if I was erasing the future? He also used Little Planet, not the Time Stones, not any other object or creature. His plan is something more specific than destruction."



"Okay, okay! I believe you... What was he trying to do, then?"



I thought for a while. "I still don't know." I averted my eyes. "We just know it was different from whatever your future self had in mind, and he didn't believe the solution was in his time. I'm not even sure about the--" I paused. "I'm confused."



Belle tilted her head at me. "About what?"



"So he didn't intend for Carillon Rose-- Lonnie-- to go to our time. But... she has something important." I paced over to Carillon Rose's arm and opened her compartment. I took out the old charm and showed Belle. "This belongs to me... It's one of my most valuable items. Why does she have this, then? I thought it was a message to me, but..."



Belle shrugged. "It's possible it is and plans changed after my future self received the file. Maybe I did get her to pursue you, and you included her in your plan. So... What's the significance of Lonnie having it?"



"He likely knew she would be broken and anticipated that I would be the one to find her eventually. But..." I gestured to Belle. "We need more information. Keep looking in the files if you can." I put the charm back in Carillon Rose's arm.



"Okay, I'm looking..." Belle went quiet as she scanned through the files. "A lot of these files actually look corrupted... She might have some trouble when we bring her fully online," she muttered.



Unfortunately, I wasn't surprised. Her core was significantly damaged and I couldn't bring back all her files.



"Metal? I'm still looking through, but I was thinking about the file to my future self again..." She frowned. "Do you think he damaged her?"



"I don't know... But... I don't know why he would, since I doubt you would send her to fight me. I think knowing for sure would hinge on Cavalier Sonic's data. Do you see any mentions of him?"



"I see files relating to a 'Cava'... Maybe that's his nickname?" she wondered aloud. "I'm thankful they have quite a bit of autonomy, considering what you told me about him. From the titles of these personal files alone, I can tell Lonnie has a fun personality. There are lots of mentions of a Cava, me, Neo... Nova, even. It sounds like we're all closely associated with one another."



"Interesting. Are there other names? ... Is there any mention of Amy?"



"A couple times.... Ooh, she has a diary."



"What's in it?"



"Th-that's rude!" Belle exclaimed. "Even if it wasn't password protected, I wouldn't look in there!" She continued looking. "Wow... I just realized how vast Lonnie's storage space is. She has an immense amount of data but she has practically endless storage space. I wonder how old some of these files must be... Unfortunately, I can't check."



"From what you can gather, do you think she was made in this century?" I asked.



Belle leaned her head against her hands as she continued to scan the files. "Nothing sticks out to me either way, I can't really find much, Metal... Sorry. Oh--" She sat straight up again. "I... found the file. The same one sent to me all that time ago. This one is encrypted too... But... It's the same kind of encryption." She suddenly gasped. "Wait!! Metal!"



I crossed my arms. "What?"



"Th-the voice processor! You could read that file I received, right?! Maybe you can get access to Lonnie!"



"Hm." I studied the both of them for a moment. "I'll be right back, then. Keep searching to see what you can find." I walked out of the lab and went back towards the elevator. My voice processor was still in the private room by my garden.



Was file access the main purpose of the voice processor? I still wasn't entirely confident, but... If we could get more information, I wasn't opposed. I didn't want to actually downgrade myself, though... Setting aside my preferences and abilities, I would be out of commission for another month to upgrade again and there was no guarantee my Master would allow it.



I emulated my base form, but I did not actually revert. I installed the voice processor the same way I did before my upgrade... Seemed to work just fine. I returned to Belle.



"Any luck?" I asked. She glanced at me, wide-eyed. I wasn't sure when she would get used to my ability to transform.



"U-uh, no... I think the file addressed to me in the future was made last-minute and not really meant to be encrypted. Everything else is under lock-and-key. I tried, but... Yeah, she's a real tough one to crack. I'm honestly not sure she's even hackable, like, at all. I can't comprehend the complexity of these encryptions; it's impressive. I think, similar to how Eggtech is blocked out, my code was green-lit to get access to her systems at all."



"Let's see if the voice processor does something similar, then."



Belle nodded. "Okay, properly disconnecting..." Her eyes eventually went back to blue, then she took the wire out from her neck. "That was so fascinating. I hope she'll let me get a better look at her when she's back in full form. I hope she didn't lose too many important files..." She held up the wire, ready to connect me.



I opened the back of my head. "Do not let me short out."



"Of course I won't! I'll do my best to keep you in top shape. Hopefully the voice processor takes priority for whatever programming aims for Eggtech..."



I braced myself and waited for her to connect me to Carillon Rose. Click!



...



I... felt nothing. I could see Carillon Rose's connection. I tried to access it-- and... couldn't. While I wasn't getting attacked, she was denying me access. I checked over the error logs.



"Carillon Rose isn't registering me as Eggtech, but the code refusing access is the anti-rebellion patch."



There was a very long, uncomfortable moment of silence between me and Belle.



I checked a few more ways to see if I could hack into Carillon Rose, but true to Belle's words, her system was impenetrable. I disconnected myself and looked at Belle, whose expression showed her own inner conflict.



"I could, um..." Belle sighed. "I mean... I could remove it for you, Metal."



"I know," I said. There was another too-long silence. "Could you do it temporarily?"



"You know better than I do how complicated that programming is... Removal is much easier than reinstalling it, and even that could mess with important parts of you." Belle scratched her head, then fixed her hat. She sighed again. "There's a chance that Eggman would notice the tampering, too... And... Let's set everything else aside. If I remove it, would you really want me to add it back?" she asked, frowning.



...



I eventually spoke: "... I need to think more about it. Let's focus on getting her to a fully online state in the meantime."



"Okay. No pressure," she softly replied.



I uninstalled the voice processor and stored it in an inconspicuous spot in the lab; I didn't mind if Belle knew the location. Afterwards, I transformed back to my true self. Belle disconnected the power source from Carillon Rose to bring her fully offline. We worked on her in silence for a few minutes...



I couldn't focus.



"Belle, I'm leaving. Feel free to continue your work."



Belle lifted her head from a component she was working on. "Sure, Metal. Have a good rest of your day!"



I gave her a single nod, then left the lab. Before I left the old base entirely, I searched for Nova. My instinct brought me to the garden with produce first... And there they were. They lay on their stomach in the middle of the floor, scribbling in a sketchbook with some crayons. Amy gave them some art supplies after they drew on the whiteboard.



For once, they didn't acknowledge me. They were absorbed in their own art making process. I stepped over to them; they were drawing a bunch of different chao fruit. I noticed a seed from a real chao fruit stuck to their face. I wiped it off, which made them groan a little. Upon closer inspection, a few of the crayons had some teeth marks.



I sat beside them on the floor. After a short moment, they crawled into my lap, dragging the sketchbook with them. They resumed after settling against me.



I wasn't in the mood to do any talking, so I was somewhat relieved that Nova wasn't clamoring for my attention at the moment. I used the peace to think.



Amy's last heartfelt letter to me, my favorite letter... She said I freed her from a lonely prison she never thought she was trapped in. When I first read that very line, I was confused. How could one be in a mental state such as that and not actually know? But... Cavalier Sonic called me a prisoner:



I know you can't help it. Grab your freedom or be a prisoner forever.



His words... I didn't like to think about them. I struggled with why. I heard Sonic's voice so clearly, and for some reason, that made it even worse. It wasn't because I hated him. It was because I never heard him speak like that.



...



What made me a prisoner? Was it my coding? Was it something else? I didn't know anymore. I never knew.



I needed to clear my head. I gently petted Nova, then moved them off of me. I left the base and thought of where I could go. I wanted to see Amy, but...



...



I checked the map. My Master was on the island base once more. I took off and made my way towards him.





"You returned, Neo Metal," my Master said, at first in a pleased tone. "Can't help but notice you're still empty-handed." His voice fell flat. He sat in a chair while checking over a monitor in the main laboratory.



"I apologize for not bringing you better news, Master. In my absence, I searched every single criminal complex and all of your documented bases. I even checked surrounding areas, anything abandoned, anything peculiar that was occupied. I found no traces of the existing data regarding Cavalier Sonic." My eyes flashed; I sent all my data and files about my search directly to the base. My Master glanced over to the nearest monitor, stroking his moustache as he read through each report.



"Slippery thing. Whoever took the bot really doesn't want to be found... Hrnn. What a pain."



Sage floated over, likely having scanned the data I sent as well. "Did you really conduct a thorough search, Neo Metal Sonic?" she asked, her tone judgmental. She was back to irritating me. "You went to many locations, but it is possible you actually missed any evidence."



"You dare doubt my meticulous search? If you do not trust me, materialize yourself in those bases and conduct your own scan," I sneered.



"I have." Sage brought up a hologram in front of her, referring to one of my reports. "In EggShelter-162, Why did you not document the recent energy blast residue on the walls? Could that not relate to a scuffle between the targets we are looking for?"



Sage was more antagonistic than when I last saw her. Annoying. "I documented the appearance of E-123 Omega and Shadow the Hedgehog. The energy blasts were from Omega, who brutishly shoots at anything that he perceives as Eggtech; the environment there has varied wildlife considering the security of the base malfunctioned. The two of them left with nothing and there was no further evidence. They didn't even attempt to access the base console." I pointed at her. "The base was a poor hideout for those reasons and more. If you check the report, I give my hypothesis. Do not insult me, Sage."



"It would not register as an insult if you believed your search to be adequate," Sage replied. "Doctor, why did you not send me to check these bases on my own, while Neo Metal Sonic could search the other complexes?"



My Master let out an irritated sigh. "Settle down, you two. Sage, I need you here. Neo Metal Sonic has better use on the field. Speaking of, there still might be some locations you can check, Neo Metal... Though I'd be very interested in how they knew of those locations at all. It could confirm this thief as a rat from the future." He typed into the console in front of him and sent me a file through the network. My map was updated with additional base locations. I wasn't surprised he had more, though I also wasn't sure why these weren't in the original map.



I glanced at Sage, who, despite sporting a neutral expression, did not seem fond that my Master was putting more faith in me in the moment. I found it amusing... She knew how it felt, then. That being said, his faith didn't...



...



I averted my eyes as I thought.



"Master, I have a different proposal."



"Hm?" He looked at me, raising a brow. "Speak."



"Though my searches have been impeccable, I believe Sage should be able to do the same for these bases, assuming there is still a connection to the Eggnet. Instead, I would like to increase my research on our adversaries. E-123 Omega and Shadow the Hedgehog implied they were working for Rouge the Bat, who has been remarkably absent from her usual residence. I believe she may also be searching for the robot; maybe she even knows who stole him. Her unique connections to other factions may send her in separate directions from our own search."



He crossed his arms, quiet for a moment. Sage stared at me, her eye wide.



"When was the last time you had eyes on Rouge?" my Master asked.



I briefly checked my logs. I knew she was at the birthday party. "I last spotted her close to her residence ten days ago. She has otherwise been elusive; I don't believe she returned to the city yet, and I never came across her in my own search." Amy told me she and her friends didn't know who took Cavalier Sonic... However, Rouge often had her own plans separate from everyone else. My individual searches were all for naught, so the next best thing was to hijack the Bat's and see where I could go with additional information. I would still have the advantage with my additional knowledge of Cavalier Sonic and the thief likely originating from the future.



"It's unlike her to do a job for something like a robot, but if there's anyone to know the locations of all my bases, it's her... Very well. Go find her and see what she's plotting. Sage, report on my secret bases, but leave the second you sense any danger." My Master turned away from the console and began walking towards a table containing one of his projects. I noticed the weapon with the Shield Crystal on it. "Oh, and... Neo Metal, look into that insufferable Amy Rose."



...!



He brought out one of his tools and began tinkering with the weapon. "I didn't look into her after she was caught sneaking around this base since the method of stealing the robot didn't match any of the rats' usual methods. She didn't do the job, but she might know more than I thought. See what you can find and deal with her if she gets in the way."



She broke into this base? My Master never brought it up before and I never felt the need to check the security logs from when I was offline. Why did I find this information incredibly exciting? I didn't know she would do something so below-board. I wanted to make out with her. I needed to stop thinking about it.



I had to refocus. This was actually a huge problem because it meant my Master was suspicious of her. I was put directly at odds with Amy once more, and I wasn't sure how to go about it. I had to think of my strategy... I didn't want to deceive her. And my programming... I... I still wasn't sure. For the time being, I would keep moving forward.



"Yes, Master. I may be gone for another long period of time," I explained, bowing my head.



"Don't come back until you have something," he huffed. "Sage will update you on the remaining bases."



Sage nodded too. "Good luck, Neo Metal Sonic," she said, her tone much less intense.



I left the laboratory. My life only got more complicated... But at least I had some break-out footage to review.



Before I left the base entirely, I downloaded the security footage from the day Cavalier Sonic was stolen. My Master checked through it all already, confirming no footage of the actual thievery. But... there was footage of Amy escaping the base.



She fell out of a vent, completely unconscious. Eventually, she woke up after some pawns carried her to a cell and searched her. These inferior robots likely weren't paying attention to the recordings since she broke out of the cell as clear as day. She was intelligent and beautiful...



And she was violent. I watched her turn pawns into scrap, and all without the Piko Piko Hammer. At some point, she acquired the weapon from an Egg Hammer and annihilated every robot in her path. She eventually used the hammer's momentum and launched off-screen. She didn't come back, so she must have exploited a weakness in the base. The footage excited me too much. I wanted to not only make out with her, but also fight her. I wondered if she would be up for it so soon after our last scuffle.



Maybe we would have to fight again regardless... Despite how I wanted to fight her, there was a certain dread that washed over me when I remembered the context. I was feeling a lot of feelings at once.



I would return to my Amy. After that, I would figure out what to do next.