Amy, Nova, and I were in the forest near the old base, an area perfect for testing. I was in my disguise and Amy held a guidebook in her hands, head tilted as she studied the words on the page.



"I think this tree's small but sturdy enough," Amy said, gesturing to the tree. "We just need to make Nova shake it until-- Nova, no!"



Nova flew up to the tree to grab an apple off of it. I quickly grabbed them and put them back down on the ground before they could complete their scheme. They whined aloud at me.



"No," I said back, squinting. "Wait."



Nova crossed their arms, squinting back. I crossed my arms, leaning over and asserting my superiority.



Amy giggled at the both of us. I stood up and watched her. Her voice was pretty.



She continued: "Okay, we'll know the range of their power grade when they successfully shake the apple off the tree. You got a timer ready?" she asked me.



"Yes." I had one internally and prepared to set it. "Okay. Nova, shake the tree." I picked them up and moved them to the base of the tree.



"Chao?" They looked at me, then the tree. I nodded.



Eventually, they shook at the tree. I started the timer. The tree wobbled, leaves rustling... After a few seconds, the apple fell. Nova immediately let go and scrambled for it, then chomped at it before either of us could take it away from them. I stopped the timer.



"Four point thirty-seven seconds," I said.



"Okay, that's..." Amy hummed as she scanned through the guide. "C-rank for Power. Not bad!"



"Only C?" I grumbled.



"Hey, that's pretty good! Lowest grade is E," she replied. "Nova could even be power-aligned if the stats work out. Though, they can be really good in a stat but be a different type... We can only make our best guess since Nova borrows so heavily from you in appearance."



"I am extremely powerful, so Nova should follow suit," I huffed.



She giggled. "I'm sure Nova will be. Okay, let's try running next. This guide is based on the distance they'll make in ten seconds by going as fast as possible."



Nova tossed an empty apple core aside, staring at us both. A heart formed above their head. I gently turned them away from us. "Nova, sprint. Run as fast as you c--" Nova took off. I nodded in approval. I timed them for ten seconds-- "Nova, stop!" I yelled.



Nova froze in place, then flopped down. I measured the distance internally while going up to them. I picked them up. "Sixty-three meters!" I shouted towards my Amy.



I returned to her with Nova in hand. She shrugged at me. "D-rank."



"D?! That was slow for a chao?!"



"According to this graph, yes." Amy turned the book over and had me look at it just to confirm. What--!!



I sighed, putting Nova back down. "What's left?"



"The Fly and Swim skills. Let's try flying," she said, flipping to the next page of her guidebook. "So we can grade their flying ability the same way as running, just with, well, flying. Ten seconds and distance!"



"Alright." I held Nova up, then let go of them, causing them to flutter in the air beside me. They cheerfully flew around me in a circle. "Nova, go!"



Nova took off. They... were much faster. After ten seconds, I called for them to stop. They flew in a circle around where they stopped and I measured the distance. I was too far to shout at Amy.



When I went up to Nova, they followed me back. "One-hundred and thirty meters," I said once returning to Amy.



Amy's eyes widened, then she checked the graph. "That would beeee... A-rank! Amazing, Nova!" she cheered. "The only better rank is S, and surely they'll get there in time."



"Chao!" Nova lifted their arms.



"I... guess this makes sense," I mumbled. "I consider my speed as running in my head, but it's actually flying."



Amy giggled. "The way you fly is as natural as running. It's hard for me to not see it, too," she warmly replied. "Okay, let's find a stream or something, and then we'll know all about Nova."



"There's one past those trees," I said, gesturing in the distance. Together, the three of us went to a water source. I put Nova back to the ground, right in front of a slow-moving river. I used stray rocks to step over to the other side of the water.



"Okay!" Amy called. "We just have to time Nova making it to the other side. This is, like, fifteen feet long, right?"



I stared at the body of water, then nodded. Nova stuck their face in the water... I think they were drinking it. "Nova!" I called.



Nova didn't lift their head until they were done drinking. They looked at me, their little tail wagging. "Chao?"



"... Swim over to me."



Nova stared at the water for a while, then floated up from the ground.



"No!" I shouted. "Swim!"



Nova groaned even louder, lowering themselves back to the grass. I had a feeling on how this would go.



"If you are to be the strongest chao, you need to swim!" I huffed. "Now, come." I lowered myself as well and motioned them towards me.



Amy was in a fit of laughter. Both of us stared at her. She noticed, laughing more and flailing her free hand at us. "You are so alike! It's the cutest thing ever!" she giggled.



"There's no pool in the base!" I exclaimed. "... Not that base, anyway. Nova! You are stalling!" I called again, snapping my fingers to get them to look at me again. "Swim!"



Nova mumbled to themselves, then tightly shut their eyes and jumped into the water. They flailed as they... attempted... to reach me. I timed them and also watched them closely to make sure they were not in any actual danger.



After a very long time, they made it over to me. I picked them up; they wildly shook the water and cried out, clinging to me tightly.



I petted them and waited for them to calm down. As they did, I made my way to the other side of the river.



"You don't even need to tell me, I know that was more than twenty seconds," Amy sighed. "Yeah, that'll be E-rank."



I was not surprised.



"That's fine, though!" she beamed. "We all have our strengths and weaknesses." She lovingly rubbed Nova's head, causing them to coo excitedly to her.



"Do we, now? What's your weakness, Rosy?" I asked.



"It's that I'm way too adorable, which can get distracting for my teammates," she teased, fluttering her eyelashes at me. I lifted her head by the chin and took a moment to admire her. She was more than adorable. Her cheeks reddened as I watched her. "Ugh! Kiss me already!" she yelled.



I grinned. Her real weakness was her temper... But I thought that was cute, too. I gently kissed her, then just as gently let go. "Nova is a flying type, then?"



"I think so!" Amy peered to her guidebook and flipped through a few pages. "A Dark-Fly chao sounds the most likely for sure. Usually they're purple! Haha, kinda like your disguise," she teased again.



"Blue is a nicer color," I mumbled.



My and Amy's ears twitched at the same time. We heard a call in the distance. Sounded like... Belle? Amy and I glanced at each other before going forward.



"Where are you guys?!" Belle yelled from afar... So she was searching for us.



"We're coming!" Amy shouted back.



Belle ran towards the sound of Amy's voice. She looked panicked, arms flailing as she approached us. "Sh-she might be ready! For real! You have to come check my work!" Belle stammered at me.



...!



Belle hurried off and I quickly followed her, letting go of Nova. I heard Amy's footsteps close behind me. We went inside the base and hurried to the elevator. As the doors closed, we saw Nova curiously watching us from the other side. We descended to the main lab where Carillon Rose resided until her activation. I returned to my true form. Amy waited at a short distance while Belle and I went through all of Carillon Rose's systems.



"The test worked?" I asked, reviewing the last bits of work Belle did.



"Yes!" she exclaimed, happy. "Everything was green. So... she'll be able to wake up!"



I nodded as I finished my check. "... I think you're right. Okay, connect her to the power source to start her up safely."



"Y-yeah! Got it." Belle scrambled for a cord, then connected it to Carillon Rose.



"Man, how long have y'all worked on her? We found her at Little Planet..." Amy asked, scratching her head.



"Almost four months," I replied to her. I thought about what Amy said when we drove to the mountain resort together: not much happened, yet a lot happened at the same time. The passage of time was strange... even excluding the robot from the future in front of us.



"Wow," Amy said more to herself. "We've been dating for like, a million years."



Belle chuckled. "Yeah, I think that math checks out," she teased.



"Okay. Activating her now." I closed the panels showing her circuitry and flicked a switch under her quills.



Carillon Rose's eyes blinked on, but she hadn't moved yet. I could hear her machinery start. There was a small pop sound... She was probably not in perfect order.



She lifted her head. Her eyes finally moved, first looking at me, then Belle, and finally Amy. Her gaze lingered on Amy.



Amy awkwardly waved. "H...Hi?"



Carillon Rose's pupils dilated. "Whoa," she said, very clearly in Amy's voice. "I'm not dreaming?"



"She's awake!" Belle shouted, trembling excitedly in place. "Sh-she's awake!" She shook my arm, then looked back at Carillon Rose. "S-sorry! You! You're awake! Hi! Hello."



"Hi!" Carillon Rose said back in a cheerful tone. She hopped off the table she was stationed at for so many months. The plates that made up her dress extended, then slowly rotated around her body. "Oh, I still have some damage.."



"W-w-we did what we could! Sorry!" Belle squeaked.



"Not a worry at all! You're so cute," beamed Carillon Rose. "I love your outfit, by the way."



Belle looked down at her overalls. "Th-thanks!"



Carillon Rose rotated the entire top half of her torso, then focused on me. "So what's th-- oh! Wait! You have to give me a special password. Password, please!"



I crossed my arms. "... Password for what?"



"... Oh. Oops. Okay, I think I realize where and when I'm at. You're not my Neo, you're the other one... Huh, you looked different before."



"Other one?" I asked with a judgmental tone.



"Your Neo?" Amy asked, narrowing her eyes.



Carillon Rose laughed as she turned her attention to Amy. "Wait, I remember you!" she beamed. "You're Amy Rose! Sorry, my memory is taking its time. I was in a--" she gasped aloud. "Oh, I can't say much unless you have the password." Her dress plates suddenly shortened and her quills went upwards. She bowed at us, crossing her ankles together. "Call me Lonnie! I am here to help you."



"Hi, Lonnie!" Belle beamed back. Amy and I were a little less excited.



Carillon Rose tilted her head as she examined us. "What I mean is, you're Past Neo, while my Neo is, uh, just Neo. I can hear the voice differences clearer now. You look and sound way too happy," she said, flailing one of her hands at me.



"I'm speaking normally!" I exclaimed.



Carillon Rose snorted. "Yeah, sure." She quickly turned to look at Amy again. "I only met you for a short time, Amy! I always wanted to meet you! Aw, man, I hope I didn't screw up our first encounter."



"Wh-what? No, it's... uh, you're fine," Amy said with a nervous laugh. "You always wanted to meet me?"



"Of course! You're even prettier in person!" Carillon Rose clapped her hands together; the screen on her eyes emulated sparkles.



"Y-you're really pretty, too. Your quills can do that?" Amy asked, gesturing to her own.



"Yeah! Cute, right? I'm modeled after you! Oh, and I have your voice, so I also sound cute. Oh!" She turned back towards me and Belle. "I feel so much better than when I was last online. Since you two are here, I assume you fixed me? Thank you!"



"You're welcome!" Belle said excitedly.



"Hold on," I said. "I understand your activation is a significant moment for everyone, but I would really like to know why we found you in the past on Little Planet."



"Sorry, boss! Can't share."



"What do you mean you can't share?!" I snapped. "Is my future version here too?"



"I hope so. If he's not, he could be dead, which would make everything pretty, uh, bad." Carillon Rose stared at us, then focused on Amy for a little while longer, who stared back with wide eyes. "... That was probably shocking. Sorry! He's probably fine. Let me check before I get ahead of myself." Her eyes flashed white. "... Oh, I forgot. He cut my connection to him before he first left. Damn." She picked at her segmented quills.



"Is it because of the goodbye letter to me in the future?" Belle asked.



"Ooh, sneaky! You had access to that?" Beep! Sounded like Carillon Rose accessed something else on her person. "Oh, that makes sense. It wasn't protected... yeah, that tracks. Yes, that's why my connection was severed... But, I knew where Neo would be anyway when my Belle sent me to help him. Kinda troublesome that we're split apart... My presence here means he will really need me if he's still around." She crossed her arms and let out a sigh.



"What can you do?" I asked, tilting my head in turn.



"Sorry, boss! Can't share that either."



I growled in frustration. "Okay, what can you share?"



"Hmmm..." Carillon Rose tapped her muzzle with one of her claws. "Well, I need to reunite with Neo to do what I'm supposed to do. I guess he hasn't made additional contact with any of you, or at least none of you know about it. That makes sense..." She firmly nodded.



"What's your relation to Cavalier Sonic?" I asked her.



She stared at me for a while. "Cava? He's my best friend! He should be around, but I can't..." Her eyes flashed white again... She was searching. "... I can't find him. I should be able to. Why?" She tilted her head the other way, tapping her head again.



"Someone stole him," Amy said. "He went missing while he was deactivated."



"Oh...! If he's deactivated, maybe that's why I can't find him. Uh oh... Um, hopefully Neo got him."



"Who else would take him?" Belle asked, raising a brow. "Who else came to the past?"



"You guys really like asking stuff I'm not supposed to answer," Carillon Rose sighed. "I wish I could say more, but I don't really want to screw this up either..."



I felt like I knew what she would say, but I still decided to ask: "Can you at least explain what 'this' is?"



"Nope!"



Everyone except Carillon Rose let out a groan. I followed up: "How about telling us why my future self is so adamant about you withholding information?"



"He was very specific about what he wanted to do and how," Carillon Rose said. "I believe in what his plan. I'll honor what he expects of me. It's what I said before: I am here to help you!"



"So it's like... a good plan?" Amy asked, narrowing her eyes. "Like, he's doing something good?"



"I guess it depends on who you ask. Me? I certainly think so," she said in a softer tone. "Is there anything else y'all wanna ask me? I'm gonna start my search-- alone, preferably-- if not."



"You never met Amy before, right? So... When were you made? Also... why were you made?" I asked.



"I was made waaaay after all this," Carillon Rose said. "That being said, I'm still kinda old."



"What is your answer to my second question?" I asked.



She snorted. "I'm not gonna answer that."



This robot was unbelievable. It's a wonder Amy thought I could possibly be attracted to her.



"U-um..." Belle tapped her fingers together. "Do you know about the file with the flower? It's in your system too."



Carillon Rose confidently nodded. "If you have the file, you should keep it just in case."



"Do you know why my future self sent a voice processor to me?" I followed up with a different question.



"Yep!"



...



She didn't say anything else. I impatiently tapped one of my feet. "Are you going to tell me why he did?"



"Nope!"



I sighed. I suppose I couldn't be that angry about it.



Amy darted her eyes away, then darted back. "Are you into Neo?" she asked.



Carillon Rose laughed. "No, he's my creator. We're more like family than anything else."



"Just checking," Amy mumbled. I squinted at her, while she aggressively shrugged at me. "I just wanted more clarification on the 'my Neo' thing!"



"She keeps calling me 'boss', you think that's something a significant other would do?" I asked with a tone.



"I can't assume! Maybe you're into it! You like when I call yo--"



"Rosy!" I quickly interrupted her. My turbine started to expel extra heat. I couldn't believe she was about to say that out loud!



Carillon Rose laughed again. "Oh my God, wait. What do you call him? I need this data."



"No you don't!" I snapped.



"N-n-nothing! It's nothing! Forget about it," Amy stammered with a red face. "Briefly forgot about present company." We both looked at Belle, who kept fidgeting with the tool extensions at the tips of her fingers. She was doing her best to not look at us, clearly shy.



"You two are so cute!" Carillon Rose beamed as she gestured to me and Amy. "You certainly belong in this time... I should go find my significantly more grumpy Neo now while we're on the subject. Bye!" She began walking, but then suddenly paused. "... Wait, I'm connect--" She rotated her head to look behind her, her focus on the wire. "I'm missing my core power source!" she yelled.



Belle and I looked at each other.



"You got me to work without my power source?! But... Ahh! I can't leave like this!" She exclaimed.



"But you have a working power source," I mumbled.



Carillon Rose flailed at me. "That's my backup! I can't do anything cool with that."



"Is your core power the container in your back?" Belle asked. "W-what do we put in it?"



Carillon Rose yelled in frustration. "You don't know what to put in it?! I got fixed that quickly?!"



I growled. "Let me guess, you can't tell us what to do?"



"Correct! Wow, you're a smarty-pants. Without my core power, I won't be able to use my abilities, so... I might as well be offline." She shrugged. "Well, I guess I did all I could do for now... And I got to meet everyone! Yay! Anyways, it's sleep time. When you get my power source, wake me up again."



"N-nice to meet you, Lonnie," Belle muttered.



"You have to be offline? You can't just hang out?" Amy asked, frowning.



"Sorry, shortcake! That was another instruction I was given. Staying online has risk of me drawing unwanted attention. I doubt any of you would want that, either," Carillon Rose explained... She was right. "Thank you again for fixing me. We'll surely meet again!" She waved excitedly at all of us with both of her hands.



"Have a good rest, Lonnie," Amy said with a sweet smile. She waved back.



Carillon Rose looked at me, tilting her head slightly. She was examining me for some reason. I gave her a small wave, making her eyes turn into upward arches. Her dress fully extended again and her quills dropped down, then she hopped back onto the table. She stretched her arms, made a yawning sound, then folded her hands on her lap. Her eyes turned off... Her machinery no longer made any sounds. She deactivated herself.



...



Belle grinned. "She was so cool! We learned so much!"



"Learned how much? She could tell us nothing we actually wanted to know," I scoffed.



Belle shook her head at me. "That's not true. We learned quite a few things... We learned the file is something we should keep on us... learned that Lonnie is here for a specific reason that future-you needs her for, and that there's someone around that isn't her, Cava, or you."



"Not that I didn't believe you before," Amy started, "but it was kinda nice to know she isn't me."



"Don't think I forgot about that question you asked her," I huffed.



"I was just confused, I swear!" Amy exclaimed. "And I did some thinking... Three hundred years is a long time. If you really wanted to find love again in a few centuries, assuming health and medicine hasn't progressed to an insane level, it would be really foolish of me to say you can't..."



"I... I can't believe you! Stop this line of thinking now or you'll make me mad."



"Our souls belong together always! I'm just saying I want you to be happy!" Amy yelled again, blushing more.



"I'm happy with you!" I growled back, flicking her on the head. She flicked me back, but she couldn't reach my head, so she aimed for my chest.



"W-w-we know that Metal in the future is not happy?" Belle squeaked.



Oh, Belle. I briefly forgot she was there. I looked at her. "True. I suppose that is significant enough," I said.



"I believe Lonnie, too," Amy added. "If she thinks future-Metal's plan is good, then we should help where we can."



Belle nodded to Amy. "And Lonnie confirmed that my future self did send her to go help Metal, which has to mean something. I guess, to start with what we can do, we need to figure out the power source," she sighed. "I don't even know where to begin there. Why wasn't she allowed to tell us something like that?"



The three of us looked at each other for a while. It felt like we were back at square one...



I broke our silence: "It's possible Cavalier Sonic runs the same way... But... I didn't see anything strange in the diagnostics my Master did. That being said, my Master didn't open him up. He wanted to hack into him first." I looked at Amy. "Rosy, I know you can't share much with me, but... Do you know anything about Cavalier Sonic?"



"Honestly, I haven't heard anything in a little while. I'm starting to get a bit worried about it," Amy replied, frowning. "I might check in with Sonic. I think he and Tails are looking into it too. What about you?"



I sighed. "Extremely fruitless. I've been having an issue with locating others... Uncharacteristic of me." I crossed my arms, re-checking all my map data.



"Aw, gears... Sorry to interrupt, but I just remembered. We should've asked Lonnie about the Shield Crystal." Belle glanced over to the one we had on the table.



"Probably something to do with the future anyway so she would've refused to elaborate," I said, rolling my eyes. "It's possible it's related to her power source, though. We know it doesn't affect me, but it affects Cavalier Sonic. So... Maybe we could narrow down the options that way."



"Doesn't affect me, either!" Belle said. "I tried it earlier. So... I think you're right."



Amy clapped her hands together. "That's a start!" she beamed.



"I'll do some research on other conductive materials," Belle said with a smile. "It's been a little while since I went on a journey!"



"Wait!" Amy shouted. "... I know where you should go first. You know that beach town a few cities over?"



Belle nodded. "Yeah? Did you see an interesting shop there or something?"



Amy cleared her throat and coughed. She wasn't the best liar, but Belle often believed the best in people, so it was fine. "Yes. Um, they're only open on the weekends. I'll be there to show you! How about we meet up in a few days?"



Belle giggled. "Sure! I could use the help. What are you going to do, Metal?" she asked, looking at me.



"I'll keep doing research on my own. Our paths may cross... I'll do my best to make it amicable," I said.



... Maybe it wasn't the proper choice to change my programming to hack into Carillon Rose. She didn't speak much of it, but she sounded fairly guarded, and there was a lot of information she withheld. Amy and Belle both trusted her words and, in turn, her trust in me from the future. Should I trust them all the same? I wasn't sure, but...



There was a feeling that told me I should respect Carillon Rose's wishes. After finding out more from Cavalier Sonic, maybe then I would sever myself from my Master... completely.



...



Hopefully it was what I was meant to do.