"It's The Least I Could Do For You"

Chapter 11: "It's The Least I Could Do For You"

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There I was, on the floor for a moment with a blank stare. Those kicks..They were so effective that I lost alot of wind...Whoever this guy is, he's apparently a very capable fighter. Has he fought Mobians on the regular? Another minute goes by, and I summoned enough will to get up, then go into Rouge's room. Strange, he chose that room out of anyone else's, and Rouge didn't join in to stop that guy from kidnapping Vanilla. I gotta find out why.

"*slumps over to Rouge's side* R-rouge...Batty..Can you hear me?"

"Keep it down. Is he gone?"

"! You were awake the whole time?"

"Im surprised all that ruckus didn't wake the whole neighborhood."

"H-how could you joke at a time like this?! Perly and Vanilla got stolen away! What're we gonna-"

"Ugh quiet! *turns to me, showing a scouter headset* I saw the whole thing thanks to my modified Treasure Scoper. As for tracking them down..*pulls out small tablet from cleavage* Hmm? My own tracker is jamming up on me. I made sure I got the brat's DNA and everything."

"So...Does this mean we really lost them?"

"For now, Im afraid. *takes a closer look at me* He gave you a real shiner, eh? We'll have to finish up our heists by tomorrow before they become lost for good...Actually! A crime boss' hideout! I remember that was labeled on this map."

"I forgot..These places..How'd you find out the rest of them were something else?"

"It's like I told ya before. You really get around when you're a gal like me. I also used other maps for these places. My GPS is a best friend too."

"Man...I would've been busy for a whole week without you. Whoever is behind this is really giving us a run-around."

"Speaking of him, I think that's the guy who took off."

"! (It must be! And he has his base on this map...)"

"Now we gotta find out about his M.O. What's in it for him? For one guy, he sure isnt easy. Being nice enough to give us so much time like this and all."

"Couldn't we use Sha-"

"Hold on there, lil man. We can have fun with this. Sonic and Shadow will just hog all the glory. You should know they're our Plan B when stuff hits the fan."

"(If you say so..)"

"*yawns* He couldn't have picked a better time to steal our girls away. We'll have to try tomorrow..You should be tired from dealing with him too, so come to bed."

"Yeah..Im still worried about 'em, so I'll see about sleeping. (There's something really important I need to tell 'Nilla..Cream as well..Im tired being secretive about this...)"

"*waits 8 minutes for me to start sleeping* Psst. Shadow?"

"How bad is it?"

"Umm...About a 9. An unwanted visitor stole Perle and Vanilla. Mind gathering some info for me and maybe stopping him for us?"

"If I can get that far tomorrow. Got a name?"

"*sighs* If only. The chip I planted on Perle linked to my Scope should tell me by morning."

"(Ah. I almost forgot how they receive audio recordings and transfer them to her. Odd how she's having issues..This guy seems like a tough customer. And he's far.) Im on it. I should something by Noon."

"Good boy <3" Rouge said in a whisper, before going to sleep herself. The night went on and on, fading into obscurity, until time called for morning to take over for the day. During this early morrow, Shadow found himself hunting for clues and the whereabouts of our escaped antagonist. Searching the the rims and seas at high speed with his air shoes, he found himself coming up short. Only to bump into Sonic on an outskirt base. "What're you doing out here?" Shadow asked, "Heh, you know I get curious when you're doing this much snoopin' around" Sonic replied, "(So he was watching me, eh?) There's an this errand Im trying to run. None of it has anything to do with you" Shadow told him, "Tell ya what, nothing's goin' down in these parts. Bet I can beatcha to whatever you're trying to do >;)" Sonic said in a slighting manner, "Whatever. *sees him run off* I've no time for his games. He better not slow me down again" Shadow said to himself, looking down at his inhibitor rings before dashing off.

During the night, back at Akari's lab, she awaited Vlad's return, stirring a cherry in her wine glass. The table was also filled with a good assortment of food, ranging from halibuts to cooked stew. Despite a very welcoming room, there were machine guns above the door and two big test tubes on both sides of his chair.

"*steps through the sliding doors* You have a way with visitors, dont you? *looks above, seeing the machine guns pointed down, hooked to an arm mechanism in the wall* And you even renovated the place, it seems."

"My my, you're mighty calm for someone that's being held at gun-point."

"*slightly chuckles* Dear, you underestimate me. I've had plenty of training drills as well for this when Im not inventing."

"Oh hoo, so you're at top shape, eh? You're a catch, Mr.V."

"Now now professor, this isn't a date. *puts the case on the table* This is business."

"Right right, one thing at a time. Now, what is this 'interesting specimen' you spoke of?"

"*sits and looks at the big test tubes* (Just combustable tubes? She really does take me for a chump.) *inputs a command prompt, making the suitcase walk to her with extended legs* You look at it while I help myself. *grabs a plate of food*"

"*sees the case open a screen, showing who is currently in it* (! H-He actually captured them just like that! Then this case..It is quite capable...If I can have it for myself..) *presses a button under the table*"

"*chews, then sips on a cup of tea. hears a shot fire and a laser shoots the round away* Ahem. What was that all about, professor?"

"! Umm..I p-pressed the wrong button. (Dammit..But how?) I meant to have a drink refiller pop in front of you. Now...How did you shoot away that bullet? ^-^:"

"My coat. It's a PVS."

"What could that stand for?"

"Precision Velocity Shield."

"Velocity you say? Really?"

"Yes. My coat itself is calibrated to shoot down anything that goes faster than 14mph that can come in contact with me."

"Oooooo 14mph? How did you come up with that?"

"Y'see, being an Ex-GUN of their Spec Ops has it's perks. Even if I served for three years, it made me think about today's current weaponries, and tech in general. Thinking very far outside the box became natural to me."

"GUN would be that advanced these days. To combat stronger Mobians isn't an easy job for them too. *giggles*"

"Though, there is a piece of their technology that I want to get my hands on. *gets her attention* The OPG. If I complete it, that'd ensure the reign of my monopolization of my company. I can be the forerunner of the technology world."

"*sees him continue eating* And as we've discussed before, I could do the same for the science world with your help. We're a match made in heaven, dont you think?"

"Only if you dont tempt me to get a leash for you. Is this part of our partnership?"

"Hmm. Tempting idea. What better way to be partners than intimacy?"

"I'll tell you what is, monetary gain. Now lucky for you, I currently do not have the means to make a mind control device. Though I do have an early blueprint."

"Oh Vlad, you dont need to try that hard for me."

"Obviously. So then, what do you intend to do with these captured targets?"

"I decided to use them to further my research. Brushing up on my biological knowledge should prove to be fruitful."

"The discovery of changing an organism's species. You mentioned in the past that you're very far, right?"

"Yes, and Im on the cusp of a breakthrough. And you can come in on this because you know of something that I need."

"Do I now?"

"Indeed. Mind telling me about this OPG?"

"The OPG..This 'Omitted Power Gear'. GUN developed this grand weapon to exploit Chaos power, however..They found that the weapon itself would be too dangerous for their men to use, and split them into pieces. Ever since then, they've been labeled as Classified."

"Have their own died from trying to use the Gear?"

"When I was there, I saw firsthand how devastating it is. That was 1000 men we lost to it. Accidentally."

"Could it prevent the flood that happened years ago?"

"Good question. It was in response to that disaster, and it would indeed be able to wipe out a flood like that. Ultimately, if something like that were to happen again, they could always come back to using it."

"I should've saw that coming."

"So you're saying we need this to peak your research?"

"That will be your next mission. Think you are up to the task?"

"If that's the case, I won't fail. I know a certain someone who's been doing the collecting for me. He's not even a Mobian. Like taking candy from a baby."

"That's what'd I like to hear. *raises up* (Remember, no more than 14mph.) *struts towards him* You know what I'd also like to hear?"

"I can imagine several things."

"*giggles* No need to play coy, Vlad. *glides a hand on the table, getting closer* How about 'You look lovely, professor' or 'You seem very pent up over there'? *sits on his lap, holds his chin* Let me take your mind off of all this for a while. What's the matter?"

"I should ask you that?"

"Hm? What do you mean? *sniffs, gets woozy* Wa..Wait...This is..."

"Before I came, I put in a certain dose of a potent chemical in my coat. I am not dumb, professor. I sensed you wanted something downstairs from me. *takes something out of the coat's inside-pocket* Im sure you've seen this in movies before. *covers her mouth and nose with a rag drenched in chloroform, making her unconscious* Next time. *whispers* Try a better approach" Vlad told her before gently putting her in the chair he was sitting in. He gave thought to returning to his base of operations, but since it was very late at night, he decides to stay at the lab. Since he didn't want to sleep with the professor, Vlad used his adhesive rope to scale up to the top of the lab, and sets up his sleeping grounds on the roof. He could do so by rolling a capsule sphere, and it popped up a wide 10ft tent in front of him. "*enters, taking off coat* I should lay low here for the night just in case. The girl's guardian will want to find me, so I should also turn on the camo" he thought out loud, and pressed a button to activate the tent exterior's shifty, blending mode.

Presently, the time was 10am and home felt lonesome with just the two of us as we dressed; Already having our breakfast. The feeling phased me more than her, as one would figure. We had Methal tell Cream about this kidnapping, and had her babysit for us. "Alright, lover-boy, you ready to hit the road?" she asked, "As I'll ever be" I answer, and got in her car. I saw that she was doing a call and asked for someone to fill in for her at the job place. Bat-Girl probably does it often cuz ever since this whole fiasco, she never really brings up this stuff at the cubical. "Ugh. Say kid. We need to take care of all this by today. My higher-ups have been jumping down my throat for call-ins. If we don't, then I have to let you go, so dont mess up, ok?" Rouge told me, "H-huh? Y-yknow I have nowhere else to go, right?" I reminded, "Yeah, so please pull your weight on this" she told me some more. Is...Is it really that serious? It sounds like she could lose her house or something. Just what the hell's going on now? I took a look at my gauntlets, I feel a small vibration. It must be sensing something. But what, from where? My eyes gaze backwards, and saw an odd shimmering. "Hey pull over!" I urged, and Rouge pulled to side quickly, then upon stopping, someone in a cloak lost their invisibility, revealing herself to be Minnavera. While she was flying forward, we saw her rifle aiming our way, so we go to ducking before she shot several bullets in our direction. The bullets were able to hit their intended targets without harming the glass, which we heard explosions behind us. We watched her slide backwards on her feet and saw debris rain on our window. "*raises up* You again. You're the one that forced us in our own home and tried to make us go on that damn goose chase" I comment, "It's Minnavera, and yes. It's so I could track him down myself, and now he's trying to track me down with those drones. Probably you two as well" she told us, "Looks like you might as well stick with us, cuz lemme guess. Those had cameras and they were spying on us the whole time?" Rouge surmised, "You're on the right track. That footage transferred to him. *points to the remains of them, showing their ammos* They had artillery on them, so he was trying to off us. He used them on me in the past, and now he has a good idea of our location. Just like the others.." Minnavera informed, "(Others?! Like the other Elites?! But they were so hard to deal with!) Great. It seems we're down to the wire then. He could come in on us and finish the job himself at any moment.." I comment, "Not unless we get the drop on him first. Cmon in, girlfriend. We're-" Rouge told her, "Actually..I think I have a good idea of where he is. Park somewhere else first" she then ordered; Making Rouge drive off and stir into a nearby area.

As Vlad was dinning on his rations of food that the tent supplied, an alarm goes off, and a screen turns on from his watch, showing footage of me, Rouge and Minnavera. "Ah perfect. Now that I know where they are, I can go ahead and pick them off now" Vlad blurted out loud, "I dont think so" he heard, grabbing his neck from behind, raising up out of the tent with him. "*continues choking him* You didn't think I could see something like this on top of a yacht, did you?" Shadow said, "Gnnngghh, gghhhnnn!! B-but H-how!?" Vlad asked in shock with a tightened throat, "*throws him down to a lower platform of the yacht* This is a large lab for being on top of a large yacht. If GUN weren't so lazy and had more marine bases searching this far out, anyone would've caught you (Just so I dont blow this place to hell)" Shadow said, pulling out a gun, "*sees him cock it* W-what're you gonna kill me for? As far as you know, I didn't do anything" he prefaced, "You didn't. Yet" Shadow replied coldly, firing a shot at him, and the bullet bounces away from his coat's protective laser shot to his surprise. "Hmhmmhmmm. Go ahead. Try to shoot me again. My coat is designed to protect me from anything with significant speed. *presses a button in the coat, wrapping the limbs and upper body* And from this" he said, blowing himself up, making Shadow fly out of the explosion and into the waters. "*unwraps self* These wraps are also flame retardant, and it can absorb 85% of impact dealt to me" he said with a smile, walking over the deck and seeing Shadow drifting away by currents. "Heh. Was that one of GUN's new recruits I've heard from the ARK program? You gotta be jok- *feels a flash zip pass* ! (Who...Who was that!? O O;;)" he reacts mentally with bug-eyes and a racing heart, "Hey, gnarly firework you did back there. Mind doing it again?" Sonic said from behind him, "That voice! I know that from anywhere! *turns* You're Sonic!!" Vlad said in a panic, "That's right, Sonic The Hedgehog. Dont wear it out, buddy. *sees Shadow in the oceans* So you're the one that took down Shadow, eh? *takes a fighting stance* You must really mean business to be able to do that. Alright bucko, put 'em up" Sonic told him with a serious look. "(Ghn! Dammit, this is bad! Will my suit be able to protect me from him?) *gets quickly bashed hard from a dash from him and flies off to the balcony to another lower platform, bumping into the big metal mast it had. lands on shoulder, and mouth starts bleeding, struggling to get up. coughs* (J-just as I figured..He hits like a truck with all that speed and I dont even know if my coat even protected me against his attack..This is really bad) *sees him flash in front, pants* You're as...Strong as the stories say.." Vlad comments, holding his bashed in arm, "Listen pal, only I get to bang up Shadow like that, and I dont appreciate how you didn't even try to save him. That's not how you play nice" Sonic told him with an upset face, "(I need a bit of time to think of a plan. Drrg if only I prepared beforehand, this Hedgehog would've been roadkill by now) Then..How about you save him?" he brought up, "*looks at Shadow, seeing how he's dozens of meters in the distance and was sinking* I guess, but..*scratches nose* I uhh..Kinda cant swim. If ya can, I'd like it if you could help" Sonic said, slightly pondering, "(Good, here's something.) I dont exactly have anything on me now that could pop him out of the water. I'd say you better hurry and find something on this ship or elsewhere before he drowns" Vlad lies and suggests, "*gives him a stern look* I'll be back and you better not go anywhere. Got it, pal?" Sonic told him and dashes away, "*sees him split the seas with a deep trail behind him* (Heh. Like it would make a difference. I know he still wants to take me down all the same. Given his speed, I'd say I have no more than a minute to prepare for him, which is fine by me)" Vlad schemed in his head, going up to the top of the lab again to arrange some gadgets, reaching up there with another adhesive rope he had in his pocket, uncuffing the concealer of it and made it foam to function once taken out (half the rope is sticky, and gets it's properties back in seconds. I know, a bit weird).

"*enters tent, starts putting together some gadget parts, coughs blood* (Think. If he's so reliant on using the ground to fight. I think 5 will do here. Thankfully these're interchangeable, part-wise. I can just switch functions on the fly) *puts together 3 out of 5 of them* (Floor Erupter..Vacuum Cannon...Corrosive Shooter..My jet back..A body enhancement would do t-) *hears a big breeze of air suddenly pass, putting a chip in a sleeve* (I'll activate this too) *presses button on other watch* That damn Hedgehog's back already" Vlad said under his breath, "*sees him step out of his tent, looking up at him* I thought I told you to stay where you were a minute ago" Sonic reminded, staring fiercely, "Heh. *points cannon arm down at him* You thought a guy like me would obey someone I fought? How naive, blue-blur" he replied, activating his Vacuum Cannon, sucking tons of air in front of him, which Sonic outsped with a quick dash to the left. He then activates his jet pack to suspend in the air to get to even ground, and shot a dense pocket of air at Sonic from the other side of the ship after seeing him try to make distance away for a better view, which he also dodged, "(As I expected) Think fast blue boy" Vlad warned while landing, stomping the ground and the floor in front of him ignites, bursting with a flame wall, "! *stops by digging heels into the floor* Whoa, how the heck?! *sees the flames spreading more forward and horizontally* (What type of heat is this guy packin'? Eggman 2.0 much?) *jumps over it and suddenly gets sucked in* WHOOOOOAA!" Sonic shouts, getting whipped around while the strong winds extinguished the flames then he gets his big head corked on the Cannon's hole, "*sees him flailing his arms around* See, I knew running around and attacking like that is more of your speed. So I thought 'What if I took his precious ground away?' and I had just the plan for that. Now if I dialed up my suction force even slightly, I would've have had blended Hedgehog smoothie for dinner. I would blast you into the water..But I wanna have some fun" Vlad said with a malicious smile, aiming the Cannon at the big mast, throttling him into it and violently crash into it, making him crack his back this way. Vlad steps forward as he watches his foe crawl around. "You're not going anywhere. *sucks him in again, and blasts him into the mast again, leaving a dent this time* You got a hard skull there. Let's test it. *does it again a few more times until he sees some blood on the white metal, denting it much further* This is the legendary hero known as Sonic? Eggman is such a fool to keep losing to you. Did you really think you could beat me when I have just a few of my many inventions!?" Vlad shouted, getting ready to finish him with his acidic gun, "Not..Exactly..KNUCKLES! NOW!!" Sonic shouted, "! Who now?! *feels off, runs over the ledge, seeing many heart bombs on the bottom of the ship* There's no way! Who the hell could do all this?!" Vlad reacts, "Only the world's greatest treasure hunter, that's who" Rouge said, flying up in front of him with me hanging on to her shoulders, "You bitch...! There's no way you could find-" he was gonna say, "Well I did so, tata~" Rouge told him before flying backwards and in time to watch the bombs explode the bottom of the yacht, making the whole thing jump, making him fall on his ass. "(The entire yacht lifted from the explosions? Just how many did she plant while I wasn't looking?!!) *still feel the whole thing rise up* (Wait! The ship should be dropping by now! How can-) *hears shouting from below, gets up, holding on the rails and the voice sounds more and more like grunts* No....No no no no! THIS CANT BE!!! Someone's lifting the entire yacht!" Vlad shouted in a panic, "hhhUUURRAAAAAAGGGGHHH!!!!!!" Knuckles uproared from beneath the ship, "Heheh...Same old Knuckle-head..Doesnt..Know his own strength, I bet..eu-" Sonic comments, "*sees a nearby desolate Zone* (There!) I'll! Throw You! OVEER HEEERRRRE!!!! YAAAAAGGGHHHH!!" Knuckles howled loudly, throwing the large mass of the ship to Red Oak Valley Zone, hearing the screams of everyone on board as he huffs and puffs afterwards, heavily sweating. "*sees half of the yacht explode* Great job there, muscles. Now we need to get Shadow out of- *doesnt see him anywhere* the water...Drat and I just saw him around here!" Rouge complained, "Knowing him he should be...Fine, we'll take a few to look for him" I said, being later held by Knuckles.

Unconscious for a few moments, Mr.V. finds himself opening his eyes, losing sight in one of them. "-orian! Mr.-llorian! -up! Mr.Dillorian! Can you hear me!? I was taking a shower! What on Earth happened out here?!!" Dr.Akari was shouting while shaking him away, "wha..what...happ- *tries to move and something snaps, grabs neck and shoulder* GAAAH! *feels head leaking with blood and looks at palms, seeing alot of blood on them too* I...I really..Took a big blow there.." he said in great pain and fatigue, "I used one of my cushion chambers when I felt us gain alot of altitude..And you seemed to've been blasted all the way into this forest" she informed, "Forest...? *looks around, getting better vision in one eye, seeing the trees* Damn.. (My gadgets..They were blown away..from me too..) I must've really flew this fa- *gets shot in the shoulder from the left* GAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!" a chilling shout comes out of Vlad's mouth, "Step away from him. *walks forward with a gun, seeing the doctor scurry away from him* Looks that shoulder isn't the only thing that's shot. It doesnt seem to work anymore, now does it?" Shadow said, imposing his presence on the two in front of him...And with the gun. "(Drrrgh...Ghn..Ghn...I...My arms..My legs..They aren't moving..Please...Dont let it end like this)" Vlad thought desperately to himself with a strained face, "What's it gonna be, big man? *points the gun at her* And you, stay outta this. You choose, 'Dillorian'. Since I dont give a damn about you or her, there's always just making your dumb ass bite the bullet. Or you can turn yourself to GUN. I can get either done in a split-second...Or do you feel lucky?" Shadow told him, finger still on the trigger, "(All day...I've taken such a beating..Cmon...I gotta think of something..Im so close...I gotta!) You're!...*sees him raise his brow* You're!..H-here...To get the...G..Girls...B-back..R-right?" he asks, "I suppose you two know where they are? *sees him nod. Looks at Akari, shoos her away with the gun* Bring 'em here. I'm keeping an eye on him while he decides his fate for me..And get some clothes" Shadow tells her, and she runs inside the crashed yacht. Arriving after a minute. "*opens the door, hears a gunshot, stops* ! (Mr.V! No!)" she reacts, turning around, "*grabs her arm* I didn't kill him. *pushes her to the wall* You two are pissing me off. Now move. *sees her scurry inside, returns to him quickly* (He better not have- !) *doesnt see him in his place* Damn, now where the hell is he?!" Shadow said in frustration. Vlad finds himself resting in front of the crashed ship, looking at how much Chaos energy his watch-like device has. "(Dammit...Just...Enough for..Two uses..It's on..cooldown too..Think, Vlad. Think..Good thing he..Thought it was broke..If I warp to my base..I can cut my loses with Akari for now..But that'd use all of the watch's energy..It might break too..)" Vlad thought to himself. After dressing in better clothes, Dr.Akari soon stares at the screen that had Perle and Vanilla on it, finding it hard to bring herself to press the Release button. "Mr.V...We were so ahead..If I hadn't showered..If I was at your side earlier..If you wanted me to..." Dr.Akari said under her breath, pressing her finger down, "*catches her wrist* Doctor...No need to..Worry.." Vlad said after appearing behind her, "*gasps* Mr.D- *gets kissed on the lips by him, being over the desk* O///O! *unlocks lips from him before he collapses* V-vlad! If we can get out of here, we have to hurry!" Dr.Akari urged him, "(Heh...Looks like I couldn't get much further..) No...*sees her eyes widen, hearing the door open, inputs coordinates in the watch-like device, has her hold it* I might've sealed the deal between us..But there's..No 'we' in this one..*pushes her to the side, gets shot in the chest, grips it while blood gushes out* AAAAUGGGHH!! AUUUGGGGGGGHHH!" he screams agonizingly, "*walks up to him, cocks gun. Stands above him, aims gun down at his forehead* Die. Asshole. *shoots him through his skull, and sees another bullet shoot him from the other side, dodges the the ricochet of the shell with a head tilt. Vlad's blood gets on the gun's barrel* And how'd you here?" Shadow asked, "*turns off cloak, drops from hanging above the ceiling* That Bat-Girl carried me over here while I was invisible. Mostly the red one, but they should be here very soon..I came for his head. We shot him at the same time" Minnavera told him, "I see..Now the doctor- *sees a light shine from where Akari was, bats head at her* ! Doctor! No! *sees the light dim and cant see her* This bastard..He was draining my Chaos energy after I was submerged. He was smart..*looks at his body* But not smart enough to survive against me" Shadow said, looking up, sitting there with his back on the table. To add to the typicalness of the scene, he'd light a cigarette here, but I didn't want that. Anyway, Sonic and Knuckles stepped in on them.

"[Sonic] Well guys, am I late for the party? *sees Vlad's dead body on the floor* Oh..I missed that much, eh?..*looks away from it* Geez Shadow, you didn't have to make him go out like that."

"[Shadow] He was one helluva smart-ass. Just like a certain someone I know, but worse."

"[Knuckles] I..Dont think it's time to joke around. They said here's this doctor-girl on here. Where is she?"

"[Shadow] That's what Im trying to figure out. This guy warped her somewhere with a Chaos Control of some sort."

"[Sonic] How'd he..Do that..?"

"[Shadow] When I was underwater, he was absorbing my Chaos energy. It seems like a device of his stores it for use later. Crafty bastard."

"[Rouge] *enters* I heard most of that. *looks at Vlad* Ugh, great Shadow. Now we've no idea why he did what he was doing. I couldn't even really talk to the guy without you putting him down."

"[Minnavera] It sounds like his warped assistant would know."

"They do seem to have worked hand-in-hand. If only we knew where she is."

"[Minnavera] I think I know where.."

"! Y-you do? Where?"

"[Minnavera] .....His Corporation. Dillorian Empire Enterprises. He mentioned about a partnership between them before he died."

"[Shadow] Hmm yes. It only makes sense. I suppose you can take us there too."

"*looks at the opened suitcase, showing the girls on it* But first...Do you guys mind if I talk to them separately? It's very personal.." I told them and they nodded. I went up to the suitcase, pressing the Release button. The thing ejects 'Nilla and Perly out of it. Perly eagerly hugged me, and didn't see me react much. I then lead them both outside.

Warped into the building's office, Dr.Akari finds herself in a big chair. She looks around, seeing Vlad shaking hands with several big-wigs, heads of other companies. "Oh Vlad..You had so much ahead of you.." she lowly says, "I know, Akari..I know" she heard from a familiar voice, "! *jumps, hand lands on a button and an alarm signals. sees screens of a bulky mech, with Sigma sign on it* No! I didn't mean to do that! Stop! Stop! *mashes on the button and sees the bot get sent out* (That robot...It looks like something the Dr.Eggman would make. So he made a small deal with him too?) Darn..I didn't mean to.." she said lowly, "Relax doctor. *sees her turn around* This is my AI you're speaking to. I planted it into myself right before I died..Im so sorry I couldn't live to be next to you here" the AI said on the room's monitor, "*tears up, puts head in the desk*...I...I dont know what to do.." she said, "You can take over for me. *sees her look up* It's the least I could do for you. After all..You're the one that said that you needed my tech to advance your research. I didn't say anything about it, but I respect that. It's why I had you here. *sees her head still down* Listen. I know this is hard now, but you gotta decide quick. *sees her look back up* ...Once that bot is gone, so will this AI. If you wanna prove you're the next CEO to the employees, all you need is this screen with my say-so" the monitor prefaced to her. She felt trapped between a rock and a hard place on this one. Akari was grateful towards the gesture, but she knew it wasn't the same. It all felt so unreal. While she was deciding, E-115 Sigma was searching, using the footage provided by a drone unbeknownst to the group. Minutes later though, she noticed a number for the Doctor himself. "(Ooo ooo, he's calling!) *hears Akari, her pleas and woes* Awww, Im so sorry dear. Hmm if you miss him so much, I actually have a favor you can do for me. You got a pen and paper? *hears her some more* Ah good, good. Ho hoo" he said quietly, making sure no guard hears him with his small comm (provided by a small bot from outside) in his jumpsuit. "I pulled alot of strings while I was away lil' missy. So listen close" he was saying to her, before he started instructing her. After hearing where her current location is, a big grin started appearing on his face. All this and more in the next chapter, thanx for the waiting for this but laters!