The Return of Maria Robotnik

By: HyperSonicXdA Initial chapter and concept by Teen-Hero Characters and locations copyrighted by Sega

"Sayonara...Shadow the Hedgehog," said a young girl as the life began to leave her body. Her blood began to pool beneath her, her body lying on a cold metal floor. "Maria!" cried out the hedgehog, Shadow, from inside an escape pod. It was firmly sealed and ready to blast off into space and towards the blue planet, Earth. Maria could only smile a sad smile as she watched the hedgehog that had been her best friend bang on the side of the escape pod with his fist, trying his hardest to break through it before it launched towards Earth. She knew she would never see him again, nor would he see her. She would have cried, but she was almost already gone by the time the pod launched towards the planet that she would never truly get to see. "I'm...so sorry, Shadow. I wish we...could see each other...again...one day..." Maria said. Those would be the last words she said before her eyes closed and her world became the darkest black. ------"Initializing Resurrection Program Alpha," said an electronic voice that sounded very much like the voice one would hear on an automatic answering service. "Commencing scan of subject Robotnik, Maria." A bright green light suddenly filled a room that had been darkened for over fifty years, giving it an eerie, almost ethereal glow. It was the only light in the room as there were no windows. "Vital signs...normal. Body structure...normal. Scan detects previous bullet wound, now fully healed. Brain activity...sedated, but normal. Transformation from Homo sapiens to Erinaceus albiventris...successful. Initiating revival program." The green glowing light illuminating the room became even brighter. From outside the pod, which was the source of the electronic voice, the form of a female hedgehog could be seen. She was wearing a blue dress with blue-gray stripes going down the front and the sides, a pair of white gloves, two blue and silver gauntlets, and a pair of blue and silver boots which had two metal rings on each boot. One could also see that the female hedgehog was floating inside of a glowing green liquid, the source of light in the room. The liquid would not be the only source of light in the room for long, however, as the room suddenly became illuminated by bright overhead lights. As the room became illuminated by the white overhead lights, the liquid inside of the pod began draining out through a small hole at the bottom of the pod. As it drained, the female hedgehog slowly began to settle at the bottom until she was lying on her side. Once the liquid had completely drained away, the front of the pod opened up towards the ceiling. "Resurrection Program Alpha...complete. Awaken...Maria Robotnik," said the electronic voice. At first, there was no indication, besides the low noise of her breathing, to suggest that the young female hedgehog was even alive. Then, her breathing slowly became louder as she began to stir. Soon after she began stirring, she made a moaning sound like one usually does after a long time asleep. Then, her eyes fluttered open, though her vision was blurry. "Wha...what happened?" she asked as she propped herself up to sit. She noticed that she was inside of a pod and moved to get out of it, though she was crawling. She hadn't yet tried to get up and wasn't quite sure her legs worked. She at least wanted to have some room to fall safely when she tried. Once she was clear of the pod, the female hedgehog slowly stood to her full height and somehow felt like she should have been taller. That didn't bother her that much, however, as she suddenly remembered something very important. "SHADOW!" she cried out. "Oh my god! Shadow! I hope he's okay." Maria Robotnik suddenly remembered the last few moments before she supposedly died, which made her feel very uneasy. First of all, she was worried about Shadow and sincerely hoped that her friend was okay. Second of all, she was supposed to be dead. She definitely remembered a bullet piercing her back and exiting her chest. She also remembered falling to the floor of the ARK and the life slowly draining out of her until she lost consciousness. "I...should be dead, but I'm alive. How is that possible?" Maria asked herself. As she stepped forward, she nearly tripped and fell. She quickly regained her balance, but noticed a strange reflection on the metallic floor. She looked back down and instead of the face of a twelve year old girl, she saw the face of a female hedgehog. Maria didn't scream or cry out, as one might have expected her to do. She calmly looked at the reflection on the floor, making numerous faces, waving her arms and legs, and doing whatever else she could to make sure that the image she was seeing was really hers. Once she confirmed that the blonde female hedgehog she saw in the floor was herself, she let out the bloodcurdling scream that was inevitably going to happen. As Maria screamed, a video monitor on the other side of the room came to life. The monitor was easily the size of the entire wall. It got Maria's attention and calmed her screaming. The actual monitor, however, wasn't what ceased her screaming. It was what, or rather who, was being displayed on the monitor. "Grandfather!" Maria exclaimed. The man shown on the monitor screen was most definitely Gerald Robotnik, her loving grandfather. "Hello, Maria," said Gerald Robotnik, though it was obviously only a recording of the great scientist. "If you are hearing this message, then my plan to cure you of your disease has worked. Unfortunately, my dear granddaughter, as you have no doubt discovered already, it was at the cost of your humanity."

"I'm cured?" Maria said outloud, though it was mostly a question to herself. She knew the video image of her grandfather couldn't respond back. "You are, as you can most likely see, a hedgehog. Long into my research on how to cure you of NIDS, Maria, I realized that your human body would never be strong enough to fight off the disease, no matter what treatments were administered to you. I theorized that you would need the body of an animal to successfully be cured of NIDS. Since I had already created Shadow as a means of curing you, considering his DNA, I reasoned that a hedgehog would be the first logical choice." Maria slowly took in the information the recording of her grandfather was giving her. It all sounded a bit too fantastic to be real, but then again, her grandfather was the greatest scientist of his age and probably of any age. There was, however, a nagging question in the back of her mind that she wanted to be answered. "You are probably wondering when you were placed inside of that pod," Gerald Robotnik said. The elderly man on the screen sighed sadly and took a deep breath before he began to speak again. "You were shot, Maria. It was an accident, as the soldier who fired the gun was merely trying to destroy the Artificial Chaos behind you, but you were caught in the crossfire. Even though it was only for a little while, you were clinically dead." "So I did die," Maria said to herself. That didn't surprise her. She felt as if she had been dead and she even remembered dying. "Before GUN took me, Maria, they gave me a few moments alone to grieve for you. I realized that the only way to save your life was to place you inside of this pod and begin the procedure immediately. If this message is playing, then the procedure did indeed work. I'm glad I could do this for you, my precious granddaughter. However, since I could not properly monitor you myself, I had to initiate a process that would likely take over fifty years to complete. For the most part, you would not age, though I did allow for some physical and mental development, putting you at around the age of sixteen or so. I am sorry to say Maria, I am most likely no longer among the living." The image of Gerald Robotnik smiled and a tear could be seen trailing down from his eye. That made Maria cry herself. The intense sadness she felt from knowing her grandfather was gone was almost too much to handle. "Do not worry about me, Maria. I wish I could have been there to see you come back into the world as your new self, but that cannot be. I do have some more good news. For just a moment, she stopped crying and waited for what her grandfather had to say. "As you well know, Maria, Shadow is the Ultimate Lifeform. Among his many abilities, Shadow possesses a genetic trait that does not allow his body to age past a certain point. Most likely, the last time you saw Shadow was when he was at his full physical maturity. Maria, what I'm trying to tell you is that you're not alone. Out there, somewhere, Shadow is alive." It took several moments for that to sink in, but when it finally did, Maria jumped for joy. Her best friend in the whole world was alive. The image of Gerald Robotnik smiled again, as if he anticipated his granddaughter's joy at hearing her friend was alive.

"Shadow is on Earth, Maria, and if you wish to see him, you will have to travel there," the image of Gerald Robotnik stated. Maria wondered all of a sudden how she was going to travel to Earth. She didn't know how to fly any of the craft that would be docked on the ARK and even if she did, there was no guarantee that they would be in working order. "Maria, I want you to go to the safe across the room. It has an electronic keypad on it. It's built into the wall just next to the monitor on which you are watching this message. The code for the keypad is your birthday. Please go open the safe." Maria did as she was instructed and went over to the safe in the wall. She punched in the code and the safe opened. It was a rather small one, so Maria couldn't fanthom what could be inside that would allow her to go to Earth. She was surprised, however, to see a blue gem inside, a gem that was very familiar to her. "You wouldn't be completely wrong to say that it is a Chaos Emerald you see," Gerald Robotnik said as Maria took the gem out of the safe and stepped back to look at the screen again. "It is a fake, but a very remarkable fake. While it does not have nearly the amount of power as a real Chaos Emerald, it does still retain all of the properties of a Chaos Emerald. You see, Maria, along with your new body, you have some new abilities. Most of them will mirror the ones that Shadow possesses, such as enhanced strength, agility, and incredible running speed. You will even possess the same control over Chaos energy that Shadow does. The only difference in your abilities is that you will become weakened and tired out faster than Shadow would, since you do not possess any of that vile Black Doom's DNA inside of you." Maria took in all of this surprisingly well. She had significantly calmed down since her initial bout of crying and although she was still a bit emotional about the whole ordeal, she was doing her best to take it as calmly as she could. "Maria, do you remember Chaos Control? I'm sure that you do. It's the ability that Shadow possesses that allows him to instantaneously transport himself from one place to another. You too, Maria, have that ability." "While you can use Chaos Control without an emerald, real or fake, to travel short distances, you will need the power of one or more emeralds in order to travel much larger distances. Do you remember how I told Shadow to do it, Maria? You must concentrate on the place you want to go in your mind, draw the Chaos energy from within body out, and then say, 'Chaos Control!' When that is done, you will instantaneously be transported to the place you pictured in your mind. I want you to test that ability Maria. I want you to teleport to your bedroom and then teleport back here. Maria looked at the fake emerald in her hand and eyed it for just a moment before she began to follow her grandfather's instructions. She closed her eyes and pictured her room on the ARK. She held it firmly in her mind as she felt a warm, vibrant, pulsing sensation spread throughout her body. It had come naturally, without effort, but the sensation she was feeling was her Chaos energy being drawn out. With the first two steps taken, Maria concentrated a bit harder before she spoke. "Chaos Control!" Maria cried out. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, but she felt as if there had been a bright flash of light. She also felt a tingling sensation all over her body, and was feeling hot inside and cold on the outside, as if she had been microwaved. When Maria opened her eyes, she found herself in her room on board the ARK. It didn't surprise her to find herself there, though she was surprised she had been able to do Chaos Control. Remembering that she was supposed to teleport back to the room she had awoken in, Maria used Chaos Control to return back to that room. Just as she reappeared and opened her eyes, Gerald Robotnik began speaking again. "Hopefully, Maria, you have successfully managed to use Chaos Control. If you have, congratulations. If not, then keep practicing until you master it. It is vital that you do so. Continuing on, assuming you have mastered Chaos Control, I want you to picture this city in your mind." The image on the screen changed from that of Gerald Robotnik to a picture of Station Square, one of the largest cities on Earth. The image then changed back to Gerald Robotnik. "This is Station Square, Maria. This is the city where you will teleport to with Chaos Control. There is an apartment there for you, rented under the name Maria the Hedgehog. You will find this apartment fully stocked with everything you will need. Clothes, furniture, and enough food to last you for three weeks until you find a means of supporting yourself. All of these things should be delivered and set up in the apartment as we speak, as per the instructions in my will. The address is 679 Mach Street, Apt. # 213. Good luck with your new life, my granddaughter. I hope that you will find Shadow and that you will be happy. Goodbye." The screen displaying Gerald Robotnik's image faded and the screen flickered out. Maria was crying again, all semblance of her control gone. She was sitting on the floor of the ARK, her knees drawn up to her chest. Her grandfather had done so much for her, dedicated his life to saving her, and she couldn't even properly thank him or tell him goodbye. The more than fifty years she had been in that pod had taken so much away from her. The only thing from her past she had left to hold onto was Shadow, and even then, she still had to find him. Maria managed to pull herself together enough to do the Chaos Control that would take her to Station Square. But before she did, she turned and looked at the black monitor screen that had recently displayed the image of her late grandfather. "Sayonara, Grandpa," Maria said. Than she focused her mind on Station Square and the Chaos Emerald in her hand. "Chaos Control!" With a flash of blue light, she was gone and the ARK was once again simply a metal shell hovering in space, devoid of any signs of life. Maria had focused on the countryside surrounding Station Square. Still, fifty years of city expansion brought her in the suburbs. Her appearance was a cause of concern for a few people, but she didn't pay much attention to them. Dusk was setting and she didn't want to be out after dark. Putting her new super speed to good use, she reached downtown fast enough. After some searching, she found the apartment block her grandfather mentioned and decided to apply to the receptionist. "Good evening, how can I help you?", she asked Maria when she applied. "Good evening. Is there an apartment here rented under the name 'Maria the Hedgehog'?" "There is, actually. Strangely enough, a couple of movers came in this morning and said that they needed to stock an apartment here. They showed me the will of a man named Gerald Robotnik, him having bought an apartment here. I read it through and I gave them permission to stock it. I guess you're Maria then." "Yeah, I am," Maria said vaguely, again overcome by a wave of sad gratitude to her grandfather. "I'm sort of happy you're moving in. It's been standing empty for over fifty years. My name is Kelly, by the way," the receptionist offered, pulling Maria out of her sorrow. "Pleased to meet you, I'm sure," she answered. "Anyway, here are the keys and data on a bank account I was supposed to hand to you. Good night," Kelly concluded. "The very same," Maria answered, indeed wanting to get some of her emotions out of her system and also wanting to figure out what the machine was Kelly was using to register her. Once inside her apartment the full extent of that idea hit her. It had been over fifty years since she had 'died', bringing with it technological advances she had no idea of. She had already seen someone talking into a piece of plastic, holding it to his ear. She thought it might be a telephone, made to carry with oneself. Still, she found the apartment exacty as her grandfather described it. Fully furnished, the fridge stocked to the brim. She made a mental note to find a library the next morning and bring her knowledge a bit more up to date. But now, she would sleep and let at least a part of the shock experienced aboard the ARK out of her system. That was when she noticed an envelope attached to the television. It read 'for Maria'. Inside was a note from her grandfather, some cash and a small plastic card. 'Dear Maria, 'I know that you will probably have been worrying about not finding your way in this new age. There is a library on 52nd street where you will no doubt be able to find information on any new technology you may have seen. The card included is a means to get money from the bank account the receptionist will have given you information about. 'Since I recorded the video message you have seen aboard the Space Colony ARK, Shadow has been found and put in suspended animation on Prison Island. 'Maybe he will have been released by the time you have awakened. It would be best to try and find some information on him before going to Prison Island. 'It turned out the G.U.N. invasion troopers were almost wiped out by the Biolizard before they succeeded in sealing it and bringing me down to Earth. And yes, you read it clearly, I am only days from dying. Do not grieve me, Maria, but try to find Shadow if he has been released, and free him if he hasn't. 'Goodbye, and good luck in finding Shadow.

'Your loving grandfather, Gerald Robotnik.' This note caused Maria to burst out in tears yet again. Her grandfather had done more for her than she could ever have asked from him, and yet he didn't desire any thanks, apparently happy for the simple fact that he had helped her as much as he could. On top of that, her sacrifice for Shadow had been for nothing. They had still found him and locked him away. After a few minutes, she pulled herself together. For now, she had only one string left to hang onto, and that was Shadow. And, she decided before she went to sleep, even if he was hidden away in a bunker miles below ground, she would get him out. ------A good night's sleep helped her a lot indeed. After taking a shower and getting dressed - she was happy to find the wardrobe fully stocked with clothes similar to those she was wearing - she checked the bank data and was surprised to find several thousand rings' worth of money. Her grandfather had left her plenty of money from his prison cell, apparently. When she was finished, she decided to ask Kelly where to get breakfast. "Good morning, Maria. Did you sleep well?" Kelly asked when she applied. "Oh, yeah, very well. Say, do you know any good places for breakfast? I'm new here, you know." "I thought you were. There's a good café right around the corner, they have wonderful sandwiches. Oh, by the way, I've been thinking. Wasn't Gerald Robotnik the guy who almost made a space station crash into the planet?" Maria was utterly stunned at this. Had her grandfather really wanted the ARK the crash into Earth? After all the care he'd invested in putting her inside the pod and meeting preparations for her awakening? Considering how much she loved the planet? Another question then rose to her mind. "Wait, what do you mean, 'almost'?" "Well, I remember hearing about two hedgehogs who teleported it back up to orbit. One was called Sonic and the other was called Shadow." Maria cleared up at this point. "When did that happen? And what happened to the hedgehogs?" "Oh, a few years ago already. And while Sonic made it back up, I heard the other one crash-landed." Maria only just kept herself from bursting into tears right there and then. Shadow had fallen down, at high speeds apparently. She doubted even he could have survived the impact. "But apparently, he came back and prevented an alien invasion in a place called Westopolis. I think he works for G.U.N. these days, if you're worried about him," Kelly followed up. This brightened Maria's spirits again. Shadow was alive, and he was out there. "OK, thanks Kelly. I guess I'll go and have some breakfast now," Maria finished. "Anytime. Enjoy!" With the bit of cash she found in the envelope she paid a coffee and a sandwich and started to ponder over Kelly's story a bit. Her grandfather would never try to destroy Earth. On the counterpart, he had always meant the best for the planet. He could never have switched sides on Prison Island, considering how he wrote the letter to her a few days before he died. At least it was a good thing Shadow had prevented the ARK from crashing. She didn't know how he got out of Prison Island, nor how he had stopped the ARK. And that other hedgehog Kelly had referred to, Sonic, or what was his name? Where did he fit in? She finished her coffee and set off for the library. Hoping she'd find all the necessary information there. She found the library on 52nd street and decided first to try and find some manuals for those screens she'd seen Kelly and the librarian use. After some searching, she found out they were computers. She'd seen those on the ARK before, but they were much bigger and not very efficient. These new models (PCs, as they were now called) could process data much faster and were much easier to work with. The portable phones were also easy to use, as was the plastic card, which she had put in the wallet that came with the bank balance notes and contained an ID. She started looking for books regarding her grandfather's inprisonment and the near-crash of the ARK. Looking through the database of the library, she found G.U.N.'s final report on the invasion (published over fifty years after the facts - she found it strange that they had managed to keep it a secret for so long), declaring that her grandfather had nearly died due to an illness once while in prison, and that he never regained his composure after that, actually going borderline insane. That would explain how he could have written the note and still have turned against the Earth. One thing still puzzled her: he had also put new, more hostile instructions into Shadow while repairing the suspended animation capsule he was locked in after a power outage. If Shadow had, under Gerald's influence, turned on the planet, how did he revert back to the good side? The next book she found, explaining the near-crash of the ARK, provided her with an answer. Apparently, a certain Dr. Eggman had freed Shadow and tried to use the Eclipse Cannon, mounted on the ARK's nose, as a threat to take over the world. Sonic (a recognized hero here, apparently) and a few of his friends travelled to the ARK to stop Dr. Eggman's scheme. One of Sonic's friends had turned Shadow over to the good side by reminding him of Maria's final wish. This brought tears to her eyes. She meant that much to him ! Sonic and Shadow then went Super (what that meant she didn't know) and teleported the ARK back up to orbit. Sonic followed it, but Shadow couldn't and fell down to the planet. One of Dr. Eggman's robots went to recover Shadow, and when he was reawakened he suffered from amnesia. The Black Arms invasion a few years ago gave him his memory back and since then he had decided to put the past behind him. The fact that he did indeed work as a G.U.N. agent was enough to prove that. Still, the simple fact he was alive was enough to make Maria's day. And while her grandfather had indeed wanted to destroy the planet, he was ill when he made this decision. Therefore he couldn't really be blamed and Maria did not blame him anyway, considering how much he'd done for her. All in all, Maria left the library a whole lot wiser. Stopping for lunch (paying with the plastic card for the first time), she wondered what to do next. The apartment she lived in had a kitchen, so she would have to cook for herself in due course. Of course, the food in the fridge would last her a while, and she'd survive on her bank account for another while longer. But after a few months, her means of sustenance would unavoidably run out. This meant that she'd have to work for her money. Now that she knew a bit more about modern technology, she'd try and find a job. Then, once her sustenance was secured, she'd go out and try to find Shadow. Unless, that was, he'd come across her first. ------"Sayonara...Shadow the Hedgehog," Maria said as she lay on the floor, blood spilling, reaching for the lever that would launch the capsule he was sealed in. "Maria!" he cried out, tears in his eyes. Perhaps it was a good thing the soldiers had been called away for reinforcements. Now he could help Maria, if he could just get through the capsule's thick, airproof glass. He started banging his fists against the glass, just as Maria succeeded in pulling the lever and he was whisked away through the escape hatch. Then he sprung up and was surprised to find himself in bed. It had been a nightmare. Seeing as how his job with G.U.N. required him to have a physical contacting adress, Shadow had bought a small apartment in Station Square, two blocks away from G.U.N. HQ. This particular nightmare, the one about the incident on the ARK that had taken Maria's life, came back at least once a week and always left him sitting in his bed on the verge of tears. "How am I supposed to break with my past if it continues to haunt me in my dreams? I know I can't bring Maria back from the dead," he said, the sorrow clear in his voice. He decided that since he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, he might as well take a gulp of fresh night air. He went out and walked down the road to the city park. ------After she had come back from the application office (she had a sollicitation form for a tour guide in the city museum) Maria went back to her apartment and decided to watch the TV, taking a while to make dinner. After that, she had gone to bed. But unlike the day before, she wasn't dog tired and couldn't fall asleep. At around 2 am, she decided she'd better take a walk to set her mind at ease. Arriving in the city park she sat down on a bench and looked up at the stars, trying to spot the ARK. She had read in the library the planet had been only 50 seconds away from destruction the day it nearly crashed. She could only hope the best for the ARK, now that it was just an empty metal shell up there. That was when she heard someone else walking down the lane towards her. Not wanting him to catch her, she stood up and turned to walk away. "Don't run away. I'm just out here for some fresh air," the person said, and Maria froze on the spot. That voice...could it be? She slowly turned around and indeed, in front of her stood a black hedgehog with red stripes on his quills, arms and legs. "Shadow?" ------When he arrived in the park, Shadow saw someone else sitting on a bench a few hundred yards away. Another person who can't sleep, he thought. As soon as he came within hearing distance, however, this person stood up and turned away. Lone wolf though he was, he was certain he could do with someone to talk to right now. "Don't run away. I'm just out here for some fresh air," he said as reassuringly as he could manage at the moment. He noticed it was a she, a blonde hedgehog. She seemed stunned at the sound of his voice, when she slowly turned around and said, "Shadow?" Now he was stunned. He knew that voice; he had just heard it minutes before in his dream. This can't be, he thought. "Maria? Is that you?" he asked. Yes, it was, it had to be. Even though she wasn't a human anymore, her eyes were exactly that same shade of blue and had exactly that same gaze in them. "Yeah, Shadow, it's me," she said. At that Shadow took her in his arms and hugged her tight, finally letting years of held-in tears flow freely. "Oh, Maria, you have no idea how much I missed you," he said. At first Maria was stunned with his hug, but then she started hugging back, Shadow crying out on her shoulder. He still cared about her, more than she could have guessed. That was when she too started crying. They stood there for some time, until eventually Shadow broke the embrace, wearing the biggest smile even she had ever seen on his face. Everything that had happened over fifty years ago, it hadn't been for nothing, as now she had Shadow back. "It's alright, Shadow. I'm back and I'm not leaving again just yet." ------The two hours that followed were among both Shadow’s and Maria’s finest since they had both awoken from their fifty-plus year slumber. Both explained what had happened since they had been released from their respective suspended animation, Shadow being flooded with memories from his past. Afterwards, they didn’t speak much, just enjoying each other’s company. But, eventually, as morning came, they were forced to part ways, if only for the time being. However, neither had noticed the camera orb that had been spying on them all night. As time passed, its constructor became more and more interested in the scene unfolding. When dawn finally did come, the two separated, and the orb followed Maria back to her apartment. “So then, my grandfather is an even greater genius then I thought. And how well this plays out for me too! This might be the one thing I need to get Shadow back under my control. Ho ho ho HO HO HO HO HOEUUUAAGH UCHE UCHE UCHE! Whew, I think I’m starting to get asthma.” With these words, the infamous Dr. Eggman stood up and called out: “Orbot! Cubot! Get over here!” “What is it, boss?” the brighter of the pair, Orbot, asked the doctor. “Make sure that that yellow hedgehog is under 24/7 surveillance. Don’t let her get out of the orbs’ sight.” ”Wow, you mean we’re gonna be spying on her? That’ll be awesome! I’ll be taking the shift when she showers,” the not-as-bright Cubot shouted in his normal, rasping, high-pitched voice. “SHUT UP AND GET YOURSELF A VOICE CHIP THAT WORKS!” Eggman shouted back, upon which Cubot retreated. “He’s going to find himself in a dumpster someday. Anyway, Orbot, make sure she is constantly watched and don’t screw it up. I need to get working on a new E-100 Alpha design.” ------After returning from the park, Maria went back to her apartment and decided she would just stay awake as she was too excited to go back to sleep anyway. She turned on the TV, adjusting the volume as softly as she could. However, her mind quickly slipped back to her conversation with Shadow. What she had found out, among other things, was who this Sonic person was. Well, it was obviously a subjective description Shadow had given her, as he didn’t really like Sonic that much. Another researching trip to the library ought to brighten that up. The ‘Dr. Eggman’ she’d read about, was actually her younger cousin, Ivo Robotnik. He was in his late forties at this point, so there was no way she could know him, as she had died fifty-plus years ago. Even though he had teamed up with Sonic and his group when the world was in dire need, he had only done so because then he’d be able to conquer it later. He was a lot more evil at heart then her grandfather ever had been, but it was her only family besides Shadow, so maybe she should at least talk to him. Although remembering those hours gave her a very good feeling, bodily needs couldn’t be denied forever, so in the end she got up and started to try to make some eggs. Cooking was something she’d have to start getting the hang of, too. After all, she hadn’t cooked anything before, as she had been only twelve when she died. On her first try opening the egg, she cracked it too softly. On pulling it apart, it shattered and the white splashed all over her gloves. On the second try, she smashed it into the side of the pan too hard, dropping the yolk outside the pan. The third time she got it right, only to realize she’d forgotten some grease. The fourth egg was the good one, eventually finding its way onto her plate and into her stomach. Making a mental note to find a bookstore and a cookbook, she packed her purse and went out to the library. After all, if she was going to adapt, she’d have to get to know a lot more about this strange new world. She knew it wasn’t going to be all that easy, but Shadow would be there helping her out. That, if anything, was for sure. ------Weeks passed, and Maria was starting to settle into her new life. The gardening job was dirty work, but she had always cared about living things, so she found it worth it. She had bought a laptop, and now spent quite some of her free time on the Internet. Shadow kept in regular contact, introducing her to a few of his acquaintances (he refused to call anyone a friend; except Maria, that is). Rouge the Bat and E-123 Omega were prime among them, what with them and Shadow being fellow G.U.N. agents. She had started to meet up separately with Rouge, having turned into a good friend herself. Yet all this time, unbeknownst to them, Eggman had been working on his plan. “Boss?” Orbot came rolling into Eggman’s lab one day. “What is it? I’m busy!” the obese doctor responded. “You might want to have a look at this. Shadow is introducing her to-“ he managed to say before Eggman cut him off: “I don’t have time for any more introductions. It’s almost ready to get into action.” “But boss, the person he’s introducing is-“ “Get out or I’ll scrap you! I need to get working on my new evil speech, now that the robot is finished.” “But-“ “NOW!” But Eggman made a serious mistake. The person being introduced to Maria was none other than his nemesis, Sonic the Hedgehog. “Well, Sonic, it’s a joy to meet you at last,” said Maria as she was faced with him. “I kind of had to, I suppose. I bet Shadow was telling you all sorts of lies about me,” Sonic responded. “I take it you two aren’t all that close, seeing the way you treat each other,” she remarked. “Let’s just say we work together at times. We’re not really that well acquainted,” Shadow answered in Sonic’s place. “That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to get to know him better. And as HE won’t tell me…” Sonic said jokingly. Some time later Maria was walking home, lingering on her conversation with Sonic. Sure he was cocky, but not nearly as arrogant as Shadow had put him forward. Her suspicions about that were right. The original enmity between the two had decreased to a friendly rivalry of sorts, but still neither wanted to call the other a friend. Shadow was also much colder around Sonic than he usually was around Maria or even Rouge. One thing must lead to the other, she considered. However, she was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the shadow of Eggman’s latest project until it was too late. When she noticed it, she spun around to see the new and improved E-100 Alpha, codename Zero, come flying straight for her. She jumped back sufficiently to avoid the robot’s impact, but landed on her back. Zero grabbed her around her waist and took off. Maria would have fought back, seeing as how she possessed Shadow’s powers, but being the peaceful twelve-year-old girl she had been, she lacked the skill. That and they were too high for her to assure a safe landing. When the robot eventually landed, it was outside a huge, metal-lined building. Being forced inside, she found herself put behind bars. Shocked, terrified and airsick, she started to cry. After a few minutes Maria pulled herself together. She had Shadow’s powers. Wherever she was, she could certainly get out. Maria started by trying to bend the bars. When she found she couldn’t she started kicking them. Even later Maria unleashed her Chaos powers on them. But even Chaos Spears wouldn’t affect the bars. Eventually tiring down, she lay down on the bench and started counting her options. Before she finished, however, the prison door opened and a fat, heavily mustached man stepped in. At first she thought it was her grandfather, Gerald Robotnik. No, it couldn’t be him. He was dead. So she ended up asking: “Who are you?” “Oh ho ho ho ho, you must have thought I was your grandfather, right Maria?” the fat man answered. “I must say we are relatives. I am your cousin, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, otherwise known as Dr. Eggman, the greatest evil genius in the world!” “Here we go again…” one of two small robots said. She hadn’t noticed them before. They must have come in with him. “Don’t you have something to take care of? Get out!” Eggman shouted at them. They ran off. “Anyway, I apologize for the poor reception. It’s difficult to make a prison cell luxurious, you must understand,” Eggman continued. “Why did you kidnap me? What are you going to do with me?” Maria asked, terrified by the evil tone hidden underneath that polite appearance. “Well, you see, it’s about that hedgehog you call your best friend.” “Shadow?” “Exactly.” “What do you plan to do with him? Are you going to kill him?” “No, don’t worry. You see, I’ve tried to take over the world several times. I used Shadow twice for that purpose. Twice it failed. The first time because Shadow was working on his own accord, the second time because he had lost his memory.” “You want to blackmail him using me?” “Exactly. Every hero folds in a hostage situation. I’m sure Shadow is no exception when it comes to you. He’s not going to give you up again.” “And when you’re finished? Will you kill us?” “No. Shadow might have worked against me, but there is no denying he is our grandfather’s creation. Which sort of makes me family to him. And you, well, I can’t deny Shadow his prize, now can I?” “He won’t let you control him!” He’ll get me out.” “You’ve tried, and you have similar powers to him. The locks are electronic, opening only by the use of a code, which I have right here in my head. No one else knows that code. It can’t fail! Anyway, I’ll leave you by yourself. Good night!” With that, Eggman left. Maria collapsed on the floor and tears flooded her eyes. The odds were stacked against her and Shadow. There seemed to be no options. No, she told herself, don’t break down. You have to stay strong, Maria. Shadow will find a way. He WILL get you out. ------“Maria? Maria, it’s me, Rouge. Open up.” Rouge stood outside Maria’s apartment, knocking on the door. She and Maria had decided to go out to the movies that night. Nothing special, except that Maria wasn’t opening up. Maria was not one to forget appointments once made; she wouldn’t be asleep. Maybe she’s gone out earlier and hasn’t returned yet, Rouge concluded. She opened her purse and took out her phone. ------Inside Eggman’s base, Maria decided she’d just go to sleep. In her reassuring herself she had resumed her previous attempts to escape, but had exhausted herself in the process. She half walked, half dragged herself to her bed. It was more comfortable than you’d expect for a prison cell. Lying down between the sheets, she decided it was for the better not to take her clothes off; no doubt she was being surveyed. As she positioned herself, her phone rang. She kept her phone in her back pocket, aside her wallet. She took it out, half cursing herself for not thinking about her phone earlier. Picking up, she was greeted with the worried tone of Rouge’s voice. “Maria? Where are you?” “Rouge?” “Don’t you remember? We were going to the movies tonight. I was supposed to meet you at your apartment.” “Oh, the movies. Yeah, that’s not really going to work right now.” “Why not? Where are you?” “At Dr. Eggman’s base. He kidnapped me.” “WHAT? What for?” “He said he wants to use me to blackmail Shadow into working for him. What his eventual plan is he didn’t say.” “Are you ok? Did he hurt you?” “No, I’m fine.” “Good. Hang on, if he kidnapped you, then why didn’t he take your phone from you? That’s a major oversight, even for him. Almost as if he wants you to call someone…” Maria came to the same conclusion. Of course! If she called Shadow, he’d be desperate to get her out. A cry of help from her would assure he’d come, more so than a note from Eggman. “Look, don’t come for me, ok?” she told Rouge. “I don’t want to put you, or Shadow, or anyone else in danger.” “No way we’re leaving you there, girl. We’ll come get you, don’t you worry.” Maria tried to reply, but Rouge had already hung up. The exhaustion then hit Maria like a brick. She lay down and almost instantly fell asleep. ------The following day, Maria woke up to the sound of the prison door opening. Entering was one of the two robots that had entered the day before along with Eggman. It was the red, orb-shaped one. It greeted her in a formal British accent: “Good morning, Maria. Did you sleep well?” “Yeah…I think,” she replied hesitantly. “I have your breakfast here. There is a microphone with it. If you need anything, just press the button and talk through it. The doctor wishes to keep his guests comfortable,” the robot continued. As it turned to leave, a floating tray hovered in. Bacon and eggs, her favorite breakfast. “Wait!” she shouted to the robot, “I want to ask you something. How did the doctor track me?” The robot floated towards her, explaining: “He used an old invention of his: camera orbs. Floating cameras with stealth option and zoom function. We were watching you for several weeks. Because of them we also know that your friend Shadow is now speeding to the base with Rouge and Omega.” At that, the robot clapped his hands over where his mouth should be, as if he had just said more than he should. He regained his composure and said: “Anyway, I have business to attend to. If you need anything, just speak through the mic.” With that, he took his leave. Maria was left with her breakfast, and she quickly munched it down. After all, she hadn’t eaten since the day before. The conversation left her with mixed feelings. She was happy Shadow was coming for her, and determined he’d get her out, but simultaneously she was worried about him, and hoped he wouldn’t get hurt. After her breakfast, she lay down on her bed to reconsider the situation, when the robot entered again and told her to come along, putting on handcuffs as she left the cell. ------After severe fighting and a few dozen scrapped robots, Team Dark entered Eggman’s base, lead by an enraged Shadow. But though he’d never admit it, he was also awfully worried about Maria. After losing her once, all those years ago, he wasn’t about to lose her again. A while after entering, they found Eggman, once again cowardly floating around in his EggMobile. “Ah, you’re finally here. I’ve been expecting you.” “Doctor, I’ve left you well alone before, but now you’ve crossed a line. Give up Maria, or I swear I will tear this base down and get her out,” Shadow shouted, not caring for Eggman’s speeches. “Ah, Shadow, aren’t you being a bit rash there? For one, I plan to give her back to back to you, as soon as you finish a few errands for me,” the evil doctor called back. “Why should we trust you there, doctor? After all, you’ve broken promises more than once,” Rouge replied, before being interrupted by Omega’s robotic voice: “Further negotiation is irrelevant. Search continuation recommended!”

At that moment, Orbot rounded the corner, Maria cuffed behind him. Upon seeing her, Shadow called out her name. She raised her head and when she saw him, she found the strength to try to escape again. She pulled at her cuffs, breaking the rings, punched Orbot and started running towards Team Dark. Eggman, however, had foreseen such an escape attempt and pushed a button on his EggMobile’s control panel. This raised a force field between the corridor Maria had shown up in and the large hall Team Dark and Eggman were in. When Maria hit the field, she was knocked back and fell to the ground, unconscious. “MARIA!” Shadow shouted and sped towards the field as well. As he reached it and before he could say anything, Eggman started: “Don’t worry, she’s only unconscious, she’s in no pain. Now, I think we were discussing the terms of our agreement.” “What do you want from me, doctor?” “You know fully well what I want. I need you to help me get the Chaos Emeralds for the execution of my plan.” “What is it this time? Another space station? Or do you plan to rely on an army of mediocre robots?” “Well, no, actually. My plan would be to go back to Space Colony ARK and re-evaluate the Eclipse Cannon option. See whether the virus I put into the self-destruction program worked.” “WHAT?! Are you insane? After nearly destroying the planet last time?” “I’m confident the virus did its job. I need you to find the Emeralds for the cannon again.” “Well, I won’t. Not for the Eclipse Cannon.” “That’s too bad. Then I suppose you’ll have to miss Maria again. Let me know when you change your mind.” Shadow was completely split in two by this conversation. One half wanted to do what is best, and deny Eggman the Chaos Emeralds. The other knew it was only a matter of time before Eggman would get them, so why not speed it up? And then there was Maria; he looked at her again and noticed she started to stir. Should he, would he, could he leave her to rot in Eggman’s dungeon? “Very well, doctor, you win. I’ll get them.” That was the first thing Maria heard after she woke up from the collision with the force field. She opened her eyes and saw Shadow on the other side of it. Her mind pieced the quote to what she already knew. She realized what Shadow had just said and jumped up. “No, Shadow! Don’t do it! Leave me!” she called out. Shadow turned towards her again and said, with tears in his eyes: “Maria, you have to understand. I lost you once, I can’t stand leaving you again.” Shadow’s tears made Maria realize he meant it. She simply said: “I understand,” and bowed her head. At that Eggman laughed again and spoke: “Well, now that we’ve reached an agreement, I suggest you three take your leave and start looking for the Chaos Emeralds. I will await your return with great enthusiasm.” With that, Team Dark left and Maria was escorted back to her cell by Cubot. While leaving the base, Rouge asked Shadow: “You’re not seriously going to give him the Emeralds, are you? Who knows what he’s planning with the Eclipse Cannon.” “It’s the only way, Rouge. We’ll get a chance to stop the doctor after he’s released Maria, for sure,” Shadow replied. “Eggman is highly predictable. Chance of success for plan devised by Shadow: between 60 and 90%,” Omega responded. “Thank you, Omega. Let’s just get her out of there as fast as possible.” ------Meanwhile, Cubot was taking Maria back to her cell. “So what did I miss?” she asked him. “Nu’in’ much, ye kno. Just the usuel, the boss explanin’ his plan,” he replied, in a Scottish accent this time. “Since when do you talk Scottish?” she asked, a bit stumped at a robot talking with an accent like that. “Me voice chip’s been actin’ strange again. It’s been duin’ that fer a while now.” Not really understanding what he was talking about, she was put back in her prison cell. A few minutes later, Eggman entered the cell complex again. “So, have you been feeling comfortable? You know I want to invest the best of care in you,” he told her. “What is your plan? What do you want to do with the Emeralds?” she asked. “I plan to insert them into the Eclipse Cannon and threaten Earth into accepting me as their ruler,” he said. With that, Maria recalled all she had read about the previous incident with that device. “Are you mad? How do you know it won’t slam into the planet again?” “Simple. I inserted a virus into the main system computers of Space Colony ARK when I went there some time ago. I first saw you then, I should say. I noticed in the computer schematics that there was a room without doors. The only way in or out would be Chaos Control. I hacked my way into the security cam system and saw the capsule, with you in it. I thought nothing of it, so I went back to the virus. It should have erased all traces of the self-destruction program our grandfather installed in it.” Maria sat down on the bed, pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around them. Eggman noticed this and decided it would be best to leave her. “I’ll give you some time alone. If you need anything, just say it through the mic.” He left and Maria just sat there, staring at the opposite wall. ------A few days later, Shadow had tracked down four of the Chaos Emeralds and was hot on the trail of the fifth. The first two he had taken from the G.U.N. weapons depot. For the third, Rouge had broken into a jewelry store and Omega had stumbled onto the fourth in Mystic Ruins. Shadow was in Westopolis and after a few days of searching he discovered the fifth Emerald in a museum exhibit. Rouge’s turf, he thought, breaking into a museum. Outside, he called her on that subject, until he heard someone shout his name. He turned and looked straight into the emerald green eyes of Sonic the Hedgehog. He finished his call and asked: “What do you want, Sonic? I’m not in the mood for any of your jokes.” “I could ask YOU that, Shadow. You’ve been a bit feverish on getting the Emeralds together. Why is that?” Sonic countered. “In brief, the doctor kidnapped Maria and wants me to find the Emeralds for his new plan.” “Alright, what’s his deal?” “He’s turned back to the Eclipse Cannon.” “WHAT?!” “Shhhhh, keep it down.” “Are you sure about that? Does he want to have the whole crash-into-the-planet thing happen again?” “He’s made a virus that should have destroyed that program by now. He thinks it’s safe.” “He thinks. And you’re going with this?” “It’s either that or have Maria rot in his prison. On that note, I need your help.” “Hang on there. You, Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life Form, are asking for MY help? What has this world come to?” “Cut the jokes, I’m serious on this.” “Okay, okay. So what’s the plan?” “We need to stop the doctor after he gives Maria back. Will you help me?” “You don’t even have to ask. You know stopping Eggman is pretty much my job.” “How could I ever forget?” “So now it’s you joking? Anyway, how many Emeralds do you have already?” “Four. I was calling Rouge about the fifth.” “Great. I hope you didn’t mind me having taken the liberty to find the other two already.” “You did?” “Yep. You want ‘em?” “Of course. Hand them over.” “Eh-eh-eh, not like that. Ask me nicely.” “Very well. Sonic, would you please give me the Emeralds?” “With pleasure, Shadow. Here you go.” At that, Sonic handed Shadow the two Emeralds. “Thank you,” Shadow said in obvious contempt,“now if you’ll excuse me, I have arrangements to make.” With that, Shadow left to help Rouge for the burglary they discussed. ------Meanwhile, in her cell at Eggman’s base, Maria was bored out of her mind. Sure, she was fed well, and the bed was comfortable, but her cell offered no possibility of recreation whatsoever. Her cellphone had died last night, so she had just gone to bed. But this morning, after she finished her breakfast, she simply had nothing left to do. Not wanting to call through the mic (at least part of the reason being that she couldn’t stand Cubot’s still not fixed Scottish accent) she simply sat there staring at the wall all morning. Until, that is, Eggman entered. “What is it now, doctor?” she asked him. “You seem bored,” he answered, ”I brought you some lecture.” He put it on her table. “Besides, at this rate you won’t be here for much longer. Shadow already has six out of seven. And he and Rouge are going for the seventh tonight. They should have you out of here by tomorrow afternoon.” “Why did you come to tell me that? You didn’t when they got the other ones.” “Because Sonic has joined him. They think to be able to fool my master plan. How wrong they are. When you’re out, I suggest you try to bring them to sense.” “Why can’t they? I’ve read all about your previous failures, cousin. You got close at times, but you never managed it because of some oversight.” “Maybe before, but now I planned everything out. I don’t expect you to convince them not to follow me.” “Honestly, just let them be. Why can’t you just leave us alone? Let the world have its peace?” This silenced Eggman. He hadn’t considered this idea before. After a few minutes he replied: “I’ve invested a lot of money in aerospace technology. The Death Egg was the pinnacle of that. Now I get my resources from asteroid mining. I can’t let that go to waste.” “Then why don’t use that technology for good? My grandfather, our grandfather, believed in the good science could do for the world. That’s why I’m here. You should honor that.” At that point Eggman decided it was enough. “You’re still an idealistic child at heart, Maria. I suggest you wait for Shadow to come with the Emeralds.” And with that he left. In Eggman’s main control room, Cubot was just changing his voice chip when Eggman came back from Maria’s cell. “Hey boss,” Cubot said, this time with an American mafia voice, “You look worried. What’s up?” “Strange,” Eggman said, “What she said shouldn’t bother me nearly as much as it does. Ah well, back to business. And your voice chip finally has a good sound on it. Good. Now keep it that way.” ------The following day, with the burglary a success, Team Dark, this time joined by Sonic, arrived at Eggman’s base. When Eggman spotted them outside, he opened the main gate and announced through the PA-system: ”Come through. I wouldn’t want to delay your arrival with unnecessary robot encounters. But leave Sonic out.” Then Eggman called out (not on the PA): “Orbot! Go get our lovely prisoner, would you? Now that you’re all patched up, you should be fine.” Orbot responded, in an overly high- pitched voice: “Very well, boss,” and left. Once Orbot was out of the room, Eggman pulled a facepalm and mumbled: “Don’t tell me that now it’s HIS voice chip that’s not working.” At Maria’s cell, Orbot made her follow him. Along the way, Maria said apologetically: “Sorry for punching you back then. I was desperate.” “Oh, that’s fine. Don’t worry about it, the boss used to do it sometimes too,” he responded, still in the high-pitched voice. After leaving Sonic outside, Team Dark made their way into the base until they arrived in the same clearing as before. And as last time, there was Eggman, floating around. “Ah, Shadow. Welcome back. Now shall we get straight to business?” “Very well, doctor. But I’ll want to see Maria before I hand over the Emeralds,” Shadow demanded. “Don’t worry. She should be here any moment now,” Eggman replied, and indeed, Orbot and Maria rounded the corner as he spoke. “Stop there, Orbot,” Eggman commanded, and Orbot silently complied. “So then, now can I have the Emeralds?” he asked. “Alright then, doctor,” Shadow said as he, Rouge and Omega took out the Emeralds. “Place them there,” Eggman said as a platform rose up with seven conic holes in it. They placed them inside and the platform sank back down. “Very well. Leave now. I will send her out once you’re out of this room. Call it a safety precaution.” “No. Who knows, doctor, you might come back on your words. Best to give her now. We’ll leave quietly,” Rouge said, sounding fairly worried for someone of her preoccupation. Eggman considered this for a moment, then answered: ”Very well. Orbot, release her.” With that Orbot let go of Maria and she ran towards Shadow, who was standing with his arms open. Maria took Shadow into a hug the strength of which took him by surprise. He hugged her back as she was crying, on the verge of tears himself. Only when Omega interrupted the two (“Mission accomplished. Immediate departure strongly recommended.”) did they break the hug to join Rouge and Omega. After a quick hug with Rouge, they left and Eggman ordered Orbot: “Start the rocket. Make sure the Emeralds are securely on board. We have a plan to fulfill.” ------Outside the base, Sonic was getting impatient. He had started calling Tails on his progress with a shuttle that was to carry them to Space Colony ARK. “So Tails, you nearly done?” “Sonic, please don’t pressure me. I only had one day of notice and I’ve been working all night to get this shuttle ready. To me, that’s a personal best. And yes, I’m almost finished, but Rouge is going to have to fly it. I’m exhausted.” “Sorry, buddy. Didn’t mean to annoy you.” “I know. I need one more hour, at most.” “Fantastic job, pal. Sorry for disturbing you.” “Thanks, Sonic. How’s your end going?” “It’s taking ‘em long enough. I’m starting to think Eggman hasn’t kept his word, but you never know.” “Well, you just come over here as soon as possible. I’ll be working.” “You’re the best, Tails. Later.” “Later, Sonic.” And with that he hung up. A few minutes later though, his worries were relieved. Team Dark exited the base with Maria. “Oh, Sonic. I wasn’t expecting you here,” she said. “Well, anything that has anything to do with Eggman I have to investigate. Call it my job.” At that point, Shadow interrupted them. “Is Tails ready with his shuttle? We have to get to the ARK.” Before Sonic could reply however, a tremor shook the ground, followed by a loud noise. It took a while for them to realize it meant Eggman had lifted off and was on his way to the ARK. “Almost,” Sonic replied when the noise was gone, “an hour at most. Let’s get going.” ------

Half an hour later, they arrived at Tails’ workshop. After a quick introduction to Maria, Tails showed them the shuttle. “Well, Tails, I’ve known you for some time now, but I am definitely impressed. That you managed to get this built in less than 24 hours, is just amazing,” Sonic said. And it was. The shuttle was a fairly spacious 20 by 10 by 6 feet rocket and seated six people. “It’s only got enough fuel for one round trip. Not much more than that. Make sure not to do any unnecessary flying, or you won’t be able to get back,” Tails said while giving them final instructions. “You’re not coming?” Maria asked. “No. I’ve been working all night on this. I’m exhausted,” Tails replied. “Whoa, hang on,” Shadow said, “you’re not thinking of coming too, are you Maria?” “I think I can get him to stop. I’m coming, Shadow,” Maria responded, “and he’s still my cousin. I have to try.” “OK then. Just stay out of trouble,” Shadow conceded, “get in.” ------After Tails had helped launch the rocket containing Team Dark, Sonic and Maria, he went back inside his workshop. Going upstairs, he thought it would be about time to have some lunch, since in his rush to finish the shuttle he had skipped breakfast. So he turned on the radio and made some sandwiches. It didn’t last long, though, till he fell asleep in his chair. He didn’t wake up until a loud noise on the radio broke his slumber. At first it was a static noise so obnoxious he had to stuff his fingers in his ears, but as he stood up to turn it off, a familiar voice started talking. “Dear citizens of planet Earth. It is me again, Dr. Eggman. You will know me from my previous masterful schemes, primarily from the one where I blew up half the Moon as a demonstration. That was a mistake. However, my newest plan involves the same weapon, though with its power kept low. At this point, Tails had turned on his TV, and indeed, there was the mad doctor, in all his obese glory. On every channel too, Tails noticed. “My ultimatum is as follows. You will make me the sole leader of each and every one of the Earth’s nations and alliances. You have twelve hours to oblige. If you don’t, I will insert one Chaos Emerald into the Eclipse Cannon and I will blow up one military base per hour, for another twelve hours. Then, if my demands still haven’t been met, another Emerald will be added and I will fire at major cities. This will go on until I have five Emeralds in the Cannon, allowing it to level whole continents. Either way, I get to rule the world. Tails started to shiver as he heard these words. He knew Eggman had done awful things before, but this was off the chart. He would either become the ruler of seven billion people, or completely erase up to seven billion people. But it seemed Eggman wasn’t finished yet. “I am stating this from Space Colony ARK, and should NASA or any other organization dare to launch a nuclear missile up to destroy it, I can assure you it will be intercepted. Several lasers are set up to fire at any and all craft launched from 6 PM, or 18 o’ clock UTC, today. In addition, I have a fleet of dozens of robot-controlled ships, ready to kamikaze into any missile that should manage to survive the lasers.

At this point, Tails looked up at the clock. It read 9.57. With eight hours time difference, that made 17.57 for UTC. “Remember, you have twelve hours before the Eclipse Cannon will fire its first shot, at 6 in the morning. I will announce the military bases and cities to be struck twelve hours beforehand, to give the innocent people a chance of escape. The first base to be hit is Fort Knox, in the United States of America. Although I trust the governments of this world will be clever enough to avoid any potential catastrophes. Thank you, and see you in one hour.” Tails was happy that they had launched several hours earlier. That should have been more than time enough to get onto the ARK. Still, he couldn’t help but feel worried. At that point, his drowsiness caught up with him. He got himself into bed and promptly fell asleep, thinking: Sonic can take care of himself. ------Meanwhile, several hundred miles off the Earth’s surface, Sonic didn’t feel the same way. His life was at this point in the hands of Rouge, and she was having severe trouble keeping the vessel steady. However, this was not her fault, since they were under heavy fire. Although Eggman’s main defensive laser array wasn’t activated yet, the kamikaze vessels were around already, and Rouge had to put every bit of focus she had into dodging them. Since Shadow had insisted on having Maria seated beside him for safety reasons, and Omega’s size required him to sit in a row for himself, that had left Sonic with the co-pilot seat next to Rouge. And at this point, he regretted doing so. Maria had flung herself around Shadow out of fear, with Shadow hugging her back at least as tightly. Omega was a robot and as such had no fears. Unlike them, however, Sonic had no way of hiding himself from seeing the ships come flying at him each time or from noticing Rouge’s frantic tugs at the wheel, trying to avoid the ships. Every time they had tried to make an approach on the ARK’s hangar, the robots had forced them to abandon landing efforts. This game of cat and mouse had continued for over an hour, and now they were running dangerously short of fuel. Inside the ARK, the continuous struggle had not gone unnoticed. After his announcement, Eggman had been warned by Cubot of the ongoing battle, and had gone to look out the window for them. “What are we going to do, boss?” asked Orbot, his high-pitched voice giving him the impression of being an extremely scared girl. “Well, it’s six PM, isn’t it? Activate the lasers and have them fire at the shuttle,” Eggman replied. “But boss, the girl’s on board…” Cubot protested, before being shut by Eggman: “And so is Sonic! Fire when ready.” “Very well, boss,” Cubot answered reluctantly. Outside, the situation was getting worse by the minute. Just as Sonic saw they only had fuel enough for two more attempts, he noticed something at the edge of his vision. At first, he thought it was another kamikaze ship, but then, at second glance, he noticed something turning towards them, while charging a red light.

When he realized what it was, he half panicked, shouted “Rouge!”, then grabbed the wheel and jerked it upwards. Exactly at this point the laser fired, missing the shuttle’s tail thrusters with inches to spare, but blowing up one of the ships trying to hit them in the process. “What the…” Rouge had just started to say, when she saw the laser beam, and recognizing the new threat. Then she went back to steering. “We have to try to dash for the hangar,” Sonic said to her, “we can’t handle laser fire on top of the ships.” “Okay. I’ll try,” Rouge said. At this point Shadow got his face out of Maria’s hair and noticed a laser charging on the other end of the ship. “Rouge! Turn left NOW!” Rouge didn’t hesitate and instantly jerked the wheel left. Another laser beam nearly hit the ship, actually clipping a metal fragment off the thruster this time. As it happened, this leftside turn aligned them nearly perfectly with the ARK’s docking bay. Rouge slammed on the throttle and tried to keep a course as straight as possible, dodging the kamikaze ships rather than turning away from them. Constantly shifting left and right, at one point even shifting up to dodge two ships coming from both directions (the two crashing into each other in the process), the shuttle finally managed to get close enough to the hangar to land. At this point, however, Eggman realized what they were attempting and hit the hangar door close button (he had opened it up earlier to lure them into a false sense of security, after which the kamikazes had shown up). Seeing the airlock close, Rouge forced every bit of speed the vessel could muster into the final stretch. To say they barely made it would be an understatement. The closing door noisily scraped the main hull and dented the rear thruster to three quarters of its diameter. A few chasing kamikazes slammed into the door, blowing up. As soon as they were in, Rouge shut off the thrusters and landed it, though quite roughly. Eggman had seen the kamikazes exploding and reckoned that the shuttle had done so too. The shuttle hadn’t been that far ahead. “So, Orbot,” he asked relieved, “can you please have Cubot repair your voice chip, and then check what is the next base to strike after Fort Knox. We’re no longer in danger.” In the docking hangar, Sonic, Shadow, Rouge and Maria were all panting to try and calm their nerves. “I do not know how we made that,” Sonic said after some time, “I was sure my goose was cooked there.” “Who says women can’t drive?” Rouge joked in an effort to cool the tension. Then her gaze fell on the fuel meter. “We’re really low on fuel. I don’t think we’ll be able to make it back.” “That’s no big deal. We’ll hitch a ride on Eggman’s rocket if we really have to. Now come on. We got a world to save.” ------Almost twelve hours later, Eggman saw the time had come to put his plan into action. He sat down in front of the camera that recorded the speeches and announcements he had issued over the past hours and started out saying: “Citizens of Earth. It is now 6 AM UTC and your governments still haven’t replied to my demands. As such, it is time for the sanction I promised. I hope they have at least evacuated the bases I had announced to be destroyed. If not, you’ll know who to blame. Before I fire the Cannon, I can say that the first city to be hit by the Cannon will be London. Now your leaders will see I mean serious business.” With that, he stood up, moved over to the control panel of the Eclipse Cannon and inserted the first Chaos Emerald. He knew fully well the US government hadn’t evacuated Fort Knox yet, thinking he was bluffing, but he had declined to mention it. At that point, the door burst open. When Eggman turned to look, he was shocked, if not terrified to see Team Dark, Sonic and Maria there. “H…how? You crashed into the airlock door?” “Yeah, you got close there, Eggman. You might as well give up. You failed again.” “I don’t think so, hedgehog. You see, I only have to press this button to fire the Eclipse Cannon on Fort Knox. So if you don’t want 60,000 people dead, I suggest you give yourself up.” “Well, Eggman, how about…” then Sonic blurred out and appeared in front of Eggman. “What…”, Eggman managed to utter before Sonic appeared behind him and knocked him out. One thing, however, Sonic had overlooked. Eggman still had his hand over the control panel. When Sonic knocked him out, he simply dropped his hand on the button. A red light flared, at which Shadow walked up to Sonic: “Smart move, Sonic.” “I know, Shadow, move aside. Open the airlock door. I’ll go and stop the beam.” “But…” Maria started complaining, trying to hold back her tears this time. “Maria, It’s either me or 60,000 people. I made my choice.” At this Sonic ran off. Less than two minutes later, he arrived at Tails’ shuttle. At this point Rouge found the airlock release and opened it. Sonic still saw a chance to stop the Eclipse Cannon because he knew it required about three minutes to charge its beam. It took him about half a minute to find out how the shuttle handled. Then he flew out and headed for the ARK’s nose. Still, there was a small problem. The fuel supply would be sufficient to get him there, but the kamikaze ships and lasers still recognized him as a no-go ship. As such they started flying and firing at him. “Oh, not this again.” Sonic then hit the throttle and sent the ship flying past the kamikazes and lasers. In the cockpit, Shadow, Rouge and Maria watched Sonic make his dash (Omega was keeping watch over Eggman and the robots). And at the precise instant Sonic entered the beam’s path, the Cannon fired, hit the shuttle and blew it up. ------"Sonic...", Maria began, but she was forced to stop. Fighting back her tears was costing her all the concentration she could muster. Shadow and Rouge stood beside her, unable to say a word as well. All three stared outside, at the spot where the shuttle was mere seconds ago. The beam, with just one Chaos Emerald to fuel it, had not been powerful enough to penetrate further than the hull, despite its explosive power. Then, Maria heard someone walking up to her. She turned around and found Eggman standing several meters behind her. "I...", he began, before being interrupted by an infuriated Shadow: "You...do you even realize what you've done? What you intended to do? You intended to kill everyone on the planet if it would have come to it. Do you realize that, doctor?" "Shadow, calm down!" Rouge came up beside him.. "No, Rouge, I will not calm down. Maria," he turned to her, "remember what I promised you before I died?" Maria remained silent. "I promised her I would protect Earth at all costs. And I had to let someone else die for it. Another death which could have been avoided, and I did nothing about it. Doctor, I should kill you right here, right now for everything you've done." Maria turned away and went to look back outside the window. "But I'm not going to. Sonic wouldn't have wanted it that way. Think about it, doctor. How many times have you been at his mercy? I won't deny that you have helped to save the world at times, but that was just so you could conquer it later. Now doctor, I will get the Emeralds out of the Cannon's core and then we will set out to deliver you to justice." With that, Shadow walked out of the room. Maria continued to stare out the window. Rouge stood by her. Omega went to do the same (even if HE doesn't have emotions, didn't mean he can't detect them). Cubot and Orbot followed him. Eggman just stood staring out the window, some distance between him and the group. Suddenly, Eggman broke into tears. Rouge turned to face him. "What are you crying about? Your arch-enemy is dead. You should be overjoyed." "I can't help it. I know I shouldn't, but I'm deeply sorry for what I did. I don't know why, maybe it's because I knew him, maybe..." At this point he started stammering incomprehensibly. "Yeah, but I don't get why you wouldn't have been this sorry if you had succeeded in destroying Fort Knox," Rouge said. "I...I don't know, I wouldn't normally do this. Maybe the realization that I could finally succeed took the better of me. Normally I wouldn't do this." At this point Shadow entered, the Emeralds in his arms. "OK, let's go. The sooner we get off here, the better." "No, Shadow," Maria entered, "I want to explore the ARK with you. One last time." Shadow gave this a little thought. "Very well. Let's go. The rest of you, stay here. And, please, doctor, stop crying." Eggman managed to stop his tearflow after some time. Shadow and Maria toured around the ARK for a while, recalling memories. Among others, Shadow took note of the flashlights hung in the corridors every few meters. This was something Gerald installed specifically for Maria, since she was afraid of the dark and the power shorted sometimes (it was the 60s after all, space technology wasn't that advanced).

Eventually, they arrived in her former bedroom. Once it was the coziest place on the station, drawings all over the room's walls, plenty of plushies around. Now, however, thanks to G.U.N. custody, the place had been stripped bare. Flooded with emotions, Maria simply walked around the room silently. She noticed Shadow feeling for something under her matrass. "Looking for something, Shadow?" "After I went to work for G.U.N., I went to the archive and went to look for your diary. I knew it was confiscated. I spend days trying to find it and I found it in the end. But then I decided it would be better if it stayed where it belonged. So I put it under here somewhere...ah, got it." He withdraw his hand to reveal Maria's diary. It was a little crumpled, and the pages were yellowed, but it was her diary nonetheless. "Shadow, you didn't..." She couldn't utter a word beyond that, pulling Shadow into a strong hug. Shadow returned it gladly. After a few minutes, Shadow started: "Maybe we should get back. The others are waiting for us," "Yeah, OK," Maria said, keeping the diary on her as they retraced their steps. Several minutes later, Shadow and Maria arrived in the Cannon's control bay again. Everyone was silent. They went over to them, where Maria resumed her staring out the window. Shadow went over to Eggman and started: "You certainly look like you're sorry. I hope you're sincere." "I am," Eggman intervened, "you were completely right. I was blinded by greed. Every word of what you said was true. I'll come willingly." "All right, everyone. Let's go," Shadow said after a while, "Doctor, we'll be taking your shuttle." One by one, everyone left the room, until only Maria and Shadow remained. "Maria..." Shadow went. Maria turned around to leave. As she did so, however, something caught her eye. She spun back towards the window. Now, she saw it clearly. It was a glimmer. And it was steadily growing brighter. "Guys, let's go," Rouge came back into the room. "No, wait. I see something. A glimmer, and it's not a star," Maria went as it grew brighter and bigger. It was flying towards the ARK. Eventually, Eggman also came back into the room: "Come on, let's go. Engine's running...what are you all looking at?" He also went to stand by the window. The sparkle grew bigger and bigger until... "SONIC!" Maria yelled out. This exclamation made all four of them cheer out as Sonic came flying by the window. Unlike his usual Super form, he now flashed all colors of the Chaos Emeralds, surrounded by a ring of bright sparks. "Hyper..." Eggman managed to utter, before Sonic teleported in. "Phew, what a rush," Sonic said, an echo audible in his voice. "Haven't seen this one yet, huh, Shadow?" At this point, Maria dashed over to him and pulled him against her, tears of joy streaming down her face. "Easy there, Maria. You don't want to strangle me now," Sonic cut in. "I knew you got out of tight spots before, Sonic, but this beats everything," said Rouge as she also came up to him. "What can I say? I guess I'm one lucky hedgehog." Rouge and Maria broke their hugs as Shadow stepped forward. "And, Shadow, anything to add?" "You did good. You have no idea how happy I am to see you after that little stunt." "Your face says it all," Sonic said, as he had never seen Shadow sporting such a large smile. The two hedgehogs, them being who they were, simply shook hands vigorously. Then Sonic noticed Eggman standing in the corner of the room. Eggman came over to him, face down in regret. "I...I'm sorry, Sonic," Eggman said. Sonic then turned on him and started saying angrily: "Sorry. Sure. Like you would've been sorry if I hadn't done this. You managed to trick me before with that line, Eggman, so don't think I'm falling for it." "No, Sonic, he means it," Maria interjected, "he was crying about it earlier." "Really, Eggman? I didn't know you cared. But that still doesn't excuse your actions." "I know. I don't know what got into me." "Oh, come on, that's nonsense. You and I both know you had every intention to continue your scheme. You're not getting off the hook that easily." "I...I was blinded. Blinded for the damage that I could do. Ever since I first saw Maria on camera I've only been thinking about the plan, about how it could work. How I would finally succeed." "Sure, and you forgot what the deaths of 60,000 people would provoke." "I know, I know, I've been wrong all the time. As I told Shadow, I'll come willingly." "Well, if you're serious, I should forgive you. As I have after Chaos levelled Station Square because of you. Or after you cracked the planet open. Or after you captured all those Wisps so you could..." "I KNOW, I'M SORRY!" Eggman fell to his knees in regret. Sonic was finally convinced Eggman had really turned over a new leaf. "Ok, Eggman, calm down." "One thing though, Sonic: How did you survive that?" Rouge came up and asked him. "I don't know. I got hit by the beam, and then when I woke up, I was floating in space in Hyper form. I could see the ARK, so I sped straight to it, and you know the rest." "Ok, guys, let's go. We don't want the doctor's rocket to run out of fuel," Shadow proposed. "Yeah, let's go," Sonic agreed, transforming back into his regular form. Then the alarm started flaring again. Eggman run over to the control panel, checked it and then said: "Damn. They're sending nuclear missiles up. Too many to clear out, kamikazes or lasers. We have to run, now!" As such, all of them ended up running for the hangar bay, where Eggman's rocket was docked. Along the way, they could hear, and at times even feel, the rockets exploding. As they entered the bay, a particularly strong tremor shook the ARK. Getting back up, all of them raced inside the rocket (a fairly large and roomy contraption, compared to Tails's shuttle) and took off. As they flew out of range, however, one of the missiles, all of which had heat tracking, veered off the main group and went to chase them. Eggman jerked the wheel violently in an effort to shake it off, but to no avail. "We can't outrun it, and I don't have weapons on this thing. We're down for the count." At this point, Cubot and Orbot went out into the airlock. As they manually locked the door, Eggman noticed this and said: "What are you two doing?" "Saving your life, boss," Cubot started, with Orbot finishing: "Make sure you get down safely." "NO!" was all Maria could shout, before the robots opened the outer airlock door and were thrown out into space. A few seconds later, the rear cameras showed the bomb exploding. Everyone inside the craft was utterly shocked at the robots' sacrifice. Then Shadow noticed a far bigger explosion shown on the rear cameras. "Guys, look!" So they did. It was the ARK. A single missile had managed to slip through the defenses and hit the ship. It exploded spectacularly. The debris from the station pierced the many laser arrays set up by Eggman. "So then. That's the end of it," Shadow started stoically. "Eggman, please get us down to the ground, I'm sick of space," said Sonic, with Maria quietly sobbing near the airlock door, Rouge beside her. "Hold on tight, re-entry is going to be bumpy," went Eggman, before setting the ship on course for the Earth. ------Now, things had just about settled down for all of them. Shadow, Rouge and Omega were given bonuses for a job well done, as well as a few weeks off. Sonic got back to being his free, careless self. Without schemes to foil, however, he started growing somewhat closer to Amy Rose. As for Eggman, he was trialed and sentenced 20 years of jail for mass murder (because of the Dark Gaia crisis). He didn't mind being locked up, since he knew fully well what he had done over the years. Maria often dropped by his cell (they were still family after all) and managed to get the prison's director to give him the material to rebuild Orbot and Cubot (including updated voice chips from Tails). Maria went back to her job as a city gardener. She got more and more adapted to the world she entered after her 50 year slumber, and was, as ever, extremely happy to help people. The end.