Note to Readers: This is indeed a rewrite from a fanfiction that I did my last year of Middle School. Now that it's my last year of high school I wanted to re-write a fanfiction and I chose one I previously named: Maria's Soul. I found the story good but how I executed it terrible. So this would be something for me to see how I improved in my writing skills.

Disclaimer: A majority of the characters are owned by SEGA. I make acceptations to a character that would not be appearing in the first chapter.

Maria's Spirit

Chapter 1

Bored

Rouge the Bat was just bored out of her mind. She walked out of her apartment building to think as she walked through the city of Station Square. She looked around looking at the small businesses that come around the area. Such futile efforts to make money, who don't they work for the government like she did? She made a decent living at seventeen.

Justin's Pizza Place, Ned's Nerd Utopia, Amy's Fortunes, such simple names but told a lot. That "Amy" name did sound familiar though. She took a look at the window and saw a pink hedgehog who wore a red dress. That must have been the Amy that told the fortunes. She also looked like the Amy that chased that Sonic around. Rouge had never had a conversation with her but she knew her through other acquaintances.

Rouge opened the door and took a seat on a cushiony chair. She couldn't believe that she was doing this. She had no need to know what would happen in the future. It was something to do besides walking and thinking about other lifestyles. She looked at her gloved finger nails and asked, "So, Amy, what's my future?"

The hedgehog smiled and titled her bandana wrapped head as she sat across from her on another cushiony chair. "Well," she stated, "I have many things to offer. I have tarot cards, hand readings, I also can tell the past lives of some people."

Rouge knew a little bit about past lives, one year at school she learned about India and its religions. Most of them believed that when people died that they became someone else in other lives.

The bat didn't believe in past lives. Curious about what Amy would tell her she asked, "how about my past life?"

Amy took out her clear crystal ball and told Rouge to touch it. She focused on the ball, "you where a blonde woman with blue eyes," she looked at it deeper, but then her eyes grew bigger, "you…you…lived in the space colony ARK?"

Rouge shrugged, "so I died in the ARK, didn't I?"

"Well, yes," Amy hesitated, "but I think…um…perhaps…you were Maria, Professor Gerald's granddaughter in your past life?"

Snorts came from Rouge's nose as she tried not to laugh. She couldn't believe that Amy had this image in her head that she was Shadow's dead girlfriend. At least she thought that was the case with Maria and Shadow.

"AH, finally, the reincarnation of Maria," a voice called out from under the table that was draped with a blue tablecloth with sparkling silver moons and stars. Dr. Eggman emerged from under the table, "finally I have been waiting here for days to finally find her so I can take her hostage for Shadow to work for me!"

An eyebrow rose from Rouge's head, "first of all, you're creepy. Second of all, can't you pay him to work for you?"

As Eggman sat down to think Rouge just ran right out of the place and across the street to a grocery store. Even though she didn't pay Amy, she at least got a free laugh inside of herself before she had to flee. Rouge just thought that Eggman was just plain weird. Did Shadow even believe in that stuff?

Speaking of the devil, Shadow passed by with a brown grocery bag, "oh Rouge!" Shadow seemed a bit too excited to see her for a hedgehog like Shadow.

Rouge greeted him with a slight wave. She was expecting that Shadow's change of never-changing mood would not be a good thing.

"Rouge, I need a place to stay," was what he said next. This was understandable because Shadow didn't say anything about living anywhere ever since she released him from Eggman's machine.

"Fine," Rouge said with much expression, "you can stay with me." Even if Rouge had her good deed, it came with a price, "but you need to pay half the rent." She took a look at Shadow's grocery bag, and she had to ask, "Where did you get the money to buy those groceries?"

A very slight sweat drop appeared on Shadow's head, "I would have to admit, I stole your jewels."

"SHADOW," Rouge screamed on the top of her lungs as she ran right at him, "you are going to pay for those!"

"Oh, damn it," Shadow immediately activated his hover shoes and skated as fast as he could. He knew that talking to Rouge at that second wasn't a good idea, as much as a bad idea as stealing from a treasure hunter.