Chapter 1: First Breathes
Space Colony ARK, 1955
High above the earths glow, a space station disguised as a large comet caught in orbit between the Earth and the Moon, the Space Colony known as The ARK floated quietly, even if the inside was bustling excitedly.
There were spacial visitors from Mobius, an echidna dressed in tribal-chief garb with two guards and a large Echidna in ceremony paint to accent his eyes. They were the Guardian of Angel Island and the Tribal Chief. Angel Island was home to the power gems known as Chaos Emeralds, and the Echidna tribe was glad to allow the scientists to use an emerald for a project. Someone to Protect Earth and Mobians, and to make a bridge between Humans and Mobians
Next to the Echidna was a larger Scientist with a graying mustache and a white lab coat. His name was Gerald Robotnik, the head scientist of the Projects here on the Ark. At his right side were his two Top Scientists, Dr. Jonathan Von Neuron and Dr. Ryan Weever. At his left was his little helper and Granddaughter, Maria. Though he had suggested she be resting for the day, since apparently her NIDS were acting up terribly today, she wanted to see Ada for the first time.
"I was glad to hear that the Project is going well Dr. Robotnik." The Chief said.
"She's developed quite well sir." Gerald replied. "Her vitals gave us a bit of a scare at first, but she straitened out and we believe she's ready to enter the world."
"She?" Locke, the Guardian, asked.
"We sadly had no control over the gender." Gerald explained. "Nor how she would appear."
"She is not Echidna?" The Chief asked. "I thought our agreement was an Echidna."
"Now please understand sir." Gerald said, keeping his voice respectful and calm. "Project Ada is truly a test run. To see if we can create such a being infused with the chaos powers of the Emerald. We still intend on creating the Ultimate Life Form, Project Shadow, but we wanted to ensure we could work out the bugs."
The chief still didn't look pleased, but he grunted in understanding. Humans seemed to get caught up in new discoveries like a child exploring a cave. However, now and then they got lost and would need someone to find them again.
They entered the lab, where a large tube filled with green liquid stood in the centre. Inside was a human looking girl with fair skin and red hair. She was maybe in her mid to late teen years now. They had grown her naturally to ensure the strength of her skeletal structure, so when she was little, she was temporarily removed from the tube so a long white chemise could be put on her so she could grow into it as she got older. There was a gentle smile on her face and her hands twitched. Gerald smiled. She was dreaming again. She seemed to enjoy dreaming, seeing as her frequent soft smile would widen when she was dreaming. And her mental activity would pick up.
"A bit on the small side." The chief said. "Not exactly the warrior we expected."
"She Technically hasn't been born yet Chief." Locke said, smiling at the child. Though he sensed a gentle soul, she was kind, almost motherly. And he knew anything about people with this sense, they could be warriors when the time was needed.
"How quickly do you expect her to strengthen?" The chief asked.
"If our studies are correct." Jonathan, or Johnny as Dr. Gerald called him, answered. "She should develop fairly quickly. She's already absorbing several things we've used the computers to teach her, though she seems to have trouble with numbers. When we get into the formulas, she actually stops responding like she's ignoring the equations."
Dr. Gerald chuckled, remembering when Johnny first tried it. He had said that she seemed to try to work through it, but after half an hour she seemed to give up and ignored the equation and Johnny's attempts to assist her. And on her face she seemed rather frustrated.
"She's enjoyed literature though." Dr. Ryan said, walking to a computer and opening a list of over a hundred books. The books with older dates were children fairy tails and they slowly became novels as the list went up. "She seems to enjoy fairy tales, and books with quite a bit of detail. I've offered her factual books, but she only flips through it to things she seems to like. Animals, healing, and the such."
"A healer…" The chief mused, looking at the girl. "Perhaps her being as she is isn't such a bad thing…"
"I think she's perfect as she is." Maria piped up. She was now 8 years old, and even if she was pale, she still had bright, hope-filled blue eyes.
The chief smiled. The tribe knew Maria well. She was a toddler when they first met her, having been moved to the ARK since she had developed NIDS. It was thanks to Locke that she made it. He was there to donate his DNA to Project ADA as a request from the Chief. Maria was very weak at the time and would only whimper from weak lungs when she wasn't feeling well or needed something. Locke has used an emerald to give her strengthen her and used herbs to help her get on track. He even took time to play with her to build her muscles. When he left, he gave Gerald the Herbs to keep her strong, though they could never cure her.
"Are we going to wake her up today?" Maria asked, looking up at her grandfather.
Gerald smiled at her. "We are Sweetheart." He replied. He walked over to the consoles and put a hand on a scientists shoulder. "Run the Wake process. Jonny? Ryan? Give me a hand when she comes out?"
"Of course Doctor!" The two said going to stand with him next to the tube.
Maria was to stay with Locke, but her bright blue eyes watched in fascination.
The scientists nodded and started the process.
Gerald watched Ada. As the process started, she made a face and turned over in her sleep. He chuckled.
Dr. Weever also chuckled. "Guess she likes the comfort of her tube."
"I guess so." Gerald said.
Darkness…. that's all that I can really remember before anything else. Darkness and pleasant warmth. But every day I had new thoughts, new ideas. I do remember dreaming, of a green place… with rolling hills and large trees.
For a long time in that sleepy darkness, I would go through my mind and see what was there and how I knew these things. My name was Ada. I liked keeping people safe, learning, and doing things, but I didn't like numbers. Those confused me. But I never found anything more than that.
Every now and then I'd hear voices. I wasn't sure if this was good or not. It was comforting to know that I wasn't alone, but who were they? Why weren't they talking to me? Or were they? Why wasn't I answering? These questions would swarm for a bit before I would calm myself, reminding myself that they weren't hurting me, so they mustn't mean harm.
Soon, Something changed. I felt something, like a prickly thought that poked my mind. I was dreaming at the time, so I tried to ignore the poke since I liked dreaming a lot. I heard a kind chuckle and the poke came again. It didn't hurt, it was the same as before. My dream jerked, like a monitor being kicked, then it ended. I mentally groan. I wished I could continue dreaming. But curiosity was getting the better of me. What was that poke? And why did it poke?
Suddenly I felt heavy, like I was falling or sinking. I panicked for a moment, but the muffled voices I've come to recognize were speaking. hearing them calmed me again. But then I noticed they were clearer. Closer.
I was soon sitting, my limbs still feeling heavy. But I wanted to see what was going on. This never happened before. Why did I feel so weak? So, I decided to open my eyes. They too felt heavy, but I managed to open them. I didn't think the world would look so weird. Everything was warped and blurry. There was a blob watching me. He had a grey thing under his nose that kinda made him look silly. I blinked at him, finding my eyesight cleared a bit. I blink more times, the scene in front of me looking less blurry, but still warped, showing that the blob with the grey thing under his nose was a person. A large person with kind eyes.
I reach my hand out, my arm feeling heavy and hard to move. I kept reaching until I touched something slick an smooth. The man smiled and put his hand against where my hand had stopped. He then turned and said something, but the voice was still muffled.
Two more men came up and was doing something with the… barrier?… that was apparently only around me. There was a hiss and I felt a blast of cold air hit me. It chilled me to the bone and I shudder, pulling my arms and legs close.
"Easy," Said a voice. "I know, it's a little cold but once your dry you'll feel better."
Gently, two arms scooped me up and carried me somewhere before wrapping me in something that seemed to block the cold. I shiver as I look around. Things didn't seem warped anymore. I now saw there were several people around me. One was a young man with brown hair and eyes with glasses. Next to him was a more formal looking man with blonde hair and blue eyes, he also looked older than the brown haired guy.
There was other being in the room that didn't look like the other people. They were short, looked tough and angry, and all had shades of red for their fur. Next to one with kinder eyes was a young girl with bright blue eyes and blonde hair. She looked frail for some reason, almost like a puff of wind would blow her away.
"Ada?"
I turn at the sound of my name. It was interesting sounding…. Ada…. The large man with grey hair growing under his nose had said it, so I look at him. I caught a look of excitement in his eyes behind his glasses. "How do you feel?"
Everyones eyes were on me, waiting for me to do something I guess. "Um…. cold?" I replied, unsure if that's the answer he wanted or not.
He smiled. "That's understandable since you've lived in a warm tube for a long while." He told me, taking his coat off and putting it around me with the cloth. "I'm Dr. Gerald Robotnik. And this is Dr. Von Neuron, Dr. Weever, my Granddaughter Maria and the Echidna tribe chief Ceann and the Guardian Locke. Welcome to the world."
I blinked at them, memorizing thier names. That's when Dr. Neuron came up. "How are you feeling?" Didn't I just answer that? "Any weakness or abnormalities?"
"Abnormities?" I asked.
"Abnormalities." Neuron corrected. "Feeling sick or sore."
"Oh!" I said. "Well, my arms and legs feel heavy."
Neuron smiled. "I believe that's from lack of use. We've worked at keeping them stimulated, but since you haven't needed them yourself until now they'll deal heavy for a day or two I would think."
I looked at him, finding that he was talking rather quickly. Dr. Weever chuckled and stepped forward. "Forgive Johnny. He tends to get excited."
"Johnny?" I asked. "I thought his name was Dr. Von Neuron."
"That's his title." Weever explained. "His first name is Jonathan, but Dr. Gerald here enjoy's calling him Johnny."
"Then what's your first name?" I asked.
Weever smiled. "You learn quickly." He commented. "I am Ryan."
At this point the echidnas came forward. The Chief's fur looked scared and his eyes held a lot of history. But they seemed to hold…. what was that? An aura? Presence? But I could more than just see them in front of me. I could feel them, like a comfort, or a shield…
"We welcome you to the world young one." The chief said.
"Um, thank you sir." I replied, having a feeling he was very strong. But the other one seemed to hold the oat wisdom.
The other came forward and smiled. "I am Locke. The guardian of the Chaos Emeralds and second in command to the chief." He then took my hand. "If it is alright with you, I would like to bless you. It's customary to bless children when they first come into the world."
I look at him for a moment, wondering what a blessing was like. Well I can't figure that out unless I let him. I figured, and nodded.
Locke put a hand on my forehead, making me notice how large his hands were compared to mine. He closed his eyes and started speaking in a language I didn't recognize.
"I riail a Ard Taoiseach a Caomhnoir an Ardord Smaragaid, muid guigh tusa neart a misneach do bhur cosán roimh." He said.
I felt a sudden heat run through my body. It shoved away my shivers though I was still soaked. The guardian smiled and lowered his hand. "Welcome to the world Ada."
Hey guys! I know I should be working on Chronicles of the Keyblade, but I had to follow this Plot Bunny for a bit. I was wondering what Ada was like, being the Prototype of Project Shadow. What Challenges she would face, and how she overcomes them.
And I thought it might be fun to see how the Echidnas of that time acted. The Blessing Is actually a language. Gaelic, or Ancient Irish. Figured why not?
And here's the translation for you guys; "In the authority of the Highest Chief and the Guardian of the Chaos Emeralds, we wish you strength and courage or your path ahead."
No I don't speak or read it fluently, I have an app that I use for different words XD
Anyway, Enjoy!
