The black and red hedgehog walked calmly through the dark city. It was quiet, lonely and a good place to think. He looked up at all the tall buildings, 'Maria, you would have loved the capability these human have for creating things.' He walked into the park which was in the center of the city. The few light post gave off just enough light for the park to feel like a natural forest. He went to the center of the park and looked at the statue of his foe and friend, Sonic. 'They honor you for saving the world. Even though Maria gave her life for their happiness, I gave my life, and almost died a second time. Yet they still honor you and all your fake heroism.' He sighed and shook his head. His red eyes directed themselves to look into the night sky. There was a dark spot in the sky, where there were no stars, no moon, nothing, just a dark spot. That was where the Space Colony ARK was. He tried to keep himself from returning to the ARK, for it only brought back painful memories. He closed his eyes and he witnessed that tragic day, 50 years ago.
Her trembling hand held tight on to his own. The sound of gun shots, screams and explosion echoed through the lonely halls of the ARK. She was panting heavily, running, scared and all of her confusion was taking a toll on this 12 year olds body. Shadow stopped at a four way intersection and looked at the young girl. Her long blonde hair was wet from sweat, and her blue eyes were full of fear. She wore a blue dress which was torn and burnt from running and the fire. She was crying softly, trying to remain strong. 'Shadow, help me.' Her voice was innocent and it pleaded for her only friend to save her. He narrowed his eyes and grabbed her hand as he pulled her down another corridor. The echoes of their feet hitting the metal floor were the only sound they heard now. No gun shots, no explosion, or anything. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. It was too quiet for Shadow's liking, but he knew silence meant that the soldiers had not been here. There were almost to the safe room when a large fire wall burst up in front of the door. The heat was intense; it scorched some of Shadow's fur. He turned her around to run back when they saw the G.U.N soldiers, they loaded their guns and aimed them at the defenseless girl and the living weapon. 'Get the girl and kill the monster!' The troops walked towards them calmly and slowly so they didn't scared Maria away. Shadow stepped in front of Maria, 'You won't take her away from me!' Shadow grabbed her hand and turned her around. BANG! A soldier had fired his gun and shot the poor, innocent girl in the back. 'MARIA!' Shadow screamed at the top of his lungs. He picked her up in his arms and jumped through the fire and into the safe room. He laid her down and locked the doors so the murderers couldn't get in. In the safe room were an escape pod and some weapons. Shadow went to go grab a weapon to fight back when his best friend pushed him into the escape pod. The door shut and he saw Maria limp to the control panel. Shadow picked and punched at the glass trying to escape. Maria gripped her chest tight trying to stop the blood flow. 'MARIA!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!' Shadow yelled angered, yet it was almost pleading. 'Shadow, promise me that for all those people down there. Give them a chance, to be happy.' With her dying breath, she fell down to the ground and pulled the lever with her. Shadow's heart stopped, his eyes widened and tears filled them. There lay his only friend on the cold metal ground dead. He only saw her there for a spilt second but to him it seemed like an eternity. He screamed her name at the top of his lungs as the escape pod jettisoned out of the ARK and to earth.
Shadow opened his eyes, there were stinging from the tears that were forming. 'Damn it Maria, why did you do that? Why didn't you let me help you?' His tears were on the verge of pouring down his face, but in his pride he refused to break down. He took a deep breath, raised his head and chest high and walked away the statue and out of the park. To keep his promise to Maria he became a soldier for G.U.N, the same people who coldly murdered his only friend. G.U.N sought to protect the earth and the people who lived there, so Shadow felt it would be best to assist them to keep his promise. The headquarters was on the other side of the city, he could easily chaos control there but he wanted to have a nice walk to himself. He never had a chance to relax anymore. He was always being departed on missions, to find chaos emeralds, traveling to different zones, and being run ragged. He was getting tired of all of this and he just wanted to go back to the ARK and relax for once. But he was too stubborn to do that. He hadn't slept in over a week, since he was the ultimate life form, sleep wasn't a major necessity, but going a week without it did take a toll on his body and his brain. As he walked through the streets, the lights were becoming blurry and his steps were slower. He finally made it to the headquarters and just in time to. He scanned his badge in and boarded the elevator to take him down to the lowest level and to his quarters. The metal doors swished open and he stumbled out of the chamber. He walked down the hall and around the corner to his room. He punched in his passcode and his door opened. He entered in but then stopped. He paused for a moment and then stuck his head back out the door. There was a door at the end of the hall that he had never seen before. He rubbed his eyes roughly, feeling that they were failing him. When he opened his eyes the door was still there. He cautiously proceeded towards it. It was a large metal door, with a combination lock and a thumb print scanner. He looked at the door curiously, he wanted to know what they were hiding, but he didn't have time to fumble with locks. He pulled his green chaos emerald out and used chaos control to put himself on the other side of the door. It was dark and only had a few lights in it. It seemed like a storage room because there were metal gears and empty beakers lying around on the floor. He saw a container in the middle of the room, connected to pipes that led from the wall. He walked around it but couldn't see what was inside because of the steam, or was that fog? Maybe it was some kind of sleeping gas. He went to the control panel in front and pressed a blue button, this didn't open the container but it let the levels of gas down. He walked back to the container to look inside. But what he saw stopped his heart. He gasped, his eyes widened, and he fell to his knees. He grasped his head and tried to process all this new information. His heart raced, his brain was about to explode and his breaths were short. He closed his eyes in pain and passed out on the floor. For what was in the container was the 12 year old girl from the ARK that died, 50 years ago.
Shadow woke up in his bed, in his quarters. He rose up and rubbed his head. Suddenly images from last night ran through his memory. He jumped from his feet, forced the door open and looked to the end of the hall. The door was gone though. Had he imagined it all? He went to the wall where the door was last night. He kicked, and punched the wall looking for a secret switch to move it. He growled in frustration and ran to the elevator. He stormed down the hall that led to the commander's room. The soldiers tried to stop him but he just pushed them out of his way. He kicked open the door and jumped on top of the commanders desk. He grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and held it tight. "What did you do with her?!"
"Agent Shadow, what the hell are you talking about?" He pushed Shadow's hand away and straightened his jacket.
"Maria! I saw her last night in a cryogenic chamber! There was a door at the end of the hall where my quarters are. I found her last night, I saw her! And now the door isn't there! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO WITH HER!?" His temper was getting short, he knew he saw her and he wanted her back.
The commander sighed heavily, he knew he couldn't convince Shadow that he was seeing things. The old man stood from his chair and walked to the door. Shadow eyed his every step with a frown. "Follow me. You have a lot to learn." Shadow titled his head, but then followed him. The commander led him to the elevator and went to the lowest level. "For a long time now we have been using Maria to find a cure for N.I.D.S, or as you know Neuro-Immuno Deficiency Syndrome. It was the disease that Maria had before she died. Professor Gerald was researching on how to cure this disease. It was very contagious therefore she had to be sent to the ARK for safe keeping. There he created you as a weapon and for research on immortality, if you were successful he was going to take your DNA and inject it into Maria so she could live forever and be free of the disease. We are almost complete with the cure and with the cure will come the resurrection of Maria." Shadow stopped in his tracks, could he finally have the answer to having his only friend back!? "We are just missing one thing," the commander punched in the passcode, and opened the wall and door revealing Maria's body in the chamber. "Your DNA." The commander turned to face Shadow. "If we can inject Maria with your blood stream then it can fight off the virus along with other the other treatment she has received and we can finally have the cure for this disease. And you can have your friend back."
"How do we get my blood stream to connect with hers?" The commander showed him a container that had tubes that connected to the chamber Maria was in.
"Once the door closes, a needle will take your blood and transfer it to her. To get the connection approximately 1.21 giga-watts of electricity will be pumped through you both. You may pass out, but you will awake shortly. If you want to, you may step into the chamber."
Shadow didn't hesitate, he walked into the chamber and stood proud and strong. The door closed, incasing Shadow in the tube. A needle came out of the side and went through his wrist and into his vein. He winced in pain but he knew this wasn't the worst part. The needle pumped blood from him and through the tubing to Maria's blood stream. He braced himself for what came next. The jolts of electricity coursed through his body and through hers. He yelled in agony as the sting with through his veins, his organs and his whole body. It burned, it felt like 1000 needles piercing him all at once. The pain ended. The door opened and realized the smoke from the chamber. Shadow fell to the floor, barely holding on to consciousness. He looked up slowly and he saw the blonde haired girl rise from the chamber and look at him with a smile. He then passed out.
Shadow woke up with a groan and painful headache. He rubbed his head and he felt a cold wash cloth over his fore head. He removed it and tried to raise up, but groaned loudly in pain.
"No Shadow, don't raise up to fast." A sweet and soft voice said as warm, soft hands held onto his shoulders. His breath stopped and he looked up into the face of the innocent girl he had lost so long ago. He stared breathlessly into her beautiful blue eyes; they will full of life, happiness and care. He then threw his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close. He forced back his tears, but this time it was harder than ever. His face fell into her hair, it was so soft and smelled like roses. She hugged him back and her embrace, oh her embrace, it was something he had longed for, for over 50 years. So comforting, it soothed him, it calmed him. He couldn't speak, his throat formed a lump and if he tried to speak his tears would flow forth. She petted his quills and held him close. "I missed you Shadow." He wanted to say that he missed her back but he refused to cry. She smiled, "Still silent as ever huh Shadow?" He pulled away from her and looked into her eyes again. He reached his hand up and touched her face. He had to know that he wasn't just imagining this. He felt her silky smooth skin, warm and soft. He swallowed the lump so he could talk to her.
"I missed you too, Maria." There was so much he wanted to say. So much he wanted to show her. So much he wanted to ask her. But for this moment all he wanted was to hold her close to him and let her know the one thing he had been holding back. The two lay down on his bed and she placed her head on his chest and immersed herself in his chest fur. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and held her close to his heart. "I won't lose you again, Maria. I will protect you with my life. I won't let anyone hurt you."
"I know Shadow." She placed a hand on his chest and played with his fur. They were finally together again, after all those years of being separated. And for this moment Shadow was truly happy.
For the rest of that day, Maria and Shadow spent the day in his quarters and she nursed him back to health from the electricity wounds and headache from passing out. But the next day, he had already made plans to take her out into the city, and to the park to show her what she always dreamed of seeing. That night Shadow let her sleep on his bed, and as she slept he ran out into the city to pick up a couple of things. He went and picked up a bouquet of daisies, they were her favorite flowers. He went to the pet store and picked up a golden retriever puppy, they were loyal and playful. Something he knew Maria would love. And he picked up the one thing Maria had never got to experience in space. He bought her some chocolates, the sweet and savory flavor of chocolate. With all these things in hand he ran back to the base and awaited for her to wake up.
The sun rose over the horizon and Maria began to stir. He smiled and placed the puppy beside her, the small puppy then licked her nose playfully. She laughed and opened her eyes and held the puppy in her arms. Hearing her laugh ring through his ears once again, it was like music to him. He handed her the flowers with a smile. "Here you are Maria. Daisies, I remember you said if you ever came to earth you wanted to see a daisy." She put the puppy down on the bed and quickly sniffed the flowers.
"Oh, Shadow. They smell amazing. Thank you!"
"I'm not done yet," he pulled out the chocolate and handed it to her. "It's chocolate. Every human loves this for its flavor. I've never tried it but I thought you might like it."
She took the box from his hands and took a bite from the bar. Her eyes widened but then closed in pure delight. "This is amazing!" She then ate the rest in under 5 seconds. She jumped up from the bed and hugged Shadow. "Shadow, thank you so much." He hugged her back and smiled softly.
"I have one other thing to show you. But you have to follow me." He pulled away and reached his hand out to her. She gladly took his hand and he led her out of the room, in the elevator and to the doors that led outside. "Maria, do you still want to see what the world looks like down here?"
"Oh that's what I want most Shadow." He smiled and pushed open the doors, letting the warm sun hit her face. She gasped in joy and walked outside of the base. She took in all of the sights, the smells and the sounds. She touched everything she could find. The trees, the lamp post an all of the flowers. She twirled around and fell into the grass and let the warmth of the grass touch her skin. She walked over to the harbor and smelled the air of the salty sea. Shadow followed her everywhere she went with a smile on his face. She went down to the beach and she took her shoes off as she let the sand go in between her toes. She raised her dress and ran into the sea and felt the cool water rush over her feet and legs. She ran up to Shadow and pulled him in the water. He chuckled and the two ran around in the water, splashing one another and laughing. Shadow, for once in his life was actually laughing. He led her to the beach and showed her how to build a sand castle. After a while Shadow laid down and closed his eyes, just enjoying time being with Maria. When he opened his eyes again he was buried in the sand. He looked down in surprise and then he heard Maria laughing. He looked over beside him and she was holding her stomach laughing. Shadow laughed seeing her laugh, as he climbed out of the sand grave. He walked over to the ice cream stand and bought two vanilla ice creams and took one back over to Maria. She took it from him and licked it slowly, savoring its rich creamy texture.
As the day went on Shadow took her all over the city, showing her the tall buildings, and took her to an amusement park. Maria pulled Shadow to ride every ride and do every activity with her. In her excitement at all these new noises, she made him ride a roller coaster with her. She hopped in the front car and pulled him in beside her. She pulled the bar down and buckled her seat. She was excited, but Shadow was nervous. He had never ridden a roller coaster before, what was it like? The coaster started up the long and tall hill. Maria looked at all the things around them, she pointed at objects far off for Shadow to look at. He looked around and thought that maybe this wouldn't be so bad. The cart slowed down at it reached the top, stopped for a short time but then flew down the large hill, throw loops, and cork screws. Maria held up her hands and laughed all the way through, but Shadow held on for dear life. The ride was soon over and Shadow let go of the bar and jumped out of the car. Maria then pulled him down to the games, where she saw a big stuffed dog she wanted. Shadow paid the man and received three balls to knock down the pins. Shadow reared back and threw the first ball. It missed completely. He pulled back and threw the second ball. It missed again. Maria placed her hands on his shoulders and encouraged him. He picked up the third ball, pulled back and let it go. It hit the pins dead on and knocked them all off the stand. The man grabbed the huge dog and handed it to Shadow. He fell over onto his butt because the dog was so big. It was even bigger than Maria. Maria laughed and picked the stuffed animal off him as they walked out of the park.
Shadow looked at the sky, the sun was about to set. Shadow grabbed Maria's hand, picked her up and ran to a hill of a cliff side. It had an amazing view of the sea and the horizon where the sun would set. Shadow set her down on the cliff and he sat beside her.
"Have you had fun Maria?"
"More fun than I have ever had in my whole life!" She flung her arms around his neck, "and it's all thanks to you." Shadow placed a hand on her head and petted her hair softly. He looked out to the horizon and they sat there and watched the sun set.
"I know you have seen the stars from space, but when you lie in the grass and look at them, for some reason it is just so much better."
With that Maria laid back in the grass and looked up into the sky and watched as the stars came out. Shadow laid back with her and watched the transition too. Once the stars appeared, he showed her every constellation that was out.
"Oh Shadow, from the ARK you couldn't see these wonderful pictures and stories."
"Yeah and oh, this one is Orion. You can find him by looking to the three stars in a row that make his belt. Now his story is a Greek story. You see, he and the goddess Artemis were the best friends in the world. They did everything together. But one day Orion became obsessed with power, the other gods tried to defeat him but no one could soothe him long enough to get a hit. Artemis knew it was up to her. She talked to him long enough to soothe him, and then she pierced his heart with her arrow. All the gods cheered for her but she was heartbroken. She just lost her best friend. So, she took his body and shot them as stars in the sky, that way every night she would be able to see him and remember all the good times they had together."
"That's such a sad story. But they are together forever in the sky now. So that makes it all better." Maria then yawned, "Shadow, I'm getting sleepy. Can we go back to the base and then you can show me more stuff tomorrow?"
Shadow picked her up and carried her down the hill, "Of course Maria. Of course."
Maria fell asleep in his arms as he slowly carried her back to the base. He thought about what he could do tomorrow with her. Go to the lake? Maybe. Take her to a local restaurant? Maybe. Go ice skating? Maybe? Or maybe the movies? She might like that. He wanted to do everything with her, he wanted to show her everything he could. And then it hit him. He would take her to the park and they could spend a day relaxing. He placed her on his bed and tucked her in. He moved a hair from her face and placed her puppy beside her. He sat down in a chair and fell asleep.
Morning came, and Shadow stretched awake. He looked over to the bed and Maria was already awake and playing with her puppy. Shadow sat down beside her and petted the pup. The little tail wagged back and forth and it licked Shadow's hand. Shadow stood up and walked over to his chair and sat back down. He grabbed a spare cover from one of his drawers and pulled it over him. He sat there and just watched Maria for the longest time, still just in plain shock to have her back. Now that horrifying image can be erased from his memory. It was over, it was all over. The nightmares, the heart aches, the moodiness, and the flash backs. She was back and now it could all stop. As he watched her with a smile, he slowly began to drift off into sleep. Sleep over took him and he rested peacefully.
Shadow woke up the next morning, and he noticed Maria was still asleep. She had tossed and turned through the night and had kicked some covers off her. He chuckled to himself and he pulled the covers back up on her. But as he did this, there was a black spot on her leg that he noticed. Did she bruise herself yesterday? That's what he wrote it off as. He walked out to the command room and to his surprise he had no missions or assignments. But if he was honest with himself, he was glad he didn't have any. To him it was more time to spend with Maria. He walked back to his room and found the girl awake. She rubbed her eyes and yawned as she stretched. She looked up at the black hedgehog sleepily and spoke with a slur from not being fully awake.
"Maria, you ready to see more of the world?" She nodded, dozing off and on. He smiled lovingly and picked her up in his arms. As they walked, she fell asleep in his arms. On the way there he remembered a place he discovered long ago. He dashed off into the forest that bordered the city. Passing many trees at sonic speed, then he reached his destination, he came to a small tunnel. He walked through slowly, through the pitch black tunnel, he could hear drips of water echo, but then he heard the roaring sound of a water fall. He walked faster and there he saw a wall of water in front of the hole. He walked down the rocky edge and to the side of a small lake with a waterfall. He placed Maria down in a patch of flowers, and then he grabbed a couple of fruits from the trees. Quickly, he put the fruits around Maria in a circle. He whistled a nice and upbeat tune. Then dozens of little chaos flew from the trees and too the girl surrounded in the chao fruits. Maria awoke to the sounds of munching and when she opened her eyes she was delighted to see all the small blue creatures. She picked one up and a heart formed above its head, letting her know that it liked her. She then noticed the large waterfall in front of her and the clear blue lake. She walked over and stuck her feet in and let the warm water caress her feet. Shadow sat back against a tree and watched Maria enjoy the wonders of this magical place. She laughed and played in the water as the chaos floated around her and swam with her. She danced in the patch of flowers as the chaos sang her a song. She climbed up a hill and roll down it into the soft patch of grass at the bottom. But throughout the entire day, she never stopped laughing and smiling. The sun had moved and Shadow knew they had been there almost all day. Maria sat down beside Shadow, under the shade of the largest tree.
"Shadow, I have had so much fun! This world is better than what I could ever dream of at the ARK."
"Something's in this world are beautiful indeed."
"What do you mean by something's?" Maria faced turned as she heard this word.
"Maria, I don't want to spoil your wonderful day with bad thoughts. Just enjoy the things of this world that are wonderful."
"Shadow, I want to know. I am 12 years old now and I think I have a right to know." She stubbed up like a child would do.
Shadow sighed knowing he wouldn't win this battle. "There are crimes, killings, stealing, and your cousin Eggman keeps trying to take over the world and kill the hero of this world. I fight to protect this world but there is so much going on. Everywhere I turn I see a crime scene investigation. Or I have to go on a mission to get a chaos emerald that was stolen from the bank. Its chaos Maria, just chaos. These small things that make the world beautiful are shadowed over by the hatred in this world. None of these people are happy, even we people are risking life and limb to keep them safe. I work with brave men who have left their wives and children just to go off to another country and die to protect them. Yet no one appreciates us, and they continue to do these crimes that sicken me." Shadow was getting frustrated just thinking about all the things that these humans do. "They even killed you. An innocent 12 year old girl and they killed you!"
Maria frowned, her wonderful world was shattered, "But Shadow, those same people are the ones who brought me back to you. I'm alive now, so let's enjoy these small things that make the world great." She hugged him to her, her embrace calmed his nerves and he relaxed all his muscles that were tense. Being back with Maria changed him; he was calm, collected and not so emotional.
The day went on and the sun was about to set. He walked Maria back to the base showing her the forest, some of the city she didn't see yesterday and just letting her enjoy the sun. She pointed at a bird in the tree and he saw another black spot on her hand. Now he was getting worried. Two black spots and this new one didn't look like a bruise. Once back at the base he put her to bed and walked to the commander's room. He informed him that Maria was developing these spots that were strange and unusual. The commander said it was most likely just allergic reactions to all the new surroundings and assured him he had nothing to worry about. Shadow didn't believe him but he thought it best to let it alone, so he walked back to his chamber and slept on the chair.
Days passed and Shadow and Maria spent every time they had together. Going to movies, to the parks, back to the beach, and just having fun. But as each day passed Shadow saw that Maria was beginning to get covered in this spots, not only that but she was becoming very ill tempered. He had enough and he walked her up to the commander's room and showed him the black spots and the color of her skin surrounding them, which was green. "Does this look like an allergic reaction to you!?" Shadow was furious, but mostly scared for Maria's sake. Scientist took her back down to the cryogenic chamber and put her back in. The gas swirled around her and Shadow could hear her crying. He walked over to the chamber and pressed his hand against the glass. "It will be okay Maria. I won't let anything hurt you again." She nodded in understanding and he walked to one of the scientist. "What's wrong with her?"
"It seems her N.I.D.S also fused with your DNA and made the infection even stronger. It's taking over all her systems and is trying to spread to her brain. If that happens your DNA will give her strength and immortality."
"So how do we save her?"
"Stand by and pray for a miracle that this special blend of gasses will stop the disease from spreading that far. If she gets your strength and immortality she could become a great threat to this city. With the inflammation of the NIDS to the brain could cause serve senility and hallucinations. She could think that she wants to destroy the world and her NIDS would allow her to do that."
"Not Maria, she wouldn't hurt a fly."
"If the NIDS spread that far, she won't be Maria anymore."
Shadow bit his lips in fear, he didn't want to lose his friend again. "Is there any way we can make the gas more powerful?"
"That would require a chaos emerald. If we put a chaos emerald in the control panel it could strength the gas and take out the NIDS faster."
Shadow pulled a chaos emerald from his back and showed the scientist. The man quickly placed the green emerald in the control panel energy holder. It surged with chaos energy and the gas became thicker as she inhaled it. Shadow walked to the side of the container again, "Maria, it's going to be okay, but you have to stay in here for a while. I'm not going to leave your side ok. I'm here for you, I won't leave you alone." He grabbed a chair and sat beside the chamber. "I'll watch over her and make sure nothing happens." The man nodded and walked away. Shadow kept to his word he stayed beside Maria's chamber and spoke to her softly to keep her calm. He didn't leave for anything; he didn't get food, sleep, or any drinks. For three days he stayed awake from dusk until dawn. Her numbers will still the same, but the number of the NIDS had decreased some. That third night he felt the weight of his eye lids; not only was he staying awake, but he was staying awake and being bored. His head began to drop and rise from weariness. Finally sleep over took him and he laid his head on the chamber.
He was rudely awakened with the sound of sirens and alarms. He jumped up and saw that the gas had turned a dark green. He saw the scientist rushing all around from the panel, to the chamber, and to the pipes. Shadow ran to the lead scientist and yelled over the sirens, "What's wrong with her?!"
"The chaos emerald gave the gas too much energy and it is making the NIDS even stronger!"
"You ignorant fools!" Shadow yelled, and just then Maria started clawing at the glass and screaming. Shadow's heart stopped hearing the ear piercing and shattering scream. "Help her!"
"We can't. She is losing control and the NIDS are taking over her brain and systems."
Maria busted the glass and the gas filled the room. Everyone began coughing, and they were blinded from seeing anything because of the thick gas. Shadow coughed and grabbed his chest, "M-maria? Where are you?" He walked around the room trying to find his friend.
"You all killed me! This is your entire fault Shadow! You could've protected me but instead you let me die! And for you soldiers that say you protect this world all you do is cause destruction and take innocent lives like mine!" Maria's voice hissed from all corners of the room. "All I wanted was to live in a peaceful world, but now I see its hell! You selfish and ignorant humans aren't worth the breath you breathe! And now to save this world from your destruction, I will eliminate all humans in on this planet!" Shadow heard thumps of feet against metal and followed them out the door and too the hall.
"Maria! Wait!" Once out of the room he got his first glance at Maria. Her skin was a light green and covered in those black spots, her hair was falling out and her dress was torn. The only thing that didn't change was her loving blue eyes, and with that he knew Maria was still down there somewhere. Shadow ran up to the new Maria and she kicked him back against the wall.
"You abandoned me! You left me to die!"
"No I didn't! It was you who pulled the lever." He stood up slowly trying not to overdo it.
"LAIR!" She screamed with a raspy voice, as she kicked him in the head. And with that she ran out of the base and into the city. Shadow rose up slowly, rubbing his head and then he ran after Maria. But the commander stopped him and forced him to follow him. The commander led him to a room with screens that were being fed video recordings of Maria destroying the town and attacking the people.
"I have already sent the troops to destroy her Shadow."
"No you can't! She is still in there! I can't lose her again!"
The commander slammed his fist on the desk, "She is a threat to humanity now! We have to destroy her!"
"You bastard! This is your fault! If you hadn't given her my DNA she wouldn't be doing this!"
"I was trying to save humanity you fool!" Shadow stopped yelling and looked at the screens. He saw Maria killing people and burning down buildings. He couldn't hear the screams because the TV had no sound. He put a hand over his mouth in shock.
"Maria would never do this."
"This isn't Maria. This is what the NIDS has made her."
On the screen, there were tanks and soldiers walking toward her at a brisk pace. They loaded their guns and aimed at her. She turned around and charged into the crowd, ripping their limbs off their bodies and biting their throats. Shadow gasped in horror at what he was seeing. A 12 year old girl could do this much damage. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, he knew that these troops stood no chance against her.
"Commander, she can't be stopped by these troops."
"Yes she can."
"NO SHE CAN'T! She thinks like me now; she has my strength, speed and immortality."
"Then how do we stop her?"
Shadow knew what he had to do, "One bullet straight to the heart will kill her. But it has to be a close up shot. Any bullet that hits her anywhere else won't affect her. I have to go stop her, I am the only one stronger than her. It has to be me." Without hesitation or any consideration to Shadow's emotions, the commander handed Shadow a pistol and sent him on his way. Shadow walked outside the base and saw the smoke filled skies and destruction that the girl had caused in only a short matter of time. He loaded the pistol and then ran to the center of the city and there he found the girl. "Maria!" He yelled and the deranged girl dropped the man she had a hold of and he ran away. She walked to him and glared into his soul. "Maria, I know this isn't you. You love this world and would do anything to protect the people on it. Please Maria, don't make me hurt you."
"You wouldn't dare! You promised that you wouldn't let anything hurt me again!"
"Maria, you are killing innocent people. We can't look past this and let you go on doing this. Now if you come with me I can take you back to the base and we can try again to cure you."
"No you won't! You will jut experiment on me like grandpa did! You will hurt me and take advantage of me, just like all those men did on the ARK!"
"No! I would never hurt you like that! Maria you are my best friend! I need you beside me!"
"No! You are just like the rest of them, you just want to HURT ME!" She screamed as she charged at Shadow. He jumped back and dodged her. She came around again and this time she pinned him down. He grabbed her arm and felt the chaos energy flow through her.
"Chaos control." He then warped out from under her and appeared behind her. She ran away at his speed and he chased after her. She was somewhat slower because Shadow used his rocket shoes to go faster than her. He ran in front of her and aimed the gun at her. She skidded to a halt and tripped, as she landed right in front of shadow. He held the gun straight at her heart and pulled the cock back, it was locked and loaded. He stared into her blue eyes and pleaded one more time, "Please Maria. Don't make me do this to you. Come with me and you can be safe and live with me."
"Shadow, don't you understand," her voice was back to her soft and innocent voice, "if we get rid of all these people we can have the world to ourselves. We can be happy without any crime or anyone trying to separate us. We can be together just like you always wanted on the ARK. Help me Shadow." Her voice echoed through his head and flash backs from the ARK filled his mind. "Help me Shadow." Help me Shadow. Help me Shadow. Help me Shadow. His hands were trembling as he looked into those eyes that he loved so dear. "Shadow, please don't hurt me. You promised." His heart filled with emotions. He didn't want to lose his only friend again, but he didn't want to destroy the world either. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't want to do it. He loved her! He needed her! His throat formed a lump again as flashbacks of them together and happy filled his mind. Her smile, her laugh, everything he loved about her swam through his heart and mind. Here was the girl that he fought so hard to save, the girl that he had regretted his whole life for not saving her, the girl he would give his life for, and he had to kill her. He looked into her eyes and the blue faded away. He knew this was no longer Maria. He turned his head back and pulled the trigger. Silence fell all around him, except for the echoes of the gun shot. He whirled his head back and watched as the body of the 12 year old girl fell on the ground dead. Blood poured from her body as she laid lifelessly on the ground. His breath stropped, his heart stopped for a moment, tears formed in his eyes.
"What have I done? What have I done!? I killed her! After I promised I would protect her! I KILLED HER!" He quickly grabbed the pistol, loaded it again and pointed it at his heart. His hands were still trembling as he held the gun close to his heart. He was just about to pull the trigger when he saw Maria's ghost in his mind.
Thank you, Shadow. You saved me. Now I can finally rest and be free to see this world. I am happy now Shadow. Please, promise me you will continue to save this world. Thank you…Thank you…thank you…thank you…..thank you…thank you…thank you.
Her voice echoed out of his head and he opened his eyes. He threw the gun away and held tight onto the bloody remains of his only friend. This time, he cried. He cried harder than he ever had. Tears poured down his face as he sobbed over her. He pushed his face into her hair and cried on her. His tears, so many of them, washed away some of the blood on her. He sat there for moments, just crying over the loss of the only friend he ever had.