CHAPTER XII

A few hours later, Shadow stood in the empty Research Lab with a blue roll of paper in his hand and a gleam in his eye. The plans Tails had drawn up were simple, and yet required some levels of thought.

Just the way Shadow liked things.

Blaze had taken it upon herself to care for Pandora while he built the 'ARK Garden', and had spirited the Chao to her room to better watch over it. Shadow immediately taped the blueprints up on the wall next to the door and stared at it. "Step one," he read aloud, "Build a raised area two feet high around the perimeter of the room, leaving stairs that lead to the door. This raised area will be the basis for the soil of the garden."

He looked at the shape of the room and smiled. The room was a perfect octagon, so he would have no problem with that. He went upstairs and into one of the sleeping quarters. He began to slowly take apart the metal bunks that lined the walls, intending to use them for the raised area. Chaos Control was an invaluable asset in moving the materials from the sleeping quarters to the Research Lab, and Shadow used it religiously. When he got the materials together, he enlisted Blaze's ability to control fire to help him fuse them together. At long last, after several hours of work, Shadow and Blaze (and, of course, Pandora) looked at what they'd accomplished.

Following Tails' blueprint almost to a fault, a raised area exactly two feet high ringed the area, and an empty space was left at the door, where the steps would go. Shadow smiled weakly. What would Gerald think if he could see his precious Research Lab now? Once upon a time, he had created the Ultimate Life Form here. Now it was becoming a playground for Chao…

Shadow went back over to the blueprint hanging on the wall. "Step two," he read as Blaze walked up behind him, cradling Pandora in her arms, "Fill room with soil that leads up to one inch below highest point of raised area."

"Soil?" asked Blaze, looking at Shadow curiously, "How are we going to get soil up here?"

Shadow opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Er… He felt incredibly stupid.

"Can you mind Pandora? I'll take the Tortoise and be back in a while."

"What's the Tortoise?"

Shadow mentally smacked himself. "The Tortoise is a transport shuttle," he explained, "I was going to acquire the soil and load it into the cargo bay, after which I will bring it back here."

"Suits me," replied Blaze, cradling up the tiny Chao. Pandora cooed happily and snuggled into Blaze's coat, "Pandora and I get along fine."

Muttering something undoubtedly foul, Shadow waved goodbye and stepped out into the shuttle bay.

"Pandora and I get along fine…" mimicked Shadow, climbing into the driver's seat of the bulky transport vehicle known as the Tortoise.

The Tortoise jetted out of the ARK, rotated ninety degrees and jetted toward the blue marble of a world that lay below. As the ARK faded from view, Shadow leaned back in the seat, letting the ship practically drive itself.

Gerald sure knew how to build a good shuttle… he mused, thinking of the kindly old doctor. A rare smile crossed his face at the thought of his 'father'. Gerald had been one of the only scientists on Project Shadow not to be unnecessarily cruel to him. As a matter of fact, he was one of only two – the other being a younger man named Michael.

Shadow amusedly wondered if Michael was still alive, and called up the listing of those who had died when the ARK was shut down half a century ago on the Tortoise's onboard computer.

Nope… here he is: Michael Burns, Ph.D., age 23

Shadow sighed… both Maria and Michael were probably in whatever afterlife they believed in. He silently wished them happiness as the Tortoise entered Earth's atmosphere.