Shadow's Journal:
He had taken her away from me. How could I have been so weak?! So stupid?!
Why would he take Maria? She doesn't have the chaos emerald. Unless… No. Back then I had thought the possibility was impossible. But now I know the truth.
I stood there for a while. Looking up at where I last saw her. Shaking with anger.
I eventually came to my senses. Eggman was up to something again and he had taken Maria. I needed to find him and save her. But how? Without my chaos emerald things would be a little harder. Rouge is a good tracker, so it'd be smart to ask for her help. Amy seemed like she had become good friends with Maria, so maybe she'll help. And if Amy helps Sonic would definitely want to step in and keep an eye on Amy's safety, even if he won't admit it. With Sonic helping the fox boy will follow him. And Knuckles would come along for Rouge and his friends.
I hate asking for help. Maybe I should try this on my own first.
Maria's POV:
He calls himself "Doctor Eggman". What a strange name. Apparently his real name's Ivo Robotnik. So he's my cousin. Distant though, fifty years distant. He doesn't know we're related. Probably because there's no hedgehogs in his family.
"Now, little blondie, are you going to cooperate and tell me where you're hiding the chaos emerald?"
"I told you, Doctor, I don't have it. Please let me go. I haven't done anything wrong."
"The sensor goes crazy whenever it's near you. It's obvious you are lying! Now hand it over! I need it, you see, to create my Eggman Empire and destroy Sonic and the others."
"Why are you doing this to me?" I shake my head and look down. Amy told me about Sonic, and by others he must mean Amy and her friends, along with Shadow.
I don't want to lose my friends. I don't want Earth to become his. I love my friends and this planet.
And I hardly know anything about the chaos emeralds, let alone have one.
He steps closer to me, holding the sensor until it touches the center of my chest.
"Aha, it's inside you."
What? My eyes grew huge.
"I'll have to perform some surgery then." He said thoughtfully, stroking his mustache.
"You can't do that. It'll kill me."
He turned to me, eyebrow raised. "How so?"
"That chaos emerald…has my soul." I realized everything then. The times Shadow and Grandfather spent in the lab for hours, not letting me in. Shadow's being distracted. The worry in his eyes. The strange documents about emeralds and hedgehogs on Grandfather's computer.
Shadow and Grandfather had planned to bring me back in a new body, and they planned this behind my back. I died that day. And I was brought back fifty years later. The ARK is empty and dead now. I know this because I woke up in a capsule alone and naked, and falling to Earth.
How could they not tell me about this? Shadow especially, since it had worked? Was he planning to let me go on thinking that "ignorance is bliss"? Oh Shadow…why?
"We'll perform the operation tomorrow night," I hear my cousin say to a robot.
Oh dear. Shadow, please, do something. Anything…for me.
Shadow's Journal:
Maria, this is what you wanted right? This is my promise I made to you.
I remember thinking those exact words a long time ago. I'm still keeping that promise. I helped the citizen's that were hurt during the doctor's raid, hoping to think clearly and come up with a plan.
So far I didn't have one.
Where would he be hiding this time? And what's his scheme? I had never felt so stupid.
I needed my chaos emerald, and the thought of where it probably was sickened me; because I knew Eggman was after it.
I made my way home to Westopolis first. Eggman prefers to stay around that area. Besides, my GUN equipment was there.
Perhaps it was the anger flowing through me that night that made my thoughts cloudy. I did something drastic, I hopped on my bike and drove for hours, only using pure instinct as a guide. Stupid, I know. But thankfully it eventually worked. I am the ultimate life form after all.
Maria's POV:
The jail cell is cold. There are writings, algebraic equations all over the walls, and a chair with torn rope sits in the corner. I'm sitting in the other corner, holding my knees to my chest. Strange thing is, these equations seem simple to me, and familiar. Especially the handwriting.
Could it be…Grandfather's?
No, that's impossible. Grandfather wasn't a bad man. He couldn't have possibly been imprisoned for any reason.
Or could he?
The soldiers were mostly after him that day. And I never witnessed him being killed.
No, thinking like this will only make me more depressed.
"Huh? What was that?" I said to myself suddenly. The camera and screen in the corner flashed. There's static now. An image is becoming clear.
It's Grandfather, tied in that chair, looking straight at the camera.
"People of Earth, You will all be destroyed. By the time you see this, I will be dead. I am going to be executed by your soldiers, just as you killed my dear Maria. The space colony ARK will run into the planet in…"
It shut off.
No. No. No.
That was a lie. Grandfather would never be imprisoned, he would never kill anyone. It couldn't be true.
Shadow may have told me a lot. But he didn't tell me what I need to know most of all. I buried my face in my knees, trying desperately not to cry. I thought of Alice in Wonderland. She never lost hope when everything around her didn't make sense, so I need to stay strong too. I thought of the chaos around me, and how Grandfather told me that the flying angels were always there for me.
Huh? That feeling just now, what was it?
"Chaos. Angels flying."
That feeling again.
"Chaos flight."
My body rose off the ground slowly, there was a deep golden glow around me.
"I'm flying. I'm flying!"
I could feel the wings behind me. It was incredible; I zoomed around the cell, gaining control of my new power.
And then that feeling went away and I fell to the ground.
So it's only temporary. But Shadow and Grandfather didn't give me just a body; they gave me a way of protecting myself, almost like Shadow's chaos control. With a power of the chaos emerald in me, I can fly!
Now to get out of here, confront Shadow, and get some answers. I knew there was a reason to stay hopeful.
What to do? What to do? My brain feels stronger as well. I was always told knowledge is power.
Oh, how I wish I could get out of here. I wish, I wish, I wish.
" . Keys, keys."
The sleeping guard by my cell, he's moving.
Set me free please, please let me out.
"Here, you can leave." His body moved zombie like toward the bars as he pulled the keys out of his pocket. I bit my lip in waiting.
"Wait.."
Oh no. Please let me out. Don't turn around. Don't tell Eggman. Just let me out and keep quiet.
The key turned in the lock and he fell to the ground, holding his head in his hands.
"Oh dear, I am so sorry. That must've hurt you." I walked through the now open gate and put my hand on his forehead. Hurting people is something I feel terrible doing.
"Here, poor thing. Just lay and rest," I told him as I laid him on the cell's cot. "And please, tell no one about this."
He nodded blissfully and drifted off to sleep. Grabbing his keys, I ran down the corridor. Getting out was the only thing on my mind.
Sadly, I had no idea where I was or where to go.
At least I wasn't running out of breath, although I'm not very fast. This turned out to be a good thing. Finally, I saw a window. And fish. And water.
"This place is underwater." I said to myself, hearing a desperate tone in my voice.
How was I to get out now?