Searching. Searching once more for my life. This Chaos Emerald could hold the answer. A jewel containing the ultimate power… a thing of great beauty and even greater power. "Alright, Emerald, show me what I need to know." A small picture of an old man was displayed in the jewel. I instantly knew where to go, but first, I needed to stop at the space colony, ARK.

"Chaos Control!" I shouted and instantly teleported to my makeshift headquarters. It had been days since I last ate of slept. I plugged in the Chaos Emerald to the power drive. Lights buzzed to life, and a radio started playing somewhere.

♫ Oh, dark, the darkness

That dozes in the dusk

Throw it all away♪

Walking into the mess hall, I quickly made some Dark Fruit Medley, and ate voraciously. After I was done, I slumped into bed and fell asleep quickly.

Shadow. . . I beg of you. . .

"Maria!"

… A dream. Just a dream. Again I am pained with fragments of my memory. That was 50 years ago. A lifetime away. Millennia, even.

I glanced at my clock. I had slept for a full day. I had rested long enough. It was time to take action. Time to find the old man. I'm coming, Maria.

"Chaos Control!"

Rolling green hills surrounded me. Bees were lazily buzzing from flower to flower. A small, crumbling shack was sitting atop a hill to the west. I walked up to the door and knocked. A withered old man answered the door, smiling, missing his teeth. "A guest, after all these years alone…"

"My name is Shadow, I'm looking for Maria."

"Shadow, huh?" The old man's voice brought me back. "It wouldn't be Maria Robotnik you're looking for?"

"Yes, her! Please, anything you can tell me−"

"Say no more. I'll tell you all I know." The old man let me in. His name was Genai.

"Maria lived on the space colony ARK, 50 years ago, until it was attacked by GUN, a top secret military operation. She had a black hedgehog friend like you. Soup?"

"Thank you," I said accepting the soup. "That black hedgehog was I."

"Was it now? Well, 50 years ago, GUN invaded ARK. They got scared, and destroyed all they could. They arrested Dr. Gerald Robotnik, Maria's uncle, and killed many others. But Maria escaped! Since she was so young, they didn't think she'd pose a treat, or that she'd done anything wrong. They brought her down here, and she was brought to me to live."

Somewhat puzzled as to why, I asked "Where is she now? Can I see her?"

"She's at the cemetery just now. She'll be there for a long time."

"Thank you, Genai. I'll see you some other time."

"Just don't expect too much of her. There isn't much she can do these days."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Now that I've given Shadow the opportunity of happiness, I need to hear your input. Like I said before, I'm not so good at writing. I can't write what you like if you DON'T ALL FRIGGIN' REVIEW! Ah, uh, ahem. Let me regain my composure…(takes deep, shuddering breath,) whew. Okay. Well, Bookworm Rose, so far its just you and me, but that's better than no one. Well, for this one I combined two chapters, so it's longer. Happy now? Good.

Well, until next time,

Happy Spelling

Wizard Typist