Perhaps the most important gift Maria received upon her eighth birthday was a cell phone. She was spending more and more time away from home, and Shadow's concern about his relationship with his daughter was increased by that fact. It couldn't be helped, but he could tell it was affecting Sara as well. At least they could keep in touch with her.

With Maria spending more time away from home, Ash was beginning to soak in some much appreciated attention. Finding friends for him wasn't as difficult as it was for Maria. Since the get-together in Knothole, Rouge and Nack had started coming around Sara and Shadow's. Their little girl Lilly was about the same age as Ash, and the two got on well. Tails had also come to Station Square soon after for an aviation project, so the twins Kit and Tracey were also a common sight at the hedgehog house.

Shadow had been on the living room floor playing a game of Uno with Ash and Lilly while Sara and Rouge were chatting in the kitchen. A knock at the door alerted him to company, and he excused himself from the card game to answer it.

"Yes?" He looked down to see a pair of deep purple hedgehogs gazing up at him with their emerald eyes.

"Hello, Uncle Shadow, is Maria home?" Blitz grinned.

"Yeah, I think she's upstairs." He noted that both boys had Extreme Gears tucked under their arms. "I'll-"

"Sweet! Thanks, Unc!" Blitz slipped inside, and Rift stood there grinning at Shadow.

"I am not your...oh whatever..." Shadow made a face and saw Maria bounding downstairs seconds later with her own gear. "Going boarding?" he asked rhetorically. He didn't have to guess the answer, and tried not to sound too irritated.

"Yes, Dad. I won't stay out too long, though." Maria smiled.

As she walked out the door, Shadow realized his little girl wasn't so little anymore. She was almost up to his shoulders, and Blitz was slightly taller still. Rift wasn't far behind him, and soon the boarders were out of sight.

"Daddy? Play more?" Ash waved a hand full of cards in the air.

"Coming." Shadow smiled a bit at his boy and sat back down. He couldn't help glancing at the door every now and then, wondering when she'd be home.

"Was that your daughter just now?" Rouge asked, having watched the group leave through the kitchen window.

"Ahh? Probably. She and Sonic's boys love Extreme Boarding." Sara smiled a bit.

"Didn't even ask to go out, eh?" The bat sipped at a cup of coffee.

"Not so much...she's at that age, you know?" Sara sipped at her own cup of coffee. She enjoyed the warmth and smell of the beverage, always had.

"Ahh, right. One foot out the door...bother you at all?" Rouge sat back against the kitchen chair.

Sara's expression took on a reminiscent hue. "Ahh...not as much as Shadow, I think. But you know...spending that much time with her, watching her grow...doesn't seem like it's been that long, eh?"

"Nope...Lilly's already three." Rouge smiled fondly. "She's growing up to be so pretty!"

"I won't argue with that. Considering who her mother is, it's only natural. Ash is growing up pretty fast too, now that I think about it..." Sara took a sip of her coffee. "He runs circles around me when I'm trying to put him down for a nap. Shadow's had trouble catching him." She chuckled. "He used to trip so much when he first started walking...his knees got all scraped up! Nothing like Maria... She had a lot of balance right from the start."

"So what's Maria planning on doing with herself? Aside Extreme Gears, that is," Rouge inquired.

"Well...she's rather creative and artistic... She's expressed an interest in children's books."

"Ironic really, she's still just a child." Rouge gave a mused grin.

"Yeah, my baby. Sonic tells me all Blitz wants to do is ride. There's a competition coming up in a few weeks, probably why he and Maria have been hanging out at the Gear park so much." Sara smirked a bit.

Rouge nodded. "I don't see why boys like sports so much." She rolled her eyes, "Ahh well. Ash seems well behaved, at least."

Maria and Blitz went to the Gear park every day that week, gearing up for the big event. The Extreme Air Expo was right around the corner, and the pair had decided to compete. The excitement appealed to the girl, who dressed today in a pink and yellow tank top with purple sweat pants trimmed yellow. She polished her lavender and silver board, smiling when her final preparations were complete.

It was an absolutely perfect day for a race, and Maria breathed in the fresh spring air. She glanced at the stands lining the outskirts of the Gear park. She could see her mom and dad sitting back in the stands with Ash watching from Shadow's shoulders. She was happy to have their support and waved at them before taking her place in the lineup for the first event.

The competition was sectioned off into three main events: Circuit Tricks, which required certain aerial tricks to be performed within a certain amount of distance; Freestyle, which gave the competitors a certain amount of time to impress the audience; and then the Distance Race. Scoring for the first two events would consider things like jump height and trick precision. The last event would determine the fastest rider and was the most anticipated of the events. There were other categories and subcategories that divided things further into age groups and Gear styles.

"Hey Ria! Good luck!" a male voice drew Maria's attention, and a green board came to view with an orange owner.

"Chase?" Maria beamed, "I didn't know you were competing!"

Chase grinned at the midnight and candy apple hedgehog. "Of course! I've gotten really good, so you better watch yourself! I'm going pro, you know."

A smile quickly spread across Maria's lips. "Well, I'm pretty good too! Just wait and see!"

"Hmph, you're both gonna lose!" Blitz gave a feral grin and headed into the lineup.

The supportive smile that Shadow had held was wiped clean when he caught sight of the orange hedgehog, and after his name was confirmed in the lineup. "...Shadow... No. It's just a contest, they're not dating or anything..." Sara cut into him, knowing full well that there could easily be a scene following the competition.

A green swallow had excelled at the circuit tricks and seemed like a sure bet to win. Blitz proved how well he knew his moves, though, gaining incredible height on Air Japan, and then doing a 360 onto a rail and grinding it to the finish. Chase and Maria proved tough competition, and pretty soon the three hedgehogs were the darlings of the competition for their age group.

Freestyle was Maria's competition. The young girl had a certain grace to her, and her focus and creativity melded well in this one. Freestyle was just that, and being able to pull off all the tricks she wanted at her own whim was just a perfect opportunity to show off. Sara cheered loudly, as did the crowd as she pulled off a number of aerial moves and made her landings flawless. She never once needed to refuel, and the five minutes of fame were five minutes of bliss for her.

Blitz's freestyle run wasn't near as lofty as Maria's, as he preferred grinding rails and moving swiftly from ramp to ramp. Chase's idea of showing off involved a lot of time spent flying his board backwards through the course. The swallow, who was the son of Jet the hawk and Wave the swallow, proved to be a balanced player, though he was disappointed that the cheering wasn't nearly as loud toward him.

The final competition had about 24 competitors in all, a couple of humans, a crocodile, a rabbit, and more. Maria brushed her fluffy bangs aside and made sure her hair clips were in place. She looked to her left at the racers at her side. Some were on Gear boards, some had Gear shoes, and some had Gear bikes. But it was to her right that her friends were...Blitz and Chase. Both of them had a strong competitive streak, and that feeling was starting to bubble up within her as well.

"Loser buys ice cream for all!" She smirked and readied her board.

The start of the race was called, and all were off like a shot. Blitz was off to an early lead, which made his father proud. "Show 'em!" Sonic cheered from his spot in the stadium.

"Go, Brother!" Rift smiled, sandwiched between Amy and Sonic.

Paying attention to the air stations and ramps was very important to the race. No matter what kind of Gear you rode, they all depended on air power to run. Maria's performance in the freestyle proved she could gather the most air, but she wasn't the only one who knew how to ride in the wake of her opponent, and being in the lead could quickly change.

It was obvious to Sara that the best competitors were the most relaxed as well. The smiles and laughter escaping the racers, chiefly her little girl, were rewarding to hear. "She's really good, isn't she?" Sara smiled proudly and leaned against Shadow.

A small growl escaped Shadow. "I don't care...look who she's competing with."

"...I don't care about that either. She's having fun." Sara's expression soured.

Shadow sighed slightly and looked over at the finish line. A shining Chaos Emerald was offered as a prize. How many times in the past had Eggman interrupted events like this so he could get his hands on one? He kind of wished he'd crash the party now. Twice he'd missed a chance to beat Duo to a bloody pulp, and now his son was just about within his reach.

"Catch me if you can!" Chase grinned as he used the very wake from Maria's board to launch himself into the lead.

The finish line was closing in, and determination sparked in Maria's ruby eyes. She caught some air from a ramp and slid on a rail a ways before jumping off. Her air supply refilled, she pushed her board to its top speed. She'd caught up with Chase's wake, though she wasn't quite as good at surfing them. The sparkle of the Chaos Emerald seated on a pedestal at the finish line caught her eyes, and something long dormant sparked within her. Chaos...Chaos...Control!

Maria's eyes widened as she experienced the shift in the flow of time. The fact that she was still moving, and everything else stood still, had caught her off guard. The world was almost black and white to her, save for the glint of the Chaos Emerald. She knew it had something to do with this, but she had little time to think as she overtook Chase on her board and almost plowed into him. She kept going, and dismounted past the finish line, everything about her on high alert at what was going on. Then in a blink, time resumed.

Shadow recognized what had happened in an instant. He nodded to Sara, who looked at him for confirmation. She had used Chaos Control, perhaps not being aware of it. Shadow looked down at the gold bracelets he wore and wondered if this meant she would be needing her own set. She hadn't been exposed to the emeralds since she was a baby, so it was entirely possible the event prize was what had triggered it. At least it distracted him from the shocked orange hedgehog who wondered how Maria had gotten ahead of him.

Maria's use of Chaos had disqualified her from the competition, which was a bit of a disappointment. Reuniting with her friend Chase, on the other hand, had completely elated her. Chase was declared the winner, and his being swarmed with fans and media probably saved him from Shadow's wrath as the dark hedgehog went to claim his daughter. Having Ash on his shoulders was also likely to have been a restraining factor.

"Maria...?" he spoke up, trying to draw her attention from the award ceremony.

"Hi, Dad! Did you see how good I did?" She beamed back at him.

"Sissy did good! You jumped sooo high!" Ash said excitedly. "I want a Gear too!"

"When you're older," Sara replied. "I'm really proud of you!" She smiled at Maria, though she worried what Shadow would say with Chase so nearby. Certainly, he had to be on the lookout for Duo and Raye...since the boy was still slightly under age to be on his own.

"Hey, Dad? What was that...thing that happened?" Maria tried to think of how to explain her experience.

"...Chaos Control. You seem to have tapped into the emerald there," he said in an even tone.

"It was cool... Like...everything stopped but...after a minute, I just wanted things to start up again, kinda scary." Maria's crimson eyes were wide at the excitement and rush of the day. She smiled back as they announced the winner of the race.

"Yeah...we'll need to talk about that... You're coming home now, right?" He meant it more as a statement than a question, but the young girl gave him a hesitant look.

"...Actually...I was going to wait for Blitz and Chase. We're going to get some ice cream and maybe hang out at the mall or something," she replied with a smile.

Sara could sense Shadow tensing at the thought and pulled their son from his shoulders. "That's nice. How long are you going to stay out?"

"Ohhh I don't know...ten, maybe? I have my cell phone!" Maria quickly held up the pink Katana III. It had small fake rhinestones adorning it in a heart pattern around the front display. She'd quickly customized her birthday gift and had all the important numbers and her friends entered into it.

Sara looked to Shadow; it was his move now. "...Fine... Ten. But I expect you home then...ten sharp."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Yes, Daddy! I'll try to be on time," she said in a sarcastic yet innocent tone.

"Hey, Cuz! Ready for that ice cream?" Blitz smirked.

"You bet!" Maria called after him, and the two disappeared into the crowd.

Shadow lost sight of her, and with the award ceremony done with, even Chase was out of sight. Lucky bastard….