CHAPTER 2

"You probably saved his life, Maria."

"I did?"

Maria had managed to call a few scientists into the lab from her yell. They quickly pushed her out of the lab and shut the doors, shouting to each other using long, complicated words. Her grandfather and John had arrived not a moment too late to prep Shadow for emergency surgery.

"So...what exacally happened?" Maria asked.

"Something must have happened during the last surgery, when we were trying to fix his voice. We'll figure out what happened soon." Her grandfather sighed. "Well, this might take a while. I wouldn't be waiting around for five or six hours."

Maria nodded. "Promise to get me when you're done?"

"Promise,"

Her grandfather turned and entered the lab, pulling on a pair of surgical gloves as he went. Maria watched him go and the headed down the hall, unsure of what to do.

Five or six hours were a long time.

During that time she read more of her 'scary' books but they still didn't scare her in the slightest. In fact, a couple of them came off as funny.

Especially the one about a sea monster. There were no such things like that on Earth. But up here in space, there was always the possibility of meeting an alien race. Maria wondered if there were any aliens, even if they were single celled organisms. It would still be awesome.

Ditching the books, she listened to music for a while. When she got a slight headache, she returned to reading. After finishing a book and not wanting to start another, she paced her room. Back and fourth. Over and over.

Only three hours had gone by.

Thank God for the Internet in times of waiting.

XxXxXxXx

"That damage was …unbelievable. How could we have overlooked that?" John wondered out loud. "or did he do that himself?"

"it was because of so many operations done on his throat before." Naiomi Young said. "We've torn through so much it's permanently weakened. The coughing didn't help either, though."

The head professor cast a sad look at his creation, which was back to being connected to every machine in the lab. Just when he thought that he would be strong enough to go without being monitored for a day at the least… this happens. He wondered if it would continue the rest of its life this way; barely conscious and unable to know little more than the lab. G.U.N. would shut them down for good.

"But this time there's a chance we can save his voice," He said softly. "the bleeding was caused from a damaged blood vessel that was causing him to be unable to speak. His voice may be able to pull through now."

"I somewhat doubt that." John muttered. "that was …what, the tenth operation to get him to make any sound at all?"

"Even if he can't speak, Gerald, he's still far more alive than the other projects." Young said. "Everyone's got to give you credit for that."

The professor sighed. "We'll just have to see how this turns out. I'm going to get Maria. I promised her I'd let her in after we were done."

"You know, if anyone could coax a sound out of him, it'd be her." John smiled grimly. "That girl is amazing."

"She takes after her grandfather." Young added.

"She looks just like her mother." Gerald sighed again. "Every time I look at her I'm reminded of my daughter. Before…" He trailed off.

Young and John didn't need to hear the rest. They already had, long ago. Maria still didn't know the real story of what happened to her parents. But of course, it was mostly the government's fault. Opening fire in a place like that…killing all but the smallest soul…

He shook his head. Nothing would bring his daughter back. He was lucky that his granddaughter was still alive.

"I'm going to get her." He said stiffly before heading out of the lab.

XxXxXxXx

Maria really couldn't believe that Shadow was back to the stage he had been before. A small machine beside the table monitored his heartbeat and breathing, which was slightly slower than usual. But it wouldn't pose any probablems if they kept a careful watch over him. Other machines that Maria couldn't even name were assembled in a straight line beside the table, each one having some sort of monitoring function.

"Will he ever be strong enough to explore the ARK with me?" Maria asked softly.

"…I don't know." Her grandfather answered after a long pause.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Just make sure nothing like that happens again." The professor turned away from the table and headed to his computer. "We were so close…"

Maria carefully arranged some pillows around Shadow's head, hoping to at least make him more comfortable. He didn't acknowledge her presence even in the slightest.

"Why don't you go and see if Young needs any help in the main lab." Her grandfather said after a few seconds. "She said she was going to see if she could make some sort of invisible jacket. Pretty far-fetched, if you ask me. But she's devoted to her work."

"Sure," Maria nodded and headed out after giving him a hug. "see you soon."

When he was sure that she was long gone, John leaned against the wall and said softly, "G.U.N. called. The Commander himself."

"What does he want?" Gerald groaned.

"He said he's going to come and see what we've done so far. If he thinks we're too far behind…or if the project is incomplete…he said he'll give the order to destroy it."

The professor paled. "He's not stepping foot in this lab. Not while I'm here."

"If you refuse, he said he'll send up armed guards and destroy anyone who stands in his way."

"Maria would be devastated."

"We all would." John cast a glance at Shadow, who hadn't moved an inch. "We've come so far this time. Believe me, I'll do anything I can to delay him."

"When is he coming?" the professor asked.

"In a week. We've still got time." John said, his eyes widened as if to say 'Come on, we can't just give up!'

"All right. We'll do what we can manage." Gerald sighed. "This isn't going to be easy."

XxXxXxXx…

Over the next three days the scientists worked from sunrise to sunset, trying desperately to complete the nearly completed project with so little time. Their efforts began to pay off on the fourth day.

"I have a surprise for you." The professor said to his granddaughter on the evening of the fourth day.

"A puppy?" Maria joked.

"Oh, even better."

They entered both the lab and the room in the back. Shadow glanced at them with mild interest, coming out of a deep sleep. Maria stood there with her mouth hanging open, amazement on her face as she whispered, "You did it. I knew you could!"

"He still can't speak, so that's where you come in." her grandfather smiled. "Just try to get him to say something. Anything. We're not sure at this point if he really can't talk or if he just doesn't want to."

The two of the crossed over to the table where Shadow was trying to go back to sleep, nestled among the pillows. The professor stroked his quills softly, making Shadow's red eyes flutter open slightly.

"Shadow, this is Maria." He said. "When you're ready, she wants to show you around here."

Shadow's gaze settled on Maria. She gave him a gentle smile, which he returned. "Hi, Shadow. I've been waiting a long time to talk to you."

Shadow yawned in reply. In more ways than one, he reminded Maria of a cat more than a hedgehog.

"A bit later today we're going to test to see if the information we uploaded in his brain had taken effect. We'll give him a couple of math probablems, put him in a maze or something equally challenging; see if he can figure it out." The professor said, watching as his creation yawned again and then settled down for an extended nap. "It shouldn't be any probablem. You should have seen him earlier today…John brought some cake from the dining hall in here and then misplaced it. We found the plate, but the cake had disappeared."

"Did he eat it?" Maria giggled.

"All of it. That piece was as big as my head."

"Oh no!"

"That wasn't the worst part." Her grandfather sighed. "He isn't meant to be eating cake or anything sugary like that. He threw it up a bit later after turning a nasty shade of green. Poor thing wouldn't stop shaking."

"Not a very good first meal." Maria agreed, scratching Shadow behind his ears.

"At least we know that he can throw up." Her grandfather sighed. "That was not very fun."

Maria's giggling turned into laughter. "What's so funny?" Her grandfather asked.

"You and John." She replied. "You're always yelling at me not to bring food in here, but there you go, bringing the worst possible thing within reach of your completed project! I'm ashamed!"

"Well, we learned our lesson if that means anything to you." Her grandfather growled. "We just hope he doesn't develop an addiction to sugar."

"That's the last thing we need. A hyper hedgehog." Maria laughed.

"Now if we could only get you away from the cake…" her grandfather muttered, a huge smile on his face. "this place would finally be as close to normal as it can be."

"Not gonna happen!"

"I figured that."

Shadow turned himself over onto his other side, annoyed from all the noise. The professor shooed Maria out of the lab and then followed her to the dining hall after suddenly developing a craving for cake.

XxXxXxXx

A few hours after her grandfather returned to the lab, Maria followed. She found him and John trying to get Shadow to stop ripping the wires they were attaching to his head off.

"Oh, come on! We need to see how your brain works when you do math!" John wailed. "Just leave them alone!"

Shadow was apparently reaching the end of his patience because he tore the remaining wires off himself and stumbled to the door.

"Catch him, Maria!" her grandfather shouted.

Maria reached out and tried to grab his arm, but Shadow jumped backwards and into a monitor, sending it crashing to the ground. He darted to his feet and managed to slip out the door, startled from the sudden noise.

"Oh, great." John growled. "Maybe we should have uploaded a map of this place in his brain and let Maria instead teach him about space or something equally interesting."

"What are we doing standing around here for? After him!" the professor flung open the door and darted into the hall.

"Might as well call security." John sighed, picking up a phone nearby and dialing a number. After a few seconds he muttered, "Yes, Project S.H.A.D.O.W. is lost somewhere. Do not harm him or you'll have to report to Gerald. What?... Oh, what the—you know what? Just catch him and bring him back to the lab!"

"Guess I better get out there too." Maria left, leaving John to rant for a while about how much money it took to keep the lab going this long.

Of all the places aboard ARK to hide that were nearby, the storage room for the lab seemed the most protecting. She herself had hidden in there numerous times during random hide and seek matches with anyone who had a second to play. She ran down the hall for a while until she came to the door. Had it been slightly ajar when she passed by it earlier?

Maria pushed open the door and entered into the darkened room. Of all the places on ARK, this was the one that wasn't installed with lights. Who designed this place anyway? Maria sighed and picked up a nearby flashlight and switched it on.

"Shadow? Are you in here? Don't worry, no one's going to hurt you!" She called softly, but nothing answered her.

She made her way further in the room, avoiding tall IV stands and surgical tables. Why there was so much useless equipment made her wonder…

"Come on, Shadow. Please, if you're in here…they just wanted to make sure the information they uploaded in your brain was working fine. I…um…I have cake."

Maria slapped herself. 'I have cake.' REALLY? Was that the best she could come up with?

Apparently.

Maria jumped backwards as something darted in front of her. She dropped the flashlight, briefly throwing light on the floor. She picked it back up and glanced where Shadow had run.

"Come on, Shadow, please."

She headed to the back of the room, where he was slouched against the wall, his red eyes wide. He seemed cornered. Maria sighed and sat down on the dusty floor. "I'm not going anywhere, ok? And I swear, I will not hurt you."

Shadow's gaze never left her as she aimed the flashlight at the ceiling, lighting up the room somewhat. After a few seconds he took a couple of steps towards her and then retreated one, just in case. Maria pretended she didn't notice him and drew in the dust.

Before she knew it, he was nearly standing in front of her. Shadow knelt down and mimicked what Maria was doing. She glanced up at him and he stopped. "You like drawing too?" She asked softly.

Her eyes drifted to what he had drawn. But it wasn't exacally a picture.

Hello, Maria.

"Well, at least I know you can write. Not only that, but write up-side down." Maria said in awe. "Guess that information got uploaded successfully."

Shadow wrote some more. With the exception of a backwards 'e', he wrote:

I want to get out of the lab.

"I bet you do," Maria sighed. "but you can't until my grandfather's absolutely certain that no other complications will arise."

What is this place?

"It's called the ARK." Maria said. "And I won't tell you more until you go back to the lab and confirm my grandfather's thoughts that you're fine."

Shadow paused for a second and then moved to where a good patch of dust had settled. He began writing some more.

Can I have cake?

Maria unexpectedly burst into laughter. "if you go back to the lab. Only after, though and only a little."

Fine. But after they're done with me… I want to see this entire place.

"Sounds good to me." Maria stood up. "Come on. They're probably pulling their hair out over you. And…can you talk?"

Shadow opened his mouth but no sound came out. He started coughing instead. Maria just nodded. "Don't worry. We'll figure something out."

They exited the room together and headed back to the lab.

XxXxXxXx

"Brainpower is extraordinary…exceeds any human's." Maria watched as her grandfather gaped at the readouts on his computer. "He's probably the smartest one onboard the ARK."

Maria turned to where Shadow was sitting at a small table nearby, scribbling away at some complicated math probablems that she herself couldn't make heads or tails of. So far he had gotten them all right.

"Well…I think that does it for the math portion." The professor checked over Shadow's answers with a calculator. Fifteen minuets later he nodded approvingly. "Well done."

Shadow started pulling at the wires on his head again but the professor stopped him with a strict look. "Not like that, you're going to break them! Anyway, we've got one more test for you. I had John design a maze for you, one of the most complicated ones I've ever seen."

Shadow hissed in annoyance.

"I know, you really hate this. But afterwards you have all the free time you could possibly want."

XxXxXxXx

"Now that was incredible."

"You're telling me."

"…Wow,"

Maria could only laugh.

John and her grandfather were reviewing the time it took Shadow to dart through the maze with astonished looks on their faces. He had gone through one of the most complicated mazes that both Gerald and John had ever seen…in twenty five seconds.

But that feat had rendered him light-headed and gasping for breath. Maria knelt next to where he had collapsed and handed him a glass of water, which he guzzled down. "Good job." She said.

"Well, Shadow. We're done with you here. If you have any energy left, go and explore with Maria. But you're always free to turn in for the night." John gently pried the wireless electrodes off Shadow's head and chest. "You did very well today."

"Feel up to it, Shadow?" Maria asked. "We could get cake." She added quietly.

Shadow's ears perked up but quickly drooped again. He looked like he would barely have enough energy to return to the lab for the night.

"Oh, don't worry. There's a whole day ahead of us tomorrow." Maria helped him to his feet and lead him back to the lab, leaving John and her grandfather to marvel all they wanted.

As Shadow was settling down in his nest of pillows and now blankets, he mimed writing and pointed to the professor's desk. Maria grabbed a sheet of unused paper and a pencil and handed it to him.

You owe me cake.

"That I do." Maria admitted. "But only a little. I don't want you to throw up again."

How big is this place?

"Very big. I even get lost in here sometimes."

What's Earth like?

Maria hesitated. "I don't know." She admitted. "I haven't been down there long enough to remember. I was brought here when I was very little."

Shadow nodded and handed her the paper and pencil after writing: Good night.

"Good night." Maria echoed, exiting the lab and turning off the lights.

She caught her grandfather in the hall. "Maria, wait a second." He said. "there's something I have to tell you."

"What?" She asked.

"Tomorrow…the G.U.N. commander is going to come and see how far we got with Project S.H.A.D.O.W.. Just a warning…he is sort of paranoid about this whole experiment, so don't be joking around about what we do here. He's very literal."

"Sure thing." Maria said. "Good night, grandfather!"

"Good night,"

Maria practically skipped down the hall, eager for morning to come so she could show Shadow around the ARK.