Chapter One
"Mia," the little girl walked through their home searching for her sister. "Mia are you here?" She started to worry. She ran to the top of the stairs and stared down at the back of her sibling. "Mia?" Her sister walked away and the little hedgehog fell to her knees and started to sob. "You can't leave." She fell to the floor, hard, and then, black.
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"Ah, ouch," Maria groaned after hitting the steel floor of the spacecraft. She staggered up and walked over to the control panel looking out the window.
"Shit!" she cried as she ran back to a small room off the main area on the shuttle. The ground, she saw, was coming towards her quickly and she'd guessed the little room was some sort of "safe box".
Not 30 seconds later, the ship had crashed and she had been buried under a large amount of rubble. She struggled to come out but soon everything went black.
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A short ways away, the Chaotix felt the odd disturbance.
"What the--...what was that?" Vector said loudly removing his headphones from his ears.
"I don't know. I'll go check it out." Espio said standing up from his seat on the floor and walking towards the door.
"I'll come with." Espio gave him an annoyed look but nonetheless, Mighty followed him out the door and they were both soon out of sight.
A few minutes later, they had reached the site of the crash.
"Whoa," Mighty said as Espio slid down the side of the small crater the shuttle had created in the ground. Mighty followed as soon as he realized Espio wasn't standing by him anymore.
Espio hastened off in one direction as Mighty scurried through the pieces of metal. He walked about slowly, searching for anything interesting.
"I don't think anyone could've survived this," he said picking up a small piece of metal and throwing it back down.
Espio kept looking until he saw something dreadful. He stopped and walked closer to the smaller pile of damaged materials.
"Mighty, get over here!"
"What happe--." Mighty stopped speechlessly.
"Help me get this stuff off," Espio told Mighty knowing that he saw someone buried under all the metals and cables. They made quick work of removing the items.
"You think he's okay?" Mighty asked as he lifted a final sheet of steel from the body.
"You mean she?" Espio said turning the girl over so he could listen for a heartbeat. Lowering his head to her chest, he heard the slightest of thumps.
"A girl?" Mighty said looking at the figure lying on the ground.
"We need to take her back home." Espio said lifting the girl gently to his chest and cradling her limp form in his arms.
"She's alive?"
"Barely. Come on."
"Right." Mighty said following Espio quickly back to the house.
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"Where are those two? It can't take this long just to investigate a little rumble." Vector said sounding semi-annoyed.
"Hey, here they come!" Charmy said as he pointed out the window at the two walking hastily towards the door. "And they brought someone with them."
Vector stood up and walked over to the door. "What do ya mean they brought someone with them?" he said opening it as they walked in.
"See? A pretty, girl someone." Charmy said smiling, not sure of what was going on yet.
Espio rushed in with Mighty close behind and he walked directly upstairs to a bedroom laying the girl down on the bed. Vector and Charmy soon showed up in the doorway. They walked in and stood around the bed as they started asking questions. Charmy looked extremely worried.
"What happened to her? Is she going to be okay?" Charmy asked.
"What did you guys do?" Vector asked looking at Mighty. Espio was busy. He was pressing around her ribs and on her arms. He saw a large gash on her right upper arm.
"Nothing. That little shake we felt was a space craft hitting ground."
"A shuttle crash? How bad?" Vector asked.
"Very bad. She was under a lot of wreckage when Espio found her."
"She's going to be alright...isn't she Espio?" Charmy asked and started to tear up. Espio stood up and put a hand to his mouth with his finger curled at his lips. He then walked off and went into a different room. Charmy flew up and sat by the girl's head. He put a finger to the teardrop shaped gem in her forehead, "What's that, Mighty?" he asked thinking Mighty would maybe know being he was quite intelligent.
"I'm not sure. Maybe some cultural tradition?" he said shrugging as Espio returned holding a bandage.
"Man, she's in pretty bad shape." Espio rushed to the girl. "What's that for?" Vector asked before really thinking about it.
"What do you think?" He paused as he went to the bed and sat at her side. Charmy flew up away from the girl and hovered above the end. Espio lifted the girl up so she was almost sitting. Her upper body was still slanted, though. "She broke a few of her ribs. If they aren't wrapped they won't heal properly and they may puncture her lungs."
"And look who's the doctor now." Vector said irritated.
"No, he's right." Mighty countered Vector's comment.
They all sat quietly for another few minutes as Espio wrapped the girl's torso in bandages. Mighty and Vector exchanged a few glances. Charmy watched worriedly as Espio proceeded.
When he finished he placed her gently back on the bed and covered her up. The others just looked at each other nervously.
Espio suddenly stood up and walked out of the room. Mighty looked at the girl then to Vector, and followed Espio, leaving a good distance between him and the obviously troubled chameleon. Vector watched as Charmy went to his previous seat at her head. Vector left him alone and went downstairs to listen to some more of his music. Charmy settled down at her side and soon dozed off.
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Outside, Espio sat cross-legged by a large tree. Mighty had followed him and was wondering what was wrong. As he walked up to him cautiously, he sat down beside him and started to converse.
"What's up?" Mighty spoke not breaking Espio's concentration in the slightest.
"Nothing," he paused and opened an eye at him, "why do you ask?"
"Ah, no reason really. It's just, you up and outted there pretty quick. Anything wrong?"
"No." was Espio's simple reply.
"You sure?"
"Did I not just answer?" Espio sounded slightly angry. Mighty just backed off knowing that Espio was a bit short-tempered.
"Alright...alright." Mighty said as he leaned back against the tree with his hands behind his head. There was a long period of silence. They did not say anything nor did they look at each other.
The subtle and cool breeze was calming to Espio. Along with the comforting surroundings, he was pretty much at peace. He assumed Mighty hadn't noticed, but he was wrong.
"Nice night, huh?" he said interjecting Espio's thoughts. Espio did not say anything in response, just sat there. "Makes ya want to stay forever, doesn't it?" he added and looked at the chameleon, smiling, who, after a second or two returned the gesture. He avoided eye contact with the armadillo, though.
"Yeah, yeah it does." he said raising his head to look at the stars in the clear, blue sky. Then he lowered his head and looked at his hands.
Mighty wanted badly to help Espio somehow, but didn't want to intrude where he wasn't wanted.
"It was a good thing. What you did back there. Takes a lot of sense and courage."
"Hmm."
The time went on, long and comforting. Espio and Mighty continued to talk the night hours away, not really wondering how long it had been, or what time it was. It didn't seem to matter.
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"Amy, you have to be quiet, okay?"
"Otay." The little hedgehog watched curiously as her sister threw various things into a metal box. "What are you doing, Mia?"
"I'm, going away. I-I can't stay here."
Everything went black suddenly and Maria opened her eyes slowly to a dark room. She hurt from top to bottom and had no idea why.
"What happened?" she thought feeling the pain in her body. She felt the bandages on her stomach. She groaned as she felt a shot of pain up her side. She looked around and was caught off guard by a young bee lying next to her. "Where am I?" she thought to herself. She just lay down, thinking deeply.
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It had been a couple of hours since Mighty had sat down with Espio and he was heading back into the house to check on the girl. Espio remained outside, as he had wanted to clear his head.
When Mighty reached the room, he saw her laying on the bed. It looked as if she were asleep. He walked up to the bed pulling a chair next to it and sat down. He looked at the girl, and considering it was dark, thought her eyes were closed. Starting to push the stray hairs from her face, his arm was suddenly clutched in her hand.
Mighty stood up from the chair quickly. He refused to show any sign of fright in him. She did not release any control on his arm, though. He stared down at her. Her eyes were shaded by the darkness and he could only see the gem, glistening in the little light there was. He thought maybe talking to her would cause her to free his arm.
"You know, I would fight you now, but considering the," he paused and looked over her body, "condition, you're in." She tightened her grip on his arm suddenly and he held back the cries of pain he knew were there.
"What do you want?" She spoke still not looking up at him or releasing his arm. She sounded angered, or pained.
Mighty looked down concerned and said with a slight smile, "I'd settle for your name."
She shot an odd gaze up at him. Her eyes were visible now. They were such a bright green. They seemed to send light to the rest of the room. They were so engulfing, it made Mighty feel, different. She then slowly and uneasily loosened her grip from his forearm. She looked away and answered Mighty's request quietly. "Maria."
"Maria, nice name." He wanted to sound comforting without sounding too soft. He didn't want to risk her doing something regrettable, or him for that matter. He had actually thought her name was quite beautiful. He slowly pulled the chair back to the bedside and sat in it. Slouching, arms crossed at his chest. He rubbed his arm a little feeling the after pain of her grasp.
She saw this and looked up at him.
"I'm, sorry, about that." Very quietly, but sincerely, she apologized. He looked at her a little more focused.
"Hey, don't worry about it." He shrugged and looked back at her, "I've had worse." He paused and thought for a moment on how he could maybe pry a little bit. "You've got a strong grip though." He let out a small laugh. "Really strong." He said stroking his arm again.
"Yeah, so I've been told." She replied simply and stared back off to the ceiling.
"Is that so. You do that often?" He was a little worried about how she would react but he had a hunch she wouldn't care too much about his comment. Despite his direct question though, she did not answer.
Maria looked back at Charmy lying next to her and asked still quietly, "Who's this little one?"
Mighty looked over to see whom she was asking about.
"Oh. That's Charmy, he lives here with us."
She looked at him a little longer and then turned her head to Mighty.
"Us? Who's 'us'?"
Mighty looked at her. 'At least she talks' he thought to himself.
"Uh, well there's me and him, then there are a couple other guys. Nothing to worry about, I assure you." She let out a second of laughter accompanied by a small smile. Mighty was glad to see this. At least she wasn't totally emotionless.
"Trust me, I've no problem with it." She sat there. Maria couldn't stand being stuck like this. Lying there immobile, kept inside, she hated it. She wanted to move, being strapped down was never one of her pass times. She looked around a bit just to observe everything. She saw the small stand next to the bed and the door on the opposite side of the room. There was quite a lot of space in the room. Then she saw the window. It looked like a great view. She could see the moon and the stream of light coming in from the white sphere. She wanted to do something other than stare at something. So she brought something to attention, attempting to start a conversation. "So, I believe you still owe me a name." She gazed up at him. He looked down at her.
"Mighty, my name's Mighty."
"Do you know what time it is by chance?" Maria felt it was late, or early depending, but nonetheless it was dark. She was not tired though, which honestly was no surprise.
Mighty thought for a moment then tilted his head to the side and said, "Not sure. I'd guess probably 'round eleven."
"Huh, aren't you normally asleep this late?" She felt weird talking to him, not necessarily uncomfortable, just weird. Considering the fact she had just gained the knowledge of his name and she had never met him before, odd feeling but she felt she could talk to him at the time. It was late and he seemed nice.
"Yes, aren't you?" His comment caught Maria by surprise.
"Actually, no." She looked at him, in the eyes as he persisted.
"So what, you have no night where you come from?"
"Oh no, we sleep. Well, they sleep." He looked at her with those 'what are you talking about' eyes. Only then did she continue. "I sleep, but not in a normal way. My friend said that maybe I had a sleeping disorder, psychological he said. I will fall asleep, eventually, but it will be four in the morning before I do. I will dream and rest, for about a half an hour, then wake up and I'll be completely awake as where normal people need multiple hours." She looked over at Charmy yet again and pointed. "I can't remember the last time I slept like that." There was a grin on her face when she turned to Mighty.
"Yeah, but kids that young sleep like rocks anyway," he said feeling more comfortable with her.
"Really, how old is he?"
"Six, young by my standards."
"That is pretty little. Close age to my" she paused and turned her head away for a moment then back to Mighty, "sister." She blinked her eyes and a sudden image flashed in her mind. Her sister, Amethyst, she saw her young sibling and before she could think about it, it was gone. "Amazing you brought him in like this."
Mighty looked at her not knowing exactly what to say. There was a short silence between the two of them. They didn't really have anything more to say to each other. Maria wanted to though. What could she say, but Mighty beat her to the chance.
"You need anything? Something to drink or some aspirin maybe?"
"You shouldn't trouble yourself over me, Mighty."
"Trouble. It's no trouble, not at all. So do you want something?"
She smiled and looked up at him.
"I honestly don't like people treating me like a," she stopped, trying to think of the word she felt. Mighty finished for her though.
"A princess?"
"Yeah. That's it." She smiled and closed her eyes. She did not sleep. She just shut her eyes to block any sight. Just to see darkness, but she continued to talk. "So, when do you think I'll be able to get up out of this bed?"
Mighty smiled, and leaned back in his chair again.
"I'd say by next week. Depends though," he said this with a smile.
"See, I think otherwise." She smiled opening her eyes again and looking at him.
"Is that so? So when do you think you'll be up and about?"
"Hmm, I'd say by tomorrow morning." She said with a smile and opened her eyes at him. She was curious as to why he seemed to care so much. "You know you don't have to stay here with me. I would recommend getting some rest."
"Aw, it's no big deal. Staying up late isn't a rare thing for me." The smile stayed on her face as she looked back at Charmy.
"They do sleep like rocks don't they." She let out a laugh and looked at Mighty. "So he's like a brother to you, huh?" It was something that caught him by surprise but got him thinking a little bit. Mighty noticed that her attitude had changed dramatically since he walked in. She was more cheery and happy, maybe being more of her true self now.
"Yeah, I guess." He thought a second longer, he noticed it really was a little like that. "It's kinda like that." She closed her eyes again and turned her head to face the ceiling. She was taking in the total black and the silence. She was quiet and calm until she saw something...or remembered.
"Maria, you can't just leave like this. You're going to leave Amy and Misty here alone? What do you think they're going to do when you tell them, they're seven years old Maria!"
"I don't need crap from you, Eli."
"They don't have anyone else, you know that as well as anybody. You're all those girls have."
"They have you, don't they?" She bowed her head and turned her head halfway around, "Besides, that's all my fault."
"Why do you do this, Maria? Why does everything have to be your problem? None of that was your fault, you know that!"
"Don't you get it, Eli? I'm the one who caused it to happen. I'm the one who caused all the pain. It's because of me they're all gone!" She turned back around with her back to Eli.
"Maria, what do you think this is going to prove? You leaving and pretending you were never here is just going to magically solve everything?"
"Eli, don't."
"What are you planning on doing? You can't expect everything that happened to suddenly disappear. Your parents are gone. Natashia and Neamiah are gone. There is no bringing them back, Maria!"
Maria stood still, her back still facing Eli. She balled her fists and closed her eyes hard. She spoke very softly, "Eli, stop."
Maria's eyes shot open and she sat up quickly, feeling the pain shoot up her side and across her torso. She did not have the concentration to worry about it though. Her mind and her heart were racing.
"Maria, are you--?" Mighty stood up and went over to her as he was cut off. He was about to put his hands around her to hold her up safely but she stopped him holding his arms back.
"I'm," she paused and looked around the room as is if she were trying to see something. Mighty tried to follow her gaze. She looked at Charmy again, still sleeping next to her.
"Maria?" She looked at Mighty with sad yet, angered eyes. Stepping out of the bed carefully, as to not wake up the still sleeping bee, she walked to the window and looked out. "What are you looking for?"
"I have to go." She opened the window and looked back at Mighty as he spoke.
"Um, excuse my plain speaking, but I really don't think it's a smart choice for you to run away." She suddenly saw a picture of Eli flash in front of her eyes. She blinked a couple of times still not sure if she had just been dreaming or imagining it. Without attempting to say anything else she started out the window but stopped at Mighty's powerful voice. "Maria, you can't jus--."
"Mighty, you do not have to worry yourself over me. I just have--" she stopped and stared at his worry a few more seconds then turned around and was about to move off the roof. She turned around once more to see Mighty's face. "I--," she was at a total loss of words. She had completely lost her train of thought, and she was more worried about the visions she was having. "I need to be alone." With that she turned around and jumped off the edge of the roof, plunging to the ground.
She landed safely on the surface and crouched looking back to the window she had just left. Bowing her head she stood up and ran off in the direction where she was drawn.
Mighty stood watching her leave. "Watch yourself," he whispered as he turned back to Charmy who unbelievably was still in a deep sleep. He leaned against the windowsill, thinking, wondering. Waiting for anything to occur to him. Questions crowded his mind. He closed his eyes and stayed comfortably against the wooden plank, when all out of nowhere he heard a voice, "she'll be back." He opened his eyes and shot a glance at Charmy who was still resting. Continuing to search the room, he only saw nothingness. Who had said that, or was it just his imagination? He just blew it off and continued to drift in thought.
