Sonic chased after Shadow and grabbed him by the wrist. Shadow didn't take lightly to this and turned around to punch his blue rival in the face. Sonic managed to dodge again by letting go of the ultimate life form and jumped out of the way. Shadow growled at Sonic loudly, snarling like a hungry wolf.

"Woah! Calm down, Shadow! There must be another way. Perhaps if you did something different. Maybe Maria would survive!" Sonic said frantically, hoping Shadow wouldn't go through with the beating. Shadow snarled at him angrily in response.

"Maybe if you were to go back in time, and teleport your past self and Maria to somewhere on the ARK where they wouldn't be found… trick GUN into thinking you escaped, and then let your past self and Maria live on the ARK with each other forever."

"Hmm… a flawed plan, but with some refining, it could work nonetheless," Shadow said while in deep thought.

"So, you'll do it?" Sonic said in delight. Shadow narrowed his eyes at Sonic.

"No. I told you, it's not worth going back to save her!" Shadow exclaimed.

"But, you could live with her for longer!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Yes, Sonic. For 'longer', but not forever, as you so wrongly put it earlier. Then what would happen, hmm? I'd grow even more attached to Maria and it would be harder to come to terms with her death when she died of old age,"

"She's still be alive now, right? Humans live longer than 50-60 years. Go back and change the past now, and when you return Maria will be alive, and you can see her again."

Sonic got punched square in the face unexpectedly. The blue one grabbed his nose and fell back onto to the floor. Sonic looked up at Shadow as if to say 'Why the hell did you do that?'

"You're trying my patience, Faker. Be thankful I didn't snap your neck," Shadow said through gritted teeth.

Sonic stayed on the floor; his ears drooped to the sides of his head, realising that he'd wound Shadow right up. There was no turning back now.

"Sh-shadow, hear me out, alright?" Sonic said. Shadow hissed at the hedgehog on the floor, but proceeded to listen. "I only want you to be happy. I just don't think you're seeing the endless possibilities. You're only seeing it one way, that you'll only lose her again. But think of actually seeing her again, and being with her."

"No, Sonic. YOU'RE seeing it in the wrong way. If I did go through with your plan…"

Shadow and Maria of the past were transported to a quiet and secluded area of the ARK where no one would find them. Future Shadow proceeded to follow the plan. He appeared near a group of GUN soldiers and led them to the escape pod room. He pressed the eject button and disappeared via Chaos Control. GUN was led to believe that Shadow was in that pod, and that it combusted on the way down due to the fact that it was never found.

The terrified couple curled up in the corner of the dimly lit room they were in. No one would go there, or so they'd been assured by the mysterious hedgehog from the future. They could remain together forever.

Gun shots continued, screaming lasted for a while longer. Maria held Shadow tight and shook in terror. The hedgehog took the role of bravery and returned the embrace, while reassuring his loved on that she would be okay.

"Don't worry Maria, I'll protect you from those Soldiers, even if it kills me," Shadow whispered to her, not realising the irony of this promise and the fate he'd avoided.

The two of them lifted their heads when they heard the gunshots stop. All was silent. Shadow decided to take a brave step and check to see if GUN had left. He tiptoed out of the room and looked around to see where he was. He didn't recognise the area, so realised that he must have been on one of the lower decks of the ARK.

"Maria, we're safe down here, we can come out for now," Shadow called quietly. Maria slowly got up from the floor and trembled as she walked over to Shadow. She hugged him tightly. Shadow observed the sounds of ships driving off. "I think I hear the last of them leaving."

"So, we're safe? What about Grandfather?" Maria asked with tears in her eyes. Shadow sighed and looked down shamefully.

"I don't think he was spared," he said seriously, then looked to Maria, who was sobbing at the loss of her grandfather. "But, we still have each other. I understand that you're upset, and I give you every right to grieve. But remember, we still have each other and GUN can't get us now. We can live together without the worry of them coming to separate us."

Maria fell to her knees, Shadow stayed standing and wrapped his arms around her neck, resting his arms on her back.

"I'll be here for you every step of the way," Shadow assured.

The two of them gave it half an hour before they stepped out to the main floor of the ARK. They didn't want to risk getting caught by any sneaky remaining soldiers. To their delight, they found that they were alone.

Shadow respected that fact that Maria would not be her usual self for a long time, due to her losses. But at least he got to keep her. Maria's wellbeing was Shadow's only purpose, and it would have killed him emotionally to lose her. He wanted, so much, to say so many things to Maria, how much he loved her and how he would get her everything she wanted.

There were enough supplies to accommodate for hundreds of people for many years, so there were enough supplies to last Maria and Shadow for decades. The food was non-perishable goods such as dried pasta, and dried and tinned food, so it would last.

Shadow picked Maria up and cradled her in his arms. The hedgehog carried his much-loved companion to her bedroom and slowly set her down on the bed. Shadow kissed Maria on the forehead and let her rest. The loyal hedgehog sat beside her and comforted as she cried for the following two days.

By then, he was ravenously hungry, but Maria denied food whenever Shadow offered it, so the hedgehog didn't eat either. There were dark circles under his eyes, but he wanted to remain awake to attend to Maria's every need. He carried Maria to the toilet when she needed, but never went himself. He didn't need to. All he needed, was to remain by Maria's side. And now that those scientists and Gerald were out of the way, he could be with his closest family for every minute of every day.

They were like a couple of kids without their parents to tell them what to do, or young adults that moved out of their parent's house and experienced freedom. The scientists and other leading figures in the ARK always kept the two of them back from seeing each other whenever they could. Either Maria or Shadow would have testing to be done on them, but never at the same time, so they were separated for most of the week. But now they could be with each other as much as they liked.

The ARK was sterile, and if problems arose, then Shadow could fix them. He was smart enough. So, Maria could remain there for the rest of her life. And Shadow would remain by her side to attend to her every need. He would make sure that Maria had a long and happy life.

Years passed by quickly for Shadow. Maria grew from a pre-teen to a young adult. Her innocence and sisterly playfulness turned to maturity and motherly affection. Shadow still attended to her every need, but Maria enjoyed serving Shadow once in a while. Whenever Shadow looked back, it seemed as though the days had flown by like seconds, which panicked Shadow slightly. Would it only be a matter of time before it was all over?

From a young adult in her early 20s, Maria grew into a middle-aged woman, her original beauty and youthfulness slipping. But Shadow still loved her all of the same, after all, it wasn't her complexion that Shadow fell in love with, it was Maria's loving nature. But it worried him, nonetheless. Maria was getting to the last part of her life, and Shadow hadn't yet found a way to bring her to see the Earth below.

When Maria was 62, fifty years had passed, and the ARK received a visitor. As Shadow and Maria satin the observations room, looking over the big blue planet below, they heard footsteps. The two of them tensed up. Shadow rose to his feet and stood in front of Maria, so if anyone were to walk through the door, they would see Shadow first.

Unexpectedly to Shadow, a figure that looked a lot like Gerald walked in to see the hedgehog and the greying, frail ageing woman. Eggman gasped, so did Shadow.

"Who are you!?" the scientist exclaimed. "Why is a rodent like you standing in my grandfather's legacy!?"

"Hmph, we could ask you the same question," Shadow sneered. "This ARK belongs to Gerald Robotnik, Maria's grandfather. This place belongs to her as much as it belongs to you, if you are who you say you are."

"That woman is Maria Robotnik? But she's dead!" Eggman said in shock and stepped forward to look at her. Maria turned her head around to look at Ivo, fearful of what might happen.

"Who are you!?" Shadow yelled, becoming impatient with this intruder.

"I am Doctor Ivo Robotnik," he introduced himself. "You'll find that I'm closely related to Gerald, in terms of blood relations AND profession. I'm a scientist even greater than the old professor himself."

Shadow bared his teeth as the man begun to boast.

"I doubt you're better than him. After all, he created me, Project SHADOW," the hedgehog announced. Eggman had a look of true shock on his face.

"The long lost Project SHADOW. I had no idea you would be this… small, and… rodent like," Eggman said nervously, realising that his Grandfather's greatest creation looked a lot like his greatest adversary, Sonic. Shadow clenched the fists at his sides and began to growl.

"You have some nerve, coming here to insult me like that," Shadow snarled.

"Please, Shadow. I'm sure Ivo didn't mean it. After all, he is family," Maria said calmly. Shadow sighed and looked to the floor. Maria stood up, realising that it was safe to greet this person. The hedgehog stayed on guard just in case, ready to jump at the man and snap his neck if he tried anything. Maria walked over to Eggman to shake his hand. She was considerably shorter than him, being a weak ageing woman standing by a large man.

Shadow stood with a foul expression on his face with his arms crossed. He scowled and looked to the side when he realised that Maria had welcomed this man to the ARK with open arms. He wanted Maria to himself, and now this Ivo man would get in the way.

"What brought you here, Ivo?" Maria asked.

"Oh, my love for science and helping the world. If I was able to use our Grandfather's legacy, I'm sure I could continue his work. GUN wouldn't know a thing," Eggman said with a smile.

Shadow darted his eyes towards the doctor of science. Something wasn't right, there was a hint of dishonesty in Ivo's friendly tone.

"Please, go ahead! In fact, I'm sure Shadow can help you," Maria said. Shadow's mouth gaped open, Maria had just given the ARK over to this stranger.

"Maria! How do you know this guy is telling the truth!? He might not even be a Robotnik! He could even be a GUN soldier in disguise!"

"Oh, Shadow," Maria chucked, and she walked over to scuffle Shadow's quills with her hand. She looked him in the eyes. "I promise you this man is safe, and he can carry of Grandfather's work. Maybe make that cure. It's too late for me… but maybe someone else could use it."

That brought tears to Shadow's eyes. 'It's too late', for Maria. Her time was coming to an end, given a couple of decades she would be gone.

"If it's what you truly want… I'll do it, Maria. For you," Shadow said softly while holding her hands. He kissed one of her hands and left the room with Eggman. "Call me if you need, anything, Maria. I'll be by your side in a second."

"I'll be fine, Shadow. Don't you worry," Maria assured with a smile.

To be continued…

Lucy Labrador