The Other Ark Survivor
"I can't believe it..." the vixen said in pure astonishment.
The great train that towered high over many buildings, rolled slowly into the station made of pure steel. Samantha's tail had long ceased its swinging, as she peered up to the train holding the visage of a madman. What had her so shocked, wasn't the size of the train, or its speed, though that was otherworldly in its own right. No, what was so shocking, was the cargo it held. Right there, on an open train car, being held down by powerful straps alone, was the G.U.N. Silver Fish X-87. Samantha just couldn't believe it. Maria had actually stolen the massive spacecraft.
"Finally!" Eggman's voice echoed from behind.
He entered into the steel train station, sitting in this floating egg-shaped vehicle. Though his words were happy, his face wasn't so pleased, showing anger, as his vision squinted with this scowl.
"Maria! Where are you!?"
"I'm here..." the blonde agent answered, popping up from a hidden end of the Silver Fish, "Don't blow your gasket, Ivo..."
She leaped up and off the Egg Train, landing on the metal platform before her. She didn't even make it a few feet, before Ivo flew up to meet her. She glared forward into her cousin's angry blue eyes, shooting him a glare of equal intensity.
"Ivo..." she whispered, "I recommend you float away... or else..."
"Maria, dear..." he instead retorted, "Why did you blow up the missile yard?"
His answer took the form of her crossing her arms, whilst glancing away, with this angry yet hurt visage on her face.
"What's it too you...?" she asked, heartlessly.
"What's it to me!?" Ivo barked, "Maria! You blew up the entire missile yard! I know you hate G.U.N., I hate G.U.N.! But the entire nature of that mission, was to be silent and discrete! Not blow up everything! If you were planning on killing everyone there, then why sneak in the first place!?"
"Listen Ivo," he said, pushing past him, "I don't care for the missile yard, or G.U.N., or even your thoughts on the mission. It happened, I did it, so deal with it..." she faced the exit, and started off for it, "I brought the Silver Fish, that's all that matters. You and Samantha just need to start working."
Ivo glared at his cousin, as she stepped indifferently through the exit door. His lips let loose a growl, as his blue eyes snapped over to the yellow vixen at his side. Samantha at first didn't notice him looking at her, but then that hard feeling came over. She looked up slowly, seeing the dark blue eyes of a deranged madman glaring back. It made her curl up in fear.
The next thing she knew, Eggman was gripping her hair tightly, as he tugged her violently toward the Silver Fish. She winced in pain and yelled at him, but her actions did very little to bother the man holding her tightly. In fact, her actions made him growl at best.
"Just stop trying to fight me!" the future dictator roared, "The sooner we get done with this, the sooner we don't have to look at each other..."
As he continued to drag Samantha forward toward the Silver Fish, great metal clamps from the ceiling brought the space ship over to the station's hangar. His hand reached into his Egg Cart a moment later, and once it returned, he was holding a wrench.
Time to get cracking.
…
The doors to her room slid open. Her blue eyes danced up and down the room for a brief moment, before a needed groan escaped her lips. She took a few steps forward next, before collapsing onto her bed, face first. Head in pillow, she scrunched up her face, as her muscles calmed from the adventure they just went on. Her fingers found the edge of her head, unraveling the bands that held her golden strands in the pigtails. Once freed, her blonde blades were free to fall, doing so quickly. All on her bed, they spilled, while this sigh of relief left her.
She was so tired. And worst of, she didn't know why she was. Attacking the Missile Yard was hard, yes, but it took a bigger toll on her body than expected. She wanted so desperately to move, but her body wasn't allowing it. The mere thought of it, made her bones crack, it seemed. So for now, this bed would be her solace.
It didn't matter though. She needed this solace, craved it. It would give her time to think. Think on the past, the present, and the future. Soon, she would be on Ark, the place that started it all. The place where her life began, and where it was taken from her. The place where she was promised a cure. The place that haunted it so.
Throughout he entire G.U.N. career, the Ark was spoken about in feared tones. Despite being the planet's first and only space colony, the place was held in a more satanic light, being seen as a place of abhorrent evil. A place in where the greatest evils known to society were constructed and built. That's what she had been told, by Supervisor Chalmers, Warden Coffee, Samantha, and Commander Samson. Those were the lies they spread to her.
She rolled around on her back, so her blue eyes could stare to the ceiling. Her fingers moved up slowly, gripping her chest, as her lungs heaved up and down slowly. She pursed her lips and licked them, as her blue eyes closed shut.
What was Ark really? From what her flashbacks showed her, she used to live alongside people who cared for her. The greatest minds of the 20th century worked on that floating space station, trying their hardest to design cures, among other things. But it held a dark secret. Being used for insidious reasons, to create weapons, weapons G.U.N. asked for specifically. Why did they ask for weapons, only to turn around and fear them? Was it some kind of sick joke, or was there more to the army than even she knew? Both were understandable, to her, at least. She could accept both as true. Just the facts of her life.
Her eyes opened. She saw ruby eyes gazing back. The faded apparition of Shadow glared at her, his crimson orbs peering directly into her ocean blue ones. He said nothing, and she said nothing. They just stared.
What of him? What of the black hedgehog's whose life was taken, just so she could live? It was ironic, honestly. He was created to bring her life, and he did so, but only through his death. That wasn't meant to happen. They were supposed to be friends, friends forever. But because of G.U.N., that didn't happen. Now, he was just a vision, a ghost of her old life.
"Did I actually love you, Shadow?" she found herself asking, of the ghastly hedgehog.
"I don't know..." he answered, arms crossing, "I'm not sure if you loved me, or the cure..."
"Well," Maria giggled, hand reaching forward to touch the see-through mobian, "Of course I loved you Shadow. You were my best friend. My only friend."
"No..." Shadow answered, "I wasn't your only friend."
He brought his head down, while his eyes closed. Maria's eyes closed too, once a heavy warmth lied on her chest. She glanced down through her slit eyes, seeing Shadow hug her close, as he closed shut his eyes.
"Remember when we used to sleep like this?" he asked, bringing up old times.
"Yeah..." Maria answered, "And you used to get my night-gown dirty with your black and red furs. It always pissed me off..."
Both of them chuckled lightly. It was the first time in a long while, where Maria did such a thing.
"But..." she whispered, "What other friend were you talking about, Shadow?"
She heard the hedgehog rustle, as he dug his deeper into her chest. Her blue eyes started to shine, as she stared down upon him.
"He had... silver hair..." he answered, "And these... different colored eyes... I didn't know him well but... he hated me..." he brought his face up, so his ruby eyes could stare into her blue eyes, "Why did he hate me, Maria...?"
And just like that, she was back on the Ark. Now, in her twelve-year-old body, wearing her sunflower patterned night-gown, as this hedgehog rubbed one of his eyes, as these tears fell from them. His other hand was holding tenderly upon hers, as his face was one of sadness, confusion, and displeasure.
She had only left her room briefly, just to grab herself a glass of water. That's when she found him like his. Curled in a ball, on the floor, face having these emotions he had never felt before. The emotion known as sadness. Being the friend she was, she met the hedgehog's touch, bringing him out of his depression, but only barely.
"Maria..." he called again, "What is hatred?"
The world infuriated the girl so much. Who was teaching Shadow such things? Hatred? It wasn't a word she wanted in his vocabulary. It was a vile thing, something evil. Those who hated, should be hated, if that makes any sense.
"Why did you say that?" she asked, trying her hardest to hold the resentment she was feeling.
The black and red hedgehog gazed up, and peered hard into her eyes. The sight of those beautiful red orbs of his, quivering with sadness and pain, made her so riled up.
"Hatred is..." she began, hoping this would satiate the hedgehog's need for knowledge, "Is... wrong... oh so very wrong... When someone dislikes something or someone, so much, they just can't stand it. Its an intense disliking, Shadow..."
He cocked his head to one side.
"Do you... hate anything?" he asked.
"Of course not..." she answered, "How could I hate anything?"
"Then..." he asked next, "Does anyone hate me?"
His question made her so angry. She was terrible at hiding it, so turning away from the hedgehog, she let her face fume with the rage she was feeling. Why was he asking such questions? She didn't want his mind muddled with thoughts of hatred, and other negative feelings. Not Shadow. Not her Shadow.
"Why are you asking this?" she asked instead, bringing her face back to meet his.
"Abraham..." Shadow whispered, "I... I think he hates me..." he gazed down in defeat, "That's why I wanted to know if... if... you hate me..." Maria felt he heart freeze in place, "He called me a monster, Maria, and Gerald a madman. Said he watched me be crafted by father and some demon spawn. He said I shouldn't be trusted. That's why I needed to know if... if you hated me. I'd probably hate me too if I was a distrustful being made my a madman and a demon..."
"DON'T SAY SUCH THINGS!" Maria barked, jolting the hedgehog up.
He stared at her, for it had been a while since he last saw such a show of force coming from his friend. It made her calm herself, for it was easy to get Shadow riled up like this. So, tugging lightly on his hand, she brought him away from this hall. They walked down the many halls of the colony, before she returned to that fluffy room that was her own. Sitting on her bed, she peered down to the red and black hedgehog, tapping her lap, she sent a signal to Shadow saying sit down. The hedgehog crawled along her bed, before sitting down on her legs. Upon doing so, Maria hugged close the hedgehog, closing her eyes as she thought on his words.
"I could never hate you, Shadow..." she whispered, "Not you... You're too important to me, for me to hate..." her eyes closed tighter, "And the thought of anyone hating you, is just something I can't stand... Not you, Shadow, you're too sweet for anyone to hate, to nice..."
Her lips pressed alongside his forehead, kissing him lightly. The touch ruffled his fur lightly, and did wonders for his mood.
"I see..." he whispered, "Then... nothing's wrong with me?"
"No, Shadow," the blonde girl giggled, "Not with you..."
Nothing's wrong with you.
Nothing's wrong with you.
Abraham.
Abraham Tower.
I wish you were as successful as our other Ark survivor...
"MADAME MARIA!"
The blonde agent sprang up, her thoughts of the past ruined by the robot's call. She peered up and around the room in quick intervals, before her eyes fell upon the blue-eyed, black and white, spherical body of Orbot. His image made her groan.
"Jeeves!" she growled, "What were you doing!?"
"You were sleeping, Madame Maria," he stated, floating back and forth, "But with all you have to go through, you'll need to be in tip-top shape for your Ark adventure! You know space is much different from Earth, Madame Maria, so I figured I'd prepare you for it..."
She squinted at his words, feeling the need to punch him square in the face. But he was right, she did need to prepare for the upcoming venture. There was no denying that. For a change, Jeeves was right.
"Alright, alright!" she yelled, getting up from her bed, "Let's go, Jeeves. I wanna hurry this up."
"Oh, yes, Madame Maria!" the robot responded with his usual cheeriness, "I'd never want to waste your time!"
He took the lead point, making his way out the door before she did. But the woman stopped right at the door. Laying her fingers on her temples, she saw images of Shadow, the Ark, and her little brother, Abraham.
And how he was on the Ark. The other Ark survivor.
…
She fastened the bolt before her so tightly. Her lab coat discarded, all she had on were her pants, her gloves, her bra, and that was it. No one told her the room was going to get this hot, if they did, she would have surely brought a muscle shirt. At least then she wouldn't be revealing so much of herself. Craziest of all, that madman Ivo seemed to be completely okay with this. He remained in the same hot clothing, welding steel upon steel. Though his face was covered by a welder's mask at the moment, she was sure he was scowling. He really didn't enjoy working around her.
It seemed as if, at any moment he could, he was insulting the vixen. Calling her a G.U.N. Geek, or a brat, or a bitch. Which, to be honest, that last one was correct seeing as she was a female dog, but she was sure he wasn't using it in the correct sense. It made her wonder why he held such resentment toward her. Had she done something to him in the past she wasn't sure about? Or was he just made at the way she treated Maria in the past? The vixen would love to say 'I was just following orders', but she knew any words on her part would only further anger the doctor beside her. So she kept to herself, or else.
As she securely fastened the nut into its place, she pulled back to get a better view of the Silver Fish. Maria was right. Working together with Ivo was ten times as fast as working alone. The old spacecraft was being redesigned in record time. It would be operable in no time at all. If only she wasn't working with such a crazy terrorist.
"You!" Ivo yelled, gaining her eyes, "You stupid G.U.N. Geek, what are you doing!? Get back to work!"
She froze up at first, before returning to the Silver Fish at her front. Opening up the door, she stepped into the spacecraft. It wasn't the biggest, especially compared to those rockets being currently developed by places such as NASA or G.U.N. as of now, but it was all they had. Some of the panels within had been dented or removed altogether, making her mission a bit harder. Crouching down near one, she started messing with the wires beneath said removed panel. It may have seemed pointless, but nothing is every pointless to her.
For the next hour or two, she worked on the wires in complete silence. That was ended when Ivo announced,
"Finally! Lunch time!"
She poked her head through the Silver Fish's exit, seeing Eggman float around in his Egg Cart, with a bag of pork rinds and a sandwich in his midst. So elated, his face was, as he started slamming food in his maw. Gazing beyond him, she saw groups of his Badniks holding more food. If he kept eating like that, he was going to get fat. And that's not an educated guess because she's a scientist, that's just the straight up truth.
Samantha turned around to continue her work, but laying her hand on her tummy, made it growl. All that food invaded her mind, and made her salivate. It had been a long while since she ate, she just realized that now. If she didn't eat anything soon, she was going to fall out from the heat and work.
So, poking her head out from the Silver Fish, she gazed up to Ivo. He was so preoccupied with eating, he didn't notice her slip by his vision. Though the thought of taking a meal from a Badnik did come along her mind, she opted not to. Her mind was sure stealing from Eggman wasn't a good idea.
Instead, she walked down the hall, grabbing her usual lab coat as she did so. She didn't bother to button it up all the way, as her mind was too occupied with finding food. She was sure that, somewhere in this pyramid base, there lied a kitchen. And, being the genius she was, she'd be able to prepare her a meal in no time at all. But the deeper she went into the base, the harder it became to tell where she was. Before she knew it, she was lost, and that terrified her deeply. All she had to go along, were womanly grunts.
She heard them, all the way down the hall, grunts, over and over again. It also sounded like someone was hitting something. Samantha's feet brought her down the hall she stood in, and the grunts got louder and louder. The hitting noise too, continued to grow. Then she heard voices.
"Good job, Madame Maria! Nice hit!"
"Shut up, Jeeves!" the blonde agent barked, as she grunted, "Or else I'll hit you!"
Samantha saw a light coming from the hall. Moving deeper down, she saw the light coming from a glass window. The vixen's silver blue eyes peered through the clean window, seeing a workout station within. It surprised the fox, honestly. She never saw Eggman as the type to workout. Then that put weird images in her head, images she wanted out immediately.
Within the workout room, was a certain blonde woman. Wearing nothing but shorts and a muscle shirt, the blonde agent threw punches at the flying robot before her. Orbot darted left and right, while his open palms blocked all oncoming attacks given to him. Maria's face was so determined, as she constantly threw quick and powerful fists into Orbot's awaiting hands. Sweat dripped from her individual pound, as her feet constantly jerked left and right, as if she were fighting some imaginary foes.
Samantha was enticed by the sight. Being a head scientist, she was never trained or prepared for fighting. But Maria was. Everyday of her life, in fact. She was always taught to not rely on her meta-human abilities. Just encase they weren't there one day. Because of that, she was sent under the most brutal training of other G.U.N. agents. Because of it, it made the girl so strong, so powerful. Something Samantha only wished she could be. She was supposed to look pretty, and be smart. She was a woman, that was her place. The vixen was sure that, if there was another capable man in her place, she wouldn't even be G.U.N.'s head scientist. It wasn't a perfect world, but it was hers.
But things were different for Maria. G.U.N. had no choice but to accept her. Who else held the meta-genes of a super-powered mobian? No one, only her. Samantha wished she could be like that. Be strong like the blonde one was, be a woman who takes power for herself, and makes her own decisions. She wished she wasn't so weak, so easily pushed around by those of a greater power. G.U.N. had a greater power than the blonde agent and her cousin, and yet they were fighting the army with every moment they took. The yellow fox could only dream of having such power, having such strength. Only dream.
"Samantha?" the blonde agent called.
The fox's face grew into an embarrassed blush, and she ducked down to hide from the agent's sight. She couldn't believe she was just spying on her, it felt so wrong now. The door opened, and Maria stepped out, her head cocked to one side.
"Samantha?" Maria called again, walking forward, "Are you okay? Aren't you supposed to be working?"
The fox covered her face in embarrassment.
"Lunch time..." she whimpered, "I was... looking for a kitchen..."
"Really?" Maria asked, "Well, I'm not sure if this place has one but... Jeeves has a picnic basket in there. You want some food?"
Samantha's stomach growled.
"Yes..." she asked.
Maria crouched down near her.
"Then c'mon... I'm hungry too..."
Samantha's silver blue eyes gazed at Maria, as the blonde agent went through the door to the workout room. Another growl of her stomach pushed the fox on.
She slipped through the door behind Maria, and watched the agent as she opened up the brown basket. She went through the contents of the case individually, before finding a nice cold glass of soda. The sight of it brought a smile to the agent's lips, and she went after it immediately. Samantha took a simple ham and cheese sandwich, as she trained her vision on Maria still.
The agent scarfed down the entire can in her hand, before giving out a loud bellow. Rubbing her stomach, she smiled, before her blue eyes gazed at Samantha. The fox brought her gaze away immediately, as she blushed with embarrassment.
"Hey, uh, Samantha," Maria called, "Are you okay? You sure are blushing a lot..."
"I'm... fine, Maria..." the head scientist responded, before bringing her vision down.
"If you say so..." Maria answered, as she returned to the basket.
Samantha watched as the agent went searching for more food. The sight of it made her speak.
"Thank you..."
"Don't thank me, thank Jeeves," Maria answered, pulling up with a bag of chips, "He's the one who brought all this stuff..."
"No, not that..." Samantha said, swallowing her spit, "Thanks for... saving me..."
"Saving you...?" Maria answered with a curling lip, "Oh yeah, at the Mountain side G.U.N. base. Uhh... you shouldn't be thanking me, really..."
"No, seriously, Maria," Samantha answered, "I mean... Even after what I did to you, and what I was going to do to you... you decided to save me... why?"
Maria didn't have a reason why. As she told Ivo, saving Samantha was purely by accident. But she wouldn't tell Samantha that. That would be a bit too cruel.
"I don't know," Maria answered, before saying with a well concealed lie, "I guess I saved you because of what you said. That no one escapes G.U.N. I understand, Samantha, I really do. Being told by people you think are right, to do things so wrong. You were just... following orders..."
"Yeah..." Samantha answered, weakly, "Just... following orders..."
The yellow fox's demeanor shifted down, as her chest heaved up and down with disappointment. She really felt terrible for what she did to Maria, and other people, in the past. G.U.N. just felt so right before, but now, she could see it for what it really was. A flawed army, that thought its actions were good. Thought.
"Samantha..." Maria suddenly said, "There was another..."
"Another... what...?" the fox asked, gazing up.
To her surprise, Maria's eyes were peering directly into the fox, making her wilt in fear.
"Another survivor..." Maria answered, "Someone else was there."
"I..." Samantha gazed away, "I don't know what you're talking about..."
Boy, she was a terrible liar.
"I can't believe you're still trying to protect G.U.N." Maria said with a hard force, "I know there's another one who came from Ark. Samson said it himself..." she got closer to the fox, "Who is it? Who's the other Ark survivor?"
Samantha just stared, stared right into Maria's eyes. Those ocean blue orbs were holding something, and the fox knew it. They were holding the truth. She already knew who it was.
"Why are you asking?" Samantha asked, gazing away, "You... already know the truth..."
"Humor me..." Maria whispered.
"Abraham. Abraham Tower..." the fox answered, "He's the other survivor..."
She gazed back into Maria's eyes. She looked vindicated, as if proven right. Didn't bring her much happiness though. In fact, it made her feel worse.
"Why?" she asked.
"Abraham's parents were scientist on the Ark," Samantha answered, "When the raid occurred, they were killed, of course. But not Abraham. We did to him, what we did to you, Maria."
"Brainwashed him?" she asked.
"Not really... Abraham was more accepting of everything. He was a... strong kid... With you, we didn't want to lose our greatest soldier, but we needed him. He was going to be the force of humanity in your life, to help you bound to G.U.N., if you will."
"You treated me like some animal..." Maria stated, "And Abraham was my keeper, huh?"
"I wish you could describe it in a better way but..." Samantha nodded, "Yes... pretty much..."
"He knew of the Ark, didn't he?"
Samantha nodded.
"Yes, he remembered, remembered everything... We only gave him pills to make the thoughts of the raid go away, but other than that. He remembered all of G.U.N."
"I can't believe him!" Maria yelled, standing up, "All my life! Even Abraham was lying! It! I!"
"No, Maria!" Samantha called, "Don't blame him. He... he really loved you, Maria. He didn't know about us changing you, or the experiments you underwent, he just... thought you were his sister. He cared for you, in all honesty. That's more to say than some others though..." the fox sighed, "We kept him in as much darkness as we kept you, Maria."
"You just allowed him to remember, huh?" the agent asked, to which Samantha merely nodded, "Figures..." the agent thus added.
In unison, the two gazed down. Now, Samantha felt even worse than before. Her only solace, was the knowledge that Maria would feel a little better knowing this. If only a little.
"YOU G.U.N. GEEK!" Ivo's voice roared from the room's entrance, "Did I say you could leave!?"
"I'm, I'm sorry!" Samantha stuttered, hopping to her feet.
"You will be if you don't get back to work!"
"Oh calm yourself, Ivo..." Maria said, waving her hand to and fro, "We were just having lunch..."
"Did you give her permission to leave?" Ivo asked.
"Maybe, maybe not," the agent replied, before shooting her cousin a sly glare, "What's it too ya?"
Though Ivo's mouth opened to give a retort, he decided not to.
"Listen, we have a tight schedule to make. The sooner we get the Silver Fish completed, the better..."
He didn't wait for an answer, he just exited through the door, surely to return to the spacecraft. Samantha stood tall a few moments later, as this warm sigh escaped her lips.
"Back to work, I guess..." she neared the door herself, but stopped right at it, "But, Maria..." she whispered, "Could you ever... forgive me...?"
She turned and faced the agent. So caught off guard by her question, Maria was left without a reply for a while. But then, her eyes closed, and she breathed in deeply.
"I don't know..." she whispered, "I'll... think about it..."
Samantha's face bent down into unhappiness, and her body slumped over. Though she wished the answer would be a positive one, there was no denying Maria's statement was true. She could see why the agent would find it hard to forgive her. After all she did to her, she would.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered finally, before escaping down the hall.
Maria gazed at the doorway for a good long while, as her mind went over the vixen's words. Suddenly, she felt hands on her shoulder, giving her a good massage. She turned her head around, seeing Orbot's smiling face gaze back.
"You know, Madame Maria," he said, "You'd feel much better if you forgave her!"
"I know, Jeeves..." the agent answered, "I know... I just... find it so hard to do..."
"Then, tell me, Madame Maria," Orbot continued, "Could you ever forgive G.U.N.?"
Her face immediately contorted into anger, as all the emotions of the army flooded her.
"Never..."
…
His heterochromatic eyes peered long into the sky. The smog from the rocket's explosion still filled the air. Gazing down, he stared upon the area the missile yard once lied. Many died from the explosion, failing to escape in time, and every item within the underground warehouse was reduced to nothing but steel and rubble.
She did this. He knew, G.U.N. knew it, everyone knew it. There was no denying it. But he would.
"She couldn't have..." Abraham said, closing his eyes, "Not Maria..."
"Look at it, Abraham..." Supervisor Chalmers answered, staring at the carnage before him, "Only Maria would have the knowledge of this place, and only she would have the needs to destroy it..."
"But why!?" Abraham yelled, gazing at his commanding officer, "Why would she destroy it!? Why is Maria doing any of this!?"
"You know why..." Chalmers answered, gazing at him, "So don't act like you don't..."
"But... why...? Just why?"
"Let's just get down there..." Chalmers said, as he glared down the brown hills, "We need to assess the damage..."
The Supervisor and the rest of his men trekked all the way down the hill, making their way to the area the missile yard once sat at. But Abraham remained. He peered up, high into the clouds. Though it wasn't here, he could visualize the Ark in the skies.
"Why?" he asked of the mental apparition, "Just why?"