Crazy Gadget
She gripped the edge of her seat belt. Tapping the button on the center, the small silver latch unlocked, freeing her. The strands didn't fly back into the seat as she expected, they instead slowly moved back. As soon as she was released, however, she felt this overwhelming sense of weightless. Her feet pushed off against the floor, sending her into the air. She felt as if she were swimming, but with a distinct lack of water. The feeling was so familiar to her, though. As if she had done this before. Lifting her hand, she laid it upon the front window of the space ship she sat in, feeling the cold on the other end. And Ark, was only getting closer.
Her eyes closed slowly. And when they opened, she was twelve again. And she was giggling, giggling like the little girl she was. Turning around quickly, she saw this black and red hedgehog, struggling to move as he floated in the air. The sight of it only made the girl giggle more, as she leaned her back up against the window.
"Shadow!" Maria called, laughing inwardly.
The hedgehog's ruby eyes snapped to her, as his face was nothing but confusion and fear.
"Maria!?" he cried, "What is this? I can't... move! What happened to everything!?"
His confused words only made the blonde chuckle more, this time as she laid her hand on her lips. She immensely enjoyed the sight of her smaller friend struggling against the air, as he tried his hardest to touch down. So, finding the need to calm him a bit, she placed her feet on the window, hunched down, then launched herself forward. Shadow's eyes widened, as the blonde girl opened her arms up to meet him in space. She scooped him up quickly, hugging him close in a loving embrace. The hedgehog's frantic nature slowly melted into a calm one, as he peered up to meet Maria's face. She was having the time of her life, and he didn't know why.
"Maria?" he whispered.
"It's a weightless room, Shadow..." she answered.
Suddenly, she pointed away, drawing his attention to a command panel on the wall near the window.
"You see that?" she continued, "I used it to turn off gravity in this room, that's why we're floating like this."
He seemed pleased by her words, though his face still retained a minute amount of fear. She giggled though, sending ruffles through his body. Staring back up at her, his face grew into that indifferent visage he always wore.
"What's wrong, Shadow?" the blonde asked, "Why the long face?"
"Isn't this kinda dangerous?" he inquired.
She chuckled, knowing all to well what he was talking about. Lifting her hand, she calmed his nerves a bit, by brushing her finger against his black nose.
"Of course it's not safe," she whispered, "Grandpa would have a fit if he knew we were messing with the gravity items," she suddenly turned him around, so that he faced her, face to face. Moving in closer, her nose met his, and her smile grew fainter, "But I don't care. I'm having the time of my life with you, Shadow..."
Suddenly, a loud beeping echoed noise echoed. Maria and Shadow gazed up and away, towards the panel that controlled the gravity in the room. It beeped over and over again, and flashed red as well.
"Uh, Maria?" Shadow called, face grow quite frail, "What's it doing?"
"Uh-oh..." Maria whispered, grinning.
Suddenly, the gravity returned. Maria and Shadow fell, slamming against the cold metal floors. The hedgehog struggled a bit, but the blonde girl held him down, giggling as loud as she could. Suddenly, she pinned him down to the ground, ceasing his movements. As her face was a few lengths apart, the hedgehog slowly grew quiet. His face also flushed a heated red, as he gazed away.
"Maria..." he whispered, swallowing his spit, "What are you doing?"
She giggled like the little girl she was, before moving in a bit closer.
"You know exactly what I'm doing, Shadow..." then her eyes closed, and she whispered, "You know exactly..."
"MARIA!"
She sprang up, blue eyes shining, still in space, but the voice was different. It sounded like both her grandfather's voice, and her cousin's voice at the same time. The bark made her heart race, as she tried to figure out just where she was. The room was smaller, and the window was no longer to her side. Staring up and around the dark cockpit, she realized she was no longer in Ark, but in the space ship. She looked to her back, seeing Ivo staring at her in a daunting manner. Turning her face back down, she saw Orbot pinned by her hands to the floor.
"Uh..." she whispered, voice stuttering.
"Well," Orbot said, "Madame Maria! I never knew you were that kind of woman!"
She sprang up quickly, throwing the small robot away as she did so. As he spun around the weightless room, he regained his balance, and stared back to the woman before her.
"Ill, Jeeves!" she said, dusting the imaginary cooties he left her off of her body, "What were you doing!?"
"ME!?" the spherical robot called, "Madame Maria! You floated up and tackled me! Not the other way around!"
She knew exactly what he was talking about, but really didn't want to acknowledge it. Instead, she face palmed herself, while a long groan escaped her lips.
"Sorry, Jeeves..." she whispered after a while, "I guess I got kind of out of hand..."
"So..." Ivo's annoying, snickering voice returned, "That's why you miss Project Shadow so much..."
The blonde agent suddenly grabbed him by his collar, pulling him close.
"HEY!" she barked, "Cut me some slack! I was a twelve-year-old girl going through... issues, and he was the only boy I interacted with on a daily basis!"
"I know, I know!" Ivo said, waving his hands to and fro, "But please, let go!"
She released her hand after a while, as her body spun around to meet the ship's windshield. Floating forward, she crossed her arms, and stared to the slowly approaching Space Colony Ark. The sight of it calmed her nerves, and made her face soften. Home...
"So, what?" Ivo's voice echoed from behind, making her grow annoyed, "Did you love that hedgehog?"
She turned to face him. The visage she wore showed the doctor that his next words may be his last, and he'd need to tread the next waters cautiously. He nodded, showing he understood the woman's invisible words. Slowly, Maria faced the window, seeing her own reflection in it. Her face grew sad a bit, as she closed her eyes.
"Yes I did," she admit, "At least... I think I did..." a warm sigh escaped her lips, as she opened her eyes. Staring into the window, she saw not only her reflection, but his own, staring back. She peered into Shadow's ruby eyes, and he peered back, "Sorry, Shadow..." she whispered, "I'm not sure if I can say I love you anymore. I was twelve then..."
The hedgehog nodded.
"Then why are you doing this?" he asked.
She closed her eyes, and rubbed them. Then, for some reason, she smiled, thinking on the hedgehog's words and frame.
"Of course I love you," she whispered, "If I didn't, I wouldn't be doing this, but..." her eyes opened, giving a sharp glare, "I'm not going to let G.U.N. away with what they did to you, to me, and to everyone else on Ark. I'm getting the vengeance we rightfully deserve."
The ghastly apparition of the hedgehog nodded, before fading away. Maria let out a sigh of relief, but that was ruined by one person.
"DARNIT!" Ivo yelled, "I should've known!"
The blonde agent let out a sigh, and her face turned into annoyance. Turning around, she stared at her cousin, whose face was deep into some screen, watching something. She floated down over to him, before gazing over his shoulder.
"What?" she asked, holding annoyance.
"The colony, Maria," he turned to her, "Its closed down..."
Maria nodded, showing that she knew the base was closed.
"Well duh, its closed! Why would it be open if it hasn't even been used in over twelve years?"
The doctor growled, as he glared over to his cousin.
"If you knew, then why didn't you tell me!?" he barked, angering her.
"HEY!?" she barked back, "Don't take that tone with me! You're the genius Ivo, why didn't you think this up?"
"Great!?" he groaned, "Now we have no way of getting in!"
But Maria wouldn't accept that, and nor would Ivo. The two faced each other, before gazing back toward the approaching colony. Though she didn't look at him, the blonde could just feel the maddening grin appearing on her cousin's lips.
"What is it, Ivo?" she asked, near omnipotently.
"Well, Maria dear," he sneered, manically at that, "I have scanned the Ark's bases, and I know of one entry way on the bottom end, that is, the end we are currently flying toward. If you, and the E-100s enter that hatch, you may be able to find a way to open up the docking base..."
"Perfect..." Maria remarked as she pulled away, "Even up in space, my job is never done..."
She floated over to one of the Silver Fish's walls, grabbing an air container. She slipped it on the back of her space suit, before turning around. Upon doing so, Ivo was holding this strange rifle in his hands, one that had his sick insignia on it.
"I made it just for space combat!" he said, happily as well.
"What is it?" she asked, grabbing it from it.
"Well, Maria dear, since you know bullets don't work in space, I've been working hard to make a weapon that can fire in space. So, after copying those laser weapons that G.U.N. has been working on, I bring you this! The Egg Rifle!"
"So original..." she sarcastically replied.
As she held the rifle, she faced the exit hatch to the Silver Fish. They were slowly approaching Ark, and the closer they got, the more pronounced certain aspects of the base became. Old, disused roads on the outside could be seen, and just glimpses of them triggered memories in Maria's head. She could see Shadow, dash up and down these roads, with her twelve-year-old self giggling at the sight.
But, with a shake of her head, she cleaned the thoughts from her head. They would only get in her way, and not aid her.
The Silver Fish slowed to a stop near one of these many roads. As Maria's fingers began to fiddle with the door panel, Ivo began spouting information.
"Remember! Ark's defense systems may be old, but they are still operable. It's wise not to be stricken in space, or else all the air inside of you may be released, and you will die. No ifs ands or buts, about it."
"I know, Ivo..." Maria remarked, checking the condition of her rifle, "Just get this door open."
"Door open, then..."
And, just like that, the door open. Maria stepped out into the outer hatch, which would lead to space. Once the door behind her closed, the outer hatch opened. And the vacuum of space took her. The blonde agent was thrust into complete, cold, darkness, with no sounds echoing into her ears other than her own harsh breathing. She floated wildly through space, before her body hit something. Peering to her right, she saw the roads. Seeing as she was in complete weightlessness, she remembered that there is technically no ups or downs. So, turning around in space, she placed her feet on the road she slammed against. She brought Ivo's Egg Rifle up as she did so, peering along the long roads.
"Maria!" Ivo's voice buzzed from a radio, "The entry way is just along this area. It'll get pretty crazy on the outside, but once you get inside, the station's artificial gravity should take over."
"I know, Ivo," she barked back, "I've lived here, remember!"
"Then get a move on! Orbot's beginning to annoy me!"
"OH! MADAME MARIA!" Orbot yelled, "Please! Be careful!"
"I will Jeeves, just wait for me, okay?"
"I'll always wait for you, Madame Maria!"
"Good. Maria out..."
The radio came to a dead silence, as she started to force her body forward. It wasn't impossible, but boy was it hard. With each step she took, she felt the silence of space force back resistance. Which, had to be impossible, seeing as it was space. Space has no reaction to any force performed within it. Or, that's what Maria thought. Whatever the case was, she was left marching slowly through the space roads of Space Colony Ark. But she was not alone.
Turning around, she saw five humanoid robots walking behind her. E-102 Gamma took head point, his one gun cocked and ready, as his red eyes beamed a message in morse cold.
At your service It said.
Maria nodded, before turning on her way. She continued stomping through the cold space roads, her blue eyes gazing at everything she passed. She was expecting some sort of resistance that wasn't space's mysterious ways. That resistance appeared too, and quickly.
This G.U.N. Bot, a unit that had long since been disused, sat perched on the roads. At first, the blonde agent thought it was permanently offline, but as soon as she took another step forward, the robot's eyes snapped to life. Then it faced her.
"YOU ARE ON G.U.N. PROPERTY!" the robot barked, speaking to Maria threw her radio, "LEAVE NOW, OR PREPARE TO BE TERMINATED."
"What?" Maria questioned herself, "Did G.U.N. Think someone was going to travel through all of space to get here? Then again..."
Before the machine could asses her position, the agent aimed forth her rifle, and fired. A yellow beam of light sprouted from the rifle's muzzle, striking the machine square in its chest. In a silent explosion, it erupted into flames. Metal pieces were flung everywhere, sprinkling space in the machine's carcass. With that robot gone, Maria leaped forth, and up to the elevated platform the machine once stood perched on. As soon as she cleared the distance, she saw a sight that made her swallow her spit.
On the road before her, a series of G.U.N. robots. All armed, and all probably angered by the death of their ally. In unison, their weapons aimed up, prepared to do away with the blonde agent. Fortunately, she had five robotic guardian angels.
The E-100s flew into the sky, their arm cannons aiming down upon the machines at their front. Then they started firing. Rockets and lasers were traded from each side, destroying machines and constructs alike. Machine parts were thrown left and right, as fire dance just briefly, before the darkness of space swallowed them. And all of this was in pure silence, as space lacks the molecules necessary to past sound.
Maria quickly ducked down, dodging a laser that would have surely killed her. Coming to a stop near a command console, she hid behind the structure for safety. A quick glance at the screen gave her much-needed information however.
"Gravity shift?" she asked of herself as she stared at the information on the screen.
Hands moving up, she began tapping away on the console. That's when something amazing happened.
A weird noise echoed, sounding like the most horrible combination of metal hitting metal, and flames striking flames. Maria gazed up, as she felt her body being pulled. The next thing she knew, she was being dragged toward the edge of the roads she was on. In fact, so were the G.U.N. robots they were fighting. All were dragged off the road, and fell to another one that, one that was apparently dragging on them due to gravity.
The G.U.N. machines were destroyed from the fall, and soon, so would Maria. Fortunately, Gamma was there, for the machine quickly saved her, keeping a float thanks to the thrusters it owned. Maria and E-100s landed on the second road, with gravity pulling on all of them.
"I forgot..." she whispered, "The outsides have gravity consoles, ones that give them the ability to produce artificial gravity..." she peered along the roads, seeing one that led right into the Ark, "Let's hurry down this road, we'll find an entrance over here!"
With gravity in affect, the blonde agent could actually start running. She dashed down the long runway in record speeds, meeting the outer hull of the Ark before her. She scanned the great door, trying her hardest to figure out a way inside. Finding no panel to work with, she opted to grab the door at the area where the sliding parts meet each other, and pull. Unfortunately, she got nowhere. Fortunately, however, Zeta was there.
E-105 stepped forward, and opened up a panel on his arm. Cords flew from the panel, and into wall sockets near the door. Zeta's eyes began to shine, as the door slowly opened. As soon as it did, Maria, and the rest of the E-100s entered, with Zeta being last. The door slammed shut behind them, as air poured into the outer hatch. Maria checked the console Ivo placed in her arm. She watched as this number that represented air, moved up from zero all the way to one hundred. As soon as that happened, Maria tore that helmet from her head.
"Thank God!" she announced, "That thing was getting sweaty..."
She handed the helmet to E-103 Delta, who stood directly beside her. He held the helmet in his arms, and gazed at it quizzically. Then they turned their eyes to the doors at their front. Being the leader of the E-100s, Beta took to it first. His double arm cannons aimed forward, and he fired.
Metal and debris sprinkled the air, before settling. Maria would have scolded the robot for attacking her old home, but the dim nature of everything silenced her. She took a few steps into the cold metal halls, hearing her footsteps bounce against the walls. The aged space colony was woefully indifferent to her plight, and her movements. It just oozed silence, as if it were still stuck in an age long since forgotten.
Suddenly, the E-100s' eyes produced light equal to flashlight. They marched through the cold base, their arm cannons ready, as they scanned everything and anything. Maria followed after a few moments, finding the need to keep up with them.
With the darkened atmosphere, it was hard to see in the halls. The only light came from the E-100s flashlights, and that was it. Raising her arm, Maria gazed into the panel placed in her space suit. She tapped a few buttons on it, causing it too show an image of the Ark's insides.
"Let's see..." she whispered to herself, "A power generator in this area should be close by..."
The map zoomed in, showing a generator a few levels above her. As soon as a pathway was crafted on her map between her position and the generator, she started following it. The E-100s followed suit soon enough. The metal hallways clanked and moved with their footsteps, as they rushed through. It was so dark, however, Maria couldn't really tell what she was seeing. The only light came from windows to the outside, which were pretty dark themselves. Gazing out of it, she could see the Silver Fish, floating silently in space. Ivo was probably loosing his mind in there, especially with Orbot being his only company. Silently, she chuckled at the thought.
Gazing back at the screen on her arms, Maria remembered why she was here. A few moments later, she started walking off, heading toward the generator. With each step she took to get closer to the machine, she felt her heart rate pick up. Soon, her old home would be up and running. And she was sure the flashbacks would be coming nonstop. The thought of it terrified her, but did little to deter her. She was going back to the past.
"Maria?" Gamma called from behind.
"Yes, Gamma?" she called.
"We need to hurry..."
"I know, Gamma," she whispered, stepping forward, "I know...
She stepped forward toward a great door before her. The metal seal didn't open at all, making her groan. Laying her hands in the center, she began pulling, in order to forcibly pry open the doorway. This did little, however, and instead needed the robotic strength of Gamma to deal with it. He latched his hand in between the doors, then pulled with all of his might. The metallic seal opened slowly, giving only a little space for the agent to slip through. So, sucking in air, Maria shuffled her way through the small crack, and onto the other side.
"Keep the door guarded, Gamma," she said, "Once I turn on the generator, you can expect the sleeping G.U.N. Bots here to wake up."
"Affirmative." Gamma answered.
The door closed shut. Turning around, Maria faced the room she had been placed in. It was one filled with windows, a small deck, actually. Windows were on the floor, giving an impressive view of the stars, and the windows on the wall gave the greatest view of the ocean blue planet she had come to know. On the other end of this room, a small machine. From what her arm machine told her, that was the machine that would turn on the generator. So, taking in a deep breath, she started walking forward.
With each step she took, she could feel her heart racing. She didn't know why though. It was, as if, she remembered this place, albeit barely. It was so dark, the only light came from the windows, but she could still feel the memories flooding into this place. Just a few feet more, and she stood before the mysterious machine. Her hand laid upon the console, where she began tapping away a few buttons. With each tap of the console, she felt her heart beat fluctuate. It got faster, slower, froze up completely sometimes, yet it would return to its usual pace.
Then the screen came on, and a hidden panel on the keyboard opened up. Within this hidden panel, a switch. She grabbed the switch, then slammed it down.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Then light.
Maria gazed up to the ceiling, seeing lights gaze back down. At the same time, she could hear machinery all over the Ark turn on, and come to life. Lights, vehicles, robots, all of them were brought back to the land of the living. The door behind her opened up, and the E-100s stepped in.
"Epsilon to Eggman..." the orange E-104 robot said, "Power has been returned to the Ark, preparing to make way to the docking bay."
"Good job Epsilon!" Ivo answered, "And hurry up! I'm picking up something on my radar, it doesn't look good!"
"Affirmative..."
The E-100s turned to face the exit, all save for one. Gamma stepped forward, and laid his cold heavy hand upon Maria's shoulder.
"Maria?" he called, "My sensors are picking up internal problems within you. What is the matter?"
She blinked as she stared at the computer screen, then turned to face the robot. His cold face gazed back. Upon gazing away from him, she stared to the floors around her. Old, dry blood lied on the floors and walls, as well as windows. They went unnoticed during the darkness, but they were here now. She swallowed her spit.
"Go ahead without me, Gamma..." she whispered, "I'll catch up soon..."
The machine's head bobbed up and down in a nodding fashion, before turning around. His heavy footsteps clanked against the halls, as he made his way to the other E-100s. Then the door closed. Maria stood in silence, as her heart came to a slow. Gazing left and right, she stared to the room she once sat in, a room she once had fun in. And she was soon joined by another.
"Things are coming to a close, Maria..." Shadow said, facing her, "But... somethings wrong, Maria..."
She opened and closed her eyes. She was twelve again, but everything was all the same. The floors were still covered in the blood of a battle long since passed. Save now, she were a little girl, and Shadow wasn't a ghost.
"This is a journey only you can take, Maria..."
"When I'm twelve?" she whispered.
He chuckled lowly, while his arms crossed.
"Yeah. The age you were when you lived here..."
He started walking toward the door, before stopping suddenly. Turning around, he faced the young blonde girl.
"Let's take a trip down memory lane..."
Maria merely nodded.