Chapter Revised [x]

(Rachel's POV)

"Grandpa!" Emma and Travis shouted as soon as our grandfather opened the door to his house. He greeted us with a grin and warm hello. So warm in fact, there was practically steam seeping out between his teeth. He really was happy to see us. It was written all over his face.

We all tackled him in a bone-crushing hug, and he chuckled with his rugged, old person laugh and returned the embrace. Mom came in and they exchanged pecks on the cheek. He then gave a sideways hug to my Dad before inviting the five of us inside.

His house never seemed to change, which was something I couldn't help but adore. It looked the exact same every time we visited. The rooms were tidy, the air was fresh, and the T.V. was always on the news channel. And when the news wasn't on, we would all plop down on the leather couch and watch our favorite sitcoms together. Our family was extremely cheesy, but hey, we loved each other's company and that was all that mattered.

After we caught up with one another, discussing grades from our last report cards, what plans we had for the remainder of the summer, and about my Dad getting a promotion at work, Grandpa took us out to eat lunch. We ate at an old-timey diner, with cheery 50s music playing in the background, plaid-pattered tablecloths, all that shtick. After that, Mom got caught up in window-shopping, so we followed her around the city for one long, miserable hour in the scorching heat before she gave up eyeing some pearls on display inside a jewelry shop, and we all headed back to his little townhouse.

Once the sun started to set, the twins were exhausted. They admitted to not getting a lot of sleep the night before. Mom sighed at them hopelessly.

"That's why you should've gone to bed earlier, sweethearts."

But they retorted with, "Don't blame us! It's your fault for taking us to Twinkle Park and making us too hyper to go to sleep!"

My whole family (minus Grandpa) huddle together the couch and watched the news in silence, if you excluded the twins' pointless bickering. In today's top stories, it was the usual: robbery, kidnapping, assaults, rape, suicide, murder, bombs, and other pointless acts of violence.

Can't there ever be any good news?

I broke away from my father's shoulder, stood up and headed for the kitchen to get a glass of water. But my grandpa came out of his bedroom across the hall and saw me. He paused, shying away from entry towards the living room, like he was trying to not be noticed by everyone but me.

"Rachel," he whispered. I looked over him while reaching for a cup in the cupboard. He gestured for me to come over to him.

After I grabbed a glass and set it on the counter for later use, I walked over to him. "What is it, Grandpa?"

"There's something I've been meaning to give you. Something rather special, too. But I didn't want to hand it to you in front of the twins, because then they might expect me to give them a gift too."

I checked my two siblings on the couch, instantly noting how quiet it had gotten. That was only because my little brother and sister were snoozing away together, using each other's heads as pillows.

"But look, they fell asleep," I said pointing towards them. My grandpa nodded without actually looking, then stepped back farther away, towards the end of the hall. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small black box. "Come over here and check this out."

I obeyed him and neared closer, taking the box after he held it out for me to accept. It resembled a jewelry box. But I couldn't think of why I would be getting jewelry. In fact, why was I getting a present at all? Not that I minded, but I didn't recall needing to be rewarded for anything.

I took the lid off the box and looked inside curiously. I immediately saw that it was a necklace, because there was a long line of shiny threading coiled around itself. But it wasn't the chain caught my attention. It was the mesmerizing charm.

It was a small, shiny blue heart with a silver rim bordering it. I could see my surprised and questioning face in the stone's smooth, cobalt colored reflection. The heart itself wasn't large or twisted or overdone. It was simple and elegant. I couldn't help but feel that the necklace wasn't new, despite how fresh it looked. Maybe this was all depicted by its smell. I couldn't describe it, but it had the scent of age. I felt like there was a history behind it that I was missing.

"Oh my, i-it's so beautiful," I said in awe, picking up the chain and watching the heart swing in front of me. My grandpa's pale lips curled in a smile. "Isn't it, though? And guess what. That necklace is over fifty years old. Don't believe me? Look on the back of it."

50 years old? Woah, that's incredible! I was right!

I flipped it over, to where it was all covered in silver. There were words engraved on the surface in tiny cursive print. I had to squint to read it all, because there were so many words crammed together.

Moments like these don't come often,
And you come once in a lifetime.
Remember, you'll always be my friend,
In these fingerprints you etched on my heart,
And in these memories that will always make me smile.

My eyes widened, and a small smile crept onto my face. I knew who this had once belonged to. I could see the name hidden in the lettering of the poem.

"Grandpa, this necklace was Maria's...wasn't it?" I asked calmly, oddly struck with warmth as I reread the sentences over and over. It sounded like a child had written it...or at least a child who had an extensive vocabulary. Or maybe a child with a lot of feelings…

My grandpa blinked surprisingly at the mentioning of Maria's name. It was almost like wasn't expecting me to remember who she was. But I couldn't forget her if I tried.

He took the necklace from me and carefully examined it. "Not exactly," he said solemnly. My eyebrows downturned.

"What I mean is, it was supposed to be. I had tried to give it to her, but never got the chance. It was going to be her goodbye gift before I left the ARK and we never saw each other again. I personally think it would be a shame for this necklace to never have the chance of being worn. And to be honest, you remind me of Maria a lot, Rachel. Really, you do. You both possess pure, gentle hearts. Kind of like this one right here," he said, tapping the blue trinket while beaming.

"I notice how you only desire for everyone to be happy, and oppose any acts of violence, just like Maria did. I spilled to you about my past years ago, and you always did the noble thing and kept it a secret for me. I'm very thankful for that. And now that I'm old and my life is nearing its close, I want you to have it, Rachel. Take it, wear it, and treasure it always. Let the memories live on forever." He then stepped behind me and fastened it around my neck. I pulled my hair over it, then picked up the heart, scanning it from the curves, down to the point.

"You really have no idea how much this means a lot to me, Grandpa...thank you so, so much. I promise to take very good care of it."

I let the heart slip from my grasp. "But if you don't mind me asking, how come Maria never got it herself?"

Grandpa swallowed a pocket of air, looking down at the ground. "I...don't think I remember. The incident with G.U.N. just happened...so that was that."

I lifted an eyebrow. I could see right through him and tell he was lying, or leaving out a huge portion of the truth. But I decided to leave well enough alone. If he didn't want to tell me, it wasn't like I would force him to.

But even when I reentered the kitchen for my water, I could see he was still in deep thought before he went to join my family in watching T.V.

(FLASHBACK)
*in the Commander's POV*

"Marriaaaaaa! Maria where are you!" I called out, looking in every direction as I walked through the thirteenth level of the ARK. I needed to give her my present while I still could. Lord knew when we would be leaving to go back home, and I didn't want to miss my opportunity. I gripped the necklace tightly in my palm.

Lucky for me, my mother was a skilled jeweler, and I had asked her to make a necklace with a blue heart, a necklace because Maria once commented that her neck felt bare, and she really wished she could put a loose chain on it or something like women traditionally did, and blue because it was her favorite color...the dominant color of Earth. I even wrote a poem that was engraved on the back. It took a lot of thinking on my part, because the only big, meaningful words I knew were the ones I heard passing scientists use in conversations. But even when help was offered from my parents, I bluntly refused. I wanted the poem to come from my heart, and not anyone else's.

She'll love it! I just know she will! I can't wait to see the wonderful smile on her face when she sees it!

"Maria! Are you up here? Hello!" I yelled again.

I then heard a soft, yet sickeningly familiar whoosh behind me as it stopped in place. I froze in place, knowing that sound all too well. It was the sound of someone running fast, and this time it was accompanied by a terrible presence.

"Is there something you need?" I heard a dreadfully dark voice ask behind me. I turned around cautiously, eyes wide with fear.

There he was. Shadow the Hedgehog. The monster whose creation I had witnessed with my own eyes. The pure evil that managed to lure Maria in, and take her away from me. She and I had not played with each other in a long time. And when we did, our time was cut short. All because of him. And I didn't understand it one bit. Maria was so carefree, bubbly and open-minded about everything. Shadow was so…not. He was creepy, even. What was it about him that she found so interesting?

I hated that Professor Gerald Robotnik programmed him with the ability to run and quote "faster than the speed of sound". He always showed up at random times just from passing by. I rarely had time to hide from an encounter because of this.

"N-Nothing, Shadow," I said plainly, choking the necklace in my hold. He noticed that my hand became more firm, and shot me a questioning look. "What do you have there?" he said in an uncaring tone.

I looked down at my enclosed fist. The chain wasn't visible, so it wasn't like I'd given myself away. I threw both of my hands behind my back, not wanting him to find out about Maria's gift. I felt like if he saw it, it wouldn't be nearly as special anymore.

"It's just something that I want to give to Maria. I was trying to find her, and it's rather shocking that she isn't with you," I said boldly.

The ebony hedgehog frowned, his red eyes burning into my green and brown ones. "Whatever. If you want, I can give it to her on your behalf," he said, holding out his hand. I guessed it was supposed to be a friendly gesture, but I didn't detect any friendliness in his face or voice.

Don't trust him.

I shook my head, taking a step back. Him saying that was a slap in the face. Even he knew that he saw her more often than I did.

"No. I'm fully capable of giving it to her myself. I don't need your help!" I declared.

But no sooner did I say this, did I trip over a cable that was plugged into the wall and tumbled backwards. I threw my hands out in front of me so I could break the fall with my back, keeping the necklace safe. But after I landed, which caused some momentary pain to shoot up my body, my fingers twitched and slowly uncurled out of natural response. Shadow glared at me after my clumsy show, and then transferred his gaze to Maria's necklace. He stepped closer and studied it carefully, ripping it out of my hand without my consent, and holding it up in front of him. He then flipped it over, his eyes scanning the words on the back.

I jumped up. "NO! STOP IT!" I yelled, snatching it away from him. Surprisingly, he let me take it back without protest. I cradled the charm in my hands. I hated him for getting his filthy touch on it.

The hedgehog turned to leave, smirking to himself.

"Hmph. What a stupid kid," I heard him mumble.

At this point, my anger surpassed my fear of him.

"I am not stupid! You're the stupid one!"

My voice was practically dripping in fury. "You know, I hardly ever get to see Maria anymore because of you! At least I got her a present! It may not be much, but it's supposed to show how much I'm going to miss her! It's something special that I want her to remember me by! Not that I expect you to know what it's like to miss someone. You don't know anything about friendship or love, or what it's like to care for someone, do you!"

Shadow slowly turned his head to look at me. The scowl on his face made me tremble.

"And why would she want to remember a coward like you?"

Before I could retort, something interrupted us.

"Abraham? Is that you?" I heard a young female's voice call gently from a distance. It was somehow loud enough for echoes to bounce off the walls a few times and travel to me in repetitions. I froze where I was. It was Maria. My dear friend, Maria.

"M-M-Maria?"

But then I looked back at Shadow and found that he was glaring at me menacingly. It was like his eyes were saying, She's mine now. You can never have her back. So leave now, before you embarrass yourself more than you already have.

And with that, I took off running, tears streaking down my face as the chain of the necklace dangled between my tiny fingers. I would never give Maria that necklace. She didn't need me anymore. She had Shadow now. I guess I had to learn to accept that.

Oh, but it hurt so bad.

END OF FLASHBACK

(Shadow's POV)

My eyes stared ahead the blue planet in front of me. Dr. Eggman cranked a lever, and the Egg Carrier began to advance at a faster speed. "We should be landing in the Mystic Ruins in T minus 2 hours."

I looked at him in disbelief. We got here sooner than I had expected.

I wasn't thrilled about returning to Earth. It was definitely not my first choice. But that's where I had to reconsider my reluctance, because I had no choice to begin with. It was mandatory that I retrieve the Chaos Emerald.

But still, the planet brought back many unwanted memories of the Space Colony ARK. More specifically, it reminded me of Maria.

I had wanted so badly to recover my memories after I lost them years ago. But now that I had them back, they haunted me constantly.

I could feel the Doctor watching me, so I turned to face him. His eyebrows were furrowed.

"I know this may be something of a difficult trip for you, Shadow. So let's make it fast, because I remember how you feel about humans. We're here to get the chaos emerald, nothing more, nothing less. Right?"

I nodded once then turned away.

Indeed, this was for the chaos emerald. I wasn't going to let anything or anyone on this stupid planet affect me like my previous visits. This was going to be my final visit to Earth. And then I would be done with it forever.

Before I knew it, we were entering its atmosphere. I closed my eyes for a mere two seconds, and when I reopened them, I could already see misty clouds flowing past the windows.

This was happening so fast.