Sorry folks, it's been entirely too long since I posted! So! Maria has entered the story. I really thought I'd get more backlash over this than I have. I did get a question about my methods, but that's about it for comments on the last chapter, and I've gotta say, it hasn't given me any reassurance about how people are receiving this plot twist! So, please leave reviews! I'd really like to know how people feel about the direction this story is going!
Shadow groaned before he thought to check his surroundings as he woke up. To be fair, he hadn't felt this awful in a long time. His insides felt tender and achy, like a monster had just finished chewing up his organs with razor sharp teeth. He opened his eyes to make sure he hadn't drawn any unwanted attention and hesitated at the light blue color that greeted him. It was the exact same shade that Maria had been wearing.
Shadow's breath hitched and he pushed himself away from the color, freezing when her face came into view. Her blue eyes were open and she was looking at him, eyes shining with affection. He hadn't dreamed it all… or maybe he was still hallucinating.
She smiled at him and he felt her hand rubbing his ears. Her blue eyes looked clear today, and they were full of a hesitant joy that mirrored what he felt.
"Maria?" he asked quietly. "How? How are you here?"
"It was the Master Emerald," she said. "When I… When I lost consciousness, there was this green light everywhere and it asked me to help you. Next thing I knew, I was standing in front of that giant gem, and there you were too."
"Green light…" Shadow said remembering his dream. "Was it alive somehow?"
"Yes!" Maria said. "Did you see it too, Shadow?"
He nodded. "It said it wanted to heal me," he said, then his stomach turned over as he remembered how. "You took off my inhibitors. Was anyone hurt?"
Maria's expression fell. "I'm sorry, Shadow," she said. "It was the only way the Master Emerald was going to be able to draw out the Pandemonium. Nobody got hurt, I promise."
Shadow relaxed and sighed. "Good," he said, and was quiet for a little bit. "...I missed you so much."
"I didn't have time to miss you," Maria admitted. "It felt like a matter of seconds for me."
Shadow raised himself up onto his elbows, taking a deep breath as a wave of dizziness threatened to overwhelm him. His equilibrium settled after a second, much to his relief. He focused on Maria. "Are you alright?" he asked. "They-they shot you. That can't have been…"
Maria pursed her lips thoughtfully. "It did hurt," she admitted. "But honestly, it wasn't so bad." She patted the spot on her chest where the bullets had torn into her. "And now, it's like it never happened. I don't even feel sick. It's weird. I feel really light, and my arms and legs feel thinner too, like they're shaped differently. My throat too."
Shadow lowered himself back down and slowly reached for her throat, gently pressing along where her lymph nodes would be. "There's no swelling," he said.
Maria blinked at him in surprise and pressed her fingers under her arm. "You're right," she said. "It's all gone."
Shadow couldn't help the smile on his face. Even if this time was limited, he was happy that Maria got to experience what it was like to be healthy.
It was at that exact moment that her stomach growled and she looked down in surprise. "Oh," she said. "I guess I'm hungry. I haven't felt hungry in years!"
Shadow's smile disappeared and he felt his ears pin down to his head. It had been years?
Maria caught his look and frowned. "I'm sorry," she said. "I knew I was getting worse and I didn't want you to worry. You had enough going on."
It was a fair point. Day to day life hadn't exactly been easy for Shadow either with all the tests and the insane scientists wanting to see his exposed and beating heart. Things got worse when they began to test him for military applications. "We should get you some food," he said, then seemed to hesitate. "You'll have to ask the echidna. This is his place."
"So I gathered," Maria said and sat up, shifting her legs off the bed. "Think you can walk? You had your chaos energy completely drained last night."
Shadow sat up as well and leaned heavily against Maria as the world did another flip. He was pretty sure now that it was just a physical consequence of what he'd just endured. When he felt out his chaos energy, low as it was, it obeyed his commands. "I think I can walk," he said, but he let her support him.
The smell of bacon and eggs grew stronger as they approached the other chamber. Knuckles was in the kitchen when they got there preparing a simple meal. He paused to look at them when they walked in before turning his attention back to the frying pan on the stove. "Still here," he said.
"I guess so," Maria said.
"What do you mean?" Shadow asked.
Maria sat down on a crate at the low table, keeping Shadow close to her side so he was sharing the crate with her. He didn't mind.
"I remember dying, Shadow," Maria said quietly. "I came here because the Master Emerald wanted me to help you, but… I figured I was on borrowed time. This sort of thing... It's too good to be true, isn't it? We've never gotten this lucky."
Shadow frowned, his grip tightening slightly on Maria's arm. It was true. They didn't even know the first rule to this situation. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't been expecting the universe to take her away from him again.
"You know…" Knuckles started. "If she hasn't disappeared at this point, I really don't think she's going to."
"...It would be nice if there was a way to know for sure," Maria said. "I just, Shadow's already had to…" watch me die "...grieve. I don't want any surprises here."
"Fair enough," Knuckles said. He put the pan on the table and put the coffee on as well.
Shadow correctly identified the carafe and sat a little straighter. Nose twitching as he took in the smell of freshly brewed coffee.
"Come on, Sonic, it's just a little further," Tails said, catching Shadow's ear.
"Mmmm," Sonic groaned quietly. "I guess the kitchen's closer at this point, isn't it."
The two appeared from the hallway and Tails saw Maria. The fox hesitated, still supporting Sonic with one skinny shoulder. "Oh, Knuckles, I didn't know you had company."
"I didn't," Knuckles said. "The Master Emerald brought her here last night."
"The Master Emerald?" Sonic asked, raising his head finally. He saw Maria and went still, a look of astonishment on his face, emerald eyes wide. "But you look like… I saw pictures. Shadow?"
"It's her," Shadow said quietly.
Sonic smiled. "That's great!" he said. "The Master Emerald did this?"
"Sure did," Knuckles grunted. "Someone's a little slow this morning."
"Oh, whatever," Sonic said, rolling his eyes as he let Tails assist him onto a crate. "You try getting your insides scrambled some time."
Knuckles joined them at the table and began pouring cups of coffee, wordlessly passing one to Shadow who nodded gratefully. "I think I'll stand by your previous recommendation," the echidna said. "What was the exact phrase you used? Not even your worst enemy?"
Sonic cringed. "Actually yeah," he said. "Now that I've had two servings of this particular dish, I find my opinion hasn't changed. Surprise, surprise!"
Shadow found himself nodding along with Sonic's words. This was definitely something he never wanted to experience again. Ever. In fact, he was still feeling pretty crummy the morning after.
Neither hedgehog ate much food and Shadow couldn't even finish his coffee. He set it aside with a disappointed sigh as he resisted the urge to rub at his sore tummy.
"That's it," Maria said. "The moment I can get my hands on some proper equipment, I want to look both of you, over."
Sonic, Tails and Knuckles all glanced at Maria in surprise at her outburst.
"Look us over?" Sonic repeated.
"Unless you have a doctor you already trust?" Maria said.
Tails seemed to brighten. "Oh! Does that mean you're qualified?" he asked eagerly.
Shadow felt Maria's hesitation at the question. More often than not, this was how the other scientists aboard the Ark had shut down her ideas and suggestions. The only difference with Tails' question was the fact that there was no trace of sarcasm here. The little fox was genuinely curious.
"Well, I- I don't actually have any Phds, Grandfather said I was too young," Maria said. "But I've been treating…" Shadow's torture wounds since I was ten. "...actual injuries since I was ten."
Shadow quietly put a hand on Maria's arm beneath the table, and he felt her relax. That era was over. Hopefully...
"I'm twelve," the fox announced. "But-Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Tails, my real name is Miles Prower, but I prefer Tails."
Maria's smile was genuine this time as she reached across the table to shake Tails' hand. "I'm Maria, and I guess I'm fourteen."
Sonic choked suddenly and began to cough. It quickly started to sound painful.
Maria stood up and went behind him with all the practice of one familiar with handling quills. She set her hands on his shoulder, pulling them gently back.
"Don't hunch over," she said. "That'll just make it worse."
Sonic nodded and struggled to do as she said and the coughing began to ease a little. She handed him a cup of water and he took a sip, slowly starting to catch his breath. "Thanks," Sonic said.
Maria leaned around to smile at him. "You alright?" she asked.
Sonic's smile was a little strained. "Yeah, sorry," he said. "I guess I'm just a little sore still."
"That's exactly what I'm concerned about. Don't think I haven't noticed. Both of you are moving stiffly" Maria said going back to her seat. "And neither of you ate much. Shadow, you haven't been relying on chaos energy again, have you?"
Shadow stiffened on the seat next to her.
"Shadow," Maria whined, letting her head fall back briefly. "Even you can't do that indefinitely, and now we'll have to acclimate your stomach into accepting food again while you're low on chaos energy. This is exactly why you shouldn't be skipping meals. How many days has it been?"
"Five," Shadow said quietly, his eyes sliding towards the floor.
Maria sighed. "That would do it," she said.
Sonic's eyes were the size of dinner plates. "You haven't eaten in five days?" he said incredulously. "I'd have keeled over on day two!"
Maria rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "All the equipment I'm familiar with is on the Ark," she said. "Is it still there?"
"For the most part, yes," Shadow said somewhat reluctantly. He still wasn't sure using chaos control was a good idea at this stage. He still felt really tired. "I could get us there if you really want."
"How?" Maria said flatly. "Chaos control? Even if we had a real chaos emerald, that's definitely not a good idea right now."
Was it a good idea to tell Maria that he performed chaos jumps on a regular basis now? It suddenly occurred to him that she didn't know about some of the abilities he'd picked up in the last six months.
Across the table, Sonic shifted suddenly, looking as if he was a second away from speaking up. Shadow knew he still had an emerald on him.
"I have some equipment at my workshop," Tails offered somewhat shyly. "It might be a tight fit on the Tornado, but I could fly us back after breakfast."
Shadow felt he could endure a trip by plane.
"I would feel better if I knew for sure what's going on with them," Maria said. "I'd also really like to check Shadow's levels."
"We can make that happen," Tails said confidently then glanced at the echidna. "Is there any chance I could convince you to come with us? I have a favor to ask."
"I'll need to meditate for a little bit to see if the Master Emerald has anything for me," Knuckles said. "But yeah. I had intended to come with you to the mainland. I swear I can't turn my back for even a second on you guys without something happening."
"Yes!" Tails crowed and began to pick up the dishes, clearly eager to get going.
Once Knuckles had set off for the Master Emerald and Tails had gone to the Tornado to inspect his plane, Maria found herself alone with the two tired hedgehogs.
"I can do a basic check while we're still here," she said. "It would probably be a good idea before we get up in the air."
"You don't have to do that," Sonic said, waving a dismissive hand. "I'm fine really."
"Are you though?" Maria argued, her expression set. "If you're really so sure, then there's no harm in me checking, is there?"
Shadow sighed quietly. His sister had made up her mind and he knew not even he would be able to change it. She was already reaching for Sonic to sit him down on the table.
"Really, I'm fine," Sonic argued, but she had already gotten a hold of his wrist and was checking his heart rate.
"It's fast," Maria said. "Is that normal for you?"
"Uh, yeah actually," Sonic said.
She checked his temperature by his ears next, and carefully inspected his eyes. "Any light sensitivity this morning?"
"Eh, maybe a little slow to adjust, but nothing horrible," Sonic said, and Maria nodded, looking like she'd suspected it already.
"Sore?" she asked next, lightly running a hand down Sonic's arm.
Sonic winced a little and nodded.
"Contact only? Or do you also feel it just sitting there?" she asked, giving him an apologetic look.
"It's both," Sonic said, then immediately tried to back peddle. "Not that it's bad at all! I've had much worse."
"So has Shadow," Maria said without missing a beat.
Sonic cringed. Maria caught the expression and Shadow was certain that she was wondering suddenly just how much his blue counterpart knew about them.
"Well, I need to be mean to you now," Maria said regretfully. "I need you to lie back for a second."
Sonic's shoulders stiffened a little but his quills remained in their usual half way relaxed position. "What are you going to do?" he asked.
"I want to check for swelling in your organs," Maria said, a sympathetic light in her blue eyes. "It means I'll be pressing on your tummy a little, and it's probably going to hurt."
"Do you have to?" Sonic said with clear reluctance.
"Well," Maria said. "If you throw up on the plane, that's going to put a lot of pressure on your stomach, and if there is anything wrong, it could cause something to rupture or tear, and since we'll be in the air, I won't be able to help you right away. It would be better if we know now."
Sonic still seemed to hesitate, glancing uncertainly at Shadow and back to Maria.
"You couldn't be in better hands," Shadow assured him. He trusted Maria with his life and more.
Sonic gingerly lowered himself down on the table, but he looked tense and miserable.
"Thank you," Maria told him quietly, and she took his hand. "The moment it starts to hurt, I want you to squeeze my hand, okay?"
Sonic nodded, looking vulnerable and anxious.
Shadow looked away. This was the one being who had managed to not only keep up with him, but prevent him from doing the unthinkable. He was used to seeing the hedgehog with his quills raised and green fire in his eyes. It had never occurred to him that really, Sonic was barely more than a kid himself.
Sonic hissed suddenly, and Shadow looked up. Sonic's expression was scrunched into a look of misery and pain and one of his legs had drawn upward in a protective reflex.
Maria released the pressure and gently rubbed the spot she'd been pressing on. "Sorry," she said softly. "I know it hurts."
"It's not as bad as I thought it would be," Sonic said, and it looked like he was telling the truth, but Shadow also had the impression that he was trying to put on a brave face for Maria. His respect for Sonic grew.
Eventually Maria sat him back up and gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Well," she said. "There is some swelling, but not enough for concern. How long is this plane trip?"
Shadow glanced at Sonic uncertainly as he realized he didn't know. It was with some trepidation that he realized he'd passed out on the trip there.
"About ten minutes," Sonic said easily.
Maria nodded. "That should be just fine," she said, then turned to smile at Shadow, patting the edge of the table. "Your turn."
Shadow quietly complied. Oddly enough, little check ups from Maria had become something to look forward to for him. On the Ark, these were the quiet moments where he could lower his quills and let himself be cared for. Maria was always gentle, and always took the time to explain about anything new or strange.
She asked him the same questions she'd asked Sonic and his answers were also pretty much the same. When she asked him to lay down on the table, he didn't even hesitate, but he did find himself struggling to keep his eyes open.
Maria put a hand on his belly. It was warm. He reached for her hand before he remembered what they were doing.
"Your hands are warm," he said quietly. "Usually they're cold."
"Bad circulation," Maria said with a slight cringe. "Probably because my lymph nodes were always swollen. Something I'm not dealing with anymore." She smiled.
"Sorry," Shadow said, releasing her hand. "I didn't mean to interrupt."
Maria shook her head a little and began to press lightly on his tummy in a circular pattern. "Have you been sleeping well?"
Shadow cringed a little at a sore spot. "About as well as could be expected," he said.
"I'll take that as a no," Maria said, casting a sympathetic look at him. "I need to press here."
Shadow nodded and took a breath, feeling her slowly putting her weight on a spot just below his ribs. It was sore there and he had to squeeze her free hand almost right away. She kept up the pressure for a few agonizing seconds before easing off.
"Sorry, Shadow," Maria said, lightly rubbing over the spot.
Shadow took a breath and shook his head to tell her it was alright. "What do you think?" he grunted.
"I can immediately tell that you're worse off than Sonic," she said, pursing her lips. "There's more swelling, and I can tell you're pretty tender right there. This pandemonium… Based on past experience, we know your body can handle chaos energy without taking injury, but when it's all scrambled like this, I think it actually did some physical damage to your bodies. If my suspicions are correct, I think we're going to see signs of damage everywhere we care to look.
Shadow hoisted himself upright slowly. "So, all of my major organs and muscle groups…"
"Pretty much," Maria said. "This is bad stuff."
"You're telling me," Sonic scoffed lightly. "Somehow, it doesn't surprise me to know that it caused more than its fair share of mischief, that it didn't just stop now that we're cured."
"How'd this even happen anyway?" Maria said, gently pulling Shadow off the table and into her lap where she set her chin on his head between his ears.
Sonic cringed, looking like he was reluctant to speak up.
"GUN has a weapon," Shadow said. Maria had genius level intelligence, just like her grandfather. She'd figure it out eventually. He felt her go stiff beneath him, and he heard her lungs stop for a second.
"Figures it would be them," she said, a bitter note creeping into her tone. "So… Shadow. Ultimately this is up to you… but, could we go after them? They were bad fifty years ago, and now they're still causing trouble for people. We're in a position to start making a difference now."
Sonic was suddenly giving the woodstove some intense study.
Shadow sighed and leaned back into Maria's hold. He was so tired. "Yes, we can go after them," he said. "I had every intention of taking away their new toy when I got the chance."
"Right," Sonic said, turning back to look at them again. "We're gonna need some information."
"Rouge," Shadow said.
Sonic nodded. "She'd be the one," he agreed. "After this though, I don't know if she'll be able to maintain her position there. We'll have to make this one count."
Just then, Tails came barging into the cave, startling everyone there. "Tornado's prepped and ready to go," he said. "Ready to go home?"
Sonic jumped to his feet and cringed slightly, putting a hand on his belly. "Yep," he said lightly. "Time to get back to the mainland."
"Where are we exactly?" Maria asked.
"This is Angel Island," Tails said eagerly. "Come on, I'll do a fly by so you can see it." The little fox rushed off again, clearly expecting them to follow.
Maria set Shadow on his feet and stood up, an awed look on her face. "I thought Angel Island was a myth," she said.
Knuckles appeared around the corner just then. "As far as the rest of the planet is concerned, it is," he said. "And I'd like to keep it that way."
Maria nodded. "Right, the Master Emerald," she said. "That's… if it fell into the wrong hands…"
"Exactly," Knuckles said, and turned to follow the fox.
"Come on," Sonic said beckoning for Maria and Shadow to follow. "It's not everyday that you get to see a floating island, unless you're Knuckles of course."
Maria shot Shadow an eager look and began to follow Sonic out. Shadow shook his head with a fond sigh as he followed behind her.