Chapter 1

Starring:
Sonic the Hedgehog - Retired Hero
Maria the Tenrec - Wife of a Hero

Twenty years after the ARK incident, the world had seen a long period of peace. The original G.U.N. was disbanded after the secrets and conspiracy that they held in regards to Professor Gerald and his family. Sonic was hailed as a hero to Mobius, though he never really let that do more to change who he was. When Sonic was convinced Eggman was truly gone, he spent his time trying to find things to do. As years passed, he decided to settle down and eventually married Maria. Amy would be the first to congratulate them before she herself would settle down with Tails. Besides a few get-togethers, their interactions were fairly minimal, especially after Sonic and Maria had kids. Unfortunately, peace is truly never meant to last.

It was morning at the Sonic residence, a white circular house with a few windows and a playground. The interior was reminiscent of the ARK's own interiors, likely Maria's choice since that was her home for a portion of her life. Maria was helping their kids, Sonia the Tenrec and Manic the Hedgehog, with their homework.

Sonia: "So… It's two divided by eighteen? Then add four?"

Maria: "Not quite. Eighteen divided by two, Sonia. What's that equal?"

Manic: "I know! Nine!"

Maria: "Very good, Manic. But this is your older sister's homework. You still need to write down an essay on Mobius' First Great War well over a thousand years ago."

Manic: "Ugh… But it's so boring! Was Lord Augustus the one that started it? Or Polaro the Fiesty?"

Sonic: "Neither, Manic."

Sonic was on the couch, reading a comic called 'The Speedster', occasionally looking at the trio with a smile.

Maria: "Boy, you just love that comic, huh?"

Sonic: "Eh. Not as good before the reboot. Here, the Quickster goes to meet alternative universe versions of himself and the plot just gets weird from there."

Maria: "You could cancel your subscription, Sonic…"

Sonic: "I will… When I get bored of it. I'm not bored of it yet."

Sonia: "Speaking of books. Dad, do you think we can head to the library later? I need to see if the latest issue of 'The Dark Chronicles of Shade' came in yet."

Sonic: "Sure."

Maria smiles before the group hear the doorbell. Maria stands up and walks over to see who it was. When she opens the door, she sees a well dressed human man in a green uniform, the same type worn by military in civilian attire. Sonic sees the military man and looks ready to rush to Maria's side, but Maria stops him.

Maria: "Hold on, Sonic. Let me handle this."

Maria looks at the human, seeing the rank to be a high ranking officer from the G.U.N.. With a sigh, she greets them as warmly as she could.

Maria: "Can I help you, sir?"

Officer: "Hello. You must be Mrs. Maria, correct?"

Maria: "Speaking."

Officer: "Good, good. I am from the Guardians of the United Nation, acting as a representative in hopes that you are willing to agree to a project for the preservation of human and Mobian kind."

Maria's kind attitude shifts to a less comfortable one as she crosses her arms and glares at the officer.

Maria: "What kind of project?"

Officer: "A simple project. Basically creating artificial Mobians like yourself to act as super soldiers."

Maria: "Artificial Mobians? As super soldiers?"

Sonic watched Maria closely, starting to see signs of agitation. Maria has some form of PTSD in regards to what happened to her twenty years ago, when Commander Brass decided to use her as a tool to destroy the Mobians so the idea of artificially created super soldiers possibly being used for the same thing is giving her some serious flashbacks. Sonic stands up, but Maria yells at him.

Maria: "Sonic! Stop! I am fine!"

Sonic: "Maria, you're scratching your arm. You're not-"

Maria: "No. I am fine."

Maria looks back at the officer before continuing to glare.

Maria: "So you plan to create super soldiers… For what reason, may I ask?"

Officer: "Very easy answer. While peace has been at the forefront of our society, there is no telling when a force like Dr. Ivo Robotnik will come again. Twenty years is a long time without any incidents, but think of what could happen without some proper protection. You and Phantom were some of our best protectors and so it stands to reason that having more Mobians like you could better our chances of maintaining this peace."

Maria: "And yet, you're willing to go the unethical route?"

The officer is taken aback by the response, causing him to stumble over his words.

Officer: "E-Excuse me?"

Maria: "You would rather create creatures with possibly unstable energy, capable of mass destruction, than train soldiers to better your odds of protecting this peace?"

Officer: "Mrs. Maria, I assure you that we do train our soldiers the best we can, but you are-"

Maria: "I was not put into that position by choice!"

Maria's aura started glowing as one of her inhibitor rings clanged to the floor beside her. Her eyes were glowing brightly as her rage was on full display.

Maria: "I was put into a situation I had no control over! My grandfather risked his life for me! Gave me a second chance to live a life I wanted to! I was almost stripped of that life by some asshole who had an extremist and racist view towards Mobians! I fought so I could have the life I have now! I refuse to partake in the creation of something that could end up harming the world!"

Sonic was soon beside her, placing his hands on her shoulders as he started to calm her down. Sonia and Manic look on from their spots, looking scared at their mother's rage. But they calmed down when Maria's aura died down.

Sonic: "It's okay, Maria… Everything is going to be okay…"

Sonic then turned to the officer and stepped in front of his wife.

Sonic: "Sir, I'd like to remind you that there are a lot of strong folks out there. Really gifted too. The world is in safe hands without any super soldiers around. If you don't like being outclassed by a few teenagers-now-adults, then get good. Otherwise, don't approach us with this stuff ever again. Understand?"

The officer is understandably winded by the energy he just experienced. But he soon straightens himself before clearing his throat.

Officer: "Ahem… Of course, Mr. Sonic… Pardon my wording if it upset you, Mrs. Maria… If you are saying that you have no interest in the project, then I thank you for your time regardless."

The officer extends a hand towards the duo. Though reluctant, Maria did shake the officer's hand, at least trying to seem polite. Once that was done, the officer departed as Maria slammed the door closed. She then walked by Sonic towards the kitchen, ignoring his call to her.

Sonic: "...Sigh… Oh boy… Sonia. Manic."

Sonia: "Y-Yes, Dad?"

Sonic: "Head to your room real quick. Mom and Dad need to talk privately. We'll head to the library afterwards, okay?"

Sonia: "On… second thought… Maybe a trip to the arcades instead?"

Sonic looked at his kids before flashing a wink, smile, and thumbs up at them, showing that things will be okay. The kids head to their room before Sonic entered the kitchen where Maria could be seen looking at a photo of her old self and Shadow. Sonic stood beside her, looking at the photo.

Sonic: "You got a great smile, Maria. You know that?"

Maria: "...Pfft. That your way of breaking the ice?"

Sonic: "Well it worked, didn't it?"

Maria did smirk a bit but then turned back to the photo.

Maria: "When the Black Arms came, demanding the Chaos Emeralds… Shadow… helped save us all. At the cost of his own life…"

Sonic: "Yeah… I remember that day… I wasn't strong enough for Devil Doom, even as Super Sonic… We all thought it was over… Until Phantom… or Shadow, excuse me, came and…"

Maria: "Used Chaos Control to warp Devil Doom and the Black Comet in the line of fire of the Eclipse Cannon… I… shot the cannon… And took his life…"

Sonic hugged Maria, letting her cry on his shoulder as she let out all of her emotions. He looked at the photo of Shadow, thinking back to how he went out with a smile. Once Maria stopped, she sighed before smiling.

Maria: "Sorry… You… know how emotional I get… The idea of creating artificial life for war just… brought back so many terrible memories… But… I'm happy to have created so many good memories in its place…"

Sonic: "Heh. I'm happy to help…"

The two share a kiss together for a moment before splitting and giving each other some space.

Sonic: "Anyway, I'm off to the arcade with the kids. You want to come with?"

Maria: "No, I'll be fine. I need to make dinner anyway."

Sonic: "Aww… Sonia's gonna be awfully lonely without her mummy getting another high score at 'Gunslinger'."

Maria: "Oh please… I'm not that good at it…"

Maria smiles before kissing Sonic on the lips real quick, holding him close.

Maria: "I'll go get dressed up and we'll go, okay?"

Sonic: "Don't keep us waiting too long."

Maria heads to their room in order to get changed, Sonic leaning against the counter as he looks back at the photo again.

Sonic: "...You were pretty cool out there… Shadow the Hedgehog…"

Sonic then walks away to go get his kids ready to leave.

Elsewhere, in an unknown location, the high ranking officer that met with Sonic and Maria walked up to an old shack in the middle of nowhere before pressing a button. The door of the shack opens for him to enter; once inside, the floor descends, revealing a hidden elevator as the man reveals a hidden vial filled with blood. A smile forms on his face as he had a hidden needle in his sleeve used to drain some of Maria's blood when they shook hands. A small enough needle that she wouldn't notice and would leave no mark, like a mosquito bite. The elevator stops and the large doors slide open to a lab filled with human lab workers, each busy with their own project. One of the scientists, the head scientist, walks up to the officer to report to him.

Head Scientist: "Did you get a sample?"

Officer: "Of course. They don't suspect a thing either. Are the pods ready?"

Head Scientist: "Yes. Our current prediction is that the artificial life forms will be made within a couple of weeks using Maria's unique DNA."

Officer: "Have you told the Commander?"

Head Scientist: "I have. And he's looking forward to the look on the girl's face."

The two walk to the other end of the lab, entering an observation deck where a figure stood, just hidden in the shadows. A robotic, but very commanding voice rings out from the figure.

Robotic Voice: "Report."

Head Scientist: "All components are ready. In a couple of weeks, we will have two of the strongest soldiers under our command."

Officer: "Those furry freaks can toil away at the world for a little longer, but once our project is complete…"

Robotic Voice: "Excellent. You two have served the Conspiracy very well. You are dismissed."

The duo salute before leaving the figure alone. A single glowing red eyes could be seen as he stares at a spy cam showing Maria and Sonic, specifically Maria, at the arcades with their kids. On other monitors were Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Cream, Vanilla, and Topaz going about their own day. Above each of them was the word "target".

Robotic Voice: "Twenty years… Twenty long years in hiding… You ruined my chance for glory, you brat Maria. You are nothing but a thing… An object. A tool to be used… You thought you destroyed me all those years ago… That I was reduced to dust… I could have died back then… But I survived… By some miracle, I survived… Now rebuilt, I aim to finish what I started… And this time, you and your friends aren't surviving…"

The figure lights a cigarette in his mouth before smiling evilly, walking into a light to reveal himself… as Commander Brass, now 99% cyborg after that blast Maria gave him.

Brass: "Earth belongs to humans, brats. Either die or fall in line like the animals you are."

To be continued…