A Most Cherished Gift
Chapter 1: His Dream Girl
"Shadow." Sonic read the paper he pulled from the box of names. He was Shadow's Secret Santa that year.
"Great, I got stuck with Mr. Personality. What am I supposed to get him?"
It was something of a miracle even getting Shadow to agree to stay with Sonic and all his friends for the holidays. Though his interest seemed to be closer to the opportunity to not have to sleep on the ground than to partake in any celebrating.
As Christmas drew closer, Sonic hadn't had a single idea as far as what to get for Shadow. But he overheard something one evening that sparked the beginning of an idea. Shadow had fallen asleep reading and began talking in his sleep, and he mentioned the name "Maria."
"No, Maria. Please, come back..."
"You can't leave me, Maria..."
"Maria, don't go. I can't lose you yet..."
He did this on more than one night. Sonic had no idea who he was talking about, but he decided to try and find out more about this mysterious girl on Shadow's mind. He figured whoever Maria was, she must have been important to Shadow if he cried out for her in his sleep.
Getting more information from their friends was futile because no one really knew much about Shadow's past. Out of all of them, Sonic probably knew him best and he didn't know a thing about this girl. Taking the direct route and asking Shadow himself would likely not end well either due to Shadow keeping to himself so much. Sonic could only think of one other person who would know anything about either Shadow or Maria – quite possibly the only person left alive who could answer his questions. Perhaps they could provide answers that could lead Sonic to some gift ideas.
As he prepared to leave, he was stopped by Tails. "Hey Sonic! Where are you off to?"
"Can't talk now, buddy! I'm on a Christmas mission. I need to make a little trip to GUN today."
Sonic ran all the way to GUN headquarters to pay Commander Abraham Tower a visit in person. Since he had lived on the ARK with both Shadow and Maria, the commander could have the answers Sonic was seeking. Commander Tower invited Sonic into his office upon being informed he had a visitor.
"Well Sonic, it's been a long time! How have you been?"
"Fine, sir, thanks. How are you doing?"
"Couldn't be better. I am going to assume you didn't just drop by to say hello today, so what can I do for you?"
"Do you know anything about someone named Maria? It's a name Shadow has mentioned, but I didn't know if I should ask him about it because, well, you know how he is. I promise I'm going somewhere with this."
"I'm surprised he brings her up around you and your friends since none of you would have ever met her."
"He was calling out her name in his sleep. I heard him doing it more than once."
"He still misses her, it seems. I can tell you more about her because I have a feeling that you're correct in assuming that he might not be willing to offer up this information himself. Pull up a chair."
Sonic takes a seat, and the commander continues.
"Maria was Professor Gerald Robotnik's granddaughter back on the ARK when it was still in use. I was there with them on the space colony almost fifty years ago and I was a little younger than her at the time. She was a frail and sickly child, plagued by an incurable disease. The professor had hoped that by creating Shadow from alien DNA, perhaps he could find a cure for her condition in him and for other human illnesses as well. He was also created to be a weapon, but that's another story. Unfortunately, when the colony was raided by GUN soldiers, Maria was killed and Gerald's efforts to cure her never happened after he was captured and imprisoned. Shadow watched Maria get shot - it was the last thing he saw before he fell to Earth."
Sonic held his hand over his mouth, horrified by what he'd heard. "Oh man, I had no idea. That sounds horrible."
"Maria was also practically the only person in the entire colony who treated Shadow with any kind of decency. I was afraid of him as a child and thought he was nothing but a monster, so I avoided him. I'm not proud to say I tried to kill him and have him killed more than once after I became head of GUN. I thought he was a threat and a terrorist conspiring with the Black Arms, but I was wrong. I was very wrong. I'm just sorry it took me so long to see him for who he truly was."
"Were Shadow and Maria related?"
"By blood, no. But Shadow loved Maria very much like a sister. She was his only friend for pretty much his entire life. At least until you and your friends met him, though I don't think he'd ever admit to being friends with anyone else. He had a very special bond with Maria. Nothing inappropriate - just a very deep love for the person who not only gave him the time of day, but whom his entire existence was meant to save. His soul was also modeled after Maria's when he was created."
"I didn't know he had so few people in his life. All this time, I thought he was just a prick. But I had no idea his life has been so tragic. I can kinda see why he is the way he is."
"He was not treated well for most of his life, to say the least. So I imagine he would be very reluctant to open up to anyone now because of those experiences. I think he felt safe with Maria, and he probably hasn't felt that way since he lost her."
Upon learning just how important Maria was to Shadow, Sonic realized what he could do for Shadow for Christmas. Somehow, he had to try to find photos of Maria.
"Sir, do you by chance have any photos of Maria?"
"I don't have any, no."
"The three of you lived on the ARK, right? Could there be some there?"
"It's possible, but I can't say for sure."
A possibility was enough for Sonic.
"That's all I need to know. Sir, I want to go to the ARK to search for pictures of Maria. May I borrow a GUN ship to get there?"
"What?! Are you serious?! You – a civilian – want to take an expensive government spacecraft to an abandoned space station to look for photos from half a century ago that only might be there of someone I know for a fact you have never met?"
Sonic looked at the floor, feeling a little sheepish.
"Well... yes." His idea sounded great in his head, but when the commander put it the way he did, it did sound ridiculous.
"Why is it so important for you to have these pictures, if I might ask?"
"It's for Shadow, sir. This Maria sounds like she meant the world to him, and I want to try and give him something to remember her by for Christmas."
The commander's expression softened a little. "Your heart is in the right place, Sonic. But this would be an absurd waste of GUN resources."
Sonic was disappointed, though he wasn't sure what exactly he was expecting when making such a ludicrous request.
"Right. Well, um... thank you for your time, sir."
The commander stayed quiet for a while, but before Sonic left, he said, "I'm going with you."
Sonic perked up a little. "Wait, what?"
"If you're going on this cockamamie field trip to space, then I'm going with you."
"But didn't you just say no?"
"I said it was a waste of resources. I never said I wouldn't allow it."
"You won't face any backlash over it from GUN?"
Commander Abraham pointed at one of the shoulder boards on his uniform. "Sonic, what do you think these four stars mean?"
"That you have good reviews online?"
"It means I am the highest ranking commander at GUN. I do not get in trouble. I am the trouble."
"So does that mean I can borrow a ship?"
"Yes, you have my consent to take one of our crafts to space. Normally, I wouldn't agree to the use of one of our ships for such a frivolous reason. However, your motives are selfless and noble, which I admire. Plus, I've treated Shadow quite terribly for most of the time I've known him because I misunderstood him. This won't redeem me for all the awful things I've said and done to him, but I hope it can at least be a start."
"Are you coming along to make sure we don't break the ship?"
"I'm coming to help you look, and more importantly, to pilot the ship. I know the colony well and I can find hidden areas you may not be familiar with, as well as advise which areas would be most likely to contain photos so we don't waste time. Hopefully I still remember how to ensure the artificial gravity is turned on, at the minimum. Also, yes, I want to try to get the ship back here intact."
"What do you need from me to make this happen?"
"More crew members would be ideal. The more sets of eyes we have to search the colony, the better our chances of finding something."
"I'm sure I can get the guys to join me. They've already all been on the ARK at one point or another."
"When do you want to do this?"
"As soon as possible. This trip is basically Christmas shopping for me, and Christmas is the day after tomorrow."
"Then you and your friends be here at 0600 tomorrow morning for a mission briefing and we'll set out ideally before nine. I can't believe I'm doing this."
"Six in the morning? That's way too... I mean, yes, sir. We'll be here."
After he bade farewell to the commander and made his way back home, Sonic looked up at the sky where the space station was still visible so many years later. He knew the odds of finding what he was seeking were slim to none, but he felt Shadow was worth the effort.
"I think we're gonna need a Christmas miracle tomorrow."
Author's Notes: Whoohoo we're goin' to space, y'all!