Chapter 2

Not a day went by when Shadow didn't think of her.

Maria...This is the hope that you wanted them to have, right?

He focused his gaze at the blue planet below wishing she was there to look at it with him. Days since he defeated the Black Arms turned to weeks and weeks to months. It had been nearly a year at this point. Shadow felt at peace. He had fulfilled his promise to the person that mattered to him and defeated those that wished to destroy the planet she loved so much. Every day the earth existed was a day he could be proud of himself for and he wouldn't let anything harm it.

However, that certainly didn't mean he shared his dear friend's enthusiasm for the planet. He had touched its surface. He'd seen what it has to offer. While Maria would have no doubt loved it, he found it much more peaceful aboard the ARK. Seeing the life-bearing planet from the blackness of space made him appreciate that fact far more than being on it. He was meant to serve it, not experience it. Now that the service had come to an end, there was no purpose in being on it. He scoffed at the thought, thinking most would think it a negative. But Shadow didn't see it that way. To him, it was a comforting thought, knowing he had achieved his destiny. Most beings don't. They let their dreams fall by the wayside and settle for an average life. He didn't. It was just the fact that with one's destiny completed, they had little left.

This mindset carried him throughout his year of solitude, but even he knew it wasn't to last. That's why he was surprised when the ARK sensors beeped, letting him know there was someone else aboard with him.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Men, to your stations!" the outdated security system shrieked.

"Hmph," Shadow muttered going over to the facility's operational cameras. "Huh, The doctor...What on earth..."

There was little time to prepare. Eggman was aboard and he was unpredictable. Why would he come back? In there last confrontation aboard the vessel, Shadow told him to leave the ARK and never return with the seven Chaos Emeralds swirling around him before going to the Black Comet. Why after a year had the doctor betrayed that advice? He sprinted aboard the ARK, navigating it's maze-like corridors which had become easier since the escape of the Artificial Chaos and quickly found the intruder who was aboard a very familar walker.

"Hohohoho. Hey there, Shadow. Long time no see!" he greeted stretching out his arms out.

Shadow didn't react, but had his eyes trained on the doctor.

"It is nice to see you," Eggman said.

"What are you doing here? You know I warned you, Doctor."

"Yes, you did. But I think I at least earned a conversation considering what I told you at the end of your fight with Devil Doom."

Shadow's gaze narrowed at Eggman and he considered attacking, but held back out of respect for the rest of his bloodline.

"If I was here for a fight, I'd have brought more than this puny machine. Wouldn't you agree?"

"You have five minutes..." Shadow finally said, making Eggman squeal in a childlike manner. "But let me first say this. Don't think for one second I will show you any further mercy or gratitude for what you did. For you may have saved me, Doctor. But you also held me prisoner and used my power to create androids of me. The best thing Black Doom ever did was wiping out those monstrosities. Don't think I have forgotten your villainy?"

"Noted, Shadow. Noted. I am only here because I respect you."

"I don't respect you."

"That's a lie and you know it."

"Just state why you're here."

"I think the two of us can agree that your time up here is over."

Shadow almost smirked. "What's your game?"

"I don't have a game. What I'm saying is that you are missed on earth."

"That's really not my problem," Shadow instantly replied. "I've done what I needed to do."

"How narrow a view. Is that why you've been here this whole time? Because you think that?"

Shadow didn't answer the question, but almost jumped when Eggman hopped out of his mech and went over to the window.

"Maria was my cousin, you know."

Shadow felt himself gasp at something he already knew. "Like it matters."

"Well, maybe it doesn't, but I still have something you want."

"What's that exactly?"

Eggman smiled, his teeth shining like the stars outside the ARK. "Upon you defeating the Black Arms, the reputation of my grandfather on earth shifted from a man that was evil to one driven mad by the circumstances surrounding what happened here. As a result, all of his work was published including a secret more personal diary which was separate from his research. And in that diary, he stated that all of Maria's personal belongings including her diary still exist."

"What?" Shadow cried instantly. "You lie. I'd know about it."

"See for yourself!" Eggman chucked a book at the black hedgehog who caught it without breaking his gaze. "Chapter 7, page 136."

Shadow opened it and sure enough, Eggman's words were verified. They did all exist and were given a shrine in the temple where his research into the ultimate life form originated.

"But where is this shrine?"

"The temple in the jungle of the Mystic Ruins. Now, I can't tell you to come back. I don't even want you back myself because the next time we may face each other, it will likely be as enemies if you intend to stop me from my conquest of world domination."

"Don't test me."

"I wouldn't dream of it. Just know that in my heart there will always be respect for you no matter how bad things between us may get."

Eggman held out his hand in front of Shadow who stared at it for a second before reaching out and taking it making Eggman's smile grow and he walked over to his mech.

"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog..." he said and the mech clamped out leaving Shadow staring at the journal dumbfounded.