Anonymous Review Replies!
VB: Thank you! :D Hope you like this new chapter too, it's a whopper of one!
Heat Salamance: Glad you like! And yeah, I always try to make the stories fun, but the characters also...real, and relatable. Sure they're highspeed hedgehogs, but some of their problems can be just the same as everyone's. ;p Hope you enjoy the update!
DEV: Zero Backstory in Boom, huh? Maaaann, wie kann man so cooles Sourcematerial nicht verwenden ey -.- Ruiniert den zweitbesten Charakter der Serie, why don't you.^^° Aber gut, wozu gibt es eben Fanfiction...und hahah, ja, was das Erde/Mobius-Dilemma angeht, fand ich die Idee, dass es einfach nur verschiedene linguistische Perspektiven sind schon immer gut :p Was Sonics Frage an Gerald und Maria bezüglich der Emeraldforschung angeht, nun, ich schätze, Sonic wollte sich nur nochmal kurz versichern, dass die beiden WIRKLICH nicht mit Dr. Ivo Robotnik unter einer Decke stecken und die ganze Familie an irgendeinem nefarious project mit irgendwelchen Emeralds arbeitet. Aber ich glaube mittlerweile ist er schon überzeugt, dass Maria und Gerald da unschuldig sind. :p Was den betreffenden Plotpunkt angeht...nun, wir arbeiten uns da hin mit...äh, naja, nicht ganz Sonic Speed...^^;; Was das Zebra angeht, vermute ich allerdings eine Breaking Bad-mäßige Szene mit einem Säurebad später am Abend im Keller XD That said, es hat mal wieder gedauert, aber dafür ist es diesmal ein extralanges Kapitel geworden! :D Hoffe dir gefällt's und wie immer vielen Dank für das irre lange Review!
LoneGarurumon: AU or not, Knuckles WILL somehow manage to get that Emerald stolen/shattered/somehow disappeared, yeah. XD I think during the dinner Sonic had some suspicion left whether Maria and Gerald didn't actually still have some ties to Robotnik and would either know what he wanted with the Master Emerald or maybe even work together with him, but I think Maria's innocent and nerdy reply pretty much reassured him of their innocence. As for where this is going...well, only one way to find out! Please enjoy :)
Last time...
Well, Shadow managed to survive the dinner with a certain blue hedgehog! He has also overheard a phone conversation of said hedgehog, apparently with some sort of 'Guardian' who has now lost whatever he was meant to be guarding. Wonder who that could be. ;p What Shadow does know is that Dr. Ivo Robotnik attacked prison island earlier this week and he would dearly like to go after him to restore his family's reputation, but Maria is not pleased with that idea.
Now after a full week of school, it's Shadow's first weekend to enjoy, so let's see what's in store for him this time...
Chapter 13: How I Met Your Mother
"Hey Shadow, wake up! We'll have to leave for the train in half an hour!"
"Ugh," Shadow commented eloquently, wondering not for the first time why Professor Gerald had never considered designing him as a morning person. As it was, he groaned as Maria was already pulling up the window blinds, letting sunshine stream into his room (and into his face).
"Come on, it's gonna be great! I've never been to Soleanna before!"
Shadow unwillingly stuck his head out of his covers. "Maria, you left this planet when you were four. 'Places you've never been to' include roughly 99.999% of any known territories here."
"Yeah! And all of them are probably amazing~! Hurry up!" Maria called out in a sing-song, already disappearing from his room and clattering down the stairs, probably about to do morning person things. Shadow sat up groaning, rubbing his face.
Technically, he'd have preferred to spend this first proper weekend on Earth, during the first time of his life when the term weekend had any meaning, rather somewhere quiet and alone, or just with the professor and Maria. Or maybe hunting down Maria's cousin and putting a gun to his head.
Instead, Maria wanted him to spend the weekend getting to know her parents.
Shadow knew which one of those tasks he was better equipped for.
Then there also was the small fact that technically he still had some homework due – after Mr Silver the substitute history teacher had delivered such an abysmal lesson, he had deemed it apparently a fine idea if the students all just learned everything by reading their textbook and writing a report on it, something Shadow would vastly have preferred instead of going to that complete circus of a high school in the first place.
He had tried to make some headway into that project yesterday night after Sonic and Tails had left, but then found soon enough that 'Mobian history' – or, any history that Mobians were involved in, really – was just as bizarre as their living counterparts. There seemed to have been a lot of territorial wars in the southern hemisphere over the Chaos Emeralds – which was fine and understandable, Shadow knew about their power – but also then passages of some sort of 'flying island' which kept being mentioned in connection with Emerald-related matters that he couldn't make sense of at all. Was that supposed to be a metaphor for something?
Nevertheless, that report would likely have to wait. Shadow sighed and got up, sliding socked feet into his shoes and grabbing his gloves from his nightstand, glad that at least getting dressed required significantly less time as a hedgehog. As he walked toward the bathroom he was a bit surprised to see his creator standing in front of the mirror, apparently trying earnestly, but in vain to get his bushy moustache to look a little bit less like two weasels having a fight for territory. He was also for once not wearing the white lab coat with an older jumper underneath but instead sported a new shirt, neatly tucked into equally new-looking pants.
"Morning, professor," Shadow said, cocking his head. "Dressing up for the occasion?"
"A bit, a bit," Gerald replied, looking slightly flustered. "To be honest, I haven't...seen my son Colin, and my daughter-in-law in a long time. I would like to make a good impression."
"...you look fine, I think," Shadow said, a bit curious. He couldn't remember having seen his creator actually nervous like this. Gerald shot him a glance in the mirror, and Shadow could actually feel a moment of kinship between them here - both of them visibly out of their element at the upcoming social interaction, but united in their desire to make this a good experience for Maria.
Gerald seemed to notice this, too, and let his mouth turn upwards slightly in a self-deprecating smile, expressing their shared awareness at the situation. Shadow could feel the corner of his lips twitch in answer, the moment a small patch over the cracks of their differences they had been tearing at yesterday over dinner.
"...thank you," Gerald sighed. "Maria appreciates you coming along today a lot, you know? So do I."
"Then I promise I'll do my best to give a good impression," Shadow nodded, looking up at Gerald and standing up a little straighter. Perhaps this would be easiest if he approached it as a mission.
"I'm sure you will, Shadow," Gerald sighed, before turning around and away from the mirror, one hand reaching down to squeeze Shadow's shoulder as he left the bathroom. "But believe me, it's not you I'm worried about..."
xxx
Shadow was still off-handedly puzzling about the professor's last remark as they had already boarded the train, now sitting in a four-seater compartment and watching the landscape rush past. Maria for her part was transfixed, excitedly peering out the windows and at the smaller towns seemingly flying along the train tracks. Shadow, not quite comfortable in the jam-packed train, briefly wished he still had that fake Chaos Emerald from their days aboard the ARK - the one with which he had saved Maria's life by Chaos Controlling in front of her when the soldier would have shot her - so he'd have been able to just teleport them to their destination.
But that Emerald had shattered when he had Chaos Controlled them both back into the rescue capsule and he had never been able to use the technique since...
So for now, he had no choice but to endure and let his gaze glide over the other passengers in the train, comprised from the now familiar mix of humans, mammals, birds and reptiles, and even the occasional insect. In fact, the creature that probably stood out in this train the most would have been the feral puppy belonging to a human family which was currently busy staring at the (sapient) kitten of a cat family, both little creatures obviously fascinated with each other.
"Erm, professor..." Shadow began, not quite sure how to approach this topic and whether it wouldn't let the tensions rise again, which he wanted to avoid with Maria present.
"Yes?"
"So we're visiting your son Colin, who is Maria's father, right?" he asked, glancing from his sister to his creator who both nodded.
"Yes," Gerald said. "He's a teaching professor at Soleanna university - met Maria's mother there while he was still a student, in fact. I think you'll like her," he said, giving Shadow a small smile that Shadow hated to make disappear when he continued.
"Right. But I was wondering...if Dr. Robotnik is your other grandchild, then-"
"Ah," Gerald's face had become drawn again, his entire posture stiffening. "That's what you are wondering."
"Well...I've got to admit, I was wondering a bit, too," Maria spoke up, hesitantly. "I mean...I know he's my cousin, so technically I should have an aunt or uncle somewhere, right...?"
Gerald let out a long and heavy sigh. "You had an uncle, yes. My...first-born son. Your father's half-brother. Brutus," Gerald looked pained. "Long dead now, of course."
"...oh," Maria managed, looking a bit stricken at her grandfather's words.
Shadow could feel his throat constricting. "You...lost your son?" he asked, worried. Had Maria's cousin perhaps-?
"In a sense," Gerald said, re-adjusting his glasses as he pinched the skin above his nose. "I never met him. For a while, I didn't even know I had gotten his mother pregnant - and then I tried to pretend I didn't," Gerald said, the words coming quietly, like he had to force them out, not meeting either of their gazes when he did.
"When...when was this?" Maria asked, swallowing and looking uncomfortable. "I thought you and grandma-"
"Long, long before I met your grandmother. She did make me a better man than I was then," Gerald said, sounding wistful for a moment. "I like to think she'd smile if she looked down on you now," he said, gaze travelling over both Shadow and Maria sitting opposite him, giving them a brittle, pained smile. "At least two things her foolish husband got right in his life."
"Grandpa..." Maria managed, her expression mostly so lost and confused that Shadow could feel a sting in his own heart - Maria was usually the one who helped him when he felt that way, how was he supposed to help her now? But then her grandfather was already continuing before she could say more.
"No, your grandmother I actually married and had Colin with. Contrary to Brutus' mother, who I never saw again," Gerald looked away. "I was only contacted by the coroner's office when she died of liver cirrhosis, and later again when Brutus had apparently followed in her footsteps, killing himself in a bout of drunk driving."
Shadow looked on for a moment while his fingers dug into the train seat cushions, not knowing what to say to this, the entire sombre conversation full of family skeletons incongruent with the cheerful and chattery atmosphere in a train compartment filled with families on their weekend trip. Maria was still staring at Gerald with wide, non-understanding eyes, probably feeling a lot like Shadow - the professor had always been a solid presence of ethical guidance in their lives (even if a far too passive and peace-loving one for Shadow's taste). But he was still supposed to be someone who knew what the right thing was. Shadow could feel a gap of uncertainty opening up in his stomach - if even the man who had chosen to create you could make mistakes like that, then what -?
Maria cleared her throat.
"But…drunk driving and...but...aren't...isn't our family supposed to be smart?" she asked, as if that was what had shaken her beliefs about her family the most. Gerald smiled grimly.
"Nurture versus Nature, Maria. I know this sounds horrible, but she came from a bad background already, and I left her alone and pregnant..." He swallowed, looking away in shame. "Brutus might possibly have been born a smart child, but raw intelligence is not always the protection against poverty and addiction we would like to believe it is. But of course, when it then came to Brutus' kid Ivo-" he started, voice turning hard, but was interrupted by the train speakers blaring.
"Soleanna! Next station: Soleanna! All passengers travelling on to Kingdom Valley please disembark here and-"
"Oh, that's us! Come on, let's go," Maria stood up quickly, probably more than happy for the excuse to end the conversation here. Gerald and Shadow grabbed their bags to follow her, pushing through throngs of mostly human bodies moving toward the exit. As yet another handbag hit him in the quills on the back of his head, Shadow wondered, not for the first time, why Gerald had chosen to create him as a species only three feet tall in a society of giants.
But at least Maria's mood was picking up as they finally managed to shuffle through the carriage and then spill out onto the station platform with the other passengers, immediately bathed in bright midday sunshine. Soleanna's main station was wide and white and airy, and from what Shadow could see of the buildings outside, that pertained to the rest of the city as well. Comparing it to other places he had seen on TV, it exuded a bit of a Mediterranean flair, a distant breeze hinting at the ocean Gerald had told them bordered on the city.
"Alright, let's see whether we can find a cab-" Gerald began, herding his two charges out of the station and onto the front plaza, squinting against the sun reflecting off the shining buildings. Shadow had walked a few steps into the other direction, trying to see whether there were any more cabs that way, when -
"Oh, hello! A fellow hedgehog, I see!" Shadow heard a voice and turned his head. And stared.
The...very human man that had spoken, was currently waving at him and striding closer. As he did, Shadow realized with mounting dread that he appeared to be wearing what had to be some Sonic the Hedgehog cosplay of all things.
"...sorry?" Shadow asked, wondering why, even in a city four hours apart from Station Square and the hedgehog in question, there somehow was no escape from his image.
"Hello, hello!" the man for some reason wearing a quill-shaped helmet, a racing visor and a white T-shirt with a rather short and fat Sonic on it, continued on unperturbedly, "Always happy to see another hedgehog around here, I say. Welcome to Soleanna and please send Sonic my regards when you see him, yes?"
"…just because I'm a hedgehog doesn't mean I know Sonic," Shadow said, a bit of his brain still trying to cling to some logic here (and *you* aren't even a hedgehog, he meant to add, but also felt that this perhaps wasn't a can of worms worth opening).
"What?" The man appeared to be taken aback. "You don't know Sonic?"
"Well, I do, but-"
"Well, there you go!" the man exclaimed triumphantly. "But I shall be off now! Princesses to save and bad guys to fight! Sonicman away~!"
Shadow watched the man jogging off into another direction.
Then he turned and walked back to Maria and Gerald.
"Maria, I've thought about this. I would like to go back to Station Square now and stay in my room for the rest of the weekend."
"Shadow! There you are! C'mon, Grandpa has just found a cab! What are you talking about?" Maria gave him a slightly concerned smile as she hurried over to him, pointing at her grandfather and an open taxi.
"I would just like to know, why are there crazy people everywhere, why are they all obsessed with Sonic and why do they keep finding me?"
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Maria looked at Shadow with a bit of concern, but he sighed and waved her off.
"Nothing. Never mind. At this point I'll be happy if your mother hasn't bought a Sonic the Hedgehog cake for dessert..."
"I'm sure she hasn't," Maria said as they climbed onto the backbench of the cab, Shadow only absentmindedly registering the curious look the human cab driver gave him. "At least...reasonably sure," she said, suddenly sounding slightly insecure for the first time of that day as well. "Even if I haven't seen her in a while..."
"What are your parents like?" Shadow asked, also watching the city streets go past the cab's windows - from what he could tell they were definitely pulling into the more well-to-do city quarters.
The girl shot him a side glance, then gave a little pained laugh. "Honestly? Busy."
Shadow frowned. "That's not really-"
"Well, I mean you've seen them before, I showed you the pictures. And remember the video calls during Christmas?"
Shadow nodded hesitantly. In truth, there was only one Christmas he remembered spending with Maria during their years aboard the ARK, the two friends at other times separated by her illness, experiments on Shadow, or GUN having claimed him for training. He had mostly hung out shyly in the background during that video call, not sure how to interact with any people he didn't know and happy to watch Maria smiling during that call.
"They sent you presents," Shadow remembered. "Usually more dresses."
"And cat food for you, yeah," Maria remarked with a slightly pained smile. "They're...not the most intuitive people."
"When people in our family get intuitive, it never ends well," Gerald mumbled through his moustache and that ended that particular topic.
"Professor...Maria's father, you said you were...worried about seeing him?" Shadow asked, leaning forward in the cab.
Gerald nodded. "Ah. Yes, a bit. Even without the family history, our relationship has been...difficult at times."
"Grandpa wants to say he's not a genius," Maria threw in, and Shadow could see his creator wince guiltily.
"I...I never put it quite like..." Gerald tried to defend himself but Maria shook her head.
"Grandpa. I think Shadow should know what he's about to get into, don't you?" she said, sounding not admonishing, but earnest. When Gerald didn't protest, she turned back toward Shadow, looking a bit contrite. "I mean...Dad's really intelligent, no doubt about it, and he's a professor like mom, but...well." Maria gave a slightly lop-sided smile. "There's a difference between 'just' being a professor and having revolutionized Chaos theory like great-grandfather did or, well," she looked straight at Shadow. "Having created life."
"It's a bit of a burden growing up in the Robotnik family, yes," Gerald conceded, gaze now focused on his fingers in his lap. "Also, while Maria's parents were of course happy that I could take Maria up to the ARK with me where her survival chances were greatly increased, I always wondered..."
He turned around, abruptly. "Maria, please make sure to be extra friendly to them, alright? We don't want them to think that..." he sighed before he could finish the sentence. Then, with a glance at Shadow, he added, quietly, "It has been a topic of tension when Maria decided to stay with us in Station Square instead of going to live with them in Soleanna."
"They're my parents, grandpa," Maria pointed out patiently. "Of course I'll be friendly to them. I love them. I just wish they'd understand that I love you and Shadow, too."
The car pulled to a stop. Shadow and Maria got out as Gerald paid the driver, and Shadow had a look around the residential neighbourhood. He noticed that there only were a few humans around, one watering her front lawn and another washing his car, both again giving him curious looks.
"Oh. Yeah," Maria said, apparently having noticed it, too. "There aren't as many sapients living in Soleanna as in Station Square. That probably accounts for the cat food you got for Christmas, if mom and dad don't know much about sapient hedgehogs."
"Hmm," Shadow nodded in agreement, once again scanning the broad, otherwise deserted white street and remembering the similarly broad, uniform white streets they'd driven through. "If you ask me, this whole Soleanna town seems...empty."
"It's a gated community. Still in development, as far as I understand," Gerald said. "Come on, you two."
They followed him up the driveway to the generously-sized house, gravel crunching beneath their feet. Gerald had barely rung the doorbell when their call was already answered.
"You made it! Hello, Gerald!"
Shadow's eyes for a moment went wide. The woman in the door looked like the spitting image of Maria – or would look like it, when Maria had lived for another thirty years.
"Hello, Hope," Gerald said, stepping into a hug that from his side looked just a little awkward – Shadow knew he shared no genes with the man who was practically his father, but he didn't need a guess to know where he had inherited his general fumbling when it came to social interaction from.
"Well, come on in, come on in," the blonde woman said, skin crinkling around her sky blue eyes as she smiled and ushered the old scientist inside. "And-" to her credit, she faltered only briefly, when her gaze settled on Shadow, "...and you, too! And...Maria." Something in the woman's gaze seemed to break the moment she set eyes on her daughter outside, and then she was out the door in an instant, holding the blonde girl so close it must have hurt.
"Maria! Oh, you've grown so much. You're so beautiful," Hope whispered, her hand going up automatically to brush a strand of hair out of her child's face, her eyes suddenly shimmering with tears. "I never thought I'd get to see you grow up..."
"Hey, Mom," Maria managed, smiling back, but also suddenly sounding somewhat choked up, and Gerald put a hand on Shadow's shoulder.
"Come on. Let's get inside and give them a bit of time."
Shadow nodded and followed, but for a moment couldn't help but wonder again whether it had been the correct decision of Gerald to take him along and if he wasn't here as an intruder.
"Colin? Are you here somewhere?" Gerald called out as they stepped further into the house, the entirety of which seemed to filled with sunlight streaming in through windows everywhere, letting the white wood and pastel blue walls shine.
"Ah! Dad!" A copper-haired, freckled man with a short red beard came down the stairs, a friendly, if strained expression on his face. Shadow noted that contrary to Gerald and the pictures he'd seen of Dr. Robotnik, this member of the family had decided to leave more standing than an oversized moustache.
Then the man seemed to notice him. "And…you must be Project Shadow!"
"Um. Just 'Shadow' is fine, please." 'Project Shadow' tried not to sweat-drop.
"Of course, of course." Colin moved closer and first gave his father an acknowledging nod, then looked at Shadow slightly quizzically, but finally reached out his hand for the hedgehog to shake. "C'mon, have a seat in the living room. Can I get you something to drink?"
"Yes, please. Whatever you've got is fine," Gerald replied for both of them and Colin nodded, ushering them through to the living room where a table was set for a tea-time for five. They sat down as Colin left, presumably to get their drinks, and through the door they could see a small repeat of the scene between Maria and Hope when Maria finally entered the house and came face to face with her father.
"Maria!" Colin exclaimed, immediately bending down to hug her so tightly Shadow could feel himself almost becoming absurdly protective. "My angel, my little mouse, it's been so long...!"
"Hey...dad..." Maria was managing though, and, while her eyes were still shining with what had to be tears, Shadow was fairly sure those weren't due to sadness or pain.
As Maria was reuniting with her father, Hope stepped into the living room instead. "Ah, great, Colin already brought you inside. I'll fetch the drinks in a moment," she said, smiling at her father-in-law, before turning her gaze to Shadow, perched awkwardly on the couch with his feet dangling just slightly above the floor.
"And that's...your artificial hedgehog?" she asked while looking at him, then almost immediately glanced over at Gerald as if to ask him whether Shadow understood her. Shadow cleared his throat.
"Yes. My name's Shadow. Hello."
"...my gods, you talk?!"
"Um," Shadow said, not quite sure how to respond to that (other than "what are you expecting me to say, 'No'?").
Fortunately, Gerald stepped in for him.
"But of course he does, Hope. Maria kept telling you about everything she and Shadow did together during the last few years, didn't she?"
"...yes," Hope managed, yet still looking at Shadow a bit disconcerted. "But I kind of thought that he was a bit like her...well. Imaginary friend?"
"Excuse me?" Shadow mouthed, shooting his creator a look, a little bit at a loss of how to deal with this.
"Not that he wasn't real, I mean, obviously!" Hope continued quickly, gesturing at Shadow in a bit of a helpless manner, "But...you know how kids, lonely kids especially, make up all these elaborate personalities and entire conversations with their pets...?"
Hope trailed off here a little.
Shadow suspected this was mostly because he and Gerald were looking at her with equally baffled expressions.
"Hope," Gerald said slowly, "You did read the papers I published on Shadow, didn't you? In this case, especially the ones about accelerated mental maturation and intelligence development in artificially created lifeforms?"
"Well, I read the medical ones!" Hope defended herself, "You know, the ones relating to the cure for Maria. They never said the cure also talked. Erm, sorry," she added toward Shadow. "I do know you have excellent white blood cell counts, at least?"
Scratch just the professor being awkward, it's the entire family, Shadow thought (but didn't say out loud). In this way, it was almost as if Maria was the freak of nature here.
"...Thank you?" he tried aloud (and didn't know how to react when that answer let Hope's eyes widen again the tiniest bit. He sincerely hoped this wouldn't happen every time he talked, now.)
"Well, I can forward you the results of the various intelligence tests that have been done on Shadow during his life," Gerald said, sounding a bit weary. "But it can't be that surprising for you, surely? I mean, outwardly Shadow is indistinguishable from any other sapient hedgehog, it would be stranger if he weren't intelligent."
"Well, I mean, of course, but..." Hope hesitated a bit "I mean, you see them on the news, sometimes, but...up here in Soleanna...it's a bit strange to see one of them in real life, you know?"
("Hoooh boy," Gerald muttered under his breath here, and Shadow wondered whether that comment had actually been meant for him. He was feeling torn in two enough already - the professor basically having told him about having a One Night Stand with a woman and then running off and leaving her pregnant went against all the values he had tried to instill in him and Maria, one of which definitely had been a healthy portion of treating women as equals and with respect. But how was he supposed to think about his creator now?)
"I mean, it's...it's a bit like having Sonic the Hedgehog in the living room," Hope gave a small, helpless laugh. "Just, strange, you know? Not something you expect to ever come face to face with."
"If it helps," Shadow said. "I can assure you that I'm not in the least bit like him. At all. I'm very much not Sonic the Hedgehog," Shadow pointed out with very definite emphasis. He wondered whether it counted as a positive that Hope this time at least didn't seem surprised that he was once again speaking.
"Shadow is, for all intents and purposes, a normal sapient citizen, Hope," Gerald added mildly. "It's true that I artificially created him, but even if his unique immune system was the key for the cure for Maria, he is as intelligent and functional as any other sapient hedgehog."
Hope seemed to ponder this for a little, before finally giving a small nod. "...right. Okay, then. So...hello, Shadow," she said, her expression still a bit uncertain, but at last slightly warming as she looked at him. "Thank you for helping to save my daughter."
Shadow wondered whether his first instinctive response of Of course, I would gladly die for her was really appropriate when sitting at a coffee table covered with doilies.
After a moment, he settled instead for "...you're welcome. I'm...glad I could help?" and felt for once successful in a social interaction when Hope smiled back at him, also looking as if she was grateful for the conversation to stop being as awkward as possible.
"Right, yes. Really, thank both of you for what you did for Maria," she said, before looking at Gerald again "And Shadow is now also living with you?"
"Yes. In fact, grandpa adopted him."
Shadow's head turned to see Maria and Colin standing in the doorway of the living room and the way his sister looked so happy to see both of them together with her parents - a part of Shadow internally sighed, grudgingly admitting that this trip had probably been worth it.
At Maria's interjection, Hope looked surprised. "Wait, really? You can do that?" she asked, looking from Shadow to Gerald. "I thought they didn't like it when humans try to adopt sapients...?"
"Well, generally, no," Gerald cleared his throat. "But in this case, I am the one who brought him into this world. I needed to take responsibility, didn't I?"
"Well, of course. Even if you didn't take responsibility for certain other family members."
Shadow could see Gerald noticeably flinch at Colin's remark and, curiously, for a moment didn't know whom to side with here.
"Oh, not this again...!" Hope groaned, before turning around to Colin in the doorway, who had just crossed his arms. "Colin, be a dear and get our guests their drinks, right? There's a good husband," she said, as Maria's father briefly huffed, but then turned to walk toward the kitchen. At Maria's frowning face, she briefly sighed.
"Well, unfortunately Colin hasn't yet forgiven your grandfather for running out on his firstborn son, or for never telling us about that family branch until Brutus' son started his rampage five years ago. Now better known as 'Dr. Robotnik' of course," Hope sighed and briefly pressed her fingertips into her temples. "I think Colin and your grandfather have been arguing via Email ever since your cousin reappeared," she said with a glance at Maria. "I don't know whether he told you…?"
"No," Maria said, looking awkward. "Though Shadow and grandpa have been arguing about it, too..." she bit her lip, shooting a glance at Shadow who tried to find his shoes really interesting at this point. Out of the corner of his eyes Gerald looked as if he wanted to sink into the floor.
Hope sighed again and shook her head. "Well, I'm not surprised. Honestly, sometimes I think we Robotniks are all so into science because everyone is terrible at relationships."
Then her eyes fell onto Shadow again, still seated on the couch. "Oh. Oh dear," she said, perhaps attempting to change the subject. "I suppose I should get your hedgehog a pillow or two, huh? He can't quite look over the edge of the table like this."
"…yes. Please." Shadow said, trying to remain polite (but actually now starting to gain a first, faint appreciation for Station Square High which had at least adjustable chairs).
"Right, okay," Hope said. "Do you usually sit at the table with them, or do you have your own…" she looked a bit flustered again. "Play area…?"
"Mom!" Maria held her hands in front of his face, "Shadow is - I mean, basically – sixteen years old! He's not a pet and he isn't a child, of course he sits with us at home!"
"Ah yes, of course," said Hope, biting her lip just slightly, much like Maria also did when she was embarrassed, "I mean, I'm sorry," she added, looking at Shadow, "but you're so…small."
"Oh my gods, Mom," Maria groaned. "He's a Mobian. That's a normal size for hedgehogs."
"Well, Sonic on the television always looks kind of…bigger…" Hope shrugged a bit helplessly and gestured. "Look, his feet don't even reach the floor!"
"Okay, I'm officially incredibly sorry for my mother," Maria said, looking at Shadow with a thoroughly embarrassed expression, the 'yes yes I know you could kill everyone in this room but please don't' left unsaid, but heavily implied.
"But, but I think he looks really cute!" Hope tried to defend herself. "You did a good job designing him for Maria," she said, giving an honestly trying smile to Gerald, who in turn tried to grin back at her, but the attempt looked somewhat pained.
All in all, the total concentration of awkward in the room was by now high enough that Shadow almost wished they could return to the topic of his creator's previous sex life instead.
"Hope, dear, maybe don't tell sixteen-year-old boys they look cute, hmm? Or that they're tiny?" Their heads turned as Colin's voice came from the doorway, Maria's father looking as if he had calmed down somewhat while preparing the drinks he was carrying. "Doesn't do much for one's self-esteem when you're that age."
"Ah. Yes. That would make sense. Sorry…Shadow. Again." Hope gave an apologetic smile. "Though I suppose you'd still like a pillow or two to sit on. Here you go," she said, handing them to Shadow who took them with a nod. Maria then settled on the couch next to him, which he was fine with, while the human adults sat down in the chairs around the table.
"Well," Hope said, giving Maria and Gerald a smile as she poured all of them tea, "Now that we're all here, I want to tell you that I'm so glad you could finally make it. How do you like Station Square, Maria?"
Maria cleared her throat and began to tell her parents of their house and her current projects at the university, but even if she was trying, Shadow could still feel the remnants of a tension running underneath the conversation. Colin hardly addressed any question at his father directly, and Hope kept dropping hints that Soleanna university might also be a great fit for Maria and her interests.
Maria tried her best to tell them that she was happy in Station Square, mentioning also Shadow's accommodating school and how it was great for them to learn how to function in normal society together, but Shadow could feel their looks only ever so briefly flitting over him, mostly in a bit of a helpless way, as if they weren't quite sure what to make of him sitting at their table.
Shadow tried to tell himself it was better not having to engage, but somehow, this felt just as depressing as the lunch break he had tried to spend alone.
"I just mean…it would be nice to have you here some more," Hope said. "When Gerald took you up onto the space station when you were four, we didn't…we didn't think you two would be gone for almost ten years," she said softly.
"Well, I wasn't all that much surprised he spent all that time up there," Colin cut in, far too casually, "He was always very good at not being available when he didn't want to be."
"Colin," Gerald said, a certain degree of sharpness in his voice now, but Shadow knew him well enough to also hear the hurt underneath, "I never- when I was raising you- I never-"
"Did you read the newspaper today, dad?" Colin asked, voice still eerily calm. "Your grandson attacked not only Prison Island at the beginning of the week, no, he also raided a biological laboratory Institute in Chun-Nan just this morning. Fortunately, nobody dead this time, but hey, just as long as one member of the family is applying their genius, right?"
Gerald winced and Shadow could hear Maria's cup shaking as she put it back on the table. Colin didn't seem to have noticed.
"You know what all of us will have to go through next Monday again, right? What Maria will likely also have to go through at her university, be it Soleanna or Station Square?" he asked, voice now laced with honest pain as he looked at his daughter. "We never had the option of hiding on a space station from Ivo's reputation."
"Colin, there was nothing I could have done," Gerald said, tone equal parts pain and exasperation, "What do you expect me to do, go around the world in an apology tour-?"
"Well, you could have done something different 50 years ago," Colin shot back. "But no, you had to just up and leave-"
"Oh, so what, am I supposed to invent a time machine now or-!" Gerald began, and Shadow could feel his heart beating faster, vaguely aware of Maria grabbing the folds of her dress in her lap so tightly her knuckles were white, and the Chaos inside him beginning to crackle and burn...
Through all the tension he now felt more sure than ever that that Ivo Robotnik was planning something, and Colin was right that they needed to do something, but…Shadow was surprised at the sudden sting he felt as he looked at his creator, anger and helplessness written across the professor's aging face like he had scarcely ever seen them.
"Why...why did you leave, professor?" Shadow heard the question leave his mouth before he could stop it. Hope and Colin both looked at him in slight surprise, almost as if they had forgotten he was there and were now not too sure what to do when reminded they had an audience.
"Because I was seventeen when I fathered Brutus," Gerald said a bit desperately, looking at his family, his gaze stopping on Maria, who still looked incredibly hurt and insecure. "And yes, after that One-Night-Stand I ran away to a university halfway around the world and tried to pretend none of it happened, because my research was more important to me than a relationship. Brutus' mother...she only contacted me once to tell me she was pregnant, and when I didn't react, I never heard from her again." Gerald ran a hand over his bald head, looking thoroughly ashamed. "If I had known our son Brutus would do the same stupid thing and get someone pregnant as soon as he was seventeen, too – if I had known how he'd treat my grandson as a child and what Ivo would therefore grow up to be –"
"I suppose the world would be a different place if you had."
"Colin…" Hope tried, her tone sounding pleading while her husband still looked at Gerald with some strain on his face as if he himself didn't quite know how to feel about his father.
Shadow wondered whether a comment of 'If it helps, I'm trying to kill him' would be constructive in this situation and decided against it.
"Um…maybe, yeah," Maria cleared her throat, clearly feeling unhappy at the awkward tension in the room between her family members. "But still, grandfather never being around in my cousin's early life is no reason to commit…mass killings, right?" she tried. "We don't have to blame our family for all of Ivo's decisions. Even Sonic says so," she added quietly (heedless of Shadow's twitching eye at the mention).
Colin didn't seem to agree, however. "Oh, don't we? Brutus grew up as an alcoholic and abuser," he pointed out. "With the genius running in our family it's no wonder Ivo would turn out like he did with such a man for a father."
"…not true," Shadow said, again before he could think and stop himself. As all heads turned to look at him, Hope's and Colin's expressions showing clear surprise at his second interjection, he swallowed, feeling his pulse rise at the unwanted attention. You're not part of this family, this is none of your business, a voice in his head tried to tell him but Shadow forced himself not to listen to it. Maria was his sister, the professor was his creator. And he would defend them when he had to.
"Aboard the ARK," he said, keeping his tone even with effort. "We knew a kid. His father didn't abandon him and he turned out to be a homicidal maniac all on his own. I also think we need to take action to put an end to the Doctor's schemes," he said, looking at Colin, watching the man's eyes widen at being agreed with by Shadow, and also the vehemence of his tone ."But even I wouldn't blame the professor for all the crimes his grandson has committed. None of us are entirely determined by our origins," Shadow said, catching Maria's eye before he repeated the words she had said to him so often over the years -
"There is a choice what we can be."
There was a moment of silence after he had spoken. Colin and Hope now were looking at him as if they were taking in him for the first time, really, Shadow knowing that the meaning of his last words would not be lost on the only family on this planet who knew what he had been designed to be. Maria grabbed his hand just before he could have started to feel awkward under their scrutiny, and Shadow caught her eye as she squeezed it, his sister not saying anything, but the gratitude and pride on her face would have been impossible to misread. Shadow managed to hitch one of the edges of his mouth up for her, even if something seemed to be stuck in his throat now.
"That...well," Hope finally managed, looking at Shadow, her eye brows still raised. "That is hard to argue with. Also, in line with most psycho-developmental research results, of course," she said, giving a weak smile that gave Shadow the impression that this was perhaps some family in-joke of sorts.
Colin gave a small nod. "...yeah," he said, gaze resting on Shadow far more attentively now, also looking him straight in the eye. "Dad did raise you as a proper Robotnik, huh?" he asked, a strange, weary, but not unfriendly tone in his voice that Shadow entirely did not know what to do with.
"I did," Gerald saved Shadow from having to reply, instead reaching out to lay a hand on his creation's shoulder. "Thank you, Shadow," he said, squeezing before he then cleared his throat.
"And…I meant to say, I've tried to atone," Gerald said, turning to his son and daughter-in-law. "Colin, I swear, I've learned from my mistakes. I developed Shadow for the benefit of mankind. And I haven't dodged a single responsibility for my creations since," he said, voice rough, but he pushed on, "You know me as a man, as a scientist and…as a father. I'm human. I fail. And I can't change the past. But I learn. And I would give everything for this family now."
He fell silent again as Maria's father looked at them in answer, Colin's gaze travelling once more over his daughter, healthy and alive, and his expression softened as he caught her worried eyes. And to Shadow's surprise, Colin's stare then took him in again, too, though he had trouble telling the man's expression - had there been a slight smile? But why?
"…fine," Colin finally sighed and seemed to sag a little. "I'm…I'm still not okay with everything you've done. You could at least have told us about our other relative before he turned up on the news for trying to conquer the planet, you know?," he said, looking at Gerald with a weary expression. "But…I do acknowledge that you've also done a lot more," he added, a small, tired smile appearing along the corners of his mouth as he looked at Maria and Shadow again. "And I'm thankful for that. Let's…let's put the topic aside for the weekend, maybe. Even our family should be able to manage that, right?"
There was a combined amused huffing from the rest of the people at the table, and then weary smiles of self-conscious humour at this fumbling, but sincere attempt at trying to work together. "After all," Colin said, "Can't have this fighting be the reception for our family's latest addition, can we?"
Next to Shadow, Gerald relaxed in relief and Maria grinned, saying something along the lines of "Thanks, dad", but Shadow could scarcely concentrate, Colin's last words having somehow tied something inside him in an impossible knot he didn't know how to deal with.
For a moment, he dearly wished he was alone with Maria for a minute just so he could ask her whether this was what family felt like.
"Well, we have about 7 doctorate degrees in the room all together, one of mine in psychology," Hope said after the moment had passed, her slight but hopeful smile still on her face, "Let's find out. You all stay here and I'll get the cake, alright?"
"Yes. Thank you, Hope," Gerald said and they settled again, most of them instinctively staring at their cups of tea and coffee for a moment in the tradition of introverts everywhere.
"Alright, everyone, which one would you like?" Hope asked as she returned with a plate filled with various kinds of sweets. "Oh. Wait. You, er, do eat human cake, right…?" she asked Shadow, her now flustered demeanour once more reminding Shadow of his sister when she had, in all her brilliance, forgotten some completely basic thing and was suddenly noticing that. "And I know he's your brother and a person, Maria, no need to give me that look again," she added pointedly as Maria's head had snapped up again in the general horror of teenagers when their parents say, well, mostly anything, "But just because he's a hedgehog it doesn't mean he can't have food allergies, right? Shadow?" she asked again, turning to him. "Is there a problem with lactose or gluten for you?"
"Er, no," Shadow said, blinking. Then, to his own surprise, he heard himself adding, "Actually, sapient hedgehogs usually can't digest lactose. But the professor designed me free of any allergies or intolerances," he added, aware of a slight proud gleam in the eyes of his creator. Hope actually gave a small laugh.
"Hah! I suppose he would have. Alright then, which do you want?"
"Erm. The one with the…cherries? Please," Shadow said, holding up his plate to receive the slice of cake from Maria's mother, and actually could feel a bit of an unknown calm settle over him. He still felt a little out of place, but nowhere near as badly as when they had just arrived. These were people that knew about his and Maria's past and who loved her as much as he did. Who had called him…her brother, without even hesitating.
He was the Ultimate Lifeform, the 22nd clone in a series of artificial hedgehogs, part alien and part genetic experiment, designed to be both a cure for disease and a weapon for mass destruction. Nothing about him was normal.
And yet, sitting at this table surrounded by other Robotniks, Hope and Colin asking him and Maria questions about their time aboard the ARK and their plans for the future, mood changing between amazement and laughter, he for once felt not so out of place at all.
Xxx
After a while, the light of the midday sun had turned into a gentler hue of mid-afternoon and Shadow felt even more relaxed. His stomach was filled with two more pieces of cake and two cups of black coffee ('Now I believe you're a genetically engineered marvel, you drank all that and still didn't need to go to the bathroom', Colin commented over the rim of his own cup to him and Shadow could feel some colour shooting into his cheeks, but the smile and short burst of laughter from Maria's father didn't seem malicious but rather friendly teasing.)
Other than that, the conversation had mostly been dominated by Maria, his sister far more talkative than him and telling her parents all about her life aboard the space colony ARK, penciling in the details of the years her parents had missed (and thankfully focusing on the happier events as she did).
Before too long Maria had managed to shift the entire atmosphere in the room from fumbling to warm – her parents looked at her with a love so obvious it was almost palpable when she talked, and those emotions did seem to spill over into the rest of their conversation as well – at some
point, even Gerald and Colin seemed to be managing a civil, even friendly conversation, triggered by a scientific experiment of Gerald's that Maria had mentioned and that had piqued Colin's interest.
Shadow was mostly only halfway listening by now - sitting at the table was still fine, but the sheer amount of social interaction felt a bit exhausting by now. Instead, he found his attention wandering toward the other sights and sounds of the room - currently, a radio in the kitchen that had been left on and was tuned into a news channel. Shadow felt his ears pricking up and turning instinctively as he caught a few words of the programme - most notably, the host was talking about the flying island that had apparently dropped into the sea really close to Soleanna yesterday morning.
Flying island? Wait.
Shadow frowned. Was that the same flying island his history book had talked about? The one that had something to do with the Chaos Emeralds? That thing was real? But why would it have fallen now…?
Of course, one voice in Shadow's head immediately started yelling that this was 'definitely connected to Dr. Robotnik!' (even if other voices pointed out that they were also definitely getting a tad obsessed, here) but he found he couldn't quite let go of his curiosity. The radio programme had said the island had fallen down some 30 miles up north from Soleanna, close to a region called Kingdom Valley. If he wanted to, he could surely get there within minutes...
...but this was also Maria's family reunion. A family that wanted to include him. Would leaving be really the decent thing to do? Not to mention it was...nice, just sitting next to Maria and hearing her sound so happy.
Shadow focused his attention back to table where the four humans were still talking about Gerald's experiment it seemed, though the two men with far more emotional investment in the topic than Maria and Hope. As Shadow watched, Maria actually seemed to pick that moment to turn toward her mother instead, looking vaguely awkward.
"Um, so - mom…"
"Yes?"
"I was just wondering...y'know, maybe you could help me because I have…" she rubbed the back of her head a bit shyly, "some questions about...girl stuff."
Hope blinked. "Girl…you mean...?"
"Yeah, uh," Maria fumbled a bit, "Like, y'know, wax and...cups and…"
It was at this point that the Ultimate Lifeform, the 22nd clone in a series of artificial hedgehogs, part alien and part genetic experiment, designed to be both a cure for disease and a weapon for mass destruction, also very firmly decided he had never been designed for this.
"You know what maybe I should go take a walk!"
All four humans turned their heads to look at Shadow, who had just about leapt from the couch and was now standing in front of the two women, trying hard to get his panicky quills to lay back down. The feeling of family had been...novel, and overwhelming in a good way, but there was such a thing as too much.
Hope quirked a wry smile.
"Well," she said, "Furry or not, he certainly behaves like my brother did as a teen."
"Yeah, mainly like he's seven," Maria shot back, poking her tongue out and earning herself a glower from her brother. But then she stood up and said, "Alright, come on, I'll walk you to the door. I was thinking we could go maybe sit in the garden anyway, mom…?"
Shadow followed her into the ante room, giving a nod toward the rest of the family as a goodbye. He did feel a bit relieved as they were alone after all for a moment while he pulled his shoes back on, Maria crouching beside him.
"So," she said, giving him a small smile. "That went pretty well, I thought."
"...yeah," Shadow nodded. "Your parents are….nice," he managed, ignoring the momentary constriction of his throat. Maria gave him a knowing glance.
"I think they liked you, too." Then she grinned. "And maybe now they know you well enough so it's not catfood again this Christmas." She shook her head. "Alright. Try and be back before dinner, okay? And no hunting down and killing my cousin."
"...fine."
"Uh-huh," Maria nodded, less-than-impressed, but then still ran a hand over Shadow's head as she stood up, ending in a small scratch behind his ear. Shadow flicked it in pretend-annoyance, but they both knew he was playing a losing game there.
"Have fun!" She finally said as Shadow had turned to step out the front door, also giving a last wave before glancing around at the street in front of the driveway. It was empty, neither traffic nor neighbours around in the late sunday afternoon, which suited him just fine - he called upon the Chaos, heard the hiss of his hoverskates igniting and took off toward the city limits in a flash.
Finding a flying island with a connection to Emeralds of great power that he would be able to use to teleport totally did not count as a first step to take down Maria's cousin, right?
To be continued…
Good gods, what a novel of a chapter but hey, the wait was long enough :p Hope you liked and if you read, please review! :D
(And also, just in case anyone is still confused about Robotnik lineage (had to fudge a little bit here to make this AU work without the 50 year gap). So, for anyone who cares:
Gerald had two sons with two different women, Brutus when he was 17, Colin when he was 37.
Brutus had Ivo when he was 17, so Gerald is 34 years older than Ivo. Right now, ages are:
Gerald - 84
Maria - 15
Ivo - 50
Colin and Hope are both in their late fourties. Shadow is of course approx. 5-6 years old, but has a birth certificate that claims he is 16. :p Does that help?)