A Horrifying, Yet Miraculous, Absolution
Ch. 29
[×]
The grass was a brilliant green. The sun was hot against her flesh – memories of summer in a country that she couldn't remember the name of fell. The cerulean blew skies seemed to go on forever, or at least until they hit the tall thunderheads that seemed like pictures of cotton candies. The trees swayed in the wind as spring made everything flowers with the illuminating hues of lavender and opera pink. Everything was extraordinarily over saturated, as if someone spilled the raw paint upon the world. Bright. Overpowering.
Grandpa was next to her, dressed in… his lab coat? But it was too hot to be wearing that with his normal long-sleeved brown turtleneck! And he still had his credentials for the ARK still upon the upper area of his chest: each step made them away slightly in the wind. He's so silly, she huffed. The symbol upon the plastic card scratched her brain, but Maria ignored it. She squinted her eyebrows together and waved at the scenery – waved at the brick path she and her grandfather were on. "We're on Earth, Grandpa, and you still are dressed for work?" Maria felt confused. Why?
When did she arrive on the planet?
His kind voice interrupted hers. "A Robotnik's job is never done, my dear!" There was a deep laugh that changed from great joy to…
Not great.
"You understand, right?" Grandpa ended with a squeeze on her fingers as his expression suddenly became hidden.
She nodded.
They walked together for a while-
Shadow let go of her hand on her side.
Wait. When did he get here? Not- Not that she was complaining, of course! Not her sweet, in-
In- In- Innocent-
His voice was a light whisper that played in the breeze. "I'm happy I saved my family. Fulfilled my purpose. The cost is mine alone."
There was a fork in the road and she heard her brother take a left. By the time she turned to look – to steal his hand back – what she saw of that other path was completely filled with tar; the sky itself midnight with rubies stars that went ad infinitum.
[x]
White gloves moved her a little. Gave comfort. Didn't let her unknown struggles go too far for too long. "Another one?"
The creak of her bed was the answer as cyan avoided looking at Shadow's directly in the eyes. She made it look like she was still in the daze of half awake, which, considering the bags under her eyes, was close to the truth. She hadn't been able to sleep more than five to six hours for the past five days. How could Maria possibly with the same type of nightmare? There were times she saw her brother slip underneath the void viscerally; times when he was forcefully pulled away from her with only a sad smile upon his features; times when he 'glitched out' away from her at an outing. The worst one was of her brother floating above her and Grandpa with the Earth burning beneath his extended wings – of Chaos Spears embedded into the bodies of every living creature within sight, save the Robotnik duo – of his euphoria that reached a soulless gaze – of the words, "It will always protect you two, and only you two," that descended like the ash in the wind-!
"Should we use some sleeping medication?" his deep voice cut in to the one she was 'remembering.'
Not one feverishly focused on solely the Robotniks.
Not one unaware of whom he was anymore.
Not…
Not One.
The young girl squirmed in place. Comfort was foreign – Ancients knew how Grandpa felt. She could still remember how his gaze was haunted when the elder took her by the hand and told her, "You must weave tales of this certain falsification, my dear. If you don't, you'll kill him on the inside. We'll lose him… forever."
She… She had agreed.
But it had taken over thirty minutes.
Maria had argued and fought with her grandfather.
Yelled at him.
Screamed at him.
Told him it wasn't right. That her brother could resist back! That- That-! That-! (Then she remembered what the hedgehog had said to her in secret: about those whispers that were always there. Always in his mind. How they sung to him and he was seemingly incapable of not listening. Of how he wrote and read in a different language and treated it as normal – was it all… theirs?)
Oh, Shadow! The fact he didn't recognize something more than just physical was 'wrong' with him was TERRIBLE! How much had that Fiend consumed away already!? Or injected!? Corrupted?! Or whatever that- -that damned verb was!?
The lack of a response and inaction caused a hedgehog shaped individual to move off towards the side. Cabinets and drawers were shifted through as her brother searched for the liquid intoxication. The plastic measuring cup was held up as the syrup from a medicinal bottle oozed out. His ear flicked towards her as Maria attempted to hold her breath to control her breathing. There was a slight frown before he relaxed it by force. "Fath…," he sighed as he screwed the cap back on, "Professor says he might have found a way to deal with my caustic blood for your cure attempt."
(Her sweet brother was trying to raise up her low spirits, but didn't know that would only make her-!) Lying. She had to lie again. This hurt so much. But she was strong. She could do it. Again. Again. "Grandpa sure is… amazing!"
It wasn't good enough. She could feel his red eyes upon her. However, he assumed it was her exhaustion. "Here. It's bubblegum flavored."
Her tongue flinched at the bitterness.
"You know he loves you, right? Always will? The future-past won't happen."
Of course. That wasn't her worry, Shadow… She didn't have night terrors of the monster- -man. Not anymore. Oh. Her poor brother…
"When we get to Earth, what do you want to do first? I'll do whatever it is you want-"
"Think for yourself," she heaved. "That's all I request."
He stepped back a little at that. Confusion filled him. "I've already explored a lot of the planet under my own prerogative." He tried another angle. "… Rouge… always said that girls enjoy 'a little bling.' Perhaps we can go to a large human city and see what they have to offer you?" Her naïve brother realized she wasn't receptive that time and searched around in his… (hive) mind. "Maybe Spagonia to eat the foods you remember? Or Soleanna – it's an island with a lot of strange things, I'll admit, but I'll go if you desire. There's always Mobian locations as well. I'll protect you-" (A shiver at that, which she was able to keep in her mind – she was certain the emphasis was just her own fear placed within his tone, not him actually saying it in loss of self.) "-from any harm in those areas. Professor mentioned something about conflict, but I don't really remember about world politics down south-"
"-A picnic," she softly added as she tried to settle back into bed. "I just want a picnic with you, Grandpa, mom, dad, and my little sister. Don't really care where, so long as we're all there."
"… That's it?" Worry.
"For now."
His hand waved around at the pictures of flowers, animals, and specific locations on her walls. "And… this?"
She felt the medicine settle in her stomach. It'll take thirty to take into effect, but she patted the empty space near her bed anyways. The quills and fur on Shadow bounced as he made his was over; hadn't flinch when she hugged him and pulled him tight enough to not escape. No. It was her that mildly hesitated when her fingers grazed against his wings… "Shadow. We'll take turns. My first location is already decided. You think of where we should go next."
"Maria, I already-"
She refused. "Where do you want to go?"
He didn't say anything. Rather his eyes shifted towards his left, where nothing was, and a hum of thought escaped him. "I suppose 'wherever Professor wants' is also not a correct response." He could feel her shake of denial against his skin. (Why was it so hard for her brother to think for himself? What made him so… sacrificial? Was it her fault? Not on purpose, but by accident? That was why, wasn't it, that he… He…) Shadow remained silent as Maria tried to settle down again, deep in thought. "… There's a field of lilies on a cliff overlooking the ocean, where the moon dominates and fireflies hum, I would like to take a rest there."
"A… rest?"
"Yes. A place to just… be at peace."
Simple. Easy. But his voice carried wistfulness.
[x]
Grandpa was… a lot better at lying.
Lunch was shared with the three of them; Maria having just awoken from finally more than eight hours of sleep that her body solely needed. Her brother was correct that she needed some assistance, but that did nothing to settle her stomach. However, nutrition was needed – especially with her NIDS – so the fork and spoon were shoved in her mouth. At least the consumables were able to be noticed as something with taste within her, not clay.
Black quills rose as her brother turned his head off towards the side. He seemed to stare at the ceiling, past the metal plates; as if he was gazing into the ARK… "It's on the move."
The eldest Robotnik merely sipped on some coffee. White steam lazily rose above the rim of the plain white mug. There was a slight pause before an authoritative voice slipped – heavily mixed with equal amounts of protectiveness and warning. "Stay away from the Emerald, Shadow."
Red eyes returned and he waved his hands slowly to attempt to describe his frustration at being told to stand down. "G.U.N. shouldn't have brought it back to the station. It's clear they want to use it – on me. We should eliminate the threat in a controlled environment-"
"Let's not target yourself so fast. The Commander knows better than to get it near you," Grandpa – no, Dr. Gerald Robotnik – lectured, "if she wants to live, at least."
(… G-Grandpa?!)
Yet, she couldn't say anything. Instead, Maria rung her hands as she looked down at the tablecloth. The words of rebuttal were itching on her throat, yet she couldn't speak them out. It was because, to her sadness, that the girl understood where Grandpa was coming from – if she was in control of a train and Shadow was tied to one post and the General to another…
She knew which direction she was going to head off towards without hesitation.
Pale fingers rubbed her eye ducts. Ancients, she had also changed, too.
"We did expect the story of your inability to Heal additional things to have garnered G.U.N. attention at some point. Let's not make them assume you have a plethora of skills when their honey pot is resting quite close."
A moment of silence as eyebrows relaxed, but quills also deflated. "Yes, Fath-"
Minutes were awkward. Everyone knew the other individual was going or thinking or hiding through something. The female girl could tell how it was troubling Shadow – how he wanted to reach out and ask what was the truth of them being sad and despondent. However, when he did so for breakfast three days ago, both Maria and Grandpa told him, 'Not to worry about it.' 'We'll get over it.' 'Has to deal with surface to ARK relations and not something to deal with Project: SHADOW as a whole.'
Grandpa took a knife and carefully cut into the Saulsberry steak. The gravy was too close to dried blood for Maria's taste- "Shadow. I have a request that you are going to find… discomforting." The white lab coat showed movement as his shoulders rose. "It will also not be… a pleasant experience for Maria, either. However…, I feel the need to address this potential weakness, and I have a feeling you'll understand where I am coming from."
A black ear twitched. He was listening. Attentive.
So was she.
The utensils were placed down. "Teach Maria gun safety, how to disassemble a small firearm, shoot from various realistic distances, defend herself with one with the least amount of lead, and how to carry it around without notice. You might not be able to stay within our vicinity 24/7." The scientist knew just exactly what kind of faces were aimed at him. Yet, he strived onwards. "That way, if anything unexpected happens, she'll have a chance until you can come back."
The explosions of noise filled the room. Maria's volume increased at the sheer- sheer- sheer utter CRAZINESS and APPALLING-
A gun. He- Grandpa- H-He wanted to-
To-!
"Shadow, the cure requires something from Angel Island. We'll be unable to bring her there. She'll be up here. Alone. On the ARK." A shift in his seat. In his expression. It almost felt as if Grandpa understood just how grave of a request this was. "The Artificial Chaos have a… significant weakness that can be exploited at unknown triggers. What if Maria was in danger during that time?" Now he looked at her, still addressing her brother. "What would you do, son, if she was lost during that brief window?"
Any argument Shadow had wilted. She saw his spine freeze up with those shorter quills along his back; saw her death replay in front of his gaze. His fist clenched, but he held himself together – it was a memory he had seen many, many times before.
He didn't answer.
But Maria remembered what Grandpa said:
'Apocalyptic.'
"We have an open invitation to go to Earth and back without suspicion in March. If you're willing, that is-"
"I am."
That tone was back. The one of Maria's nightmares.
It vanished quickly.
Her brother was surprised and confused when she grabbed his hand and refused to let go for the next hour.
[x]
It was officially the second worst week of her life.
No. Tied with first.
[x]
Shadow had expert control of his teleportation ability, even if that golden star made her insides churn at seeing it blaze. (Would it one day become permanent?) His fingers flexed as they always did when he brought multiple individuals besides himself – her body felt like it was in freefall nevertheless. Eventually, the world righted itself into an empty, sterile compartment somewhere Grandpa had deemed 'safe enough to escape in time.' There were a few metal cargo container boxes covered to the nines with dust and dents. Her brother said nothing as he flew over towards the cubes, picked them up, and threw them at various distances from Maria's location.
Each toss made his appendages flex. His red eyes looked brighter in the light. The appearance on his face changed into one darker and darker. He was waiting for something, and she had a feeling she knew what it was: the reason why he was capable of being her teacher in the first place.
She doesn't remember him ever…
He never mentioned that he…
Grandpa had never brought it up that…
The sound of air movement met the young, pondering girl. Shadow descended before her; his position from high above casted an elongated film of darkness upon her and the immediate area. Carefully, she brought her hands together to look up and address him. "I… am sorry. I don't…" Blue eyes looked away towards the hem of her dress. "I don't want to look at a gun, nevertheless touch one. Use it."
He was strained. "I know."
There wasn't an apology nor a step back to leave this area. He was going to… obey his creator, like a good son.
Because Shadow ultimately agreed within himself.
The Air Shoes made a dull sound of metal on metal when he eventually landed upon the ground; his gemstones still refusing direct visual contact. "Maria… I did something wrong in my slumber, didn't I?"
Her deceiving skills were not good. However, if it wasn't a lie overtly, she could finagle her tone… correctly. "Of course not, Shadow! You were probably just overwhelmed by the fact you had your first few hours alone in quiet silence and did it by accident."
"Both you and Professor have been acting strange." His expression told her that her brother was aware the cause was himself. "He's treating me like I'm fragile. Almost as if I'm…" That gaze turned to hers. "… sick."
Pale hand waved as Grandpa's lying lesson felt like raw salt on her taste buds. "Of course you're not sick! You're the Ultimate Lifeform, silly goose!"
He wasn't ill.
He was… perfection.
Some Fiend's version of it.
The hedgehog didn't comment anymore, but his eyes lingered on her before they shifted towards the boxes that were at various locations. "I'll be right back," Shadow warned before he disappeared.
Came back.
Left.
Returned once more.
Each trip brought something new: little pieces of paper with a ring of circles colored in black and white; smaller pieces that could be tapped onto the bigger ones; a little bottle of blueish oil that was extraordinarily fluid; a cotton fabric cloth that was rough and not meant for bathing; a set of black gloves that had the identification tag removed; strange bristles and brushes that looked almost like a toothbrush for larger animals; a book with a title she avoided reading…
The final time he didn't turn around to face her. Something was clenched in his hand with tightness. It was black. Small. And-
Blue shoes took a few steps back.
Cyan searched for the door to exit-
There! A-Above the stairs-!
If she ran away-!
Run!
She had to leave-!
Suddenly, Shadow was before her – she couldn't look away anymore. His eyes drew her in now that she knew what they signified. Slowly, carefully, he pulled her hands into his. Voice flat. Cold. He was forcing himself to not speak with emotions, and it saddened her to no end. "Running away from someone with a weapon leaves you exposed, as well as losing sight of your enemy. The best way to act is to turn around-" Gloves carefully pivoted her on the heel of her feet towards the scene below. "-and calculate where to find your highest odds of survival."
Her breathing was labored.
His hands squeezed hers, similar to what she did to him. "We'll take it slowly. Build up your tolerance. Tell me… when it gets too much if I miss the signs. I won't force you." With that, he slowly slid the book into their connected fingers. There ended up being was no title, but it had G.U.N.'s scratched out logo on the upper left. "I would… like you to memorize the places and information I placed a label on. You can ignore the rest."
She didn't want to do this-
Her brother knew and banished them away from that place.
[x]
Maria was dead. Lying in a pool of her own blood. A gunshot the cause from her running away.
Maria was alive. She was staring from a one-way window in the next room at the scene.
Ok. This was another nightmare. She was still here! The girl remembered going back to her room, throwing the book onto the couch with all her strength, and the feeling of disgusted revulsion as she tore into bed for another pitiful attempt at sleep. There were no alarms; no race down the metal hallways towards the emergency escape pod room; no G.U.N. agents screaming to find 'the Project.' She simply went to bed and woke up to seeing her dead dead dead dead dead body-
Shadow was there.
"Maria…!" he moaned in grief. In loss.
He shivered as his conscious thought leaked away from his mind with every drop out of burning crimson of that doppelganger's body.
O-Oh… She knew where this night's illusion was going to head off, now… The girl pinched herself to awaken. To move. To not stay. This was going to be worse than the others. She could tell. Maria just understood.
She prayed she was moaning in the real world. Struggling. That her brother was hearing her so he could shake her awake!
The scene warped.
It was the cafeteria of the military side of the ARK, and people were sitting. Dressed in regular civilian clothing, only haircuts betrayed the men's loyalty to. The majority were discussing random topics – of life, of how things were back on Earth; of the success of their mission to detain the Project into stasis and the murder of two Robotniks-!
The screams started.
There was a circle of red that suddenly opened – swirled colors that made the surface akin to plasma. Like the Devil, Shadow descended out from the portal hands first. Wings flexed open. Hundreds of yellow, floating eyes spilled out behind him-!
"It is here to judge humanity."
It would have been the worst one.
Maria knew it.
But her brother was good. Caring. Wise. Sweet.
He had woken her up with a streaming cup of hot chocolate and breakfast. With compassion. With worry. With all the things that Fiend didn't own or have and would never take away from Shadow. He held onto her in a huge embrace that she could feel deep within…!
Her eyes went past him, towards the book.
"Teach me…, Shadow. I'll… be a good student."
The grip he had around her almost slipped in surprise.
[x]
BANG!
Precision.
BANG!
Absolute concentration.
BANG!
Not because it was hard.
BANG!
But because of the weight behind each sound in her vicinity.
BANG!
There was silence afterwards.
Flawless marks. Right at centers. At the paper targets. Effortless. Easy. Shadow had emptied the limited clip with knowledge and grace; each movement was the exact amount required to shoot before the sight moved on. He was… good at it. Scarily good. Even the piece of paper farthest away had nothing but bulls' eyes.
He knew she was watching – this was to demonstrate to her what a 'textbook form' was. The black, small pistol went through the motions of clearing the chamber and placing it back into safety, but his voice and true concentration was on her. "G.U.N. etched into me a weapon's mindset before I was forced into stasis. Every model in their arsenal. Every mechanized behemoth. Every aviation or space faring-based asset. I took it in so deeply because of what the situation I was put in was." Slowly, he disassembled the gun to showcase exactly what he was doing – so that she could follow and copy on the dummy trainer she held within her own hands. "When I fell down to Earth, I still remembered despite only knowing my own name and nothing else. I don't expect you to be like that. Like… me."
This was not a fun experience for either of them.
Maria waited until the weapon was away – gun safety 101 – before she threw herself upon her brother's form and squeezed him. "You're my best friend in the world. You don't need to be anything else." Please.
[x]
Her sweet, precious younger brother's birthday was today. It had almost slipped by her, even though she had a gift set up long in advance. Fortunately, Grandpa was there to 'save the day' – the lab was decorated with little cuttings of lavender from the botanical section. Each one was in a pot as to continue their lives after the celebration; each one a different blend that changed colors from almost a deep blue to a reddish violet. He seemed to know that Shadow loved white and gold – fancy 'Victorian' design of each pot must have been shipped up from the planet far in advance.
The scientist brought forth a box. Her brother was surprised to have received it despite the banner. "I… For me?" There was hesitation, as if he was unsure if he was worthy of getting it-
Ridiculous!
"Go on, son."
(Maria could hear the sadness underneath the lie of nothing but happiness. The man was pleased, of course, but…)
Shadow carefully peeled it open; the bright gold ribbon unfurled and floated towards his side. Out came tubes; brushes; and a stack of paper with the label '100% cotton.' It was… a watercolor set – the fancy artist grade stuff based on how the wrappings scream expensive. His hand traced everything over and something played on his eyes. "… Thank you."
"Of course."
The young girl offered hers next. Just like before, her brother opened it up carefully with purpose. He understood the actions of a birthday party but one with the two Robotniks…
He had celebrated far less with those irreplaceable individuals.
Out came a new set of gloves – ones with black and red as a trim on the edge. The smile upon his face made it known that he was happy to have 'his old, original' stuff back – ones that matched his shoes at last. His fingers shifted to move the Inhibitor Ring up his wrist a little to slip out the old ones. Each digit flexed as he looked onto it. "My favorite set."
It wasn't until later that evening that Maria was hit with the thought: how did Grandpa know January was his 'date of creation?' She forgot to tell him…
… It was probably Shadow. He wouldn't have let the elder Robotnik miss out.
Duh.
[x]
Grandpa had his head buried in his hands one evening; back slouched over. "Oh, Maria. I should have given him something else."
Worried, she walked closer.
Behind was Shadow's completed painting – one he had been silently proud on showcasing; one she hadn't yet seen. It showcased attention to detail on the large 15 x 34-inch sheet; brushstrokes ranged from thin to expressive. The subject was of the night sky filled with six-sided white stars. It meant nothing, except everything, to them both.
[x]
At some point in mid January the nightmares lessened into a once per week sort of event. They became less vivid. More often she realized she was asleep and could actually interfere with the dream version of Shadow – sometimes, she could stop his rampage with her voice alone.
She took it as a sign to not stop fighting.
Her Giant Book of Chaos slammed opened as she struggled past the freeze of depressed inaction. The Master Emerald, right? It was different than the Chaos ones, but had basically no real information in human texts available to the United Federation (and, thus, the ARK), being it was a legend.
One Grandpa had seen from afar.
If it could control Chaos...
(If she trusted the words of that Fiend!)
Could it help do other things? Destroy a link?
Split One into two?
Grandpa was going to take that item. His face anytime he saw his granddaughter or her brother lie down in stillness – even though that was controlled rest and not… being away – was one of utter (Dark! Dangerous!) determination. She couldn't miss the way his beady eyes glinted with fires when he leaned over to kiss both of the youths goodnight. He must be thinking the same she was – that maybe they could use that supposed 'controller' in other ways than more than just creating a cure for her. The Master Emerald could address certain things. Issues. Two birds with one stone, maybe. And even if it couldn't, it would be dissected and analyzed and ripped of its secrets so that it WOULD. They didn't speak to one another about their thoughts – didn't have to. Instead, there were nods from grandfather to grandchild.
What must be done to save family.
Especially since this one could be gathered without hurting others (which would be bad and wrong; of course Maria did not want to cause mayhem). It was just…
The gemstone was mythos. Was religious iconography for Mobians. Was guarded and protected by ancient ruins and perhaps booby traps. But what was traps against the Ultimate Lifeform? Her Ultimate Cutiepie? Their Ultimate Fluffer?
Maria was going to be excommunicated the way she was starting to think.
Good thing she was human.
Different belief system.
[x]
The shaking tremble had not gone away despite all of her attempts. It was now the start of February and she could pull apart (and slap together) the true version of the tool within her hands blindfolded – because that's silly minimum her brother considered a baseline. She could do the same with loading a magazine. Could pull the frigid black metal out from underneath her skirt, on her outer thigh, in quick movement and put it back again in two to four seconds (also blinded – thanks, Shadow). The issue was still the concept – the action – of pulling the trigger: the emptied weapon vibrated in her fingers as she tried to hold it before her; to aim down the sight and-
-and she was pulling the lever to send the hedgehog to the planet that was her dream; a dream she would never achieve again; the words of her mouth the hopes and wishes she needed him to hear; of realization that this was why Shadow was so sad in that field of white-
Golden bands caught her attention as her brother took it away from her. "Let's go back to Fath- -Professor."
"I can do it."
His eye arched.
That gave her pause. She dropped her outstretched arms. "Fine. You win." She was scared. Still. Even though she was trying.
He issued her a sad smile; never blamed her for being incapable nor for her fear.
It lifted her spirits.
His teleportation still made her be filled with the feeling of wanting to trip, but at least she was ready in time and knew how to land without assistance. They blinked back within Grandpa's laboratory, which had been changed with different access passwords – all the possibilities of cameras ripped away from usage in certain areas. The red tubes of the old specimens continued to watch as the two of them raced/skated down the hall – Maria took the opportunity to goad Shadow into a 'race.'
She wanted to give him all the sense of normalcy.
(A young girl had gotten better at lying.)
(But it wasn't to just Shadow. It was also on herself.)
Eventually, he skidded into stoppage, not even all the way towards the end of the region. His ears perked and swiveled as he turned to look for Grandpa – a grandfather that was not there at the moment, but had left a note. However, Shadow did not read it. Instead, he turned around with suspicion. "It's on the move again," he commented dryly, "and headed towards the vaults."
The General had been keeping her word at not wanting to give to her brother, but also been keeping away…
Which was good. Grandpa's minions were busy making a new holographic device that was superior to the old one that her brother burnt out – one that could accept movement to a much greater degree. Dr. Yadev, in particular, was beyond ecstatic when he was able to take measurements of Shadow's wrist – for the new object was to slide inconspicuously in the sleeve of his gloves.
Two of them. One for each hand.
Never knew when one might break.
(Grandpa had given the guy a stern look of warning, however…)
… But it was also bad. That Commander was bound to be planning something at some point. Maria had told the P-1s to try to sniff her out and spy, but their searches had given nothing concrete. Just a military officer doing officer things. Wrote letters. Sent out budgets. Denied or accepted requests from various G.U.N. regions. The only hint was that there was something going on in the south of the planet that the United Federations was getting more 'antsy' about – or at least, that was what P-1 reported that woman was muttering to other officials about.
Infuriating!
Those black triangles twitched again. This time, they were aimed at the door – the gentle slide, his lack of action other than relaxing, made it known whom it was.
She issued a wave. "Grandpa!"
The elder Robotnik did it back.
Only a few seconds passed before Shadow added his own small back and forth of his gloves. The light glinted from his Inhibitor Rings as the warmth hummed the air in an ever-present reminder.
Maria felt determination.
Yes.
No more tears!
No more sadness!
She wouldn't stop her fight!
Both against NIDS… and the other thing.