1 CHP 1. Earthbound

When that which pierces stars

Holds the miracle gems,

Destroys the comet dark;

My family avenged.

Then shall she awaken,

Her starlight beauty fair,

Her soul unmistaken

Seen in her soft eyed stare.

In a body anew

She'll be free to dance, play.

Freedom where she so choose

To live out her long days.

-Excerpt from the diary of Gerald Robotnik

A sudden loud blast shook the space colony: Ark.

The eclipse cannon created by Dr. Gerald Robotnik over fifty years ago had been fired. The weapon that could pierce the stars.

At first it seemed that the mad scientist had created it as a tool for revenge, a weapon to destroy the cruel world that had taken his beloved granddaughter from him, but the truth of why it was created had recently been revealed to the creation of Dr. Robotnik, the hedgehog named Shadow.

He, in a selfless act of heroism, fulfilled the true plan of his creator by destroying the black comet, which was the home of the Black Arms aliens, with whom Dr. Robotnik had struck a deal in order to create Shadow.

The reason why this mass destruction had to be done is because the aliens had evil intentions and wanted to use the miracle gems, the Chaos Emeralds, to transport their comet through the atmosphere so that they could conquer and destroy the earth and feed off the living creatures, capturing them and using them as livestock.

Shadow was almost overtaken by mind control by Black Doom, the Black Arms leader, to be forced into helping with this plan- but with the help of his friends he discovered Gerald's final message to him: a video explaining the plan to destroy the black comet and save earth from a terrible future. Shadow was moved and motivated by the presence of his friend and Gerald's beloved granddaughter, Maria, and her message of encouragement to him, breaking him free from the mind control spell. So using the eclipse canon with the power of all seven Chaos Emeralds, Shadow destroyed the comet and saved planet earth.

However, something unmentioned in the plan occurred on the space colony, something that was put into the plan after that final message was recorded.

Deep in the scientific labs where many experiments were performed, a capsule opened. It was a stasis capsule, large enough to hold a grown hedgehog- and hold one it did. Steam filled the room as the cryogenic capsule thawed and a girl awakened from deep slumber. She quickly realized that she was not where she last remembered being, and emerged from the machine that had held her.

It took less than a second to realize that she was completely naked, and even more startling- her body seemed far smaller and proportioned much differently than she ever remembered it being. She looked around the room and to her surprise she saw a mirror; what she beheld within it was a greater surprise.

She slowly walked up to her reflection, touching the mirror with her hand. She was no longer the ill and frail little human girl she had lived her entire life being. Her reflection showed her the body and face of a healthy and grown honey colored fair hedgehog. Her deep true blue eyes stared at and studied the new features she beheld of her pretty new face and figure.

She had the same dark thick lashes, but different, just as her eye structure was very different from the separated human eyes she remembered having. As a hedgehog her eyes were conjoined in an adorable heart shape, which she found to be different yet likable. Her lips were as lovely a shade of light red as they ever were, but she found how freely she could reposition her mouth on her face to be strange yet amusing.

After a thorough study to familiarize herself with her new features, the questions within her mind began to flow freely as they grew more and more.

"Grandfather…" Was the first word she could bring herself to utter, and she then continued her thought; "...Is this what you meant when you said that creating Shadow would be the key to my cure?..."

She looked around herself again.

"Where are they? Grandfather? Shadow?" She asked herself, but then she remembered where she was when she was last awake. She had been on the floor, bleeding from a bullet wound to the back, and she had sent Shadow in a capsule to earth.

She touched her back where she had been shot and felt nothing wrong with it in the slightest. Her skin was smooth and unharmed. She looked in the mirror and didn't even see a scar.

"I really do have a new body then." She said feeling a bit pleased instead of scared. "And Shadow must be on earth! I hope he's enjoying it there and isn't worried about me. I wonder.. I wonder how long I've been asleep. I should see if there's anything in here for me…"

Maria then searched the room and found a gift box with a tag that had her name on it. She opened it and found her clothes and a letter addressed to her. She began to read it.

"Dear Maria, if you are reading this letter then 50 years must have already passed and neither I nor your grandfather are here on this ark. His plan to be rid of the black aliens will have been fulfilled and you must stop reading this and quickly find Shadow. He should be in the control room for the eclipse cannon. Find him before he leaves the ark!"

Maria then stopped reading the letter and quickly dressed herself in her oversized clothes.

"I've wasted so much time in surprise, oh dear me!! Shadow, I hope you're still here!"

She then took off running to find Shadow. After passing through many rooms, she saw him in the distance by the window they always gazed through together. She ran faster only to hear him utter the words;

"Goodbye forever, Shadow the hedgehog." As he let go of a photograph, walked away from the window and then teleported away.

Maria stared in shock before yelling his name to no avail. "SHADOW!!"

She then dropped to her knees, discouraged and feeling a little helpless. She teared up, but then quickly remembered the letter. She then sat down and continued to read it.

"In the case that you don't catch Shadow, fret not. We made sure that you would have an alternate option to travel to earth. First things first though Maria dear, you may be wondering who the writer of this letter is. If you can't place my handwriting, that's alright. The writer is none other than your dear friend and Dr. Gerald's faithful assistant, Dr. Nicky The Hedgehog.

"The good Doctor was taken away, but I remained here and stayed in secret contact with him to see his plans fulfilled. I think were it not for our revival plan that he would have gone mad with grief over the thought of losing you.

"I had hid myself away from the GUN soldiers who raided our dear Ark, and when things were safe, I found you on the brink of death. I knew your body could no longer hold you, so you were placed within a tube that reconstructed your cells into a stronger body infused with Shadow's DNA, while holding your mind and soul intact. I could never have done such a thing without your grandfather's explicit instruction, so we both owe it to him for the preservation of your life.

"Even though you were saved, we let no one else know. Your name was listed as a casualty in the report of the ark incident. Shadow may not even know that you are alive.

"Shadow was put to sleep on earth, so after your reconstruction was complete, we found it to be the best course of action to also put you to sleep until you could be reunited with him. I for one am excited for you both, though sad that I'll be an old man before I can see you again. Who knows, maybe I'll have a grandkid you'll be able to befriend- ah but that's my silly thoughts.

"You can find a ship designed for your exit from Ark in the room next to the room you reawakened in, and you can chart your course to any place on earth. You are a healthy girl who can live life out to the fullest now! Don't waste a moment of it and get going! Best wishes to you. Pay me a visit if I happen to still be around hehe.

"Sincerely

-Dr. Nicky The Hedgehog."

Maria stared at the photo Shadow dropped on his way out. A photo of her and her grandfather. Her tears that had been welling up as she read the letter now began to flow down her face, sparkling in the starlight. She began to sob, saying no words, only having the thoughts within her mind triggering many emotions that caused her flow of tears. She was joyful to be alive and healthy at last, but grieved for many things. Shadow left with the implication that he had put his family in the past.

"He must have thought that I had died, oh Shadow, poor Shadow…" She thought.

She cried all the more because she knew that if fifty years had truly passed that her dear Grandfather had passed on. She knew that he never once wished immortality for himself even though he had a mind brilliant enough to achieve such a thing.

Maria knew she was alone now, and what was life without family to be there with you through it? Her tears soaked her beautiful face thoroughly as she thought about these things, but after some time, her mind cleared enough for her to come to a resolution: she would fulfill the wish of those who loved her so dearly that they would risk their lives to make sure that she could live out her own life as healthy and happy girl.

She found her old room in the ark and gathered her old belongings. They were placed exactly as she had left them, which was a relief to her. After she finished gathering her prized possessions, she went and found the room that the letter had instructed her to go to. She found a large object covered by a veil and knew it must be the vehicle designed to take her to the planet that she had longed to go to her entire life.

With a strong tug, the veil came off fairly easily and it revealed the ship. She took a deep breath as she beheld the vehicle's grand design. This was a big moment, making the choice to leave the place that she had called home for her entire life. She wondered how much earth had changed, where she would go, what she would do.

"I suppose the best beginning step would be to go to a nice comfortable place to start, then explore the world… Yes, experiencing all the world one place at a time sounds so lovely." She smiled and sighed a wishful yet wistful sigh. "So be it then, I will familiarize myself with the new world then explore it… and maybe… someday… Find Shadow, or perhaps even... meet someone special to love like family."

Maria's eyes gleamed with hope, and she boarded the ship. She placed her belongings in a safe compartment, then sat in the pilot's seat and turned the ship on. Suddenly a video message appeared on a nearby screen. The face of a cerulean blue hedgehog with glasses and bangs was visible on screen, and he immediately began to speak.

"Congratulations on making it this far, Maria! If Gerald doesn't lose his mind and have Shadow destroy the planet or anything then you have one bright future ahead of you!"

Maria was displeased that Nicky would even suggest such a thing. Her grandfather may have been a little mad with genius but surely he'd never attempt to hurt the planet she loved so dearly. Shadow definitely would never have anything to do with it! To Maria he was the goodest boy.

Nicky's message continued. "I'm sure it only feels like a few days ago that you last saw my face, but for me it's been a few months already. Though it may not feel like it, I'm sure years have passed for you. It was a challenge for me to work on this project in secret, but I did manage to evade the government's radar.

"Now I take it that you've made the difficult but necessary decision to leave this place behind? Good for you. You were always meant to live out your life on the planet Maria, as a happy and healthy girl. Now that dream is becoming reality and it's an exciting thing! Now how to operate the ship you may be wondering! Well just.." Nicky explained exactly how to operate the ship as Maria followed the instructions carefully.

Eventually it came to the point where she knew she was about to leave. She gathered together her courage as the ship prepared to take off. The outer door in the room began to open and she closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, for it was time to say goodbye. Maria blew a kiss to her home as she counted her many memories here to be blessed. She then flew the ship through the door into outer space and left her home behind, pursuing a new future, a new happiness, and a new home on earth.

However, something caught her eye in her view of space.

"The moon… what happened to the moon?!"