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Chapter Text

"The brain scanning process should only take a moment, Maria. Hold still..."

She laid onto the leather medical chair - the kind that dentists use. The lab was all bright and white. Grandpa typed something on the computer as other scientists and doctors gathered around.

Maria's grip on Shadow's hand tightened. He gave a reassuring nod, as though saying without words that everything was going to be okay.

"Will this hurt, Grandpa?"

Grandpa laughed. "Oh ho ho! Not at all! I doubt you'd even feel a thing. Don't worry, granddaughter."

Shadow winced as lab coats went over and placed sensors and a helmet thing on Maria's head. He then smiled which made Maria smile. Nothing to be worried about.

"Please look into this light and blink, Ms. Robotnik," said a scientist, a pocket light thing in their hands.

And so Maria did.

She looked and blinked.

She then opened her eyes...

It was now suddenly a dark, dark room. A different room, one with dimmed fancy computers and large tubes and... is that a robot? Where was Grandpa? Where was Shadow and the scientists? Wasn't Shadow holding her hand?

Maria tried to gasp for air only to find she couldn't breathe at all. In fact, she couldn't feel her heart beat or a breath or anything inside her body. But she could feel touch. Were those wires attached to her shoulder?

She screamed for help only to discover she couldn't. Why can't she speak? But luckily she heard a familiar voice.

"Good! You're finally awake."

Grandpa! She looked to see him working on a nearby control panel. Strange, why is he wearing a red lab coat? Grandpa usually wore white. 

Maria turned to face him only to suddenly be met face to face with a scary sight! It was a creepy hedgehog, like Shadow! But... robotic and not adorable. Blue metal plates and deep blood red lights for eyes against a screen as black as a void.

Is this another type of ultimate lifeform? One that was a machine instead?

Why was it following her every movement?

Grandpa continued his speech, adjusting his glasses.

"Welcome to consciousness, Alpha Mark 3... or maybe I should call you Metal Sonic? Oh ho ho! I do like the sound of that. I trust that your directive is clear, yes? So get going and don't come back until Sonic's dealt with!"

Maria stared back at Grandpa. What... directive? Deal with sonic? Like sound waves? Where was Shadow?

The questions were unable to materialise. She couldn't speak.

Grandpa scratched his head. "What's the meaning of this?! Why are you still standing there?"

All Maria could do was looked around in confusion. The robot hedgehog followed too. That was not a good sign. Could this be a... reflection?!

She looked down.

Oh how Maria wished she could scream.

It had been a few years since Maria's reincarnation. Was that a fair word to use? Perhaps. One moment she was Maria, on the ARK, doing another checkup.

And then she woke up as this... supreme being. A cute blue robot hedgehog that looked a little like Shadow. No more NIDS, no more pain and headaches and nausea! No more quarantines and being in a wheelchair or trapped in space.

Maria had settled into her new identity. Metal Sonic was what Cousin Ivo called her to the world, but in private her true name was spoken.

Her reincarnation was a bit of an accident. Cousin Ivo didn't expect the neurological data he stole from a GUN database for the purpose of mapping Metal Sonic's sentience to still have the memories, consciousness and personality of Maria Robotnik.

That was a crude way of putting it, maybe? Just 'personality and memories'? But it was objectively true. Could this metal body contain the soul of the Maria that was gunned down on the Ark, fifty years ago?

Perhaps not. Maria only had memories up to her brain scan. She was a copy of the original, a mental clone. But did that make her any less Maria?

She looked into her reflection once more as Cousin Ivo placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ready, Maria?" Ivo said with a smile.

Maria nodded. Cousin Ivo, once he found out, was quick to accept Maria as she was - the reincarnated soul in a robot body. He asked many, many questions about what Grandpa was like, what it was like on the ARK, how he so desperately wished he could be there.

She answered all of them through letters and this thing called e-mail. Technology had changed rapidly in the past fifty years.

It was still so strange that Cousin Ivo was so old now, old enough to be Maria's uncle or even father. Maria remembered when he was a small child and only heard about him while she was stuck on the ARK.

While Maria now had a voice module compared to her first awakening in this body, she still had gotten into the habit of preferring not to speak.

She simply didn't have much to say nowadays.

Was Maria ready? To finally strike at the heart GUN directly?

The monsters who killed Grandpa.

The monsters who killed Shadow.

The monsters who killed her.

They needed to be eliminated for the world to have a chance of happiness.

Oh yes, there was the matter of Sonic too. Could he be stopped too? Maria understood him well. He was an evil, monstrous doppelganger of Shadow. GUN had stolen Grandpa's research and made their own Ultimate Lifeform.

Only, unlike Shadow which was meant to give hope and peace, and research medical innovations, Sonic was created for the opposite reason. He was a being meant for nothing but war and destruction. The ultimate weapon.

And Maria wanted nothing more than to put such a loathsome copy of Shadow to rest.

"Now, I did find something promising, Maria." Ivo smiled as he flipped through a black book. "According to this, Shadow might still be alive."

Maria's robotic eyes lit up in shock. How?!

Cousin Ivo explained further. Records indicated that Prison Island secretly held a lab with a Project Shadow. Not much was known beyond that.

"You know about cloning, Maria." Cousin Ivo adjusted his glasses as he smiled. "The original must exist somewhere. We should've known GUN would've needed Shadow to create Sonic."

It was so obvious in hindsight.

There he was! In the pod!

Shadow!

Maria held her claw to her face in excitement. After so many years, reunited at last!

Behind her was GUN soldiers she non-lethally subdued with tasers and close quarters combat. While she despised who they worked for, the common soldier deserved some mercy. Who was Maria to take a life?

She skipped her way to a computer panel and was about ready to release Shadow from his stasis when her reflection looked back at her from the screen.

Oh. That was right... it had been so long since Maria was a human. How could Shadow possibly believe this robot to be Maria? Well, Cousin Ivo's explanation should suffice. Shadow would understand.

Maria connected herself to the terminal and initiated the procedure to release Shadow.

Together, they could stop GUN!

Grandpa would finally be avenged!

"...Hmph." Shadow crossed his arms. "You're not her. You'll never be her. All you have are her memories. You're no Maria."

Maria spoke, using a voice modulator. She spoke naturally and sounded just like she did as a human, although with digital artifacts. She had just explained the situation to Shadow: the brain scan, working for Ivo, her new robotic body.

"But it's still me, Shadow! I woke up like this-"

"-I just watched the real Maria die, robot." Shadow covered his face. "You didn't!"

They were seated on the steps in Cousin Ivo's pyramid base. Shadow brought his knees up to his head while Maria - if that was what she was - looked away.

Maria found out that GUN raided the Space Colony ARK a month after her brain scan. A month's worth of memories marked the difference between the Maria that was shot by GUN and the Maria that woke up in the body of a robot hedgehog.

How different could a person really change in a month? Maria was still the same Maria, right? It was still her... even without those memories. At best, she didn't share her soul, but Maria didn't believe in the concept of a soul. She was an atheist - just as all Robotniks were. Science and facts over prayer and faith.

"I missed you, Shadow." Maria crossed her own arms. "I missed you so much. For years I thought you were dead..."

Shadow sighed and shut his eyes. "Stop."

"Stop what?"

"...This 'I am Maria' act. You're dishonoring her memory, robot. She wasn't even a hedgehog."

He refused to look at Maria, or at least, the robot who had Maria's memories. She never imagined their reunion to have gone this bitterly. She just wanted her Shadow back. The only real true close friend she had on the ARK. Everyone else were all stressed out grown ups, scary military men or the general's bratty son.

But now the only person who could understand Maria didn't want anything to do with her.

Maria couldn't believe she was thinking this, but she might honestly miss the ARK in some small way.

"I can't help it," said Maria. "It's not my fault I woke up with her memories."

Her memories, in the third person? She said that only to placate Shadow. In truth, those memories were real and they were truly hers! She felt everything in them. The pain. The joy. The warmth of the ARK staff making her days better. The hope of going back to Earth.

And if Shadow thought that didn't make her Maria, then fine! Who cares what Shadow thought? Who would we be without our memories, anyways? If we lost all our memories, would we still be the same individual?

Of course not! And so likewise, the inverse was true too. This metal robotic hedgehog was just as Maria as the human girl on the ARK. Maybe a little different, accounting for that one month difference, but still the same.

Maybe some day Shadow would see that...

Or maybe some day, the robotic hedgehog with Maria's memories would see that they were nothing but memories.

A stone slab door slid open and out stepped Cousin Ivo.

"That bat girl is a pain!" Ivo grumbled as he stepped forward. "She refuses to answer any of my questions."

"Hmph." Shadow rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Then let her go?"

Cousin Ivo gave a dismissive laugh. "I'd rather just kill her. It's not worth the risk."

Maria shook her head. "Ivo! You can't! That's harsh-"

"-She could be a GUN agent, Maria," Ivo said.

"...But we need to know that for sure." Maria put a finger to her chin, deep in thought. "Maybe I can talk to-"

"-Do not, Maria!" Ivo interrupted. "Remember, we must maintain your cover identity."

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Cover identity?"

The two explained briefly that Metal Sonic doesn't talk. Makes 'him' scary and strikes fear into that GUN experiment. If the world knew that 'Metal Sonic' was the brain scan of some girl who died on the ARK and Eggman's cousin, he'd lose his intimidation factor.

"I'll talk to the bat," Shadow said as he got up to his feet.

Maria tilted her head at Shadow.

Shadow then gave a quiet nod. "Fine. You can come along, Metal. I'll be good cop and you be bad cop."

"Fun," Maria added. "Just make sure not to hurt her, okay?"

"I already said I'd be good cop," Shadow had a slight smile. "Just follow my lead, robot. Maria and I used to play this all the time..."

Maria knew that. She remembered the roleplay games they'd do bored on their minds in the ARK in between classes, pretending to be cowboys or cops or aliens. It was fun even with whiny Abe, precisely because he was so whiny.

Hopefully this bat was whiny too.

Chapter Text

The Ultimate Lifeform and Supreme Being entered the room. It was a small cube room with fake, tacky hieroglyphic art on all sides for that Theme Park pyramid look.

Rouge was tied to a metal chair.

"Hello Shadow." Rouge winked at him.

And then she looked at Metal Sonic, who stood at the corner with his arms crossed looking all cool and stuff. One leg leaning on the side, eyes set to extra red and-

"Hello Maria." Rouge gave a sinister smile which completely threw off Maria's balance, causing her to awkwardly slip in shock. Maria stared back at Rouge.

"What? I wiretapped this base, honey." Rouge shrugged. "So I know who you really are. Or at the very least, who your AI is based on."

Shadow gave a deep breath. "It's a robot. Ignore it-"

"-Kind of rude to call he or she an it, don't ya think?" Rouge said, her smile smug. "Pretty sure they have feelings and emotions."

"Who do you work for?" Shadow stepped forward menacingly. Rouge showed no fear, despite being tied to the chair.

"My bank account and gem collection. I'm looking out for numero uno, papi."

Rouge winked, which only annoyed Shadow further. He grumbled to himself something before glancing back up again.

"Why are you here?"

"Why are any of us here? Existence sure is a mystery. What is the meaning of all this? Will Sisyphus ever be happy?"

Shadow looked visibly stressed, pulling on his quills, as Rouge continued to smirk.

"What do you want?"

"Happiness. Riches. Maybe a bottle of red wine-"

A silver tray with a large bottle and two glasses was presented. Maria held the tray up with both of her claws.

"Wow!" Rouge's eyes opened wide. "You're serious?"

Maria nodded silently.

"I like this robot, Shadow. You could learn a thing or two from her."

A glass of red was poured for Rouge and placed on a table in front of her. However, she was still tied up and could only stare.

Maria adjusted her voice modulator and spoke naturally. The synthesised voice of her Metal Sonic body was more than capable of emulating how she used to sound as a human, although a little more digital.

"I'll free one of your hands if you answer a question."

Rouge smiled. "Interesting. Is this why you don't usually talk? Because your voice is-"

"-N-no! That's not why! I can adjust it at will! I only chose this setting because-"

Shadow interrupted. "-Let's try this again, Rouge. Who do you work for? Really?"

"Hmmm... that's a surprisingly complicated question."

"GUN?" Shadow sat across Rouge. Maria stood by the side.

"Indirectly. Try 'The President' himself."

"You really expect me to believe that?" Shadow replied.

"That's another question, dear." Rouge had a cheeky smile as her eyes pointed at her right wrist, still handcuffed to the chair. Maria extended her metal hedgehog claw and with only one swipe, cut the metal handcuffed clean open.

"I'm feeling more talkative now," Rouge twisted her wrist and reached for a wine glass. "Helps that you know how to treat a lady right. At least, better than my other employers."

Rouge fleshed a suggestive smile, barring a little bit of her fang, before sipping her wine. A small drop of red subtly spilled and landed on the bare side of her chest. Shadow did not react while Maria darted her eyes away, pretending not to notice. She was not going to let this bat girl distract her.

"I'll tell you about them," Rouge continued. "If you'd like."

With a few more sips of wine, Rouge explained more of her profession. A spy and a treasure hunter, although it was unclear which she saw as her main career and which was the 'side hustle'.

Rouge said she knew all kinds of people inside GUN very well. Mostly men, although Maria swore Rouge gave sneaky glances at her when she talked about a Ms. Topaz. Probably just her imagination.

And with all she learned from GUN, working for them 'off the record', Rouge said they had information that would prove interesting.

"Next week, three Chaos Emeralds will be transported to Prison Island for processing," Rouge drank from a wine and used her other, recently freed hand, to pour herself more. "The Emeralds will be locked in vaults..."

"Sadly, there's no way to crack past their security," Rouge gave an exaggerated sigh before she reached into her outfit and pulled out a yellow and blue USB thumbstick. "Just kidding. This drive contains all the software you'd need to access the backdoors I've installed on GUN's networks."

Shadow asked the obvious question - why should he trust Rouge? But all Rouge responded with was a snarky 'you shouldn't, but what other options do you have?'

"Besides," Rouge added on. "You two are my best shot for having the Chaos Emeralds all to myself! At the very least, it gives me a chance to see them all together."

"Hmph." Shadow rolled his eyes. "Sure. You'll have all the time in the world to admire your Emeralds once I'm done with them."

Maria's red digital eyes blinked. "Wait, Shadow, what do you mean? What are you planning?"

"This doesn't concern you, robot. Just follow your orders."

That hurt. But at the same time, it reminded Maria of a memory. Something Shadow would know too. So playfully, she put her claws behind her back.

"But what if your plan and my orders violate one of the Three Laws of Robotics, Shadow?" Maria's voice playfully replied. "After all, a robot may not injure another sentient being or, through inaction, allow-"

"-allow a sentient being to come into harm." Shadow finished the sentence. "I know. Heh. She wouldn't stop gushing about those books. Maybe I should've finished them..."

"They were good, Shadow. Grandpa read them too." Maria's eyes were in a '^^' shape. "It was why he wasn't a big fan of researching artificial intelligence."

Shadow continued. "Ironic, considering what Ivo's doing. And considering what I'm talking to."

"Is it, Shadow?" Maria now placed a claw on her cheek. "I'm not really an artificial intelligence. For one, I break the Three Laws on a regular basis."

"That's just science fiction-"

"-I have complete free will, just like when I was a human. I make decisions the same way. I make choices without some protocol or algorithm but from my heart. I feel just as alive."

"What are you trying to say, robot?" Shadow's tone was now more open, less guarded. Rouge paid attention to the conversation, intrigued.

"Maybe I'm not the same as the 'real Maria'. But I'm alive. I have consciousness. I think and therefore-"

"-you are," Shadow said. "Mr. Lim's philosophy classes."

"See! I told you those lessons weren't pointless, Shadow."

"Hmph. Maybe. But you didn't tell me anything. Maria did."

The robotic hedgehog sulked. "My memories of telling you are-"

"Sure. Your AI may have the memories of Maria's conversations with me." Shadow sighed. "But that doesn't mean you told me. Last I checked, the ARK only had one artificial hedgehog abomination."

Rouge grimaced as the tension in the air increased. Maria's reply was more disappointed than angry.

"I am not an abomination," said Maria.

"I didn't say you were." Shadow turned away and exhaled deeply. "In fact, I think you should stop looking through Maria's memories. It's an invasion of her privacy. It's wrong."

"But how could I do that, Shadow?" replied the robot in a sad tone, her voice just like Maria's. "What you're asking is impossible. I don't choose to remember anything... this is just me, Shadow! I can't simply turn it off."

"You're a robot," Shadow refused to look at her, only down at the floor. "You can ask Eggman to wipe Maria's memories off your system. It's only ones and zeroes."

Maria covered her face, her claws against her eyes. "But I don't want to do that, Shadow. If I forget everything, I'd forget you too. I'd forget who I am. What you're asking me to do is no different from suicide."

Rouge replied in a heavy tone. "I know this doesn't involve me but I think Maria's right."

Shadow slammed his fist on the table. "Don't call her that. She is not Maria! She doesn't have her soul! Her essence!"

He pointed a finger at the robot. "This machine! It's just some-"

Rouge continued. "-You're right that she's a copy. But a copy can be just as real as the original."

She put a hand onto Shadow's, gently pushing it down from the hand pointing at Maria. "I doubt the Maria you knew would've wanted you to hurt her clone."

Shadow shut his eyes before another deep exhale. He opened them. Maria held her claws to her chest, a habit of hers she never lost. Then he smirked.

"You may not be the real Maria. But you can still help me fulfill my promise to her."

Maria replied. "And what's that promise, Shadow?"

"Revenge. For you. For the Professor. For our family on the ARK."

Maria nodded solemnly. "Yes... revenge. We can't let anyone else get hurt by the monsters that killed us."

Rouge shrugged, her wings and feet tied to the chair. "Well, you two can get all the revenge you want after I get my Emeralds. So what are you going to do to me? You know, I've been nothing but cooperative."

Shadow replied. "I still don't trust you not to betray us so we're going to be keeping you in this cell. You will not leave this Pyramid Base until our mission is complete."

"Don't worry!" Maria spoke with a chipper. "We'll make sure it's comfortable. We'll get you a bed, some novels. Do you like science fiction? Comic books?"

Rouge blinked at the fact she was being kept accommodated and began slowly requesting - or demanding in Shadow's words - more and more things. She listed her preferred food, how she only liked to sleep in pajamas, and so on. 

"Vampire romances, please." Rouge replied to the question on reading material with a cheeky tone before listing some authors she preferred and some she would not prefer. Shadow rolled his eyes at Rouge treating this like a hotel, but Maria eagerly jotted down the recommendations with a pen and notepad. Unlike Shadow, Maria just wanted Rouge to be happy even as a prisoner. It was already bad enough being stuck somewhere. Maria knew all too well how it felt to be isolated and trapped somewhere, and how important stories were to pass the time and stay sane.

Preparations for the heist began. One week. It had to be perfect.

Prison Island.

According to Rouge, Prison Island contained many top secret GUN documents in highly defended digital databases. Very classified documents under tight security which this strange yellow and blue USB could bypass. Maria couldn't help but ponder questions as preparations led up to the heist. Who really killed Grandpa? Who really killed her? And why exactly did GUN have a brain scan of her, and one that allowed her to be alive again as a metal hedgehog? Did Grandpa know this could happen to her? Would he have approved it? Was her continued existence an affront to not just Shadow but Gerald?

What would the real Maria think of her? Was there even a way to ask? Was asking herself that the same? She was just glad to just be alive. It was nice not being dead. Simple as that. But Maria dared not ask Shadow again, for she dared not be told she was nothing but a robot. Then again, he might know. Shadow was there with Maria after her brain scan. He would know what happened in the missing month leading up to GUN attack.

Strange, in some ways having a gap in memory made this no different from having amnesia. Was she no different from a Maria that lived to the same point, but only had a month gap in memory? Or could living through events fundamentally change someone, even if they couldn't remember it, to the point where the Maria in this metallic hedgehog was too different from the Maria on the ARK.

Uncomfortable questions.

Focus on Prison Island. Maybe it would act as a nice distraction. There would only be GUN personnel, nothing more. Just retrieve the Emeralds and get out. No more surprises, hopefully. Just Metal Sonic and Project Shadow stealing some Emeralds.

It was not like Sonic would be on Prison Island to stop them. He probably doesn't even know where it was on a map. Then again, not many people did. GUN preferred their black op sites to be secret, even to most of the world's governments

Chapter Text

"Chaos-"

In Physics, it describes unpredictability, randomness, a system acting as though it has an irrational mind of its own. Determinism be damned.

By definition it is not controllable. Any small changes in a variable will have a rippling effect on an entire system. Chaos Theory. The butterfly effect.

"Control!"

A flash of bright light. Maria, in her metal hedgehog body, found herself in a thick rainforest, next to Shadow.

The power of Chaos Control. Shadow said when he woke up from the stasis, he somehow just knew how to use a Chaos Emerald in order to tap into the inner energy in the universe. One of the powers this enabled was very similar to teleportation.

The perfect way to bypass the increased anti-air defenses of Prison Island. Cousin Ivo's ships would've gotten shot down by the new cannons and mechs installed by GUN since their last attack. Submarines were out of the question too, as GUN employed the robotic suicide-bombing SHARK drones.

But simply teleporting onto the island? That worked.

The communication radios beeped and Cousin Ivo's voice spoke through.

"Good. You're on the island. Okay then, bat girl, what exactly should they do with the drive? Remember, if this is a trap-"

"-Yeah, yeah," Rouge's voice replied. "I know! Now can you please put that gun away from my face! Don't you know how dangerous that is!?"

Ivo snorted. "That wouldn't happen. My trigger discipline is impeccable."

"Accidents happen all the time, don't ya know? Next you're gonna say 'oh, Maria, Shadow, I shot Rouge in the face.'."

Shadow grumbled as he pulled the radio to his face. "Enough! Where should the robot insert the device?"

"The central computer room," Rouge replied. "Maria should have the coordinates. You may have to sneak in through the vents."

"Got it. Try and keep up, bot."

Shadow and Maria dashed through the forest, grinding down the edges of giant fallen tree trunks, swinging on vines at exhilarating speeds and launching themselves at the highest of speeds.

GUN drones and robots attempted to stop the two hedgehogs but were quickly ripped to shreds as they used them as platforms.

"Why aren't you double jumping, Shadow?" Maria yelled out in the air. "Did you forget how again? It's okay if you did."

Shadow came to a stop with a stylish powerslide. Maria, on the other hand, did a quick hop and angled her robotic feet just right against the direction of her momentum. The bottom of her feet were holes for thrusters of quick propulsion rockets, and so with a quick tap of energy, Maria cut her movement.

"Hmph." Shadow crossed his arms like he always does. He annoyed so many professors on the ARK until they got used to it. "No. I just chose not to for tactical reasons-"

"-Click your heels together." Maria interrupted, her eyes in a '^^' shape. "Like Dorothy. 'No place like home', remember?"

Shadow jumpt and did just that. Then he did it a few more times. Maria couldn't help but clap in excitement for him. Shadow played around more with the ability he always had, jumping between nearby trunks and rocks. Maria gave more advice and tips as Shadow skated around on how to better use his shoes.

"Hmph. I suppose you would know as much as she did."

"Of course, Shadow!" Maria ran over to examine the skates closer, her metal finger running along the edges of thrusters. "I designed those shoes myself. Sure, Grandpa and his team built it, but it was all to my specifications."

Maria lifted her boot, revealing the thrusters underneath to Shadow. "I even proposed a similar upgrade to Cousin Ivo for myself."

While Maria's metal hedgehog body meant she flew more than she skated or ran, the upgrade did give her much needed mobility to wall jump or be dynamic in the air. If only she had those upgrades on Stardust Speedway.

Many GUN robots then revealed themselves, an ambush from the bushes. Firearms charged ready to fire but Maria and Shadow leapt up and made short work of them. Ah, Shadow was already using his new double jump well against these enemies! How nice. Maria was so proud of him.

"Hmph." Shadow struck a pose, his hand combing through his quills. "That easy? Is that really all they got? Pathetic."

Maria tactically sliced the mechanical joints off a GUN mech and back-flipped off. She placed her hands by her chest as the robot exploded behind her. She also stayed silent, because that's what her Metal Sonic persona is all about.

They totally looked super cool!

"What are you two doing?" said Cousin Ivo's voice on the radio. He was able to monitor them using Maria's eyes. "Stop wasting time and make your way to the central computer room, now!"

Rouge spoke. "Oh, don't be such a buzzkill, Eggman. Let them have their fun, nothing wrong with aurafarming."

Maria 'winked' one red electronic eye. "Race you there, Shadow!"

"I'll like to see you try."

The hedgehogs, one Ultimate Lifeform and the other Supreme Being, crawled through air vents, past offices and labs. There was at least enough space for them to travel side-by-side. Conveniently oversized military infrastructure strikes again!

"This is pointless." Shadow grumbled as he inched forward slowly. "We should just kick down the front door and storm in."

"Wouldn't be a good idea," Maria replied with her volume settings lowered. "We'd then have to fight the employees."

"So? I doubt a few eggheads and guards could pose a challenge for us."

"It's not that. It's making sure we don't hurt anyone."

"I don't see the problem. Just kill each of them quickly before they raise the alarm. Simple."

"Shadow!" Maria's voice was still quiet but firm. "That's very cold of you."

They both stopped their crawl. Maria's glare at Shadow was intense. Shadow replied.

"Why do you care? These are GUN goons. They knew what they were signing up for."

Maria pulled Shadow closer and pointed at a grate in the vent. They looked through.

It was an office room, with white walls and short cubicles that had calendars and family photos. Men and women, mostly humans save for the occasional fox or rabbit, paced up and down carpeted floors. Some wore hoodies, others wore lab coats and some wore collared shirts with blazers and chinos.

Listen closely and you could hear, among keyboards noises and fans, conversations if you were spying from the same vent. They all talked about mundane stuff. Television shows. Projects due. Gossip. They complained about their bosses.

A rabbit spilled water on his shirt due to carelessness with the water cooler. The water cooler shows no mercy. A human woman was clearly reading a novel underneath her desk in secret. There was a fox who had fallen asleep at her desk, her computer screen opened to a code editor whose background featured a large breasted drawing of a very cute cat girl character.

Maria kept a mental note of that detail in her memory banks for later.

Shadow narrowed his eyebrows. "What are you trying to say? That these parasites are pathetic? Weak?"

"They're innocent people, Shadow. They don't deserve death."

"Not that innocent. Did you forget who they are working for?" Shadow pointed at the a large G.U.N logo on the wall. Guardian Units of Nations. Visible was their motto: Gather, Unite, Neutralise.

Maria shook her head. "They're still just employees. They aren't-"

"-Responsible? Compliant?" Shadow rolled his eyes. "What are you going to say next? That they are just following orders? Hmph. Maybe that's all you would know, robot."

"How could you say that, Shadow!" Maria 'shut' her robotic pupils. "You know that's not a fair comparison."

"Hmph." Shadow rolled his eyes and began traversing the vents again. "That's easy for you to say. You weren't there. You didn't watch as those men shot down everyone without hesitation. How do you think those soldiers got up there? Someone had to file paperwork, secure logistics..."

Shadow pointed through another grate at a rabbit worker talking on a phone at his desk, a spreadsheet opened on the computer. "You think someone like him didn't play a part?"

"You can't assume that about everyone here." Maria covered her visor with a hand. "And even if they were... that doesn't give us the right to execute them."

Shadow's tone was deadpan, tired and done. "Rights? You want to talk about rights? Pretty sure GUN had full right that day to do what they did, on the ARK. I doubt it was even considered a crime."

"This darkness in your heart, Shadow. It's not you. This isn't who I remember-"

"-Focus on the mission, clanker." Shadow dismissively shook his head. "The time for talk has passed."

When Maria imagined justice for GUN's misdeeds, she focused on the dismantlement of it as an organizational force. The goal of bringing to light its terrible crimes, so they would never be able to harm another innocent person ever again.

Taking innocent lives to accomplish that was not on her agenda. What matters is giving everyone an opportunity to be a better person. A chance to be happy.

She would never take away that chance, especially not through capital punishment for mere guilt by association.

"Where is this room?" Shadow spoke into the radio, Maria landed beside him in her metal hedgehog body.

The bright white room was filled with biomedical chambers with colorful fluids, similar to the ones Shadow would be put in on the ARK for study. There were also computers, first-aid kits, a sink.

This was clearly a medical bay, Maria had seen too many in her organic life. She didn't miss it. Strange, there were surgical beds but above them surrounded mechanical robotic arms. Robotic surgeons?

Eggman's voice spoke through the radio. "According to the map it's the-" He cleared his throat. "-Just some medical room. The central computer room should be across the hallway."

Rouge interjected. "Just some medical room? What are you talking about- Oh. Ye-yeah! It's just some room."

Shadow raised an eyebrow and Maria shrugged. They both began to make their way out of the room when Maria spotted a silver plaque by the door. Maria froze as she read it. Then she read it again. And again.

"Hmph. What's got your programming in a loop? Some kind of logic paradox? This statement is false?" Shadow rolled his eyes. Then he read the plaque too.

"How. Dare. They." Shadow's squeezed his hand into a tight fist. "After what they've done to her? Is this mockery?"

The plaque read the following.

Maria Robotnik Medical Hub.

Named in memory of Maria Robotnik whose spirit shone brightly through every challenge.

Her participation in landmark medical studies was a hallmark foundation of modern technology and has saved countless lives. She was an inspiration to all who knew her.

Shadow grabbed a glass beaker from a table and threw it somewhere in anger. It shattered into pieces.

"You were the ones who killed her and those who knew her!" Shadow screamed. "And now she's an inspiration? We should blow up this island, make sure none of these monsters escape. Make them pay for-"

"-Shadow, please stop!" Maria yelled back, her hand on her chest. "You're scaring me. This isn't like you! You're breaking my heart-"

"-Shut. Up. Robot." Shadow turned and stared eye to screen with the metal blue hedgehog. "You don't have a heart. You don't have a soul. So please, stop. Just... do what you're programmed to do and stop... stop trying to be her. It won't bring her back. None of this would bring her back."

Shadow then turned away. He punched the plaque, enough to leave a dent. He exhaled a painful breath. The air was tense, and all Maria wanted to do was cry. She put her hands to her chest. She didn't breathe, because she wasn't real and only a robot body, but she emulated the motion of calming her breath.

It hurt. She may not be able to cry, she may not have tears or a heart. But everything hurt all the same.

Shadow then sighed. "I'm sorry," he said looking away.

"It's okay. I understand-"

"-No." Shadow shook his head. "It's not okay. You didn't do anything wrong. It's your programming. It wasn't right to take it out on you."

Shadow then gave a soft smirk. "Besides, you're a better honor of her memory than this self indulgent display." He gestured around the room.

"I guess... I do literally have her memories..." the robot hedgehog replied.

The robot had Maria's memories because she was her. That's what she still believed, deep in her core. Only because it still felt so real. Did she deserve to have the memory of such a sweet girl who never hurt anyone?

Maria deserved better.

"Let's stop wasting time here, robot." Shadow then walked through a door.

Maria turned around. All the equipment here, all the research? Was it really fair to say she was responsible? What about the Ultimate Lifeform? Shadow was just as important as Maria. So much of Grandpa's research was only possible because of him. He deserved a plaque as well.

Shadow deserved better, too.

The computer room. Maria and Shadow had knocked out the guards non-lethally. The room was dimmed, with blue light illuminating from hallways of servers and monitors. It was cold, cold enough that even Maria could feel its chill through her metal skin.

The hums of fans and air conditioning. The gargling of water cooling.

Maria and Shadow stared down the central computer in the center. It had a very flat screen. They just had to insert this USB stick, right? Maria gave it one more look as she held it on her metal fingers. Sky blue and a cute yellow. Why do these colors feel vaguely familiar?

Shadow spoke to his radio. "All we have to do is insert it into this device?"

Rouge replied through the radio. "Yes. It should do all the work for you."

Cousin Ivo gave a menacing laugh. "Actually, Shadow. Whatever you do, don't insert that stick."

"Huh?" Shadow exclaimed.

"That's right! You really thought you could trick us with a sabotage device, did you, Rouge?"

Rouge replied with a sigh. "Eggman what-"

"-Don't play dumb with me! You rigged that drive to ruin our operation! But as a genius, I knew the entire time it was all a trap! And now I shall end you-"

"-It's not a trap, idiot." Rouge sounded very annoyed and not at all afraid. "I don't know where you got the idea from, but did you really think I'd trick you? Me? Why would I risk my life for GUN?"

She continued with yet another sigh. "All I want are my Chaos Emeralds. I couldn't care less about anything else."

There was an awkward silence on the other end. Shadow and Maria looked at each other and shrugged. What now?

Cousin Ivo's voice came back. "Okay. Shadow, Maria. Plug the device in now."

Shadow spoke. "What? But didn't you say it was a trap?"

Ivo continued. "Oh? No. Nevermind. It should be fine. I was just bluffing to see if the bat girl was trying to pull a fast one on us."

"As much as I'd love to sabotage your operation, it doesn't benefit me one bit. Now stop wasting time and get me those Emeralds," Rouge said.

The drive was finally inserted. Now what?

At first, nothing, and then the lights all flickered on and off. Maria and Shadow entered a combat stance, in case something were to-

"Hi there!" sounded an upbeat, girly voice which echoed through speakers in the room. On the monitor, near the bottom right, was a cartoon avatar of a young, fully orange fox kit with blue eyes.

"It looks like you're trying to break into a highly secured, top secret, military institution! Need some help?"

Wait, is that meant to be... Maria swore she recognised them, but from where?

Shadow stepped forward. "Chaos Emeralds. Security access. Any and all data on Gerald Robotnik, Maria Robotnik. Project Shadow. Ultimate Lifeform. Space Colony ARK. ARK Incident. Massacre on the ARK. Maria Robotnik. Gerald Robotnik-"

The cute fox avatar interrupted, a hand reached out. "-Okay! I heard you the first time. Sheesh."

They rolled their blue eyes but then gave a big smile. "Beginning icebreaker operations on classified databases. This may take awhile, but I'll transfer the data to you once I'm done! In the meantime, I've secured access to all GUN security systems, so feel free to go and get those Chaos Emeralds. Transmitting coordinates now to the robot~!"

The cartoon fox blinked. "Huh. Interesting..."

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"No-nothing. Nothing." the fox gave an embarrassed smile and rubbed the back of their animated head. "That's just a very... unique robot. I-I mean, it looks kind of like you, black and red hedgehog. Ha ha. You two better get going if you want those Emeralds. I'll follow you through Prison Island's network."

Maria said nothing, only crossing her arms, maintaining peak Metal Sonic energy. And soon both Shadow and Maria were off - those Emeralds weren't going to steal themselves, after all.

"Soooonic! Wake up! Come oooon!"

Miles Prower was shaking a sleeping Sonic, who was napping peacefully on the couch. Miles' voice have gotten much deeper over the years, but that didn't stop him from talking the same way he always did around Sonic.

After a few grumbles, smiles, and a 'what's up buddy?', Sonic sat up right. Miles explained the situation as he rubbed the back of his head where the tips of his ears had gotten darken with age too, as usual for foxes. Puberty sure hit Miles.

Miles and Sonic were now slowly jogging to the hanger, where the red Tornado biplane was parked.

"So, I have good news and bad news. I'll start with the bad news first, Sonic."

He quickly explained that Eggman had somehow managed to infiltrate Prison Island. Yes, even past the anti-aircraft guns and the auto drones! If Eggman failed, Sonic would've been able to sleep in longer, but sadly they had to help now.

Miles couldn't figure out how Eggman broke through GUN's heightened defenses. At this point, he wouldn't even rule out literal teleportation. But how could they do it without a destination rely? Usually teleportation required two gates.

Sonic said that sounded pretty bad as Miles climbed onto the Tornado and prepped him for launch. No, it was not weird he called the Tornado a he, shut up.

"The good news is they activated T.A.I.L.S! That's how I know they're on the island to begin with. My informant tricked them! Eggman really thought that drive had nothing else in it."

"Activated what now, Miles?" Sonic leaned down as he rode on the wing of the Tornado. They flew above the ocean, low. Sonic hasn't called him by that cute 'Tails' nickname in years, so it makes sense he'd forget the association.

He wasn't cute anymore.

Miles rolled his eyes as he explained it again. Tactical Artificial Intelligence for Liberation and Safety. A simple AI he made using a very simple process. It should take control over Prison Island's security and allow them to fly in themselves. After all, TAILS was just like Tails and so it would be just as helpful! It even taught itself how to sneak inside code, as though it was alive. But that was impossible, as it was just very well-arranged ones and zeroes.

And now all Sonic and Miles had to do was steal the Chaos Emeralds from the Emerald thieves first.

Not such a dumb fox boy now, huh?

Eggman was going to be sorry.

Chapter Text

Present Day - Some GUN Base Miles found...

Sonic dashed through the forest, grinding on thick vines for extra speed, a trick he learned from a certain something a year ago. He hopped off an edge and used his momentum to bounce off a few Buzz Bombers - Eggman's badnik robots shaped like animals. They were a nuisance but at least they made good platforms.

Heh. Eggman's robots invaded the island just as soon after Miles went through the work of making that program to disable G.U.N.'s security. Well, Sonic wasn't bothered - it would have been too easy, and too boring, otherwise.

Sonic held his yellow wrist communicator up to his face to listen in on the incoming message.

"Sonic!" Miles called out, his voice all static-y from those radio interference. "I have almost reached the purple Emerald's location. How's progress on your end?"

Miles and Sonic had split up, one going for the purple Chaos Emerald and the other for the red Emerald. The plan was to then regroup for the third, silver Emerald.

With a quick stomp from the air, Sonic cut all his forward momentum and landed on a grassy platform. He then checked the Emerald tracking screen on the communicator.

Strange. Very strange.

"Something's wrong with the tracker, Miles. It took me to the middle of the forest. There's nothing here."

Miles replied on the communicator. "Huh? That can't be right. Could it be bugged...? I mean, all the Emeralds should be secured deep inside a vault-"

Sonic then blinked. "-Hey, urm, Miles... the Emerald just disappeared on the tracker."

Even through the communicator, Miles' gasp was loud. "Sonic, did you just say disappear!? That should never happen unless... oh no! I figured it out. Get out of there Sonic! The enemy is using-"

Before Sonic could even hear the end of Miles' sentence, he felt a pain in his chest as he was suddenly mid-air, flying towards the edge of the platform, towards the lake. He didn't remember getting kicked. It was as though he had a block in his memory.

No time to think, just act.

Quickly, Sonic grabbed a vine just in time and swung himself around a large tree, then flung himself up in the air, regaining control. What just happened? What hit him? How was he in the flying in the air? Sonic aimed himself, hoping to land on a nearby trunk and regain his balance-

It happened again! There was a sudden, flaring pain in Sonic's face - as though he got punched right in the nose! It really hurt! And not only that, but he was now falling with his back facing the ground.

Stay calm, Sonic. Whatever was happening now, whatever was attacking him... there must be a trick to it. Think, Sonic, think.

Act fast. He shut his eyes and flung himself to stomp on the ground. Regain balance, Sonic. There had to be a pattern. He breathed in and out and flipped open the communicator.

The Red Emerald's indicator was moving. Whatever was attacking him had to be using it, right? That had to make sense.

Miles' voice called out through the communicator. "Sonic! I have the Emerald! And I see you in the distance, near the harbor! Woah, did you just destroy that GUN mech? Sick! Hold on, let me catch up."

Destroy a GUN mech? Sonic didn't destroy anything. In fact, he was nowhere near where Miles could be or any harbor. That must only mean-

"Wait, Miles!" Sonic called out to his communicator. "That's not me!"

No response. Doesn't matter, stay calm. Miles was a very capable fighter, and could easily take on the one thing that could be mistaken for him. Heh. In some ways, Miles was the reason Sonic won against his fake the first time he encountered it.

On Stardust Speedway.

Wait. But if Metal Sonic was near Miles, then who - or what - was attacking him here?

He looked at the screen. The Emerald disappeared. Did that mean he was going to get attacked again? No problem. Sonic quickly rolled himself into a ball and rapidly began kicking against the ground, charging his signature spindash. In this form, Sonic was spinning so fast against the ground that any attempt to so much as touch him would result in nasty, nasty cuts.

Which meant that whatever was attacking him wouldn't be able to-

Or not! Sonic yelped as an immense, piercing pain rung through his upper body. Blood and claw marks on his chest. He was flying in the air once again, somehow. This should be impossible - Sonic's spindash was far, far too fast to be intercepted.

There was only one way to attack Sonic and catch him off guard when he was charging up a spindash. And that is if he wasn't spindashing from the perspective of his attacker. And there was only one way that was possible.

Sonic smirked - having figured it out - and taunted. He landed on his feet, by a platform, and eyed a nearby slope he could easily use to gain a lot of speed, fast. He began to run in place, accelerating his legs so fast they appeared to look like a Figure-8. A Super Peelout, as he liked to call it.

"Heh. You think a cheap trick like stopping time would be enough to stop the fastest thing alive? Well, I regret to inform you that Speed equals Distance multiply by Time."

One more look at the radar.

"And you may have Time but I got Distance!"

The Emerald disappeared.

Now!

A huge boost of speed, and even more momentum. Sonic was fast, fast, fast! In a blink of an eye, he already covered a huge distance away from where he was. He then braced himself to be flung wherever... but nothing!

He glanced at the tracker. The Emerald's location was back, and it was chasing behind him. Just as Sonic expected, whatever was stopping time had both limited range and could only stop it momentarily. That made perfect sense, because if it could stop time indefinitely, the attacker would have killed him already.

The fact Sonic wasn't dead meant that he could win.

Sonic ran, and ran! He rolled down inclines and hopped off platforms. He wasn't sure where to go exactly, but this gave him the distance needed to formulate a plan. It was also easy to forget pain from being clawed when he kept his feet going.

According to the tracker, his attacker was in pursuit. It also had to be a flying enemy, as it was taking a path that over obstacles and against large gaps. Maybe Sonic could spin dash in the opposing direction, catch whatever was chasing him off guard?

Sonic dashed forward, hopping off both GUN robots and badniks, keeping his speed up.

No. Turning around wouldn't work, as whatever was chasing him could stop time. That would just make him an easy target. He'd be less a baseball flying towards a batter and more of a punching bag. No can do.

He kept running, trying to think of something. Come on, Sonic. What were his options?

Miles' voice could be heard through communicator, clearly taunting someone else. "Not so fast without your Emerald and boots now, huh, look-a-like? Those rocket shoes of yours was easy to hack. Ha! Despite looking like him, you're not even half as cool as Sonic!"

That's right! Miles Prower! His name was literally a pun on the definition of speed which equals distance multiplied by time! If Sonic could take on this enemy, two against one, he would certainly stand a chance.

"Miles! I am heading towards you! And I am being chased by something. Be ready, buddy!" Sonic yelled into his wrist.

So now Sonic had to do was get to him! Their communicators had each other's locations, and he always had the uncanny instinct for figuring out how to get to point A to point B by just improvisation. This should be easy! Just don't stop running.

He focused on gaining speed, going fast, as though even a moment of stopping could mean his death. It was like that movie with the bus that had the bomb on it, you seen the one right? Miles said it was a stupid movie, but he was just being snobbish.

A quick glance into the tracker and... wait, the Emerald wasn't behind Sonic anymore. Instead, it was where Sonic wanted to go, as though it knew where Sonic was going.

Uh oh.

It then disappeared. Maybe he could-

Bonk!

Sonic's forehead knocked hard against cold, steel metal. That really hurt! He looked forward and finally faced, eye to monitor, against what was attacking him. Red digital pupils stared back.

Metal Sonic.

Wait, if Metal was here, then who was Miles fighting? A fake hedgehog? Another one? Two Metal Sonics? Well, Sonic wouldn't put it past Robotnik to just make another. Of course he would. Was this even the same Metal that Sonic fought on Stardust Speedway, years ago? It couldn't be - that Metal was a total pushover and was probably destroyed in the blast.

Still, he wasn't going to take his chances.

"Sorry faker!" Sonic yelled as he dashed away. "But we'll have to catchup some other time-"

But in an instant, sharp claws held against his neck, tightly, and now Metal Sonic now stood firmly and menacingly in front of Sonic, choking the life out. Metal was using the Chaos Emerald to stop time, somehow.

Sonic tried to free himself, kicking and pulling, but the robot was too strong. He also couldn't let out even a word - to speak or plead. All Sonic could do is stare at the artificially red eyes of the soulless, merciless machine.

A machine programmed to kill. Nothing more.

Was this really how it was going to end for Sonic? Being strangled and choked to his demise by a robotic doppelganger? A stupid, mute machine just following its programming? And one that had to cheat with some magical power from an Emerald?

Come on! Just kick him off, pull him off, anything! Sonic tried and tried. It was so hard to breathe. If only Miles was here, he could probably hack the robot to free Sonic... or use his signature grappling hook to pull the legs apart and topple it down. Anything!

Miles...

If only Sonic knew the ride on the Tornado could be last time he would see his best friend in the whole world. Maybe he would've have napped half the way through. Maybe he would have said that he valued Miles better, instead of assuming he would see him again surely after the mission.

Sonic really did take too much for granted, didn't he?

But at least Miles won against the fake hedgehog that he fought. Heh. That meant he win against this one too. He's grown so, so much. Sonic would say he's proud of him, and he didn't care if that might come off as a little weird as Miles was only a year younger. Although Miles was now slightly taller than Sonic, he was so much smaller when they were both kids. Naturally made Sonic feel protective of his 'lil bud'.

And now Miles was going to avenge him and destroy this robot. Easily. He's reached his potential.

Sonic was so, so proud of him.

And so he smiled at the thought as everything began to fade to black. The sounds of the world, birds and frogs and robot engine noises, draining away...

Years Ago...

Operational Log - Metal Sonic
Total Uptime: 72:32:11

Current Location: Greenflower Zone

Audio Transcription from Dr. Ivo Robotnik:

Dear Maria,

As discussed in our briefing, I have converted an isolated region of this forest to be used for your training. My robots will make some feeble attempts to slow you down but they shouldn't be set to hurt you too bad... hopefully. I probably configured them properly, but if I didn't, well, you're more than strong enough to make quick work of them! Oh ho ho!

Now, I must stress the urgency of the situation and to caution you against getting distracted! Need I remind you that Operation Little Planet is only a week away? If you don't get strong enough to defend it against GUN's Project WIND, Sonic, then we would all be in trouble!

So please, PLEASE, take this training seriously. No matter how idyllic the scenery seems, this is no picnic in the park! Of course, there will be plenty of TIME for that later, ho ho! Get it? Because you're going to be getting the Time Stones? Ho!

And yes, I know you're still getting used to that metal body. And the whole 'being alive again' thing. But that's no excuse to slack off!

Return to the base once you have beaten the time trials set for you across the zone. I had carefully calculated them based off data obtained from operations and missions against Sonic. It is imperative that you perform better than him if you wish to stand a chance.

Remember, we are carrying the entire world on our shoulders now, Maria! We must not let the sacrifices that our grandfather made go in vain.

We are all counting on you, Maria.

Hmmm... should I take inspiration from pinball machines for this death trap? That would be sure to give Sonic a nasty surprise!

Wait, is this thing still recording? I should turn it-

Maria zapped past the finish line. Again. How many attempts have she made now? 52? 70? She couldn't bother to count. Most attempts didn't even make it past the waterfall at the beginning before she chose to restart from the beginning.

32.02 seconds! A new personal best! Finally! Maria pumped her metal claw into the air, her eyes in a happy '^^' pattern.

And to celebrate a well-earned victory, she laid down on the grass, glancing high up at the blue skies above. It was strange how after hours and hours of training, she didn't feel a single strand of physical soreness or fatigue at all. This. Was. Amazing! It was perfection. This was even better than being cured, this was an evolution! Why didn't Grandpa think of just making a robot body for Maria from the start?

She gave out a virtual sigh.

Shadow would have loved this. Racing together in this green field, especially now that Maria could easily keep up! And Shadow wouldn't feel bad about not looking like her anymore - because she looked like him! Speedy hedgehogs without a care in the world.

A few critters and Flickies came by Maria, giving her metal body a curious look. She reached out to pat a small bird and a squirrel and they nuzzled against her metallic fingers. Soft.

Cousin Ivo designed her body to be capable of touch. Well, it wasn't actually her body. He admitted that it was designed after Sonic in order to defeat him, that Maria's consciousness being in it was a happy accident. Ivo said that he found her data buried deep in top secret files that he retrieved from breaking into a GUN base.

He said they didn't even label her as 'Maria', and instead it was a clinical and cold label, something akin to 'Neurodata Framework v3.2 (FINAL FINAL 6.32PM)'. Ivo only wanted to use it as a base to make his own AI...

Well, it wasn't the first time Maria's creation was the result of a happy accident.

Hmmm. Maria bet she could get under 31 seconds in a few more attempts. She got up from the grass, entered the commands to reset Eggman's robot placements, and made her way back to the start line.

On the way, she glanced by her reflection in a waterfall. A scary, blue, metal hedgehog whose signature visor bared red eyes of death. Claws for hands. Sharp. Deadly. Jet propulsion and an engine core for a torso.

She looked like a monster. Far from the human she once was.

And that was so, so cool! It felt powerful and mysterious, with an energy to it, you know? Maria could probably simply glare silently at an enemy and they would run away in fear - which meant that Maria didn't have to actually hurt them!

And after years of being frail and weak on the ARK, with everyone babying her and worried for her safety, it felt amazing to finally be strong. And fast. Being fast was very cool.

At first, not being a human was strange. Not seeing blue eyes in the mirror or her signature blonde hair - one of the few things she had control over on the ARK when the rest of her body broke down. Not having skin? It did feel off, admittedly, invoking an odd sense of dissociation as though she was a ghost possessing an inanimate object.

Maria stepped behind the starting line. With a ready and a set, she charged her booster. Go! Another race against herself.

She got used to not being an inferior, organic quickly. She didn't need to eat - not that she was even capable of solid food in her last few months in the ARK anyways. Maria lived on IV drips and non-solid food for the last two years of her human life. She had already forgotten, mildly, the sensation of chewing bread or eating a hotdog.

She didn't miss it. Running on a battery meant being able to track her energy level accurately, none of the guessing of hormones and chemicals.

The lack of internal organs was great. There was no other way to put - it was just great. No more stomach aches. No more chronic pain or cramps or hot flashes or bleeding or fatigue or fevers or nausea or itchiness or headaches.

The only pain Maria felt now was emotional... or external from combat. Ivo said that pain receptors were an important part of fighting. It was why organics evolved to be able to feel pain to begin with - it was a way to keep track of damage and have an instinct of what parts of her needed repairs.

Maria raced past the finish line - again. Darn it, 33 seconds. Too slow! She shrugged and made her way to rest by a tree. She already beaten Sonic's time, anyways, and so Maria could have made her way back to base already. But she didn't feel like it, not yet. She wanted more training... but soon.

While her body didn't require breaks, as it never got tired, her mind still enjoyed a rest. There was still a cognitive overload to existing, after all.

Cognition. That was the one thing she had over her predecessors. Not her human predecessors, but the earlier prototypes of her body. Her predecessors had, non-neurological, non brainscan 'AIs', coded the old fashion way with conditional loops, state machines and presumably a lot of late night coffee, if Ivo was anything like Gerald.

Maria rolled her robotic eyes as she remembered Cousin Ivo showing her Silver Sonic, who would repeatedly dash into walls, or get stuck in its own spindash. Only useful as a decoy for the real weapon.

There was also Mecha.

We don't talk about Mecha.

Those robots were inferior prototypes to Metal Sonic, the same way her human self was an inferior prototype to who she was now. She was going to eliminate Sonic and GUN, just as Grandpa and Shadow would have wanted.

This is because Maria was now strong enough to give everyone a chance to be happy. She had a responsibility, and she damn well was going to fulfill it.

If only Shadow could be here to see her now. He would finally be happy, too.

Operation Little Planet.

Maria - now Metal Sonic in the field - hung high on the side of a palm tree, near the top, using her metal claw for grip. A vantage point to scout the location and scan it for the Time Stones.

The Time Stones. With all of them in Cousin Ivo's possession - and Little Planet turned into a Living Battery Zone - he would be able to build a fully functional time machine that could potentially pull a small amount of matter in from the Past into the Present, or maybe even the Future.

The Egg Sign Posts on the planet that Ivo constructed were already powered by the resonance energy present, although they were only capable of travelling to the near Past and Future - around a week or so. And only within close proximity.

Turning the entire of Little Planet into a time machine, however? That would be strong enough to reach into decades in the past... and reach into the Past of a certain space station in near orbit.

There was only one thing Maria wanted to steal from the past - something that wouldn't cause a Butterfly Effect or Time Paradox. Remember, the absence of something from the past could potentially irreversibly affect the Present and the Future. Destroy a few robot generators in the Past, and they wouldn't exactly be able to make robots in the Present, which changes the Future.

But if that something was destined to be killed on the ARK, at least according to Cousin Ivo, even if he was just an innocent alien hedgehog who never hurt anyone. Then bringing him into the present wouldn't change too much... hopefully.

Maria, holding onto the trunk of the tree, pulled her other metal claw close to her visor and proceeded to scan the horizon. She enabled Thermal Imaging mode, clouding her vision in deep blues and a bright red in the distance - something hedgehog shaped.

Cousin Ivo spoke remotely into Maria's head. "Is that Sonic...? That hedgehog was here, now? No matter, Maria. Eliminate him quickly before he steals the Time Stones."

"On it, Ivo." Maria leapt off the tree in style, her metal hedgehog body flying through the air in style. She then glided up a gigantic loop-de-loop, one so massive that from up close it may seem like just one giant ramp.

Woo!

Yaaaaay!

She narrowed onto the target, its red silhouette in the Thermal Vision becoming large and larger. Target acquired. Maria was going to knock Sonic quickly, like a comic book hero, and capture him just as Ivo instructed. Then he was going to be interrogated and-

Maria switched her vision back to normal. She stared at the 'target' from a distance, hidden near the top of another palm tree.

"This isn't Sonic. She's just some pink hedgehog, Ivo."

"Capture her, Maria. She might be working with GUN - an accomplice of Sonic, perhaps? One way we can find out is if Sonic recognizes her, maybe as a hostage?"

Maria's red digital eyes narrowed as she observed the girl. This was some teenage pink hedgehog running around in a green shirt and pink tutu. Maybe someone who was no older than Maria was back when she was human.

Hold on, did this pink hedgehog just try to give one of Ivo's Pata-Bata, a robotic butterfly Badnik, a head pat? How cute. Dangerous, but cute! Maria almost wanted to do the same when she first saw them, but she had a mission to complete.

Oh no. The pink hedgehog was now being chased by a couple of Badniks, programmed to attack any and all intruders. They should harmlessly stun the target and bring them in for questioning, at least according to Ivo. Nothing to worry about, right?

Ivo's voice continued. "Actually! Forget that! There is something far more important. I have finally located a Time Anomaly portal ring near your location. I am sending you the coordinates. You are to enter it and secure the Time Stone now before Sonic does."

There was no reply from Maria. She should do what Cousin Ivo says, shouldn't she? After all, the mission came first. But yet, she couldn't help but watch the seemingly innocent pink hedgehog who was now attempting to fight back against the Badniks.

The girl threw a punch against a Badnik shaped like a blue sphere on wheels with menacing eyes, only to recoil her fist in pain, likely from the hard metal impact. Oh dear, she wasn't too badly hurt, was she?

Wait, what was that thunderous noise, no different from a fighter jet? A blue streak speeds by, a gust of wind following behind, strong enough to knock over Badniks, and knock Maria down from the tree and-

Oh no! The pink hedgehog had been pushed face first into a nearby tree. There was a gush of red on her otherwise pink head.

Ivo's voice was fierce on the radio. "What are you doing, Maria? Why aren't you already at the Ring? According to my sensors, Sonic himself is quickly closing in! Maria, you must hurry now before-"

"-Are you okay, miss?" Maria asked as she quickly crouched down in front of the pink hedgehog. The hedgehog looked up as she massaged the cut bruise on her head with a gloved hand, her green eyes meeting Maria's red robotic ones.

Ivo's voice on the radio was furious and loud. "Maria!? Stop messing around and get the Time Stone! Now! Leave this girl alone and-"

With a tap on her head, Maria shut Ivo's voice up and cut the communication. "Sorry about that. My cousin is... passionate."

Maria extended a helping claw down to the hedgehog, who blinked and sighed before reaching for the help. "I'm fine. I think?"

The pink hedgehog dusted herself off as she got up to her feet. "Is your name really Maria?"

Maria nodded.

"Interesting. It's a very cute name, I like it!" She extended a hand out for a handshake. "Well, I'm Amy! T-thanks for helping me. But I have a date to catch!"

And just as quickly as she got up on her feet, Amy almost dashed off to chase the wind. Recklessly. But before Amy could run off, Maria grabbed her elbow with a claw, firmly.

"Hey! What gives?!" Amy yelled, her feet still running in place as Maria's grip held still.

"You're bleeding, Amy."

Maria pointed at her face, where blood trailed down from her nose and wound. Hopefully Amy wasn't suffering from a concussion. It was better to be safe than sorry.

"So?! I don't care! I'm fine! It doesn't hurt that much! Let me go, this instant! Or I will, I will-"

"-Little Planet is dangerous, Amy. I am going to get you to safety. I know a bit of First Aid, too-"

"-No! I can handle myself! I'm strong enough! Come on! Please! Just let me see him!"

For Maria, this was proof that Amy was not ready for the dangers of Little Planet, considering she was only using a small fraction of her power to hold Amy still. Imagine if Maria actually had malicious intention, Amy would be very easy to kidnap.

This wasn't a safe place for a teenage girl who didn't know what she was doing. And if Maria left her to run around, she couldn't help but see herself responsible if anything were to happen to her.

And not only that, Sonic was around, and who knows what damage he could do to Amy. Sonic already hurt her head without even meeting her properly.

With a swift thrust of her rockets, Maria lifted Amy, who still kicked and yelled, onto her shoulders and flew away. It was for her own good.

The radio came on again. "Maria! You imbecile! While you were busy flirting with your new girlfriend, Sonic has already secured two of the Time Stones! Whatever, I will stall him with the EGG-HVC! You better start doing your job NOW or I will find a way to make Cyber NIDS, you hear me? You stupid-"

Maria rolled her digital eyes and shut Cousin Ivo's communication off, again. He can be so annoying when he was mad.

What a temper.

"I hate you, you meanie! You jerk! I hate you! I hate you, Maria! You're taking me away from my hero! How could you do this? You're interfering with fate! Destiny! Don't ya know what happens if you interfere with fate?! Please! Put me down, now!"

Sometimes Maria wondered why she even bothered.

"Sorry," Amy said as she massaged the bandage on her forehead. "I shouldn't have yelled at you..."

Little Planet stared at Maria and Amy in the sky, chained near Neverlake. Maria was able to disinfect Amy's wounds and give her some painkillers for the throbbing headache, securing the supplies from a nearby Egg Mobile that Ivo left behind.

"It's fine, Amy. Please stay safe. See a doctor to check for a concussion... And don't wonder off on your own. You have your whole life ahead of you."

"Whatever," Amy sighed and crossed her arms, looking down at her shoes. "So you're saying I'll never be good enough to an adventurer like him? Because I'm too weak and slow and will always be a burden and annoying and unlovable and..."

Amy's voice trailed off as tears welled in her eyes. Maria placed her claw onto Amy's shoulder and caressed it gently.

"You're not a burden! There are many, many other ways to be strong and useful," Maria said.

"Like what?" Amy sniffed. "I can't even lift the toy hammer in the arcade in Twinkle Park. I'll never amount to anything..."

"That's not true! You can focus on making people happy, Amy. Everyone in this world is focused on themselves, stressed about their own lives. It makes it easy to become selfish. And sometimes all someone needs to keep going is a little bit of kindness and love. You don't need to be special or gifted to make people smile."

"That's dumb. Why would I matter if I do that?" Amy huffed and kicked the ground. "Anyone could be kind. Not everyone can be special..."

"Anyone could be kind, but not everyone chooses to be." Maria looked at Amy in her eyes. "That's why it matters. It's why I believe you matter."

"Fine. Whatever. I'll think about what you said." Amy sighed, gave an eye roll, and then smiled with a slight blush. "You know, for a robot, you're a pretty emotional thing."

Maria looked up, imagining the Space Colony ARK in the sky. "I've been through a lot."

Amy then leaned down, pulling out something from the ground with a big smile on her face.

"Here..." said Amy as she pulled out a cute souvenir pin from a pocket that was in the shape of a yellow flower with orange tips. Amy then secured it in-between Maria's metal plates snugly, pinning them onto her shoulder.

"Just a lil something I made awhile back. I was gonna give it to the... urm, but well, I think you should have it instead! I like making stuff for fun sometimes and, I know it's a little goofy lookin-"

"It's not that goofy. I like it." Maria secured the pin more onto her chassis. "I find it pretty cute, Amy. You're really talented."

"You're just saying that..." Amy looked away, her face red.

"I'm not! In fact, I'll treasure it forever. Promise."

Amy might not know this, but Maria never breaks a promise. A promise is one of the few things anyone can hold themselves too, and so that's why making one was a huge deal. Anyone who really knows Maria knows this about her.

So when she said she promised to always treasure Amy's gift, she meant it.

She really meant it.

"Promise, Maria?"

"Promise, Amy."

They hugged, Amy with a big smile on her face and Maria with a simple '^^' eyes.

Maria flew back, Amy waving goodbye at her. She listened to Cousin Ivo whine and lecture her on the radio, scolding her for being distracted, but the urgency of how Sonic now had the third Time Stone was more important.

"I'm sorry about the Cyber NIDS comment, Maria," he said over the radio.

"It's fine. I am going to focus on Sonic now."

Sonic.

Oh Sonic.

If there was one person in this world who didn't deserve a chance to be happy, it was Sonic. Maybe.

Maria lost the race on Stardust Speedway. Later on, Cousin Ivo lost control of Little Planet. The mission was a failure.

She had the upper hand. Training. Practice. Shortcuts. Route knowledge.

But all Sonic had was a grappling gun, one just as blue as he was with streaks of optimistic yellow. If it wasn't for that thing, Sonic would've been toasted by Cousin Ivo's laser beam.

Sonic had...

Momentum.

Improvisation.

...Luck.

"Maria!? Are you okay? Hold on, Let me fly down there and I fix you right up!" Eggman yelled from his Egg Mobile, ignoring Sonic.

Her metal hedgehog body was fryed up from beinh kicked into a deadly laser beam. It would probably hurt real bad, real, real bad, but one benefit of being a robot was she could simply disable her ability to feel pain.

Physical pain, at least.

Maria shuddered as she picked up her left arm from the ground, her visor cracked and partially glitched out.

Disabling pain. Now that would have been nice to have as a human. Instead the closest things were drugs that made you sleepy and woozy.

It was a miracle Maria didn't melt into pieces.

But something else did.

Amy's gift. Nothing but ashes now.

Another hedgehog gone from Maria's life. Taken away by GUN.

From that day on, Maria stayed in a blissful sleep while Metal Sonic protected her.

Metal Sonic made it 'his' life goal to destroy GUN and fulfill Cousin Ivo's quest for world peace. Only then will anyone have the chance to be truly happy. Only then Maria would want to wake up.

Metal didn't speak. He didn't need to make friends. He just had a mission to fulfil and an enemy to kill. Nothing else matters other than being strong enough to defeat the loathsome copy.

At least, that was the plan.

But things change.

Maria didn't need Metal Sonic anymore with Shadow around again.

Present Day - Operation Prison Island

After all this time, Maria was finally about to eliminate the loathsome copy. Just as Ivo ordered, and just as she wanted to do since the last time he humiliated her. She had been training for this moment, ruthlessly. Sonic was GUN's greatest asset, and an insult to Shadow. He had to go.

Maria was able to use decipher the secrets of Chaos Control from observing Shadow, thanks to the added abilities of Metal Sonic's body. Not only that, but she realized that it was capable of not only teleportation but stopping time, but only for a moment. And she knew that she would have the upper hand on Sonic if she didn't announce or show off this power.

She was able to predict his movements based off observing the natural path of the forest, and hence stop him dead in his tracks. Think smarter, not faster.

Choking him to death seemed violent, but hopefully it would be painless and quick. Hopefully Sonic wouldn't be in pain - he was just following orders from his G.U.N superiors.

Sonic's eyes were slowly closing shut as he began resisting the choke less. If only there was another way, but Sonic was an enemy agent and had killed countless innocents. He was no different from the soldiers that were on the ARK, no matter how much he resembled Shadow.

A deep, male voice called out on the wrist communicator. "S-Sonic! Your biometrics, your life signs, they are fading! Are you okay?! Sonic! Please answer! Please...! Just say something!"

The voice on the communicator continued his pleads, more and more desperate for his colleague to respond, painful sobs between each voice.

Maria's metal claws, blooded with red, tightened around the neck of her enemy. Was she really going to take a life? Did Sonic deserve to die just for doing his job?

Maybe. Sonic was a willing agent of GUN. He committed war crimes! Sonic's killed kids! Kids! Kids with cancer! Orphans too! All in the name of GUN. At least according to Cousin Ivo. And Ivo would never lie to Maria.

The voice on the communicator cried out. "Sonic... I'm sorry... I could've saved you..."

If Maria could sigh, she would. Instead, she tossed Sonic down onto the ground, just before his life would have faded from this world. Sonic coughed and coughed, desperately breathing, his hands on his chest.

She couldn't do it. Sonic had someone who cared about him - who loved him. As long as he wasn't in the way of the mission, it wasn't right to take his life. Sonic deserved a fair trial where he could answer for his crimes in court, when GUN's records were all exposed to the world.

It wasn't Maria's place to judge.

Before Sonic could get up on his feet, Maria flew away quickly. She remained focused on the third Emerald on her internal tracker. The quicker Maria could steal it, the quicker she and Shadow can leave Prison Island.

Using a mental link, she communicated with the strange A.I that had now infiltrated all of Prison Island. Where did Rouge get them, anyways?

"Status on the third Emerald," Maria silently communicated.

"Good day to you too, Metal Sonic~!" called out the fox AI. "Progress is gooood! In fact, do you know there's so much juicy stuff deep in G.UN's databases?"

"What kind of 'stuff'?"

"Well, for one, there's a whole connection here straight to the Space Colony ARK! I may be able to break through their encryption and get full access! How exciting, right?"

"Sure." Maria hopped between forest platforms as she slowly made her way deeper to a military lab. The forest gave way to fences and steel architecture.

"Lots of data here on Project Shadow! And the President who both commissioned and decommissioned his creation. I imagine your organic hedgehog friend would love this!"

Maria said nothing. She climbed her way up a nearby building, sneaking her way past G.U.N guards - all on high alert from the attack. They were screaming into their radios as their robots acted on their own - in full control of the fox AI. At least this AI wasn't gunning them down, right?

"Wow!" said the fox AI. "Do you know there's a whole array of W.M.Ds on this island? Tactical nuclear missiles. A single one of them being fired could claim millions of lives! It's insane! Hope you don't mind, but I am going to try and disarm them."

"You should!" Maria nodded as though the AI could see her. "That'd be good. I'd like that."

"On it, ma'am! Now you go and get that last Emerald for me, I mean for us! Shadow already has the second, so don't worry about him, Maria!"

Interesting. Did this mean Shadow had two Emeralds on him? One was already so strong. What could he do with three?

Maria entered the base by breaking in through a vent. One step closer to the destruction of GUN. Hopefully without much bloodshed.

Wait.

Something was wrong.

Why did the AI call her Maria?