Chapter 14: The Truth About Maria Robotnik
Inside the Space Colony ARK Sonic, Tails, and Amy roaming around the ship's halls, they couldn't seem to shake the feeling that something was off about their journey. It wasn't as if they were forgetting something or someone important.
"This place is old and abandoned," said Amy.
"This place was shut down about 50 years ago because of a terrible accident," Tails said. "The first Bernoulli spherical space colony called ARK. When it was operational, it was filled with technology that could take us anywhere in the universe. I read a report that it was a perfect sphere."
"It sure seemed like it!" said Amy.
There's no time to waste before Eggman fires that weapon again," Sonic said. "We need to hurry! Let's destroy that cannon!"
"Right!" said Tails as he typed the keyboard on his computer. He typed several codes into an access terminal until the large computer screen showed one image of a massive gun mounted atop the ARK's main hull.
"Someone designed that weapon in a way that it is impervious to attacks from the outside. Its defense shields are super strong and will only be weakened once fired upon. The only way to defeat the shield is to hit it directly," said Tails as he opened the briefcase there was a topaz gem inside.
"Isn't that a Choas Emerald?" asked Amy.
"Yes, actually, it's a fake one that I created after researching the real Emerald. It has the same properties as the real emerald, but it has been enhanced with my ability to manipulate the energy from my Chaos Emeralds. So we're going to have to be very careful about this mission since Eggman will likely suspect something is amiss at the base. After all, that's where I first made this device," said Tails.
Tails gave the fake Emerald to Sonic, "Here. You go find the control room, and I'll find the power supply and destroy it, okay?"
Sonic nodded, "So the plan is, we'll switch the Choas Emeralds when the machine has stopped, yeah?"
Tails nodded as they both led the way leaving Amy behind.
"There they go again. They always have fun and leave me here all alone! I really never understand boys," she sighed as she headed toward the main hall.
*Meanwhile*
After surviving the spaceship crash, Knuckles glided through the ARK, then landed on the building and the crash sequence was completed. He sighed in relief.
"That was a close call. I guess I got separated from the others for a little while..."He then heard the sound of footsteps approaching him. He quickly turned around and faced the enemy. The figure that approached him was a white bat that wore a pink chest plate shaped like a heart, black leather pants, white gloves with pink tips, and white boots with pink hearts on the toes. She wore blue shadows with long lashes and pink lipstick.
"Well, look who finally joined the party," said Rouge, "I was starting to wonder when you'd show up."
"You again," said Knuckles annoyed.
Rouge smiled, "Come on now, don't be such a sourpuss. After all, isn't it your fault we ended up in trouble?" she asked, holding up the shards of Master Emerald. "With these, I have collected the shards of Emeralds." Knuckles didn't say anything, so Rouge continued. "So what do you say? Want some?"
"Fine, if it's what you want," Knuckles replied. "But I won't give you what I'm holding unless you give the shards to me, bat girl."
Rouge smirked, "Oh, you wish!"
She charged at the echidna. He swiftly sidestepped her attack and used a kick to knock her onto her back. He held out his hand as he bent down towards her, but she quickly grabbed it and flipped herself over. She ran straight at the echidna. Knuckles stood up and kicked her across the floor. Then he caught her as she rolled to a stop next to him. As she got up, she tried to punch him in the face, but Knuckles blocked. He lifted her up by the neck and tossed her aside. He jumped high into the air and tried to punch her down, but she dodged by sticking her foot to the floor. She attempted to throw a punch, but Knuckles blocked that too. They continued to dodge each other's attempts to attack each other. At last, Rouge managed to catch Knuckles in an overhead uppercut. Knuckles crashed right into the wall. He growled.
*Meanwhile*
Amy walked through the corridor, scanning every nook and cranny. She sighed, "I still can't believe this Sonic left me here. Why would he just abandon me?!" Amy muttered angrily as she continued forward.
Suddenly, she noticed the secret laboratory door in front of her. She opened the door and entered the lab, it was a high-tech lab. A workbench covered almost the entire length of the left side wall. An assortment of scientific tools and machinery littered the workspace. Amy looked around the room and found an array of monitors on various parts of the walls. There were screens showing the interior structure of the ARK.
"Wow, that's really neat!" Amy said. She approached the computer desk and stared at the large monitor screen as it displayed the exterior structure of the ship. She tapped the keyboard and the screen changed colors as a 3D hologram appeared. The image showed the ARK exterior and its inner structure. A series of lines connected the two ships. Each line terminated at the same point. One end of a line was connected with the mainframe, which was attached to the control panel. There was a password box on the screen.
"I gotta know what the password is, or else this'll never work!" said Amy aloud. She began searching around the desk until she found a piece of paper in the notebook. The password was Maria.
Amy raised her eyebrow, "Maria? That's a pretty common name, but who named the kid, anyway? Oh well. I have better things to think about anyway." She began typing the password into the computer system. The screen had unlocked and there was a wallpaper of Prof. Gerald Robotnik, Shadow, and a human girl named Maria.
"Who is this girl? Is her name Maria in the password?" wondered Amy as she examined the picture closer.
"She looks pretty. I wonder what happened to Maria 50 years ago?" thought Amy as she went to search through the information on Maria. Her eyes found the DVD under the paper on the desk. She then proceeded to the DVD into the optical disc drive. The video appeared on the screen and she began to watch.
Gerald was on the video footage as it played. The man was standing in front of an empty table that looked like it hadn't been used in a while.
"I'm Professor Gerald Robotnik, the greatest scientist ever to grace the earth," said the professor. He turned around and looked directly at the camera. "And this project that will change the world, is ready to begin. Now all that is left to do is gather the necessary data to complete our project, and we shall finally reach the ultimate form of reality!"
"I have created the Space Colony ARK. This vessel will contain the most advanced spacecraft technology available in the known cosmos. From the moment it leaves Earth's atmosphere, the crew will become the masters of the universe. The ARK is capable of traveling faster than light. In fact, the speed of light may even exceed light speed. We are capable of crossing the void without fear."
Just then the lab door slid open, and Amy gasped and turned to who it was. It was Tails who entered the lab, she sighed in relief.
"You scared the heck out of me, Tails," said Amy.
"Sorry. What did you find?" asked Tails.
"I found a video diary of Prof. Gerald Robotnik talking about how he created the ARK 50 years ago. And there was a story about a girl named Maria," said Amy.
"Maria?" asked Tails.
"Yeah, and you might want to watch it," she resumed the video.
Professor Gerald was speaking in front of the camera, "That day, my granddaughter Maria was diagnosed with NIDS. It is commonly known as Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome. She has been battling the disease for months. But it seems that she has finally conquered the illness and is on her way to recovery. However, there is no doubt that the reason why I've developed the serum that can reverse these conditions is due to the research done by myself. Unfortunately, there is no cure for the disease. I only hope that one day, I can create Project Shadow as her treatment for her condition. Until then, she will need constant supervision over her health, and hopefully, soon she will be able to recover."
"So he created Shadow as her treatment? That doesn't make sense," said Amy.
"How does the NIDS help?" asked Tails.
"I don't know," she shrugged.
In the next part of the video, Prof. Gerald Robotnik was taken to Prison Island and was chained up in a chair, and there was a scribbling calculation on the wall. Amy and Tails gasped in horror.
"This is insane! How you could do something like that?!" yelled Prof. Gereald enraged. "Don't you realize what kind of destruction you're causing!?"
"Of course not. We know you created a dangerous weapon that threatens to wipe out humanity," replied Leader G.U.N. army. "We are going to make you pay for your crimes against mankind. We must destroy it."
"Destroy it?! You must be out of your mind! I am a scientist! Not a killer!" said the professor as he struggled against the chains holding him prisoner.
"What is the difference between a killer and a scientist?!" asked the G.U.N army, "Your kind has always been obsessed with science, with science alone."
"There is nothing wrong with being interested in science! You killed my granddaughter without mercy!" cried the professor.
Amy and Tails gasped in shock. "They killed his granddaughter?" whispered Tails.
"That's so cruel. She was just a kid!" Amy cried in protest.
"I plan to give you a taste of revenge. Once all seven Chaos Emeralds are collected, the colony will destroy the planet! All of you ungrateful humans, who took everything away from me will feel loss and despair!" yelled Gerald in rage on the screen.
"Is there anything else you want to say?" asked the leader.
Gerald hung his head down and spoke quietly, "No..."
The soldier cocked his rifle, "Ready!"
A gunshot rang out and Gerald fell to the ground with a bullet protruding through his head, causing Amy to cover her mouth while Tails shut his eyes tight. The screen went static after a few moments and the screen went black.
Amy slowly laid her hands down from her mouth. "I can't believe they did that... he was executed," she stated sadly as tears formed in her eyes.
"It was horrible...." said Tails softly.
"Should we tell Sonic about this?" asked Amy.
"I'm not sure, but--"
Eggman barged into the room shouting, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE DOING IN HERE?!" he shouted causing Amy and Tails to scream. He stopped in his tracks and said, "What are you kids doing in here?"
*Meanwhile at the Control Room*
Sonic found the Choas Emeralds on the Eclipse Canon. He took out the fake Emerald and turned on the walkie-talkie.
"Tails, I found the Control Room and Choas Emeralds. Should I put the fake emerald on this now?" Sonic asked yet there was no reply.
"Tails, are you there?" asked Sonic worriedly.
'What's he doing right now?" thought Sonic.