#thread start.

@chaosmixed​ ---  💙

   A distant rumble shudders the very ground she stood upon. The quake is nearly enough to have her stumbling to her knees, the clumsy hedgehog not quite yet fully used to her new body. A strong pair of black furred arms reaches and holds her shoulders steady, hawk like glare staring out over the ocean’s horizon. Protective, alarm, and most importantly... uncertainty. His frown was knowing, deepened with concentration. Where did the tremor originate from? Could it still be under the ocean? He’d been tracking the creature for weeks now, with the assistance of Blaze. 

   ....Well, nevermind that. He needed to get Maria out of here, and quickly. She was not anywhere near ready to handle a monstrosity of that size, not that the more experienced hybrid would allow her to get close anyway. Another rumble shook the ground, more violently this time. And it was coupled with... what the black hedgehog could only assume was a agonized scream.

   “ Shadow, what was that ? ” Maria inquires anxiously, she’s peering out at the ocean too. That sound... that scream... it sounded vaguely familiar. She’d sworn she’d heard it before, but couldn’t quite place from where. But it didn’t need to be familiar to sound bone chillingly haunting. The blonde’s stomach churns.

   “ Trouble. Big trouble. You need to leave, now. ” And he’s already tugging the smaller hedgehog to her feet. He doesn’t offer her any time to prepare before he’s warping the two of them out of there, back to his apartment. Shadow lets the other go, but not without a firm squeeze of her shoulder and the sternest frown he could muster. “ Stay. Here. Do not come looking for me, don’t leave this apartment under any circumstances. I will return soon. ” And he’s gone in a flash before Maria can get a word in edge wise, leaving her blinking in confusion.

   Where the hedgehog appears, he’s on top a high building near the boardwalk they’d just been strolling down outside Station Square. He surveys the area with calculating eyes, waiting. Listening. He had half a mind to warn HQ to issue an evacuation of the scene, but something was off here. It was quiet... far too quiet than it had been a moment ago. The hybrid squints, ears pricked and swiveling back and forth, listening carefully.

Daisuke normally didn’t speak up in public, but he could see the other was lost- In an attempt to reinforce Mami-San’s teachings in his own mind, he wanted to show them the way.

“It’ll get off at the edge of the shopping and industrial borders… Or the streets that lead into them.”

@daisuke--jikihara.

It wasn’t often that Yuno ventured out by herself, especially venturing out to an unfamiliar location on her own accord. So deciding to visit a nearby Town to go present shopping was a big step up for her. ...You wouldn’t just straight-up tell your friends you’re going out shopping for them and want them to babysit join you for the journey, surely?

So of course, hearing a sudden voice speak out to her at least she hoped it was aimed at her caused slight panic before managing to process what they had said to her.

`  really ??? i succeeded ? does that mean i get a kiss ???  `     bouncy &. bubbly as ever , hands clap together with glee  ---  ever oblivious she is of his bitter quips &. melodramatic banter . prepared as ever to indulge herself in him , she yields naught prior to latching arms around him &. trying ever so eagerly to claim her prize , lips pursed . you may kiss the bride ! her mind chimes , thus aloud , she answers with glee ,     `  i do , i do !!  `  

Ah!! A person in armour!! They could be of valuable interest!! Information!! The solution to all her problems!! Yes!! Well, they look to be related to her problems at least. Perhaps!! Hopefully!!

   She was sitting on the floor aboard the observation deck.

   She wasn’t sure how long she’d been sitting there. Minutes, hours, days, years... the girl had lost track. Blue light from the planet below washed over the entire room, turning her fluffy strands of hair a soft silver. She watched, fixated. Eyes unblinking. Hoping to find the sense of peace and serenity that this place usually brought her. Yet it didn’t come this time. 

   There was something off here, she noticed. Given enough time, despite the Space Colony’s natural path of orbit, you’d think the planet it hovered against would move at some point, right? Yet, it was as if it were frozen in place. No sign of natural rotation in sight. The longer the girl stared, the more she started to feel a sense of dread. Something wasn’t right. Something was very very wrong. She could hear shouting and foot steps and alarms blaring. Vague and blurry images and colors and lights flashing past her. 

   We have to save the others--- we have to get out of here !

   The pod had been damaged as a result of the place falling apart, kick starting the automatic cryogenic defrost sequence. From an outsider’s perspective, the resemblance is uncanny. Blonde quills. Blue dress. That same headband... it couldn’t be, could it? She’s as still as ever, looking like a porcelain statue, save for the light rise and fall of her chest. Just who was this strange hedgehog...?

   The room of the sinking facility lightly trembles, and as if on cue she begins to stir, distressed murmurs leaving her frail form.

   “ Mnm... nh.. ”

   “ Ngh... ? ”

   “ ---Grandfather... the ARK ! We have to warn the other’s before--- ”

   She sits up quickly, looking panicked. This wasn’t a room she recognized. Where were the scientists? The soldiers? Why was she in this weird contraption!?

   A figure in her peripheral catches her eye. And so she whips her head around, to look at Shadow. To finally look at him dead in the face, crimson stare meeting crimson stare. She reaches out to him, hand trembling with uncertainty.

   “ Shad--- ? ”

   In hindsight, she should have seen this coming. 

   After all, if there was one thing that the words “notorious evil genius and world renowned terrorist” implied--- it’d be that just straight up walking into his base wouldn’t be an easy feat. Something Maria quickly realized as soon as the oddly cute looking orange robots seized her the second she stepped foot on the empire’s grounds, carrying her off to who know’s where when she told them she was there to see her cousin. 

   Gosh, Shadow would not be happy if he found out she was doing this. It was an extremely risky decision, but... she had to see him. If this truly was the same person from her memory...

   ---Ivo... what if he doesn’t believe me?

   The only proof she had was the disk she’d snuck off with that contained the files for ‘Project Starlight’. She knew it wouldn’t be long before her brother noticed it was missing--- that she was missing. At the very least, she could count on him to come to her rescue if need be, right? 

   She just hoped it wouldn’t have to come to that. She had to get to the bottom of this. If this truly was her cousin, then... she had to know why. Why did he change? What happened to him? She just had so many questions. She had to know the truth. I’m sorry Shadow. But I have to know.

   “ So, when are one of you fellas gonna tell me where we’re headed, hm ? ” She teased, glancing down at the robot that was carrying her. There was something oddly charming about the way they were designed. She couldn’t quite place it, maybe it was the cone shaped noses, or the unnervingly wide grins... but somehow she just had this feeling. This inkling. That they definitely felt like a robotnik’s handiwork. She couldn’t help but feel endeared. “ Not much of a talker, huh? That’s okay... I can do the talking for the both of us ! ”

   By the time they finally arrived to what Maria could assume was her cousin’s office? She was already feeling a little starstruck by the sheer vastness of this infrastructure. She almost felt like she were a princess in the old story books she used to read, captured by the evil kingdom’s knights and taken prisoner inside the castle. Except this wasn’t any ordinary castle. ( The multiple machine’s she’d past that looked like they were designed for something far more dangerous and deadly made her shudder. )

   But she is finally let go, the robot that’d been carrying her calling for it’s master’s attention, informing of the hedgehog’s arrival. Nervously fiddling with the disk in her hand, she stares up at the large swiveling chair before her, and more notably, the large man who sat there hunched over a work desk with his back turned to her. Her voice is tiny, feeling her throat tighten with emotion. It just occurred to her how scared she was, but she had too be brave.

   She was nervous. How was he going to react? Would he be happy to see her? Maria could easily predict that Shadow would be confused. Apart from the obvious being presumed dead for so long, she looked... drastically different. Often times, the hedgehog hardly even recognized herself when she looked in the mirror. The weeks following up her awakening were incredibly disorienting--- and there was still a lot that was missing from her memory.

   But she remembered him. Her best friend. The only family she had left. He’d survived... after all this time. They finally had their chance to live out their dreams on Earth! Despite the distressing memories she was slowly recalling, despite the deeply saddening loss of her grandfather... Maria was staying optimistic. He really did save her after all--- and she knew that was all he ever really wanted. She would make sure not to waste the second chance she’d been given.

   That second chance started here. On Earth. With Shadow. She couldn’t suppress the happy little bounce in her step. Now was the moment of truth. She approached the other hedgehog from his flank, remaining a comfortable distance away.

   “ U-Uhm,, Excuse me--- Shadow... ? ” There’s a light tremble in her voice as she attempts getting his attention, hands gripping the hem of her skirt. Ruby colored eyes look up through her bangs, ( huh, she wasn’t used to having to look up at Shadow... ) and she offers a nervous but hopeful smile. Oh dear, were her eyes welling up? She’s trying so hard to keep her cool.