Chapter Text
Shadow looked out the window, curious about what Maria was looking at. On the other side of the glass there was a giant blue sphere that seemed to glow in the dark void that surrounded it.
“What’s that?” he asked, tilting his head curiously.
“That’s the Earth silly!” Maria chuckled, glancing down at him. “It’s our planet.”
“Planet?” Shadow repeated questioningly. The word was unfamiliar to him.
“It’s like the ARK, but way bigger and made of dirt and stuff!” Maria explained. “It’s where humans are from. Everyone here used to live there. Except you and me.”
“But I thought you were a human.” Shadow said, confused.
“I am!” Maria smiled. “But I was born here.”
“Oh.” Shadow said, turning back to the planet. “So you’ve never been to Earth?”
“No… I always wonder what it’s like down there.” Maria said, her eyes locked on the blue dot, her small hands pressed up against the glass window that sealed them away from the void of space. “My grandpa’s shown me pictures of the people who live there. But I don’t want to just see them. I want to meet them. I want to talk to them. I want…”
She trailed off, her fingertips slipping from the glass. She looked sad, but then suddenly she turned back to Shadow, smiling. “Well, maybe you’ll help me go down there, and we can explore Earth together!”
Shadow nodded, even though he wasn’t quite sure what she meant. Maria is strange. he thought. But it seems like everyone here is. She's so thin, and sometimes she seems so sad… I wonder if the Professor knows why?
“Professor?” Shadow tugged at the old man’s lab coat.
The Professor looked down and caught sight of the black biohog. “Oh, hello Shadow. Do you need something?”
“Why is Maria so sad?” Shadow asked.
The Professor’s face fell. He buried his face in his hands and let out a deep breath. Shadow looked on concernedly. When he finally re-emerged, he put his hand on Shadow’s shoulder.
“Shadow, you know that you were created by me and the other scientists, right?” the Professor asked.
Shadow nodded. He had told him that as soon as he had woken up.
“Do you know why you were created?”
Shadow paused and thought about it long and hard. He assumed the Professor had just wanted another "kid", but now he wasn’t sure. After a moment he shook his head.
“Maria has… an illness. Do you what that means?”
“No.” Shadow said. He was learning a lot of new words today.
“Well, it’s a… malfunction in her system, basically. It’s called Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome, and eventually, it…” the Professor’s voice wavered. “...it will kill her. Do you know what that means?”
“Yes.” Shadow said quietly.
“You were made to help us find a way to cure Maria. So she won’t die.” said the Professor, his voice still a bit shaky. “We have waited a few days to make sure that you yourself survive, but now… we must start experimenting. Testing.”
He gripped Shadow’s shoulders tighter and looked him in the eyes. “Shadow, I am not going to lie to you. These experiments will hurt. A lot.”
Shadow shivered at the word ‘hurt’. He knew what that meant. That was what it had felt like when the wires had been stuck in him.
“But if Maria is to survive, they are necessary. Do you understand?”
Shadow looked up at him. He thought about Maria's smiling face, disappearing forever. He nodded solemnly. "I understand."