Chapter Text
I come across an observatory. I run my hand across the railing, as I've done in so many rooms exactly like it. It's not dented on the bottom, just before the second leg, as though an errant bullet had struck it in a raid so long ago. The glass isn't scratched, as though someone broke countless pencils against it, not yet knowing his own strength. The name next to the terminal doesn't say 'Robotnik', as though a great scientist by that name once worked here. The observatory is not filled with love and warmth and companionship, as though a hedgehog literally made for me is here. This is not the right place; I backtrack, and move on.
I'd lost track of how long it had been, long before the cannon came online. Quite a bit of commotion happened after that, but it seems like things worked out. The moon hasn't been the same, but I just hope no one was living on it. Not long after that, the cannon came online again, to destroy the comet. That was fifty years. Since then, I've lost track of time again.
I've been lost for so long. Every day, I do nothing but search for anywhere I might find someone else. I know Shadow had to activate the cannon.
Grandfather made Shadow to save my life, but I didn't want this. He was supposed to be a cure to my disease; I guess he must have been much more than just that. When I sent Shadow to Earth, we both thought I was dying. We couldn't have been more wrong.
I still have no idea where I am. I look at the room designation. I'm on deck 87, section Rho, lift station 14. I look at the map on the wall. "You are here." Now I know exactly where I am: I am lost, as always.
Where is the observatory I used to play in? Where is the arboretum I used to walk in? Where is the med-bay I used to wake up in? Where is the grandfather I used to trust in? Where is the hedgehog I used to confide in?
Only in my memories, it would seem.
A little after the cannon fired the first time, I thought I saw something blur by, across the debris, through a window. I thought, for just a moment, it might have been him. Whoever, or whatever, I thought I saw... it was too blue to have been him. I spent what might have been months, searching where I thought he might have gone. It didn't work out; I can't find anything in here.
Before I got lost, I read stories of a Greek hero, Theseus. In one of them, he entered a maze that was so complex, it was said to be impossible to find the exit. The maze was there to hold a monster, and Theseus went in to kill it. I didn't like that story very much, all that long ago. Theseus used string to mark where he had been, and where he came from. Whenever I go into a room, I mark down certain information, to help me find my way. Every time I write a letter on the wall, I think about Theseus, and the monster he set out to slay. It's been a long time--a very, very long time--and I've had a lot of time to think about that story. If there is anything in all the universe that I hate, it's that story. I can't even remember what the maze was called.
I find another pantry. Years ago, or tens or hundreds of years ago, I realized that I don't need to eat anymore. At least, not very much, as long as I haven't been injured. Not eating helps me avoid... certain problems, too, so I usually avoid it altogether. I backtrack, and put a red circle by the door.
GUN stopped sending people up here a long time ago. Now, there are just robots. The beetles are more advanced, and now they have man-shaped robots, too. As advanced as the robots are, though... I still can't get through to them. They just keep shooting at me. They've never been good with defense, though: one solid hit and they're useless. Since the raid, I've gotten stronger; it didn't take long before I was strong enough to land that one solid hit. I've tried taking them apart, to see if they might have something that would help me contact someone outside. They're not remote-controlled or anything; there's nothing like that. I've tried to make a communication device on my own, but... I never learned how radios work. I'd need an example to learn from.
The floating blue creatures Grandfather made are still around. They're trickier than the GUN units: I'd have to aim for the head. Even then, I can't bring myself to do it. No matter how hard I try, I can't help but think that they're alive, somehow. They look sad. I suppose that I do, too. I mostly just try to avoid them. After all, they're not hurting anyone... not anymore.
I spend all my time going through the ARK, room by room, in the hopes of finding something familiar. The loneliness is familiar. The feeling of being lost is familiar. The sad look in the eyes of the blue creatures is familiar. The smell of metal and gun plasma is familiar. The cold, all-too-clean air is familiar. The girl I see, reflected from almost every surface I look at... is so strange, and so foreign, yet so, so familiar.
On the one hand, I know her face is my face. I know that the reflection I see is how I look on the outside. On the other hand, that girl is so much younger than I am. She must not have fought a thousand battles, as she has no scars. She must not have carried burdens for many years, as her face has no wrinkles. I look at her, and I know that she can't be me. I know her face is my face, but it can't be.
I come across an observatory. I run my hand across the railing, as I've done in so many rooms exactly like it. It's dented on the bottom, just before the second leg, as though an errant bullet had struck it in a raid so long ago. The glass is scratched, as though someone broke countless pencils against it, not yet knowing his own strength. The name next to the terminal says 'Robotnik', as though a great scientist by that name once worked here. The observatory is not filled with love and warmth and companionship, as though a hedgehog literally made for me is here. This is the right place; I will wait here for someone to come.
The blue planet below continues to spin. This time, I won't lose track of time. I pick a continent, whose name I never learned, and I draw a rough outline on the glass. I stare, and I wait, until the continent lines up again. I draw a line on the wall. I continue to wait, until the land lines up with the marking once more. I draw a line on the wall. This continues for a while. It doesn't seem long, but maybe that's relative.
The door slides open. I look, and a black hedgehog stands in the opening. He looks just like I remember. He looks, and a blonde girl stands in the observatory. I look just like he remembers. He looks like he's seen a ghost. Maybe he has.
No, he hasn't.
Ghosts don't cry--not real tears.