Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Where... Am I? Maria thought. First she felt smaller, rounder. There was something that wasn't supposed to be there.

The second thing she felt was a rush of stimulations. Wind, smell, detailed touch, it all felt so alien to her.

Maria pushed herself up, tears forming in her eyes.

"I... I'm ali-ack!" Maria hacked. Her voice was different. Her throat stretched weirdly, cutting her breath when she tried to speak.

That's different too, she realized. I'm alive. I'm on Earth and I'm alive! With a wide grin, Maria broke into a sprint, taking off with the energy she always had to ration on the ark.

There's no way I should be this fast! Maria realized, noting a loud boom behind her. Despite all the red flags, she couldn't find it in herself to care.

The wind in my face and hair! The feeling in my lungs! This freedom is amazing! Is this what Shadow feels like when skating!?

Wait... Shadow...

Dirt and grass flew into the air as Maria stopped herself. Her body trembled.

I- I was shot. Shadow fell to Earth in an escape capsule, I don't know what happened to grandfather, and I... I died.

I died.

It was at that moment Maria caught her reflection in the water. A blue hedgehog with red sneakers and gloves stared back at her.

HUH!??????????????????

Is this reincarnation? Maria asked herself after calming down. No, wouldn't reincarnation start at birth? This body is a little younger than Shadow and is already clothed. Though 'clothed' felt like an exaggeration.

She sighed, There's not enough data to determine anything. Why'd I end up as a mobian? Why'd I have to end up as... a boy?

Maria's thoughts were interrupted by a panicked chirping. Turning her gaze to source, Maria witnessed strange bug-like robots harassing the wildlife of this island. Her mind flashed to Shadow.

Give them a chance to be happy.

Her eyes narrowed.

I might not know where you are, Shadow, but if I'm alive, I won't let you carry the burden alone.

And with that, Maria mimicked Shadow's movements and performed her first spin attack.

Chapter Text

Maria shuddered as she fell out of the ring shaped portal. First her reincarnation, then the robots powered by animals, and now this...

That special zone felt like a fever dream. At... At least she won her prize.

A Chaos Emerald, Maria couldn't believe her eyes. If they're hidden within those pocket dimensions, on this island, was that why she woke up here and not in this body's past?

GRANDFATHER!? Maria's eyes widened. A man who looked like a younger version of her grandfather was commanding those robots to gathering animals!

She leapt at the scientist, bouncing off his vehicle.

"What's this?" the scientist looked over the damage his vehicle sustained. "Hmm. A mobian with an attitude, and power to back it up at that. That's rare. You must be the one decimating my army."

The man stroked his mustache, "Oh, I haven't introduced myself. How rude of me. I am Dr.Robotnik, the greatest genius this world has ever seen! Now, young man, I'd advise you surrender yourself for study, or else..."

A wreaking ball appeared beneath Robotnik's hover craft, "this'll get messy."

Maria only braced herself for the fight.

You're giving us a bad name, Eggman.

Chapter Text

"Finally!" Sonic grinned as she left the doctor's office. Finally, her transition was complete. She didn't know why her doctor decided to move to Station Square after Perfect Chaos wrecked the place, but this gave her the chance to help out with the reconstruction.

Something... Sonic didn't do last time she was here... Heheh. Her bad.

Strolling down the street, memories flooded Sonic's mind. Defeating Eggman on South Island, meeting Tails. Going Super. Discovering Angel Island.

A sad smile graced Sonic's lips. All these adventures, and she still hadn't found Shadow.

With her similarities to him, she even tried to check into her new body's past. 

She got as far as Christmas Island before something stopped her, something in the core of her being that told her, "No, this is a bad idea."

She decided to go against her instinct that day. Sonic didn't remember what she found, only an overwhelming sensation of disturbance.

Tails offered to look into it for her, believing she was just looking into her past, but found nothing.

"Freeze, hedgehog!" a voice interrupted Sonic's musing. Her eyes opened to find herself surrounded by-

The Ark, desperate, trying to make sure Shadow escaped. Pain. Loud sound. Numbness. Shock. Falling. Falling. Falling.

Sonic was helpless as she was captured by G.U.N.

Chapter Text

"This game of tag is getting old," Sonic snarked half heartedly as night fell. Ordinary she could've been less than a blip on the horizon while it was still morning, after that truck...

Yeah no. Too much property damage already. She wasn't going to run around while who knows how many people get run over in G.U.N's chase.

A metallic clang shook the ground. The hedgehog turned to see a green, bipedal mech. Images flashed before Maria's eyes. The Ark, the Raid, the machines grandfather created used against them. 

"Finally," she tried to smirk as she placed a hand on her head, trying to focus, "finally decided to... to show, eh? B... Bring it-"

A black and red blur shot down from the sky, crushing and tunneling through the machine. 

No- Is that-!?

The wreckage collapsed into a heap as red light shined from within before being torn apart by a red explosion, revealing a face Maria hadn't seen in a very long time.

"It starts with this," he said, beholding a green gemstone in his hand, "a gem containing the ultimate-"

"Shadow!" The dark hedgehog quickly teleported to the side, dodging a blue blur, but unexpectedly, the blue hedgehog spun on her heel as quickly as he vanished and barreled towards him again; a move he hadn't seen since-!?

"Where have you been?!" Sonic cried as she wrapped her arms around her little uncle, "I looked everywhere for you!" 

"Every-what?" the experiment sputtered, shoving the stranger away from him, "who are you?"

"I-I-I-" the blue hedgehog stammered, "I know I don't look like it, but I reincarnated! It-it's me! Maria! We gotta go to Angel Island, I can prove-" 

Pain. Sonic's instincts kicked in as she was sent flying. She called upon the wind around her to let her stop.

Upright, she faced a raging Shadow a yard away. 

"Shadow?" Maria asked meekly.

"Liar!" the striped hedgehog spat, "lunatic! How dare you mention her name!"

"I'm not-" Maria couldn't finish her sentence as Shadow went on the offensive. "Please stop!" she begged, defending herself the best she could without actually fighting back, "this anger isn't you!"

"Don't tell me what isn't mine!" Shadow snarled, "I am the world's ultimate lifeform, and I will take what is owed!"

And so they fought, until the blaring of sirens and flashing of lights caught their attention. Maria couldn't defend forever, and the distraction both Shadow the opening he wanted. With a flurry of kicks and punches, he smashed the blue hedgehog into the pavement. She didn't get back up, only whispering his name.

"You'll get what's yours," the striped hedgehog scoffed, "everyone will, just as I promised her; Revenge!"

With a flash of green the striped hedgehog vanished, Maria too numbed and heartbroken to notice the humans take her away.

Chapter Text

"What's your problem!?" Sonic spat at the soldiers throwing her into the jail cell, "was killing me last time not good enough for you!?" 

"What on earth are you rambling about?" a voice complained, emerging from behind the troops. A tall human with light skin, olive green eyes, and grey hair as oily as Eggman's mustache. He was dressed in military wear, adorned with numerous badges and tags, and, in this day and age, let alone 50 years ago, had the audacity to wear a monocle. 

"So we finally meet, Sonic the Hedgehog," the man sneered, "I have longed to imprison you here ever since you showed up in the papers." 

The hedgehog scoffed, "so that's why I'm here? Afraid the hero of the islands is gonna show you up? I'm not exactly the kind of girl to throw away anyone's key." 

"You embody everything wrong with this world," the man sneered, "chaos, radical wokeness. If I had my way, every dissident would be locked up without any keys, but you're a good enough start, young man." 

"Ahuh," Sonic cringed, "and, uh, who are you again? Besides a bigoted dumbass, I mean. Wait, no, lemme look at your name tag."

She squinted, as if trying to read something illegible, "War-den... Z-op. Warden Zop!?" The blue blur laughed, "what kinda name is that? What? Did your folks want ya to be a cop and their finger slipped or something?"

"I'd watch that mouth if I were you," the warden chuckled darkly, "I thought this was the perfect cell for you, but I can always choose a more... lethal one." 

He turned and left. Sonic frowned, "perfect c- Why would-?"

Finally the hedgehog got a good look at the room around her and the countless equations dotting the place; equations made of old, but familiar handwriting." 

"... grandfather?"

Chapter Text

"...onic?" 

Maria wasn't paying attention, scouring the walls of her cell as she tried to make sense of the disorganized calculations.

Despite the confusion, a sense of dread filled her stomach. What was Grandfather doing in this cell? What is all this for?

She tried to remember White Space, maybe something the future Shadow said could help, but... No. Unlike grandfather, her memories were hazy. Come to think of it, he HAD been a bit more passive aggressive, distracted, and nervous than usual after the anomaly was resolved...

"Sonic!" 

The blue hedgehog spun on her heel and hushed at Amy, "keep your voice down before someone- wait, Amy? When- how?" 

"If you must know, I caught a ride with Tails," the fortune teller smiled, "it didn't take much to shuffle this keycard out of that guy's deck, but Sonic... Are you okay? You were climbing the walls when I got here and took me yelling to snap you out of it."

"There's," Maria gulped, gesturing at the the chock around her, "grandfather was here! I need to find out what this all means! Why Shadow was..."

"Grand-? You mean that striped hedgehog?" Amy asked. Almost instantly, Sonic was clutching at the bars, "didyouseehim!? Where!?"

Amy nodded as she swiped the keycard to let her friend out, "by the docks with Eggman, but he didn't stay stick around." 

"But he might still be on the island," Sonic realized before hugging and kissing Amy on the cheek, "thank you so much Ames, I owe you one!" 

The pink hedgehog only stammered gayly. Running off, Sonic shook her head fondly. Amy was almost as bad as Trip!

But as she ran, guilt welled up within her. She hadn't told Tails nor Amy about who she really was... Even with the ghosts in Sandopolis, Maria feared they'd think her crazy, belittle her again, just like bef-

"That blue hedgehog, of all the places!"

Chapter Text

"That blue hedgehog, here of all places!" Shadow scoffed as the blue blur stumbled at the sound of his voice. 

"Huh-what-wait, Shadow!?" Sonic exclaimed, "I found you! What're you doing with Egg-"

"Save your breath," the ultimate lifeform scoffed as he teleported. 

"I don't have time to-" he tried to say as he reappeared behind the blue hedgehog, only for Sonic to dodge the impending attack with an instinctive grace he had only ever seen in-

No. Not again!

"Shadow, please, liste-" 

"I don't know how you think you know me," the striped hedgehog growled, clenching his fists, "and I don't care. I'm going to put you out of my way for good!"

He attempted chaos snapping multiple times, and mostly succeeded, overwhelming his opponent, before suddenly being parried with a precise kick. Before Shadow knew it, the nuisance ran circles around him, conjuring a blue tornado. 

"Shadow!" the girl? pleaded, "please! I don't want to fight you!" 

"You won't even get the chance," the ultimate lifeform snarled, his voice obscured by the winds around him. His body began to glow a bright red.

"Chaos Blast!" 

With a red light, the blue tornado exploded, knocking the blue hedgehog hedgehog away. Ascending into the air from the explosion, Shadow raised his arm. 

"Chaos Spear!" 

Sonic quickly breakdanced back to her feet, blocking the projectile with a Wind Attack. Her eyes darted rapidly as both she and Shadow heaved for breath. There had to be some way to get him to listen to her! 

Suddenly, his radio crackled to life, "Shadow, what are you doing!? Get back here before the island blows up with you on it!" 

"Wait, blows up!?" Sonic's eyes widened. The striped hedgehog scoffed and raced. 

"Nonononono," Maria panicked, "gotta find Tails and Amy!"

Chapter Text

Location: The Ark.

"That was so unexpected, so unlike you Shadow," Rouge commented as things calmed down, "to come and rescue me, but your ability to use Chaos Control comes in handy."

"I didn't come to save you," Shadow shook his head, "I only came for the Chaos Emeralds." 

"Is that so?" Rouge leaned forward, "why didn't you just leave me to the explosion then? You're more than fast enough to swipe the emeralds from my arms. That's not the whole story, is it?" 

The hedgehog didn't answer, silence alerting the two to Eggman's approach.

"Everything is ready to go," the scientist informed them. "Are you sure?" Rouge asked, "we only have six of the emeralds." 

"More than enough for a demonstration," Shadow smirked, "so let's get this show on the road."

Location: Central City 

"...Now witness the beginning of the greatest empire of all time!"

The world watched as the Earth's second, smaller moon exploded from within, revealing a mechanical face and a glowing light.

"Another one!?" Tails exclaimed. "No," Sonic's words trailed off, "it can't be..."

Five years ago...

Location: Space

Maria's cousin had been bragging about his new weapon ever since the beginning of this particular adventure. The Eggman on Little Planet also namedropped the Death Egg, but in the past-tense, mentioning its destruction.

But clinging to her cousin's space shuttle, all of the drained away and Sonic settled her eyes on the weapon for the first time.

It- no-the Ark? No,nonononononono

Corridors, she's dragging Shadow down corridors, fleeing G.U.N. soldiers. Shadow's confused, not understanding where Maria's taking him.

Escape Pod, time to get-

Bang. 

Pained erupted through Sonic's body as she scrapped across the metal flooring, bringing her mind back to the present. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the bronze walls around her. 

Not the Ark. Relief almost flooded her.

"What's the matter, girl?"  Ivo asked grumpily over an intercom, "you went unresponsive for quite a while there. It's no fun watching my Mecha Sonic beat you to a pulp without so much as a fight!" 

Maria's eyes shot to the being that attacked her. It was larger than Metal Sonic, bulkier and a gunmetal grey. 

NOT black and red, FOCUS!

"Or is my engenius superiority finally sinking in?" 

"None of your business!" Sonic lashed out as she leapt into battle. Tearing Wing Fortress apart while experiencing Super Sonic for the first time had taken its toll, and then her flashback gave Mecha Sonic at least a few free hits. 

If the blue hedgehog was going to win this, she has to be VERY careful.

Location: Space Colony Ark

"...you said six emeralds are more than enough for a demonstration," Rouge said, looking at the two beside her, "and you had it on LOW power!" 

"The perfect weapon," Shadow nodded. "And within 24 hours, the world will finally be mine to rule," Eggman smirked. "And if they don't surrender?" Rouge asked, "with all seven emeralds, there's no holding the cannon back. You'd destroy the planet!"

"Not at all," the human chuckled, "you think I'm going to aim the Eclipse Cannon at the Earth? No... Those broken shards of the Moon are still within its gravitational pull, but should the Moon be destroyed entirely..." 

"The remains will fall to the planet below," Shadow nodded, "reigning untold destruction." 

"And from there my empire will be established over the ruins," Eggman concluded.

Sure, Shadow thought, sure it will...

Location: Central City 

Exhaustion began to return to Maria to reality. She was sitting down and being held by Amy, who had one arm out gently moving up and down. 

"A.." Sonic began to speak, "Amy? What... what happened?" 

"You had a flashback and Eggman used that thing to blow up half the moon," the pink hedgehog explained before wincing, "both of them." 

"Ivo," Maria looked down, "he never gives up..."

"But how'd he manage to harness all that energy?" Tails asked, "the Death Egg was built for geological manipulation, not this... Another Egg Fortress or Cosmic Angel?" "Chaos Emeralds," Sonic numbly answered, "plugged into the Eclipse Cannon." 

"Ecli-" Amy stopped. "Sonic, did you recogniz-" Maria heavily flinched and Knuckles was immediately silenced by a glare from Amy. 'NOT NOW' she mouthed. Wait- Knuckles?

As the reincarnated girl looked around, she realized they were in a garage, not the alleyway where they saw the broadcast.

"O-oh," Tails mumbled before grabbing his own Emerald, "w-well, the Chaos Emeralds are like magnets, they can repel and attract each other, so I should be able to find where the others are." 

"No need," Sonic cut in. Amy gave her a concerned look to which Sonic wearily nodded, "they're plugged into the Eclipse Cannon on the Space Colony Ark."

"What's-" Tails began to ask, "how do-" "Ah," Knuckles nodded, "so it's about that." 

"You knew!?" the blue blur's face snapped in the echidna's direction. "About you, sure," her rival shrugged, briefly glancing at Tails and Amy's confused looks, "... ah. You hadn't told them." 

"How could I?" Sonic asked, "my closest friends, my little brother, they'd think I'm crazy!"

"No we wouldn't," Tails insisted, but his voice went unheard. "After everything?" Knuckles raised an eyebrow, "after Sandopolis?"

"Those are semi-corporeal organisms," Sonic shook her head, "not actual ghosts." "Amy's literally a witch," the guardian deadpanned. "That's different," the blue hedgehog retorted, "it-its..."

She looked away. "You just didn't want to confront this, didn't you?" Knuckles sighed. "Y-yeah," Sonic admitted.

"I knew there was something different about you," Amy consoled, "but my cards refused to tell me more. Please, Sonic, whatever it is, it sounds like you've been holding in that pain for awhile." 

"...okay," Sonic sighed, "you know me as Sonic the Hedgehog, but... in my first life, my name was Maria Robotnik."

Chapter Text

"R-robotnik?" Knuckles stumbled, "I-I knew you were a reincarnate, but-"

"Wait," Tails cautioned suddenly, holding up a radio, "I hacked the cops' communication signal. We need to get moving!"

"But where!?" Amy asked, frustrated with the sudden change in topic, "that Eclipse Cannon thing is in space!" 

"Launch Base Zone," Sonic and Tails immediately replied.

By the time the insults-to-pigs arrived, the Cyclone was in the air, long gone.

Location: Space Shuttle 

Whilst Tails worked on some gadget of his, the quartet finally had the time to talk about Maria.

"I had NIDS," Sonic confessed, "and was brought aboard the Ark to mitigate it." "What's that?" Knuckles asked. "Neuro-Immune-Deficiency-Syndrome," Tails and Amy simultaneously answered, promptly a surprised glance between everyone but the pink hedgehog.

"There still isn't a cure," Amy explained, "it's rare, but I've seen that suffering before."

"...later," the witch shook her head before offering Sonic her hand. Maria took it, squeezing it in gratitude. 

"Grandfather," the blue blur continued, "Professor Gerald, made the Ark to fund his research into a cure. The Biolizard, Artificial Chaos, Healing Canisters, he tried everything, and after making a deal with the literal devil? Shadow was the final result; the Ultimate Lifeform, capable of surviving anything."

She pressed her eyes shut, "in theory. G.U.N. raided the Ark. Destroyed everything and everyone in their way. I put Shadow in an escape pod, helped him escape, and was shot for it. I was still dying, yet it wasn't NIDS that killed me but a fucking bullet!"

Amy decided not to remind her girlfriend about swearing around Tails.

"...G.U.N. must've found and sealed him away," Knuckles sighed, "and then Eggman found out." 

"I woke up on South Island and ran into Eggman," Maria concluded, "after these past years I thought Shadow was gone forever, and now that he's back he thinks me a lunatic, and we're... Enemies."

"We'll figure it out," Amy encouraged her, "first we stop Eggman, then we get Shadow's head fixed."

"Agreed," Tails looked up at his sister, "no matter what name you choose, no matter who you were, you're still my big sister." 

"Thank you," the blue hedgehog smiled, "but hey, if all goes well, you might have a brother again too." 

The fox paused to consider which of them would be the middle child. He made a face at the idea of Shadow being it. 

"What should we call you now?" Knuckles asked. The hero paused before settling on an answer, "L-"

And then an asteroid hit the ship, sending the Master Emerald Shards across the Ark's gravitational pull.

Chapter Text

"What's up with that knucklehead anyway," the blue blur threw her arms up, "taking over the shuttle! I couldn't even decide my name!"

"Well, at least you told us," Amy smiled, "this place looks deserted. Dusty too."

"That raid you mentioned," Tails furrowed his brow, "that's what shut this place down, not an 'accident.'"

"Yeah," the blue hedgehog nodded solemnly, "the first Bernoulli spherical space colony, Ark. 50 years ago, it was the most advanced research station of its kind, and that was... I don't even know how long after it was originally built."

"How long did you stay up here?" Amy asked. Too long. "Doesn't matter," her girlfriend shook her head, "there's not much time before Eggman fires the cannon again. We've got to-"

"It is the only way to destroy the Black Comet!"

Suddenly she grimaced. 

No. That was before Super Sonic. But...

"Tails, our project," the blue blur looked up at him, "you finished it on the flight over, right?"

"Yeah," the fox nodded, revealing an amber Chaos Emerald.

"Are we sure this is the only way?" the blue hedgehog asked. "What do you mean?" Amy asked. "Even if we stop Eggman," she explained, "Black Doom will still invade us."

"Who's that?" Tails asked. "Space devil," she answered, "and the Eclipse Cannon is our best shot at taking out his forces. If we destroy it..."

Amy said the blue hedgehog's name, hugging her, "you and Tails are geniuses. You'll be able to repair the damage, and that's IF you don't find another way."

"I... Yeah," the reincarnate nodded, taking the fake emerald, "good luck you two."

"And you," Amy winked as she readied her hammer.