Sonic X - (Fanmade) Season

Story 2: Back to Abnormal

DISCLAIMER: Characters, places, and objects are trademarks of Sega, Sonic Team, and/or Sonic Project.

Author's Note:
Here's episode two of my fanmade season of "Sonic X". The first chapter of this fic picks up where the last chapter of the previous fic left off. But it's recommended you read that story first so that you'd be less confused. That said, I should clue you in on how Maria's fitting in on Christopher Thorndyke's world. She's just gotten over the fact that Eggman is her cousin, but now, she has to deal with the fact that her own grandfather tried to destroy the planet after losing her! Meanwhile, Shadow's going through his own conflict. Since he still has amnesia, he's trying to figure out why Maria keeps showing up in his memory. And since Maria's narrating in this chapter, her narration will be in italic. There's a lot of ground to cover, so, let's start exploring. ONWARD!

Chapter 1 - It Runs in the Family

Inside the Thorndyke mansion on a sunny afternoon, Maria picks up a cup of tea from the coffee table in the living room. She takes a sip of the tea as she sits on the couch, worriedly.

"I still can't believe my grandfather and this Dr. Eggman are actually related," Maria sighs.

There is a moment of silence. Chris and Chuck sit beside her on the couch. Helen is beside the couch on Chris' side. Tails sits on the couch by Chuck's other side. Sonic sits on an armrest on the couch beside Tails. Knuckles stands beside the couch beside Sonic. Amy, Cream, Cheese, and Vanilla sit on the floor in front of the coffee table across from the couch. The Chaotix - Vector the Crocodile, Charmy Bee, and Espio the Chameleon stand in front of the wall and beside the TV. Tanaka and Ella stand at the other side. Everyone looks at Maria in concern.

Maria looks at Sonic and tells him, "I thought you said he was a bad man."

"He is," Sonic explains. "But he credits his so-called genius to his grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik. Why, he practic'lly worships the ground this guy walks on, given the chance."

"In a way," Tails adds, "Gerald and Eggman are very similar. They're both smart, they both invent things, and..." he sadly looks down and concludes, "...they both turned evil."

Maria gasps in shock upon hearing this.

"Grandfather, evil?"

"Maria," Chris says as Maria looks at him, "your grandfather tried to destroy this planet. He wanted to avenge you."

"He did it for me? But why?" Maria asks.

Chuck asks Maria as she looks at him, "Do you remember the day the military shut down the ARK?"

Maria sadly looks down with a sigh.

"I'm afraid so."

Flashback sequence: Fifty years ago, military soldiers run down the hallway of the Space Colony ARK. In one of the ARK's research rooms, some scientists were examining a kimono dragon inside a glass chamber. Suddenly, the door slides open, revealing the soldiers standing there with determined looks on their faces. Maria narrates.

They came to stop the research on the colony.

The soldiers had their rifles pointed at the scientists who had their hands in the air as if they were under arrest.

They believed there was an accident on the ARK and wanted the experiments to stop.

One of the soldiers examines a chamber filled with a bubbling blue liquid with a strange silhouetted figure inside.

I was there that day. I could tell they were scared of what my grandfather had created.

Suddenly, the soldier notices something across from him with a gasp in shock. Maria was standing in the corner of the room, worriedly watching the scene. She gasps as she noticed the soldier looking at her. She quickly runs out of the room in fright.

The soldier runs after Maria, calling, "Stop!"

Maria runs down the hallway, panting.

I couldn't let them take Shadow away.

She approaches a room at the end of the hall. The door opens and she enters the room as the door closes behind her.

So, I did what I had to do.

The soldier, who had been chasing after her, goes to the door, but it won't open for him. So, he has his back to the door and looks through its window. In the room are two containers, each with a mysterious figure within.

"It's the creature."

Maria stands at the control panel with her hand on the lever, looking at the containers.

"She's setting it free!"

He shoots at the door's electronic lock, causing the lock to explode which makes the door open.

"Freeze!"

Maria looks back at him with a gasp. He stands in the doorway with his rifle pointed at her.

The soldier tells her, sternly, "Take your hand off that lever."

Maria looks back at the lever and puts her other hand on it.

"I'm not fooling around here!" the soldier demands.

Maria becomes determined. She pulls the lever down. The soldier cries out in agony as he shoots at her. Suddenly, he drops his rifle and hangs his head down in shame. Maria resumes narrating.

The shot only scratched my arm and hip. Even if he didn't shoot, I still collapsed after using all my energy to send the capsules to this planet.

The flashback ends. Back in the present day, Maria still looks down, sadly.

"I remained unconscious after that."

Everyone looks at her in concern.

"When I woke up, I saw Chris and... you know the rest," Maria concludes.

Topaz's voice spoke up, "So, that explains it."

Everyone (including Maria) gasp in surprise as they look at Topaz and Rouge who had just entered the room. The two stand at the door while Topaz holds a laptop computer under her arm.

"Explains what, Topaz?" wonders Maria.

Topaz explains, "The soldiers must have taken pity on you and put you in that capsule where you slept for fifty years. That is, until we found you."

"Your grandfather never knew where you were and blamed the government for your disapperance," Rouge added. "He wanted to destroy the people of this planet for losing you. ...forever."

Maria tries to deny this, "No. You're wrong." She turns her head away and closes her eyes, crying out, "Grandfather would never...!"

Topaz interrupts Maria who looks at her, "Your grandfather left this message on the ARK..." she brings the laptop out from under her arm and puts on the table in front of Maria as she continues, "which activated when the seven Chaos Emeralds were brought together on the colony."

She opens the laptop, facing Maria. Then, Topaz pushes a button on the keyboard causing its screen to bring up a video of Professor Gerald Robotnik tied to a chair in front of a brick wall with writings of mathematic equations on it. Everyone watches the screen, worriedly.

"This is a death sentence for every human being on the planet," Professor Gerald proclaimed. "I plan to give you a taste of my revenge once the seven Chaos Emeralds are collected."

Closeup of Chris watching the message.

"If my calculations are correct, Space Colony ARK will impact the planet with devastating force!"

Closeup of Sonic watching the message.

"All of you will be destroyed along with your beloved planet."

Closeup of Chuck watching the message.

"Once I initiate this program, it cannot be disabled."

Closeup of the laptop screen showing Professor Gerald giving his message.

"All of you ungrateful humans, who took everything away from me, will feel my loss and despair!"

Then, a soldier's voice is heard on the message.

"Is there anything else you want to say?" the soldier asked.

Professor Gerald shook his head, "No."

The soldier gave the command, "Ready!"

Maria watches the screen in horror as gun shots rang out in the message on the laptop. Maria cries into Chris' chest as he gives her a comforting hug. Topaz pushes a button on the keyboard which turns off the screen.

"The message loops after that," Topaz explains to Maria.

She puts the laptop under her arm as she and Rouge look at Maria in concern.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Maria," Topaz said, gently, "but it was important for you to know."

Maria looks up at Chris, asking, "How could he do it, Chris? How could he be so cruel?"

She closes her eyes and brings her head into Chris' chest again.

"It's just not fair!"

Maria continues crying as Chris holds her close. Chuck, Tails, Sonic, and Knuckles look at Maria, worriedly. As do the Chaotix, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Vanilla, Tanaka, and Ella. Then, Topaz, Rouge, and Helen. Meanwhile, outside the mansion, Shadow stands on a branch of a nearby tree and looks at Maria through the lower window with a look of uncertainty on his face.

He thinks, "Professor Gerald Robotnik, Space Colony ARK, Maria... Somehow, I feel they are a significant part of my past, but why? And for what purpose?"

He concentrates on Maria.

"Could this girl be the key tounlocking my memory?" thinks Shadow.

Meanwhile, in a pyramid out in the desert, lights come on inside a control room. There, Eggman stands in front of the doorway with Decoe, Bocoe, and Bokkun behind him.

"Ah, it sure feels good to be back!" Eggman gloats. He walks to the center of the room and says, "My ol' home away from home!" He faces his robots and exclaims, "It's as if we never left!"

"I am surprised the government never found this room," Decoe pointed out. "Look at how neat and clean it is."

"Perhaps they never took the time to look for it after we left," Bocoe assumed.

"So, what's the plan, boss?" Bokkun excitedly asked Eggman.

Eggman mischieviously grins.

"Oh, I think I'll start with something simple."

A/N:
Ooh, Eggman's got a plan already. He says it's something simple. I wonder how simple. Find out in the next chapter coming soon. In the meantime, read and review!