A.N. - A word of warning - if you're looking for a finished, detailed plot this one isn't. It's really a trio of related scenes as much as anything, one set shortly after The Soul of a Weapon and the others sixish months after Three There Are. This is just something that's been floating around in my head for a while, so I wrote it down.

In Memoriam

I. Marking a Tragedy

The door hissed shut behind him with a faint metal whine, cutting off the sounds of the GUN and civilian repair crews. Shadow the Hedgehog closed his eyes and took a deep breath, listening to the near silence. A faint hiss of air blowing through a nearby vent was the only sound except for his own breathing, although he could feel faint tremors from the construction work through the soles of his shoes. Quickly he activated the hover jets in his shoes and separated himself from that reminder of the current . . . invasion. That's what it is, really, an invasion. They don't belong here. He sighed and started skating automatically down the hall before him.

He knew perfectly well that it was both dangerous and inefficient to leave the ARK floating silent and empty in space now that it had been rediscovered. Dangerous not only because the wrong hands might try to snatch it, as both Dr. Eggman and Black Doom had demonstrated, but also because the battle between GUN and the Black Arms had finished what Shadow himself had started, when he triggered the program to crash the space station into the Earth. That was what GUN had been working on for weeks, repairing the damage caused by the battles to prevent any more pieces from tearing loose and penetrating the atmosphere. But now the thrust of the work had changed, and they had brought up civilian teams to the now far safer environment. Now the aim was to return the actual colony portions of the ARK to livable conditions and install new colonists. Shadow had listened to the GUN's Commander's arguments for all this, and agreed that they made sense - but that didn't make him like it. It still felt like an invasion, all these strangers coming into the ARK and changing it from what he remembered; no matter that what (and who) he remembered was dead and gone. Fifty years dead and gone, though less than a single year to me. Stasis certainly wreaks havoc with one's sense of time. He braked to a sudden halt, his attention snagged by a date branded indelibly into his memory.

It was on a large bronze plaque on the wall - a new addition since the last time he'd been here. He scanned the text below the date: 'On this date, an inexcusable tragedy occurred, instigated by a small clique of GUN generals. Believing that the Commander of the time was willfully turning a blind eye to hazardous research being conducted on the ARK, they alerted several units of soldiers to evacuate the ARK's colonists to save them from a (non-existent) disaster, while at the same time sending a select squad to this research facility with orders to assassinate all the doctors and patients within it, saving only Professor Gerald Robotnik, who was to be returned to Earth to stand trial for his alleged 'crimes'. This attack set in motion events that would only be fully revealed fifty years later, when Professor Robotnik's posthumous revenge nearly brought the ARK crashing down onto the Earth, an event that was only averted by two dokan heros, Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog.'

Shadow raised his eyebrows. Albeit with the disclaimer of the 'small clique', GUN was actually taking responsibility for the disaster?

"Surprised, Shadow?" The hedgehog blinked and looked up - and up, to meet a pair of mismatched eyes. Mokie, a horse in a book Maria had once read, had one blue eye and one brown, and she had long ago dubbed her best friend 'Mokie' as well, because of his one blue, one green gaze. That little boy had later been the only one on the ARK to glimpse Black Doom, present at Shadow's awakening, and in his misreading of that horrible scene had believed that Shadow was not only a knowing ally, but a willing one, to all the devastation later wrought by Gerald and Doom both. It was not until he faced Shadow down on the ARK itself that Mokie realized his own error, and understood that Shadow had known nothing of the aliens or their invasion plans until the event actually occurred.

The resulting truce between the two was still an uneasy one, and Shadow considered his reply carefully. "I was under the impression that GUN felt any acknowledgment of the attack would be detrimental to international security."

"That was my predecessor's emphatic conclusion," conceded the Commander. "His other argument was that it might 'give ideas' to his generals and encourage them to plot similar treason. It was that sort of thinking that led to his 'retirement' shortly after you were reawakened and Gerald's revenge was revealed; he still wanted to deny our involvement completely and write the whole thing off as a madman's nightmare."

The scarlet eyes narrowed slightly. "But it wasn't announced then, was it? I thought Rouge told me it was largely hushed up, or at least . . . ." Shadow fumbled for a word, not quite certain what he meant. At the time he'd been in one or another of Eggman's labs, locked in a stasis pod while being healed of his injuries, but his impression was that the disaster had still not become general knowledge.

The Commander tilted his head slightly. "Not hushed up, but– minimized, perhaps. At the time the President felt, and I agreed, that the public trust was shaken enough that acknowledging even an old rebellion might cause difficulties. We are the guardians of most of the human nations of the world, and our existence is dependent on their trust in our ability to protect them. The story was presented in a slightly modified form, a renegade squad attacked the space colony, starting with the researchers and causing the disaster, while the heroic 'true' GUN soldiers leapt into action to rescue the colonists. At the time - I wasn't even confirmed as Commander at that point, you realize, I was simply the highest-ranking member after the governments called for the prior Commander's retirement - it seemed the best option.

"Now, of course, GUN is being held in high esteem after the Black Arms' attack and I thought that this would be the ideal time to bring the truth out. 'After looking deeper into records of the ARK tragedy'," the quotation marks were obvious in his phrasing, "we can reveal the entire plot, put the blame where it truly belongs, pay appropriate tribute to the victims, and at least partly exonerate Professor Gerald."

"Who was a victim himself," said Shadow a bit pointedly. Gerald hadn't died on the ARK, but he'd gone mad and ultimately been executed as a direct result of the events that day.

"As were my real parents," answered the Commander quietly. Shadow grimaced and ducked his head in tacit apology. "Have you seen the exhibit yet?" the human continued, indicating the Medical Center entrance and changing the subject.

"Exhibit?" The red and black hedgehog looked up again, confused. "No. You've turned the Medical Center into an exhibit?" The word suggested cheerful guests and fun, which seemed appallingly out of place at the site of such tragedy. He glided along as the Commander started walking up the hallway.

"Not the kind you're thinking of, I think. Haven't you . . . . No, I suppose you wouldn't have had much chance to go to museums, would you. They're quite appropriate, I think. I made sure that I had final approval of everything, as a survivor of the tragedy. Here," he opened the door and they turned into the main hall of the Medical Center. As Shadow remembered it, it had been an aggressively pleasant place, as if denying that the doors opening off it often lead to the rooms of peopled who were severely ill or dying. The cheery paintings and fifty-year-old crayoned children's notes were still there, but now there were bulletin boards and occasional small tables spaced along the walls between them. A picture, or sometimes two, adorned each board, and typed sheets were pinned up as well.

"They aren't completed, yet," explained the Commander, stopping in front of a board with two photographs on it. "Eventually everything will be printed on the boards themselves, but we're still gathering information and contacting relatives." He glanced at Shadow, apparently waiting for a response to the 'exhibit' in front of them.

Dutifully, the hedgehog looked, and caught his breath involuntarily. He recognized both the researchers, posing stiffly in their lab coats. He hadn't known them well; their research had been unrelated to Gerald Robotnik's, but he knew who they were. And he know why Mokie had brought him to this one first, because they were his parents. The typed sheets underneath the photos gave brief biographies, noting important discoveries, areas of research on the ARK, a few tidbits of personal info. It noted that each had been killed in the MS lab, and that they had one surviving son, who had been evacuated with the other school children on the ARK. It mentioned that he had joined the military, but not that he was the Commander of GUN. Shadow paced a few feet down the corridor to the closest door. It had been the room of a young, old woman, affected by progeria, which aged people to death before they were twenty. She had for some reason been fascinated by Shadow, and Maria had promptly delegated the hedgehog to be the one to bring her weekly offering of flowers - which Maria made to all the patients in the center - to Lisa Bell. Her door, with the nameplate freshly polished, stood open, and a silk rope was stretched across the doorway. Above the nameplate was mounted a photo, and below had been hung another typed bio, including a summary of her disease and the treatments that had been studied on the ARK. Professor Gerald's Heal Units had maintained her, though not as well as Maria, and the final note was that since those units did not function on Earth the disease was still officially unmanageable as well as incurable.

Shadow nodded slightly as the Commander stepped over to join him, then followed the human further along the hallway, familiar names and faces jumping out from bulletin boards and doorways. "Are they all here?" he asked finally.

The Commander nodded. "All researchers, doctors, and patients are listed along this hallway except two. The last two are over here." He led the hedgehog to a door that had led to several suites for visiting family members or researchers. Now, on either side of that door hung portraits that were as familiar to Shadow as his own.

"Maria," he whispered, raising gloved fingers to touch the frame. He remembered the picture; it was her last school photo, twelve years old and wearing her favorite blue dress that turned her eyes as blue as the Earth. She was sitting straight and smiling, but there was a hint of lurking mischief in that smile and those eyes, a look that Shadow remembered all too well. It usually meant they were about to get into trouble. He glanced over at the other picture. Professor Gerald was squinting at the camera, looking like the classic absent-minded professor, and not at all like anyone likely to try to blow up a planet. Or lie to several governments and a major military force, Shadow reminded himself. The Professor's deceptions had begun when Maria was three, long before Shadow himself came into the picture. It was because of those deceptions - promising one side to create a method of endless youth and life, and another an ultimate warrior - that Shadow had been created. The list of Gerald's achievements filled two pages. "Father." His other hand rose to brush that frame. But . . . "This isn't where we lived," he said to Mokie.

"I know. But I didn't think you'd really want people traipsing up and down through those rooms - they're still yours, you know, if you want them - so I suggested that it would make more sense to set up a duplicate set here, with the rest of the memorial displays. The other rooms are roped off, as you saw, but since Professor Robotnik and Maria were so key to what happened here, 'their' rooms are going to be open to the public."

"How much public do you think there's going to be?" Shadow couldn't quite picture mobs of people taking shuttle flights up to the ARK to look at pictures of people long dead. Although he was glad to hear that he could keep his rooms, since it hadn't occurred to him that they could be taken away from him.

"I don't know how many will make a trip up here specifically, but there will be some. The people living here will come sometimes, and the school here will certainly bring its students through." Shadow's didn't quite make a face at that reminder of the repopulation plan. Mokie placed a hand on the black-furred shoulder, kneeling to bring their faces nearer to the same level. "It doesn't seem right, I know, but which is a better memorial to the ones we've lost? A dead, empty colony, hidden away and forgotten, or a restoration of the original plan; a thriving colony and renewed research into incurable diseases? The Heal Units can help a lot of people, but they cannot yet be produced on Earth."

"So make a smaller station and grow them on that," grumbled the hedgehog. He looked solemnly at the human and sighed. "I know, it needs to be done. It's the right thing to do."

"You just don't like it one bit," concluded the other, with a faint smile. "I'm not entirely thrilled about it myself," he admitted, "but I do believe it's the right answer."

"What about the Biolizard?" asked Shadow suddenly. "Or the Eclipse cannon? Are those going to be mentioned in these displays of yours?"

"They're listed under the Professor's achievements," pointed out Mokie. "It hasn't been quite decided what will be done about those. I have final approval on all this, and I've made a few suggestions, but most of the work is being done by other people. Leading a major military organization can be a bit time-consuming." The twinkle in his eye encouraged Shadow to join in.

"I'd imagine so," agreed the hedgehog dryly, but he dredged up a bit of a smile. The Heal Units were a vital - no pun intended - factor. They had the power to cure any illness except old age and genetic flaws, returning the body to normal function as dictated by its genes - and there had been researchers working on methods to modify crucial genes and use the Heal Units to extend the changes. It had actually worked on a couple of mice, although most of the tests had not been successful. If new researchers could pick up those studies and locate the key . . . those studies were far too important to too many people to discard for personal grief. "You're right. But I'm just as glad people won't be wandering through Maria's real quarters." He put on a worried look. "Does that mean I'll have to clean my own room from now on?"

Mokie laughed. "I think we can figure out a way to let the housekeeping robots in while keeping uninvited personnel out." Something on his belt caroled a string of notes, and he pulled the device free and gave it a glance which turned into a glare. "If you have any suggestions or requests let me know. I did give you my personal contact number? And think about the GUN contract as well. You'd have control over which assignments you took, and you'd get paid for saving the world, which is a better salary than freelance heroes get." He walked off without waiting for an answer.

Which was just as well, because Shadow didn't have one yet. He had concluded after much thought that while he may have been created as a result of government and military funding and research, he didn't actually owe them anything since he'd never agreed to participate, as it were. On the other hand, as Mokie had commented, saving the Earth didn't come with a salary - or even a reward - attached, and he did have to eat. And have a place to live; it wasn't really feasible to teleport back and forth between Earth and ARK on a daily basis. The stipend and apartment the government was providing now might not last into the next administration, and he preferred to earn his own way, anyway. He left the Medical wing and skated the few short corridors to Professor Gerald's - no, I guess it's my wing, now. Rouge had gotten there first, and was staring out the observation window by the locked door that guarded his rooms.

The pale bat turned as he glided into the room. "Did you get lost? I thought you were going to meet me here, to give me a tour of the changes to the colony."

"I ran into the GUN Commander, and he wanted to show me the memorial hallway." Shadow eyed the bat suspiciously. "But you knew that, didn't you? You were the one who suggested we split up and I go that way to see who'd get here first." He stepped past her to the door leading to his rooms. The door slid open as he approached and he waved the bat in.

"Guilty," said Rouge coyly, sliding past him with a smirk. She didn't need to slide past him, there was plenty of room for her to walk through the door without touching him, but she couldn't resist flirting with him on general principles.

Shadow was finally beginning to understand 'flirting' and comprehend some of the moves and phrases that had perplexed him at first. He hadn't quite decided what to do about it though; sexual behavior in all its forms was not something he'd had much education in, and while he liked Rouge, he wasn't sure he liked her that much. Or if he needed to - some people seemed to pair off with whoever was convenient at the moment. But that didn't feel right to him, so he'd decided that a bit more deliberation was in order. Certainly Maria had blissfully gone on about love and romance and happily ever after, but real life was a lot more complicated than the storybooks. So he ignored the bat's behavior, following her into the main living room of the wing and telling her to pick any seat she wanted. He then perched himself on a short ladder the Professor had used to reach high shelves, too narrow for her to join him.

Rouge pouted at him a moment, then laughed, arranging herself languorously on the couch. "I do believe you're stating to get wise to me," she complained as she held the pose for a moment before sitting up straight. "The Commander asked me to detour you through that area," she admitted, more briskly. "I think he expected me to bring you, but I figured you might prefer to see it without a lot of company." She studied Shadow's face. "What did you think?"

"I think you were right. Oh, you mean what did I think of the exhibits?" Shadow pondered a moment. "I . . . for Lisa, and Mokie's parents, they . . . seemed okay, I think, but . . . for Maria . . . ." He floundered a moment, then looked at Rouge wryly. "Articulate, aren't I?"

"Except on one topic." She drew her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them, and her heels on the edge of the seat cushion. She summarized for him, "Basically, you think they're okay except for Maria's. What about Professor Gerald's?"

"That one seemed okay, too," he answered slowly. Why? Why was his right and Maria's wrong? he asked himself silently. Aloud, Rouge was asking him the same questions. He racked his brain, picturing the displays and comparing his reaction to the one with his reaction to the other. Suddenly it clicked. He sat up straight. "The achievements! Father had a long list of things he had done and accomplished, but all Maria's said was that she had NIDS, as if her entire life's accomplishment was to be born with a deadly disease. Which is wrong; she was a lot more than her disease." He thought a bit further, remembering the other exhibits. "Even with Lisa, it talked about her progeria, but it mentioned that she'd been to the Special Olympics and spoken to a group of Congressmen about the need for funding for research on aging disorders. But Maria was simply a disease, and confined to the ARK because of it." When her dream had always been to go to Earth. He glanced involuntarily towards the outer observation room, and her favorite window.

"So make her something on Earth," said Rouge. Shadow looked at her, startled. He hadn't realized he'd spoken the last part aloud. "The problem with this sort of memorial is it's not very personal; it can't be, since the people affected are fifty years dead and in some cases their families are dead as well. But you knew Maria, and you can make her a real memorial, one that is appropriate for the girl you knew, not the NIDS victim of the tragedy on the ARK."

Shadow nodded slowly. "Yes. I'll do that. As soon as I figure out how." He grinned at the bat. "Are you ready for that tour, now?"