I'll Be There

I'll Be There- Part Four

Rouge was in the midst of her jealous thoughts when suddenly, sirens  blared, hurting everyone's ears. Rouge looked over to see Shadow and Maria running to hide in a corner together, looking petrified. Rouge took this very lightly and chuckled. "What are you two lovebirds up to now?" She asked in a seductive tone. "A siren is nothing to be afraid of." Shadow angered his eyes at the bat. "There's no time for jokes right now, Rouge!" He shouted, still huddling with Maria. "The siren is a serious matter! It means that the robots on the ARK have malfunctioned! They're destroying everything in sight! My Daddy and Dr. Eggman tried to fix them, but-" Little Shadow got cut off by the room's door busting open. Large, gray robots made their way through the ARK at speeds faster than even Sonic could reach. Rouge screamed as she held little Sonic and Silver in her arms; and the malfunctioning robots dangerously shot everywhere.
Shadow and Maria were still huddled in their corner, trying to avoid every shot that was being fired. Maria looked to see a robot getting ready to aim at Shadow, and quickly jumped in front of her friend. In the midst of doing so, she became a victim of the robot's wrath. A bullet had penetrated her arm, paralyzing her whole left side. She groaned in pain, preparing for her enivitable death, when she thought of a plan. "I know exactly what we can do", she told Shadow, trying to force a small smile onto her face. She proceeded to quickly grab the black hedgehog's hand with her good arm, and led him into a long, clear tube. "Shadow", she said, breathlessly, after gently closing the tube. "You're the bravest, strongest, and most caring boy I know." Shadow's eyes widened with fear, for he knew what his best friend was up to. "NO!" He shouted in horror, slamming his fists against the tube. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" Maria then calmly smiled at her best friend, walking over to the switch that would decend the tube down to Earth. "But Shadow", she began, still breathless. "This tube will take you down to Earth- the planet you've wanted to show me for so long. I bet it will be so beautiful down there." Shadow's eyes glistened with tears. "But Maria", he said, his voice quivering with both sadness and fear. "You've always wanted to see this planet with me! This was our dream! You can't leave me! Please, you have to come with me!" Maria slowly shook her head. "Please, do not worry about me, Shadow", she began. "My illness has gotten the better of me, and I know my time is near over." Maria was losing her breath, and tried forcing out her final words. "Please, stay safe on that beautiful planet", she managed to say, beginning to push the button for the tube to drop. "Continue to be the sweet hedgehog you are", she breathlessly proceeded. "Please, try to become friends with everyone on that planet. Promise me you'll continue to be the best friend anyone could have, for you have served that purpose for me." Shadow couldn't believe this was happening. He watched in horror as his best friend was about to push the button, activating his decent down to earth. "MARIA, WAIT!" Shadow screamed, constantly pounding on the little tube and watching his friend, terrified. Maria gave one final smile to her only friend. "Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog", she said right before pressing the button. The tube then quickly descended through space; and the speed and terror of this event was enough to render poor Shadow unconscious. He didn't even feel it when the glass tube harshly hit the concrete sidewalk, shattering into loads of pieces, thus revealing a strange sight to the members of his hometown, Christmas Island.