Chapter Text
What was Tonya supposed to do in this moment? She KNEW who this girl was: someone said to be long deceased, lost to the sands of time. Someone written in the journal to have played a major role, made a huge impact on the lives of those who personally knew her.
Someone said to have been the only person the black-furred hedgehog opened up to.
And here she was, standing atop the stone stairs to the chapel, her hands on Shadow’s shoulders as she faced the two female Anthros.
The vixen’s bat-like ears drooped. A chill pooled in her stomach. Was she merely a disturbance to the reunited family? Should she pardon herself and give the sibling figures their space? Could she offer to stay someplace–
“Glad to see you guys back safely, Miss Rouge. Who’s your friend?” the girl spoke, interrupting the fox’s train of thought. Tonya didn’t introduce herself, which was quite unlike her usual. Mountain folk were typically among the friendliest, unless you counted their presence in horror films. But in this case? How were you supposed to engage someone once claimed to be dead? “We’ll explain everything once back inside. No need to chance revealing our sanctuary to the many eyes in the sky,” Rouge responded as she ascended the stairs. The two atop the steps allowed her passage into the chapel.
Tonya, meanwhile, remained frozen at the stairs’ base. Ears still down, she silently and shyly reached to tug her hat from off her head. ‘Meeting the family’ wasn’t on her Bingo card…
She caught the sound of gentle steps descending the stairs, stopping about halfway down. She looked to find the girl standing patiently before her, offering her a hand.
“Come on, it’s okay. You’re safe here.”
The fox’s shoulders hunched, blue eyes shifting from the girl’s extended hand to her politely-smiling face, then to the hedgehog still atop the stairs. It was as if her uneasy expression quietly sought his permission, as he just as silently nodded back to her. A dark-furred hand finally released its grip on her hat to reach for the girl’s, her body hesitantly moving almost on its own accord.
“I’m Maria. What’s your name?” the girl greeted, guiding the vixen up to the chapel’s entrance.
‘I know,’ was Tonya’s only thought. “Um…I’m, uh…I’m Tonya.”
“That’s a lovely name. It suits you!”
Shadow took it upon himself to close the door behind them, but not before reassuring himself that they hadn’t been followed…or found. Inside, Maria released Tonya’s hand, granting the newcomer some time to observe their temporary home. Where a typical chapel had two separate rows of pews leading up to an elevated podium for service, this one had been completely gutted. What occupied the space now were metal-frame beds to the left of the door, a seating area and makeshift kitchen to the right of the door, and–in the back of the chapel–what looked to be a portion of a laboratory. Between the living quarters and the lab were two smaller wooden doors. Likely once storage rooms, but now repurposed.
Hanging overhead were a number of candle-lit chandeliers, ever-burning and yet never-melting due to the manipulation of time. This “white void” dimension was…weird, to say the least.
“Y-yes…my, uh…my birth mother thought so, too. It was the last thing she gave me before we were separated,” Tonya eventually responded, still uncertain of what to say. Until someone could explain everything to her, she thought it best to monitor what words came out of her mouth.
The girl’s expression displayed her empathy. “You both were separated? Did that monster bring you here as well?”
“Hm…yes, on both accounts. But we weren’t separated because o’ the ‘monster’. We were separated long ago, when I was but a kit. Not really by choice, as she did it to save my life. The folks close to us, uh…didn’t exactly want me around, long-term. I had a purpose to fulfill, but that was all. Er, not to change subjects or anythin’, but…what’s all this?”
Maria thankfully took the hint and peered around the chapel, Shadow taking a seat in the living quarters, while Rouge proceeded to the laboratory portion of the safehouse. Someone else stood at the control panel of a computer monitor. What appeared to be an older man. “I guess you could call it our ‘home away from home’. My grandfather over there and Shadow both worked to set it all up. They thought it best that we had a safe place to rest and regroup, since…we don’t exactly know how we got here, how long we’re going to be here for, or how to get back. At least, not yet. Grandfather’s still trying to figure things out,” the girl explained, gaze falling upon the pair occupying the back-half of their shelter.
Tonya could barely make out their voices, but she was certain Rouge was asking the man about this ‘Omega’.
“Go ahead and make yourself comfortable. I’ll go grab my grandfather so he can meet you,” Maria insisted, motioning the fox to join Shadow in their living quarters. The girl casually left the pair to themselves, leaving Tonya little choice but to take up a seat beside the hedgehog. No sooner had she sat down did she let her hat drop from her hands, freeing them so she could drag their padded fingertips over her face. She felt curious red eyes upon herself.
“I wasn’t prepared for the sucker punch that was ‘meetin’ your family’,” she explained after a pause, her voice kept low and her ears still down. “‘Specially since she was–THEY were both declared…” Another awkward pause. “Do they even know ‘bout me? Would…would they even like me?”
Shadow permitted another brief pause, perhaps unsure of what to say. When he finally did speak, he too kept his voice low. “I’m sorry I didn’t forewarn you. I wasn’t sure how to. How could I? After all, I wasn’t expecting to see them again after all this time. Maria, especially. The only conclusion I could assume was that…Black Doom had something to do with their resurrection. Perhaps…he’d ripped them from a point in time before the Ark’s tragedy.”
“So they wouldn’t know anythin’ ‘bout who or what I am.”
“No. You didn’t come to be until thirty years afterward, if what the tapes implied is correct. The professor theorized all of this a time anomaly of sorts. That Doom is manipulating the fabric of time, itself. That explains how they’re both here at the same time as you.”
“...Were they the ‘something’ keepin’ you here?”
“...Yes.”
She noted the lowering of his own ears. “I can’t say I blame ya. If it were MY family, I’d probably be convinced to stay, as well.”
His crossed arms were set in his lap, acting to keep him propped up as he leaned forward. “I also…may have lied about failing to find the Emeralds. I COULD have found them on my own, had I wanted to. But…”
“Ya didn’t want to leave your folks again, not after bein’ reunited with ‘em after a 50-year gap.”
“...Yes.”
“...Again, I can’t blame ya. Even if not hearin’ from ya hurt like a devil.”
“I apologize for leaving you to worry. But the concern is appreciated.”
“Well, how could I not be? Before ya came along, I was convinced I was the only one o’ my kind. Y’know…a freak among humans. People were frightened by me for a time–least until they got to know me. An’ I guess…I treated ya the same way, in the beginnin’. I was scared o’ you, too. I mean…talk about your dramatic entrances.”
The faintest of smiles graced Shadow’s muzzle. “For the record, I don’t think there’s a soul on Earth that wouldn’t be rendered terrified by an explosion.”
“OR by havin’ an unknown hedgehog-like lifeform pursue ‘em outta the blue. But I understand WHY ya did it, even if it wasn’t a good decision in the end.”
Speaking of ‘good decisions’...
“I must ask you to promise me something, Tonya.”
“For you? Anythin’.”
“The professor warned me against sharing any information regarding the Ark’s events, or what follows after. He said it might create a time paradox, or risk altering the flow of time altogether. Therefore, we can’t tell either him or Maria anything we shouldn’t. Nothing key about your creation or forewarning them about the assault on the Ark, for instance.”
“Okay, but what am I supposed to say if they question my origins? Make it the fluff up?”
“Exactly. Or at the very least, twist the truth a bit. Don’t make it plainly obvious you have a minute connection to them through your creators. Don’t tell them the reason you were made. I don’t want to chance the professor deducing your connections to me. If what I fear is true and they’ve been torn from their timeline, it’s for the best they remain convinced I’m the only project to stem from G.U.N. and their research on the Ark.”
“Eh, couple wrenches in those mental cogs, Shadow: G.U.N. knew nothin’ ‘bout me, since I was a secret project created under their noses. An’ how would Gerald dig up anythin’ on me? All o’ my files were erased by my donor before she sent me to live on the farm, in case Fitzgerald chose to spill the beans to the government an’ request their aid in huntin’ me down.”
“...You read the journal, didn’t you?”
“I did. Nearly finished it.”
“Then you and I both know better than to underestimate the professor. He’s far more clever than he’s given credit for.”
His stare, while far from harsh, held a level of urgency. He was expecting her NOT to take Gerald lightly. The man was brilliant in his own right, and she wasn’t to forget that. He DID, after all, create the planet-destroying weapon that was the Eclipse Cannon, as well as the “Ultimate Lifeform”, Shadow.
She relented. “Okay. Okay…I promise.”
His intense gaze eased. “Thank you.” Red eyes then rose from her to something behind her, hinting for her to turn around. Tonya did so, finding Maria had returned with the older gentleman at her side. The bushy white mustache the man possessed reminded her of Eggman’s. But this was NOT Eggman. She instinctively and politely straightened her posture in the man’s presence.
“Apologies for interrupting your conversation. I was merely made aware that we had company,” the man began, voice surprisingly gentle compared to the demanding tone of his grandson’s. “You may call me Gerald. Now then, with whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”