My stay in the G.U.N. stasis pod had been an ‘interesting’ period. During my times of not quite ‘wakefulness’, I’d had a lot of opportunities to reflect on my life, such as it was: infancy, childhood, young adult, about 19 years altogether before I was put in stasis, almost all of which were readily accessible to me due to possessing a nearly photographic memory.

I had a chance to reflect on the good (almost all of which had involved Dr. Gerald and Maria) and the bad (almost all of which had involved G.U.N., though it also included many of the other ARK researchers, who’d often only seen me as a ‘project’ or an ‘asset’ rather than a person, or as even something of a ‘monster’, as I’ve hinted, something that was never the case for Dr. Gerald or his granddaughter). Up until the end, I suppose a lot of people would be surprised to know that, overall (even with the very obvious downsides), I considered it not such a bad life, perhaps in large part because that was all I knew at the time, but also because, in no small part, I knew I had two people who truly cared for me.

Despite the regular training sessions with G.U.N. agents that, even early on, I could tell were only preparing me to be a weapon and constant study (also designed to ensure that my mind could be just as useful as a weapon as my body, though, with all my enhancements, neither the physical nor mental training were ultimately so much of a challenge), I treasured then and would always treasure my time with Dr. Gerald, the closest thing I’ll ever have to a ‘father’, and with Maria, my first and best friend and ‘sister’ (despite our complete lack of any biological relation, even species).

It was strange. Even though Dr. Gerald had quite literally ‘produced’ me in a lab, I could tell he never thought any less of me because of that, didn’t think that I wasn’t a real person because of my origins (or carried any of the other prejudices that I soon learned many humans had towards Mobians or ‘Mobian’-like beings). Instead, over the years, I could clearly tell he thought of me in much the same manner as he did his granddaughter. Somehow, though he never said as much in words, I could tell that, along with Maria, he loved us both in a very similar way.

Though, I can say that some of my fondest memories also involved how he later accepted me as something of an ‘unofficial’ lab assistant. As I think has been made clear enough, Dr. Gerald was a brilliant man, and due to all the enhancements and training I received, I don’t think I’m bragging to say I’m rather sharp myself. Consequently, he’d been quite surprised and pleased to find that I could keep up with his explanations and even showed an interest in several of his experiments (though, at times, how much of that was due to my personal interest in a particular subject or just the enjoyment of spending more time with him, it might be difficult to say), leading him to involve me in his projects whenever he could.

As for Maria, we’d started off as something of playmates. There weren’t really any others on the station similar in age and development, and it seemed we would be a natural fit, though Dr. Gerald had to pitch it as a necessary means for my ‘healthy psychosocial development’ to get it past G.U.N. And, even though she and I, at least mentally, developed quite quickly (her, due to coming from evident genius stock, and I, due to my particular enhancements), and neither of us soon technically needed a ‘playmate’, we still maintained a very close relationship as friends afterwards, sharing as many activities as we could. Even in the later years, when her illness had progressed enough that it kept her largely confined to bed and the only activities we could share were to do something like talk or read or watch TV together, or basically anything that she could manage from a lying or sitting position (when her level of energy would permit her to do even those activities), I still very much cherished her company, and she cherished mine, though even then I knew she wanted to do so much more, to see so much more, and to do it with me alongside her.

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Perhaps the reason I would most be unable to forgive G.U.N., why, at times, the thought of just allowing them to burn and everything else along with them…didn’t seem so bad…was that she had been getting better in the end. Despite years of setbacks, insights gained from “Project Shade” had finally been allowing Dr. Gerald to make the breakthroughs he had always been seeking in treatments for N.I.D.S. In just a few more years, it seemed entirely possible that she might….

…Well, not much use in thinking about that anymore right now. I doubt I could keep my room in one piece if I continued to think about it any longer.

I returned to my examination of the ceiling, not that I’ve ever really stopped looking at it. Despite not all my thoughts having been pleasant ones, I felt better. I think I had a better grasp on my situation now, on where I had come from and on who I was and what was important to me. And as far as that…nothing could change. Really, all it took was confirming a few matters and reviewing the files at Prison Island, as well as some others I had procured since then.

I knew what was important to do, what I had to do, to ensure that Dr. Gerald’s and Maria’s memories would be respected in the way they deserved, and I couldn’t allow even someone like Sonic or his friends to stand in the way of that, if they interfered, no matter what I might have to do to prevent that. Unfortunately, I suspected it was very likely that they would interfere, and while what I had already learned about them (the doctor’s ‘briefing’ aside) made me think they were probably the kind of people I could come to like, even respect…it was just too important, too necessary, to allow for any risk….In the end, I knew I would do what I needed to (even if I hated myself for it later).

Still, there was one thing in particular I was feeling bad about at the moment. Despite the fact that, by now, it had become pretty clear to me the degree to which the ‘good’ doctor fell short of his ancestor (seriously, if it weren’t for the resemblance, there’s almost no chance you could get me to believe they were actually related), that what I had allowed him to believe about what my actual intentions were was in such stark contrast to what I truly planned, even while still making so much use of his help and resources…that I hadn’t trusted him in the slightest with my real plans or the true goal I needed to accomplish….Suddenly I was feeling very uncomfortable. Maybe…maybe it was time I took a walk or something. I think I had probably spent enough time alone in my room worrying about things.

Deciding that would be the best course, I hurried to see about getting a shuttle to set me down on land somewhere. Despite thinking earlier that a nap would be a good idea, now, I just felt like I needed to get out of my room…and off of Dr. Gerald’s grandson’s and Maria’s cousin’s airship.