Maria was seated on the train with her two children, Umbra and Terios. Umbra was in a baby strap attached to Maria’s front. Terios sat beside his mother and was swinging his left leg back and forth, getting bored with the lengthy trip. “Are we there yet?” the child whined.

Maria turned around and looked through the window that was behind her. The train was passing through several skyscrapers. The ocean peeked through the buildings with the sun reflecting off the rippling surface. The yellow hedgehog smiled and returned to her son, “We’re here. We should be pulling into the train station any minute now.”

Umbra began to squirm and she babbled, patting her mother’s shoulder for attention. Maria rubbed her back, “Are you getting hungry?”

She reached into the baby bag and dug for a bottle. There were other baby supplies inside, such as diapers. Also inside the bag were snack packets for Terios and three bento boxes wrapped in decorative cloth. Maria pulled off the cap and started to feed Umbra with the bottle.

The train pulled into the station and came to a stop. Doors slid open and the passengers rose from their seats to leave. Maria placed the cap back on the bottle and placed it back in the bag. She stood and slung the bag over her shoulder, taking Terios’ hand. He wasn’t keen on having to hold his mother’s hand. He preferred being able to roam on his own. But Maria knew her son had a tendency to run off so this was the best way to ensure he didn’t bolt.

As the family neared the door to leave the train, there was a sudden rumble and the ground shook as if from an earthquake. The train rattled and began to sway.

People screamed and several began to run. Maria grabbed the door frame of the train in attempt to prevent herself from falling. Terios tumbled into his mother before dropping to the floor. Frightened, Umbra started to cry.

There was a second rumble and the ground shook harder than before, much harder. The last thing Maria remembered, the train was tipping over.

She had to of blacked out. The next thing Maria knew, she was laying on the ground. The train car she was in was next to her on its side. The walls were half gone. The floors were cracked and uneven. The air was smokey. Other people were still around and they were wobbling to their feet. Some cried, a couple were screaming. She could also hear her daughter crying.

Maria looked down and saw that Umbra was still in the baby strap. The little hedgehog was crying her eyes out and had her tiny hands balled into fists. There was a sharp pain in her arm as she moved it but Maria pushed past that and rubbed her daughter’s back, “It’s ok, Umbra, I’m here.”

Where was Terios? Was he ok? With a groan, Maria sat up and looked around, “Terios? Terios!”

Then she heard sniveling nearby followed by a shaky boy’s voice, “H-here, mom…”

Maria whipped her head to the left and found Terios sitting on the ground. She grabbed a hold of the train car and used that to help her to her feet, “Stay there. I’m coming.”

She stumbled towards her son and patted his head, looking him over for injuries. It didn’t look like the child got anything major like broken bones. But he did have some scrapes. Maria reached for the baby bag but then realized it was gone. She looked around quickly for it and found it was thrown on the ground a distance from where she had been laying. Maria snatched the bag, grateful no one had taken it. After finding the first aid box, Maria cleaned up Terios’ scrapes and gave him a couple of superhero bandaids. Terios grabbed Maria’s dress and buried his face in it as his cries quieted.

Maria patted his head for reassurance and looked around again. It wasn’t safe to remain in the train station.

The family left the station and stepped outside. Whatever that earthquake was about, it made things worse out here. The road was tore up. Light poles were knocked down. Fire hydrants had exploded and were shooting water up in the air. A couple of the skyscrapers had fallen over into others, with sections of them broken off onto the ground, smashing anything that had the unfortunate luck of being under them.

“Mom?”

Maria looked down to her son who was grasping her dress. “What happened, mom?”

“I don’t know,” Maria had a policy of not lying to her children. She wasn’t going to make something up to pretend to know or to cover up a situation. Kids were smarter than what adults gave them credit for. If she tried to lie, Terios could look around him and know something wasn’t right about her words. So, Maria was as honest as she could be. When Umbra grew to be old enough, Maria was going to do the same for her.

“Where’s dad? Are we still going to go see him?”

Maria frowned. Truth be told, this situation made her feel vulnerable. But she was trying to hold tough for the kids. She’d feel a lot better if Shadow was with them. At least if he was with them, Maria would feel more protected. “Well, let’s see…” she pulled her cell phone from her pocket to try to call him. But the phone had gotten cracked during the fall. The device didn’t react or turn on to anything she tried. Maria exhaled and put the phone in the baby bag. Thankfully she had the cloud backup service so the photos and videos she had wouldn’t be lost. There was no way to contact Shadow, though. “Looks like we can’t call him. The phone is broken.”

Terios wiped his eye with the back of his hand. That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “I want dad!”

“I know… I do, too…” She took Terios’ hand, “Come on, I think we can still make it to the office where he works.”

Maria could remember where the office building was located. The tricky part was having to take an alternate route to get there. Collapsed buildings blocked off roads and it wasn’t safe to try to cross them. To the right was the hotel but the building for Speed Highway had toppled on top of it. Emerald Coast was blocked. The back road for the Casino area was also blocked.

They went left.

No vehicles were mobilized so there were people walking in the middle of the normally busy streets. “Watch your step,” Maria instructed to Terios as they climbed over a slab of pavement that jutted from the ground at an angle.

Then overhead, some jets flew past Maria and her children, weaving between the buildings. But there weren’t just ordinary jets. They were robots. One of them dropped a bomb down to the ground. Realizing the danger, Maria darted towards the nearest building, pulling on Terios’ hand. Everyone else were trying to scramble out of the way, too. Just as Maria and the kids reached the front door of the convenient store, the bomb hit the street and detonated. The force of the blast knocked everyone near off their feet. Glass windows shattered and sprayed glass everywhere.

Maria managed to keep both Umbra and Terios in front of her to shield them from the bomb, but they were all knocked down to the ground. Umbra was screaming and wailing while clinging to her mother’s top with both of her little hands. Eyes wide, Terios was trembling, unable to move. His ears rang from the loud sound.

After those robots entered the city and dropped those bombs, it became clear to Maria what was happening. “Eggman is attacking,” she said. If Eggman was unleashing an attack on the city in another attempt at taking over, they had to get out of here. But how? The trains were down. The streets were tore up so cars or public transportation couldn’t get through. Walking back home wasn’t possible with Maria’s health.

Maria grabbed the little ledge that protruded from the wall and used that to help her stand.

Then suddenly there was rapid gunfire. Scores of people sporting military uniforms had poured into the streets and were firing at the robots that were in the city. Maria threw her hands over her ears and Terios did the same. The three ducked inside the convenient store and closed the door behind them. This did bring down the volume of the noise but it remained deafening.

“Mom! Those people work with dad!” Terios shouted over the gunfire.

Maria looked closer at the uniforms and noticed the GUN emblem patches on the shoulders. Terios may not have an understanding of what the military is or what they do but he did recognize the same logo that was on Shadow’s own uniforms. This was a good sign. If the military was here to fight back against Eggman, then Shadow shouldn’t be far away. She started to smile. Maybe they could find him.

She went to one of the windows of the store and looked around at the soldiers moving past. Blue eyes swept over each person, looking for a black hedgehog with red quills. Lots of GUN soldiers were out there but none of them were Shadow. When the last of them passed the store, Maria pulled away from the window.

“Did you find dad?” Terios tugged on Maria’s arm.

She shook her head, “I didn’t see him. But he should be nearby.”

“We gotta find him! He can’t find us if we keep hiding!”

“You’re right. We have to be careful, though. It’s pretty dangerous out there.”

Another bomb went off outside but at a distance. A rumble sounded as the ground shook. A few items fell off the store shelves. Maria and Terios stumbled but neither fell. Umbra’s crying started back up. Maria rubbed her daughter’s back to soothe her, “There now, it’s ok. We’re still fine. I know it’s scary.”

“We need dad!” Terios cried then bolted for the door, pushing it open with both hands.

“Terios! Don’t go off by yourself!” Maria scrambled to run after her son. She couldn’t move quick between her health and the extra weight she had to carry between the baby bag and Umbra. Her son managed to get outside onto the sidewalk before Maria could snatch his hand. “Don’t run off like that!”

But Terios was trying to pull away, “Dad! Dad!”

“We’re going to find him,” Maria tried, “But we have to stay together.”

She looked in the direction where the GUN soldiers and the Eggman robots went. Best to keep a distance from them. It was too dangerous to get close. Both sides were locked in a battle for the lives of the Station Square citizens. Maria continued her way in the direction where they were originally heading. Even if they couldn’t find Shadow, taking refuge among GUN at the office building would be safer than their current situation. They were familiar with her and would take her and the kids in for safety.

However, Terios wanted to follow the soldiers. “Dad!” he shouted again, believing his father to be among the soldiers that were pursuing the flying robots.

“He’s not with them,” Maria reminded her son.

As gunfire and bombs continued to go off behind them, Maria looked around. If this was an Eggman attack, there was going to be more robots descending upon this city real soon. The jets were just the fastest ones. Were there any tunnels like a subway? No, that probably won’t work. That’s a narrow passage with nowhere to hide and could have dead ends from collapses. Better stay above ground. The inevitable additional robots could come from anywhere though.

“Keep an eye out for more robots,” she instructed Terios as she looked around while they jogged down the street.

Taking a left turn, Maria found that there were people gathering at City Hall. Or at least on the front lawn of it. Everyone seemed to be trying to get inside City Hall for shelter but the doors had been locked. It was one of the sturdiest buildings in the city. Guards were keeping people back.

“Why won’t they let anybody inside?” asked Terios.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it either,” Maria answered. They had to keep moving.

They turned down a street that was in front of City Hall but to the right, leaving the crowd behind. It was good timing. Just after the family had walked a block, a barrage of Eggman robots had descended the City Hall area and began attacking the people there. GUN soldiers arrived to battle the robots but it was utter chaos back there. Maria glanced over her shoulder when the gunfire and screams were heard, as did Terios. She was sure at least a couple of people were killed. But there was nothing she could do about it. It was best to leave it in GUN’s hands. Her first priority was her two children. To ensure none of them got caught up in the battle, Maria broke into a run to quickly get some distance.

The ground rumbled once more, forcing the family to stop. Maria wrapped her arms around the kids and hunched over them. A street light pole wobbled then toppled over, landing a few feet away from the three. It wasn’t bad enough to make any of the buildings fall this time. When the tremor stopped, Maria looked around at their surroundings and felt relief when she found nothing too crazy had happened. She looked back down the road where they came. The battle between GUN and the robots was still raging.

“There’s more people,” Terios noted as he pointed down the street.

In the intersection, there were, indeed, a crowd of people. Drawing close to the area, Maria found that there were also a couple of armed GUN soldiers present. That was good news. If any robots came down this way, the soldiers could leap into action right away.

Just as a nasty smell hit her nose, Maria heard her son complain. “Ewwwwww! Mom!! Umbra pooped her diaper!” Terios was pinching his nose shut in attempt to spare himself from the smell.

It didn’t matter what was going on, nature was going to do what it was going to do.

Maria looked around for a more private area to sort out her daughter, who was starting to squirm. A garage door to one of the nearby buildings was open. That would be secluded enough to give her baby some privacy. She selected a corner for the best cover and set down the baby bag. There was a small blanket inside the bag so Maria pulled that out and laid it on the floor. Then she pulled Umbra from the sling, laying her on the blanket.

Terios had no interest in watching his mother change his sister’s soiled diaper, so he turned around and set his gaze on the people outside on the street. The only person out there that had any familiarity with him were the soldiers. But that was only because of them sporting the same logo patch on their uniforms as his father. Maybe they knew how to find his dad?

“Stay here, Terios,” Maria instructed, as if to be reading her son’s mind.

The boy frowned. How did she know what he was thinking?

Outfitted with a fresh diaper, Umbra waved her arms around and babbled with a smile. Maria returned the smile, “That feels better, doesn’t it?”

She packed away the supplies back into the baby bag and lifted Umbra, setting her back in the baby sling. The blanket was folded and stuffed inside the bag.

“Can we go now?” Terios was getting impatient.

Looking around, it didn’t seem like this garage had anything she could use for assistance to stand. Maybe this only housed vehicles? It wasn’t clear what the purpose of the garage was. It was possible it was even an empty one that was awaiting a new renter. Standing on her own wasn’t possible so Maria reached her hand out to her son, “I need your help, Terios.”

The boy was getting accustomed to his mother’s health and knew she needed help sometimes, more than others. Usually it was his father that would aid her but he was absent. Terios jogged to his mother and held out his hands. Maria took hold of his hands and began to try to stand. The boy’s body tensed as he used what strength he had to help her up.

“You have supplies?!” a man entered the garage. He had witnessed Maria use the baby bag to manage her baby and assumed she had other items in there. Stores had been picked clean so he hadn’t been able to find anything on his own. “I need food and water!”

Maria settled back down to a seated position on the floor. It was difficult for Terios to get her on her feet and this man was interrupting them. Terios turned his head up to the man. As much as Maria wanted to help people whenever she could, she needed to keep what she had for the sake of her children. What she packed was only for the afternoon so there wasn’t much available. No telling how long it would be before she could get back home or reconnect with Shadow. She shook her head, “I don’t have much. What I do have, I need for my kids.”

That wasn’t an answer the man was willing to accept, “I need it more than you! I got kids of my own! More kids than you! Hand it over!”

She was starting to get scared. If he took the bag, then she would have nothing she could feed Umbra and Terios. Maria wrapped an arm around Umbra for protection, just in case. She also reached down and grabbed the carry handle of the bag for extra grip. “No! I need it for my children!”

“I said hand it over!”

The man reached down and grabbed the bag and tried to pull it from Maria. She held as firm as she could, “Stop!”

Umbra started to vocalize. She wasn’t at a point of crying yet but she was feeling alarmed. She grabbed Maria’s top with both hands.

Terios’ mouth fell open. He couldn’t believe someone would try to steal from them. If only his father were here… He could stop this. But he wasn’t. His mother was at a serious disadvantage. Between her health condition and the fact she was still on the floor, she had no chance against this man. The boy was intelligent enough to understand that bag was important, especially for his baby sister.

Having enough of the struggle and feeling desperate, the man swung a fist at Maria and it connected with the side of her head. This got her to let go of the bag and she fell back against the wall of the garage with a cry.

Both of Terios’ hands balled into fists. Something had to be done or else this guy was going to take off with their supplies and probably hit his mom again. What would his father do?

Terios charged forward and tried his best to swing his fists against the man. He was much smaller so all he could reach was the man’s stomach and lower chest. Being only five years old, he didn’t have much strength to his little body yet. Didn’t stop him from trying, however. He focused on releasing as many hits as he could. “Leave us alone!”

The man just grabbed Terios by his arm and threw him aside. The child fell on the floor with a yelp.

Maria was able to sit back up but she still couldn’t stand up on her own. “He’s just a child!” she began to plea. But then the man grabbed her by her quills and pulled, “And what are you going to do about it?”

He was about to say more but a strong arm suddenly wrapped around his throat from behind and flexed, closing the limb tight on the throat and putting pressure on his airways. Out of instinct, the man let go of Maria and the bag and grabbed the arm, trying to pull it from his throat. He was dragged away from Maria and the kids then tossed down on the floor. Landing on his back and gasping for air, the man looked up and found Shadow standing over him. He realized his grave mistake too late.

The black hedgehog was none too pleased. No one messed with his family. Rage filled him, thinking about how this guy threw his son and struck his mate while stealing from them. If he hadn’t arrived to interrupt things, who knew how much further this would have escalated.

With the man pinned down, Shadow unleashed a fury of fists. He would not go unpunished for harming Shadow’s family. Perhaps this would teach the man to think twice before preying upon someone else again.

The black hedgehog wanted to kill. It was his instinct. But after being with Maria so long, he developed the ability to pull back before that happened on his own, especially if she were present. She never supported death as a consequence for poor decisions. Just as sudden as it started, Shadow pulled back a fist and ceased his assault. “I better not catch you near my family again,” he growled in warning.

Shadow got up and allowed for the bloodied man to scramble away. Looking to his right, he located the stolen baby bag and picked it up by the shoulder strap. He started for the three, who were huddled together in an embrace. Terios was crying into Maria’s shoulder and Umbra retained her grip on her mother’s top, whimpering. Maria didn’t seem too upset, just shaken and more worried about Terios’ well-being.

He dropped the bag on the ground beside Maria and knelt down on one knee. Wrapping his arms around them, Shadow nuzzled his forehead against Maria, relieved that all three were all right. Maria leaned into Shadow. A shaky exhale signaled her releasing some bottled up feelings she had been hiding for the sake of the kids. What a relief to finally be back with him. Already she felt a lot safer. “(I’m so glad you’re here,)” she whispered as she rubbed her eye against his shoulder to conceal a tear. She didn’t want the kids to see, feeling that if they saw their mother crying that it might scare them more than what they already were.

Umbra turned in her baby strap as best as she could and grabbed the fabric of her father’s uniform jacket, “Dada!”

But Terios was a little reluctant. He had wanted to find his father but once they reunited with him, Terios felt scared. Tears streamed down his face as he continued to cry. He tried so hard to be like his father but failed miserably. That man completely overpowered him and just threw him aside like he was nothing. Terios wanted to be strong like his father. Today, he learned he wasn’t anything like his idol. “I’m sorry, dad!”

“Sorry? For what?” Shadow asked the boy.

Terios wiped his eyes with the back of his hands and avoided eye contact, “I tried! I really did! I tried really hard!”

The child expected a scolding for his poor performance. Instead, what he got was a pat on the head. “I know you did. I saw you protecting your mother and sister,” then Shadow smiled, “I’m proud of you.”

Finally, Terios looked up at his father and saw that smile. It was rare to see him express like that. When it did happen, it meant a lot. With a wail, Terios threw himself into Shadow and sobbed into his jacket as relief washed over him. His father wasn’t disappointed in him.

Keeping his arms around his family, Shadow asked Maria, “What are you three doing here?”

Maria pulled back after recomposing herself so she could look her husband in the face, “We were making a surprise visit to spend lunch with you. I brought bento boxes.”

“It’s actually a blessing in disguise that you’re here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Eggman’s attack is broad. I just heard on the radio just a couple of minutes ago that home is under siege, as well. I was about to head there to collect you but then I saw you’re all here. I tried to call.”

Maria frowned, “My phone was broken back at the train station.”

“That explains it,” Shadow sighed. He would have to buy her a new phone. Leaving her without one wouldn’t do.

As disastrous as it was here, the family had actually placed themselves in a better situation by accident. Shadow stood then helped Maria up to her feet, “Now that you’re here… I’m taking you to headquarters. They have an underground bunker I want you to remain in until this clears.”

Shadow grabbed the baby bag and put his other arm around Maria’s back. She took Terios’ hand then she and the children were escorted out of the garage and onto the street. They weren’t far from GUN’s Station Square headquarters so it didn’t take long for them to reach it. The four hedgehogs entered the building and Shadow guided them to the lower level.

Several people were already here. The hedgehogs weaved around them as they navigated the route. One bunker room was assigned to Shadow. He never used it himself and found it pointless. But today, he was glad to have it. His mate and offspring could remain here and be protected against anyone who may try to rob them or harm them. Disasters didn’t stop people with bad intentions from harming others.

Opening the door to the bunker room, Shadow ushered Maria and the kids inside, “Keep the door locked so no one will bother you. I’ll return when it’s safe.”

Terios started to pout, “You’re not staying with us?”

Shadow shook his head, “I need to take part in battling Eggman. He’ll be dealt with much faster if I’m involved.”

“Please be careful,” Maria said with a frown then she hugged the black hedgehog, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time she would see him. Not that she doubted his abilities or strength. A war was still a war, though. And Eggman was dangerous. There was always that chance.

Shadow returned the hug, “Don’t worry. It won’t take long.”

As they kissed, Terios’ face twisted with disgust, “Ew! Gross!”

The kiss ended and they put their foreheads together for a brief moment. Maria stepped back and Shadow closed the door. Maria activated the lock then sighed. Please come back…

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