ARK

***ARK*** is a *Sonic the Hedgehog* fanfiction currently being written by Ryan Nurse. A new project conceived for Project 20:15, *ARK* is set aboard Space Colony ARK and charts the history of Project Shadow, from its inception through to the death of Maria Robotnik and the downfall of her grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik. As well as the viewpoints of Gerald, Maria and Shadow, the story follows the lives of several of the researchers and civilians that lived aboard the station.

Nurse conceived the project in November 2014 and began writing it in February 2015; the first chapters are to be published on Fanfiction.net later in the year. It is his first Sonic fanfiction that will not feature the character of Mystery the Hedgehog in any way.

## Synopsis

The story starts shortly before the start of Project Shadow, with the arrival of Professor James McCarthy to Space Colony ARK. Greeted by Professor Alexander Gibson, he is introduced to several of the ARK's inhabitants, most notably its designer, Professor Gerald Robotnik, and his granddaughter, Maria. Maria suffers from an incurable degenerative disease called Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome, and Gerald is determined to find a cure for the disease and save her.

As he settles into life aboard the orbital space station, Prof. McCarthy slowly learns that some of its inhabitants are harbouring dark secrets. And when the military come to Professor Gerald with a sinister new project, life aboard the ARK - and Gerald's quest to cure his daughter - could soon turn far darker than he could ever have imagined...

## Characters

*[note: This series is a work-in-progress and more characters will be created and introduced as time goes on.]*

* Prof. James McCarthy: An American biophysicist and one of the ARK's newest recruits.
* Prof. Alexander Gibson: A British neuroscientist and one of the world's leading spinal trauma experts. He is a veteran aboard the ARK having been one of the first to be launched up to it.
* Prof. Gerald Robotnik: One of the world's greatest scientific minds, and the ARK's designer. He is devoted to his granddaughter Maria and hopes to one day cure her of NIDS.
* Maria Robotnik: Professor Gerald's granddaughter. Though she is usually able to roam the ARK freely, on days when her condition worsens she is confined to a sterilized, isolated room to be treated.
* Gabryjela Lubiński: The daughter of a prominent scientist who died aboard the ARK. She has suffered severe injuries to her left arm and is missing her left eye; the cause of these injuries is unknown.
* Dr. Julia Hendry: The ARK's resident optician and optometrist.
* Shadow the Hedgehog: The Ultimate Life Form, created by Prof. Gerald using Black Doom's blood. He quickly develops a bond with Maria.
* Black Doom: The leader of the Black Arms race of aliens, who live aboard the Black Comet. He makes a deal with Professor Gerald to assist in Shadow's creation in exchange for the Chaos Emeralds.

## Development

Nurse conceived *ARK* solely as a way of compiling the events aboard Space Colony ARK - which are pivotal to several Sonic games - into a single comprehensive, mostly chronological story. Within the Sonic canon, the events aboard the space station are revealed over the course of three games - Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Battle, and Shadow the Hedgehog - in a mostly disjointed fashion. *ARK* aims to bring them together within a definitive timeline, as well as focusing on characters beyond simply Gerald, Maria and Shadow, in order to provide a more complete, compelling narrative. Nurse does not intend for the series to be a "fix fic", and events will stay as close to canon as possible.

Prof. Alexander Gibson is one of two characters (along with *CC BattleGrid*'s Dr. Gibson) created by Nurse as a tribute to a spinal surgeon of the same name, who oversaw the two operations at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital that corrected Nurse's scoliosis back in July 2012.