Aya

Art by AylaPhantom

**Aya** is an original character created for *What If E-102 Gamma Survived?*, filling the role of the person who took the photo inside Birdie's locket in the original *Sonic Adventure* story. Since the identity of the Flickies' owner and the one who took the picture were never addressed, Aya was created by The Sega Scourge and is an important part of Gamma's mission to 'return home'.

## Personality

Aya is an excitable girl who loves nature, animals and exploring. She loves birds in particular, wearing feathers in her hat matching the colours of her three beloved pet Flickies: Ko, Mi and Fu. In times both good and bad, she is shown to wear her heart on her sleeve, expressing all of her emotions readily and with no filter - such as when she openly wept upon learning of Gamma's arduous journey and suddenly hugged him for his part in keeping her Flicky companions safe.

Though she bravely chased her birds into the storm in Part 2, she is afraid of Eggman's robots (with the exception of Gamma), this is implied to be due to their attack on Flicky Island sometime prior to the events of *Sonic Adventure*, where they kidnapped Ko, Mi and Fu. She froze in terror when faced with E-123 Omega, but was able to pull herself together long enough to run away.

## History

### Past

Some time prior to the events of *Sonic Adventure*, Aya travelled to Flicky Island with her grandfather and his Research Team, living on their camp away from home. During this time, she met and befriended her three Flicky companions, at one point taking their photo and inserting it into a locket she gave to Mi. Also in this locket, Aya stowed a Chaos Emerald - the cyan one - after having found it while exploring. She believed the stone would act as a good luck charm to Mi if worn due to it's matching colour with his feathers.

Eggman's forces attacked the island at some point after the photo was taken, raiding it for animals to use as batteries for Badniks that would be dispatched during the upcoming takeover of Station Square. Aya was traumatized by this event, developing a fear of Eggman's robots and losing her beloved birds - two of which went on to be the power sources for E-101 Beta and E-102 Gamma.

### Prologue: Sonic Adventure

Aya did not appear in the events of *Sonic Adventure*, but the locket she gave to Mi that contained both a Chaos Emerald and the photo of their family proved to be an important piece of the overall conflict. The Chaos Emerald was eventually joined with the others to bring about Perfect Chaos and Super Sonic, while the photo triggered some of Ko's memories to surface within Gamma's mind, leading him to set off towards Flicky Island so that he, Ko, Mi and Fu could 'return home' to Aya, who he'd seen unclear glimpses of in a vision.

### Gamma 3D Arc

Aya was first seen in Part 2, shortly after Gamma touched down on Flicky Island. Gamma discovered her in the middle of taking photos of the wildlife around the island, bringing her back into contact with two of her lost Flickies: Mi and Fu. Though she was initially delighted to be reuinted with them, she was terrified by the appearance of Gamma, running back to her grandfather at the nearby campsite to warn him of the appearance of an Eggman robot. She watched as the Flicky Island Research Team assailed Gamma, and was later provided with a television and campfire setup to comfort her after the ordeal she'd suffered.

Eggman's global announcement and the subsequent partial-destruction of the moon was broadcast through the television Aya had been sat in front of, terrifying her even further as the Research Team panicked.

### The Storm

The following morning, Aya attempted to join her grandfather as part of the away team going to rescue Flickies caught by the tidal storm ravaging Flicky Island. She was denied, being sent back to shelter in her tent. When E-102 Gamma suddenly broke down in the midst of assisting the Rescue Team due to rainwater damage, Fu and Mi began to frantically seek him out, urging Aya to follow them into the forest. She discovered Gamma in his damaged state and attempted to move him despite her prior fear, but wasn't strong enough to do so. When a nearby tree was uprooted by the wind, Gamma suddenly moved to defend her with his shield emitter, shocking Aya after having thought of him as being an evil robot. Eventually, the Rescue Team, led by Professor Tomo, arrived and escorted Aya back to camp while carrying Gamma, saving them both.

Over 24 hours after the storm, Gamma rebooted thanks to his Auto-Recovery Mode. Aya approached Gamma during his questioning by her grandfather despite his urges for her to show caution, asking him about himself and the status of her third missing bird - Ko. Gamma explained to Aya the current situation regarding he and Ko's symbiotic relationship, which she came to understand and fell to tears. Though Gamma mistook her for being upset with him, she instead came to the conclusion that Gamma was a hero, a 'knight in shining armor'. She embraced Gamma, welcoming him and Ko home.

### August 2023 Artwork

In an art piece depicting a story set between Parts 2 and 3, Aya was sent to gather a rare flower called a Saturn Saucer, accompanied by Gamma. It was explained that she had inadvertently captured the plant on film, and was asked by Professor Tomo to return to where the image had been taken to bring it back for study. They travelled through Green Grove Zone via Gamma's Drive Mode, then proceeded on-foot into the forest to follow Aya's directions towards the target. Aya was excited to be trusted with a 'mission' from her grandfather, and to be going on adventures with Gamma.

## Powers and abilities

Aya is a normal human child with slightly above-average athletic ability. Being that she has lived for some time on Flicky Island and loves the outdoors, she is a fairly fast runner and can navigate the island with some skill. Most notably, her athletics were shown in her chase with E-123 Omega, where she was able to briefly outrun him.

### Equipment

Aya has an old-fashioned Polaroid camera with a flash. She uses this camera to take photos of the natural beauty of Flicky Island and has a particular fondness for using her beloved birds as subjects. The flash was capable of briefly stunning E-123 Omega by suddenly overloading his optics in the dark of evening.

## Gallery

> *Main article: Gallery*
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## Trivia

* Aya is the first completely original character to appear in *Sonic: What If?*.
	+ She is also the first female original character, with the first male being her grandfather Professor Tomo.
* It is unknown where Aya lived before moving to Flicky Island, or what the status of her direct parents are.
	+ Also unknown is her surname.
* Aya was the first character to be voice acted by someone other than The Sega Scourge, being voiced by Hydro-City-Zone.
	+ A real life version of Aya's hat was handmade by The Sega Scourge and gifted to her voice actor for their birthday.
* Aya is 10, almost 11 years old.

## References

1. ↑ Discord
2. ↑ The Sega Scourge Studio