Maria Robotnik

**Maria Valdez** (neé **Robotnik**), formerly under the alias **Margaret**,is a character created by SEGA. She is a middle-aged woman who is the first known survivor of Neuro-Immune-Deficiency-Syndrome (NIDS).

## History

Born to Seneca Robotnik, Maria lived on the Space Colony ARK for her childhood. She lived with her parents, her grandfather, and a young boy named Roger. She had a rough childhood, since Seneca's wife jumped out of the area and died in space and Seneca tried and failed to save her. For these few years she lived with her grandfather on the ARK.

She was only three when she was diagnosed with Neuro-Immune-Deficiency-Syndrome, a life-threatening disease that puts her at risk of dying. Her father was very worried about her state of health. Gerald said that she is going to have very few years to live. Gerald said that he couldn't find a cure, so he had to make these next few years count. Thus starting his greatest project;Project Shadow.

She witnessed him create an escape pod for her last few moments to see Earth. She also witnessed the Ultimate Lifeform, an immortal hedgehog that will walk the earth when everyone is gone. His name was Shadow, and Maria was his first friend. They always played around the ARK having fun and growing a very close sibling-like bond.They gazed on the earth wondering what it's like there and wishing they can go.

When Maria was ten, their peaceful existence was shattered when G.U.N was assigned to kill everything and everyone on the ARK, since Shadow was apparently too dangerous. Gerald entrusted Shadow to help Maria escape the soldiers. She didn't want the other researchers to die at the hands of GUN, so she pleaded for Shadow to help her.

When the two reached the escape pod, she insisted that Shadow took it instead. She was seemingly shot down by a GUN Soldier. With all her strength, she told him to bring hope to humanity and to give them a chance to be happy. Shadow went down and a gunshot was heard. While Shadow thought that it was Maria being killed, it was actually just a light in the ceiling;a warning shot for Maria to evacuate.

Seneca came rushing in with Roger, telling to two kids to get into the escape pods and evacuate. While they were in the tube, they witnessed Seneca die from the hands of the chief soldier. The pod landed on earth, not far from where Shadow's landed. He was put to sleep in the capsule, but Maria and Roger remained alive and well, the only difference was, Roger's capsule went very far from Maria's, a totally different corner of the country actually. Maria saw Shadow's eyes closed. She crawled to him, very weakly and cried on him. She told him to rest in peace and that she will never forget him.

Not much later, Gerald came down in a pod, Maria in his arms and starts running towards the nearest city. He's rushing to find a hospital. After asking numerous people, he finally found a hospital, one of the best in the country and asked if there was a cure for Maria's NIDS. After weeks of research and Maria growing even weaker, they got back to Gerald, saying that there is in fact a cure for her disease. However, the procedure will take days, and the recovery will take years In order to be fully restored, she has to be "put to sleep" for a very long time.Gerald says that he will do whatever it takes in order for his granddaughter to be cured.

Two years later, after the long operation, everyone was very curious on how the operation was going. Maria was doing great, they had to drain a lot of her blood and replace it with fresh blood to fight off the bacteria and viruses. When opened her eyes, very confused on what happened. It felt like no time passed at all for her. But she felt a lot stronger.

### During the Fifty-Year Time Gap

During the time gap, Maria had several ups and downs with her life.

She wanted to major in history, to teach World History in Station Square High School. She got a master's degree and went on to teach the subject. She felt a connection with her students, as most of them were very inclined by the lessons. She taught at the school until she turned fifty-six.

When she was twenty-eight, she got married to Ernest Valdez. Living a happy five years together before having their first child, Serena, and then four years later, Timmy. The family was very happy together. Maria felt very close to her daughter, Serena because Timmy was always hogged by his father. As a family, they were close-knit until Ernest started to smoke marijuana. She tried keeping the kids away from him. He stopped seven years later.

Maria's cousin, Curtis, now going by Ivo, came into town when she turned thirty-nine. Not wanting him to find out their relationship, she went under the alias of Margaret. Ivo grew very close with her at the time.

When she was forty-six, she was walking home from the school she taught at when she was sleeping. Ernest was working late, and someone came through the door. Thinking it was her husband, she asked him to climb into bed. However, they turned on the lights and it was a dirty stranger. She screamed as he started to have sex with her.

She woke up the next morning pregnant, which really confused Ernest. At first he thought that she had an affair, but she later explained that it was against her own will. However, being pro-life, especially after the GUN incident in her childhood, she had the baby. At the time, her cousin, Ivo, came along, and he asked her for the baby, since she didn't want it, so she gave it to him to keep as his servant.

Around the same time, Serena got married to a man named Cornelis, and had one child. Her name was Helen, and the two cherished her presence. Being a grandmother was very hard for Maria because it made her feel old and she felt strange having a child with a child. However, Helen really liked Maria as the two grew a very close bond together.

### Fifty Years Later

Sonic and his friends came to Station Square, where Maria lived and worked at the school. Due to this, she had to retire so that his friends wouldn't know that she existed. She still went under the alias of Margaret, so that Shadow wouldn't know she existed. Louis was the first one she revealed her idenity to.

One day, she finally met Shadow after fifty years. Not knowing it was her, Shadow wasn't very caring about it, but Maria tried to hold back so much emotion, it was amazing how she acted like she didn't remember her. However, the charade didn't last long when Helen invited Sonic and his friends over her house. Ernest accidentally came in the room addressing her by her real name. Maria blushed as Shadow looked very curious. Maria said that she had to go somewhere, running away.

Shadow followed and stopped her in the middle of a grassland. He asked if that was really her. Tears filled both their eyes as she replied yes. The two hugged for a long time confessing on how much they missed each other.

## Family Tree

* **Ernest** and Maria Valdez bore three children:
	+ **Serena**, now 38 years old, married a man named **Cornellius Cartwright**, and had a child named **Helen**
	+ **Timothy**, now 32, married **Samus Aran**, and had a baby named **Lucas**
	+ **Snively** is the youngest-born son, now 24 years old.

## Relationships

### Helen

Her granddaughter, Maria loves Helen with all of her heart. She is the one who paid for her legs to be amputated after she broke them.

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