"So where we researching today, Professor Charles?"
The elderly hedgehog grumbled as Ben Muttski happily leapt in front of him. The two walked along the streets of Mobotropolis. The city was brimming with life, Mobians coming and going, all busy with their own lives.
"Wait, no - let me guess!" The dog said. He shut his eyes tight, muzzle scrunching up as well. "Desert Dazzle Zone? Are we gonna search Spring Yard for Power Rings? Ooh, are we going to Never Lake? I've never been there but Amy Rose said that it's real pretty!"
Chuck rolled his eyes. This was one of the many times he had questioned why he had taken on Ben Muttski as his apprentice. He had gone through this song and dance before, and knowing that the only way Muttski would stop would be if he drained himself of topics.
"Don't tell me... We're going to Tropical Jungle to get water samples! No, no, can't be that... We just took some from Aquatic Ruin and haven't studied those yet..." The dog went on before snapping his fingers and pointing to Chuck. "I know! We're going to Mystic Mansion to check out the ghost situation there! Man, I hope ectoplasm isn't sticky, I just washed my bandanna..."
The dog looked hopefully at Chuck, his tail wagging happily. Chuck sighed as he crossed his arms. "Are you done, son?"
Muttski's tail ceased wagging. "His highness King Acorn asked that we search the edge of Mobotropolis. Apparently Missus D'Coolette picked up an odd reading on her sensors when she was out the other day."
"Oh." The dog's face fell as Chuck readjusted the toolbelt on his waist. "C'mon Ben," He called as he dog hung back behind him.
Muttski quickly caught up to the professor, although he struggled to keep Chuck's brisk pace. "Professor, why did King Acorn send us?" He asked. "Why not the Sonic or any of the Freedom Fighters?"
Chuck's brow hardened at the mention of his nephew. "Missus D'Coolette mentioned that her cybernetics began to react with something as she flew past. The King believed it was something mechanical that was interfering." He muttered. "Besides, the Freedom Fighters are all busy fighting against the Egg Bosses across Mobius."
"I suppose." Muttski mumbled. He let out a sigh. "I just thought that we'd be searching a zone for some data or something... I was in the mood for exploring somewhere important."
The professor glanced at the dog, his blue eyes downcast, ears flat against his head. "Buck up kiddo," Chuck said. "It is orders from King Nigel himself. It has to be important if he wants you and I to search it."
A smile crept across Muttski's face as he stood a little taller. "You're right, Professor!" He chimed, his stride catching up to the old man's.
"Don't get too cocky," Chuck said as he glanced ahead. "We don't know what we're walking into."
"Okay Professor!" The dog chimed as they approached the edge of the city. Homes had become more and more spread out and green fields trailed on. Trees began to grow, providing a field of cover should Eggman attack.
"Well I don't see anything," Muttski muttered.
"Hold your horses, Mutt." Chuck said as he retrieved a gadget from his belt. "I was told that Bunnie's cybernetics began to react, so let's hope I can find something with this detector."
"Okay!" Muttski chimed. "I'll start searching. Holler if you need anything!"
"Same goes to you." Chuck said as his brow knit in frustration. His eyes fixated on the small detector screen. His steps were slow and careful, listening for the rhythmic him of the unit.
All the trees made it hard for traveling. They grew close together and weren't small in the slightest. Chuck found himself tripping over roots from time to time. He grumbled and cursed to himself as he picked himself up.
"Professor!" Chuck glanced in the direction of the call. Muttski leapt over an uprooted tree. "I found something!"
The hedgehog hurried after the dog. All those years spent being roboticized had done a number on his body... Not to mention that he wasn't the same dashing young man he was decades ago.
Muttski skidded to a stop, pointing towards a shadowed home. Ivy and plants covered the exterior. Small trees sprouted with little flowers. The hedgehog's brow furrowed. What would a house being doing on the edge of the Mobotropolis border?
"What happened?" Muttski asked.
"I don't know." Chuck said before glancing down to his detector. "But the radar's going nuts."
"I have a bad feeling about this." The dog murmured.
"Just stick with me, kid." Chuck said as the dog trailed closer to him. Their steps were slow and careful. "I wonder if anyone's inside..." Muttski said.
"I doubt it." Chuck grumbled. "This place looks like no one's lived here for at least a decade."
The two scanned the front of the house. Every window had been smashed, allowing for ivy to trail into the home. The front doors had been busted down and left hanging on the hinges.
"Let's loop around back." Chuck mumbled as the two quietly trekked around the house. The sensor began to scream at Chuck. His eyes flashed to it before Muttski gasped.
The two stood before a metal creature. It's head faced the ground, limbs slack. Ivy trailed around it's legs. It's colour had faded and it's sharp curves had become slightly crumpled.
"What is it?" Muttski asked in awe.
Chuck shut off the detector and approached the creature. His hand met the exterior of one of it's arms. "It's a robot."
"You mean a Badnik?" Muttski gasped, before his brow knit in confusion. "Wait, if it's a Badnik, then why the heck isn't it attacking?"
"It's obviously been deactivated for some time." Chuck said as he reached for a wrench. "I'll see if I can get it up and running."
The hedgehog crouched in front of the robot, quickly removing it's chest plate and setting it onto the forest ground. He glanced around inside the robot's internal circuitry, noticing aged data disks and old boards.
"This thing's old." He remarked.
"What do you mean by old?" Muttski asked as his eyes traced the ground.
"I mean this thing is old. It's at least ten years out of date. Maybe fifteen. I haven't seen some of this stuff in at least a decade." Chuck said before wiping his brow. "I might not be able to get it working."
Muttski's eyes brightened as he noticed a yellow and black remote lying under the over hang of the back patio. "Hey! I found something!" He said. "I wonder what it does..."
The hedgehog noticed Muttski pick up a remote that was identical to the colour scheme of the robot, albeit brighter. His eyes widened as he shook his head. "Ben, don't!" He cried out.
The apprentice's eyes widened, his grasp grew tight on the remote. He flinched as Chuck hollered at him, his thumb clicking the button down.
The whirr of an engine piped up following the hum of machine. Chuck leapt out of the way, rolling on the ground to steer clear. The robot armed itself, both of its arms turning into cannons. It's optics were a long slit of burning red; the cannons hummed, energy brewing from the inside.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" It screamed in a metallic voice before firing a large blast of plasma. It hit a tree, singing it so badly that the bark had turned black and fell off the tree, almost hitting the professor in the head.
"Oh my god!" Muttski cried as he dropped the remote. The dog kicked it away from himself.
From underneath the visor, the robot's optics darted to the remote that laid on the ground. It's metallic lips curved in confusion. "Poppy?" It called out.
Chuck carefully got to his feet, the bot taking notice. "Why's it daytime? Where's the Badniks?" It asked before glancing to it's chest, noticing that it's chest plate was missing. "Why's my chest apart?"
"Badniks...?" Chuck murmured, before shaking his head. He held his hands out before him. The bot's optics fell upon the old man.
"Where's everyone else? Where's the professor? What's going on?" It asked. Chuck gingerly stepped towards the robot. The bot raised it's cannons, the energy reserves inside ready to fire.
"I don't know what you're rememberin', kid." Chuck stated, his gaze firm upon the bot. "But we we're not here to hurt you, I promise. All I'm asking is for you to take a step back and calm down."
The robot looked suspiciously at the hedgehog before lowering it's cannons. It glanced to remote on the ground. "Press that button again." It said.
Muttski's eyes widened. He looked to Chuck for confirmation; the professor nodded solemnly. The dog picked up the remote an nervously tapped the button.
The robot's cannons and infrared visor disappeared; moulding back into pudgy arms and fingers and cracked optics. It nodded in thanks at Muttski.
"Those were some weapons you got there kid." Chuck said as he crossed his arms. "Mind telling me where you got them?"
The robot's optics narrowed. "Only if you tell me who you are and why you're in the Great Forest, Gramps." It said.
Chuck grumbled from underneath his breath. He stood up straight. "Professor Charles of Mobotropolis." He greeted. "And that's my apprentice, Ben Muttski. We we sent by his highness King Acorn to investigate."
The dog hurried to Chuck's side. He whimpered in fear a little as the robot clenched its hand into a fist, the metal creaking loudly. It rubbed it's chin thoughtfully. "King Acorn... Does that mean Eggman's gone?"
"No, son. He's got an army of his own and multiple subbosses across Mobius." Chuck said. "Now I've kept my part of the bargain. Your turn."
The robot's optics narrowed into slits. It ignored the hedgehog's remark. "Something happened..." He muttered. "I don't know what, but all I can remember is being forced into hibernation."
"Forced?" Muttski piped up from behind Chuck. "You mean you were forced to go to sleep?"
The bot nodded. "That remote you had before arms and disarms me... And it was in the possession of my... Creator."
"And you have no idea where he's run off to." Chuck supplied.
"Exactly."
Chuck crossed his arms, circling the robot. "Listen here son, you're obviously in disrepair and need mechanical attention or else you will break down." He said. The professor stopped in front of the hedgehog, his gaze hardened. "I'm willing to repair you, on the condition you tell me everything you can remember."
Muttski hurried to him, tugging on his arm. "Professor! Are you sure we can trust that thing? I mean, it was gonna blast our heads off not even five minutes ago!" He hissed.
"King Acorn sent us here to investigate, Mutt. We might as well do our job."
"But he was-!"
"Just relax, kid." Chuck assured him. "If things head south, we can always book it. This thing's old and broken anyways."
The bot pouted. "I'm standing right here, guys!" It chimed.
Chuck batted his hand in the bot's direction. "Organic babble, son. Think binary or whatever." He said, before glancing to Muttski. "I promise nothing bad'll happen, Mutt."
The dog sighed before shaking his head. "I trust you, professor." He said. The two turned back to the still pouting bot. It grumbled in a low tone.
"So, do we have a deal?" Chuck asked.
The bot's optics narrowed as it nodded. "Yeah." It said.
"Excellent. Now, who, or what, exactly are you?" The professor asked as he stooped to the ground, digging into the robot's chest.
"I'm Shard the Mecha. I was the result of Project Remnant, a project to combat Dr. Eggman's Metal Sonic creation."
Chuck stopped in his tracks. "You're Project Remnant?!" He asked in confusion, scanning him. "Your creator was Professor Poppy from Windmill Isle?"
The bot nodded, smirking. "Nice to see that I've made a mark."
Chuck frowned as he tinkered inside bot's chest. "Well it's hard to forget the biggest military scandal in GUN history." He grumbled. "Especially since one of their own mechanists escaped with blueprints."
Shard's gaze narrowed at the hedgehog, his muzzle contorting into a scowl. "Uh, excuse me? What the heck are you two talking about?" Muttski interrupted.
"You must've been a pup, Mutt." Chuck said. "What happened was one of the researchers at GUN basically lost her mind and ran away from Central City with a half finished machine of destruction in tow."
"I prefer the term 'Mecha monster', thank you very much." Shard said as he shook his head. "And you've got it all wrong. She didn't go nuts!"
"Really? Then how'd it all go down, kid?"
"The professor was commissioned by GUN to create machines for them. Machines she thought were to bring peace to Mobius. She drafted blueprints, gave them to the higher-ups who heavily modified them with armour and weapons and then began constructing them." Shard explained. His voice chip faltered as Chuck hit his voice box, earning a glare from Shard. "She had finished my blueprints and sent them in for approval. I was her pride and joy. My blueprints were based off of Metal Sonic's; the strongest mechanical creation ever made. I was made to combat him, defeat him and allow for GUN to some leverage on Eggman."
"Then what happened?" Muttski asked, absorbed into Shard's tale.
"She stumbled into the lab and found what was project Remnant exactly. She didn't go into much detail and I don't remember it well. The only thing I can recall is being really, really boring." He muttered. "From what I can remember when she talked about it, the Professor was pretty peeved about her creation being used for a bot battle instead of actual peacemaking. So, she busted me out, made a beeline outta Central City, and made a place here in the Great Forest.
"She began to reconstruct me, breaking me down from a war machine into this. She couldn't remove all of my weapons, so she modified it as best as she could." He explained. "She also gave me sentience. She said she didn't want me being like Metal. It just makes things more confusing, I think."
Chuck replaced Shard's chest plate, screwing it in. "The connection to your legs has been restored." He muttered.
"Thanks Gramps. That remote switch just loves stopping me dead in my tracks. Literally." Shard said as he stretched out his legs, metal scraping loudly together. Muttski howled loudly, as he and Chuck covered their ears. The robot attempted to use his jet booster to take flight but to no avail.
"You've still got a lot of damages. From what, I don't know. But..." The professor rose to his feet. "aside from you creation, what else do you remember?" He asked.
Shard shrugged. "I remember spending a lot of time with the professor. She really cared for me, and I cared for her. We did pretty much everything together. She used me as her lab assistant sometimes." He muttered. His optics faded to a pale blue. "The last thing I can remember is her and I running through the Great Forest looking for people to help. Eggman had attacked Mobotropolis and everyone was fleeing into the Great Forest. I guess they were headed for Knothole."
"You guessed right..." Muttski mumbled as the professor nudged him, eliciting an 'ow!' from the apprentice.
Shard smirked for a moment before falling back to confusion. His optics grew into slits. "I remember running back to the lab and standing outside as she armed me. I fought against Badniks until someone from inside the lab thought that I was on Eggman's side." He said. The bot covered his left optic with his hand. "There was a fight in the house, and someone stole the remote from Poppy, disarmed me and used my emergency hibernation switch. That's all I remember."
Chuck and Muttski exchanged glances as Shard looked towards the lab. He let out a rocky sigh. "Do you guys know what happened on the night of Eggman's raid?" He asked.
Chuck inhaled, looking at Shard. "Mobotropolis was seized by Eggman. It was under his control until the Knothole Freedom Fighters formed and drove him out." Chuck explained. "Everyone who was caught that night was either roboticized or went missing."
Shard turned to Chuck. "Would you be able to tell me if Poppy was one of those Mobians?" He asked.
The professor crossed his arms. "I couldn't tell you off the top of my head, son." He said. "But, if you were to come to Mobotropolis with us, I could have Ben here look into it."
Muttski glanced at his mentor with severe confusion. His gaze narrowed as Chuck shot him a look that said 'you're doing this or else you're gonna be stuck on report duty for three weeks'.
Shard paid no attention to the scientists' glare fest, and instead began trekked farther away from the lab. As the two eventually took notice, he smirked and called back to them, razzing them to hurry up.
A/N:
Here it is! This is over six months in the making: I wrote it sometime back as apart of a three-shot story about Shard if he could return to the comics.
I loved writing for Muttski (mainly because I see a lot of myself in him...) and writing for Shard was fun as hell! Man I miss him... I wanted Shard to remain connected to Sonic, but since there is only one Metal Sonic, it pretty much was done for. This is why I added Prof Poppy and the connection to GUN; I liked the idea of a bad guy gone rogue and thought that Shard could be used for good. I mean, that was his selling point in the pre SGW, and it's only right that I pay tribute to it, right? Oh, and I'll try to upload and link some drafts of Poppy's design in the next chappie!
Final note: my update schedule is not going to be regular. I really wish I could, but it's just not possible right now. I'm currently juggling a full time job, preparing for a con, maintaining social relationships with friends, chores AND trying to write for both my OCs and for fics all at once; y'all will have to forgive me and please be patient!
Thank you so much for reading~!