Chapter 11: Family Feud

Location: Soleanna

That night...

Both robotic hedgehogs rocketed towards one another, but Shard attacked first, firing a shot from his plasma cannon. The shot seared beneath Metal Sonic as he got within striking range, slashing his rebellious counterpart across the face with his talons. Shard retaliated by morphing his arm into a sledgehammer, striking him in the torso. Metal Sonic quickly activated his Burst Shield, deflecting a series of laser blasts from Shard's torso.

"Not bad! But I've still got the superior armaments, buddy," Shard said, firing a blast from his plasma cannon.

Metal Sonic rocket forward and snatched up a piece of debris, hurling it in the direction of the renegade robot. Shard let out a howl when the object lodged itself into his arm cannon, preventing him from firing.

"Fine!" he snarled, "We'll do this old school style!"

He curled into a ball and shot off like a deadly saw blade, aiming himself in the direction of his foe. Metal Sonic waited until the last second before activating his Black Shield, causing the robot hedgehog to ricochet off it.

"Terminate target. Then Sonic," Metal Sonic stated, rocketing towards him.

In an act of desperation, Shard fired his still jammed arm cannon, eliciting a scream as the metal parted like a flower. Firing a laser from his torso, Metal Sonic hit the airborne object dead on and disintegrated it to nothing more then sand.

"You are good. I am better...superior," declared Metal Sonic, approaching his downed opponent.

He seized Shard by the neck and hoisted him off the ground, his taloned fingers poised for a lethal strike.

"It doesn't have to be like this!" Shard said, "Look - take it from me. There can be more to life then 'Priority One Hedgehog'. You've got the same inner spark, right? You can grow too. You can be more then just a weapon or a tool."

"No. Target acquired. Eliminate target."

"There really is no potential for good in you, is there?"

"Correct."

"Well, then...good thing my cannon's fixed."

Without warning, Shard fired a blast, striking Metal Sonic in the torso and throwing him backwards. Morphing his arm into a drill, Shard rocketed forwards, intent on finishing off Metal Sonic before some bystander was killed as a result of their fight.

"Sorry, 'brother', but I've got to put you down," he declared, "And I blame Eggman for making me do this!"

Lying sprawled on the rooftop of an adjacent building

, Metal Sonic barely had a chance to sit up before Shard pinned him to the ground. He attempt to drive the drill through the robotic hedgehog's torso, but Metal Sonic wasn't prepared to go down so easily.

"Adaptive arm-problematic," Metal Sonic stated, "Burst Shield activated."

Stumbling backwards in surprise, Shard let out a cry of pain as he clutched what remained of his left arm. The limb had been severed at the elbow, with Metal Sonic clutching the appendage within his talons.

"Advantage removed," hedeclared, tossing the severed limb over his shoulder.

Shard's eyes glowed brighter in anger as he rocketed towards Metal Sonic, tackling him and dragging the robot along the ground.

"If I gotta go...we go together," Shard snarled.

"Warning - self-termination imminent," Metal Sonic stated.

"It's not about me! It never was! And I've got to end you since you'll never understand that!"

The two collided into the cobblestones, Shard straining to get to his feet before Metal Sonic could do the same.

"All of target data stored in Power Gem core...weakness detected. Eliminating."

The force of the explosion lifted Shard into the air and hurled his several meters, coming to a rest near a bench. In conjunction to having lost his left arm, Shard's right leg had been blow nearly completely off, while his visor had been smashed and his right ear had barely managed to remain attached. He gazed into the night sky with his green eyes, watching the Daedalus exchange fire with the Egg Carrier. Scores of DF/A-19 Wraiths swarming out from the Battlecruiser, peppering the hull of Eggman's flagship with missile fire. He continued to stare into the sky, the robotic hedgehog watched as darkness enveloped the Egg Carrier.

"Of course, why wouldn't he have installed a cloaking device," he said with a shake of his head.

He heard footsteps, and was unsurprised when Sonic popped into his field of vision, staring down at him.

"It's you," the hedgehog said in disbelief, "NICOLE said it was you, but I had my suspicions."

"Nice to see you too, Sonic," Shard said weakly.

With his remaining arm, the robotic hedgehog grabbed hold of the bench and pulled himself into seated position. His self-repair systems were taking longer then usual, likely due to the extensive damage he had sustained.

"You're Power Gem, it's cracked," Sonic stated.

Shard glanced down at the green gem embedded in his torso, finding a spider web running through it.

"Shoulda took his word when he said it would be a target," Shard said.

"Who!? Who are you working for?"

"You'll...meet him...soon...enough."

Sonic watched as Shard's eyes dimmed considerable before going out completely, leaving the hedgehog stunned. The rebellious Metal Sonic toppled sideways, hitting the cobblestones with the metallic clank, dislodging the Power Gem from his torso and shattering. Sonic picked up the largest intact piece and studied it for a moment,

"HEY! This is glass!"

Shard's green eyes flickered back on and the robotic doppelganger pulled himself back into a seated position, looking directly at the hedgehog.

"Too dramatic?" he asked.

"I'd have fallen for it if you hadn't toppled over," Sonic stated.

"Yeah. I think I went a little overboard."

Shard placed his hand near his torso, causing the gold metal to open, allowing him to insert his intact limb inside. Several seconds passed before he removed it again, this time clutching a glass cylinder that contained his Power Gem core.

"Housing it inside of my body definitely protected it when Metal Sonic decided on the explosive exit strategy."

"Wait. Metal Sonic was here?"

"Oh yeah, he's over there, and there, and there," Shard said waving his arm around.

"Hilarious."

"I thought so."

Shard looked down to find that his leg had been fully repaired, allowing the robotic hedgehog to climb to his feet. His left arm had not yet been repaired, a likely a result of his Power Gem beginning to run low on energy. It would prove fatal to him if he pushed it any further, so he just had to allow it to recharge before he could complete his repairs.

"I have to go find Tails and Chris," Sonic stated.

"I saw him heading towards the coastline, he and many others," Shard said, "I'll give you a hand if you want."

"That's fine. By the way; what exactly am I suppose to call you anyways? You're not exactly a Metal Sonic anymore."

"You're right; I'm not a Metal Sonic anymore," he said turning around, "You can call me Shard."