-Chapter 87-

New Metal in Town


Mobotropolis

At the Meh Burger joint in Mobotropolis, Sonic had just finished a sizable pile of assorted burgers and chili dogs, rubbing his stomach in satisfaction before burping. With that done, he pulled out a credit card and went up to the cashier, handing it over.

"Thanks again, Dave," he told the cashier. "See you around."

Once he had paid and was exiting the building, he got a call on his communicator.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Sonic, it's Dr. Bennett," came the reply. "Can you and the Freedom Fighters come to Area 99?"

"Uh, sure," Sonic replied. "What's up?"

"It's done."

Sonic's expression immediately turned serious.


Great Desert

Everyone met up at Area 99, all sharing serious expressions.

"I see the doc called the rest of you already," Sonic noted.

"Yep," Knuckles confirmed.

"I still can't believe we actually agreed to go along with this," Kat remarked. "I can't be the only one who thinks this is a bad idea."

"Believe me, you're not," Sonic assured her. "We've barely been able to manage not getting maimed or killed every time we've crossed paths with Metal Sonic. And now Dr. Bennett is making another one."

"We can air our grievances later," Sally decided. "For now, let's get inside."

They entered the building, and were immediately met with Sarah.

"Thank you all for coming," she told them.

"I hope you're aware we don't exactly agree with your experiment," Sonic informed Sarah.

"You made that perfectly clear from the start, but have some faith in me." Sarah turned to Tails. "You yourself said that machines aren't capable of evil on their own, and only commit such acts because people like Robotnik make them that way. I'm nothing like that."

"Believe me, I know," Tails assured. "But even I'm wary of a new Metal Sonic."

"Can't say I wouldn't be the same if our positions were reversed," Sarah admitted. "Anyway, follow me."

She led them to the lab. By this point, the new Metal Sonic model had been completed. It had the same general model as Metal himself, the only difference being the presence of a mouth, and the colors. It was colored black where Metal Sonic was colored blue, and had black feet with a yellow stripe as opposed to Metal Sonic's red with white stripes. It also had a yellow outline around its eyes and three parallel vertical yellow stripes starting from its muzzle to the top of its spine. Interestingly, the outside of its ears were colored a silver gray, as opposed to black, and in place of its left hand was a cannon. On its gray stomach was a gem-shaped indent, clearly meant for something.

"Here he is," Sarah declared. "The GUN Needlemouse prototype. All it needs to be up and running is a Power Gem, which Topaz and Madonna recently procured for me."

She held up the gem in question, getting gasps.

"Are you nuts?" Rotor demanded. "You can't put that into the Metal!"

"The schematics were very specific," Sarah explained. "The Metal Sonic models are so advanced that nothing short of a Power Gem will suffice to fuel them. If there was any other option, I'd go for it."

"Alright…" Sonic sighed. "Just be careful."

Sarah nodded. With that, she walked over to the Metal Sonic and stuck the Power Gem into the indent in its belly, where it fit perfectly. The power flowed into it, its eyes, green like the gem, flickering on slowly. Everyone tensed, and Kat grabbed a piece of piping off the table for a makeshift weapon. The Metal Sonic slowly sat up, looking around at each of them... before giving the Freedom Fighters a casual two-finger salute.

"Yo," he greeted.

Everyone looked at the bot, mildly surprised.

"Uh… hi," Sonic responded.

"Hmm…" Sarah mused. "Looks like downloading data on Sonic's personality and morals worked even better than I thought."

The Metal Sonic got off the table, standing before Sarah and saluting.

"GUN Needlemouse Model 1 reporting for duty, ma'am!" he declared.

"Okay… this is jarring," Sonic remarked.

"Model 1 will be under your guidance, and obey every order to the letter," Sarah informed them before turning to the robot. "What are your Prime Directives, soldier?"

"Serve the public trust," Model 1 listed. "Protect the innocent. Uphold the law."

With that, Sarah turned to Sonic, handing him a small red button.

"As I promised, I installed a self-destruct chip in his head as a failsafe," she told him. "Here's hoping you won't have to use it."

"Yeah…" Sonic agreed, tucking it into his pocket.

"I look forward to emotionally bonding with you all, and getting to know you," Model 1 told the group.

They stood there awkwardly, before Hope leaned over to Kat.

"Hard to believe this is where our tax dollars are going," she whispered.

Kat said nothing, her grip on the pipe remaining.


Knothole, sometime later...

Model 1 accompanied the Freedom Fighters back to Freedom HQ and stayed with them for some time. He managed to forge a friendship with Nicole relatively quickly, and over time, the other Freedom Fighters began to loosen up around him.

Kat, however, remained wary and nervous, often going to incredible lengths to ignore or avoid him. She stopped coming around after school, just making beelines for Angel Island and sticking around Knothole as little as possible.

One day, determined to find out what was going on, Model 1 approached her. The minute she saw him, Kat turned and was about to go, but Shard ran in front of her.

"What is it with you?" he asked. "Everyone else in the Freedom Fighters trusts me now. All I've done is try to be nice to you, and you still act like I'm out to get you. Can't you see that's not fair?"

"Just leave me alone," Kat snapped, trying to move away, only for Model 1 to grab her arm, gently yet firmly.

"Kat, I'm trying really hard here," he pleaded.

"Who asked you to try hard?" Kat shot back.

"Nobody," Model 1 replied. "All I'm trying to do is establish a friendship with you."

"I don't want your friendship!" Kat snapped, yanking her arm back. "I don't want anything you have to offer! Just leave me alone!"

She shoved him into a wall and took off, leaving Model 1 there defeated. Sonic approached, having seen the entire confrontation.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"Not really," Model 1 sighed. "What did I do to her to make her hate me so much?"

"It's not you," Sonic informed him. "It's just... she's had bad experiences with robots." He ran a hand through his spines. "Look, I'll talk to her for you."

"I don't want any enemies," Model 1 insisted.

"I know," Sonic said. "That's why I'm doing it."

-X-

Sonic found Kat in the gym, pounding away at a punching bag. He leaned against the wall, waiting for her to notice him. She didn't even look at him.

"I can feel you staring," she said at last. "I'm only waiting for Knuckles to return from his recon mission so we can go back home."

"I saw your confrontation with the Model 1 outside." Sonic informed her. "I get you're afraid of robots, but it doesn't change the fact that what you did out there wasn't cool."

"I just want it to leave me alone," Kat retorted. "It stays away from me, I stay away from it."

"Kat, he's done nothing but be nice to you and try to help you since day one, and you've pushed him away at every turn," Sonic said. "You're doing to him what you did to me on Angel Island."

Kat stopped punching the bag at that, lowering her fist and sighing.

"I just… I can't help it," she admitted. "Every time I see him, I'm reminded of Metal Sonic, of Eggman and his Badniks."

"I'm not asking you to be friends and cozy up to him right away," Sonic clarified. "I'm just asking you to be more open to him."

Kat sighed. "I… can't promise much, but I'll try."


A few days passed, and Kat started making an effort to be nicer to the Model 1. It was slow going at first, but she gradually began to open up. Eventually, she shoved down her fear and approached him.

"Uh… hey," she greeted.

The Model 1 immediately began looking around for anyone else she could be talking to, even looking under his foot.

"Model 1," she clarified before wincing. "Ugh… I hate that. The name, not… you."

"Well, I don't really have any other designation," the Model 1 replied.

"Right," Kat nodded. "Look, I uh… I was... wondering… if you'd like to… to practice with me."

"Uh… sure," Model 1 replied after a minute.

"Cool," Kat looked beyond uncomfortable. "Training yard. Ten minutes."

"See you then." Model 1 nodded.

Kat beat a hasty retreat. It was after that Model 1 decided to talk to Sonic.

"Kat asked me to meet her in the training yard," he informed him.

"It's a start at least," Sonic mused.

"I… don't suppose you have any advice on how I can break the ice with her?" Model 1 asked.

"Training's her biggest pastime," Sonic answered. "Aside from smashing robots." He stiffened. "Uh… bad ones. Badniks."

"Badniks, huh?" Model 1 crossed his arms, an idea forming.


Ten minutes later, Model 1 met Kat in the training yard.

"Hey," she greeted. "Glad you made it."

"Same to you," Model 1 answered. "I talked with Sonic before we came, and I think I have an idea for a training exercise we can both enjoy."

"Oh?" Kat asked. "Do tell."

"He said you like smashing Badniks," Model 1 told her. "It just turns out Dr. Bennett programmed me with the schematics for several models. Especially their weak points."

Kat's eyes went wide, and she grinned. "Alright. Show me what you've got."

-X-

Some time later, the rest of the Freedom Fighters arrived, seeing Shard pointing to several spots on a Buzz Bomber dummy. Kat attacked them, punching right at the weaknesses and shattering the dummies.

"Yes!" she cheered. "Nothing but shards!"

She raised her hand, Model 1 taking the offer high-five after a moment. Kat began dusting herself off, then turned to him.

"Shard," she let out after a minute, much to his confusion. "That's what we should call you. A new name, if you want."

"Shard…" Model 1 repeated. "I like it."

Kat grinned.

"Alright, Shard," Sonic cut in. "You're with me now. We've got stuff to do."


Robotropolis

In her lab, Eggatha had finished up her latest work with Lien-Da. She cleaned her hands before turning to Metal.

"Metal, would you please put the subject in her cage?" she asked. "I need to check my messages."

Lien-Da groaned as she was carried like a ragdoll over to her cage, Metal throwing her in. With that, Eggatha opened her email. She scrolled through, checking them all.

"Junk... junk... chain mail...Ooh, coupon for Meh Burger! More junk…"

She then paused, seeing an email from a Freedom Fighter fansite. She opened it, and her eyes went wide.

"New robot companion…" she let out. "Metal!"

Metal walked over at that. "Yes?"

"Take a look," Eggatha moved to the side, allowing Metal to get a good look at the email. "The Freedom Fighters have a new robot companion. Their own Metal Sonic."

Metal looked it over. If he had a mouth, he would be scowling.

"Why don't we go get some fresh air?" Eggatha suggested. "Maybe check on this new robot while we're at it?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Metal turned away, clenching his fists. "Those plagiarizing rats…"


Green Hill Zone

Sonic and Shard raced through Green Hill, neck-in-neck.

"Thanks for earlier," Shard said gratefully. "She finally warmed up to me."

Sonic shrugged. "I just told her what she needed to hear."

"Still, it helped," Shard pointed out. "I was worried getting through to her would be impossible."

After a minute, they stopped. Sonic checked his watch, smirking.

"Well, look at this," he remarked. "We took nine million steps today."

"So why bring me out here?" Shard asked.

"Mostly to test your speed," Sonic explained. "And give you a chance to get out of Knothole. I know the Brain Trust has been keeping you quarantined at the lab at night, and you haven't exactly been allowed to leave the base."

Shard smiled. "Thanks for that."

-X-

Above them, Eggatha and Metal were flying over Green Hill, Eggatha talking to Robotnik on the phone.

"We're following up on a lead from Snively's mistake," Eggatha told him. "Turns out they made their own Metal."

"First my Flame Shields, now this," Robotnik grumbled. "Are the Freedom Fighters so desperate for new weapons and technology that they need to steal my ideas?"

"Well, Hope is on their team," Eggatha reminded him. "No doubt she's been reverse-engineering your tech.

"Yes. It's a shame she had to insist on being our white sheep."

"You mean black sheep?"

"No, white sheep. Remember, Agatha, we are the villains here."

"Right, fair enough."

"I have a visual," Metal informed her.

"Gotta go, Unc. Call you later," Eggatha hung up. "Take us down, Metal."

-X-

Sonic and Shard were still talking when Shard stiffened, looking up at something.

"We've got company," he informed Sonic.

Sonic turned, seeing Metal land and put Eggatha down.

"Hi, Sonic!" Eggatha greeted.

"Faker," Metal spat.

"You found out about Shard here, eh?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah," Eggatha nodded. "Got an email from a Freedom Fighter fansite."

Metal turned to her. "You never did explain why you're on the email list for a Freedom Fighter fansite."

Eggatha shrugged. "Recon, mostly."

"So why are you here?" Sonic questioned.

"Isn't it obvious?" Metal replied. "I won't stand for this carbon copy running around. The world needs only one Metal Sonic."

"I am GUN Needlemouse Model 1, designation Shard," Shard informed him.

"So you handed the infosphere over to GUN," Eggatha deduced.

"Just the info inside, actually," Sonic clarified. "The sphere itself we gave to an archaeologist friend of ours. She went absolutely bonkers when she got it. She treats it like it's made of solid gold."

Eggatha smiled. "Good. I'm glad to hear Tempo ended up in good hands."

"Are you quite finished?" Metal demanded impatiently.

Shard turned to Sonic. "Your orders?"

"Go ahead," Sonic offered. "Show him who's boss."

"Agatha, step back," Metal insisted.

Eggatha turned and stepped away, Sonic joining her.

"So, just how badly did Snively get it for giving me the infosphere?" he asked.

"Severe beating, and was a cleaning drone for three months," Eggatha replied.

Sonic let out a whistle. As this went on, Shard and Metal faced off.

"So, here we are," Shard mused. "Mano a mano. Metal Sonic vs. Metal Sonic. Wanna make a wager on the outcome?"

"I wager, you pale imitation of me, that you will lose," Metal said coldly.

"We'll see about that," Shard retorted.

The two launched themselves at each other. The area was pandemonium as they clashed, Shard firing his blaster, Metal slashing him with his claws, Shard launching what appeared to be an extendable sledgehammer from his arm cannon that Metal blocked with the Black Shield, and both briefly ending up in a beam struggle with Shard's cannon and Metal's chest engine before being blown back. Metal darted forward, landing a roundhouse kick that knocked Shard down before the other Metal Sonic got up, grappling with him furiously.

"You have no soul!" Shard declared.

Metal scoffed. "That is why I have no fear!"

"No, that's why you're weak!" Shard snapped.

Metal threw him back at that. "Fool. You are a machine, just like me. If I'm soulless, so are you!"

"Wrong!" Shard snapped. "I have compassion! I have empathy! I have emotions! I fight to make things better, to help people!"

"Irrelevant." Metal retorted as they clashed once again.

"You could be so much more than you are now, Metal!" Shard pointed out. "Say you succeed at your mission. You've been focused on killing Sonic since you were created. If you finally do manage to take him down, what next? You'll have NOTHING!"

"You are wrong! I will have fulfilled my mission! I will be the superior Sonic!"

"And then what? What will you do? You're a machine following orders! I have friends! What do you have?!"

That threw Metal for a loop, and as such, his aim ended up off and his next blast went wide. It hit the ground close to where Sonic and Eggatha were standing, right at the girl's feet. She yelped and Sonic pulled her out of the way. Metal stiffened at hearing her scream, turning and ventilating in a way that was almost a gasp. Shard saw this, and his optics widened.

"Well, this is a surprise. You may claim to be soulless, but you clearly care for that child."

"What? N-no. Part of my duty is to protect Agatha and keep her happy. Nothing more."

"Do you really believe what you're saying?" Shard shook his head. "I feel sorry for you. Dr. Robotnik programmed you with feelings, but not the capacity to understand them."

Metal began backpedalling, unable to process all of this information. He suddenly turned, rocketing towards Sonic and Eggatha. He grabbed the girl, vanishing into the horizon.

"Well…" Sonic began, "didn't see that coming."

"Neither did I," Shard admitted. "He genuinely cares for the child."

"I had my suspicions for a while," Sonic remarked. "I just didn't expect he'd be so spooked by it."

"I'll admit, I myself am a bit spooked," Shard confessed. "Metal's words, they stung. About me not having a soul because I am a machine."

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I... don't really know how to respond to that. You'd be better off asking the doc."

"May I see her?" Shard requested. "I promise I'll return immediately after."

Sonic nodded. "Sure. Go ahead."

Shard flew off at that, leaving Sonic to ponder over the robot's inquiries.

"Maybe he does have one…" he muttered.


Great Desert

In her lab, Sarah was in her lab, straightening up after a hard day's work. She heard the door open, and the sound of metallic footsteps.

"Dr. Bennett?"

Sarah turned to see Shard standing there.

"Oh, Model 1," she greeted. "What can I help you with?"

"It's Shard now," Shard clarified. "I was given a name. By Kat of all people."

"Shard…" Sarah thought it over before nodding. "Sounds good. Well Shard, is there something wrong?"

Shard took a seat in a chair before her.

"Sonic and I... we had a confrontation with Dr. Robotnik's Metal Sonic before I came here. It got me thinking about something," he looked up at her. "Doctor, I know I'm a robot, but... do I have a soul?"

Sarah was frozen, the question catching her off-guard. She turned to the bot, looking him over as if for the first time. She saw how he seemed to scratch at his cannon in an almost nervous way, and how his feet kicked slightly in the chair, like a restless child's would.

"Did I say something wrong?" Shard questioned.

"N-no," Sarah shook her head. "Of course not. I just…"

He looked at her, and she saw the true emotion in his optics. A desperation for validation, a fear of an answer he didn't like. Those emotions cinched it for her and she straightened.

"Yes," she confirmed. "You do have a soul, Shard. And it's one of the purest I've ever known."

"How can you be so sure?" Shard questioned.

"You have feelings. You can think, and ask such questions of your own accord." She chuckled slightly. "I programmed you with Sonic's bio-data, to be intelligent. But I never realized how much you would evolve."

She placed her hand on his head, giving him a smile. "You're much more than I ever could have hoped for, Shard."

After a minute, Shard returned the smile. "Thank you, Doctor."


Robotropolis

Metal and Eggatha walked through the main doors of the citadel, Metal having yet to put Eggatha down.

"Metal, what's wrong?" she asked, getting no response. "Metal! C'mon, talk to me!"

Metal snapped to attention. "Huh?"

"Metal, put me down," Eggatha ordered. "You're acting erratically."

Metal did so. "Right, sorry."

Eggatha straightened her clothes as best she could.

"Look, I'm not mad about the stray shot, and I'm fine," she told him. "And I swear, I won't tell my Uncle. You have nothing to be afraid of."

"It's not that, Agatha," Metal clarified. "It's what that imitation Metal Sonic was saying. I just... can't get it out of my head."

"What do you mean?" Eggatha asked. "What'd he say?"

"My mission, my purpose for being, is to destroy Sonic," Metal explained. "He... asked me what I'm going to do once I succeed."

"That's easy," Eggatha replied. "You'll be Uncle Ivo's greatest general. He'll probably give you your own place to rule over. Ooh! Maybe I can come with you! We can hang out all the time! It'll be so much fun!"

"Yes... I'd like that." Metal said after a slight hesitation.

Eggatha smiled and hugged Metal. "Don't let anything he said get to you. You're Metal Sonic, the best robot in existence… and my best friend."

Metal patted her back at that. "Thank you."

As the two hugged, Robotnik came in, scowling slightly.

"Metal!" he snapped.

Metal pulled away, standing at attention.

"Uncle!" Eggatha exclaimed.

"Go to your lab, Agatha," Robotnik ordered. "I need to debrief Metal on what happened."

Eggatha hesitated, then nodded before departing.

"Is this plagiarized copy destroyed?" Robotnik questioned.

"He proved stronger than expected," Metal explained. "I was forced to retreat to prevent Agatha from being caught in the crossfire."

Robotnik let out a combination of a sigh and a growl.

"This should have been a simple mission," he let out. "And yet you continue to fail me. I am beginning to question your usefulness to me."

"The duplicate was made by GUN's best scientists!" Metal defended. "He's my equal in every way, Doctor! I did my best!"

"Well, next time, do better than your best!" Robotnik shot back. "I have been rather lenient with you Metal, but remember this: you are a robot. I created you, and I can dismantle you for a newer, better model whenever I wish. Do you understand?"

"...Yes, Doctor," Metal let out.

Robotnik nodded, turning on his heels and walking off. He headed back to his room, seeing something approaching on the radar.

"Now, what is this?" He typed away, revealing what appeared to be a meteor heading for the general area of the Great Canyon in Northamer. "Ooh, now isn't this interesting."

He did a scan, his eyes widening. "And powerful, too. Definitely something worth looking into."


Author's Note:

Shard joins the crew! For a refresher, in Archie he was the original Metal Sonic, rebuilt and reformed. Here, he's not exactly a Freedom Fighter, at least not yet; he's more of a GUN agent.

Next chapter, we find out what that meteor is, and get into Robotnik's next diabolical scheme.

Voice cast for this chapter:

* Shard- Ryan Drummond (yes, Sonic's original English VA)

Please R&R. Until next time!