Shard the Hedgehog (Fanfiction)

This page contains the storyline of Shard the Hedgehog, a fan character created by SButzbach07. It was originally published to the creator's website as a PDF, which can be found on his Fandom page in this wiki. This story involves a portion of Sonic Prime, which is credited for on the Sources page. This story is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, and it's found on the Conclusion page.
==Overview==
Formerly known as Project Unname1, Shard the Hedgehog was created in Lab 16 in the Shard Dimension. After an accident causes him to leave, he comes to the Chaos dimension with a mission to finish him. During his journey, he meets Sonic and his friends, battles Eggman for the first time, and begins a small rivalry with Shadow. He begins to experience the benefits of relationships with Amy, unlike Sonic. Shard completes his final task of going super and travels back in time to experience the Paradox Prism incident. He meets Frag in a battle and gets info about the collapse of the Shard Dimension. Everyone from Earth in the dimension travels here, including Brazen and his army called Blade. An epic meetup ends with Shard in tears as his crystal is missing. They create mechs to fight Blade, but Shard goes up to Brazen's space station by himself. After a brief presentation to his army, his new friends come to experience him destroy the station. When everyone goes back to the planet, Brazen appears again and suffers the treason of everyone from his army. He gets killed by the same weapon he tried to kill Shard with before Shard gets his crystal back on the station. Shard and Amy reveal a secret before he heads off with a new life on his own.
==Included Characters==
=== Canon Characters ===
* Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic Wiki Zone | Fandom)
* Tails the Fox (Miles "Tails" Prower | Sonic Wiki Zone | Fandom)
* Knuckles the Echidna (Knuckles the Echidna | Sonic Wiki Zone | Fandom)
* Amy Rose the Hedgehog (Amy Rose | Sonic Wiki Zone | Fandom)
* Shadow the Hedgehog (Shadow the Hedgehog | Sonic Wiki Zone | Fandom)
* Blaze the Cat (Blaze the Cat | Sonic Wiki Zone | Fandom)
* Dr. Eggman (Doctor Eggman | Sonic Wiki Zone | Fandom)
=== Non-canon Characters ===
* Shard the Hedgehog (Shard the Hedgehog)
*Frag the Hedgehog (Frag the Hedgehog)
*Brazen the Hedgehog (Brazen the Hedgehog)
*Alternate Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog (Shard Dimension))
*Alternate Shadow (Shadow the Hedgehog (Shard Dimension))
*Mech 16 (Mech 16 the Cybernetic Robot)
*Matthew the Hedgehog (article doesn't exist yet)
===Background characters ===
These are non-canon and I will not plan to write articles for these
* Justin the Hedgehog
* Paws the Cat
==Story Content==
Personally, I find reading the PDF of the story on me website is better as it has page designs for the page numbers, but for accessibility, the story is here.
Shard the Hedgehog.pdf
=== Introduction===
Hello, readers. I am Scot Butzbach, and I am a Sonic fan. I have been a Sonic fan since I was young. I have played many games: Sonic 1, 2, CD, 3 & K, 3D Blast, Adventure 1, DX, Adventure 2, 2 Battle, Heroes, Rush, Rush Adventure, Unleashed, Mania, Knuckles’ Chaotix, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. I don’t have any Sega-branded or many popular consoles, so I thank those who allowed us to play those games with the emulators they created.
The inspiration for this book started when I watched Sonic Boom. After that, the idea grew as I watched Sonic Prime multiple times and when I played those games. Why not have a hedgehog that can run super-fast, teleport anywhere, and shatter inanimate objects into many tiny shards? He can’t do that to living things, or they would die. If you didn’t know, I’m a type-as-you-go person when creating stuff.
Shard the Hedgehog is a gray & blue, artificial, anthropomorphic hedgehog stranded in a different dimension. Shard was created in Lab 16 in the Shard Dimension, but a reactor accident led him to Sonic’s world. He had one more test to pass before he could be considered complete. New to the world, he has help from Sonic and his friends and finds out the truth of the accident, reuniting with his creators and saving the world from an outside threat, also from the Shard Dimension.
If you want to learn more about Shard the Hedgehog, this book explains most of the storyline, but he can be found on the Fandom page using the link in the Conclusion page. Also, a Sonic-fan game about Shard on GitHub is there, along with my personal website. Type those links into your web browser, read this book, and enjoy!
===Chapter 1: Stranded===
The ocean surrounds an island spanning miles wide with abundant wildlife. On the shore, a gray-furred hedgehog with blue spikes lays face down with arms spread out. Gloves with blue hand slates are covered with sand, and blue shoes are soaked with salt water. The hedgehog opens its eyes and lifts its head a few inches from the ground. Groaning, it looks around.
“What happened?” he asked. “I went through a portal, and everything went black.” He stands up but stops to feel the softness of the sand. “This stuff is soft.” Looking at his legs and arms, he frowns. “Soft to the touch, but it gets everywhere.” He wipes the sand off itself and looks at his shoes. “My shoes are soaked and covered with sand.”
Looking up, he observes the ocean and the horizon behind him. The sun blocks his vision. “Ouch!” he yelled, covering his eyes. “That glare hurts my eyes.” He turns around and opens his eyes. “At least glare is better than looking directly at the sun.” He blinks numerous times, then looks ahead. “I see plants but no creatures.” He starts walking into the forest. “Perhaps they’re in the forest hiding in all the plants.”
After minutes of searching, he said, “This forest must be huge, and I covered only a tiny section of it.” His pace picks up exponentially, and he starts to run faster. “Now, this is better.” He reaches the other side of the island in only a few seconds. “Nope,” he said, dashing to another coast. “Nada.” He runs again. “Nothing. Rats! No creatures on this island.”
He looks for a nearby island but has no luck from a low altitude. “I can’t see anything down here.” He spots a mountain behind him and sprints to the top in one second. “All right.” He looks around. “If I were an island, where would I exist?” He sees something in the distance and squints at it. “Is that an island?” Dashing to the coast, he stops at the water line.
“That has to be an island,” he said. He looks down at the water. “I was made to be something different than him.” Looking at the water, he frowns and says, “My shoes will get soaked again.” Looking ahead, he walks into the water and stops when the water level reaches his waist. “I wonder why he doesn’t like water. The water feels amazing.” He looks down. “Here we go.” He dives into the water.
“Wow, this is amazing,” he said, moving his arms and kicking his feet. “It looks beautiful down here with plenty of wildlife as well.” He shoots up to sea level. “The best part is that I didn’t sink to the bottom. Wait until he hears that I can swim.” Instead of diving again, he flips and floats on the top. “Time to paddle to shore.” With his feet, he starts padding at high speed toward the island, leaving behind waves of water going in the other direction.
He jumps out of the water, does a few backflips, and lands face-first in the sand. He groans and lifts his head up. “Ugh. I need to learn to land on my two feet,” he said. He got up and brushed the sand off himself. “Okay. A new island means more life.” He dashed into the forest and searched for new creatures. “Larger island than before,” he said. “There should be some life around here.” Up ahead, he skids to a stop in front of something.
A creature ahead of him is on its hands and legs, looking at the ground and searching for something. The juices in various wild berries give it a distinct look. It turned its head in his direction. The creature was a cat, part of a tribe on the island. For a second, he thought it would walk away from him. However, it squinted its eyes and gave an angry look.
“Go away,” said the cat. “We’ve had enough of you this week.” “What?” asked the hedgehog. “What do you mean by ‘enough of you this week?’” The cat picks up his spear and hurls it at him. The hedgehog dodges the spear and rushes through the forest. “Woah!” he exclaimed. Soon, he was surrounded by a group of cats with berry paint. All around him, a creature with berry paint pointed a spear at him.
“Everyone, just put the spears down, so I can get out of here,” he said. “Not until we have a fair fight, hedgehog,” said the lead fighter. “Can I tell you who I am?” asked the hedgehog. “We know who you are,” said the leader. “That disguise won’t save you.” “What disguise? I’m not wearing one,” said the hedgehog, confused. “I was created with this.” The cats close in on him. “Less talking, more fighting,” said the leader. “Okay then,” said the hedgehog, kneeling with both hands on the ground. “You want to fight? I’ll fight.”
He dashed off into the distance. They looked in his direction with smug smiles. “Heh. Coward,” said a young cat. Immediately after the group taunts him, the hedgehog knocks down the young cat and takes its spear. He holds it out at the rest of the group. “Karma bites you back badly,” he said. “Hey! Give it back!” yelled the cat on the ground. “You’ll have to catch me first,” said the hedgehog, running into the forest.
Not long after, he finds himself targeted with spears thrown at him. “Ugh, why spears?” he asked himself. “Why not lasers? How far back are they in technology?” His thought was abruptly lost when a spear flew past his head and hit a tree very close to him. He got angry and said, “Time to fight fire with fire.” Quickly looking back, he saw a spear flying at him. He caught it and threw it back without aiming. “Darn. I missed,” he said, frowning. He looked ahead and suddenly stopped.
Soon, he hit a dead end. In front of him was a large rock. As he turned around, he was surrounded again. “We know this whole island,” said the leader. “There’s nowhere else to go. You just lost the battle.” The hedgehog looked at the rock and smiled back at the fighters. “Not yet,” he said. He looked up, bent down, jumped, and landed feet first on the rock. “Well, I finally did it!” he said to himself. The group looked up and yelled, “Up there!” Smiling, the hedgehog raised his fist and punched the rock, breaking it into shard-like pieces.
They were shocked about how he turned a large rock into many shards. The hedgehog took them and launched them at the opposing fighters. “Run!” they yelled. Not long after, they were pinned down to the ground. He jumped down and looked at the defeated group. “Who lost the battle now?” he asked. They all looked up at something in the air. “Well, I missed the opening act, did I?” The hedgehog looked up, searching for the voice. He saw a black and red hedgehog floating in the air with rocket skates. He descended to the ground, facing everyone.
“Shadow?” asked the blue hedgehog. “Who are you?” asked Shadow. “Right, I forgot my introduction,” started the hedgehog. “I was going to start my intro,” He looked at the fighters with a disgusted look. “…but these cowards felt the need to interrupt me.” The group looked at Shadow. “We thought he was you, Shadow,” said the leader. Shadow examined the hedgehog’s look. “He does look very similar to me, along with someone else,” said Shadow. “But he can’t take on a fight with me.”
Shadow teleported behind the hedgehog to see him get hit by an elbow. Shadow was launched against a tree. He groaned and got up. “Strong personality, but prone to injury,” said the hedgehog, turning toward Shadow, relaxing his arm. “On with the introduction.” Shadow got angry. “So, my name is Shard the Hedgehog. I am the product of Project Shard, formerly Project Unname1, and came from an alternate dimension.”
After finishing, Shadow punched Shard and launched him against a large boulder. However, this was larger than the rock he pulverized and used to take down the fighters. “Pretty nice punch,” said Shard, grunting while getting up. “Watch this.” He jumped on the boulder and smashed his fist into it, creating many shards. “I call that the Shard Shatter,” he said. He launched them at Shadow, who teleported on top of a tree.
“Very impressive,” said Shadow. “But I bet you can’t see me coming.” He teleported over Shard and shot downwards. Shard grabbed Shadow’s leg, spun him, and launched him toward the water. “Wow,” said the leader, getting up. “Shard has some skill.” “He won’t beat Shadow,” said the young fighter. “Shadow’s too tough to take down.”
Shadow landed at the water line, and Shard saw the madness in his eyes. “You can’t take me down,” said Shard. “You have met your match.” Shadow’s frown intensified, and he yelled, “You fool! No simple-minded impostor will take me down!” He threw his arm back and launched a spear made of lightning. It shot toward Shard. He teleported before the spear crashed into a boulder and exploded, pulverizing the rock.
Shard appeared behind Shadow and started floating. “Again, spears?” asked Shard with a disgusted look. “Does anyone on this island have something better than spears?” Floating with his rocket skates, Shadow tries to figure out how Shard is floating. “Wondering how I can float?” asked Shard. He held out a bright, glowing, white emerald. “Where did you get that from?” asked Shadow. “I took it from the young cat I knocked down and took the spear from,” said Shard. Shadow looked at the fighter. “I never knew he had that,” said Shadow. “Anyways, how about we continue the party?” asked Shard. “My pleasure,” said Shadow, appearing behind Shard.
Shard kicked Shadow in the gut and started to fall. “Take that one!” yelled Shard, still hovering. Shadow fell into the ocean and created a large splash. “I wonder if he can swim,” said Shard. Looking down, he saw Shadow rise from the water, using his air shoes as thrust. “I’ve had enough of you, Shard,” said Shadow, soaked in seawater and furious. He shot upwards to punch Shard but missed. Shadow looked around for him but couldn’t find him. “Too slow, Shadow,” said Shard, appearing behind him and kicking him toward the island. Shadow crashed into the ground, groaned, and stood up. 
“Had enough?” asked Shard. “You’re not a bad rival,” said Shadow. “You’ve got skill.” A smile appeared on his face. “But not enough.” Shadow teleported and appeared behind Shard, but Shard teleported behind Shadow. “Who says I can’t use Chaos Control to move anywhere?” asked Shard, mocking Shadow. Shadow kicked Shard and started to fall. Before hitting the water, Shard teleported on top of Shadow, and they both fell. “If I’m going down, you’re coming with me,” said Shard.
He let go and teleported to the shore as Shadow splashed into the water. Shard saw Shadow appear behind him, soaked in seawater again. “I’ve had enough of you,” said Shadow, preparing to punch. Shard kicked him, and Shadow was launched to the other side of the island, falling into the water. He teleported once again in front of Shard, soaked. “How many times will I get kicked into the water?” asked Shadow, yelling. They both teleported around the island but never managed to score any hits. When they stopped, they looked at each other and withdrew from fighting.
“Well, you’ve proven yourself worthy,” said Shadow. “We shall fight again.” Before Shadow left, Shard said, “Wait.” Shadow looked at him. “I need your help,” said Shard. “With what?” asked Shadow. “Healing your wounds?” “No,” started Shard. “But it does involve me.” Shadow hesitated. “Go on,” he said. “Well, you were a product of Project Shadow over fifty years ago, right?” asked Shard. “Yes, I am,” said Shadow. “What about it?” “I’m not finished yet,” said Shard. Shadow looked confused. “If you’re not finished, what are you doing here?” he asked. “Well, I was sent here to find either you or Sonic to help me,” said Shard. “As I said, I’m a product of Project Shard, but I’m not a finished product.”
“Well, why didn’t your creators finish you?” asked Shadow. “Better question, who created you?” “I was created by Sonic and Shadow from my dimension,” said Shard. “I would never do such a thing,” said Shadow. “Even though we occasionally team up and work together, I would never want to do anything that extreme.” “That’s why I said, ‘Sonic and Shadow from my dimension,’” said Shard. Shadow nodded.
“Do you know what dimension you’re from?” he asked. Shard paused. “...I have no idea,” he said. “Either they never told me, or I just don’t remember.” “The only other dimension I know is the Sol Dimension and those worlds almost came together,” said Shadow. “It was painful to feel. Luckily, the Sol Emeralds left our dimension, and we avoided total destruction.” Shard nodded, having no idea what he said. “So, why didn’t we finish you?” he asked. “It’s a long story,” said Shard. “But it’s worth telling.”
“When I was first created, my Shadow said I will be the new ultimate lifeform,” said Shard. “I guess that makes sense,” said Shadow. “You did manage to take me down.” “So, the first time I woke up was stressful.” Said Shard. “The physical part of me was completed, and it was time to move on to the mental part. I found myself in a sealed capsule. It was not filled with any special liquid. The only thing inside the capsule was me and air. I opened my eyes and saw you and Sonic looking at me with surprise. The light made me shut them because I hurt. It was my first time using them, so it makes sense.” Shadow nodded.
“After a while, my sense of touch kicked in, and I began to feel too big for the capsule,” said Shard. “With my impulse to get more room, I punched open the capsule door, shattering it into little shards. That’s how I got my name and how the project name changed,” said Shard. “Well, you did take down the fighters with stone shards and tried to take me down with them,” said Shadow. Shard pulled out a necklace with a shard composed of glass and metal. “These were the first shards I created. They combined the first glass and the first metal shard into this.” “Impressive,” said Shadow.
“After I broke out of my capsule, everything went black,” said Shard. “After that, I woke up in a bed and saw Sonic and Shadow running more tests on me.” “I assume you weren’t finished yet,” said Shadow. “Nope,” said Shard. “After months of testing, I was almost finished until a problem in the reactor made everything shut down. They couldn’t continue my development with everything powerless. The floor started shaking, and it felt hot. Shadow quickly grabbed some equipment and handed them to me.”
“Do you still have the devices?” asked Shadow. Shard pulls out a dimensional teleporter and a hard drive. “I was given these by my Shadow,” he said. “This drive has the rest of the instructions to complete me.” Shadow looked at the hard drive and handed it back to Shard. “Anyways, he told me to find Sonic or Shadow in the new dimension I was about to enter,” he continued. “I pressed the button on the teleporter, and a portal appeared. Explosions knocked down a wall across from me. I went through the portal, and everything went black.” Shard pointed to an island in the distance. “I woke up on that island over there,” he said. “Now I’m here.”
“Must have been an adventure for you,” said Shadow. He started to smile. “And an intense battle.” “Yes, it was,” said Shard. “Let me tell you my end of the story,” said Shadow. “I left this island after helping progress grow on the colony of those fighter cats here. As I was leaving, I saw a strange portal appear in the sky and saw you appear and fall toward the ocean. My first thought was Sonic because of your blue quills. I thought of starting a conflict but realized you were falling toward the water. We all know Sonic is no swimmer.” We sure do,” said Shard.
“So, when you hit the water, I thought you would drown from that moment on. However, you floated up to the surface after a few seconds. That made me realize that you weren’t Sonic. The current flipped you on your back, and you floated to the island you pointed at. You washed up on shore, flipped on your stomach, and lay in the sand. “Well, I must have had a nice experience with water, even though I don’t remember it,” said Shard. “Pretty much so,” said Shadow, shrugging.
“So, can you help me find Sonic?” asked Shard. “It’ll be hard for me to navigate this planet.” “Sure,” said Shadow. “All you need to do is imagine an image of Sonic from your memories, and you’ll know where to go. I will take the fighter cats back to their village and leave you to it.” “Okay. I’ll see you later, Shadow,” said Shard. Shadow shrugged and started heading toward the group. “Okay then, imagine Sonic.” He closes his eyes and thinks deeply. “Chaos Control.” He disappeared and went to Green Hills.
===Chapter 2: The Meeting at Green Hills===
Green Hills is a popular and very open place. A checkerboard pattern covers the grass and rocks. Palm trees sway in the wind. Small mountains, lakes, and loops are the feature of the checkered plains. Everywhere you go, you can find rings to collect. Whenever there are rings, there’s Sonic the Hedgehog, the super-fast hedgehog speed running the entire place in only a few seconds.
A trail of blue follows behind him as he dashes and loops around the plains. He jumps up, lands on a red spring, and flies high in the sky. He rolls up and spins back to the ground before he dashes toward an area covered with rings. He stops and looks around. Lots of gold rings float above the ground and slowly spin. “All right!” Sonic said. He dashes and collects them. “Gotta go fast!” he said, dashing off to an elevated path.
Hundreds of feet above the ground, Shard appears with his Chaos Emerald and starts to fall. “Wow, I overshot that,” he said, looking down. “Land on your feet this time.” He looks in the distance and sees a blue trail moving through a loop. “Is that Sonic?” he asked himself, crashing face-first into the ground. “Ouch,” he said as he groaned in pain and looked up. “Shard, stop getting distracted and land feet first next time.” He gets up and looks around.
“Is this Green Hills?” Shard asked. He dashes around for a few seconds and halts. “Must be easy to get lost in this place,” he said, looking around again. “This place is huge! Larger than Cat Island. How does Sonic get around here without getting lost?” He sees the blue trail go through multiple loops before it comes right at him. “Woah!” he yells, dashing to the top of a palm tree. “That was close. Does he look ahead of himself? I almost got run over by Sonic, if it is him.”
“Hey, buddy!” yells a voice. Shard looks down and sees Sonic looking up at him. “Come down here! I won’t hurt you.” Shard jumps down to the ground. “Are you new here?” Sonic asks Shard. “Pretty much,” Shard said nervously. “No need to be nervous. I know this place very well,” said Sonic.
He looks at Shard curiously. He sees the blue quills at the end, interrupted by the gray that consumed the rest of the fur on his body. “Who are you?” “I’m just a hedgehog trying to find my way through this place,” said Shard. Sonic frowned. “You don’t need to hide it,” he said. “Just tell me about yourself.” “An intro then,” said Shard. “Okay then. My name is Shard the Hedgehog. I am the unfinished product of Project Shard, previously known as Project Unname1, and I am from an alternate dimension.”
Sonic looked interested, then had a thought. “What dimension?” he asked. “I have no idea,” said Shard. “Shadow said something about the Sol Dimension. Does that have anything to do with me?” “You know Shadow?” asked Sonic. “Yes, I do,” said Shard. He smiled a little. “We had a nice fight at an island I arrived at. I beat him by a margin bigger than yours, not to be harsh.” “Well, I should have been there to see it,” said Sonic. “So, we met someone from the Sol Dimension who wanted to retrieve the Sol Emeralds that got transported here. She was very persistent as well.” He paused. “How did you end up here? Did Eggman send you through?” “I have no idea who that is, but it’s quite an interesting story,” said Shard.
They both hear an explosion in the distance. They look to see where it came from. “What was that?” asked Shard. “Eggman,” said Sonic, dashing toward the explosion site. “Who’s Eggman?” asked Shard, following Sonic. At the explosion place, badniks surround the area, and Dr. Eggman digs into the ground. “Come on, my little Chaos Emerald. I know you’re in there somewhere,” said Eggman singly. Sonic appeared and frowned. “What’s up with you and Chaos Emeralds, Egghead?” he asked. Eggman turned and saw Sonic. “Haven’t you learned anything, blue annoyance? I’m always hungry for power,” he said furiously.
Shard appeared next to Sonic. “Sorry, I got lost again,” he said. “How do you navigate this place?” “Who is this?” asked Eggman. “My name is Shard the Hedgehog, I was made as part of Project Shard, and I came from an alternate dimension.” Eggman looked at Shard, then looked at Sonic. “Like the Sol Dimension?” he asked. “Why do people keep asking if I’m from the Sol Dimension?” asked Shard. “I have no idea!” “Well, it makes sense that you look just like Sonic,” he said. “Minions, attack!” The badniks rushed toward the two hedgehogs. “Sonic, let me show you some skills,” said Shard.
First, he spots a moto bug and spins toward it, destroying it. Next, he teleports to a bee bot and kicks it at Eggman’s drill halfway in the ground. Then, he spins dashes toward many crabmeats and continuously pulverizes them. “Wow, he does have skill and speed,” said Sonic. “He’s also strong with Chaos Control.” Sonic looks at Eggman, distracted by Shard. “How is a hedgehog that strong?” he asked loudly. “First Sonic, then Shadow, now Shard?” “Hey, Egghead!” yelled Sonic. “What do you think about Shard?” Eggman was angry but began to show an evil smile. “He’s strong,” he yelled. “But he’s not smart enough to match my capabilities!” He pressed a button.
A whole package of missiles appeared and began to fly toward Shard. He looked back. “This is more like it,” he said, smiling. “Way better than spears.” He started running, being chased by a dozen missiles. Sonic was worried about Shard. “Worried about something, Sonic?” asked Eggman, launching a drill at him. Sonic quickly dodged it and spotted Shard. “Eggman, look!” yelled Sonic, pointing at him.
Shard ran up a boulder and smashed his fist into it, grunting loudly. The rock exploded into many shards. He launched some of them at the missiles, destroying them on impact. He looked at Eggman and threw the rest toward his pod. Together, the explosions launched Eggman, his pod, and his drills into the air. “My precious emerald!” yelled Eggman in the distance. “I will be back, Sonic. I will defeat you and your annoying gray friend, Shard!” Eggman disappeared.
“Shard Shatter is helpful,” he said, holding a leftover stone fragment. Behind him, a missile flew toward him. It exploded when he threw the stone at it. “You did good back there,” said Sonic. “Yes, I did,” said Shard proudly. “You know what?” asked Sonic. “I think we will be good pals together.” He put his arm around Shard and smiled. Shard smiled with some embarrassment and put his arm around Sonic. 
Sonic looks in the distance and sees Amy Rose running toward him. “So, you’re not my only friend, Shard,” he said. “I have other people I like to be with, to some extent.” Shard looked and saw a pink hedgehog running in their direction. “What are you implying?” he asked. He turns to see a trail of dust behind him. “Sonic?” he asked. No one replied. “Sonic?” he asked loudly. “Where’d you go? You know I easily get lost in this place!”
Amy stopped and faced Shard. “Where’s Sonic?” she asked. He turned and saw Amy. “Uh, he went that way,” he said, pointing at the barely visible dust trail. “Of course he did,” she said. “Sonic is always too busy doing something that doesn’t involve me.” “Are you his girlfriend or something?” he asked. “Sonic doesn’t think that about me,” she said, annoyed. “He just calls me a close friend, just like the others.”
Shard looks around for any sign of Sonic. Meanwhile, Amy examines Shard. “Who are you?” she asked. “I’m Shard the Hedgehog, an artificial creation from an alternate dimension,” he said. “Artificial,” she said curiously. “Just like Shadow.” “I assume you know him,” he said. “Our first encounter was embarrassing,” she said, trying not to cringe. “I mistook him for Sonic and hugged him. All he did was look at me, emotionless.” “I could see why he’s emotionless, except when you piss him off,” he said. “You know him too?” she asked.
Shard smiled a bit. “Yes, I do. We had a nice fight,” he said, trying to hold in the excitement. “I beat him by a larger margin than if Sonic were to face him, not to be harsh.” “I should have seen that,” said Amy, laughing. “Sonic said that to me when we first met,” he said. “Also, you never told me your name,” “Sorry, I forgot,” she said. “My name is Amy Rose, and all I want is Sonic.” “I’ve heard,” he said. “Perhaps that’s why he left me here.” Amy frowned.
“When you said alternate dimension, do you mean...?” asked Amy before being interrupted by Shard. “...the Sol Dimension?” he finished. “What’s up with people asking if I’m from the Sol Dimension? I have no idea. All I know is I’m from an alternate dimension. They never told me which one I’m from.” Shard frowned in frustration. Amy looked at him and said, “I’ll make sure no one asks you about the Sol Dimension. I don’t want anyone who I just met to get upset.” She smiled. Shard looked at her.
“Anyways, I came here for Sonic and Shadow’s help,” said Shard. “You see, Project Shard isn’t finished yet, and I need their help to finish me.” He pulled out a hard drive. “I have no idea what it says on this, but I need to know.” “I know someone who can help you figure it out,” said Amy. “Can you lead me to this person?” he asked, concerned. “I have no idea how to navigate this place.” “Sure thing,” she said, walking. Shard followed.
“So, you look just like Sonic,” said Amy. “But you’re not Sonic.” “That’s right,” said Shard. “What can you do?” she asked curiously. “Well, I can run fast like Sonic,” he said. Shard dashed forward, then teleported beside Amy. “Aah!” she said, startled by his sudden appearance. “I can also use Chaos Control to go anywhere, like Shadow,” said Shard. “Sorry if I startled you.” “You’re fine,” she said, gathering herself and smiling.
Shard looked around. He walked to a pile of fist-sized rocks and picked up the largest. “What are you doing?” asked Amy. “I need something to show you my third and final skill, which I think is amazing to possess,” said Shard. He looked down at the large rock in his hand and punched it, making it collapse into stone shards. He looked at Amy and showed her the handful. “I call it the Shard Shatter. I can pulverize any inanimate object into shards and manipulate them.”
He arranged the shards into a 3D model of a heart. “Have this,” said Shard, handing her the stone heart. “Wow. I love it!” said Amy, astonished by the model. “And it won’t fall apart on you,” he said. “It would be more dramatic if I could Shard Shatter a large boulder, but I only use that for defensive purposes.” “Sonic barely gives me any gifts,” she said, looking at the heart. “I will take this home and paint it red.” She hugged him without warning. “You are my new favorite hedgehog.” Shard looked at her, surprised by the sudden hug, then returned it.
“So, when will we reach this place?” he asked. They stopped hugging and continued walking. “Sorry,” said Amy, blushing. “I got distracted by your amazing heart model.” “I’ve never seen anyone with a strong romantic impulse,” he said. “Well, I did say you look like Sonic,” she said. “That could be it,” he said. “Do you try to do these things to Sonic?” “Every day,” she said. “However, he neglects to show his love for me.” She frowned at the thought. “Only if it really matters, then he will. But those moments happen rarely.” “Well, if it doesn’t work out with Sonic, there’s always someone else you can turn to,” he said, smiling.
Ahead, Shard sees a building with many handmade machines. “Is this the place?” he asked. Shard stopped and saw Amy turn around, facing him. “Welcome to Tails’ workshop!” she said, arms toward the building. “Who’s Tails?” he asked, confused. He observes the building. “This is very well constructed. This ‘Tails’ person must know his stuff.” “Shard! Come on!” she yelled. “He’s waiting for you!” Shard stressed for a second. “Sorry!” he yelled.
Walking through the door, he spotted a two-tailed orange fox at his desk. “Not what I was expecting,” he said, confused. The fox tilted his head sideways, confused. “I didn’t want to offend you,” said Shard. “I just thought you were older.” “Tails has been with us ever since he first met Sonic,” said Amy. “So, your name is Tails?” asked Shard. “What can you do aside from building machines?” “Well, I can fly,” said Tails. He runs outside. “I just spin my tails.” Tails started flying around, and Shard examined him. “That can’t be anatomically possible,” he said. “But it’s a cool skill to have, I will say.” Tails landed and walked back into the workshop.
“My name is actually Miles Prower, but everyone calls me Tails,” he said. “I can tell,” said Shard. “So, why are you here?” asked Tails. “I need your help with something,” said Shard. He pulls out the hard drive. “I am an artificial hedgehog, and I’m not completed yet. I came from an alternate dimension, and they had to abruptly stop because the reactor exploded. I was given this and a dimensional teleporter.” “He is not from the Sol Dimension,” said Amy, looking at Shard afterward. He smiled. “I don’t know what dimension I’m from,” he said, looking at Tails.
Tails takes the hard drive and walks to his desk. “How many more tests do you need?” he asked. “Umm...” started Shard. He crossed his arms and thought, tapping his foot. “I was so focused on what happened when I arrived here that I forgot how many more tests I need.” “I know how you feel,” said Tails, hooking the hard drive to his computer. “This place is so exciting that you lose your thoughts easily.”
He examines the hard drive and finds the file. “I found it,” he said. Opening the file, he reads, “Project Shard: Final Testing Procedures. Unfortunately, the facility unexpectedly shut down, and testing can no longer continue here. If you are reading this file and Shard is with you...” Tails pauses and looks at Shard. “He is here, and I am reading this,” said Tails. He looks back at his computer screen and continues reading. “If you are reading this file and Shard is with you, you must turn Shard into his super form,” he said. “If you haven’t already, obtain all seven Chaos Emeralds and let Shard do his thing. He has prepared for this for the past few days before the accident.”
“That sounds exciting,” said Shard. “I have been preparing for this.” Tails frowns. “We don’t have all the emeralds,” he said. “Can’t we just get them?” asked Shard. Tails turns toward him. “They are difficult to find and obtain,” he said. “Shadow has one, Eggman has three, we have two, and the last is missing.” “We should take the rest from him then,” said Shard eagerly. “Why is it so hard to understand?”
“Last time we attacked his base, we almost got captured,” said Tails. Amy frowned. “They were too strong for us,” she said. “I couldn’t even score a hit with my hammer!” She runs outside, and they hear loud thumping noises from Amy and her hammer. “Temper issues, like Shadow,” said Shard. “When she’s angry, she just wants to smash something with her hammer,” said Tails. “Luckily, Shadow saved us before we did get captured.” “If you can’t get the other ones, I’ll go. You should have seen what I did battling Eggman with Sonic earlier.”
Tails examines Shard’s profile on the drive. “So, you can run super-fast, teleport via Chaos Control, can smash any inanimate object into shards,” he said. Shard nods confidently. “If you’re that good, it’ll be difficult to get through Eggman’s base without a Chaos Emerald,” said Tails. Shard looks down and pulls out a bright, white emerald. “Was this the one that’s missing?” he asked. Tails, jaw-dropped, said, “We now have three!” Shard teleports behind Tails and back in front of him.
“See?” he asked. “I can get those emeralds with no problem!” Tails smiled, and Shard had a thought. “Something on your mind?” asked Tails. “I think I will ask Shadow to join our quest,” said Shard. “We did agree on a time to battle each other. We can teach each other, and I can ask if he can help us get the emeralds from Eggman.” “I bet that would be exciting,” said Tails. “Shard, you should take a break from your quest and rest,” said Amy. “If you need a nap, come over to my place. I’m always happy to have a guest there unless I don’t get along with that guest.”
“Hey guys!” yelled Sonic. “Hey, Shard.” Shard waved. “So, you met Tails,” said Sonic. “Yes, I did,” said Shard. “He’s one smart fox friend you have.” Tails looked at Shard. “Thanks for the compliment,” he said. “No problem,” said Shard. “So, I heard you have the seventh emerald?” asked Sonic. “Yes, I do,” said Shard, holding a white emerald. “That leaves four more to go unless Shadow is sincere enough to give us his,” said Sonic. “I’m thinking about asking him to help me get the other emeralds from Eggman,” said Shard. “We both can use Chaos Control to move around.”
“It would be nice for Shadow to get along with some new people,” said Sonic. “...even though it happens very rarely.” He crossed his arms and tapped his foot. “I think it would be good for him to interact more often.” He turns to Amy and says, “Shall we get going? I have no idea where your house is.” Amy smiled and said, “We should.” Sonic saw them walk off and looked skeptical.
=== Chapter 3: The Relaxing Hours===
Shard arrives with Amy at her house. “Isn’t it beautiful?” she asked, looking at Shard. “Yes, it does,” he said with a slight grin. “It’s got a nice touch of color and plant life.” Amy walks inside. “Aren’t you coming?” she asked, trying to catch his attention. “Sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t get myself distracted with someone who looks nice.”
Walking inside, Shard sniffs the air. “Is that lavender?” “It sure is!” said Amy, breathing in and exhaling slowly. She frowns and looks at the scent vaporizer. “I think it needs a new bottle,” she said. “The smell is faint,” said Shard. He looked and saw a packaged lavender scent bottle on the counter, took it, and gave it to Amy. “Here you go,” he said. She smiled and said, “Thanks.” Taking out the empty bottle, she opened the box and put the new bottle in the scent vaporizer.
Shard looked out the window and saw the sun creeping into the horizon, leaving a yellowish-orange color in the sky. “It’s getting dark,” said Amy. She looked at Shard. “Is there anything you like to do when you’re bored?” Shard looked up. “I’m not sure,” he said. “Even though it doesn’t look like it, I always have something to do.”
Amy thought about it, but her stomach started to rumble. “I think it’s time for dinner. Do you want some, Shard?” she asked. “I’m an artificial hedgehog made without the need to eat, drink, or sleep.” Amy frowned. Shard thought for a second. “When I think about it, I have never eaten anything,” he said. “Perhaps I can get a sense of what people eat.” “Okay then,” she said, heading for the kitchen.
Shard walked to the couch but didn’t sit down. Looking down at the drawers, he opened one and saw art supplies. “Colored pencils, paint chips, brushes, and canvas,” he said. “You must like creating art.” “You’re free to create something if you like,” said Amy, boiling a pot of water. He takes a flat canvas, brushes, number two pencils, and paint. Without any thought, he took a pencil and drew a detailed sketch of himself, standing tall with hands behind his back and a smile.
Amy looked back and saw Shard adding color to the canvas before she emptied a pot of long noodles into a strainer over the sink. “Don’t use too much paint,” she said. “That stuff is organic and expensive.” Finished with the painting, he takes the canvas and looks around for a decently empty space on the wall. He stands the canvas against the wall and hears Amy say, “Dinner is served!”
Walking to the table, he said, “Here’s the hard part: sitting down. I very rarely sit anywhere.” Amy pulled out a chair and offered Shard to sit. “I made spaghetti with tomato sauce, parmesan cheese, and a few meatballs.” “It looks good,” said Shard, picking up a fork and combining the food on his plate. “Is this something you like to eat?” Amy nodded. He took a bite and paused as he savored the taste of food for the first time.
“Well?” asked Amy. “What do you think?” “It’s quite delicious,” said Shard with a smile. He took another bite. “This is always a nice meal to prepare, especially for guests,” said Amy. Shard looked at his painting against the wall before taking another bite of spaghetti. “So, how was your painting?” asked Amy. With an empty mouth, Shard said, “I think it turned out excellent. I was thinking of a place to hang it up for you. Somewhere that doesn’t have a lot of stuff on the wall.”
After a few minutes of eating, they finished their plates and put them in the sink. “So, what other meals do you like to eat?” asked Shard. “That’s a difficult question,” said Amy. “I like so many meals that I lost count.” “I bet I know why,” he said, and they both laughed. “What do your other friends like to eat?” “We usually eat the same thing together, but they have their preferences,” she said. “I know for a fact that Sonic loves eating chili dogs.” “Sonic back home also ate chili dogs while working,” he said.
They sat on the couch, and Shard began a “sitting down” policy to break his habit of standing. “We have an hour or two left before we go to bed,” said Amy. “How about a game?” Shard paused. “What do you have?” he asked. Amy opened a drawer in the table in front of them, and he saw packs of cards, a chess board, dominos, and chess and checkers pieces.
Shard pulls out the chess board and pieces. “How well are you at chess?” he asked. “I’m decent,” said Amy. “I beat Sonic a few times.” “I know multiple strategies that can help me win, as I have practiced with my creators back home,” said Shard. “I am confident that I can get you checkmated. Don’t be disappointed if the game ends up being short.” “Let’s play then,” said Amy.
Outside, Sonic sits on a mountain ledge, watching the chess game yards away and eating a chili dog. “Wow, Shard is pretty good at chess,” he said, finishing the chili dog. “It would make sense because he is an artificial hedgehog and had to learn how to play strategic games that get your brain going.” He leans forward, trying not to fall off the ledge, and sees Shard move a black pawn forward to a point diagonal from the white king.
“Checkmate,” said Shard. “I thought I had the upper hand on that game,” said Amy. “That strategy takes it easy in the beginning, allowing my opponent to believe they can get the upper hand,” he said. “After that, I step up my game and take over.” “Well, impressive strategy,” she said. They both laughed and put the game away. “How about a card game?” she asked. “Depends on what you like playing,” he said. He eyed Sonic from the window but did nothing.
After a few hours of playing games and chatting, Amy yawns. “Tired?” asked Shard. “Yes, I am,” she said. “That was a wonderful night.” She gets up and starts heading to her bedroom but stops and turns to him. “Aren’t you coming?” she asked. “I’m artificial. I don’t need to sleep,” he said. She frowned. “Also, it seems weird that you want to sleep with someone you’ve known for a few hours,” he said.
“Come on,” said Amy persistently. “Not only did you eat food, but you could also lay down on something soft.” Shard gave a long thought. He still felt uncomfortable but didn’t want to upset her. “Fine,” said Shard reluctantly. “But please note that I won’t stay in there for the entire night.” She hugged him. Surprised by the hug again, he returned it.
Shard looked at the bed and said, “Isn’t that a bit big for your needs?” Amy sighed and said, “I bought it just in case Sonic wants to be with me.” “But that hasn’t happened,” he said. “Sadly, no,” she said. “I don’t feel like exchanging it for something smaller because it’s very comfy.” She took off her headband. “Can you leave the room while I change?” “Sure thing,” said Shard, walking out and closing the door. He started to think about what he got into.
A few minutes later, Shard heard a knock on the door. “All done,” said Amy. “You can come in now.” He opened the door and saw her in bed with sleep robes on. Her clothing was neatly hanging on the wall, replacing the sleep robes and slippers. “If I were you, I would take my shoes off first,” she said. “I don’t want these sheets getting dirty before laundry day.” “Right,” he said, taking them off, then climbing into bed.
Shard took a moment to feel the softness of the mattress, then got under the covers. “Isn’t it comfy?” asked Amy. “Before, I thought the only thing comfy was the soles of my shoes,” said Shard. “I’m glad you enjoy it,” she said, turning off the night lamp. She turned and faced Shard, who was facing upward. “Turning on your side feels better than straight up. He turned and faced her, whose eyes were closed. “Night, Shard,” she said. “Night,” he said, closing his eyes.
As Amy fell asleep, Shard slowly and quietly got up. “This still seems weird to me,” he said. “Her breath does smell nice. Must be mint mouthwash.” As he got out of bed, she flipped on her side, now facing the nightlight. “I don’t understand why Sonic doesn’t want to be with her. She’s a little bit overbearing, but she’s really nice.” Slowly walking out, he left the door ajar and stayed silent for the rest of the night.
The sun shines through the curtains, and Amy wakes up. Yawning and stretching, she said, “Good morning.” She looked over and saw the other side of the bed empty. “Shard?” His side of the bed was cold. “Did he wake up early?” The sweet aroma of cooking stopped her train of thought. Sniffing the air, she said, “Is he cooking pancakes?” Getting up and holding her sleeping robes even though they’re banded together, she put on her slippers and walked out.
A plate sits on the counter near the bedroom door. “Morning, sleepyhead,” said Shard, flipping a pancake. “Since when did you learn how to cook?” she asked. “I’m a fast learner and well qualified in fire safety,” he said. “Take that plate on the counter to your right.” She looked at the plate and took it. “Hold still,” he said, taking the frying pan off the stove and looking at the plate. He flipped the pancake across the room, and it landed perfectly in the center of it.
“Nice throw,” said Amy, amazed. “What can I say?” asked Shard. “I’m skilled. So, one or two?” She looked at her plate. “I’ll take another one,” she said. He flipped another pancake across the room, and it landed on top of the other one. “Are they buttermilk?” she asked. “They are,” he said. “There are toppings on the table if you want to decorate it before you eat.” He prepares himself two pancakes, turns off the stove, and sits down.
Whipped cream, strawberries, banana slices, blueberries, chocolate chips, butter, and maple syrup sat on the table. “Did you do this all for me?” asked Amy. “It’s the best I could do after you invited me here,” said Shard, smiling. She smiled back. He put butter on both, syrup and whipped cream in the middle, and chocolate chips on the top. She put butter in the middle, and strawberries, banana slices, blueberries, and whipped cream on the top.
“So, I noticed you weren’t in bed when I woke up,” said Amy. “I don’t need to sleep,” said Shard. He took a bite of his pancakes. “Don’t you get tired?” she asked, taking a bite. “I’m artificial. I was made without these basic requirements, although it scientifically seems impractical,” he said. “I wonder what it feels like without needing to eat, drink, or sleep,” she said.
After a few minutes, they were finished. While Amy was putting her dress back on and applying cosmetics, Shard washed the dishes and put everything away. “So, how do I look,” she asked, showing herself in different poses. “Beautiful as always,” he said. This time, he hugged her first. “Shall we visit Sonic and the rest of our friends?” he asked. “Yes,” she said. They both walked out the door.
After taking a walk through the plains, they met up with Sonic. “So, how were your nights?” asked Sonic. “It was pretty good,” said Amy. Sonic looked at them both. “Did you do anything… fun?” he asked. “Define ‘fun,’” said Shard, crossing his arms. Sonic thought for a moment. Amy frowned. “Get your mind out of the gutters,” said Shard. “Actually, can you and I talk for a moment?” Sonic looked confused. “Why?” he asked. “I want to talk to you about something,” said Shard. Amy walked away. “Uh, sure,” said Sonic. Shard and Sonic walked in a different direction from Amy.
“So, what do you want to talk about?” asked Sonic. “What were you doing last night?” asked Shard. “I was running around the plains,” said Sonic. “Did you stop at any point?” asked Shard. “To collect rings and choose a different path,” said Sonic. “I like to switch things up.” “Would one of those stops be a house of some kind?” asked Shard. Sonic paused. “What are you implying?” he asked.
“Last night, I saw you looking through the window while Amy and I were choosing the next game to play,” said Shard. “I wasn’t anywhere near Amy’s house,” said Sonic, lying. “You were spying on us on a cliff a few yards away, eating a chili dog,” said Shard. “And I never lie.” Sonic was about to say something but saw Shard raise an eyebrow. Amy looked at Sonic, hearing faint parts of the conversation.
“Fine,” said Sonic. “I was a bit worried that Amy would do something out of the ordinary with you.” “That’s because you barely spend time with her together,” said Shard. “She’s a nice girl.” “She’s crazy!” said Sonic, raising his voice. “She follows me around and asks me to be her boyfriend.” “As if I already knew that for years!” yelled Amy furiously.
They both looked at Amy. “Unlike you, Shard and I had a great time doing things I wanted to do with you!” He looked at Shard, at Amy, and back at Shard. “Important tip about private conversations: Keep your voice down,” said Shard. Sonic looked at him, disgusted. “Also, you could learn a thing or two from me about spending time with someone of the other gender who cares about you,” continued Shard. He and Amy walked away, throwing away their emotions from the talk.
“Hey, Shard! Hey Amy!” said Tails, greeting them back to his workshop. “So, how was last night?” “Just fine,” said Shard. “We had a fun time together,” said Amy. “That’s good,” said Tails. “Anyways, it’s the day to gather those Chaos Emeralds together. I hope Shadow will help me with that.” “I might think about it…” started Shadow outside. “…depending on how the battle goes.” “You’re on,” said Shard, disappearing. Shadow followed. “I want to see this,” she said. “What’s going on?” asked Sonic. Shard and Shadow are about to fight each other. Want to come with us?” “I can get there in a second,” said Sonic, dashing off. Amy frowns. “I hate it when he does that.”
=== Chapter 4: Dimensional Conflict===
“You ready?” asked Shard. “As always,” said Shadow. They were both facing each other. Kneeling down with a hand on the ground, Shadow kicks Shard before Shard teleports and kicks Shadow in the back, launching him against a tree. Shadow grunts and yells, “It hasn’t been a minute, and I’m already pissed off!” Shadow shoots towards Shard and tackles him into the water. Shard teleports into the air with Shadow and launches him back into the water, causing a huge splash.
Sonic arrives at the coast and sees a splash of water in the distance. Stressing out because of the water, he turns to see Tails and Amy. “See them yet?” she asked. Sonic nods and points. The three see Shadow bursting out of the water and rushing toward Shard. Shard teleports under Shadow, grabs him, and launches him toward them. Shadow was just low enough to hit the water, causing a wave that splashed water over them.
Sonic looks up, shaking to get all the water off him. “Well, Shard has some skill,” said Tails, spinning his tails to dry them. Amy shakes the water off herself and frowns. “My dress is soaked,” she said. Sonic frowns. “I really hate getting soaked in water, even if I have to,” he said. Shadow shoots out, soaking them again, and dashes toward Shard, floating over the water. With his feet, he paddles quickly, leaving large waves of water in the opposite direction, devastating Shadow. Sonic sees Shard in the water and looks amazed and jealous. “You wish you could swim like Shard,” said Amy. Sonic frowned at her.
“So, Shadow,” started Shard, dodging Shadow’s punch. “I’ve been thinking about getting the emeralds.” Shadow kicks him in the air. “You want me to help you?” asked Shadow. Landing on his feet, Shard asked, “Well, don’t you want more emeralds?” A Chaos Spear shot across the sky toward Shard. “I’m fine with the one I have,” said Shadow, getting kicked to the ground by Shard. “If we do it together, it will take less time...” started Shard. He shattered a rock and launched shards at Shadow, dodging them. “...and we can humiliate Eggman,” finished Shard.
“This is an interesting fight,” said Sonic, drying off the water in his shoes. “Was this the same intensity as the first encounter?” asked Tails. “They might be going softer than before,” said Amy. She saw Shadow flying toward the water. “Never mind,” she added. Shard and Shadow teleported all over the island, scoring and dodging hits. “It’s a deal then,” said Shadow. “All I want to do is make Eggman look bad.” “Okay then,” said Shard.
They teleported to opposite sides of the island, then dashed at each other, boosting. Fighting the opposing force, they both kicked each other and got launched toward the water. “Woah!” exclaimed Sonic, Tails, and Amy. “That was impressive,” said Tails. “Shard has the definite upper hand in battling Shadow,” said Sonic. “And I have the definite upper hand in being your girlfriend,” said Amy. Sonic frowned at her again. “So, shall we start?” asked Shard. “After you,” said Shadow. They both teleported to Eggman’s base.
Shard and Shadow appeared in a hallway. “Where are we?” asked Shard. “Eggman’s base,” said Shadow, walking toward a blast door. He stopped, looked at the door, and turned toward Shard. “Open it with your shatter ability.” Shard walked up to the door, moved his fist back, and punched it, shattering it. Inside the chamber, a stand with many shiny, colorful emeralds is blocked off by a forcefield. “The Chaos Emeralds,” said Shadow. Shard walked over to it and drew back his fist. Suddenly, a forcefield surrounds Shard and Shadow. A voice laughs over the loudspeakers.
“Well, look what we have here,” said Eggman over the loudspeakers. “Our two strongest rodents.” A claw reaches down into the forcefield and opens. “Hand over the Chaos Emeralds, and I will think about letting you go.” “Never!” yelled Shadow, teleporting out of the forcefield. “Shard, come on!” Shard teleported to the forcefield generator and shattered it. The emerald stand is now unprotected.
Shadow rushes toward the stand and takes two Chaos Emeralds. “I’m out of here!” he yelled, disappearing. Shard quickly grabs the other emerald but stops to look down. He sees six colorful, rectangular emeralds. “What are those?” he asked. “They aren’t Chaos Emeralds.” He thinks for a moment. Suddenly, he finds himself surrounded by badniks.
“Hand over the emeralds!” yells Eggman over the loudspeakers. Shard looks at the six emeralds he discovered and says, “If Eggman has them, then I’ll take them.” He jumps in, grabs the emeralds, and disappears from the chamber. “No!” yells Eggman, entering. He runs to the stand and looks down. “He took everything!” He turns and yells, “Find Shard and get those emeralds back!” The badniks turn around and exit the chamber.”
Shard appears in Tails’ workshop with an armful of emeralds. “That was easier than I thought,” he said, dropping the emeralds on the table. “I found these weird, rectangular emeralds and decided to take them. They don’t look like Chaos Emeralds.” Sonic looked at the emeralds and frowned. “How did these end up here? She was protecting them...” Sonic paused, then turned to Shard. “These shouldn’t be here,” he said. Shard looked skeptical. “Why? Eggman had them, and now we have them.” Sonic looked at Shard with displeasure. “Let me tell you a story about these emeralds,” he said.
“One day, I was fighting Eggman, as usual,” said Sonic. “When he was defeated, a weird emerald...” He pointed to the blue emerald on the table. “...I found that on the ground, and this girl came out of nowhere and took it. Well, she flipped it multiple times before running off.” Tails looked up. “She was from the Sol Dimension and came to retrieve the Sol Emeralds,” continued Sonic. “Danger arose that threatened this dimension and the Sol Dimension. We both defeated Eggman and his descendant from two hundred years.” Tails exited the workshop and gazed up. “After the battle, we went our separate ways. She went back home, and I came back here.”
“Sonic, you need to see this,” said Tails. Sonic turned and walked to him. “Look,” said Tails, pointing to a small crack in the sky. Shard walked out and asked, “What is that?” “That’s why the Sol Emeralds shouldn’t be here,” said Sonic. Shard thought back to Eggman’s base. “Eggman must have kept them in his base for a reason,” he said. “It’s not my fault they’re here.” Suddenly, he was kicked a distance and hit a tree, knocking it down. Amy rushed toward Shard. Sonic and Tails looked behind and saw a purple cat with a red gem on her head. She was holding a green Sol Emerald.
“Blaze, I was hoping you would show up,” said Sonic. “Where are the Sol Emeralds?” she asked. Sonic pointed to the pile in the workshop. “Who took them?” she asked. Sonic and Tails looked at each other. Blaze looked up and saw Amy help Shard stand up. “Him!” yelled Blaze, running toward Shard. “Are you okay?” asked Amy. “Fine, I guess,” said Shard, holding his head. “I didn’t expect that.” He looked up and saw Blaze run toward him, fists at the ready. “Blaze!” yelled Amy. “Here we go,” said Shard, charging up his spin-dash. Launching himself at Blaze, she grabbed him and threw him against another tree.
“What did you do with the Sol Emeralds?” yelled Blaze. Shard, getting up a second time, jumped on top of a rock and yelled, “I don’t know anything about the Sol Emeralds or the dimension!” He punched the rock, shattering it, and launched the shards at Blaze. She vaporizes the stone shards flying at her. “Actually cool,” said Shard. The envelope, pushed by Blaze, moved toward him. He moved out of the way and dodged the fireballs she launched.
The sky darkens as heavy rain clouds dominate the horizon. “Blaze is one with fire,” said Shard. “This conflict won’t settle if we keep fighting like this!” He shattered another rock, and fireballs collided with stone shards. “Tell me what you did with the Sol Emeralds and give them back!” A fire blast emits from Blaze’s hands. Engulfed by the fire, he kicks her, causing her to stop. With an angry look, he charged up a boost.
“Give me back the Sol Emeralds!” yelled Blaze, boosting toward Shard. Doing the same, Shard yelled, “Take them yourself!” They both collided, fighting the opposing force. Sonic, Tails, and Amy watch as the conflict intensifies. Suddenly, a dark red spin ball appears and heads for them. “Chaos Blast!” yelled Shadow. A shockwave knocks Shard and Blaze out of the moment. Shard catches Blaze, who almost hits the ground, and teleports back to the group.
“Stop this battle at once,” said Shadow. “I don’t need a heated conflict that can endanger your audience.” “Shadow’s never this sincere,” said Sonic quietly. Shard and Blaze look at each other, squinting. She walks toward the workshop and finds the pile of Sol Emeralds missing. “Looking for these?” asked Shadow, tossing a Sol Emerald up and down. “Yes, I am,” she said calmly. “I guess I got caught in the moment.” She retrieves the emeralds from Shadow, then walks over to Shard, who is cautious. She holds out her hand.
“I’m Blaze the Cat,” she said, smiling. Shard hesitates but takes her hand and shakes it. “Shard the Hedgehog,” he said, also smiling. Amy looks jealous. “So, Sonic says you’re from the Sol Dimension,” he said. “I am the protector of the seven Sol Emeralds,” said Blaze. “Where are you from?” “I am also from an alternate dimension, although I don’t know which one.” Tails said to Sonic, “Do you think he has amnesia? Shadow had it, and he couldn’t remember much.” “I don’t think so,” Sonic replied. “Shard told us his background story before he arrived here.”
“Anyways, I shall be on my way to return the emeralds to my dimension,” said Blaze. “You can join me if you want. It could help you remember what dimension you were from.” Shard took a moment to think but saw the expanding crack in the sky. “No thanks,” said Shard. “That crack is getting bigger, and I don’t want anything bad to happen. Also, I don’t know if my super form will work with those emeralds.” “Okay then,” said Blaze.
The Sol Emeralds circled around her as she morphed into Burning Blaze. She is now bright red, wearing a red dress, and enveloped with fire. “I’ll see you all again soon,” she said, flying toward the crack into the Sol Dimension. The crack seals and the clouds move away, leaving a bright, blue sky. “It’s so pretty seeing the sky return to normal again,” said Amy. “I think it’s time to complete the final test,” said Shard, tossing the white Chaos Emerald.
He took the emeralds and exited the workshop, leaving behind his teleporter on Tails’ desk. “Okay, so the file said that Shard does his thing once we have all seven emeralds,” said Tails. Shard, counting the emeralds, says, “I’m ready,” said Shard. The emeralds began to float and circle around Shard. “Feel that energy,” said Sonic. “Embrace the power,” said Shadow. Shard closed his eyes, and a bright yellow glare emerged from him.
Suddenly, a white flash blinded everyone, and they saw Shard in his super form. His gray fur is now golden yellow, leaving only the blue stripes on his quills unchanged. The shard symbols on his gloves are also golden yellow. He takes a moment to gather himself before opening his eyes. “So, how do you feel?” asked Shadow. “Powerful,” said Shard. “And happy. Project Shard is a success.” A portal opens in front of them, and Blaze appears. “Did this just happen?” she asked. “It just did,” said Shard. “Don’t you look charming?” she asked. Shard smiled, then turned to Sonic and Shadow. “How about we go for a nice ride around the world?” he asked. “Sure,” said Sonic. Shadow nodded.
“Can I tag along?” asked Blaze. “You sure Burning Blaze will work with Chaos Emeralds?” asked Shard. “It’s worth a shot,” she said. “Okay then,” he said. The four of them gathered, holding hands, and closed their eyes. “Here we go,” said Shard. A golden yellow glow emerged from the center as it expanded and reached the other three. A bright light blinded the others as the rest of the group turned into their super forms.
“It’s always fun to be in this form,” said Sonic. “You’re not wrong,” said Blaze. Shadow nodded. “Let’s get going,” said Shard. “Rings won’t collect themselves. They all looked up and started floating. The higher they are, the faster they fly. Suddenly, they shot through the air. “Our new friend’s all grown up,” said Amy. “Now, Shard will have to get used to not saying ‘unfinished’ in his introduction,” said Tails. He walked back to the workshop and spotted Shard’s dimensional teleported.
“This is amazing,” said Sonic. The group flew around the Earth many times faster than objects orbiting normally. “How fast can we go?” asked Shard. “Don’t go too fast, or else you’ll travel through time,” said Shadow. “It’s exciting to know I’m finally complete,” said Shard. He looked down and saw Tails’ workshop and a robot heading for it. “That looks like trouble,” he said as he dashed back to the ground.
“Well, well,” said Eggman inside the robot. “Looks like your powerful friends are gone. That means I can get rid of you without any trouble.” He laughs maniacally and moves toward the workshop. “Hey, Egghead!” yelled Shard, dashing toward the robot. Picking up speed exponentially, he smashes through the robot. Shadow teleports and punches Shard, who drops the Chaos Emeralds and disappears. Eggman’s machine collapses on Shadow, who smashes through and stands on top of it. “Didn’t have much use after that blow,” said Shadow.
“Where’s Shard?” asked Amy. “He went too fast,” said Shadow. “He’s traveling through time.” Amy looks down with sadness, and Blaze, returning to her standard form, tries to calm her down. Moments later, Sonic returns, reverting to normal, and asks, “Where’s Shard?” Shadow looks at him, returning to standard form. “He’s gone. He’s traveling through time.” Sonic paused, then said, “I hope it’s a time when everything is fine.”
===Chapter 5: The Prism===
A portal opens, and Shard shoots upward. “Woah!” he yelled. He looks down and sees the ground. “Okay, land on your feet,” he said. Suddenly, he feels something powerful a distance away. “What is that?” he asked himself, landing face-first in the dirt. Groaning, he lifts his head and says, “Shard, you were just completed, and you still can’t land feet-first.” Standing up, he looks around. “It’s still Green Hills, but it looks different, and I feel something.”
Still only having basic knowledge of where he is, Shard starts moving toward the strange sensation he feels. “I guess since I’m complete, I can feel any energy source, if it’s from Eggman’s base, from the Chaos Emeralds, or from the thing I can feel from a mile away,” he said. “Impressive.” Guessing the direction to head, he ran toward the object at high speeds, trying to dash like Sonic.
“It must be this way,” said Shard, stopping at a huge mountain. He looks up and examines it. “Wow, this must be what I’ve been feeling.” He hears something in the distance. “Oh, you’re really asking for it,” said Sonic. “Yes! I am!” said Eggman, taunting Sonic, laughing. “You can mess with me, Eggman,” started Sonic. “But no one messes with my best friends!” yells Sonic. “Sonic, no!” yells Tails. “Something bad is about to happen,” said Shard. “I know it.” He runs to a large boulder and holds on tight.
A blue energy shockwave spread across the entire plane. Shard saw everything get knocked back by the wave as it rushed toward him. Fighting the force, Shard held on to the boulder. The moment he let go, it finally passed on. He got knocked back a few feet. The peak of the mountain exploded and burst into many smaller boulders. “What was that?” he asked. “I just arrived here, where...whenever I am, and everything is starting to fall apart.”
He rushed up the mountain and saw a few boulders blocking the entrance to a covered path. Looking around to see if anyone saw him, he found a large hole in the rocks. Squeezing through, he managed to enter the cave and fell. Shard landed feet-first. “Finally!” he said. “I landed feet-first this time! Shard, you are amazing.” He laughed and walked into a wall. “Ugh. Stop distracting yourself. Now that you landed on your feet, it’s time to look where you’re going.” He looked up and saw he was very deep in the cave. “Ugh. I have to climb up a long way.”
Shard started up the wall, making sure to grip the stone. After minutes and minutes of climbing, Shard reached level ground. “Finally, that took quite a while,” he said. Walking forward, he felt something powerful. “All right, I am very close to it,” he said. Before he reached it, the rocks collapsed to open the cave, and something fell from the entrance. Shard quickly ran to the other side of the pillar and climbed down, holding onto the rock.
“Why didn’t you idiots tell me how big that first step was?” yelled Eggman. “Sorry, boss!” said a metallic voice, preferably one of his robots. Shard climbed down toward the dark silently. “He can’t see me,” he said quietly. He heard thumps from Eggman’s mech walking in his direction. “Where is it?” asked Eggman. “I know you’re in here somewhere.” “Did he hear me?” Shard asked himself. He climbed lower and lower.
Suddenly, the cave is lit with rainbow colors as a light through a multi-colored crystal. Little lightning bolts shot from one part to another part of it. Eggman started laughing maniacally, intensifying over time. “Ugh,” said Shard. “Does this guy ever shut up?” He looked disgusted. He heard badniks entering the cave and surrounding the area. Outside, a plane flew overhead, and Shard noticed it. “That plane,” he said. “It doesn’t sound like an Eggman creation. Could it be Sonic and his friends?”
A moto bug looked down and saw Shard. He quickly climbed up and kicked the robot off the platform. The bug fell and got smashed when it hit the ground, and Shard climbed down. Eggman turned around and looked down. “I knew I should have checked its positioning system,” he said. He turned around and went back to the crystal. “That was close,” said Shard before he was interrupted by an explosion. “When is Sonic going to show up?” asked Amy. “It’ll be soon,” said Tails. “Well, they finally showed up,” said Shard.
“Hey, guys! I made it!” yelled Sonic. “You’re late!” yelled Tails, Amy, Rouge, and Knuckles. “That has to be the first time Sonic is late,” said Shard. “I know him. He’s a speedy guy. He should never be late to anything.” He continued listening to the conversation. “Crush them all!” yelled Eggman. “Just like always, Eggman wants to destroy Sonic and his friends,” said Shard, annoyed. “Get that rock out of the ground!” yelled Eggman. Shard climbed up and peaked his head high enough to see the colorful crystal. Eggman’s mech moved toward it and grabbed it, trying to pull it free.
“Step away from the rock, Eggman!” yelled Sonic, running toward him. “Not this time, you fool!” said Eggman, struggling to free the crystal. Shard climbed down and said, “I don’t know why, but that must be the Paradox Prism.” “Sonic, wait!” yelled Tails. Shard panicked, climbed as fast as he could, and dashed for the crystal. “Sonic, no!” yelled Tails, Amy, Rouge, and Knuckles. “Chaos Control!” yelled Shadow. As Shard got a firm grasp on the crystal, Sonic smashed through, causing it to break apart.
The entire cave lit up with multiple colors. The prism shattered, causing four shards to form and move away. Shard sees everything slow down. He has no sign of Sonic or Dr. Eggman. Everyone else got blasted back in pain. Shadow, holding a green Chaos Emerald, teleports and disappears. Shard gets blown away and shoots extremely fast, disappearing. The world collapses as everything goes dark. He tries to open his eyes as he travels through an unknown continuum.
A blast releases Shard into a strange void. He opens his eyes to see a purplish-magenta background. Huge, lifeless shards are scattered in the abyss of the Shatterverse. “Where am I?” he asks, looking around. “This doesn’t look like outer space.” Shard floats forward. “That Paradox Prism must have given me a surge of power. There’s no other reason why I can float in any direction without a boost unless this is a dream. Wait, can I?” Shard teleports a few meters away. “Well, I no longer need a Chaos Emerald to use Chaos Control.
He looks at a white light and sees Sonic shoot out with the four prism shards. “Okay, this isn’t a dream,” said Shard. “He broke the prism. That must be the reason why I’m in this weird place.” Moving away, he sees Shadow appear, still holding the green Chaos Emerald. Shadow looks around, then spots Sonic. “He doesn’t look happy,” said Shard. “That’s normal for a person with a rivalry against Sonic.” The prisms light up and create portals, leading to many alternate-dimensional worlds. Sonic, still unconscious, heads for the red one.
“Who knows where that goes?” Shard asked. Shadow hears a voice and looks around. “Who said that?” he asked. Shard moved behind a large crystal and hid. “I think he heard me,” he said. “Well, it’s not hard to hear someone’s voice in this place.” He heard a thrusting sound behind him. Peeking, he saw Shadow heading toward him. When Shadow reaches the crystal, he doesn’t see anything. “Looking for me?” asked Shard seriously.
Shadow turned around and saw Shard, having clenched fists and a neutral face. Shadow frowned and asked, “Who are you?” “If you knew, you wouldn’t ask me that question,” said Shard. Shadow set his skates on a crystal and launched toward Shard. Shard teleported out of Shadow’s way, then shot toward Shadow, kicking him. Because of zero gravity, Shadow flipped over and over from the kick.
“Don’t have much experience flying in space without all the Chaos Emeralds, huh?” asked Shard. Shadow grunted and yelled angrily, “I have plenty of thrusts to take you down!” “Can you control it to get me?” Shadow’s skates ignited, and he blasted toward Shard. This time, he moved away from Shadow, watching him counterthrust and turn. “Not bad,” said Shard. They both shot at each other, with Shard knocking out Shadow.
“Not good enough,” said Shard. “You’ll have a nice rest.” He looked around. “There’s not much to do here.” He floated away, out of Shadow’s sight. Shadow woke up and held his head. “That hurt,” he said. He looked around but had no sign of Shard. “Where did he go?” he said, still frustrated. “He can’t find me here,” whispered Shard. “If he’s gone, then I’ll go back and deal with Sonic,” said Shadow.
A bright flash from the red portal caught Shadow’s eye, and he saw Sonic running in circles and turning randomly. “That looks like he’s inside a sphere shape,” said Shard. Shadow went over and tried to communicate with Sonic. “Sonic, it’s broken!” he said. “It’s all broken!” “Right, Sonic did this,” said Shard. “Why did I forget that moment?”
The portal died down to its regular shine, and Shadow returned to where he was before. Without hesitation, Shard teleports a distance from Shadow. “Looking for me?” he asked. Shadow turned and growled. “Who are you?” he asked. “I’m just a hedgehog trying to find my way through this place,” said Shard. “Don’t think you’ll get away with this that easily,” said Shadow. “I’m here for Sonic, all because he did this.” “Well, if you’re here for Sonic, why are we fighting?” asked Shard. Before Shadow could say anything, Shard interrupted him and said, “So I won’t become a ‘you’ problem.”
Blasting his rocket skates, Shadow shot toward Shard, fists in front of him. Shard teleported out of Shadow’s way. Shadow yelled, “Stay still!” Blasting again, he shot toward Shard, only to punch the crystal behind Shard, shattering it into many pieces. Shard teleported behind Shadow and asked, “Were you going for me or the crystal?” “Stop moving!” yelled Shadow. Once again, he blasted toward Shard, only to get his fist stuck in another large crystal. “My hand!” yelled Shadow.
Looking at him trying to free his hand, Shard said, “Stop this conflict! We’re not going to get anywhere by fighting. Remember, you’re here about Sonic, not me.” Shadow, “You’re right,” said Shadow. “I am here about Sonic.” He frees his hand from the crystal. “That’s why I’ll get rid of you to prevent another conflict.” Shadow blasts toward Shard one last time. Instead of moving, Shard grabs Shadow’s arm, spins him around, and launches him toward a small crystal. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got places to be,” said Shard, moving away.
Crashing against a crystal and shattering, Shadow grunted. Looking around, he still has an eye on the red portal. Getting away from the crystal, he sees Sonic rushing out of the red portal and heading for the green one. “Sonic, if you decide to stop here, be on the lookout for a gray and blue hedgehog,” he said to himself. “He looks just like you.” As Sonic went through the portal, Shard said, “I sure do. I haven’t gone anywhere far.”
“Who are you?” asked Shadow. “Finally, you ask that question,” said Shard. “My name is Shard the Hedgehog. I’m the product of Project Shard from the Shard Dimension.” “Why are you here?” asked Shadow. “I just found my strongest form,” said Shard. A white light blinds Shadow, and he sees Shard with glowing, light blue fur, and his hand slates.
A portal opens a distance away from Shard and Shadow, who don’t notice. A dark gray and red hedgehog with red hand slates and rings, having the same type of clothing Shard has with a different color, appears from the portal. Looking up, he sees a white light and heads for it, hiding behind large shards. Squinting to get a good look, he recognized what the light was. “Shard,” he said. Keeping Shard in sight, he backed away and prepared to launch himself.
Shard returned to normal. “That light show did nothing but damage my eyes,” said Shadow. “What do you want?” “Well, I was going to travel back to my world without being noticed, but that part failed,” said Shard. “What will you do now?” asked Shadow. “I will ask you to forget about me and not tell anyone else...”
Shard got kicked by the dark gray and red hedgehog and started floating at a decent speed. Now next to Shadow, the hedgehog takes the Chaos Emerald from Shadow’s hand and moves toward Shard. “Hey!” yelled Shadow. “Give that back!” Using Chaos Control, the hedgehog created a portal in Shard’s path of travel, and Shard went through it.
Looking at Shadow, the hedgehog said, “This series of events does not concern you.” He gives back the emerald and flies through the portal before it closes. Shadow tries to collect his thoughts about what happened. Again, the red portal lights up, Sonic flies out, and he heads for the green one.
===Chapter 6: Welcome, Fellow Dimension! ===
Back in Green Hills, the rest of Eggman’s mech gets salvaged and hauled away. Sonic and his friends are at Tails’ workstation, searching for any sign of Shard. “Do you think he’ll be back?” asked Amy. “I don’t know,” said Tails. “Wherever he is, I hope he’s doing something good,” said Sonic. Shadow nods. “Now I regret yelling at and fighting him,” said Blaze.
A few miles away, a portal opens, and Shard falls to the ground before it closes. He wakes up, grasps his head, and stands up. “That blow really did it,” he said. Looking around, he sees the mountain of the Prism, but the tip is fixed. “Am I back in the present time? I’ll call that ‘Prism Mountain.’” He dashed off before another portal opened, and the dark gray and red hedgehog appeared. Swiftly turning his head, he skimmed the area for Shard. “Missed him,” he said before running off.
On the computer screen, two dots appeared, catching Tails and Sonic’s attention. “It found something!” said Tails. “Is it Shard?” asked Sonic. Tails went to the computer and said, “I found two energy signatures.” “Two different portals?” asked Amy. “I hope one of them is Shard.” Sonic looked skeptically at Amy. “What?” she asked. “The past few days seemed strange now that you and Shard met each other,” said Sonic. Amy frowned. “I’m just saying,” he said. Shadow looked at the dots on the screen, then teleported away from the workshop.
Shard zipped through the plains, often looking around him. “No sign of that hedgehog,” he said. “I bet he went somewhere else.” He tripped over something the moment he finished his thought. He hit a rock, then fell to the ground. Quickly getting up, he turned around and saw the hedgehog. “I can’t seem to get you off my tail,” said Shard. The hedgehog stared at him. “Giving me the silent treatment? I’m fine with that...”
The hedgehog teleported behind Shard and kicked him up into the air. Looking back, he teleported right in front of the hedgehog, punching him against the wall and making the hedgehog fly through the rock. “You’re not the only strong one who tried to fight me,” said Shard. “You’re nothing compared to me.” The hedgehog looked at him furiously. “I am you,” he said, emphasizing each word.
Both hedgehogs teleported in the air and exchanged fists, kicks, and punches, but no progress. Thinking fast, Shard uppercut the hedgehog, making him fall to the ground, before teleporting up and kicking Shard to the ground. He landed on his feet. “There we go,” said Shard. “Don’t get distracted.” As the hedgehog teleported behind Shard and drew back his fist, Shard kicked him in the chest, launching him backward. He then dashed off, followed by the hedgehog.
On top of a mountain, Shadow appears and sees the battle between Shard and the dark gray and red hedgehog. He activates a beacon and drops it, teleporting away again. The hedgehog gets behind a rock, shielding him from shards thrown at him. “Give up?” asked Shard. The hedgehog peeks over the rock, stares at Shard with fury, and says, “I think it’s time to demonstrate the balance of power.” Shard looked skeptical but saw the rock get shattered into shards. “How?” he asked. “I am your equal,” said the hedgehog, launching the fragments at Shard.
“I see what’s going on here,” said Amy. “You’re jealous that I’m with someone else.” “I’m not jealous,” said Sonic. “I’m a bit concerned with the new relationship between you and Shard.” “Why?” she asked. “Because you won’t let me do things I want to?” “Well, some exceptions can be made a few times,” said Sonic. “You’ve been all over me since we met on Little Planet.” I’m lucky I’m not in your shoes, Sonic,” said Blaze. “Don’t get me started with that,” said Sonic.
“So, a hedgehog that looks somewhat like me just shows up with the same abilities as me?” Shard asked himself. He creates a portal to remove the shards coming at him and teleports them to fly at the hedgehog. “Shard Shatter is my thing! I coined the term, not you!” The hedgehog moved away from the portal transporting the shards. “Well, how come I possess the ability?” he asked.
Looking at each other with the intention of violence, they spin dash at each other. Before colliding with each other, Shadow appears out of nowhere. “Chaos Blast!” he yells. The shockwave blasts Shard and the hedgehog into the air. Shard falls into the water while the hedgehog hits the side of Prism Mountain and tumbles down. Getting out of the water, Shard looks to Shadow. Getting up from the ground, the hedgehog also looks at Shadow. Both hedgehogs had the same thought: “I didn’t see that coming.”
Tails’ computer displayed another dot. “I picked up something else,” he said. Sonic and Amy stopped arguing, and they and Blaze went to the computer. “What is it?” asked Sonic. “Is it Shard?” asked Amy. Blaze shook her head in disgust. Examining the type of signal, Tails said, “It’s from a beacon.” Looking closer, he could see Shadow’s Chaos Blast. “Why is Shadow there?” He then saw Shard and the hedgehog. Tails paused.
“What is it?” asked Sonic. “Is he dead?” asked Amy. Blaze walks away. “No,” said Tails. Amy sighs with relief. “I see three hedgehogs there: Shadow, Shard, and a dark gray and red hedgehog.” “What are they doing?” asked Sonic. “I keep a recording of all findings,” said Tails, pulling up the video. As they watch it, they see Shard and the hedgehog fighting. Shadow appears, activating a beacon, teleports away, then creates the blast moments later.
“That fight must have heated up, causing Shadow to interrupt them,” said Sonic. “Ever since Shard came here, Shadow’s personality changed.” “But why does he not want Shard to fight?” asked Amy. “This was the second time he interrupted his fight.” “I wonder if he has changed a bit,” said Tails before another dot appeared on his computer as Blaze reactivated the beacon that Shadow dropped. “Now there’s three hedgehogs and a cat on the field.”
Shard walked up to Shadow. “Why did you do that?” he asked. “Who is this guy?” asked the hedgehog. “My name is Shadow if you didn’t know, and I did it because of a small, reluctant change in my personality,” said Shadow. The hedgehog looks at Shadow differently. “I must say I like your look,” said the hedgehog. “Thanks, I guess,” said Shadow. “Sure, I like fights, but there’s something different about you. I know because of the fight we had when we first met.”
The hedgehog paused. “Shadow, where are you from?” Shadow looked at him with confusion. “Is that a rhetorical question?” he asked. “Because I’ve lived here all my life, aside from when I was in space as an experiment.” Shard tried to figure out what the hedgehog asked. He turned to the hedgehog and asked, “Where are you from?” The hedgehog looked at him with confusion. “You should know this,” he said. “We came from the same dimension.” Shard shook his head. “I don’t know you,” he said.
“My name is Frag,” said the hedgehog. “A sample of your DNA combination was stolen and altered to make me look like what you see right now.” “Who created you?” asked Shard. “I don’t know. Either it was a machine or someone absent,” said Frag. Blaze appeared, found the beacon Shadow activated, and dropped it. She picked it up and sent a ping. Instead of dropping it, she kept it and ran down to the group.
“Do you know the name of the dimension?” asked Shard. “I have no idea what it’s really called, so I call it the Shard Dimension, like how I named my ability to turn a rock into many shards ‘Shard Shatter.’” “Impressive,” said Frag. “I don’t know the name, but I like the name ‘Shard Dimension,’ along with ‘Shard Shatter.’” “So,” started Shadow. “Why are you here?” “The Shard Dimension is in danger,” said Frag. Shard looked confused.
“Who is this?” asked Blaze. “This is Frag the Hedgehog, essentially a mutated clone of me from the Shard Dimension,” said Shard. “I’m starting to rethink my purpose in my life,” said Frag. “Why?” asked Shard. “I was originally meant to be an evil clone of you,” said Frag. “But after this little meetup, I realized I don’t know the real meaning or idea of being evil.” “That explains the fight when we met,” said Shard.
“So, what did you say about the Shard Dimension in danger?” asked Shard curiously. “Something strange is happening in the dimension,” said Frag. “Unusual lighting storms are happening on Earth and other places across the dimension. It’s what made Eggman’s carrier crash and killed him.” “I know that part,” said Shard. “Thanks for the quick history lesson.” “Can I continue?” asked Frag. “I haven’t gone to the bad part.” “Sorry,” said Shard. “Carry on.”
“As I said, lightning storms have been occurring across the dimension,” said Frag. “But they’re getting worse. I did research and found what caused the Lab 16 accident.” “Was there any way of stopping it?” asked Shard. “No,” said Frag. “It was going to happen sooner or later.” “I guess I got out in time,” said Shard. He frowned. “Too bad Sonic and Shadow never made it out.” Frag paused. “About that,” he said.
Shard looked serious. “What happened?” he asked. “We recovered Sonic and Shadow from the rubble,” said Frag. “They were hurt pretty bad. No one remembers who pulled them out.” Shard looked down, and his expression saddened. “They’re still alive,” said Frag, trying to relieve Shard’s emotional state. “Both lost limbs; Sonic lost more than Shadow. They have metal prosthetics replacing the body parts they lost. They managed to physically recover in a few weeks. Mentally recovering, that’s a different story.”
“Well, at least my creators are okay,” said Shard. “So, what about Lab 16?” Sonic arrived at the group. “After the accident, we started to clear out the area. About eighty percent of the facility got cleared away when I arrived here.” “What are you guys talking about?” asked Sonic. “Hey, Sonic,” said Shard. “Is he also from here?” asked Frag. Sonic looked confused. “What kind of question is that?” he asked. “Don’t worry about it,” said Shard.
“We set up a mini lab nearby to continue our work and monitor the main building,” said Frag. “Who is this person?” asked Sonic. “He’s Frag the Hedgehog, a mutated clone of me from the Shard Dimension who arrived around the same time I did.” “Nice to meet you,” said Sonic. “Likewise,” said Frag. “Also, Shard was the first one to arrive here. I arrived a month later.”
“Hold on,” started Shard. He looked at Sonic and asked, “How long was I gone for?” “After you disappeared after destroying Eggman’s mech, which did get hauled away from here, we began to search for you,” said Sonic. “Amy was hoping that you would come back.” “Indeed,” said Amy. No one noticed Amy appear. “I’m so happy you’re back and okay,” she said.
“As I was saying,” started Frag. “After you left, a month passed, and we had most of the rubble cleared. Sonic and Shadow took over command of our little Lab 16 replacement. That’s when things got a lot worse.” “How come?” asked Shard. “We conducted a scan of the dimension, and it was half the size it’s supposed to be. An hour later, the number was lower.” “It’s shrinking?” asked Shard. “Yes,” said Frag. “Every hour, the rate increases by 0.005%. There isn’t much left.”
“What about the people?” asked Amy. “What’ll happen to them?” “Sonic and Shadow are evacuating the planet and moving the population here,” said Frag. “Based on the dimension size, they have a few hours until Earth is destroyed, and the dimension implodes.” Shard looks down. “I’m not even a year old, and I will lose something that matters to me,” he said. Amy puts her hand on his shoulder. “I feel bad for you, and I’ll be there for you,” she said.
A distortion forms in the sky above the group. Frag sees it but doesn’t give any suspicion to the others. The distortion turns into a portal, and something falls out, knocking Tails out of the sky. They both fell to the ground. “Tails!” yelled Shard. Are you okay?” asked Shard. “Fine, I guess,” said Tails, getting up. He turned around at a dark green hedgehog still lying on the ground. The portal disappears as they look up at it. “Is he alive?” asked Sonic. “He’s just knocked out,” said Tails.
Shard turned to Frag. “Is this hedgehog from the Shard Dimension?” he asked. “Yes,” said Frag. “How many more are there?” asked Shard, raising his voice. “I have no idea,” said Frag, raising his voice too. “I was never told the population of Earth!” “I guess Sonic never considered that this Earth also has a growing population here,” said Sonic. Everyone looked at him. “I’m talking about Shard Dimension Sonic, not me. Although, I don’t know the population of either Earth.”
“I’d better take our new friend here back to the lab to ensure he’s okay,” said Tails. “I’ll go with you,” said Shard. “Thanks,” said Tails. They both walk back to the workshop. “Isn’t he a nice guy?” asked Amy. Frag looked confused. “What?” he asked. “I was talking about Shard,” she said. “This sudden flight of love with a stranger is really getting on my nerves,” said Sonic. “I’m lucky I’m not in a serious relationship with her.” “Well, I guess he’s cool,” said Frag. “Of course he is!” said Amy. “At least someone agrees with me.” Sonic rolls his eyes.
At the workshop, Shard stands by the dark green hedgehog on a bench, and Tails is running some tests to see if the hedgehog is okay. A heart monitor beeps at a steady sleeping rhythm. The hedgehog has spikes that droop downward and curl to point forward. He has yellow gloves and shoes. He has chest hair instead of a belly.
“Who knows where he came from?” asked Shard. “The Shard Dimension?” asked Tails. “Well, you’re right,” said Shard. “But where was he when he teleported that caused that fall?” “I’m not sure,” said Tails. “My best guess is to ask him.” Shard paused for a moment. “If Frag said the entire planet is being evacuated, how can we catch everyone?”
The heart rate increases, and the hedgehog moves a bit. Shard looked at him and said, “He’s waking up.” Tails heads over to him. A thump is heard from the roof, followed by rolling and tumbling. Shard and Tails listen to the sound, then look at each other. “I’ll go see what it is,” said Tails. The hedgehog groaned as it woke up.
“Ouch,” he said. “Are you okay?” asked Shard. “I... I don’t know,” said the hedgehog. “Can you at least give me your name?” asked Shard. “J... Justin,” said the hedgehog. “Well, nice to meet you, Justin,” said Shard. He looked up to see Tails walk in with a black cat. “I need the bench,” said Tails. “Can you get up?” Shard asked Justin. Justin slowly stood up, helped by Shard. “Okay, let’s go,” said Shard. They walked toward the door while Tails went to the bench and laid the cat down.
“So, while my friend is helping your friend there, why don’t you tell me what happened before you blacked out?” asked Shard. “How did you know I went unconscious?” asked Justin. “I was there myself,” said Shard. Justin paused. “...are you... him?” he asked. “Am I who?” asked Shard. “They all talked about someone Sonic and Shadow worked on,” said Justin. Shard caught what he meant. “And you look familiar,” continued Justin. “If he knows about it, does everyone know about me?” Shard asked.
Justin looked at Shard, trying to figure out his facial expression. “You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” asked Justin. He waited for a response, but Shard was speechless. “You are the ultimate project they were spreading the word about,” he continued. Justin starts getting excited, and Shard is nervous. “I’m the first person to have met him. I can’t believe it!” he exclaimed. The cat begins to wake up. “Can you give me a minute?” asked Shard, beginning to mentally break down. He quickly walked outside.
“I am not prepared for this much popularity,” he said. “I have never seen myself scared of people.” He walks away from the workshop. “If everyone knows who I am, they’ll be all over me.” He stopped and looked up at a portal that just formed in the sky. “N... no! Not again!” he stuttered. He ran toward an ocean and swam as fast as he could away. A blue hedgehog landed feet first as the portal disappeared.
The blue hedgehog was Sonic from the Shard Dimension. Metal limbs replaced his legs, feet, left arm, left hand, and left ear. His left eye is now a metal screen that displays a virtual, green eye. His spikes are held by metal stripes. His right ear was damaged but is still intact. There’s a scar above his right eye, which does not touch it. Everything else is fine. He is considered unconscious, but his cybernetic side allows him to function normally and sleep simultaneously.
Sonic turns and spots Shadow, also from the Shard Dimension, on the ground. His legs from the knee down and his feet were replaced by metal limbs, along with his right hand. A small brace is held on his lower right arm. There’s a scar above his right eye, which also does not touch it. Everything else is fine. Sonic walks over and picks Shadow up with his metal arm.
“I really misjudged the location of the portals,” said Sonic. He spots many portals in the sky. The height of one is at most twenty feet above the ground. “At least we’re finally here. The Sonic in this dimension will be surprised to see a copy of him.” He scans the area and locates Tails’ workshop. “Found it,” said Sonic confidently. He speeds toward the workshop but stops a hundred feet from it. Shadow wakes up.
“Sonic, are we there yet?” asked Shadow, orienting his eyes to the area. “We sure are,” said Sonic. Shadow chuckled and stood up. “I have this on my mind,” he said. “You’re Sonic from the Shard Dimension. How would the Sonic here react when he sees another Sonic here?” “I was just thinking of that,” said Sonic. He points to the workshop. “I think we’ll get our answers there.” They both walk toward the workshop, and Sonic’s natural side finally wakes up, opening his other eye.
===Chapter 7: The New Villain on the Block ===
Shard rushes up the coast on a remote island and shakes himself dry. Walking briskly into the forest, he stops and hears a rustling sound. Looking around, stressed out from the potential crowd of new people he doesn’t know, he dashes through until he finds an area clear of trees and large plants. Looking around again, he sees no one and takes a short rest. Sitting down on a rock, he tries to calm himself from all the stress he recently experienced.
Frustrated, Shard said, “Who told everyone about Project Shard?” He Shard Shattered the rock he sat on. “Oops,” he said, standing up. He walked back and forth. “That project was supposed to be kept a secret. That’s what Sonic and Shadow intended and agreed upon.” Taking some of the shards from the rock he destroyed, he threw them high into the sky.
Looking over a bush without being seen, a cat with face paint saw Shard. “I know him from somewhere,” he said quietly. Shard threw some more rock fragments. Recalling from memory, the cat got up and slowly walked to him. Shard caught a glimpse of the cat walking toward him, and he stepped away. “Not another one... wait,” said Shard. “He’s got face paint. He can’t be one of the ones from the portals.”
“So, you’re back,” said the cat. “It’s been about a month since we encountered you.” Shard nodded. “You came for another fight?” asked the cat, kneeling and putting his fists up. “No,” said Shard. The cat went back to normal. “I wanted some time by myself,” continued Shard. “Based on what you were doing with us on our first meetup and how strong you were at defeating Shadow, there has to be a reason why you’re here,” said the cat.
“You’re catching on fast,” said Shard. “I’ll try to summarize it in a few sentences.” Shard clears his throat. “The Shard Dimension is slowly disappearing. Sonic, my creator from that dimension, is ordering a mass evacuation to come here. The entire population knows about me, and someone was excited to meet me. Inferring that everyone will have the same reaction, I can’t deal with that much popularity. Stressed out, I came here.”
The cat thought about it. “Quite a mouthful.” Shard nodded. “Wait, you said the entire population?” asked the cat. “Well, civilization,” said Shard. “Do you think your creators will be here?” “Maybe,” said Shard. “Some different-looking duplicate of mine came here and told me a story that my creators were pulled out of an accident that forced me to come here.” “Do you believe him?” asked the cat. “Well, I’m still deciding,” said Shard. “He is an opposite clone of me, or was supposed to be my opposite, but he has a different personality than me.”
“You know what?” asked the cat. “I should give you a tour of our village and meet everybody. It will help you calm down and get your mind off things.” Shard is speechless. “I’ve dealt with too many people today,” he said. “We provide a stress-free environment for all our guests.” Shard takes a moment and considers the offer. “I hope so,” said Shard. “Lead the way.” They both walked back into the forest toward the village.
Back at Tails’ workshop, Alternate Sonic and Shadow stop at the entrance. “Even here, he sometimes leaves the door open for people to walk in freely,” said Sonic. “What a security risk that is,” said Shadow. “Is there another person from the Shard Dimension at my door?” asked Tails, working on his computer. Sonic and Shadow look at each other. Sonic looks inside and says, “Does the term ‘Project Shard’ come to mind?”
Tails stops what he’s doing and looks at the door. “Hey!” yelled the black cat on the bench. “It’s Sonic and Shadow! They made Shard!” “Hey, Sonic,” said Tails. “You look… different.” “That’s because I came from the Shard Dimension,” said Sonic. His metal eye flickered. “Come on! When will he get back in here?” asked Justin. “I’m eager to know him face-to-face.” Sonic looked at him. “You know him?” he asked. “Yes,” said Justin, trying to calm down. “Everyone’s been talking about him before we all got here.”
Sonic looked shocked. “Can you give me a minute?” he asked. “I promise I’ll be back.” Justin hesitated but said, “Fine. But you must be back here, unlike Shard.” “That guy needs to chill,” said Tails. Sonic went outside, and before he could say anything, Shadow said, “How does he know about Shard?” “I was just going to ask that,” said Sonic. “We made sure to keep that secret. Only people who talked to Shard should know that and not spread the word.” “Someone must have leaked that information to the public,” said Shadow.
Sonic and Shadow walked back in. “What’s your name?” Sonic asked Justin. “Justin,” he said. “Who told you about Project Shard?” asked Sonic. Justin hesitated and said, “I... I can’t tell you. He said he’ll kill anyone who tells you about it.” “Can you at least describe what this person looks like?” asked Shadow. “Umm...” started Justin. “He was metal and had a gray mask with one blue eye. The only thing natural was his head. He oversees a large organization called...”
A small object shot by and hit Justin in the arm. He dropped and went out. “Tails!” yelled Sonic. He ran to get some supplies. “No need,” said Shadow. Tails paused and looked at him. Shadow takes the dart from Justin’s arm. “Poison dart,” he said. “Easy way to kill someone.” Sonic checked for a pulse. “Nothing,” he said. “He’s gone.” Tails put the supplies back.
“I know only one person who would do this,” said Sonic. “He mentioned someone wearing a gray mask with one blue eye.” Shadow looked up at Sonic. “Not him,” he said. “Not who?” asked Tails. “Don’t ask,” said Shadow. “It’s best not to know. You might get a dart in your arm and end up like poor Justin here.” Tails gulped in fear. “So, he’s here as well,” said Shadow. “He follows us everywhere.”
A loud, scruffy, maniacal laugh is heard outside. Everyone looks up. “I should go,” said Tails. Sonic held out his metal arm and blocked Tails’ path. “You’re safe with us,” he said. They all walked outside and saw Eggman in the air in his Egg Mobile. “Wait, is that Dr. Eggman?” asked Sonic. “Yes, it is,” said Tails. “You two always battle.” “Not anymore,” said Shadow. “He died from an accident a year before Project Shard was begun.”
“Well, look what we have here,” said Eggman. “Portals everywhere must mean people come here, dropping from the sky.” He laughs and spots Amy, Blaze, Knuckles, Frag, the real Shadow, and the real Sonic rush to confront him. Alternate Sonic spots the real Sonic. “I knew it,” he said. “There’s also another me,” said Alternate Shadow looking at his counterpart.
“What’s your plan now, Egghead?” asked the real Sonic. “Well, there’s more people to rule over when I take over this island once and for all!” said Eggman. He laughed again. “I think you’re talking about what I’m planning to do,” said a voice in the sky. Everyone, including Eggman, looked up and saw an armored metal figure with a gray mask and only one blue eye on the left side. He floated ten feet above the ground.
“Who are you?” asked Eggman. The figure took out a dart gun and pointed it at him. Alternate Sonic rushed over, jumped, and knocked the dart away from Eggman when the figure fired it. “Nice to see you again, Brazen,” he said. Sonic was surprised to see an alternate version of him. Shadow eyes Alternate Shadow without any noticeable gesture. “You’re like a parasite I can’t use medicine to get rid of,” continued Alternate Sonic. He held up the empty poison dart that killed Justin and shook it, grabbing Brazen’s attention. “This ring any bells?”
Brazen growled in anger but shifted his attention toward Eggman, calming down. “So, who watches your base when you’re gone doing stuff like this?” “My robots, of course!” said Eggman. “Sure, they don’t know how to use everything in my base, but they can use the defense systems.” Brazen thought for a moment. “Good thinking,” he said. “But there’s one problem.” “What’s that?” asked Eggman. “If your robots protect the base, who protects the robots?” asked Brazen.
Back at Cat Island, Shard finished the tour of the village. “Well, that was a nice tour of the village,” he said. “And it was stress-free. Not bad for a growing civilization.” “Thanks!” exclaimed the cat. “I didn’t get your name, by the way,” said Shard. “They call me Paws,” said the cat. “I’m very skilled at using my paws for anything.” Shard thought for a moment. “I guess that makes sense,” he said. “I hope this was a nice tour for you,” said Paws. Shard nodded.
“So, does Shadow visit anymore?” asked Shard. “Not really,” said Paws. “A week after you confronted us, Shadow said we were ready to live without major help.” “Does he still visit?” asked Shard. “Occasionally, he does,” said Paws. “He visited us ten days after we were ready to check on us. After that, his last visit was two days ago.” “The visits are becoming less frequent,” said Shard. “Yes, they are,” said Paws. “I think it’s sad that we won’t see him more often than before. I liked him.”
“I need to show you something,” said Paws, grabbing Shard’s arm and pulling him forward. “Woah, slow down,” he said. They went to a tent where a mech gray mech was lying on the floor, powerless. “We found this a day ago,” said Paws. “It fell from the sky and landed in the ocean. We found it on the beach like this and took it in, hoping Shadow could get a look at it.”
Shard went over and tapped the mech’s head with his foot. He thought for a second about what to do next. “I need some light,” he said. Paws opened the tent and lit some candles. Shard opened part of the body to look at the circuitry. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said. “Not even his robots have anything this sophisticated.” “Who?” asked Paws. “Don’t worry about it,” said Shard. “It’s best you don’t know.”
Shard looked for a marking on the surface of the mech and the circuitry for a clue as to who made it. He stopped and gazed at a serial marking on the bottom of the foot. “Mech 4937-16. Property of...” He stopped for a moment. “Property of Lab 16.” “Is that important?” asked Paws. “Yes, it is,” said Shard. “I was made there myself. Did they make this before me?” He searched for a date marking. “Date created...” he said. He read the date and was surprised. “He was made before me.”
“What do you think this mech will do powered on?” asked Paws. “Well, I was made to be on the good side,” said Shard. “So, this mech must also be on the good side.” Going back to the circuitry, he flipped on the power switch. “I thought this technology would be more advanced than this. They could have made better mechs like this at Lab 16.” Both stared at the mech to see if anything would happen.
Yellow virtual eyes flicker on as the mech’s system starts up. It raised its body and sat up. Paws gave Shard a remote monitor to see the output of the mech’s system. Diagnostic data appears on the screen. “No wonder they never made another mech,” said Shard, curious. “This technology is outdated.” “I would never know about it,” said Paws. Shard looked at him, then back at the screen where the mech finished booting.
The mech stood up and looked at Shard. He looked at the monitor to see what was happening. “Does this thing talk?” asked Paws. “I have no idea,” said Shard. “Name: Shard the Hedgehog. Created by: Sonic & Shadow. Origin: Lab 16. Analysis complete,” said the mech. Shard looked at Paws. “Well, it answered that question for us,” he said. “Perhaps it’s not outdated technology after all,” said Paws.
The mech turned and faced Paws. More data came over the monitor. “Name: Paws the Cat. Creators: Unknown. Origin: Unknown. Analysis complete,” it said. “Hmm,” said Shard. “Not much data came through about you.” “Why?” asked Paws. “Don’t forget,” said Shard. “This mech and I came from the Shard Dimension. He has tons of information about that place and nothing about here.” “Right,” said Paws.
The mech walked outside the tent and looked up. Data came through the monitor. “Potential threat detected,” it said. Shard and Paws ran outside, and the mech pointed up. A missile flew over the island and headed for the main island. “Origin: Space,” it said. “They must be in trouble,” said Shard, a little panicked. He turned to the mech and said, “Do you analyze voice input?” “Affirmative,” it said. “Can you fly or float above water?” he asked. “Negative,” it said. “What’s your total weight?” he asked. “Fifty tons,” it said.
Shard, with some difficulty, lifted the mech. “I will get you to that large island over there because some important people are in trouble from the potential threat you just detected,” he said. It said nothing. “Thank you all for the tour, but I must go,” Shard said to the village. “I will see you again soon, and I’ll tell Shadow about how well you’re doing.” Running as fast as he could, Shard and the mech went across the water to Main Island.
The missile flew over Main Island and headed for Eggman’s base. Without any countermeasures fired, it blew it up. “My troops just raided your base and took out your robots defending it,” said Brazen. “I’ve got to say,” started Eggman. “That was pretty evil.” His voice started getting louder. “But you destroyed my base!” His robots suddenly powered down.
“Look who has the mighty army now,” said Brazen. Eggman started getting scared. “Back in my dimension, you’re dead,” said Brazen, slowly floating toward him, then looked at Alternate Sonic. “You see, I was the one who defeated Eggman back home. I could quickly build my army to greatness, but you nearly ruined it!” He flew down to him, landing on the ground. “You took many things that implicitly belonged to me. used them for research, and turned your life in a new direction with Shadow.”
Brazen sees Frag. “Where’s your creation, Sonic?” he asked. “Don’t you remember? Your gray hedgehog with those blue lines on his head and spikes? I haven’t seen him yet.” Sonic stares at him, angry. Brazen continued to mock him. “Perhaps that idea that he came here was fake news, and he’s still in that rubble, which no longer exists as the dimension faded away.”
With his metal hand, Sonic punched Brazen hard in the head. Brazen held his head, then groaned in pain. “Don’t talk about Shard like that!” yelled Sonic. “You finally did it,” Brazen said. “You’ve made me lose my chill streak.” “You deserve it,” said Sonic. Both prepared to fight while everyone else, including Eggman, moved back a distance. “Come on, Shard,” said Amy. “Where are you when we desperately need you?”
“I might as well do it here,” said Brazen. He fired a laser that disrupted the Egg Mobile and shut it down. Eggman started to fall toward the water when something fast grabbed him and threw him back to shore. He rolled until he was in front of the real Sonic. They both looked at each other, then looked to see the mech from Cat Island. Behind it, Shard put it down at the workshop’s entrance, then ran to the point between the crowd and the conflict, facing Brazen.
“So, did I miss the fight?” asked Shard. Amy was happy to see him but resisted the urge to hug him. A bit surprised to see him, Brazen said, “Not really. We were just getting started.” He ripped off Alternate Sonic’s metal hand. “Hey! That’s very expensive!” yelled Alternate Sonic. He kicked Brazen into the water, and Shard, grasping his crystal, jumped in and shocked him.
Alternate Sonic was speechless. He began to break down that Shard was here and okay. Alternate Shadow is glad to know that he’s okay but makes no gesture. The water glowed from Shard’s crystal but returned to normal as Shard got kicked out and fell to the water line. Brazen rose out of the water, frustrated. His mask eye cracked from the stress of the water shock. “Now I’m angry!” he yelled. “For the few seconds I knew you, it seems better than your other mood,” said Shard, with a smug grin. Brazen growled at him.
In the distance, hundreds of black and grey figures surround the group. Everyone looks around at the dark figures in fear. Brazen, a little frustrated now, starts floating again and introduces everyone. “May I present my personal army, Blade,” he said. “Mess with me or any of those figures around you, and you’ll be sorry.” He looked at Eggman. “This is only a small fraction of my full force. Let’s say this is only a few hundred, which is way more than anyone here can take. None of you will stand a chance against these people. I’ve trained them, and they’ve never let me down.”
He looks down and sees a shiny crystal made of metal and glass filled with energy in the sand. He looked at Shard, who also locked eyes with him. They looked back and forth between themselves and the crystal. Shard desperately rushed for it but was hit by an energy blast from a Blade soldier. Brazen slowly took it and gave a long look at it. “That’s mine!” yelled Shard, getting up. Flying higher and higher, Brazen said, “Not anymore, it’s not. It’s mine now.” Shard growled at him but was hit by another energy blast while trying to get him again.
“Shard, you never learn,” said Brazen. “You will regret messing with me. Take it from Sonic down there.” Shard and Sonic looked at each other. “Look what happened to him,” said Brazen. “Sure, there was no way of stopping that reactor accident as it naturally occurred from the dimensional breakdown, but I still claim superior to him and Shadow over there by that two-tailed fox.” Shard looked at Alternate Shadow. “Mark my words, everyone,” said Brazen, staring at the group surrounded by Blade troops. “I will return for your demises.” He and his army fraction started flying back to their space station.
Shard fell to his knees and started tearing up. Alternate Sonic and Shadow went to comfort him. Everyone looked at them, both traumatized by Brazen and saddened by Shard’s breakdown. Amy started crying and held on to Sonic. Having rarely done it, he put his arm around her. The real Shadow closed his eyes. Eggman tried to keep a straight face. The newcomers sat down and looked down.
“That crystal is part of my life,” said Shard. “It’s who I am.” He looked at Sonic’s metal arm. “Not only is my crystal gone, but you also lost your hand.” “I’ll find a way to fix it,” said Sonic, trying to calm Shard down. Shadow held Shard’s hand. “We’ll find a way to defeat Brazen and his troops.” They sat there and looked at the ocean.
Shard got frustrated and clenched up. “Take it from our experience,” said Sonic. “Brazen wants to get the best of us. If you need help from us or your new friends, ask.” Shard sat there for a moment, gathering himself. He got up, turned around, and looked at everyone. They are all waiting for something to happen, some impatiently.
“Of the time I’ve been here,” started Shard, sounding sincere and thoughtful. “I have never experienced any so traumatizing that it not only hurt us all, it hurt me the most.” He paused to think. “When I was created, there was a moment I woke up and busted the capsule lid, creating my very first shards. That’s how I got my name.”
He looked at Sonic and his friends. “I have learned a lot from my new friends there. They helped me figure out this place and taught me how to live. I thank them.” They make a friendly gesture to Shard. “Now, I ask something of everyone,” he said. “What Brazen did to us should not let us lose ourselves in fear and terror. He has a big army; why can’t we have one bigger?”
They all looked at each other. “I am creating a plan that will hopefully lead to no casualties for any of us,” said Shard. “First, we need materials.” He looked at Eggman. “I know you want to conquer this planet for your fantasies.” Shard started to get assertive. “However, if you don’t want Blade to interfere, which will happen, we need your cooperation.” Eggman reluctantly nodded. “If we want to defeat Brazen and his Blade army, we need more robots. There probably will not be enough time to rebuild your base, so we will build and program everything here.”
He looked at Knuckles. “We will need to transport heavy materials over here. Because Eggman’s base is far from here, lots of work is put into moving back and forth. He looked at Shadow. “You are excellent at using Chaos Control to move everywhere in the blink of an eye. Knuckles will carry the heavy stuff, and you teleport him and the materials between here and Eggman’s base. Got it?” Knuckles and Shadow stood next to each other and nodded in agreement. “Eggman, if you still have any heavy-lifting and rapid-transport robots, those will also be great.” Eggman nodded in agreement as well.
Shard looked at the newcomers. “You all just got here. Like me, I had no idea how to navigate this entire island. I am sad to say that the Shard Dimension is gone, but this is your new home. Like me, we all need to deal with it.” He looked at Amy and Blaze. “I need you two to keep them company and help settle them in. Do your best to answer any questions and listen to them if they need to cope with what’s happening here. If there is something you can’t do, call me, and I’ll try my best to help.” Amy and Blaze stood together and nodded in agreement.
He looked at Sonic. “You’re one of the fastest people here. I need you to be our reconnaissance drone and watch this area for anything unusual that can hurt our chances of getting through this catastrophe.” Shard glanced at the mech. “We’ll fit this mech with boosters to get around quickly and software to communicate with us.” “Affirmative,” said the mech. “I think I’ll call you ‘Mech 16’ instead to give you a name,” said Shard. Mech 16 stood next to him, and Sonic nodded in agreement.
“Finally, we need people to research and build the bots to up our game,” said Shard. Tails, Frag, Eggman, and his creators stood around him. “Well, I guess we have our teams,” he said. “I will make us some communicators to talk to each other. I need one person to help me.” Frag stepped forward. They both nodded, then rushed to Tails workshop to quickly make communicators for everyone. They ran around, giving one to each person and syncing them all. “All done, everyone,” said Shard. Frag was finishing up programming Mech 16 with software and configuring boosters.
“Okay,” said Shard. “Now that we have the teams, any newcomers here that can do any of these tasks, head to the teams, and they’ll fit you in.” Many people stepped forward. “If we want to defeat Brazen and Blade, we all must do our part,” said Shard. Frag handed out more communicators to new team members. “Do what you’re supposed to do, and we can win this. Now, scatter!” Everyone went to their places, and Shard’s team went to Tails’ workshop.
===Chapter 8: The Anti-Blade Regime===
At the remains of Eggman’s base, Knuckles and Shadow gather various salvageable resources to build their robot army. In the distance, large, heavy-lifting Eggman robots carry materials back to Tails’ workshop. As Knuckles lifts a large object, Shadow teleports them back to add to the growing pile outside the workshop. After dropping off the resources, they teleport back to get more.
“Why did I get dragged into this?” asked Knuckles. “I felt a power source other than the Master Emerald nearby and came to see what it was.” “Shard isn’t that bad,” said Shadow. “He has a little bit of my personality in him. Besides, he managed to beat me... twice.” He frowned at what he said. “I don’t like losing, but I’ll make an exception with him.” “I should have seen that battle,” said Knuckles, lifting another object. “Guarding the Master Emerald makes me miss out on adventures with Sonic.”
After delivering more resources, they saw the robot fleet arrive with stuff to drop off. “This seems like a lot to start with,” said Knuckles. “Shard knows what he’s doing,” said Shadow. “He is one interesting hedgehog.” “I bet,” said Knuckles. “I have no idea what that breakdown was earlier, but he got up and planned everything out with no problem. It would be nice to meet him.” “You’ll meet him soon,” said Shadow, putting his finger on his communicator. “Shard? We have enough resources to construct a fraction of the total force, but I want a second opinion.” “I’ll be right there,” said Shard over the communicator.
In no time flat, Shard appeared with Alternate Sonic, who got his metal hand back, to take one look at the resource pile. Scanning and analyzing the materials available, Alternate Sonic said, “We can make around a hundred mechs our size with this.” “Excellent,” said Shard. “We’ll work to make these mechs strong enough to defeat Brazen.” He took a section of materials and teleported to the workshop.”
“If we have my work area bigger, then we can establish an assembly line for these mechs,” said Tails. “Already on it,” said Frag, knocking out wall segments and replacing them with reinforced titanium alloy. “I ran to find something strong to hold this place up for this project.” Tails made no objections. Shard appeared and dropped small piles of resources next to the entrance. “First delivery of mech pieces,” said Shard. He looked at the gray wall. “Titanium alloy?” “Reinforced,” said Frag. “We’re making an assembly line to streamline the process before Brazen strikes again. Shard nodded in agreement.
After a few minutes of speed work, Shard, Frag, and Alternate Shadow completed a conveyor belt. Tails programmed some automation machines to do a specific job in manufacturing. Shard put some materials on the appropriate conveyor belts. “Let’s see if this works,” said Tails. He flipped a power switch, and the machinery roared to life. The piles of materials rolled down the conveyor belt, and the machines took them and made parts for one mech.
Alternate Sonic at Tails’ computer looks at a thousand very dim, flashing lights on a device screen. His artificial mind analyzes the flashes and writes data as each flash sequence from a single light represents one megabyte of data. Shard looks at Alternate Sonic with confusion. “What are you doing?” he asked. “I am downloading data from Tails’ computer with a program I wrote on a device I created,” said Alternate Sonic. “This takes a large amount of data and uses flashing lights to represent bits of data.”
After the accident and the cybernetic mind implant into Alternate Sonic, he began testing a program to transfer data with high downloads and upload speeds. The lights on the screen flash as fast as a computer processor, and data is transferred at half the processor speed. “This program will be transferred to our new mechs along with Mech 16.” “Interesting,” said Shard. “No offense, but this would never exist if Lab 16 didn’t collapse.” “No offense taken, even though I got injured and have to deal with being a machine for the rest of my life.”
“Program transfer complete,” said Mech 16, as it unplugs a data cable from its head that connects to the computer and puts it on the desk. “I am also writing the basic system functions and self-defense protocols for the mechs,” said Alternate Sonic. He begins assembling mech pieces and programming the assembly line to follow the same sequence. “What made you want to call this prototype Mech 16?” he asked. “The serial number and Lab 16,” said Shard. “Call it a coincidence.” “You have a point,” said Alternate Sonic. “I think it’s clever,” said Eggman.
“We will program one to make sure everything works, then we test self-defense,” said Alternate Sonic. “Who is the target?” asked Shard. “You are,” said Alternate Sonic. “I’ll tell the mech this is an exercise, so you don’t die. It should overtake you, as you can overtake all of us.” “Well, Shard and I equally match each other,” said Frag.
“Can we add any special moves that I tried to execute when trying to defeat Sonic here?” asked Eggman. “It sounds a bit disturbing since I’m a Sonic, but put that data through this device, and I can incorporate it into the mech’s programming,” said Alternate Sonic, pointing at his wireless data transfer device with the flashing lights. Mech 16 finishes using the device, and with his newly installed boosters from Eggman, he walks out of the workshop and flies away.
Outside, Sonic looks at Shard, Alternate Sonic, and the newly-assembled mech exit the workshop and move to an open spot. The mech looks like Mech 16 but with more refined wiring, faster processing and movement, and a taller height. “Oh, this is going to be good,” said Sonic, on his stomach. Mech 16 lands beside Sonic and copies his position. “Why are you watching a training exercise?” it asked. “So far, nothing unusual has happened yet, and I was bored and looking for something entertaining.”
“The objective of our mission as reconnaissance is to spot anything unusual and report findings to Shard,” said Mech 16. “Yes, I understand that,” said Sonic. “But sometimes you need a break, something a machine like yourself doesn’t understand. No offense, by the way.” “A machine like me does not feel emotion or take mental and emotional offense.” “This machine is going to get on my nerves,” said Sonic annoyed.
“Sorry if I’m upsetting you,” said Mech 16. “Even though I’m a machine, I learned from Sonic how to be more like him before Lab 16 was created. I can analyze anyone’s face and recent conversations to produce a conclusion of their current emotion.” Silence passes before Mech 16 says, “They are about to start the training exercise.” Both it and Sonic look at the group.
“How long with this exercise last?” asked Shard. “Depends on you,” said Alternate Sonic. “Just try your best to not get defeated by the mech.” “Okay,” said Shard, a little nervous. “Your move,” said the mech. Shard thinks of the best way to take down the mech, stands there. “You think you’re a tough guy,” he asked. “Well, something you don’t know about me, machine: I’m unpredictable.”
Shard curled up and spindashed into the mech, which stopped him with its hands and threw him into the ground. Maintaining a firm grasp of him with its foot, Shard used his crystal to shock and disorient it. He threw a few punches at it, leaving a few dents in its armor. However, the mech used the power it absorbed and shot it at him, knocking him back.
“Geez, those resistors and energy absorbers really pack a punch,” said Shard. He teleported behind the mech and kicked it down. It grabbed his legs and threw him to the ground, using its hands and feet to restrain him. He broke his hand free from the mech, but its grip tightened and kept him pinned. He couldn’t reach his crystal.
“Okay, the testing exercise is over,” said Alternate Sonic. The mech released Shard and put out its hand. “It was nice fighting with you,” it said. Shard got up and shook its hand. “You’re pretty strong for a mech,” he said. They released their hands and walked back to the workshop. “That is some nice programming you can do, Sonic.” “Well, I can’t take all the credit,” said Alternate Sonic. “Tails is capable of building stuff here and back home.” “You’re not wrong,” said Shard.
At the village, the newcomers begin to settle into their new houses. Amy and Blaze walk around, asking if anyone needs help. “You know, he’s nice once you get to know him,” said Amy. “Who’s that?” asked Blaze. “Shard,” said Amy. “You are correct about the ‘get to know him’ part of that statement,” said Blaze. “Sometimes the mindset of protecting the Sol Emeralds gets the best of me, which caused the conflict between us at first meet.”
“Do you usually do things by yourself?” asked Amy. “I can do many things without help,” said Blaze. “No one ever helped me understand the meaning of friendship as Sonic did.” They continue walking. “Do you ever get along with Sonic?” “I try my best to,” said Amy. “But I’m trying to do things with him that are a step higher than friendship.” “You mean romance?” asked Blaze. “But he keeps declining. There are rare moments when he does accept some stuff.”
“Perhaps he’s not ready to accept the world of romance,” said Blaze. “Sure, I don’t know much about it as I live alone, but think for a moment.” “I’ve been doing this for almost five years now, and he has barely shown major change to me,” said Amy. “Wow, that long?” asked Blaze. “He must be a stubborn individual about it.” “Yes,” said Amy. “I’m no psychologist, but some advice might help,” said Blaze. “Perhaps he’s not the right hedgehog for you.”
Amy looked at her with disgust. “Hey, I said I’m not a professional,” said Blaze, trying not to anger her. “But it’s my opinion. I try not to offend anyone, but I’m still a stranger to this place, like Shard.” “Hey, they might need some help over there,” said Amy, looking at a raccoon family struggling with some luggage. “Let’s go, Blaze.” They went over to help carry luggage into their homes.
By the time sunset came around, Shard was back in Amy’s house. “Well, I think we made enough mechs to fight Blade,” he said. Suddenly, a Blade soldier left a letter at the workshop without anyone noticing except for him. “Brazen, what now?” he asked, looking at Blade’s logo on the front of the envelope. He opened it and read it to himself.
“Dear Shard, sent one of my soldiers down to leave this at your door with no one around. If no one is with you reading this, I picked the right delivery time. I have a change in my plan of victory over you. I have decided not to attack you again as I have seen what you have been creating. I loved it when your own mech defeated you in a testing exercise. I loved it.” Shard paused. “Has he been spying on us?” he said.
“Instead of attacking you on the planet, I would like to face you in person aboard my space station, the Knife. You know you shouldn’t ignore this request as you don’t know what your enemies may be planning. If you don’t go to the Knife in a few hours, I will change my mind again, obliterate your entire village, and kill you myself for not taking on my request. Don’t bring anything with you. I’ll be waiting. From, Brazen. P.S. If you tell anyone you read this letter, I will kill them myself.”
Shard immediately shredded the letter so no one could read it. “This may be the toughest decision I have to make,” he said. “I don’t want to lie to my friends, but I also don’t want them to die because of me.” He recollects himself before Amy enters the house. “So, how are the mechs?” she asked. “Ready to fight Blade and decently strong,” he said. “During a test, it managed to pin me down, but it let go when the exercise was finished.” “At least I know you’re okay,” she said.
Thirty minutes later, Amy was back in her sleep robes and got into bed. “I’m glad that we met. You are someone that I can trust the most.” “Why?” asked Shard, also getting into bed. “Because I’m spending more time with you compared to Sonic?” “Well, yes,” she said. “But it’s because you are more mature than him, even though you like to do risky stuff.” They kept talking together, creating an enjoyable night for another half hour. Finally, Amy went to sleep, and Shard slowly got up and walked away.
A few minutes later, Amy wakes up and sees Shard’s side of the bed empty. “Shard, not again,” she said. She gets up, still in her sleep robes, and looks around for any sign of him. “That’s odd. He’s usually doing something while I’m sleeping...huh?” She sees a note on the front door of the house. Taking the note off the door, she reads it to herself, surprised.
Sonic wakes up to a knock at his door. “Sonic! Open up!” yelled Amy. Opening the door, he sees her still in her sleep robes. “I wouldn’t come here if it wasn’t important, especially dressed like this,” she said. “What is it?” he asked. She held up the note. “Shard left this on my front door while I was sleeping,” she said. “I guess Shard doesn’t sleep very well,” he said. “He doesn’t sleep at all,” she said. He takes the note and clears his throat.
“Don’t be mad at me for leaving, but I need to take care of something,” said Sonic, reading the note. “I do not want you to risk your lives for me at the hands of Brazen. The reason for making this mech army was to defend you guys from Blade soldiers.” Sonic pauses. “They have proven to be a wonderful asset to us, and I hope they will serve you well. Anyways, I will head to their station in space and deal with Brazen myself. From, Shard.”
Sonic looks at Amy, thinking about what the note said. “We need to help him,” she said desperately. “He could be in danger, especially at the hands of Brazen.” “How could he deceive us like this?” asked Sonic. “That speech he gave really convinced us to follow his path.” He pauses again. “I want to respect his requests, but I’m not leaving him alone. We will bring the mech army to space and confront Brazen.”
Sonic leaves his house. She walks out and looks up at the night sky. “Shard, why did you do this to us?” she asked. “We never leave friends hanging in the background while you endanger yourself.” She paused. “I hope you’re alright. I don’t want to end this night knowing you’re in danger after what we did together.” “Amy, something wrong?” asked Sonic. “Nothing,” she said. “Just a personal thought.” She heads after Sonic as he assembles the team and begins a plan to retrieve Shard and defeat Brazen.
=== Chapter 9: Overpower the Bad with the Good===
Shard walks down a small, narrow hallway. Security cameras turn and focus on him. As he kept moving, blast doors closed behind him. Occasionally looking behind him, he keeps on walking. The last blast door closes a few meters away as he reaches the bridge. Pressing a button on the side, he waits for the door to open.
Walking inside, Shard spots a dark gray hedgehog with spikes pointing upward with his back facing him. A gray mask with a blue eye on the left side sits on the table next to him. A metal hand was sitting on top of it. “So, you found a way to get inside the Knife without being noticed,” said the hedgehog. “Why expose yourself now?” “It’s nice to see you, Brazen,” said Shard.
Brazen took his hand off the mask and spun his chair around to face Shard. His legs were crossed, hands on the armrests, and he smiled. His eyes were the same color as his mask eye. Looking surprised to see Brazen’s face for the first time, Shard took a small step back. “Surprised with what you see?” asked Brazen. “I have never seen you without your mask before,” said Shard. “Only a few people have seen my face,” said Brazen. “Why?” asked Shard. “Because they don’t like you?”
Brazen quickly stood up. His face scrunched up, but he calmed down. “Many people don’t like me,” he said, walking back and forth. “But I don’t care about it. I like hearing my name on the news about something bad. That’s how I get a reputation as a criminal mastermind, even though my troops do all the planning and action. I just sit behind the scenes and think about how great a criminal I am.”
Shard stared at him with discontent. “Right,” said Brazen. He turned to face Shard. “You’re here because I stole your pretty little crystal.” He opened a window section to the engineering section of the Knife. “I wonder why it can’t compare with a Chaos Emerald. Or even the Master Emerald. That crystal can’t power anything.” “You’d be surprised if I told you...” started Shard, walking toward Brazen. “...if it did.”
“Nobody said you could move,” said Brazen, pushing Shard away to the ground. He closed the window section and sat back in his chair, crossing his legs. “So, why did you come here aside from getting your crystal back?” he asked. “I’m not here to get my crystal back,” said Shard. “I came here to sacrifice myself to you.” Brazen started cracking up laughing.
“You’re not the type of person to walk to my bridge after appearing out of nowhere to say that you’re willing to die at my hands,” said Brazen. “Even if I wanted to die or not, I would still do this,” said Shard. Brazen stood up slowly and started walking around Shard. “I know what’s going on,” he said. “You’re trying to stall me to get your crystal back.”
“I’m not stalling,” said Shard. “I just said I want to die. I didn’t bring anything with me.” Shard held out his hands. Brazen started thoroughly checking him to prove Shard’s statement. “Well, I guess that part was true about not carrying anything.” He thought for a moment. “So, if you’re not stalling, which you might be, and you came here to die, an execution it is.” Shard closed his eyes.
“Just because I said ‘execution’ doesn’t mean I won’t kill you here,” said Brazen. “Sure, I called up prisoners to die here, but if I wanted to kill you here, there would be two soldiers guarding that door you came in from.” Both looked at the door. “However, it was just me here, waiting for you to come, closing those blast doors behind you, and preparing to meet you face-to-face.”
“Also, killing someone like you would be improper up here,” said Brazen. He pushed a button on his console, and an elevator lift was called. He pointed at it to lead the way for Shard. “Is that going to eject into space and burn in the atmosphere?” asked Shard. Brazen took his mask from the table and walked into the lift. “No,” he said. Shard walked in. The doors closed, and they went down slowly.
Shard looked around the lift. He could see the entire shaft as the walls were glass. Brazen put his mask on. “What’s with the mask now?” asked Shard. “Do people think your face is ugly?” He got slapped hard in the face by Brazen. “Be quiet,” said Brazen. “What is it they say down there?” He cleared his throat and began to mimic a police officer. “You have the right to remain silent.” “But I don’t have the ability to,” said Shard, getting slapped again. “Just shut up,” said Brazen, normally. “I won’t speak unless spoken to,” said Shard. Brazen growled at him. “...starting now,” said Shard.
“Turn around,” said Brazen. As Shard faces the glass wall, Brazen inputs an override code. A small control pad appears in front of him. An emergency door opens at the bottom of the shaft, and the lift exits it, entering a large chamber. Brazen activates a free-floating system and uses the control pad to move it anywhere. “Welcome to the hangar, the largest place in the Knife,” he said.
As the lift moves, Shard can see the entire area. Fighter jets, deployment crafts, and missile shuttles populate the sides. A few million dark figures walk in formation on the ground, crowding multiple floating floors. Shard turns around and sees Brazen using the control pad. A few claws grab the lift and hold it in place when it lands. The doors open, followed by a ramp extending from the floor. The glass walls go opaque, with a small section facing the podium.
Brazen walks out and stops at a podium, facing his entire army. He looks at Shard through the transparent section, still in the lift. Facing the front again, he speaks into a microphone. “Welcome, my fellow Blade,” he said, raising his arms. All the figures raise their right fists in the air, shouting. Everyone puts their hands down. “We have a special guest with us. He’s from our dimension and was created in Lab 16.”
Shard walks out of the lift and hears the troops chattering. “He has become my greatest rival, compared to Sonic and Shadow, his recently disabled creators,” said Shard. “As we all know, an enemy of me is an enemy of Blade.” They all shouted in agreement. “What did I just get myself into?” said Shard. “These people are completely crazy. It’s good I’m not one of them, or I would have killed myself.”
Suddenly, the room went silent, and the only thing people heard was the quiet humming of the station and a proximity alarm. Shard and Brazen turned around, and everyone looked out the window to see a small craft come into range. Various energy shots hit the hull, causing minimal damage. The troops started chattering. “Stay here,” said Brazen, pressing a button. The podium extends upward, lifting him up to a control center.
The craft comes around and fires again. Brazen begins to panic. “No, no, no, n-n-n-n-no,” he said. Pressing various buttons on a console, an audio transmission comes through and resonates throughout the station. Everyone stands in silence, waiting to hear what comes through the transmission. Shard stares at the craft, trying to figure out who’s inside it.
“Brazen,” said Alternate Sonic. “We know Shard’s in there. Let him go, and we’ll leave you and your station mildly harmed.” “There he is!” said Amy, also through the transmission. “Oh, no,” said Shard, covering his face with his hands. “I knew I shouldn’t have left that note at her door.” A missile fires from the craft, destroying a significant portion of the hangar and exposing the atmosphere to the vacuum of space.
The suction makes Shard fly into the lift, cracking the glass and disrupting the translucent look. Many Blade soldiers get sucked into space. Brazen, holding onto the console, creates a forcefield that seals the breach. The atmosphere stabilizes, and people fall to the ground. Shard exits the lift, and Brazen gets himself together.
“We demand you bring Shard back now!” yelled Amy over the transmission. “Or else we’ll fire another missile at the front side of your station!” “Sheesh,” said Shard. “She really needs to calm down.” Brazen looked down and saw Shard still standing on the lower deck. “Shard! Get up here!” he yelled. They both look at the lift with the cracked glass. “That explosion blew me into the lift, cracking the glass!” yelled Shard, looking up at Brazen. “I would fix it, but it’s not mine!” Brazen growled.
The podium lift goes down to the lower deck where Shard is. “Use that!” yelled Brazen. Shard gets on the podium lift, and Brazen calls it up. “It looks like your friends are here to retrieve you,” said Brazen. “They should not be here,” said Shard, stepping off the podium lift. “I asked them to stay on the planet.” “I think it’s good they came,” said Brazen. “They get to see your execution.” He chuckled and opened a line of communication to the craft.
“Hello, my friends,” said Brazen, transmitting to the small craft. “Where’s Shard?” asked Amy. “He’s safe and sound here,” said Brazen. “As a matter of fact, he’s standing next to me right now.” “Can we talk to him?” asked Frag. “Are you okay, Shard?” interrupted Amy. “Wait your turn, sweetheart,” said Brazen. “Someone else was talking. Someone else whose voice I remember recently.” A moment of silence passes. “If I can’t remember it, it must not be important.”
“This is annoying,” said Amy. “We’ll fire another missile and convince them to get Shard back.” “Fire another missile, and Shard dies,” said Brazen, shining a flashlight at the craft. “We’re right at the front of the hangar. If your next target was there, we’ll all tumble to the planet, burning up in the atmosphere.” “Locking on to another place,” said Tails. “If you fire anything else at my station, Shard dies,” said Brazen.
“There they are!” yelled Amy, pointing out a window to the flashlight from the station. “We want Shard back!” “So, you want to negotiate for the release of Shard,” said Brazen. “No matter what happens, he will die at my hand. He said he would sacrifice his life here.” “No, he wouldn’t!” yelled Amy. “He’s better than that!” “That’s what he told me when he came to my bridge,” said Brazen. “He wouldn’t sacrifice his life for anything, even for the likes of you!” yelled Amy.
“I’ll tell you what,” started Brazen. “If you desperately want to see him, power down your spacecraft, leaving it dead. A tractor beam will carry you inside the hangar. There will be three Blade troops there to escort you here each. You will say and do whatever you want to for the time I give you. Finally, you will watch him die. That’s the best I can do.” Another moment of silence passes. “If you don’t board the station, I’ll force you to.”
The station fires an energy blast, knocking out the craft’s electrical systems and leaving it floating freely. A tractor beam grabs it and slowly brings it into the hangar area. A forcefield paths the way to a floating platform. As the craft lands, the forcefield changes, and the hangar closes. Many Blade soldiers wait at the spacecraft to escort people to the lower deck.
“This seems a bit excessive,” said Alternate Sonic. “Three soldiers per person?” “Safety first,” said Brazen. “Come to my station, and this is what you get.” “Shard!” yelled Amy, being held back by Blade soldiers. Shard turned around and looked at her. “Let them go,” said Brazen. The soldiers released everyone. “I’ll give you all ten minutes to be with him.” He uses the podium lift to head for the central console. Everyone crowds around Shard, giving him reasonable space.
“We all thought you were gone,” said Amy, hugging Shard and crying. “I’m just fine. Aside from facial slaps and flying into that lift when the hull breach occurred, I’m unscathed.” He pointed at the cracked glass in the lift. “There are others I need to talk to.” She let him go, and he went to Alternate Sonic. “Did you send the beacon signal?” asked Shard quietly. Alternate Sonic nodded. Shard turned to Mech 16. “Can you get into the systems on this station?” he asked quietly. Mech 16 put its right thumb up, then put it down.
Brazen yawned loudly, going down the podium lift. “Are you done yet?” “I thought they all had ten minutes with me,” said Shard. “I’m not a patient person,” said Brazen, loading his dart gun with a poison dart filled with a purple substance. “Let’s get this over with.” He pointed the gun at Shard. “Don’t hurt him!” yelled Amy, rushing toward Brazen. He held Shard in a headlock and pressed the barrel on his neck. Amy stopped.
“KG Toxin C,” said Brazen. “Compared to KG Toxin A and B, this substance has been exposed to high levels of gamma radiation. This can render anyone dead in less than as. The death part varies on the subject receiving the dose. Come any closer to me, and I’ll pull the trigger.” She started crying, and everyone was frightened that they might lose Shard forever.
Mech 16 and Alternate Sonic looked out the window and saw a tiny object in the distance. A proximity alarm went off, interrupting Brazen’s moment of excitement. His grip slowly loosened, and his dart gun pointed away from Shard. “Sir! Multiple objects coming at us!” yelled a soldier from the upper deck. “They appear to be mechs coming from the planet!” Brazen spotted Shard a few feet in front of him. “I guess I did manage to stall you without any suspicion,” said Shard, with a smirk on his face.
“Incoming!” yelled soldiers, stepping back. “Mech 16!” yelled Shard. He kicked Brazen, who fell off the lower deck and landed on the ground of the hangar. Shard’s friends and creators ran to the edge of the deck, got down, and grabbed the floor. A large mech army crashed through the front of the station, breaking the glass and exposing everyone to the vacuum of space. Immediately, a forcefield was formed to prevent anyone from flying out. Mech 16 makes the floating platforms disappear, causing all the Blade soldiers to fall on each other.
“Troops!” yelled Brazen, getting up and gathering himself. He calms down a bit and starts to float. “We know how to deal with these types of foes. Now, get them out of the sky!” All the soldiers got up and jumped at a mech. Shard had a smile on his face then they all jumped. They all got knocked back down to the ground. Brazen was shocked. At this point, he’s floating a foot above the lower deck.
They all got up again and began to attack a mech. Punching, kicking, guns firing, grenades exploding, the soldiers did everything they could to destroy the mechs. If one got taken down, another would take over and hold the soldier on the ground. Alternate Sonic tries to hide the feeling of accomplishment from Brazen, who is still shocked at Blade’s failure to restrain the mechs. “You did an excellent job at programming,” said Shard.
Shard, Alternate Sonic, and Alternate Shadow held hands and jumped at Brazen. They all grabbed him, knocking him out of the sky. Shard got hold of his mask and took it off. Brazen tried to reach for it, but Shard threw it near the pile of soldiers, surrounded by mechs. He yelled, “Hey, everyone! Look at your great leader!” They all stared at Brazen. Chattering arose as his face scrunched up in anger. He got hold of Shard and threw him to the hangar floor. Alternate Sonic and Alternate Shadow fell behind Brazen.
“I should have done this long ago!” yelled Brazen. He landed and took out his dart gun, still loaded. Shard felt something hit his arm. He turned around and looked at Brazen. His dart gun was now empty. Taking the dart from his shoulder, he could see some purple drops left in it. Amy screamed. Looking up, Shard took a glance at his friends before collapsing.
Brazen was panting, despite his relief that it was now over. “Finally,” he said. “It’s over now. I finally got him. He’s no longer going to get in my fur again.” Amy burst into tears as everyone else held in their emotions. “He’s finally gone!” yelled Brazen. He laughed in relief. “I can now say that Project Shard is a failure! Sonic and Shadow didn’t do enough teaching and training him to survive!” Blade troops started yelling in triumph, still restrained by mechs.
With the time left, Shard’s mind flashed back to the breaking of the Paradox Prism. After that shattered, lots of energy flowed through him, allowing him to reach his super form without the Chaos Emeralds. He then flashes back to that night with Amy in her house before he left. Next, it was the taking of his crystal. Finally, he flashed back to the Lab 16 accident.
As Brazen finished laughing, he saw Shard slowly stand up. “What?” he asked. “But that was supposed to kill him quickly.” Lights started to flicker all over the station as Shard began to glow yellow. “Shard?” asked Amy, teary. “That’s not possible!” yelled Brazen. “No one could have that much energy inside themself!” He fired a green dart at Shard, but Shard smacked it away, hitting a Blade soldier who dropped dead.
Shard began to float. He opened his eyes, fixed on Brazen. A small shockwave of yellow spreads through the entire station, and his voice begins to resonate. “Who’s the strong one now?” he asked. “I don’t believe it,” said Alternate Sonic. “Project Shard is complete,” said Alternate Shadow. “He was already complete,” said Amy. “Bright and beautiful as ever.” “So, Brazen,” started Shard, now in his super form. “How about that crystal I asked for?” “Find it yourself,” said Brazen, frustrated. He took out a dagger and got down into a fighting pose.
Before Shard charged at Brazen, he felt an energy source stronger than himself. “Sure thing,” he said. His feet touched the ground, and he slowly walked toward Brazen’s mask. “Now, you would think I would tear this station apart until I could find it, leaving limited time for you to escape.” He picked up Brazen’s mask. “One part of your escape would be to pick this up.” He turned to face Brazen, and his grip tightened. “But you were just not fast enough.” “No!” yelled Brazen, rushing toward him and throwing his dagger.
Shard crushed the mask into many little shards, releasing his crystal. Brazen stopped. Shard caught the dagger and threw it aside. “I felt this the entire time I first entered the station,” he said. He dropped the mask shards on the ground in front of Brazen. “To be honest, hiding your face from everyone and showing it to anyone you want as a policy is pretty lame.” He pointed up, and as Brazen looked up, a mech flashed a white light, taking a picture.
“How does it feel to take something you care about away from you?” asked Shard. He tightens the grip on his crystal. “You take my crystal; I take your anonymity.” Shard’s yellow glow fades as a very light blue glow overtakes him. “Welcome to my world. Mech 16!” Mech 16 orders the other mechs to protect Shard’s friends and creators. Shard’s glow intensifies as he clenches up. Brazen falls to the ground, overwhelmed by what just happened. “You mess with me; you face the consequences,” said Shard.
An intense blast decimates the entire station. Mechs fly away carrying Shard’s friends, creators, and a Blade soldier or two, and Brazen floats in space maskless and unconscious. Returning his glow back to normal, Shard stares at Brazen. “Brazen deserved this,” said Shard. “From the Eggman incident in the Shard Dimension to the destruction of the Knife has earned him misery in the last few moments of his life.” Before Brazen dies, Shard reluctantly takes him and uses Chaos Control to teleport back to the planet.
Brazen falls into the ocean as Shard floats above. Waking up and catching his breath, he sees Shard fly away. “You’re just going to leave me here?” asked Brazen. Shard turns around and glances at him. “You can find your way back to shore,” said Shard. “I’ve got people to take care of.” Brazen growls at him, splashing water. “I will be back for you!” he yelled.
Shard stops and throws Brazen’s mask at him, splashing water in his face. “Don’t think about fighting me,” he said. “I’ll spare your life one, but you won’t get another chance again.” Shard flies off to Main Island. Brazen picks up his mask, reconstructed from the shards they were crushed into. He begins to swim straight ahead, thinking about his life and everything he lost.
===Chapter 10: Rebuilding Life===
Shard’s friends and creators land safe and sound at Tails’ workshop, protected by their mechs. “I’m glad that we made Shard a successful hedgehog,” said Alternate Sonic. “He surprised everyone with that recovery,” said Alternate Shadow. Amy looks around. “Where’s Shard?” she asked. “Is he not with us?” “He probably went to deal with Brazen.”
“Where did you all go?” asked Eggman, walking toward them. “I wake up the next morning to see everything gone!” “We went to get Shard back and deal with the Brazen problem,” said Tails. “I forgot about you when I assembled everyone,” said Sonic. “I’m not used to having you on our side. Sorry, Egghead.” They both look at each other.
“How did it go?” asked Eggman. “Brazen will no longer be a problem for us,” said Blaze. “Even though I had nothing to do with it.” “True but unnecessary,” said Sonic. “Neither did you,” she said. “Shard was the one who did all the work.” They both looked at each other, then focused back on Eggman.
“What happened with the mech army we made?” asked Eggman. “Wasn’t that part of the deal that I would get some to help rebuild my base?” Everyone looked up and saw tons of mechs land near the workshop, carrying a Blade soldier or two. Alternate Sonic and Shadow walked up to one. The soldier was struggling to break free. Alternate Shadow nodded at the mech to let the soldier go. He fell to the ground and stood up.
“Where’s Brazen?” he asked. “Is he dead? Did you kill him?” “We have no idea where he is or if he’s still alive,” said Alternate Shadow. “You will have to ask Shard about that.” The soldier put his hands behind his back and stood there. “What will you do with me?” he asked. Alternate Shadow was shocked about the question. “I thought you were going to ask about the whereabouts of Shard,” he said. “It’s going through my mind, but because of the position I’m in right now, I don’t want to ask as I know he will be back,” said the soldier.
“Mechs, group up the soldiers and keep a close eye on them,” said Alternate Sonic. Every soldier was grouped together, surrounded by the mechs. Considering the soldiers lost from the hull breach from the first missile attack on the station, there are more mechs than Blade troops. “We need to figure out what to do with them,” said Alternate Sonic to Alternate Shadow. “Give them enough time, and they’ll break out and destroy everything.”
Alternate Shadow looked at the group. The troops were looking around, some with arms crossed. “Brazen really changed these people,” he said to Alternate Sonic. “They take any orders without question, they won’t resist anything, and they’ll wait for anything.” “Give them enough time, and they’ll need to eat, drink, or use the bathroom,” said Alternate Sonic. “Just because they’re heavily armored soldiers does not mean they’re not living beings. I can’t say the same for me.” He looks at himself for comparison with the soldiers.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d better get going,” said Knuckles, walking away. He got stopped by Shadow. “Leaving so soon?” he said. “I must go to the Master Emerald,” said Knuckles. “There are more important things to do here,” said Shadow. “We’ve got soldiers to reorder, new people to help, and...” He looks around. “Anyone knows where Amy went?” “I have no idea,” said Knuckles. “I’ve got to protect the Master Emerald if you want to keep your reality.” He runs off.
Shadow walks to Sonic. “Any idea where Amy went?” Sonic quickly reacts but looks around and relaxes. “Not me,” he said. “Did you ask any of the others?” “Not yet,” said Shadow. “But I don’t want to disturb the other...us over there. They probably have important duties to attend to.” “True,” said Sonic. “Got anything sight of her, Tails?” “Nope,” said Tails in the air. “I bet Shard might know where she is, wherever he is,” said Frag. Sonic sighs in disapproval. “I hope they’re safe. I don’t want to lose any friends,” he said.
Running through the plains, Amy tiredly looks for any sign of Shard. She stops to take a breather but lays on the ground and thinks about him. “Where did you go, Shard?” she asked loudly. “I know you’re out there somewhere!” She hears fast footsteps and gets up. In the distance, she sees a gray figure running in her direction. Taking another look, she realizes it’s Brazen. Spotting a large rock, she hides behind it and peeks her head up to see him slow down and collapse on the ground, gasping for breath.
“Must...keep...going...,” said Brazen. “But...too...tired...” To her left, Amy spots Frag walk toward Brazen. “Well, seems like Shard left you with nothing,” said Frag. Brazen is still soaking wet from being thrown into the water by Shard. “You were the cause of this!” yelled Brazen. “I sent you to check Sonic and Shadow’s progress on Shard. Your last report on this was immediately after the accident at Lab 16, and you said that you didn’t know anything about your mission.” Frag looked confused. “What are you saying?”
“I made you,” said Brazen. “While they were continuing to formulate Shard’s DNA, I took a sample without them knowing and completed the sequence to make you. You are the property of Blade and my second in command.” Amy was shocked. “And yet, I don’t remember any of that,” said Frag. “I got hit in the head by a piece of debris from the building when it collapsed. After that, I woke up, and Sonic and Shadow were in beds like mine. They were badly wounded, and Sonic’s injuries were worse than Shadow’s.”
Frag steps back. “That moment still creeps me out every time I think about it, now that I know that Sonic and Shadow are technically my creators, as I am an imperfect clone of Shard,” he said. Brazen was angry. “Don’t make me destroy you,” he said, preparing his fists. Amy quietly takes out her hammer. “With what?” asked Frag. “Your army isn’t here to save you, your mask is destroyed, and you’re about to fight a very strong hedgehog.” “Strong or not, I’m still going to take you down...” Brazen got hit in the air by Amy’s hammer.
Amy and Frag locked eyes for a moment. He looked away and said, “Uh, thanks for saving me. You know, I could have fought him and taken him out.” “Well, I was nearby, and I thought you needed some help,” said Amy, putting her hammer away. “Thanks,” said Frag. “At least I got information about Frag from Brazen.” Amy looked confused but saw him transform back to Shard. He was holding a device in his hand. “Eggman really outdid himself with this,” he said. “Allows the user to shapeshift into any person. Use it well and responsibly, and you can do anything with it.”
Without any warning, Amy hugged Shard. “I missed you very much,” she said. “You’ve got a tight grip that time,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you.” “I thought you were dead,” she said. “Not possible with my strongest form,” he said. “I got my crystal back, took down Blade, and saved your life. I guess you can call me a real hero.” Shard lets go of the hug, waiting for Amy to let go. “Uh, are you going to let go?” he asked. “Sorry,” she said.
Amy drops a paper-like object, and Shard stares at it float to the ground. “So, you found it as I ran out the door,” he said. She looks down to see the note by her feet. “Right, the note,” said Amy. “Why did you say what was in that note? Everyone thought you lied about that speech.” Shard thinks for a moment.
“After I saw the progress and quality of each mech, I began to think about how to get Brazen at his most vulnerable,” said Shard. “I used a Chaos Emerald to teleport to the station, making sure not to take it with me. Also, I knew you wouldn’t leave me alone at the station at the hands of a madman.” He takes a step closer to Amy. “No one would leave a friend in times of danger.” He puts his arm on her shoulders, proving he told the truth and ensuring his trust.
“So, what’s next on the agenda?” asked Amy. “Well, we have people to take care of, soldiers to reorder, and I’ve got important stuff to tell someone,” said Shard. “I’ve got my hands full, but you people have been helpful.” “What about after we do all of that?” she asked. “Good question,” said Shard. He took a moment to think, but Amy already had something in mind. “You sure you want to discuss this now?” asked Amy. “We have more important things to get to. They’re wondering where you are or if you’re still alive.” “I guess we should go now.” Shard took hold of Amy and started rushing back towards the workshop.
Scraps of metal are getting hauled back to Eggman’s base. The entire Blade army is still surrounded by the mechs flying above them. Lots of goods and services are given to the people from the Shard Dimension. Sonic looks in the distance, along with Alternate Sonic. “Who is that?” asked Sonic. Alternate Sonic sees a gray and blue figure carrying a pink figure and running fast. “That’s him,” he said. “The one we’re looking for. The one who saved us.” Sonic looked at him. “You don’t need to emphasize that Shard saved everyone’s life from those people.” He pointed at the soldiers.
“Guess who’s back!” yelled Amy, getting down from Shard. Everyone looked at Shard with relief that he didn’t die. “We thought you were gone. That station exploded with you inside of it,” said Sonic. “I made the station explode,” said Shard. He glanced at the soldiers. “But nobody got harmed.” “Where’s Brazen,” said a soldier calmly. “Did you kill him?” “No,” said Shard. “I brought him back here and left him with nothing.” “He will come back,” said the soldier. “I don’t doubt it,” said Shard. “But he won’t fight us. I made sure that I won’t spare his life again.”
Shard walked to his creators. “So, what are we going to do with them?” “We’ve been discussing various options of what to do with them,” said Alternate Sonic. “They’ve been behaving nicely, they don’t speak out unless necessary, and they haven’t tried to attack us yet.” “I wouldn’t suggest we lock them up,” said Alternate Shadow. “They’re too mature for that, and it feels cruel to us.”
Shard takes a good look at the soldiers. “Let them do community service and have them help people,” he said. Alternate Sonic and Alternate Shadow look at him in surprise. “If they take orders without question, then they will do whatever people ask them, within reason and the good of the community,” he continued. “We’ll have some mechs look over them and hope they don’t do anything bad.” He takes another look at the soldiers. “They should also get a rebrand of clothing. I’m sick of looking at the logo of Blade, and I bet we all are.”
Alternate Sonic and Alternate Shadow looked at each other. “That’s not a bad idea,” said Sonic. “We’re still concerned about the safety of our new arrivals here,” said Alternate Sonic. “Then I’ll stick around to teach them that these people are here to help you, and I’ll teach the soldiers how to help a population. Hopefully, I can get rid of Brazen’s influence on them.”
Mech 16 raised a proximity alarm, and everyone looked at the plains. A dark figure ran toward them, occasionally falling and getting back up. Alternate Sonic stared at it. “It’s him,” he said sternly. He ordered a few mechs to head over and catch the figure. As they came back, everyone saw the figure was Brazen. He was struggling and trying to use his strength to free himself from the mechs’ grasp.
Shard walked forward. “Why are you here?” he asked. Amy took out her hammer. Still struggling, Brazen said, “That woman needs to calm herself.” Shard looked at Amy and shook his head. “Yeah! You tell her!” yelled Brazen. Shard looked back and slapped his face hard. Brazen groaned in pain from the facial slap. “You haven’t answered my question yet,” said Shard, frustrated. “Why are you here?” “Well, why else would your enemy come back to face you?” asked Brazen.
“I told you I would not spare your life again,” said Shard. “Your soldiers no longer obey you.” He looked at them. “As a matter of fact, I think they need some time to rethink themselves and do something good for once.” The soldiers continued to stand there. He pointed at one and said, “Come here.” The soldier came out of the group and stood in front of Shard. “What are you doing?” asked Brazen. “Showing you that your soldiers take orders without question, no matter if you’re commanding them or not,” said Shard.
“You! Get back in the group!” yelled Brazen. The soldier stayed where he was. “I’ve been hearing the conversation between the two about what to do with us,” he said. “I will be willing to help out for the good.” “Well, I’m glad you understand,” said Shard. “I assume you don’t need help understanding right from wrong.” “No, sir,” said the soldier. Brazen growled in anger.
“Now, I will ask you some questions about your participation in Blade,” said Shard. “I know that you will answer the truth, will you?” “Don’t answer them!” yelled Brazen. He got slapped in the face by Frag. “I will answer truthfully, sir,” said the soldier. “Good,” said Shard. “What’s your name?” “Matthew, sir,” said the soldier. “It gets hot in that mask, doesn’t it?” asked Shard. “Why don’t you take it off?” “Don’t do it!” yelled Brazen, getting slapped again by Frag.
Matthew took off his mask and breathed in the fresh air. “I haven’t taken it in a while,” he said. “It’s nice to breathe in that cool, refreshing air.” “I’m glad,” said Shard. “Now, on with the interrogation. How did you feel being part of Blade?” “Stop!” yelled Brazen, slapped by Frag again. “Not really good, sir,” said Matthew. I keep getting death threats from Brazen if I don’t do my duties as a soldier in his army. We all feel the same way.”
Matthew turned around and looked at the soldiers. Some of them took their masks off. “Don’t we?” he asked. They all raised their hands in agreement. Shard took a moment. “Let them go,” he said. The mechs flew away from them and landed at the workshop. “I assume that no one else will try to attack or harm us in any way, is that correct?” “Yes, sir,” said all the soldiers. Matthew turned to Shard. “We’re all victims of Brazen’s torture.”
“They are all lying!” yelled Brazen, breaking free of a mech. “If they didn’t like working for Blade, they would have left!” Shard walked to Frag and whispered something in his ear. Matthew walked up to Brazen and grabbed him by the fur. “You forced us to work for you,” he said, frustrated. “You never allowed any of us to leave.” Frag took Brazen’s dart gun and a purple dart without him knowing. “And we’re no longer your biggest problem.”
Brazen turned around to see Frag holding his dart gun, loaded with the purple dart. “I never gave you that!” he yelled. “Matthew’s right,” said Frag. “I am your biggest problem. Shard told me the truth about me before I got here.” Brazen looked at Shard, who held up Eggman’s shapeshifting device. “You little menace,” said Brazen. Shard tossed the device to Eggman.
“He really outdid himself with that shapeshifting device,” said Shard. “Now I know the truth about my genetical brother.” He and Frag looked at each other. “Let him go,” said Frag. The mechs let Brazen go, and he jumped at Frag. A small object hit Brazen, and he jolted, falling to the ground. The dart gun was now empty. Looking up, he saw Shard and Frag looking at him.
“I said I won’t give you a second chance,” said Shard. “I didn’t attack you,” said Brazen, drowsy. “True, but you attacked him,” said Shard, pointing at Frag, who took the dart from Brazen’s arm. He studied it for a moment. “Brazen really outdid himself with his poison darts,” he said. He looked at Brazen, who fell unconscious. “You just fell to the hedgehog you created,” he said. Checking for a pulse, he felt nothing.
“He’s gone,” said Shard. “He will never threaten us again.” Putting the mask on Brazen’s face, he used his crystal to teleport himself and Brazen’s body into space. “My fellow friends,” said Matthew to the other Blade soldiers. “Brazen is gone. He will no longer boss around and threaten to kill us all to do his bidding.” They all put their arms in the air to signify their freedom. Turning around, he looked to see everyone with their arms up. Amy runs off again.
Shard walks through the plains, thinking about everything he accomplished from his journey. Challenging Shadow on Cat Island, meeting Sonic and his friends, traveling back to experience the Paradox Prism shatter and absorb most of the energy, discovering a past Lab 16 project, and defeating Brazen twice makes him feel glad that he’s someone that can be trusted and appreciated.
He looks at Prism Mountain, still looking fixed and tall. He remembers himself and Amy walking to Tails’ workshop, seeing the same mountain in the memory. He didn’t know what it was from there, but now he does. “I still feel the energy inside the Prism, fixed or not,” he said. He holds his crystal in his hand and thinks. “I never gave it much thought, but I feel like I’m the most powerful hedgehog on this planet. I am the ultimate lifeform.”
“And he’s lucky to have someone who really cares about him,” said a voice. Shard turns around to see Amy walking up to him. “So, running off again?” she asked. “Well, sometimes I need some time to myself,” said Shard. She looks at the crystal in his hand. “May I?” she asked. He took her hand and gave her the crystal. “This is beautiful,” she said, amazed by it. “I should make Frag one. If I can use the energy, then he can.” Amy gives back the crystal.
“I think I’ll start a new life here,” said Shard. Amy looked confused. “What?” she asked. “Well, I’ve gotten used to living here for a while,” he said. “When this all settles down, I’ll go my way. I’ll spend most of my time exploring new places. I’ll even try to convince my creators not to create another Lab 16 here to prevent any danger to us. I’m already thinking of exciting things to do.”
“Alone?” asked Amy. “Won’t it get boring going on adventures by yourself?” “Hasn’t Sonic done that many times before?” asked Shard. Amy thinks about it. “You have a point,” she said. “But still. Why not take someone with you for some company?” Shard thinks for a moment. “Well, I don’t know many things about this dimension, unlike you and your friends,” said Shard. “Besides, the newcomers here look up to responsible, trustworthy people. They need your help; way more than I need yours.”
Amy looks down. Shard tries to comfort her by putting his arm around her. “This doesn’t mean I don’t trust you,” he said. He paused to think of something to say without upsetting her. “...but there are moments when we want to do our own things. I’m not sure how to explain it without any criticism about others as the truth isn’t always easy to admit or understand.”
Amy puts her hand on Shard’s hand. “Yes, the truth hurts,” she said, looking at him. “But I understand.” They let go of each other, and he begins to walk to Prism Mountain. “But still, I want to be a part of your life,” she said. Looking back, he said, “You already are.” She looked a little surprised. “Last night was no dream.” He walked a few more steps, then said, “Think about what to name it. You have time.” He dashed off.
“What does he mean about last night being a dream?” Amy asked. “Last night, we defeated Brazen and blew up his station. Well, Shard did that all on his own. Collapsing after getting shot by Brazen gave us all a shock...wait.” She began to realize what he meant by ‘last night.’ “Now I remember. That is the best night I will never forget when I see him.” She pauses to think. “Whatever it is, I’ll name it Crystal.”
Shard, now standing on the peak of Prism Mountain, looks at the village. “I feel this new life of mine will be bright,” he said. “Everyone is finally getting settled in with the ease of my new friends. My creators will find new ways of research that will benefit all of us.” He pauses to look at the scenery around him. “If Frag wants me, he’ll have to find me.” He rushes off to somewhere new where he will keep the memories of his journey to this dimension and everything else that made him a better individual in this new world.
=== Conclusion ===
Did you think it was a great story? I thought it was. Then again, I wrote it. While writing this book, I did a Google search for “shard the hedgehog,” and I found a Fandom article about Shard the Metal Sonic. For a second, it scared me because someone already took the name “Shard.” However, the character’s picture does not look like mine. That character was created by Dr. Eggman, while my character was created by Sonic and Shadow from the Shard Dimension.
Also, including part of the Sonic Prime series made me think, “This might give a new perspective to the story and the series.” Of course, the series isn’t finished yet, and I came up with a possible timeline where Shard appears weeks after the Paradox Prism incident is resolved if it gets resolved at all. Also, this is told from an alternate universe, just like all the other Sonic fan-fiction stories out there. We all have imagination we can use to our advantage.
This is a fan fiction story, as I don’t expect this new character to become part of the franchise, even though it would be wonderful if it did. I think Shard could become an ally to Sonic and his friends. But then again, that’s my opinion alone.
Shard, Frag, Brazen, Lab 16, Blade, and the Shard Dimension belong to me. The ownership of those assets is mine. Sonic, his friends and enemies, and everything in the Sonic franchise used in this belongs to Sonic Team and SEGA. The ownership of those assets is theirs, not mine. This was written with Microsoft Word and revised with tons of help from Grammarly. No one’s a perfect writer since we are all human, so we do our best to create an enjoyable experience for everyone. This story is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Visit website for terms.
Website links:
*https://sonicfanon.fandom.com/wiki/Shard_the_Hedgehog
*https://github.com/SButzbach07/Shard-the-Hedgehog
*https://scot.butzbach.net
===Sources ===
The following sources were used in this book.
*Shattered/Transcript | Sonic Wiki Zone | Fandom, https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Shattered/Transcript
==See also==
*Shard the Hedgehog
*Shard the Hedgehog - scot.butzbach.net
*User:SButzbach07
Category:Fanfiction
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