Shatter
Surya-Ne hit the glowing wall of the Chaos Chamber with a "WHOK!"
Shaking out the spots that danced briefly in her vision, she stood again,
glaring with red-hot rage at her opponent. The robotic intruder had turned
away from her, assuming she'd be out of the way after the impact. That was
a mistake she wouldn't let it live to regret. The young Guardian of the
Floating Island climbed up the wall and leapt off, gliding at top speed for
the metallic monster.
Suddenly, a streak of red sent the robot careening to the side, com-
pletely out of Surya-Ne's line of attack. Before she had time to change
direction, she barreled into the Island's other Guardian. A tangle of twin
echidnas tumbled across the floor for a few seconds before the two could
extricate themselves.
"MOORE!" the darker Guardian shouted, "What did you think you were
doing?! I almost had it!"
"Well, excuse me for trying to help out!" her brother responded
petulantly, "Maybe you should look before you attack."
"Try taking your own advice," Surya-Ne shot back, "It's not like I
can--" A blast of laser cut off the end of her sentence, as well as sending
her flying into the wall again. A second laser dealt with her brother
similarly.
Pain sparked across the dark echidna's torso and black spots swarmed
across her vision as she pulled herself shakily to an upright position. As
her vision cleared, the shape of her enemy appeared, looming over the shining
form of the Island's heart- the Master Emerald. Sheer panic sent adrenaline
rushing through her veins, replenishing her energy supply. Surya-Ne leaped
to the giant gem, blocking the 'bot with her body.
"There's no way I'm letting you have the Emerald!"
The robot, unfazed, fed her another laser blast-- and her words. From
her landing place at the Master Emerald's base, Surya-Ne had a front-row seat
to the end of the Island's heart, and she was completely unable to move to stop
it. As she watched, the metal titan grasped the gem. There was a pause that
seemed to last for years, and for a moment, Surya-Ne hoped that perhaps the
robot would fail. Then, with a sound like a stream of pins hitting glass,
cracks traced their way along the great gem. Colors swirled across its surface
as the fissures spread. For another infinite moment, the Emerald stood, covered
in cracks, sparkling in dozens of colors. Then, its stability completely com-
promised, it exploded in a blast of light, sound, and pressure. For a moment,
all Surya-Ne saw was whiteness. Then, it faded to black.
*****
Everything was a dull shade of greenish-gray. Surya-Ne shook her head
and sat up, then realized that there wasn't really any floor to sit on; she was
floating in a void of gray. In front of her, a shard of shining gray gem
hovered.
"By the Ancient Walkers..." she murmured... "Am I dead?"
*No,* a voice echoed in her head. Surya-Ne glanced around. She had
a suspicion that the voice was coming from the gem.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
*The creature you fought has endangered not only your Island, but all
of Mobius,* the voice explained. *It must be stopped.*
"No kidding," the dark echidna muttered, "That's what I was planning
on doing."
*However, you won't be able to do it alone. I am a shard of the Master
Emerald. I'll give you the power to fight this enemy, but you'll need to find
others like you to truly beat it.* Surya-Ne gave the gem a "You've got to be
kidding me" look.
*If you don't, you'll never be able to get your Island back in the sky.
You must find the other Mobians with shards of the Master Emerald, defeat the
robot, and then reassemble the Master Emerald. If you don't...* The voice
trailed off.
Surya-Ne stared at the shard in front of her for a moment. "If that's
the only way I can save the Island, then I'll do it."
*I thought as much.*
*****
Surya-Ne regained consciousness with a rush. She felt strangely light.
A look around determined the cause-- the Master Emerald was gone! She barely
had enough time to brace herself for the landing. With a mighty splash that
caused several tsunami on other continents, the Floating Island fell from the
air and into the ocean.
As the dark Guardian recovered from the double impact of the fall of the
Island and her failure, she recalled the vision she'd had. Was it true? She
climbed out of the chamber to observe the damage- she'd get through with her duty
as the Island's Guardian first, then she could worry about the robot and this
shard business.
"If finding the rest of the shards is what it takes," she murmured as
her eyes swept across the shaken island, "then I'll go to the ends of Mobius to
find them. By the Ancient Walkers, I swear I'll restore the Floating Island!"
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