She was out for blood.
Meeting Yin was a wake up call for her, she had let this go on far too long. Shoving her pistol into her jacket angrilly she strode out of her hideout and headed for the forests. It would end one way or another.

Nexus was patrolling the area around his hideout as usual, something he felt becomming rather unnecessary these days. He hadn't spotted a patrol encroaching on his territory for some weeks now, but that didn't mean they would stay away forever. He hadn't been bringing Keisha recently, the young rabbit was losing interest in skulking around the woods in silence, much preferring to stay behind and play. He had to remind himself constantly that she was just a child.
The echidna stopped in his tracks and narrowed his eyes, listening out for anything suspicious. He quickly darted behind a tree as the bullet struck the ground, a puff of dust erupting from the impact.
He wasted no time, whipping out a device and slapping it on the tree, running to the next available piece of cover while his attacker investigated his last known spot, a futile effort as a second bullet struck the tree by his head. A quick about turn was met with two more bullets striking the ground at his feet. His heart raced, but his brain raced faster, pulling his body around behind a rock as a fifth bullet ricocheted noisilly. He took this opportunity to remove his pulse pistol from his coat pocket but not before his attacker dropped from above and kicked his hand hard, sending the weapon spinning into a patch of ferns. The sound of a hammer being drawn back froze him in place.
"Not this time, Nexus." the figure said.
"Afternoon, Nefina." Nexus said, smiling back at her. "Play time again, is it?"
"SHUT UP! Just shut the HELL up!" she said, pushing the gun in his face.

The pair of them had grown up a closer brother and sister than any parent could hope for. When their mother, Netalia, trained the pair in the ways of combat, Nefina would always excel at the studies but held herself back so Nexus could keep up. The young echidna was never much of a fighter, preferring to exercise his mind. The pair complimented each other, Nexus teaching Nefina about technology and Nefina teaching her younger brother how to defend himself. That all changed the day Nexus gained his wings. Their sub-species of echidna had been slowly dying out, the abilities and strengths of their ancestors watered down by the more dominant echidna species, but every now and again the old genetic material would emerge. Nexus gaining his wings made him special, a call back to better days. And Nefina hated him for it. For all that Nexus didn't care about the wings, and neither Netalia nor her husband treated the pair any differently afterwards, Nefina took it as a personal insult. She was now inferior to her brother. When their mother was killed she pledged to out-do her. To live up to the ideals she had given her and to prove herself worthy of her affections. Then Yin had shown up.

Nexus was puzzled, he had faced Nefina many times since the day of Robotnik's coup, but never had he seen her give in to her emotions.
"I met the abomination." she said, glaring down at him. "How could you do it, you sick bastard?"
"You've met Yin?" Nexus replied, "I hope she's looking after the bodywork, it took ages to polish that."
"I SAID SHUT UP!" She screamed, pressing the barrel against his forehead. "How could you do that to mother!? She was at peace, she gave her life for this pathetic planet and now you've destroyed all of that for your own pathetic sentiment!"
"Listen, Yin was made into a cybernetic hedgehog by foolish men, destined to be a mindless weapon forever. I refined their work and brought mother back from the prison they'd trapped her mind in. She is her o-"
"I know all of this shit. She's just a pile of metal parts with a fake personality created by you. Your entire existance has been about destroying every last thing that I cared about. You took my mothers affections, you cast aside her lessons to pursue your own goals and now you desicrate mother's memory with that...THING. I've toyed with you in the past, but no more. Here you die."
Nexus smiled back at her. "Bang."
The forest exploded with a brilliant light as the flash bang device Nexus planted earlier detonated. Nefina recoiled, clutching at her blinded eyes and crying out in pain, her ears ringing.
Nexus got up and leapt immediatey for his pistol, cursing the fact he'd only brought one with him. finding it, he fired at Nefina only to find she'd disappeared.
"Nice try, little brother".
Nexus dodged as a bullet struck the tree closest to him. He couldn't do that trick again and sooner or later she was going to find her mark.
"Your pacifism will destroy you." she called out from the trees. "Your pathetic weapon is too slow to hit me."
Nexus stayed behind cover, listening for her movements. This was bad. She tended to simply make her point and leave before now, showing him how much better she was to humiliate him. He didn't relish the idea of having to kill his sister.
So he ran.

Nefina jumped from tree to tree to follow him, waiting for the right moment for her prey to break cover and provide a suitable target. Her eyes darted here and there, simultaniously watching her path and his.

Nexus had only one option, and he was pursuing it to the hilt. He had to reach the clearing. Every few dozen yards a puff of dirt would errupt at his feet as his sister took a pot shot at him. It was difficult to remain focussed on the destination while avoiding her bullets, but he had no choice. Daylight was ahead. He broke into a sprint.

Nefina looked forwards and saw the trees were running out. She accellerated to overtake him, reaching the last tree and leaping forwards into the clearing.

Nexus concentrated as he ran, flexing his wings and forcing them through the back of his coat, tearing it open.
Nefina landed in front of him and pointed her gun straight towards him. Nexus was ready for this and shot her in the shoulder, the impact spinning her enough to throw off her aim. He jumped at full speed, plowing into her and using her as a spring board to launch himself into flight. Nefina struck the ground hard, rolling over to aim at her prey but her vision was too distorted to get a proper shot and before long he was out of range.
"This isn't the end, Nexus! Wherever you go I will find you! You will pay for everything you've done to me!"

Meanwhile in the woods a pair of violet unblinking eyes watched the screaming echidna female. "I think this has gone on long enough." it said, turning away and disappearing into the trees.

---

First off yes, shit background. And it pissed me off, tbh. Colouring the characters was fun, then I totally hit a brick wall with the background. Everything I tried, everything I drew looked like crap, and this was the best of a bad bunch. Got to love it when art block hits you half way through a picture.

Still, I hope the story makes up for it (it's seriously distracting trying to write while FA's adverts keep blinking all over the place). This is a well overdue request from  jessycelly who drew it for me. She had more patience with me than I deserve, tbh. Still working on my new style somewhat. Some things aren't highlighting quite right, like the black gloves on Nefina etc. I'll keep trying.

Anywho, hope you guys enjoy this.

[Original sketch by  jessycelly]
[Nexs and Nefina copyright to me]