Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Eclipse the Darkling held his good hand to his stomach, urging it to be quiet. It didn’t work, his belly gave another rolling grumble, and he could swear he felt it actually twist in an attempt to digest itself.

It had been a few days since he’d eaten. Between the loud protests from his gut, and the suspected infection taking root in his injured left arm, he hadn’t been able to hunt properly. Any prey either smelled or heard him coming before he had a chance to attack. It was embarrassing, really.

Normally this injury wouldn’t have mattered. He would have been healed and in top form again in no time. But this planet was proving to be more of a challenge than he’d expected, for a few reasons.

First, these humans were everywhere. Even when he thought he’d found a safe place to lay low and rest, some of these tall, soft, claw-less, fang-less, pointless, noisy creatures would inevitably pass by a little too close for comfort. Ordinarily he wouldn’t be too bothered—he was the prince of the Black Arms after all, ultimate weapon and future commander of its great warrior army—but considering he was injured and barely came up to the waist of the adults, he thought it better not to take chances. So, when humans passed by, he’d kept hidden and sought out a different location. He felt he’d been on the move for days.

Second, the air was much colder here, which chilled him to the bones. He felt slow and dumb at night and in the early mornings, until the sun warmed things up enough to be even somewhat comfortable. And even then it was only so warm.

Third, the fact that he couldn’t rest and heal properly meant he had a throbbing pain in his arm for what felt like forever. He’d sliced it—from palm to elbow—after accidentally breaking a human’s window in his search for shelter on the second night he’d been here. How many days ago had that been? At least five. Maybe. His exhaustion made keeping track of time hard.

Fourth, his mind was unnervingly quiet. Normally he heard, or at least felt, the constant mutterings of the rest of the Black Arms through the hive mind link. But now there was nothing but silence. He was the only one in his head. He’d never felt so alone.

Last, he wasn’t as well versed in Earth’s customs and topography as he would have liked. The first memory he had of this world was waking up in the forest, head ringing. He hadn’t even known what planet he was on until he’d recognized the Earthlings from the surveillance footage back on the Black Comet.

Earth was a planet to be conquered, like all the others the Black Arms came upon. But he didn’t think the Black Comet was anywhere close enough to engage with this world yet.

So why was he here?

It’d be one thing if he were on a mission from his father, Black Doom. He would do whatever was necessary to succeed and make his father proud.

Or at least to stave off the harsh punishment Black Doom delivered for any infraction. Of which he’d been on the receiving end more times than he’d like to remember.

There were times Eclipse wasn’t even sure what he’d done to incur his father’s wrath. But there must have been a reason. His father, the great Black Doom, was wise and strong. Leader of the Black Arms, the greatest warrior race in all of time, he conquered any planet he wished to expand the mighty reach of their race. He did not suffer fools, or failures.

A fact Eclipse was all too familiar with.

So he would do everything within his power to succeed in . . . whatever it was he was doing here. He just wished he could remember what he was meant to do.

Perhaps this was a test. To see if he was worthy of taking up the mantle and leading the Black Arms army.

That was a possibility. Separate him from the hive link, erase part of his memory, and leave him on a backwater planet full of soft, inferior beings. And now he must . . . survive? Conquer? He wasn’t quite clear on that part.

But he would pass, no matter what.

His stomach grumbled again, and he crouched in the treeline to the side of a house. He’d been here before, watching. A good warrior always took stock of a situation before acting.

Night was coming, that familiar cold seeping into him, but he ignored it and watched the door. He could see movement from inside, as the woman and child—a small, furry boy Eclipse found strange—put things into a large bag.

It was dangerous being this close to a human home. Some had weapons that fired projectiles. His hunger and injury had slowed his reflexes, which put him at a disadvantage. It was a risk being here in the first place, let alone planning what he was.

But if he didn’t eat soon, he’d have bigger problems.

The light over the door turned on, and the child came out, carrying the large bag they’d filled. Eclipse opened his slitted nostrils and inhaled, waking his stomach with the scents carried on the night breeze.

Food. There was food inside that bag.

The furry boy descended the steps and walked to the silver cans near the corner of the house. Eclipse had tussled with those types of cans—they were sometimes hard to open, and always made a lot of noise when they fell. If that bag went into them, he’d be out of luck. Again.

Without giving himself time to think, Eclipse launched himself forward.

Callie cleaned the last of the supper dishes as Silver took the trash out to the cans. She’d just tucked a new bag into the bin when a shriek split the air.

“MOM! HELP!”

Spinning on her heel, Callie grabbed the broom on her way out the door. A particularly large and ill-tempered raccoon sometimes showed up as Silver took out the trash, and the boy had all but convinced himself the animal had a personal vendetta against him. They hadn’t seen the beast for a while, but now Callie wondered if it had returned.

Sprinting out the door, she ran toward the trash cans, and found her son yanking the trash bag away from another creature. She couldn’t tell what it was—the porch light didn’t quite reach out here—but heard it growling as it clung to the bag, attempting to yank it from Silver’s hands. Its size and dark coloring made her heart skip. It may have been a young bear.

“Let go, Bug!” she called, and Silver immediately released his hold on the bag. It and the creature flew back at the sudden lack of resistance, and Callie gave it a solid swat with the broom for good measure.

“OW!”

It landed in the pool of light cast by the door, and the trash bag burst open, spraying the yard with garbage.

Callie’s mouth dropped open. Had it spoken?

The thing recoiled, and spat a hiss at her.

She moved to position herself between her son and the . . . whatever it was. Now that it was in the light, she got a better look. It was blue-gray with red stripes and accents over its body, and a long, thin tail that ended in what looked like a barbed tip. Its yellow eyes glared at her as it found its footing, and it only seemed to have three fingers and two toes.

“What is it, Mom?” Silver asked, his fists gripping her pants tightly. “Why did it want the trash?”

“I don’t know, babydoll,” she said, and they watched as the thing stalked back and forth on all fours. Its tail whipped angrily back and forth, a snarl curling its muzzle.

Pain flared in Eclipse’s side where the human had hit him with the stick thing, and he grit his teeth against it. Between his right side and left arm, he felt a near constant throb pulse through him with each beat of his heart.

“Who are you?” the woman asked, pointing the long stick it held toward him. He flinched, eyes flicking down toward the main pile of trash on the ground.

It was so close. The smell of food made his stomach clench. Should he run now, and lose the possibility of eating again? Or stay and try to snatch at least a fraction of the food? Even a few bites would tide him over for a bit.

They hadn’t thrown anything at him, and didn’t seem to have any other weapons, so maybe it would be okay to try and get what he came for?

Moving carefully, and flicking his eyes back to watch them, he inched forward and grabbed a handful of raw chicken trimmings before retreating back a few more feet. The woman and boy didn’t move, just watched as he crammed the meat bits into its mouth.

They were slimy and kind of gross, but his stomach opened eagerly to accept it. He barely chewed, swallowing it almost whole.

Feeling bold, he inched forward for another handful.

“It’s a boy,” the furry kid said, and Eclipse froze, eyes wide and watching. “It’s a boy and he’s hungry. He just wanted the food.”

The woman’s brow furrowed, but then her shoulders relaxed, and she pulled the stick she was holding against her.

After another minute of silence, Eclipse moved forward and grabbed more of the slimy food.

Callie watched as the crea—boy shoved another handful of chicken trimmings into his mouth. He kept his eyes on them as he chewed, brow furrowed in distrust.

She sighed, shaking her head. Another alien kid, but this time more . . . reptilian? She couldn’t quite tell his species. Despite his claws and teeth, he didn’t seem overly threatening—this attack seemed spurred by hunger.

“Silver,” she said, and her son poked his head around her. “Go in and bring out the leftovers from tonight.”

The hedgehog was moving practically before she finished talking. The other boy jerked slightly as Silver ran into the house, before flicking his eyes back to her.

“Can you understand me?” she asked, keeping her distance. Memories of when Silver first arrived flashed through her mind, and she felt a strong sense of deja vu.

The boy didn’t respond for a few long seconds, that suspicious, distrustful look still on his face.

“We won’t hurt you,” she said, softening her voice. “And I’m sorry I hit you before. I was worried you would hurt my son. Now I need to know if you can understand me.”

He wiped his mouth with the back of a clawed hand. Then he nodded.

“Okay, well that’s good,” she said, just as Silver came running out with a plate of leftover chicken, potatoes, and carrots.

“I couldn’t heat them up, but they’re still a little warm from supper,” he said, holding the plate up to her.

She gave him a smile and a gentle stroke on his forehead fan of quills. “That’s okay, sweetie.” She turned to the other boy. “We’ve got some food that I guarantee will taste a lot better than what you’ll find in that mess. Do you want it?”

The boy tossed a look back toward the trees, his body crouched and tense.

“You don’t have to come over here,” she said, taking the plate from Silver. “I can bring it to you. I promise I won’t hurt you. Will you let me come close without hurting me?”

He seemed to contemplate running back to the trees for a moment, before turning back to her and giving a small nod. She nodded in return, before telling Silver to stay where he was. Even though she was pretty sure the kid was just hungry, if he were going to attack anyway, she’d rather it be her who felt those fangs and claws.

Callie moved forward slowly, and stopped to crouch down a few feet away. The boy watched her, eyes wide, as she reached forward and placed the plate on the ground. Then she backed away and returned to Silver.

Eclipse watched as the human placed the plate of food a few feet from him, then return to the other boy. His stomach churned, urging him forward to devour the offered meal. But he hesitated, eyeing the two at the other side of the yard.

Why would they give him food? He’d invaded their home and made a mess. Frightened the younger one. Threatened the older. What game were they playing?

The Black Arms’ studies of Earth had always shown humans as violent and stupid. Easily riled into a fight. More likely to throw a fist at one another than join together. It would be an easy victory over such inferior creatures.

He’d never seen examples of . . . whatever this was.

Eclipse moved forward and gave the plate a sniff. It smelled different than the food from the bag, but not necessarily unpleasant. He supposed this could be a trick—it could be poisoned. But his superior body could withstand any Earth poison.

Right?

Ultimately, his stomach didn’t care. The smell was too enticing.

The little prince of the Black Arms slowly crawled forward and went to town on the food before him. Its texture was better than that of the stuff from the bag, but it tasted different. No matter. It would do to keep him moving for a day or two.

He devoured everything in record time.

Callie and Silver watched the other boy noisily demolish the food on the plate. Judging by how ravenous he seemed, he must not have eaten for a while.

“Mom?” Silver turned to her, his voice quiet. “What do we do?”

“What do you mean?”

The hedgehog glanced toward the other boy before turning back. “He’s hungry, and I think his arm’s hurt. Can’t we help him?”

She twisted her mouth, chewing her cheek as she thought. “I doubt he’d let me get close enough to even look at his arm, hon. He seems pretty scared.”

“But . . .” He looked back at the other boy. “He needs help. Maybe he’s all alone here, like I was. We can’t just let him go, hungry and hurt.”

Callie pulled her lips tight. Silver, her sweet little boy with the big heart, was right. This new boy was scared, starving, and injured. Regardless of what he was or where he came from, she couldn’t very well let him wander back into the trees without some kind of help.

The boy had finished the food on the plate, and now licked it clean. If she was going to do something, she needed to do it quick.

“Was that better?” she called, and the boy stopped in mid-lick. He slowly sat up, brow furrowed, before giving her a little nod. “Good. Are you thirsty? Need some water?”

The suspicious look was back on the boy’s face, and he turned to look to the trees again. Then he turned back and nodded. Callie gave a nod in return, and sent Silver in for a big cup of water. A few seconds later he returned, a large, almost overflowing cup in his heads.

“I’ll take it to him,” he said, and before she could protest, the hedgehog slowly made his way toward the other boy.

Callie watched him approach this creature with sharp fangs and claws, holding her breath.

Trying to help this other kid didn’t seem like such a good idea at the moment. Not when her son was so close.

Eclipse watched the other boy come closer, a container of water in his hands. The darkling’s mouth went dry and he licked his lips. He hadn’t been able to find much clean water since he arrived.

As the boy neared, Eclipse tensed. Would he need to fight the child for the right to drink?

The other boy seemed to sense Eclipse’s mood, and he stopped a few feet away. He held the container out, a smile on his face.

“Here. We have more if you need it.”

The darkling flicked his eyes between the boy’s face and offered water. He didn’t seem threatening, and this didn’t feel like a trick. Slowly, Eclipse reached forward to take the cup.

He sipped slowly at first, until the first gulp of water hit his stomach and awoke his thirst. Then he up-ended the cylinder, pouring the water down his throat and swallowing giant gulps. Some water trailed down either side of his muzzle in his eagerness, but still he drank.

When the container was empty, he handed it back to the other boy, wiping his mouth with the back of a hand.

“Do you need more?”

Eclipse shook his head.

“Okay, good.” The boy bit his lip, hugging the empty container to his chest. “Um . . . are you all alone?” The darkling’s eyes widened, and the boy continued. “’Cause if you are, you could maybe stay here? Mom’s the best, and she could take a look at your arm and maybe help get it all fixed up--”

Hands shot out to shove the boy away, as alarms sounded in Eclipse’s head. Were they trying to capture him? Lure him in with food, then offer to help him, before tossing him into some cage somewhere? Was this a trap?

It wouldn’t work. Now that he had food in his belly, Eclipse felt better. Stronger. He could fight them if he needed, but it was getting colder and making his hands and feet numb again. So he gave the boy a shove, and backed away, hissing.

The woman came running over, shouting something as she moved in front of the gray boy. Her face pinched in anger, and Eclipse backed away. His tail twitched awkwardly as it alternated between an angry flick and submissive tuck.

He’d overstayed his welcome, it seemed.

Callie watched with a certain level of anxiety as Silver approached the other boy. He held the cup of water out, and after a few seconds of hesitation, the new boy took it. He drank with the desperation of a man roaming the desert.

Once the cup was empty, the boy handed it back to Silver. Okay, good. Now Silver can come back--

Except he wasn’t. The little hedgehog stood where he was, and seemed to be talking to the boy.

Callie let out an annoyed sigh. For a kid who was usually so wary of strangers, he certainly felt comfortable talking to them.

Then the other boy reached forward and shoved Silver off his feet.

Her feet were moving then, and she called Silver’s name as she moved in front of him. Starving or not, hurt or not, this boy was not going to hurt her son.

The boy hissed, his tail flicking wildly. He backed toward the trees, going to all fours as he did so.

“No!” Silver cried, crawling around her. “Don’t be scared! She won’t hurt you!”

Callie looked down, brow furrowed. “Silver, he--”

“He’s just scared!” the hedgehog cried, before jumping to his feet and approaching the other boy. “She was just worried about me, it’s okay.” He held a hand out. “Please come back. I promise you’re safe here.”

The darker boy looked past Silver, and locked eyes with Callie. After a long moment, he shook his head and ran back into the dark trees.

Breath puffing in front of him, Eclipse moved through the dark forest. He could see fine—his serrated pupils dilated to take in the light from the moon above—and he maneuvered his way to the small cave he’d found. Tucking inside, the darkling curled up, wrapping his tail around himself.

The pain in his side had faded, but his arm hurt. Especially his hand. He brought it up to his face, and grimaced at the swollen, off-color flesh beneath the pad on his palm. Flexing into a fist, he hissed in breath at the pain.

Absently licking at the wound, Eclipse thought about the encounter in the woman’s yard. The woman had been calm, then angry with him. She seemed protective of the boy. A guardian? The boy had called her “mom” but Eclipse wasn’t sure what that word meant.

The boy had also said he was safe there. That they would take care of him. It was ridiculous to think of such inferior creatures ‘taking care’ of him. He was the ultimate weapon, the bringer of death, the greatest super soldier ever created under the Black Arms. He was superior to them in every way.

He didn’t need help.

His arm throbbed.

Yawning, Eclipse tucked his injured arm close to his chest, and curled into a tight ball. His belly was full, and this cave offered at least some protection against the night’s cold. For the first time since he’d awoken on this miserable little ball of dirt, he felt he could finally rest, and let his body work on healing.

Things would look better in the morning. He’ll figure out what his father sent him here to do, and pass whatever test he’d been given.

Despite the unnerving quiet in his head, Eclipse the Darkling fell asleep feeling hopeful.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Eclipse awoke with a crick in his neck, and solid throb in his arm. The meal from last night had made his sleep deeper than it had been in all his time on this world, and he dreamed of the Black Comet. Of the nursery, where the new soldiers were grown. Of the training rooms, where you either lived or died depending on your skills and abilities.

Of Black Doom. His three red eyes blazing straight through Eclipse’s mind.

A shudder ran through the little darkling at this memory.

Now he sat up and stretched, giving his tail a quick whip to work out the kinks. He kept his injured arm next to his chest—it seemed worse today than yesterday.

But he felt better than he had in a while. He’d regained some strength thanks to last night’s food, and now he felt ready to hunt again. Sure, he was one arm down, but that shouldn’t stop him. He’d seen some small, furry animals in the forest, and thought it an easy feat to catch a few now that he had some food in him.

Eclipse hopped to his feet and poked his head out of the cave. No humans in sight. He smiled, moving deeper into the forest.

Today would be a good day.

“I’ll only be a few hours, Bug,” Callie said, gathering her laptop and a few books into her work bag. “Probably be home by lunch. These stupid meetings never accomplish anything, anyway. Waste of time.”

“I know.”

He’d heard this the last time she had to go for a mandatory work meeting. The regional director liked to feel like he was being useful by suggesting policies that worked in a larger library, but in a small one like Green Hills, they were mostly unnecessary. Luckily, he trusted Callie to do what was best in his stead.

“Sonic and the others are welcome to come over, or you could go over there instead. Just text me where you are.”

“I’ll be fine, Mom,” the boy said, a small smile on his lips. “I’ll probably just stick around here. Work on covering some of our plants before the hard frost hits this weekend.”

“Okay, but don’t get your hoodie all dirty.”

“I won’t.”

He straightened said hoodie, tucking his hands into the front pocket. Unlike Sonic and his brothers, Silver loved wearing clothes here, if only a hoodie or t-shirt. Pants were a bit uncomfortable—even with a cutout for his tail, sometimes they just felt strange—but hoodies and sweaters were nice and comfy, especially this time of year.

Callie fished her keys out of the basket on the counter, and moved to hunker down in front of him. She placed a loud kiss on his forehead, and gave his ear a quick scratch.

“Be good, babydoll. See you later.”

“Bye! Love you!”

“Love you too!”

The door closed, and Silver breathed a sigh. He loved his mom, he really did, but sometimes she could be a bit over-protective.

Like last night, with that other boy. Sure, she’d been worried about Silver when the boy had pushed him down, but that was literally all he did. Silver hadn’t felt scared or threatened at the time, and his mom’s protective urges had scared the boy away. Could they have helped him if she hadn’t reacted like that? Maybe, maybe not. But it was something that bothered Silver all night. He hoped the boy was okay.

He uttered another sigh as he went to the garage to gather some newspaper and masking tape. He set about making little tee-pees to put over their delicate plants this weekend. The really cold weather wasn’t supposed to start for another month or so (according to his mom) so protecting them from this first frost will help them survive and establish themselves a bit more before winter really hit.

At least he hoped so. He’d worked hard on not only cleaning up the landscaping, but also planting a garden with some vegetables and sunflowers. The clean air and healthy soil were perfect for growing things, and considering his world, it felt good to contribute to ongoing life instead of hiding in a dead city.

Humming to himself, Silver continued folding the newspaper.

Eclipse was not having a good day.

The food from last night was mostly gone, burned off during the night and this morning. He was hungry again, and his arm hurt. A LOT. He grit his teeth against the constant pounding throb, and cradled it to his chest. It felt heavy, swollen, and feverish against him.

It hadn’t been that bad when he woke up, but as he ran after a small furry animal, he’d misjudged his attack and landed directly on his bad arm. He’d bit his tongue to keep from crying out, and laid in the forest detritus until the initial flare of pain had subsided.

Hunting was a bust, too. The pain kept him from focusing as he should, and being down a limb left him clumsy and slow. And despite his deep slumber from the night before, he felt tired.

This wasn’t good. He couldn’t complete whatever task Black Doom had sent him here for if he was starving and dealing with an arm injury that refused to heal.

But what was he supposed to do? What were his options? He couldn’t call for help, not only because he was cut off from the hive mind, but because number one, no Black Arms had ever called for help before, and number two, they wouldn’t have answered such a call anyway. He didn’t exactly have any allies on this planet either.

He paused at that thought. Was that entirely true? While he wouldn’t classify them as ‘allies’, the human and child from last night had helped him. Or at least weren’t completely antagonistic towards him. The boy even seemed upset when he’d run off.

That was something he may be able to use to his advantage.

Eclipse moved through the forest, slowly, so as not to jostle his arm. Heading toward a human home was always dangerous, but even moreso during the day. He hoped this risk was worth it.

Tucked in the trees very close to where he started last night, Eclipse watched as the boy placed little structures over some plants. He wasn’t quite sure what the kid was doing, but it seemed important.

The darkling glanced toward the house. He didn’t see any sign of the woman, but that didn’t necessarily mean she wasn’t around somewhere. Sure she’d fed him last night, but that was before she became angry and protective of the boy. Would she still see him as a threat? Would she try to hurt him, or throw things at him, or yell if she saw him again?

Moving through the trees, Eclipse checked the place where the metal machine had sat. It seemed to be a vehicle of some kind, as he’d seen other humans inside similar ones as they rolled down the street. The one he’d seen here yesterday was gone, so he figured that meant the woman was gone, too.

That was good. His plan would work better without the human around.

Eclipse moved back to where he was, and watched the boy for another long moment. Just as he was about to step out of the trees, uncertainty made him hesitate. It was daylight, and the yard was an open area with no cover. Normally that wouldn’t have bothered him—ultimate weapon and all that—but his injured arm meant he couldn’t fight very well. If the human came home, or if anyone else saw him, he may be in trouble.

Huffing through his nose, Eclipse decided he was being stupid. It was just the kid, and what could he do? A member of such a superior race as the Black Arms shouldn’t feel so nervous about being stuck on an inferior planet like Earth, or dealing with some equally inferior being like . . . whatever the kid was.

He just needed to be brave. Strong. Like his father wanted.

Taking a breath, Eclipse stepped out of the trees and moved toward the gray boy.

Silver hummed to himself as he covered the spring bulbs. He and his mom had done some research into flowers, and decided some tulips would look nice near the house. You planted them in the fall for spring blooms, so they’d gotten some a few weeks ago. He wasn’t sure if covering them was necessary, but didn’t want to worry about the first hard frost killing them before they’d completely taken root.

He covered the last bulb and stood, brushing the dirt from his hands and knees. Then he turned around, and uttered a surprised cry when the boy from last night stood right behind him. Silver hadn’t heard him approach.

“Oh,” the hedgehog said, a shaky smile on his lips. “Hi.”

The boy didn’t respond, just stood and stared at Silver. His brows were drawn, and he looked . . . angry? Confused? It was hard to tell.

“Um . . . I’m glad you’re okay.”

Now the boy looked confused. He tilted his head, one eyebrow ridge arching higher than the other.

Silver tried not to make judgments based on appearance, but he had to admit, now that he saw the boy in the light of day, he did seem a little . . . scary. He had scales, and sharp teeth, and hands that ended in sharp claws. Even his long tail seemed made for stabbing, with the double-barbed tip.

And he just stood there. Staring.

Fear started clawing at Silver’s gut, and he backed away, biting his lip. What did the boy want? Why was he here? Was he actually dangerous?

He wished his mom was here. She’d know what to do.

“What do you want?” Silver asked, his voice shaky. He drew on his power, priming it for defense, should the need arise.

He really wished his mom was here.

Eclipse couldn’t understand why the boy wasn’t answering.

The humans didn’t have any telepathic abilities, he’d learned that when he first woke up and tried it out. He’d thought-yelled at the closest ones he could see, but they didn’t even flinch. Wasn’t surprising, really. These humans really were pretty inferior.

But this boy, he was different. Eclipse could sense . . . something about him that felt familiar. A pull, or an energy, or feeling that he hadn’t felt from anyone else on this planet. There was another, similar one, that seemed to originate from a house on the other side of town, but Eclipse wasn’t comfortable moving that far away from his base. Especially injured. Once he was fully healed, he would explore it in more detail.

So Eclipse had thought this boy may be . . . well, a little less inferior than he originally thought. If this kid felt different, then maybe he could be useful.

But every time the darkling tried to connect telepathically, he failed. It was like casting a line into a large hole. There just seemed to be nothing to connect with.

And the boy seemed intent on using his mouth to speak. Black Arms didn’t tend to do that, not unless they were trying to intimidate other species by roaring or growling at them. Actual speech was usually left to the higher classes, like his father or the scientists. Even Eclipse himself wasn’t technically supposed to speak. He was a weapon. Weapons didn’t usually need to carry on conversations.

So now, he faced a conundrum. He couldn’t communicate with this boy unless he spoke. And he hadn’t technically spoken in what felt like forever. (Last night’s cry of pain couldn’t really be classified as speech. More of a vocalized expression.)

Could he remember how to form words with his mouth?

“What do you want?” the boy asked, his voice shaky. He sounded afraid. If Eclipse didn’t do something, he would probably run off, ruining any chance at help.

“F—ood,” the darkling said, his voice scratchy and cracked. A lump appeared in his throat and he swallowed. Speaking was harder than he remembered.

The other boy blinked, his shoulders dropping as the tension ran out of them.

“You’re hungry?” he asked, and Eclipse nodded. Physical communication he could do. When you live in a society where everyone knows everyone else’s thoughts, sometimes visual expressions were a good way to share information with just who you wanted.

“Oh. Okay. Um.” The boy looked around, before turning back to him. “I’ll go get you something. Just, uh, stay here.”

Eclipse nodded, as the boy ran into the house. Standing in the open all alone made his head spikes flare in alarm. He glanced around himself, hoping the boy returned quickly.

Silver ran into the house, and yanked the fridge open. They had plenty of leftovers, most of which they wouldn’t get to, so he pulled out a tub of macaroni and cheese and dumped it on a plate. He considered warming it in the microwave, but if the other boy was as hungry as Silver thought, it might not be necessary. Besides, he’d eaten the gross chicken stuff from the trash. How picky could he be?

A pang of guilt hit him then. Just because the kid was desperate enough to eat from the trash didn’t mean he wouldn’t appreciate a nicer meal.

But, then again, time wasn’t exactly on Silver’s side. He didn’t know when his mom would be home. Would she be mad he was feeding the other boy? She seemed pretty distrusting of him last night, but that was only because she was in Mama Bear mode. She wouldn’t have a problem with Silver helping the boy out again, would she? It had been her idea last night to feed him their leftovers, after all.

Ugh, he was wasting time. Ultimately, Silver decided fast was probably better than warm, and ran back outside with the plate in his hands.

“Here you go,” he said, placing the plate on the top step of the deck. The boy approached carefully, lowering himself to sniff at the offering. “It’s cold, but I can warm it if you want. Oh, I forgot a fork. Hang on, I’ll--”

That was as far as he got before the boy snatched a handful of cold macaroni and shoved it in his mouth. He ate noisily, smacking and chewing with his mouth open. Silver wrinkled his nose and turned away.

Once the plate was empty, the boy licked it clean before moving to clean his hand.

“Wow. You were really hungry. Do you want more?”

The boy stopped in mid-lick, flicking his strange gold-on-black eyes to him. After a long second, he nodded.

“Okay,” Silver said, taking the plate. “I’ll be right back.”

For the next half-hour, Silver cleaned out the fridge, bringing plate after plate of leftovers to the strange boy, along with a few cups of water. The shelves were much emptier than they had been this morning, and Silver worried what his mom would say. How would he explain their absence?

Finally, the boy’s appetite seemed satiated, and he sat on the deck steps, licking his hand clean for the final time. Silver picked up the last plate, his eyes falling to the boy’s injured arm. It looked swollen, and green gunk lined the long laceration.

“That looks really bad,” he said, and the boy jerked his bad arm away, cradling it to his chest. “How did you get hurt?”

The boy didn’t respond, but backed down the steps, muzzle pulled in a not-quite-snarl. Silver held a hand up, offering a calming gesture.

“Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you. I just . . . you need help. Let me help you.”

The boy hissed softly, backing toward the trees. Silver let him go. If he was going to help this new boy, he needed to earn his trust, and he wouldn’t do that by pushing too quickly.

He just hoped the boy would trust him in time to help. That arm looked really bad.

Eclipse crawled back into his cave, his belly pleasantly full and making him drowsy. His arm throbbed with each beat of his heart, but he ignored it. He needed sleep. His body could heal while he rested.

It amazed him how much food the gray boy had brought out. There must have been a huge storage of it inside the house. Maybe he could sneak in sometime and help himself, without needing any other help.

Still . . . the boy had been kind. He didn’t demand information from Eclipse, or expect anything in return for the food. The question about his arm was a little alarming, though. Now that the boy realized Eclipse was injured, would that cause trouble? Would he think Eclipse was weak, and thus easily defeated? The boy didn’t seem dangerous, but what if that was simply a trick? Once Eclipse was comfortable around him, he’d cast off the friendly helper routine and go for the darkling’s throat?

Eclipse shook his head, stretching his maw in a wide yawn. He dragged his forked tongue around his lips, curling his tail around him.

Those were all thoughts for later. Right now his body just wanted to rest.

The little darkling was a sleep soon after.

Silver rinsed the last of the dirty dishes, just as his mom walked through the door.

“Hey, Bug,” she called, dropped her work bag on the kitchen island. “How was your day?”

The hedgehog bit his lip. “Fine,” he said, adding a shrug. “I got the bulbs covered. And, uh . . . went through the leftovers in the fridge.”

“Oh?” She moved to the fridge and opened the door. “Wow. You didn’t eat all that, did you?”

He shook his head. He didn’t.

“Well, good. I guess.” She moved behind him at the sink, placing a kiss on the top of his head. “And thank you for doing the dishes, too.”

“Welcome.” He turned off the water and grabbed a dish towel to dry his hands. Chewing his lip, he looked over at Callie. “Mom?”

“Hmm?”

“What if . . .” He paused, starting over. “Do you think we’ll see that other boy again?”

Flipping through the mail, she turned to him, brow furrowed. “I don’t know, sweetie. He seemed pretty scared last night.”

“Yeah. But what if he, you know, showed up again? Would you help him?”

She paused, pulling her lips tight. “If he wanted help. Yeah.” A smile curled her lips. “And if I was sure he wouldn’t give us rabies, sure.”

Silver furrowed his brow. “Mom.”

“What? We don’t know anything about him. What if he’s some science experiment gone amok? He could be the start of the zombie virus or something.”

His furrow deepened. Normally he found his mom’s sarcasm kind of funny, but this seemed mean. “Mom.”

She recognized his agitation, and moved closer to place another kiss on his head. “Okay, I’m sorry,” she said, her voice soft. “I guess I’m just a little . . . wary of this kid’s motives. He could deal some serious damage with those teeth and claws if he chose to.”

Silver nodded. She had a point.

“But,” she said, uttering a soft sigh, “he did seem pretty scared last night, and I guess I may have overreacted when he pushed you. Aside from that, he really didn’t make any other moves to actually attack, did he?” Silver shook his head. “Which may show he’s not as dangerous as he may otherwise look.”

“So you’d help him? Like, giving him food and fixing his arm?”

She narrowed her eyes, before turning and looking at the pile of clean plastic containers.

“Funny how you would clean out the fridge today,” she said, turning back. She raised an eyebrow. “Bug, did you see that boy?”

Silver flicked his hears backward, his forehead fan bristling. He didn’t exactly lie about anything, but had omitted the truth. His stomach clenched, and he nodded.

“I take it you gave him the leftovers?”

Another nod.

“All of them?”

A third nod. “He was really hungry.”

His mom lifted her eyes, scanning the trees outside as she gave a little hum.

“Am I in trouble?”

She looked back, and cocked an eyebrow at him. “I’m not thrilled you tried to lie to me about it, but you were helping someone in need. So you get a pass.” She leaned down, getting nose-to-nose. “This time. You only get one.”

Silver giggled. “Okay.”

“Seriously, did he make any moves to hurt you? Seem threatening at all?”

He shook his head. “He just said he wanted food.”

She raised an eyebrow. “He spoke?”

“Kinda.”

She hummed again, her brow furrowing.

“His arm’s really hurt. I wish Maddie could take a look at it and fix him.”

“I doubt he’ll let anyone get near that arm until he trusts them,” his mom said, leaning against the counter. “Which could take time.”

“It looks so bad already,” Silver said, shaking his head. “It’s swollen and has green gunk all up and down it. Probably hurts really bad.”

Callie brought a loose fist to her chin, and tapped it thoughtfully.

“Tell you what, Bug,” she said, pointing at him. “Do you think you could earn his trust enough to let me meet him?”

He furrowed his brow. “I dunno. Maybe. Why?”

“I’ll talk to Maddie and see if I can get a quick lesson in dealing with his arm. Maybe she can show me how to clean it really well and bandage it properly or something. Just to tide us over until he trusts us enough to go to her.”

Silver nodded. “Okay. That might work.”

“I’ll make sure there’s plenty of food available for when and if he shows up again, but Silver, I want you to be very careful. He may just be a scared, lost kid like you were, but he could also be dangerous. Just promise me you’ll be careful, and use your powers if you feel scared or threatened.”

“Mom, I’m sure he wouldn’t--”

She placed her hands on his shoulders. “Silver, promise me. Please.”

Silver locked eyes with her and saw the fear in them. Felt the tight squeeze of her hands on his shoulders. She wasn’t completely comfortable with him interacting with that other boy, that much was clear, but she also knew he would help anyone who needed it. It was his nature. She was just worried about him.

He offered her a little smile.

“I promise, Mom. I won’t let him hurt me.”

That worried look stayed on her face for a few more seconds, before she smiled. “You have such a kind heart, Bug. If anyone can earn that boy’s trust, I’m sure it’s you.”

His smile turned shy, and his muzzle burned as a blush rose. “Aw, Mom.”

“Oh no!” she cried, lifting him into her arms. “My boy’s changing color! He must be sick! I’ll save you!”

She flipped him upside down, blowing raspberries onto his belly as he laughed. More raspberries hit his shoulders and muzzle, tickling him and making him wheeze with laughter until he cried uncle. She finished with a flurry of kisses, peppered across his face.

Silver loved his life. He had a mom who loved him, and was happy and safe and never went without a full belly.

He hoped he could help the other boy find all that, too. Being alone, hungry, and afraid was horrible. And he wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

Chapter Text

The next two days were not kind to Eclipse.

On the first day he awoke fully rested from all the food the gray boy had given him the day before. His arm even felt better than it had in a while. With a sense of renewed hope, he went out into the day with a smile.

It didn’t last.

He had tried hunting, but could never quite catch any of the animals he set out to. And the other predators seemed to take exception with him hunting within their territories. His scent must have been offensive to them, because he quite often found himself chased away by an angry bobcat, coyote, or bear. One particular moose seemed to have a grudge against him, because no matter where he was, the giant thing would appear out of seemingly nowhere, and bellow at him as it charged. Eclipse had to teleport away to avoid getting trampled by its long legs and thick hooves.

Teleporting, as it turned out, was a bad idea. It took more energy than he could readily spare, and afterward, he had collapsed and slept for most of the rest of the day. Diverting that precious energy away from his healing ability had a bad effect on his already infected arm, and any positive progress it had made over the last day had reversed. By the end of the first day, it thrummed with pain. He could barely move it without clamping his teeth together to bite back a scream.

On the second day, he’d swallowed his pride and managed to make his way back to the human’s house, but the gray boy wasn’t there. Eclipse took a calculated risk by climbing onto the wooden deck to peer in the windows. There was no sign of anyone. He briefly considered teleporting inside to search for food, but he was still groggy from his previous teleportation and decided against it.

Breaking a window seemed the next logical idea, but considering he was still suffering from the aftereffects of his previous window breaking attempt, he nixed that idea too. He didn’t need two injured, infected arms.

Eclipse sat heavily on the deck, his arm throbbing, head spinning, and stomach grumbling.

He felt like crying, but his father’s voice sneered at him in his mind.

Weak, it said, and Eclipse flinched. Pathetic. Useless. You were to be our greatest weapon. The key to obliterating our enemies. Our greatest minds created you with one purpose, and yet you continue to disappoint.

“F-father,” the darkling muttered. “Please . . .”

A Black Arms doesn’t beg, Failure. Black Arms win. We destroy. We conquer. There is no other option.

“Father . . .” Tears trickled down his muzzle, unnoticed.

All Black Arms are warriors. We act without mercy. Without fear. Without hesitation. You were to be the bringer of destruction. The shadow to eclipse of the light of hope. Yet you continue to fail me at every turn.

A sound that was not quite a sob squeezed through the darkling’s throat.

You are no Black Arms. You are nothing. That is what you are to me. That is your designation. Until you can prove yourself worthy of the great Black Arms race, you are Nothing, failed experiment and a useless collection of blood and tissue. A waste of our perfected biology.

Eclipse closed his eyes tightly, a whine in the back of his throat.

I should have the scientists take you apart, piece by piece, to see where the flaw lies. Strip you down to your very bones, and rebuild you properly. So you’ll be useful to me.

“Useful,” the boy muttered through gritted teeth. His voice was cracked and strained. “I’m useful! I’m a warrior!”

You are a failure. And I will not waste any further time on you.

Eclipse opened his eyes, and the trees across the yard spun. There was still no hivemind link. His father’s voice had come from his own head, words pulled directly from his memories.

He was on a mission . . . wasn’t he? A secret mission to . . . to prove himself worthy of his father’s attention. To prove he was worthwhile, and not a failure. Not a mistake. Not a nothing.

He’d show them. He’d show his father and all the scientists he was worthy of respect. Of the title ‘ultimate weapon’. Of life.

Because he didn’t want to die. Didn’t want to be taken apart, or dissected, or thrown into the pit to be devoured by the lowest caste of Black Arms, the Scavengers, whose only purpose was to remove the waste and corpses of the warriors who had fallen in training. Eclipse knew every inch of the Black Comet, and he sometimes watched as they threw dead, or almost dead, soldiers into that pit. He’d heard the screams. The tearing of flesh, and crunch of bones.

He was the ultimate weapon, and the greatest warrior Black Arms could ever hope to create.

But he was still a child, and those sounds had frightened him. Haunted him. Followed him into his dreams, and awoken him with a hand stuffed in his mouth to hold back his own screams.

He heard them now, as the house and yard rocked and warped around him. His head spun, and he groaned, his stomach twisting. The edges of his vision darkened, and he fell to the side, eyes closing as the darkness dragged him down.

“I think he was pulling your leg, Bug,” Callie said as she and Silver walked up the steps to their front door.

“But he said he did!”

“Honey, I’m pretty sure Sonic didn’t fight a giant, planet-sized creature with over a dozen eyes,” she said as she unlocked the door. “I think I would have remembered that.”

“Oh. Why would he say he did, then?”

“Because he knows you’ll believe it,” she said, casting a raised eyebrow to her son. “I think Sonic just likes to make up as crazy a story as he can, just to see how much you’ll believe.”

Silver twisted his muzzle. “That’s kinda mean.”

“Nah, I don’t think he’s doing it to be mean. I think he just likes making up stories where he can be the hero. And you’re the perfect audience because you won’t debunk it like Tails and Knuckles would.”

“Oh.”

Callie dropped her work bag on the kitchen island and pulled the fridge door open as Silver ran to look out in the backyard. He’d gotten into the habit of watching for the new boy every evening, even though they hadn’t seen him for a few days.

“What should we have for supper, Bug?” she asked, searching through the shelves. They were getting a little low on food. Would probably need to do a grocery run soon--

“Mom!”

The librarian whipped around at her son’s frantic cry. “What??”

“He’s here, but he looks really bad!” the hedgehog said, unlocking the kitchen door and throwing it open. He rushed out onto the deck and knelt next to the unconscious form of the little lizard boy.

“Okay, hold on,” Callie said, kneeling on the boy’s other side. “Let’s see what we’ve got.” She carefully rolled the boy onto his back, and held a hand to his forehead. “Oh, he’s burning up.”

“Oh Mom,” Silver whimpered, his amber eyes glued to the boy’s side. “His arm!”

Callie looked in the direction Silver was pointing and hissed in a breath through her teeth. The little stranger’s arm was swollen, the long gash along the inside of his left forearm oozing some sort of white-green gunk. Obviously badly infected.

“Oh man,” she muttered, giving her braid a little tug. She turned to her son. “Silver, run and get my phone. Call Maddie and see if she can come over right away. Then grab a few towels and bring them out.”

Silver nodded, hurrying into the house to do as he was told. Once he was gone, Callie turned back to the unconscious boy on her deck.

“What are you, little guy? Where did you come from?”

The little lizard boy gave no response. It was the first good look Callie had gotten of him. Looking at him now, in the fading light of day, he looked so small. So vulnerable.

He needed help. That much was certain. He obviously wasn’t eating enough if his behavior the other night was any indication. And this injury may end up killing him if it wasn’t tended to, very soon.

Callie sighed. The last time she’d helped a lost little alien kid, he ended up living with her. She hadn’t exactly been in the market for one son, she certainly didn’t need two.

But she gave her head a shake. She was getting ahead of herself. Right now, the most important thing was to get him taken care of. Tend to his arm, get him fed, and then . . . figure out the rest later.

The redhead reached across him to gently take hold of his injured arm. His skin was leathery beneath her touch, very much like the lizard he resembled. She took his hand onto hers and lifted his arm, pulling it toward her to get a look at how bad his injury was.

Eclipse wasn’t sure where he was. It seemed like the Black Comet, but it wasn’t right. There were tall brown and green things—some part of his mind offered the word ‘tree’—and the air was too cool.

Images swirled. He saw other Black Arms soldiers, but there were also creatures from the planet. Little furry ones with big tails, scurrying up the trees. Larger ones with sharp teeth, hissing at him. One giant thing with huge antlers and long legs. That one made his heart skip a beat.

The little darkling wandered through the halls, as if in a dream. It wasn’t right. These trees, these creatures, they shouldn’t be here.

He turned a corner, and came face-to-face with Black Doom himself. Eclipse stopped short, uttering a startled gasp at the sight of his father. The tall Black Arms glared down at him, his three eyes narrowing at the darkling.

“You are weak.”

Eclipse shook his head. “No, Father.”

“You seek help from those inferior creatures.”

Another emphatic head shake. “NO. I was--”

“Begging for food. Like a pathetic animal.”

“NO! I was . . . was . . .”

Whatever reasoning he was going to give was lost as a great pain traveled up his injured arm. Eclipse gasped, and the Black Comet faded around him.

As Callie examined the boy’s injured arm, his eyes snapped open, and he uttered a sharp cry of pain.

Then he sat up, and sank his sharp, shark-like teeth into Callie’s right arm.

“AAAOOOOWWWWWW! YOU LITTLE FU--”

“MOM!!”

Callie didn’t have time to react. A cyan glow appeared around the lizard boy, his teeth pulled from her arm as he was flung halfway across the yard. She turned and found Silver standing with his hands out before him, that same glow encircling them. The look on his face was a strange mixture of rage and fear.

He hurried over to her, his no-longer-glowing hands now pressed to his mouth.

“OhmygoshohmygoshOHMYGOSH!!” he said, his large amber eyes glued to the bleeding puncture wounds on her arm. “You’re bleeding!”

Callie lunged for the towels he’d dropped when he came out on the deck, and quickly wrapped one around her arm. There was quite a lot of blood. She’d obviously need stitches. “Did you call Maddie?”

Silver didn’t respond, his eyes still large and scared as he watched the towel slowly turn red.

“Silver!”

He jumped at that, and focused on her face. “Uh, yeah, yeah, I called Maddie. She’s on her way.”

Callie nodded, standing and heading back into the house. “Good, ‘cause I’m gonna need a ride to Urgent Care.”

Eclipse wasn’t quite sure what had happened. One minute he was on the deck, and now he was in the yard. His head spun, and his arm throbbed with every beat of his heart. He licked his lips and discovered the taste of blood. Where did . . .

Oh, that’s right. He’d bitten the human woman. He couldn’t help it, his arm had just hurt so bad. He’d just reacted. But that still didn’t explain his sudden trip across the yard.

“Why did you do that??” a voice called out, and the darkling somehow managed to turn his head toward it. The little gray boy stood on the deck steps, his hands clenched into tight fists, and sounding on the verge of tears. “We just wanted to help you, and you bite my mom??”

Eclipse wanted to respond, to say something in his defense. It wasn’t his fault. She’d hurt him when she grabbed his arm. He wouldn’t have bitten if she hadn’t done that, so really, this was all HER fault!

But he couldn’t get his mouth to move. The world still spun around him, and it was all he could do to get to his feet. And his arm hurt, oh how it hurt. If he had more strength, he would have gnawed it off to offer some relief.

The gray boy’s brow furrowed, and he stomped his foot against the wood. “Say something!!”

Words had abandoned Eclipse in that moment. Thought become harder as the darkness returned to the edges of his vision. One word flashed in his mind then—ESCAPE. He closed his eyes, using every single bit of his remaining strength to teleport back to his cave.

Once he appeared there, Eclipse the Darkling passed out, falling on the floor in a limp heap.

Callie sat on the medical bed at the Green Hills Urgent Care Center. Silver huddled close to Maddie in the visitor chairs that sat against the wall to her left.

Silence hung in the air. Callie hadn’t said much once Maddie had arrived at her house, a look of shock passing over the vet’s face when she saw the librarian’s injuries. Her arm throbbed, and the pain had made the redhead’s temper short. She didn’t want to snap at anyone.

A nurse finally came into the room, clipboard in hand and a tired, ‘been a long day’ look on her face. She jotted something on the board before placing it on the nearby counter.

“Hiya, I’m Shelly and I’ll be taking care of you today. What brings you in?”

Callie held her arm out, the towel stained mostly red at this point. “Something bit me.”

“Ah, well let’s take a look.” Nurse Shelly slowly unwrapped the wound, and her eyes went a little wider once she got a look at it. “Wha . . . what was it?”

“What’s it look like?” The librarian wouldn’t normally be so short, but having a little lizard boy with shark teeth tear multiple lacerations into her forearm kinda sucks all the good humor out of a person.

The nurse glanced up at Callie. “Honestly? It looks like a shark bite.”

The redhead shrugged. “Okay.”

A pause. “A shark bit you?”

“Sure.”

“In Montana?”

Callie raised an eyebrow. “Green Hills, Montana.”

Nurse Shelly flicked her eyes toward Silver before looking back at the redhead. “Point taken.” She re-wrapped the towel around Callie’s arm, before turning to retrieve her clipboard, making note of something. “I’m just gonna write ‘dog bite’.”

“Okay.”

“Normally I wouldn’t recommend a rabies series for a . . .” she gave Callie a pointed look, “’shark’ bite, but in this case . . .”

“Yeah, I know.”

The nurse nodded, making a few more notes on her paperwork before heading toward the door. “I’ll send the doctor in soon. We’ll get you stitched up and your rabies shots started and have you on your way.”

“Okay.”

Once Nurse Shelly had left, Callie let out a sigh. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Silver press closer to Maddie. Even without looking at him directly, she knew a look of ‘guilty Silver’ when she saw it.

“It’s not your fault, kiddo,” the redhead said without turning. “I’m not mad at you.”

The boy flinched as though struck. “You sound mad.”

“Well, I’m not exactly thrilled with the way this evening’s turned out, I’ll tell you that much.”

“He probably reacted out of pain,” Maddie said, giving Silver a gentle head stroke. “If his arm was as bad as you described, it must have hurt. A LOT.”

Callie silently agreed, but that didn’t make her arm hurt less. Didn’t change the fact that she now had to undergo painful rabies shots. But the one good thing that came from this, is the boy had bitten her and not Silver. She’d gladly undergo the pain to keep her boy safe.

A few minutes later and the doctor came in with needle and thread, and an ominous syringe. Callie sighed.

“Great.”

An hour an a half later, and Callie and Silver arrived home once more. A white bandage covered her forearm, and her upper arm was sore from the rabies shot. She’d have to return in a few days for the second dose.

Maddie had graciously picked up some food for them while she drove them home, and they moved to the table in silence. Callie’s mood hadn’t improved, and Silver still carried the ‘worried/guilty’ look he’d gotten right after the bite happened.

“C’mon Bug,” she said, serving out the burgers and fries. “I’m not mad at you. I don’t blame you for this.”

“I still feel bad,” the boy said, pulling a few fries toward him. “I never thought he’d hurt you.”

She was quiet for a moment. “I don’t want you going near him again.”

Silver blinked, the worried look on his face replaced with shock. “What? Why??”

Callie turned to him, her brows furrowed. “Silver, I don’t care if he was just hurt and scared or whatever. He’s dangerous. I don’t want to run the risk of him biting you like this. Or worse. Stay away from him.”

“But Mom, you saw how bad he looked!” The hedgehog’s voice pitched higher in his upset. “He’s really hurt! He still needs our help!”

A look of disbelief crossed her face. She held up her bandaged arm. “Yeah, twenty stitches and three more rabies shots say otherwise. Stay away from him. If he shows up again, you come get me immediately. Am I clear?”

The boy dropped his head, casting his eyes to the side. “Yes.”

“Good.”

They continued their meal in silence, each simmering in their own thoughts. Callie hated being so stern with Silver. He meant well—his heart was as big as the sky, and he couldn’t turn his back on another kid who was obviously lost and hurt. Even though that kid seemed dangerous, Silver still wanted to help him. It was noble and just showed the true level of kindness this little hedgehog possessed.

As they finished eating, Callie gave a little sigh.

“Honey, I know you want to help him,” she said, her voice much softer than it had been most of the evening. A little food seemed to help with her mood. “And that’s really kind of you. I’m so proud that you see someone in trouble and your first instinct is to help. But this kid . . . he has to want our help before we can give him any. We can’t just force him to accept it. Understand?”

Silver turned his big amber eyes to her, a look of sadness passing over his face. “Yeah. But even if he doesn’t want our help, he really needs it.”

She nodded. “That’s probably true. But we don’t want to put ourselves in harm’s way to give it.” She lifted her bandaged arm. “This could have been a lot worse, or he could have bitten you. We need to keep ourselves safe, first and foremost.”

The boy ran his finger through some leftover salt on his plate. “I guess.”

Callie watched her son, her kind, thoughtful, wonderful son, and smiled. “You’re a really good boy, you know that?”

A blush warmed his muzzle, and he smiled. “Yeah, I know.”

“Modest, too,” she said, gathering the trash. “C’mon, child o’ mine. Let’s get cleaned up, have a little dessert, and then maybe watch a movie.”

“Okay.”

The air decidedly lighter between them, mother and son set to work having a nice evening.

As the sun set, a little darkling shivered in his cave. His fever raged on, the infection in his arm turning for the worse.

The temperature dropped that night. A hard frost had moved in, and covered everything in a light layer of icy dew. By morning the ground glistened white, tiny ice crystals standing sharp against the landscape.

A thin layer of frost covered Eclipse as he huddled in his cave. He still lay unconscious, delirious dreams of his father, the Black Comet, Earth, the gray boy, and red-haired human swirling in his mind. His breath puffed out in little clouds before his muzzle.

His heartbeat slowed considerably.

Silver stood at the glass kitchen door, looking out over the yard. Normally he’d find the heavy frost pretty, but this morning he felt his stomach churn.

His mom had told him about Earth lizards, and how they were cold-blooded. They didn’t do well in cold temperatures. Without some way to keep themselves warm, they could literally freeze.

The boy he’d been watching for was kind of like a lizard. What if he got too cold last night? He was already really bad off because of his arm. Last night’s temperature drop couldn’t have done him any favors.

The little gray hedgehog bit his lip, and looked over at his mom. She sat at the computer, doing some billing. He wanted to ask if they could look for the boy. But she had been pretty clear last night that she didn’t want to risk either of them getting hurt again. Would she get angry at him for suggesting a search?

Turning back toward the door, Silver let out a silent sigh. He hoped the other boy was okay.

Callie, meanwhile, was having a devil of a time keeping her mind on task. She’d get one bill paid before flipping to another tab and Googling things like ‘minimum temperature to keep lizards alive’ and ‘will cold temperatures really kill a lizard’. She wasn’t quite sure what species that other boy was, but he seemed adequately lizard-like in the same way Silver was hedgehog-like. Kinda.

Yes, the boy had bitten her. Yes, he was strange. Yes, he seemed pretty skittish.

But damnit, he was just a kid. An injured alien, presumably lost on Earth, with no one to look after him.

After another 5 minutes of her browser tab back-and-forth, Callie uttered an annoyed grunt.

“FINE!” she all but growled, grabbing her phone off the desk and walking over to hand it to Silver. “Call the Wachowski boys. I’ll grab some blankets and first aid supplies. We’re going on a gremlin hunt.”

Chapter Text

An hour later, and the gremlin hunt was on. Sonic sped through the forest, checking all the caves and likely hiding spots for any wayward alien lizard thing, while Tails performed air support as he scanned with his Miles Electric. He couldn’t get any real readings on the new boy, but he helped keep tabs on his older brother to help him search in a more organized pattern than Sonic’s usual ‘run willy nilly until you stumble across something’ method.

Silver hovered with Tails, and went to check things out that the fox found interesting. He would take the Miles Electric with him to scan the area, and return it to the kit once finished. Tails had wanted to get a full scan of the forest around Green Hills anyway, and this was the perfect excuse to help accomplish that.

Knuckles stayed with Callie and Maddie. The vet had come along with her medical kit to hopefully administer some long-overdue care for the boy’s arm once he was found. And Knuckles . . . well, when he discovered the new alien had bit Callie, he didn’t exactly take it well.

“He injured you?!?” the echidna had cried, his lip curled into a snarl and a soft growl in his throat. “When I find him, I shall deliver a swift punishment!”

“He was hurt and I think kind of delusional,” the redhead had told him, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. “I don’t believe it was done out of aggression.”

“No matter,” the boy snarled, his fists curled tightly. “He will regret harming you. I will see to it, personally.”

Callie sighed and took a step back, shooting a look to Maddie. Little help?

The vet stepped forward. “Honey, why don’t you stay with us while we search? As protection? If this little guy behaves aggressively, you can help contain him. Sound good?”

Knuckles cocked an eyebrow, giving his mother a contemplative look. Finally he dipped his head in a short nod, seemingly satisfied with that arrangement.

“I will protect you both,” he said, bringing a fist to his chest. “On my life, no harm will come to you.”

Maddie offered him a little smile, stroking his muzzle with her knuckle. “Pretty sure it won’t come to that, but I appreciate the thought, baby.”

And then they’d set off. The boys took the lead as the moms and Knuckles followed behind. Callie carried a few blankets, while Maddie brought her medical kit, and the echidna walked a little way ahead of them. They walked in silence for a while, before Maddie spoke, her voice soft.

“How’s the arm?”

Callie shrugged, giving the bandaged limb look. “Assuming he doesn’t have some space disease that turns me into a weird lizard zombie, I’ll live.”

Maddie nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. “I’m actually surprised you’re so eager to find him, considering how you felt about the whole thing last night.”

The redhead didn’t respond for a long moment, her brow furrowed slightly. She supposed Maddie had a point. The boy hadn’t been all that keen on seeking out help, and that bite didn’t exactly put him on Callie’s good side. For all intents and purposes, she was well within her rights to wash her hands of the whole affair and let the kid take his chances out here on his own.

He was at least semi-feral, and dangerous, and ill-tempered.

But he was also a kid, badly injured, and seemingly all alone on this planet.

“Maybe I’m just a glutton for punishment,” she muttered, letting out a soft sigh. “And too kind-hearted for my own good.”

Maddie uttered a soft laugh. “You’re a mother. Sounds about right.”

“Thing is, I don’t even know what we’re gonna do with this kid once we find him,” Callie said, a hint of frustration in her voice. “Get him hopefully patched up, sure. But then what? Send him back out to fend for himself?”

The vet shrugged. “Silver seems to care about him.”

“Silver cares about everyone. He once woke me up because he was worried the raccoons that kept getting into the trash would be too cold when the weather changed.”

“Didn’t you say he fed this boy your leftovers?”

“Yeah, which was fine, we usually don’t get to all of them and if they’ll fill his belly, all the better,” Callie said with a shrug. “But feeding the kid and making sure his arm’s not gonna fall off from infection is much different than being ready to welcome him into the family with open arms.” She held up her bandaged arm. “This was a bite out of reflex. What could he do if he’s well and has his strength back?”

Maddie shrugged. “That’s a fair question. It’s possible he would be a danger to you and Silver. It’s possible he’s not as, shall we say, domesticated as the other boys are. And it’s possible we’ll have to figure out a safe place for him to stay in that case.” She cast the librarian a bit of a side-eye, a small smile on her lips. “But it’s also possible he’s just a lost, scared little boy who needs someone to show him some kindness.”

Callie returned her side-eye, her brow furrowed. “And I suppose you have someone in mind to do that, do you?”

The black woman gave another shrug. “I’m just saying, Silver already seems kind of attached to him, and you’re great with kids already, so . . .”

“I’m getting a sense of deja vu here,” the redhead said with a sigh. “This sounds a lot like what Wade was saying when Silver showed up. He was pretty adamant that I would take Silver in simply because he crash landed in my yard.”

“And now you can’t imagine your life without him,” Maddie said, a soft smile on her lips. “Look, I’m not saying you have to take him in. All I’m saying is you should try to give him a chance. Right now he’s injured and hungry and not at his best. Maybe once he’s healed up he’ll have a better temperament.”

Callie didn’t respond, but uttered a defeated sigh. Arguing about this wasn’t productive. There were a lot of ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes’ at play, and the bottom line is they weren’t likely to know how things could play out until they found this kid and got him fixed up.

And honestly, there was a better than zero chance that Callie would take him in. Maddie and Tom already had their hands full with three alien boys, and the vet was right, Silver had taken a liking to this new boy. Assuming the kid’s temperament did improve once he was well, she supposed she was the best person to look after him.

She looked at her bandaged arm again, a slight furrow in her brow.

But that was a big assumption. Was she getting herself involved in something she couldn’t handle?

The redhead uttered another sigh as they continued walking through the forest, following the blue streak that was Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic sped through the trees, the cool air crisp and sharp in his nose. He ran at about half-speed, flicking his eyes back and forth to search the caves and burrows he knew from his time alone in this very forest. One benefit from calling these trees home for so long was you came to know the best hiding spots to avoid detection.

He wasn’t exactly sure what they were looking for—Callie’s description of this new boy as a ‘lizard gremlin kinda thing’ didn’t exactly paint a clear picture—but he figured he’d know when he saw it.

As Sonic ran out of forest, he skidded to a stop and tapped the little radio clipped to his ear.

“Tails? I got nothing. Any luck up there?”

A faint crackle and then the kit’s voice was in his ear, the beat of his tails a constant thrum behind it.

“I’m not picking up any readings at all,” the fox said, and Sonic detected a hint of annoyance in his voice. “There’s no indication that he’s from the same planet we are, but I should be picking up something.”

Silence descended upon the boys then, and Silver spoke next, his voice soft and shaky.

“Does that mean he’s . . .”

“It means we haven’t found him yet,” Sonic said, his voice firm. He may not have known this new boy, but he really didn’t want the mental picture of an alien child lying dead somewhere in the forest. Not when they could find him and help him. “I’m gonna do a double check on my way back. You guys meet back up with the moms and we’ll figure out our next move.”

“Gotcha. See you soon.”

Above him, the hum of Tails’ whirling tails faded as he and Silver went to find their mothers, and Sonic reversed direction to head back. He went a little slower this time, carefully checking the spots most likely to hide a hurt, possibly scared alien.

He checked a small cave, really nothing much more than a hollow between boulders. Finding nothing, he was about to turn and move on when a very slight movement caught his eye. A small, blink-and-you-missed-it puff of breath appeared next to a rock covered with frost. Sonic moved closer, brows furrowed in confusion when he finally realized what he was looking at.

The rock wasn’t a rock at all. It was a small lizard-like boy, curled in a loose ball.

The hedgehog uttered a shocked gasp and zipped next to him.

“Hey,” he said, his voice soft. “Hey, you still with us?”

A soft moan left the boy’s lips, and he tried to curl tighter. Simply by watching him Sonic knew he wasn’t doing well. His hurt arm lay limp on the floor, and the little puffs of breath that appeared before his muzzle were small and shallow.

“Holy crap.”

Fear tried to clutch at Sonic’s chest, but he pushed it away. He was a hero, he helped people, that’s what heroes do. He couldn’t let his fear waste time. This kid needed help NOW.

“Okay,” the hedgehog breathed, backing toward the entrance. “Hang tight, buddy. I’m gonna get you help. We’ll get you taken care of, just hang in there.”

In a gust of wind and a streak of blue, Sonic zipped back to his mother.

Silver’s heart raced as he and Tails rejoined their moms, worry eating at his mind. The boy hadn’t looked good last night. If they didn’t find him soon . . .

“Any luck?” Callie asked, and Silver landed, moving to tuck his face into her hip. She put a hand against the back of his head, petting him in gentle strokes.

“We didn’t find anything,” Tails said, fiddling with his Miles Electric. “I can’t really scan through the rocks around here, but I can’t detect any strange energy readings or life signs.”

Maddie shook her head, looking at the librarian. “I don’t get it. If he was as bad off as you said, he wouldn’t have really had the energy to get very far in the first place. Where could he have gone?”

“He kinda disappeared after he bit Mom,” Silver said, turning his face to look at Maddie. “Just kinda . . . blinked away in a flash of light. He looked so bad.”

Callie’s hand paused in her pets on his quills, and she looked down at him, an unreadable look on her face.

“He teleported?” she asked, her voice strained. “You didn’t tell me that.”

Silver shrugged, shrinking a little at her gaze. “I didn’t think about it ‘til now.” His forehead quills began to bristle slightly. “A-are you mad at me?”

The redhead didn’t respond for a second, her eyes unfocused, as though lost in thought, before she blinked and brushed his forehead fan flat.

“No sweetie, I’m not mad at you.” She turned to Tails. “If he teleported, he shouldn’t have gone far, right?”

The fox cupped his chin with a hand, brow furrowed in thought. “I’m not overly knowledgeable about teleportation, but theoretically you’re right. Unless he’s got some sort of power source, like one of the Chaos Emeralds Sonic scattered after the fight with Robotnik, he wouldn’t have had enough energy to traverse large distances.” He flicked his eyes up to Callie. “Theoretically speaking, anyway.”

“I didn’t notice him carrying anything, gem or otherwise. So I doubt he’s got any of those emeralds on him.”

“Then, again theoretically, he should be close by.”

“How do you know about teleportation?” Maddie asked, eyebrow cocked. “That was an awfully specific question.”

Callie wore that unreadable expression for another few seconds before pulling her shoulders up in a shrug, a small smile curling her lips. “Too much sci-fi stuff. It just stands to reason. If he could teleport this whole time, and do so across large distances, why stick around here? Why not just poof himself to Aruba or someplace warmer and less populated?”

Maddie gave a little shrug and nod. “Okay, that makes sense.”

“I found him!”

Most of the group jumped when Sonic suddenly reappeared, and grabbed his mother’s hand to pull her after him.

“He really needs help, he looks so bad!”

“Okay baby,” Maddie said, hiking the strap of her med kit over her shoulder. “Show me.”

Silver’s heart raced, and he pulled his own mother along as they hurried to care for the strange boy.

Eclipse faded in and out of consciousness. He was cold, freezing down to his bones. His arm throbbed, and even the tiniest of movements sent sharp pains shooting up to his shoulder. His fever spiked, and he suffered delirious dreams that featured his father, the gray boy, and the redheaded woman.

He was dying. He knew it. He deserved it, he supposed. For failing his father. For failing whatever secret mission he was sent here to do. For failing to live up to the standards he was created for.

The ultimate weapon. The pinnacle of Black Arms bio-engineering. Heir prince to the entire Black Arms empire and future leader of its mighty army.

What a joke.

This was a primitive, backwater planet. He could have . . . should have conquered these creatures easily. But instead he’d injured himself, suffered humiliation after humiliation, and succumbed to something as menial and pathetic as an infected scratch on the arm.

Maybe he really was useless. A nothing. A pointless failure, just like his father had said. Time and time again.

In his delusional state, Eclipse thought he heard a voice. He wanted to tell whomever it was to leave him alone, let him die in peace, but only a soft moan came out. The voice said something else and then silence returned.

Good. He wanted to be alone. For once he was glad he didn’t have the constant hivemind chatter in his head. The unnerving quiet was preferable right now. He didn’t want an audience as he took his last breath. He was already the shame of all Black Arms. It seemed fitting to be completely separated from them, now that he was to meet such a pointless fate.

It was what he deserved. His entire existence was pointless. Worthless. Wasted.

Darkness swallowed him again for a time. When he drifted back, there were more voices. He couldn’t focus completely on what they were saying, but a few words made it through the haze in his mind, and the tone was soft and soothing.

“. . . back to my house . . .”

“. . . gonna be okay?”

“. . . pretty bad but I’ll do my best . . .”

Consciousness faded again, but he became aware of movement. His bad arm was gently moved, cradled to his chest. Then something covered him, something soft and warm, wrapping around him snugly. A little jostling, then he was lifted, and held close to something else, soft and warm. A soft, rhythmic beat drummed against his ear.

Movement again. He was being carried. More voices. That drum in his ear—a heartbeat? A soothing voice from directly above him.

“. . . gonna be okay, little guy . . . care of you . . .”

At this point, it didn’t matter what the owners of these voices wanted to do with him. Eclipse had no energy or strength to fight back. So he closed his eyes and let the darkness pull him down again.

Eclipse opened his eyes, his serrated pupils dilating in the dim light of the room. He was no longer in his cave, and no longer feeling as though he were just a few degrees from freezing solid. A soft cushion was beneath him, and a thick, warm cloth covered his body. Looking around, he recognized the room as part of the house that redheaded woman lived in. He’d seen it as he peered through the windows.

A slight headache made him furrow his brow, and he lifted his arms to massage his temples. He favored his bad arm almost automatically before a sudden realization hit.

His bad arm wasn’t bad anymore. That constant throb that had been with him since he sliced it open was gone.

Looking down, he discovered a long white bandage over his wound. He gave an experimental flex of his hand, curling it into a fist, and discovered no pain associated with the action. The infection seemed completely gone.

“You’re awake!”

The voice startled him, and the darkling jumped slightly as he sat up and turned toward the owner. It was the gray hedgehog. He stood near the . . . well, whatever it was Eclipse was laying on, a big smile on his face.

“Does your arm feel better?”

Eclipse paused a moment, the furrow in his brow deepening. Then he nodded.

“Good! It was looking so bad. Maddie said it was a good thing we found you when we did. Otherwise you might’ve . . .” The boy’s face clouded over for a second, before he blinked and smiled again. “But we found you and now you’re okay!”

Confusion filled Eclipse’s mind. He’d been saved? Why? Why would this gray boy—and whomever this Maddie was—care about his injury, or whether he lived or died? Was this a trick? A scheme to make him repay his debt to them? What was their plan?

As the darkling mulled over these thoughts, the redheaded woman walked into the room. Her brows raised as she saw him, and a little smile curled one side of her lips.

“Ah, you’re awake,” she said, moving closer and planting her hands on her hips. “Maybe I can get my couch back now. You’ve been out for nearly a full day.”

Eclipse flicked his eyes back and forth between the gray boy and human, his lip curling slightly in a snarl. He didn’t feel back to full strength yet, but he would fight them if he had to.

The woman’s smile faded when she saw his snarl, and she tapped the gray boy on the head. “Bug, why don’t you run and fetch him a sandwich and some water. I bet he’s hungry.”

The gray boy nodded and hurried off. Once he was out of earshot, the woman sat on the table near the ‘couch’, locking eyes with Eclipse.

“Okay, lemme set a few ground rules here, little dude,” she said, her voice firm, but not necessarily angry. “First and foremost, the big number one rule is that you are not, under any circumstances, to hurt anyone. No clawing, no hitting, no biting. Remember that one. No. Biting.” She held up her own bandaged arm. “’Cause if you do this to Silver, ain’t nowhere on this big blue ball you’ll be able to hide from me. Understand?”

Eclipse flicked his eyes between her bandage and face. He pulled his lips tight before nodding.

“Good. You are a guest in this house for as long as you need, but you are to behave yourself. I’ll need to change your bandage a few times—and I remind you of rule number one—but otherwise I’ll give you as much space as you need to feel safe. No one’s going to hurt you, and I’ll make sure your belly is always full.”

The darkling blinked. What she said sounded nice, on the surface, but he didn’t trust her. Why would she take him in, especially after he’d bitten her? Feed him? Protect him? Shelter him? She didn’t know him, and obviously feared him at least a little, considering this warning. So why bring him into her home?

She wanted something from him, that much was obvious, but what?

Ultimately, Eclipse decided to play along. He’d bide his time, observing the human to discover this species’ weaknesses. Perhaps this is what he was left here to do. Undercover work. Intel. He could do that. Pretend to behave so he could study this pathetic species. He’d make his father proud.

The thought of Black Doom finally being proud of him brought a smile to Eclipse’s face.

He was going to be welcomed back to the Black Comet with open arms. Like a hero. Once he figured out the best way to defeat these pitiful creatures.

All he had to do was be patient. They’d reveal their weaknesses soon enough.

This was going to be easy.