Chapter Text
Eclipse soared through the air; the Dark Arms--except for Cregal, whom he was bonded with--floated directly behind him. The aliens had traveled on foot for the first few days, but were now flying to cover more ground since Cregal had recovered from his run-in with a snake. Eclipse didn't want to stay in one place for too long, especially the place where he had crash-landed a very trackable G.U.N. shuttle, having already stayed there far longer than he had wanted to in the first place. The longer they stayed anywhere, the higher the chance of G.U.N., or worse, Team Dark, finding them was.
"🟦!" Blurk called out.
"I know you're tired," Eclipse responded, "but we have to make up for lost time. I don't want to run into Team Dark or G.U.N. until we've had a chance to get stronger." How much stronger, exactly, he didn't know.
Eclipse looked down at their new location. To his dismay, it looked like another jungle with tall mountains and waterfalls, though there were some differences. There was a long stone wall and gorges filled with green rivers, which just looked like rivers of blood to him. There were also many smaller buildings and larger boats.
"Great," Eclipse griped. "More humans." Although the last humans they had run into had been helpful, he couldn't assume the same of whoever it was who lived nearby.
"🎶!" Rhygenta warned.
Before Eclipse could react, a missile flew up and exploded in his face. Cregal was forced out of the bond immediately, both he and Eclipse dropping from the sky.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Eclipse yelled as he grabbed Cregal and teleported onto the wall below. He teleported again just in time for a second missile to hit the ground. He turned to see the source of the missiles: a red and gold robot much bigger than Omega, its body shaped like a missile itself. "All out of missiles, huh? Aw, that's too bad! ...for you! Blurk!"
Blurk quickly flew over to Eclipse and bonded with him, Eclipse's skin turning into hardened blue armor. He charged at the now unarmed robot and plunged his hardened claws into its chassis, ripping out a handful of circuit boards and wires. The robot fell over and sparked, unable to continue functioning. Eclipse hopped on top of the robot in victory.
"It's a real shame you're not edible," he mocked it. Eclipse had a thought, then used a claw to etch a symbol into the metal; a spiky spiral: the symbol of the Black Arms. "There!" He didn't really have a specific reason for doing it, he was just feeling boastful.
Hopping off the robot, he stumbled and placed a hand on a nearby wall, Blurk unbonding from him. "I really need to stop taking hits to the head," he mused, rubbing his forehead with his other hand.
"🟦?" Blurk questioned.
"I'll be fine," Eclipse dismissed. "I was made to surpass Shadow, remember?" Not that he had managed to do so.
Eclipse walked forward across the wall in the direction they had been flying, his Dark Arms following behind him. It would be a while before Cregal could bond with him again so on foot was their only option for the time being. He could feel the longing for his home creep in as he strode across the hard stone surface, but he pushed it back.
"I'm starting to wish I was made as fast as Shadow," Eclipse grumbled. He was plenty quick and agile but didn't have the raw speed to run all out like Shadow. Eclipse's skill set was meant to focus on the strength aspect of Shadow as Eclipse was meant to fight him, not race him.
After what felt like hours, Eclipse and the Dark Arms came to a mountain range encircling a valley. There was a waterfall emptying out into a lake, many ledges, and a singular building. Eclipse looked carefully but didn't see anyone or any wild animals.
"Looks like the coast is clear." Eclipse bonded with Cregal to glide down gently and landed on the grassy ground, unbonding. He looked out at the glassy smooth water before diving into it. Under the surface, he checked for any dangerous animals. Satisfied there were none, unless the colorful fish were somehow dangerous, he surfaced and grabbed the edge of the bank.
"It's safe," Eclipse announced. "Come in and rinse off."
The Dark Arms hesitated at first but, one by one, slipped into the cool water. They floated on the surface, bobbing around. Rhygenta kicked his little feet around. Cregal flapped his wings, finding that it splashed the water and then splashed Cyzer. Annoyed, Cyzer returned fire by splashing water on Cregal with his tail. Blurk just floated around, his feet tucked up under him.
Eclipse sighed, then smiled and pushed his hand forward through the water, splashing both Cyzer and Cregal. They looked over at Eclipse, wide-eyed in surprise. Then their eyes narrowed and they both splashed Eclipse together.
"There you go!" Eclipse cheered, splashing them again. "Cooperation!" He still wasn't sure why Cregal and Cyzer fussed with each other, but they would need to learn to work together if they were to survive and defeat Shadow.
After a while, they climbed out onto the bank as the water was making them too cold. Eclipse noticed Blurk’s skin smush as he climbed out and scraped the bank. Concerned at first, he relaxed as he realized what it was.
“I guess it’s time for you to shed again!” Eclipse beamed and reached out to gently rub Blurk’s sides to help him slip out of his old skin, which had been made easier by the soak in the lake. He helped the rest of the Dark Arms shed and gently stroked their fresh new skin. It at least meant they were still growing and weren’t too undernourished.
“Hang on, I have an idea.” Eclipse took the old skins and dropped a piece in the water. Fish in mixes of golds, oranges, blacks, and whites came to the surface to feed on the skin. He quickly grabbed one, then another and tossed them over to the Dark Arms. He caught a few more and tossed them over, then grabbed one for himself and joined his little ones. The fresh fish would be far more nutritional than the old skins.
Eclipse bit into his fish while the Dark Arms chowed down on theirs. He had to open up one of the fish for Rhygenta, the scales being too difficult to bite through with the lack of teeth or a beak. Having to do so didn’t bother him but he wondered how Rhygenta would fair if he or the others weren’t around to help.
Still chilly from the swim and with full bellies, Eclipse and the Dark Arms stretched out on a flat rock in the Sun. Despite the architecture, they hadn’t spotted any humans and the only animals they could see were the fish and some small birds. It seemed that there was a sweet spot between human settlements and the wilderness where dangerous animals weren’t as present.
Eclipse rolled over from his back onto his front, not wanting to be that vulnerable. Out in the open, it would be difficult for anything to sneak up on them, but predatory birds could still swoop down without warning. He made sure each Dark Arm was against him so that he’d know instantly if something grabbed them, then he started to fall asleep in the warmth.
“It’ll get better, little ones,” Eclipse assured sleepily. “I’ll make sure of it.”