Chapter Text
Eclipse had been sensing something strange, strange yet familiar. He yearned to understand what it was but dared not reach out lest Shadow notice and use the connection to locate him and his little ones. That and part of him kept telling himself that he was delusional, just imagining things. There were no other Black Arms out there and he knew it.
One dark night, he sat under a tree with his Dark Arms curled up next to him fast asleep. It wasn't the best of shelter, but the area was clear of danger and the weather was pleasant. He nodded off, once again wishing he didn't have to do this on his own.
Eclipse's dreams were bizarre and, honestly, felt a little too real. In fact, the darkling wondered if he was even dreaming at all considering how lucid he was, how aware he was. The scenes before him seemed more like memories, like when he had peered into Shadow's mind on the New Black Comet.
He saw a fierce battle between Shadow and a strange robot that mirrored his abilities. He saw G.U.N. shuttles surrounding the space colony ARK. He saw an old human strapped to a chair in a dark room. He saw soldiers with guns approaching.
Then he saw a dark vortex and red clouds. He saw more flashes of people: G.U.N. soldiers and that human girl. Her image shattered as she shouted for Shadow to remember. Shadow reached out to her as he fell and shouted her name. Then three glowing red eyes appeared and two giant hands—two three-fingered hands—closed around Shadow.
Then the dream—or whatever it was—ended abruptly. Eclipse's eyes shot open, and he sat up with a start. He panted as he looked around to make sure of his surroundings. He was still where he had remembered, and his Dark Arms were still there with him.
The darkling leaned back against the tree and stared up at the partly shattered moon. The space colony ARK was in view. Eclipse's breathing evened out and he grew sleepy again. Had he somehow picked up on Shadow's dream? Or, rather, nightmare? Eclipse still couldn't fathom why Shadow would bother to protect the world that had caused him so much suffering.
...
"Come, little ones," Eclipse urged. "I smell food nearby."
Eclipse and his Dark Arms were in a sparsely wooded area with dirt paths, a river, rocky outcroppings, and wooden fences. While clearly a place people traveled regularly, Eclipse didn't consider it to be too big of a risk compared to a populated area. Also, as he had learned before, there was a middle ground between settlements and the wilderness where there were far less dangerous animals to contend with.
Eclipse hid in some bushes and watched a group of people and Chao around a table. He spied the food right away: chili dogs, cupcakes, cookies, and a cake. The sugary food didn't interest him, but the meat certainly did.
"Now, how do we go about this?" he pondered. The area around the table was rather open with very little cover to hide behind. He could simply teleport, but he didn't want to be noticed and then have to run. For a moment, he considered just walking over there but doubted that it would go well. Then he noticed two of the guests.
"Rouge? And Knuckles?" Eclipse's eyes narrowed and he frowned; there went that idea. He couldn't just walk over there as they'd recognize him and there'd be no way they'd let him just take some without a fight. Sure, Knuckles had let him go last time, but he wasn't about to push his luck, not with so many unknowns there. He especially eyed the large crocodile warily.
Eclipse then realized he didn't see Shadow or Omega. It seemed odd to him that Rouge would be somewhere without them, and he wondered where they could be. His thoughts went back to that odd "dream" he had.
Then some force pushed the guests around and shoved all the food off the table. Eclipse considered taking advantage of the chaos to nab a few chili dogs, but a dark portal opened and quickly nixed that idea. A dark being with glowing eyes and a glowing, serrated mouth materialized and created smaller portals that began sucking everyone in.
A blue hedgehog, whom Eclipse recognized from his time in Adabat, attempted to attack the monster but was promptly backhanded into the ground. With the monster distracted, the darkling decided to slink away, his Dark Arms close behind him. Then everything went white.
...
Eclipse couldn't begin to fathom where he had ended up. White structures trimmed only in gold filled the blinding white void. In the distance to his right was water, while a purple muck was to his left.
"Little ones?" The darkling quickly looked around for his Dark Arms. "Rhygenta? Cregal? Cyzer? Blurk?" he called for them one-by-one. "Where are you?" His voice cracked with worry.
Frantic chirps reached his ears, and he whipped around to see his Dark Arms speeding toward him. He let out a deep sigh and smiled, embracing them. "At least we're all together here, wherever "here" is."
Eclipse didn't know what he'd do if he'd been transported to this strange void alone. It wasn't him being alone in the void that would have bothered him, rather the Dark Arms being alone out there without him. Even if this place was dangerous, he could still protect them.
It was then he noticed something else about this place. He felt something he hadn't felt in a long time, something he thought he would never feel again: the unmistakable feeling of his kind.
Eclipse's eyes welled up with tears. His Dark Arms watched him with concern, having never known this feeling. The darkling shook his head. He had to be imagining it; it was just wishful thinking tricking himself into feeling other Black Arms through the dead hive-mind like the phantom feelings of a severed limb.
A sob caught in his throat. No, they were absolutely there, and he had to find them.