Chapter Text
Arc 1: The Spark
...
“Lock ‘n’ load, Spider troupe. We go hot in five.”
Space. Really nothing to it- sure, you'll search it up on google, and get decieved that it's this magical place where stars all gather together and create those purple-blue majestic aesthetic. And not to forget the planets. Those cheap versions of Earth with 'their own charm.' But truly, it's nothing more but its name: space. Dark, empty space, with only faint ball of gas that seem so close but can't touch to fill up the void- Well, not only them.
Drifting in the endless sea of stars was a G.U.N spaceship. Inside were kept safe a group of armed soldiers named Spider troupe, a giant robot (with someone inside controlling it) and with them, the one and only Team Dark
“We’ve masked our approach, but if those bug-eyed freaks have any windows on that thing, they know we’re coming.” The human leader informed his comrades. “Do not accept a warm welcome. The minute we dock, you are all cleared to fire at will.”
“DOCK! DOCK! DOCK!” Omega cheered in his robotic, yet full of bliss voice.
Rouge the bat stretched her limbs, warming up for the thrilling mission.
Only Shadow the hedgehog wasn’t as excited to fight.
His scarlet eyes pierced through the darkness outside like a bullet. Sure, Shadow is always like that. Serious and menacing and tense. That's his signature. He doesn’t relax or really have fun when it comes to an operation. But this time, it felt different. More than just some usual seriousness. It felt personal. He tried to hide it behind his upside-down smile, but her teammate, who knows him better than anyone, could see right though that mature and responsible face he put on almost daily.
The ultimate lifeform, was stressed. Anxious even.
“Hey, we got this. Understood agent?” She tried to reassure him, adding her typical sassiness at the end.
“Hmph. Understood.” We could almost catch a smirk that quickly faded away.
As much as he appreciated his partner’s attempt to lighten his mood up, he didn’t want to lose focus on the mission at hand, or forget about how big it actually was.
The leader loaded his weapon, and so did his companions. “These aliens scumbags have crossed the galaxy to ruin our lives. Let’s go give ‘em a proper ‘hello’!”
The space vehicle arrived at its destination.
… A Black Comet.
No wonder Shadow was so tense. Especially after what had happened with the Time Eater…
An immense drill deployed from the spaceship and made a huge hole through the comet, which allowed them to invade.
Once the door connected itself with the hole, everyone flooded inside, ready to fight and excited to win. They sure had a welcome, don’t really know about the warm part. Black volt, assassin, warriors, oak, they were all there, lunging at their enemies.
The humans immediately opened fire, aiming their weapon at the black creatures, while Team Dark jumped into battle.
After punches and dodges, bullets and claws, the invaders came out victorious.
Weirdly, for Shadow at least, they defeated them way too easily. The half-alien immediately assumed the worse of it.
“That’s the last of ‘em! Let’s set up a perimeter, people!” The captain ordered before heading back to the shuttle.
“That went well.” Rouge stated as her wings flapped to get her back on the ground.
“It was too easy.” Shadow ruined the vibe.
“I DESIRE MORE ALIENS TO SHOOT.” The war machine droned.
“Oh, brother. Don’t worry boys. I’m sure things will get much worse. Then you two can be happy being miserable.” She jested as she landed next to her friends.
“Joke all you want. They let us board and sent only a token resistance.” Sonic’s faker pointed out, still as tensed. “Something isn’t right.”
“We’re here to make things right! Happy birthday hedgehog. I hope you like what we got you.” The general and another soldier came out of the spaceship, carrying a big, heavy device.
“Presenting the Mjolnir-class tactical nuclear warhead. Once armed, this baby will turn anything in a five-mile radius into a fond memory!” He explained with such scientific words I can’t even understand half of them.
“IT’S BEAUTIFUL…” E-123 admired the bomb with shining lens.
“The Black Arms will be wiped out completely. This… This is our mission.” His declaration carried something deeper than simple determination. Shadow had to get rid of them…
Earlier, at G.U.N’s headquarters, there was a meeting being help by Commander Tower. There was many attending, including the mobians and their robotic friend. Just like Shadow, Abraham was unexpectedly tense. Next to him shone a holographic screen, large enough for every agent and soldier to see.
“… A new mission for both Spider Troupe and Team Dark. A crisis has arisen. What I’m about to tell you must remain strictly confidential. If the public were to learn of this, the situation will be out of control.” The commander impressively delivered the serious news calmly.
“Out with it, then.” The hedgehog, sitting in front with the master spy, expressed in his usual tone.
Strangely, when Shadow spoke, the old man’s expression changed. Twisted. He now looked unsure. As if hesitant whether to reveal this information or not. But in the end, the faint trust he had with Shadow pushed him to come out with the horrible truth. “We’ve detected a new Black Comet on a direct course for our world. The Black Arms are back.”
“A new Black Comet…”
“The Black Arms are back…”
Those two sentences started chocking Shadow with the past.
“They’re back?” The question echoed in his now racing mind.
His heart ponded like the drums of war. War that was coming with that comet. His eyes shook as his mind decided, without asking permission, to replay every horrible thing the Black Arms- Black Doom, had done to him, to this planet, what they tried to take away, what they left behind. He wanted to close his eyes to try and suppress all those haunting memories, but quickly, he remembered where he was. He can’t afford to show weakness, not in public like that. He needed to stay professional. He took a deep breath that helped him calm down.
“The Black Arms are back, let’s see what we know.” He set in his mind.
“Impossible.” The ultimate lifeform said, this time out loud.
“Are we sure? The Eclipse Cannon blew up the Black Comet, and Shadow already destroyed the core to their hive mind.” Rouge backed her teammate, who only she could see nervous.
“All of the ARK’s sensory data confirms it.” The white-haired human started strolling towards Gerald’s creation. “Shadow, you spent the most time within their ranks. You’re part alien yourself. Can you provide us with any insight?”
Shadow gazed to the people around him who stared at him extremely uncomfortably. He hated that. Yes, it wasn’t his first time being stared at with widen or disgusted eyes. Actually, we can almost say it became a habit for him. But still, no one can really get used to these kinds of things.
After a few uneasy seconds, he braved himself and answered his superior’s question. “Their leader, Black Doom… did not share much with me. Any discussion we had were about the invasion, not about… other Black Arms colonies...”
Just then, he curled his fingers into fists and announced proudly. “Regardless- If these are the Black Arms, or imposters, they pose a threat to the world I’ve sworn to protect. I will destroy them.”
“Good to hear. Now then- Team Dark and Spider Troupe will take our one assault shuttle to intercept the new Black Comet. In case things go south, we will have prepared here a backup spaceship to be send your way.” Tower elaborated like a true leader. “Team Dark will infiltrate the new Black Comet, find a way to its core, and insert a nuclear device. Once detonated, it will vaporize any trace of the invaders. Spider Troupe will provide support. Expect heavy resistance.”
“Sir, with all due respect, isn’t that a bit overkill?” A dark skinned soldier questioned Abraham respectfully.
“It’s the simplest option.” Tower cleared up. “Even if we could eliminate all the alien forces inside-“
“I COULD DO IT.” Eggman’s creation interrupted.
“-there’s no guarantee the unpiloted comet wouldn’t hit us. We’re blowing it up to remove all potential threats.” He continued, not paying attention to Omega’s comments.
“I COULD DO THAT AS WELL!” He exclaimed once again.
“Stop flattering yourself, tin-can.” An unknown voice rang out in the dense room. “If Shadow had to turn super to stop the Black Arms the first time, I doubt it’ll be any easier today. Real or fake.”
The attenders rotated their heads the speaker.
It was a man, dressed in the G.U.N’s official soldier uniform, with ginger hair coloring his head. He marched, chest puffed, to the commander before saluting him. Just by looking at him, Shadow had an off vibe about him.
“Everyone, this is Captain Andrews. He will lead Spider Troupe into action.” Tower informed.
“I already feel like this man’s gonna be a real pain to work with.” The professional thief shared with the anti-hero, who was thinking the same.
“No aliens, no comet, no problem. Works for me.” Rouge’s gorgeous eyelashes fluttered as she exclaimed.
“You’re all dismissed.” Tower gave permission to leave before turning to the girl and robot. “Rouge? Omega? A word, please.”
Shadow was already on his way out didn’t notice at first that his teammates stayed behind.
“Get yourself together.” He shook his head as he scolded himself mentally. “You can’t afford to lose focus. Now more than ever.”
“I hope you’re ready for this.” Just then, the ginger captain passed by Shadow. “Wouldn’t want to jump in action unprepared and pay the price, would you?”
The hedgehog eyed Andrew loathingly. Him and Rouge called it. He’s gonna be a real pain in the future.
Back to the comet, everyone was getting ready to go deeper into the enemy’s home.
“Perimeter secure. All hostiles confirmed neutralized.” A blond woman reported to the captain.
“Good work, Cooper.” Andrews congratulated. “Let’s get ready for the next push.”
“So… These certainly seem like the same types of aliens we fought before. Still think they’re impostors?” The bat thief queried.
“I… don’t know. I sensed that the Black Arms were one race, all in the same place.” He confessed.
“ ‘Sensed?’ “
“I share a… loose connection with their hive-mind. Their blood is in my veins. I can… I know some of what they know. Feel them moving through the comet...”
“Well… don’t go too deep into their thoughts. We don’t want you thinking like you’re one of them.”
“Hmph. We’re wasting time. Let’s go.”
The super spy made eye contact with the rogue badnik, who was also concerned about his team member... I think. I suppose. Damn it it's hard to describe tbe expression of a robot.
The spy sighed as the captain gave orders as annoying as him. “Spider Troupe will transport the nuke while Tower’s pet freaks take the point. Sound good to you?”
“Try not to get killed.” Shadow’s answer made the bat snicker before entering the domain.
“… And here they come. Here he comes…”
Hidden from them, someone, something was spying on the infiltrators.
Another Doom’s eye.
“… Our greatest creation… and executioner.”
The star-like floating alien dispatched everything his one glowing eye was capturing to someone.
(There is NO WAY I’m describing him. There is no way on our Holy God's Earth that I will describe him. Well- at some point I will have to, if I wanna make any progress. But like- I suggest you search it up on the internet until I can figure out how to insert images. His name is Black Death)
From yet another holographic screen, he could see everything through the alien’s one eye.
“I knew this meeting would be inevitable... I just assumed it would be more on my terms.” The supreme Black Arm spoke with... himself ... right?
“Perhaps it’s for the best. The humans will provide much-needed nourishment for my small army. It has been too long since we had a proper meal.” His three eyes squinted out of satisfaction, before he put on a strict face. “… especially since we delayed ourselves for the sake of your experiment.”
He spun his head to a being hidden in the shadows. The only distinguishable thing were golden eyes shining in the abyss like a star in space. Guess he wasn't alone after all.
“The Dark Arms will make us strong, my master. Now, more than ever, your children need strength.” Their soothing voice rang, carrying something with it, something that can't be describe. Determination? Evil? Desperation? By just those words, we can tell that he's a one of a kind being.
“True enough.” He admitted. “And you will get to fight him earlier than expected. Shadow will… he will pay for his treason.”
“Of course- if he cannot be shown the error of his way.” The mysterious person clarified. “After all, we’re so few now. I’d hate to lose a… brother.”
Back to the heroes, they were pacing the comet freely, but to their surprise, there was no one to stop them.
“Y’know, I joked about there being plenty of aliens to fight. But now I think they’re hiding just to spite me.” Rouge quipped to her team.
“Is our progression making any sense to you?” The man who posed a question to Abraham in the meeting now inquired to the robot.
“NEGATIVE. THE STRUCTURAL DESIGN IS AS ALIEN AS THEIR TECHNOLOGY.” He answered before switching his metallic hand to a mini-gun. “PROPOSAL: I SHOOT US A NEW HALL-WAY.”
“Take it easy, Tin-man. We’ve got our resident alien-hybrid-thing to show us the way.” Andrews spat poisonously.
“Are you trying to antagonize me?” The ‘alien-hybrid-thing’ frowned.
“Maybe. Why? Does it hurt your wittle feewings?” The orange-haired man teased.
“No. It just makes you sound like an idiot.” Again, Shadow showed the captain that his attempts to tick him off were futile.
The two mobians walked away, Rouge turning on her heels to give Andrews a bold smirk that did manage to irritate him. She always enjoyed when Shadow would stand up for himself. It added excitement to the show. Talking about Shadow, once she pivoted back to the hedgehog, she noticed him uneasy. He was resting his gloved hand on the wall to support himself. His face had shut eyes and gritted teeth, revealing that he was on edge.
“...Shadow? Are you okay?” She went to check on the ultimate lifeform.
“Fine. I’m… fine. I was trying to tap into the hive-mind for… direction.” He explained to reassure her before his eyes landed on his robotic friend. “...Omega. I want to ask you something.”
"WHAT?" The walking arsenal shot the one word with his voice.
They both started strolling away from the group to have a private chat.
“When you turned on Dr. Eggman and became a force for good, did you have difficulty… warring against your own kind?” Shadow kinda struggled to ask that question.
“NONE WHATSOEVER. I WAS BUILT TO DESTROY. DR. EGGMAN KEEPS BUILDING HIS INFERIOR ROBOTS, I KEEP DESTROYING THEM. I AM CONTENT.” The defector expounded. “WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR QUERY?”
“...No reason. Just forget I asked.” Shadow looked away, processing what Omega had just eluciated.
Later on, the uninvited guests were led to a closed room.
“Dead end. Could the Black Arms be messing with you? Sending you false information?” Rouge suggested to Shadow who was focused on an odd substance on the crimson walls.
“I remember seeing that goop-ey stuff all over the place when the aliens hit prison island.” A female soldier pointed at the slime with a disgusted expression plastered on her face. “What is that gunk?”
“I’m not sure how to translate it… ‘Conduit Gel?’ It’s an oozing fungus the Black Arms use for quick transport.” He described, touching the malleable liquid.
“Is it difficult to use?” The bat wondered.
“It’s impossible if you’re not a Black Arm- or part of one.” It was clear where Shadow was heading with this. “I’ll take this and scout ahead.”
“Yeah, uh, no? We should stick together. We’re outnumbered in hostile territory; we need you to guide us.” Rouge crossed her arms, giving the hedgehog this look that said ‘please don’t do anything stupid.’
“I’m only scouting. I’ll be fine.” And with, Shadow rolled into a furry ball and spin dashed into the gel.
He didn’t travel far. He did say he was only scouting, and didn’t want to be out of reach for his team. It’s not that Shadow didn’t trust Rouge and Omega to take care of themselves or underestimated them, but this place brought up lots of bad memories. He knew the dangers of being in enemy territory, not knowing the domain as well as their nemesis did. So only after a couple of seconds, he arrived at his destination. And maybe it was better if he didn’t. Because as soon as his feet touched the floor, he was greeted by a dozen of aliens, roaming the era.
“...Blast it, Rouge. Stop being right all the time.” Shadow clenched his fist, ready for a takedown.
Things also weren’t going well with G.U.N. Out of the blue, the door behind them imprisoned everyone in the room, with no way out.
“Safeties off! We’ve got incoming!” Andrews raised his gun, preparing for what he thought was going to be an attack.
“NEGATIVE- NO ALIEN LIFE SIGNS DETECTED. HOWEVER, I’M READING TRACE ELEMENTS OF AN AEROSOL NEUTROXIN.” Omega was scanning the perimeter. “TEN PARTS PER MILLION … THIRTY PARTS… RISING…”
“They’re going to gas us!” Cooper exclaimed.
“Worse! They did this to us on the first Black Comet!” Rouge’s wings stretched in fret.
“What’s worse than being gassed?!”
“The gas isn’t to kill us! It’s going to paralyze us so they can eat us!”
Meanwhile, the Black Arms were swarming Shadow, depriving him from any escape.
“Your ambush is pointless…” his fist faintly flickered. “… when I have, Chaos Control!”
However, his attempt to use this power failed. The sparkles that were forming dissipated, leaving him perplex. “…What?”
Too worried on why it didn’t work, a Black oak succeeded on sneaking up behind him and bashing Shadow in the floor.
The black and red hedgehog might not have Chaos Control at his disposition, but nevertheless, that didn’t stop him from fighting back.
Pinned to the ground, Shadow seized the alien’s ginormous fist, and swinged him at other Black Arms, knocking them down. His fury chest was heaving heavily from the weight he just carried, but now wasn’t the time to get tired. Without the power of the emerald, Shadow threw punches, kicks, got beaten, the brawl wasn’t really going his way.
Suddenly, they all ceased to attack him.
“Hold on! Hold on! We don’t want to kill him if we don’t have to!” The same unknown person who was having a conversation with the master alien just saved Shadow’s life.
“Who… Who are you?” The ultimate lifeform wiped his mouth as his eyes snapped at the person.
A Black Arm.
Regardless of being one, he didn’t have many resemblances to the giant destroying monsters that were trying to end the hedgehog. No. He looked more like a mobian. He looked more like… Shadow.
“Me? I am you, in a way. A living weapon, born for a singular purpose. The Black Arm biology- perfected. I am the shadow that blocks out the last light of hope. I am Eclipse the Darkling.”
(Again, please look him up until I can figure everything out.)
At the same time, just as expected, the place where Spider Troupe and most of Team Dark were trapped began to fill itself up with the dooming gas.
Black Death observed them through Death’s eye. “Everything is proceeding better than I had dared hope!” He laughed evilly. “The humans and their bomb are trapped. Any minute now they will succumb to the nerve agent being pumped into the room, and then my children will feed. And Shadow is already at the mercy of my champion. Eclipse will enact our revenge, and then nothing will stop us from harvesting all life on this planet.”
“Helmets up!” Captain Andrews directed. “Rebreathers on! We’ve got too much to do before dyin’ today people!”
“I told that idiot we should’ve had these on from the start.” Rouge complained as a soldier put around her neck what looks an air purifier inhibitor.
“But then the aliens wouldn’t have wasted their time trying to gas us.” They pointed out. “Now we’ve got some time while they figure out a new plan.”
“Typical ‘military intelligence.’ How’re you doing, Tin-man?” She playfully knocked on Omega.
“I DO NOT POSSESS THE MEAT SACKS YOU CALL ‘LUNGS,’ AND SO I DO NOT SUFFER LIMITATIONS LIKE ‘BREATHING’ OR THE IMPAIRMENT OF SUCH.” The rogue badnik expounded scientifically.
“ ‘I’m fine’ would’ve worked, too.” The super spy stated.
They then immediately got to work and tried to find an exit, death’s eye still with them, still transmiting everything to his master.
Black Death suspired. “None of the other races we’ve consumed were this much trouble.” He began giving his kind orders from the hivemind. “Black annelids, destroy the invaders. Death’s eye, stay with them. I am going to personally ensure Eclipse gets the job done.”
Somewhere in the new Black Comet, Shadow was alone against Eclipse. Was the darkling just going to be another obstacle to be quickly defeated, or a dangerous foe to get in his way. If only he knew at the time how much more this was going to be.
“I take it you’re the new hive-mind commanding the Black Arms?” he positioned himself into fighting mode.
“Me? No, nothing so lofty. But they do listen to me.” He stepped up to meet his 'brother' face to face.
“Then listen to me. All of you get out of the way and spare yourselves a beating.”
“Ah, and save us for that bomb of yours? You’ll understand if I’m not inclined to help you out.”
“Hmph. At least you’ve kept your troops off my back so I can use Chaos-“
Again, he tried to teleport out of this mess. And again, the power failed to assist him.
“-control? What… why isn’t it working!?” he gritted his teeth in frustration.
Suddenly, Eclipse grasped the hedgehog’s hand. “You’re in my world now. You live- and die- by my rules!”
Elsewhere, the group was still confined, not finding any way out at their disposition.
“It’s no use, sir. That doorway is sealed tight.” They passed on to Andrews.
“I CAN BLOW OPEN A NEW DOOR.” Team Dark’s arsenal raised his hand like a good student in class.
“And open us up to whatever-the-heck is out there? No thanks. What we’re going to do is-“ before the leader could elaborate, the floor abruptly started to tremble beneath their feet.
Out of the floor emerged four, giant Black Arms that were similars to worms. They blocked their food in a circle, limiting their ways to escape that was already so little before.
"Run-and-gun! Don't let them target you! They're living missile-lanchers!" The nocturnal animal took of the ground.
"Giga Trooper! Secure the nuke! Spider Troupe! Form up on me!" The not-so-appreciated-by-his-team leader gave directions while firing the futile shot at the Black Arms.
“Omega! Change of plans! Make us a door!” The captain was forced to back out on his words.
“WITH GUSTO!” The robot’s famous mini-guns joined the action and began spitting bullets at the wall.
Not wasting any more time, they all left the merciless room from the giant hole that their friendly not-always-so-friendly badnik created.
“THERE ARE ISLANDS OF LAND THREE STORIES DOWN!” Omega distributed the information.
“In we go, Spider Troupe! Controlled bursts with your rocket packs- save your fuel!” Andrews instructed.
“Hold on!” The bat grabbed the captain’s shoulder. “We can’t move on without Shadow!”
“Are you kidding? He left us behind! He was our guide, and he left us to be ambushed!”
“He was scouting ahead! He may have been ambushed as well!”
“Well then he can use his teleporting and creepy mind-link to find us! We are leaving this death trap!”
“But-!”
Rouge’s pleadings were no use, the humans were already running for their lives, not having a care in the world on what had happened to Shadow, which unfortunately, was something common with G.U.N soldiers. But Rouge, heart as precious as any jewelry she’s ever stolen, looked back on the slime her partner jumped into, but never came out of. Should she really leave? What if something worse than an ambush had happened? She warned Shadow about the hivemind, and he really isn’t the type of guy to listen to others. What if he went in too far? What if he’s lost? Her mind opened up to a thousand of catastrophic scenarios.
“DON’T WORRY ABOUT SHADOW. HE IS ALMOST AS STRONG AS ME. HE WILL BE FINE.” Omega noticed his teammate’s concern while still firing at the ginormous aliens.
“Yeah-yeah-yeah. Down we go.” She dived into the escape route.
Thank God, everyone managed to make it out safely. But death’s eye was still spying on them.
“Which way now, sir?” The black soldier wondered.
“Pull up the mission map. We’ll push for the interior, lay the bomb and-“ Just as he was giving directives, he cut him off. “Sir, I think our coordinates are no longer accurate. Navigation sensors seem to have been scrambled.”
“If only we had someone with insight into this place who could help us. Oh, right! You left him behind!” The bat immediately reproached Andrews.
“Don’t start with me, lady! I’m head of this unit-“ He tried to defend
“And your unit is the escort for Team Dark! You follow me!” She spat full of sway.
“... Fine. Lead us. We can’t wait around, otherwise we’re easy pickings.” He complied against his will.
“Any ideas, Omega?” She rotated her head to E-123.
“I DETECT SOUNDS OF FALLING LIQUID THIS WAY. ANOTHER VERTICAL SHAFT SUGGESTS ACCESS TO DEEPER INTO THE COMET.” He pointed his immense finger to where the noise was coming from.
“That’s good enough for me." Rouge expressed. "You take the point. We’ll just have to look for Shadow along the way.”
Deeper into the celestial body, the two Black Arms already started throwing down.
“How are you blocking my Chaos Control?!” Shadow demanded as he threw a quick, blazing kick at the darkling.
“Whoa-ho-ha-ha! We’re of one blood, you and I! ‘Chaos Control’ is just part of who we are!” He dodged the attack like it was nothing.
“That’s impossible!” He threw another kick.
“Oh, we’re very connected…” Again, the attempt to hurt Eclipse failed, as he blocked it with his arm.
Suddenly, the darkling caught Shadow off guard. He sneaked up behind him and placed his hand on the hedgehod’s head, creating a more efficient mental link. “… Let me show you…”
To Shadow’s horror, pieces of the past, pieces he tried so hard to bury in the back of his mind, played against his will.
“You remember this, right? When you destroyed Black Doom, you took down every Black Arm under his command, but not the ones still out there. Elsewhere, Black Death and his army were left to finish another conquest. The link to our hive-mind is limitless! Through the Master, Black Death knew of Gerald Robotnik’s betrayal. He knew about you. If the full might of the main Black Arms strain couldn’t stop you, what chance did he have? That's where I come in. Like Black Doom before him, Black Death commands the hive-mind. All of the Black Arms here are an extention of his will. Except for me. I’m free to act of my own accord. Free to think and fight you on my own terms. That's master and I came to an agreement to make me the weapon we needed. My sol purpose is now to destroy you. To conquer this planet and strip all life from it! The ultimate answer to the ultimate problem! But… I’m also free to question if this is the only way. The way I see it, we’re an endangered species. The Black Arms are nearly extinct. So wouldn’t we be so much stronger with the both of us working together? Twin sons of darkness! Brothers in arms! Worlds would fold to us, and the Black Arms would rule all there is!”
Shadow growled, resisting the darkling’s mind control. He fought back the pain Eclipse was bringing up. He couldn’t let it get to him- I mean, it technically already have. But he couldn’t succumb to it. He needed to stay strong.
“I destroyed you once, I can do it again!” He yelled out powerfully.
“Shadow, you’re not listening! You don’t need to fight us! You don’t need to pretend you’re one of them! You can finally come home!” The darkling tried to convince Shadow with those comforting sentences.
“My home is the shattered world below. I made a promise to protect that world. You and the Black Arms would see it destroyed. My path is clear!” Shadow started snapping out of the mind control progressively.
Outside, Black Death did as he said previously and assisted Eclipse, who was still gripping onto the hedgehog’s head. It was obvious from both of their expressions that the situation was going south.
“Rrgg… losing… control… l-little help… here…” He struggled to get the words out.
“There is no escape from Death’s eye!” Black Death entered the ultimate lifeform’s head.
Both of the Black Arms started tormenting the poor hedgehog who was overwhelmed with too many voices, too many whispers, screams, haunting him.
“You were born from the blood of the Black Arms. You have seen the worst that world has to offer. You have overcome their best. They are beneath you.”
“No matter how many times you save their planet, how much sacrifices you make, they will never accept you. Never see you as anything else than a monster. We don’t see you that way, Shadow. You're our brother. You have a place here. Take it!”
“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!” He roared at the top of his lungs.
Black Death inhaled disappointed. But, weirdly, we could sense that this wasn’t the only thing he was feeling at the moment. “… You had your chance, Eclipse. This is pointless. End him.”
“No, wait! We almost got through to him! You agreed he’s be useful to us! One more push and I’m sure-“ Eclipse's despair started showing. He seemed to really care about Shadow, but why though?...
“YOU!” Shadow didn’t even take the time to get his mind straight again before lunging at Eclipse, wrapping his hands around his neck. “Meant… to destroy me?... I’ll destroy you first…”
“Destroying you… would’ve been… the easier option…! I didn’t…” He chocked up.
“Last chance, Eclipse. We turn him now or never.” The master placed his palms on the hedgehog’s head as his two eyes glowed a dangerous gold. “You are of my blood. You are mine to command. Remember your true purpose.”
Shadow succumbed to gravity and fell on the ground, letting go of Eclipse who began gasping for air.
“I… I am… Shadow the hedgehog…” then, he rose. “… Vanguard of the Black Arms invasion. I… am to bring you the chaos emeralds, and ensure a swift harvest of the world below.”
Shadow’s half-brother scoffed, still refilling his lungs with air. “See? I told you it could be done. Welcome back to the fold, ‘brother.’ ”
Despite the plan working, Black Death wasn’t as thrilled as Eclipse. “Regardless, you were supposed to destroy him. This is the second time I’ve allowed you to so freely pursue your own ambitions. Had I not assisted you now, you would’ve failed. Do not let this become a mistake.”
“The Dark Arms will be our finest soldiers, master. And Shadow will make us stronger! All of this will benefit us in the end, you’ll see.” The alien assured so confidently.
“I expect it to benefit us now. The invaders are stumbling their way closer to the core of the comet. If they get much farther, their bomb could destroy us all." His third menacing eye projected a live video of his ennemies. And just like he said, they were getting closer to the core. "Destroy them all! Bring me their bomb! We will use it to punish the world below before we harvest what remains!”
Meanwhile, Spider Troupe were still wandering the area, wasting time. They didn’t have Shadow, they didn’t have a guide. Not a single clue to where they are or where they should head next, and definitely not a single clue on what was coming for them.
“Okay, where to next?” It felt more like a harsh demand than a polite question from Andrews lips.
“PROCESSING. I AM NO LONGER DETECTING ANY POSSIBLE AUDIO CLUES.” Omega notified.
“This is ridiculous! We’ve no idea where we’re going! Let’s just set the nuke and get out of here!” A female soldier complained to her superiors.
“That’s a negative, Lodge! Even if the blast killed all the creepy-crawlies, chunks of this rock could rain down on Earth.” The orange-haired captain clarified. “We’re doing this right or not at all!”
“My-my. We’re in total agreement for once, Andrews.” I’m pretty sure everyone here was surprised by these two being on the same page.
“I’m not taking any risks. I’ll finish the job correctly. Any word from Shadow?” Another shocker: he asked about the ‘alien-hybrid-thing.’
“No. either he’s been captured, or he’s doing his brooding-solo-thing.” Rouge’s first expression revealed how concerned she was about her edgy friend. But the second one though just showed her annoyance. “It better be the former, because if it’s the latter, I’m gonna kill him.”
“Take a number, lady.” The male spun to speak with Omega. “Hey! Big guy! We can’t stand around forever! Which way to this comet’s core so we can vaporize this bad boy?”
“RESTRAIN YOUR EQUESTRIAN MAMMALS. I CAN CONFIRM THAT WE ARE DEEPER INTO THE ALIEN WORLD, BUT I CANNOT GUARANTEE EITHER PATH WILL BE THE CORRECT PATH.” Looks like Andrews was starting to get on the robot’s nerve.
“Should we split up? Cover more ground?” Lodge suggested.
“HA! You’ve obviously not watched enough horror movies, Lodge! Might as well paint a target on our backs.” Cooper spat truthfully, cause that idea was dumb.
“Cooper’s right. We’re outnumbered, and if we called the backup the commander prepared for us, nobody would be able to get to us at this point. We’ll just have to pick a direction and hope for the-“ as he was giving justified directives, Omega pulled out his hand weapons, which meant something was wrong.
“WARNING! MULTIPILE LIFE SIGNS APPROACHING! ALL SIGNATURES MOBILE- NOT PART OF THE COMET’S BIO-TECHNOLOGY!” He warned, aiming at one of the tunnels they were hesitant to enter.
The humans prepared their guns and put back their helmets on. Rouge took off from the floor. They were all ready for battle, which was coming, but not the way they expected it. Out of the abyss emerged the hedgehog… different. His eyes were as blank as a page, stripped of any emotion. He marched toward the friends that he now saw as intruders, weaklings. But they did not know that. For them, they were reuniting with their lost comrade.
“Shadow! I was starting to… well, whatever.” Her wings brought her back down. “Where did you-?”
To everyone’s horror, Black Arms stepped out of the darkness, accompanying Shadow. He was now on their side.
“… Oh, no… Oh, no, no, no...” She repeated, shaking her head faintly as her eyes stayed fixated on her manipulated friend.
“SHADOW- IF THIS IS A CLEVER RUSE, YOU ARE TO CEASE IMMEDIATELY.” The walking arsenal didn’t move his aim. Unlike Rouge, he wasn’t as emotional. But surely, he was hurt to see him with the enemy.
“Saw this one coming… Spider Troupe! Agent Shadow is a liability! Lethal force is authorized to neutralize the hedgehog!” Andrews announced, fixing his aim right at the hybrid.
“Pathetic creatures, aren’t they? Only good for their complex protein chains.” Eclipse mocked the invaders of his home.
“Shadow! They’ve tried to get in your head before! FIGHT THEM!” The bat still had hopes for the ultimate lifeform. She always had.
“PROBABLE FINAL WARNING! DO NOT MAKE ME SHOOT YOU!” Omega on the other hand… well, more like on the other mini-gun.
“They give you orders? Threaten to shoot you? Aw. Why don’t you give them a reasonable response?” With this order dusguised as a question, Shadow zipped forward with his air shoes blazing.
Instantly, the badnik began shooting at his friend. But Shadow was too quick, dodging the bullets in zigzags. Was the hedgehog just swift, or was Omega missing on purpose in fear of hurting him? It’s honestly blurry at that point. The hedgehog curled up into a ball of quills and spin dashed on the war machine. Still, Rouge didn’t forget her role, all the people counting on her.
“Get moving, Andrews! We’ll keep Shadow off your back!” The spy instructed Spider Troupe
“Leave us with the alien horde? Thanks for the easy job.” Andrews, vexed, lead the team deeper inside “Spider Troupe! Run-and-gun! On the double!”
The darkling caught them running away with his golden eyes. “Cowards.” Eclipse and the aliens raced behind the humans that disgusted him so much. “We’ll handle the humans, Shadow! I’ll leave those two to you, ‘brother.’”
And with that, Team Dark was left alone; not as a team anymore, but as broken peices, that will either stay broken, or get back together.