Chapter Text
Black Doom had been defeated. The hive-mind was in disarray. Most of the soldiers had collapsed, some dead immediately and others soon after as the humans took the opportunity to execute them before they could regain consciousness. Others, still, were captured if they hadn't been already.
One Black Wing was buried under the rubble of the city. It could hardly move. It could hardly breathe in the limited air of its cramped tomb. It managed a few pained cries, birdlike calls, that none of its kin were around to hear.
It didn't know how much time had passed—living in a comet that never saw sunlight, the Black Arms didn't have a real sense of time—before it heard shifting rubble. Someone was walking nearby, perhaps two someones.
"What a mess but at least it's finally over," one said. "Hopefully G.U.N. will stop trying to shoot you now, Mirage."
"Hopefully but I'm not going to hold my proverbial breath," someone else—Mirage?—with a deeper and distorted voice said.
"Still can't believe they had orders to kill Shadow the Hedgehog on sight!" the other complained. "I know he helped Eggman blow up half the moon and nearly destroy the planet, but he ultimately helped stop the ARK from hitting us! I know because I saw it! I watched it via my telescope on my roof!"
"Yes, Cinder; you've told me."
"I also heard he helped defeat that giant metal dragon that appeared and now he's saved everyone again! We were nearly toast!" the first one—Cinder?—continued to complain. "What more proof do you need?!"
"I don't know."
The steps grew closer and the Black Wing could feel the rubble shift. Great pressure pushed down on it, and it reflexively cried out in pain. The pressure immediately lifted off and a yelp was heard.
"Oh no."
The rubble started to shift again, this time being lifted up. The Black Wing came face-to-face with an orange fox in a black jacket, a dark lavender top, and black pants. Her expression was a mix of disgust and pity, and she held a Black Sword in her hand.
"It's one of those aliens!" she gasped. "One of the smaller winged ones! It's... not looking so good."
Standing beside her was a being who looked like Shadow the Hedgehog—their champion turned traitor—but wasn't. He was silver with orange stripes instead, had a robotic leg from the knee down on the right, and wore a black jacket. His eyes were still red but glowed and were surrounded by black sclera.
"Most of the others collapsed," Mirage noted. "It's surprising it's "looking" at all."
The Black Wing cried out weakly. Its chest and back throbbed. One wing flapped frantically while the other was unmovable, split open and bleeding green. It couldn't move; it couldn't escape.
"It's... scared," the fox said. "It's just trying to get away, not attack."
"My scans indicate it's a juvenile," Mirage shared.
The fox's ears drooped. "Child soldiers," she lamented. "Why am I not surprised? After all, those larvae were on the battlefield." She held a hand to her chin for a moment. "I wonder how much agency they have."
"Perhaps no more than I had," Mirage answered. "It's hard to say without more information on how their hive-mind works. Worked."
Cinder sighed. She reached out with a hesitant shaky hand. The Black Wing cawed a warning and tried to shrink back. "It's alright," she said as softly as she could as she placed her hand on its head. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just let me help you, okay?"
The Black Wing's breathing slowed, and it let out a few quiet chirps as acknowledgement. Cinder reached her hands under the creature and carefully lifted it up. She looked around to make sure no one was in sight.
"This may not be a good idea," Mirage cautioned, also keeping an eye out for anyone as he picked up the discarded sword.
"I gave you a chance, and it hasn't blown up on me yet," she pointed out. "I don't see how I could treat this one any different, especially if it's a child."
"A fair point," he relented. "Just be cautious. Your neighbors are already unhappy enough about me."
"You hear that, little guy?" Cinder directed at the Black Wing. "It's very important that you don't make too much noise, okay?"
It made a few more quiet chirps in acknowledgement. Although it was quite confused as to why this Earth creature was helping it when it had only been told how violent they were, it was also curious. Beyond that, it had little choice as none of its kin were around and it wasn't able to contact any of them.
"Okay, let's go," Cinder announced and started walking off, Mirage following behind her. "You don't have to worry about that meanie Black Doom anymore."
The Black Wing relaxed further into the fox's warm arms as she held it close under her chin. It couldn't explain it, but it felt safe. It had never been held like this before.
They traveled out of the city to another, a difference barely noticeable to the Black Wing. What it did notice was the buildings growing shorter and farther apart. The damage was also less severe.
They came to a lavender house with a black roof. Cinder reached in her pocket and pulled out a keyring, using one of the keys to open the door. She stepped in and flipped the light switch, bathing the room in soft light.
Crossing the room, she gently sat the Black Wing on the couch. She gave it a little pat on the head and said, "Just stay right there. I'll get the first aid and take care of that wing of yours, okay?"
The Black Wing chirped in acknowledgment. While it couldn't talk, it certainly understood what was being said as Black Doom's knowledge of English had been shared with the entire hive.
With another pat on the head, Cinder disappeared through another door. She returned shortly with a dark brown bottle, bandages, and a towel. She sat the bottle and bandages down, then slid the towel under the bleeding wing—the blood had coagulated with some mucosal secretion.
"Actually, I think that's gonna need more than just bandages," Cinder observed. "One moment."
Cinder disappeared through yet another door and could be heard rummaging through something. She returned with a needle threaded with fishing line. Sitting on the couch, she carefully laid the split wing and towel on her lap. She took the brown bottle and sprayed the needle, then the tear in the wing. The spot began bubbling, which made the Black Wing nervous, but it remained still.
"I'm going to warn you: this will hurt," Cinder started, holding the needle for it to see. "But it'll be better to sew your wing shut so it heals properly."
Cinder pierced its flesh near the split, and it flinched. She stitched as quickly as she could, getting halfway before the Black Wing started screeching and flapping its other wing. Cinder stopped and stroked its head.
"It's alright, I'll take a break," she whispered. Cinder continued to stroke its head until it calmed back down. Then she got back to work and finished sewing up the wing. "There—all done! You did good."
Cinder cleaned off the blood, staining her towel green. After spraying the wound with hydrogen peroxide again, she gently wrapped it in the bandages—over-wrapping for good measure.
Cinder rubbed its head once more, hoping it understood the gesture. "Just rest now. I'll get you something to eat, okay? You'll need it to heal and keep your strength up."
Despite the stinging pain, it chirped happily. It hadn't had anything since it had been transported down to the surface. Well, it had tried to eat something it had found by a knocked over trash can but that had only made it sick and didn't count as far as it was concerned.
Cinder got up and walked through a doorway into another room. She opened a cabinet and pulled out a pot, then placed it on the stove. She sprayed the inside of the pan and turned on the burner, then returned to the cupboards. From a different one, she pulled out a can. Opening it, she dumped the contents into the pot. Then she emptied a pouch of brown gravy mix and added some water. Grabbing a fork, she stirred the mixture around.
"Mirage, can you put on some hot water?" Cinder asked.
Mirage wordlessly grabbed the electric kettle and filled it with water from the sink. He plugged it in and flipped the switch on. Based on Cinder's cooking habits, he preemptively pulled out a pouch of instant potatoes.
After a while and the gravy starting to bubble, Cinder emptied the pouch of instant potatoes into a large bowl and added some water from the boiling hot pot. Once it was all stirred up, she grabbed the pot and emptied the contents into the bowl. Then she brought it back to the living room and sat it on the couch.
"I'm not entirely sure what to feed you, but this should be okay," Cinder said. Meat was a given after she learned of Black Doom's full plan, though she tried not to think of that. This one didn't seem to have any interest in eating her—was it instinct or choice?
The Black Wing peered into the bowl and sniffed it. Although not what it was used to, it smelled like meat and was warm. The creature took a bite and chewed it around in its beak-like mouth a few times before swallowing. Finding it not only safe but also delicious, it plopped its face in the bowl and ate heartily.
"Ah, good," Cinder sighed with relief, knowing an appetite meant its body hadn't given up on survival. "I think... I'll call you Talon, although you don't have any. It's a common bird name and you're bird-like."
It then occurred to her that the bird types didn't have any feet to stand with. They could only land on their bellies. Which seemed rather impractical and even dangerous to her.
"Yes—Talon," she repeated as she stroked its head. It stopped chewing for a moment to chirp in a manner that Cinder read as happiness.
"It seems to be doing well," Mirage observed as he entered the room.
"Yes," Cinder agreed as she watched the hungry creature—no, child—as it ate up its meal. "It's become... tame rather quickly. I wonder if this is their true nature." The lack of aggression that the other Black Arms had shown before Black Doom's defeat seemed to indicate as much.
"It's hard to say," Mirage responded, studying the creature. "My nature isn't the true nature of other Shadow Androids. Perhaps it's because it's a juvenile. Perhaps it's the absence of Black Doom's control. Perhaps it's simply different."
"Hmmm..." Cinder was thoughtful, also wondering if the injuries had anything to do with it. "Yeah, we both saw Black Doom try to mind-control Shadow."
"Then we both almost didn't make it out of the Black Comet before it was teleported into space," Mirage pointed out disapprovingly. "I'll remind you of that the next time you're "just" curious."
"It was a once in a lifetime opportunity! Besides, if my planet is going to be invaded by aliens, I at least want some souvenirs," the fox argued as she pulled a chuck of the Black Comet's lavender rock out of her pants' cargo pocket. "If I had known that comet was going to be destroyed, I would've grabbed more."
Mirage sighed, a digitized version of the expression. He was grateful for Cinder's generosity, but it didn't lessen his frustration at her recklessness. Just because he was based on the Ultimate Lifeform, it didn't mean he could protect her from everything.
The Black Wing had finished its meal and licked the gravy from the bowl. Once there wasn't a speck of gravy left, it chirped happily then snuggled up against Cinder. It didn't fully understand the two's conversation, but it knew it was safe.