Yo! Hey guys back with another chapter. This one is a bit shorter but it's still important. Anyway I hadn't posted this chapter earlier because I was so busy spazzing over the new sonic announcements! Oh boy Sonic Mania and Project Sonic 2017 look hype! And I already see people starting stories based on project 2017 or Sonic Resistance or whatever you want to call it. Lets hope they're both good games so we can have some good material for future sonic fanfics 'kay!

Enjoy!

Chapter 9

Shadow

The moment I woke up my head felt strangely numb like I had been dosed with some kind of medicine. I couldn't remember what I dreamed of last night, but I didn't have to think too much about it. I noticed that Eclipse was already wide awake and so were his little creatures. He seemed rather transfixed with weaving one of the pods found from yesterday with some vines.

"What is that?" I inquired watching him carefully.

"It's a makeshift bag since the Dark Arms will be coming with us and I needed something to hold food in. I'm not sure what we might find outside the swamp or in the volcanic dig site but at least we can stock up on berries. If we ration them out it should last for a few days," he said tightening the last vine before filling the pod with as many berries as it could carry. I was slightly impressed that he could make something so resourceful, but only slightly.

When he held the temporary bag out to me, I gave him a questioning look.

"You're going to have to carry it Tasuyai," he said already becoming irritated by my lack of enthusiasm to obey nonverbal request. "Since I know you won't help carry any of the Dark Arms, I'm going to have my hands full. This is the least you can do to make this journey less stressful for the both of us."

"Fine," I didn't see the point of arguing and if his reasoning was to keep me away from his own abominations so be it. I took the pod and swung it over my back, the weight nothing I couldn't handle. He nodded to me satisfied and began gathering the four little creatures who happily chirped and jumped into his arms. I watched with disinterest as he carefully moved them into more comfortable positions: the snake like one wrapping around his neck, the cube shaped one latched to his shoulder, the round one held in one of his arms, and the bird like one floating right beside him.

We silently made our way back to the entrance of the underground tunnel and began our ascent climbing the thorny vines. It was much easier to do than last night now that the sun was out even with the thick trees of the swamp trying to mask the sky above us.

"The next stretch of land before we reach the volcanic dig site is completely open. I suggest we run most of the way to reduce the amount of time we spend without cover," the vermillion alien stated as we reached the top.

"Good. the faster we get there the better," I was a bit concerned about how much stamina a long run would take without the use of my hover skates. It's a bit embarrassing to think that by the time we reach our destination I'll be exhausted. It's another reason I'm glad that blue hedgehog isn't here. It would give him the perfect opportunity to mouth off to me about how slow I am without my skates.

The next few hours were spent in silence as we ran keeping pace with each other. Eclipse was very efficient at holding the Dark Arms while he ran. True to his resolve to take care of them earlier, he wasn't slowing us down. The sun however was another matter.

Now that we had left the swamp behind we were stuck running in the middle of a hot, barren, scorching plane. There was absolutely nothing that could be seen behind or in front us just some large rocks here and there. I skid to a stop when it felt like I would overheat and so did Eclipse. I wasn't worried about surviving the extreme temperatures but that didn't mean I couldn't tire out..

"We...should rest here," I said, voice shamefully coming out in pants.

Eclipse was panting too and the four creatures with him didn't look like they were enjoying the heat either. "I agree with you...for once...tasuyai...my little ones will not be able to take the heat much longer either."

I looked around for anything that could offer reprieve from the sun and found a rather large rock off to my right. It would provide plenty of shade for all of us. "There." I pointed it out and Eclipse the Dark Arms and I made our way to it grateful to be out of the unforgiving sun even if it was still hot.

"Tasuyai," the alien began after we had been sitting in the shade for a few moments.

"What?" I stared out into the red barren plane with my eyes closed. I would kill for some water right now.

"There's something that's been on my mind since yesterday and I need a straight answer from you." I glanced to my side to see his expression but he wasn't looking at me. His amber eyes were focused on petting the Dark Arms in his lap. He gently ran his taloned hand over the scales of each of them starting with the round one. I believe he called it Rhygenta?

I watched him for a moment and waited for his response, eventually my sight settled to watching a small six legged lizard skitter on top of a small rock. It raised its head and looked at me before skittering away quickly into the dirt.

"I questioned you yesterday about your behaviour in the river but you brushed it off and last night when we argued your eyes started change color. The first time it happened I felt a strange sensation through our link and when I actually entered your mind last night-"

"You looked inside my mind while I slept?!" I asked angrily. I've been aware of the threat of his little mind games but it still pissed me off that he probably went poking through my private memories and secrets while I was unconscious.

"I believe I am more than justified in my actions hybrid considering you refused to tell me something that could be of importance. Afterall, I have other living beings who depend on me now and letting you keep a secret involving your barbaric behaviour could pose a threat to the little lives I protect now."

I growled and grit my teeth. I still don't know what he's talking about as far as what happened in the river and my eyes couldn't have changed color could they?

"It could have something to do with the change..." The voice of my white winged inner consciousness spoke to me for the first time in awhile. Cross was looking at me or rather I was looking at myself. His expression..err mine was blank. There was that strange feeling of looking at myself again. I knew Eclipse was waiting on an answer though so I regained my composure.

After taking a deep breath I decided that perhaps I should hear him out for a moment. I still had questions of my own that needed to be answered regarding the temple and now would be as good a time as any as we waited for the sun to set and the temperature to cool off. "I don't remember what happened at the river and that is an honest statement. The last thing I remember was using the chain on our cuffs to try and drag you away from the serpent. After that I'm on the other side of the river talking to you."

The amber eyed alien seemed to contemplate that bit of information for a moment before responding. "Well to summarize what you don't seem to remember you weren't acting normal. First of all your eyes were as yellow as mine are and second you bit the serpent so ferociously that it flailed out of the water in pain."

I knew he said I acted bizarre but to outright attack by biting like some kind of wild animal. It was still very unbelievable but trying to argue about it wouldn't help.

"Are you sure that's what you saw," needing to confirm the events with the only witness I have.

"Yes, it was unlike anything I had ever seen."

Cross gave me a look then and I sighed. "Ask him about your dream," he said casting a weary glance towards the vermillion alien silently stroking the smooth scales of the horned snake like Dark Arm as it made satisfied noises.

"What about your...trip through my mind?"

The hand stroking the small dark arm stopped and the small creature cast its one eye towards Eclipse. I had the feeling it sensed a change in its caretakers mind and I felt like I could too.

"It wasn't pretty. I can tell you that much. You were chained inside your own mind reaching out to me for help as you were dragged deep into a dark liquid. It was unsettling," he finished eerily. It was the first time I ever heard Eclipse express being uneasy and the fact that it was inside my own mind bothered me even more. I looked down at my hands forgetting about hunger, thirst, and exhaustion for a moment seeing the ripped fabric that barely covered my palm anymore much less my fingers. Suddenly the thought of my inner self being torn to shreds just like my gloves and replaced by something else came to mind and I shuddered. Eclipse must have picked up on my anxiety because I saw him glance at me out of the corner of my eye. I could feel his amber eyes watch me with curiosity as I took off the remains of my gloves and threw them far away. They were worthless now anyway.

"Is there something you need to tell me hedgehog?" my alien counterpart pressed. He seemed eager to know what was going on and I couldn't blame him.

"There is actually. Back in the temple when we were both trying to escape the bounty hunter I stumbled upon some old underground ruins," I began picking up a rock near me not used to having nothing to do for such a long time. "There was a strange depiction of some huge creature sitting on a throne. I assumed he was some kind of Black Arm considering that amongst the other figures around him were Black Doom and Black Death."

"What?!" Eclipse had given me his full attention now. His expression was full of disbelief to my surprise. Did he know about the underground tunnel and what it holds?

"I want to see it," he said suddenly.

"What?"

"You heard me I want to look through your mind and see it through your eyes."

"No," I said indefinitely."I don't exactly trust you to just view the memory and nothing else."

My vermillion counterpart sighed, "Alright hybrid, just this once I swear on my heritage of a Black Arm that I will only enter your mind to view the memory in the temple and nothing else. No tricks and no deceit," he looked me in the eyes when he said it and despite everything that's happened between us there was part of me that believed he would keep his word.

"What do you want me to do?" I said still a bit doubtful about letting the being that once threatened to shred my mind apart while I slept access to my inner most memories.

"Just think back to that time in the temple and try to remember as many details as you can." I closed my eyes and let the images and sensations slowly recreate themselves, the most prevalent details being the disturbing depiction on the wall and the hoarse angry voices. I felt Eclipse place his hand on my head after moving closer to me. I was quickly able to recognize the prodding presence weaving itself deeper into my consciousness before the image of that underground chamber was reproduced vividly. And the voices…

Eclipse

Hoarse, raspy, voices seemed to echo throughout my whole mind threatening to smother my presence. I could feel the spike of fear and anger within my counterpart and honestly I became fearful as well. What were they talking about? A king? A traitor? A curse? It was nonsensical on so many levels and they kept going and going. Eventually I reached the part of the memory where the hybrid had closed his eyes and tried to cover his ears in frustration before the passage collapsed and he escaped.

When I finished looking through the memory I was left with more questions than whence I started. I couldn't even begin to explain what I had just witnessed through my counterparts eyes.

"Did you learn anything?" the hybrid asked as I was delving deeper into my thoughts. I almost didn't answer him at first.

"Unfortunately no. Whatever it was that you witnessed is completely wrong. Black Doom told all of his children that as a race we were born imperfect and that he took it upon himself to rebuild it in order to ensure our survival. He never mentioned that there were any other beings like him or a king."

"But Black Doom must have come from somewhere. Didn't he share with you, Black Death or any of the other Black Arms about where he originated from."

"No. Black Doom and my master told us that it wasn't important and that we should look towards the future rather than try and understand a complicated past," I responded.

"And you just accepted that instead of questioning it?" the hedgehog inquired.

I gave him a blank look before looking down at the sleeping Dark Arms watching Blurk and Cregal snoozing in my lap. I do remember questioning Black Doom's existence once and my master insisted in an indirect manner that it wasn't important as well. It seems like every moment after that if my mind started straying too close to that subject the thought and the urge to think about it would simply fade away. I didn't think much of it then because I thought my master would never influence my thoughts in such a way. How naive I was back then…

"I did question it but it seems the urge to persist in knowing was forcibly taken away from me. And I see now that Black Doom and my master did have something to hide. But it's hard to decipher exactly what that is from just your memory." The hedgehog seemed thoughtful after my response.

There wasn't much said after that, in fact we waited for the sun to set in silence and the hedgehog decided to take a nap since there wasn't much else to really do in the heat. After the sunset I was just on the verge of falling asleep myself when the hybrid sprung awake looking out into the distance.

"What is it?" I asked adrenaline allowing me to be on high alert again. The Dark Arms had also been woken up by my tense actions.

His mammal ears were turning from left to right in an effort to listen for something. There was a long pause before he answered. "There's a vehicle coming this way," he said getting to his feet.

"The hunter? He caught up to us already?!" The hunter's presence was the last thing we needed right now.

"This way," the hedgehog said urgently. Using the energy chain as a way to drag me in his desired direction. We sprinted a bit before jumping into a fairly deep trench we passed earlier. It was a rather convenient spot to take cover in. We both leaned against the dirt wall of the trench listening to the sound of a heavy vehicle making its way closer. I could feel Cregal, Cyzer, Blurk, and Rhygenta squirming in my arms. The stress and tension in my mind must be making them nervous. I took a deep breath realizing that my own heart was beating twice as hard. I took a deep breath and cleared my mind. "There, there, it's going to be alright. Nobody is going to harm you," I told them mentally. I let my calm feelings flow into them and they settled down however we were still in danger. I wouldn't be able to protect the Dark Arms and fight too.

When the noise died down and we were absolutely sure it was safe to move again we slowly peaked our heads above the top of the trench.

"We should follow them," the half breed suggested with a calculating look on his face.

"Are you mad?! Is the lack of chaos also hindering your ability to think straight?"

He turned to me with a bit of dark expression but while it seemed like there was fire in his eyes, it didn't seem to be directed towards me. "I'm sick of being hunted down like a wild animal. The hunter may be experienced but he's not invincible and neither is his mut. At some point they would have stop and rest and it could be a perfect opportunity to stock up on provisions and maybe find a key for the shackles.."

He made a good point but would the belongings of the hunter be worth the trouble? Afterall he wouldn't dumb enough to rest in foreign territory without some kind of trap laying around for trespassers.

"I assume you wouldn't be suggesting this unless you have a plan to lure that mut faced beast away from the general vicinity. It could catch our scent or hear us coming long before we get close enough to try anything."

"I have a plan for that." he said staring into the far distance as if he already knew where the hunter was hiding. "However, I'm going to need your full cooperation or it won't work."

Not much happening in this chapter but it is important none the less.