Yay! I'm back...and tied as hell since it's 10am and I haven't had sleep since I woke up at 3pm yesterday. I was up all night writing this so you had all better be happy! Now, I'm going to post this and go to bed! On with the story so I can sleep!
Eclipse's eyes slowly opened, only to find herself on a futon in a black and red painted bedroom. Before she could do anything a vision hit her, surely from when whoever carried her here had carried her here.
Vision.
I found myself standing in front of what looked a lot like a large circle of metal drilled to a base with the 7 Chaos Emeralds floating around the circle. I felt tears in my closed eyes , and I could feel someone squeezing my hand. I opened my eyes and looked up at them, but my vision was too blurred to make them out clearly, but I obviously knew who it was because I buried my face into their chest and let myself cry as a felt gloved male hands stroking my quills comfortingly. "It'll be ok Eclipse." He continuously to murmur into my ear, slowly comforting me. I knew the voice, but I couldn't pinpoint it in the present, which really peeved me off.
The sudden sound of the machine being activated drew my attention to it. "Sorry everyone, but it's time for us to be going home." Came Alexiss' voice from the top of a nearby platform in front of the machine, her right hand gripping the collar around Ana's neck to keep her from getting away. "I don't want to go home!" Ana yelled. "I don't care. We're going home now, whether you like it or not." Alexiss growled into the young cat-girl's ear, causing said girl to tremble in fear. "Take care everyone." Alexiss said, spinning Ana around by the collar above Alexiss' head before throwing her into the circle of the machine, Ana disappearing instantly. "Let's all meet again someday." She said with a smile, taking to the sky as she had done so may times. "S - - - -, take good care of Eclipse. Goodbye Everyone!" She called, before flying into the machine, grabbing the red Chaos Emerald as she went through the portal back to her home, the machine turning off as soon as she was through, and now that the Chaos Emerald was gone we wouldn't be able to activate it again. "Goodbye guys." I managed to whisper before crying again, being pulled into the arms of the person who had comforted me before.
End of Vision.
Guess I should have known that Ana and Alexiss wouldn't stay here forever. Eclipse thought sadly, absently noting that she couldn't make out the person Alexiss had been talking to before going into the machine, as even though she'd only known Ana and Alexiss for a couple of days she already felt close to them. It took her a moment to remember that she should be at Eggman's Base in a cell or something, before she heard familiar voices on the other side of the door red painted wood door. "I can't believe she never told me...I mean, I thought we were best friends, but she kept the most important secret she had from me." Came Rouge's voice, making Eclipse feel a little bad that she hadn't told Rouge the truth. "Everyone has secrets that they keep from even though closest to them Ms. Rouge." Alexiss said, more then likely trying to cheer up the obviously betrayed bat. "Yeah, take us for example. We aren't even from-" The sudden sound of something slamming into Eclipse's wall quite hard brought Eclipse to the conclusion that Alexiss had kicked Ana into the wall. "You really need to learn when to keep your mouth shut Ana." Alexiss snarled angrily, confirming Eclipse's suspicions. "You didn't have to kick me so hard!" Ana yelled angrily, surely rubbing the injury that the kick had created. "Shut up or you'll wake up Eclipse!" Alexiss growled, causing the cat girl to do as she was told. Eclipse sighed, blocking out the rest of the annoying conversation.
That's right...Rouge, Alexiss and Ana know the truth now... Eclipse thought, mixed emotions flowing through her at the thought (actually Eclipse, Alexiss and Ana knew the whole time). Jumping in front of Rouge like that certainly wasn't the most Shadow thing I've ever done. I could have easily just Chaos Controlled her out of the way, but I just panicked when I saw the beam fired at her like that. ...Wonder if they told anyone else... Eclipse thought worriedly as she slowly sat up, knowing that if she continued to lie down she'd fall back asleep.
Eclipse should be awake now. Alexiss thought, standing up. "I'm going to go check to see if Eclipse is awake." Alexiss said, smirking to herself when she saw Ana rubbing her right arm where the bone was probably cracked. That'll teach her to watch her mouth before she speaks. Alexiss thought as she walked to the door that lead to the room in her and Ana's mansion that she had put Eclipse in. She walked in, seeing Eclipse sitting up but leaning back against the wall. "Hey! Eclipse is awake!" Alexiss called out to Ana and Rouge, who both ran quickly into the room. "...Morning." Eclipse said after a few moments of tense silence. "...You're mad at me. Right, Rouge?" Eclipse asked, even with her eyes closed knowing that Alexiss and Ana were only being quiet for fear of angering the already peeved bat. "Of course I'm mad! Even though we were supposed to be best friends you never told me who you really were!" Rouge yelled angrily, Alexiss and Ana seemingly disappearing, obviously not wanting to get dragged into this fight...or maybe to tell the others that she was awake, since Eclipse vaguely remembered them talking about them telling the Sonic Heroes that they had found her passed out in an alley. "I had no intention for anyone to know the true me. If Faker hadn't found me that night a few months ago then none of you would know about me." Eclipse stated emotionlessly. "Stop acting like that! You're not like that! I know so...because I've seen you smile Eclipse." Rouge said. "It was all an act. I had to keep my true identity a secret, and if I acted the same you, if not everyone, would have noticed." Eclipse said, not looking at Rouge. Rouge clutched her fists, pure rage on her face, before walking out of the room (think of Rouge when she gets super mad at Knuckles in Sonic X). Shortly after she did Eclipse heard what sounded like Rouge kicking the wall. "Please don't destroy my house Ms. Rouge! We still haven't lived here very long!" Alexiss called from somewhere else in the house, again proving Eclipse's suspicions. Eclipse pulled out her Chaos Emerald, looking at it for a moment before muttering the well known words. "Chaos Control."
"Yeah, she's awake...no, Ms. Rouge came stomping out of her room a minute ago and kicked my wall...yeah, I guess she didn't tell Ms. Rouge what happened...yeah, I'll go talk to her Sonic...ok, I'll call you back later." Alexiss said, hanging up the phone. She walked to Eclipse's room, fully planning on talking to her and cheering her up, only to stop dead in her tracks as soon as she entered the room. "E-E-E...ECLIPSE IS GONE!" Alexiss yelled in panic. "WHAT?!" Rouge and Ana yelled in unison, running into the room, onto to see that Alexiss was telling the truth. "She must have Chaos Controlled out of here." Rouge muttered angrily. "I'm not surprised with the way you got all mad at her." Ana pointed out, earning her another kick from Alexiss. "This is another time when you should keep your mouth shut." Alexiss growled at Ana, who was on the other side of the room with a dent in the wall where she'd hit it. "...Ow..." Ana said simply, obviously in pain. "We'd better go find her before she does something reckless." Rouge said, Alexiss nodding in agreement. "I thought you were the one whose always doing reckless stuff Alexiss." Ana said, freezing as soon as the fox-girl glared at her. "This is one of those times where I should keep my mouth shut, right?" Ana asked, Alexiss nodding while still glaring. "Ok, I'll be quiet now." Ana said, trying desperately to hide in the corner. "Sonic will be calling back soon. Tell him that Eclipse is missing, but don't tell him that she's really Shadow. Understand?" Alexiss asked, Ana nodding. "Good, Alexiss and I are going to go search for her." Rouge said, fly quickly out of Alexiss and Ana's mansion with Alexiss close behind. "...Ow..." Ana repeated after Rouge and Alexiss had left.
Eclipse appeared in her house, nearly falling to her knees before she held herself up using the wall. She hadn't recovered much energy before she used that Chaos Control so she wasn't surprised that she was so weak now. She knew that she only had about a half hour before Rouge and Alexiss checked here, so she'd have to find somewhere else to go. She quickly called Gun, changing her voice even without her armour, and telling them that she had some business to attend to and wouldn't be able to take missions for a while. She then went upstairs and packed everything she'd need before sitting on her bed and trying to figure out where to go. She thought of all the people she had re-met at Tails' house, and the Chaotix suddenly came to mind. She pulled her cell phone back out, dialling the number that she had memorised long ago for a reason she couldn't remember and hit the talk button. The phone on the other line rang a few times before it was answered. "Chaotix Detective Agency, what can we do for you?" Vector's voice came from the other side of the phone. "...Vector?" Eclipse asked after a few moments, sounding shy and afraid, which happened to be exactly how she felt at the moment. "Eclipse?!" Vector asked in surprise. "Yeah, it's me...listen, I need a place to stay for a while and I was...was wondering if you had a free room." Eclipse explained. "Yeah, of course we do. But what's wrong?" Vector asked worriedly. "I don't really feel like talking about it..." Eclipse said quietly, sounding fairly upset. "Oh, alright. Well, you can stay here as long as you like, no questions asked." Vector told her. "Thanks Vector. I'll be there in a few minutes." Eclipse said, hanging up and packing the last of the things she'd be bringing with her.
"Who was that?" Espio asked, his one eye opened as he sat Indian-style on the ground in front of his locker, having just finished meditating. "It was Eclipse. She'll be staying here for a while." Vector explained. "Why? Is something wrong?" Charmy asked, his head tilted slightly the way that little kids did when they were confused as he buzzed around in front of Vector. "I don't know, but she sounded really upset. She said that she didn't want to talk about it." Vector said. "We'd better go clean out the guest room before she gets here." Charmy pointed out. "Alright, let's go clean the guest room for her." Vector agreed. "Roger." Espio said simply, running up the stairs to the guest room with Vector and Charmy close behind him.
Eclipse appeared in front of the Chaotix Detective Agency, a watch that looked like her wrist communicator replacing it and her cell phone off. She quickly put her Chaos Emerald into her purse, not wanting Vector and the others to see it. She was sure that by now the rest of the Sonic Heroes would be looking for her, as Alexiss and Ana would have surely called Sonic and the others once they realised she was gone. She knocked on the door, waiting for someone to answer it. Espio answered the door, grabbing her wrist and running quickly up the stairs into the room that she'd be in before letting her go and closing the door behind them. "What was that for?!" Eclipse asked angrily. "Sonic and Tails are here. They're looking for you. We thought it'd be best if they didn't see you." Charmy explained, appearing out of seemingly no where. "Oh...thank you. I don't want them knowing I'm here." Eclipse said. "You unpack, Espio and I have to go back downstairs before Sonic or Tails start to wonder where we went." Charmy said, opening the door quietly and leaving, Espio closing the door as he left. Eclipse then started to unpack.
"So you haven't seen or heard from her either?" Tails asked sadly. "No, sorry Tails." Vector lied, Espio and Charmy coming into the room right then. "Who was at the door?" Vector asked, though he already knew the answer they'd give. "No one. Not even a note or a parcel." Charmy lied, sighing as if upset that it hadn't been something big. "We'll keep an eye out for her while we're doing cases." Vector told the two mammals in the living room. "Alright. Thanks anyway Vector." Sonic said sadly, his ears drooping ever so slightly as he left, Tails close behind.
"It was Eclipse. She's up in her room." Charmy said as soon as he was sure Sonic and Tails were long gone, answering the question before Vector could even ask it. "I thought so. It's about time to eat, so I'll go buy something to food." Vector said, heading towards the door. "With what money Vector?" Espio pointed out, causing the crocodile to stop in his tracks. "Um..." Vector said, obviously trying to think if they had a secret stash of money or something.
"Are they gone?" Came a familiar female voice suddenly. The Chaotix looked up the stairs to where the voice was coming from, Vector and Charmy gaping while Espio simply looked a little shocked. Eclipse was standing at the top of the stairs, looking totally different then she had a few minutes ago. Her quills were brushed down so that they also covered the two quills that were always down but the red streaks were still able to be seen and she had a pair of black goggles that were darker then her fur with bright red lenses and bright yellow fabric on her head to keep the quills down. Her usual dress was replaced with a black t-shirt the same shade of back as her goggles that showed off a bit of her stomach, a bright red sleeveless tube top over the t-shirt and a red skirt that reached her mid thighs that had bright yellow diamond shaped marks with black diamond shaped marks inside the yellow ones. Her usual gloves were replaced by a pair of vertically striped black and bright red fingerless gloves that went up to her elbows, her restrictor rings still over her gloves for obvious reasons. But what surprised the Chaotix the most was that she had replaced her hover shoes with a pair of bright red high heel boots that reached her knees and were dark grey that looked black when not in the light at the sides and had bright yellow trim. Around her neck was a black choker with a yellow ball bell on it that chimed slightly whenever she moved.
"...Do I look ok?" Eclipse asked suddenly, fidgeting slightly from being stared at. "You look so cool Eclipse!" Charmy exclaimed, smiling brightly. "You sure look different. Stronger, I think, and more personal." Vector agreed. Everyone turned to Espio, who was obviously a little nervous about being put on the spot like that. "...It suits you." He said after a few moments, a soft blush on his face. "Hey! Espio's blushing!" Charmy said, laughing, causing Espio's blush to deepen as he glared at the small bee boy. "Leave him alone Charmy. He's probably not used to having a girl around here." Eclipse pointed out. "We're had female clients, but never had a female living here." Vector agreed. "Alright, alright. I'll leave him alone." Charmy said in defeat. "Good." Eclipse said, smiling sweetly. Her smile caused Espio's blush to deepen, though no one seemed to notice this. "Oh yeah, if you need some money for food then here." Eclipse said, throwing Vector a small pouch filled with rings which he barely managed to catch. "As thanks for letting me stay here and hiding me from the others." She explained when Vector gave her a confused look. "I'll go get something for tonight, then we'll buy groceries." Vector said, everyone nodding in agreement. "Um...you DO know how to cook, right Eclipse?" Charmy asked. "Yes, quiet well actually. Why?" Eclipse asked. "Because no one here can cook." Espio answered, everyone turning to him as they hadn't expected him to answer when they didn't force him to. "Then I'll just have to cook for you all. It won't be any trouble at all." Eclipse said before Vector could disagree. "...Alright then, I guess that's that. I'll be back in an hour or so." Vector said, leaving.
"...We won't be able...to keep calling you...by your real name. If we do then...Sonic and the others...will figure out who...you are even if...you look totally different." Charmy pointed out as he ate his kiddie cheeseburger that Vector had bought him, taking a bite between every four words. "He's right." Espio said simply, also eating a cheeseburger. Eclipse closed her eyes, looking through all of her visions and memories for a nickname. "...How about...Clipz?" She asked after a few moments, not wanting to have anything too different from her real name. "No, that won't work. Too close to your real name." Vector said, the others nodding in agreement.
"Clowy?" Eclipse then suggested after everyone had finished eating (pronounced similar to Zoey but with a C and L instead of a Z). "Clowy? Where did you get that from?" Charmy asked her. "The first two letters of my name and the last two letters of Shadow's name with a Y at the end to make it sound like a girl's name." Eclipse said, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment, a light blush appearing on her face. I'm not the same anymore. I don't have Shadow's personality anymore...I've acted like this so long it's become my real personality. Eclipse thought absently. "Clowy...it sounds fine to me. What do you guys think?" Charmy asked. "It won't be recognised as Eclipse, that's for sure." Vector agreed. "...It's nice." Espio said after a moment. "Clowy it is then." 'Clowy' said, smiling happily (I will be calling Eclipse Clowy from now on until she goes back to the Sonic Heroes and she'll also be Clowy whenever she's around the Chaotix. P.S. Sorry for the cruddy name, but it's 7:30 in the morning and I haven't gone to sleep yet, so give me a break -.-). "Anyway, it's getting late. So I'm going to go to sleep. See you guys in the morning." Clowy said, yawning, before walking up the stairs to her room.
Could it be that our dear Espio is falling for Clowy AKA Eclipse? Well, yes actually, he is. But I'm still not sure who I'm going to have Eclipse go with, so as of now I'm just going with the flow. Anyways, I'm going to go to sleep now. Goodnight everyone. -lies down on soft bed- P.S. Please review! And tell me who you think Eclipse should end up with for that matter, since I still have no idea. With your guys' help I'll be able to pick who she'll go out with sooner. And if there is a close second then I'll make a version of this story with her going with that person as well. Kk, night night everyone. -falls asleep-