Total Eclipse Saga Episode 3: A Shadow in the Dark
Things have become a disaster, Team Treasure along with the rest of Team Dark and G.U.N Spider Troupe have been trapped in a room and are being sprayed with neutralizing gas. And Shadow is being confronted by a Black Arm Alien called Eclipse the Darkling.
Black Death says triumphantly, "Everything is proceeding better than I had dared hope! The mobians, 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 let out a laugh.
He then says, "And the traitor, Shadow, is already at the mercy of my champion. Eclipse will enact our revenge, and then nothing will stop us from harvesting our life on this planet," and maniacally laughs.
In the room, G.U.N puts on their helmets and breathing masks. Unaware that the Death's Eye is spying on them.
Andrews says, "Helmets up! Rebreathers on! We've got too much to do before dyin' today, people."
Leon, Andrews and some of the other Spider Troup help Rouge and Team Treasure put on their special masks to keep them from getting paralyzed.
Rouge says, "I told that idiot we should've had these on from the start!"
"But then the aliens wouldn't have wasted their time trying to gas us. Now we've got some time while they figure out a new plan," Andrews says.
"Typical 'military intelligence.'" Rouge says.
Then taps on Omega, "How're you doing tin man?"
"I do not possess the me sacks you call 'lungs' and so I do not suffer limitations like 'breathing' or the impairment of such," Omega says.
"You know, Omega, I'm 'fine' would have worked too," Eve points out.
"No kidding," Nic replies.
Meanwhile, Black Death is monitoring the fight that is taking place in the room.
He sighs, and says, "None of the other races we consumed were this much trouble," Then commands, "Black Annelids, destroy the invaders. Death's Eye, stay with them. I'm going to personally ensure Eclipse gets the job done. I fear he's still fixated on 'converting' Shadow."
Still in the chamber, Shadow sees the Black Arm Alien, Eclipse approaching him.
And with that, Shadow confronts him, " "I take it you're the new Hive-mind commanding the Black Arms?"
"Me? No nothing so lofty, but they do listen to me," Eclipse answers.
Shadow glares at Eclipse and says, "Then listen to me. All of you get out of my way and spare yourself the beating."
"Ah, and save us for that bomb of yours? You'll understand if I'm not inclined to help you out," Eclipse says in remarks.
"Then it looks like we'll do this the hard way. Chaos…" Shadow says, making the energy appear from his fist.
But his power cancels out, "Control?"
Shadow is shocked and wonders, "What? Why isn't it working?"
Eclipse then grabs Shadow by his wrist in anger, "You're in my world now! You live-and-DIE by MY rule!"
Back to the trapped room, Eve tries to spin dash the door, but it won't budge. Nic and Leon try to blast the door, but nothing. Even Rouge's Screwkick doesn't work. So far, the door isn't even denting. Fiona and Jazz even perform kicks on their own.
"That door is sealed tight!" Eve says.
In the Giga Trooper, Molly says, "Let me try," and uses the blaster in the machine, and tries to use force, but the doors won't open.
Molly says, "It's no use, sir. That doorway is sealed tight."
Omega raises his claw, "I can blow open a new door."
"And open us up to whatever the neck is out there? No thanks. What we're going to do is-" Andrews says.
But then, large worm-like creatures with sharp mouths appear letting mighty roars and are ready to attack.
Rouge flies as she says, "Run-and-Gun! Don't let them target you! They're living missile Launchers!"
This has Nic, Leon, and the Spider Troupe firing at the enemy as Eve spin dashes at them. Rouge and Fiona dodge the attack.
"Giga Trooper! Secure the Nuke! " Andrew says.
"Yes sir!" Molly says, and secures the Nuke to take with them.
"Spider Troupe! Form up on me!" Andrews says, firing at the monster.
Then turns to Omega, "Omega! Change in plans! Make us a door!"
"With Gusto!" Omega says, having his hands together.
Omega then uses his blaster to fire at the wall and destroy it to make an opening for everyone.
Everyone hurries out as they fire at the black Arm Aliens.
"There are islands of land three stories down," Omega says.
"In we go, Spider Troupe! Controlled bursts with your rocket packs-save your fuel!" Andrews says.
However, Eve says, ""Hold on! 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," Andrews sternly says.
Rouge angrily says, "He was scouting ahead! He may have been ambushed as well!"
"Well then Shadow can use his teleporting and creepy mind link to find us! We mortals are leaving this death trap!"Andrews says.
With that, the Spider Troupe begin to take their leave.
"But…" Eve says, worried.
Eve and Rouge look to see the Gel Shadow used to transport to another room.
"Don't worry about Shadow. He is almost as strong as me. He will be fine," Omega says.
"Yeah-yeah-yeah. Down we go," Rouge says.
Eve, along with the rest of Team Dark and Spider Troupe make their way down, unaware that Death's Eye is following them. They all reach the three small islands Omega has mentioned. Now they need to figure out which way for them to go.
Once they reached the ground floor, one of the soldiers asks Andrews, "Which way now, sir?
"Pull up the mission map," Andrews says, "We'll push for the interior, lay down the bomb and-"
But then the soldier says, "Sir, I think our coordinates are no longer accurate. Navigation sensors seem to have been scrambled."
Fiona, Nic, and Leon turn to notice Eve having her fingers on her head and has her eyes closed, almost like she is concentrating.
"Did you get something, Eve?" Nic asks.
"I believe so," Eve says.
"Just be careful, the Hivemind is pretty strong," Rouge says.
"Guess it's a good thing Shadow had her stay here. I figure she would fight about splitting up," Leona says.
"Probably because Shadow raises a good point," Andrews says, "If anything were to have happened with him, Eve could be our guide. After all, she's part of their race as well."
Eve takes a deep breath and calms herself as she opens her eyes.
"Seems that we need to go this way," Eve says, and points forward.
"I believe Eve speaks the truth," Omega says, "I detect sounds of falling liquid this way another vertical shaft suggests access to deeper into the comet.
"That's good enough for me," Rouge says, "You take the point," Then turns to Eve, "Eve, try to see if you can get more information to where the center is."
"I'll do my best," Eve says.
Then looks back, "But… I'm worried about Shadow. What if something happened to him?"
"I'm worried about this too, but our best chance is to continue forward," Rouge says.
"Hate to say it, but Rogue is right," Fiona says, "Shadow can handle himself, but we know how the Black Arms are considering our last encounter."
"Yup. Those Black Arms are nasty," Nic says.
Rouge says, "For now, we just need to keep moving forward, and we'll just have to look for Shadow along the way."
And with that, Team Treasure, Team Dark, and the rest of the Spider Troupe continue forward and try to make their way to the center of the comet. However, Eve can't help but worry about Shadow and hope that he's okay.
Meanwhile, Shadow continues to fight with Eclipse. Since Shadow can't use his Chaos Control, he has to rely on his physical strength. Shadow slams his foot at Eclipse, but the alien blocks it.
"How are you blocking my Chaos Control?" Shadow demands.
Eclipse jumps back before Shadow can strike a second time.
"We are one blood you and I. Chaos Control is just part of who we are," Eclipse confirms.
Shadow then slams another kick, "That's impossible!"
But Eclipse blocks the attack, "Oh, we're very connected…"
The alien dodges the next attack and speeds past Shadow.
Eclipse then clutches his head, "Let me show you."
He then sends some strange energy to Shadow's head. Shadow screams in shock as his eyes turn green. Eclipse uses some strange power to reach into Shadow's mind.
Deep in the black and hedgehog's mind, Shadow holds his head in pain. Soon, he sees a vision of his past. The vision shows him the time when Shadow and Eve turn into their super form to take out Black Doom's true form.
Suddenly, Eclipse's voice speaks up in Shadow's mind, "You remember this fight? When you destroyed Black Doom, you took down every Black Arm under his command."
Suddenly, an image of Black Death appears and clutches his head and chest in pain. The Black Arms turn to see their leader in pain.
"But Black Doom had left a lesser-mind behind elsewhere to finish another conquest. The last of the Black Arms endured under Black Death," Eclipse says.
Another image appears to show Black Death holding one of the spawns and petting it to give it comfort.
"The link to our hive-mind is limitless! Through the Master, Black Death knew of Gerald Robotnik's betrayal. He knew about you. Along with the Second Ultimate Lifeform he created. He knew about your sister's existence, the second Ultimate Life Form that's been created," Eclipse says.
The next image shows Black Death standing in front of some kind of large gray and red object that resembles a giant red egg. It is connected with red cords or vines. One of the Black Arms pulls out, and Eclipse comes out of it.
"If the full might of the Main Black Arms strain couldn't stop you. What chance did he have? So Black Death made his countermeasure to you, the 'Ultimate Lifeform.' He made me," Eclipse adds.
After that, it shows Black Death commanding the Black Warriors and Black Volts.
"Like Black Doom before him, Black Death commands the hive mind. All of the Black Arms here are in extension of his will," Eclipse adds.
After that, it shows the image that Eclipse is not with Black Death and the group.
"Except for me. I am free to act on my own accord. Free to think and fight you on my own terms. The Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Problem," Eclipse adds.
Eclipse then says to Shadow, "Of course, 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 be so much stronger with both of us working together, along with our sister. Three children of darkness! Brothers in arms! Worlds will fall to us and the Black Arms will live forever!"
Shadow struggles as he has both hands on his head, trying to fight it. Not wanting to do anything with them. Shadow uses his Chaos Energy to make a powerful aura to break the connection.
Shadow uses his power to try and break out of Eclipse hold, "RRRGH! He then says, "I destroy you once, I can do it again."
But Eclipse tries to engulf Shadow in his claw, "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!"
Shadow flies off refusing to listen.
"My world is the world below! I made a promise to protect that world. You and the Black Arms will see it destroyed! My path is clear!" Shadow says.
Out of his mind, Shadow begins to try to break the mind link, Eclipse refuses to let Shadow go and tries to press harder. Black Death arrives sometime ago to see Shadow attempts to resist.
Eclipse continues to struggle and says, "Losing control… little help here."
In Shadow's mind, Shadow tries to fly away from Eclipse, but looks forward to seeing Death's Eye appearing.
Black Death's voice bellows, "There is no escape from Death Eye!"
Shadow continues to have his eyes shut as he clutches his head and tries to stand on his feet. Now that two Black Arms are invading his head. Suddenly, memories of Maria, Eve, Sonic, and his team.
Eclipse says, "Promises were made to be broken. There is nothing in that world for an immortal like you. One day the friends and rivals you have now will be nothing. They'll all be long gone."
Images of Black Doom seeing Shadow in the capsule, Sonic fighting with Shadow, and one of his battles with Robotnik.
Black Death says, "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."
Shadow clutches his head harder and feels the link is getting to him.
Finally, Shadow is able to break the connection as he screams, "Get out of my head!"
Eclipse steps back as Black Death sees the mind link isn't working. Shadow feels dizzy from both Black Arms trying to connect to his head.
Black Death crosses his arm with a stern expression, "You had your chance, Eclipse! This is pointless! End him!"
But Eclipse quickly says, "No wait! We almost got through to him! You said that he be useful to us! One more push and I'm sure-"
"YOU!" Shadow angrily shouts and quickly approaches Eclipse.
Before Eclipse can do anything, Shadow grabs Eclipse by the neck and attempts to choke him. Eclipse grabs his arms to stop him.
Shadow angrily says, "Meant… destroy me… I'll destroy you first…"
"Destroying you… would have been… the easier… option… I didn't…" Eclipse speaks as he's being suffocated.
"Last chance Eclipse. We turn him now or never," Black Death says, not pleased with the idea.
He then grabs Shadow on the back of his head and uses his powers on Shadow.
Black Death says, "You are of my blood! You are mine to command! Remember your true purpose!"
The pressure of the mind link makes Shadow let go of Eclipse and he falls on his knees to the ground. Eclipse ghastly coughs as he tries to breathe.
Shadow holds his head as he says, "I… I am… Sh-Shadow the Hedgehog…"
Shadow opens his eyes that turn hazy.
He says in a monotone voice, "...Vengard of the Black Arm Invasion. I am to bring you the Chaos Emeralds and ensure swift harvest on the world below."
Eclipse smirks and says, "See…. I told you it can be done. Welcome back to the fold, brother."
"Regardless, your purpose was to destroy. This is the second time I've allowed you to so freely pursue your own ambitions. If I have not assisted you now, you would have failed. Do not let this become a mistake," Black Death sternly says, pointing his claw at the smaller alien.
Eclipse brushes it off and says, "The Dark Arms will be our finest soldiers, Master. And Shadow will make us stronger! And we'll be stronger once we have Eve!"
"Just be sure to be careful with that one," Black Death points out, "Through Black Doom, I see that he tried to bend Eve to his will, and she managed to fight back. And from what he discovered, Eve is not someone to take lightly, especially being this 'Freedom Fighter' on this planet."
"Oh don't worry. I'll be sure to deal with her. Once we have them both, our race will be even stronger than ever before. All of this will benefit us in the end, you'll see," Eclipse says.
Black Death uses his third eye to make an image of the humans and Mobians.
"I expected to benefit us now. The invaders are stumbling closer to the core of the comet. If they get much farther, their bomb could destroy us all," Black Death says.
Then commands the Black Arms, "Capture that hedgehog and destroy them all! Bring me their bomb! We will use it to punish the world below, before we harvest what remains!"
Hearing the command, the Black Arms soldiers head off to destroy the humans and Mobians. With Shadow under Black Death's control, he follows Eclipse and the Black Arms to destroy his friends and capture his sister.
Meanwhile, Eve, Team Dark, and the Spider Troupe find themselves in a large area surrounded by strange red goo. They walk on a path to see a fork in the path. Each path leads to a different tunnel.
"Okay, where to next?" Andrews asks.
"Processing. I am no longer detecting any possible audio clues," Omega says.
Leon turns to Eve, "Anything on your end?"
"I'm trying to pinpoint where to go next, but it seems that the Black Arms are having their guard up now," Eve says.
A G.U.N soldier goes by Lodge, says, "This is ridiculous. We've no idea where we're going! Let's just set the Nuke and get out of here!"
"That's a negative, Lodge!" Andrews denies, "Even if the blast killed all the creepy-crawlies, chunks of this rock would rain down on the planet. We're doing this right or we're not doing it at all."
"My my we're in total agreement for once, Andrews," Rouge remarks.
"The world is still recovering from the incident that Dr. Eggman caused. I'm not risking anything else causing more problems when we're still getting everything back to normal," Andrews says.
Nic turns to Rouge, "Any word from Shadow, Rouge?"
"No. Either he's been captured, or he's doing his brooding-solo-thing," Rouge sadly says with her arms crossed.
She then says, bitterly, "Well it better be the former, because if it's the latter, I'm gonna kill him."
"Take a number lady," Andrews mutters.
Then turns to Eve and Omega, "Hey! Eve! 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," Omega answers.
"And I'm trying to not get the Black Arms to notice me linking to their system, but I'm not making much progress," Eve says.
"It's okay, Eve. but try not to strain yourself too much," Fiona says.
"Chao Chao," Jazz says and hugs Eve.
"Thanks guys. I'm really trying my best with this," Eve says.
"Should we split up? Cover more ground?" Lodge asks.
Cooper answers, "Ha! You obviously not watched enough horror movies, Lodge! Might as well paint a target on our backs."
"Cooper's right. We're outnumbered, and nobody at the shuttle can get us at this point. We'll just have to pick a direction and hope for the-" Andrews says.
Suddenly, Omega brings out his guns and raises his arms forward, "Warning! Multiple life signs approaching! All signature mobile-not part of the comet's bio-technology!"
Everyone brings out their guns and weapons. The remains of Team Dark and Team Treasure also prepare to fight back if needed. They soon begin to hear footsteps coming from the right tunnel. Coming out of the darkness is Shadow the Hedgehog.
Rouge lands on the ground with a smile, "Shadow! I was starting to-"
But withdraws herself from telling him how worried she really is.
Then says, "Well, whatever."
Eve then rushes over, "Shadow, I'm so glad to see you. I was so worried. Where did you…?"
But before Eve can finish, Eclipse along with the Black Arms accompany him out of the tunnel. Everyone, especially Eve and Rouge are shocked to see Shadow is the Black Arms like nothing is amiss. They come to realize what has happened.
"Oh no… oh, no, no no…" Rouge says shocked.
"Shadow-if this is a clever ruse, you are to cease immediately," Omega says.
"Omega, I… I don't think this is an act," Eve says, worried.
"Saw this one coming…." Andrews mutters.
Then calls out, "Spider Troupe! Agent Shadow is a liability! Lethal force is authorized to neutralize the hedgehog!" and has his blaster pointing at him.
"Andrews!" Eve cries out, shocked.
Eclipse turns to Shadow, and says, "Pathetic creatures aren't they. Only good for their complex protein chains."
Eve calls out, "Shadow," And gets in front, "Shadow, can you hear me?!"
Rouge calls out, "Shadow! They've tried to get in your head before! Fight them!"
"Probable final warning! Do not make me shoot you!" Omega says.
Eve then gets in front of Omega, "No Omega, let me talk to him. I think I can get through to him."
"The probability of talking is less then fifty percent possible. Shooting seems like the probable action," Omega says.
But Eve is not hearing it, "I'm not letting you hurt him, Omega. No one is going to hurt my brother."
"Then what do you think we do?" Molly asks, through the machine.
"Let me see if I can get through to him," Eve says.
"They give you orders? Threaten to shoot you? And refuse to listen to our 'sister.'" Eclipse says.
Eve ends up hearing it and mutters, "Sister?"
" Aw. Why don't you give them a reasonable response?" Eclipse says to Shadow.
Shadow speeds over as Omega begins shooting at him. Shadow dodges the attack and spin dashes Omega's robotic chest.
"Shadow!" Eve cries out.
Rouge yelps, "Eeep!"
Rouge then pulls Eve away and to where the Team Treasure and Spider Troupe are.
"Eve! Take your team and the rest of Team Dark and go with Spider Troupe and get moving!" Rouge says, "We'll keep Shadow off your backs!"
"Leave us with the alien horde? Thanks for the easy job," Andrews remarks, annoyed.
"But Rouge!" Eve says, worried.
"No time to argue!" Rouge says, not giving in, "You might be able to lead them further down into the comet!"
"Okay," Eve says and taps into the hive mind.
Eve then points to the tunnel on the left, "We need to go this way."
"Then let's hurry!" Leon says.
Eve and the others head down the left tunnel.
Andrews commands the others, "Spider Troupe! Run-and-gun! On the double!"
With that, the Spider Troupe follows Eve and the others down the tunnel on the left with the Nuke.
Eclipse notices the group is splitting up and mutters, "Cowards."
He then notices Eve is leading the group.
He evilly smirks, "There you are."
With that, Eclipse and his Black Arms follow the Spider Troupe, Team Treasure, and the rest of Team Dark.
As he heads off Eclipse calls out, "We'll handle the humans, Shadow. I'll leave those two to you 'brother,' while I go retrieve our sister."
Eclipse and the Black Arms hurry off as Shadow is attacking Rouge and Omega. And it shows that this mission has gone from bad to worse. With Shadow under the Black Arms control and Eclipse going after Eve, is there no hope of stopping the Black Arms from finishing what they started.