Total Eclipse Saga Episode 10: Uninvited Guests
A few days ago…
After the incident at the Black Comet, Eclipse the Darkling has escaped and is now making his way towards the planet. Of course, the Black Arm alien has a strong resentment towards Shadow and Eve after the fight.
"Shadow… Eve… You ruined EVERYTHING!" Eclipse says, angrily.
Eclipse continues flying the space shuttle down, and the monitor shows it coming down towards Mobius. The monitor zooms in to see a place to land, Angel Island. However, the Pod reveals that it's starting to fail and going to crash.
Eclipse says with worried eyes, "...Oh, please let those be soft mountains…"
Eclipse's pod continues falling down from the sky and crashes onto Red Mountain, a very hard crash.
Time has passed, and in the pod reveals that Eclipse has lost consciousness and is able to get out. Eclipse wakes up with a grunt and groan, feeling pain in his head.
He rubs his head and mumbles, "Urgh… how long was I out?"
Eclipse struggles to get up and walk inside the next room. However, to his shock and dismay, the eggs containing the Dark Arms are shattered and broken.
"No… NO!" Eclipse says, devastated, "Th-They didn't survive the-!"
However, he is interrupted by strange squeaks and cries. He soon turns to see something that cause him to smile.
"W-Wait… you're alive! Some of you made it!" Eclipse says in relief.
Eclipse kneels down as the little creatures come out of the shadows and make their way towards him. From the looks of it, four of them are able to survive the crash.
Eclipse gives them a reassuring smile, "'Don't be afraid! Come here, my little ones! I'll protect you! Feed you! Train you!" and give them attention.
He then grits his teeth with resentment, "Together, we'll have our revenge on this world… my Dark Arms!"
A few days later, Team Dark and Team Treasure arrived on Angel Island at the old launch base. The two teams step out, though Omega is having trouble getting out of the shuttle.
Rouge sighs, "I love this island. I think I'll retire here when I'm old. Or filthy rich. Whichever comes off first."
Fiona chuckles, "You retire? That will be the day.
"Yeah. You'd go stir-crazy with nothing to steal," Eve says.
Shadow smirks, "True that.
Rouge responds, "HA! I'd be offended, if it weren't true."
Finally, Omega comes out through the back entrance.
Omega complains, "wretched insufficient size door…" He then releases, "Developing tele-pods."
Soon, coming out of a small GUN tele-pod with a red screen, it reveals two human beings, or Overlanders.
One of them is a man named Julian Sanders with peach skin, blue eyes, and long beak-like nose, and a reddish-brown beard, and wearing a red eyepiece, and a white lab coat over a green shirt.
Same with the female standing nearby him, named Amber, his assistant and wife. She has dark green hair in a bun, pale skin, gold eyes, and wears glasses. She too is wearing a white lab coat over a red shirt with a turtleneck.
Dr. Julian says, "Hello…? * Testing, testing, one, two, three . . . Is this thing on?"
His assistant, Amber says, "Yes dear, it's on."
Shadow then says, You're both coming through fine, Doctor, Mrs. Sanders We've arrived on Angel Island.
"Excellent!" Sr. Julian says, "Telemetry from the ARK's sensors show the alien craft should have landed somewhere on this island. The first order of business should be securing the Master Emerald. We must keep it out of the wrong hands."
But Shadow says, "No. First we find Eclipse. Then we end Eclipse."
"Yes, we'll. For safety's sake we ought to -" Dr. Julian says.
Eve then gets between them and says, "No. We're not going that way. If you wish for it to happen, you'll have to talk to Knuckles about it."
Rouge then says, "Eve's right. We're going to need to bring in Knuckles. He's lived here his whole life, knows the island inside and out, and he fancies himself it's noble protector for some reason. It's going to make our mission much smoother having him on our side.
Shadow scoffs, "Hmph. I don't need his permission to do what needs to be done."
Team Dark! I insist that we at least consider - !" Dr. Julian insists.
Then Rouge says, "You and your wife are only here to obverse, little man. Play nice and we might secure a big hunk of alien tech for you to play with."
"I . . . You . . . Mrgrgrgr!" Dr. Julian says, irritated.
Amber calmly says, "Now honey, remember to remain calm."
Dr. Julian sighs and says, "Yes dear," and the two snuggle each other.
Nic rolls her eyes, "Alright you love birds, we have a job to do."
"Of course," Amber says.
And with that, Team Dark and Team Treasure move forward.
"Now follow me, everyone," Rouge says, "We've got a lot of land to cover. It's a big island… and Knuckles and his girlfriend are likely on the other side of it…"
"That's true," Fiona says.
The gang continues racing their way across the island. They go over hills, over the sand, and other places across the island. Without the old Echidnaopolis, a lot of flora and fauna take over. And soon enough, they reach where the Master Emerald is.
"Almost there. Remember, let me do the talking," Rouge says.
"Yeah… no…" Fiona says, "I think it's a good idea to let Eve talk to Knuckles. You'll just get on Knuckles' nerves."
"Oh look at you, having a little faith in me," Rouge responds.
"Alright guys, let's just head over before anything else happens," Eve says.
At the Master Emerald Shrine, Knuckles is watching over the Master Emerald as usual. However, he's been deep in thought about what happened at Pumpkin Hill and how Relic and Fixit found unnatural plants at Mushroom Hill. Julie-Su watches Yacker and Jade playing together.
Knuckles says in thought, "I just can't stop thinking about what happened. Two small aliens found in the mines at Mushroom Hill. Of course, it's a good thing they have the Emerald and it's being kept safe. And now Relic and Fixit explaining about those strange plants," and then brings out the piece of alien plant, "This strange plant was popping up while Su and I were gone, and I don't know about it. But… I can't help that I've seen it before…"
Relic calls out, "Hullo, Knuckles! Julie-Su!"
Knuckles and Julie-Su look to see Relic walking over.
"Oh! Hey, Relic," Knuckles says.
"Hey, Fixit!" Julie-Su says.
They both walk down the stairs to greet them as Yacker and Jade fly over to greet them.
Relic asks, "How are our two little alien friends doing?"
"Fine. Being on the island really made them feel comfortable," Knuckles says.
"Did you find any more of those dead patches?" Julie-Su asks.
"I'm afraid so," Relic answers, "Complete with alien looking stalks," Then turns to Fixit, "Fixit? The samples, if you please?" And claps her hands, "Chop-chop!"
Fixit salute, "At once, Madam!"
Fixit then takes out the piece of plant from his compartment and gives it to Relic. Relic and Knuckles compare the two pieces of plant, and they both are identical.
Seeing it, Relic says, "I took these samples for comparison. Unfortunately, this is not my area of study. Aside from being ghastly, I haven't the foggiest idea what it is."
"I've lived here all my life. It's foreign, I can tell, and it's not welcome on the island," Knuckles says.
"If that's a thinly veiled suggestion to pack my things, I'll be off as soon as possible," Relic says.
But Knuckles says, "What are you . . . ? Oh, no! I didn't mean . . . You're not . . . You are, but . . ."
Knuckles calms himself and says, "Listen. I appreciate you looking after the island while Su and I were gone, and searching for these plant things. You're welcome to stay here as long as you want.
"Jolly good, then," Relic says with a smile. She then says, "I just started to dig in the Marble Garden! I could build a career researching any one of the Island's regions, but it seemed the most promising site, and if you sent me away now, I'd simply - !"
"Um… Madam?" Fixit speaks out.
Realizing her babbling, Relic says, "Ahem! Sorry. Back to business. What are we to do about the enclosing flora?"
"We don't know, It seems like it's growing in random spots," Julie-Su says.
Then Knuckles says, "Yeah, what's more, they seem to be very familiar to me, but I can't put my figure on it. If we could just find out what's causing it to -
Suddenly, they hear a familiar voice, "Yoo-hoo!"
The gang turns to see Team Treasure and Team Dark coming towards them, along with the tele-pod.
In her thoughts, Julie-Su responds, "Oh no…" Mainly because of Rouge.
"I'm from out of town. Is there a big strong echidna around who can show me the sights?" Rouge responds.
"Who in the world - ?" Relic responds confused.
Knuckles quickly glides and runs up to them, "Nope," He then lands in front of them and says, "Get lost, Rouge."
"Aw, don't you want to know why I'm here?" Rouge says.
"I know why, and we don't have time for you grabbing my Emerald!" Knuckles says, angrily.
"So do us all a favor and scram!" Julie-Su says, angrily.
"Well well, it's good to see you, too. Pinky," Rouge says.
This makes Julie-Su grit her teeth in anger.
Eve walks over, "Rouge, knock it off. We don't need Knuckles throwing us off the island."
Seeing Eve is reassuring to them.
"Hey Eve, I didn't expect you and your team here," Knuckles says.
"How have you been?" Julie-Su asks.
"We've been doing fine," Eve says.
"Great to see y'all again," Nic says.
"Great to see you too," Julie-Su says.
"Yeah. How are things going on the island?" Fiona asks.
"Oh the same," Julie-Su says.
Relic asks, "Knuckles? Julie-Su? Who are these people?"
"Oh right," Knuckles says, "Relic, Fixit, these are my friends from New Mobotropolis, Team Treasure. There's Eve the Hedgehog, Nic the Weasel, and Fiona Fox. And of course, Jazz the chaos."
"Chao," Jazz says.
"And this is Team Dark: The other black hedgehog is Eve's brother, Shadow. There is Rouge the Bat, and the robot is Omega," Knuckles says, "They're also agents from GUN, the Guardian Units of Nations.
Then says, "Guys, this is Relic, She's an archaeologist, and her assistant, Fixit."
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you all," Relic says.
"A pleasure to meet your acquaintance," Fixit says.
Then Knuckles says, "By the way Eve, I've met a couple of friends of yours and brought them here."
"Friends?" Eve questions.
Just then, Yacker and Jade appear behind Knuckles.
Eve is surprised and smiles, "Yacker?! Jade?!"
The two wisps rush to Eve and the hedgehog gives them a hug. The two express their happiness to see their friend again. Jade is also happy and joins in on the hug, which Yacker and Jade are happy to give.
"I can't believe it. It's great to see you two again," Eve says, "What are you both doing here?"
Yacker and Jade panics and tries to explain to Eve in a panic.
"Calm down, you two," Eve says, trying to calm them.
"We found them in the mine at Pumpkin Hill, and they found one of the Chaos Emeralds. We don't know how they got there," Knuckles says.
"So we end up with two alien invasions instead of one," Fiona says.
"What do you mean?" Julie-Su asks.
"The Black Arms are back," Nic says.
"What?!" Julie-Su says, shocked.
"We destroyed all but one of them," Shadow says.
"Sounds like sloppy work to me," Knuckles responds.
"Shut up," Shadow says, irritated, "We believe that one managed to escape to the island."
"Sorry, but did you say the Black Arms!?" Relic asks, confused, "Those . . . Awful invaders? Here!?"
"Do you know something, Relic?" Eve asks.
Relic turns to Fixit, "Fixit, be a dear and -"
But Fixit is already on it and opens his metal backpack.
"Thank you!" Relic says, and takes out the plant.
Then shows it to the group, "We've been finding strange plants all over the island. Does this look familiar to you?"
And hands it to Shadow.
"This is a clipping from a red fruit tree. These are cultivated only by the Black Arms," Shadow says, and crushes it in his fist, "Eclipse is here."
Julie-Su and Knuckles soon realize something.
"The meteor we saw," Julie-Su says, shocked.
"Meteor?" Fiona questions.
"Yeah. Julie-su and I saw it fall out of the sky during the day a few days ago," Knuckles says.
He begins to get frustrated, "I shouldn't have left if I knew this was going to happen, and now I remember those stupid plants. We ran into them before, when the Black Arms last came here," then held out another piece of the planet, "And now he managed to get to Angel island and planted these things all over."
"It's okay, Knuckles. We'll find a way to get rid of this alien before he causes any more trouble," Eve says.
Then Rouge places her hand on Knuckles' shoulder, "Knux, we need you on this. We don't know where he is, and you're the only one who can guide us."
"Ahem!" Knuckles says, "Yeah, well, no flesh-eating alien is welcome here. I guess I can let you guys tag along."
"Not with me you're not," Julie-Su says.
Then Knuckles says to Rouge, "And you're still not getting within thirty feet of my emerald."
"Whatever you say. You're the boss," Rouge says, shrugging her shoulders.
Knuckles then says, "Relic, you stay here and watch things here. If the alien shows up, you . . . Um . . ."
"I'll call you back," Relic says. Then turns to Fixit, "Fixit, can you link up with that large fellow so we can keep in touch?"
"Y-Yes, madam," Fixit salutes.
Then floats to Omega, "Um… hello."
Omega looks down and says, "Greetings, Tiny Inferior Model. What weapons do you possess?"
"Oh, none, sir. I fix things," Fixit says.
"After you destroy them?" Omega questions.
"N-No, just… fix," Fixit says.
The two robots simply stare at each other.
Soon. Dr. Julian says, "This is ridiculous! You can't leave the Master Emerald so poorly guarded while Eclipse is on the loose!"
"You're right!" Rouge says. Then says, "Omega and I will go with Knuckles, Nic and Pinky. Shadow will stay here with Eve, Fiona, and Jazz and help watch my - the - Master Emerald."
"Will you stop calling me that?" Julie-Su asks, annoyed.
Knuckles and Shadow shout, "NO!
Then look at each other with confused looks.
Shadow then says to Rouge, "Eclipse is mine.
"Eclipse is everyone's problem. The Master Emerald holds this island up and is the only thing that can trump the Chaos Emeralds. It needs to be guarded!" Rogue says.
"Eclipse nearly tore Omega apart!" Shadow says.
"The reverse is also true," Omega says.
"Not to mention having my friends and the Spider Troupe trapped in cocoons and almost eaten," Eve says.
"Not to mention brainwashing Shadow, and knocking Eve out," Nic adds.
"You need me if you're going to overwhelm him!" Shadow says.
"Fine. You come with us and maybe find Eclipse, or he slips past us, gets the Emerald, and kills what's-her-name," Rouge says, gesturing to Relic.
"It's 'Relic' actually. But thank you for the thought," Relic says.
Then Rouge turns to Shadow, "Which is important? Finishing Eclipse yourself, or protecting the people he's out to destroy?"
And with that, Shadow gives in, "Fine. I'll watch it."
"I'll help!" Dr. Julian says, through the pod.
"We both will, honey," Amber says,
"Of course, dear," Dr. Julian says.
"Well, hurrah," Relic responds.
"Shadow! Do not touch it! Fixit, I want reports every five minutes and - !" Knuckles says.
"The faster we find Eclipse, the faster we leave you alone. Lead on, handsome," Knuckles says.
Julie-Su glares at her and Rouge winks and sticks her tongue out in response. It makes Julie-Su even madder.
Meanwhile, back on Red Mountain, Eclipse is in his shuttle, feeding his little Dark Arms.
Eclipse sits on the floor as he pulls the fruits in half as he calls out, "That's right, kiddies! Feeding Time!"
Soon, the four Dark Arms eagerly rush over in excitement.
The first one to approach is a Dark Arm that has a cube-shaped body and a cyan-glowing mouth with serrated teeth. It has three blue eyes with thin pupils on the frontal vertical sides of its body, black skin and four small tentacles for legs.
But Eclipse calmly says, "Chew it this time, Blurk."
The Dark Arm, Blurk stops from taking a wide chomp and begins to take small fights.
Then Eclipse hears squabbling and turns to see two more Dark Arms fighting one another. Clearly fighting over which to grab the fruit first.
The first Dark Arm has a body shape reminiscent of a lightning bolt and an eel. It has black skin, two cyan-glowing eyes with thin pupils, a cyan-gloving mouth with serrated teeth, and a single dorsal fin on the top of its head and its jaw.
The second Dark Arm is black with three crimson eyes and a red-glowing mouth. Its appearance is reminiscent of a shrunken-eagle.
Eclipse gives them a scolding, "Cergal! Cyder! Knock it off! There's plenty to go around!"
And lastly, one more Dark Arm hops onto Eclipse's lap, making him give a gentle smile. This Dark Arm is small that resembles an eighth note with two thin feet on its bottom. It has black skin, a single magenta eye with a thin pupil, and a magenta-glowing mouth. Unlike the others, this little Dark Arm is more sweet and well behaved.
Eclipse rubs it and says, "You're the good one, Rhygenta. I don't think you can do anything, but you're well-behaved at least."
The Dark Arm, Rhygental lets out a squeal in response.
Soon, Eclipse and the Dark Arm have their meals.
As he eats the fruits, Eclipse says in thought, "I need some sort of plan. The fruit is enough to live on, but none of us is getting any stronger from it. I've felt an incredible energy source nearby, but all my time is spent growing, harvesting, and nurturing," He then wipes the juice from his mouth, "We need REAL POWER If we're going to wage war on this planet.
Once he finishes his meal, Eclipse climbs up to the opening.
Before leaving, He turns to the Dark Arms, "I'm going to scout the island, little ones. Do NOT leave the shuttle."
The Dark Arms respond with sounds and nods, knowing that they need to stay put.
With that, Eclipse climbs out of the shuttle and begins to scout the area.
Eclipse says to himself in thought, "I can't be too long. The island seems mostly uninhabited but I…"
But an unfamiliar voice catches his attention, ". . . Is called 'Eclipse'?"
Followed by a familiar voice, Rouge's voice, "Yeah. Looks like Shadow, and Eve."
"If you squint hard enough," Another familiar voice, Nic's voice replies.
This has Eclipse concerned and looks down to see Rouge along with Knuckles, Julie-Su.
"I . . . Guess that makes sense?" Julie-Su says, "Considering they're part of the same race."
"Is this the optimum search location?" Omega asks.
"If a spaceship was going to crash somewhere unnoticed, the mountains would be my first guess," Knuckles says.
Back above, Eclipse realizes the danger he and his Dark Arms are in.
Eclipse says in thought, "Shadow and Eve's minions! And some red… and pink… things. If they find my Dark Arms now…"
He suddenly hears Knuckles says, "Hurry up! I want Shadow away from the Master Emerald as soon as possible!"
"Easy, hon. I'm sure everything will be okay," Julie-Su says.
"Oh don't worry, Eve will be sure to keep the Master Emerald safe," Nic says.
Eclipse evilly smirks in response, "Shadow and Eve are here! And there's a 'Master Emerald'? If I'm quick, I could turn this entire situation around… and start piling up the bodies!"
Back at the Master Emerald Shrine, Shadow, Eve, and the others are waiting for the others to come back. Jazz is playing with Yacker and Jade as Shadow, Eve, Fiona, and the others watch the emerald.
"So . . . I've heard of you. You and Shadow saved the world from those aliens?" Relic asks
"Yes," Shadow says.
"Capital job on that," Relic says.
She then asks in excitement, "You're both part alien yourself?"
"Regretfully, yes," Eve says.
"So . . . I don't suppose you know anything about their agriculture? Their architecture? Their history?"
"The Black Arms were monsters. Nothing good came of them," Shadow says, irritated.
"Present company excluded of course, right? That's too bad. Good or not. I would've to study an alien civilization!"
"You wouldn't say that if you knew the trouble they caused," Fiona says.
"Yeah. Besides, we barely got much out of their leader when we interacted with them," Eve says.
"Really?" Relic asks.
Shadow turns to them, "Look, let's forget about your fascination for…" but suddenly flinches.
"What?" Relic replies confused.
He sees Relic's face is replaced with a frightening bug-like face.
"If I knew what?" Relic replies, confused.
Shadow begins to get nervous.
"Are you feeling alright?" Relic asks.
Fiona, Yacker, Jade, and Jazz look confused, but they too are replaced by Black Arms aliens.
Then Dr. Julian asks, "Shadow! What's going on?"
Shadow turns to see Dr. Julian is replaced by Black Death, and Amber is released by his Death's Eye
"You act like you've seen a ghost!" Dr. Julian says.
Shadow clinches his head and feels uneasy, "No! Black Death is dead! The Black Arms are gone! Why am I seeing - !?"
But suddenly he feels someone touching his shoulder and Eve's voice.
"Shadow?" Eve's voice asks.
Shadow turns his head and is shocked to turn around, but begins to calm down. Turns out, Eve has been replaced by Eclipse, but sees the concern in his eyes.
"Are you okay?" Eve's voice speaks out.
Soon, the illusion Shadow has changed back to Eve's appearance.
"I'm… I'm fine… I'll be okay…" Shadow says.
"Are you sure? You're shaking?" Eve asks, worried.
"I'll be alright, but why am I…" Shadow asks.
And soon the realization hits him.
Suddenly, Shadow shouts, " Enough of your mind games!? No one is in our way! FACE ME!"
Suddenly, "Since you insist - !"
Everyone turns around to see Eclipse jump out from behind the Emerald. It's clear that Shadow, Eve, and the others find themselves in trouble now with Eclipse there, ambushing them.