#relic tag

[the-era-of-shadow]

The Goth Gamer Girls of All Time

[qsmp-slime]

VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION,,,,, how are you so cool 👉👈

ADFHJBFHJ??? IM NOt sure we just kind of ... exist and be gay and scream abt things we are into LMAO.. tysm tho !!! i could ask u the same question... /lh

[tobeens]

Local robot wakes up from 100 year nap to kick ass and tell you about Jesus

A character for an upcoming campaign!

[the-era-of-shadow]

Phantom of an Unobtainable Fantasy

Written by Ash Rose

Cover by Ash Rose

THIS STORY CONTAINS: Swearing, minor character death, depiction of derealization, massive amounts of angst

Original publish date:

(Amino & AO3) September 9th 2021

Shadow had been overhearing rumors of what had become of them after they left GUN for a while now. Those rumors were always quite off from the truth, but this one in particular offended it quite a bit, and what was worse was that there was "evidence".

 

"What bullshit…" It groaned, holding something in their hand. "As if I'd ever work for the doctor!" 

 

"The doctor?" Shadow heard Relic question from behind them. 

 

"Doctor Ivo Robotnik, often otherwise known as Dr Eggman…" It explained, flattening out the picture in their hand from it's previously crumpled state.

 

The photo showed what appeared to be Shadow alongside Metal Sonic and Chaos, the water deity, standing in front an army of Giant Egg Pawns.

 

"Ah yes! The one trying to take over the world right now, right?" Relic said, taking a close look at the photo. She looked up and saw Shadow nod in response. "Bloody hell… I know he's Gerald’s grandson, but he has no rights to you!" 

 

"You've hit it right on the nail, Relic. I'll never serve the doctor as long as he's in the way of our conquest!" Shadow declared.

 

"Gods, I should have killed that guy back when he destroyed Little Planet!" Black Widow lamented. 

 

"Oh yeah, wasn't that one of the Black Arms colonies before the doctor destroyed it?" Shadow asked, curious.

 

"It sure was! There were so many natural hybrids living there by the time Eggfucker or whoever came around!" Widow said. Shadow couldn't help but snicker at the nickname Widow gave the doctor, but cleared it's throat to speak in response. 

 

"And yet, the only one left doesn't even know she's a hybrid…" Shadow added. "I ought to go in and tell her myself! Though Sonic might try to stop me… I know he knows." 

 

"And start unnecessary drama? Let her come to us when the time is right. I for one have been very thankful that this takeover that doctor is attempting has put the hunt for me on hold, and I'd like for you to not get GUN's attention back on us, Shadow!" Eclipse sneared.

 

"Oh I'm SO sorry for daring to possibly interrupt your precious free time!" Shadow snapped back sarcastically.

 

"Knock it off, both of you!" Relic pouted, which made Shadow feel bad. They hadn't realized how hostile it's tone was, when in all reality they just wanted to playfully tease Eclipse.

 

"Seriously… though, Eclipse does have a point, Shadow. It isn't really that good of an idea to make your new alignment publicly known when it isn't necessary right now to do so… I remember you saying you were on thin ice a lot back at GUN… Only your father would know the things they'd do to you if they found out you've joined us again." Widow said to Shadow.

 

"Yeah… but the longer we let the doctor's plans go on, the bigger of a threat he becomes to us! We have to stop him now!" Shadow argued.

 

"That I can agree on… Just don't do anything stupid." Eclipse said to them.

 

"Oh please! I'd-" 

 

"I'm serious, Shadow. Don't do anything that might cause what's left of us to go down in flames… And don't do anything that'll end up with you being out of commission either, we need everyone to be able to do their part more than ever before. Taking down this opposing empire is essential for us to go forward, but you need to make sure we'll be even able to go forward in the first place, we all do. So promise me that you won't do anything stupid." Eclipse said again, much more sternly than they had before, looking Shadow in the eyes, practically begging it to listen to each and every word they spoke, and to remember them in the exact way they said them.

 

"... I understand." Shadow responded, trying to hide the tears welling up in it's eyes before walking off to go find their impersonator.

 

Eclipse tried to chase after Shadow, feeling bad for possibly overwhelming it, but they couldn't keep up, feeling the ripple of the door closing in front of them like a shockwave.

 

"Are you feeling alright, Eclipse?" Widow asked, feeling the heaviness of Eclipse’s aura.

"It's my destiny to save them! My purpose for being!" 

"I'll guide Shadow into leadership, I'll help bring a new order to the Black Arms!"

"You guys are like… my family to me… I d-don't want anything to happen to the few bits of family I have left…" They admitted, their voice breaking slightly.

"I must protect my brethren! Every single one of them!" 

"Don't you see?! Shadow is our brethren too!!"

"Oh.. oh dear…" Widow brought Eclipse into an embrace, trying her best to comfort them, knowing how they feel.

 

"I'll be in my laboratory if you need me…" Eclipse mumbled as they slipped out of the hug. Widow tried to follow them, but Relic stopped her.

 

"It's best to let them have some alone time in moments like this." She told her. 

As Shadow got closer to Dr Robotnik's headquarters, it heard the soft ramblings of someone close by.

 

"Things seem to be going great so far… I have them shaking in their boots from my tricks!" 

 

The voice seemed to be coming from a black and white jackal, who was pacing around the area. 

 

"That must be the one who's been impersonating me!" Shadow thought to themself, already disgusted with this man.

 

"Shadow, Metal Sonic, Chaos even!! I've brought all their greatest adversaries before them! They tremble in fear before me! Truly, I am the best the Robotnik Empire has to offer! Except for the Doctor himself, of course~..." The jackal carried on. "Wait… no, not all… there is one that I'm forgetting!!" 

 

Shadow quietly followed him, keeping a close eye on the jackal, as to not miss the perfect opportunity to take him down.

 

"If I truly want to paralyze Dr Robotnik's enemies with fear, then I should bring them the essence of fear itself, the one they call the lord of nightmares himself, Black Doom!!" 

 

"That's…. The "lord of nightmares" is Dark Gaia, you stupid fucking-" 

 

"Who said that???" The jackal jumped at the sudden voice, unintentionally showing his foe his weakness.

 

"You impersonate me, and then dare to claim ignorance when the mirror you created stares back at you??" Shadow stood before the jackal, who had to be sixteen at the oldest.

 

"Shadow the Hedgehog?? But I thought you went missing after you left GUN!" 

 

"My personal affairs are of no importance to you, Aerthling scum!" Shadow hissed, approaching closer to the terrified young jackal. 

 

"I'm sorry for making people think you were of the Robotnik Empire-! I-It was what Doctor Ivo ordered!" 

 

"As much as I'm offended by your mockery of me, I could see myself letting you go alive… I'm sure that Auntie Chaos would've taken your life instead." Shadow explained, only about an inch from the jackal's face.

 

"So I'm free to go then-?"

 

"But I refuse to let you have such mercy for impersonating the Dark Lord Black Doom." 

 

The jackal's eyes widened, and he hurriedly pulled a phone-like device out of his pocket.

 

"A-agent Infinite here-! I need back up, p-pronto! Call in the Jackal Squad, o-or the Robo-Pawns! Please! Somebody!!" He yelled desperately. Looking up, Infinite saw dozens upon dozens of chaos spears heading towards him, every second felt like a minute, he could see his short life flash before his eyes. "Can anybody hear me??? Mimic?? Starline?? Breezie?? Stone??? Neo??? Doctor Robotnik???? Please!! Somebody help-!!" 

 

But before he could even finish his cries for assistance, the chaos spears pierced Infinite's body, splattering blood all over the surrounding area. His body fell limp on the ground as the spears dissipated. The mockery had been put to an end, but it wasn't enough of a punishment in Shadow’s eyes. Looking down at the body in disdain, they raised it's foot and crushed Infinite's head beneath it.

 

"How pathetic… barely put up a fight!" Shadow scoffed. "Was his "tricks" all he had?" Shadow looked down at the body underneath them, and saw a strange red gem embedded in it's chest. Curious, Shadow got closer and inspected the gemstone. They knew from the look and make that it couldn't have been a Chaos Emerald, besides, they would've felt the energy from it much sooner if it was a Chaos Emerald, so what was it? While it gave some resistance, Shadow eventually managed to pull the gemstone from the jackal's body. "How curious…" 

 

Before Shadow had the time to think further, it felt a wave of Chaos Energy wash over them -- but not just any old Chaos Energy, a very specific type of Chaos Energy. They looked out into the horizon, seeing a figure running towards the scene. Shadow caught a glimpse of the figure's eyes -- the color of chaos itself, shimmering in the faded light masked by the thick clouds of smoke, and instantly knew who it was.

 

"Amy Rose?" 

 

Shadow hadn't seen Amy in about a year's time, and she had changed a good bit since then. The most notable changes being that her quills were quite a bit longer, and she was a few inches taller than she was the last time Shadow had seen her. 

 

“My my, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you, Amy~!” Shadow turned around as it greeted the pink hedgehog. Amy backed away in concern, frightened by the splashes of blood that was still on Shadow’s face and the look of instability in their eyes.

 

“Sh-Shadow..? Is that… Is that you?” Amy asked, her voice trembling with fear.

 

“You must be so surprised, seeing me again after all this time.” Shadow said with a slight chuckle. “I’ve missed you dearly.”

 

“Where… Where have you been??” Amy blurted suddenly. “I mean, I know that you had quit GUN but.. Where did you go after that? We’ve been so worried about you, I’ve been so worried about you! And Rouge won’t tell us anything!” She added, tears quelling in her eyes. Seeing Amy so distressed made Shadow quite upset as well, the two were rather close before Shadow rejoined the Black Arms; they were practically like siblings to each other! 

 

“Oh Amy…” Shadow pulled her into a hug, which made Amy relax a bit. “I’m so sorry for abandoning you… It was for my own safety!”

 

“... That explains then why Rouge has been refusing to tell us where you’ve been..”

 

“Exactly… I could show you where I’ve been though… If you just… follow me?” Shadow asked, looking up at Amy. She could tell that Shadow genuinely wanted to get back on track with her, that they felt bad for leaving her without a single word. But as Shadow said those words to her, Amy could tell that something was terribly wrong. She could feel a horrifically sinister energy creep up around her, calling for her with the same pleading tone that Shadow spoke in.

 

“... Sorry Shadow, but I… I should be heading back to the Freedom Fighters’ base… Knuckles is probably pretty worried about me, ya know?” Amy said, trying her best to formulate an excuse.

 

“Hey, I get that… It’s.. It’s your birthday today, isn’t it?” 

 

“Yeah…” Amy chuckled slightly, her tone a bit pained. “I don’t blame you for just remembering right now… Things have been nothing short of hellish since Sonic was captured by Eggman, so it’s hard to remember little things like that..” Her eyes darted off slightly as she spoke, eventually noticing the jackal corpse that was lying motionless only a few feet away from her and Shadow. Her eyes widened, looking back at Shadow in shock. “You… Did you.. Kill Infinite?” She asked them.

 

“Yes.” Shadow admitted. “I caught wind that he was impersonating me -- making it look like I was working for the Doctor!” It scowled. 

 

“Heh… Yeah, he had everyone pretty convinced… Not me though. I know this sounds weird but I can just… tell when you’re around.” Amy explained. Shadow understood exactly what she meant by that, they wanted to tell her the reason behind such a thing so badly. But they stopped themself, not wanting to frighten the girl, despite how saddened it was by her ignorance.

 

“Heh… weird how that happens sometimes.” Shadow responded.

 

“Anyway.. Thank you so much, Shadow!” Amy said, hugging it tightly. “With Infinite gone, Dr Robotnik’s reign of tyranny is practically over!” Shadow chuckled and agreed, hugging back. “This is… the best birthday gift I could’ve asked for, honestly.” Amy added.

 

“I’m glad.”

 

“I have to tell the others!!” Amy said as she ran off. Shadow tried to catch up with her, but it wasn’t able to, and thus gave up their hopes of recruiting Amy for today.

“My… I’m terribly sorry that things went that way… I only met Amy once while I was still stayin’ with Knuckles, but I can tell you care a whole lot ‘bout her..” Relic said, trying her best to comfort Shadow after they had told her what had happened.

 

“Eh.. It wasn’t all bad… Besides, with the Doctor’s champion gone, I can be certain that it won’t be long before his empire crumbles, and we can take control of Aerth for ourselves!” Shadow declared with pride, unintentionally revealing the gemstone they held in it's hand.

 

“A phantom ruby?!” Relic asked excitedly. Shadow jumped slightly in surprise, but then quickly recuperated themself.

 

“Ah! So that’s what this gemstone is!”

 

“Indeed! While no one really knows where it originated from, we are aware of it’s power!” Relic explained.

 

“Which is?” Shadow asked.

 

“It grants whoever uses it to create illusions of anything they want! Objects, places, people, you name it!” Relic answered.

 

“I see… You said that no one knows where it came from?”

 

“Yep. It just showed up on South Island one day! Many believe though that it came from one of the many dimensions that were destroyed during the-”

 

“Shadow! You’re back-!” Widow interrupted Relic as she came up from the basement, carrying a basket of clothes.

 

“Ooooh!! What cha’ got there Shad??” Garrick excitedly asked as he gawked at the phantom ruby still in his older sibling’s hand. Shadow explained to him what Relic had told them, and was delighted to see Garrick only become more excited as it talked. With wanting to put its past behind them, Shadow wanted their new present self to be seen as someone to look up to, especially by Garrick.

 

“It can make visions of people..?” Widow asked as it came back into the living room.

 

“Indeed! I have to assume that’s how that er… “Infinite” fellow made it look like Shadow was working for Doctor Robotnik!” Relic answered.

 

“I heard him say that he was planning to do what he did to me to dad as well, I knew then and there that I couldn’t let him live.” Shadow added.

 

“I know how you feel, truly, I do. A mere mortal like that jackal doesn’t deserve to act like he is our ally!!” Widow snapped, enraged. “I already hate those who refuse the great words of my Doomie with a burning passion!! But someone who refuses to join us and then uses our image to their own benefit?? ARRRGGHHH WHY DO I NEVER GET TO BE THE ONE WHO PUNISHES THE ONES I HATE THE MOOOOST??!!” Widow whined angrily, gripping her trusty sword tightly in it’s hands and she swayed from side to side, which admittedly made both of her children look at each other awkwardly in embarrassment.

 

“Though... with that being said, I wonder how we could use that power to our benefit?” 

 

“OH! My- Hello Eclipse!” Relic said, frightened a bit by the darkling’s sudden appearance.

 

“Feel free to study it… I could use a rest…” Shadow groaned, tossing the gem to Eclipse before walking off. Garrick then yawned and followed Shadow’s lead.

 

“I assume Eclipse and I will be in the lab if you need us, Widow!” Relic said. Eclipse nodded and made their way to their lab, with Relic following right behind them, leaving Widow all alone.

The next morning, Eclipse had everyone gather in the living room just as the sun was rising. They had a very annoyed look on their face, looking like they were ready for a fight.

 

“Guys, Where is the ruby?” 

 

“When we woke up, the phantom ruby was gone from the lab! Just like that!” Relic explained.

 

“I already checked Relic and the Dark Arms for the ruby, so the rest of you should start talking.” Eclipse sneered.

 

“I didn't do anything to it! I went to bed right after Shad got home, remember?” Garrick spoke earnestly.

 

“And I went to sleep right with him, and neither of us had woken up until you woke us up for this meeting!” Shadow added.

 

“And Queen Widow?” Eclipse asked.

 

“... I do not know where she is.” Shadow answered.

 

“Nonsense!! She shares the largest bedroom with you and Garrick! You must have seen her!”

 

“I think I remember seeing the closet door closed when I woke up…” Garrick admitted.

 

“There-!” Shadow blurted out before going to the bedroom, with the others following close behind. As they all got inside the room, they could hear a voice coming from within the closet, a soft, sweet, but raspy voice that they knew to be Widow’s. Shadow went ahead of the rest, slowly opening the closet door, unveiling little by little the bittersweet scene before it. 

Shadow found themself unable to speak a single word, seeing their mother embracing an illusion of her late beloved. It would’ve been so sweet if only Shadow didn’t carry the knowledge that it was a mere illusion, but there was no way it couldn’t know, for it was the one who killed them, on that dreadful day that felt like it had happened decades ago. The surreal dream-like vision and the guilt it carried manifested into a thick cloud of melancholic dread above Shadow’s head. They could see the phantom ruby grasped tightly in Widow’s hand, and they weren't the only one who did. Shadow withstood a hardy shove to their shoulder, bounding right back to chase down its temporary adversary, pulling them back with a forceful tug at their elongated tail.

 

“Shadow! What do you think you’re doing??” Eclipse snapped as they fell to the ground.

 

“Please… let her have it. At least for now.” Shadow begged, tears starting to form in their eyes.

 

Relic looked over and saw that Garrick was clearly feeling overwhelmed by the situation, which motivated her to speak up.

 

“We haven’t even fully developed our plans for the ruby, Eclipse! We should let Widow hold onto it for now!” She said boldly.

 

“Fine then… Have it that way, let’s see where that gets us.” Eclipse scowled, walking off to their lab without another word. 

 

"I-I.." 

 

"Don't worry about it, Shadow… I'm sure they just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning… I'll talk to them." Relic said, before leaving with Garrick, hoping to comfort the young child. 

 

Shadow however, didn’t leave the room, but instead went inside the closet, looking upon the vision of their father. They could tell that it was quite comforting for Widow, but for whatever reason, it couldn’t feel that same comfort.

 

Shadow soon left the room too, giving its mother a wave before they left.

A week had passed since then, and things were far from better than before.

 

Widow never left the closet in which the others found her, not for food or water, not for anything at all, it completely refused to leave the illusion she had created, which left it up to Shadow and Relic to take care of Garrick.

 

A few times each day, Eclipse would leave from their lab to grab food for themself and their loyal Dark Arms, who had stayed by their side throughout this entire situation. But any time that anyone else tried to talk to them, usually Relic, they merely gave a growl and an unapproving glare in response, making it clear that they still were angry with the others for letting Widow have the ruby, abusing its powers, as they see it.

 

This left the remaining three Black Arms members with a drastically low morale and a constant feeling of immense dread, which was most apparent when looking at the youngest of them, the merely five year old Black Garrick, whose eyes were noticeably reddened from the repeated spouts of crying he endured multiple times a day.

 

Who could blame him? He was incredibly overwhelmed by it all, too young to fully comprehend what was going on, and was missing his mother a lot, constantly wishing that she would come out from her fantasy and fix everything.

 

On this particular morning, Shadow saw that it was about time they put this all to an end. It was hesitant to do so, not wanting to have to go through taking Doom away from Widow once again, but it knew they were the one who had to do it. Garrick was too young to even make an attempt, Relic being a Mobian would surely be a big factor in Widow ignoring her, and Eclipse… they’d be far too harsh with Widow in the state they’re in at the moment, which could cause a permanent rift in the Black Arms that could cause their eternal end. 

 

“Don’t do anything stupid” 

 

Those words echoed in Shadow’s mind like a broken record, they knew that it had to approach this in just the perfect way; not too harsh, but not too forgiving, just the right amount of understanding to get Widow to listen to them, and just enough encouragement to pull her out.

 

It just hoped that it could pull it off.

 

Shadow stepped into the bedroom that once belonged to their entire immediate family, the room that had only been inhabited by their mother for the past week. The closet door was still ajar, opened ever so slightly, just the way Shadow left it when they last were there. It could see through the crack between the door and the door frame; Widow was snuggled up with the illusion of Doom, and an illusion of a woman that Shadow didn’t know. They chose to put aside the confusion the sight brought and walked forward, opening the closet door fully as a single word exited from its mouth.

 

“Mom.”

 

Widow’s head tilted towards Shadow, revealing her glassy eyes to it. The woman looked as if she was in a trance of some sort.

 

“I was wondering when you’d come by…” It spoke to them. “I would’ve thought you’d be overjoyed to see that your father has returned to us…!”

 

She thinks that the illusions are real… That was the piece that Shadow was missing. They realized immediately what its next step should be.

 

“You’re right -- I would be… But that’s not what’s happening here.” They responded softly.

 

“It’s… it’s not..?”

 

“It’s all illusions… Don’t you remember? You’re the one who created them, with that phantom ruby you still hold in your hand…” Shadow uplifted Widow’s hand to her, still gripped tightly to the gem. 

 

“Phantom… Ruby…” 

In that instant, the illusions disappeared, and Widow hugged Shadow close.

 

“Right, of course… How silly of me to forget…” 

 

“No no… I get it… I envy you, in a way.” Shadow said sadly.

 

“Envy me..? Why?” Widow asked.

 

“If I could just get sucked into a self made fantasy like that… If I could just… escape to a different time… A time when Maria was still with me… A time before GUN executed Gerald… A time before… Before I… I…” Shadow fell into Widow’s arms and started sobbing heavily. “I’d do anything to get my family back! I’d do anything to reverse every stupid thing I’ve ever done!! But I can’t! I just can’t!!” They cried out painfully.

 

“Shadow?”

 

Shadow looked up from Widow’s embrace to see Garrick standing at the entrance of the bedroom, with Relic right behind him. 

 

“Garrick!!” Shadow shouted as it ran to their little brother and hugged him tightly. Garrick hugged them back, just wanting it to be happy. Widow transformed into her Mobian disguise and joined the hug.

 

“You’ve lost a chunk of your family… I have too, but we still have some family left that are still here…” Widow said to Shadow “I’m sorry for forgetting about that..” She added.

 

“I forgive you, mom. I know that I’m… the reason behind… all that, but I’m still here for you, whenever you need me. We’re family after all..” Shadow responded.

 

“And I’ll be here for you too, Mommy!” Garrick added.

 

“I know we aren’t family in the same way you, Shadow and Garrick are but… I assure you that you can rely on me, Widow.” Relic added in.

 

“... And me..” 

 

The others turned their direction to the interjection made by that familiar voice. There, right outside their laboratory, stood Eclipse, looking back at them as they held a collection of papers in their hand. 

 

“I'm… t-terribly sorry for my behavior… I've been incredibly immature during this whole week-" 

 

"Eclipse, it's okay that you were immature, it happens to us all-." Widow tried to say to them.

 

"I promise that I’ll do the best I can to be someone you can depend on… for all of you!” They spoke again as they gripped the papers they were holding.

 

"I appreciate that dear… but you should know that you can talk to us anytime you need help with something." Widow continued her attempt to comfort Eclipse.

 

Eclipse paused, looking like they might just break down at any moment. But instead, they spoke once more. "Let us be rid of this phantom ruby. It's done nothing but tear us apart." They then ripped the papers apart, and let them fall to the ground.

 

“What?? But what about-?” Relic began to protest.

 

“Let's be rid of it!" Eclipse blurted out loudly, shouting in frustration as they started to cry.

 

".... I'm sorry, I-" Relic tried to apologize, which made Eclipse run back into their laboratory, but Shadow stopped them from closing it.

 

"Hey, I get wanting to close yourself off from the world, wanting to seem impenetrable… But it's not healthy. We all have emotions, and sometimes they're messy and chaotic and don't quite make sense… but you have to embrace those feelings… I learned as much from you and everyone else when I was first rejoining the Black Arms." They said to Eclipse.

 

"As you said… We're your family. You can tell us anything…" Widow added.

 

Eclipse stood in the doorway, their body shaking slightly.

 

"Thank you… all of you… I'm terribly sorry…." They muttered before going into their laboratory, closing the door behind them.

 

"...I'll wait for when they're ready…" Shadow said quietly. "But they're right about the ruby."

 

“Alright… if you say so.” Relic replied, admitting that the others were right. 

 

A few hours later, when Eclipse was able to attend, all of the Black Arms went outside together, even the Dark Arms, to properly dispose of the phantom ruby once and for all. As a symbol that they would not let it separate them, nor would they ever let anyone else do so either.

 

“As the eldest child of our Dark Lord Black Doom, I declare on this day, that no matter what trails or tribulations we endure, we will not let anything tear us Black Arms apart, that no force will defeat us, whether natural or supernatural. I declare that no matter the number of members the Black Arms have at any given time, we will not disappear, that in some way, some shape or form, the Black Arms will live on for eternity and beyond.” Shadow preached boldly. It looked out into the distance as they spoke, seeing a familiar figure hidden in the clouds, noticing the twinkle of chaos energy. “May the chaos within each and everyone of us prosper and grow… May us Black Arms forever live on… spreading that chaos wherever we go…” They added, watching the figure go by, hoping that the chaos within her will one day spark… and that they’ll see the Black Arms grow with the addition of a new member. A hope, a fantasy perhaps, that it prayed was one that was obtainable.

[the-era-of-shadow]

Carrying Onward

Written by Aikshlin Rose

Cover by Aikshlin Rose

THIS STORY CONTAINS: Swearing, Domestic Abuse (via flashbacks), Depictions of Manipulation, Content that may trigger delusions in certain people

Starlight City was still as busy as it always was, everyone going every which way, minding their own as a familiar face walked through them. A few people with keen eyes and the memories to boot noticed this figure, and asked about what will become of the old clinic.

"I'll find a way. I'll return soon enough." The doctor told each and every one of them, before continuing onward with their journey.

One of the people who stopped to talk had a song from years past playing from their car radio, a song from the already faded out pop-punk band Mobian Knot entitled What The Future Holds. It was a song that they knew well, and held dear to their heart. 

"Ah… Yes, I see you have good taste." 

"Yeah! It was a shame what happened to Mobian Knot… this was the last song they performed before that horrible tragedy… I hope that Mina is found one day… I mean, at this point, she's probably dead like the rest of the band, but it'd be nice closure for her folks…" 

"I suppose so." 

Though the song faded as they parted ways, the forested areas outside the town reminded Eclipse of that fateful night again, with the crowd cheering and all the stage lights.

Only the gods know what song Mina last sang, but Eclipse knew it wasn't that one.

All of the walking and reminiscing took away many minutes from the day, just enough for Yuki to come to in their arms. Eclipse tried to act quickly and transform Yuki back to his true form before he fully became conscious, but they were a bit late on that. Yuki took notice of the small form that he was in, and looked up at Eclipse in slight bewilderment.

"Your form was shifted into a wisp so no one would notice you… Please don't be alarmed." They explained.

"Yes… understood… Why did you not just… teleport to the base, though?" Yuki asked softly as he transformed himself into his true form.

"... This city has been where the clinic stood for two whole years now… it deserves a farewell." 

"Who knows where we'll be next…" Rhygenta muttered out quietly. Yuki rubbed her head and smiled.

"Wherever it is, we will thrive there." He said.

The air was crisp as Eclipse, Yuki and Rhygenta placed their feet onto the floating temple, the sounds of their landing onto the marble flooring creating a noticeable tapping sound. 

"Where's the girl..?" Queen Widow questioned as the three entered her line of sight.

"The mission was a bust… we were unable to get Amy." Eclipse explained.

"Wait… Wouldn't you have known that already from over the hivemind?" Yuki asked, confused.

"Hey… yeah! Good question! Didn't a notice go out??" Reacuel said.

"Perhaps you forgot to do it..?" Leanni suggested.

"Me? Forget? Please, Le; Reacuel is NOT a forgetter!" 

"Would you two stop bickering? There must be another explanation for all of this." Yuki said to his two vessel-mates.

"I… yes… It's very strange indeed…" Widow said, her worry creeping through into her words. 

"What's strange?" 

"Oh! Shadow! You're just the person we needed…!!" Widow perked up.

"Oh..?" 

"The hivemind seems to be… down? Could you ask Doomie about it? He'll know how to fix it…" She requested. Shadow nodded and walked off to discuss the matter, but not before waving at Yuki. Yuki waved back.

"Father… We need your assistance in this time of need…" Shadow called out as they kneeled before one of the energy sources of the temple. 

"What is it you need, Shadow?" Doom responded.

"The hivemind is not working very well… Yuki, Eclipse and Rhygenta went on a mission and returned unsuccessful, but we only found out that they had failed after they said so in person..." 

"Yes… I do believe it's about time to re-establish the link…" 

"Re-establish the link..?" 

"The mental link of the Black Arms is fading without an epicenter. You must become our new hivemind, Shadow…" 

"Me…? But…" 

"I will guide you, Shadow. Do not hesitate, it only works if you are able to fully embrace your intention…" 

"Right…" Shadow grasped tightly onto the amulet around their neck "Well… where shall we start, then...?" 

"That, my child, is your call... My only suggestion is that you start with someone who's already been in the hivemind before..." 

Shadow looked out to the group of their fellow Black Arms nearby on the ship. For a split second, their eyes crossed paths with Yuki's, who took notice and gave a friendly wave. Doom could already tell that Shadow had their first choice cemented in that moment.

"You know who those two remind me of?" Sendrir asked Doom.

"Who?"

"You and Widow, back when we were on PetalBloom."

"Hm… I can definitely see what you mean." 

Yuki noticed Shadow approaching him, and started to approach it in turn.

"So, what'd Lord Doom say?" He asked them.

"He said that the hivemind needs to be re-established, with me as the source…" Shadow explained.

"Is that so? That's a very big task… May you have the best of luck!" Yuki said, oblivious to Shadow's intentions with where to start.

"Yuki, I um…" Yuki looked at Shadow, curious. "Would you like to be my… f-first link..?" 

"Oh… what a wonderful honor it would be! Here, let me take my mask off…" He responded happily, reaching his arms back to untie the strings holding its face mask up.

Shadow's hand started to glow with Chaos Energy, and everyone else surrounding them and Yuki faded into the background. Shadow's intentions were clear as day to it, Yuki and them were going to become closer than they ever had before. Yuki, who Shadow had only met so recently, was yet so wonderfully important to them. The two will be one, intertwined with one another in the roots of the greater mind.

"Hey… Does this apply to Leanni and Reacuel too, or do you need to establish them separately from me?" Yuki asked softly. It was something that Shadow wondered too, the three shared one vessel, but were all separate pieces of the hivemind.

"Yuki was made just by himself into the hive, only being separated after his creation. If the usual procedure worked well for Death, then it should work fine for you…" Doom said to Shadow.

"Black Death…" Yuki snickered slightly, "It's funny that you brought him up… considering he's the one who made us like this…" 

"Then I am glad to have killed him…" Shadow declared softly, gently placing its hand on Yuki's cheek, which slipped the both of them into a trance.

"Repeat the words I say to you, Shadow… follow my lead and bring us a new era…!"

"A new era…." Shadow softly mumbled, parroting Doom's words to them.

"Let yourself into my gaze,"

       "Let yourself into my gaze..."

"Stare right into my eyes," 

       "Stare right into my eyes..." 

"And let me be your guide," 

       "And let me be your guide..."

"As I make you new." 

       "As I make you new..."

"Sacrifice your morals," 

       "Sacrifice your morals..."

"Sacrifice your mind,"

       "Sacrifice your mind..."

"Let yourself be consumed," 

       "Let yourself be consumed..."

"By the chaos inside." 

       "By the chaos inside."

Shadow and Yuki's gazes into one another were unbreakable as the world around them was consumed by their black hearts, crumbling into nothing but an empty void of pure evil…

The light of the sun pierced Yuki's eyes as he and Shadow came to.

"Perfectly done. Now keep going until everyone is one under your reign…" 

Shadow smiled and nodded. They were about to walk off, but it felt Yuki take hold of their hand.

"Thank you, Shadow… We're honored that you decided to have us be your first link." He said to them.

As Shadow and Yuki departed, Shadow noticed the crowd of their brethren around them, all looking upon it in curiosity and excitement. At that moment, Rouge flew onto the temple floor, holding numerous shopping bags in her hands. She looked around at the crowd that she had placed herself into, a look of bewilderment dawned on her face.

"Am I interrupting anything?" She asked, turning to Relic. Of course she'd be the one Rouge trusted enough to ask.

"Oh no no no no! I do believe that Shadow is just about done with this one here!" Relic answered vaguely.

"This one of… what?" Rouge queried, trying to find a clearer answer.

"Not sure…" Relic replied hesitantly.

"Not sure?" Rouge parroted her, confused and frankly, a bit disappointed "Well, why don't we ask them?" She added.

Suddenly, Shadow spun around to Rouge, as if the numerous mentions of them from her and Relic finally added up to be enough to summon them, not unlike that of Beetlejuice and Candyman. 

"Oh! Hello Rouge…!" It greeted her "When did you get here..?"

"I was just flying in, came back to check up on you!" Rouge explained. This response caused Shadow to smile, appreciative of their friend's care for them.

"That's very kind of you to do… but… where were you, anyhow? Where did you go?" Shadow asked, its voice becoming steadily louder and more concerned with each question "Why, I haven't seen much of you since I first adorned this necklace!" They added, wrapping their hand around the Doom's Eye amulet, as if it'll protect them from whatever kept Rouge away for the past week.

"I… I was just getting back to my usual thievery shenanigans, ya know! A-and I decided to splurge a little, get myself a new wardrobe! It's been awhile since I've been able to do something like that…" Rouge answered, trying to ease her friend's mind.

"Ah, yes… of course…! You deserve such things… especially after breaking free of GUN's chains like you did…!" Shadow said calmly, accepting Rouge's response. 

Rouge couldn't help but notice that the way Shadow spoke had changed, in a way. It wasn't uncommon for them to "shift" every once in a while. That's what Rouge referred to it as, anyway. It "shifted" from person to person to latch onto every few years, reworking themself around how their new favorite person acted like. Rouge could clearly tell from the way Shadow spoke to her now who it's new favorite person was, and something about that thought carried a sense of dread with it. Could you really blame her, though? If she was right in her assumptions, then that means that Shadow's new favorite person is none other than the Black Doom himself, the god of malicious chaos, of corruption, and all the other labels given to him in their thousands of years of life. What could that mean for Shadow going forward? What could that mean….

For Rouge?

"That's a… uh… very poetic way of wording it." Rouge finally responded, after who knows how long of her being lost in those awful thoughts.

"Actually, you're here at a very interesting time, Rouge… For you see… I've been thinking of you...!" Shadow exclaimed suddenly.

"H-Have you now?" Rouge sputtered out, trying desperately to retain her usual suave tone, if only as to not worry Shadow.

"Yes- I-I very much have…!" Shadow assured her, trying to contain their excitement "Of course, I must take care of the ones that were in the last hivemind first, but… please do not fret that I have forgotten about you and Relic…!" They continued, as if it was explaining itself, but Rouge could not pick up any information from their words "I'll get around to you two soon enough…"

"Get around to us for… what, exactly?" Rouge asked as she tilted her head to the side in puzzlement.

"Right, I'm being terribly vague aren't I…? I've had my mind on so many things already that I can't keep a focus…!" Shadow confessed. "Anyway.. I'm re-establishing the Black Arms hivemind..!" 

"Are you now...?" Rouge inquired, as despite her fears, she couldn't help but be curious.

"Indeed I am…! The connection was failing due to a lack of a true leader for some time now… So my father asked me to establish a new link with me as the leader…!" Shadow explained excitedly, maniacally cackling as they finished their statement.

Shadow? The leader of the Black Arms? The thought made Rouge feel many complex and contradictory emotions. She was happy for them, as they seemed happy for themself, but she was also worried that the pressure may be too much for it to handle. She was both optimistic and pessimistic, optimistic that perhaps Shadow, in their kind heart, can drive the Black Arms into a less cruel direction, but pessimistic, that perhaps the Black Arms will twist Shadow into a cruel shell of who they once were, or that Black Doom's spirit may do such to them, or already has done such to them, or even… that Rouge was completely wrong about Shadow, and that… that cruelty the Black Arms are known for was how Shadow always truly was, and the kindness she seemed to know them for was nothing more than a facade.

"Of course, that new hivemind will include those that were in the last one…" Shadow continued on, seemingly oblivious to Rouge's growing worries. "But it will also include our new allies, like Relic…" 

"Like you..!" 

Shadow said it with such a chipper tone, they seemed happy about the thought, excited, even! But when Rouge heard that herself would be included as a part of Shadow's hivemind, a huge pit manifested into her gut, contorting her organs around with it's sheer weight. There was no hiding the dread that Rouge felt now. It was clear as day, on display for everyone to see. Everyone else was so willing, so happy to be here, even Relic, who would be a newbie to this whole "hivemind" thing, just like her. But Rouge was terrified, she could barely stand to look her friend in the eyes, those vibrant crimson eyes, it was like they were trying to entrance her even in this very moment. They pierced through to her soul, beckoning it to come to them, to reject the freedom Rouge had been trying to reach for so long, and to accept her new existence as a mere extension of her dear Shadow's will. 

"Is something the matter..?" Shadow asked her, its voice echoing around Rouge like a stage performance. Rouge could tell that they were genuinely concerned for her, but there was still a lure of temptation to their behavior, which regardless of being a clear mimicry of their beloved father, only caused Rouge to panic more "Are you… scared of me..?" 

That was the first thing Shadow worried about when they and Rouge were first becoming friends. It was so bad that the thought that Rouge would be afraid of them made them afraid of itself. Rouge promised that she'd never be scared of them.

But she couldn't stop herself from breaking that promise.

Both of them were completely silent, too wrapped up in their respective fears to be able to speak. It was completely silent for several long seconds, until there was finally a sentence spoken.

"Shadow, when can I be expecting you?" It was not from either Rouge nor Shadow, but rather, from Eclipse.

"O-oh! I-I-" Shadow sputtered nervously, trying to recover their composure. "I can set your link up right now if you so desire…!" 

"Actually, I was hoping to be able to check on the new Dark Arms first… Perhaps even that we might be able to do mine and all of the Dark Arms' back-to-back?" Eclipse clarified.

"Right, of course… I know how much you love them…" 

Every word that Shadow spoke made it sound more and more like a spitting image of Black Doom to Rouge, which frankly, made her feel sick to her stomach.

"I'll give you as much time as you need, Eclipse…" Shadow concluded.

"Thank you Shadow, that means a lot to me." Eclipse responded with a smile. "Now you go do your thing, Your Highness." They added, giving Shadow a pat on the head. 

Shadow looked around, trying to decide on who to then do next, but then the thought came to them.

"Queen Widow..!" Shadow meant to say to themself but ended up saying out loud.

" "Queen Widow"...? No need to be so formal, Shadow…!" Widow said to it, giggling as she transformed into it's Mobian form. "But I'd love to…!" 

"Right, right! My apologies…" 

As Shadow and Widow began to enact the ritual, Eclipse started their way to their laboratory, stopping by Rouge, saying a single sentence to her.

"Come, I have something to show you." 

Rouge was cautious at first, but agreed as she saw Relic follow Eclipse's lead. Relic was the only person Rouge really trusted around here at this point, for better or for worse.

"Rouge, what's in those shopping bags you've got there?" Relic asked curiously.

"Oh, just those new clothes I was telling Shadow about…! And some really cute stilettos…" Rouge answered, her cheeks becoming warm as she did.

"Is that so?" Relic inquired.

"Yeah! I've actually got this wonderful idea for customizing the shoes-!" Rouge continued, her mood starting to drastically improve as she spoke.

"Oh?" Relic said, wanting to be as engaged as possible as to help make Rouge feel better.

"I was looking through the trunk of the jeep I'm "borrowing" from GUN…" Rouge began to explain, as Relic started to chuckle slightly "And I found this really neat pair of handguns! So I thought of making little straps on the boots to hold'em! Convenient, AND what I assume would be right for the vibe that I'm trying to give off!" 

"Oh! Like the main character in Bayonetta?" Relic questioned, which seemingly made Rouge shocked "The video game franch-?" 

"The idea's been done before???" Rouge yelled.

"Not in real life-!" Relic tried to add.

"Dammit! I wanted to have an original idea!" Rouge loudly pouted.

"Kæ' Blak Doom ducsie…" Eclipse uttered in annoyance.

*Translation Note: “Dear Black Doom, my Lord” (Eclipse will explain this very soon, but just in case you can’t wait that long)

"EH???" Rouge blurted out, confused.

A bit of silence lingered for a few seconds, before all three of them bursted out laughing.

"What does that even mean???" Rouge questioned in between laughs.

"Did you not notice that you weren't speaking English back there, Eclipse??" Relic asked.

"... English is a confusing mess." Eclipse admitted, rolling their eyes as Relic and Rouge erupted into laughter for a second time. "To answer your question though, Rouge, what I said translates directly as "Dear Black Doom, my Lord"." 

"Oh, so it's like when someone says "Oh my Chaos" after something stupid happens?" Rouge supposed.

"Yes, essentially." Eclipse answered. "You'll understand that and the rest of our language instinctively once your link has been made. In fact, all of your thoughts will be in that tongue after that occurs." 

Eclipse's words brought the anxiety that Rouge felt right back from where she had hidden them. If this process was going to change the very language that she thought in, then what else could be changed about her by this strange ritual? 

"Though it's funny that you bring up Chaos. Are you aware of the relationship between her and our great Lord Doom?" Eclipse spoke again, marching on with the conversation regardless of how Rouge was feeling.

"Uhm… they're… related, I think, right? I'm not very religious…" Rouge attempted to answer.

"The two are both gods of Chaos Energy, with Chaos being the goddess of benevolent chaos, full of healing and whimsical…ness? And Doom is the god of malevolent chaos, often called "corruptive" in nature." Relic explained. Rouge could definitely see why one would refer to Black Doom as a corruption force. "Also, the two are siblings, in a sense." 

"They are?" Rouge asked.

"Yep! Black Doom was created first, by Solaris, Moonshine and Light Gaia, and Chaos was created some time after Doom turned tail and became all… evil, by Solaris and Light Gaia." Relic continued on. Rouge knew that Relic was a skilled archeologist, so it didn't come as much a surprise that she was also quite the mythology buff. Seeing Relic thoroughly explain something that she enjoyed so much made Rouge calm down and put a big dorky smile on her face.

"Moonshine? What, like the alcohol?" Rouge queried jokingly.

"No, silly!" Relic replied in that same joking tone. "Though, we should maybe grab some hard lemonades or something to celebrate the new hivemind later…" 

"I'm more of a wine gal myself, but I'm always up for a party!"

"I'd rather not, personally…" Eclipse admitted, their voice a bit shaky. 

"You don't have to drink any if you don't want to." Relic explained.

"Nah… I'll just… not come then.." Eclipse quietly responded. "We're getting distracted. Let's carry on.." 

"You're nothing more than a lie! *hic* A lie that that piece of shi-*hic* keeps living to stroke his own fucki-*hic* ego!" 

"Hey-! What are you doing with that-?!" 

"Don't fucki-*hic* talk to me, you *hic* vermin!!" 

The air was thick with dreadful feelings once again, but for once it wasn't because of Rouge. She thought of trying to ask Eclipse what bothered them so, but didn't feel close enough to them for such a conversation to do anything productive, and Relic simply didn't know how to ask such a thing to them. Both of them wanted to lend a hand to Eclipse, but as Relic knew all too well, Eclipse is the type that usually just bottles everything up and only lets everything out when they're alone. But something felt different, this felt like something that should be talked through.

"Eclipse, is it just you drinking alcohol that's the issue, or is it the presence of alcohol in the first place?" Rouge finally asked,

".... I don't like to be around it…" Eclipse uttered after a stint of pure silence.

"Why's that?" Rouge queried further. 

"It's not something I want to discuss." Eclipse responded bluntly, putting a complete stop to that conversation.

The last bit of the journey to Eclipse's laboratory was completely silent, aside from the sound of footsteps on the ship's floor. It caused Rouge's mind to run. She looked out at the sky that surrounded the ship, and contemplated flying away. But where would she go? GUN wouldn't take her back, the Freedom Fighters surely didn't want her, not that she wanted them. She didn't want to join the Robotnik Empire due to the pure resentment she grew for Ivo over the years from being friends with Omega. Maybe she could make it on her own, like she used to before joining GUN? But that was so long ago! Rouge had joined GUN all the way back in 2002, and almost a whole decade had passed since then. 

As Eclipse took a step into their laboratory, a sense of calm and comfort washed over them. Despite how things have changed, they also feel the same.

"Dearie… not to be a bother, but could you lower the lights in here a bit more...?"

"Oh, sorry Le, it's just that it's a bit hard to see my blueprints already, so lowering the lights more would-" 

"Why are you so concerned about your blueprints, hun..? It's quite late as it is…" 

"Oh great Lord Doom almighty are you pulling another all-nighter?" 

"Huh-? N-no-! I-" 

"Why don't you come rest with us tonight, hun..?" 

"The Dark Arms aren't gonna go anywhere, dummy! So come here and sleep already, okay?!" 

"Okay…" Eclipse accidentally murmured out loud, getting the attention of their beloved Dark Arms, which came to them and embraced them, feeling the sorrowful energy that radiated from them. They asked them repeatedly if they were okay, worried sick for their beloved caretaker. "I'm fine, I'm fine…" They insisted.

"Should we show Rouge the uh… ya know… at some other time?" Relic asked.

"R-right! I forgot all about Mina! My sincerest apologies-!" 

"Mina? The… rockstar?" Rouge inquired, immediately regretting that she did right after.

"Curses-! I'm spilling everything all over before I even make the proper reveal-!" Eclipse nervously sputtered as they made a mad dash to the back end of their laboratory. 

Part of Rouge wanted to just ask Eclipse to do this some other day, as it was clear to her that they weren't in the best spot mentally at the moment, but the rest of her had to know. She heard many things about the tragic end of Mobian Knot, and the trial that was held afterwards. She wanted justice, she wanted proof that that poor armadillo girl they accused didn't do it. Everyone in GUN was sure of who the real culprit was, but they didn't want to reveal the Black Arms' return to the public. Rouge wanted to, no, NEEDED to know…

What happened to Mina?

Eclipse forcefully gripped the cloth covering a large egg-shaped contraption. The contraption was a bit taller than they were, and the cloth was just a bit smaller, revealing some intricate metal work at the contraption's very lowest point. 

"With no other slip-ups or delays!" Eclipse suddenly yelled, playing up the caricature of a classical mad scientist. It was something to cling onto for now, for the last few minutes this had to go on, then Eclipse could have some alone time with their Dark Arms, some time to sit and work through everything in their head on their own, as they always had. "I present to you...!!" 

Eclipse pulled on the cloth off of their contraption, only to find that it was stuck on some part of it. They pulled with all the might they had, but it just refused to come off.

"Let me deal with this..." Relic lifted the cloth from where it was stuck, and got it to finally fall off from the contraption's grasp.

Once the cover was finally off, the contraption was revealed to be a container of sorts. Within this container was a body that resembled that of the rockstar known as Mina Mongoose, but the details were very different. It was like one of the many Black Arms soldiers Rouge had encountered during their invasion of Aerth, or during GUN'S raid of the Second Black Comet, had been taken and molded into a Mina-shaped figure. She tried one last time to act civil, but she couldn't, she just couldn't.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO HER???" Rouge screamed loudly, tears welling up in her eyes. Relic tried to calm her down, but it only seemed to work a little bit. Eclipse was taken aback a bit, they could already tell that this wasn't going to go so well, but that didn't stop them from trying to remedy the situation.

"I-i-if y-you must know… She was assimilated…!" They began, "It's usually quite a lengthy experience, and a painful one at that, but I found a way to make it go by much quicker, and Mina here was simply my first test subject… Oh how she yearns for the day that she can go back on stage… She wants to make new songs about how wonderful we are, oh how sweet of her..!" 

Relic chuckled a bit, but Rouge did not do anything of such a matter. She instead broke free of Relic's soft embrace and went right to the edge of the ship, vomiting into the thick forests far below. She tried to stand up after she was done, but her body shook too much to be able to. So instead, she simply cried.

"Rouge… are you-" 

"No, Relic! I'm not fucking okay!! How the hell could I be?! How could you possibly be?! That was a thriving Mobian life! A life that they took away to use the body for a puppet!! How are you not sickened by that, Relic?!" Rouge fumed.

"You've got the wrong idea, Rouge… It's not like that." Relic replied as she sat next to Rouge.

"Then what the hell is it like then, huh??" 

"Mina's personality is still there, her whole self is still there! She's just a bit different now. Sure, her thoughts may be in a different language now, but they're still her thoughts! She's still Mina, just with a new look, a new style! Ya know?" Relic explained.

"What about that whole… hivemind thing? Doesn't that impact how she thinks and feels about things?" Rouge asked, still skeptical.

"... Yeah." Relic admitted.

"And Eclipse said that the process is really painful, didn't they? That's still gotta be really traumatic, especially if she does remember that!" 

"Regular assimilation is very painful. This "accelerated assimilation" that Eclipse created isn't like that at all! It's like surgery! You go to sleep, and you wake up as a brand new you!" Rouge knew what it was like getting surgeries, and she had to admit that Relic wasn't far off.

Rouge looked up to the sky again. The sun was starting to set now, with a few stars already peeking through the sky.

"When I was on the Second Black Comet, all the other Black Arms followed along with everything the main guy was saying… that lack of free will… I can't do that." Rouge confessed.

"But you always want what's best for Shadow anyway, don't you?" Relic asked.

Rouge couldn't help but nod.

"Exactly! So it'll be like nothing's even changed!" Relic exclaimed.

There was one last thought that Rouge had, one more question to ask.

"What happens to allies that don't join the hivemind?"

"Simply… they are executed." Eclipse answered quietly, but bluntly.

"W-well… I'm sure that Shadow wouldn't be so… quick to…" Rouge tried to grasp onto something, some sort of steady footing. She knew this was wrong, she knew this was horrific. She wanted to keep some sort of escape plan, just like she did when she joined GUN. But that didn't seem to be possible here.

"You're probably right, but you have to talk to them." Relic said to Rouge. Rouge simply walked away and didn't say anything.

"Oh! Rouge left her bags here! I'll go put them somewhere safe." Relic said as she picked up the shopping bags. She looked over and saw Eclipse wrapped up in their Dark Arms, both old and new. "Should I tell Shadow you aren't feeling well or…?" 

"Nonsense… I'll be right with them in just a few… I have something I must do for my new younglings…" Eclipse responded calmly. Relic sighed, glad that her friend was feeling better.

As Relic looked around for a place to set the bags down, she noticed Rouge walking towards Shadow. They were seemingly in the middle of doing the ritual with Harazuki. She began to wonder how long the three of them had been walking, talking, and everything else that had just happened.

Rouge stood by quietly, unnerved by the sight before her, but also completely unable to look away. 

"They're a natural, aren't they?" Widow said to Rouge, breaking the trance-like attention Rouge had on the scene.

"Uhm, well… It's not like I'd really know. I'm just a Mobian, ya know…" Rouge skittishly responded.

"Don't be silly… you're one of us now, sweetheart…!" Widow told her cheerfully. Rouge didn't say anything back.

When Rouge looked back at the scene, Shadow had just finished up with Harazuki. It looked up and met eyes with Rouge, smiling kindly to her.

"Hello Rouge…!" Despite everything that had changed, Shadow's smile was the same as it has always been. Though it was a rare sight to see back when they worked at GUN, the exact feeling Shadow's smile gave was always the same, no matter how much the rest of them changed. It was silly, and dorky, and filled with love and happiness. Seeing it's smile in this moment brought Rouge to tears. Despite all her fears, she loved Shadow, and wanted to always be by their side. Before Shadow could even react to seeing Rouge cry, she hugged them tightly, full of emotion and passion.

"Shadow I… I don't know if I can do this…" She admitted boldly to it. "I love you so much, I don't want to leave you, but I just can't!!" 

"I know… I know that you're scared… but…" 

"But..?" 

"Just trust me, okay?" Shadow said. "Trust me that I'll do no harm to you…" Rouge looked away for a second, unsure of how to respond. "Because I don't want to hurt you… You're one of the bestest friends I've ever had…" Rouge knew that Shadow was speaking the truth. They really did love her, she could tell. It's very easy to tell who Shadow does and doesn't love, even now.

"Alright. I'll trust you on this one, bud." Rouge conceded, giving them a smile of her very own, though it'd never be anywhere near as instantly heartwarming as Shadow's. "As long as you let me fly in the freedom, at least a little bit." 

"Well, there are a lot of things to do…" Shadow admitted. "Giving you an adventure or two to look for the Chaos Emeralds or something wouldn't be hard to arrange." 

"I'd like that." Rouge agreed, her sassy tone back in full swing.

"I know it's been a long, rough road to finally get here, for both of us." Shadow said, with genuine empathy.

"Sure has… moving even an inch forward felt like an entire year had gone past." Rouge admitted.

"But no matter what, we're never turning back, okay?" Shadow insisted.

"No! Of course not." Rouge responded. "We're besties forever!" 

Rouge and Shadow's eyes met again, and Rouge started to feel light headed. Shadow grinned and sat her down.

"Just keep looking into my gaze, alright?"

[the-era-of-shadow]

Remembrance Party

Written by Ash Rose

Cover Art by Ash Rose & Lunar Eclipse

THIS STORY CONTAINS: Swearing, light depiction of transphobia, angst.

(OG ver; "The Anniversary") Original publish date:

(Amino) December 18th 2020

It was early in the morning, cold as could be. Things would normally be still and quiet here, but today there was quite the ruckus going on. It was strange, very strange, especially in the middle of this dense forest. One could even call it… scary.

The commotion caused Eclipse to fear the worst, to which they reacted by shooting straight out of their bed, ready on the defensive.

"WHO GOES-" 

Before the alien lifeform's eyes, there were party balloons and streamers everywhere, there was a symphony of party horns being blared out by small little wisp children which drowned out their voice, Eclipse’s little wisp children.

"There….?" 

In the middle of it all, Eclipse’s roommate Relic and their friend Shadow stood, wearing party hats and holding a tray of breakfast food.

"Oh! Um.. Good morning, 'Clip!" Relic greeted awkwardly.

"Ya know.. We were trying to surprise you, but it didn't exactly work out as planned…" Shadow said, eyeing the Dark Arms in a teasing manner.

"You… You definitely still surprised me..!" Eclipse admitted, sighing in relief "But if I may ask… What is the meaning of all this…?" They asked, grabbing the cup of tea from the tray. It was ginger tea, their favorite.

"It's your birthday, silly thing!" Relic said, chuckling slightly.

"Birthday?" 

"Today, December 19th, it's the anniversary of your creation, right? I'm pretty sure I had the right date…" Shadow explained.

Eclipse seemingly blanked for a second, but then nodded, confirming that it had the right date.

"I see… are birthdays not a thing in Black Arms culture?" Relic asked.

"No, I don't think… I don't think I've ever even heard of such a thing." Eclipse responded.

"It's because of the inherent 'mass-production' of Black Arms soldiers, so celebrating every birth would just waste time-! R-right?" Shadow suddenly blurted, excited to possibly have some knowledge about Black Arms culture that wasn't told to them by Eclipse.

"Y-yes, that's basically it." Eclipse said, grinning. They were pleased to see Shadow happy, it was a bit of a rarity. 

Eclipse graciously grabbed the tray of food and sat down to eat. The Dark Arms surrounded them with hugs, happily cheering as their parent enjoyed their food. 

"Did you guys help set all this up?" Eclipse asked them. They all replied proudly that they did, pointing out all the things they did to help "Very wonderfully done! I'm very thankful for all of you…" 

"Once I explained to them what a birthday was, they were so very excited to make sure your first birthday experience would be a good one!" Relic said happily.

"That's very sweet of them…" Eclipse responded softly, rubbing the smallest Dark Arm, Rhygenta, on the head as the others gathered around "And it's sweet of you to arrange this little celebration, both of you." 

"Gotta make up for all of my… shenanigans… somehow, right?" Shadow said jokingly, but with a heavy heart nonetheless. Relic gave off a soft chuckle, while Eclipse gave it a look of caring concern. Shadow laughed heartily, trying to clear the tension that had quietly built up.

Seemingly as soon as Eclipse had finished eating, Shadow had brought themself forth with a thin rectangular item in it's hands.

"Ah! Shadow! There's no need to rush, dear!" Relic called after them, but Shadow was insistent that it should give this present to Eclipse now.

"A present? How lovely…!" Eclipse took the present into their hands and unwrapped it. Inside was a small poster of a star and a card. Eclipse opened up the card and saw that Shadow had written something inside.

I know my gift might seem odd at first glance, but there is meaning behind it.

In a lot of ways, you remind me of myself.

So, for your first birthday celebration, I got you the same gift my old friend Maria gave to me for my first birthday.

Eclipse noticed on the other side of the card was a twenty dollar bill taped down to the card.

And a twenty, too. 

The exact twenty Rouge gave to me after the fiasco in the forest about a month back.

I wanted to give it to you.

To thank you, for helping me in my darkest hours, my lowest of points

Despite everything I've done to you…

Shadow 

Eclipse looked back at the poster, noticing a small box at the bottom, simply reading, The Ultimate II, in a fancy enough font to match the overall aesthetic of the poster.

"Do you… like… it?" Shadow mumbled, simultaneously nervous and excited, though more on the nervous side.

"Like it? Why… I love it!" Eclipse responded, getting up to give Shadow a hug "It's very clear to me that you put a lot of love and thought into your gift… And that's what I feel matters." They added. Shadow silently reciprocated the hug, quietly rocking from side to side, keeping itself from getting overly emotional.

Eclipse was the one to end the hug, asking Shadow to sit down with them. Shadow agreed to the idea and sat beside them with a smile on their face. It started to rock about on the couch, which Eclipse felt from the other side.

"Having a nice time, are we?" They said to Shadow in a softly teasing tone.

"Yeah.. I-it's nice to get away from work every once in a while." 

"Maybe I'd get to see you happy more often if you got away forever…" Eclipse thought, forgetting briefly about the whole hivemind thing.

"E… Eclipse-" 

"Oh- you uh- heard me-?"

"Well, you know, I can hear stuff like that." 

"Right, I forgot." 

"You forgot?" 

"Anyway… I'm sorry for asking again, but-" 

"I-I know-!" 

"Must I wait forever for you, Shadow?" 

"What was your first birthday like, Shadow?" Relic suddenly asked, not hearing the conversation that was being had over the hivemind. There was a stint of silence between the three of them before Shadow responded.

"My first birthday…" It muttered quietly "Oh… how wonderful it was…!" 

"That sounds good..!" Relic said happily.

"Yes! Why don't you tell us more about it, Blarjikære*?" Eclipse asked.

*Translation Note: Wait, the story is about to tell you anyway!

Shadow was just about to speak, but Relic cut them off.

"Blar...ji… that word, I've heard you say it before, but… what does it mean?" 

"Oh! Yes, I was wondering when you'd ask that, Relic." Eclipse said, snickering "It's a really nice word, is it not?" 

"It's.. pretty, I guess." 

"Yes, anyhow, what the word means, exactly, is a close companion within the Black Arms, the word has a… sibling-like air to it." Eclipse explained "There's no word in English quite like it. Brother, sister, sibling, comrade… While it is often translated into those words, they aren't quite the same as Blarjikære." 

"I see! Very fascinating!" Relic said, excitedly going to her room to grab a notebook.

"There's… another word that's very similar but for a… romantic… purpose.. I think?" Shadow mumbled in speculation.

"Yes! Blarjikamore*." Eclipse clarified "Anyway, about your birthday, Shadow." 

*Translation Note: Romantic partner within the Black Arms; akin to “beloved” or “my love”

"Of course!!" Shadow said excitedly. 

"My first birthday… it was the only one that I had on the ARK… Maria was so excited! The party wasn't very big, but that's alright…"

Maria and Abraham were setting up the table with all it's decorations and cutlery when Abraham noticed Shadow looking in through the doorway.

"Hey! No peeking, Shadow!!" He yelled.

"Aww, don't be so hard on them, Abe! It's just the table!" Maria said, smiling at Shadow awkwardly.

"What about the gifts??" Abraham argued back.

"They're already wrapped??" Maria pointed out "What is Shadow going to see, huh??" She added.

"Heh, I guess you're right Maria…" Abraham admitted, playfully pouting.

"... Ivo's here!" Shadow blurted happily. Maria ran out into the hallway to see if what it had said was true.

"Maria! My dear cousin! We meet again!!" Ivo greeted her, pointing at her while posing dramatically.

"Yes! Yes! I get the idea, you little performer!" Maria replied, giving the young boy a little noogie for good measure.

But there was someone with Ivo, a chubby young man that looked to be a few years older than Maria. Ivo pointed him out to Maria and introduced the person as his babysitter, Ash Hitchcock.

"Ash?" Eclipse asked suddenly.

"Yeah, that was his name! Why do you uh… question it?" Shadow said.

"That was the nickname of an old friend of mine on the New Black Comet, actually!" Eclipse explained.

"Ohhhh I see! Odd." Shadow giggled a bit before returning to their story.

"I hope you don't mind little Ivo bringing a plus one..!" Ash said to Maria.

"I don't mind at all! It's good for Shadow to get to know more people, I think!" She responded "Speaking off.. Shadow! Do you want to-" 

Shadow was already one step ahead of her, walking up to Ash and saying hello to them. 

"Hello Shadow-!" Ash began to say back, but then noticed that Shadow was walking all about him, seemingly studying Ash's every detail. Before he could say anything, Shadow appeared back at the front of them and tugged at a chain it had noticed was running down underneath Ash's shirt, revealing a small charm at the end of it, a five pointed star surrounded by a circle.

"Oh geez! I'm sorry- Shadow does that sometime-" Maria began to say.

"Cool necklace! It kinda looks like one of my dad's-" Shadow interrupted, but they themself were then interrupted by Maria.

"Oh, thanks? I really only have it out like this when Ivo's mom isn't around…" Ash admitted, looking over at the sight of Ivo's mother and Professor Gerald talking in the corner of their eye.

Ivo tugged on Maria's dress and whispered something to her. Shadow was close enough to somewhat hear what he was saying. Something about a witch's coven…

"I see! Yes, I do remember Ivo telling me that he knew a powerful wizard last time he visited…" Maria said.

"Wizard?" Ash asked, giggling slightly.

"I thought you wanted to be called boy things? Wizards are boy witches, aren't they?" Ivo asked, confused.

"Witches can be any gender, Ivo." Ash answered.

"Really?? So I can be a witch and still be a boy?" Ivo questioned excitedly.

"Of course!" 

Professor Gerald looked over and figured he'd say hello.

"Well how are you doing today little Id-" 

"Ivo, grandfather! His name is Ivo!" Maria reminded him sternly. She noticed Ivo's mom roll her eyes, which annoyed her, but Maria accepted Gerald’s compliance with the matter, at the very least.

Soon enough, the kids heard a bit of a commotion start up. Shadow's ears perked right away. It knew what the commotion was all about, and it made them very excited. They rushed out into the hallway, and jumped into it's father's arms.

"Hello Shadow! Are you having a good birthday?" 

"Yeah!! But I bet it'll be even better now that you're here!" 

"Aww…" 

"Aren't you just…"

"The sweetest…"

"Little…" 

Eclipse and Relic saw Shadow quietly curl up into themself as it stopped talking.

"Shadow… you don't have to-" 

"Why…? Why did I do it…? Everything was so wonderful… I could've had it again…" Shadow mumbled, tears streaming down it's face "WHY DID I THROW IT ALL AWAY??" They suddenly bursted out. 

"Okay, okay- just- just breathe, okay?" Eclipse told them calmly. Shadow slumped down into their body.

"Just breathe…"

Shadow was completely silent for a few seconds, until a muffled ring started coming from one of its inhibitor rings. 

They got up and walked to the bathroom, their body shaking the whole time. Relic and Eclipse both considered trying to comfort it, but decided that they should leave it be for now.

Muffled through the bathroom door, the two of them could hear a conversation.

"Shadow! Where are you? We need to start heading to Cream's birthday party soon!" 

"Oh… S… sorry Rouge… I… forgot…" 

"You forgo-?" A bit of silence followed "Hey… are you okay?" 

"Huh…? Y.. yeah… Why do you-" 

"You don't sound very fine, Shadow." 

"Heh… heheheh… I… I guess I can't h-hide it…" 

"Where are you right now?" 

"N-nowhere-" 

"I'm serious. I won't tell anyone. Not even Omega. Just between you and me, buddy." 

"Um… E…. Eclipse's b-base…" 

There was a soft sigh.

"I see..." 

"It's… it's their birthday today..!" 

"Is it, now?" 

"Uh huh…! R-Relic and I… we put together a nice party and everything…!" 

There was more silence.

"... They didn't hurt you, did they??" 

"No!! I… I was thinking about the ARK-" 

"Oh.. I see. The Maria trauma came and bit ya again?" 

"I.. Y-yeah…" Shadow lied.

"Well, I'm sure that going out and getting Cream a present will take your mind off of things."

"But-!" 

"But?" 

"... Nevermind. You're right. I'll be right there." 

Shadow stepped out of the bathroom and started to stumble it's way to the exit, but Eclipse grabbed their hand.

"You shouldn't have to do that if you don't want to." 

"What am I meant to do?" Shadow asked flatly.

"You can stay…!" Eclipse answered "You can forget about those Aerthlings! You can stay here for the rest of the party! You can stay here… forever… Blarjikære… terafirok, Blarjikære!!*" They cried out desperately.

*Translation Note: “Forever, comrade!!”

"... I'm so sorry that I'm causing such a disturbance on your day. Go and enjoy it with a better friend than I am." Shadow said somberly before fully leaving.

"The little ones and I still have gifts for you if you'd like to open them." Relic offered, seeing Eclipse staring out the window of the base entrance.

".... I would like to be alone right now." Eclipse mumbled in response, getting up to go to their room.

"... Would… Would you like some tea?" 

"I would…" 

"H… happy birthday Eclipse…" Relic tried to say.

"... I hope that all of those GUN folks croak before my next, so I may have a Shadow that is truly free of them. Only then will my birthday be happy." 

[the-era-of-shadow]

The Twisted Mystery of Wilma Brevair

Written by Ash Rose Cover Art by Ash Rose

Chapter 8: A Mystery Solved is Only The Beginning

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS: Swearing, Violence

(OG ver) Original publish date:

(Amino) September 21st 2020

(Fanfiction.net) February 8th 2021

(Rewrite) Original publish date:

(Amino & AO3) April 24th 2021

[Previous]

[Next]

“I’LL CAVE YOUR HEAD IN YOU LITTLE SHI-” Knuckles charged towards Eclipse in pure fury, but was intercepted by Shadow.

“Oh no you don't!” Shadow sneered, throwing Knuckles back. Lux ran in and attacked Shadow, pushing them away from defending Eclipse.

“Oh great, you again!” Shadow groaned, shielding itself from her. They attacked back at Lux with a kick to her face. 

Whisper, Tangle and Sonic stepped back, letting Lux, Knuckles and Amy take the fight, but still ready to jump back in at any moment. 

“Are you hiding something?” Whisper asked Sonic out of the blue.

"Huh? N-No, of course not!” Sonic replied nervously.

“Yo, Whisp, what’s this about?” Tangle butted in, concerned.

“When Amy was talking about her “intuition”, you started acting we-” Whisper was interrupted by something randomly shooting her in the foot. She looked up into the sky, and saw two young foxes, she's seen them before! They were the two foxes she saw arguing with each other when she first entered the building in front of her, except they weren't foxes anymore, they were whatever alien creature Eclipse is! One had cyan stripes, and the other had crimson stripes; almost like they were an exact younger version of Eclipse, except that they looked a bit more feminine. The crimson striped one was holding the cyan striped one as they shot at the ground.

“LASER PARTY!!” The cyan striped darkling shouted in reckless enjoyment. Tangle grabbed Whisper's wispon and shot at them 

“Tangle! Those are KIDS! I've MET them! Shouldn't we-?!” Whisper yelled after her, worried. 

"That's what you thought about "Clysdale" themself, didn't you? And now look at what we're dealing with!" Tangle said to her.

Whisper realized that Tangle was right and took back her wispon, but before she could take a single shot, Tangle was kicked in the back by the crimson striped one of the two. They flew off and grabbed the hand of the cyan striped darkling just before they hit the ground.

“WHAT THE HELL CREGAL?!”

“Oops, sorry Cyzer~!” The apparently named Cregal said in a snarky tone, as they placed Cyzer on the ground. 

Cregal flew off once more, towards Knuckles, Amy and Eclipse. They slammed into Knuckles, pushing him far away from Eclipse. This did leave Eclipse alone with Amy though, who instantly started swinging at them with her hammer. They were able to dodge her, but they were roughed up now. Quite quickly, a third dark darkling jumped in between Eclipse and Amy; this one with vibrant blue strikes, nearly just as vibrant of a blue as Sonic’s fur. Amy striked at the kid, but he pulled up a blue-tinted shield, which Amy’s hammer snapped in two right as it hit.

“MY HAMMER!” Amy cried.

“C’mon Ma’, let’s get outta here.” The kid grabbed Eclipse by the hand and ran off to where Cregal had retreated.

“Wh-What’s going on here-?” Eclipse tried to ask, but was interrupted.

“Cregal, go get Cyzer and Shadow, quick!” the blue striked darkling ordered.

“Got it, bro!” Cregal flew off.

“Would you like to explain what’s going on here, Blurk?? Did y-you guys plan a-all this?? I-I’m not mad, I’m just confused!!” Eclipse sputtered.

“Yep, it was all her idea.” Blurk responded.

“Who-?" 

“If everything’s going to plan, she should be on the roof right now.” 

“WHAT-??” Cregal came back with Cyzer and Shadow, and flew with them behind Eclipse. 

"Eclipse!! What the hell is going on?! Since when did your Dark Arms have these forms?!" Shadow asked.

"Oh, my bad, I was going to tell you at some point…" Eclipse responded, clearly being sarcastic. 

"Enough chit chatting, we've got a battle to win." Blurk said as he formed a bubble around the five of them. Suddenly, there was a shout from the roof of the clinic, a war cry.

“ALL HAIL THE BLACK ARMS!!!” 

A large sonic boom blasted through the area, damaging the surrounding buildings, and knocking down the heroes, though Eclipse, Shadow, and the three kids were protected by Blurk’s defenses. 

Whisper was the first to look up and try to see the source of such a powerful attack. It was the pink striked girl she had seen the night before numerous times, now in a new alien look like the others. That young girl was the one behind that sonic boom, and the war cry. 

She hoped down from the roof, into the arms of a very concerned and panicked Relic, but was quickly dropped when Knuckles yanked Relic to him in pure fury.

“You… You sneaked onto my island and took advantage of the fact that I and my island were in peril to further YOUR career, but I pushed that aside, because after getting to know you, you SEEMED trustworthy. But you turn your back on me after 4 years, NEARLY HALF A DECADE of friendship, and leave me all alone, and ally yourself with the likes of ECLIPSE for what? WHAT do you get out of this, Relic?! You’ve betrayed not only me, but all of Aerth! … In short, what i’m saying is…”

“I hope you burn in hell, Relic.”

Knuckles thrashed Relic about and then threw her into the distance, with such power that she completely disappeared.

“RELIC!!” Both Shadow and Eclipse called out. The last of the young darklings ran to Eclipse, as finally, Wilma walked out into the city streets battlefield.

“Hmph… You all have caused all this destruction without me? What a pity.. Well, at least I can have some fun now! But no… I don’t think this will do… It looks like you all… You horrid creatures… Will get to see the REAL me!” Wilma snickered, and threw her glasses on the ground, crushing them underneath her foot, before beginning to transform. Unlike with Eclipse’s reveal, “Wilma” not only simply shifted form, but grew in size. Sonic in particular took a defensive stance. Once she was done, the woman who the heroes knew as Wilma Brevair towered over them, looking at them with five shining eyes, filled with fury and hatred. She resembled that of the late leader of the Black Arms, Black Doom, but had her own distinguished look, with the center point being the ivory colored mask over her face.

“This looks serious… At least I came prepared!” Sonic said, Summoning the seven Chaos Emeralds around him. Everyone around him was surprised, not even Knuckles and Amy knew that Sonic had taken the Emeralds with him. Absorbing the power of the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic became Super Sonic. This caused “Wilma” to become even more furious, tears starting to form in her eyes.

“No! NO! I REFUSE TO DIE LIKE HE DID! FOR HIM! FOR ME! FOR OUR PEOPLE! I REFUSE TO BE KILLED IN THE SAME WAY YOU KILLED MY HUSBAND!! I, BLACK WIDOW, QUEEN OF THE BLACK ARMS, REFUSE TO LET WHAT’S LEFT OF MY CITIZENS TO SUFFER THAT PAIN TWICE!!” She cried out. Sonic said nothing back, and just attacked her.

Everyone on both sides stood back and let them fight, because this was THEIR fight, their battle.

For the heroes, it was Sonic’s battle to protect Aerth. But honestly? This was the usual, the expected. Nearly everyday is like that for Sonic and his friends. 

For what was left of the Black Arms, the small bit left of them… This battle was life or death, not just for Black Widow, but for ALL of them, even the two who were previously on the heroes side, Shadow, Relic, and Omega, if Black Widow lost, if this day, this moment is to be her last, they have no way of saving themselves. That’s it.

There’s no coming back from this.

Both Sonic and Black Widow prepared to give this their best effort, and soon after, the fighting began, making such a sight, that it could be seen from miles away, which was quite helpful to Relic in particular, who had found herself landing in with two lone Black Arms, trying to find their way to the rest of the pack, and someone who Relic wasn’t surprised decided to give them assistance in such a mission.

“What is that?! No, it must be… It’s Widow!!” Relic called out.

“Are we thinkin’ of the same Widow? Like, Black Widow?” A lanky Black Arms Elite asked her.

“Uh, yeah, Yuki, I think she is.” Responded a short coral colored hedgehog, that looked like she was made the same way Shadow and Eclipse were.

“Damn, no need to get mad at me, Hara, I was just asking…” Yuki snapped back.

“So… Go straight into the chaos, right?”

“Ah yes, that’d be right on, Rouge!” Relic answered. 

“Sounds about right!” Rouge snarked.

“Looks like we’ve got a bit still to go, then. I’ll put this flag up so they know which side we’re on!” 

“You think you’ll be good on your own Harazuki?” Relic asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine! Even though some would disagree, I’m still a Ultimate Life Form… of sorts.” Harazuki responded, flying up to the antenna of the beat up jeep Rouge was driving with a flag with the Black Arms symbol on it in her hands.

The fight was making both Sonic and Black Widow tired, but neither of them refused to give up. As time passed, it was very clear that Sonic had the advantage, but that didn’t stop Black Widow, she knew that it needed to protect her people. 

“You really are determined to win, aren’t ya, lady?” Sonic said mockingly.

“Of course I am! What if YOU lost nearly everything, even the one you loved the most, GONE! Wouldn’t you do just about anything to protect what you have left?” She responded back, full of emotion.

“Ya know, I’d feel bad for ya, but you and your hubby wanted to enslave us for your own selfish needs so… Tough luck!” This set Black Widow into a blinding rage, her hastily but forcefulling attacking Sonic with a Chaos Blast. Though with it so emotional, it was clear that she was vulnerable. “Wow! Cool move! Mind if I do the same to you?” Widow didn’t respond, she COULDN’T respond. Her emotions overtook her in that moment. In that moment, her one thought was that of at least getting to see her love again in whatever was after this life.

But before Sonic could provide the final blow onto Black Widow, Shadow ran in front of her, and screamed out.

“I WON’T LET YOU HURT HER!” 

And blasted Sonic with a Chaos Blast that was far beyond Shadow’s power. 

Widow reverted into her “Wilma” form in order to hug them.

“What the… What the hell was that..?!” Shadow looked at its hand, completely stunned. Everyone else was stunned as well, looking at Shadow in pure confusion, and even fear, for some.

Sonic was knocked out of his super form, the Chaos Emeralds scattered about where he landed, as Amy and Tangle helped him up.

At that moment, Omega came out of hiding with Garrick sitting on his shoulder.

“Are you in need of assistance?” He asked to Shadow. Shadow looked out, and saw Rouge’s jeep drive in front of them, and smiled. 

“Nah, we got a ride.” They said, lugging Widow to the jeep. Omega went to the jeep, with Garrick still sitting on his shoulder, and Eclipse ran to the jeep and hugged Relic, with their four kiddos following them. The heroes were too stunned and weakened by Shadow’s attack to try to stop them. Though Knuckles was able to yell out a warning to them.

“We aren’t done yet! This is only the beginning, I tell ya! Only the beginning!”

[the-era-of-shadow]

The Twisted Mystery of Wilma Brevair

Written by Ash Rose Cover art by Ash Rose

Chapter 5: The Hope for Freedom

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS: Swearing, Violence

(OG ver) Original publish date:

(Amino) August 31st 2020

(Fanfiction.net) February 8th 2021

(Rewrite) Original publish date:

(Amino & AO3) April 24th 2021

[Previous]

[Next]

Whisper woke up, chained to a wall. She looked up and saw a window. It was too high up for her to potentially escape, but at least she could tell from it that some time had passed, with it not raining anymore, and the little bit of sky she could get from the view was blue and nearly cloudless. Whisper started thinking. Thinking about how she could possibly escape, and let the world know that Wilma is indeed guilty. Before she could get any real ideas from those thoughts, let alone act upon any of them, she heard the sound of talking above her.

"Yeah, it broke down… They're walking back on foot now." Wilma said, sounding upset.

"If you want me to go get them for you, I'll do it as soon as you say the words!!" Clysdale responded without hesitation.

"Are… are you sure?" Wilma asked, seeming concerned.

"Of course! Anything for you!" Clysdale answered.

"Hmm… Alright, go get em for me. I'll go check on Whisper." Wilma told them.

“You…” Whisper snarled as she heard Wilma walk down the stairs, the lights flicked on, confirming what Whisper already knew.

“Ah, glad to see you awake." Wilma said, smirking slightly.

"I'm going to ask you again. What. Did. You. Do. To. Those. Men?!" Whisper asked Wilma with clear fury in her voice.

"Hmph, aren't you nosy…?" Wilma pouted "You really wanna know, kid? Ya really wanna fuckin know?! I killed them! Murdered them! As simple as that!" 

Whisper had heard Lux and Tangle say a lot that they thought that's what was going on, but hearing it outright from the woman herself made her shocked and flat out unable to speak. "It's only fair! I've lost the love of my life, and now the rest of you get to suffer the same pain!" Wilma continued, becoming angrier and more emotional. 

"Fair? FAIR?! HOW THE FUCK IS THAT FAIR?!" Whisper finally shouted out. 

"THEY TOOK MY HUSBAND AWAY FROM ME SO NOW I TAKE AWAY THE SONS, FATHERS, BOYFRIENDS AND HUSBANDS OF THE WORLD AWAY FROM THEM!!" Wilma shouted back.

"AND YOU THINK YOUR HUSBAND WOULD APPROVE OF SUCH A CRUEL THING?!" Whisper argued.

"YES. HE WOULD!" Wilma yelled in response.

"WELL MAYBE YOUR HUSBAND WAS A PIECE OF SHIT THEN!" 

A dreadful silence quickly filled the room as Wilma looked like it was ready to kill Whisper right then and there. The silence was then broken by the sound of soft whimpering. Whisper looked over and saw the young fox girl from earlier, Dr. Clysdale’s daughter. She didn't notice before that she was there. Whisper's eyes gazed by the notebook the girl was holding and saw what seemed to be a blueprint of sorts for a megaphone, but the girl quickly pulled the notebook to her chest and out of Whisper’s sight.

"I'm sorry for yelling, sweetie… Let's go upstairs, okay?" Wilma said to the girl softly, pushing away her magenta highlighted bangs ever so slightly. The girl nodded and thus she and Wilma went up the stairs, leaving Whisper alone.

Shortly after, there was a shout from a familiar voice, a voice that gave Whisper hope.

“HEY LUX I THINK I FOUND A WAY IN!!” That hope wasn’t much though. Whisper was glad to know that Tangle and Lux came around to free her, but groaned at the stupid move Tangle just made.

“NOT ON MY WATCH!” The angry voice of Relic followed quickly after.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me..” Wilma sighed, annoyed.

Meanwhile, outside the house and clinic, Relic was trying the best she could to chase Lux and Tangle off of the property.

“You can’t go back here! You’re trespassing!!” Relic shouted. Lux pulled on Relic and got a hold onto her, though not for long, as Relic squirmed her way out of Lux’s grasp, and ran after Tangle, forcibly pulling her to the ground as she was getting up the stairs. Tangle, however, managed to pull Relic down with her.

Practically at the moment they both hit the ground, there was a blood curdling cry from Relic that even Whisper and Wilma could clearly hear, followed up by the sound of a cracking bone. Tangle instantly got up, and despite Relic’s involvement in Whisper’s supposed kidnapping, she instantly felt extremely guilty. 

“M-M-My arm...!! I-I can’t move m-my arm…!” Relic was crying heavily, and Tangle could tell that her arm looked seriously screwed up. “It hurts!! IT HURTS!!” She screamed in pure agony. Wilma ran outside and went to Relic’s side.

“Get off of our fucking property right this instant before I call the police! Don’t you realize what you idiots have done?!” She yelled at them, tears in her eyes. Tangle ran away from the scene, terrified.

“Holy shit Tangle! What happened back there?!” Lux asked, trying to get her friend to calm down. Tangle didn’t respond, she just kept crying.

Whisper could hear Wilma and Relic from the basement, Relic was still crying very loudly, barely able to speak, while it seemed that Wilma was calling someone on the phone in the room right above where Whisper was. At first, Whisper’s heart dropped as she realized this, as she assumed that she was calling the police on Tangle and Lux.

“Okay, I know you’re coming back the old fashion way as to avoid suspicion, but I really need you three here ASAP, two of those girls came by trying to break in and attack Relic-- I think they broke her arm!” No, it seemed that Wilma was just calling a close friend, most likely Clysdale, with the other two being the "them" Wilma had reluctantly asked Clysdale to fetch for her.

“Yeah, I know that I could drive her to the hospital myself, but she told me she wants you here, and I need someone to look after our captive.” This basically confirmed that theory to Whisper.

“Don’t worry, it's not like she’s alone right now or anything. I’m here, and Garrick and your little ones are being a great help calming her down a bit.” Whisper felt bad for those kids. Garrick, and all four of Clysdale’s kids too. They seem so nice, and yet their parents are so twisted! 

“... Where are you, anyhow…? Spiral Hill, eh? I think that’s where those girls are from… Yes, those two out of the four that are investigating my killings, Whisper included… One of them was the big burly tiger girl, the other one was that slim lemur… Lux and Tangle, huh? We should pay them a visit some time, ya know… To pay them a lesson. Don’t you think?... Heheh… Oh absolutely..! But we need to get Relic to the hospital first, at LEAST!” Whisper gulped, hoping that she would be able to escape and rejoin her friends before Wilma and Clysdale decided to “pay them a visit”, per-say.

But for now, it seemed that she just needed to wait things out. 

She heard a bit of commotion going on a few minutes later, and could somewhat hear the voice of Doctor Clysdale for a few seconds, but it was too quiet and muffled to understand. The ruckus only lasted for a few seconds, as it seems that they were quite quick about getting Relic to the hospital. 

After that… complete silence, other than the occasional sound of whoever stayed behind to make sure Whisper didn’t escape getting something, most likely food.

Eventually, Lux and Tangle made it back to their house, Tangle immediately ran up to her room.

“Hey! Tangle! What’s wro-” Tangle slammed her door on the concerned Jewel. Lux ran up the stairs, and Jewel immediately turned to her. “Lux! What happened?!” Lux explained everything that had happened during their attempt to free Whisper, including Wilma’s threat to call the police, which made Jewel’s heart drop.

“O-Oh… I see…” Lux quietly opened the door to Tangle’s room, and saw her softly sobbing, laying in her bed.

“Hey… Tangle... “ Lux said softly as she made her way to Tangle’s bed. “I know you probably feel pretty guilty-”

“No… That’s not it… Well…” Tangle wiped her eyes. “That’s not my main concern…”

“It’s not? Then what is?” Lux asked. Tangle started to cry again.

“I just want Whisper to be okay!!” Lux hugged Tangle.

“I know, we all do.”

“Um… If you feel up to hearing it… I got some more info while you guys were gone.” Jewel mentioned as she handed Tangle a box of tissues.

“Oh…? What kind of info…?” Tangle asked.

“Yeah Jewel, what’d you find?” Lux was curious as well. Jewel told Lux and Tangle everything that Amy had told her.

“Did she ever follow up on what she was saying??" Tangle asked, worried.

"I haven't checked…" Jewel admitted. 

"You should do that. I'll comfort Tangle." Lux told Jewel.

Jewel powered on her computer and then quickly hopped onto Twitter. She noticed a message notification from Amy.

"Oh thank goodness.." She sighed to herself.

She opened up the conversation.

"Sorry for the wait!! A big fight went down in my house and Knuckles forced me into hiding before I could respond. Anyway, about my ex-friend…" 

Jewel read the full message, her jaw hanging open.

"Shadow?" 

“I actually honestly figured that the person who betrayed Amy would be Shadow.” Tangle butted in, after Jewel told her about Amy’s new message.

“Yeah, they're weird….” Lux said. 

“Mhm…. Always thinking they were better than Sonic…" Tangle pouted.

Jewel sighed and giggled a little, which caused Lux and Tangle to look at her.

“Sorry! It’s just that… well, you two are so cute!” 

“JEWEL!!” Tangle shouted, embarrassed and blushing.

“Heeey… Hey.. Settle down there Tangle. I mean, you gotta admit, she’s at least half right!” Tangle pouted, but knew that whether she was talking in her own opinion, or for her, Lux had a point. She just didn’t want to say it, especially cause the two had practically just met. Tangle’s known Jewel since they were kids, and she’s known Whisper for two years, meanwhile, she’s only known Lux for a DAY.

“Anyway, anyway.... I have an idea.” Jewel said. “An idea on how to get Whisper free.”