The Rise (4/4) - r
Silver was desperate, and there was only one thing he could do. He pressed his forehead on the alien's one, slowly connecting their minds. He remembered serene sceneries, making them flow inside Eclipse's brain. It took some minutes before the Darkling calmed down and awoke from his panic attack.
"Feeling better?" asked the psychic, and the other nodded. He resumed his petting, and after a short while he continued where he stopped: "You did nothing wrong," he softly said, observing Eclipse's reaction, and since there was nothing, he went on: "You are not traitor. You did the right thing since you have protected your true family."
Silver felt Eclipse's head moved a bit to see the group of Dark Arms. They were still peacefully sleeping, not knowing what was happening around them. The psychic kept on: "Black Doom saw you only like tools he can toss away whenever he feels like it. He brainwashed you to hurt them. Someone like him was never a family."
Eclipse focused his attention on the cold floor unable to look into the amber eyes. He could tell they were full of softness and gentleness. It kind of reminded him Black Death his master and creator. He was also having encouraging words for him, and even when he got angry at him, he listened to his reasoning, allowing him to do more beyond the orders.
"There is no shame in that," said Silver's voice. But the alien couldn't help it. He felt terrible for going against his kin; however, he felt unmistakable hatred towards Black Doom for hurting his wisps.
"If you want... I can be your brother. Not bound by blood but by trust and respect."
Eclipse's eyes widen, and he looked at the psychic. Watery yellow eyes locked into Silver's amber ones. The alien's lips were shivering he had to bite them to calm himself down. How much he had yearned to hear those words. How much he wished to have a brother who would support him, one he could look up to.
He weakly lifted his body, throwing himself around Silver's neck, hugging him and crying, digging his face into the soft fur over his chest. It was so fluffy he was asleep within minutes. The psychic continued to pet his quills until he was sure the alien was soundly sleeping. Then he moved him to the slightly squirming wisps that felt their friend wasn't close.
He slowly and gently moved wisps around Eclipse's body. They immediately let out a sigh of relieve. He kept watching them for a bit longer before heading to the cockpit. There he found Shadow sitting behind the wheel, looking forward seeing the planet Mobius was getting closer.
When the door silently closed, the ebony hedgehog said: "We will be landing in a few minutes." He snorted: "With Black Doom's so superior technology you would think this thing can fly fast." There was sarcasm in his voice, but Silver remained silent, standing behind him. "So, what do you want?" prodded him Shadow, suspecting he has something serious to say. He put his legs on the wheel that was slowly moving as it was controlled by autopilot and crossed them.
"Eclipse saved our zone," Silver said after a small pause.
"Meaning, I'm supposed to let him live, right?" Shadow frowned, responding with a question.
"In a manner of speaking... Yes," the psychic firmly answered.
"You saw Black Doom, Eclipse is the same," he reminded him. "I have already told you about him."
"Yes, I'm well aware he came to our planet with the intention to destroy it much less like Black Doom." Thought Silver agreed with him on this matter, his voice was showing he wasn't completely of the same opinion. "And this same Eclipse saved your quills."
Shadow huffed, silently growling under his muzzle. He was well aware of that. If Eclipse didn't bring Master Emerald, they all would be pierced by numerous pipes and needles to get their D.N.A. extracted, and their minds would be wiped away, turning them into mindless slaves. He surpassed a shiver. The thought of him returning to his zone as a puppet and destroying everything he vowed to protect was sickening him.
Silver continued: "He isn't evil. He was taught his race is the only one right that others don't have the right to live. He never had a chance to learn anything else, about others ways to live, about respect, friendship, or bonds." Ther the younger hedgehog made a short pause. "In a sense, he is a lot like you."
"In which way?" Shadow asked annoyed. They were nothing alike!
"For a start, you both believe you are ultimate lifeforms," Silver responded with a slight smile on his face.
"Because I'm!" barked the other hedgehog, halfway turning toward the psychic on the spinning chair. His boots touched the floor with a loud bump.
The psychic put a hand on his right hip, tilting his body in the same direction. "Do you have a certificate?" He playfully lifted an eyebrow. It was obvious he was teasing him.
"I have what?" he repeated.
Silver's posture straightened up, and it was clear he was now serious. "Think about it! You believe you are ultimate lifeform because everybody told you so. Eclipse is the same. Give him a chance to change and prove himself."
There was a distant memory that flashed in Shadow's crimson eyes, but it was soon gone. A memory of certain blonde girl and space colony hovering above the planet Mobius where he was created and spend a small portion of his life. The older hedgehog silently turned away, looking forward.
"We are going for landing, fasten your seat belt," he dryly announced, crossing his arms.
The psychic observed him only for a second before returning back to Eclipse. His group was still sleeping, so he sat next to them, watching and making sure they won't wake up during the landing process. They didn't enter the planet atmosphere until two hours later. It was a bit bumpy ride, but Shadow made sure to fly safely.
Once they touched the ground and the surface of the ship wasn't like frying pan, they opened the door and Silver took the sleeping group of aliens out. Around them was vast desert, but some city was visible in the distance. They arrived a short time before the sunset, as the sun was above the horizon. It will be cold soon, but the heat coming from their spaceship will keep them warm for a while.
Silver informed Shadow he had to get something and left before the ebony hedgehog could complain. The grumpy hedgehog silently growled, and his crimson eyes fell on Eclipse. He tackled with him in the past, and he swore he will end Black Arms' terror, permanently. This was a perfect opportunity. The naive psychic was gone, and the alien was defenseless. Nobody was standing in his way. For a few times, he tightened his hands into fists, before heading back to the ship.
There he found Master Emerald. The surface was dimmed and lifeless. He wondered if it would ever recover its previous gleam. He touched it, feeling only a bit of lingering energy. He closed his eyes and concentrated before making a big jump across the planet. He repeated this process for a few times until he found the ruins of the Angel Island.
It was a home of a certain stubborn echidna who guarded it, and it used to be a nice place full of greenery and different zones from mountains, lava lakes, and snow plains. Now only a top of a shrine was barely visible as the sand covered it. He moved closer, placing the gem at the top.
The gem slowly spun in the air, regaining a little of his previous shine, and the sand started to shake. That was all Shadow needed. He turned away, saying: "Guard it better next time, knucklehead, 'kay?" He waved his hand before skating away. If he stayed for a while longer, he might have noticed a red face's reflection upon the gem surface for a brief moment, or maybe it was an illusion of the light.
In any case, he reached the edge of the island before it took to the sky, resuming its rightful place. He looked over his shoulder, watching the sand to rain down for a bit before speeding up.
Many minutes later he reached the escape pod, finding Eclipse was slowly waking up, rubbing his eyes. His wisps were gradually regaining consciousness too. The Darkling shuddered, noticing his half-brother was so close. His small body twitched, hardly recovered from the worst. They kept staring at each other eyes, when Blurk happily shrieked, dashing toward approaching Silver.
"Whoa there!" The psychic laughed and lowered a big container full of Red Fruit.
The blocky wisp jumped into it, gulping one piece after another, and his two brothers soon joined him.
"Blurk!" called him Eclipse, seeing how his skin was covered by the red juice. "Start chewing already!"
For once, Cyzer and Cregal weren't fighting over their food, probably too tired and hungry to waste any energy. The only one not being messy and stuffing their face was Rhygenta who slowly moved forward. The psychic took a few pieces, putting them in front of her.
"Good appetite," he encouraged her. It wasn't necessary as she dug her tiny teeth into the skin, sucking the juice.
Eclipse wobbly moved to her, taking a seat next to her, accepting the fruit Silver gave him. The ebony hedgehog walked toward the pod, leaning against its now warm surface. He let the heat spread into his whole body. Finally, he could relax, so he closed his eyes. They were closed only for a minute or two when he heard someone got closer.
In front of him was Silver, offering him one round piece. "Want some?"
"No, I'm not hungry," he slightly growled. No matter what, he refused to eat that disgusting thing.
"Okay," he responded and took a big bite from it, heading back, sitting next to Eclipse.
The alien was stuffing his face almost faster then the psychic could bring the new fruit. He was glad he harvested three plants, but it still might not be enough.
"When is the next Genesis Portal opening?" inquired Shadow after a few minutes.
The psychic with stuffed cheeks looked at him, slurring: "Duhno." He chewed and swallowed it when the ebony hedgehog lifted his eyebrow. "I don't know," he answered clearly, "in a minute, in an hour, in a week... They don't have a schedule."
The other hedgehog nodded deeply in thoughts. 'That means we can be stuck here for who knows how long,' he snorted. He had no time for that, there was a place he had to protect at all costs. However, there was nothing he could do but to wait. So he sat down, making himself comfortable and pushing the growling sounds coming from his stomach back.
Silver's radar started to beep when the sun disappeared behind the horizon, and the wisps were all stuffed and snoozing.
"Speak of a portal..." He activated his radar, checking the holographic screen while two pairs of eyes were on him. "There will be one opening pretty soon."
"Where it is?" inquired Shadow. "Will it takes us back?"
The psychic stood up, pointing toward the distant city. "It should appear somewhere there," he answered the first question. "Most of the portals are connected to your time and zone." He shrugged his shoulders. "But I can't guarantee anything."
"That's fine," the ebony hedgehog replied. "Let's move there in a case there is some monster on the other side, so we won't need to deal with it later," he added.
They headed there, and it took them some time, but they found the destination at the outskirt of the city. Shadow didn't bother to inspect that place, as he had enough of the gloominess this planet was full of. He only wanted to return home.
After another minute, Silver's ears picked the familiar shorn-like sound, and the swirling energy ripped the space. Eclipse watched it a bit. If he wouldn't be so desperate the last time, he might haven't jumped into it. He could have ended up in much worse place. The psychic placed his hand forward, analyzing the energy readings.
"So, does it lead to the home or not?" asked Shadow impatiently.
Silver turned toward him with lowered head, so it was hard to see his eyes. The ebony hedgehog clenched his fists. 'No luck, hmpf!'
"Yup!" the younger hedgehog jolly announced, making the other hedgehog twitch.
"You jerk!" He dashed to nudge him into the shoulder. "You did it on purpose!"
"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," he smiled and rubbed his shoulder.
Shadow immediately jumped through it. The silver hedgehog looked at uncertain Eclipse. Silver held his hand out. "Let's go together."
The alien answered with a nod, slowly crossing the border between two different dimensions. It was a strange feeling to overcome such impossible distance with a single step. The young hedgehog for the last time looked around, saying his silent goodbye to this sad world before returning home too.
Once there he closed the portal, seeing they were in a jungle. Half-brothers were staring at each other, and the atmosphere got tense when a shrieked cut it:
"Shadow! Do you copy?" yelled high-pitched scream from Shadow's mini ear communicator he didn't lose during the adventure and completely forgot about it. This sure wasn't a way he wanted to be reminded of it.
"Rouge, stop yelling!" he shouted back, pressing his ear.
"Shadow? Shadow? Is that you?" sounded from the other side. He could tell she had a hard time believing it.
He turned away from Eclipse, making a small smile. "Who else?"
"Where the heck did you disappear?" Once it was confirmed her partner was alright, she could be angry at him, having no need to hold back.
"I entered Genesis Portal. How long I was gone?" He was worried he was gone for a long time, but he was glad it didn't take them to a recent past, creating a time paradox.
"Ugh," he heard her growling. "About three hours. And why did you jump into a random portal?"
"Eclipse ran through--"
"Do you have any idea where you could end up?" Rouge shouted from the other side, ignoring her partner was trying to explain himself.
"I was..."
She refused to let him talk: "And without our backup to boot, you dumbhog!"
He felt down, but this time he was reckless. However, her yelling would be more bearable if he didn't have a giggling hedgehog, who didn't bother to hide it, behind his back.
"You..." Rouge started, but this time Shadow interrupted her:
"I'm the ultimate lifeform. I can take care of myself. More importantly, where are you now?" His ears picked her grumbling.
"Just a sec, I'll tell you coordination." There was a slight pause before she placed her next question: "What about Eclipse?"
'Now she asks,' thought her ebony partner with a bit of sass.
Rouge continued: "We almost had him. I hope you have good news because Omega was all this time grumbling about a lack of objects to shoot."
The grim hero once more smiled. He could imagine his tin-can teammate. What more, he felt eyes on his back, anticipating his answer. He took a deep breath, before replying: "Then I guess I'll have to offer him a sparring match as a compensation. I have lost him."
The alien jerked. Did he hear it right? Was it his imagination? Was he letting him go? Why? He hardly heard him mumble something about coordination before he set off to meet his team. Eclipse felt a soft pat on his shoulder.
"I guess this means we can find you some shelter." Silver jerked his head toward the jungle. Eclipse nodded, following him, entering deeper parts. It took them some time, but they discovered a small cave, and together they made it more comfortable to live inside.
After it, they explored the surrounding area, finding a river and fruit trees. They were having fun when Silver's radar went off. "Not again," he sadly mumbled, checking it. "I guess this means, see you later." He made sheepish smile, waving him goodbye and flew away.
Eclipse hung his head down, loudly sighing. He turned around when he heard his name. Behind him landed the young psychic, who returned, and it seemed it was urgent. However, he didn't speak immediately.
"Before I leave, I want to say something, though I'm not the right person for it." He made a slight pause, looking into his eyes. "Give it a try."
The alien wasn't sure what he meant, so he gestured him to continue.
"I know there is a lot of bad blood between you, but you are actually more similar than you think."
"Similar? How? I would never massacre my family!" Eclipse furiously shouted. Being compared to that traitor was disgusting him, but at the same time, his stomach was gripped by ice-cold hand. The Black Doom, he put his hopes into, almost killed him and his wisps, despite they were a family. He still didn't know how to comprehend it.
Silver continued with a soft voice: "You both are stubborn, headstrong, and you love your families dearly. So much you will do anything to protect them." He gently smiled, and there was a loud beeping coming from his radar, but he ignored it.
The alien balled his fists. "That's not!" he muttered.
"Eclipse," the psychic firmly pronounced his name, "for Shadow his home and family are here on this planet. This is the place he belongs to, he was born and raised here." He slightly nodded. "He may not say it, but he has many friends too."
The alien fidgeted a bit, unable to understand how one can throw his family away for strangers. How can something be stronger than blood ties? He had so much to say, but he kept quiet, letting Silver finish his speech.
"I have told you, I have no memories of my parents, right?"
The Darkling nodded.
"If they would show up in front of me, I think I would be happy." He smiled, and there was a bit of blush on his muzzle. "There would be so much to talk about and catch up with. However," his happy voice turned a bit darker, "if they would want from me to hurt my friends and destroy my home because they deemed them inferior... I would stop them."
"But your family!" Eclipse silently barked.
Silver sadly shook his head. "Family is not just about blood. For me, my friends would be more my family than two people that appeared before me after such a long time. I'm not saying I would hate them for it. It's complicated." He took a deep breath placing serious question: "Would you kill your Dark Arms if Black Doom ordered it?"
Eclipse shivered and looked at them.
"Of course not, because they are your true family. You share invisible bonds stronger than any blood can provide." He tightly clenched his fist. He stepped closer, hugging him. "I won't pretend I understand you, but I know you and Shadow can solve this problem between you without hurting each other. It may take time... maybe a lot of it, but if you both try to understand each other, I'm sure you will be able to live side by side."
Eclipse had no answer, and he didn't return the hug, he didn't know how, but the softness of Silver's fur was warming him up. He didn't know how to respond. The horrible experience with Black Doom's brainwashing and now Silver's gentle words made him thinking and unsure about his own actions. His hands moved forward, trying to imitate the hug when he radar loudly beeped, startling them.
"Okay, okay!" shouted Silver at his Genesis radar, stepping away from Eclipse. "I wish I could stay longer, but there may be somebody in need of my help." As he stood there a wind gently swayed with his quills. "But don't worry, we will meet again. Maybe sooner than we both think. Those portals can have a strange sense of humor." He made cheesy smile, waved him once more goodbye and flew toward a new adventure.
Eclipse was watching in that direction for a few minutes even though the psychic was already gone. Blurk gently nudged him and was patted in return.
"Let's go," he said to his family, and together they entered the cave. There were so many things to think about and more to do, but before all of it, they needed to take a rest.
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