Snively's Bane, Chapter 2
Eclipse, his little ones, and Rouge had searched the entire outside of the base. There wasn't much of note besides there not being as many badnik remains as they had expected, signs of fires which were easily explained by the bombardment from Eggman's forces during the war, and suspicious piles of bones. It seemed just as abandoned as the last time anyone was here, which was perfect for a wayward alien to hide.
Eclipse and Rouge slipped into the main research facility, Crim and the Dark Arms trailing behind. They were all deathly silent as they creeped through the darkness. Rouge took the lead, using her sonar to navigate. Eclipse's glowing irises helped him to see in the dark, but it also gave away his position—it was the same case with the Dark Arms' glowing eyes and mouths.
After hearing metal clanking across metal, they scrambled into a nearby vent. The green feet of an Egg Pawn walked by, followed by distinctively blocky air shoes.
"Shado-?" Eclipse started to say before Rouge covered his mouth.
"Quiet," she hissed. "Those are the wrong color."
Indeed, the sole and tongue of the air shoes were green, as was the distinctive stripe up the side of the leg. What should've been black fur was shiny metal. This wasn't his brother, but one of the many Shadow Androids made in his image.
"I thought this place was supposed be abandoned," Eclipse whispered, concerned what Black Arm sightings near an active Egg Base would mean.
"It is," Rouge affirmed, crawling forward through the air ducts. "It doesn't even show up in the Egg Net anymore."
Eclipse followed the bat's lead, slinking through the confined darkness. His little ones cautiously floated behind him. They wordlessly passed through several rooms, peeking out through the vents to see more robots and supplies. It became more and more clear that this was new activity rather than left behind robots acting on old code.
"Hey, this room's full of broken tubes!" Eclipse pointed out, immediately thinking of the pod Shadow was grown in, though these were upright and clear glass all around rather than just a viewport in the front.
Rouge looked around and listened, then popped the vent cover off when she was certain that the room was unoccupied. She slipped out and surveyed the room further. "This is the facility where Eggman was researching the Phantom Ruby and where Infinite was "born", so to speak."
Eclipse slinked out of the vent, motioning for the Dark Arms to stay for now. He frowned and grumbled at the mention of Infinite but now wasn't the time to focus on that. He was searching for a wayward brother—or so he hoped.
"This place is trashed. Are you sure- Oof!" Eclipse bumped into Rouge, who had stopped dead in her tracks. He looked around her to see a pod that looked different from the plain tubes.
"This is what the Shadow Androids are stored in," she shared, clearly shocked. "And what I found Shadow in after-"
Eclipse studied the empty pod. "It could just be for the Shadow Android we saw."
"Could be," she agreed. "But it's just... It's central to the room like it's important rather than just dropped here."
"I guess so." He didn't see the big deal, but he had no interest in any of Eggman's robots, only the possibility of his kin.
Rouge took out a small device, themed after herself with little bat wings of course, and placed it on the pod underneath an edge and out of sight. Surveying the rest of the room turned up little. While the tubes had been left as they were, the broken glass had been cleaned up. Boxes of supplies were around, suggesting plans for future construction.
"One last thing and we can get out of here before anyone shows up." Rouge slipped a flash drive into the main console.
Eclipse let out a sigh, disappointed that they didn't find any leads on the Black Arm rumor. He supposed the base here was just a coincidence as he couldn't see a Black Arm taking shelter in an already occupied building. He was certain whomever was here wouldn’t tolerate the alien's presence either.
"Rouge?" he spoke up, distracted.
"Hmm?" She looked away from the console and to him, her ears perking up.
"Do you really think there could actually be another Black Arm out there?" Eclipse wondered, his melancholy and longing clear.
"Anything's possible," Rouge assured. "You were difficult to track down and there's plenty of places for one to hide."
Laser fire tore through the room and the Shadow Android sped in. Eclipse warped and took out an Egg Pawn by popping its head off. Rouge flew up and spun down into another Egg Pawn.
The Shadow Android spin-dashed into Eclipse, knocking him over, then hit Rouge. Her head hit the console, snapping the flash drive in half. Eclipse got back to his feet to see the Shadow Android grab a limp Rouge.
Panic spread through Eclipse as he thought about how Shadow would react, how he would blame him for letting anything happen to his friend.
Eclipse warped over and bonded with Blurk. He spun around and sliced the Shadow Android in half with his barbed tail. Releasing Blurk, Eclipse scooped up Rouge, who groaned, and slipped into the airduct.
"Go! Go!" he ordered his little ones. Eclipse scurried through the ductwork, holding onto Rouge, making sure to cradle her head with a hand. He made it to the original vent and slipped out, putting the cover back once everyone was out. All of the robots were in the other room trying to figure out where they had gone, so he was able to run out of the facility without further resistance.
After some distance, Eclipse turned around to check if he was being followed. Finding he wasn't, he turned to Crim. "Crim, I don't want to ask this but, I need you stay behind in the jungle and report back anything you see to me. Be careful and don't take risks."
Crim cawed, eager to follow orders. There was still the chance of a Black Arm being out there in the jungle and Eclipse wasn’t going to abandon him.
"Good luck. I know you can handle it." Eclipse would still worry but the runt had managed to sneak on the shuttle and survive Angel Island on his own.
Eclipse continued on, carrying Rouge through the jungle, his Dark Arms following close. He didn't want to fly and be easily spotted from the ground. Hopefully the robots would give up once they realized the intruders were gone.
Rouge was a little more aware by the time they returned to civilization. "Take... to apartment... in Casino."
Eclipse raised a brow. "Are you sure? Wouldn't you rather a hospital?"
"No," she groaned. "I don't want... Shadow to know." She didn't want the lecture.
That made two of them. The last thing Eclipse wanted was a new rift between himself and his brother. He could just hear Shadow scolding him for not considering a mortal's limitations.
"Alright." Eclipse followed Rouge's directions, which were mostly points and mumbles, to the casino. A huge bat-shaped sign with the word "casino" in lights made it easy to find.
"Don't tell me you own the place," Eclipse grumbled with an eye-roll. A smaller sign with the words "Club Rouge" confirmed it. He thought back to the gaudy lights of Eggman's Tropical Resort and wondered what his brother saw in her. They seemed so different, near opposites of each other.
Rouge directed him to a back door and got out her key. Eclipse brought her in and to a couch. He stacked the decorative heart-shaped throw pillows under her head. She further directed him to get an ice pack from the freezer, a bottle of pain pills, and a glass of water.
After Rouge situated the icepack on her head and took the pills, she said, "You can go-"
"Oh no!" Eclipse refuted, folding his arms across his puffed up chest. "I'm not going to leave and have something happen! I'm staying right here to make sure you don't get worse!"
"My-my, you really have changed," Rouge teased, still managing to be playful despite her injury.
Eclipse grumbled, flustered. "I just don't want Shadow coming after me if you croaked. That's all."
Rouge could've taken offense but instead grinned wider. Eclipse was acting much like his older brother, though Shadow would've done a better job at hiding his fluster. "Fine. Just don't make a mess or eat all my food."
"Tch!" Eclipse protested at the accusation, as if he'd actually wreck her place on purpose or that he only cared about food and eating all the time. It wasn't his fault that he had grown up with so little food and then had to scavenge for it while on the run.
He'd just have to keep his Dark Arms from wrecking the place out of boredom.
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