Chapter Text
Eclipse slipped silently through the mid-height grass to reach Shadow. The hedgehog merely flicked his right ear to signal him to be quiet and wait for Rouge's signal. The darkling tried not to roll his eyes, thinking Shadow was too careful for him not to screw anything up. Even if his self-confidence had long since crumbled and hadn't improved much, Chaos, he wasn't a child anymore!
Black Arm flicked his tail as quietly and lightly as he could, trying not to drift too far into thought, to avoid distraction.
"Focus on the mission" - he ordered himself sharply, his eyes narrowing.
He strained, trying to see anything ahead of him in the late evening darkness. The sky was completely shrouded in clouds, obscuring the pale glow of the stars with a thick fog, making even Eclipse, whose night vision was far better than the normal mobian or human, struggle to distinguish the faint outline of the structure before him.
His muscles tensed, and he was flooded with pleasure and desire as he thought of the perfidious scientist who likely hid there, the one he so desperately wanted to sink his claws into. His old anger and embarrassment flared up again, just as it had when he learned at the pre-mission meeting that Dr. Julian Snively had repeatedly stolen and collected samples of his blood and DNA while he was still fresh from surgery. This, after learning the location of his hideout, revealed by Team Dark's extensive forensics, made him want to tear him apart and thus retaliate for the wrong he had done.
"Calm down" - he exhaled as quietly as he could, relaxing.
He had to focus on the mission above all else - the operation wouldn't succeed if he attacked everything in the hope of finding his enemy. Besides, the mission's goal was to infiltrate the base, not tear apart everything that moved. It was also important to do it as discreetly as possible, as that left a much greater chance of finding something useful.
A dynamic movement of Shadow's hand immediately brought Eclipse back to reality. Immediately after a signal from his older brother, the darkling moved with the Spider Troupe toward a distant building (which turned out to be a shed), careful not to run into Shadow, who was trying to stay close to them. Without hesitation, he entered the darkness filling the shed and stopped there with the others. Immediately, several soft clicks were heard, and then the space was illuminated by several beams of light simultaneously.
Eclipse immediately narrowed his eyes and let out a disgruntled hiss as the bright light of the flashlights caught him off guard. He flicked his tail in irritation at his oversensitivity, then blinked a few times to shake off the unwanted effect.
- What now? - he asked, running to the others, who had already overtaken him.
- Searching - Shadow replied, carefully observing Andrews and Lodge, who were searching the area with flashlights in hand.
Eclipse nodded slightly and began to look around. He might have a lower chance of finding anything, but he was following his instincts. Darkness seemed to be the perfect environment for him; after all, he was made for stealth and surprise ambushes, and night, or the lack of light, aided him in that endeavor.
The darkling took a few steps, trying to pick up any distinctive scents or sounds, carefully testing the ground with his feet. Finally, his claws caught something, making a scratching sound. Eclipse immediately crouched down and began running his hands over the object he had sensed earlier. It seemed to him as if some part of the floor was convex, or rather, raised, as Black Arm was able to insert his claws into the thin gap between the supposed convexity and the rest of the floor.
- I think I found something! - he exclaimed, realizing his find might be a secret entrance.
Shadow immediately ran up to him, followed by Rouge, tossing him a flashlight. With remarkable agility, he caught it and carefully aimed it at his half-brother so as not to blind him.
- That's the entrance! Good job, Eclipse! - Cooper shouted excitedly, while Clayton and Andrews were already running to try to lift the hatch. Eclipse immediately stepped aside to give them more room.
As the two men were finishing opening the entrance, Eclipse and Shadow's eyes met. Pride gleamed in the scarlet, making the gold shine with it as well. The darkling rarely felt positive emotions, but lately he had begun to heal from it, and the pride in himself that had just blossomed in him like a flower after rain was important to him, filling him with warmth. He could see it was important to Shadow as well, for his usually stern face brightened slightly.
Their satisfaction, however, was pushed to the background as Andrews's sharp voice cut through the air.
- Hey, freaks! One of you go first, because... - the red-haired captain doubled over, a violent cough racking his body, forcing him to pause. When the attack subsided, he continued in a hoarse voice - if anyone's waiting for us downstairs, one of you will be burned alive first
Eclipse moved slightly to the side, looked at Shadow, and motioned with his tail for him to enter the hole. He had to admit with a twinge of slight irritation that the hedgehog was better suited for such operations - Shadow's entire body was immune to almost everything, and only his crests were so resistant.
Shadow accepted this suggestion and understood the reasoning behind it, so he sat down next to the hole, carefully placed his legs in it, and began descending lower and lower until he finally disappeared from Eclipse's sight.
For a terrifyingly long moment, Shadow remained silent, then signaled to Eclipse through the mind link that it was safe.
- We can go down - Eclipse announced, quickly grabbing the ladder with his claws.
- I asume the base is abandoned - the hedgehog said once everyone was downstairs. - But that doesn't mean...
Andrews seemed not to be listening at all, taking advantage of his position as mission leader, as he rudely interrupted him.
- There are stairs here, so there must be more floors than just this one - he said, looking at his unit. We take the lower floors, and the Tower's pet freaks team takes this floor
Shadow froze, his mouth still open, but said nothing, just twitched his ear in irritation and crossed his arms. Rouge, along with Eclipse, nodded, fiddling with the flashlight. Andrews, on the other hand, coughed weakly a few times and, along with the Spider Troupe, scattering as planned.
- Maybe we should go this way - Shadow suggested, pointing east, and the others agreed. They walked in silence, their ears straining for the slightest sound, constantly glancing around. But before they could find anything useful, a wall blocked their path.
- Dead end! - Eclipse hissed, lashing his tail in irritation.
- Relax, we'll go the other way - Rouge said, waving a hand at Eclipse.
The three of them turned around and returned to the exit ladder, then continued down the corridor. Shadow, who had been leading with a flashlight, suddenly stopped.
- What? - Eclipse asked immediately, quickening his pace to catch up with his half-brother.
- That - Shadow replied, looking ahead. The darkling followed his lead and saw that the corridor they were following split into three smaller ones.
- For Chaos' sake, who built that? - Eclipse growled, lashing his tail again.
Shadow shook his head slowly, but Eclipse couldn't tell if the gesture meant a negative answer to his question or pure amusement.
- I suggest we split up - Rouge suggested after examining each corridor.
- I don't think that's a good idea - Shadow protested immediately. - We only have one flashlight
Rouge rolled her eyes carelessly and flapped her wings, and Eclipse snorted with laughter.
- I'm a bat, hun, I love dark places - the treasure hunter announced.
- And I can see well in the dark - Black Arm pointed out.
Shadow's fur on his chest and neck puffed slightly in embarrassment, but he noticed it just in time and returned it to its original position.
- Fine - the hedgehog finally agreed. - If we discover anything, we'll communicate with each other
Rouge nodded briskly, and Eclipse a little more slowly, trying to hide his uncertainty.
- I'll take the middle one - he announced, and without waiting for approval from the others, he stepped into the tunnel.
He was the only one not wearing a communicator (by his own choice), so he preferred to take the corridor, which would certainly be close to the one Shadow would choose. The shorter distance strengthened their mental link, through which he could communicate with the hedgehog if necessary, and through him with Rouge.
"I wonder if I'll find anything" - Eclipse thought, stepping as lightly as he could.
Before the mission, he'd assumed he'd have to fight dangerous machines to even infiltrate the base. Snively had worked for Eggman for a long time, so he certainly had the knowledge to build deadly robots. However, nothing of the sort had happened, and he had to admit he was disappointed.
He wanted to fight to test his strength, which had been honed after so much training, and simply to feel the risk. The purpose of his creation was to fight, so it seemed natural that he was drawn to her.
- Eep! - the squeak that escaped his lips without his knowledge brought him back to reality. For a moment, he wondered what had caused him to make that larval sound, but then he saw and felt the wall before him.
"A dead end!" - he thought in surprise, then turned back.
He tried not to get too lost in thought, carefully checking every millimeter of the corridor for any doors or entrances, as if whether he would be treated with that Chaos-cursed inhibitor again depended on it. He knew Tower wouldn't tolerate failure, and his threat echoed in his mind again.
"Don't think about it!" - he chided himself, cursing his inability to concentrate. However, that didn't change the fact that the monotonous, branchless corridor bored him. He thought he'd find at least one...
Eclipse's thoughts were immediately pushed to the back burner when he saw a darker section of wall, undoubtedly the entrance to a smaller corridor. The darkling entered it without hesitation, but he didn't get far, as the wall blocked his path again. When he collided with it, he retreated from the branch and returned to the main tunnel.
Along the way, he found several more smaller corridors, each ending in a dead end, until he finally returned to the point where the original tunnel branched into three smaller ones.
Before Eclipse could contact Shadow, he saw the hedgehog emerge from the tunnel to his right.
- Did you find anything? - the older one asked.
The other one shooked his head.
- Just a few dead ends - he reported.
- Same here - Shadow replied.
For a moment, they both stood in silence, wondering what to do next.
- Why don't you have your communicator? - Shadow asked suddenly, and Eclipse felt terribly embarrassed. He really hoped the Ultimate Lifeform wouldn't notice that he hadn't worn it, even though it had been given to him quite a while ago.
- Umm... - the darkling made an involuntary sound, unsure how to respond.
Shadow just sighed in disappointment and shook his head, closing his eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose and bowed for a moment, then his head shot up.
- You can't do things like that! Think about it, if you were alone with Rouge, or if I were too far away? What if something happened to her and me right now and you needed the Spider Troupe? How would you contact anyone? - he asked, his tone oddly subdued compared to the emotion he showed through his body language.
Eclipse took a few steps back, wrapping his tail loosely around his leg. He didn't want Shadow to know the truth; he was too ashamed of it. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, not even Luna.
Bzzt! Bzzt!
The darkling suppressed a sigh of relief when he heard Shadow's communicator buzzing. The hedgehog gave Eclipse one last meaningful glance and clicked on the communicator. He looked intensely focused and thoughtful for a moment, then his gaze settled on Eclipse again.
- Rouge found something, we have to go to her - he announced, and ran to the tunnel where Eclipse assumed the bat had entered. However, instead of rushing to Rouge immediately, he waited until his younger half-brother reached him and gave him a warning look, his scarlet eyes peering out from under narrowed lids.
- And we'll return to the subject of the communicator later - he warned.
Eclipse stood for a moment, his eyes glazed over, wondering why he had to be so weak. The reason he didn't want to wear the communicator seemed more and more foolish with each passing second. He had truly tried to wear that Chaos-cursed communicator, but he didn't feel comfortable with it. He generally disliked having his personal space invaded by any electrical devices, or rather, that's what he told himself. The real problem was the feeling of something tightening around his hand. It didn't matter that it wasn't there, it was still uncomfortable and...terrifying.
He couldn't concentrate as he put on the communicator. He still felt that alarming pressure on his hand, and as soon as the communicator vibrated, he felt a powerful, cold shiver run through his body and heard his own agonized cries from the trauma-choked memory.
- Eclipse!
The darkling shook himself from the painful memories as he heard Shadow's urgent cry. He immediately shot out like a slingshot and ran blindly down the corridor.
- I'm here! - he announced, skidding to a stop beside Shadow.
The hedgehog nodded, and Rouge, who had previously had her back to him, turned to look at him.
- What took you so long, alien-boy? - she asked teasingly, running a finger teasingly across Eclipse's chin. - You weren't concerned about my discovery?
Eclipse crossed his arms.
- Please - he rolled his eyes, lifted his tail, and flicked it, showing his disinterest in Rouge's flirting. But then he looked at the treasure hunter with a mixture of curiosity and determination. - I'm here, so let's get to it. What did you discover?
Rouge didn't answer immediately, but first walked towards him, her flirtatious smile still on her face, then stood in front of him and Shadow.
- That - she announced, pointing with her outstretched arm at the wall.
Eclipse blinked in surprise, and Shadow frowned in dismay. Neither any brother saw anything special in this discovery.
- That's a wall - Eclipse commented dryly.
- And that's the point! It's not! - Rouge waved her hand expressively. - Do you hear that hissing?
Eclipse strained his hearing and heard a faint, electric hissing, which after a moment mingled with the sound of blood rushing through his ear canals.
"Stop it!" - he told himself, then lightly ran his hand over the area of his left arm near his shoulder. He felt a scar, colder than the skin, on the inner side of his arm, which calmed him. - "This nightmare is over"
Shadow looked at him with a glint of concern in his eyes, as if he'd heard these thoughts, but then looked away a moment later.
- So it's just a hologram? - he asked, and Rouge nodded and walked closer to the supposed wall. Without hesitation, the bat extended her hand so that it disappeared into the hologram, disrupting the projection.
But instead of moving further in, she looked mischievously at Eclipse and Shadow.
- You didn't have walls like that? - she cooed, batting her eyelashes playfully, despite the seriousness of the matter. The brothers exchanged glances and both shook their heads, but Eclipse did so with a hint of alarm.
"I've practically run into every wall" - he recalled, trying to fight off his self-doubt. - "I checked everything"
- There were no side corridors in my corridor at all, and I thoroughly checked every millimeter of it. There's no way I missed anything - Shadow declared, and Rouge nodded in satisfaction.
- And there were several smaller corridors in mine, but I checked every ending - Eclipse added.
- Clearly, Snively wanted us to think there was nothing here - Rouge pointed out, then stepped through the hologram. Shadow and Eclipse followed her.
As soon as they reached a rather small room, Shadow pulled a flashlight from his quills and turned it on. This time, Eclipse's reaction wasn't as strong as before - it only ended with him blinking a few times. As soon as the darkling opened his eyes again, he saw a metal table in the center of the room and several broken devices against the wall.
- It looks like some kind of laboratory - he admitted aloud. - But why is it so broken? What happened here?"
No one answered him - Rouge and Shadow were too busy exploring. He flicked his tail at his teammates' ignorance and continued searching on his own. It didn't take him long to find some plans scattered carelessly across the floor. He immediately crouched down and grabbed a few sheets of paper from the edge - each one looked as if it had been torn from somewhere - then straightened up. He strained his eyes to make out any writing on the pages in the darkness; his recently acquired reading skills were a different matter.
- Plan for Restoration of... - he read quietly aloud, then his breath caught. He took one long, ragged breath and finished reading the inscription. - the Black Arms...
His trembling hands lowered the paper to the table, and his eyes widened. His heart began to beat faster, but not from fear - from happiness. He felt excitement and caution warring within him, and his mouth hovered somewhere between a smile and indifference.
- Eclipse? - Shadow's surprised voice suddenly rang out, and Eclipse looked up at him; his eyes sparkled like stars.
- I think I found something - the darkling said in one breath, trying not to squeak with excitement.
Shadow gave him a startled look, then a blank one, and Rouge approached him, throwing the papers in her path into the air. The bat then bent down, smoothly gathering all the papers she saw and spreading them on the table.
Out of the corner of his eye, Eclipse saw Shadow approaching her, then quickly snatched the paper again. Before he could read anything, the paper he was holding and the surrounding area illuminated by the beam of a nearby flashlight. This made it much easier for the darkling to read the following inscription:
PLAN FOR RESTORATION OF THE BLACK ARMS!!
It would make everything easier,
He would be able to control a multitude
of monsters with it's mind,
Which would be the next phase...
Eclipse felt disappointment as he read the entire page and frantically began to leaf through the remaining torn pieces of paper in his hand, but he couldn't find anything more. He gently grabbed the scrap of plan, whose contents so intrigued and simultaneously excited him, and with incredible determination, he practically slammed his claws down on the table, quickly searching through every page on it. Shadow and Rouge's surprised and outraged cries didn't stop him from searching and tossing the already saw papers aside. After digging through the small pile on the table, he collapsed to the floor, frantically searching for any remaining scraps, but found none.
- Eclipse, will you finally tell us what this is all about? - Shadow's slightly irritated voice cut through the air, causing Eclipse to immediately stand.
Black Arm couldn't get a single word out, unable to predict whether he would explode with joy at the supposed restoration of his species or rage at the purpose of this experiment on his genes, so he simply took the paper from his mouth and handed it to Shadow. The hedgehog and Rouge began scanning the paper - the pair's eyes widened at the same time, then they exchanged glances, but said nothing.
- I--it's not all of surprises - Rouge said after a moment, trying to shake off her daze with the flapping of her wings. Still, she seemed unsure. She wasn't completely conscious, judging by her stiff, slow movements and constricted pupils.
However, as soon as she took a few steps and reached the opposite end of the table, she shook her head and looked normal again. Then she grabbed two scraps of paper lying on the table, which Eclipse assumed she had already studied, and looked at the rest of her team.
- Snively wrote here that he managed to fuse the sapphire with the Chaos Drive and wanted to use it to power his new creation, but...this Lunar Sapphire, as he called it, isn't here. He only wrote that he needed to test it - Rouge explained, and Eclipse felt Shadow's anger surge through him.
- He's probably on the ARK. There are many laboratories there, and if he obtained the Chaos Drive, he must have been there - Shadow declared, clenching his fist.
Rouge simply nodded, grabbed all the important papers, and headed for the exit.
- I guess we can go now - she said. - Those papers are just a hoax, some are even blank
Eclipse nodded, but Shadow hesitated.
- We should take them just in case; maybe there's something hidden on them - the hedgehog objected.
Rouge shrugged, but Eclipse couldn't tell if it was an expression of indifference to her partner's decision or approval.
Without waiting for the bat's reaction, Shadow began gathering up all the remaining papers, and Eclipse joined him. Then the brothers stood before Rouge, holding out the papers, motioning for her to put them away. Rouge rolled her eyes and opened the largest pockets on her belt, which she had worn especially for this mission.
While the treasure hunter struggled to stuff the scraps of paper into her pocket, Shadow and Eclipse left the room; the first one unrolled his glove cuff to access his communicator and called Andrews.
- We found some interesting plans - Shadow admitted, and Eclipse struggled to hear the red-haired captain's response without entering his brother's mind, but failed. He waited until the hedgehog covered the communicator again and looked up.
As soon as Rouge joined them, he began speaking.
- Spider Troupe just found some plans that confirm my theory, and they're also heading for the exit. We're meeting on our floor - he announced.
Eclipse and Rouge nodded, then began to exit the tunnel with Shadow. Spider Troupe was waiting for them at the three-way bifurcation in the main tunnel.
Eclipse, who had been walking at the end, suddenly slowed down. His eyes narrowed, his tail waved and twitched nervously. A faint sound from beyond the wall reached his earholes.
Beep...beep...beep
He felt his breath begin to escape him more and more, his heart racing. This time, it wasn't his trauma, but a real threat! What else could be beeping behind the wall in the abandoned compound than a bomb?
Beep, beep, beep!
Somehow, he looked past himself - everyone else was walking as before, as if they hadn't heard what he was hearing.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
"I have to tell them!" - Eclipse thought frantically.
Beep, beep, beep!
- G...guys...- his breath escaped him as he tried to speak. Instead of effectively drawing the others' attention to himself, he whimpered.
Only Shadow, Rouge, and the Spider Troupe's members that were on the back heard him, but he wasn't sure how many of them turned to look at him. So many stares made him activate his blocking field in terror.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The sharpness of his vision vanished. Spider Troupe looked like a blur of gray to him, Rouge was mostly a pale blur, and Shadow's ebony fur blended completely into the background.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
He saw Shadow approach him, his mouth open, and in a fleeting moment of clarity, he caught a flicker of alarm and confusion in his eyes.
The hedgehog was saying something, Eclipse was sure of it, but he didn't hear it. His entire head was filled with beeping, screaming, his loud, ragged breathing, his rapid heartbeat and memories. Usually, during such attacks, some small fragment of his consciousness remained, but now? Eclipse didn't just feel disconnected from reality; he was living in the memory.
The warm touch of hands on his shoulders momentarily pulled him from the memories and helped him finally catch his breath - he saw scarlet eyes before him, reflecting pathetic for him fear. He knew this moment of greater awareness would only last a moment, so he had to use it to alert Shadow to the threat.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
However, as soon as he began to consider the right words, realization hit him even harder than before. Only the words he'd spoken as he lay there swirled like smoke in his head.
- They...they armed the bomb... - he tried his best to emphasize the most important part of his statement, which he finished automatically, on the last gasp of air that hadn't yet escaped him. - I can't...I don't know what to do with it...
Beep! Beep! Beep!
His breath escaped him so suddenly that he staggered. He no longer felt Shadow's hands on him, nor heard the hedgehog telling everyone to stop and listen. Then he felt his half-brother covering his muzzle for a moment (to give the others a chance to hear the beeping), making it even harder for him to breathe.
A powerful dizziness from oxygen deprivation attacked him as quickly as Shadow removed his hand from his mouth and nostrils. He began to sway with his vision, then collapsed against the wall, which became the only thing keeping him on his feet.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
But even so, getting closer to the source of the sound intensified his reaction even more.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
His eyes were cast down, staring half-consciously at his shaking hands. In his head, memories, his own words, his master's words, the sound of the beeping, his still irregular heartbeat, all mixed together, creating a static. His vision kept blurring, and he felt as if he were about to faint, but pleasant unconsciousness didn't come.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Andrews's indistinct call pierced the air - he shuddered. Then Shadow's voice rang out - he groaned. Then he heard nothing; everything was muffled again.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
He didn't know what was happening to his breathing. He felt as if it was constantly escaping him, wrapping itself around his throat, strangling him, but on the other hand, he felt as if he was slowly getting used to its absence.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Someone grabbed his hand - he began to scream and struggle feebly.
- What are you--!? No! Let go of me! Don't do this--!
He stopped mid-mantra when his hand was free. He looked up to see who had grabbed it. Shadow's silhouette, rising through his hunched form, startled him so much that a distorted sob escaped his throat, and he abruptly pushed himself away from the wall, and suddenly...he felt himself falling onto something warm. Gentle, soft hands gripped him, and for a moment he felt as if he were levitating, then he felt a puff of fluff against the side of his head.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
For a moment, shock brought him back to consciousness, and he snuggled deeper into the mostly ebony fur. He didn't know if terror or despair was making his eyes glaze over and tears stream down his cheeks.
Beep...beep...beep...
As the seconds passed, his consciousness returned, finally returning fully as everything became clear. As soon as the beeping stopped, he finally caught up with his breathing, but he didn't have time to fully enjoy it, as he felt Shadow shove him off him, forcing him to stand on his own two feet.
He didn't fully shake off his stress reaction before he landed on the ground, swaying. He almost tripped over his own feet, but luckily he managed to regain his balance before colliding with Shadow, who was standing with his back to him.
Unsure what was going on, Eclipse approached the hedgehog, who moved out of sight of the shed, blocking his path with his hand. The darkling initially didn't understand why his brother was acting this way, so he leaned around him to see what was happening...and then he understood.
Less than a split second after he leaned out, the shed exploded, sending flames into the air. Eclipse tried not to scream, even as his jaws opened unbeknownst to him, ready to let loose a desperate sob.
Eclipse unconsciously sank to his knees, one hand sliding over Shadow as he did so, as if Shadow were a window through which he saw his home explode, from his own fault. Then he sat up, leaning back against Shadow's leg, immediately covering his muzzle to keep from screaming.
His knees instinctively bent, almost pressing against his chest, and his tail curled close to his body. His cheeks instantly became wet, streaked with tear tracks. His body shook with every breath, the suppressed grief struggling to escape. And then...it started again.
He blew out air, but it didn't come back. His breath was slipping away again, that still terrifying him hyperventilation was returning! He felt like things were worse now than they had been in the building. Now he couldn't hear his past words in his head, nor was he gripped by the immense helplessness that had terrified him of the ticking bomb...now he was simply terrified that he could be inside, Shadow could be inside, Rouge, Luna...he would lose everything again. He just couldn't taken it.
He didn't even notice himself sinking to the grass, his hands close to his throat, as if trying to loosen whatever was preventing him from breathing. He couldn't tell if he was squirming or hunching over, just as he couldn't tell if he was sobbing or screaming or simply struggling for a single ragged breath. He could only feel his lungs burning.
Then Shadow's scream pierced the air, making him groan weakly. He didn't know that his brother was shooing the Spider Troupe and Rouge out of the clearing, under the pretext of checking something, so he could be alone with him and calm him down.
- Eclipse! - he heard the terrified cry of the ebony hedgehog, but he couldn't do anything. He suddenly felt a touch on his shoulder, which, despite its lightness, forced him to step away from his possible attacker.
- G...get away from m...me! - he screamed somehow.
- Eclipse, I'm going to touch you - Shadow's voice reached through his earholes and echoed from his mind. He wanted to nod, but he couldn't tell if he did or not.
He felt his hands being grabbed and lifted; the touch brought him back to focus and opened his eyes. The tremors in his body, which had traveled in waves to his hands, were fading away under the heat.
- Breathe with me, okay? - he heard Shadow's soothing voice. He had never heard such forced, fragile peace in his head.
- Inhale - the ebony hedgehog took a deep breath, and Eclipse could feel it through the slight bounce of his hands. Following his lead, he tried with him - he was getting closer to his own breath.
- And exhale - the darkling felt Shadow's chest lower along with his entire body, releasing the air. He tried with him, but still with no breath.
Shadow repeated this instruction many times, gradually closing the gaps between his words, matching the pace to Eclipse's slowly regulating breathing. When they finally both breathed at the same pace, a sob slowly rose in the darkling's throat, finally causing Eclipse to immediately throw himself against Shadow, hugging him, desperately craving his closeness.
His shoulders bounced as he cried, the tension draining from his body. His breathing became irregular again, but it was nothing compared to the massive stress reaction he was currently recovering from in his brother's arms.
- Take it easy. It's okay now - Shadow soothed, slowly massaging his back. - You're safe now
Eclipse sobbed in his arms for a few more minutes, then sniffed one last time and pulled away from him without getting up.
Shadow, on the other hand, rose.
- Are you ready to go? - he asked, his tone returning to its usual monotone.
Eclipse rose, glanced sideways in indecision for a moment, then looked at Shadow and nodded. The hedgehog's face brightened visibly at this reaction, and they both slowly began walking toward the waiting truck.
As soon as he followed Shadow into the transport trailer, Eclipse felt all eyes fall on him. Only now did it occur to him that everyone must have seen him struggling to breathe. Embarrassment made him turn green; he hoped it wasn't visible in the rather dark place.
He didn't have the energy to deal with his emotions, so he simply sat down next to Shadow, away from the others, letting the hedgehog hide the embarrassing state he was in. As soon as the truck shuddered and the wheels clattered, suddenly set in motion, he unconsciously rested his head on Shadow's shoulder.
- I'm sorry - he thought and send it to Shadow, finally realizing that if they had stayed a few seconds longer in the building, they would both have been blown away.
Surprise flooded Shadow's mind.
- Don't apologize. It's alright - he replied, and Eclipse could hear he was uneasy with the talk.
- No! It's not alright! - Eclipse thrashed his tail and frowned in irritation. But then his entire expression changed as his mind flooded with regret. - You could die because of me!
He couldn't help but shake as he finally blurted out something that had been bothering him terribly, even if only for a few seconds. Shadow clearly felt it, gently hugging him and bringing him closer, giving him the warmth he knew he needed.
- It's more my fault than yours, you've developed these reactions because of me - he said in a subdued voice, or rather, one filled with hidden emotions that Eclipse couldn't decipher. The darkling guessed why.
The Black Arm waited a moment longer for Shadow to say more, but it didn't come, so he sighed. He wasn't sure if the embarrassment burned so much that he closed his eyes, or if he'd simply dozed off from the sudden exhaustion that had gripped him. He simply wanted this nightmare to be over.