Chapter 6: In the Ruined City
Sonic held Umbra's hand as they walked through the Black Comet. He could recall being in one before, but never like this. Last time, he had definitely been unwelcome. There hadn't been a child holding his hand, either.
"So, did you come from Earth? I never saw you in The Black Comet before," Umbra asked.
"Yeah, I used to live on Earth. I knew your mother when she lived there, too."
"Really? How?" Umbra looked up at Sonic.
"At first, we didn't get along. We eventually got to the point where we could tolerate one another." A smile curved Sonic's lips at the memories. "I consider your mother one of my friends, even if it seemed like she hated me."
"That's interesting. So...anything you want to play?"
"Not really." Sonic looked around as he thought about it.
"Oh." Umbra looked down.
"Maybe... tag?" Sonic wouldn't mind testing out his skills. Make sure he could still run properly.
"Okay! Who's it?"
"You first." Sonic smiled at Umbra as he took his hand away and ran off. He could feel energy flowing down into his legs, controlling how fast he ran. Was that how it had always happened, and he just hadn't noticed before?
Sonic shrugged and looked behind himself, smiling when he saw Umbra running after him. The kid was as almost as fast as he was. Given who his parents were, Sonic guessed that made sense. Black Arms seemed to channel energy like humans breathed air. Sonic avoided one of the other Black Arms as he looked away from Umbra. This was almost as challenging as racing Shadow usually was. Sonic kept himself in front of Umbra as he turned down one of the other hallways.
Umbra was having a few difficulties himself. Avoiding the others wasn't too hard, but the feeling covering his legs was strange. Energy wasn't unusual for him; he just wasn't used to feeling it so strongly. Teleporting with his parents had always been the only time he really felt it.
Sonic ran into a dead end a few minutes later. He grimaced and turned.
Umbra ran into him, shouting: "You're it!" before running away.
Sonic chuckled and ran after Umbra. The child ran through the halls, using his knowledge of the Comet to stay ahead of Sonic. There had to be something Sonic could use to get ahead of Umbra, and he looked for it. With the way the other turned and weaved between the rest of the Black Arms, he hadn't gotten a chance to try and tag him yet.
Umbra turned again...to a dead end. A snarl came to his face for a moment. Apparently, his memory wasn't as good as he had thought. Before he could turn and try to leave, Sonic tackled him. Umbra yelped as he fell, then started laughing.
"Gotcha," Sonic laughed.
"You got me!" Umbra laughed.
-Time skip-
A few days later, the Black Arms returned to Earth. All around them, the city they had landed in was destroyed. Impressive, considering their chain of command had only been wiped out a few days ago. Shadow chuckled, grinning.
"That was quick."
"Humans don't seem to waste much time when it comes to killing one another," Eclipse said.
"You can say that again."
"Where should we go first?"
"I don't know." Shadow shook her head. "It all looks destroyed from here."
"Maybe the humans are in another part of the country."
"Well, I don't know which part they fled to."
"We'll find them, Shads. Don't worry."
"I know."
"I'll take a look over there." Sonic pointed left of where they stood.
"Then I guess I'll look over there." Shadow pointed for a moment before running in the opposite direction.
"Are you going to go off on your own, or stay with me?" Eclipse asked Umbra.
"I'll stay with you," Umbra said. He wanted to be down here, but wasn't confident enough in his skills to go off on his own. Well, that and the fact that he'd never gone off on his own down here before.
Eclipse nodded and they walked into the city with Umbra following close behind him. Eclipse looked around for any humans, making sure to listen as well. With how everything looked, he was surprised they weren't attacking each other in the streets of the city. Umbra was looking around, listening too. After a few minutes, they found people. They were arguing over something, standing in the parking lot of one of the buildings.
Umbra looked down at them, then back up at his father. "We just going to kill them?"
"I'm not sure..."
Shadow, we found some, Eclipse telepathically said. What should we do with them?
What do you think we should do? The humans are in shambles, killing should only really be done if they're joining together to destroy us, or we're harvesting them for food. Shadow replied.
So, we just watch them for now. These ones don't seem to be doing anything but arguing with each other anyway. Eclipse paused as he looked at Umbra. How are we going to take Earth for ourselves?
For that we'll need the Chaos Emeralds to bring the Black Comet to Earth. Shadow assumed Eclipse knew what he was talking about.
So, the next order of business is to find the Chaos Emeralds again?
Yes. Shadow relayed the orders to the rest of the Black Arms.
"We're going to ignore them and look for the Chaos Emeralds."
"Okay." Umbra said, getting up.
Eclipse took his hand and they walked past the humans. Umbra looked around for any Chaos Emeralds, but didn't see any.
"I'm not sure where to even start looking." Eclipse doubted they would have them out in the open. Then again, the humans seemed to enjoy using them as weapons.
Remember, areas with high levels of Chaos Energy other then Angel Island. Umbra seemed to have heard Shadow as well, nodding as he walked.
"Let me know if you find any," Eclipse said.
"Okay." Shadow and Umbra said.
Eclipse sighed as he looked around the city. They could hear humans talking in the buildings. Nothing important was overheard, so they ignored them. If they decided to attack them, Eclipse wanted to be ready for them. Neither of them were much of a fighter. A scream rang out through the air suddenly. Umbra flinched and looked around. His hand tightened on Eclipse's as he hid behind him slightly. A few humans ran by and Eclipse watched them in curiosity. Umbra was confused. They we're ignoring them?
A few moments later, some soldiers ran around the corner. Umbra tried pushing Eclipse.
"Move! They'll shoot us!"
Eclipse took Umbra's hand as he moved out of the way. The humans fired their guns, missing the aliens. Umbra was scared.
"Why am I even here!? I can't even fight!"
"You're here because you want to help us." Eclipse smiled at him. "I can teach you how to defend yourself."
"Please?" Umbra asked.
"Once we've gotten away from here."
They left the city a few minutes later as they put distance between them and the humans. Eclipse stopped once he thought they were far enough.
"So, we starting now?"
"Sure." Eclipse thought about it. "Where should I start?"
"I don't know."
"Alright... What do you know about fighting?"
"Not much."
"Okay. Let's start with defense, then. The best way to defend depends on how your opponent is attacking you." Umbra nodded, listening. Eclipse took Umbra's arm and moved it. "If they're attacking you from here, put your arm in the way like this. Make sure you use your strength to keep your arm in place. Otherwise, they can easily get through your defense."
Eclipse taught him how to defend for an hour before stopping. As far as he was concerned, Umbra was doing well. He had managed to defend himself well enough. Guns would be a different matter, though.
Umbra looked around. "So, what now?"
"I could start teaching you how to properly attack something. 'Course, your mother will have to if you have her abilities. I'm not much use with attacks using Chaos Energy."
Umbra nodded. "Okay."
Eclipse smiled and started teaching him. Umbra listened closely and did everything he said. When they had finished, Eclipse smiled at him.
"Just remember everything I've taught you."
Umbra smiled. "I will. Though, how will we find out if I have mother's abilities or not?"
"I actually don't know."
"Aww."
Eclipse laughed when he saw his son's pout. "We can ask you mother later."
Umbra nodded, with a smile coming to his face. "Okay."
Eclipse smiled and took his hand. "Let's go find your mother."
"Okay."
-a while later-
Shadow grinned once she saw her family, and walked over to their location.
"Hey guys. Found a Chaos Emerald?"
"No. But Umbra got some training."
"That's great!" Eclipse put her arms around Umbra and hugged him close.
Eclipse smiled at them. "With some practice, he'll become an excellent fighter."
Shadow nodded. "Your right, he will." Umbra smiled.
"Thanks guys!"
"Where do we go next?"
"No idea." Shadow nuzzled Umbra and let go of him.
Eclipse looked around and sighed. "The humans probably have at least one of the emeralds."
"Well, we still have to find them."
"Is there any way we can narrow it down?"
"Not until we find one."
"Alright."
"Heya, anyone find anything?" Sonic spoke as soon as he had gotten over to them.
"No, not yet. Did you?" Shadow asked.
"Yep." Sonic pulled out the purple Chaos Emerald. "I had to kill some of the humans to get it, though."
Shadow blinked, surprised. Sonic actually killed some of the humans? Seemed like Sonic was changing quicker than she thought. A smile came to her face then.
"That's great! Now we can track down the other six!"
Sonic smiled, but it vanished as he looked back at the city.
"So where are we going next?"
"Just focus on the emerald and it should lead you to the other six. But Sonic, I've been wondering: What do you want to do when we run into the rest of our friends?"
"I think that would depend on the friend... Can Tails join us?"
"I don't see why not. His intelligence would be useful. He might be a little creeped out as to the "how" though. I don't think I have to remind you why."
"Most likely he will be." Sonic looked around. "Maybe I should try calling him. Find out where he is."
"If you want to."
Sonic smiled and nodded. "So... where to?"
"If you want to, wherever Tails is."
Sonic nodded. "Is there anyone you'd want to bring to our side?"
"Well, I'd like it if all our friends were on our side."
"Then let's try that." Sonic took her hand and started pulling her away. Eclipse snarled at the blue alien.
Shadow rolled her eyes. "I heard that. Calm down Eclipse, he's just being friendly. He won't mate with me." She looked at Sonic. "...Right?"
Sonic shook his head and looked back at Eclipse. "It's kind of funny seeing him get all jealous."
Shadow shrugged. "He is my mate."
"Well, don't worry, Eclipse. I don't go around trying to take other people's mates." Sonic smiled at him. Eclipse huffed and looked away. Shadow laughed at Eclipse's reaction.
"I don't think he likes me," Sonic chuckled.
"You think?" Shadow chuckled as well.
"How far until we find someone else?" Eclipse asked.
"No clue." Shadow answered.
Eclipse looked at Umbra as they continued walking. Umbra was following them, wondering what the rest of Sonic and Shadow's friends were like.
Sonic smiled at Shadow. "How should we look for the others?"
"I don't know."
"You think the Chaos Emerald can help with it?"
"I don't think so. You can try though."
Sonic took the emerald and tried to use it. After a few minutes, he gave up.
"Nothing?"
"Nothing. We could just try their houses."
"Okay." Shadow says.
"Who first?" Eclipse walked over with Umbra.
"I don't really care." Shadow said, shrugging.
"You worked for G.U.N.. Was there anywhere they were planning on sending everyone if something like this happened?"
"Not really. Just evacuate to an area not affected, or the least affected."
"Oh. Well, we're bound to find them soon."
"I hope so."
It didn't take long for them to find another town. People weren't being killed in this one, but they were arguing. Mobians were saying they should do one thing, while the humans disagreed. Sonic looked at Shadow when they heard Rouge speak.
Shadow shrugged. "Wait till later? Seems like now wouldn't be the best time to ask her to join us."
"Alright."
Sonic sighed and looked around. He didn't see Tails. Shadow looked around for Tails as well. She figured Knuckles was on Angel Island, though she doubted he'd say yes.
After a few minutes, they heard Tails reassuring someone that Sonic was fine. Shadow didn't say anything, just gestured towards where they heard Tails' voice, silently telling Sonic it was his choice if he wanted to reveal himself. Sonic looked in the direction the voice had come from and silently moved forward. Looking, he saw Tails and Amy. Both looked like they had been caught in the middle of an attack. An injury on Tails's arm caught Sonic's attention and he moved forward again. After a breath, he stepped out of hiding.
"Heya Tails," he said.
