Brothers in Arms

Tails/Sonic: Enemies to Rivals

Tails' POV:

Tails flew after Eclipse, telling himself determinedly that there was no reason to be nervous. Eclipse was intimidatingly powerful, sure, but the alien wasn't violent or menacing like Tails had been worried about. Nothing would happen--nothing bad, at least; he knew that in his heart.

But, the young fox couldn't deny that the idea of speaking alone to the Black Arm away from the group still made his fur stand on end.

It's mean to judge people based on what they are, Tails thought determinedly, thinking of how Shadow had intimidated him back in the day, too. Eclipse is an agent of G.U.N. now, and, besides, he's probably just as nervous to be around all of us as we are him. He's in a completely new environment, and it's not like Knuckles hasn't been hostile to him all day. Besides, he's way younger than me, anyway.

Tails wondered for a moment if he could be considered Eclipse's senior; he certainly hadn't ever felt like Shadow's senior, even though he was technically quite a bit older than the two.

Shadow said to ask about the Black Arms' technology, but I'm not sure that I know enough about it to ask any good questions. I'm not even sure if it was mechanically based, he thought to himself. Try as he might, he couldn't remember ever learning anything about the Black Arms' society, besides knowing they were world consumers--though, hadn't he seen some of the Black Arm soldiers carrying blasters during the invasion? Maybe I should ask Eclipse about it... If I can figure out a way to ask without offending him.

With his quick flight, Tails caught up to Eclipse easily, the alien merely walking over the leaves now, having abandoned the stressed, hurried strides he'd had earlier. The young fox took a moment to gather his courage, then descended, dropping to the ground next to the alien.

"Um, Eclipse?" He asked, and the golden, fiery eyes turned toward him, singularly unnerving up close but also really, really cool--Tails couldn't help but wonder how Eclipse's Chaos Energy caused such an interesting phenomenon as his constantly changing irides. "Are you okay?"

It was a bit of a clunky question, not knowing the alien very well, but Tails couldn't in good conscience ignore the fact Eclipse had been quite upset recently. He only hoped that Eclipse didn't take the inquiry as an insult.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Eclipse answered, cocking his head ever so slightly as he looked curiously at the Mobian who'd just dropped out of the sky; Tails felt his namesakes puff up behind him at the motion, but Eclipse didn't seem to be threatening him. The young fox was pretty sure that motions like that were just how Eclipse moved, every action unsettling with its alien grace.

Eclipse, Tails had concluded, was very much a predator in nature, though not necessarily an evil one.

"That's good," the young fox managed, watching as Eclipse's tail swiveled, balancing him as the alien strode silently on the balls of his feet over the grass. The alien had an odd, stalking gait, and Tails wasn't sure he'd yet seen Eclipse put his heels on the ground when he wasn't standing still. It was fascinating, watching him move; Tails could only imagine how much G.U.N. had learned from observing the alien for months. "Shadow said I was too young to stay and listen," he added, not wanting Eclipse to think he'd singled him out on his own.

"He's probably right," Eclipse replied, without a hint of the emotions he'd had earlier on the subject. "It's not a very pleasant story."

"It didn't sound like it," Tails agreed, walking quietly next to Eclipse for a few seconds. The alien was swiveling his head almost constantly, looking up at the backlit leaves or down at the small buttercups and clovers lining the path, the light from his eyes more noticeable in the darker patches of shade, and Tails wondered if he'd ever been in a similar environment to the Castle woods. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Tails queried cautiously, not knowing if the alien was in the mood to talk, but Eclipse merely returned his attention to the fox with an amused expression.