Eclipsed Escapades AU
AU* that is basically "Shadow Fall" and "Total Eclipse" grafted into the main universe (games, IDW, Prime, etc), primarily following Eclipse and his Dark Arms after "Total Eclipse".
*the A stands more for Addendum than Alternate as I try hard to comply with established canonMain distinctions from Shadow Fall and Total Eclipse: the events of Sonic Unleashed follow the game rather than the Archie adaptation, Team Dark sometimes works with G.U.N. rather than for (like Samus Aran)Headcanons:

  • follows Shadow the Hedgehog route 165: Bullets from Tears

  • Black Arms reproduce asexually and there are only males

  • Minds (Black Doom and Black Death) are the equivalent to ant queens, being the sole reproducers in charge of a colony of their offspring

  • Black Death, Eclipse, and the Black Arms soldiers aboard the New Black Comet were all brothers; Black Death's children that Eclipse mentioned were unseen Death Leeches that Black Death began producing after Black Doom's demise

  • Eclipse was a Death Leech when Black Doom was killed before being engineered by Black Death in Shadow's image

  • the Dark Arms were cultivated from stolen Wisp eggs using Eclipse's blood much like Shadow was created using Black Doom's blood, making Eclipse like both Black Doom and Gerald to them

  • the Black Arms routinely add new DNA from conquests (horizontal gene transfer), so don't consider those like Shadow or the Dark Arms to be hybrids or lesser

  • by the time of Shadow Fall, Eclipse was about the same "age" as Shadow was near the time of the ARK raid though he lacks emotional maturity from being spoiled by Black Death

Adabat Does It
Eclipse and his Dark Arms just barely escaped Angel Island with their lives and with nothing to show for it. They crash land in Adabat's jungle and must fight to survive not only it but the dark monsters terrorizing the night. Will they survive in their already weakened state? What lessons might they learn along the way?Characters: Eclipse the Darkling, Dark Arms, Dark Gaia Minions, Adabat Inhabitants, Sonic the Hedgehog, Chip, Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, E-123 OmegaTimeline: post Total Eclipse, during Sonic UnleashedPublished: May 2025

When in Chun-nan
Eclipse and his Dark Arms' next stop is Chun-nan. They're still focused on laying low and getting stronger so that they'll be ready when Team Dark catches up to them. What hi-jinks will they get into this time?Characters: Eclipse the Darkling, Dark Arms, Dark Gaia Minions, Chun-nan Inhabitants, Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, E-123 OmegaTimeline: post Total Eclipse, during Sonic UnleashedPublished: June 2025

Reach for the Stars
Eclipse sneaks onto Egg Planet Park with plans to cultivate more Wisps into Dark Arms so that he can take out Team Dark and G.U.N., but Team Dark are hot on his heels. Will he succeed or fail? Who else might he run into?Characters: Eclipse the Darkling, Dark Arms, Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, E-123 Omega, Orbot, Cubot, Knuckles the Echidna, WispsTimeline: during Sonic ColorsPublished: June-July 2025

Of Shadows and Light
Eclipse and his Dark Arms are pulled into a mysterious white void where he feels something he thought he'd never feel again: the presence of other Black Arms. Eclipse struggles with his purpose and longing for family.Characters: Eclipse the Darkling, Dark Arms, Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, E-123 Omega, Maria Robotnik, Professor Gerald Robotnik, Black Doom, Black Death, Orbot, CubotTimeline: during Shadow GenerationsPublished: July-August 2025

Lost and Found
Eclipse finds out that making up with his brother is not as easy as he thought it would be.Characters: Eclipse the Darkling, Dark Arms, Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, E-123 Omega, Commander Abraham Towers, Spider Troop, Dr. Julian Snively, Madonna Garnet, Obsidian (OC), Iveryte (OC)Timeline: post Shadow GenerationsPublished: August-October 2025

Sonic Forces: Episode Eclipse
Things have started looking up for Eclipse and his Dark Arms, but war is on the horizon.Characters: Eclipse the Darkling, Dark Arms, Shadow the Hedgehog, Spider Troop, Obsidian (OC), Iveryte (OC), Infinite the Jackal, Black Bull, Whisper the Wolf, Relic the Pika, Fixit the Robot, Chaos, Tikal the Echidna, Crim ("OC")Timeline: during Sonic ForcesPublished: October 2025-Feburary 2026

Respite
After the Eggman Empire's defeat and leaving Angel Island for the second time, Eclipse journeys out to find his place in the world that put an end to his kind's reign of terror. Seeking to rebuild with what's left, he's in much the same situation as everyone else on the planet.Characters: Eclipse the Darkling, Dark Arms, Iveryte (OC), Crim ("OC"), Knuckles the Echidna, Shadow the HedgehogTimeline: post Sonic Forces, during Neo Metal Sonic saga (post Fallout, Part 3)Published: March 2026

Outbreak
Eclipse and his little ones are trying to settle into their new life on Earth when a new threat is unleashed. Is Eclipse doomed to always lose what he cares about most?Characters: Eclipse the Darkling, Dark Arms, Iveryte (OC), Crim ("OC"), Relic the Pika, Shadow the Hedgehog, Gemerl, Cream the Rabbit, Vanilla the Rabbit, Zavok, Metal Sonic, Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, Charmy Bee, Silver the Hedgehog, Whisper the Wolf, Tangle the LemurTimeline: during Metal Virus sagaPublished: April 2026-May 2026

Snively's Bane
Eclipse and Rouge follow the rumors of a Black Arm causing trouble in the area, getting into much more than they bargained for.Characters: Eclipse the Darkling, Dark Arms, Iveryte (OC), Crim ("OC"), Rouge the Bat, Shadow Android, Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, Charmy Bee, Dr. Julian Snively, Bane the Darkling (OC), Shadow the Hedgehog, E-123 Omega, Commander Abraham TowerTimeline: during Starline saga (post Chao Races and Badnik Bases, Weapons)Published: May 2026-August 2026

Mirror, Mirror
synopsisCharacters: Eclipse the Darkling, Dark Arms, Iveryte (OC), Crim ("OC"), Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, E-123 OmegaTimeline: during Starline saga (post Chao Races and Badnik Bases, Weapons)Published:

Extras

Dark Arms at the PlaygroundThe Dark Arms need enrichment.Characters: Eclipse the Darkling, Dark ArmsPublished: April 2025

BellyacheEclipse gets a bellyache.Characters: Eclipse the Darkling, Black DeathPublished: July 2026

Back

Eclipse the Darkling

  • Full Name: Black Eclipse

  • Species: Black Arms, Darkling

  • Sex: male

  • Height: 3’ 4"

  • Weight: 79 lbs

  • Ability Type: speed

  • Alignment: neutral (evil formerly)

  • Affiliation: Black Arms

  • Relations: Black Doom (father), Black Death (brother), Shadow the Hedgehog (brother), Dark Arms (children)

  • Occupation: Black Death's champion (formerly)

  • Residence: New Black Comet (formerly)

  • Likes: his kind, the Dark Arms, meat buns

  • Dislikes: threats to his kind, Snively

Eclipse was made by Black Death from one of Black Doom's last larvae for the sole purpose of killing Shadow the Hedgehog when the former planned to invade Earth for revenge of the latter's defeat. As such, his abilities were engineered specifically to counter the Ultimate Lifeform. He's capable of blocking Shadow's access to Chaos abilities at the cost of his own as well as slowing his movements and clouding his mind, the latter being an extension of his species' hive-mind telepathy. He also sports sharp iron-rich teeth, spurs on his forearms and calves, and a barb on the end of his prehensile tail. Additionally, he has a "monster form" that doubles his size and grants him ten times Shadow's strength, though he can only use it for a short time as it drains him, leaving him vulnerable afterward. When bonding with the Dark Arms, he gains additional abilities: flight (Cregal), lasers (Cyzer), armor (Blurk), sonic cannon (Rhygenta), and lightning (Iveryte).From the start, Eclipse was dedicated to the protection and betterment of his kind--a dedication that happened to extended to Shadow, whom he saw as a brother as he was made from Black Doom's blood. This led him to convince a very reluctant Black Death to spare Shadow and give him a chance to join them, Eclipse being convinced that Shadow had merely been confused by the humans. Eclipse also convinced Black Death to stop by the Wisp's homeworlds to use them in a project to make a new, stronger breed of Black Arms which would be used as weapons to enhance their soldiers--the Dark Arms.Eclipse got the opportunity to attempt to convert Shadow when G.U.N. sent troops and Team Dark to destroy the New Black Comet with a bomb but needed Black Death's help to make the mind-control stick. Shadow's conversion didn't last as Team Dark managed to break him free of it and Eclipse was later forced to confront Omega while Rouge set the bomb. Eclipse was then dragged kicking and screaming by Death's eye into an escape shuttle which the Dark Arms' incubators had already been moved to. With Shadow killing Black Death and the comet destroyed along with the rest of his brothers, Eclipse swore revenge.

  • about an inch or so taller than Shadow (they're shown as the same height but Shadow's wearing those thick-soled shoes); longer in the torso

  • vision is less than 20/20 in daylight, greater than 20/20 in the dark

  • hearing range similar to a human's but better at hearing lower frequencies than higher frequencies

  • has headaches, balance issues, nausea, fatigue, and memory/concentration issues from the many times he's been knocked out (shuttle crash in canon, Dark Gaia minions, elevator crash in Reach for the Stars); though it's not as bad as a human would experience

  • mesothermic so it's normal for him to be just a little above room temperature