Melinda stood in the middle of the trashed council room, looking around at the aftermath of the hell that had broken loose not 30 minutes earlier. She idly rubbed her mouth and looked at the blood on her fingers. Looking down, she poked at a burned hole from a blaster in her shirt.
The room was full of her own friends and family standing near their counterparts from this war-torn universe she found herself in. Each one displaying a myriad of reactions to the carnage.
Sonic merely smirked while his double looked on in shock at her battle-scarred state.
The Miles she knew as her son held his face in his hands while his own twin winced at the sight.
Elsewhere, off in a safe corner was a Lynx in a purple dress with both Creams at her sides. She kneeled on the ground with her arms around their shoulders.
The room was silent save for the occasional crackle and pop of circuits from the corpses of fallen swatbots scattered around the room. Melinda could feel all eyes on her as she flicked off the energy sword in her hand and slid it into her pocket. After continuing to stare at the mix of oil splatter and blood from her own wounds that stained her clothes for a few moments she looked up at the council.
Her eyes fell on a red-haired vixen hiding behind a chair and she took several deep breathes, willing herself to remain calm. Looking back at the door, she caught sight of Kai shaking his head and warning a guard to stay out of the way. A boiling point had been reached and after this latest mess the poor decisions of her hosts had caused she couldn't hold her tongue any longer.
"Rosemary," She spoke calmly, "I speak with all due respect, which I feel is very little right now."
Rosemary gulped and looked at the woman who had just let loose several days of repressed anger on an attack squad of swatbots, single-handedly tearing them apart in the process.
"In the time I've been here I've not only listened to the child you neglect vent his frustrations, but watched as you and this joke of a council do a worse job than children and teenagers protecting your citizens."
"Madam, as an outsider you have no right-"
Melinda shot a glare at Hamlin, the source of the objection and watched as he shrunk back into seat, "that's what I thought," she turned her attention back to the object of her lecture.
"The first thing you did when you came back was help cause a riot that could've led to bloodshed and the endangerment of the people your son sacrificed so much trying to save. Claiming the incompetence of the royal family whose daughter was like a sister to him and one of the role-models that made him a hero."
"It only only because of them Juli-" Rosemary tied to object
"Don't throw stones in glass houses, it was you who elected an evil sorcerer that repeatedly tried kill most of the people in this room, including your own son and his surrogate big brother to office," Melinda shot back, "Now, I respectfully ask you shut up and let me finish"
"As I was saying, in that grab for power you also used your own Son as an attack dog and turned him on his best friend as a means to YOUR ends."
"He want-" Rosemary tried to speak but was silenced.
"Wanted to help, or just wanted to please you because he wanted the flesh and blood family he finally had for the first time in his life to approve of him? You took advantage of a child's love for a mother he had finally gotten back after being torn away at birth."
"I just wanted what was best for-"
"The Princess tells me you tried to charge her with disobeying orders, which she did to correct YOUR oversight of letting Freedom HQ remain taken by who I understand were inter-dimensional evil counterparts to the Freedom Fighters," Melinda stopped to laugh and look over at her Miles and Sonic.
"I'm sorry, I know this is serious but this is some real Star Trek stuff. I wonder if there's an evil me in their world somewhere. Can you imagine?" She shook her head.
"We'd have to sell tickets to the duel of the century," Sonic shot back.
Melinda cleared her throat and looked back to Rosemary, "it was because she disobeyed orders that the two worst of them were locked up.," Melinda looked over at Sally, "it was brilliant how she found a weak link in their fear and hatred of Scourge and used it to take him down . Smarter anything this council has ever done."
Sally smiled and Melinda nodded back before turning around and continuing,
"Then there's Antoine, if not for removing Elias from his throne and making him an easy target, Antione may have never been injured protecting him." Melinda took a deep breath, "and while your son was crying in the arms of the only parent who seems to give a damn-"
"You have no business-" Rosemary raised her voice.
"I reinstate my prior request: shut the hell up and pay attention." Melinda took another deep breath to steady herself, "and while he was crying in his father's arms, you were busy sentencing one of his friends to what amounts to imprisonment."
"The people were afraid because,"
"The Iron Queen, I know and she told me all about it. They may have had understandable fears, but enabling and validating those fears by treating her as a threat wasn't right. It's your job as a leader to set an example for those you guide and protect. You should have helped mend her relationship with the citizens."
"I'm just one member of the concil-"
"You're the one that spearheaded this council's creation, the wife of a military commander, and the mother of a famous Freedom Fighter. I'm sure your trust in her would've gone a long way, if you had thought about something besides your own hide for a change."
"Yeah, Aunt Mel, tell her Nicole is really nice and she shouldn't bully her like that!" Cream shouted from the back of the room.
"I see I have my own supporters!" Melinda managed a smile despite her mood.
"Is there a point to all this?" Rosemary nearly shouted.
"You mean besides you being a terrible leader and worse mother?" Melinda said coldly.
"You have no place telling me how to raise my son-"
"He's my son to, or at least the Miles from my world is," Melinda said.
"You can't know what's like to live in a war and fight for your family's liv-"
Melinda quickly looked up, and Rosemary slunk back as she met her eyes. Something had snapped even further and she could now barely hold back her rage.
"You listen to me," Melinda spat, "I've been alive for longer than this kingdom has stood. and I've seen more conflict than you can imagine."
"I-" Rosemary stammered.
"Furthermore, when my friends and family are in danger I don't sit on my ass bickering over politics, that's the difference between you and me."
"You have to the audacity to stand here and lecture me, at least I don't resort to violence,"
"What, against these tin cans that tried to kill us all?" Melinda kicked the one at her feet, "I think that's a cheap rebuttal because you can't deal with the fact I fight and bleed to protect the people I love while you're too much of a coward to protect even your own son."
"I love my Son."
"Yet you keep endangering and hurting him, tearing apart what he's vowed to protect BY PUTTING SOMEONE THAT WOULD HAVE HIS HEAD ON A PIKE IN CHARGE!." Melinda said coldly.
"I did what I had to.'
"No, Rosemary". Melinda said sternly, "I did what I had to when my son and Cream had been kidnapped by a psychopath. I even offered him my head because I thought maybe if I gave him my life, he'd let them go."
The room was deathly silent.
"He was too arrogant to take me without proving himself as a swordsman. In the end I put steel against steel and I overcame him. I did what I had to do make sure he didn't come after them again or take any other lives," Melinda looked up and her voice calmed, "that's a hard decision to make, taking a life in self-defense and the defense of others because it's the lesser of two evils."
"I do love him, I don't know what to do…" Rosemary trailed off.
"Then shape up and start showing it, talk is cheap."
"I don't know how to fix any of this,"
"Listen to him, support him, be there to hold him." Melinda stopped and smiled back at her son for a moment before she stepped forward, "when the weight is so much to bare for him, be his shoulder to lean and help him carry it."
"Is it too late to change…"
"No, it's never too late if your heart's in it," Melinda said "you can walk out that door with him and his friends right now. You can stand with them, stand-up for what you all believe in. Stand up for the people, stand up for him, and for what's right."
Rosemary looked on in silence.
"Please, for his sake." Melinda said, "if for no-one else do it for him so he doesn't have to grow up seeing you as a barrier he has to constantly push back against instead of a mother. Don't make yourself his enemy."
The room remained deathly silent as Rosemary slowly stepped down from the council stage and approached the other vixen. Melinda met her gaze and sized her up, their differences in height now apparent as she had to look down slightly to meet Rosemary's eyes.
"I'm not gonna lie and say cleaning up your mistakes is easy, but you have a chance right here and now to start trying," Melinda said, "now it's all up to you if take my advice."
"I want to fix things and change, but I don't know if I can," Rosemary said quietly.
"Then just go to talk your son, take the first step."
Melinda looked on for a few seconds as Rosemary walked past before taking a deep breath and turning her gaze to the pair of Miles'. The thought crossed her mind that this was all very confusing and she would be glad to be home when it was all over. She watched Rosemary silently look back and forth between them. Was she blushing?
Did she really just forget which one is…
"Miles," Melinda pointed to one of the kits, "come here for a second."
Miles looked back at his mother with confusion before hurrying over. Melinda crouched down and put a hand on his shoulder.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing, I don't think Rosemary could tell you two apart and I didn't know what else to do."
"That's kinda sad." Miles answered.
"I would've thought she would've noticed you're a couple inches shorter," Melinda whispered.
"What?" a look of realization came over his face. "Of course, the timelines aren't in sync and he's three years older than me."
"Right," Melinda nodded.
"Do you think she can really change?" Miles looked down, "I mean, it must be horrible not having her the same way I have you and Uncle Kai."
"It won't be easy and she's not exactly mother of the year, but I think I can see a part of her wants to change. That might count for everything right now."
The two grew quiet and Melinda looked over in time to see Rosemary on her knees, hugging her son and holding back tears. She couldn't be certain, but she swore she heard a quiet apology and plea for forgiveness. Looking down, she caught sight of Miles smiling and pulled him closer.
"I think everything might just work out," Melinda smiled as he looked up her.
"Disrespectful, this is a council chamber and not family therapy." Hamlin muttered loud enough for her to hear.
"The pig is an asshole though, I don't there's any hope for him being anything but a pain." Melinda said without the smile leaving her face.
"Mom!" Miles barely held back a giggle.
"Honestly got me this far today, I'm not risking a change of strategy now." Melinda replied.
Footsteps drew Melinda's attention and she glanced back, smiling at Nicole and the Creams. She once against considered how odd it was to use someone's name in plural. It would be nice to make it back home where there was only one of everybody.
"Thank you," Nicole said, "it means a lot that you defended me even though the exile was overturned by Isabella."
"I know what it's like when people fear you and shun you for being different." Melinda replied.
"Because of your immortality?"
Melinda simply nodded and looked back at Rosemary, "maybe things can can get better now. One less obstructive bureaucrat and maybe others will take what I said to heart."
"I guess hope is eternal." Nicole starred along with her.