At the young age of 12, before he had met any of the members of the Anti-Freedom Fighters, Scourge traveled to a place nicknamed The Island of Storms on his father's luxury ship after hearing a news report his father was watching mention an incredibly fast-moving two-tailed thief, and getting the idea to take advantage of his super speed for himself. He had no idea how old the thief was, and didn't watch the news long enough to even see the picture of what he looked like. All he knew was that there was a really speedy two-tailed fox on a stormy island and he could finally have a friend who'd be able to keep up with him.
When he heard a child screaming when he was running through the island's woods and curiously went to see what was going on, he saw the horrifying sight of a very young fox Moebian tied to a stake with straw beneath it that had fire moving towards him as he screamed. He was surrounded by teenagers in leather jackets, who were smirking at what was happening to him. Without even a split-second taken to think about it, Scourge immediately ran in a circle around the stake to put out the fire with a tornado of wind from his speed, and slammed the teenagers to the ground afterwards, enraged that such a thing was even happening. Something about seeing that kind of inexplicable cruelty to a kid that young made something in him snap, and it was as if he was acting on autopilot as he instinctively tried to save him. It didn't even occur to him how odd it was for him until several minutes later.
" Leave him alone! " he shouted at the bullies, as they ran away from him cursing in fear. " He's a child! " he shouted with his fist vengefully in the air. As much as he wanted to keep attacking them and give them what they deserved, he had to prioritize untying the kid first, because if he went after the bullies as they scattered away from him, he might not know how to get back to where he was. The kid would've never been untied without him, rendering his rescue of him pointless, and Scourge refused to have that happen because of his unfamiliarity with the island.
Scourge narrowly managed to save what turned out to be a two-tailed fox from a dangerous life-threatening situation, noticing that there were cuts and bruises all over his body that needed treating, and untied his ropes from behind the stake saying reassuringly, " That'll learn 'em. If I ever find those bastards again, I'll kill 'em. " Unfortunately, he had no idea how menacing he actually sounded, and the kid was so scared and paranoid that he ran away from him in a panic upon being untied, speeding away in a yellow blur that revealed to him that he was the thief he was looking for. Scourge was surprised and called out, " Hey, wait! " running after him in a confused panic.
He didn't understand. Even after he saved the kid's life, he was so rattled by his past experience that it still ended up taking him several minutes of convincing and making himself look like a softie in front of him to get him to come live with him. He was still living in his father's mansion back then, and his parents were apathetic and focused on work enough that they didn't mind Miles coming to live with them as long as he behaved when he was at home.
After Miles finished the first scoops of ice cream he'd ever been given, his previous injuries already covered in gauze and healing, Scourge gave him a full tour of his parents' house to get him familiar with his new home. Giving him that tour was a learning experience for him that taught him some unsettling things about the child's past.
Miles didn't like being in the kitchen while the chef was using a knife, and Scourge had to shush him and slowly usher him out of the room. He didn't fail to realize, though, that the servants of the home gave him a very brief confused and surprised look before immediately going right back to doing their jobs, instead of making a snide comment at best or attacking him with a knife at worst, and he was dumbfounded and speechless at their apathetic reaction.
Later, Scourge showed him the living room, saying unhappily, " My ' parents ' like it here. You don't really need to be here, since you've got a TV in your room and all. " He didn't want to encourage Miles to spend more time with his neglectful parents; for all he knew, that would only cause him to annoyingly side with them when they nag him. With the intent of his discouraging going right over his head, Miles asked, " I've always wanted to know, what's that called? What's it do? " pointing to the right of the television.
" Oh, that? That's a fireplace! It's all warm and toasty. Wanna try? " Scourge said cheerfully, only to stop smiling upon turning to Miles and realizing how the mere mention of fire frightened him. " N-Never mind, " he said quietly, remembering his previous experience with fire, and faked a smile walking up to him as he said, " Let's look at the rest of the house, shall we? " getting him to follow him out of the room.
Being even so much as near the basement's washroom filled him with dread, causing Scourge to have to reassure him that he'd never have to use it and bring him to the " much fancier one, " upstairs, not wanting to think about why he might have had that kind of reaction. Miles looked uneasy at seeing a cleaning spray on top of the shelf near the toilet, and asked quietly, " I-I hate the smell of those things. Do the servants use it often? "
There was a brief silence, before Scourge hid it in the nearby trash can and said with a sly grin, thumbs-up and wink, " Not anymore. " He tried his best to appear lighthearted as possible and give Miles hope for the future, but it was hard to ignore the worrying implications of just how much abuse he had been through. " Did… people use those sprays on you? " he asked nervously, and Miles nodded reluctantly, wishing he wasn't so easy to read.
" Figures. The bastards. Don't worry, pal. Someday the bullies on that island will get what they deserve, " Scourge said resentfully. Upon noticing that his expression only made Miles nervous, he smiled again, and said, " Now I think it's about time you took a bath to get all those stains out of your fur. " Miles looked down at himself sadly at the look of all the dirt, grass and sand stains out of his fur, and Scourge continued, " What, you think I'd forget? Come on, get in there before ya get sick. Don't worry, I'll replace the bandages and stuff when you're done. And I'll keep the door locked so no one will go in on ya. "
Scourge quickly ran to the nearby closet and back to bring a washcloth to the bathtub, and put beside it a cup with liquid soap. Miles asked him nervously, " That tiny bathroom in the basement can't be locked from the outside, can it? " His pupils shrinking a little from briefly wondering what kind of experience would make Miles afraid of that, Scourge hurriedly said forcing his smile, " No, no, it can't, no one uses it anyways. I'll be in my room watchin' TV. Call me when you're done. "
After Scourge closed the bathroom door behind him leaving him alone, Miles hesitated a bit before taking off his worn gloves and shoes, turning the knob to fill up the bathtub with warm water. He waited impatiently for the water to fill up, and eventually climbed in when it was ready for him, soon smiling at the warmth. With that, he proceeded to clean the stains out of his fur with a washcloth and soap, awkwardly trying to wash around the gauze and bandages that hurt just to touch. It had been so long since he had taken the risk of taking a bath instead of a shower he could quickly escape from, and it felt so good knowing that he was safe doing that for the first time that he could remember.
After he was finally done, he left the bathtub, drained the water, toweled himself off, called for Scourge, and winced and grimaced as the hedgehog took off his soaking wet bandages and gauze to replace them. " Thank you, " Miles said politely when it was all over. Scourge said, " No problem, " standing up from the floor, and started admiring himself in the mirror upon noticing his reflection in it. He said proudly, " You're gonna see, Miles, that when I'm older, all the ladies will love me! "
Scourge noticed an uncomfortable silence rather than Miles happily agreeing, and his eyes were soon drawn to Miles' reflection in the mirror, showing him that the kid was sadly looking away from it in disgust, hiding his second tail behind his first one. Scourge didn't fail to notice, and sighed quietly, before giving him a reassuring shoulder rub and saying, " Don't worry, kiddo. I'm sure the ladies will love you, too! Come on, you should get some sleep early, you've had a hard day, " as he walked him out of the room and led him to the guest room he would sleep in. He enthusiastically talked about the television in it, explained that he would be the one in charge of him since he was the older and wiser one there, and left after assuring him that he would have an excellent breakfast.
Miles' dream the first time he slept in that house was one full of guilt and self-loathing. For the first time, his bullies in his nightmares called him not just a freak, but a criminal, demonizing him even more than they already did. He ended up waking up very early in the morning and crying until it was time for breakfast, desperately wishing that his only friend was there to comfort him, and as a result, he was visibly tired when Scourge cheerfully got him up for breakfast, and he was determined to not let that ruin the rest of his day. After all, he was no stranger to being sleep-deprived, and recovered from it pretty quick considering how well he slept in that bed.
Miles couldn't believe how much he enjoyed the breakfast he was given. It was an excellently cooked assortment of bacon, toast, and a cheese and mushroom omelette, that Scourge was sure to get made to welcome him to the family. He had never enjoyed a breakfast so much in his life. No one had ever cooked him breakfast before. He had cooked breakfast for himself during the times when he was hiding in unoccupied homes, but it felt so much better having someone else cook for him, like he was being provided for instead of having to take care of himself. " Thanks, Sonic! O-Oh, and you too, chef, " he said, nervously giving the proper person the credit they deserved while feeling very shy about speaking to a stranger. At some point during breakfast, he jumped startled at hearing a fork scratching against a plate, and stayed nervous and on edge for a few minutes afterwards, causing Scourge to worry about him even more.
Several hours later, he was invited into the kitchen, and gasped sharply at seeing candles lit on top of the chocolate-looking dessert on the table. Scourge quickly realized what was worrying him, and said, " I-It's okay, Miles! You blow them out to make a wish! It's a birthday tradition, " with a nervous smile. Miles took a few seconds to calm down, and laughed nervously going up to his seat, self-conscious of just how many times he had looked scared in front of him already. He blew out the candles as fast as he could, trying to ignore the stench of smoke that they left, and not-so-subtly backed his chair away from the chef in fear as he leaned over to cut the cake for him, removing the candles beforehand. With that, Miles enjoyed eating a chocolate cheesecake with Scourge, having never tasted anything of the sort before.
When the two of them were finally done, Scourge asked, " Want any more? " staring at the rest of the cake longingly. Miles shrugged with a smile and said generously, " I'm full, but you can have some more if you want. " Scourge eagerly gave himself another plate of it, and Miles worried briefly that he'd give himself a stomach-ache, before saying happily, " It was delicious! Though not as much as tea, and not as much as the broccoli, " referring to the supper he had right before it. Scourge gave him a confused look, and then ruffled his hair and chuckled saying, " You're weird, " rolling his eyes at his strange tastes. " I'll make sure to put tea on the grocery list from now on, " he continued.
This gave Miles mixed messages, as he was very upset at being called weird again, but loved the affection he was clearly getting, and this left him looking sad and staring into space for a couple seconds after smiling from it. " What's wrong? " Scourge asked when he finally noticed his sad look. " Y-Yeah, I, I am weird… " Miles responded sadly with a forced smile, trying to hide the fact that he was annoyed with the only friend he had.
Realizing he had screwed up, Scourge stammered a bit before saying, " Don't worry, Miles, I was just joking around. I like that you're different from the other boring people. It's part of what makes ya so lovable! " He promptly felt embarrassed at letting that last sentence slip out, but his regret faded when, after staring at him stunned letting it sink in, Miles got a great big smile on his face and embraced him in a hug, not even caring that he was still sitting on a chair.
" Lovable! Wow… I'm loved?! " he exclaimed, and Scourge took a second to return the hug from how surprised he was at it all. Realizing he had to react quickly out of the risk of hurting his feelings, Scourge figured he might as well be completely honest while he was at it, and admitted, " Yeah… 'Course I love ya… Screw my parents, you're my real family! " It had been so long since Scourge had bothered trying to tell anyone that he loved them, and for the first time, he was able to hear it back.
" I love you, too! You're the best friend ever! " Miles replied, overwhelmed with joy. He couldn't believe it. For the very first time, he was loved. He was worried that it wasn't really true, but now he had confirmation of that without a shadow of a doubt, and it felt incredible. He would never forget how happy that made him, to finally hear those words.
He stayed in Scourge's home while he recovered from his injuries, watching educational TV shows in his bed and reading the various educational books that Scourge got him from the library. It was a rather uneventful week, especially for Scourge, who mostly had to stay home rather than breaking the law because he knew how sad Miles would be if his only friend spent barely any time with him. There wasn't much excitement, but being able to spend quality time with the first person to really like him made it all worth it, and while he wouldn't admit it to anyone but Miles, he ended up finding the educational shows rather interesting, as useless to him as the knowledge was.
After Miles recovered from the cuts on his tails, hands, and torso, Scourge took him to visit every part of his city over the course of a week, including all the places he found out Miles didn't like. Miles wasn't entirely happy with leaving the house and being stared at by strangers because of it, and asked him standing at the front door, " Wh-What if I get separated from you? What, what if you go left instead of right or something and I turn the wrong way when we're running? What if… "
Scourge looked sad briefly, and said with a reassuring smile, " It'll be fine. I promise. I don't change directions that suddenly. I mean, I can, but I won't if you don't want me to. Besides, your reaction times when you're moving at that speed will match mine, so you'll probably react in time and make the same turn I do. " There was a silence as Miles still looked scared and stared at the front door full of dread.
Knowing he wasn't usually that responsible, Scourge said with a nervous smile, " And hey, if we do ever get separated, here's the plan. Jump into the air and fly high up enough that I might be able to see you over those buildings and, uh, if I can't see where ya are, go back home. You've got a good sense of direction, right? " Miles replied, " Right, " having learned which way was north and gotten it in his head from finding the Northern Star in his island's night sky. He was at the point where he didn't even need a compass.
" But will you notice in time? " he asked, thinking about how if people notice him flying, he'll have to deal with them gawking at him until he flies away. " Sure I will! I'm always gonna be focused on where ya are, I'm never gonna wanna leave ya behind! I wanna keep you safe, and make you, happy... Without you around, it'd be kinda empty-feeling, you know? " Scourge said cheerfully ruffling his hair with the first sentence, and feeling increasingly self-conscious about what he was admitting. He had never cared about someone else so much before, and he hoped the people of the city wouldn't stop being intimidated by him because of it. He'd have to try extra hard to be menacing with people knowing he became best friends with someone so young and innocent, that he'd always be protecting. At the very least, what he said was making Miles feel better, and that made him smile.
" Now come on, kiddo, it's sight-seeing time! " Scourge said eagerly, and held open the door for Miles as he walked out of the mansion, stepping out to the front yard for the first time in a week. Was he truly ready? He had grown fond of spending all his time in Scourge's parents' house hiding from the judgmental people of the world, and now he was expected to go right back to spending most of every day outside, being judged, and now even worse than before because he was going to be breaking the law.
The cuts on his torso, hands and tails were still healing, but their presence was no longer obvious from a mile away making him look like a vulnerable target, with the red stains having long since been washed out of his fur, and the healing process being almost completely finished with the gauze and bandages off him at last. He could feel the wind on his face and how it had stopped stinging what remained of his injuries, and as cloudy as the sky was, there was still a certain something about being out in the sunshine that felt right. He supposed being out in the city wouldn't be so bad, especially since it had a different atmosphere from the island he spent his life on, and that alone made it feel a lot better, even if it did have more people.
Miles looked himself over briefly as Scourge walked up to him closing the door behind him. He put his dark sunglasses over his eyes to better hide the fear in them, and briefly fretted about whether he should zip up his leather jacket for better protection and warmth or keep it unzipped like Scourge. Then he smiled a little at how he thought his new boots looked cool, and flipped the switches on his black bracelets that would make them look spiked again as he would do every time he'd leave the house, smirking a little bit in a failed attempt to imitate Scourge's sly grin that just made Scourge find him cute.
The blue hedgehog beside him put his shades down over his own eyes, opened the large towering black gate blocking the way to his house with a simple push, and said with a grin, " So taking off from here in 3, 2, 1, " and when he said, " Go! " Miles was fully ready to start running alongside him as they moved at slightly below the speed of sound, exiting the front yard at last.
While Miles was able to pretend he wasn't scared on the way to the city, that façade broke the minute he started seeing cars driving across the roads, roads that he normally didn't have to run on at all. He wished he could just fly over everything, but he couldn't fly nearly as fast as he could move by spinning his tails behind him, and that meant that if he wanted to avoid slowing his friend down even more, he had to contend with being close to the ground, close enough that he could get hit by any cars driving on the road as they ran across it.
While Scourge stuck to the sidewalks most of the time, every so often he just had to run across the street to get to his destination, and the sheer anxiety of having to keep up with him during that was hardly something that could easily be gotten rid of. He was worried about the potential consequences of voicing his concerns and complaints to him, when he was already forcing him to run slower just so he could keep up.
What Scourge didn't realize was that one of the biggest things making Miles nervous was the fact that there were cars driving around him, and with their running through the city so quickly without stopping to look both ways before crossing the street, Miles hated every time they left the sidewalk. The last thing he wanted was to be hit by a car again. And knowing Scourge and his recklessness, it was possible that would happen to him as well. What if this cost him the life of the only friend he ever got to have? It was bad enough that there were people everywhere, but flying metal death traps blistering through the roads he needed to run along made the city almost unbearable, and he had to force an angry menacing look on his face to hide the overwhelming fear for his life. He only hoped the cars were something he could get used to.
There were several different places in the city that had things about them that made Miles uneasy. In the zoo, he was nervous just at seeing the animals at all, saying, " I-I don't like this place… " even though he knew the animals were in captivity and couldn't attack him. That caused Scourge to worry about just how many times animals had hurt the kid out in the woods for him to develop a paranoid fear of them in general.
It had to take the course of several days for them to eat lunch at every single restaurant and diner in the city, since they visited one a day, and every time Scourge brought Miles into one of them, he noticed how nervous he was trying to eat the food from it.
The first restaurant he took him to, on the first day he was showing him around the city, was essentially the Moebian equivalent of a Burger King's. Scourge, after forcing the people in line to let him and Miles order first as he always did in lines, and reluctantly handing his stolen money to the worker behind the counter, brought the cheeseburger and veggie burger outside for Miles' sake, and they started eating the lunch they ordered, sitting outside near the restaurant window.
He noticed Miles' hesitation to eat, and smiled saying playfully, " You sure you really want veggies in your burgers? You don't seem that eager. " Miles shook his head and explained nervously, " It's not that. What if they put something in our food to make us sick? What if they, you know, did something with it to spite us? " Scourge once again saw that familiar look on Miles' face as the kid stared into the distance full of dread, looking haunted by the memories of his past, and even he was worried for a little while, knowing full well that people making food in restaurants would do that to spite him occasionally. But after briefly looking beneath the bun of his burger, he reassured Miles,
" Don't worry about it. They won't do anything that gets me mad. There's not that many people stupid enough to take that risk! And since you're with me, they're gonna know they can't do anything to you either, 'cause I would make them pay if they did. Just eat, alright? I paid for it, after all. " Miles peeked beneath the bun of his veggie burger, nodded, and took a bite of it quickly, smiling after tasting it for the first time.
Scourge smiled warmly at seeing how happy it made him, while also being amused once again at how Miles was the only kid he knew who appreciated vegetables that much. Staring ahead eating his burger with a cute litle fox sitting right beside him, Scourge thought, " I guess I should be grateful he likes veggies that much. Maybe he wouldn't have lived for so long with barely any food if he didn't get such a taste for healthy stuff… The poor kid... Damn it. He's not making me go soft, is he? I've, never been so worried about anybody before… 'Course, he's got plenty to be worried about, and he's the only one who knows how great I am, so I got every reason to care, but… I told him I'm a badass law-breaker and aside from cutting in line, I haven't really proven my point. But does he care about that at all? He… still looks really happy with me… "
After a brief hesitation, he asked, " Hey, Miles? " this time making sure to speak a bit quieter than normal to avoid startling him again. " Yeah? " Miles said between bites, looking over at him. A bit awkward, Scourge explained unnecessarily, " You know what I meant by I paid for it, right? Like, I usually don't pay for stuff. It's only in places where I pretty much have to wait to get stuff prepared for me, where I have to count on the people running the place being willing to serve me and letting me come back, you know. 'Cause I have to specifically tell them what I want to make sure I get what I want, and I have to wait for them to finish making the burgers, I can't just find my order already made wherever it is and take it. B-Basically I follow the rules with these places out of necessity. That don't mean I'm some, boring rules-following guy like everybody else, oh, no! It's like I said earlier, Miles, I'm the fastest thief in the world! But some places are just too complicated to take what you want from. "
Miles nodded politely, not really seeming to be fazed by it. " That makes sense, " he replied after swallowing his most recent bite of his lunch. " So you don't mind? You don't think I'm just… " Scourge said in confusion, looking away from him as he realized while speaking that he was revealing that he cared about what he thought of him. Did he really grow that attached so quickly that he was outright trying to impress him? " I always care about my image, this is nothin' new, " he thought. He was always the type to show off, no matter who was in front of him.
" No, no, it's fine. I'd do the same thing. If it's completely impractical, it seems silly to break a law just for the sake of it. It's more reliable to just pay for the meal to know what you're getting. You don't need to be a rule-breaker all the time. You're still a badass lawbreaker, just one who's smart enough to be practical, " Miles said casually, trying to hide how he was worried about offending him. He really didn't need Scourge to be a criminal to like him as a person, and a part of him outright wished he wasn't one, but he wasn't sure if telling him that would make him think he wanted to change him or something like that, when he was desperate enough for a friend that he was willing to accept him for who he was. Scourge smiled, thinking, " Smart… " basking in the compliment and just how rare it was for him to be called that. " Thanks, Miles. You should say that more often! " he replied.
The next time they were about to cross the street, Miles blurted out nervously, " Could I at least fly over the streets instead of running in front of cars every time I do it?!... I-I don't wanna be a nuisance telling you to stop to look left and right every time you're about to run across the road, but I-I-I just don't wanna, I don't want anything to happen. They're dangerous, Sonic! "
Scourge stared at him with a worried expression for a couple seconds, wondering if he had been hit by a car before, and finally said, " Okay, fine. Fly over the roads when you get to crossing 'em, and I'll, quickly look both ways and then wait on the other side for ya. That'll happen every time we get to crossing the street from now on. Just try to fly fast at least. You're good at that already, but this is a great opportunity to get even better! " Miles sighed in relief and said to him, " Thanks. " Perhaps he didn't need to worry after all.
After that, Scourge brought Miles to the farm providing food to the city. After running up to the grazing area staying at Miles' speed so he could keep up, he jumped into the air and landed on the ground below in a fancy way to show off, wanting to stop without Miles running past him for too long. It was hardly new for him. " And here's the place that gives the city its food! Well, the food that's not imported, at least, " he said. There was a silence, and he stopped smiling upon seeing Miles' reaction. Not only did the child back away nervously from the grazing cattle and sheep, but noticing the hay outside made him get worried, and he stared at it with his pupils shrunken full of dread.
" You okay? " Scourge asked quietly as he slowly walked up to him and carefully placed his hand on Miles' shoulder. He knew right away what he was being reminded of. For once, Miles was reliving a memory that Scourge had witnessed firsthand. " I… " Miles said quietly, vividly remembering how he had been tied to a wooden stake with straw just like that below it that was set on fire by three different people. The only reason he didn't get hurt by that experience, was that Scourge showed up in a blue tornado of wind and put out the flames to save him.
" You're my hero… " he complimented with a nervous smile, leaving Scourge stunned and struck speechless at having never been called that before. " Me, a hero? " he thought looking worried and embarrassed. " For you, yeah, " he replied with nervous body language, trying to sound as casual as possible. At the very least, he knew he was a hero to Miles, and was proud of that. But was he a heroic person in general? He cut in line and stole and fought purely out of selfishness and thrills, and got satisfaction out of annoying people rather than shame. But he couldn't deny that being there for Miles and standing up for him was the definition of heroic. There had to be more to him than just the juvenile delinquent image he was so proud of if he was going to such efforts for a two-tailed child just to have a friend.
" I was so lucky that I screamed… " Miles whispered, and Scourge, overhearing that horrifying sentence, could only say, " Wh-What? Why? " despite agreeing with his conclusion. He went around to the front of him, putting both his hands on his shoulders looking serious. " Because I usually didn't. Because it only attracted more people to where I was, and the minute they saw what made me different, they turned on me and gave me hell… even if they were rushing to help me before! Every time I screamed for help, it only made things worse… But you weren't like that. You were different from them!... Maybe because you weren't from their island, " Miles said sadly, holding back tears, and while Scourge would never admit it, he was doing the same thing just from hearing that.
Scourge said bitterly clenching his fist, " Maybe there's just something wrong with island people in general. I-I've heard the farmer here complain about, ' city folk, ' but at least we know to keep our mouths shut. When we see something or someone different, we don't draw attention to ourselves by making a big deal out of it in public. We don't gang up on and attack people for looking different, we just go about our lives. City folk don't spend all that time hunting a kid down for just living on their precious island. " Miles commented with downcast eyes, " Yeah, they just stare at me silently judging. "
Briefly stroking his head to get him to look up at him, Scourge said, " That's better than before. City people like us prefer to blend in with the rest of the crowd so we can do what we want in peace. Well, not me, I love attention, but I'm talking normal people here, who aren't as cool as me. People working in the city just wanna get to work and the other spots they wanna go, they're in too much of a hurry to point and laugh, and with all the hustle and bustle, there's also lots of new stuff happening in life to distract 'em and make 'em forget. That's why they call us a fickle folk. "
Miles, who smiled briefly at the affection and giggled at Scourge calling himself cool finding it inspiring and charismatic, returned to looking depressed rather quickly, and grumbled, " I hear what they say. I'm the talk of the town, and I've been here for over a week. I don't think that'll ever change. "
Scourge sighed sadly and said with a dismissive wand of his hand, " That's 'cause this city has nothing going on. It's a slow news day, every day. Especially recently, " resentfully thinking of his father and how he stopped the wars of the world by taking it over. From his perspective, day-to-day life didn't really improve, just stop getting worse. All his father did was cause stagnation. From his perspective, at least the chaos of the wars beforehand were interesting. At least technology was still progressing, aside from Dr. Kintobar's. He smiled affectionately at Miles and said, " Now come on, let's go somewhere else. " Miles nodded, and they both ran out of the farm beside each other in a blue and yellow blur.
Miles didn't seem to like the baseball park, either, as just the sight of the people playing baseball got him scared and quiet. Scourge wondered what about it was worrying him, the fear of being hit by one of the baseballs or the baseball bats the men were holding. " Did they have baseball parks on your island, Miles? " he asked him, watching them to the left of the bleachers.
" W-What? Uh… I think I saw one once. Is that where those weapons come from?! " Miles said nervously standing beside him, and hid behind him gasping when one of the men swung their bat. " Weapons? " Scourge whispered in horror. He looked down at the ground unhappily for a while, letting that imagery sink in, and then said quietly, " L-Let's just go. " With that, the two of them ran away from the baseball park, never intending to return. Scourge had brought Miles there and stayed in front of it for so long in the first place to try to get him to be a bit more masculine, thinking that would be good for the kid, but it soon became clear that he was too intimidated by sports, and had every reason to be.
As Scourge ran through the city with Miles easily keeping up with him at his side, turning slowly enough that he wouldn't catch him by surprise, he couldn't help but worry. While most of the parts of the city he showed Miles didn't upset him too much, aside from the usual social anxiety, the sheer amount of dread he showed at seeing the most innocuous of things was concerning. Thankful that Miles wasn't able to see his expression at the moment, Scourge thought unhappily, " Come on, Sonic, think. What part of a city would make a kid really happy?... A toy store! Of course! There's one in the mall! "
He led Miles to the mall, running through the leftmost side of its parking lot, and said with a confident but playful grin, " There's one last place I wanna take ya today. " He stopped in front of the mall's glass doors as they automatically opened in front of him, and Miles exclaimed with wide-open eyes, " Cool! They opened by themselves! When you said you belonged to a rich and powerful family, you weren't kidding! " smiling in amazement at the sight. Scourge looked at him with an amused expression and a cocked eyebrow, and decided to let him believe that until he figured it out for himself. " Why ruin his fun? " he thought, as Miles followed him into the first ever mall he had ever seen.
They made a quick run through of the place, with Scourge very briefly showing him every store just for the sake of it, and then finally, Scourge said, " I've saved the best for last! " and led him into the toy store with a smile. " You can have whatever you want here, ' little bro! ' " Scourge said walking ahead of Miles in one of the toy aisles, and chuckled thinking to himself, " I wonder if this is like letting a bull loose in a china store? Or a kid loose in a candy store? Though Miles never liked candy… "
Unfortunately, the eerie lack of footsteps behind him took him out of his high spirits, and he nervously turned around to see a familiar haunted look on Miles' face. Even the bright and colorful-looking toys, things that seemed completely harmless, were filling him with dread. Scourge thought sadly, " I'm starting to think there's something seriously wrong with him… " shocked at the idea that he could be afraid of even that. He slowly approached him and said quietly, " Miles? " hoping he wouldn't startle him and get him running away in a panic.
" Uh… " Miles forced himself to say, still lost in a feeling of dread and fear that he couldn't quite explain. " What's the problem? " Scourge asked, trying to very carefully word his question to avoid sounding judgmental or dismissive. He knew very well how overly sensitive Miles could be, to the point where occasionally, it got annoying. " I don't, know… I don't… remember… " Miles whispered staring at the toys, and Scourge looked even more worried, and was thankful that no one happened to be there to witness it.
Trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, he asked, " Do you think anyone, hurt you with these? " Miles looked around the aisle, his eyes darting back and forth as he took the sight of it in, and said quietly, " Probably when I was too young to remember it. I can't imagine the people at the orphanage let me play with any toys, so maybe… I, I just… Do you really think I should have these? "
There was a silence, and Miles tried to keep tears from coming out of his eyes, wanting to avoid embarrassing himself or his new friend. All Scourge could say was, " Miles… " He couldn't believe it. After all of those years of being treated like someone whose life wasn't valuable, who didn't deserve anything that made him happy, could a part of Miles have been brainwashed into agreeing with it? How could he get his confidence up if he was so full of insecurity and shame that was deeply engrained in him no matter what he did?
" Of course you should. You're clever, and devoted, and loyal, and talented… You're the best person I've ever met. Don't listen to all the lies that you've been told, " he comforted Miles, and put his arms around him in a hug, which the kid returned with a small smile. A tear still managed to escape his eye, but he wiped it away, and giggled nervously.
After the hug was over, Scourge said trying to act as cheerful and eager as usual, " Let's just take a quick run through all the aisles to see if there's anything you like, " and Miles nodded, running after him obediently. They never did find anything Miles was willing to ask for. While a few of the toys looked tempting, specifically the handheld gaming devices, there was a part of him that was terrified of asking for them or even so much as touching them, as if he'd only receive a smack and a scolding for his efforts. He felt like he shouldn't have any of them, that it was wrong, and the most frustrating thing of all was that he knew how irrational he was being and couldn't stop feeling that way. Leaving the mall, the only thing Miles liked about the experience in the end was that he could hear music playing in it, and even then, it was too hard to hear it clearly over the sound of the wind rushing past him and Scourge as they ran through the mall.
