A low rumbling was heard in the bathroom, followed by the sound of a sink being used. A moment later, Scourge emerged from the bathroom looking relieved.
"Okay, I'm ready." said Jules, coming downstairs in his new clothes, which were little more than a t-shirt and jeans, not too different from what Scourge was wearing.
As both entered the family room from opposite sides, Scourge noticed that Sonic was sitting on the couch with Aleena, but Sonia was missing.
"Where'd Sonia go?" asked Scourge.
"She went upstairs for something." replied Sonic.
Right about then, a door could be heard closing and a second later, Sonia came rushing down the stairs.
"Sorry for the delay, I had to feed Sophia." said Sonia.
"Is everyone ready?" asked Aleena.
"Yep" said everyone in unison.
"Alright, let's go." said Jules, heading for the door to the garage.
Everyone followed him into the garage where the family car was waiting. Despite having seen it before when the Hedges brought him home in it yesterday, Scourge was still impressed by the blue convertible and loved the new car smell that greeted him once he climbed in. This time, Sonia sat in the middle while Scourge sat on the right since he wanted to get a better view of the outside. As the car backed out of the garage, Scourge noticed the big lake behind the house. He remembered the photo of the family in the motor boat out on a lake, but he had no idea that the lake was in their backyard. This was too good.
"So do you guys still have the boat?" asked Scourge.
"Yeah, but it's been a while since we used it." said Sonic.
"Really? How long." asked Scourge
Sonia shook her head while moving her hand in a gesture that said keep it down, indicating it wasn't a good idea to talk about it.
She was too late, however, as Aleena spoke up.
"The last time we used it on the lake was about 3 years ago. After that, we just...stopped doing it...because..."
She said nothing after that, but Scourge thought she sounded choked up, as if she were suppressing a painful memory.
Sonia leaned over to whisper in Scourge's ear.
"After you were taken, we stopped doing alot of the things we had done together as a family, both because it brought back too many memories of you, and because we were busy looking for you most of the time."
This didn't totally surprise Scourge since they told him they had spent alot of time looking for him, but it still made him feel bad that they had gone to all that trouble for him, until he remembered he wasn't Manic.
Funny how that slipped his mind. Still, he had to play the part.
"I hope it's not too late to be a family again." he said, hoping they hadn't gotten mad at him.
He knew they weren't as tempermental as Robotnik, but there was no telling what might set them off, given all they had been through because of him.
"No, of course not. You came back to us, which was everything we could have asked for, and now we're starting over." said Aleena, looking back at her son, her face glowing.
Starting over. Scourge liked the sound of that.
As the car pulled out of the neighborhood, Scourge turned his attention to the scenery outside, watching everything pass by. All that, added to the exhilirating feel of riding in a car, made for one heck of a thrill for him. However, as he thought about what a thrill it was to be free from his prison of a basement, his mind inevitably drifted back to the prison itself, and he thought about the new basement he'd explored, and all the cool stuff he'd seen in it, such as the weight sets and games.
"Sooo...what's with the games and stuff in the basement?" Scourge whispered to Sonia.
Sonic was the first to respond.
"It's basically our hang out area for us and our friends." said Sonic.
"Yeah, we play games down there and stuff. It was really messy the last time you saw it, we didn't make it our hang out area until after we fixed the place up a year ago." said Sonia.
"Cool, I guess. What games do you play down there?" asked Scourge.
"Well there's Halo for the Xbox 360 and sports games for the Wii." said Sonic.
Scourge would have reminded Sonic that he had no idea what those were, but kept his mouth shut, knowing that they may have had those around before Manic was taken. Sonia seemed to read his mind.
"The Wii is a bit like the Xbox, but instead of a regular controller, you use a remote that you move around in front of the screen to make the things in the game move." said Sonia.
Scourge was hardly familiar with a regular controller. What Sonia said made no sense at all.
"Uhh...what?" he asked, the o_O look on his face.
"Let me rephrase." said the crimson hedgie, "while you push buttons on a regular controller to make a game character move around on any other game system, the wii is different because with a wii controller, you don't push buttons or joysticks to make the character move, you move the controller itself, so you can aim in the game by aiming the controller itself. Do you get it now?"
"Kinda...maybe not." said Scourge.
"We'll show you when we get home. It's probably easier to show it to you than explain it." said Sonic.
"Yeah, I guess." laughed Scourge.
He then looked out the window and noticed they were on a bridge passing over a large river, flanked on both sides by forests that stretched for miles. Scourge thought he could see houses on the lake's edge, similar to the lake front house he was now living in, but what amazed him the most was how small everything seemed. Water, trees, and a sunny sky as far as the eye could see. Deep down, he always knew the world was a big place, but to witness the magnitude of such an expansion was completely new to him. The sight of something so infinite made him realize how free he was from the tight confinement of Robotnik's house. Too many years in his life had been wasted in that insignificant speck of a house, and he'd spent most of his time in a basement that wasn't even half as big. What he wanted now the most was to see the world as it was, to make up for all the years wasted in that makeshift grave Robotnik had kept him in.
Some time later, they entered a small town with all kinds of places he'd never seen or heard of, but they continued on until they came to a big blue building with the words 'Wal-Mart' written on it. They stopped in the parking lot and climbed out of the car and went inside.
The green hedgehog was surprised to see the doors open on their own, but quickly brushed it aside as he had more important things to be concerned with, like getting some clothes of his own that actually fit, so he entered the store but was met with a draft of cool air coming down from a large vent above him, a welcome relief from the summer heat outside.
Scourge hadn't even been in the store yet and already he was starting to like this place. So far, so good.
"Enjoying the breeze?" chuckled Jules.
Scourge turned around to see Jules, Aleena, and Sonia staring at him with amusement.
"Don't worry, everyone enjoys the vent air. That's what it was designed for." said Sonia.
Scourge noticed a certain blue blur wasn't among them.
"Where'd Sonic go?" he asked.
"While you were distracted, he snuck past you." said Aleena, pointing past Scourge.
He turned around to see Sonic halfway across the store waving at them, grinning ear to ear.
"He IS fast." said Scourge, the 00 look on his face.
"And cocky." added Jules, motioning Sonic to come back.
The blue spike ball jogged back at a mild pace until he was with the group once more.
They entered the store, Scourge noticed two weird looking electronic things on either side of the door, but as before, he brushed them from his mind as he had more important things to worry about. On the way to the clothing section, Scourge was in awe of the many shelves stacked with food and conveniences. During his time at Robotnik's house, he had partially been under the impression that food was scarce, most likely, he was trying to justify the reason for him not getting much, but if that myth hadn't been busted the night he'd had pizza at his new home, it died a horrible death once he saw what stocked the shelves.
"Manic, is something wrong?" asked Aleena, looking back at him.
"Uh no, it's just...that's alot of food." he said, still staring at the shelves full of goodies.
He turned to see Jules whispering something into Aleena's ear.
"That sounds like a good idea." she nodded.
"What are you talking about?" asked Scourge.
"You'll find out later." said Aleena, winking at him.
"So what now?" asked Scourge.
"You pick out some things to wear and try them on in the dressing room over there." said Jules, pointing to what looked like a portable closet with a nearby that was being run by a female racoon.
Alarm bells went off inside the green hedgehog's head. Would the lady at the register follow him inside and watch him undress? How else was she supposed to make sure he didn't steal anything?
"She...she's not gonna watch me undress is she?" whispered Scourge to Jules.
"No, she just waits outside the booths to make sure you don't take anything." said Jules.
"But couldn't someone just sneak things out of the store?" asked the green hedgie.
"They could try, but everything in this store has some sensor on it that will make the alarm go off if it gets past the detectors they have at the doors." said Sonic.
So that's what those weird looking electronic things were. thought Scourge.
"Well ok, but what should I get?" he asked.
"Oh, just some shirts, pants, and shorts that you think look good on you." said Aleena.
"Try 2 or 3 of each." suggested Jules.
"Err...alright." said Scourge, feeling a little overwhelmed with having to make that many choices.
He made his way over to a shelf with rows of shirts on display and checked the label on the first one. On it was a skull with two spoons crossed in the shape of an X, with the description Cereal Killer written below it. Scourge busted out laughing. That was one he never would have expected. Another one simply said Drink Coffee, do Stupid things Faster with more Energy which also made Scourge laugh. The next one read Meat is Murder...Tasty, Flame-Broiled, Delicious Murder. Another one said I'm with Stupid and had several arrows pointing in many different directions. By then, Scourge was laughing so hard he couldn't stand and had to lean against the shelf to keep from falling.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
As Scourge recovered, he looked over at the rest of the group and saw Sonic and Sonia talking with Jules about something. It looked like he was asking them something, but then they both pulled PDA like devices out of their pockets and showed them to him and he then waved them off and the two hedgies ran off toward some other part of the store. Scourge decided to ask Jules what that was all about, if only to satisfy his curiosity about what the two siblings had been carrying.
"What were those things they showed you?" asked Scourge.
"Those were their cell phones. We're gonna get you one so that you can call us in case you get lost." replied the older hedgehog.
Scourge would have asked what a cell phone was, but the phone part told him everything he needed to know.
"So did ya find anything to wear?" asked Jules.
"Yeah, I think I found a few shirts that looked cool." replied the green one, turning back toward the shirt rack. He showed several pairs to his dad while he showed Scourge around the place so he could see what else was available. By the time, they had finished, Scourge had picked out 4 different shirts, 2 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of khaki pants, and 2 pairs of shorts, all of which matched the size of the borrowed clothes he was wearing. Two of the shirts had the funny text on them (Cereal Killer and the one about meat being murder) while the other two were green and blue. One pair of jeans was blue and the other was black. One set of shorts was a pair of black swimming trunks while the other was a simple pair of blue gym shorts that matched his blue T-shirt.
They then brought the clothes to the Dressing Room where the Raccoon lady was waiting.
"Looks like someone's in need of something to wear." laughed the raccoon, noting the amount of stuff they were carrying.
She seemed friendly enough, maybe she wasn't really looking for an excuse to sic the security guards on Scourge like he feared.
"You're not gonna watch me change are you?" asked Scourge.
"What? No." said the raccoon, laughing.
"Just try on the stuff inside the changing room to see if it fits. That's all there is to it." said Jules.
"Oh, ok." said the smaller hedgehog, taking the merchandise inside the closet of a room and locking the door behind him.
Turning to the mirror next to him, it dawned on Scourge that he was actually getting clothes of his own to wear, which he himself had picked out. How cool was that? And that was just the beginning. Soon he'd be getting a phone that he could carry around with him that he could use to talk to Aleena, Jules, or even Sonic and Sonia anytime he was lost or was feeling lonely, which was a big deal for him. And after that, he had a big cozy house to go back to with all the food he could eat.
Funny how all this was just now occuring to him. Scourge was still having a hard time figuring out if this was really happening or if he had really died and gone to heaven. In fact, now that he thought about it, it did seem a little too convenient for him to suddenly wake up in a warm bed surrounded by a family that loved and wanted him and to then be treated to all these wonderful things he had been given.
Was all this really happening or was it all perception? Was he still laying in Robotnik's yard dreaming this all up? Was he already dead?
Then again, this could just as easily be as real as it seemed.
Scourge forced the thought from his mind, not wanting to ruin a good day like this as he tried to decide which set of clothes he tried on first since this was the first time he'd be wearing his own clothes which he himself picked out. It was effectively his first real decision he'd made in his new life.
He was about to try on the green shirt, but then decided to go with the Cereal Killer shirt since it wasn't that big a deal, and because he liked the shirt since it made him laugh, which was something he literally hadn't done before.
He took off the shirt Sonic had let him borrow and saw the scar on his chest where Snively had stabbed him. The peach colored fur around it had been buzz cut, revealing a long streak of stitches over exposed skin, the only place on his entire body besides his face and hands where his skin was visible, but it was also evidence that he was indeed alive. If he had died or was dreaming, he wouldn't have that wound on him. Certainly not one that had been attended to.
He looked at the shirt he had decided on and was suddenly a bit creeped out by the skull and cross spoons on it and decided to go with the green shirt. Perhaps it would blend in with his green fur and hide the scar on his chest. Heck, it might make everyone forget about it completely.
Next was the blue jeans. He would have worn the blue shorts, but he wasn't too comfortable with the idea of someone looking at his bare legs, having had enough unwanted attention from a certain round man, so he went with the blue pants instead.
He put his socks and shoes back on and opened the door to the dressing room.
"How do I look?" he asked.
"Does it fit okay?" asked Jules.
"Feels fine." replied Scourge.
"Cool, now go try on the rest of the stuff." said Jules.
"All of it is my size. Why do I need to try it on?" asked Scourge.
"Just to make sure it doesn't feel scratchy or anything. Wouldn't want to get something you aren't gonna wear, would you?"
That made sense. Scourge went back inside and tried everything on to make sure it all felt right, which it did, but as he tried on the blue shirt, he decided to stick with that one for a while since it contrasted his green fur nicely, which was something he preffered over a shirt that blended in with him.
He came back out in his blue jeans and blue T-shirt and Jules just laughed when he saw him.
"Just like old times." chuckled the older Hedgehog.
"What do you mean?" asked Scourge, his curiosity peaked.
Jules' expression turned sentimental.
"You remember how you and Sonic would dress up in similar clothing?"
"Scourge suddenly wished he hadn't asked what Jules had meant, but it was too late.
"It's been a while. I have trouble remembering things." he lied.
Jules continued.
"You and your twin brother Sonic looked very similar, and you still do, but back when you two were still tots, you both seemed to think alike on so many things that your mother swore you were both telepathic. Then one day, she got you each a shirt and a pair of shorts that matched your fur colors, but you two, having a twisted sense of humor, decided to switch so that Sonic wore the green clothes while you wore his blue ones. Your mother drove us all crazy trying to take different pictures of you both, and your Uncle Chuck nicknamed you two 'Yin' and 'Yang' because while you both had different colors, you still completed each other, much like the yin yang itself."
"What's a yin yang? o0" asked Scourge.
"That." said Jules, pointing to a T-shirt on a rack sporting a circular design with two ghost like entities, one black with a white eye, the other white with a black eye, both swirling around each other in a circle. Scourge needed no further explanation since the design was pretty self explanatory.
Then another thought came to Scourge.
"What pants is Sonic wearing?" he asked.
"I think he's wearing shorts." replied Jules.
"Okay, but what color shorts is he wearing?" asked Scourge.
Jules thought for a mmoment before responding.
"Green, I think. Why?"
Scourge held up the green shirt he'd already tried on.
A smile found it's way onto Jules' face. He pulled out his cell phone and clicked on Sonic's number before placing the phone to his ear.
"Hey Sonic, come over to the dressing rooms for a minute." said Jules, and then hung up.
A moment later, Sonic showed up.
"What is it?" he asked.
Scourge tossed him the green T-shirt.
"Try it on. Your mother will want to see you in it." said Jules, now grinning.
"Oh come on, couldn't you just take a picture of us in these garbs and show that to mom?" whined Sonic, knowing how camera happy his mother tended to be.
"Just this once. Now go inside the booth and put on the shirt so we can get it over with." ordered Jules, pointing to the changing closet.
Sonic just shrugged and disappeared inside the same booth Scourge had used and came out a moment later in the Green shirt that Scourge had tossed him, but he also had green shorts to match, whereas Scourge had blue shirt and pants to contrast.
"Aleena's gotta see this." said Jules, dialing her number.
"This is embarrasing." said Sonic plainly.
"What's wrong with it?" asked Scourge.
"We haven't exactly dressed up in each other's colors since we were like 5. I feel like a baby doing this." said the blue in green.
"Sorry about your suffering. Can't imagine what you're going through." replied the green in blue, sarcastically.
Sonic was about to use a comeback of his own, but then decided against it since Manic did have a point. There were things far worse than wearing certain colors.
A sudden burst of giggling drew their attention behind them where Aleena was looking at them. She snapped several pictures of them with the camera on her cell phone, and then had them stand together, stand apart, stand back to back, and all sorts of ridicluous things that only a mom with a camera could have thought up, and finally finished a good five minutes later.
"I knew escaping Robotnik was too good to be true." whispered Scourge under his breath.
"I hope you're joking." whispered back Sonic.
"I am." said Scourge. "I just didn't remember mom being this bad."
"Well now you know why I didn't want to wear this in the first place." said Sonic in disgust.
"Poor Yin Yangs." mocked Sonia from her hiding spot near one of the racks.
"How long have you been there?" asked Sonic, knowing he wasn't gonna like the answer.
"Since you got here. I followed you from the gaming section." sneered the eggplant colored Hedgie.
An evil smirk came over Scourge's face.
"Hey mom, you forgot to take a picture of Sonia with us." he said, grabbing Sonia.
"What? Let go of me!" yelped Sonia, easily swatting Scourge's feeble grasp off herself, but it was too late, Sonic had already grabbed her and Aleena was going for her camera phone again, her face as lit up as it had been the first time.
"Great idea, Manic. Sonia, stand between your two brothers." said Aleena.
"Maniac is definitely back." growled Sonia under her breath.
(10 minutes later)
After taking the exact same snapshots she had taken before, with Sonia now in them, and then taking a few more with Jules and herself in them, she had finally had enough...long after everyone else did.
If a dog was a man's best friend, the camera was a woman's.
"He's gonna pay for that." growled Sonia.
"You knock him out, I'll stuff him in the trunk." whispered Jules, obviously joking, of course.
"I hope you're happy, Maniac." said Sonic.
"But wasn't it worth it to get Sonia back?" grinned Scourge.
The blue blur pondered that for a second.
"I suppose..."
Next came the shoes. While everyone else went back to their own thing, Aleena led Scourge to the shoe department in the back of the store where he would pick out his own pair of shoes. His first pair of shoes.
Sure the ones he had on now were nice, especially when compared to the rags he wore on his feet back in Robotnik's basement, just to keep his toes from freezing at night, but these were Sonic's old shoes he was wearing and they were worn out from alot of running, so it was essential to get some footwear that wouldn't break or tear anytime soon.
As he passed through the aisles of shoes and boots, he came upon a pair that stood out from the rest. These shoes were mostly green like his fur, with patches of black here and there. Scourge didn't really know how to describe them except for one word: wicked. These shoes were perfect. They looked cool and their color matched his style. He took one of his shoes off and pulled one out of the box to try it on, but was disappointed to discover he couldn't get it on all the way.
"Dang, and these were some nice shoes, too." lamented Scourge.
"What's wrong?" asked Aleena.
"They're too small for me." said Scourge, moving on to a different pair.
"Those are size 8. How big are the shoes you're wearing?" asked Aleena.
Scourge took off one of his borrowed shoes and checked the tag inside.
"Size 10." he replied.
Aleena grabbed a box underneath the black and green shoes on display with the number 10 on it and opened it to reveal another pair of black and green shoes.
"These should fit." she said, handing the pair to her son.
It was a rather pleasant surprise to know that they actually did have what he was looking for. Scourge took off his other shoe and placed both of the new ones on his feet and tied the laces before standing up in them and walking around in them.
"Do they feel comfortable?" asked his mom.
"Very." he replied.
Not only did they look good, but they felt good, too.
"Are they too big?" asked Aleena.
Scourge pressed down on the toe of the shoes and felt his own toes in them.
"No, they fit perfectly."
Aleena still didn't seem satisfied.
"Are you sure those are the ones you want?" she asked.
"Definitely. They're way cooler than all the other shoes." said Scourge, proudly.
"Alright then, let's get this stuff checked out." said Aleena, pulling her cell phone out.
She called everyone and told Sonic to come to the shoe department and for Jules and Sonia to wait for them by the exit. A moment later, Sonic arrived in the green shirt Scourge had picked out and the three of them brought the merchandise to the register and then went toward the exit once everything was paid for, and sure enough, Jules and Sonia were waiting for them. They then headed toward the car and stuck everything in the trunk and got back in the car to leave. As they pulled out of the parking lot, Scourge noticed they weren't going back home.
"Where are we headed now?" asked Sonia before Scourge could do the same.
Jules was the one to respond.
"Well we have to go get Manic a cell phone, but since it's almost lunch time, your mom and I decided to go grab a bite at the Rainforest Cafe. How does that sound?"
"Awesome!" said Sonic and Sonia in unison.
"What's that?" asked Scourge, unfamiliar with the word 'cafe.'
"It was like your favorite place to eat when you were small." said Sonia.
"Our favorite place." corrected Sonic.
"Uh, like I said, it's been a while." said Scourge, attempting to save face.
"Well, nothing to welcome back a lost soul like the Rainforest Cafe." said Sonic, giving Scourge his cocky grin.
"Yeah. Cool, I guess." said Scourge.
They drove through town for a few minutes before pulling into the parking lot of a rather exotic looking building that was decorated to look like some sort of indoor zoo from the outside, complete with jungle foliage, a fountain, and even a waterfall built into the side of the restaurant to give it that rainforest appearance. It all looked pretty neat, but Scourge was still unsure of what to think, but not wanting to arouse suspicion, he kept questions about the possibility of there being real animals in there to himself and followed the rest of the Hedge family inside without question.
As they entered, Scourge looked around at the jungle like interior and thought back to the forest that had surrounded Robotnik's house when he had first escaped from it, but this was nothing like Robotnik's property because it all seemed so alive, whereas Robotnik's place was as dead as it looked, so Scourge was relieved to feel no resemblance in this place to what had been his lifelong prison. He was also relieved to see that the jungle creatures set up throughout the place were fake. At least he wouldn't have to worry about any monkies taking his food.
His attention was drawn to a female rabbit wearing a green apron who approached them.
"Howdy, mah name is Bunnie and ah'll be your waitress. How many of ya are there?" she asked in a soft southern voice.
"Five." said Jules.
"Alright then, follow me." she said.
She led the pack over to a table conveniently placed near a lit tank full of tropical fish.
"Ah'll give y'all a few minutes to check the menus." said Bunnie, once everyone was seated.
Scourge looked into the oversized booklet filled to the brim with limitless food choices and the ravenous hunger pains he'd felt for so long were coming back to him.
"Is that you?" asked Sonia.
"Whassat?" asked Scourge.
"Your stomach's growling really loudly." she said.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm use to it." replied Scourge.
Sonia's eyes turned to saucers at the cruelty hinted at in Scourge's words. It was no secret he'd been starved, but for him to be use to it like it was nothing spoke volumes not only about how often he was starved, but just how much he'd been abused, to the point where he didn't seem to care anymore. He had a long way to go before he fully recovered, and had alot of scars inside that had yet to be discovered, but for now, they'd have to start small, and she knew the perfect thing to help. When Bunnie finally came back and asked them what they wanted, they all ordered whatever looked good, while Sonia, knowing how long the orders would take, asked the rabbit to bring back an appetizer of BBQ wings. The waitress simply nodded her head and walked away with their menus.
With that taken care of, Sonia turned her attention toward her two brothers, who were now doing what they did best: horseplaying.
"I'm gonna cause chaos in the fruit section." said Sonic, who immediately started fingering the jelly packets so that they started tumbling over each other.
"Wah-ahhhhh" said Sonic, to add in sound effects.
Scourge just stared at him.
"Fruit section?"
"Yeah, like where they sell fruit at the store." replied Sonic.
"Oh, okay." chuckled Scourge.
Sonic then moved on to the crayons and paper on the table and drew a stick man smashed against his napkin and then set the napkin down with the stick man underneath it.
"That's why he's squashed." said Sonic.
"Genius." laughed Scourge.
"Oh by the way, have you ever heard of stupid warning labels on things from the store?" asked Sonic.
"No, what do they say?" asked Scourge, curious about this one.
"Well you know how animal crackers are just crackers made to look like non-humanoid animals, right?" asked Sonic.
"Yeah, I think so." replied Scourge.
"Well one box actually said No animals were harmed in the making of this product." said Sonic.
"Are people really that stupid o0?" asked Scourge.
"No, the people who make those labels are." laughed Sonia.
"Another one was a curling iron that said Caution may burn eyes." said Sonic.
"Is that the thing used to press clothes on the ironing board?" asked Scourge.
"The same." said Sonia.
Both Scourge and Aleena laughed at that one.
"That's not as bad as the hair dryer that read Do not use while sleeping." said Aleena.
"Or the frisbee that read May contain small parts." laughed Jules.
"How bout the laser pointer that said do not look into laser with remaining eye." snickered Sonic.
"Hey, you know those mirrors that tell you how things in mirror are closer than they appear?" asked Jules.
"Yeah." said everyone else.
"Well I actually saw one that said Remember, objects in mirror are behind you." he said.
By now, everyone at the table was laughing. Scourge noticed that Aleena and Jules both looked younger when they were joking around with their kids. In fact, they almost looked like regular teens themselves, like they had once been. A major contrast to Robotnik who was always angry and threatening. Manic's parents were very relaxed and understanding. They also genuinely cared about him and wanted him to be happy, as opposed to Robotnik who had used him as his plaything and couldn't have cared less about him otherwise. It was wonderful to see things were different with other families as it made him realize that the world wasn't totally messed up and that there were some good people in it. He only hoped that taking the place of their dead son didn't make him a bad person. At least he was sparing them the grief that they shouldn't have had to suffer while getting a new life of his own. It worked both ways, so it couldn't be all that bad could it?
Scourge's thoughts were interrupted by Bunnie, who had returned with the drinks they had ordered as well as a plate full of orange pieces of meat with celery and ranch dip.
"Alright, we got the BBQ wings," said Bunnie, setting the plate in the middle of the table, "and who ordered lemonade?"
Scourge raised his hand, Bunnie set the glass down in front of him.
"2 glasses of coke." said Bunnie.
"Sonic and Sonia both raised their hands."
"Diet coke?"
Jules raised his hand.
"And the Iced Tea." said Bunnie, setting the glass of orange liquid in front of Aleena.
"Your orders are almost done. Just don't spoil your appetite with the appetizer." said Bunnie, winking.
"That's what cookies are for." said Scourge.
Everyone else busted out laughing. Scourge felt his chest swell with pride. Nothing like telling a joke that everyone likes, he used that one because he remembered hearing about cookies spoiling one's appetite, though it had been a while since that happened, so he couldn't remember where.
"I thought Sonic was the king of jokes." said Sonia.
Scourge went into a trance upon looking at the wings on the plate and grabbed several and picked them clean before anyone could count to ten. He noticed everyone else at the table staring at him.
"Sorry, I was a bit hungry." he said.
"Nah, that's ok, I ordered the wings for you since you sounded pretty hungry." said Sonia.
"Like you wouldn't believe." said Scourge.
"Just don't eat too fast or you'll get a stomach ache." said Sonia.
"And don't forget to say grace." said Sonic.
He did have a point.
Scourge closed his eyes, clamped his now saucy hands together, and gave thanks for the food he had been given. When he opened his eyes, everyone else opened their's. He'd given thanks for the entire family meal to come without even realizing it. As he ate the rest of the wings, a thought crossed his mind: while he wasn't too familiar with this concept of God and thanking him for everything, he liked the idea of a supreme being watching over him and maintaining order. While he couldn't understand why God would let someone like Manic die at the hands of someone like Robotnik, neither did he understand why he'd wound up with a family as nice as the Hedges. While it could have been a coincidence, it could have just as easily been divine intervention, which, oddly enough, seemed more likely, given the unlikeliness of being rescued in the first place. Another thing which furthered that theory was how nice and civilized the Hedge family was, in light of the fact that they followed God, as opposed to Robotnik, who followed nothing but his own whim. Even if a supreme being did not exist, the idea of one still made people follow rules and be nice to each other as the Hedges did, so maybe the idea of there being a God wasn't so bad after all.
Scourge was snapped out of his thoughts when something hit him in the cheek. He looked down at the table where the object had landed. It was a straw wrapper. Scourge looked up to see Sonic looking innocent.
Nice try.
Scourge ripped off one end of the straw wrapper and put that same end to his mouth and got ready to blow. Sonic raised his napkin up like a bull fighter holding up a red cloth, but without warning, Scourge turned and fired at Sonia, who was taken completely by surprise.
"Ah what?!?!?" yelped the crimson Hedgie.
"Works everytime." snickered Sonic, only to be hit by a straw wrapper blown at him by Aleena.
"I wonder whose next." said Aleena sarcastically, smirking evilly at Jules.
Jules and Sonia simultaneously aimed their straws and blew the wrappers at Aleena. One flew up her nose.
Scourge started laughing so hard that his head hit the table and didn't stop laughing for almost a full minute. By the time he recovered, everyone at the table, and a few other people nearby, were staring at him with curiosity.
"Sorry, I haven't had a good laugh like that in a long time." he said.
Right about then, Bunnie came back with a tray full of plates. Sonia got the rack of ribs, Jules and Aleena got a big steak to share, and Sonic and Scourge both got burgers. Scourge thought he was full from the wings until he saw that big juicy burger and those crispy looking fries placed in front of him. The wings and celery wouldn't even make a decent snack in comparison. As he placed the big sandwich to his lips, the smell of meat, sauce, and mixed condiments made him forget about the wings completely. The first bite was everything he imagined it would be, albeit a little greasy, but still good. After he swallowed it, he picked up two fries and tried those. Crispy, potatoey, and a bit salty, and it fit perfectly with the burger.
During his time in Robotnik's house, the only source of nourishment he could look forward to was old bread. To suddenly switch over to things like cheesy pizza and saucy burgers was more than he could have ever asked for, and that was just a side benefit to all the other things he'd gotten, added to the fact that this day still wasn't over. He was going to get a phone of his own so he could communicate with the rest of the Hedge Family, further emphasizing that he was now one of them.
The more he counted his ever increasing blessings, the more he wondered where they came from.
Maybe there is someone up there looking out for me. he thought.