femslash february 2022 prompt 27: help.

In Another World, I Could Have Been With You

The doc messed up big time. Surge had no idea how it happened. One minute she was dashing through an obstacle course bashing through 'bots and meeting Starline at the end. Then, pain suddenly rocketed through her brain. She remembered snatching her skull, a flash of light blinding her, and the world becoming pitch black.

When she woke up, she was in the middle of a scenic location. It was a grassy plain with knolls surrounding her along with a nearby forest of pine and oak trees. There was a city to the south, and upon closer inspection, she realized it was a kingdom.

But when her ears stopped ringing, the cacophony of roaring engines and alarms maimed her. Surge clamped down on her ears, flattening them to her head and gritting her sharpened teeth. She smelled smoke and ash, recoiling when the taste hit her tongue, forcing her to look up at the source of the chaos.

Surge's jaw dropped. She was like a pawn on a chessboard that hadn't been moved in comparison to everything else above her. Countless ships belonging to Eggman hovered in the air volleying cannon fire and laser blasts. A biplane twirled through the assault, shooting back with what Surge believed were peashooters, but they still cut through a ship, and down it fell into the forest miles away.

"What the heck?" she breathed out, dragging her hands down her face. "This sure wasn't on Starline's mission debrief. I thought that Eggman just had his factories."

But as she pondered, her attention snapped elsewhere. A chill ran down her spine much like the electricity that streamed through her veins. There was a team combating Eggman's robots consisting of a walrus, a cat, a rabbit, a Chao, and two smaller robots. The walrus commanded them to not allow a single one of Eggman's creations into the city, but Surge wasn't stupid. They were peons before a legion of robots propped with the latest artillery, and Surge's lip curled in anticipation, the thrill of a fight breaking her out of her funk.

Surge revved in place. Electricity crackled around her. She shot forward like a lime green lightning bolt, blitzing through what she believed were larger badniks. She wove through them, her fists flying, naked to the blind eye. She disassembled them with practiced ease, and she almost, almost felt like giving Starline credit for his persistent training.

When she finished, the team was gobsmacked. She was surrounded by robotic parts and wires. Surge wiped her hands of the matter, smirking and recognizing only three team members standing by simply amazed.

Cream clapped her hands on her cheeks. "Oh, my goodness! She's like Mr. Sonic!"

"Wrong," Surge sneered. "I'm better than Sonic in every single way."

The walrus regained his composure. "Uh, wow! Thanks a lot for the save. My name's Rotor. Who are you?"

"Name's Surge. Better than you, better the rest of 'em." She flicked her nose to the armada flying dangerously low toward the kingdom. "Now, let's get this party started, huh? You got an Eggman to scramble?"

"Oh, yeah, we do. To fill you in, Robotnik's forces suddenly invaded again," he explained, approaching her and pointing at the Tornado. "Tails and Amy are trying to cut through some of his defenses while Sonic-" He grimaced and clenched his fist. "-Sonic's fighting Mecha Sally."

She blinked. "Who's Sally?"

The gasps coming from Cream, Cheese, and Big caught her off guard. She whipped her head between them, another trickle of electricity shooting off her fur. Furrowing her brow, she narrowed her eyes on Rotor, who looked as if she sprouted a second head.

"Sally? Sally Acorn? Leader of the Freedom Fighters?" he exclaimed, and she simply cocked her head. He groaned and wiped the sweat off his brow. "I can't believe there's someone who doesn't know Sally, but you're in luck." He lowered his voice. "Here she comes."

Surge shrugged. Whoever Sally was seemed to have a great deal of importance, but Starline had never mentioned her. It struck her as odd that such a supposedly prominent figure was never noted in the history books, but as the gears in her mind turned, hoping to figure out where she was, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Sonic came careening out of a ship. A hole was blown from the side, and smoke poured out from it. As the ship crashed, sending shockwaves throughout the plain, Sonic never hit the ground. Tails had turned the biplane toward him, allowing Sonic to land safely on the other wing. While Amy steadied him, Surge shivered, realizing it was her time to shine, her prime opportunity to destroy him.

But then, emerging from the wrecked ship, was a robot, unlike anything Surge had seen. She was sleek with patterns of blue and brown. Everything about her screamed powerful. She launched herself at the plane, tackling Sonic. Amy shrieked his name. They were on a beeline toward the ground, grappling each other, their voices coming closer, the robot jeering that they would die together on impact, Sonic and Sally, together forever in death.

Surge scowled. No one was going to destroy Sonic but her.

She bolted. She commanded the wind as she ran, carving an arch around her that rose like a tornado. Electricity whirled through the gale, striking both Sonic and Sally. She separated the pair and snatched Sally's claws, baring her fangs in a wide, delighted grin.

"Hah! You're supposed to be the one beatin' Sonic to a pulp? Get in line!" she jeered, widening her stance.

"You're new," Sally stated, her voice cold and analytical. "You're not from Mobius."

She shrugged, tightening her grip, feeling Sally's digits digging through her gloves. "So, that's what this place is called? Sounds like a fun world to crush."

"And whatever zone you are from, I'll be happy to eliminate it per the doctor's orders."

"Fat chance!"

As Sonic groaned, Surge took the initiative. Electricity pooled from within her, and she thrust it out all at once. Waves of lightning dashed into Sally, her scarlet eyes zig-zagging all over the place. Surge released her, watching as her entire body twitching, her joints threatening to pop and break.

But instead of joy, she hesitated. Surge could have easily eliminated her. A fist flying through her head, a kick smashing through her chest, or even spin dashing her to pieces would have been a fitting conclusion. Her heart panged at the sight of the robot writhing, her arms flailing as jolts danced across her metal plating. Surge gnashed down on her teeth, cursing herself for feeling an ounce of pity for one of Eggman's creations.

A hand fell on her shoulder. She snarled at the white glove gripping her. She was ready to break the offender's nose only to gasp at Sonic. He stared at her with eyes wider than dinner plates. It was an expression that would have never been found on the Sonic she was destined to dethrone.

Her head spun. Nothing was making sense.

Surge tried to form a sentence when Sonic jabbed his finger at Sally. "We need to get her to the de-roboticizer! It's our only chance to save Sally!" he shouted, his voice bordering on desperation. "You gotta help me get her there! We don't have time to lose!"

Sonic didn't wait for her answer. He grabbed Sally's forearm. He didn't care about the currents of electricity now sizzling through him. Instead, Sonic offered Surge his other hand, and for some reason, she was compelled to grab it. And then, she took Sally's shoulder, nodding only once at the hedgehog.

They were a mesh of blue and green. They raced in tandem throughout the kingdom. All eyes were on them. She heard people cheering and begging for them to save their beloved princess. Surge was bewildered, but she followed her path to the end, and with Sonic, she threw Sally into a strange machine located in lab underground where an older hedgehog pressed a button.

The doors slammed shut. Sally roared. Smoke and electricity filled the chamber. Surge jerked her arm over her eyes, but Sonic never lost sight of Sally. Realizing this, Surge lowered her arm and watched as the machine rattled and quaked with enough force to uproot an entire building.

Her heart thundered. She had no idea why. She gnawed on her lower lip and waited, tapping her foot. Starline would have ordered her to wrap her hands around Sonic's throat and squeeze, but she couldn't.

Sally was too important to ignore, and she couldn't fathom why.

Silence filled the room. People poured in from outside. Tails and Amy, Rotor and his team, a family that looked remarkably like Sally, and a lynx who covered her mouth, silently weeping. None paid her any mind. All eyes were focused on the slowly parting doors.

And there was the most beautiful girl Surge had never seen lying in a crumpled heap on the ground. Her hair was disheveled. Static electricity forced her hair to cling to her cheeks. Singed fur and cuts coated her battered body. She sucked in slow, raspy gasps, blinking her bloodshot eyes open, and Surge met her gaze, her breath taken away.

"Sal! Sally!" Sonic cried, and he shed tears that Surge had never seen before dripping down his face.

At his voice and his arms wreathing around her, however, Sally winced. She went rigid, but like a dam erupting, she burst into tears. Sally collapsed to her knees. Ragged sobs choked her. She covered her mouth, trembling as if she would vomit. Surge's stomach flipped. She hurried forward, kneeling and grabbing Sally's shoulder while Sonic cradled her. She tried to form a coherent sentence, but Sally wept over her blustering, burying her face in the space formed between the tenrec and her nemesis.

While Sonic rubbed Sally's back, she turned her head to Surge. "Thank you," was all she whispered.

Surge was dumbfounded. Conflicting emotions waged war in her head. She felt Sally's arms around both herself and Sonic, holding them as if they would have vanished the second she let go. Sally's voice warbled, blurting out absurd apologies, and Surge knew that if she spoke, then she, too, wouldn't have made any sense.

But before she could relax, pain erupted in her head. She cried out and grasped her skull, Falling back, the last thing she saw before blacking out was the pretty face of the princess who reached out to her with both hands.

She awoke in her bed. Starline fretted over her, rambling about how he had found her unconscious in the middle of the obstacle course. He promised that he would let her rest, but she didn't believe him. And when he departed, she demanded answers from Kit, who patiently waited by her bedside.

"Ri-right away, ma'am. Dr. Starline was busy working on his glove in his lab, muttering that it was malfunctioning. That's when I discovered a person who looked like Sonic but wasn't Sonic bringing you home in the obstacle course. So, the doctor didn't see him. The not-Sonic told me to keep his presence a secret, so I haven't told Dr. Starline about him. I just said to him that I found you," Kit explained. He twiddled his thumbs. "Um, ma'am, I'm sorry, um, but do you need a tissue?"

Her eyes were wet. She quickly dried them with the back of her glove. "I dunno, kid. I think I just met someone I'm already missin'," she mumbled, and she turned over in her bed, longing for someone she barely even knew.