When the movie had just ended and the TV was switched back to showing TV, Sonic's parents came home to Scourge's dismay, and naturally were pretty alarmed at seeing Scourge sitting on their sofa with Miles cuddled up to him like it was normal. As Scourge looked annoyed staring at the TV ignoring them, Sonic knew he had to explain things as quick as possible, so he jumped up from the sofa alarmed and said, " Mom, Dad! Relax! He's just here for a little bit longer, he'll be gone by tomorrow. Rotor's working on his zone teleporter to remove Anti-Mobius as an option from it. He doesn't want his daughter to get her hands on it and see how much people hate him there. "
Jules exclaimed in surprise, " Daughter? " as Sonic's mother looked worried. Phoebe, who was still on the couch sitting between Tails and Scourge, explained, " Yeah, Fiona had her 4 years ago, apparently. She even named her after me! " having a great big smile with her hands clasped together at the final sentence. Still uncomfortable and shaky from Sonic's evil twin being around, especially considering what Patch had done to Antoine's father, Bernie asked, " Wh-What's she like? " trying to ask normal questions to appear nonchalant and calm down.
As Tails and Sonic wished they could talk so freely like Phoebe as if this wasn't an awkward situation, Phoebe continued with a smile, " She's cheerful, and quite the artist! And he said I look like her! Except older. " Scourge said with a friendly smile despite the exasperation, " Okay, alright, that's enough. They get the picture, " a little embarrassed at how Phoebe was making him look like a softie for being reminded of his daughter by her so easily.
Sonic's mother said in confusion to him, " So, you've just been watching a movie with my son? The whole time? " confused that he hadn't really done anything evil on that planet that time. Scourge, with his arms behind his head trying to look relaxed and casual as normal, responded, " Yeah, as weird as it is. We have the same taste in movies, I-I mean, we just happen to both like action movies, that's all. I'm an action-lovin' thrill-seeking guy, it's not just because I'm a Sonic. Also, I stopped Robuttnik from threatening to destroy some zones with a doodad of his, you're welcome. " He couldn't resist mentioning his accomplishment at the end with a proud smirk until the end, annoyed at not being appreciated for it and being stared at with confused suspicion instead. As Sonic facepalmed at him opening up a whole can of worms, Bernie said slowly, " You DID? " baffled and wary.
Scourge boasted casually with a smile, " Yeah, and literally all I had to do was use my zone teleporter to warp to him. Landed on his back and took it! Also threw Snively against the wall. He's probably in a body cast now from what I did to him, " saying the final sentence with a harmless-sounding laugh. Everyone cringed at hearing that, and Scourge then continued to dig himself deeper by admitting, all the while not really looking at her and just staring ahead at the TV as it played commercials, " At first I came here to get rid of my zone entirely, not to mention the No Zone so I wouldn't ever get sent BACK to that hellhole, but Miles convinced me it wasn't necessary. So we found another way. "
Bernie covered her mouth in shock at hearing an alternate version of her son casually say that he was going to destroy two entire zones of people, even if he did change his mind, while Jules glared with his arms crossed at him in disapproval. Noticing it out of the corner of his eye and feeling the tension of the silence in the room, Scourge said unhappily, " What? I was desperate! I wouldn't do it again! " trying to be dismissive and joking at the end.
He went back to acting casual right after that. If there was any anxiety and discomfort in him from being judged and feared by everyone around him, he didn't show it, only looking annoyed from it with his expression at the worst of times. He said as if they weren't even there, " Now all I care about is trying to find stuff to do. Not to mention Fiona worrying that I'm not back yet. I didn't tell her why I left, only that I'd be back. I hope she's not blowing it all out of proportion. "
Sonic quickly reassured his parents with a nervous smile, " Don't worry, guys, I'm keepin' him entertained, he's not doin' anything wrong. " Jules thought, " Thank goodness for our TV, " which was a common feeling among the others in the room, and then asked him looking serious and unintimidated just like before, " So how are you doing raising her? I was nervous starting out, myself, " moving more in front of him so he was just to the right of the TV, making it harder for him to avoid eye contact with his judgemental and creeped out expression.
Scourge, continuing to talk like it was no big deal to look cool instead of awkward, said with his arms crossed, " I'm nice to her. I ruffle her hair and stuff. Fiona does most of the work, of course. She changed her diapers, got her to sleep at night, she dressed her when she was little and gives her baths. She taught her how to brush her hair and teeth, and even taught her how to read! She really got into the whole ' mom ' thing, it's pretty endearing! Never thought she had that kind of ' nurturing ' side to her. I just saw her being loving in a girlfriend sense. " He had an actually likable smile as he talked about Fiona, which was quite a sight to Sonic's parents, who used to wonder if he actually liked Fiona at all. Here, he looked almost lovestruck just chatting about her, about the same way Sonic used to look when talking about Sally.
He looked sad muttering with his head hung low and his arms crossed, " It's nice to see that kind of behavior up close. She sure is lucky. " This caused Jules and Bernie to wonder in concern if his own mother wasn't loving enough, since he found Fiona merely being attached to her daughter and doing the basic things expected of any mother to be a nice novelty. Tails was stunned at learning what a great mom Fiona Fox turned out to be, seeing undeniable proof that she still had good in her. Her only problem was being a bad influence. Scourge quickly went back to acting as expected saying with a smirk, " The kid really admires me, and her, but mostly me. "
As Bernie slowly walked out of the living room, continuing to listen in from around the corner of the wall, Phoebe asked, " How come? " Scourge knew she didn't mean anything insulting by it, considering her naïve tendency to just ask questions and point out things others wouldn't, just like his daughter when she was younger, so he didn't get offended and simply answered,
" She says I'm fearless, gutsy and super cool being able to run fast and spindash through robots every day, and she admires my whole Robotnik eliminating mission, and how I get to see so many different zones. Every night, me or Fi tell her stories about our lives before her as bedtime stories, like Fiona tells her all about her exciting time as a treasure hunter. " He emphasized the part where he was called brave to rub it in Jules' face that his daughter didn't think he was a coward.
" And do you tell her about your exciting time as a delinquent back home? " Jules questioned sarcastically. Scourge stopped smiling and looked uncomfortable, and said, " Well, uh, I told her the basics. Me and Miles beat up criminals. Like drug dealers and dudes threatening chicks and stuff. Then I met Alicia and she brought us into her gang of crime-punishing soldiers, which was really just an excuse to feel in charge of something for once and rebel against her corrupt dad. And he DEFINED corrupt, worst king ever from what I heard, so we threw him into the Zone of Silence where he belonged! She loved hearing that I overthrew a dictator like that! The dude had 12 yachts, one of them for cheating on his wife. Then I told her we beat up some more criminals and then eventually I came here and met Fiona. "
Tails asked him trying to hide his irritation and unhappiness just at remembering the result, " Did you tell her the whole story of HOW you got her dating you? " Scourge's cheery act faltered again, and he said, " Most of it. I saw Sonic's life had things to enjoy mine didn't, and then I met Fiona, and when he took back his life, she was the one girl who made a lasting impression on me, so I eventually wanted to see her again. Somehow, I got lucky enough to convince her to hang out with me and have fun on the wild side! It just so happened that she had to leave the Freedom Fighters to be with me. Even if she didn't leave herself, you just know Sally would've kicked her out just for dating me. She wanted to do both, since both were fun, and she hates Robotnik with a fiery passion and rebelling against him's great! But I took up too much of her time, and people got wise. She told her, ' I had to choose between my friends and love, so I chose love, and that's how you were born! ' "
Jules thought with his arms crossed, " That's a pretty sugar-coated version of it, " as Tails and Phoebe reacted with surprise and astonishment at the fact that Fiona never stopped enjoying being a hero. Sonic remembered her disappearances when he was dating her, making her miss Tails reuniting with his parents among other things, and realized that Scourge was right; she didn't have time to do both. Then he remembered that she said she tried being a hero and stuck with it for him, and it finally dawned on him that she had been lying, for the sake of looking cool. He wondered if it was all to impress Scourge by looking as unheroic as possible, instead of showing any reluctance depressing him.
Jules questioned, " What did she say when you told her all about your time ' fighting against ' Dr. Kintobor? " secretly thankful that he was getting away with talking with him for so long and having an actual conversation with him. The last time, Scourge wasn't having any of it and just fell back on feeble attempts at death threats and intimidation as a " response " to all of his points. Everyone, aside from Phoebe who took it for granted, was rather impressed at all the information he was giving them as if it was nothing to him. Sonic wondered if he just wanted someone to talk to about all of that. Scourge looked awkward and admitted,
" I didn't. When I told her who he was and what he was all about, she admired him and said she wanted to meet him! That would've been nothin' but trouble. No way I could rely on him not to turn her against me. She wouldn't understand why I was his enemy in the first place. She did nothing but compliment him, on being nice and a tree hugger and caring about other people than himself, and, well, I couldn't really think of any good insults explaining my point. A-At the TIME, I mean. " He uncomfortably avoided eye contact, lying at the final sentence, implying that he was having a very hard time justifying it to himself, especially now that better targets for his stress and anger were available to him. He sighed in irritation and complained venting,
" It's just frustrating. With Robotnik, I can give all sorts of reasons for why she should hate him and why I target him like I do. She was basically raised to hate him! Fiona insisted on it. She thinks he's the ultimate evil, and that I'm the valiant knight who races to slay the evil dragons! But with Kintobor, nothing really comes to mind. I was just stressed out and annoyed and his Sweepbots made nice crunching sounds when I smashed them. But Swatbots are way better to destroy. At least they fire lasers and stuff to give a challenge! All Kintobor did was keep up force fields and IGNORE me, " glancing at Jules with the final few words. He looked especially resentful with his arms crossed and thought, " Ignore me. Just like my father. "
He realized what he was looking like when he saw Sonic and Tails smiling warmly at him, and said hurriedly, " D-Don't get me wrong, I'm not goin' soft or nothin', I just seen that over the years, Kintobor was the lamest enemy ever for me. Everyone else gives me a better challenge and a satisfying time. He just happened to be there. Acted like he was nice when he didn't do nothin' for me, didn't improve my situation, and always acted uncomfortable around me like I was the bad guy. I-I am, of course, but it was still annoying. He said I was making nothing but mistakes. Like I haven't heard THAT before! "
He glowered with his arms crossed, unconsciously looking at Jules right when he said that final sentence, and much to his discomfort, he felt his eyes start to feel watery and his face heat up a little as he looked more depressed than angry. He thought angrily, " Not now! Not in front of them! " Miles sleeping on his chest was the only thing comforting him at the moment, as he had a warm soft bundle of fur nestled up to him, the kid having taken off his shirt feeling hot. He could feel the kid's breathing and heartbeat soothing him slightly from the calm predictability.
From seeing the way that he was acting, Jules wisely decided not to ask him who he heard that before from, as Bernie slowly went back into the room standing just to the left of the TV to see Scourge's expression, just left enough that she was out of his sight. She felt terrible seeing him like that. Tails, Sonic and Phoebe didn't enjoy it either. Trying to change the subject, Jules asked, " So how do you and Fiona punish her when she's, when she does things you don't want? Like not finish all her vegetables. "
Scourge looked confused, saying, " Punish? Well, uh, she's pretty well-behaved most of the time. Fiona usually gets her to do what she's told through guilt trips. She's remarkably good at that. All she needs to do is remind her she wants to keep her parents' approval and doesn't wanna disappoint 'em. It's easy when a kid LIKES their mom and pop, apparently, we got lucky she appreciates us so much. But when we do have to punish her, like when she drew a butterfly on the kitchen wall with markers, well, I dunno, I tell her to go stare at the wall or somethin'? Maybe help out with the chores, she knows what to do. Yeah, usually it's that. We don't really have a base framework for this sorta thing, and we don't wanna ask anyone else for advice either, being independent free-thinkers and all. We wanna do things our way! Problem is, that required figuring out what our way WAS, " showing humility for once.
Not failing to realize how unusual it was that he was having a conversation with Scourge the Hedgehog over parenting, Jules questioned for the sake of the conversation, " Well, how did your own parents punish you? " mostly used to the situation he was in by that point as Sonic, Tails and Bernie stared scared at how close to him he happened to be standing. Scourge looked awkward again and explained dodging the question,
" Uh, well Fiona never HAD parents. I, I thought Miles woulda told ya about that. It was one of the things I told him he had in common with her when I introduced the two properly. They were both homeless and their parents ditched 'em. I was hopin' they'd click, relating to each other, but he never even gave her a chance, because she didn't suffer as much as he did. When she first came into the picture, we were, she was kind of panicking from day 1, because we never had any sort of foundation for raisin' a kid! My girl pretty much HAD to ask for advice on stuff like changin' diapers, and making the baby formula for B-uh, babysitters. " He had to stop himself from saying, " Bunnie, " and revealing that he and Fiona were actually spending a great deal of time with some Freedom Fighters, leaving them wondering why he stuttered. He thought, " Sonic would never let me live that down. "
He relaxed and smiled as he continued, " Fi and I just base it off the way I raised Miles, and how Sonic treats Tails. It's worked so far! Now I gots me a wife and kid and I feel more successful than I ever been! Way more than those generic thugs I called the Destructix, " smirking proudly at the end.
" Wife?! " Tails responded all wide-eyed and stunned, and immediately Scourge was embarrassed and facepalmed, complaining, " Oh, right. NO, she's not my wife, " muttering, " not yet anyway, " and explained irritated, " I gotta, it's just that it comes out so naturally sayin' ' my wife and kid. ' ' My girlfriend and kid ' just doesn't roll off the tongue as well. Plus she's raisin' my daughter, and girlfriends don't do that. She's, more, she's like at an upgraded status now. I just always thought that marriage was for old people, middle-aged men and stuff. I'm still young! "
Phoebe pointed out, " Antoine and Bunnie got married at like 18! It's not unheard of, " and Tails looked unhappy and slightly annoyed at that. Jules asked, " You didn't fully answer my question. How'd YOUR parents punish you? "
Scourge looked unhappy, and lied with a raised voice, " He didn't! They didn't! I-I, I don't remember! " There was an uncomfortable silence as he avoided looking at anyone in the room, and Bernie covered her mouth with her hands again holding back a gasp as Scourge felt his face heat up and his eyes start to water again, blinking to try to stall it off. Everyone stared at him with a mixture of sadness and fear for him, and Phoebe was the one to put her hand on his shoulder and ask, " What's wrong? " not understanding why nobody else was doing so. Scourge moved a little away from her still sitting on the couch to get her to remove her hand, wondering if letting her keep it up would've made Fiona jealous, and promptly regretted doing that because he had appreciated the comforting gesture, his shoulders sinking with his head down low.
" Ugh, it's, just, damn it, well, he DID, " Scourge admitted nervously, and Jules and Bernie started to really dread what they might be prying out of him, especially after what they heard about the kind of abuse Tails' evil twin had gone through. He closed his eyes as Jules questioned, " Harshly? " with growing anger in his tone that Scourge didn't recognize as being anger against Anti-Jules, and instead thought was anger at him, supporting the harshness.
Scourge remembered when he first met Jules, and how he learned from him that if he so much as hurt him, Sonic would be very upset with him. He couldn't afford to let his anger get out of hand in a situation like that, he liked having the TV in front of him to watch, and especially liked getting to spend some quality time with Miles.
So he took a deep breath and sighed, and said trying to be dismissive of the whole punishment and act nonchalant, but still with clear stress and resentment in his tone, " I learned to run away after a while, so he didn't get to punish me for long! A year after I met Miles, I wasn't even livin' with my parents no more! B-But I wasn't always that fast. I had to learn I could be like that. H-He taught me how whether he meant to or not! Joke's on him! "
With everyone feeling increasingly worried and dreading the confirmation, Phoebe commented, " So it was bad enough that you had to run from him? That must have sucked! He doesn't sound very nice! " As Miles pretended to still be asleep listening in sadly, Scourge nodded, his head hung low still trying to ignore Jules' staring at him looking serious, and then he tried to downplay it to save face, complaining all casually at first and going into a bitter resentful rant,
" He thought he could insult me a lot and have that change me, and make me the perfect obedient little slave he always wanted. He was being bowed to by his subjects and I was stuck holding the cape. Anyone would've wanted to rebel against that smug face of his, lapping up the praise and ignoring his own son. At first I didn't freaking KNOW better, and I tried to get him to look at me from respect! I didn't care about school but I tried anyway, I tried out the sports teams and rose to the top, but he never showed for anythin' and FORGET about reading my report cards and stuff. So I threw 'em all away, hit anyone who made fun of me and finally got him to notice me, 'cause the principal dude called him as if I was the one who did somethin' wrong. He insisted he was too busy for a meeting or anything, and he gave me the verbal lashing of the century. The first time I got him to talk to me for more than a minute and that's what I got. "
Bernie held back tears as he continued with his eyes watering a little acting furious at the end, while not realizing he had gone into a rant, " And my mom wasn't much better. Talkin' on her phone to her business all day, she might as well have been THAT thing's mom! I kept breaking her phones so she'd be forced to be an actual freaking mother for once in her life and she just acted all moody. I liked her better when she was ignoring me. "
He complained with his arms crossed and head down low, still refusing to look anyone in the eye, " Not like it was my fault, none of them were ever satisfied with me anyways. Pheebs and I are a lot alike, 'cause I'm an accident too, and the folks wanted a daughter. They were disappointed in me from day 1. So eventually I wised up and realized nothing I did would make 'em act like parents, so I found something I really cared about by dedicating my life to rebelling as much as I could! Why not embrace it instead of denying it? I'm the exact opposite of what they wanted, and that's exactly what they deserved. They could insult me all they wanted! Saying I was making mistakes, and ruining my own life, and being an embarrassment to the family and would grow up to be like criminal scum that's a totally worthless burden on society and like a failure in every freaking way! B-But they DESERVED it!... And they were WRONG! "
There was an awkward silence as his fists clenched with his head down when he couldn't fake a smile anymore, and the rage simmering in him eventually broke and faded being replaced by bitter sadness at injustice as he just wanted to vent and expose his father, so he shouted, " He HIT me, okay?! There! He did it all the time! " his voice briefly cracking at the second word. Bernie gasped.
His eyes watered as he said defensively, " I was too young to defend myself yet, cut me some slack Sonic! Later on he was nothing! And only after I manned up because of him. " Sick of all the attention for once in his life, Scourge said trying to act like he appreciated it, " They made me who I am today instead of just another Sonic! " and lashed out at Sonic turning to face him pointing at him,
" You don't know what it's like to be a failure in everyone else's eyes! Hell, you think you were better than him? You weren't! " trying as hard as he could to keep tears from falling and acting furious and intimidating to hide it. Calming down to mere bitterness as he knew how depressing things were, Scourge said resentfully, " I could tell from the looks you gave me and the lectures on how I should act, you ain't proud of bein' associated with me. It's the same old thing, the same damn rigamarole with the high and mighty hero. You think I'm a failure too. "
Despite seeing truth to his claim from spending his life disappointed in him, Sonic couldn't stand the accusation, and exclaimed sadly, " Scourge, I never said that! I-If anything, I'm more proud of you than I ever was before! You take down Robotniks as a HOBBY now! Sure, I'm not comfortable with how harsh you are about it, but at least it's something! It's better than before! I know you don't wanna be a hero, but it's the closest you ever got, and that's still somethin' to me. And they shouldn't have treated you like that, don't think we're on their sides for a second. "
Everyone else nodded reassuring him with Miles worried that he just caused Scourge to backpedal on all the progress he made, and then Tails pointed out with a nervous smile, " And it sounds like you're a good dad, no failure would be that! We never thought you'd take to it so well. "
There was a brief silence as Scourge let it all sink in that they were telling the truth, and after he practically whispered in a reluctant mumble, " Thanks, " he said defensively to Sonic smirking at points when he didn't have annoyance in his tone, " I'm not a hero. I do what's fun, no matter what people think. I just happen to act like one and benefit people by coincidence now. Smashing robots and machines is a satisfying show-off of my power, I don't care what rules and society want out of me. I'm a WILD CARD, the ultimate rebel! I don't care what side I'm on, as long as it's not Robotnik's! I'm not the one who's delusional here. I just know what I enjoy. And I'll keep it up, evil twin or not. B-But in practice, I am, called one a lot. But at least it gets me respect! I still break laws when I want to! "
As Miles sat up leaving his chest feeling sorry for him like everyone else, Scourge said casually with his eyes closed, " Now if you'll EXCUSE me, I'm getting some roses and stuff for my girlfriend, " and quickly stood up and ran out of the house in a green and black blur, before anyone could stop him. Miles correctly assumed that the reason he was so quick to leave the house was because he wanted to dry his eyes where no one would see him, after the sheer turmoil of letting out that horrifying revelation.
As a result, he said sadly, " I think he should have some time alone, right now. At least for a few minutes, " and while no one really trusted Scourge not to cause trouble out of the house, nobody wanted to be the one he'd lash out at from seeing him cry, either, so they all stayed put, looking concerned.
As he comforted Bernie leaving the room, Jules thought sadly, " I always knew there was a reason he turned out the way he did. I was hoping it wouldn't be THAT. " Miles asked, " Could you guys please, you know, act like it never happened, the next time you see him? It'd be better that way. " Jules asked him looking concerned, " Did you know about this? "
Miles explained in response, looking worried, " No. He never told me he got punished at all, and when I brought it up once, he changed the subject. He always gave off the impression that his parents just let him do whatever he wanted! His father just seemed apathetic to him around me and never really insulted him, although Scourge did always tell me that when I was around, he was more polite. Maybe he didn't wanna scare me by punishing him where I could see it, and of course, Scourge could run at the speed of sound by the time I met him, so unless he, grabbed him, he wouldn't be able to keep that up anymore. His father told me that he wished Scourge was more like me. He even thanked me for being a good influence on him when we moved out! He always saw me as his son's little brother. I suppose I was the favorite, then. But I don't feel right about it. "
Meanwhile, while Jules was talking to Scourge, Sally used the zone-link generator to go to the dimension Scourge had bookmarked as his new home, looking for the doomsday device he threw in there to properly dismantle it. She was worried that simply attacking it could risk actually activating it by hitting one of its buttons; to her, it was more like defusing a bomb. When she went through the portal, she was unable to find it, and looked nervous as she walked towards what bore a striking resemblance to the Castle Acorn, coming in from the courtyard. Suddenly, she stiffened at being hugged by a little girl who looked like a much younger version of Fiona with a short red ponytail. She exclaimed, " Found you! Now your turn! "
Then she let go, wondering why she only hugged back at the last second, and immediately noticed that she looked different from the Sally she grew up with. " Aunt Sally, who stole your tiara?! And cut your hair?! " she asked looking horrified for her. Sally was both shocked at being called Aunt by Fiona's daughter and mildly annoyed at the girl basically saying she wasn't as pretty as the other Sally, as little as she liked to seem like she cared about her looks.
She felt awkward, wondering what exactly she should say. Scourge clearly wouldn't want her to tell her daughter the truth about what she was searching for, and she'd run into the other Sally eventually, meaning that lying about who she was would only make her look like an evil imposter. " I-I'm just visiting from another zone, " she said, technically not lying since she wanted to explore the castle the minute she saw it.
" OH! Okay. So you're a Sally that doesn't get to wear a tiara. Nice to see someone from another dimension myself! I'd love to show you around! I'm Phoebe Fox. My daddy Scourge is the coolest anti-hero in the world! " Phoebe said happily, and took her hand to lead her into the castle through the back door.
She wasn't without her suspicions, and wanted to " give her the tour " to keep her supervised just in case she was conspiring against her family. After all, she had been told about the Sally that, according to her mother, " didn't support our love, " and once punched her in the ribs, and she knew that the Sally in front of her matched the description. Wanting to confirm her suspicions a little, she asked her as she walked down the corridor with her, " Did you used to have long hair at one point? What happened? "
Sally replied, trying to maintain a dignified composure when she was smiling from the cute little girl nearby, " Yes, I did, but then I figured I looked better this way. So I asked my friend Bunnie to return it to the way it used to be before I grew it out. " She stopped short of telling her exactly why she made that decision, not wanting to tell her WHY she thought she had needed to get her mind and heart back on track in the first place, especially since she would tell Scourge all about it. She then wondered if he already knew from Fiona, since she was there when the worst of her stress came out of her.
" Are you a Freedom Fighter, too? " Phoebe asked her, and when receiving a positive but confused reply of, " Of course, " she said, " Good. Daddy told me about an evil Sally he used to date who wasn't always nice to him. But if you're a Freedom Fighter like Aunt Sally, maybe you might not be so bad. " Sally looked surprised. She thought if an alternate version of her was working with Scourge and Fiona, she couldn't be a hero.
She asked, " How many other versions of me has he met in his zone-hopping? " " I dunno, he never kept track, and he didn't always run into them. All he ever said was that they were all judgmental of him for being a free spirit with a leather jacket and fangs, even if they do appreciate him getting rid of Robotniks. You seem alright, though, " Phoebe replied, cautious at the end as she remembered that she hadn't been outright nice to her yet, just polite. For all she knew, she could've been resenting her the whole time and just keeping it subtle.
Wondering if the doomsday device was found by the version of Rotor there, Sally asked, " May I see Rotor's lab? Um, it's got a lot of interesting inventions in it, so why not see the most interesting area first? " realizing she seemed suspicious at first. Phoebe looked at her confused, and then agreed with a smile as if nothing ever happened, " Sure, I'll come with you! " wanting to supervise her, and thought, " And if you ever try anything, I can run to my Mommy in a second. I dunno why I'm so suspicious of her, Sally Acorns are good people apparently. I guess this one being a total stranger to me gets me worried. Who knows what she's up to? "
As they headed for the lab in the castle down a corridor, Sally asked, " So, just out of curiosity, why does your daddy hang out with the Freedom Fighters and live in Sally's castle? He didn't seem too thrilled about MY Freedom Fighters. Especially my Sonic. " Phoebe looked all wide-eyed thinking in astonishment and worry, " This IS the Prime Sally! Why else would she be a former enemy of my dad? And say that he hated her Sonic? Calm down, Pheebs, use that brain of yours. He never said she was evil, just stuck-up and boring. And she's holding my hand, and hugged back, so she can't be all bad. "
After a brief silence where Sally got worried about her reaction, Phoebe smiled again innocently and replied, " He's with them to have fun! Fighting Robotnik's sub-bosses is fun! He gets to destroy as many machines as he wants that way and get the respect he deserves for it! Not everyone gets to be praised for causing destruction. So he spends half the day at least having fun with them with my mom, and the other half on his assassination mission, going from zone to zone taking down Robotniks. "
Then Phoebe thought, " I wonder if the Prime Sally could tell me some stories, too. Not much, since I'll probably not see her for that long, and my mom already told me a lot about her time with her, but still… " and she asked, " So my dad and you used to be enemies, huh? What was that like? "
Sally looked uneasy and said, " I don't think Scourge would want me to tell you about that if he hasn't. Chances are, he didn't tell you about it for a reason. He… he wants you to like him. He loves the fact that you admire him so much, so naturally he doesn't want it to stop because you disapprove of him. He made that pretty clear to my Sonic and Tails; he loves how much respect he's getting now. "
Phoebe asked looking unhappy, " Can I at least get a clue? A vague answer? I'm not gonna stop loving my daddy just because of something a stranger said. " " Well, he, uh… Do you know what he was doing before he became a hero? Technically he DID want to do something about Robotnik where I'm from, since it was necessary for his eventual plan, " Sally said nervously, mostly calling him a hero to humour her.
" He told me he conquered his planet, and then he got bored. So he wanted to conquer yours, too? I guess it took him longer than I thought to realize running planets was really boring and tedious. At least now he knows better! " Phoebe replied, as they turned a corner in the lavish hallway with paintings and flower vases that reminded Sally so much of her own castle. Sally was surprised to hear her refer to Scourge's world-conquering like that, and wondered if she came to that conclusion on her own or if Scourge actually realized it himself. She still couldn't get used to everything she was learning, and wondered what changed in him to make him okay with doing that. She explained,
" That conquering was more of a distant goal of his for my world. He really just came there to fight with my Sonic. They've been, rivals for years. Eventually Sonic won because it turned out when Scourge powered down from a super form from the Anarchy Beryls, to prove he didn't need it to fight him, he became too exhausted to do anything. He left the zone after that. "
Phoebe assumed that Sonic had been in his super form too, and didn't make it clear that she thought that, sparing Sally the awkwardness of misleading her on purpose. Before either of them could talk some more, Phoebe noticed Fiona near the lab door, and hugged her saying happily, " Hi, Mommy! " Fiona hugged back not knowing Sally was there and said with a loving smile, " Hi, sweetie! " Fiona was wearing what looked like a little girl's silver tiara, implying that it was a gift from her daughter.
Then she noticed Sally, let go, and hid her discomfort with an expression of irritation and suspicion. For once Sally wasn't having the same expression at her, at least not at first, as she was too busy looking surprised at seeing in person what a good mother she could be.
Phoebe, knowing what Fiona must have been going through to some extent, told her with a reassuring but forced smile, " It's okay, Mom! She was nice to me! Even let me hold her hand! She wants to go to the lab. Has to be for a very good reason, or she wouldn't even be here. "
Fiona requested of her, " Could you please leave us alone together for a bit? We need to talk in private. " Phoebe said reluctantly, " Okay, " and briefly glared at Sally with resentment saying, " Don't hit my mommy again, " before running off in a red blur, leaving Sally looking stunned and uncomfortable that she told her daughter about that.
" Did you tell her WHY I did that? " Sally asked her glaring at her judgmentally, knowing from her friends that she must have sugar-coated a lot of stories to her daughter to manipulate her. Fiona said awkwardly, " Not entirely. I just said you were mad at me for choosing Scourge still, " and said angrily, " Do you really expect me to tell my daughter how I treated Tails? I'm keeping that and taking it to my grave! Don't you dare try to ruin this for me, I love that girl! Scourge and I don't want you or any of your friends turning her against me. "
Sally told her reluctantly with annoyance, " Relax, we won't. It wouldn't be right. At worst, she should discover your darkest secrets on her OWN, not because a former enemy told her. That's why Scourge came to my world today, to keep her from ever finding out some of them. " Fiona looked surprised and asked, " Former? You still hate my guts! And what do you mean, what's Scourge doing? "
Sally said calmly, " From what Sonic and Miles told me, he was really panicking over the possibility of his daughter using his teleporter and seeing the kind of ' legacy ' he made for himself on his own planet. He didn't want to be imprisoned again, either. At first, he stole a doomsday device from Robotnik on an impulse, but Sonic and Miles convinced him that was unnecessary and risky. So they convinced him to let Rotor alter the teleporter, to remove Anti-Mobius as an option from it. And as for the No Zone? He realized that if they haven't gone after him yet, they never will, as long as he doesn't pull a stunt like this again. "
Fiona didn't look happy upon learning of Scourge's initial plan, but reminded herself that she should've known what she had been getting herself into dating such a destructive hedgehog, and that he was still a gentle loving person to her and her daughter at the end of the day.
She crossed her arms and questioned, " So why are you here then? You should've given it back to him right away. He must be really impatient to see me again. " Sally then said, " The problem is that he threw the doomsday device through a portal to this dimension, and since the last place the portal was set was the castle courtyard, apparently, someone must have found it there. I came here to find it in the lab and dismantle it. "
Fiona deadpanned, " You had nothing to worry about, " and opened the door to the lab showing Rotor-FN taking a blowtorch to that very device. Sally looked stunned, and Fiona explained, " He found it hours ago and is taking great care to dismantle it as carefully as he can without it activating. We were wondering where it came from. " Rotor noticed her and Sally, said, " Hey, is that who I think it is? " and Fiona whispered to Sally, " Don't tell him, " and said nervously, " Yeah, it is, Rotor. "
He said, " We think Scourge might have found it in the lab of a Robotnik and brought it here to be dismantled safely. I'm just glad he was smart enough to think to do that and not just spindash it and risk pressing a button. It's like defusing a bomb, you don't wanna cut the wrong wire. " Sally couldn't blame Rotor-FN for thinking that, considering Scourge DID openly warp to various Robotniks on a daily basis, and he did stumble upon that device after doing that, and they had no reason to think he'd have a plan like that out of the blue.
Rotor-FN asked while working on it at the bench, " So what brings you here, Prime Sally? Come to insult my friend? Granted, I can understand why you'd be mad at her dating Sonic's evil twin, let alone a criminal. But things are different now! She's a great Freedom Fighter, especially with that super speed of hers. "
Fiona looked embarrassed at the final sentence being spoken right in front of Sally, who would no doubt tell Tails all about it. Sally said in shock, " Freedom Fighter?... And she's still with Scourge? " Fiona tried to look casual and shrug, and said, " Hey, I get to have my cake and eat it too. Now I can finally do both! Be with my true love, AND go on some fun, machine-destroying missions. " Before Sally could say anything in response, she changed the subject, " Uh, Rotor, why don't you tell her what we usually do? " and Rotor explained briefly,
" We use Warp Ring technology to go fight the war against the late Robotnik's sub-bosses. We just recently rescued Antoine's father from Mercia and returned his free will with the Sword of Acorns, and now we're taking the fight to Crocbot in Downunda! He's a huge threat, with all the weapons he puts in his robot body. Recently, he even gathered an arsenal of doomsday missiles! Sonic is fast, but not quite fast enough to deal with all three of them, so we were lucky we had Fiona and Scourge on our side. "
Sally asked in curiosity, " Crocbot's a threat? And how much does your Sally use the Sword of Acorns? When I had it, it got a little too commanding, and was forcing me to see the future against my will. Then Mammoth Mogul corrupted the Source of All and it had to be destroyed. " Rotor looked surprised and said, " My Sally never had a problem with seeing the future. She uses the Sword of Acorns all the time on missions because it's so useful. I don't know who that mammoth is, but I'm glad I never had to deal with him. "
Sally, feeling uneasy about the idea that Queen Sally had completely become one with the Source of All when she herself rebelled against it, simply said, " He became the powerful immortal he is through some freak accident that wasn't very likely to happen, so I suppose it only makes sense that not every dimension would have that happen. I hope most of them didn't. "
Fiona then said hurriedly, " Okay, okay, it's time to go home now. You've been here enough, " not wanting her to potentially turn her friends and daughter against her. Sally reluctantly created a portal back home admitting, " True. I just hope this world's Sally will be okay. That Sword creeped me out. " Rotor-FN then said, " She already told Phoebe all about her adventures with your group anyways, and she told us, so I guess there's not much we could talk about. Good luck out there! "
Wanting an excuse to prove Scourge's way was the better one, Fiona said with a smirk, " Yeah, good luck. With your no-execution policy, I figure you'll catch up to us in, say, 15 years? " As Sally glared at her, she then looked awkward and muttered too quietly for Rotor to hear, " And tell Tails I'm sorry, " before running off in a red blur. Sally looked stunned, before smiling a little at last and saying, " Sonic already had. "
With that, she walked into the portal and returned home, where Scourge would finally get his teleporter back, having waited impatiently outside the lab's door for it. To Rotor's surprise, when he gave him the teleporter back, Scourge was holding a bouquet of roses and a heart-shaped box of chocolates in his left hand, and he said optimistically, " Fiona'll love all this, " to explain it to him. He then used the teleporter with his free right hand to create a portal back home, put it in his pocket, and ran through it into the castle courtyard, where Fiona and her daughter were standing near a row of flowers as the sun was setting.
" Daddy's home! " Phoebe exclaimed happily jumping up and down, alerting Fiona's attention to him immediately, and she smiled at seeing what were in his hands. With a satisfied smile, he gave her a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates saying, " Sorry I was away for so long. Hope I didn't make ya worry, " which made Phoebe smile at the sight. Fiona was incredibly happy at getting them, so much that her eyes seemed to look sad as if she didn't know if she deserved it. Scourge then explained with a sincere smile mostly just addressing Fiona,
" The whole time I was gone today, I was missing you two; thinking about how it would've been nice if you saw when I did and said impressive stuff, wishing you were there to talk to, to smile like you always do and make things more enjoyable. We're always so in sync, we love havin' fun together no matter what that fun is, and while we do occasionally disagree, it's not that big a deal. We're optimistic, love excitement, we're free spirits who do what WE want, no matter who gets in our way! Not to mention we're both smokin' hot. Now I dunno if big ' romantic ' speeches are my thing, but I'm hoping that's enough to make my point that we're perfect together. "
Then he reached into his other pocket from his leather jacket and gave her a small box wrapped in light red wrapping paper and a red bow on top, and said, " Come on, babe, open it up! " as she stared at it with tears of joy, so stunned at the pleasant surprise of actually receiving a gift. Scourge had given her plenty of gifts before, mostly stolen jewelry, but she still couldn't get used to it, when she hadn't been given gifts at all for most of her life, so just the fact that he was giving her something at all was incredibly sweet as far as she was concerned. She opened it up as Scourge told her, " I'm gonna do something I should've done YEARS ago, " and she gasped happily at seeing what was in the box; an engagement ring. It had a rainbow-colored crystal on a gold ring, implying that he had stolen the most valuable one in the shop, at least she assumed he stole it.
He immediately took it gently out of her hands as Phoebe and Fiona watched the scene with smiles on their faces, and quickly knelt to the grassy ground, and asked with a smile, " Fiona Fox, will you marry me? " confident about her answer. " YES, YES! Of COURSE I'll marry you! " Fiona exclaimed overjoyed, and put on the ring excitedly before throwing her arms around him in a hug giggling. She had never been so happy in all her life, and from seeing her mother so overjoyed, Phoebe was happy too, jumping up and down giggling at the sight.
Scourge stood back up quickly, glad he was finally done humbling himself even a little bit by kneeling, and admitted speaking casually as normal again, " I kept ya waitin' for too long, babe. I just wasn't sure yet, I didn't know if I ALREADY met the one girl I wanted to make out with exclusively my whole life, and I wondered if it might be too good to be true, but as the years went by, I realized I was, well, just making excuses not to take a risk. And that's just not me. Just look at me, I take risks all the damn time! What was I waitin' for? "
He smiled some more and said, " You're the mother of my kid, and it just didn't feel right still callin' ya my girlfriend when you got that kinda upgraded status in my life now! Someone that important ain't temporary. Any time I'm not around ya, I feel the absence, and I end up wishing you were there, and that's just after a few minutes. I-I mean, hours. It's obvious I wouldn't be fully happy with anyone other than you, the mother of my kid, the girl that I was worried about when she was a crying baby and turned out to be one of the biggest joys to have around in my law-breakin life! So why not? Be my queen! Let's make it official. "
The blushing Fiona could do nothing but nod, choked up with tears of joy as she reflected on how she never thought she'd experience something as heartfelt as this herself – especially not that early – and at the same time, they were also partially tears of sadness, as she understood what making it official with Sonic's evil twin meant as far as her old friends and especially Tails were concerned. There was no turning back after this. She could imagine that if they had witnessed this years ago, they would've inconsiderately tried to stop it and ruined the moment, accusing Scourge of just manipulating her into making a mistake. She thought, " They'd never understand. And who cares, anyways? Now I've got versions of them that WILL. "
She asked with excitement, " How soon do you want the wedding? " Scourge replied, " You know me, I ain't the waiting type. " Fiona then said quickly, " Well, I hope you'll give me the time to have it planned a little! Oh, Sally and Bunnie are gonna be SO happy! They get to go to a wedding! Do you know who you want to be the best man? And Pheebs, you get to be a flower girl! "
Phoebe giggled at the idea of herself wearing a pretty dress throwing flowers from a basket down a red carpet with people at either side of her, and Scourge, after a little hesitation, said, " Alright, I guess we should invite people to it, obviously. They'd get mad if we left them out and got hitched on a whim like it was nothing. "
Fiona smiled nervously at how lucky she was that Scourge liked her enough to humor her on this. She never would've imagined she'd get to have the Freedom Fighters attending her wedding to Sonic's evil twin and being happy at that, even if they weren't the Prime ones. She already had an idea of who the maid of honor should be.
Scourge, meanwhile, wondered who exactly he should make the best man, and felt embarrassed at the fact that making Detective Sonic it was actually looking good to him. Sonic had been such an important figure in his life for such a long time, but it wasn't in a positive way, it was as a constant reminder that there was always someone who would be seen as better than him. And yet, he was able to get past that with his alternate counterpart and enjoy his positive qualities, and develop an actual respect for him that earned that position.
Not only did they share common interests, like snowboarding, and share the same taste in movies, but he recognized some of the same positive traits he had in himself in him, like being a thrill-seeker who was generally positive and confident that everything would work out how he wanted. He wasn't a criminal like him, but his " self-righteousness " towards him ended up mostly letting up after a few months of getting used to him, and without that big issue, the other Sonic ended up being a little endearing. He could always make Antoine the best man and skip over the issue, but it just wouldn't feel right when Antoine wasn't nearly as important to him.
The family all sped back into the castle in blurs and stopped in the living room, where all of the FN Freedom Fighters were watching TV, and Fiona exclaimed happily, " Good news! We're getting married! " With everyone's attention on them, Scourge added, " ASAP! I ain't the patient type! " with his arm around her affectionately. Everyone all congratulated them at once, and when the room finally quieted down again, Fiona said with a smile, " Phoebe's gonna be the flower girl, of course. And Sally? "
She put her hands on her shoulders and said, " I want you to be my maid of honor. You were always supportive of me, right from the start, even though you knew I broke the law. What better reward for being the first one to support the two of us? " As Scourge stared at the sight of it surprised at the sheer irony, Queen Sally replied happily, " Wow, thanks! What an honor! Well, evidently, it's the maid of honor, I-I just don't know what to say! " overwhelmed with joy at the news. Fiona then added, " Bunnie will be a bridesmaid, of course, " which made her smile and wonder what dress she should wear for the occasion, since she was never the dress type.
Scourge said casually, " That's right, ALL of you are special guests! Why not reward ya for letting us in on all those robot-smashin' missions? " making everyone look at him and Sally realize how lucky they were that he wasn't vehemently objecting to such a thing. Years ago, he would've definitely done that.
Scourge then went up to a smiling Detective Sonic saying informally, " You know, at first I thought you were just a stick in the mud, all judgmental of me 'cause I'm a criminal and all, but eventually you eased up on that and chilled out a little. And good on you, 'cause it let me see you for more than just that. You snowboard, you grind on rails, we share the same taste in movies and stuff, we got a lot in common actually. While you may not be as risk-taking as me, " he sat beside him and put his arm around him making him smile in amusement with a cocked eyebrow and continued trying to act like it was no big deal to him, " you're still fun to hang around! More than the other guys here. More than like everyone else here! So I want'cha to be the best man. No other dude would feel right as it, ya know? "
Detective Sonic opened his mouth for a snarky but good-natured remark at how ironic it was that he was basically calling an alternate version of himself his best friend, but Scourge saw that coming and ran out of the room before he could say a word, and he said instead to his friends, " That couldn't have been easy for him, " smiling as everyone still looked surprised.
Frost sighed, his two tails wrapping around himself a little on the couch, and Queen Sally quickly realized what was wrong and reassured him with her hand on his shoulder, " It's okay, he didn't mean to insult you. It's probably just that you're not the same age as him, so you're too young to be the best man. Sonic reminds Scourge of himself, and we all know how much he likes himself, with his ego and all. "
Frost complained, " Not that I'm not happy for him, because I am, it's about time he make it official. It's just that he still thinks of me as just a kid. Someone to hug and ruffle the hair of, and even then, now that's what his own kid is for. No offense, sis, he should be showing preference to you, but I always thought he and I would be best friends, that's all. I guess with the age difference, I shouldn't have thought that. "
Fiona, worrying that it might be like Miles' resentment all over again, reassured him, " It's not just that, it's also that you're not as ' fun ' as him. You're a cautious person, pointing out the negatives and telling him to be careful. It just clashes. He still respects you for your cool ice magic and how smart you are, remember, he talks you up all the time! But you have Sonic to be a big brother to you. It's not a big deal. " Frost smiled, and hugged Sonic-FN with a smile of contentment as he returned the hug. " You're right. I should focus more on that. I'll be the best man to HIS wedding, " he admitted, and everyone smiled.
Later on, just before going to bed, Queen Sally held the Sword of Acorns in front of her as it glowed with a golden aura, and with the amount of experience she had at using it every day, she was able to control it to make it only briefly show her a glimpse of the couple's future together. It was just enough to confirm to her that everything would be okay, and the two would have happy lives just like they were already, and that one day, Scourge truly would achieve his goal of eliminating every evil Robotnik in the multiverse.
By that point, he would be satisfied enough with his life and identity as a whole that he wouldn't feel the need to try to destroy Sonic for the sake of it anymore. With all the praise he got from the people who weren't afraid and suspicious of him, like a lot of others out there, he finally got the respect he thought he deserved. He would never admit that he made mistakes in his childhood by bothering Kintobor and his city, or fighting Sonic in the Prime world, or even admit that he might have changed by becoming open to being a Freedom Fighter at all, but it was clear that he was a little more good-natured than before, and defeating all of the Robotniks led him to fill the void by going after every Ixis in existence right afterwards. He never stopped fighting and adventuring, and being a rebel along the way. And neither would Fiona and her daughter.