~What It Truly Means to be Loved~
(Disclaimer: I don't own the Sonic the Hedgehog IDW comics or any of its characters; all credit goes to the original creators at IDW Publishing (licensed by Sega of America), please support the official release).
(Side Note: Yes, this is an official bonus chapter for this story. I felt like writing it since I got the idea for this a day ago).
~Bonus Chapter: Family is Forever~
It had been six years since Surge and Kit were finally liberated from Starline when he died, and they have never been happier.
Being twenty two and fourteen years old respectively, Surge and Kit enjoyed their new lives with their new friends and family. Despite being an adult, Shadow told Surge that she could continue living in his house if she wanted; Surge agreed because she didn't feel mentally or emotionally ready to live on her own yet.
However, she didn't want to feel like a freeloader, so she decided to get a job. Luckily, she found one as barista in a local cafe. Surge loved her new job, she loved serving coffee and other foods to friendly customers, she loved preparing the foods and drinks and whenever the machinery was on the fritz, she'd repair them with her electricity powers.
As for Kit, he enjoyed taking art lessons at the community rec center but he wanted to do more, so he asked Shadow to enroll him in an art school. With her new job, Surge helped to pay for the tuition even though Shadow had more than enough to cover the costs.
He was actually proud of how responsible they both were, as their new adopted father, he really admired how strong they had become after all the trauma they've been through. Speaking of which, they no longer had to see a therapist because they had long recovered from their trauma at the hands of Starline and Trevor the Bear, so they no longer needed therapy.
Speaking of said bear, Trevor was still locked away in prison for kidnapping, physically and sexually abusing Surge, he had already served six years of his seven year sentence and when he was eventually released, there was a restraining order in place to keep him away from Surge and her daughter.
As for Surge's daughter, Sparkplug, she was living happily with her adopted parents. She was now six and a half years old, she went to school and had lots of friends, she was in the girl scouts too and Surge would visit twice every month to see how she was doing and spend time with her. At first, Ramon and Yasmin had tried convincing Surge to visit more than just that, but Surge said she didn't want to intrude and make things complicated.
She may have been Sparkplug's biological mother, but she had given up her parental rights and so, she didn't want to overstep her boundaries. If Sparkplug wanted to spend more time with her than just twice a month, she could make that decision when she was older but for now, Surge thought this was appropriate.
Sparkplug was smart enough to understand why she had two mothers, she knew she was adopted by Ramon and Yasmin and that Surge was her birth mother, she just wasn't given all the details because she was too young. All the adults told her was that her Daddy was mean and would hit her Mommy a lot, and that her Mommy was just kid and wasn't supposed to be a Mom yet.
With that said, every time Surge visited, she showed Sparkplug so much love and affection. On her birthdays, she sent her presents and during the visits, she would take her out to do fun things like going to the park, the movie theater, the zoo, etc.
Sparkplug loved Surge and her adopted parents very much, and she couldn't be happier. And Surge couldn't be happier either now that she had friends, family and a new life.
Then, something else happened to Surge that had changed her life even further, but in a good way.
A year prior, she had attended a neighborhood block party with Kit out of boredom. While there, she had bumped into a male green hedgehog wearing a black leather jacket with flames on the sleeves.
That's right, Surge had met Scourge the Hedgehog for the first time. Why was he in Sonic's dimension, you ask? Well, he had gone through a bad break up with his girlfriend, Fiona Fox, and had decided to travel to Sonic's universe to get away from the unpleasant memories.
He snuck into the block party after hearing about it and that's when he bumped into Surge, to him it was love at first sight. He was captivated by her soft green fur, her bright blue eyes and her sweet sounding voice.
Surge had actually been intrigued by Scourge and the two began dating, though due to her past with Trevor, she didn't allow him to get too intimate with her because she was afraid Scourge would do the same thing he did.
But over time, Scourge had actually proved to be an actually good boyfriend who cared about Surge's feelings. Though, when Surge had told her father who she was dating, Shadow wasn't too happy when he found out. Not only that, but Sonic and his friends were shocked to see Scourge was in their dimension.
Scourge had to do a lot of convincing to get them to realize that he had turned over a new leaf and he wanted to make Surge happy. After Surge had to do some convincing, everyone begrudgingly accepted Scourge and he was allowed to date Surge.
Then, a year later, Scourge had proposed to Surge because he accidentally got her pregnant. When Shadow found out, he exploded in rage and beat the living Hell out of Scourge, but then he calmed down and told Surge he was happy to have a grandchild.
They soon began planning for the wedding while Surge was taking it easy during her pregnancy, she was very happy to be having another baby, one that she was able to keep since she wasn't mentally damaged anymore and was able to actually care for this new child.
But, like many things, this happiest didn't last too long.
[Time Skip]
It was now summer, the weather was beautiful and practically always sunny, perfect weather to be out and about doing fun things.
One morning, while Kit was at his friends' house and Shadow was at work, Surge got dressed and headed over to the home of Sparkplug and her adopted parents.
Why?
Well, as previously mentioned, Sparkplug was in the girl scouts. Specifically, the Gopher Girls scout troupe of Camp Eventine, a very well known all girls summer camp. That summer, the camp counselors were trying to raise money to take the girls, along with parent chaperones, on a trip to Atopos.
So, Surge was going to take Sparkplug around the neighborhood and city, selling girl scout cookies to raise money for the trip.
After putting on a black hoodie with a dark pink skirt, white knee high socks and black shoes, Surge walked out of her home and took a bus towards Windmill Village. She was just as fast Sonic, not surprising since a sample of his genetic material was used to enhance her, but since she was pregnant, she decided not to run there.
When the bus made it her stop, she got off and walked up to the house. She then knocked on the door, it opened up revealing Ramon. "Good morning, Surge. You're looking lovely this morning, my dear", he said.
Surge smiled, "Thank, Ray. So, is Sparkplug ready for me to take her out to sell cookies?", she said.
Ramon moved aside so Surge could peer into the house, that's when she spotted Sparkplug sitting on the couch, all dressed up in her green girl scout uniform. In her hands, she held a big box of chocolate covered peanut butter cookies shaped like gophers.
Sparkplug looked up and smiled widely, "Mom!", she called out. She leapt off the couch and ran over, hugging Surge around her legs. Surge laughed, "Careful, kiddo! Don't drop those cookies, otherwise we can't make that money for the Atopos trip", she said. Then, she reached into her hoodie and pulled out a black and pink wallet; she took out a dollar and gave it to Sparkplug before grabbing a cookie from the box.
"Oh Surge, you don't need to do that", said Yasmin as she walked out the kitchen.
Surge shook her head as she took a bite of the cookie, "Nah. Just cause I'm family don't mean I'm entitled to free stuff. Plus, the more money Sparkplug makes, the more likely she'll get to go on that trip. Plus, I've had a craving for cookies since I woke up this morning", she said.
Sparkplug smiled as she put the dollar into a shoulder bag where she kept all the money she'd make selling the cookies. "Thanks, Mom. Now let's go sell some cookies!", said the little bear. Surge smiled, waved goodbye to Ramon and Yasmin, and took Sparkplug by the hand as she led her away.
[Time Skip]
Surge walked with Sparkplug all around the village, selling cookies to everyone. Then, they went to Central City to sell more; many of the people who bought them were nice enough to take a couple of cookies, paying a lot of money because they knew how hard Sparkplug was working for the scout trip.
"Its almost lunchtime, is there anywhere in particular you wanna eat at?", said Surge.
"Um...can we go to that new pizza place that popped up? I wanna have some pizza", said Sparkplug.
Surge smiled as she continued to lead her daughter around to sell more cookies; once Sparkplug was completely out of cookies to sell, they went over to the pizza place for lunch. As they sat down, a young man in a waiter's uniform walked over.
"What can I get for you two lovely ladies?", he asked.
"One medium sized pie with pepperoni, please. And one small orange soda and one small grape soda", said Surge.
The waiter smiled, wrote down the order and went to go fill it out. As they waited, Surge struck up a conversation with her daughter.
"So, how's it looking? You made enough money, kiddo? How much did you earn today?", she asked.
Sparkplug looked into her shoulder bag, "I made about thirty dollars and fifty cents. It's a lot, but I don't know if it's enough to reach the goal, but everyone else in my troupe are selling cookies too so we just have to wait and see", she said.
Surge smiled and gave her a thumbs up before continuing the conversation, "Nice. Soon all that hard work's gonna pay off! Anyway, I heard Ramon and Yasmin signed you up for afterschool violin lessons. That's cool", she said.
"Yeah, its really fun! The instructor is very nice and I have friends too. Are you still taking those karate lessons?", said Sparkplug.
"Yeah but I'm in the adult group now, but it's not so bad. Martial arts is my hobby after all and my Sensei often let's me help teach the new students. He also gives me private meditation lessons as a way to help me keep my emotions under control", said Surge.
Sparkplug smiled again, "I also can't wait for your wedding with Mr. Scourge, Mom. I'm gonna wear a pretty dress and drop flowers on the floor for when you walk up", she said.
She was referring to how Surge agreed to let her be the flower girl at her wedding.
Soon, the waiter arrived with their pizza and drinks. The two talked while they ate their pizza in peace, then an unfamiliar voice interrupted their bonding time.
"Is that really you, Catriona?"
Surge and Sparkplug suddenly perked up at the sound of the voice, they both looked towards the entrance of the pizza shop to see a strange Mobian standing there. It was a female hedgehog with sickly pale green fur, it was so pale that she almost looked like a ghost.
The woman looked quite old, not really elderly but definitely somewhere in her late forties or early fifties. She wore a grey cardigan with a white shirt underneath, a black skirt and black shoes, and she was carrying a red purse.
With a look of confusion on both their faces, Surge and Sparkplug watched as the strange woman walked over to their table. "Oh, look at you! You've grown up so much, you're so beautiful now! I've missed you!", she said.
Surge started at the woman with a raised eyebrow, "Um...I'm sorry, do I know you?", she asked.
The woman gasped in shock, "What? Don't you remember me, Catriona?", she asked.
Sparkplug started looking a bit frightened, "Mom, who is that weird old lady?", she asked in a timid voice.
The woman was shocked even more, "Mom? Wait a minute, Catriona...you had a child? Are you married too?", she asked.
Suddenly, Surge stood up and glared at the woman, who gasped when she saw her pregnant belly. "Lady, I don't even know who you are! Why are you, a total stranger, just talking to me like we've known each other for years? And why do you keep calling me Catriona? My name is Surge!", she shouted.
The other patrons in the pizza shop looked to see what all the commotion was about, just then the manager walked up to their table. "I apologize, ladies, but can you please take...whatever this is outside? You're disturbing the other customers", he said patiently.
Surge sighed, paid for the food and went outside with Sparkplug and the strange woman following her. Once they were outside, the woman turned to face Surge.
"Catriona, I don't know what's gotten into you but...don't you remember me? Don't you recognize your own mother?", she said.
Surge gasped in shock, it felt like someone had just dropped a five hundred ton weight onto her. Without saying a word, she pulled out her cellphone and immediately started calling someone.
[Time Skip]
Turned out, Surge had called Shadow and told him what was going on. He then told her to go to the old Restoration base with the woman and Sparkplug and wait; Shadow then started making a few phone calls to several people.
This included Sonic and the others, Sparkplug's adopted parents, Kit, Scourge, and Mr. Wolf the Family Court lawyer. They all gathered together at the base an hour later, then Surge started explaining what was going on.
"This woman just showed up while we were having lunch, started calling me "Catriona" and claiming that she's my mother! So...you can imagine that I'm not inclined to believe her considering all I've been through", said Surge.
Everyone turned to face the woman, who stood there nervously.
"Ma'am, what is your name? Do you have any proof that you are Surge's biological mother?", asked Mr. Wolf.
"My name is Hilda, and yes! I have proof, look at this", said the woman. She then pulled out what looked like a photo album from her purse, she gave it to Mr. Wolf who placed it on a table and opened it up. Surge looked to see several pages of herself as a baby, a toddler and a young girl with this woman and a male tenrec with black fur.
Shadow saw this too but he was still very skeptical, "Hilda, forgive me if neither I nor any of us still aren't inclined to believe you. A photo album does seem like solid evidence...until you remember that photoshop exists and these could very well be doctored photos. So, explain to us how you can be Surge's mother. Maybe we'll believe you then", he said.
"Also, allow me to take a DNA sample from you. I've already collected some from Surge, they will be taken to the local hospital to have a DNA test confirm whether or not you're telling the truth", said Mr. Wolf.
Hilda agreed as a medical professional Mr. Wolf called collected the samples and took them to the hospital, then Mr. Wolf pulled out a voice recorder. "Alright, start speaking once I turn on the recorder. In case you're lying, this recording can be used against you in court", he said.
As he hit "record" on the voice recorder, Hilda started explaining. "I got married to my husband, Dominic, when I was in my late twenties. We were in love and a year later, I gave birth to my first child, a baby girl I named Catriona. She was such a bouncy, bubbly baby, but when she started going to elementary school, she was very shy and reserved.
"Catriona barely made friends and was often the target of bullying, we always talked to the teachers about it but they couldn't do much. When she turned fourteen, we enrolled her into a fancy private school.
"But she still had to deal with bullies, not to mention she was entering her rebellious phase. Then, the company my husband worked at was going under and he was laid off, then on his way back home...he got into a car accident and died. Catriona then became very upset.
"That same night, she started angrily yelling at me, saying that it was all my fault. It was my fault that she was bullied in school and had no friends, and now that Dad was dead, we were gonna become poor and her bullies would pick on her even more.
"She ran to her room and slammed the door, I decided to leave her alone for the rest of the night to let her cool off. I checked on her the next morning, only to find her room empty and a note on the bedside table saying she couldn't take it anymore and ran away!
"I immediately called the police and they started searching for her, I was so scared and worried as I waited for them to tell me if they found her. I was terrified at the idea of the police finding her dead somewhere, but a year later, they gave up on the search because they never found her.
"I was told to move on but I couldn't, I fell into depression. My husband was gone and so was my daughter, I quit my part time job and became a shut-in for a while. I was able to get by because of the money from my husband's life insurance, but I couldn't bring myself to leave my house for years.
"It was only several months ago that I decided to finally get out and see the world again, and that's when I saw you at that pizza place. At first, I thought I was dreaming or maybe going crazy but no, it was you! My darling little Catriona, you were alive all this time!"
Hilda finally concluded her tale, tears falling from her eyes as she had burst out crying during it. Everyone, Surge especially, looked at her with a mix of shock, disbelief and sympathy.
"Why did you decide only a few months ago to stop being a shut-in?", asked Surge.
Hilda sighed, "Its because...I'm dying", she said.
Everyone gasped in shock, then she explained further. "I have End-Stage Liver Disease or ESLD. While I was dealing with depression, I drowned myself in alcohol to try and forget my pain. I realized something was wrong when I started experiencing severe abdominal pain, so I went to see a doctor.
"Turned out the excessive drinking caused my liver disease, it was too late for standard treatments and they couldn't find a donor. Soon, my liver disease entered it's late stages and I was told that I only have six months to live, maybe a year if I'm lucky.
"So, I decided to get out of the house and enjoy myself again now that I was dying. I'm so happy I actually got to see that my beloved Catriona is still alive!", she said.
Surge was shocked and saddened to hear all this, just then, a phone started ringing. It was Mr. Wolf's, he answered it and spoke to someone on the other line for a few minutes, then he hung up.
"That was the detective agency I hired to gather information. Turns out that Hilda's story and background checks out, they also received a call from the hospital. The DNA test results were a 99.999% match, Hilda is Surge's biological mother", he said.
Surge sighed and turned to Hilda, "Um...Mom, while its amazing to even see you now and I'm sorry about your disease, things are different. I'm not the same girl you gave birth to and raised for fourteen years, for one thing...as I said back at the pizza place, I go by Surge now. Also..."
She trailed off as she held up her hand, it began sparking with electricity. Hilda gasped in shock, "You have powers? You never did before!", she said.
Surge sighed again and sat back as Shadow and the others explained what happened to Surge after she ran away; Surge looked away as those bad memories resurfaced, but she comforted when Scourge held her close to him and stroke her quills.
They told Hilda about Dr. Starline kidnapping her and Kit and experimenting on them, turning them into cyborgs. They told her about all the brainwashing and memory erasing he did to keep Surge and Kit under his thumb, Tails had even showed Hilda Starline's old video logs as further proof.
Then, they told Hilda about when Surge ran off and met Trevor the Bear, who then took her back to his apartment where he had sex with her while she was too drunk and too ignorant to understand what was going on. Then he imprisoned her in a closet when he found out she was pregnant, he'd beat her every day and barely fed her, and then he raped her.
Then that same night, Surge was forced to have her baby in a bathtub; she ran away in a panic and then tried to abandon her baby on a bridge before jumping to her death. Shadow saved her and adopted her and Kit, making sure Sparkplug was adopted by a nice family and Trevor was arrested.
Then, Starline tried to take Surge and Kit back but they killed him in self defense and were finally able to move on with their lives.
When everyone finished telling the story, Hilda felt like she'd never be able to stop crying after hearing all the horrible things that happened to her daughter. She suddenly ran over and pulled Surge into a tight hug.
"Oh, my baby! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I wasn't there to help you! I'm such a terrible mother, I know you don't remember that argument we had but every word you said to me was right! It was all my fault, I couldn't do anything about your bullies or our financial problems when your father died and now...I couldn't save you when two sociopaths took advantage of you and abused you!
"I'm a horrible person, I don't deserve to be a mother! Please...please forgive me!", she shouted. Before Surge could get a word in edgewise, Hilda suddenly fell to the ground and started convulsing. Everyone started panicking, "Someone call an ambulance!", shouted Shadow.
Mr. Wolf, who was the only one staying calm and collected, took out his phone and dialed 911.
[Time Skip]
Turned out that Hilda had had a seizure, but once she got to the hospital, the doctors were able to stabilize her. She now laid in a hospital bed, feeling weak but was still very much alive.
Surge sat in the waiting with Shadow, Scourge and Kit by her side; everyone else had gone home, including Sparkplug and her adopted parents. There was an unreadable expression on Surge's face as she rubbed her belly nervously.
"Are you feeling alright, Surge?", asked Kit.
Surge remained silent as she had no idea what to even say.
"Babe?", asked Scourge.
"This whole thing must be so overwhelming for you, I can't even imagine what must be going through your mind right now", said Shadow.
Surge sighed before she finally started talking, "Honestly, I don't even know what to feel right now. I suppose I feel sad that Hilda is dying from liver disease but...that's just it, I feel sad that she's dying but anyone would feel sad about a person dying.
"My feelings towards Hilda start and end there, she may be my Mom and there's evidence to prove that, but as far as I understand...she's a total stranger to me. I have no emotional attachment to her whatsoever because I remember absolutely nothing about her", she said.
Shadow gave her a gentle rub on the back, "Don't beat yourself up over it, it's not your fault. We all know that Starline is to blame, he was the one who brainwashed you and tried to erase your memories. He had assumed you were a homeless orphan but it turned out you were living on the streets because you ran away from home and had nowhere else to go.
"Starline was constantly trying to erase your memories with his Hypnotic Gear as a way of making sure you stayed his obedient little puppet. He was to blame for all this", he said.
Surge looked down with a guilty look on her face, "Still...Starline never would've caught me, my Mom never would have become an alcoholic and be dying if I didn't run away from home! It--"
Just then, Kit grabbed her by the shoulders. "Don't you dare say this was your fault, Surge! It's not! Starline erased your memories and brainwashed you, there's no way you could've known about any of this because he made sure you wouldn't know!
"I mean, look at me! Because of him, I was so dependent on you to the point where it felt like I had no other life purpose but to be subservient to you. The therapist was able to help me finally see that there's more to my life than just constantly following you around like a lost puppy.
"I'm sorry about your Mom, this is all new to me too considering no one has come for me which probably means Starline was right about me being a homeless orphan, but you? You have a mother and she's dying, Starline may have taken away your memories of her but you still have the chance to make new memories of her with the time she has left", he said.
Surge was taken aback by Kit's conviction, she had never seen him so headstrong and passionate about something that wasn't his hobbies. "You really think so, Kit?", she asked.
Kit smiled, "Of course I do. You're my big sister, even if we're not blood related or even the same species, I love you and all I want is for you to be happy. If you truly want to, try to rebuild your lost relationship with your mother while she still has the time. She became like this because she was utterly miserable, believing she lost her daughter soon after losing her husband.
"She's not a bad person, she just made some bad choices but everyone makes mistakes. She at least deserves to spend her final months reconnecting with her long lost daughter and you deserve to get to know the only remaining member of your birth family. I know its confusing but you're strong, Surge. I know you can do this", he said.
After hearing that explanation, Surge considered everything Kit said and finally let out a sigh before smiling. "Alright, I'll go for it. Thanks a lot for the advice, Drippy. You've really become a smart kid, huh?", she said. Kit gave her a wide smile as he hugged her.
Just then, a doctor walked over to them. "I'd like to inform you all that Ms. Tenrec-Hedgehog has regained consciousness. You're free to go and see her if you wish", he said.
Surge looked at Shadow, "Go and talk to your mother, we'll be here waiting until your done", he said. Surge smiled and hugged him, "Thanks, Dad!", she said.
As she got up to walk to the room, Shadow looked over to Scourge. "Didn't you have any helpful things to say to her? You are her fiance after all", he said.
"You're talking to the guy who killed his own father, I think I'm the last person you should be asking for family advice from. I just care about Surge being happy, is all", said Scourge.
Surge walked into Hilda's hospital room, she was lying in bed with an I.V. drip in her arm. She watched as Surge pulled up a chair to sit down right next to her hospital bed, "Um...hello, the doctor said you woke up so I came in to see you", said Surge.
Hilda sighed sadly and looked away, "You don't have any memory of me, do you? That man...Starline, he brainwashed you to forget all about the life you had before. Even if we're blood related, I'm basically not your mother anymore", she said.
Surge leaned over and gently took her hand, "That may be, but my little brother Kit said that in the time you have left, we can make new memories together. I have a new life now thanks to my adopted father and his friends, you have a granddaughter too. While you still have time, let's rebuild our relationship.
"When you get out of the hospital, let's spend time together. I'll introduce you properly to my new family, you'll get to know my daughter and spend time with me. So, for the remaining months of your life, will you be my Mom again?", she said.
She then reached over, gently took her hand and placed it on her swollen belly. Hilda smiled as she started crying again, "Yes, I would love that! Thank you so much...Surge. Wow, it feels strange to not call you Catriona anymore", she said.
Surge laughed, "Maybe that's for the best. No offense but that name sounds really lame", she said. Hilda took no offense, in fact, she laughed too.
[Time Skip]
A week later, Hilda was discharged from the hospital, though she had become much weaker than before and was now confined to a wheelchair. Surge had went to the hospital to go and pick her up, pushing her out through the front door.
"Well, what do you want to do today?", asked Hilda.
"First, I want to properly introduce you to my new family. Learning from them about the bad things that happened to me wasn't the best first impression, so I want to introduce them to you the right way", said Surge.
She then took Hilda to her house, where she knew Shadow, Scourge and Kit were waiting. She opened the door and walked inside, finding them sitting at the table talking. When they saw Surge and Hilda, they smiled.
"Mom, this is my new Dad, Shadow the Hedgehog. This green hedgehog is my fiance, Scourge and this is my little brother, Kitsunami, but you can call him Kit for short", said Surge.
Kit walked over to shake Hilda's hand, "Nice to meet you, Ms. Tenrec-Hedgehog. I...use to be kind of a doormat for Surge, but I've long since learned to be my own person. She's shown me how to be stronger and a little more independent", he said.
Scourge nodded in her direction, "It's nice to meet you, Ma'am. I hope you'll be at our wedding, we'd love to have you there", he said.
Then Shadow walked over to them, "Hello, I'm Shadow the Hedgehog. After knowing what these two went through, I took it upon myself to adopt them and raise them myself. At first, I didn't exactly see myself as their father but more as an older sibling but as time went on, I've grown accustomed to it. And besides, I care about them enough to let myself be called their father", he said.
Hilda smiled, "I wanted to personally thank you for saving my baby girl's life twice and helping her. I still couldn't believe everything that happened, including her being an underage mother, but I'm grateful for you for helping her start a new life", she said.
"Alright, Mom. Dad and Kit gotta to go to work and art school respectively, so Scourge is coming with us. I want to go take you to meet Sparkplug before we go out together", said Surge. Hilda nodded before waving goodbye to Shadow and Kit as Surge wheeled her out of the house with Scourge following.
Then, they caught a bus to Windmill Village. They got off at their stop and walked into the village, waving at all the people they passed by.
Then, they came to Ramon and Yasmin's house. Surge knocked on the door and was greeted by the honey badger couple, "Oh hello, Surge. How are you doing today?", asked Yasmin. "I'm alright. Can we come in? I want to properly introduce someone to you", said Surge.
Ramon and Yasmin stood aside to let them in, Sparkplug was sitting in the living room playing with her toys; her scout troupe was taking a break from the fund raiser since they had been working so hard and it was summertime, so they wanted the kids to enjoy the season.
Sparkplug looked up and saw Surge and Scourge, "Mom, Mr. Scourge!", she said as she stood up to go hug her birth mother.
"Hey, Sparky! I wanna introduce you to someone, the right way. This is Hilda, my mother. Mom, this is Sparkplug. She's my daughter", said Surge.
Sparkplug walked over to give Hilda a hug, being careful since she was weak and in a wheelchair. "I still can't believe I have a two grandchildren. How old are you, sweetie?", said Hilda.
"I'm six and a half years old, grandma. This is so awesome! Now, I have two mommies, a daddy, a step daddy and a grandma! We can go out and do fun stuff all the time now", said Sparkplug.
Suddenly, the atmosphere become awkward and melancholic. Scourge coughed awkwardly into his fist while Surge turned to Ramon and Yasmin, "Have you two educated her about what death is?", she asked.
"Yes. We spoke with a child psychologist and he told us the best method of explaining the concept to her in a way that she'd understand and not be scared by", said Ramon.
Surge then sighed as she bent down and placed her hands on Sparkplug's shoulders, "Sparky, we won't be able to go out together all the time. You see, grandma is very sick and she...doesn't have a long time to live. I want to spend as much time with her as possible since I don't have any memories of her and want to make new ones", she said.
For a moment, Sparkplug looked sad and disappointed but then she smiled. "That's okay, maybe we can spend the little bit of time together. Grandma is still here, so she can still have fun with us", she said. Surge let out a soft giggle, she really admired her daughter's innocent optimism.
"Yeah, that's exactly what we're gonna do. If your parents let me, I'd like you to join me as I make new memories with my Mom", she said.
"Of course we'll let you, we'd love for Sparkplug to get to know her grandmother. And we wish you the best of luck in making those memories", said Yasmin.
[Time Skip]
And that's exactly what they did.
Practically every day since then, Surge had gone out with her mother and Sparkplug to do all sorts of fun activities together. In fact, that same day they had gone to the local playground to just have some casual bonding time.
The next day, Surge had taken Hilda to the cafe she worked at to treat her to some coffee. Surge's boss had given her paid time off after she explained the situation to him, her boss was a family man who lost his own mother to a terminal illness, so he understood her situation.
At the same time, Surge had introduced her friends Yuri and Alex, who also worked at the cafe, to her Mom. At first, they were surprised to see she had a mother and saddened to hear she was dying, but they opened up to her and talked all about their friendship with Surge.
On the same day, Hilda got to know Scourge since he and Surge were getting married soon and the latter was pregnant with his child. So Scourge got to know Hilda and even received her blessing to marry Surge.
The next day, Surge and Hilda had taken Sparkplug around some of the neighboring towns to sell more of her girl scout cookies. Then, after they were done, they went to the aquarium. As Sparkplug gazed at all the fish in the tanks, Hilda spoke to Surge.
"I had wished I could've taken you to the aquarium from time to time, but our financial situation didn't allow it", said Hilda.
"Its okay, Mom. I understand you tried your best for me, and I appreciate that. Let's not dwell on the past and focus on the here and now", said Surge.
"Mom! Grandma! Come look at these pretty jellyfish!", Sparkplug called out.
[Time Skip]
And so it went, whenever they had the opportunity, Surge would go out with her mother and daughter to do whatever fun thing they could think of, and since it was summertime, the sky was the limit.
They went to the beach, the zoo, an amusement park, the movies, etc.
Before all this, Surge had bought a camera to take with them. Each time they went out, Surge had taken as many pictures as she could fit on the SD card; then, she'd have the pictures developed and placed into a brand new photo album she bought.
"You have a photo album of memories from my long lost childhood, now this one will have the new memories we've made together", she said.
Day by day, Hilda's health began to deteriorate slowly. Soon, she needed to have an oxygen tank strapped to the back of her wheelchair and breathe through a mask attached to her face. Surge was saddened by this, but she didn't let it get to her; she kept a smile on her face so her mother wouldn't worry.
Surge had already accepted that her mother would die eventually, but she wasn't sure whether or not she'd be ready for it when it happened.
One day, Surge was at the mall with Hilda doing some shopping for wedding clothes, specifically a wedding dress for Surge and a nice outfit for Hilda; Sparkplug wasn't with them because her parents had to take her to a dentist appointment, so it was just the two of them.
Surge stood on a small platform, wearing a simple yet flowing maternity wedding dress, along with a veil and diamond necklace. Hilda smiled at her, "I can't believe I'm shopping with my daughter for her wedding day, I've wanted to do this for so long but when you disappeared, I despaired that I would never get the chance to see you be married", she said.
Surge shrugged, "Yeah, I'm glad you'll be able to see me get married. I just hope you'll be able to live long enough to see my son being born", she said as she stroked her belly.Surge was in the last month of her pregnancy and three months prior, she had discovered she was having a boy.
She sighed sadly as she began to wonder if her mother would live long enough to see her grandson, considering that her health had gotten worse. The doctors said she had at least six months left, maybe another year if she's lucky, but Surge knew any number of things could happen to shorten the time.
Seeing the sad look on her daughter's face, Hilda decided to change the subject. "Well... I'm just glad Shadow can afford to pay for all the wedding expenses. He may not like your fiance all that much but he cares enough about you to make sure your wedding is perfect", she said.
Surge smiled, "He's my father, he loves me and only wants the best for me and Kit. Plus, it helps that he works for the government. They pay good money", she said with a laugh.
They finished picking out the clothes and paying for them, "Hey, Mom. I gotta go to the bathroom, I'll be right back, okay?", said Surge.
Hilda nodded as she watched her walk away, she waited in the small alcove where the women's restroom was. As she waited, a shadowy figure reached over and grabbed onto the thin tube connected to Hilda's oxygen tank; they squeezed it, cutting off the flow of oxygen.
Hilda, realizing she suddenly couldn't breathe, started panicking. She tried to scream for help but was quickly losing consciousness. Once she finally passed out, the shadowy figure let go of the tube and started wheeling her away.
Inside the bathroom, Surge stepped out of a stall and walked over to the sink to wash her hands. "Man, you've been making me go to the bathroom way more than normal, huh little buddy?", she said to her belly.
She laughed as she felt a kick, knowing her son had heard her. She dried her hands and left the bathroom, but was confused when she didn't see her mother waiting for her outside. "Mom? Mom! Where'd she go? Did she decide to go outside or get something to eat?", she asked herself.
Just before Surge go get the idea to call her on her cellphone, a hand appeared out of no where and pressed a cloth against face. She let out a muffled scream as she tried to shake off her attacker, but she was already vulnerable due to the fatigue caused by her pregnancy.
Not only that, but the cloth was wet with something, something that gave off a strange smell that was making Surge feel dizzy. That was when her will to fight back disappeared when she finally lost consciousness, allowing the shadowy figure from before to pick up her limp body and vanish.
[Time Skip]
It was 6pm back at Shadow's house, he was standing in the kitchen making dinner while Kit and Scourge waited at the table. The latter actually had his own apartment in the building across the street from Shadow's house, since he didn't want him in his house at all, but he was told to have dinner with Surge's family because she wanted to have dinner with her mother.
Scourge looked up at the clock and realized it was getting late, "They should've been back by now, how long does it take two ladies to shop for clothes?", he said worriedly.
"Cut Surge some slack, Scourge. She wants to spend as much time with her mother as possible, considering Hilda doesn't much time left", said Kit.
"Though, Scourge does have a point...as much as it pains me to say. They should've been back by now, I wonder what's taking them so long?", said Shadow.
Scourge laughed, "Nice to see you and me on the same wavelength... Pops!", he said with a smirk.
Shadow was about to smack him with the wooden spoon he was using to make curry when his cellphone went off, he grabbed it and saw that it was Sonic calling him.
"What do you want, Faker?", he answered.
"Shadow... you're not gonna like what I have to tell you...", Sonic said.
Kit and Scourge watched as Shadow's shoulders tensed up sharply, then they were startled when Shadow suddenly screamed "WHAT?!"
[Time Skip]
When Shadow raced to the mall with Kit and Scourge tagging along, they were greeted by Sonic and Amy, who were standing by some security guards.
"Shadow, these guys say that they saw some mysterious person kidnap Surge and her mom on the security cameras, but the reason I called you is because this was found near the scene", said Sonic. He then handed Shadow a piece of paper, Shadow grabbed it and looked at what was on it.
It was a letter that read as follows:
Shadow
I never took you as a family man, but I guess anything is possible.
You and your worthless friends may have defeated me before but if you really thought I was gone for good, you're more ignorant than I thought!
I may have lost my power but I can still cause you pain, such as now. I have the tenrec girl and her sickly mother, it would be a shame if something bad happened to either of them, especially since the girl is pregnant.
But I'm not a monster, Shadow. I wouldn't bring harm onto an expecting mother...as long as you give yourself up! Come to the old abandoned Eggman base just outside the city...alone!
If you bring any of your pathetic friends with you, I won't hesitate to carve the girl's child out of her body while she screams in agony! If want to save them, you know what to do... I'll be waiting.
I.
Shadow growled angrily as he crumpled the note, dropping it onto the ground before speeding off to the location stated in the letter.
"Shadow, wait!", shouted Sonic but it was too late, he was gone.
Kit picked up the note and flattened it out so he can read it, then he gasped. "Someone kidnapped Surge and Hilda, and is threatening to kill them if Dad doesn't go fight them alone!", he said.
"What?! Who did it?" I'll kill them myself!", shouted Scourge.
"I don't know, there's no name. They just signed it with an "I" and that's it, do any of you have any enemies whose name starts with an "I"?", said Kit.
Sonic and Amy gasped in horror when they heard that, they knew only one person but they couldn't believe it was true.
[Time Skip]
When Surge woke up, she found herself lying on a metallic floor next to her mother.
"Mom?", she asked in confusion.
"Surge! Oh, thank Chaos! I was so scared you weren't going to wake up!", said Hilda.
Surge looked around and saw that she was inside an old Eggman base, the lights were on but the place looked dusty and in disarray, indicating that it hadn't been occupied for years. Seeing where she was, Surge began to have a panic attack; being in an Eggman base was bringing back painful memories of Dr. Starline, and she was starting to hyperventilate.
Hilda saw this and tried her best to calm her down, "Surge? It's okay, baby. Calm down, that's not good for the baby", she said. Surge took deep breaths as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart, once she calmed down, she leaned against the armrest of Hilda's wheelchair.
"Okay, I'm okay. I'm alright", said Surge as she gently rubbed her stomach. Nothing was wrong with her stomach and the baby seemed calm, so she sighed in relief.
Just then, the two women heard heavy clacking footsteps, almost like someone was tapping something against the metal floor. Then, someone stepped into the light, it was a male Mobian jackal with jet black fur, long white hair and heterochromic eyes with a scar going across the right eye. He was also wearing a pair of black gloves and boots, and held a red sword in one of his hands.
Surge shook in fear as the mysterious jackal approached her and Hilda, "Who the Hell are you?", she said nervously as she held her round belly.
The jackal let out a small laugh, "My name is Infinite", he said. Then, he crouched down in front of Surge, sticking out his left hand. Surge shut her eyes tightly, fearful of what he might do, when she felt a small amount of pressure on her head.
She opened her eyes to see that Infinite had placed his hand on her head and was gently stroking her quills, "You are quite the lovely girl, aren't you?", he said. He then rested his hand on her belly, softly stroking it through her sweater dress.
Surge shuddered as this jackal was giving her creeper vibes, it didn't help that he spoke in such a soft voice, it gave her goosebumps. "What do you want from me?", she asked though it came out as a small squeak.
Infinite smirked as he stood up and turned away from her, "From you? Nothing at all, but I do need you here to bring Shadow to me so I can have my vengeance. Once I've snuffed out that bastard, I...might consider letting you two go free", he said.
Surge clung to Hilda as she shook with fear again, not fully understanding what was going on and it only served to scare her even more.
Just then, Shadow crashed through the ceiling into the base, a look of pure rage on his face.
"Shadow!", shouted Hilda.
"Dad!", shouted Surge.
Infinite looked between Shadow and the two women, and smirked deviously. "Oh, so this girl is your daughter? Seeing her shopping for wedding clothes and talking about you paying for them, I assume she was you're lover.
"But you know what they say about assuming, it makes an ass out of you and--"
Infinite was cut off when Shadow punched him in the face, sending him flying into the wall. "You bastard! I knew I should've killed you when I had the chance!", he shouted. He sped over and punched him again, Infinite then grabbed him by the arm and threw him across the room.
"Yes, and I should've killed you when I had the chance! You thought you beat me before, but you were wrong! I may have lost the Phantom Ruby, but I still have the strength to destroy you!", he shouted.
He tried to slash at Shadow with his sword but the hedgehog dodged it, grabbing Infinite by the wrist and swifty disarming him; then, he kicked him in the groin before proceeding to body slam him into a nearby metal table.
Surge and Hilda were watching the fight with a mix of awe and astonishment, neither of them had ever seen anyone fight so fiercely before. Just then, Surge let out a pained groan as she clutched her stomach.
"Surge, what's wrong?", asked Hilda.
Infinite groaned in pain as struggled to get up, that was when Shadow got him into a choke hold. "So much for you having any strength, you really are pathetic without that damn ruby to help you!", said Shadow.
"Dad...", Surge muttered.
Infinite began struggling, trying to break free from Shadow's grip. "I'm strong enough to destroy you! I'm going to make you pay for the humiliation and pain you've inflicted upon me! When I'm done with you, you'll be begging for death!", he shouted.
"Dad...", Surge muttered again.
Shadow snarled, "Oh yeah? Well, when I'm done with you, you'll be cursing your mother for having given birth to your sorry ass!", he shouted.
"DAD!", Surge screamed, "THE BABY'S COMING!"
Shadow and Infinite suddenly stopped insulting and clawing at each other when they heard the tenrec girl scream those words, a look of shock flashing across their faces.
"Wait what?!", said Infinite.
Shadow sucker punched him square in the face, knocking him unconscious before dropping his limp body onto the ground and running over to Surge's side. "What? The baby's coming now? We have to get you to the hospital!", he said.
"There's no time!", shouted Hilda. Before Shadow could ask why not, a popping sound could be heard as a clear liquid spilled out from the bottom of Surge's sweater dress. She started breathing heavily while moaning in pain.
"You'll have to deliver the baby here!", said Hilda as she removed her jacket and folded it for Surge to use as a pillow while lying on the floor.
"What? I'm not a doctor or a midwife, I can't deliver it! Why can't you help me?", shouted Shadow.
"I can barely get up from wheelchair! How am I supposed to help? I already feel like my blood pressure is spiking just from this whole situation!", shouted Hilda.
Their argument was interrupted by Surge letting out a scream of pain as her contractions started, a waterfall of tears spilling down her face as she seemed to be crying much more hysterically than reasonable.
Shadow became concerned, "Surge, what's wrong? Does it hurt that much?", he asked.
Surge couldn't speak because she was sobbing too hard, that was when Shadow quickly realized why she was crying so much. This situation was more than likely giving her flashbacks to when she was forced to give birth to Sparkplug in the bathroom of Trevor's apartment, and the event that took place before doing so.
"What is going on here?"
Shadow heard a familiar sounding female voice behind him, he turned around and saw Whisper standing in the entrance to the base. "Whisper? What are you doing here--you know what, nevermind! Help me over here!", he said.
The sandy brown wolf saw what was going on and quickly rushed over to Shadow's side, she gently pushed him away as she looked under Surge's dress. "I can see the head! Shadow, stay close to her side, when I count to three, you have to tell her to push as hard as she can!", Whisper instructed.
Shadow sat on Surge's right side and held her hand while Hilda held her other hand, "You heard that, Surge? When Whisper counts to three, you need to push as hard as you can!", he said.
"I...I can't!", Surge sobbed.
"Sweetie, you have to! If you don't, you and the baby might die! Please, you have to be strong!", said Hilda.
Surge looked up at her mother's pleading eyes, tears gathering in the corner of them. It was then that Surge remembered that her mother was the one slowly dying, she was not going to let herself and her second child die just as she and her mother had found each other again and rekindled their relationship.
So, she worked up all of her strength and prepared herself.
"Alright, here we go. 1...2...3!", shouted Whisper.
"Push, Surge! Push!", shouted Shadow.
Surge screamed as she pushed with all her might, her pelvis felt like it was being split in half but she forced herself to endure it. The last thing Surge heard before she lost consciousness was the sound of a baby crying loudly.
[Time Skip]
Surge groaned as she woke up again, this time finding herself in a hospital room. She looked around the room and that's when she spotted her mother sitting beside her, holding something in a blue bundle.
"Mom?", she asked in confusion.
Hilda smiled with tears in her eyes as she rolled her wheelchair over to the the bedside, "He's so beautiful!", she whispered.
She passed the bundle over to Surge, who took it in her arms. She looked upon a baby boy hedgehog with light green fur, with black fur on his forehead just like her; his eyes were closed as he slept peacefully. Surge teared up as she hugged the baby close to her chest, "My son...", she whispered.
Just then, the door opened, allowing Shadow, Scourge and Kit to enter the room.
"Surge, you're okay!", Kit shouted as he ran over to hug her.
She pulled the young fox to her in a warm hug before looking up at Scourge, "Come look at him! Come look at our baby!", she said. Scourge walked over to look at the infant in her arms, "It's my baby boy, Voltage! Surge, I'm so proud of you", he said as he kissed her.
"Voltage? Really? That's the name you came up with?", asked Shadow.
"Well, I think it's pretty cute", said Kit.
"What do you think of the name, Mom?", asked Surge.
She looked over to Hilda, who had her eyes closed and her head down, a small smile on her face. Surge carefully placed her baby into Scourge's arms before she climbed out of bed and walked over to her mother.
Surge placed two fingers on her mother's throat and felt no pulse, she gasped but then smiled as tears started falling from her eyes. "Well...at least you got to meet your grandson...and you passed with a smile on your face. Goodbye, Mom. I love you, thank you for everything", she said as she hugged her mother's limp body.
[Time Skip: One month later]
"You look absolutely gorgeous, sweetheart", said Rouge.
It was the day of Scourge and Surge's wedding, she was sitting in the women's restroom of the venue it was taking place in along with Amy, Rouge, Yasmin and Sparkplug. Rouge had helped her do her makeup while Amy styled her hair.
When they were done, Surge looked at herself in the mirror. "You look really beautiful in your dress, Mom!", said Sparkplug. She smiled down at the little bear, who was wearing an adorable little pink flower girl dress and holding a basket of red and white rose petals.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Hey, not to interrupt ladies, but the ceremony is about to start in ten minutes", called out Sonic.
"We better go to our seats. Break a leg, Surge!", said Amy as she left the room with Rouge, Sparkplug and Yasmin.
Surge then left the room where she bumped into Shadow, "It's almost time, how do you feel?", he said. Surge smiled at him, "A little nervous but very excited too. By the way, I wanted to ask...what happened to that guy you had beef with?", she said.
"Who, Infinite? Same as what happened to Trevor...jail time! Although, he's going there for life considering all the crimes he had committed before. You don't need to worry about any of that anyway, all that matters right now is you", said Shadow.
Just then, they heard the wedding march playing. Grabbing her bouquet, Surge hooked her arm around Shadow's as he led her towards the hall. Sparkplug had just finished scattering the flower petals along the floor as Shadow led Surge down the aisle.
Once they got to the alter, Shadow let go and went to sit down next to Kit, who held baby Voltage in his arms. On his left side, was a chair that held a frame photo of Hilda along with a black urn. After Hilda had passed away, a small funeral service was held and then she was cremated, her ashes placed inside a black urn.
As sad as she was to lose her mother almost as quickly as she had found her, Surge was still happy that she had the chance to meet her and make new memories with, as well as her getting to meet her grandson before then.
As Surge said her vows and accepted the ring Scourge placed on her finger, she felt more happy than she ever imagined she would've been. What happened to her after running away from Starline may have been less than ideal and traumatic, but she's happy she did because then she never would've had the life she had now.
[Time Skip: Three weeks later]
"Okay, girls. We're gonna be landing soon, so remember to keep your seatbelts on until the plane has fully landed".
Three weeks after Surge and Scourge's wedding, Sparkplug's girl scout troupe had finally raised enough money to go on their trip to Atopos. Sparkplug looked out the window from her seat, gazing upon the beautiful land that came into view.
Soon, the plane landed at the airport. The flight attendants allowed the Gopher Girls scout troupe to gather their belongings and exit the plane first before the regular passengers did; the kids were led into the terminal by their scout master, a female Mobian sheep.
"Do you girls have everything?", asked the scout master.
The kids all nodded as she began to lead them outside to where a bus would take them to the hotel they would be staying in for the week.
As she walked with her friends, Sparkplug turned around to look behind her for a moment. She saw four people exit the plane she was just on: Surge, with baby Voltage in a carrier strapped to her chest, Scourge, Kit and Shadow, who held the same framed photo of Hilda that was at the wedding.
Sparkplug smiled, she remembered when Surge said she'd come with her on the Atopos trip but she had decided to bring the whole family with her for a little vacation. Surge smiled in her direction and waved, Sparkplug waved back before running to catch up to her scout troupe.
Surge then turned to the others, "So...what do we do now?", she asked.
"I just called us a taxi to take us to the resort we're staying at. We should head outside and wait for it, once we check in at the hotel, we can have breakfast and then head to the beach", said Shadow.
"Sweet, can't wait to work on my tan!", said Scourge.
"And I'm gonna build the biggest sandcastle ever!", said Kit.
Surge laughed as she grabbed her luggage and followed the boys outside to wait for the taxi. At that moment, Surge the Tenrec was the happiest girl on Mobius.
Looking upon the happy faces of her family members, she was satisfied with life and ready for whatever happens next.
[The End]
(I had been brainstorming giving this story a bonus chapter and now I have, so now this story is fully completed. See you guys next time).