Surge woke up after the destruction of the Dynamo Cage and noticed she was back in bed without it, causing her to ask, " Where'd you put my hat? " She had felt a weight on her bed beside her since she woke up in pitch darkness and opened her eyes to see Kitsunami lying beside her reluctantly getting the blankets off him and sitting up, saying, " I-I left it where we were after it broke itself! I'd never be able to fix it. "
Surge sat up and said, " Sure. What time is it anyways? Better be really late if you're sleeping here. " Kit said, " I dunno. It feels late. I was worried and I wanted to be in front of you as soon as you woke up, so it was more convenient to sleep here. I was hoping you'd be asleep all night so I could stay here. I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable. " Surge asked, " Did I win? " Kit took a second before nervously saying, " You passed out so he got away from you. "
He had considered lying to her that she won back when she was unconscious, but decided against it because she would've found out the truth and gotten mad at him anyways. He said to her very nervously as she looked annoyed, " And then I had to get you away from Metal Sonic by smashing through the ceiling and flying out of there with you. But I made the ceiling cave in on my way out. " " Wait, so did YOU kill them?! " Surge asked him angrily.
Kit said while looking confused, " Maybe. Why are you mad? I was too tired to check but I assume I did! " Surge shouted, " I was supposed to do that! " and the room lit up with the electric sparks she released out of habit. Kit flinched and started trembling as she shouted, " What am I supposed to do now?! " He stammered after a pause, " I-I thought you said you were gonna go after the rest of his friends next! "
She yelled, " Yeah but what's so good about it if I won't get to see his reaction?! Sonic and Eggman are the ones I really wanted to get back at! So you're telling me my wimpy crybaby brother got to them first and I can never get closure?! What would Starline have said about me?! That making me was a complete waste of time! Why have me do anything when you're there? " Kit explained, " I was trying to save you the trouble! I didn't want you to be stuck with fighting him anymore! You were hurting yourself! "
She complained, " So you lost all faith in me?! I only fought him three times! Sure I never sent him to the hospital once but, you're supposed to have faith in me! Well that wasn't a part of your brainwashing, but, where'd your respect go?! I took out Metal Sonic didn't I? Sure we got lucky that he panicked and forgot he could put up a force field. But even if he did I would've got bored and electrocuted him eventually. Like I could with everybody! I was just holding back so the fun wouldn't end in one second! That doesn't mean I'm destined to lose every time and you need to take over! Worst case scenario I'll win when they're old and harmless. It's only a matter of time! Or at least it would be, until you stole my victory! You betrayed me! "
She smacked him off the bed impulsively for emphasis, forgetting that her hands were still stuck sparking from how worked up she was. He yelled out and fell to the floor with a loud noise and kept his eyes closed as tears came out, and she realized she had never hurt him so much before. She had accidentally hurt him a couple of times before, and the memories made her feel even worse by overwhelming her with regret, which made her look sad and feel a pit in her stomach.
She stayed silent for a few seconds, before forcing herself to say, " I didn't mean to shock you! " because his eyes were closed, and the room was dark either way. It was only because her eyes had adjusted to the lighting that she could see anything, like the fact that tears kept running out of his eyes. She got out of bed and said awkwardly, " I'm not mad anymore. I'm gonna pick you up and get you back in bed, to save YOU some effort. "
She pulled him up from underneath making him wince and lifted him over her shoulders and put him in her bed, sat beside him and pulled the blankets over them and said nervously, " You can sleep here all night, lil' bro. I hope you're not stuck like this. I don't know where the hospital is. He wasn't stupid enough to only make ME able to heal really fast, was he? " Kit's voice was breaking as he said quietly, " I'm okay now. I'm sorry. I'll never do it again! "
She couldn't stand hearing that as he put his hands over his eyes and she said, " Don't you dare act like it was your fault! I wish I never did that! It was just force of habit. I had to fight so many robots, I got used to being violent any time I was mad. It doesn't mean anything! You're not in trouble anymore! Maybe Tails saved him because he can fly. We'll check the ruins later. " She pet his head, which made him move suddenly from being startled.
She acted annoyed to mask her pity saying, " I'm not gonna hurt you! I'm never going to do that again! You'll see, " and put her hand on his shoulder, and reached out her other one. After a second, he gently grabbed her hand and kept holding it. She was stunned that he wasn't mad at her. It was still hard for her to get herself to say she was sorry because she knew it wasn't expected of her, so all she could do was find a way to say it without those words.
She asked, " Why did you stay still for so long? I saw you get shocked before and you didn't act like that! " Kit said, " I couldn't move for a while. It's worse than when Dr. Starline did this! I could still move almost right after that! He would have won if he kept it on the higher setting. " " You mean there was one? " she asked.
He said, " Yes, that was one of the first things he told me about himself, as far as I remember. Besides if it was always that weak it wouldn't be useful against robots. Even when he was defending himself from me, he still went easy on me! He still didn't hate me! Why?! He could have stunned us both in seconds! I know you said he must have been lying every time he said he cared about us. But what other explanation is there?... Don't feel bad, of course he took it easy on me. He was always so much nicer to me, remember? "
Surge complained, " Yeah! Because you were so well-behaved! Well obviously he didn't wanna end the fight right away because then he wouldn't get to ' punish me ' anymore. It's how I fight Sonic! Why wouldn't it apply to him too? " " He's not you. Not everyone thinks like you, " Kit replied.
He looked scared upon realizing that he let out resentment in that tone, and all she did was say, " Maybe you're right. If he was sadistic he would've been a lot worse, not told me to not talk when my mouth is full and given me healthy food. "
Kit said, " He kept telling us he wished our training got done faster. If he was as sadistic as you he wouldn't have wanted it to end. Instead he just looked impatient for you to not need it anymore and complained every time you didn't do well enough, remember?... He told me he wished he could press a button to fully train us in a second. " Surge asked, " When did he say that? "
Kit admitted reluctantly, " After I told him I had a bad dream last week. He even let me use his chest as a pillow to feel better for a while. " " What? He was just being nice to you for nothing! Why'd he bother? " Surge asked incredulously.
Kit said, " He kept saying I'm the closest he has to a son and he wanted to make things up to me because I'm so well-behaved. I know this sounds confusing because you told me he never really cared about us. So, apparently he was just enjoying the fact that someone wanted to hug him while it lasted, no matter who it was? But by that logic he'd like a hug from anybody at that point, like Sonic. That doesn't sound like it's true. It'd be simpler if he wasn't lying, and just wanted to enjoy feeling like he had kids so he could put up with us easier. That's why he was teaching me how to cook, too! Why else would he have taught me that so early? He said he wanted me to be able to cook for you, but why teach me independence from him so early? He thought his last plan was gonna work! "
Surge complained with her arms crossed, " I knew he liked you more but this is ridiculous! It was already annoying enough that he tucked you into bed every night! How long have you been getting him to spoil you? Not that I wanna get taught how to cook or anything. " Kit confessed out of loyalty, " The whole time. I didn't wanna keep annoying you. I didn't really stop hugging him. I just stopped doing that when you were in the room. " Surge said, " Yeah I just figured that out! "
Kit sat up and explained while sadly looking away from her, " Every time I had a nightmare, or at least I thought it was just a nightmare, I left our room to get him to prove he cared about me. I asked him if I was allowed to give him a hug. Maybe he was too asleep to notice I was there, because he never said anything, but it wasn't like it was that late. And now… now when I have a nightmare, I'll have no one to turn to, because I'm too scared of waking you up. And he won't be there to tuck me into bed every night, because he hasn't come back yet, and you don't wanna do it, or anything like that. "
His voice cracked saying, " I'll never be hugged again! " and tears started leaving his eyes again. Surge felt uncomfortable again as she stared at him speechless, and as soon as he started sobbing, she had to make him stop or she'd go back to feeling guilty. She put her arms around him and held him in a tight protective hug to feel better about it, saying, " You don't need him! "
Kit hugged her back after a second of confusion and it only took two seconds of that for her to smile contently and relax. It was the hardest thing she ever made herself do, but it was either that or let him keep missing him. She said, " I'm not gonna be outdone by a liar anymore. I'll be just as affectionate as him when no one's around to see it. " Kit replied in shock, " Thanks! But I don't wanna make you uncomfortable. " Surge put her hands on his shoulders and lied, " I'm not. "
She smiled and said, " Besides he was uncomfortable with the first time too. If he got used to it, why can't I? I'm way tougher than him, and nothing's tougher to get used to than doing something you're not expected to do. And if this is what I have to do to make you stop missing him, I'll have to do it, or it'll get way out of control. I don't want you resorting to someone else. I'm your ' big sister, ' and that's what they're supposed to do. Even if it IS just treating you how he said he wanted me to. But it's better than going to sleep on the couch. I'd be up all night knowing you're like this. I don't want you distracted because of him. I want you to forget about him and the only way I can do that is to replace him completely. Just remember not to tell anyone! They'll tease me that I'm going soft! "
Kit replied doubtfully, " Okay. You're gonna tuck me in from now on? " She nodded, put the blankets over him, and said, " Good night, Kit. " He asked, " Are you saying I'm allowed to give you a hug before I go to sleep from now on? Or do I have to ask? " Surge said after a second, " Sure. Don't waste time asking. It'll just make it awkward. It's already a miracle I agreed to all of this. "
Kit said after a few seconds, " Is this just because you feel bad about hurting me?... Because then you'd change your mind as soon as you stop feeling guilty. I liked when he treated me like that because he wasn't just doing it because he felt like he had to. He could've stopped at any time. He could've, hypnotized his way out of it. He never had to even pat my head. He just had to hypnotize me into thinking he cared. He actually, at least came off like he loved me… and now who's going to say that to me? One of Sonic's friends? Do I have to get myself adopted? "
Surge sighed. " I love ya, Drippy, " she admitted and petted him. He looked at her in shock. " And unlike Starline, you'll know for a fact that I actually mean it. I wouldn't be able to force myself to say that to anyone I didn't care about. Especially not every day. " " I love you too, " Kit told her. She climbed up to the bunk bed above him and laid down in there, saying, " You can have some quick naps next to me but I'm still going to sleep in my own bed. It still seems weird. "
Kit complained, " Just because you're a girl! Tails wouldn't have this problem with Sonic. I bet he's cuddled with him tons of times and they think nothing of it! " Surge said, " If you ever do have a bad dream, I want you to do what makes you feel better that doesn't wake me up. I'd take that over crying waking me up again. Why did he have to pick a girl for his better Sonic anyways? You're not a girl. So it's not because he thinks it's the better way for his tools to be. Was it for the extra challenge of seeing if he can make a girl that way? Then why me and not you? "
Kit replied, " Well, again, I was told the answer to this, but you said he never cared about us, and if that was true it'd mean this was a lie too. He said it's for the same reason people would think it's boring to have two sons. Having a daughter too is more interesting. " Surge looked sad saying with a bitter tone, " If he thought of me as his daughter, why did he tell me to stop calling him Dad? "
Tears welled up in her eyes as she was reminded that he was the only father she knew and might never get another one. Kit explained, " He just met you at that point. It took a while for him. According to the footage you were constantly getting mad at him, so of course it took a long time. He told me it only took days before he couldn't keep thinking of it as babysitting with me anymore… Remember all those scars you found on him when he was unconscious? He told me he used to be bullied weeks ago. When you go your whole life without any friends, and even your parents don't like you, it's a big deal when you're suddenly spending all hours of the day with people who appreciate you, even if it's just for your cooking. He had low standards. But still, he had no reason to tell me all of those things about him unless he really wanted to have a friend to open up to for once… "
He finally heard some sniffling, and felt guilty, and said to humor her, " Or maybe he really was just a monster who's not worth missing at all because being lonely doesn't make you a compassionate person... " After some hesitation, he told her, " Maybe he can heal really fast too because he knew how to make us like that, and he's supposed to be smart. I'm, not saying I know he did. I'm, just saying that it's how things would realistically be. So there's still a chance you could get back at him, and he's just been hiding from you in one of Eggman's bases, or the Special Zone. Worst case scenario I could always find out how to make a robot Sonic and him for you to take things out on, or something. "
Surge sighed, and said, " Thanks, Kit. I hope those aren't just empty words. It wouldn't be fair otherwise. Speaking of fair, check under all of the rubble before you go to sleep. He's not running out of air before he sees me again. " Kit got out of bed and left the room, wishing he had known when to stop talking