Pond Scum

One evening on the beach in Apotos, a Super Warp Ring opened, and two figures fell out of it.

The only person to witness this event was a young resident of the town named Alexis, who had been watching the sea from atop a wall in hopes of seeing his father's fishing vessel coming home.

Or rather, he had been sitting there. The second the Super Warp Ring opened (not that he knew that it was called that), the boy had ducked out of sight, fearing the strange glow could signify the return of more monsters like the ones the Freedom Fighters had fought against when visiting.

Cautiously peering up, he saw two short figures, one with pointed ears and a long tail, and one with what looked like quills stumble across the beach, seemingly injured and confused, and bewildered at the sight of the horizon with other cracked-apart continents floating in the distance.

The two figures seemed to get into an argument before the long-tailed figure seemed to win out, and the quilled figure gathered them up in their arms and took off at speeds Alexis had only seen from-

"Sonic?" the boy wondered aloud, wondering with disappointment if he had just missed out on meeting the hero.

However, it was then he saw his father's fishing boat heading for the docks, and he quickly put the encounter out of his mind so he could race over to meet him.

Little did he know what a bullet he'd just dodged.

Tails knew he really shouldn't be trying to pull an all-nighter. They were so close to repairing the world, and the next few fights were not going to be easy. It wouldn't be good if he showed up fatigued, and if the Freedom Fighters knew of his plans they'd step in for his health while on a brief stop in the Acorn Kingdom.

But there were some repairs that needed to be done on the Tornado, and he couldn't resist using the short time he had at his own workshop instead of aboard the Sky Patrol to work on it instead of sleeping. He loved Sky Patrol, it was his pride and joy, but there was just something about doing projects in the comfort of his own home that made everything go smoother. As far as these repairs were concerned, he was in the zone.

However, he was just getting elbow-deep in the Tornado's engine when a frantic knock on the door startled him right out of the zone.

Worried some new disaster had happened, Tails rushed to the door and flung it open.

Only, instead of one of the Freedom Fighters, he was startled to see an unknown, but beat-up-looking fox girl dressed in orange on his doorstep.

Or rather, she was on his doorstep for a second before she shoved her way inside and slammed the door behind her, pressing against it like she feared something would soon come bursting through after her.

"Wha-?" Tails started to say before the strange teenager wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a desperate embrace.

"I left him," she said in a broken-sounding voice. "I promise I left him. It's over, you were right."

"Left him?" asked Tails, wondering what the heck she was talking about.

The girl sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye. "I should have listened to you. To Sonic. He was just using me. Just another way to get one up on Sonic. I never should have-" she broke off and just looked devastated.

"Hey, hey, just tell me what happened. Let me help you," Tails said, putting a comforting hand on her arm to lead her to a couch he kept in his workshop for Sonic to lounge on, and snagging a box of tissues on the way there. He may have no idea what was going on, but if she was really in trouble he'd help how he could once he had a better idea of what was going on.

The girl gave him a beautifully grateful smile. "Oh thank you, Tails. I knew I could come to you. You're such a good kid."

Tails found himself blushing under her praise. "Ah, well, uh, w-what happened?" he fumbled to say.

The girl's smile only grew at his stutters, before it fell again. "I really thought he loved me," she said. "But the green jerk was just stringing me along so I would do his dirty work and make him look good. I feel so stupid. Bad taste in bad boys I guess."

Getting an inkling that asking who she was talking about (and who she was for that matter) would not go over well, Tails instead said, "He's the stupid one."

The girl laughed in a way that sounded like a sob. "He's so stupid. I can't believe I didn't see it. From his stupid attitude to his stupid shades. Why I ever picked him over Sonic I'll never know."

Finally, some clues! But that didn't sound like anyone Tails had ever met before. Still, this girl clearly thought he would know who she meant, and the description did sound kinda familiar. Like someone he'd heard about before…

And combined with some of his other suspicions…

The girl took a deep breath to settle herself. "I just couldn't do it anymore. So when I saw the chance, I left him. I want to leave that life too." She looked Tails in the eye with a pleading expression. "You once said you believed in me. If I just tried a little harder… well, here I am. Ready to try. Please, Tails, will you help me."

"I want to…" Tails said slowly, making the girl glance to the side with a guilty expression.

That was all Tails needed, as he quickly grabbed a gadget on his desk and chucked it at her. At such close range, the girl had no chance to dodge before a net sprang out of it, knocked her off the couch, and left her tangled on the ground.

"But if I'm right, then I don't think I should," Tails finished as the girl squirmed in the net, trying to get free. Tails hoped he was right about this. Otherwise apologizing would be really awkward.

The girl gave him a fierce scowl that was far removed from the doe-eyed looks she'd been giving him before this. "Well played, Big Man," she said with a grudging sort of respect.

"Thanks," said Tails, already reaching for an emergency beacon to contact the other Freedom Fighters. "And don't bother trying to get out of that net. I made it to contain Dark Gaia's minions. Unless you have Amy or Knuckles level strength you're stuck."

Behind him, the girl stopped struggling but did not stop glaring. "Well, well, well, look who finally grew up. Guess you finally took my advice and hardened that soft heart of yours. Thought for sure you still had enough of a crush on me that I could at least get some information before you called in the cavalry."

Her words only gave credence to the theory that had been growing in Tails' mind since she arrived, but he still had to be sure.

"Yeah, there's just one problem with that," Tails said, unsure if he should be guarded or sympathetic when delivering this news. Steeling himself, he looked the other fox in the eye and said plainly, "I don't even know who you are."

The girl's face went slack with shock. Whatever she was expecting was clearly not that. "Wait, what? Tails, what are you talking about? It's me, Fiona!"

Tails internally sighed in relief that his theory had been correct. But outwardly said, "I've never met a Fiona. Sorry."

Fiona just looked flabbergasted. "What is going on here?" she burst out. "Is this even Mobius? Scourge insisted he got it right, but… first the world is freaking broken to bits, and now this?"

And that explained how she survived the Genesis Wave, and that Scourge had survived along with her. Good news, they weren't erased. Bad news, now they'd still have to deal with them, and so far Fiona was not making the best first impression.

"Mobius?" Tails asked, pretending to be thoughtful. "Oh, I see what's going on."

Fiona gave him a nasty look. "I'm glad at least one of us does."

Tails held up his emergency beacon, showing her it wasn't yet activated but that he could do so in an instant. "I'm willing to talk before someone gets here, so how about a deal? We trade information back and forth until Sonic gets here." The implication being that Tails could summon him at any time he wanted.

Fiona huffed, but gathering information was her whole reason for coming, so she reluctantly took the deal. "Again, well played."

"I'll start since you already told me a lot," said Tails, making Fiona look outraged that she'd been played. "This world isn't Mobius, but it used to be. An event called the Genesis Wave rewrote reality into what it is today, and only a very few people remember what the old world was like."

Fiona was once again thrown for a loop. "What? Who remembers? How did this happen?"

Tails shook his head. "You've gotta give me information before I tell you any more. Where's that Scourge guy you mentioned? I'm betting you didn't actually dump him."

Fiona rolled her eyes. "He's gone after Sonic. Where else?"

Tails glanced out his window at the night sky in consideration. Given the fact he remembered Sonic describing Scourge as an evil duplicate of himself, the fox briefly wondered how the wicked hedgehog would measure up when he found himself facing off against a werehog, but at least he'd be alerted that something was up, and would likely make his way here regardless of if Tails activated his beacon.

"To answer your first question, Eggman remembers because he caused it, Sonic remembers because he tried and sorta succeeded in stopping him, and I don't know if you've met Silver-"

"Is he that white hedgehog with a stupid haircut?" Fiona asked.

"I wouldn't call it stupid…" Tails said.

"Then I've seen him at a distance," Fiona said.

"Well, he remembers too, as does one of the Metal Sonics," Tails said, not giving specifics about Shard. "Now, is there anyone else here with you two?"

Fiona's eyes narrowed at the question, but reluctantly said, "We were supposed to meet the Destructix here to deal with Dr. Finitevus, but we haven't been able to contact them. What does rewriting the world even mean? Is that why the world's broken?"

"Who are the Destructix?" Tails asked instead of answering. At her withering look for dodging the question, he quickly added, "It's important. I can't answer you without it."

Fiona didn't look like she believed him, but still listed off, "Drago Wolf, Flying Frog, Lightning Lynx, Predator Hawk, Sergeant Simian, and Sleuth 'Doggy' Dawg."

Tails pulled out his Miles Electric and typed each name in, before shaking his head when none of them came up with anything.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "They're gone."

Fiona's eyes widened. "Gone?"

"You asked what the Genesis Wave did, this is it," Tails explained. "This world isn't the one you were in before. It's different. And different means that some people lived really different lives than they did on Mobius. Some people didn't exist before the wave happened, but now they do. And… some people who existed before the wave now…"

"Don't," Fiona finished for him, her face going slack with existential dread.

Tails nodded and gave her a minute for that to sink in.

Recovering at least somewhat faster than Tails had expected, Fiona's gaze suddenly snapped back to him, and she asked, "Wait, what about Nic? Tell me Nic the Weasel still exists."

Tails looked confused at the name. "You mean Nack the Weasel?"

Fiona was actually looking scared now. "No, Nicolette the Weasel, his twin sister!"

Tails just shook his head in sympathy. "Nack is an only child," he said.

A brief devastated expression flashed across Fiona's face and she punched the floor, as her grief quickly turned to rage.

"Why the #&% does Nack get to exist but not Nic? It's not fair! Why?!" she shouted.

Tails could do little else but let her grieve, as clearly Nic was someone important to her. Asking more questions now would be the smart thing to do, but it would only rub more salt in the wound.

So Nack used to have a twin, and now she was gone and he didn't even realize it. That was just… horrible. And there was no way Tails could tell him. Not without hurting Nack in a way not even a slimy gun-for-hire like him deserved, if he even believed Tails at all.

Tails had to wonder if this was how Sonic, Silver, and now Shard felt every day. Remembering all the people that just weren't there anymore. Erased as if they'd never existed and forgotten by everyone else in blissful ignorance. How many more loved ones were the hedgehogs grieving that were in many ways worse than dead? How many of those gone had been close to Tails? How much misery was his brother protecting him from by keeping silent?

And if there was anyone Tails was missing and didn't even realize it… did he even want to know?

Seeing the distraught look on Fiona's face at the loss of just one person, Tails couldn't even imagine what it must feel like.

He really needed to hug his brother after this. Silver and Shard probably needed them too. He'd ask Amy and Cream to help.

Thankfully, Tails and Fiona were pulled from their respective contemplation and misery by the door getting thrust open and Sonic stepping through in his full werehog glory with someone spiny and green clenched in his large fist.

"What that #$ &!" squawked Fiona, startled out of her grief at least momentarily.

"Language, there's a kid present," Sonic scolded.

"Thanks, Sonic," Tails said slightly sarcastically at being called a kid.

Fiona's head jerked back and forth between the two of them in utter bewilderment. "That's Sonic?" she asked.

Tails pretended to be confused by her question. "I'm guessing this is another universe rewrite thing, huh? Why? Does he look different?"

Fiona just stared slack-jawed.

Sonic caught on to his ruse and snickered as he dropped the green thing in his hand on the ground next to Fiona. "I used to look like this guy, but blue and a lot better looking."

"Scourge!" Fiona yelped, and Tails looked down to see an unconscious green hedgehog who really did look like a pallet-swapped version of Sonic, aside from the orange jacket he was wearing and two jagged scars across his chest.

"He's fine," Sonic said, waving off Fiona's concern. "He's just sleeping off losing. Again." He then gave the fox in the net a disapproving look. "Hey, Fiona. Long time no see."

Fiona could only stare up at him, looking at the werehog in some bizarre combination of horrified and… was she checking him out? Gross!

"She came to ask what happened, we were just trading intel," Tails explained, shaking that thought from his mind. "They dodged the Genesis Wave, but it sounds like their teammates didn't make it."

"I see," Sonic said, before glancing back at Fiona. "For what it's worth, Fiona. I'm glad to see you survived. Sorry for your loss."

At his sincerity, a good chunk of the interest Fiona was displaying vanished, and she avoided his gaze. "I always survive," she said. "And I never needed a hero to do it."

There was a beat of silence before Tails voiced a question that had been nagging at him. "So what do we do with them? The Freedom Fighters would believe us if we say they're trouble, but to the rest of the world they're nobody and as far as they know haven't done anything wrong. We can't lock up anyone with no record and just our say so."

Fiona perked up hearing that, and Sonic reached behind his head to scratch at his quills, "Good point, but if we just let them go free, it won't take them long to get a new rap sheet. And who knows what they'll do to get it."

"Hmmm…" Tails mused, but before they could come up with a solution, a big golden ring appeared in the workshop, and a sideways figure clad head-to-toe in brightly-colored armor stepped through.

"Zonic!" Sonic said in surprise, apparently recognizing him.

"Oh, not him again," Fiona groaned.

"Who?" asked Tails.

"He's another me," Sonic explained.

"He's a cop," Fiona deadpanned like that was a dirty word.

The armor-clad hedgehog gave Tails a familiar, but exhausted-looking grin. "Hey, Tails, or, for you, I guess it's nice to meet you."

Tails gave him a bewildered sort of wave. This was turning into a very weird night.

Zonic then turned his attention to Fiona and the still-unconscious Scourge. "As for you two, you're going back to jail, like you belong."

The look Fiona gave him was positively venomous, but there was little she could do as he traded the net she was trapped in for handcuffs.

Sonic, meanwhile, had questions. "How are the Zones, Zonic? Did the Genesis Wave damage anything."

Zonic let out a bark of a laugh that didn't at all sound amused. "Try damaged everything, it's a miracle the entire multiverse wasn't wiped out along with it. A lot of worlds weren't so lucky. And with the Genesis Portals still appearing, it's taking all of our attention and resources to keep the damage contained just to this world and not let it spread to others. As such, unfortunately, some things slipped through the cracks," he said, gesturing at Fiona and Scourge.

Well, that explained why he looked so tired.

"We're working on those portals," Sonic assured him. "Silver an-" he cut himself off at a quick headshake from Tails, "Silver's been closing up every single one he can find. And we've all been looking for a way to close them for good."

"We know, and it has helped. We're grateful," Zonic said. "But until they're gone completely we're all going to have to keep at it."

"We'll help how we can," Tails offered.

Zonic shook his head. "Just keep doing what you're doing. Closing the portals you find and working to save this world. No Sonic will admit it, but slow progress is still progress."

"You're a Sonic," Sonic pointed out teasingly.

"No, I'm a Zonic, big difference," Zonic ribbed right back as he reached to handcuff Scourge.

This, unfortunately, was a mistake, as their distraction meant they didn't notice Scourge was now awake until he spin-dashed Zonic away, grabbed Fiona, and bolted out the door too fast for Tails and Sonic to follow.

"I'll be back, losers! And next time you're not surprising me! Your days are numbered!" the evil hedgehog shouted as he vanished over the hills of the Acorn Kingdom with his girlfriend in his arms.

Sonic watched him run away in frustration that his werehog transformation kept him from chasing after him.

Tails, meanwhile, went to help Zonic to his feet, a rather awkward thing to do when the person you're helping up stood sideways.

"And there goes another crack," Zonic said, looking frustrated and just plain tired.

"Eh, you heard him, he'll show up again eventually, and next time I'll sit on him until you cuff him," Sonic offered, not too worried.

Zonic nodded, before pulling out another ring and opening a new portal. "Keep up the good work," he said as he vanished through it.

Sonic and Tails watched as the ring vanished, leaving the two of them alone in the latter's workshop.

"Sooooo, that was Fiona and Scourge," Tails said.

"Yep," Sonic said.

Tails pulled a face. "I know she was pretty, but what was my past-self thinking?"

Sonic snorted. "She was your first crush. First love can let you look past a lot of flaws. You wised up to her eventually." He then gave Tails a curious look. "Although, you clocked her as a bad guy even before I got here. How'd you know?"

"Wasn't hard," said Tails. "A lot of what she said sounded similar enough to what you told me for me to recognize it." He then rolled his eyes and added. "Also, even if she tore off the sleeves and cut off the pants legs, she still showed up wearing a prison inmate uniform. That was kind of a big red flag right off the bat."

Sonic tossed his head back and laughed. "Ah man, nothing gets past you. She used to wear orange when she was a Freedom Fighter. Maybe she hoped you wouldn't recognize it and associate the color with her good side while she buttered you up."

"Please, even with rose-tinted glasses, there's no way I'd be that dumb," Tails said.

Sonic just laughed for a moment, but his mirth trailed off as he noticed a contemplative look on Tails' face. "What's wrong?"

Tails frowned, then looked at Sonic with an expression that left no argument. "Sonic, who am I forgetting? I know there's someone, or maybe many someones, that I forgot that were important to me. Who are they?"

Sonic's face quickly turned grim. "Are you sure? It'll only hurt to know. And it's not likely we'll ever see them again."

"I know," Tails said, resolute. "But even if I don't remember them personally, they still deserve to be remembered by me in some way. Tell me about them. Let them be remembered. You, Silver, and Shard don't have to carry it all alone."

Sonic studied his face for a long moment, before reaching over and pulling Tails into a hug that lifted him right off his feet, and carried him so they could both take a seat on a nearby couch.

(Tails would never admit it to Sonic, but he really liked his hugs as a werehog. They were warm, and strong, and extra fluffy.)

"Their names…" Sonic said slowly, "Were Rosemary and Amadeus."

Tails let the names roll around in his brain, but neither of them rang any sort of bells. Still, he could feel the sheer weight of both names just from the way Sonic had said them.

"Who were they?" Tails asked. They had to be someone important.

Sonic reached an arm around Tails to pull him into another side-hug as he answered. "Your parents."

A jolt shot through Tails like a bolt of lightning, and he sat up from the hug so he could look Sonic in the eyes.

"Tell me everything."

A/N I was watching a couple of YouTube videos that were reminiscing about the good character writing that was in the Archie Comics after Ian Flynn took over. I ended up watching one about Fiona, and then one about Scourge, and it inspired me to write another Washed Ashore fic. I'd had this one completely planned since the first ones were made, but didn't have the motivation to write it until now.

Yeah, this is another angsty one. Fiona's finding out she dodged a bullet by being off with Scourge, but at the price of losing her team and a ton of people she used to know, and maybe even be somewhat fond of. I think she'd at least be sorry to lose Nic since they were partners for so long.

Scourge, meanwhile, has no grasp of the gravity of this, and just wants to fight Sonic. He might start to get the idea that Moebius was destroyed by the wave, I'm not sure yet if I want it to be so or not. The No-Zone survived, but it now probably looks more like the in-between void from Sonic Prime than what it did in the comics before.