True Hero

by SonicFanSince2022

Summary:

Something different happened this time. Surge ignored Kitsunami's advice to take Starline's plan to a point and instead invited Sonic and Tails to Starline's base...to destroy them.

But something gets revealed, information about who Surge was that shouldn't have been revealed. Surge has to figure out what to do with it, what it means, and who she is.

This is my headcanon of who Surge was.

Who I think she is now.

And who I hope she becomes.

Chapter 1: The Mean Green

This was not the outcome Dr. Starline had wanted. Sonic and Tails, in his base? And just as he was about to take Surge and Kitsunami to go and take the Eggperial capital city. The timing could not be worse.

In fact, the only thing that was worse was that Surge had alerted Sonic and Tails to his base. How could she do that? Starline was certain that she was fully onboard. She herself had said that she was okay with all of the brainwashing that had been done to her to become who she was. So why would she turn on him?

Unless…of course….she was lying.

How dare she lie to him. And after all the time and effort he spent perfecting her into the perfect anti-Sonic. How could she not be grateful? It didn’t matter now. What mattered now wiping everything from this base and escaping, whether or not Surge and Kit was with him…or survived at all. He’d either pick them up…or their bodies after Sonic was through with them. And then he’d wipe their memories and start again. It didn’t matter how long it took, as long as Dr. Eggman saw Starline’s genius and accept him as an equal, then all was right.

“GRAAAARGH!” Surge came busting through a wall and smashed right into to the side of the console that Starline was evacuating of data. Her head rolled and she tried to get up, dazed. Her hand slipped as it tried to support her and she collapsed again. Repositioning she got back into a sitting position, her eyes trying to focus on her opponent.

Sonic the Hedgehog.

He appeared out of the smoke from which Surge had just been thrown, his face
somewhere between smug that he was winning and a sense of pity that he had to fight Surge.

“I’m sorry, we got off on the wrong foot. I’m Sonic the Hedgehog…and you are…?” Sonic tilted his head just so, all confidence. Surge tried to roar at him but barely managed a choke, her eyes finally snapping onto Sonic’s frame.

“I’m Surge the Tenrec. I was built to end you. Your morals. Your world! I’m–” Surge stopped herself mid-monologue, clutching at her body in pain.

“And you’re doing a terrible job of it.” Starline could only scoff at her, shaking his head like a disappointed parent. Surge looked up at him through the pain, her eyes alight with fury. But her head twitched, trying to guide her gaze back to Sonic. She hated Starline, but her programming would always force her to hate Sonic more. Sonic for his part was more interested in Dr. Starline.

“Starline…you’re…you called me here?” Sonic growled at him, narrowing his eyes and seeming to forget about Surge.

“On the contrary…” Starline sighed, rather displeased with the whole interaction and he shot a death glare at Surge who sent one right back. “My subordinate here is responsible for your involvement. An act that will be punished.” Starline couldn’t be bothered to even look at Surge as he did so, his attention also on Sonic. “But first…I need to make my own escape…” He turned back to Surge. “Hold him off while I finish this offload, and do try not to muck it up.” Starline rolled his eyes turning back to the computer.

Surge growled she wanted to rip him to pieces. Take that stupid bill and stick it where the sun don’t shine…but…but Sonic was here. It was his fault she was like this. She knew it in her bones, her blood, her brain. He had to pay…Starline would get what he deserved, but Sonic would come first.

“Kit!” Surge cried out for her support unit, her body still trying to heal from being blasted through a wall and into the computer. Kit must’ve heard her because he came running but was similarly engaged in a battle with Tails. Kit kept trying to get to her, but Tails was playing some impressive defense, Sonic and Tails managed to understand what the other was doing and kept Surge and Kit separate with little more than a nod of the head.

“Ma’am! I…I can’t get to you!”

“Kiiiit…” Surge struggled to her feet.

“I–I’m sorry! I…help! Please…” Kit began to whimper his attacks against Tails getting weaker as he felt so helpless, his water reserves running low from the battle and his body similarly weakened from Tails’ defensive and redirecting fighting style.

Sonic was approaching Starline now, moving at quick speeds. Surge would love to see Starlame get pounded, but she deserved that right and Sonic would get beaten first. She took a step towards him, her body wobbling on shaky legs. Sonic’s eyes flickered and he noticed Surge getting up. He tutted and changed direction on a dime, bonking into her. It was almost gentle, the audacity of him to try and put her down gently. Like she didn’t matter. Like she didn’t deserve his 100%.

Surge was sent back into the computer, it sparking a little and making the screen flicker, Starline scoffed and grumbled as Surge and Sonic tussled right beside him. Sonic tried to bounce out of Surge’s reach but she managed a lucky grab and warmed up her power, trying to fry him with her electric powers.

But as usual Sonic was sonic fast and his eyes widened, momentarily surprised. His reflexes kicked in and he kicked up, his foot catching Surge’s wrist, the arm going up, over, and zapping into the computer. Surge cried out in pain as the computer returned the favor, overloading and frying. The computer controlled the whole base and as Surge’s powers sent it into a disruptive feedback loop the lights above flickered out and the entire base shut off. Doors and lights going out put the whole room into a blackout.

All five of them floundered aimlessly for a moment, the pitch-black of the room confusing everyone.

And then the screen flickered on, the only light in the room, casting Sonic, Surge, Tails, Kit, and Dr. Starline in a sharp blue glow. A figure appeared on the screen and Starline sucked in a breath as he noted the file stamp in the upper left corner.

S-001.mp4

“Could you state your name for the record?” A voice came from off-screen, Starlines’ voice. He was addressing the visible figure.

A tenrec. A green tenrec with black fur over her face and angular eyes. Surge. But that’s where the similarities ended.

For one, she was smiling. A real smile. Happy and eager. Nice, even rowed teeth twinkled and her blue eyes sparkled. She wore now rings in her hair and her long quills were down, creating a long curtain against her back. She wore a dress. Nothing too special, but it was blue and clean, a silhouette image of Sonic’s head on the front.

“H-hi! I’m Sophie…Sophie the Tenrec.” Sophie the Tenrec said.

In the base, nobody moved, the battle stopped and figures froze as all eyes were on Sophie on the screen. Surge most of all as her eyes wavered, unsure of what she was seeing.

“I’ve looked at your file Sophie, it’s all very good. Good grades in school, being helpful in the community, donating your time to the soup kitchen, and volunteering when you can for the Restoration.” Starline’s voice on the screen was wrong, altered slightly by the playback, and too sweet to be the real thing.

“Y-yeah…” Sophie blushed a little and ran a hand through her quills. “I just want to be helpful…y’know like Sonic…” Sophie twitched a little, her whole body shaking as she said the name, clearly trying to hold back from saying more.

“Sonic? You idolize him?” Sophie looked towards Starline off-screen, an eyebrow raised.

“It’s not about idols. He’s a hero! He saves people! Does his very best to help everyone! He’s…he’s my hero…” Sophie beamed each word out of her mouth completely true to her.

“It seems you know an awful lot about Sonic.”

“Course I do! I’m a total fan! Did you know he and a whole bunch of heroes stopped Neo Metal Sonic at Angel Island? And that his best friend Tails smashed a ship into him? This girl Tangle was there too…she’s so lucky…Oh! And Princess Blaze, she’s from another dimension, blasted everyone in her Burning Blaze form! And then he had to stop that nasty Metal Virus. That was super scary…But he did with Silver, he’s from the future, isn’t it cool? Also Amy Rose was super integral to keeping everyone safe, she and Sonic are totally gonna end up together, by the way, he just doesn’t see it yet. OH! And they all had to go back to Angel Island ‘cause it’s the last place that was safe. And Knuckles had to sacrifice himself to stop the Zombots, and Rouge the Bat had to retrieve the last of the Chaos Emeralds from the face ship and then even Metal Sonic had to step up to rip it out of…I’m…I’m rambling…sorry. I just…I get really excited about Sonic’s adventures.”

“You…do know an awful lot about Sonic…Do you love him?” Sophie blinked at the words, seeming nervous, looking away from Starline for a moment, and then back.

“I mean…yeah…” And then she seemed nervous and waved her hands in front of her, realizing her statement was confusing. “Not like romantically. He’s still totally gonna be with Amy, mark my words. But…yeah…he’s our greatest hero…who wouldn’t love him?” The voice of Starline made a noise, seeming pleased.

“Hmm. Then you’re perfect for this.” Starline said in that wrong, out-of-place sugary tone. Sophie perked up and beamed, her tail wagging speedily behind her.

“Really?! Oh, what made you pick me?!” Off-screen Starline gave a little laugh.

“Well if you love Sonic so much, It’ll really test my equipment to get you to hate him.”

“What?...” And then Starline’s glove came into view and the screen flashed yellow and Sophie the Tenrec slumped forward. The video flickered, stopped, and turned off, red lighting suddenly coming on overhead.

EMERGENCY POWER: ENGAGED. A robotic voice called above. Everyone seemed to come out of the coma the video had put them in, eyes sliding toward Surge. Somehow Kit found his voice first.

“Is…is that…Surge?” Despite being the first to speak, his voice was little more than a whisper.

“No.” Starline spat, spinning on the tiny fennec who recoiled immediately at Starline’s outburst. “I removed her and replaced her with something better…someone better. Surge, you are meant to destroy Sonic! Do it!” Starline demanded of Surge but the tenrec just stood there, eyes still glued to the black screen.

Sonic and Tails shared a look, not ready to enter the situation, lest they make it worse. Things were tense, the whole room teetering on the edge of a knife, they needed to be careful which way it fell.

“SURGE!” Starline yelled and Surge’s ear flickered, but still, she did not move. Kit watched her for a moment and then started walking, oh so carefully, towards her.

“Ma’am? Do…do you remember that?” His voice tried to be as supportive as a support unit can be.

“I…I…”

“It doesn’t matter! I’ll remove that memory again if I need to. Surge you know what matters! Your replacement of Sonic! Destroy him and all will be forgiven!” Starline huffed waving a hand at Sonic who continued to be still, not daring to breathe as he watched Surge, contemplating the battle that must rage in her head.

“I…am…” Surge swallowed. “Not her…” Surge shook her head, trying to put herself back in the here and now. The whole room seemed to suddenly tilt, shoved to one side.

“Oh…” Starline blinked, somewhat confused. “Well…good. No of course not.”

“I…don’t-don’t remember that or anything before.”

“Well…yes, my hypnotic technology is quite proficient. I wouldn’t imagine you would, even with this possible memory jumpstart.”

“I’m…stronger…” Surge looked at her hands.

“...Yes.” Starline said.

“I’m…faster…” Surge’s hands twitched, lightning shocking across them.

“Yes.” Starline grinned.

“I’m better!” Surge curled her hands into fists.

“YES! Now do your duty!” But Surge wasn’t done.

“I’m something new.” Starline paused, his mind still trying to figure out where she was going with this. “And if I’m something new…” Surge’s eyes moved up to Starline. “Then why did she exist?”

Surge took a step towards Starline.

“W-what? You…knew you came from somewhere.” Starline turned his head, something about Surge’s face…off-putting.

“But I thought…that I’d remember once I’d been reminded. That I’d know who I was! But she’s different! She’s not me!”

Surge took another step towards Starline.

“Stop this Surge.” Starline growled at her, but it was weak, his legs twitching nervously as her glowing eyes, electricity moving up and down her arms. Sonic and Tails watched, Tails wanted to intervene but Sonic stopped him…not yet.

“I thought you didn’t create me…but you did. You made my powers, my skills, my mind.”

“Enough!” Starline brought up his glove. He had options. Wipe her mind, use his tri-core, and stopping Surge would be a snap. But a righteous fury had begun to burn within Surge and she grabbed him by the wrist of the gloved hand. She twisted the arm painfully, causing Starline to make a grunt of discomfort before ripping off the glove entirely, pulling off bits of fur and skin, Starline now crying out in pain. He began to stumble away from Surge.

“But first you had to rip her out.” Starline began to stumble away, but spun around and kicked at Surge, his poisoned boots catching her cheek. She stopped…momentarily. And then Surge narrowed her eyes at Starline and kept advancing on him. “She was nobody. Just a kid. With her own dreams and ideals. She didn’t know what you’d do to her…but you did.” Starline fell back onto his butt and started to scoot away from Surge, her electricity coiling all around, sparking the ground near Starline, and seeming to form all around the two of them…a cage. “So you DESTROYED her! Make room for your puppet, huh?” Starline kept backing up but the electricity continued to build, and the back wall was fast approaching. The ground started to tingle as Surge forced power through it.

“HUH?!” Surge spat and Starline flinched. “And then…” Surge’s eyes flickered almost like she was flinching, a thought was painful…oh so painful. “And then…” Her voice got soft, perhaps even sad. And then her power exploded, her whole body lighting up, eyes turning near pure white in rage and anger, her shark teeth flashing, and her body leaping towards Starline.

“AND THEN YOU MADE ME WEAR HER CORPSE!” Starline tried to cover himself as he braced for the end. But it didn’t come as Sonic appeared and wrapped his arms around Surge, pulling her back and taking the brunt of her zaps. “MY ARMS ARE HER BONES! MY SKIN HER DECAYING FLESH! YOU MADE ME WEAR HER CORPSE! YOU MADE ME WEAR HER CORPSE!” Surge screamed and cried out as Sonic tried to reel in the thrashing tenrec, eventually throwing her to the ground and putting himself in between Surge and Starline.

Tails rushed over as Sonic got down to one knee, trying to let the rest of the electricity wash over him and let the pain subside. Sonic waved off Tails but did take his hand in getting to his feet. Kit did something similar for Surge, moving to her side as she was on her knees, hands pressed to the ground as she breathed heavily.

“I hate you…I want to destroy you.” Surge got to her feet, shaky. “Starline destroyed Sophie but…but it’s all on you. It’s your fault.” Surge spat the last word.

“How?” Sonic only narrowed his eyes at Surge, careful to make sure Starline wasn’t pulling any fast ones behind him. Surge only scoffed.

“You really don’t get it, do you?” Surge ran to try and get at Starline, but Sonic moved to the side, keeping perfect pace as Surge moved back and forth, unable to find a way to destroy Starline. “Graaah! Why won’t you let me destroy him? You know what he did! He deserves it!”

“He deserves to be punished and he’ll serve his sentence. But you don’t get to be his executioner.” Sonic narrowed his eyes at Surge, body stanced to try and block her again. Surge stopped her battle pose and searched Sonic’s face, not finding what she was looking at, and scoffed.

“Unbelievable…you can’t be this naive.” Surge threw her hand out in Sonic’s direction in agitation.

“I’ll always be there to save everyone, but in the meantime…everyone deserves a second chance.” Surge growled, but only once.

“Yeah…they do. But they don’t always get it.” She sneered. Sonic’s eyes flickered.

“What?” Surge turned away.

“Come on, Kit. We’ll waste these guys on our terms.” Kit looked once more between everyone but eventually nodded, latching his water tendrils onto Surge as she sped off, up and out of the base. They stopped on a nearby hill, Surge looking off into the distance, truly able to make her own decisions.

“Were you able to retrieve any of that data I freed?” Surge didn’t even look at Kit.

“M-maybe…why?” Kit couldn’t even look up at Surge.

“Cause I wanna find out who Sophie the Tenrec was.”

Chapter 2: Sophie the Tenrec

Summary:

Surge investigates Sophie. Sonic hopes to wrap this all up.

There was a farmhouse. A sizable one too. And beyond it was indeed, a farm. There was a barn and rows and rows of fields, various crops making their first emergence of greenery. Surge was standing on a nearby hill, on the edge of the forest that marked the end of the property.

Night had fallen on the farm and Surge had watched it…alone. Surge didn’t…want to ditch Kit, he was good in a pinch but…this was her quest, her…body’s past. She had to do it on her own. So she’d waited till he fell asleep. Watched the tiny fox’s eyes try to stay awake, stutter, and close.

And then she’d left.

And now a whole day had passed and Surge had spent it on this hill, watching people working on the farm. She was pretty far away so she couldn’t tell exactly who they were, but the people…the workers…looked a little like her. They’d gotten up early, began to till and move tractors, plant seeds, and just…live. They were efficient, clearly, they’d done it many many times before. They’d gone in for lunch, then gone back out to continue working. A few that had left on a school bus early in the morning came back. Then they all went in for dinner. The sun set and lights turned on in the farmhouse.

And eventually, they’d turned off. One by one, as the lights turned off, the inhabitants went to sleep. Finally, just before midnight, the last light went out. Still, Surge waited, glowing eyes locked onto the farmhouse, an hour, then two. All to make sure that when she broke into the house, no one would wake.

Surge zipped down the hill, keeping her running at its lowest setting, trying to not cause too much lightning or noise. She was in front of the farmhouse now, looking up at the three-story structure in an emotion just shy of curiosity. There was a porch, with rocking chairs and a swing. She took the first step.

Creak.

The second step.

Creak.

Surge resisted the desire to sigh. She didn’t really know why she was sneaking, but…maybe it had something to do with the fact that she’d watched this family work all day, in the hot sun for many hours…they deserved their rest. Not to mention she did not want to be found out.

The porch creaked once more as Surge stepped onto the main floor of it. She took slower, more careful steps to the front door, not wanting to create any more noise. The house had an outer screen door and an inner door. She pulled on the screen door and it swung out which was good and bad. It wasn’t locked. Good. But Surge went from making creaks to squeaks as the screen door complained loudly. Surge flinched but she’d already opened it, so the damage was done. Surge reached for the inner door.

Which was locked.

Shoot.

Surge gave a half sigh and put some power into her wrist and shoved the door open, the lock snapped, mercifully quiet. Hey, Surge didn’t want to wake them, she didn’t care if she broke their stuff. Pushing the door open all the way, Surge carefully closed the screen door behind her, flinching every time it squeaked.

She was in a family room.

To her right was a set of stairs going up. Soft snores could even be heard from down here. A wooden banister provided support and looked down over the room, a large L-shaped couch took up a majority of the space. It looked somewhat rumpled and well-loved, with blankets and toys and magazines filling it and a coffee table in front of it. Beyond that, there was a TV on a stand against the back wall of the family room. It was a flat screen, of decent size. Not the biggest or the newest but Surge supposed it did the job of entertaining. In the TV cabinet various boardgames and consoles stuck out and even in the dim lighting Surge could see the grime of many hands on the AGES console. To the left was a long stretch of windows, shades lowered, the dim moonlight just casting shadows into the room. A few more doorways were to the right of the TV, a kitchen, a dining room, and perhaps a study or other living space. But Surge wasn’t interested in those.

She took the stairs.

Surge had never been one for subtlety. It wasn’t her creator’s thing, and it wasn’t the person who was the inspiration for her’s thing, so Surge didn’t have a lot of practice in sneaking. But she couldn’t find the will to traipse around the house like she owned it. Because she didn’t. So she took the stairs slowly, noting every scratch in the wood, the remnants of markers or crayons that had been tried to be erased from the walls. Eventually, she reached the second-floor landing. There were more doors. They had names, colors, and various images, icons, or items attached, all individual, all calling out for attention.

Sawyer.

Samantha.

Scott.

Sandra.

And then on the end: Mom & Dad.

Surge’s eyes flickered slightly at the door. It wasn’t as well-decorated as the others, just plain white like a fair amount of the house, but it was clear the door still held notes of a personal touch. ‘Mom’ written in a soft cursive, slow and long. ‘Dad’ written in a sharper firm font. But both were hand done, clearly with love.

And yet Surge felt nothing.

Because…they just weren’t her parents. Surge couldn’t stop the sharp exhale of…frustration? Anger? That exited her mouth as she looked at the door. But Surge wasn’t here for them, she was looking for someone else’s door. The stairs continued upward, moving slightly down the second-floor walkway before heading up. Surge walked across the landing, turning her head to each door as she passed, hearing the light snoring, not a care in the world behind each except the next day.

The third floor looked less well taken care of. It felt partially unfinished, the angle of the roof creating a slanted ceiling and a few cobwebs or dust bunnies rolling around. It wasn’t intentional, just…those who did the cleaning in the home clearly didn’t get up to the third floor that often. Not negligence, just that’s how it was.

There were three more doors here.

Sadie.

Sean.

And…Sophie.

Surge moved faster now, her goal in sight as her boots stepped on the landing and she found herself at Sophie’s door. Surge’s hand hovered over the doorknob. It was levered and made of cheap brass, the wood chipping slightly at the screws that embedded it in the door. Either the door handle had been placed in carelessly or it had been used so long that it needed a fresh coat of paint. The front door was green, entirely green but on it were figures…figures that made Surge grit her teeth.

Sonic. He was in front. Prominent and that same agitating smile that he always seemed to have on his face.

But there were many others too. Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, Blaze, Shadow, Silver, those detective guys. And on the edges, there were some paint strokes, something in progress…that never got finished. If Surge had to put money on it, she’d say it looked like that happy-go-lucky lemur and that quiet wolf.

Newcomers to being Sonic’s ‘friends.’

Interestingly enough though…one figure was missing.

“If she loved Sonic so much…why didn’t she put herself here?” Surge whispered aloud. Sophie the Tenrec was absent from the painting, clearly, she didn’t consider herself a hero. Surge swallowed and turned the door handle pushing it open and entering the room of the late Sophie the Tenrec. The room smelled stale, untouched. Preserved like a time capsule, a faint smell of mildew and the beginnings of rot and fungus.

As Surge walked toward the center of the room, she realized something. If there was one thing besides a body that Surge and Sophie had shared was that they kept a messy room. The blue bed sheets were thrown in disarray, and various papers with drawings and ideas were scribbled and thrown about. There were multiple shelves, some filled with books but most filled with figurines and merch. All Sonic centric of course. Plushies of Sonic and his friends lined the bed, threatening in their enormity to spill over onto the floor. Some were official, others looked handmade. Various articles about Sonic’s adventures were plastered onto the walls alongside posters. Newspaper clippings and magazine inserts, all displaying the Blue Blur and his endless crusade of heroism.

“Guess there’s one thing you shared in common with her.” Surge whipped around at the soft voice, spotting her support unit, Kitsunami, standing in the door jam of Sophie’s room. He looked smaller than normal, his tiny body casting a large shadow onto Surge from the dim light of the hall. Surge narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re both completely obsessed with Sonic.” Surge growled low, snapping her head away from Kit, wanting to yell and scream and thrash, but knew she couldn’t.

“What are you doing here?” She hissed. Kitsunami flinched, but only barely, and shrugged.

“You’re here…so I am too.” Surge’s eyes widened at the words realizing something. He would always follow her. That was his programming. If she ever told him to go away, it would be the only order he ever ignored. He was permanently tied to her, his actions in the shadow of hers. She reflected directly onto him. Making her responsible for him and his well-being.

“S…Sorry.” The word hurt. Kit tilted his head. “I…shouldn’t have left you. It…won’t happen again.” Kit blinked. “It’s just cause if you mess up, it looks bad on my rep, got it?” Kit nodded vigorously and looked scared. Surge realized she was glaring at him, trying to look scary towards him. Why was she doing that? Kit of all people knew that she was powerful and awesome, why did she constantly have to hurt him to prove it when he of all people knew? She stopped glaring and turned back to the room, throwing aside plushies and digging in Sophie’s wardrobe.

“What…what are we–you looking for?” Kit’s voice was so soft, Surge almost couldn’t hear it.

“I dunno. Anything about Sophie, I guess. I…I just want to know who she was…whose body I have. But it seems like there’s not much here! Just Sonic this and Sonic that. Was this all she was?” Surge huffed.

“She writes…” Kit’s voice wafted over Surge. She turned and found Kit standing next to Sophie’s desk, she had a laptop and Kit had opened and unlocked it. He was scrolling down a text document.

“What?” Surge walked over and Kit read aloud.

“‘Sonic and Amy were walking down the Seaside City boardwalk…Knuckles punched Shadow, like really hard…Silver stared at the cold dawn, the future once again in danger…’ It goes on like that for…lots of pages.” Kit’s eyes glazed slightly as the blue glow of the document scrolled past his eyes.

“She wrote fan fiction? Really? How pitiful was this girl?” Surge spat and rolled her eyes.

“What’s…making out?” Kit blinked at the manuscript.

“Gimme that!” Surge ripped the laptop away from Kit, not needing him to be further traumatized by the apparently dark mind of Sophie the Tenrec. Surge gave it a cursory glance but was ultimately unimpressed. Who in their right mind would waste time writing useless drivel that no one would see?

Either way, Surge was ready to be done. She’d seen enough, and couldn’t understand. What exactly she wasn’t sure. Why she came here? Why did she choose to sneak instead of blast in guns blazing? But more than either of those…why she cared?

What’s there to care about?

Sophie was nothing. A nobody. She had irrational dreams of being a future and a lack of the skill to do it. She was just another body taking up space. And yet…take up space she did. Surge considered this for a moment before a noise alerted her.

The slight creak of a door.

The cocking of a weapon.

Surge and Kit’s eyes flicked over to the doorway of Sophie’s room, their eyes glowing and resting on an older male tenrec. His dull blue eyes shook slightly as he held the Wispon, its muzzle leveled at them.

“Who…who are you?” He asked and Surge only growled. The tenrec didn’t take his eyes off of Surge but floundered about for the light switch in the room. He flicked it on, before snapping his hands back to the Wispon. Surge’s eyes burned briefly as they adjusted to the sudden light, but she didn’t dare flinch. The tenrec’s eyes widened upon seeing Surge lit up, his mouth floundering a little. “Sophie?”

…

Sonic only had the briefest bit of satisfaction as he watched the thick glass sliding door close, sealing off Dr. Starline from the rest of the world.

“NO! I’m not done yet! I have yet to prove to Dr. Eggman how great I am! He will realize it and we will conquer the world together.” Sonic had no words for him as he walked away, his footsteps echoing in the supermax security wing of the Everhold Prison.

Sonic stretched big as he ran into Tails towards the exit of the prison.

“I’ll sleep a whole lot better knowing that guy’s locked up.” Sonic jabbed a thumb toward the internals of the prison. Tails gave a light grunt, but was deep in thought, his finger to his chin.

“You alright buddy?” Sonic tilted his head. Tails snapped up, coming out of his thoughts to look up at Sonic.

“Yeah, I just get the feeling this isn’t over yet. I mean, Surge and Kit are still out there somewhere.” Tails’ namesakes swished behind him in agitation.

“You think they’re gonna be a problem?” Sonic scratched at his cheek.

“I mean…aren’t they already? I took a look at Starline’s files after they left, they caused that blackout in Central city, Not to mention the forest fire that Amy had to deal with. At the very least…they’re volatile. Who knows what they could do? And the things they went through…Sonic they were brainwashed, turned into badniks practically.” Sonic only shrugged.

“Yeah and that sucks, but now they’re free from Starline to start new lives. And hey, if they make bad choices, I’ll be there to stop ‘em. You know how it goes.”

“Yeah…” Tails said slowly, the word extended into an unspoken fear. “They might already be.” Sonic raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“Jewel noticed reports of electrical activity to the west.”

“So? She’s letting off some steam, there’s nothing really out there but farmland.” Sonic waved a hand, brushing away Tails’ concern.

“Sonic…” Tails stopped. “Sophie…that…other Surge…she lived near there…and so does her family.” Sonic now halted, swallowed, and looked back to Tails.

“If she wants to cause trouble…well then I’m happy to crash her party.” Tails wanted to call out to him, try to get him to approach the situation with tact but he was already gone. Tails thought about sending a communication to him but thought better of it. It was Sonic after all, whatever it was, Sonic could handle it.

Chapter 3: Surge the Tenrec

Summary:

Who is Surge?

“Sophie?” The man lowered his Wispon ever so slightly. “You’re…back?” Surge growled a little, showing off her shark teeth, eyes glowing brightly with an electric hum. “You're not Sophie…” The man said, not realizing just how right he was.

“Who are you?” Surge asked, her voice even and level. She moved slightly, not even blinking as the male tenrec tracked her with the Wispon. Surge moved only slightly, her only goal to put herself in between the muzzle of the Wispon and Kit.

“I’m the guy with the Wispon pointed at you. Now who are you and what are you doing in my house?!” The man snapped, his fear trying to hide behind his anger. Surge’s eyes flickered to the Wispon and back up to the man. It was an older model Wispon but in good shape. It could take down a robot from a hundred feet. Firing powerful energy bolts. And Surge knew about energy. The thing was…Wispons ran on Wisps…

“There’s no Wisp in that Wispon.” Was all Surge said and she watched the man’s resolve crumble, but he built it back quickly, hardening his eyes.

“Yeah, just try it.” The man said not realizing that Surge wasn’t calling his bluff but making an observational statement.

“Are you Sophie’s father?” Surge thought she’d try again before the last of her patience shorted out and she threw this guy out a window. The man flinched, ever so slightly, something about the fact that Surge was here rather than who Surge was somehow more upsetting.

“Did…did something happen to her?” The man searched Surge’s face, his eyes flickering nervously. Something twisted in Surge’s gut. Something awful.

“Did you know something would happen to her?” The man’s mouth flapped and the twisting turned into anger. “Did you know?!” Surge marched towards the man and he began to raise the Wispon again but Surge ripped it out of his hands, the male tenrec cowering slightly in Surge’s shadow. “Did you know?!” Surge roared, forgetting that others might be asleep in the house.

“NO! No of course not!” The man wailed. “I would’ve done something if I knew.” The tenrec’s eyes were glassy and wet, but he managed to look up at Surge, a tiny act of defiance, that which is only possible by a parent. Surge set her jaw and backed away slightly, it wasn’t worth it. “But…” Surge's head snapped around.

“But?” The man moved over to Sophie’s bed, playing with the edge of the sheets, inhaling through his nose, picking up the scent of his daughter.

“She was just so headstrong…” Surge didn’t blink, still staring him down, urging him to continue. “She…was obsessed…with that hero guy, Sonic. If…” The man gave the shortest of laughs, “if you couldn’t tell. She wanted to be a hero like him. We…her mother and I wanted the best for her of course. We…were happy she had dreams of course, but…it just seemed like…”

“A lot?” Surge finished and the man nodded, still not daring to look at Surge.

“All those heroes have powers, but she was just our Sophie, a bouncy happy girl. We…wanted her to work on the farm, and pushed her to do so. We wanted her to be safe! It’s a scary world you know, what with that Eggman running around and all that. But…maybe we pushed a little too hard. She wanted independence and…to find powers to help people. We…we tried telling her honest farm work helps people but she just said:” The man got into a bit of a pose, hands on hips, and did a terrible impression of the girl Surge saw on the screen. “Being a hero means saving those that can’t save themselves…But I don’t know if she thought that she might need saving too.

Ultimately she was just too insistent. No one was going to stop her. So…we let her go. She was old enough, gave her some money, and told her about friends we had that she might be able to crash with now and then. And then…she walked out our door…we haven’t heard from her since.” The man swallowed hard, still clutching the sheets. And he asked the question Surge was afraid to answer. “Is she okay?” Surge took in a breath, long, slow, allowing herself time. Should she lie? Keep this man on the hook? Give him…hope?

“She’s dead.” Surge said plainly, dragging him along was worse than giving him an honest answer, letting him have a moment of closure. But it didn’t make the wail that rolled off of him any worse. He cried out and put his head in his hands, agony pouring from the bottom of his soul, the loss of a child cutting deeper than any wound. And then he got angry.

He shot up from the bed and ripped off the sheets, foaming and crying and…grieving. He tore posters of Sonic off the walls and tipped over the cabinet of figurines. When he was done he was still crying, still angry and he only succeeded in making the ordered chaos of the room into just pure chaos. Through it all, Surge just stood there, Kitsunami behind her leg watching the father rip up his daughter’s room.

And when he was done he stood in the center and looked at his carnage. He fell to his knees and his eyes widened realizing what he’d done.

“No…” He said, and then he repeated it. “No no no. Why did I do that? Why…” The man lunged for the posters he destroyed, tried to right the cabinet, he looked for glue or tape to fix what he broke, but nothing could go back to the way it was. “Tape…Tape! Gotta, find…” He turned to Surge. “Help me find tape! Please! You…you have to…you…” And his eyes hardened, trying to skewer Surge. “You hurt her…didn’t you? It’s your fault! What did you do to her?! What did you do?!” He lunged at Surge and Surge only widened her eyes in surprise as he grabbed at her shirt. He wasn’t very strong, at least compared to Surge so she pushed him off, and he fell onto his butt bouncing once and giving a small groan of pain.

“I didn’t do anything to her.” Surge hissed at him. “Back off!” Surge put a hand out, keeping him from getting at her again. But he didn’t, just sat on the ground and hugged his knees, keeping his vision low.

“I’m sorry…” He said eventually. “I shouldn’t have done that…” He paused again. “Do…do you know what happened to her?”

There were so many ways to answer that question. Technically, her heart was still beating, technically she was still walking, talking, and thinking. But it didn’t change the fact that Starline had still happened, that Sophie was gone.

“Wrong place, wrong time.” Was all Surge could manage. The man nodded again. He hugged himself tighter and Surge blinked at him…and opened her mouth. “I…never knew her. Can…can you tell me about her?” The man finally looked back up at Surge.

“She…was obsessed with Sonic the Hedgehog.” Surge flinched at the words, she looked briefly at all of the now torn posters and broken figurines. No duh.

“Anything else?” The man blinked a few times, breathing in…breathing out.

“She was 16. The wife and I’s third. She liked to go to this hill at the edge of the valley and just be. And she…she also liked foxglove…” The man actually smiled a little at the statement. “She…she cried so much when we told her she couldn’t go near it. Guess a six-year-old has trouble understanding that beautiful things can be dangerous. She…”

And the man kept talking.

…

The porch steps creaked as Surge and Kit walked down them. They’d finished talking with Sophie’s father and faced a slew of whisper’s from the rest of Sophie’s family as they left wondering who they were, what they were doing in their house so late at night…and why Surge looked so much like Sophie.

Surge and Kit walked away from the house, heads high and strong, steps and breaths even, but as they moved away from the house, its lights went dark again and Surge and Kit disappeared behind the edge of the treeline–Surge collapsed. She breathed heavily and held her head in her hands.

“That…was…” Kit couldn’t seem to figure out what to do with his hands, putting them behind his back, then his front, then just holding them in each other, his ears flicking about subconsciously.

“Too much…” Surge breathed. Surge shook her head. “I thought it would just be all bad…that…that they’d forgotten about her, or didn’t care about her. Or that her life would be so bad that Starline seemed like a good option. But…Sophie chose it. She made a mistake, but it was her choice. And it cost her…everything.

I…I should’ve listened to you. Just used Starline’s plan against him like you suggested. Things would be so much better.” Surge’s eyes wet slightly, tears threatening to spill over.

“Or they would’ve been worse.” Surge looked up at Kit. What could be worse than this? Knowing who Sophie was, what had happened to her.

Sophie had been a person.

She had lived. She had dreams and goals. She had likes, dislikes; her own room. She had thoughts and a family and took part in society as best as she knew how to. There was nothing special about her and yet she lived life all the same, regardless that she wasn’t well known, loved, or feared. And…Surge realized…she wasn’t the only one. So why did Sophie deserve Surge’s attention over the next nobody and the next? And then Surge understood…

She didn’t.

Surge wiped at the tears in the edges of her eyes and stood up, looking out of the forest at the rising dawn, a new day coming all the same. Surge hardened her eyes, she knew what to do. She couldn’t process emotions well, she couldn’t bring Sophie back, hell she couldn’t even figure out how to tell Sophie’s family that she was Sophie, and that she wasn’t. But she could carry out missions. Do a duty.

And Surge had just figured out her mission.

…

Night had fallen again. It was a simple task and yet it was delicate, and Surge was not delicate, Kitsunami barely so and so it had taken all day. But now they were here again, at the edge of the farm, taking steps up the hill to the top. The same hill that Surge had first arrived at the farm on, the same one Sophie had spent many days just being alive on.

But the hill had some height and was a bit steep. Surge was climbing okay, despite the large rock under her arm. But Kit was having some trouble, his short legs not making much progress.

“I…I’m sorry ma’am…I–” Surge ignored him and instead took his hand, she held it firm, but not tight. And Kit was silent as Surge helped him up the hill.

As they reached the top, Surge looked up at the stars briefly as she walked over to the center of the hilltop. Her eyes fell, now considering the soft grass at her feet.

And then she slammed the stone into the earth, grass, and dirt kicking up briefly. On the stone, one word had been scratched into it.

Sophie

Surge looked at it for a moment, and let out a sigh when she realized it wasn’t straight. Surge gave a grunt as she adjusted the headstone, trying to make it straight. She’d smashed it in too far to the right so she pushed on it again, too far to the left. The headstone, was just that, a stone. It wasn’t perfect, and would never be.

“So uh…” Surge swallowed and she turned to Kitsunami, he held out his hands and Surge took the bouquet of flowers from him. “I got you these. I never understood flowers, thought they were too wimpy. But what do you know, some flowers can actually make you dead, who knew? Heard foxglove was your favorite.” Surge placed the bouquet of purple flowers on the edge of the headstone, letting the tiny flowers ruffle in the breeze that crested the hill.

“But you probably didn’t like ‘em for that part, just thought they were pretty or whatever. Your dad didn’t say.” Surge sniffed, wiping at her nose. “Look uh…I don’t really know what to say here. Not sure anybody does. What do you say when someone’s died but they’re still alive, their whole mind’s just been replaced with someone else? There’s…there’s not really a greeting card for that.” Surge sat back on the grass and looked up to the stars, then back to the headstone.

“Look, I–I just wanna say it sucks what happened to you, okay? You…well I guess you weren’t happy, but you were okay, you were you. And then Stardummy comes along and ends your life and then makes me. I know you wanted powers…but probably…probably not this.” Surge breathed out, her mouth dry and pinpricks in the edges of her eyes. “I–I couldn’t even put ‘here lies’ on the headstone, 'cause–” Surge’s voice broke. “--cause no one’s lying there! I’m still using the body.” An odd sort of half-laugh left Surge. “Thanks for taking care of it by the way…we look really good. So…So I just put Sophie. Hope…hope that’s okay. Not like you can do much about it anyway…” Tears now filled the edges of Surge’s vision, threatening to spill over.

“I don’t even know what you are to me! A…a sister? A friend? Nobody? Or do you hate me, 'cause you’re gone and I’m not? Are we enemies? I’ll warn you though! I’m really strong and fast and I’ve got this great sidekick that’s always there to watch my back.” Tears flowed down Surge’s cheeks as she turned around to Kit, gesturing for him to come over. Kit quickly bounded over, his movements unsure as he looked worriedly at Surge. Surge grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him lightly.

“This is Kitsunami. He’s got cool water powers and stuff. Plus he’s really smart, so there’s that too. I wouldn’t challenge me, Sophie, you’ll lose!” Surge cried out as the tears started to fill her throat making her choke. Surge squeezed her eyes tight. “As if you had anything left to lose…” Surge let herself cry for a little while, the only sound of her cries and the wind over the hill. The headstone continued to sit on the hill, empty and dead. Kitsunami said nothing, just looking up at Surge from where he had sat down watching her cry. Eventually, Surge stopped and opened her eyes, looking up at the stars again.

“Do you think there’s an afterlife, Kit? With like heaven and hell and such?” Surge’s voice had become hollow, the emotions overwhelming her, overloaded until she spoke flatly, her brain shorted out.

“I…I don’t know ma’am. It’s…it’s…unlikely…” Kit mumbled trying to look away from the tenrec as she watched the stars revolve around the world. “Maybe…”

“I…I hope there isn’t. Cause…cause I know I’d go to hell. And I’m cool with that. I just…I worry 'cause it’s the same body, I’ll drag Sophie down too.” Surge swallowed hard. “Plus I don’t want you there.”

“You…think I’ll go to hell too?” Kitsunami whispered.

“Yeah…you’re a good kid, so you’ll be allowed to go to heaven, but we both know you’d choose to go to hell 'cause I’m there.” Kitsunami choked at the words, his eyes wide, feeling the desire for the first time to argue with Surge, but he stopped…the sickening truth of her words clogging his throat.

“Yes.” Kitsuami looked at the ground, hugging his knees to his chest. “I would follow you…even to hell.” The wind continued to blow over the hill, slowly turning it cold as the moon continued to rise, the night making itself known as Surge tried to ignore the silent tears that rolled down Kit’s cheeks.

Then the wind increased, whooshing over the hill and ruffling the flowers so that some of the petals ripped off. Surge’s eyes narrowed, a scowl crossing her face.

“Sonic.”

“Hey. So I heard you paid Sophie’s family a visit. Did you hurt them?” Sonic’s voice was tight, a touch of a challenge in them, but Surge wasn’t having it as she stood, glowering at him, Kit at her side.

“Well, here he is Sophie. The ‘hero’ you cared so much about.” Surge spat. Sonic sighed quickly, a snort of frustration.

“Look Surge, I’m sorry what happened to you, it’s bad. But you can’t go around hurting people.”

“If that’s not the pot calling the kettle black…” Surge growled.

“What are you talking about?!” Sonic tapped his foot in frustration.

“You can’t even take a little responsibility, can you?! It’s not your fault at all what happened to me and Kit, huh?!”

“Surge, I said I’m sorry, what more do-”

“You don’t even know what it’s like. My existence is permanently tied to yours…my first thoughts–ever! Were ‘I hate Sonic. I want to destroy Sonic.’” Sonic stopped tapping his foot, his eyebrows creasing in confusion. “Ending your life isn’t just my mission, it’s my personality. Every act has to revolve around your destruction. People get their whole lives figuring out who they wanna be, what they want, and what they stand for. Mine was assigned to me.” Surge looked at the ground, her body shaking at the thought. “I was born with one thing. One tiny mote of identity to call my own…and without it….”

“You’re…lost?” Sonic breathed out, his eyes widening and Surge gave a laugh…a sad, strangled laugh.

“I wish...Cause lost is better than not at all. Without it…I don’t exist. Surge the Tenrec doesn’t exist if I don’t hate you with everything I am.” Surge put a hand to her head, a small crazed laugh exiting her mouth. “I want to destroy you so bad right now, but…the more I think about it. If I end your life…what then? I have no idea!” The laugh built, doubling as Surge’s eye twitched. “I can’t imagine a world with you in it and I can’t imagine one without you. How backward is that?” Surge squeezed her eyes tight, not letting any more tears fall as she let go of her head, her hand slapping to her side. “I…I’m just…stuck.”

“So…what…what are you going to do?” Sonic took a step back, his face slackjawed and sallow in a level of defeat, he hadn’t experienced. Surge slowly looked up at him, her eyes alight with electricity, energy sparking from her rings.

“As I said…I hate you, Sonic the Hedgehog. I want to destroy you, Sonic the Hedgehog.” Sonic took another step back, getting ready to fight again. He could take her, but with Kit, it might be trickier, he’d have to- “Now, I’ve just got a real reason.”

“Wha…what?” Sonic’s eyebrows twitched.

“You think you’re some kind of hero. Famous and beloved by all. Well, you’re nothing but selfish, and all you do is run around beating up bad guys-” Surge’s voice was steady, strong, and determined.

“Selfish? I help people all the time! I care about everyone!” Sonic felt a touch of anger, finally knowing what it was like for someone to force their beliefs onto him as he did to everyone he met. His lifelong crusade of beating his morals into everyone reflected right back at him.

“Oh, you care about everyone…you just don’t care about anyone. You fight Eggman and Starline and gods and leave a wake of destruction as you run off into the sunset. Leave people and the Restoration behind to pick up the pieces.” Surge spat at Sonic, advancing on him as she walked the hill, her steps actually sending a trill of fear at Sonic. “No one’s really important to you unless they’re useful…interesting. Tails is smart and can fly, Knuckles is a guardian and strong, Amy wields a special hammer…I’m sure the list goes on and on for each of your ‘friends.’ But you don’t really care about them or maybe you do, doesn’t matter. All the other people. Civillains, workers, families…Sophies are nothing to you, faces in a crowd that cheers your name.” Sonic stumbled back, nearly falling down the hill.

“And as you bask in the sunlight, people fall into the shadows, the cracks, and then they’re in danger of becoming something else. Of becoming me. And I hate you for that. I want to destroy you for that. Whether you want to admit it or not, Sophie’s death is on your hands! So here’s my declaration! I say no more!” Surge cried out, Sonic feeling small.

“You keep fighting Eggman and whoever, keep fighting the ‘good fight’ as it were. But don’t call yourself a hero, you’re the furthest thing. I’m gonna find the people that choke on your dust as you run by. Do what I can to actually help.

Yeah…you keep saving the world, it’s what you’re good at…I’m gonna go save all the people on it.”

Sonic stared emptily, Surge’s words ringing in his ears as she and Kit pushed past him on their way down the hill, leaving him alone with the grave of Sophie the Tenrec.

Notes:

Thank you for reading.