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Kit told her everything when she woke up.
He told her how she had beaten Sonic the Hedgehog within an inch of his life, only to pass out from power overuse. He told her how he had escaped, the building crashing down on Sonic, his friend, and the godawful doctor. He told her he had carried her to the forest they were inhabiting nearby and that she had been unconscious for three days afterward.
"Did you get any sleep?" It was the first thing she thought to ask.
Of all the emotions that swirled around her: from flaring anger that she couldn’t finish the job, to the hope that maybe Sonic's group had somehow died, to the relief that the two of them would be okay for a little while until they were ready, it was all simultaneous.
However, only one was of the utmost importance, and she did not hesitate when she asked.
"In fits," Kit responded quietly. "I brought some stuff back, but I can always get more if you need. We’re alone here." He turned and started to rise, almost assuming her answer to be 'yes' before he wobbled, unsteadily getting to his feet before being unable to stand.
With ease, she caught him as he passed out, lowering him to the ground beside her. She’d put him in her lap for comfort later, but there was one thing she had to take care of first.
Three days. She'd left Kit to fend for the two of them for three days. How useless she was, how powerless.
Kit didn’t even flinch when Surge snapped another tree clean in two. At the very least, there wasn’t a fire.
-
The whistle of the wind was too loud. The shaking trees rustled, hiding away the unknown. The little chirps from nearby animals imposed Surge's brain, taunting her. She was too alert.
Her head constantly swivelled as she sat next to Kit. She couldn't pick him up to scope out the forest, not willing to risk waking him. So on the unwilling defence she sat.
And sat, where the wind grew too quiet.
And sat, where the trees no longer could hide from her.
And sat, where the animals decided to scatter in fear.
All of the things she'd been keeping track of seemed to fade away as her vision encircled to one point. She whipped her head around to see the imposing, cold stare of someone approaching her, a figure who definitely wasn't there moments before.
"Who the hell are you?" She growls. "Wait..."
His stony eyes don't waver as he continues stepping closer.
"I don't think you know what you're getting into." She says sharply, adding a hint of cockiness just to be assured. She knows who this guy is. It isn't his name Surge knows, but his purpose.
The hedgehog in front of her narrows his eyes, and they flick from her to Kit and back again. All relations to her go forgotten as her eye twitches, and her brain goes haywire. Who the fuck does this guy think he is, looking at Kit like that?
A fight starts to brew behind her hands as they clench, now seeing no other option than to stand and face this person.
"Don't even think about it." Her grin is boardering maniacal.
"I'm not here to hurt him." He finally speaks. "I was sent here looking for answers." He looks bored, unpleased even.
"Looks like you'll be asking somewhere else, then. I'm not in the mood to deal with that, especially when you look like someone whose ass I'd like to beat." It was too uncanny. Not only did he look just like Sonic, the only difference being an alternate fur colour and an unwavering scowl, but he was a constant reminder of her creation. When memories came as scarce as they did with her, she wanted the rest she created to be filled with triumphing over those who'd allowed her to do so in the first place.
The hedgehog's ear twitches. He crosses his arms.
"I don't care what problems you have with someone else." He glances over to Kit again. "Is he alive?"
"What's it to you?" She grits.
The hedgehog sighs. "Someone is more concerned for your well-being than I am."
Every nerve in Surge's body freezes. The chill in her veins melts into electric anger and resentment. No one got to 'care' for them anymore. The world had left them to suffer, and they'd come out with the instinct to survive.
"WELL, YOU CAN TELL THEM THAT WE'RE NOT INTERESTED IN THEIR PITY!" She's sick of seeing this guy's uncaring face. Maybe in a different circumstance, she would appreciate not having to fight for her life, to have someone to share the indifferent silence with, but he was much too dangerous. Especially when there was a high chance that he was associated with Sonic.
The first punch she throws doesn't connect with anything but air, but she can feel the sparks almost ignite another nearby tree. It ought to get her point across.
The hedgehog narrows his eyes. "Fine."
In a flash, he disappears from the spot in front of her. She whirls around, catching the foot about to collide with her face and tossing it backward. The hedgehog backflips, unphased.
"Thought so. I definitely didn't see ya before." She says with a razor-sharp smirk. "Seems you're not all like that damned Sonic."
"What's your goal with him?" The hedgehog asks, sending a flurry of kicks from different directions.
"So ya do know him! Seems I don't have to feel as bad about kicking your ass!" She sends an electrified punch in his direction that he blocks and neutralizes. "As for him, he'll be dead at my feet soon!" The hedgehog scowls. "Ooh, touched a nerve? Is that why you're after me? To protect your precious boyfriend?"
"Try again." He growls. "That hedgehog means nothing to me."
Surge considers his withdrawn attitude, almost seeing someone she could see in herself. She'd never ask for an alliance because other people be damned, but there was something in him that she could appreciate. However, for all of his brash attitude and cold dismissal, she knows he's lying. The familiarity puts her far too on edge.
Anyone who associated themselves with Sonic could never see her perspective, anyway. Especially someone who tried to deny it. The only funny thing about the hedgehog in front of her was that he said it with such conviction that she was starting to believe he wasn't even aware of it himself. Perhaps at one point, the sentiment was legitimate. Or maybe it had been a game of denial the whole time.
She shook her head. It didn't matter. Hurting him did. Maybe if he went back to Sonic beaten beyond what he was used to, Sonic would finally submit if he wasn't already dead.
She rushes forward, pulling as many lightning punches as she can muster. The adrenaline that soars through her veins is new, backed only by the realization that she's much closer to hurting Sonic than she realizes.
However, her opponent is swift and clearly adept in combat, which is no surprise. He blocks the attacks he knows he can take and reflects the ones he can't. He's bruised in some places, so not invincible, but he never backs down. She suspects that he's even holding back as he plays defensively.
He must be very keen on getting those answers.
She puts more force into every new attack when the previous one doesn't knock him down. When a particularly well-placed one fails to connect, she screams, sliding away before he can take advantage of an opening.
"Why do you all want to protect that stupid hedgehog so much? If he's as good as he says, how could he let someone like me exist?" This seems to startle the black hedgehog, causing a minute reaction of his eyes widening. "I could've killed him already! I could've sent you all crying to his grave! Starline was an idiot! If he wanted Sonic gone, WHY WAS I CREATED TO BE INFERIOR ANYWAY?!" The punch she lands next hits nothing but ground, shattering the earth below it until a hole caves its way through.
After being out of harm's way, the hedgehog has the gall to look startled. "Created?" He asks.
"That got your attention?" Surge snarls. "Yeah, created. Starline made me his weapon so he could destroy Sonic! He made me give up everything! The chance of a normal life, making my own decisions, all of my memories! We were made without knowing anything but hatred! I was made to hurt, and you'll all feel what we had to." She's rambling to this person she essentially doesn't know, but she's so tired. She's tired of the manipulation, tired of losing, tired of the pain. "Your faulty system is next! All of you will be crushed under our feet, and we'll rebuild a better life out of the ashes of your mistakes!"
Her voice feels hoarse, and she can once again feel that sickening, drained feeling she felt when she fought Sonic. It distantly registers that the hedgehog in front of her has never attacked once, and she's let her guard drop too many times. Never again. Never, never again. Mistakes like that get you killed.
"Are you going to fight back?" She boasts.
"I don't need to."
"What?"
"I... understand now." He turns away as if to leave, his back to her. If Kit weren't her highest priority, she'd follow and kick the shit out of him.
"What the hell does that mean? Who do you think you are, trying to ditch a fight with me like that?"
"Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog."
Now she has a name to the face. A face that she's now very eager to put into the dirt.
"I won't hesitate next time, unlike Sonic or anyone else would." Shadow's head turns to look her straight in the eyes. His stare gives her a feeling she can't place but doesn't particularly like. "However... we're more alike than you think."
She doesn't have a chance to get a word in before he disappears into thin air, just like when he'd arrived.
As she turns to Kit, who had somehow slept through the whole fight, it dawns on her that Shadow, despite his taciturn nature, left her with more questions than answers.
-
Shadow chaos controls to the temporary hideout Tails made after the fight in Eggman Base Sigma. Sonic, however fast he liked to pretend he could handle things, took more of a beating from Surge than he realized.
Sonic rushes out instantly upon Shadow's arrival, almost tripping over his feet in haste. Shadow scoffs as he places his hands on his shoulders to stop his momentum.
"Eager to be back in bed so soon?" Shadow asks.
"Pfft, no. I can't be excited to see you?" Sonic winks.
"I don't that that has anything to do with it."
"Then I guess you don't know that much about me, faker." Sonic grins while Shadow huffs.
"Do you want your information or not? I didn't go out of my way to do this for no reason."
"But you did it anyway." Sonic smiles, and it almost stops Shadow's heart. "Okay, do tell."
"She's alive and well but incredibly volatile and distrusting. She seems to only care for the fox."
Sonic breathes a sigh of relief, which Shadow can only interpret as going toward her well-being. "And Kit? Is he okay?"
"He was unconscious the entire fight. It seemed more due to exhaustion."
Sonic cringes. "Chaos, I hope I didn't hurt him. Tails would kill me." He says it as a joke, but it's laced with genuine concern. "Did Surge tell you anything else?"
"There were a few things I picked up. You told me you found out they were... created. I wasn't aware it was to such an extent." He shakes his head. Sonic's eyes flick back and forth, asking a million questions but, for once, holding them on his tongue. "Starline did something to them. Or multiple things. He controlled their lives, and she said it like he curated their hatred for you. Not only that, but she wants to kill everyone part of the 'system' she called it. I think it's just code for anyone in their way."
"She hasn't changed then," Sonic says, resigned but not surprised.
"Did she tell you about her memories?"
"She didn't."
"I don't think she has much." Shadow turns away. "Starline's processes included tormenting them, it seemed. I don't know what he did to them... but not only was that one of the lasting things they remember, but their hatred for you? It sounded like the only other thing they were given."
"You're saying he might've manipulated their memories?" Sonic says lowly, his eyes widening. "That he 'trained' them to be weapons? Just like..."
"Me. Just like with Gerald. The last thing I told her was that we're much more alike than she could ever know."
They sit, the area around them in complete silence for a few moments, the truth finally dawning on Sonic.
"We can't let her succeed," Sonic says sparsely.
"Obviously."
Sonic sighs, but a breathy laugh at presumably Shadow's bluntness accompanies the end of it. "We can still do something. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that anyone can be changed for the better."
The hopeful smile he gives Shadow is breathtaking. Sonic may be too trusting for his own good, but it's hard to deny him when he looks like that. Shadow would know.
As much as the situation with Eggman and Mr. Tinker worried him, this time, something tugs at his heart and wholly makes him want to fall into Sonic's plan.
"Alright!" Sonic stretches. "Now that we've got that out of the way, are you up for a race?"
"I'm not going to race someone who's in a condition like that. You're not even close to healed, hedgehog."
"Sounds like a headstart to me!" Shadow knows Sonic's bluffing, as their races wouldn't be fun if they were unfair. Sonic doesn't get far anyway, as he turns before crashing straight into a tree a few feet behind him.
"I think the shocks did something to your brain." Shadow deadpans as he grabs Sonic by the waist. The gesture edges towards their presumed boundaries of platonic affection, but Sonic doesn't back away either.
"Must've. I think I'm hallucinating if you're helping me." Sonic smirks.
Shadow scoffs to hide the smile that threatens to break as they walk back. Sonic is warm against his side and has a reassuring presence as he hums a purposefully off-tune song. Shadow's mind drifts off to Surge and Kit again: their hatred, her bitter nature.
"Don't get used to it, Sonic."
When Sonic's not looking, his mouth briefly forms into a small smile. There was once a time when he'd never let such a heartfelt emotion flicker across his face. But now, there's a freedom he has in expressing it.
He wonders, ever so minute and pestering in the back of his mind. Will they ever discover the autonomy he so gratefully found, or will they succumb to their hatred and become irredeemable?
While being a sympathetic hero is rarely in his nature, from personal experience, Shadow hopes they encounter the former.