Chapter Text
It was a full attack.
Everyone was on board, raiding this new Eggman base. Whispers of a new weapon began spreading amongst the Restoration, and they wouldn't allow that to happen.
Even Surge and Kit were cooperative, though that was probably due to the fact that Surge loved nothing more than to destroy things.
Well, she loved hating Sonic more, but that wasn't on the table as she was stuck with the main forces outside while he and Tails found out about Eggman's plan.
"Any luck?"
"Not yet..." The fox mumbled as he typed away. The badnik protecting the computer was already scrap under Sonic's shoes. "It's strange though. He really didn't secure this well."
"Trap?"
"You know Eggman," Tails sighed and shook his head.
"Well, if the floor opens up to some spikes, I'll catch ya!" Sonic grinned, giving him a thumbs up for good measure. "Any signs of activity in any of the other rooms?"
"Something is absorbing a lot of power over here," he said as he pulled up the map. A large red glow encompassed a section of the base. "It's more than a generator or a common badnik."
"Be right back!" Sonic nodded and zipped off.
Two seconds later, he came back with a small white orb in his hands. "This it?"
Tails hummed, looking it over with his handheld.
"... Seems like it... but..."
"What is it?" The hedgehog finished for him.
"That would be my backup plan!" Eggman's voice rattled a nearby speaker.
Sonic immediately smirked and posed for the hidden camera in the room.
"Oh? How should I break it then?"
"Go ahead and do as you like~ Either way, you'll soon find out."
Sonic frowned and carefully held the orb a little further away from himself and Tails.
"Okay. What is it?"
"That would be a Whiteout bomb! And as for what it does...!"
Eggman cackled loudly as the orb opened up a small panel.
00:03
00:02
"Sonic!" Tails shouted, and the hedgehog dashed out of the room.
He managed to make it outside before the bomb made a loud, high-pitched tone.
And it flashed a massive wave around the area.
Sonic blinked as his vision returned, and the panel clicked back into place.
"What the... just a flashbang?" He grumbled before speeding towards the others.
However, they were hardly in trouble. Most were dizzy or simply confused about the flash.
All the badniks were deactivated, slumping over each other.
Sonic frowned, tapping his foot.
"... Why would Eggman make something that destroys his own bots?"
With a hum, he was about to speed back to Tails for an explanation when he noticed something.
A distinct lack of something.
Surge wasn't in his face, gloating about how many she destroyed, implying she'd do the same to him. She was definitely in the middle of the action, that's where she lived, so where was she?
"Just a sec..." He grumbled before running around, checking up on everyone before he eventually found Tangle.
Who found Surge and Kit.
"Sonic!" She called out, relief on her face for a split second before her panic continued. "What was that?!"
Sonic's eyes flicked down to the tenrec she was propping up.
Without saying anything, he took Surge's other arm and helped her carry the tenrec.
"Eggman bomb. Don't know exactly what it did."
"What it did was knock out Surge and Kit!" Tangle exclaimed. "We were all fighting when bam ! They passed out!"
"Where's-?"
"Here," a quiet voice cut off his question as a wolf carried a small blue fennec in her arms.
"Thanks, Whisper." Sonic smiled at her.
"Let me," Lanolin ran up and took his place.
"Is Tails alright?" Tangle asked.
"I'll go check. Be right back!" He gave them all a smile before running back inside.
"Sonic!" Tails shouted as soon as he noticed him. "Eggman-"
"Knocked out his own bots and Surge and Kit." Sonic stopped in front of the fox, crossing his arms. "Any ideas?"
"... That... maybe." Tails hummed, fidgeting with his hands. "But, here's the thing..."
"Yeah?"
"All of Eggman's notes are gone. Everything's been wiped."
"So, that's what the 'Whiteout' part means..."
"Yup. All the banik's programming, all of Eggman's footprints, gone."
"And Egghead really would destroy his own stuff just to keep this project secret?" Sonic frowned. "Don't like the sound of that..."
Tails nodded, clicking away at his keyboard. The hedgehog watched him for a moment before smiling and walking over to him. "You're worried, huh?"
"... They haven't woken up yet, have they?"
"No. Still out cold. Doc's got no idea why."
The fox sighed.
"I... I just..." He closed a window and stared at his own reflection. "If it did so much damage to Eggman, what about Starline?"
"That's... true." Sonic winced. "I really don't wanna be electrocuted again."
"Sonic."
He grinned sheepishly at Tails' glare and held up his hands. The fox could only sigh again. "We still don't know who they were or... or what exactly Starline did. We know the basics but... How much of them did he replace?" He frowned and brought his legs up to hug them. "... I hate thinking of them like this, but it might be like Omega or Belle where they can be hijacked or wiped! And that's..."
Sonic placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a small smile.
"Hey... I get it. But we can't do much until they wake up. When they do, we'll learn as we go. Who knows? Maybe there's no damage at all?"
Tails gave him a small smile back.
Then, someone screamed.
She woke up.
She woke up.
She woke up.
And she felt it. The pistons in her chest, the coolant through her veins, and
Behind her eyes. In her skull. Her bones broken and remade.
She breathed because the machinery made her do so.
Her eyes shot open as she felt the electricity surge through her.
"Ah, you're awake," he said. Eyes always dull, unhappy, disappointed in life. "This will be more difficult."
He propped up the drill behind him and angled it towards her. "This will hurt. Stay still."
"Surge?"
Her eyes shot open, her body shaking. Her arms and legs were bound, and no matter how she moved, she couldn't break free.
As she struggled, the voice came closer. "H-Hang on!"
The blanket containing her was ripped off and she jumped up, frantically trying to take in her surroundings.
She saw faces. She knew them, but... also something was off.
"Surge?" The lemur frowned, the wolf behind her tense. "You... okay?"
Surge.
Surge.
Surge .
Her body ached, flashing with pain as she was electrocuted.
"Move," Starline ordered.
Instead, the tenrec screamed.
Pain. She was in so much pain.
Something was inside her. Fused with her. She felt it moving with her, a jumbled mess in her head as it sent signals for her.
Her claws dug into her skin. Pain she could control .
She gasped for air, noticing the panicked look on the lemur. She had been reaching out, but the wolf grabbed her hand.
The bed burned from the electricity, the smoke making her eyes water.
"H... help," she tried. Her voice hurt. Everything hurt. She could feel her own body working against her. "Help..."
"Wh... what's wrong?"
"What... what did he do... to me?" She gulped down as much pain as she could stomach. "Starline... what did he...?"
The lemur's eyes widened and the wolf took a step back, her hand over her wisp-slinger.
And she remembered something.
Power.
Power.
Rushing, flowing through her. A conduit, a power surge.
Her name was Whisper.
"I..." Her chest hurt even more and tears began to flow down her face. "What did I...?"
"Surge-"
"That's not my name!" She screamed, clutching her head. The lemur jolted back. "That's not! That's not me! I didn't- I couldn't..."
"Calm. Down." Whisper sternly spoke. "Take deep breaths."
"I'm sorry!" She blurted out. "I'm so sorry..."
The lemur shared a glance with the wolf. Uncertainty, confusion.
The door opened, and for a split second her breath caught in her throat.
She was expecting him .
Instead. It was them.
"What's going on?" Sonic said, dashing in with Tails right behind him.
Her body shook. She knew who they were. She knew too well.
And, still with tears flowing, she laughed, getting all of their attention.
"I... Somehow..." Softly laughing, she pulled her knees up to her chest. "Somehow... I still hate you."
The hedgehog blinked before Tails' eyes widened.
"Wait... It can't be..." He came up to her side, calmly looking her over. "... Are you... okay?"
"N-no..." She smiled. Actually smiled . "It hurts so much. I... I-I can feel it in my head."
Tails winced before thinking quietly for a moment.
"Uh... mind filling us in, buddy?" Sonic looked between the two of them.
"... Remember how I said everything was wiped after the bomb?" Tails gulped, glancing at the bed beside hers. "So was my handheld. Thankfully, it was a backup, but everything was gone. It completely scrubbed it." The fox bit his lip. "So... if they were knocked out..."
"The bomb cleaned them too?"
"We... didn't get a chance to understand what exactly Starline did." Tails looked up at her. "However..."
She shivered and shook her head, looking away.
"Y-you don't want to know."
"The software might be gone, but the hardware's still there, right?"
She dug her claws into her legs.
"... Yes."
"And they aren't acting right due to the programming being gone, right?"
"... I think so." She shook her head and frowned. "I... still feel some of it."
"He... did a lot to you. I'm not surprised," Sonic mumbled.
"So... you're not our Surge?" Tangle, that was her name, asked.
And the tenrec sighed.
"... I don't know who I am."
"... What do we call you then?"
She blinked at her.
"... What...?"
"What do we call you?" Tangle smiled, friendly and unsure.
"I..." She gulped and thought.
Her mind was a mess of wires and electricity. Senses and pain. But somewhere, surely, she had to remember. It was her chance. Her one chance.
No more Starline, it was all her now.
But.
She couldn't remember.
She scraped her memory, but there was nothing. Nothing before Starline. Nothing but
Scalpel
Drill
Bolts
Wires
Shock
Death
Forced again and again.
"Are you-?"
She flinched away from the lemur.
"Just..." She took a breath. "Call me Surge."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Makes it... easier."
They remained silent as she looked down at her hands.
Surge.
That... was who she was, right?
Right?
She remembered what she did. She remembered doing everything.
So... with all of them looking at her like that...
She looked up and chuckled.
"Sorry... I... It's hard to think."
"I'm sure it's a lot." Sonic hummed with a frown. "But if you ever need to talk-"
She felt her chest tighten at the thought. He seemed to notice and gave a small chuckle. "Any one of us would be happy to hear you out."
She let out a breath and nodded, trying to ignore the glare Whisper was giving Sonic.
The hedgehog didn't seem to notice, giving Surge a salute before speeding off.
Once he was gone, she turned to his brother.
Remnants wanted to smirk and call him something vaguely insulting.
"... Tails?"
His ears perked up in surprise.
"Y-yes?"
"Any idea when Kit is gonna wake up?"
"Oh! Right! Uh..." He nervously scratched the back of his head. "Sorry but... I don't know. Maybe the doctor can tell you more?"
"... yeah."
Tangle smiled as she grabbed the railing of the bed.
"Well, in the meantime, let's get you cleaned up, girl!"
"... huh?"
The lemur gestured to the bed and Surge winced as she realized the sheets had burned up with her electricity. "Oh. Yeah. Thanks."
Tails chuckled lightly.
"I can take care of it. I wanted to go over some theories with the doctor too. Maybe some way to ease the pain you're feeling? For now though, maybe you should just work on getting adjusted."
Surge nodded and moved.
The metal against her bones pushed her on her feet. She could feel the cold machinery click.
And yet, she couldn't remember how it was before it all. She just was sure it wasn't as uncomfortable, or painful.
Tangle held out her hand again, and the tenrec was surprised Whisper didn't stop her.
Her hand twitched as she reached out for the lemur, her wires and exoskeleton shifting with her fingers.
She could crush her hand. She could electrocute her.
Accidentally or not, the wolf would kill her.
And yet.
And yet.
And yet.
She took the offered hand and nearly cried at its warmth.