Let's see how that pans out for team 4. Was Morgan's rejoin a fluke, or will Courtney continue the pattern of a different slot eliminated on each team? Between the OC's of @bumpsyp1ains, @napstabl00k, @shatter-song, @themightyhumanbroom, @lanolinfan, @khalewren, @lucariowrites, @ash-rose-milf-era, @mirenheart, @fyairo-chrysalis, @skojukebox, @theaussieblue, and myself
So, Surge, you've got no charge in you telling you "KILL SONIC KILL SONIC KILL SONIC"
So, free of that influence, got any thoughts on the blue blur? Any deep, cutting analysis?
"Yeah yeah, I got your deep analysis alright." Surge cleared her throat before giving an enthusiastic thumbs-down. "Screw him! Like just because I don't wanna gut him doesn't mean I gotta like the guy."
Saffron, in her pale robotic body, was a bit more measured. "He was… different than I thought he'd be. More thoughtful. Granted, the Sonic I talked to was from that other world, but I can't imagine this one is much different."
Rolling her eyes, Surge was far from impressed. "He seemed about the same, sticking his nose in other people's business and acting like a goody-two-shoes." After a pause, she reluctantly added, "I guess I'm glad he showed up when he did."
Rubbing at her chin thoughtfully, Saffron asked, "Have you even talked to him since you came back? You always seem to run and hide when he comes by Tails' workshop."
"I ain't hidin'!" Surge snarled, "I just… I don't want him to see…" She trailed off, a frustrated glare stuck on her face.
"Ah, I think I understand." Saffron folded her arms smugly, "You don't want to face him while you don't have your speed, do you?"
Surge stamped her foot in anger. "As if! I just… I don't wanna see his ugly mug, that's all!"
Clasping her ghostly hands together, Phlox was the very picture of delight. "Surge is amazing! She's so much like Saffron but also completely different, if that makes sense? She's really something to see in action, and the way she put her life on the line to save Saffron? That's what a true hero would do."
The spirit turned as she watched over the Restoration, its people running to and fro as they went about their day. "I just hope Saffron takes her as proof she can be whoever she wants."
One for Surge & Lanolin by proximity to the matter,
Excited to meet the rest of the extended family come next holiday/gathering?
And the questions for that matter and lesser extent....
"Yeah, the way Dad described it, I got a bunch of aunts and uncles and cousins and junk." Surge folded her arms, an unsure look on her face. "Gonna be weird as hell." She put on a mocking tone, "Yeah hey, I know I look like your niece, but I'm only kind of her. The real her is the robot over there!"
"I'm sure your parents can help smooth things over." Lanolin reassured her. "As for me, I'm excited to meet them. If they're even half as nice as Anise and Fennel then I can only imagine it'll be pleasant, provided we can make time for it all."
Surge's eyebrows quirked up as she remembered something. "Hey, what about your folks? Shouldn't I like, meet them at some point?"
Hissing out a breath between her teeth, Tangle held up her hands in a placating gesture. "Uh, maybe we should change the subject?"
"What?" Surge shrugged her shoulders, a scowl on her face. "You all got to meet my family!"
"Surge." Whisper shook her head slowly. "Touchy subject."
Looking back at Lanolin, Surge could see her demeanor had shifted, her eyes now looking anywhere but Surge as she held her arm across her chest.
"Oh." Surge scratched at the back of her head awkwardly. "What, are they like…" Surge snapped her fingers as she tried to remember the word. "Home-of-phobic?"
The tense mood shattered as Whisper and Tangle snickered out a laugh.
"Homophobic," Lanolin corrected. "And no, that's not it." She took in a deep breath, "My father passed a while ago, when I was still a kid."
Feeling like an absolute ass, Surge winced as she apologized. "Shit, sorry, that sucks."
"It's fine, you didn't know, it's in the past. As for my mother?" Lanolin furrowed her brow as she searched for the right words. "It's not that she'd disapprove of you for being a woman, she just has… high standards."
Unlike Lanolin, Tangle didn't mince her words. "She sucks! Absolute control freak, nothing is good enough for her!"
"Tangle, that's…" Lanolin started,. but then faltered as apparently even she couldn't think of anything to say in her mother's defense. "Let's just say not every mom is like Anise."
We need a sequel to a certain dream now that Juniper has her sister back.
Ariem do your thing!
*yeets Sang-mi into Juniper’s dream*
(This is a followup to this crossover fic, recommended reading if you are not familiar
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
)
It was another day of Juniper killing time at her favorite coffee shop, The Midnight Roast. The place had been a familiar haunt for the teens and young adults of Westpine, and had just enough of an off-putting alternative atmosphere to drive away the older generations.
She was posted in her favorite spot, an old recliner tucked into the corner in the back beside a stack of boardgames nobody ever seemed to use. It was quiet, isolated, just how she liked it. A perfect place to try and do a little writing.
It was strange though, she remembered starting to drift away to sleep a few minutes prior, only to find herself perfectly awake and alert. The coffee here wasn't that good, something felt… strange.
Hadn't this place been fairly busy when she came in? As she scanned the room, she couldn't seem to find anyone at all, not even staff. For a panicked moment she was sure she had fallen asleep past closing, but no, the lights were still on, and daylight streamed through the windows.
What the hell was going on?
Getting to her feet, Juniper cautiously walked forward. It was strange, the more she walked, the more the space around her seemed to warp, the floorboards and wallpaper becoming a patchwork of the usual layout and some other strange place. The countless band stickers and posters that usually lined the walls of the Midnight Roast were now peppered with photographs. In them, there were people from the Restoration she had met on her visits to see her sisters, as well as the Diamond Cutters and Surge herself.
Despite how off it all seemed, she couldn't shake the sensation she'd seen this all before, a dazed walk through an impossible hallway, all eventually culminating in-
"Juniper!"
Her train of thought was utterly derailed as a tall green tenrec suddenly ran towards her and wrapped her arms around Juniper in a sudden hug. "It's been so long!"
"Sang…mi?"
The name just fell from her mouth, unbidden. All of a sudden, it came back to her, a strange dream and an even stranger tenrec who somehow, was also Surge's sister.
The daze wearing off, Juniper pushed away from the taller girl to reclaim her precious personal space. "Okay, guess I fell asleep after all. What are you doing in my dream again?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure." Despite this, Sang-mi didn't seem the slightest bit concerned. "But isn't this great? I'd been wondering how things were going for you and your Surge."
Juniper sighed, pulling out a chair from a table cleanly split down the middle to match the aesthetics of The Floral Cafe and The Midnight Roast. "I dunno, It's kind of a long story."
But Sang-mi just smiled, taking a seat on the other side of the table. "I have time."
…
"…And now she's working with Tails. To keep on eye on her, I guess." Despite herself, Juniper had launched into a retelling of the events in Westpine all while Sang-mi listened intently. "That's basically it. They're still cleaning up the town but things are sort of normal."
Taking a long sip from her cup of tea, Sang-mi let the silence fill the air for a few moments before giving her reply. "That was… gosh, where to start…"
"Yeah, the whole thing is fucked." Juniper absently took a bite from a plate a pastries.
"I wouldn't say that at all!" Sang-mi turned to face one of the many pictures on the wall, this one depicting a younger set of Juniper and Saffron as the later helped the former study for a test. "You got your sister back, and got a new one as well. Sure, it might not be the same as before, but family is family."
Snorting out a small huff of a laugh, Juniper shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. And It's pretty cool that mom chilled out a bit. We're even talking about colleges I can go to after I graduate in spring."
Sang-mi perked up at that, tilting her head curiously. "Oh? What were you thinking of studying?"
"Comparative Literature." Reflexively, Juniper ran her fingers along the case that housed her laptop. Below her breath she muttered. "…and uh, Creative Writing."
"I've never been much of a reader, but that's exciting! I only ever went to a trade school for short while, going off to school like that for years sounds…" She paused, an uncertain look on her face. "Well, it sounds like a lot. I don't think it's for me. I'd miss home too much."
Juniper huffed out a breath. "I can't wait to leave." She drained the rest of her cup. "I want to be where stuff happens, nothing ever-" She caught herself. "Okay something pretty big just happened but like, I want to go to shows! I want to meet new people! I just… I want to get out."
She'd felt it like an itch under her skin, growing more intense the further along she got through high school. The idea that if she didn't get out of Westpine soon she'd grow roots and never leave. Juniper had seen it happen, older folks working at the same job for decades, going through the motions as they marched towards the grave.
That wouldn't be her, she refused.
"I bet you'll miss it more than you think." Sang-mi finished her tea, setting it back down on the table with a gentle clink. "But if you do end up leaving…" She smiled softly, a bitter twinge on her features. "Just remember to keep in touch with the people you love. We both know what it's like to have our sister go missing, after all."
"Uhgg, you're as bad as mom!" Juniper rolled her eyes.
Before Sang-mi could reply, the composite table they were sitting at separated into it's two constituent halves, along with the chairs they were sitting on as they started to drift apart.
Sang-mi looked more intrigued than frightened."Oh! I think that means our time is up, let's do this again sometime!"
"Like I have any control over this!" Juniper found herself sliding back towards her old familiar corner. "But… yeah sure, that'd be okay I guess."
"It's a promise then!"
…
With a jolt, Juniper sat up in her seat. She was once again in that old recliner tucked into the back of the Midnight Roast, her laptop precariously balanced in her lap. To her immense embarrassment, she felt her chin was slick with drool, which she hastily wiped away before anyone could notice.
The text document on the screen in front of her was as confoundingly empty as it had been before.
"What a weird dream." The details were hazy when she tried to recall them. There was tea, pictures… and… someone.
But maybe, she could use this. Inspiration came from the strangest of places, and she'd hardly be the first writer to incorporate a dream into their work. Slowly, surely, her fingers started to glide across the keyboard as an idea started to take shape.
Hopefully you all finally got to take that trip to a Chao Garden?
"We did." Lanolin smiled as she reminisced about their trip. "I have to admit, it was a nice way to wind down a bit after the stress of the mission, even if some people weren't on board at first."
…
"Hey Whisper, look, look!"
Tangle waved her hand excitedly as she ran along with one of the more athletic of the chao. Around the lemur, Whisper's wisps twirled through the air as they joined in on the play, a chaotic but beautiful chorus of babbles, cheers and chirps filling the air.
"I'm watching," Whisper assured her. It could be hard to tell when Whisper was interested in something, given her flat affect, but those who knew the signs would tell you the slight smile on her lips and the incessant wag of her tail were sure signals she was enjoying herself.
Kit was deeply engrossed in making an elaborate feeding routine to 'maximize their stats', whatever that meant. Lanolin wished he would spend more time actually playing with the cute critters but if he was enjoying himself, that would have to be enough for her.
For her part, Lanolin was not quite as relaxed as one would hope, watching the younger chao vigilantly just in-case another one of them tried to give themself an impromptu swimming lesson. Still, she would be hard pressed to say the trip wasn't worth it, especially considering…
"Hey, knock it off would ya?!" Surge fussed as another one of the tiny creatures tried to climb up her, her lap being fully occupied by a pair of sleeping chao. "Yer gonna ruin my tough-girl image!" Said image was completely in tatters as despite her complaining, she made no effort to dislodge the cooing chao swarming her.
…
"We'll have to come by again some time." Lanolin concluded.
So Surge,
How's life in the slow lane treating you?
And for that matter how stir crazy you think is it gonna send ya till (or even if for that matter) you can switch it back on safely?
Here's to the whiplash not being too terrible when that day comes lol
"Man don't remind me..." Surge crossed her arms as her eyes darted to the side. "Sucks, obviously. When being fast is the only thing you've ever known, you kinda take for granted being able to do stuff like, run to the mess hall and back in ten seconds. If I wanna go anywhere It's a whole thing now! And it ain't just that either, don't pack anywhere near as much of a punch as I used to."
Tangle grinned as she leaned into Surge's space, clearly pleased with herself. "Aw, what's the matter? Still mad you lost our spar?"
"Whatever, that was dumb luck!" Surge lightly shoved her back. "Just getting used to this is all. I'll kick your ass next time, count on it Stretch!"
"Suuuuuure." Tangle put her hands on her hips. "It's not all bad though, right?"
Surge huffed out a breath. "Easy for you to say. What if you had like, a normal tail for a month, bet you'd flip!"
Truth be told, it did have it's perks, she wouldn't have agreed to it otherwise. The quiet in her head was nice, and though she'd never say it out loud, slowing down a bit has let her see a bunch of stuff she usually just zipped past. She's actually thinking about scenery and junk for her jogs now, rather than just challenge.
And while she wasn't exactly a fan of needing to layer up now that she could feel the cold...
"Surge?" Lanolin rubbed at her eyes as she trudged into the Diamond Cutter's common space. "It's late, are you coming to bed?"
With Pines finished, the askbox is open once again!
Mild spoilers under cut.
Won't be sticking to the question machine shtick seeing that folks aren't at the Tenrec home anymore, it was a fun conceit but we'll be handling this a little looser going forward.
You my ask Anyone questions now, other world Phlox and Saffron, Tails, go nuts.
If inspiration strikes I might turn a question into a proper one-shot in the story, though probably not right away, I could use a bit of a break.
The ask blog will be closed until the finale is finished, I will work through some of the remaining asks in the meanwhile, thanks for your understanding.
[through the power of chaos and whatever bullshit Sonic pulls to fistfight gods in the back alley of Dennys I invoke the summoning of a mug of hot coco and a blanket for thee]
Anyways, this may be a bit of an uncomfortable question, sorry. But is your water pack separate or attached to you? I imagine for both you and Surge the augmentations must be quite painful at times…
And a less uncomfortable, but more annoying question: have you considered reconnecting and making up with Tails? It’s rather understandable why you don’t like him, but given you aren’t programmed to hate him like Surge is with Sonic, it might be worth at least making peace with him and talking about the misunderstanding way back when. It could help you process some things.
Kit cocked his head to the side with a scowl as the machine whirred and hummed, until suddenly there was a hiss and pop, followed by a blanket appearing above him. He yelped in surprise, but when the thing fell on him, it did a remarkable job of keeping the bitter chill of early winter at bay. He wriggled his way out of it until his head was free at one end, and he adjusted it until it was draped across his shoulders like a cloak.
"Since when can this thing… oh!" there was another whir and soon a cup of cot coco was sitting on the ground, steaming up the cold air. Cautiously he knelt down and took it into his hands. It was real enough to heat up his fingers, so he figured at the very least he wasn't going crazy. He peered back up at the machine and saw the… order? delivery? No mention of poison, just a blanket and a mug. He brought it to his lips and took a slow slip, eyeing it like it might bite him.
He knew he should tell Surge, who would probably tell Lanolin, which would unfortunately mean telling… Tails.
It could wait, he decided.
There were questions too, ones he wasn't too thrilled to answer, but warmth on a cold day was a compelling bribe.
"The pack isn't part of me, but it attaches to some access ports on my back." He twisted to the side to show a square pattern of four circular metal slots that had been embedded into him with his' modifications'. "It's pressurized so there's a lot more in there than it looks like."
That arrangement made winter pretty unpleasant, couldn't have ready access to it if he wore a coat. His fur was warm at least, and if he was lucky he could stick close enough to Surge for a bit more heat. "I don't need it to use my power or anything, but it's a lot easier for me to control water that's close, and it's designed to work with my cybernetics to help me fight."
"It… itches, sometimes." He lowered his eyes, like he'd get in trouble if someone caught him complaining. "A lot. It doesn't hurt too much anymore, but I don't really know what it was like to not have them, so maybe it feels different than this. Surge's seem to hurt more than mine, worse after she used the Dynamo Cage."
He continued on reading and scowled as he went. "No." He said flatly. "I don't care if everyone says he didn't do anything, they weren't there." He crossed his arms, further withdrawing into the blanket. "I don't need to 'process' anything, he's the worst and I hate him. He's just lucky Surge likes him now."
Kit tried his best to look intimidating as he glowered, to really sell what he'd do if Tails didn't have Surge's favor, but the effect was ruined by the warm blanked and the sound of him sipping chocolate.
Anise, what did it feel like to hear Surge call you mom?
Anise let out a small breath as she read the message. What a question to be asked, how on earth would she even begin to answer it?
"Well... it's very hard for me to untangle my feelings about Surge from my feelings for Saffron. I know they're different, in some ways shes nearly unrecognizable, but still. I could tell she was struggling to say how she felt, and in a way, hearing her say it made me feel, well... Ashamed."
She fiddled with the sleeve of her blouse, straightening an imagined crease. "She worked so hard to get to a point where she could say that, all while I've been so distant. I knew in that moment, 'this is my daughter', even if it's not the same daughter I sent off to college. And she needed me, and I hadn't been there!"
Anise took in a shaky breath, before clearing her throat as she tried to maintain her composure. "But, please don't misunderstand. It wasn't just that, it was relief, it was love, it was heartache. A million things all at once. Words can only go so far."
To anyone that can answer: we know that the zaparatus enhanced Starline's hypnosis on Surge, is there a possibility he did something similar with Kit?
Surge rubbed her chin. "I think Calyx said something like that when we were fighting last time. What do you think, Drippy?"
"Maybe..." He shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "From what I've heard Surge tell me it doesn't sound like it works the same for both of us. I don't think I have trouble saying things, he just gets... louder sometimes."
She tilted her head to the side. "Like when?"
"It's um. Usually when something goes wrong, or you're in danger." He kept to himself the other times he'd noticed it. When he was angry, when he was jealous...
She shrugged, not seeing any particular pattern herself. "Could probably figure out some way to do what we did for me, turn off your powers for a bit and see if-"
"No!" Kit's shout seemed to surprise him as much as it did Surge. "I mean- I don't, I-"
"Alright, alright! relax." She gently punched his shoulder. "Don't gotta do it if you don't want to.
He let out a sigh, releasing the sudden tension he felt. Just thinking about not being to use his powers, it... He couldn't stand it if he wasn't useful to her.
Fennel, I know that you're a lot more perceptive than a lot of people give you credit for.
What do you think about Lanolin dating your daughter?
Fennel chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders, hands clasping the head of his cane. "I dunno about 'perceptive', but well..." He glanced to the side before leaning in close to the machine. "You don't exactly have to be mind reader to see what those two have going on.
"Poofball seems a little high-strung, but she cares a heck of a lot about my girl. She always had a habit of getting caught on a problem and ignoring everything else until she's fixed it, she's like her mom in that way. I think Lanolin helps her get out of her head, you know?"
He smiled fondly as he rested his weight on his cane. "Back in the day, Phlox helped her with that kind of thing. I can't tell you how often Saffron would be worked up about something at school or a project she just had to get perfect. There just wasn't any talking sense into her when she got like that.
"Eventually everyone just knew to let Phlox handle it and calm her down." His expression turned wistful as he stared off at the yard. "Course, when Phlox passed, Saffron got worked up on her projects and there wasn't anyone that could get through to her anymore."
He tightened his grip on the cane."We tried, of course. I did the best I could, we all did, she just..." He shook his head and let out a long sigh.
After a moment of stillness, he raised a hand to his mouth and cleared his throat. "Sorry about all that, you weren't trying to hear an old fart like me get all sentimental. Point is, I'm glad she's got someone to keep her on track." A smile crept back on his face as he winked. "A couple someones, if I'm reading things right. Heh, she's got her old man's charm alright!"
So... hypothetically... if we fit some sort of harness to Surge... and we got some skates... could Surge pull Kitsunami around the place?
"Oh, I got you one better!"
Surge looked over her shoulder back towards Kit and Chevril, each on opposite sides of an inner tube bobbing in the knee-high water. "You guys ready?"
"Yeah! Let's go let's go!" Chevril shouted, one fist in the air as the other held onto one of the tube's handles.
"Ready, ma'am."
From the shore of the lake, Anise called out to the group. "Boys, make sure your life vests are on tight!"
To her side, Lanolin folded her arms. "I really don't think we have time for-"
"ME NEXT, ME NEXT!" Tangle was bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waited impatiently.
"Alright, three, two... one-Go!" Surge boosted forward, rising up to the surface of the water as she sped up, pulling the boys behind her as she dashed across the lake's surface.
So to the whole Tenrec family, Surge has come a long way since the incident in central city, but have you tried asking about it?
Of course I won't give the reasons she did it out of respect for privacy but that doesn't change how it was maybe kind of an act of terrorism? Then again I guess the bar might be a bit too high because of a certain rotund megalomaniac
"Incident? Central City?" Fennel asked as he cocked his head to the side.
Surge grimaced. "That, uh, I-"
"She got some kind of power-up and beat the crap out of Sonic." Juniper smiled ever-so-slightly as she turned her phone around to show several gifs of Sonic getting knocked around by Surge, her identity obscured by the energy rolling off her body in her powered-up state.
Looking confused and upset, Chevril stared at Surge in disbelief. "Why'd you hurt Sonic? What'd he do?"
"L…look, I" Even then, she could feel the familiar urge to say that he had it coming, that the bastard was responsible for all of this. Her hands clenched and unclenched as she remembered the moment she had him dead to rights, seconds from finally ending him and being free.
"It was the doctor, right?" Anise stepped behind her and put a steadying hand on her shoulder. "What he did to you… you're not responsible for how he manipulated you."
It was an easy out, and one she was usually glad to take. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw Whisper, leaning against the side of the house, watching. Surge didn't feel any remorse for what she did to Sonic, couldn't if she tried. Whisper though…
She remembered the feeling of breaking that gun of hers, of beating her down until she couldn't fight back. The terror in her eyes as Surge took her wisps one by one…
She shivered just thinking about it, about how incredible it made her feel. There's no rush quite like it, of being so strong, so unstoppable. But with the heightening of her powers, Starline's influence was all the more prevalent, the opposite of the brief reprieve she got from disrupting her power momentarily.
Beating Whisper down like that made her feel in control while the specter of Starline threatened to undermine that same feeling, a vicious feedback loop that enabled her worst impulses. Sure, She couldn't have caused that much damage without the hat, and yeah it really screwed with her head, but if watching all those tapes of Saffron taught her anything it's that she can't blame every bad part of her on the Doc.
"It- it ain't that simple." She stared down at the ground as she talked. "I wouldn't 've been in that spot if it weren't for Starline, but pushing it that far, getting so mad that I was gonna just tear the city down to get to em? That wasn't his idea, it was mine."
Silence fell over them. Juniper was looking at lot less pleased with herself, and Chevril seemed at a loss of how to square this information with the heroic image of Surge he'd built up over the last few weeks. "Yeah, well…" Juniper shrugged, playing the whole thing off. "Like half of the people that hang around Sonic tried to kill him before, right? You're doing the whole… 'hero' thing now, so who cares about that stuff."
Chevril perked up a bit at that. "Like Shadow! Oh, or Knuckles!"
"Yeah…" Surge didn't like the implication of being lumped in with Sonic's inner circle of former enemies turned to allies, but probably best to not dig her grave any deeper at this point.
When she glanced up again, Whisper was gone. Had she even stuck around for Surge spilling her guts like that? She wasn't sure which would be worse.
Anise squeezed her shoulder gently. "Whats in the past is in the past."
"What she said." Fennel titled his head back towards the house. "How about we head in and find a movie or something, eh?"
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