While Scourge was running around Anti-Mobius having just returned from it after escaping arrest from the Zonic he gave a bump on the forehead, he noticed, in the dark of night, a yellow and white tail sticking out from below the surface of the shallow side of a lake. Stopping in his tracks, he then noticed some bubbles coming from below the surface of the water, where a familiar if distorted yellow figure could vaguely be seen, and it threw him into a panic when it dawned on him what might be happening. He ran at the speed of sound towards him, slowed himself down to a halt next to him and pulled him out of the lake, seeing the unconscious figure of Miles lying face down in front of him. " MILES! " he screamed.

While he didn't have his leather jacket on or even his spiked bracelets, Scourge could tell by the messy blond hair on his head and two gold piercings near the ear that it was unmistakably him, the little brother figure who walked away from him like the rest of his friends. But despite that hurtful memory, he found himself panicking at what was happening and turning him over on his back hitting on his chest, telling himself that he was hitting him mostly as revenge for leaving him. He started pushing against his chest as hard as he could with one hand and hitting his upper chest closer to his neck with the other, overwhelmed with panic and shaking uncontrollably at the horror of what he was facing, until finally Miles coughed up some water from it. " Miles! Wake up, breathe! " Scourge yelled, and from his position, it was clear that he would've resorted to CPR if the kid hadn't resumed breathing instinctively.

Soon, Miles groaned in pain, revealing that he was waking up, and Scourge started wiping his face and head to try and dry him off, and then lifted him from beneath to hold him in his arms like Merlin did with the duplicate of Tails once as he laid on the ground. Feeling the familiar physical contact and noticing the familiar comforting scent of the first parental figure he had, he forced his eyes open and squinted through the blurry vision to make out the image of a blue hedgehog with a leather jacket and shades in front of him. The vision slightly cleared, and when he noticed that he was lying on the damp grass just beside the same lake he was just lying in, it dawned on him that instead of being dead, he had survived. " I'm alive? " he said in a strained voice full of confusion, coughing afterwards as he had the feeling in his throat that one would have from swallowing water and it going down the wrong hole.

" Don't sound so disappointed, man! I saved your life! " Scourge said masking his concern with a forced smile. " I-I'm not, " Miles lied awkwardly, not comfortable with the idea of someone knowing what he had tried to do. He continued with a slightly weak voice, " Thanks a LOT, " sounding irritated and glum. Unfortunately for him, Scourge caught his irritation and said quickly while helping him to a sitting position in the first sentence, " You damn right you should thank me! What the hell were you thinking?! You know how much you worried me there when I saw one of your tails stickin' outta the water? Do you know how much your gang will be worried once they find out you almost got yourself killed?! "

" N-No, you can't tell them! It's just gonna get them upset! I-I mean, I wasn't, it wasn't what it looked like! I was just, " Miles said in a panic. " Then what was it?! You're soaking wet, they're gonna know you were in the water and they'll wanna know why! " Scourge said in anger born of worry, frustrated with him. " I-I-I was just practicing holding my breath! I do it all the time when I go to sleep! I just wanted to put that skill to the test and see if I could break my two minute record, " Miles told him, telling him a half-truth. Sceptical, Scourge asked, " You expect me to believe that's why you came all the way over here in the dark of night all by your lonesome? It's not like you to take risks like that! You could've been killed! " Miles responded, " You weren't there to see all the times I lifted my head out of the water to catch a breath! It was nothing serious, Sonic, it was just a little test, an experiment, to see. "

There was a silence as Miles hoped that Scourge would believe him; that had indeed started out as his feeble excuse to start, but he knew the real reasons behind it pushing him to attempt the risky experiment. Scourge looked sad and said, " Why'd you do it, Miles? Was it me? Were you really feeling that bad about letting me down that it drove ya to this? Did you miss me that much? " After a few seconds where Miles looked depressed not even trying to deny it, he admitted, " That was a part of it, " his voice breaking a little. Scourge put his arms around him in a protective hug, apologized, " I'm so, so sorry, little bro. If only I had been there, this never would've happened! "

After a couple seconds where Miles relished in the love and affection of the hug, Miles apologized, " You're right, Sonic, I am sorry. I lied, okay?! About that ' sidekick, ' remark! I only said it to spite you, but I ended up feeling horrible about it after everything you've done for me! I'm so sorry I made you… feel let down, like that, but I just didn't want to choose just one friend going who knows where and doing who knows what, over a whole group of supporting people in a stable situation! I'm sorry. " Scourge sighed, his shoulders relaxing at finally getting some decent closure on that, and he reassured him caressing the back of his head, " It's okay. "

After they let go of each other, Scourge ordered him sternly with a serious expression, " Don't you EVER do anything like that again! " Miles was silent looking worried, and he continued, " Promise?! " To his disappointment, he received the sad response, " I don't wanna make a promise I can't keep. I don't know the future! Do you want me to lie to you?! Will that make you feel better? I didn't mean to worry you, or anyone for that matter. I just, just, wasn't thinking clearly. I wasn't getting enough sleep. "

Scourge sighed heavily, realizing that this was the best he could expect, and decided to change the subject. " Well, at least I saved you from it. It'll be the perfect free ticket for me to get accepted back in the gang. N-Not that I missed them all or anything. Just you. So where's your jacket? " Scourge said awkwardly. After a brief awkward silence since Miles felt guilty about not wearing the leather jacket he had given to him as a gift, he replied, " It's in my closet, it's too small for me now. So I got some red new clothes. " He pointed to them, and Scourge noticed them for the first time; before that point, he had been so focused on seeing his tail out of the water that he hadn't given the clothes a second thought. Miles said, " I didn't want to make them wet, " as Scourge looked disappointed at finding that he had put his menacing-looking spiked bracelets with their spikes retracted below the clothes.

Scourge said seriously while giving him his clothes, " Well, put 'em on. You're shivering, and being wet is only making it worse. I'm not lettin' MY little brother get hypothermic! " After Miles reluctantly put them back on, Scourge smiled slightly in an affectionate manner remembering how close they used to be, said, " Here, this'll be warmer, " and lifted him into his arms tucking his head into his shoulder, where it would be shielded from the cold wind as he ran at the speed of sound to Alicia's castle in the Great Forest. Miles didn't want to admit it, but he was content at that, even if he was disappointed in his previous failure.

When he approached Alicia holding Miles in his arms, the first thing out of her mouth was, " Soni-MILES, what happened to you?! " noticing that he was dripping wet. Scourge explained looking glum and serious, " He almost drowned himself in the lake. Tryin' to see how long he could hold his breath, from what he said. " Miles smiled nervously at her hoping he wouldn't get in trouble, and answered hoping he'd be seen as too cute to get mad at, " I did a whole bunch of attempts, and I ended up beating my record! Well over a minute this time! I-I just got overzealous, that's all. Sorry I worried everyone. It's a good thing Sonic came along and saved me! " Alicia said to Scourge with her eyes wide open in shock, " You saved his life? " After he nodded smiling, awkwardly from what he saved him from, he asked, " So am I back in the gang? "

Alicia responded happily, " You're damn right you are! " called out, " Rotor! Patch! You'll never believe what just happened! " and then said to Miles full of concern, " You need to get a towel and get all dried up! Then I'll tuck you in bed tight under the covers. You could catch a cold or something like this! " which made everyone around her smile, as she was the mother that Miles never had. As Scourge left and came back in a blur with the towels, he nodded, smiling bashfully at being reminded of how much his friends cared about him as the rest of the gang rushed into the room. And at the same time, he started feeling even more guilty than he was before from feeling like he'd been being inconsiderate to them. And that was how Scourge ended up returning to being the top dog in a gang that once walked out on him, leading up to Patch eventually contesting him for that position later on.