" As I was SAYING, or rather thinking anyways, Sonic has PARENTS, so let's see what kinda fun I can have at HIS place, " Scourge thought. A minute ago, he had just met Fiona for the first time, impressed by her beauty, and impressed her with his level of kissing skill, only to be disappointed that while she was interested, she was too busy at the time to spend the entire day with him; she was part of the Brain Trust with Tails and was going to do work in the lab, meaning she couldn't kiss him all day at the same time.

He had already been told, " I'm too busy, " by Amy, who wasn't nearly as great of a kisser, so he wasn't happy and stormed off in a huff, not bothering to say a word. Just before that, he had just avoided an explosion from stepping on one of Eggman's beta bombs placed around Knothole, and been lectured by Sally about not marking them.

He looked around Knothole trying to figure out which of the straw huts would even BE Sonic's house, looking in their windows as he thought, " How did that nag even expect me to mark them before they blew up, anyways?!... What, with signs that would float ABOVE the landmines so they won't get blown up? Actually, I bet Rotor could make those. But Sonic didn't have those with him when I replaced him… "

Eventually, he noticed some blue hedgehogs through the kitchen window of Sonic's house. One of them looked eerily like his mother but with long hair rather than short hair cropped into a bun and without a Bluetooth cell phone on her ear to talk through. He thought, " It's weird seeing her without her Bluetooth on. But more importantly, what's that robot there?! It can't be one of the normal ones that wanna ice Sonic because she's talkin' to him like it ain't no thing, and with that streak of ' hair ' at the top, yep, that's my ' dad, ' alright. "

Scourge looked resentful, and briefly wondered, " Should I even bother going here? " because he dreaded going to talk to them, before deciding, " Of course I should! " out of sheer curiosity at what would happen next, and a desire for causing trouble. He was expecting them to be cold and distant and controlling, and looked forward to running around messing the place as a punishment, although he wasn't sure how much he could get away with if he wanted to impersonate Sonic from then on. So he wondered if he could even get away with ANYTHING, and looked disappointed as a result.

Just when they spotted him standing outside their house, he ran up to the front door and knocked on it since it was locked for security, and Sonic's mother Bernadette opened the door, immediately saying with concern, " Sonic, are you alright?! We haven't seen you since yesterday! What happened?! " She had an expression of worry on her face that just confused Scourge, who thought, " I only ever saw that look when she was getting bad business news… " and he backed up a little at first because she was standing so close to him that her yellow streak of hair was making contact with his forehead.

Then he realized that acting nervous around what was supposed to be his mother would just make him look suspicious, so he quickly tried to save face walking past her and acting proud. " I just did what I normally do! Fight Eggman and always win! " he said, going into the living room. Jules asked him, " What'd you do that kept you from coming home last night? " which immediately alerted Scourge to the attention of the blue robot hedgehog sitting in an armchair.

It was strange hearing the voice of his father coming through a sort of electronic synthesized voice box that still sounded like a person's voice emoting naturally, and it was off-putting seeing him look like a robot with menacing black and red eyes. On the one hand, he was thankful that he didn't look just like his father and bring back bad memories, that he looked unique from other Jules, but on the other, he was thinking, " Never thought my old man could look even MORE intimidating!... I'm glad Sonic can't hear me admit that. "

He was curious about how in the world Sonic's father could be a robot, but then he remembered when one of the Robotniks of the multiverse tried to have him roboticized after he gave him parts of the Giant Borg, and he assumed that Jules was roboticized by one of those. He couldn't exactly ask for clarification when pretending to be Sonic, not unless he wanted to fake amnesia and that would just make them fuss over him keeping him in the house for even longer, judging by Bernadette's behavior. He just wanted a quick visit, not the whole day, and while he was curious about what would be in their photo album, sitting still looking at it for hours would make him bored eventually, from both physical inactivity, and from a lack of attachment to any of the memories he'd be shown.

Noticing that his " son " was lost in thought looking confused, Jules said, " Son? " Scourge looked nervous and then annoyed asking, " Wh-What?! " The word " son " was a trigger word for him that he intensely hated. While he wanted to give Jules what he thought he deserved for that, he wondered if losing his temper with him would get him in the kind of trouble that would get him revealed for who he really was, and ruin the point of replacing Sonic in the first place, and obviously he realized the truth pretty quickly.

Even saying, " Don't ever call me that again! " like he wanted so badly would just get him in trouble, as he'd ask why, and he didn't wanna deal with that kind of drama during what was supposed to be a fun little visit, not just another screaming match or worse. He didn't wanna think about how badly a hit from Jules' robot hands could hurt, but his mind wandered to that anyways and he almost flinched.

Jules asked, " What'd you do last night fighting Robotnik? It must have been very important if you not only couldn't get any sleep, but couldn't have breakfast for a few minutes either. " Scourge knew he had to make the lie convincing, but he didn't exactly have time to come up with a foolproof one. He only had a second. " I fought some giant robots. The usual. Except they were giant, of course… Oh, and I destroyed, uh, something trying to destroy a village. " Scourge lied, and while he was nervous, he tried to act casual and proud about his accomplishment just like Sonic would've, only here, it was hollow, because he didn't actually do anything.

Sonic's mom asked, " Oh, like the Cater-Killer train? OK, good for you. I'm proud of you, honey, " as a response. He was stunned at that, and thought, " I wish I had something real to brag about, but of course I can't brag about replacing Sonic to anyone here, well except maybe Patch. But I'll deal with HIM LATER. "

" Why so glum? " she asked and immediately took Scourge from his thoughts. He was confused and asked, " Wh-Where'd THAT come from? " She said, " Well, you looked like you were unhappy and deep in thought about something!... Don't you wanna talk about it? " Scourge quickly shook his head, being completely confused and instinctively suspicious and creeped out about what looked like his uncaring mother wanting to know what was on his mind and how he was feeling from actual concern. His own mother only asked him stuff like that if she wanted to know if he was doing anything that would inconvenience or bother her. She had always made it clear that she just thought of him as a troublemaker, even before he was causing trouble at school. She only focused on herself.

Nervous, he hurriedly changed the subject, " W-Well, you care about me SO MUCH, right? When's breakfast? " trying to force a smile to act light-hearted. Sonic's mom replied, " We didn't know you'd be home this second. I'll get started on it, " and left, still worried, with Jules confused about his nervous behavior. " What could possibly make him so nervous around US? It's not like he just MET me, he's used to me being a robot by now! What's he not telling us? "

Before he could try to go to Sonic's room to break his things, Tails went into the house, saying, " You got any more bread and cheese? " while planning to make a snack for himself. This distracted Scourge as he instead remembered how Tails acted the last time he saw him, getting him annoyed at him with a rant in his head as Tails noticed him and looked awkward. Scourge thought, " I hope that awkwardness is guilt, Tails! " irritated that Tails had treated him like he was in the wrong for kissing and cuddling with Bunnie earlier.

As Sonic's mother was making breakfast in the kitchen, Jules sensed the awkwardness in the room between them and asked out of curiosity, " Did something happen between you two? " hoping that he would find out what Scourge was hiding to make him so nervous, even if it had to be from Tails instead. Scourge thought in annoyance, " WHY do you two wanna know EVERYTHING?! What, am I being interrogated here?! " but metaphorically bit his tongue to avoid getting in trouble.

Tails said, " We were supposed to hang out yesterday, but he pulled a no-show and I saw him kissing Bunnie instead, " crossing his arms at the end. " What's the problem with me being HAPPY? You'd think you'd be happy for me enjoying myself with a girl, but I guess not! So much for everything I've done for you! " Scourge replied, only starting to realize by the end of it that his irritated response might give the game away. Of course, just because he sounded annoyed at Tails wouldn't make them all jump to the paranoid conclusion that he wasn't even Sonic in the first place, everyone was in a bad mood sometimes, but Scourge was paranoid because he knew the truth and was trying to cover it up. With him being in such a familiar situation and argument again, he was more talking to Miles than Tails, and it took a while for him to remember that it wasn't Miles.

Tails looked ashamed, but Scourge only saw him looking hurt from being told off, and he thought, " Great, now I know how Patch feels. I better fix this, " and acknowledged, " Wait, you said ' no-show? ' So is THAT all this is about? I forgot, people forget stuff all the TIME. Even the stuff people think is super important. And so I'm having fun with a girl, you should just be happy for me, not just jealous! " He stopped just short of telling him that Tails wanted him all to himself and he had to get over it; he had to deal with Miles being jealous like that for years, ever since he first met Alicia, and he was already sick of being treated like the bad guy for it. He never really thought he was doing anything wrong wanting to enjoy having a girlfriend for once. To him, Miles was being the selfish one.

He went to the kitchen to sit down at the table, and everyone in the living room quickly followed him to sit down at it too, not wanting the conversation to end there. Tails reluctantly said, " Okay, you have a good point. I'm sorry, I should be happy for you. It's not just, I mean I guess it IS since I wanted to spend time with you instead. But it's not just about that! Sally probably still misses you, and Antoine still misses Bunnie! And you kissed her like it was nothing! They won't be happy! I guess it's good that you're finally moving on from Sally, but, ARE you? Or do you just really wanna replace her with another girlfriend? You care about Bunnie, right? What about Sally? You were about to get married to her earlier! "

As Sonic's mom was making pancakes, Scourge hoped she wouldn't butt in from hearing about that and felt compelled to speak quick so neither of Sonic's parents would first, so he let his guard down for once instead of keeping up the act as best as possible, saying dismissively, " SALLY? I don't miss her, she's a nag! She has been for years and I'm sick of all her whining and complaining! Sure, she's a great kisser, but we were like oil and water, and if I can get a girl not like that, I'm better off, so I don't know what the old me was THINKING! And ANTOINE doesn't care about anyone but HIMSELF at this point, TRUST me. "

Tails looked shocked with his blunt insults, and Scourge continued, " Well, maybe he cares about YOU, anyways. Has he ruffled your hair? Held your hand when you were scared of the dark? I'm talkin' AFTER he went all serious on you. "

Still confused by his behavior, Tails said, " Well, yeah, actually. T-The FIRST one! I'm not scared of the dark! I can just fly in it and not trip on anything. " Scourge looked confused and asked, " You're sure? You're not scared of flying into stuff like walls? " and said skeptically, " There's no point in trying to hide your fears from me, lil' bro, I know ya inside and out. " If Tails had known it was Scourge, he would've found that very creepy, and Scourge didn't actually mean it in an intimidating way. He was just talking as if he was talking to Miles again, reassuring his little brother that he could be honest with him and get reassured for it.

" Well, I'm not. I'm not lying about that. I'm braver than people think, you know, " Tails replied, and Scourge noticed the annoyance in his tone from being accused of cowardice and thought it was outright resentment, thinking it was too big of a deal because of his experience with Miles. He thought, " I guess that's possible, maybe this Tails IS braver. Maybe he doesn't have the same kind of issues. I mean, he had no problem flying around to hit me last time, he was talkin' tough the whole time. Miles would've stayed quiet all serious, if he was even doing that at all. " And since he realized that being meaner than Sonic was giving the game away, he admitted, " Yeah, you're probably right, " trying to act casual avoiding eye contact like before, causing Tails to smile in appreciation.

Sonic's mom put pancakes on a plate in front of Sonic, and gave one to Tails as well, saying, " Here you go, you said you were still hungry. " Scourge still couldn't get used to how relentlessly considerate she was compared to his own mom, and then he looked at the pancake in front of him in confusion because it wasn't already cut for him by a servant. " Uh… " He felt awkward about asking someone else to cut his food for him, as usually it just happened, and if he outright asked, he was worried he would just look needy or at least lazy, so he reluctantly cut a part of the pancake with the side of his fork and took a bite of the syrupy piece, and smiled at its taste, and commented under his breath, " Well that's pretty good, actually… " As usual, Scourge didn't know when to keep his thoughts to himself.

Sonic's mom said in confusion, " You were expecting it to be worse? " reminding Scourge that once again he had slipped up, this time by being heard when he spoke without thinking, again. He thought, " I'm really starting to get sick of this, " and lied half-heartedly, " No, " leaving it at that. They knew it was a lie, Jules said, " You wouldn't have said it if you weren't, " and Sonic's mom said unhappily, " I make it the same way every TIME. Why are you more impressed with it now? "

Tails said, " Don't worry, he's just hungrier than usual because he's having his breakfast late. Maybe that's why he enjoys it more. " Scourge smiled at Tails covering for him, being reminded of a friendship long gone, and briefly stroked his hair as a reward as if he was Miles, making him smile again. Sonic's mom replied, " But then why'd he say, ' actually? ' As if he had low expectations? " Jules told her, " Stop being insecure about your cooking, you're great at it! Well, I assume you still are. "

Scourge stammered a lie, " N-No, I didn't mean to make you… I, uh, well, I had pancakes yesterday, by someone ELSE, and they weren't as good. " They believed him, in what was actually only a half-truth; he didn't mean to make her insecure about her own cooking, something that just made him awkward from pity, and while he had some pancakes he didn't like, it wasn't just yesterday. He was surprised because the only time he could remember his mother cooking was one day when the servant was home sick and they didn't have a replacement yet, and she tried cooking for the day with disappointing results. Alicia was never good at cooking, either. They were rich people who were used to other people doing the chores for them.

" When did someone else make you pancakes? " Sonic's mom asked him in curiosity and jealousy with her arms crossed, and he lied in annoyance, " At a, kinda buffet? Like, not an outright buffet, but, they were on a long table. Why the laundry list of questions?! I like the pancakes, can't that be all? " with his resentment getting out again, and once again he worried that he blew it because he was losing his temper.

" Well, we're your PARENTS! We have a right to know what's going on in your life! We were worried about you because you didn't come home last night, and we're curious about how things are going for you. Of course we'd ask you questions, it's to make conversation, " Sonic's mom replied, taken aback, and Scourge said, " Alright, alright, don't make a big deal out of it, " finishing up his breakfast noticeably quicker so he could get it done already. He liked the taste of it, but he couldn't stand the tense atmosphere of trying to keep things a secret, from people who clearly knew Sonic far too well for him.

He said, " Well, I gotta go, get rid of more landmines, " sitting up from the chair making up an excuse to leave. He was sick of the constant stress of trying to keep the secret, the constant pressure of having to come up with good lies on the spot just to get questioned even more and the pressure to reveal a soft side and keep his temper under control all the time. And while he hated to ever think of himself as having anxiety, that was exactly what was bothering him every time he realized his behavior was suspicious, and he internally insulted himself for giving the game away every time. He hadn't been that nervous about not screwing up getting into trouble since he lived with his parents and hadn't learned how to outrun them yet, and normally when he was questioned, it was because he was in trouble and on the verge of being punished, and he refused to put up with a punishment that easily.

" Wait, don't you want a HUG? " That sentence from someone with his mother's voice completely confused him making him stop in his tracks, and he turned to face her looking nervous and apprehensive. He made an excuse, " Well, Sally's so impatient, she's probably already expecting me to, uh… " as she walked towards him. He was already starting to change his mind about keeping the act up for long, so he wasn't sure about revealing he had a soft side in front of people who would no doubt find out who they were really talking to recently.

At the same time, he couldn't motivate himself to run away from her. When she hugged him, she gave him something he had wanted his entire life, and he closed his eyes and hugged back instinctively because of it. It was so warm and soft, but at the same time, confusing and alienating coming from someone with her face. But at the same time, he never wanted it to end. And yet it had to. " Are you ready to let go now, sweetie? " he heard her say, and he let go becoming embarrassed, not realizing that seven seconds had passed. He backed away and said nervously, " W-What are you doing, people could see me! I-I-I got a reputation to protect, you know! Where'd that come from? " noticing Tails' smile at first being replaced with confusion.

She noticed that he said that already, and said in confusion, " From being a good mother! You wanted to feel more loved, right? Isn't that why you started kissing Bunnie after Sally left you? It's okay, I understand. As long as you're still being nice to her, and care about her, it's fine if you wanna be with her. " Scourge looked embarrassed and awkward; she was figuring him out way too easily, and he found it creepy, purely because he wasn't used to it. He couldn't believe that someone looking like his mother would care about him, and not just have ulterior motives when she was being nice. He was still waiting for the catch, but considering how hard it was to keep his identity a secret, he realized he had already run into one.

She continued, " Just be aware that Bunnie's last break-up, hit her hard. She's lonely and doesn't wanna another one to end on her, at least I assume, so I just hope you're not gonna end up breaking her heart. Like Antoine did. Well, she broke up with HIM, but still. "

After looking awkward the whole time, he started walking away, annoyed at being nagged at, responding, " I do whatever I want… " and ran out. He was leaving the house avoiding her question, fed up with keeping up the lie any longer than he had to. What she had told him was making him uncomfortable, and he always hated that feeling, especially when it resulted from unwanted pity towards someone else.

He didn't mean to risk upsetting Bunnie, or breaking her heart. All he was doing was making himself feel loved, and without considering the consequences and what he could get himself into, because he hated sitting still to think ahead. He didn't want to just sit there and start worrying. He supposed he would appreciate a clingy girlfriend, especially since he was accused of being clingy and needy himself by Alicia and he really appreciated how Miles was once that way, giving him affection like hugs and appreciating it from him in a platonic way. Bunnie would be the same way and he had missed that kind of relationship for years. But at the same time, being with one of the good girls wouldn't be worth all the stressful lying about who he really was.

He thought he was proud of who he was, and he was much too impatient to keep up the lying and holding back his temper for long. He was nice to MILES, because he was sensitive, but if he was trying to be Sonic, EVERYONE would be Miles, and he didn't know if he could keep that up for long, when already, he was letting bitter snarks and insults come out without caring to keep them bottled up. He thought that if Sonic was acting grumpier, they would question it, and he would have to explain it all the time. He needed someone who would accept him for who he was, evil or not.

And that's when he saw Rouge, and thought that she would. Little did he know that all she really wanted to do that was evil was steal jewels, and the minute he was going to want to do something ELSE, she would want him to stop as soon as possible.