Neutral Charges {Sequel/ Sonourge}

TWENTY-THREE

__Scourge sat there, frozen in place as his dead father stared down at him. He was hugging Buck to his chest since the dog seemed to be afraid of the sparkling blue hedgehog. Scourge had his ears flattened and was trembling a bit. Seriously, Fiona!? Why my dad!? He swallowed as his father started talking.
__"Well, Sonic, you certainly have changed in appearance," He said calmly.
__Scourge kept his ears down as he looked at the floor. "That's not my name anymore. I'm Scourge now."
__His father nodded. "All right then. So, you've left our world for this one then? I can see why. This world is much more beautiful."
__Scourge didn't look up. "What's your game? I doubt you actually want to catch up."
__"You got that part right," Scourge looked up as his father sat down and hugged his knees to his chest. "Everything happens for a reason, son. I think you've already figured that out."
__"What do you mean?"
__"You have regrets, Scourge, and so do I," The sparkly hedgehog began. "But everything that has happened in the past is what has lead you to this moment."
__Scourge perked his ears back up and started rubbing Buck's head to calm him down. "I've changed. I really wish I didn't do all those things I did."
__His father smiled and shook his head. "Come now, son. If you hadn't killed me, then you wouldn't have left our world and came here. You wouldn't have met Fiona, and you wouldn't be here with your counterpart now."
__"I guess so, but I still wish some things were different." Scourge stopped petting Buck and looked directly into his father's eyes.
__"I understand completely," His father agreed. "Right now I only wish I could've given you more."
__Scourge flattened his ears again and narrowed his eyes. "Did you even care about me?"
__"Of course I did," His father sighed. "It was hard raising you by myself. I didn't have your mother or any friends to help me. I saw how dangerous the world was and thought I could make it better so you would have a better life growing up."
__Scourge's eyes grew wide and he felt his heart shatter. "I...I had no idea..." He then moved Buck off of him and mimicked his father's pose. "I'm so sorry."
__"Don't be. I gave you many reasons to hate me enough to resort to that."
__Scourge shook his head. "It was stupid. Killing you was stupid."
__"Your mind was tainted with hate, and in a world filled with hate, it wasn't anything unnatural."
__Scourge gritted his teeth and glared at his father. "You're making it sound like killing you was okay! It wasn't okay! Even in a world filled with evil!"
__"Well, you can't change the past because you regret some things," His father pointed out. "You'd change the future, and I don't think you want to change what you have now."
__Scourge sighed and looked away. "I really don't. I'm happy with what I got."
__The sparkly hedgehog let go of his knees and repositioned himself to where he sat on them. "You'll always feel bad for what you did. That's only natural. What's important is what you learn from it. Now you know what not to do."
__Scourge perked his ears and looked at Buck. Buck looked confused and concerned with what was happening. Scourge couldn't help but feel the same. "Such a drastic lesson to learn from," He muttered. He then looked back at his father. "Have you...been watching me?"
__"It's hard for me to watch you. I'm dead in another zone. It was difficult for Fiona to reach me so I could come see you. This is my first time seeing you since you first left Moebius." His father then grinned. "I do like your idea of renaming our home world, though."
__"A lot of moebians do," Scourge nodded. "Maxx loved it so much, even though he was about to have his men dismantle me in prison."
__His father's eyes started glimmering as he tilted his head. "It's nice to see you grew up into a man."
__Scourge straightened his legs out before crisscrossing them and crossed his arms. "And it only took Sonic not giving up on me when I lost Fiona and the Destructix." Scourge then giggled and shook his head. "I always imagined if you did somehow visited me that you'd drown me in hate and disapproval."
__"I could never. I understand the hell you went through. I'm a lot more reasonable than you think." The blue hedgehog then looked away and closed his eyes. "Scourge, I want you to know that I do love you still. You killing me was me atoning for my sins."
__"What sins!?" Scourge exclaimed. "You did everything for me!"
__"But I pushed you away in the process," His father said tiredly. "That was the most sinful thing I ever did."
__The air was thick with melancholy as the two hedgehogs looked at each other in silence. Even Buck didn't move or make any noise. Scourge didn't know what else to say. His own father told him he cared about him. There was nothing he could do or say to make it up to him.
__Scourge felt his phone vibrate and grabbed it out of his pocket. Sonic had texted him. He said the meeting had cut short and he would be home shortly. He put his phone away and looked at his father. "Well, my boyfriend will be here soon."
__His father giggled and stood up. "I guess I have to leave as well. Before I do, your girl wanted me to call you an idiot as well."
__"Oh come the fuck on!" Scourge stood up as well and snorted. "At this rate she's gonna have every single dead spirit calling me that, and I still don't know why!"
__"I don't know much, but I can see where she's coming from." His father brought his arms behind him and grinned. "Anything else you want to say before I go? I doubt we'll see each other again."
__Scourge flattened his ears and frowned. "Really?" He sighed and looked down at the floor. "I...I really am sorry for what I did."
__"So am I. Good bye, my son." The blue hedgehog's smile grew bigger as he slowly vanished into thin air.
__Scourge groaned and looked down at Buck as he stood and placed his nose on his stomach. Scourge immediately stepped back and started rubbing his neck. "Your nose is wet! Ew!" Buck barked and started panting as Scourge continued to rub his neck. "That's a pretty smile you got. Yes it is!" He tried making himself feel better by messing around with Buck, but he still felt upset about his father.
__The front door opened and Sonic came in. He shut the door behind him and smiled as he walked over to Scourge. "What did you two do while I was out?"
__Scourge turned to face Sonic and put a smile on his face. He tried keeping it up, but his father came to mind and he frowned and shut his eyes.
__Sonic noticed this and brought his face closer to Scourge's. "Scourge?" Scourge immediately grabbed Sonic and hugged him tightly. "H-hey. What's going on? Are you okay?"
__"I'll tell you in a minute. I just...need a hug right now." Scourge kept his eyes closed as he tightened his grip on Sonic. When Sonic hugged him back Scourge started burying his face into his shoulder. The feeling of Sonic's warmth was slowly calming him down.