Knuckles sighed. He didn't want to do this, but he had to. It was his only option. His fingerless glove gripped the phone hard, his head in a whirl. It hurt to even be thinking about what he was going to say!

Finally, the ringing stopped, and he heard a familiar voice on the other end say, "Yo, what's up, Knux?"

The red echidna sighed. He had to get used to Sonic having phone I.D. "Hey…Sonic? I…I'm not feeling so well…"

There was a pause on the other end. "Well…THAT'S a first!"

Knuckles squeezed his eyes shut. "I can't talk much, Sonic!" he yelled.

"Say no more! The world's fastest hedgehog will be over there ASAP!" a click on the other end. He had hung up.

Knuckles shook the phone in rage. It actually gave him a slight moment of rest from the raging headaches and tormenting stomach pains. But that wasn't the point. The point was: he didn't want Sonic to come over. He wanted Sonic to call someone else to see if THEY could come over! Tikal had escaped the Master Emerald to guard it for him, and all he needed was someone to care for him...but not Sonic!

The Master Emerald Guardian let his head fall on bed in despair. Now, he was doomed…

Wait a minute! Knuckles' eyes shot open as an idea formed into his head. A smile of hope crossed his face as he dialed a new number on the phone.

Ring…ring….

"Hello?" asked a familiar low voice.

"Shadow? Oh, thank goodness! Listen, I need you to come over here right away!"

A pause. "…why?"

"Shadow! I'm doomed!" Knuckles cried. "Sonic's coming over to take care of me!"

Another pause. "Why do you need someone to take care of you?"

"I'M SICK!" Knuckles cried. Instantly, he regretted. His stomach did not take that at all…

Hearing his friend's moans of pain, Shadow instantly became worried. "Knuckles, you all right?"

"I think…but I'm not going to be if Sonic's here!" the red echidna exclaimed.

A sigh. "I understand. I'll be over there as soon as I can."

A click. Knuckles put the phone down in relief. He gently laid back down on the bed, resting his eyes. Everything would be okay, now…Shadow was going to be in control, and Sonic would (hopefully) behave…

But little did he know that when Sonic and Shadow were together in a kitchen, things would be worse than it being Sonic alone…WAY worse…

…………

Sonic opened the door to Knuckles' house, and walked in. Personally, he felt proud. Proud that Knuckles trusted him to take care of him. Walking in, he took a glance at his surroundings. It was a comfy place…but it didn't have that many decorations, and was as plain as plain could be. Probably because he spends most of his time outside guarding that emerald, he figured.

Suddenly, his keen ears heard the door behind him open, and he turned to see (to his surprise), Shadow.

"Shadow? What're you doing here?" the blue hedgehog asked.

"To take care of Knuckles, so then you don't have to!" Shadow informed, closing the door behind him.

"WHAT? But he called ME to take care of him!" Sonic argued, pointing his thumb at himself.

"Ah, but he called me right afterwards, wanting ME to take care of him!" Shadow put in.

"But he called me first!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Oh well! He called in a replacement—so you'd better get moving!" Shadow shouted.

"I'm not leaving! Knuckles asked me to take care of him, so that's what I'm doing!" Sonic crossed his arms over his chest.

Shadow sighed irritably. "You are so stubborn…" he muttered.

Sonic nodded. "You bet I am! I'm not leaving!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"SHUT UP!" the two hedgehogs winced as they heard Knuckles yell at them. "Why don't BOTH of you take care of me?"

Sonic and Shadow exchanged glances. Finally they shrugged.

"That works," they said in unison.

Knuckles slapped his forehead at how easily they agreed.

Shadow raised his hands to his mouth and shouted, "Hey Knuckles! Is there any type of entertainment you want right now? A movie? Television? Video game?"

Sonic grinned. "Shadow doing the chicken dance," he murmured.

Shadow gave him a death glare, and awaited his friend's answer.

"Can you come up here to talk? I don't want to yell! It hur—" Shadow was already in front of him. Knuckles sighed. Sometimes, having friends that could move faster than the speed of sound could be annoying.

"What entertainment do you want?" the ebony hedgehog inquired again.

"Just put in a movie…how about Finding Nemo," at Knuckles' suggestion of a movie, Shadow froze.

"What?" the red echidna asked.

"You want to watch a kid's movie?" he asked, dumb-founded.

Knuckles looked offended. "I like Finding Nemo! It ain't that kiddie!"

Sonic's head peeked into the bedroom. "Yeah…Finding Nemo isn't that bad of a kid's movie—I still like it!"

As Shadow turned around to put the movie in, he mumbled to himself, "That's because you're a kid at heart, you idiot."

"You say something, Shads?" Sonic inquired.

The ebony hedgehog shook his head as the movie began to play. "No. Nothing."

"Thanks, guys," Knuckles called as Shadow left following Sonic.

The ebony hedgehog nodded, and the two hedgehogs jogged down the stairs.

"Well…now what?" Sonic asked.

"Now, we make him soup," was the reply.

Sonic froze. "Uh…Shadow? We only got one, itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-polka-dot-bikini, problem…"

The ebony hedgehog turned to face his blue look-a-like. "Oh? And what might that be?"

"I don't know how to make soup!"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "You follow the instructions, you idiot!"

Sonic put his hands on his hips. "Ya know, ya don't have to keep calling me that!"

"Why not? It's fun."

"Well, it ain't fun for me," the blue hedgehog replied, following the other hedgehog into the kitchen.

"You think it would be?" Shadow asked, reaching into the pantry to find a soup.

"No…but then again, its common sense to think that, isn't it?" Sonic asked.

No answer.

"Shadow?"

Silence.

"Shadow, what are you looking at?" Sonic asked, walking up behind the stunned ebony hedgehog.

His answer was a point of a finger. Sonic's eyes followed where the finger indicated, and he instantly scrunched up his nose in distaste.

"What is Knucklehead thinking? What kind of soups are these?" he asked, pulling a can out. It said: "Pineapple Soup".

Shadow shrugged. "But one thing's for sure: Knuckles isn't a carnivore or an herbivore. He's a fruitivore."

Sonic followed the ebony hedgehog out of the pantry, still holding the pineapple soup can, and looking at it oddly. Finally, he turned it in his hand to find the instructions. Shadow, one step ahead, grabbed a bowl, and awaited instructions.

"Okay…first, we mix the soup with one can of water…" Sonic paused, and the two exchanged confused glances.

"One can of water?" Shadow repeated. "What does it mean by that?"

Sonic shrugged. "I guess we can just empty this one out, refill it with water, and pour it in."

Shadow shrugged back. "Makes sense to me." So that was what they did.

Using a spoon, Sonic dipped out all the ugly jello-like soup into the bowl. Once it was empty, he handed it to Shadow, and the ebony hedgehog filled it with water. He then poured it into the bowl, and began to mix it. Shadow scrunched up his face. So far, the soup didn't look eatable at all.

"Sonic…" Shadow looked behind him, but then froze.

Sonic had the empty can in one hand, and his other was out, as if he was taking aim. His left eye was closed shut, and his tongue stuck out, as if in deep concentration. Shadow watched with interest as he threw it, and it landed perfectly in the trash can.

"Score!" Sonic cheered, throwing his hands into the air.

Shadow rolled his eyes, shaking his head. Quietly, he continued to stir the soup. Sonic leaned over his friend's shoulder, observing his work. All was quiet, until…

"Hey, Shadow?" the sudden question made the ebony hedgehog jump in surprise.

"What is it, Sonic?" he asked in a bored tone.

"Do you think Knuckles' sickness is contagious?"

Shadow froze at the question. "It might be…but even if it is, we're down here. That Knucklehead's up there. It won't reach us."

Sonic nodded, but then added, "But what about when we go give him his soup?"

Shadow thought a moment, then shrugged. "That's your problem."

"WHAT? What do you mean, that's my problem?" the blue hedgehog gawked.

"You're going to be giving the poor guy his soup—not me. The Ultimate life form can't get the chance of becoming sick," Shadow replied, putting the soup into the microwave.

Sonic let out a small growl. As Shadow was about to punch in the time, he froze.

"Um…Sonic? How long does it say on the can to heat this thing?" Shadow asked.

Sonic sweatdropped. "Um…well…" he chuckled nervously.

Shadow sighed and put a hand up to his face. "You threw it away without looking at the rest of the directions?"

"Well…uh…" Sonic gulped. "…yeah…"

Shadow stood up, firmly convinced on what to do. He grabbed his blue look-a-like's arm, and stomped over to the trash can.

"Very well, then. You're going to find that can and read us the instructions!" he pointed to the open bucket.

Sonic looked wearily at the junk in the disgusting trash can. He looked back up with pleading eyes.

"Do I HAVE to?"

"YES! You're the one that threw the stupid can in there—you're going to get it!" Shadow barked.

Sonic gulped, taking in a deep breath. Slowly, he turned to face the competitor at the moment. Scrunching up his face in disgust, he reached down in the bucket to grab the can.

Shadow crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his foot. After a few minutes, Sonic's arm came back up with the well-needed can.

"Thank you," was all he said as he took the can into his hand. As soon as he turned around, though, he felt a wind rush behind him. He didn't need to be told what it was. Sonic ran to wash his arm.

He heard the many complaints as the blue hedgehog washed his arm. Shadow chuckled to himself. In order to clean his 'contaminated' arm, he'd have to use water. Water. The ebony hedgehog had been around Sonic enough to know that the blue one and water never mixed.

Without a word, he typed in 3 minutes, and pressed start. He turned around and looked up when he heard footsteps. Sonic came in, cradling his clean arm.

"What?" he asked.

Shadow chuckled. Sonic's ears laid flat against his head in response.

"Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad," he informed.

"How do you know? You didn't stick your hand in some echidna's garbage!" Sonic snapped.

"Too true…but oh well. Nothing I can really do about that, is there?" Shadow smiled smugly.

Sonic rolled his eyes, his ears coming back to their normal, upright position. Suddenly, the beeping of the microwave startled the two hedgehogs, making them jump in surprise.

Shadow turned around and took the warm bowl out of the small kitchen appliance. Sonic grabbed the can, and read it out loud.

"Next, leave it in for one minute, and then stir it," he instructed.

The two locked gazes.

Shadow chuckled nervously. "Oops…"

"Put it back in…" Sonic instructed.

"I know, I know. Ultimate life form doesn't need to be told twice," Shadow replied, placing the bowl back in.

"Now…how do we keep track of one minute?" Sonic questioned.

"Count to sixty," was the reply.

Sonic nodded, and began. "One…two…three…four…"

Shadow leaned against the counter, arms crossed over his chest, waiting for the blue hedgehog to finish.

"…nine…ten…eleven…twelve…"

Shadow felt his eyelids droop. Wait…why was he getting tired? He shook himself awake.

"…fifteen…sixteen…seventeen…"

Ah…sleep…no. Why was he even THINKING of sleep? What was wrong with him?

"…nineteen…twenty…"

Maybe it was because it was like counting sheep, he thought wearily.

"…twenty-two…twenty-three…twenty-four…"

His eyelids fell again. Shadow made them flutter open, but they only seemed to want to collapse right there and then.

"…twenty-seven…twenty-eight…twenty-nine…"

Finally, his head just fell. Soft snores escaped his lips, but Sonic didn't seem to notice. He was too busy counting.

When he finally reached 'sixty', he was about to tell Shadow, when he saw the ebony hedgehog sleeping. A smile spread across his face. Quietly, he tip-toed over to the kitchen sink, and put some water into a glass. Then, he tip-toed back over, making sure he was quiet. Once he was a safe distance from his friend, he held his breath, and…

SPLASH!

Shadow screamed. Sonic laughed hysterically. The ebony hedgehog immediately narrowed his eyes.

"Why, you--!"

"Call it pay-back—for having me stick my arm in Knuckles' trash can!" Sonic retorted.

"It was your own fault that you had to do that, anyway!" Shadow exclaimed.

Sonic opened his mouth to say something, but stopped. It was his fault...but oh well. Suddenly, he broke out laughing once more.

"What's so funny?" Shadow asked irritably.

"You should've seen you're expression!" Sonic pointed out.

Shadow narrowed his eyes. "Oh yeah?" In a flash, he raced over to the sink, and grabbed the extendable water sprayer, and pointed it at his counterpart. He gave him no time to react. Unfortunately, Sonic was one step ahead. He dodged.

"HA! Missed me!" the blue hedgehog mocked.

No answer. Shadow was staring at the spot where the blue blur had been previously.

"What?" Sonic followed his gaze, and instantly covered his mouth with his hand in surprise.

The whole wall was soaked from the spray.

"Oh...snap..." was all the two said.

"Hey, Sonic! Shadow! What are you two doing?" Knuckles' voice yelled.

Sonic and Shadow exchanged worried glances.

"Um...we're...just...heating you're soup!" Shadow exclaimed quickly, he then turned to Sonic and murmured, "Put the soup back in for 10 seconds!"

Sonic did a salute, and put the bowl of soup back in the microwave, heating it for 10 seconds.

"Oh...okay..." was the reply.

Sonic bit his lip. "Shadow! What're we gonna do about the wall?"

"Dry it, of course!" was the hurried reply.

The two hedgehogs wasted no time. Hastily, they both grabbed towels and began drying the wall.

"Man, Shadow," Sonic began. "You must've REALLY wanted to get back at me!"

"Shut up and get drying!"

Then, the microwave beeped, signaling it was finished.

Shadow put down his towel and took the bowl out. He then grabbed a spoon and began to stir. When he looked back up, he saw that Sonic was done.

"Well...how does it taste?" Sonic asked, a bit calmer now.

Shadow shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?"

"Well...you could taste it," was the reply.

"Fine," Shadow answered, putting the soup down and handing Sonic a new spoon. "Then try it."

"WHAT? Try pineapple soup?" the blue hedgehog exclaimed.

"Yes! Try it!" Shadow urged.

Sonic whimpered. "But I don't like pineapple soup!"

The ebony hedgehog gave his friend a skeptical look. "Have you ever tried it before?"

Sonic hesitated. "...no..."

"Then how do you know that you don't like it if you've never tried it?"

The blue hedgehog pouted, and scooped some of the yellow liquid up in his spoon. Scrunching his face up, he put it in his mouth. Slowly, his expression changed.

"Hey...it's not so bad...I actually kinda like it!" he exclaimed. He put his spoon down for more.

Shadow grabbed his hand. "No. It's for Knuckles."

Sonic gave puppy-dog eyes. "But it's so good...here, you try it!"

Before Shadow could say anything, Sonic put a spoonful of the liquid into his mouth. The ebony hedgehog squeezed his eyes shut in surprise, but then slowly opened them.

"I'd never thought I'd say this, but...you're right. It IS good!" Shadow agreed.

Sonic nodded. "NOW can I have some?"

The ebony hedgehog thought a minute. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. "How about we split it?"

The blue blur jumped with joy. "YIPEE!" he exclaimed.

Shadow rolled his eyes and sighed. Yep. He was right. As idiotic as he may be, Sonic was still a kid at heart.

Quickly, (and excitedly), the blue blur got out two other bowls. Shadow then poured some of the soup into them, but made sure Knuckles had the most.

"YAY!" Sonic cheered, and he instantly put some of the delicious pineapple-tasting liquid in his mouth.

Shadow rolled his eyes once more. "Now...go up and give Knuckles his soup," he instructed.

Sonic pouted. "But what if from that I get sick?"

"Oh well. That's your problem," Shadow retorted, turning back to his bowl of soup.

Sonic grumbled and marched up the stairs, carrying Knuckles' share of the soup. Once up there, he knocked on the red echidna's bedroom door.

"Come on in," was the reply.

Sonic did as told, and handed out the bowl of soup. "Here ya go. It's pineapple soup. Shadow and I made it," he informed.

Knuckles stared at the soup for a moment, surprised. "Oh...thanks..." he then gratefully took it into his gloved hands and began, dip by dip, eating the soup.

"Hey...this stuff is actually the best way I've ever had it!" Knuckles exclaimed.

Sonic widened his eyes in surprise. "Really?"

As a response, the echidna kept eating it viciously. Sonic was scared for a moment by his friend's quick reaction, but soon smiled. He kept his excitement inside until he exited the bedroom. Then he jumped for joy.

"YES!" he cheered. In a flash, he was back down in the kitchen, ready to tell his ebony friend the good news.

"Hey, Shadow! Guess what? Knuckles tasted the soup and he said it was..." his voice trailed off as he saw his friend crack an egg and dump its contents into a bowl. "...what're you doing?"

"I'm making cookies for that Knucklehead, what does it look like?" was the reply. But deep down...Shadow was making them as a reward to himself.

"Oh! Oh! Can I help?" Sonic asked.

Shadow furrowed his eyebrows. Sonic was acting so much like a little kid today...it almost scared him.

"Sure..."

"YAY! I'll get--"

"You're going to stir this mixture for me while I get the ingredients," Shadow quickly interrupted.

Before Sonic could respond, he was pushed in front of the bowl, and handed a small spoon. The blue hedgehog stared at the utensil in his hand a moment, before shrugging and stirring. As Shadow measured the milk to be put in, he heard the blue hedgehog behind him suddenly start whistling a song out of boredom. Then...it turned into singing. He was about to yell, "shut up", when he found himself tapping his foot to the rhythm. It wasn't long before he found himself wanting to sing along.

Sonic: When there's a job to do, you've got to pull together as a team! When to fight, when to wait, everyone must communicate! Working together...

Shadow: ...together...

Both: That's how it should be!

Sonic: Working together...

Shadow: ...together...

Both: Just you and me!

Sonic: Working together...

Both: Whoa-oa-oa-oa! In Harmony!

Sonic: Whoa-oa-oa!

Shadow then began to just sing wordlessly, and Sonic clapped his hands to the rhythm, and almost chanting.

Sonic: Ba, ba, ba, ba-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba! Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba-ba, ba-ba-ba-ba! Working together!

Both: Whoa-oa-oa-oa! In Harmony! Whoa-oa!

Sonic: If we'd all work together, everyone--

Both: --in harmony! Whoa-oa! Sweet harmony...harmony!

Sonic smiled, and looked behind him. He had heard Shadow singing with him...he knew it. But the ebony hedgehog avoided his gaze, concentrating on measuring the milk.

"Well…that was fun!" Sonic admitted.

No answer.

"Oh, c'mon, Shads! You have to admit: it was enjoyable!" the blue hedgehog persisted.

Shadow sighed, walking over with the right amount of milk. "Fine…it was enjoyable."

Sonic smiled in triumph as his friend poured the milk in. "The butter is already in here, right?" he asked.

Shadow nodded. As his friend continued stirring, a question came to his mind. "Hey…Sonic…where did you learn that song from?"

"Hmm? Oh…me and my sibs sang it once…we had a blast…" Sonic smiled at the peaceful reverie.

Silence lasted. Finally, Sonic stopped his duty, and turned to his black friend.

"Do you think this is good enough?" he asked.

Shadow smiled. "Well…there is only one way to find out…a taste test!"

The two instantly stuck their hands in, but, being their humble selves, they only grabbed a small bit of the cookie dough. Both popped it into their mouths, savoring the delicious flavor.

"Mmmm…tasty!" Sonic grinned.

Shadow thought a moment. "I'd say…it's yummy!"

"YAY! Now…to make it into cookies!" Sonic exclaimed. He turned around to get a metal tray for the delicious treat.

Once he turned his back, though, Shadow quickly snuck another piece of the cookie dough into his mouth. When Sonic turned around, he quickly hid his hand behind his back, smiling innocently. Unfortunately, Sonic knew that pose all too well…

"All right…what did you do?" Sonic asked, placing his hands on his hips, after he had laid the tray down next to the giant bowl.

"…nothing…" was the reply.

Sonic narrowed his eyes. "You got another piece of cookie dough, didn't you?" he accused.

Shadow looked around innocently. "…maybe…"

"Fine! Then I get another piece!" Sonic reached out and got one for himself.

Shadow furrowed his eyebrows. "Hey! That was a bigger piece than I got!" with that, he reached out for a larger piece.

Sonic tried to stifle a laugh. "We'd better not start…"

Shadow rolled his eyes as his friend grabbed a small ice cream-like scooper. "That's the first wise thing you've said all day…"

Sonic gave him a glare, and began putting the cookie dough on the tray in even pieces. "…no comment," he retorted.

"Oh…so you agree that you're an idiot?" Shadow asked.

"What? No!" Sonic looked at his friend surprised.

"Then why did you say 'no comment'?" Shadow felt like he was triumphant.

"Because. If you think about it, there really isn't anything to say to 'that's the first wise thing you've said all day…'"

Shadow was about to say something, but froze. Sonic was right.

"Oh, just put the cookie dough on the tray!" he exclaimed.

Sonic smiled as the ebony hedgehog went to preheat the oven. "Okay…"

It didn't take long to put the cookie dough in even pieces, and soon, Sonic and Shadow were waiting for the oven to be done preheating.

Silence was between them as they stood there, finishing their share of pineapple soup.

"Well…this is boring!" Sonic suddenly said.

Shadow gave Sonic another skeptical look. "What was your first clue?"

"Well…the silence, the—"

"I didn't mean literally!" Shadow interrupted.

Sonic chuckled. He had known what his friend meant—it was just fun to pester him.

After what seemed like an eternity, the oven was done preheating, and they put the cookies in the oven.

"Oh…I can't wait!" Sonic cheered as Shadow closed the oven lid.

"I don't think either of us can," the ebony hedgehog replied.

Sonic nodded. Silence lasted.

"Well…another boring moment!" the blue hedgehog announced, placing his empty bowl of soup in the sink.

Shadow shook his head. "Not exactly…we should give Knuckles some medicine and a cold rag. That should keep us busy."

"Oh, yeah, for what? Five seconds?" Sonic asked skeptically.

"Do you want to do something, or just stand there waiting for the cookies to be done?"

Sonic sighed. "I'll come!"

Sonic reached for the medicine, while Shadow got the wet rag. The ebony hedgehog had a plan, though…

"Got it!" Sonic announced to himself, closing the medicine cabinet. He took a moment to read the label of the medicine he had retrieved.

Shadow used that moment.

Quietly, the ebony hedgehog tip-toed up to his friend, his hand wet. Slowly, he pulled his index finger back towards him, in a flicking position. He waited for the right moment.

Sonic turned around, still reading the label. When he looked up, he received a flick of water.

Shadow laughed at seeing his friend's eyes closed so tight. Slowly, Sonic opened his eyes, and furrowed his eyebrows. Shrugging, he walked passed the now-stunned ebony hedgehog. Shadow scratched his head. That was unlike Sonic…

Suddenly, he felt a bunch of water splash all over his back. He narrowed his crimson eyes. Now THAT was Sonic! He turned around, but the blue hedgehog was nowhere to be seen!

Wait…two voices upstairs. Shadow furrowed his eyebrows, and felt his left hand. Sure enough, the rag was gone. Sonic took both of them to Knuckles. Shadow closed his eyes. Smart hedgehog, he thought. He is so dead when he comes down here!

Sonic took his time. He knew Shadow would be waiting for him with a whole army of water…somethings. He had to think of something quick! Fortunately, echidnas healed from sickness quickly…

Shadow smiled. He had everything ready. Now all he had to do was wait for that sly hedgehog to come down, and then…he would be in for the bombardment of his life. A bunch of water 'cannons' were everywhere, waiting for the trap string to be pulled. But what he didn't expect was a different person to spring the trap…

"…as I was saying, I'm sorry for the confusion with calling both you and Shadow," Knuckles apologized, walking downstairs alongside a certain naughty blue hedgehog, that carried the now-empty bowl that once held soup.

"Eh, don't worry about it. We had it all under control…" was the reply.

Knuckles sighed, now walking towards the kitchen. "Yeah, but still. I need to get back to guarding the Master Emerald."

Sonic tried to hold back his smile. "I know…"

"But thanks anyway for the soup, it was real—" the echidna didn't get to finish his sentence. Suddenly, he was pelted with water.

Once the spray-show was over, Shadow came out from his hiding spot, smiling. But when he saw who it hit…he covered his mouth in surprise. Oops…

Knuckles was enraged. "SONIC! SHADOW!" he yelled. The two hedgehogs guiltily walked up to the red echidna. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?"

In an instant, both hedgehogs pointed a finger at the other, crying, "HE STARTED IT!"

Immediately, they had a glaring-contest. Knuckles slapped his forehead.

"Oh would you two cut it out? Just tell me what you guys have been doing!" he informed.

"Well…we made you soup…got the wall wet—but we dried it…and we started a water war…" Sonic said casually.

"I can see that," Knuckles said through gritted teeth.

"Sonic? Isn't there something you're—" at that moment, before Shadow could finish, the oven beeped, telling them it was done.

"And what ELSE have you done?" Knuckles asked irritably, stomping over. Carefully, he opened the lid, and gasped.

"You…you…made cookies…for me?" the red echidna asked.

"Well…not really…" Sonic poked Shadow in the ribs with his elbow. "But…" the ebony hedgehog added quickly. "You can have some if you want."

Knuckles nodded, and turned to the two hedgehogs. "Thanks, guys…but still…because I'm dripping wet…you guys are going to clean the kitchen. Once you're done…you can go—but this place MUST be dry!" he commanded, grabbing a cookie or two for himself.

Sonic and Shadow saluted. Knuckles nodded, feeling like an army general. Then, taking a chomp out of his cookie, he marched outside to resume his guarding duty. Sonic and Shadow exchanged glances. Both were thinking the same thing.

Grabbing as many towels as they could, they strapped them (using rubber bands) to Sonic, so he looked like a mummy…well…almost. Then, Shadow grabbed his arms, and, with all his speed, twisted him around, and then pushed him off.

Sonic, now looking like a miniature tornado, went around the kitchen, back and forth, the towels on him rubbing against the water. Shadow kept twisting him and pushing him, and to tell the truth, he was having fun.

After the final spin, Sonic dizzily collapsed.

"Well…that did it," Shadow announced.

Hearing no answer, he looked at the ground to see the dizzy hedgehog.

"Hey…Sonic…you okay?" Shadow asked.

In a flash, the blue hedgehog jumped back up. "LET'S DO IT AGAIN!" he cried.

Shadow chuckled and shook his head. Yep. He was right. Sonic was still a kid at heart.

THE END

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters. They all belong to SEGA. The song "Working Together in Harmony" is a Sonic Underground song, and belongs to them. "Finding Nemo" is a Disney movie and belongs to them. "Pineapple Soup" doesn't really exist. It was something I made-up for the fun of it.