A lot of stuff is gonna be different, but also more or less the same. That's what happens when you have someone there to mitigate issues or cause new ones.

"Thanks for helping me with getting some groceries," Amy thanked as she and the others walked down the village, the guys all carrying bags of food, "I didn't realize I was getting so low on food."

"Oh, it's no problem, Amy. I'm glad to help a friend out," Roll smiled before she noticed a ice cream stand, "Ooh! Perhaps some ice cream will do us some good?"

"Good thing there's not a line," Tails noted, "We can just get our ice cream and get the frozen stuff to Amy's house before it defrosts."

"Cool. Allow…" Sonic began before a fireman-themed Robot jumped down, using a flamethrower to destroy the ice cream stand, "...Me."

"Ah! My strawberry-flavored ice cream…" Roll dropped to her knees in shock.

"...Okay. This has Eggman written all over it," Sonic frowned.

"Why does everyone assume every evil robot is mine?!" Eggman asked as he looked up from a newspaper.

"I don't know, experience?" Sonic deadpanned before dodging the fire robot's flames.

"You're fired, pal!" Knuckles shouted as he threw a punch at the robot, who jumped away, "Get it?"

*FWOOM*

"...Guess not," Knuckles coughed, licking his fingers and extinguishing the fire on one of his dreadlocks.

"Shouldn't firemen put out fires?" Amy pointed out.

"Uh, hello? That's the irony," Eggman answered, "It's the evil opposite of a fireman…Uh, I mean, I assume...heh heh." he looked to his left to see Roll in fetal position, "...Are you okay?"

"Why the poor strawberries?" Roll mumbled sadly.

"...This is another one of those Sakurai family things, isn't it?" Eggman asked.

"Mourning for the loss of strawberries," Roll confirmed.

"Sonic!" Sticks called out, earning the hedgehog's attention, "The Evil Fireman robot is putting the baby walrus into a burning house!"

"WHAT?!" Roll exclaimed, "Aw come on!"

"Well, that was a quick mourning," Eggman noted as Roll rammed into the robot, causing it to drop the baby into her arms, before she ran back and resumed her mourning, the baby now giggling while playing with her tail, "...or not."

"Sonic!" Tails shouted, earning Sonic's attention, "The Evil anti-fire bot is putting a kitten in a tree!"

"Go evil Fireman!" Eggman cheered on, earning looks from the others, even from the baby (though not Roll since she was still mourning), "...Okay. I admit it. It's mine. Evil robots are what I do. Why stop if you're good at it?"

The fireman-themed robot jumped down and aimed its flamethrower at some people, who began to run as they dodged the flames.

"Oh no! The Evil anti fireman is about to attack that fruit stand!" Knuckles gasped, "And they just laid out fresh strawberries too!"

"?!" Roll's eyes widened before Knuckles found himself holding the walrus baby.

The Anti-Firebot aimed his weapon at the stand before a blur slammed into it, making it stumble back. The blur shot out, ramming into it again. The blur shot by the market behind the robot and back out, a few dollars on the counter. The anti-firebot aimed once more...

*SHINK*

Before its head fell off its neck while the fuel pack on its back exploded. Roll tossed the rather larger kitchen knife in her hand repeatedly while leveling a cold glare at the remains of the robot. Knuckles blinked twice as he now noticed he had the baby.

"No one. Touches. The Strawberries," Roll glowered.

"...I uh….left the oven on," Eggman meeped as he ran out of there.

"Whoa. Pretty nice, Roll," Knuckles noted as Roll put the knife away in her clothes before she picked up the baby in his arms and gave him to his mother.

"There's a thing called a baby harness, ma'am. It will help keep him from getting into too much danger," Roll advised.

"My baby! Oh thank you, dear," Lady Walrus thanked before she walked off.

"...She's not going to get one, is she?" Roll asked.

"Nope/nuh uh/most likely not."

"..." Roll sighed before a scared mew caught her attention, "Hm?" she looked up at the tree, "Oh! I almost forgot the kitty."

"I got it!" Sticks called out as she ran to the tree...and began to shake it like a madwomen, scaring the kitten as it held onto the shaking branch.

"Sticks!" Roll yelped as she ran over, "Stop it! You're scaring the kitty!"

"No I'm not. I'm trying to get it down!" Sticks stated before the kitten fell out, landing in Roll's arms, "See?"

"..."

"...What?" Sticks asked as Roll frowned at her.

"Sticks, we want to talk about how you treat animals," Sonic informed as the group sat in Tails' hut.

"It's not a good idea to shake kittens out of trees," Amy added.

"You do it again around me and we will have problems," Roll frowned, the kitten in her lap.

"Hey, I know the law of the Jungle. Trees are no kitten zones," Sticks countered.

"That's a real law?" Knuckles asked, earning a facepalm from Tails, "...What?"

"You should get a pet. It would help you learn to love animals!" Amy suggested.

"...Are you sure getting her a live pet is a good idea?" Roll whispered.

"I'm absolutely sure," Amy nodded, "Right, Sonic?"

"Yeah, absolutely."

"Then you can take Sticks pet shopping."

"No. Absolutely not."

"Why not this one?" Roll asked as the three stood in an outdoor pet shop.

"Nuh uh! I hate cute, fuzzy, and adorable," Sticks shook her head before looking at a pair of squirrels, "Too cute!" she then looked at a rabbit, "Too fuzzy!" she then looked at three little monkeys "Too….hng! Adorable!"

"I see…" Roll nodded slowly before looking at the kitten in her arms, "Well, I need to do a few things while we're still here, so just keep trying. Maybe a snake?"

"Absolutely not," Sticks and Sonic frowned as Roll went over to the vet area of the shop.

A rattle soon caught Stick's attention, making her look at a nearby trashcan before she ran up to it and looked inside. Her eyes widened a bit as she crawled inside and picked up what looked like a robotic dog...a poorly made one at that. Its body seemed to be made of a pink and yellow toolbox with a crank handle for a tail with slime dripping from its mouth.

"It's…..oh it's…."

"Disgusting?" Sonic offered.

"The least objectionable option!" Sticks replied before she began to cuddle it, "Aww, who's a little cluster-wuster? I'm gonna name 'im Buster!"

"...Buster the Cluster?" Sonic raised a brow before the now named Buster spat slime in his face, "..."

"Aw~ I think he likes you," Sticks noted.

Buster barked as he waddled around Stick's burrow, sniffing everything with his light bulb nose. Aside from Sticks, who was pulling out a bone, the others were at her stone table, the kitten asleep in Roll's arms, a pink collar on its neck.

"Uh, Sticks? When I said 'get a pet', I didn't think you'd come back with something so….so…" Amy traield off.

"Wonderful?" Sticks smiled as Buster threw up a bit of slime.

"Ucky," Knuckles replied.

"Sticks, are you sure you wanna keep this, uh...Cluster?" Sonic asked.

"Ahem. His name is 'Buster,'" Sticks corrected as Buster spat slime on his new bone, "Finally, I have an adorable little pet that doesn't disgust me!"

"Kinda ironic, though. I mean, you hate machines," Tails noted before Buster sprayed him in the face with slime, "Ugh! Buster got slime in my fur!"

"That just means he wuvs you," Sticks cooed as she kissed Buster, getting a bit of the slime on her lips, "So what about you, Roll? You want a Pet Play Time with Buster?"

"Um...Thank you, no," Roll replied, "I'd rather let Tempo get used to Sonic and my home first along with everyone before any Pet Play Dates happen."

"Uh-uh. No dating for Buster until he's three," Sticks shook her head, "That's 21 in Cluster years."

"...I see…." Roll noted, sweatdropping a bit.

A few days passed since Sticks adopted her new pet….who seemed to get on everyone else's nerves. So far, Buster had eaten Amy's ice cream, tripped Sonic up during a morning jog, caused Knuckles to drop his weight set, and Tails having the device he was working hard on eaten right before him, all while getting slime on them. Currently, everyone was at Meh Burger...with all but Sticks and Roll being covered in slime in some way. Buster burped up a bit more slime and Roll held up a plastic bag that collected it before it could hit her. She sealed the bag and tossed it into the trash can behind her...all while she didn't let her eyes divert from making sure Dave was doing his work properly, the guy perfectly aware of her eyes focused on him and fearing the consequences.

"Who's a hungwy wittle Cluster~?" Sticks cooed as she nuzzled her cheek against Buster, who ended up spitting slime on everyone else's food, "Who's a hungwy wittle Clutser Wuster~?"

"Would Buster like a french fry? I don't want any. They've got slime on 'em!" Tails snapped at the end.

"Ubupbup! We only eat organic garbage now," Sticks clarified before looking back at her pet, "Don't we, Buster~?"

Buster barked twice in confirmation, slime once more trying to hit Roll, only to be bagged and tossed once more...this time directly at Dave when he tried to serve a still-living fish to a customer.

"Help! Help!" a security guard screamed, getting their attention as he ran by, "Someone is robbing the Danger Co. Deadly Equipment warehouse!" he stopped for a moment to look at them, "Seriously. Help!"

"...Who allowed that kind of warehouse to be made?" Roll asked.

"The Mayor," everyone replied.

"...I demand a re-election!" Roll snapped before the doors of the warehouse exploded, letting Orbot and Cubot in poor disguises made of paper cutouts of Sonic and Tails's faces float out with bags on their backs.

"Cybernetic tentacles; check! Deadly Nanobots; Check! Evil spare parts; check!" Cubot checked off on a list.

"...How are they evil again?" Orbot asked, earning a shrug from Cubot before they noticed Sonic run over, "Uh oh, it's Sonic! Let's grab the boxes and go!"

"Buzzbombers, you take care of him!" Cubot ordered the bee-themed robots that flew out of the warehouse as they ran.

"They've gone 'round back. Someone stop them!" Sonic ordered.

"I've got 'em!" Knuckles declared as he tried to hit one of the Buzzbombers, only to miss.

"...Uh, Sticks?! A little help here?!" Sonic called out.

"I don't want to put Buster in danger!" Sticks exclaimed, holding her pet close before putting a leash on him, "Besides, it's time for his walkies~"

"Seriously? Am I just invisible or something?" Roll muttered as she ran around the back, startling Orbot and Cubot, "Hold it!"

"Eek!"

"...Did you just scream like a little girl?" Cubot asked, slowly looking at Orbot.

"She took me by surprise," Orbot quickly replied before gasping, "Oh dear! A cart of strawberries?! No! Don't attack those!"

"What?!" Roll turned around, seeing nothing, "...Curse the kami who cursed us to love strawberries enough to lose common sense at times…"

"I got them!" Sonic shouted as he ran after the two robots, only to end up tripping on Buster when he got in the way, causing him to skid along the ground face first, "...Grrr…"

Buster yipped before licking his face, covering it in slime, before waddling back over to Sticks. Sonic's eye twitched as Sticks cuddled Buster.

'...Okay that's it….time for a talk!' Sonic thought.

"Sticks, we have to talk," Amy informed, everyone outside Sonic and Roll's hut.

"...Oh no…"

"I'm afraid so, Sticks. W-" Sonic began.

"You brought him a Cluster sock for our one week anniversary. But you didn't know I already made him one," Sticks replied as she pulled out a green sock with a bone on it.

"Aw…" Roll cooed.

"No, Sticks! Buster is getting in the way of everything!" Amy snapped.

"He ruined our chance to stop those robots," Knuckles stated.

"He got slime all over my equipment! You know how much money my sis spent to get me all those?!" Tails added before he felt something wet trickling on his foot, "...He's going to the bathroom on my foot, isn't he?"

"Yep. For some reason, he spits slime, but whizzes soda," Sticks replied before she narrowed her eyes, "First you say you want me to have a pet, then you say you don't want me to have a pet. I know what's going on here." she jumped up and pointed at the ceiling, "A massive government mind-control experiment!"

Everyone shared looks.

"...That's...one theory. Another is we just want you to show him some dici…" Amy began before she felt something wet on her head, "...He's wizzing on my head, isn't he?"

"No, he's gassy right now," Sticks replied, Buster giving another burp and slime splattered on Amy's face.

"..." Amy's eye began to twitch violently, trying her best to stay calm...and was failing greatly as she pulled out a large hammer, "THAT'S IT! Either Buster goes or we go!"

"I'm still not seeing the issue," Roll frowned, "I think Sticks is trying her best to care for her pet and…" Buster burped and some slime shot all the way into the kitchen, hitting a bowl of freshly-watered strawberries that fell to the floor, smashing the bowl, "...Sticks...Did Buster's slime just ruin my strawberries?"

"Um…"

"The ones Sonic and I had to wait all morning yesterday to buy?" Roll's eye twitched, her smile straining.

"Uh…"

"The ones that I was going to use to grow a nice lovely strawberry garden out back so I could enjoy the deliciousness far quicker?" Roll slowly pulled out her recently bought kitchen knife as everyone slowly moved away...while a shivering Buster dropped a liter of soda on the floor.

"...RUN!" Sticks screamed, scooping Buster up and jumping out the window.

"GET BACK HERE SO I CAN TURN THAT THING INTO SASHIMI!" Roll snapped, jumping out the window as well.

"Roll, wait!" Amy shouted as she chased after her, "Save some for me!"

"...Welp. The girls have officially lost it," Sonic deadpanned.

"Yup/uh huh."

"...Can we hide until they calm down?" Knuckles gulped.

"Yeah/Good idea."

"Okay...everything is good and set," Eggman said as he walked through the woods, carrying a black and white box with a ribbon on it, "Once that little Cluster eats this, th-"

"DON'T HURT MY BUSTER-WUSTER!"

"(YOU SHALL DIE FOR YOUR DISHONOR TO MY STRAWBERRIES!)"

"Roll, you dropped your Universal Translator!"

"Huh?" Eggman blinked as he looked forward, seeing Sticks run from a very….very….VERY angry Roll, "..." Eggman did not scream like a little girl and start running with Sticks, that he did not, "Eeek!" ...okay, I lied.

"Eggman?! What're you doing here?!" Sticks asked as they ran.

"I was gonna give your pet a present, but I'm busy running from a very scary hedgefox right now!"

"(DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!)"

"Why is she like this?!" Eggman asked, "And why isn't she running at full speed?"

"Anger's clouding her mind!" Sticks replied, "Don't remind her of it!" Buster whimpered in her arms, "There, there, Buster-Wuster. She won't get you!"

"...On second thought, give it to him now," Eggman whispered as he gave her the present, "Was gonna use this to destroy Sonic, but this a better situation!"

"What is it?" Sticks asked as she unwrapped it with her teeth, revealing it to be a metallic bone, "A bone? Wh-"

"No time to explain! Have him eat it now or we're dead!"

"Hey! Roll, that's my…"

*PIKO*

"Eek!" Eggman once more did not scream like a little girl as Amy's thrown hammer barely missed them.

Buster's ears perked up as he noticed the metal bone, the robo-dog biting it before eating it in one bite. Once he gulped it down, Buster tensed up as he began to twitch, his optics turning red as he began to grow in size, his limbs being replaced with metallic tentacles. Buster roared...before picking up Sticks and Eggman and started running once more, yiping in fear.

"Wow! Buster got big!" Sticks exclaimed.

"Of course he did. He's a Slime Bot," Eggman explained.

"Isn't that the tentacle from the robbery?" Sticks asked.

"Oh please. I used that tentacle as a backscratcher. When I was done scratching, I used it to build him."

"Oh...w-"

"(GET BACK HERE AND DIE!)"

"Uh...Oh! Buster, burp, boy!" Sticks called.

*URP*

"EW!" Amy screamed as she and Roll slipped about before smacking into each other, knocking them out.

"...Good, giant Buster!" Sticks cooed, petting her pet's head, "Who's a good giant Buster-wuster? You are! You awe!"

"Good...now my creation, d-" Eggman began.

"Oh by the way, Buster, take out the trash."

"Huh?!"

"I may be crazy, but I didn't forget the part where you said you were gonna use Buster to destroy Sonic."

"...What?! No, bad Buster! Don't throw your creator!" Eggman freaked before one of Buster's tentacles grabbed him, "No!" Buster threw him into the distance, "I'm never making one of these agaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnn!"

"Now give the bone back," Sticks ordered.

Buster whimpered a bit before he threw up the bone, causing him to shrink back down in size as he changed back to normal, the tentacles becoming his normal limbs again. Sticks giggled as she patted his head.

"Good, Buster," Sticks smiled before looking at the slime-covered area where Roll and Amy were knocked out in, "...For some reason, this would be better if they weren't in so many clothes." Buster barked twice, "What? Mud? Now that's silly, you silly willy Cluster-Wuster."

*WHAM*

"...Oh, so that's why Roll didn't have the bad thing happen," Sticks blinked twice, looking at Sonic now stuck in the tree beside them.

"Tails reminded me…" Sonic groaned before a coconut clonked him on the head, "...Ow."

"Owie…" Roll groaned as she opened her eyes.

"Hello, Roll-chan, kyu," Miyuki greeted, the nine-tailed vixen standing before her, "How're you feeling?"

"...Ano, am I…?"

"In my bed, hai. I carried you back to my place when I ran into Sticks and her pet, kyu."

"...Is it still here?" Roll asked.

"Iie. Sticks let it go into the wild with a little sack on a stick like in those cartoons, kyu," Miyuki explained, "Oh by the way, we're having some takoyaki for dinner. Care to join us?"

"...Um….why…?"

"An octopus tried to eat my little brother when he tried adopting it. It immediately regretted it afterwards, kyu."

"I...I see…" Roll nodded, "Thank you."

"No problem, kyu."

Roll slid out of Miyuki's bed and followed her out. Her eyes widened when she saw everyone at the table, Sticks standing in front of it with a basket of strawberries.

"I know it's not the ones you lost. But I stayed in that line to make sure I got some new ones," Sticks explained, "For some reason, people don't like it when you compliment them on them being ready for winter and made the line shorter so I could get the last one."

"..."

"So….do you forgive me? Because I'm really sorry for what Buster did," Sticks apologized before Roll hugged her.

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Roll thanked quickly, her tail wagging like mad.

"I'm guessing she forgives you," Amy spoke.

"But if you let Buster ever come anywhere near me ever again, I will destroy it without mercy."

"...mostly," Amy cringed.

"Fair enough," Sticks nervously nodded, "Now let's please eat the taco-yucky."

"Takoyaki, Sticks, kyu," Miyuki corrected her.

"Of course. ...You…"

"I washed my face and hands. Miyuki's per...purr...she knows what you do," Sticks replied.

"I like to keep a very clean household, kyu," Miyuki informed.

"I'm glad to hear," Roll nodded.

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