"I don't want to hurt you!" Milla cries, deflecting Sticks' boomerang with her shield.

"You can't fool me!" Sticks counters as she catches the boomerang. "I know you're an alien! Now tell me why you're here! Are you invading? Will you turn us into slaves and force us to build giant mud sculptures of fruit baskets?"

Before Milla can respond, her ears pick up the sound of a blue streak approaching the quarrelling duo at high speed. Already scared by the crazy badger attacking her, Milla cowers further behind her shield.

Sonic slides to a halt between the two of them. "Sticks, what are you doing?"

"Defending us from the alien invasion!" Sticks explains.

"What alien invasion?"

"Milla!" Lilac and Carol cry in unison as they arrive on the scene.

Recognising the familiar voices, Milla dares to look over her shield, relaxing the instant she sees her friends sprinting to her. Relieved, she drops her shield and embraces her friends in a group hug.

"AHH! More of them! No‑one is safe!" Sticks cries as she dashes into her burrow, locking the door securely.

Sonic facepalms. "Sticks, there's no alien invasion, they're just lost," he sighs.

"Let me talk to her," Amy offers, arriving on the scene with Tails following.

"Be my guest," Sonic accepts. "Sorry about that," he apologises to Milla. "Sticks is…"

"Crazy and paranoid," Tails finishes.

"Yeah, that," Sonic confirms.

"That's no excuse for scaring her!" Lilac protests angrily.

Sonic raises his hands in a 'calm‑down' gesture. "Chill: we've got it."

"It's OK, Lilac," Milla adds. "She didn't hurt me, and I didn't hurt her."

"But‑" Lilac begins to protest.

"Compared to how scared I was facing Brevon, this was nothing," Milla interrupts.

"I'm glad you're OK," Lilac sighs in relief.

"Guys, it's gonna be a while before I can coax her out again," Amy sighs, rejoining the group.

"Eh, just leave her to it," Sonic dismisses. "When the world doesn't end, she'll come out."

Amy shakes her head disapprovingly and returns to trying to calm Sticks down.

"Is this how things are normally?" Carol asks.

"No, but it's close," Tails sighs.

"Let's get back to the Village: I could really go for a chilidog," Sonic suggests. "Fancy a rematch, Lilac?"

"Sure, why not?" Lilac replies. Again, she Dragon Boosts to top speed before Sonic can react. A moment later, Sonic sets off in pursuit.

"Typical," Carol and Tails quip simultaneously. Surprised, they exchange bemused looks, then burst out laughing.

"Then stay in there!" Amy shouts, having finally lost patience with Sticks. "Where's Sonic and Lilac?" she asks as she rejoins the others.

"Having another race," Tails explains.

"Lilac will win!" Carol claims confidently.

"You're not from round here, are you?" Amy smiles in amusement.

"No‑one's faster than Lilac!" Carol remains confident.

"Yep, definitely not from round here!" Amy chuckles. "Come on, let's catch up to them."

Back at Mehburger, Sonic is again waiting for Lilac to catch up. A minute later, she arrives.

"How… How can you run so fast?" Lilac asks, taking a seat.

Sonic thinks about it for a moment. "No idea: I just can."

"That's twice you've blasted past me at top speed as if I'm standing still!"

"You're the one who wanted to race," Sonic remind cheekily.

"Only because I expected to win," Lilac admits.

A few moments later, the others arrive. Tails, Carol, and Milla join Sonic and Lilac at the table, while Amy goes to order the food.

"Who won?" Carol asks.

"He did," Lilac sighs. "Again."

"How‽" Carol gasps. "You're the fastest person I know!"

"Tails, remind me: how far is it to Hidden Meadows?" Sonic interrupts.

"About four days' hike, there and back," Tails answers.

Sonic stands and runs off at top speed, returning just seconds later with a mug full of gumtree berries. "They're from Hidden Meadows," he explains, retaking his seat.

"That's how he beat me twice," Lilac confirms.

Carol simply sits there, totally dumbfounded.

"Showing off again?" Amy asks Sonic, joining the group and placing the tray of food in the middle of the table before taking her seat.

"Just a demonstration," Sonic shrugs.

"So, what brings you to Bygone Island?" Amy asks Lilac, Carol, and Milla as everyone tucks into their meals.

"It was involuntary," Lilac sighs. "We were hanging out by the river in Dragon Valley, when a… Motobug was it?" Sonic nods. "When one of them came out of the bushes and attacked us," Lilac continues.

"I smashed it!" Milla interjects.

"But when we looked at the wreckage, we realised it wasn't one of Brevon's," Lilac continues, involuntarily grabbing a hair whip.

"I take it Brevon isn't a nice person," Amy concludes, noticing Lilac's post‑traumatic tic.

"That's an understatement," Carol confirms darkly.

"We decided to see if we could find where the robot came from‑" Lilac continues.

"You mean you did, Little Miss Heropants!" Carol teases.

"Oh, is that right, tail?" Lilac retorts playfully. "Anyway, we found this portal, and we realised that's where the Motobug came from when a hornet‑like robot came through‑"

"A Bee‑Bot," Tails confirms.

"Which I smashed!" Carol adds.

"Concerned even more would come through, I moved closer," Lilac continues. "Next thing I know, I'm waking up in an unfamiliar chasm with Sonic checking my pulse."

"When Lilac didn't come back, I decided to follow and bail her out of the trouble she'd inevitably get into," Carol continues. "So, I moved closer, and ended up under the remains of Tails' shelving."

"And I ended up in one of the crazy girl's traps," Milla finishes. "I broke free, and that's when she started attacking."

"How did you break free?" Tails asks.

"I used one of these," Milla explains, summoning a Phantom Block and placing it on the table.

Sonic, Tails, and Amy stare at it, utterly bewildered.

"Did I do something wrong?" Milla asks, just about keeping a lid on her amusement at the reaction she received.

Lilac and Carol look at each other, then burst out laughing, Milla joining in a moment later.