Disclaimer- I don't own the games or the show.

Shadow in a time loop...let's see how that works out for him, shall we?

"Yo Shads, what would you do if I punched you in the face right now?"

Shadow would welcome it with open arms, because he was sure taking a punch caused less shock to the system than going through a damn time loop.

No, wait. He couldn't jump to the worst possible conclusion yet. There were other possibilities here that wouldn't leave him mentally unstable. One, he could've dreamt a whole episode he made up and the dialogue he heard was just…coincidental. Two…Shadow was actually banking on the first possibility to be true because he couldn't come up with shit else.

The striped hedgehog calmed his nerves because he wasn't in a time loop, not going to relive the same eleven minutes for the rest of eternity.

But…he had to hundred percent disprove that theory, and the only way to do that was the say, "Make you regret ever being born." If the others didn't react to that line the same way as before – and they shouldn't because Shadow wasn't in a time loop, and he was sure as hell not a psychic – then that proved that his sleeping mind simply tortured him.

Sonic nodded, relieved. "Alright, he's not too far gone. That's good."

Shadow's eyes widened.

Nodding, Tails returned his attention to the TV. "Back to the episode, if there's a chance that the other Shadow could show up, then there's a chance that Metal could too."

Shadow's breath hitched.

"It would be a shame if I did not," Metal uttered.

"There's only one way to find out!" Amy chirped.

Shadow needed to murder something. No, not something, the thing. He desired to wrap his hands around its stupid throat and twist because this was the work of it.

The striped hedgehog jumped out of his chair, all happiness dead and gone by this point.

He felt curious eyes on him. "Sha-"

"Shut up," Shadow snapped at Sonic before scowling up at the ceiling, his glare molten. "What in the hell did I do?!" He snarled, hands clenching at his sides. "Is it because I got happy that you cut the episodes?" He angrily gestured to the speechless onlookers. "Everyone was relieved, dammit! Why me? Faker is right there!"

"Uh…" Sonic blinked. "Should I be insulted, or…?"

Shadow ignored him, gritting his teeth and lowering his heated gaze to the television. "What do I need to do? Tell me!"

Nothing on the screen changed, endlessly showing the words 'Hedgehog Day'.

"He has gone insane," Metal commented from behind him.

"You know…this is honestly less unsettling than him being all loopy-happy," Amy mused.

"The heck is wrong with you?" Knowing that question was aimed at him, Shadow glared over his shoulder at a frowning echidna. "Why are you yelling at it?"

"Yeah…" Tails looked a bit nervous, glancing up at the ceiling as well. "It decreased the amount of shows we have to watch! Don't get it mad!"

Shadow whirled around. "I don't care about its damn feelings! It trapped me in a time loop!"

Eggman eyed him. "You know, Metal, I might have to agree with you on this one." Shadow was this close to throwing his chair at the man.

Tails tilted his head at him, a pensive expression on his face. "A time loop? Like, you're stuck in time?"

"Yes!" Shadow nearly hissed, hating that he was wasting time. He could've been minutes into the next episode right now, but no, his reunion with his bed was being prolonged. Was sleep really too much to ask? He wildly gestured at the TV. "I've already watched this episode before!"

"Seriously?" Sonic asked before chuckling, and Shadow's ears folded in aggravation. "You must've really ticked off the thing, Shads! I wonder if it's gonna make you re-watch the episode until you've watched fifty-two times?"

Shadow saw his life flash in front of his eyes.

Amy didn't seem convinced. "A time loop…so you know what's going to happen, right? What am I going to say next?"

"It doesn't work like that!" Shadow actually hissed this time. His attention snapped to the screen. "Play the damn show! The first scene is the doctor waking up at-" Shadow hesitated. If he knew that he would be proving his problem of being trapped in a time loop, he would've paid attention to the stupid details more. "-6:30."

Amy pursed her lips before starting the episode, all eyes on the TV.

Shadow inwardly cursed when the other Eggman quieted the alarm at six, not six-thirty.

The pinkette was awed anyway, and so were the rest of the group. "I mean, you were close enough!" She looked at Shadow in a new light, now sympathetic, as she should be. "How many times have you watched this?"

"Only once." So far, the dark part of Shadow's mind supplied, and he disregarded it keep from losing it. "And I want to keep it that way."

"But how though?" Tails asked, seemingly on board now. "Do you have any idea how to break out of it?"

Shadow's thoughts were a whirlwind until they focused on one thing. He narrowed his eyes at the screen. "This episode is about the other doctor being in the same situation as I am."

He heard Eggman groan under his breath. "Of course it'd be all about my twin."

Shadow withheld the information this one had been decent because he refused to say anything positive about the demon who was putting him through this hell.

Sonic tapped his foot on the floor. "Well, I'm assumin' that he breaks out of it eventually, right?" Shadow nodded. "Just do what he did!"

Just do what he – the Ultimate Lifeform locked gazes with the slightly entertained echidna.

Shadow recalled saying that he'd never pull a tooth.

Well.

Circumstances have changed.

Knuckles' amused expression fell when Shadow turned towards him, scarlets focused. "What?" The guardian was suddenly wary. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Shadow didn't answer him. He simply pounced like a predator on prey.

The striped hedgehog tackled the guardian backwards, Knuckles releasing a surprised yell, mixing in with the surprised gasps emitting from the other occupants of the room.

"Shadow! What in the – hey!" Knuckles swatted away Shadow's reaching hands, to the striped hedgie's disdain. Shadow only growled as he straddled the other; he was going to get that tooth if it was the last thing he did.

Knuckles glared as he successfully held the black hero at bay, being unfortunately a tad bit stronger than him. Shadow snarled and fought to break out of his hold. "Let go! You need to lose a tooth so I can-"

Knuckles looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Lose a – are you crazy?!" The echidna scowled as he worked harder to push Shadow away. "Get off me, you demented tooth fairy!"

"It'll reset!" At least, that was what Shadow assumed. "It would be like it never happened so just stay still!"

"You expect me to believe that?!" Knuckles grunted as Shadow doubled his efforts. "And I like how you're glossing over the fact that it's going to hurt! Pain still exists!"

The striped hedgehog clenched his jaw. "I don't care! Let me – gah!" He was suddenly launched off of the echidna, rolling away on the ground. Shadow glowered as he held his throbbing side, zeroing in on Amy. Her hammer was out at the ready. "

"As if we'd just stand by and let you pull one of his teeth!" Amy declared, slightly grossed out. "And plus, you don't even have any money to trade with him!"

Sonic – who was out of his chair, probably was going to step in but Amy beat him to it – tisked. "If you were a real tooth fairy, Shads, you'd be fired in a heartbeat!"

"Right." Knuckles gave Shadow a ticked look as he sat up. "Because him not having the money is the main issue here."

Tails was frowning, glancing between the echidna and striped hedgehog. "Shadow…if you uh, attacked Knuckles, did that mean that other Eggman broke the loop by pulling the other Knuckles' teeth out?"

"The badger did, actually," Shadow corrected, wondering how successful he'd be going in for a sneak attack.

"Now that I'd believe," Eggman commented. "She's crazy enough."

"But you're not though!" Knuckles rose his voice at Shadow. "At least, on a good day," he added as a jeering afterthought, and the hedgehog clicked his tongue in annoyance. "If I was stuck in a time loop, my first thought wouldn't be to assault someone!"

Shadow narrowed his eyes dubiously, knowing that the echidna couldn't play innocent. He had a violent streak as well.

Knuckles caught the look and mended, "I mean, probably."

Shadow got to his feet, hating how strong of a swinging arm Rose had. "I just need to-"

A bright flash of white blinded him.

Shadow was once again sitting in his chair, his side unharmed.

"'Hedgehog Day'? Ooo!" Alert scarlets snapped over to Amy, who was once again gushing over the title of the episode.

Shadow then instantly focused on Knuckles; he was distracted by Rose's words, and now was the best time as any. Because this was obviously a second chance. It had to be.

Amy barely finished saying how a hedgehog celebration sounded fun – little did she know – when Shadow made his move. He hopped out of his seat and rushed the unsuspecting echidna, fist clenched and ready to punch. It shouldn't matter how the tooth got out, right? And now he wouldn't be called a tooth fairy.

Knuckles' eyes had met his for a millisecond before Shadow launched his punch. There was no way the echidna could dodge or block an attack this fast, this close. Shadow was going to get that damn tooth, break this damn loop, and watch the rest of the episodes in pea-

"'Hedgehog Day'? O-"

"Shut up!" Shadow bellowed gutturally, throwing Amy the meanest glare he could muster. "Just shut up! I swear if you say anything about parties again, I'm gonna-"

Amy blinked in shock, and Sonic looked at him with a hint of a frown on his muzzle. "Whoa there, Shads! That was a little uncalled for, don't ya think?"

"His mood swings are giving me whiplash," Knuckles muttered, eyeing him warily.

Shadow growled out in frustration because he was so close! Why did it start him over? Was getting a tooth wrong? Then what in the hell was he supposed to-

Rage pumping in his veins, Shadow swiftly got up and threw his chair against the TV. The chair snapped in half, but of course the screen remained in pristine condition.

"You know…" Amy quietly whispered. "If he wasn't a guy, I'd think it was his time of the month."

Shadow rounded on her, livid. "I heard that!"

She subtly flinched, but before she could reply, Tails rose a brow at her. "Time of the month? What do you mean by that?"

Sonic waved his hands back and forth. "You'll learn about that later, Tails! Let's just focus on moody Shads now, yeah?"

"He asked the question; therefore, he deserves to know." Metal opposed. "Kit, what she meant was-"

"Yo Shads, what would you do if I punched you in the face right now?"

Shadow's right eye twitched as he gave Sonic a long, calculated look. He was going to respond as usual, but then he figured that if the thing really wanted to torture him – because that had to be its goal – then it would embarrass him, make him do things he wouldn't ever do in any other circumstances.

For example, allowing his rival punch him square in the face for free.

…Screw it. If it meant unpausing time, then he was all for it, especially since none of the others would remember.

"Do it," he said with finality.

Sonic – and everyone else – seemed taken aback. "What?" the speedster asked.

"You heard what I said." Shadow stood up and went to stand in front of the seated azure hero. The striped hedgehog was tense as he ground out. "Punch me in the face. Now."

Sonic slowly blinked up at him. "Uh, Shads? You know I was jokin', right?"

"I'm not."

Sonic furrowed his brow, looking concerned. "Look, I think your sleep-deprived mind is doin' more than making you tired." He innocently held up his hands. "I'm not gonna actually-"

"I'm-" Shadow struggled to say the next words, them burning as they exited his throat. "I'm not going to punch you back if you do. It's a free hit."

Sonic seemed like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. Off to the side, Knuckles put a hand on his forehead in disbelief. "Am I dreaming?"

"Or me?" Tails breathed out. "Because this is on par with being chased by that sock puppet…"

Eggman didn't look as shocked anymore. He was watching aptly. "Do it, cactus. It'll be a nice commercial break from-"

"I'm not punchin' him for no reason!" Sonic argued with a crease in his brow. "Shadow, are you sick or somethin'? You aren't-"

Sonic didn't get to finish his sentence, for Shadow had kicked him in his chest hard enough to make him lean too far back in his chair, sending the hero to the ground with flailing limbs.

"I'm not sick!" Shadow yelled, anger spiking, as Sonic gaped like a fish out of water. "I-"

"I'll gladly take your request!" was all Shadow heard before he had a face-full of hammer. Once again, he severely disliked – particularly at his moment when his nose bent at an odd angle – that Rose had respectable upper body strength.

Shadow landed on the floor hard, swallowing a groan as he held his bleeding nose.

"That's what you get for kicking Sonic!"

"Ames, you didn't have to-"

"Yeah I did! Now you owe me!"

"Oh no."

Shadow didn't know what to do. He was back in the chair, for the fifth time. Not having a broken nose was nothing but a small positive buried under a mountain of negative.

The thing obviously wanted something specific from him, because every time he did something 'wrong', time would reset. Attacking Knuckles – both times, throwing his chair, and being hit by an aggressive twelve-year-old were all wrong.

What in the hell was right, then?

Shadow had no answer to that, and all he could do was think about why he was in this situation in the first place. The first reason was already mentioned, him being trapped because he was praising the fact that their time had been cut. That couldn't be it though, because all of them felt the same way.

The second reason was to entertain the thing, but he already did that…physically, at least. Shadow inwardly sighed, taking a deep breath. He was about to sink his reputation, blow his pride, and ruin his image, but what other choice did he have?

"Yo Shads-"

"Did you hear about the claustrophobic astronaut?" Shadow interjected, voice strained as he shifted his focus to the rest. Sonic's words died in his throat as they all looked at the striped hedgehog. Shadow didn't wait for any kind of response before answering himself. "He just needed a little space."

There was silence, and Shadow felt his soul draining.

"Why don't scientists trust atoms?" Shadow went on, feeling the surprise radiate off the others in waves. "Because they make up everything." Those jokes he'd heard from Maria, and the reaction to them were the same as now. Silence.

Shadow had one more in his arsenal. "Why can't you explain puns to kleptomaniacs?" This time, his sigh was audible. "They always take things literally." He got that one from Rouge.

No one said anything for a few seconds until Tails hesitantly snickered, "The last two were kinda funny…"

"Oh no, all of them were hilarious." Sonic was looking at Shadow like he'd grown at least two more heads. "But I think Shads has gone off the deep end, everybody."

"Interesting." Eggman stroked his mustache. "I honestly thought I would be the first."

Shadow noticed that he hadn't started over yet, and he had no idea what that meant. "I haven't gone insane," he wondered how long he would be able to say that, "I'm stuck in a time loop the damn thing trapped me into."

Tails perked up at that. "A time loop? Like-"

"Yes." Shadow remembered what the kit had said before. "I'm stuck in time. I've repeated the beginning of this episode multiple times." Amy opened her mouth, but he didn't let her talk. "Just play the episode. It starts with the doctor waking up at six in the morning, turning off his alarm clock."

The screen showed just that.

Any doubt Amy had was gone, and Shadow went to explain. "This episode is about the other doctor repeating the same day over and over again." Shadow had gained a little respect for Eggman's twin. He had kept his image in check while being in the time loop; however, to be fair, his reputation wasn't as dignified in the first place.

Tails tilted his head at him, thinking. "Huh…well, how did he-"

"Sticks pulled out the other echidna's tooth," Shadow said blandly, and Knuckles flinched at that. The Ultimate Lifeform glanced over at him. "I've tried to do that already. Twice."

"The hell?!" Knuckles shouted out, cautious with his guard up. "Why in the-"

"Six times, echidna," Shadow borderline growled, and the other quieted. His muscles were still tensed though. That was understandable.

Sonic was a mix of amused and confused. "Guess that didn't work out for ya, yeah?" He tapped his foot against the floor. "Which makes sense, because our twins aren't dealin' with what we are!"

Tails nodded. "I don't know exactly what pulling teeth accomplished, but I'm sure that has a more scientific explanation than with what's happening now with you." His namesakes swished behind him as he mused, "The thing is definitely behind it, and uh, its antics usually revolve around making us…"

"Suffer as much as possible?" Amy suggested.

"Yeah, that," the kit agreed. "So, I guess what would make you…suffer the most could possibly break the loop."

"I've already tried telling jokes." Shadow reminded, causing Sonic to snort. "What else could I do?"

Eggman crossed his arms with a scoff. "That's not the worst thing. If I was it, I'd just make you watch the whole episode over again without interruptions. That way, any deviations would cause you to start over. It's simple yet malicious. However…" He glanced around at the ruined living room. "Nothing about the thing is simple."

But everything about it was malicious.

"Yo Shads, what would you do if I punched you in the face right now?"

"Make you regret ever being born."

Shadow was going to go with Eggman's idea because it made perfect sense. After being introduced to the time loop, the thing expected him to panic and differ from the original script. Hopefully the spell would be broken when Shadow successfully recreated the first watch of the episode.

He could do this.

Shadow kept quiet as the episode was played, paying more attention to the conversations going on around him than the show.

Some time passed until Eggman bristled his mustache, yelling familiar words, "No, I don't spy on all of you like lab rats! I have better things to do with my time, and I don't need to know what you rodents do every second of every day!"

Shadow hummed to himself, recalling what he said in response. "That's good, doctor. Because if I notice you spying on me, I would-"

Did he get it wrong?

This was going to take a while, wasn't it?

Shadow hummed to himself when the time came again. "That's good, doctor. Because if I had ever found out you were spying on me, a type of hell unknown to-"

Shit.

Shadow loudly groaned, interjecting in a conversation he didn't care about.

"Shads, are you ok-"

"No."

"That's good, doctor. Because if I had ever found out you were spying on me, a type of hell you've never experienced before would be brought upon you."

Shadow waited for the bright light, but it never came. He hid his victorious smirk, needing to keep the relaxed smile on his muzzle. He got that down, and now he had to think about his next words.

…He had no idea what he said next or when he said it.

Just perfect.

"Yo Shads-"

"Faker, if you don't shut up right now, I will go over there and slap you into the next month. I'm trying to think about what I said during this stupid episode so I can escape this torturous hell. I need the concentration that you're scattering, so shut. The hell. Up."

Shadow was getting a little frustrated.

"Faker lifting that thing? As if-"

Shadow yelled in exasperation while desperately pulling on his quills, startling those around him.

Maybe more than a little frustrated.

"Faker lifting that thing? Not in a million years."

No light, and Shadow was gaining hope.

"Hey!" Sonic and Tails chorused. "We're right here!"

"We know," Knuckles answered, Shadow opening his mouth too late.

Shadow threw his chair again.

Sonic groaned as the bright light faded, not expecting that onslaught at all. He blinked away the whiteness and saw the other occupants of the room do it too. The azure speedster rubbed at his eyes, questioning, "Anyone know what that was about?"

"Other than interesting my need for a seeing-eye dog? No clue." Knuckles groused as he rubbed his eyes.

"I bet it was for no reason at all!" Amy pouted, wanting even more to watch all of the episodes so they could go back to their normal lives. Well, normal compared to this.

Eggman was about to say something along the lines of he wouldn't be surprised at all if that was indeed the case, but broken chuckles demanded all of his attention.

Alarmed gazes fell on Shadow, who was bent forward in his seat, his face in his hands. His shoulders were shaking with every chuckle, making the others feel a tad unsettled.

"…Tails?" Amy started, not sure if she should run for her life or not. "Is this because of uh…hormones again?"

Tails had no clue what was going on. "I don't think so! He was fine before the light, so-"

"It is obvious that the light did something to him," Metal deduced. "With the way he is reacting, I am glad that I was not the target."

Sonic agreed as well, but he didn't dare say it out loud because Shadow was unpredictable on a good day. All of Sonic's mental alarms were going off right now. Psychotic laughter was way worse than relaxed smiles. "How about…we just take a little break, yeah?" he asked the others, keeping an eye on Shadow. "Like thirty minutes? Some sleep should stop that, right?"

Tails and Amy nodded – they could sacrifice some time to return the destructive bioweapon back to a healthy mental state – while Knuckles grumbled, "I want to be out of here as soon as possible, but if it keeps him from acting like a crazed lunatic, then-"

"No." The chuckles had stopped at this point. Shadow was leaning back in his hair room, raking his fingers through his quills and lightly panting. "No," the black hedgehog repeated, still high from hearing the wonderful news. "We're not stopping."

"You are denying rest?" Metal didn't understand. "You are literally going insane without it, if you had not noticed."

Oh, Shadow noticed. "I don't care." He took a deep breath because he was out. He did it. He broke out, and if he ever heard the phrase 'hedgehog day' again, he would not be responsible for any resulting damages. "Because I have watched the last episode so…many…times." An exhausted growl leaked into his tone. "We aren't stopping for anything."

"Wait…so many times?" Tails questioned before gasping, the pieces fitting together. "Don't tell me…you were put in a time loop?"

Shadow subtly nodded, and Metal was really glad that he hadn't been targeted.

Amy was flabbergasted. From how mentally out of it Shadow looked, she had a guess that he'd started over a bunch of times. She was curious of the exact number though. "How many-"

"I lost count past fifteen."

"How in the hell did you break out of it?" Knuckles couldn't imagine going through that.

Sonic couldn't either. "And tell me what you did to tick the thing off so badly?" So he could avoid doing that at all costs.

Shadow glared at the speedster before answering Knuckles, "I just had to watch the episode again." Confused looks were sent his way. "Remembering everything I said, when to say it, and how to say it." Comprehension set in and so did sympathy.

They were all lucky that Shadow was the one subjected to the time loop, Eggman believed. "If it was anyone other than Shadow, the loop would've lasted much longer. Most of you rodents have motor mouths."

"You do too, Eggy!" Sonic retorted, but he had to agree. Shadow's reclusive nature helped him out for once. Who knew how long Sonic would've been trapped for. Even he could admit that he talked a lot.

Tails eyed the striped hedgehog, feeling bad for him. "After going through that, you still want to pass up on the nap?"

"I'm tired of staying in one place." Shadow grunted; he had looped so many times that he just wanted to go. He read 'The Curse of Buddy Buddy Temple' on the screen, relief filling his system at the welcome change even though it sounded ridiculous. "Just play it."

Tails and Amy shared a look before the latter shrugged, starting the episode.

The scene started with an on-going battle. Sonic was running away from Eggman, who was shooting at him in his hovercraft. Amy and Tails were also sprinting along, dodging attack from robots at their heels.

Shadow released any doubts left in his system. If the thing had pulled a cruel trick, starting the episode with a waking Eggman, he would have lost his mind then and there.

Eggman fired at a tree Sonic was approaching, and the speedster had to spin over it in order to keep from being crushed. Amy and Tails, now joined by Knuckles and Sticks, were now chasing the robots down, attacking the annoyances.

"So this is just an early routine beat-em-up?" Sonic asked as he mentally filed through what Shadow could've done to get him thrown into a loop. He was coming up with nothing, and he was a tad bit uneasy. Maybe it only had one time loop in its arsenal. Please let it only have one.

Tails nodded. "Looks like it, and maybe this will lead up to the temple mentioned in the title."

"Jungle laser, jungle laser, fry you with my laser!" Eggman sang boisterously as he continuously shot at Sonic.

And at this point, Eggman knew that this episode was automatically worse than the one before. He was in for a bumpy ride because why did his twin think that he was good at singing?

Knuckles inwardly groaned. "Eggman, if you ever pick up that hobby, I'd personally destroy every karaoke machine you own."

"I wouldn't stop you."

The blue hero frowned back at the human before gazing ahead at a tree housing an occupied bird's nest. Sonic smirked. "Hey, Eggman, smile for the birdie!" Sonic hopped into the tree, causing its trunk to bend, and promptly dropped out of it, flinging the birds right into Eggman's face.

Sonic hummed. "A plus for the attack, D minus for the quip."

The doctor swatted them away with a yell. "Ow, ow! They're pecking my eyes! Why would I ever smile at this?"

"I'd smile if I ever saw it happen!" Amy giggled.

"I would as well," Metal commented. "If I ever regain the pleasure of possessing a mouth, which I should have been built with in the first place."

Eggman glared. "We are not arguing about that again, Metal."

"We would not have to argue if you did it in the first place, doctor."

"Why did I ever give you a personality?"

"Another major error on your part."

Eggman flew away, and now Sonic chasing him. Meanwhile, the rest of the hero crew were running after a panicking Orbot and Cubot. Eggman hovered close to a cliff wall, and a section of the rock slid open. After he entered – Sonic following after him – a door with two smiling anthros on it slammed behind them.

"Wait, did he know that the temple was there?" Amy furrowed her brow. "Because he just waltzed in without a second thought!"

"Who thinks twice about entering a temple as mysterious as that?"

"A lot of people, Sonic! You're just special."

Knuckles ran up to the barrier and punched it. When it didn't open up, he growled, "Stop smiling!" as the remainder of the two groups crowded the doorway.

Knuckles had to remember about his happy place. He was going to need it again.

Sonic was oblivious to what was going on behind him as he chased Eggman down a long hallway, more and more doors slamming behind the duo.

Sonic dash attacked the doctor only for Eggman to dodge, and now the speedster was the one getting followed, lasers being shot at him.

There was a fork in the road ahead, and Sonic turned to go down the left path. However, Eggman paused the chase, pointing in the other way. "What are you doing? We should fight this way."

Tails was starting to understand where Amy was coming from. "The other Eggman had to know about the temple beforehand! That's why he's trying to get Sonic to go in the other direction!"

"Could he be any less obvious about it?" Eggman complained, wanting this double to revert to how he was acting in the last episode.

Shadow lowly scoffed, not as irritated – yet – because he was still feeling the afterglow of beating the thing at its own game. "I doubt he could if he tried."

Sonic shook his head in opposition, gesturing to the left. "No, this way. The natural direction of the fight is taking us left."

Knuckles slowly blinked. "The natural direction of the…what?"

"The natural direction of the fight!" Sonic linked his hands behind his head, leaning back in his chair. "You probably don't ever feel it because you're always babysittin' that rock of yours, but it's a real thing!" He ignored the glare. "It's like you have a gut feeling about which way you wanna go depending on the terrain, who's doin' the chasing, what time of day it is… Tails understands, don't you buddy?"

"I…have no idea what you're talking about."

Sonic waved him off. "It's just a hedgehog thing, then!"

Amy rose a dubious brow at him.

"A speedy hedgehog thing."

Shadow's expression showed no comprehension.

"Well, Metal and I-"

"Do not rope me into your inane babblings."

Sonic pursed his lips. "It's just a me thing? Really?"

Knuckles jeeringly snorted. "I agree with Amy. You're special alright."

"Yes, we should go left," Eggman seemed to agree. "My left!"

Sonic wasn't budging. "No, my left."

"My left!" Eggman gestured at the speedster. "Your right!"

"I know I'm right! We should go left. That's the right left."

"Just fight in the hall!" Knuckles shouted in exasperation. "It doesn't matter!"

"It does matter, Knux! The-"

"Sonic, just hush."

Eggman blinked at him. "That doesn't even make any-" The ground suddenly collapsed under them, crashing the duo down a level. "I'm okay!" Eggman's voice shouted in relief.

Eggman guessed that it was nice to know that even his double knew when stupidity pushed too far.

In the room below, the doctor was catching his breath in his hovercraft while Sonic was on the floor writing in pain. "Ah!" the speedster hissed. "I twisted my ankle!"

Sonic couldn't hide his flinch. Twisted ankles were right up there with stubbing your toe. Yeah, there was a continuous dull pain with a twisted ankle, but it felt like the world was going to end that one time Sonic bumped into a wall. He was out for the count for at least ten minutes.

Eggman panted as he grinned. "I finally have you!" He pressed a button in his vehicle and a weak laser blasted out of it. Sonic barely had to shift his feet to the side to dodge. The doctor leaned over the hovercraft, sighing.

"It was a valiant effort." Metal's sarcasm was palpable.

Sonic took this chance. "Tuckered out, Eggman?" he asked with a smirk as he carefully got to his feet, most of his weight on his healthy leg. "Have a taste of my spin dash!" Sonic launched at the human, spinning in the air, but he quickly lost balance because of his injury. He completely missed his target and landed hard on his back. "You just got spin dashed…"

Eggman stroked his mustache, the sight of the injured blue hedgehog brightening his day just a bit. "Hm."

"Don't get any ideas, Eggman!" Sonic called him out. "And plus, I'm not that helpless with a twisted ankle!"

"Why don't we test it out then, rodent?"

"Just take my word for it!"

Outside of the temple, Tails was pounding on the locked doors. "There's no other way in! Sonic's trapped!"

When those words sunk in, Orbot turned to Cubot, delighted. "That means Dr. Eggman's trapped too!"

"Yes, he is. Now leave and never come back since you are no longer under his idiosyncratic control," Metal suggested.

The two helper bots hugged each other and spun around as Cubot cheered, "We're free! Free I tells ya!" The duo then held up confetti sticks, the colorful paper twirling around them. "I could buy a houseboat and live on it, even though it's a boat!"

Sonic had to say that houseboats were the second worst invention next to scuba gear.

Orbot pleasantly sighed. "And I can finally finish my memoirs. I've been told I'm a natural recontour," he told the observing heroes.

"And I've been told I'm a neutral raccoon!" Cubot added before the robotic pair left the site.

Tails cocked his head. "A neutral…raccoon?"

"What does that even mean?" Amy asked. "A raccoon who doesn't care if it eats out of a trashcan or garbage dumps?"

"I would not be surprised if they end up at a recycling plant," Metal uttered.

"Well, we're sticking around to free Sonic," Amy said, regarding her friends. She put her hands on her hips. "But until then, one of us needs to be in charge."

Knuckles smiled. "Good thinking, Amy! I'll be in charge!"

Amy raised her brow in disbelief. "You? I'm in charge!"

"I kinda agree with the other Amy." Knuckles propped his chin in his palm. "If my twin was in charge, he'd just order everyone to tell the immobile statues to stop smiling. But then again, putting her in charge would just turn the group into a Sonic fan club."

"You say that like there's something wrong with Sonic fan clubs!" Amy puffed her cheeks before conceding. "But yeah, the other me shouldn't lead because of another reason. Tails is right there."

Tails nodded, a smile growing on his muzzle. "He'd be a great leader!"

"He would…" Sonic started with a slight smirk. "But do you really think that Dense the echidna and Headstrong Rose would let that happen?"

Tails slumped. "No…"

Sticks crossed her arms with a frown. "I don't trust anyone in charge."

"Oh yeah, and the demented tooth fairy wouldn't want it either."

Shadow had to hide a massive twitch, the phrasing giving him flashbacks.

Tails lifted a finger. "I know! Why don't we all be in charge?"

Sticks, Knuckles, and Amy yelled, "No!" startling the kit.

"He's just trying to help…"

Knuckles glanced over to the kit. "Tails, prepare yourself, because it's a good chance he's going to be ignored this whole episode." Because why listen to the smartest one in the group, right?

Inside, Sonic shook off the impact before standing up. "Oh perfect! We're stuck here."

"Correction-" Eggman grinned maliciously at the blue hero. "-you're stuck here." He started up his hovercraft. It slowly ascended toward the open ceiling, but then it began to sputter. Eggman promptly crashed back to the ground, shaking the floor.

"He probably would've made it if he'd shed a few pounds." Sonic grinned as he turned his attention to Eggman. "Hey Eggy, do you have any problems with that? Or do you account for any evil ham that you eat?"

"I will turn you into an evil ham if you don't be quiet!"

Sonic looked down at the doctor, who has laying prone out of the hovercraft. He smirked and waved. "Catch ya later, Eggface!" He zoomed off before making a U-turn, gaining enough speed to jump up into the hole above. However, he pushed off with his hurt ankle, causing him not to get enough height and plummet back down.

Amy winced at the crunching sound. "That sounded brutal."

"It can't be that bad, though." Knuckles opposed. "Because he was running like nothing was wrong with it a second ago."

Eggman got to his feet, dusting himself off and mocking, "'Catch ya later, Eggface!' That's you. That's what you sound like."

Eggman wanted to hit his head against the nearby wall. "It's like he picks the perfect time to taunt, but his mind just comes up with the most idiotic-"

Sonic shrugged. "At least he's tryin'! You take the easy way out and just call us rodents and pincushions all the time."

"I do not, you-" Eggman paused at Sonic's expectant and cheeky expression. "There are not enough words to describe how much I hate you."

"Love ya too, Eggy!"

He pointed at the recovering hedgehog before noticing a handle on the ground connected to the same round picture as outside. The human futilely pulled at it, the circle unmoving. Eggman sighed before perking up, an idea coming to him. "Wait! I can hook the Eggmobile's tow cable to this floor tile! But, it doesn't have enough power to pull it open…"

Sonic crossed his arms, pointedly glancing away. "I can pull your dumb Eggmobile across the room, if that's our only option."

"It's interesting how much attitude the other Sonic has," Tails mused. "Like attitude attitude."

Sonic snickered. "Like attitude attitude attitude?"

Knuckles snorted. "Or like attitude attitude attitude attitude?"

"Knux is right! It's more on the lines of attitude attitude attitude attitude attitude."

"You guys are the worst."

Amy held her head in her hands. "Attitude doesn't even sound like a word anymore!"

Eggman, in the hovercraft, pulled out a harness. "Get in the hedgehog harness."

"He just…has that laying around?" Eggman himself was befuddled. Since when were there hedgehog harnesses, and why were there hedgehog harnesses?

"It's best not to think about what he does in his free time," Shadow said, blocking those thought to protect whatever sanity he had left.

Sonic blinked, shocked. "What? No way!" He turned away again before glancing back at the item. The speedster took it out of the other's hand, scowling. "If you tell anyone about this…"

Metal produced a scoff. "The whole village will know within the hour."

The next shot showed one end of a tow cable tied to the handle and attached to the hovercraft. There was another cable connecting the vehicle and Sonic's worn harness.

Eggman raised a fist and chanted, "Mush! Mush!"

"I'm mushing, I'm mushing!" Sonic grumbled as he ran forward, dragging Eggman long.

"Mush?" Sonic repeated, feeling insulted for his double. "He's not a sled dog!"

"Forget about that," Knuckles began, narrowing his eyes. "Isn't his ankle twisted? Again, it's like he hadn't gotten hurt at all!"

Some gazes shifted over to Tails for an explanation, and the kit tentatively shrugged. "The magic of adrenaline?"

As he built up speed running in a circle, the Eggmobile lifted off the ground and so did the heavy tile. Eggman laughed when the tile fully opened, but then he yelled in surprise when it fell through the floor, yanking the two down with it.

Sonic and Eggman were now on the level below. The hedgehog was laying on his back with a pensive expression on his face. "Did we just…cooperate?"

"It was borderline slave labor," Knuckles pointed out. "But sure."

Eggman chuckled. "Yup! And I've got great photos!" A picture appeared on the screen. It was a still frame of Eggman smiling and Sonic panicking as they fell through the floor.

Amy squealed. "Oh my gosh! I need that picture! The art style is so cute!"

Tails eyed her. "You do realize that Eggman takes up most of the frame, right…?"

"I can just crop him out! Sonic is just too adorable flailing for his life like that!"

With the remaining heroes, the atmosphere was becoming strained. Sticks was grumpily sitting on a rock by herself, Amy and Knuckles were arguing, and Tails was stuck in the middle.

Tails sighed. This couldn't end well.

"Fine," Amy began, clearly exasperated. "If we can't decide who's in charge, we'll split up. Who wants to be on Team Amy?" Tails energetically raised his hand.

"I mean…" Tails couldn't argue his twin's decision. "It's the lesser of two evils?"

"Great!" Knuckles gestured to himself. "And who wants Knuckles to lead Team Amy?"

"Is…" Knuckles massaged his temples. "I just want to know what happened to him? Do we get some kind of backstory?"

"And give him more screen time?" Metal shook his head. "I would rather be left in the dark."

The pinkette groaned. "Amy leads Team Amy! Knuckles leads Team Knuckles."

"Wait, there's a Team Knuckles now?" the echidna asked, lost.

Sonic couldn't be mad at him. "Hey, that implies that there should only be one team! At least he wants to stick together!"

"I don't know how you find the positives in almost any situation." Knuckles stifled a sigh. "But I appreciate it in how it brings my stress level down."

Tails glanced between them. "Can I be on both teams?"

"No!" Amy and Knuckles shouted in tandem.

"I'm don't want Sonic and Eggman to escape for their safety, I want them to escape so Tails gets a say again!" Amy frowned. She wouldn't shut Tails down like that unless he said something completely unreasonable. Which was like once when he told her that she should take a break in pursuing Sonic. Complete and utter nonsense.

The pinkette's gaze was stern. "We all have to pick a side, Tails. Now, who's it gonna be: Amy…"

"Or Amy?" Knuckles finished. Amy facepalmed, and the echidna muttered, "I still don't get how this works."

"And it'll probably take days to explain…"

"Thought you wanted to be more positive, Knux?"

"I am. I could've said weeks."

"Help!" The heroes shifted their attention to Cubot, who quickly approached them with Orbot tagging behind. Sticks approached curiously as Cubot continued, "We can't be on our own!"

Orbot looked overwhelmed. "All that freedom! Too many choices!"

Tails hummed to himself. "They hadn't known anything else, so I guess it makes sense?"

Metal deadpanned at him. "They had barely been gone ten minutes."

"I said that I guess!"

Within the temple, Eggman was working on his hovercraft while Sonic was peering at the scribblings on the nearby wall.

The speedster peered over his shoulder at the human. "This looks like a message written in the temple's lost language."

Sonic lowly whistled. "Wow. I would've said someone in desperate need of art classes had been there."

"Ha!" Eggman barked out a laugh as he ducked into his vehicle. He stood back up with a scanner, pushing a button on it.

Knuckles frowned up. "He's got a lot of convenient items with him."

"It's common sense to be ready for anything when you're up against a hedgehog who can run faster than the speed of sound and his equally as annoying friends," Eggman grumbled, crossing his arms.

A red light shot out and scanned the perimeter around them. Eggman read the screen. "Congratulations. You are in the bowels of Buddy Buddy Temple. Enter as strangers, leave as best pals forever."

Sonic walked up the took the device, reading the rest. "Follow the example of the Buddy Buddy Beavers to become true bosom buddy amigos?"

Sonic shuddered. "That's almost as bad as tellin' me that we've run out of hot dogs!"

Eggman was in full agreeance, disgust etched in his features. "If they actually become friends after this, then that whole dimension officially needs psychiatric help."

"Pfft." Eggman scoffed. "I ain't interested in your bosom, buddy."

Eggman was glad that they were on the same page, but did he have to speak like that?!

He went to lean on his Eggmobile, and that caused a switch to be pressed underneath the vehicle.

The floor split apart, revealing lava below. Eggman and Sonic split to opposite sides of the room as the hovercraft fell into the red-hot pit.

Worry swirled in Amy's veins. "I'm really happy that Sonic's ankle is mysteriously not broken anymore!"

Sonic – pressed up against the wall to keep from meeting the same fate – looked behind him and saw the beaver tile. "Follow the Buddy Beavers…" Sonic mumbled before noticing a lever at his side. He pulled it, causing a platform to jut out of the wall on the other side. "Pull your lever, Eggman!"

The human hopped onto the new platform and did what he was told, creating a way for Sonic to escape the rising lava. Sonic jumped onto the part of the wall sticking out and the duo continued this pattern until they reached a door with two levers.

They tried to activate them separately until Sonic paused. "Let's do it together." The pair pulled at the same time, and the door opened.

Shadow was tired of watching this episode already. "If Faker could do all of that, then why in the hell isn't he attacking the ceiling to escape?"

"His ankle is fixed, but not that fixed," Knuckles retorted.

They ran through it, but Eggman looked back to watch his hovercraft slowly sink and burn.

Devastation was etched into his features. "You were too beautiful to live…" he said as it was completely engulfed.

"He cares more about his tools than his actual sentient machines?" Amy pursed her lips. "Isn't that kinda backwards?"

Eggman glanced over to her. "It's because tools don't talk back to you."

Metal knew that was aimed at him.

Sonic inwardly scoffed. It was clear that Eggman had never met Caliburn.

The rest of the heroes, along with Orbot and Cubot, were sitting in a partial circle, unsure on what to do.

Orbot spoke up. "Let's go over it one more time; who's leading us right now?"

"Me!" Both Amy and Knuckles answered.

Tails wasn't amused. "We're not getting anywhere like this. Maybe I should be in charge."

"No!" everyone else loudly opposed.

Tails didn't understand. "What's so bad about him being in charge?"

Sonic shook his head, chuckling. "It's not about him bein' in charge, it's about them potentially losing an argument. They're more stubborn than I am!"

Shadow snorted. "Not by a long shot."

"Y'know, I thought you'd let me have that because I basically insulted myself, and you can't be talkin', Shads!"

"I'm less stubborn than you are, Faker."

"No, you're not!"

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're not!"

"Yes, I am."

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not."

A cunning grin grew on Sonic's muzzle.

Shadow blinked before cursing to himself. He was off his game because of that stupid loop.

Sonic and Eggman were now in a strange room with numerous holes in the walls.

"Why would there be little holes in this wall?" the doctor asked while he was inspecting the indentions. "Maybe people put pennies in them."

Eggman glared. "Yes, what any other reason could there be? Of course people are storing pennies in a wall of an underground friendship temple. Of course."

Sonic didn't respond to him, investigating as well…until he jumped back in shock, pointing and shouting. "Darts!"

Said projectiles were shot out of the holes, and in slow motion, Sonic tackled Eggman to the ground so they would avoid getting hit.

"Get off me!" Eggman groused, knocking the hero off of him.

Sonic landed on his side, sarcasm dripping in his tone. "You're welcome."

"Showing some gratitude wouldn't hurt!" Amy yelled at the doctor onscreen. She would like to hit him one good time for that. Sonic saved him even with a not-so-twisted ankle!

Knuckles smirked. "It probably would hurt, but it would cause a lot less pain than those darts."

The human was hopping on one foot now, face twisted up in pain. "Agh, my ankle! I think it's sprained! Nope, it's definitely sprained!" He lifted up his leg and held it. "Oh, it's twisted something fierce!"

"I would say he's acting…" Tails said dubiously. "But it's really hard to tell anymore."

Sonic ignored him, walking further into the room, eyes widening when he stepped on a hidden button. Large spikes popped out of the walls, and both sides of the room began moving slowly together.

Sonic quickly ran to Eggman's side, helping him in the direction of a way out. "About this morning…" the doctor started, "I'm sorry for, you know, blasting you with all those lasers. I need to learn not to try to incinerate you all the time."

"Thanks…" Sonic reluctantly uttered. "I guess."

"Where's that attitude from before?" Sonic asked because his twin was just pushed away for helping. "Eggy needs a big helping of 'tude right now, not hesitant appreciation!"

Metal glimpsed at him. "You would leave the doctor to be crushed like the bug he is, copy?" Eggman's glare was disregarded. "How morbid of you."

"It's a step up from usual," Shadow commented.

"No!" Sonic waved his hands. "I'd still help him, but with just more 'tude! Don't you listen when I speak?"

"Only occasionally." Shadow grunted.

"When you say something worth listening to," Metal uttered. "The impending death of a doctor was interesting to me."

The duo approached a portcullis with two buttons on opposite sides. "We gotta hit these at the same time," Sonic informed as he left Eggman to man his switch.

They synchronized their presses, and the heavy gate slid opened. Eggman was the first to jog through-

"So he was acting?"

Knuckles shrugged. "Have no idea, Tails." At this point, anyone could have a twisted ankle and they just didn't know it.

-and Sonic went to follow, but the doctor shoved him back as the portcullis dropped, trapping the hedgehog inside.

"That is such a low blow!" Amy cried out, and Sonic had half the mind to remind her that actual low blows were much worse than what happened. The pinkette whirled around to focus on the human. "Eggman, would you ever do that!?"

"No," Eggman answered. "And it's not because I care for the pincushion, but because they are still in the temple that ran on being partners with someone. If he killed Sonic, then he'd be stuck in there forever." Eggman blinked. "I wouldn't mind seeing that, actually…"

Eggman laughed victoriously from the other side. "I can't believe you fell for the old 'sprained ankle' act. I stole the idea from you!" He imitated the speedster, hopping up and down. "'Ow, my ankle! I think it's sprained!' Man, those improv classes are really paying off."

"Two things." Sonic held up two fingers. "One, they really aren't. And two, imitation is the best form of flattery! He respects the other me a whole lot, huh? I don't blame him!"

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Yeah, he respects your twin so much that he is willing to crush him with spikes."

Sonic knocked on the metal in frustration. "You Eggs-Benedict-Arnold!"

Eggman haughtily waved. "So long, hedgehog! Hope you don't find this turn of events crushing! Get it, 'cause you'll be crushed by the walls? They'll crush you."

Eggman almost face-palmed. "Why can't he ever just walk away?"

Sonic simply stared angrily at him. Eggman waved him off. "I'll explain it after you're crushed." The doctor strolled away whistling a tune while Sonic faced the increasingly narrowing room.

Eggman was happy until he came across another Buddy Beaver door. "Come on, why would there be another door? I just opened one! Who even designed this temple?"

Eggman fumed in his seat, and Knuckles was just glad that it wasn't his double and Eggman trapped in the temple. That would have been a disaster.

He took a deep breath. "It's okay, Eggman. You got this. Just pull both levers."

He ran to one on one side of the room, pulled it down, and then sprinted to the other side to flip the second one. However, as soon as he did so, the first popped back up on its own.

Eggman, seeing this, continued to try. "Stay down, levers!" He flipped one and yelled, "Stay down!" as the other stood up. Eggman slumped in defeat. "I was so close…"

Metal was doubtful. "Was he really?"

Shadow inwardly sighed because this episode was dragging. Though, he didn't say it out loud because he would not take the risk of being hit with another impossibility. "He was so close to being trapped forever, which is a letdown."

He glanced over and noticed Sonic attempting to stop a wall by pushing against it. It wasn't working.

"Hedgehog, hit your button!" Eggman yelled as he ran back. "Let's go, giddy-up!" The doctor pressed a button on his side of the wall while Sonic heeded his words. The gate slid open, and Sonic rolled through just in time to keep from getting crushed.

Eggman ambled over to the hero, who was getting to his feet. The man immediately went to fix his wrongs. "Okay, I understand why you might be upset with me." Sonic glared up at him. "We're bosom buddy amigos now! Gimme a big smile!"

Sonic scoffed. "If their positions had been switched, would Eggman give him a big smile?"

"Probably," Knuckles responded. "That man is crazy."

Standing up now, Sonic deadpanned at him until the temple started to quake. "Let's just get out of here before the roof caves in!" The pair jumped to the side to avoid an enormous boulder falling from the ceiling.

Outside, Sticks was back on her rock, and Amy and Knuckles were still arguing.

"If I was in charge-" Amy jabbed a thumb over her shoulder, pointing at the locked doors. "-we'd be in the temple already."

"It doesn't matter if you have a leader or not!" Amy wished she was there to put an end to all the bickering. "You don't have to be a leader to go to town with your hammer!"

Of course, Knuckles had a counterargument. "And if you were in charge, I'd be in the temple already."

Amy could do nothing but stare.

"Honestly? He's most likely telling the truth." Tails couldn't help but to chuckle. "They could've been in there if they hadn't been arguing."

Suddenly, the ground nearby started to break, leaving Orbot and Cubot worried.

Cubot rose a finger. "Hello? Uh, fellas?"

They were ignored, Amy raising her voice at the echidna. "You're so incompetent, you don't even know how to argue!"

"You're right!" Knuckles shouted back. "Most of the time, I'm very confused and just yell back things!"

Sonic snickered. "Sound familiar, Knux?"

"I do not-" Knuckles lowered his voice with a glare. "I'm not confused when I yell! I know exactly what I'm yelling about. Most of the time, it's you."

"And the rock."

"Because of you."

Sticks went over to them. "It doesn't matter who's leading! We're never getting into the-" The ground broke under their feet, and everyone fell into the resulting hole.

Below them, Eggman was standing on Sonic's shoulders, trying to reach a higher opening, but the pair froze when a nearby wall caved in, the rest of the heroes and robots making their appearance.

Amy looked over and noticed the duo. "Sonic! Are you helping Eggman?"

"What?" Sonic hastily shoved Eggman up into the hole, leaning against the wall nonchalantly. "No."

Amy giggled. "Smooth."

The wall between him and the doctor tumbled down, and Sonic peered into the next room to see an old mine cart and a set of tracks. "There's our way out!"

Tails furrowed his brow. "Couldn't they just go back up the way they fell down?"

Eggman shook his head. "That would be too simple."

Sonic leapt over the pile of rocks and stood by the cart. Orbot floated by him, hesitant. "An old mine cart? We don't even know where it goes!"

A stone pelted him in the head, and Sonic smirked. "You wanna stay here?"

Sonic barked out a laugh. "Yeah, that should be enough incentive!"

Everyone then boarded the mine cart, Sonic and Eggman taking each end of the lever.

"Wouldn't it make more sense for Knuckles to do it with Sonic?"

"Oh definitely." Knuckles grunted at Amy's question. "But this is a Sonic and Eggman episode."

"Okay, ready?" Sonic asked Eggman before they began to shift the lever, yelling out 'lift' and 'pump' as they worked.

The cart accelerated quickly as it moved along the rails. The tunnel then started to collapse behind them, pushing Sonic and Eggman to work harder. Eventually, they reached the end of the cave, flying out from the side of a cliff.

"It's like a roller coaster! I would want to find that temple just to ride the cart!"

"Of course you would," Eggman, Shadow, and Knuckles chorused.

Sonic didn't pay them any attention, daydreaming about the track without the flying out from the side of a cliff part.

They landed on the ground below, dodging a couple extra rolling rocks.

"Yes!" Eggman and Sonic shout at the same time, holding up hands to high-five each other. However, they stopped themselves after realizing what they were about to do and walked away.

Eggman nodded, relieved. "Great decision."

Cubot hugged Eggman's leg. "We're so happy you're back, boss!"

Orbot hugged the other. "We'll never desert you again!"

Eggman's brow creased. "You'll never what?"

Orbot took back his words. "I mean, would you mind reading a draft of my memoirs?"

Metal was disappointed. "I would not have hidden it. He needs to know that he's so incompetent that his own creations thought about abandoning him."

Eggman resisted the strong urge to tell the other off.

"Thank goodness we've got Sonic back again!" Amy sighed in relief before turning to the red echidna. "Knuckles, I can't believe we squabbled like that."

"Yeah," Knuckles agreed. "You were out of control."

Amy's smile instantly fell. "I was out of control?! You were being totally obstinate!"

Knuckles looked down his nose at her. "I don't know what obstinate means, but I refuse to learn."

"Yep. That sums up his whole character." Knuckles stretched his arms above his head. They had to be reaching the end of this one, right? "But what I'm really caught on is that the whole team just fell apart when Sonic left. Is Sonic seriously the glue holding them together?"

Sonic puffed out his chest. "Told ya Sonics are awesome!"

"Or the whole group is just a mess."

"Yeah, or that too."

"You know…" Sonic peeled his attention from Amy and Knuckles onto Eggman, who was talking to him. "We actually made a pretty good team. It was almost like, we were friends or something."

"Yeah, because friends leave other friends behind to be crushed by spiked walls!" Amy stuck her tongue out. "Drop him like the toxic friend he is!"

Sonic scoffed good-naturedly. "Yeah, like that would ever happen." The ground suddenly shook, more rocks tumbling down the cliff. The heroes ran off, Sonic calling back a, "Catch ya later, Eggface!"

"Not if I destroy you first!" Eggman retorted with a smirk, running away with Orbot and Cubot in tow.

The same picture as before floated down and landed on a rock as the episode ended.

"If it was anyone else, I would've said the ending was adorable," Amy reluctantly mumbled.

"Nothing involving my copy will ever be adorable," Metal opposed.

Sonic didn't exactly know how to respond to that, so instead he said, "Another episode down! We're makin' progress!"

"Finally," Shadow muttered under his breath.

Sonic smirked over at him. "You looked so into it though, Shads! We could probably watch it again if you want!"

"Faker, if you don't want to lose all of your teeth, I advise you to shut the hell up."

Sonic needed teeth to eat chili dogs. "Say no more."

You don't ever want Shadow to be your dentist.

And oh boy, Blue with Envy is next. That'll be fun to write...

Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome!