Penny stood next to her friends as they watched Comedy Chip get his picture taken.
"Oh yeah, work it, C.C, you still got it, baby!" Dianne cooed as she snapped a picture of Comedy Chip. She smiled at him. "C'mon, give me pouty... Now give me a tiger, roar!" She said, lashing out her hand like a tiger.
"Wow." Tails said. "I've never seen a professional photoshoot before!"
"Pretty sure you still haven't," Penny told him.
Knuckles glanced over a group to see a trash can lying on the ground nearby. "Hello, what do we have here?" He walked over to the trash can and placed it on his head like a complete idiot. However, he somehow managed to catch the eyes of Dianna. She gasped and started taking pictures of him.
"He's a waif, the orphan of our times, a lost child oblivious to the never-ending sea of despair... How poetic!" She sighed dramatically and started taking pictures of him.
"Hey, Dollface." Comedy Chip called, noticing his camera lady wasn't focusing on him anymore. "The show's over here!"
...
Knuckles was soon famous with the trash can hat thing, that he even ended up on the paper! Penny noticed this when she went walking with Sonic and Knuckles. He was everywhere in the newspapers. The human girl smiled as she held one up to Knuckles. "Look, Knuckles! You're famous!" The human girl grinned.
"Cool!" Knuckles grinned back at her. "Who's the doofus with the trashcan on his head?"
Sonic just shook his head.
Some bystanders noticed and began talking among themselves.
"Is that the guy from the newspaper?" Wolfie asked, pointing at Knuckles.
"I don't know. He doesn't look like he has a trashcan on his head." Lady Goat said.
A walrus looked at the newspaper, and then at Knuckles. He placed his hand above Knuckle's head and nodded. "He is the guy that's in the picture."
And a that, all three fans ran up to Knuckles, hopping up and down and holding their papers towards him.
"Hey Trash Can Head Guy, sign my newspaper!" Wolfie cried.
"Mine too!"
"My standards for being a celebrity are quite low." The walrus said.
Knuckles smirked.
"This is interesting..." Penny hummed, watching the scene beside Sonic.
...
Penny sat in between Sonic and Knuckles as they watched the next Comedy Chip show. Comedy Chip grinned at the audience. "Hey Wolfie, get a load of this guy! If this fashion trend catches on, I'm gonna start throwing trash in my hat!"
"You sir are the master of fighting social commentary!"
"Wow, Knuckles. You're really embracing this whole trashcan head thing." Sonic said.
"Yep!" Knuckles grinned. "You know what people say when they see me wearing this?"
Penny glanced at Knuckles. "I weep for the future of our kind?"
"Yeah, some of them. But most people think it looks wicked cool!" Knuckles told her.
...
Knuckle's fame was getting huge on Bygone Island. So huge in fact that people started wearing the trash can hats and following Knuckles around town.
That night, Knuckles even got a fancy dinner for the rest of his friends. However, by the time Knuckles got into the restaurant, Salty blocked the rest of the team away. Knuckles mentioned to Salty that they were with him, and Salty allowed them to walk in.
...
Soon, Knuckles found himself singing a poster of him and giving it to Stratford. Eggman suddenly pushed through the crowd. "Move it, losers, evil genius coming through!"
"Eggman!" Knuckles snarled. "What do you want?"
"First, I want to say I'm a huge fan, and I have something to offer you."
"Is it a magic boot that you rub, and a genie comes out and grants you wishes and all I have to do is give you all my money? If so, I'm in! The last one you sold me didn't work!"
"I want to be your sponsor, and all you have to do is put the Eggman Industries logo on your trash can!"
Knuckles scowled angrily at Eggman. "No! Do you think my trash can is for sale?! It is not, sir! I have integrity, I will not sell out!"
At Meh Burger, though...
"10% off all your Meh Burger purchase's if you slap this sticker on that head-trash thing," Dave said, handing Knuckles a Meh Burger logo.
"Done and done!" Knuckles grinned, placing the Meh Burger sticker on his trashcan hat. "Give me fifteen Meh Burgers!"
Dave handed Knuckles a plate of fifteen Meh Burgers, and Knuckles started eating them.
...
Soon, Knuckles found himself sponsoring the Comedy Chip show while Comedy Chip was on surgery. He looked distraught about the whole thing.
"Let's try those monologue jokes again. Just read what's on the cards here!" Comedy Chip's wolf partner growled at Knuckles.
"Okay, here goes... So, the mayor's in the news again, did you hear about this?" Knuckles frowned, pausing. "What's so funny about that?"
"You have to read the rest of the joke."
"Ohhh... How come?"
"There's a Mister the Hedgehog and a Miss Penny here to see you," Wild Cat said, walking up to Knuckles.
"Doesn't ring a bell."
"Hey, Knucks!" Sonic grinned, walking up to him with Penny at his side.
"So, this is your new role?" Penny asked curiously.
Knuckles chuckled at her. "Hey, did you hear the Mayor's in the news again?" He banged the table like it was a set of drums. "Ba-dum ching!"
"You didn't finish the joke!" Wolf Sidekick snapped.
"Heh heh, it's funny," Penny laughed nervously.
Sonic glanced at Knuckles. "We're all stowed for you, but are you up for this? I'm not sure wearing a bucket on your head qualifies you to host a TV show."
"First of all, it's not a bucket, it a trash can. Secondly, it's not a trash can, it's a fashion statement. Fourth, you're just jealous that I finally found my calling as a fashion designer/model/TV host."
"Sonic and I don't want you to embarrass yourself," Penny told Knuckles.
"I'm disappointed in you, Sonic and Penny. In you two, and the mayor. Now, if you'll excuse me, the jokes don't read themselves!"
Penny and Sonic sighed as they walked out together. "...This isn't gonna end well..." Sonic told her.
"Agreed." Penny nodded.
...
Soon, Penny, Sticks, Sonic, and Amy sat down next to each other, watching Knuckles on the Comedy Chip show. More like the Knuckles Show now.
"Welcome to the Comedy Chimp Show! I'm your guest host, Trash Can Head Guy! Say, wolf?" Knuckles grinned at the Wolf Sidekick.
"What is it, O great one?"
"Knock knock!"
"Who's there?"
"The mayor!"
"Uhh... The mayor who?"
"The mayor's in the news again!" Knuckles grinned, but when he was greeted with silence, he looked embarrassed.
"This is painful..." Sonic groaned.
"Hey, you said you were here to support him, now let's support him by watching," Penny told him. "After all, how bad could this possibly get?"
"Oh, here's a good one! What do you call a duck with a- Wait no, that's a- What the difference between a duck and a- Wait, maybe it's not a duck."
"Can we turn this off now?" Amy asked, glaring a little at Penny.
"Now. Lemmie see those cue cards-" Knuckles on the TV began, but a second later, he soon knocked over the camera at least twice, and even tripping over the stand. Surprisingly, he got laughs for that.
"Zing! You, sir, are the master of slapstick tomfoolery!"
Penny and the rest of the gang watched with open mouths as Knuckles continued his crazy act, earning even more waves of laughter.
The next night, Sonic grinned as he watched Knuckles trip over the stand. "I gotta admit, this is pretty funny!"
"It really is," Penny let out a giggle.
The show was going well until there was an explosion on the TV. Knuckles looked confused. "Uhh... What was that?"
The camera moves over to Eggman, who had his head sticking in the hole in the wall. "This hole in the wall was made possible by Eggman Industries!"
"Eggman's attacking the studio!" Sonic gasped. "We gotta get down there and help Knuckles!"
The group ran off.
"Wait!" Sticks called. "I wanna see what happens next!"
...
Knuckles grinned as he talked to Tommy Thunder. "...your new action movie is supposed to set a new standard for incredible effects. Let's roll a clip, shall we?"
At the same time, one of Eggman's missiles interrupts the scene and barely missed Tommy Thunder.
One of Eggman's robots burst through the wall, followed by Eggman. Eggman glanced at the audience. "Need a wall shattered? Call Eggman Industries!"
Comedy Chip also showed up, blocking Sonic and the gang. "This battle is sponsored by Eggman Industries. You have to wear this!" He said, holding out a hat with the Eggman Industries logo on it.
"No thanks!" Penny hissed. She ran away from the group, ignoring Comedy Chip's protests, and ran to Knuckle's studio, accidentally bumping into him.
Knuckles grinned at Penny. "Penny! You came to my show! Cool!"
"Eggman is attacking!" Penny gasped, giving Knuckles a pleading look. "Sonic and the others need your help!"
To her relief, Knuckles glanced at the audience. "I'll be right back after this!"
He soon joined the fight outside, and Wolfie took his place. "So the mayor's back on the news, did you hear this?" Wolfie laughed. " It seems that he-" He gave a yelp as a light smashed into him, knocking him out.
Penny grinned at Wolfie. "Sorry, dude, the show's over."
Outside...
"Good to have you back, Knux!" Sonic grinned at Knuckles.
"Good to be back, you guys! And if I ever get carried away by my ego again-"
"don't worry, we'll let you know," Amy grinned, holding her hammer.
"No, I was gonna say "Make sure I get a better show."
Eggman snarled angrily at them. "Engage Mega Stomp Bot! New from Eggman Industries! On my mark! 3...2..."
However, before Eggman could finish, Knuckles slammed a trash can on Eggman's head, and blindly stumbled away, followed by his robots.
"Great job, guys!" Penny grinned at her friends.
"Thanks for talking Knuckles back into rejoining the team," Sonic told her. "That was a big help."
"You're welcome!" Penny grinned, giving Sonic a playful salute.
"I think we should reward ourselves with a Meh Burger." Sonic grinned. "Let's go!"
The gang dashed off, leaving Comedy Chip glancing sadly at his now-demolished studio. "What have I done?" After a moment, Comedy Chip smiled. "Oh yeah, I got my show back."
He ran back towards the studio and tossed Wolfie away, and sat back in his chair, grinning at the audience. "Thank you, thank you, we're gonna keep things moving along, but first I want to thank our new sponsor: Eggman Industries, makers of the Kitty Funball!"
He pulled out a box and opened it, and took out a bomb. He winced. "This is not good..."
The bomb exploded, ending the show.
Next Chapter: Tails' Crush