"I love working for the Thorndykes." Bocoe smiled as he swept around Decoe, who was trimming the bushes. "Now the only thing we have to attack is crabgrass!" He cracked up at his own joke.

Decoe nodded in agreement. "Plus we get weekends off! Eggman never gave us free time except times he made us work for free!"

They laughed.

Penny smiled at the robots as she and Chris walked up the front porch. "Hey, how's it going, guys?" Chris called out to them.

"Hi! Looking good over there!" Penny smiled, shooting them a thumbs up.

"Hello, Christopher and Penelope." Bocoe said, smiling with his eyes.

"Welcome home!" Decoe added.

"Your parents just arrived back here a few minutes ago!"

"Really?" Penny asked with excitement.

"Great, where are they?" Chris asked as well.

"In the backyard! They are extremely eager to see you!"

"Thanks, guys!" Chris smiled as he walked in.

"You guys are the best!" Penny said, shooting them thumbs up.

"What nice kids. Especially the girl." Bocoe said.

"It is hard to believe that a few days ago we were trying to destroy her and her brother!" Decoe said.

Bocoe looked at Decoe. "I guess we should get back to work!"

Decoe nodded. "Right! We still need to fill in that ditch we dug out earlier!"

...

"Bon appetite!" Eggman announced as he gave Bokkun his lunch.

Bokkun sweat dropped. Why, this didn't look like lunch... it looked more like a tree stump with purple swamp in it. "A tree stump?!" He complained. "I can't eat one for lunch! What do I look like, a termite?"

Eggman looked at him, holding out a spatula and a pan of tree stumps. "Well, it's the only food we have. If you don't like it, we can skip right for the mud pie I made for desert!"

"I hope Decoe and Bocoe ask for their jobs back." Bokkun said. "Their food never tasted good, but THEY NEVER SERVED ME LUMBER FOR LUNCH!"

"Forget it." Eggman growled at him. "I wouldn't take those two turncoats back if they came crawling to me on their gear boxes!"

Bokkun whimpered, sobbing at how hungry he was, and how Eggman was treating him.

...

Soon, Silver, Penny, Blaze, Chris, Cream, Cheese, Kat, Hiro, Cloud, and the rest of the Thorndyke Residents all enjoyed themselves on their outdoor barbecue. Mr. Thorndyke smiled as he held up a burnt bob to Ella. "Here, Ella." He smiled.

Ella sweat dropped at the sight of it. "No thanks, sir. There might not be enough to go around..."

"Nonsense, Ella." Mrs. Thorndyke smiled. "We have more than enough!"

Ella smiled weakly as she held out her plate. "That's... great."

Mr. Thorndyke smiled at Ella as he placed two cabob sticks on her plate. "I know you like good food, so I expect to see you back for seconds." He chuckled as he placed a third burnt cabob on her plate.

Ella chuckled nervously.

"When I heard all my employees were taking time off because of this Freedom Fad, I'd thought I'd take a little free time, too!" Mr. Thorndyke said with a smile.

"Penelope and Christopher are thrilled that you both will be spending more time here, and so am I!" Ella smiled.

"I never realized what a burden stardom is until I joined the Freedom Movement." Lindsey smiled. She and her husband both yelled, "GO FREEDOM!"

"All right." Mrs. Thorndyke called.

"My shish cabobs are done, so get ready, gang, they're going to knock you out!" Mr. Thorndyke said, and burst out laughing.

Kat, Cloud, Hiro, and Penny sweat dropped a little bit at the sight of the burnt food.

"I just hope the medics will be able to revive us." Chuck said as he stirred a pot of soup.

Chris, Penny, Amy, Cloud, Silver, Blaze, Kat, Cream, Cheese, and Hiro chuckled.

"Professor Thorndyke." Mr. Tanaka suddenly said. "The President is on the telephone for you."

"Thank you." Chuck said as he walked to retrieve his message.

...

"What's that?! You're giving the go-ahead to Project Homebound?!" Chuck asked in surprise as he sat down on the living room couch. "I'll need some time to prepare."

He closed his eyes. "Yes, sir. Thank you sir."

He ended the call.

...

Police sirens were heard. Someone was speeding again, and the Speed King was just the guy for the job. He grumbled to himself. "Some of these Freedom Freaks think they've got the right to break the speed limit." He said as he drove. "Every day, some joker blasts down the highway to challenge the S team. There's only one racer who outraces me."

His thoughts drifted to Sonic.

"I never imagined a hotshot hedgehog and I would become buddies." He said with a smile. "Sonic's the only real competition I've got." He said as he looked at the speedster ahead of him. "This clown doesn't even know what speeding means!" He turned on his radio. "Pull over, pal! Don't make more trouble for yourself, it's not worth it!"

The speedster ahead of Speed King smirked. "He ain't catching me!" He vowed. He pressed his foot on the pedal, and sped off.

The two put off quite a chase for a while, until Speed King saw the speedster's danger. "SLOW DOWN!" He yelled, his eyes wide.

It took the driver a moment to realize that he was headed straight for the side of the highway! He tried to slow down, but he was a moment too late, and he and his car crashed through the highway side blocks.

"Oh, great!" The Speed King gasped as he ran to the edge.

Just when he thought the guy was done for, Sonic swept up and swooped the guy from the car seat, and zoomed him out of the way before his car hit the ground. Sam turned around to see the victim looking scared to death, and Sonic standing above him, smirking at the highway racer.

"Sonic!" Sam smiled.

"Hey, Sam." Sonic grinned back. "How are things on the highway?"

Sam took his helmet and mask off. "Same stuff." He said. "I'm still showing these show offs who rules the road. I was about to go on my coffee break." He leaned forward to Sonic. "But now that you're here..." He smirked and placed his gear back on, running to his truck.

Sonic chuckled, scratching behind his ear, before he took off after Sam, leaving the victim alone on the road.

"HEY, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!" The man yelled as he tried to run after them. "CRAWL HOME?!"

...

Once again, just like when Sam first met Sonic, the two were on a late night road race. Sonic smirked at Sam. "Ready to race?" The hedgehog asked.

Sam nodded. "You bet!" He said. "Just let me shift to the Sonic mode and I'm good to go," he said, pulling the lever on his racing car. He zoomed ahead, leaving Sonic behind, but soon the hedgehog caught up to him.

Sam watched with surprise as Sonic sped ahead, even more faster than before.

"He's getting faster." Sam said.

Sonic took a leap and jumped off the highway, floating over the city like he first did when he first arrived.

...

Penny sighed to herself as she, Blaze, and Kat spent time with each other in Penny's room. Penny was working on her homework, and Kat and Blaze were just enjoying a game together. "I wonder what Sonic's up to..." Penny sighed.

"Probably racing again." Blaze said.

"I agree." Kat said. She stood up and walked up to Penny. "You look a little distracted." She said.

Penny nodded. "I can't stop thinking about all the times Sonic and I had together." She said. "Part of me wishes it could go on forever, but the other part of me thinks it's going to stop for good."

Kat nodded. "I know how you feel. Hiro and I have been having the same discussion."

Penny nodded. Wanting to change the subject, she looked at Kat and Blaze. "Could you two help me out with this homework assignment?" She asked.

Kat snorted. "You know you're supposed to work it out on your own!"

"I know." Penny huffed, playfully swatting Kat. "But I just need a little help. Our teachers want us to write an essay on what my dream is."

"You just told us your dream." Blaze said, walking over and crossing her arms. "Your dream to spend more time with Sonic and the others."

Penny realized she was right. "That's right!" She said, pulling out another piece of paper.

...

While this was happening, Chuck, Mr. and Mrs. Thorndyke, and Tails were all in the living room together, holding a meeting. "This is Dr. Kim Bickley." Cristina said. "She's a physicist from the National Science Institute." She said as Chuck shook Dr. Bickley's hand.

"Nice to meet you all." Dr. Bickley said.

...

Kat and Blaze glanced curiously over Penny's shoulders as the girl wrote. Penny frowned at her writing, she thought it sounded corny. The thirteen year old frowned, took the piece of paper, and tossed it in the waste basket.

"What are you doing?" Kat asked in surprise. "I thought it was good myself!"

"It sounded way too corny!" Penny groaned, hiding her head in her arms, slumping on her desk. "I want it to be perfect! I hate essays."

Blaze walked over to the trash can and unwrinkled the paper. "You say you want to continue to help Sonic make the world a better place, and that you want to continue doing the same over in his world, if you ever had the chance." She looked up. "That's not corny at all."

"I think it is." Penny said. She looked out the window, when she suddenly heard a splash in the pool. The girl stood up, pushing her chair back as she did so. She looked out into the pool, and memories came flooding back. "Sonic? Is that you?" The girl thought, and she quickly ran out of her room.

"Penny?" Blaze and Kat asked at the same time, confused on what just happened.

...

Penny ran as fast as she could to the adult pool, thinking she saw Sonic in there. The memory of herself rescuing Sonic from the water appeared in her head.

The girl stopped running for a moment, and shook the memory away. This time it was a stray kitten, who meowed and shook is wet fur.

"Hey, little guy." Penny cooed as she picked the cat up. The cat meowed and nuzzled against her cheek. Still holding the cat in her arms, the girl headed back inside to feed it some warm milk.

...

"How could time stop?!" Mr. Thorndyke asked in shock. "It' impossible!"

Chuck looked at him. "I'm afraid it is possible." He said. Mr. Thorndyke sat back down.

Dr. Bickley looked at them. "Some time in the distant past, our world and Sonic's world were one in the same. Then a mysterious event divided it in two. Each world suddenly had its own timeline. They now inhabited parallel universes, unaware of the other's existence."

Penny listened closely at the doorway, the stray cat meowing beside her as it drank her milk. Penny couldn't believe it... Sonic's world came from... their planet Earth?

Dr. Bickley continued. "The two worlds are beginning to join again, and the two separate time lines will soon start to join together as well,"

Penny winced as her dad spoke. "But how could you prove this theory is true?"

"It's not a theory." Dr. Bickley said, much to Penny's dismay. "Even as we speak, the two timelines are converging. Soon they'll melt completely, and when they do they'll cancel each other out. And time will stand still. The result will be catastrophic. The rejoined planets will be frozen in time, while billions of years past in the rest of the universe."

Penny felt her blood run cold. The cat below her seemed to sense her hesitance, and rubbed itself against her legs. Penny sighed softly as she picked up the cat and petted its smooth fur, trying to calm herself.

Cristina looked up. "Once the time lines are fused, the affects will be irreversible." She said.

Mrs. Thorndyke spoke. "So we'll be stuck in time?!" She asked in shock.

"That's right." Chuck said, folding his arms. "When time stops, there's no such thing as the future or the past. None of us will grow older but we won't be able to change either."

Mr. Thorndyke gasped. "Oh, my! Is there anything we can do?"

Dr. Bickley looked at them. "I've made some calculations. If they're correct, there's a slim chance we can prevent the time lines from coming together, but we have to act immediately, or it will be too late."

"The President has just signed an executive order directing his staff to gather all of the Chaos Emeralds together."

Tails looked shocked. "You mean the President wants us to cause Chaos Control?!" The little fox asked.

Chuck nodded. "Our only hope to save both worlds is to send you and Sonic and the others back home."

"And there's also another thing.. only one human can go too." Dr. Bickley said. "I think in a way that might also help prevent the worlds from being frozen in time."

Penny frowned to herself. This could be the opportunity she was looking for... to go back with Sonic and spend more time with him. The girl frowned as she looked up. She made her choice... she was going. But she had the strangest feeling that Eggman might be behind this, too.

Penny walked up. "I'll volunteer to go." She said, hugging the cat to her.

Mr. and Mrs. Thorndyke looked shocked, even Chuck.

"How long were you listening?" Chuck asked softly.

Mr. and Mrs. Thorndyke walked up to their daughter. "Are you sure?" Mrs. Thorndyke asked, looking like she was about to cry. "But someone else can easily do it!"

"I'm not sure if anyone else would be willing to sacrifice themselves to save both worlds." Penny said, her eyes brimming with tears. "But just to be sure, what if Dr. Eggman is behind all of this?" She asked. "If this is all a fake, then we can solve this problem and all of us will not have to go through the catastrophic idea!"

"Penny..." Mrs. Thorndyke said.

"I'm going, and you can't stop me!" Penny grumbled. She ran out the door, cat still in her arms.

Chuck sighed.

"I never saw Penny that determined and upset at the same time." Tails said.

"I know exactly how she feels." Chuck said as he looked at Tails. "I'm upset about this, too. I don't want to loose my granddaughter, but it is her choice to help save both worlds." He kneeled in front of Tails. "If time were to stop, I wouldn't have to grow older anymore. I'd have forever to do research and make more discoveries. Why, just think of all the marvelous things you and I could build!" Chuck said, placing both hands on Tails's shoulders. "We could tinker in our workshop for all eternity. It sounds wonderful, but it's a trap."

Tails gasped.

"In a world where time stops completely, the pursuit of scientific knowledge will ultimately be meaningless." He looked down. "We'd never be able to use our knowledge to make real progress. Every day would be the same. I think you'll agree where a world where nothing ever changes will be a boring place to live."

He looked over at Tails. "I'll miss you, my friend." He said.

Tails looked back at him, smiling softly.

...

After dropping the cat off in her room and making sure that no one would stop her, the human girl broke into a run to look for Decoe and Bocoe. She knew that they would help her find Eggman and help her make the doctor reveal his latest scheme. Biting back a painful sob, the girl ran through the bushes and passed Mr. Tanaka and Silver, much to the hedgehog's surprise. He'd never seen Penny cry before. Silver wondered what was wrong.

...

"We still have to stop by the software store!" Decoe said as he and Bocoe walked along the streets of Station Square, groceries for the Thorndyke residents in hands. They stopped an instant when they saw a familiar young red headed girl running towards them.

"Oh?" Both robots asked curiously.

Penny huffed as she stopped in front of them. "I've been looking for you guys everywhere...I need...your help..." She panted.

"What could we do for you?" Bocoe asked the girl with worry.

Penny looked up, wiping sweat from her forehead. "This is very important. I need to see Dr. Eggman right away!"

Both robots winced. She'd spoken that out loud, and now they had the whole city staring at them. The two bots quickly hushed Penny down.

...

Penny soon found herself running down the alley, being pulled by the hand by Decoe. "Be careful!" The robot warned. "Eggman could have spies!"

"We must talk privately!"

(Later...)

"Oh!" Decoe whimpered when they finally came to a stop. He looked at Penny. "I wish we could help, but it is impossible, Penny. We have no idea where Eggman went after we left him!" He raised his hands in the air. "There is nothing we can do!"

Penny looked at the ground in disappointment.

Decoe looked at her with worry. "Your family must be worried. You should come home with us, Penny."

Penny looked at them, and furiously shook her head no. "I'll go look for Eggman alone if I have too!" She vowed.

"That could be dangerous." Bocoe said. "I guess we have to help you!"

"I know it was my choice, but I want to change something, or they'll send me and Sonic away!" Penny looked down, her eyes brimming with tears. "I wanted this, I admit it, but I never really got to spend time with my parents that much since they got overtime jobs. I... I wanted to make sure this was all a fluke...and something that Eggman planned himself. As much as I want to go with Sonic, I want to stay, too..."

She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Oh." Both robots said, sounding nervous. "Eggman will not be giving us a warm welcome!" Decoe said.

Bocoe nodded. "I agree." He said. "We'd better prepare for a fight!"

Penny looked up curiously, wiping her eyes. Will they actually help her?

Decoe looked at her. "Stand back, Penny!" The robot ordered. "We have to transform!"

Both robots jumped into the air, shouting their names. "Decoe and Bocoe transform!" They yelled. In the end, however, they just stacked themselves. Penny had to admit that was a bit funny, and she giggled in response.

"Activate Bokkun beacon!" Both robots said, and Bocoe used his eyes to create a beacon for the little messenger bot. Soon after, the familiar high pitched laughing of Bokkun the Messenger Bot filled the air, and the little robot flew right through the beacon and right to the ground.

"Not you guys!" Bokkun snapped when he recognized Decoe and Bocoe. "What do you two traitors want from me?!"

Penny looked fiercely at Bokkun. "I need your help, Bokkun!" She said. "Your job is to bring me straight to Dr. Eggman so I could pound some sense into him!"

Bokkun frowned. "Since you put it that way, I won't take you to see my boss, neither for a bazillion bucks!" At that, he started mocking them. However, that soon came to an end when Bokkun's jetpack broke down, and the little robot crumbled to the ground. He whimpered, clutching his stomach. "I'm so hungry I can't even stay airborne!"

"Did you skip lunch today?" Decoe asked.

Bokkun angrily pointed at Decoe. "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT FOR DITCHING THE DOCTOR!" He yelled. He sat back down on the ground, looking like he was about to cry. "His cooking is so revolting that not even bacteria would eat it!" He hunched over and started crying.

Bocoe smiled. "How about a deal?" He asked, holding a bag of vegetables. "Just bring Penny to see Eggman..."

"And we'll cook something up!" Decoe said, holding out a can of oil in front of Bokkun's now shining eyes.

"What are we waiting for?!" Bokkun cheered, drooling in hunger. "Let's go!"

...

Kat, Chris, Blaze, and Tails sat together on the top of the stairs, worrying about Penny. Kat and Chris had gone to check on Penny, but the two could only find a kitten in the Penny's room. Kat and Chris stared silently at Penny's new cat, taking turns ruffling its fur as it purred in response. Their heads raised up when the front door opened, and Silver and Mr. Tanaka entered.

"What's up with Penny?" Silver asked as he and Mr. Tanaka walked inside the house after trying to track down the girl. "I've never seen her that upset before."

Mr. Tanaka spoke before anyone could answer Silver. "Forgive me for allowing Penny to run away. Silver and I couldn't follow her in the dark." The butler said, giving an apologetic bow. "I no longer deserve to be under your employee."

"You're thinking too much." Silver said, shaking his head. Much to Silver's relief, Mr. Thorndyke forgave Mr. Tanaka. "Now, now, it's not your fault. Lindsey and I should've been more understanding with her choices."

"If this were a film, I'd ask for another take." Mrs. Thorndyke said sadly. "Is there anything we can do, Nelson?"

"Yes," Mr. Nelson said, clenching his fists. "I'm going to call the President's office. I'm sure if I explain the situation, he'll call on the National Guard to search for her."

"I know exactly where Penny went. I thought she was just kidding off at that part, but this proves to be true." Chuck said. Mr. Nelson looked at his father. "Then where is she, Dad? Shouldn't we go after her right away?"

"I'm afraid Penny has actually gone to confront Dr. Eggman." Chuck said.

Kat, Chris, Blaze, Tails, and everyone else gasped in shock.

"I think we should let her go. That girl is looking for some answers. She really believes, even though she made her own choice to help save both worlds and going back with Sonic, she believes that Eggman is behind all of this, and in a way she feels forced to make that choice that no one else would possibly make. Maybe facing Eggman will help her accept the truth."

...

Soon, Penny found herself once again standing in front of Dr. Eggman. At first, Eggman seemed excited to see his bots again, but turned down his excitement when he saw Penny. "You bought me a prisoner?" He asked, returning to his work. "If you're trying to buy me off, I congratulate you."

Penny winced a bit at Eggman's chuckling, but bravely stood up to him. "They bough me here because I wanted them too! Also, I wanted to ask you something, doctor." The girl said.

Eggman looked surprised. He'd never knew this girl could be so brave. From what he's seen, she was usually terrified whenever she was in his clutches. He turned around in his seat to face her, and to hear what she had to say.

"I wanted to make sure that this is your doing, and that it could be fixed. This is your plan to send Sonic and me away so you can get us out of your hair, is that it? You want this planet to become your Eggman Empire at last without anyone getting in your way! You're the one who's making time come to a stop!" Penny snapped.

Was she imagining this, or did Eggman looked shocked at the part of time coming to a stop? "Who, me?" Eggman asked.

"I'll make you tell everybody the truth of your real scheme!" Penny snapped.

Eggman froze, his mouth dropped open. He soon turned his head away. "That plan isn't half bad!" He said.

Penny froze. What did he just say? She did her best to stay as brave as possible as Eggman loomed over her and let out a hearty laugh. He pointed his gloved finger at her. "You figured out my scheme, girl!" He said. "I despise you, Silver, and Sonic so much that I decided to bring time to a standstill! And I trick the world's scientific experts into believing that you three had to be sent to Sonic's world!" He stared at her. "Now that you've caught me, I'll confess."

Penny growled. "I'm not fooling around here!" She yelled. "I want you to make time go back to normal or else!"

"Or else what?" Eggman snapped. "You'll throw a temper tantrum and wail all of this to Sonic? Face it, girl. Without Sonic here to back you up, your threats here are as hollow as your head!"

"You think so?!" Penny snapped. She took a run to attack Eggman, but Shadow's bracelet glowed a little, and she felt something hold her back in a way, like his ghost was keeping her from attacking the doctor. "Shadow, I thought you were on my side!" Penny snapped inside her head.

Decoe and Bocoe also held her back as well, begging her to not do anything reckless.

"Look, girl, I didn't cause this time phrase problem! If your grandfather creates Chaos Control, then I'm going to be sent back, too!" He said, straightening his mustache.

Shadow's bracelet dimmed, and Penny sank to her knees. What was this? This wasn't Eggman's plan? She really was going back with Sonic and the others? That was what she wanted, right? Why did she feel so upset?

"I can't build my empire in a world where time has stopped completely!" Eggman continued. "There's no future in it! I have no choice but to go back. That's the truth, kid.

Penny's eyes widened. "This is a trick..." She muttered. "You're trying to trick me..."

"You're the one who's lying." Eggman pointed out. "You don't want to accept the truth. Deep down you know that your whole life will change after this because of the choice you made. Life smacks you down." Eggman said.

Penny couldn't take it anymore, and the girl darted out of the layer, whimpering a little.

...

After a few minutes of running, Penny stopped in front of Station Square, panting heavily as she made her final decision.

She was going to be strong, and help save the world.

...

"Are you sure allowing Penny to see Dr. Eggman was a good idea?" Mrs. Thorndyke asked worriedly.

"I'll hire a team of commanders to find her!" Mr. Thorndyke said.

"That's absurd." Chuck grumbled.

The door opened, and Kat, Chris, Tails, Silver, and the rest of Penny's family gasped in happiness that she was all right. Penny's new cat meowed and rubbed against her legs, and the girl picked it up, and hugged it gently as she smiled at her family.

...

"You can sleep in tomorrow if you want, and skip school. We'll spend the last few days together." Mr. Thorndyke smiled at his daughter.

"Thank you, guys." Penny said, hugging her cat and smiling at her parents. Once she thought they were gone, the girl placed the cat on her bed and ran to the window.

"Sonic..." She muttered.

...

Sonic had been running, when he thought he heard Penny say his name. Sonic stopped and turned around. "Hu? Penny?" He asked.

Nothing. He was alone.

"I guess I must've imagined it." The blue hedgehog said with a shrug.

Seeing something glow at the corner of his eye, the hedgehog turned.

It was a red Chaos Emerald.