"Need a hand, Tails?" Penny hummed as she leaned over the table, eyeing her little brother figure as he never left his eyes off his work.

"Nah, nothing yet. Why don't you go see what Sonic and the others are doing?" Tails suggested, finally lifting his safety mask and giving the human girl a smile.

"Nah, I got bored with what they were talking about so I went to see you." Penny said.

Tails hummed, pulling the mask down and returning to his work. "Sounds reasonable."

Penny was about to ask another question when Sonic zoomed in. "Tails, I need jumper cables."

Tails, not looking from his work, reached into his tool box and handed Sonic a jumper cable. Sonic zoomed out and zoomed back in again. "You got any duct tape?"

"Right here." Penny said, tossing Sonic duck tape. Sonic winked at the human girl and zoomed out, and returned yet again.

"Geez, what is it this time?!" Penny asked.

"How about a battery?" Sonic asked.

"Antimatter or self-generating?" Tails asked, not looking from his work. Sonic shrugged. "I don't know. Something with a lot of juice."

"Antimatter's on the top shelf, behind the video games."

"Thanks." Sonic said. He darted over to the shelf and grabbed the antimatter battery, and zoomed out.

Tails and Penny glanced at each other, and hurried outside to see what the other boys were doing. Penny's mouth dropped open when she saw that they were using Tails' mobile as a miniature merry-go-round. Knuckles was sitting on a bucket and taped securely to the propellers (that explains the duck tape) and Sonic stood next to the battery, holding the jumper cables.

"Ha! Initiate "Spinning Blades of Death"!" Sonic laughed, raising the jumper cables.

Knuckles turned to him. "Spinning Blades of Death"? I guess that sounds safe."

Sonic connected the jumper cables to the battery, and right at that moment Knuckles started spinning around and around, so fast that Penny started feeling sick just watching him.

" Whoo-hoo-hoo!" Knuckle cheered.

Sonic smirked. "Activating Hyper Mode." He flipped a switch and Knuckles started rolling faster and faster, cheering, "Yeaaaaah!"

Sonic's communicator beeped, and he pressed it. "Sonic here."

Amy answered, sounding annoyed. "Sonic, did you return the book I lent you to the library?"

Sonic paused uneasily. "Um... not... yet?"

Knuckles let out a yell as the duck tape went loose, and the force of the wind pushed him backwards, and he landed with a crash.

"Knuckles!" Penny cried, quickly leaving the scenery and running to help the echidna.

Amy sounded distressed. " It's due today! If you don't return it on time, I'll have to pay late fees, Sonic! Late fees!"

Sonic cringed. "Slam on your worry brakes, Amy. I'm all over this! Not a problem!" He turned off his communicator and winced. "Problem."

"C'mon, Knux, you're almost there." Penny told the Echidna reassuringly as she walked up with him, helping the dizzy Echidna sit down. Sonic glanced at Penny, Knuckles, and Tails with wide eyes. "I can't remember where the book is."

"When I can't find something, I retrace my steps." Tails said.

Sonic hummed. "Okay. What did I do yesterday?"

After a few moments of thinking, the hedgehog grinned and ran off, and returned with the book in his hands.

"Great job, Sonic!" Penny said.

"Nice!" Tails grinned. "But why'd you bring it back here instead of taking it straight to the library?"

" Because you're part of the team that helped me track it down, and I wanted you to share in the glory of this victory. ...And I didn't think of that." Sonic said.

" I feel glorious. And victorious. Now get going, the library closes in..." Tails checked his communicator and sweat dropped. "seven minutes!"

"Seven minutes?!" Penny's eyes widened. "Oh, geez, Sonic, you'd better hurry!"

" Plenty of time!" Sonic grinned, hoisting the book under his arm. "Not a problem."

"I feel glorious too!" Knuckles grinned, and then he frowned. "Nope, wait, that's nauseous."

Sonic grinned as he zoomed towards the library. "Seven minutes? I'll get this to the library in ten seconds. Then I'll have six minutes and fifty seconds to eat a chili dog, watch a movie with Penny, kick back on the beach and read a book. Which I'll no longer have, but still."

He continued running until Old Monkey got in his way. Sonic skidded to a stop, and Old Monkey glanced at him. "After you!"

"No, please, after you! I have all the time in the world."

"I thought the same thing when I was your age, sonny."

The monkey started walking ever so slowly, and Sonic began to grow impatient. The monkey turned to him. "Did I ever tell you about the time I got a soda out of the vending machine without putting money in?"

" Uh, no. We just met-"

"Oh, it was the best day of my life!" Old Monkey sighed. He turned heal and continued walking.

Sonic zoomed off again but soon Sticks got in his way, and Sonic stumbled for a moment but quickly straightened himself up. He raised his eyes at the sight of the net the badger was carrying. " Going fishing?"

"For aliens!" Sticks said. " I dreamt about badminton and teacups last night. And you know what that means!"

"Let's pretend for a second that I don't."

"It means aliens are coming! Or I'm going to a badminton tea party. But I'm not taking any chances."

"Well... good luck with that."

Sticks walked off, and Sonic zoomed off again, and Meh Burger came into view. Sonic grinned. "Don't mind if I do."

He zoomed up to the line, but Fastidious was already making his order. "Actually, I'm not sure what I want. There are so many choices. Should I have a Meh Burger, or a Meh Burger with cheese? Or a double Meh Burger? Or a double Meh Burger with cheese? Or a Super Meh Burger? Or a Super Meh Burger with cheese?"

Sonic groaned inwardly. He was wasting time.

"Oh, I know." Fastidious finally said. Sonic sighed.

"I'll have a hot dog. But...should I have a hot dog with sauerkraut? Or a hot dog with onions? Or a hot dog with mustard? Or a hot dog wi-"

Sonic, who was getting impatient, made the choice for him. "How about a chili dog?"

Fastidious smiled. "Actually, a chili dog sounds delicious."

"Would you like something to drink with that?" Dave asked.

"Something to drink? Hmm... Should I have a soda? Or a water? Or a shake? Or a juice?"

"Juice! Have juice! Everyone loves juice!" Sonic yelled, impatient feelings getting the best of him.

"I'll have juice." Fastidious said.

"Would you like to have-" Dave began, but Sonic interrupted. "He doesn't want anything else!"

Dave handed Fastidious his order and Sonic was about to raise his order when the sound of a motobug popped up, and he turned to see Eggman.

"You cut in front of Moto Bug! He was holding my place while I was in the little villain's room." Eggman said accusingly.

"Oh, sorry, Egghead. I didn't see him. Go ahead."

"No, no, please! You're Sonic the Hedgehog. You deserve to be next! Go on! I insist!"

"Well, I am in kind of a hurry. Thanks, Egghead. One chili dog, please."

Eggman watched as Dave handed Sonic a chili dog, and he turned hopefully to Dave. "I'd like a chili dog with extra relish."

"Sorry, we're sold out." Dave said in boredom.

Eggman narrowed his eyes in anger. Sonic noticed and held up a half bitten chili dog. "Want a bite?"

"No, I don't want a bite! I want my own!"

"We have some at the warehouse two villages over." Dave said. Sonic gulped the rest of his chili dog down and zoomed towards the warehouse, but was once again stopped by Old Monkey.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I got a free soda?"

"YES!" Sonic roared.

The monkey continued walking, and Sonic zoomed up to the warehouse. "There it is..." He was about to press on when Mrs. Vandersnout walked in his way. Sonic skidded to a stop, and she turned to him. Sonic glanced at her, panicked expression on his face. "Do you mind if I go first? I'm in kind of a-"

"Did I ever tell you about the time I found some money on the street?"

"You've gotta be kidding me..." Sonic moaned, but spoke the rest in a forced normal voice. "No, we just met."

" I used the monkey to buy a soda. So it was like the soda was free."

Sonic smiled uneasily, and once Mrs. Vandersnout was out of the way, he zoomed off. Sonic ran into the warehouse and zoomed off again.

" I wish I liked soda." Mrs. Vandersnout sighed.

Sonic ran up to Eggman and handed him his order. Eggman frowned at the chili dog and then at Sonic. " I asked for extra relish."

Sonic glared at Eggman and darted off, and once again was stopped by Old Monkey. He turned to the blue hedgehog. "You got me thinking, sonny. Today's the day! I'm heading home to drink my soda!"

Sonic quickly zoomed around him, but yelped as a net suddenly swooped him from his feet. Sticks ran up with a grin on her face. "Aha! Gotcha, alien!"

Sonic growled in annoyance, and Sticks took a closer look at him. "You're not an alien."

"Really?" Sonic asked sarcastically. "You think? Get me out of here, Sticks!"

Sticks nodded, and grabbed her keys. "Now which one was it again?"

Sonic grumbled. After a few keys later, Sonic was finally free and the hedgehog zoomed off. " Plenty of time! Oh, come on!"

He stopped in front of Old Monkey. "I need a straw."

Sonic quickly zoomed around Old Monkey, but was once again stopped by the Gogoba Leader. "Sonic! Sonic!"

Sonic turned to notice the Gogoba leader standing next to a broken cart. "I have a flat tire and I'm late getting back to my home to feed my children. Can you help me fix it?"

"Um, I have a book to return, then I'll come back! I promise! Two minutes, tops!" Sonic was about to zoom off when the Gogoba leader spoke again. "Oh, that's okay. Growing children don't need nutrition. It just keeps them healthy and stops their bones from getting brittle. I'll just fix this flat myself. My sciatica's flaring up, but I'm sure I'll only be laid up for a week or so. You go return your book while I struggle painfully and injure myself."

Sonic groaned, and hurried over to the cart, quickly popping the wheel back on. "Done!"

He turned to the Gogoba and grunted, handing his hand out. The leader stopped reading the book and handed it to Sonic, and Sonic zoomed off again. He was about to make it to the library when a laser knocked the hedgehog off his feet, sending him sprawling to the ground. Sonic spat out the dirt and turned to glare at Eggman.

"Eat this, you lying, cutting, relish-forgetting rodent!" Eggman hissed.

"I ran to the warehouse and got you your own chili dog! Doesn't that count for anything?"

"No! You ruined my chili dog moment!"

"Okay, fine. I'm happy to battle you over this, but can you give me a second to return this library book first?"

" I'll show you exactly the same consideration you showed me."

Eggman hopped in his mobile and flew after Sonic, who started running. Eggman sneered at the hedgehog. "None! None consideration!"

Sonic yelped as a missile tripped him, and the hedgehog soon was sent sprawling to the ground. He groaned and glared at Eggman. " All this over a chili dog?"

"It's the principle!" Eggman said. "Besides, I'm sure you'll think twice about cutting in line next time."

" Oh, did someone get pushed to the back of the line one too many times in elementary school?" Sonic asked in a mocking tone.

"It was middle school. And those girls were vicious! Minions, attack!" Eggman yelled.

Sonic sweat dropped. He was about to fight when...

"Sonic! We've got your back!"

The blue hedgehog turned around to see Penny, Amy, Knuckles, Sticks, and Tails running towards him. The gang fought until the robots were destroyed.

"Sonic, are you okay?" Penny asked, helping the hedgehog up.

"Yeah." Sonic smiled. He glanced at his communicator. "Still plenty of time to get to the library. Okay, where's the book?"

Amy frowned at him. "You mean my book? The one you were supposed to return that you said was not a problem?!"

" I still have thirty seconds!" Sonic grinned reassuringly. "We're fine!"

Sonic and the gang started searching for the book, until Penny saw it in Knuckles' hands. She took it gently from him. "Sorry, Knuckles, but Sonic really needs to give the book back to the library now."

Knuckles sniffed at her, reaching for the book. " But... pictures!"

Sonic quickly snatched the book from the human girl's hands. "See? And ten seconds to spare!"

He walked up to the door of the library and knocked.

"We're closed!" Fastidious called.

Sonic frowned. "No you're not! There's seven seconds left!"

"We closed early. I'm taking my assistant to get some of those chili dogs."

"CHILI DOGS?!"

Penny glanced up to see Eggman swooping towards the library, shooting lasers at the building, and flew off.

Sonic smirked. "Thanks, Egghead!" The hedgehog zoomed up to Fastidious and handed him the book. When the task was done, he turned to Amy and Penny with a wide grin.

"Told you I'd get it here on time!"

Penny snickered, playfully rolling her eyes at her friend's success.

Next Chapter: Victory!