The line for Eggman's Haunted Spooktacu-Lair went all the way up the cliffside, but luckily Team Dark wasn't too far from the entrance, preventing this from being a bottle episode.

"Ghosts aren't real," Shadow said for the upteenth time. "And I could care less about the doctor."

"Yes," Rouge acknowledged with a nod, "but he's family. Specifically, Omega's family. Which means a family discount."

Shadow grunted as they took another few steps forward in line. "Discounts... What happened to getting everything for free?"

"We are," Rouge chirped, squinting ahead to assess how much longer they would need to wait. "That's the discount. Three for free."

"YOU CAN CERTAINLY TRY TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN," Omega said, clunking forward with the rest. "I FIND IT IMPROBABLE."

"We'll see about that."

A few more groups went in, and the sound of screams filled the air as another group came out. Team Sonic looked varied, from absurdly calm Sticks to quaking Tails. Sonic caught sight of them and narrowed his eyes, already looking sassy. Rouge shooed him away with a flick of her hand; they weren't there to cause trouble.

(Not really, anyway.)

"Omega!" Eggman greeted happily as they came up to the entrance. "Shadow and Rouge too! Always great to see you three!" Then, in a businesslike tone, "Double price for each of you."

"So much for 'family discount'," Shadow scoffed as Rouge recoiled in offense.

Luckily, they were saved from any negotiations by the arrival of T.W. Barker, who stormed right up to Eggman and shoved a threatening finger in his face. "You! You stole this idea from me!"

"You can't steal ideas, stupid," Eggman retorted, sticking his tongue out.

"You can! It's called plagiarism and I won't stand for it. Stuntbears, ATTACK!"

"Hey! That's my phrase! You stole that from me! Minions, ATTACK!"

Eggman and Barker started grappling while the stuntbears and robots started fighting, causing a dangerous ruckus that Team Sonic rushed over to stop. Knuckles paused on his way to the battle, giving them an excited little wave before slamming his fist into the side of one of the bears.

In the chaos, Rouge ushered both her teammates into the haunted house. "Looks like we got in for free after all!" she said, triumphantly, while Shadow grumbled and Omega scanned the entry hall for any ghosts.

They were escorted out in under five minutes as all three of them kept attacking the jumpscares.