Thank you to reviewers, and...

To reviewer Prince Izzy1: Yeah, I just realized that. I also found "or we could follow her" at the end of chapter 2 when I think I meant to talk about Knux. Yeah, my dirty little author secret is that I don't edit my own stories. I'm so anxious to get them up that anything that slips through as I write it gets posted up there as well. But, thank you for pointing that out.

To reviewer Tarem: Me? A Comedian? Hahahahaha...Hey! You're one, too! Tell me another joke!

To reviewers PokemonHokeycon and Toonfreak: Thanks for the ideas! You'll see them popping up sooner or later throughout this thing. Everyone else can implant ideas in my mind as well!

4. The Doctor (Part 1)

"Your chao's broken? Maybe we can take TJ to a doctor," Knuckles offered, stepping up to Tails to see the overjoyed TJ.

Sonic held Squishy to his body, not letting it go at all. "Yeah, but where are we going to find a doctor around here? Don't forget, we still have to find Cheese."

Tails turned to look at the tunnel they had originally come through. "Maybe we should get out of this place and go find a doctor, then come back for Cheese later." He turned back to Knuckles and Sonic. "But of course, maybe Cheese has left this place already. She may have gone back, so we can search for her as we search for a doctor."

"Yeah—then let's go!" Sonic exclaimed, zipping off at top speed for the exit.

Knuckles and Tails walked leisurely past him. Knuckles stopped and clicked his tongue, shaking his head at the hedgehog. "Maybe next time you should slow down and actually AIM for the exit. That way you won't hit the wall. But you've gotta admit—that was a real sonic-boom."

"Yeah, and if that chao wasn't squishy before, it sure is now," Tails added.

"Shut...up!" Sonic managed to grumble even though his face was smushed against the rock.

Tails lead the way out through the tunnel, but as he entered, there was a blinding light. The three had been transported to a weird room with a small archway in the middle and a doorway on the other side.

"Hey, what's that weird music playing?" asking Sonic.

Knuckles started to dance. "Kinda catchy, huh?"

"Stop it. You've got two left feet," Sonic sneered.

"At least they don't run me into walls!"

"I say we try that doorway on the other side," Tails offered, pointing a gloved finger.

They raced over, and in another blinding light, they found themselves walking along a path to a small schoolhouse. A signboard appeared in front of them.

Knuckles read the sign aloud before it disappeared. "Chao Kindergarten. Oh. What's that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't know echidnas could read," taunted Sonic.

Before Knuckles could reply, they stepped inside the schoolhouse and looked at each of the five doors. Tails read them out. "Fortune Telling, Principal, Classroom, Doctor, and WC. What's WC stand for?"

Sonic leapt forward. "I don't care, there's the doctor's office—let's get into it!"

"But aren't you curious as to what WC means?" Knuckles asked, taking Tails' side.

Sonic sighed. "Alright. Fine. But make it quick. I wanna get out of this place as soon as possible. The colours are killing my eyes..."

And so the three headed for the door marked WC. Knuckles held KJ in one hand and reached out to open the door with the other. It swung open wide, and the three heard a scream. Seeing what it revealed, they began to scream as well.

It was Rouge taking a—

(A/N: Please standby. Technical difficulties.)

Sonic rubbed his eyes. "Whew. I didn't need to see that."

"Hey, now the door's gone. Maybe that's for the better..." Tails muttered.

Knuckles had a distant look on his face. "That was a sight for sore eyes..."

"Yeah, whatever," Sonic trailed off, whirling around. That's when he noticed a bank of lockers. "Black Market? Cool!"

"Hey, Sonic! You were saying a moment ago that we should be getting to the doctor!" Tails exclaimed, watching Sonic rush over to the bank of lockers.

"I know, but I wanna see this first," Sonic replied, flinging the doors open. "Alright, whatcha got for sale? WHAT THE?!"

Tails and Knuckles appeared beside Sonic and saw the sight as well. Behind a counter stood a small robotic chao.

"Hi! I'm Omochao! How may I help you?"

(Tails: Omochao! You don't come in until later!")

(Omochao: "Whoops, sorry. The handwritten script I got is very hard to read. Who's handwriting is it?")

(Tails and Sonic look to Knuckles.)

(Knuckles: "Hey—you wanna try writing without separate fingers?")

Sonic shook his head to clear it, then looked back to the counter. Behind it stood a chao with sunglasses and a surgeon's mask.

"How may I help you?"

Sonic cocked his head. "What's on sale?"

"Take a look around."

A small reptilian doll caught Sonic's attention. "Ooh! I want that thing!"

Knuckles pushed in front. "Forget you, Sonic. What have you got on tap, man?"

The chao looked around shiftily and leant forward to whisper in Knuckles' ear. "You want a high or a low?"

"Either."

"We got weed, if that's what ya want?"

"I'll take it," Knuckles said, pulling a wallet.

Tails watched Knuckles take it out, confused. "Where do you keep that, exactly, Knuckles?"

Knuckles handed the chao a bunch of bills and took the small white pouch from the chao's hand, stashing it with the wallet. Wherever that was. "Great doing business with ya."

"How much is that doll?" asked Sonic.

"How much ya got?"

"I of pennies..."

"Not enough. But don't worry, these prices'll drop eventually."

There was a silence for a moment, then Sonic continued, "Do I have enough for it now?"