Disclaimer- I don't own the games or the show.

Here's episode four! Hope you like!

Sonic didn't have time to think about Metal Sonic launching forward probably about to gut him then and there. He just acted.

Jumping out of a scared Amy's hold – he mentally thanked his robotic replica for a chance to free himself from that hug of death – the blue blur braced himself for anything. Metal's claws were aiming right for this throat, so to counterattack he would have to-

Sonic was thrown out of his attack-ready state when Metal was suddenly yanked backwards, falling to the ground with a loud thud. As the robot figured out exactly why he was refused his mission objective, Sonic's emerald orbs zeroed in onto the durable collar around Metals neck that was attached to a rope…phasing through the wall holding the television.

Okay, so maybe he didn't have to counterattack, but uh…what?

Tails glanced around the room to make sure everyone else was seeing what he was. They were. Good. So he wasn't having some kind of fever dream. "Did…Did the thing help us by…leashing him…?"

"It would…seem so?" Amy shakily confirmed as she peered around Sonic's back, having ducked for cover when that killing machine lunged.

By this point, Knuckles wasn't surprised the thing had done that. What he was shocked about is that the end of rope was just…in the wall. No hole, no cracks, nothing. This was insanity. The echidna watched as Metal clawed at the leather restraint like mad. "Is it going to hold?"

As Shadow slumped deeper into the sofa, wondering exactly what he had done to deserve this, Eggman was still reeling from the fact that Metal was in his presence. "Who cares?!" the man exclamed. Team Sonic did. A lot. That collar was the one thing that kept this room from turning into a warzone.

Eggman's mind was a whirlwind. Why was he here? And why so late? Was it because the thing had been getting him ready? "Metal, you still haven't properly answered my question! Who programed you? How exactly did you get-"

"You are repeating yourself doctor, and it is growing quite irritating." The blue robot was now trying and failing to yank the rope out of the wall. He wasn't holding back either. Both of his feet were planted on the wall and he was tugging like his manufactured life depended on it. "I am here to exterminate-"

A thought ran through Tails' head as he glimpsed at the TV. Clearly, the thing didn't want Sonic dead, so maybe Metal was here for the same reason they all were? "No you're not…" he bravely interrupted the struggling machine, "You're-"

"Invalid." Metal gave up on the rope and reconnected with the ground. He faced the kit and the speedster beside him. "I am 99.999 percent certain I was brought here because my copy needs to be disposed of."

Sonic raised a finger. "Uh yeah, I don't agree with that."

The mech's fists clenched. "It is irrelevant what you think. I will eradicate you, even with this…unforeseen obstacle." He tugged at the collar again. No luck. Light gathered in his midsection, preparing a laser. "Meet your demise."

The azure speedster was about to spin dash the bot – he already had gotten hurt once. He really didn't want to go through that process again – but like before…he didn't have to do anything.

Metal Sonic had launched his attack, but instead of a red-hot beam that would turn your insides into mush, a rainbow of colors exploded in the room.

Sonic didn't know what he was seeing at first; there were colors everywhere. However, when he held his hands out, palms up, and observed as multicolored slivers of paper piled up on his gloves, chuckles bubbled up in his chest and spilled out. "Metal…you shot out…" He was uncontrollably laughing at this point when it became clear to him. "Confetti! You shot out confetti!"

It wasn't long before Tails and Knuckles joined him, the lightweight papers flitting to the floor. The situation had morphed from dangerous to absolutely ridiculous. "This is rich!" The echidna guffawed.

Amy wasn't at that stage of mirth yet, simply thanking whoever was listening that her dear Sonic was still alive and well and still eligible to date.

Shadow scowled deeply at the happiness around him, harshly blowing the drifting confetti out of his face. Eggman was speechless and borderline insulted. His robots were meant to be used for destruction! Not to help decorate parties!

Metal Sonic couldn't compute this illogical outcome. Where did the papers come from? From within his body? Because that did not sound possible, but…here he was, watching as confetti littered the floor with his still breathing copy laughing at him. This would not stand!

He attempted to blast Sonic again, but the same thing occurred. More colors floated through the air, and Metal believed that his reputation was – as mortals said it – being flushed down the toilet. The robot didn't dare try it another time. He fought against the collar and rope, needing to get to the hero who was now crying from laughing so hard, doubled over and busting a lung.

Sonic wiped away a tear as he straightened back up, too happy to care about the subtle pain in his bruises. The hero then stepped to the side and sat down in the tiny space between Tails and the arm of the couch. The kit was forced to scoot over, him now a barrier between the hero and the crazed girl. Tails knew why he did it, but he still could've asked. He wasn't the lightest thing around.

Sonic calmed down a bit, peeking through the settling confetti at Metal and ignoring Amy's pout. "I can definitely tell ya what you came here for Metal, and it's not to fight me." The thing really put a stop to that, didn't it? "Guess that 0.001 percent seriously came through for us, huh?"

"Sure did!" Tails released a few more chuckles. "Like I was saying Metal Sonic, you weren't brought here to uh…kill Sonic. You're here – I'm assuming – to watch episodes of the lives of us in an alternate dimension. We're all in it and I guess you are too. Oh, and there is this…thing that has magical powers and is keeping us trapped here with no escape until we get through them all. It can control the weather, move items…and conjure up collars and leashes, apparently."

Metal silently stared at him for a long moment before regarding Eggman. "Tell me he is spouting false truths."

Eggman slowly shook his head, his headache throbbing. "No. He's right. You're stuck here with the rest of us."

The bot glanced at the other occupants of the couches before returning to the human. "But that is-"

"Illogical. Impossible. Some other fancy 'I' word." Sonic waved him off with a grin. Now that Metal was proved totally harmless, he could say that he was highly amused by this. "No matter how much you deny it, it's happenin'. Sit down like a good bot so we can get this show on the road."

Knuckles swatted away some paper that had twirled too close to his eyes. "I'm actually curious about how he acts in the other world. I'm an idiot on screen, the complete opposite to how I really am – Sonic, don't say a word – so the other Metal could act in an opposite way as well." He smirked. "Maybe he'll be a toaster."

"Ha!" Sonic slapped his knee. "He could make some evil toast to go with Eggman's evil ham!" The doctor on the second sofa groaned in frustration.

Metal looked between the speedster and Eggman. He didn't have the first clue to what was going on, but, "Surely any toast I make would be superior to any pork the doctor manages to prepare."

Eggman growled. "You're supposed to be on my side, Metal!"

"Supposedly." The robot then turned on his heel, abandoning the effort in freeing himself. He examined the television in front of him. "Fox," he addressed Tails without looking at him, "You said that you all are subjected to observing moving pictures on this screen, correct?"

The kit warily nodded. "Yeah…"

"Is the magical being you mentioned housed in this television?"

At first, Tails didn't know where Metal was going with this. "I don't think so…" But then it clicked, especially when one of the robot's arms twitched. "Don't break the TV! We'll be stuck in here forever!"

"And you won't be able to throw punches at Sonic later." Knuckles added, not needing the mech to do something stupid.

Metal glanced at him before approaching the screen and moving to the side of it, the rope barely reaching. He searched up and down the thin appliance before he found what he was looking for. The mech held up a finger, the tip of it transforming into a hollow rectangle, before sticking it into a slot in the television.

Eggman narrowed his eyes at his creation. "And what exactly are you doing, Metal?" If his time here was prolonged any more, he would go insane.

"If I remember correctly, the fox mentioned that we cannot escape until every 'episode' is watched. I am gleaning how many we are forced to endure by forcefully gaining access to the data containing the relevant files."

Tails blinked. "He's hacking the TV." He tapped his chin. "Which is…kinda smart! We don't really know how many episodes we have to watch…"

"That's true!" Amy agreed. "We have been just watching without knowing what our end goal is!" Hopefully it was close and filled with the other Sonic and Amy going on romantic dates. Then Sonic surely would learn that she was the one for him!

Before anyone else could comment, Metal yanked his finger from the TV, which was now filled with static with smoke rising from the side of it.

Sonic's gut dropped when white noise filled the air. "Metal! What in the heck did you do!?"

The mech's red opticals were trained on the screen. "My download was incomplete."

Tails was a second away from panicking, but then the TV screen was suddenly clear again like Metal hadn't messed with it in the first place. The word 'Buster' was shown over a picture of a play button. After decreasing his heart rate, he hesitantly asked, "So…what did you find out?"

Metal checked his finger for damages. There weren't any. "My systems had detected fifty-two files before I was ejected from the appliance."

Amy was almost afraid to ask what he meant, because blossoming love or not…that was a lot. "And by files, you mean…"

"Episodes." Shadow snarled, the stress ball in his hand splitting in half and falling to his feet. His fist was trembling with rage. He was tired, agitated, and they still had to go through at least forty-nine more? "There are more than fifty-two episodes."

"Meaning that I will have to wait least five hundred and seventy-two minutes, or nine and half hours, until I can properly dispose of the inferior Sonic," Metal said.

However, Shadow had stopped listening at 'nine and a half hours'. He roared in anger, standing up and throwing his ice pack on the ground. He stomped on it as he marched his way to the kitchen, yelling out expletives so foul that Sonic had the urge to cover Tails' ears.

His footsteps were hard and heavy when he disappeared into the kitchen, and the kit flinched when the first crash sounded. Many…many more followed suit, paired with unabashed shouts.

"I'll uh…go try to calm him down." Sonic volunteered when it was clear that no one else was going to. He got up and cautiously shuffled through the confetti over to the doorway separating the kitchen and the living room. The blue blur barely had time to focus on his rival before a plate was hurled at his head. Sonic hastily ducked and heard the glass shatter on the wall behind him. He scurried back over to his spot on the couch. "I think we should just let 'im blow off some steam." So I won't get impaled.

When Shadow eventually returned, he still looked pissed, but it was a seething anger than an explosive one. He reclaimed his seat, and Tails mourned for the state of his kitchen. He was going to wait to survey the damages until after this episode though.

Metal spoke to the striped hedgie. "That was unnecessary. In the two minutes and fourteen seconds you were throwing a tantrum, the file could have been playing."

Shadow's glare was so heated, the others were surprised the robot hadn't melted into a pile of goo. "You're unnecessary." Molten scarlets then snapped over to his couch neighbor when Metal sunk to the floor, insulted yet unable to do anything about it. "Play."

Knuckles didn't hesitate. These nine plus hours were going to be a nightmare. He was definitely going to have to pry the Master Emerald from Rouge's thieving fingers when he finally got out of here.

The scene opened up in a village where a few villagers were strolling to their destinations. An ox-like character bought an ice cream cone, about to enjoy his delicious treat.

Tails squinted his eyes at the screen, trying to think if he's ever seen that place before. He hadn't. "Any of you guys recognize that village?"

Amy shook her head while Sonic uttered a, "Nope. Don't think so," as he rolled one of the slivers of paper into a tiny ball.

"I've flown over many places on Angel Island, but that doesn't ring a bell," Knuckles chimed in.

Shadow didn't care enough to answer, and Eggman didn't feel the need to add his voice. Though, it was strange that he hadn't seen this village either.

Metal's opticals flashed as he stared. "My global positioning system indicates that the projected village does not exist."

"Doesn't exist?!" Amy repeated, flabbergasted. "Are you sure?"

"A hundred percent positive."

"Should we believe him?" Sonic questioned with a grin. "This is the guy who gave all of us a surprise birthday party."

Metal's stare was blank, but Sonic knew he was getting glared at. The clenched metal claws were a little hint.

Eggman propped his head up on the arm of the couch. "They are in a different world, rodent. So it's possible."

The robot turned on him. "A hundred percent possible. Did you not hear what I just said, doctor? You are growing hard of hearing in your old age."

The human bit his tongue as chuckles reached his ears. Now there was another source of his humiliating pain. He didn't know if he was going to make it through all of these hours.

The ox didn't get to chow down, for a burst of flame melted his ice cream. The man in charge of the dessert cart ran away. Sonic popped up from behind the stand and pulled the ox behind it for protection. The blue hedgehog then hopped into the open in a ready stance.

It was shown that Sonic's opponent was a fireman robot armed with a flamethrower. Fire burst out of its hose, but Sonic dodged it, spinning into the mech twice before bouncing away.

"I do not know which one is more inferior: the alternate copy or that disappointment of a robot."

"I wouldn't throw around the word disappointment if I were you, Metal." Eggman warned.

"Dr. Eggman's evil fireman robot is running loose!" Sonic called out to whoever was listening.

Said human, who was sitting on a bench and reading a book, looked up. "Why does everyone assume every evil robot is mine?"

The blue hero hit the robot another time before responding, "I dunno. Experience?"

"Yeah, I don't know where the other Eggman was going with that." Knuckles gestured to the screen. "He is sitting right there."

"It's safe to say that the other me isn't the most intelligent Eggman to exist," the doctor grumbled.

Metal produced a noise that sounded suspiciously like a scoff. "Are you insinuating that you are? Because that cannot be true."

Sonic snickered as steam basically poured out of Eggman's ears. "You kinda walked right into that one, Eggy. Hey Metal, if you ever decide to stop wanting to kill me, we'd make a great team in destroying Baldy's pride."

"I will never cease my attempts in draining your life force." Metal paused for a moment. "But yes…theoretically, we would."

Sonic jumped up to avoid another ribbon of flame. Knuckles and Amy stepped up to fight, armed with a giant stick and a piko-piko hammer respectively.

"You're fired, pal!" Knuckles chuckled as he readied his stick. "Ha ha ha! Get it?" Incoming flames burned the piece of wood into a crisp, disintegrating in his grasp. "Ah, I guess not."

Knuckles held his head in his hands. This was painful. And he had to through hours of this? Someone put him out of his misery, or at least let his other self gain some IQ points, for crying out loud.

Amy tapped her chin. "Shouldn't firemen put out fires?"

"Ah, hello?" Eggman drawled out. "That's the irony! It's the evil opposite of a fireman." Sonic glared at him and he stuttered. "Uh…I assume…"

The pinkette frowned. "He's really sticking to his dumb schtick."

"I don't get it." Tails furrowed his brow. "Is he…scared of Sonic, or what?"

"Or what!" Eggman grunted. "Obviously, it's part of his ridiculous scheme."

Sonic scoffed. "Or maybe I truly am terrifying." He learned forward. "Tell me, Egghead, do I haunt your nightmares?"

"You haunt my very existence, hedgehog."

The speedster grinned. "Just doin' my job."

"Sonic!" Sticks was pointing at a house on fire, the pyro-robot using a ladder to carry a baby to it. "The evil anti-fire bot is putting a baby walrus into a burning house!"

Metal cocked his head. "Who is that female? Why is she not going after the machine herself? Why does her voice need lubricant?"

Amy took the liberty to answer him. "That's Sticks, I have no clue, and-" She materialized her hammer. "-if you nothing good to say, don't say anything at all!"

The robot peered over his shoulder at her. "That is a useless toy." The weapon then smashed him in the face, sending him into the suddenly very durable wall. He clunked to the floor, his face surprisingly undented. Though, Metal figured that he had the so-called thing to thank for that. "Recalculating."

Sonic sped over and yanked the baby out of the robot's grip before returning him to his walrus mother.

"Sonic!" Now Tails was calling him as the metallic fiend climbed a tree. "Evil anti-fire bot is putting a kitten in a tree!"

Tails puffed out his cheeks a bit. Why were they depending on Sonic so much? The other him had legs! And tails! He could've used either!

"Go, evil fireman!" Eggman cheered before seeing Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Sticks deadpan at him. He gave up the act. "Okay, I admit it. It's mine. Evil robots are what I do. Why stop if you're good at it?"

"He is not proficient at it, and neither are you, doctor," Metal had to say.

Eggman regretted ever having the idea of Metal Sonic. "I made you!"

"Technically, the magical force thing activated him and brought him here. So you don't deserve all the credit Eggy," Sonic co-signed, loving this double-teaming idea.

Metal nodded. "Correct, so-"

"Just hush and watch the dreaded show!" Eggman commanded only because Metal was tied up. He didn't know exactly how loyal the robot was and how keen he was to attack. The doctor didn't desire to go home disfigured.

The fireman robot was now shooting fire at random citizens.

"This has gone on long enough," Sonic uttered before racing over, running circles around the robot and causing its hose to wrap around it. The flamethrower explodes, destroying the machine.

Noticing that he had lost, Eggman stood up. "I, um…left the oven on." He promptly fled.

Sonic put a hand on his hip and smirked. "Heh. Looks like that robot is fired!"

Even Sonic knew that was bad. He outwardly winced. "Oh wow, that was… My jokes aren't that corny, right guys?"

Silence. If there were crickets, they would be chirping.

Shadow then spoke up. "Cornier than popcorn."

Sonic slumped in his seat, heartbroken.

Sticks, Tails, and Amy laughed while Knuckles huffed indignantly. "Hey! No one laughed when I said it…" he mumbled.

Still stuck in the tree was the kitten, and it let out a pitiful meow.

Once they calmed down, Sonic asked, "Sticks, can you get the kitten out of the tree?"

"Is there somethin' wrong with my twin's legs now?" Sonic complained, still recovering from the hit to his pride. "It's right there!"

"All of them have lower intelligence levels, I have observed." Metal pointed out before glancing over to a brooding Shadow. "Is your alternate self idiotic as well, Ultimate Lifeform?"

"I wouldn't know," Shadow all but growled, his reply gruff, "I haven't shown up yet." Watch his double make an appearance during the last episode. It'd be his damned luck.

Metal just produced a hum and continued watching.

Sticks nodded. "Sure thing, Sonic!" She ran over and started shaking the tree back and forth, scaring the cat.

Amy blinked. "Okay. Either the ground is really soft, or she is really strong."

Sonic whistled lowly. "Another trait she and you share, huh Knux?"

Ignore him. Ignore him. Ignore him. Knuckles was doing everything in his power to not pound the hedgehog's face in.

"Um, Sticks?" Sonic called as he ran over, now concerned. He continued when she didn't notice him. "Sticks? Sticks!" The kitten then fell out from the branch, bouncing against the blue blur's head and landing in his arms.

Sticks finally stopped shaking the tree. "What?"

The scene changed, and now they all were sitting in a house.

"Sticks, we want to talk about how you treat animals," Sonic started.

Amy's expression was worried. "It's not a good idea to shake kittens out of trees."

"Yeah, Sticks doing that was kinda surprising, but the pet's safe!" Sonic defended. "I mean, aren't cats always supposed to land on their feet?"

"Yeah!" Amy confirmed. "And Blaze could vouch for that! I haven't seen her fall once."

"I know the law of the jungle!" Sticks exclaimed. "Trees are 'no-kitten zones'."

"That's a real law?" Knuckles pondered aloud, and Tails facepalmed.

Even his double's friends weren't having it. "He just needs to stop talking, forever." Knuckles grumbled.

"Nevermind the other Knuckles' lack of wit…" Tails scratched his head. "Jungle law? Is Sticks actually from a jungle?"

"Wouldn't be surprised," the echidna responded.

Sticks looked confused, so Amy stood up. "You should get a pet. It would help you learn to love animals!" She glanced back at the azure speedster. "Don't you think, Sonic?"

"Yes, absolutely." He concurred.

"Or…she just needs to talk to Cream." Sonic recommended. The bunny would definitely set her straight.

Amy jabbed a thumb over to the badger. "Then you can take Sticks pet shopping right now!"

Sonic held up his hands. "No. Absolutely not."

A pet store was now shown with Sticks and Sonic entering it.

Knuckles grinned. It was time to get a little payback. "Looks like Amy has the other you whipped, Sonic." His grin widened at the terrified glare he received.

Amy shook her head, hearts in her eyes. "I think that it's just he wants to do anything for his love!"

Nine hours…it's not that long, right? Sonic tried to convince himself. Oh who am I kidding? It's going to take forever…

Sticks approached the pens. "I hate cute, fuzzy, and adorable! See?" She pointed to a pair of baby squirrels. "Too cute!" Then to a bunny chopping on a carrot. "Too fuzzy." And then to a trio of big-eyed monkeys. "So…adorable!"

The pair of friends walked away, Sonic yawning out of boredom.

"I wonder exactly what Amy did to convince you, Sonic. Must've been something special."

"Knuckles, I swear if you don't shut your mouth…!" The blue blur snuck a glance over to Amy, and she was daydreaming with a pleasant smile on her muzzle. Sonic felt his end drawing near.

A trashcan they strolled by suddenly shook, catching Sticks' attention. She peered into the can and pulled out a robotic dog.

"A robot placed in the middle of nowhere? This has Eggman written all over it!" Tails pieced together.

Eggman wondered what genius scheme it was this time.

Metal focused on the green slime around the dog's mouth. "It has not performed any duties yet and it is already malfunctioning. If I had the capabilities to laugh, I would be doing so."

Sticks gazed on in awe as she held it up. "It's…oh, it's…"

Sonic scrunched his nose in revulsion. "Disgusting?"

"The least objectionable option!" The badger smiled as the screen became tinted pink, hearts floating around the slimed pup with cartoonish cupids flying around.

Amy stuck her tongue out, completely repulsed. "Why in the heck would she take home something like that?" That slime looked like it took forever to get out of clothes! "A pet rock would've been better!"

"She's crazy." Knuckled frowned. "It's impossible to explain her actions."

"Aww, who's a little cluster-wuster?" Sticks cooed and the dog barked in response. She hugged him close. "I'm gonna name him Buster!"

Sonic was nowhere near entertained. "Buster the…cluster?" A spray of green goo splattered against the hedgehog's face. Sticks cuddled her new pet even more and Sonic was unamused.

"Just like…smash it on accident or somethin'!" Sonic yelled at the screen. "One leg spasm and boom! It's out of the park!"

"It's no use, Sonic." Tails sighed, playing with one of his namesakes. "Let them learn from their mistakes…"

"If they learn." Knuckles grumped.

Now, they were situated in a home/burrow in the middle of a forest.

Amy pursed her lips. "That has to be her house."

"So I was right…?" Tails questioned.

"That explains why she likes that robot so much." Knuckles rotated his shoulder a bit. His joints were getting stiff. "She's used to slime and guck."

"So she lives outside, just like y-"

Sonic didn't get a chance to finish his taunt for Knuckles had leapt out of his seat and ran over to sock him in the jaw. The hedgie was fast though. He scrambled off the sofa and hurled over the back of it. He stuck a tongue out at Knuckles, who had stopped in his tracks for a moment.

Muzzle red with anger, the echidna jumped over the sofa as well, Sonic running to other couch Shadow and Eggman occupied. "Can't catch me Knux! You know that!"

Knuckles wanted to chase after his loose-mouthed friend, but his legs had other ideas. His breath hitched when his feet led him to Sonic's abandoned space beside Tails. His brain fought the decision, but his body wouldn't cooperate.

The guardian breathed out heavily when he popped a squat. "I guess I'm sitting now…?" This had to be the work of the thing. Knuckles glared at the ceiling, disregarding the others' bewildered looks. "This isn't fair!" He pointed at Shadow. "He gets to punch Sonic, but I can't?"

Over being awed, Sonic laughed as he hurdled over the sofa and settled between his striped rival and his mustached archrival. "Guess it thinks I've been tortured enough for today!" He nudged his neighbor. "Right Shads?" Or it actually took pity on me after the last episode.

Shadow ignored him altogether. He had moved to get away from that idiot only to be put right back beside him. This was one of the worst days he's ever had, and it was only going to get worse. How? Hell if he knew.

The striped speedster noticed that Knuckles had dropped the remote during his attack, so he picked it up and continued his suffering.

Buster was trotting around, slime dripping everywhere, until Sticks offered him a bone.

The crew, sans the badger, was sitting around a table made out of a tree trunk. As Buster took the bone, Amy began, "Sticks, when I said get a pet, I didn't think you'd come back with something so-"

"Wonderful?" The badger interrupted cheerfully.

Buster dropped the bone, another stream of slime splashing out of his mouth.

Amy seemed a bit green in the face. "Ew ew ew! I can hardly look at it without feeling like I need to throw up!"

Tails eyed her warily before pointing to the other side of her. "If your eggs ever want to come back up, aim that way, please."

Knuckles flinched backwards. "Ucky."

"Sticks, are you sure you want to keep this…" Sonic scratched his head. "…Cluster?"

"Ahem. It's Buster." The badger corrected before picking her pet up. "Finally, I have an adorable little pet that doesn't disgust me!"

Sonic groaned in frustration. "What does she have against actual pets? Yeah, they might pee everywhere but that's not green and thick and constantly spewing!"

"Biological pets require attention, nourishment, and water." Metal opposed. "Machines do not require any of those, so it would facilitate the caretaking process."

The blue blur rolled his eyes. "So what, you're defending her now?"

"No. Like I mentioned before, that robot is subpar and should be destroyed for its inadequacies."

Eggman's stare settled on Metal, tired of the mech being so high and mighty. He wasn't supporting the dog on screen; he just really didn't want the Sonic replica here. His mood was in the negatives now. "Like how you shooting out confetti is subpar?"

Metal stared back at him, retorting smartly, "Like how you lose every confrontation is subpar?"

At that bruising comeback, Eggman wisely bit the bullet and kept his trap closed.

Buster burped loudly, slinging goo onto Tails.

"Ew…" The fox rose his hands in anger. "Buster got slime in my fur!"

"That just means he woves you." Sticks kissed the robotic pup, getting slime around her mouth.

Amy gagged, and Tails scooted closer to a sulking Knuckles.

A montage started. Amy was buying ice cream from the vendor. Buster leapt by and devoured it. Amy growled in agitation as Buster settled on Sticks' lap, who was sitting on a bench.

"He ate her ice cream?" Sonic gasped. "That's the lowest of the low." That delicious frozen treat was sacred and that pet deserved to be punished, not petted!

Now Sonic was running through the jungle. He noticed Buster and managed to dodge a gooey spray in time, but he slipped on a puddle of slime and fell anyway. Buster gave him some licks that he clearly didn't appreciate.

Knuckles was on the beach lifting weights on a bench. The dog suddenly showed up and drooled in the echidna's face. Knuckles lost control of the bar and wriggled uncomfortably underneath it.

Tails was working in his workshop, but a ball falling from above distracted him. Buster jumped from the rafters after the ball, causing it to bounce into the air. Buster caught and ate the ball, spraying Tails once he was finished. The kit looked more than irritated.

While Eggman still hated the little pet, he had acquired some respect for it. The dog managed to annoy the crap out of Team Sonic, and the doctor did feel infinitesimally better after watching that.

The crew were now sitting at a table at an outdoor restaurant with food in front of them. Everyone was irked and slimed except Sticks, who was as happy as can be.

"Who's a hungry little Cluster?" The badger baby-talked her pet. "Who's a hungry-wungry Cluster-Wuster, huh?"

"Would Buster like a french fry?" Tails held up a thinly slice potato covered with goo. "I don't want any. They've got slime on 'em!"

Sticks waved him off. "Ah-na-na-na! We only eat organic garbage now." She held the dog up. "Don't we, Buster?"

"Can someone take that thing away from her and throw it in the trash?" Shadow snarled. "That stupid voice she makes is ticking me the hell off."

For once, Amy had to agree with him.

"Help!" The group of friends looked in the direction of a worker sprinting out of a nearby warehouse. "Someone is robbing the DangerCo Deadly Equipment Warehouse! Seriously, help!"

An explosion came from the building, and Orbot and Cubot exit out of it. They were wearing crude masks of Sonic and Tails.

Knuckles, who had gotten over the unfairness of the fact that hedgehogs could only hit hedgehogs – he would get Sonic back really good when they got out – was actually worried about the state of this village. Whoever had let those robots in thinking that they were Sonic and Tails needed some help. A lot of help.

Too bad Team Sonic needed work as well. It was like the blind leading the blind.

Well, maybe not to that extreme, but it couldn't be argued that there were a couple things…off about that world.

"Cybernetic tentacles? Check!" Cubot shouted. "Deadly nanobots? Check! Evil spare parts? Check!"

A swarm of Bee Bots hovered out of the building, carrying a net holding the mentioned parts.

Cubot was impressed. "Ah, these people have everything."

Sonic ran over to them, gaining their attention. Orbot pointed. "Look, it's Sonic. Let's grab the boxes and go."

"Henchbots! You take care of them!" Cubot ordered before fleeing.

"I bet Buster is going to make things ten times harder for us," Sonic stated.

Tails nodded in agreement. "You don't have to bet anything, Sonic, because it's definitely going to happen."

The flying robots zoomed at Sonic, and he attempted to swat them away. When Tails, Knuckles, and Amy joined him, he told them, "They've gone 'round back. Someone stop them!"

"I've got 'em!" Knuckles jogged in that direction, but was stopped by more Bee Bots. Amy and Tails were in the same position, swatting away at the metallic insects.

Watching this was almost painful for Amy. "They need to stop swatting and start attacking! Where's my twin's hammer? Bring out the hammer!"

Metal Sonic was wondering why the alternates were holding back as well. Those striped mechs seemed to be lower level machines. Metal almost desired to belong in that world, for he would have been eliminated his copy because the other Sonic was pathetic. Since that was the case however, it meant that Metal's double had to be nearly useless.

…Was he actually a toaster?

Sticks walked over, carrying Buster.

Sonic noticed her. "Quick, Sticks, run around back and head 'em off."

"I don't want to put Buster in danger!" She argued. "Besides, it's his walk time."

The badger leashed Buster while Sonic looked on in disbelief. He then spin dashed into two of the bees. After landing, he spotted Orbot and Cubot leaving with more boxes. Sonic rushed over to the pair, but the robotic pup escaped from Sticks and ran that way as well. The blue hero tripped over Buster and had a good taste of dirt. To his disgust, Buster came and licked his cheek.

Despite how funny it was to watch Sonic eat shit, Shadow was highly impatient and needed this just to end. "Metal Sonic, how long until this episode is over?"

A beat passed before the robot answered. "There are approximately five minutes and thirty seconds left."

"We basically still got half of this episode to go?" Knuckles asked incredulously. He seriously wished the phrase 'time flies' applied here. He wanted this one to be over with already. Unlike the ones before that were somewhat interesting – with the world building and the hilarious shipping and what not – this one was just annoying.

"Five minutes isn't that long. We can do this!" Amy encouraged them, even though she desired to be done with this episode as well. That dog was totally sickening and she never wanted to see it again.

They were back in Tails' house.

"We have to talk," Amy said sternly, hands on her hips.

Sticks, sitting on a chair holding Buster, was severely concerned. "Oh no…"

Sonic nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so, Sticks…"

Tails perked up. "Are they going to finally tell her to let him go?"

"Yeah." Knuckles sighed. "But the more important question is whether she's going to do it." And from the way things had been going...probably not.

Sticks pointed at them. "You brought him a Cluster sock for our one week anniversary, but you didn't know I already made him one." She held up a sock with a bone stitched into it.

"No!" Amy exclaimed, temper rising. "Buster's getting in the way of everything!"

"He ruined our chance to stop those robots." Knuckles chimed in.

"Ugh, he got slime all over my equipment!" Tails complained before looking down where Buster was drooling all over his feet.

Sticks was growing angry as well. "First you say you want me to have a pet, then you say you don't want me to have a pet. I know what's going on here." She waved her hands in the air. "A massive government mind-control experiment!"

The room collectively groaned.

"I dislike her. Hate her, even." Shadow spat.

"Right there with you." The echidna bobbed his head over at him.

Sonic frowned at them. "C'mon guys, don't be so harsh. We haven't gotten time to get used to her! Yeah, she's…unique but…but uh…" His voice decreased to a whisper that the others still could clearly hear. "Tails, help me out here."

The fox floundered for a bit. "But they have to keep her around for a good reason, right? She has to be a good friend!"

Amy nodded. "He's right! I bet she's done great things that we don't know about!"

Knuckles grumbled to himself, guessing that he shouldn't judge so harshly so soon.

"I still hate her."

Shadow wasn't easily swayed, however.

Amy blinked before recovering. "That's…one theory. The other is we just want you to discipline him. Show some-" The pinkette shrieked when she realized that Buster somehow got on top of her head, his goo dripping right in her face. She frantically shook the pup and the slime off. "Forget it! Either Buster goes, or we do!"

"Yes!" Amy cheered. "Put your foot down! Fur products are expensive!"

Sticks huffed and picked up her pet. "Well, if Buster goes, I go! And I'm not going!"

"Oh," Sonic said flatly, "I guess that means we go."

Him, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy begin to leave, but then Tails paused when he opened the front door. "Wait." The fox turned around, realization hitting him. "This is my house."

Eggman's head suddenly popped out from behind the doorframe. "Oh hello!" He waved. "I was just stopping by with a present for your little cluster." The human held out a giftwrapped box.

Sonic's lips twitched downwards. "So Eggy knew that Sticks had the robot? Oh yeah, this was all him! Now if I was in that situation, I would've trashed the bot as soon as he had shown his ugly bald head." The glare from Eggman didn't faze him one bit. "But I highly doubt that's going to happen."

Tails couldn't help but to agree, but, "I still have hope for them! Maybe they'll throw Eggman's gift right back in his face!"

Most of Team Sonic blinked in surprise while Sticks beamed. "A present? For Buster?"

Eggman stepped inside the house. "Since little Buster here was created in my lab, I still feel like a father to him."

Sonic pointed at the man. "You created Buster?"

Sonic resisted the urge to facepalm. "Who else would've?!"

"Maybe there's another evil genius in proximity to their village who makes robots for the sole reason to build an empire, stopping anyone who gets in his way…?" Tails prompted.

Knuckles gave the kit a long look. "Somehow…I doubt that."

"I did!" Eggman confirmed. "And now I want to give him this little present!" He opened the box, revealing a white metallic bone.

The blue hedgie creased his brow. "Wait a minute. Are you sure this Cluster isn't just another evil robot built to destroy-"

Buster then jumped out of Sticks' arms and chomped down on the bone.

"The fact that they fell for this my double's scheme is astounding." Eggman was almost awed at how slow the 'fastest thing alive' was in the other reality. He had become suspicious way too late. If only that trait transferred over to the Sonic on the couch…but then it would be way too easy. He wanted to rightfully earn his victory.

"Maybe he isn't dumb after all?" Amy couldn't believe she was saying that.

"No. He is still inadequate." Metal argued. "However, so are his opponents. They are…" He pulled the correct phrase out of his database. "…playing on the same insufficient and rather pitiful level."

"Hey, hey, guys." Sonic held up a hand, a lightbulb going off in his mind. "We should stop reamin' them…because maybe they haven't had as much experience with the whole 'saving the world thing' as we have."

"That could be it…" Knuckles muttered, seeing the lack of experience a reason for their behavior.

"That has to be it!" Sonic nodded. "If not…then I've got nothin'."

Eggman followed Buster outside, where he was sitting and enjoying his toy. "No, it's not an evil robot! It's an evil Slime bot!" He pointedly gestured to the small mech. "It's a totally different thing. A Slime bot is a robot covered in disgusting goo."

Buster ate the bone whole, and he grew to a monstrous size, many tentacles wiggling out of his sides. His eyes were a dangerous red now.

Sonic batted away a tentacle when it got too close. "Is that the tentacle you stole from the warehouse?"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "No, it came from the damn tentacle store."

Eggman scoffed. "Oh please. I used that tentacle as a backscratcher. When I was done scratching, I used it to build him."

Buster suddenly attacked the azure speedster, and Sonic managed to dodge all of the dog-hybrid's swings before rejoining his group. "Hey guys, I think I'm gonna need a little help with the Cluster here."

Sticks gasped. "No! Don't make me hurt my beloved Buster!"

Knuckles folded his arms and leaned back into the cushion. "Saw that coming a mile away."

"I sorta understand her though… She had bonded with him – the disgusting death machine that he is – so of course she'd be like that." Amy mused. "Think about if it was Cream! If Cheese tried to kill us, she wouldn't be all for it either!"

"…Cheese doesn't have gross octopus limbs spouting out of him, though." Tails pointed out.

"True…" Amy tapped her chin. "But you still see my point right?

No one wanted to admit it, but yeah, they did. It didn't make the dog any less annoying though.

Knuckles stepped up. "Well, I never liked him much." The echidna bravely charged the monstrous dog, punching the ground and creating a shock wave. Buster wasn't effected; he approached the red one menacingly. Knuckles backed away warily. "Did I say 'never liked'? I meant 'never got to know'." He gasped when a tentacle yanked him off the ground.

Amy pulled out her hammer. "All right, Buster! The hammer's coming down!" She ran forward but was seized as well.

"Or up, as the case may-" Tails couldn't finish, for he was snatched too.

"He kinda deserves that for that quip." Sonic admitted before changing the subject. "But in other news, that pup is really kicking their butts."

Knuckles shook his head in exasperation. "It's just sad. We've fought monstrosities a hundred times more intimidating and dangerous than that glorified pet!"

"Experience, Knux!" Sonic reminded, wagging a finger. "They lack it!"

Red opticals found him. "That is just what you assume, copy. They could just be incompetent and dysfunctional. More than you tend to be."

Whatever Sonic was going to say was wiped away by that jab. "Hey! I'm not the one tied up and filled with confetti!" The hedgehog smirked. "If that's not dysfunctional, I don't know what is."

A sound came from Metal that sounded like a growl. "My current state is temporary. Once I am freed-"

"What?" Sonic asked flippantly. "You're gonna suffocate me with those party papers?" He chuckled while Tails looked unsure.

"Don't give him ideas, Sonic!"

As Eggman laughed victoriously, Sonic raced around Buster before leaping and landing on the edge of a nearby table. It flipped through the air and completely severed one of the dog's tentacles.

The blue blur stood proudly. "Ah ha!" But then all confidence drained out of him when the limb suddenly grew back, causing him to duck. "Uh oh…" He tried to put distance between himself and the pup, but he was grabbed.

"Good boy, Clusterbot!" Eggman praised before gesturing to Sticks. "Now…Get her!"

Buster snarled at the badger as he closed in.

"Okay…" Knuckles began. "Either she's going to be the one who destroys him, or he's not going to attack her at all."

"Buster's definitely going to leave her alone!" Sonic said confidently, "That's how it always goes!"

Shadow glared at his neighbor. "Did you forget that it is Eggman's robot? They don't feel."

"I feel hatred, anger, and the occasional loathing."

The striped one ignored Metal. "She's going to have to tear it apart."

A sly grin grew on the azure hedgie's muzzle. "Wanna bet?"

"No."

"Come on!" Sonic poked him in his side, and Shadow's mood darkened considerably. "If I win…" He pointed in the direction of the kitchen. "You clean up the mess you made! And if you win…"

Shadow glared at him. The only thing he wanted was to get the hell out of here, but since the chances of that were next to none, he went with the second best choice. "If I win, I get to use you as a footstool."

That…Sonic didn't expect. But he wasn't one to back down. "Deal!"

"Sticks!" Sonic called. "Buster won't attack you!"

Sticks cooed. "Aw, that's sweet!"

The blue blur shook his head. "No! I mean if there is any way you can stop him, now's the time!" He winced when the tentacle squeezed tighter around him.

"Buster, don't do this." Sticks commanded gingerly. "You're good inside! Remember all the times we had!"

There was a flashback. Sticks and Buster were running on a beach, then they were dancing together, then the badger was teaching the pup to hop through a hoop, and finally they were exploring ancient ruins.

In the present, Buster shook his head before resuming to growl.

"Yeah…" Sticks admitted. "I don't remember any of that either."

"Whoa whoa wait!" Tails waved his hands in the air. "That doesn't make any sense! They both saw flashbacks that weren't actually real? What just happened?"

"Good question." Knuckles mumbled. "Too bad we won't get any answers."

Sonic was worried about something else. He wished that those memories had been true! Then it would be more likely that Buster wouldn't attack. He did not want to become a foot slave!

Shadow was thinking about how comfortable he was going to get soon.

"And now my clustery friend, finish them!" A smug Eggman ordered.

Buster brought Tails closer to his mouth. "Uh oh…" The kit whined.

Sticks gritted her teeth and shouted. "Buster! No!" The dog looked at her in surprise. "No eat friends! Bad Cluster! Bad Cluster!" Buster seemed guilty, wilting under her harsh words.

Shadow cursed to himself.

Eggman didn't expect this. "What? No! Good Cluster! Eat friends!"

Sticks held up a finger. "Buster…sit!"

"No! Stand!" The human opposed. "Be evil!"

The badger glared at the pup, who eventually sat down.

"This is why you don't program robots with feelings!" Eggman grumbled even though the other couldn't hear him. "So they won't betray you!" He finished, glaring briefly at Metal who was oblivious to it.

Sonic fist pumped. "Yeah, I won!" He focused on his scowling neighbor. "Better get a broom ready, Shads!"

Shadow wanted to explode. Again.

Buster's eyes were green once more, and he gently placed the rest of Team Sonic on the ground. Sticks smirked as she looked at Eggman. "Buster? Take out the trash!"

The giant dog rushed the human. Eggman attempted to run away, but he was caught and slung around.

"No!" Eggman cried out as he was flung far far away. "I'm never making one of these agaiiiinnnn!" He disappeared into the distance.

Sticks held her hand out. "Now give the bone back."

Buster spat out the metallic bone and reverted back to his old tiny self.

The badger patted him with a smile. "Good Cluster!" She then got slimed in the face. The rest of her friends recoil before laughing. Sticks smiled sheepishly.

Amy shuddered. "That seriously can't smell good." She was glad smell-o-vision hadn't been invented yet, or else she wouldn't have made it through this episode.

They were on the beach now.

Sticks was scratching under the pup's chin. "Buster…it turns out you were an evil robot, so…maybe you're not pet material. I guess this is goodbye." She placed a hobo pack on Buster, who started to trot off.

"She's letting him go?" Tails was shocked. After all that? "Plot twist."

The badger waved sadly. "Have fun out there in the big world." Buster simply barked in response.

"Hey guys!" The friends turned to see Tails patting an octopus. "I found a giant octopus! Think I can keep him?"

Sonic slowly blinked. "What? Did he find a stray octopus…on land?"

"It's…best not to question it," Knuckles advised lowly.

The sea creature then swallowed the fox whole, burping back up the kit's goggles. His friends all gape until a hand stuck out of the octopus' mouth. "Changed my mind. Help!"

Eggman narrowed his eyes. "He should be dead."

Tails' cheeks were a bit pale. "I'm glad he's not, but…yeah…"

Amy watched as the screen faded to black. "Guess that was the end!" She was happy that they've knocked out another episode, but she was somewhat disappointed in the lack of dates. They had to come later, she assumed.

"About time," Knuckles groused.

Metal realized that something was missing from the show. "I was not present in the episode. Why am I forced to watch if I did not make an appearance?"

"Welcome to my world." Shadow growled as he stood up to make his way to the kitchen. He glared hotly when Sonic patted him on the back. The striped anthro huffed before stomping into the other room, inwardly regretting letting his temper control him earlier.

The place was a mess. Glass was everywhere.

Shadow startled in surprise when a broom suddenly appeared in his right hand. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist so hard that he snapped the handle in half. Another broom quickly took its place, and accompanying it was a dustpan, which was gripped in his left hand.

"If you can make things appear, why can't you make this mess disappear?!" He snapped at the thing.

There was no answer except, "No cheating Shads!" Sonic's voice filtered in from the other room. "And hurry up! Can't start the next one without ya!"

Shadow heavily sighed and accepted his fate, getting to work.

Poor anger boy.

Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome!