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

Moo. That is all.

"The next episode is called 'Cowbot'?" Amy read from the TV screen, not sure what to make of the title. "That sounds-"

"Lame!" Sonic snickered. "We all know that it's gotta be one of the other Eggman's robots. I mean, what kind of name is that?" He nudged the human next to him, and Eggman wanted to swat the other away. Preferably to another country. "But…at least he doesn't name his bots after another person."

Eggman growled, and Metal glared at the speedster. "You are urging me to attack you, copy. And to think that you wanted me as an ally."

"I still do!" Sonic argued, grinning wide. "I can't get mad at me, Metal. Eggman's the one who named you!" Metal seemed to process that, and the robot switched his glare to the doctor. Sonic chuckled as he readdressed his neighbor. "But I'm not mad Eggy. Imitation is the best form of flattery after all!"

"Doctor, I may be the better Sonic, but you had no right to name me after him."

"I had every right!" Eggman barked out, eye twitching. "I made-" Oh how he regretted messing with Metal's main objective. The bot was barely tolerable before, but now he wasn't focusing all on Sonic and just dammit.

Eggman didn't bother finishing his sentence, instead focusing on a particular striped hedgehog. Eggman knew that he had no chance of dealing with Metal by himself, but with help… "Shadow, if you help me return Metal to his original settings, I'll-"

"No."

Eggman gritted his teeth. "We can negotiate-"

"Don't make me get up, doctor."

The man wisely dropped the issue, seeing how Shadow was giving him a look that could melt steel.

Knuckles snorted. "You knew better, Eggman."

"Desperate men do stupid things," Shadow threw out there like he was talking about the weather.

Eggman couldn't say that he was wrong. Most of the room laughed at the defeated expression on the man's face.

"As much as I enjoy the embarrassment of the doctor," Metal started, glancing at Shadow. "I would rather see what abomination the other human put together and called a 'robot'."

Shadow would rather skip this altogether and go home, but since reality hated him so, he simply pressed the play button on the remote.

The scene opened up with a sunny beachfront with Knuckles busy stretching his arms.

Knuckles groaned. He had to deal with this already. "Hopefully the episode doesn't focus on him for long. Like how last episode did it…minus the flying, the superpowers, and my agony."

Amy rolled her eyes, letting out a quiet giggle. "Come on, Knuckles!" She gestured to the screen. "He's just stretching!"

"Stretching for something dumb, and you know it."

"…Probably, but you don't know for sure!"

Tails then popped into view with a pinecone in hand, pretending to use it as a microphone.

"No…Tails, you're my favorite please don't dirty that title!"

Tails smiled at the distraught echidna. "It's okay, Knuckles! It's most likely just some mindless fun!"

Knuckles didn't look reassured. "My double being mindless is the problem, Tails. I don't need it to spread to everyone else!" He then mumbled. "Apparently, it already gotten Sticks."

The fox's voice was calm and quiet like a professional announcer. "It all comes down to this final toss for the young echidna from Angel Island. He'll need a score of four to take the championship."

"Ooo! They're playin' a game?" Sonic sat up in his seat, interested. "Wonder what it is!"

"Nevermind that!" Knuckles frowned at the screen. "Speaking of Angel Island, who's watching the Master Emerald?!"

Sonic sent him a smirk. "You can ask that same question right now, can't you Knux?"

Knuckles knew the other was teasing him, but still. "My situation isn't voluntary! We always see him doing something other than his job!"

"But isn't that a good thing, in his case?" Tails tapped his chin. "Because that emerald would be really easy to steal."

Eggman scoffed. "How is that any different from this dimension?"

Knuckles gasped before narrowing his eyes. "You take that back."

Sonic waved him off. "Cool it, Knucklehead. Eggy's just tryin' to make it seem like he isn't the only one with similarities with their uh…quirky counterparts."

The echidna was heated, but he hadn't tried to rip the man's head off his shoulders, so that was good. Eggman glowered at the blue speedster. "I am not like my double in any way, shape, or form!"

Amy eyed the doctor's body. "Well, you two do have the same shape and form." She pursed her lips. "Actually, he might be a little skinnier…"

The human's face flushed red. "We have the same-"

"So you do have similarities," Metal commented. "Do I have to be wary of you throwing me a surprise party, then?"

Eggman painfully pulled on his mustache.

Sonic stifled his chuckles. "You really are growin' on me, Mets! We should've gotten together to tease Eggman way before now!"

"You must have forgotten that killing you would have been at the top of my priority list, then belittling the doctor's existence."

"Oh yeah…right."

Knuckles promptly picked up Sonic, having a good grip on the hedgehog's back. The echidna started to spin around, Sonic folding his hanging arms close to his body.

Sonic's eyes glinted in excitement. "Knuck-"

"No."

Tails commentated, "Can he do it? Can he score a four? The crowd is on their feet!"

Amy was shown with her hands on her hips, her foot tapping the ground, and not looking amused at all. "Can you get on with it already?"

Sonic tilted his head a bit. "Jeez! Can't they just have a little fun?"

"Maybe she's upset because…" Amy brightened, clasping her hands together. "Maybe she's upset because she and the other Sonic are going on a date after this!" Her gaze turned dreamy. "She might have a really nice dinner planned with soft music, candlelight, and-"

"Whoa Amy hey, hey!" Sonic stopped her then and there. "Who said anything about a date? You're lookin' into this way too far!"

Knuckles butted in. "There is a possibility-"

"You're not helping, Knux!"

"This is the only joy I get out of this situation. Let me be happy."

Knuckles finally tossed Sonic. The hedgehog careened into a nearby palm tree before bouncing off the trunk and landing in the sand, seemingly unhurt.

"That's a shame," Shadow sighed out.

"There goes the entertainment value."

Sonic gave Metal an odd look. "I thought that you didn't want to kill me anymore?"

"Neither do your friends, but they still get their hits in."

Knuckles nodded. "Yep."

"Frequently," Shadow added.

Sonic perked up. "So you do admit that you're my friend, Shads!"

Tails smiled. "The definition of a Freudian slip!"

Shadow blinked before cursing under his breath. He seriously needed his rest.

Three coconuts then fell out of the tree.

"Denied!" Tails exclaimed, "Three coconuts is not quite four."

"Look!" Sticks pointed up at the palm leaves overhead. One coconut was shaking until it crashed down on a yawning Amy's head.

The pinkette cried out in surprise, falling down. She growled as she rubbed her sore head.

Amy herself winced. "Yeah…that's a bruise…"

Tails bit his lip. "She was kinda being a buzzkill…"

The pinkette puffed out her cheeks. "Because she's ready for the date while Sonic clearly isn't!"

"Obviously, Tails."

"See, Knuckles gets it!"

Said echidna ignored the kit rolling his eyes and the glare from a specific blue speedster.

Knuckles and Sonic laughed, chest bumping each other. Tails was just as excited. "They've done it! They've achieved the impossible! The team of Knuckles and Sonic has bested the team of Sonic and Knuckles!"

"Wait a minute…" Amy had a dubious expression on her face, frowning. "You are playing against yourselves?"

"It…kinda makes sense?" Sonic defended. "I mean, there's a difference in Knuckles throwing me and me throwing Knuckles."

The guardian scoffed. "A big difference."

"That wasn't necessary, and you know that."

"A lot of the things you do aren't necessary, Sonic."

"…You got me there."

Knuckles shook his head. "No, were you listening? We beat Sonic and Knuckles." The echidna barked out a laugh before pointing to himself. "In your face, Sonic and Knuckles!"

Knuckles released a long-winded sigh. "The game making sense doesn't justify that." Please end my torture and take him off the screen.

A dark cloud suddenly floated overhead, partially blocking out the sun. The group of friends glanced up just in time to see Eggman fly out of the fluff in his hoverboard.

Eggman was torn. Half of him was disappointed that his twin had made his appearance, and the other half was silently screaming because why had he shown up so early. Why couldn't it be like the last episode?

"No no!" Amy crossed her arms, irked. "They'll never get to their date now!"

Tails sent the pinkette an amused look before asking, "I wonder how much he had to pay to get that back from Barker?"

"He couldn't have paid anything because the other hovercar is halfway across the world right now," Knuckles answered. "He had to have built another one."

Eggman grinned evilly above them. "Behold, rodents!"

"Hey, I never get why you always call me a rodent." Tails pondered aloud, it aimed at Eggman. "I guess it's because you think of all of us as 'pests', but-"

"My definition of a rodent is someone who always annoys me and should end up as roadkill on the side of a highway," the human interjected.

Tails subtly flinched at the visual. "…Ouch."

Metal glanced at the doctor. "Going by that, I am free to call you a rodent as well."

Eggman honestly wasn't surprised the robot responded the way he did. He had set it up perfectly. That didn't mean that he liked it, however. "No, because I'm not a dirty animal-"

"But you are a stinky human, and that counts, right?" Sonic jeeringly waved a hand under his nose.

The man was seeing red. "I do not stink!"

Metal returned his focus to the television, but without one last remark. "If you believe so, rodent."

Eggman believed that he wasn't going to have any more mustache hair to pull when this was all over.

"Prepare to face the most fearsome destructive force ever to grace this, or any other world!" Eggman hovered a bit to the side and gestured behind him at the ominous black cloud.

Team Sonic expectantly stared up at the cloud for a few seconds, but nothing happened. Crickets were chirping in the background.

Sonic nodded with a grin. "Yep. That basically sums up all the fights with Eggy we've had!"

Eggman had no other words except, "I hate you."

"Nah, I think that you're just jealous of how awesome I am!"

And the hatred steadily grew.

Eggman glanced between them and the cloud before saying, "It'll be just a minute. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves."

The heroes continued to stare silently, waiting.

"Your doom in coming, I assure you." The human sounded a little unsure himself. He kept on gesturing to the dark fluff.

"Even he knows that something could go wrong with his own robot." Amy frowned. "That's just sad!" Not as sad as the potential waste of a beautiful romantic evening, but sad nonetheless.

Sonic hummed to himself as he crossed his arms. Knuckles seemed bored.

A mechanical sound emitted from the cloud, and Eggman perked up. "Ah! Here it is now! This is…cowbot!"

As soon as the man's introduction finished, a large white and black robot shaped like a cow hovered out of the cloud, mooing loudly with half-lidded eyes. It landed right in front of the group of heroes.

"It needs to be decimated immediately," Metal said. "It is a disgrace to all robot-kind."

"And all cow-kind too," Tails muttered.

Amy wasn't impressed. "It's a cow."

"It's a cowbot," Eggman corrected with a smirk. The team collectively blinked before bursting out in laughter. Eggman held out a fist. "What? What's so funny?"

"Is it really not obvious?" Sonic questioned mid-chuckle. "He made a freakin' cow! What's next? A goat? A chicken? The whole farm? Craft some robotic crops while he's at it?"

Knuckles pictured Farmer Eggman, and he didn't know whether to be amused or severely concerned. "I honestly wouldn't be surprised." He eyed the human in the room. "Don't get any ideas, Eggman."

The doctor was clearly offended. "Do you really think that I would resort to something as stupid as mechanical carrots?" There was silence for a beat before he added, "Don't answer that."

"Cowbot?" Sonic snorted. "That has to be the lamest thing you've come up with."

Eggman had his hands on his hips. "Not true!" He began to list off. "There was spoonbot, crybot, mathbot…oh! And who could forget lamebot!" Eggman reined himself back in. "Wait, what am I saying?"

Shadow propped his head up in his palm. "He's telling on himself at this point."

"That's nothing new though!" Amy replied, gaining a glare from Eggman and a snicker from her one-and-only.

Sonic grinned. "Yeah."

"Forgot about that one," Amy commented.

"My breakfast is plotting to kill me."

Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, and Tails glanced over at Sticks, and she innocently looked back at them.

"I'm seriously concerned for her…" Amy furrowed her brow. Having paranoia (or hallucinations, it seriously could be anything with her) that bad couldn't be healthy. "…is she okay?"

"Is she ever okay?" Knuckles grumbled.

Tails pursed his lips. "Apparently not, because the others don't seem too alarmed about what she said…"

The echidna scoffed. "She needs to get help, preferably somewhere off-screen."

Beeping then filled the air. Eggman focused on the timer on his wrist. "Oh, time to move my laundry to the dryer. I'll leave you in cowbot's capable hooves." The doctor turned around in his hovercraft and flew away.

"Does he have to talk?" Eggman nearly groaned. "Would it kill him to stay quiet?"

He received raised brows and sly smiles.

Eggman actually groaned this time. "Again, don't answer that."

Sonic deadpanned. "Okay guys, let's just destroy this thing so we can get back to coconut hurl."

"Knux, that game really looked fun and-"

"No-" The echidna thought for a moment. "Actually, fine. But I'm always the thrower."

"But that's no fun!"

"For you."

Eggman paused in his flight, peering over his shoulder. "Oh, did I mention that cowbot is filled with mootonium, a pun-based radioactive compound? If you destroy him, he'll vaporize everything in a twenty-mile radius." He haughtily waved goodbye. "Toodles!"

There were too many things Eggman needed to rant about that his mind became a fierce whirlwind, preventing him from saying anything.

Metal hit one of his topics though. "Forcefully ignoring that atrocious pun, why put the radioactive substance in the unsightly robot? It would be much simpler to build a bomb."

Tails twirled his thumbs. "Well, maybe that's because he knew that they would be able to defuse it?"

"That is no excuse." Metal absently tapped a finger on the floor. "He could have just hidden the bomb until it went off. Then the heroes would be no more."

Eggman wished that he had a notepad.

"I know that you're talkin' about the interesting topic of death," Sonic cut in, lips curled upwards. "But are we just gonna ignore that Eggy just said toodles?"

Shadow's attention drifted to him. "Yes. I'm learning to block whatever he says out." He was working on doing that with the rest of the characters too.

"I heard it!" Amy nodded. "And I promised myself to never say it again."

"I wish that I hadn't heard it." Knuckles groused.

"I was too busy learning how easily Eggman could kill us…" Tails said before mumbling about getting cameras, different radars, and possibly some guard dogs.

Chuckles escaped Sonic's throat. "Well, I thought it was hilarious!" Mirth-filled green orbs shifted to Eggman. "Hey Egghead, if you ever say somethin' like that, tell me in advance so I can have a recorder ready, yeah?"

Eggman would say 'toodles' the day the sun crashed into the planet.

Cowbot loudly mooed again before opening its mouth and shooting out missiles.

"He's firin' cart missiles!" Sticks yelled as they all ran from the bot, wanting to find some cover.

They duck behind some bushes just as a projectile knocked loose four coconuts from a palm tree. Knuckles was devastated. He covered his head with his hands and sobbed. "My record!"

Knuckles clenched his jaw, figuring that the others wouldn't appreciate a second agonized yell from him.

Amy ignored him in favor of coming up with a plan. "If we can't smash that thing, what can we do?"

Tails pointed at the robot's back. "It looks like there's an access panel on top. If I can get to it, maybe I can reprogram cowbot!"

"Quick thinking!" Sonic smiled, glad that the other Tails' intelligence balanced out the IQ of…certain unnamed members of the group.

Knuckles bumped his namesakes together. "Time to tip this cow!"

"I'll distract him," Sonic said before sprinting back into the fray. Cowbot started to target him, missing completely.

Knuckles, Tails, Sticks, and Amy were next to the cow, pushing on it. "One!" they shouted.

Sonic hopped over a projectile that landed too close to his feet. "Any day now, guys!"

Knuckles frowned. "I could've pushed that thing over myself in one go!"

"Maybe he wanted to be careful and not let any of the radioactive stuff out…?" Amy suggested.

The echidna deadpanned at her. "You're giving him way too much credit."

"Two!" the pushing group yelled a second time.

A missile blew up the space in front of Sonic, tripping him up. He landed hard on his chest, getting a small taste of sand as he did so.

"Three-"

"Four!" Knuckles said confidently before becoming flustered. "Uh, I mean three!"

"He can't count," Knuckles threw his hands in the air. "Of course he can't count! He can't read, can't count, what next? He needs help going to the bathroom?"

Amy shuddered. "Hopefully there won't be an episode about that."

Shadow refused to be put through that torture. "I would destroy the TV, freedom be damned."

With a grunt, they all shoved the bot, and the cow crashed onto its side with a thud, puffing up a cloud of sand.

Tails whirled his namesakes and flew up to the panel he had mentioned before. He opened it and messed with the wires inside. Cowbot twitched and mooed, shooting out milk from its mechanical utter. The heroes barely dodged the unexpected streams.

Eggman stressfully rubbed his forehead. "Why would he waste his time in programming that?"

"Because he has nothing better to do?" Sonic shrugged.

"The time he spent building useless utters could have been used in creating a bomb," Metal brought up. "However, I doubt the idea crossed – or will ever cross – his simplistic mind."

"A damn shame."

"Shads, you won't ever be happy until you see a dead body, will you?'

"Not even then."

The kit leaned out of the now smoking hole. "That should do it!"

Cowbot twitched some more, and its eyes changed from blue to red.

When it made a move to get back up, Tails frowned. "Or not…" The fox got off the rising cow, opting to rather be beside Knuckles. Cowbot eventually got to its feet. The robot mooed at the heroes before activating its jet hooves and flying away.

Tails clapped his hands. "He did it!" He had been a bit concerned for a second – red eyes were never a good sign – but it all worked out! Somehow.

Amy wasn't so relieved. "Hopefully it's not going to the village or something!"

Tails' good mood was gone. "Oh no…"

The group simply watched the retreat until Sonic asked, "Uh, Tails? What's going on?"

The fox faced him. "Not sure… Its original programming was to destroy Sonic. So…since I reversed it…"

"It's…going after Eggman!" Sonic's expression brightened, entertained by this turn of events. "Classic!"

Tails perked back up, glad that his twin wouldn't be responsible for a mass panic, and Sonic barked out a laugh. "Talk about karma! What goes around, comes back around!"

"It's what he gets for building a crappy robot!" Sonic's happiness spread to Amy. She giggled. "I can't wait to see his face!"

Eggman snorted, wanting to see this blow up in his twin's face as well.

"No," Amy opposed. "It's not classic, it's awful! That thing's a killing machine and if it explodes, no more Eggman!"

Amy gaped. "What? Why in the world is she feeling sorry for him? He almost killed them!"

Tails furrowed his brow. "And it's not like Eggman would actually die… He built it, so he should know how to shut it down, right?"

"We are talking about the other Eggman here." Knuckles sighed out. "The double would probably just cower in a corner or something. And I would love to see that, but it seems like the girlfriend is going to talk the boyfriend out of it."

Sonic held up a finger. "First off, until I see solid proof that they are t-together-" His face twisted up like he was sucking on a lemon saying that word. "-they aren't a couple!" Sonic gave Amy a look when she opened her mouth, making her stay quiet even though she still looked happy. "Second, seeing Eggy do that would seriously make my day and hopefully they argue with her."

"And on laundry day?" Knuckles added. "Not cool, Sonic."

"They need to find duct tape immediately," Knuckles breathed out.

Sonic groaned in defeat. "Fine. I'll go warn him."

"That's a great compromise!" Tails remarked. "He pleases his friends while not actually taking cowbot out!"

"We still get to witness the doctor embarrassing himself, which will be a sight to see," Metal replied.

Eggman agreed wholeheartedly. "We finally see eye-to-eye on something, Metal."

"I do not believe that I was talking to you, rodent."

Eggman wondered why he even tried.

He glanced at his brother. "Tails, you come with me, and bring your…science stuff."

Tails nodded. "You got it, Sonic!"

"And while you're there, ask him how he gets out grass stains." Knuckles focused on his gloves. "His whites are always so…white!"

"It's called using a washing machine…" Knuckles mumbled.

The scene changed to Tails and Sonic coming to a landing on Eggman's island.

"Is it going to be just them from now on? Please tell me that it's just going to be them." Knuckles nearly begged.

"And the doctor, don't forget echidna." Shadow reminded, knowing not to get hopeful. "So this is still going to be awful."

When pilot parked the plane, Sonic advised, "Tails, stay here. Who knows what kind of crazy defenses Eggman has."

The hedgehog hopped out of the aircraft. He quietly zipped from rock to rock to stealthily make his approach to the front door. He even crawled and tip-toed to be extra safe.

Sonic scoffed. "That's the total opposite of me! I would've been torn that door down! He really needs some lessons on how to be me."

At the door, Sonic rose a fist and knocked. There was no answer.

"Huh, nothing," Sonic muttered with a small smirk. "You think you know a villain." The moment he walked off, the doors slid open.

Eggman, clad in his pink onesie pajamas, was shocked to see Sonic there. "Oh! I wasn't expecting company."

Amy squeaked in horror. "Not again!"

Shadow wanted to tear his eyes out. "I need that damn bleach…"

"I want to hop in the TV and burn the onesie for him because I know he isn't going to do it anytime soon." Knuckles struggled to keep his gaze on the monitor.

"If I don't do it first," Eggman grumbled. Did it have to be pink?

Sonic looked disgusted. "Yeah…I figured that out…" He pointed to the perimeter of the lair. "Don't you have some kind of defense system?" His frown deepened. "And pants?"

"You could ask that question to this doctor," Metal said, glancing at the human wearing only boxers. "Since apparently you have forgotten the rest of your clothes as well."

"I did not forget anything!" Eggman stomped his foot. "I was taken out of my home by the thing and dropped into this house of horrors!"

"That is nothing but an excuse, doctor."

"Funny story! I used parts from my defense system to make the cowbot I sent to destroy you. How did that work out, by the way?" Eggman asked as an afterthought.

"Well, since Sonic is standing right there unhurt, it worked out pretty well for him," Knuckles commented.

"Tails reprogramed it, and it's coming here to destroy you instead." Sonic replied cockily. "So, good luck with all that." He then copied Eggman's goodbye from earlier. "Toodles!"

Sonic felt eyes on him as he pursed his lips. "My twin was teasing him, so it's alright if he says it!"

"No it isn't," Shadow instantly opposed.

"But you can't just leave me here without my defenses!" Eggman reasoned. "I'd be…eh…what's the word?"

Sonic turned to look at him, exasperated. "Defenseless."

Amy blinked slowly. "Did he really…not know the word for it?"

"And had to ask Sonic for the right one?" Tails was just as confused.

Sonic let out a single chuckle. "Maybe you're right, Knux! Your double has to be contagious or somethin'."

"He just needs to stop. Talking." Eggman complained. "Is that too much to ask?"

Metal nodded. "Yes, because he is your twin."

Tails walked over. "Do you need us to bring your defense systems back online?"

Tails fiddled with one of his namesakes. "Okay…you're being a little too nice now…"

"I want to see a terrified Eggman!" Amy pouted. "So I can forget about that horrid onesie!"

Eggman waved his hands. "Nah, I'm good. Unless you activated cowbot's stage two directive, then my defenses will be useless."

Sonic tilted his head. "That's not that whole…red eyes thingy, is it?"

The man nodded. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

The speedster marginally shrugged. "Lucky guess."

They were inside now. Tails was sitting at Eggman's desk, fiddling with the touchscreen.

"Why oh why hasn't he changed out of his pajamas yet?" Amy complained. It took less than a minute to throw on something else!

"The only way to stop cowbot is to upgrade Eggman's defense system," Tails explained.

"You'd…do that for me?" Eggman sounded equally parts shocked and flattered. "After all the terrible – yet totally justified – things I've tried to do to you?"

Sonic snorted. "He must have a whole different definition for 'justified' than we do. Tryin' to take over the world isn't exactly a 'justified' reason."

Eggman would like to disagree, but he knew that his words would somehow get twisted and he wasn't in the mood for that. It had happened too many times already.

"He is so pathetic." Metal observed. "Why did my twin let him live for this long?"

"Because you might be a toaster," Knuckles provided, and the robot fell silent.

Sonic didn't answer him. He instead regarded the kit. "Good thing I told you to bring your science stuff, huh Tails? You start working on Eggman's defenses, I'll gather up parts." Sonic then sighed. "And Eggman…put on some pants."

"Please listen to him!" Amy cried out.

Eggman – in his regular clothes now-

The pinkette sighed in relief.

-was plugging in some cords, Tails was messing with a circuit board, and Sonic – after hearing a ding – pulled a steaming chili dog out of a microwave.

"Of course," Tails said jovially, snickering.

Sonic was nearly drooling. "That looks amazing!"

Knuckles scoffed. "It's good to know that your addition transcends dimensions."

"It is good! I'd relieved to know that my double has great taste!"

To test out a part of the defense system, a robot came rolling down the hallway and was immediately frozen by a laser beam. Sonic and Tails shared a proud look.

Sonic was pushing a satellite-looking machine outside. Eggman, who had goggles one, pushed a button on a remote he had. Small robots hovered well above the base and produced a forcefield that surrounded the whole lair.

"If that doesn't keep out cowbot, I don't know what will." Tails was just as proud as his double.

The azure speedster tapped the human's wrist and pointed to the side. A lone chili dog was sitting on a rock just outside the range of the field. Eggman reluctantly disactivated the shield for a few seconds so Sonic could get his food.

Amy furrowed her brow. "That was…generous of him?"

"Even Eggy knows the importance of chili dog consumption!" Sonic smiled, happy to know that no food went to waste.

The trio observed as cowbot appeared in the far distance.

"Okay," Sonic started, Tails and Eggman listening. "When cowbot comes in range, Eggman will lower the forcefield, I'll zap cowbot with the freeze-ray, and Tails, you fly over and disarm it." Sonic held out his hand palm-down. Tails and Eggman put theirs on top of his. "Alright, let's rock!" Sonic cheered and they threw their hands in the air.

Metal cocked his head. "They have a severely complicated relationship."

"Never in a million years would I do that." Eggman scrunched his nose up in distaste.

Sonic smirked. "Ditto! Who knows where your gloves have been?"

The human gritted his teeth so hard that he was surprised they didn't shatter.

The azure speedster laughed, pumped for what's to come, and they all were ready to go. It was too bad that cowbot was taking its sweet time.

"Let's butcher this bovine!" Tails added, and they waited some more.

Those words didn't make the robot arrive any quicker.

They all slumped. "I…think we have some time," Sonic said.

"Why can't they just leave him now?" Knuckles would've been left the doctor high and dry. "Eggman should be able to man-"

"With how the doctor has been acting, you should throw all pre-determined expectations out of the nearest window."

"You're right, Metal. You're right."

"Do you wanna go inside?" Eggman suggested. "I got cocoa!"

Eggman ran a hand down his face. "Because why wouldn't he, right? Why wouldn't he have hot cocoa?!"

"That Eggman is acting weirdly positive and I don't know to feel about it." Tails vocalized his uneasiness. "One second he's planning murder, and the next he's offering hot beverages."

"Maybe he put poison in them."

Everyone glanced over to Shadow, whose expression was blank.

Tails bit the inside of his cheek. "Yeah, I'm worried now."

The trio were now sitting on a white couch in a spacious room. Tails sipped his cocoa and subtly winced. The smile on his muzzle was forced. "That is some…interesting cocoa."

Eggman was holding a mug himself. "Wanna guess my secret ingredient?"

Rat poison, Shadow's mind supplied. Arsenic. Cyanide.

Sonic frowned as he addressed Tails. "If he says love, I'm outta here."

"Don't blame ya, other me."

The kit hummed thoughtfully. "…Is it nutmeg?"

"Close! It's actually a tablespoon of garlic powder."

Tails slowly blinked, smile twitching from the strain. "Well, that explains the texture…"

Amy covered her mouth, imagining the disgusting taste and the feel and- "I'm actually going to throw up…"

"Aim it over there." Knuckles pointed to the other side of the pinkette, trying not to be targeted.

Tails attempted to find the silver lining. "At least it's not poison…?"

Sonic opted to place his mug on the table. However, before he could do that, Eggman slipped a coaster under it. "Whoa whoa whoa! Coaster! What, were you raised in a barn?"

"A shack, actually." Sonic chortled. "There's a difference."

The hero disregarded him in favor of picking up a cookie from the plate in front of him. After he took a bite, Eggman instantly had a handheld vacuum and was sucking the crumbs from the hedgehog's neckerchief.

"Why even give them stuff to eat it in the first place?" Knuckles huffed. He wasn't the one being cleaned, and yet he was still annoyed.

"I doubt he knows why." Eggman had lost all faith in his twin. Not that he had a lot to begin with.

After swallowing the treat, Sonic groaned in revulsion.

"Wanna guess the secret ingredient?" Eggman asked again.

"Garlic?"

"Nope! Love!" Eggman chuckled. "Just kidding. It's garlic."

Sonic mumbled to himself, somewhat irritated. "And I thought he was annoying when he was just trying to destroy us."

"Who would've thought that domestic Eggman is worse than homicidal Eggman?" Amy asked, realizing how weird that could sound out of context.

Sonic shrugged. "You learn new things every day!" He grinned at the doctor. "Just don't ever take up baking, 'kay?"

"If you catch me doing so, I give you full permission to put me out of my misery."

Later on, the three were watching a horror movie on a TV.

Eggman suddenly shot his hand out. "Don't go in there! It's a trap!" However, the girl onscreen understandably didn't hear him and screamed in terror. Eggman leaned back. "Can you believe that she went in there?"

Sonic had his hands linked behind his head. "Yeah," he replied in monotone. "And after you warned her and everything."

"The displeasure rolling off my copy's copy is making this mildly entertaining," Metal stated.

Knuckles snorted. "Well, I wouldn't want to be there either."

"It's just interesting to watch because our Sonic would be teasing and joking non-stop in this position, while that one is just…irritated." Tails pointed out.

Sonic saw where his bro was coming from. This twin surely lacked his world-famous one-liners, that's for sure. "Just another difference between me and him, I guess."

Amy hummed to herself. "It's like he has a bit of Knuckles in him, or even Shadow."

"Don't," the two mentioned nearly growled, and she innocently held her hands up.

They were back outside, and cowbot was still way far off.

Eggman deeply sighed before regarding the two. "What do you guys do for fun?"

Tails had that pinecone again. "Here we are, the coconut hurl grand championship. Sonic the hedgehog will be tossing his arch-rival Dr. Eggman. Let's join the game already in progress."

Sonic was struggling to pick the rotund man up by his back. He soon gave up.

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Why did they try in the first place?"

"They are desperate to pass the time…" Amy answered, wondering if the robot was made out of lead or something. Because it sure wasn't in a hurry to destroy Eggman.

"Ooo, that's going to be a penalty," Tails announced.

The small group were now sitting on the ground, waiting on the robot as said bot mooed in the distance.

Eggman was twiddling his thumbs. Then he smiled. "Hey, I've got an idea!"

The next scene was Sonic using a catapult to fling Eggman through the air. The man hit a potted palm tree, knocking down a multitude of coconuts.

Sonic chuckled to himself. "Hey Eggy-"

"Absolutely not."

"They've done it!" Tails cried out into his pinecone. "A new record!"

Eggman sat up – coconuts rolling off of him – in time to high-five Sonic.

Eggman wondered if this was just some messed up fever dream, that he was going to wake up in a couple of minutes covered in a cold sweat and promising himself to never eat sweets before bed again.

The trio were then sitting, and the sun was going down. Even more time passed, and eventually it was completely night. Sonic's impatience was showing. "We've been up forever. When is cowbot gonna get here?"

"Never," echoed around the room.

"You're so impatient, Sonic." Eggman admonished, roasting marshmallows over a small fire. "Sometimes you gotta slow down and enjoy life! Here!" He held out his stick. "Have a roasted marshmallow."

Sonic took it and bit into the mush. "Mm…sticky, but good."

Sonic tapped his foot on the floor. "He's so quick to take it! Hasn't he learned from the garlic incident?"

Tails understood the double's decision. "But come on, Sonic…it's marshmallows. Would you have pushed them away?"

"…No, but that's not my point!"

Tails had finished his already. "Really good."

Tails wouldn't mind some roasted 'mallows right now.

Eggman got comfortable, laying down. "I never get to do stuff like this with Orbot and Cubot. Marshmallows always gunk up their circuitry."

Sonic glanced at him. "Yeah, that's the problem with having no real friends."

"Ooo…" A lopsided grin grew on Sonic's muzzle. "I hope he has an ice pack ready."

"Or aloe," Tails continued.

Knuckles snorted. "Or a corner to cry in."

"Yeah…" Eggman breathily agreed.

Metal turned towards the human, who braced himself. "Why do you never own up to your numerous faults, doctor?"

"Yeah!" Amy jumped on the bandwagon. "That's probably why you lose all the time, you know."

"Self-esteem issues is not why I lose!" Eggman growled.

Metal held on to that topic. "You have self-esteem issues? That is why you are constantly a disappointment. You are nothing to others and to yourself."

See? Eggman didn't want his words to get twisted like that.

Shadow released an amused snort, and the scientist wasn't having it. "You have no room to say anything, Shadow. Exactly how many times have you been confused on who the hell you are?"

Eggman realized that he had made a big mistake when a glare with the heat of a thousand suns was aimed at him.

And then there was a fist aimed at his face. Oh joy.

Shadow was about to break the man's nose and then some, fueled by the rage igniting his dark soul from within, but then something clamped around his neck and jerked him backwards.

A raspy gasp escaped his throat before he crashed to the ground on his back. "What in the…" He sat up and felt around his neck, feeling a collar. A snarl rumbled in his chest. "Hell?" He clawed at the restraint. His blazing red scarlets narrowed at the leash attaching him to the wall.

Shadow fought it, pulling, struggling, and cursing all the while. He didn't deserve this. So what if he had wanted – still wanted – to violently attack the doctor? The man was obviously asking for it.

For once, Eggman was glad that the thing existed.

Sonic glanced between the currently feral Shadow and the blanched doctor. His gaze settled on the latter. "Well that was unexpected…"

"You were so close to getting your face rearranged, Eggman." Knuckles stated the obvious.

"Really? I never would've guessed." Eggman was too focused on controlling his heartrate to leak sarcasm into his tone.

Shadow had stopped fighting the collar at this point, clenching and unclenching his fists. His scarlet orbs holding many promises were glaring right at Eggman, lips pressed into a thin line and quills bristled.

Amy probably would've fainted if that amount of killing intent was focused on her. "You kinda went too far, Eggman…" Tails nodded, agreeing with her.

Eggman couldn't believe this. "I went too – So all of you can critically insult me, but I can't retaliate?"

"Nailed it right on the head!" Sonic chirped with a wink.

The doctor slumped in his seat, giving up on everything. He just hoped that the thing wisely kept Shadow chained until he could get safely away.

Metal stared at the striped hedgie sitting beside him before getting up and claiming Shadow's former spot on the couch. He palmed the forgotten remote. Knuckles eyed him, and the robot said, "The angle to watch the television is better from here."

Sonic snorted before asking the black anthro, "You comfortable down there, Shads?"

Shadow barely paid him any attention, many different non-PG scenarios floating around in his head.

"I'll take that as a yes."

He quickly got over it. "Hey, do you know what I hate? That Dave the intern, am I right eh?"

"You know, I never gave him that much thought," Sonic uttered, dismissing the topic.

"Let's not bring him up ever again," Knuckles ordered, a bit wary of Metal attacking him for whatever reason.

Tails was trying to get as much as he could from his cleaned stick. "Are there any more marshmallows?"

Eggman was eager to continue some sort of conversation. "Hey Sonic, bro to bro, what's up with you and Amy?"

Sonic froze like a deer in headlights.

Amy perked up, and Sonic whimpered, looking like he wanted to curl into a ball.

Tails usually backed up his bro, but this… "If Eggman thinks something's going on, Sonic, then…"

"They're dating! They like each other!" Amy squealed before standing up and practically launching herself at the speedster.

Sonic put his hands out, feet scampering to push him over the back of the couch. "No! Amy, wait!" But it was too late. The pinkette crashed into him, taking all of the air out of his lungs. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and settled into his lap. She nuzzled his cheek, and he felt his soul leave his body. "Amy, p-please g-get…off. You're ch-choking…me."

Tails – who had narrowly avoided getting elbowed in the face – wisely went to take the pinkette's former seat, feeling bad for Sonic right now.

Amy relaxed her grip, but only a little bit. She remained where she was. "Can't you see that we're made for each other?" She ignored his plea, giggling. "If they can do it in their weird world, we can make it work too!"

Sonic went to gently push her off, but she held on tight. He wondered why she wasn't leashed as well, since she was practically smothering him.

Sonic wracked his brain for something, anything, while disregarding Knuckles' laughs in the background. His mouth moved on its own. "Hey Ames, if you give off me now, I'll give you a date later."

Her eyes sparkled at the word 'date'. "You mean it this time?" Her grip became tighter again. "Promise me!"

"Promise!" Sonic gave a shaky smile that somehow won her over. She slid off him and sat to his side, her happiness palpable.

Knuckles produced a whipping sound with his mouth, and Sonic pondered how the echidna would like being superglued to that precious rock of his.

The scene cut to the morning, where the three were sleeping by the remains of a fire.

Eggman was then woken out of his sleep by the sound of something hitting the forcefield. Yawning, he sat up to see cowbot firing missiles at the shield.

"It's about time…" Sonic complained. If only cowbot would've shown up before the other Eggman had blabbered his mouth. He had no idea how to get out of that date.

"Wake up, wake up!" he shouted in panic, rousing the heroes, who snapped to attention.

They all hopped to their feet. "Engage all defense systems!" Tails yelled before he and Sonic ran to their stations.

Eggman palmed a remote. "Turning off the forcefield!" He pressed the button, but the remote short circuited because of the leftover marshmallow on his hand. The field took its time in deactivating. "Uh, I'm having some trouble here!"

Tails frowned. "The marshmallows shouldn't still be sticky like that. They've had all night to dry!"

"They have eaten copious amounts, kit." Metal corrected him. "So it is possible…though having the sweet food mess up the device to that degree says something about its craftmanship."

"But wait, my double helped with the building this time!"

"Like I said, it says something about its craftmanship."

Sonic was with the laser. He tried to activate it, but he had the sweet treat on his fingers too. "This thing's all gunked up. My hands are sticky from the marshmallows!"

Tails slumped a bit while Amy suggested, "Just…take your gloves off? That'll solve all your problems!"

"It's game over man! Game over!" Eggman accepted his defeat.

Knuckles rose a brow at that. "He might still cower in fear."

Tails stared at him before focusing on his own sticky hands. "Marshmallow! If they gunk up our machinery, they'll gunk up cowbot's too!"

Tails brightened, loving how his twin got to redeem himself, and Knuckles felt robbed.

"How are we gonna reach the access panel?" Sonic asked.

The next shot showed Sonic in the catapult used earlier with the coconut game. The hedgie braced himself. "Ready, aim, fire!" Eggman released the lever, and the speedster was airborne with a bucket of melted marshmallow in his hands.

Sonic then promptly slammed into the part of the field still intact. He landed on the ground on his back before sitting up and glaring at the doctor. "I said aim."

Eggman was glad to know that his other self still had a hint of sadism in him. Every other trait was the equivalent of hot garbage.

The satisfaction on Eggman's face couldn't be hidden. "Oh, was that meant for me?"

"That's…kinda more like the Egghead I know."

"Don't compare me to him, pincushion." Eggman knew that he had just done it himself, but that was fine. He just didn't like others saying it.

Sonic was back in the catapult. "Ready, aim-" He gave Eggman a pointed look. "-fire!"

He was launched again, but this time he made it through a hole in the field and landed on cowbot's back. He hastily opened the panel and poured the marshmallow into the cow's circuitry. It began to short-circuit in the air. Sonic jumped off and landed by the others as cowbot dropped to the ground, its eyes turning black and going limp.

Metal's eyes flashed. "That took much too long."

"At least they finally did it." Knuckles then thought for a moment. "Though, the bot could've easily exploded upon impact."

"It was worth the risk!" Amy leaned closer to the blue blur, smiling. "Right, Sonic?"

Sonic leaned away until he got as close to Eggman as he could without touching him. "Y-Yeah! Totally, Ames!"

"It worked!" Eggman celebrated.

Tails grinned. "That's the beauty of teamwork!"

Eggman was quick to argue. "Not teamwork, my master plan! I tricked you into helping me upgrade my security system!"

"Why would he tell them that?" Eggman groaned before shaking his head. "Why am I still asking at this point?"

"That's a good question." Sonic snickered.

The doctor was about to respond to that, but then he locked gazes with a still pissed Shadow and he gulped instead. He would have to haul ass if he didn't want to get caught by Shadow when all this was over.

"Now I can use my own tech against you!"

"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be, huh?" Sonic went and poured marshmallow on every device they helped restore and fortify. The forcefield went down, and the robots maintaining it fell out of the sky.

Eggman scratched the back of his neck. "I really need to stop doing that thing where I gloat and explain exactly what you need to do to stop me."

"You think that he's going to learn from this?"

"Will Sonic ever learn how to swim?" Knuckles countered Tails' question.

"No…"

"There's your answer."

Sonic dusted his hands off as he approached his little bro. "Our work here is done. C'mon Tails." They left for the airplane.

Then, Orbot and Cubot exited the lair. "Dr. Eggman?" the former called out tentatively. "May we come out now?"

"No!" the man sharply responded.

Cubot spotted some treats on the ground. "Ooo, marshmallows!" He and Orbot both picked some up and took one bite. They immediately broke down in sparks.

Metal produced a hum. "Good."

"Well that was an…" Tails glanced from a seething Shadow to a love-struck Amy. "…interesting episode to say the least…"

Knuckles leaned back against the cushion, stretching his legs a bit. "The main heroes didn't do anything stupid; it was just Eggman and-" Knuckles didn't even want to say their names. "All in all, it could've been way worse." Like pounced on by a crazed fangirl or nearly attacked by a frothing weapon of mass destruction, worse.

Sonic was about to add his opinion, but then something dropped into his open palm. He peered down at it. It was small and some kind of fruit. It wasn't a grape, or a raisin, but a…

The thing had to be bipolar, but he couldn't care less at this point.

Sonic stood up, pretending to loosen his muscles. He then faced Amy and tossed the fruit at her.

The pinkette had snapped out of her daydream to catch the item, frowning down at it. "Sonic, what's this?"

The speedster grinned. "That's your date, like I promised!" Before his words completely sunk in, he excused himself. "Going to the bathroom!" More like going to hide, but he couldn't say that out loud. He hastily zipped away.

Amy blinked at the spot he had occupied. A frown marred her muzzle when she quickly stood up, throwing the date on the ground and stomping on it. "Sonic. The. Hedgehog! You come back here!" A hammer materialized in her grip, and she marched after the poor soul, her heavy footfalls vibrating the floor.

Tails kept his gaze on her. "We should help him…"

Knuckles scoffed. "Yeah, we should." He patted the kit's shoulder, keeping him seated. "But let's just wait this out."

"You're horrible sometimes, Knuckles." The kit was only half joking.

"I know."

Meanwhile, Eggman was having a reluctant stare-down with Shadow. The man absently twisted his mustache. "You're still mad, aren't you?"

The hedgehog's molten reds only blazed brighter.

Eggman heavily sighed.

Sorry about how late this story was updated! I'll try to make the next one faster! Reviews and constructive criticism are cherished!

Ps- Happy Thanksgiving!