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

I know this is late, and I'm soo sorry! Life just got real busy and blehhhh

I just hope that you like this chapter! Here's Blue with Envy!

Eggman watched as the number fourteen appeared on the screen in something akin to relief. It didn't surprise him when it burst into flame, nothing on his mind but getting out of this house as soon as possible.

This was probably – no, surely – the worst day he'd had in years. The day he'd declared Sonic his nemesis was better than this. At least he wasn't stuck with the annoyance with his mental state steadily decreasing.

Though, Eggman had to admit he'd had better than some of the others stuck with him. Shadow, for example. That rodent was close to cracking, and Eggman seriously didn't want to be around if it happened.

And he didn't want to be put in a time loop either.

Please.

Sonic stretched his muscles as the number faded, some joints popping. "Only fourteen left!" He was never going to complain about the amount of episodes again. He had nothing but positivity because he couldn't afford the risk of being negative. "That's like uh…math isn't my forte. Metal, how long-"

Metal calculated how much time they had left to be at the mercy of whatever's tormenting them. "We have approximately two and a half hours left until we are supposedly released."

"Supposedly? Hell no." Shadow refused to think about what would happen if they stayed a second longer than needed. Ultimate Lifeform or not, he'd probably have an aneurysm. "We better be able to leave after the last episode, or I'll-"

"I'd advise you to stop there." Knuckles grunted with a subtle grin. Words were dangerous here. "If you know what's good for you."

Shadow gritted his teeth, eye twitching.

"Speaking of the amount of time remaining…" Tails was reminded of the fact that a specific agent was out on a jewel hunt, which wasn't all that necessary anymore. "Do you think Rouge will be mad when she comes back with the emerald?"

Amy frowned at that; she'd honestly forgotten that Rouge was helping them. "Hopefully not! I mean, she's like in love with the emeralds, right? Maybe she won't be that mad that we made her work!"

Shadow didn't feel bad at all that they had sent her out. "What she's doing is less traumatizing than what we're going through. I'd gladly trade places with her."

"I really wish that I had asked the doctor how big this cave was. I hope you've been keeping track of where we've been, hon."

"I WAS NEVER GIVEN THAT TASK, SO THERE IS A HIGH CHANCE THAT WE ARE LOST."

"Omega!"

"IT IS NOT MY FAULT."

"How is it not?!"

"YOU TOLD ME TO BE A FLASHLIGHT, NOT A GPS LIKE I SHOULD HAVE BEEN."

"Are you being passive aggressive with me?"

"NO."

"Because I might be a bat, but that doesn't mean that I would rather stumble around in the dar – are you serious right now?"

"WHAT IS THE MATTER, ROUGE?"

"There are bats in this cave!"

"YES. YOU ARE IN A CAVE WITH SMALLER, LESS COMBAT-READY BATS. WHAT IS THE ISSUE?"

"Do you see what I have on, Omega? I'd rather not leave this place covered in guano! Ugh, forget a spa day, I'd need a spa month with constant massages to ease my stress."

"WELL, WE CANNOT EXACTLY LEAVE BECAUSE WE ARE LOST."

"Fantastic."

"AT LEAST I CAN BE AN OPTIMAL FLASHLIGHT."

"That's definitely passive aggression."

"THIS TRIP WILL BE WORTH IT WHEN WE RETRIEVE THE CHAOS EMERALD."

"You're right with that one, sugar. I can't wait to get my hands on – ah! It got in my fur!"

"…I ASSUME YOU WILL BE WANTING A MASSAGE IN THE NEAR FUTURE."

"Yeah." Sonic could agree with what Shadow was saying. "I'd love to be on an adrenaline-pumping emerald collectin' spree with Eggman being a determined yet easy obstacle." He smirked over at the man who was trying hard to not respond.

However, Sonic thought about what he just said and raced to mend his words. "I-I mean, not like this situation is the worst thing in the world!" He started to plead. "Don't loop me, please! We don't need two mentally unstable hedgehogs in this room!"

Metal glanced over at Amy. "I think you mean thr-"

"Finish that statement, and you'll get a taste of my hammer!"

"I cannot taste, and I rest my case."

"Maybe we should just watch the episode before we give the thing anymore ideas…" Tails suggested, his namesakes twitching nervously. His blue eyes shifted up to the TV and read the title aloud. "'Blue with Envy'…wait, isn't the correct phrase green with envy?"

"It is. Usually." Knuckles cracked an unnerving grin that Sonic didn't like at all. "But it looks like to me that in this episode, something blue will get a little jealous of something. Or someone."

Sonic produced a strangled sound in his throat.

Amy was on the other end of the spectrum. "Wait! Does that mean it'll become official in this one? Like, it'll be obvious that the other Sonic is head over heels with my twin!" She squealed; Sonic sunk lower in his seat, and Knuckles knew that he was enjoy this episode for sure.

Tails wasn't going to jump to that conclusion yet, if only to keep the pinkette's squeals from shattering eardrums. "Not necessarily! There's many things to be jealous about! Like…somewhat could make chilidogs better than him…?"

Sonic pushed away his torment at the moment, Tails' scenario making him scoff. "Not possible! And if it did happen – it wouldn't though – I'd be more angry than jealous! Nobody makes those mouth-watering, taste bud sizzling, delicious masterpieces better than I do!"

Metal hummed. "And I will never be able to taste one."

"Oh, you poor soul."

"Are we done talking about chilidogs now?!" Amy asked, doing a little dance in her seat. Her thumb was itching to start the show. "Can I play it?"

Sonic held up a finger. "Actually-"

"I'm doing it!"

The scene began with the group of heroes sitting at a table, eating burgers.

Amy instantly regretted her hasty decision.

"I don't care what anyone says." Sonic started, holding his food up. "Meh burgers are the best burgers!"

Sonic didn't know what to think. Either his double had a gotten a really hard hit on his head lately, or his taste buds seriously needed to be checked. "Is Meh Burger the only place that sells burgers?"

"It has to be!" Amy couldn't believe that the twin of her love interest had such poor taste! "Because there's no other reason why they keep going there!"

"Perhaps it is some strange adaptation of Stockholm syndrome." Metal suggested. "They have been trapped by Meh Burger because it is the only restaurant in the village, and their expectations plummeted until they began to like it."

"Or…maybe Meh Burger is better than what we think it is?"

Everyone gave Tails a disbelieving look.

"What? I'm just trying to bring logic into this."

He took a bite out of the burger, humming at the taste. "Mmm! It's like Mardi Gras in my mouth!" He blinked, lowering his meal. "Only no one in my mouth is handing out beads…"

Knuckles had been expecting that out of his double, not Sonic's. "Or maybe it's an addictive drug." And that could be why brain cells ended up missing in that dimension.

Barely a second after Sonic uttered those words, a green blur blew past them, the generated wind whipping his and Amy's quills.

Sonic furrowed his brow because that was either Shadow, who had for some reason rolled around in green dye, or someone who needed to be raced immediately. "Uh…so any guesses to who this guy is?"

Knuckles snorted. "Obviously the guy who's going to steal your girl."

"Does anyone other than Knuckles want to answer?"

Amy was too giddy to compose coherent sentences. Tails pursed his lips in thought, mentally going over everyone they knew. "I mean, Vector and Jet are the only green people we know, and Vector isn't known for being fast…"

Amy's smile instantly fell. "Oh no, Jet's going to be in this one?" And was her twin seriously going to fall for Jet?! The other Amy needed glasses, and psychological help, pronto.

"That irritating rat with wings?" Shadow had only interacted with the hawk and his posse a handful of times, but that was more than enough to fuel his hatred. "Because things were going so smoothly before."

Eggman didn't really have an opinion, since every single on of Sonic's acquaintances were aggravating pebbles in his shoes that he never seemed to get rid of. However, he would very much appreciate it if this dilapidated living room didn't get too crowded. It was loud enough as is. "Well, that hawk hasn't shown up in here-"

"Yet!" Amy interrupted him, knowing that anything could happen.

Sonic jumped into the conversation. "C'mon guys! Jet isn't that…"

Knuckles smirked over at him. "See there? Can't even finish that thought."

"I can! He can be just a handful, that's all! Everyone here has been a handful at least once!"

"Except me!"

"Except Tails!"

The blur circled a couple more villagers peacefully walking before skidding to a stop. It was a green anthro with vibrant clothing and white shades.

"Anyone else going blind?" Sonic asked.

"Oh definitely." Amy was squinting at this point. "But I'm really glad that it isn't actually Jet! Just some guy who thinks he's cooler than he actually is! Where did he even get those clothes?!"

He lifted the shades and winked at the on watchers, gaining the villagers' attention. The stranger then pulled out a showy skateboard and threw it to the ground.

"He's not Jet, but he's close enough." Knuckles grunted. "He's got the color down, the attitude, and the board that makes him think he's all that and a bag of chips."

"Half empty or full?" Metal questioned, because he'd experienced how disappointing a half empty bag could be.

"Full."

"What's he gonna do with that skateboard?" an old monkey asked.

The ox in front of him answered in awe, "I think he's gonna…ride it!"

The newcomer finger gunned at the group of villagers, and they 'ooo'ed in interest.

"They…are easily entertained, huh?"

"Don't pretend you don't gather a crowd every time you step in the city, Faker."

"I do more than just finger-gun on a skateboard and you know it!"

Sonic wasn't too enthused about the new guy. "What? He's riding a skateboard. How is that impressive?"

Tails could agree. They've seen the heroes do crazier stuff that that! "Well, looks like the other Sonic gets jealous of the new guy gaining all of the attention! Not uh…anything else!"

Relief filled Sonic's veins. "Yeah, that makes a lot more sense!"

"The episode just started," Knuckles and Amy reminded him at once, and Sonic thought that those two were enjoying this way too much.

The green stranger dropped his shades back over his eyes and bolted forward on his board. He circled the gathering crowd before hopping onto the Meh Burger's hardwood floors, posing in front of two citizens eating.

Knuckles turned around and grinned. "He's got street-wise style!"

"Street-wise, as in never getting hit at night because of how bright he is," Knuckles uttered, not surprised that twin was entranced by something new and shiny.

"He's jumping six inches off the ground." Sonic deadpanned before sputtering when the newcomer rode across their table, spilling the blue speedster's drink on himself.

Shadow scoffed. "He's starting to grow on me."

"He's not half bad," Eggman agreed.

"You all may have been harsh in your judgements of him," Metal said as well, making Sonic's eyes roll.

The skateboarder landed on the ground and skidded to a stop. He lifted his shades and finger gunned at the hero group. "Radical speed!" He smugly blew his finger and crossed his arms, smirking.

"Nevermind," the same trio from before muttered.

"Radical speed?" Knuckles groaned. They needed to hurry and get to the jealousy part so the echidna could be entertained. "Please don't let this turn into another 'soar like an eagle' situation."

"It's totally gonna be his catchphrase." In a way, Sonic was insulted. Of all the words to describe speed, the guy had to choose radical. Speed deserved better than that.

The villagers cheered, and Sonic groaned. "Oh, for the love of-"

"Wow!" Tails gushed, eyes on the new guy. "Those were some sweet moves!"

"He…just rode on a skateboard." Tails slowly blinked, wondering why his twin was so amazed. He'd invented hovercrafts, for crying out loud! "He didn't do any tricks!"

Sonic nodded with a huff. "I looked cooler sliding on a piece of metal from a plane!"

Tails chuckled at him. "I don't think G.U.N. would agree with that."

"Their opinion doesn't matter."

The other rode a little closer. "Thanks, bro!"

Tails perked up. "You hear that? He called me 'bro!'"

Tails didn't know what to say to that.

Knuckles did. "You know, I figured that anyone would be embarrassed to be acknowledged by the walking neon sign. Apparently, that isn't the case."

"Yeah, I heard," Sonic drawled blandly. "He's quite a wordsmith."

"It's Swifty." The stranger introduced himself, posing on his skateboard. "Swifty the Shrew!"

"Take away the skateboard and have him give a thumb's up, that introduction would look and sound really familiar, don't you think?" Knuckles jeered, giving Sonic a side glance.

Sonic puffed his cheeks. "And? I'm way cooler than him! At least I don't try to make people go blind in the process!"

"But you do try your damnedest to make everyone go deaf," Shadow retorted.

"I'm not that loud."

"The fact that you're now whispering proves my point."

Amy wasn't as impressed as the rest.

Amy slumped. "This seriously is about Sonic just being mad he isn't in the spotlight anymore, and not about this becoming a drama in which he goes to prove his love for Amy by fighting Swifty for her affections?"

"Nailed it on head, Ames!" Sonic smiled, his worry melting away.

Amy pouted.

"I don't see what the fuss is about. He's just a shrew in gaudy clothes," she said with a flick of her wrist, unintentionally tossing her burger to the side.

However, it didn't get a chance to hit the ground. Swifty had called, "I got it!" and rushed over, catching the burger safely in his hand. He smiled as he held it up to a surprised Amy.

The pinkette quietly gasped, returning the smile. "You…caught my burger!"

Sonic's worry slammed back into him, full-force. "Oh no."

Amy perked back up – not because her twin was potentially falling for not-Jet. Ew – because her drama fantasy was possible again! "Yes! Now show how jealous the other Sonic is. Go on!"

"Radical…" Swifty began, looking deep in her eyes. "…speed."

"I'm going to throw up," Sonic wheezed.

Swifty winked at her before showily gesturing to the burger. He then raised it to Amy's mouth, and she took a bite. After grabbing the burger herself, she repeated with a mouth full, "Radical speed!"

Sonic began to heave.

Knuckles wished that he was recording all of this. "Are you that sickened by someone else trying to seduce Amy?"

"No. I'm just seeing him as Jet, and my stomach's not agreeing with any of it."

Amy couldn't blame him. The only reason she's getting through this was because she was focusing more on the immediate future.

"Give me a break." Sonic stood up, grabbing his burger. "I can feed people sandwiches, watch!"

He abruptly shoved it into Knuckles' mouth, and the echidna quickly spat it out, coughing. "Hey, lay off, man!"

Amy swooned in her seat. "Ah…he's totally jealous! Young love is so amazing!"

Sonic waved his hands. "Wait, it hasn't exactly been proven yet! It could just be because he wants to show that anyone could be force-fed! It's literal, no need for inferences here!"

"You are reaching, copy."

Knuckles snorted. "If an emotionless robot thinks that love is in the air, Sonic, love is in the air." He shrugged. "Just accept it."

Amy tapped her chin, thoughts running through her head. "So Sonic, if I went on a date with Jet-"

"Are you hearin' what you're saying, Ames? You'd willingly go on a date with Jet? Just to get with me?"

"…Yeah, I don't think my loves goes that far."

Before Sonic could respond, the walrus lady was calling over to them. "Help! Help!" She pointed to a toddler on top of a building, dangerously close to falling off. "My baby!"

Tails' eyes were wide. "Somebody needs to help that baby!"

A subtle frown marred Tails' muzzle. "You…You can fly!"

"What I've gathered from going through this torture so many times-"

"You have no idea what torture is, doctor."

Eggman went on like Shadow hadn't spoken even though the rodent was technically right. "-is that if the episode is about one or two people, the rest of the characters become completely incompetent." Except for his double, whose actions were questionable all the time, barring a few instances.

Swifty smirked. "Say no more, compadre bromigo!"

Sonic knew that he had pretty uh…out-there nicknames for people, but this was just ridiculous. "Okay, if I ever get that bad, duct tape me and remind me of this episode. I'd completely understand and change my ways."

He jumped onto his skateboard, glancing over his shoulder. "Time for some…"

Sticks, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy finished his statement with smiles. "Radical speed!"

Sonic audibly scoffed.

Amy sighed. "Like, I'm all for the jealously plot here, but couldn't Swifty be…better? Just a little bit?"

Knuckles didn't mind as much. "It's working. That's all that matters, right Sonic?"

"The only thing that matters is me potentially sinking that rock of yours to the bottom of the ocean."

"I'd like to see you try."

"No you won't."

Swifty darted on his board toward the walrus baby while the heroes – sans Sonic – cheered him on. Instead, Sonic walked away from the table. "Yeah? Well, I'm saving the day too!"

The azure hero turned back like Swifty did, trying for a catchphrase. "Time for some rescuing…" He crossed his arms. "…Baby…" Sonic scratched his chin. "…action…heroness?"

Sonic held his hand in his hands, feeling the secondhand embarrassment. "You can't force it! Catchphrases just come naturally!"

"Well…" Tails managed a smile. "At least he's trying?"

"He's the one who needs the duct tape…" Knuckles muttered.

His friends were unimpressed.

Sonic sighed. "I'll figure out a catchphrase later." He ran after Swifty as the shrew pulled out lit sparklers, a pair in each hand. The villagers cheered from the sidelines, and Swifty palmed a small rocket out of nowhere. He lit the rocket with the sparklers and let it go. Sonic gasped when sparks flew near his face. "Ow! My retinas!"

"Where did he get those things from?!" Sonic asked, now feeling sympathetic towards his double. He'd had his fair share of bright lights in this house alone.

"The same place I keep my hammer, maybe?" Amy suggested.

Tails rose a brow at her. "Where is that, Amy?"

The pinkette shrugged.

Up head, there was a blue ox standing in front of a cart holding a bucket of glue. "Glue! Get your fresh glue here!"

Swifty rode by, knocking the bucket out of the ox's hand, glue splattering all over the ground. Sonic ran right into the mess, his feet getting stuck.

Eggman needed to know where he could get that kind of glue from. He could have built Eggmanland twenty times over if he had it in his possession.

The shrew kept going without looking back. He came across a crane with a net attached to a hook. He spun the crane around, and the net flew over and covered the still stuck Sonic, making the hedgehog scowl as he struggled.

"It is really that simple to trap him?" Metal commented.

Sonic was just going to disregard how laughably easy his twin got caught because people had bad days all the time. Some… were just worse than others. "Yeah, but is no one gonna bring up the fact that he basically targeted a hero?"

The walrus baby fell from the roof, and Swifty was there to catch him mid-air. The shrew drank a can of soda, and villagers took pictures as he fell. He landed safely on his skateboard, and he handed the baby over to his mother.

Knuckles looked over at Sonic. "Does that answer your question?"

The hedgehog tapped his foot, raising a fist. "All my twin has to do is beat that guy's butt in a race! Show him who's the top dog!"

"And to win my double's heart!"

"You just ruined the moment, Ames."

"No I didn't!" Amy gazed at Sonic, who didn't like the glint in her eyes. "Don't you ever imagine what it would be like to be together, Sonic?"

"I do, and it terrifies me."

"Let me love you!"

"You can! Just…from a distance. Your hugs hurt."

Swifty gave her a thumbs up before facing the crowd. "Remember, when you need a hero with style, give me a call!" He spun around in place. "I'm Swifty the Shrew! Catch you around dudes…and lady dudes!"

He rode away while Amy and Sticks stared after him, infatuated.

"Sticks too?" Tails was completely confused at this point. "What is happening?"

"Insanity," Shadow replied.

"I'd love to be his lady dude! Oh!" Amy sighed and fainted into Sticks' arms.

The badger pleasantly sighed. "Me, too… Oh!" She fainted, and Tails ran up to her to catch both of the girls.

His strain was obvious. "Fainting party!" The fox only lasted a couple of seconds before collapsing to the ground.

Tails felt bad and also thought about working out a bit in the future. His arms were kinda noodle-ly.

There was a scene change, and now the heroes were in Tails' house by his workshop.

Sonic was sitting on a couch, using a scraper to try to get the glue off his shoes. "Lousy Swifty and his lousy in your face street-wise style…" the speedster grumbled as he worked. "Lousy hip urban lingo…"

Sonic snorted. "He's starting to sound as old as Egghead there."

Eggman brooded, believing that duct tape would be a perfect gift right now. Along with some robots. And freedom. Freedom would be nice.

Amy and Sticks were sitting on a sofa opposite of him. The pinkette was smiling. "And did you see the way he pulled down his sunglasses and winked?" Her smile widened. "Oh, he's perfect!"

"I know!" Sticks gestured to herself before jumping up in excitement. "If he ever visited me, I'd disable all my booby-traps!"

If Knuckles had been drinking something, it would've been all over the floor. "Her what?!"

Amy covered her mouth in shock. "Oh my gosh!"

Sonic was gaping. "Wow…she actually…wow."

Shadow rolled his eyes at the immaturity in the room. "She didn't mean it that way, and you know it."

"You don't know that." Eggman wanted out of this house even more now. "She's clearly not as civilized. She probably doesn't know any better."

"Did I miss something?" Metal glanced around. "I do not see what the issue is here. She is simply speaking about traps."

"Yeah…" Tails was lost. "I don't understand eith-"

"Then we don't have to talk about it!" Sonic cut him off with a twitchy smile. "Let's keep on rollin'!"

Tails didn't agree with that. "Wait! I've been left out of the loop a couple times! You skip over stuff, but I want to know this time!"

"I don't think-"

Shadow interrupted Sonic, not understanding the hesitation. "Just tell him already. He's old enough. What is he? Thirteen?"

"He's eight!"

"…My point still stands."

"No it doesn't!" Sonic faced an expectant Tails. "Okay, buddy, I'll uh…tell ya when we all get outta here because it might take a while and we wanna escape as soon as we can. Deal?"

"Deal!"

Amy shook her head. "You never disable your booby-traps!"

Sticks did a little dance, squealing, "I know!"

Shadow changed his mind. They knew exactly what they were saying.

Sonic's anger was palpable. "Ugh…"

Getting over her shock, Amy managed an excited smile. "Oh man, could it be anymore obvious? I just want to see them go on a date already!"

"I'm pretty sure it's coming." Knuckles snickered as he rotated his shoulders a bit. Or at least, he hoped it was. Teasing Sonic about this was one of the few enjoyments he got from watching the show.

Later, Sonic was approaching Tails' workshop. He opened the door and froze at the sight of Swifty watching the fox work on his plane.

Swifty was awed as Tails settled in the cockpit, him sitting in the seat behind. "This is one bodacious radical flying machine, dude-a-rino bro-guy!"

"It seems to be impossible for him to utter a single sentence that doesn't make me want to tear out his tongue."

"Metal! Don't-"

"Do not remind me about the feeling of pain, copy, because I know. I am willing to make an exception."

Sonic had his hands on his hips, disgust and confusion clear as day. "'Dude-a-rino bro-guy'?"

"See? He agrees."

"I don't think he wants to tear out his tongue, Mets."

The fox and shrew then chorused, "Totally radical engineering!" before performing a lengthy handshake.

"Want to be best friends with Tails?" Knuckles began, "Just call him 'bro', and you're set. Decent personality not necessary."

"Hey!" Sonic gained their attention, arms crossed. "That's my best friend you're bonding with, punk!"

"Yeah!" Sonic agreed. He then smiled over at the kit. "I mean, it's not like I'm against you makin' other friends, but you gotta use common sense. And you have a lot of that!"

Tails giggled. "Got that right! A simple 'bro' won't sway me that easily!"

Swifty held his hands up innocently. "Whoa! Chill-ax, blue man! What's the big dealio?" He hopped down from the plane.

Sonic huffed. "The big dealio is I'm sick of you! I'm sick of your gelled-back fur, and I'm sick of your hip urban lingo with words like…'Dealio'!"

Sonic clapped. "You tell him, other me!"

Amy pursed her lips. "It makes me wonder why he's using those words so much though! Is Swifty just trying to be cool so others will like him? He is actually a lonely person looking for a friend?"

"Ames, no, stop it. You're not your twin. You're not a psychologist."

A curious Amy, Knuckles, and Sticks entered the workshop as Swifty began to approach the blue hedgehog. "Let's not go agro, bro-zilla! Can't help if I'm more handsome, stylin', and…" He sprinted up to Sonic, grinning. "Totally faster than you."

Sonic, Tails, and Amy all gasped simultaneously.

"Nevermind what I said before! He's trying to make enemies, not friends!"

"Yeah, those are fighting words!"

Sonic leaned forward in his seat. "No, those are racing words! They're totally gonna settle this in a sprint to the finish!" And if his twin lost, Sonic was going to be the definition of a disappointed parent.

Sonic glared, voice lowering. "You're not faster than me."

Swifty's grin didn't waver. "Bro, you got speed, but not-" He blurred as he circled a frowning Sonic, stopping with a hand on his hip. "-radical speed!"

"Stop saying that!" Sonic yelled in frustration as he walked away. "It's not even a thing!"

"Radical speed is totally a thing," Swifty taunted.

By this point, Eggman had gained a strong opinion about this shrew. "He's way worse than you rodent, and that's saying a lot."

Sonic nodded, disregarding the jab. "If both heroes and villains don't like you, there's a big problem."

Sonic turned around after taking a few steps, a smirk replacing his frown. "Oh, a race around the village will prove that it isn't!"

Sonic inwardly cheered, eager to see how his double blew the other out of the water.

Swifty didn't hesitate. "Sounds dope! Winner gets bragging rights!"

Sonic nodded, completely confident. "Agreed."

The shrew bounded up to him, pointing a finger. "And the loser…leaves town!"

"Wait, what?" Amy really didn't expect that. "That's a bit harsh, isn't it? He's going to try to make Sonic just up and leave?"

Knuckles hummed at that, feeling like something was off here. Well, someone was missing from this episode. "Eggman hadn't shown up in this one yet, and he'd been in every single episode. Maybe he's behind this?" That was the only thing he could think of.

Tails frowned up at that. "Are you saying that he might be working for Eggman or something?"

Sonic facepalmed. "Don't tell me that he's another intern! Didn't the other Eggface learn from Dave?"

"Apparently not." Eggman muttered. "And I have to say, this is a major downgrade." He might've tolerated Dave for a couple of hours, but Eggman would've tossed Swifty right back out on the street the moment he met him.

Sonic blinked at him in surprise. "Uh, wait, what?"

Swifty mockingly shrugged. "If you don't think you got the skills…"

"Oh, I've got the skills alright!" Sonic defended himself. "I'm so full of skills that skills are leaking out of my ears!" He thought about the words he just said. "I mean, not literally, because that would be disgusting."

Knuckles just shook his head. "I feel like he's making up for my double not talking, and I'm going to need him to cut that out. He won't remain second on my character list for long if he keeps that up."

Sonic glanced at his observing friends before focusing on Swifty once more. "See you at the race!" he shouted, running out of the workshop.

The shrew strolled back over to Tails, throwing an arm over the shorter one's shoulders. "Man, can you believe that guy? What a lameoid!"

Tails frowned, shaking off the arm. "That lameoid is my best friend!" He then looked a little guilty. "That didn't come out right…"

"Nah, he said it perfectly."

"Knux, it's kinda ironic that the hermit who looks over a rock by himself in the middle of a deserted island is calling the speed demon who races around and saves the day on multiple occasions from a determine robo-scientist lame."

"You failed to mention that I'm on a floating island protecting the single item that controls the Chaos emeralds which can manipulate time and space."

"Details, schmetails."

"Swifty, you're the lameoid." Amy spoke up. "You're one thousand times the lameoid that Sonic is!"

"You tell him, sister!" Amy exclaimed. "No one not in our group of friends can wrongly insult Sonic and get away with it!" She didn't care about the romance any more – okay, maybe a little bit – she just wished that a certain hammer made its appearance to knock some sense into that shrew.

The insult went over the shrew's head. "But look at my flashy threads and fly shades!"

Knuckles smiled. "Yeah! Look at his flashy threads and fly shades!"

It's okay. It's okay, Knuckles thought to himself, taking deep breaths.

"Knuckles!" Amy chastised before regarding Swifty, gesturing to the door, "Swifty, get out!"

The shrew wasn't affected, simply pulling out his skateboard. "So long, losers!" He stood on it and mock-saluted. "Swifty out!" He exited through the door Tails was holding open for him, the kit closing it a second after Swifty was gone.

"About time!" Amy huffed.

"This just proves that he's working for Eggman or something similar…" Tails concluded, playing with his namesakes. "He doesn't care about making friends at all."

Sonic wasn't worried. "Well, whatever plan they have is gonna be blown to smithereens! No one has beaten a Sonic!"

Shadow scoffed.

"We've tied before, Shads, but you've never beaten me!"

"Sure, Faker."

"Never!"

There was a scene change, and now everyone was in the center of the village. Sonic, Swifty, and Mayor Fink were standing at the starting line, most of the villagers were on the sidelines cheering Swifty on, and the small hero group were awkwardly cheering for Sonic.

Sonic frowned. "Well, their loyalties aren't the strongest." They were cheering for a guy they hadn't known for a day, over their hero? That wasn't backwards at all.

Eggman rolled his eyes. "Don't act like this is new to you, cactus. You've had the population turn on you before." Being mistaken for a law breaking striped hedgehog wasn't exactly forgettable.

"It was for a good reason!"

Shadow glanced at the azure hedgehog. He was the one Sonic was mistaken for, and he still believed that the general public was stupid. "I don't think being blind is a 'good' reason, Faker."

"Well, compared to what we're seeing in the show, it is!"

Fink began to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen, prepare for the race of a lifetime! The winner will have the right to brag whenever and where he wants! The loser will, um…let's see now…" He flipped through the book he was holding. "…uh, be banished from the village forever!"

Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Sticks all stared in shock.

"Weren't…Weren't they there in the workshop when Swifty said it before?" Knuckles was more than a little confused. "Why are they all surprised?"

"They may have believed that the mayor would not agree with such terms," Metal replied. "Considering how the villagers are almost constantly in 'danger' and how dependent they are on my copy's copy and his friends."

Eggman heard the quotations in Metal's voice, and he couldn't blame him. A town with a good enough police force alone would be able to somewhat protect themselves from the other Eggman.

The Mayor glanced between the competitors before walking over to the sidelines. "That seems a little harsh, but uh, rules are rules!"

"What kind of rules are those, though?!" Tails was convinced that they made them up on the spot, for whatever reason.

Sonic wasn't going to get worked up. "Don't worry about it, lil bro! None of it matters because Swifty definitely isn't gonna win."

"Yeah!" Amy and Tails cheered.

Knuckles just shook his head. "Famous last words…" He didn't know how this was going to wrong, but it just was. They weren't at the end of the episode yet.

Swifty showed off his skateboard, and the villagers cheered. He gave them a cheery thumbs up.

Out of the way, Fink held up a starting gun. "Racers, on your marks, get set-" He glanced at his open book again. "-go!"

The two racers sped off, Sonic on his feet and Swifty darting on his board. It didn't take long for Sonic to overpower the other in the village – Sonic smirked because that was obvious – however, Sonic blinked and suddenly Swifty was ahead of him, taunting with a peace sign.

The blue hero gaped. "What the what?"

Tails was in the same condition. "He was just behind Sonic! How in the world did he do that?"

"It's like he…" Amy gasped, looking over at Shadow. "It's like he teleported!"

Shadow's brow furrowed. That didn't make any sense. They hadn't seen a hint of a Chaos emerald anywhere in the show, and he'd honestly would be pissed if some random would be the first to perform it. "It's probably not Chaos Control. It's some other trick."

"Either way, he's cheating!" Sonic crossed his arms with a huff. "What's the point of racing if it's not going to be fun and sportsmanlike?"

"If he knew that he was going to lose without doing so," Eggman uttered, the possibility of Swifty working for his double growing.

Sonic grumbled to himself, hoping that the other Sonic won anyway just to rub it in the other's face.

Sonic gaped. "How the…?" He didn't finish his question, instead gritting his teeth and speeding past Swifty once more.

Back at the starting line, Sticks was worried. "What if Sonic doesn't win?"

"He'll win!" Tails said surely. "Nobody's faster than Sonic!"

"Tell it like it is, Tails!" Sonic praised.

Sonic had regained first place, boosting far ahead of his opponent. He glanced back over his shoulder as he turned a corner between buildings, but like last time, Swifty was ahead of him when he faced forward again.

Metal tilted his head. "If it is not Chaos Control, then the shrew must have numerous siblings."

Knuckles winced. "Please no. One of him was bad enough."

"Radical speed!" Swifty lifted his shades and finger-gunned at the azure speedster.

"Radical shut your pie hole!" Sonic gritted out as he shot ahead again, not wanting to lose this race.

"I would've said some other choice words."

"We all know you would, Shads."

It wasn't long before the finish line was in sight, and Sonic crossed it. He laughed, cheering. Calming down some, Sonic stated, "Okay, I won!"

He looked over to his friends, who all had sad expressions on their faces.

"They can't honestly believe that Swifty won fair and square, right?!" Amy wouldn't have believed it even if she'd been the one beating Sonic.

Tails wrung his fingers together. "It really doesn't matter what his friends think though…"

Sonic's victory smile hadn't waned. "This is the part where everyone cheers!"

There was cheering alright, but not from his friends. The villagers were celebrating Swifty's win, tossing him up and down in the air. Sonic's chin was scraping the ground when the shrew was deposited in front of the Mayor, a smoothie in his hand.

Fink put a lei around Swifty's neck as he sipped his drink. "Radical smoothie!"

"He doesn't deserve that smoothie, that cheating little…"

Knuckles disregarded Sonic's angry grumbles. "Anyone else wanting to pour that smoothie on his head?"

Multiple hands shot up.

"He won?!" Sonic shouted in disbelief. "With time to get a smoothie?" He whirled around to ask the rest of his group, "But…how? I passed him! I saw it!" Sonic crossed his arms, eyes narrowing. "Something smells fishy about this race."

Down at Sonic's feet, there was a fish in a tuxedo sitting in a bowl. "I told you, I have irritable bowl syndrome!"

Despite everything, Sonic still managed to laugh. "Whoa, wait! Isn't that the fish from uh…that episode where Sticks had that fancy party?"

"We've seen him before?" Amy asked, not placing the fish or the joke. "I haven't!"

Knuckles sharply glimpsed over at Shadow. "That's probably because we were all too busy recovering from Shadow's air horn attack."

"Oh yeah!" Amy remembered the pain and the temporary deafness. She glared at the striped hedgehog, who seemed to be pointedly ignoring what they were talking about. "We have to get you back for that!"

"If you try, then I will administer a heavy anesthetic with my fists."

Swifty zipped over to Sonic, clearing his throat. "Ahem! I think it's time for someone to be all banished, yo!"

The hedgehog scowled at him while Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Sticks looked on sadly.

Tails was baffled. "They're seriously not going to do anything?"

"Like I said before," Eggman started. "Completely incompetent."

The Mayor was reading from his book again. "Sonic the Hedgehog, in accordance with town bylaw 77415, subsection B, paragraph nine…" He held up his right hand. "I hearby declare you uh, banished!"

Suddenly, there was a gavel in his hand, and a smiling Dave sidled up to Fink, holding a sound block. Fink pounded it, and the intern slid away.

"Of course he would be here!" Amy complained. "Dave probably has something to do with Swifty winning!"

The group of heroes on the sidelines watched silently as Sonic was led away by two police officers.

Tails wasn't happy about any of this. "I would've gone with him!"

"I would've torn that ridiculous book in half," Knuckles said.

"I would've went after those cops!"

"Ames, you can't really attack-"

"Look at them! They wouldn't – couldn't – have done anything!"

"…True, but still."

The cops eventually guided Sonic to a red dotted line outside of the village. Sonic gloomily walked over the line as they stood guard.

Sonic then grinned a bit too widely at the officers before sticking his foot out over the line.

"No," one of them – a beaver – said unyieldingly.

"So how much all of you want to bet that the villagers are going to need Sonic back in the village real soon?"

Metal shook his head. "There is no reason to bet, guardian. It is nearly certain that the villagers are being idiots and will require help in some fashion."

Sonic shifted his weight and attempted with his other foot.

"No."

Sonic slumped and walk off…before coming right back and sticking his foot out again.

"No."

The blue hedgehog actually gave up this time, huffing as he folded his arms across his chest.

"I would've ran past them!" Sonic waved his hands in the air. "I respect cops and all-" Most of the time. "-but being banished over a race? Seriously?!"

Back at the village, Swifty was signing pictures as the rest of the heroes were still dealing with Sonic's loss.

Amy voice was soft. "I can't accept that Sonic is gone!"

"Then don't!" Amy loudly advised. "Go get him!"

"But Sonic is gone!" There was boisterous laughter, and they all turned to see Eggman floating over in his hovercraft.

Eggman sighed. "And there he is. It's about time." He almost got his hopes up.

Amy was going to comment on that fact that yeah, Swifty was definitely working with Eggman, but what the doctor rode in on caught her attention. "Didn't his hovercraft just burn up in a pit of lava last episode? How many of those does he have?"

"We don't know the actual time frame between each episode," Tails provided. "And plus, building stuff is kinda his thing…"

The man released a few more malicious chuckles. "You all fell victim of the charms of my greatest robot yet!"

Eggman didn't know how to feel about that bit of information. His double had willingly created a robot so obnoxious that it put the cactus himself to shame, and- "Either he hasn't built Metal yet, or he's absolutely a toaster."

Sonic began to laugh, and Knuckles snorted. "I know we started it as a joke, but at this point, I fully expect Metal to be making toast when he finally shows up."

Metal's eyes flashed. "Honestly, I do not care how I show up in this show anymore. I simply want to see myself and prove that my being here wasn't completely pointless."

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Shadow heavily sighed, stifling a yawn."

Sonic reined himself back in. "Oh c'mon, Mets! Even if you don't show up, you've grown! You're not a blood-thirsty bot anymore, and you're our friend!"

"Friendship as not been decided yet."

Tails chuckled when Sonic rolled his eyes. "Just give him time! He'll come around," the kit advised before refocusing on the show. "So, Metal was kinda right earlier! Swifty didn't have siblings, but since he's a robot, he could have multiple copies!"

Amy's expression twisted up in disgust. "Oh my gosh! That means that the other Amy almost fell for a robot? Maybe she and the other Sonic aren't actually dating, because she wouldn't be as love-starved if they were!"

Sonic secretly crossed his fingers.

"A robot?" Amy dubiously asked.

"Well, more like an army of robots!" Eggman pressed a button in his Eggmobile, and multiple clones of Swifty repeating 'Radical speed!' appeared next to the original.

They all resisted the urge to cover their ears.

Tails gasped. "Sonic didn't lose the race! There were just multiple Swifties all along the track! I call shenanigans!"

"It's too late for shenanigans!" Eggman opposed. "Now, without your precious hedgehog hero to stop me, I can fulfill my lifelong evil dream!"

"I still don't get why that Eggman seems to forget that Sonic isn't the only one with the abilities to curb stomp him," Knuckles pointed out.

"Because others never do." Shadow grunted.

"…Right."

Eggman held up both of his arms, lightning flashing and thunder booming in the distance. "Building my own theme park!"

Tails opened and closed his mouth before getting out, "In…that village though? Don't get me wrong, it uh…has its quirks, but a theme park? Really?"

"At least have it in outer space or something!" Sonic suggested because that whole adventure was a hoot and a half.

Eggman couldn't even blame his double. His sights were small, so his schemes were be on the smaller scale as well. "Everyone has to start somewhere." Even doctors with supposedly high IQ who shouldn't just target a village with a population of twenty.

The heroes just blinked at him.

Amy cradled her chin. "That doesn't sound very evil…"

"It might even create some new jobs," Knuckles uttered.

"Huh." Knuckles was pleasantly surprised. "That's probably the smartest thing I've heard him say."

"Silence!" Eggman yelled. "In my theme park empire, your entire village will be forced to wait in long lines, buy overpriced merch, and eat week-old turkey legs covered in…" He dramatically paused. "…preservatives!"

The villagers screamed in horror.

Eggman held his head in his hands. Yes, everyone needed to start somewhere, but his twin was starting off in the complete wrong way.

"Does he not realize that people can just move away?" Amy asked, genuinely confused.

Sonic barely managed to speak over his chuckles. "Or, y'know, that my twin won't let a stupid red dotted line keep me from letting him sell evil turkey?" He wiped away an imaginary tear. "Eggy, I need you to pull stunts like this so I can have a good laugh!"

"Only in your dreams, pincushion."

Eggman put up a finger. "And remember, it all started with a shrew!" He smiled as he placed a hat of himself on his head. Then, Swifty and all of his clones put up a statue of Eggman and Swifty holding hands, the human's unoccupied hand waving.

People started to run away screaming as Swifty clones burst into houses and tossed the furniture out of them.

Tails looked on in anger. "We need Sonic!"

"No, you don't," Knuckles huffed.

Outside the village, Sonic subtly slid his foot near the dotted line. The two officers shook their heads at him.

"What's their plan there?" Tails questioned, curious. "Are the cops just going to stand there forever? Take shifts? Does the village even have enough officers to do that?"

"It does not matter," Metal answered. "For there are two minutes left until the episode ends. I'm sure the officers will become irrelevant in approximately thirty seconds."

With the heroes once more, they anxiously watched as the Swifties began to build the theme park.

Amy frowned, harshly addressing the Mayor. "Get Sonic back!"

"Well, it's not that simple!" Fink retorted. "Uh, he's been banished!"

"Then unbanish him!" Tails exclaimed.

Amy guessed this was better than just standing around. "Smashing the robots would've been best, but yelling at the mayor is good too."

Fink shook his head. "I can't just unbanish someone! Unbanishing requires an assembly of the village council!"

"But bashing him didn't?" Sonic didn't fully understand politics, but even he could tell something was wrong. "Because that's fair and just!" His sarcasm was palpable.

"Then assemble them," Amy ordered, exasperated.

Fink thought for a moment. "I suppose I could do that…" He ambled over to a group of villagers, opening his book. "I hearby call to order the unbanishing proceeding. Okay, let's see, huh, 'Hedgehog', comma, 'Sonic'. Middle name, 'The'." After flipping a couple of pages, Fink asked, "Now, where oh where is his 10-87-Q1B form?"

"Just do it already!" Amy snapped at him.

Amy grinned at that. Yelling did wonders.

Rattled, the Mayor immediately rushed, "All in favor of unbanishing Sonic so that he can save our lives, say 'Aye'!"

"Aye!" most of the members shout.

"All opposed?"

"Nay!" Dave was the only one against the idea.

"The person who activated a doomsday device and nearly wiped that dimension from existence is on the village council." Shadow didn't have the energy to question things anymore. "I'm surprised that the village hadn't imploded on itself yet."

Fink nodded. "I hearby declare Sonic unbanished!"

Outside the village, one of the cop's walkie talkie beeped on, Fink's voice coming through. "We've unbanished Sonic!"

The beaver jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "Go ahead."

Metal's approximation had been a bit off – it being closer to a minute than thirty seconds – but he still got his point across. Banishing his copy's copy was meaningless.

Sonic perked up and instantly sped off. At the village, he zoomed by Leroy the Turtle at a DJ Station, the reptile giving the hero a thumbs up.

No one asked questions, for they knew they wouldn't get any answers.

Sonic didn't waste any time in destroying each Swifty in one hit, each saying, "Unradicial," before being trashed.

"They went down in one hit? So the others were just standing around for no reason!" Knuckles wanted to punch something, but there was nothing around except for Metal and air. He didn't dare risk harming the bot and depleting the thing's mercy.

Amy was disappointed. "It would've been better if each one had taken at least two hits!"

Eggman believed that both sides of the 'fight' were lacking here. His double wasn't prepared – again – and the heroes…they were bad, but a little less bad than the doctor. Everything was just terrible.

The rest of the heroes smiled as the last Swifty's sparking head landed by them. Sonic grinned when Knuckles – and some villagers – went to pull the statue down with ropes. Everyone cheered when it toppled over.

"My theme park!" Eggman cried out in anguish, floating down to the defaced stone. "I was gonna make a killing off that merch!"

"Sure, Egghead, sure." Sonic snickered. "Because everyone was gonna buy hats and shirts with his ugly face on it."

Eggman was going to ignore that indirect taunt because they were almost at the end of the episode, and he didn't want to prolong it any longer.

In a ball, Sonic bounced off the statue and landed right into Eggman's hovercraft. He pulled on a couple levers and hopped out as the Eggmobile flew crazily upwards with Eggman yelling.

Sonic waved up at him with a smirk. "Catch you later, Eggface!"

The villagers cheered, and the speedster faced him. "I did it! I have a catchphrase! Ahem." He repeated the same phase slower with more snark. "Catch you later, Eggface!"

Sonic an exasperated hand down his face. "We're back to this?!"

"It's both adorable and concerning that he's trying so hard…" Amy muttered.

The villagers laughed, but it wasn't as enthused as before.

Sonic blinked before finger-gunning at them. "Ha! Catch ya…later…Eggface!"

The villager only mumbled, unamused.

The Mayor coughed as Sonic slumped. "Let's not kill it, son."

Knuckles shook his head. "Nah, it's already been shot, ran over, and burnt to ashes. It's dead and gone."

"Like this episode." Shadow didn't want anymore interruptions. They just needed to go. "Let's hurry up and start the next one so we can leave."

Amy nodded. "Yeah! Maybe the next episode will have some kind of couple interactions in it since this one sorta set it up!"

"I wouldn't count on it, Amy…" Tails said. They've gotten this far, and nothing really had been set in stone yet.

"Let me dream, Tails!" She weakly glared at the kit as the number thirteen appeared on the TV screen. It then melted away, showing the name of the next episode.

Knuckles deadpanned as he read it. "'Mayor Knuckles'. Great."

Shadow propped his cheek in his palm. "Well, it looks like the village is actually going to implode. I look forward to seeing that."

"And I look forward to see my twin somehow meddle in the insanity that will happen," Eggman grumpily muttered.

"At least you will see yourself," Metal uttered. "There is a slim chance that I will."

Sonic chuckled, interested to how this would go. "But we can all agree that it'll be fun to watch, right?"

"Uh…in a way, maybe?" Tails ventured.

Knuckles wasn't as enthusiastic. "I'd rather rewatch this one."

"No you wouldn't." Shadow nearly snapped at him, eye twitching.

"No I wouldn't." Knuckles didn't feel like being attacked. "Sorry about the reminder."

"Don't do it again."

"Right."

Ah, yes, Mayor Knuckles. One of my personal favs. This is going to be a ride, especially for the guardian forced to watch it all unfold!

Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome!