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

Mayor Knuckles is finally here! Enjoy!

Knuckles knew that he should be giving his double a chance, but he couldn't recall a moment where he had been more unenthused than right now. "Can we just ask it to switch out another episode for this one?" 'Mayor' and 'Knuckles' should not be put together in a sentence, especially in that other dimension.

"What, only to be given something worse?" Eggman crisply retorted. "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't."

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "First off, there's nothing worse than my twin governing a whole village -"

"Yep. You just jinxed us, Knux."

He ignored Sonic. "-and there's only one demon here! The episodes themselves are just toys to drive us mad with!" He vaguely gestured to Shadow. "And it's working!"

Shadow didn't have it in him to argue.

"Calm down, Knuckles!" Amy advised. "I know that talking about your double is a sensitive topic for you, but don't make it mad! I have a bad feeling that looping isn't the worst thing it can do…" For example, the thing could have everyone constantly tickled. She wouldn't last long at all.

Knuckles huffed but didn't reply. She was right; they were here for the thing's entertainment. At any second, it could be like oh, they don't need any heat and suddenly hypothermia.

However, his twin was illiterate for crying out loud. He had been trying to be more tolerant of his double, but come on.

"I, for one, do not mind seeing the village destroy itself."

"I wouldn't either." Shadow agreed with Metal. He had to search for small victories in this hellhole.

Tails pursed his lips. "Can't we just give him a little faith?"

Everyone gave him a level look.

He sighed, wondering if he could get through to them anytime soon. "It's a reasonable question!"

"Let's just get this over with," Eggman muttered. They were creeping closer to the finish, and his patience was already in the negatives.

The scene began at a new location, it being a mansion-esque building seemingly in the middle of the village.

Inside, Mayor Fink was sitting at his desk, stamping papers.

"It just throws us right in there, huh?" Sonic smirked over at Knuckles. "Guess we have a whole eleven minutes of your twin behind that desk, Knux!"

"I really hope we see a Sonic and Amy date so you could shut up."

Amy perked up at the reminder, and Sonic slumped. "You couldn't have kept that to yourself?"

"Nope."

"Habeas corpus…" He stamped the paper and placed it aside. "Due process…" He stamped the paper and unconsciously stamped the desk. "Oops." He glanced at another bill. "Authorization to clean desk." Stamp.

Tails' confidence in the other Knuckles doing marginally well decreased seeing this. "If the mayor himself is this flustered by the job, oh boy…"

There was a cough, and Fink looked up from his work to see a beaver with a fishing pole walking in. "Ready for the fishing trip, old bean?"

The mayor shook his head. "Oh, no no no. Too much approving to do! The town bylaws won't stamp themselves!" He grabbed another paper, "Self-Stamping Prohibition Act," and stamped it. "See? If only there was someone to cover for me…" He sighed.

"Wait…" Tails didn't understand. "But…didn't he just contradict-"

"Yep." Sonic linked his fingers behind his head, trying not to think too hard about the ins and out of government tactics…or the lack thereof. "Maybe…he doesn't want too much power or somethin'?"

"It's just getting himself a stamping machine!"

There was a pause as the open door to the office was shown.

"…What?" Amy blinked. "Is something supposed to be happening here?"

Knuckled frowned, regretting not keeping his damn mouth shut earlier. "Is it frozen?"

If it was, Shadow was going to raise hell.

Fink stood up and emphasized, "I say, if only there was someone to cover for me."

The room collectively sighed in relief because that was the last thing they needed.

The was another silence as the pair stared at the open door, nothing happening for a few more seconds.

"So if the thing isn't playing a twisted and unfair trick on us…" Amy tapped her chin, befuddled. "Then what exactly is happening?!"

Eggman didn't have a clue either, but he wasn't as passionate about getting an answer. He shrugged. "Don't question it, rodent. It's a few peaceful seconds filled with nothing. Be grateful."

He did have a point, but she still was confused.

"So we can get this story started?!" Fink yelled in exasperation.

"This is an outrage!" Knuckles suddenly marched into the room, holding out a piece of paper. "A travesty! A plookypluck!"

Knuckles exhaled harshly. Remember your happy place. "Ignoring…everything he just said, can someone tell me what happened there?"

Metal glanced at him. "Is it not obvious? Your copy had been waiting outside until the situation became dire enough for his rather obnoxious appearance."

Sonic waved the robot off. "Yeah, that's the boring – and honestly most likely – situation, but didn't you hear what the mayor said? Get this 'story' started? That's a little weird."

Gears were turning in Tails' mind. "Like he was calling this episode a story? But that doesn't make any sense, at least from his perspective…"

"Let's just call it a stupid mannerism and move on." Shadow interrupted because they were thinking way too long about this.

Fink frowned in confusion. "A plookypluck?"

"I made that last one up," Knuckles said as he approached.

"As expected," Metal uttered.

"Rule of threes, Your Majesty! Anyway, I'd like this important law passed."

Knuckles handed the document over to the beaver, who cleared his throat and read, "Henceforth, peanut butter and pickles shall never be packaged in separate containers, as they inevitably wind up in the same sandwich."

Amy's stomach twisted at the sight, the taste, the texture. "I'm gonna throw up." She bent over and dry heaved. "Sonic, don't look at me during my weakest moment!"

Sonic just wanted to be out of the splash zone, along with everyone else. "Hold it in, Ames! You can do it!" he cheered even though he felt a bit queasy himself. Pickles and peanut butter should never be found on the same plate, nevermind the same container.

"Keep your fluids inside," Metal commented. "I have already taken one shower today."

Tails was torn between not hurting the pinkette's feelings and scooting his chair to put as much distance as he could between him and her. Nothing was coming up, so he was safe at the moment.

Keeping a wheezing Amy in his periphery, the kit asked, "Isn't Knuckles illiterate though? Who wrote that?"

Knuckles thought about it. "Sticks, or…Sticks."

Fink blinked before uttering, "I can help you with this, but in exchange, I'll need something from you. Are you prepared to do your civic duty?"

"Is he really letting someone who puts peanut butter and pickles on the same sandwich be in charge of the whole village?" Knuckles was probably sure that the mayor wasn't actually going to do it, but the doubt was still there because of how this dimension was.

"This entire place is insane!" Amy sputtered out, regaining control of her angry stomach.

Shadow snorted. "Like I said, the village is going to implode."

Knuckles snickered.

Eggman rolled his eyes. "So immature."

"You said civic."

"And unpredictably idiotic."

Sonic chortled. "Yeah, I would've said childish jokes are sometimes okay, but then he just killed it."

"Yes." Fink didn't even try to entertain the other. "Citizen Knuckles, I need you to stamp these laws with the mayoral seal between now and, say, five-thirty, when the fish stop biting."

Knuckles didn't hesitate. "I'm in!"

Knuckles sighed. "I mean, he could have stepped outside and picked literally anyone else to do the job."

Tails rose a brow. "Even Dave?"

"Okay, maybe not literally."

Sometime later, the echidna was sitting behind the mayor's desk, rapidly stamping bills until a cat came in and demanded, "Who's in charge here?"

Knuckles glanced around for a moment before smiling. "I guess I am!"

Amy was slightly concerned now. "But…don't the villagers know Knuckles? They shouldn't trust him to make decisions a four-year-old couldn't make."

"Yeah." Knuckles grunted. "They shouldn't, but here we are."

The cat slammed a document on the desk.

Sticks' burrow was shown with the badger sleeping soundly inside. However, the peace didn't last for long, for a loud noise surprised her and knocked her to the ground. She angrily grumbled when she got up.

"She definitely has Shadow in her."

Shadow growled at Sonic while Knuckles scoffed. "Everyone gets angry if they're sleep is interrupted."

"I don't!"

"Really? Remember that time I poured water on you-"

"I was mad because I was choking, Knux, not because you woke me up from a cat nap."

Sticks stomped outside and saw the same cat from before using a jackhammer. "Hey! Hey!" She went over and knocked on the guy's helmet with her boomerang when her voice wasn't getting his attention. The cat noticed her and turned the jackhammer off. Sticks scowled. "What are you doing?"

"The mayor's office just approved construction of a new mall." He pulled out the stamped paper. "See?"

Sticks growled, snatching and crumpling it up.

Knuckles blinked. "Huh, maybe she didn't write that insane law for my double." And this episode got a smidge better because he didn't have to worry about Sticks and the other him both being annoying.

Amy wondered of Sticks was going to attack Knuckles when she found out what was going on. She'd done it before. "A mall would actually be a good idea! Just build it miles away from Sticks."

Back in the mansion, Knuckles was going back and forth between yelling "Next!" and stamping any document handed to him.

There was a long line at the desk, and a beaver with a red bowtie was up next.

"Ugh, he's back?" Knuckles groaned. Things have gone from bad to worse. "I thought we were done with him!"

Sonic chuckled. "Don't get your quills in a knot, Knux! He probably won't be around for too long."

"With whom do I speak about adding a new wing to the library?"

Knuckles gestured to himself. "With me'm!"

"Reason number twenty-five to get that beaver out of here," Knuckles grumbled.

Knuckles grabbed a bill from the stack on the desk and stamped it. "Approved!" He handed the paper over. "By the way, I believe the proper pronunciation is 'libary'."

Tails inwardly winced. "Anyone else feel like they just got slapped?"

A couple hands rose.

Knuckles was in the mood to slap.

The beaver left, and a wolf in a nice suit and top hat stepped up. "I'd like approval for a parade through town to celebrate my half-birthday."

"Half-birthday approved!" Knuckles took the document and stamped it.

Lady Walrus was next, handing her bill over. "I think this village should have moving sidewalks."

Knuckles was reluctant. "I don't know…"

"That is what he hesitates on?!" Knuckles felt his blood pressure rising. "Sure let's throw a village-wide parade for some random, but Chaos help us if moving sidewalks are installed."

Eggman crossed his arms. "I don't know why you're so surprised, guardian. He's attracted to all things childish and loud."

"But he approved a knew wing at the library!"

"A broken clock is right twice a day."

Knuckles huffed. "Stop talking like a damn fortune cookie."

She persisted. "Do you want to live in a world without moving sidewalks?"

"Excellent argument!" Knuckles exclaimed. "Approved!"

Sonic imagined a world with moving sidewalks – everywhere, not just in random places Eggman decided to take over – and smirked. "Y'know, I'd be down for moving sidewalks. More speed for me!"

"Maybe then you would be able to match my ability."

"Mets, you'd be a whole lot happier once you get over this denial stage."

"I do not feel emotions, and false."

Later, when the echidna was stamping randomly, Sonic strolled in.

Knuckles wished that it had been Tails so he could fix this situation, but Sonic would have to do.

"Hey, Knux." He greeted with a wave. Sonic rose a brow. "Uh, why are you in the mayor's office, stamping bills into law?"

"I'm doing my civic duty!" Knuckles deadpanned when Sonic snickered.

Sonic stifled a chuckle and received a 'really' look from Amy. "What? It's kinda funny!"

"Oh, grow up, Sonic." A second later however, the echidna broke, chuckling as well. "Civic."

Knuckles' happy place wasn't happy enough.

Sticks then entered the office, a glare set in place. "Who's in charge here?"

"Uh oh," Tails whispered because this might not end well.

"I am!" Knuckles chirped. "And I'm doing a good job!" He picked up a pencil and scribbled on a blank piece of paper. He stamped and held it up, showing an impressive drawing of himself working with the documents. "See?"

Amy gazed in awe. "That's amazing! If being a hero doesn't work out for him, he needs to be an artist!"

Tails couldn't argue. "I'd buy his art!"

Even though Knuckles didn't like this situation as a whole, even he had to admit his twin had skills. On a good day, Knuckles could maybe draw a decent circle without any help.

Sticks wasn't enthused. "You approved building a new mall…next to my burrow…" She punched the desk. "…on my land?!"

Knuckles raised a placating hand. "Sticks, Sticks, Sticks! I approve lots of things next to lots of burrows on lots of peoples' lands! I can't keep track of all of 'em!"

Shadow couldn't decide between being entertained or annoyed. It was 50-50. "I doubt that's true."

Sonic shrugged. "Heck, I'd say anything too to keep Sticks from attacking me. Wouldn't you?"

"I'd say it would be an even match," Knuckles said, giving Shadow a subtle look. "Whoever would pull the other's tooth out first would win."

Shadow's glare was filled with poison. "Didn't I tell you-"

"Sorry. It slipped."

"Your recklessness is destroying my home!" Sticks shouted in rage.

Sonic glanced over to Eggman. "I could've used that line against you a million times by now, Eggy!"

The doctor couldn't oppose the 'destroying homes' because yes, he did that on a weekly basis, but being reckless? His mustache flared. "When have I ever been reckless, cactus?"

"How about all the times the things you've tried to control turned against you?"

Eggman slumped at that low blow. He would get an evil force to listen to him someday, and they all would perish.

Knuckles wasn't affected. "Sticks, don't worry! You know someone on the inside now! Just write up a proposition, and I'll ram it through!"

Sonic barked out a laugh. "He's getting a little too good at his job! How well do you think he'd do in G.U.N., Shads?"

"He'd be institutionalized in a heartbeat."

Sticks screams out in frustration. "Politics has corrupted you! I'm bringing you down, Knuckles! You-" She trained her glare on a surprised Sonic. "-and your goons!"

"Me?" Sonic asked innocently. "What did I do?"

Amy puffed out her cheeks. Yelling at Knuckles was one thing, but blaming blue hedgehogs was another. "Yeah! He didn't do anything wrong!"

Sticks just growled and marched out of the office.

Eggman's lair was shown next.

Eggman exhaled harshly. "Let me guess, he's going to somehow find out that the echidna's the mayor and stick his nose where it really doesn't belong." Why couldn't he just take a relaxing bubble bath, not interacting with the heroes in any way?

Sonic scoffed. "So you're tellin' me that you wouldn't try anything if that situation happened here?"

"I would because I don't have the same track record as he does!"

"I'm pretty sure you both always lose, Eggy."

Eggman turned red in the face while Tails thought it over. "I mean, Eggman's twin does lose a lot worse than Eggman does…"

Sonic gave a pensive nod. "Yeah, I guess I can see that, but a loss is still a loss."

The doctor couldn't believe this. "Seriously, pincushion? So losing a race by a second versus a minute would feel the exact same?"

"Couldn't tell ya!" Sonic chirped, smirking. "Because I've never lost! I think Shads is a better candidate for your question."

The looks he got from Eggman and Shadow could've wilted flowers.

Eggman, along with Orobt and Cubot, were outside standing by an overfilled dumpster. "The trash should have been picked up by now!" The doctor huffed. "Where's that garbage man?!"

"Just call up the Lightning Bolt Society." Knuckles snorted. "I'm sure they'd take care of all of his trash."

"It's a real role reversal in this one!" Amy pointed out. "With Knuckles being the bad guy and Eggman being the victim-"

"Don't call him a victim just yet." Eggman kept his expectations low. "He's only said two lines."

At the mansion, said garbage man was speaking to Knuckles. "I want to take a few months off. See the trash in other countries." The worker smiled. "Maybe get some fancy foreign coveralls."

"Is he the only trashman in the village or something?"

"Have you seen how small the village is, Tails?" Knuckles asked before frowning. "And seeing him brings up on the topic of how he gets to Eggman's lair in the first place. It's on a secluded island."

Sonic snickered. "Barker could've sold the hovercraft he stole from Egghead to him."

Knuckles furrowed a brow. "When did Barker steal a hovercraft?"

"Remember when Eggman went missing, Orbot and Cubot searching for him the whole episode?"

"…Vaguely, and I'm honestly glad that my brain had started repressing these traumatic memories."

Knuckles shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?" He sat there in a very long awkward silence, waiting for something to happen. It never did. Knuckles grinned. "See? No consequences!" He stamped the document.

While Knuckles appreciated the glorious seconds of silence, he knew that it hadn't been nearly enough time to let fate do its thing.

With Eggman again, he was still standing outside, complaining. "I can't keep looking at this stack of failed inventions!" He focused on his helper bots. "It's bad enough looking at you two!"

"Must every random observation circle back to insult us?" Orbot meekly questioned.

Metal nodded. "Yes, it is one of the few things the doctor's copy has done right."

Eggman waved him off. "It's not you. I'm just frustrated about the trash situation, you idiots."

That was good enough for Cubot. "Appology accepted!"

Tails didn't blame him for accepting. "That's probably the nicest thing Eggman's ever said to them."

"That's it! I'm going to City Hall!" Eggman angrily walked off. "You lugnuts wait here."

The scene switched to Tails' shack.

Sticks was pacing inside while Sonic, Tails, and Amy sat on a couch. "We need to stop Knuckles and get the government out of our lives!" Sticks proposed. "What has the government ever done for us?"

"Well, they honestly made my weekend a while ago with that high-speed chase through Central City."

Tails gave Sonic an odd look. "They were trying to imprison you."

"Doesn't mean that it wasn't fun."

"Maintained the fire department." Sonic brought up. "Can't say that's a bad idea." Tails and Amy nodded.

Some of Sticks' fire was snuffed out. "Oh yeah, that's true…"

Amy giggled. "Maybe they can get Sticks from hating all forms of government so much!"

Knuckles wondered where she had pulled that possibility out from. "There's a better chance of Shadow publicly declaring his love to all of the pineapples in the world."

"I dunno, pineapples are pretty good…"

"They are," Shadow uttered with no hesitation.

Knuckles groaned. "I was just trying to say that it would be impossible."

"Then you should have said raisins." Shadow grunted. "Raisins are the scum of the earth."

"There's also the sewer system," Tails helpfully added. Sonic and Amy nodded.

Sticks couldn't help but to agree. "Yeah, I definitely don't want that responsibility."

Amy contributed, "And have you tried those new moving sidewalks? Pretty sweet!"

Sonic perked up. "They actually put those in?" Ideas were growing in his head. "Do you think we could persuade-"

And they were all shut down by the simultaneous "No" around the room.

Sticks frowned, getting back on track. "You can make all the good arguments you want, but don't come crying to me when Knuckles gets his pudgy government fingers all over your lives!"

Tails didn't think it was that serious. "She does realize that he's only behind the desk for a few hours, right?"

"A few hours is a long time, bud! Egghead had managed to break the world apart and release the primordial incarnation of darkness, scattering shadow beasts across the globe, in like fifteen minutes."

"I see your point…but Knuckles isn't Eggman."

"You're right." Eggman cut in. "He's an idiot with a stamp, which is far more dangerous."

With Knuckles, he had another line in front of him.

"Next!" A goat woman approached the desk. "What'cha got?"

"Well…" She showed her document. "It's kind of a lo-o-o-ong list."

Knuckles took it and stamped without any thought. "No time to read the list. Approved!"

If Knuckles had facepalmed any harder, he would have bruised. "He could've just signed away his life, and he doesn't even care."

"Next?" He returned the paper to the lady as Eggman cut the line, pushing everyone out of the way.

"Hey, Nerples!"

Sonic smiled at that, and Metal missed the feeling of laughter. "It is still mildly entertaining."

Eggman frowned. "What's with the trash collection? You've got-"

Knuckles held up a quieting hand. "Sorry, Egghead. There's a lot of people waiting. You'll have to take a number." The dispenser was shown to be empty.

Eggman deadpanned. "It's out of numbers."

"You'll have to fill out a complaint form."

"Can I get one?" The doctor gritted out.

Knuckles smiled. "I'd love to help you!" He busied himself with reading a bill. "Take a number."

Eggman growled lowly before storming out.

"…Wow." Amy blinked. "So Eggman is definitely one of the victims here! The poor guy just wants his trash taken care of!"

"And I'll give him props because he obviously cares about the environment!" Tails added, playing with his namesakes. "Anyone else would've just thrown the trash in the ocean."

An old monkey stepped up in the human's place. "I have a request to shout 'woo-hoo' in a public place."

"Approved!"

"Woo-hoo!" the monkey howled before pleasantly sighing. "That was the highpoint of my life."

Sonic could empathize.

At Meh Burger, Sonic and Tails were sitting at a table, enjoying their burgers.

"That really should be against the law," Amy groused.

However, a nearby conversation by a tree caught their attention.

"Move it, pal," A purple walrus ordered Leroy the turtle. "I've got permission to build my treehouse here!"

"And I got permission to build my tunnel right here!" Leroy argued.

A loud bell interrupted their argument. A wolf rode in on a cart carrying lemons. "Out of the way! I've got a permit to build my lemonade factory here!"

"A lemonade factory?" Knuckles rose a brow. "That's new."

"And impractical," Metal added. "He does not have nearly enough lemons."

Sonic put down his burger. "We'd better go sort this mess out." The brother duo raced off.

At the library, Amy approached the beaver with the bowtie, holding out a book. "I'd like to check this one out."

"This scene is already not looking good."

Tails glanced over at Knuckles. "I don't know…I can't think of a way for the beaver to mess up things here."

The beaver took the book away from her. "Impossible. Thanks to the Organized Bookshelf Act, it is now illegal to check out books."

Knuckles gave Tails a look, and the fox fully accepted that he stood corrected.

He cradled the book. "Finally, I have protection from people who think books are for reading and not just sitting neatly in a row on the shelf."

Amy rolled her eyes and groaned.

Amy was gaping. "Really? I would've smacked him and then Knuckles with my trusty hammer for that nonsense. The library would be shut down in a week!"

Sonic hummed to himself. "Maybe we're not givin' the other Knux the credit he deserves…"

"Seriously, Sonic? You would let the library close down like that?!"

"Aren't most of the books online anyway?"

"It's not the same."

The next scene was Eggman leaving the mayor's mansion, visibly irritated. Hearing yelling, he walked over to the distressed ice cream vendor. His cart was on fire. "My ice cream! Why?! Why did the village reverse its ban on flammable frozen treats?!"

Tails frowned. "That's not the issue here! Why in the heck would you stock up with flammable frozen treats?"

"I didn't even know those were a thing!" Amy exclaimed.

Eggman strolled on past him until he was stopped by a broken moveable sidewalk.

Lady Walrus, the one closest to him, cried out, "Help! It's not moving! It's stuck!"

"Just walk!" Eggman snapped. "Use your legs!"

"That's funny, coming from the egg who clearly doesn't use his legs that often."

Eggman wasn't going to take the bait from that rancid cactus because he didn't have to prove anything to them. He had a treadmill at the lab he used on the weekends. For five minutes. It was something.

The walrus held her nose up. "My taxes pay for moving sidewalks! No way I'm using my legs!"

Amy didn't know what to think. "She…has a point?"

"A dumb one," Shadow grunted, hating that time moved so slowly. "But sure."

Eggman just scowled before walking away, witnessing an argument between Leroy, the wolf, and a walrus along the way. Eggman had enough. "That red imbecile has done more damage to this village in a few hours than I've done in years with my ingenious, worthwhile, and well-executed plans! Nubbles must be stopped!"

Sonic let out a disbelieving laugh. "He can't be serious! Like, are we seein' the same fights he is? Because I'm starting to doubt it."

Metal nodded. "We are. He simply becomes blind and ignorant to whenever he loses horribly."

Eggman waited for the inevitable insult, but it never came. He grew suspicious. "What, no jeering side-comment about my own actions?"

"I do not need to say it, because you already know. You probably have dozens swirling in your head at this very moment. My job is already done."

With the next robot Eggman made, he was going to ask himself if he really needed it intelligent enough for coherent speech.

Sonic and crew – who must've heard the doctor's spiel – gathered around him. The speedster sighed. "As much as I hate to say it, Eggman, we're with you. Now, we need a plan."

"They didn't need to team up with Eggman though." Tails felt like he was missing something. But then again, that was a constant at this point. "They can beat Knuckles four-on-one easily!"

Knuckles could agree with that because in this dimension – he wouldn't dare mention it out loud – he'd have enough trouble with Sonic and Amy tag-teaming him. Throw in Tails and a wild child like Sticks, and Knuckles would know that he'd be taking a loss. No question.

The echidna responded, "Maybe they don't want to hurt him?" For some reason. "That's all I got."

Back in the office, Dave was punching the desk. "You've got to outlaw peanut butter and pickle sandwiches! If people realize they can get cheap, barely edible food outside of Meh Burger, I'm out of a job!"

Now this was a fight Amy could get behind. "This is probably the only time I'll have his back on something."

Knuckles wasn't sympathetic. "Look at you! You who were once so proud. Go now and never return!"

Amy slumped, feeling sorry for the people who have to see peanut butter floating around in pickle juice, or pickle slices sliding around in the-

"I think I'm going to throw up again."

"Just face the door, Ames."

Dave glared. "I see what's going on here! You're in the pocket of big peanut butter and pickles!" He gave the 'I'm watching you' gesture and ended up accidentally poking himself in the eyes. "Ow! Is there any chance you could stamp some sort of universal healthcare law?" he asked before stumbling away.

"Universal healthcare?" Eggman repeated incredulously. "They barely can maintain a functional society, so that's out of the question."

Sonic snorted. "Especially when there's a rotten egg constantly plotting and attacking people."

Sonic had arrived at this point, voice stern. "Okay, Knuckles. I order you to stand down. Lower the stamp and move away from the desk."

Knuckles held the stamp closer. "No."

Sonic shrugged. "Well, I'm out of ideas."

While the rest of the room deadpanned at the lack of effort, Sonic couldn't contain his mirth. "At least he tried, right? It's better than nothin'!"

"I'm not!" Eggman ambled in, about to activate the laser on his wrist.

Knuckles quickly wrote a law and stamped it. "It's now illegal to use your finger to activate a weapon!"

Eggman glowered and tried to activate the laser with his elbow only to shoot himself in the foot. "Ow!" He hopped on one leg. "Any chance I can get in on that universal healthcare?"

"When has he ever obeyed any laws?!" Eggman yelled in frustration because what? "Especially some haphazardly placed by an imbecile of an echidna!"

"And can he even make laws by himself?" Amy questioned, looking at Tails. "Isn't there a process for that kind of stuff?"

"Yeah, but that obviously isn't in place here because Sonic had actually been banished for losing a race."

"Right…that did happen."

Team Sonic – sans Knuckles – got ready to fight, but Knuckles swiftly stamped consecutive laws. "No boomerangs, no hammers, no inventions, no spin attacks, no mayonnaise!"

Bowtie beaver, who was making a sandwich in the corner of the room, slumped in disappointment.

Sonic snorted at the beaver's misfortune before turning as serious as one could yelling at his alternate dimension double because believe it or not, he could do more than spin dash. "Just kick him one good time, other me! He'll be out for the count!"

"Knuckles!" Amy slammed her hand on the desk. "You've gone mad with power!"

"You're so close!" Amy groaned. "Punch him, tickle him, do something!"

Knuckles blinked. "Tickle him?"

"What? He looks like the type to be ticklish, and that is a deadly weakness."

Sonic glanced over at her. "Are you ticklish, Ames?"

She got too excited. "Wanna find out?"

"No."

"Oh really?" The echidna held up a document. "Well, would someone mad with power approve a law giving himself ultimate authority over everything?!"

"That's the dictionary definition of mad with power!" Sticks yelled, hoping to pound her words into his thick skull.

Knuckles ran his hands down his face. "What is happening anymore?"

"Endless torture and suffering," Shadow muttered. "Why hasn't anyone shot him yet?"

"Because shooting people is wrong, Shads."

"Not with a tranquilizer."

"...Pretty sure it still is."

Unfortunately, it didn't work. "I wish I could corroborate that, but it's illegal to check books out of the libary."

Tails winced again.

Knuckles went to stamp the 'mad with power' bill, but nothing happened. "Huh?" The paper remained unstamped, and confusion flashed across his face.

Sticks was smug. "Nice try, Knuckles, but I'm afraid your stamp is out of ink!"

Knuckles knew that he should be mad because of the dumb way his twin's reign ended, but at this point, he was willing to run with any miracle. "Finally! Now get him out of there!"

"There is still ample time left." Metal had to remind them. "Something absurd is going to happen."

Knuckles stamped the paper repeatedly with no luck. He threw the item away in frustration, and Eggman picked it up.

"Nice work!" Sonic praised. "Now, destroy the stamp." He reined in his enthusiasm when the doctor intensely examined the tool. "Eggman?"

Knuckles slid down in his seat, hating that they weren't done yet. "The mayor just had to go fishing."

"My twin's next big scheme should to just drain all nearby bodies of water," Eggman muttered so this wouldn't have another chance of happening. A damn stamp should not ever hold that much imaginary power.

After a second, Eggman grinned. "I afraid there's been a slight change of plans. With this stamp, I now rule the village! First order of business: strip waste management of all vacation time!" He evilly cackled.

Tails leaned forward in his chair. "He's…He's still just trying to get his trash taken care of. He's not even attempting a full-scale attack!"

"Priorities, I guess?" Sonic ventured.

If Eggman knew anything about his double, it was that he was the most determined man he unfortunately had to meet.

Knuckles scoffed. "Au contraire, mi amigo. Any change to waste management requires Form 48C-13."

Eggman glared. "And where do I find that?"

Knuckles gave him a level look, smirking. "You'll have to take a number."

Amy was questioning everything at this point. "Is…Knuckles smarter than we think he is?"

"No." Metal immediately shut that down. "This episode is all over the place, so he seems tamer in comparison."

Eggman growled and called in his robots using the contraption on his wrist. The mechs marched in, and the doctor yelled, "Find me that form!"

The robots began trashing the office, wildly searching for that specific document.

Knuckles couldn't wait to see Fink's face when he returned from his amazing fishing trip.

Knuckles went on the attack, punching and kicking the two crab bots.

Seeing this, Sticks and Amy jumped in to fight, arming themselves, but Knuckles held his hand up. "I believe I outlawed those weapons."

Amy huffed. "One day they should outlaw his fists and see how he likes it."

Tails saw where she was coming from, but, "Do you really want to stoop to his level, Amy?"

"Absolutely."

Sonic approached him, exasperated. "Knuckles, you've got to let us fight! Or else, Eggman's…" He lost his steam, thinking about what he was saying. "…trash will be collected in a timely fashion?"

Tails was confused. "Wait, why are we fighting this?"

Tails held the same emotions as his twin. Eggman wasn't being truly evil in this one. Piled up trash could push anyone to extremes. "Yeah, why are they?"

Sonic shrugged. "Force of habit."

Knuckles clenched a fist. "Because he picked my stamp up off the ground and seized absolute power!"

"That sentence shouldn't be a thing."

"This whole dimension shouldn't be a thing."

Knuckles nodded at Shadow. "That too."

The echidna then rushed Eggman and the robot Orbot was manning. He punched the floor, sending out a shock wave that made the human and robots fly backwards. The robot hit the wall while Eggman somehow landed on his feet.

Sonic lowly whistled. "I gotta admit, he might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's got a pretty good arm."

That was one characteristic Knuckles could appreciate. At least he was competent in battle, where brains didn't matter as much.

Eggman glowered until a crab bot waved a sheet of paper in front of him. "Aha! Now to get some ink! Where's my octopus bot?"

Outside, Cubot was steering said bot. "Right here, boss!" He parked the mech outside of one of the windows. A tentacle knocked a pane open, and a glob of ink splattered against Eggman's stamp.

Eggman laughed in victory.

Amy shook her head. "I'm trying to sympathize with him because no one wants disgusting trash, but he's making it really hard."

"Do not ever sympathize with him." Metal advised. "It's a waste of time and effort."

Amy – being constantly reminded that Metal clearly wasn't on Eggman's side anymore – had to sate her curiosity and ask, "So Metal, since you hate Eggman and had changed your purpose in life, what are you going to do after this?"

Metal tilted his head at her. "After this? Be more specific."

"I'm talking about after-"

Sonic jumped in because this opportunity was too good to pass up. "Isn't it obvious, Mets? I think she's askin' you out."

Amy flinched like she'd been hit because she would never and ew, but she didn't get a chance to respond, Metal questioning, "Asking me out? She wants me to leave? I am certain that I will not be allowed to obtain more groceries."

Sonic scoffed. "Not even close, bud! It means a date."

"What is going on?!"

Amy was ignored.

Metal was giving Sonic his full attention now. "She wants to know the date?"

Sonic might have been wrong in thinking this would be fun. As smart as Metal was, he was still a robot. "No, not the date! She's asking for a date."

Amy, and the rest of the room, were now far too perplexed to interrupt, watching aptly.

"She wants me to provide a day? For what occasion?"

Sonic threw his hands in the air. "You gotta be pullin' my leg, Mets! It means that she wants to spend a day with you."

"A day is not a unit of currency. It is not physically possible to spend a day. You are utilizing less IQ points than usual, copy."

Well, Sonic learned today that Metal was unfortunately immune to some genres of teasing. Which was a shame, really. "Just nevermind, I give up!"

The bot produced a scoff, his gaze returning to the television. "It is about time that you did."

Sonic blinked before the other's words registered. He pointed an accusing finger, gaping. "You knew what I was talking about all along!"

"Of course I did."

While the blue blur huffed in his seat, not expecting to be humiliated like that in his own home, Eggman cracked a grin. "I suddenly don't regret creating your existence, Metal."

Knuckles was snickering in his seat. "Now that was good."

"Keep that up, and I might not tear you apart when we get out of here," Shadow said with an amused smirk.

Amy hadn't been entertained at all; it was supposed to be a simple question. "That's what you get, Sonic!"

Said hedgehog grumbled incomprehensibly.

Tails smiled reassuringly at him. "Lesson learned?"

Sonic grumbled louder.

Sticks, not liking this at all, picked up a broken robot arm and hurled it in the doctor's direction. It hit the stamp, and the tool shattered on impact.

Sticks just inched a little higher on Knuckles' favorite character list. There was still a huge gap between her and Amy, but it had gotten a little smaller.

Eggman groaned. "Look what you've done! You've created more trash that won't get hauled away!"

Any answer was cut off by Mayor Fink's voice. "Ah…it's always good to get away for a few hours." He jumped in shock at the condition of his office. "What the…?"

"Yep, this is all your fault."

"I mean, he didn't know-"

Knuckles shook his head. "Don't make excuses for him, Tails. He had to have known."

Knuckles smiled. "Sorry about the mess! But you know how it is being mayor, stamping everything that comes across your desk, regardless of its merits."

Sonic was clearly relieved. "You have no idea how happy we are to see you, sir."

"Completely ecstatic." Eggman claimed without actually looking so. "That means this episode is almost over."

Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles started to walk out of the room while Fink, fuming, pulled out a drawer filled with extra stamps and grabbed one.

"Wow," Tails breathed. "I'm surprised, but I really shouldn't be because having more than one stamp laying around is pretty normal."

Knuckles rotated his shoulders. "I'm just glad that they were hidden. There would have been a war that dragged the episode along at least another five minutes."

Sticks gave him the 'I'm watching you' motion before leaving as well.

Eggman wasn't going to give up yet. "Any chance I can get my trash collected?"

Fink pointed to the still empty dispenser. "Take a number."

Eggman sighed in frustration.

"Do not feel sympathy." Metal reminded the room. "You will most likely regret it by the next episode."

Eggman had to agree. His double being 'decent' usually didn't continue between videos. "I wouldn't doubt it."

Knuckles grinned over at a particular speedster who was still sulking. "Can't take what you dish out, Sonic?"

Sonic's glare was more like a pout. "I was just trying-"

"And it backfired."

Sonic grumbled even louder.

Tails stifled his chuckles, knowing that Sonic would bounce back soon enough, while Shadow snorted, noting that humiliation was one way to shut the Faker up whenever needed.

Amy, letting Sonic brood in his chair for a bit, regarded the robot. "Back to what I was saying before that craziness. Metal, what you are going to do after-"

"After what? Be more specific."

"Are you serious."

And there it is, folks! Mayor Knuckles is done, and Just a Guy is next! I guess even carefree blue hedgehogs can get angry, huh?

Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome!