My Arms are Blue!

by thekyuubivixen

Sonic and crew watch the television show Sonic Boom...and may or may not go crazy in the process. Rated T for language (ironic, isn't it?)

24. Chapter 24

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

And Two Good to be True is finally here! Better get comfy because you're in for another long one!

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"Well, somebody has to change, and it's not gonna be me."

The room was dead silent, no one responding to the words coming from someone who really shouldn't be there.

Sonic's chin was still scraping the ground, stunned, along with Tails and Amy. Eggman was baffled because he didn't think his stay here could get any worse. Apparently, he had been wrong. For Metal, it was unexpected, but he knew better to be surprised.

Another stress ball appeared in Shadow's lap. He kept it this time.

Knuckles stared at his other self for a long while before standing up and stiffly leaving the room.

The buffy echidna smiled victoriously. "I'm glad he went, because I don't have any other shoes with me!"

A door slammed somewhere in the back of the house, that snapping Sonic out of his shock. He stared the top-heavy echidna up and down, still processing that he was here with them.

This was uh…gonna be an experience, alright.

"Um…" Sonic had no idea how to approach this. After a moment of thought, he stood up and genially smiled. "Hey! Just to make sure we're on the same page here, you know that you're in an alternate dimension, right?"

The other perked up, eyes sparkling. "Really?! I just thought I ended up in a different place where there are doubles of me and my friends who act differently!"

Eggman rubbed his temples, and Shadow squeezed the toy like his life depended on it.

Sonic chuckled while Tails and Amy managed to stifle theirs. "Anyway, you probably know all of our names already, but I'm Sonic!" He gestured to the kit and pinkette. "That's Tails and Amy." They waved, partially recovering from the surprise, and the echidna waved back with a bright smile. Sonic then nodded over to a human muttering to himself. "That's old Eggface."

Buff Knuckles eyed him and loudly whispered, "Your Eggman sure put on some pounds, huh?"

The room erupted in laughter, and Eggman fumed. "I have not!" He scowled. "Listen here, you oversized rodent! I'm nothing like your buffoon of a doctor! I will destroy you!"

Buff Knuckles scoffed, flexing his arms. "None of your machines will ever beat these guns!"

Eggman's burned red with anger as Amy wiped away a tear, struggling to get her laughter under control. "This is great!"

Metal nodded. "It is going better than I had initially predicted."

The echidna stiffened at the robot's voice, whirling around to face the Sonic-replica. They locked eyes, and Buff Knuckles screamed. Then, he noticed Shadow and screamed again.

All laughter stopped when he ran and hid behind Sonic's plastic chair, still in full view of everyone.

Tails slowly rose a brow at that interesting interaction. "Are you…scared of Metal and Shadow?"

"Yes!" the echidna shouted without thinking and quickly mended his answer. "I mean no!" He peeked at the two in question, tone meek. "Maybe?"

Shadow, pausing in his violent squeezing, narrowed his eyes at the red newcomer. If the other was scared of them… "You know who we are." It was more of a statement than a question, an aura of unenthusiasm radiating from him in waves.

"'Course I do!" Buff Knuckles pouted. "You guys-"

His next words were drowned out by the booming blast of an air horn.

Everyone cried out and covered their ears in extreme discomfort.

The deafening noise stopped as soon as it started however, making the recovering anthros look around in confusion.

"What in the world was that?!" Amy loudly questioned, rubbing her ringing ears.

Eggman would pull on his mustache in agitation, but there was a very real danger of yanking every single strand out. "You know what it is! We just need to know why so I won't go deaf in this nightmare of a house!"

Tails groaned and tried hard to keep any negative thoughts at bay because he didn't want to get on the thing's bad side. "Well…" He glanced at the wincing echidna. "I think it happened because of him…for some reason."

"Because of me?" The echidna repeated, not understanding. "But I didn't do anything! I was just talking about how Metal Sonic and Shadow-"

Everyone cried out when another horn attacked their eardrums.

"Okay!" Sonic panted when the sound cut off again. "No more talking about them, got it?"

"Got it…" Buff Knuckles whimpered. He gave the two in question a wary look before asking Sonic, "What in the heck happened? Where'd the sound come from?"

Sonic plopped back down in his chair with a heavy sigh, wanting to be done with this marathon even more now. His poor ears couldn't take much more. "It's…a long story."

"Ooo!" The echidna stood up from his 'hiding place', clapping his hands together. "Those are my favorite kind!"

Shadow went back to strangling his toy.

"We should probably tell him." If Amy had been dropped off in a random dimension without any warning, she'd want an explanation. And a massage or something because of the inevitable stress. "Hopefully we won't get horned for that too…"

Sonic understood from where she was coming from. Hopefully all of it stuck in the other's mind. "Alright, so." He addressed the attentive echidna. "The noise was caused by a…uh thing that is keeping us all trapped in here. It usually messes with us like that when we do something it doesn't like."

"Or when it just wants to be entertained," Eggman grumbled.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, that too. The thing brought you to our dimension for some reason." His gaze flickered over to the TV, something clicking in his mind. "Most likely has somethin' to with the next episode we're gonna watch." At Buff Knuckles' confused look, he explained, "Oh yeah! This might sound a little creepy, but the thing is making us watch your guys' dimension on TV."

"Seriously? That's awesome!" Buff Knuckles sat down on the floor, paying no mind to the charred carpet or the scattered confetti. "It's going be like watching home movies! Do you have any popcorn?"

Sonic blinked at him. Well, that was easy, but it was the other Knuckles… "I think so! It's-"

"We do not have any."

The speedster furrowed his brow at Metal. "But-"

"Do not make me repeat myself." Metal wasn't going to let that echidna into the kitchen. He would most likely clean them out because of his size, and Metal still had an infinitesimally slim possibility of regaining the ability to taste. The food was his property. Metal cut his stare at the echidna. "Do not move towards the kitchen."

Buff Knuckles crossed his arms and huffed. "You're bossy! I liked it better when you-"

Another blast of sound overpowered the pained cries it caused.

When it ended, Shadow debated shoving the stress-reliever into that echidna's big mouth. "Just shut up!" he snarled at the red anthro, enjoying the resulting wince. His curiosity had risen because of the fact that he was in the show and apparently was terrifying, but anger easily overshadowed it. His ears were sensitive. "Stop talking about us, #$^&%*!"

All of Shadow's rage was nearly forgotten, replaced by confusion because nothing but warped gibberish had come out of his mouth at the end there. Everyone was staring at him, just as perplexed, and his furrowed his brow. "What the #$&%?" He covered his mouth in shock.

And Sonic burst out in laughter. "Is this…Is this seriously happening? This is rich!"

Amy hid her smile so she wouldn't be a target of a potentially unstable hedgehog. "Is…he being censored?"

Sonic laughed louder.

"Shut the #$&% up, Faker!"

The blue speedster cupped an ear. "What was that, Shads? Didn't quite catch that!"

Shadow gritted his teeth, wondering if going the hero route had been worth it.

Tails cradled his chin, completely befuddled. "He is! Which is weird, because he hasn't been before!" He glanced over to the newcomer, the echidna wide-eyed and speechless. "It has be because of him!"

"Stop blaming me for stuff!" Buff Knuckles waved his arms. "I'm innocent!" He paused. "I think!"

"You are not." Metal shut him down instantly, causing him to slump. The bot regarded everyone else. "I have a plausible theory. We have not heard any individuals of the other dimension utter an expletive, even in stressful situations. It is possible that they do not exist."

Getting himself back under control, Sonic waved the ridiculous statement off. "They're words, Metal! They gotta exist! I'm sure the other Shads has a foul mouth too!" Sonic couldn't wait until that striped faker was on screen. The other Knuckles was apparently scared of him, but for what reason?

The top-heavy echidna was going to comment on how weird it was that everyone got along with Metal Sonic and Shadow. He really didn't want to be pummeled into another wall by the hedgehog though. So instead, he asked, "An expletive? What's that?"

Sonic enlightened him. "Just robot-speak for curse words."

The echidna tilted his head. "What're those?"

There was a beat of silence, then: "I think Metal might be onto something," Tails reluctantly admitted. "And because they don't exist in the other world, the thing doesn't…want to expose them to this Knuckles?"

"That's kinda sweet!" Amy didn't expect this from the same thing that put Shadow in a mentally draining time loop, but it was a pleasant surprise. "It still has a heart!"

"A corrupted one," Eggman groused, hoping that the echidna was better in real life than on TV. He wasn't too bad so far, and yes, he probably just jinxed himself. "But sure."

Nothing came from Shadow but harsh indecipherable gibberish.

Sonic smirked at his rival before properly answering the echidna. "Nothin' you need to worry about!" If the thing was going so far to protect the other Knuckles' purity, he wasn't going to interfere with that.

Buff Knuckles blinked at him before smiling. "Okay! Whatever you say!" He faced the black TV screen. "Are we gonna watch my dimension now?"

"Yeah!" Sonic hopped out of his chair once more, about to retrieve their missing member. "But we can't start without our Knuckles!"

"Oh yeah, that's right!" The echidna nodded. "Tell him he needs to be faster at choosing shoes!"

Sonic snickered. "Will do!"

Amy waited until the blue hero was out of earshot before leaning forward and gaining Buff Knuckles' attention. She had a burning question to ask, and he should be the one to know. "Hey, quick question," she whispered. "Are your Amy and Sonic girlfriend and boyfriend?"

"Yeah!" The echidna answered without a second thought, and Amy's breath caught in her throat in excitement. Buff Knuckles then tapped his chin. "Well, they never told anyone they were together, never kissed, never held hands, never used pet names, they had lunch together once I think, but that was probably payback because Sonic had hid her hammer…"

Amy groaned and leaned back in her chair. He might as well had just said no! "Then why do you think they're together?!"

The echidna pursed his lips. "Good question…" Tails chuckled as the pinkette ran a hand down her face. Buff Knuckles then asked, "Why did you wanna know? Are you and your Sonic together?"

Amy perked right back up. "Not yet, but I'm gonna get there someday! Don't you think we'd make a cute couple?"

The red anthro hummed before shrugging. "Eh. You should probably go for somebody taller."

"So, you believe that your Sonic and Amy are together without any proof-"

Tails was going to say that Amy was being a bit of a hypocrite, but he chose to let it slide.

"-but you think Sonic and I would make a bad couple because an identical height difference?"

Buff Knuckles bobbed his head after a few seconds. "Kinda, yeah!"

"That doesn't make any-"

Tails reached over and patted the pinkette on the shoulder, getting her to take a couple deep breaths. Relationships were a uh…touchy topic for her, however…

"He's like a puppy, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah…" Amy breathed out. "Can't stay mad at a puppy."

"Puppies?" The echidna lit up like a neon sign. "Where?!"

Shadow's gibberish increased in volume.

With Sonic, he was having trouble convincing Knuckles to come out of the bathroom.

"C'mon, Knux!" He put a hand on his hip, smirking. "You know we can't start watchin' without you!"

"Don't care."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "We both know you do. Listen, he's not that bad! Honest!"

"You don't know that."

"I did have a conversation with him."

"For all of five minutes. Sometimes the stupidity is delayed, Sonic, and I really don't feel like dealing with the aftermath of punching him in the face."

"You won't-"

"It's inevitable."

Sonic sighed, leaning against the door. "Just try, okay? I have a feelin' that he's just gonna be here for this next episode anyway, then he'll go back home! And who knows? You two might become friends!"

The speedster stepped back when a lock clicked, the door opening to reveal an unenthusiastic echidna. "That'd be a cold day in #&*%."

Sonic snorted, and Knuckles groaned before trudging back to the living room. Forget his twin's purity, Knuckles' sanity needed to be protected, second only to Shadow's.

When he returned to the large space, Knuckles avoided eye contact as he reclaimed his seat.

Unfortunately, his twin wasn't keen on social cues.

"Hey!" Buff Knuckles jabbed a finger at the guardian's shoes. "You didn't change!"

Knuckles had opened his mouth to flat out refuse, but he realized who he was talking to…and how to deal with him. He rose a brow at his twin. "You said that you were going to change."

"What? No, I didn't!" he opposed, scratching his head after a moment of intense thought. "Wait, did I?" The echidna frowned. "I'm not stupid! I remember that I told you to!"

"Did you?"

"Yes!"

"Did you?"

"I…" Buff Knuckles faltered, and Knuckles thought that the next eleven-ish minutes wouldn't be so bad.

Sonic kinda felt sorry for the guy. "Cut him some slack, Knux!" He grinned when both echidnas looked at him, an idea popping in his mind. "How about this: let's settle this little argument with an old-fashioned arm wrestle? Whoever loses gets rid of their shoes and has to get nicknamed!"

Knuckles glared at him because his plan had been working. Sometimes he hated that speedster's conscience.

"Ooo!" Of course his double was all for the idea. "That's perfect!" He laughed and sent Knuckles a jeering smile. "It's gonna be an easy win for me! Look at those noodle arms!"

On second thought, Knuckles was glad that Sonic brought the competition up. He hopped out of his chair and clenched a fist. "Noodle arms? We'll see about that!" Knuckles glanced up at the ceiling and barked, "Table!" A small yet sturdy table appeared in the middle of the room.

Buff Knuckles gasped in surprise. "What in the-"

"Doesn't matter." The guardian clipped as he went over and propped his elbow on the flat surface, more than ready. "Get over here!"

His twin got over the initial surprise quickly, smirking. "So eager to lose, huh?" He approached and thumped his elbow on the table, tightly gripping Knuckles' hand. "Bring it on!"

Tails' namesakes swished in excitement. "This is going to be interesting!" He was confident that Knuckles was going to win, but who really knew?

"I feel bad for the table," Amy commented, wondering if it would hold up during the match.

Eggman crossed his arms and huff. "Just start already so we can get on with the blasted episode."

"I'll count down!" Sonic suggested, and the echidnas tightened their grips. Knuckles narrowed his eyes while the other's grin widened. "Three, two, one…start!"

Teeth gritted, muscles bulged, and a hand was slammed against the table within five seconds.

Knuckles smirked at the appalled face in front of him. "What were you saying about noodle arms?" He was relieved that he had won because no one would ever let him live it down. It'd probably be recorded on his gravestone, courtesy of Sonic.

Metal nodded. "The outcome had been predictable."

"Yeah," Amy agreed. "But I didn't think that it would be over so quickly!"

"It's not over!" the twin shouted like last ten seconds hadn't happened. "I demand a do-over! I wasn't ready!"

"That's what they all say." Knuckles grunted, repositioning his arm. The smirk hadn't gone anywhere. "But fine."

Buff Knuckles was glaring now, ensuring a solid hold on the other's hand. "Count down again!" he told Sonic. "Go slower this time!"

That wouldn't change the outcome, but Sonic was willing to humor him anyway. "'Kay! Three…two…one…" He drawled the 'n' out before exclaiming, "Start!"

Muscles tensed again as the echidnas pushed against each other. However, unlike last time, there wasn't a quick winner. Buff Knuckles clenched his jaw as he fought while Knuckles' smirk seemed to be permanently etched into his muzzle.

There arms were stuck at a stalemate until it slowly leaned in the newcomer's favor, steadily lowering. Buff Knuckles smiled at his lead, but it promptly vanished when his arm arced and slammed against the table once more.

The red anthro gaped while Knuckles scoffed. "You thought you were winning? My bad."

"You hear that?" Sonic held an imaginary microphone. "That's the sound of someone's pride being flushed down the toilet, never to be seen again."

Tails was torn between awed and sympathetic. "That was a little harsh, Knuckles…"

"It was needed," Shadow argued, his mood rising only marginally.

Knuckles' twin stuttered as he looked over his own hands, flabbergasted. "But h-how?" He met the guardian's smug gaze. "How are you that stronger than me?!" Before the other could answer, he reached over table and shook Knuckles' shoulders. "Tell me your secrets! What's your workout routine? How many reps do you do? How much protein do you put in your shakes? Why do your muscles still look tiny and pathetic?"

Knuckles deadpanned. "Let go, Noodles."

Sonic, Tails, and Amy snickered behind their hands as the other echidna slowly blinked. "Noodles? What – oh." He dropped his arms. "That's my nickname, huh?" He rubbed his stomach with a smile. "Mmm reminds me of pasta…"

Knuckles inwardly groaned as he walked to his chair. Of course the nickname that was supposed to remind his twin about his forever inferior strength instead brought him joy and reminded him of pasta.

It was an amazing food, but still.

"Nevermind!" Knuckles plopped down in his seat, eyeing the other. He doubted that his twin would take any name as an insult, so, "Your name's Mittens." That was emasculate enough to make Knuckles feel better about his win, if nothing else. "Because for some reason, you're not wearing them."

Mittens glanced down at his free fingers. "What's wrong with gloves?"

"They just look weird on you."

"Well, you look weird with short legs, but I hadn't said anything about it."

"Ohhhhhhhh-"

"Sonic, you're shorter than me, so shut it."

Mittens laughed at how both echidna and hedgehog pouted. However, it was cut off when the table beside him transformed into a plastic chair. "Oh!" He sat in it and grinned at the ceiling. "Thank you!"

Eggman scowled upwards. "You can get him a seat without asking, but you can't get me proper clothing?" He'd love pants that he could actually wear, and a shirt that was nothing more than an oversized blanket.

After reluctantly taking off his shoes, Mittens focused on the man's attire and scrunched his nose. "Why does it hate you so much? The magic ceiling seems so nice besides trapping you all in here!"

"You don't know the half of it," Eggman grumbled, and most of the room shared his sentiments.

The buff echidna then gasped. "Ooo! I have an idea!" Everyone didn't know what to expect when he regarded the mysterious being once more, "Can I have some popcorn?" A steaming bag of buttered popcorn appeared in his hands. Mittens did a little dance in his chair before tossing some in his mouth. "Why don't you guys just ask to leave?"

Sonic knew that the thing was being so nice just to get a reaction out of them. A valiant effort, but it wasn't going to win this time. "Already have! Guess it has a soft spot for ya!"

"Well, try again since I'm here!"

"That's not-" Sonic cut his argument short because he was sure that the other would keep on insisting. After glancing over at Tails – who shrugged – Sonic asked the air, "Can we leave?"

Something like a force-field dissipated in front of the open doorway of the home.

Multiple eyes swiveled toward the exit, but no one moved.

"Huh." Sonic slowly blinked. "Did not expect that to work."

Knuckles narrowed his gaze. "I trust Rouge to watch the Master Emerald more than I trust that. I even trust a pile of dirt more."

Tails' body was itching to move, but his brain was screaming otherwise. "Is this a trick?"

"It has to be, right?" Amy wrung her fingers together. "We've-"

The rest of her words died off when there was a sudden gust of wind, and Shadow was now standing at the opening. The striped hedgehog held a hand out, meeting zero resistance as his arm crossed the threshold.

He didn't waste a second.

Shadow blasted away with a thunderous clap, breaking the sound barrier as he beelined back to the city. The world around him blurred as the wind whipped across his face, signifying the freedom that he finally had.

The distance between him and Station Square was steadily decreasing, bringing him closer to his bed. He didn't dare look back because he was done with that house and all of the shit he'd gone through. He felt like he could be able to sleep for a week, responsibilities be damned.

Shadow pushed his muscles, wishing that he had an emerald to teleport instantly in his bedroom. However, with his speed, he should be resting his head on a pillow within two minutes.

He dashed through the city's limits and crashed right into an unforgiving wall.

Sharp pain spread all throughout his front, but Shadow was numb as he peeled off the wall and sprawled out on the floor. He stared up at a familiar ceiling, disturbed confetti settling back down.

On the inside, he was screaming terrible words never to reach young ears, but on the outside, Shadow muttered, "Every nerve in my body is filled with hatred and rage, vibrating, itching to tear anything apart until it stops existing."

The rest of the occupants of the room looked at Shadow and then at the open door. They quietly returned to their seats in disappointment.

Mittens paused in chewing his popcorn, eyeing the prone hedgehog on the floor. "Uh…am I the only one scared of him?"

"Nope." Sonic leaned back in his chair, managing a smirk. "You'll just get used to it." Trying not to feel too bad about the snatched freedom, he addressed Shadow, "You gonna get up, Shads?"

"If I move, I can't ensure any of your safety."

"Yeah…just stay there and cool down for a bit."

"Can we just play the episode while my shattered soul heals itself?" Amy whined.

Mittens held out his snack. "Some popcorn should help! It's good for the soul!"

"I doubt it, but thanks." Amy reached out, and he poured some into her open palm. She tossed the popcorn into her mouth and hummed. "Buttery."

The echidna smiled faced the TV once more. "So, what are we watching? What did you see before this one?"

"We don't know about this one yet," Tails supplied, replaying Shadow's crash in his mind because it looked brutal and pride killing. "But the last one was about your Sonic retiring for a bit."

"Retiring?"

"Yeah, because your friend Mike got hurt when you took him to a battle with Eggman."

"…Mike?"

Sonic held up a hand before Tails could try again, silencing the kit. The speedster recalled the episode for a moment and said, "When you were tryin' to see that movie…what was it? Something about a jungle fighter?"

Mittens snapped his fingers in comprehension. "Right! Jungle Fighter 3: Revenge of the Jungle Fighter!" He chuckled. "I remember know! It was a while ago, but wow. Sonic had been really mad, but I – the great friend that I am – managed to talk him out of retiring! Good times!"

Amy frowned. That wasn't how it went at all. "You didn't-"

"Just play it." Knuckles sighed. There was no point in correcting the memory.

She pouted but did so anyway, not liking how Mittens took the credit for everything when he basically did the exact opposite. Amy was soon distracted by the name of the episode however. "'Two good to be true'? Sounds like two of something is going to happen."

"It explains him." Eggman frowned at the screen. "But please don't tell me we have to watch two of those dumb echidnas."

Knuckles blanched.

Mittens nodded while smacking. "Yeah, that would be – wait. Hey!" He threw a kernel that Eggman didn't care enough to dodge. "You're way meaner than my Eggman!"

"I'm glad you figured that out by yourself."

The scene started off with robots being destroyed in a clearing. An intact motobug rolled onscreen only to be chased down by a wrench-wielding Tails. However, Amy smashed the bot with her hammer before he could do any damage.

"Remember any of this, Mittens?" Tails asked even though he had a suspicion that the answer was no.

The echidna shook his head. "Nah. We fight robots so often that it all blurs together! Like milk and chocolate syrup when you shake it up!"

"Interesting analogy, but it works."

Off to the side, Sticks shouted as she threw her boomerang, destroying one of the crab bots. It crumbled to pieces, and Eggman's octopus robot revealed itself from the bushes. Inside, Eggman aimed its cannon, firing a glob of ink in Sonic's direction.

The blue speedster slipped on it as he ran forward. He flailed his arms to keep from taking a tumble. "Uh, I could use some help here!"

"Uh…help with what?" Sonic didn't think it was possible to slip on oil like that while also on sand, but here they were. "Keepin' his balance?"

Mittens smirked. "Sonic's always been like that! Just a total mess, really."

Metal glanced over at the echidna. "Have you ever looked in a mirror?"

"All the time!" He flexed his muscles again. "Gotta make sure these stay in tip-top shape to take down bad guys like you!"

"It was meant as an insult."

"It wasn't a very good one then!"

Dave approached with a green and yellow launcher, smirking. "I'm all over it." He ignored Sonic when eventually fell to the ground with a huff. "Anyone order a butt kicking with a side of pain and extra humiliation sauce?"

"Dave?" Tails furrowed his brow, not expecting this. "He's fighting on their side now? Since when?"

"This is already going in a direction I don't like," Knuckles groused.

A multitude of burgers were launched out of the weapon and right at the octopus bot.

Amy wasn't surprised that those 'food' items had been weaponized. They were dangerous enough not being shot out at a high velocity.

Eggman growled as he was bombarded, pressing a button that shot out a blue beam.

It exploded right at Amy's feet; she yelled as she was hurled helplessly into the air. Before she hit the ground, Knuckles sped over on two hoverboards and caught the pinkette with ease.

Knuckles grinned at her. "I always knew you'd fall for me."

Amy dreamily sighed.

Amy choked on her spit.

Knuckles laughed. Hard.

Tails was in shock.

Mittens tapped his chin, getting butter on it. "You'd think that I remember that happening…"

Sonic couldn't control his laughter. "Guess the other me wasn't good enough for the other you, huh Ames?"

Once she got her throat to stop spasming, Amy stood up and waved her arms in the air. "No no no! What's happening?! This shouldn't be happening!"

"Why?" Mittens snorted. "Is it so surprising that she chose someone more muscular-" He flexed. "-better looking-" He flexed again. "-and charminger-" He flashed a wide smile. "-to fall for?"

Amy didn't say anything because he was a puppy and hurting a puppy's feelings was frowned upon.

"But wait!" Tails pointed at him. "You said that you think Sonic and Amy are together, so she's not um…with you, right?"

Mittens went back to eating his popcorn. "Right! She doesn't know what she's missing out on!"

I think she knows, the kit thought before continuing, "What's going on now, then?"

"Great question, Tails!" Sonic eventually calmed down with a pleased sigh. "Let's watch and see." He had half the mind to ask for some popcorn too, but with his luck, it would be drugged or something.

Inside his robot, Eggman was shaking a fist. "Knuckles the Echidna! My arch nemesis…"

Knuckles, having put Amy down, glared. "You never learn, do you, Egghead? You'll never defeat my team!"

"Whoa, pump the brakes!" Sonic rose a brow. "Okay, so has to be another dimension, right?" It made sense. Mittens was here with them and the other echidna had never sounded so articulate.

"It has to be!" Amy explosively sighed in relief as she sat back down, crises averted. Well, it still was weird that an Amy had a crush on a Knuckles – a buffy one, no less – but at least they weren't actively following that story. "Thank goodness!"

Knuckles' laughter finally trailed off. "I sorta wish it was the main dimension because your reactions, Amy, would have been gold." She puffed out her cheeks at him, but the echidna disregarded the look. He never thought he'd be thinking this; however, he was interested in his other other self. "Please tell me that this one isn't as bad as-"

"I think I know that guy!" Mittens interrupted him, and Knuckles glared. His twin didn't seem to mind. "Yeah, I remember him! He's the Knuckles that-"

A booming horn blast attacked all of their ears.

Maybe Metal could hold off on the perks of being alive a little while longer.

When Mittens lowered his hands with a pitiful groan, he felt a heated glare on him. Turning his head, he was met with molten scarlets somehow promising worst things than destruction of his home dimension.

Shadow, still on the floor, calmly uttered, "I will strangle you."

The echidna gulped.

"Alright." Sonic rejoiced when he could still hear his own voice while his ears begged for mercy. "To keep us from having permanent hearing damage and to keep Shadow from attackin' you, how about we keep the spoilers to a minimum, yeah?"

Mittens hastily nodded, thinking that the magical ceiling wasn't so nice after all.

"Can't we just tape his mouth shut?" Eggman scowled, his ever-occurring headache returning.

"Seconded." Knuckles had never agreed with Eggman this strongly before. "Do we have any duct tape laying around?"

"That's a little harsh, Knuckles." Amy rubbed her abused ears and focused on the other echidna. "He just has to remember to not bring it up, right Mittens?"

The newcomer tilted his head. "Bring what up?"

Drastic times called for drastic measures. Amy whispered to Knuckles, "Do you think the thing would give it to us if we asked?"

"It likes seeing us suffer," Knuckles huffed. "So, no."

Sonic quickly sidled up to him with a smile. "We're a team? We should get matching uniforms!"

"Oh, Sonic," Knuckles began like he was talking to a child. "Uniforms, by definition, match." The echidna patted him on the head as a good job for listening, Sonic accepting the gesture. Knuckles dropped his hand, saying, "Now if you'd excuse me, the grown ups have some work to do." He ran off as Sonic watched in awe.

Sonic was gaping, temporarily speechless. It seemed like his double and the other other Knuckles had switch places, but the echidna was way more patronizing.

He eventually found his words, saying, "Knux, if you ever talk to me like that, all of the grapes on your island may or may not go missing."

Knuckles knew that Sonic wouldn't actually do that. Not when he could easily threaten the speedster's chili dog supply. "The only way he's getting away with it is because that Sonic doesn't care at all." He snorted, entertained by the idea. "Again, I wish that dimension was the actual one we were following."

"Why?" Mittens asked him, finishing off his popcorn. "The dimensions aren't that much different! Sonic pretty much acts the same, and I'm an amazing leader, no matter the time or place!"

Knuckles wasn't going to waste the effort to explain, and Sonic just rolled with it.

"But…" Tails didn't want to burst the echidna's bubble, however, "Isn't your team called Team Sonic, though?"

Mittens held his nose high. "That's only a placeholder until I can come up with a cooler name!"

"Have you come up with one yet?"

"Plenty!"

Tails was trying really hard, but he wasn't following this. "Then why-"

"I have to get the names approved by Sonic, my number two!" Mittens jollily explained. "Nothing sounds good enough for him yet!"

Well, that cleared everything up. "Uh," Tails smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "Good luck with finding a name!"

"Thanks!" Mittens returned the smile. "Nice to know that Tails is nice and supportive in every dimension!"

Tails' expression softened at that, but before he could respond, Sonic jumped into the conversation. "He always is!" He grinned. "Like how I'm always a fun-loving hero!"

Eggman rolled his eyes. "What, can't imagine a scenario where we switch rolls, cactus? With me being the hero who always wins and you being the villain who can't have one victory to his name?"

"So, you admit to your failures?" Metal had to ask.

Eggman refused to respond.

"I'm pretty sure that I would always win as the villain, but that's beside the point." Sonic waved the idea off before tapping his chin. "I just can't see myself being an actual bad guy! I'm too loveable for that!"

Tails, Mittens, and Amy agreed, Knuckles scoffed, Eggman released an exasperated sigh, and Metal and Shadow remained quiet because there was no point in arguing.

---

A powerful sneeze filled the air, and Scourge paused in what he was doing to wipe his nose, uncaringly smearing his muzzle with blood.

"Damn allergies," he muttered before wailing once more on the pathetic mongrel beneath him. The dog's broken whimpers were barely audible, his whole body jerking when Scourge landed another punch to the nose.

The green hedgehog grabbed the canine's chest hair and yanked until they were nose-to-nose, those unfocused eyes meeting his chilling blues. Scourge growled. "The next time you bring me hot dogs with no chili, I'm gonna test how many punches a mutt like you can take before keelin' over. Understand?"

Terror was etched into the other's expression as he nodded.

"Good. Now…" Scourge smirked, it void of mirth. "Where's my apology?"

"S-Sorry, King Scourge." The scraggy dog whined. "I w-won't do it a-again."

The hedgehog chuckled with a sneer. "Atta boy." He stood, tugging the shivering mongrel up to his feet as well. Scourge pushed him away, snorting at the resulting stumble. "Fetch me a meal I can actually eat, will ya?"

"Yes s-sir…" The canine stammered with his ears plastered and tail tucked. He wobbled out of the ill-lit room, leaving a red-dotted trail behind him.

Scourge tisked when the dog left. "Can't ever find decent help 'round here." He sniffed and glanced around at all of the dust caking the throne room. He scrunched his nose. "And where the hell is that mouse who's supposed to clean-"

"Gone." He glanced over his shoulder to spot Fiona leaning against the arm of his throne, eating one of those disgustingly bland hot dogs. The red vixen flipped a hand. "Took her out last week, remember?"

"…Oh yeah, caught her pouring bleach into my milk."

A sly smile adorned Fiona's face, her tail swishing languidly. "The woes of being the king of Moebius."

Scourge's grin was filled with sharp teeth. "Nothin' compared to the perks."

The vulpine tipped her hot dog at that before uttering, "You know that dog is going to be unconscious in under five minutes."

"Yeah, probably."

"…That means you have to get the food yourself."

"Ugh."

---

Sonic beamed when he heard no opposition. "I'm glad we're all on the same page!"

Knuckles revved up his boards again, sending one flying into a remaining crab robot. The other crashed into the weak spot under the octopus bot. Black smoke spewed from the machine as it fell out of the sky.

Knuckles flipped into the air and punched the ground with enough force to produce powerful shockwaves to knock Eggman's large mech backwards.

Mittens clapped loudly. "Heck yeah! You go, other me! Show them the power of bulging muscles!"

Knuckles couldn't say that he wasn't impressed with what was going on on-screen, but Mittens had caused him mental strain in the recent past. It was time for payback. "Apparently, bulging muscles aren't that strong."

The other echidna slumped. "You really didn't have to say that."

It crash-landed and simultaneously shot out two beams: one red and one blue. They rebounded off a tree and combined into a thick purple ray, aiming right for a stunned Knuckles.

"No!" Sonic jumped to push him out of the way, but he was too late. The ray blasted Knuckles, making him disappear from sight.

"So that's how he probably gets into the other dimension," Tails pondered. "I totally didn't expect lasers though. I thought the Chaos emeralds would be involved somehow."

Sonic was more preoccupied that his uh…simpler twin had been too slow. No Sonic should be too slow ever. It had to be defying some kind of scientific law somewhere.

It seemed like confusion was a constant in Mitten's life, for he pursed his lips. "The Chaos emeralds? What are those?"

Amy shook her head like she couldn't believe what she had heard. "You don't…You don't know about the Chaos emeralds?!" Even citizens here that had never dealt with them before at least knew their name!

"Hold up." Knuckles frowned at Mittens' clear negative. "Do you know about the Master Emerald?"

"Uh…" His twin looked completely lost. "Should I?"

Knuckles' brain was struggling to process this. He couldn't imagine not having the Master Emerald to protect. It was his sole duty, his responsibility, and his double had no knowledge of it.

Well, considering his particular skillset, maybe that was a good thing.

"Wait, so you don't know about 'em," Sonic said, and Mitten's shook his head. "And none of your pals mentioned them at all?" There was another headshake, and Sonic furrowed his brow, asking the room, "But they have to exist, right?"

"Yeah!" Tails agreed, mind whirling. "Because of how the Master and Chaos emeralds contribute to life energy and well," he glanced over to Shadow, who still hadn't had the urge to get up. "Shadow wouldn't…be Shadow without them."

"Not necessarily." Eggman stroked his mustache in thought. "It's a different world, rodents. There could be some other powerful energy, or none at all." He hummed in thought. "If the latter's the case, then I could take over that dimension by lunchtime."

Mittens punched his fists together. "As if we'll let you do that!" He then paused, a pensive expression on his face. "Unless you share your lunch with us afterwards."

Scratch that, Eggman would be a world leader by breakfast.

"Are you sure that you haven't seen any magical gems anywhere?" Tails inquired, acting like he hadn't heard that strange proposition.

"Nope!" Mittens chirped. "But they sound cool! What do they do?"

"They enable me to cause death and destruction within a specific radius with a massive scorching blast."

Metal nodded at Shadow's statement. "They have facilitated murder in the past."

"Huh." Mittens slowly blinked at those two before facing the heroes, a note of hysteria in his voice. "And uh…why exactly are they good things, again?"

Sonic chuckled to ease the atmosphere. "Don't listen to them! The emeralds do way more good stuff than bad stuff! Pretty cool to look at, too." Remembering a specific bat's absence, the speedster perked up. "And you might even be able to see one!" He glanced at the others. "You guys think Rouge is close to findin' the emerald?"

There were shrugs all around.

"I wish we could somehow tell her that we don't really need it anymore…" Amy brought up.

"Rouge?" Mittens had a complete arsenal of questions. "Is that another friend?"

Amy leaned forward a bit, the echidna pulling out surprise after surprise. "You don't have a Rouge in your dimension?" Maybe it wasn't that surprising. They hadn't known a Sticks before all of this. "I bet she'd love to meet you! She's-"

"Nobody." Knuckles quickly cut her off, dreading the idea of Rouge coming back, seeing Mittens, and making his day a hundred times worse. Rouge watching him on TV had been bad enough. "She's no one you should worry about because you'll be gone soon enough anyway."

Sonic smirked at him, and Knuckles preemptively braced himself for what's to come. "What's that tone, Knux? You're so against her coming back, for what reason?"

"Because she's annoying."

"Or…" Those emerald eyes shined mischievously. "You don't want her seeing Mittens there cuz she likes him."

"She doesn't-"

"Jealousy doesn't look good on ya, Knux, just so you know."

"I'm not-"

"Metal, you wanna pitch in?"

Metal focused on the red-faced echidna. "I detect jealousy."

Knuckles growled at him before launching himself at a cackling Sonic. The hedgehog yelped when he was tackled, them both crashing to the ground.

Mittens cheered as they wrestled around on the floor. "Woo! Pin him down, other me!" There was no response other than laughter from Sonic and angry gibberish from Knuckles. Mittens glanced over to a deadpanning Tails and Amy. "What was that all about?"

Tails rubbed the back of his neck. "It's…complicated."

"And Knuckles isn't very good at handling complicated, so he kind of just attacks." Amy explained further.

"Oh! He's just like me, then!" Mittens concluded. "Except for the attacking part. Whenever my Tails starts talking, I zone out half the time and think about kittens."

Amy giggled and whispered, "I think people do that when talking to any Tails."

"Hey!" Hearing that, Tails puffed out his cheeks. "Not everyone! I'm sure Eggman can understand me just fine!"

Amy waved him off. "He doesn't count."

"Don't drag me into this." Eggman glared. "But she's right, I don't."

Tails slumped, and Amy went to assure him that she was just kidding while Mittens laughed.

"Uncle! Uncle!"

All attention – except Shadow's, who was replaying running free in his head many times – was drawn to Sonic tapping the ground. Snickers spilled out of his mouth even though Knuckles was sitting on him, twisting his arm behind his back. "I give! Got that all out of your system, now?"

Knuckles narrowed his eyes, wishing for tape for Sonic instead of his twin. He believed that everyone would appreciate the silence. "Is it all out of your system?"

"Well…" Sonic subtly winced when his shoulder began to protest the manhandling. "I'll stop teasin' about Rouge if you stop about Ames, truce?"

"That's going to last all of ten minutes."

"Enjoy the peace while you can, yeah?"

Figuring that he wasn't going to get anything more out of Sonic, Knuckles sighed in exasperation before getting off the speedster and returning to his seat. Sonic's smile refused to leave as he picked up his chair and did the same.

"Are you done acting like ill-behaved children?" Eggman sharply grumbled.

"Absolutely not," Sonic chirped.

He should've expected that.

Sonic slid on the sand, smiling as he caught a chili dog. "Got it! That was almost the worst disaster imaginable." He stood back up and bit the 'dog, groaning at the taste.

Tails and Amy were sitting at a decorated table outside of Amy's shack, and Sticks was grilling some food beside them.

"So, this is the regular dimension now?" Amy really hoped it was. Introducing any more worlds would become real confusing real fast.

Tails nodded. "Looks like it!"

They all snapped their focus onto the red echidna that flickered into existence.

Sticks gasped and shouted, "Ah! Kill it with fire!"

"Calm down!" Tails placated. "It's just Knuckles."

"Oh." Sticks blinked before shouting once more, "Kill Knuckles with fire!"

"Yep, that's Sticks alright!" Mittens gleefully quipped.

Tails was more than a little concerned. "Would she actually try to set you on fire if given the chance?"

"Not just me! She'd probably set anyone on fire if she wasn't scared of aliens in UFOs noticing the rising fumes."

Tails processed that sentence for a moment before asking, "U…FOs?"

Mittens shrugged. "Her words, not mine."

Tails thought it would be wise to leave that topic alone.

Still holding his chili dog, Sonic grinned at the echidna. "Cool entrance, Knux."

Amy wasn't as impressed. "You were supposed to get hamburger buns."

Pushing the last fifteen seconds out of his mind, Sonic tapped his foot. "Wait, so they're not fazed at all by Mittens just popping in randomly? They're used to teleportation even though there might not be any emeralds?"

"This is so weird…" Amy muttered. It wasn't as weird as Sticks, though. Nowhere close.

Knuckles rose an uncertain brow. "In mid battle?" He frowned. "Sweet Amy, there will be time for your delicious burgers after we've defeated that dastardly deviant Eggman."

Knuckles snorted. "Someone's read the dictionary."

Sonic approached the table, amazed. "Nice vocab."

"And impressive alliteration." Tails tilted his head. "You've been taking night classes?"

Then, another Knuckles walked up with a tray filled with hamburger buns.

Mittens gasped and frantically pointed at the screen. "That's me! That's me, that's me!" He leaned forward in excitement. "Is everyone looking? I'm right there, right there! It's like I'm starring in an awesome movie! I'm-"

"If you say right there again, I will find a way to tell your Sonic that you lost to me." Knuckles threatened.

Mittens clammed up, and it was nice to know that Sonic was a horror in other dimensions too.

"Hey guys." He stopped to inspect the other echidna there, smiling. "Who's the beefcake?"

All eyes landed on Mittens, and he recovered from Knuckles' threat. "What?" He began, a tad defensive. "I knew who he was! I was just…" He trailed off, floundering for an explanation. "Testing if they knew?"

Amy rose a brow. "That was a horrible lie, and you know it."

"The pressure got to me!"

The scene cut to inside the shack, where the two Knuckles were sitting on a couch with the rest of the team eyeing them.

"They really look alike…" Sticks started with a critical gaze. "We need to figure out how to tell them apart."

"Luckily you two look so different!" Tails commented, glancing at Knuckles and Mittens. "We didn't have to do anything extra to tell you apart!"

The guardian propped his chin on his palm. "Wouldn't have been hard. He still would've been shoe-less."

Mittens pouted. "I still think that was a fluke!"

"Both times?"

"Yeah!"

"Have you ever fought against a giant amorphous water monster and won?"

"…a what?"

"Exactly."

"I know!" Amy chirped when an idea came to her. "Our Knuckles can wear something to distinguish himself!" Some of her enthusiasm waned when she asked, "But which one is our Knuckles?"

One of the echidnas sat forward. "Well, that depends… What does distinguished mean?"

Sonic snickered. "Bingo."

Amy ran off and came back with a blue party hat.

"No way!" Knuckles harshly opposed. "I'm not wearing that!"

Amy furrowed her brow, throwing her question at the newer echidna. "Why not?"

Mittens huffed. "Because those hats are just for kids! And I'm not a kid!"

"But…you made those paper hats for my twin's camp thing."

"That was a totally different situation!" Mittens crossed his arms and muttered, "I worked hard on that hat."

The other Knuckles hopped to his feet, unbothered. "I'd be honored to wear your ridiculous hat, my dear." He went over and donned the hat, snapping the rubber under his neck.

Amy sighed dreamily.

Amy shot to attention, jabbing a finger at the television. "No! No! You stop that right now, young lady!" The other other Knuckles might be suave and eloquent, but that gave her no right to fall for him! "Remember, steroids might be involved with those echidnas!"

Mittens gaped at her. "You think I take steroids?"

"Not anymore after that loss."

"I dunno if I should feel relieved or insulted…"

Sonic was pleasantly surprised with what he was seeing. "He may look like Knuckles, but he sure doesn't talk like him."

Knuckles glared. "Hey! I talk gooder than you!"

Mittens grinned, proud of that comeback, while everyone else resisted the urge to sigh.

Tails cradled his chin in thought. "There's a perfectly rational explanation for this." There was a long pregnant silence while the kit thought and the others waited. Eventually, Tails shrugged. "I…just haven't figured it out yet."

"He killed some time," Metal started. "I appreciate his efforts if only for that sole reason."

There was a collective groan.

Hat-Knuckles stood by the kit's side and consoled, "Worry not, young Tails. Be diligent!" He put a firm hand on his shoulder. "In time, the answer will seek you."

"Whoa…" Knuckles breathed out. "I sound like a fortune cookie!"

Mittens chuckled, remembering saying that, while Sonic smirked at Knuckles. "Didn't you say that during the last episode, Knux?"

"Shut up."

The echidna bit his arm, slumping in disappointment. "But I don't taste like one."

Amy was starting to worry about their new friend. "Again…why?"

"I was curious!" Mittens defended himself.

Hat-Knuckles ignored him. "There's only one person smart enough to unravel this enigma…"

They were now standing in Meh Burger with Dave at the counter. "Welcome to Meh Burger. Can I take your order?"

Sonic busted out laughing. "Dave? That other dimension is really somethin' else!"

Amy was less focused on Dave, zeroing in on the existence of Meh Burger as a whole. And trying not to gag. She frowned at Mittens. "Why in the world do you eat there so much? Do you even know what's in those burgers?!"

"Nope!" He admitted shamelessly. "It's the goodest thing around!" Tails cringed. "Amy's the only one who knows how to cook without causing a fire, but lately she's been mad at me for fishing in her shack."

Those words were so outrageous that even Shadow's baffled stare landed on him.

"Her shack flooded one day, and I wanted to make the best out of it! Is that so wrong?"

Amy couldn't wrap her mind around this. "Where…did the fish come from?"

"Sticks-"

"That's all I need to know."

"Dave!" Hat-Knuckles gleefully exclaimed. "I'm glad I found you, friend!" He leaned on the counter. "We need your brilliant mind."

Dave remained emotionless. "Sorry, we're all out of that. May I recommend the Meh-rib sandwich? They're only available for a limited time."

"They sell brain there?" Tails felt sick to his stomach. "That's horrible!"

"Heh, maybe it helps people gain some missin' IQ points."

"Eating it would cause terrible brain deteriorating diseases that can't be cured, Sonic."

"…Oh. Nevermind then."

"What's going on here?" Hat-Knuckles was dumbfounded. "Everyone seems to be the opposite of their normal selves."

Tails pensively hummed before perking up. "I think I understand what's happening. They say it's available for a limited time to create a false demand!"

Sonic stifled a snicker, and Tails couldn't help to smile. "I mean, he's not wrong."

Amy mentally filed away that info for future use.

Sticks nodded. "That's how they getcha!"

"Also-" Tails returned to the situation at hand, gesturing to Hat-Knuckles. "-I just figured out that this guy is from another dimension!"

"What other explanation could there be?" Eggman asked in slight frustration. "That he's the buffoon's long-lost twin?"

"You act like that's impossible," Knuckles muttered. "I wouldn't be surprised if that's the plot of one of these episodes." He was one millisecond away from asking his double about it, but he remembered that he liked his ability to hear.

"Another dimension?" Sonic repeated dubiously. "You mean with duplicates of each of us?"

Sticks' eyes were wide as she held her head in her hands. "What if another one of me shows up? I can't trust me. I'm a loose cannon!" She screamed in panic and ran off with everyone watching.

"Yeah, that'd be a sight to see!" Sonic exclaimed. Either there would be constant fighting, or they would end up being friends, coming up with ever more insane conspiracy theories.

Or the village would end up burned to the ground. It was a toss-up, really.

They relocated to Tails' workshop, and the kit began to explain what was happening. "For years it's been theorized that a mirror dimension exists parallel to our own."

"More than one!" Amy said before her eyes widened. "Whoa…how many alternate dimensions do you guys think there are? There has to be more than just three!"

Mittens thought hard. "Probably seven."

"There's no way of knowing…" Tails tapped his chin, not really thinking about this before. He started counting on his fingers. "We're part of one, and we've seen two already on TV." He met Sonic's interested gaze. "You've been to Camelot and to the world of Arabian Nights, so that's two more."

"Don't forget about Blaze's dimension!" Amy reminded.

Tails nodded. "Right! So that's six, but I wouldn't doubt that there could be way more. There's no limit!"

The possibility of an infinite numbers of various dimensions, and Shadow strongly believed that no other Shadow was suffering more than him at the moment.

---

"I really don't understand why you're so upset."

"I'm not upset."

"That shredded pillow would beg to differ."

Shadow exhaled harshly as he looked at the pillow he'd ripped in half a few minutes before, its stuffing spread across his bed and the carpet.

Across the room, Knuckles settled down on his own bed, shrugging. "Look, it's not so bad here. We got all the perks the core fighters have, and-"

"I know." Shadow crossed his arms, giving him a pointed stare. "This is my third tournament as an assist, echidna. Unlike for you, the glitz and glamor has worn off."

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Well, at least you've made friends here. I'm the new kid."

"I don't make friends."

The echidna rose a dubious brow. "Uh huh. That blonde kid with the giant golden hands looked eager enough to help move you in."

"It's a façade. We're both suffering internally."

Knuckles frowned. "Are you that ticked off that they wanted you to be an assist again?"

"No," he said shortly, the echidna blinked at him in confusion. Shadow went on to ask, "Have you seen the newest fighters?"

Realization flooded Knuckles features. "Oh, that's what this is about."

A growl leaked into Shadow's voice. "I'm fine with that fire tiger or that dog secretary, but-"

He was cut off by knocks on their room door. "Hey, guys!" A familiar voice filtered through. "You in there?"

"Yeah!" Knuckles jumped up and went to open the door, revealing a smiling Sonic. "I'm guessing that you finished moving in?"

"Yep!" Sonic held up a fist, and the echidna bumped it. "And I wanted to see how you two were doin'!" The speedster stepped into the space, scanning the sizeable room and lingering on the ruined pillow. "Uh, did Chain Chomp somehow get in here?"

Knuckles snorted. "No. The Drama Queen over there can't get over how he was assigned."

Shadow glared at him.

"Oh c'mon, Shads!" Sonic faced the striped hedgehog. "I'm as disappointed as you are, but they made the choice for a reason, y'know?" Shadow's frown didn't let up. Sonic took a step back. "How about this, I got a housewarmin' gift for your first stay at the assist house, Knux, and to turn Shadow's frown upside down!"

He left with a pep in his step. Losing his glare, Shadow sent an inquisitive glance Knuckles' way. The echidna shrugged.

"Here it is!"

Shadow faced forward again only to see a brown pot, large leaves, white spots, and sharp teeth.

Rage raced through the hedgehog's veins as Knuckles raised a hand to smother his laughter.

Sonic, holding the plant, peaked around it with a knowing grin. "Like it?" The plant cocked its head, a large tongue lolling out of its mouth. Sonic snickered. "I know it's a big responsibility, but with enough sun and water-"

Shadow had to teleport out of there because if not, he would've blown up his room and then some.

He was now in the yard of the massive home, surprising some of the assists still moving in. Shadow disregarded them however, spotting a particular angel he might tear the wings off of.

He stomped over and snarled, "Did you see him go in there with that damn plant?"

Dark Pit answered with a simple, "Yep." Beside him, Lucario wordlessly nodded.

"Why didn't you stop him?"

"I wanted to see you blow up." DP smirked. "Would've been hilarious."

Lucario looked back up at the multiple story house. "Sonic told me that you would enjoy the surprise."

"And you believed him?"

"…Yes."

DP scoffed. "Liar."

"Both of you are dead to me."

---

Shadow inwardly sighed as the others talked more about dimensions. The next time the Commander wanted him to stay overnight to do some paperwork, Shadow going to walk out without a word.

Sonic spoke up. "Theorized…" He trailed off at the appearance of the bow-tie beaver in the window. They stared each other down for a moment until Sonic continued with, "…by whom?"

Disappointed, the beaver slunk away.

Amy believed that something was seriously wrong with that beaver. "What's with him and grammar? First the guilt tripping episode, and now this!"

Tails could sympathize with him now.

Tails motioned to himself. "Theorized by me!" He turned to the echidnas. "You see, the two Knuckles are polar opposites. One is smart, sophisticated, charming, likeable, and a born leader."

"Thank you," the echidnas replied simultaneously.

Knuckles just shook his head.

Tails smirked. "And the other one thought I was talking about him."

"That was so nice of Tails to spare the other me's feelings!" Mittens commented. "No one likes being the dumb twin!"

"It doesn't matter if they are oblivious."

Mittens looked at Knuckles. "Huh? What makes you say that?"

"Experience."

"So how do we send him back?" Amy asked.

"That depends on how he got here in the first place," Tails replied, aiming his question at Hat-Knuckles. "Silly hat Knuckles, what's the last thing you remember?"

He recalled the events with a sure voice. "As I led my team to certain victory, Eggman's octopus bot was shooting red and blue energy beams. Two of them crossed, creating a purple beam. Sonic tried to save me…but he was too clumsy and fell."

Sonic tisked in mock-disappointment. "A shame to all Sonic-kind."

"Boy." Knuckles chimed in. "The two dimensions really aren't that different!"

Amy wondered what went on in that echidna's head. "You know that your Sonic isn't that clumsy, right?"

"Yes, he is! You just haven't seen it!" Mittens adamantly argued.

"Sure he is." Amy grinned. "When's the last time Sonic tripped on anything?"

"Last week!"

"And you?"

Mittens hummed. "Well, there was that time two days ago, and yesterday, and before I was-" He paused at the glint in her eyes before slumping in defeat. "I need to stop thinking out loud…"

Tails cradled his chin. "Hm…I'll need some time to experiment so then I can replicate the beam frequencies."

Hat-Knuckles waved him off. "Forget that. If the Eggman of my dimension had the technology to send me here, the Eggman of yours should have what we need to send me back!"

Eggman knew that the episode would make it around to his other self. "Is there any day where my double doesn't show up?" he asked without thinking.

Mittens, also not thinking, opened his mouth to answer.

An air horn boomed, Eggman hated how anger made him just a little reckless, and Mittens feared for his life as Shadow sat up.

"I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!" the echidna pleaded when the painful noise went away. He hastily pointed over at the doctor. "It's his fault!"

"Wha-?" Eggman stiffened when molten scarlets focused on him. "You didn't have to answer me, you imbecile!"

"You didn't have to ask!"

"He's right." Sonic wished the ringing in his ears would go away a little faster. "You didn't have to ask, Eggy."

Eggman glared at them before facing the striped hedgehog. "Shadow, if you want to get out of here, you have to let me live. With no broken bones preferably."

Shadow's glare never let up, but he never stood either. After a brief stare down, Shadow laid on the floor again. There was no point in wasting energy if there was nothing to show for it.

Eggman released a relieved sigh.

"Great idea!" Amy was on board with this. "Let's go ask Eggman!"

"Ask?" Amy didn't like the sound of that.

"Her attraction to the echidna has impacted her logical thinking."

"If you say that again, Metal, I will personally melt you into a toaster the second we're out of here."

He smirked. "Who said anything about asking?" He clenched a fist. "Let's take it! Better to ask for forgiveness than permission."

Amy perked up. "That's more like it!"

Knuckles wouldn't mind meeting that echidna. "Less talk and more action is the best way to handle situations like this."

Knuckles was awed. "Wow! I sound like a whole box of fortune cookies!"

"Speaking of…" Mittens looked up. "Can I have a fortune cookie?" One popped into existence in his lap. "Thank you!" He unwrapped the treat, and before anyone could stop him, he plopped the whole thing in his mouth.

Tails reached a frantic hand out. "Wait! What about your fortune?"

Mittens swallowed and burped. "Guess we'll never know!"

"Let's do this!" Hat-Knuckles prompted, strolling over to the door. "Follow me, team!"

Sonic stepped in his path and held out a halting hand. "Not so fast, Silly hat Knux. We're not aggressors." He lowed his arm, gesturing to the fox. "Tails will figure this out! We need to be patient."

"Patient?" Knuckles snorted. "I'm surprised that a Sonic knows what that word means."

"I'm patient!" Sonic argued with a grin. "On the weekends and by appointments only."

"Wait, I'm confused. You're a patient?" Mittens gasped, concern etched into his features. "Are you sick?!"

"Uh, what? No, I'm-" When his brain finally processed the mess that was just said, Sonic let out a chuckle. "Nah, I'm fine, bud! Thanks for askin' though!"

Worry melted off of Mittens, and he beamed.

Knuckles blankly stared at Sonic. "You're just going to let that slide?"

"Yeah! Did you not see how worried he was?"

"I did. That's the issue."

"He's trying his best."

"You can sit on the side-lines if you want," Hat-Knuckles argued. "But I'm taking action." He ran out of the workshop.

Knuckles walked up, looking lost. "I don't know what just happened, but I'm pretty sure we're mad at you guys." He ran off as well, but he picked the wrong direction and slammed into a wall.

Knuckles glanced askance at Sonic, and the speedster uttered, "Well, his best isn't the same as your best, Knux. But it still counts."

Later, Knuckles was sitting at a table by himself at Meh Burger. His chin was propped up with his palm as he sighed.

Sonic, Amy, and Sticks approached his table. "Oh, there you are, buddy." Sonic greeted once he was by his side. "I hope you're not mad about before." He motioned to a card with a sun on it that Amy revealed. "We got you a card to cheer you up."

Amy read the words on it out loud. "Sorry that the alternate dimension you is a jerk." She placed it on the table when she finished.

Amy clasped her hands together. "Aww – but wait, that doesn't make any sense. Knuckles likes Mittens, and the people who potentially won't like him are the rest of the team. So why are they giving him a card?"

Tails agreed with her, but, "He has to be sad for a reason, though…"

Knuckles attempted to pick the gift up, but he grunted as he struggled to lift the paper. Amy and Sonic shared a concerned look until the echidna gave up.

"I'm not usually that weak!" Mittens pointed out, mostly addressing Knuckles. "That's because-" Realizing what he was doing, he clamped his mouth shut.

"My ears thank you," Knuckles said, settling back in his chair. He had been ready to tackle the other to the ground.

He slammed his fists down on the table. "Stupid card! I didn't want to lift it anyway!" Knuckles went to stand up, but his legs couldn't support his weight. He collapsed to the ground; his friends stared in shock.

Well that came out of nowhere. "Is he sick?" Sonic questioned with a subtle frown.

Mittens bit his tongue to keep from shouting something out that he would instantly regret.

The scene then cut to Eggman's lair where Hat-Knuckles was destroying every robot that attacked him. However, after a punch to a bee bot, he flickered in and out of existence until solidifying again. The echidna didn't notice, continuing to pummel the rushing bots.

Amy pursed her lips. "One, how do you not notice that, and two, what?!"

"I'm sure we're all thinking that," Knuckles muttered.

Back at Tails' workshop, Knuckles was laying on a tabletop with a blanket covering him and a thermometer in his mouth. The rest of Team Sonic had surrounded him.

Knuckles glanced at Sticks. "I'm fine, guys," he murmured around the device hindering his speech. "I swear!"

Mittens felt eyes on him and admitted, "Okay, that's like the only time I've lied."

He flickered like his twin, and Sticks had to hit his head to get him to stop. "I hate it when he does that!"

"Is…Is she treating him like a TV?" Eventually, Amy would learn to stop questioning Sticks' actions, but she hadn't mastered that lesson yet.

Knuckles grunted. "At least she isn't setting him on fire."

"This must be tied to the other Knuckles…" Tails suggested.

Knuckles blinked at him. "You mean the guy with the hat?"

"Who else would he be-" Knuckles clenched his jaw. "Nevermind."

Tails resumed like he hadn't spoken. "Having two of you in the same dimension is causing a catastrophic anomaly!"

"Aw, that's my least favorite kind!" the echidna commented before rethinking. "Well, that and mint chocolate chip." He made a sound of disgust.

"Whoa!" Pushing the catastrophic anomaly to the side for the moment, Tails had to recover from the feeling of being punched in the gut. "How can you hate mint chocolate chip? It's two amazing flavors combined into one!"

Sonic was iffy about it. "I dunno, Tails." The kit gaped at him. "Think about it like this: you wouldn't mix soda and milk together, would you?" Tails stuck his tongue out in disgust. "See! Two great things don't always come together to make a better thing."

"But mint and chocolate are different."

"It's disgusting, Tails."

"I've been betrayed."

Sonic frowned. "Tails, English please?"

"Because both Knuckles are here-" the kit began again with simpler terms. "-the boundary between the two dimensions is eroding! Eventually, both will implode. We need them together so we can send the smart one back!"

Amy glanced between the two echidnas in the room and then out of the closest window. The sky wasn't falling, so, "Is that really a thing? Because it isn't happening here!"

And Knuckles would appreciate it if his world stayed glued together. "Don't jinx us."

"Please jinx us to end this." Shadow opposed.

"Hang in there a little while longer, Shads!" Sonic advised before addressing Tails, "But yeah, what gives? I'm not mad about our dimension being perfectly fine, but still."

Tails studied the echidna on-screen. "I don't know… I mean, nothing happened when we met our younger selves, but that situation dealt with time rather than space. Maybe…the thing is protecting us and, in turn, our universe against the calamity?" He focused on the echidnas. "Do either of you feel funny?"

Knuckles shook his head. "I don't feel any different."

Mittens blinked when Tails looked expectantly at him. "Uh…sorry, can you repeat the question? I was imagining kitties playing with a yarn ball."

Tails couldn't get mad because he had been warned. "Do you feel any different?"

The echidna examined his arms. "Nope! As strong as ever!"

"Great. Now let's stop talking about it before my chances of world domination drops to zero."

"It is already at zero, so you have nothing to lose."

If Amy didn't melt Metal down after they were freed, Eggman would happily take the job.

Sonic nodded. "Okay, Tails, keep working on your…red-blue-purple bream thing. Amy, Sticks, and I are going to Eggman's lair to bring back…" He paused to think. "That other guy."

Cutting back to the evil base, Hat-Knuckles was now inside destroying robots with ease. He ran toward an observing Eggman, smashing the two machines at his side.

The echidna began to flicker again, more violently this time. He noticed and was too distracted to dodge the electrified net that dropped from the ceiling. He cried out in shock once he was trapped, trying in vain to set himself free.

Sonic was a mixture of sympathetic and amused. "Guess that plan of his didn't work out so well, huh?"

"He would've been fine if he hadn't start flickering like an old light bulb," Amy pointed out.

Outside of the lair were Sonic, Amy, and Sticks.

"Okay." The blue speedster glanced at the girls, grinning. "Everyone ready to put the plan into action?"

"Yeah!" they chorused.

Sonic didn't waste any time in walking up to the entrance, determination set in his expression. When he got to the door, he knocked on it.

Mittens was disappointed. "Wow, Sonic is lamer than I thought! You're supposed to force your way in!"

"He's really emphasizing that he's a 'non-aggressor'," Knuckles said. "That's like telling a tree it's not a plant."

"I'm busy!" Eggman bellowed from inside. "Come back tomorrow!" Sonic clenched his fist as the human shouted at someone else. "Hey, you're my prisoner! You can't just disappear like that! Stop flickering!"

"Eggman's not curious at all by it?"

"It's my double, rodent. Nothing rational goes on in his head."

"I'm a fox."

"You all blur together."

"Alright, Plan B." Sonic backed up from the door until he was far enough away. Then he crouched and spin dashed right through the metal barrier like a hot knife through butter.

"Should've done that in the first place!" Sonic lightly admonished.

In the main room, Hat-Knuckles was locked inside of a cage with laser bars. Eggman was smug beside him. "Imagine the look on Sonic's face when he sees I have Knuckles trapped."

Amy rolled her eyes. "I don't think Sonic'll be too concerned because how long do we have left, Metal?"

"Less than four minutes."

"Yeah, he won't be concerned."

"So…" Mittens eyed Metal for a moment before regarding the heroes, "All of you guys are seriously friends with him?"

"Acquaintances at best," the robot mended.

Sonic snickered. "Metal here doesn't like us enough to be friends yet-"

"There is no yet, copy."

The speedster kept going. "-but we've been on friendlier terms lately! Especially since being trapped in here."

When Metal didn't argue that, Tails said, "Just like the saying goes: the enemy of my enemy is my friend!"

"Who's your enemy?" Mittens asked. "The magic ceiling?"

"And Eggman to a lesser degree." Knuckles added, and his twin nodded in understanding.

"I can say the same about you annoyances," Eggman grumbled.

"Do you think you could ever be friends with your Metal?" Sonic rose a brow at the echidna, curious. And he realized his mistake when his friends looked at him in horror.

"No!" Mittens adamantly yelled. "Because he…" He stopped himself once more, glancing up at the ceiling and finishing with. "…is very mean."

Sonic wiped imaginary sweat off his brow. "I'm glad you're learning."

"You don't have to imagine, Egghead!" Eggman spun around at the sound of Sonic's voice. The hedgehog and his friends ran through a hole in the wall. "Cuz here I am!"

"Well, that was a bit of a letdown." Eggman complained. "I was expecting a bigger reaction. Maybe shock, outrage, perhaps even a little ennui!" He quickly recovered from the disappointment. "Anyhoo. Motobugs, attack!"

"Motobugs again?" Eggman couldn't fathom why his double didn't learn from his mistakes. He had someone held hostage, and yet he was going to sit back and let Sonic trash his cheap robots. "He's basically just giving up on winning at this point."

More robots rolled out to target the heroes. Sonic was the first to move, spin attacking the closest motobug.

Hat-Knuckles watched its parts fly in different directions. "Look who broke down the wall." He side-eyed Sonic. "The non-aggressors."

Amy frowned. "Does he not want them to save him?

Sonic punched another bot, dusting dirt off his shoulder. "Dude, this is more of a rescue than an attack."

The echidna deadpanned at him. "Excuses are easy to manufacture, but hard to sell."

"Neither of them are wrong…" Tails mused. "But Sonic is more right."

Eggman looked at him, surprised. "Why is Knuckles talking like a fortune cookie?"

Mittens laughed, and Eggman ran an exasperated hand down his face.

"That's not Knuckles." Amy enlightened him. "It's his double from another dimension."

Comprehension flooded Eggman's expression. "Oh! That explains the hat. So you can tell them apart, great idea!"

"He's not fazed at all by this!" Knuckles exclaimed. "For something that hasn't happened before and shouldn't be able to happen from their perspective, they're acting like it's just another Tuesday."

"Maybe it is?" Amy suggested. "Like, they've dealt with many meteor showers, luck balance of the universe shenanigans, and being in each other's bodies."

Mittens gasped in excitement. "You guys watched all of those? Cool!" He then sobered up. "I'm way better than Sonic at gopher golf! He just cheats, a lot!"

Knuckles' sarcasm was palpable. "Sure." Even without luck getting in the way, he doubted his double had the skill for it.

Making meat hand puppets, yes. Holes-in-one, no.

"Thank-" Amy smashed a motobug with her hammer. "-you."

"Wait a minute." Eggman frowned. "There are multiple Knuckles in this dimension? That could cause some kind of catastrophic anomaly! I do not want a dimensional explosion in my lab! I just had the floors waxed."

Amy giggled. "Nice to know that he has his priorities straight."

The doctor pressed a button on the cage, and the bars vanished. The heroes just looked at Eggman. He glared. "So, what are you waiting for? Get him out of here!"

Sonic responded, "Well, actually the reason alternate dimension Knuckles is here is that alternate dimension Eggman shot him with lasers from alternate dimension octopus bot."

Eggman was amused. "That's so alternate dimension me!"

"He's so happy. Why is he so happy?" Eggman glared at the screen. "He just lost! He should be wallowing in his failures and learning from his mistakes."

"Because you do that so well."

The doctor contemplated whether going deaf was such a bad thing.

Mittens snickered at Metal, somewhat warming up to him. Just a tiny bit. "So you hate Eggman too?"

"Immensely."

"What does that mean?"

"Yes."

"Any chance we could borrow your lasers so Tails can send this guy back and prevent the destruction of…pretty much everything?" Sonic asked.

"Sure!" Eggman chuckled. "You should've just asked me in the first place!"

Maybe Amy shouldn't have doubted her pacifist twin. "Peacefully asking actually worked, who would've thought?"

Eggman thought for a second. "But I need them back by Thursday."

"What's happening Thursday?" Sticks inquired.

"I'm gonna attack your, uh…" Eggman's smile was fake. "I mean, I'm having a party."

"His pants should have burst into flames with how bad that lie was," Tails said.

Sticks made an 'I'm watching you' gesture with her fingers.

Everyone was gathered in Tails' workshop once more. The echidnas were standing on a metal platform with two machines aimed at him. The rest of the heroes were on the sidelines.

Tails was examining the control in his hands. "For this to work, you need to be touching." He glanced at the red anthros. "So, when I tell you to, bump fists."

Hat-Knuckles briefly waved. "Farewell, my new friends. I've learned much from this wonderful journey."

The sound of crying grabbed everyone's attention.

Mittens was rubbing his damp eyes with a trembling lip. "Goodbyes are so sad!"

"But you already-"

Sonic patted Tails' shoulder and shook his head.

"Okay!" Tails raised a finger, and the echidnas got ready to fist bump. "Here goes!" The kit pressed a button on the remote. Nothing happened. He stared in disbelief before uttering, "Oops. Uh…forgot to change batteries." He zipped away.

An awkward atmosphere settled now, and elevator music started to play out of nowhere.

"I feel weird here, and we're not the one's in the room!"

Tails wholeheartedly agreed with Amy. "Batteries always fail when you need them the most."

After a couple seconds, Sticks glanced over to Amy. The pinkette simply shrugged.

"Awkward," Sonic ultimately drawled.

"Yeah, it's like when you say goodbye to someone, and then you both walk away in the same direction," Hat-Knuckles put out there.

"That is the worst."

"It's like you don't know whether to restart the conversation."

"I hope it never happens to me."

"Yeah."

"So awkward."

"I hate that."

Sonic, Tails, and Amy looked at each other and laughed.

Sticks frowned. "People always follow me."

Knuckles couldn't come up with one instance when someone actually followed her.

Tails quickly returned. "All set!" Everyone sighed in relief as he pressed the buttons again. The machines started up, one glowing blue and the other red. "Bump!"

The echidnas got into position again, but before the lasers could go off, Hat-Knuckles had to say one more thing. "By the way, Sonic, you're much more capable in this dimension."

Mittens snorted, and the others just let him believe what he wanted.

He shifted his focus onto his double. "It was nice meeting you."

Knuckles smiled. "You're the handsomest fellow I've ever met!"

"Thank you, dimwitted version of me!"

Mittens crossed his arms and glared. "I didn't catch that the first time!" He pouted. "I take back my amazing compliment, you meanie!"

Amy stifled a giggle. "You know that he can't hear you, right?"

Sonic smirked at her. "Ames, you're the pot, and he's the kettle."

"Oh, shut it."

They fist bumped, and the beams hit them at the same time. When the rays shut off, the alternate dimension Knuckles was gone. Nothing remained of him but the party hat he had worn.

"Cool!" Knuckles gushed. "Could I do that again if I rub my feet on the carpet and touch things?"

Mittens glanced back at everyone, interested in the answer.

Tails shook his head. "No. No, you can't."

"Aw man."

Sonic cringed at memory of what happened after he produced static in the same way. He was not a fan of below-the-belt hits.

In the other dimension, Sonic was seen falling face-first into the sand.

Knuckles appeared beside him on the beach.

"Great. Now he can get back to his girlfriend."

Amy's eye twitched. "You're a monster, Knuckles."

"I try."

He was shocked at the condition of his friend, but a fond smile formed soon enough. "Here, buddy. Let me help you." With one tug, Sonic was back on his feet.

Sonic dusted himself off, grinning. "Aw, thanks Knux!"

Then they braced themselves for the horde of robots coming their way.

When the screen faded to black, Eggman inwardly celebrated because it felt like the episode went on for an eternity. He faced the extra echidna in the room, more than ready to decrease the number of annoying rodents. "It's time for you to go back to where you came from."

Mittens paid no mind to his harsh tone. "I'm going back now? Awesome! I can't wait to tell my friends about you guys!"

Sonic gave him a thumbs up. "I can already say that they're gonna love us!"

Tails looked up at the ceiling, unsure. "Actually, we don't actually know if you're going back right now…it's up to the thing."

"Oh yeah…" Mittens wasn't too bothered. "It's fine too if I stay here a little longer!" He smiled at the heroes. "All of you are great to be around, even my grumpy double!"

Knuckles sighed because he couldn't outright ignore the compliment. "And you…weren't as bad as I thought you would be."

He instantly regretted saying it when Sonic and Amy cooed.

Mittens laughed before continuing, "I could say the same about Eggman and Metal! But uh…" He gave Shadow a side-glance. "I'm still kinda scared of him."

Shadow dispassionately grunted.

Sonic grinned at that and waited a few seconds. Nothing happened. "Since it seems like you're stickin' around for a bit more, we can move on to the next-"

A bright white light suddenly blinded all of them, and Sonic expected Mittens to be gone once he blinked his eyes open.

But nope, Mittens was still sitting in his chair.

And Rouge was standing in the middle of the room with a Chaos emerald.

---

I was gonna write more, but y'all have been waiting for so long and this monster is 35 pages long, so yeah…hope you enjoyed though!

And if any of you are confused about the Smash Bros part, I headcanon that everyone lives in huge mansions during 'tournaments' (aka each game).

I love Piranha Plant btw, and Scourge and Fiona are from the comics if you didn't know.

Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome!