Disclaimer- I don't own the games or the show.
Hey, guys! I promise I'm not dead! Maybe a little comatose, but definitely not dead. I'm sorry for the near three-month wait, but here's New Year's Retribution!
When Rouge gleefully placed her hand on the found Chaos emerald, she didn't expect to be instantaneously warped back into a familiar living room.
She wasn't complaining by any means – a relaxing spa treatment was long overdue – but she should at least have gotten a warning.
Rouge didn't care that much, though. She was out of the dark cave, and that was all that mattered.
That…and the extra echidna staring up at her with wide eyes.
Rouge absorbed the longer legs and bigger stature before smirking. This would be fun. "Hi, I don't believe we've met before." She sauntered over to him and held out a hand. "I'm Rouge."
The echidna shook her hand after a moment's hesitation, squeaking out a, "H-Hi." When he let her go, he leaned around her and whispered loudly to everyone, "You guys didn't tell me that she was this pretty!"
"I am literally going to vomit."
With a chuckle, Rouge glanced over to Knuckles, who was glaring with the heat of a thousand suns. Luckily, she was immune to all glares at this point. "Before you do that, anyone want to explain why this adorable beefcake is here?"
The echidna in question giggled, a light blush dusting his cheeks, and Knuckles let out a tortured groan.
Sonic wore an identical smirk as hers because he knew that this was going to be an entertaining show. "The thing popped Mittens in to watch the last episode with us! Crazy, right?"
"Very interesting." Rouge hummed before processing what she just heard. "And Mittens? Do I have to ask?"
Sonic nodded his head over at Knuckles. "Knux beat Mittens in an arm-wrestling contest, so he got to nickname him."
Rouge could believe it. Knuckles' strength was nothing to laugh at, and with what she'd seen on the screen, Mittens hadn't shown that time of power yet. However, the almost smug look on Knuckles' face made her turn to Mittens and say, "He beat you? He obviously must've cheated."
The echidna nodded enthusiastically. "That's what I've been saying!"
Knuckles wondered exactly what he had done wrong in his life to be put through this.
"Ooo! Is that a Chaos emerald?" Mittens had the attention span of a squirrel, it seemed, and Rouge honestly couldn't be surprised. "It is, right? Can I hold it?"
What did surprise her though was him questioning the beautiful gem in her hand. Her confusion must've shown on her face, for Amy explained, "We questioned it too, and it turns out they probably don't exist in that dimension!" Rouge's brow creased, and the pinkette shrugged. "Have no idea why though."
Rouge couldn't imagine what her life would be like without her shining babies. A never-ending and bland nightmare, that's what.
She decided to put that topic on hold when Mittens reached out for the gem. Rouge moved it out of his reach. "Wait a minute, sugar-" The echidna's blush returned. He had it bad. "-we have to see if everyone here could escape with it first." She raised a curious brow at Shadow splayed out on the floor. "Want to have a crack at it, Shadow?"
Shadow barely glanced at her, his eyes on the ceiling. "I'm blocked off to its energy, so there's no point. Like there's no point in mending my shattered soul. No amount of glue could put it back together until I sleep a total of thirty-six hours. No less."
Okay, one, Rouge was a little peeved that she went through that patience-testing cave for practically no reason, and two, Shadow was in a worse condition that when she last saw him.
"Alright." Rouge put a hand on her hip, motioning to the downed hedgehog. "Who broke him?"
"Is it really a matter of who at this point?" Eggman muttered.
Point taken. "What happened while I was gone?"
"Well…" Tails recounted the major things that targeted Shadow specifically. "During the last episode, Shadow managed to leave but was teleported back here kinda like you. And, this is gonna sound weird, but earlier, Shadow was put in a time loop that really messed him up."
Rouge knew that Tails wasn't lying because she'd experienced how sadistic the thing was, but she looked over at Shadow for confirmation anyway. "Things have been that rough?"
"Rough doesn't cover it. I'd take rough any day." Rouge opened her mouth. "Don't take that out of context." She closed her mouth.
Tails tilted his head in confusion. "What-"
"Nothing!" Sonic cut him off before saying, "So, the emerald plan is a dud, huh? That's a bummer, but we don't really need it anyway."
"Right!" Amy leaned forward in her seat, grinning. "The thing reduced the number of episodes we have to watch! We have just a few hours left, if even that!"
Rouge stared at her for a moment, letting this information sink in. "You're telling me that I walked through that maze of a cave getting covered in dust, spider webs, and bat guano for nothing?!"
Amy eeped, not expected that bout of anger. "At least…you have an emerald for yourself now?"
Metal scanned the irritated bat. "There are no hints of dirt, webs, nor feces on you."
Some of Rouge's annoyance melted away at that. "Really?" She checked her clothes and fur, relieved that the robot had been telling the truth. Maybe this mysterious being wasn't that bad.
"And I still don't have fitting pants," Eggman gritted, hating this blatant favoritism.
"And I still do not have working taste buds," Metal countered. "You are not the only victim here."
"Oh, for the love of – would you just drop it?"
"Never."
Sonic snickered. "Guess you lost that argument, Eggy," He ignored the glare, regarding Rouge once more. "Speaking of the cave, didn't you take Omega with you? Where is he?"
Rouge waved him off, feeling better that she didn't need to be power washed. "He probably got teleported back to headquarters."
Omega, now alone, looked around the dark cavern.
"THIS IS UNEXPECTED." He glanced up at the ceiling, addressing the fluttering bats above. "IS THERE ANY CHANCE THAT YOU COULD GUIDE ME TO THE EXIT?"
Something wet and chunky splattered on his face.
"I WILL TAKE THAT AS A NO."
Knuckles crossed his arms. "Well, since you don't have any other reason to stay here, you can leave."
"I know that I could, but…" Rouge smirked at him, loving how the other tensed. "I have the sudden urge to stick around for a bit. Get to know this new friend of yours."
Mittens perked up at that.
Knuckles wanted to strangle something. "What happened to you not wanting to spend another second in this cursed place?!"
"What, is it illegal for me to change my mind?"
"Yes!"
"Why are you being so mean to her?" Mittens asked, cocking his head. "You two are friends, right?"
"Hm, I think it might be somethin' more than that…"
Sonic. Knuckles wanted to strangle Sonic.
Mittens blinked at the speedster before a large and knowing grin grew on his face. "Ohhhh…I know what's going on! It makes sense!"
Knuckles had no idea what was going to come out of his twin's mouth, but he had to stop it anyway. "No, no, no. It doesn't make any-"
"You two are super best friends! The kind who can insult each other all the time without hurting feelings!"
Knuckles slowly blinked, not knowing what to say to that. He was flabbergasted, but also slightly relieved that his twin hadn't spouted something even more ridiculous.
Rouge grinned at both of the echidnas. "You're pretty close, hon. Our relationship is…interesting, to say the least."
It turned out that it wasn't Mittens Knuckles should've been worried about. The guardian froze in his chair, a strangled noise coming from his throat. "Relationship? We don't have a – what are you – stop spouting nonsense-"
"Don't forget to breathe," Sonic advised because Knuckles hadn't taken a breath for a while. He smirked at the glare sent his way, enjoying every second of this.
"I mean, it's kinda obvious."
Knuckles made a noise similar to a dying cat when he snapped his attention over to Amy. "Nothing is obvious!"
"That blush on your cheeks is!" Amy chirped, giggling as Knuckles covered his face as if they all hadn't seen it already. Hopefully if Knuckles managed to confess something, then maybe Sonic would follow suit. Like a domino effect kind of thing.
Extremely amused, Rouge went to comment, but the angry gibberish coming from the echidna made her rethink that.
Sonic filled her in with a smirk. "Oh, don't worry about him. Because Mittens is here, the thing censored out curse words to keep him pure or somethin'."
Rouge wasn't going to ask any questions. She was sure no one had any answers to them. "Aw, isn't that sweet." Her eyes crinkled when she looked at Knuckles. "And it's nice to know that you get mouthy when you're flustered, Red."
The gibberish was replaced with a loud groan.
Mittens slightly narrowed his eyes, confused about what was going on. "Am I missing something here?"
"You're always missing something!" Knuckles yelled with a heated look. The only reason why his face was flushed because he was angry. That bat just danced on his nerves, and it didn't help that his double was making it easier for her.
Mittens huffed and pouted. "Rude!"
"But it's true!"
"It still doesn't make it not rude!" Mittens furrowed his brow and rethought his words. "Er, wait…it doesn't not make it not rude? Or it does make it not rude? Or-"
"You had it right the first time." Tails decided to help him out so his brain wouldn't overload. Mittens looked proud of himself.
Rouge held the Chaos emerald out to the buffy echidna. "Here, sugar. Take this as an award and as an apology for Knuckles' dreadful attitude."
Mittens gasped like he had won the lottery, carefully taking it out of the bat's hold. He examined every inch, rubbing his fingers along the smooth and shining surface before hugging it tightly. "His name is Albert and he is forever mine."
"Until you leave," Rouge corrected.
"Until I leave."
Eggman watched as Mittens cradled and cooed at the gem like it was an actual child. "Why? Why is this happening?"
"Ditto," Knuckles grunted in disdain, crossing his arms.
Rouge tisked at him. "You should be taking notes, Red. This is how you properly take care of a beautiful gem. Maybe Mittens here could give you some pointers."
Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in – it wasn't working.
Mittens smiled at the inwardly seething Knuckles. "Yeah! Since Rouge is pointing it out, you must suck at it, so-"
"I. Do. Not. Suck. At. It." Knuckles somehow spoke without separating his teeth. "And if we do not start the #%$ episode in the next thirty seconds, I will explode."
Sonic eyed the echidna. "Uh, I don't think you can-"
"Oh, I will find a way."
"Anger is an amazing motivator," Shadow commented from the floor. "It lets you achieve the impossible."
Knuckles tersely nodded at him. "He gets it."
Rouge grinned, believing that it was a good idea to put her teasing on hold for now. It was good to let things simmer, not boil over. "No need to get so testy." She waved off Knuckles' glare, settling on the floor beside Shadow. "But it is a good idea to get this show on the road."
Mittens stiffened, glancing between her and the striped hedgehog. "Are you sure that you want to sit there? Shadow might be dangerous, and…and you can have my seat!"
He was about to get up, but Rouge raised a halting hand. "No need to do that, hon! I don't know what he's done that rubbed you the wrong way, but he won't hurt a fly."
Shadow scoffed. "That's a lie even he won't believe."
Rouge resisted the urge to roll her eyes and addressed the echidna's worry. "I'll let you be my knight in shining armor if he tries something, okay?"
Mittens nodded in confidence. "I'll be the best knight you ever had!"
"His armor is nothing but tin foil," Knuckles derisively muttered.
Rouge glimpsed over at him, lips twitching. "What was that?"
Knuckles pointedly looked away. "Nothing. Let's just start the stupid show."
"It's not good to keep everything bottled up, Knuckles." Amy lightly admonished, wanting him to open up so Sonic would find the courage to do so also.
The echidna's heated gaze trained on her. "I don't have anything bottled up."
The pinkette gave him a look. "Knuckles."
He returned it. "Amy."
"Knuckles."
"Amy."
"Now that it has been established that you two know each other's names-" Metal chimed in, sarcasm somehow leaking into his monotonous voice. "-press play."
Knuckles' tolerance for the robot rose a little higher, and Amy pouted as she did what she was told.
The scene began with Team Sonic in the middle of the village. Amy was on top of a ladder hanging streamers while Knuckles made sure she didn't fall. Sonic, Sticks, and Tails were watching a distance away.
Mittens danced in his seat, pointing at the screen. It was obvious that he knew what was going to happen in this episode. "Ooo! Ooo! That's-"
"Hush," Shadow snapped, and the echidna instantly quieted, hugging the gem for comfort.
Maybe now Rouge could see why Mittens was wary of the striped hedgehog. "Well, that was a little harsh."
"What's harsh is the deafening air horn that blows every time he goes to spoil what comes next."
Rouge slowly blinked before telling Mittens, "Knights usually protect their damsel in distress-"
"Oh, so you're a damsel now?"
She pointedly ignored Knuckles' question. "-so please protect me from going deaf."
Mittens saluted her. "Yes, ma'am!"
"Come on, everybody!" Amy glanced down at the three observers. "These decorations aren't gonna hang themselves!"
"I wonder what they're celebrating?" Tails asked and watched Shadow send Mittens the meanest look he could muster when the echidna opened his mouth. The kit felt guilty when Mittens flinched. "Sorry! I'm going to keep questions like that to a minimum so Shadow won't threaten you anymore."
Mittens meekly nodded. "That would be appreciated!"
"Five syllables," Knuckles grunted. "A new record."
Mittens gasped and covered the gem's nonexistent ears. "Don't insult my brain smartness in front of Albert! I don't want him to think less of me!"
"The poor child…" Rouge leaned back on her hands, features twisted in disappointment as she stared Knuckles down. "Some uncle you are."
Knuckles knew he shouldn't ask, but, "Uncle?!"
Sonic hopped into the conversation with a subtle smirk. "Duh, Knux! You're Mittens' twin, and Albert is his and Rouge's kid. So that makes you the uncle!"
"The emerald is not their-" Knuckles cut his yell short at the smug looks Sonic and Rouge shared. He fumed instead, biting, "What about you two? You both are on the same annoying wavelength all the time; you'd be perfect for each other."
"Don't give him any ideas," Amy all but hissed.
Rouge waved them off. "It's just that we have similar ways of torturing you, Knuckie."
Sonic snickered. "And plus, one of my good friends probably has an eye on her, and I don't want to get in the way of anything."
Knuckles was going to have a stroke.
"Wait, what?" Mittens faced Rouge, eyes wide. "Who? I bet that I have bigger muscles than he does!"
"It's nothing to worry about," she reassured over stifled laughter. "Let's get back to the episode, shall we?"
Tails grinned up at her. "Oh, aren't they?" In his hands was a gun of some sort, and he aimed it at the sky, firing a few times. Lines of decorations neatly landed on rooftops and between trees. Tails turned back around, proud.
Tails was proud as well, smiling broadly. "That was perfect aim!"
"I want to say that they hung themselves a little too well, but it's a Tails!" Amy matched the kit's expression. "You guys can make anything for everything!"
Sonic could come up with an exception. "Well…"
Tails deadpanned at him. "Sonic, I could make that ultrasonic chili dog blaster, but I'm not going to."
"Party pooper."
Amy was on the ground now, not as impressed. "They still didn't hang themselves. Your machine did it."
Knuckles, beside her, crossed his arms. "Not cool, Tails."
Tails frowned at Mittens. "What's with you guys not being impressed with my twin's inventions? First the translator, now this!"
"The gun thing was cool!" Mittens defended himself with a pout. "It's just that Amy can be a little scary when someone doesn't agree with her…"
In that case. "Oh…well okay, I understand."
Sonic nodded. "Yeah, totally."
"Wait…" Amy narrowed her eyes at them. They were swayed a little too easily. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing!" the duo chorused.
"That's what I thought," she huffed.
Mittens chuckled. "Our dimensions aren't that different after all!"
When Amy snapped her attention to him, Rouge said, "If you don't want to get on another pinkette's bad side, I advise you to hush, hon."
The echidna hugged Albert again. "Right."
Sticks approached the kit, motioning to the decorations. "Tails, take those things down. You're gonna attract bugs, and aliens, and kumquats, and list jokes!"
Sonic snorted. "I expected aliens, but kumquats? That's a new one."
"Makes you wonder what bad experiences she's had with kumquats…" Tails pondered.
"They're oval oranges!" Mittens loudly answered him. "How can you ever trust them?!"
The phrase why repeated in Knuckles' head many, many times. "What an amazing argument."
"I know! So, you agree with me?"
"No."
"Come on, guys. Lay off him." Sonic interjected as every single decoration Tails put up fell down. With a change of opinion, a disappointed Sonic put a hand on the fox's shoulder. "Way to ruin New Year's, dude."
"The only thing that's gonna ruin it is your attitude," Sonic lightly groused, coming to the fox's defense. "What a drama queen, that guy."
"Says the one who cried for a solid five minutes when you stubbed your toe."
"That doesn't count, Knux, and you know it. It's a different kind of pain."
Amy nodded. "Yeah, I'll give Sonic a pass for that one, but pushing that aside-" She gestured at the screen. "They're celebrating New Year's! That's going to be fun to watch!"
Eggman crossed his arms. "Not if there is a chance that my double will show up."
Rouge grinned over at him. "Still haven't warmed up to your twin, doctor?"
"Never have, never will."
"Is that the holiday where a giant rabbit breaks into your house and hides painted eggs?" Knuckles asked.
Tails' brow creased. "Uh…why does that sound mildly terrifying? What holiday is that, Mittens?"
The echidna shrugged. "I forgot the name, but it's not scary at all! You just gotta fight to find the eggs to get the surprise inside as the smiling giant rabbit watches from a place you can't see!"
"I'm imagining Ms. Vanilla doing this, and it's a concerning mix of funny and horrifying," Amy lowly commented.
Mittens gasped. "You know the rabbit?! Tell her I said hi for me!"
"I don't…" Amy trailed off, seeing how excited the other was. She couldn't let down that face. "I will, don't worry!"
"Awesome!"
Amy was walking over, rolling a large colorful ball. "Knuckles, forget about your crazy holidays and help me get this ball on top of that pole."
Obeying, Knuckles went over and lifted the wooden pole she was talking about. Amy placed the ball on a stand, and the echidna slotted the pole into the hollowed holes in the ball. After attacking a hook to the decoration, Knuckles cranked a lever, slowly rising the ball to the top of the pole.
"When it drops to the bottom-" Amy began. "-then it's exactly midnight and the start of the new year!"
Tails didn't get how the mechanism worked. "Does anyone see a timer on that?"
"I don't," Rouge said. "It looks like they're just hoping for the best."
"Don't trust her, Knuckles." Sticks quickly sidled up to the echidna, startling him and making him let go of the lever. "I told you about the kumquats!"
Mittens shook his head in disappointment. "She did tell me about the kumquats…Why didn't I listen?!"
No one had a rational answer for him.
Without any support, the colorful ball fell back down the pole. Amy tried to save it, but it was too heavy for her to hold. They both crashed to the ground, the decoration shattering.
Tails snickered. "You really…dropped the ball!"
Knuckles couldn't help but to cringe. "Okay, it's official. All Tailses need to separate themselves from their Sonics immediately. The bad joke plague is spreading."
"Nah, he did that all his own." Sonic might've thought of that joke in his head, but he would've never said it out loud. Not enough bang for the buck. "No Sonic was involved with that one."
Tails' tone turned meek when irritated eyes landed on him. "Not cool?" Everyone gave him a look that clearly implied a 'yes'.
Tails felt bad for his twin. "You know it's horrible when Sonic doesn't approve of it…"
"What? My jokes aren't that low quality-"
"But weren't you laughing at 'duty' jokes a couple episodes ago?"
"Don't make me ground you."
Then, the ground started to shake.
Eggman hoped that this wasn't what he thought it was.
They all turned to see Eggman fly over, laughing while large robotic balls bounced around him. The doctor grinned. "Okay ball bots, let's roll!"
Eggman's exasperated sigh lasted at least ten seconds.
"An Eggman appearance this early paired with another terrible joke?" If the episode started like this, Knuckles really wasn't looking forward to what happened later. "Talk about kicking a horse when he's down."
"Proof that the doctor spends too much time around my copy's copy."
Mittens looked over at Metal, cocking his head. "Your…copy? Sonic's your copy?" He looked between the two and gasped. "Wait, are you two identical twins?!"
The room went silent for a while.
Metal was the first to recover. "I would like you to take a moment to think about what you just said."
"I did! That's why I said it!"
Amy was next. "Mittens, you know Metal is a robot in this world too, right? He and Sonic can't be brothers."
The echidna wasn't swayed. "Are you sure? Things could work differently in this dimension!"
Sonic held up two fingers. "One, considering that we live here, bud, we should know. And two, even if Mets was miraculously somehow my brother, he wouldn't admit to it."
Metal wholeheartedly agreed. "I would claim that food is disgustingly mediocre before I accept being one of my copy's kin."
"I feel like that should hurt more than it does…" Sonic muttered to himself.
Mittens narrowed his eyes, petting the gem in his lap. "So are you or are you not twins…?"
Eggman threw his arms up in the air, wanting to put an end to this idiotic conversation. He was losing IQ points by just listening to it. "What don't you get, rodent? They aren't related! I made Metal in a lab using that annoying pincushion's DNA!"
Mittens pointed at him. "They share DNA? Then they have to be related!"
Rouge turned her attention to Shadow when the room erupted with loud explanations, rebuttals, and exasperated groans. Tuning all of that out, she said, "Sounds like Mittens has a Metal in his dimension. Did he mention another you?"
Shadow barely heard her over the noise and the steady stream of curses echoing around his mind. "Yes, and he's terrified of him. The only good thing that's come out of the echidna's appearance."
"Oh really?" Rouge rose a brow at that, though she wasn't completely surprised. Shadow's intimidation spanned dimensions, it seemed. "I wonder what caused that?"
"Hopefully something traumatizing that haunts him every night when he sleeps."
Rouge slowly blinked at him.
"I'm suffering, Rouge."
"Yeah, I figured out that much by now."
Before Shadow could say anything else, a voice yelled, "If you don't admit that you're wrong right now, I will kidnap Albert and hold him for ransom."
Mittens gaped and held the emerald tight. "You wouldn't."
Amy's hammer popped into existence. "Try me."
After a brief pause, the echidna sighed. "Fine, they aren't brothers." When everyone relaxed, he continued, "But what about cousins?"
Amy raised her hammer to throw.
"Okay, okay! Not related at all! Got it!"
The robots rolled around the ground, aiming for the heroes. Sonic hopped on one and ran before slamming it into a nearby tree. Knuckles punched two of the robots, making two makeshift weights and showing off by doing reps with them.
Then, he hurled the bots at Eggman, knocking him upside-down in his hovercraft. He growled. "Oh, what's the use?" He flew away, leaving behind a black cloud of smoke.
Knuckles would like his twin much more if he was all muscle and no talk. That way, the question of whether a robot could be born would never be asked again.
Eggman appreciated that his double had been driven off so early, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the headache wasn't over yet.
Just please leave the bad jokes behind. I beg you.
With Eggman gone, Tails faced the last activated bot and aimed his gun at it. He shot more decorations at the floating ball, causing it to quickly spin and fling the streamers back onto the rooftops.
That ball wasn't spinning fast enough for that to be possible, but Tails wasn't going to question it. If someone could survive being hit by a plummeting meteor in that dimension, anything could happen.
After looking around, Amy smiled. "The decorations look great, Tails." She gestured over to the round robot. "And this will make a great New Year's Eve ball!"
She pushed the floating ball over to the wooden stand, and Knuckles impaled it with the same pole as before. The echidna turned the crank, the bot rising to the top for all the see.
Knuckles rose a brow. "Wood could just go through metal like that?"
"It can when you're strong enough," Rouge replied, and Mittens proudly puffed out his chest.
Knuckles couldn't wait until they were both gone.
The scene changed to Eggman's evil lair.
Eggman hated that he barely had time to enjoy the absence of his other self. Maybe this was an episode where his twin wasn't that much of an annoyance and…
Oh, who was he kidding. It was inevitable.
He entered a room through sliding doors, grumbling to himself. "Great. Here it is, New Year's Eve, and I still haven't fulfilled my resolution from last year!"
"Let me guess: to rule the world?" Sonic spoke up with a smirk. "Or to cut down on sugary treats?"
"Probably both." Knuckles snorted. "Am I right, Eggman?"
The human gritted his teeth. "I wouldn't know."
"Are you sure?" Rouge hopped into the conversation, to Eggman's misfortune. "Since you have the same success rate and body shape?"
Mittens chuckled. "You weren't here when I said this, but I think your Eggman is pudgier than mine-"
"I am not!" Eggman interrupted him, mustache bristled. "And I don't have the same resolutions as my irritating twin!"
Sonic's voice oozed smugness. "Really? Then what are they, Eggy? Care to share?"
"I don't have to share them with the likes of you!"
"So…they're the same."
"No, they're not!"
"We don't have any proof."
"You don't-" Eggman took a deep breath. He needed to calm down because having a heart attack surrounded by these irritants would be the worst way to go. "Why couldn't I have an arch enemy who wasn't more infuriating than a pebble constantly stuck in my shoe?"
Sonic beamed. "Because your life would be boring!"
"I'll take boring over being stuck in here!"
"I have to admit, that is a good counterargument…"
Cubot and Orbot stared at him. "Was that the one to become a more benevolent master?" the latter asked.
Eggman glared. "I'll show you benevolent, you bag of bolts!" He pulled out a magazine from nowhere and hit Orbot in the head with it.
Eggman would love to do that with every other person in this room. Barring Shadow, of course. He liked living.
Orbot rubbed where he'd been hit. "Clearly, one of us doesn't know what benevolent means…"
"Two of us!" Cubot chimed in.
"All I wanted was to have one decisive victory over Sonic," Eggman explained with a frown. "Just one! I'm so miserable, I barely enjoyed smacking you with that magazine."
"That's…kinda sad?" Amy didn't know how to feel about this. On one hand, they couldn't let Eggman win ever because it's against their moral code – and there was a good chance that people would be imprisoned/killed – but on the other, she felt for him…a little bit. A whole year without any accomplishments had to be depressing. "I'm sure that Eggman could beat Sonic at something though!"
Mittens tapped his chin. "Eggman beats him at being taller."
"I don't think that counts…" Tails hummed as he thought. "I mean, he has a high IQ, right?"
"He should," Eggman grumbled.
"Doesn't seem like it." Knuckles derisively snorted.
Tails kept going. "So, he should win at something more mentally taxing…like chess."
Sonic shuddered at the thought of sitting through that long game. "He'd win by default! I'd get bored and walk away before the game's halfway over."
Rouge nodded at that. "Well doctor, whenever you feel a little down, play chess with Blue here! That should cheer you right back up."
Eggman was starting to agree with Knuckles. One less bat meant one less rodent he had to deal with. "Don't patronize me!"
"Or maybe you'd be happier with a game of Sudoku? Or Scrabble?"
"Or Monopoly!" Amy suggested. "Any long game would guarantee a win for you."
Sonic nodded, not offended at all. "Very true. Let me know when you need a pick-me-up, Eggy! I'll even let you pick the game."
Eggman rubbed his temples. "Metal, please end all of them."
"No."
At least he tried.
Cubot's spirits were down also. "It's sad when we no longer enjoy our hobbies."
"Don't you worry, sir!" Orbot reassured Eggman. "I've dreamed up a New Year's Eve party that's going to really put the spring back in your step!" He floated beside a device, digging around behind it.
Eggman narrowed his eyes. "If you pull out a checkerboard, I'm going to sell you for scrap metal!"
Orbot froze, checkerboard in hand, before putting it back.
Amy laughed. "He had the same idea that we had!"
Eggman growled. "If any of you show up at my doorstep with any silly boardgames, I will unleash my wrath without any remorse."
Knuckles couldn't find it in himself to be intimidated. "Just like any other attack that you do? That we always win against?"
Mittens was enjoying this. "Making fun of Eggman is so fun! Glad to know it's like this in every dimension!"
"I hate all of you from the depths of my soul."
Back at the village, the sun had set, and the party was in full swing. Knuckles, in a hot dog suit, was dancing in a conga line formed by the villagers.
Everyone looked at Mittens.
He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I might've gotten my holidays mixed up again."
"What other crazy holiday did you make up where you dress like-" Knuckles paused, deadpanning. "You thought it was Halloween, didn't you?"
"Yeah…"
"An honest mistake, really." Rouge reassured him more for Knuckles' reaction than anything else. She reached over and patted Mittens' leg. "The suit looked pretty good on you, if I say so myself."
The echidna perked up, a smile nearly splitting his face in half. "Really? I knew taking that risk in wearing it would pay off!"
Knuckles was going to let this pass, but he just couldn't. "She's lying to you, you know! No one looks good in a hotdog suit!"
Rouge rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to him, hon. He's just caught a case of the green-eyed monster."
"I'm not jealous!"
Mittens looked a little concerned. "He should really get that checked out…"
"It's not a disease, and I-"
Sonic's snickers cut the irate Knuckles off. "Yeah pal, just keep diggin' that hole. Going pretty deep there."
The guardian crossed his arms and grumbled to himself.
Leroy the turtle was providing the music that mostly everyone was dancing to.
Sonic and Amy were standing off to the side together, leaning against a wooden counter.
Amy lit up like a neon sign. "Look how close they're standing together!" She did a little dance when she made a connection between the closeness and the current occasion. "They're definitely going to go in for a New Year's kiss when the time is right!"
Knuckles believed that it was a great time for revenge. "They are standing pretty close. Can't really deny their relationship now, Sonic."
The blue speedster ran a hand down his face. "I know what you're doing, Knux, and…" He sighed before gesturing with a defeated look on his face. "You're right. Can't argue all of the hints leading up to now, and yeah, they're less than an arm's length apart." Sonic softly smiled. "But, you know what? It's fine. If what they're doing makes them happy, then more power to them."
Wait, no. Knuckles expected to get a laugh out of this, not acceptance. This wasn't fair!
He was going to say something, but Amy beat him to the punch. "So, you're saying that as long as we're happy, we can be a couple too?"
Sonic's smile fell, and Knuckles relaxed in his seat.
The hero floundered for a moment, not knowing how to answer the question, until he called for help. "Tails?"
Tails didn't want to be caught in the crossfire here. "Um…it's not up to me to say!"
Sonic threw him a look that screamed betrayal before asking, "Anyone else?"
Amy leaned forward in her seat. "I can make you really happy, Sonic! Promise!"
"Anyone else other than Amy?"
Silence.
The pinkette stood up. "Sonic-"
The hero pointed to her seat. "Sit back down, Amy, or I'll take back everything I just said!"
Amy gasped. "You can't do that! It doesn't work that way!"
"I'll do it!" Sonic retorted, still pointing. "Everything I said about accepting their relationship would be gone in two seconds!"
"But I wasn't the only one who heard it!" Amy glanced at the others. "Everyone else did too! Let me see a show of hands!"
The only person who raised theirs was Knuckles.
Sonic grinned. "Majority rules!"
"What?!" Amy saw that Tails was focusing on his feet, Eggman was looking blankly at the nearest wall, Metal was looking straight at her along with a smirking Rouge, Shadow was seemingly lost in his own mind, and Mittens was muttering something about cute kittens.
The pinkette puffed out her cheeks before plopping back down in her seat, mumbling something that Sonic probably didn't want to hear.
They watched as Knuckles danced by, and Sonic had to ask, "Why are you dressed like that?"
The echidna turned around. "Isn't New Year's the holiday where you put on a costume and threaten to prank strangers if they don't give you candy?"
Relieved that he hadn't spoken up and put himself in potential jeopardy, Tails frowned up at what was said. "You know, I don't really see people doing the 'trick' part of trick-or-treat."
Rouge scoffed. "Because people know they have to give candy if they know what's best for them." She paused in thought. "And, I can say that I've seen some tricks here or there."
"That's because you caused them," Shadow uttered.
She couldn't exactly refute that, but, "That's because some people like to give out apples and carrots as treats. I know that it's healthy, but save those for a day that's not Halloween."
"Hold up. You guys go trick-or-treating?" Sonic perked up at this knowledge. Rouge wasn't really a surprise, but Shadow? "How come you never come with us?"
"So you couldn't talk us out of doing any tricks."
Amy didn't know what to make of Rouge's smile. She hesitantly asked, "What kind of tricks?"
Rouge guessed that it wouldn't hurt telling them one thing. "Well, there was this one person who refused to give us candy, and…" She turned toward Shadow. "Did we use shaving cream or pudding? I can never remember."
"Pudding because it was thicker."
"That's right, that's right." She continued her story. "And we filled up that person's car with vanilla pudding to retaliate."
Tails' jaw was on the floor. "Where did you even get that much pudding?"
She waved him off. "A store that wouldn't have missed it. It was all expired anyway."
Amy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew that Rouge could be petty at times; Shadow was another story though. "Shadow? You helped too?"
The striped hedgehog was glaring up at the ceiling. "The man had candy. He had been holding the bowl behind his back, so of course I helped."
Sonic cackled. "Y'know, I probably wouldn't have stopped you from doing that!"
"I know," Rouge replied. "That's why I only told you that one."
Sonic's laughter died off once those words sank in. Rouge had a twinkle in her eyes know, and the ghost of a smirk on Shadow's face wasn't too reassuring.
The heroes glanced at each other, all hesitant to ask, while Mittens smiled at Rouge. "Spending Halloween with you would be so much fun!" He looked at her neighbor, putting more caution into his words. "And you can't be too bad if you have fun with her, Shadow!"
"I broke into someone's house once, put laxatives in every drink in their refrigerator, and got rid of their entire stock of toilet paper."
Mittens blinked at him, rethinking the possibility of friendship, before turning to the others. "Is…Is he joking?"
Sonic honestly couldn't give a definitive answer. One part of him was saying that Shadow wouldn't stoop that low, but the other part was screaming that Shadow would absolutely stoop that low. "I have no idea."
Rouge was humming a soft tune to herself.
Amy felt horrible for those people. "Let's…just keep watching the show."
"That's not a holiday." Amy crossed her arms. "It's extortion."
She better be lucky that she can't run into our Rouge and Shadow on Halloween, Tails thought with a shudder.
Knuckles blinked. "I'm hearin' a lot of words, but I'm not seeing any candy, lady." He held up a bag with the picture of a ghost on it.
Metal was curious. "What is better: candy or cookies?"
Knuckles grunted. "It depends on your preference. Some people like cookies while some-" He glanced over at the unperturbed agents. "-people like candy a little too much."
"I don't like it that much, echidna," Shadow began to explain. "It was about going out of one's way to blatantly hide something."
Knuckles wondered if the owner of the car had moved out of the city yet. "Anyway, Metal, they're both deliciously sweet. It comes down to the person."
"Interesting." Metal looked up at the Halloween bag on the screen. "I will never know my preference."
Eggman was sick of hearing this sob story. "No, you won't, so stop-" He didn't get to finish, for a large bag of assorted candies popped into existence in Metal's lap.
The robot stared down silently before picking out a lollipop and examining it. "This is quite insulting."
Sonic wanted to feel bad, but, "Yeah, the thing's just taunting you at this point. It's more for us, though!" He hopped out of his seat, ready to pluck the treats out of Metal's grasp, but then a bright light blinded him along with everyone else in the room.
Mittens' panicked shout filled the air. "What's going on? Was Sticks right about the aliens? Are they here?!"
"Calm down, Mittens!" Amy placated as the light faded. She rubbed her eyes, them recovering from the sudden pain. "There's no aliens, it's just…" She trailed off, her train of thought derailing off a cliff and bursting into a ball of flames.
Amy couldn't blame her brain for malfunctioning though. She was looking at Metal…but she wasn't looking at a robot anymore. Sitting in that chair was a blue hedgehog. He looked exactly like Sonic except his quills were short and slightly curled upwards. His eyes were a gleaming red, wide as they stared at the candy.
After a quick glance around the room, it was safe to say that everyone was seeing the same thing she was. Good. This wasn't some spontaneous fever dream.
The first one to speak was surprisingly Mittens, who gaped for a moment before asking, "Is he Sonic's brother now…?"
"No, he…" Sonic was flabbergasted, near speechless. "This is – wow."
"Ditto," Tails and Knuckles breathily echoed.
Amy couldn't believe it. "This is crazy!"
"What's crazy is that while my once prized robot got rewarded an actual body, I'm still sitting here when a tent for a shirt and toddler pants."
"Not everything revolves around you, doctor," Rouge jeered. This was definitely worth staying for. "Him gaining the ability to taste is more important than your simple needs."
While Eggman sulked, Shadow couldn't be impressed about this new development. "Great. Another faker to worry about." Though, they had no idea if this was permanent, and he had to admit that it was basically impossible for Metal to be as annoying as Sonic.
Sonic snickered at him. "Well, he's more of my faker, but I guess a faker of a faker is still a faker-" He shook his head because his mind was too scattered for those kinds of thoughts. Instead, he asked the silent hedgehog in the room, "Hey, Mets…you okay?"
Metal glanced at him, a horde of emotions swirling in those red eyes of his, before he dropped his attention back on the lollipop. "I…" He paused at his voice, which was a smidge deeper than Sonic's. "I guess I am."
A small mirror appeared in front of him, and Metal examined his face. After a few seconds, he nodded. "It makes sense that I am still the superior copy even after the change."
Sonic frowned. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what you think it means," Metal answered as the mirror disappeared and static filled the air.
They all looked at the TV which read, "You're welcome," before changing back to the paused episode.
Mittens gasped. "Was that the magic ceiling?!"
"Sure was…" Tails couldn't comprehend why this was happening. Did it suddenly grow a conscience? "This is the nicest it's ever been!"
Metal could agree with that, placing a warm hand over his own beating heart. He already knew that he would never get used of the feeling of being alive.
Amy was a little concerned. "But, we don't know how long it'll last. It could be permanent, or it could last like five minutes!"
Eggman hoped that it didn't last forever, then he'd have no chance of somehow reprogramming his robot – former robot? – to be completely homicidal once more.
"I should not waste any time, then." Believe it or not, Metal would rather have this change last for an extended period of time; however, the thing was unpredictable. So, he hurried to unwrap the lollipop, sticking it in his mouth. He pleasantly hummed at the sweet cherry flavor and said, "It is good, but it does not belong on the same tier as cookies. The other selections in the bag could change my mind, though."
Knuckles had believed that no more surprises could be thrown at him after meeting his own dimensional twin, but he guessed that he had been wrong. "It's possible because it looks like you have a ton of stuff to choose fr – where are you going?" Metal was out of his seat at this point, strolling towards the kitchen. "Are you seriously getting more food? You have a whole bag of candy!"
"Mind your business, guardian."
Rouge stifled a chuckle at how offended Knuckles looked. "Let the man have his food, Red. Especially since he's been without it his whole life."
"Forgive me for making the mistake of caring," Knuckles groused as Metal disappeared. He – along with Sonic and Tails – then eyed the lone bag of candy on the floor. They all nodded at each other and made a move to snag a few pieces.
They didn't get very far, for red-hot lasers came out of nowhere and zapped near each outreaching hand.
Sonic pulled his fingers back, snapping his gaze in the direction of the kitchen. Metal was peeking out of the doorway, his eyes glowing an eerie scarlet. He glared before disappearing once more.
"Heat vision." Sonic put together. "Yeah, that makes sense."
Tails pouted back over to his chair. "That is a very robotic power…" Some of his sadness morphed into curiosity. "Makes me wonder what other abilities he has. Like, is he still fast?"
"Hopefully not." Knuckles almost went for the candy again, but there was a possibility that Metal would aim for his head. "It would be easier to punch him for what just happened."
Sonic smirked. "Wouldn't that be something? Trading his speed for having a real body."
"I honestly wouldn't think he'd mind!" Amy exclaimed. "I think he cares more about food at this point anyway. Which I totally understand."
It was then that Metal returned with a bag of chips, a bag of popcorn, and a soda. He plopped back down in his seat, crunching on the lollipop.
Mittens pointed an accusatory finger at him. "I thought you said that you guys didn't have popcorn!"
"We do not," Metal said around the stick in his mouth.
The echidna huffed.
Sonic was itching to know if the other still had his speed or not. "Do you wanna test out if you still can keep up with me, Mets?"
"Not at this moment." Metal took the cleaned stick out of his mouth and randomly tossed it.
Tails didn't care about the state of his house anymore.
The former robot opened his soda, giving Sonic a look. "I have more important priorities right now, copy." He took a couple gulps and immediately burped. Metal hadn't been ready for it, covering his mouth in shock. Then he frowned up. "Is there a way to stop that from happening?"
Amy giggled. "Keeping your mouth closed should work."
Metal hummed and nodded. "Living bodies are very interesting."
"And so is my precious time." Eggman all but growled. "I'm so happy to find out that all my effort put into you has been wasted, but could we please continue this televised train wreck?"
"Wait." Shadow met Metal's gaze. "Throw me some chocolate."
The hedgehog blinked at him before digging around his in bag. "Any preference in mind?"
"Any kind. I don't care." He needed some kind of stimulation to get through this. All in moderation, though. He refused to be tortured with another sugar high.
Sonic gaped. "You can share with Shadow, but not with the rest of us?"
"I dislike him the least," Metal retorted, tossing the striped hedgehog a chocolate bar with almonds.
"That's…fair, I guess."
In the middle of the party, a particular bird was talking into a camera.
Trying to not be so jealous of the former bot's treats, Knuckles said, "I'm guessing that Soar isn't going back into the support business anytime soon."
Tails nodded. "Eggman really had been the last straw."
"Soar the Eagle here, reporting live from the village center, where the New Year's festivities are in full swing! People have come from far and wide! Men, women, children, celebrities, politicians, some nut in a hot dog suit-"
Knuckles perked up, whispering to his friends. "I think he's talking about me!"
Mittens was giddy as he addressed Rouge. "Do you see that? I was mentioned on TV!" His expression turned smug. "When's the last time that other guy had been pointed out by a celebrity?"
Rouge pretended to think. "Oh, I don't know really. He's a hermit who barely leaves his home, so I doubt any celebrity even knows him."
Knuckles tried so hard to stay out of it, but his body betrayed him. He butted in, stating, "He's good friends with a celebrity, bat-girl, and you know that!"
Sonic smiled. "Aw, thanks, Knux! I'm flattered."
"Shut it."
"What? Seriously?" Mittens asked in surprise before hiding it. "I'm…I'm friends with one too! His…His name is…um…"
Amy jumped in because why not. "Isn't Sonic a celebrity?"
Mittens waved her off with a scoff. "Pfft! I'm more well-known than he is!" No one called him out on it. "But uh, I'm good friends with a famous person too! I just forgot his name!"
Rouge pursed her lips. "Are you sure?"
"Totally!"
Before she could attempt to take the joke further, a pained yelp gained their attentions.
Metal was sticking his tongue out, looking at the bag of popcorn like it had somehow insulted his nonexistent ancestors. Once he realized he was being stared at, he began almost sheepishly, "It…was incredibly hot."
Eggman shouldn't be disappointed, but he was. "Did the transformation give you the IQ of a grape? That is a steaming bag of popcorn, for crying out loud."
Metal's speech was warped because his tongue was still hanging out of his mouth. "If I have the IQ of a grape, then you have one of a used napkin."
"Wow." Knuckles snorted. "He called you used, Eggman. Are you going to take that?"
"I have nothing to prove to anyone," Eggman crisply said, and Metal gave him a jeering look. He didn't take the bait. "That look would be more effective if you put your tongue back where it belongs."
Metal glimpsed down, and his next words were almost a whine. "It still hurts."
"Good."
Soar continued. "-it would be hard to find anyone who's not having a great time tonight!"
In the lair, Eggman was uninterested as Orbot droned on about checkers.
Sonic snickered. "The desperation won out, huh?"
The robot pointed to multiple spots on the board. "I could jump you there, or there, but then you could jump me there, or even there, but ooo, I could double jump you there, and-"
Frustrated, Eggman slapped the board off the table, its circular pieces flying everywhere. "This is the worst New Year's party ever!"
Cubot wasn't too happy either. "Well, it is now!"
Tails furrowed his brow. "I'm more surprised that Orbot was actually beating him in checkers."
Eggman grunted. "That says a lot, doesn't it."
Orbot left and flew back over with a crockpot. "Let's not forget dear old Orbot's famous mouth-watering slow cooked New Year's roast!" He took the top off the pot to reveal a steaming roast.
Metal nearly dropped everything at the sight of the delectable meal. "Is there a method where I could obtain that in less than ten seconds?"
"Nope!" Sonic smiled at him. "But once we get out of here, and if you still have a living body, we could take you to a restaurant to get something similar!"
"Elaborate on 'we'."
"Well, me and-"
"Nevermind."
Eggman wasn't impressed. "It too is just a sad, succulent reminder about how quickly everything else in life moves."
"A slow cooker is truly one of life's most poetic small kitchen appliances," Cubot commented.
"Aren't poems usually short and sweet?" Amy questioned. "I thought microwaves would be the most poetic."
Rouge thought on that. "I would say a blender because no matter what you put in there, someone, somewhere would find it useful and appreciate it."
"I think a toaster would be the most poetic!" Mittens chimed in. "Because I always get confused by it."
Amy and Rouge looked at each other for a second.
"Yeah, that's definitely it."
"You nailed it right on the head, hon."
Orbot wafted his meal. "If only everything moved at the same pace as the marinating juices of my roast."
Eggman scratched his chin in thought. "Then, I'd have another chance to fulfill my New Year's resolution! That's it!" He picked up the crockpot. "If only I would harness the technology of this slow-cooker, I could create a slow-motion machine!"
Tails repeated those words in his mind to make sure he heard that correctly. "You can't…Does he not know how a slow-cooker works? You can't make a slow-motion machine out of it!"
"He can't hear you." Eggman sighed. "And if he could, he wouldn't listen."
"And what would that do?" Cubot asked.
"Slow everything down!" Orbot answered.
"Giving me more time before the end of the year to defeat Sonic!" Eggman tossed the roast out of the cooker, to Orbot and Cubot's surprise, before turning the appliance upside-down. The doctor grabbed a screwdriver and popped off a covering on the bottom. Inside was a red glowing ball. "There it is, the power source that makes a slow cooker cook slowly!"
Tails resembled a fish out of water. "I…stand corrected?"
"I mean, it's a good idea." Knuckles admitted. "But since it's coming from Eggman, it probably won't work."
Mittens laughed. "Yeah! He's such a pushover! Unlike me!" He flexed for show, making sure that Rouge was looking. "It takes a lot to push me out of the way!"
Knuckles rolled his eyes.
Orbot was wiping off some of the roast that splashed on him. "And here I thought it was the mixture of patience, low heat, and collected condensation."
"Nope," Eggman said as he held the power source in his hand. "Glowing energy ball."
"The more you know!" Sonic chirped.
At the party once more, Comedy Chimp was holding the microphone now. "Welcome back to Comedy Chimp's New Year's adequate eve, sponsored by Meh Burger!" He lifted a bowl of chili. "Home of the new Ten Alarm Super Atomic chili!" He dipped a chip and ate it, frowning up. "Ten Alarm? This thing's barely ketchup."
"Oh. Ohhh."
Several startled eyes swiveled over to Metal.
He stopped mid-chew and subtly waved his half-eaten candy bar. "Was that out loud? My apologies."
"Okay, first off, never make that sound again," Knuckles ordered. "And second, why?"
"I did not expect chocolate and caramel to taste amazing together."
Shadow, finishing his own chocolate bar, asked, "Do you have another one of those?"
Metal nibbled some chocolate and nodded. He found one, tossing it right over.
Rouge eyed the treat as Shadow unwrapped it and opened her mouth.
"No, I'm not sharing."
"Well, that's rude."
"Probably."
Remembering that he was live, Comedy Chimp mended his words. "I mean, uh, I'm sure it'll kick in eventually. Now let's see who's out celebrating!" The chimp held out the microphone to Knuckles, who was wearing a nightcap and holding a pillow. "How about you, sir? Excited?"
Mittens squirmed excitedly in his seat, remembering this conversation.
"You bet!" Knuckles agreed. "I just hope the obese man who watches me sleep doesn't think I've been naughty. Otherwise, he might not sneak into my house and leave presents!"
"Why do you explain holidays so weirdly?" Amy lightly admonished. "That's just Christmas!"
"That's the name of it! Thanks for the reminder!" Mittens smiled in appreciation. "I explained it like that because it's how I remember it!"
"Did you want to scar the children watching too?"
"Only if they had been naughty!"
Amy couldn't respond, really. She knew she wouldn't win this argument.
"Right…" Comedy Chimp drawled out, confused, before focusing elsewhere. "Oh, there's the Mayor!" He slid over to Fink. "Mr. Mayor, a word?"
The Mayor looked at the camera pointed at him, scratching his cheek in worry. "Uh uh…look, the allegations that I use the town's money to buy myself a vacation island are totally untrue!" He laughed nervously.
Sonic snorted. "He started telling on himself instantly."
Tails did the same. "Guilt does that to people sometimes. They say or do things that don't plan to."
"So…you feel guilty about not building me that blaster yet?"
"Nope."
Comedy Chimp deadpanned. "I was gonna ask you to say a few words before the start of the countdown."
"Oh!" Fink regathered himself. "Well in that case, I just wanna wish everyone a very happy New Year, and you're all welcome to come visit me on my private vacation island! Um, I mean, if I ever get one, of course! No more questions," he said before walking away.
Amy watched as Metal finished off the chocolate, grabbing a handful of popcorn now that it had cooled off. "Your stomach is going to really hate you later."
"Internal organs do not have feelings," Metal said before shoving snack into his mouth, contently chewing.
"His body isn't used to any of the stuff being piled into it." Rouge was thinking along the same lines of the pinkette. "I'll give him an hour."
Metal's glare was ineffective since he looked like a chubby-faced chipmunk.
Another conga line formed with Knuckles dancing at the end of it. They went along until they crashed into a pole, releasing star-shaped confetti.
While everyone celebrated, Eggman swooped down at the edge of the party, holding his power source. "We're going to slow this next one down, for the ladies!"
Please don't, Eggman inwardly pleaded. Just go home and wallow in your miseries by yourself. Pick up a tub of ice cream while you're at it.
Noticing him, Sonic sprinted over. Meanwhile, Eggman had thrown the red ball into the air and pressed a few buttons, causing it to glow brightly.
There was a sudden flash, and Sonic looked around confusedly when his speed slowed along with everything else. He ran from his nearly frozen friends at a normal pace. Knuckles was very slowly dancing in line, and Amy was barely moving while jumping in the air.
Sonic tried to run faster, but he couldn't.
Tails knew that this wasn't going to work. "Even if Eggman is somehow not affected by this, he's still going to lose."
Eggman started to count on his fingers. "Slow robots, no fighting experience, a kick from Sonic would still probably shatter kneecaps…am I missing anything?"
The kit shook his head. "You got them all!"
Eggman grinned. "Sonic, my little friend! And by friend, I mean enemy. Happy New Year! And by happy, I mean awful. And by New Year, not yet New Year."
"Was any of that necessary?"
Mittens nodded at Knuckles. "He does that all the time!"
Sonic slowed to a stop in front of him. "What's going on here, Egghead?"
Eggman haughtily crossed his arms. "Isn't it obvious? My slow-motion machine has slowed everything down! Slow, of course, for you is just normal speed."
Sonic blinked. "What about you?"
Amy furrowed her brow. "But Sonic doesn't talk fast though! Wouldn't he sound like everyone else around him?"
"He should, but the physics there is flawed," Tails reminded her.
"Well," the doctor started. "If you paid attention in evil scientist school in a desperate attempt to get your father's approval, you'd not that-" He cut himself off. "Oh, can't we just skip ahead to the part when I destroy you?"
Sonic was a tad disappointed. "No, no! Keep going!"
"Yeah, I'm curious." Rouge focused on the man. "More about the father part. Got any family history you'd like to share?"
Eggman huffed. "More than the things you all unfortunately know? No."
The sound akin to a dying chicken filled the room.
Unsurprisingly, it was coming from Metal.
"I'm starting to get tired of your noises," Knuckles bit.
"A kernel-" Metal hacked. "-is stuck in my throat, and I cannot…"
"Just drink something!"
Metal blinked down at his soda. "You are correct."
"I sometimes forget too!" Mittens said to console him. "I think everybody does!"
The former-robot took a swig of his soda. "I will accept your lies for now."
"Lies? Wha-"
Mittens quieted when Rouge tapped him. "He didn't mean any harm by it, sugar."
"Yes, I did."
"Don't listen to him."
Mittens frowned up. "I was just trying to help…"
"And you were doing a great job."
The echidna brightened. "Really?" When Rouge nodded, he hopped out of his chair and went over to the bat, giving her a hug. It was awkward because of the positioning – with him bending over and her on the floor – but Rouge accepted it nonetheless, patting him on the back. He giggled. "Thank you!"
While Amy cooed, Rouge smiled. "Aren't you sweet?"
Sonic detected movement out of the corner of his eye. "Hey Knux, why are you looking away-"
"Sonic, if you don't shut up."
"Let's go with a classic! Laser beeaaaam!" He raised the wrist device on his arm and fired a laser.
That was moving at a snail's pace.
"That's kinda cool!" Mittens was back in his seat now, cradling the Chaos emerald. "It's like slow moving jello!"
"Jello that could fry your insides…" Tails corrected. "But sure!"
Sonic wasn't impressed. He yawned and sidestepped the beam when it got close enough, pretending to examine his nails. When it passed, Sonic smirked. "Nice try, Egghead. Your father would be proud."
Sonic applauded his twin for that.
Eggman growled. "Robots, attack!"
A horde of robot bees were a distance away, very slowly flying forward.
Eggman sighed. "As expected."
Sonic's smirk grew as Eggman floundered. "Uh, well um…they'll be here in a minute." He held up his hands. "Just hang on."
"I can't wait around all day for your slow bots," Sonic argued.
Eggman frowned. "Alright, I need a new plan."
"Here's an idea." Sonic put a hand on his hip. "How about I destroy your slow-motion machine, and we call it a day?"
"The show can't be almost over yet, right?" Amy asked. "Metal, how much time do we have left?"
Metal stared at her blankly with a mouth filled with chips.
"Oops! Forgot."
"I doubt we're at the end," Knuckles answered instead. They hadn't suffered for long enough this episode yet. "I have a feeling that Sonic won't be able to destroy it."
"Brilliant plan, Sonic!" The doctor mockingly praised. "Oh wait, totally forgot to mention, if you do that, everyone and everything would be stuck in slow-motion forever."
"Except for him, for some reason."
Rouge shrugged. "We didn't go to evil scientist school, Blue."
Sonic groaned.
"Tell you what, let's settle this with one final test of our abilities." Eggman suggested, approaching him. "Just you and me, one on one, mano a mano, peaches and cream!"
That got Metal to stop eating. "Peaches and cream?"
Shadow couldn't be surprised anymore. "We can all agree that he's slowly losing it."
"You would know."
"I'm not going to take that as an insult. Toss me those gummy worms."
"If you win, maybe just maybe I'll be convinced to switch my machine off and return the world to its normal speed."
Sonic rose a brow. "Did you just say 'peaches and cream'?"
Metal severely disliked that they were on the same wavelength.
"Quit stalling!" Eggman barked.
A short while later, everyone was still barely moving while Eggman and Sonic played dominoes at a table in the middle of the party.
"Bam!" Sonic slammed down a piece, raising his hands up. "Game over!"
Eggman felt numb. "Out of all the games…? That one is more based on luck than strategy!"
Tails played with his namesakes. "I'm more interested to why there was a random domino set in the middle of a New Year's party."
Scowling, Eggman slapped the dominoes off the table. They froze mid-air. "That would've been far more dramatic in normal speed."
"Well Eggman, I won fair and square," Sonic said. "Turn off your machine."
"Give me one more shot!"
"Yes, pick something more challenging!"
The next scene was the duo playing hopscotch.
Eggman wanted to bang his head against something, wondering why he was cheering for his double in the first place.
Sonic made it to the end without any problems. He picked up the rock and tossed it in the air, it slowly floating.
Eggman tried to do the same, but he ended up falling on his back.
No one was surprised.
"I'm impressed with how far he had gotten," Rouge said.
The next event was pole vaulting.
Amy was so confused. "Why won't he try something that doesn't involve physical exertion?"
Knuckles rose a brow at her. "What, do you want him to win?"
"No! It's just really sad and pathetic."
Metal stifled the incoming burp this time. "You should be used to that by now.
"I know, but – wait." Amy glared at him. "Are you talking about me or Eggman?"
Metal was about to answer, but a hammer popped into existence. He knew all about pain now, so he changed his answer at the last moment. "The doctor, of course."
Amy smiled and nodded.
Sonic ran forward with the long pole and vaulted over the raised bar with ease, landing on the cushioned padding with a victorious laugh.
When Eggman went to try, the pole ended up breaking, and he landed on his back again.
Mittens furrowed his brow. "Why don't I remember any of this? I was right there the whole time!"
"It's probably because it all happened too fast for you to perceive!" Tails explained. "You blinked and you missed it!"
"Wait…" The echidna stiffened. "Does that mean that someone could be going slow-mo right now? And we just don't know it?"
"Well, it is possible-"
"And could there be someone in this room right now planning on stealing my dear Albert away from me?"
"…There's a very slim chance, but-"
Mittens let out a panicked shriek and wrapped the emerald tightly in his arms.
Rouge tisked. "Look what you did, sugar. You scared him."
Tails slowly turned to Sonic. "I don't know what to say to fix that."
"Don't worry about it, bud. He'll forget all about it in a bit."
Next, Sonic flipped a coin into the air, but its momentum dropped to a near zero. The hedgehog crossed his arms and yawned.
Since that didn't work, the pair moved on to ping pong.
Knuckles just shook his head. "Might as well try actual tennis while he's at it."
"Soccer too," Rouge added.
"Don't forget about track and field!" Sonic suggested. "Surely Eggman would kill in that."
Sonic served the ball, and it floated through the air. Thinking that he had the win, Eggman laughed before taking a swing and missing the ball entirely, smashing his paddle through the table.
Eggman facepalmed.
Sonic wasn't amused.
The next clipped showed Sonic winning bingo. "Bingo!"
Again.
Then gin rummy. "Gin!"
And again.
And lastly chess. "Checkmate!"
Sonic perked up at that. "Whoa, seriously? Either Eggy's really blowing it, or my double's just awesome."
Tails smiled. "Either way, I'm really impressed!"
Eggman frowned, frustrated. "I can't believe that it's come down to this.
Sonic's hand moved across a checkerboard, jumping over the doctor's remaining pieces.
"I hope my twin holds this over Eggy's head for the rest of his life."
"Man, I hate checkers," Eggman glowered, flipping the board. Unsurprisingly, it froze mid-air.
Sonic deadpanned at him while Eggman gathered the scattered pieces, threw them on the ground, and stomped on them.
Knuckles smirked. "It's rare to see a Sonic being the mature one."
Sonic was going to argue that until he realized that he couldn't.
"Ten!" the villagers began to count down in extreme slow-mo, the ball-bot dropping in sync.
"Uh oh, he's running out of time!" Amy pointed out.
"There was no logical reason for you to say that. We are all literally watching the same thing."
"Go back to stuffing your face, Metal."
Eggman slumped. "All I wanted was a chance to beat you in one thing. Just once before the end of the year! Is that too much for a villain to ask?
Sonic's brow creased. "You did all this just to notch some kind of victory over me?"
"Oh no." Sonic slumped in his seat. "Don't tell me that he's gonna let Eggman win in something."
"He better not," Eggman grumbled. "He does not deserve it. Also, pity wins don't count."
"Maybe," the man grumbled.
"Yeah," Sonic admitted. "I guess I've been pretty dominant this year."
Amy giggled.
"Ames, no."
Eggman glared. "You guess? You guess? I made a New Year's resolution to beat you one time this year! And here I am, ten seconds before midnight, and I can't even win a simple game of checkers!"
"That seems like a personal problem," Rouge said before quickly snagging a gummy worm from Shadow.
"You owe me."
"I'll pay you back."
"With interest."
"Nine!" the crowed slowly called out.
Sonic snorted. "Tell ya what, Egghead, we still got a couple seconds left. In the spirit of the new year, I challenge you to a dance off."
"Oh, he's definitely throwing." Knuckles wasn't happy about this turn of events either.
"I mean…it's nice?" Tails admitted. "Everyone needs to start the year on some kind of good note."
"It's Eggman's fault. He would've won something if he just had taken Sonic to a pool."
"A dance off?" Eggman repeated. "What, are you making fun of me? Not cool, Sonic."
"Eight!" The ball lowered even more.
"I'm serious!" Sonic placated, hands on his hips. "The end of the year is the time for letting loose and having crazy fun. What's more fun than a dance off?"
Sonic could list many things – defeating Eggman's robots with a chili dog blaster for one – but he had to admit that dancing was pretty fun too.
"Seven!"
"So, are we gonna dance, or what?" Sonic asked.
Eggman grinned. "Check this!" He pressed a button on his arm, and music started blasting. He moonwalked before doing some questionable dance moves, ending with a short breakdance and a peace sign. He smirked at Sonic. "Whaaat!"
Shadow sighed. "I really need to find that bleach."
Tails didn't know what to feel. "It wasn't that bad…"
"What are you guys talking about?" Mittens chuckled, over his scared spell. "That was amazing! I wanna dance against him now!"
Rouge bobbed her head over to the doctor. "You can."
Ecstatic, Mittens faced Eggman. "Can we-"
"Never."
"Aw man…"
"Six!"
Sonic wasn't intimidated. "Aight, aight, my turn!"
Knuckles cringed. "Sonic, don't ever-"
"I promise you that I won't."
The music played again, and he grooved to the beat before doing a split. From there, he breakdanced, spinning rapidly and finished with a peace sign like Eggman.
Sonic gave his double a seven out of ten. He could do way better, of course.
"Five!"
Eggman crossed his arms and kicked as the music blasted before spinning around like a crazed top.
Sonic sighed. "Here goes nothing." He balanced on his head and spun rapidly, yelling out in surprise when he lost control. Sonic careened into several decoration boxes, landing in one. "Ow…"
Amy wished the twin had pulled off some crazy moves that left Eggman in the dust, but, "At least it looks somewhat believable!"
"Four!"
Sonic sat up with a slight smile on his face. "Looks like you won, Egghead."
Eggman gasped. "I won! I beat Sonic!"
"I can't believe he actually fell for it."
"He lost to the other Sonic in a game of chess, Rouge," Shadow opposed. "This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone."
He loudly cackled, looking over to the crowd. "Hey, everybody!" He paused when he saw that the villagers were still stuck in slow-motion. "Oh, right." Eggman pressed a button on his wrist, and everything sped up again.
The crowd continued to chant. "Three, two, one!" They all cheered when the ball crashed into the ground. "Happy New Year!"
Sonic, Tails, and Amy cheered along with everyone else at the party.
Sticks laughed in excitement, and Tails, grabbing his gun again, shot confetti into the air. Fireworks lit up the night sky.
"Hey, everybody!" Eggman held up a hand, gaining their attention. "I beat Sonic! Kneel before me!"
"That's exactly how world domination works." Eggman thought that meeting his younger self during the Time Eater debacle was bad, but this. "Beat your nemesis in a dance-off and poof, you're feared by all."
Sticks frowned up at him. "What are you talking about?"
"It was a dance off, and I won!" Eggman quickly explained. "Didn't you see? It was right here!"
Sonic walked up to him. "Technically, it happened in a blink of an eye. Nobody saw anything."
Rouge grinned. "That was smart, purposely losing a game that no one else could possibly witness."
Eggman deflated at that. "B-But…I…ugh…"
"Well," Sonic's smile was subtle. "Nobody but me." The doctor perked up, and the smile grew. "Happy New Year, Eggman."
Sonic wasn't so mad about the loss anymore. "Y'know, Eggy, let's all come together at the end of the year and-"
"I appreciate the offer, but no."
"You don't sound like you appreciate it."
"Did you expect me to?"
"Uh…"
"It's your fault that your feelings are hurt, cactus."
"Happy New Year, you blue son of a gun," Eggman replied amiably, caught off-guard.
Amy had the urge to clap.
"Hey, guys!" Knuckles greeted. "I just saw my shadow! Six more weeks of winter!"
"And I'm sure you weren't wrong," Rouge told Mittens. Since it was the start of the year, winter had to have lasted another two months at least.
"I was totally right!" Mittens said proudly.
Tails wasn't going to ruin the mood by mentioning the lack of groundhogs and sunlight.
Eggman and Sonic looked at each other and began to chuckle. They looked overhead as more fireworks went off, celebrating the beginning of a new year.
"Finally," Eggman muttered when the screen faded to black.
"That was a kinda fun episode! Especially with what happened during it." Amy glanced over to Metal, who was relaxing in his chair with crumbs all over him. There weren't any bright lights yet. "Guess you get to be alive for another episode, Metal!"
"I would be very appreciative if I did."
"Just don't make it angry, and you should be fine," Knuckles advised before the static filled the air again. "Speak of the devil…"
Words appeared on the screen. "Say goodbye to your new friends, Mittens."
"Aw really?" Mittens stood up as the text faded out, facing the others with a sad smile on his face. "It was fun hanging out with you guys! I'm glad I got to meet you!"
"Right back at you!" Sonic hopped out of his seat as well, Tails and Amy copying his actions. The speedster stepped up to the echidna, expression warm. "And you're welcome back anytime!" If that was even possible.
Amy nodded. "Yeah, we'd love to see you again!"
"And maybe when you come back, we won't be trapped here!" Tails hovered around him. "We could show you our world since we've seen so much of yours!"
Mittens sniffled, placing the Chaos emerald in his chair before wrapping all three of them up in a group hug. It lasted a couple seconds until he released them, allowing the heroes to breathe again.
Knuckles tensed when Mittens focused on him. "I don't do hugs."
"I figured!" Mittens bounded over to him and held out a fist. "I liked meeting you too, but next time, I'm definitely going to beat you in an arm-wrestling match! You just better not cheat again!"
"I never-" Knuckles sighed, giving up the fight for now. Instead, he held up a fist with a subtle grin. "I look forward to it."
Mittens beamed as he bumped their knuckles together.
He then turned on his heel and addressed the ones he wasn't as familiar with. "Eggman, keep being the grump you always are-"
"Wasn't planning on changing."
Mittens regarded the former robot. "-good luck with your new body, Metal-"
Metal simply nodded at him.
"-and um…" He eyed Shadow. "Enjoy the rest of your gummies!"
"I will," Shadow replied after biting the head off of one.
Mitten's laugh was uneasy until he went over to Rouge, who had stood up after the bear hug. There was a faint blush on his cheeks. "Rouge, I-"
Rouge silenced him by putting a hand on his shoulder. "It was fun having you around, sugar." Rouge fluttered up and pecked him on the cheek, causing the blush to deepen. She back off with a smile. "Make sure to say hello to your friends for us."
Mittens didn't get a chance to recover before a white light took him away.
When his vision cleared, Knuckles scowled. "Was that really necessary?"
Rouge looked too innocent. "What do you mean, Red? It was nothing but a friendly goodbye."
"Friendly my ass," he mumbled.
She gave a knowing grin before picking up the forgotten Chaos emerald. "Well, I'm glad that I stopped by for a while-" Even though her work had been for nothing. "-but I'm about to go treat myself to a spa day."
Amy wished she could join her. "So lucky…"
Rouge glanced over at Shadow. "I'll keep an eye on the jewel until you all are set free. Hopefully the thing won't go back on its word."
Tails' gut dropped. "Why would you even say that? Don't encourage it!"
Rouge attempted eased his worries, heading for the door. "I'm sure it won't." She waved over her shoulder. "I'll see all of you sooner or later. Have fun with the rest of your marathon!"
"Fun, she says," Eggman grumbled as she walked out of the front door, disappearing from sight.
"Welp." Sonic returned to his seat. "Time to keep things rolling. We gotta power through the rest of these so-"
There was a hiss, and everyone instinctively faced Metal. The blue hedgehog's mouth was covered, and his eyes were wide as he stared at the green piece of candy on the floor he must've spat out. It was shaped like a ball.
Metal almost looked horrified. "I do not like sour candy."
"Yeah…" Sonic understood completely. "Must've been a Warhead."
"That's what happened! Do you believe me?"
Knuckles, sitting at a table at Meh Burger, was giving Sonic an expectant look.
The blue hedgehog narrowed his eyes as he processed everything. "The so-called Chaos emerald, the magic ceiling, the mini-version of you, a living Metal, and a Shadow who didn't outright attack you…"
Knuckles nodded enthusiastically. "All true!"
Sonic cocked his head. "And the kiss?"
"Definitely." The echidna tapped his cheek with a grin.
The speedster matched his expression, holding up a hand. "Way to go, Knux! This goes down in the history books!"
Knuckles high-fived him, and they both laughed.
The duo calmed down after a moment, Knuckles pursing his lips in thought.
"Don't strain yourself too much," Sonic said out of genuine worry.
"It's just…" He gave the hedgehog a once-over. "Speaking of kisses, are you and Amy like together together?"
Sonic was as still as a statue. "Uh…well that came out of the blue, didn't it?"
"I know! But I thought you guys were until the other Amy asked me, so I kinda started to doubt it because I didn't have any real proof. So…" Knuckles leaned forward. "Are you?"
He didn't expect Sonic to spring out of his seat so fast. "I have to go um…chop down…some trees, because that's something I gotta do right now! See ya!"
There was a blue streak as he ran away.
"But you didn't answer my question!" Knuckles called after him.
Dave half-heartedly swept his way over to the echidna's table. "That's all the proof you need right there."
Knuckles slumped. "He didn't tell me anything! He just ran off!"
"Exactly."
Knuckles studied him intensely. "…Is this a riddle? I'm not very good with those."
Dave sighed. "I don't get paid enough for this."
That was another long one for you all! Hope you enjoyed! Battle of the Boy Bands is next, and I'm sure the Sonic crew is going to have a lot of fun with that one.
Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome!