"So this is your home?" Thorn Rose asked incredulously as Sonic led them through the village.

"There's no trees anywhere!" Hangry said with joy, "Nowhere for the monster to hide! We can eat as many berries as we want here."

Prim cleared her throat and frowned at the cat. He realized his mistake and tried to make himself seem as small as possible, grinning apologetically.

"Yep." Sonic said in response to Thorn's query. "Home sweet home. We've got all the commodities you could want in a small town on the edge of paradise. A grocery store, a mediocre burger shop-"

"It's MEH-diocre." Dave the Intern corrected him, Sonic pretended not to hear him.

"-And of course the coolest thing of all, houses! With doors! And windows!" He motioned to Amy's house dramatically, "No need for big leaves to keep you dry here!"

Gnarly's eyes widened in fear, "That isn't a house, that's a cage! How are you supposed to get out once yours inside? What if the trees sneak up on you when you aren't looking?!"

Sonic blinked, "Uh, everyone lives in houses here and that's literally never happened. Look-"

He dashed over to Amy's door and opened it. "See?" He said to the wide eyed onlookers. "Open- close- open- close-" he stepped inside and closed it. The onlookers gasped.

"It ate him!" Gnarly cried.

Sonic appeared in the window, waving. The Boscage Maze crew breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nobody ever gets stuck in their homes. You guys should really take some notes. Houses keep you warm and dry and cozy and plus you get to watch TV all day!"

"What's a TV?" Prim asked. Mangey gave an inquiring yip.

"I'll show you. Let me just-" he was cut off by the sound of another person and soon reappeared in the doorway.

"Not here. I just vacuumed the floors and crannies of the couch." Amy said, pushing him out. She jerked her thumb at the motley crew he had with him. "And what on earth are they doing here?"

"Oh, uh, they're just visiting-" Sonic said nervously.

Amy shook her head disapprovingly. "This isn't even their show. Did you trick them? Boom and Prime are not within the same universe."

"Well, oh, uh- I think they could be!" Sonic pouted.

Amy pointed over at Knuckles, who was passing by. "We have buff stupid Knuckles, not classic knuckles."

"Yep, that's me!" Knuckles said, waving as he walked past.

Prim and Thorn glanced at each other in surprise, and then looked over at Gnarly, short and nervous Gnarly. Definitely not the same universe.

"Our Sonic just wants to be cool like Prime Sonic. And he's not."

"I am too! I'm cool" Sonic said, stomping his feet. "Tell you what, I'll find a paradox prism here and go on my own adventure!"

He dashed off, and Amy shook her head disapprovingly. "Well," she said, "You can stay the night here if you want. Not HERE here, haha, maybe talk to Sticks."

"Where can we find-?"

"That way." Amy pointed and shut the door quickly. No way was she letting a bunch of wild animals into her living room. She had enough of that with her own friends.

After a moment of silence Prim chuckled to herself. "I suspected something was up when he didn't give us all hugs the moment he saw us. This Sonic seems to be a bit less annoying than ours."

"Eh, its about the same for me." Thorn said, rolling her eyes.

Hangry suddenly gasped. "Hey, where did Gnarly go?"

Gnarly had gone into the forest, determined to make his own lodging. "We shouldn't be here." He muttered to himself. "The trees are dangerous but so is being out in the open! We need a good defense, and some food…"

He spotted a berry lying on the ground in a clearing and his eyes lit up. "Food!"

Gnarly leapt towards the berry, but as he enclosed it in his grasp he let out a surprised yelp as the ground retreated and a gust of air blew past him. He was dangling by his feet from one of the trees. He started hyperventilating.

"Oh no, the trees got me, HELP! PRIM! I'M BEING EATEN ALIVE BY A TREE!"

"Not another word outta you!"

Gnarly looked around in surprise at the unfamiliar voice. His eyes settled on a little brown badger who stood angling her club in his general direction. He gulped. "The tree has a pet! I'm done for. HELP!"

"I ain't nobody's pet, and you ain't nobody's tree!" Sticks said, snarling at him.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

With a leap she swung on a vine and wrapped it around him, entangling his arms and legs. Gnarly let out a cry as he dropped towards the ground but pulled up short just before hitting his head.

"Now, which government organization and/or race of aliens are you from?" She said, pointing her boomerang at his nose. Gnarly jerked back, trying to raise his arms in defense.

"N-nobody!" He stammered "I-I'm from the Boscage Maze! I'm just here visiting with my friends!"

"Friends, eh?" Sticks said, her eyes narrowing, "And what exactly is your goal, you alien spy?"

"Uh…" Gnarly opened his palm and the berry dropped to the ground. "Food?"

Sticks scratched her chin thoughtfully. "It IS weird that you were caught in my starving refugee trap as opposed to my government agent trap. Or even my door-to-door salesman trap. Is your planet hungry? Are you going to eat all of our wares and leave us with nothing left to consume?!"

"Eh, maybe." Gnarly shrugged. Sticks growled and he took it back quickly. "No, I'm telling you, we're just visiting! I-I just snuck into the woods because houses aren't safe and I don't want to get captured by one!"

"You're right." Sticks said shaking her head disapprovingly. "I keep telling 'em that and no one ever listens. Sure, turn all of your appliances into smart devices! Even your doors!" She waved her hands around dramatically, "Trusting technology with our lives has never gone wrong before! Just don't come cryin' to me when your doors decide to keep you out, and all your smug smart appliances throw a disco party without you!"

Gnarly gasped, "I knew they weren't safe!"

"The only one who ever listened to me is knuckles, and he doesn't have a home." Sticks said, smiling to herself, "Then again he also sleeps on the beach and spends his free time punching trees so maybe it's not an improvement. Out in the open, where all the government drones can see your every move! Speaking of, you look a lot like him. Are you his little brother?"

"The names' Gnarly, and I'm nobody's little brother!" He said vehemently.

Sticks and Gnarly stared at each other, tension rising. There wasn't a sound except for the wind rustling through the branches and the occasional insect buzz.

"Can you let me out now? My head hurts."

"Eh, sure why not?"

Gnarly fell to the ground as the vines released him and he hastily scrambled out of the tangled mess. He saw that the ropes were mostly made from living vines. "You have tamed the trees…" He said incredulously. "They bend to your will… But how do you know that they won't betray you?"

"Everything betrays me eventually." Sticks said, clenching her fist, "Even me. I expect it, and therefore am never surprised by it!"

Gnarly stared at her in wonder. "Wow."

There was a sound like a loud 'snap!' heard in the distance. Gnarly jumped. "What was that? Was it a jungle beast?!"

Sticks gasped, "My approaching interloper trap! It caught something!"

She dashed off and Gnarly followed her. They arrived at a large wooden cage that had been let down in the middle of the path. A creature was inside of it.

"What are you doing here? Who sent you?" Sticks demanded.

"I'm delivering an online order for a large pepperoni pizza to Dr Eggman, chill out man." Dave the intern said.

"Pizza, eh?" Sticks said, "I'll bet you're on your way to concoct another evil scheme with your buddies!"

"Sure that would have been a fun way to hang out but they're all on summer vacation and I have to pay my college bills. But it doesn't really matter if you keep me trapped here because I get paid the same whether I deliver it or not."

"He WANTS to be caught?" Gnarly said, "No! He's a spy sent to steal our food stash!'

Sticks gasped, "I knew it!" She pulled a lever and the cage raised. "Return from whence you came!"

"Ok, fine," Dave said walking away slowly, "I'll just go chill out at home and then return and tell them I attempted the delivery."

The two watched as he walked out of sight and Gnarly turned to Sticks. "Where is the food stash? We have to protect it from invaders!"

"Back at my burrow." She said, "Don't worry, no one could ever get through there."

"You underestimate the wily craftiness of the trees!" Gnarly said, waving his arms emphatically, "They know all, they're always watchin', just waiting for a chance to take everything you have!" He grabbed Stick's shoulders and shook her, "I've seen it happen. I KNOW WHAT THEY'RE CAPABLE OF."

Sticks gasped, "I never even thought to factor in mutant plant life! Of course, the pesticides!"

They both yelled and began to run. When they arrived at the burrow, Gnarly stopped in his tracks. "But this is a house! I thought you said they weren't safe?!"

"Would you rather be stuck out in the open where anything can get to you or underground where you have a good defensible position?"

Gnarly's eyes lit up, "I never even thought about that!"

"Plus I don't rely on electricity or modern conveniences so the only way anyone is getting to me is if they get past my extremely sophisticated traps." she pulled a lever and several cages, ropes and trap doors sprung all around Gnarly. He gulped and tiptoed across the thin safe line that led between the traps. Sticks let him inside.

"It smells disgusting in here." Gnarly said wrinkling his nose and then he sighed wistfully, "Just like home!"

"I've got emergency waters, emergency kits, emergency food powder, and all the dirt you could ever want!"

Gnarly looked at the stack of food hungrily but he knew better than to take from another creature's stash. "But if you are the master of the trees, what are you defending against?"

"The government."

"What's a government?" Gnarly gasped, "Is it a type of food-stealing monster?"

"Yes." Sticks said, "it's an organization of people who have been put into power in order to find and exterminate all freedom and all life before anyone notices. And they hate me because I know all their dirty secrets."

Gnarly gulped. "What do they do if they find you?"

"They take you away for interrogation and then you mysteriously die in an accident."

Gnarly cried out, "We have to keep them out! I thought I heard something, is it the government?"

Sticks peered out the window. A cloud of dust was approaching. "It is! Quick, we've got to arm all of my traps!"

The two rushed outside to reset all the traps. Gnarly added his own touches to them, and the two were soon back in the bunker. The traps sprung and cries were heard. Gnarly and Sticks crouched down as a bomb went off. "They're attacking us!" He screamed, "Quick, summon the trees!"

"They don't answer to me!" Sticks shouted back.

Gnarly gasped and his eyes narrowed, "The traitors… I won't let it end like this. I'm taking them down! This bunker is our last hope for the world!"

"I'm with you, kid!" Sticks said, and they readied their weapons. Just as the figures approached the door they charged, knocking them back and encasing them in the smoke of another bomb. They performed a scissors maneuver and enclosed the group, dropping a cage on them for the finishing touch. When all was over, they cheered.

"We did it! The spies have been captured!"

"Now it's our turn for interrogation." Sticks said, watching as the dust settled to reveal the motley Boscage Maze crew.

"Huh? They look like my friends." Gnarly said thoughtfully.

"They're not your friends." Sticks said, "That's the oldest truck in the book. They're aliens in disguise!"

Gnarly gasped and then frowned. "What villainy!"

Prim straightened herself out, "Um, excuse me, but we were told to look for someone called Sticks for a place to camp."

"BACK, DEMON!" Sticks cried, "You thought you could just march right up and begin your plan for world domination just like that? Well not on my watch!"

Thorn groaned, "Gnarly, tell her we're not enemies!"

Gnarly looked nervously between the two and then frowned, "I serve the master of the trees now, and if she says you guys are spies that's what you are! Where's my real crew?"

Sticks shook her head, "No, kid, don't just believe me. That's exactly how the government wants you to think. They WANT you to follow leadership blindly. You have to make your own decision and stick to it, even if it means coming up with an explanation for something that you have no expertise in!"

"W-well, um…" Gnarly looked between them again. Mangey looked at him pleadingly. He sighed. "I think they're real. But they shouldn't be near the food stash! Do you have a slingshot?"

"I have a giant one in the back room."

"Let's get them out of here and back to my world!"

A moment later the crew was tied up and seated In the pouch of a giant slingshot. Prim rolled her eyes. "We weren't going to eat anything, Gnarly!"

"Is that everything?" Gnarly asked Sticks as they finished setting up the traps again.

"It is." Sticks said, nodding.

"Then I guess it's time for us to go."

"You're going with them?" Sticks said, her face falling, "But you're the only one who's ever been crazy enough to believe all of my conspiracies!"

"I know…" Gnarly said, signing, "But I don't belong here. I don't trust myself. I'm going to steal your stash if I have to wait any longer. Besides, I have to take care of my crew. I'm an alien to your world."

Sticks sighed, her eyes watery as she took his hands in her own. "Just promise me one thing, kid."

Gnarly nodded, his own eyes growing misty.

"Don't EVER let what happened in our world happen to yours!" She said firmly, "Don't let the power centralize or harm the poor folks!"

Gnarly rubbed a tear away, "I won't. And don't forget to beware of the trees! They have taken over our world, but they want complete domination of the multiverse with their choking roots. They're always plotting something!"

Sticks sniffled, "I won't let that happen. Goodbye, Gnarly."

Gnarly climbed into the slingshot and sat down, waving at his newfound friend. "Goodbye, Sticks."

Hangry struggled to break free, "Oh come on, just one berry for the road? We didn't even get to try meh burger-!"

He was cut off as the slingshot launched them into the air. They screamed as their world slowly came back into view and they crashed into the flimsy platform that was their village. As they sat there recovering Gnarly untied their bonds and helped them back up. "Sorry guys." He said, "It was for the greater good."

"If we had any kind of law in place you would be under arrest, Gnarly!" Prim growled.

"No law! Law is a branch of the government! And I have sworn to never allow that to exist here!"

Thorn chuckled, feeling the edge of her hammer. "But no government came up with the law of the jungle." She raised it above her head. "It's survival of the fittest out here!"

Gnarly dodged the blow and ran back, shouting. "You won't get me! I'll keep you and your kind at bay! I know all your dirty secrets, you government spy!"

Back on the island in Boom world, Sticks was lugging her giant slingshot back into storage. "Man, that guy was so paranoid." She said, "I really need to be more careful about who I let influence my thoughts and beliefs. Trees?

Ha! Everybody knows it's the bushes that will rise up and destroy us!"

She glanced over to the shrub that grew just outside of her window. "That's right. I'm talkin' to you. You won't get me next pollen season! I'll be prepared!"