The scene started out in Tails' workshop.

The kit was tinkering with a tool until the radar beside him began to blare. Startled, Tails looked at the screen, seeing that a red arrow was approaching.

"An incoming Eggman attack!" Determination shined in his eyes. "Better get the gang together." Tails pressed buttons on his communicator. "United Village Defenders of the Village, unite!"

Cosmo blinked. "That's a mouthful."

"What happened to Team Sonic?" Tails asked

"Maybe they talked Sonic into changing the name?" Amy guessed.

"Pfft." Sonic scoffed. He wouldn't switch out Team Sonic for fifty chili dogs. Or maybe twenty-five. At fifty, maybe think about it.

The screen split, showing Amy. "On my way!"

Sticks appeared too. "Let's move!"

Sonic was smirking. "I'm on it!"

Lastly, Knuckles was shown, but he didn't look too enthused. "Eh...it's not really a good time for me. I kinda have plans."

"Other plans?" Knuckles repeated, confused. What's more important than fighting Eggman?

Tails frowned in confusion. "Wait, what?"

"Seriously, Knuckles?" Sonic asked in exasperation before sprinting to where the echidna was. He ran up to Knuckles' table at Meh Burger. "What do you mean you have other plans?"

"Yeah." Carol nodded in agreement. "Sure, Eggman's is a lame excuse of a villain, but what's why can't you help your friends?"

Knuckles gestured across the table. "I was gonna catch a movie with Mike."

Mike, an ox, raised a hand in greeting. "Hi, I'm Mike!"

"So you're hanging out with your new friend instead of helping your teammates with Egghead?"

"Sonic, you treat Eggman as a joke during your battles, so don't even lecture me."

Sonic reluctantly waved at the new face. "Uh, yeah, hi." He turned back to Knuckles, insisting, "Seriously though, we gotta get moving. Eggman's attacking."

The echidna groaned. "But today is the last day of Jungle Fighter 3: Revenge of the Jungle Fighter! "

"Jungle Fighter can wait," Mike advised. "It is important to battle Eggman."

"Yeah, listen to your friend, Knuckles." Sonic teased.

"You barely even listen to us for once, Sonic." Knuckles shot back.

Sonic perked up and addressed Knuckles, "Great! See?" He began to walk off, motioning for the other to follow. "Let's go!"

Mike smiled at the speedster. "So, where are we going?"

Tails raised a brow in confusion. "We?? He can't join them in a fight against Eggman, he's just a... guy." Now it makes sense.

Shadow figured it out too as he sighed. "So that's what the title meant."

"What are you talking about?" Scourge asked, confused. "He's just a mindless fool. What's so bad about that?"

"Watch and you'll see what I mean."

That stopped Sonic in his tracks. "Oh, uh...I mean me and Knuckles."

Knuckles blinked at him. "Why can't he come?"

"Yeah, why can't I come?" Mike echoed.

Cory frowned. "Has he not seen any of the Eggman fights?"

Anti-Tails shook his head. "This new guy clearly wasn't blind; if he was, he deserved an award for perfect acting."

"He doesn't realize that fire, missiles, and lasers that could easily get him hurt." Fiona added in agreement.

"We can't bring you to a battle. I-" Sonic floundered a bit. "I mean, you're just a guy."

All of the mingling villagers at Meh Burger gasped.

"Oh..." Sonic winced. "That's not good." He understood what his twin was saying. Putting Mike in the middle of a fight wasn't the best choice because of the lack of fighting experience, that was true. The double didn't mean anything mean by it, but Sonic's been in the public eye for far too long to learn to never say things like that.

People would get testy.

"I don't understand." Torque started, clearly confused. "What did he do wrong?"

Lilac sighed and answered. "He technically didn't do anything wrong... he just... said the wrong words."

Gong stared at the screen for a moment before stating, "Whatever he said upset the villagers; sensitivity."

Spade humphed. "This was why I stay by myself most of the time, so I wouldn't have to deal with these kinds of situations."

People can seriously get overwhelmed with small words.

An old monkey with a hat and cane glared. "Just a guy?! "

Sonic shook his hands innocently. "No! I-I didn't mean – what I meant to say was – he's not..." He gestured vaguely. "...you know."

Cosmo felt so bad. "Poor Sonic. He's trying his hardest to correct his mistakes."

Tails smiled slightly. "It's ok, Cosmo. Some people are just... sensitive to some words."

Crickets chirped as Mike waited patiently with the angry villagers behind him. No one said anything.

Knuckles cut in, disappointed. "I think you've said enough already."

"He is the last person to give an opinion on the situation." Sonic grumbled. He sighed. Seriously, he wasn't trying to mean or anything, he was just, trying to say the right words.

Sonic sharply sighed. "Ugh, we don't have time for this!" He grabbed the echidna's arm and ran off with him in tow.

The scene morphed into a valley of a canyon. Amy, Tails, and Sticks were fighting Badniks while Eggman and his helper robots flew around in the Eggmobile.

Eggman didn't know if he wanted to slap the sense into his other self and maybe teach him on how to be successful – failures led to success, the doctor had heard that somewhere – or just tell him to retire and take up knitting. Or shuffleboard.

Sonic and Knuckles ran into the fray, the former spin dashing a crab bot. Knuckles, punching a motobug to smithereens, yelled out, "I can't believe that you said that to Mike!" He smashed another Badnik.

"I can't believe he's bringing it up in the middle of a battlefield." Amy retorted.

"It's funny that he's bringing it up, but it didn't seem like Mike was bothered at all by it. Just the villagers." Tails pointed out.

"Considering how Mike is 'just a guy', basically the plot of this episode, he should be bothered by it." Spade responded.

"What did he say?" Tails asked while smacking a robot with a wrench.

Eggman frowned at their conversation. "Uh, battle's over here, guys?"

"Battle is a strong word." Neera groused. "More like target practice."

"He called my friend Mike 'just a guy'!" Knuckles scowled while pummeling yet another mech.

Amy and Sticks whirled around, gasping.

The pinkette flattened a bot with her hammer. "Sonic! How could you?!"

Sonic didn't expect that reaction. "Whoa! They're actin' like he committed a murder or something!"

"Well, he might've killed his own publicity..." Knuckles muttered.

Sonic slid to a stop, annoyed. "I didn't mean that-"

"Yeah, Sonic," Eggman commented from his hovercraft. "That's a really crummy thing to say to a dude."

"Coming from the man who threatens people on a daily basis!"

"Threatening and demeaning are totally different things, pincushion."

"But he does both."

Eggman couldn't believe he was somewhat sticking up for his twin. "True, but the villagers expect it from him. What would make you feel worse: me telling you to jump off a cliff, or Tails telling you to?"

"...I see your point."

Sonic growled in frustration before swiftly smashing all of the remaining robots.

"I think he's upset..." Milla said, concerned.

Carol shrugged. "Can't really blame him."

Eggman took his cue to leave. "Well, gotta go." He flew off with Orbot and Cubot shouting, "You know I'm right!"

"Theo, is my double gonna appear anytime soon?"

"Yep."

"Figures."

Sonic deadpanned as the doctor disappeared. Tails stepped up to his side, smiling. "Don't worry, Sonic! This will all blow over! By tomorrow, nobody would even remember what you said."

Tails inwardly groaned. "He's jinxing himself."

There was a cut, and Soar the Eagle appeared on the screen.

"He's a reporter now?" Knuckles asked, annoyed that he was seeing the eagle again.

Sonic snickered. "I guess being a motivator didn't quite work out for him."

Tails chuckled. "Either that, or his experience with Eggman caused him to switch careers altogether."

The bird spoke into a microphone. "It's been twenty-four hours since Sonic the Hedgehog's infamous 'just a guy' comment shook the very foundation of our fair village. I'm here now with an angry mob."

He glanced to the side, and there was a crowd of villagers all yelling in anger.

Lilac sighed warily. "This is what I mean when words can have an effect on people."

Soar gave the old monkey the microphone. "Sonic barged in and called Mike 'just a guy'! As if to say he was so much better than the rest of us! And we begged him to stop, but he just kept berating the poor fella!"

A walrus in a hat was up next. He clenched a fist. "That Sonic, living it up on the beach! He's lost touch with the common man!"

Eggman then snatched the mic. "Can you believe that guy? I mean the nerve of some people!"

Sonic was too astonished to note the absurdity of Eggman's presence. "Is everyone else kinda getting mad, or it is just me?"

"Not just you." Knuckles answered.

"Definitely not just you." Tails piped up.

"It's never you." Amy added.

Gong groaned. "Those villagers are becoming annoying."

"Sonic only said a few words, and now the whole village hates him? After all that he's done?" Mighty questions in disbelief.

"These people are being absolute idiots." Fiona groused.

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "They were idiots to begin with."

Sonic was then shown at Meh Burger, peacefully ordering food. "Yeah, can I get a chili dog?"

Dave scratched his head, his tone mockingly sarcastic. "Oh, jeez, that sure does sound complicated. Can you really trust me that order?" A devious smile grew. "After all, I'm just a guy. "

Sonic woefully groaned.

"That guy deserves a punch to the face."

"Really, Knuckles?"

"Don't hate me for being truthful, Tails."

In Sonic's shack, the speedster was pacing in front of Knuckles, Tails, Sticks, and Amy as they sat at a table.

"All I did was call him a guy." Sonic paused in his stride, looking at his friends for help. "Is that guy not a guy?"

"It's not what you said, Sonic, it's how you said it." Amy admonished. "But, I think the town will forgive you if they see you're making an effort to change your condescending highhanded appallingly insensitive attitude."

Sonic crossed his arms with a frown.

Amy brightened. "Lucky for you, I happen to teach a sensitivity training seminar!"

Tails' laugh was uneasy. "She's really determined about being a psychologist."

Sonic looked at her, stunned, as she kept going. "Every weekday morning at eight a.m. to three p.m." Amy turned to the others. "And, there's enough open spots in the class for all of you!"

"Or you could not go, for it is a waste of time," Spade uttered, convinced that the pink hedgehog herself needed to be mentally evaluated.

"But that would be 'insensitive', and the other Amy would probably hunt them down." Knuckles opposed.

There was a collective groan. Knuckles glared at the blue hero. "Not cool, Sonic."

Knuckles had to stop himself from saying anything because he felt a vein threatening to burst.

Later, Sonic's team – along with Comedy Chimp and the bow-tied beaver – were all folding paper hats at a table.

There was a collective of 'Why' around the theater

Knuckles, sitting by Sonic, sent the speedster an ugly look. "I still don't get why we have to do all this stupid training just because of Sonic's big dumb mouth. "

Knuckles had to stand up this time, taking deep breaths as he walked around the room.

Sonic agreed that was a bit uncalled for.

Lilac frowned. "That's a little rude."

"Don't be so surprised." Knuckles called out, as he was still walking around the room.

Eggman was also getting fed up at this point, and usually it's the highlight of his day whenever something negative happens to the annoying pincushion. "That dimwit echidna should be locked in a room with a copy of himself."

Shadow immediately threw that idea out. "Then they would become friends, and we'd have two of them to deal with. No thank you."

Amy blew a whistle, startling everyone. "Uh ah ah!" She wiggled a finger. "Insensitive remark! This training's not stupid."

"That's what she calls him out on?" Amy asked getting angry. "Not that Knuckles just called her bf dumb?!"

Sonic wasn't going to correct her because she was so riled up. The risk was too high.

Her expression brightened. "Now, how are everyone's sensitivity hats coming along?" The group held their hats up, Sonic extremely unenthused.

The whole room shared his sentiment.

"Why is Tails' twin even there?" Milla questioned, curious. "I get why Knuckles and Sticks are there, Sonic being there is because of the story, Comedy Chip and the beaver were really random, but why Tails? He didn't do anything wrong."

Knuckles plopped down in his seat with a grunt, his anger back down to manageable levels. "Most likely for emotional support because Sonic sure does need it right now."

The class then moved to the couch with Amy standing in front of them. "When you find yourself frustrated, instead of lashing out at someone else, close your eyes-" She did so. "-take a deep breath, and go to your happy place."

From Knuckles' experience, that wouldn't help much.

Amy reopened her eyes, placing her hands on her hip. "Let's practice that right now."

Everyone else followed in her footsteps, visiting their happy places.

Sonic's happy place was the beach with him lounging in a hammock without a care in the world.

"I'd rather be running though open spaces-" Sonic shrugged. "-but that's good too."

Tails' happy place was in the sky. He was spinning his namesakes as he flew around like a superhero.

Tails smiled widely, relieved to know that they were on the same wavelength.

Sticks' happy place was in the jungle. With camouflage paint on her face, the badger took down robot after robot with ease.

"That'll teach you to team up with alien overlords you robo-trash!" Sticks exclaimed out loud, and her neighbor on the couch – Comedy Chimp – eyed her warily while scooting over.

"Wise decision," Knuckles commented. He thanked his lucky stars that they had skipped over his twin's happy place.

A short while later, they were sharing stories.

"Now I realize that even though on the outside I was hitting my sidekick with a mallet, on the inside, I was hitting myself with a mallet of my own insecurities," Comedy Chimp admitted before bursting out in tears.

"Wow..." Amy's expression softened. "That's actually pretty sad."

Fiona glanced at her. "You have a hammer."

"You better stop that connection right now if you know what's good for you."

Beside him, Knuckles seemed to be holding back tears as well. "It's okay, bro." The echidna pulled the crying chimp in for a sympathy hug. "I like to hit things too."

Sonic snickered at that. "We can't forget that the other Knuckles is still a good friend, guys. He's a little...weird, but a good person nonetheless."

"Weird is not the word I'd use," Knuckles mumbled.

Tails and Sticks looked on sadly. Amy wiped away the dampness on her face and asked, "Sonic, would you care to share with the group?"

Sonic scratched his head unsurely, avoiding his paper hat. "I don't know..." He looked around. "I guess I could be more mindful of peoples' feelings, and stuff?" Curious gazes watched him, waiting for more. Sonic wracked his brain. "Aaand...maybe I'll go talk to Mike? Tell him...I'm sorry?"

"I hope everything will be right again after he does!" Tails chirped.

Knuckles rose a dubious brow at him. "Do you really think it will?"

Tails' hesitation was all the answer he needed.

Everybody around him cooed and held their arms out.

Sonic didn't fight it. "Alright, bring it in." He was suddenly crushed in a group hug.

"Aw!" Amy cooed as well before facing Sonic with a glint in her eye. "Can we all give you a group hug too?"

"No!" Sonic and most of the audience said out loud, getting rid of that idea.

At Meh Burger, Sonic was chatting with a particular ox. "Listen, Mike," he started. "I was wrong to say you're just a guy."

"And?" Mike prompted.

Sonic wasn't expecting that, his answer more like a question than a statement. "And...I'll never do it again?"

"And?"

"That greedy jerk!" Amy swore that everyone was out to get the other Sonic. "He said he was sorry! Isn't that enough?"

Tails had a thought and suddenly feared the future. "He most likely still wants to go battle with Eggman."

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, things definitely won't go wrong if that happens. Sonic better say no."

Sonic could already see it coming. "Remember the sleepover episode? He's too nice..." Sonic himself would let the guy down gently, explaining the multitude of reasons not to be in the middle of a fight.

A subtle frown grew on the speedster's muzzle. "And..." He thought for a second. "If you want, you're welcome to come with us to the next battle with Eggman."

Knuckles and most of the others couldn't help but to face-palm.

Mike smiled. "Apology accepted! Can we go now?"

Sonic blinked. "Well, no. We have to wait until Eggman launches an attack."

Mike leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his drink. Putting it back down, he asked, "How about now?"

Scourge gave a blank expression. "He's gonna get himself killed."

"Probably." Most of the audience said in agreement.

Sonic stuttered at the insistence. "N-No, you see-"

"So, now?" Mike gently pounded his fists on the table, excited. "Let's go now!"

Sonic took a sharp breath and closed his eyes. "Just go to your happy place..." he muttered. "Just go to your happy place."

Lilac felt bad. Mike was a handful, to put it lightly. "I don't think ignoring him is the best plan here."

Carol lightly chuckled. "It's better than being angry."

"Is it?" Knuckles, Shadow and Spade grunted at the same time.

The hero was then relaxing in his hammock, the sea breeze gently rocking him back and forth. Sonic sighed in relief only to gaze in shock when Mike walked up to him.

"What?" The ox glanced around. "Is this your happy place or something?" He placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "And when are we going to the battle? Now?"

Amy creased her brow in concern. "That's terrifying. Imagine having a good dream and then boom! Your worst nightmare walks in like he owns the place."

Eggman didn't have to imagine it, for his nightmare ceaselessly popped up at the worst times in the shape of a spiky blue irritation.

Sonic groaned before closing his eyes again.

This time, the hedgehog was standing in a peaceful room void of anything but white space. Sonic slumped with a smile, happy to be alone.

Gong shook his head in disappointment. "Should've said no."

"What's this? Your happier place?" Sonic spun around with wide eyes only to see Mike, who was examining his surroundings. "Cool! So can we go to the battle now?"

"Is there something in the water that diminishes IQ points?" Anti-Tails asked. "There is no other logical explanation for this stupidity."

Fiona hummed in thought. "Maybe, but then explain Sonic, Tails, and Amy They don't seem affected...much."

Scourge jumped into the conversation with a shrug. "Maybe they drink a lot of juice instead?"

"I like juice." Sonic said.

"Me too!" Tails chirped.

Amy nodded. "It's a possibility..."

Sonic gritted his teeth but was distracted by a sudden beeping. "Huh?"

The Sonic in the hammock opened his eyes. "What?"

Then the Sonic at Meh Burger shot to attention.

Lastly, a human was shown taking out the trash in a Sonic costume. He froze and mumbled in Sonic's voice, "Oops. One too many." He dropped the bag in the trash can.

Sonic accurately imitated a stranded goldfish. "What...What in the world was that?!"

Tails' eyes were wide. "There was a human...dressed as you...but he had your voice and...how...trash..." The kit held his head in his hands, whining. "My brain hurts..."

"And did you see the background?!" Amy had never been so confused in her life.

"It was nothing like I've ever seen before!" Lilac exclaimed. "It's realistic but not...but it is."

"I'm glad someone else besides me saw that because I thought I was losin' it for a sec." Jet admitted.

Knuckles ran a hand down his face. "I think we've all lost our minds."

Wave cringed. "Haven't we already?"

Meh Burger Sonic looked down at his beeping communicator and pressed a button. Tails' alarmed voice came through. "Incoming attack from Eggman!"

Eggman sighed. "Again with this?

"He must be doing some spring cleaning." Scourge guessed.

Sonic hopped out of his seat, regarding Mike, "Okay, now. "

The ox didn't move. "Hold on a minute-"

Sonic growled before grabbing Mike's wrist and sprinting away.

"I would applaud, but this is about to be a train wreck," Spade commented as he propped his chin up with his hand, waiting for the inevitable.

They ended up back at the canyon, meeting with the other members of Team Sonic. Eggman swooped down in his hovercraft once more.

The heroes were ready for battle; Mike laid a checkered blanked on the ground and got comfortable, gaining the others' attentions.

Tails slowly blinked. "He doesn't even want to fight? He's just there to watch?"

"Why would someone ask to come to a battle if they won't... battle??" Silver questioned genuinely confused.

Blaze sighed. "He made such a big deal out of this?? Watching the fights should be normal at this point."

"Behold!" Eggman raised a fist. "My latest invention-" He cut himself off when he punched his dashboard, causing Cubot to be ejected from his seat. The robot flew and crashed into Mike's leg, causing the ox to cry out in pain.

"Uh huh." Scourge said, putting his hands behind his head. "I saw that coming."

Fiona shook her head in disappointment. "He brought this on himself."

"Oh boy." Sonic subtly shook his head. "That's not good."

"No dud, rodent." Eggman said, rolling his eyes. "You've just let an innocent person into a battlefield, where he has no experience in fighting. And now he's injured."

Tails shook his head. "The villagers are going be livid once they found out what happened."

"To be fair, it was Sonic's fault for taking him there in the first place." Rouge pointed out.

"Yeah, but it wouldn't have happened if the villagers weren't so mean to Sonic." Amy protested.

Gong raised a brow. "So it's both their fault then?"

"They're both at fault, but Sonic will take full responsibility for this." Neera said.

Later, Sonic was walking through the village, pushing Mike in a wheelchair. The ox had a broken leg, and the villagers were berating the hero for it.

"How could you take that fella to a battle?" the old monkey harshly questioned. "He's not like you, Sonic. He's just a guy!"

"Why are they mad at him?!? They should be mad at Mike!! He's the one who wanted to go in the first place!!" Amy shouted angrily as she was on the verge of ripping off her quills.

"Question." Scourge began. "If somehow me and my team found a way to that dimension, would any of you try to stop us from taking that village over?"

"Absolutely not." Knuckles answered instantly with no hesitation.

"They might be mean and unfair, but they're still people!" Lilac argued.

"People who are a pain." Spade argued back.

"Especially those Gogobas." Vector said, rubbing his head.

Shadow groaned. "Please don't bring them up."

Maria looked at him confused. "Gogobas??"

"Long story."

Sonic whirled around and put a hand on his hip, frowning. "Wait, seriously? I only took him to the battle because you people-"

The townspeople gasped before glaring. "You people?!"

Tails winced. "He's just digging a deeper hole for himself."

Sonic was now sitting back on Amy's couch wearing a paper hat. He exhaled harshly, not thrilled at all to be back in the class.

"Alright," Amy began. "Perhaps our enthusiasm yesterday was a bit premature. As it turns out, some people still have a long way to go in their training."

Sonic sharply returned the gazes that landed on him.

Cory blinked. "He's pretty pissed off."

Tails was caught off guard. He has never seen Sonic like this before. "I don't think I've ever seen you that mad before, Sonic."

"Well yeah, I don't have to deal with people hating my guts for no reason. Right now though, I think he needs some space..."

Amy remained bubbly. "But I'm sure that we'll all learn to be compassionate after tomorrow's..." She threw an eager fist in the air. "...sensitivity training camping trip!"

Everybody – sans Sonic – cheered loudly.

"Take out the 'sensitivity', and it might've been bearable." Knuckles said.

That seemed to be the last straw for the blue hero. "You know what I think is compassionate?" His words were sharp and icy. "Saving the village from Eggman like every week. But do I get any props for that? No. "

"He's getting himself worked up." Lilac said.

"Everyone just goes around gasping at me when I call a guy a guy , or people people !"

The room gasped.

Immensely annoyed and agitated, Sonic's voice escalated to a shout. "I quit heroing, and I quit this stupid group!" He snatched his hat off his head and hurled it to the floor. He got off the couch, leaving the room without another word.

There was a beat of silence. Then, one at a time, pairs of eyes landed on Sonic.

The blue hedgehog harshly exhaled. He was a version of the Sonic on the TV, and those words still shook him a bit. "You can't really blame him? I wouldn't go so far as to quit being a hero, but, man that's rough."

Eggman made a mental note to emotionally prepare himself for if – when – he took over the world. That cactus's anger was nothing to laugh at, apparently.

Tails almost couldn't believe what just happened. "Is...Is he serious? About retiring?"

"Considering that this isn't the last episode, I doubt it." Knuckles said shaking his head.

"I would give anything to make this the last one." Spade retorted.

"Though, I have to say that I'm impressed. I didn't know he had that outburst in him." Eggman admitted.

"Indeed." Gong nodded in agreement. "That was true anger right there. Not annoyance, not exasperation, that hedgehog was mad."

"Infuriated is what I would say." Neera said.

Amy's heart went out for the other Sonic. "He sounds so frustrated that no one was on his side, angry that nothing he did made things better." She caught on to that negativity, wanting it to go away.

Cream frowned sadly as she glanced at Shadow. "Mr. Shadow? Is Mr. Sonic quitting being a hero?"

Shadow shook his with a small smile. "Of course not, Cream. No matter how mad Sonic is, he will never quit being a hero."

The blue blur smiled at the black hedgehog. "Thanks Shads."

'Why do I of all people have to defend this blue buffoon?!?'

Outside the nearby window, a guy wearing a tree costume snickered deviously.

"Really?" Tails gasped. "He was there the whole time?!"

Carol chuckled. "He's seriously stuck in that tree costume? It has to reek."

Scourge raised a brow. "Who is he??"

"He's one of the members of the Lightning Bolt Society." Shadow answered.

"Oh. Lame."

Inside the Lightning Bolt society's base, their walrus leader was shocked. "Sonic the Hedgehog, retired?"

"Yeah!" the tree guy affirmed. "And the rest of his do-gooder friends are going on some lovey-dovey camping trip!"

Amy wanted to hit something. "She didn't cancel it?! Even after Sonic went off on her because of it! Is being a psychologist that important?"

"There's nothing wrong about her thinking about her future."

"Tails, zip it."

"The town is ours for the taking!" The cloaked weasel smirked.

"I highly doubt that."

"Like you're the one to talk, Eggy."

"Wait..." Dave furrowed his brow. "Didn't we try this once before already?"

This was news to Sonic. "Wait, they have?"

The walrus leader shook his head. "No, that was when Eggman retired. This time, Sonic's retiring! Totally different thing."

"Oh Now I remember." Sonic snickered. "How was it mowing the lawn, Eggy?"

"I would've liked it if you were on the ground tied up, monkey."

Outside their window was a small flying robot that was eavesdropping on the society.

Miles away in an evil base, Eggman, Orbot, and Cubot watched as the Lightning Bolts cheered on-screen.

"Does Eggman have robots watching people all the time?" Milla asked. "There's no other way he can catch these key moments with luck."

"Luck balance of the universe?" Carol guessed, shrugging.

"...Probably"

"Sounds like an opportunity to launch an offensive," Orbot advised.

"Yeah!" Cubot agreed. "And you should attack too!"

Eggman sent them a sharp look. "No, if I do that, Sonic will come out of retirement and fight me! I'll need to bide my time, wait for juuust the right moment..."

"Ah," Orbot said softly. "Do nothing at all. It's that kind of evil scheme that keeps you feared around the globe."

"If they keep up this high level of sarcasm, they might not need to be discarded in the nearest landfill." Anti-Tails said.

"So...the ocean?" Fiona guessed.

"Correct."

Back near the village, Sonic in his hammock and the rest of his friends on their hike were being spied on by the guy in the tree costume. He lowered his binoculars and sent a signal to the weasel bandits.

They gave him a thumbs up before one of them kicked a trash can into a bigger dumpster. Elsewhere, Dave was in a bathroom, switching around toilet paper so that the end hung under the roll, not over. A sinister laugh escaped him.

Sonic gasped sarcastically. "That monster."

Tails joined in. "How could he?"

Scourge blinked. "That's the evilest he could do??"

"Didn't he activate a Doomsday device?" Torque questioned. "Why isn't he-"

"Don't question it, Torque." Knuckles cut him off. "You'll hurt your brain."

The tree guy looked around before pouring juice from a juice box into a cup. Lady Walrus approached, visibly upset. "But it's already a juice container! Why dirty a glass?!"

"If she's upset about that, don't let her find the toilet paper..." Amy felt sorry for the next person who went in there.

The leader of the Bolts was helping Mrs. Vandersnout across the street. However, halfway across, he abandoned her with a laugh, running away. The old fox shrugged in exasperation before continuing on.

Cosmo frowned at the blatant disrespect. "Now that's just rude!"

"And what's worse, she's not even bothered by it." Milla added.

At Meh Burger, a goat lady was ordering. "And tomatoes on the s-i-i-i-de please."

Dave went over to the burgers and deliberately placed tomatoes right on the patty. He chuckled darkly as he picked up the tray.

Neera gave a blank expression. "Now they're just embarrassing themselves."

On the beach, a handful of villagers were standing in front of Sonic's hammock. Lady Walrus was the first to speak. "Sonic! You have to do something about the Lightning Bolt society!"

Sonic tersely scoffed. "Oh whatever. I've eaten burritos more dangerous than the Lightning Bolts." He donned a pair of sunglasses. "Sorry, guys. I'm retired." He drawled out, going back to relaxing and ignoring their existence.

Sonic couldn't necessarily be mad at his double acting like this, but he would've done something regardless.

Amy pursed her lips. "You think he's teaching them a lesson?"

"After his outburst? I doubt it." Knuckles snorted. "He's not pretending to be out of the game."

The scene cut to the Lightning Bolts approaching a pen filled with quadruped sheep. "Well, well, look what we have here!" one of the weasels chirped. "A fence! Trying to dictate where we can and cannot go!"

The walrus leader brandished some bolt-cutters, snapping the wiring in the fence.

Dave smiled a little too widely. "Oh yeah...anarchy baby, woohoo!"

"I have a strong feeling that they don't know what anarchy means." Spade mumbled.

The society yelled in victory as they ran into the formerly fenced-in area. Dave slapped a random sheep, and it instantly sprinted through the hole in the fencing. The rest of the sheep followed suit.

The herd made it to the heart of the village, stampeding through and causing the townspeople scream and flee.

Sonic, hearing the terror, lowered the drink he was sipping out of a coconut and sat up. "So much for early retirement..." he groused before speeding off.

Tails blinked. "Wait, so he actually-"

Shadow inwardly scoffed. "Told you."

The chaotic sheep rampaged around the village, eventually knocking down a tree. The tree crashed into a bench, catapulting a baby walrus into the air.

Lady Walrus screamed. "My baby!" Then she looked at the camera. "Again." She resumed screaming. "Somebody save my baby!" Back to the camera. "Again."

"That baby does have a bad luck streak." Tails knew the mom's stress level had to be through the roof.

The toddler was falling, but he never hit the ground. Sonic carefully caught the child and handed him over to his thankful mother.

Eggman watched the scene from his lair, smirking. "Now this feels like the right moment! He'll never see me coming..."

"How is that the right moment?!" Knuckles realized that he went back on his own words, questioning that world of insanity, but his life was in shambles anyway, so it didn't matter. "Do it when he's completely distracted with not something sheep-related or, I don't know, when he's sleeping!"

"Perhaps the other doctor is focusing more on beauty sleep, for it is obvious he was not getting any before." Gong glanced over to Eggman with a smug grin. "I am sure you can sympathize."

Eggman just growled, glaring at him.

Back at the village, the old lady from before was running away from the out-of-control sheep. Sonic swiftly guided her out of harm's way, and he did the same to a hanging monkey and a kid playing in the sand.

"Did they not see the sheep, or..."

"They were just sheep! I wouldn't be scared either!"

"I dunno about you, Ames, but seeing superpowered sheep tear down a tree would make me a little worried."

Sonic then bolted over to the sheep and herded them up, running circles around them to stop their stampede.

Eggman, along with Orbot and Cubot, swooped down in his hovercraft and pushed a button on his dashboard. The bottom of the Eggmobile opened up to reveal a large hand that was aiming from the oblivious speedster.

Mike, observing from his wheelchair, gasped at the sight of the doctor and yelled out, "Sonic!" He pointed. "It's Eggman!"

"Oh, look who decides to be helpful." Knuckles observed.

"I mean, he's a good guy." Tails tried to back the ox up.

"Huh?" Sonic glanced over to the ox before shifting his gaze up just as the hand got too close for comfort. Sonic slipped into the group of sheep and ducked down, making Eggman pause.

In response to Sonic hiding, the mechanical hand scooped up a few sheep and tossed them too hard into the air. The each of the livestock landed on the three evildoers.

Sonic would've side-stepped and spin dashed, but hey, if it worked, it worked. "That's one way to do it."

Getting an idea, Sonic reached over and positioned a sheep on his back, piggy-back style. He trotted away, the rest of the herd following him. Eggman, now helpless with the sheep hindering his vision, yelped when the mechanical hand tried to grab more sheep, pulling the doctor along for the ride.

Amy could see why the other Eggman abandoned all technology in the earlier episode.

"It's so pathetic that it hurts," Eggman grumbled.

The scene then cut to the Lightning Bolt society relaxing in the now empty sheep pen. When a deep rumble caught their attention, they sat up and one weasel asked, "What the heck is that?"

Sonic was swiftly approaching them with the sheep on his back. There wasn't a herd trailing after the hedgehog anymore, for the mechanical hand had deposited them all on top of Eggman and his helper robots.

"I can't see anything!" Eggman exclaimed. "What's going on?!"

After placing his sheep in the enclosure, Sonic jumped up and spin dashed the hovercraft. The animals flew into the air and landed inside the fence. Sonic then welded the metal gate shut with the head of his spin attack.

Sonic narrowed his eyes. Science usually went over his head; however, his twin using his quills to weld inside of shred was too out there even for him. "Tails-"

"I didn't think it was possible either."

The Lightning Bolt society were promptly pelted with the falling sheep.

"They're all dead," Spade curtly stated.

The villagers cheered as they crowded around Sonic. "We were wrong about you, Sonic." The old monkey apologized. "You are better than us!"

Knuckles shrugged. "He isn't wrong."

"I mean..." Sonic fumbled with his words for a moment. "Physically maybe, but not an any other way! Everyone are equals!"

The echidna rose an inquisitive brow. "So you're saying that you're not smarter than that old monkey?"

Sonic opened and closed his mouth without saying anything.

"Exactly."

Lady Walrus clasped her hands together. "Thank you for saving the village, and my baby! Again."

At this point, the rest of Team Sonic including the beaver and Comedy Chimp entered the scene with broad smiles.

Amy rolled her eyes. Now they decided to show up. "That camping trip better had been the best trip of their lives."

"I knew if we left you alone long enough, you'd step up and save the day!" Amy chirped.

"While I appreciate you taking partial credit for my heroics, Amy, there is someone who actually deserves my thanks."

"Mike." Sonic went over to the ox, patting his shoulder. "Without his help, I never would've seen Eggman coming. You're more than just a guy, Mike. You're a hero!"

"Oh," Mike responded nonchalantly. "Neato."

He doesn't even care!?! Amy inwardly shouted. After all of that, he doesn't even-

Everyone slowly backed away from the angry pink hedgehog tightly gripping the arms of her chair like they were the sole reason for her distress.

With the Lightning Bolts, they had recovered from the sheep attack.

"Oh man!" Dave complained. "We thought we were the baddest in town, but then Eggman showed up with his claw doodad..."

One villager, a cat, addressed them, "Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but you're just not good at it."

"Yeah...you're not good at it," the rest of the people echoed with head shakes.

"We are going to see that group again," Spade said, resigning to the sad fate. "I doubt the villagers' disapproval will keep them from doing overwhelmingly mediocre things that annoyed everyone."

The walrus leader rolled his eyes. "Ugh, and I suppose you people can do it better?"

Sharp gasps filled the air.

Amy was back in her house, smiling. "Let's see those sensitivity hats, boys!"

The Lightning Bolts, including Tails and Sticks, held their hats in the air.

"Why-" Knuckles stopped right there. It was the end of the episode, and there was no point in looking back now. "Another episode down, and we learned that the other Sonic can hold one hell of a grudge."

Amy nodded before huffing. "I like my twin, but she deserved it! She wasn't great in this one, and neither was Knuckles!" They were basically fighting over who could be the worst friend.

"They could've done things better, yeah, but they were doing what they thought was best." Sonic replied.

Shadow pointedly looked at him. "You're clearly delusional, but what else is new."

"Hey!"

Lucy just giggled and played the next episode