Sonic Boom!

It Wasn't Me, It Was The One-Armed Hedgehog

Penny had just heard about Sonic being accused of stealing Eggman's particle Accelerator, and she frowned. Sonic would never steal...this was almost like the time Eggman accused Sonic of hurting his neck, which had turned out to be a fraud.

She sighed as she walked up to the place where Sonic worked, and she saw him zipping in and out, carrying boxes and wearing a disguise. She walked into the shed to hear Sonic talking to his work partner, Earl.

"Slow down, pal! You're making the rest of us look bad!" Earl said. The bell rang, and Sonic and Earl walked out together.

"Sorry, Earl, just trying to finish so I could knock off early," the blue hedgehog said, sitting down next to his partner.

"Big plans tonight?" Earl asked. "Not like there's much to do around here except playing horseshoes." He yelped as a horseshoe smacked him on the head.

"Whoops! Sorry, Earl!"

Earl nodded.

"I'm on a trail of a man who did me wrong," Sonic sighed.

"That so?" Earl asked. "You know, a fellow just came through town! And in a real hurry, too! Headed into the east forest, yonder!"

"Sonic?" Penny asked, walking up.

Sonic glanced in surprise. "Hey, Pen. Didn't expect you to visit today."

"I just wanted to see if you're okay," Penny said. She noticed Earl and smiled, waving slightly. "Hey, Earl."

"Hey," Earl said.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sonic said. "Trying to get work done fast so I could hide out at home with you for a while while keeping a low profile at the same time."

"That explains the disguise," Penny said, sitting down next to them.

Earl smiled, rolling up his lunch bag. "Well, them crates ain't gonna stack themselves. Unless they're self-stacking crates. Heh. That'd be sweet."

He yelped as a horseshoe smacked him on the head, and Earl toppled to the ground.

"Earl!" Penny gasped, putting her hands to her mouth in horror. Sonic quickly looked at Earl in the eyes. "Earl?! Earl?!"

........................................................................................

"What is it, doc?" Sonic asked the doctor. He glanced at Sonic and Penny. "Well, the scientific term is he got hit in the head with too many horseshoes."

"You've got to help him!" Sonic and Penny said in sync.

"Oh, sure. Let me just... whip up some Anti-Horseshoe Elixir." Doc said sarcastically.

"Hey, if you can't help him, just say so!" Penny growled at the doctor.

"No, seriously." The doctor said. "I've got a recipe for Anti-Horseshoe Elixir. I just need some pink orchid root. It only grows in the West Forest."

"Oh," Sonic said. "I don't suppose it's anywhere near the East Forest."

The doctor walked off.

"So, what do we do?" Penny asked. Sonic turned to her. "If we're gonna catch the guy who framed me, I gotta go East." Sonic turned to Earl. "But if we're gonna help you, I gotta go West."

Suddenly, the two heard Knuckles speaking outside. "Excuse me, ma'am. I'm looking for this guy. Goes by the name Sonic. And he's very fast."

Sonic scooped Penny in his arms and zoomed off. "Kind of like that guy!"