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Sonic arrived at Manic's little shack and texted him.



He knew Manic would never hear him knock over his loud symphonic rock music.



The music finally turned off.



Manic opened the door and hugged Sonic. "Awesome! I didn't expect to see you today. It's been a couple of years."



Manic finally let Sonic go, giving his brother a chance to look him over.



Manic had gotten his nose, lip, and eyebrows pierced in addition to his earrings.



"It feels like it's been longer, bro." Sonic replied. "You've gotten more piercings since the last time I saw you. Anyway, can I stay for a while? I lost my chance with Amy and I don't want to see her parading around her new guy."



Manic showed Sonic in. "Of course. It'll give us a chance to catch up." He said. "Who is he?"



"Shadow." Sonic replied.



"Oh, that guy?" Manic asked. "I guess it makes sense. The guy's got issues, she likes to help people."



Sonic sat down on the couch and called Tails on his communicator.



Manic sat down beside Sonic.



"Hey, Tails." Sonic said. "I made it here."



"Glad you got there safely." Tails said. "So where's-"



"What's up, Tails?" Manic asked.



"That's my annoying little brother, Manic." Sonic muttered.



"Wrong; Sonia is the annoying sibling." Manic said. "Anyway, nice to sorta meet you, Tails."





"Same to you, Manic." Tails replied. "Alright, I'll let you catch up. I gotta finish putting the new engine in my plane."





"Okay, see you later." Sonic said. He hung up and put his feet on the coffee table. "So how've you been?"



"Eh, I got out of prison five months ago." Manic said, slumping in his seat. "So needless to say, I lost my job."



Sonic groaned. "This is why I don't visit."



Manic slumped further in his seat.



Sonic glanced at Manic. "What did you do this time?"



"Stole some dye for my spines, some new spiked wristbands." Manic said, counting it off on his fingers. "Stole a pair of Doc Martens. A trenchcoat."



Sonic shook his head.



"I'm sorry." Manic said. "I got help in prison."



Sonic looked around. "How do you pay your electric bill if you lost your job?"



"I'm on solar and wind power." Manic replied. "I also have a generator and I'm getting a waterwheel for hydro power soon."



Sonic raised an eyebrow. "How'd you afford the equipment?"



Manic grinned sheepishly.



Sonic sighed. "Spill it."



Manic rubbed the back of his neck. "I used Sonia's picture to create a profile on an online dating site to get some old rich guy to be my sugar daddy."



Sonic's jaw dropped.



"Not what I was expecting." Sonic replied. "Does she know? Did the guy figure it out?"



Manic nodded. "Turns out, she bumped into this younger guy I was conning and they hit it off." He said. "So… I deleted it and made a new account. I dressed up as a girl, took some pictures, and fooled some other guy."





Sonic shook his head. "Dude, seriously?" He asked. "You clearly didn't get help in prison."



Manic bit his lip.



"How long have you been doing this?" Sonic asked.



"A year." Manic replied. "I had my girlfriend make phone calls since I can't make a convincing girl voice. She photoshops my pictures and-"



"You have a girlfriend and she's cool with this?" Sonic asked.



Manic nodded. "And she let me borrow some of her clothes." He said. "Besides, it helped pay for her engagement ring."



Sonic threw his hands up. "I can't even…."



Manic pulled up the pictures. "I didn't use her picture because I hadn't met her when I first made the account and I'm not a jerk."



"That's debatable." Sonic muttered. He looked at the pictures, then quickly turned away. "The last thing I wanted to see was you in a bikini or posing like that."



Manic blushed and shut his phone off.



Sonic huffed. "Get help."



Manic set his phone down. "You're right, I can't keep that charade up forever."



"Yeah. That's why you should quit." Sonic said sarcastically.



Manic folded his arms. "Hey, not everyone has a cushy gig of being a hero."



Sonic groaned. "There's honest jobs you can get." He snapped. "You just want to be a criminal and that's why I don't tell anyone about you."



Manic rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry."



Sonic sighed. "Y'know, Amy works part time in counseling." He said. "I'm sure she'll help you for free as a favor to me."



"Thanks, bro." Manic replied.
**
Sonic's communicator chimed.



Sonic answered the call. "Amy?"



"Tails explained why you left." Amy said. "I don't want you to quit the team. They need you. Can you come over so we can talk?"



Sonic sighed. He didn't really want to talk about it.



There was nothing to discuss, but she was right. He couldn't let the team crumble.



"Yeah, I'm on my way." Sonic said.



"Great." Amy replied. "We'll meet at your place."



Sonic hung up and climbed out of the hammock that Manic set up for him. "Manic?"



Manic came in with a cup of coffee. "Yeah?"



"Want to go meet my friends?" Sonic asked. "Amy wants to discuss things."



"I still have to take a shower." Manic replied. "You can wait for me or go on and I'll catch up."



"I'll go ahead." Sonic said, sending the directions to Manic's phone. "Thanks for letting me stay, bro."



"Don't mention it; we're brothers." Manic replied.



Sonic raced out to the Blue Force One and got in.
**

Sonic was halfway across the ocean when he saw that the fuel gauge was nearly empty.



"Oh, great." Sonic muttered. "I should've topped it off before I left."