"And we have successfully stopped another one of Eggman's evil schemes! Good work everyone!" Sonic said, flopping down onto the couch, satisfied. Tails and knuckles did the same, while Amy walked past them, and opened his cupboard. Noticing how disorganized it was, she sighed and started pulling out cans. "Hey, where Sticks?"
"Huh?" Sonic looked up. "She said she wanted to go back to her burrow" he shrugged, and Amy frowned. "But why?" When no one answered, she sighed. "Come on! Team bonding excersise!" She cried, and they groaned and followed her outside.
They stopped just outside her door. "None of her traps are up" Tails noticed, confused. Sonic knocked on the door. "Sticks?" He called quietly, knowing the honey badger's hearing was much finer tuned than anyone elses. No answer. "Sticks has been captured by Eggman and is being experimented on! She's got herself lost in the woods! She was taken by the frogladits!" Amy panicked.
"Or she's asleep" Sonic said, with his head peeked around the door. Startled, Amy leaned in, only to crash into him, and send them both sprawling onto the floor in a very . . suggestive position. Tails and Knuckles started sniggering at them, but then fell silent, looking at something behind the two hedgehogs.
"What?" Amy demanded, blushing, letting Sonic up, before seeing it herself. Curled up, on the ground, was Sticks. "Sticks!" The four of them yelled simultaneously, thinking she was injured. But as they knelled down around her, Tails noticed. "Uhhh guys .. . . she's asleep." The others groaned. "You don't sleep on the floor, right? Your not meant to sleep on the floor!" Knuckles said, shaking the paranoid badger. "Knuckles!" Amy hissed, but it was too late, she woke up.
"W-What are you doing in here?" Sticks demanded, jumping into her standard battle crouch. "What happened to my traaaaaaps!" She squealed, racing out, while the other chuckled.
It should of have been a one time thing, but as the days got colder, Stick's got worse. She never left her burrow now, and when any of them tried to talk to her, her words would be slow and sluggish at best.
"I already told you Amy, I tested her for mind control, sleep serum and radioactivity, she's comes out clean every time" Tails said, looking at the pink hedgehog pace back and forth in Sonic's house. "Well, still, I bet Eggman did something to her" Amy said, determined not to stray from the original concept.
Knuckles and Sonic, who had watched the two of them go around in that same circle for about twenty minutes, were starting to get annoyed. "Why don't we just ask him?" Knuckles suggested, causing everyone to stop and look at him. "Knuckles your a genius!" Tails cried, throwing up his paws. "I . . . am?" Knuckles asked blinking.
"Yeah! All we have to do is ask him! This will be a piece of cake" Sonic said, taking off, leaving the others to try and chase after him.
Eggman was in his lair, relaxing, when the four animals burst in. "Okay, Eggman, what did you do to Sticks?" Sonic demanded crossing his arms. Eggman was baffled. "Sticks? What are you talking about?" He asked, looking at his enemies. "You know who Stick's is Eggman. What did you do to her?" Amy asked, griping her giant hammer tighter. "I didn't do anything!" He protested. "Why? What's wrong with her?"
Tails answered for him. "She's tired, hungry, and all she wants to do now is slee-" he stopped as they watched their enemy laugh loudly. "What?" Knuckles asked, frowning. "I thought you were smart" he directed tat at Tails, who frowned. "Sticks is hibernating."
Tail's eyes widened, and his mouth made an 'O' shape, the other three looked baffled. "What? What's that?" Amy demanded. "Some animals, when it get's colder, need to sleep for a long time" Tails said absently. "But I thought Badgers don't hibernate?" Eggman was still snorting, amused. "This isn't her natural territory. Most badgers live in warmer areas, so it's not cold enough to hibernate."
"Wait, wait" Sonic waved his hands. "Why don't we hibernate then?" Eggman crossed his arms, amused "because your tame, she's wild. Heck, I bet she doesn't even know what's happening, since she's about Tails' age. Now, if you excuse me, I have a date with Cooking For Chimps." He waved them out, and turned on his Tv.
"Is it true Tails?" Sonic asked, when they were back home. Tails looked thoughtful. "It is possible, and it does make a lot of sense" he said, shrugging. Amy stood up decided. "I'm going to Sticks" she said, picking up some blankets, much to Sonic annoyance, as they were his.
"Sticks?" Amy called, knocking loudly. A grunt was all she got in response. Rolling her eyes, she pushed open the door, and walked over to the badgers bed. "Here you go Sticks, some nice blankets" she cooed softly. Sticks muttered something that sounded like "gimme." Smiling, she tossed the blankets on her friend, then spent the next few minutes arranging them just so.
"Goodnight Sticks" she whispered to he already asleep animal, before walking out.
The four friends were by a lake. Sonic was swimming, Tails was writing something,Knuckles was digging a hole, and Amy was reading. Or at least she was, until a voice spoke up behind her. "Hey Amy" Sticks said, before getting tackled into a hug.
"Ah! Evil space invaders have taken over Amy!" She screamed, writhing under Amy's hold. "Stick's your back!" Sonic said, smiling. "Where did I go?" She asked, looking confused. "Uh Sticks, do you remember these last few months?" Tails asked, remembering how most hibernating animals don't remember doing so. "No, why?" Sticks asked, looking panicked. "Uh, no reason" Sonic said, giving a fake smile.
Sticks shrugged then made her usual battle cry, before cannon balling into the water. The four of them watched for a second. "We're gonna have o tell her one day" Sonic said, and Amy shrugged, But not today, she thought, as she ran to join Sticks.