This chapter was requested from FluteQueen. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 22: Scavenger Hunt
Sonic kept his eyes peeled as he walked through the forest, scanning the bushes around him while also keeping an eye out for his opponents.
Luckily, living in these woods for ten years meant that he knew them like the back of his hand as his eye caught a particular glimmer coming from one of the bushes.
"Aha! Found it!" He exclaimed, zipping over to the bush and quickly grabbing it.
Now all he had to do was get back home before the others found out.
"SNEAK ATTACK!"
Too late.
Before Sonic could run, he was tackled to the ground by a fuzzy orange bundle, knocking the wind out of him.
"Give it to me!" Tails exclaimed, reaching for the thing in Sonic's gloved hand. "Give it to meeeeee!"
"Never! It's mine, little bro!" Sonic hissed, pushing Tails off of him before sprinting back towards the house, the twin-tailed fox kit in hot pursuit.
"You can't escape, big bro!" Tails yelled, flying skillfully past the trees as he followed the blue hedgehog.
"The heck I can't! I'm the fastest thing alive, remember?" Sonic retorted, kicking up his speed a notch.
Just then, a shockwave of red burst through the trees, forcing Sonic to duck as Knuckles dove at him.
"Surrender, hedgehog! You cannot evade me!" Knuckles yelled as he got back to his feet.
"I did back in Siberia and I'll do it again now!" Sonic stated, clutching the object close to his chest.
With a burst of speed, Tails flew forward, tackling Sonic again and causing him to drop the object.
While the two wrestled on the ground, Knuckles managed to jump over them and grab the object, already running towards the house. "Victory shall be mine, brothers!"
"Hey!" Sonic yelled as he and Tails scrambled to get off each other, the blue hedgehog zipping after the red echidna.
"Get back here!" Tails shouted, his tails whirling and propelling him into the air again.
Sonic and Tails chased after their eldest brother, desperately trying to catch up to him as they could see the house beyond the trees.
The hedgehog and fox both glanced at each other, and in that moment, silently agreed to a brief truce as they clasped their hands together, spinning around in a move they called 'the rolling combo'.
Barrelling into their eldest brother, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles tumbled into the backyard of the house.
The three of them crashed to the ground in a pile of tangled limbs as they tried to frantically grab the object.
"Who has it? Ow! Tails, your elbow is in my face!"
"Sorry, Sonic! Ugh! Knuckles, get your knee out of my gut!"
"I shall not surrender to either of you, brothers! Victory will be mine!"
"Hey, boys!"
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all halted in their struggle as they looked up to see Maddie standing above them, her hands on her hips with an amused smile on her face.
"When I told you boys to try doing a scavenger hunt to pass the time, I didn't mean trying to kill each other."
Quietly untangling themselves from their pile, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all sat sheepishly under their mother's gaze as the object they were fighting over — a small tennis ball — was snatched up by Ozzie.
"Sorry, Mom." Sonic and Tails both apologized while Knuckles lowered his head.
Maddie smiled softly. "It's fine, boys. Now c'mon! Tom's almost ready with the burgers!"
"Really?! Oh yes!" Sonic exclaimed, jumping to his feet.
"Burgers, yeah!" Tails cheered, his tails whirling as he leapt to his feet.
"Yes, let us feast!" Knuckles declared.
Rushing over to the table set up outside in the backyard, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Maddie sat in their seats while Tom scooped up the meat from the grill, carrying it over to them.
"Alright, everyone, dig in!"
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles eagerly dug into their burgers like ravenous beasts, much to Tom and Maddie's amusement.
"You guys could at least savor it." Tom said, sitting down next to his wife.
"Gotta say, having this cookout was a great idea." Sonic remarked, his mouth full of burger.
"Indeed, brother. This 'barbeque' has been quite enjoyable so far." Knuckles agreed.
"Mmm! Can we do this again sometime?" Tails asked, looking at Tom and Maddie.
"Of course, sweetie." Maddie smiled, ruffling her youngest son's fur, earning a flurry of giggles from the fox.
"Yeah, but don't expect this to be an every night thing." Tom added.
"Hey, Dad, are the hot dogs ready?" Sonic asked after finishing his burger.
Tom nodded. "All set and ready for you, big guy." He smiled.
Instantly, Sonic zipped off towards the grill, coming back with a hot dog in his hand.
"And now for the final touch…" Sonic said, grabbing a spoonful of chili and putting it on the dog before dipping some cheese and onions on it.
With his chili dog complete, Sonic eagerly stuffed it into his mouth and swallowed it whole.
"You could at least savor it." Tom chuckled.
"Where's the fun in that?" Sonic shrugged nonchalantly.
"Sonic! Can I have a chili dog too?" Tails asked, eagerly tugging his older hedgehog brother's arm.
Sonic smiled warmly at his little fox brother. "Of course, buddy. I'll be right back!"
"I wish to have one as well, hedgehog!" Knuckles declared.
Sonic laughed while Tails giggled. "Alright, I'll get one for everyone!" Sonic said, already heading towards the grill to grab some more hot dogs for his family (as well as more for himself).
After coming back, Sonic helped Tails and Knuckles with putting the chili, cheese, and onions on before they sat back and enjoyed their dinner.
"Mmm! You were right about the chili dogs, Sonic. They're delicious!" Tails smiled, happily taking another bite out of his chili dog.
"I know, right?!" Sonic grinned, already going through his fourth chili dog.
"I still say grapes are superior," Knuckles began as he chewed on his chili dog, "but this is not bad either."
Tom and Maddie watched on, smiling at their kids' interactions as they enjoyed their dinner.