Chapter 6: A Picnic Gone Wrong

-One month later-

Morning came as the sun rose peacefully on another sunny day on Mobius. Throughout the last month, White Fang had grown into a strong, yet adventurous young wolf. Now at six months old, he enjoyed daily runs with Sonic, experiencing new sights and getting into mischief whenever he could. Even during times of peace, the young wolf always tends to find ways to keep the blue hedgehog moving, even in his own home.

As one would say, a new day always brings new surprises. White Fang soon awoke as the rays of the morning sun hit his white fur. With a good stretch, the white wolf got up as he looked at the calendar to check the day's agenda. However, one word quickly made his fur spike up in dread, 'A BATH!? Today of all days when we're supposed to meet the others for a picnic!?'

The one thing the young wolf has always hated was to get a bath, no matter what kind it was. As White Fang looked around, thinking of ways to get out of having to take a bath, he soon saw that the bathroom door was open. 'Huh? Did Sonic forget to close the bathroom door before going to sleep?' he questioned before getting an idea, 'I'll probably get in trouble for this, but it could get me clean enough to where there won't be a point to give me a second wash.'

Without wasting a second, White Fang entered the bathroom quietly, making sure to not wake up Sonic. Setting everything up for his dip in the bath, the white wolf laid out a towel for drying, and even grabbed the shampoo as well as a scrub brush to scrub the soap on his body. 'Now to turn on the water and do the actual bath…' the white wolf thought with annoyance and dread, not looking forward to his own bath.

After about a half an hour of trying to figure out stuff such as turning the water on and off as well as trying to spray the soap on the scrub, the white wolf finally finished his bath. Rolling over right on the towel he laid out before giving one last shake to get any excess water off of his fur, he sighed in relief at the thought that his bath was finally done. 'That should ensure that I avoid a bath from Sonic..' White Fang thought to himself as he walked out of the bathroom, unaware of the very mess he made in there from his bath.

About a few hours later, White Fang was resting peacefully right by a window where the sun was shining brightly through it when Sonic had woken up from a good night's rest. The blue hedgehog looked at the white wolf, smiling as he saw the wolf resting peacefully, his tongue slightly sticking out from his mouth in the form of a tiny blep. However, as he got up, he soon noticed that the bathroom door was open. 'Hm? Looks like I forgot to close the bathroom door last night.' the hedgehog thought to himself as he went to go close it.

Upon looking inside the bathroom, Sonic's eyes quickly widened in shock as he saw the huge mess inside, "WHAT THE- !?"

There was soap practically everywhere, a wet towel on the floor, and even bits of water all over the bathroom that hadn't even finished drying. Upon hearing the scream, White Fang woke up, his tongue still sticking out as he looked at the surprised hedgehog in confusion. As Sonic turned around, he noticed that the white wolf was surprisingly clean.

"White Fang. What happened earlier?" Sonic questioned, raising a brow in suspicion.

'Uh oh.. Busted…' the white wolf silently muttered to himself before sheepishly responding, "I.. uh… gave myself a bath."

'Well that explains why he's clean..' the hedgehog sighed before telling the wolf, "Well the bath you took left a huge mess in the bathroom!"

As Sonic stepped aside to show the mess that was made, White Fang's fur spiked up in surprise at how bad the mess was. 'Shoot! I didn't realize just how much of a mess I made in there…' the wolf said to himself as he realized just how much trouble he was in.

"Considering that you gave yourself a bath, there's no point in giving you another one. However, you will be in time out until the mess is cleaned up! Ok?" Sonic said in a stern tone, clearly unhappy about the mess the white wolf made in the bathroom.

"Ok.." the white wolf responded, upset about not realizing the mess he made during his bath.

"I better get started with the clean up if we're going to leave in time for the picnic." Sonic muttered as he headed towards the kitchen to get the stuff needed to begin cleaning the bathroom.

Meanwhile at Dr. Eggman's base, plans were nearing finalization for the villains. Dr. Eggman gazed over his robot army, grinning at the thought of his nemesis finally falling into his grasp. While the evil genius was deep in his thoughts, Raze came into the room, coming right next to him.

"Is everything ready, Doctor?" the black wolf questioned, giving the doctor a stern look.

"I assure you Raze, my plan will not fail!" Eggman exclaimed, not removing his gaze from his army, "Metal Sonic is tracking Sonic right now. Once I have a set location from Metal, you will set out with some of my robots while Sonic is lured away from his friends. Once they're far enough away from the rodent's friends, you and your group of robots will ambush him. Some of the badniks have tools that will stop Sonic in his tracks, making it easy for you to capture him."

The black wolf raised a brow in suspicion as he listened to Dr. Eggman's explanation. "And what exactly do you mean by 'making it easy' to capture Sonic?" he questioned.

"I gave Metal Sonic some of the substance used in tranquilizer guns so if he gets in a deadlock, Sonic won't notice what he was ejected with until it's too late. Once Metal Sonic is in position, I'll give you a contraption to hold the pesky rodent in. It's small and strong enough to withstand any of his attacks if he were to attempt to escape." the doctor explained with an evil grin.

"Understood. I'll wait on standby then." Raze said as he left the room, leaving Dr. Eggman to continue observing his army.

Later that day, Sonic and White Fang were walking through the forest with Tails and Knuckles as they headed towards the picnic. Sonic was deep in thought while his friends were talking. 'It's been a few months since Eggman last made himself known. Since then, he's been rather quiet. Not even Rouge or Shadow have found anything big in terms of what he's got planned. Just what is Egghead up to?' the hedgehog wondered.

However, before he could continue pondering about the mad scientist's whereabouts, Tails took notice of his friend's deep thinking, "Sonic? Is something wrong?"

"Wha-? Nothing's wrong. I'm just thinking." the blue hedgehog replied, cut off from his thoughts.

"Thinking about what?" Knuckles asked, overhearing the hedgehog's response.

"Eggman has been unusually quiet for the past few months." Sonic responded, looking rather concerned.

Taking a moment to think, Tails realized his best friend was right. Eggman usually is never quiet about his plans, and when he is, they are usually discovered quickly by Shadow and Rouge. "Whatever Eggman has planned, it must be big. We'll have to keep an eye out." the fox said.

"Yeah. For now though, let's hurry and meet up with Amy and Cream. They've probably been waiting on us." Sonic said with a smirk before dashing off.

"Sonic! Wait up!" White Fang called out as he quickly followed the hedgehog with Tails and Knuckles close behind.

However, unbeknownst to the heroes, a certain robot was watching from high up. After taking a moment to process the situation, it soon began following the group. "Target found. Sending coordinates." it said as it took off after the heroes.

Back in Dr. Eggman's base, everything was set to go. An army of robots were lined up, ready for their master's orders. As Eggman was doing a final check, a sudden beeping noise went off from the control room.

"Excellent! Metal Sonic has found that pesky rodent." the evil genius grinned upon realizing what the sound meant. "Half of you go with Raze to ambush that hedgehog, while the rest of you distract his friends and take care of that wolf pup. Now, go!"

Just as the robots began to take off, Dr. Eggman turned back towards the control room, grinning at the thought of finally getting his nemesis out of the way. "That rodent won't know what hit him."

In the grassy plains near Station Square, a pink hedgehog and a young cream colored rabbit were getting a picnic set up. A blanket was already laid out and food was ready to be served as the two waited for the arrival of their friends.

"I'm surprised Sonic agreed to come to the picnic. Normally he'd run off whenever I ask him out for any sort of date." the pink hedgehog said as she looked towards the forest with a smile, looking forward to spending time with the blue blur.

"Mobius has been really peaceful over the last few months. With these quiet times, perhaps Mr. Sonic didn't have anything better to do since there has been no word about Eggman in the last few months. Right Cheese?" the rabbit said as a small, blue Chao happily chirped in agreement.

Taking a moment to think, the pink hedgehog realized her friend was right. It has been rather peaceful over the last few months since Eggman's last attempt at world domination. However, something was bothering her.

"Normally if Eggman had anything planned, he wouldn't hesitate on making it known. However, from what Sonic has told me, he's been keeping his plans very hidden. Even Shadow, Rouge and Omega have been having trouble trying to figure out what he's up to Cream." she said, looking up at the sky in worry.

"I'm sure that Mr. Sonic will be able to defeat Eggman like he always has, Amy." Cream said optimistically, knowing the history between the battles between Sonic and Dr. Eggman.

"You're right Cream. Sonic has always defeated Eggman one way or another, no matter the circumstances. If that creep shows up again, I know Sonic will kick his butt like always." Amy said with a new found confidence, smiling from her friend's reassurance.

Just then a blue blur came straight at the girls, only to stop right in front of them. The force of the wind caused the blanket to nearly fly away along with the basket itself.

Once the force of the wind calmed down, Amy looked up to see Sonic standing in front of her, with Tails and Knuckles trailing closely behind.

"Sonic! You made it!" she exclaimed excitedly as she hugged the blue hedgehog.

"Hey Amy. Hey Cream. Long time no see!" the hedgehog greeted as he tried to push the pink hedgehog away for a bit of personal space to no avail.

"I'm so glad you guys could make it!" Amy said but soon realized that there was someone missing as she saw Tails and Knuckles come up next to the blue blur. "Say.. Didn't you say that White Fang was coming to?"

"Huh?" Sonic looked behind only to realize that the white wolf was missing, "I'm certain he was just behind us just now. Where did he go?"

However, before anyone could respond, a white blur soon tackled the blue hedgehog to the ground, catching him off guard. Once Sonic recovered, he soon realized who the culprit was based on its white fur and blue eyes.

"Pinned ya. Figured I'd do a bit of pouncing practice." White Fang said smugly as he let the hedgehog up.

"So that's where you were." the hedgehog responded with a smirk.

"That was really good White Fang." Cream complimented as Cheese flew up to give the young wolf a hug.

"Thanks. Sonic has been teaching me." White Fang said proudly, only for the sound of a rumbling stomach to be heard from the blue hedgehog, causing everyone to turn towards him.

"Guess I haven't really had anything to eat yet.. Heh heh." Sonic said sheepishly, blushing a bit from embarrassment.

"Well since we're all here, let's enjoy the picnic." Tails said, laughing a bit in response to Sonic's statement as everyone began to grab food and enjoy the picnic.

While the heroes were enjoying their picnic, Raze met up with Metal Sonic in the forest, just far enough to avoid being scented.

"So the hedgehog is with his friends hm?" the dark wolf questioned, receiving a nod in response. "Drawing him away will be no issue, but getting the pup is another matter though since he'll have protection.."

The wolf took a second to think about what to do before realizing that there's a chance the pup could get caught in the crossfire if they get overwhelmed by the robots.

"Metal. Continue with your plan to draw Sonic away from the group. Half of the robots will follow you shortly after for an invasion on the pup and his friends while the other half will be with me to ambush him." Raze ordered.

Once the robot flew off, the black wolf went back to his group of robots, waiting in anticipation for Sonic's arrival.

Meanwhile, the heroes were enjoying their picnic. White Fang and Cream were playing catch while the others were eating and watching the two youngsters play.

"You know, it's been a while since we were able to get together like this. What made you decide to come, Sonic?" Amy asked curiously, knowing all too well that the hedgehog would normally turn down a date.

"Well.. With times being peaceful as of late, it gets a bit boring just running around when I've seen the world already so many times. Besides, White Fang needs a break from training. Even despite the fact that he completed his initial training, he still wants to keep training to enhance on what I already taught him. It's hard to imagine how far he's come in only three months." Sonic explained as he watched the white wolf with a proud smile on his face.

"You know.. Ever since you took White Fang in as a pup, it's like another part of you has come out of its shell. You're more willing to things that you normally didn't enjoy or wouldn't do." Tails stated upon seeing the hedgehog's proud smile.

The blue hedgehog took a moment to ponder about his friend's statement, realizing he was right. "Well.. Raising a pup can really keep you on your feet." he said, admittedly parenthood has made him open his eyes a bit on what the world has to offer outside of the usual adventures.

However, as the three were talking, White Fang had suddenly stopped playing with Cream due to something catching his attention. Just then, he lunged towards them, curling up like he had once did three months ago. Before Sonic could question what was going on, the wolf flew past them and collided with a blue blur that had made its way towards the heroes.

The force of the move was enough to knock the object away and force it to reveal itself as White Fang swiftly landed back on the ground in a defensive position, ready to fight his foe. The object responsible for the attempted strike was none other than Metal Sonic.

"What's Metal doing here!?" Tails questioned as he got into a fighting position along with the rest of the heroes.

The robot soon made a motion towards Sonic, as if he wanted a challenge, making it evident he's doing it on his own accord.

"Going rouge and challenging me huh? That's new Metal." the blue hedgehog remarked with a smirk, welcoming the challenge provided by his rival, "How about a race like the good old days?"

"Hold on, Sonic. I'm not sure if that's a good idea. For all we know it might be a trap." Knuckles warned, finding Metal Sonic's behavior very odd.

"Knuckles is right, Sonic. Metal usually doesn't attack us on his own unless it's an order from Eggman." Amy said, agreeing with the echidna.

"Don't sweat it guys. I'll beat Metal like I always do." Sonic remarked confidently despite the warnings from his friends.

As Metal Sonic got into position, White Fang couldn't help but worry about why the robotic double was on his own, 'Something's not right here. I don't think Metal came alone… He might have backup with what I'm picking up..'

"Sonic, wait -!" White Fang tried to call out, but the two speedsters were already gone in a matter of seconds, blasting into the woods.

"Something isn't right. I think it might be a trap.." Tails stated, clearly worried for his friend. However, before they could follow, the heroes were soon surrounded by robots.

"It's an ambush!" Cream exclaimed, quickly getting into a fighting position along with the rest of the heroes.

"We'll have to fight our way through if we're going to catch up to Sonic. White Fang, as soon as we make an opening, make a dash for the forest!" Knuckles ordered, knowing full well the wolf was the fastest one present.

With a nod, White Fang readied himself for battle. 'Be careful Sonic..' he prayed silently, hoping nothing happens to the hedgehog.

In the forest, sounds of clashing and clanging could be heard throughout the area. Sonic and Metal Sonic sped through the forest at immense speed, launching strikes at each other and trading blows along the way. To Sonic's surprise, Metal was holding out much better than he had expected. At this rate, he would have to step it up if he was going to beat his rival.

"Looks like Eggman decided to not be lazy for once with the upgrades. Too bad you'll have to go back to the lab soon, Metal." the hedgehog remarked as he dashed in for a roundhouse kick. However, the robot double was ready, catching the leg and gripping it tightly before throwing his rival up and charging after him.

'Metal must really be determined to beat me huh?' Sonic wondered, noticing how tight the robot's grip was whenever he got grabbed. It felt like his skin was being pierced every time Metal grabbed him, but why? Something wasn't adding up.

However, before Sonic could continue to ponder, Metal was closing in fast, surrounded by an electric shield, forcing the hedgehog to retaliate by curling up to create a powerful stomp. The force of the two moves clanking soon knocked both hedgehogs away and sending them both to the ground. As quickly as they crashed though, they were back up on their feet and once again charging right for each other. This time however, both Sonic and Metal Sonic went in for a strong punch, but as they got close they each grabbed each others' arm in an attempt to block the punch, creating a deadlock.

While to Sonic this was an even match, unbeknownst to him, this deadlock was just what his rival needed. Gripping Sonic's arm even tighter, Metal used this opportunity to eject the substance provided by his master into the hedgehog's body.

"You really want to beat me, don't you? Well I hate to break it to ya, I won't let that happen." Sonic said, not realizing exactly what his robot double was doing.

Just then, Metal Sonic managed to push through the deadlock and land a strong punch to Sonic's face, forcing the blue hedgehog to lose his grip before being knocked away with a powerful kick to the stomach. As Sonic hit the ground, Metal used this opportunity to dash out of sight before his rival could recover from the blow. Once Sonic had recovered from the blow, he looked around only to find that Metal Sonic was gone.

"Where did he go?" he questioned, finding it rather unusual for Metal Sonic to just retreat. As he looked around, a wave of dizziness soon hits him, causing his vision to blur for a split second. 'What the heck was that? That punch must've hit me harder than I expected.' he pondered after the dizziness wore off.

"Guess I better head back if Metal doesn't want a round two." Sonic said, realizing that his opponent likely wouldn't be coming back soon, but as he was about to head back, he heard a familiar yet unpleasant voice, "Going so soon, hedgehog?"

Upon whirling around to see who was there, Sonic quickly found himself surrounded by a large army of robots, both on ground and air. Among the army, a familiar dark-furred wolf made its way through before facing the hedgehog with a dark grin on his face.

"You again!?" Sonic questioned, his face turning serious upon realizing who it was, "What do you want this time?"

Raze gave a small chuckle, amused that the blue hedgehog had not figured it out by now.

"My… It's quite simple really. I'm just here to pick up a little package, and it just so happens that I'm looking right at that very package right now. I'm surprised you haven't figured it out by now, but I suppose the sedatives are to blame for that." the wolf explained.

"Sedatives? What sedatives?" the hedgehog questioned, raising a brow in confusion before realizing what the dark wolf meant. 'The fight! Metal wasn't grabbing me so tightly because he wanted to win, it was because he was trying to wear me out!' Sonic realized as he was then hit by another wave of dizziness, this time being stronger than before.

Upon seeing the hedgehog getting dizzy, Raze soon gave a dark grin, knowing full well that now was the time to strike.

"I suppose you'll have to figure that out yourself. Robots! Attack!" the wolf ordered, causing the robots to start open firing at the vulnerable hedgehog.

By the time the wave of dizziness had worn off, Sonic had barely any time to dodge the onslaught of attacks from the army of robots surrounding him. Using his quick reflexes, the hedgehog quickly began cutting through many of the robots with his signature spin attack. However, as many as robots Sonic would destroy, more robots just kept coming. The combination of endless fighting and the sedatives injected into him from the fight with Metal Sonic was quickly taking its toll on the hedgehog.

'I need to find a way out of this, and fast! I don't know if I can keep fighting for much longer.' Sonic thought desperately as his vision once again began to blur as he was hit with another wave of dizziness, this time though, his balance was beginning to waver along with his focus.

Unfortunately, this was just the moment one of the robots needed to shoot a dart right into Sonic's right leg. Sonic grunted in pain as the dart made its mark into the leg, and tried to remove it as quickly as possible. Sadly, by the time it was removed, the dart had already made its effect on the hedgehog's leg, forcing Sonic to fall onto one knee as his right leg became numb.

'This is bad..' he thought as he attempted to stand back up, but only to fall right back down. When he tried moving his right leg, it wouldn't budge at all, it was paralyzed.

Raze grinned in amusement as he watched Sonic struggle to keep himself awake as the effects of the sedatives were really starting to take its toll. With a quick flick with his tail and a metal claw was launched directly at the hedgehog. Sonic tried to dodge the claw with any strength he had, but his body wouldn't respond. It was too exhausted to even move now. The metal claw quickly made a tight and firm grip on the hedgehog, hoisting him up in the air in a matter of seconds.

"Let me go! What are you even up to?" Sonic growled, struggling to break free from the grasp with no success.

"You shall see eventually, hedgehog. It's too bad your friends have their own problems that they're dealing with right now." Raze said in a mocking tone, know full well what's going on.

Sonic's eyes widened as he realized what was going on.

"If you.. lay.. one claw.. on them..-!" Sonic scowled angrily, struggling to keep conscious before the wolf interjected the threat, "Temper, temper, hedgehog. Such threats won't bring your precious friends over here especially if they're too far away to even hear you. Now then..."

With a quick tail signal, the robots brought out a contraption shaped in the form of a small box, just large enough to fit a Mobian. Sonic continued to struggle in any hopes of breaking free, but to no avail.

"I believe it's time we get our delivery going. My customer is not exactly the most patient person, so I'm sure he'd want it sooner than later." Raze said darkly before barking out an order to the robot holding Sonic.

A second later, Sonic found himself being thrown against a wall before collapsing onto some metallic flooring. Despite his attempts to try to stand once more, he couldn't move. His body was just too exhausted from the fighting and the sedatives taking its toll on him.

'This day couldn't have gotten any worse, could it?' the hedgehog questioned to himself as he began to lose consciousness.

"Enjoy your last minutes of freedom, hedgehog. Once my delivery is completed, everything will change. Not even your friends can save you this time, no matter how hard they try." Raze said in a dark tone before walking away from the hedgehog.

With that, Sonic's vision turned dark as he finally slipped into unconsciousness…

Hey guys. This update took FAR too long. A lot has happened over the past year that really stunted any progress, but this story won't be canceled any time soon. I do plan to keep this story going and complete it. This was a massive chapter that I originally stopped at prior to rewriting it. Do keep an eye out for any future updates in the mean time, and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

~ZekromAmaterasu