- A few days later -
Night fell on to Mobius as the last few days flew by as if nothing had happened, but for White Fang, it was a different story. As he trained himself outside of G.U.N's base in Holoska, the young wolf would have never imagined having to rescue the very Mobian who saved his life five months ago being his first real adventure. However, the last few days have caused reality to settle into the wolf's mind, reminding him that the stakes were high and he couldn't mess around. Unbeknownst to the white wolf, Shadow was watching him from afar, noticing how distracted the young wolf was despite training hard in the harsh weather.
'He's going to get himself killed if he keeps getting distracted like this.' the black hedgehog quietly muttered, opting to step in himself.
White Fang's ears suddenly perked up as he noticed Shadow closing in quickly, leaping out of the way as the hedgehog dove at him with a dive kick before swiftly following up with a punch that the wolf managed to catch with his right front paw. The two locked eyes for a few moments before Shadow smirked and opted to back off.
"Hmph.. The faker never ceases to amaze me. It seems he taught you well despite your young age, kid." the hedgehog remarked.
"What do you mean by that, Shadow?" the white wolf questioned, raising a brow in confusion.
"Sonic has never been the patient type, especially when it comes to fighting. He often acts before he thinks, but even despite being distracted you reacted well to my surprise attack and even waited before bringing me to a stalemate." Shadow explained, "Even when we fought a month ago, I almost went all-out against you before Sonic stepped in."
"I was wondering why Sonic tagged in so quickly after we fought. I kept telling him I wanted a challenge when I did my test. After all, how am I supposed to deal with Eggman if my training becomes too easy?" White Fang questioned critically, slightly frustrated at the thought of his foes holding back.
"The faker probably wanted to protect you, and didn't want you to get too badly hurt. Although, some foes will hold back if they're confident about getting the upper hand easily, but you do have a point regarding being ready in the case your foe were to go full power. However, for now, you better get some rest. We have a mission to take care of tomorrow." the black hedgehog said as he walked back towards the base.
"Right.." the wolf muttered as he turned towards the base and followed Shadow back, "After all, we do have a mad scientist that we need to stop before he can take over Mobius."
As the next morning rose, White Fang found himself staring out towards the harsh and cold environment that was awaiting him. However, he was quickly cut off from his thoughts as he heard Shadow and Tails walking towards him.
"You're up early, White Fang." the young fox said.
"Yeah. Guess I couldn't really sleep." the young wolf responded before turning back towards the terrain, "This is an important mission after all."
"If you two are done chit-chatting, the quicker we get moving, the more time we will have to plan our next course of action." Shadow said sternly.
"Right." the white wolf responded, but before the group could head a call had caught the group by surprise.
"Commander! Message from Rouge!" a G.U.N soldier exclaimed as he ran towards the group in a hurry.
"What is it, soldier?" the black hedgehog questioned, raising a brow.
"There seems to have been a big change in the atmosphere according to Angel Island's guardian, which means snowstorms could be more dangerous over here." the soldier explained.
'From Knuckles? A change in the atmosphere? What could he mean by that?' White Fang pondered as he listened to the message.
"Hmph. Tell Rouge that she and Omega need to get out here as soon as possible if that's the case." Shadow ordered in a sharp tone.
"Affirmative, sir!" the soldier said before rushing off back into the base.
"We better get moving then. Who knows when the next storm will hit." Tails said.
"Right. The last thing we need is to get caught in a massive blizzard and freeze to death." the white wolf said.
"I'll keep an eye on things from above while you guys handle things on the ground." the twin-tailed fox said.
Nodding in response, Shadow and White Fang soon dash off at full speed towards Dr. Eggman's base with only two goals in mind, rescuing Sonic and stopping the evil genius once and for all before it's too late.
Meanwhile inside Eggman's base, it had not been easy for a certain blue hedgehog over the last few days he had been held here as a prisoner. As much as Sonic wanted to bust himself out of his chains and give his nemesis a piece of his mind, the injury he sustained on his right foot put everything to a screeching halt. Fortunately though, despite not being able to do anything due to his injury, it seemed that Eggman hadn't decided to do anything with him yet, allowing the blue hedgehog to use this time to let himself recover even with a lack of food and water.
Inside the cell, Sonic had found himself attempting to stand up for the first time in a few days since his injuries. Because he was such a fast healer, he was able to recover from most injuries very quickly, even some that were a bit more severe. Although it had taken a few attempts, the blue hedgehog was indeed able to stand up, but upon standing he gritted his teeth as pain shot up from his injured foot.
'Gah!.. Guess I'll have to keep the pressure to a minimum if I'm going to have the best chance of getting out of here.' he silently said to himself as he looked at his right foot, but before he could do anything else, a dark and unwelcoming chuckle rang through the room.
"So.. It seems that your leg is healing quite nicely, hm?" Raze questioned as he stood in front of Sonic's cell with a couple robots stationed behind him.
'Great… Just my luck.' Sonic bitterly muttered to himself before turning towards the dark wolf, "What do you want now, fuzzball?"
"I think it's about time we pay the doctor a visit now that you seem to be up and moving." Raze smirked as he raised his tail, "Grab him."
Sonic's quills bristled as the robots came into the cell and closed in on him, leaping up on instinct and quickly slamming them down with a swift kick. Fortunately, the blue hedgehog had prioritized most of the landing impact onto his left foot, not wanting to aggravate his injury further. However, he had little time to react as Raze's markings had started glowing as he unleashed 3 waves of dark energy towards the blue hedgehog. Despite bracing for impact, Sonic hadn't realized that the energy had made its way around his legs, torso, and neck until it was too late. The black wolf used this opportunity to slam the hedgehog down to the ground once the dark energy had tightened around his neck, torso, and legs.
Sonic grunted as he hit the ground, now completely immobilized by the dark wolf with no way of breaking free whatsoever. The blue hedgehog gave the wolf a cold glare as he saw the energy holding him was formed into what looked like chains.
"Well.. Someone is quite feisty today, eh? No matter though, we might as well make our way to the doctor now before he starts losing his patience." Raze said as he grabbed the dark chains and started dragging the hedgehog out of his cell and towards the main control room.
After what felt like forever being dragged around in the base, Sonic found himself being thrown into the main control room, grunting as he hit the floor roughly. Fortunately, his right foot didn't take any of the impact, much to the hedgehog's relief. However, before he could attempt to stand again, an all too familiar laugh rang through his ears as Dr. Eggman made his way over to the blue hedgehog.
"How nice of you to drop in while I'm getting ready to celebrate my victory at last?" the mad doctor gloated much to Sonic's dissatisfaction, "It's a pity your friends won't be able to see this glorious moment, but that hardly matters for me."
As much as Sonic wanted to respond angrily to the doctor's statement, he opted to stay quiet, not wanting to warrant himself unwarranted injuries or jeopardize any possible chance of escape. With a single click of a button though, a glass case soon rose up next to Dr. Eggman's seat, causing the hedgehog's eyes to widen in shock as he realized what exactly was in that case.
"While you were busy taking care of your little hairball, my robot army managed to get five of the seven Chaos Emeralds as I was setting my plan up to stop you once and for all." the mad scientist explained, "With Raze's ability of using dark energy and the negative energy from the emeralds, I can cast an eternal darkness over Mobius, causing all plant life to die out and allowing me to build my empire without any issue. Without any plant life, the citizens of Mobius will have no choice but to surrender if they want to stay alive due to the lack of oxygen as a result of the eternal darkness."
Sonic couldn't believe what his nemesis was saying. Eggman was willing to let billions of Mobians die in darkness to build his empire!? The mere thought of it was making the hedgehog's blood boil with rage. First killing an innocent wolf, shooting down his friends and now this!?
"And what do I have to do with your sickening plan, Eggman!?" the blue hedgehog questioned angrily.
"It's simple, rodent." Eggman said, getting down to Sonic's level, "Without you in the way of my plans, there is nobody that can stop me, and if they try, they will pay for it dearly with your very life. It'd be easy enough to simply end you here and now or make you into my robotic slave, but where's the fun in that when there's so many tests that I can do with you under my grasp."
Before the mad doctor could continue his little speech, Raze stepped forward into the main control room, a dark and sinister grin present on his face.
"Before you decide on playing with your little lab rat, perhaps I could get some 'target practice' in?" the dark wolf questioned darkly, slightly unnerving the hedgehog, "It'd do me some good to hone my skills on something more than just a robot."
"Hm.. I suppose so." Dr. Eggman said reluctantly, "It'll be a little while before the tests will be ready anyway. Robots, take the rodent to the target practice area so Raze can get his 'target practice' in."
In a matter of seconds, two robots came into the control room from behind, grabbing both of Sonic's arms tightly. The hedgehog grunted in pain as the tight grip was not only uncomfortable but also quite painful as well as it felt like his arms were getting bruised from the tight grip.
"Can't make that grip any tighter there, Eggman?" Sonic sarcastically remarked as he was dragged out of the main control room with Raze and Dr. Eggman following closely behind.
"It won't be necessary, hedgehog." Eggman responded nonchalantly with an evil smirk on his face, very much looking forward to the 'target practice'.
Meanwhile, outside of the base, Shadow and White Fang had managed to arrive relatively quickly without alerting any of the robots patrolling the area, with Tails following closely behind. Opting for a high point on a nearby hill, Shadow motioned the group to settle down for the moment as simply barging in now could end up being disastrous for the mission. Looking towards the base, White Fang let out a deep breath as his focus shifted to the mission at hand, knowing all too well that one error could be costly.
"It seems like my soldiers were right, the security is much tighter than usual." Shadow said, his gaze towards the base remaining stoic and focused.
"There's no doubt that Eggman is holding Sonic captive in there. His scent is strong, even from up here. What's the plan, Shadow?" the white wolf questioned.
"We'll need to find a way to get you in without any issues, which will be difficult if Eggman's robots have every inch of the base secured." the black hedgehog explained before turning towards Tails, "Tails, fly up and see if there are any gaps in the security that we may be to take advantage of."
With a quick nod, the orange fox flew up high as he began scanning the area, in hopes of finding any spot that was not being secured by Eggman's robots.
"There's a possibility that we may have to push our way in with brute force if there are no gaps in Eggman's security. However, until we know for sure, all we can do is wait and see if Tails finds anything." Shadow said in a serious tone as he turned towards White Fang, who was still gazing at the base.
"Right.." the white wolf responded as he still held his gaze at the base, 'Just hang in there, Sonic. We'll get you outta here before you know it.'
Inside the base, Sonic squirmed uncomfortably as the robots were dragging him for what felt like forever. His arms were becoming extremely sore from the tight grip the robots had on him. 'Just where exactly is Eggman taking me now? And what kind of 'target practice' is his little furball trying to do?' he pondered to himself as he looked behind at Dr. Eggman and Raze. However, his train of thought was completely cut off when the robots had suddenly stopped upon entering a rather large room before roughly throwing the hedgehog to the ground.
"Gah! Hey, watch it!" the blue hedgehog yelled angrily, gritting his teeth in pain as he hit the floor, causing pain to shoot up his right leg upon impact.
"Welcome to target practice, Sonic." Dr. Eggman said as he entered the room with Raze following right behind him, "For this little session, Raze here will practice his aim for his attacks. This practice will keep going until he is satisfied or until you're unable to stand."
"Heh. Simple enough." Sonic smirked as he managed to finally stand up despite the pain on his right leg, "How about we get started then? I've been aching for some action."
"Gladly.. I've been waiting for this." the black wolf confidently said with a sinister grin as he got into a fighting position, ready to strike, "If you may, Doctor."
"Of course." Dr. Eggman said as he got onto a platform, pressing a button to raise it up before giving a hand signal for the practice to begin.
Within a matter of seconds Raze's red markings began glowing as he begun charging up multiple energy blasts before launching them at the blue hedgehog. Sonic quickly dodged out of the way, narrowly avoiding each blast with his limited mobility due to his restraints and the pain in his right leg. Although the hedgehog could avoid the wolf's attacks, the lack of food and water was quickly beginning to take its toll on him. However, this was the opportunity Raze needed to land a direct blow, launching Sonic right into a wall as the energy blast hit him. As Sonic slowly recovered from the blow, he just managed to see the black wolf rushing at him with claws fully extended. Upon realizing what exactly the dark wolf was doing, the hedgehog quickly rolled out of the way, but despite that he still felt something pierce his left arm.
"Gah!" the hedgehog yelled out in pain, looking over at his left arm only to see three massive cuts near his shoulder as blood was oozing out from the wound, 'Geez! I thought this was target practice! I didn't hear anything about claws being used.'
However, Sonic had no time to run through his thoughts as he was suddenly hit by another dark energy blast, launching him towards another wall. Each time the blue hedgehog even attempted to stand after taking Raze's energy blasts, the black wolf would simply launch more at his opponent. At this rate, Sonic was starting to get tossed around like a ragdoll by the endless energy blasts Raze was launching.
As Sonic hit the ground once more, Raze smirked as he saw the hedgehog struggling to stand, "Had enough, hedgehog?"
Bruised, battered, and exhausted, Sonic found it difficult to even lift his head anymore as he listened to the dark wolf's speech, "It's a pity that this didn't last longer, but this should suffice as a little taste of the power Mobius will face once the Doctor's plans are fully in motion. Nobody will be able to get in my way now, no matter how hard they try, even if it costs them their lives."
'There's gotta be something I can do to get out of here.. There's no way I'm letting this fuzzball take over Mobius with Eggman!' Sonic silently said to himself as he weakly looked up at Raze before slowly shutting his eyes, 'Not ever!'
Just then, …snap. Sonic's eyes suddenly shot open as he felt a familiar spike of energy surge through his body, one he hadn't felt in a long time. Bolts of electricity were pulsing through his body as he slowly stood up, easily breaking the shackles that were keeping his hands restrained, not caring about the pain he was experiencing all over his body. However, the hedgehog's eyes were not the usual emerald green color that they were before, but now instead a bright, vibrant blue, matching the color of the sparks of electricity pulsing through his body.
"What!?" Raze questioned, stunned at what had just happened.
"What the-!? Impossible!" Dr. Eggman exclaimed realizing what had just happened, "I haven't seen this power be used in a long time.. Robots! Lock the base down and stop the rodent!"
Outside the base, Tails had noticed many of the robots going inside the base. 'That's odd. Why are Eggman's robots rushing inside the base.' the fox pondered, confused at the sudden rush before the alarms started blaring.
"What the-? What's going on?" White Fang questioned as he got into a fighting position upon hearing the alarms going off.
"I'm not sure, but be on guard." Shadow said in a stern tone, getting into a fighting position himself.
"It looks like Eggman's robots are going inside the base. There must be something going on inside if the alarms are going off." Tails explained as he flew down.
Just then the sound of an explosion went off at the base as something blasted out of the base, leaving nothing but a blue blur behind. Shortly behind, however, Raze had quickly rushed out along with a massive army of robots, following the direction in which the blur went. Seconds later, Dr. Eggman also flew out of the base in his Eggmobile, following right behind the robot army.
"Get that hedgehog!" the mad scientist yelled out in a rather frustrated tone.
"Eggman?" White Fang questioned before noticing the scent left behind, "Wait! That was Sonic that just bursted out of there!"
In a matter of seconds, the white wolf had launched himself towards the chaos that was going on, leaving a cloud of snow and a white blur behind as he quickly pursuited the robot army. The wolf even had jumped on Eggman's head before blasting off, causing the evil genius to look around in confusion after recovering from the impact.
"White Fang! Wait!" Tails called out, ready to follow the young wolf.
"Damn it! Must this pup be as reckless as the faker?" Shadow cursed as he launched a spindash right at Dr. Eggman, not wanting to take any chances at the doctor potentially getting a sneak attack in before turning towards the young fox, "Tails! Follow White Fang, and make sure he doesn't get himself killed. I can handle the doctor."
"Right." the orange fox said as he quickly took off in pursuit of the white wolf, as well as the robot army.
Sonic blasted through the cold tundra, weaving his way around various trees, boulders, and even pillars of ice that had frozen over due to the freezing temperatures. However, despite the energy boost he had gained from awakening his power boost, his body was screaming in agony as pain was hitting him like a truck, but he didn't care. The blue hedgehog had only one thing set in his mind right now, getting as far away from Eggman's base as possible so the evil genius had no way of catching him a third time.
'I gotta find a place to take cover, and fast. I don't know how much longer I can keep running when it feels like I'm getting stabbed by countless needles..' Sonic muttered, gritting his teeth as the pain from the injuries was starting to catch up to him fast, especially with his right foot becoming more and more aggravated.
Just then, his right foot had suddenly become stiff, causing the blue hedgehog to lose his balance as he stumbled down onto the snow, his bright blue aura disappearing in the process. He braced himself as he stumbled a few feet across the snow before finally stopping himself merely inches away from falling over a nearby cliff. Once Sonic had managed to recover just enough to get onto one knee, he quickly looked behind as he took some heavy breaths in an attempt to calm himself down.
'That was too close..' the hedgehog sighed in relief as he saw just how close he was to falling off. However, he now had another problem, his right leg wouldn't budge now. It was as if his leg had become completely paralyzed from the pain and aggravation it took over the last few days, and to make matters worse he was stuck in frozen tundra with signs of a snowstorm coming very soon without any way of keeping warm. Sonic silently cursed his bad luck as he began looking around in hopes of finding anyone nearby, but opted to keep quiet to avoid potentially drawing any unwanted attention from Eggman's robots. There was one thing the hedgehog didn't take into account however…
"So.. This is where you ran off to. I must say, not a very good hiding spot, hedgehog." Raze said as he approached the wounded blue hedgehog with a smirk.
"Wha-? Aren't you a stubborn one?" Sonic said through gritted teeth, trying to hide his pain as best as he could, attempting to stand, but couldn't due to his body being in too much pain and having no strength.
"A canine like myself has to keep his boss happy, even if it means following my nose all the way out here to find my prey." the black wolf remarked as his claws extended, ready to strike, "No matter how much you run or try to run, a predator will catch his prey one way or another. Your body is at its limits, hedgehog. You have no means of escape now."
However, before Raze could make his move, a white blur had suddenly knocked him away from Sonic, causing him to stumble a couple feet before getting back on his paws. The dark wolf growled in frustration as he recovered from the blow, wondering who had dared to interfere with his plans. In a matter of seconds, he soon locked eyes with a familiar pair of blue eyes that he hadn't expected to see so soon.
"You.." Raze growled in frustration and anger as his eyes narrowed into slits, "How are you still alive? I shot you and your fox friend out of the sky!"
Sonic's eyes widened in shock and astonishment as he realized who had ambushed the dark wolf, "Wha-!? White Fang!?"
"It's going to take a lot more than that to take me out. Now back off before I kick your fluffy tail back to Egghead!" White Fang growled furiously, standing protectively in front of the blue hedgehog.
Raze became even more furious at the young wolf's statement, never seeing someone defy him so blatantly as his red markings began glowing before lunging at the white wolf. The white wolf was able to swiftly dodge out of the way without an issue, causing the black wolf to land merely inches away from Sonic as the surrounding area shook from the impact.
"Over here, fuzzball!" White Fang taunted as he made his way behind Raze, directing the dark wolf's attention to him and away from Sonic.
Raze then unleashed a few dark energy blasts, some that took the form of bullets before charging at the white wolf once again. However, the young wolf avoided them quite easily before leaping up to dodge another charge from the larger wolf. White Fang then dove down as Raze was looking around, trying to see where he went, landing in front of the black wolf and unleashing a roundhouse kick with his hind legs that sent him flying a couple feet. The white wolf then followed up with a flurry of slashes coming from multiple different directions, each one making a small mark on the dark wolf. However, each strike Raze attempted was causing the surrounding area to shake violently from the sheer force that was being put into each strike.
'White Fang needs to be careful.. One shot from this guy could knock him out or worse.' Sonic said to himself as he watched the fight ensue, unable to do anything due to his injuries. On the one hand, he was impressed that White Fang was holding his own, but he was also worried that the young wolf could get caught off guard easily and badly hurt. However, a deep rumbling noise had cut him off from his thoughts as he started looking around to see what was happening now.
After another missed strike, Raze was starting to seethe with rage, his red markings glowing brighter than ever as he saw White Fang leap up and begin curling up. Just then, an idea came into thought as he realized what the young wolf was about to do, his mouth curving into a devilish smirk. As the white wolf blasted down towards him, Raze rose up onto his hind legs, and using his front paws to catch the attack. Using the shift in momentum, the black wolf threw White Fang to the ground before using a large energy blast to send the white wolf flying.
"White Fang, no!" Sonic screamed out in alarm as he saw the young wolf crash into the snow near the ledge of the cliff, knocked out cold. The hedgehog once again, tried getting back up on his feet, desperately wanting to step in and help despite his weakened state, gritting his teeth tightly in an effort to hold back any agonized screams from the pain and pressure being put on his right foot.
"Well, well, well… Doesn't THIS look rather familiar?" Raze questioned as he slowly approached the unconscious White Fang leaning down to his ear, "This is the very situation that occurred when your poor mother died five months ago. Trying to protect someone she loved only to lose her own life for something that was inevitably going to happen, exactly what is happening now…"
The black wolf raised his paw up, claws fully extended, ready to deliver the final blow. However, a loud voice rang through his ears, causing him to stop in his tracks, "Raze! Get your furry hide back to the base immediately! That cliff you're on right now is going to collapse any second!"
It was Dr. Eggman's voice. Raze growled in frustration, keeping his paw high for a couple moments before reluctantly putting it down.
"Fine.. They're as good as gone anyway." the wolf muttered in a frustrated tone before walking away, leaving Sonic and White Fang on the ground by the ledge.
'So.. Eggman was watching this whole time?' the blue hedgehog questioned as he watched the black wolf walk away. However, before he could breathe a solemn sigh of relief, his ears perked up in alarm as he heard a loud cracking noise, noticing that the area around them was breaking apart. 'Shoot! At this rate we'll both fall!' he cursed as he realized what was happening.
With one final attempt, suppressing every ounce of pain, Sonic finally mustered enough strength to get onto his feet before looking over at White Fang, who was still unconscious. Thinking quickly, he curled up into a ball, revving up a spindash seemingly aimed at the white wolf.
'I'm sorry, White Fang, but I can't let my friends get hurt because of my own actions.' he silently said as he unleashed his spindash, hitting the white wolf away from the crumbling ledge before collapsing back on to the snow right where the wolf once was and blacking out, 'At least I know you'll be safe.'
After a couple moments, White Fang shook his head groggily as he slowly started regaining consciousness from the hit he took in that fight. However, before he could process what had happened, the sound of the cliff made his head jerk around in the direction of where it once was merely seconds ago. His eyes widened in fear and horror as he realized that Sonic was still on that cliff, quickly rushing towards the ledge in hopes of saving the blue hedgehog. He desperately reached his paw out as he saw the cliff crumble and fall several feet down to the ground below, but nothing grabbed it. No hand, nothing.
"SONIC!" the white wolf cried out in despair as the snow falling from the darkened sky hit his paw gently, only recoiling it back after a few moments. White Fang stared down at the ground below where the cliff had collapsed silently, his gaze wide with a blank horror that he never thought he'd experience again.
"White Fang!" the young wolf heard Tails call out, but he remained motionless as the young fox flew down next to him, with Shadow following shortly behind.
"What were you thinking, you idiot!? You could have gotten yourself killed!" Shadow scolded the white wolf, but it seemingly fell on deaf ears.
"What happened, White Fang?.." the orange fox questioned with a worried tone, "We heard you calling out for Sonic. Where is he?..."
Only after hearing the question did White Fang finally move, stepping away from the ledge as he tried to explain what happened, "T-the ledge collapsed while I was fighting Raze.. a-and Sonic was on it.."
"Y-you don't mean…?" Tails questioned as his eyes grew wide with fear and horror as the young wolf solemnly nodded, confirming his fears.
"W-we gotta find him! Before the snowstorm hits!" White Fang exclaimed desperately, ready to rush off again.
"You're not going anywhere! That snowstorm is going to hit any second and we'll freeze to death if we don't get back to base soon!" Shadow said in a serious tone, stepping in front of the white wolf.
However, the white wolf suddenly let out a low, angered growl before using his tail to kick up a bunch of snow into the black hedgehog's eyes. This caught Shadow off guard as he recoiled back, trying to get the snow out of his eyes, but that was all White Fang needed to dash off in a blur. By the time Shadow had gotten the snow out of his eyes, the white wolf was gone.
"That imbecile is really getting on my nerves.." the black hedgehog growled as he prepared to take off in pursuit.
"Wait, Shadow!" Tails exclaimed, grabbing the hedgehog's shoulder, "He's our only chance of finding Sonic. We know Sonic has taken a lot worse falls, so there's a chance he's still alive.."
"Tch… Fine.." Shadow replied reluctantly, crossing his arms, "He better find the faker quickly. This storm won't be so kind to anyone stuck out here for too long."
Indeed Shadow was right, the snowstorm that had started a couple hours later was violent and relentless. However, on the bottom of the destroyed cliff, bits of snow and rubble had begun moving as if there was something underneath it. A few moments later, Sonic bursted out of the rubble, gasping for air as he unsteadily landed back on the ground. Though, the hedgehog couldn't stand for long, as the impact of his injuries made his collapse once again. Despite everything he had gone through over the last few days, the last few hours in general, he was somehow still alive.
However, no matter how much he wanted to stand, his body wouldn't let him. It was as if the amount of rubble he had to dig through took the last bit of energy left in him that he could sustain. Clutching his bleeding arm, Sonic began shivering almost uncontrollably due to the sub-freezing temperatures. Having open wounds did not help his situation at all as the cold wind entered his body through the open wounds. Everything was becoming a blur for the blue hedgehog as he struggled to remain conscious once more. Just as when he thought there was no way of making it out of his predicament…
"Sonic!? Sonic!"
Was he hearing things right? Was someone calling out for him? Who would be out in such weather to be looking for him? Was his mind playing games with him now?
"Ugh… H-hello?.." he mustered out despite his weakened and vulnerable state, unable to really move at all now.
"Sonic!" the voice called again, but this time a shape began taking form, one that looked familiar but for some reason Sonic couldn't place his finger on it.
The figure approached the blue hedgehog rapidly as the shape began to resemble a wolf from what the hedgehog could tell through his blurry vision. However, he couldn't tell exactly who exactly it was that was approaching him outside of noticing its white fur. The wolf seemed to be looking at him with a worried and desperate look on its face, unaware that it was in fact, White Fang.
"Sonic! Come on, hang in there Sonic!" the white wolf cried out desperately, trying to nudge Sonic up in hopes of some sort of response, 'This is bad… He feels ice cold! I can't leave him here though or else he'll die. What do I do!?'
Just then, the sound of footsteps had made the white wolf whip around, trying to see who was coming up behind him before suddenly becoming paralyzed in shock and fear. In front of him stood a massive black, maned wolf with battle scars running all throughout its pelt and icy blue eyes staring down at him. White Fang found himself completely frozen as he locked eyes with the mysterious wolf, unsure of what to do. However, the larger wolf let out a long howl, letting its voice echo through the area. The white wolf briefly turned towards Sonic, who was fading in and out of consciousness before whipping his head back at the black wolf who had started walking away.
'Wha-? Am I supposed to follow this wolf or what? What is this furball up to?' White Fang silently questioned himself before turning towards the cliff that had collapsed hours earlier. Carrying Sonic up would do no good as not only was there a snowstorm going on but the climb was way too high and steep to handle. What could he do at this point? Stay put and try to keep Sonic warm until either the snowstorm ended or until they were found? No.. They would both freeze to death.
"White Fang…" a sudden yet gentle female voice called out through the wind, causing the white wolf to whirl his head around in an attempt to locate the source of the voice. However there was nobody around.
'What the-? Where is this voice coming from? It sounds so familiar…' the wolf questioned as he was looking around before the voice spoke again, "Follow your heart and let your voice be heard through the cold wind. Only you know what to do at heart.."
'Follow my heart and let my voice be heard? Does it mean howl?' he questioned as he turned towards the direction where the mysterious wolf once was, 'I-i never howled at all before nor have I learned how, but… it may be the only option I have..'
Taking a deep breath, White Fang slowly stood up, still facing the direction where he once saw the mysterious wolf. As the wolf looked down at his pendant, he had noticed it was glowing brightly in a light, vibrant blue color. Perhaps it was a response to his emotions? Either way, he gently placed a paw on the pendant as he took another deep breath, 'Well… Here goes nothing..'
With one last deep breath, White Fang allowed his heart to dictate his voice as he slowly lifted his head up towards the sky, the sound of a long yet beautiful howl flowed out from his mouth. Unbeknownst to the white wolf, Sonic had been watching the entire time despite his struggles to remain conscious, and gave a weak yet soft smile as the young wolf howled. A few seconds later the dark, mysterious wolf had appeared yet again, having heard White Fang howl, and stood in front of the young wolf. After watching for a few moments, the larger wolf decided to join in, letting out another howl and allowing their voices to echo through the area like an elegant song.
At the top of the cliff, Shadow looked over as he kept watch for any sign of White Fang returning, but his patience was wearing thinner and thinner by the second while Tails was waiting anxiously in hopes of any good news. However, the snowstorm had made any bit of hope fade away by the minute as there was still no sign of the white wolf or Sonic.
"We need to head back to base, Tails. If we stay out here any longer, we'll freeze to death." the black hedgehog said in a serious tone as he pulled out a green Chaos Emerald.
"What about White Fang though? He's still out there. We can't just leave him-" the orange fox began explaining before the sound of wolves howling made both their heads turn towards the cliff, "Huh? That sounds like a wolf howling from the bottom of the cliff. Shadow, we should check down below and see if we can find the source of the sound."
"Fine.. Stay close." Shadow said as he used Chaos Control to teleport himself and Tails to the bottom of the cliff.
Once they had appeared at the bottom of the cliff, the sound of the howling had become even more apparent than before. Tails looked around for a few moments before recognizing a familiar white wolf that was howling his heart out in the midst of the savage snowstorm.
"White Fang!" the fox called out, prompting the wolf to stop howling upon hearing his name being called.
"Tails! Shadow! Over here!" the white wolf responded with a hint of relief in his voice, using his tail to signal them over, "I found Sonic, but he's in really bad shape.."
All it took for Shadow was a few seconds for him to realize what was wrong as he noticed some very concerning signs and symptoms from Sonic, who was now practically unconscious.
"We need to get Sonic out of this snowstorm now! You two need to stay close so you can get him to a hospital away from Holoska once I use Chaos Control." the black hedgehog sternly ordered as he tightly gripped the green Chaos Emerald.
With a quick nod, Tails had quickly elevated the blue hedgehog and carefully placed him onto White Fang's back. Once they approached Shadow, he gripped the green gemstone, using its power to activate Chaos Control, and in a matter of seconds the group had disappeared out of the snowstorm and reappeared in a warm, lush forest. While it was a relief that they were out of the snowstorm, there was still the matter of getting Sonic help and fast.
"There's a hospital nearby in Station Square. You two should be able to get there quickly and get Sonic some serious medical attention." the hedgehog explained.
With a nod, Tails and White Fang prepared to take off towards Station Square until a voice had suddenly stopped them in their tracks, "Hold it right there! What are you three doing in our territory!?"
In front of them stood a small group of wolves that were all in a fighting pose as if ready to attack the group. The wolves seemed to appear rather young, as if no older than a couple years old at max.
"We're just passing through. We have someone who really needs urgent medical care and fast!" Tails explained, his voice carrying a concerned tone as he looked at the unconscious blue hedgehog on White Fang's back.
"Yeah right… It's not the first time we've heard that excuse." one wolf responded sarcastically, but was quickly cut off by another wolf who had came up from behind, "What are you furballs doing!? It doesn't take a genius to see that they have a patient that's dying from hypothermia right now!"
A large, gray male wolf with a rather muscular build and icy blue eyes stood in front of the small group of wolves as he locked eyes onto White Fang, who was in a defensive position as if ready to fight off any attackers.
"Excuse my patrol, they tend to act before they think. My name is Boulder, and I'm a healer from the Lightning Blaze pack." the wolf introduced himself before taking a quick look at Sonic then back at White Fang and Tails, "As ideal as a hospital visit would be, in his case, getting him there and admitted through emergency would take too long. It's a miracle he even has a pulse right now…"
"Wha-? What do you mean?" White Fang questioned, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"He's lucky to be alive right now, but that won't last long if he doesn't get immediate care." the gray wolf explained solemnly, "Follow me back to my camp so we can get him treated right away."
"The wolf is right. The sooner Sonic gets medical treatment, the better." Shadow said, agreeing with Boulder before grabbing the Chaos Emerald once again, "I need to get back and finish my mission with G.U.N."
"Right." Tails said before turning towards Boulder, "Can you lead us to your pack camp?"
"Of course, it's only a few minutes walking distance from here." the gray wolf said before turning towards the patrol behind him, "You lot! Grab some fire wood and fire starters immediately! The quicker we can get the fire going in the healer's den, the quicker we can warm my patient up!"
"Yes sir!" the wolves responded before rushing off in search of fire wood and fire starters.
"You two, follow me." Boulder said, signaling White Fang and Tails to follow, breaking off into a run due to the urgency of the situation as the group made a mad dash towards his pack camp.
Fortunately, the group did indeed arrive at the pack camp rather quickly as it was relatively close by as Boulder had said. As soon as they had arrived, Boulder made a tail motion towards White Fang, signaling the white wolf to bring Sonic into a large den that was full of herbs and medical supplies. A few minutes later the patrol the heroes had encountered arrived back at the camp with mouthfuls of fire wood and fire starters, bringing it into the den and giving it to the gray wolf before heading back to do their duties.
"I'll do what I can to help your friend, but right now I need you to leave the den so I can focus on treating him." Boulder said to White Fang as he looked over Sonic's wounds thoroughly.
"Alright.." the white wolf replied as he started heading out of the den, "How long do you think it'll take?"
"It could be hours before I get him stable, but it'll take even longer if I keep getting distracted." the gray male said, his tone low as he realized just how serious this case was, watching the young wolf leave the den upon hearing the response.
Time flew rapidly as night fell on to Mobius, the day flying by as if nothing had happened. Despite that, White Fang and Tails both sat outside of the healer's den as they anxiously waited for the report from Boulder. The white wolf found himself tirelessly pacing back and forth near the den due to the anxiety that was building up from waiting so long. However, before Tails could say anything, he spotted Boulder walking out of the den with a concerned look on his face.
"How is he?" the fox cautiously questioned, his eyes creasing in worry for his best friend and brother.
"I've managed to get most of his scratches bandaged up and cleaned up, but considering his circumstances, he's lucky to even be alive right now. His hypothermia is severe, so while I have a fire going to warm him up, it's going to really depend on if he survives the night.. If he survives the night, then we can get an IV from the hospital so he won't get too dehydrated while he's out, but even then it'll possibly take a full month for him to fully recover especially when his right foot is badly sprained." Boulder explained with a solemn look on his face, "As it stands right now, his survival very much depends on if he makes it through the night…"
"I see…" Tails responded dejectedly, turning towards White Fang who was staring right at the unconscious blue hedgehog, "We should probably head home, White Fang.."
"..I want to stay here, Tails." the white wolf sighed, his eyes not moving an inch, "Head back and let the others know what happened."
"A-are you sure?" the orange fox questioned tentatively, understanding how difficult these last few days have been.
Nodding in response, White Fang then slowly walked into the healer's den, cautiously approaching Sonic as he laid by the fire. Tails looked back at the wolf once more, muttering a silent prayer for his best friend before heading back home. As Boulder locked his eyes onto the white wolf, he opened his mouth to say something but decided to say nothing as he looked up at the starry sky for a few moments before walking away. Once White Fang was right next to Sonic, he carefully laid down next to the hedgehog, looking up at the stars as his eyes creased with worry.
'Please hang in there Sonic.. You've got to pull through. Everyone still needs you, even me…' White Fang prayed as he gently laid his head on the blue hedgehog's chest before letting himself drift off to sleep.
To be continued…