ATofTandPII: Hellebore

A Tale of Tails and Plants: Hellebore


A/N: In this installment, love is put to the test, secrets are revealed, and at the very end, the name of our infamous wolf and Violet's wish upon the comet will be revealed… if they survive to hear it… The genre is mostly drama and romance, for although comedy has its moments, this is a perilous time in our heroes' lives.

Without further ado, let the tale begin.

Prologue: They meet once more

it was twilight, and the streets were silent, except for the heavy breaths of two combatants facing each other just three feet apart, the two circling each other, both ready for any tricks.

The nameless wolf had known this moment would eventually occur, as he circled his combatant, Sonic Jr. After all, his fight with the hedgehog was never completed.

"Tired yet?" The ever-confident Sonic Jr. asked him, circling the grey panting wolf.

The nameless wolf grinned at him, and then charged.

As arrogant and proud as usual, Sonic Jr. let him get close before trying to zing behind him. But the wolf's charge was a feint, he timed his twist perfectly, moving his leg out and clipping the charging hedgehog with his leg. The hedgehog fell to the ground hard on his right leg, sliding on the rocky surface, blood oozing from his shin.

The hedgehog hastily got up, aiming a punch on the wolf's head. The wolf ducked the first one, but the second came faster than he anticipated, and he cringed as he endured the hit on the side, the air being knocked out of him. Thinking he had the advantage, Sonic quickly threw two more.

Both met air. Sonic looked in front of him by surprise, then as he turned around, noticed a kick flying in his direction.

Sonic Jr. was slammed against the brick wall, but quickly moved to the right as the wolf followed with another high-flying kick. The miscalculation sent the wolf's leg into the wall, causing the wall to crumble and break.

Sonic Jr. decided to press his speed advantage full on, hurling punch after punch against the wolf. The nameless wolf, which the blue hedgehog had no idea was trained under Shadow, knew how to predict where they would come. Though he moved slower, he managed to block every single one.

Yet as the nameless wolf took the offensive against the surprised hedgehog, it was clear that he could not win this way. Sonic Jr. was too fast, and even when a hit connected, he was too stubborn; enduring the pain like a skyscraper endures an earthquake. After a time, the wolf grew exhausted, and Sonic Jr., who had never slowed down before, at last began to grow sluggish.

The hedgehog's stubbornness, however, wanted to finish the fight. Sprinting around the wolf's back, Sonic faked a punch to the wolf's left, and just as he anticipated he lifted his hand to block. Then Sonic Jr. switched hands and got ready to hit hard.

Sonic Jr. had made a miscalculation; the wolf's hand did not move to block but to attack. His fist slammed into Sonic's stomach hard, knocking the hedgehog senselessly to the ground.

In the dark alleyway, the wolf looked down at his opponent, bruised, battered, and all scratched, his blood dripping on the ground like tears. Sonic Jr. glared at him back, knowing he had been defeated. Then the wolf turned around, walking away from Sonic Jr.

"Where are you going?" Sonic Jr. asked, getting up. "I'm not finished yet!"

He charged at him with roaring speed, but the wolf didn't even look back. He simply ducked the next punch, and kicked him into the knees. As he buckled from the pain, he swung a feint to the left, and then slammed him down by banging on his back.

"This fight is over." The nameless wolf told him. "We met again as promised, and I have won. Whether you accept that or not, that is what has happened." He then turned around, as Sonic Jr. raised his hand in a vain attempt to get his attention.

Sonic Jr. watched the wolf go, too weak to rise and attempt to strike him, although his mind desperately desired revenge. Yet he knew he had to accept the fact that he got beaten.

He finally stood up a few minutes later. It was about midnight. He better get some sleep for school tomorrow, else he might get in trouble again for lack of sleep, and Cinnamon would grow suspicious.

Anger inflamed Sonic Jr. as he finally stood up, slowly limping his way toward his home. If he saw that wolf again, Sonic Jr. thought to himself, he would not let himself lose once more.

(Hellebore…)

Everything was in shades of violet. Except her dreams…

She heard lightning from somewhere. She had just exited a cavern looking not at a sun but stormy clouds. On the ground were all sorts of pretty flowers she had never seen before.

She looked at the sky. It was dark, and it reminded her of that same night in which she made that wish, as she and her father Tails looked out the telescope, scanning the stars. Oh, but the wish had yet to come true!

She looked at the sky, but then it started to turn red. Startled, she started moving backwards toward the cavern, but then she noticed a familiar looking pig stepping closer and closer. When she looked back forward, trying to run, she noticed that it grew harder and harder to see that way.

The pig behind her laughed. "Come to me, or be blinded forever!" Violet feared the pig Pitney more than anything else in the world. She did not want to be touched by that vile pig.

She ran toward the darkness, and soon she saw nothing. Her heart beat faster and faster, each beat like a hastily increasing knock on the door.

Someone grabbed her shoulders from behind her. She screamed, but something covered her mouth. She kicked behind her, and was free for a moment.

Then something grabbed her from the front. She struggled, but it was in vain…