"Out, all of you, out!" shrieked Amy, bashing the heads of the so-called "guards" with her now seldom seen hammer. Swiss Roll crumbs littered the floor as the group of G.U.N. soldiers bolted out of the apartment room door in order to avoid the angry hedgehog's wrath. A few of the more selfish ones left with more bumps on their heads, but Amy still managed to chase them all out of Sonic's apartment.

"And stay out!" she added with a huff. Whirling around, she locked the door behind her and began tidying the apartment. While she doubted Sonic would care in the slightest whether or not she kept it clean, it would drive her crazy if she stayed in it while it was dirty. She began her mini-quest on the mantle, where she rearranged the few knick-knacks Sonic kept. One of them was the fake Chaos Emerald Knuckles left in his possession. Another was an unidentifiable gadget built by Tails. It was one of the kit's earlier inventions, so Amy was not even sure if it worked, but she was definitely not going to break it in order to find out.

The final trinket was her personal favorite: a small, blue-velvet box with a letter in it. While the box was now devoid of anything worth something, it meant more to her than any jewelry box filled with priceless gems. It had held her engagement ring, which was now on her finger, and the letter was Sonic's first, and supposedly last, confession of love to her. She smiled as she placed it in the center of the mantle, then moved on to the kitchen.

As she walked over to it, she passed the foyer, and subsequently, the mail slot. She gazed at it somewhat solemnly, but moved on to continue her cleaning quest. Why hadn't Sonic called yet? He had promised! With a sigh, Amy tried to tell herself there was probably a perfectly good reason for his silence. The only problem with that was the still-small voice in the back of her head saying: "Yes. Death is a very good reason."

All he felt was a sharp stab in his ribs. With a yelp, Sonic jumped up and glared at the intruder. An all-too-familiar crimson echidna stood with a ballpoint pen in his hand, looking suspicious and guilty.

"What the heck was that for?" exclaimed Sonic, resisting the urge to punch the Guardian squarely on the nose.

"It's almost two o'clock. I wasn't going to bother, but Tails wants you to explain what happened last night. You kind of left us hanging."

"Fine, I'll be there in a minute." After Knuckles left, Sonic rose to his feet and arched his back in both directions. He yawned, did a few lightning fast lunges, and shook himself awake. Amy had once told him his morning stretch made him look like a cat, and he had to agree, but it worked to get him moving. With a glance at the clock, he reminded himself this morning routine wasn't being done in the morning, and for once in his life he was actually on a time crunch. Still somewhat tired, Sonic entered Tails' computer room, only to find General Black staring down his long muzzle at him.

"Well, g'mornin', Blackie!"

"It's General Black to you, hedgehog, and morning passed two hours ago. Sleeping in like this is unacceptable."

"You didn't have the night I did. Trust me, I bet you would've slept even longer than me after that."

"Speaking of 'that', your kitsune friend is in the other room. I suggest you log what happened last night with him."

"Sure."

"Oh, and I expect you to always log the day's events, no matter how tiring, directly after they occur or at the end of the day."

Sonic refused to reply, but walked straight past the wolf and into the opposite room. A bright smile lit the kitsune's face when he entered, followed by a hug that Sonic swore could break ribs. "Hey, lil' bro', how're you?"

"Fine, now. I was really worried that you were sleeping that late. You've never done that before."
"Sure I have!"

"Yeah, but only after you turned Super. Never just after a simple talk with a rival."

"Oh… yeah, about that. I never did talk with Luktani."

"What?"

Sonic proceeded to explain what occurred the night before in excruciating detail, mentioning everything from the lead wolf's lavender eyes to his approximate guess at the pack's size. Tails nodded and gasped at the appropriate times, scribbling everything down into an old notebook. He then asked Sonic to describe the lead wolf's physical features. Although confused, the hedgehog complied. After Sonic described the dark fire for the umpteenth time, he finally asked what the kitsune was doing.

"Oh, I'm just drawing," replied Tails.

"I didn't know you drew."

"How do you think I get blueprints?" chortled Tails, his sapphire eyes glinting mischievously.

"Alright, fine, but what are you drawing?"

"Your new nemesis, apparently." He turned the notebook around, showing a quick sketch of a black demon-wolf.

"Wow, Tails. That looks just like him. Except colorless and a lot less freaky."

"I can't work miracles, y'know."

"True. So what's our plan of action?"

"You really need to talk to General Black about that," explained Tails. "And before you complain, you have to remember he is in charge."

"I don't see why," muttered Sonic.

"Yes, you do. Just give him my notes, and I'll be in there in about thirty minutes. I have to work on some computers to make sure they're functioning properly out here. Hopefully, you'll have a plan by the time I get in there."

"I doubt it."

"Just go on!" moaned Tails playfully, pushing the notebook into the hedgehog's hands.

"I'm going, I'm going!" laughed Sonic. As chipper as he was with his adopted brother, his jovial mood vanished the second he entered the General's presence yet again. The wolf looked as cold as he possibly could, as if the last thing he wanted to do was spend time with the blue hedgehog.

"Well?"

"I'm supposed to talk to you about a plan of action. Oh, and I'm supposed to give you this." Sonic shoved Tails' notebook into the General's hands, as he was expecting him to have a confused expression when he saw Tails' notes and sketch. However, the expression on the wolf's face was as stolid as could be, with no emotion whatsoever revealing itself in his features.

"This is a problem."

"Wow. Your powers of observation are astounding!"

"No smart talk, hedgehog! This is serious. These wolves haven't been seen for hundreds of years, and their arrival only means death is certain."

"Okay, you seem to know a lot about them. What're they like?"

"Firstly, they're called Wolves of Demon's Shadow, and before you ask, Demon's Shadow is a rocky overhang about twenty-five miles from here. It's the perfect position for war, as they can see everything around them and no one can see them unless they're specifically looking for the overhang."

"That's oddly convenient."

"Yes. Their leader is always referred to as Demon Fang, and will choose the pack's victims. They've been silent for a while now, but as you can see, they've risen again to kill you, thinking you're a legendary hero of some sort."

"Hey, what'd'ya mean, they 'think'?" snapped Sonic.

"Now is not the time to worry about titles! No one has ever killed a Wolf of Demon's Shadow before, and there's no way to find out how. We can't plan for this."

"We have to," replied Sonic, turning away from the wolf. He glanced at the door, wishing with all his might that Tails or even Knuckles would walk in and get him out of this position. "If we don't find a way to kill them first, they'll kill me."

"You're easy prey for them, hedgehog."

"Not if I don't want to be," barked Sonic, whirling around to face the General again. "We have to go for it. If we don't attack them, they'll just go for us."

"Um, Sonic? I hate to tell you this," commented Tails, leaning into the room, "but your new friends are here."

Without a single word, Sonic bolted outside, skidding to sharp halt as the blackness from the night before once again consumed everything. He could barely hear General Black and Tails calling after him, but he knew it was far too late for them to catch up to him. Taking a deep breath of the noxious air, Sonic tried to absorb his surroundings and find the lavender-eyed leader.

A noise from in front of him caused him to jump slightly, but he quickly saw it was not a wolf. Rather, it was a very familiar lynx, now broken, battered, and far less attractive than when she had tried to kill him. "Hey, Luktani. Long time, no see, eh?"

"Get out. Get out, now. Go home, get away from here. You don't stand a—" With a low grunt, the emaciated lynx collapsed at his feet. Sonic stepped back, now highly disturbed, but when he felt a cold pelt brush against him he quickly changed his mind. Above Luktani's suspiciously still body, two lavender eyes opened. The wolf stepped forward and revealed his full size to the hedgehog, his wings spread threateningly and his expression cold and merciless.

"Demon Fang."

"I see you know my name. That's quite impressive for one night."

"Yeah, well, I have connections. What'd you do to Luktani?"

"The lynx? Don't worry about her. She's no longer your concern."

"That's not what I asked," growled Sonic.

"I recommend that you keep silent and accept the answer you are given," snapped Demon Fang, his lavender eyes glowing brighter as his temper grew.

"Fine. What do you want from me?"

"We went over this the previous evening. I will not go over it again. Are you prepared to die?"

"Not without a fight," sniffed Sonic, preparing to lunge for the wolf. Just as he was ready to release the pent up springs to send him flying at his opponent, the wolf screamed in agony and the black mist faded. Sonic flew into action, knowing that whatever distracted the wolf was his only chance of winning. His quills slammed directly into Demon Fang's chest, toppling him over. The wolf's claws scraped against Sonic's chest as he struggled to shove the hedgehog off of him. He succeeded in a few tries, when Sonic's willpower no longer exceeded his pain tolerance. The hedgehog fell in a crumpled heap a few yards away, but Knuckles soon helped him to his feet.

"Don't stop now, Sonic, we have a chance. Go!" yelled Knuckles, dragging the hedgehog back into battle with him. Tails was now fighting as well, throwing small grenades and keeping the rest of the pack away from their leader. Sonic leapt towards Demon Fang with Knuckles at his side, and the two fought perfectly in sync. Whenever Sonic leapt out from his attack, Knuckles ran in with his, and with Tails keeping all the other wolves at bay, the system seemed to be foolproof.

Then Demon Fang pulled one trick the trio of heroes never saw coming. With a howl that could wake the dead, the black mist returned, this time stronger and thicker than ever before. All three collapsed, as well as the rest of the miniature army General Black had with him. Demon Fang took deep breaths of the air as if he had stepped outside after being trapped in a coal mine. He glared at the ones at his feet struggling to breathe.

Tails had passed out, and Sonic knew he wasn't too far behind his brother. It was when the leader stepped over his brother, prepared to kill the fox where he lay, that Sonic forced himself to his feet. He raced over to the wolf and began a series of homing attacks that should have been simple to pull off, but each hit seemed to hurt Sonic more than his opponent. However, it distracted the wolf enough to get him away from Tails.

The attack the hedgehog performed next was one he had not reverted to since his first fight with Luktani. Using a special form of spin dash, he flew directly into the wolf's neck with his backspines. The toxin in them, while not strong enough to kill, was enough to get the wolf to back off and lose the smoke screen he had conjured. "Get out!" shouted Sonic, ears laid back as he landed on his feet. "Just get away from here!"

Demon Fang stumbled a bit, his eyes foggy from the poison, and he stepped back. "Fine. But you will not be so lucky next time, hedgehog. Be prepared." He howled again, and the Wolves of Demon's Shadow took off into the sky, flapping their dragon wings in unison and forming a new cloud of noxious smoke. Sonic felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to face Knuckles, who looked just as shocked as Sonic felt.

"Um… good job."

Knowing that was the best compliment he would ever receive from the echidna, Sonic nodded his appreciation before walking over to Tails. The kitsune was coughing, but coming around to the land of the living. Sonic helped him to his feet in silence, but the fox soon commented on the events. "Sonic… this is bigger than all of us. We can't fight them."

"We just did."

"It wasn't good enough. We need more… things. More weapons, more soldiers, more planning… Sonic, this is going to be an all out war!" panted Tails, his breathless rant only one symptom of his anxiety.

"Not now, Tails, I—"

"Sonic! Over here! You've got to see this."


Yeah, I updated. =D I feel... victorious. Kind of.

Anyhow, working on three stories simultaneously, not to mention artwork and the schoolwork looming in the distance, is really taking its toll on me. So I decided on the story that will take my primary focus: this one. I'll work on the other ones as I feel like it, but for now, this one is my main project. Hope you people following Tales of Knighthood and Soul of a Hero aren't too miffed, but I had to choose at some point.

Thanks for sticking with me,

~Wolf~