Note: Today is my birthday so as my gift to other people, I decided to finally force myself out of a lazy slump and write this chapter. It was extremely delayed so for that I apologize. Please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog

Chapter 6: They Bite

Sonic crumbled the parchment between his fingers and sneezed as it brushed back against his snout. The wind whistled past his soles as his feet carried him faster and faster toward his first goal.

The valley was barren as the trees sloped awkwardly away, frozen in a motion as if trying to shimmy up the steep sides and escape what lie below. He slid through their fragile fingers like a breeze as the whining creaks of twigs almost pled him to retreat.

No. He shook his head, dust furling around him as he skidded the last foot. It was just in his mind to think he had to flee and still he couldn't. It was important that he obtained every one of the items on this list or everyone would… die.

He choked on the thought and the taste in his mouth, continuing forward at a hasty pace.

Thick stems arched upward towards the sky with rounded blossoms resting upon their high tips. Sonic glanced up expectedly and just in time. Tumbling backwards over his spikes as piercing fangs barred down into the dirt. He glanced down at his feet prepared to have failed but he was relieved; still all in tact.

The plant rose it's heavy head and the hedgehog pulled back from the liquid cascading down and sizzling sharply into the ground. He cringed, positive that contact with that would be far from a pleasant experience.

It snapped forward again but found only air trickling through it's fangs. Sonic had moved again and again as he examined the list, bounding in and out of the range of carnivorous plants that ducked down from the sky to take a bite at the zipping morsel.

"Venus venom?" He looked expectantly to the plants, his quills bristling in realization. Usually he get some sort of thrill at the challenge but right now he only felt that he was going to be sick.

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All about her the forest whispered as the soft flow of wind trickled through. She looked toward the treetops all waving to the serene rhythm, their leafs falling in a graceful dance. It seemed too calm for danger. She had intercepted the silence wrong and dropped her guard as she swept over bushes searching for the hidden items. She would help that couple yet…

A snap of twig-- nothing.

Amy did not dwell on that moment of disturbed peace. A soft sound like 'oh' acknowledged her throat as her gloved fingers brushed against material and she plunged her grip around the sack. "Found it!" She was smiling like a child who had just stumbled upon a stash of candy, as she looked down at her sparkling prize.

Turned out Sonic wasn't being a complete jerk after all.

Another snap of a twig and Amy turned. "What do you want?!"

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Knowing enough to put 2+2 together Sonic racked his brains for a plan. He needed to be fast on his feet and had to think fast on them too, always knowing the slightest slip up could spell Game Over.

The venom was like acid, it scorched a hole through his list when he took a second too long to move. A clean and rounded hole which made him question it's former existence; if he didn't know better the parchment could have always been like this.

He darted, pain striking up his spines and bringing him skidding into the ground. Had it touched him? No. There wasn't long till they would try to strike again though and his chest was throbbing with agony. One thought spiked through his mind: poison.

At times like this life seemed very unfair.

Pushing up on his elbows Sonic cringed pushing dirty hands to his mouth to stifle the coming coughs. He must have been close to dying a thousand times before but all those times it only passed through his mind a split second, then worry was gone. Every time before he had been fast enough to avoid death. This time though--

It was his speed that was helping to kill him.

He rolled over with a whistle of wind slapping up against his form. The plants deadly bulb was muffled and trapped beneath a foot of dirt it forced itself into trying to catch him. Laughing faintly, Sonic wiped his thumb across the corner of his mouth cleaning away the small smear of crimson.

"S-still not fast enough." With the slightest staggering of breath he shook his head clear and bounded to his feet darting for a leaf. That acid wouldn't burn its owner, this would be the only way to bring it back.

The stem bent beneath his soles acting like a trampoline, he had fumbled for a firm hold on the waxy coating of a purple leaf, just managing before it flipped him high into the blue sky.

The hedgehog turned his feet down toward the force of gravity, the leaf swaying like a streamer behind him. The force of a body plummeting onto the plant's head from above had brought a venoms hiss through it's fangs and rained acid upon it's fellows.

Sonic slipped off its top as the stem crippled bringing them heavily to the ground.

If plants could moan that was what this one was doing as a hedgehog cautiously pushed a hand into the huge fly trap. If it could be in pain it was even more so as feet were pushing against its bottom lip, ripping at its teeth.

"Aieeeeeeeeeee-ieeeee-ieeeeee!" It hissed into silence with each soft thumb as the hedgehog tumbled back, spotting his combat blue spikes a musty brown.

Sonic attempted to shake himself off as the screeches of the plants died down to silence leaving only the wind to whisper once more. Nothing he did was to avail to coming clean so he looked instead to his loosely wrapped prize.

"One down." He glanced back at the slumped creatures and smirked. "Better luck next time!" With a streak of blue only the devastated plants were left behind. Their meal escaped…

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Wow. School is getting close…

Next chapter: Search Faster

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