The rain was going to kill him long before Luktani did. Sonic's ears drooped from the amount of water pressing down on them, and his fur was completely soaked. The freezing weather was not helping at all. He swore if Luktani did not show up in five minutes he would leave. "I promised a truce, not torture," he muttered to himself.

As he stood there looking like an imbecile in an empty field, his mind drifted back to the letter he wrote right before he left. He was a bit concerned that Knuckles would read it, or worse, not deliver it, but he knew he had to trust him. At this point, he was his only hope of contacting her. Ever since he had left, he felt extremely empty without her, and was desperate to talk to her again. Unconsciously, he closed his eyes and smiled, letting the rain carry him back to the park where he spent his final hours with his fiancée.

He jumped as a pelt brushed against his. This one was surprisingly dry, despite the fact that rain was still coming down in buckets. When he turned around to face whoever was there, however, the field was completely devoid of life. Now extremely wary, Sonic stayed alert and his eyes jumped from place to place, wondering if the lynx would hold up her end of the bargain. A low growl came from behind him, and he whirled around, adopting a "fight or flight" stance. Again, however, he was alone in the field.

"Are you alright, Sonic?" The hedgehog nearly jumped out of his fur, but quickly recovered when he realized the voice was Tails'. Communication was key, and a listening device was attached subtly to the hedgehog's mp3 player. The one ear bud he had in his ear played Tails' voice instead of music.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Has Luktani shown up yet?"

"No." Tails spoke no more, so as Sonic could listen to his surroundings effectively. He heard rustling from all over the place, and it bothered him. "Are you getting this, Tails?"

"All the background noise? Yeah, why?"

Sonic could not answer, due to his being slammed to the ground by something unseen. He immediately curled into a tight ball to protect himself from whatever was attacking. He could feel claws and teeth scraping against his quills, but with the Chaos energy he constantly had in his veins, he shot forward and around, slamming into his attacker. He uncurled gracefully and landed with skill, staying crouched and keeping his eyes peeled for his opponent.

Out of the blackness, he saw a light lavender spark, followed by a dark violet ball of flame hurtling towards him. With a yelp, he dove to the side and rolled out of the way of the danger. Suddenly, what little light there was disappeared and all sense of his surroundings vanished. He knew he was standing, and that was it. Something brushed against his side, and he slammed into it, hoping to destroy whatever it was that was hunting him. However, he went directly through it, and instead it made him feel incredibly cold, to the point that he swore he would die from frostbite. Refusing to succumb to it, he removed himself from whatever he was in, and the feeling dissipated.

"Who are you?" he snapped, calling out into the darkness. There was no vocal reply, but two lavender-colored eyes opened in front of him. They stared directly at him, and he felt as if they were looking at his soul. He backed up a step, not taking his eyes off of the pair in front of him, but trying to find the body of the creature. Suddenly, more eyes appeared around the black abyss. The colors varied from red to violet, but none were like the bright lavender eyes in front of him. He was never afraid of new enemies, but this unknown ghostlike figure was quite disturbing. Crouching low and glaring at the pair of eyes in front of him, Sonic tried to figure out just who he was up against.

"Care to tell me who you are instead of staring me down?" he barked.

The darkness faded a little, but not enough for him to see his surroundings. He could, however, see his enemy. A pitch black wolf stood on all fours in front of him, two dragon-like wings sprouting from its shoulder blades and extending to an impressive eight-foot wingspan. There was no color on the beast except for its eyes. Even the fire that licked at its paws was black and cast no light. The wolf was at least four feet tall, but its head was bent so as to stare Sonic directly in the eye. Similar wolves surrounded the hedgehog, all equally as menacing.

"Hm. I suppose that was effective. What do you want? Am I in your territory or something?"

Finally, the black wolf spoke. "You are the last in a long line of heroes. It is the goal of the Shadow Wolves to kill all who oppose the Master."

"Hey, hey, I don't know about you, but I had no clue I was in a 'line' of any sort, and I have no business with wolves. Actually, I'm looking for a lynx. You haven't happened to stumble across one, have you?"

"Fool!" hissed the wolf, stepping forward. Sonic involuntarily took a step back. "The lynx belongs to us now. She was nothing but a tool to get you here. We have killed all of the Heroes of Legend… except you. However, the lynx made a truce with you, yes?"

"As far as I know."

"Yes… she will be punished for that. But we will keep our word. Return to your camp, hedgehog, and live your last few hours out happily. Tomorrow you will discover the true meaning of war."

With the final word, the blackness, as well as the wolves, dissipated away. Rain once again became Sonic's primary concern. With a sigh, he turned and bolted back towards camp, where many curious team members were awaiting his return.

Tails, however, was the first one to reach him. "Sonic! We lost your signal right after you asked about the background noise! What happened?"

"It's a long story, Tails… I'd rather wait and tell you tomorrow. I'm tired."

"But Sonic, what did Luktani say? We have to know so we can prepare! Tomorrow might be too late!"

The hedgehog glanced at his adoptive brother with a solemn expression. "Tails, Luktani is the least of our worries right now. Just... Let's just say all you need to know is that I'm being hunted by an elite pack of giant wolves. G'night."

"Wh-what? Sonic!" Tails exclaimed, protesting greatly. His cries, however, went unheeded, and the hedgehog collapsed, exhausted, on his makeshift bed.

Knuckles sat with Tails in the main room. Most of the other team members, including General Black, had retired to their cots for the evening. A few stray soldiers would pass through on their way to the kitchens for a midnight snack, but they were essentially alone. Tails was obviously concerned with Sonic's short-lived revelation, and was doing a phenomenal amount of research on any sort of elite wolf pack. However, each search came up fruitless.

Eventually, the echidna grew bored of watching Tails type and groan, and decided to bring up the topic that had been bothering him. "Tails?"

"Yeah?" sighed the kitsune, glancing away from his computer.

"Do you think Sonic's really in danger?"

"I'm not sure, Knuckles. I thought he was, but now I don't know what to think. He left us with next to no information, and there's nothing recorded for me to look into. I don't know what else to do."

"Yeah… we'll just have to find out I'm sure he'll tell us tomorrow."

"He better. If we don't have enough defenses and he keeps acting so nonchalant, he's going to get himself killed. I don't want to know how Amy would take losing him a second time."

"If we do our jobs, she won't have to. Now let's get some sleep. I have a feeling we'll need all the energy we can get tomorrow."

I'm SO sorry for the short chapter and long wait for an update, guys... I really am. I feel like a moron. But I promise, I'll work harder. At least, I'll try. Tales of Knighthood's and Soul of a Hero's updates are on their way as well. Hope you did enjoy it, short as it was. Sorry!

~Wolf~