Jade Wolf
Chapter 1: A Nightmare Remembered
The young 13-year-old wolf laid on her back, catching snatches of the bright blue noon sky through the tree's gently curved branches. Her blue jacket was unzipped, revealing a t-shirt two shades darker that the tree's leaves. The sun was warm, but not so much that just standing in the shade was unbearably hot. A soft breeze stirred the leaves. This day was beautiful, but it wasn't enough to erase the memories of what had happened not very long ago in a place that was better forgotten. Jade sighed and carefully rolled over to avoid falling off the branch she laid on. Down below, the brown wolf's best –and probably only- friend, 10-year-old Flicker the wolf-fox, was fast asleep, curled on a patch of bight green grass. Her orange fur waved slightly in the breeze, like the flickering of small flames. Jade loved her friend dearly like a sister, but life was hard for them…especially now.
They had been living in a small cave in this forest for about... five months...six? Jade had lost count. Both friends carried packs with a limited amount of clothing and food, as well as a little bit of water. Jade and Flicker knew they would soon run out of supplies, but neither brought it up. For now, their only priority was to survive and stay hidden. They didn't have the courage to set foot in the city yet, anyways.
The warm breeze, the sun on her face, calmed Jade. She closed her emerald eyes, feeling relax. Before she knew it, she fell asleep and sank deep into what could be a peaceful sleep or nightmare remembered.
Jade stared in confusion as her parents disappeared behind a huge rolling cloud of gray dust. The little wolf didn't really know what had happen. It was her 7th birthday…and then… Suddenly she started as someone spoke behind her.
"Don't worry about them. They are quite safe." A tall bald man with an oddly round body and thin legs towered over the wolf. He wore a red shirt, and black pants and shoes. Jade, although young, was wary. She sensed bad vibes from this man. The man, noticing this on Jade's face, smiled a bit. "If you help me, I'll help you find them," he said.
"You will?" asked Jade, relaxing a bit. The man nodded. Jade decided to trust the man. A mistake she would regret. When they had reached the man's ship, Dr. Eggman as Jade learned to call him, introduce Jade to another young one he had picked up.
"Jade, I would like you to meet Flicker. She is going to be your partner in helping me." Flicker, 4 at the time, accepted Jade into her life. As the years went by, Jade and Flicker grew up and the memory of Jade's parents was push back in her mind, not really forgotten but at the same time not really there. Jade learned from the beginning that Flicker's parents had abandoned her, so she really didn't know or remember much of them. Dr. Eggman kept them busy, having them build him robots and other pieces of technology. Often, hardly any sleep was allowed during big projects and about 90% of the time they were. He had learned right from the start that the wolf and the wolf-fox were smart and learned quickly. A day when Dr. Eggman said they were going to release the robots to "test them out". The girls set up everything to release the robots, when, suddenly, Jade found herself in the past. It was the only way to describe it. Jade saw Dr. Eggman on the day she had first met the doctor, after she had gone to bed that first night. He was conversing with on of his robot helpers.
"I'm glad we found the right people to help us continue the project. They may be young but they will learn to obey me. They seem smart. I will teach them to build some of the best robots. That pathetic wolf pup doesn't even know her parents are long gone by now."
"What do you plan to do about that Doc? Will you tell her?" asked the robot.
"No, I won't tell her. It's best if she doesn't know and keeps believing her family is still alive. I will use these two to conquer the world with their inventions."
"But how will you keep them from figuring out it's a trap?"
"Hmm…I know!" exclaimed Dr. Eggman after a while." I will simply tell them that they are to build me some new pieces of technology to see how skilled they are and that I will "test them out" to see if there are faults. Chances are that if I train them, the robots won't have any faults and then I can finally start planning my empire!" The doctor's excitement grew with each word, but there was one thing he had left out.
"Sir, what about Sonic?" the robot asked.
"We'll figure that out later."
The flashback ended. Only Jade realized that she had been in Eggman's mind since she herself had never heard this conversation. This was how she discovered she had the power of telepathy. Jade found herself back in the control room, with Flicker about to press the button that would bring doom to the waiting planet below.
"Don't touch that!" shouted Jade so loud, Flicker jumped.
"But we are suppose to release these robots to see if they work." Flicker reached out to press the button. Jade knock her hand away.
"Listen to me. All we have been taught to be the truth is a lie!" Jade carefully explained to a confused Flicker what she had seen. Flicker listened. She trusted Jade with her life and didn't see a reason for Jade to lie. What would she have gained anyway? The two girls turned to the lifeless legion of robots that stood silently waiting for the command to attack.
"We have to destroy them. It's the only way to prevent the planet from being obliterated." Jade nodded and they went to work, dismantling each one of the 50 robots. They had just finished the last one when Dr. Eggman came in.