Story continues.
...
Wolf Pack Nation. Grand Chief's residence, 10:30 AM.
Day 234.
Year 3237.
Hershey was sitting at the breakfast table in the kitchen with a nice cup of tea, while contemplating her current situation. She was thinking of how she best could reveal herself to be alive without Naugus knowing. Yes, Hershey found out that the evil wizard usurped the Acorn throne with her husband's help by overhearing one of Drago Wolf's conversations with Dr. Eggman himself. In her train of thoughts, she failed to notice Sean entering the kitchen.
"Hey." Sean greeted tiredly as he poured some coffee into his own cup. "Good morning."
Hershey snapped out of her thoughts and turned to see Sean sit down on an adjacent chair with his coffee.
"Oh, good morning, Sean." She greeted back. Hershey noticed some dark circles under Sean's eyes. "Did you sleep well?" She then asked.
"Well..." Sean began in a tired voice. "My talk with Lupe lasted beyond midnight, and you could say it got more heated the longer we talked."
"Was it about what you told Marcos?" Hershey asked.
Sean nodded as he took a sip of his coffee. "It was." He replied. "And despite her reaction at dinner last night, Lupe has given me the green light, on the condition that I tell her these things beforehand."
"Well, that's probably a good idea." Hershey chuckled.
There was a minute of silence, with neither saying a word. Sean took a look of his coffee, it was delicious, and it was almost indistinguishable to his preferable cup of caf. Like most people, Sean couldn't start the day without his first cup of caf.
"Um, Sean?" Hershey asked.
"Yeah?"
"Could you pass me the sugar?" Hershey requested.
"Sure." Sean replied as he reached with his hand and used the Force to levitate the sugar over to Hershey. The Feline's eyes grew wide as the sugar gently landed next to her teacup.
"Okay, that's just... Wow." Hershey breathed. "Where did you learn to do that?"
Half an hour later...
Sean had just told Hershey about the Jedi, the Force, and the Jedi Master who shaped and trained him into the Knight he is today. Hershey silently nodded as she listened in interest. He then told her of the day the Clones turned against him and his Master, which resulted in the latter's death.
"I am so sorry for your loss." Hershey apologized. "It must be hard to lose everything you held dear in such a short time."
Sean nodded in appreciation. "Thank you for your concern, Hershey."
"My husband lost his father almost similarly." Hershey said.
Sean raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He asked.
"He was shot down by Overlander pilots when he was transporting Queen Alicia and her infant son to Angel Island during the Great War." Hershey explained. "Of course, this was not caused by betrayal."
First, Sean realized that Hershey's last name matches that of Geoffrey, and now, he learned that she is married. He wondered if she could be his-
The Jedi's eyes widened in realization that he could be sitting right across from Geoffrey St. John's wife... Now he had to play it carefully, as he didn't know how insightful she really is. He decided to shrug it off for now and resume the conversation.
"I know of your conflict with these Overlanders." Sean said. "And of what followed."
"I assume Lupe told you, when you first arrived?" Hershey said as she drank from her teacup.
Sean only nodded in response as he drank his coffee. The two just sat and enjoyed their beverages in silence. That is, until they heard someone enter the kitchen. They turned and saw Lobo stand in the doorway.
"Hey there, Lobo." Sean greeted.
"Morning, Sean." Lobo greeted back. He then turned to Hershey. "Lupe wants to see you now."
Hershey nodded and got up from her chair and went for the exit. Before she left, however, she turned her attention to Sean.
"It was nice talking to you, Sean."
With that, Hershey left the kitchen; Lobo followed shortly after, leaving Sean to himself. The Jedi finished his coffee and with the help from the Force, he levitated the cup into the sink. He sat for a minute before he got up and left the kitchen, ready to start the day.
Soumercan Dark Egg Legion base, 1:00 PM.
Outside the ruined main hangar, Grandmasters Drago and Razorklaw had just witnessed the arrival of Dr. Eggman. Now, they were just waiting for him to exit his shuttle. The hatch to the shuttle opened with a hiss, and out stepped the oversized Overlander with his arms folded behind his back. Behind him was one and a half dozen of Egg SWATs. Dr. Eggman observed the debris of the main hanger with a disappointed frown on his face.
"What a truly revolting sight." The doctor spoke with disgust.
The two Grandmasters immediately saluted the mad scientist as he spoke.
"I agree, Doctor." Drago replied nervously. "It has truly been a difficult time for us-"
"I was talking about you, you incompetent mutts!" Dr. Eggman interrupted, which made Drago and Razorklaw quiver in fear. Eggman cleared his throat and continued: "Now, here's how this is going to work: I'll take charge of operations here, while you two will oversee the repairs to the damages that happened under your watch, understood?"
"Yes, doctor!" Drago and Razorklaw saluted. The white Wolf saw the Egg SWATs behind Dr. Eggman and asked: "Are those the reinforcements you got there, doctor?"
"No." Dr. Eggman replied bluntly. "They are here to make sure that you do your work right."
Drago cocked his head, confused.
"More mistakes on your behalf and this will happen to you!"
The mad tyrant turned his head towards a legionnaire who stood with his gun in his arms. Dr. Eggman smirked underneath his mustache and snapped his fingers. The legionnaire suddenly felt a strange buzzing in his cybernetics, and to his horror, they started glowing as the metal became warmer and smoke started to come out.
"AH, WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" He panicked. "PLEASE, MAKE THIS STOP! N-NOOO!"
KABOOM!
Drago, Razorklaw and every legionnaire nearby were thrown away by the explosion, but remained unharmed. The grandmasters looked to where the explosion occurred, but to their horror, they saw what remained of the legionnaire lying dead on the ground. Dr. Eggman observed them look at him with fear and smiled in satisfaction, knowing that he got his point across.
"Now, you understand where I'm getting at?" Dr. Eggman asked while stroking his mustache.
Everyone nodded in fear, knowing not to cross the doctor.
"Good, now, with that out of the way." He said before he turned to face his shuttle. "Orbot! Get over here!"
Orbot, followed by his companion Cubot, exited the shuttle and approached the doctor.
"You called, doctor?" Orbot asked.
"Send a probe to spy on Sean Dontor and have it report all important information to me!" Dr. Eggman ordered.
"Will do, doctor!" Orbot complied and commenced to carry out his task.
"Don't worry, doctor, we will not fail you!" Cubot saluted and followed Orbot.
"Too late for that." Dr. Eggman thought in frustration. He then eyed the legionnaires and Grandmasters in hatred. "What are you standing around staring at?! Get to work!" He then stormed into the base itself.
All the legionnaires immediately began reparations to the base, while Drago and Razorklaw oversaw the reconstruction.
Wolf Pack Nation. Training field, 1:15 PM.
Currently, Sean was waiting for Marcos to finish school, so they could begin toady's Jedi lesson. To kill the time, the Jedi was sparring against the training remote that he usually used to hone his skills. As Sean continued to block the incoming shots, he felt a sudden disturbance in the Force, which made him drop his lightsaber and somehow deactivated the training remote. The disturbance gave Sean nausea, and he had to sit down for a moment.
Leeta and Lyco had just arrived to witness the episode and casually strolled over to the uncomfortable Jedi.
"What's wrong with you?" Leeta asked, grinning.
Sean looked up towards the twins. "I felt a disturbance in the Force." He replied.
"Meaning?" Lyco questioned.
"It was as if someone was screaming desperately for help before it all ended in silence." Sean explained
"Okay, that's just disturbing." Lyco said.
"I just told you that it was a disturbance." Sean exclaimed.
Lyco rolled her eyes in annoyance. "That's not what I meant." She corrected.
"Then, what did you mean?" Sean asked, completely clueless about her statement.
Lyco waved a dismissing hand. "Never mind, it's not important."
Sean nodded. A few minutes passed, and the three saw Lupe approach them with an uneasy Marcos in tow.
"Hello Sean." Lupe greeted.
"Hello, Grand Chief." The Jedi greeted back.
She looked towards the twins. "Leeta, Lyco."
The twins gave the Grand Chief a nod in response.
"And what do we owe your presence here, Grand Chief?" Sean asked.
"Can I speak to you in private, Sean?" Lupe asked.
"Sure." Sean nodded as he and the Grand Chief walked to another part of the training field. The Jedi crossed his arms and faced Lupe. "So, what seems to be the problem?"
Lupe gave out a tired sigh. "Marcos got into a fight with another student in school today."
"What was it about?" Sean asked with concern.
"Well..." Lupe began. "It was about you."
Sean uncrossed his arms and folded them behind his back. "Please, explain."
"During lunch, one of Marcos' classmates told him that everything about you is something you made up." The Grand Chief explained. "And, to quote Marcos, told him that he was wasting his time listening to a..."
"Go on." Sean urged.
Lupe hesitated. "I'm sorry, but the word he used is degrading to your kind."
"Come on." Sean said. "It can't be that bad."
"Neanderthal." She blurted out. "That's the word he used."
Sean looked between Lupe, and Marcos, who Leeta and Lyco tried to get into a better mood.
"Okay, just how is that degrading?" Sean asked Lupe.
"It's an insult Mobians used during the Great War." The Grand Chief explained. "It's like if you start calling us furballs
"Okay, I get it." Sean said. "Are there more to this."
Lupe nodded and spoke: "After Marcos heard what the boy called you, he lost all control and attacked him with multiple punches to the face." She then breathed a heavy sigh. "It's only because that his classmates saw the events unfold that the teacher will let Marcos off with a warning and-"
"Marcos!" Sean interrupted. "Could you come over here for a minute."
The Wolf-cub timidly walked over to his master. Sean got onto a knee and faced his Padawan.
"Is it true that you punched a fellow student in the face?" Sean asked. "Repeatedly?"
"He said that you made up all the things about the Force!" Marcos protested. "And he called you a Neanderthal!"
"Do you think I made up all the things I taught you, Marcos?" Sean asked again.
Marcos only shook his head in response.
"Well, you know the truth." Sean explained. "You cannot change this boy's mind about me by beating him." He gave out a sigh. "It doesn't matter what he said about me, you understand?"
"I-I..." Marcos began.
"Marcos, listen to Sean." Lupe urged her son. "All you can do at this moment is to tolerate his opinion."
"O-Okay, mom." Marcos conceded. "I-I'm sorry for getting angry like that."
Lupe placed a hand on Marcos head and looked him in the eyes.
"It's alright, Marcos, It is normal to get angry from time to time." Lupe said as she turned to Sean. "I've already spoken Lobo about this and I trust you will return Marcos home in one piece?"
"You have my word, Grand Chief." Sean promised with a bow.
"Good to hear." Lupe smiled. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have a meeting to attend to."
With that, Lupe left the training field. With the Grand Chief gone, Sean turned to the Wolf-cub, who looked depressed.
"Hey, you okay?" Sean asked with concern. "You think you can do this?"
"You think I'm in trouble?" Marcos asked timidly.
Sean shook his head. "The teacher decided to let you off with a warning, so, I believe this is the end of it."
"Oh, okay." Marcos sighed.
Sean pulled his lightsaber out of his belt. "Alright, with that out of the way, are you ready?" He asked.
Marcos saw the lightsaber hilt in Sean's hand and nodded with excitement.
"Today, Marcos." Sean began. "I'll teach you the basics of how to wield a lightsaber, and since you don't have one yet, you will be using mine."
Sean then handed his lightsaber to Marcos, who eagerly grabbed it in his hands.
"Ignite the blade." Sean instructed.
Marcos examined Sean's weapon and found a red button. He pushed it and a green blade shot out of the hilt. The Wolf cub struggled to hold up the weapon.
"It feels kinda heavy!" Marcos said.
"There is a control to the side of the hilt that adjust the blade to your height." Sean said.
Marcos found the control and adjusted it, and the blade became shorter.
"Now, be sure not to touch the blade, Marcos, or I'll have to explain to your parents why you just lost a hand today." Sean told the little Wolf.
Marcos nodded in confirmation as he started to swing with Sean's weapon like a clumsy warrior.
"Wielding a lightsaber is nothing like wielding another weapon." Sean explained. "In time, every thought and every action you make will turn into energy, which flows through the kyber crystal and becomes part of the blade, do you understand?"
"Yes, I do." Marcos complied.
"Alright then, Marcos, let's get started, shall we?" Sean said as he began to walk over to the twins. He motioned for Marcos to follow.
"Awesome!" Marcos beamed as he followed his master. "What are gonna do first?"
Sean used the Force to pull the inactive training remote into his hand.
"This is a training remote." Sean explained. "With this, we will see how good your reflexes are." He then placed the remote on the ground. "Are you ready?"
Marcos nodded and Sean activated the training remote with the Force.
"Don't you think this is too much for Marcos on his first time?" Leeta questioned with skepticism.
Sean turned to face her. "What do you mean?" He asked.
"I mean, shouldn't he start with something... I don't know, harmless?" Leeta asked as she crossed her arms.
"You say harmless, Leeta." Sean began. "That training remote is as harmless as they come. And for your information, this is how I started to train with a lightsaber."
"I'm not sure..." Leeta said, clearly doubting Sean's training methods. "I mean, Marcos is still shaken up by the events in his school."
"What happened at his school is in the past." Sean began. "And as a Jedi-in-training, Marcos will learn to stay in the moment; this moment." He then turned to his Padawan. "You're getting any of this, Marcos?"
"Yep!" Marcos nodded.
"Then take ready position." Sean instructed. "And remember to keep the blade up."
As Marcos took position, Sean used the Force to set the training remote to it's programming. The training remote hovered around and the Wolf-cub. In the first six seconds, nothing seemed to happen, when suddenly, the orb took a shot at Marcos' feet. The Padawan was too slow in his reaction and the impact of the shot made Marcos fall to the ground. He dropped the lightsaber and it hissed off. Marcos looked at the training remote with wide eyes.
"Marcos!" Lyco called with worry. "Are you hurt?"
Lyco tried to help Marcos, but was held back by Sean. Lyco gave Sean a brief glare, but reluctantly decided to let the Jedi handle this.
"Remember what I said yesterday, Marcos." Sean said. "Whenever you go down, you get back up."
Marcos heard Sean's instruction and grabbed the lightsaber and stood back up.
"Are you hurt, Marcos?" Leeta asked with concern.
"Of course he's not, Leeta." Sean replied with confidence. "The training remote is only set to sting lightly."
"I was talking to Marcos." Leeta frowned.
Ignoring Leeta, Sean turned to Marcos. "Let's go again." He said. "Take ready position."
Marcos reignited the lightsaber and got into a defensive stance.
Meanwhile, a probe was hovering above the training field at a safe distance, recording the training session with it's camera.
Dark Egg Legion base. Control room, 1:30 PM.
A large monitor was showing a live feed from the probe as Dr. Eggman sat on his chair and watched with a thoughtful expression, while Orbot and Cubot watched on as well.
"So, it appears that he is training Lupe's brat into becoming a warrior like him." Dr. Eggman said to himself as he took a closer look at the monitor.
"Yeah, and he's making great progress too!" Cubot said, completely clueless of what the doctor meant.
Dr. Eggman gave Cubot a vicious glare before he threw a pen at the robot's head.
"With Sean Dontor distracted by this, I suggest you launch an attack." Orbot suggested.
"Oh, sure, I'll just launch a massive attack on one teenager surrounded by Wolves in every direction." Dr. Eggman said, sarcastically. "And in broad daylight if I might add."
"You sure are a genius, Dr. Eggman!" Cubot praised.
The oversized Overlander narrowed his eyes at his yellow lackey. "Idiot, I was being sarcastic."
"If you're not gonna' attack him, then what are you gonna' do?" Orbot asked his master.
Dr. Eggman turned his attention back to the monitor. He folded his hands and rested his elbows on the armrest.
"First, I'll observe his behavior and habits." Dr. Eggman explained. "I'll have to bite my time and wait for the right moment to strike; quickly and without mercy." He leaned in closer to the monitor and formed an evil smile on his mustached face.
"You just wait, Sean Dontor." Dr. Eggman said to himself in a low voice. "You have yet to experience my full might."
Author's note: Sean had better watch out now that Dr. Eggman has his eyes set on him. Will Sean and the Wolf Pack be able to withstand the wrath of the mad tyrant? Will Marcos succeed in his task? All this will be answered in the future and I'll see you in chapter 22.