Long ago, just a month into the Eggman War...

Edge groaned as yet another bug tried to lay claim to his arms. Wolf 6 and another, lesser trained squad had been stationed out on a remote jungle island for about a week now, dismantling Eggman's takeover of it bit by bit. Before the war, the island was considered something of a nature preserve, with the United Federation even maintaining a strict guardianship over it for that reason. The good doctor had apparently tried staking a claim on it long before he was well known, but had been stopped before. But now that no one could stop him, he was back to finish the job.

However, Eggman wasn't the only problem they had encountered. Some of the soldiers had reported hearing some kind of monster rushing its way through the trees above, and taking down even the largest Badniks all by itself. Nobody had actually seen it, but by the sound of its roar, it must've been huge, and not likely to be too friendly to Resistance members. Some even speculated that it was a Badnik gone rogue, unable to distinguish from friend or foe. Nobody knew, and it was a risk to the mission. For this reason, Jack had asked Edge and Quickshot to accompany him on a night-time scouting trip to ID the creature, using information from the reports to ascertain its general whereabouts. An hour in, though, and nothing.

"Can we go back to camp, now?" Edge complained, as the group took a moment to rest. "Thing's either dead or never existed in the first place." Quickshot chuckled at Edge's whining. "You know, if you didn't have a negative comment to make about everything, you and Spike might actually get along."

"And why would I want to do that?" Edge asked, bitterly. "She's the one who doesn't want to think like a sensible person."

"Ugh, are you still hung up on the clothes thing? You're literally the only one who cares. That's why she makes fun of you for it." Jack said, somewhat distantly. Before Edge could reply, however, Jack held up a hand towards the group. "Do you hear that?"

Edge and Quickshot listened as heavy footsteps approached the group. Jack and Quickshot prepared their Wispons, and Edge put a hand toward his blade as they got closer, before suddenly stopping only a few feet in front of them. The three gave each other a quick look of confusion before a large, mechanical claw rushed past them, knocking Jack and Edge off of their feet, and rendering Quickshot unconscious. Edge activated his energy blade as he got up, slicing the claw in half as it made its return journey to its master, a gigantic metal behemoth that looked somewhat like a Death Egg robot. Obviously in its prototype stage, but still deadly nonetheless. Edge sheathed his blade as he helped Jack up. "My blade used up all of its power in one slice...That thing is made of some pretty sturdy stuff."

"Don't worry about that, get Quickshot!" Jack shouted, as he and Edge began to run toward her unconscious form. Before they could get too close, however, they were stopped by a swarm of smaller Badniks. "Quickshot!" Edge cried out as he saw the giant robot approached her. She stirred just in time to see the other claw on the robot begin to move forward, ready to crush her in seconds...Until it didn't.

From the trees around them, a brown, somewhat lanky bear with black stripes had leapt out and into the path of the claw, holding it back using only his incredible strength. The bear strained beneath the robot's continual pushing, but soon, the robot's arms began to strain too. With a mighty roar, the bear pushed the robot down off of its feet, effectively destroying it as Jack and Edge finished the last of their Badniks before rushing over to help Quickshot to her feet. "You okay?"

"Yeah, but did you SEE that?" She said, in disbelief. Edge nodded. "Yeah...Guess we found our monster...So, mission over?" But Jack didn't respond, just stared at the bear who had just saved them. Taking a closer look at the guy revealed a very shabby look. His fur was dirty, probably having never bathed in his life. The lack of any clothing, not even some shoes or gloves, hinted at a very uncivilized existence, and despite his strength, he looked fairly thin, as if he hadn't eaten in a while. "Jack, you better not be thinking what I think you're thinking."

"But can I really just leave him out here? I mean, he saved our lives..." Jack replied. "Jack, he's literally eating Badniks right now. He'll be fine." Edge said, gesturing over to the bear who, as if on cue, threw up a piece of heavily chewed up metal before clutching his stomach with a pitiful groan. Jack gave Edge a look. "Besides, did you hear how he roared? He has probably never seen other people before. It might not be safe to approach him." Edge finished, as Jack proceeded to ignore his protests, taking off his mask and goggles. "I'll take the risk."

Jack approached the bear very carefully, keeping his profile low and his voice quiet as to not startle him. The bear took an instinctively defensive position on all fours, backing up as Jack got closer. "Hey, buddy. It's okay. We're not gonna hurt you." Jack said softly, before grabbing a protein bar from his belt and unwrapping it. He placed the protein bar on top of one of the Badnik shells before backing away. "Here...You look hungry." He said, motioning to his mouth in an attempt to communicate his intentions. The bear approached the bar cautiously, sniffing it, before sitting down and picking it up with his hands to eat it. "If you want to come with us to our camp, we have more food there." Jack said slowly, being sure to do motions with his hands so the bear could understand the meaning of his words. It seemed to work, as the bear got up and began to follow Jack and Quickshot back to their camp. "This is a bad idea." Edge said, before walking over to join them.