This story features Lupe the Wolf, one of my all together favorite characters in the Sonic Universe. These are her musings about her life, her family, and her hopes after the original Robotnik's downfall. This takes place shortly before Sonic Super Special #14 where she was roboticized for no apparent reason only to be re-introduced in time for a half-assed remake of the SATam episode "Cry of the Wolf" in Sonic #113. I also introduce a fan character, Mira who is going to be featured prominently in my future works. Mira is (c) to me.
Disclaimer: I do not own Lupe, the Wolf Pack, or any other Sonic the Hedgehog or Knuckles the Echidna character. They are copyrighted to Archie and Sega or whoever. They are not mine. Thank you.
"Cry in the Night"
A lone cry pierced the stillness of the night. I had no fear of Robotnik's patrols, for the bloated tyrant was dead at long last. I expected to feel something when he finally defeated. Jubilation, relief, triumph...but all I felt was emptiness. Yes, the tyrant had been killed, but the damage he wrought was still present.
The wolf packs had been scattered or roboticized. It would take years to track them all down. Our lands had been permanently scarred, raped by Robotnik's pollution. "So many friends and loved ones, gone." I said to myself, not even attempting to blink back the tears in my eyes. My mother was dead, killed during the Great War. My father was roboticized in the early days of the Coup. I haven't seen him since. I waited, kept the pack in Mobotropolis for weeks, hoping against hope that our families would be among those free roboticized-mobians in the city. But they were gone, probably shipped to a remote outpost or base outside of Robotropolis. I had no idea what had happened to my husband, Lobo or my children, Marcos and Maria. They had gone into hiding at the onset of the Coup and had not been heard from since. But at that moment, I probably missed my sister most of all.
"Lupe?" A voice came from behind me.
"Hello, Leeta." I returned, softly. "Lyco." I bade her sister. They never separated, those two. It was obvious why they were here.
"Are you all right?" Lyco asked. Since there was no real way to answer, I opted not to.
"We're sorry if we're disturbing you, but Reynard wanted us to tell you that we'll probably reach the city ruins by tomorrow." I nodded, only half listening. The ruins of an old Overlander outpost was one of the sites where our people hid themselves from Robotnik. Hopefully, Lobo and the children would be there. Hopefully...
"Lupe?" Leeta asked.
"Yes, thank you for telling me." I answered evenly. "Perhaps, we will find your parents while we are there." Even in the dark, I could sense them nodding. How young those girls are, barely half my age and yet they were as deeply involved in the struggle against Robotnik as I was. I shook my head.
"Children should not have to carry such burdens." I said to myself. I immediately thought of Princess Sally and her group from Knothole. "Not even the children of royalty should have to shoulder the hardships of war." From the moment I met Princess Sally I thought her as being every bit as tough and as vulnerable as she looked.
"Just like Mira." The unbidden thought floated to the surface of my mind before I even realized it. I closed my eyes as I felt a dull ache in my heart. I barely noticed Leeta and Lyco leaving, for my thoughts were focused on my lost sister.
I sat upon a flat rock, simply letting the night breeze toss my hair to and fro. "Mira. Where are you?" I asked the wind. The wind seemed to tear my words from my throat and scatter them to the four winds. It has been many years since I had seen my younger sister. Not since the Coup, eleven long years ago. I did some quick math and found that Mira would be twenty-four by now.
"Twenty-four." I said breathlessly. It was hard to believe, for so long I thought of her as my little sister, still the child of thirteen winters that she was when the Coup happened. I never had time to think, to realize that she would have grown up during all this time. I still could imagine her clearly in my mind. Light gray fur, dark hair that she would tie in a ponytail very similar to my own. In fact many people commented how much we looked alike. Save for our ages, we could have almost been twins. Almost. Mira's right eye was the same blue-green color of my own. But her left eye was a bright red. Some whispered that it looked like BLOOD-red. My hands clenched in reaction to the very memory of how my little sister was abused for her mix-matched eyes. Many considered it bad luck, an omen of bad portents. "All the more fools, them." I growled to the wind. Mira was my sister, and I would love her no matter what color her eyes were.
We were born of the same mother, but not of the same father. Mine was chief of the pack and Mira's was an abusive wolf named Rufus. Even thinking of him brought back bad memories, ones that ended with his exile from the pack. Mira came to live with me shortly after that. Princess Sally told her that Mira and I would be considered "half-sisters." Even now, I find the concept somewhat odd. Mira and I are sisters, how could we be only "half" of that? A sister is a sister. Regardless of whether our fathers were the same being or not.
I shook my head. "Mobotropolians are strange." I said to myself. It was not the first time I had that thought. They seem to delight in making everything more complicated than it really was. Half-sisters, second-cousins, once removed relations, family was family. How could it be any different? "They are far too obsessed in matters of hierarchy." I decided. Noblemen, Counts, Dukes, Lords, Earls...I shook my head as I remembered something my father told me.
"The fancier the title, the less meaning the person behind it has."
During my time with the other Freedom Fighters, I saw how little titles truly meant. Even Princess Sally often refused to use her own title, yet she had more leadership skills than any nobleman I've yet encountered. I am thankful the packs have no such concepts. We only had leaders when the situation called for them, the rest of the time we simply lived as equals; no wolf having more clout than any other. I often tried to imagine living in a land that had a ruler all the time, not just during emergencies. I could never quite see the reason for leaders in times of peace, but that is simply their way.
I idly traced my fingers along the scar under my eye. A reminder given to be by one of the SWATbots that destroyed the pack. Accursed things, those SWATbots. I saw them many days and every night. My dreams all had those monstrous things taking my children away. Marcos. Maria. They had been born in the closing days of the Great War. How I wish that they would have grown up during a time of peace! Instead they live in dark days, I haven't seem them since the Coup. They were both eleven by now and had never even met their mother. Irrationally, I feel guilty as though I had failed them as a mother by not being there. It wasn't a thought I could just wish away, no matter how much I might want to. And Lobo, I haven't heard from him in over a decade.
How I longed to hold my husband, my sister, and my children in my arms again. It's been so long, and so hard living without them. But the dark shadows that haunted the once beautiful city of Mobotropolis were gone. A new day had dawned. Perhaps now would be the time that I would find them again.
As I stood and stretched my weary body, I felt the warm rays of the sun. I had spent the entire night thinking about my family, fate, and what might have been. Well the long night was over, the sun has risen at long last. A new day had dawned and I looked forward, to the future.
END
Disclaimer: I do not own Lupe, the Wolf Pack, or any other Sonic the Hedgehog or Knuckles the Echidna character. They are copyrighted to Archie and Sega or whoever. They are not mine. Thank you.
"Cry in the Night"
A lone cry pierced the stillness of the night. I had no fear of Robotnik's patrols, for the bloated tyrant was dead at long last. I expected to feel something when he finally defeated. Jubilation, relief, triumph...but all I felt was emptiness. Yes, the tyrant had been killed, but the damage he wrought was still present.
The wolf packs had been scattered or roboticized. It would take years to track them all down. Our lands had been permanently scarred, raped by Robotnik's pollution. "So many friends and loved ones, gone." I said to myself, not even attempting to blink back the tears in my eyes. My mother was dead, killed during the Great War. My father was roboticized in the early days of the Coup. I haven't seen him since. I waited, kept the pack in Mobotropolis for weeks, hoping against hope that our families would be among those free roboticized-mobians in the city. But they were gone, probably shipped to a remote outpost or base outside of Robotropolis. I had no idea what had happened to my husband, Lobo or my children, Marcos and Maria. They had gone into hiding at the onset of the Coup and had not been heard from since. But at that moment, I probably missed my sister most of all.
"Lupe?" A voice came from behind me.
"Hello, Leeta." I returned, softly. "Lyco." I bade her sister. They never separated, those two. It was obvious why they were here.
"Are you all right?" Lyco asked. Since there was no real way to answer, I opted not to.
"We're sorry if we're disturbing you, but Reynard wanted us to tell you that we'll probably reach the city ruins by tomorrow." I nodded, only half listening. The ruins of an old Overlander outpost was one of the sites where our people hid themselves from Robotnik. Hopefully, Lobo and the children would be there. Hopefully...
"Lupe?" Leeta asked.
"Yes, thank you for telling me." I answered evenly. "Perhaps, we will find your parents while we are there." Even in the dark, I could sense them nodding. How young those girls are, barely half my age and yet they were as deeply involved in the struggle against Robotnik as I was. I shook my head.
"Children should not have to carry such burdens." I said to myself. I immediately thought of Princess Sally and her group from Knothole. "Not even the children of royalty should have to shoulder the hardships of war." From the moment I met Princess Sally I thought her as being every bit as tough and as vulnerable as she looked.
"Just like Mira." The unbidden thought floated to the surface of my mind before I even realized it. I closed my eyes as I felt a dull ache in my heart. I barely noticed Leeta and Lyco leaving, for my thoughts were focused on my lost sister.
I sat upon a flat rock, simply letting the night breeze toss my hair to and fro. "Mira. Where are you?" I asked the wind. The wind seemed to tear my words from my throat and scatter them to the four winds. It has been many years since I had seen my younger sister. Not since the Coup, eleven long years ago. I did some quick math and found that Mira would be twenty-four by now.
"Twenty-four." I said breathlessly. It was hard to believe, for so long I thought of her as my little sister, still the child of thirteen winters that she was when the Coup happened. I never had time to think, to realize that she would have grown up during all this time. I still could imagine her clearly in my mind. Light gray fur, dark hair that she would tie in a ponytail very similar to my own. In fact many people commented how much we looked alike. Save for our ages, we could have almost been twins. Almost. Mira's right eye was the same blue-green color of my own. But her left eye was a bright red. Some whispered that it looked like BLOOD-red. My hands clenched in reaction to the very memory of how my little sister was abused for her mix-matched eyes. Many considered it bad luck, an omen of bad portents. "All the more fools, them." I growled to the wind. Mira was my sister, and I would love her no matter what color her eyes were.
We were born of the same mother, but not of the same father. Mine was chief of the pack and Mira's was an abusive wolf named Rufus. Even thinking of him brought back bad memories, ones that ended with his exile from the pack. Mira came to live with me shortly after that. Princess Sally told her that Mira and I would be considered "half-sisters." Even now, I find the concept somewhat odd. Mira and I are sisters, how could we be only "half" of that? A sister is a sister. Regardless of whether our fathers were the same being or not.
I shook my head. "Mobotropolians are strange." I said to myself. It was not the first time I had that thought. They seem to delight in making everything more complicated than it really was. Half-sisters, second-cousins, once removed relations, family was family. How could it be any different? "They are far too obsessed in matters of hierarchy." I decided. Noblemen, Counts, Dukes, Lords, Earls...I shook my head as I remembered something my father told me.
"The fancier the title, the less meaning the person behind it has."
During my time with the other Freedom Fighters, I saw how little titles truly meant. Even Princess Sally often refused to use her own title, yet she had more leadership skills than any nobleman I've yet encountered. I am thankful the packs have no such concepts. We only had leaders when the situation called for them, the rest of the time we simply lived as equals; no wolf having more clout than any other. I often tried to imagine living in a land that had a ruler all the time, not just during emergencies. I could never quite see the reason for leaders in times of peace, but that is simply their way.
I idly traced my fingers along the scar under my eye. A reminder given to be by one of the SWATbots that destroyed the pack. Accursed things, those SWATbots. I saw them many days and every night. My dreams all had those monstrous things taking my children away. Marcos. Maria. They had been born in the closing days of the Great War. How I wish that they would have grown up during a time of peace! Instead they live in dark days, I haven't seem them since the Coup. They were both eleven by now and had never even met their mother. Irrationally, I feel guilty as though I had failed them as a mother by not being there. It wasn't a thought I could just wish away, no matter how much I might want to. And Lobo, I haven't heard from him in over a decade.
How I longed to hold my husband, my sister, and my children in my arms again. It's been so long, and so hard living without them. But the dark shadows that haunted the once beautiful city of Mobotropolis were gone. A new day had dawned. Perhaps now would be the time that I would find them again.
As I stood and stretched my weary body, I felt the warm rays of the sun. I had spent the entire night thinking about my family, fate, and what might have been. Well the long night was over, the sun has risen at long last. A new day had dawned and I looked forward, to the future.
END