Rod of the Forest Part 1

I was very young when Robotnik took over. I was too young to
understand what was happening. I wish I had been older. Then I 
would have been prepared.

My mother ushed around, in a burst of fear. She was a small, plump
wolf with a few locks of black hair. She was orange in colour and 
she got worried easily. My father was the opposite. He was always 
calm. He was albino. 

Now, my mother paced hurriedly in our kitchen, often peering in my 
cradle to check if I was still there, playing with my toys. My dad
was eating his lunch, rolling his strawberry-pink eyes at my mother's
constant worrying.

"Missy! Don't be so worried! I'm sure Sir Charles is just held up.
There's nothing wrong. Besides, it always takes a day or so to get 
to the dark side of Mobius from Mobotropolis." he reasoned. Mom 
stopped. She sighed. He was probably right. She was worrying for no 
reason.

"I suppose," she said, "but if he's not here by midnight, I'm going 
looking for him."

Mom, dad and I lived somewhere in the woods of the dark side of Mobius,
and we were expecting Sir Charles Hedgehog. He was coming over to talk 
business with my parents. Sir Charles had made a strange contraption 
called a "roboticiser" and he was going to have a meeting with my dad
about it. My dad was a warlock, and he could perform many forms of 
magic. He was meeting with Sir Charles to see if he could de-roboticise
if need be. Dad still did not know what a roboticiser was, because Sir
Charles was going to explain everything when he arrived. But one had 
to worry- Sir Charles should have had arrived at the Wolfe household 
more than 18 hours ago.

11 hours passed. It was now midnight. Mom packed some provisions, so 
she could leave to search for Sir Charles. He still had not come.

I cried when mom told me she was leaving (apparently!). Dad bowed his 
head, and prayed she would be alright. We had an emotional parting, 
and we were both quite somber for days afterward.

When we finally cheered up, dad proceeded to teach me witchcraft. He
was quite successful. What can I say? I'm a quick learner.

He taught me levitation, teleportation, and other miscellaneous 
skills. I even taught myself some things. I don't know how I did it 
at such a young age. Most warlocks learn these skills at the age of 
five and older. I was one year old.

Mom never came back. But we soon heard word that Mobotropolis had been
taken over, and overrun with robots. Or "SWATbots" as some called them.
We also found out that the roboticiser had been used to turn full 
living beings into robot slaves. Dad was devastated. He put his snow 
white face in his trembling paws and sobbed.

Dad's sobbing soon got to me and I started to cry. Somehow, our weeping
had managed to get through to my grandfather, whom I had never seen 
before, and he appeared in a flsh of light. He was also a warlock. Dad
peered up uneasily, and a smile slowly spread across his face.

"Dad!" he exclaimed, "Oh I'm so glad you're here! I need someone to 
comfort me and Ronnie here." he gestured to me. I smiled.

"Dada?" I said. Grandad laughed. I gave a puzzled look and started to 
cry for some food.

Grandad also helped to teach me witchcraft. We had some good fun. 
Every now and again, Grandad would disappear for an hour or so. We never 
knew where he went. He told us,

"That's for me to know and you to find out... in many years." It 
frustrated me. 

One sad day, I woke up and dad was gone. Nowhere to be seen. Grandad
tried to go on with life, but it was hard for him when all he could hear
was my constant,

"I want dada! I want dada!"

Grandad put a sleep spell on me and thought about what to do. He could
mute me, or he could erase my memory of dad. He decided on erasing my 
memory. Of both my parents. He reluctantly erased my memory and woke me 
up.

Now I was five years old. Grandad had given me the power to run quite 
fast. I dashed around the yard, in constant curiosity.

"Who's doctor Robot?" I would ask. Grandad would shake his head and say,
"You're too young. You won't understand."

"Well... what's a chaos emerald?"

"You'll find out in time."

I soon tired of his constant brushing off. I stood up to him.

"Grandad! I want to know these things! Tell me!" I cried. Grandad didn't 
answer. He was in bed, and he was staring, expressionless at the ceiling.
His eyes were glazed over. I moved closer.

"Grandad!" Still no answer. I pointed my finger and jolted him with mild 
electricity. He didn't even flinch. My eyes filled up with salty water
and the tears came spilling out, non-stop. I examined his face. It was 
pale. I suddenly remembered something... yes. I was in a dark room with a
man... my... father? Yes! I remembered! 

*My father was giving electric shocks to an unconscious rabbit. He had had a 
heart attack. The shocks had saved his life.*

I was suddenly full of a new energy. I stood in front of Grandad's 
lifeless body.

I pointed my trembling finger at him, and zap! No movement. Zap! Nothing 
yet. Zap! Slight movement! I ran closer and checked Grandad's breathing.
It was steady and calm! I'd done it! 

As Grandad recovered, he told me,
"You... saved me, Ronnie. You're one in a million. You're now a true 
warlock."