Sheep in Wolf's Clothing
A Sonic the Hedgehog fanfic
by Tearra Wolfe

This is a fanfic set in the SatAM Sonic the Hedgehog universe.  This part of the fic is set just during and after the Great War, which was won through the work of the then-hero, General Julian, who became Dr. Robotnik when he ran a coup de gras just after the war.

Mairi McBaan and her family are fan-characters created by me.  All other characters are copyright by Sega.

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In times of peace and prosperity, especially when a recent war hangs heavy in the minds of the populace, then the concept of war becomes unthinkable, and the people are willing to give up anything in return for peace.  To say that there is no reason for war is not peace, it is sending up a signal flare for your enemies, saying "Here I am, come do with me as you will."  There are far worse things than war or death, and these things are the loss of freedom, the loss of value, the loss of ideals, the loss of honor, and the loss of all of your way of life.  It is equally important to remember the opposite - that these are also far worse things than losing a war.
-- Leo Tzu, "The Art of War and Peace"

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Her very earliest memory was of Da reading to her.  Ma's evening workout sounded off in the practice room - a quiet series of staccato "kya" cries that was so familiar it was soothing.  Her da's deep, strong voice told her a story that he said was a true story from history.  He was tall and lean, with long curly hair that flowed down his back, and always dressed in very noble-looking robes.  He ran the Royal Library, and Mairi was absolutely convinced that he knew everything in the world.  She had been a very small lamb, and she looked up at him with wide eyes to ask how it was he knew so much.  He smiled and gave a small chuckle, closed the book in his lap, and patted it.  "This tells me," he said.  "It's got the story in it."

"So it knows everything?" she asked, peering at it curiously.

"No," he explained.  "This book only knows this story.  Put books together in a library, then you have lots of stories.  You get a big enough library, and you'll have the answer to every problem."

The next day, her da walked into his study to find her with a book held to her head, her small ear pressed up against it.  He sat down next to her, giving her an amused smile and a small snug.  "What are ye up to, lass?"

"Listening for the story, Da!" she replied quite seriously.

He laughed softly.  "Ye dinnae listen to a book's story with yer ears, Pumpkin.  Ye listen with your eyes."

"You listen with your eyes?!" she asked, incredulously, her own eyes wide.  He nodded.  "And Ma practices with a blindfold to see with her ears?"  Da laughed and nodded again.  "Daaaa," she explained very seriously, "Ye're /doing/ it wrong!  Ye listen with yer ears, and ye see with yer eyes!"

Her da laughed heartily.  "Nay, lass.  Nay.  That's how ye start, but ye can learn to do so much more."

"Can ye teach me?" she asked.  "To listen with me eyes?"

With a laugh and another hug, he agreed.  From that time forward, bedtime stories became different.  The thick books with the serious but amazing stories became replaced with thin books with bright pictures and only a few words.  When that happened, she knew it was her turn to read.

Her da would help her, sitting her there on his lap so she could look at the words at the same time he was.  He'd take the golden circle-and-cross of the family crest from around his neck and hang it around hers, because it was her time.  Whenever she had the medallion, it was her time to be a big girl, and when he had the medallion, it was his turn to be Da.  Even well past when she needed him there to help, he still held her in his lap and closed his arms around her in a warm embrace as she read to him.  She loved it when he held her, and would frequently run up to him to be picked up for half a minute before running back to whatever she was doing.

She especially loved it when Ma was working, and Da would pick her up on his shoulders while the Royal Guard marched past on patrol or in a parade.  She was so proud of her Ma in that brightly colored uniform, looking so important, her curly short-cropped hair tucked neatly under the helmet, but always with a curl or two escaping to give her a little personality.  She was short compared to many of the other guards, but to Mairi, her ma was a giant who could protect her from anyone at all.


Ma never looked at her, then, but Da explained that was because Ma was busy with her job and had to look straight forward.  If she looked carefully, just as Ma marched past, her eye would flicker.  Da explained that everyone else would see a blink, but since Mairi could only see one eye, that was a wink for her and no one else, and that's how Mairi could tell that Ma loved her even though she couldn't say so at the time.

Sometimes, when they were walking through the palace, she would see another couple of little girls running around and giggling.  The little rabbit was the daughter of the Queen's lady-in-waiting, and the other was the Princess herself, best friends who were rarely separate.  If Mairi was with her da, she'd curtsy politely like Da'd taught her.  If she was with her ma, Mairi would drop to one knee with her head bowed and put her hand on her little knife at her hip, just like Ma did with her sword when she greeted the king.

Sometimes, when they were walking through the palace, she would see a little coyote boy running around, and knew that was the son of Captain Depardieu, her ma's boss.  She had decided very early on that she was going to marry him when she grew up, so he could be the Captain and she could be the Royal Librarian.  So every time he was around, she'd hide shyly behind her ma or her da, or whatever else was convenient, and she never ever spoke to him.

The various memories of her peaceful childhood were few, but precious.  Warmth, life, companionship, love.  She never doubted that she was loved.  While those few memories were all that remained of all that were lost to the whimsies of youth, there was one memory she would never, ever forget, as much as she might want to, and that was the memory of the day her world changed.

Da was juggling for her as Ma stood nearby, laughing merrily at his antics.  He always assured Mairi that he wasn't a mage.  He said that he just knew a few tricks, but when he juggled for Mairi, he used all of them.  There was a ball of pure light, a ball of fire, and a ball of water.  He had a ball of solid shadow and a ball of blue lightning crackling around itself.  Most ephemeral, he had a ball of mist and smoke roiling around inside the sphere of his will.  When he juggled, he sent the six balls coiling around each other in circles and figure-8's, in arcing waterfalls and other, more complicated patterns and tricks.  It left him tired, so he didn't do it often, but when he did it was a performance so wonderful that Mairi was sure even the King never had so much fun, and Da only did it for them, for family.

A series of three sharp tones sounded through their apartments, and Mairi knew it was from Ma's special work phone that she wasn't allowed to play with.  Da slowed his juggling down to a single circle, watching as Ma put the com-unit in her ear.  She talked quietly into the handset, listened to the unheard voice, talked some more.

"Da?" Mairi asked, "what's wrong?"

Her da shook his head.  "Quiet, lass, and we'll find out."

When Ma came back, she was pulling on her breastplate.  "Strap me up, dear," she said, her voice tight.

Da nodded and went to do so, the six balls disappearing into thin air as he lost concentration on them.  "What's going on?"

"It's Julian," Ma said darkly.  "He locked the SWATbots under his control and is taking over."

Da said something Mairi knew she wasn't allowed to say.

"The king's already been taken.  We're forming up a team to free him, take him back."  Da didn't respond, just staring at Ma in amazement.  Her ma, however, kept moving with a purpose, pulling down the family sword and the blaster rifle from their high place where Mairi couldn't reach them.  She strapped the sword with the circle-and-cross pommel to her hip and the rifle across her back.  "Take Mairi to the Palace Library.  Julian will assault the military targets first, then pacify the population next.  It'll be a while before he has the time to sweep through targets like the library, and if he does ... well, then it will already be too late."

"What?" asked Da, "You don't mean to think-"

"He's got the the air force and the SWATbots.  Most of our defenses are his.  I dinnae know if we can stop him.  If they come to the library, use the passage, then get Mairi to Knothole."

Da shook his head.  "But I'm nae supposed to know about Knothole, ye'll get in so much trouble!  Only the Royal Guard-"

"I know," Ma interrupted.  "Just keep Mairi safe.  I dinnae care.  Just keep Mairi safe."

Da nodded, pressing his forehead to hers, holding her close.  "I will.  Just keep yerself safe.  Rescue the king."  His voice broke on the last few words.

"I will," Ma assured him, strapping on her helmet, then she was out the door.  Da closed the door behind her, then leaned his forehead against the frame, his shoulders shaking lightly.

Mairi went up to him, tugging on his sleeve.  "Da?" she asked, scared.  "Da, what's going on?"

Da dropped down to one knee and enveloped Mairi in a warm hug.  "Nae for ye to worry about, Lambkin.  I need ye to do something for me.  This is serious, nae a game.  Ye know when yer ma takes ye camping every year in the Great Forest?  That's how quiet an' careful ye need to be.  This be survival time, Mairi.  Ye know how I tell ye that when something's wrong, ye go to the SWATbots?  Well, not this time.  Now ye need to hide from them."

Mairi nodded gravely, tears in her eyes.  She didn't know what she was crying about, but she knew everyone else was crying, and she was scared.  "I'll do it, Da," she said gravely.  "No one will see me or hear me."

He nodded gravely.  "Good lass, ye're such a good lass."  He stood up and reached to the top shelf, which is where all the expensive books were.  He took down a copy of Leo Tzu's "The Art of War and Peace."

"Lil' Mairi, ye know how I tell ye the answer to every problem's in a book?"  Mairi nodded gravely.  "Sometimes, the answer's not the one ye want."  He opened the book and Mairi gasped.  Someone had cut a hole out of the pages, a great heresy to her and her da.  On closer inspection, though, she saw the book was a fake, the pocket concealing a blaster pistol.  Her da took up the pistol and went to the door.  "We're going to the library now, Mairi.  Be quiet."  Mairi nodded.

The hall was empty, but there was a lot of noise from far away, noises that Mairi didn't like.  Her da pulled her down the hall quickly, her small hand in his big one, his gun in his other hand.  He stopped to look around the corner carefully, then pulled her after him as he kept running.

The run was hectic, and she could never remember afterwards the order that everything happened in.  A couple royal guards ran past them once, firing back behind them.  One of the guards was caught in a fired net, the other was struck down with lances of deadly energy, falling to the ground.  Mairi knew the guards - they were her ma's friends, and had visited for dinner several times.

Once, they caught a glimpse of Sir Charles fighting a whole group of SWATbots, throwing small darts at them.  Mairi didn't know what little darts could do to a SWATbot, they was so big and strong, but every time one hit, there was a crackle of energy and the SWATbot fell over.

And once, for one horrifying moment, they hadn't been able to hide and the SWATbots had found them.  Mairi had started to cry and her dad was readying his pistol when a pair of blue blurs had flown down the hall faster than could be imagined.  The SWATbots tumbled down the hall, caught up in the wake with pieces flying off of them, while Mairi and her da stood there with her skirts and his robes whipping around them in the wind.

By the time they reached the library, Mairi had no tears left, feeling empty and surreal, as if she was in a bad dream.  Soon, Ma or Da would wake her up, and the familiar corridors wouldn't be scary anymore, but warm and home.  Her da slipped into the Royal Library, then let out a sigh of relief.  The library was quiet, dark and musty with the smell of old books, and Mairi felt a wave of relief.  Here was enough books - they'd be sure to find answers here.

They huddled there, in the darkness of the library, deep in the stacks, Da holding her in his lap.  He had put the circle-and-cross around her neck, and held onto it as he prayed quietly.  Mairi just trembled, her face buried in her da's robes.  She didn't know how long it was they sat there in the musty darkness, scared and waiting, before the library door opened.

"Ma?!" Mairi called out in excitement, then her da had his hand over her mouth and was pulling her back.  

"Presence detected," said a robotic voice.  "You will step forward and be arrested."

Her father didn't respond, instead fiddling with a bookshelf.  Mairi gasped in amazement as the lower half of the shelf slid back into the wall and then aside, revealing a secret passage behind it.  Mairi rushed into the tunnel as her da paused to create a small ball of light in his hands.

A net fired from somewhere and knocked her da to the floor, tangling him up.  He struggled a bit with the net, firing the blaster he still held, and Mairi heard an explosion, light illuminating her father from around the corner where she knew a SWATbot now burned.  His wide eyes locked on hers.  "Run!" he exclaimed, reaching through the holes in the net to roll the ball of light to her.  "I'll catch ye up as soon as I can!"

The door slid shut in front of her, cutting off her view as she saw her da burning through the net with his ball of flame, firing off random blasts with his pistol to keep the SWATbots off him.  Then it was just her and her da's ball of light.  She clutched it, terrified, not sure what to do, then turned and fled, her legs running away with her down the small tunnel.  The SWATbots wouldn't be able to fit in here, even her da would have to duck when he followed.

The light suddenly brightened sharply in her hands, then dulled down to the barest spark of light, flickering weakly.  Mairi stopped suddenly, staring down at the spark, the only thing she could see in the corridor.  She cupped it close, whispering, softly, "no..."  Then the light went out, and there was nothing but the most absolute of pitch blackness.  Alone in the dark, her world shattered around her, Mairi fell down to her knees, then curled up on the floor, weeping forlornly to herself.