Wisdom and the Wirewolf

Chapter 1

Many years had passed and in a city that sat outside the forest of the what was known as the haunted castle there lived a scientist by the name of Spyro Lepton who had two daughters. One was his biological daughter named Bonnie who was a pretty young woman but prided herself only for her looks than anything else. The other was his god daughter named Minerva Sparkstar who had come to live with them for some time, needing some time away from home to recover from a terrible accident she had suffered in. Several months before she was helping a scientist back home and before anyone could realize what had happened an explosion occurred and she was caught up in it, severely burning her and damaging her left arm and right leg to the point of having to be amputated. Once she was found she was rushed into surgery and the prognosis from that was very grim. In order to save her life she had to be augmented into a cyborg with a new arm, a new leg, optics to replace her onset blindness, a new head of hair to replace the ebony locks she once had, and replacing the damaged muscles in her throat including her voice box. Working as hard as they could the doctors and scientists collaborating with each other managed to save her life in the nick of time but her life would never be the same from that moment on. Spending several months afterwards going through rigorous physical therapy to get used to operating her new body and limbs she felt like she needed a break and figured that a nice, long visit to her godfather and sister would do the trick to help her get over things. Everyone else agreeing to that the plans were made and she was soon on her way to Canis Lunis where she was greeted with open arms and settled in quite comfortably. As for her looks the doctors and scientists were able to recapture the natural beauty that she once held and her transformation into a cyborg had honed her humility and helped her even more to see the inner beauty in others. Even her kind and caring nature made her inner beauty shine even more and she was soon well-liked by many of the citizens of the city.

Including the notable Warp Darkmatter who had been attracted to Bonnie, quickly falling for her for her looks, and wanted to marry her but the moment he met Minerva for the first time he was instantly in love with her. Going over that evening to woo and charm her he wasn't expecting her to see right through his ruse with her intellect and was instantly shot down. Feeling absolutely embarrassed by that Warp vowed that he would everything in his power to win her over and he did just that, using every technique he had learned to try and charm his way into her good graces but got shot down every single time. From the first time meeting him Minerva could tell that he was a vain man that prided himself on his charming looks and 'sweet' words that he used to sway women into falling for him and she knew that there was no way that she could fall in love with a man like that. She wanted to fall in love with a man that the whit and charm of a true gentleman and would treat her for who she was and not what she looked like on the outside. No matter how much Warp tried to get her to see that he was the man of her dreams she kept turning him down, telling him that he would never have a chance with her in a hundred years or in a hundred galaxies. One day when Warp had finally crossed the line and got on the last strand of her nerve she called him out on it in public and told him to leave her alone and to never bother her again unless he wanted to be arrested for invading her privacy and disturbing the peace. Completely embarrassed by that Warp made a new vow saying that no matter what he would have Minerva as his wife no matter what, even if he had to do it underhandedly to get her.

After that thing went back to normal for the little family, though Bonnie was absolutely peeved at Minerva for embarrassing Warp the way she did and thought that she took things way too far and jealous that Warp had fallen in love with Minerva instead of proposing to her like she had wanted him to do. Through that Minerva had caught on to how Bonnie was feeling and she told her that there was nothing to be mad about and since she didn't love Warp Bonnie could talk to him and get him back so that the both of them could be happy. However Bonnie didn't feel the same way and started to make plans to make Minerva leave so that Warp wouldn't be distracted and would only have eyes for her. A short time later it was a relatively normal day and Spyro had received a call from a colleague of his on the other side of the forest in another city saying that his help was needed consulting on a project to fix a few issues. Agreeing to go over and offer his assistance he called Bonnie and Minerva into his lab and said, "Girls, I'll be leaving shortly to go help a colleague of mine on a project he's working on. I'm going to be gone a couple of days so I need you two to take care of each other until I get back, alright?"

The two nodding in agreement they helped him get ready to go, gathering his necessary equipment and such and loading his car. Once it was ready to go Spyro climbed in and just as he was about to say goodbye he got a quick thought and asked the two, "Is there anything you two want me to bring back from my trip by any chance since I'll be out that way?"

Quickly getting excited by that Bonnie answered, "Oh bring me back a few new outfits, daddy. I want something totally brand new to catch Warp's eye and make him fall in love with me again. Please, daddy?"

"Hah, hah, of course Bon-Bon. Anything to make you feel happy." Then looking at Minerva Spyro asked, "And what would you like Minerva?"

Giving him a gentle smile Minerva replied, "All I want is for you to come back safe and sound knowing that you came home with a success underneath your belt."

"Oh surely there must be something else besides that you must want," Spyro said, though thankful that she was being thoughtful about his safety and wanted him to return unharmed.

Knowing that he wasn't wrong about that Minerva thought for a few moments when she looked to the little garden she had started while she had been there and remembering something she had heard about she realized what she had wanted. Looking back at him she said, "Well, if you can manage it, I would like to have a lunar rose that I've heard so much about. I've been wanting to plant one in the garden I started and if you can get one that will truly make me happy."

Nodding in agreement Spyro replied, "Of course. I think that will be a lovely addition to your little garden. Now I must be off. Please be good, stay out of trouble, and take good care of each other. Goodbye, girls!"

Starting his car and taking off the girls waved goodbye and watched him drive away, Bonnie thinking of the new clothes she was going to get and Minerva praying to her ancestors in the stars that no harm would come to him and that he would return safe and sound.

A couple of days later the project was back on track and going better than ever thanks to Spyro's guidance and advice about it. After bidding his colleague farewell he went to several boutiques where he found several amazing outfits that he was sure that Bonnie would absolutely love. But on the other hand he had absolutely no luck in finding a single lunar rose to bring back for Minerva. Going to every florist in town not a single one in stock for him to buy since they were hard to find around anywhere besides the forest and no one would dare go into it, fearing the legend of the haunted palace and the supposed beast that hid inside. Feeling dejected that he wasn't able to get Minerva's present Spyro could only hope that the one of the florists back home would have at least one that he could buy and give it to her so that she could be happy. Packing his car up he got in and began making the long journey home through the forest, somewhat keeping an eye out just in case by some strange miracle one happened to appear out of nowhere. But that's was when everything was about to change for him, for his daughters, and one who had been suffering the most of all.