Disclaimer: The idea of the Resurrection Stone was used from the Harry Potter series. I do not own Harry Potter or Star Fox and their characters or ideas in any way!
"Legend tells of an artifact with magical properties. The Resurrection Stone can be used to temporarily bring back the dead, someone your heart truly longs to see once more..."
After three long years of searching for the stone, Fox had finally uncovered it within the confines of a strange labyrinth, filled with the most vicious of creatures.
"Really? Tell me more about this, Meta Knight!"
But, despite all the pain and suffering it took to find this tiny stone, it would all pay off soon enough.
"Very well. Although the stone does bring back the dead, it does so in the strangest of ways. Those who have been brought back through the stone seem to be separated by a veil, making them seem distant from the summoner. To an unprepared summoner, this can be quite a shock to them. Those who have been brought back are much more than a ghost, but much less than living. They will be stuck in the middle of the two worlds, torn between the two existences as long as their presence stays in this world. It is not a pleasant experience."
The forest at dusk gave off an ominous air about it, the branches of its trees twisting in the shadows. A slight wind slid between the bare trees, chilling those who dared walk on the worn path.
The vulpine gingerly took the stone between his thumb and index fingers, and turned it around in his hand. A crack formed on the stone, followed by a shattering sound as it burst into tiny pieces, which blew away in the wind.
"I wish to call back he who my heart desires most."
And there he was. Wolf stood a distance away, holding his hands out and looking at them in wonder. The lupine's body had an eerie glow to it, as if a sort of misty veil was draped over his body.
After a brief moment, Wolf looked up to see Fox staring at him in amazement, muttering "It worked, it really did!" over and over again.
"Fox... Is it really you?" Wolf spoke in a measured sort of way, as if his lips were unused to forming the words.
Fox hesitated, but quickly thought against it and rushed to Wolf to take his hand. It wasn't the same. Wolf's hand wasn't warm and reassuring, but cold and frail. But the lupine grasped Fox's hand as if they would anchor him to life. "Yes, it's me..." The vulpine looked down, eyes stinging as tears threatened.
"Oh, Fox. It's been so long." Wolf started, but paused, followed by a "You look tired."
Fox responded with a small chuckle, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "Yeah. I've spent three years nonstop looking for the stone that brought you back."
And suddenly, Fox really did feel tired, as if he finally realized the burden of the weight of those three years following Wolf's death on his shoulders. He let out an abrupt sob, collapsing on the other's body and burying his head in Wolf's chest.
"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have let you come with me..." And then, as if a dam had burst, his grief expanded inside of him, filling every fiber of his being. The regret, the guilt, the pain... Those emotions rushed forth, overtaking his stoic exterior until finally, sob after sob, Fox found himself unable to stop himself from crying out in anguish.
"Fox!" Wolf wrapped his arms around the shaking vulpine. "It wasn't your fault. I insisted on going with you, remember? I couldn't let you go alone."
He was right. On that day, back at their small apartment, Fox had received an emergency mission on his PDA. Wolf had demanded to go with him, and after a bout of shouting followed by sincere promises of carefulness on Wolf's part ("Cross my heart and hope to die," he had said, followed by an alarmed, "Don't say that, Wolf!" from Fox and a quick make-out session).
But everything had gone wrong in that mission, and escape from the ship was the only option as it started to collapse in a multitude of explosions. As the two made their way to leave the ship, multiple explosions had sent shrapnel flying in all directions. With only seconds to act, Wolf had acted quickly and brought Fox close to him, with his back facing the wall.
Fox could never forget the grunts of pain that came from Wolf as the fragments of metal dug into his back. Whatever he was wearing did little to help, and the lupine collapsed just as the shrapnel had finished flying about and leaving Fox to carry his limp body back to the escape pods, where the group left in haste.
If it weren't for Wolf, then I'd be dead, Fox had realized in the escape pods with a pang of emotion.
It was then that his mind was caught in a chaotic mixture of both thoughts and emotions, until it became clear enough for him to remember when he had gone to visit Wolf's grave later, in that Spring, only weeks before he had heard of the Resurrection Stone.
"Oh, Wolf, if only you hadn't gone... You must hate me. Forgive me, Wolf..." Fox managed, his voice muffled by the other's chest.
"I could never hate you, Fox, especially for something that wasn't your fault. There's nothing to forgive," The lupine muttered sadly, before grabbing both of Fox's shoulders and pulling him away to look into his eyes. "Look at me."
"I love you, Fox. And that'll never change," Wolf declared with a tone that settled the matter, and leaned in to kiss Fox fiercely and passionately, as if they would lose each other at any given moment. Fox had expected for the other's lips to be cold and clammy like his hands, but they were not. They were full and warm, sending shivers up his spine as he responded in kind.
After a few silent moments, the two pulled apart for Fox to catch his breath. "I love you too, Wolf," the vulpine answered. The two would stay like this for the rest of the night, sitting under a tree with Fox dozing off beside Wolf, who kept a viligant watch over his lover.
At last, when the sun started to come up once again, it came the time for the Resurrection Stone's effects to wear off and fade away. With one last kiss, the two parted ways.
"Good-bye, Fox. We'll see each other again, I promise." Wolf smirked, but a gentle one at that, as he started to fade away, the thin mist of death surrounding him, almost embracing him.
Fox grinned back. "I love you." he waved, watching the lupine's ascension into the afterlife.
"And I you." Wolf muttered, taking Fox into his arms as he faded, and finally disappeared, leaving traces of mist at Fox's feet.
"Until we meet again, Wolf. Thanks for everything." Fox whispered, leaving a red rose that he had brought (much like the one he left at Wolf's grave) at his feet before he turned, quietly leaving the forest in his wake.