Author's Note: Hello to all reading this. My short story, "A Wolf's Redemption," is my first attempt at a serious fan-fiction. I will warn you, I have been running this part through my head, and it's not put down on paper except as a general summary, which leaves a lot of major details out that I feel are needed. Most of the rest of this story is going to come straight out of my head onto paper as time goes on, but will be edited to fit within the parameters of .
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Fox. All rights and characters (except my own) are reserved to Nintendo and the related companies that helped produce all parts of the game franchise. This work is also non-cannon, but does take place after Star Fox: Command, before Fox and Krystal decide to leave the team and start a new life together. Please support the official release.
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"A Wolf's Redemption"
"Prologue: One Starry Night"
End is Beginning.
From the villain's ashes comes
A young new hero.
Part One:
Corneria is a beautiful planet in the Lylat system. In fact, it is know as the "Center" of the entire system. Throughout the years, Corneria has gone through major troubles: a rogue simian scientist named Andross trying to gain control of the entire system and his inevitable defeat, then brief resurrection, only to be destroyed again; an invasion by the creatures known as Aparoids, a race of parasitic cyborgs (cybernetic organisms); and most recently, the invasion by the Anglar Empire. The most famous team of mercenaries the Lylat system has ever know thwarted all of these attempts, team Star Fox!
Tonight, however, does not focus on the soldiers for hire. Tonight is a very special night for the entire planet, as the Senior Class of the Cornerian Military Academy (CMA) is graduating. Here is where are story truly begins…
"Cadet Titus A. McKenzie, please step forward. We are proud to call you a new recruit in the Cornerian Army!" The crowd cheered as the beaming cadet accepted his certificate, badge, and rank, then walked off of the stage.
At the back of the stage, all of the other graduating cadets sat patiently, waiting for the moment when their name was called and they became full-fledged soldiers. Another name was called, and as the cadet strutted to accept her rank, a Lupine and an Ursine were whispering to each other.
"I can't believe that the day's finally come, Mort!" hissed the Lupine.
"I know," the bear responded with like enthusiasm. "It's like it was only yesterday when we were freshmen doing push-ups in the mud as the seniors laughed at us. Now we're going to be joining them in the air!"
The wolf nodded in agreement. He'd spent three long years dealing with those smug upperclassmen, and now he could show them what he was made of where it mattered. He scanned the group of graduates this year. Wow, the numbers are thin this time… I guess that's what happens when you get invaded three times. It wasn't that there weren't any people interested in the military, it was that the times had been so dangerous that the small numbers were mostly due to peoples' parents taking them out of the academy. In truth, only about twenty cadets were killed by the wars.
Before the boy knew it, Mort's name was called. "Good luck!" he whispered as the bear sidled over to the podium and accepted his certificate, badge, and rank. Now it's my turn! he mused. This is the moment he'd been waiting for!
"And that concludes tonight's ceremony!" finished the speaker, an elderly Ocelot, followed by a thunderous round of applause.
The boy stood, flabbergasted. "Excuse me, sir!" he said, coming to attention. "What about me? Did I not graduate, or was there some mistake in the system?"
The Ocelot turned in surprise. "Oh my. Let me check… no, Cadet, there are no other certificates or badges left. There aren't even any other names on the roster. It seems you were misinformed. I'm sorry, but you'll just have to try harder for next year."
Next year! That was outrageous. For four years, the wolf had busted his ass training, studying, training some more, doing class work – he'd done everything he was told and passed all of his classes with A's and B's. Now he was being told that he didn't graduate? Fan-fucking-tastic!
Holding back the tears welling up in his amber eyes, the boy stood up and stormed off of the stage. He'd been humiliated in front of hundreds of people and denied his graduation. "Fuck them!" he shouted to no one in particular as he entered his dorm room and threw all of his clothing and belongings into several suitcases. "Dad was right. Coming here was a waste of time! If they want to screw me over that's fine! They know I scored the highest in the Arwing Flight Simulation Exam and that I aced my Mid-Fight Analysis class, too! So like hell I'm gonna stay in this stinking pit!"
The boy was making his way with his luggage to the Com-Center when someone called his name. "Lyall!" It was his father. "You should've listened to me," the graying wolf said to the boy.
"Yeah," Lyall managed to choke out.
"C'mon," his father continued. "Let's get your stuff loaded up."
Lyall looked up to the sky as his father began packing the luggage into his vehicle. The graduation fireworks lit up the night sky and sickened the boy. All of his hard work had been for nothing. Suddenly, something caught his attention. As one explosion dissipated, Lyall thought he saw smaller ones behind them, like little bottle-rockets were being shot from a high altitude. He wasn't able to get a good look at them before another firework exploded. Shielding his eyes, he waited for the colors to fade, but his eyes widened in surprise as he picked out the unmistakable explosion of a Smart Bomb that only Arwings carried behind the celebratory explosives. -
Author's Note: End of Part One. Part Two will be posted sometime in the near future. Again, thank you for reading. Please feel free to make a review afterwards, as all criticism is welcome. –Spirit Studios.