Shattered Utopia - Chapter 1~

Author's Note: This small story of mine was actually gonna be just small tidbits for art pieces I've been doing, but they seemed to have bloomed into something bigger, all thanks to Madame Bellatrix for inspiring me. Also, I should point out that this story of mine borrows heavily from her canon, so much so that you could call this a branch-off canon as I've also added a lot of my own. I'm trying to not stray too far from Star Fox lore, but I'm trying to have fun with it, so far I can stretch the bill. That said, I would highly recommend that you stop by Madame Bellatrix's library and read The Breaking Game as that is where a lot of the stuff that is referenced here comes from, such as the name Wolfus, Fox's thoughts back to when he had a discussion with Peppy about Wolf's past in chapter 2, the mask, etc. Seriously, reading her story first will give you the set-up to be able to go, "Ah, I recall that!" as of course I can't go into detail about everything here. The Breaking Game is also overflowing with goodies. And when you're done, read her other stuff too! s/8861699/1/The-Breaking-Game-revised R&R please =3

Also, links to the artwork that spawned this mini series can be found in my profile in the Current Projects sections at the bottom.

Darkness.

It was everywhere; I couldn't see anything, feeling around my only way of navigating. That and my gut guiding me forward, leading me through this forsaken place known as the Cursed Grounds among mercenaries. It was actually a maximum security prison deep underground that the public didn't know about, and that's how they wanted it. They gave you no rights here; you were less than shit to them. Torture and experimentation was commonplace here as there were so many guinea pigs no one on the surface would ever be seeing again anyway.

That was decades ago though. The place had been long since shut down for good when the right people happened upon it. The heads of the operation were brought to justice, the inmates transferred to regular prisons and the secret Hell officially decreed off-limits and abandoned. But…

Something stayed behind. Something unnatural, not of this world... Ghost stories among mercs are that it's a curse. I never believed them. Until that fateful day.

I heard something in the dark, reflexes putting me against a wall, blaster raised. I moved slowly, my ears swiveling every which way. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared shitless, but I wasn't going to be deterred. After a few minutes of slow movement, the wall ended and I found myself in a room that had a hint of light in some corners. I jumped when a red light against the far wall suddenly flickered on for half a second before shutting off. In that instant, I could have sworn I saw a silhouette of someone standing there… The light flickered again and then stayed on this time, confirming what I saw. The light was on the dimmer side and the glow of it framed the tall figure, leaving details barely visible or totally in darkness, but I knew who it was. My reason for coming down here.

Wolf.

He didn't move, just stood there as if frozen. After a moment, my eyes finally adjusted to let me take in more detail, but only a minute amount more than what I previously could. There was a chill running up and down my spine like something was terribly wrong, but I hoped with all I had that it was just the atmosphere of the place.

"Wolf? Wolf, are you all right?" I called. I waited for a response, but got none. My heart rate was picking up; I was getting more and more scared. I was praying now to whatever divine powers there were that this not be reality, that I just be stuck in some twisted nightmare. Please, let it not be real. Don't do this to me…

"Wolf? Wolf, answer me. It's me, Fox!" Once again, no answer. I'm begging you…

"Wolfus!" I stepped forward and suddenly, his eyes were glowing back at me with an eerie red, the left one looking normal despite that red while the right was uncovered, his eye patch missing, seeming to be stuck in a wide-eyed state with a glow brighter than the left. It was otherworldly. No…

I was too late. Something had taken my boyfriend from me and there was no reassurance that I would ever get him back. This was so paranormal, who would know what to do? Shit like this was so uncommon in the Lylat System that the probability of finding someone who could combat whatever darkness had ensnared this place, ensnared Wolf, was next to none. The most we had were those who were telepaths, like the Cerinians and those who could use bionics. It was the closest thing to psychic powers there were, but they certainly couldn't explain something this fucked up. My heart was breaking now as he continued to stare, though he suddenly seemed somewhat closer. I heard something drip and I glanced to see his claws dripping with liquid. I could only assume it was blood, either from himself or perhaps someone else was down here at one point. Returning my attention to his eyes, I could now tell he was indeed closer than he was a few seconds ago. He was coming at me slowly and I had reasons to believe he wouldn't spare me. I had a moment to decide; gun down the love of my life or turn tail and get the hell out of there, hoping to find a solution somewhere out there. As he moved again, I found myself running, hand against the wall to help lead me out. Five minutes later, I burst out into the air of Corneria and made a dash for my arwing a hundred yards or so from the hidden entrance. I didn't look back once; I dove in, started it up and flew off, my chest heaving as my heart rapidly pounded against it.

My thoughts were racing as I flew up through the clouds, mostly stuck on Wolf and what I had seen, what it had felt like to see him staring unnaturally at me like that. I was so lost in thought, I didn't even register the light jarring as I left the atmosphere of Corneria. Only when there was nothing but the blackness of space to look at did I snap back to reality, trying to shake my head clear as I made my way back to the Great Fox.

Once I was safe within the mother ship, I almost ran to my room. My commlink was vibrating with incoming calls, Falco, Peppy, Slippy and Krystal trying to call me, but I didn't pay it any attention. I got to my room and immediately sank into my bed, reaching for something on my night stand. My commlink was still going off, but I didn't care. I was busy. My heart was still shattering and I was sobbing, clutching a photo of Wolf and I for dear life.

I'd never cried so much in my life~