Greetings fellow fan fictioners; I'm proud to present my first fan fiction, hope you like it. Please tell me how i'm doing and how to improve, i'm a beginner so I crave your expertise! Any kind of review will do!
Now, I will have mini sound tracks for each chapter (yes I know a lot of people do this, but it sets a kind of mood). And ideas or recommendations for songs would be awesome!
check out my profile for when the story will be next updated, i'll keep you posted!
Song selection:
Any solid dub step beat (your choice)
Burn it to the ground; Three days grace
enjoy!
Looking for the blizzard
Chapter 1: New faces
"Um…Leon…?"
No reply.
"L…Leon…?"
Silence.
"Hey, um… Leon…?
A small, barely audible sigh seeped through the silent chameleon's mouth.
"Leon… w… why… why am I doing this?" A slightly trembling panther asked quietly, his rich, golden eyes wide. He reached up to scratch the white half-moon scar under his left eye in a nervous habit.
The reptile replied "Because I need to practice" while testing the balance and other essentials of a throwing knife he had just recently purchased.
"But what do I have to do with your… practicing?"
"Because, Panther…" Leon said as if addressing a child "I need a living target" He faced a wary Panther Caruso.
"But I thought you were throwing at the apple!" Panther inquired about the apple sitting atop his head.
"I am. Throwing in the direction of a live being helps my aim, and makes it feel more like live combat." Leon Powalski tossed his throwing knife from green scaly hand to green scaly hand.
"B… but why me?" Panther's eyes darted around frantically.
"Because I will hit you on purpose if you don't 'help'" Leon's cold, yellow eyes narrowed
"Plus, it's fun to torment you" The reptile smirked at his last comment.
"Have you ever practiced with that particular knife before?" Panther adjusted the shiny red apple on his head.
"Nope" then in one fluid motion the chameleon threw the knife at the visibly trembling figure.
Panther shrieked an unmanly cry of surprise as he heard the whooshing song of a knife flung towards him. A sharp squelching noise erupted in the target practice room of the 'Sargasso'.
Panther had his eyes squinted shut. He then, keeping his eyes closed, turned around. His whole body tensed up, his hands balled into tight fists, arms locked to his sides.
"Am I dead?" The feline asked with a grimace
"Yup" Leon's nasally, almost raspy voice reached Panther's presumably dead ears. "Looks like it" A deep, gravelly voice joined that of Leon's.
The feline opened his eyes, and looked towards the source of the voice. He hadn't even heard him come in.
"Oh, hey boss" Panther's voice, no longer panicked, resumed its natural rich, almost lazy tone as he greeted the grey furred lupine leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. Leon greeted the 'Star Wolf' leader with is usual cold, indifferent expression as he went to retrieve his knife now wedged firmly into the wall.
Wolf O'Donnell smiled inwardly as he looked at his two comrades. He slipped a sharp clawed hand down the white stripe that ran from his long muzzle to the back of his neck, it was done up in its usual Mohawk fashion.
After Wolf didn't say anything Panther asked "What's up?"
The lupine just shrugged and began walking toward the target range pulling out his blaster. Wolf looked at his prized weapon with his one piercing lavender eye. In place of his left eye was an optical implant with a blue tint that preformed the same, and many other operations of that of the headsets worn by other pilots. If one were to look closer at the wolf's face (which no one could were it not for Wolf socking anyone who got to close) they would notice a deep rim under his one good eye, suggesting sleepless nights filled with restless thoughts, and tormenting dreams.
The 'Star Wolf' leader aimed his sights down the blaster with the added curved blade attached to the underside of the barrel, and fired one… two… three shots of plasma energy at a life size target of a person. Each of the shots hit the target exactly where Wolf wanted, hitting in the head, more specifically the left eye, the heart, and the groin.
The reason Wolf's aim was so good was because of the optical implant he had, helping his mark his sights down to precise levels.
Leon stepped over to examine the now smoking target, two of his fingers tracing the jaw of his triangular shaped head.
"I quite like it" he said with a slightly sarcastic tone.
Wolf glanced at the chameleon with a half-smile. He and Leon had been best friends ever since they were little. He'll never forget the day they first met…
A young, rather scruffy wolf stepped out of his house into the back yard. He saw, with much curiosity, a small extremely thin chameleon huddled in the corner of the fences separating the wolf's, the small reptiles, and the adjoining neighbor's back yards. The scruffy wolf pup made his way timidly towards the chameleons form, noticing the various cuts and bruises on its green scaled skin, and the sketch book propped against his legs. The wolf sat down against the fence next to the reptile sketching away with a chewed up pencil. The pencil scratching stopped as sunken, naturally narrowed yellow eyes met large, mischievous lavender eyes.
"Hi" the wolf pup said with an innocent child's voice. "I'm Wolf"
The chameleon glanced away, smiling crookedly before bringing his eyes back to Wolf's again.
"Hi" he croaked in a high pitched, nasally voice. "I'm Leonard"
Wolf giggled "Leonard?"
Leonard laughed too. Wolf then looked at the drawing in the thinner body's lap. It was a very talented (if not extremely graphic) picture of a wolf devouring a rabbit.
"Cool!" Wolf breathed.
Leonard sat up a little with pride.
"Wanna' be friends?" the wolf pup asked. The small chameleon sat up even more.
"Really?"
"Yea!" Wolf laughed.
"Okay" his new friend breathed with what seemed like relief.
And thus, friendship was born.
Wolf smiled every time he remembered his first encounter with the cynical chameleon. He and Leon had changed so much since then;
Wolf had grown taller, stronger, and smarter, his mind and moods taking on a darker setting. He developed a passion for combat and war. His addiction to the fight was seen as unhealthy to some.
But Wolf was a damn good fighter. Leon knew Wolf better than anyone else ever had. He could tell what Wolf was thinking or what he was about to say. To Leon, Wolf's moods were typical and routine; he knew just how to handle him. Wolf was the kind of guy you don't want to mess with, get in a fight with, or piss off.
Wolf was so easy to piss off.
It was kind of funny to watch people challenge the short tempered wolf only to be beaten to a pulp. Okay, scratch that, it was freaking hilarious.
But Wolf didn't have the love for killing as much as Leon did. When Wolf killed it was strictly for business, self-defense, or personal matters. But he never did it for fun. In fact, he didn't find it fun at all.
Leon had changed more in mind set than appearance. He had grown much taller, but still stayed impossibly thin.
His mind, however, was something frightening; Wolf didn't know how it happened, he supposed it was always there just below the surface, it only needed some kick to spark to life.
A way to summarize Leon was to say that he was a dark, cynical, insane, manic, sadistic, bi-polar, unpredictable, maniacal, ingenious, psychopathic, coldblooded killer. To name a few. All of these 'little flaws' were always apparent in the reptiles eyes, but other than that you really couldn't tell that much was wrong with him when around Wolf and Panther, but throw him in any combat situation, or even more costly, get him angry…
Stay away.
Wolf had only seen Leon get really mad once, he dearly wished he could erase the memory.
Despite their obvious differences, it was easy to say the two were like brothers. Friends to the end.
Now, Panther was a different story.
He was considered a friend to Wolf and Leon, but the relationship was… complicated.
He annoyed the shit out of both of them. No more than Andrew Oikonny they were both thankful. But he was still annoying.
Panther Caruso was cocky, and sarcastic. He didn't know when to shut up, always making side comments and small jives at the worst times. He was sloppy, and lazy, almost careless about everything, and he was in way over his head thinking he was such a big 'ladies male' when he couldn't even get the female he'd been after for years. And the whole rose thing was ridiculous.
But he was still a close friend to Wolf and Leon. He worked hard when he needed to, always had their back, and he was always good for a laugh when you needed one.
Plus, he wasn't bad with a blaster.
Sure he whined a lot, and was a pain to live with but, hey, that's just Panther.
Together the three were team 'Star Wolf', Wolf being the leader, Panther being Ace Pilot, and Leon being second in command, and team assassin. They were the most well-known and most feared mercenary group in the Lylat system, and proud of it.
"So Wolf, we got any new jobs?" Panther asked walking up to the smoldering target. Wolf snapped out of his remise, and looked at Panther a moment before replying "Na, not yet. S' been a slow week, an' still is."
Panther huffed as he rested his elbows on the target rang railing.
"I'm bored" he said, whining once again.
"When aren't you?" Leon said with a scowl.
The target practice room had only a few other stragglers practicing their aims.
Wolf watched, none of them had anything special to show.
"The ships gonna' stop near Venom. You guys wanna' do some bar hoppin' tonight?"
"Yes!" Panther piped up as he straightened out.
Leon shrugged "Why not".
It was still mid-morning, and they had a few hours before the 'Sargasso' stopped outside of Venoms atmosphere. The large space base made routine movements throughout Lylat as to not be found by those with the means to destroy it.
To kill time, the three mercenaries went down the hall from the target practice room to the combat practice room. There were a few more people here than back down the hall. After roaming around for a bit, watching a few friendly spars, and other serious fights they soon go bored again.
"Hey Panther" Leon taunted "Want to spar?"
"No chance!" Panther put up his hands in a surrendering gesture.
The reptile sneered "Oh come on! I thought you were bored."
"I was" Panther put his hands down "But I don't want my head chopped off"
Leon curled his tail "It's a friendly spar"
"Yes, but friendly spars with you usually end up with someone's head chopped off"
Leon looked as if he were about to reply, but then thought about what the feline had said.
"This is true"
He spun on his heel "Wolf?"
Wolf considered the offer.
"Mehh…" he said, pursing his lips in thought.
Leon only blinked.
The grey wolf sighed "I can never say no to you"
They walked to an empty sparing ring, Leon unsheathing the two long knives he always wore strapped to his back. They were his favorite melee weapons.
Wolf strode over to a weapons rack and selected a long wooden staff with two long, spear head like blades on each end. He gripped the wooden rod in his large hands, testing the weight, and balance.
Wolf looked to Leon.
"Alright, let's keep this clean. We wanna' look pretty for tonight still."
"Yes princess" The reptile said as he whirled the two knifes in his hands.
It had always helped Wolf to think of music while fighting, to keep a certain beat in mind, but one that can change in an instant. Wolf thought fights were like music and everything connecting to music. Fights to Wolf were just dances to an unpredictable beat, but with a chorus like any other song. It made it easier to move, and stay loose, like dancing, just trust your body to find the right moves.
This is why Wolf seldom lost fights.
Like in a dance, the two partners circled, sizing each other up, getting closer with each step. The beat started, slow and menacing. They both waited for the other to make the first move, to start the dance. Leon decided to be brave today, but foolish to Wolf.
Leon raised his long knives in a diagonal downward strike. Wolf brought the left end of his staff swinging forward to hit the strike away. Using his momentum, Wolf spun around, thrusting at Leon with the right end of the staff. Leon leaped backwards, and the two circled again. Leon smiled; Wolf just kept his face serious, not giving away anything.
Wolf swung the pointed right end of the staff at Leon's head, but the chameleon ducked down, sweeping his long leg under Wolf, trying to trip him. Wolf jumped, bringing the pointed staff down, jabbing at Leon. The agile reptile somersaulted back out of the way. He then thrust his left knife upward towards Wolf's face and sweeping at his knees with his right. The lupine spun sharply to the right, bringing the center of the staff to smack Leon across his back. The chameleon yelped, jumping forward on his feet again.
The two circled. The beat became intense, the bass thrumming deep in Wolf's chest
Leon faked a side strike, and then rounded in a downward thrust. Wolf was quick enough to bring his staff up to block the attempt. He hooked the left end of his staff up, but Leon swatted it back down with his right blade, and struck wolf hard in the chest with the handle of his left blade. As Wolf's breath was forced from his lungs an arm wrapped around his neck, and then he was swung to the right, falling to the floor. The lupine rolled to the left as a blade hit the floor where he had been a moment before. He jumped to his feet and brought his staff up just in time to block another down cast blow from his opponent. The wooden staff broke in two; Wolf grumbled as he threw the two broken halves away, he was never one for melee weapon fighting anyway. Leon smirked and sheathed his long knives.
The two circled. The beat changed, the bass was making Wolf's chest numb.
Leon roundhouse kicked at Wolf's head, but the lupine ducked backwards. He kicked out at the reptile's stomach. Leon had jumped back far enough so only the tip of Wolf's boot caught his abdomen. He stumbled back; Wolf took this chance and swung with his right arm aiming at the side of his opponent's head. Leon swatted the fist away, bringing the palm of his right hand to smash into Wolf's windpipe. Wolf stumbled, clutching his throat, Leon jumped sideways in the air making his feet collide with Wolf's chest, causing him to fall backwards. The chameleon back hand sprang, landing neatly on his feet while Wolf stayed on the floor.
The beat stopped.
Leon approached Wolf, opening his mouth to say something. Wolf grabbed Leon's ankles and yanked hard, causing the reptile to fall on his back.
The beat started again, faster this time.
Wolf got to his feet, about to force his boot into Leon's side, but he sprung to his feet and thrust his hand forward, aiming for Wolf's eye. The lupine ducked back and swung his fist to connect with Leon's forehead. Leon jolted back and Wolf kicked him in the knee, forcing the chameleon on his ass. Wolf was about to knee Leon in the face when his opponent lay down on his back and kicked up into Wolfs stomach. Wolf stepped back which allowed Leon to leap to his feet and side kick at Wolf again. He turned to the left avoiding the kick, Wolf then tried to smash his fist into Leon's face, but the reptile grabbed the fist with his right hand, and chopped Wolf's arm with his left. The lupine gasped as his arm went numb, and Leon kicked his knee. Wolf altered his fall to make himself somersault backwards. Wolf got back up as Leon lunged towards him.
The beat turned into that of a racing heartbeat's.
The two dancers matched the beat with simultaneous shots and blocks. Various punches, kicks, jabs, and chops were matched with blocks, parries, grabs, and dodges.
Wolf faked a punch to Leon's face, which he brought his arms up to block. Wolf then rammed his fist into Leon's stomach, causing the chameleon to gasp for air. Wolf put Leon in a headlock, having difficulty keeping the squirming body in the hold. Leon brought his arm around elbowing Wolf in the face, the lupine stepped back holding his bleeding nose. Leon rammed his shoulder into Wolf and jumped back as to not be taken down with his opponent. Wolf fell backwards and rolled to the side, his hand brushed against something wooden, and slender. Wolf grabbed the broken end of the staff; he stood up and spun around, bringing the spearhead like blade to a nearby throat. Wolf simultaneously felt cold steel press against his own throat, and his one lavender eye met two cold yellow eyes.
The beat stopped, the dance ended.
Some of the nearby onlookers who had gathered to watch clapped as the spar came to an end. Wolf smirked and shook hands with a smiling Leon, both their breathing slightly off.
"Good spar" Wolf said "S' always fun ta' kick someone's ass!"
Leon gave Wolf a fake 'tough guy' look "You trying to go again, doggy?"
"Hey now" Wolf let go of Leon's hand to wipe to some blood off his muzzle.
Panther approached his two team mates "Well that looked fun, you two going to be too sore for tonight?"
Wolf winced "Ah no, I don' feel a thing!" he lied as the pain from the spar started to set in.
"Psht, I feel like I just got back from a relaxing massage!" Leon winced as he rubbed his forehead where Wolf had punched him.
'Star Wolf' had their own personal lounge and meetings room aboard the 'Sargasso'. Though they did not have their own floor, wing, or hallway they did have these two rooms as well as their own personal chambers. Wolf currently was standing in front of the bathroom mirror of the 'Star Wolf' lounge. After his nose had stopped bleeding Wolf cleaned the blood of his now matted fur, and checked for other injuries. Spars didn't usually end up in any serious injuries, mostly just bruises, small cuts, and bloody noses.
After doing what he needed in the bathroom Wolf left down the hall to change into a less bloody shirt. Wolf didn't always wear his combat uniform; usually on his 'days off' he would wear a simple outfit of jeans and a shirt. He did, however, wear his combat boots, and holster with modified blaster at all times during the day. One never knew when a surprise attack would be executed, whether it is an attack on the ship, or a simple assassination.
Wolf's personal room resembled that of a regular dorm. It had a single bed, a dresser with a mirror, a nightstand, a small closet, a few shelves for personal items, a desk, and a laundry hamper. Wolf had customized his room to fit his personality; he had a small holo-projector on the dresser facing his bed. His portable computer sat on his desk, messy with papers, files, and the occasional magazine. The walls of the dorm had so many posters on them you could only make out small sections of rust colored wall beneath all the band logos, album covers, half naked females, and random still shots Wolf had found and liked.
Wolf had just thrown on a plain black t-shirt when he saw a slowly blinking light on his portable computer that indicated he had an unread e-mail. Since he had nothing better to do for a few hours Wolf sat down at his desk, and flipped on the screen. He stared at who the message was from for a few minutes, not believing. The e-mail was sent by his older sister, Lydia. Wolf hadn't any contact with her for years, why was she contacting him now? It's not like was anything too important to tell him since his dad left when they were young, and his mom had died. Wolf opened the e-mail; it was titled 'Dear baby brother' he hated when she called him that. He was NOT a baby.
Wolf leaned close to the screen, his one lavender eye scanning the words.
'Dear baby brother Wolf
I know we've not talked for years now, eighteen years really. Its been a while. I wanted to tell you that I'm getting married in a few months…'
Wow. Wolf thought, the female was older than him, and this is her first marriage. He remembered that she always talked about getting married and having children of her own. Took er' a while to get there.
'His name is Brad…'
Brad? Sounds like a douche.
'You're invited to the wedding, so is Leon; it's taking pace back home on Zoness. I want you to come, the rest of the family will be happy to see you as well…'
Wolf laughed at that last part. My ass they'll be happy ta' see me, they hate me!
'I'll e-mail you with exact dates, and location. I hope to see or at least hear from you…'
Wolf huffed. Don' think so.
'Please come Wolf, I know how you tend to stay away from other people, and the past is a touchy thing for you…'
Is not! I just don' like you guys.
'And don't you dare deny it; you always run and hide from your problems like a scared little pup…'
Hey bitch! Fuck you!
'When it comes to fighting you run headlong into it, but when it comes to real problems you run from them…'
Fuck this! Wolf was about to exit out of his e-mail.
'And don't you dare close this e-mail Wolf! I'm not finished with you yet…'
Shit, it's like she can read my mind.
'I can read you like a book Wolf…'
Wolf furrowed his brow and looked from side, then looked back at the screen.
'Please come Wolf, if not for you then come for me. You still owe me for driving you and Leon around all the time…'
Damn! He knew she was saving that.
'Please come baby brother.
Love Lydia'
"Well fuck that bitch!" Wolf snapped the screen off. He wasn't going. He WAS NOT going. He was not GOING. HE was not going. He… needed Leon.
Leon bit his finger as he read the e-mail; Wolf watched his yellow eyes take in every word as if he were reading a long lost historical document. When he was finished reading Leon laughed in his throat.
"She de-balled you pretty good man." His nasally voice irritated Wolf even more than he already was. Wolf was in another pissy mood.
"I didn' ask you what she did; I asked you what you think"
"I think she de-balled you pretty good man"
Wolf shot the chameleon a look that said; Not. Now.
Leon shrugged and re-read the message, faster this time. He chuckled again, and then looked back at Wolf.
"Well, what do you think Wolf? What do you want to do?"
"I dunno' what I want to do"
"Well, find out"
"An' how the fuck should I do that, Leon?" Wolf was getting really impatient with the reptile.
Leon only blinked at his best friend's aggressiveness.
"Look into your heart"
Wolf looked at him with disbelief "How the fucks do I do that?"
Leon shrugged "I don't know, I don't have one."
"I'll tell you how" Panther sat down on the couch of the 'Star Wolf' lounge next to Wolf.
"You dig deep inside yourself, go places you never knew you had in your being. It's a lot like falling asleep; you gotta lose yourself in yourself, think of things you don't normally think about."
Wolf blinked at the feline "Who the fuck asked you?"
Panther shrugged and got up to walk over to the mini fridge.
"Well if you really want my opinion Wolf, you should go."
Wolf look at Leon as he spoke
"If I go, you're comin' with me, you're invited too."
Leon sniffed "I change my mind; it would be a horrible mistake for you to go"
"Go where?" Panther was leaning against the mini bar at the back of the room.
"My sister's wedding"
"Well then of course you should go!" Panther almost looked hurt.
"You don' understand, we haven't talked n' years"
"So?"
"So why would I go?"
Panther wrinkled his muzzle in disgust "she obviously wants you there if she e-mailed you"
Wolf leaned back on the couch "She might have felt obligated"
"Lemme' see" Panther strode over and picked up the computer. We read the e-mail slow. "Damn, she really de-balled you didn't she"
Leon sniggered and Wolf shot them both a look of pure poison. Panther put a hand up in surrender, and then looked back at the message.
"Well, again, she obviously wants you to go. If she felt obligated she would have put the bare minimum in here. She's practically begging you to go Wolf.
The lupine sighed as he put his hand to his face, considering what Panther said. Leon glared at Panther.
"I'll think about it, s' not for a few months anyway"
Panther nodded, Leon crossed his arms over his chest and grumbled something that sounded like "hate that fucking bitch"
After burning up their time doing nothing in particular, the three members of 'Star Wolf' headed down the launch bay for their own personal shuttle to take them down to the landing ports of Venom. Since they were going out Wolf put a long leather jacket over his black t-shirt and dark jeans. Leon had changed out of his black body suit and put on a black long-sleeved shirt and black jeans and a long black coat. Panther had red button up shirt with black pants, the shirt was unbuttoned half way to expose his muscular chest. They planned to stay in a hotel for a day or two so they each had a duffle bag already loaded in the shuttle, one couldn't spend too long in the base or they'd get stir crazy.
Even though they were dressed casually enough, each team member had their weapons on them, just in case. Wolf had his modified blaster, Leon had his array of knives, and Panther had two small blasters strapped to his ankles. It wasn't fun to be caught unarmed at an assassination attempt.
The three walked down the hall together, they were all ready at the same time.
"What I'm saying is why would you want to live in a mansion?"
"Uh, why wouldn't you?"
Leon shrugged "Too much space"
"There is no such thing as too much space!"
Wolf cut in "Ya' there is such a thing as too much space, I mean outer space."
"But were talking about house space" Panther argued.
"Well I don't like large spaces, so therefore I would never get a mansion."
"Leon, my friend, you are probably the weirdest male I have ever met"
"That's the first time I've ever heard that-"
Leon's sarcastic remark was cut short as they rounded the corner and he bumped into something. He fell to the floor with what/whoever he collided with.
"Uhg!" Leon found his body to be tangled with that of another person's. He instinctively reached for one of his knives hidden under his jacket, but stopped short as he found himself starring into the most beautiful golden green eyes he had ever seen.
Leon had never found eyes to be an interesting or beautiful thing unless they were the eyes of a dying person. There was something so beautiful about the way light left a living being's eyes, seeing the life leak from their bodies, Leon could never get enough.
But these eyes, these living eyes were… just… beautiful. They were like a thousand peoples dying souls seeping from one pair of perfectly round, golden green stars.
Leon couldn't move, or breathe properly, which made him a little scared. When was the last time he'd been scared, he couldn't remember, he couldn't THINK. All he could do was stare at those beautiful eyes.
Panther and Wolf just looked from the seemingly paralyzed Leon to the female, purple scaled chameleon that seemed to have damaged their friend's spinal cord somehow.
Leon couldn't look away from her eyes, but he could still take in the rest of her body. She was as beautiful as her eyes; her white body suit accented her curves perfectly, and her bright blond hair fell to just below her upper back.
"Hi" her voice was like an angel's, and Leon wasn't even religious. He somewhat snapped out of his trance.
"Hi" if possible, Leon's voice raised a few pitches, and develop a sigh-like tone. He helped her to her feet.
"I'm Cassie" she extended her hand for him to shake. Her skin was soft like silk even though it was scaled.
"I'm Leonard"
Wolf looked at Panther curling his lip, and mouthed the word "Leonard?" Panther shrugged and shook his head.
"Hi" Cassie said again.
"Hi" Leon (now known as Leonard) never took his eyes of hers.
"Hey Cassie!" what must have been some of Cassie's friends called out to her from further down the hall. She seemed to have snapped out of her own trance.
"Oh, I have to go; it was nice to meet you!" Cassie's smile made Leon want to die, but in a good way.
"Nice to meet you" he repeated.
"By" Cassie's smile deepened as her face flushed.
Leon's face did just the opposite "by"
The purple chameleon wavered awkwardly before saying, once again "by"
"By" Leon watched as Cassie trotted up to her friends, her tail curled tightly behind her.
The dumbstruck reptile watched as the purple lizard disappeared behind another corner, his eyes wide, face lost of all color. A rare smile played across his face as he turned and saw Wolf and Panther staring at him. Panther had his eyebrows raised, a smug smile stretched across his face, Wolf's jaw was tight, his brow furrowed in concern, both of them had their arms crossed. Leon's smile quickly turned into a scowl.
"What?" His friends' expressions only deepened.
"What!" The looks only deepened more.
Leon sighed in annoyance, and began walking down the hall. Wolf and Panther looked at each other; their faces still morphed into the same expression, and followed the now blushing chameleon to the launch bay.
Venom used to be an inhabitable planet, the air was poison in the lung, and the surface was nothing but rock and Lava Rivers. Life was out of the question on this planet, until doctor Andross was banished here. The maddened scientist created large satellite like contraptions that filtered the air in the atmosphere, making it breathable. Because of his 'support' for the cause of discrimination of certain species, many came to the now habitable planet of Venom to start a new life of 'equal rights'. Now there were large cities across the planet's surface, an empire of the now deceased for the second time Andross. Although built with a good cause in mind, the cities of Venom were a dodgy place. Venom was the oasis for many criminals and outlaws, the 'law force' on Venom allowed these outcasts to stay as long as they didn't cause too much trouble.
The streets of the city Liberty were dirt encrusted, and sketchy. Drug dealers lurked in alleys and shadowed backstreets, prostitutes filled almost every corner, pick pockets prowled the streets for unassuming victims, the homeless lined the street carefully picking out those in the crowds they should, and should not beg, and the people you walked by gave you a suspicious look and brought their hands to something under their jacket. Because of the dangers, children weren't usually seen; the ones you did see were homeless orphans who scurried into a hiding place once they spotted you.
The three members of 'Star Wolf' each like the planet for their own reasons. Wolf felt oddly at home on the hostile surface, he liked the unease and distrust that was heavy in the putrid air. A body had to keep on their toes, and have their wits about them to make it here. Even if Wolf was here relaxing, he wasn't really relaxing; if anything he was honing his skills, and there was always someone willing to fight if one got bored. Leon liked the planet in a similar way. He liked the menace of the cities, the feel of fear and aggressiveness that Leon had fed off of for most of his life. It was like a drug to him, he felt so calm, yet so restless at the same time in the wide awake and cautious cities of Venom. Panther, however, liked the city for a completely different reason; he liked the prostitutes on every corner.
The three mercenaries weaved their way through the unfriendly streets of Liberty.
"Absolutely false, Jody Smith does NOT deserve the actress award this year!"
"Of course she does!"
"No, she does not, she's a terrible actor! The only good acting she does is in her sex scenes."
"Exactly my point! The female's a genius in that profession!"
Wolf listened to his teammate's argument and could help agreeing with Panther; Jody was talented when it came down to the dirty business in movies. Wolf voiced his opinion.
"They really should have 'best porn actress' awards"
"Oh, I know it! And Jody would win for sure!"
Leon was about to protest, but then thought about it more and nodded in agreement.
Panther just couldn't help it "I'll bet Leon would like to see little Miss Cassie win second, am I right?"
It was seldom that the chameleon shot looks of pure hatred, and truly meant 'I'm going to kill you' glares. This was one of those seldom times, Panther backed off immediately. There was an uncomfortable silence that settled amongst the three as they continued walking. The silence was broken by Panther as he coughed.
"Ahem, so yea, porn awards… some… someone should start that."
Wolf started to laugh silently at the discomfort of it all, his shoulders rising and falling rapidly.
"What?" Panther asked the gaily giggling lupine. Wolf just looked at the feline and started cracking up
"AHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!"
"What?" Panther began to feel his face to see if there was anything on it. This only caused the wolf more merriment.
"HHHHAHHHAAAAAAAHAAA!"
"WHAT!" people in the streets were staring now as Wolf had to stop and put his hands on his knees to steady himself. Truth was he really didn't know why he was laughing so much, but it felt good.
"HEHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" the fits of laughter threatened to knock Wolf to the dirt covered ground. Now it was Leon's turn to look at Wolf with concern, and Panther just looked around uncomfortably.
Soon Wolf's laugher had died down and was reduced to a throaty giggle. He picked himself up to full height only to have to bend over as he snorted and a long, silent laugh erupted from his sore abdomen. Now Leon was the only on not laughing for Panther had started to laugh at how stupid Wolf was looking. The reptile just rolled his eyes and leaned against a light pole, waiting for his friends to finish their spasms.
After Panther had stopped laughing they still had to wait for Wolf to get his breathing under control, and walk away with as much dignity as he could. The conversation switched from porn awards to hot celebrities.
"Chelsea Frindle" Wolf said
"Ooo, I could frindle her" Panther let his tail swing back and forth.
"Mmhm" was all Leon said.
"Kate Gregor" Panther looked to his teammates. Wolf began to pant like a feral dog, and Leon smirked and shook his head, it was his turn. The chameleon laughed to himself.
"Jake Thompson"
Wolf gaged "uhh, what the hell Leon?"
"Mmmm, nummy!"
"Uuhh Panther, I knew it!" Wolf laughed. Leon slapped a hand to his forehead at Panther's joke.
"You're next boss"
Wolf thought for a moment. "Shela Harris"
Panther threw his head back "Ooohhh!"
"Aaaahhh!" Leon sighed
"Yea she's pretty hot" Wolf had his mind elsewhere at the thought of Shela Harris.
"I'll say! That female is a goddess!" Panther would have said more but he saw Wolf stumble and something fall in front of him.
Jeez, what's with people tripping over stuff today?
Being skilled in the way of balance, Wolf managed to stay on his feet as the small thing he tripped on fell backwards on its ass. Wolf looked down to find that it was a young female wolf; she couldn't be over twelve years old. She had pure snowy white fur that was matted with dirt and grime, and piercing lavender eyes that stared up at Wolf with bewilderment and fear.
Wolf was about to kick her out of the way when a male wolf of equal age knelt down to help her up. He had grey fur with a white streak that ran from his muzzle to the back of his neck; he too was matted and dirty. The wolf pup looked up at Wolf with a similar expression of fear and wonder with the iciest blue eyes. They made Wolf nervous for some reason, and he shoved the two urchins to the side like he would a bothersome object "Stupid kids"
Wolf felt two sets of eyes follow him to the next corner. He didn't like those eyes of the boy, but he didn't know why.
As the 'Star Wolf' team rounded the corner they spotted the hotel they were after, it wasn't too far from the landing port so they didn't bother with a taxi. They checked out two rooms, one single, and one double, to save money. Wolf and Leon weren't planning on bringing anyone back tonight, but knowing Panther they gave him his own room. The two rooms connected so they had easy access to each other's room.
Leon lay back on his bead, tracing the patterns on the ceiling with his eyes, thoughts no one could decode swarming around his head. Panther in the other room was flipping through the channels on the cheap holo-projector. Wolf looked out the slightly moth eaten curtained window at the hostile streets bellow, his own thoughts swarming in his head like an endless sea of wonder and pain. He hated these moments of deep thoughts, they brought up painful memories.
Wolf decided to occupy his mind with focusing on his own room's holo-projector.
Nope click.
Borin' click.
Ew click.
Hope you die click.
Seen it click.
Gay click.
Really gay click.
Super gay click.
Uber gay click.
You gotta' be fuckin' kidding me click.
Is nothin' on? Click.
Unbelievable click.
Hold on… an image of a half-naked female occupied the screen. Wolf cocked his head to the side
"Only at 'Teresa's secret'" Then the commercial ended.
Aawww click
There was a knock at the door, and Leon being all too eager to end a particular thought, jumped to get it. Wolf paid his attention to the screen where some chick was being tortured to death; he didn't hear what was being said behind him. It wasn't until Leon called him over that Wolf was less than interested in what was going on.
"Uh, Wolf?"
"What?"
"Could you come over here?"
Panther poked his head through the door that connected his room to Wolf and Leon's.
Wolf got off his bead with a growl and started towards Leon at the door before stopping short.
"Da' fucks?"
Leon and Panthers eyes darted from the one fully grown wolf to the two small wolf pups in the doorway, the same two wolf pups from the street.
Wolf stormed over to the two grimy street urchins "the fuck do you want? We don' give out donations!" Wolf was about to slam the door but the girl put her hand out "Wait!"
Wolf stopped and glared at the two pups, the boy's eyes shifted around nervously, the girl paused for a moment, and then opened her mouth to speak, choosing her words carefully.
"Hello, my name is Haylie, this is my brother, Case" she motioned to the boy with the icy blue eyes. She didn't beat around the bush much; she got down right to it.
"We're yours… kids… your kids… we're your kids… your our father" She forced a grin and lightly hit the boy on his arm, indicating that he should do the same.
Wolf looked at the two grinning kids, he laughed, a slow, malevolent chuckle of disbelief.
"He… hehehe… hehe, no I'm not" the girl's face fell.
"He, he, leave." The kids' grins fell into frowns as they looked at Wolf with pleading blue and lavender eyes.
"Please…" the girl said quietly.
"Leave" Wolf wasn't laughing anymore as he began to close the door.
"Please!" The girls voice was louder now, desperate.
"Please! You are our father! We are your children!"
"Stop sayin' that! I'm not your 'daddy'! Now leave!"
"Isis Jane O'Malley!" The girl practically screamed the name before Wolf closed the door completely. He fully opened the door again, his eyes narrowing.
"Isis Jane O'Malley" she said again "twelve years ago, Zoness, 'Mixima Beats'."
Wolf was utterly confused; he had no idea what she was talking about, she could have been speaking gibberish. He was fed up, enough a' this shit!
Wolf pulled out his blaster and aimed it at the two street urchins. The girl grabbed the boys arm and ran like a bat out of hell. Wolf slammed the door "Fuckin' beggars"
Panther shook his head "was it really necessary to pull out your blaster and aim it at their faces? They're just kids for fucks sake"
"Ya, well they wouldn' leave"
"Yea, but still…" Wolf shot Panther a look
"Do you wan' me ta aim this at your face too?"
Panther didn't say anything else, just stood there as Wolf sat back down on his bead. Oh fuckin' great, I missed the torture scene. He started flipping through channels before looking back at Panther.
"Why you starrin' at me?"
"What if they are yours..." Wolf cut him off
"Oh please don' start that bull shit!"
"I'm just saying they did look a lot like you, the boy especially"
"Look, they saw me in the street, noticed they happened to look like me an' came up with a scheme involvin' me as their 'father' so they could get food an' money an' stuff. An' did you see 'em run scared when I pointed this at 'em?" He held up his modified blaster.
"Wolf, pointing that at anyone would cause them to piss their pants"
Wolf shrugged "If my 'long lost dad' pointed this at me, I woulda' stood my ground"
"Yea, well not everybody's stupid like you Wolf" Leon commented from his position on his bead
"Shut the fuck up Leon" Wolf switched the holo-projector off "Look, they're not mine, end of discussion." With that, he got up and walked into the bathroom to freshen up, it was almost time to go.
'Wilson's Pen' was a well-known bar throughout Liberty, many different crowds flocked to the popular, almost high class, dive bar. Every time Wolf happened to be in, or near Liberty he would always pay 'Wilson's Pen' a visit, it was a personal favorite of his. It was the perfect place to go if you needed to drown your sorrows, hang with friends, meet someone new, have a one night stand, or if you were looking for a fight there was always someone to challenge.
Wolf, Leon, and Panther sat at a round bar table on their third round of drinks. Wolf loved to drink, but he didn't really like the complicated mixed drinks, he felt like a pussy whenever he got one. Panther was the casual consumer, usually going for the fruity stuff Wolf hated, Panther knew his way well about a bar and was able to woo the females with his talents. Leon wasn't much of a drinker, only on special occasions, which going to 'Wilson's Pen' was, he usually got what Wolf got for they had similar tastes.
The three sat laughing and reminiscing about old times, Panther listening into the stories Wolf and Leon shared about the original team.
"God 'e was a fat ass, never saw a time when 'e didn' have somthin' crammed in his mouth!"
"Remember when we dared him to eat as many enchiladas as he could?"
"Oh ya, that was hilarious!" Wolf started laughing "'e was in the shitter for HOURS!"
Leon laughed along with Wolf "Almost as funny as the time we shaved Oikonny while he was passed out drunk!"
Wolf laughed hard at the memory.
Panther's eyes widened "okay, I want to hear more about this enchilada scarfing, and ass shaving"
Wolf calmed his laughter down enough to speak "okay, so, we were at this one sketch-" Some idiot made a drunken stumble and fell on Wolf. The grey lupine didn't take this very well, and shoved the tipsy boxer into another person.
"The fuck!" an avian the boxer was shoved into lunged at Wolf, aiming a punch to his face. Wolf ducked the delivered a punch of his own to the bird's eye. He stumbled back into a nearby table, knocking it over, and spilling drinks on the floor. The avian, his friends, and the people whose table was assaulted all stood up and started advancing on each other, and the three 'Star Wolf' members. A few bystanders eager to get in a fight joined in, and within a matter of seconds the place turned to utter chaos.
Shouts and curses could be heard over the brawling crowd. People scampered to get out of the fight, but most stayed to show what they were worth. Chairs and tables were thrown about, glass bottles were shattered against heads, fist flew, feet kicked, nails scratched, and teeth bit as the bar scene turned into an all-out fee-for-all. The air was heavy with adrenalin, and testosterone. One could say it wasn't so much as an actual fight, many were just in it for fun, few others took it personally.
Wolf punched a nearby thug in the muzzle, and then ducked under the lunge of another as they tried to grab him. Wolf tackled the assaulter to the bar surface and started wailing on his face mercilessly. He felt his shoulders grabbed and was yanked off the lynx he was beating. Wolf felt the stinging blow of a fist to his face as he fell back on a bar table. A foot was shoved into his stomach and he bent over from loss of air, then shot up with and uppercut to the assaulters chin. Wolf then head butted the husky and watched as it stumbled in a daze. Someone else jumped in and kicked off Wolf's chest, and he was thrust against the bar. A fist, Wolf wasn't sure if it belonged to the same person who kicked him, smashed into his muzzle. He felt a rush of blood come out of his nose, and punched a goat in the eye. Wolf delivered a few more blows to the goats face, feeling the bones in his fist crack. The goat dodged his last strike and dealt Wolf with a punch to the side of his head. Wolf stepped back into a table and readied himself for another strike, but one didn't come. He looked to see the attacker goat bent over being repeatedly kneed in the face and abdomen by Leon, the chameleon brought his elbow down hard on the goat bringing him to the floor.
Someone leapt on Leon's back, and he reached behind his head to flip a female otter onto a table. He felt a foot ram into his back and was thrust into a pole; Leon swung his leg behind himself, his foot catching someone on the side of the head. The chameleon twisted around and smashed his palm in to the nose of an ape, then jabbed rapidly at another's abdomen four times, the primate crumpled to the ground in a heap. Leon side chopped a feline in the neck, and rabbit punched someone behind him. He spun around with a round house kick to dual the rabbit punch. The reptile tripped a running fox with his tail and went to work on a husky that charged after him, fists flailing. Leon rammed his elbow into the husky's chest making it trip over a chair. The husky jumped up quickly punching Leon in the eye and stomach. The reptile grunted in pain, then jammed his fist into the husky's trachea. He stepped back and felt his back bump into someone, Leon looked behind himself a moment to see Panther behind him blocking various punches from a bull dog.
Panther shielded his face from an oncoming blow; he was ready to block another when a beer bottle broke against the back of the canine's head. Panther shrugged, and ducked under the swing of a rabbits arm and retaliated with and uppercut to the offenders chin. He turned slightly and elbowed an avian in the beak and the chest, only to be tackled from the side by another panther. Panther felt his shoulder collide with the hard floor, and gasped in pain. The feline on top rammed his fist into the face of the one on bottom. The feline with the half-moon scar under his right eye got his legs positioned under the others form and kicked up hard. The panther on top flew back into a nearby pole. Panther stood up and narrowly dodged a kick from a female otter. He dodged her next attacks; it was against his beliefs to hit a female, Panther bobbed and weaved away from kicks and punches from the aggressive female. "Oh, don' be such a pussy Panther!" Wolf had his arms raised defensively blocking attacks from an enraged rat.
Once Wolf spotted an opening he socked the rodent in the muzzle. His small victory was short lived as two burly bull dogs restrained his arms as the same avian from the beginning of the fight punched him repeatedly in his abdomen. Wolf started to cough up blood when the blows stopped abruptly. The lupine looked up to see that both Leon and Panther had pulled the avian off of him and were now beating relentlessly on the unfortunate bird. The two thugs let Wolf go to help their ring leader, big mistake. Wolf jumped on both the bull dogs, bringing them to the floor. Wolf was on top of one, smashing his fist into the thugs face, Panther was on top of the other doing the same, and Leon was busy with damaging the ribs of the avian with his foot.
The sound of blaster fire and police whistles had everybody scattering, leaving the now ruined bar at the nearest exit. Wolf jumped from a window, and began sprinting down the street, his heart racing with adrenalin. Wolf always loved some uncivilized violence in a bar, and escape from the cops; it made him feel alive and young. He wasn't too worried about Panther or Leon, they can handle themselves just fine, they've escaped much worse on their own.
It wasn't long before Leon appeared at Wolf's side, they continued at a brisk jog for a bit before Panther met up with them and they slowed to a walk. All three had some sort of smile on their face, something always happens when they visited 'Wilson's Pen'.
Without a word the three pilots nodded a silent 'thanks' to one another, they always had each other's back in any kind of situation. No words were ever needed to express ones gratitude, if someone did say anything they were branded a pussy by the other two.
The three didn't say anything while Wolf hailed a cab; they were all occupied with the pain that had settled from the fight. The blue cab pulled up next to the curb and the weary mercenaries piled in. Panther sat up front while Leon and Wolf sat in the back, neither protested; if the driver was social they would try to spark a conversation with whoever was in the front seat. As it turned out the driver did feel like talking, or at least find out what happened.
"Jeez, what happened to you?"
Panther looked at the German shepherd "bar fight".
The canine chuckled "looks like it was fun. Where was it?"
Panther closed his eyes "'Wilson's Pen'"
"Sheesh that's the second one this week, don't think they'll be too happy about that"
The driver and Panther continued talking but Wolf wasn't paying attention, he was looking out of the overhead window at the stars. He had always admired those stars, even as a child. He and Leon would sneak out at night, climb onto his roof, and just stare at the stars for hours. He felt he was only ten years old again out on his roof, Leon lay next to him on his left, marveling at the stars. They were so far away, but if Wolf stared at them long enough he felt he could almost touch them. I wonder what it's like up there. Wolf continued looking past the tall buildings and sky scrapers and up at the sky, it's so beautiful. Wolf was lost in a trance looking at the twinkling stars when he saw Leon move suddenly from the corner of his eye. Then there was a deafening boom, a screech of metal, and a sudden impact that whipped Wolf's body to the side.
Boom. Screech. Crash.
Breaking glass. Burning rubber.
Moving. Flying. Falling.
Rolling. Skidding.
Screeches. Crashes.
Explosion. Ringing. Dripping. Burning.
Pain. White. Hot. Eyeless sockets.
Hazy. Dizzy. Echoing. Ringing.
Shouts. Wet. Blaster fire.
Shouts. Realizing. Remembering. Searching.
Remembering. Realizing. Worrying.
Pain. Ringing. Shouts. Blaster fire.
Realizing.
Remembering.
Yay, first chapters done! Most chapters will be this long, if not longer. That is if I continue with the story. I will only update if I get reviews, so, GET TYPIN'!
Until Lates; Baby Mittn'