Wolf Brother
Disclaimer: Star Fox and its trademarks are owned by Nintendo. Other characters are owned by me.
Welcome to my first ever Altered Universe fanfiction. That's right! Anyway, the characters will remain the same, but their personalities will be slightly altered, as well as their jobs, etc. This story is about the McClouds' family. However, you'll see that Wolf is a member of it. Why so, you ask? Well, just read!
I - The Wolf
I see, so James, this kid is your son to her…
Yeah, and, well, he's all alone now. He lost his mother and fatherly figure, and because I'm his blood father, it's my responsibility to bring him up too… I hope that's okay with you…
It's fine with me. After all, Fox needs a brother, after all…
Brother, you say. Well, I guess that's a start. Okay, come here, Wolf, don't be afraid. You're welcome in our home… and, if it's fine with you, you can call us mom and dad.
I know that will cheer you up! Go to the nursery above! You can play with Fox so that you'll have a great time here! Now, run along, and James, I mean your father, and me bring your things to your room.
"Drat, it's still not yet done…"
Wolf complained as he looked keenly at his laptop. He was taking a few pieces of fries while reviewing some of the work he had uploaded before, yet it was not yet present. "When will this website get updated? Sheesh, if they had told me earlier that the submission address was down, I couldn't have sent my document there!" He gruffly muttered as he rotated the scrolling ball of the keyboard.
Fox then passed by and saw him doing something in the kitchen. He peeked at the monitor and asked, "Bro, what are you up to? You'll miss the bus if you don't get yourself ready!" Wolf glanced at his younger brother who startled him.
"I've already planned that, Fox, and no, I won't be late," he assured him. He then observed his outfit - white-blue sports shirt and grey shorts, with matching shoes, socks, and cap. It gave him an idea on what is he up to. "So, is my little brother going to the big soccer game this afternoon?"
"Ha, ha! I guess you noticed," he smiled back while putting on his kneepads. "Today's going to be our championship game at Corneria Stadium. If we win this, we'll be the champion in this year's league! By the way, um, can you… go and watch the tournament? I'm sure dad won't be able to, which is a big bummer, but… maybe you could…" He stood up and looked at Wolf, who was giving a neutral look.
The lupine sipped water from his glass and shook his head. "Well, I'm not sure," he answered back straightly. "I don't know how long my swimming class today will be, so I'm not going to be sure about going at the stadium… Sorry…" Fox was disappointed by his reply, but he just smiled back. "Oh, um, maybe I could, but… don't expect, okay?"
"It's fine, Wolf," he replied back while hiding his sadness with that grin. "I know college life is harder than my high school life, and well, you have more important things to do." He then picked his bag up and waved his hand. "I have to go now! Team meeting will almost begin, and I can't afford to miss it!" He exited the place, leaving Wolf and his thoughts.
"It's not that I don't really want to watch it," he whimpered while looking at the door, "it's just that… well… For sure, though, you don't deserve to feel that way, Fox… You need somebody to support you in your happiest day… I'll… I'll try to make it there… I promise…" He then glanced at the clock, and it was already about nine in the morning. He had to leave for the bus.
"Mr. O'Donnell, you're a promising student," one of the professors declared to him, "and I'm sure that you got what it takes to join this competition, but we have to clarify your identity first. Your last name, shouldn't it be McCloud?" Wolf shook his head in disagreement.
He answered back, "I might be adopted by my blood father, but O'Donnell is still the last name of my deceased father, not to mention that this was the last name my mother used since her marriage up to her death… I can't just change it. It's the only thing left from my family. Why such a big problem on a last name, anyway?"
"Well," the college dean explained definitely, "the academic contest heads might wonder about your name not matching your current parents' last name. They might eliminate you for just that sole reason!"
The lupine was furious about this. What kind of rule would allow that to happen? Names had no involvement of competitions involving the use of intellect. "I won't trade my family's name for a contest! I'll back out if I have to!" he shouted without thinking, giving the staff a quite perked look on him. "Uh, sorry… I was just carried away… I'll, I'll not join if that's the case…" He then exited the dean's room, with a heavy heart, of course.
He walked towards a nearby lavatory for men. He went to a basin and washed his face up. He thought about what happened earlier, and he was rather dissed about it.
"It's not that I hate being a McCloud," his inner feelings jittered, "it's just that, I might forget who my parents were... Sure, Fox's dad is my real blood father… but then, why didn't mom married him? Why did she marry the person who bore the surname O'Donnell? Since the time I got accepted at the McCloud residence, I kept on asking that to myself… and I didn't realize that I need to find out the answers sooner or later… otherwise… things like this might happen…"
An alarm suddenly knocked him out of his self-reckoning. It was his swimming classes. He then looked at the time, and it was past three. He might not make it in the tourney Fox's about to participate. Although he was worried about that, he needed to hurry. He quickly went to the College Pool, and headed to the showers.
"Hey Wolf, you seem to be in rush today!" a red wolf named Rufus, his close friend, who was just about to start taking a shower, greeted him. "Don't try to rush! We still have a plenty of time for the dip, you know!"
Wolf, who was in his swimming trunks, growled, "Well, I have to hurry, you know! I have some important business to attend to after class!"
The coach suddenly called them to assemble, so they rushed to the poolside. Wolf, Rufus, Panther, another one of Wolf's friends, and two more were lined up, and they were told to perform butterfly strokes.
The lupine dived down to the pool, followed by the rest of the class. He then started to do the said stroke to the Olympic-sized swimming area. While doing so, though, his past revisited his thinking once again.
"I was afraid at first, to enter a place unknown to me, the McCloud residence," he whimpered as he continued travel the water, "yet somehow, something kept on telling me to go in there… It's my father, or fathers… My fatherly figure seemed to be inside of my blood father… That place, gave me a new chance to live… a new chance to have a family I could be with…" He was still in his thoughts, even while swimming. He didn't realize that he was going down.
Panther and Rufus thought that he was drowning, so they quickly grabbed him and threw him out of the pool. Wolf was suddenly snapped out from his deep thinking, and he realized that he was out of the water.
"Wolf O'Donnell," the coach suddenly yanked him, "what were you thinking? Are you trying to drown yourself? You're one of the best pupils here, so don't try to tire yourself out! If you're exhausted, you should've told me earlier so that I could excuse you. After all, you already know the strokes."
"You mean, I can be excused… even this early?" he wondered with a slight sign of happiness. "Well then, may I be excused?" He then remembered somebody he needed to send a message, so he first grabbed his cell phone to talk to somebody close…
