Author's Note: I haven't written anything here in quite some time, and I don't know how regularly I'll add things in, but I'm pushing a bit back into writing. I'm currently in my second year of college and starting here got me much more into fiction writing and I branched away from fanfiction. Eventually, I got busy and stopped writing altogether because I couldn't allot the time for it and when I could, I wasn't inspired.

I'm going back to my roots, more or less, and I'm gonna start making contributions here again in the flavor of whatever I'm inspired to do. This, more or less, is gonna be a piece centered around Fox and Wolf and discovering a means for the beginning of something more affectionate, I'm gonna make it more lasting and chapter-based, but I'll update it as I'm able. Also, Post-Star Fox 64 and such, even though I love Assault.

–

As I returned to the ship, I couldn't help but turn to look back at the dark expanse of space that circled Venom. We had won, somehow, and save the few scratches I had sustained from being jolted about in the Arwing, I was fine. . . well, fine enough. Each time I looked out there, I looked for a sign that he was there, that he was real, and I couldn't find it, he just wasn't there and I don't know where he could have gone.

The comm had gone silent as we returned to the ship, everyone anxious and excited even though the only thing left was to return to Corneria. We were to tell the General that we won. We were to tell the General that we had flown away from Venom carrying our pride and the will of the galaxy on our shoulders. Knowing Pepper, he was ready to see us all come home.

"Peppy."

"Yeah, Fox?"

I let it hang in silence for a few seconds, "I'll ask you when we dock."

"Okay."

We pulled the ships into the Great Fox, and the ship shook a bit as it turned and set course for Corneria. ROB already knew where we were going. I released the hatch and pushed upwards, the angled glass peeling away and giving me the first breath of real air I'd had since we hit the airfields miles outside of Venom's stratosphere. Peppy, Slippy, and Falco each came from their Arwings as well, and Slippy and Falco looked towards me for a second before they decided to give us the privacy. Peppy walked over, looking at least a little bit concerned for me.

"What's going on, Fox?"

"When you flew out to Venom the first time, when you had to leave, what happened?"

Peppy stood there, perplexed, but he had told the story enough times that he had no issue parting with the words again, "Your dad was flying point, Pigma and I to the rear. We weren't expecting enemy fire, we were just scouting. Pigma let loose all of the sudden on your dad, he didn't have time to react, and the wings went out. Your dad's ship crashed into Venom's surface, and all your dad had time to do was tell me to get out of there."

"He just crashed?"

"He wouldn't have survived the crash, Fox. His comm link went dead the moment he made impact, that means the core systems were breached in the crash. At best, he would've died on impact, at worst, he would've been trapped in the wreckage of his ship until he suffocated or bled out," Peppy's voice was stern. He could hear the ghosts that haunted my eyes catching the tip of my tongue.

"I saw him, Peppy," I said, and Peppy's eyes sunk for a second.

"When we're on the brink of death, we sometimes see angels that try to decide our fate."

I paused and looked at the hare, trying to figure out what he meant, "He led me out of that base, he helped me, he made sure I didn't die after I saw it through to the end. Peppy-"

"Fox, no-"

"Peppy-"

"No!" and the hare was left balling his fists as he looked back at me. I didn't see it before, but I caught the telling shimmer or tears. Peppy was crying, "No, Fox, he died on Venom. The mantle fell on you because you shine as bright as him, but don't bring him back from the dead just to feel better. We have to move on. If he survived that impact, God knows what Andross would've done to him."

"Peppy . . ." and I didn't know what else to say. I was on the verge of crying too, of losing it, and the older man stepped away from me.

Once he looked back, he said simply, "You have a guardian angel, Fox, be happy that he's so eager to show you he cares."

I paused again, letting Peppy walk away as I stood there, feeling the first tear stream along my cheek before I started my way into the corridor. I could find my room, I could go there and sulk, but I knew Falco and Slippy were waiting to see the two of us and to celebrate, and Peppy seemed to know it too as he passed by his room with a certain determination. I kept walking too, past his and then my own as we approached the bridge. Sure enough, Falco and Slippy were waiting, hands on the railing as the glass gave us a view into that dark abyss sprawling out as far as the eye could see.

"We did it," I murmured, as I placed my own hands on the rail. I didn't dare look towards Falco or Slippy, for fear that there were still tears clinging to my eyes. I was the leader, even if Falco didn't see me as one, and I had to seem strong. I didn't even sniffle, and the fur helped hide the stream that the two or so tears had marked out on my face.

"Hell of a ride," Falco said.

"Yeah, what do you think is waiting for us back on Corneria?" Slippy chimed.

"I don't know." I really didn't, but I had some ideas, "Probably a parade, something huge. I think every planet will celebrate when they get the news. . . ROB, can you broadcast from our ship to all planets we pass the news of our victory at Venom?"

"Any specifications?" echoed back from his comm.

"No, just tell them that Star Fox is returning to Corneria following their victory at Venom. Keep it simple."

"Star Fox is returning to Corneria following their victory at Venom." echoed back at him. "Is this acceptable, Fox?"

"Yes."

"I'll begin broadcast immediately."

The faint hum of it hit their communicators immediately, and I muted his from the native frequency as I looked over towards Falco, but Falco spoke first, "There's a lot of people out there that wouldn't believe what happened there on Venom. Whether you succeeded or not, Pepper would've called you a hero for that stunt you pulled." He paused a second, "Good job, Fox."

They watched the stars go by for a little before I found my words again, "Thank you, all of you," I said, turning and looking between them. With the exception of Peppy, we were all early 20's, young men going to war. Slippy looked how we all felt—a basketcase. We weren't ready for war, but war was ready for us, and we took the call.

The words fell on silence, not for it being awkward, but because we were all reflecting on it. Hordes of enemies flying at them, trying to shoot us down. Sometimes they had to pull out before they went down in flames, and they barely made it out alive those times. I had seen my life flash in a spark of fire a thousand times, premonitions of death that I didn't get to experience, thankfully.

The heavy thought on my mind, though, was my father, and I stared out into the dark abyss,eyes alert and ears perked as I awaited any sign. Sometimes a planet would drift by, and we could see the night-kissed ones light up as we reached range. Someone was partying at least, and as I grew bored with the silence and the searching, I pushed off the bar and walked away, back to my room. We didn't celebrate, we were just in awe at the fact that we succeeded, which I guess makes sense. Falco looks so happy, Slippy terrified, and Peppy somber. I was. . . confused.

I pushed the button to the right of my door, the metal sliding aside before I stepped within. I didn't bother locking it behind me, no one would bother me while I was in there since we all had our own things to think about. I sat myself on my bed, face crumpled in my hands and just sorta sighed. It was supposed to be exciting, right?

The next thing I knew, I was being jolted awake by a knock on my door, I hadn't even laid down to fall asleep but I was tired as all hell. I turned a little, trying to figure out what was going on before I stepped towards the door, opening it. Falco was at the other side, "We're here," he said, then started his way down towards the bay. My comm was lit up and freaking out, but I had muted it earlier to avoid the noise from the broadcast. With a slight stretch, I started my way out of the Great Fox like everyone else.

As we met the door, the bay opening to let us out, we were met by a massive crowd of people, cheers and fanfare. I blinked for a second at the sudden intrusion of light, but there was a mass nearing a thousand people surrounding the path to the tower. "What the hell?" I muttered, starting my way down as my team flanked me. Trumpeters lined the path, lined further by security that kept the people back as they played us down the line. Some part of it brought the pep back, I felt my chest puffing out with pride as I stood taller and walked the line. I could feel that confidence and certainty growing to my sides, Falco turning and waving and Peppy gaining a bit more distinct of a smile.

Once we reached the door, we were within and the echoes of the cheers behind were the distinct memory of what had happened. The elevator up took us further and further from them before we were met with a line of military officials giving us the same fanfare as we were guided in a walk to Pepper's desk at the end of the path. Somewhere in the mix of officials, I spotted Bill, and I smiled just a bit wider knowing we had helped him make it through the fire on Katina. That was just another theater in this war, but that, and chasing Katt in the skies above Zoness were times we got to see old friends.

"Star Fox." It was Pepper, we had made it to his desk and I turned myself towards the General. "It is with great honor that I am able to offer you all the comfort you deserve following such an alarming war. The military has agreed to give you full pay for the war as acting generals of the Cornerian fleet. Additionally, we have some other formalities and awards and ceremonies to undergo in the coming days." He paused, and he looked at us. "We're also hoping to offer you a position in the Cornerian military of some form or fashion—each of you."

"But, sir, we're mercenaries. We prefer our own way," I said, and I was firm in it, but Pepper continued on as if I hadn't said a word. He expected it, so he most likely made his offer too tough to pass down.

"Formerly, Andross had been at the head of the Cornerian Academy, but that position has been vacant since his removal and it has been led by department. We are instituting a new department, and some of those departments have become vacant in terms of leadership. Rather than promote within, we have opted to offer those positions to each of you." I flinched. The Academy only gave teaching positions to people that had been in the field for decades, and its leading positions were given to those that had a foot in the grave after a few decades more. To give those positions to us. . . "To give those positions to you is the highest honor we can bestow upon you." I felt my tongue catch in my throat as I tried to swallow air, but I made no protest.

"Falco Lombardi, you are considered a flying ace in your team, and as such, we are looking to place you in the Flight Academy. Slippy Toad, you are the team's engineer and we will be placing you in the Engineering Academy—additionally, we will be funding the research that you had requested prior to your leave from Corneria and you will be able to work alongside your father. Peppy Hare, we are placing you in charge of the Introduction Program, in charge of capturing and educating the youngest students we have and to guarantee their success at the academy."

Finally, he turned towards me, "Fox McCloud, it is for you that we are implementing a new department. In war, a lot of difficult decisions must be made, and those decisions fall to a capable leader. You will be taking charge of a new Young Leaders program alongside a handful of other faculty from other departments until we can properly staff this department. Your program will be unique in that it will select particular students from each department, and you will help develop teams, like your own, and create ace squads with developed leaders."

I swallowed again, but it seemed as if Pepper were nearing the end of his speech. "Of course, I expect this to be difficult to decide upon, so I'll allow you all until the end of the week to decide on whether or not you want to accept these positions and you will start immediately following your acceptance," he said.

The silence didn't last long, Slippy breaking it with a firm, "I accept," and I turned towards him. Part of me screamed at myself to refuse, to just say no, but Slippy's acceptance was soon echoed by Peppy's. I found some sort of solace in Falco's eyes for a moment, before I found the contemplation beneath them. Finally, I stated my own acceptance, and Falco quickly echoed with his own.

"Very well," he said, and I felt sick, "You will all be able to begin tomorrow and I'll hold your awards ceremonies as an academy-wide celebration. We will present each of you as new faculty. You'll get to meet some of your students. If you'll allow me, I'll get the papers with all the information on your awards and what else will be happening in the next few days."

Once I received mine, I gawked at the number of 0's in the check that we'd be receiving, and just as much at our pay, but that still didn't sit quite right with me. I accepted because there was no point in going back without my team, but the world didn't need us without a war, so we could step back and relax, I suppose.

A few seconds later, I saw a particular award that was sitting in the last, "A statue?"

"Yes," he said, "We wanted to honor you in particular, Fox, not just for your actions, but also for the significance behind those actions."

"What do you mean?"

"We'll be erecting two statues, one with the team as a whole, and an additional one to honor you in particular. The statue that honors you in particular has actually already been completed and it will be present in the ceremony tomorrow. There's a photo in the back of the folder there . . ." as Pepper continued talking, I flipped through the pages and eventually found the picture. Dad. "Ahh, yes, there it is. See, we wanted to erect a statue in memory of James, but additionally, to honor you. It has the two of you, back to back. The base of the statue also has 3 pieces of writing as well. One for each of you, then one for the two of you together."

I wasn't interested in the individual pieces, and I quickly found the duo piece.

'Due to suspicious activity on Venom, James McCloud was sent to investigate and determine the nature of the situation with Andross. When he discovered it had taken a turn for the worse and Andross was alive, he determined to defeat the scientist. Rather, he was betrayed by one of his own squad, Pigma Dengar, and shot down. Peppy Hare returned with the news, and after some months of grooming, Peppy stepped in to advise a new team led by James' son, Fox. Fox was determined to avenge his father's legacy and flew across the galaxy in a war that consumed the galaxy and liberated planet after planet. Finally, he reached Venom and flew the skies his father did and was able to see the end to Andross.'

"What if we had failed?" Fox asked.

"It's only a few words and they weren't placed until we knew for sure, but we received word from ROB once your ship emerged on Venom and we finished the statue right away."

"Thank you," I said, and I glanced towards Peppy. The hare was peering through his own folder, but the words hadn't escaped him, and he saw that same shimmer as a tear slipped down the old hare's face. We had something to remember Dad by.

–

Author's Note: Retconned a bit on 64's ending, but with good reason for pushing towards the rest of the story. I initially considered this post Assault, but post 64 made more sense, since it fell in line with the fact that I wanted to look at Star Fox members moving into retirement prematurely (maybe not so much for Peppy, but still). This is a prologue, of sorts, but not a very good one for the direction the story will be taking. Since this took me a night to get through, I'm gonna say that the idea has me pretty inspired and it shouldn't be too long to get to the main part.