Hey again all! Back again with another installment of my first fanfic! I feel I must apologize if I can't get these out regularly, I have School to worry about. Anyway, I'm going to stop gawking now so we can get on with our lives. Let's get into it shall we

Chapter One "Not So Humble Beginnings."

Yesterday, 6:23 AM.

His world was torn, broken, and falling apart all over again. His mind, haunted by visions from his past. But were they just visions? No, he could see them, hear them, and touch them. Kyle was an eight-year-old boy, once again face to face with his long dead parents. At this point, he didn't really care if they were real or not. He found himself trying desperately to warn them of the imminent danger that lie ahead; trying to keep them from leaving him, and dying again.

"Stop! Please, listen to me! Don't go out that door!" he cried hopelessly, tears pouring from his eyes. His father and mother didn't seem to listen, or even hear what he was saying. All they could see was the face of their crying child. They still had those same warm and loving smiles on their faces, the smiles that had seen him through many hardships. His mother promptly embraced the little pup, reassuring him that everything would be fine; Kyle knew better.

Next thing he knew, he was in the middle of the street, watching as his parents walked into a nearby building that he could recognize all too well, smiling and waving to him as they did so. "No...NO! Don't go in there! Come back!" Not too much later, the skies were ablaze with gunfire. Eerily shaped star-fighters firing away at the helpless city block, among other things. One of the twin blasts of energy struck the supports of the nearby building, with his parents still inside. The little pup watched in absolute horror as the small tower went up in flames, and came crashing to the ground.

"NOOOOO!" The young Husky screamed, popping up from his bed as his alarm clock beeped away in agonizing repetition. Kyle looked hurriedly down onto his body, only to confirm that he was once again the seventeen-year-old mutt that he had grown accustomed to. He let out a heavy sigh as he reached over to his alarm clock, pounding the off button just a little harder than he had intended. The poor dog buried his face into paw-like hands as he reminisced the vivid image of his parents, everything from their warm smiles, to the dreadful demise that followed. His hands tightened into fists as he tried to hold back the sudden tears, that were threatening to pour from his eyes. "I'm really starting to get sick of that dream," he thought bitterly; wiping the sweat from his brow. However, he simply had no time to dwell on it now.

After a quick shower, and a dash through his dresser, Kyle bolted downstairs to the kitchen/living area. For a small bachelor pad, It was a surprisingly well maintained setup. This is especially surprising when you consider the fact that it sits in the city's outskirts; a grassy field a few miles away from of the large metropolis itself.

The cabinets and stove, while simple in design, were completely new. The kitchen also sported a small bar setup, complete with a small selection of snacks, and it's own drink rack (albeit an empty rack). The living area was considerably more bland in comparison. It hosted a simple two-seat couch (looking to be a good few years old), a somewhat large wooden coffee table, and an old wide-screen television.

Sitting on the counter was one of his most cherished possessions, an old family photo. He walked over and picked it up, not such a strange move when you consider what had happened mere minutes ago. The young Husky just stood there for a moment, taking in the image with his bright cyan eyes. The image of his parents standing in a grassy field, hand-in-hand and smiling cheerfully, while Kyle himself sat snugly on his father's shoulders, playfully giggling. Setting the picture down, he couldn't help but feel a slight smile cross his face, the pleasant memory overtaking his thoughts. However, the smile faded as the harsh truth forced it's way back into his head.

After grabbing a quick breakfast, he plopped down on the couch, and switched the T.V on, a news update flashing on the screen. He seemed to have caught it halfway through, as the reporter (a female lynx) was talking in mid sentence.

"-Finitely a dreary sight here at the Andross Invasion Memorial (Best thing I could come up with, sorry). People from all over, coming to honor their lost loved-ones. I must admit that the sight we're baring witness to is heartbreaking, even for one such as myself."

"Don't act like you actually care." Kyle snorted under his breath, scowling as he took a sip from his coffee.

"Today marks the nine year anniversary of that fateful attack on the city, by the armies of the once greatly feared Andross. But also to the rise of our heroes, the mercenary team Star Fox." The lynx seemed to clear her throat for a minute. "Though they were not able to save everyone from the attacking hordes, the casualties would have been much worse without the team's intervention."

Kyle nodded slightly, his gaze falling to the drink in his hand. Yes, it could have been much worse; many more would have indeed died that day...that absolutely horrible day. His parents had met their tragic end in that attack. Ironically enough, that tragedy also gave birth to his fascination for Star Fox, the great heroes who practically saved the entire Lyat System single-handed. He had to be honest with himself, if it came to it, he would give anything to be just like them.

With an annoyed sigh, Kyle turned off the T.V, not wanting to indulge the media any longer than he had to. He just sat there for a moment, contemplating his next action. Sure, it was something of a bad day. But if he let it get to him, he would be dropping every emotional barrier he'd worked so hard to build. Besides, something interesting might actually happen that day, who knows?

Apparently taking this new thought to heart, Kyle jumped from the couch with a new-found spring in his step. "Well, today's a new day, let's see where it takes me!" He said enthusiastically, his trademark grin glossing his pure white face. Throwing on a leather-jacket, and finger-less biking gloves, he ran into his small garage. Inside was a small speeder bike, with a flame patterned biking helmet sitting on it's seat. After giving his bike a quick check, the Husky practically dove out into the small road as he made his way down the small road toward the large city.

"Watch your blind spot unsuspecting victims," he said as another toothed grin formed under his helmet visor. "Cause I'm coming for ya!"

The Cornarian city was in it's usual business; it's citizens Running about in different directions, while numerous air speeders flew above. It was like most other parts of the metropolis, but it also had a nice view of the nearby park. It would probably have been a nice place to take in the scenery, if it weren't for the Young mutt that was peeking out from behind the side of an alley.

Kyle just stood there starring at the passing mass of individuals for a moment, before a mischievous smile formed in his features. "It's showtime," he said to himself as he proceeded to walk towards the crowd.

They didn't even seem to acknowledge his presence, as they continued to move along in the same fashion as before, aside from the exceptional glance in the Husky's general direction. This would only play to his advantage, as he proceeded to expertly pick the pockets of anyone who wandered too close to him. He seemed to be quite adept at this, because he accomplished this feat within a split second, all without alerting his victims.

Ducking into a another alley after about seven minutes of quick pocket-picking, Kyle drew his attention to the somewhat large stack of wallets had stashed under his jacket. He let out a chuckle as he tossed his bounty into a large cardboard box, that he had placed ahead of time.

This same process repeated for several hours, although the thieving mutt made sure to move to different streets as he did so. By 3:36 P.M, the box was packed with wallets. After a couple more hours of emptying the wallets of all tangible cash he had made a profit of about 1,436 credits! ($1,436 if that was unclear). What's surprising is that he completely ignored all the currency cards, and/or personal information.

Letting out a content chuckle, Kyle thew all the wallets back into the box, and put them into a large rug-sack on the back of his speeder-bike. After a relatively short trip, he parked in another alleyway, set up so he could make a quick escape if it came to that. He then proceeded to sneak the box of relatively untouched wallets to the side door of the local law enforcement building.

Before setting the box down, he turned his head toward the readers' general direction, and gave them a slight grin. "I know what all of you back there are thinking, and to answer your possible question, no I'm not crazy. I know I might have made a bigger profit if I used the other stuff I found, but where would that get me? I'm not stupid. The cops would eventually track me down if I used the local interface. Besides, this wayno one loses anything too important, and I get to make a small profit in the process. Everyone's happy!" (Fourth wall breakage baby!)

After a brief knock on the door, the delinquent Husky made a dash around the side of the alley, and waited. A somewhat large tiger took up the box of pilfered wallets, seemingly without surprise.

"Hey Joe! We've got another stolen shipment!" Kyle didn't stick around to hear the rest, choosing instead to get out of there as quickly as possible. He was not at all eager to be caught in the act of returning stolen goods.

Despite his apparent success, he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. It was simply too easy; no one had even noticed anything had happened to them. "Listen Author, I know the whole point of this chapter was to basically introduce me to the public readers. But couldn't you have done something a little more...I don't know...awesome with my time?" The slight annoyance in his voice was apparent.

Sorry man, that stuff comes a little later...but could you please do me a favor and NOT interrupt the readers? It's my first try at this, and I need to make a good impression!

"Alright, if it's that important to you," he said nonchalantly.

Upon returning home, he was quick to get some shut eye; not even bothering to change as he plopped himself onto his bed. He just laid there for a moment as he- "Oh for the love of Pete! Just finish up and get out of here! Even I need my beauty sleep!" He shouted, an agitated look on his face. After calming down and climbing under his bed sheets, he drifted into a peaceful slumber. "Now you're...getting...it."

The darkness of space. That was all the large reptile saw saw through the observation window of his flagship's bridge. The crewmen dashing left and right to make sure everything was in working order, as their commander stood over them in dominance of authority. A smaller lizard walked meekly toward the hulking individual that stood gazing into the starlit area.

"Anything worthwhile to report?" The larger one asked in a deep male voice, with a silky and an almost harmonious edge to it.

The smaller lizard straightened his posture before answering. "All ships are in one hundred percent working order, sir. If we leave now, we should arrive in the Lyat System in four weeks."

A razor toothed smile appeared on the green beast. "Make it so lieutenant. Soon, very soon, those who sought to destroy our great people will burn-." His clawed hand tightly gripped the sword handle to his side. "-And I pity any fool that gets in our way!"

Oooooh, foreshadowing! Again, please don't forget to review! Your opinion means a lot! Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!