The loud buzzing alarm clock rang at precisely 4:30AM like it did every morning for this super star vulpine. Fox McCloud jolted awake as he realized he was no longer in dream land as he breathed easy for a moment than silenced the alarm.

"Lights on." He muttered softly as the vulpine slowly crawled out of bed, the automated command software listening to his words as the lights flickered on brightly afterwards. Fox's private room could be mistaken for a large bachelor pad design of a room. He threw off the finest silk sheets money could buy as he sat up rubbing his tired face before finally peering around the room. Many drapes of dark colors of the sky hanged in his room, the shower was directly left of him as his bathroom alone was as big as your standard living room for the average income household. It came complete with marble counters and titanium sinks, and the biggest bathtub/Jacuzzi that was legal in a household on the basis of too much water consumption. Though Fox got it ecofriendly to help that problem, which costs extra of course.

As Fox's gaze shifted from his god-status bathroom toward the ultimate 'man cave' one would ever acquire, also known as his living room did he notice the plasma screen was already playing. It was programmed to turn on when Fox gave the command to turn on the morning lights. It was also pre-programmed to turn onto the station he owned himself, 'Cloud HD'. One side of the room's walls were covered with some of the most breathtaking, and expensive pieces of artwork one could ever buy. However the opposite wall away from the bathroom was covered in only one thing: himself. Fox liked to think of it as 'The gallery of McCloud' as it was covered in large, printed versions of some of his most well-received and famous pictures from his modeling career.

Fox's bedroom had all kinds of fun and useful gadgets such as an automated dressing attire that put some of his best and most stylish fashion designs together for him computing on the basis of the latest fashion trends today. He had a virtual reality video game arcade to the side of the plasma screen, a grand fire place below the enormous plasma screen, many silken drapes across the edges of his room and the sides of his 'Super' king size bed, and a water fountain that dispersed his favorite beverage: 'Scrumptiousberry Tropical Blast', just for shits and giggles next to his fridge that took up half a wall that was always stocked with the freshest fruits and veggies for his somewhat strict diets.

Although Fox loved all his little toys money could buy as well as his super star fame, he could never forget how it all started. From not so humble beginnings as Fox's smile vanished and he looked toward the simplest thing in the whole room, a small brown nightstand that stood at the front of his bed. Fox pulled out an old pair of black shades, the last thing he had that belonged to his father. He held them close to his heart as he bowed his head in respects, this wasn't the life his father hoped for him, but he hoped he could be happy with what Fox was doing.

"I hope you would approve dad." Fox looked toward his shades as he unfolded them and held them over his eyes, a small singular tear running down his cheek "I miss you every day." Fox put away the shades as he threw off the cosmos colored silk sheets and walked toward his bathroom "Shower on." The program followed his command as the shower area that was the size of a college apartment bedroom began to flow a strong and warm stream of hot water, the steam quickly rising to the top. Many people knew the life of Fox McCloud, he had even written a few autobiographies and of course had many interviews about his past. What many people didn't know about him however, are the emotions that ran through him as a child that somewhat characterized his life today.

After the death of Fox's father, James McCloud did Fox go from a happy kid to a troubled one. With Fox's father passed he had no other family, nowhere else to go other than the closest family he had left, his uncle Peppy Hare, James' eldest friend. However the old hare didn't have an easy time raising this defiant teen. Fox went through many things a kid should never have to go through at that young of age. The vulpine triumphed over loneliness, depression, suicidal thoughts, and the feeling of abandonment as he grew older over the years. One day Peppy just couldn't handle the delinquent McCloud anymore and demanded that he left out of anger. The young McCloud was homeless at the age of 13. He left, and before Peppy realized the foolish mistake he had done as well as defying his dead friends' final wish was it too late. Fox McCloud had left the Hare residence for good, and it would be seven years before he would see him again.

To survive Fox fell into the bad crowd and joined one of the biggest street gangs that dominated Cornelia's biggest street names with illegal business. Moving of illegal drugs, firearms, and setting up meeting points and spying on other gangs was a daily chore in Fox's life as a delinquent street thug. What landed Fox in prison was the framing of a huge bank heist, the last one Fox was planning to pull before going straight after the death of a close friend in a gang war firefight. Fox and his partner pulled off the heist, almost getting away with 50,000 credits in cold hard chips, money that compared to what he had now was a single penny in a very large bucket. However Fox was left behind to take the fall, and although the credits were never recovered, he was convicted as the sole criminal for this crime.

Fox's crime earned him 15 years in hard prison. However before the vulpine turned 20, less than two years into his sentence was he suddenly released. Fox remembered the day he left the prison, Peppy had arranged for his release to lead a new Star Fox team against the war Andross had started with the rest of the Lylat System. The war was hard fought but Fox and his team of mercenary pilots won the war in the name of Corneria. Fox McCloud, son of the legendary James McCloud had transformed from a nobody street thug, to Lylat's biggest hero since his father in the blink of an eye. Although Fox did not stay in the military life for long, he has never left the life of the big spotlight since then, almost 8 years ago.

Fox made his humongous fortune in a number of different ways. With all the money Fox received for payment after the war had ended, Fox invested a huge lot of it into a number of different programs asking for funding, most of them military or large companies that marketed some of the biggest resources the planets run off of today. His investments returned to him almost one hundred fold in such a short time span, only a few months after the war had ended. The planet was in the process of recovering all the damage that had been done, and that means putting people back to work to rebuild what was destroyed. Fox achieved a business masterpiece that most can only dream of in such a short span of time. In less than a year the 21 year old vulpine went from a mercenary hero to a hero that was also one of the ten richest names in Corneria. Today Fox McCloud is thee richest being on Corneria, and is constantly fighting for first place as the richest being in the Lylat System.

Of course, smart investments was only part of how Fox made his endless wealth of a fortune. After the Lylat war had ended the vulpine was all of a sudden the biggest star there was. People wanted interviews with him, to wear the latest clothing trends, to star in movies and music videos, to create his own brand and logo of clothing attire, to model off his good looks and charm to the ladies that wanted the system's biggest hero, and of course the one thing they all had in common that Fox loved at the time: They were all willing to pay big money for it.

After that Fox was the busiest he had ever been in his life. He went from studio to studio working on different projects multiple times in a single day to work on something big that was related to him. It wasn't uncommon for Fox to go from a modeling shoot, to filming for a role, to make a big public appearance on government as well as private business, and have to run and manage his brand merchandise corporation in a single day. In the beginning Fox did it all himself, now Fox has most of his business dealing with his brand name done for him paying some of the systems most refined business and marketing experts top dollar to keep his merchandise popular. Fox now only controlled the movie star and modeling aspects of his career. As the years went by Fox took the credits earned from his popularity related businesses and invested it back into the stock market for huge returns in the still booming economy. By that time Fox had a strong hold of most of the market shares in some of the biggest named corporations on the planet and across the system. Fox McCloud was the face of Corneria, he was that rich and powerful.

However obtaining a super inflated ego was the worst of what wealth brought to Fox's personality. He did not become power hungry or greedy in a sense of total domination, just to make money. No his memories of the past taught him well to never return back to his criminal days, and instead try to honor what his father would be proud of him the most for: serving and helping his community and Corneria. Fox made huge donations to multiple charities over the years, at one point he was visiting and donating to one charity every day, and he always went in person to meet the kids and families the charity was helping. The Fox McCloud Charity for Orphaned & Homeless Kids is one of the biggest charity chains on the planet, with Fox using huge funds of his wealth to help kids that are in the same kind of living he was once in. Fox's charities across the planet helps kids stay out of drugs and crime and offers healthy food, playful areas to have fun and exercise and access to medical doctors when needed to keep kids on the right track, like the one Peppy tried to give him.

Although Fox loved all of this, the donation center he loved partaking in the most was the 'Dream Date with Fox McCloud' get up, where Fox would go on a blind date with a deserving college student selected by her peers and the community. It was suggested and revised with the woman who is now in charge of the operation and also went on the first blind date with Fox McCloud that the program sponsored. She scouts the many college campuses of Corneria to find who she believes is the most deserving female college student as often as once a month to set them up on a blind date, however they don't know their date is actually Fox McCloud. He loved seeing the reactions on their faces when he exits out of the limousine to hand them a bouquet of flowers and to take them on a night on the town, to some of the fanciest and most expensive attractions Corneria had to offer, all paid for from Fox McCloud himself. Although many woman enjoyed just spending time with Fox McCloud and would have settled with that, they all never know how the date will end, the same way it always does as Fox hands them a giant unmarked check, vowing to pay for the rest of their college education. Most shed tears of joy and thank the vulpine from the bottom of their hearts, he's just happy to make these hard working women smile. He loved the affection many women gave him, but he was a man who truly loved women for their souls.

That's how Fox's persona of 'Corneria's Biggest Flirt' came to be and hasn't really stopped since then. It was a strange urge, a twisted desire to just steal the hearts of the women in the crowds who came to see him. Although Fox loved the attention, deep down he was old fashioned and poetic about love. Fox had quite the generous heart, he only wanted to use his wealth to help those in need, giving the kind of aid he wished he would have received when he was younger. Many didn't know that about him, only a few close friends knew about the hard past he faced.

Everyday Fox tried to look at himself in the mirror like he was doing now, only to see his own bleak expression staring back at him. Sometimes he wondered what his father would think about him. He wanted Fox to grow up to be a humble gentlemen, but somehow being the richest and flirtatious star on the planet didn't seem to fit into that tight criteria gap. Fox wanted to honor his father, but he wanted the kind of attention he didn't receive in his youthful years after his father had died. Fox was somehow trying to please both parties, but usually felt like neither was truly satisfied. He only hoped his father would be proud of what he was doing with his life. He might not have been saving lives much longer after the Lylat Wars, but he was changing lives for the better with the vast fortunes he had acquired. Those past years of his life was hard, Fox only wanted to feel like he was loved. He knew he was only tricking himself, these were fans, not friends, and not loved ones. But for now that's all he had to go off of. He was wanting to change that one day, Fox believed in love at first sight, he believed in redemption and second chances.

"Excuse me, Mr. McCloud." Jason, his loyal black lab driver and friend called out to the vulpine over the telecom system wired through the house, "You have a visitor this morning, Ms. Monroe."

"Is that so Jason?" Fox only spoke as he studied himself in the mirror rubbing his chin.

"Yes sir, shall I send her up?"

"Yes please do that I'll see what she needs. Thank you."

"My pleasure sir." Fox could hear the mechanics of his personal elevator lifting up to his room as he merely waited for his pink feline friend. Fox took this time to strip out of his night attire and wrap his bottom half in a fluffy white towel that smelled like the crisp ocean air, his favorite scent. As the elevator reached the top did the vulpine slowly walk out of his bathroom toward the elevator standing in the center of his living room set up. The elevator doors opened up and from the shadows came the lovely pink feline, dressed in only a fine dark silk dress that went all the way down to her ankles, carrying a small white handbag purse. Her cerulean eyes looked at the vulpine as she slowly stepped toward him, flipping her white hair back and curling a small group of hair on left side of her forehead. She studied him for a moment, before offering a genuine smile.

"Hello Katt." Fox said in his sly voice still holding the towel to cover his bottom half.

"Hello Fox." She replied back in a beautiful melody that was the tone of her voice. The two slowly walked toward one another and shared a comforting embrace. Katt always thought Fox gave the best hugs as she nuzzled comfortably into his strong chest. He brought upon this calming grace to her mind and body as she began to relax and just enjoy his company, he had always had this effect on her ever since their teenage years. Even with only being wrapped in one arm since the other was kind of busy keeping him from being completely naked, she felt safe and secure in his loving grasp he had on her waist. Fox was her closest, eldest, and most dearest friend she had in the whole Lylat System.

"How is the modeling business Katt?" Fox asked as he let go of her petite figure while Katt slowly walked around the room looking at all the pictures of art work. Katt didn't know if Fox swapped them out every now and then or if they were always the same picture, it was hard to tell as she hadn't come over on a regular basis in a long time, a very long time.

"It's going good. It's hard sometimes being on diets and trying to figure out what to do with my day after work is done." She turned to face the vulpine with another good smile as she wrapped her arms below her chest. "But it's always a lot of fun, I spend time with my fans quite often."

"Many girls see you as a role model right? The 'To be' for women in Corneria?" Katt only gave a small laugh as she started walking toward the fire place, it was warm and soothing in a way. Perhaps it could warm up a heart in the room that hadn't been that way in many years.

"Yes although I don't call that myself, it was given to me." She turned only her head back to the vulpine with a sly smirk "Same as your 'Corneria's Biggest Flirt' title?"

"We can't always pick how we'll be remembered Katt." Fox took this time to start preparing a type of breakfast for the two after Katt's sudden visit. He paused for a moment thinking of something that the two of them could have, after all they were to avoid some foods completely and limit the amount of consumption on others. Although this didn't bother Fox much, Katt may have been a role model and icon to many of Corneria's women, she wasn't some kind of push over model.

No Katt was a model for what she believed in what women should have, the rights, dignity, and respect they deserve for simply being a being of feelings and freedom. Katt never went on super strict or starved herself for a particular fashion model run. She stood up for herself against the media and often times vocalized what she believed was right. Katt Monroe was a role model to what all women should strive to be, commanders of their own life and freedom. She was a popular spokeswoman on the battle for feminism on Corneria, and Fox often went to support her beliefs and values. Often times her values brought the feline into the fire of spotlights and random unfair questions, but she always fired back for what she stood for.

She looked back toward the vulpine whose back was still toward her. Katt studied his body from head to revealing toe, her eyes stopping on one particular part for a short while as she smiled.

"Katt." The sound of her name snapped the feeling out of her promiscuous gaze. "What are you doing? I don't need eyes in the back of my head to know when I'm being watched." Fox turned toward her leaning against the fridge door as he played with some ingredients he had gotten from the fridge.

"Oh Fox please." She replied sarcastically, knowing she had been caught. "I was only admiring your smoothie machine, don't flatter yourself."

"Oh I see." Fox replied back in the same kind of sarcastic tone. "Well if that's the case why not help me make some breakfast, you can make the smoothies while I make us up some eggs or so."

"Alright then." Katt left her purse on the love seat as she walked into the kitchen toward Fox's side. The two beings knew they were just playing with one another, it was a game that has been ongoing for many years now. Katt knew more about Fox than anyone who worked for him, or their friends knew of about the vulpine. Fox often times acted dense and flirted a lot just to have fun in the public eye. But what a lot of people didn't know was that the vulpine was well educated compared to today's standard. Not only that, Katt knew of the type of love Fox desired in his life. He may have the public, and the media fooled, but not his dearest friend. Katt knew Fox believed in true love, the type she longed for as well. He only flirted with other women in the public eye to keep them interested and keep them coming back for more of him, but she knew Fox had an old way of doing things with love.

Fox knew a lot about the feline as well, more than anyone else cared to ever know. Katt came from the same kind of hard living background as the vulpine did, Katt never knew her real parents. Apparently they had died while she was very young, and she spent most of her youth going from one adoptive family to the next. One day Katt left her most recent adoptive family, and neither the family, nor the orphanage bothered to go after her. Katt, like Fox, was homeless and had to turn to crime at the young age of 13 to survive and get by on some of the hardest streets of Corneria. He knew the hardships she went through growing up, going from one family to the next, and bits of her heart always shattered afterwards that were still recovering today. That's partially why Katt was so famous amongst women in Corneria, her life story was literally the rags to riches story you always hear about. Her life story was what women needed to hear in this day of age that they can handle anything life throws at them.

Unlike Fox however, she escaped from that dangerous, criminal life not through being pardoned but by getting into the modeling business. With acquiring the funds needed to start up her career did Katt's appearance and story soar through the skies almost overnight. Many people wanted a photo shoot with the 'Strongest woman in Corneria' for being physically, emotionally, and mentally strong. The feline's face grew all over Corneria, from posters to the front of magazines, and to the skies on 'Amuspheres' marketing her photo shoots and roles in films. Katt didn't have anywhere near the funds Fox had obtained, however she made enough to live happily and comfortably.

The two of them made breakfast together, as the vulpine fixed his towel in a way so it could stay up on its own. Fox created a smoothly mostly from spinach and broccoli with a little bit of blueberries for flavor, while Katt's was mostly fruit such as mangos and peaches, with only a tad bit of spinach for some extra greenery. Katt rather enjoyed hers, although Fox always had to force his smoothies down which earned a cute giggle from the feline. One thing Fox didn't ever want his help to do for him was cook his meals. When Fox was a kit his father taught him all kinds of things about cooking, and they often cooked together. It was another way for Fox to try and connect with his passed father James. Although after his father's passing it would be many years before Fox would find himself in a kitchen again that he was willing to be in. Fox home trained himself to cook anything and everything. From simple breakfasts to the most exquisite dinners, any style and any kind of dish could be made by the vulpine so long as he was given the ingredients and the time to do so.

Many women who followed Fox's life adored him, not only because he was rich and famous, or that he was very attractive. But because he was also a 'Jack-of-all-trades' of sorts. He was a handyman, knew how to cook well, was a great role model to kids, and was a true gentlemen at heart. Fox treated most women in his life like goddesses, and although some women found it annoying or that it was to clingy, many more thought it was attractive, and charming. Katt was one of these women as well.

"Breakfast will be ready soon." Fox spoke to her as he hit a small compartment door that flopped down and simultaneously entered a code in without even looking at the control pad. A moment later the kitchen area slightly shifted and instead of the special gap between Fox's bed and his living area, a medium size table popped out of the ground, flowers and tablecloth already placed for extra convenience. "Why don't you go sit down?" Katt loved that smile that Fox always wore when he was truly calm inside. He looked so confident, yet genuine at the same time. She only closed her eyes as she wrapped her two arms around his shoulder and leaned against his figure.

"Okay." She let go of his figure and started heading toward the table like he said. Fox noticed that Katt was being very grabby, much more forward and touchy feely than normal. He then realized that the feline had not quite voiced her reasoning as to why she was here again. Fox merely shrugged it off as he finished breakfast, eggs with lean meat topped with some toast, and a small serving of hash browns. Fox carried the two plates to the table as he joined the feline.

They both finished their meals roughly at the same time as Fox stacked their plates together and pushed them aside. He then gave the feline his full attention.

"So Katt." He started slowly, looking directly into her eyes. "What are you here for? Just a friendly visit or?" She broke the contact as she looked away, and put on a small frown. Fox knew that something must be bothering Katt, she often came to him to vent about her day if it was very hectic, or eat his ice cream that he always had stocked in the freezer for her because he wasn't allowed to eat it. It gave Katt some comfort as well as some amusement as she ate it in front of his face. No this time something was truly bothering Katt. He tried to change the subject to keep the moment from being awkward. "So how's Falco doing? Still flying?"

Katt only chuckled a little, and Fox just accomplished what he had been trying to avoid. She looked back to the vulpine with a half-hearted smile. "

"It's funny you mention that Fox, because that's actually why I'm here."

"Did something happen?" Fox began to get a bit worried, unlike him the avian was still flying as a mercenary pilot for hire. His work wasn't normally dangerous, but there have been times where Fox didn't hear from him for long periods of time, and sometimes thought the worse.

Katt lightened his mood. "Don't worry he's fine." Katt broke the eye contact again as she looked down to her lap, her arms crossing tightly against her frame. After a moment she looked back into the vulpine's eyes, sparkling in the light from the chandelier that hung above them. "But I'm not."

"What happened? Did Falco do something stupid again?" Fox started to get a bit on the annoyed side as it was always like Falco to go do something stupid, lose the love and trust of his feline companion, and then beg for forgiveness only for Katt to take him back.

"No Fox." She took his hand into her two own, cupping it lovingly as she continued. "I broke up with him."

"But Katt why?" Fox was confused, this wasn't normal in their relationship however complicated it may be. "I thought you two loved each other."

"I thought so too Fox." She paused for a moment as she tried to sum up the next few words to explain the story. "But I realized now that our relationship was just dysfunctional. We live two different lives now." This was the first time Fox had seen his feline friend in such a vulnerable state. Her voice was frail and weak, as if she was afraid, not knowing if her decision was the right one to make. She looked into his deep emerald orbs to seek comfort. "I need a man who I'm not going to have to worry about if he's coming home or not. I need someone whose going to be there for me, and not flying around the system hunting bad guys while I need him here to comfort me."

"But Falco loves you very dearly Katt." Fox tried to give her some reasoning toward her thoughts and feelings. Katt expected this from Fox, he was always trying to help problems of others, but rarely of his own accord. "Surely you don't need me to tell you that."

"I know." She spoke softly "But I don't know now if I felt the same kind of way toward him. He's never around, not even during the times I'm at my most vulnerable." Katt was only partially telling the truth. She knew she had felt something for Falco at one point in their relationship, but once it faded it never came back. She had figured it would eventually, but it just never did. Only lately did she realize why.

"Fox tell me something." The vulpine showed a confused look as Katt got up from her seat and walked back toward the love seat where her purse was resting. Katt grabbed what looked like a rolled up magazine and walked back toward the vulpine. Her face now wasn't so frail, her expression was a mixture of nervous feelings and a bit discomfort. She threw the magazine onto the table letting Fox soak it in, only after a moment did he realize what this cover was about.

"Is this true?" Katt was referring to the front page story that of course Fox was a part of. It was about his recent split up with the very renowned fennec vixen Fara Phoenix, who owned Phoenix Corporation, the company that is solely in charge of providing Corneria as well as other private companies with the latest technological parts that are to go into prototype fighters of the future. The headline read: 'F. McCloud and P. Phoenix over? Rumors of new girlfriend K. Monroe'. The cover featured Fox in a broken heart shared photo next to Fara Phoenix. Katt's picture was in a separate bubble off to the side of the broken heart and the two foxes featured in the photo. Normally this didn't bother Katt because most of the news media knew about her longtime friendship with Fox, and it wasn't uncommon for them to use her as added drama to a story even if she had nothing to do with the scenario of it.

Fox didn't really know how to answer the question as the atmosphere became awkward. He looked up to her as he let go of his stilled breath. "Yes it is." The moment he said that did Katt's expression lighten up, and she showed a small smile. "Fara and I got into a pretty big argument, and she said she never wanted to see me again. To be completely honest I kind of felt the same way. She's been calling me, but I've been ignoring her calls." Fox stood up and stepped forward toward the feline as she grabbed her right elbow with the opposite arm. "Yea it's true, we're done seeing each other."

"Not to sound like a jealous ex, but I'm glad it is honestly. I really am." Katt sounded sincere, however to vulpine it sounded like a set up. Fox wasn't as oblivious as he was in the past, years of war and then fame as well as running his own business taught him a lot about body language, and to learn what people are speaking without verbally saying it.

No words were spoken for a moment. Katt stepped forward keeping eye contact until she bowed her head into his chest, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders as she closed her eyes. "I've missed you Fox." The vulpine was lost for words, he couldn't help but to just hug her back as he patted her back.

"Katt." She was afraid to loosen her grip as Fox was slowly pushing her away. He held her hands in a tender love and care sort of way, though his facial expression wasn't one of desire and passionate love, but one of denial and disappointment. "That was a long time ago. You and I." He paused for a moment as he broke the eye contact, than reattached it as he spoke sincerely, but also the truth of his heart "We aren't like that anymore, we haven't been in years."

"But Fox." Katt began to crumble a bit, she was a strong woman, but even strong woman needed to let go and cry a bit themselves. "If we hadn't gone our separate ways, if you hadn't taken the blame for me. Maybe we would still be together!"

"Katt that was the past." Fox reassured her as a few small tears began running down her cheeks "We can't change the past Katt, it's just how it played out. The past defines who we are, and our relations with the people around us." He could only look at her with sad eyes as Katt hid her face, a few sniffles getting out as she tried not to cry. She looked up to him with a small smile, even as the tears ran down her pink hair did she look beautiful. "That's how our relationship was back then, but it isn't that way now."

Katt stayed silent for several seconds, the tears still coming down but fewer and fewer as time went by. Katt had figured out a long time ago she could never commit, and truly love Falco the way he loved her because part of her heart belonged to Fox from the days of their youth, it always had, and it most likely always would belong to him. Until she let him go, let go of their past and what they meant to each other, she couldn't be in a serious relationship with Falco, or with anybody else for that matter.

"Will you do me a favor please?" She asked quietly as she moved his arms to wrap around her waist, as she wrapped hers around his strong neck pulling him close.

"What is it?" Katt didn't answer with words, at least not immediately. She closed her eyes and went in slowly, planning her soft lips onto Fox's as he followed her lead. Something about their kiss, similar to ones they had in their past revitalized Fox's emotions and heart from the days he was a troubled teenage criminal. It took them both back to a time that may not have been simpler, but a time that the two of them shared. They might have been the hardest days of their lives, but they were also the happiest with one another.

X

12 Years Ago…

A young teenage vulpine and his pink feline friend were running down crowded streets weaving quickly through the thick crowds of citizens as they looked behind them, to see big guard dogs dressed in police attire trying to get through the crowd but not anywhere near as fast as they were. Being on the streets for so many years taught you have to get through the thick crowds without hardly slowing down, to make getting away easier. Fox and Katt cut from the main road and headed into the big park right in the heart of Corneria City that covered literally miles and miles of forest greenery. They ran through the tall trees and jumped bridges of small rivers until they stopped to catch their breath under a bridge that was located in of the more isolated parts of the park. Couples often met up here to make out, or drug dealers with their hand offs because of the lack of people and therefore witnesses to their not so good public image views. The two breathed heavy as Fox looked from the side of the bridge to see nobody chasing them.

"Think we lost them?" Katt asked between shallow breaths as it took Fox a moment to answer her back.

"Yea I think so I don't see anybody."

"Phew!" Kat leaned against the cold stone blocks of the underside of the bridge, it was roughly covered in moss but the greenery felt nice against her heated skin. "Finally they've been chasing us for over an hour now."

"I'm surprised they didn't call in some kind of help, those fat asses should have known they weren't going to catch up with us."

"Shut up and show me the load again." Fox turned to see Katt's expression, her eyes glistening with excitement and a wide grin across her face. Fox got all excited as well as he punched in the code to the suitcase and lifted it open, showing fifty thousand credits, with that new cipher chip smell as Katt let out an excited moan.

"It's all there." Fox closed the lid again as he set the suitcase to the side, giving Katt the room she needed to sit on top of his lap as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Good job baby." She started being affectionate with the vulpine as returned the feeling. Their kissing got more intense as they started running each other's hands down the other.

"We're still splitting it even right?" Fox got out between lips meeting passionately and breaths of air.

"I'm pretty certain it was gonna be 40 10."

"What?" Fox asked in a laughing tone. "I could have sworn it was going to be 50 50."

"Really?" Katt laughed as she continued kissing the sitting vulpine. "I don't remember I'm pretty sure that was our deal."

"I can never win."

"Oh can't you?" She whispered into his hear seductively as they continued on their business. Fox would have been all in favor for going farther, and although this could be a plausible place, it wasn't the time for sure.

He broke it off as he looked at Katt in the eyes. "We should move."

"Right." Katt agreed with her vulpine lover as they both got up and scouted the area one more time before leaving the bridge. They moved like a hurried jog as Fox looked around his surroundings and noticed a familiar landmark, a large tree that had one large branch completely ripped off, the rest of the tree remained intact.

"Here, this is it. This is where we crawl through the sewers and make it back to the gang's main hideout."

"God the sewers." Katt showed her disgust in her face and her tone as her body cringed. "Why do your plans always taking the sewers as our exit?"

"Because that's the best way to get out clean."

"It's disgusting, sometimes I feel like you like walking around all the trash like they call us."

"Hey." Fox turned toward her with a sly smirk. "If they're gonna call us names might as well act the part right?"

"No." The conversation ended at that as Fox gave Katt the suitcase and went to work. The flood drain at the base of this tree was a bit loose. Loose enough that you could remove the huge cage like door if you knew just when to push and nudge it out of place. Of course Fox knew all the tricks around this part of the city to get in and out of the designated locations. Fox just got the flood drain off as a loud siren startled them both.

"This is the police! Give up now we got you surrounded!" They both looked around them to see that many officers were approaching them through the lines of the trees. Fox acted quickly as he turned toward Katt as they looked in each other's eyes as he gained her attention.

"Go down the drain now!"

"What!?" Katt couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Not without you I'm not!"

"There's no time Katt! We can't both make it down there before they close in on us and they'll catch us down there for sure!"

"No we can out run them! We know the sewers we can-"

"Just do it Katt!" Fox shook her a bit to reinforce his point, as the feline was trying to fight back tears and gave a small nod. Fox took the suitcase from her as the feline climbed down the sewer drain quickly. Fox than handed her the suitcase and then grabbed the flood drain door.

"Go don't worry about me! Get out of here!" Katt didn't answer verbally, she only shook her head back and forth as a few tears escaped her eyes. Fox put the flood drain back in place just before the officers gained true sight on him. He was surrounded, there was no point in trying to run to escape.

"Get on your knees kid!" The officers had their guns on the young vulpine as he didn't say anything or do anything. He let one of the officers swiftly swoop behind him and forced him onto his knees by bashing him in the back and knees with his baton. Fox's face was forced onto the ground as they began cuffing him.

"You're under arrest, where is your accomplice?" They asked him as he said nothing, in this position he could still see the feline as she hadn't ran yet. Fox was mouthing her to 'go, run' but she was just frozen in place. They looked straight at each other for the last time in what would be many years. Katt began heading down the sewers but stopped herself just after the first step.

She turned to face the vulpine one more time, and mouthed 'I love you' before she ran off. Fox's eyes went wide, that was the first time she had ever said that to him, he had never heard her say that to anybody. He was a bit dazed, and not because of the smack to his head either.

They forced Fox onto his feet as he grunted. The head chief turned toward all his fellow officers as he barked his order. "Search the forest for the girl, the bank won't be very happy if we don't recover that fifty grand the kids stole." His order was given but in vain. They forced Fox into the police hover car that had just arrived moments ago. Before they closed the door on the vulpine the head chief locked eye contact with him for just a moment. While Fox gave a look of defiance, one that was neither proud nor shamed, the chief only gave one back of pity and shame.

"You're going to do some hard time for this kid, hope it was worth it." After that he slammed the door on Fox and drove him to the local police station. Katt actually watched the scene of them taking her beloved Fox away as she ran to a flood drain closer toward the main road. That would be the last time she would see Fox for a long time.

Not long after the crime, Katt had more than enough money she needed to start up her modeling career. She soon left her gang and laid low for a few weeks to let the heat die down. The day before her big debut shooting as a model Katt heard the news that Fox was to receive 15 years in prison, and she cried herself to sleep that night. He was paying for a crime that she should have received, it was her who convinced Fox to do this one last job together. After that they had planned on going straight together, as a couple. Katt would go into modeling, while Fox something with engineering. Katt for many days after wept and grieved as she knew it would be many years before she would see Fox again. Just the thought of Fox hating her for putting the blame on him for her crime made the feline sick to her stomach. For many days, and even the first few weeks Katt cried bit by bit, until her feelings for Fox died down. Until one day she met a cocky blue avian named Falco Lombardi…

X

Fox was brought back to reality after revisiting their past, and the event that ultimately drove them apart. He broke off the kiss abruptly despite Katt's hurt feelings, and he looked away. Part of him loved Katt, it always has from those days of being together on the streets. But there was another part of him, a more selfish, unforgotten, and unforgiving part of him that just couldn't accept and forgive the feline. He knew it wasn't ultimately her fault, he made the decision to have her abandon him to take the blame. But it wasn't that simple to just let go either. The past shaped their relationship now, he seemed like there was no point in revisiting what's already been done before.

"Just give me a chance. A chance to start over and make amends with you." She whispered softly as she held his face. Fox didn't speak, he only took her within his arms as he rubbed her back lovingly. Maybe the type of love he had been seeking, the type that went so deep that time never transcended its strength was right in front of him. Fox felt bad for Falco however, even if his and Katt's relationship was complicated and now over, he saw the avian as a close friend. Fox knew though that Falco never welcomed Fox's treatment toward Katt, he always became jealous of their bond and that always sparked arguments between the two. Part of Fox wanted to start over and try again, but the other was held back by fear of the past, and uncertainty of the future.

"I'll try." He finally whispered as Katt's face perked up. She stood back up in regular posture as she smiled and tears ran down her cheek softly. Without him knowing Katt got a firm grasp on the towel still wrapped around Fox's waist, and yanked it suddenly as the vulpine's face lit up in embarrassment, quickly covering his exposed self.

"What the hell Katt!?"

"Oh come on Fox." She let out playfully but with a hint of fiery lust. Katt let out a small chuckle as she threw the towel to his bedside. "It's not like I haven't seen it before."

"Katt I gotta start getting ready for my day."

"Ohhh." She played around with the embarrassed vulpine. As big as a flirt the vulpine was, it was still pretty easy to get him out of his comfort zone. Katt stood about arm's length apart from the vulpine who was still covering up. She started loosening certain particular straps and zippers on her outfit.

"Are you sure you don't want some…" Katt paused for a moment as she unclasped the final strap to her outfit, and the whole dress feel off quickly and easily. She stood there, completely naked in front of the vulpine as his face lit up in embarrassment, and yet excitement.

"Company?" She walked closer to him and grabbed his hand, turning toward the shower as she gave him a sexy smile. "Follow me."