A Wolf in Fox's Clothing

Chapter 2 - Fox McCloud

"Remember, Wolf, that I will be observing you using an automatic, external micro-cam that is synchronized to your brain pattern. It follows wherever you are, and it will always be active as long as you are conscious. If you dare to even tell your condition to others, I shall blow you up with a micro-bomb somewhere in your skull. Oh, and these three will die. You only have one week to deliver the Aparoid copy to me. Once you have gotten it, you will take a ship to Sector Z, where we shall meet."

His voice crept in my mind. He knew I was still breathing, despite my lifeless body.

My head felt numb. My body went through very painful operations, and I could feel the pain prickle even though some sort of anesthetics was applied to me. I wished that sometime during the operation, my body would cease to function. I could not handle the hurt that was being done to me - stitching, metal blades, chemicals, everything. The only thing the anesthetics did was to lessen the infliction. I would otherwise have gone mad. I couldn't lose though - Leon and Panther were dying, and if I fail, they die. Fox would die too. While I never cared for his sake, it would be a dishonor to our rivalry if he lost his life through this.

"Now then... this should complete the process..."

I was breathing hard... I was trying to struggle... I was... GAH! THE PAIN! MAKE IT STOP!

"Farewell, Wolf! Remember, your friends and rival rely on your success! Hahahah!"

Light... One big flash of light. My consciousness went off for a while. I couldn't hear anything. All I could felt was some sort of clothing covering me which was getting damp. Something was stuck in my muzzle - it was sort of like... an oxygen mask? My body was getting colder as well, as tear from the clothing allowed cold to seep in.

"Oh my... Hurry, pick him up! He's severely wounded!"

What? That voice... It was an old man's voice. Peppy? Why would Peppy be in the doctor's laboratory? No... wait... I was not in the doctor's place anymore!

"He's bleeding badly!"

Bleeding... badly? What happened to me?

"Fox?"

My name? Fox?

"Fox?"

No, it's Wolf.

"Fox's gonna be okay. I'll have the best doctors to treat him as soon as possible."

I said Wolf!

Another white flash hit me. I wanted to wake up from this slumber, but I couldn't. My body was too weak to stand up. Was it because Fox's body was really this weak, or was it because I really didn't want to move? Fox... Would I be disturbed a lot when people call me Fox?

"Hey Fox!"

They weren't calling me - they were calling for Fox. They probably thought he was missing or something. I might as well confront them though. I never knew how Fox would interact with them - and acting like a stereotypical do-gooder wouldn't help at all. I opened my eyes and saw them - Falco, Krystal, Slippy, and Peppy, all glancing at me.

"You're all right, eh?"

"Sorta," I responded with a really low tone. I realized that the doctor didn't fix my voice to copy Fox's. Although, I must admit, he was quite skilled that he was able to fix my left eye. I moved my arm a bit, glancing the back of my hand, now with brown fur, using both of my eyes. "I am... fine..."

"Well Fox, you should recover quite fast!" the old hare noted at me. "You didn't have serious injuries save from larynx damage, so you'd be off in this place by tomorrow! You'll just have to get used at your deep voice." Deep voice... larynx damage... Didn't they ever think that I could be Wolf because of my voice?

"That's... good news..."

I knew I was giving everyone odd feelings. I could feel it that there was some uncertainty within them, no matter how small it was. But because I looked like Fox, they put their uncertainties aside.

"So," Krystal asked me, looking me at the eye, "what happened to you, Fox? You said last time that you were just gonna meet with someone. You said it was a doctor who asked for some help." I nodded for a bit to try to make up some scenario. I couldn't blurt out something that would endanger me and those three at the doctor's base.

"Ambushed," I spoke back. "We were... ambushed. The doctor was killed. I... I fought a large group of space bandits alone..."

"Oh my, that is terrible!" Slippy croaked. "No wonder your Arwing is damaged severely! It is some sort of damage meteor showers couldn't do!" It looked like I got lucky this time.

I was still confused though. The idea of pretending somebody physically and socially... it made me felt torn apart - as if I was betraying my own identity.

"Fox? Something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine, Peppy." I told him. I needed some time alone. "Guys... would you mind if you... I mean... I want to be alone for a while."

"Uh... sure, if you say so," the vixen said before looking at the others. Upon leaving, she told me, "Fox, if something is bothering you, you could tell me, or any of us. We are willing to help you out."

"Y-yeah, okay."

When they left the room, I stood up from the bed and walked into the bathroom. I glanced myself at the mirror. The reflection scared me - I was looking at Fox McCloud - me. I touched the mirror with my hand, and touched my face with the other. It felt so real that it gave me a terrifying reality check. I forced my head not to look at the mirror further, closing my eyes in the process. But the reflection kept on pulling me.

"Farewell, Wolf?" I told myself.

I closed my eyes once more before taking a deep breath.

"I am... Fox McCloud. Leader of... Star Fox."