Chapter 3

Fox woke up to the sound of sucking tubes and noisy hallways when he realized that he had been brought to a hospital. He slowly shifted his body upwards and saw that he had taken more damage then he thought. He groaned and fell back into his original position, slumped against the hard, uncomfortable bed. A small cat came in holding a clipboard. Fox thought it must be the doctor.

"Are we alright, Mr. McCloud?" The cat asked with a slight smile.

It probably wasn't easy for anybody to forget Fox or any other of the team members after what happened. She gave him a friendly, nice smile that made him feel like he had been transported back to the time where the team was appreciated and well-respected to Lylat. It had happened so fast, yet it felt so long ago…

"I've been better." Fox answered in the most polite way possible, slightly referring to the olden times.

"You're scheduled to have chest surgery in an hour after you've gathered yourself a little. It's to help the damage you got. It looks like you were shot." The cat said in a quiet tone.

"Yes, I was. Maybe after this is all over I'll feel a little better."

Fox lied through his teeth. He clearly knew that he could never feel any better emotionally. The cat smiled again and walked out the door, closing it gently for Fox to rest for the remaining hour. He now reflected upon the times he had with his father, when he was younger. He could just feel the breeze of the fall wind when he ran through the grasslands of yard at his old house. It was another memory stored inside of Fox that was impossible to forget or let go of. His memories were the things that made him even a fragment today. The thing that gave him a name…

Falco Lombardi walked through the newly paved streets of Planet Zoness, looking around for a new job. He had found many different ways to get a hold of money, mostly things that involved flying, combat, or excitement that still appealed to the blue avian. He continued to stare down at the ground before him, not knowing where else to look at. He had no friends anymore. He was alone. Just like everyone was in Lylat, deep down. He had started to wonder what Fox, Slippy, and Peppy did these days. He tried not to think about Krystal. She hadn't only threw back Fox's mistake at him, but the whole team. She had befriended them. And they had befriended her. They were once all happy together. It would never be like that again.

Just as Falco thought he couldn't think of something any less depressing, a stout frog came running by with a wrench in hand, with a slight pant. Falco narrowed his eyes as the frog went past him and suddenly snapped into realization.

"Slip? Is that you?" Falco shouted across the street.

Slippy spun around to Falco's familiar voice and his jaw dropped, seeing Falco again for the first time and the only time he thought he'd ever see him.

"Falco? Is that really you?" Slippy asked in a shocked tone.

The two walked to each other and stared hard at one another, barely even believing their own eyes. Why would Slippy come here?

"What brings you here, Slippy?" Falco asked, confused at the appearance of his old partner.

"I'm not exactly sure, Falco. I'm looking for a job in mechanics, so I'm not really going anywhere in particular. It's great to see you! So, what are you doing here? Have you seen Fox?" Slippy said, who was clearly not shy in expressing his own excitement.

"I haven't seen him. I don't know if we ever will even. He's probably still on Corneria. I'm just doing dirty work and looking for different jobs so I can still get money. So you're staying on as the hefty mechanic?" Falco joked at the end with his old, long-lost grin.

Slippy smiled at his old friend's humor and said, "Yah. My dad still has a pretty busy life being the commissioner of the orbital gate and all. I guess I should head back to Corneria and try to find Fox. It's great to see a familiar face again."

Falco nodded in agreement and said, "Yah it is. I miss being on the team. I don't really care for the kind of life I'm living now, you know? I always wanted to be in charge of a team of my own."

"Why don't you start one, then?" Slippy asked with a small smile.

"I'm not exactly sure I want to go out in public again like that, Slip. They still think we're flops and losers for not stopping the Anglar Emperor and Star Wolf. As much as I'd like to, for now, I'm keeping a low profile." Falco explained.

"Well, it's great seeing you, Falco! Do you want to come back to Corneria with me to find Fox?" Slippy asked him.

Falco felt a frown come across his saddened face and said, "I'm not sure he's ready to see me again, after he lost Krystal and all. It tore him apart. That's what happens when you find a love that you never want to let go of. You can go ahead. I'll visit back sometime soon. I promise."

Slippy threw his body forward and embraced the bird in a long, friendly hug. He whispered to Falco, "Take care."

The frog reluctantly let go of his old friend and kept moving forward to where he would rent an Arwing and fly back to Corneria, in search of a job and Fox. He wanted to reunite with someone that he knew. He would miss Falco a lot. He was kind of like a brother to Slippy. So was Fox. Slippy felt broken after the passing of Amanda and the pain brought upon everyone else. It felt like it would and could never happen. Yet it now felt so real and like anything else that would make it worse could happen. Slippy, like anyone else on the team, had deeply enjoyed fighting evil and saving the innocent. It was often exhilarating for a creature. But now, he had to let it all go…

Fox uneasily walked back home, clutching onto his bandaged stomach. At that moment he wondered if it would have been better for him if Wolf had permanently dispatched him for good; in other words, killed him. He thought that it was best to still not think about death being the only solution for the life that had lead him to the events today. Fox could observe the destruction that Star Wolf had brought to the city; dilapidated buildings, smoldering ashes, and gray skies surrounded you all around. It was impossible to escape the dreadful scenery, as much as you'd like to.

Fox opened the door to his house and was surprised to find that they hadn't attacked his, even though the houses left and right of his had been blasted to oblivion. He looked around and found that everything was where it should be as well. It was awfully strange. Maybe they knew it was his house and they wanted to give him some kind of warning or acknowledgement. It still seemed strange, though. He walked over to the wall and found a picture of the Great Fox ship, which had been destroyed in a scuffle at the Aparoid Homeworld. Fox and ROB 64, the team's robot, rebuilt the ship into a new model and used it to drive around and fight the Anglars. ROB had been smashed into pieces and donated to a junkyard full of scraps and parts sold around. Fox looked into the picture, imaging the scene more in depth, like enemy ships shooting at them, whilst they took off in Arwings and shot back as Peppy continued to steer and help take them down. Fox felt like the loneliest person in the galaxy at times like this, remembering when he actually had a real life and people that cared about him that were around him. He decided though that it was time to move on. But in that same time, he made a final decision: he would go back to stopping evil by himself.