I do not own Star Fox or any of the characters.
Resignation
Fox stared at the door in silence, waiting for them to arrive. Finally the door opened and Krystal and Katt rushed over to him. Krystal met him with a hug, Fox reaching to hug her back. However, Katt hissed angrily and Fox let his arms fall again. Krystal stepped back, looking between the two as Fox stared at the ground.
"He's not out of surgery yet," Fox said. "They're pumping his stomach and trying to filter the alcohol out of his blood. They should be done pretty soon, though."
Katt nodded just as a door opened and a doctor stepped out, turning to them.
"Star Fox?" he asked. "Falco is out of surgery. You can see him now if you want, but...he's in a medically induced coma. We'll be keeping him under for a while. Then, when he wakes up, we'll have to determine if there's any brain damage and proceed from there. It's likely that it'll be a month or more before he's back on his feet, assuming his brain is intact."
Fox nodded and the doctor turned, leading the three of them through the hospital to Falco's room, leaving them alone. Katt sat to Falco's right, slipping her hand into his, wrapping her other hand around the back and holding his hand against her forehead, tears leaking from her eyes as she prayed silently. Fox stood motionless, watching her, then Krystal as Krystal occupied the seat directly opposite Katt. Fox sat down in the other seat. A nurse came in to check on Falco, and Fox asked her to keep an eye out for Peppy and direct him to the room when he arrived. She nodded and left. Fox turned back to the others. His words to Katt from earlier replayed through his head. Then those directed at Krystal. Then, to Krystal and Katt's actions, and lastly to his own.
"Katt, I-"
"Fox, when people drink, they say and do things they don't mean," Katt said. "They become stupid and they don't think things through. Before you know it, they've hurt the people they love most. That doesn't make them bad people. Fox, Falco needs to stop drinking. He's always drank too much. But it's going to be the end of him. Tonight it almost was."
"I'm sorry," Fox said, tears of his own leaking from his eyes. "I'm sorry that I yelled. I'm sorry for calling you what I did. I'm sorry for acting how I did, and for firing you."
Krystal turned to him, smiling sadly, also crying. "It's my fault. I'm so sorry for what I did. Even drunk I should have known not to. I should have waited by the door for you like we agreed. I'm so sorry for hurting you."
Fresh tears began to stream down her face and Fox swallowed hard. He wished she wouldn't cry. It was hard enough to say what he needed without it.
"Fox, I'm sorry for lying and going behind your back," Katt said. "I'm sorry for getting Krystal drunk, and making her kiss someone else. If you'll have me, I'd like to continue being a member of your team."
"You don't have to ask my permission to be a part of Star Fox. Katt, I fucked up. Badly. You have faults, everyone does, but yours aren't as bad as most people's. You're a better strategist than Falco, a better pilot than Krystal, and more experienced, and you're better at fighting than I am."
"Don't do this," Katt said quietly. "Please."
"The team is yours, Katt," Fox said. "I'm no longer Star Fox's leader."
"What?" Krystal gasped. "But Fox...you can't quit. You're the only person that could ever lead Star Fox."
"Because I was leading, Slippy's dead and Falco almost followed," Fox said. "I can't watch any more friends die. You guys are my family. Most likely the only family I'll ever be able to have."
"Don't say that," Katt said. "If I'm the leader I forbid you from quitting."
"I'm sorry Katt," Fox said. "I'm done." He stood, walking to the door.
"Do you know why Slippy's dead?" Katt asked. "Because you were wounded. You alone make up half of Star Fox's strength. If you quit, we'll all die!"
"Goodbye Krystal," Fox said, voice all but shattering as he said her name.
Then, he stepped out the door and was gone.
"One checking out of the reservation under McCloud," Fox said, the person working the computer typing. "I'd also like to change the name to Katt Monroe. And pay for another month."
He set the money on the counter and the person tool it, watching him as they typed.
"Another month, huh?" she asked.
"They're going to need it," Fox said. "One of them is in the hospital for severe alcohol poisoning."
"I see," she nodded. "And where, may I ask, is their leader going if one of them is in the hospital?"
"I'm not their leader anymore," Fox said. "I seem to be killing members recently. I don't want to lose any more friends."
"So instead you're going to abandon them?" she asked.
"I can't lose her," Fox mumbled. "I can't."
He walked out of the building, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt up, his staff across his back under his backpack and his blaster on his hip.
"What will you do?" the staff asked.
"I think I'll look for my father."
"Your father? Isn't he dead?"
"I thought so too. But you know, when I fought Andross, I almost died. Andross had nearly destroyed my arwing and then self destructed, nearly killing me too. But then, my father showed up. He led me back out. I'm only alive because he was there, because he saved me. But then, as soon as we were safe, as soon as we could go home, he was gone. I thought I had imagined it. My systems had been shutting down, I was low on oxygen, I was bleeding from something in my cockpit being broken. I thought I had been hallucinating. But I always wondered. What if he had been there? What if he did save me? Why would he not come home? Why did he stay gone? That one question, 'Is he alive?' has always been nagging at the back of my mind. I have to know. I have to."
"I see. Then let's go and ask him."
Fox smiled. "Thank you."
"Of course. You're my wielder."
Fox smiled before Krystal flashed through his mind and he wiped tears from his eyes, lowering his head and continuing walking.
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