"I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV's while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad – worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, "Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone." Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad!"
–Network


General Pepper Residence

12 Cornerian hours have passed since the severe tragedy plagued Corneria City. Thinks were starting to look upwards… Sort of…

As a literal bright side; it was daylight. The Cornerian Fire Department didn't have to fight the shadows to work. Most of the fires had been extinguished, but the still found flare-ups every now and again. Luckily, the remainder of the buildings, which wasn't a high number whatsoever, hadn't been too severely damaged, so the millions left without homes found refuge in those office complexes.

Speaking of the people, the remainder of the Cornerian Police Force were able to put an educated guess on the casualty number. A whopping 739,853,000 perished in the human attack. That's more than a third of the entire city's population.

And yes, they're calling it an attack.

The final statement released by the CDF stated that the humans launched a high powered rocket directly targeting Corneria City. It wasn't a nuke, thank the Krazoa, but it was still terrible none the less. It might as well have been a nuke, minus the radiation. The devastation that ensued from the blast was incomparable and unprecedented. It was uncalled for, and everyone knew it.

There were still discussions about the response to this, but most of them leaned over on the same answer.

Retaliation.

#####

General Pepper's medium sized home was the only logical place to hold a meeting of such importance. The windows were wide open, letting in the sunlight and the cool spring breeze. It was soothing, but only physically. There were many emotionally broken people gathered in Pepper's house.

Pepper himself stood in the middle of the room, taking the authoritative spot in the house. Sheila and Wolf sat on the loveseat in front of the large window, with Dennis leaning on the right side of the couch. Sheila's right ankle was wrapped in ice, with a large white towel wrapped around that. The other, much larger couch sat four. Fox, with his right leg enveloped in a pure white cast, sat on the end with the recently said leg propped up on the table. An emotional mess also known as James sat next to him, with the Lombardi's taking the remaining slots on the couch.

James, as mentioned before, was indeed an emotional mess. He hadn't slept, eaten, bathed, or even given a single fuck about anything since Vixy was confirmed deceased the night before. That was his wife, his companion, the love of his life; wrapped up in a black plastic bag waiting to be put in the ground tainted and soiled by the blood of millions of others that were also brutally and unnecessarily murdered by that same incident. They promised to give her full burial rights, at James' request. Well, more of a command.

Fox knew about his mother's fate too, but he didn't seem as affected as James. Granted, he was upset; as a matter of fact he was inconsolable for a while. However, Fox was able to "recover" a bit, but James was still not changing. He was still furious. There wasn't much the older vulpine could do but wait. Wait until he could get the opportunity to "talk" some sense into the bastards that killed her.

Vince was leaning behind the couch behind James, and a familiar older hare stood next to the scientist behind Riley. Peppy was lucky to escape the blast too. He was within inches of getting crushed by falling debris as a skyscraper collapsed virtually on top of his apartment. He was lucky to be alive, and he knew it.

Wes stood next to the entrance of the kitchen only feet away from the loveseat occupied by the canine and lupine. There were also two heavily equipped soldiers standing near the front door for protection, just in case. The general broke the long, painful silence and spoke up.

"You all know the situation... I don't need to re-state it for everyone. Everyone knows that the humans attacked us, now the reason you all are here is that we need to figure out a plan to avenge our city."

"It's what they deserve," James said coldly, not making any eye contact with the room. Pepper nodded slowly and continued.

"Yes, we all know that, but we can't go into their world guns blazing, we need a plan."

"Why not?" James snapped. "They did it to us! We should make them experience the hell they put us through!"

"James, we can't just–"

"YES, we can," James argued. "Bloody hell Pepper they murdered my wife!"

After a brief silence, the vulpine continued with his voice shaky and faltering after every word. "If you people knew her like I did, you'd be pissed too! She didn't deserve it… Nobody did…" he suddenly shot up from the couch and raised his voice a bit.

"I know it for a fact… each and every one of you in here lost someone in this attack. Friends, family, classmates, co-workers; gone. GONE! Everyone dies, but nobody should die like that. It's cruel. It's violent. It's heartless. It's a god damn massacre for god's sake!"

"James!" Sheila barked firmly, jerking the vulpine out of his rant. "We get it, alright? You've said it countless times already, and we get it. That's not what we're here for. I understand what you're going through, m'kay? I've lost my family too years ago… And you know what? I was a mess too, just as you are now. Vixy was a great person; I can say that from experience. I'm upset she passed as well, but I'm also upset because millions out there were killed too! She wasn't alone in death… but what you're implying is that they killed her on purpose!"

"Which they did!"

"They killed everyone on purpose McCloud!" Sheila snapped. "They targeted our city. They targeted the billions on this planet. They targeted our lives!"

"She's saying that it wasn't on purpose," Vince started softly. "But it wasn't an accident either. It was manslaughter, not premeditated murder. Well, scratch that, it was premeditated, but they didn't target specific people. They just blind-fired and hoped they found a heavily populated area, which they succeeded in doing."

James began to calm down a bit and sat back down. Pepper noticed a tear rolling down James' orange fur and spoke to him directly.

"James… I understand you're upset, but this side of you is not helping everyone. If we want to get back at the humans, we need your full cooperation, and we can't achieve that if you keep bringing the bad side of you out. If we can't figure out a strategic plan, you could be joining her…"

Fox's heart sank into his stomach as Pepper's words echoed in his mind. He bowed his head and awaited a response. What he wasn't expecting was Wolf's voice to resound over the silence.

Wolf sighed loudly, drawing all eyes towards him. "Stazac, are you really that dense?"

Vince cocked his head and looked disapprovingly at the lupine. "Excuse me?"

"Wasn't an accident," he scoffed, chuckling faintly. "Funny shit."

Wolf was gathering more confusion and weird looks than actual approval, so he began to elaborate. "It may seem sadistically coincidental that a human object nearly destroyed the entire city, but I don't think it was intentional."

Wes scoffed disapprovingly. "You serious O'Donnell? Of all the people–"

"That could kick your ass I'm number one," Wolf interrupted, glaring at the wolfdog. "I'm not kidding. The humans have no reason to attack. Why would they? Why would they endanger themselves like this?"

"Cause they are uncivilized–"

"And so are you, bastard hybrid, now let me fucking finish, please," Wolf snapped. "It just doesn't make sense. They have no reason to. I have the funny feeling that this whole retaliation idea is not coming on a solid basis."

"What do you mean?" Pepper asked.

"This very well could have been an accident, and I can prove it."

"Better say it now, I'm losing interest," Wes chirped, crossing his arms.

Wolf sighed, but figured it would be better not to start a fight with the wolfdog. "If they went through all the trouble to send something way out here, why would they send a missile? Why not a satellite, much like ours? They could research us like we've done to them."

"But, Wolf, it exploded," Vince said, walking out from behind the couch. "Why would a satellite use gasoline in its operations? Wouldn't it be simpler to use liquid elements? Hydrogen?"

"Well, yeah, but what about powering the instruments? They probably didn't know if we had a strong enough star centering our system. They probably didn't know about Lylat."

"What's that have to do with–"

"Power… Stazac, the damn thing needs power. If they didn't know if they could get solar power, they needed an alternative. Gasoline is a cheap, effective alternative, but it's highly volatile. Then again, they didn't expect to have issues."

"Issues?" Pepper echoed.

Wolf shrugged. "Hell, I dunno. Why would the satellite just crash into our planet? Obviously it malfunctioned along the way."

The room suddenly fell into silence. However, to Wolf's disappointment, nobody was agreeing. They all stared at him with confused, doubtful, or even angry stares. James, with the nastiest look in the room, broke the silence.

"Wolf… You're my kit, and I love you with everything I have, but what the hell are you talking about?"

Wolf cocked his head. "What do–"

"How the hell would a malfunctioned satellite directly strike our capital? Directly! Right on top of Winston Square! If you're saying it's a coincidence, it's one hell of one!"

"I know, it seems way to coincidental, but–"

"If it's way too coincidental, then it's not. It's deliberate. A deliberate–"

"It wasn't deliberate! Just listen, please!" Wolf growled through clenched teeth, but James wasn't having it.

"They killed millions! Have you no self-respect? Have you no dignity? They killed your friends, dammit Wolf they killed your own mother! You're gonna sit there and defend them while they plot to do the same damn thing again!"

"They won't do it again," Wolf retorted, but James once again silenced him.

"Of course they won't," the vulpine said with a growl. "We'll make god damn sure of it. We will make sure that they will never mess with us ever again."

"James, attacking them is only going to make it worse!"

"For them," James quickly added on. "Worse for them. They started it, now we're finishing it."

"They didn't start anything!" Wolf shot, completely disregarding the looks people were giving him. "We don't need to instigate them!"

"THEY INSTIGATED US!" James shouted irately. "They wanted this! They wanted the conflict! They wanted combat! They picked the fights! …But I swear on Vixy's grave that it will be the last fight they ever pick!"

"This isn't what they wanted!"

"Ohoho, really?" James cocked his head with a sarcastic smile. "They didn't want this? They wanted to attack, but not suffer consequences–"

"For the last fucking time," Wolf growled loudly. "THEY DIDN'T ATTACK!"

James shot up from the couch and stormed over to the lupine. Wolf got up himself and came within inches of the vulpine's muzzle.

"James, chill," Riley pleaded, but the orange vulpine was oblivious.

"Dad, listen, please," Wolf said softly. "This is just a huge misunderstanding. They only wanted to–"

"If I hear you say it was an accident one more time, I will–"

"What? You'll what? Kill me? Haven't you dealt with enough death for one day?"

James was taken aback at what the lupine had just said. He opened his muzzle slightly with an enraged glare, and slid back his leg a few inches, unnoticed by the room's occupants.

"They didn't want to kill anyone." Wolf continued. "They were curious, and they wanted to research us. What better way than to send a satellite like what we were doing? However, they rushed it. What was it, Stazac? Three days after they took the diagnostics chip?"

"Yes."

"See? They tried to do too much, too fast. If you work fast, your work suffers. They didn't do enough research beforehand, which caused the satellite to malfunction. And thus, this happened. It was an accident, dad. A tragic accident. The millions that died yesterday was the result of an accident. Mom's death, unfortunately, was an accident. Corneria City's destruction was an accident. I know, it's tough to understand, but it's true. I'm sorry dad, but an attack is just too far-fetched… It doesn't add up. It wasn't intent–"

Disregarding any further consequences, James lashed out and slapped the lupine right on the side of his muzzle, making a loud echoing sound throughout the room. Wolf staggered backwards with eyes wide, disbelieving what the older vulpine had just done. The rest of the room was almost as stunned as he was. Every single one of the others' jaws unhinged as the reverberating slap echoed in the room.

James' muzzle contracted in an enraged scowl, growling at the lupine through clenched teeth. "You didn't lose anyone like I did, Wolf. What, some of your friends from the Academy were killed? I lost my wife! Try wrapping your head around that!"

Wolf did not say anything. All he could do was stare at James' irate green eyes with a dumfounded look literally slapped across his maw.

"I can't believe you Wolf… One moment, you made me proud by getting Fox help when he needed it most. But… now you're trying to defend those alien sons of bitches after they just murdered a third of the city claiming it was an accident? What happened? What happened to the Wolf I found practically beaten to death five years ago?"

James sighed as he continued. "You were always the one to put everything down just to help someone. Look at that one over there," James pointed to Fox, who had his ears lowered and the face of a person that just witnessed murder. "You sacrificed so much for him, even though you don't have blood relation to him. You might as well be related to him, because you two are like brothers. What I'm getting at is this… If someone were to hurt him, you'd be right there backing him up."

He glanced down as tears began forming in his bloodshot eyes. "I cared for you, Wolf. I loved you because nobody else did… I sacrificed so much for you…"

Wolf ignored his throbbing cheek and inched closer to the vulpine. He didn't know what else to do. Granted, he understood why James was acting this way, but his actions moments ago were still uncalled for. Right as Wolf tried to embrace the orange vulpine, he lifted his head back up and glared at the gray wolf, his voice rising with every acidic word he spewed.

"And this is how you repay me? Making up stupid shit trying to prevent us from getting the revenge we deserve? You just want to sit there and do nothing while the millions out there would have died in vain at the hands of some god-forsaken alien race? You heartless son of a–"

James again lashed out like a blur, slapping the lupine with more force than before. Wolf's sympathy quickly turned to blind rage as he had been pushed over the line. Wolf attempted to retaliate by launching a balled paw towards the vulpine's muzzle, but James instantly ducked under it and shot out with a knee to the lupine's stomach.

"James, that's enough!" Pepper barked, but his plea fell on deaf ears.

After Wolf had doubled over, James blasted the lupine with a powerful uppercut right under his jaw, causing Wolf to fall backwards and land on the hardwood floor.

"Here's a lesson for ya," James said sternly, watching as Wolf caressed his potentially broken maw. "That, was intentional. I thought about it, and I executed, and now someone is suffering. The humans are no exception. They thought about an attack, and they executed, and millions are suffering. Therefore, that makes the human attack, intentional."

Sheila shot up and pushed the vulpine out of Wolf's area, growling at him as she did so. She dropped down and rubbed the back of the lupine's head.

"Aww, did I hurt your boyfriend, Spitzie?" James taunted thoughtlessly, only enraging the copper husky more.

"James, knock it off!" Peppy commanded, but once again James was oblivious.

"You lay another paw on him and I'll put you in a body bag just like your wife," she growled, causing the entire room's occupant's jaws to once again fall to the floor.

James' eyes shot open in disbelief at what the husky just said. He always respected the husky as a young, talented military officer, but after that, he didn't know what to think of her. She had just taken a shot at him, almost as if she didn't know who he was.

Pepper glanced over at Wolf, who was repeatedly checking his maw for signs of blood. "Wolf, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Both Wolf and Sheila's jaws unhinged at the same time. "What for?" Wolf asked impatiently, pawing his nose.

"I hate to pick sides, but I'm on James' side of the argument. Even if it was an 'accident', as you say, this attack is unforgivable." James began snickering faintly on the couch as Pepper's words took full hold.

"Are you fucking serious?" Wolf snarled, attempting to stand up but instantly fell back down to one knee.

"This is why. I can't discuss plans with people willing to listen if you are going to keep interrupting with your crazy story. I'm sorry."

Wolf tried to shoot up again but Sheila grabbed his arm.

"Wolf, please, just listen to him. Don't get yourself into more trouble than you already–"

"Oh, I'm in trouble," Wolf growled, jerking his arm free and turning to the rest of the room. "You people will be in a whole hell of a lot more trouble if you refuse to listen to what I have to say."

Wolf glared at the rest of the room as he stormed out. One of the canine soldiers was snickering as he reached for the door handle, but instantly regretted his decision to be boisterous about it. In a matter of seconds, Wolf had chopped his rifle out of his paws, delivered a wild roundhouse kick to the side of the canines head, and thrown him through the front door of the house before the canine could even let out a yelp. The other soldier quickly backed up against the wall to avoid the lupine's wrath. Wolf slammed the door shut, and a few seconds later his loud motorcycle took off and down the street towards the highway. Once the bike's roar became inaudible, Pepper awkwardly broke the silence by clearing his throat.

"Now, uh… James, if I may, I would like to talk about our plan."

"If you're talking a strategic plan, general, I've got just the thing," Wes' voice broke in and stepped into the sunlight. "The humans used a 'shock-and-awe' tactic. That's good for a massacre, yes, but it's less than secretive and gives your position away immediately. If we want to deal more damage to these aliens, we need to be more widespread."

"How do you suppose we do that?" Riley chirped with a cocked head.

Vince broke in to the impending argument. "I know where Wes is going with this. We can't just hide out in the atmosphere of the planet because we'll get shot down just like our satellites. We need to attack; swiftly, painfully, and repeatedly."

"How so?" Pepper asked.

"Ah, that's simple," Wes smirked. "We just use the human's tactics. They made it work for them, and we sure as hell can make it work against them."

"Wait," Sheila interrupted. "What if the humans fight back? How will we defend against that?"

"I'm not sure what you mean by that," Wes admitted.

"Their weaponry isn't ours. It's kinetic. That shit does major damage; I mean, just look outside. We have no way of protecting against it."

"Shouldn't our gear protect against that?"

"You would think, but that might not be the case," she pointed at the gun holstered to the canine's leg. "Your equipment may save you from our own ammunition, but it might not save you from a piece of metal launched at thousands of feet per second."

Wes scoffed with a prideful grin. "Sweetie, if we can protect ourselves from high energy laser fire, we sure as hell can protect ourselves from these primitive 'bullets' as they're called."

Riley noticed the death stare the husky was giving Wes, and put his arm in her path to prevent her from potentially clawing the hybrid's eyes out.

Vince awkwardly piped up. "Actually, the humans have some kind of synthetic fiber known as 'Kevlar'. It is extremely lightweight, but it is stronger than most everything on that planet. They turn that fiber into body armor that is highly effective in combat. That fiber does a very good job in protecting the humans from opposing bullet fire, but, as everything in the universe, it's not perfect."

"Would we be able to use it?" Pepper asked.

"It's a synthetic compound, so yes. We could infuse that with our own gear, and essentially make an indestructible shield."

"I would like that," Wes chuckled evilly.

"Also, unless I forgot to carry a two or something," Vince chuckled at his own joke. "The projectiles we fire have enough energy to melt right through it. If they did decide to try and defend themselves, they wouldn't stand a chance."

Riley raised a wing much like a student waiting to be called on to answer a question. "What about the sky, general? You know I'm terrible at terrestrial war."

"Hmm, that's a good question," Pepper grunted, then faced the white vulpine. "Any answers, Vince?"

Vince pulled a tablet out of his pocket and swiped through some notes. "That could be a possibility. Our Arwings are exponentially faster and more maneuverable than their 'steel birds'. We wouldn't have any trouble taking their aircrafts down."

"Don't they at least have a chance?"

"If they do, even I can't calculate it," Vince chuckled, combing back his hair. "Those aircrafts they have launch explosive missiles. Slow explosive missiles. Nothing Star Fox or Husky Squadron can't handle," he made faint glances to James, Riley, Peppy, and Sheila.

"If they choose not to attack us in the air, our Arwings would be a great option for laying waste to an area," Vince continued. "Their structures are made of the same stuff ours are, just not reinforced as well as us. If they can obliterate our capital as they did, we can do the same ten times over with our weaponry."

After a brief silence, Pepper spoke up. "So if we've covered everything, Vince, how long will it take us to get there?"

"With no issues at all, I'd say the better part of one day, sir."

"Great…" Pepper looked around the room. "You heard the scientist; one day. Get everything you need and meet up at the HQ's landing pad. We'll begin our assault there."


Cornerian Defense Force HQ – Aircraft Detachment

"Major Sheila Spitz, report to hangar 16 immediately," a metallic voice echoed through the remnants of the CDF HQ. Sheila's ears perked up and instantly spun around to walk to her destination.

"Had to be the very last one," Sheila grumbled as she trotted down the long, wide open hangar rooms. She still walked with a limp, as her right ankle was still wrapped in cloth. Doctors affirmed that she had only had twisted it, and would be perfectly fine in a day or two, albeit it hurt like hell, and she could barely put a quarter of her weight on it.

Each hangar had a specific craft inside, and the husky recognized every single one. Five of the six large hangars were open, showcasing the giant warships that were prepping for the invasion. There was a giant warship docked that Sheila instantly recognized as Pepper's trademark flagship. Pepper planed on housing fifty or so soldiers in that flagship as well as himself, which would completely fill the modified Cornerian Destroyer.

The hangar right across from that one housed a brand new, sleek, silver and blue Cornerian Destroyer with a white canine head painted on the bridge extension. Sheila smiled at her recently completed flagship. Not the biggest thing in the world, but it's big enough for the job, she thought proudly. It had enough room for eight Arwings and roughly fifteen occupants. That was perfect for the cinnamon husky and her seven other squadron members. A few of the husky pilots noticed their superior officer and waved paws at her. Sheila smiled, showing off her white canine teeth and waved back.

Another glance a few hangars down showed a massive Cornerian Resupplier. Those were the largest aircrafts in commission. They were twice the size of an ordinary Destroyer, and could fit well over two hundred soldiers each. There was another one right across from it, and both of them were in the final stages of preparation. Both of them were being sent to System U-8.

At the very end of the long hallway revealed the last warship commissioned for the fight. It was the most unique ship in Cornerian military, because it technically wasn't Cornerian military property. It was a giant silver warship, with four large wings jutting out of the main hull, and two massive plasma cannons sticking out under the main bridge. The pale, faded green letters and red emblem identified the iconic dreadnaught warship that was the Great Fox.

The last hangar, number 16, was a small hangar decommissioned temporarily from combat. Instead, it housed General Pepper's temporary office, which saved time from walking around what was left of the CDF offices. Sheila walked in as Pepper was leaning against the back wall, and Vince and Wes were talking by a grid of wires.

"Stazac, you got the Great Fox's lines working?" Wes asked impatiently, tapping his foot on the floor.

"Nah, the damn thing isn't connecting. Oh well, we'll brief them once we get there."

Wes grunted and leaned up against the wall. Vince continued to fidget with the wires as Pepper noticed the husky walk in. She was the first to break the ice.

"Hey general. Everything ok?"

"Yes," Pepper cleared his throat. "I called you so we could give you our plans that Jaeger and I drew up."

"Ah, awesome, what's the plan?"

Pepper displayed a map of Earth on the giant hologram machine in the center of the room. He zoomed in on the western hemisphere, and pointed at a few places.

"Alright, as Vince pointed out a while ago, we can easily overrun them in the air. That's where you and Husky Squadron come in." He poked at the hologram, causing it to display red dots where he pointed at. He laid four points on the eastern most coastline of a large patch of land, all very close to each other.

"We're going to attack in waves. Husky Squadron will attack these points here. These are highly populated, highly dangerous cities in the most developed country on this planet. We're starting here, and will work our way inward. Luckily, these cities all follow a linear south-west path, so you can pretty much leave a trail of destruction without deviation."

Pepper zoomed in even further on the cities. The satellite imagery kicked in, revealing large skyscrapers and other buildings completely covering the area around the red dots. He pointed at the northern most point that was right up against a large body of water, and as he spoke, his finger ran down in a semi-straight line.

"I would suggest starting here, a city called Boston. Cripple that city as much as you can without wasting time, then continue southwest. There's another city called New York. That's their most heavily populated city. Once you fly over them, just keep on continuing down that path. The last spot we want you to go to is the nation's capital city. That's where Transport 2 will land, and we'll essentially siege the area."

"Wow, all these cities are aligned so perfectly. I almost feel bad for exploiting this fact." Sheila smirked.

Pepper himself chuckled a bit. "Yes, they aren't the brightest species, considering most of their heavily populated cities are literally right in a row and right up against the coastline. Oh well, makes our job easier."

Sheila giggled, and shifted her glance to the map again. "What about Star Fox? Where are they going?"

"Ah, I'm glad you asked. Star Fox will branch inward, destroying some inland cities. There are a few highly dangerous military bases in the middle of the continent, so we're looking to take those out."

Pepper plopped down some points on the giant holographic map, labelling some sites around some giant bodies of inland water. "These are more areas we can eliminate. James will take his forces in the air, while the Great Fox will land in this city here. That ship will house a few more ground soldiers, Wes included. They will overrun that city and work westward, taking out some large military bases in the center of the continent."

"This just seems way too easy," Sheila admitted. "What if we get interference? I'm sure the country won't even let us get close before firing."

"That's where Vince comes in."

"Pardon?" Vince cranked his head around to face the general. "What am I doing?"

"I want you to mess with their satellite imagery. They have a fairly decent satellite defense system, and I want you to hack into it."

"How so?" Vince asked with a cocked head.

"I honestly don't know. I'd like you to try and disable it, but if that doesn't work then try to mess with it as much as you can."

Vince scoffed faintly and adjusted his coat. "Not a prob, general."

"Fantastic," Pepper turned back to the husky. "Well, you go ahead and get some rest. We'll be within range in 20 hours after we take off. I'll brief you again once we get there."

"Sounds good general. Thank you."

Right as the copper husky turned around, Pepper again spoke to her. "Hey, how's Wolf doing? That was a pretty nasty lick he took a while ago, is he ok?"

"Uh, he's alright," she blushed, glancing around the room. "Just a massive bruise. Nothing broken."

"That's good. Listen, tell him that I apologize for what happened earlier. I'll talk with James soon and–"

Sheila instantly donned a scowl as Pepper mentioned the vulpine's name. "Just tell him when we start the first attack, he better stay out of my way," she stated coldly, then swiftly turned around and limped out of the hangar door.

Pepper raised an eyebrow as her cinnamon colored tail disappeared around the corner. He turned to the hybrid, who was smirking up against the wall.

"Man, if I were James, I'd watch my back," he chuckled.

"I hate to say it, but I agree," Pepper admitted, rubbing the side of his head. "If we want this to work, we can't deal with any distractions. I don't want to, but I will bench people if I have to."

"Woah, you're sitting James?"

"Hell no," the bloodhound responded quickly. "He's my strongest fighter. Sheila and Wolf? You bet. I don't have a problem sitting those two out if it means the mission will be successful."

Wes nodded and glanced out the window. "You're right. This has to be successful, no matter what."

The bloodhound nodded and began to walk out of the office, but the hybrid stopped him in the doorway.

"Thanks for putting me with Star Fox's group. I'm itching for some ground combat."

"Don't get to excited," Pepper chuckled. "Don't let yourself get carried away with it. We don't want to do too much if it means we'll be put in danger. We're already taking a huge risk now, so the less issues the better."

"Understood general. And… thank you."


Great Fox – five hours after takeoff

James was slowly walking down the desolate hallway of the massive Great Fox. He was just getting to his quarters so he could get some shut-eye before Pepper authorized the attack. He was tired. He hadn't slept since two nights before, and he was pretty sure that the lack of sleep was starting to get to him, but he disregarded that thought. He wouldn't sleep until Vixy was avenged.

Just thinking her name caused James to whimper softly.

He missed her already. It was only 8 hours ago that they laid her casket six feet underground, but he still missed her. He just wished he had gotten out there sooner. It was his fault. He could have told them to get down from the tree as soon as he would've seen the "meteorite" streaking into the city skyline. He could have saved her.

And he's kicking himself for it.

James faltered a bit and leaned up against the pure white hallway. His emotions again started to get the best of him, however, they were much stronger than before. The dark thoughts began to take a stranglehold on his mind. He began wondering what was keeping him alive. He could end the suffering right now. He had his handgun in his pocket, what was stopping him from ending his miserable existence?

He un-holstered his handgun and sighed loudly as he felt the trigger in his paws. One little muscle movement could put an end to the hell, the suffering, the chaos, the drama, basically everything that was complicating his life.

He raised the handgun upwards.

The hell was only going to get worse. There was only going to be more complications in life. Why suffer through it when you can end it right now? Eliminate the suffering and find shelter in a better place. A happy, calm, easier, and less painful place. A place where he could spend every day with the one he had loved. The one he still loved. The one that was abruptly taken away from him.

The barrel came in contact with his temple.

It would be worth it in the end. Leave the hell behind and seek refuge somewhere else. Away from death. Away from heartache. Away from the immanent war. The war didn't help his situation either. They killed Vixy, and hell, even he himself could fall at the hands of the humans. And oh boy, what salt on the wound that would be.

His claw tightened around the trigger.

Nothing could stop him. Nobody was within range of stopping him. Nobody could hear the gun firing, the blood splattering against the wall, and the lifeless body hitting the floor. He was perfectly alone, physically, and mentally. An ideal place to end it all.

It was what he wanted. He wanted to end his existence right then and there. He didn't have anything to live for. It didn't matter how many humans he killed; Vixy was still gone. He couldn't bring her back. The only thing he still had was his life. In a few seconds however, he would leave that behind as well.

As he came within millimeters of completely committing to his decision, he heard the faint sound of strings ring out from down the hall.

Fox.

He did have something to live for. Vixy's kit. His kit. Their kit. They raised him together, through thick and thin, through every struggle and every high. Everything. They were determined to raising their kit with their whole lives. He gave his word that he would do everything in his power to raise his own son. Even if Vixy was gone, he still had the responsibility.

He did have something to live for.

The handgun hit the floor with a loud clang, as well as his knees following soon after. He had come within inches, no, millimeters of leaving Fox all alone in the world. Vixy wasn't there to raise him anymore. It all fell on his shoulders. He was responsible for caring for the kit. His kit.

He was close to kicking his own tail again. What was he thinking? Blowing his brains all over the wall would not solve anything. It would only cause more problems. Pepper would go berserk knowing that the humans caused James to take his own life. They almost drove him to the brink of insanity. He would make them experience utter hell. Merciless, devastating, vengeful hell.

And Fox? Fox wouldn't have a family anymore. He would be more alone than James was. Granted, he had Wolf, but what was he? A stray and an outcast brought in by his mercy? He had no McCloud bloodline, and he never would. He would always be known as the outcast, the lone-wolf. The only thing he had to his name was the fact that he lived with the McClouds.

Wolf loved his "family" like it was his own. For five years he stayed under their wing, and acted as though he had been with the family since day one. He was everything a parent could hope for, and for Wolf, a family that he always wanted. After being beaten, neglected, and abandoned by his original family, he longed for someone to have just an ounce of compassion towards him. He was always brushed aside or ignored on the streets. It took him the better part of three months just trying to survive on urban streets, until he found James. James instantly gave him a room in their home; a place where he could always be welcomed. For five years he lived there. Those five years were plenty of time for Wolf to get his feet back under him again. He worked hard, graduated from the Academy, and as of recently got himself the best job he could ever ask for, and the best companion he could ever ask for.

But what happened at Pepper's house changed everything. James could have disowned him right then and there. What he did to the lupine though, he might as well have just said it. He slapped him; hell, he kicked his ass when he retaliated. It was like those two had never met. But, he couldn't just dump him away and be done with it. He was close to Fox. Fox was close to him. They were "brothers". Although what he did to Wolf was heartless to say the least, at least he still had a heart. That heart could not separate two brothers. He would never hear the end of it from Fox if he removed Wolf from his life. As stated before, he was close, as two brothers should be. Fox couldn't have his own bloodline brother anymore–

James shook his head violently as the dark thoughts attempted to swarm him again. He made a long glance at the handgun that was lying on the floor feet away from where he was kneeling.

He couldn't be tempted to end the suffering. He couldn't take the coward's way out. He wasn't a coward. He would endure the suffering, endure the utter hell he would experience as long as it meant that his life was worth something to someone. He would never fall victim to a coward's mentality. He had the mentality of a warrior, a leader, a friend, a father, and a hero.

He was James McCloud, and he would endure the hell. The hell of war. And he would triumph.

He stood back up, wiped the countless tears from his fur, and slowly crept up to the door where Fox was. His guitar was playing a faint acoustic tune as he heard the vulpine singing along. He popped his head through the door, and watched as Fox's paws flawlessly strummed the strings, but once Fox noticed his father walk in, he instantly stopped and talked to him.

"Dad? You… you alright?"

James' ears were folded over, and his muzzle was drooped low. He let out a sigh as he walked over and sat on the kit's bed.

"As long as you're here Fox…" he faltered, choking back a sob as tears began forming in his eyes.

"I couldn't be any better."


A/N: Hoo boy, that one was a doozy, lemme tell ya. Don't worry, I promise the next chapters won't be as long as this one... maybe...

Anyway, that aside, I hope you guys enjoyed the super long ass chapter, and I'll see you guys next time!