Disclaimer: I do not own Star Fox. This series was created and published by Nintendo. All respect and copywriter ship goes to Nintendo and whoever is in part of making Star Fox.
Author comments beforehand: Okay, first off, I shall put up a slight warning because it sort of pushes the line of T. The first reason why is because I have a Wolf shower scene. But please do not flip out over it, you have to remember that everyone showers without clothes so there is that scene. The other is the cursing. I think I put in more than usual. Also, there's a lot more gore than usual so watch out for that.
Otherwise, we get to see Wolf take back Sargasso. We also get a look of some foreshadowing. It involves James. Yes. Muhaha. I wonder what James has to do with Wolf?
I guess we'll just have to fid out!
Beauty and the Beast
IX. The Way of a Pistol
"You know something? I've been thinking a lot."
Wolf looked up with two large lavender eyes. They sparkled with child innocence; a naïve glow that we all wish to hold on to.
"What have you been thinking about, sir?"
The elder man laughed and rubbed the tiny lupine pup's hair, making it go in all sorts of directions. "I've been thinking that you have potential," he said. "Yes, potential."
"What kind, sir?"
The older man turned to him, his sunglasses reflecting the sun and giving the pup more wonder.
"A potential that can prove great things. Things that I cannot even believe."
Wolf looked straight into Fox's green eyes and smiled coolly. To Fox, his smile reminded him of poison; tempting and colorful but deadly. Fox felt a shutter run through his bones. Team Star Wolf waited for Star Fox to attack and vice versa. The air became thicker with tension and waiting…waiting for the fool to go in for the attack first.
Suddenly, Wolf along with Leon and Panther pulled back and did a U-turn, moving precisely at the same time heading in for the two Arwings. Fox had little time to react as Panther began shooting lasers at him.
"Slippy! Move to the right, I'll go left!" he shouted, shifting gears.
"Got it!"
Wolf growled as he shot past his main target. He moved his ship to tag Fox, making it hard for the vulpine to get the lupine off his tail. When Fox moved right, so did Wolf. When he did a U-turn to try and baffle him, he simply waited and then went back to tag him. "Dang, this is so frustrating!" Fox replied to himself. He had to think of some--
Fox's thoughts were cut off as Wolf fired a single laser, throwing him off balance and lowering his shields. "Dammit, he got me off guard!" Fox yelled as Wolf soared over his ship the next moment.
Slippy panicked as Leon and Panther circled over his ship continuously. He felt his hands shake and his ship quirk a bit with each movement. Come on Slippy, he thought, be strong for Fox…please be strong for Fox! He tried his best and he moved the ship under the two Wolfen. Slippy managed to escape their clutches. The poor toad sighed with relief. At least I am safe for now, he thought. Now, to find a way to help Fox!
"GET BACK HERE, DAMMIT!" said a rough tone. Wolf slammed the gas petal and charged after his prey but the Arwing dodged him each time, as if it was mocking him. The lupine bared his teeth and fired a ray of missiles. Only one hit its target, barely damaging the ship. Wolf barked in rage and moved in after Fox. He could see the ship jerk in surprise at the odd move. Wolf calmed down at that and he again shot at his target. This time ten got in and made an impact.
"That's what you get." Wolf replied with a grin.
It was interesting, his relationship with Fox. He chased after him countless of years, trying to face James McCloud's son to have his orange pelt on his wall. Wolf soon found himself distracted in his thoughts, losing touch with any action going on. He leaned back and thought. He was thinking about that man…James. James…his mentor, his brother, he…he… Wolf felt that anger from all those years ago begin bubbling in his system.
I can never forgive him for what he did to me. James McCloud is the reason why I fight Fox. He is the reason why I hate that damned fox. He is.
Suddenly, he heard static. Wolf snapped out of his mind and looked around. His eye darted left and right to find that he was the only one left standing and barely at that. Leon and Panther had been defeated and they left him. They must've tried to go back to the base, he concluded bitterly. Wolf stared at Fox's and Slippy's Arwings coming straight for him. He pushed a button and then began speeding in the other direction. Suddenly, there was an explosion.
A force rocked the Wolfen and sent it flying. Wolf's muscles tensed at the force and felt the heat from the Nova bomb he dropped invade his ship. He didn't care if he lost, at least he could give that little annoyance a reminder that he would be back.
I wonder why I did not stay longer, he thought as he flew over Lucy's city. The thought struck him. Perhaps I should look down. Maybe I'll see her. Wolf did just as his mind told him. He glanced to the ground and used his eye patch to try and pick her out. Nothing. His heart lurched underneath his chest and he hated it. Wolf ignored it and soon, it went away. He breathed in air and pressed on the gas petal, speeding ahead into the clouds and back to his base.
Wolf's ship landed as gently as a snowflake and he made the jump from his Wolfen to the ground, landing on his feet. He looked up and saw two tattered Wolfen next to his own. Wolf sighed and walked into the meeting room to see two injured Star Wolf members. The lupine let out a growl of annoyance as he sat down.
"You morons…what the hell was that out here, huh?"
Leon shifted his beady eyes away from Wolf. "Obviously not much! I can't believe the damned amphibian shot me down! Usually he can't even harm a fly! No! A dust mite! With his new weapons he got Panther and I down in one shot!"
"Yes, it was unusual," Panther commented, checking a wound on his hand. "Even Fox was at top game. It sickens me really, how he could fight so well after hurting poor Krystal's heart."
"THAT IS NO DAMNED EXCUSE!" Wolf screamed. Leon and Panther gritted their teeth and sunk back, feeling the might of Wolf O'Donnell upon them.
"Do you know what our JOB IS, gentleman? It is to have that pup's fur plastered on my mantel! And you two idiots can't even comply with such! It's a wonder why I still have you around me!" Wolf snarled.
Panther looked up at him with some bravery. "It is because you need companionship, Lord O'Donnell."
"Peh, buttering me up won't do you any good," he replied back, the anger radiating from his grey fur.
Wolf crossed his arms and paused to think. He then smiled wickedly causing Leon to lean to Panther and whisper, 'Now look what you've done, you moron.'
"Alright; now that you screwed this battle up for me, you have to make it up to me." He licked his lips and got up. "While I will be stationed here, you two will be going out and spying on Star Fox. I also want you to investigate any Anglar activity. Any information will be forwarded to me and I expect results this time. Do you comprehend?"
"Yes, Wolf." They said in unison.
"Excellent. You will repair your ships and leave in the morning. I have my own plans that I will take care of on my own. Do not dare to bother me or your hides will join Fox's above my fireplace."
The next morning, Wolf awoke to the sounds of two Wolfen blasting off into outer space. He yawned and flexed his muscles and got up lazily, letting himself fall to the floor. Wolf sighed and got out a cigarette from his pants pocket and lit it with the lighter laying next to it. He took in the cigarette's bold taste and then let the smoke out. He growled low and smiled.
"Now THAT is how you start a morning!"
Wolf got up and went looking for a shirt. He checked the floor where clothes lay piled around his bed like servants tending to a king. He grumbled as he pulled up a white tee shirt. "This will do…unless I do the laundry." He murmured. Wolf decided that was best, considering the mission he had planned for himself. But first thing's first, he needed a shower. Wolf took one last taste of the cigarette before rubbing the bud in an ashtray by his bed. Surprisingly enough, it was the only cigarette in there.
Wolf dragged himself to the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush and began brushing his teeth with the minty toothpaste. After he spat, gargled with mouth wash and flossed, he grinned at himself in the mirror. Wolf moved his head right to left slowly, checking his sharp, white teeth. He opened and then snapped it shut, chuckling while doing so.
Wolf quickly got into the shower, removing the pair of pants and underwear that he was wearing, as well as his eye patch. He let the cold water run down his fur, chilling it. He felt his body wake up with that, and he liked it. Wolf cleaned his body, making sure his fur and hair was clean. Wolf took a moment to touch his scarred eye, feeling the exposed skin on his eye lid. He was thankful the eye ball was still there, but everyday, it pained him to feel a useless body part. He gritted his teeth for a moment and then let it pass, relaxing under the water yet again.
The lupine turned off the water. He stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, drying his wet fur. He dropped the towel and shook his head, making sure every last drop was gone. Then, he fished for any clothing that might be clean and more important, in the room. He remembered he had the white tee-shirt from before. Wolf looked and saw a clean pair of jeans with a belt and clean boxer underwear. He grabbed that and put it on, tightening the belt. Next he put on the shirt and he sighed, taking the dirty clothing with him as he left the bathroom.
Wolf wandered around his bedroom, taking any form of clothing and putting it under his arm. Soon, both muscular arms had bundles of clothing. Wolf grumbled as he wandered over to the laundry room. He dumped the clothing in the washing machine and put in liquid detergent. Then, he closed the washing machine door and pressed the button, making it go. Wolf nodded in satisfaction before walking back to his room.
The clock said '5:34 am.' "Good," he said, "Plenty of time." Wolf scanned the room. It was now clean. The only imperfection was the dirty clothing. Otherwise, everything was neat, minus the bed. He never really cared about the bed, just go in and sleep in it and then wake up. That's all. He then realized he forgot about his eye patch so he wandered back into the bathroom and put it on, fixing it so it was in the right place.
He sighed and moved out of the bathroom. He walked into the supplies room and grabbed various items. A hand blaster, a hand pistol, two boxes of bullets, a container for the hand blaster, a belt of grenades, and lastly, a mini bazooka that could fit onto his back. He brought the weapons into his room and checked it over.
"Everything seems to be in order," Wolf said. "Alrighty then, I believe I am ready for my mission."
And so, at seven o' eight P.M., Wolf O'Donnel was wearing a skin tight dark green vest. Underneath, he was wearing the white tee-shirt. The shirt was tucked into tight, black pants which were tucked into black army boots. He checked himself over, putting on the grenade belt and putting both guns into gun holders. Wolf smoothed back his hair with his black fingerless gloved paws and nodded. He moved to the door, grabbing his larger weapon and headed for his Wolfen.
Wolf slid carefully in the Wolfen and closed the top of his ship. He checked everything and grinned.
"Time to take back what's rightfully mine!"
With that, he launched the Wolfen into the air and headed into Fichina's atmosphere. He felt the heat of the atmosphere surround his ship, making him feel disgusting and uncomfortable. Soon, because of the Wolfen's speed, he was out of Fichina and headed for where he wanted to go. He checked the map and kept heading in the directions that he needed to go. Left, right, past Fortuna, straight. North east, West, North again…all these directions were leading him to one place.
Wolf slowed his speed as he got into the territory that he needed to be. Reddish space surrounded him as he neared bases upon bases. This was where all of the 'bad mercenaries' hung out and planned. He kept moving ahead until the base he was looking for came right into view.
Sargasso.
Wolf looked at it and smiled. This was his turf and he was going to boot whoever it was out and make it his own again. He will never again let anyone or anything touch his property. Wolf noticed that cargo ships were entering through the east so he decided that's where he would begin.
Wolf moved the ship behind an ingoing cargo ship and snuck into his old base. Though, his trial was not over yet. Guards came and inspected every inch of the cargo ship. He had no time to put on the cloaking shield so he sat there, waiting to see if they noticed him.
And of course, they had no clue Wolf O'Donnell was crashing their base. He grinned and parked under the ship, barely making it. Wolf waited a few moments before slipping out of his ship. It took effort to get his bazooka out but he made it out and his feet soon felt the ground. Wolf strapped the bazooka to his back and adjusted himself. It was now time to get down to the nitty gritty. Wolf chose his hand blaster for the first part of his mission. He checked everything for the last time, and made sure it was loaded. Once the gun was ready, Wolf moved forward.
He slowly crept out of the pace he was in and he quickly ducked behind a barrel that was nearby. Wolf's back was against the barrel now as he waited for more activity to die down. He heard the moving of his former subordinates as they unloaded the cargo and took it inside the main part of the base. Wolf waited a moment longer before flipping so that he was now facing the barrel. He quickly scanned the area with his eye patch and sound that there were twenty creatures in the room. He knew they were armed, but he didn't know what they were armed with.
Wolf continued to wait until a suited up monkey soldier came to his barrel. The monkey took the barrel before gasping, seeing the creature behind it.
"W-wol--"
That was all the creature could say before Wolf shot the animal in the neck. The poor animal gurgled before falling to the ground, causing the barrel to break. Every animal looked up and saw that the infamous Wolf O'Donnell was here. "WOLF O'DONNELL!" They all shouted, taking out their hand blasters.
Wolf grinned at them. "Hello boys, how've you been?"
Immediately, they all began firing at the lupine. Wolf quickly moved behind another barrel before popping up again, taking shots back at two men. One screamed with pain as he was shot in the arm and the other fell to the floor, obviously dead with his eyes rolled back into his head. Wolf leaned back down and took a breath.
This will be harder than I thought, Wolf mused. He shot up again and fired. Both shots missed and he kept firing. Wolf this time focused on which part to shoot at, taking his sweet time while the men fired wildly at the lupine. Soon, one by one, each fell either thrashing on the ground in pain or dead without any blood soiling the floor. Wolf got up and smiled.
"I believe I am done here. Thank you for the warm welcome!" Wolf spat at one of them before bolting off into the entrance leading to the heart of the base. Little did he know, one of the breathing men called their boss, informing them that 'they had a guest.'
Wolf slid behind a wall and checked the reading on the blaster. He wasted one third of its energy on the twenty men in there. "That's not good," he commented. He scanned the area to find double the men in this room than the last. "Whoever this guy is, he sure did stock up on men for this place. Perhaps I shouldn't kill them all!"
Wolf breathed in and out. Then he ran into the fray again and began vigorously shooting at the unsuspecting animals. Two fell before the other thirty eight reacted. Shots were flung back and forth at this point. Many times, Wolf growled with pain as they fired at his arms. The shots burned his skin as if the sun was upon his fur and decided to flick him every few seconds. He then threw his blaster at one, knocking the animal out cold.
Then, the battle changed. Wolf did a sidekick in one animal's side, sending the creature flying into the wall in front of them. He smiled a bit seeing an advantage. He began running up to the creatures, using his hands and feet as weapons instead of the gear he had. While he sparred one creature, a feline jumped onto his back and swung the lupine off balance.
Wolf yelped with surprise at the sudden gain of weight on his back and he swerved left and right, trying desperately to get the cat off of his back. The creature was strong and persistent, even going as far to dig her claws into his back. Wolf cried out in rage and then turned quickly; swinging the cat into the frog he was battling earlier. Both fell and stayed on the ground, groaning from the pain.
Wolf panted a bit and then moved on to the next one in front of him. He moved in and punched the dog's stomach lightly, causing the dog to flinch a bit. When he was caught off guard, Wolf swung at the dog's face with a kick to the jaw. Wolf smiled a bit as he felt his boot crush the dog's jaw, making it crack on impact. The dog screeched with pain and he too fell to the ground.
He looked up again. Thirty six more men were left and he possibly couldn't fight them all. He looked down at his belt and remembered he had grenades on him. He took one off and pressed the blue buttons inward, making the grenade sound of with a 'BEEP! BEEP!'. He had little time to get out of there before it blew so he threw it and bolted into the next room.
"5…4…3…2…1…"
The explosion rocked the base and many screams were heard. Wolf was pushed forward by the force of the grenade and he landed hard on his side. He groaned with pain as he hit the metal floor. Wolf breathed in and got up slowly, and stood up. He had a lot more ground to cover and little time to do so.
"If I want this base by tonight," Wolf said to himself, "I need to work faster that I am now. Guess I have to rely on my bombs and bazooka for awhile."
And so he did just at. With each room, instead of trying to fight with a gun, he either used a grenade to clear a room of any obstacles or shot with his bazooka. He had to admit, his load was getting lighter but each time he fought, he managed to get some sort of cut or bruise on his body. He wished he had more armor, but he knew for this particular mission that it would not be best. He had to be swift and tedious. Armor would merely slow him down.
'BA-BEEP! BA-BEEP!'
Wolf jumped with shock when he heard the cell phone. He had no grenades left, one soldier destroyed his bazooka, another took his hand blaster and the cartridge for it, and all he had left was his gun. He fumbled through one of his gun holders and found his cell phone, which was ringing. He growled and picked it up.
"I'M BUSY!"
"O-oh, is this a bad time?"
"…Lucy? I thought I tol--"
Wolf paused to be pushed back by a blast that the enemy launched. His body slammed into the wall and he yelped on impact. He moved behind a steel crate and he grabbed his phone on the floor.
"I thought I told you NOT to call me!" Wolf finished.
"What's going on? Where are you?" Lucy questioned with fear.
"I'm busy, that's where I am!" The older man retorted. "Lucy, I don't want you calling me now. I have to go."
"W-wait, Wolf!"
That was all he heard before he hung up on the girl. He growled and ran his hand through his sweaty hair. "Dammit, she sure has perfect timing," he said. "Now I can't concentrate!"
At that moment, Wolf didn't notice the gorilla come up behind him and hit him over the head. Wolf groaned with pain and fell to the ground, knocked out cold. He lay there as the personnel told his boss that he had Wolf O'Donnell.
When Wolf awoke next, he was handcuffed and sitting in a pathetic wooden chair. He looked around the room and recognized his old office and growled. He then lifted his head to look straight and saw someone sitting in his black, leather chair and at his desk. Wolf couldn't help but laugh now when he saw the chair turned so he could not see the body of the one who took his base.
"Well, well, well, I hope you're mighty comfortable."
"As a matter of fact," said an all too familiar voice, "I am. Thank you for asking, Lord O'Donnell!"
Wolf took a moment to think who this creature would be. Certainly not Pigma, as he was turned into a metal cube during the Aparoid invasion. Not Andross, Fox killed him off once and for all after his mission on the primitive Sauria, and not any of the pathetic soldiers he had under his rule in Sargasso…
Then, it clicked.
"Andrew Oikonny, what a surprise!" Wolf said with a fake voice of happiness.
"Yes, it's me, Andrew Oikonny!" Andrew replied in his annoying voice as he turned to face his former leader. "Lovely to have me back, eh, Wolfie-kins?"
Wolf rolled his eye. "So, I thought the Aparoids tanned your pathetic hide. How did you escape?"
"I escaped because Uncle Andross wanted me to! He needs me to carry out his wish to be the ruler of the Lylat system!"
"Don't joke with me," Wolf said. "You're a pathetic whelp who should've died. Now, tell me why you took over MY territory?"
"Because," Andrew replied with a snort, "I knew if I took it over, you would come back eventually for parts. You were always the type to go back and salvage parts."
Wolf studied him. He was wearing a tuxedo with nice dress shoes and a black tie. His hair was jelled back so that he looked mature. To Wolf, however, Andrew appeared as if he wanted to get a school picture of himself and Wolf was the camera man.
"Alright, I'll admit to that, but what I am here more is that I want my base back. I will fight you for it and I will win as usual."
"If it's a fight you want," Andrew said while getting up, "It's a fight you'll get!"
Wolf jumped to his two feet and tried to use his hands at the oncoming monkey but soon he remembered his hands were handcuffed together.
"Shit," Wolf spat as Andrew punched Wolf square in the jaw. Wolf twisted backwards and fell into the wall. He groaned and got up. Andrew tried the same move again only to be head butted by Wolf. This stunned the man. Andrew was forced onto the ground and he was knocked out. Wolf snickered and smiled at the unconscious body.
"Like I said, I will win as usual."
Wolf walked over to Andrew and grabbed the keys attached to his belt. He tried each key until he found the right one which unlocked the handcuffs. Once they were off of him, he rubbed his wrists.
"Time to get rid of this idiot," Wolf replied.
Wolf bent over and picked up the limp body, hoisting it over his shoulder. But as he was walking out of the room, he didn't notice the nephew of Andross waking up. Andrew swung limply a bit before he reached into his pocket and took something out.
The lupine opened the door and then he felt a sharp pain throughout his leg. He dropped Andrew and he clutched his inner leg to find that it had been cut.
"…You little sneak," Wolf replied with pain.
"What can I do? I told you I'm not going out without a good fight!" Andrew said in a shrill voice, twirling the knife as if he was putting on a show. "I want to beat you once and for all! Once I beat you, three million will be mine for the spending! Then I'll lure Leon here and lastly that stupid black cat you added to replace me! I will have my revenge against you!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk" Wolf clucked with his tongue as he turned to face Andrew. "You really should stop talking like that. That was one of the reasons why I kicked you off my damned team. Because you were so damn annoying, Andrew. I only put up with you because Andross was giving me a nice paycheck."
"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Andrew screamed. The monkey lunged with amazing speed at Wolf, cutting him again across his arm. Wolf cried out in anger and pain and grabbed his arm, feeling the blood run down.
He's incredibly fast for a pathetic little thing, Wolf thought. The only way to stop him would be… Wolf placed a hand around his pistol. But then he gave a second thought. What if I…the lupine grinned. Andrew was caught off guard by that and it was a perfect moment for Wolf to strike.
Wolf moved in and gave a square punch to Andrew's stomach, making the monkey wheeze and cough. Wolf went in for another jab but Andrew quickly blocked off the lupine's hand and held him there, both struggling to either defend themselves or attack. They jumped back. Wolf ran in and aimed a kick for Andrew only to be cut by the knife again. Wolf winced at the pain and tried again, this time kicking the knife out of Andrew's hand.
Andrew yelped with shock and pain as the boot hit his hand, making the knife fly across the room and into the wall. Andrew ran to get the knife but Wolf grabbed him by the head and threw him into the wall. Andrew groaned and turned over only to be forced in place by Wolf's foot on top of his chest.
"I'll get you for this!" Andrew desperately cried. "You're head WILL be mine!"
"How about this? You'll get me when Uncle Andross does," Wolf cooed.
Then, Wolf pulled out the pistol and pointed it at Andrew. The monkey's eyes filled with terror as he saw it and he swallowed, knowing what was going to happen.
Later, Wolf walked to his Wolfen exhausted, bruised, and bleeding. Though Andrew didn't stab him like any normal creature with a knife, the cuts hurt a lot and they continued to bleed. He grumbled and licked the blood off of his nose.
"Little punk."
Though he hadn't killed Andrew, he sure did give Andrew a wound he would never forget about. His knifing arm will never be the same, he thought with a smile. Wolf walked up to the key pad of the base and changed the code to a code he chose. Sargasso was now his again and Wolf wanted to make sure that nobody would attempt to break in again.
Afterwards, Wolf got into his ship and sped off into space, leaving his prize alone to come back to once again whenever needed.
By the time he got to Fichina again, it was dark and snowing again. He sighed and jumped out of his Wolfen only to change vehicles. He brought it out and turned to lock up his Fichinan base. Once everything was secure, Wolf hopped onto the motorcycle and sped off into the night.
Wolf kept going, his heart pumping in his chest. He felt lightheaded from the blood he was loosing, but he knew that he could hold out until he reached his destination. Once he past the 'Welcome to Fichina's City' sign and drove into the heart of the city, he began going faster. The roads were silent and he seemed to be the only one out there despite the fact that it was nine thirty P. M. He kept going until he found a familiar set of apartment buildings.
He got off the bike and ran into the building and up the stairs. Once he was on the right floor, he turned and stopped at the apartment where he wanted to be. Wolf smiled to himself and brushed some hair back before knocking on the door. The door opened and Lucy came out, yawning and wearing a red sweater with jeans. In her hand she held a cup of tea.
"W-who is it…" she called sleepily.
"Well, that's no way to treat a guest," Wolf teased.
"WOLF!" Lucy shouted, almost spilling her drink all over him.
"Hey, mind if I come in? I need some bandages for these wounds," he said.
"Oh my goodness," she replied with a squeak, "Of course!"
Lucy led the lupine inside and brought him into the bathroom. She got out the first aid kit and began treating his wounds. Wolf watched as she worked gently as she placed a gauze dressing around his arm. Once he was all patched up, she stood back and smiled.
"That's better, huh?"
"Yeah," he said, "A lot."
Then he paused. Wolf decided that he wanted to do something with this girl. Anything.
"Hey, Lucy," Wolf said in a low tone.
"Y-yes?" Lucy responded, her cheeks turning pink.
"Want to hang out tomorrow? Just us?"
Lucy grew speechless. Wolf studied her and waited. After a few moments, when the lupine had unusually started doubting himself, the answer was given.
"Yes, please, Wolf!"
CHAPTER VIIII END
Well, this took forever to write! Well, once I post this, school will be done! All I have is summer, some work occasionally and relaxation! Horray
I liked this chapter. It was very hard to do an action type chapter but I think I did fairly well. Unfortunately, I am not that good so I hope you can make do.
At last, Lucy and Wolf go on that date that I've been promising! We'll see lots of mushy gushy romance in the next chapter for sure. But remember, Wolf doesn't know his feelings so no confession just yet. Sorry!
Well, regardless, thank you for being so patient! I hope you enjoy this chapter.
P.S. This chapter is ten pages! OH MY GOODNESS!