After a few moments of reflection Wolf managed to rouse himself from his bed, the hangover he most assuredly deserved felt like it were draped over him like a damp blanket. This wasn't something he was unfamiliar with, these days hangovers were little more than a visit from an old friend to him. During the night's tossing and turning his eyepatch had fallen askew, exposing his scarred and damaged socket to the open air. After feeling the sting on his exposed nerve endings he had to take a moment to cover it.

As the captain planted his paws on the cold floor the rose that rested on his nightstand caught his attention for the second time, he couldn't resist at least giving it a smell. The scent was particularly reminiscent of Panther, his lingering cologne was unmistakable. Rolling the flower over in his palm it was clear how well his feline friend played the role of the eccentric villain- the thorns hadn't been shaved off and a small pin was affixed to the end of the stem with some tape, providing a counter-balance for throwing purposes.

Wolf bounced the rose up and down in his palm a few times to get a good idea of its weight. He'd seen Panther do it a hundred times, figured it couldn't be that hard- right? Doing his best to emulate the exact motion that Panther used he attempted to toss it across the room, flinging his arm wide and releasing his grasp with the best timing he could muster. As predicted the flower simply tumbled and fell limp not even halfway to its destination; apparently rose-throwing is a learned practice. Wolf sighed, picking it up off the floor and placing it back on the table before proceeding to get himself dressed.

The morning progressed slowly; Wolf took his sweet time with a shower, some coffee and a light workout- doing everything in his arsenal to shake the haziness from his head. After getting all the whining and moping out of his system the night before he felt readier than ever confront what awaited, trying to stay focused on the only thing that mattered; getting Leon back into his arms. The morning's next roadblock came into view as Wolf found himself standing in front of the stove, eye wide and staring at the appliance like a deer in headlights, as if making breakfast were the most foreign concept in the world. He hadn't really considered it but after Panther came into the picture he didn't really do much cooking at all. In fact, his skills in the subject appeared to have deteriorated quite a bit. He tried to scrap together some food that required little effort but his omelet was beginning to look more scrambled than anything else. Regardless, food was food and he plated the crumbly eggs alongside some other easy to produce sides. As always the canine dished out a little bit more for himself and a little bit less for Leon. Wait- that's not right. Goddamnit. Wolf exhaled frustratedly and tossed the empty pan over at the stove, clutching his face in his paws and glaring at the second plate that he'd made without thinking. Well, it was there. He had to do something with it.

*knock knock knock*

"Rise and shine, sweetcheeks." A gruff voice commanded. Without further warning the door to Fox's closet shot open revealing Wolf standing in the entrance, he was carrying a couple of plates and glass bottles. "Have a nice little nap?" The grey muzzle asked as he reached in to flick the light on. The sudden brightness made Fox wince, he looked like a cornered little wild animal.

"Come to antagonize me some more?" Fox talked a big game but he could barely think straight, his head was pounding in pain and his arm had kept him up all night.

"I'm here to feed you, you little ingrate." Wolf sneered as he sat himself down, shoving the extra plate into Fox's lap. "I don't want any of that back so I expect you to eat it."

Fox looked down at the food that he was given, while rudimentary the smell still made his mouth water in anticipation. Eggs, sausage, toast… He hadn't eaten over the last 24 hours and to his nutrient-starved body even something basic like this looked like the best food in the world.

"T-this is for me?" His voice waivered in uncertainty. He wasn't sure if this was just a cruel joke or not.

"What the fuck does it look like? Yes it's for you, we're going on a little flight today and I need you to not faint halfway through. Now eat."

There wasn't much space in the cramped closet so Wolf had to sit on the floor directly next to Fox, his back resting against the same shelf with his legs kicked out in front of him. This was the closest Fox had ever been to the man responsible for killing his father and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. That said, he had to admit that Wolf was fairly well groomed and smelled nicer than he expected a criminal like him to, he was also a lot larger than his pictures made him out to be. Easily as tall as Falco if not taller. Fox's train of thought was suddenly derailed as a fork clattered down onto his plate. "If you stab me with that I'll make you regret it." Wolf challenged, by this point his captive knew that he wasn't bluffing.

Fox wasted no time in digging in, he didn't even really need the fork but figured he should use what he was given. He immediately went straight for the protein, spearing the sausage off of the plate and taking a larger-than-necessary bite out of it. He had to eat primarily with his left hand, at this point the other one hurt too much to move on its own and had to be limply dragged around by the chain links of the handcuffs. Wolf passively watched the boy eat for a few moments before picking up one of the glass bottles he'd brought along, figuring he could at least give a little show of character. After all, Wolf wasn't all bad. Just mostly. "Say, you like tricks?"

"…Tricks?" Fox replied through a mouthful of food.

"Yeah, fucking tricks. I'm sure you've heard of them. Like a talent? Something cool? Does Team Star Fox like fun things or are you all as boring and serious as you act?"

"I-I like tricks Wolf…" He spoke uncertainly.

"Yeah? Well then check this out." The grizzled dog bared his teeth and wedged the still-fastened bottle cap between two of his molars. With one quick movement he twisted his hand and the cap bent off, sending a few drops of beer sloshing over the brim and some foam dripping down the neck. He spat the cap across the room and looked at Fox with an expectant grin. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"I- uhh… Yeah. That was cool." Fox replied hesitantly, he wasn't entirely sure what Wolf was trying to do nor what he wanted from him.

"Oh whatever, don't patronize me." Wolf huffed, handing the bottle off to his captive. "Drink up, maybe it'll make you into a man." Fox swallowed the nervous lump in his throat as he looked at what he was given. It was a bottle of name-brand beer brewed on MacBeth, a planet famous for making really gruff, dark drinks for working men. The smell alone was enough to make his nose shrivel up; strong and musky, the exact opposite of what his dehydrated body needed. Regardless, he didn't dare reject the little bit of hospitality he'd received.

"…Thank you." The boy muttered, Wolf didn't think twice about it. He'd already popped the cap off of his own bottle with his claw and was about two swigs deep. The next few moments passed in silence as the two calmly ate their breakfast next to each other, when he really considered it Fox felt that it was almost kind of nice, considering the circumstances. This was going to be closest he would likely ever get to quite literally breaking bread with a sworn enemy.

"…Wolf?" Fox's nervous voice penetrated the silence, emerald-green eyes fixed down on his plate.

"What? You got something to say to me?"

"I guess, while we're here I figured I might just get something off my chest." He inhaled a deep breath, catching his nerve before continuing. "I know that whatever you've got against me- it's irreversible. And I know I don't know too much about you, but deep inside I can tell you're not as bad as you pretend to be. A part of me feels like we just ended up on the wrong sides, opposite from each other."

Wolf was, admittedly, a bit shocked by Fox's words but he was careful not to make that apparent, he had a reputation to maintain and was too heavily conditioned to let something like that slip. Instead he chose to stand up off the ground with his empty plate and bottle in-hand, bushy unkempt tail flicking this way and that in a display of aggravation.

"You don't want me to show you how bad I can pretend to be. Stop talking and finish your food."

"Wolf I know that you were on Fichina to try to save your friend. You stayed out of this war up until Andrew was captured, none of us had seen you for years- and suddenly this?"

"The reason I went to Fichina is something you couldn't comprehend." The canine barked out, he turned and looked at Fox out of the corner of his sharp purple eye. "Some of us aren't so two-dimensional."

"Well… Either way… I just wanted to tell you that regardless of what happens between us I still respect you as a leader. I think we're similar in more ways than are apparent." That last sentence apparently struck a nerve with Fox's captor.

"Just keep talking and see what happens to you, you degenerate rat." Wolf snapped back, his long finger-claw tapped audibly against his holstered blaster's frame. But it was too late now. Fox had already said what he wanted to say. Instead of piping up again he put his head down and proceeded to finish his food without another peep.

After their breakfast Wolf took Fox by the handcuffs and marched him back down to the communication's room where they'd be able to re-establish contact with General Pepper. The conversation went roughly as expected, Pepper seemed surprised at Star Wolf's quick cooperation but was willing to hold up his end of the bargain. The terms were laid bare and agreed upon, they were to meet face-to-face at uncontested coordinates on Fichina and trade Fox for Leon, an even one-for-one. Alongside that both parties were to remain completely unarmed with vehicle weapons powered down. Wolf pushed to meet Pepper alone but, being an old dog with lots of experience under his belt the general knew that such an arrangement would be too great of a risk on his personal safety. Before wrapping their discussion up the two agreed to meet later on that day, exactly what Wolf was hoping for. The gears had been placed in motion and Wolf felt a wave of relief wash over him. He was still uncertain about the whole exchange but this felt like a good sign.

"I don't think you know how lucky you are, Fox." Wolf said to his bargaining chip as the call was disconnected. "Any other circumstance with me and you'd be meat. But here you are. Bandaged, fed and ready to be hand delivered to your master. It's like we had a little sleep over isn't it? I even let you drink my beer." Fox just glared up at him through his eyebrows, the lightheartedness was not appreciated.

"My collarbone's broken, Wolf. I might even be concussed. I'm hurt..."

"Yeah? Well that's just what happens when you have a sleepover with a big dog like me."

The communication's screen returned to the normal user interface and Wolf noticed the number of missed contact. There were a lot of them. He ushered Fox out of the room so that he could review them and lo and behold every single one was an emergency hail from Sargasso. It seemed that Panther wasn't kidding about their desperation. "Bunch of goddamn apes…" He muttered under his breath as he turned the system off again. He knew he had to come up with an answer for them soon but now wasn't really the best time, there were other things to attend to and getting Fox off of the ship was a top priority.

Before they left, Wolf made a point to dress himself in some of his more intimidating Star Wolf clothing, wanting to present himself in the strongest way possible. He donned his black leather jacket and matching pants, making sure to affix his steel-spiked kneepads and shoulderpads to accompany them. His belt buckle was emblazoned with a steel wolf head icon and showed prominently at his waist, giving him a powerful appearance. He fastened his hefty boots tight around his paws and mussed his scraggly mohawk up to make himself look gruffer. It worked.

"Hope you're ready to go, pup." Wolf yelled to Fox down the hallway, adjusting his holster's straps on his leg. He had to position it carefully to avoid cutting his clothing with his blaster's bayonet. Even though he'd have to go unarmed it was good to keep around just in case.

"I don't think I have a choice, do I?"

"Not at all." Wolf clarified. Once he was done grooming himself he re-accompanied Fox in the hallway. Wanting to waste no more time before their departure the canine grabbed the boy by his collar and pinned him back against the wall, getting close to his face to make sure his words were heard. "While we're on my ship, I don't want to hear a single peep from you. You'll stay perfectly quiet like the cargo that you are. Is that understood?

"Y-yes. I understand." Fox replied, diligently nodding his head. Wolf was satisfied with his response, backing off and beckoning to be followed to the hangar.

The large doors to the spacedock opened up slowly with loud mechanical clanks as the two approached, they were thick and heavy to protect the rest of the mothership from depressurization in the event of any kind of sustained damage. Docked inside the garage were the last few ships that team Star Wolf had in their possession, three Wolfens and a two civilian vehicles that were tucked away on the side. Wolf sighed, the Black Rose was missing. The events of the afternoon had distracted him from Panther's departure and suddenly he was feeling the remorse trickling back in. Despite their occasional squabbles and differences Panther had proven to be the best teammate he'd ever had, not accounting for Leon. They were similar in so many ways and the strength of his loyalty was paralleled only by the strength of their chemistry. That said, Wolf didn't regret his decision, he didn't have enough time to. He knew he could be walking right into a trap and didn't want to be responsible for the death of anybody except for himself. After this, team Star Wolf may very well be drawn to its conclusion.

Fox followed his captor across the catwalk and over to the Wolfen they'd be taking. Wolf's ship had some small modifications to it that made it stand out from the others. A deeper crimson color was painted over the hull and it had black markings speckled here and there- it was unclear if those there intentional or simply scorch marks left from the many fights it had seen. Without any warning Wolf turned around and grabbed Fox by the midsection, hoisting the smaller boy up over his shoulder with one arm. The added stress to the Cornerian captain's battered chest caused him to yelp out in pain.

"Calm down, pup!" Wolf barked, Fox's fluffy tail rubbed against his muzzle as it twitched back and forth. "You're fine." Without much effort the wolf used his free hand to climb up to his ship's cockpit, popping the seal open and dumping Fox in the same spot that he was in when he was brought here; handling him a bit gentler this time. "You're light as a goddamn feather McCloud. What, did James not feed you your broccoli growing up?" Wolf chuckled at his own comment as Fox chose not to respond, knowing that anything he could say would cause more harm than good.

Before Wolf lowered himself down into the pilot's seat he noticed a small piece of paper resting on the dashboard; it was folded into a simple origami flower with some kind of text clearly scribbled on the inside. Wolf immediately knew what this was; he bent down and picked it up, carefully unfolding it in his palm.

"WHEREVER YOU GO, IN THIS GALAXY OR THE NEXT, KNOW THAT YOU'LL ALWAYS HAVE A GUARDIAN KEEPING YOU SAFE. ONLY DEATH IS FIT TO BREAK THE BOND I SHARE WITH CAPTAIN O'DONNELL."

Wolf stared at the paper he held in his paws, some emotions began to seep through his cold, hard carapace but he did his best to keep them back. Panther was certainly a man who didn't know when to back down, that was for certain. "Stubborn, prideful cats." Wolf thought to himself, knowing that those same words could easily be applied to him in turn. He folded the note into a small, less delicate square and tucked it away in his pocket, climbing down to take his seat in the cockpit.

"Get real comfy back there McCloud. It'll be a hell of a long flight for you."