CHAPTER TWENTY

The Final Retribution
A few days later…

When Wolf had said for Ramero to "bring it on", he had done so out of cockiness under the impression that Ramero had little to no chance of getting out of CFE, let alone getting off of Kew. Even if he did, there was no chance he'd go anywhere near Fortuna since not only would the entire galaxy be looking for him, but he'd have no idea that Wolf and Lori were hiding there…right?

Wrong. Early that morning, Wolf awoke to find the house completely empty. To him, this wasn't suspicious since Lori enjoyed going out for a jog before she ate breakfast, and jogging around Fortuna was definitely something Wolf could recommend to anyone. What made Wolf not only very suspicious but extremely paranoid was the broadcast his radio had been tuned into as he switched it on.

"It has been confirmed that a major riot took place at the CFE Megaprison on the planet Kew at approximately 9:30 pm last night. Corneria's Husky unit was deployed to settle the issue a half-hour later through a massive neutralization, but soldiers participating in the act reported that at least twenty prisoners escaped the planet before the unit could locate them. Most of the escapees could not be identified, but among the few that were was former Macbeth Quarries CEO Kodek Ramero."

"Oh, shit…"

Not two seconds later, Wolf's communicator which was conveniently lying on a nearby counter (odd considering he'd left it somewhere in the bathroom the last time he'd checked) buzzed. Expecting the worst, he picked it up and tuned it until a voice came through and confirmed his fears.

"Rise and shine, boy." Ramero chuckled.

"What have you done with her?"

"Nothing. Not yet, anyway. I told you I'd find her, didn't I?"

"Quite honestly, I'm more surprised you got off of that planet without any help."

"Without any help? Don't be silly, O'Donnell. What's a CEO without his employees?"

"…you're kidding, right? You recruited an army out of a bunch of homicidal maniacs…actually, that's not too surprising now that I think about it."

"You're one to talk. Anyhow, she's right here. She's still breathing. Say hello, Miss Grey."

Wolf heard a pucker and a splat on the other end, followed by Ramero growling. She'd spat in his face. Wolf smirked.

"That's my girl."

That's what he thought then until he heard Ramero let out an enraged shout, followed by a loud cry of pain. Wolf gritted his teeth.

"Stop it! Leave her alone!"

"Oh, what's this? So you do love her, eh, O'Donnell? A man who makes his claim to fame with murder can…"
"MADE his claim to fame with murder. I'm done with that."
"In any case, you actually managed to fall in love, is that it? You, a shameless murderer, get to fall in love and have kids while I rot in jail for the rest of my life."

Wolf's heart started to race as his anger built up. He hated it when anyone spoke to him like this, but coming from Ramero, it had to be the absolute worst. Why did it make him so angry? Because it was a lie. He was a murderer, but he felt guilty about it just about every single day. Lori wasn't making him forget that he was a murderer. She was helping him get over the guilt he felt from it by reminding him that he had plenty left to live for. Thus, knowing that she was in danger made him even angrier.

"She's quite a beauty, I'll admit." Ramero hissed. "Actually reminds me a bit of your mother. She's certainly as bitchy as her, I'll give her that."
"If you lay one more finger on her…"
"You'll do what? Brood some more and try and make me feel guilty about it? Get real, boy. You have no right to talk to me about what's right and wrong. It's like I said before: that innocent little kid that you used to be is dead…you killed him. Look at yourself. If you didn't wash, his blood and the blood of everyone you killed would permanently stain your fur red."

"None of that matters now."

"…none of that matters? Hold on a second, O'Donnell. Listen to yourself. 'None of it matters'?! Do you realize what you're saying right now?"

"Yes, but it's not what I say that defines who I am. It's what I do, and that woman you're holding captive is one of the few reasons I still exist. I intend to keep her safe. Let that define me, not whether or not I'm the same person that I was when I was a child."

That sealed it. Wolf wouldn't let Ramero's words scare him anymore. He was going to end this confrontation once and for all, but oddly, he didn't want to kill Ramero anymore. That desire had fallen of the radar after Star Fox had imprisoned him. Killing Ramero would only prove the point that Wolf was a ruthless killer, and he wasn't out to kill someone. He was out to save someone, but if had to kill to do so, he would.

"I'm going to speak your language here and make a proposition, Ramero." Wolf said finally in the most menacing way he could. "If you let Lori go now, that'll be the end of it. I won't look for you, I won't pursue you…but if you don't, I will look for you…I will find you…and I will kill you."

He could tell that he had scared Ramero, but that wouldn't be enough to stop a defiant response.

"No…I think we've let this little feud go too far to just end it off now. I need closure, and from what I gather, so do you."

"Alright, then. One suggestion, though: you better start running while you still can. You need a massive head start to get away from me."

Wolf retuned the communicator and eventually received a voice that he hadn't heard in a long time.

"Let me guess." Leon sighed. "Ramero's coming for you?"

"You're close. He's got Lori."

"The sweetheart from the Stray Dog? What's she doing with…holy shit, are you two banging now?"

"This isn't funny, Leon! Ramero and his goons are holding her hostage and they're gonna kill her if we don't get to her in time!"

A familiar deep voice tuned in and chuckled under his breath.

"He's in love, Leon. Wouldn't you do anything you could to save someone you love?"

Wolf winced in knowing that Panther had struck a nerve in Leon, but he thankfully and surprisingly simply sighed.

"You're right…can't let anything like that ever happen again. Oikonny! Get your lazy ass in gear! Boss needs backup!"

"This is takin' too long, Ramero." one of the goons restraining Lori said in a voice that sounded like he was struggling to breathe. "Let's just have a little fun with the lady. I'm sure she won't mind it."

"Uh, yeah, actually I do mind it." Lori spat. "Why do you think I've been trying to get away from you clowns for the past ten minutes?"

Two of the goons began sickeningly pawing Lori's arms for the second time in those ten minutes, and while Ramero was persistent in making these maniacs restrain themselves, he had to admit that he himself was getting very impatient.

"I thought this little bitch meant something to him…heh. Guess I was wrong."

"Don't flatter yourself just 'cause you can't get laid, Kodek." Lori scoffed.

Ramero spun around and seized the girl's neck, coming disturbingly close to her to the point where she could smell his stinking breath.

"If you don't fancy having that pretty little face of yours carved open and used as a 'porthole' so to speak, keep your mouth shut."

"Ugh. It's called mints, buddy. They're not expensive."

"You little fuckin'…"

One of the goons pointed downward at the undergrowth far below them.

"Hey! I see somethin' down there!" he yelled.

"Then stop gawking. Get down there and check it out." Ramero growled.

Three of the twenty goons steadily climbed down the massive redwood tree to investigate. They were right to do so, for Wolf hid in the bushes fully armed with his machine pistol and a rather primitive sniper rifle that he had purchased during a weekly trip to Corneria for supplies. He was told that it was guaranteed to kill someone even with a body shot, but it was more difficult to focus in perfectly on a target and it needed to be cocked between every shot, though he wasn't worried about aiming with the Solid Eye tilting those odds in his favour. Of course, if these two mechanical instruments of death failed him, he always had the ten natural ones at the end of his fingers.

All that being said, he was still concerned. He needed to stay hidden and take out each goon one at a time. If he got spotted before he could safely get Lori out of the area, who was to say Ramero wouldn't kill her right then and there? However, there was no way he could take on all twenty of them. He'd simply have to wait for backup to arrive. Until then, he needed to make sure to Ramero and his goons didn't see him.

The second one of them came close, Wolf made sure the others wouldn't notice their comrade was missing right away and pulled him into the bushes, covering his mouth and twisting his head to the side so quickly that it snapped his neck in an instant. Afterwards, Wolf took a suppressor out of his pocket and screwed it onto the barrel of his rifle, aiming carefully and quickly delivering two silent shots to the backs of the goons' heads.

"And that's how it's done."

When the three goons didn't come out, Ramero smirked.

"Playing stealthy, eh? Alright, then. I know how to solve this little problem…"

Without another word, he seized Lori by the hair and planted a knife against her throat.

"Game's up, O'Donnell! Get out here or she dies!"

Lori had expected and wanted Wolf to stay hidden, thinking that he had a better plan to get her out of there and knowing that he would be bringing himself right into the line of enemy fire. Much to her shock, Wolf revealed himself.

"Don't hurt her!" he called up from the ground below. "I'm the one you're after, Ramero! She doesn't have anything to do with this!"

"Wolf, are you nuts?! They're gonna kill you!" Lori shouted before one of the goons slapped her to shut her up.

"STOP! YOU WIN!"

Ramero laughed.

"You're giving up just like that, O'Donnell? Come on, you know me better than that. Whatever kind of weapons you've got hidden, drop 'em."

Wolf obediently dropped his machine pistol and then threw his rifle over his shoulder. Thanks to its silence, the goons didn't notice it fire once it hit the ground. The bullet surged backward through the forest until it struck one of two small ropes that were perfectly positioned between the trees, snapping it on contact. A weight attached to the second rope fell to the ground, triggering a long ranged ballista to fire its contents high over the treetops and toward Ramero's location while simultaneously pulling its pin out. Said contents weren't visible by the goons until it was too late to get out of the way.

"GRENADE!"
"LORI, JUMP!" Wolf shouted.

Lori brought her heel up into Ramero's groin, loosening his grip enough for her to get loose and jump down just as the grenade exploded behind her, launching a small number of the goons off in the explosion's wake. Wolf put the final step of his retrieval plan into action by running straight up the sloped tree trunk until it became too vertical, at which point he wall-ran as high as he could until he was forced to dig his claws into the bark to hold on. As much as it pained his fingers, he held on until Lori came close enough, at which point he vaulted himself upward and she seized his around his middle. Wolf then planted his claws into the bark again, loosely enough that the two were able to quickly slid downward without any injury to him, and the second he was able to do so, Wolf began running as fast as he could. The second they were sure they were out of range of any gunfire from the goons that had survived, Wolf set Lori down.

"Oh, man, note to self. Next time, come up with a plan that's easier on your nerves." Wolf laughed. "I honestly didn't think that was gonna work…hey, now, take it easy there."

The second she had gotten enough time to breathe properly, Lori had pulled Wolf into a hug, complete with a kiss on his cheek.

"I know it didn't look like it, but…I was so scared. Thank God for you, Wolf. There just isn't going to be a point where you aren't there to save me, is there?

"Hey, don't you go calling yourself a damsel in distress, sweetheart. You're crazy enough to trust me and nail a convicted criminal in his goods. That's braver than about tens of thousands of other people right there."

Lori nuzzled herself into Wolf's chest and sighed.

"We can't get out of this, can we?"

"Hm?"

"It's the two of us against more than a dozen psychopaths with guns. We don't stand a chance."

She smiled up into Wolf's eyes in a sad but warm manner.

"Then again, I guess it's okay. I'd rather die with you than with those pieces of trash. Besides, it's not like we really have anything left to do with our lives."

"Don't be so sure, kiddo. Life is what we make it. The whole point of it is to find something that makes it worth living, and the two of us have barely scratched the surface."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know about you, but…having a kid doesn't sound like a bad idea."

Lori's eyes widened at that suggestion, and Wolf half-expected her to either start stammering or to simply slap him across the face. Instead, she smiled sweetly again and flushed bright red.

"No. It certainly doesn't. But why don't we get this out of the way now: if it's a girl, we're naming her Coyote."

"Coyote?"

"Yeah…I've been thinking about kids long before now and that seemed like such a pretty name. I mean, say it out loud."

"Coyote O'Donnell…you're right. It's beautiful. Why is it that you're always right?"

Lori stifled a laugh.

"Call it a woman's intuition."

Suddenly, her ear twitched as a rustling came from the nearby bushes. She clung to Wolf almost instantly, and Wolf himself tensed his grip on his machine pistol which he had retrieved after rescuing Lori.

"Who's there?" Lori demanded in a hushed voice.

The three figures that emerged from the bushes sent a wave of relief shooting over both of them.

"Backup." Panther answered with a cocky grin. "Did we miss the ass-kicking?"

"Not quite." Wolf replied. "I hope you boys got some weapons."

"Oh, I don't know…how does three machine guns and a batch of grenades, both hand and incendiary, sound to you?"

"Sounds…a bit like overcompensating."

"Overcompensating?"

"If it were anyone other than Kodek Ramero."

Panther laughed.

"My sentiments exactly, friend."
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Lori.

"Well, sweetheart, Wolf must have told you about his time in a child labour camp, right?"

"Of course."
"That's where he and I met. It's thanks to him that we even got out of there. Let me tell you up front that you're banging a genius."

Wolf gritted his teeth and flushed.

"Did you really have to say that…hey, stop laughing, Oikonny!"

"I'm not laughing, I swear!"

"Oh, really? Then what's with the dumbass grin? You think of a funny joke? We'd all like to hear it."

Lori stifled a laugh.

"Relax, Wolf…really, I'm more worried about our safety. There's three times as many of them as they are of us and you saw how psychotic they all are. They're probably gonna wipe us off the face of the planet at this rate."

"Sweetheart, we're four notorious criminals, two of which have been running from the law for more than two decades and have yet to be caught." Leon replied with a smirk before placing a shotgun in her hand. "I would love to see them try."

By the time Ramero had finally recovered from the shock of a grenade going off so close to him and dug out the tiny bit of shrapnel that was sticking out of his arm, he was furious. He had known Wolf was stubborn and could easily just fight his way out of a situation like the one that had been presented, but it was almost as though he'd known this day would come and had set up that trap well beforehand.

"That sneaking little shit-sucking son of a…well, don't just stand there! Let's get this little punk!"

"HEY!"

Ramero and his goons all turned to see Panther standing there with a smug grin on his face.

"You're looking lively, Kodek. Remember me?"

"Caroso? I expected this kind of thing from O'Donnell, but you?!"

"I will admit that I was a bit scarred after finally getting out of your labour camp, but let me tell you up front that chicks love that kind of thing. I mean, I'm something like thirty-three now and I've already got about fifteen different girls wrapped around my finger. Kinda like you if you actually knew how to treat a woman properly."

Ramero let out an enraged roar and motioned for a goon to fire on Panther. As the goon moved forward to do so, a shot rang out from nowhere, made contact with his head, and sent him tumbling off the branch.

"Nope." drawled Leon as he patted his gun. "No use trying to down one of us. That's just gonna make the rest of us even more hostile."

"Oh, nice, O'Donnell! You get an AWOL Cornerian soldier to join your little gang!"

"Um, right here, buddy? Me, the guy who just shot one of your goons? Me, the guy you were complaining about? Me, the guy who's just wasting time so you don't see the third guy until…oh. Yep. There goes another one."

Another goon went tumbling to the ground as Oikonny landed a successful shot to the back of his head.

"What the…Oikonny?! I helped your uncle out back during the Lylat War and now you wanna kill me?! Doesn't that sound the least bit traitorous?!"

"Perhaps if living in my uncle's shadow hadn't gotten me thrown in CFE. Now, though, I couldn't give a shit even if I wanted to, and believe me when I say that I really don't."

At last, Wolf and Lori stepped out, the former looking up at his eternal enemy with the satisfaction in knowing that this bitter feud between them was about to come to an end.

"So take us down if you can." he challenged. "We're ready for you."

"Fine! GET THEM!"

The goons began scrambling down the tree as carefully and quickly as they could, but as soon as they got down to the ground, the five were nowhere to be seen. As the group combed around the immediate area to search for their targets, one noticed a small ripple in the lake at the base of the tree. As he approached and scanned the surface of the water, Panther's snarling face rose out.

"Surprise, motherfucker."

The goon let out one surprised yelp before he was pulled underwater and was at the receiving end of a bullet to the head. The others turned around just in time to see the five renegades rise from the water and charge them at full force. Bullets flew and bodies hit the ground, but none of the five were touched, each one covering the others in any way that they could.

Panther's molasses speed was covered by Leon's agility through both fast movements and somewhat disturbing contortions. Oikonny aimed well, but wasn't able to fend off a goon with melee attacks if they got too close. Thankfully, what Panther lacked in speed he more than made up for in strength, able to knock a goon backward a good distance with a single strike. And Lori? She just seemed to be getting by with guts alone despite the fact that she wasn't firing her gun. The only woman that automatically came to mind that was as tough as her had to be Krystal, but Lori was doing all of this without any sort of assistance from a "sixth sense" if that was what Krystal had.

"I tell you, Wolf." Leon laughed. "This one's a keeper. Don't know how you didn't see that before."

"Pride is a sin for a reason, Leon. It keeps you from seeing the better things in life."

"Yep. I bet you saw a lot of better things last night…hey, don't look at me like that! You know it's true!"

"She's right there! She can hear everything you're saying!"

Lori landed a strong roundhouse kick before looking at the tow of them with a sultry grin.

"And I don't mind it one bit!"

Wolf was tempted to laugh, but then he caught sight of Ramero looking down at the ensuing carnage, snarling as though he'd just lost a bet. He had. He lost the bet that he'd be walking out of this place unharmed. Wolf shot the goon impeding his path and then began to climb up the tree, jumping from branch to branch until he landed on the platform-like spot where Ramero stood. He had half-expected Ramero to attack him right away, but it didn't happen. The two just stood there, staring menacingly at each other and almost daring the other to make the first move.

"Let me cut to the chase, O'Donnell." Ramero growled. "Why? Why did you decide to ruin my life? Have me stripped of everything I had and have me thrown in CFE. And don't you dare say that I got busted by Star Fox. I know you had a hand in it."

"Oh, blow me if you don't know."

"Ah…Rodrick and Nina. So it was revenge. I see. I hardly see why that calls for ruining my life when I clearly haven't completely ruined yours. Look at you. You've got a house, a girlfriend, and let's not forget about that renegade group that goes around causing trouble to make money."

"And you act like you're so much better. Newsflash, pal: I'm not the only one you've hurt. Panther doesn't even know if he has any family left because you had him locked up for so long, and that's just one case of it. There's somewhere around fifty others who'd want the same kind of revenge against you after all you've done to them."

"So you're saying I deserved this."

"Yes. I'm saying you deserved this."

What Ramero wasn't aware of was that Wolf was actually trying to make him angry. Wolf knew all too well that anger was one thing that really kept someone from thinking straight, and trying to fight when angered would leave someone wide open about every few seconds. He knew Ramero would lash out and attack, and he was going to take advantage of that by triggering it himself and acting appropriately…but then came something that Wolf had adhered to throughout his career as a criminal: his strict code of honour. His initial thought was to rub Ramero's failure in his face, but then he'd be no better than him. He would not stoop to Ramero's level. He would not torture someone to get his way. They would have a real fight like men.

"You've been going around for something like twenty years and causing trouble just for the sake of doing it!" Ramero continued. "Who are you to tell me what's right and wrong?!"

"Have you ever heard of honour, Kodek? Humility? I am different from you because I don't hold myself up as a god. The men in my group are not my servants. They're my comrades…the closest things I have to friends. Many men have taught me that my pride would get me killed, and it took me a long time to finally accept that. You and Andross are the only people that I've ever truly hated, so this isn't for revenge. It's for closure. I want the satisfaction of defeating you once and for all to finally put this chapter of my life behind me."

With that, Wolf raised his fists.

"So let's have at it. Let's just go at it and see who wins."

"You have so much to lose now…you really want to do this just so I can get rid of all that later?"

"Yes. The things and people I love being in danger is what compels me to fight for them. Now I have things worth fighting for…and I refuse to let you take them from me."

It seemed that Wolf didn't have to rub Ramero's failure in his face. Ramero not getting what he wanted for so long had finally taken its toll on him, and he lunged forward. Wolf easily slapped away each of Ramero's punches before bringing his knee up into his chin. They traded blow for blow, both managing to get powerful strikes in but Wolf getting in far more than Ramero. Once he saw blood, the thrill of the hunt kicked into high gear and he began attacking relentlessly, but it seemed Ramero's insanity had also kicked in since he began to attack progressively more violently after Wolf had landed one successful hit.

Then came what really set Wolf back: Ramero aimed a punch at Wolf's Solid Eye, which connected and cracked the lens. Ramero had taken vision out of Wolf's eye for the second time, and Wolf himself grew just as furious as he had the first time if not more so. He tackled Ramero, knocking him off his feet and slamming his back against the bark. He struck his face over and over, even beginning to claw at him like a wild animal. He could swear that it was only a matter of time before he started gnashing his teeth.

It didn't seem like he would get that chance, for even though Ramero had to be somewhere around seventy by now, he was absurdly strong, probably fuelled by his own insanity. He wrestled him off and the two flipped over, Ramero getting his own shots in, Wolf unable to break free no matter how hard he tried.

"Shit. Wolf's taking it real bad up there…" Leon growled once he and the other three ground fighters had finally taken care of the last of the goons.

He seemed to say that a nanosecond before Wolf was punched in the throat and Ramero began to choke him. One could practically hear Wolf gagging and shouting from a mile away. He bucked about and grabbed at Ramero's arm, even sinking his claws into the unprotected flesh. It did no good.

"Help him!" Lori cried. "Get up there, fire a shot, just do something!"

Panther seized Wolf's abandoned rifle and carefully aimed, but if there was any sort of way to get a clear shot out of it, he certainly couldn't get it. Wolf had managed to wrestle Ramero off, but now the two were grappling back and forth without any intention of remaining still.

"Son of a bitch…" Panther seethed. "Hold still, for Pete's sake!"

At that point, Wolf had seen Panther attempting to aim the rifle and attempted to wheel Ramero around to have his back face the gun, but Ramero wouldn't have it. They continued to struggle, flipping back and forth into Panther's line of fire. Panther himself began to feel a cool sweat on his brow. What if he ended up shooting Wolf by accident? He may have been a good shot, but…

"FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, JUST TAKE THE FUCKIN' SHOT!" Oikonny hollered.

Panther fired as if he had been waiting for someone to yell at him, and much to his horror and the horror of everyone else still on the ground, the bullet hit the back of Wolf's thigh. Wolf himself let out a sharp cry of pain as his leg gave way, and he hooked his other leg around Ramero's as he fell off the gigantic tree and into the lake below.

"Oh my God…what have I…I think I'm gonna be sick" Panther sputtered.

Lori had already broken into a run toward the lake the second she had seen Wolf fall into the water. She motioned to begin stripping off her clothes and prepared to dive in after him, but much to her relief and the relief of the others, Wolf surfaced with a huge gasp for air, turning to Oikonny and giving him a dirty look afterwards.

"Take the fuckin' shot, you said."

"Uhh…"

Wolf sighed and was about to climb up and out of the water when suddenly…

"COME ON DOWN!" Ramero shouted maniacally as he suddenly shot up out of the water. "THE WATER'S FINE!"

Wolf let out one muffled shout as Ramero seized him and pulled him under the water again.

"Wolf!" Leon cried. "Oh, fuck, someone's gotta…Lori, what are you doing?!"

Lori took off her clothes and seized Leon's knife before diving headlong into the water. She kicked her way down as quickly as she could, spotting Wolf trying to break free of Ramero's grasp. She gritted her teeth and barrelled downward, lashing out with the knife and slashing Ramero's hand just as Wolf's eyes started to close.

"Don't you die on me now, you son of a bitch!" she cried in her head. "Not after that promise we made to each other!"

Ramero simply let go of Wolf with one hand, the latter now being too weak to escape. The psychotic man seized Lori's neck and proceeded to throttle her as all three of them sank deeper and deeper into the now seemingly bottomless lake…until a gunshot ran out and a single bullet slammed into Ramero's shoulder. He screamed, the water muffling his voice and filling his airway as Leon, Panther, and Oikonny made their way down through the water, seized their comrades and quickly hauled them to the surface.

Lori took in several deep breathes and helped the rest of Star Wolf haul Wolf to the shore, where they helped him up and onto solid ground before she got out after him and immediately planted her lips against his, breathing as much oxygen as she could muster.

"Wolf…don't you die on me. Not when I love you so damn much."

She breathed into Wolf again, only to feel a splash of water pop into her throat as he coughed it up. She pulled back and happily saw Wolf's eyes stir open.

"Okay…I'm never going swimming again."

The other four laughed, but Wolf simply gave a warm smile as he looked Lori happily in the eyes.

"Are you crazy? You could have been killed down there."

"Hey, you said yourself that I was crazy enough to love you. Besides…"

She hugged him, not caring that he was cold and soaking wet.

"I figured it was time I saved you for a change."

Wolf smiled, but looked up and painfully stood up once he heard Leon growling.

"Get up here, you piece a' shit!"

It turned out that Ramero hadn't drowned like Wolf had hoped. Leon heaved the bloody and soaking wet excuse for Ramero up onto the shore, and the five renegades were quick to surround him. Wolf bent down, grabbed Ramero's shoulder and brought his claws to his throat. Ramero weakly looked up and smirked at Wolf.

"Heh…go ahead. Be a murderer one more time. Give into your primal instincts and finish me off. Not like there's anything left for me, so go on. Kill the kid you used to be one more time…be a man."

Wolf had very nearly obliged, but stopped. At first, he couldn't explain why he didn't do it. This was the man that had taken everything away from Wolf. The man he had hated for more than twenty years…the man who had murdered his mother and father right in front of him. Why couldn't he kill him?

Then he realized why: because there was no point. Ramero couldn't threaten to take anything from him anymore. He was nothing but a shell of a man now…a shell that horribly reminded Wolf of himself not too long ago. But things were different now. He had fought Ramero on this day not to get revenge, but to protect someone he loved, and since he had accomplished this goal, there was no reason to stretch it out any longer.

"If a ruthless killer is what you consider a man, then I'm fine with being a child. Killing you won't bring anyone back…I'm done."

He released Ramero, but didn't let him stand just yet.

"But there is something I want to know. Why? Why did you take away the two people I loved the most in the entire galaxy? Why did you turn your back on the people that got you to where you were?"

Ramero said nothing, continuing to stare blankly at Wolf as though he were a statue.
"TELL ME!" Wolf roared.

Ramero winced, but finally managed to speak, nearly choking on his words.

"You think you're the only one who lost everything at a young age? You're doomed to go down the same path as me, O'Donnell."

"What?"

"You've seen how ruthless and nonchalant the Cornerian Army is…why do you think Powalski over there left it?"

"Don't drag Leon into this. Spit it out already."

"There is no justice! There are no heroes! You think you've had it bad?! That you're the sorriest sap that every existed?! You ever imagined having your home raided by the people who are supposed to protect you and watch them take away everything you love?! Of course you haven't! You don't give a shit about anyone! You don't even give a shit about yourself!"

Wolf silenced Ramero with a quick strike across his face.

"So it's all about not getting what you want. You suffered and thus you think you have every right to make other people suffer because of it. You make me sick."

"Go and feign disbelief all you want! It won't do you any good once you…"
"Once I what? I have something selfless worth living for now. Don't try to make comparisons between the two of us. You're nothing but trash, and you and the rest of your kind all deserve each other. I suggest you get off this planet and start running back to Kew as soon as possible. I don't think the Cornerian Army will give you the same mercy I have."

Wolf stood up and limped away, the rest of his group following behind him. Somehow, Wolf felt immensely more satisfied from learning just what it was that compelled Ramero to be such a vile man. He wasn't quite sure why that was, but it gave him some comfort, and that was all that mattered…

"YOU SHOULD'VE KILLED ME, YOU FUCK!"
"WOLF, LOOK OUT!" Lori screamed.

The knife had flown through the air faster than anyone could comprehend, and Ramero had no time to stop it, having been more focused on aiming his hidden pistol at Wolf's head. The blade buried itself to the hilt in Ramero's forehead, knocking him backwards into the lake where his body sank after a few seconds of floating lifelessly. The team stood shocked that Lori had done such a thing, but even more shocked was Lori herself. She stood there with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open before she slowly fell to her knees and started to tremble.

"Oh my…I…I j-j-j-just…I…"

Wolf didn't waste any time in kneeling down beside her and quickly pulling her close as she began to sob sporadically. He hadn't expected her to react well to killing a man in cold blood, but he admittedly never thought at any point that she'd go into shock like this.

"I…I just…I…"

"Lori. Look at me."

"I…"

"Look at me!"

Lori obeyed, still trembling until she looked Wolf in the eye and his hypnotizing stare calmed her down. Not nearly enough to get her to stop trembling, but at least it was enough that she would stop acting like she had gone catatonic.

"It's okay. I promise that you won't ever have to do something like that ever again."

Lori said nothing and buried her face into Wolf's chest. The other Star Wolf members gathered around, all with smiles on their faces.

"Like I said before," Leon said. "She's a keeper, Wolf. Someday you're gonna have a kid and they're gonna be just as brave as she was today."

Wolf smiled at them.
"Yeah…this girl is worth living and dying for."

In that moment, he knew that he had to be hallucinating yet again because over Leon's shoulder, he spotted Luke standing there with a warm smile on his face. Wolf smiled in return and heard Luke's voice in his head. At last he understand who Luke was and why only he could hear him.

"Ramero said that you killed the kid you used to be. Well, he was wrong."

"Yeah. I didn't kill him. I abandoned him, and when he tried to come back to me, I didn't recognize him, even when all he was trying to do was help me."

"It took you this long to realize it?"

"I'm a little slow if you haven't noticed."

Luke chuckled.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter now."

"So I guess…this is goodbye?"

"You're a man now, Wolf. All I am is a memory, but memories can work wonders for the soul. Utilizing the past to better your future."

"And you have…thank you."

"But to answer your question, no. I'm not going away forever. I'm a memory of childhood innocence. When you have a child of your own and you watch them grow up before your eyes. I'll be there."

Wolf nodded.

"And I'm looking forward to it."

With a light wave of his arm, Luke slowly vanished. Wolf looked all around as his comrades looked at him suspiciously.

"You okay, O'Donnell?" asked Oikonny. "You zoned out there for a minute."

Wolf looked down at Lori, who had now calmed down completely and seemed ready to claim the lost sleep Ramero's kidnapping had taken from her. He smiled and thought of what Luke said. In time, Wolf would indeed have a child of his own, and he'd make sure that he or she would have a good life whether he was always there for them or not.

"I'm more than fine, Andrew."

"Sounds like it. That's the first time you've actually called me by my first name."

"Perhaps we should lay low for a little while longer…just settle down and find things in life that are worth living for."

Panther smirked.

"Ah, el amor." he said in a fake Spanish accent. "Works wonders, doesn't it, Wolf?"
"You bet it does, Panther…I've got a good feeling about the rest of my days."

And a good feeling he was entitled to. His decades-long war with Ramero was over, his friends were always there to help him, and he held the love of his life in his arms at that very moment. Even better was the promise he had made with her and what it held in store for him.

From here, things truly could only get better.

Is that the ending? Nope. I could end it there, but there's someone the fans of Next Gen and Subspecies have been waiting to see since Chapter One.

I will admit that I was initially just going to have Wolf take Ramero back to CFE and just have him stay there, but after having a good think about, I realized...no. You folks fuckin' hated this guy. He needed to die. Simple as that. Also, I've had this on my mind for a good long while, but something popped into my head when I thought of Wolf, Panther and Leon: GTA V. Really! Think about it! Wolf is Michael, Panther is Franklin, and Leon is Trevor!

Wolf: "Oh, I'm living the dream, baby. And that dream is FUCKED! It is fuckin' FUCKED!"

Panther: "Man, and I wonder why yo ass is single!"

Leon: "It's a slight accent! Hey, sorry I grew up in Canada, huh?! NO, I'M NOT A MOTHERFUCKER!"

Just something funny I thought I'd point out. Anyhow, see you next update.

SOUNDTRACK SO FAR

Perking up the workers' spirits- "Livin' On the Edge" by Aerosmith

Nina's lullaby- "Shenandoah" by Hayley Westenra

The escape plan- "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" by AC/DC

The death of Nina and Rodrick- "Watch Me Bleed" by Scary Kids Scaring Kids

No comfort for the weak and wounded- "The Unforgiven" by Metallica

Escaping Macbeth- "You Know My Name" by Chris Cornell

The Stray Dog- "I Remember" by deadmau5

Wolf and Leon- "People Ain't No Good" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Standoff at the Stray Dog- "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath

Poker night in Hell- "Black Rain" by Soundgarden

Running as fast as God will let him-"Run to the Hills" by Iron Maiden

Standoff on Papetoon- "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi

Lost an eye and left to die- "Lost and Found" by Senses Fail

Wolf and James- "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas

Another father gone- "Shadow of the Day" by Linkin Park

Enter Star Wolf- Star Wolf theme

Star Wolf versus the Luna Guard- "Modern Day Cowboy" by Tesla

Escape from the Aparoids- "Scream Aim Fire" by Bullet for My Valentine

Abandoning Krystal- "Leaving Hope" by Nine Inch Nails

Wolf versus Kursed- "The Dark Inside Her" by Velvet Acid Christ

A decision to live- "I Got a Name" by Jim Croce

Dancing in dreams- "Into the Night" by Santana and Chad Kroeger

Wolf and Lori- Star Fox Command's ending theme

The final standoff- "Sleepwalking" by the Chain Gang of 1974 (a.k.a. that song from GTA V. ENOUGH WITH THE GTA V REFERENCES, AXEHERO!)