Star Fox Adventures: The Resurrection of Star Wolf

by LylatChronicler

The end of the Lylat Wars has brought about a bleak era, one where after years of solitude, Star Wolf is but a faded legend. None know Wolf by his true name, and his memories and power are both fading. His last hope lies on a desolate planet where a new war, new allies, and possibly a new life await him... (Part III of the O'Donnell Saga).

21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Wisdom from the Unlikeliest of Places

Sargasso Shrine, 15 minutes later…

Mason stopped in front of a shady spot in the back of the rocky haven, away from all the working and toiling of the refugees. There were fewer lamps over here, giving it an ominous effect.

He pointed to the door…which was a ragged curtain, instead of a paper screen door like all the others in the place.

"Sauru's room is behind here."

Wolf took a deep breath, preparing to enter the curtain. "Well, thanks for taking me this far, Miyu."

"Hold it," Riley stepped forward. "We're not just going to let you be alone in a room with our Field Advisor. We're all going with you."

"Why?" Wolf asked in an irritated voice. "You don't trust me, is that it?"

"Actually, it's because we're all supposed to go in with you," Miyu said abruptly. "Sauru issued for all of the TRU's founding members to be here for when you'd arrive." She glanced at Fay, Mason, and Riley. "That's all of us."

"Which means you're either really important…" Mason glanced at Wolf as he swept the curtain aside, eyebrows locked in cold skepticism. "…or really dangerous."

Riley looked around them and coughed nervously. "I'm sure it's the former of the two."

"Hold on," Wolf said suddenly. "'When I'd arrive'? He knew I was coming?"

"Oh yes!" said Fay. "Sauru's been anticipating your arrival for a while. Which is a pretty big deal…" She looked around, lowering her voice. "Except for us, he rarely sees anyone."

Leon folded his arms, looking around the dimly-lit spot. "Is that why his room's all the way back here? What kind of guy is this Sauru, anyway? Some kind of 'special ward' outpatient?"

"Who, Sauru? Oh, no!" Fay said, eyes getting big. "He's the gentlest soul you'll ever meet."

There was a dry snort from both Mason and Riley, who looked away simultaneously.

"Pfft. Yeah, right."

Wolf raised an uneasy eyebrow. "What? What's wrong?"

Miyu's eyes shifted around, as if searching for the right way to word something.

"Well, the reason Sauru's room is back here is because he prefers not to spend time with any of the refugees. And he prefers not to spend any time with them because…= well…"

WHRSSHHH!

"YOU MISERABLE, FAT, MAGGOT-RIDDEN, BUMBLING, BRAINLESS LITTLE LOUSE!"

An object flew out from behind the curtain, missing Miyu's face by an inch, whose fur spiked up and indigo eyes widened in surprise, before it shattered at Wolf's feet.

Wolf removed his foot to expose the shards of a broken flower pot, its dead lily lying in a heap of scattered soil.

Both him and Leon looked at each other with the same, unexplainable look of horrified confusion, mouths screwed shut and eyes turning towards the direction of where that murderous voice came from.

"I think I just lost all hearing in my left ear," Leon said in a small voice.

But they only turned just to throw their ears up again at the sound of a woman shrieking.

"AAARGH! STOP IT-STOP IT, YOU FREAK-STOP THROWING THINGS, OR I'LL CALL FOR HELP! STOP!"

"MY SCROLLS…" The first voice hissed in a tambor made dust coil from where the ceiling shook. "MY PRECIOUS SCROLLS…YOU BURNT THEM! YOU SICKENING, LOATHSOME PUSTILE OF PUS! DO YOU LOOK AT WHAT YOU THROW AWAY?! I SHOULD'VE NAILED MY TONGUE TO THE INSIDE OF MY OWN EYE-LIDS BEFORE I MADE YOU MY ASSISTANT! YOU CAN'T TELL YOUR BRAIN FROM YOUR TAIL!"

Every TRU member, even Mason, scrunched their eyes up and winced at every shouted word.

The Snow Leopard opened one wary eye. "Great. Looks like he's at it again."

"God save us all," Riley whimpered.

"WILL YOU STOP SCREAMING, YOU DERANGED LUNATIC?" The woman screamed back. "THEY WERE HEAPS OF PAPER WITH RANDOM SCRIBBLES ON THEM! WHY WOULD AN-"

"SCRIBBLES?" The first voice screeched."SCRIBBLES?"

Miyu clasped her ears. "Oh, hell…here it comes…"

"THOSE 'SCRIBBLES' WERE ALL OF MY DISCOVERIES! COUNTLESS NIGHTS OF HARD, ALCHEMIST LABOR, OVER SIX CENTURIES OLD…REDUCED TO ASHES BECAUSE OF YOU AND YOUR STUPIDITY, YOU FAT FILTH!"

CRASH!

There was a thunderous sound of what sounded like a table falling over, as more and more deadly projectiles in the form of shattered bottles and flattened ink quills rained out of the curtain. The woman's screaming continued.

"YOU STUPID FREAK! YOU OLD, SCALY FREAK! YOU THROW ANYTHING AT ME, AND MY HUSBAND WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS!"

"OHO, IS THAT A THREAT, YOU YEASTY, BILGE-LICKING SEWER-TRAMP?" seethed the first voice. "BRING YOUR HUSBAND! BRING THAT FAT, YEASTY, SLOBBERING, BRAINLESS CLOTPOLE SO I CAN CUT OUT HIS CORNEA AND SHOVE IT UP HIS FESTERING ANUS! IF YOU SHOW YOUR PIMPLE-RIDDEN FACE IN HERE AGAIN, I'LL REDUCE YOUR LOATHSOME, FAT BODY TO ASHES!"

There was a clanging sound.

"NOW, GET OUT OF MY SIGHT! GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!"

There was another scream, as the flash of knives and scalpels showered out of the curtain. Leon and Riley leapt out of the way, and Mason pushed Miyu out of their wake. Miyu backed away before Mason could see her blush pink.

"Strike that," Leon said, looking about with one eye shut. "Now the hearing in my left ear is gone."

The curtain swept aside, as a miserable-looking, sweaty-faced Siamese Cat threw it out of her way. Her face was terrified and tear stricken, with ink splashed on her clothes and bits of torn paper fluttering from her hair like snow.

"I CAN'T DO IT!" She turned to Miyu with wide eyes. "I can't do it anymore, Miyu…I can't! He's SICK!"

"Calm down, Alicia, calm down now!" Miyu held her by the arms and spoke soothingly. "Take a deep breath-just give him another chance!"

"NO! There's something evil, twisted, and insanely WRONG with that man, and I can't up with him for another second! He can find himself another assistant, because I QUIT!"

She pushed past them, sprinting out of sight.

"Alicia!" Miyu called. "Alicia, wait! Oh, Jesus…" She rubbed her temples.

Riley unclogged his ears, poking his head about like someone emerging from a bomb shelter.

"She left? Oh, damn…that's the fifth one this week!"

Wolf and Leon turned him, mouths open. "This week?"

CRASH!

There was an enraged yell and more noise from inside the room. Mason took a cautious step back from the curtain,

"You want a reason for why Sauru's back here?" He stepped over the knives embedded in the floor. "Look no further."

Fay sighed. "Poor dear…I better go talk to him."

She stepped over the broken pottery daintily, and called out.

"Sauru-ji? Sauru-ji, are you in here?"

CLANG!

A knife whizzed just an inch above her bow, plunging into the ground. In the blur of the moment, Fay froze with her blue eyes wide, the white fur on her ears spiking up.

"GET OUT, WHOEVER YOU ARE! I'M NOT SEEING ANYONE TODAY!"

Fay sighed and straightened her bow, stepping inside the curtain. "Sauru-ji, it's me. Now, don't fret-everything will be fine."

Wolf watched in horror as she disappeared inside. "Are you all crazy? You're letting her goin there?! She'll be murdered!"

"Relax, Fay's got it covered," Miyu assured. "If anyone can calm Sauru down, it's her. We better just go on in…" She eyed the ground uneasily. "…while all the sharp objects are still out of the room."

He and Leon looked at each other doubtfully as they stepped in one at a time, sweeping the curtain aside.

The first thing Wolf did was crinkle his nose at the horrible, musty stench in the room. The rocky walls did a good job of closing in the wet, decaying smell in the room, only worsened by the swaying pots of steaming herbs and chemicals dangling on the ceiling…some of them were sickeningly sweet, while others churned with the thick odor of sulfur.

As they entered the room itself, Wolf cranked his head back to get a look at yet another huge spectacle.

"Whoa…"

The massive, ancient and rocky surface of the room had been refurbished to look like an incredibly messy study. Wolf was sure that despite the fact that he didn't know who this Sauru (or "Sauru-ji" as Fay called him) was, he probably held the galaxy's record for worst manmade messes. The walls were buried from visibility by huge, chipped-wooden shelves, each piled with books. The books were thick and wrapped in withered binding, revealing torn and yellowed pages beneath a spine peppered with runes and dialects that Wolf didn't recognize. Some were thin and shoved between two larger siblings, while others where huge and caused each shelf to lean unevenly. Scrolls and tomes stuck out of odd ends and from underneath book piles, because that's what they were…piles. None of the bookshelves were organized at all, some of them consisting of towering, uneven mountains of books, cloaked in dust and cobwebs.

Wolf took a step back, afraid that some of these creaky, overburdened shelves would collapse on top of him and make him a permanent addition to this musty library.

Crnnch.

He looked down at the tearing sound, only to realize that there was barely any floor. Whatever smooth red stone the floor had been was buried out of view by countless crumpled heaps of tattered paper…crumpled up balls, torn scraps, scribbled or crossed-out with splattered ink. Rumpled quills adorned the piles of paper like decorations.

Wolf's eyes searched the room, with a weary longing for a glimpse of one clean spot on the room…but everywhere he looked, there were simply more shelves, and more books.

Stumps of candle, stuck in holes in the wall and planted in waxy formations on each table, provided the only dim light in the place. A spiral of wooden stairs led up to the balcony, where a table of scrolls and a rusty telescope sat. The windows were all boarded up with clumsy nails and wood, and in one corner of the room was a roaring fireplace.

The tables were crammed with open books, shattered bottles, rotting herbs, overturned inkwells, labeled jars of various specimen and skulls, and most prominently-

Wolf's eyes glittered as he saw it. He also knew that Leon's kleptomaniac fingers were probably fidgeting like crazy when he saw it too.

Gold. Gleaming gold.

Not blocks of it, or stamped coins, but large nuggets of it, some of it sitting on mountains of sparkling gems, rubies, emeralds and sapphires.

Jesus….these guys are LOADED…

You could fill a cockpit with that much gold…

How are they just a fleeting, ragtag Resistance with wealth like THAT?!

PRASH!

Beakers of liquid shattered and spilled on the wall next to him, causing Wolf to look around and see Fay quietly approach a figure brooding in the unlit shadows of the room.

"The imbeciles that surround me…"The figure hissed under an enraged breath. "They outnumber the grains of sand! None of them understand that everything is piled up in certain messes for a reason! Every scrap of paper, every overturned book…that's the only way I can FIND anything! Will I never have peace? Will no one respect the hard work and pain-staking effort I go through?"

"Now, calm down, Sauru-ji," Fay cooed gently, picking up discarded books and bottles and rearranging things on the shelf. "I'll put everything back. I know the order…" She dumped the books in to piles, tugging on ones in the middle to a specific askew angle. "I remember. Four 'Advanced Sciences Texts' on the third shelf…eight 'Reference Guides to Botany' on the fifth counter…"

The figure sighed.

"Oh, bless you, Fay. You understand…" His voice mellowed into a thankful tone. "Things have gone straight to oblivion since you abandoned my study for that stuffy kitchen of yours. If you were still my Assistant, than I wouldn't have to put up with these brainless replacements."

Fay blew dust off a book, opened it up and placed it upside down under a column of scrolls. "Try not to be so unkind to them. They're good girls…nice, smart ones, all of them. They're trying their best." She looked back and smiled. "Speaking of which, Miyu's back from patrol."

"Is she now?"

The figure rustled in the shadows, and Wolf squinted. He noticed that the advisor moved in an odd way…like he wasn't placing any weight on the steps made by his legs. There was something growing at his waist…and shifting constantly.

The figure turned around, his yellow eyes glancing at Miyu briefly as it searched the table for something.

"I suppose you have a good reason for being out so late, Miyu?" He drawled.

"I got held up," Miyu explained. "It won't happen again. I'm still getting used to Leader duties, that's all."

"It's not you I worry about…" The figure continued. "I haven't regretted appointing you Leader for a moment. It's those hapless oafs in our battalion. If you don't set an example for those boys, they'll end up like every other useless wretch in this place."

Riley laughed. "You know, Sauru, for someone who helped build this Resistance, you sure act like you hate the refugees."

Prrch!

The figure lit a match and illuminated a waning oil lamp in the corner, shedding an orange light over the area, and Sauru himself.

"Of course I hate these refugees! They're a pollutant to my work! Nuisances! Pestilence and bile, ALL OF THEM!"

Wolf's mouth dropped open.

He was a SharpClaw. A legit, scaly, scowling SharpClaw, just like every other one on Titania. The mere sight of that Rex-like snout and reptilian build was enough to alert Wolf's instincts to move his hand to his waist…only to remember that his blade was with Fay.

He looked again, and realized that this SharpClaw was…older than the ones he had seen.

No. Not older.

He was ancient.

His scales were a dry, pasty, wilted green, like the rotted stem of a dead plant. His face was withered and leathery, like an old boot, and the dinosaur-like curve to the mouth that he and every other SharpClaw had drooped slightly. Wrinkles lined the slits where his eyes sat, which were yellow and keen. His mouth was curled into a permanent, irritated snarl, exposing his yellow, once-razor-sharp teeth. He was dressed in a worn-out purple tunic, with the hood pulled over the top of his head in traditional SharpClaw fashion. But instead of a steel helm or masking sash, his hood was adorned with a single, mangled, withered feather.

His movement was rigid and stiff, making him look like a rusted artifact with dire need for oil. He gestured with his hands every time he opened his mouth, extending his long, gnarled claws.

But quite honestly, the most bizarre thing about him was his legs…

…simply because, he didn't have any.

His body curled and lengthened at his waist, the scales spiraling over what looked like a coiling, serpentine tail that gave him the remarkable appearance of some kind of dracaena.

Wolf didn't know whether to be perplexed or revolted by this strange creature. He might have felt threatened, but he didn't even know if this…thing…was even a SharpClaw. It was like seeing a snake, but being unsure whether or not it was poisonous.

And the moment he made that analogy, he was too amused to feel threatened at all.

"And why shouldn't I hate them?!" Sauru screeched. "I welcomed them into my place of solitude with open arms, but I never asked for this! All I desire is to be left alone, to continue my research and studies in peace…" He poked a claw at a dissected insect on the table. "…far away from human troubles and prying…far away from inhuman chaos and noise. Alone, with only my alchemy and stargazing to keep me company…"

SLAM!

He brought his fist down on the insect in a sudden fit of rage, his dried-up, scaly face distorting into a contorted scowl.

"But, no! Constant, bothersome requests! Sauru, we need more laundry for our precious little brats! Sauru, when's the war going to end? Sauru, listen to my daily miseries that everyone else deals with, but I choose to complain about! GARGH!" He clawed at the table, creating savage marks in the wood. "I once had power, respect! A whole legion of loyal soldiers that answered to me! But look at me now…putting up with screeching widows, and their little brats skipping and playing right outside my study, so I have to hear them prattle and scream and shriek like PukPuk birds getting eaten alive!"

Mason leaned on a shelf, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Would you rather prefer the sound of children groaning and crying on the Slave Yard?"

The old SharpClaw said nothing. He stared at out the morning-lit cracks of the boarded-up windows, claw tapping the table.

"No…" He said in a low, barely-audible voice. "No, I'll always take their laughter and shouting over that noise. That horrible noise…"

His eyes became distant…clouded in a haunting memory.

"Sauru?" Fay placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Sauru-ji, are you alright?"

The old reptile cleared his throat, and resumed his rearranging of books.

"I'm alright. I'm old, but I'm not sentimental." He bent down and poked his head under the table, groping about for any books in the cobwebs. "Miyu! Any word on this Ghost of ours? Or maybe a solution to those threats Shinto's been sending us?"

"Er…" Miyu glanced at Wolf, eyebrow raised. "A little bit of both. It was a busy night."

"Is that so?" Sauru, who hadn't turned around yet, and continue to wheeze through dust and webs as he climbed under the table, sweeping beakers and jars up. "Well, that's good to hear. I was afraid he started another ruckus somewhere, and we'd only have a blood trail to follow."

Wolf looked around them, still trying to process how calm everyone was acting.

"Your Field Advisor's a SharpClaw?" He hissed to Miyu. "What are you, nuts?"

CLUNK!

The table rattled, every object on top of it tumbling off and falling, as Sauru's body jerked and he hit his head on the wooden underside. His hands shot out, clawing the table and causing it to shake.

Fay bit her lip and shot an anxious look at Wolf, shaking her head frantically.

Sauru bolted from under the table, whirling around, seething through his fangs and glaring at all of them. His maddened face darted about, trying to pinpoint the culprit.

"Who said that? WHO?" He extended a gnarled claw accusingly, eyes searching the group murderously. "Who dares associate ME with those barbaric, unintelligent, low-life-"

Suddenly, he froze. The anger disappeared from his face in an instant, and everyone turned to align his startled look to Wolf's direction.

Wolf was already standing there, somewhat uncomfortably, wishing he hadn't opened his mouth.

But the enraged look in Sauru's face was gone. His yellow eyes looked more stunned than anything else, not in surprise….but in some kind of recognition. "Well, well…what have we here?"

Wolf shifted his feet, and took a breath, trying to sound confident. "Are you Sauru?"

"That I am. I assume you've heard about from these four." He nodded at Miyu and the rest.

Miyu stepped forward, glancing at Wolf nervously. She had already witnessed one unfortunate introduction to his presence, and was anxious to prevent another.

"Sauru, this is someone we found hiding I one of our storage warehouses. He's a refugee, but he claims to be-well, actually, I know for a fact that he's-"

"The Gray Ghost," The old SharpClaw finished for her, his eyes still large and mystified. A small, knowing smile played on his lips.

Miyu stopped midsentence, eyebrows furrowed. Wolf's eyes widened incredulously, feeling equally baffled.

"Uh, yeah." Miyu blinked. "The Gray Ghost."

"Or at least, he says he is," Mason sneered. "You all can buy whatever he says, but it'll take more than claims to convince me that he's the real Ghost. The one from the stories, anyway."

Miyu looked at him. "He is the one. I'm sure of it."

"Pfft, are you kidding?" Mason folded his arms. "Just look at him, Sauru. He's just some roguish punk in rags…people like him litter the city more than the trash."

Wolf scowled at the Snow Leopard, prepared to tell him exactly what he looked like, but Sauru drew nearer, making a tut-tut noise.

"Oh, you shouldn't be so quick to judge people based on appearance. I would have never believed that you were a Cornerian SEAL if you never told me…any more than I would've believed that Fay was Cornerian general Pepper's niece."

Wolf turned to gape at Fay. "His what? Seriously?"

Fay nodded proudly. "That's right…he's my Uncle." She cocked her head curiously. "Why? Do you know him?"

"I…uh…"

He stuttered awkwardly.

Shit…I know him alright….

…and he knows me…

He probably remembers me…that is, if that scar hasn't healed up…

Or if he's forgotten about his badge…

He tugged at his jacket pocket uneasily.

Leon could already sense the steep quicksand that Wolf had gotten himself in, so he jumped in the conversation.

"You're Old Pepper's niece?" He looked at her up and down. "Can't say I see a resemblance."

"Appearances are rarely a factor in identity," Sauru said, slithering around Wolf in an examining fashion. "For one thing, I never would've guessed from the rumors that you'd be an actual wolf…I haven't seen one of your kind in years." He curled his lip in an unimpressed way, as his yellow eyes traveled up and down Wolf's body. "I must say, though…I was expecting more physical prowess. You're quite the runt for your species."

Somewhat spurned by that comment-and embarrassed by how small he looked with less fur and muscle than how he arrived-Wolf retorted heatedly.

"That's pretty rich coming from you." His purple eyes narrowed. "I was expecting more than a decrepit old SharpClaw when I heard about you, 'Sauru.'" He grimaced towards Fay and the rest. "What exactly is a SharpClaw doing with Lylatian Resistance?"

"It was only a Resistance when I formed it to begin with, 'Ghost'," Sauru said, with the slightest, irritated rattle of his serpentine tail. "It became a Lylatian one when these four joined." He pointed at the other TRU in the room.

"You started this?" Wolf asked incredulously. "A SharpClaw?"

Sauru raised his eyebrows. "Does the idea of an individual revolting against his own species really perplex you? Or maybe…you distrust me because I bear the face of your enemies?"

Wolf said nothing. He'd seen how this Sauru had reacted before…to something as little as his notes being burnt….and he didn't want to blunder his first encounter with an insult or an unintentional offense.

I can't get on his bad side…I have so much I need from him…

My Inner Power's at stake…

Raising an eyebrow, the SharpClaw continued. "Well, you have nothing to fear from me, boy. I left that pathetic group of berserkers years ago."

"You left?" Leon asked incredulously. "They don't really seem like the type who let people leave their service."

As Sauru turned to notice him for the first time, his eyes lit up. "Ah, a fellow Cold-Blood? Come closer, my boy! Yes…now let's see…" He studied him next. "You'd be one of the Chamaeleonidae, wouldn't you? And judging by those intriguing yellow marks around your eyelids, I'd say you're one of the few native to Aquas."

Leon raised an interested eyebrow. "How did you-?"

"I think I know my one of my own distant brethren when I see one. You're a lot closer to SharpClaw than you know, boy."

Leon's expression was normal, but his electric-blue eyes flashed angrily. "I'm not considered the most tasteful mind where I come from, old man…but can assure you…" His voice became low and cold-blooded. "I'm nothing like these sick freaks."

"Oh, you misunderstand me." Sauru clenched his fist. "Believe me, my hate for them is even more passionate than you can imagine…. for this new breed of SharpClaw…"

"New breed?" Leon asked.

Fay nodded. "Sauru-ji is very old. He's known three generations of these SharpClaw."

"And this current bunch of scum under Talon's control is the third generation," Miyu added. "According to him, they're the worst bunch."

"They most certainly are," Sauru muttered bitterly. "Foul wretches…you'd never catch any of them in a real SharpClaw battalion like the ones led by General Sting, or General Thorn, or any of the Legions I fought with. Those were the days…" He scraped claws together uncomfortably "But even then…we SharpClaw weren't the most pious of races, were we? We slaughtered, we killed, and we conquered." The light dimmed, shadows lining the guilty expression in his face. "Even abandoning their cause for one of knowledge…it doesn't change who we are…or what we did."

Fay cocked her head sympathetically, and placed a small white hand on his wrinkly, scaly one.

"You'll never be like them, Sauru-ji. You're too sweet for that." She smiled. "What counts is what you are now, not what you were before."

Sauru smiled sadly. "Oh, poor naïve Fay. You're too good the wretched vermin of the world. Too good for your own good."

Mason glanced at Wolf coldly. "True enough."

Wolf glared at him.

"I think we're getting side-tracked."

"Yes, I agree," Mason said. "We have the Gray Ghost among us, and whether that warrants for a celebration or a grievance really isn't my business. Sauru!" He addressed the old SharpClaw. "You called all of the Founding TRU Members for this, so I assume this boy's arrival is important. It's time you explained why?"

"To sum it all up…" Riley interrupted. "Could someone tell us what the hell is going on?"

Wolf stepped forward. "You…Sauru. You knew I was the Gray Ghost the moment I walked in."

"Yes, I did. Why?" The old SharpClaw smiled wryly. "Sudden change of mind, and now you're not the Gray Ghost?"

Wolf frowned. "Don't patronize me. You knew in advance…you didn't even wait for Miyu to finish announcing who I was. You knew…how? You might be the wise and powerful Sauru I've heard about, but no one's perception is that good."

Sauru let out a low, wheezing laugh.

"Wise and powerful?" He turned to Miyu. "My dear Miyu, what in the name of Claw did you tell them about me?"

"I don't know where they got that idea," Miyu said firmly, crossing her arms. "Believe me, if you were wise and powerful, you'd use your enlightened wisdom to keep this study clean without the need of going batshit insane over some Assistant."

Sauru scowled and muttered something under his breath about being "young and disrespectful."

"You didn't really answer my question," Wolf said through impatient grinding of his teeth. "How did you know who I was?"

Sauru smiled. Wolf saw hundreds of years in his ageless yellow stare, but could still detect the slyness and mischief he probably had in his youth.

"Why simply…you're the only one with Inner Power in this room."

A rupture of shock imploded within Wolf's stomach. He didn't know whether to feel excited or afraid. Keeping a passive expression on his face, he responded quietly.

"I'm sure…" His eyes glanced at him experimentally. "…I don't know what you're talking about

Sauru laughed. "You can lower your defenses now, boy. Whatever vain attempts you've had in trying to hide your Inner Power can be put to rest." His eyes gleamed keenly. "It would be a waste anyway. You're no longer in the presence of common, ignorant people. I can sense your Inner Power as easily as I can sense you standing in this room."

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "You know…that much about it?"

"I know as much as I can sense…after all," The Field Advisor extended a claw, and pointed at Wolf shrewdly. "It isn't my Inner Power, it's yours. But I can identify small details about it…" He raised an eyebrow. "For instance, I can easily see, by the way you've tempered it, you're already past the stage of confronting your Devourer…"

Whatever defense Wolf had to fortify the emotional suspension in his face shattered in that instant.

Wait, WHAT?

He knows about my DEVOURER?

"But the unstable fluctuation in your Inner Power's radiation is a good indicator that you defeated it much later than expected," Sauru continued as-a-matter-of-factly. "In fact, I'd say you defeated it….oh, I don't know….at the twilight of your adolescence, maybe later?"

Wolf gaped at him, his eyes massive, now really caught off-guard. He was stunned enough that Sauru knew what a Devourer was, but…when he had fought it?

How did he know all this…?

What was he….?

Leon and the others darted their eyes back and forth between the two, wearing blank expressions at strange terms like "devourer." But they could tell that whatever Sauru was saying was keen and intelligent enough to render Wolf amazed.

Leon. "See? I told you we'd find somebody who knew something about Inner Power. We just had to look…"

Wolf nodded in a dazed way, still staring at Sauru. Whatever skepticism and suspicion he'd had upon walking in was gone. This guy knew….he definitely knewabout Inner Power.

He stepped forward. "And you know all of that…just by looking? What, can you see my Inner Power, or something?"

Sauru chuckled and slithered over to a stump of candle on the table.

"Ha, see that just tells me how much you know about Inner Power, boy…the fact that you assumed that the source of it is in any way visible. No, one merely has to look at your stance, your movement, your expression to know these things. And…"

Prtch!

He clicked his two claws together over the candle, the sparks producing a small, wavering flame that illuminated the shadows in the side of his face, giving him a cryptic look.

"…It doesn't hurt that I happen to be somewhat of an expert when it comes to Inner Power. Years and years of study have made me an adept at what I do."

"How?" Wolf's eyes searched him. "You've only just met me, and you know all this!"

Sauru turned to him. "Just met you? I've known about you since you arrived on planet, boy!"

Wolf froze. "What?"

The Field Advisor slithered back, and pointed up at the telescope. "On the eve of the twin moons, about four weeks ago, I spotted a glowing projectile split its way through the planet's atmosphere before disappearing into the desert." He waved a dismissive claw. "I would've discarded it as just another meteorite…but this was different. I could tell by its movement that it wasn't propelled by fiery forces…but by fuel."

Leon's eyes widened in realization. "That was our shuttle. We crash-landed out into the desert."

Riley shrugged. "Everyone does…at least everyone who's here. What's so special about that?"

Sauru nodded. "It was then that I sensed a tremor in the atmosphere. The wind changed…the stars dimmed."

Riley blinked. "What're you talking about? I never felt those things!"

"Yes, I don't imagine you would," Sauru said stiffly. "None of you would. It was something only…" His smiled, as if hiding some delicious secret. "…people like me would notice. Not with a telescope or a stargazing chart…but with my own instincts. And my instincts told me that someone with Inner Power had finally set foot on planet."

"I'm sorry, your 'instincts' told you?" Wolf scoffed. "That's not very-"

"If you would be so very kind not to interrupt me, boy," Sauru snapped. "I'm not going to bother going into detail, so drop it."

Fay murmured in Wolf's ear. "Try not to dwell on it, Max. There's a lot of things he won't explain."

Wolf looked at the old SharpClaw with extreme skepticism. All this talk of premonitions and instincts reminded him of James McCloud. And that was never a good sign…

"It wasn't the first time I sensed Inner Power on Titania. Anyone can come here with it, and I'd sense them. But it was the first time I sensed its radiation in such a raw and radiating state. It was…unusual. But I knew in an instant that it was within someone who had arrived on planet. I didn't know who, or where, or when…or why…" His eyes wandered the ground, as if searching for answers. "But I could feel it nonetheless. But weeks went by…and I had grown restless meditating and waiting for the sensation to return again."

His eyes were locked on Wolf.

"And then…I felt it again. But this time, it wasn't a radiating glimmer…but a thunderous repulse. It felt like the Inner Power had imploded on itself, sending a shockwave over the sands to where I sat in my study. It was as if…the Inner Power itself had awakened…or screamed."

The room had gotten very quiet. The candles flickered and lined the shadows on everyone's uneasy or bewildered expression.

He slithered towards the window, looking the cracks of thee nailed-up boards. "And it was coming from the direction of the barren waste of Drakon's Slave Yard." He looked at Wolf. "It was you, boy."

Everyone looked at Wolf, who only furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Me?"

He had no idea what Sauru was talking about. A repulse in his Inner Power?

Then, his eyes became huge.

A mental image flashed in his head.

The sun blazing above his head…his feet buried ankle-deep into the blistering sand. The shards of the Adder Tongues at his feet…and his hand coiled with steam as he stood, in shock, in a crater that he himself created…

…after striking Drakon in the face, and sending a shockwave that caused the sand itself to ripple like water.

"It was the day of the escape…that day when you helped me."

Wolf turned to see Fay standing close to him.

"You remember, don't you?"

He stared at her for a long time, having completely forgotten that she had been there to witness it first-hand.

"Yes," Sauru nodded. "Fay told me everything. About how you took that beating for a mother who just lost her child…and how you stood up to Drakon and wrenched the Adder Tongues from his grip…"

"And what about when he fought a dozen SharpClaw at once?" Riley added excitedly. "Or when he plunged into the fire to find Fay?"

"Yes, he's certainly proved himself," Sauru acknowledged Wolf with an approving nod. "To almost everyone here. I heard a great deal about your selfless actions, because the moment you escaped, the city was overwhelmed with a downpour of rumors and gossip about them."

"I didn't do anything heroic," Wolf interrupted, feeling somewhat uncomfortable for being commended for all this. "I was just…at a certain place, at a certain time, and deciding to act on an urge."

"Yes, and acting when no one else would," Fay finished, with a small smile. "That's called thinking of others."

"Yeah, why are you being so modest about it?" Riley laughed. "

"I'm not being modest!" Wolf insisted in an annoyed tone. "And it's not like it didn't come with a cost." He rubbed some of the scars on his shoulders. "You always pay a price for being stupid, blind and heroic. That's why I never do it."

Fay and Riley looked at each other, confused at that comment…but Miyu wasn't. She knew exactly he really meant.

Anti-heroism in its finest, she thought. The kind only Star Wolf would have.

"Well, regardless of your stance on the matter," Sauru continued. "I didn't feel that repulse afterwards. My guess was that you decided to keep it secret once you came into the city, correct?"

Wolf glanced at the corner. "Er…yeah. Something like that."

"Anyway, I knew at once that I had to find you as soon as possible…and before the enemy did. I needed to send someone to find and retrieve you…someone who could keep you safe and could keep you from using your Inner Power out in the open again."

Miyu nodded. "So I volunteered for the mission. Sauru didn't tell anyone about the true nature of the mission, and he told me the specific details…" She looked hard at Wolf. "…and what I was supposed to prevent from happening."

Wolf looked at her, putting the pieces together. "So that it explains it…the handcuffs, the nervous behavior…you were trying to keep me out of any confrontations-"

"…so you wouldn't be rash and use your Inner Power," Miyu finished for him. "Believe me, I trusted you completely-for the most part-but I had my orders, and I followed them."

Leon threw up his hands in exasperation. "Oh, well, you could have at least told us about what was going on! Seriously, then you wouldn't have needed to act to cryptic. We could've played along!"

"Yes, but that would've meant explaining how I knew Maxwell had Inner Power," Miyu pointed out. "We have a strict policy not to mention Sauru's name out in the open."

Wolf looked at Fay with raised eyebrows, who began fiddling with apron as she looked away, whistling nervously. "Oh? And why is that?"

A shadow passed over Sauru's face. "The current SharpClaw Empire and I…have a long and bitter history. I left that life behind me for an existence of knowledge-seeking and solitude…" His yellow eyes narrowed at the boarded-up windows. "But they'll never leave me in peace…Talon will never leave me in peace. They've been hunting me for years."

Wolf's doubtful look faded slightly, suddenly feeling somewhat empathic. He knew the burden of being hunted.

"So…you've been in hiding for a long time, then?" Wolf asked.

"A long time?" Riley laughed and nudged Sauru playfully. "He was in hiding when he found us!"

Sauru scowled and smoothened his tunic from where the cat's elbow hat wrinkled it. "Indeed. You wouldn't believe it, from the way these four act all high and mighty, now that they're rebels," He looked at all the TRU members in the room, and then at Wolf. "But they were younger, helpless, and ragged when I discovered them…hiding in my sewers, starving and shivering." He smiled fondly. "Regular street urchins, stealing from my wares."

Fay laughed. "I remember those days. We still had our Cornerian Uniforms on from the convoy we got separated from!"

"Yeah, and remember all those stupid survival tactics?" Riley mused. "Like when Mason tried to start a fire for all of us…and then he burned himself?"

They both laughed and sighed in reminiscence. Mason continued to look distant and humorless. Miyu tried not to laugh for his sake, but couldn't keep a straight face.

"Yes, and we formed the Resistance, and fought for it ever since…" Miyu said, her knowing smile starting to fade. "We've had our share of victories and losses."

"Yes, and it seems that the latter always tends to outweigh the former," Sauru muttered bitterly. "Too much death…too many deserters. For three years, we've been locked in this senseless, bloody conflict with General Talon…and for three years, we've trudged back into hiding from another defeat. If we could even strike a mild victory against them…." He grinded his teeth longingly. "…it would be enough proof to those bounty hunters that we aren't fighting a fool's crusade….that we aren't just martyrs, wasting blood and sweat on an insurmountable force."

He looked down, his hunched-over back and frustrated scowl making the years in his face show.

"No one believes in our cause. And why should they? We're nothing but twelve boys, two soldiers, a thief, a cook…and an old man." Sauru's eyes glowered at his serpentine tail. "A senile, pitiful old man who can't even fight on the front lines…much less stand on them."

Everyone was silent. Riley tugged on his coat-sleeves and looked at the ground guiltily, while Fay and Miyu looked at Sauru sympathetically.

"Sauru…"

The Field Advisor looked up, a sudden smile breaking the forlorn creases in his face.

"Still…it's always as refreshing to see that we aren't the only ones with the nerve and brass pair to skin those bastards." He turned fully to nod approvingly at Wolf. "Especially when that person's an off-worlder, no less."

Wolf glanced at the side stiffly. "You paint too heroic of a picture. I wasn't thinking of your little Resistance, or any of the people in it when I did those things."

"No, you didn't," Sauru said, his eyes twinkling. "That's so remarkable about it."

"What?" Wolf asked.

"He's right," Fay agreed, with a small smile. "You and your friend dove in-complete strangers, without any knowledge of the SharpClaw or the Resistance-and you strove to fight to help people."

"Well, I hate to say it, but we were fighting for our freedom back there," Leon said tartly. "Not for the welfare of widows and children."

"Maybe so…" Sauru straightened at both of them. "But regardless, you've proven your strength and might on foreign terrain, and against a most unorthodox and superior enemy. And even though you're…" He gave Wolf's ragged attire another unimpressed look. "…lacking for what I've expected from the Gray Ghost, all praise aside, you went out of your way to be thorn in the scales of Talon and his filth. And anyone who does that…" He smiled. "…is a friend of the Resistance."

"Well, I guess that's good to hear," Wolf said, not knowing whether to feel content or displeased with that comment. "I mean-"

"Yes. You've been a good friend to all of us," Fay joined in. "You've fought and suffered many cruelties. And despite how little we know about you, or how little you know of us, you stepped in to help me and Riley." Her face shone with earnest. "Such kindness and selflessness like that is so rare these days. It's nice to see that on a planet like this, there are still good, honorable men."

Wolf felt his stomach squirm, torn between gratitude and guilt.

"Look, I'm happy you think that. Really. But the truth is-"

"Yeah, true to that," Riley added eagerly. "Even we didn't have the balls to confront the SharpClaw head on when we first arrived on-planet. I'd have shit my pants over a confrontation with just one of them. But a dozen? Two dozen?" He whistled. "That takes a brass pair bigger than Lylat and Solar put together." He gave Wolf a sideways smile. "And I would've never been able to get that escape going without your help. Good work, man."

"Listen!" Wolf pleaded in exasperation. "I didn't come here to discuss this with you all."

Riley blinked, and then rolled his eyes with a facepalm. "Oh, of course not! Here we are, wasting time, and we haven't even offered you a place on the TRU!"

Wolf felt his face drain itself of color. "What?"

Fay nodded cheerfully. "I second that. He's been so much help to us…why not let him join?"

Miyu's eyes shifted about nervously, biting her lip.

"Um…guys…"

But they were too engrossed in the idea, and both looked at Wolf eagerly and excitedly.

Wolf stood there, feeling guiltier and more uncomfortable with every warmhearted, grateful batch of praise lingering in his eardrums. He knew that all the praise and warmth would disintegrate in an instant once he would open his mouth and tell them the truth. It was a shame. Despite what they looked like-and how lackluster they compared to his expectations when it came to a Resistance-they all seemed alright.

Riley was annoying, but at least he liked him. And Fay, despite her simple-minded shortcomings, seemed honest and kind.

And all the while, Mason had remained silent throughout the conversation. Wolf had wondered why he hadn't objected openly when all the praise had been rushing in….why he hadn't exposed Wolf to Sauru as a Venomian yet. But judging by his cold glare that had been fixated on Wolf the entire time, his intention was clear.

Go on… His eyes seemed to say. Tell them yourself.

Wolf looked over to Miyu, who looked just as nervous as he did. She gave him a reassuring nod, as if indicating that she'd have his back on this…

But that was doubtful considering how unsure she was when he needed her help before.

One fact…one name, and they'd all despise him just like everyone else did. He was finally going to reveal his identity, let his existence be known again…

…only to be welcomed with the disdain and fear that he'd had as Star Wolf.

Maybe I should just keep the alias…

Then, he shook himself.

No…that would just make it look worse. There was no way he could keep it a secret. He wouldn't feel right asking for help, and then revealing who he was afterward.

That's something a rat would do. Something Pigma would do.

Sauru slithered forward, suddenly looking objective.

"Now, wait a moment. This boy has performed some eventful things, to be sure, but we can't recruit based on that. We don't know-"

"I'm not joining the TRU. That's not what I came here for."

All of them turned to look at him in surprise, Sauru included.

"Oh," Riley said, looking somewhat disappointed. "Well-that's fine. I was just….I was really hoping-"

"Why not?" Fay asked for him.

Wolf sighed, trying to find a suitable way to approach this. "Look…I'm happy that you all think of me that way…and that you'd consider me for recruitment, when you barely even know me. But the truth is…" He looked down guiltily. "All those things I did, the stuff with the slaves and the SharpClaw and everything…those aren't things I usually do. At all."

Fay blinked, but then laughed understandingly. "Oh, well, that's perfectly alright. We weren't heroes or saviors when we first starting fighting in the Resistance. None of us will expect you to perform those acts repeatedly." She extended a warm hand. "And if you don't feel like helping us, we can still help you."

Wolf backed away from her hand.

"You wouldn't want me here if you knew who I was…or where I come from."

Fay's smile faded, and her blue eyes teemed with confusion.

"Yes, I couldn't agree more," Mason said suddenly, rising from the wall he had been leaning on this whole time. "Now's a better time than ever to say it. He's duped you…all of you." He glanced at the old SharpClaw. "Sauru, I tried to make these others see reason…but apparently, the war didn't make them suffer enough to learn first-hand, like I did." He pointed at Wolf. "The reason he can't join us…why he won't join us…" His cold eyes glinted at him. " Is because we can't trust him. He's a Venomian."

Fay and the others looked about uncomfortably. Sauru raised his eyebrows.

"A Venomian?" He asked in a stunned voice. "Are you sure?"

"Definitely. And not just a civilian either…he was part of Andross's Army."

Sauru didn't say anything for a moment. He turned to face Wolf, with a different look in his eyes. He didn't look more stern than he already did, and he didn't blast into a fit of rage that Wolf had dreaded, but he still looked wary.

"Is this true?"

Wolf kept his eyes on the floor. "Yes. I was."

"Mason, we've been over this," Fay started exasperatedly.

"Quiet, Fay!" Mason snapped. "This isn't your business. This isn't some homless refugee for you to give a bowl of soup and a warm bed. This is a security matter."

"But, Mason-" She stepped forward.

"Fay," Wolf held out his hand, urging her to stay where she was. "Please, stay out of this."

"A member of the Venomian army…" Sauru murmured. "Yes, that does change a few things. That would explain how he was so vigilant against the SharpClaw. A side-effect of the Venomain combat experience, no doubt."

"Undoubtedly," Mason nodded approvingly. "And even though there are some people here that don't see the threat of his presence, I wasn't about to let him walk about this place-especially around our women and children-unchecked."

"Mason, I think we've dwelled on this issue enough," Miyu said, glancing at Wolf with slight uneasiness. "We already decided he wasn't a threat to us. I think he has something more important to discuss with us-"

"But now we're in front of Sauru," Mason cut in. "You said his word was law, right? Well, here it is! Even he's more concerned about this Venomian's presence." He turned to the SharpClaw. "You always told us never to trust those who ally themselves with our enemies. Here it is…walking proof of your precaution, and he's got the medals to prove it. Can you believe that? They give medals to murderous scum like him…awards for betrayal and bloodlust." He shot a contemptuous glare at Wolf. "You can probably smell the dead Cornerians on him."

Wolf quelled the crease of a scowl that yearned to make its way to his face. He tried his best to shrug off every insult.

"Not all Venomians want to start a war," Fay reasoned with Mason. "We can't be sure if this one wants to."

"He doesn't have to. He and the rest of his bunch took their sides."

"Hmm…maybe so." Sauru scratched the scales on his chin. "Still, it isn't every day that a Venomian enters our midst. Willingly, too. That's interesting…"

Mason blinked, not seeing why the SharpClaw was so calm. "Interesting or not, you know what he's capable of doing. And what he's done."

"Yes, and what about what he's done recently?" Fay asked. "Like saving us, putting his life on the line…?"

"You seriously buying all of that?" Mason scoffed. "You think a Venomian like him would do that out of compassion, or empathy? They always have something else up their sleeve, some alternate purpose to fulfill. He openly admitted to not wanting to join!"

Riley shrugged, muttering under his breath. "Can't say that I blame him. Look at the image you're giving us."

Mason whirled around, facing him.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Riley blinked, and shifted his feet timidly, but the fur on his cheeks spiking defiantly. "Well, I know he's Venomian and everything… But if he devoured innocents or wore the skin of his enemies, or whatever Venomians are supposed to do with their enemies, he would've done it already!"

Wolf raised his eyebrows, feeling more amused than offended. How far did the stereotypes stretch?

"Care to hand in your badges, as well?" Wolf muttered to Leon.

Leon rolled his eyes. "See, this is why I never kept mine. This is what I wanted to avoid." He darted his eyes to the corner mischievously. "Still…I was accused of these kind of things long before I joined Andross's army, so I can't feel too insulted."

"Just because he won't do it now, doesn't mean he won't do it later!" Mason insisted. "The war only ended five years ago, Riley, and you're already acting like you've forgotten the way the Venomians are!"

"Mason, we all fought in the war," Fay brought up rationally. "We all knew what they were like."

"None of you act like it," Mason said scornfully. "Look at you all…defending the same filth that burned Papetoon and Macbeth to rubble, the same savagery that butchered our women and children…treating him like he's another human being!"

"If he was that kind of person, why would he help us?" Fay demanded. "Why would he expose his back to the brutality of the SharpClaw, for the safety of the same people he supposedly killed?"

"…I'm just saying, he did help us," Riley continued. "He not only took a beating from the Adder Tongues, he also protected each one of us. Considering how remorseless most Venomians are-especially the ones we fought-he could've turned out a lot worse."

Sauru scratched chin thoughtfully, still not looking too convinced but not looking judgmental either. While the two argued, he was only looking at Wolf.

"You know what? You're right." Mason threw his arms up, so angry he was almost laughing. "Hell, let's give him a medal for that. I guess one or two good deeds out of a lifetime of murder and deception deserves a couple of medals. In fact, give him a badge for actually having it in him to pity people. I'm sure that's a real accomplishment for his race."

Wolf felt his blood boil again, but kept himself from losing control in front of Sauru. In the end, it was Sauru's verdict that would decide if he'd stay or go.

"Listen," He finally said, his voice layered with impatience. "As much as everyone's…taken with the news of my past allegiances," He said through his teeth. "That wasn't the confession I was going to make. I know you're eager to get a fight brewing, but I've got more important things on my mind than the grudges of a bygone war."

"That's rich coming from the same side that egged the war on," Mason retorted. "And honestly, I don't know what you have left to confess to us about your identity that would make a difference. What news could you have to tell us, 'Maxwell', if that's even your real name?"

Wolf stepped forward. "Yeah, see…that's the thing. Maxwell isn't my real name."

All of them looked at him surprisedly, but Mason sneered.

"Tch. A Venomian hiding under an alias." His face mocked surprise. "Who'd have thought?"

Fay put her hands on her hips. "Oh, come on Mason. We didn't use our names when we first came here… did we, Mr. 'Lance Fitz-Gerald'?"

Mason rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, so what if he has another name? It's not like he has anything else to hide. He's a Venomian." He held up three fingers. "I could probably sum up his entire life in three words: 'collaborate', 'murder', and 'betray.'"

Wolf folded his arms, because he felt that would be the best way to confine the urge to use them to punch Mason.

"You might want to add 'pilot', to that list of words."

Mason looked at him, looking a little surprised. Then, he resumed his contemptuous expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess that makes you a murdering, collaborating, betraying pilot. Well, now my list's complete."

"Wait a minute."

Fay turned to face Wolf, suddenly interested.

"You…you were a pilot?"

Wolf looked away from Mason's quarrelsome stare, regarding the young Spaniel.

"Yes, I was. I joined the Venomian Army after I left the Cornerian Flight Academy-"

"Wait-the what?" Mason's expression disappeared. "The Cornerian Flight Academy?"

Wolf paused to look at him. "Yes….there's only one Flight Academy right? It used to be run by James McCloud, before he died? We both, went there."

Mason narrowed his eyes, searching Wolf's face for some fragment of deception. "I don't believe you. Venomians never got their training from the Academy."

"As much as I hate to say it, he's right," Riley admitted doubtfully. "That's a pretty big claim to make. I went to the Academy, we all did. If you're claiming that you did too, you'd need some proof."

Leon shrugged indifferently. "Sure thing. We've got proof." He glanced at Wolf. "Go ahead, tell 'em."

Wolf smiled confidently, and opened his mouth to name a familiar feature from the Academy, one engraved into his brain…

But then, he paused, with a blank look on his face. He reached for the top of his mind, trying to retrieve something to recall…

…but there was nothing there. He couldn't name a single thing about the Academy. Nothing, except for…well, the fact that he went there.

There wasn't a single detail or explicit image that he could recall.

His heart pounded again, wondering if this had to do with that weird reflex thing that had happened in the bar with Shinto.

Blinking rapidly, he tried not to look unsure in front of Fay and the others, who waited expectantly.

"I…uh…graduated, from the 72B class. The other graduates were, um…" He rubbed his head, trying to remember. His eyes lit up. "Oh, yeah! Connor Lysander, Fara Phoenix, William Grey-"

"Wait, Bill Grey?" Mason repeated.

Wolf looked at him with surprise. "You know him?"

"Anyone who's donned a Cornerian uniform at any point in their lives knows who Bill Grey is!" Riley said excitedly. "He's the Wing Commander of the Husky and Bulldog Squadrons."

"And I fought under Connor Lysander's commans back when I was with the SEALs," Mason nodded, looking less stiff and more surprised. "He's the grandson of Patrick Lysander, the General that came before Pepper." He turned to Wolf. "Alright, Ghost, you are telling the truth. Keep going."

Wolf blinked, not recognizing the terms SEALs or 'Husky Squadrons', but kept going.

"Alright. But I'm going to tell you all, before I even keep going," He looked all around them, from Fay, to Mason, to Riley. "Whatever I tell you…whatever I confess about the past-and the war-has nothing to do with any of you. So, don't…" He clenched his fists, which were already sweating. "…don't take it personally."

Mason raised an inquisitive eyebrow. He could tell by the way Wolf fixed his eyes on him, almost imploringly, that he was really talking to him.

When Wolf felt his confidence return, he cleared his throat.

"When I graduated from the Academy, I didn't head off to war like everyone else. Things happened…complications arose…"

Riley cocked his head. "What kind of complications?"

"I don't know." Wolf looked up. "No, seriously. I either don't remember, or maybe…" His eyes faced the ground uneasily. "…maybe I don't want to remember. But what I do know, is that when it was all over…I had witnessed the death of my former teacher." He looked up. "James McCloud."

Riley's eyes grew huge. Sauru sat up from where he leaned.

"Oh, believe me, it gets better…" Miyu muttered.

"When that happened, I was branded a criminal. I was called a traitor, a whoreson, a collaborator…but above all…" His eyes burned hatefully. "…a murderer. I was pinned up on the Most Wanted list faster than I could've comprehended. Accusations and lies came from all sides of the conflict, from every corner of Lylat. I was hated…scorned, for things I hadn't even done. I pleaded constantly, trying to make them see that I hadn't done anything. But then…" He sneered, almost laughing at his own misfortune. "…who's gonna sympathize with a Venomian, right? Soon, I was being hounded by every dog in the Cornerian Military. Even General Pepper."

Fay's jaw dropped in shock. "What?"

Wolf grimaced uncomfortably at her look of disbelief. "Yes. And by then…it didn't make a difference if they caught me." Wolf seethed through clenched teeth. "Where was I going to go? No one in the galaxy would let me be…none of them would believe me. I'd never be able to build a new life for myself…I'd never be able to approach a civilized planet without being recognized and shunned." He looked up, eyes blazing. "My hate for Corneria, and all her people, was the only thing I had left. I wanted to make them pay…and pay dearly, for driving me to the edge of extinction like a wounded animal. I wanted to see them suffer…but above all…" His enraged look fixed on a face, one that wasn't in the room with them. "I wanted to make him suffer."

Riley stared at him, a little too afraid to speak. "M-Make…make who suffer?"

Wolf hesitated.

"Anyway…" He continued, ignoring him. "During that stage of my life, while was running, I had nothing left. My future, whatever potential I ever could have had for a normal life for me and my best friend…was gone. It was buried in a heap of hatred and lies, spawning from Corneria's direction. I had nowhere to run to, and nothing left but my rage and desire for revenge." The regret swelled inside his stomach. "And that was when I joined Andross. That was when I helped him start the war."

Leon felt an uncomfortable tingle in his blood. He, too, could feel the memories coming back.

Wolf looked up at the stunned faces of the TRU members in the room.

"I can't tell you how many sleepless nights I've spent, wishing with every fiber in my body that I hadn't made that decision. I was young, impatient, and angry…but that doesn't justify joining the Venomian Army." His voice raised again, echoing more frustration than rage. "I was stupid and careless…and more importantly, Andross knew it. He knew that all I cared about was getting back at the people who wronged me, no matter what the moral or physical cost. And he used that to his advantage…and made me one his top hunting dogs." His tall ears drooped in shame. "And the worst part about it…was I let him."

He sighed deeply before continuing.

"I did many things during the war. Things so terrible…that they honestly make half the things he says," He glanced briefly at Mason. "Seem less far-fetched and spot on. I've probably spilled enough Cornerian blood to fill the Aquatian ocean. It was senseless…I would've at least felt better if I was invested in the war I had been fighting, but I wasn't. It was all just built-up rage, murderous intent reserved for someone else. And by the time I realized what I was doing-and what the war was turning me into-I had hurt so many people. Even the ones closest to me."

He turned to look at Leon, who managed a small, grateful smile.

"The truth is, I'm not an off-worlder," He continued. "And I'm not just a common Venomian ex-soldier, either." He stood a little taller, voice clear. "I'm Wolf O'Donnell…former Head of the 302nd Battalion, Leader of the Star Wolf Team, and rival of Fox McCloud."

The room was silent for the longest time. No one in the room spoke, and a brief but eerie wind creaked through the boarded-up windows to make the candlelight dim slightly.

Then, Mason and Riley cracked amused smiles, and started laughing.

"Hold on, hold on…I need a minute here," Mason said, amidst a chuckle. "First, you waltz in here and claim to be the Gray Ghost, and now you'retelling me that you're supposed to be Star Wolf of all people?"

Wolf sighed, having already seen this coming. "Look, I know it's a little hard to accept-"

"Oh, it's more than hard," Mason agreed. "It's impossible. Just how stupid do you think we are?"

"More importantly, how young do you think we are?" Riley laughed. "Look, Max-or whatever your name is-I like you, and all, but I haven't been fed bullcrap stories about Star Wolf since I was a kid."

"He's telling the truth."

The both of them stopped laughing and turned to Miyu, who spoke for what seemed the first time for the duration of the time.

"What?" Riley asked. "You're not serious?"

"He is Star Wolf," She said, stepping forward. "I can testify for him."

Riley blinked, and turned to Wolf again, torn between looking shocked and unsure. Apparently, Miyu held enough of an influence in the group to prevent herself from being ever doubted, because Riley actually looked like he was on the brink of believing her.

"But, how-?" Then, the Young Cat shook himself. "Is this a joke? You're not seriously trying to pass this guy off as something that doesn't exist, right?

Mason turned to her in surprise. "You're not actually buying this, are you, Miyu?"

Miyu ignored him and addressed the others. "Trust me, I know it's difficult, even insane to believe. I didn't believe him myself when I first met him." She glanced at Wolf. "I just thought he was just another big-shot punk parading under Star Wolf's alias. And while I was right about the first part…"

Wolf scowled.

"…I know for a fact that he is the real Wolf O'Donnell. He has to be."

"You 'know'?" Mason asked skeptically. "What, did he come with a certificate?"

Miyu turned to him, her expression more challenging than before.

"I was a Cornerian Guerilla Tactics Officer for a long time, Mason. I brought in a lot of prisoners for interrogation sessions, so I know when a person's a lying." She looked at Wolf. "When I confronted him, and asked for his name…his voice and expression were true, and weren't deceptive. He believes, with every stubborn drive in his body that he's the real Star Wolf." The Lynx's indigo eyes teemed with a keen edge. "That isn't something you can fake. You have to have that kind of faith engraved in yourself, make it a part of your knowledge about yourself."

"But that's impossible!" Riley protested. "Look, guys-Star Wolf doesn't exist!"

"I'm standing right here!" Wolf said impatiently. "What do you mean I don't exist?"

He was getting a little sick of this. He could understand why no one thought he could be real-he knew the reason. But it was too weird and frustrating to literally be in the same room, and then be told that he wasn't as real as the chair, table of books, or whatever other object was in the room with them. It was like everyone was pretending like he was invisible, when he clearly wasn't.

"You can't exist! I mean-" Riley's eyebrow furrowed. "Star Wolf can't exist. He's just a myth, now. If he existed, there'd have to be some proof after the war ended!"

"What, so you're saying I was never born, or something?"

"Not necessarily," Mason said. "It's entirely possible that there was a pilot who pitted himself against Fox McCloud during the war-but with there being no sign of him after the war ended, one could only assume he's either dead, or not real." He folded his arms. "He can't have just vanished into thin air."

"I didn't vanish into thin air," Wolf snapped. "I was caught and dragged off to prison after the war ended."

"Imprisoned?" Riley asked. "Where?"

"Denique Fatum," Leon said. "The Cornerian supermax facility."

Mason's amused look disappeared. Riley's eyes grew huge.

"The real Denique Fatum?" He breathed. "Seriously? Wait, no…" He put on his amused look back on. "There's no way that's true. I have a brother who works there, and the security's-"

"You mean Thomas Gingerback?" Wolf cut in tartly.

Now, Riley's eyes were really huge.

"How did you-?"

"Your brother helped me escape the island before I crash-landed here," Wolf said with an approving nod. "He's not the brightest kid, but I wouldn't have made it out alive without his help."

The Young Cat looked too excited to speak. "He-helped you-? Escape-Denique Fatum?! That is the COOLEST THING-"

"Hold on…" Mason interrupted eyes darted about as he put the pieces together. "If you really were captured after the war's end, you'd have to be in prison for-"

"Five years," Wolf finished for him. "Five long, bitter years of lying in a dark cell…living off of the nutritional injections they gave me, with a scrap of metal bound to my face."

"Scrap of metal?"

Wolf nodded. "Yes. My last encounter with Star Fox left me scarred…and weak. When the Cornerians came for me, they treated my face by surgical means, and helped me recover. My face changed as a result..." He tapped his snout. "… Nothing drastic, but it was enough to render me unrecognizable as Wolf O'Donnell."

Mason and Riley looked at each other, looking baffled.

"Any more questions?" Wolf asked impatiently. "Or do you just want to accept that I'm telling the truth?"

The Snow Leopard narrowed his eyes. "Hold up. You might have excuses for these minor things-"

"You mean explanations?" Wolf asked in an annoyed voice.

"Whatever," Mason snapped. "The point is, none of them explain why there was no record of your disappearance."

"Record? What, you expected someone to be chronicling everything I was doing?"

"Actually, yes," Sauru said suddenly. "You Lylatians take pride in your sense of security…and it's very likely that the Cornerians would've had you in their databanks, somewhere…details, like DNA, birthdates, biological records…" He folded his arms. "Because apparently, warm-blood technology can hold onto those things."

"Exactly." Mason turned to them all. "If you really were Star Wolf, than the Cornerian Archives would've kept whatever files they had on you. And if you were imprisoned-as you claim-then the Defense Force would've tracked you here."

"So, what?" Wolf asked. "I need a damn file to prove that I'm Star Wolf?"

"Unless you have some kind of DNA scanner on you, yes," Mason said tartly. "But without a file, any claim you make to be Star Wolf is a ludicrous one. Anyone who exists has a file in Cornerian Logs, and that's that."

"That…might not be entirely true."

Everyone in the room turned at the meek sound of Fay's small voice, as she shifted her feet uncomfortably at so many people watching her.

"Fay?" Sauru asked. "Do you know something about this?"

The young Spaniel fiddled with her apron nervously. "Well, um…I don't…never mind. Forget it. It's probably nothing-"

"It's alright, Fay," Miyu said kindly. "Go on. We're listening."

Appearing comforted by Miyu's presence, Fay looked up.

"Well….I have a bit of a confession to make-and please, no one get angry with me," She added quickly, her blue eyes becoming ridiculously big. "I didn't mean to. Honest."

"No one's accusing you of anything, sweetie," Miyu said with a warm pat on her shoulder. "Just go on."

Leon and Wolf raised their eyebrows. They expected as much nurturing from a SharpClaw as from Miyu of all people.

"Well…remember that experiment we had to do in Peppy's Communications class during the Academy?" Fay asked. "The one that was testing us on how well we could intercept weapons diagnostics from attacking enemy ships?"

Miyu nodded with a knowing smile. "Yeah, the project that got the day you partnered up with Bryant. How could I forget? That's when you really pissed off the Academy's top bitch, Brooke McIntire…the day we first met, and I gave her a nosebleed the size of Solar." She sighed in reminiscence. "Good times…"

Mason rolled his eyes. "We get it, it was an Academy assignment. Can we move on, please?"

"Right," Fay said, jumping back to attention. "So I wanted to do some extra research on some military projects that the government had suspended, but there wasn't any record of them in any of the Academy Databanks-so, I, um…" She shut her eyes, as if bracing for the punishment she was about to receive. "…I went into the Cornerian Government's Data Archive from one of the Academy computers."

"Wait a second," Leon interrupted, now looking really perplexed. "You hacked into the Cornerian Defense Force's Security Mainframe? All by yourself? From an Academy computer?"

Miyu gave the girl an approving nod.

"Don't under estimate our Fay. She was part of the Communications Division during the War Effort."

Mason raised an eyebrow. "Yeah…I guess she isn't as simple-minded as she looks."

Fay blinked and smiled obliviously. "Aw, thank you, Mason! Anyway…" Her bright expression reverted back to her serious one. "I went through some old records, and was curious about some of the Academy's past student. So I did some digging around the Alumni page…and founded an encrypted file, one that was fragmented and couldn't be recovered no matter what I did. But after some fiddling around with it…" She smiled craftily. "I recovered the information that was inside. And inside were three names."

"What names were they?" Riley asked.

Fay rubbed her chin. "Let's see…well, it was from an encrypted file, so the letters weren't complete. Only one name was complete. That name was 'Leon Sergei Powalski.' The other two were 'L. Barnez'…" She stopped, turning to Wolf with wide eyes. "'W.O.D.'"

Everyone was silent. Even Wolf was stunned by what she had said.

"Wait…" Leon said slowly. "Sergei is my middle name, but I never included it in my name. Ever. Even my Academy Record never recorded it…" His electric-blue eyes widened. "There's no way that file could've been fake. It had to be an official one."

"So, wait-"

Riley paused, and turned slowly to Leon.

"You're Leon Powalski? The real one?"

Miyu raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, even I didn't know that."

Leon scowled. "Really? Just who the hell did you think I was after you found out he was Wolf O'Donnell?" He pointed a furious finger at him. "Just some guy, following Star Wolf around?"

"And if the first name was true…" Fay said with a slow nod. "Then, that means…'W.O.D.'…"

Everyone was silent, knowing who that had to be.

But that information didn't solve anything...if anything, it made Wolf even more confused.

"Hold on…" He put up his hands, gesturing for a halt in the onslaught of news. "Why would both mine and Leon's names be in an encrypted folder?"

Miyu scratched her chin. "Encrypted folders are usually the result of someone trying to delete incorrect or outdated information. The fact that Fay found it must have meant that someone had just deleted it. If that's the case, that file no longer exists in any known archive."

"But I don't understand," Riley said, still pale. "If someone knew that Wolf was-" He gulped, not turning to look at him. "-Wolf, why would they try to hide it?"

"Yes…" Leon's eyes darted about inquisitively. "This would explain why everyone would assume we're dead or non-existent. The Academy was the only official place where our records were kept during the war. So why would someone delete them?"

Sauru looked up, his reptilian stare sparking with some newfound realization.

"Maybe…it was deleted to make sure no one knew you ever existed."

Wolf turned to him suddenly. "What?"

"Think about it," Sauru said, slithering back and forth in deep thought. "You were imprisoned right after the war ended…and no one's heard of you since. That's too convenient to be a coincidental set of circumstances. And then, this file goes missing…DNA, biological read-outs…everything that could be used to identify you…or recover any sign of you." He turned to Miyu. "How long does an encrypted file take to fully disappear from all known archives?"

"From every databank in the Lylat System?" Miyu shrugged. "It'd take forever…multiple deletions. You'd have to have years-worth of time…"

The old SharpClaw's eyes gleamed keenly. "Maybe it'd take five years…"

"What do you mean?" Wolf asked, heart beating faster.

Sauru ignored him, looking at the ground. Then, he looked up instantly.

"When were you imprisoned, 'Star Wolf'?"

Wolf paused, before thinking back. "It was the night the Star Fox Team broke through Area 6. The eve of Andross's defeat."

"And who imprisoned you?"

Wolf's eyes glowered hatefully. "The Denique Fatum Guards told me it was General Pepper."

Miyu's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait…that can't be true."

"What do you mean?" Leon asked.

"General Pepper wasn't on Venom on the night of Andross's defeat," Miyu said instantly. "He was on Corneria. My Division was guarding him there. Right, Fay?"

Fay nodded. "Y-Yes…my Uncle was still crippled from injuries after getting his flagship attacked…" Her brow creased. "Something that happened at Sector Y…"

The Field Advisor nodded. "That meant that someone else ordered for your imprisonment, Star Wolf. Someone who deceived the Cornerians into thinking that it was the order of their General. And with five years of prison…that would've given the encrypted file plenty of time to be deleted."

Wolf's eyes studied the ground before looking up. "What are you saying…?"

Sauru turned towards the candlelight, eyes narrowed.

"It means someone wants you out of the picture, Star Wolf," He said plainly. "The same person who deleted all known information on you made sure you'd be imprisoned. Someone who knows who you are…and it's someone who doesn't want the rest of the galaxy to know."

A repulse of cold shock and prickling fear shot up Wolf's spine, eyebrows furrowed and neck sweating.

It couldn't be…

Could someone have done this to him…?

Was there someone who knew everything about him…

…and was trying to keep him a secret?

"Who?" He asked shakily. "Who and why?"

Sauru ran his claws on the skull of some bird-like creature on his table.

"I don't know. But whoever they are, they must be burdened with a severe grudge against you…probably during the war."

"Wait a minute, 'still'?" Wolf repeated. "What, are you saying they might still be out there?"

"They might be…" Sauru rubbed his chin. "But I think on this planet, with this struggle, we have bigger things to worry about." He looked long and hard at Wolf. "We-the Titanian Resistance Unit have some of the most important pieces of information in the galaxy right now…in this very room." He looked around, before slithering over to the open-curtained doorway and snatching the curtain over it. "Star Wolf is both very much alive and existent…and furthermore, he's in our midst."

Everyone in the room looked at Wolf, entirely new looks in their eyes.

Riley was stalk white, his eyes teeming with terror.

Fay had her hands cupped over her mouth, her expression was riddled with confusion and fear, the fur on her head and ears shivering fearfully. Mason's expression couldn't be read. But everyone could tell by the way he opened his mouth that no words would escape from it.

None of them could believe it.

Wolf's stomach squirmed horribly. For so long, he had hoped for a reaction of some sort from people, some indication that they knew who he was…

…but this isn't what he wanted. He felt the tense caution about them, every one of his movements warranting for a nervous grimace back, every set of eyes bulging at him.

"So it's true?" Riley asked, in a hushed, shocked voice. "All those stories…those legends…they happened?"

"Stories?" Wolf blinked. "There were stories?"

Mason, still frozen on the spot, nodded slightly. "Regardless of whether or not they were considered true, the long, bitter exploits of the Star Wolf Team are renowned from every corner of the Lylat System." He shook his head, eyeing Wolf up and down with a repulsed look, like he was some kind of foul insect. "Every sin, every atrocity…every crime a man could commit, you managed to do...to Lylat's men, women, and children. How could anyone not hear of them?"

The sting of the scalding truth punctured Wolf on the inside, each accusation piling the shame on his shoulders.

"Y-Yeah." Riley began fiddling with his coat-sleeves, his shaking feet already backing up to cower fearfully behind Miyu. "The one who cut down James McCloud in cold blood…The one who committed his life to the extermination of his only son…"

"The one who dove into enemy forces like water," Fay said in a voice muffled behind her quivering hands. "Colliding with them without hesitation or fear… Ripping and mauling men with his bare hands and claws…till the blood coated you like a second coat of fur…."

Mason's expression hardened. "The man who left hundreds of thousands of Cornerian corpses in his shadow…"

Miyu didn't say anything. She had already condensed her shock in the long walk to the Shrine…and had contemplated exactly what she thought. She was already feeling uncomfortable with hearing this, but one look at Wolf was enough to see that whatever she had…he had it way worse.

He felt the fear and contempt hammer into him from all sides, feeling exposed and ashamed. He wanted so desperately to stand tall and shrug it all off, to swat aside the accusations with defiance.

But there was nothing to repel. Nothing to swat aside casually with a firm resolve and a fierce insolence...nothing but the plain and simple truth.

Every painful reminder crawled into his skull like a bad dream he was trying desperately to forget…He could already see the awful reality of past sins already showing up on his hands, splattered like the blood…all things from the war, all the deaths he had caused…

…all the things he wanted to forget.

"Please, stop."

Everyone paused abruptly, surprised by his pained look.

"Look…I know I've done all those things…I already think about them constantly, and I don't need to be reminded about them anymore…" He rubbed his temples with a strained sigh. "…least of all from all of you."

"I know, it's just…" Fay shuffled her feet unsurely. "It's too hard to accept…I mean, I know you're missing an eye, and everything, but apart from that…upon first meeting you, I never that…"

She stopped.

Wolf stared at her miserably. That was probably the biggest blow of all. Fay, the one person whose kind approach and forgiving gesture was the only warm sign of acceptance he had managed to get from anyone so far…had managed to slip into the same state of unsure fear and suspicion as everyone else.

Normal. That's what she called me…

She was actually starting to accept me before now…

His ears drooped, heart wrenching with painful regret and longing.

He had ruined it. He nevershould've told them.

Sauru, on the other hand…didn't look as horrified as everyone else. If anything, he looked intrigued.

"Yes…sounds like quite the cold-blooded bastard." He smiled thoughtfully, tapping a claw on his chin. "Fascinating…truly fascinating. I never thought in one…no, five hundred years, I'd come face to face with one of the most hated enemies of the warm-bloods."

Despite his ashamed look, Wolf turned to him in surprise. "You know the stories too?"

"Your name is famous even amongst the SharpClaw, boy. Even when we thrived on the edge of the galaxy, an exiled tribe of Sauria, we heard of your exploits. The same way that we dominated the fields of death and decay…you were once the demon who stalked the battlefield of stars and ships…" His eyes shone with interest. "The Scourge of all Pilots, they called you…the berserker of all Lylatian Space, who could've painted the stars red with the dead you brought in your wake. Feats like that would be sung and heralded with praise among our people…" He raised an eyebrow. "And yet, you stand in a melancholy puddle of shame, hanging your head like a guilty child. Why?"

Wolf clenched his fist.

"I don't deserve praise for the things I've done…and I don't need some bard to sing to help me remember them. They won't leave me any time soon… no matter how hard I try to forget them."

"Why try so hard to forget?" Sauru folded his arms. "You should meditate on them. You'd be less uncomfortable on sharing how you feel about them. You're very good at acting ashamed, but the question is: are you?"

Wolf hesitated. "How I feel isn't important."

"You're quite wrong, boy," Sauru said in a sharp voice. "The feelings you're trying so hard to lock away are far more important than you realize." His eyes blurred beneath the mist of distance and memory. "If you hide your remorse…you'll no longer know what it feels like. And when that happens, you'll really become a heartless killer. Trust me."

Wolf looked at him sideways. Why did he feel that the SharpClaw was talking out of experience?

"Hold on," Fay interrupted. She was looking at him keenly. "You could've hidden this from us."

Wolf froze, completely stunned on how her words matched what he had been thinking earlier.

"What?"

Her brow furrowed. "You know that we're Cornerians…you know who we feel about you. But you told us anyway…"

Wolf blinked. "So?"

"Why'd you tell us?" Mason demanded. The news had only made him more scornful and infuriated than before. "Was it out of some hope that we'd forgive you, or something? That we'd just overlook everything you've done, and give you refuge and food just like everyone else?" His frosty glare knifed into him. "To treat you like an actual human, like everyone else?"

No one objected to Mason's harshness this time. Wolf's identity seemed to make it valid.

"No, no…it's just-" Wolf sighed in exasperation. "I'm not asking for refuge or food, or even entry to the TRU organization, I…" He paused, and then sat on a table, running his hand through the fur on his head, as if trying to word everything right. "I can never ask for forgiveness for what I did. I'm not brave or stupid enough for that. I'm just asking for the chance to tell you how much I regret the decisions I've made. If anyone could tell me that they were wrong, it's definitely me." He spread his arms out. "I mean, you all can go about your lives and shrug the war off like the bandages of an old wound. But I actually have to live with the things I've done. I was wrong for siding with Andross, and I'm sorry that I didn't see it sooner. But I didn't come here to prattle about how wrong I was, or how right you all are…" He looked up, eyes teeming with desperate imploring. "I'm here because I need your help…and I have no one else to turn to. I don't know what's wrong, or how to solve it…" He clasped his forehead, already feeling stupid with the way he was explaining this. "…I guess I just told you who I was because-because with all that people like Fay and Riley have done for me, I didn't want to deceive you…like the way I deceived so many people five years ago." His voice was brimmed with regret. "…myself included."

Now everyone was really shocked. The news of this stranger being Star Wolf was overwhelming enough. Despite all of them being scared out of their wits-even Mason, despite him probably refusing to admit it-but the way he sat there, looking lost, confused, and helpless…

…he seemed far less intimidating, and more human.

After a long silence, Sauru, who had kept his keen gaze on Wolf the entire time, spoke at last.

"You seem strong enough to fight SharpClaw…and you possess Inner Power. What help could you require from us?"

"Wait a minute, what?" Mason gaped. "You actually believe him?"

Wolf looked up, expression caught between a collision of relief and confusion.

The Field Advisor shrugged. "I can sympathize with someone wanting to wash their hands of their past crimes and blood, being a similar individual myself…although I never moped and dwelled on them as he does," he added, wrinkling snout in distaste. "But still…walking in here and admitting to all those things, knowing that we could shun and turn him away any moment…takes courage. To tell the truth is a task far more grueling and excruciating than taking on a horde of SharpClaw, or whatever shit that turns up in the stories…" He nodded approvingly. "… Maybe this lad is sincere in his pleas."

Color returned to Wolf's face again, and the cold weight of everyone's words shifted slightly from his body. But he was still struck with disbelief.

This Sauru guy must've been either a lot sharper or a lot more insane than he looked to trust Wolf after everything he'd just revealed.

"My only question is…" The SharpClaw tapped his claws together inquisitively. "If you didn't come to join the TRU…nor assassinate me or anyone else…" His yellow eyes were fixed keenly. "…what would cause the great Star Wolf to stoop so low, and ask us for help?"

Wolf scratched the back of his neck. "Well, you see…that's kind of the problem. I think my Inner Power no longer works."

Sauru's intrigued look disappeared, his eyes alert.

"What?"

"My Inner Power hasn't worked in a long time," Wolf replied in a disgruntled voice. "Not since before I arrived here."

Sauru's eyes searched him anxiously. "You're sure about this?"

"Yes."

The SharpClaw's alert look faltered, and retreated in a serpentine coil of disappointment.

"Oh…I see. Well, I must say, that isregrettable," He said, with a longing sigh. "I can't express how much I wanted to meet you with your Inner Power. That was the whole reason I summoned you here. You could've been a fine asset…"

Riley's eyes darted between them, confused.

"Wait, he lost his Inner Power?" He turned to Sauru. "Can you lose that-I mean, if you have it?"

"Believe me, you can," The old SharpClaw said, slithering over to the table. "You can lose it for a number of reasons, but one thing's for sure: there's no recovering it once it's lost…"

Wolf looked up. "There isn't?" A sinking feeling crept into his stomach.

Sauru shook his head. "No way that I know, boy. It's not like receiving lost blood, or replacing dead skin cells. Inner Power is an entirely separate aspect of mortal existence, Star Wolf…its nature hasn't been fully mastered or understood by anyone or any race…not even me."

Wolf's eyes searched the ground, head spinning in a state of frantic nausea. "But…I thought Andross did. He did that experiment, the one that allowed Inner Power to exist in the first place, right?"

Sauru scoffed. "What, that ape scientist? HA! As if…you would think so, though, with the way he gloated about it. Conceited wretch…" He muttered under his breath. "No, Inner Power existed long before he was born, and transpired its influence across countless generations of organisms. He merely…well…" His eyes darted to the corner. "… 'reawakened' it."

Wolf looked at him sideways. "Reawakened? But-?"

"The POINT is," Sauru continued, rather loudly. "There's no pointing in hoping in vain for your Inner Power to return. Once it leaves, its presence and influence on the host disappears with it."

"But, that can't be…" Wolf muttered. "How did this happen? And why is everything else happening?"

"'Everything else?'" Sauru repeated sharply. "What do you mean?"

Wolf looked at him. "Is it possible for the loss of Inner Power to have…er, side effects on me?"

Sauru's eyebrows furrowed for a moment.

Then, suddenly, his eyes started to widen. His facial expression warped into entirely different one. There was a glint of alarm in his eyes, startled realization…and fear.

"What….kind of side-effects?" He asked slowly.

"I…I don't know. I hear voices…I can't place things in my thoughts, things that should come so easily on a moment's notice." He rubbed his head, breathing heavily. "My Inner Power ripples, and rises and falls, like it did at the Slave Yard. But above all, there are things in my life that my body remembers, that I myself don't…."

Sauru's eyes became enlarged. He read the expression on Wolf's face, his mottled scales starting to pale

"…things, you think you've forgotten," He finished for him.

Wolf froze, his fur rising. He looked up slowly, staring at the SharpClaw.

"How did you-?"

Sauru didn't say anything. His lips were dry, and his yellow eyes looked like they were going to bulge from their sockets.

"It's not possible…" He murmured, in a voice so low it was barely audible.

Riley stared at them both. "What's not possible? Sauru, what's going-?"

Fwssh!

The SharpClaw bolted towards the bookshelf, rummaging through books and scrolls, pulling dusty tomes out with brief glances at them before flinging them aside. Finally, he grabbed the book he wanted, blew dust out of it, and slithered to a nearby table.

Miyu and Fay looked at each other, startled to see him like this.

"Sauru, what is it?"

He swept a pile of papers and dried quills and slammed the book down, opening it frantically.

That's when keener observers like Leon looked harder and realized that the pages of the book were made out of stone, meaning it had to be old…maybe older than Sauru himself, if that was possible.

He was muttering to himself constantly.

"No, no, no…this is NOT good at all…."

Wolf started to feel uneasy about the way he was reacting to this. "Um…what's wrong? Is this…abnormal?"

"Abnormal?"

CLUNK.

He slid a stone page down, and looked at him, eyes huge.

"What's happening to you is beyond abnormal, boy," He said cryptically. "You shouldn't have felt anything after your Inner Power was lost in the first place. You haven't lost it…you're losing it…."

Leon shrugged. "So…that's good, right?"

"No, it's NOT good," Sauru reiterated impatiently. "It's unnatural! This isn't a process that should happen! This is like someone festering into a corpse while still being alive! It's unthinkable…the last thing that should ever happen…"

Wolf stared at him. "Why would it be unnatural? What, is it something Devourer did?"

Sauru looked up. "What? Oh, no-you're Devourer's in place, right where you left him where you defeated him."

"Wait, what?!" Wolf yelped in disbelief. "What do you mean, 'where I left him'? I thought he was dead! I killedhim!"

Sauru mopped his brow as went through pages. "No, boy…your Devourer is what allows your Inner Power to be stable. It bears the burden of existing for that sole purpose, after you put it in its place. And normally, I'd blame its absence or influencefor something like this, but you've already defeated it…" He traced the runes in the stone book with his claw. "None of this should be happening…none of it. I would've accepted just the symptoms with these voices and thoughts…but that rupture in the slave yard…"

"What's that got to do with this?" Wolf asked in confusion. "I thought that it was a sign of it coming back, or something!"

Sauru stopped reading, and looked up.

"Come back? No, Star Wolf…" He tapped a rune with his claw. "That kind of thing only happens you receive Inner Power for the first time…when it first reveals its presence to the Host. But this…this would never happen after one has gained it…much less in the aftermath of losing it." He breathed heavily and looked at Wolf. "I dreaded that it would come to this…I never thought it would be possible…"

A cold feeling slipped into Wolf's blood.

"What?" He asked urgently. "What's happening?"

Sauru breathed through his nose with a pained look, like he was trying to pick the nicest way to tell Wolf what terminal illness he had.

"Boy…these voices, your thoughts, and that repulse are all indicators of a Post-Inner-Power-Loss state of being…one that doesn't occur unless something devastating happened to your Inner Power in the first place." He pointed at the telescope on the Observatory above them. "That repulse I felt when you released some of it during the incident at the slave yard…the one that was like a scream? That was your Devourer. It is losing control of your Inner Power…and that shockwave was proof that it's stability over your Power is waning."

Wolf's eyebrows furrowed. "So…it is the Devourer's fault?"

"No. The Devourer is merely a bystander in this…drowning in the devastating implosion of your Inner Power, the same way other cells in the human body are pulled down into the destruction of a harmful cell. Don't you see? It's your Inner Power that's making you suffer these symptoms. It's rampant and wild, and worse…it's consuming itself. And it will consume you, as well."

Wolf stared at him in both shock and horror, too confused—and afraid of what he was confused about.

"What are you talking about? How did this happen? Where is this all happening?"

The old SharpClaw sighed, and closed the book with a stony thud. He picked up the lit candle, and lit three more next to it, before speaking.

"Inner Power resides in a sanctum far beyond the physical world. It exists where no mortal being or organism of matter can trespass. It is neither mental, nor spiritual...a completely different dimension, between dimensions. Something else entirely… and its touch on the organisms of our world are gifted with the ability to bend the will of nature itself…to harness its talismans of elements and matter to create raw power. But like all energies, it requires fuel, or a field to exist in. To transmute that energy into mortals, that field is generated by one single aspect of our mentality…. Memories."

"Memories?" Miyu asked, entranced despite herself.

Sauru nodded. "Yes. The Inner Power grows with the memories of its Host…it divides, expands, and becomes stronger. It feeds on the experiences that have shaped the mind and soul of the Host, and eventually…draw the Devourer into play when it decides to emerge, and confront the Host."

"Devourer…" Fay scratched her head at the familiar word. "Isn't it that thing that lives in the Inner Power realm?"

"Correct. You've been reading some of the books I've asked you to stack away on occasion, I see." He turned to the rest. "Anyway, without those memories…and the stability a Devourer provides, the Inner Power will not survive. It wilt away…" He looked at Wolf. "…and take the host with it. But that only happens if the memories are non-existent."

Wolf blinked and shook his head. "What are you saying…that I've lost my memory?"

"Not lost." Sauru placed his hand on the stone book. "Losing."

Wolf's eyelids lowered skeptically. "That's ridiculous."

"Think, boy," Sauru said. "Has there been anything in your head that you could no longer remember, because of something you couldn't explain?"

"Wolf…maybe he's right…"

Leon turned to him slowly, a look of growing shock and realization forming on his face. "Maybe you are losing your memory… that would explain everything that's been happening."

"Nothing's been happening," Wolf said in sudden denial.

He tried to pretend not to know what was going on, but a creeping feeling in his chest was starting to repel all skepticism and doubt from his mind.

He was starting to see exactly where this was going…he was just too scared to accept what was going on.

"Think about it!" Leon exclaimed, eyes darting about. "Why is it whenever I talk to you about certain things…small details, incidents we experienced together…things we did during the war…and you never know what I'm talking about? Maybe you can't remember those things because you're memories fragmented!"

"I can remember!" Wolf insisted. "I remember Fox McCloud, and James, and Andross and the war…my whole life revolved around those things, and I haven't forgotten them!"

"Those are too broad," Sauru said quietly. "They are memories essential to you being yourself. But they aren't the ones you need…the details and experiences for your Inner Power to stabilize, and grow strong." He slithered back and forth. "And it won't be long before you lose those broader aspects of your memory, too…"

Wolf sat up from his table. "I've had enough of this madness…nothing's wrong with my memory, and nothing's happening to it! If I can't remember every face of every person I've met, or every word spoken to me, that doesn't mean I'm suffering some sudden amnesia." He straightened up. "I'm perfectly fine, and I can remember everything I need to remember."

"Really?" Sauru raised an eyebrow. "Do you remember the first person you ever killed? His face, the blood on your hands?"

Wolf's skeptical look faded slightly.

"Well, no, but-"

"Do you remember the worst memory of your childhood?"

Wolf rolled his eyes.

"Of course, it's-"

Then, the sureness and confidence in his face broke, as he searched about-as he had done repeatedly-and his face went blank.

"….n-no."

A cold feeling made him sink lower into his own feet. The dreadful possibility was rising quick…

"Do you remember the feeling of your first love, hmm? The first kiss, embrace, or-ahem-other means of affection you might have had with her…?" His face creased with some skepticism. "I understand that's a big deal among you warm-bloods, and not something you forget..."

The empty feeling Wolf's stomach grew. His breathing became harder, as he looked about, trying desperately…desperately, to recall something…

"N-No…"

"Do you remember…" who took your eye away…who gave you the scars you harbor from your past battles…and the other life-long mementos you have now?"

Wolf froze.

It can't be…no…NO…

NO!

Come on…

His fur was coated with sweat. He clutched his face, eyes huge and quivering, breathing through clogged rasps.

COME ON! THINK!

He drove his claws into his face, countless images running through his head, none of them relating to any warm feeling he could've had…no shining face that he held above all memories-

REMEMBER!

He collapsed to his knees, tearing off the jacket around his shoulders and shaking. He ran his hands through the fur on his head, trying to hammer the memories out.

Miyu stepped back, eyes widened and brow furrowed, watching Wolf with bystanding, baffled concern at his desperate, confused state. Riley stared in horrified silence, not knowing what to do. Fay looked around frantically, wringing her apron, wanting so desperately to help…but not knowing how. Even Mason was stunned by what was going on.

Leon took an anxious step forward, but Sauru put his hand in the way, gesturing for him to step back.

Wolf breathed harder, feeling cold and feverish.

Then…he remained still.

A sudden, horrible thought hit him.

His hand slipped in his pocket, the horrible possibility climbing up his pine and sticking icy knives of fear into his back.

His fingers brushed the smooth surface of the blue stone in his pocket. The one that was so precious to him…the one he took everywhere he went…

…the one he didn't know anything about: where he got it, when he got it, who gave it to him, why he was given it…

Nothing.

He almost sold for food in the market when he was with Leon earlier…discarding it completely.

The fur on Wolf's body stood on end.

Sauru was right. This is what he was talking about…

Deep down, Wolf knew this thing had to be special from somewhere or someone…some odd instinct, or hidden emotion told him it was special…

But he couldn't pinpoint…who, or why.

That "why" was what Wolf couldn't remember. One of the many "why"'s that was crippling him from within…and wiping his memory clean…

Wolf's knees started to shake, as he tried to stagger back on his feet. He managed to stand…

SLAM.

Everyone in the room jumped as he collapsed against a table, looking pale and nauseous. Glass beakers and oozing inkwells toppled off the table, shattering at his feet. He shivered, his quaking face speckled with sweat…his entire body hot with frantic confusion but frozen stiff with terror.

"Oh, God…" His voice was feeble and terrified.

He put his face in his shaking hands, his widened, fear-stricken eyes teeming between the cracks in his fingers.

"Oh, God….I've lost my memory…b-but how…?" He looked up at Sauru. "Why?"

"Memory is what feeds Inner Power," The SharpClaw said, the candles illuminating his face. "The only way for Inner Power to die, is if there was something to make the memory slowly vanish." He slithered forward, arching slightly, like he was coming to his knees to speak to Wolf. "You understand me, boy? This didn't just come about. Your Inner Power didn't cause this. Something happened to your memory, and that caused your Inner Power to rupture."

"But what?" He looked at his own body quickly, searching in vain for some wound or indication. "I haven't done anything. I haven't bumped my head, or sprained my skull…or anything like that. How did I lose my memory?"

Sauru rubbed the scales on his chin. "I don't know. There must've been a way…the brain must've linked its failure to process the memories…"

"But I didn't do anything to my brain!" Wolf almost sobbed helplessly. He didn't know what to do…or what was wrong with him. "What could've possibly happened?"

Fay took a timid step forward. "Maybe… the only way for such a thing to happen would be if your memory was placed somewhere other than your brain…"

"But that's ludicrous!" Mason exclaimed. "What kind of idea is that?"

Fay glared at him reproachfully.

"I'm just saying," she mumbled in a hurt voice.

Wolf looked up instantly. "Wait a minute…"

He froze, his hand creeping to his arm…still marked by the deep scar that had been placed there…

His heart almost stopped.

"Oh, God!" He sprung to his feet, clamping his arm. "Leon! The chip!"

Leon turned pale. "Oh, God, NO!"

Mason looked at both of them oddly. "Chip, what chip?"

"Jesus Christ…" Wolf placed a hand on his hand. "Andross planted some kind of chip inside my body to observe me from childhood. He had it in me for as long as I could remember…"

Riley's fur spiked up, and he backed up against the wall like Wolf was going to explode.

"Oh, SHIT! Is it still there?! IS he watching us, right now?!"

Miyu rolled her eyes. "Calm the fuck down, you moron. Andross is dead. Star Fox killed him, remember?"

Wolf paused.

"Uh-ah, yes-more or less-anyway…that chip had been in me for years. Andross said it would be encrypted with data overtime with biological data…it would become a living organ over time, one that could be extracted like an appendix. It would hold whatever data it could recover…DNA, bloodtypes…" Then, he stopped mid-sentence. "…and memories."

The answer hit his body with a jolt.

"JESUS CHRIST! Leon!" He whirled around to face him. "A part of my memories must've been on that thing! And when we removed it-"

Leon was so pale, he looked like was going to pass out. He held out an imploring hand. "God, Wolf, I'm sorry, I didn't know that-I never meant to-"

Miyu's eyebrows furrowed. "'Sorry'? Why, where is it now?"

Leon clapped his face with the palm of his hand. "I extracted it on the last ship we were on-and sent into the garbage chute into space!"

Sauru's eyes widened. "You WHAT? There's no way to recover it now!"

"I know…I know…" Leon rubbed his temples, walking back and forth. "I had no idea-I didn't want anyone to track us, I didn't know it had his Goddamn memories on it…"

"This is bad…" Riley turned to Wolf. "This means that…that…"

Wolf sank to his knees. "Whatever I can't remember was on that chip…and now it's lost somewhere in deep space…" He held his head, rocking back and forth. "And now I've lost half my MEMORY, and I can't get it back…"

"Not 'lost'. Star Wolf, 'losing'."

Wolf looked up. "What?"

Sauru stood in front of the windows, facing the barring planks of wood nailed across them so that the slivers of sunlight lined his face.

"Just like your Inner power, your memory is dying. It's a decaying process, and it won't happen overnight. It'll happen in stages." He turned, the sunlight at his back, making him a shadow. "Now that small details of your memory are gone, larger ones will disappear. Your inner power will grow weaker and weaker, imploding on itself…"

Wolf felt his heart drop and collide with his stomach. His fur shook, his ears open with horrible anticipation for whatever he was about to hear.

"W-What's going to happen to me?"

Sauru narrowed his yellow, reptilian eyes.

"How the process will take shape is unknown to me. I've studied the preservation of Inner Power, but never its death. All I can say is that it's probably taken three weeks for your mind to be in the state it's in…."

Wolf's breathing became heavier and heavier. His head spun madly, his vision blurring and his blood churning to the point where he was both nauseous and on the verge of collapse.

"…Which means," Sauru continued his ominous diagnosis. "If you don't recover your memory before another three weeks go by…your memories will disappear."

Riley's jaw dropped. Miyu's eyes trembled with fearful empathy. Mason's blue eyes expanded in disbelief. Fay rose a shaking hand to clutch her mouth.

Wolf didn't move an inch. His body wouldn't let him.

"You will forget your past, your life, your name…even your own face. And when that happens, your Inner Power will release you…and die. You will be reborn into an empty shell of your former self, without memory, or knowledge of functions. You will be mentally crippled, and unable to preserve yourself…"

Sauru's facial expression was grave and still.

"You will slip into a coma, Star Wolf…and when you do, just as the entire galaxy presumes now, you truly will no longer exist."

End of Chapter

My God, if only I could see the looks on your faces right now.